Servant – Praying Pint

53.b. Joshua. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.

Jos 1:7-8  Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Deuteronomy 5:32    You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

Proverbs 4:27      Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Deuteronomy 12:32    “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.

Proverbs 8:20      I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice,

Deuteronomy 29:9   Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.

1 Kings 2:3   and keep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn,

Proverbs 3:1    My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,

Psalms 1:2-3   but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Psalms 119:11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Psalms 119:15 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.

James 1:22   But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

“There is sure to be a right hand, there is sure to be a left hand, and both are probably wrong. There will be extremes on either side. I believe that this is true in ten thousand things in ordinary life, and also true in spiritual things in very many respects.” (Spurgeon)

Meditation, the familiarising ourselves with the ethics of Scripture, and with the hopes and powers that are treasured in Jesus Christ, so that our minds are made up upon a great many thorny questions as to what we ought to do, and that when crises or dangers come, as they have a knack of coming, very suddenly, and are sprung upon us unexpectedly, we shall be able, without much difficulty, or much time spent in perplexed searching, to fall back upon the principles that decide our conduct-that is essential to all successful and victorious Christian life. (MacLaren)

The Word of God read with a seeking and desire to know more and more of His Holiness, meditated upon, and thereby expressed in what we think, say, and do, requires our hearts and minds to have an intentional choice of focus – To Honor and Glorify Jesus Christ. There is so much busyness in life to pull us away from reading and meditating on God’s Word. We turn to the left and right many times a day because we have lost focus on our purpose to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. We follow paths left and right because the Word of God is void in our hearts and minds. We turn left and right because we have become lukewarm. We turn left and right because we lack discernment between that which is godly and holy and that which is worldly and fleshly. We turn left and right because we follow after those who lead us down wrong paths with their crafty words. We turn left and right because ……….. There are as many reasons as there are people.

What if the opposite were true

We stay on the narrow path because it honors and glorifies our Savior. We stay on the narrow path because we find hope and strength in God’s Word. We stay on the narrow path because of our love for God and His Word. We stay on the narrow path because we delight in His precepts and commandments. We stay on the narrow path because we hear the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit leading us and giving us discernment. We stay on the narrow path because our eyes have focused and fixed on Jesus Christ. We stay on the narrow path because we find peace, hope, love, joy, mercy, grace, strength, and rest.

There is much out there that will entice you and consume your time and try to pull you left or right of the narrow path of obedience and reliance on Jesus Christ. We choose to allow this to happen or not. It is sometimes an intentional choice where we are nudged by the Holy Spirit to read and study and think about God’s Word, and we choose to say no. Other times it is just because our lives have become so busy and consumed with other stuff it is just a by-product of neglect and complacency towards God’s Word. Either way, it is an intentional choice to read, study, and meditate upon God’s Word or not.

How are you living?

Mat 24:6-7  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

Mat 24:8  All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Mat 24:37  For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Mat 24:38  For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark,

Mat 24:39  and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

Mat 24:10  And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.

Mat 24:12  And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.

Mat 24:32  “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

Mat 24:33  So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.

Mat 24:36  “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

Mat 24:37  For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Mat 24:38  For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark,

Mat 24:39  and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Amos 6:3-6   O you who put far away the day of disaster and bring near the seat of violence?  “Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock and calves from the midst of the stall,  who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,   who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!

Luke 12:19    And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’

Luke 14:18   But they all alike began to make excuses.

Luke 17:26-28    Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man.  They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.  Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building,

2Ti 3:1-5  But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

Luke 21:34   “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

Romans 13:14  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

1 Corinthians 7:29    This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short.

31  and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

Mat 24:42  Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

Mat 24:44  Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Mat 24:46  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

The world will be found in the same condition that it was in the day of the flood. When the flood came, men were found “eating and drinking, marrying and given in marriage,” absorbed in their worldly pursuits, and utterly regardless of Noah’s repeated warnings. They saw no likelihood of a flood. They would not believe there was any danger. But at last the flood came suddenly and “took them all away.” All that were not with Noah in the ark were drowned. They were all swept away to their last account, unpardoned, unconverted, and unprepared to meet God. And our Lord says, “so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Ryle)

The Lord Jesus Christ is coming back. His return could be today. Are you looking for it? Are you living like He is coming within the next hour? Or, are you just living each day as if tomorrow will be the same as today, buying, selling, eating, working, etc…?

