The Birth of John the Baptist

December 8, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Book of Luke Chapter 1 Verses 57 through 80

Elisabeth’s pregnancy goes full term without complications, naturally.

John’s life began to develop in his mother’s womb, just as all babies do.

Elisabeth already knew that she would have a son because the angel Gabriel had said that God had decided.

God had decided the name for this son would be John and not Zacharias or another name from the family of Zacharias.

The birth of John the Baptist brought great joy to this family because they had recognized that the birth of John was due to the mercy of God.

The birth of John the Baptist was a significant event for every generation, including today.

*Luk 1:57 Now Elisabeth’s full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.
Luk 1:58 And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

Elisabeth had forgotten her baroness because it had been replaced with joy.

We too can have joy because we live in a time when the Lord Jesus Christ could return in the clouds at any moment.

The Lord Jesus Christ said His return could be somewhat compared to the birth of a child.

Joh 16:21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
Joh 16:22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

Because the birth of John was a miraculous birth, many people wondered what manner of child he would be.

Elisabeth had forgotten all those years she could not have a child.

She was ready to give her love to this child of God.

Her friends and family had come by to rejoice with her.

The birth of John the Baptist was proof again that God will do what He says He will do.

The birth of John was of God’s power over nature.

The birth of John was evidence that God is the God of life.

Nothing is impossible for God.

Luk 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Psa 115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

Prophecy was fulfilled.

Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

The Lord Jesus said that John was the fulfillment of these prophecies: Mat 11:10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

The birth of every child is an awesome miracle of life.

The birth of John showed us a merciful God who so loves us.

The birth of John the Baptist is not much different from our own birth.

It is our job to prepare those we meet to meet the Lord Jesus Christ.

John was used in God’s plan of salvation, and we have the same job on a smaller scale than John had.

God allowed John the privilege of being the forerunner for the Messiah.

1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

All of the family and friends of Elisabeth rejoiced with her.

The mercy of God was not just for Elisabeth but was for the entire world!

God always does exactly what He says He will do!

*Luk 1:59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
Luk 1:60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
Luk 1:61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
Luk 1:62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
Luk 1:63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.

It was on the day of circumcision, the eighth day after the birth, when a Jewish child was named, and most names came in relation to the father and the father’s family.

John was named by God Himself, and some of these friends of Elisabeth were confused.

We should know that it is on the eighth day that the blood of a newborn will clot to stop the bleeding, naturally.

This is why God chose the eighth day.

Lev_12:3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

Circumcision was the sign of the covenant God made with Abraham.

Gen 17:9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
Gen 17:10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

We should also understand that circumcision is also a type of Christ.

Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Col 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
Col 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
Col 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

Those friends and family of Elisabeth and Zacharias could not grasp that something new was at hand, a New Covenant.

John was circumcised as a sign of the New Covenant that God was about to make for His people.

Most of the Jews have not accepted the New Covenant even today, but they will while going through the tribulation period of seven years.

Rom_11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

The Jews did not stumble to be rejected but once they stumbled, God offered His “grace” to the Gentile world with the purpose of provoking Israel to jealousy.

The fact that this son was named John is enough proof that this whole event was true!

Zacharias confirmed it by naming the child John.

Immediately, the chastening of Zacharias ended, and his voice returned to him.

*Luk 1:64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.
Luk 1:65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.
Luk 1:66 And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zacharias knows that John will be his only son, but he does not give him his own name, which was tradition.

By doing so, he renounces his rights to John and acknowledges that he is giving him to God.

He originated from God; he therefore belonged to God!

Zacharias had a baby dedication by dedicating him to God.

Unbelief had closed the mouth of Zacharias, but faith had made him free!

Jhn_8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Zacharias had not spoken in nine months, but the first words he had were to praise God.

All those who were there did not understand what was going on.

They could not explain it, nor could they deny it.

They could not understand because they had no faith.

The one thing they knew was that John was something special because they could tell the hand of the Lord was involved in these things.

They went about all Judaea telling them what had happened on that day of John’s circumcision.

They would not forget what they had seen and heard but kept them in their hearts.

After our salvation, we should be praising God continuously.
We should be amazed that the Lord would do such a thing as die for our sins.
We should be spreading this “Good News” everywhere we go.
We should see that our destiny lies in the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1Pe 1:17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
1Pe 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

Psa 111:9 He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.
Psa 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Psa 89:7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

*Luk 1:67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

There is one thing we know for sure, and it is that God will never go against His own words.

God will never break a covenant that He has with us as a group or that He has made with us individually.

No sooner than when his tongue was loosed, Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Once Zacharias obeyed God, God removed His chastisement from him, and he was healed of his dumbness, and he could speak again.

1) Zacharias was forgiven for his sin of unbelief.

We must be aware that every time we question the Word of God, we are committing the sin of doubt, doubting God, doubting our Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember, it is by faith we are saved!

2) Zacharias being filled with the Holy Spirit is a great picture of what happens to every child of God who accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.

We believe and obey God, then and only then, are we filled with God the Holy Spirit.

Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

*Luk 1:68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
Luk 1:69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
Luk 1:70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
Luk 1:71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
Luk 1:72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
Luk 1:73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
Luk 1:74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
Luk 1:75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

The birth of John is the reason for this song of prophecy by Zacharias, but this song is about the yet unborn Jesus Christ.

This is the fruit of the Holy Spirit at work.

The Holy Spirit will always, ALWAYS, lead us to the Lord Jesus Christ!

It is this same God of Israel who is God the Father of Christianity!

Just as Jehovah will stand up for Israel as He has done many times already, He is now standing up for Christians throughout this world.

Notice an important thing here: Zacharias is speaking as if these events are already fulfilled, while they are still in the future.

Why, because God’s promises are guaranteed. God will do just as He says He will do!

It is God Himself who visited this earth in the person of the Messiah.

God will not neglect this earth until He has taken all His children to our new home on the New Earth.

Why has the Messiah come first?

1) He came to redeem His children.
2) He came to rescue His children from sin
3) He came to save His children.

Though it is wonderful for those who have faith and accept the Gospel, God paid a tremendous price.

He paid a life for a life!

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Just as promised, the Messiah would come from the House of David.

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

That word “horn” is always a symbol of strength, power, and might.

The Lord Jesus, the “Horn,” is the Mighty One of salvation because He alone possessed the might, the strength, and the power to save.

We should also add that He is willing.

These are acts of “mercy and grace”.

These acts prove that God remembers His covenants.

Every prophet of the Old Testament is proven to have told the truth, and they were murdered just because they spoke the truth of God, just as many are murdered today just because we believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

God is working on His plan for this world at all times; He never rests from looking out for His children.

Jesus is the same Messiah named in the Book of Genesis.

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

The world may have driven a nail through the feet of Jesus, but He still walks through the lives of Christians, and He will walk again upon this earth.

Satan will not overcome that blow to His head.

God will remember the promises made to Abraham.

Gen 26:3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
Gen 26:4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
Gen 26:5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

We may think there is turmoil in and around Israel now, but things are going to get worse until the Lord sits upon the throne of David.

God saves us so that we might serve Him and fulfill the purpose He has for each of us upon this earth.
God saves us so that we can live righteously and serve Him forever.

We can be at peace knowing that we do not have to fear what the world can do to us because the worst thing the world can do to us is the best thing that can happen to us.

We must have a clear understanding that we do not need to fear our enemies; we have been saved from them!
We will stand one day in the presence of our Holy God in a new world designed especially for us.

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
1Jn 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

Now back to John the Baptist.

*Luk 1:76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
Luk 1:77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
Luk 1:78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
Luk 1:79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luk 1:80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

John would be a prophet of God.

There had been no prophets for four hundred years, and John would be the first prophet since the prophet Malachi.

Here in this same verse, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Highest.

Jhn_10:30 I and my Father are one.

Highest means the Supreme God, just so no one gets confused.

John was to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the “Dayspring from on high”. The morning light, the rising sun.

The Messiah, Our Lord Jesus, was sent to give light to those who had been in darkness.
The Messiah was sent to those who are in the shadow of death.
The Messiah was sent to guide our feet through this sinful world.

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

The only place in Scripture we see anything about the childhood of John the Baptist is in verse eighty.

He was a boy with a strong heart and commitment.
He had a strong will and decisiveness.
He was strong in his convictions.
He was a servant of the Most High God!

He was committed to follow, obey, and serve God.

He separated himself from the world until it was time for him to preach.

John stayed in the desert till the day of his showing.

John is not told to form a political party.
John is not told to make known God’s thoughts to His people.
John is not taught all the fighting methods of his day.
John is not told to form an army.
John is told to trust the Lord!

Our one greatest test is, “do we have faith in the truth of God”?

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Amen

An Angel Foretold of John the Baptist

December 1, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Book of Luke Chapter 1 Verses 4 through 25

An Angel Foretold John’s Birth

Who was Luke, who wrote the Book of Luke and the Book of Acts?

Luke was a physician, maybe the most educated of all the writers of the Scriptures.

Luke was a Gentile, the only Gentile writer of the Scriptures.

He was familiar with the Greek and Roman world and the Gospels.

No doubt he was very familiar with the Apostle Paul.

He stresses the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the person of Christ, and the ministry to the Gentiles.

Luke is seen with Paul at Troas, a city in Asia Minor.

Luke went to Jerusalem with Paul when Paul was arrested.

Luke was with Paul when he was a prisoner in Caesarea.

Luke was with Paul when Paul was imprisoned in Rome.

Paul called Luke the beloved physician: Col 4:14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

Paul called Luke a fellow worker in the spreading of the Gospel: Phm 1:24 Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.

Luke was the last one to remain with Paul in his imprisonment.

The writing of the Book of Luke and the Book of Acts was probably in the first century 58-62 AD, because Luke did not mention the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, and he would have.

Who was this Theophilus? Some believe he was a Gentile convert to Christianity and possibly a high official in the Roman government.

This is suggested by the use of the words “most excellent”.

Because that name, Theophilus, means “Lover of God”.

We should know that there were many early attempts to narrate the life of Jesus Christ, but the four Gospels give us all that we need to know and preserve everything that was accurate and essential when those others did not.

We know that the Gospels were led by the Holy Spirit, and only the books that were guided by and approved by the Holy Spirit make up the canon of the Bible we have today.

Luke gives us an eyewitness account of the life of Jesus Christ. Luke was not an eyewitness, but he chose to get his information from those who were eyewitnesses to the life of Jesus Christ.

The Book of Luke is the Gospel of salvation. Luke uses the words salvation and Savior many more times than the other Gospels.

The Book of Luke gives us an orderly view of the whole life of Jesus Christ.

Luke’s Gospel is a record of historical events that are being verified every day!

We will begin in verse 4

*Luk 1:4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

It may be that the purpose of the Book of Luke is to look at the Lord Jesus Christ as Man, the Son of Man.

Joh 19:5 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!

Pilate realized that “here stands the Man of God, who has fallen into the hands of mere men and our Lord Jesus came willingly.

The intent of Luke was to establish the truth of Jesus Christ, God’s Messiah.

As Christians we must know that Christianity is based upon the truth of the Almighty God!

The Gospel is more about God’s creating power than His deliverance.

Believers are “Born Again” a new creation of God!

Tit_3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

To become a Christian is to be accepted by the only true God, our Creator.

Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

The greatest feeling we can have as believers is to know we have been accepted by our Creator and chosen to join Him in Heaven in His house.

Joh 14:2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Joh 14:4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

Let us look at the birth of John the Baptist.

*Luk 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
Luk 1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

The parents of John the Baptist were righteous parents; they were godly parents.

This is the foundation that every child should have.

This family was childless because Elisabeth was barren.

So, John the Baptist was a promised child.

The name Zacharias means “Remembered of Jehovah”.

That phrase “the course of Abia” has a meaning.

There were 24 groups assigned to the Temple, of all the descendants of Aaron, and Zacharias was in the eighth group.

Each group served in the Temple for one week twice every year.

John’s mother was Elisabeth, and her name means “One whose oath is to God”.

Elisabeth was the daughter of a priest.

She was a pure woman, a virgin at her marriage.

All priests were required to marry a virgin.

The Bride of Christ must be considered the virgin wife (without sin) of our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ

Like everyone who has ever lived, they had human problems in their lives.

They were committed to each other, and they were committed to Jehovah.

They spent their lives doing the things that pleased God.

They obeyed the commandments.
They obeyed the ordinances.
They were blameless.

These things do not mean they were perfect.

None of us can be perfect until we reach Heaven’s gates.

They were faithful and living in such a way that no one could charge them with open sin.

This should be the same for Christians of today.

They had now become elderly.

John was promised to these godly parents right at the end of the reign of Herod the Great.

This Herod also reigned at the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and died during the time that Joseph had taken the Lord Jesus to Egypt to keep Him safe, though Herod could never have harmed Him.

It was the providence of God.

We know that Herod murdered every child in Bethlehem up to the age of two years old.

Herod the Great was a wicked man.

*Luk 1:7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

We should remember that God had promised His Messiah since the time of Moses.

Deu 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

The Messiah would have a Jewish mother.

Elisabeth had spent her entire life knowing that she could never be the mother of the Messiah because she was barren.

This was the wish of every Jewish mother.
Some even considered baroness as a punishment for sin.

1Sa 1:6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.

She felt she was disfavored and displeasing to God.

God was about to change things for Elisabeth.

*Luk 1:8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course,
Luk 1:9 According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

For Zacharias, burning incense in the Temple was a great honor.

A priest would probably only get one chance for this duty their whole lifetime.

This duty was chosen by lot, and the lot was cast to choose one of those who had never had this opportunity, and finally, near the end of his life, Zacharias had been chosen.

The incense was burned upon the altar by a priest before the morning service and after the evening service.

The aroma of the incense was just like a prayer, as it enveloped the sacrifice and that aroma before the throne room of God.

We should understand that the golden incense altar represents Jesus Christ as our Mediator.

1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

The golden altar of incense stood squarely in front of the Mercy Seat, depicting Jesus Christ interceding at God’s right hand.

Having a son to be born into any family at that time was also considered one of the greatest blessings from God.

Both Zacharias and Elisabeth had remained faithful even though they were childless.

Jas 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

*Luk 1:10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

Zacharias and Elisabeth had many friends, and those friends were praying for Zacharias while he performed this great honor, and he also was praying.

We should be praying for our pastor the whole time he is preaching and giving us the Word of God.

1Ch 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.

If we do not see anything else, we should be able to see that we must patiently serve the Lord continuously all our days because He knows what we are going through, and remaining faithful is the only path to great blessings.

Things were about to change for this godly family.

*Luk 1:11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
Luk 1:12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
Luk 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Luk 1:14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
Luk 1:15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
Luk 1:16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
Luk 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

No doubt that Zacharias and Elisabeth were people who prayed, and they may have seen prayers answered for others, but they dearly wanted a child and preferred a son.

We must realize a son was more apt to help them in their old age than a daughter in that day.

Zacharias was even praying while he was performing his duties in the Temple.

Zacharias was in God’s House and working near the Holy of Holies on the right side of the Golden Altar of Incense.

It seems that the right side is always the right side of the Lord to be on.

Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

This was the place for prayer, and the angel of the Lord said Zacharia’s prayer had been heard in Heaven.

In the Book of Luke, we see more about angels than any other of the preachers in his day.

Notice the first words of the angel were “fear not”.

