A messenger informs ninety-eight year old Eli that his two sons have been killed in battle and that the ark of God has been taken. At the news of the taking of the ark of God, Eli falls off his chair, breaks his neck, and dies. The shock of the news sends Eli’s pregnant daughter-in-law into labor, and she gives birth to a son. Before she dies, she names her son Ichabod saying, “‘The glory has departed from Israel!’ because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.”

The Philistines learn that you can’t disregard the Lord and take the ark of God with no repercussions. The Lord sends a plague upon the Philistines inflicting them with tumors, which many theologians think are hemorrhoids, and rats cover the land. The Lord also decapitates their beloved false god Dagon. Since moving the ark of the Lord around for seven months and experiencing tumors and death everywhere the ark goes is a real pain in the rear for the Philistines, the Philistines decide to return the ark. They inquire of their priests and diviners who tell them to load the ark on a cart with a trespass offering of five golden tumors and five golden rats representing the five Philistine rulers – “Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, from your gods, and from your land.”

The cows, miraculously guided by the Lord, pull the ark back to Israel to the field of Joshua at Beth Shemesh. After a mishap there related to mishandling the ark, the people of Beth Shemesh have the ark of God taken to Abinadab’s house in Kirjath Jearim and consecrate his son Eleazar to keep the ark of the Lord. It will remain there until King David brings it to Jerusalem later in the story.

The prophet Samuel is now serving as judge and priest of Israel. Twenty years after the ark is in Kirjath Jearim, Samuel tells the people, who continue to slip into idolatry, to “return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” When the people repent inwardly with their hearts and then outwardly by turning from foreign gods, the Lord provides victory over the Philistines.

“Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.” Since Samuel’s sons were corrupt and wicked, similar to Eli’s sons, the people ask Samuel to give them a king like the nations around them. God tells Samuel to give the people what they want “for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.” However, the Lord instructs Samuel to warn the people about what will happen when they have a king. God says the king will take your sons, take your daughters, take your fields, take your grain and vintage, take your servants, and take your livestock. That’s a lot of taking. But the people don’t care. They still want a king. 

Tomorrow the Lord gives the people what they want. Keep reading. (1 Samuel 4:12-8:22)

While in Shiloh at the tabernacle, Hannah cries and prays to the Lord for a male child. She makes a vow to the Lord saying that if He will give her a son, she will dedicate him back to the Lord as a Nazirite. Eli, the high priest, saw her lips moving but heard no sound and assumed she was drunk. Sometimes hurting women are misunderstood, even by the leaders in the church. But Hannah, whose hope is in the Lord, responds graciously and once she explains herself, Eli says, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant you your petition which you have asked of Him.” So Hannah “went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” 

Hannah bears a son and names him Samuel which means “God has heard” in Hebrew. Once Samuel is weaned, she brings him to Eli in the house of the Lord at Shiloh where they give their offerings to the Lord. Hannah says, “For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord, as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” Then Hannah prays a beautiful prayer magnifying the Lord. It is much like the prayer Mary will say when she is pregnant with our Savior (Luke 1:46-55). Hannah’s prayer begins with – “My heart rejoices in the Lord; My horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.” I imagine Hannah is thinking about that mean church girl, Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah. When our eyes are fixed on the Lord, we can smile in the face of our enemies, knowing that “the Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash of heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory.”

Eli’s own sons, Hophni and Phinehas, “were corrupt; they did not know the Lord.” Not everyone who is in a position of authority in a church is a true follower of the Lord. Jesus will later tell us to “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). This sounds a lot like Eli’s sons because they are saving the best offerings to the Lord for themselves and sleeping with the women who come to worship at the tabernacle. The Lord does not take this lightly. In His own timing and in His own way, He will deal with all the wolves in sheep’s clothing, just like He does with Eli’s sons in today’s reading. The Lord tells Eli regarding his two sons, “in one day they shall die, both of them. Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.” We will see partial fulfillment of this promise through Samuel, but the final fulfillment will come through the ultimate High Priest Jesus Christ. 

“So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord. Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord. And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.”

During a battle against the Philistines, “There was a very great slaughter… the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.” Tomorrow Eli receives the bad news about his sons and the stolen ark. Then the Philistines become extremely eager to return the ark. Keep reading to find out why. (1 Samuel 1:9-4:11)

“Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth” (Ecclesiastes 7:2-4).

