- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
By Elizabeth Prata
A man who wanders from the way of understanding Will rest in the assembly of the dead. (Proverbs 21:16).
The phrase 'assembly of the dead' is especially vivid. Assemble is active, but dead is passive. Inert, even. We don't usually think of the dead assembling, or being assembled. But they will all be there, together, away from God. This is a horrifying thought.
I was struck by this illustration when I was looking for stock photos. The clamorous crowd of women reminds me of so many women today, prominent women, whose actions and teachings are a raised fist against God.
Contentious women, rebellious women, haughty women, are a dishonor to the Lord. Proverbs 25:24 says
It is better to live in a corner of the roof Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.
A woman like that is not easily lived with, not in the home nor in the church or in the denomination or in the global church.
No man or women decides to wade into the bog where death lurks. He thinks he is going "my way", or the "right way". Or even, the 'It's OK, Way". This is the very bottom of the barrel of sin, which is pride.
Does man, or woman, know better than God? Will there be absolution for those who claim "ignorance of the Law?"
There is only one way, and it is the only right way, as the Bible shows repeatedly in Proverbs 16:2, 25; 21:2. To stay in what the Proverb calls "the way of understanding," or the Gospel, we love God’s precepts, obey His commands, and mortify our own opinions and philosophies. (2 Corinthians 10:5).
The flesh will want to rear up, (Genesis 4:7, Romans 6:12), so staying in the Word and in constant prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17) will subdue those inclinations.
Ladies, we are gentle, soft-spoken, kind, teaching and teachable. We are dignified and loving, patient and diligent. We're moms and widows, virgins and singles. We are strugglers and overcomers, sinners and repenters, but most of all we are loved by Jesus as His own. We are and always will be part of the assembly of the living. Praise Jesus for that!
A man who wanders from the way of understanding Will rest in the assembly of the dead. (Proverbs 21:16).
The phrase 'assembly of the dead' is especially vivid. Assemble is active, but dead is passive. Inert, even. We don't usually think of the dead assembling, or being assembled. But they will all be there, together, away from God. This is a horrifying thought.
I was struck by this illustration when I was looking for stock photos. The clamorous crowd of women reminds me of so many women today, prominent women, whose actions and teachings are a raised fist against God.
Contentious women, rebellious women, haughty women, are a dishonor to the Lord. Proverbs 25:24 says
It is better to live in a corner of the roof Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.
A woman like that is not easily lived with, not in the home nor in the church or in the denomination or in the global church.
No man or women decides to wade into the bog where death lurks. He thinks he is going "my way", or the "right way". Or even, the 'It's OK, Way". This is the very bottom of the barrel of sin, which is pride.
Does man, or woman, know better than God? Will there be absolution for those who claim "ignorance of the Law?"
There is only one way, and it is the only right way, as the Bible shows repeatedly in Proverbs 16:2, 25; 21:2. To stay in what the Proverb calls "the way of understanding," or the Gospel, we love God’s precepts, obey His commands, and mortify our own opinions and philosophies. (2 Corinthians 10:5).
The flesh will want to rear up, (Genesis 4:7, Romans 6:12), so staying in the Word and in constant prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17) will subdue those inclinations.
Ladies, we are gentle, soft-spoken, kind, teaching and teachable. We are dignified and loving, patient and diligent. We're moms and widows, virgins and singles. We are strugglers and overcomers, sinners and repenters, but most of all we are loved by Jesus as His own. We are and always will be part of the assembly of the living. Praise Jesus for that!
I love the way you worded your list in the last paragraph - though to my everlasting shame some of those things are not true of me, it is encouraging to think of them as facts, knowing someday, if not on this earth, at least when I am in glory I will have that meek and quiet spirit which is of great worth in the sight of God and for which I have been praying for years.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Unknown, and me too, all those Godly attributes I collected from the Bible do not apply to me either. I hope someday on earth they will.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why my comments are showing up under the moniker "Unknown"...it's me, Grace to You. :) I've been trying to update personal info online after the move and I must have messed something up. *sigh*
ReplyDelete