For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

Proverbs 22:16

    There is not much to be said about this proverb. Getting rich by oppressing the poor will end badly. The poor do not have much, so in order to get wealthy you need to oppress large numbers of them. At some point, they will realize that they outnumber their oppressors. On the other hand, the rich have a lot. attempting to gain wealth because you have gained their favor through gifts is a losing game. Each time you give them gifts to gain their favor, you will have to give more than the last time. Eventually, you will need to give more in gifts than you can gain from the favor thus curried.

Psalm 47:1-9

    Clap your hands, shout for joy as you praise the Lord. Let us be loud and exuberant in our praise. Let no one doubt who we worship and what we believe. All the earth is the Lord’s and He will bring every nation under His rule. We are not called to go about our business quietly with no one knowing Who we worship. Let us praise the Lord so all the world will know what great things He has done.

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:7

    Paul warns us against partnering with unbelievers. When I was growing up this passage was often presented as an argument against a Christian dating, let alone marrying, a non-believer. While this passage certainly does teach against that, that is not the main thrust of what Paul is saying. Paul is telling us not to make “common cause” with unbelievers in striving to accomplish our goals. All of our goals are subservient to spreading the gospel and serving God. Whatever goal we are seeking, we are seeking because it serves one or both of those purposes. Since non-believers are not seeking to further either of those goals, any place where they share a common goal with us will diverge from what we hope to accomplish. This does not mean that we are to fight them on issues where we agree, merely that we should not partner with them in attempting to achieve those goals.

Ecclesiastes 4-6:12

    People are often motivated to work hard out of envy of others. Sometimes the desire to have more than others leads people to oppress those around them. If you strive alone for material possessions for your own pleasure you will soon realize that it is meaningless and depressing. You are better off partnering with someone and working together with them. One person alone can be easily overwhelmed, but two people can help each other up and keep each other warm against the cold. Two standing together can withstand great hardship. Three are even stronger.
    When you come before God to worship, focus more on listening for His guidance than on requesting His aid. If we fear God and listen to His instructions, we will be less likely to have needs to bring before Him in prayer.
    When low-level officials are corrupt, do not be surprised to discover that such corruption goes to the highest levels of government. Every one with authority will use that power to serve their own interests. Unless higher officials hold low level officials accountable and low level officials hold high level officials to high standards corruption will run rampant. Those who love and seek wealth never have enough. They will seek and strive for more, losing it all in the end because we can take none of it with us when we leave this earth. Nothing we can do or say will have any meaning unless we do it to bring glory to God.

     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.

Ecclesiastes 4-6:12

     There is a focus on meaninglessness throughout the book of Ecclesiastes. I am not quite sure what to make of that focus, except to say that if we are not striving to serve God’s will then everything we do is meaningless. Nevertheless there are some good points about behaviors which are beneficial and others which are harmful to ourselves. In today’s passage the writer tells us that most people are motivated to work hard out of envy of others. He tells us that being idle leads to ruin, but that it is better to be satisfied with enough than to work even harder to get more. He points out that it is foolish to acquire more than one needs if you do not have any loved ones to pass it on to.
     The writer mentions the importance of having a companion to stand beside through thick and thin. He then goes on to say that a group of three is even stronger in the face of life’s problems. This strikes me especially since recently my wife and I have found ourselves forming a close friendship with a third person. As this friendship has become closer and we have found ourselves doing more together, our faith walk has become stronger and our lives have become more fulfilling. All three of us have attempted to include others in this group, but few of those who share our common interests share our faith and those who share our faith commitment do not share our common interests. As a result, we have become three who lend support to each other as we attempt to live our faith in our leisure activities.
     The final point which comes hits home to me out of today’s passage is the importance of spending more time listening than talking when involved in worship. But more than that, we should choose our words carefully rather than make rash promises which we may not be able to keep.

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:7

     Today’s passage begins with Paul telling us that believers should not partner with unbelievers. I have seen this most often applied to marriage, but I believe that it applies in other areas as well. As a matter of fact, it appears to me that Paul would have been shocked that anyone would have taken it that way (not because he felt it was OK for a believer to marry an unbeliever, but because he felt that it was so obvious that they should not that he couldn’t imagine why you would need to actually say it). Paul tells us that every believer is God’s temple and every unbeliever is a temple to idols. There can be no union between a temple of God and a temple of the devil. We cannot partner with unbelievers in order to accomplish shared goals, because we do not actually have any goals which we share with unbelievers. The goal of all of our actions as Christians is to glorify God.

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     Several years ago I knew some Christians that became active in trying to bring about social change in light of their Christian convictions. On one of the issues they were working on there were secular organizations which shared their view on that very narrow issue (but not on the reasons that issue was wrong). The organization they were part of partnered with those secular organizations to form an umbrella organization specifically targeting this particular issue. However, only a few short years later, I read a news article where the umbrella organization was supporting the entire agenda of the secular organizations some aspects of which were contrary to Biblical principles.
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     Paul goes on from there to discuss how when he was in Macedonia, he was feeling down from all of the difficulties and trials he was facing. However, just at the point when he was feeling the most discouraged, Titus arrived with news of how the Corinthians reacted to his first letter. This lifted Paul’s spirit and brought him joy.

Psalm 47:1-9

     The psalmist calls on everyone from every nation to praise the Lord. God is king over all of the earth. He will subdue all nations under the feet of His chosen ones. God gathers the influential from every nation together with the children of Abraham to worship Him (God’s definition of “influential” may not be the same as ours). Let us praise God because all of the rulers on the face of the earth belong to God (whether they want to or not).

Proverbs 22:16

     Those who oppress the poor in order to increase their own wealth and those who attempt to gain influence by giving to the rich will soon find their wealth is gone.