Ruth 1:16

Verse of the Day Devotion: Ruth 1:16

“But Ruth said, Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.” – Ruth 1:16 

The Book of Ruth tells the story a woman from Moab named Ruth and how she came to be in the line that led to David, the great king of Israel.  We will not address the whole story here, but we will look at the character of Ruth that we as Christians need to exhibit in our lives.

This story starts with Elimelech and his wife Naomi, with their two sons Mahlon and Chilion, journeying to the country of Moab because of a severe famine in Israel.  Everything was going OK until Elimelech dies, leaving her alone with her sons.  These two sons would eventually marry, each taking Moabite women as their wives.  Then after ten years, both her sons die and she is left alone, with her two daughters-in-law. After this happened, we read, “Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the LORD had visited His people in giving them food.” Ruth 1:6. She was unable to provide food for the three of them, and she hears that God was providing food for His people, so she left with Ruth and Orpah, her daughters-in-law, to return to Israel. 

Now at a point in the journey, she spoke to her daughters saying, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. May the LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” Ruth 1:8-9a. Notice that she is blessing them, believing they will re-marry and will be settled and happy with new husbands.  Now they both stated they did not want to leave her alone, however, as the story continues Orpah goes back but Ruth remains. “And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.” Ruth 1:14.

Now Naomi urges Ruth to go back as well. “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” Ruth 1:15. But Ruth responds to Naomi according to our focus verse, “But Ruth said, Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.” Ruth 1:16. 

By leaving her homeland and going with Naomi, Ruth renounced her citizenship in Moab. With the words, ‘Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge,’ Ruth separated herself from her country of origin. She abandoned one kingdom to be joined to another. Then she declared something that shows she was willing to give up her old life in Moab and devote herself to a new life in Israel. ‘Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.’ She gave up everything because of her love for Naomi and I also believe the love she was developing for the God Naomi worshipped and obeyed.  As you can see, redemption is the central theme of Ruth’s story. 

And this also is what we must do when we give up our old, worldly life and become Christians. The young widow’s unwavering commitment to follow Naomi provides a beautiful depiction of Christian conversion. Ruth made a definitive separation from her past way of life. Becoming a follower of Jesus Christ likewise involves a pivotal decision and breaking away from the past. She did not know everything about the true God, but she understood enough to turn from the gods of Moab to Jehovah, the true God.  When we are saved, we do not fully understand everything.  But when we read the scripture and study it with the help of others, we begin to understand more and more.  This is what Ruth did. 

Ruth’s statement to Naomi, wherever you go, I will go, is analogous to a new believer saying, I have decided to follow Jesus. Wherever you go, Lord, I will go. As true Christians, we are to be united with Christ. Paul put it this way. “and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.” 1 Corinthians 3:23. We leave our old citizenship and identity behind and become new creations in Jesus Christ. “But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.” Colossians 3:8-10. We must, as a picture of what Ruth did, say goodbye to the darkness of sin and live in the light of His kingdom.

And, as with Ruth, His people become our people and the Sovereign God becomes our God. “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.  We give up our old way of living for ourselves; we take up our cross and follow Him” Ephesians 2:19-22.  So, live as such.  God was pleased with Ruth in her new life because she gave it all.  And like Ruth, let us, give our all for Him as well.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Amos 3:7

Verse of the Day Devotion Amos 3:7

“Surely the Lord GOD does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets.” –  Amos 3:7

This is an interesting verse spoken by God to His people.  This prophecy speaks of all the tribes of Israel. “Hear this word which the LORD has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the entire family which He brought up from the land of Egypt, You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; Therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.” Amos 3:1-2.  God brought Israel up out of the land of Egypt and proved His love and care for them. So now for God to speak against them shows He was no doubt greatly provoked. The central act of redemption in the Old Testament was Israel’s exodus from Egypt. All through the Old Testament, God called Israel to look back and remember Him as the one who freed them from Egypt. The central act of redemption in the New Testament, and in God’s whole plan of redemption, is the work of Jesus on the cross. In the same way, we are called to constantly look back and remember what Jesus did on the cross and to live in light of that great fact. He then completes this by saying, “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; Therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.” Amos 3:2. They are the only people He has chosen to be His, and thus because of their sins they will be punished.

