It is interesting to note that this proverb uses “house” when referring to the wicked, and “home” when referring to the righteous. The clear implication it that only the righteous truly have a home; the wicked merely have a place where they live.
When we cry to God for help we need to be honest with ourselves and with God. God has examined our hearts and tested our thoughts. He knows what we truly think and feel. We may convince ourselves of the lies we tell, but God will not be fooled. However, if we are honest when we pray to God, He will answer our prayers. Let us follow His commands because He has given them to us as expressions of His unfailing love. If we follow the path He has laid out for us, we will be kept safe from our enemies.
Jesus explained to His disciples that He taught in parables because only some are allowed to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the NIV, verse 12 reads: “Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” I have struggled to understand what He meant by this. The NLT translates verse 12 in the following way: “To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”
The NLT reading makes Jesus’ meaning clear to me. Those who listen to Jesus’ teaching with the intent to understand it, will find more and more of it becoming clear as time goes on. On the other hand, those who listen to Jesus’ teachings with the intent of discovering its flaws will find it to make less and less sense and time goes on. In addition, the latter group will, over time, find themselves less and less able to recognize the difference between good and evil.
When Joseph was young he was his father’s favorite and dreamed of great things. He was convinced that those dreams were visions, and we know that they were indeed visions from God. His pride in the visions which God has given him lead to his downfall and he is sold into slavery by his brothers. He ends up in Potiphar’s house in Egypt. He does not forget his dedication to God and rises to high position in Potiphar’s house. This time it is his very faithfulness to God which leads to his downfall. He is imprisoned for a crime which he did not commit.
Despite this, Joseph remains faithful to God. Once more, Joseph’s faithfulness and integrity lead him to rise to the highest possible position. Despite the fact that he has risen to positions of authority time and again, Joseph takes no credit for his success. Rather he credits God for his skill and wisdom. It was Joseph’s continued faithfulness to God that put him in a position to raised to the highest level in the land when God’s time was right. We would do well to follow Joseph’s example. If we are faithful to God and maintain our integrity, He will open ever greater opportunities for us to serve Him.
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. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. My work schedule has recently changed, meaning that I may not have time every day to complete these. As a result, I am trying to get several days ahead. I hope this does not negatively impact the quality of these posts (if that is possible). If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
When Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt he came into the house of Potiphar, a powerful and influential man. Joseph was faithful to God and God was with him. As a result, Joseph quickly rose in Potiphar’s household, until he was in charge of everything. Potiphar’s wife soon began desiring Joseph and attempted to seduce him, but Joseph refused. Joseph told her that it would be wrong for him to overstep the bounds which Potiphar had set for him and that doing so would be a sin against God.
Potiphar’s wife continued to pressure Joseph until one day she caught him in a compromising position, or at least one which she could make appear compromising. Yet Joseph still resisted her advances. She used the circumstances to accuse him of attempting to do what he had refused to do. Once again Joseph ended up in a bad position. The first time he ended up in a cistern and sold into slavery because he had done the wrong thing (bragging to his brothers that they would bow down to him). This time he ended up in a rather nasty prison because he had done the right thing. I am not going to go into much depth about the rest of this passage except to point out that Joseph had learned from his mistake of bragging to his brothers. When he was called before Pharaoh, he emphasized that he had no power to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, but that God was capable of doing so.
This passage reminds us of how important it is to remain faithful to God in the face of sexual temptation. It also reminds us of the price we may sometimes pay for that faithfulness. It is worth noting that in this story the woman is the sexual predator. Of course, before anyone goes thinking that the Bible singles out women as the ones who always initiate sexual sin, it is worth noting that it was Joseph’s older half-brother Judah who was guilty of sex with someone he thought was a prostitute at the end of yesterday’s passage.
Jesus told His disciples that they were permitted to understand His message but that a quote from Isaiah applied to many of those around them.
When you hear what I say,
you will not understand.
When you see what I do,
you will not comprehend.
The quote continues by saying that those to whom it applies closed their own eyes so that they would not see. When I see the people around me who intentionally misconstrue God’s word so that they can ignore His commands it makes me want to cry because I know that God is offering them healing for the hurt they are experiencing. I see people all of the time seeking for something more, yet rejecting God’s message. Jesus told us this would happen in this passage. I pray that God’s Spirit will change the hearts of those who can be made willing to listen. As I write this I think of several of my friends to whom this applies and my heart breaks for them because they will not listen. They refuse to turn to God and let Him heal them. I will continue to pray for them that God’s Spirit may touch their heart.
I always find this psalm a challenge. I know that when God has examined me that I have done wrong. Nevertheless, I am determined to not sin in what I say. I know that I shall from time to time fail in that determination. However, I also know that God will answer my prayers because I trust in the blood of Jesus. I pray that the day will come when the Holy Spirit will complete my transformation and I will be able to say that when God examines me He will find that I have done no wrong. In the mean time I am grateful for God’s wonderful grace.
