All men, at some point in their lives, are confronted with the truth. At such time, men must choose to accept or reject that truth.
A wise man is strong and a man of knowledge increases strength. While the world focuses on physical strength, the greater strength is that which is spiritual.
Most people view sin as a private or earthy matter. Yet, every sin is against the Lord. In truth, men can sin against the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
A man’s salutation can serve as the initial window to the condition of his heart. To understand this truth, consider Nabal's salutation concerning David.
One of the enemies of righteousness is the type of ungodly anger exhibited all too frequently by so many believers. The Bible says that this type of anger is to have no part in the believer’s life. The apostle Paul gave this admonition, “But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth” (Colossians 3:8). Contextually, it is evident that the anger referenced is not a godly anger against unrighteous things, but an ungodly anger that finds its frustration in things that should not induce one to be angry or wrathful. Unfortunately, believers are far from exempt from this type of sinful anger. This is nothing new since David warned against such anger when he said, “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.”
The world justifies an almost unlimited range of reasons for divorce, but the Lord is much more narrow-minded. In fact, the Lord only offered one just cause for divorce in Matthew 19:9. An excellent cross reference (Deuteronomy 24:1) indicates that the fornication mentioned involves an uncleanness found within the woman that took place prior to marriage. If this be true, even adultery fails to qualify as scriptural grounds for divorce. One might argue that the Lord broadened this scope when speaking of the unbelieving spouse leaving the believer, but even there the Lord said to the believing husband, “let him not put her away” (1 Corinthians 7:12) and to the believing wife, “let her not leave him” (1 Corinthians 7:13).
Man can, at times, readily recognize problems that arise, but often initially reacts with solutions to remove the problem out of sight. As the disciples looked out over the multitude in today’s passage, they saw thousands in a desert place with a lack of provisions. They quickly viewed what seemed to them as an insurmountable problem. As evening approached, they came to the Lord and suggested that He send the people away. The disciples were more comfortable with the problem if it was out of sight, out of mind, and not theirs to face. Their suggestion was an unacceptable solution. For this reason, the Lord put the problem back upon the disciples when He said to them, “Give ye them to eat” (Mark 6:37). In other words, the problem would not go away or solve itself. The Lord directed the disciples to find a solution and their turning a blind eye was completely unacceptable.
The Bible shows us that even heathen kings know it is proper for a woman to honour her husband. Some might suggest that because these words were spoken by a heathen, the reader should discount them, but these truths are supported elsewhere in scripture. For instance, Ephesians 5:33 says that the wife is to reverence her husband. Sara honoured Abraham, even to the point of calling him lord (1 Peter 3:6). Even Abigail, who had a husband that was a man of Belial, honoured her husband when she kept David from ending Nabal’s life (1 Samuel 25:23-33). A woman who honours her husband honours the Lord. She does so because the Lord commands it, not because her husband necessarily deserves her honour.
Absalom rebelled against king David (his father) by seeking to take over David’s kingdom and end his life. Ahithophel, who had previously served as an advisor to David, gave counsel to Absalom that could have eliminated David and his followers (2 Samuel 17:1-4). The counsel pleased Absalom, but he chose to request a second opinion from Hushai. Yet, Hushai was still a loyal friend of David, unbeknownst to Absalom, who was actually working undercover in Absalom’s kingdom (2 Samuel 15:31-37). Thankfully, Absalom asked for his counsel. Hushai proceeded to tell Absalom the shortcomings of Ahithophel’s counsel and offered his own counsel that would protect king David. After hearing the counsel of both Ahithophel and Hushai, Absalom unwisely determined that Hushai’s counsel was better. Hushai’s loyalty to the king and God conquered Absalom’s rebellion and eventually ended it.
The apostle Paul warned of a time when people would no longer endure sound doctrine. Because of their lusts, they would actively seek after teachers who turned them unto fables. In fact, much of this is accomplished by people using the truth as a source for teaching things contrary to the very truth they supposedly uphold. Far too frequently people have been turned away from the truth in the name of truth. These Bible teachers elevate themselves as the authority while creating fables generally based upon certain verses of scripture. The tragedy may begin subtly, but eventually, many people seek after these teachers rather than scripture. This is why Paul admonished Timothy to “Preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2) to delay the onset of this spiritually desolate period.