Amos now asks five questions with each answer being an obvious No. “Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment? Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl from his den unless he has captured something? Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no bait in it? Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all?” Amos 3:3-5a.  Then He asks, leading up to the main purpose of these words. “If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble? If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it?”  Amos 3:6.

Now we come to our focus verse, “Surely the Lord GOD does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7. Now, God had told them in verse two that He would punish them for all their iniquities.  However, for many years He had revealed warnings to His people, through the prophets, that if they did not stop their sinning, they would be punished.  Amos spoke of the coming judgment upon Israel. God revealed this secret to His prophets, and it was prophesied for years and years before it happened so Israel would have every opportunity to repent. Such secrets of God are revealed to them, that they may inform the people; that, by repentance and conversion, they may avoid the punishment, and, by walking closely with God, secure the continuance of his favor.

As a parent when my children were young, I would tell them I had warned them about doing wrong; sin, and therefore because they did it they would be punished.  Most of the time, that meant a spanking.  God, through the prophet Amos is doing the same thing.  He was saying He told them previously not to continue in their sin, and because they chose this path, they would be punished by a calamity in their city.  He had warned them many times, but they refused to listen. 

We must remember the context of the prophet Amos and understand that this does not mean that God does nothing without revealing it to a prophet first. He is speaking here of punishment for going against the ways of God.  There are times He will bring things about without initial revelation, i.e.: how God deliberately hid the nature of the church, it being a new body, neither Jewish nor Gentile specifically, from Old Testament prophets.  But when it comes to warnings of punishment for iniquities, we are warned.  Unfortunately, many times we do not listen to it.

In closing, God spoke to the prophets and warned the people through them to repent of their sins and follow God in all ways.  And throughout the scriptures we have been warned as well.  We are taught the  ways of God and that not following them is sin.  “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.” James 4:17.  Read His word and study it so you can know the life we have been called to live in Christ.  And reach out to those who are not Christians, helping them to see the truth and accept the salvation provided through Christ’s death.  “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” 1 Peter 3:15-16.  

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Deuteronomy 6:7

Verse of the Day Devotion Deuteronomy 6:7  

“Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” – Deuteronomy 6:7

In order to understand what this verse refers to it is important that we look at the verse prior to focus verse. “And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.”  Deuteronomy 6:6. The whole here describes the commandments, a term that encompasses the full covenant text as communicated by Moses. “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.” Deuteronomy 6:1-2. Then Moses says, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5. And as we read in verse six, these laws are to be on their hearts and not just in their heads.

Now Jesus spoke regarding the Law in a similar fashion as recorded by Matthew in His gospel. “And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40. Based on this, we should look at obeying the Jewish law as a way to show our love for God, not just to obey them to be righteous. However, notice that Jesus added another thought to this, and that is to love our neighbor as ourself.

Now lets take a look at our focus verse.  “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:7.  These words given them by God are so important that the covenant recipients must impress the words of covenant faith into the thinking of their children by inscribing them in the children’s hearts with indelible sharpness and precision.  Theologian E. H. Merrill makes a great point regarding this.  “The image is that of the engraver of a monument who takes hammer and chisel in hand and with painstaking care etches a text into the face of a solid slab of granite. The sheer labor of such a task is daunting indeed, but once done the message is there to stay. Thus it is that the generations of Israelites to come must receive and transmit the words of the Lord’s everlasting covenant revelation.”

This idea of training our children in the ways of God is just as important, if not more, in our time as well.  We read in Proverbs the following, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6.  And in the New Testament. “And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4. It is imperative that we instruct our children, and if necessary other children, in the ways of God and of the Salvation that is offered via the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Mark records what Jesus said to His disciples. “And He said to them, go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” Mark 16:15-16.

I want to encourage each of us to spend concerted time in sharing the truth of the scripture to our children, first leading them to salvation through the acceptance of Christ, and then helping them to learn how to live the Christian life in a way that glorifies God.  If we absolutely love our children, we will take as much time as necessary to train them in the ways of our loving God. When my children were young, I would read the scriptures to them in a way that was fun yet instilled in them the truth.  They enjoyed it and actually looked forward to it.  And now, my children are Christians with strong faith in God.  This is so important, for this gives them an opportunity to have a wonderful life in Christ both now and for eternity.  And never stop training them for there is so much involved in living the Christian life.  Is not this what we desire of our children? I pray it is.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Psalm 103:1

Verse of the Day Devotion Psalm 103:1 

“Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name.” –  Psalm 103:1

David starts this prayer with ‘Bless the Lord, Oh my soul’.  The word here translated bless is the Hebrew word baw-rak which is a primitive root meaning to kneel, and by implication to bless God as an act of adoration.  What is implied here is that David went before the Lord God with true humility, kneeling before Him and abundantly blessing and praising His God.  It no doubt also implies a mighty sense of gratitude to Him for all God has done for Him. 