What Solomon is saying sounds nothing like what the world teaches. The world teaches us that we all deserve to be happy all of the time. However, Solomon says “Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason” (Ecclesiastes 7:7). See, the Lord doesn’t want us to trust in our own capabilities; instead He wants us to trust in Him. God knows when everything is going great and we are experiencing nothing but pleasure, we tend to forget our need for Him just like the Israelites did when they entered the promised land. Therefore, the Lord uses oppression in this world to draw people toward Him as we saw Him do in the Judges Era, and as He continues to do throughout the entire Story, even today. Solomon explains how the Lord is sovereign over both our pleasure and pain:

• “Consider the work of God; for who can make straight what He has made crooked? In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, so that man can find out nothing that will come after him” (Ecclesiastes 7:13-14).

The Lord desires for His people to walk by faith, trusting that He is good, and that His Word is true; and He often uses pain and suffering to teach His people. At the end of the Israelites forty years of wandering in the wilderness Moses said to the people – “And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:2-3). 

Moses went on to warn the people not to forget the Lord or His Word when they enter the promised land and become prosperous – “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth’” (Deuteronomy 8-11-17).

“And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 8:18-20).

Solomon, like Moses, also exhorts us to fear the Lord and walk in His ways so that it will go well for us – “Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God” (Ecclesiastes 8:12-13).

The Lord saved the Israelites out of Egypt and trained them in the wilderness to walk in His ways so that they would be set apart as His people. The Lord wants His children to live lives of hope in Him so that we might shine brightly in this dark world drawing others into the light, into a relationship with Jesus Christ. God does not promise us a life without pain and trouble; but he does promise to be with us through the struggle just as He was with the Israelites through their difficult journey in the wilderness before He brought them into the promised land. And God also promises to bring us into a better land, the land of the living as David wrote about in his psalm – “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:13).

“In this land of the dying, it is our blessedness to be looking and longing for our fair portion in the land of the living, whence the goodness of God has banished the wickedness of man, and where holy spirits charm with their society those persecuted saints who were vilified and despised among men. We must believe to see, not see to believe; we must wait the appointed time, and stay our souls hunger with foretastes of the Lord’s eternal goodness which shall soon be our feats and our song.” ~ Charles Spurgeon 

Tomorrow concludes the Kingdom Era and we begin the Divided Kingdom Era, so keep reading.

(Ecclesiastes 7:1-11:6)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

“I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:12-14).

The Lord designed us to long for a relationship with Him. He never intended for anything in this world to fully satisfy us. That is why Solomon says it is a burdensome task trying to seek fulfillment in this world. As the French philosopher Blaise Pascal once said, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made know through Jesus Christ.”

Therefore, after his pursuits of searching for meaning through wisdom, pleasure, and wealth, Solomon concludes today that it is all “vanity and grasping for the wind”. If our eyes are on the physical and not the spiritual, then all is futile because nothing in the physical world has eternal value. But when Solomon raises his sights and focuses on the Lord, then he sees the eternal:

• “I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God. I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him. That which is has already been, and what is to be has already been; and God requires an account of what is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:12-15).

If we live in light of eternity, we know there will be a day when the Lord will judge, or require an account, of our past deeds. If we are only focused on what we can see under the sun, it may appear that the wicked will never be held accountable for their evil acts. When Solomon looks at injustice and oppression under the sun, he finds no hope:

• “Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: and look! The tears of the oppressed, but they have no comforter— On the side of their oppressors there is power, but they have no comforter. Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, more than the living who are still alive. Yet, better than both is he who has never existed, who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 4:1-3).
• “If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them” (Ecclesiastes 5:8-9).

There is no everlasting hope or pure justice to be found under the sun because we live in a fallen world where evil is rampant. However, there is always way more going on behind the scenes in the spiritual realm than the eye can see. Jesus Christ, the Son who is in control of everything under the sun, the ultimate High Official who watches over all, our Lord and Comforter, will one day serve justice to all just as Solomon says – “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work” (Ecclesiastes 3:17). 

The Lord sees all and He will serve justice to the wicked and save the righteous through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus will be the judge who judges the nations in righteousness:

• Jesus is Judge – “The father judges no one but has given all judgement to the Son” (John 5:22).
• Jesus judges the nations – “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31-32).
• Jesus judges righteously – “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).

So when we see all the anger, hate, and injustice in the world and our hearts break; we can hit our knees in prayer to the One who sees, to the One who is in control, to the One who changes hearts, and to the One who will ultimately serve justice to the wicked and save the righteous in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. 

Tomorrow Solomon teaches us that mourning is better than laughing. Keep reading to learn why.

(Ecclesiastes 1:12-6:12)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

”But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.’ Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.”