What is the application of these verses to our lives today? Surely we eat, sleep, work, buy, and sell as normal living requires. Imagine knowing the exact year, month, day, and time of the return of Jesus. Would you live differently than you are now? Would you stop neglecting the Word of God? Would you be less complacent in holy living? Would you think about what it means to live so that all of your thoughts, words, and actions honor and glorify Jesus Christ? Would you think different thoughts, speak different words, and would your actions be different? As the day approaches would you eagerly be telling others about its coming? Would you be giving less and less thought to worldly and fleshly desires? Would you be more kind, generous, loving, patient, humble, honorable, thankful, joyful with anticipation, rejoicing, praising, longing, and all in preparation for the return of Jesus your redeemer and savior?

If any answer to these questions is yes, are we living awake?

Think about how much of our time is consumed by cell phones, texting, Instagram, Twitter, Google, FaceBook, Rumble, ESPN, CNN, CMBC, etc…., not to mention what we consider leisure time. How much of this time is conducted with the ever-present thought that Jesus’s return could be within the next second?

It is so easy to be consumed with the busyness of living and the worries of today that the eyes of our hearts and minds are blind to living and eagerly watching and waiting for the return of Jesus.

Will He find you watching and living in such a way that reveals this anchored in your heart and mind?

Oh, that the Holy Spirit’s leading would be desired and listened to in our lives and guide us in how to live so that Jesus Christ is honored and glorified in all of our thoughts, words, and actions should Jesus’s return be within the next second or 100 years. There should be no difference.

He who has an ear, let him hear?

47.d. “Wilderness” – 11.j. “God Promises Judgment”

Num 14:20-25 Then the LORD said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”

We don’t understand the relationship between the eternal, sovereign plan of God and our prayers; but we know it is no game. God never wanted Moses to think of it as a game and wanted Moses to at least think that his prayers had directly affected the outcome: I have pardoned, according to your word! We should pray as if life and death, heaven and hell, would be decided by our prayers! God had brought them to the threshold of the Promised Land, but they rebelled against Him and did not enter – so God will send them back to the wilderness. (Guzik)

The Lord granted the prayer of Moses so far as not at once to destroy the congregation. But disbelief of the promise forbids the benefit. Those who despise the pleasant land shall be shut out of it. The promise of God should be fulfilled to their children. They wished to die in the wilderness; God made their sin their ruin, took them at their word, and their carcases fell in the wilderness. They were made to groan under the burden of their own sin, which was too heavy for them to bear. Ye shall know my breach of promise, both the causes of it, that it is procured by your sin, for God never leaves any till they first leave him; and the consequences of it, that will produce your ruin. (Henry)

In answer to this importunate prayer, the Lord promised forgiveness, namely, the preservation of the nation, but not the remission of the well-merited punishment. At the rebellion at Sinai, He had postponed the punishment “till the day of His visitation” (Exodus 32:34). And that day had now arrived, as the people had carried their continued rebellion against the Lord to the furthest extreme, even to an open declaration of their intention to depose Moses, and return to Egypt under another leader, and thus had filled up the measure of their sins. “Nevertheless,” added the Lord (Numbers 14:21, Numbers 14:22), “as truly as I live, and the glory of Jehovah will fill the whole earth, all the men who have seen My glory and My miracles…shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers.” (Keil)

