Strength is not tested or demonstrated during times of ease. Rather, it is during times of adversity that one finds out just how strong he is.
Sin demands atonement. Atonement puts God and man at one. When atonement is made man is cleansed and forgiven. In other words, things are made right.
In many ways, sin is simply sin. However, sins carry varying weights or repercussions. In fact, the Bible testifies that some sins are greater than others.
Most people assume the Lord’s actions are motivated almost solely because of His love for man. Yet, God works for His own glory and for His own name’s sake.
Murder is an act of hatred originating in the heart. Man, however, is not the inventor of murder. It is, in fact, the will and work of Satan.
When speaking of anger, the scripture uses descriptive terms that could equally be applied to the truths concerning fire. In doing so, the Bible makes a connection that can help believers gain a better understanding of the benefits or dangers of anger. According to scripture, anger can be kindled, a term used to describe the starting of a fire (Exodus 4:14; Numbers 11:1; Deuteronomy 32:22; Jeremiah 15:14), either a little (Psalm 2:12) or greatly (Numbers 11:10; 1 Samuel 11:6). The Bible also describes anger as waxing hot (Exodus 32:19), another connection to fire. These similarities are by divine design. As is true concerning fire, anger can be useful and productive, but it can also be destructive and harmful, especially when it gets out of control.
When true worship gets blended together with amusement, it yields varying types of worldliness and idolatry. In Exodus chapter 32, the children of Israel observed a “feast to the LORD” at the same time that they “rose up to play.” As men begin to grow increasingly cold and indifferent toward the Lord and His ways, they will seek ever more imaginative ways to make spiritual worship appeal to the flesh. This is often accomplished by uniting pleasure and worship. In an effort to keep people interested in the worship of God, churches add comedic relief, drama, carnal music, and a host of other worldly amusements. In doing so, the worship of God gets corrupted and becomes nothing more than idolatry or false worship.
Rebellion is identified in a variety of ways, but the Lord often associates it to someone with a stiff neck. Society should find this concept easily grasped. A stiff neck impedes the head from bowing. Moses directly associated the stiff neck with rebellion when he said, “For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck” (Deuteronomy 31:27). Like Moses, the Lord identified the rebellion of the children of Israel when He stated that they were “a stiffnecked people” (Exodus 32:9). Isaiah likewise attested to this truth by stating that rebellious people had a neck of iron sinew and a brow of brass (Isaiah 48:4). These descriptive terms demonstrate that rebellion is exemplified by an individual who refuses to bow and allow the mind to be changed. He has an unyielding spirit.
When a problem presents itself, it is very important for man to consider the root of the problem. In scripture, the Lord would often accomplish this through inquiry. Before entering the garden, the Lord of course knew what had taken place. Yet, the first thing the Lord did was to ask Adam where he was. The Lord did this not to locate Adam, but He knew that Adam needed to get to the root of the problem. Adam did acknowledge what transpired to bring about the current problem but failed to take personal responsibility for the problem. When a problem presents itself, man should take the time to seek the cause of the problem. He should do so by willingly taking personal responsibility.
In Bible times, the greatest form of defence for a city was to remain strong and surrounded by high walls. If a people group or nation had high walls and a strong city, they were extremely difficult to conquer. During these times, the barriers were imperative for a strong national defense. The Lord considered this scenario as an appropriate picture to demonstrate the state of an offended brother, resulting from contention. The Lord likens this contention to the bars on a castle. Even if the enemy were capable of getting into the strong city, other obstacles existed making it impossible to break through to its core. These included the bars erected to avoid someone from entering the castle. In like manner, contention makes it almost impossible to break through to the heart of an offended brother.