Because of Solomon’s disobedience and unfaithfulness to the Lord, the Lord tells him that He is going to tear ten of the twelve tribes out of the hand of his son Rehoboam, whom we will meet soon, and give them to his servant Jeroboam – “However, I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”

When the prophet Ahijah approaches Jeroboam, he tells him that God is tearing ten tribes away from Solomon and giving them to him because Israel has forsaken the Lord. However, the Lord will give one tribe to Solomon’s son “that My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there.” Then the Lord gives the same promise to Jeroboam that he gave to David and Solomon – “So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel. Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you. And I will afflict the descendants of David because of this, but not forever.”

When Solomon hears about the promises made to Jeroboam, he tries to kill Jeroboam. So Jeroboam flees to Egypt until the death of Solomon. Solomon dies in today’s reading. Jeroboam will soon return from Egypt now that Solomon is dead, leading us into the Divided Kingdom Era. But first we are going to read one of Solomon’s writings from his later years, the Book of Ecclesiastes. 

Now Solomon was the wisest and wealthiest person alive with endless amounts of resources, and he set out to find happiness in the best that the world could offer. Solomon looked for meaning and purpose through wisdom, wealth, accomplishments, labor, pleasure and possessions, and time after time he says it is meaningless, all is vanity. 

Solomon makes this statement – “That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, ‘See, this is new’? It has already been in ancient times before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after” (Ecclesiastes 1:9-11).

Solomon is correct! Everything under the sun is fleeting and meaningless apart from a relationship with the Son, Jesus Christ. So where Solomon says there is nothing new under the sun, that is not true for those in Christ, for the Lord is the God of Creation and He makes all things new – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

And where Solomon says there is no remembrance of former things nor will there be remembrance of things to come, that is also not true for those in Christ. The Lord is later going to say – “remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’” (Isaiah 46:9-10 ). Nothing can stop the Lord’s plans and purposes and they will stand the test of time just as we see all throughout the Scriptures. So we can rest assured that the vision John has at the end of this Story, the vision of the end of times when Jesus will one day return and make all things new, will also come true – “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more…And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’ And He said to me, ‘It  is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death’” (Revelation 21:1,5-8 ).

This is why Solomon will come to the conclusion at the end of the Book of Ecclesiastes that all things are meaningless apart from the Lord – “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Choosing Christ as your Savior is the difference between life or death. We will all stand before the Lord one day. For those in Christ, you are a new creation and your sins have been paid for by the blood of Jesus but what account will you give for how you spent your days? Wasting time chasing temporary happiness from what the world has to offer, or living a life that is pleasing to the Lord… seeking truth through His Word, drawing close to Him in prayer, walking by faith and not by sight, being a light that shines bright in the darkness of our earthly days…

Keep reading.

(1 Kings 11:1-43, 2 Chronicles 9:29-31, Ecclesiastes 1:1-11)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Today we read the Song of Solomon also called the Song of Songs indicating that this might be Solomon’s best song. This book has been debated over the years. Some say it is an allegory of God’s love for Israel. Others say an allegory of Christ’s love for the church. Some say it’s a love poem between either Solomon and his Shulamite bride, or between a shepherd and a shepherdess.

At face value the song tells the story of a young man and woman looking forward to their marriage; and then the pleasure of a sexual relationship within the boundaries of marriage. The couple experiences separation in the story but ultimately they are restored back to each other. Song of Solomon emphasizes that sex is meant for marriages between one man and one woman. Couples that honor sexual boundaries and the marriage covenant honor the Lord and reflect their love for Him to the world. God uses the image of marriage as an illustration of His relationship with His people all throughout the Bible.

Later in the Story, Malachi will say to the Jews who have returned from exile in Babylon regarding marriages – “the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant. But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. ‘For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence’” (Malachi 2:14-16). And Jesus will be questioned by the Pharisees about marriage and divorce in an attempt to get Him to misrepresent the law. Jesus will respond saying that the Lord allows divorce under certain circumstances (Deuteronomy 24) because of our hardened hearts but it was never God’s intent for a married couple to separate – ”Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate… Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so” (Matthew 19:6-8). 

In the beginning of the Story, the Lord formed Eve and brought her to Adam saying that they should be joined together as one (Genesis 2:24). But then Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil bringing sin into the world. Now we are all born sinners trying to stay committed to another born sinner in our marriages for the rest of our lives. This is not possible without the Lord. 

God desires for us to show compassion, love, forgiveness, and restoration in our marriages which displays the character of Christ to the world. Paul will later tell the Christians, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:22-33).

