PT-1 "Thieves" (Various Verses)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/12/2013 9:10 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  The Thieves-PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Various Verses

            Message of the verses:  We will once again be back in the book of Proverbs today as we have been following the outline provided by Warren Wiersbe from his commentary on the book of Proverbs.  We will begin looking at his seventh chapter in which he entitles “Rich Man, Poor man, Beggar man, Thief,” in today’s SD.

            Those who have read the Bible know that it tells us much about money, and as we think about the three classes of people that Paul describes in Ephesians 4:28 which reads “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.”  We see that there are thief’s in the world, there are those who work for a living, and there are those who are poor and need help from those that work.  Dr. Wiersbe sites another group of people that fits into what we are talking about today, and that is what the Proverbs describes as a sluggard.  We seem to have an abundance of these in our society today, they are the lazy ones who do not want to work, are too lazy to steal, but expect others to care for them.  This is more prevalent in our country than ever has been and one day (probably soon), our country will run out of money trying to take care of the sluggards that live here.

            Solomon who was probably the riches man who ever lived writes the following in Proverbs 16:16 “How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.”  Here is the richest man who ever lived and he says that wisdom is better than wealth.  We have spoken about those who are wise and they are the ones who realize that they were born sinners, and were in need of a Savior, and who also believed that Jesus Christ is the Savior and so they believe that He paid the price for their sins and they accept His pardon and began then to read and understand the Bible where it is there that they will receive much wisdom in order to walk with the Lord.  Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, but at the middle of his life he did not follow all the wisdom that he had learned, and therefore made many mistakes.  I believe that Solomon was an older man when he penned the book of Ecclesiastes where he comes again to the conclusion that serving the Lord was the best thing a person can do.

1 The Thieves

            Let us begin to look at this topic by looking at Proverbs 1:10-19 where we learn that Solomon began his book by giving a warning against schemes that break the law. 
            “10 My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent. 11 If they say, "Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause; 12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit; 13 We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with spoil; 14 Throw in your lot with us, We shall all have one purse," 15 My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, 16 For their feet run to evil And they hasten to shed blood. 17 Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird; 18 But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives. 19 So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors.”  Solomon is talking about people who break the law and work as schemers trying to scam people out of their hard earned money.  I know people like this in a very personal way.  Dr. Wiersbe writes the following in an end note about the word “scam.”  “The origin of the word ‘scam” is obscure.  It comes from carnival jargon and may be a variation of the word ‘scheme.’  Before the law stepped in to control such things, some carnival workers were notorious at fleecing the unsuspecting public with get-rich-quick offers.  Alas, what was once confined to carnivals is not found on Wall Street.”

            In Proverbs 21:5-7 we learn there are three ways “NOT” to get wealth:  “5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.  6 The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death.  7 The violence of the wicked will drag them away, Because they refuse to act with justice.”  We see hasty schemes, lying people, and those who rob (violence of the wicked), in these three verses, all ways not to get rich.

            We know that God desires us to be honest in all that we do, and sometimes there are temptations that we face that may cause us not to do the most honest things, sometimes we do them even not realizing we have done them and then later the Spirit of God, perhaps using the Word of God convicts us and we are then in need of repentance and forgiveness from the Lord (1John 1:9).  Proverbs 11:1 states “A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.”  We see this all the way back in the book of Leviticus 19:35-36 and then repeated in Deut. 25:13-16:  “35 ’You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight, or capacity. 36 ’You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin; I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt.”  “13 "You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small. 14 “You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. 15 “You shall have a full and just weight; you shall have a full and just measure, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you. 16 “For everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the LORD your God.”  Israel did not always follow these laws as the Prophet Amos states in Amos 8:4-5 “4 Hear this, you who trample the needy, to do away with the humble of the land, 5 saying, "When will the new moon be over, So that we may sell grain, And the Sabbath, that we may open the wheat market, To make the bushel smaller and the shekel bigger, And to cheat with dishonest scales.”  The prophet Micah adds “"Can I justify wicked scales And a bag of deceptive weights? (Micah 6:11).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Stay away for those who bring scams for it can be very disastrous especially when they come through the doors of the Church to try and steal your money.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Remember that contentment is a precious thing to learn.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-2

            1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! 2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit!

Turning Points Wisdom for Today:  “Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received—fading symbols of honour, trappings of power—but only what you have given:  a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.” (Francis of Assisi)  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”  (Matthew 6:19-21)  

2/12/2013 10:21 AM