Many unsaved people practice astrology (i.e., horoscopes) and other unscriptural use of the signs in the heavens. Believers should reject these practices.
God wants believers to serve Him in truth. In fact, it is this very issue that will determine “of what sort” our work is at the judgment seat of Christ.
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.
In the Bible, jealousy, similar to anger, is closely associated to a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 29:20; Psalm 79:5; Ezekiel 36:5; Ezekiel 38:19). As man provokes the Lord to jealousy, the Lord responds with judgment. At times, that judgment may be the consumption of the one who provoked the Lord. At other times, that consumption may be directed toward the very thing that the man put before the Lord. Either way, God’s jealousy is a consuming fire (Zephaniah 1:18; Zephaniah 3:8). In one biblical instance, the zeal of a man named Phinehas stopped the consuming fire of God’s jealousy (Numbers 25:11). Men should wisely seek the Lord today in hopes of delaying the fire of God’s wrath and anger upon their nations and homes.
It is easier to love those with whom we feel a common bond and share a special relationship. In fact, the Lord suggests as much in the scripture. When the Lord encouraged His people to love strangers, He did so by reminding them that they too had been strangers in the land of Egypt. By recalling their past associations, the Israelites would know how to better deal with those who were strangers to them. It would be good for them to recall some of the trials they faced when they were strangers in a strange land. With this in mind, they would know how to care for and minister to the strangers. Though Christians are not under the law and most are not Israelites, much can be learned from these truths. It becomes easier to love those to whom we can closely relate.
Reading commentaries offers varying opinions concerning the definition of purity. However, the Bible offers some exacting details which give the right definition. Today's passage speaks of the “pure blood of the grape.” In other words, nothing was added to the juice—it was pure. There are several other substances in scripture identified as pure: gold (Exodus 25:39), olive oil (Exodus 27:20), myrrh (Exodus 30:23), incense (Exodus 37:29), and language (Zephaniah 3:9). Each instance emphasizes that nothing exists to corrupt the nature of the original. These substances are not combined with other materials to dilute or defile them. In essence, purity demands the absence of any substance that corrupts, defiles, or taints in any way.
