July 18 - Morning
"If a ruler’s anger rises against you,
do not leave your post;
calmness can lay great offenses to rest."
- Ecclesiastes 10:4
do not leave your post;
calmness can lay great offenses to rest."
- Ecclesiastes 10:4
Stay Calm and Remain Operational
Solomon now gives advice to the servant, the soldier, the employee or anyone under authority. If you make a mistake that causes anger and rebuke to arise in your master, your commander, your boss or any leader, do not respond with rash behavior. Instead, remain calm and continue at your job.
The opposite of “calmness” could be any of a variety of inappropriate responses: fear, anger, quitting, blaming, etc. All of these would be a failure and could make a resolution to the problem impossible.
- Calmness gives you time to think. What can you do to fix the problem?
- Calmness keeps you at your post managing your responsibilities. Doing the job you were assigned to do is commendable every time.
- Calmness gives the angered authority time to reevaluate their response to you. Was their judgment correct? Did they overreact? Do they really want to lose your productivity? Remember people in authority are also human and sometimes need to rethink their position.
In any case, Solomon is right when he says, your “calmness can lay great offenses to rest.” And, the opposite is true! Your overreacting in fear, anger or with a letter of resignation can create another problem, besides making the original situation irreparable.
Solomon’s speaks in a similar fashion in these Proverbs:
Male (Hb) – to be full or overflow (Eng) - The Hebrew verb male means “to fill,” “fulfill,” “overflow,” “ordain,” “endow.”
Genesis 6:13 – "the earth is filled with violence through them."
Exodus 40:34 – " the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle."
1 Kings 2:27 – as in coming to an end or fulfilling a prophetic word, "So Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling the word of the Lord that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh."
1 Kings 1:14 – to confirm someone’s word.
Joshua 3:15 – fill to overflow, "the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest."
Jeremiah 51:11 – in a military sense, "gather the arrows" (see HERE)
Genesis 6:13 – "the earth is filled with violence through them."
Exodus 40:34 – " the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle."
1 Kings 2:27 – as in coming to an end or fulfilling a prophetic word, "So Solomon expelled Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, thus fulfilling the word of the Lord that he had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh."
1 Kings 1:14 – to confirm someone’s word.
Joshua 3:15 – fill to overflow, "the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest."
Jeremiah 51:11 – in a military sense, "gather the arrows" (see HERE)
I will resist overreacting to a bad situation, and will instead remain calm and continue working.
Bible Reading Descriptions Here
Personal
Listen to someone in need
Church
Understanding of Grace
Nation
Congressional leaders
World
Iraq
After 2,000 years the joints of the ashlar stones in Herod's retaining wall remain tight and aligned.
Locations detailed on a map of Isaiah's prophecy of the protection provided to the remnant of Israel in Isaiah 10:20-33.
Someone to Quote
"Let it be understood that those who are not found living as He taught are not Christians - even though they profess with the lips the teachings of Christ."
- Justin Martyr, 160 AD
- Justin Martyr, 160 AD
Something to Ponder
Eutychianism was a Christological Heresy in 433 AD that believed that the human nature of Christ was absorbed by the Logos. This would mean that Jesus was neither fully human nor fully divine, but was a mixture of humanity and divinity.
Here’s a Fact
A structure of stone in the general shape of a pyramid was found in 2013 underwater at the south end of the Sea of Galilee. The man-made, cone shaped structure is over 30 feet tall and 230 feet wide at its base. It is made of unhewn basalt boulders and seems to have served some purpose around 2000 BC or before.
Investigation is just beginning.
(Details 1, 2. Photos 1, 2. Map. Diagram.)
Investigation is just beginning.
(Details 1, 2. Photos 1, 2. Map. Diagram.)
Proverb
"He who answers before listening
- that is his folly and his shame."
- Proverbs 18:13
- that is his folly and his shame."
- Proverbs 18:13
Coach’s Corner
Personal growth increases your personal potential. The failure to learn and the refusal to change is the rejection of increasing your opportunity for success.
1 Chronicles 22 New International Version (NIV)
22 Then David said, “The house of the Lord God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
Preparations for the Temple
2 So David gave orders to assemble the foreigners residing in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. 3 He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. 4 He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.
5 David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.
6 Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. 8 But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10 He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’
11 “Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would. 12 May the Lord give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
14 “I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. 15 You have many workers: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as those skilled in every kind of work 16 in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you.”
17 Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. 18 He said to them, “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has given the inhabitants of the land into my hands, and the land is subject to the Lord and to his people. 19 Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the Lord.”