It is so easy for us to see barriers and road blocks in our path and much harder to trust and rely on Jesus Christ when there is lukewarm commitment to things of God and neglect of His Word in our daily lives. One point that I want to make is about that first person who made an unfavorable report and stated fear of following what God ordained for them to do. This first person had no fear of God, no trust in God, and no reliance on God, and yet the others fell in line to his report and fear. If we listen to others fear and give it more credibility over our trust and reliance on God then surely we will follow their line of thinking. I see it all the time in those who spend much of their time listening to news media outlets and social media posts. They regurgitate the fear and hate they choose to listen too. How easily sheep are led by the dark opinions of others who have no thoughts about things of God or His holiness, glory, honor, power, sovereignty, strength, wisdom, plans, purposes, etc… I find no good coming from news outlets or much of the social media posts. A careful examination or review of most will tell you that it is garbage, opinionated, and filled with pride, lies, half-truths, and nothing wholesome.

Think about it. God’s Word is life, truth, and profitable for every day. It will lead a person to repentance, salvation, obedience, faith, and give strength, wisdom, power, hope, refuge, and continually feed the soul unto kindness, gentleness, and joy.

What is feeding your soul? What are you allowing into your mind? If you want to grow and honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all you think, say, and do, spend time in His Word with a hunger to do just that. Stop feeding it with what others think is important about worldly stuff.

46.q. “Wilderness” – 10.w. “The anger of the LORD blazed hotly”

Num 11:10 Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the LORD blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. Moses said to the LORD, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers? Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”

The childish weeping of the people not only angered the LORD; it also displeased Moses. This frustration drove Moses to God, and he complained that he could never meet the needs of so many people. Moses responded to God the way many of us do in a time of trial. He essentially said, “God, here I am serving You. Why did You bring this upon me?” It’s easy to say God did not bring this upon Moses – a carnal and ungrateful people did. Yet, though God did not directly afflict Moses with this, He ultimately allowed it. God allowed this for the same reason God allows any affliction – to compel us to trust in Him more, to partner with Him in overcoming obstacles, and to love and praise Him more through our increased dependence on Him and the greater deliverance He brings. For these reasons and more, God sometimes appoints affliction for His people. Understanding that the job of leading Israel was too big for Moses was good. It could lead him to rely on God, and not try to do the work apart from God. Moses could not bear all these people alone; God will do it in him and through him. In a sense, God wanted Moses to see his wretchedness – his inability to do what God called him to do in his own strength. As the Apostle Paul later learned, God’s strength is made perfect in weakness. (Guzik)

Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families,…. So general was their lusting after flesh, and their discontent for want of it; and so great their distress and uneasiness about it, that they wept and cried for it, and so loud and clamorous, that Moses heard the noise and outcry they made every man in the door of his tent: openly and publicly, were not ashamed of their evil and unbecoming behaviour, and in order to excite and encourage the like temper and disposition in others. The anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; because of their ingratitude to him, their contempt of the manna he had provided for them, and their hankering after their poor fare in Egypt, and for which they had endured so much hardship and ill usage, and for the noise and clamour they now made, Moses also was displeased; with the people on the same account, and with the Lord also for laying and continuing so great a burden upon him, as the care of this people. (Gill)

Do you ever find yourself complaining because of wanting something you don’t have or wanting more of something you do have? There are always things of this world that will entice us to covet them. There will be times that we aren’t tempted by it and other times out of the blue we are just acting childish before God with our selfish desire(s). We are told to make our requests to Go, but let us be sure they are in line with His will and purpose and our hearts are not seeking worldly pleasure over service to God.

43.x. “Wilderness” – 8.d. “Pay attention to all that I have said to you”

Exodus 23:13  “Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.

Joshua 22:5   Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Joshua 23:11   Be very careful, therefore, to love the LORD your God.

Psalms 39:1   I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.”

