Tag: Trusted in your own way

4.q. The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

Job 4:7  “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed. The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions are broken. The strong lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

Hosea 10:13   You have plowed iniquity; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors,

2 Peter 2:9     then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

Matthew Henry – “Eliphaz reminds Job, that no affliction comes by chance, nor is to be placed to second causes. The difference between prosperity and adversity is not so exactly observed, as that between day and night, summer and winter; but it is according to the will and counsel of God. We must not attribute our afflictions to fortune, for they are from God; nor our sins to fate, for they are from ourselves. Man is born in sin and therefore born to trouble. There is nothing in this world we are born to, and can truly call our own, but sin and trouble. Actual transgressions are sparks that fly out of the furnace of original corruption. Such is the frailty of our bodies, and the vanity of all our enjoyments, that our troubles arise thence as the sparks fly upward; so many are they, and so fast does one follow another. Eliphaz reproves Job for not seeking God, instead of quarreling with him. Is any afflicted? let him pray. It is heart’s ease, a salve for every sore. Eliphaz speaks of rain, which we are apt to look upon as a little thing; but if we consider how it is produced, and what is produced by it, we shall see it to be a great work of power and goodness. Too often the great Author of all our comforts and the manner in which they are conveyed to us are not noticed, because they are received as things of course. In the ways of Providence, the experiences of some are encouragements to others, to hope the best in the worst of times; for it is the glory of God to send help to the helpless, and hope to the hopeless. And daring sinners are confounded, and forced to acknowledge the justice of God’s proceedings.”

Reap what you sow

“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him”

Hosea 10:12
Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
You have plowed iniquity;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way
and in the multitude of your warriors,

Isaiah 45:6
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
“Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the Lord have created it.
“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,

Galatians 6:8
For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Sowing to please our own flesh, striving with Him who formed us, and trusting in our own way all end up at the same place.  Do we really want to reap corruption, discipline and or punishment from God, or have no righteousness raining down on our lives?  Just because we are living in a time of  blessing and, for the most part, abundance does not mean we are living our lives to humbly serve, honor and glorify God.  It seems like we want benefits without any commitment.  How would a father feel if for some reason he had to be gone for an extended period of time and left instructions for his children to follow and the children chose to stop reading his instruction or remember to follow them?  How would the father feel if after he sent multiple people to speak to them of his desire for them to have fulfilling lives and they neglect and disregard what is being told to them?  How would the father feel if he reached out hundreds of times to his children and they turned a deaf ear to what he was trying to tell and show them?  What would you think of these children who treated their father with little to no respect?  Like me,  I am sure you think these children are very disrespectful and deserve what is coming to them.   We can always find reason for not to spending time reading God’s word for the purpose of knowing and understanding Him.  Choose this day whom you will serve.