Most of the time, the call to praise and worship is addressed to a worshipping community, such as a church, or to some other group of people.  And to be honest, most worship is done at a church with music and lyrics in the front.  And there is nothing wrong with this for when the Church gets together, and by Church I mean the people, we should always kneel or bow before Him giving thanks, worship, and praise which He absolutely deserves.  However, as we see in our focus verse, David calls on his own inner being to bless the Lord.  This act of worship involves his entire person. Humans bless the Lord by speaking well of him as they complement him publicly. Blessing, or praise, is the natural response to contemplating the Lord’s holy character, which provides an inexhaustible reason for extolling him. The psalmist’s praise of the Lord is intentional, as he focuses on various aspects of his greatness and goodness.   

However, how many of us bow before Him alone, where no one can see us and praise and worship Him privately as well?  How many of us go to Him alone and give Him the glory and praise due Him.  This can give us a wonderful time to praise Him with our own words, our own songs, and our own heart in the way that we feel at that time.  This is a beautiful opportunity to use, as theologian Albert Barnes puts it,  “all our powers and faculties; all that can be employed in his praise: the heart, the will, the affections, the emotions. The idea is, that God is worthy of all the praise and adoration which the entire man can render. No one of his faculties or powers should be exempt from the duty and the privilege of praise.”  

The one value of these opening words is that they show us that worship is not involuntary or automatic. It calls for the coordination of all that we are. We should not restrict our worship to the sanctuary, but we must make everywhere a potential place of worship. We should enter worship and praise with all that we have, dedicated to giving Him all due Him. Then we may render a service of praise that is worthy and acceptable.

In this daily devotion, I want to encourage us all, and I do include myself in this, to take time to get alone with God and offer praise and blessings to Him with all we have and are.  And I encourage everyone in these times to not only offer praise to Him but pray to Him as well and then sit quietly and hear what He has to say back to us.  There is nothing like a two-way conversation with God.  I have experienced it and I never want to miss this time again.  This may be difficult at first, but once it becomes natural, I believe you will find this time as important as anything else you do.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Proverbs 16:28

Verse of the Day Devotion Proverbs 16:28

“A perverse man spreads strife, and a slanderer separates intimate friends.” – Proverbs 16:28  

Solomon, the author of Proverbs, is writing here regarding causing strife. This happens so much in this world. I have experienced this multiple times in work environments where someone who desires to move up will say things about others that are detrimental to their reputations so that they can possibly take over their position. And there are many other examples of this idea, where people are hurt by the words of another, and this results in divisiveness.

Lets start with the verse above our focus verse. “A worthless man digs up evil, While his words are as a scorching fire.” Proverbs 16:27. The Hebrew word here for worthless is belı̂ya‛al which has the idea of someone who is wicked and Godless. Going back to the verse, a wicked and Godless man works to dig up evil about a person. Any bad thing they hear about someone they will pass around, letting as many people know as possible. The analogy is a wicked man who labors much to bring about an evil purpose, as the quarryman does to dig up stones. The sense is that for the ungodly man, the evil he casually finds is not enough to satisfy his desire, therefore he digs around to pursue any evil he can come up with. And when he digs up evil, he cannot keep it to himself. He must spread it from his lips as if it were a burning fire. What he finds he spreads, like a scorching fire.  And this simile speaks of the devastating effect these words can have on that person.

Now, moving on to our focus verse, “A perverse man spreads strife, And a slanderer separates intimate friends.” Proverbs 16:28. The idea of this word perverse is a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable, often despite possible consequences.  Solomon states that a perverse person spreads strife through the method of tale-bearing of gossiping. They find out something bad about someone and their desire is to let people know what this person said or did, without any thought about the affect it may have on that person.  It is like a whisperer who goes amount secretly telling people what they know.  A modern word for this activity is gossiping, which is unconstrained conversations or reports about other people, typically involving information which the gossiper has incomplete information on. And the information spread is predominately malicious, misrepresenting the truth.  This can also be deemed as slander, which our focus verse states can cause intimate friendships to end, which is division.  And Paul had harsh words for those who cause division. “Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.” Romans 16:17-18.