Zacharias had nothing to fear, for he was a godly man, but not a perfect man, because we see that doubt entered into him.

The Hebrew name for John is Johanna and is the name of four other Israelites.

John the Baptist
John the Apostle
John Mark, who traveled with Apostle Paul for a short time.
John, the Kindred of Caiaphas
John, the father of Simon Peter

John, the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth, would be a great man of God.
John would cause his parents to be proud of him.
John would be great in the sight of God.
John would be like one of the prophets of old, Elijah.
John would take the vow of the Nazarene.
John would be filled with the Holy Spirit from his birth.
John would cause many to rejoice.

There had been 400 years of silence of the time between the Old Testament and the New Testament, during which God did not speak to His people, and no Scripture was written.
The 400 years of silence began with the warning that closed the Old Testament: “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.
He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse,” and this period ended with the coming of John the Baptist, the Messiah’s forerunner.

Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Mal 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

The thing we can see is the fact that God does reward those who are faithful to Him.

Next, we should understand that there is no good time to quit on God, especially in our older years.

1Jn 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1Jn 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

John the Baptist was the prophet of the New Testament and turned many to the Lord.

John the Baptist was the forerunner of the promised Messiah, and John preached and lived a whole lot like the Prophet Elijah from the Old Testament.

Mat 17:10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
Mat 17:11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
Mat 17:12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
Mat 17:13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

*Luk 1:18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
Luk 1:19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

We should understand that it is never too late for God to answer a prayer, so we must never quit praying.

Zacharias had lost confidence in himself, and he and his wife had a hard time believing this angel.

Zacharias had forgotten that he was a child of God and not a child of the world.

There is nothing too hard for God to accomplish at any time in our lives if we do not give up.

Jer_32:17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:

Jer_32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

We either believe in God or we don’t, at our own peril.

It is only our Heavenly Father who can overrule the laws of nature!

The angel Gabriel is one of those angels who stand in the presence of God, awaiting God’s commands.

Isa 63:9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

Mat 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

We know that Michael is the most powerful angel, but we should not believe that there is any weakness in the angel Gabriel.

The name Gabriel means “Hero of God”.

Gabriel always brings “Good News”, but Zacharias also got some bad news because of his doubts.

*Luk 1:20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
Luk 1:21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
Luk 1:22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.

We should understand that angels have no spirit. They speak straight up and do not show emotion.

They speak the message that God has given to them just as He spoke it.

To not believe what an angel tells you is to not believe in God the Father who gave him that message!

We should understand that God’s angels are very powerful and they speak reality.

Because of that moment of doubt, Zacharias would spend the next nine months not being able to speak at all.

The Jews still have a problem with the truth of God that they need to change.

They expect God to show them a sign so they can know the truth.

1Co_1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

Gabriel was not offended by what Zacharias said, but the reaction of Zacharias was an offence to God.

We need to be careful how we respond to the Word of God.

The Bible is more about commandments than it is about suggestions.

If we reject any part of the Word of God, we will certainly not have the ability to share the Word of God with others.

God will not allow us to speak words of distrust or unbelief to those who need to hear the truth of the Gospel.

We should understand that the chastening of the Lord can sometimes be painful.

Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

We should be more like Jeremiah when we have made such a mistake.

Jer 10:24 O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.

We need to ask for God’s mercy in His chastisement.

When the Lord sits as King of this world from Jerusalem, He will put a stop to all unbelief and distrust, just as He did to Zacharias.

One of the major problems in our prayer life is that we do not believe that God will do what we ask of Him.

Why pray at all if we do not have enough faith that God will answer our prayers?

Can God change the course of nature? At any time, He so chooses to do it!

Zacharias was to lead these people waiting on him in prayer after his work was complete, but he could not because God had taken away his voice until the time that John was born.

*Luk 1:23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
Luk 1:24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
Luk 1:25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

Zacharias had lost the use of his voice, but he still fulfilled his duties despite being chastised for unbelief.

He did not quit on God!

He finished his course, and he returned home.

Elisabeth, after conceiving, hid herself for five months.

We have to think that she needed time alone with God to absorb all that was happening to her and to prepare herself for the job of being a godly parent even in her elder years.

Zacharias and Elisabeth lived to see God fulfill His promise.

When God makes a promise, He will keep that promise!

Elisabeth is conscious of the fact that God has shown His favor to her, and she is thankful.

She had wanted a child all her days of marriage, but it had not happened.

She had been barren, but by a miracle of God, her barrenness was over.

She did all the things she could do to have a healthy baby because she knew John would be used mightily by God.

This child, John the Baptist, would represent the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament as he would preach to the world the soon coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we answer God’s calling, we become a part of God’s salvation plan and the providence of God!

Amen

God’s Gift of Love

November 24, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Wisdom Celebrates God’s Gift of Love

Song of Solomon 1 through 8

The Song of Solomon is written about the love of a husband and a wife for each other.

Most scholars believe this book was written by King Solomon.

We know that Solomon wrote many songs, but this song is the only one approved by the Holy Spirit to be included in the canon of the Bible.

1Ki 4:32 And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.

This book is probably written to the Jews, but we know that every book of the Bible was also written to the Church.

There are several ways that could be used to interpret the words of this book, but it is always best to use a literal view of the Scriptures.

2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Wisdom Celebrates God’s Gift of Love.

We should interpret this book and its text naturally and plainly.

It is a song about human, married love as God intended it to be.

The marriage between one male and one female is the only approved marriage in the Scriptures.

Everything else is an abomination to God and living in sin.

We should be able to see an actual, historical relationship of King Solomon and his most loved first wife, a Shulamite woman.

We can also see in typology that this marriage could be used as a type of the relationship of our Lord Jesus Christ to His Church.

It should also represent our own love for our Savior.

The one thing we must do as we study the Bible is not to make this story fit some cultural mold.

Almost every king in the day of King Solomon had a harem, and it was expected of them largely for the purpose of expanding their seed.

Many of the king’s marriages were for political purposes to build alliances with kings of other nations to provide security, but also prosperity for his nation.

The Bible in no way defends the practice of polygamy!

Deu 17:17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

God uses the leaders that he puts in place in every nation.

King Solomon was living in sin!

Neh 13:26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless, even him did outlandish women cause to sin.

We can also understand that none of Solomon’s marriages to this harem were romantic or loving.

Many of these wives were considered possessions.

Most of these wives lived with this and accepted it.

These things remained this way until the coming of Jesus Christ, as he brought changes even to the Jews.

Jesus Christ elevated the status of women at that time and still does today.

A relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is the best relationship that any of us can achieve, male or female.

It is the epistles of the New Testament that reveal God’s intention in every marriage of a male and a female.

There are no other God approved marriages other than a male born a male and a female born a female to each other.

The marriage of King Solomon to this Shulamite woman was not political.

We can see the beauty of marital love and God’s approval of the sexual relationship within a godly marriage.

We can also see a type of Spiritual relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church (The Bride of Christ).

*Son 1:1 The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.
Son 1:2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.
Son 1:3 Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.
Son 1:4 Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.

If we love the Lord Jesus Christ, then we should love the Word of God.

We know from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation that the Word of God is all about the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

We also know that every word, every phrase, every passage in the Word of God is inspired by God Himself, and it is profitable for teaching, for reproving, for correction, and for training in righteousness so that we can be equipped for the good work of the Gospel.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

This Song of Solomon is no different; it is the inspired Word of God!

This is not a song about Solomon; it is a song about love!

It is a song about human love, romantic love between a man and a woman.

These are the words of the bride as she states her passionate love for her bridegroom.

She does not name him. It was needless because all who know her know who her Bridegroom is and is the only One in her thoughts.

If we put in the name of Jesus Christ, then those kisses of Jesus are meant to imply everything in Christ, and with Christ, Jesus in his person, and Jesus in his fulness, suitableness, and all-sufficiency, so on our part the kiss of grace implies everything that can denote love, adoration, faith, dependance, homage, subjection, and praise.

If we apply this action to ourselves, it should mean that we cast ourselves on the Lord Jesus as a poor, dying sinner in need of salvation, saved by His blood.

We can see that His kisses had an intoxicating effect on this wife, His bride.

In most cases, this ointment is the oil of the olive, which many times is often perfumed.

Oil in the Bible many times refers to the Holy Spirit.

1Sa 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

This wife could only imagine the scent of her husband, whose ointment was just right for her senses.

In the same way, His fragrance filled the air around Him; his good name, His character, and His reputation had saturated the community of those who had made themselves pure through the blood of Christ.

Remember, a good name is better than precious ointment.

She loved the way He smelled, but most of all she loved who He was.

No wonder those who were pure loved Him.

He was the most sought-after man in the Kingdom.

She was now the envy of all the other maidens just as the Church is the envy of flase religion today.

*Son 2:1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
Son 2:2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
Son 2:3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
Son 2:4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
Son 2:5 Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.
Son 2:6 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.
Son 2:7 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

The term “the Rose of Sharon” is often associated with our Lord Jesus Christ, symbolizing His beauty, His perfection, and the love He offers to all who believe in Him.

Many see “the Rose of Sharon” as the Church or as the Believers who are cherished as the people of God.

Many see “the Rose of Sharon” as it describes the intimate relationship between our Lord Jesus and all those who love Him, and the love God has for His creations.

Nowhere in the New Testament is our Lord Jesus actually referred to as the Rose of Sharon.

He is referred to by many as the Rose of Sharon because many see the Rose as the most beautiful of all flowers.

Sharon is a place, and it is one of the largest valley plains in all of Israel.

In the time of King Solomon, it was considered a wild and fertile plain and had many beautiful flowers that grew wildly.

Sharon was known for its beauty and majesty.

Almost all Bible scholars say this Shulamite woman was the person who is described as the Rose of Sharon, as King Solomon’s bride.

Many say she is described as a black woman, and she could have been, and there would have been no problems if she were.

What she was saying was that she was not like all those other women who were spoiled with riches, but that she worked out in the elements of the seasons, including the sun, and the sun had darkened her skin compared to the fair maidens of Israel.

This young shulamite was saying that she was not one of those dainty spoiled children of royalty.

She was not afraid of hard work.

To us who love Him, this passage refers to Jesus as being the Bridegroom and the Church as His Bride.

If the Church is not a hard working church it is not the Bride of Christ.

The Holy Spirit is using the “lover” analogy to describe the personal relationship that He wants us to have with God’s Son.

Our Scripture says that she is the Rose of Sharon, a type of country flower, and is indeed a type of the Church.

In type, the Church is the Rose of Sharon and the Lily among the thorns.

The Church is the Lily among the thorns of worldly people.

It is Solomon who speaks up to his bride, saying she is as a lily compared to the thorns of other women, as the Church is in this world.

As far as Solomon was concerned, there was not another woman in the world like his Shulamite bride.

She may have seen herself as pretty, but she did not see herself as something special, she confessed she was just an average, everyday wildflower.

She was not seeking compliments, nor a false sense of modesty; she was just being sincere.

She said that Solomon was like an apple tree in a forest of other trees.

Apple trees did not grow in the forest of Israel at that time, and if one was found, it was because someone had dropped a seed from an apple they had brought from somewhere else or a passing bird.

Solomon had snatched her away from hard labor, and she was comfortable in his shade. Solomon had actually rescued her from her previous life.

His fruit was sweeter than anything she had ever known.

We can see that this apple tree is in type as the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Church now lies in His shadow His safety.

In verse four, we see this bride give her testimony to her friends of how her life had changed, as if they were all in the banquet house where she is the honored guest.

In type, we see that the Born-Again child of God, as they have entered into that Heavenly House of the Lord, and sitting at the table of the Lord Jesus Christ, no longer the Bride but now the wife.

Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

This young bride had to admit she was lovesick and overwhelmed by the love shown to her by her husband, the King.

In type, this is the Church sitting at the feet of Jesus, amazed at the love He has shown to us.

She does not talk so much of her love as she does of His love for her.

Isa 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

As he embraces her, she feels that moment of rest and security that she has never had in life.

She wishes to remain in His arms forever.

The left arm is the arm that comes as it was from His heart; the right arm is the arm of His power.

The fact that his left hand is under her head also means that he lifts her head to look at him.

The fact that his right arm embraces her means that he keeps it protective around her.

Deu 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

Love cannot be forced upon anyone, or they will lose their security.

Those female gazelles and female deer are shy animals and will flee at the first sign of danger.

This Shulamite had a great desire to consummate the marriage, but she knew she must remain chaste until that time came, and she warned all those around her.

She made her friends promise her that they would also wait for the right person.

In type, we see that we must make a strong commitment to the Lord and stick with our convictions.

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

*Son 3:6 Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?
Son 3:7 Behold his bed, which is Solomon’s; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.
Son 3:8 They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.
Son 3:9 King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.
Son 3:10 He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.
Son 3:11 Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

The wedding custom of that day in Israel was that weddings did not take place at the Temple nor at any Synagogue, but rather in the couple’s homes.

There would be a procession to the bride’s home led by the Groom, who would then escort her back to their own new residence.

Next, a wedding feast was given, which could last up to a week or longer.

Though the wedding feast was prolonged, that couple would consummate their marriage on the first night.

Verse 6 tells us that King Solomon and the Shulamite began their procession back to Jerusalem.

This verse tells us what the onlookers saw.

King Solomon, the richest man in the world, would have provided for an extravagant ceremony.

That pillar of smoke reminds us of the time that the Lord Jesus led the Jews out of Egypt.

The bride is perfumed, which tells us of her excellent virtues and service, which are acceptable to God and the Grace of Jesus Christ, which are a sweet savor to our Heavenly Father.

He makes His Bride enriched and beautiful with the perfume and powders. The spices of Arabia were famous at that time.

Rev 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

2Co 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
2Co 2:15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

That wilderness was a place of bondage and misery, sin and humiliation, but Jerusalem was the mountain of the Lord.

Psa 68:8 The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

Today the Church is passing through the wilderness, and the Church must follow the Lord Jesus, King of Kings, Lord of lords to New Jerusalem.

We must leave the wilderness of sin and unbelief to have an everlasting union with our Savior.

As the Church has been recognized, then the Bridegroom must be recognized.

Those sixty valiant men were twice the number of men who usually traveled with the King, but He wants the bride to feel safe.

We can see that the bed is a type of the Church, which is beautiful through the beauty of Jesus Christ.

Which is also safe by the protection of Jesus Christ.

In which Jesus Christ is glorified, and all believers enjoy sweet fellowship with Him throughout eternity.

We should understand that God will use whatever it takes to protect His Church from the wiles of the Devil.

Every valiant man was prepared to fight to prevent danger to the Church.

That darkness is the world of Satan, the Devil.

1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
1Th 5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
1Th 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Th 5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
1Th 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

No matter how bright the Church shines, it cannot shine like our Savior.

That chariot is where the Bride and the Bridegroom ride together is in typeology the Gospel, where our Savior was triumphant, and the Church rides into Glory.

1Pe 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Heaven is going to be the most beautiful place we have ever laid eyes on, and we do not have the words to describe how Heaven will be.

We are still to be busy with the work the Lord has given us to do, even while we know the Trumpet could sound at any moment.

John the Baptist said John 3:29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

Rev 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Weddings just do not seem to be important in today’s world.

Many couples just move in together to see if they are compatible and most of them separate because they forgot relationships take commitment.

