My typical daily reading plan is to draw from the OT, the NT, and a short section in the Proverbs or Ecclesiastes. One day, recently, these were my three passages. And I was struck by what they collectively said about “trust.”
·
Ezekiel 16 is a lengthy narrative of God’s
goodness to Israel and Israel’s abominable response. It is terrible. Let me say how glad I am that the chapter
went to the last verse, v63, where the Lord GOD provides atonement for
Israel. God is so gracious and merciful.
o
What was Israel’s problem? After God made her beautiful, she trusted in
her beauty. She did not trust the One
who made her; she trusted what He made! The
word for trust is used 120 times in the OT and is a list of trusts that are
unworthy of our confidence. God would
send a nation to besiege the fortified walls in which she trusted (Dt.
28:52). The men of Shechem trusted in
Gaal, under whose leadership they were defeated (Judges 9:26). And on and on!
o In
Ezekiel 16, the result was disastrous. How
degenerate is your heart! Trusting
in your own beauty is a recipe for being taken advantage of. Read on, past v30, and you will see.
·
In Ecclesiastes 5 we see the person who makes
wealth his life-principle. In 5:8, why
do the politicians take advantage of the poor?
It is so that they can become rich.
We see it in our own country, the land of freedom, of noble men and
women, etc. Twenty years in congress
will make you filthy rich. And, of
course, however much silver you have, it will never be enough (5:10-11). Sadly, those who live to be rich fail to
understand that they will never be able to enjoy the riches (5:12). He who trusts in his own heart is a fool
(Prov. 28:26).
·
Is the problem the money? No! It
is always the heart. So, we are taught
that, if we have money, there is a way we can find satisfaction. 1 Tim. 6:
o
6:1-2: Respect the master; don’t envy or hate
him because of his money.
o
6:3-5: watch out for those who connect godliness
to money. That is always heresy, to
think that godliness is a way to get rich.
o
6:6-10: Be driven by contentment, first and
always.
o
6:11-16: Pursue (be driven to attain)
righteousness, godliness, and so forth.
Fight the good fight, not the monetary fight or any other fight that focuses
on this earth. Press on until you come
into Christ’s presence.
o
6:17-19: Trust God. Not the money. Thus, be rich in good works, ready to give,
willing to share.
o 6:20-21:
Guard your heart, your regenerate heart, by the grace of God!
Consider this matter of trust. What do your words and actions and thoughts
reveal as to the object of faith. Are
you trusting your beauty?
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