Psalm 13:6 says:
6I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.
"I will sing" is the Hebrew word, "shiyr", which means: to sing, to be sung, a singer, a songstress, (one of the definitions mentions a strolling minstrel). I take this to mean that we are to be in an attitude of praise at all times. Have you ever seen a movie musical where something is said and suddenly everyone breaks out in song? That's what I see here! The idea is that we are always filled with praise for Who God is and what He has already done in our lives. The fact that "He has dealt bountifully with me"! Do you have a song ready for Him? You SHOULD!
In Matthew 13 I can picture Jesus being crowded by the crush of people and getting into a boat on the Sea of Galilee! Then He proceeded to speak to the crowd in parables. His disciples asked Him in verse 10:
10Then the disciples came to Him and said, Why do You speak to them in parables?
Jesus answered in verses 11-15:
11And He replied to them, To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12For whoever has [spiritual knowledge], to him will more be given and he will be furnished richly so that he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13This is the reason that I speak to them in parables: because having the power of seeing, they do not see; and having the power of hearing, they do not hear, nor do they grasp and understand. 14In them indeed is the process of fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: You shall indeed hear and hear but never grasp and understand; and you shall indeed look and look but never see and perceive. 15For this nation's heart has grown gross (fat and dull), and their ears heavy and difficult of hearing, and their eyes they have tightly closed, lest they see and perceive with their eyes, and hear and comprehend the sense with their ears, and grasp and understand with their heart, and turn and I should heal them.
Every person has the potential to know and understand the Word of God. They first MUST be born again, because the Word of God cannot be understood by the unregenerate person. 1 Corinthians 2:14:
14But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.
Once a person has received Jesus of Nazareth as Lord and personal Saviour, they have the Holy Spirit living IN them Who will teach them the Word of God! What about us? Verses 16-17:
16But blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are your eyes because they do see, and your ears because they do hear. 17Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men [men who were upright and in right standing with God] yearned to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
We are SO blessed to be living here and now with the knowledge of God's Word that has been made available to us! Pay attention to what you hear and how you hear it! Treat the Word of God as precious and valuable to you and it will become more clear to you every day!
1 Kings 11:1-3 we see what happened to Solomon!
1BUT KING Solomon [defiantly] loved many foreign women--the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 2They were of the very nations of whom the Lord said to the Israelites, You shall not mingle with them, neither shall they mingle with you, for surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods. Yet Solomon clung to these in love. 3He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines, and his wives turned away his heart from God.
Verses 4-10:
4For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect (complete and whole) with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abominable idol of the Ammonites! 6Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as David his father did. 7Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abominable idol of Moab, on the hill opposite Jerusalem, and for Molech the abominable idol of the Ammonites. 8And he did so for all of his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. 9And the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned from the Lord, the God of Israel, Who had appeared to him twice, 10And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods, but he did not do what the Lord commanded.
Solomon, who was the wisest man to ever live (besides Jesus of Nazareth) did not remain wise! For whatever reason, he left his first love for the Lord and filled the empty place with heathen women and false gods. Check your life to see if anything or anyone is coming between you and quality fellowship time with the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! If you find something, change it! It only takes a moment to make a decision and the Holy Spirit will help you to carry it out! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