*Son 4:12 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
Son 4:13 Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,
Son 4:14 Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
Son 4:15 A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.

In that day, many gardens were enclosed to keep animals and strangers from having access to them.

Solomon was saying that his bride was like an enclosed garden that only he had access to.

The Lord Jesus feels this way about the Church as He strives to keep the Church pure, if the Church looks to Him only as the Head of the Church.

The true Church is defended by the providence of Almighty God and reserved for His use.

Whosoever loves the Lord Jesus Christ and shares their love with Him alone will shut themselves off from other objects of love.

Mrk_12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Solomon was praising this Shulamite for her purity until the marriage ceremony was completed.

The Shulamite was bringing to her husband a precious gift, a gift that could only be given once.

This speaks to all the fair maidens in the Church.

It is a gift for that one special person on the wedding day. The same one who has that endless love for them.

Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Solomon continues to describe how lovely his bride is to him.

She was the greatest orchard.
She was the most pleasant of all fruits.
She was the most fragrant flower.
She was the most aromatic herb.
She was like the best of all perfumes.
She was the sweetest of all sugar canes.
She was the most fragrant of all the oils.
She was the most divine of all females.
She was the most anointed of all oils.
She was a living fountain of water.

She was now ready and available to refresh the life of her husband.

Psa 46:4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
Psa 46:5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

*Son 5:1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

Solomon knew it was this Shulamite who made him complete.

Gen 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Nine times in this one Scripture, Solomon uses the word “my”.

His bride had given all she had to him.

This is exactly what the Lord Jesus expects from His Church.

Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

1Jn 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
1Jn 3:19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
1Jn 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
1Jn 3:21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
1Jn 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1Jn 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

No doubt that our young people should take a good look at the Song of Solomon once they know what it means.

*Son 5:2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.
Son 5:3 I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?
Son 5:4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.
Son 5:5 I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.
Son 5:6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

There comes a time when the honeymoon is over and reality sets in.

Before we get to this passage, let’s just keep in mind how much of the Church has left the Lord Jesus, and He is outside the door of the Church wanting to get back in.

Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Rev 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

This is the Church Age we are in today.

In Chapter 5, Verse 2, we begin to see that the newness of marriage has passed, and life has set in. Life can be harsh even for those who have such great love.

This Shulamite was no longer “my bride”, but she was “my darling”.

His darling wife locked the door on him and did not let him in.

It is possible this new bride of Solomon was dreaming and had two dreams, but maybe one was a dream and the other was reality.

Either way, she was alone in the bedroom, and we do not know why.

As a believer, there may be times when we think that we are so armored up that we have lost our focus on the Lord.

If we ever lose our focus on the Lord, we are treading in dangerous waters.

This change in love is noted in the Scriptures.

Rev 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
Rev 2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
Rev 2:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
Rev 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Rev 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Solomon knew she was unhappy with him, and we may not know the real reason, but He is King, and He has a large harem, and as king, he had many obligations.

He explains that he has been working as his head was filled with dew and his hair with the drops of his sweat.

She refused his advances. She was already washed, disrobed, and was in bed. Why should she dirty her feet she said to herself.

She refused to unlock the door. It is possible that she was just too tired.

We do not have to think that Solomon was trying to force the door open, probably because he could certainly have had the door opened if he chose to do so.

Husbands must realize that their wives could get tired with all the homework they have to do and many work outside the home.

It seems she was angry with Solomon for some reason.

We have to wonder how a husband with over one thousand women could ever have a true husband-to-wife relationship.

This Shulamite began to realize that she was not the queen in her household.

Solomon did not really understand God.

Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Eph 5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Eph 5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

Solomon’s bride was hurt, angry, and resentful, but her heart began to soften, and she repented of her anger, and her desire for him returned.

She notices his hands as he reaches for her.

The Lord Jesus said: Luk 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

Psa 45:8 All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.

When she reached the door to let her husband in, she could smell the myrrh that he had left behind upon the lock.

The Shulamite paid a high price for not letting her husband into the bedchamber.

We will pay a high price when we reject the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Jhn_3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Solomon had not rejected her.

Solomon had remembered the place where they had first met and had not forgotten the love he had for her.

*Son 8:6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
Son 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

A seal was a piece of metal, usually round or oval, which meant it was a sign of belonging to the king.

Seals are sometimes worn on the finger as a ring or upon a string or chain around the neck.

It would be applied to softened wax to seal some document or other government papers.

Every Christian wears the seal of the Lord: 2Ti_2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

That seal is the Holy Spirit: Eph_1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

We are sealed until the day the Lord Jesus returns to take us home: Eph_4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

The Shulamite bride of King Solomon wanted such a seal on Solomon’s heart so he could not give his heart to another.

She said to Solomon, “Place me as the seal as a signet ring upon thy heart”.

Love is as strong as death.

She wishes to be united in the closest way with her lover and valued as his most precious possession.

She knows that jealousy is like the fires of hell, unquenchable.

She knows that no amount of water could put out such fervent love as she has for Solomon.

It is a fact that love is life itself.

We need the Lord Jesus Christ because we need His love and lest we forget, He is the Light of Life.

Jhn_13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another

Eph_3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
Eph_3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Amen

Trusting the Word of God

November 17, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Wisdom Remembers God’s Word

Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapters 11 and 12

In this last lesson in the Book of Ecclesiastes, we will see how the Holy Spirit describes us in our youth and then in our elder years.

When we were young, it was the years of our greatest strength. We didn’t even think about how we would be as we got older.

Most of us can remember the energy and the drive we had then, compared to how we feel today as we have aged.

The Holy Spirit tells us that we should have made the most in our productive years because, as we age, we lose the ability and the strength to do the things we should have done while we were young.

We will reap in our old age what we sowed in our youth.

The laws of sowing and reaping will always hold true.

Whatever we sow, we will reap!

Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

We all would have been much wiser to think about how things would be when we got older and worked harder to put back when we were young enough to do it.

*Ecc 11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
Ecc 11:2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.

Though there are many interpretations of this verse, the most logical is that of Charity.

Give our bread to anyone who needs it.

It can also mean to diversify our assets.

To the farmer, do not sow all your seeds in one field or plant all your seed at one time.

One bad season could wipe you out.

That old saying, “do not put all your eggs in one basket,” is true even when it comes to investments.

We should help others as much as we can, not thinking of gratitude or return but only of our duty as God’s children.

If we can help those who seem to be utterly lost, it may not be recognized by them, but God knows.

The true meaning is that we first have to invest to have a result.

We should do our best to invest in the Lord’s work because we will always get a great return from the Lord.

Jesus Christ again is our greatest example as He invested His life that we might have life and have it abundantly.

Jhn_10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Jhn_20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Our own retirement could be better if we invested in it while we could earn an income, which goes away with age.

It’s the same with witnessing; the more time we invest in witnessing greater the opportunity to win souls to the Lord.

It’s the same for the farmer. He must take the grain out of the barn so it can be invested by sowing it back into the earth.

All these things require faith in the only One who can provide results, Our Heavenly Father.

*Ecc 11:3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.

We should be very clear; God will judge this earth because of sin!

This world is filled with those who say a loving God will never judge the people He created so harshly, but they are wrong because they ignore the Word of God, He has given to us.

2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Many think God is just too good to cause such harm to the sinner:

Rom 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Rom 3:5 But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)
Rom 3:6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?
Rom 3:7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?
Rom 3:8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.

Many think they will escape the judgment of God:

Rom 2:2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
Rom 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

God will judge many before the end but all those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ will be judged!

Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Just as dark clouds bring rain, God’s judgment will fall upon all who reject the Word of God.

We will reap what we sow.

Just as sure as the time that the Holy Spirit decides that He is wasting His time on some sinner, they are cut off from the source of life, the Lord Jesus Christ.

A tree that has lost its nourishment from the soil will die and fall and remain where it lies until it rots away.

*Ecc 11:4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
Ecc 11:5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.

Many people wait to plant their garden until the conditions are ideal, and that garden is not as productive as it could have been because they waited too long.

We cannot just sit around with our arms crossed, afraid to take that first step in any situation, because of possibilities or impossibilities.

There are no perfect times to do important things, and after the first step, the second step is easier.

We know that the future is not guaranteed except for the Christian, but the day that we go home to be with the Lord, we do not know.

We do not even know what will happen tomorrow!

We just cannot know what God is going to do day by day.

We cannot predict; we cannot understand or fully know what the Lord will do, nor when He will do it!

If we are going to sow the Gospel seed, we do not need to first look at the forecast for the day.

That is just hunting for an excuse not to do it.

*Ecc 11:6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

When we have a job, we get up in the morning and go to work, and work till the end of the day.

We do our job no matter what the conditions of that day are.

It is the same with the work given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ.

We should get up that morning and go to those fields white with harvest and stay till the end of the day, no matter what the conditions are.

We have found that the life of a Christian will seldom be in ideal conditions, and much of the time, we will be unproductive.

2Ti_4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

Heb_6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

Another thing that is sure when we meet Jesus is: 1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

*Ecc 11:7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:
Ecc 11:8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.

As Christians, we should enjoy all the years of our lives because every stage of life offers pleasures that cannot be relived.

Every day we wake up to the sun is a good day.

When we compare those days to the dark days of the grave, when our eyes are closed and we cannot open them.

The good days of our life will not be as many as we would like, and the sorrowful days will be more than we would like.

There is no comparison between the years of old age to our youthful years when we thought we could take on the world.

The days of our youth were sweet compared to these days in our aged bodies.

No matter our age, we are to enjoy the life God has given to us!

In our elder years, we may not feel the joy as we did in our younger years, but we still have those memories to keep going.

If we wait till we are old before we seek our purpose in life, we will be disappointed as we realize we have waited too long to do something for God.

He will still use us, but we are limited by our remaining strength.

We may not find satisfaction in what we accomplished in our younger days, and little time and little strength to make things better.

We must understand that life without God is truly meaningless.

My worst day as a Christian is still far better than my best days being without God!

Psa 39:7 And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.

*Ecc 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
Ecc 11:10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

We are commanded to rejoice and be happy while we are young.

But “a huge but”, as long as we find our strength in the Almighty God.

What are the “impulses of his heart”? Psa 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

Our heart is the center of our life! Job 31:7 If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands;

Our eyes are the instruments of our heart!

Our faith is the key to what we see. What we are looking at and the way we are looking at something is determined by our faith!

Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

2Sa 11:2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

Joy is the purpose of life, but to have good joy, we have to verify it by being aware of the judgment of God.

For our joy to be real, God must be involved in it.

What young people do not realize is that they have very little time to be young.

The young people do not realize that almost every aged person still has the spirit of a young person within them, but it is trapped and imprisoned by the jail of age.

God provides things for our enjoyment, but before we act upon those things, before we follow the desires of our hearts and what our eyes see, we must know that God will judge us for our behavior.

We can enjoy what life has to offer, but only according to the written Word of God.

The key to these things is our faith: Heb 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
Heb 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

We have responsibilities as children of God!

Our young people have responsibilities as the saved of God!

We must know that our joy will be overcome by a sense of judgment if we are disobedient to God!

We must remember the words of our Creator.
This is where Adam and Eve failed, and it was this action that brought sin into the world to begin with.

*Ecc 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
Ecc 12:2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

As I got older, I realized that my younger days were over before I knew it.

We know that the Theory of Evolution is completely false, and now most of those same people are trying to convince us our world was built for us by aliens from distant planets.

We have a Creator, and we are created beings, and our Creator is entitled to have authority and control over our lives, and we will answer to Him.

1Co 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

God will judge us for what we have done in our lives.

God asks us to believe Him and live according to the truth of His Word, and things will go well with us.

It is the unbeliever who is doomed to Hell!

When we were young, we thought we had the world by the tail, yet when we get old, we do not have so many joyous days.

Most of us are ready to go home to be with our Heavenly Father, so our pains will go away.

The joy we have remaining comes from knowing our children and grandchildren are living according to the Word of God and will join us one day in Heaven.

We all should thank God every day that He gives us to enjoy.

The clouds of rain come in the storm, but after the storm is over, the clouds leave, and the sun returns.

The storms of old age stay with us until the day God calls us home.

When one storm passes, another storm is already forming.

*Ecc 12:3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
Ecc 12:4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
Ecc 12:5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

The keepers of our bodies are the hands and the arms, which are our best instruments to defend our body, which begin to tremble as we age.

The strong men are our thighs and legs, which give us strength in our bodies.

The grinders are our teeth because they grind the food we eat.

Our eyes look out the windows of our eyelids through which we see.

These are the watchmen of this house that the Lord has given to us, but as we age, they can no longer defend and care for our house.

The doors on the street represent the ears and the lips.

We need these things to communicate with our loved ones, but it becomes more difficult as we age.

The sound of the grinding mill is low because we have very little interest in what is going on in our world.

We get up with the birds because we just do not sleep well anymore.

The daughters of song are our vocal cords, and our voices are not as strong as they used to be; people can hardly hear us.

We are afraid of the high places, we hate the stairs, and we stay off the ladder because of our fear of falling.

If we go out walking, we are always watching the traffic because we are afraid that we cannot get out of the way of that stray car that is not paying attention.

The almond tree blossoms refer to our hair if it is gray or white or even exists anymore.

We are like grasshoppers that can no longer jump but drag their body along.

We know that our day to go home to our Heavenly Father is close, and our bodies will be put away.

Our family will mourn us, but will they learn the lessons of salvation?

We will go to our eternal home if we have prepared with our Savior.

We remember we live in a house of clay, but we are moving into a permanent dwelling.

2Co 5:4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
2Co 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
2Co 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
2Co 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
2Co 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

How valuable are we to our families?

To God, we know our souls are the most valuable part of us, and He will claim that soul for Himself to live with Him forever in a new body.

*Ecc 12:6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
Ecc 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
Ecc 12:8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

Life is very precious to us all, but these bodies we live in are very fragile.

We can say that the silver cord is the thread of life because life is so fragile that it is certainly just hanging by a thread.

We must understand we have no life without the Lord Jesus Christ.

Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Just as our Heavenly Father is the fountain of life: Psa 36:9 For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.

So has His Son life: Joh 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Joh 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

Apart from God, everything else is dependent upon the Lord Jesus Christ for life and existence.

Life does not exist in its own right!

Life is not even spoken of as “made by” or “through the Word of God” but as we only exist through Jesus.

Jesus will only give true life to those who believe in Him.

Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John the Apostle wrote: Joh 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
Joh 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Our life is like that gold-colored bowl suspended by a thread that is slowly becoming rotten by this sinful world, and will one day snap, dropping that bowl to the ground, and because it is only a gold-colored bowl, it will shatter as it hits the ground, and the light of life will end.

Life is only gold colored and not true gold until it accepts the truth of the Gospel, and then life becomes a valuable jewel that belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the sustainer of life, and life cannot exist without Him!

Once that golden bowl shatters, it returns to the dust it was made from, but that soul returns to our Creator who gave it.

That spirit of life is the soul, which was God breathed into each one of us.

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

The body without the God breathed spirit of life, the soul, is then dead!

That body will return to the dust of the earth from which it was made.

Job 34:14 If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
Job 34:15 All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.

The body without the spirit is dead.

Jas 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

For those who are saved, the Holy Spirit will also return to Heaven because He promised never to leave us.

The pitcher at the fountain, when it is broken, can no longer provide that life-giving nourishment, and the broken wheel at the cistern can no longer bring up that life-giving nourishment.