These proverbs are fairly straightforward, the results of being wicked are indistinguishable from being cursed, while the results of doing what is right will be blessings. It will appear as if life itself is mocking those who mock others, while it will be gracious to those who are humble. The wise will be honored, while fools will experience shame.
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. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
When Joseph arrived in Egypt he was sold to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guards. God was with Joseph so that everything Joseph did prospered. When Potiphar noticed Joseph’s success, he gave Joseph ever more responsibility until Joseph was running Potiphar’s entire household. Joseph was successful because he behaved in a godly manner. His behavior resulted in good outcomes because that is what happens when one behaves in a godly manner. The same thing will happen with us, if we behave in a godly manner we will have success.
However, Joseph’s success did not come without a price. Potiphar’s wife noticed him and considered him a handsome man. She wanted to add him to her conquests. When he refused to accede to her requests she became insistent. He started to avoid her as much as he could. Until one day he was in the house with her alone. She approached him and grabbed his cloak and demanded he come to bed with her. He left his cloak in her hand and fled. Potiphar’s wife then went to her husband and accused Joseph of attempting to rape her. Potiphar was furious and had Joseph thrown into prison. Despite the mistreatment he received, Joseph continued to act in a godly manner. This once again led to Joseph receiving special treatment.
While he was in prison, Pharaoh’s baker and his cup-bearer were placed into the same prison. They were assigned to Joseph’s care. After they had been in prison for some time each of the men had a dream in the same night. When Joseph came to them the he saw that they were more unhappy than usual and he inquired as to the reason. They answered that they had dreams that seemed to have meaning but they did not understand them. Joseph tells them that interpretation belongs to God and asks them to tell him their dreams. The two men each told Joseph their dreams and Joseph interpreted them. Joseph told the cup-bearer that in three days he would return to Pharaoh’s favor and he told the baker that in three days he would be executed. Joseph asked the cup-bearer to mention him to Pharaoh and get him out of prison when he received his good fortune. However, the cup-bearer forgot. Two years later, Pharaoh had two portentous dreams in the night. Pharaoh sent for his advisers and magicians, but none of them could tell him what the dreams meant. At that moment, the cup-bearer remembered Joseph. He told Pharaoh that Joseph could interpret dreams. Pharaoh sent for Joseph and asked him to interpret the dreams. Joseph told Pharaoh that he had no ability to interpret dreams, but that God would give Pharaoh the answer he was seeking.
Notice that while the passage repeatedly says that God made Joseph successful in everything he did, Joseph still experienced hardship. The same will be true for us. If we follow God’s will, we will experience success. However, this does not mean that we will not experience persecution and suffering. Also, notice that when Joseph suffered misfortune, he did not rant and rave against God. Instead, he remained faithful even though time and again circumstances went against him and he experienced suffering.
Today’s passage includes the parable of the sower. After Jesus tells the parable, His disciples ask Him why He speaks to the people in parables. Jesus gives them an interesting answer. He tells them that He speaks in parables because the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven are given to His disciples not to the people in general. He goes on to quote an Old Testament passage. First He tells them that He speaks to them in parables because:
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”
Then He goes on to quote from Isaiah where Isaiah says that the people hear but do not understand and see but do not perceive. Isaiah goes on to say that their hearts have become calloused, they barely listen and do not look. Otherwise they might see, hear, understand and turn and God would heal them. Neither Isaiah nor Jesus say that God did this to the people. This is something the people did to themselves. People do not see because they choose not to see. They do not hear because they choose not to hear. People do not understand because they do not want to understand. If people truly listen, look and seek to understand God’s will, they are able to do so. If they do seek to hear, see and understand God’s will, they will turn from their sins and God will heal them.
After saying this Jesus explains the parable of the sower. He tells them that some people hear God’s word but do not understand it. When this happens, the evil one snatches it away from their hearts before it ever has an opportunity to take root. This is the seed sown on hard ground (the path), people who resist the idea of needing God. Other people hear the word and embrace it, but they never take it into the depth of their being and when trouble arises because of the word, they fall away. These are the seed sown on rocky soil, people who want everything to be easy. Still other people embrace the word but get caught up in their daily life and do not nourish the seed. The worries and concerns of their daily life choke out the seed as it grows and they do not bear fruit. This is the seed cast among the thorns. The final group are those who embrace the word and understand it. They produce a crop many times what they receive. I sincerely hope I am in that last group but I fear I am in the third. I wish to be faithful and serve God as He desires, but the various aspects of my life seem to keep distracting me. Once more I ask God to make me fruitful, to cause me to produce His fruit.
Fencers Lay On
O Lord, I know that You hear my prayer. You test my thoughts and examine my heart. I strive to walk in your paths and follow Your commands. Help me to speak only Your words. I have seen the wonders of Your love. I offer my prayers to You because I know that You will answer.
The wicked will find God opposing them and mockers will find themselves mocked, but the righteous and humble will find God on their side in all they do. The wise will be honored, while fools will be embarrassed.
