Those who ignore discipline and refuse correction are not only going astray themselves, they lead others down the path to destruction with them. On the other hand, those who exercise discipline provide an example that others will follow to life as well.
This psalm is a deep heartfelt cry to God. The psalmist is suffering great discouragement.People around him are challenging his faith in God. Yet despite this he continues to put his trust in God. He recognizes that part of the source of his discouragement and depression is that he allowed his faith in God to lapse.
When we begin to wander why God has forgotten us, we need to realize, as the psalmist did, that God did not forget us, we forgot God. The first step to escaping depression is to return to praising God. We may remember the joy we took in joining others in praising God, but do we consider that perhaps the reason we feel depressed is because we no longer do so? We say that we believe in God. Let us demonstrate the truth of that by joining with others in praising Him.
I had never noticed before that in this passage Jesus had gotten into an argument with the local Pharisees. It was in the context of that argument that they asked Him for a miraculous sign. They did not ask for the miracle to meet a particular need. They wanted Him to perform a miracle in order to convince them to have faith. Jesus did not perform miracles in order to convince people to have faith. Rather He performed miracles in response to people’s faith.
The first thing that struck me when I read this passage was verse five where it talked about giving a peace offering. As I read it I read it as, “When you make a sacrifice to show your love of God, do it right and don’t dilly-dally about it.” Decide what you are going to do, plan it out, and get it done.
The other thing I noticed is that there is a common theme that runs through most of these commands. I will list a few, then I will tell you what I see as the theme:
Do not steal.
Do not deceive.
Do not defraud.
Do not twist justice by favoring the poor..or the rich and powerful
There are a few more in there that are pretty important, but that list gives you a taste for the theme. The theme to me seems to be what Jesus called the second most important command, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” There are a few commands in this passage about practical agriculture, but the bulk either fall into clarifications of that one command or of the one which Jesus said was the most important, “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, and mind.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Some Pharisees came and questioned Jesus’ teachings. They asked Him for a sign from Heaven to prove His authority. Jesus responded that He would not give them a sign (yet He continued to perform miracles until the end of His ministry). This passage reminds me of when atheists today ask for proof that God exists. They will rarely if ever tell you what constitutes “proof” and then reject any proof you present. I believe that was the sort of situation Jesus was presented with here. He had been performing miraculous healing and feeding large numbers of people with small amounts of food, but these Pharisees wanted some other sign. They wanted some sign that they could not reject, yet had rejected the miracles He had already performed.
Jesus left that area with His disciples in a boat. The disciples forgot to bring food with them. While they were in the boat, Jesus warned them to beware the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod. They thought He said this because they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus then reminded them of the feeding of the five thousand and of the four thousand to show them that He was not talking about food. His comment about the yeast of the Pharisees is the other side of his parable about the Kingdom of God being like yeast. Someone can teach things that seem good but contain just a small bit of false teaching which will corrupt their entire message.
Mark recounts a story about a blind man that Jesus healed. Jesus touched the man once and he was able to see, but not clearly. Jesus touched him again and his sight was fully restored. Sometimes that is how it is with us. We are touched by God and start to see how He works in us and the world, but our vision of His will is cloudy. If we seek to follow His vision, He will touch us again so that our understanding of His will becomes clear.
Jesus asked His disciples who people thought He was and then who they thought He was. Peter said that Jesus was the Messiah. After this declaration, Jesus began to teach the disciples that He would die and be raised after three days. Peter, thinking Jesus was getting depressed, rebuked Him for thinking that way. Jesus told Peter that he was not seeing things from a godly perspective but rather from his own interests.
Jesus tells His disciples that they must take up their cross and follow Him. This would have been a very serious statement to His disciples. One took up one’s cross when the Romans were taking one out to be crucified. Considering that it was not long after this that Jesus was crucified, the author would certainly have included the suffering Jesus was about to undergo in what he understood this to mean when he wrote “take up their cross and follow me.” Jesus went on that if we attempt to save our lives we will lose our souls, but if we are willing to lose our lives in His service, we will save our souls. He completes this teaching by saying that if we are ashamed of Him and His teaching in front of men, He will be ashamed of us before the Father on judgement day.
Do I truly long for God? Do I seek with all that is in me to stand in His presence? When I seek God with all of my being, I overcome depression and am no longer downcast. When depression and fear rise within me, then I will put my trust in God. I will praise His name, the One who is my savior. God directs His love towards me and His song is within me. When I place Him at the center of my thoughts, depression flees from me and I experience joy. Others may look at my trials and ask “Where is your God?”, but I know that in His time He will make Himself known. I will put aside depression, seek God and praise Him.
Those who accept discipline and correction will improve their behavior and make their lives better. Those who refuse to listen to what others think they did wrong will constantly repeat the same mistakes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