That body is dead, that short life is over, and Solomon says that life has meant nothing; it is vain.

If we do not accept the purpose of life that God has given to us, then we have wasted the life that God has given to us, and that soul will suffer everlasting judgment.

Death is empty and meaningless without God, our Creator, and His Son, Jesus!

*Ecc 12:9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
Ecc 12:10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
Ecc 12:11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
Ecc 12:12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

No doubt that King Solomon was the wisest man to have ever lived besides Jesus Himself, but Solomon did go through much of the same foolishness that we all have.

Solomon never completely gave his heart to God.

1Ki_11:4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

Solomon became the writer of this book to impart some of that knowledge to us.

Of course, he was guided by the Holy Spirit, as was all the Word of God.

King Solomon knew he was a sinner like us all, and as a parent, he wanted us all to avoid the pitfalls of life he had fallen into.

There are many principles of life in these books that carry the name of King Solomon that are good for all people to learn.

These words of Solomon are true because the Holy Spirit will not allow false words into the preserved Word of God.

These words are inspired by God.

There is only one true Shepherd because there is only One True God.

There are millions and millions of books out there today, but there is no greater knowledge than the Books of the Bible.

Mankind will never come up with anything that can take the place of the Bible.

The Word of God is the only source of complete truth.

Only the Word of God can be perfectly and wholly trusted in this world and the world that is to come.

We will be blessed if we study the Word of God and carry it forever in our hearts!

Amen

The Importance of Life

November 10, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Wisdom Recognizes What is Important

Book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 7

From the earliest times, the name given to a child was supposed to indicate some characteristic of that child.

Today, we mostly set a nickname on them, and sometimes it sticks for life.

We should ask ourselves; do we have a good name?

The Lord Jesus says that we can get a new name: Rev_2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

We know we are all appointed to a day of death, which really means life to the Christian, but dying with a good name is far better than being born into prosperity.

Death is appointed to every person.
Death is a matter we all need to take seriously.

We know that after our salvation, the most important factor for being successful in this life is wisdom, but only that wisdom that comes by the “Fear of the Lord”.

King Solomon was better known for his wisdom than he was his riches.

It is more important today to live wisely than it was in the day of Solomon.

The Holy Spirit has given us this collection of simple, practical sayings that we can live by.

We must live wisely day by day.

Every day we live is good or bad according to the choices we make that day!

*Ecc 7:1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.

We already know that the most important decision we will make in this life is that decision to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in salvation.

So, we have to learn what matters in this life. The world will offer nothing but confusion!

We must learn to discern between the good and the bad; Php 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
Php 1:10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
Php 1:11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

Precious ointment in the day of Solomon was so valuable that only the rich could afford it.

Average people could seldom afford to waste what little money they had on such things as perfume.

This ointment cost nearly a year’s wages; Joh 12:3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
Joh 12:4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him,
Joh 12:5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?

The Holy Spirit is teaching us that if we have to choose between a good name and a lifestyle of the rich and famous, it would be best for us to choose the good name.

Many of us will question whether the day of our death is more important than the day of our birth.

If we had not been born, how could we ever die that death? This is a promotion for the Christian.

If the Lord Jesus Christ had not been born as a human, how could He ever die for our sins?

To me, the difference is that the Lord Jesus had a miraculous birth, but we are all born in sin.

The time we have between the time of our birth and the time of our death is the time that we get to make the right choice about the Gospel.

For the Christian, the time of our death is a promotion to the glory world.

Php 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Php 1:22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
Php 1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Php 1:24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

I feel a whole lot like the Apostle Paul felt about this thing.

I do not want to stay one more day upon this earth than is necessary, but I know for some in my family it is better for me to stay here for as long as God will allow me.

The truth for the Christian is: 2Co 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
2Co 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
2Co 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

For the unbeliever, these things are not true because they do not have the promise of eternal life; they live every day with the promise of eternal death.

*Ecc 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.

We should understand that the day of a person’s death is better than a joyful feast is only true if Jesus Christ is not involved!

We who love Jesus Christ know that to depart this world is very much better.

Php 1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

Any reasonable person will admit that going to a festival is more enjoyable than a funeral.

No one gets excited about attending a funeral of a family member or a friend.

For me, death hits me right in the heart because in Vietnam, I saw death, and it is terrible, and I would rather not be around death because it brings back memories I would love to forget.

I accept this scripture because I know the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.

To those who do not know the Lord Jesus as their Savior, it is better to go to the house of mourning because death is something that every living soul needs to take seriously.

There is death coming to this body of flesh we live in!

Most of us will reflect on our own mortality at a funeral.

In many cases, God the Holy Spirit will go to work at funerals, and in their conscience and thoughts, they will begin to feel that there can be some kind of life after death.

We must take the time to think about what we can do to prepare for our death and help others to prepare for their death.

Ecc_12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Even if you do not believe in God, our Creator, you should wonder why we do not live longer in this great world of technology.

Heb_2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

It is a Holy God who holds the power of life and death in His hands.

God is not saying to avoid the right causes for celebrating because God gives much to celebrate.

If we wait till the day of our death, we will have missed out on God’s promise of life.

*Ecc 7:3 Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
Ecc 7:4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

We can feel sorrow or sadness for many reasons!

Our emotions depend upon the cause of our distress.

We cannot wish that death would simply go away.

There will never be a life-giving serum that will overcome death.

This was God’s purpose for sending His Son to death.

There is no life in pleasure because pleasure is short-term.

Sorrow brings benefits to life that pleasure cannot.

Sorrow causes us to release our emotions and draw closer to others.

The world looks at life on the animal plane, while the child of God looks at life on the Spiritual plane.

Life is not hopeless if we look through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Those who take the “leap of faith” into the truth of the Gospel will not be in despair because of hopelessness.

Solomon says life is in vain, while Jehovah says true life is in our future after this short life we live today.

We must allow sorrow to do its work in our lives while thinking about the sorrow that our Lord Jesus Christ endured both on and off the cross, then we can see the impact it had on His life, which is our life.

Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Heb 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

It is a fool who rejects the truth of Jehovah God!

*Ecc 7:5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
Ecc 7:6 For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
Ecc 7:7 Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.

None of us likes to be corrected.

None of us like to be scolded.

None of us like to be criticized.

People just prefer flattery and compliments.

The fool is blind to Spiritual things.

If we want to be serious about God’s plan for our lives, we have to deal with wise people who will help us live our lives.

Those who have the “fear of the Lord” cannot take away all our grief or solve all our problems, but they can show how to deal with them.

A fool has nothing to offer to those with a broken heart!

A fire for cooking will not last very long if it is built out of thorns and has no effect on the cooking pot.

It is foolish to see if the pot is boiling.

Thorns do not even make the pot warm.

It is a fool who thinks he will not see death at any time.

It is a fool who seeks only laughter but is blind to the essentials of life.

In reality, humans are poor judges of what is real and of lasting value unless we know the truth of the Gospel!

A gift intended as a bribe might cause us to act differently from our understanding of the truth if we allow it.

There are two ways to make a wise man mad.

1) By suffering oppression from other so-called wise men.
2) By being offered a bribe to oppress others.

This is the vanity of worldly wisdom that causes corruption and loss to those who cannot afford any loss.

*Ecc 7:8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

At the beginning of a matter, it is not clear how it will develop, but only at the end of a matter.

It can only be determined if it is useful information and important if we wait until the end to form our judgment.

It is the same in Spiritual matters as it is in practical living.

Sometimes our lives are like unfinished projects. They start good, but we run out of steam before we can finish them.

It is better to finish something we have started than to start something new in almost every case.

To the righteous man, we must realize that the important things in life are not quickly completed.

The things that really matter require commitment, determination, and discipline.

It is not always easy to live the Christian life!

Again, the Lord Jesus is our example: Joh 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

We may not think of it, but it is a great thing to come to the end of our lives knowing that we have completed the thing that God had planned for us to accomplish.

We need patience to continue in the plan of God for our lives and see it to the end.

Heb 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
Heb 10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

Life is too short, and our opportunities are limited for us to make a name that is good as our days come to an end.

God does not lead us to begin something that He will not give us time to finish!

*Ecc 7:9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

People who can hold their temper are wise for many reasons.

Pride is the reason for those who cannot and lack patience.

Many people get mad at God when something tragic happens in their lives or the life of a family member.

Many people get mad at God when it does not seem that God will answer their prayers.

These people will get mad at other people for these same reasons!

The Word of God stresses the importance of controlling our anger.

Jas 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

We can be eaten away with anger.

Any sin of the flesh can be conquered by following the Word of God.

1) We must know that a quick temper is a sin.
2) We must realize that we are wearing the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
3) We must listen to the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
4) We must die to ourselves, allowing Jesus Christ to live through us.
5) We must be prepared to battle the temptation to become angry by memorizing and recalling Scripture when it is needed.

Col 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

*Ecc 7:10 Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.

When we talk about the good old days, the Lord Jesus teaches us, we are not thinking right.

It is not profitable to live in the past!

When we think back, we tend to think of only happy days, and we forget that our past had its bad days, too.

The world is always changing, so expecting things to stay the same is unrealistic.

This world we live in is in constant deterioration, not progressing into a better world.

We are to focus on today and not tomorrow.

God will be just as faithful tomorrow as He is today.

Listen to the Apostle Paul:

Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

*Ecc 7:11 Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.
Ecc 7:12 For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.
Ecc 7:13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?
Ecc 7:14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.

Wisdom is a source of wealth and is precious, and is to be used wisely.
Wisdom is greatly desired.
Wisdom is one of the gifts we can get from God just by asking Him for it.
Wisdom is gained from those who have gone on before us.

If we receive an inheritance, it is something that was earned through the efforts of those who went before us.
It is the same with wisdom.

Wisdom is somewhat like money. It can be used wisely, or it can be thrown away.
Wisdom will retain its value unless we foolishly forsake it.

Jehovah God is the source of perfect wisdom, and He will share it with all His children.

There is no other knowledge that gives life like the knowledge of God the Father and God the Son, the Gospel.

No one can change anything God has done or what He says He will do!

The more we dispute God, the less we will understand!

We must remember one most important thing!

Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Why would we want to change anything God has already done when He did those things for His children’s betterment?

God brings prosperity and adversity to our lives, and He has His reasons.

When we are on the mountain, we need to enjoy it to the fullest because it will not be very long before we are in a valley.

Listen and learn from Job:

Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
Job 1:22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

God’s wisdom helps us accept that we cannot know what tomorrow will bring, but we do know what our ending will be.

Our faith must stay steady.

God is not committed to our short-term happiness.
God is committed to our salvation and our character after salvation!

We cannot go through this life wondering, “What if I had done things differently”?

It is our Heavenly Father who is in control of the years, the months, the days, the hours, the minutes, and the seconds of our lives.

We are to learn from the things we go through and be better because we went through them!

God knows what is best for us!

*Ecc 7:15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.
Ecc 7:16 Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
Ecc 7:17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
Ecc 7:18 It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.

Many times we as Christians are miserable because we see wickedness prosper while Christians suffer.

1Co 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

It seems the ungodly prosper in this world and no one cares if they do it illegally.

It is only when we know the truth that we begin to understand.

Psa 73:17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.
Psa 73:18 Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.
Psa 73:19 How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.

I do not think we realize until we get old just how fragile these bodies we live in are.

We should be amazed that these bodies last into the seventy years that are mentioned in the Scriptures.

Why do bad things happen to good people, and why do the wicked prosper in their wicked lives?

When we look over the things in this world, we see that life is far different from what we expect.

God does not always reward the righteous, and God does not always punish the wicked.

Some people believe that only the good die young.

The truth is that there are no guarantees in life.

There is no formula for a long, prosperous, trouble-free existence.

The truth is it is a sin to elevate ourselves over others in our judgment!

We must never elevate ourselves to the place of God.

It is a sin to think we are wiser than God!

It is a sin to assume that living righteously places God under some obligation to us.

God will keep every promise He has made to us in His own time and in His own place of choosing.

We are not to become Pharisees and make salvation a works doctrine.

1Pe 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

We must never think we can commit a wicked deed and prosper as the wicked did when doing that same deed.

A life of excessive sin will most times lead to premature death.

We see this every day in the news.

Our world is becoming worse just as the Lord has said.

2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

The only answer we need to the things we see is for us to continue our walk in the name of Jesus Christ.

We must walk daily in the “fear of the Lord”.

As long as we are on this earth, we will have to learn to deal with the brutal reality that we live in a sinful and wicked world.

Our Heavenly Father is never unjust, and He never makes a mistake.

We should understand that death is our friend and not our enemy.

The Lord is always working out things for the good of us: Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

What happens here on earth is not our final outcome!

There is ultimate condemnation coming to the wicked!

Psa 37:1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
Psa 37:2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

*Ecc 7:19 Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.
Ecc 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

There is great strength that comes from the wisdom of the Lord!

It is by the wisdom of God that this world could conquer sin, if this world wanted to conquer sin.

We know that the world is too involved in sin to want sin eradicated.

We will face temptations all day in this world.

1Jn 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

This world is the domain of the Devil.

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

Sin will rob us of our effectiveness in this world.

Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

We must face sin and deal with it according to the Word of God.

Our penalty for sin has already been paid at Mount Calvary.

We know that God is always right.

God’s wisdom warns us of the dangers that lie ahead of us until He takes us home.

Amen

Staying Focused on the Word of God

November 3, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Wisdom’s Observation of Vanity and Vexation of Spirit

Book of Ecclesiastes Chapter 4

What is the providence of God? It is a continuous and progressive revelation of Jehovah God, whose never-failing providence orders all things both in Heaven and Earth.

Belief in Providence stands or falls with belief in a personal God.

The Lord Jesus has taught us that the laws of nature are the established methods of His Heavenly Father’s workings and that they fulfill and reveal His Will.

Mat 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Mat 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Mat 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

Mat 10:30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Mat 10:31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Mat 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

As humans, we like to ignore the problems that exist around us because they trouble us and rob us of our happiness.

We just do not want to be a part of the difficulties and crises around us.

The truth is that life is full of problems.

Every day, we see people who are the victims of the circumstances of wickedness and the sin in our world.

Did God cause these things? Certainly, He did not.

Does God cause our pain and sorrows? Absolutely not.

I should say in chastisement, we could have some pain, but we must be one of God’s children to receive chastisement.

These are the things the “god of this world” causes; 2Co_4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Great men and many politicians stand up and tell us how they are going to make this world a better place, but they all fail.

Today, there are some rich men who want to leave this world and establish another place because they see that there is nothing that can make this world better.

They are all wrong because only God has a plan for this world that will work!

1Co_1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

This world must turn to the Almighty God and have faith in His providence, and it begins with faith.

1Jn_4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

1Jn_5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

We must keep our eyes focused upon the God of the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ!

King Solomon saw all these things in His wisdom, and He came to the same conclusion.

*****Ecc 4:1 So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.

Ecc 4:2 Wherefore I praised the dead which are already dead more than the living which are yet alive.

Ecc 4:3 Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.

Why did Solomon write this verse?

Ecc 3:16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

Ecc 3:17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.

The world is full of injustice, yet the world goes about trying to solve minute problems that cannot be solved without first stopping injustice.

Much sorrow in this world comes from injustice!

The true power in our world is in the hands of oppressors.

God solved this problem with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isa_19:20 And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.

