Sabbath: What You Get Is Not What You See
Read for This Week’s Study: Proverbs 14:1-35; Dan. 7:25; Mark 12:30-31; Prov. 15:3; Isa. 5:20; Proverbs 15:1-33; Matt. 20:26–28.
Memory Text: There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death
(Proverbs 14:12, NKJV).
As Paul had said: We see through a glass, darkly
(1 Cor. 13:12). We see so little, and what we do see always comes filtered through our own minds. Our eyes and ears — all our senses, actually — give us only a narrow view of what’s really out there.
We can be deceived, too, not only about the external world, but about ourselves as well. Our dreams, our views, and our opinions can give us very distorted images of what we are really like, and of all deceptions, that can be by far the worst.
What should we do then, to protect ourselves from these deceptions? Proverbs provides us with basic counsel. We should not trust ourselves, as the fool does. On the contrary, we should trust the Lord, who controls the course of events even when all seems to go wrong. In short, we need to live by faith and not merely by sight, because our sight can be exceedingly deceptive, showing only a small portion of what is real, and then even worse, distorting the little it does show us.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 7.
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The lesson says, "In short, we need to live by faith and not merely by sight" But, isn't that what faith is according to Heb 11:1, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (NKJV)?
Indeed we should not trust ourselves,as the fools. Contrary we should trust our Lord
Genesis 6 introduces the narrative to the Great Flood of Noah’s day with the statement that the sons of God (believers) were attracted to the daughters of men (worldly) and formed unions with them. Here is presented a major precursor or cause of the degradation and resulting flood.
Apparently the men of faith were drawn away (James 1:14) by the sight of the alluring/enticing appearance of the well adorned or accessorized women of the world, for their beauty seemed to exceed that of the daughters of God (Genesis 6:2). It is likely the women of faith soon copied the worldly women so as to compete or worse, attract the men of the world; for soon there was corruption everywhere (Genesis 6:11, 12).
The faithful living in the anti-typical day of the flood (the last days) is to especially guard the avenues to the soul, especially the eyes, both physically and spiritually (1 Peter 5:8). We need not gaze on the corrupt things of the world, expressed in fashion and entertainment, thinking these will have little effect; for we may be drawn away without even perceiving it, and find common course with the unrighteous (Psalm 1:1). After a time we may ‘see’ nothing wrong with things which formerly agitated the conscience (Revelation 3:18).
It is well that we pay attention to the connectedness of things, the reality of cause and effect; for surely one thing leads to another. If we start by distrusting ourselves and our unsanctified desires, we may avoid the way of death (Proverbs 14:12); and following the way of the cross, the narrow way, we may enter into life (Matthew 19:17).
The lords way is always the best bcoz he will not bring anything along our way that we cannot bear,and whatever he does is for our own gud.thus we ought to be thankfull always
This week SS Lesson has provided me an inspirational insightfulness about what truly righteousness means. The downside of this epiphany is the realization of the failure of the human historical understanding of the truth and God's wisdom. furthermore, after 5000+ years of humanity in this planet we still insist of killing each other to defend God's character and prophet. The burgeons of this understanding brings everyone of us to recognize that despite our ascribe Christian, Islamic and Judaic affiliation without righteousness in Christ as our personal savior and the fruits of this relation( should be reflected in our words, moral and physical behavior to one another) life is futile.
Yes, futile, or worse.
Prov 14:12
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
We are not worthy of any trust in our vision, plans, proposals, advice or deeds. Anything done out of self has destructive end no matter how kind/genuine it may seem.
Yes bro Tyler, it's a call to faith in every single thought or deed. Each one of us in our individual lives must seek God befo taking any step. Equally befo emulating or trusting a fellow human being, we ought to seek God. Further, befo inviting anyone to listen to our words, we must remind them too, to seek God.
In and of ourselves, are only capable of letting down ourselves and others.
according to the memory text,we as human beings we have the problem of having a short sight,thats why we easly fall into temptetions.We live by sight not by faith but it is written ''The just shall live by faith''.
Interesting concept Fortune. What does it mean to live by faith? Should faith lead to understanding and wisdom?
My understanding is that the exercise of faith gives us sight, but I would like to hear how you understand it.
it is wisdom that gives us sight through understanding/discernment so that we may exercise our faith
We must follow the teachings of the bible. It clearly states that we should live by faith and not by sight. We can not see the big picture regarding any situation as God does. Our minds our very limited when it comes to getting an understanding about a matter or making good decisions that will please God. We must trust God to lead and guide us in all of our plans and interactions with others.
I am reminded of the following and I think they my shed light on previous discussions.
Proverb 3:5,6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. (NIV)
and
Prov 9:10 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (NLT)
"The only way we can protect ourselves from deception is not to trust ourselves but trust God"this I totally agree on,bevouse trusting ourselves can only lead to deception becouse when we study the word. God we do nt invyte the holy spirit and it becomes harg for us to understand what the Lord is tryng to tell us and we end up being deceived becouse we trust wat we know and not what God tells us