I encourage everyone to watch out that they do not find themselves spreading words that could be hurtful to anyone or cause any form of division between people. This is not love, and we need to avoid such activities. Paul, again, wrote regarding gossip, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29.  Our speech should provide encouragement to all, consolation where needed, and joy to all who hear it.  It must be words that bring us together and not divide us. It should help people understand what Christianity is all about and should provide reasons for the unsaved to desire and ultimately accept the salvation Jesus provided. This is what God has called us to do.  Let us not deviate from the good speech that helps people in their walk, causing them to question the reality of Christianity and possibly abandoning belief in Christ altogether.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Job 42:2

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Job 42:2  

“I know that Thou canst do all things, and that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted.” – Job 42:2  

Job was a man that endured more than I could ever imagine.  In chapter one, he loses everything that He owned.  He lost all his property and all his children. This is an amazing story of a man who withstood the greatest test imaginable. And after all that happened to Job in chapter one, it says “Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.” Job 1:22.

In Job up through chapter 37, Job is tested by Satan.  Then in chapters 38 through 41, God goes to Job and asks a series of questions, showing Job that he has no understanding of Him at all.  “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge? Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!” Job 38:2. God is informing Job that He does not truly speak what he knows. The theologian Adam Clarke puts it this way. “As if he had said, who art thou who pretends to speak on the deep things of God, and the administration of his justice and providence, which thou canst not comprehend; and leaves my counsels and designs the darker for thy explanation?” In other words, speaking without understanding what he is speaking about. How often do we see this happening today?

Then God tells Job to get ready for He is going to ask him some questions. “Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!” Job 38:3. Notice the words “and you instruct me. Here are a few of the questions God asked him. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding,” Job 38:4. “Who set its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it?” Job 38:5. And then finally, “Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, and caused the dawn to know its place?” Job 38:12.

Then after all the questions were asked, Job fully understood that he really did not understand. Then in an act of repentance we read in our focus verse, “I know that Thou canst do all things, And that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted.” Job 42:2.  Now. remember the question asked by God in chapter thirty-eight where God started asking His series of questions, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?  well, Job now answers God.  “Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore, I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” Job 42:3. Then he says to God, “Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask Thee, and do Thou instruct me. Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask Thee, and do Thou instruct me. Therefore, I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:4-6.  The meaning of repenting in ‘dust and ashes’ has the idea of repenting in humility before the Lord and His greatness.

We must be careful how we view our knowledge of God and His ways.  Things we can know is that God loves us, cares for us, and desires a strong relationship with us. This is clear.  But do we know why God does one thing rather than another?  Not always, but we can trust that what He allows in good. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28. We do not have to know everything, for God does and He will protect us and make good come from bad. And finally, the prophet Isaiah puts it well when he declared, “Remember this, and be assured; Recall it to mind, you transgressors. Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.” Isaiah 46:8-10.

In closing, we cannot always know why things happen or why they do not. For only God knows all things.  But what we can know is that God is in control, and because He loves us, we can know that everything that happens is for our good.  Let us be careful that we do not assume what we deem as bad is bad, for God may mean it for our good. And alternately, let us be careful that we do not assume what we deem as good is necessarily good, we can pray that God will remove our trials and tribulations from us. However, we should remember the prayer Jesus prayed just prior to His arrest. “And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done.” Luke 22:41-42.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Proverbs 27:2

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Proverbs 27:2    

“Let another praise you, and not your own mouth, a stranger, and not your own lips.” – Proverbs 27:2

This verse deals with pride, arrogance and humility.  Some people do things in order to be noticed and  be honored for it.  I have seen this many times, especially famous people who want to be remembered and lifted up.  However, Solomon writes a much different concept, one where we just do something simply because it is needed.  He says, in or focus verse, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.” Proverbs 27:2.

Now we are to do good things.  “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8.  We are called to do good works to both assist our brothers and sisters, our neighbor and to glorify and honor God.  If someone needs help, offer it and give them assistance.  If they are struggling because of trials that are besetting them, go to them and give them the help and encouragement they need.  As the theologian Matthew Henry says, “We must do that which is commendable, for which even strangers may praise us. Our light must shine before men, and we must do good works that may be seen.”  We are called to shine the light of Christ into the darkness.  However, he finishes this thought in this way.  “though we must not do them on purpose that they may be seen. Let our own works be such as will praise us, even in the gates,” The world needs to see us, as Christians, doing good things for the benefit of others. 