As wise as King Solomon was and with his great wealth, he could do nothing about this oppression, this injustice, or this inequality.

In fact, he was part of it. We know the children of Israel suffered under his high taxes.

Solomon became frustrated, and he should have.

The politics of America is at a stalemate, and the politicians are frustrated because they cannot do anything about it as they are seeking worldly answers to avoid a Spiritual truth.

Unless America turns back to the God of the Bible, we will remain divided, and we see that those who are pushing communism are showing strength when they should be ignored.

We should understand that power always lies with the oppressors because power is the breeding ground of oppression.

Power corrupts, as we have seen in the last twenty years of our own nation.

When reformers take over power, they turn into tyrants, which will not solve the problems.

When the Lord Jesus saw this in Jerusalem, what did He do? Jesus wept.

Then He was crucified.

Psa 69:20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.

Solomon’s only conclusion was that the dead are better off than the living.

God says those who choose His Savior are far better off than the dead.

Jhn_11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Solomon said even the stillborn and aborted are better off than those who experience life in this world.

They will not see the evil activity of the oppressors, nor the grief of the oppressed.

Solomon is right about one thing. These stillborn children and all the aborted children are already in Heaven, and they will certainly miss out on the wickedness of this world.

As far as we who believe, all these things should drive us closer to God!

As Christians, we are not to become so self-consumed that we are blind to those who are oppressed.

We have the answers to the world’s problems, and it is in a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no other answer to the world’s problems!

*****Ecc 4:4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

The truth is that in most workplaces, each worker constantly lives in a state of competition with other workers.

Those bosses are always looking at who shines the brightest.

Because we all want to be successful, we get caught up in these things.

Envy and jealousy in the workplace cause all sorts of problems.

It causes problems in the workplace, and it causes problems in the home.

Remember Joseph; Gen 37:4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

Remember the brother of the prodigal son;

Luk 15:25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.

Luk 15:26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

Luk 15:27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.

Luk 15:28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.

The desire to succeed becomes meaningless when envy rules the heart.

Envy robs people of satisfaction and the true purpose behind achievement.

What is God’s answer? Php 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Php 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

*****Ecc 4:5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

Here we see the fool who has seen what hard work is accomplished by others, and many of them do not get a fair return for their labor.

This fool folds his hands and only works hard enough to get paid.

He will never amount to much, and his reputation will follow him.

We already know that to be lazy is a sin.

We already know that God says those who are lazy should not eat.

So, in reality, this fool is destroying himself, and he can blame no one but himself, though he will not accept it is his fault and blame it upon his circumstances.

Isa 9:20 And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:

God expects us all to have a good work ethic.

Col 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

*****Ecc 4:6 Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.

We have seen people who are obsessed with working to outdo those around them, which caused some to be envious of them.

Then we have seen those people too lazy to work at all and destroy themselves.

Now we see people who are zealous because they are greedy and covetous and can never get enough.

The one who has worked enough with one hand to satisfy his family and, on the other hand, spends time with his family, lives in peace.

The person who works to have both hands full is still not satisfied, is full of turmoil, and is restless.

Those who are filled with the wisdom of God and have the necessities of life can experience peace.

Mat 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, what shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

When we are full of the wisdom of God, we can face less stress and lie our heads at night in peace!

Those who can never get enough to satisfy them never have peace of mind.

We must do our best to be good stewards of the things God allows us to have.

1Co 7:17 But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.

*****Ecc 4:7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun.

Ecc 4:8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

Ecc 4:9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

Ecc 4:10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

Ecc 4:11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?

Ecc 4:12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

What is loneliness?

Loneliness is considered an epidemic by the Surgeon General of the United States.

It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death.

God always knows what He is talking about!

It is said that there are far too many lonely people on this earth.

Many work hard and earn a lot, but have no one to share those things with.

Loneliness is the emptiness of the human soul.

Some people let work be their family, and it just does not work out in their favor.

We need some relationships in our lives.

We have to do things to change this situation if we are suffering from loneliness.

We do need people around us to share our lives with.

We must understand that people whom we can share our lives are much more important than material things we can possess.

We need to love and feel loved.

We need companionship that comes from others.

We need our emotional needs met.

We need those around us who bring meaning to our lives.

We need the joy that others can provide us.

We have that feeling of satisfaction that we receive from being a companion to others.

Two people can do things that one cannot.

With two, there is always someone to help in certain situations.

In the days of Solomon, people had to walk everywhere they went, and the same desert that brought heat during the day brought cold at night.

Two people traveling together could better fend off the cold.

Two people can defend themselves better than one who is alone.

In fact, three would be better than two in this situation.

There are three characteristics in the lives of each child of God.

1Co_13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

We could also say that the three persons of the Holy Trinity are why our bond with our Lord Jesus Christ cannot be broken.

Jhn_10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.

We as Christians should reach out to those who are alone.

Many who need the Lord Jesus Christ could end their loneliness: Psa 142:4 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.

Psa 142:5 I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.

*****Ecc 4:13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.

Ecc 4:14 For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.

Ecc 4:15 I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.

Ecc 4:16 There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

If the word wise means having the wisdom of God, then it is far better to be a poor but wise young man than a rich and foolish old king who rejects the Word of God.

That old king will still reap what he sows and be held accountable for it.

Power has caused many good people to become wicked.

Solomon is a great example of these things. He was a godly young man, and God allowed him wisdom far greater than any man, and yet he allowed his wicked wives to change him, and his kingship suffered because of it.

He had the power and the wealth to do anything he chose to do, and he chose wickedness over godliness.

People are fickle; we should remember the same people who shouted “Hosanna” when our Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem a few days later said, “Crucify Him”.

We live in the same world today where the minds of people are changed by the politics of our world.

Everything changes because nothing but the Word of God lasts forever!

We cannot please everyone, but we must do our best to trust the wisdom of God and serve Him.

He is our King forever!

When we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, we find that the rich and the poor have changed places.

The children of God inherit the riches of Heaven, while the rich old kings become poor in this world, and their riches become meaningless.

It is those who are lost in this world who are caught in the chains of the Devil, who, after giving their heart to the Lord Jesus, become the kings and priests of the Kingdom of God.

Rev_1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Rev_5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Many believe that this passage is written in the thought of Joseph, who was made second only to Pharaoh.

Gen 41:39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:

Gen 41:40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.

Gen 41:41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.

Gen 41:42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;

Gen 41:43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.

It is the same for the Christian during the Millennial Kingdom, when God’s people will be rulers who will be second to King Jesus.

Rev_3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

One day in the future, the Lord Jesus Christ will sit as King of this world for one thousand years, but He will rule with a rod of iron.

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Every one of us has the desire to be respected and liked by others, and we have it in our power to make this so.

If we live according to the Word of God, God’s people will treat us as a brother or a sister.

Most of the world will show us hatred because they hate the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our identity must be found in our value to our Heavenly Father and who we are in Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ died so we could be saved, and He arose from that death to show us who He is.

This is what truly matters in our lives!

This is what makes us family to the Almighty God, and nothing upon this earth can change this.

Those who trust in their popularity and in what others think about them will never be satisfied.

They will fail to please the Lord, and they will die in their sin.

Gal 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Amen

Human Relations

October 20, 2025October 20, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Wisdom’s Instructions on Human Relations

Book of Proverbs Chapter 27

What are our duties as the children of God?

Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Ecc 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

After the Holy Spirit guided Solomon through the entire Book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon sees that there is truly one duty that every human is to have.

“We are to have a reverent fear of the Lord and keep His commandments”.

Everything in this world is meaningless unless we see it through the eyes of Jehovah.

There is safety and peace in the keeping of the commandments of our self-existing God.

The Word of God is just as valuable today as it was in the days of Solomon and all the writers of Scripture, led by the Holy Spirit, and even more so as we approach the end of the Church Age.

Our eternal existence depends upon our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the giver and the taker of life!

Our one job is to please our Heavenly Father through His Son!

This begins when we recognize sin and avoid it.

*Pro 27:1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
Pro 27:2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
Pro 27:3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.
Pro 27:4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?

We should understand that no matter how our day goes, it is a day that God by His Almighty Power causes or allows to happen according to His plan for us.

If we rely on what we think tomorrow will bring, according to the day we live now, we can be totally disappointed.

All our plans are secondary to the plan of God!

When we ignore what God has said, it is a sin as much as any other sin!

We are blind and arrogant to think that we hold power over our own lives.

This does not mean we are not to plan and even plan for the future, but we had better remain flexible with our plans.

We cannot take tomorrow for granted, and only God can direct our future; and it is sin not to know this.

God’s plans will always prevail.

Let the Lord Jesus teach us on this: Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

There is another proverb that should be more important to us: 2Co 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

God is saying we do not know what tomorrow will bring, so do not put off today what needs to be done today.

If the Lord Jesus returns this afternoon and you are waiting till next week to talk to the preacher about salvation, it will be too late for you to get to Heaven.

It is the same thing if the Lord has laid it upon you to witness to a certain person and you put it off for a few days, and all of a sudden, the trumpet sounds and we’re out of here.

We may think we are the best that the Lord has to offer to the world, but we are never to brag about ourselves.

If we are just doing what the Lord has commanded us to do, there is no reward for that, it’s obedience.

If we are not obedient, we are living in sin!

If we boast about how great we are, we will forget how great the Lord is.

Humility, not boasting, will cause others to think more of us, especially the Lord.

2Co 10:17 But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
2Co 10:18 For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.

As we go through life as a Christian, we will find there are many daily irritations that can make our life unbearable, but if we come face to face with a fool, the Spiritual effort it takes to deal with him is far greater than anything else we face.

Pro 16:22 Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.

Envy, which includes jealousy, will consume and destroy even the strongest Christian, and we must avoid them.

Remember, Cain slew Abel because of jealousy and became the first murderer in the Bible and caused strife in the first family that existed.

Joseph, the son of Jacob, was sold into slavery because of jealousy.

King Saul tried to kill David because of jealousy.

Envy is the most dangerous of all sinful emotions.

Pro 6:34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore, he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

Many times, we ignore these sins in our lives, and we think we are living according to the Word of God when we are living in unconfessed sin, and our prayer life will suffer because of it.

The Lord Jesus Christ has given us the power to overcome all sin in our lives, but we must recognize them as sin.

The closer we stay to living according to the Word of God, we will understand that all sin is an abomination to our Heavenly Father.

Next, we must always be sensitive to the Holy Spirit who lives within us.

When we feel someone tugging at our heart, there is no need to look around on the outside because it will be the Spirit on the inside ringing our bell.

We must swallow our pride, admit our sin, and we will see an improvement in our prayer life and in our lives.

*Pro 27:5 Open rebuke is better than secret love.
Pro 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
Pro 27:7 The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
Pro 27:8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.
Pro 27:9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.
Pro 27:10 Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.

We meet a lot of people throughout our lifetime, but only a few can we say are our friends.

How can we say we are good friends if we do not love them enough to point out bad behavior?

We are never to ignore their bad behavior or anything which could be called evil.

It’s the same with our children. How can we say that we love them if we do not tell them about their bad behavior and try to correct them at any age?

Pro 3:12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Real friends will confront each other with the truth!

A true friend will get over that rebuke and remain your friend.

Many of us tend to overindulge, especially when we are eating our favorite meal.

Even that favorite meal will lose its taste when we reach the point where we cannot take another bite.

We know our health should be maintained before we reach this point.

We sometimes forget that a hungry person will eat anything they are offered, even if they do not like the taste of it.

Pro 22:9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.

True friends will help the needy.

A bird that strays from the nest shows no regard for the family it leaves behind, and they will perish without its help.

For a father or a mother to desert loved ones is not different.

We simply are not to walk away from those we love!

As far as the Jews, this applied to those who left their nation to live in some other nation.

God’s plan encompasses the community of people beyond the family.

We must understand that God has placed us wherever we live, and unless God calls for us to go somewhere else, then His intention is for us to remain where He has placed us.

This is our mission field.

What did God tell Cain after he murdered Abel? Gen 4:12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

Look at what happened to Naomi.

Rth 1:1 Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.
Rth 1:2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab and continued there.
Rth 1:3 And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.
Rth 1:4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
Rth 1:5 And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.

God made something good come out of this tragedy in the family of Naomi, for this is what God does, but maybe they should have stayed in Bethlehem.

Our purpose cannot be fulfilled when we run away from it!

Maybe we should not run away from the friends that God has allowed us to establish unless it is God who leads us to do so.

Good friends are just too hard to find!

True friends can help heal each other in times of sorrow and times of need.

Wounds of the heart are especially painful, and a good friend can help heal that pain.

Gal 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Gal 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Gal 5:15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

In today’s world, we need more friends and not fewer friends, and our brothers and sisters in Christ are to always be our friends and we theirs.

A friend of your father who is now your friend shows a connection to the family and should be regarded as a true friend.

We should not only love our friends, but we should also love our friends’ children.

Most of the time, we do not need the help of our friends, but on that day, we do, and it is good to know that help will come.

True friends are priceless!

A good friend who is available is far better than a family that lives miles away from you.

A wise child of God will cherish and value their friends.

Our greatest friend is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

*Pro 27:11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.
Pro 27:12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.
Pro 27:13 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
Pro 27:14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.

If we raise our children according to the Word of God, we will certainly be criticized by the world.

The world will say we are doing it wrong.

They will be taught to follow certain godly rules.

They will be denied certain freedoms that the children of the world will partake in.

They will be removed from certain teachings in the schools that go against the Word of God.

The world will say, As Christians, we are being too oppressive to our children.

That wise child will bring great joy to his parents if they have listened and learned the reasons why these things are important.

How we and our children go through life reflects our upbringing.

When we are trained to recognize the pitfalls of life, then we can avoid them.

When we see the danger that is ahead, we can protect ourselves from it.

The wise child of God will not walk into danger unprepared.

We have the full armor of God.

Those who are simple seldom see the danger that is ahead of them and are not prepared to face it when it comes.

When we do business with people we do not know, we need to demand payment or keep some sort of collateral.

If we are asked to stand good for the debt of someone else, we should refuse.

If we allow our best winter coat to be collateral, we may spend many cold days because of it.

Pro 11:15 He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it: and he that hateth suretiship is sure.

What is common courtesy? Most of us would say it is being polite, connected to kindness.

It is also an act of respect.

If we have had some great thing happen to us and we just cannot hold it in and wake our friends up in the middle of the night to tell them, then we have not been good friends to them. We have not respected them.

We may even lose a friend with such behavior.

Our good news has become bad news for them.

If we call our friends in the middle of the night to tell them how much we appreciate them, they may not appreciate your call.

Friends are just too important for us to do these things to them.

If we call our Pastor for some trivial matter after he has preached three services and visited the sick and needs his rest, we have done him no favor.

*Pro 27:15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.
Pro 27:16 Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.
Pro 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
Pro 27:18 Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

The Holy Spirit has mentioned this subject at least five times, so it has to be important.

If it has been raining for a long time and the place you are seeking shelter has a leaky roof, that can drive us back out into the storm.

If we are at home trying to have some peace, but an angry, quarrelsome wife will not let that happen can also drive a man out of that house.

Those who are married to such a person are at their mercy.

We should not be the cause of her anger, or we will certainly suffer for it.

It will be raining inside and outside, and we will have nowhere to avoid it.

