Proverbs 17:5:
5 Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker, and he who is glad at calamity shall not be held innocent or go unpunished.
"Mocks" is the Hebrew word "la`ag", which means: to have in derision; to scorn; to ridicule. "Reproaches" is the Hebrew word "charaph", which means: to taunt; to blaspheme; to scorn. What this is really saying is that when someone mocks , ridicules, makes fun of the poor, they are actually scorning the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! This is especially true when the poor one being mocked is a born again believer! The Father and I are ONE! Everything you do or say to me, you are also doing or saying to HIM! Then we see that we are NOT supposed to rejoice at the problems and tests and trials of others; not even of our enemies! Our attitude as born again believers is to be LOVE! Pray for and bless those who do good to you AND those who do not! God will get involved and our harvest will be ONLY good! Thank You, Jesus!
Verse 15 sounds like some people we know in politics and the media:
15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both an abomination [exceedingly disgusting and hateful] to the LORD!
That is the world we are living in right now! They call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). God's Word has never changed, though! It is still TRUTH; the ONLY Truth! Make what YOU believe line up with the Word of God and you can't go wrong! Amen!
Galatians 1:1:
1 PAUL, AN apostle -- [special messenger appointed and commissioned and sent out] not from [any body of] men nor by or through any man, but by and through Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and God the father, Who raised Him from among the dead
No person, church board or denomination EVER called ANYONE! The One, True God does the calling, anointing, separating, and sending out of His ministers! Paul was making the point here that his authority to speak to them came from God Himself! I like verse 12:
12 For indeed, I did not receive it (the Gospel) from man, nor was I taught it, but [it came to to me] through a [direct] revelation [given] by Jesus Christ the Messiah).
Paul had spent three years of his life separated from everyone he knew and in presence of the Holy Spirit alone (verses 17-18)! THAT is why some of his letters were hard to understand by some who were not real students of the Word! When we spend enough time in His presence and meditating on His Word, then people will say of us what they said of Paul in verse 24:
24 And they glorified God [as the Author and Source of what had taken place] in me.
Let's make that OUR goal! Here is an older song from Hillsong called "What The Lord Has Done In Me":
Ezra 5-6 is all about the faithfulness of God in order to encourage the people who had returned from captivity as they began to rebuild the temple! I saw this in the Bible Exposition Commentary:
"Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God" (Deut 7:9, NKJV). Moses said that to the new generation of Israelites before they entered Canaan, a truth they would need as they faced the enemy and claimed their inheritance. New generations and old generations both need to be reminded that God is faithful.
And this:
The Jewish remnant that returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple was depending on God's faithfulness to see them through. If God wasn't faithful to His covenant and His promises, then there was no hope. But the God who called them would be faithful to help them finish His work (Phil 1:6), as long as they trusted Him and obeyed His Word.
In these chapters, we see how God was faithful to His people in every stage of their work for Him.
This same God is faithful to perform His Word in the lives of believers today who will dare to stand on His Word without wavering, knowing that God's Word IS Truth (John 17:17)! Amen!
Shalom in Him!
