Proverbs 30
In recent times, there have been few television news programs you could watch without regularly hearing something about the rich and the poor, about extreme wealth and extreme poverty. Of course, folks on both sides of the issue tend to throw those words around without much definition, although we make a habit of talking about them in very clear-cut, black-and-white terms.
Proverbs 22
It seems that, time and time again, I run up against things in the Bible regarding the “rich” and the “poor” that just aren’t as clear-cut as our modern thinking tends to be. Take this verse from today’s chapter, for instance: “Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all.” (vs 2)
Proverbs 17
Especially in America, we spend much of our lives in the pursuit of getting. We work at getting an education, getting a job, getting job security, getting a house, getting a car, getting love, getting a retirement plan—getting, getting, getting. And in Proverbs, I believe Solomon’s main point is, In all your getting, get wisdom. In all your getting, get the things that are important. In all your getting, don’t pass over the permanent for the perishable.
Proverbs 10
Right off the bat, there will be some who are uncomfortable with the title of this blog. On the other hand, there will be some who wholeheartedly agree—and even believe (as Jews in the first century did) that monetary wealth is a direct sign of God’s favor. But wherever you fall on the spectrum, verse 22 from today’s chapter must have caught your eye: “The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, without painful toil for it.”
Psalm 112
Here is one of the paradoxes of the Christian life: When we fear God, we won’t be afraid of anything. When we don’t fear God, we will be afraid of everything. Of course, as mentioned in yesterday’s blog, “fearing” God doesn’t have anything to do with being terrified of Him. It means to respect Him, to stand in awe of Him, to understand that He is over all and above all.
Psalm 49
There is a familiar refrain in this psalm: “Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me—those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—so that they should live on forever and not see decay. For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others. Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves. People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish.” (vs 5-12)
Psalm 4
Several years ago, I used to edit and produce a monthly newsletter for Canadian business people who were trying to either get rich or stay rich. It was an interesting job, to say the least. On the average, I edited articles from, roughly, 30 “experts” in various fields of business. I learned a lot about investing, marketing, and real estate. But, in all time time I produced that newsletter, I was never tempted to drop everything and run after the wealth. Maybe you could say I’m lazy. (I know that’s what at least four of those “experts” would have said!) Or maybe you could say that I just have different priorities in life.
Job 28
If you watch much TV, I'm sure you're familiar with the premier MasterCard commercials from a few years ago, featuring the "priceless" slogan. For instance, one featured a woman going on a blind date: "Haircut and style—seventy dollars. Spa manicure—fifty dollars. Stunning black dress—one hundred thirty dollars. Your blind date complaining about picking up the sixty dollar tab—priceless. There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s MasterCard."
Esther 5
Perhaps the theme of the 1965 hit by the Rolling Stones is apropos to this chapter—I can’t get no satisfaction. Poor Haman. That was his problem. It seems that no matter how "good" things got for him, it wasn’t enough: "Calling together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. 'And that’s not all,' Haman added. 'I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow. But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.'" (vs 10-13)
2 Chronicles 11
Let’s face it. Rehoboam got off to an awful start as king. He alienated just about everyone that could be alienated. Then, he tried to start a war in order to get back the land and tribes that he had lost. God warned him against doing that, and at least he was smart enough to listen to that advice.
1 Chronicles 26
There are so many things in Scripture that I don’t believe are coincidences. So many things that have layers of meaning—literal to symbolic and everything in between. And I found one of these things in this chapter of Chronicles that further outlined which Levites were in charge: "Shelomith and his relatives were in charge of all the treasuries for the things dedicated by King David... Some of the plunder taken in battle they dedicated for the repair of the temple of the Lord. And everything dedicated by Samuel the seer and by Saul son of Kish... and all the other dedicated things were in the care of Shelomith and his relatives." (vs 26-28)