Eph 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Eph 5:33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

A husband and wife must be good friends at all times and let not anger divide them.

Iron is sharpened by another piece of abrasive iron.

The Bible says we are not created to be alone but with others.

We are social beings, and we need to be around others to feel human.

Iron sharpening iron is about two pieces of equivalent materials.

When two people talk and work out the details of their marriage or their friendship, they have sharpened each other, and their bond remains strong.

Our character is shaped by contact with others, which is another reason God wants us to gather together as like-minded people to worship our Heavenly Father.

We do not have to agree with each other all the time, but by talking and gaining understanding, it will sharpen our convictions and remove those sharp edges that cause friction.

It is the same for husbands and wives, good friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ.

It is also the same in our relationships at work.

It is not so much about sharpening as it is about caring for one another.

Tending to a fig tree requires some work, but if you do this properly, you will be able to eat its fruit.

As Christians, we have only one Master, the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we faithfully serve the Lord and do not worry about whether our efforts will be recognized and rewarded will in the end receive from our Master, the most important things.

Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

Mat 25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

It is these things that build our character.

*Pro 27:19 As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.

A good mirror will show the reflection of our face, but they did not exist at this time, so a pool of clear water would give the best reflection.

Just as that good mirror gives the best reflection of our outside character, our hearts will give the best reflection of our inside character.

Mat 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

It is the Word of God that is to be used as our mirror.

It is the Word of God that will show us what is in our hearts.

What is in our heart is what we are!

When we acknowledge what is in our hearts, it will drive us to our knees, and we will beg God for mercy!

The world we live in today is so close to being like the world that existed before the flood that the Lord could return at any moment to remove His Church, which He promised would not see His wrath and return with fire to destroy this wicked world.

Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

*Pro 27:20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Pro 27:21 As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.
Pro 27:22 Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

We know that the grave eats up all the bodies that are put into it and is always ready to eat up more.

Destruction is speaking of the second death.

Rev_20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev_21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Hell is always hungry for more of the dead!

Hab 2:5 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:

Hell is never full or satisfied. Enough is never enough.

The Bible then says our sinful desires can be compared to Hell because our sinful desires are never satisfied.

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

The only thing that will satisfy us is the “Fear of the Lord” and a reverent relationship with Him.

The fining pot and the furnace are used to test precious metals for purity.

In the same way, our praise of the Lord reveals our character.

If our praise is not real, God knows it!

When we humble ourselves before God, we show we are sinners and give God the credit for His Mercy and His Grace, which allows for our salvation.

Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

We should understand that not everyone is going to accept the truth of God, and over and over, God says they are foolish.

Even severe punishment is not enough to cause fools to change their minds.

Pro 26:3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.
Pro 26:4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.

No matter how long we pound fools, we will never be able to separate them from their foolishness!

We are cautioned not to waste our time and energy trying to reform them.

Jer 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
Jer 13:24 Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.

We must recognize who we can and cannot help.

*Pro 27:23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
Pro 27:24 For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?
Pro 27:25 The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.
Pro 27:26 The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.
Pro 27:27 And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.

Everything we own belongs to God, and we need to be diligent in managing and protecting these things.

The wealth of the people of the Old Testament consisted of livestock.

God had given them their land, and it could not be sold.

Flocks would designate sheep, but herds could be goats or cattle, or any group of animals.

Why should we be so diligent? Because God has provided these things to feed and clothe our families.

When we do not work diligently with the things God has given to us or loaned to us, then our families will suffer.

A farmer must keep a close eye on his animals.

Today, we are to keep a close eye on our assets, our property, businesses, if you have a business, our accounts, and any other resource.

We are to do this because at any moment these things could disappear, or we could see a better place to place our finances.

Riches do not last forever!

We know that if we have animals, they require personal attention.

It is the same for everything we have obtained.

We must set our hearts on providing for our families.

Once money is spent then it is gone.

The value of cars and other possessions deteriorates with time or can be stolen.

There are more risks every day because our world is getting more evil, and crime is increasing.

Nothing we own is entirely secure, even our nation, and who knows about our government from day to day.

We must also apply these things to our Churches.

The Church is compared to flocks by the Holy Spirit.

Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Act 20:29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

We know that these things are happening in the Church today.

What is the Pastor to do?

1Pe 5:1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
1Pe 5:2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
1Pe 5:3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
1Pe 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

It is not the time for any Pastor or Church leader to stray from the Gospel, but many are.

The message of the Lord Jesus Christ does not ever change.

There is no such thing as a modern Gospel.

The growth of the Church has always been the job of the Holy Spirit!

Our job is to preach and teach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!

In the beginning of time, God provided everything needed to sustain humans throughout all the Ages.

God then gave humans the knowledge to take care of the things He created.

We are to be good stewards of these things.

Luk_12:42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?

This includes taking care of the planet God has allowed us to live upon.

We will one day give an account to God for all He has placed in our heads, our hearts, and our hands.

Psa 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Psa 8:5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Psa 8:6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
Psa 8:7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
Psa 8:8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

We will one day give an account for this planet God has created for us to live on till He takes His children home, those who love the Lord Jesus Christ!

Amen

Will You Have a Good Name

October 13, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Wisdom’s Instructions to Obtain and Keep a Good Name

Book of Proverbs Chapter 22

We should ask ourselves, how will people perceive us, or how will they remember us after we’re gone?

Do we have a “good name”, a good reputation, a good testimony?

Are we a person of integrity?

Are we friends to the world, or is our name written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life?

If people see us a friend to the world, then we are God’s enemy!

Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Do we compromise on the Word of God just to remain friends with the world?

Luk 6:26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Are we seen as a child of God?

2Co 8:18 And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches;

Act 10:22 And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.

3Jn 1:12 Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true.

We need to understand that a good name, a good reputation, is not the same as being popular.

We can be popular without being a child of God, but with what sort of people!

These are people who are concerned for their own honor and not the honor of God.

This is a people pleaser, and we have far too many of those behind many pulpits today.

One of the first things we need to have a good reputation is the fact that people recognize us as Christians, being like Jesus Christ, and not a hypocrite.

*Pro 22:1 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
Pro 22:2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.

God will never show partiality to His children!

The Lord Jesus died upon that cross for every single living person from the time of Adam till the end of time.

We may put a high value on earthly things that have no value in Heaven, but to our Heavenly Father, our soul is the most valuable part of being a human.

We should ask ourselves, would we sell our good name for a million dollars?

Would we compromise our character for a million dollars?

We cannot put a price on honor, integrity, and righteousness!

Ecc 7:1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.

Why is our death more important than our birth?

We are born into a life that will not be very lengthy.

At our death, we will have eternal life, either in the torments of Hell or in the glory of Heaven.

We must make this choice while we are alive!

We must understand that we are one of God’s creations and love Him as our Creator, our Maker.

God is unmoved by the possessions we gain while we are living, but He offers the glories and the wealth of Heaven if we turn to Him for our salvation.

God will never discriminate among people because of their wealth, success, gender, race, or social status!

Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Why are there so many suicides in America? They are plagued with low self-esteem and see no future for themselves.

They use the wrong things to judge themselves!

They focus on appearance, abilities, or position.
They focus on popularity, wealth, or success.

These things have nothing to do with our real value if we look through the eyes of God.

God cares for us so much that He keeps up with every detail of our lives.
God loves us so much that He will go with us everywhere we go, in good times and bad times.
God has a wonderful plan and purpose for our lives.
God is always thinking about us.
God loves us enough that He sacrificed His Son for us despite our sins and our rebellious nature.

Rom 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Rom 5:7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Almost every religion in the world is looking for some messiah, but my Messiah came and died for me, and He will return to take me home.

We will never be able to fulfill the purpose God has for us if we do not have a good name after our salvation.

We were all dirty, rotten sinners before our salvation.

Act 6:3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

*Pro 22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
Pro 22:4 By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
Pro 22:5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
Pro 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Pro 22:7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
Pro 22:8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.
Pro 22:9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
Pro 22:10 Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
Pro 22:11 He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.

As Christians under the leadership of our faith, we understand that there will be a day of wrath from the Almighty Living God, and there is only one way to avoid it.

We know to look to Jesus Christ and hide ourselves in His loving arms.

Jas 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

Isa_25:4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

As Christians, we are paying attention to what is going on in this world, and we know the results at the end of the Church Age and the seven years of tribulation.

Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Only the Church will be saved from this day of wrath!

Those whom God says are simple-minded reject the truth of God, and they will be punished for it; most of them, if not all, will spend eternity in Hell.

They refuse to recognize the dangers of a sinful lifestyle!

Pro 27:12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

They refuse to recognize the truth of a Righteous God!

We already know the foundation of wisdom is the “Fear of the Lord”.

This fear is not only a reverent fear of the Lord but also includes an actual fear of a God who would rather not show His wrath.

Isa 28:22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
Isa 28:23 Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.

Only those who have submitted to God before they come to their own death will miss out on this consumption upon the whole earth.

This consumption is the disease of sin that God will eradicate.

We know there are painful hazards as we travel life’s journeys.

That journey is far worse for those who reject the Word of God.

They cannot know the comfort of knowing we do not have to go through these pains alone.

Pro 15:19 The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.

Those who have received the pleasures of this world become slaves to those things, and God’s people know there is no real pleasure in anything this world has to offer.

We who travelled that sinful life for far too long and have turned to Jesus Christ know that we are to train our children while they are children, so they can avoid most of life’s pitfalls.

The children God has given to us are our responsibility and not the governments to raise and teach.

If there is one thing we have realized in the last several years is that our government has steered our children down the path to the destruction of our entire nation and the way of freedom.

As parents and grandparents, and great-grandparents, we only get the opportunity to guide our children in the right direction.

They will choose a path for themselves sooner than we realize.

We hope that as they get older, they will remember those things in their heart and their minds.

Eph 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Eph 6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

We must understand that there are consequences to borrowing money, and credit cards have destroyed many families.

There is nothing disgraceful about being poor!

The rich have far too much power in dictating the lifestyle of the poor, and certain politicians want to keep the poor from gaining in life by giving incentives to them incentives not to work. All for their vote to keep them poor.

It is ridiculous that people have fallen into this trap and want to remain there.

Those who have caused this problem and keep doing these things will reap what they sow.

God is sending His warnings to these lenders from the Holy Spirit.

As Christians, we are taught to share.

The Holy Spirit says to those who share, they will also reap what they sow.

Pro 19:17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

The Church has become stagnant because the Church has allowed the world into the Church.

God has one answer if you want to stop the arguments in the Church: throw out those who reject the Word of God or those who try to compromise the Word of God with the world’s ways.

Pro 21:24 Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.

These are the ones causing the contention and strife in the Church, and it can be settled by simply forcing them to leave unless they repent.

Ask them how they get saved to hear their answer.

Rom 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
Rom 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

If we can speak to others with the same grace that our Heavenly Father has shown to us, we will get along, and we cannot move to the left or to the right from the truth of God.

A troublemaker does not have a pure heart; they are troublemakers. This is what they live for.

*Pro 22:12 The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.
Pro 22:13 The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.
Pro 22:14 The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.
Pro 22:15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Pro 22:16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.

God is so moving and loving for us that He sent His only Son to die in our place just so we could live with Him forever.

God is also holy and righteous and will not put up with foolishness and unrighteousness.

We should ask ourselves, “What is the providence of God”?

The providence of God is the fact that it is God’s wisdom and God’s power that preserves and governs this world for the ends which He purposes to accomplish.

Since God created everything, it should be reasonable to infer that He upholds and governs all things!

All things are known to Him!
All things are possible for Him!

It is our Heavenly Father’s plan for us, and nothing in this world can change God’s plan for us!

As our Creator, He is self-existent, and it is His Will, so all His creations depend on Him!

He only deserves our worship!

He is the great guardian of the truth of this world we live in!

It is a fact that lazy people will come up with all sorts of excuses not to work.

Some things they come up with are laughable.

It is highly unlikely that any Jew was mauled by a lion because they were not found in towns or cities.

It is in our best interest as Christians to be the best workers on the job site.

This is diligent.

It is true to say that those who can work but refuse to do so should not eat.

When they are hungry enough, they will find some work to do to provide that meal.

We have to wonder if Solomon wrote this proverb early in life or later in life because he admits that the seductive words of harlots and adulteresses will entice a man to his own destruction of his body and his soul.

Solomon also wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes, and we can see more profound words by the Holy Spirit.

Ecc 7:26 And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

Foolishness is actually self-will.

Children must be rescued from this and it can be accomplished through discipline.

Foolishness is not a learned behavior it is in that child from birth.

It can be removed while they are still young to keep them from harming themselves or others.

Parents who love their children will correct them!

Pro 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

God says we will reap what we sow.

So those who oppress the poor will themselves suffer similarly by giving their riches to someone who is already rich and does not need it.

Mat 18:24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
Mat 18:25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
Mat 18:26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Mat 18:27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
Mat 18:28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
Mat 18:29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Mat 18:30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
Mat 18:31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
Mat 18:32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Mat 18:33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
Mat 18:34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

We can see where we fail in this life if we reject the wisdom of God.

When we reject the Word of God, we live in open opposition to Him.

True success in life comes through trusting and fearing the Lord.

Who are the foolish, all those who do not want the Lord to be on their side!

The Bible did not come to us by accident!

It is a Holy God who has preserved His Word for us to know and respect.

*Pro 22:17 Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
Pro 22:18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
Pro 22:19 That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.
Pro 22:20 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,
Pro 22:21 That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?

Wisdom does not just come upon us. We must ask for wisdom and then study what other wise men have said.

If we understand that the Holy Spirit has directed the thoughts of God to men to write down so they can be understood.

The Word of God is useless if it remains in the Book. These wise words must be read and studied and brought into our hearts and our consciences.

That word hear is the Hebrew word “shama,” which means to hear intelligently and to heed and obey.

We must keep this wisdom in our hearts.

Rom_6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

God wants His word to be active in our lives.

The Bible is the most powerful Book that has ever existed!

It is nourishment for the soul!

It is the seed that brings forth much fruit.

It is the truth that applies to this life we live now.

It is the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, that teaches us to trust Jehovah, Yahweh, Elohim, the Almighty God.

It is our Heavenly Father who is the source of all wisdom, no matter whose lips it comes from.

God wants us to know the truth of this world.

God expects us to know the truth of this world.

God wants us to have confidence in His Word of Truth!

Jehovah can be trusted, the Lord Jesus Christ can be trusted, and the Holy Spirit can be trusted because the Bible is designed and written by the Holy Trinity, so we can know the truth.

God gives us His truth so we can live more successful and meaningful lives.

It is the Word of God that gives us this powerful message we can share with those who do not know Him.

God did not have to tell us anything, and we would have gone through life confused, but He would have still held us accountable for our sin.

Rom_1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

God gave us His Word so that we can have hope that this life we live now is not just meaningless, and there is a better life ahead. That hope is in our Savior, God Himself!

Rom 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Rom 15:5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
Rom 15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

*Pro 22:22 Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
Pro 22:23 For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.

There are many poor people in this world, many of them have happy lives and know that riches cannot make them happier than they already are.

Some are poor, and they do not like to be reminded of that fact, and we should help them if we are able.

We must understand that God is always on the side of the poor!

The instruction “not to rob the poor” does not speak of robbery because they have nothing worth stealing.

We are not to rob the poor of their dignity.

Many of the poor are taken advantage of because they cannot hire a lawyer.

