9. For he is rightly instructed; his God teaches him.

Exodus 28:3  You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill,

Exodus 31:3-6     and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship,  to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze,  in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.

Exodus 35:35    He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.

Exodus 36:1-2    “Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded.”

Proverbs 2:6     For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

Isaiah 28:24-26    Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground?  When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cumin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and emmer as the border?  For he is rightly instructed; his God teaches him.

1 Corinthians 12:7-11    To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.  For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit  to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,  to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.  All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Ephesians 1:17    that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,

James 1:17     Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

In the light of our culture and the endless withdrawal of God from having any place in social norms, it is no wonder people see their individual gifts as a product of their own making.  They rely on self and give credit to self for their accomplishments.  Without God, who is there to give credit.  Our abilities are God-given and can be used for the honor and glory of God or in the absence of believing in God they can be used to drive us further and further into the pride of self.  It is very hard to deny pride and self-accomplishment when denying God.

As believers, we are not immune to being tempted by pride and self-accomplishment.  These both can happen when we neglect His word or become complacent in our walk with Him.  Being a humble servant comes from our understanding and knowledge of God.  Our understanding and knowledge come when we desire and seek it Him and time in His word.  There is no shortcut to this knowledge and understanding – it is either growing or becoming stagnate and forgotten.  Being a humble servant comes from reverence to God through what we learn and understand His holiness and love for us.  We all can improve our humbleness and service to God.  Cast out pride. Seek and desire to be rightly instructed.  Seek that which honors and glorifies God.

 

Lying lips of slander

Psalms 120:1   In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me.   Deliver me, O LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.  What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue?  A warrior’s sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree!  Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!  Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace.  I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!

Ezekiel 2:6    And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions. Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.

Matthew 10:16     “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Titus 3:3     For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

“When we are slandered it is a joy that the Lord knows us, and cannot be made to doubt our uprightness he will not hear the lie against us, but he will hear our prayer against the lie.” (Spurgeon)

“It is of little use to appeal to our fellows on the matter of slander, for the more we stir in it the more it spreads; it is of no avail to appeal to the honour of the slanderers, for they have none, and the most piteous demands for justice will only increase their malignity and encourage them to fresh insult.” (Spurgeon)