For today, One Year Bible Online links here. For those of you who do not read this every day, I was very sick last week and it affected my writing (I do not know if for the better or worse). While I am still taking antibiotics, I am otherwise feeling better. I thank those of you have been praying for me.
This proverb reminds us that quarreling is closely tied with sinning. If you start a quarrel because you trust your defenses, you are inviting disaster. If you attempt to win your quarrel using deceits and lies you will suffer as a consequence, even if you “win” the quarrel.
I will say that this proverb serves as a warning to me. I love to argue (as in debate…but debates are more formal), but this reminds me that it important to not allow an argument to become a quarrel. I strive to extract myself from an argument when my emotional investment in my argument starts to overwhelm my rational thought (or I observe the same happening to the other party).
I love this psalm. This psalm is one which we should teach regularly. God knows our every thought and action. Nothing is hidden from Him. He knows what we are going to do before we do it. He knows what we are going to say before we say it. He knows what we are going to think before we think it. There is no place, and no circumstance where God does not know what we are doing. When we do things which harm ourselves, it pains Him. And the final verse is my prayer
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Change my life so that those things in me which offend you are removed.
After Paul’s sermon many people asked Paul and Barnabas to speak about the topic again the following week. Many of those who had heard Paul speak followed them to continue the discussion. The following week, Paul and Barnabas attracted a large crowd. This led some of the Jews to be hostile to them and to seek to turn others against them. In response to the Jewish hostility, Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue and preached among the Gentiles. Many came to believe as a result. However, and here we have a warning, the Jews managed to stir up the influential religious women and city political leaders against Paul and Barnabas. The warning is against efforts to stir up hostility among those who strive to be righteous against people and groups on the basis of rumor and innuendo.
When they were chased out of Antioch in Pisidia, Paul and Barnabas went to Iconium, where they had a similar experience. They initially spoke at the Jewish synagogue, but some of the Jews were offended by their message and spread lies about them. Nevertheless, Paul and Barnabas were able to preach there for an extended period of time. Overall these two accounts remind us that we should be true to the Gospel message in the face of hostility. We should not change the message in order to attempt to respond to hostility to that message.
What I am about to write is not original with me. In today’s passage we have the account of three army captains and their men sent to arrest Elijah. The first two captains acknowledged that Elijah was a man of God, but believed that the king had authority over him nevertheless. The king had commanded Elijah to appear, so in their minds, Elijah was obligated to do so. They believed that their own authority, which derived from the authority of the king, was greater than Elijah’s authority, which derived from God. The third captain recognized that Elijah’s authority, because it derived from God, was greater than his own authority. The lesson here is that the government’s authority is subordinate to God’s authority. When the third army captain acknowledged that he had no authority, no ability, to compel Elijah’s actions, God instructed Elijah to accompany him. I think this is an important message for us today. The agents of the government do not have the authority to compel the agents of God to obey them. It gets more complicated when we consider whether the government has the authority to compel the agents of God. I will keep this topic in the back of my mind as I continue reading through the Bible to see what it says on that subject.