God is reminding us that He will defend them in the end.

To understand what the Holy Spirit is talking about here, let’s look at the Apostle Paul.

2Co 6:4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
2Co 6:5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;

There are probably far more Christian Saints who were poor until they met the Lord Jesus than rich.

Just as it is today, many of the poor are wrongly afflicted by unjust judges and society.

Cruel and greedy people choose the poor as their targets because they are unable to defend themselves.

Praise the Lord, we have an advocate in Heaven.

1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Psa 35:10 All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?

When the Lord says He will spoil the souls of those who oppress the poor, He is saying He will take away their lives.

*Pro 22:24 Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:
Pro 22:25 Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.

There are a lot of bad examples in our world, and we must not spend time around them.

Yes, we are to witness if we get the opportunity and flee as soon as we can.

Those who are short-tempered can influence us in a bad way.

All of us are prone to losing our temper from time to time, but this angry man from the Scripture is full of anger at all times, and the wise do not need to be around them.

Wise people understand the power of influence and avoid such people.

Bad behavior can rub off on people and infect others.

Uncontrolled anger is a trap that is easy to get caught in and hard to escape.

Scripture never tells us to associate with the ungodly for the purpose of trying to change their behavior.

In fact, Scripture tells us to be an example to them of the wisdom to avoid anger as best we can.

1Co 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

*Pro 22:26 Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.
Pro 22:27 If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?

In the old days, all it took was a handshake to seal a deal.

We all want to help our children and maybe close friends, but God says do not secure debts for them.

I do not know how many of us have been burned by our own children, but it happens.

If that debtor is not creditworthy, then why should we be taken advantage of?

We end up taking up a debt that we are not prepared for, and we could lose our own possessions and our own creditworthiness be ruined.

Our testimony can also be affected if we are known to be someone who does not pay our debts.

We must not make foolish deals. Nothing is untouchable if you put yourself up for someone else’s debts.

*Pro 22:28 Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.

The ownership of property is important in today’s world, but it was extremely important in ancient Israel.

Most land is worth far more than its monetary value.

It was Jehovah who gave Abraham and the descendants of Sarah the land that belonged to Israel.

Deu 19:14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.

Gen_17:21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

Heb 11:9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

God had forbidden the children of Israel to sell their land He had given to them.

Moving a boundary stone was an act of theft and a violation of the eighth commandment.

Deu 19:14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.

Deu 27:17 Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.

*Pro 22:29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

It is a rare occasion for a diligent worker to be fired, even in today’s world.

To have a good work ethic is to be obedient to our Heavenly Father.

Christians should be the best workers on any job site.

As believers, we are called to set the example of being diligent workers.

We are never to be seen as being lazy.

We do not labor only for our employers; we labor also for our Lord!

Ecc 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

And the words that every Saint of God hopes to receive.

Mat 25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Amen

Dealing With Moral Virtues

October 6, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Wisdom’s Instructions on Moral Virtues

Book of Proverbs Chapter 18

We can say that virtue is acting according to the “Will of God” for our lives.

The Bible tells us that only fools walk outside the will of God!

Rom_12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

1Jn_2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

Each of us must come to understand what the will of the Lord is!

Eph 5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

We should come to an understanding that:

1) We should stand in awe of our Creator, who is wise, powerful, and loving.
2) We can entrust our entire lives to our Almighty God.
3) We can rejoice in the wonder of His salvation.
4) We can rest in peace while the world goes through turmoil after turmoil.
5) That God holds people accountable for their sin.
6) That God opposes the pride of mankind.

Man, in his pride, desires to run his own life and refuses to recognize that God is God of all creation, but He has a humble Spirit.

We must avoid having a sinful attitude.

We must understand that the Book of Proverbs declares that fools walk a path of death.

*Pro 18:1 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.
Pro 18:2 A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.
Pro 18:3 When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach.

There are many interpretations of this verse, but the most accurate interpretation seems to be that people who think only of themselves, who are selfish and antisocial, are fools.

They are foolish because they have a great desire to live as they wish, but they will meddle in the affairs of all others.

We are to separate ourselves from the world: 2Co_6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

We are not to live a life like an isolationist, which is foolish behavior!

Gen 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

We are social people, and we will not develop properly by self-discipline in solitude.

To depend upon us for all things is not beneficial, and it is not good, but to do this while we intermeddle in the business of all others is downright sinful.

Pro 20:3 It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.

Pro 21:24 Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.

What is being obstinate? It is stubborn, having only your own opinion, your own purpose, your own resolutions.

Not yielding to reason nor in arguments. Having your own way at the expense of all others.

This fool has no desire to listen to what others have to say, as they have made up their minds that they are right and everyone else is wrong.

They are interested in only their own opinion.

They will not listen to the arguments of others.

They are so full of pride in themselves that they want to impress others with what they have to say.

These are not people who should be allowed to stay in the Church.

The Church is far better off without wicked people in the Church.

This is not to say that we should police all who come into the doors of the Church, but the Bible does say we will know them by their fruit.

One pastor said that these are blessed subtractions.

Wicked people may contribute to some organizations but not to the Church.

They bring contempt to the Church.
They bring ignominy or shame to the Church.
They bring reproaches or disgrace to the Church.

They will also bring this same damage to themselves and to their families, unless they repent.

It is the wisdom of God that will bring blessings.

*Pro 18:4 The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.
Pro 18:5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.
Pro 18:6 A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.
Pro 18:7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.
Pro 18:8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

It is the mouths of those who fear the Lord that will edify the Church.

Pro 20:5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.

Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

In contrast, if that wicked person is allowed to stay in the Church, then there will be problems.

Pro 10:11 The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.

When we accept this person, we are showing partiality and not considering the right and wrong of it.

Anytime we show partiality to the wicked, we are wrongly judging the righteous man!

These wicked people may seem to be very wise in the Scriptures, but so was Satan.

Mat 4:6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Mat 4:7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

The Bible teaches us against such things.

Psa 82:2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.

This wicked person may be the richest man in the congregation, but we are to act according to the Word of God.

These things have divided many Houses of Worship today.

The Bible says we are never to show partiality to the wicked, nor are we to speak against the righteous and the innocent.

Fools bring on most of their problems because they cannot control their speech.

In most cases, it is their quarreling over matters we consider evil that sets them apart from the Church.

Many churches today are accepting the testimony of certain movements when there is no repentance, which goes against the Word of God, when the Word of God is the foundation of the Church and not the words of man.

God calls for repentance!

Jhn_3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Jhn_3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
1Pe_1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Many denominations are quarreling over these things today when the Lord Jesus says, “ye must be Born Again”.

When we throw the Lord Jesus out of the Church, we have no Church!

We are warned: A fool’s mouth ends in destruction!

Their senseless, uncontrolled words will be their downfall.

If they could keep their mouths shut, they might even fool the Church.

Pro 17:28 Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

Talebearers or those who go around whispering about others also cause divisions in the Church.

We call it gossip, and it will destroy the reputation of the righteous man.

Spreading rumors inside the Church is an abomination to the One we come together to worship.

In fact, the reason we gather together is to worship the Living God!

Pro 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
Pro 6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
Pro 6:18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
Pro 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

We must avoid selfish attitudes and sinful words that hinder our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ and cause division in the Church.

We are to love one another and seek our security in the Lord, who is the foundation of the Church.

*Pro 18:9 He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.
Pro 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

Being slothful is being lazy, being idle, and it is destructive!

Those who are wise are people who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for life now and eternal life in the future.

This is a never-ending life of “Grace”.

Fools trust in themselves, some in their wealth, and others in this corrupt world.

I used to think our own government, no matter which party was in charge, would be far above corruption, but I now know this is not so after seeing the Democrats do everything they could to destroy are nation and our Republic.

Things are getting worse just as the Lord has said.

2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
2Ti 3:14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

We can blame a lot of these problems on the Church because the Church has become weak and lazy, and slothful.

The Church has become a great waster of the work the Lord Jesus has done to save us!

Many in the Church purposely tear down rather than build and preserve the Gospel.

This is why God will first judge the Church before He judges the world.

God will separate the goats from the sheep in the House of God, and the goats know who they are, but the sheep have become far too docile to take a stand on the Lord Jesus and the Gospel.

We can trust that our Lord God knows what He is doing and run to Him for safety.

God is The Almighty God.
He is the great I Am Yahweh.
He is Jehovah.
He is the Lord God.
He is wonderful.
He is the everlasting Father.
He is the Prince of Peace.
He is our Counselor.
He is the High and Lofty One.
He is the Lord Our Righteousness.
He is Emmanuel.
He is the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning, and the End.
He is my Savior and Redeemer.
He is my Strong Tower of safety.
He is my Rock and Fortress.

Those who reject these things are fools.

*Pro 18:11 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit.

There are not enough riches in this entire world that can save those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ from the wrath of my Heavenly Father.

The rich think that their wealth can save them from anything, and they are wrong when it comes to the wrath of God.

1Ti 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
1Ti 6:18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
1Ti 6:19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

To all others, the Holy Spirit says.

*Pro 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.

The rest of the world seeks salvation in their own abilities.

That word haughty means proud and disdainful with contempt for all those who trust the Lord.

They are proud people who trust only in themselves.

In their own strength, in their own intelligence, in their own abilities.

As fools, they will not even be able to stand against the storms of this life, and it will break them.

Pro 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

*Pro 18:13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

We must first hear the whole story before we can speak to a matter.

Only a fool thinks he has all the answers!

This is being arrogant and putting yourself above others.

A wise man will wait until he has heard the whole story of the matter and then see if he can help in some way.

Only God and His Word have all the answers to life!

*Pro 18:14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?

Our spirit can only sustain us if we live according to Christian principles.

Christian principles give us the strength to look past our troubles to our future, and this will make all our troubles bearable.

Pro 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

Those who are deep into depression and despair are difficult to rescue.

*Pro 18:15 The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.

God has no respect for those who are ignorant except for the fact that He will send someone to tell the ignorant the truth so they can decide for themselves.

If a person desires to avoid harm to body, mind, and soul, then that person must acquire knowledge both in relation to things of this world, which are material, and seek spiritual things that are from Heaven.

Most of us who have tasted the wisdom of God are now trying to find out more.

We know we need to grow in wisdom, but it requires our faith, our belief in the truth of God!

Jas 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Jas 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Jas 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

If we truly begin a search for wisdom, it will lead us to fear of the Lord, the place of true wisdom.

1) Our hearts must be dedicated to obtaining this knowledge.
2) Our ears are open to receive this great knowledge.

Eph 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Our security can only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ have nowhere else to turn for lifesaving knowledge!

They are open to all the destructive forces in this world, which is the domain of Satan.

Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Joh 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

Only those who are filled with God the Holy Spirit is secure in this world and the world that is to come.

2Co 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
2Co 4:11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

God has a purpose for everything we face in this life, every problem and every difficulty.

This does not mean He causes all our problems; that is what Satan does.

We must keep our focus on Heaven and not on our problems!

2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

When we become too ashamed to ask for God’s help, we will suffer more than we could have.

Our Heavenly Father does much more than just listen to us; He will answer every prayer that reaches into Heaven.

We must live our lives in such a fashion as to make sure our prayers reach Heaven, and it begins when we have the “Fear of the Lord”.

We must never seek an unfair advantage over others, because God will not allow it.

We must seek that God’s righteousness is at work in us as we go about the business of serving the Lord!

God’s wisdom will affect our behavior toward others!

*Pro 18:16 A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.
Pro 18:17 He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.
Pro 18:18 The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.
Pro 18:19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.

It is a proven fact that generosity and politeness have opened many doors.

There are two kinds of gifts, the gift of selfishness and the gift of kindness.

A man sometimes bestows a favor on another to get back something of a higher value. This gift is a bribe.

Bribery is the cause of much corruption in our world.

The true children of God will not offer bribes, nor will they accept them!

The gift of kindness is the true gift and is the real power.

It makes room for the giver in the heart of the receiver, and it bringeth him before truly great men. Great men recognize and honour the generous.

We may be able to use gifts here on this earth to help open doors, but we never need gifts to go before the Lord!

The door of access to our Heavenly Father is always open to His children!

We must be very careful when we hear something that seems bad about someone.

God’s children must hear both sides of each story.

The first one to plead their case usually seems right. When we hear from the first side, we often feel that the first one to plead their case seems right, and we are quick to take their side.

Our neighbor may come and judge us for our quick reaction without hearing the story from the other side.

Our judgment may be different once we have heard from the other side.

We may have to demand cross-examination of both parties before we can know the truth.

In the Bible, the casting of lots was used to find answers and make decisions, and they had every faith that God would be involved.

Pro 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

As true believers, we should be able to settle disputes just as peacefully as they did; we supposedly have the mind of Christ and have the Holy Spirit living within us.

We should never turn to the world for help!

As we witness to the lost, it is important that we argue and defend the truth of the Scriptures before all whom we may face, giving exactly what God has said and the meaning of it.

As Christians, we are wise to do everything we can to prevent conflicts in the Church before they arise.

Once it has taken place and relationships are harmed, it will be hard for them to be restored.

People who are angered and hurt are difficult to win back.

These things divide churches if not solved before they get out of hand.

We see that to please God, we must make it clear that we cannot be bought; we are not for sale.
We must never take sides based on partial information.
We must handle differences of opinion according to the Scriptures.
We should do everything we can to live peaceably with others.

*Pro 18:20 A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.
Pro 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

There is sometimes great power in the words that we say.

We need to think before we speak and try not to wound the spirits of those around us.

Some people indeed make their living speaking words, and most of them do not care what they say if it gets a laugh or causes some dispute.

They just laugh at those who do not think the way they do

It is far better to seek to encourage and build up people.

We are commanded to show respect for each other.

Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

What we say comes from the heart, so impure words come from an impure heart.

Pro 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Each of us is responsible for our own spiritual growth.

We are responsible for getting our children headed down the right path.

Pro_22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

The families of our nation are failing in this command of God.

If we keep our minds focused upon the Lord, we will think right.

Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

There is certainly death in the power of the tongue, but there can also be life if we think before we speak.

The great example we have before us is the Word of Life, the Love Letter that God has given to us.

God just speaks, and things happen.

God does not speak bad things because it is out of His character and goes against His goodness, but He does not hesitate to tell us the truth of this world and the world that is to come.

*Pro 18:22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.

When we find that wife that God designed for us, we know we have a good thing.

This is also pleasing to our Heavenly Father, and He will bless this marriage.

Unfortunately, not every wife is a good wife, and not every husband is a good husband.

To be honest, we will not know how to choose a good wife until we become children of God.

Besides salvation, the choosing of a good wife is one of the most important decisions we will make in this life.

What does God actually say: 2Co 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

We should understand that God ordains each marriage for life, so we must be wise when we are searching for a wife.

1Co 7:10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:

1Co 7:39 The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.

These things go for the husband also.

If our marriage does not work out, we must be careful to observe the Word of God and allow God to decide if we need another wife or another husband.

God is very good at leading two people together and making it a blessing.

*Pro 18:23 The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.

In the Bible, the poor are those because of circumstances beyond their control, cannot work to support themselves.

God has very little pity on those who can work but are too lazy to do so.

God has very little pity on those who cannot work because of sin.

Eph 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

Those whom God has allowed to become rich are to help those who are poor.

How to use our resources is another thing we need the wisdom of God to do righteously.

