David sees his enemies and responds with praise and exultation! He sees God's hand and fears his Creator rather than the creation. ...God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. (Psalm 46 ESV)
The Israelites were terrified when the Egyptians could be seen chasing them near the red sea. But instead of fearing God, who has just worked a miraculous deliverance, they groaned and complained to God about their preferred death sentence. They essentially blamed God for giving Moses the mission of bringing them out of their Egyptian paradise.
"they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? (Exodus 14:13-14 ESV)
When enemies come up against me, I have two choices: either I respond in faith, or I melt in fear.
Yet, there is one enemy which is most formidable indeed. The last couple months has brought it's ferocity into the limelight for any to see and experience.
Is it the devil??
The Bible doesn't give us a plethora of devil facts, but it does give me enough to understand how to avoid this dangerous foe. Satan or a synonym of the devil has over 109 scriptural instances. The number is estimated because it excludes the less common devil synonyms such as dragon, beast, or serpent that appear throughout scripture. Only twenty-three of the 109 instances occur in the old testament.
The devil is introduced to us back in the garden of Eden. He is depicted as a crafty serpent who plants doubt in their minds, and pressures Adam and Eve to give into their lust for power by becoming "like God". (Genesis 3:5 ESV) The next time the devil or Satan is mentioned comes in 1 Chronicles: 21:1. This is the time when the Bible tells us explicitly that "Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel". Only two more books in the Old Testament explicitly mention the devil again. These are the books of Job and Zechariah.
The Job account is very familiar. It is where I learn that satan cannot do anything without the Lord first giving him permission. Satan went back to God twice before he could take away his family, servants, possessions and finally his health. But God wouldn't allow satan to take Job's life. (Job 1 and 2)
The last old testament account is in Zechariah. This account is not as easily understood but appears to be a vision Zechariah saw in the night. Satan is depicted standing at the right hand of Joshua poised with an accusation against him. (Zechariah 3:1-2)
There are a couple more examples, such as the devil inciting Judas, but very few examples exist within scripture explicitly mentioning the devil tempting someone to sin. If the Bible is fully sufficient to govern the totality of life, I would think God would make my greatest enemy more prominent throughout scripture. Therefore, I have concluded that although the evil can be quite influential and powerful, he is not my greatest enemy on this earth.
Is it money??
What besides the devil hinders my pursuit after righteousness? What about the love of money?
Money certainly can be an obstacle. The bible calls "the love of money" as being the root of all kinds of evil. 1 Timothy 6:10 But what effect can money actually have on people? The effect can be everlasting! I remember Jesus and his famous quote from Mark 10:25 ESV "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."
It seems that loving money above God is certainly a big temptation. Jesus also talks about the impossibility of serving two masters.“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24 ESV)
When it comes to money, either I will love and adore God and pursue His righteousness, or I will love and adore that which is earthly - money. In the preceding four verses of the first referenced passage, 1 Timothy 6:10, best explains the essence behind this potential money problem.
Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
(1 Timothy 6:6-10)
I came out of my mother's womb with nothing and I will go down to the grave with nothing. Recently, I read through Ecclesiastes and learned about all the vain things on this earth. Yet, Solomon concludes Ecclesiastes with two things that are not vain.
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13 ESV)What about the flesh??
Did evil come into the world because of satan or money? I don't think so. I think Genesis instead speaks a different message. I think sin came into the world through man's lust for power and control. Yes, the devil was present and pressured the man and woman to give into this lust, but in the end it came down to the choice of man. The question became, would man seek his own autonomy or willingly submit to his Head?
I think my greatest enemy on this earth is my depraved will that always wants more control and more knowledge not for the purpose of glorifying God, but for the purpose of glorifying myself. It is this will that must conform to the commandments of God.
If my flesh is my greatest enemy, then I must know the standard by which I ought to seek His kingdom and His righteousness.
There is an old adage. "If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." In order to seek Godly manhood in a world where shining examples are severely lacking, I must know from God's word the purpose of man and his role in the kingdom of God. This purpose, I think, is also found in Genesis before the fall of man.
I would like to explore this in an upcoming blog post... Til then, ta ta for now!
