The Bible consistently identifies the Lord as a jealous God. As the Creator, He deserves man’s undivided allegiance. As the most High God, He is worthy of man’s unadulterated worship. It is often in this vein that the Bible speaks of God’s jealousy. He warned Israel not to make or bow down to any graven images (Exodus 20:4-5; Deuteronomy 5:8-9; Psalm 78:58) because He was a jealous God and would have no choice but to judge such infidelity. The same was true of any false god (Deuteronomy 32:16) or sin (1 Kings 14:22) which man allowed to come between him and his Creator. God is perfectly just in His jealousy since man was created for God’s pleasure (Revelation 4:11).
World leaders constantly claim that they hold the solution for how to rid the world of poverty. Yet, the Lord stated that mankind would always have a problem with poverty, at least until the millennium. Believers should be willing to help the poor but must keep in mind that they will never eliminate world poverty. According to Deuteronomy 15:11, “the poor shall never cease out of the land.” In other words, regardless of man’s efforts to give and help, there will always be a group of people who struggle financially. With this in mind, believers should not ignore the physical needs of the poor but should be most concerned with offering the poor spiritual help (Acts 3:6).
Man’s conviction is a work of God that begins within a man, hidden from the view of others. Yet, that work ultimately manifests itself on the outside. As the apostle Paul reasoned with Felix concerning righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, the Spirit of God took the sword of the Spirit (the word of God) and worked within Felix. Though Felix’s conviction did not lead to his immediate conversion, it visibly affected him by causing him to outwardly tremble. The book of Daniel tells us that the Lord interrupted king Belshazzar’s party and caused his knees to smite against each other (Daniel 5:1-6). The Second Book of the Kings tells of Josiah’s conviction that was manifested through his weeping and the rending of his clothes (2 Kings 22:19).
Bible-believing Christians in their desire for independence have sometimes been characterized as rebels disapproving of most authority. This characterization should not be the case and our lives should reflect just the opposite mind-set and approach. Those who know the Lord should be the first to obey, submit to (Hebrews 13:17), and pray for (1 Timothy 2:1-2) those in authority. Those who walk in the flesh are the ones who“despise government” and “are not afraid to speak evil of dignities” (2 Peter 2:10; Jude 1:8). There are times when man’s authority comes into direct conflict with God’s authority. In these cases, men must choose to obey God (Acts 5:29). Yet, there are plenty of other times when the people of God need to learn a greater respect for authority.
The character of the individual in authority affects everyone under his authority. People mourn when a nation, congregation, or family unit is ruled by one who is wicked. On the other hand, those same people would rejoice under the right authority of a righteous ruler. When Pharaoh ruled over God’s people in Egypt, their lives were made bitter with hard bondage (Exodus 1:8-14). Their days were filled with sorrow and affliction (Exodus 3:7). In contrast, when Solomon ruled over the people of God in Jerusalem, there was great rejoicing (1 Kings 1:40; 1 Kings 5:7). This truth not only applies to Israel, but to every nation, church, workplace, and family.
Far too many believers today are guilty of a very dangerous practice of usurping authority that does not rightfully belong to them. As an apostle, Paul was given an elevated level of authority. As expressed in his writings, Paul understood that his authority differed from that of the other believers in Corinth. It is important to recognize that the apostles’ authority ended with their deaths. Believers only have the authority given to them in accordance to the holy scriptures. Unfortunately, many well-meaning Christians attempt to claim authority that belonged only to a special group of men that lived during the church’s infancy. This authority was given to them in order to confirm the word (Mark 16:14-20). Authority today resides within the word itself.
When speaking of anger, the scripture uses descriptive terms that could equally be applied to the truths concerning fire. In doing so, the Bible makes a connection that can help believers gain a better understanding of the benefits or dangers of anger. According to scripture, anger can be kindled, a term used to describe the starting of a fire (Exodus 4:14; Numbers 11:1; Deuteronomy 32:22; Jeremiah 15:14), either a little (Psalm 2:12) or greatly (Numbers 11:10; 1 Samuel 11:6). The Bible also describes anger as waxing hot (Exodus 32:19), another connection to fire. These similarities are by divine design. As is true concerning fire, anger can be useful and productive, but it can also be destructive and harmful, especially when it gets out of control.
When true worship gets blended together with amusement, it yields varying types of worldliness and idolatry. In Exodus chapter 32, the children of Israel observed a “feast to the LORD” at the same time that they “rose up to play.” As men begin to grow increasingly cold and indifferent toward the Lord and His ways, they will seek ever more imaginative ways to make spiritual worship appeal to the flesh. This is often accomplished by uniting pleasure and worship. In an effort to keep people interested in the worship of God, churches add comedic relief, drama, carnal music, and a host of other worldly amusements. In doing so, the worship of God gets corrupted and becomes nothing more than idolatry or false worship.
Unsurprisingly, much of the world’s amusement seems to be driven by demeaning, mocking, or humiliating others. In other words, one man’s pain is another man’s pleasure. Samson had been a thorn in the flesh of the Philistines for quite some time, but now he was a sightless, weak prisoner. As the Philistines gathered to celebrate his capture and humiliation, they called for Samson so that they could take pleasure in his suffering. One would think that it takes a heartless people to find satisfaction in the humiliation of others, but unfortunately far too many people take pleasure in such events. Far too frequently, men receive the greatest satisfaction when others are abused for their enjoyment. This ought not so to be!
As violence escalates, the dependence of the saints upon the Lord for safety becomes increasingly apparent. David serves as a wonderful demonstration of this truth. Seemingly, he constantly found himself threatened by violent men. Shortly after the Lord’s deliverance from the hands of Saul, David wrote a song in which he praised the Lord for saving him from violence (2 Samuel 22:3). Not only was safety from violence the subject of David’s songs, but it was also the theme of his prayers (Psalm 140:1-4). David understood the inevitable presence of violence but also understood that his safety was of the Lord.