Ephesians 5:15   Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

1 Timothy 4:16    Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Deuteronomy 4:9    “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children—

Psalms 16:4    The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;

And in all things that I have said unto you, be circumspect,…. Or observe them, be careful to keep them punctually and constantly, even all that are delivered in this and the preceding chapters: and make no mention of the name of other gods; neither call upon them, nor swear by them, nor make vows to them; and, as little as possible, ever utter their names, and never with pleasure and delight, and showing any honour of them, and reverence to them, but with the utmost detestation and abhorrence. (Gill)

We hear of those who are popular and how they have found some sort of inner peace through following after some form of religion/god. This god they worship is not the God of heaven and earth but rather a manifestation of man’s attempt at creating a god that seems more to their liking. They replace God with whatever seems right in their own eyes rather than seeking their creator. For whatever reason, they deny the one and only true God and chase after another. They replace God with man-made god(s) and proclaim to their followers that this is the way to true happiness. The same can be said of those who are not popular that follow after the same foolishness.

God reached out to His creation. He spoke to them, did wonders and signs, and recorded His Word so that His creation might begin to understand and know Him. He proclaimed His holiness and mankind’s sinfulness. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem His creation, forgive their sins, and fill them with the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, He gifted His creation to live with ever-growing knowledge and understanding of His grace, mercy, and love. He offers peace, rest, comfort, courage, joy, hope, faith, love, kindness, gentleness, generosity, and patience. Denying or rejecting all of this will leave a void in a person that wants to be filled. People will try to fill this in every way possible, but apart from God, it is not.

Seek to ever-grow, understand, and know how to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all that you think, say, and do every minute of every day.

43.r. “Wilderness” – 7.y. “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people”

Exodus 22:28  “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

Ecclesiastes 10:20    Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king, nor in your bedroom curse the rich, for a bird of the air will carry your voice, or some winged creature tell the matter.

Romans 13:2-7   Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.  For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.  Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.  For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing

Titus 3:1-2    Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,  to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

1 Peter 2:17   Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

God cares how we talk about Him and those in rightful authority over us. Judges of the land, and the like, are meant, who are powers ordained of God, are in his stead, and represent him, and therefore respect should be shown them; nor should they be treated with any degree of slight and contempt. It is not an unlimited passive obedience to rulers in things sinful, but an obedience to the wholesome laws, enacted for the good of the community by common consent, or by those who, according to the constitution of the state, have the power of enacting laws. To these good laws the people are to give obedience, without examining by what title the magistrates, who execute these laws, hold their power; and even without considering whether the religion professed by the magistrates be true or false. These precepts, therefore, do not enjoin obedience to the magistrates in things sinful, but in things not sinful; and more especially in things morally good, and which tend to the welfare of the state. Opposition to a ruler who endeavours utterly to subvert the constitution, or to enslave a free people, is warranted not only by right reason, but by the gospel, which teaches that rulers are the servants of God for good to the people, and are supported by God only in the just execution of their office.” (Benson)

The grace of the gospel teaches us submission and quiet, where pride and the carnal mind only see causes for murmuring and discontent. Whatever the persons in authority over us themselves may be, yet the just power they have, must be submitted to and obeyed. In the general course of human affairs, rulers are not a terror to honest, quiet, and good subjects, but to evil-doers. Such is the power of sin and corruption, that many will be kept back from crimes only by the fear of punishment. Thou hast the benefit of the government, therefore do what thou canst to preserve it, and nothing to disturb it. This directs private persons to behave quietly and peaceably where God has set them. (Henry)

That is, they who rise up against “government itself;” who seek anarchy and confusion; and who oppose the regular execution of the laws. It is implied, however, that those laws shall not be such as to violate the rights of conscience, or oppose the laws of God. Resisteth the ordinance of God – What God has ordained, or appointed. This means clearly that we are to regard “government” as instituted by God, and as agreeable to his will. “When” established, we are not to be agitated about the “titles” of the rulers; not to enter into angry contentions, or to refuse to submit to them, because we are apprehensive of a defect in their “title,” or because they may have obtained it by oppression. If the government is established, and if its decisions are not a manifest violation of the laws of God, we are to submit to them. (Barnes)

