Men frequently focus upon David’s extreme failures but fail to realize that he also exemplified a tremendous example of someone who understood loyalty. King Saul’s antics would have allowed most people to justify not affording Saul the loyalty his position warranted. Even many of David’s men held to this position. Yet, we read that David felt and acted otherwise. Although Saul repeatedly attempted to kill David, David did not take advantage of any of his opportunities to kill Saul. The Bible says that he refused to stretch forth his hand against the LORD’S anointed. Instead, David decided to send a message to Saul by cutting off the skirt of Saul’s robe. Because of David’s loyalty, even this act immediately smote his heart. His godly character trumped his personal frustrations toward the very man who sought to bring him grave, personal harm. Although David’s men were prepared and able to take the most aggressive actions, David advised against it.
As the people had honoured the Lord, they had honoured Moses. When Moses placed his honour upon Joshua, he did so in order to encourage the people’s obedience and loyalty toward Joshua. Moses wanted the same loyalty that had been directed toward him now directed toward Joshua. God’s people could have risen up against Joshua thinking that he had not accomplished enough to merit their loyalty. Yet, the people respected the fact that Moses had directly placed his own honour upon his minister Joshua. The people emphatically accepted Moses’ message as reflected by their answer to Joshua: “According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses” (Joshua 1:17).
Man’s loyalty must be first and foremost directed toward the Lord; however, an aspect of one’s loyalty to the Lord also involves a certain loyalty toward man. At times, these loyalties might conflict. During those instances, each person should heed the words of Simon Peter when he admonished, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). When one’s loyalty to God does not conflict with any loyalty toward man, the Lord admonishes men to be loyal toward one another. When Moses placed his honour upon Joshua, he did so in order to encourage obedience, respect, and loyalty on the part of the people of God. In similar fashion, the Lord has crowned man with glory and honour (Psalm 8:5). As such, the Lord has naturally put within man a desire to be loyal toward the Lord and others.
Peter admonished “newborn babes” in Christ to lay aside all hypocrisies. It is a natural battle that every babe in Christ must face. A new believer might have an inappropriate longing to please the one who led him to the Lord rather than giving the Lord preeminence. He might perform actions in hopes that his spiritual mentor will take notice. Eventually, this fault blossoms to the point where he begins to see problems in others while failing to realize the same problems exist in his own life. He might work hard to obey the strictest of commands while missing the overall desire of the Lord in his own life. Even as a babe in Christ, he must work to lay aside hypocrisy. Until he does, he will never grow into the mature believer the Lord wants him to be.
The world is not short on teachings. Men have commandments. Some of these are decent and harmless, while others are dangerous. The problem comes when men elevate their doctrines or teachings to the level of God’s word. This is exactly what the religious leaders did during the Lord’s earthly ministry. They elevated their own writings, thoughts, and opinions to the level of the word of God until they would eventually give more reverence to their commandments than to the scripture. This is the propagation of false doctrine. Even now, there are multitudes of people propagating the commandments of men as though they are the words of God.
The Bible often speaks of sin as a thing of the past pertaining to the believer’s life prior to salvation. This is not because believers are without sin, but the goal of every believer should be to depart from and avoid the sins which once controlled his life prior to salvation. These past actions which helped us to see our lost condition should be viewed as the friend of our past and the enemy of our present and future. This is exactly how Paul spoke of envy in his epistle to Titus. According to Paul, “we . . . were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.” Concerning the sins of the past, Paul further admonishes: “let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints” (Ephesians 5:3).
In a world filled with competition and pride, the peacemaker is often wrongly accused of being unable to handle the conflict or the fight. This is why many people consider backing down from strife a sign of weakness. Once again, God and man are at complete opposite ends of the spectrum. While many men consider it commendable to continue strife, God thinks it honourable to cease from strife. In other words, the greater man or woman brings conflict to a close rather than further instigating it. According to the Bible, it is a fool who continues to meddle in hopes of prolonging the conflict. It is up to each believer to determine whether to accept God’s way or man’s way of thinking.
Every generation has their own set of ritualistic practices: vegetarianism, the refusal to eat meat, and veganism, the refusal to eat any animal product, are increasingly popular today. The problems arise when proponents of these practices seek to promote the idea that meat eating is evil and should be eliminated. Today’s passage proves that the scriptures teach just the opposite. In fact, any individual preaching or teaching a necessary abstinence from eating meat is preaching a doctrine of devils. Regardless of what the modern doctors, scientists, or latest fad diets prescribe, the Bible clearly states that God does not intend for His people to abstain from eating meat. Much of the modern movement stems from an idolatrous view of the animal kingdom. Yet, God clearly provided animals for man’s survival and continuation.
The Bible says that God provides food for His people (Matthew 6:26). This God-given provision has been that way since the beginning of man’s existence on earth (Genesis 1:29). Interestingly, the Bible also says that God provides food for the animal kingdom (Psalm 147:9). One might declare that “the animals must go out and search for food to eat” and “men must go to work and earn wages in order to purchase their food.” However, a good response to this mind-set would be to focus on how men and animals are able to get their food: “Who gives the animals the strength and the prowess to find the food?” or “Who gives man the health and ability to work his job, earn his wages, and purchase his food?” With a more objective mind-set, you can see why man owes God thanks for the food that he eats. Every Christian should bow his head and give thanks to God for His provision before partaking of any meal.
If asked concerning the origin of thoughts, the average person would swiftly respond with “the mind” or some similar answer. This is not, however, the emphasis of scripture. Overwhelmingly, scripture indicates that thoughts proceed from the heart. This does not mean the beating organ within one’s chest since the scriptures use “heart” in a different manner. When God brought judgment in the days of Noah, He saw that the thoughts of man’s “heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). In Matthew 15:19, the Bible says, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts.” In Luke 24:38, the Lord Jesus asked the disciples, “why do thoughts arise in your hearts?” When one’s thoughts are not according to God’s will, it is a matter of the heart not being right with God.
