Tag Archives: 2 Corinthians 2:12-17

Daily Bible Study

August 28, 2015 Bible Study–Let Us Be a Fragrance Before God

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 22:7

    If you borrow money, you end up enslaved to the lender. Stay out of debt so that you serve only the Lord. If you find yourself in debt, pay it off as fast as you can so that you can free yourself to serve only the Lord.

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Psalm 42

    Do I, do you, long for God in the manner in which deer long for water? Deer desire water in such a way that predators often wait by watering holes for them to come get water. Of course that is because the deer must have water in order to survive. Do we need God in order to survive? Do we understand that we do?
    The psalmist gives us a reference which leads to another question for us to ask ourselves. His heart was breaking as he remembered a time when he gathered with God’s worshipers, singing for joy and giving thanks to God. Do we remember such times? If such times are in our past, but nor our present, why not? If you live in the U.S., there are almost certainly such gatherings going on near you. Join them and gain joy. Finally, the psalmist reminds us that we do not need to be sad and discouraged. Let us put our hope and faith in God. If we do so and praise His name, we will find our joy restored.

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2 Corinthians 2:12-17

    Reading this, I think about Paul’s metaphor of our lives being a fragrance rising up to God. When you smell pleasant odors you, generally, do not initially know where they come from. In the same way, others will not be exactly sure why they like, or dislike, us (more on that in a moment). They will just sense something about us. Paul tells us that, if we are serving God, those who are believers will find that pleasant (even if they are not quite sure what it is at the moment). However, those who are refusing to accept Christ will find that service unpleasant, similar to the smell of something dead. This is an important point to remember. We should strive to befriend the unbelievers in our lives, but despite our best efforts, if we are faithful many of them will find us unpleasant to be around.

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Job 28-30

    Job spends some time discussing how ingenious and industrious mankind is at finding metals and gems which we value. Yet, he tells us that no one knows where to find wisdom. He tells us that only God knows where to find wisdom. Job then tells us how we too can find wisdom. Wisdom is found in fear of the Lord and forsaking evil demonstrates understanding.

Daily Bible Study

August 28, 2014 Bible Study — The Smell of the Gospel

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 22:7

    Those who borrow become enslaved to those they borrow from. Let us strive to stay out of debt so that we are not controlled by anyone or anything other than God.

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Psalm 42:1-11

    Let us seek out God the way in which a deer, and other animals, will seek water. If we wander from God we will become depressed and downcast. Our enemies will have success against us. However, if we turn back to God and seek Him once more, if we put our trust in Him, He will rescue us and restore our joy. Others may question God’s existence, but if we praise Him, He will make Himself known to us.

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2 Corinthians 2:12-17

    The Gospel message is like an incense or a perfume wafting up to God. Those who have already accepted the Gospel will find it a tantalizing scent making them want to get closer. Those who are still living a sinful life will find it like the smell of rotting flesh, to them it will smell like death. Some of those lost in sin will realize that in truth the terrible odour is not the Gospel message. Rather the Gospel message is like the breath of fresh air that allows you to smell once more the odours to which you have become desensitized.
    The same is true of us if we live our lives faithful to that message. Those who have already been saved will be tantalized by our thoughts and comments, even before they know that we follow the Lord. Those who are immersed in sin will sense condemnation for their sins in our acts, even when we are completely unaware of their sins. Some will seek us out to learn how to escape from their sins, others will be convinced that we are self-righteous hypocrites. Let us speak God’s words with sincerity, allowing His Spirit to work through us. Thus bringing salvation to the former and proving the latter wrong.

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Job 28-30:31

    Wisdom is more valuable than any material thing we can possess, yet where can we find wisdom? We can dig gold, silver, copper and iron out of the earth. Animals can find all sorts of food, birds have great eyesight and can see small things far away, yet you will not find wisdom by tracking them to their goals. Look where you will and you will not find the place that is the source of wisdom. God is the only source of wisdom. Fear of the Lord is wisdom itself. If you want to possess wisdom and understanding fear the Lord and turn from sin.

Daily Bible Study

August 28, 2013 Bible Study — The Fear of the Lord Is True Wisdom

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Job 28-30:31

     Job speaks of how humans have learned to find precious stones and valuable metals by digging mines into the earth. These are treasures that no wild animal would have any idea were there, yet mankind knows to delve into the earth to retrieve them. Despite this skill at finding valuable things, mankind has trouble finding wisdom. Wisdom cannot be bought for any amount of money, yet is more valuable than all other wealth combined. The only place to find wisdom is from God. The fear of the Lord is true wisdom, and those with understanding will shun evil.
     Job recounts how respected he was before tragedy befell him. He tells how he used his wealth to help those less fortunate and advised those planning life changes. Then tragedy struck and now he is mocked by those whose fathers were not worthy to watch his flocks in previous times. Now, in his time of trouble, he receives no aid, despite the fact that when times were good for him he aided those in need.