22 Then David said, “The house of the Lord God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
Preparations for the Temple
2 So David gave orders to assemble the foreigners residing in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. 3 He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. 4 He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.
5 David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations. Therefore I will make preparations for it.” So David made extensive preparations before his death.
6 Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. 8 But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10 He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’
11 “Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as he said you would. 12 May the Lord give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. 13 Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
14 “I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them. 15 You have many workers: stonecutters, masons and carpenters, as well as those skilled in every kind of work 16 in gold and silver, bronze and iron—craftsmen beyond number. Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you.”
17 Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon. 18 He said to them, “Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? For he has given the inhabitants of the land into my hands, and the land is subject to the Lord and to his people. 19 Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the sacred articles belonging to God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the Lord.”
Ezekiel 19 New International Version (NIV)
A Lament Over Israel’s Princes
19 “Take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel 2 and say:
“‘What a lioness was your mother among the lions! She lay down among them and reared her cubs.
3
She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he became a man-eater.
4
The nations heard about him, and he was trapped in their pit. They led him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
5
“‘When she saw her hope unfulfilled, her expectation gone, she took another of her cubs and made him a strong lion.
6
He prowled among the lions, for he was now a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he became a man-eater.
7
He broke down their strongholds and devastated their towns. The land and all who were in it were terrified by his roaring.
8
Then the nations came against him, those from regions round about. They spread their net for him, and he was trapped in their pit.
9
With hooks they pulled him into a cage and brought him to the king of Babylon. They put him in prison, so his roar was heard no longer on the mountains of Israel.
10
“‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of abundant water.
11
Its branches were strong, fit for a ruler’s scepter. It towered high above the thick foliage, conspicuous for its height and for its many branches.
12
But it was uprooted in fury and thrown to the ground. The east wind made it shrivel, it was stripped of its fruit; its strong branches withered and fire consumed them.
13
Now it is planted in the desert, in a dry and thirsty land.
14
Fire spread from one of its main branches and consumed its fruit. No strong branch is left on it fit for a ruler’s scepter.’
“This is a lament and is to be used as a lament.”
A Lament Over Israel’s Princes
19 “Take up a lament concerning the princes of Israel 2 and say:
“‘What a lioness was your mother among the lions! She lay down among them and reared her cubs.
3
She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he became a man-eater.
4
The nations heard about him, and he was trapped in their pit. They led him with hooks to the land of Egypt.
5
“‘When she saw her hope unfulfilled, her expectation gone, she took another of her cubs and made him a strong lion.
6
He prowled among the lions, for he was now a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he became a man-eater.
7
He broke down their strongholds and devastated their towns. The land and all who were in it were terrified by his roaring.
8
Then the nations came against him, those from regions round about. They spread their net for him, and he was trapped in their pit.
9
With hooks they pulled him into a cage and brought him to the king of Babylon. They put him in prison, so his roar was heard no longer on the mountains of Israel.
10
“‘Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard planted by the water; it was fruitful and full of branches because of abundant water.
11
Its branches were strong, fit for a ruler’s scepter. It towered high above the thick foliage, conspicuous for its height and for its many branches.
12
But it was uprooted in fury and thrown to the ground. The east wind made it shrivel, it was stripped of its fruit; its strong branches withered and fire consumed them.
13
Now it is planted in the desert, in a dry and thirsty land.
14
Fire spread from one of its main branches and consumed its fruit. No strong branch is left on it fit for a ruler’s scepter.’
“This is a lament and is to be used as a lament.”
Isaiah 23-25New International Version (NIV)
A Prophecy Against Tyre
23 A prophecy against Tyre:
Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For Tyre is destroyed and left without house or harbor. From the land of Cyprus word has come to them.
2
Be silent, you people of the island and you merchants of Sidon, whom the seafarers have enriched.
3
On the great waters came the grain of the Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre, and she became the marketplace of the nations.
4
Be ashamed, Sidon, and you fortress of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have neither been in labor nor given birth; I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
5
When word comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish at the report from Tyre.
6
Cross over to Tarshish; wail, you people of the island.
7
Is this your city of revelry, the old, old city, whose feet have taken her to settle in far-off lands?
8
Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are renowned in the earth?
9
The Lord Almighty planned it, to bring down her pride in all her splendor and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.
10
Till your land as they do along the Nile, Daughter Tarshish, for you no longer have a harbor.
11
The Lord has stretched out his hand over the sea and made its kingdoms tremble. He has given an order concerning Phoenicia that her fortresses be destroyed.
12
He said, “No more of your reveling, Virgin Daughter Sidon, now crushed!
“Up, cross over to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.”
