THE THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Those who live a righteous life will leave good and lasting memories
“The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.”
Proverbs 10:7 (KJV)
Genesis 15
God is our shield of faith
Genesis 15:1 (KJV), “After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield [Magen or Meginnah], and thy exceeding great reward.”
Ephesians 6:16 (KJV), “Above all, taking the shield [thureos] of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
Literally the same word is used in both Hebrew and Greek
Hebrew: “Magen” or “Meginnah” – meaning “shield”
Greek equivalent: “Thyreos” (θυρεός) – also meaning “shield”
Genesis 15:2 (KJV), “And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?”
Why Abram thought Eliezer of Damascus was his heir
Genesis 14:14 (KJV), “And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.”
Acts 7:5 (KJV), “And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.”
[1] Specifically, God told Abram of the slavery and hardship Israel would endure in Egypt (Exodus 1:1-14). Though the land was given to Abram and his covenant descendants, there would be this long period where they lived outside the land and in affliction. Yet after four generations they would return here (Canaan), and come with great possessions
Genesis 15:12-13 (KJV), “12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. 13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.”
The prophecies of Genesis 15 deal with these basic events:
- Abram would have many descendants
- Those descendants would one day be taken captive and treated harshly
- After four hundred years, Abram’s descendants would return to Canaan
- Their return would coincide with God’s judgment on the Amorites in Canaan
- Four hundred years after Joseph, Moses brought the children of Israel out of Egypt to the borders of Canaan
- Joshua then led the people into Canaan and conquered the land
The land of Israel given to Abram
Genesis 15:18-21 (KJV), “18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
Isaiah 2
The day of the Lord prophesized to Isaiah from God
Isaiah 2:12 (KJV), “For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low.”
Psalms 2
The world today is no different than what it was back in Isaiah’s day
Psalm 2:1-3 (KJV), “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.”
Since Jesus is the perfect representation of the Father, opposing God the Father, is to oppose Jesus
John 10:30 (KJV), “I and my Father are one.”
John 14:9 (KJV), “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?”
The LORD’s Anointed recalls what God the Father spoke to Him, identifying Him as the Son of the Father and emphasizing His standing as begotten of the Father
Psalm 2:7 (KJV), “I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”
The author of Hebrews mentions this verse
Hebrews 1:5 (KJV), “For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?”
This is the “name” Son. While angels are sometimes called the sons of God in a generic sense
Job 1:6 (KJV), “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.”
The Father never said “My Son” to any angel in a specific sense. That is reserved for God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity
Those who defy God are broken, but those who depend on Him are blessed. The psalmist leaves the choice with everyone: broken or blessed?
Psalm 2:12 (KJV), “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”
Proverbs 10
This proverb contains snippets of some of the benefits of obtaining godly wisdom
Proverbs 10:1 (KJV), “The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.”
The Proverbs literally means ‘sentences of ethical wisdom’
Strong’s Lexicon (4912) – mashal: Proverb, parable, byword, taunt.
Brown-Driver-Briggs – 6. sentences of ethical wisdom. ←
1828 Websters – ETH’ICAL, adverb According to the doctrines of morality.
Proverbs 10:2 (KJV), “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.”
Treasures literally means ‘store, supply of food, drink, etc.’
Strong’s Lexicon (214) – otsar: Treasure, storehouse, treasury. Brown-Driver-Briggs – 2. store, supply of food, drink, etc.
Of wickedness literally means wickedness, as violence and crime against
Strong’s Lexicon (7562) – resha: Wickedness, evil, injustice. Brown-Driver-Briggs – 1. wickedness, as violence and crime against civil law.
Interpretation of verse 2a
Proverbs 10:2a (KJV), “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing.”
To store up evil and violent schemes is a waste of time
Those who live a righteous life will leave good and lasting memories
Proverbs 10:7 (KJV), “The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.”
[1] David Guzik (Enduring Word)
Notes
Exodus 1:1-14 (KJV), “Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already. 6 And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. 7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. 8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. 13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.” [return]
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