To be wise is to be under God’s “seeing eyes†of protection (v. 12). To be unwise and treacherous, even in what one says, is to be on a path that will end in frustration. The lazy person has all kinds of excuses for not wanting to work (v. 13). When no dangers or difficulties exist, he imagines them …
Here is a list of the priests who had agreed to divorce their foreign wives and to sacrifice a ram as a sin offering (vv. 18-44). Although putting these pagan wives away was a severe solution, it appears that it only involved 113 of the approximately 29,000 families. This list of …
This passage should be understood as an illustration of what happens in a life void of humility (vv. 11-12). In fact harsh criticism of fellow Christians is one of the worst expressions of pride. The person who does it sets himself above the person he criticizes and the div …
The key phrase in Deuteronomy 13 is, “Let us go after other gods†(vv. 2,6,13). The Israelites were warned not to listen to false prophets or to anyone else who tried to get them to worship other gods (vv. 2-11). Loved ones and friends can be especially persuasive. But love for relatives should not …
Micah opens this chapter by stating that many of the people lay awake at night thinking up evil things to do the next day. On these people he pronounced woe, a term used by several prophets to announce guilt and coming judgment (v. 1). In their life style of materialism, the pe …
Peter states that his goal in life is to use every opportunity to instruct others in the faith. One important function of any Christian leader is to remind his followers of basic Bible doctrine. Sad to say, many Christians are ignorant of these things and therefore do not live …
John closes out the Word of God with a threefold invitation to the unsaved (v. 17). (1) The Spirit says come, (2) The bride says come, (3) And we who have heard must say come …
Up to this point, the sign gifts seem to have been administered only by the apostles, but now we find Stephen, a newly appointed deacon, also demonstrating these extraordinary powers. Apparently his ministry was primarily among the Hellenistic Jews, referred to here as the “ …
It is far better to be poor and walk before the Lord in righteousness than to be wealthy and dishonest (v. 1). Integrity is far more valuable than wealth, but many people don’t act as if they …
The Word of God is very powerful. It is like a very sharp knife that cuts into our life and desires. It exposes us for what we really are (v. 12). Nothing in all creation can hide from Him. He sees everything that we do. He is the God to whom we must explain all that we have ev …