13
Look at the land of the Babylonians, this people that is now of no account! The Assyrians have made it a place for desert creatures; they raised up their siege towers, they stripped its fortresses bare and turned it into a ruin.
14
Wail, you ships of Tarshish; your fortress is destroyed!
15 At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16
“Take up a harp, walk through the city, you forgotten prostitute; play the harp well, sing many a song, so that you will be remembered.”
17 At the end of seventy years, the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. 18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord; they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord, for abundant food and fine clothes.
The Lord’s Devastation of the Earth
24
See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants—
2
it will be the same for priest as for people, for the master as for his servant, for the mistress as for her servant, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor.
3
The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word.
4
The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth.
5
The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.
6
Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left.
7
The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan.
8
The joyful timbrels are stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent.
9
No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers.
10
The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred.
11
In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
12
The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces.
13
So will it be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.
14
They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
15
Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea.
16
From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.”
But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!”
17
Terror and pit and snare await you, people of the earth.
18
Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare.
The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake.
19
The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken.
20
The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again.
21
In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below.
22
They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days.
23
The moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders—with great glory.
Praise to the Lord
25
Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.
2
You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
3
Therefore strong peoples will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
4
You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall
5
and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
6
On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7
On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;
8
he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.
9 In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
10
The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain; but Moab will be trampled in their land as straw is trampled down in the manure.
11
They will stretch out their hands in it, as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim. God will bring down their pride despite the cleverness of their hands.
12
He will bring down your high fortified walls and lay them low; he will bring them down to the ground, to the very dust.
A Prophecy Against Tyre
23 A prophecy against Tyre:
Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For Tyre is destroyed and left without house or harbor. From the land of Cyprus word has come to them.
2
Be silent, you people of the island and you merchants of Sidon, whom the seafarers have enriched.
3
On the great waters came the grain of the Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre, and she became the marketplace of the nations.
4
Be ashamed, Sidon, and you fortress of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have neither been in labor nor given birth; I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
5
When word comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish at the report from Tyre.
6
Cross over to Tarshish; wail, you people of the island.
7
Is this your city of revelry, the old, old city, whose feet have taken her to settle in far-off lands?
8
Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are renowned in the earth?
9
The Lord Almighty planned it, to bring down her pride in all her splendor and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.
10
Till your land as they do along the Nile, Daughter Tarshish, for you no longer have a harbor.
11
The Lord has stretched out his hand over the sea and made its kingdoms tremble. He has given an order concerning Phoenicia that her fortresses be destroyed.
12
He said, “No more of your reveling, Virgin Daughter Sidon, now crushed!
“Up, cross over to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.”
13
Look at the land of the Babylonians, this people that is now of no account! The Assyrians have made it a place for desert creatures; they raised up their siege towers, they stripped its fortresses bare and turned it into a ruin.
14
Wail, you ships of Tarshish; your fortress is destroyed!
15 At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16
“Take up a harp, walk through the city, you forgotten prostitute; play the harp well, sing many a song, so that you will be remembered.”
17 At the end of seventy years, the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. 18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord; they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord, for abundant food and fine clothes.
The Lord’s Devastation of the Earth
24
See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants—
2
it will be the same for priest as for people, for the master as for his servant, for the mistress as for her servant, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor.
3
The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word.
4
The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth.
5
The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.
6
Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left.
7
The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan.
8
The joyful timbrels are stilled, the noise of the revelers has stopped, the joyful harp is silent.
9
No longer do they drink wine with a song; the beer is bitter to its drinkers.
10
The ruined city lies desolate; the entrance to every house is barred.
11
In the streets they cry out for wine; all joy turns to gloom, all joyful sounds are banished from the earth.
12
The city is left in ruins, its gate is battered to pieces.
13
So will it be on the earth and among the nations, as when an olive tree is beaten, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.
14
They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the Lord’s majesty.
15
Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea.
16
From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.”
But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!”
17
Terror and pit and snare await you, people of the earth.
18
Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare.
The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake.
19
The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken.
20
The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again.
21
In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below.
22
They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days.
23
The moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders—with great glory.
Praise to the Lord
25
Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.
2
You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
3
Therefore strong peoples will honor you; cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
4
You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall
5
and like the heat of the desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
6
On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7
On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;
8
he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.
9 In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
10
The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain; but Moab will be trampled in their land as straw is trampled down in the manure.
11
They will stretch out their hands in it, as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim. God will bring down their pride despite the cleverness of their hands.
12
He will bring down your high fortified walls and lay them low; he will bring them down to the ground, to the very dust.