Marriage is hard and the union only works well when both the husband and the wife are submitted to the Lord. It is easier for a wife to submit to a husband who is submitted to the Lord because she will trust his leadership. A man surrendered to Christ will seek His guidance in all aspects of his life and he will cherish his wife as Christ cherishes her. Therefore, it is important for both the husband and the wife to draw close to God and pray for one another as they walk together in marriage with the purpose of displaying to all the love Christ has for the church.

Solomon’s life is not a great example of preserving the marriage union. Many commentaries said that Solomon probably wrote this song earlier in his life because in Solomon’s later years he defiles the Lord’s design for marriage by acquiring a thousand women across the nations. As a result of Solomon’s disobedience, the Lord is going to tear ten of the twelve tribes from the hand of Solomon’s son and give them to Solomon’s servant Jeroboam. That’s up tomorrow, so keep reading. 

(Song of Solomon 1:1-8:14) 

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

“Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge; for it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; let them all be fixed upon your lips, so that your trust may be in the Lord; I have instructed you today, even you. Have I not written to you excellent things of counsels and knowledge, that I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, that you may answer words of truth to those who send to you?” (Proverbs 22:17-21).

True wisdom comes from a correct view of the Lord which can only be found in the Bible. Solomon tells us to apply ourselves in seeking wisdom so that our trust may be in the Lord. The more we seek to know truth through His Word, the wiser we become which leads to a greater dependency upon the Lord. 

Solomon also says that we are to know the truth so that we may answer to others. Having knowledge of the Scriptures gives us confidence to share our faith with the world. Later in the Story, Peter is going to say “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). 

Our hope is found in Jesus Christ and the truth is that we are all sinners in need of a Savior – “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Solomon says today that even “a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again” (Proverbs 24:16); because we can run to the Lord for restoration: 

• “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (John 1:9)
• “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it” (Philippians 1:6)
• “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10)

Although Christians will stumble, we are not defined by our stumbling. We are defined as saints because Jesus’ bloodshed pays the price for our sins – “So then you are no longer strangers or aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).

Therefore, Solomon tells us, “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day; for surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off” (Proverbs 23:17-18). We aren’t to envy unrepentant sinners who appear to flourish in this world. We are to fear God by submitting our lives to Christ and walking in the ways of the Lord, trusting and depending upon Him since we know there is much more in store for us than what this world has to offer. Everything that our human eyes can see will one day be gone but there is an eternal home awaiting those whose hope is in Christ. 

The Lord gave us His Word so that we may know Him and walk in freedom, not fear, just as Jesus will later say- “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciple, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

Tomorrow we read the book the Song of Solomon, so keep reading.

(Proverbs 22:17-24:34)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

In the beginning of the Story we learned that the Lord created us to work – “This is the history of the heavens and the earth… For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground… And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed… Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it” (Genesis 2:4-15).

Solomon knows the value of hard work and he warns against being lazy in today’s proverbs:

• “The lazy man will not plow because of winter, he will beg during harvest and have nothing” (Proverbs 20:4) 
• “Do not love sleep lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread” (Proverbs 20:13)
• “An inheritance gained hastily at the beginning will not be blessed at the end” (Proverbs 20:21)
• “The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to property” (Proverbs 21:5)
• “He who loves pleasure will become a poor man” (Proverbs 21:17) 
• “The desire of the lazy man kills him, for his hands refuse to labor, he covets greedily all day long, but the righteous gives and does not spare” (Proverbs 21:25-26)
• “The lazy man says ‘There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!’” (Proverbs 22:13)

Later in the Story, Paul will also exhort the Christians to work hard – “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). And when Jesus is sending out the seventy-two to share the Good News, He will say to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’” (Luke 10:2).

We will get to the Missions and Church Eras later in our reading, where Paul and Jesus are teaching us to go and do the work of the Lord, but if you are alive and following Christ this is your work. We are currently living in the Missions and Church Era and the same charge that Jesus gave his disciples applies to all Christ followers – “‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen” (Matthew 28:19-20).

The writer of Hebrews encourages us not to get discouraged from doing good works. Although we may never receive the applause or acceptance of man, the Lord sees all of our labor for Him and He will never ignore, dismiss, or forget it! “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:10-12).

Therefore, do not let discouragement stop you. Each day pray, seek the Lord, and – “Press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (Philippians 3:14).

One more day of proverbs and then Song of Solomon. Keep reading!

(Proverbs 20:1-22:16)

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