When man shuns God’s word, he passes up his only hope for knowing what sin is and how it affects him both now and for all eternity.
In a very basic sense, the word hope means desire, yet the true meaning is not nearly as weak as the world presents. The word hope in scripture is associated with the word expectation (Proverbs 10:28; Proverbs 11:7). Hope is not simply some type of wishful thinking; it is something that someone trusts in dearly (Jeremiah 17:7). This type of hope is not something visible to the naked eye of man (Romans 8:24), but it is believed and held firm by faith (Hebrews 11:1). All men live their lives based upon hope; however, not all hope is the same. One man’s hope might be that there is no life after death. Another might place his hope solely upon the payment for sin provided by the Lord Jesus Christ.
The true riches and honour come only from the Lord (1 Chronicles 29:12). Only the Lord has the infallible wisdom to determine the riches each man can rightfully possess in order to bring God the greatest glory. The Lord warned His people that as their riches increased, they would be tempted to forget the origin of those riches: God. He told them to remember that it was He that gave them power to get wealth in the first place (Deuteronomy 8:18). Solomon stated that the ability of men to possess riches and partake of those riches was the gift of God. Unfortunately, as men’s riches increase, many men lose sight of these truths.
A normal man naturally desires to protect what God has given to him. Jacob was not always the best example of godliness, but he had the right desire to protect his family from harm. The Bible reveals to us how he reacted when he could see his brother Esau approaching. Unsure of how this reunion might disintegrate into harm, Jacob divided his family with the most precious at the rear. As his family’s protector, Jacob led the caravan. If there was going to be trouble, he would have an opportunity to intervene offering his family an opportunity to flee for safety. According to Ephesians 5:25, a man’s protection should include a willingness to lay down his life for his wife. A godly man will always intercede between his home and the impending danger.
In Bible times, the greatest form of defence for a city was to remain strong and surrounded by high walls. If a people group or nation had high walls and a strong city, they were extremely difficult to conquer. During these times, the barriers were imperative for a strong national defense. The Lord considered this scenario as an appropriate picture to demonstrate the state of an offended brother, resulting from contention. The Lord likens this contention to the bars on a castle. Even if the enemy were capable of getting into the strong city, other obstacles existed making it impossible to break through to its core. These included the bars erected to avoid someone from entering the castle. In like manner, contention makes it almost impossible to break through to the heart of an offended brother.
Godly leadership shows itself as fair, flexible, and just. Many different things are taken into consideration before directing those under authority. Does the individual’s personality demand a strong hand of leadership or patience and gentleness? Although leadership presents varying challenges, the astute leader considers these challenges as opportunities for excellence. In turn, the effective leader always develops within himself the ability to discern how to lead and motivate the different people types. For instance, today’s passage shows Jacob explaining to Esau the need to lead on softly because the children could not endure a demanding journey. The same leadership methods simply will not work for every individual. A godly leader seeks out the Lord for help in determining what will best accomplish the will of God by strengthening his followers.
The believer’s relationship with God is twofold consisting of a positional relationship and one of practice. Positionally, the believer enjoys Christ’s imputed righteousness (Romans 4:6-8). In this position, the believer has been forgiven of all trespasses (past, present, and future) (Colossians 2:13). John confirmed this truth as he wrote to believers saying that their sins were already forgiven (1 John 2:12). Because of God's complete forgiveness, sins can never and will never affect a man’s position in Christ. However, man must also consider his practice (his daily walk before the Lord).The sins that cannot harm a man’s position in Christ can adversely hinder his fellowship with the Lord. Though all our sins are forgiven, we still should daily confess our sins to the Lord in order to keep our fellowship right (1 John 1:9).
The Christian life is a life of continual blessings, though it also contains many experiences in life's difficulties. The believer is blessed by God’s provisions in the past and offered hope through God’s promised future provisions. Psalm 68:19 proclaims that the Lord “daily loadeth us with benefits.” These benefits include both spiritual and physical blessings of salvation, answered prayers, good health, and family. However, David specifically described the blessedness of a man imputed righteousness apart from his works. Our passage records his words as he proclaimed, “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven.” Though forgiven of past, present, and future sin, man's capacity for sinning remains unabated within his natural body. Every faithful Bible student knows never to minimize forgiveness of one's sin as one of the greatest blessings of all!
The subject of forgiveness would fill volumes yet never exhaust the depths of its meaning. The study for the next two weeks will provide the reader with a deeper understanding and greater appreciation concerning the necessity for faith in the Christian life. We embark on this study by offering a basic meaning for the word forgiveness. Three scripture passages reveal the association of forgiveness to covering (Psalm 32:1; Psalm 85:2; Romans 4:7). The first passage further reveals that the covering of sin is directly connected to forgiving of transgression. The second two verses connect the covering of sin to the forgiving of iniquity. With these truths in mind, the act of forgiving someone involves the act of cancelling the penalty for wrongdoing. As the wrongdoing is forgiven, whether it be sin, transgression, or iniquity, the offense is covered as it is forgiven. This covering does not suggest placing a covering over the wrongdoing to hide it, but the act of taking care of its penalty.
