During times of battle, believers commonly find themselves to be underdogs. Faith, however, refuses to retreat and trusts God to overcome superior foes.
To steal is to wrongfully and selfishly take something that belongs to someone else and place it amongst one’s own possessions.
Many people use time set aside for rest to do things that deprive of rest. This compounds the need for rest and the problems associated with not getting any.
A talebearer as one that bears a tale or reveals secrets (Proverbs 11:13; Proverbs 20:19). This type of sin is regretfully a plague amongst modern Christianity.
There are certain areas where the Lord shows some of His greatest care and concern. He takes great offence and moves swiftly in their defence when men abuse these areas. For instance, the Bible says that the Lord is jealous for His “holy name” (Ezekiel 39:25). Perhaps, with this in mind, the Lord said, “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7). The Bible also says that God is jealous for Jerusalem (Zechariah 1:14; Zechariah 8:2), which is His land (Joel 2:18). When people abuse His name or His land, God takes these things particularly personally. Unfortunately, in these last days, men are increasingly abusing both His name and His land.
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).
David prayed that the Lord would watch over his safety but also prayed that the Lord would hinder the efforts of the wicked. He asked God to refuse to grant the desires of the wicked and return their mischief upon their own heads. Within this context, he also prayed that the evil conceived by the wicked might “hunt the violent man to overthrow him.” He spoke of a similar theme when he sang of the wicked, “His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate” (Psalm 7:16) or crown of his head. David knew the reward eventually yielded by violence was the return of violence upon the offender.
Meddling in the problems of others is a dangerous practice resulting in unforeseen outcomes. The Bible uses two comparisons to help convey the danger involved with meddling. Proverbs 17:14 compares meddling to the letting out of previously restrained water. The idea is that meddling with the problems belonging to others is like personally opening the gates once restraining a large body of water. The second comparison is found in Proverbs 26:17. The Bible says, “He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.” When someone does this, the dog turns upon the individual. Both of these warnings demonstrate the grievous dangers involved in unnecessarily meddling in the affairs of others.
No doubt about it: the world is full of problems. Every day, people choose to say and do things that they should not say or do. Their actions contain all of the necessary ingredients for strife. The Bible says a wrathful man looks for the possibility of strife and does whatever necessary to stir it up (Proverbs 15:18). Why does he do this? The Bible points out that he is proud of heart (Proverbs 28:25) and full of hatred (Proverbs 10:12). The Bible further describes this work in Proverbs 26:20-21 where it says, “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.” A contentious man seeks to rekindle the flames as he notices the fires of strife beginning to be extinguished.
Biblical terminology is very important. For example, ignorance of Bible vocabulary has led people to believe that flattery is considerate if it makes others feel good. Yet, the picture presented by scripture is contrary to this line of thinking. Flattery harms both the giver and the recipient. According to scripture, “A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin” (Proverbs 26:28). While we have been led to believe flattery edifies, in reality, it destroys. This truth is confirmed in Proverbs 29:5 where the Bible says, “A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.” Even the flatterer is harmed by his flattery: “He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail” (Job 17:5). Without a doubt, flattery harms all those involved.
