Reading for Today:
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Numbers 11:1
Chapter 11 1 And the people were as murmurers, `speaking' evil in the ears of Jehovah: and when Jehovah heard it, his anger was kindled; and the fire of Jehovah burnt among them, and devoured in the uttermost part of the camp.
–12:16
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Psalms 31:15-18
15 My times are in thy hand: Deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. 16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: Save me in thy lovingkindness. 17 Let me not be put to shame, O Jehovah; for I have called upon thee: Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol. 18 Let the lying lips be dumb, Which speak against the righteous insolently, With pride and contempt.
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Proverbs 11:12-14
12 He that despiseth his neighbor is void of wisdom; But a man of understanding holdeth his peace. 13 He that goeth about as a tale-bearer revealeth secrets; But he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth a matter. 14 Where no wise guidance is, the people falleth; But in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
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Mark 10:1-31
Chapter 10 1 And he arose from thence and cometh into the borders of Judaea and beyond the Jordan: and multitudes come together unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again. 2 And there came unto him Pharisees, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away `his' wife? trying him. 3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? 4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. 5 But Jesus said unto them, For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of the creation, Male and female made he them. 7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; 8 and the two shall become one flesh: so that they are no more two, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 10 And in the house the disciples asked him again of this matter. 11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her: 12 and if she herself shall put away her husband, and marry another, she committeth adultery. 13 And they were bringing unto him little children, that he should touch them: and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me; forbid them not: for to such belongeth the kingdom of God. 15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein. 16 And he took them in his arms, and blessed them, laying his hands upon them. 17 And as he was going forth into the way, there ran one to him, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good save one, `even' God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor thy father and mother. 20 And he said unto him, Teacher, all these things have I observed from my youth. 21 And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. 22 But his countenance fell at the saying, and he went away sorrowful: for he was one that had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 26 And they were astonished exceedingly, saying unto him, Then who can be saved? 27 Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for all things are possible with God. 28 Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. 29 Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or lands, for my sake, and for the gospel's sake, 30 but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. 31 But many `that are' first shall be last; and the last first.
Notes:
Numbers 11:17 the Spirit. This refers to the Spirit of God. It was by means of the Holy Spirit that Moses was able to lead Israel. In v. 25, the Lord gave the Spirit to the 70 men in fulfillment of the word He gave to Moses.
Numbers 11:29 that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them! Moses desired and anticipated the day when all of God’s people would have His Spirit within them. By this, he looked forward to the New Covenant. (See Ezek. 36:22–27; Jer. 31:31ff.;
Joel 2:28
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
.)
Mark 10:21 Jesus…loved him. Jesus felt great compassion for this sincere truth-seeker who was so hopelessly lost. And out of that great love He told the rich young man to sell whatever you have. Jesus was not making either philanthropy or poverty a requirement for salvation, but He was exposing the young man’s heart. He was not blameless, as he maintained (v. 20), since he loved his possessions more than his neighbors (see Lev. 19:18). More importantly, he refused to obey Christ’s direct command, choosing to serve riches instead of God (Matt. 6:24). The issue was to determine whether he would submit to the lordship of Christ no matter what He asked of him. So, as he would not acknowledge his sin and repent, neither would he submit to the Sovereign Savior. Such unwillingness on both counts kept him from the eternal life he sought. treasure in heaven. Salvation and all its benefits, given by the Father who dwells there, both in this life and the life to come (see Matt. 13:44–46).
DAY 7: Is salvation harder for those who have riches?
Watching the rich young ruler walk away sorrowful in
Mark 7:23
23 all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man.
, Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” “Hard” in this context means impossible (see v. 25). “Riches” tend to breed self-sufficiency and a false sense of security, leading those who have them to imagine they do not need divine resources (see
Luke 16:13
13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
; contra.
Luke 19:2
2 And behold, a man called by name Zacchaeus; and he was a chief publican, and he was rich.
; see 1 Tim. 6:9, 17, 18).
Jesus adds that it is “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle” (v. 25). The Persians expressed impossibility by saying it would be easier to put an elephant through the eye of a needle. This was a Jewish colloquial adaptation of that expression denoting impossibility (the largest animal in Palestine was a camel). Many improbable interpretations have arisen that attempt to soften this phrase, but Jesus’ use of this illustration was to explicitly say that salvation by human effort is impossible—it is wholly by God’s grace.
The Jews believed that with alms a man purchased salvation (as recorded in the Talmud), so the more wealth one had, the more alms he could give, the more sacrifices and offerings he could offer, thus purchasing redemption. The disciples’ question, “Who then can be saved?” (v. 26), makes it clear that they understood what Jesus meant—that not even the rich could buy salvation. Jesus’ emphatic teaching that even the rich could not be saved by their own efforts left the bewildered disciples wondering what chance the poor stood. “With men it is impossible, but not with God,” Jesus added (v. 27). It is impossible for anyone to be saved by his own efforts, since salvation is entirely a gracious, sovereign work of God.
From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.
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