IMPIETY OF THE WICKED

“Yet they say to God, depart from us, for we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways" (Job 21:14 NKJV).

In our verse Job is describing the impiety (ungodliness) of the wicked. It tells us two things the wicked desired in their gross impiety. They desired isolation from God and ignorance about God.

Isolation from God - “Yet they say to God, depart from us.” The wicked do not want God around. They want to be isolated from God. Our verse speaks of the command for the isolation and the cause for the isolation.

- The command for the isolation is in the word “depart.” This underscores the earnestness of the impiety of the wicked.

- The cause for the isolation is in the word “yet.” It looks back to the previous verses which tell why the wicked have become so opposed to God. The reason is prosperity. Because they have become prosperous, they do not want God around. That is the problem in our land. Prosperity has ruined us.

Ignorance about God - “We do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.” The wicked do not want to know about God. How foolish since knowledge is of paramount importance. Sad to say, there are many folks in our churches who has no desire to learn about God. They do not study their Bibles, and frequently skip church where they could learn about God through the sermons and classes. No ignorance brings a greater curse on people than ignorance of God. Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). This ignorance of God may prove costly.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Our sense of sin will always be in proportion to our nearness to God!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Discernment

In Phil. 1:9 we read, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment” (NKJV).

Discernment is the Greek word aisthēsis (αἴσθησις = ah'ee-sthay-sis). The word means insight, perception, and discernment. It refers to the capacity to understand referring not so much to an intellectual acuteness but to a moral sensitiveness. It thus speaks of moral perception, insight, and the practical application of knowledge. Aisthēsis is therefore more of an immediate knowledge than that arrived at by reasoning. We get our English word aesthetic (pleasing, tasteful, lovely, sensitive) from this word.

In Classical Greek aisthēsis expresses insight which can be acquired through the senses, i.e. through experience. In the Septuagint aisthēsis infers insight and understanding or knowledge and wisdom. In the New Testament aisthēsis is the ability to make judgments. Aisthēsis represents a moral action of recognizing distinctions and making a decision about behavior. Discernment selects, classifies, and applies what is furnished by knowledge. It means to have the capacity to perceive clearly. It describes the ability to understand the real nature of something and once discriminating to make the proper moral decision.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah would be the Promised Seed of Abraham (Gen. 12:7)

New Testament Fulfillment – Gal. 3:16

Bible Facts

Pseudo-science anticipated (1 Tim. 6:20). The theory of evolution contradicts the observable evidence. The Bible warned us in advance that there would be those who would profess: “profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge (science).” True science agrees with the Creator’s Word.

Bible Quiz

Who said to the Lord, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”

**Answer to last week’s trivia: In Revelation 6, what did John see when the first seal was opened? A white horse (Rev. 6).

That’s in the Bible

"Old wine into new bottle”

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins” (Mark 2:22 KJV).

“Old wine into new bottle” - The expression “old wine into new bottle” carries the idea of putting a new package on old material. The illustration shows the incompatibility of law and grace. The religious traditions of that day, as well as today are not compatible with the teachings of Christ. The teachings of the Lord and the traditions of Judaism do not mix. The Lord Jesus came to usher in the new, not to unite with the old. Salvation is not a partial patching up of one’s life; it is a whole new robe of righteousness.

Did You Know - Christian History

Myles Coverdale was born around 1488 in Yorkshire, England. He was an English ecclesiastical reformer, Bible translator and preacher.

Coverdale studied at Cambridge, was ordained in Norwich and entered the house of the Augustinian friars in Cambridge in 1514 before becoming a reformer. During Mary’s reign he fled for safety to the European continent. After her death, he came home and was made bishop of Exeter. He was looked upon as a leader of the Puritan party of the English church.

The Bible translation that William Tyndale had begun when he was arrested in May, 1535 only included the New Testament, the Pentateuch and a few historical books of the Old Testament. England was still without a complete Bible in the English language. Who would finish the work? Using Tyndale’s work as his starting point, Miles Coverdale stepped in and filled the gap with his own translations based on the Latin Vulgate as well as Luther’s German Bible. He worked quickly to piece together a complete English Bible which is thought to have been published October 4, 1535 in Antwerp, Belgium.

For several years after that heroic effort, Coverdale was busy with other versions of the English Bible. In 1538, he made a fresh translation of the New Testament based on the Latin Vulgate. Then in 1539, he helped put out the Great Bible, so called because of its size. This was the Bible King Henry VIII of England ordered placed in every parish church.

Parts of Miles Coverdale’s work found their way into English church services and are used to this day. Whenever the Westminster Choir sing a psalm, it usually will be based on Coverdale’s translation. Although his translations were never the most popular in England they advanced the important work of giving English speaking Christians the full Bible in their own language.

Myles Coverdale was said to be pious, conscientious, laborious, generous, and a thoroughly honest and good man. He knew German and Latin well, some Greek and Hebrew, and a little French. He did little original literary work. As a translator he was faithful and harmonious. He was fairly read in theology, and became more inclined to Puritan ideas as his life wore on. In the last years of his life, Coverdale was particularly respected for his preaching and Biblical translations. He died January 20, 1569 in London and was buried at St Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange.

A Little Humor

A woman went to the Post Office to buy stamps for her Christmas cards. “What denomination?” asked the clerk. “Oh, my goodness! Have we come to this?” said the woman. “Well, give me 50 Baptists and 50 Catholics!”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Jesus came to save the lost, the last, and the least!”