"Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death." - Proverbs 11:4
"Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me? ......
What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment? "
- Job 7:12,17,18
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We are back in our study of the book of Proverbs -we have looked at Pride, Perverseness and Transgression (chap 11, vs 1-3), and over Pentecost, were guided through the high mountains of difficult and abstract thought, that led us to - .... the existence, and Heart of the Trinity !! ... pure Oneness in thought, action, possessions, attributes across the three Persons, extended to Humanity as well!.... Wow... the air was wonderful up there!!!
[[We have created a separate category called Passover, Easter and Pentecost where you can find those articles.]]
Million $ Question :
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But what good is it to know these things? What on earth can any of this have anything to do with PRACTICAL living?
We ended last weeks post by acknowledging (with the apostle Paul), that the WHOLE creation is groaning in pain, longing to be delivered of this burden of sin/evil/worthlessness. And our spirits also groan ... - trapped in this world, we can almost echo with Job (the speaker in our second text this week)...
"Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling? As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:
----So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. ----
When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day. My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome. My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope. " - Job (7:1-10)
= saying ..." Lord, take me home now, I am so done with this world, and my miserable life in it! " ? Yes, that's what misery, or too much knowledge and wisdom can do to you.... you see the futility of it all like Solomon... and just long for it all to be over!
Million $ Answer :
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An infinite God, stoops to be concerned over both Humanity, and individual Humans (me, you, Job)... and is desperately concerned for their well being! His directives are for our spiritual benefit!!!
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Atheists laugh at the notion of :- a "man in the sky" looking at every mans thoughts and actions, (particularly what people do when they are naked), and who is a control freak that wants to own them completely!
In the second text we opened with this week, Job is asking God... 'Why are you so interested in ME? Why are You on MY/man's case? What benefit is it to you in any way, shape or form if I/Man am/is righteous? Why does your Spirit challenge me day by day, moment to moment when I do wrong?'
Sounds like they and Job, are coming at the same question from two different viewpoints. Atheists laugh at the notion of a God who cares, and Job is asking, ... 'what/why does He care? ... my life is like a shadow or a breath compared to Him.. and miserable as well...".
Look at verse 4 again. Riches, profit, day of wrath, righteousness, deliverance, DEATH! What a set of concepts strung together!
Riches, and profit... isn't that what the world is concerned about?
The commercial system of today is focused on share price, net revenue, quarter on quarter growth, increase in the bottom line!
That drives advertising (which drives a lot of what enters your eye gate via - TV, Radio, Internet), products (what is made, what you buy), trade logistics, political dynamics, and wars, lumber prices, gas prices, home prices, electronic chips.... there is a whole ecosystem around demand generation and supply for profit and riches..! (You can see the effect the pandemic has had on it)
Righteousness seems like such an abstract thing!
Its a spiritual attitude and seems to be of NO VALUE whatsoever in this world! It may actually be a handicap, because "nice guys finish last", "if you ain't first you're last... " , "its a rat race, and you better be a mean rat" , etc....etc. ... and for Job, its worse, because he --tried to be righteous all his life-- (God noticed)--- but still experienced misery!
The oldest known scripture in the world is the Aaronic blessing ----
"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,
The LORD bless {barak - adore,bless,praise} thee, and keep {shamar - hedge about with thorns} thee:
The LORD make his face{panim-countenance} shine upon thee, and be gracious {khaw-nan - bend to bless,condescend to be kind } unto thee:
The LORD lift up {nasaw - accept, advance, magnify} his countenance {panim} upon thee, and give thee peace {shalom - great peace and happiness}.
And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them." -- Num 6:22-27
-----It has within it, the notion that God "stoops to consider' the children of men to bless them! For God, " --SO LOVED-- the world...that He gave His only begotten Son".....------!!!!
This is the --pure water--- of God's Word from day 1.
He is concerned about individuals for their SPIRITUAL benefit, and rest assured, He is concerned about YOU! The whole Bible, with one voice, says that an infinite God CARES about individual persons (including Job and you), and His instructions are for HUMANITY's benefit. --- Make love not war.... feed the poor... be correct in justice! ---- for an individual, it says, walking in Truth and Grace is the way to WIN in this life!
Satan ---cannot change--- this water, but he -can- poison it by adding on top!
The purity of the righteousness of God is mixed with tradition, hate, confusion, lies, deceit, doctrines of works, crusades/jihads.... everything ... religious .... EXCEPT and BUT,
---LOVE our fellow man .... as we have opportunity... every day!-- EASY!!!!
NOBODY talks about this... because it will upset agendas, reduce church attendance, make people independent of a central religious body, deprive people of much needed income.... it makes us really really angry ! This is back to riches for profit.....
No, the righteousness that delivers from death is not even ours. It is the righteousness of Christ, that is credited to us, that takes away all fear of death.
It is a living and dynamic faith in a living and dynamic God that enables us to follow us directions even when they seem contrary to conventional wisdom.... because we see the intent and purpose of those instructions....and are able to judge wisely how to apply them in real world situations by the same Word!
The intent is to make us ONE in Values, Goals, Objectives, Possessions, Thoughts, Intents, with the Heart and Mind of God HIMSELF... so that we can live harmoniously with the Trinity forever! Hallelujah!
God is NOT a control freak---------, in fact, He has given His creation Free will, and a set of guidelines, that are GOOD, and HONORABLE, and JUST!
As we grow in spiritual maturity to be LIKE HIM, we become more and more ONE with Him in Spirit, seeing each person, not as an animated bag of flesh, but as a person with a soul... with infinite value... individually unique as a snowflake or fingerprint, and very very precious to Him ! How can we not love them as He does?
Contrast this with the attitudes and evil perpetrated by those that seek only their own short-term gain (there's that profit word again)... that cause all the evil and suffering you see around you.
Humans may be misguided and misdirected, but what about the maliciousness of an agency that manipulates them, that tramples on all that is good, and right, and true, even in the face of revelation of the truth?
The only just thing here is to let that agency face the full and unadulterated righteous WRATH of Gof against spiritual evil!
Worldly currency is no good in the spiritual realm. It is the spiritual currency of God's righteousness, in the person of Christ, that is the only legal tender in Heaven... and it is just and fitting that it be so!
Righteousness is not stupid. It is ---smart--- in this world to love, and be loved by those around you.
In the workplace, it is called "Emotional intelligence/EQ"... "ethics" "honesty", "integrity", "hardworking".. "respect for diversity", "servant leadership", "team culture"... ? ... ... huh........ seems like there is a lot of profit in being righteous, when it comes to serving the cause of PROFIT!!! ?
It is good for YOUR soul to reach out and bless others, just as it is in His nature to do the same thing.
These are riches that keep on giving long after the quick money has gone, and the fair weather friends departed! It is good to be honest to your employer and give them fair work for fair pay, even go over and above/beyond!
You just walk day to day in Grace and Truth, keeping on and just Trusting God to do -- what you can't-- ... and you will be amazed at the results, now, and in the life to come!
This Father’s Day, honor your father in Heaven by giving the only gift you or any free willed being CAN give to One who needs nothing… your willing obedience to His Good Word!
Hallelujah!