August 8, 2012

They Do Not Say, "Let Us Now Fear the Lord" (8/8)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Jeremiah 4-6.

“But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and departed. They do not say in their heart, ‘Let us now fear the Lord our God, who gives rain in its season, both the autumn rain and the spring rain, who keeps for us the appointed weeks of the harvest’” (Jeremiah 5:23-24).

As Jeremiah warned the people of the coming judgment from God, they were uninterested and saw no need to repent. They wanted to go their own way, so they departed from the Lord. They did not fear divine punishment for their actions.
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June 28, 2012

The Lord is God Over All (6/28)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from 1 Kings 20-21.

When Ben-hadad and thirty-two other kings besieged Samaria, they were defeated by a force which they greatly outnumbered. They had a theory as to why they were beaten so badly.

“Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, ‘Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they. Do this thing: remove the kings, each from his place, and put captains in their place, and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.’ And he listened to their voice and did so” (1 Kings 20:23-25).

These servants of Ben-hadad were partially correct. The Israelites were victorious because of divine intervention (though not from “gods,” but from the one, true, living God). But their theory that His power was limited to the mountains proved disastrous for them. Despite fighting in the plain with a massive army that vastly outnumbered the Israelites, Ben-hadad and his allies were soundly defeated again.
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June 3, 2012

The Beginning of Knowledge (6/3)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Proverbs 1-3.

The book of Proverbs is a book about wisdom. Wisdom, as we often point out, is the application of knowledge. So in discussing wisdom, we need to have the proper foundation of knowledge. But how do we begin to acquire knowledge. Solomon gives us a starting point:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

If we want to acquire the knowledge that will enable us to gain the wisdom that God desires us to have, we must have an appropriate fear of the Lord. There are a few reasons for this:
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May 28, 2012

"The Lord is For Me; I Will Not Fear" (5/28)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Psalm 111-118.

“From my distress I called upon the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me in a large place. The Lord is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me? The Lord is for me among those who help me; therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me.

“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes” (Psalm 118:5-9).

David faced many dangerous times in his life. During these times we can see that he put his trust in God and relied upon Him for help and strength. He called upon God, and the Lord protected him from those who threatened.
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May 21, 2012

One Who Rules in the Fear of God (5/21)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from 2 Samuel 22-23; Psalm 57.

The “last words of David” (2 Samuel 23:1) begin with a statement he received from the Lord about those who rule over others.

“The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, ‘He who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God, is as the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, when the tender grass springs out of the earth, through sunshine after rain’” (2 Samuel 23:3-4).

The people who have a righteous, God-fearing man as their ruler are truly blessed. Let us consider a couple of points about this.
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May 9, 2012

Why Would Mephibosheth Fear? (5/9)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from 2 Samuel 8-9; 1 Chronicles 18.

When David determined to find who remained from the house of Saul so that he could show kindness to him, he was told of Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, one whose feet were crippled (2 Samuel 9:3). When David found out about him, he had Mephibosheth brought to him.

“Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, ‘Mephibosheth.’ And he said, ‘Here is your servant!’ David said to him, ‘Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly.’ Again he prostrated himself and said, ‘What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?’” (2 Samuel 9:6-8).

David’s response to Mephibosheth, telling him not to fear, suggests that Mephibosheth did fear the king initially. Why would he have reason to fear?
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February 3, 2012

They Saw the Egyptians Dead on the Seashore (2/3)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Exodus 13-15.

Following the tenth plague, Pharaoh finally consented to let the children of Israel go. But after they had departed, he changed his mind and pursued them. This led to one of the memorable events of the Bible: the crossing of the Red Sea. God parted the waters; the Israelites crossed on dry ground; the Egyptians followed; the water closed back up and destroyed Pharaoh and his great army.

“Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses” (Exodus 14:30-31).

God delivered the people from those that threatened them. Once God was through here, the Israelites no longer had to worry about Pharaoh. They could plainly see the evidence of the Egyptians’ destruction with their own eyes.
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