Old Testament reading: Proverbs 4-6
As we continue through this book we find many familiar texts and axioms (e.g. 4:23). In addition to the numerous warnings to watch one’s associations, there are repeated and lengthy admonitions concerning immoral women and adultery and the total ruin associated with the same. The son of a king would make a ready target for a harlot or adulterous woman. I cannot help but wonder if Solomon’s advice and admonition in this respect arose from his own personal experience with wicked women. 1 Kings 11:1-4 reveal Solomon’s pursuit of ungodly women which led to God’s rejection of the king’s posterity on the throne (1 Kings 11:11). We should be reminded that there is much wisdom to be gleaned from the experience of others, both in their successes and failures. This wisdom should not be minimized or rejected. Those of us who are privileged to be parents should do our best to share our education received from the University of Life.
New Testament reading: Romans 15-16
Christ is our pattern. As chapter 14 encourages us to forbear with one another, chapter 15 holds up Christ as the perfect example in so doing. As so many seek to please themselves or hold up personal preferences as matters of faith, Jesus is held up as the epitome of forbearance. In the statement, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me” (v 3), we are reminded that not only did Jesus suffer the insults and vile attacks of the unbelieving, but He also bear the penalty for those same sins. How dare we fail to seek the good of our own brethren when Jesus voluntarily suffered such disgraceful treatment from those in the world? So then, we are commanded to “Receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God” (15:7).
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