The office of magistracy, and such as are lawfully placed in it, and rightly exercise it; who denies that there is, or ought to be any such order among men, despises it, and opposes it, and withdraws himself from it, and will not be subject to it in any form: resisteth the ordinance of God, the will and appointment of God, whose pleasure it is that there should be such an office, and that men should be subject to it. This is not to be understood, as if magistrates were above the laws, and had a lawless power to do as they will without opposition; for they are under the law, and liable to the penalty of it, in case of disobedience, as others; and when they make their own will a law, or exercise a lawless tyrannical power, in defiance of the laws of God, and of the land, to the endangering of the lives, liberties, and properties of subjects, they may be resisted. (Gill)

There are many ungodly people who proclaim, shout, and despise government of any kind. Likewise, there are those who despise a party of which the government is made up. Anything that party official states or tries to implement is deemed wrong and the official is disregarded and disrespected. Certain laws proposed or already implemented that are in conflict and direct disobedience to God’s Word should be stood up against. Far too often the masses proclaim talking points they have heard on the news or social media outlets. They are nothing more than parrots with no originating thoughts of their own. If as much time was spent in God’s Word as being fed from these other sources I truly believe their thoughts would be greatly different. Fear, anxiousness, hate, anger, confusion, etc…. are all fueled by these news and social media outlets. I do know that if you would leave news and social media news out of your life for 1 week you would begin to see the damage it causes and the way it affects how you think, speak, and act.

I have heard it said; “to not read daily news you are uninformed, and to read it you are misinformed”. Let the wisdom of the Holy Spirit guide you and teach you discernment in what you read and hear.

43.f. “Wilderness” – 7.m. Sinai – “You shall not covet”

Exodus 20:17  “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

1 Samuel 15:19    Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD?

Ecclesiastes 5:10-11   He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

Isaiah 57:17   Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.

Ezekiel 33:31    And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.

Micah 2:2   They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.

Habakkuk 2:9   “Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm!

1 Corinthians 6:10     nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Philippians 3:19  Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

Colossians 3:5   Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

1 Timothy 6:6-10    But godliness with contentment is great gain,  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Hebrews 13:5    Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Covetousness works like this: the eyes look upon an object, the mind admires it, the will goes over to it, and the body moves in to possess it. Just because you have not taken the final step does not mean you are not in the process of coveting right now. Covetousness can be expressed towards all sorts of things; it is the itch to have and to possess what someone else has. It speaks of a dissatisfaction with what we have, and a jealously towards those who have something better. Jesus gave a special warning about covetousness, which explained the core philosophy of the covetous heart: And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (Guzik)

This command seems to have been added in order to teach the general principle that the Law of God is concerned, not with acts and words only, but with the thoughts of the heart. True godliness consists in bringing “every thought into captivity to Christ. (Ellicott)

God give us all to see our face in the glass of this law, and to lay our hearts under the government of it. (Benson)

The others forbid all desire of doing what will be an injury to our neighbour; this forbids all wrong desire of having what will gratify ourselves. (Henry)

No human eye can see the coveting heart; it is witnessed only by him who possesses it and by Him to whom all things are naked and open Luke 12:15-21. But it is the root of all sins of word or deed. (Brown)

Those inward motions of the heart, which from the fountain of original corruption do spring up in the heart, and tickle it with some secret delight, though they do not obtain tie deliberate consent of the will. For seeing this law of God is spiritual and holy, Romans 7:12,14, and reacheth the thoughts, intents, and all the actual motions of the heart. (Poole)

This is the tenth and last commandment, and is an explanation of several of the past; showing that the law of God not only forbids external acts of sin, but the inward and first motions of the mind to it, which are not known, and would not be thought to be sinful, were it not for this law; nor are they known by this law until the Spirit of God by it convinces men of them, in whose light they see them to be sinful; even not only the schemes and contrivances of sin in the mind, the imaginations of it, thoughts dwelling upon it with pleasure, but even the first risings of sin in the heart; and such motions of it which are not assented unto, and unawares spring up from the corruption of nature, and are sudden craving desires after unlawful things, even these are forbidden by this law. (Gill)