*Pro 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

We should understand that one true friend is far more valuable than many who just claim to be our friends.

The one who gave us our first cigarette was not our friend.
The one who gave us that drink of alcohol was not our friend.
The one who gave us drugs was not our friend.
The one who talked us into doing something foolish was not our friend.

A true friend will stick by you no matter the circumstances.

Even in this, we have the Lord Jesus Christ as our example because He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who died in our place so we can live an eternal life.

Nothing can separate us from our Savior!

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God bless the Word of God that gives us such great wisdom from the only source of true wisdom.

Amen

To Fear the Lord

September 29, 2025 / Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

Wisdom’s Instructions About the Fear of the Lord

Book of Proverbs Chapter 14

What is the “Fear of the Lord”?

If we go back to Adam, God’s greatest creation, mankind, we know that Adam walked with God in the cool of the day. We can only imagine the conversations they had as they strolled through the Garden of Eden.

Things changed once Adam had sinned!

Gen 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Those private walks in the Garden were over because Adam now had a great fear of the Lord, and this fear came to him because of sin.

We see that Adam’s fear stemmed from his awareness of his sin.

God knew where Adam was hiding, but he wanted Adam to admit that he was now a sinner.

It is the same thing we must all do to improve our relationship with the Lord God our Creator.

It is because we have sin in our lives that we must have a reverent “fear of the Lord”.

Then the Lord Jesus came to save us.

Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Today, far too many live in fear of what this world is doing to them, and they have forgotten to fear the only One who can send us to Hell.

The Bible teaches us that we want to avoid Hell, and the only way to do this is to listen to what God has to say and be a doer of the Word of God.

*****Pro 14:1 Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

Remembering that wisdom comes from the “Fear of the Lord”, we can see that a wise woman makes her home her priority. Her primary focus is on her family.

She has not built with hammers and saws but with the qualities that make a home a home.

She builds an atmosphere that supports and strengthens her husband and her children.

This should be the priority in a wise woman’s home.

Today, with so many single mothers, these things cannot take place as they should.

God has ordained this role of the wife and mother.

1Ti 5:14 I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

Tit 2:4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

Tit 2:5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

This does not mean that the husband should not be involved, nor does this mean that the woman cannot work or be involved in things outside the home.

It just means her priority is the “Fear of the Lord,” which makes her a wise woman, and then she can build with her husband a house that is a home.

Today, there are far too many who destroy the home through neglect. The first thing they reject is the Word of God, which makes them foolish, and they have no “Fear of the Lord”.

This kind of woman will tear down the family because she puts everything else first before her family and her husband.

Pro 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

Pro 31:11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

Pro 31:12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

It pays for the man looking for a wife to choose very carefully, and choose someone who has a reverent fear of the Lord.

It is the same for a woman looking for a husband.

*****Pro 14:2 He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.

If we have a reverent fear of the Lord, it will show in the way we live our lives.

Remember, God will judge us by the way we look at His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

People who have truly placed their trust in the salvation and redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ will live their lives according to the written Word of God.

We must declare the Lord with our lips and demonstrate it with our lives!

That word walketh means the way we live our lives, our conduct, and our behavior.

All those who claim to be Christian and walk like the world are not telling the truth!

Many denominations are split over this very simple truth of God!

1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Repentance is still the great Doctrine of the Bible that we are to keep.

True repentance is a change of mind and purpose and life, with remission of sin is promised.

Remission refers to the penalty of sin.

Forgiveness refers to the person.

*****Pro 14:3 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.

We can say that the fear of the Lord is also demonstrated by the way people speak.

The words of a fool will bring his own destruction.

Psa 64:8 So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.

Whatever power that an arrogant fool thinks he has in the end will be a tool in the hands of the righteous.

They may cause us pain for a season, but in the end, they will bring their own destruction.

It can be said that a fool is his own worst enemy!

Pro 12:6 The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.

*****Pro 14:4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

Nobody likes to clean up a stall where animals are kept, nor the feeding trough, which is a crib or a manger.

If a farmer did not have an ox, he would have no crib to clean.

The farmer who has to clean the ox’s crib does so with a smile because the ox does all the hard work that allows his family to have plenty of food.

The farmer who is taking care of hardworking animals is better off than using his own labor to provide for his family.

A productive ox is far better than a barn that needs no cleaning.

There is a great reward that comes from a well-fed ox!

The same is true of Spiritual food. Walking by faith has its own difficulties, but we will not get to Heaven unless we do.

1Co 9:9 For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?

1Co 9:10 Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.

*****Pro 14:5 A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.

A faithful witness cannot be convinced to tell a lie!

A false witness is someone God hates!

Pro 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

Pro 6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

Pro 6:18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

Pro 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

One of the things that is wrong in our court system today is the fact that so many lies are told, and no one seems to care, and no one is held accountable.

By the world’s standard, this may seem to be okay, but God’s standards are much higher than the world’s standards.

A foolproof test of a person’s heart is whether or not he or she will tell the truth.

A witness is someone who gives testimony in court or some official proceeding.

A Christian will tell the truth no matter the circumstance.

We even do wrong when we deal with our children at the time of Christmas and Easter.

Being faithful should mean much more than some lie for any reason, and we know that our Lord hates a liar, and there is no such thing as a white lie.

No amount of money should convince us to lie!

No promotion or promises should convince us to lie!

No threat of harm or danger should convince us to lie!

We are to remain as faithful witnesses no matter the cost!

Exo 23:1 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

Pro 10:18 He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.

Pro 12:19 The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

*****Pro 14:6 A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.

There are times when those who deny God and God’s Word seek God’s wisdom, but they will never find it.

The Word of God will remain just another man-made book to them because they do not have the Holy Spirit to discern for them.

Wisdom is given only to those who have a reverent fear of the Lord!

Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Joh 16:14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

1Co 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

*****Pro 14:7 Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.

Pro 14:8 The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.

Pro 14:9 Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.

God shares His wisdom with His children so we can know how to move away from foolish people.

No wisdom can be gained from a fool!

Time spent with fools is wasted time, and we are taught not to waste the little time we have on fools.

Eph_5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Col_4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

Fools are deceiving themselves, and they will deceive anyone who listens to them.

When salvation becomes part of our lives, we can look back and see the flaws we were living with and do our best to fix those flaws.

This is called repentance, and we will need the Holy Spirit to be able to do this.

Spiritual blindness means the fool thinks he is acceptable to God just as he is and requires no change.

This one thing is causing the split of many denominations, and we must not get caught up with fools.

1Jn 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

As we see into the realm of the LGBTQ movement, fools scoff at the concept of feeling guilty for their sins and the need for atonement.

This applies to every person on this earth!

They deny the need to repent of their sins!

They deny that their lifestyle is living in sin and refuse to repent.

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

There can be no righteousness unless we fully accept our accountability to God and are grateful for His mercy and His grace.

God made a way for us to escape His wrath, and we must do the things He has commanded us to do to be saved.

*****Pro 14:10 The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.

Neither our joys nor our sorrows can be wholly shared with another person.

No one can know how we truly feel, to feel that which we feel.

It is only our Lord Jesus Christ who can know these things about us.

2Co 1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

2Co 1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

2Co 1:5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

This is the exact reason He took on that body of flesh, so He could know exactly how we feel in terrible or even joyous situations.

We can be sure that as Christians, we will experience great times of joy, but we will also experience those times of mourning and heart pain.

Those who love us and love the Lord will give us room to go through these times and be ready to come to our aid if we request their help.

If we are in a Bible believing church, we can be sure that if we are going through some situation, there is someone in that church who has been through a similar situation, and this person will know the comfort that came from God when they needed it.

It is only Jesus Christ who knows the truth about us!

Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

We should have a routine that starts with the Lord every day to prepare ourselves to go out into this wicked world.

We need that hedge of protection that God provides if we are His children!

We need to spend some time in the Word of God.

We certainly need to spend some time in conversation with God.

We must consistently walk in obedience to the Word of God all day.

We must not only avoid evil but also avoid looking like we are taking part in any evil or wickedness in this world we have become strangers to.

*****Pro 14:11 The house of the wicked shall be overthrown but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.

Pro 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Pro 14:13 Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.

Pro 14:14 The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.

Pro 14:15 The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.

We must prepare for our own end.

We must prepare for what will occur when our lives on this earth are over.

We must prepare to meet our God!

When our heart beats for the last time and our living spirit leaves our body of dirt, every individual will meet God in judgment.

Heb_9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Ecc 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Ecc 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, their body is just a house.

Those who have given their heart to the Lord Jesus, their body is a Tabernacle.

A house is a permanent dwelling; a Tabernacle is just a temporary dwelling place.

A house is a place for those who are settled, a tent or tabernacle is a place for those on a journey.

A house is more stable than a tent.

A house is of earthly value and more expensive than a tent.

To those who are lost, a house is more desirable, but the Word of God does not agree.

An earthly house is the best a lost person can hope for.

When they reach the end of their days without the Lord, that earthly house is destroyed, and they are homeless throughout eternity.

That soul that cannot die will spend eternity in Hell.

Those who love the Lord know their flesh is no more than a tent, and this life is only part of our journey, and we are only passing through this world to get to our permanent home in God’s New Heaven.

2Co 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Those who are lost trust in their own judgment, which will lead to eternal torment and eternal death!

Those who love the Lord Jesus trust in God’s way, the way that leads to true life, which is eternal life!

It is a tragic mistake to believe that there is no God who is our Creator, and we have to abide by His Word.

All those who are deceived have been deceived by Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, and Shintoism, and the Dalai Lama, Joseph Smith, Charles Russel, and L. Ron Hubbard, and any salvation by works.

Even those who are atheists have been deceived.

Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Rom 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

Rom 1:30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

Rom 1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

Rom 1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

We may all travel the mountains and the valleys of this world, but to God’s children, He will travel with them, and He is always ready to take them home at the end of that last breath here in this world.

These things are not true for all the others who reject the Lord Jesus Christ.

These things are serious and not things that can be laughed at.

The backslider in heart is the one who turns away from God, and he will reap the rewards of his wickedness: Pro 1:31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

Pro 1:32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.

We must understand that we will reap what we have sown while we are in these earthly bodies!

The backsliders are those people who seem to follow the Lord Jesus, but in their hearts, they have completely turned away from God.

1Jn 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

1Jn 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

With the wisdom of God, we can take thought of our actions before we face them.

Those without God will believe anything and follow anything.

Even as Christians, it may be hard to see the concept of eternity, but it is real.

How we spend eternity depends upon what we have done with the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we are wise, we have prepared for eternity by believing the truth of God and accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.

It is the Lord Jesus Christ who opened Heaven’s doors to accept those who have placed their faith in the Gospel.

The ones we are to reach with the Gospel are not the ones who have rejected the Gospel many times, but the ones we are to reach are those who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

*****Pro 14:16 A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.

Pro 14:17 He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.

Pro 14:18 The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

Pro 14:19 The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

Pro 14:20 The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends.

Pro 14:21 He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.

We all know that things are going on in this world and in the heavens that we just do not understand.

We have seen things discovered that no one can explain.

Those who believe in the evolution theory have us all beginning as apes.

They have simple-minded people who could do nothing more than hunt game and raise a few crops just to survive.

God says that from the beginning of time, humans were city builders.

Gen 4:17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

Gen 4:21 And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.

Gen 4:22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.

We also know that after the great flood of this world, all the pyramids and ziggurats were built.

Gen 10:32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

Gen 11:4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

Gen 11:8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

Gen 11:9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

These things can be denied, but it does not make them any less true.

Humans have always been able to build things!

We who know the Lord fear sin because we now know the consequences of sin.

Those who are fools are reckless and self-confident.

Pro 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Foolish people are quick-tempered and do not try to control their tempers.

I know because I was one of them.

Even later, with PTSD, I became worse, but the Lord Jesus has shown me the way out.

Ecc 7:9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

A fool is someone who has heard that there may be a God who is our Creator, but they will not take the time to find out more about Him.

This is part of our sin nature we inherited from Adam. We are foolish by nature.

We can quit being foolish by choosing the “Fear of the Lord”.

The Word of God is our “hedge of protection” if we abide by it!

We must understand that the Devil will certainly bow before God on the day God chooses.

Evil will bow before the Church at God’s appointed time.

Evil will only profit in the world we live in now, but there is no evil in our future once God takes us home.

Rom 16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

As the Church, we are to see every soul as equal.

The rich may have many friends, but those friends are only there because of their wealth, and they all hate the poor man.

It is not to be this way in the Church of the Living God!

The Church will not be blessed unless the Church has “mercy” on the poor.

The poor are all those who have need of help financially and spiritually.

Psa 41:1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

The ways of the world will make us angry, but we are to do our best not to follow the ways of this world.

*****Pro 14:29 He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.

Pro 14:30 A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.

Pro 14:31 He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.

It is not a sin to become angry; it is a sin to remain angry.

By remaining angry, we become fools: Ecc 7:9 Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

It is called self-control; it could also be called being sober.

Self-restraint means we are never to disregard the feelings of others.

We cannot remain healthy without a healthy heart.

He has a healthy heart, morally and physically, and is not cluttered up with anger issues.

Pro_4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Envy will eat away at our strength like heart disease and cancer eat away at our lives.

Envy is like a deadly plague trying to destroy our nation.

To oppress is to offer violence to the bodies, to the property, or to the conscience of others.

This happens to the poor more than it happens to any other group, though the oppression of Christ is rising in this world.

We can also see that protests have become nothing but a means to oppress those who do not agree with the agenda that is being pushed on them.

We can see that these things bring on the wrath of our Maker, our Creator.

No one has the right to oppress someone else in this world, and this includes wicked governments.

1Jn 3:17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

1Jn 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Those who are wicked do not even realize what is in store for them!

***** Pro 14:32 The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.

Pro 14:33 Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.

Pro 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.

Pro 14:35 The king’s favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.

Once we claim the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior with all our hearts, our future is set in stone. It cannot change!

We can live in peace knowing that no matter when death comes our way, it means life.

As Christians, we can look death right in the his face and say: 1Co 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Those who reject the Gospel have no such hope. They may not believe in Hell, but they are in for a rude awakening on the day of their death.

Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

Almost every politician campaigns on making our nation better.

Some truly try, and others had no intention but only sought to make themselves prosperous.

Our nation cannot prosper through illegal immigration.

Our nation cannot prosper through the drug trade.

Our nation cannot prosper through lawlessness.

Our nation cannot prosper through corruption.

Our nation cannot prosper through immorality.

Our nation cannot prosper through spending more than it takes in.

Our nation cannot prosper through the profits of sin.

Only one factor determines whether a nation rises or falls, and it is righteousness.

Nations that follow God’s standards, that are governed by the Word of God, are great nations.

For America to be a great nation again, it must stop its downhill slide to Hell, and this goes for every nation.

Good citizens serve the best interests of their nations.

The wicked serve only themselves!

God’s principles will do the same for families, co-workers, and friends.

How Christians are to behave is written in plain language in the Word of God.

Wake up Church!

Amen

LESSONS IN GOD'S WORD

Taking time to read the Bible

god

The Birth of John the Baptist

An Angel Foretold of John the Baptist

God’s Gift of Love

Trusting the Word of God

The Importance of Life

Staying Focused on the Word of God

Human Relations

Will You Have a Good Name

Dealing With Moral Virtues

To Fear the Lord

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