But when we do these good things we must not do them for the purpose that they may be seen. Let our own works be such as will praise us, but we must not seek praise from others for these good works.  There may be times where we may need to discuss what we did, but it does not become us to applaud ourselves in the process.  Paul puts our calling this way.  “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3.    

Everything we do must not be to honor ourselves.  “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:17.  It is important it be done for His purpose.  Do everything because he requires and commands it, and with a desire to honor him. His authority should be our reason, his glory the aim of all our actions and words. 

Lastly, Jesus tells His disciples not to exalt themselves for any reason.  “But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”  Matthew 23:12.  The way to arrive at the highest degree of dignity, in the sight of God, is by being willing to become the servant of all.  Nothing is more undesirable in the sight of God then pride and arrogance.

We will be lifted up by others at times because of their thankfulness for what we have done for them.  However, we must accept this humbly, without building ourselves up in the process.  If anyone is to be exalted, it is God who has given us the opportunities to do His work here on this earth, and the ability and knowledge to make it happen.  If anyone deserves praise, it is Him.  So, instead of focusing on ourselves we should focus on God in all matters.  What joy will be derived by giving Him all the glory.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Job 1:21

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Job 1:21 

“He said, naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” –  Job 1:21

Job in this verse is dealing with extreme loss, more than most, if not all, in this world has ever experienced.  He lived in the land of Uz, and based on Job 1:1, he “was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.” Job 1:1b.  He had ten children, seven sons and three daughters and many possessions including seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred oxen and five hundred female donkeys.  He also had many servants who worked for him to take care of all these animals and other things Job owned.  In verse three he is declared by the writer as “the greatest of all men of the east.” Job 1:3b. 

Now one day Satan came to God, who spoke to Satan saying, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” Job 1:8. God said there was no one like him in all the earth, blameless and upright more than anyone else on the earth.  Satan responded by saying, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” Job 1:9b-10.  Satan was essentially saying you have fortified him with spikes and spears. You have defended him with an unapproachable hedge. He is an object of your specific care and is not exposed to the common trials of life.  He then adds the following.  “But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” 

God then responds to him by saying, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.  So, Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.” Job 1:12. Then Satan goes to work.  First, the Sabeans came and stole all the donkeys and oxen and killed the servants tending them.  Then, according to a servant who came to him, fire fell from the sky which he called “the fire of God” and burned up all the sheep and the servants in the field, consuming them.   Then the Chaldeans took all the camels and killed all the servants with them.  Then worst of all, “While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” Job 1:18-29. 

Because of all this, Job lost everything he had.  He lost all his oxen and donkeys, his sheep, his camels and all his servants.  And worst of all, his ten children were killed when the house they were meeting at collapsed due to heavy winds that came upon it.  And because of all this, he tore his garments, shaved or pulled out the hair of his head and threw dust or ashes on his head, and fell on the ground, which were acts by which immense grief was expressed. Job must have felt the bitterness of anguish when he was told that, in addition to the loss of all his property, his children suffered a terrible death.

However, his response was not what Satan expected.  “He said, Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” Job 1:21 which is our focus verse.  Notice what happened here.  Job did not point to the evil men or the natural disasters that took everything away.  This would not have eased the sorrow he felt, but he looks at a higher place.  He chose to look to the Sovereign Lord of the universe and to put his trust in God’s goodness.  At times, God allows hard times to impact those who love Him, and during these times we must cling to the truth that God is good.  God is sovereign, and nothing could happen that God does not know about.  When the Lord gives, we must praise Him and be thankful.  And when the Lord takes away, we must also praise Him and be thankful.  We must always remember, no matter what happens, God has our best interests at heart.  “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28.   We may mourn our losses, whether they be things or loved ones, however, we must remember that God loves us more than we can understand and therefore works in everything on our behalf.  So, no matter what happens, we must always look to Him and, as Job declared in our focus verse, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” Job 1:21b. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Isaiah 30:9

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Isaiah 30:9

“For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen to the instruction of the LORD.” – Isaiah 30:9

This particular verse is a prophecy that Isaiah receives from God regarding what Assyria will do and ultimately how Israel will respond.  The northern kingdom of Israel would soon be conquered by Assyria, and the people of Israel would be taken into exile. The Assyrians would then come against the land of Judah, and because of this threat the leaders of Judah looked to Egypt for protection against the Assyrian invasion.  “Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “Who execute a plan, but not Mine, And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, In order to add sin to sin, Who proceed down to Egypt Without consulting Me, to take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!” Isaiah 30:1-2.  God tells them that the plan they have devised was not His and the alliance they were making for their protection was not with Him. 