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2 Corinthians 2:12-17

     Paul tells the Corinthians that when he was in Troas the Lord opened an opportunity for him. However, he did not have peace of mind because he had not yet heard back from Titus with word of how the Corinthian Church received Paul’s first letter. As a result, Paul traveled from Troas to Macedonia in an attempt to track down Titus.
     Paul then thanks God for taking him captive and leading him in a victory procession. The image Paul is using here is of the parades which Roman Emperors had where they led the captives from their victorious military campaigns through the streets of Rome. Paul then changes to yet another metaphor, that of the incense used by priests to worship various gods. He tells the Corinthians that God has been using him to spread the knowledge of God the way that the smell of incense penetrates all of the area around where it is burned. This scent is perceived by everybody, but not everybody perceives it in the same way. To those who are being saved the smell of that which Paul preaches is a wonderful scent to be greatly desired, but to those who reject God’s salvation the smell is that of death and destruction.

***

     This is a very short passage here today, but it highlights something we need to keep in mind. The very things about the Gospel that we, as Christians, find sweet and joyful are a source of discomfort and opprobrium to those who reject the Gospel. People who we as Christians find pleasant to be around will be viewed by non-Christians people to be despised and avoided in the same way that the smell of rotting meat is despised and avoided.

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Psalm 42:1-11

     The psalmist is experiencing a time of depression, but he tells us the answer to breaking out of depression. It is to seek after God the way that a deer seeks out water. When times are difficult and our enemies ask us, “Where is your God now?” we need to still put our hopes in God. He will not disappoint us. Even when we are discouraged we should seek after God, doing His will to the best of our ability. The psalmist is feeling discouraged, but nevertheless he acknowledges:

But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,
and through each night I sing his songs,
praying to God who gives me life.

This is the way in which we can overcome depression when it comes upon us. Praising God and seeking to follow His commands will lead us out from our depression and into the joy of the Lord.

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Proverbs 22:7

     Borrowing money results in a loss of liberty. The more in debt one is, the less freedom of action one has.

***

Daily Bible Study

August 28, 2012 Bible Study

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Job 28-30:31

     Job continues speaking in today’s passage. He discusses how man digs deep into the earth to recover precious resources. He tells us that despite mankind knowing where to find gold, silver, copper, iron, precious stones and other valuable resources, we do not know where to find wisdom. Wisdom is more valuable than all of those resources and yet no amount of them can purchase it. Only from God can we obtain wisdom. He is the only source of that precious commodity.

“The fear of the Lord is true wisdom;
to forsake evil is real understanding.”

     Job then tells us that before his trials began he was a pillar of the community. Everyone respected him and listened to his advice. He used his resources and power to help those in need, opposing those who oppressed the weak. But now, even those who everyone knows are no good dare mock him. People laugh when the “no-goods” harass him. His suffering is great and no one is helping him.

2 Corinthians 2:12-17

     Paul uses an interesting metaphor here. He says that believers are the fragrance of the knowledge of God to both the saved and the unsaved. This is a great metaphor because scents can be perceived very differently by different people. To some people a scent may be very pleasant, while other people perceive the very same scent as vile. So it is with us if we are faithful. Those who are saved perceive us as a pleasant fragrance, while those who are perishing perceive us as the smell of death. I think this is an important thing to understand. All too often, we as Christians become upset about the negative view that the world holds of Christians, but that negative view is inevitable because no one likes the smell of death. The unsaved will always have a negative view of Christians.
     Paul concludes this section by telling us that he preaches the word of God with sincerity. In this he is unlike so many who corrupt the word of God for personal profit. I think there are two warnings for us in what he says here. The first warning is to pay attention to the motives of those who preach the gospel and to be suspicious of the teachings of those who are profiting from doing so because they will often distort the gospel in order to increase their own profits. The second warning is to warn us against doing the same thing. Paul tells us that he preached the true gospel without distortion because he knew that God was watching him. This is a warning to us that we also should preach the true gospel without distortion because God is watching us. We should preach the gospel with sincerity and not for self-aggrandizement.

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Psalm 42:1-11

     The psalmist says that he thirsts for God in the same way that a deer thirsts for water. As I read this today, I realized that the psalmist was suffering from depression when he wrote this. The psalmist tells us that he remembered when his life was joyful. He associated with others who were worshiping God. He sang for joy and gave thanks. Now, he is discouraged and sad. However, the psalmist also recognized the cure for his depression. The cure was to put his hope in God and to praise Him once again. This is easier said than done when we are facing the demons of depression, but if we discipline ourselves to do so, it does work. We must remember to praise God when times are good and when times are bad. If we remember to praise God when times are good, it is easier to praise God when times are bad.

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Proverbs 22:7

     Another proverb that tells us that we should stay out of debt. I am convicted of this and will strive to get out of debt as fast as my finances will allow. There is more to this than that though. These passages are an indicted of my financial habits, but they are also an indictment of many Christians in this country. All too many of us are too willing to take on debt.