“Thou shalt not covet: lays it down again that we are not mere slaves of our natural desires and passions, but have a controlling power implanted within us, by means of which we can keep down passion, check desire, resist the impulse. Man is lord of himself, capable, by the exercise of his free will, of molding his feelings, weakening or intensifying his passions, and shaping his character. God, who “requires truth in the inward parts,” looks that we should in all cases go to the root of the matter, and not be content with restraining ourselves from evil acts and evil words, but eradicate the evil feeling from which the acts and words proceed. (Unknown)

Temptations to covet are around us all the time. We are constantly reminded and told through advertisements what we need, what we want, and what we should have. It takes careful discernment to understand the heart and mind. This comes through the indwelling Holy Spirit and God’s Word penetrating and being active in our hearts and minds. Oh that our prayers would be in line with; God show me my heart, allow me to see what I covet wrongly, and lead me in my thoughts and actions that honor and glorify Jesus Christ.

42.j. “Let My People Go” – 10.g. Parting of the Red Sea

Exodus 14:21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

Joshua 4:23   For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over,

Nehemiah 9:11   And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters.

Psalms 66:6   He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him,

Psalms 78:13    He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.

Psalms 106:7-10    Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.  Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power  He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as through a desert.  So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.

Psalms 114:3-5  The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back. The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.  What ails you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back?

Deuteronomy 3:22   You shall not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you.’

The dividing the Red sea was the terror of the Canaanites, Jos 2:9; the praise and triumph of the Israelites, Ps 114:3; 106:9; 136:13. It was a type of baptism, 1Co 10:1,2. Israel’s passage through it was typical of the conversion of souls, Isa 11:15; and the Egyptians being drowned in it was typical of the final ruin of all unrepenting sinners. God showed his almighty power, by opening a passage through the waters, some miles over. God can bring his people through the greatest difficulties, and force a way where he does not find it. It was an instance of his wonderful favour to his Israel. They went through the sea, they walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea. This was done, in order to encourage God’s people in all ages to trust him in the greatest straits. What cannot he do who did this? What will not he do for those that fear and love him, who did this for these murmuring, unbelieving Israelites? Then followed the just and righteous wrath of God upon his and his people’s enemies. The ruin of sinners is brought on by their own rage and presumption. They might have let Israel alone, and would not; now they would flee from the face of Israel, and cannot. Men will not be convinced, till it is too late, that those who meddle with God’s people, meddle to their own hurt. Moses was ordered to stretch out his hand over the sea; the waters returned, and overwhelmed all the host of the Egyptians. Pharaoh and his servants, who had hardened one another in sin, now fell together, not one escaped. The Israelites saw the Egyptians dead upon the sands. The sight very much affected them. While men see God’s works, and feel the benefit, they fear him and trust in him. How well were it for us, if we were always in as good a frame as sometimes! Behold the end to which a Christian may look forward. His enemies rage, and are mighty; but while he holds fast by God, he shall pass the waves in safety guarded by that very power of his Saviour, which shall come down on every spiritual foe. The enemies of his soul whom he hath seen to-day, he shall see no more for ever. (Henry)

We understand that those in darkness will not believe in the parting of the Red Sea, or any other miracle, and we don’t really expect them to understand or believe in this. What is more troubling is those who profess to believe and then try to prove there was a natural wind that could have happened and that God used this natural phenomenon to part a place in the Red Sea. They try to find a means to “naturally” explain a miracle of God. Doing so is to deny the awesome power of God over all of His creation. They actually dilute this with man’s ideas of how God could have done this and still obey their understanding of nature and science. God’s miracles do not need any other explanation than they were of God. Why do we have to know the mechanics of God’s all-powerful hand? The most intelligent person in all of mankind does not have the capacity to comprehend or understand the Power of God over His creation.

