What if God was true, but on a limited basis? This would be a cause for great concern; however, this is quelled by the fact that He is both true and faithful.
After Christ removes the church, He will establish the time of Jacob’s trouble. After this, Christ will return as a thief in the night to make up His jewels.
Men rob God by simply withholding what God requested. This robbing takes on two forms: not giving what God has required or giving less than one’s best.
To steal is to wrongfully and selfishly take something that belongs to someone else and place it amongst one’s own possessions.
Nations are vulnerable and oblivious to their vulnerabilities! At any moment, the Lord could raise up a new nation or destroy one that currently exists.
Rebels are sometimes known as loners. Today’s scripture says that this trait can be attributed to their desire to keep their distance from righteousness. Many who would be identified by these terms do not disassociate from sin or sinners. Instead, they disassociate from truth and righteousness. Righteous thoughts and words have been known to melt the hard heart. They penetrate the rocky soil and begin to break down pride and rebellion. In order for a rebel to remain in his rebellion, he must keep a distance between himself and the truth. The very concepts of righteousness and rebellion refuse to coexist. Hence the battle rages: as the Lord works to draw man’s attention to righteousness, the Devil fights to keep man’s distance from it.
As Necho, king of Egypt, was on his way to fight against Carchemish, king Josiah of Judah came out against him for battle. Necho assured Josiah that the battle did not involve Judah and that the Lord had commanded him to make haste against the house of Carchemish. In order to turn Josiah’s intervention, Necho reminded Josiah that his intervention would be meddling with the will of God. Josiah refused to listen to the warning and meddled in these matters costing him his life (2 Chronicles 35:22-24). Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, expressed a similar statement when he told his peers that they should let the apostles alone lest they fight against God (Acts 5:34-39).
The book of Proverbs frequently incorporates the tools of comparison and contrast for the purpose of teaching specific truths. In today’s passage, a liberal soul is likened to one who waters. The passage also mentions that being made fat is likened to being watered. In other words, a liberal reaps the benefits of his own liberality. Proverbs chapter 3 also sets forth the principle of sowing and reaping as man is told to “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10). When a man with a sincere heart liberally cares for the Lord and His people, the Lord will return his liberality back to him.
The hypocrite lives for the present by seeking his reward from the praise of man (Matthew 6:2). He finds his greatest joy only when men shower him with the praise he so desperately seeks. According to scripture, this joy is only temporary. As soon as the hypocrite does something to gain the praise of man, he becomes jealous as he sees others accomplish greater feats. When the hypocrite loses man’s attention and praise, he becomes distraught and seeks more aggressive ways to win men’s lost admiration. Only those ignorant of God’s ways would want to live such a horrible existence! This life yields no lasting peace or joy which is the very outcome offered by God for those who live for Him and love Him. For the hypocrite, nothing remains constant. His standard is always changing and bar ever raising while the faithful Christian joyfully seeks to please the never-changing God (Malachi 3:6).
Many people suffer from gerascophobia which is the fear of growing old. Perhaps this condition is ultimately the fear of death rather than simply growing old, but other conditions indicative of old age cause people to fret. One of these concerns was expressed by the penman of Psalm 71. On two separate occasions, he requested that the Lord would not forsake him when he was old and grayheaded (Psalm 71:9, 18). The Lord knew the fears of man and promised, “even to your old age . . . and even to the hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you” (Isaiah 46:4). The thought of growing old should not bring fear or trepidation to God’s people. In fact, the Bible points to it as a blessing and one of the greatest blessings the Jewish people will experience in the kingdom (Zechariah 8:4).
