SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/28/2014
9:24 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Judah’s Sins
PT-3
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Jeremiah
17:11
Message of the
verse: In today’s SD we continue to
look at a message from Jeremiah that speaks about the sins of Judah.
Greed (Jeremiah 17:11):
“11 "As a partridge that
hatches eggs which it has not laid, So is he who makes a fortune, but unjustly;
In the midst of his days it will forsake him, And in the end he will be a fool.’”
Let us begin by looking at a parable that Jesus spoke to
a crowd that was around him. This
parable is found in Luke 12. “16 And He
told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man was very productive. 17
“And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ’What shall I do, since I have no
place to store my crops?’ 18 “Then he said, ’This is what I will do: I will
tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain
and my goods. 19 ’And I will say to my
soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your
ease, eat, drink and be merry."’ 20 “But God said to him, ’You fool! This very
night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have
prepared?’ 21 “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not
rich toward God.’”
We can also find out a lot about who a fool is in the
book of Proverbs, for that seems to be one of the themes of Proverbs as the
word fool is found forty times in the NASB from the book of Proverbs. Here is the meaning of that word in the
Hebrew. The Hebrew word looks like this “nabal
naw-bawl’ and if that word sound familiar it is because we saw it in the book
of 1 Samuel where there was actually a man whose name was Nabal: 1Sa 25:3 (now the man’s name was Nabal, and his wife’s
name was Abigail. And the woman was intelligent and beautiful in appearance,
but the man was harsh and evil in his dealings, and he was a Calebite), The
word means foolish, senseless, fool and when one reads the story of Nabal they
will see that this man lived up to his name.
It is hard to believe that a family in Israel would name his son this
name, for that would be like naming a son “fool” in our language.
In the book of Proverbs there are different Hebrew words
translated “fool” and so let us take a look at a number of verses with that
word in it and then look at the Hebrew word that is translated fool. “Pr 7:22 Suddenly he follows her As an ox
goes to the slaughter, Or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool.” The following is what this word “Fool” means “1)
be foolish, foolish 1a) (subst) 1a1) of one who despises wisdom 1a2) of one
who mocks when guilty 1a3) of one who is quarrelsome 1a4) of one who is
licentious”
Next we look at “Pr 10:18
He who conceals hatred has lying lips, And he who spreads slander is a fool.” Here is what this word translated fool means:
“1) fool, stupid fellow, dullard, simpleton, arrogant one.”
Now let us go back to our verse in the book of Jeremiah
and talk about what this verse means. It
was during this time that the rich were exploiting the poor and the courts were
doing nothing about it “"For from the least of them even to the greatest
of them, Everyone is greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest
Everyone deals falsely.” (Jeremiah
6:13)
Dr. Wiersbe writes the following to help us understand
about the partridge: “Jeremiah quoted a familiar
proverb about the partridge, who is supposed to hatch eggs she didn’t lay and
have the brood desert her—a picture of wealth deserting the rich people who
unjustly acquired it. What good would
their wealth be when the judgment of God fell on the land?
We will look at the remaining verses from the 17th
chapter of Jeremiah in our next SD.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: The Bible has a
lot to say about money and as I think about that I can truthfully say that
there have been times when I have done some foolish things with the funds that God
has entrusted me with, however God has graciously forgiven me and has taught me
things from those foolish mistakes that have brought glory to His name.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Perhaps we could say that the opposite of
being foolish is being wise and in being wise I must be wise in the ways of the
Lord. I spoke about this in yesterday’s
SD, but I want to repeat it in today’s SD.
The following will be a quote from Richard Strauss:
“The Recognition of God’s Wisdom”
“How do we know whether the wisdom we are exercising is
from God or from men, whether it is divine wisdom or human wisdom? One way will be to compare it to the truth of
God’s Word. His wisdom will always be
consistent with all of His Word. But
there is one special passage in the Word that tells us particularly how to
identify God’s wisdom: ‘But the wisdom
from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and
good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy’ (James 3:17). Here is the acid test.
“First, God’s wisdom is pure, unmixed with error, untainted by immorality, unclouded by
selfish motives, cleansed of all personal ambition. If we are looking out for our own interests, we are probably operating
by man’s wisdom rather than God’s.
Secondly, God’s wisdom is peaceable, not quarrelsome, contentious, or
cutting, but promoting the harmony and peace that draws people together. If our words or actions are arousing antagonism in others, we are
probably operating by man’s wisdom rather than God’s. Thirdly, God’s wisdom is gentle, that is, fair, moderate, forgiving, forbearing, and
considerate in the demands it puts on others.
If we are putting
pressure on others to conform to our way of thinking, we are probably operating
by man’s wisdom rather than God’s.
Fourthly, God’s wisdom is reasonable,
easy to be entreated, not stubborn or inflexible, but pliable and willing
to listen to reason. If we have already made up our
minds and refuse to be influenced by any more acts, we are probably operating
by man’s wisdom rather than God’s.
“Fifthly, God’s wisdom is full of mercy and good fruits.
It shows genuine concern and extends practical help toward others in
need, even when they have wronged us.
Sixthly, God’s wisdom is unwavering,
not hesitant or vacillating, but standing firm on Biblical principles,
undivided in allegiance to God and consistent from day to day. And finally, God’s wisdom is without hypocrisy. When we are operating by God’s wisdom we do
not wear masks, play roles, or deceive people by putting on a good front. We do not try to conceal our true thoughts, feelings, or motives in
order to make ourselves look good or to accomplish our own ends. We are open, honest, and straightforward.
“Here is God’s standard for measuring His wisdom. When we begin to get our wisdom from Him, our
homes will be happier, our lives more effective, and our God greatly
glorified. And there is really no time
to lose. As the Psalmist put it, ‘So
teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom’ (Psalm
9-:12 KJV).”
Memory verses for the
week: Philippians 2:5-10
5 Have this attitude in
yourself which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form
of God did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied
Himself, taking on the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness
of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a
man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death
on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God
highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10
so at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on
earth and under the earth,
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Queen of Sheba” (1 Kings 10:1).
Today’s Bible
question: “Name the books of the Law.”
Answer in our next SD.
3/28/2014 10:14 AM
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