There is a peace that passes all understanding for those who put their complete trust in the All-Powerful Hands of God!

39.t. “Zebulun and Issachar”

Genesis 49:13 “Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon. “Issachar is a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds. He saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant at forced labor.

Jacob now skipped the birth order, moving to the tenth-born and ninth-born sons, but keeping his focus on the sons born of Leah. The tribe of Zebulun was noted for its faithfulness to David, supplying the largest number of soldiers to David’s army of any single tribe: Of Zebulun there were fifty thousand who went out to battle, expert in war with all weapons of war, stouthearted men who could keep ranks (1 Chronicles 12:33).

Issachar was a large tribe – third in size according to the Numbers 26 census. “The meaning seems to be that Issachar was strong, but docile and lazy. He would enjoy the good land assigned him but would not strive for it. Therefore, eventually he would be pressed into servitude and the mere bearing of burdens for his masters.” (Leupold)

Concerning Zebulun: if prophecy says, Zebulun shall be a haven of ships, be sure Providence will so plant him. God appoints the bounds of our habitation. It is our wisdom and duty to accommodate ourselves to our lot, and to improve it; if Zebulun dwell at the heaven of the sea, let him be for a haven of ships. Concerning Issachar: he saw that the land was pleasant, yielding not only pleasant prospects, but pleasant fruits to recompense his toils. Let us, with an eye of faith, see the heavenly rest to be good, and that land of promise to be pleasant; this will make our present services easy. Dan should, by art, and policy, and surprise, gain advantages against his enemies, like a serpent biting the heel of the traveller. Jacob, almost spent, and ready to faint, relieves himself with those words, I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord! The salvation he waited for was Christ, the promised Seed; now that he was going to be gathered to his people, he breathes after Him to whom the gathering of the people shall be. He declared plainly that he sought heaven, the better country, Heb 11:13,14. Now he is going to enjoy the salvation, he comforts himself that he had waited for the salvation. Christ, as our way to heaven, is to be waited on; and heaven, as our rest in Christ, is to be waited for. It is the comfort of a dying saint thus to have waited for the salvation of the Lord; for then he shall have what he has been waiting for. (HENRY)

39.e. “How can we clear ourselves?”

Genesis 44:14 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground. Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?” And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.” But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

And Judah said, what shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak?…. Signifying that they were nonplussed, confounded, knew not what to say; they could not acknowledge guilt, for they were not conscious of any, and yet could not deny the fact, the cup being found on one of them; and though they might have a suspicion of fraud, yet were afraid to speak out what they suspected, and therefore were at the utmost loss to express themselves: or how shall we clear ourselves? to assert their innocence signified nothing, here was full proof against them, at least against their brother Benjamin: God hath found the iniquity of thy servants; brought it to their remembrance, fastened the guilt of it on their consciences, and in his providence was bringing them to just punishment for it; meaning not the iniquity of taking away the cup, which they were not conscious of, but some other iniquity of theirs they had heretofore been guilty of, and now God was contending with them for it; particularly the iniquity of selling Joseph; this was brought to their minds before, when in distress, and now again, behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found; hereby fulfilling his dream more manifestly than ever; for, by bowing down to the earth to him, they might be thought to do no other than what all did, that came to buy corn of him; but here they own themselves to be his servants, and him to be lord over them, and to have dominion over them all, and them to be his slaves and bondmen. (Gill)

These brothers have lived with the guilt of their sin for 22 years. This guilt has not left them and as they matured the sin they committed against Joseph haunts them. They know they deserve to be punished not only for what they did to Joseph but the heart ache and distress they caused their father Jacob. Judah, the instigator of the harsh treatment to Joseph has surely repented but has no means to forgive himself for the intended harm to Joseph. Likewise the brothers were of the same mind.

Guzik says it so perfectly: We might take pride because we are innocent of some sin or another, yet we are guilty of far greater. You can’t hide from your sin. Time does not erase the guilt of your sin; only the blood of Jesus can.