July 14, 2012

They Prophesy for Money (7/14)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Micah 1-7.

After condemning the rulers for oppressive taxation of the people (Micah 3:1-3), the Lord addressed the prophets who had the same “love of money” (cf. 1 Timothy 6:10) as the rulers. Money, rather than simply proclaiming the word of God, was the primary motivation for these prophets.

“Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe, her priests instruct for a price and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord saying, ‘Is not the Lord in our midst? Calamity will not come upon us’” (Micah 3:11).

Since their motivation was money and not truth (their claim that the Lord was with them and would protect them was false), these prophets adjusted their message depending on whether or not their audience would support them.
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July 13, 2012

Those Who Guide This People Are Leading Them Astray (7/13)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from 2 Chronicles 27; Isaiah 9-12.

“For those who guide this people are leading them astray; and those who are guided by them are brought to confusion. Therefore the Lord does not take pleasure in their young men, nor does He have pity on their orphans or their widows; for every one of them is godless and an evildoer, and every mouth is speaking foolishness. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away and His hand is still stretched out” (Isaiah 9:16-17).

God’s people were in a wicked and sinful condition. The Lord indicted the spiritual leaders of the people as being the ones who led them astray. The Scriptures show us repeatedly that those who teach and those who hold positions of leadership will be held accountable, not only for their own sins, but for how they have influenced others (Ezekiel 3:17-21; Hebrews 13:17; James 3:1). These leaders had led God’s people into apostasy and would have to answer to Him for it.
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July 12, 2012

"Woe to Those Who Are at Ease in Zion" (7/12)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Amos 6-9.

“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion and to those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria, the distinguished men of the foremost of nations, to whom the house of Israel comes” (Amos 6:1).

God was sending a message through the prophet Amos of the coming judgment against Israel. Yet these people were oblivious to the danger. They had other matters to focus on besides divine punishment for sin.
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July 11, 2012

Appalling and Horrible and the People Love It So!

At the time when Jeremiah prophesied, God was preparing to send Judah into Babylonian captivity in order to punish them for their sins (Jeremiah 1:14-16). But it was not just the common people that had devolved into a state of spiritual corruption. The prophets and priests were involved as well.

“An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority; and My people love it so!” (Jeremiah 5:30-31).

The inhabitants of Judah had learned to tolerate and celebrate sin. “Where they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; they did not even know how to blush” (Jeremiah 6:15). The prophets spoke lies and the priests followed their own rule. “For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for gain, and from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely. They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying ‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:13-14). Yet even as judgment was planned because of these things, God invited His people to repent and turn back to Him.
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July 11, 2012

“God Does Nothing Unless He Reveals His Secret Counsel” (7/11)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Amos 1-5.

As God revealed His message to the prophet Amos about the punishment that was coming to Israel, He made a point about prophecy and calamity that would be good for us to remember today.

“If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble? If a calamity occurs in a city has not the Lord done it? Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:6-7).

When a calamity occurs, is God the one behind it? When a tragedy strikes, is God trying to send some sort of message? People wonder about these things all of the time. As a result, they spend many hours speculating, wondering, and worrying over some message from God that they assume must be interwoven in the events of their life. So they try to figure out what God is trying to show them.
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July 10, 2012

The Parable of the Vineyard (7/10)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Isaiah 5-8.

“Let me sing now for my well-beloved a song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it and also hewed out a wine vat in it; then He expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only worthless ones.

“‘And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between Me and My vineyard. What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones? So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. I will lay it waste; it will not be pruned or hoed, but briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.’

“For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel and the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress” (Isaiah 5:1-7).

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July 9, 2012

Preaching Politics

Michelle Obama recently said there is “no better place” than church to talk about political issues. To some extent she is right. While not all political matters are worthy of our discussion in the assembly of the saints, those “political” matters that are addressed in the Bible will be taught by faithful men who are striving to speak as the oracles of God (1 Peter 4:11), proclaiming the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). Therefore, we speak where the Bible speaks, even on certain “political” topics. Some examples of such topics are listed below:
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