However, this alliance will be a shame to them, causing humiliation because they thought they would be safer with Egypt than with God.  “Everyone will be ashamed because of a people who cannot profit them, Who are not for help or profit, but for shame and also for reproach.” Isaiah 30:5.  Egypt was not going to save them.  They were not going to protect them from the most powerful kingdom on the earth at that time.  They did not want to get involved, for they knew they could not defeat them, therefore they simply wanted to stay clear of the whole issue.  “For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD.” Isaiah 30:9.  However, though they are rebellious, God is still gracious with them.  “Therefore, the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.” Isaiah 30:9. However, they must call out to Him and no other, in this example, the kingdom of Egypt. 

Paul, in the book of 2 Timothy, writes to educate Christians by preaching His word to them.  “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”  2 Timothy 4:1-2.  And it is imperative that we do this today.  For we see the fulfillment of the prophecy spoken in the next two verses.  “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4.  This speaks of acting as the tribe of Judah did in not listening to God but doing as they desired. Does this sound similar to what Isaiah tells Judah they are doing?  “Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”; And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions.” Isaiah 30:10.

It is important that we listen to teachers who teach the truth of the scriptures, no matter what it says, and not what we desire to hear.  We see that today where people do not want to hear where they are wrong or where they need to stop engaging in activities that are pleasurable yet sinful.  They turn away from what is true to follow myths that make them feel good.  We need to learn what is good and follow it while turning away from what is not good and leads us away from Christ.  The people of Judah chose to ignore God, telling prophets and seers to tell them only what they wanted to hear and not what they needed to hear.  Let us not fall into this same error.

And because they did not listen to God and chose another

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries. 

Exodus 20:17

Verse of the Day Devotion:  Exodus 20:17

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” – Exodus 20:17

We are now on the last of the ten commandments.   This one speaks of covetousness.  Two different Hebrew words are used in the passages condemning coveting.  These are our focus verse and then “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Deuteronomy 5:21.  I will not get into the actual Hebrew words, but they both mean to lust after or to long for with great desire.  And since both references to this commandment are worded as something we should not do, the desire in this case is for something that the one who desires does not rightfully own and should not lust after it.  In this commandment, we are told not to lust after others possessions such as their house, land or animals.  We are also not to lust after people in their lives, such as spouses, children or anyone else. 

Whereas several of the ten commandments prohibit certain actions such as theft, murder, or bearing false witness this one focus’ on internal desires of the heart.  James put it this way.  “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” James 1:14-15.  Many sins are conceived from coveting what another has but we desire to have at their expense; improperdesires ofhavingsomethingwhich will be a gratification to ourselves.  “Oh how I desire to have his car” or “Oh to have his estate”.  This is desiring the things of another.  This is far different than desiring one like they have.  Coveting has the idea of having what they have to their loss.    

At its root, coveting is the result of envy, a sin which, once it takes root in the heart, leads to worse sins.  An example of this is coveting or lusting after a neighbor’s wife, which in essence is adultery.  Also, when we desire something so strong we may succumb to other sins, such as stealing something and then lying about it.  And if things get bad, lying in court or possibly killing them.  This in the vast majority of cases is not going to happen, but you can see the possibilities here. 

The reason covetousness is condemned is a good one.  At its very core, coveting is love of self.  And envious, selfish citizens are unhappy and discontented citizens.  And besides, covetousness is a form of idolatry.  “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.” Colossians 3:5.  And idolatry is definitely a sin which God detests.  In  the end, envy and covetousness are tools of the enemy to distract us from pursuing the one thing that will make us happy and content, that being God Himself.  “But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.  For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.  If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” 1 Timothy 6:6-8. 

The apostle Paul struggled with covetousness and he learned this lesson of contentedness.  “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11-13.  If we learn how to accept our life and ways as God has given them to us, we can learn how not to covet anything and please God in all we do.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.