WEALTH AND TYRE

“By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches” (Ezek. 28:5 NKJV).

Tyre was a great city of merchandising. Money-making was very important to them. It is therefore not surprising that Ezekiel’s message to them dealt with their wealth. In fact, several chapters in Ezekiel speak about the coming judgment to the city. In this verse we have the pursuit of wealth and the peril of wealth.

Pursuit of wealth – “By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches.” This statement speaks of the stress on the pursuit, the skill in the pursuit, and the success in the pursuit of wealth. First, stress on the pursuit: “Trade” - Tyre put a great emphasis on money-making. It was consumed with trade just like our age. They hardly had time for anything else. Second, skill in the pursuit: “Wisdom” - They knew how to make money, but this skill degraded into deceit and craftiness. It is a fact those who are consumed with money-making are not hesitant to use deceit to make money. Business today demonstrates this fact. It is filled with deceit and guile. Third, success in the pursuit: “Increased your riches” - But success in making money does not necessarily mean success in life, and Tyre certainly was not successful in areas where it mattered the most.

Peril of wealth – “Your heart is lifted up because of your riches.” Wealth brings pride, and pride kills piety and purity. First, pride kills piety: Pride does not increase our devotion to God. It turns hearts away from God because it focuses on self. This was Tyre’s problem, and it is the problem of most people who get wealthy. Second, pride kills purity: Pride does not improve character or conduct; in fact, it corrupts our conduct. It defiles and degrades. It had polluted Tyre’s conduct. Indeed, pride caused by wealth is a sure way to corruption.

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Bible Reading 3)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Your use of money shows what you think of God!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Contend earnestly

In Jude 1:3 we read, “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints!” (NKJV).

Contend earnestly is the Greek word epagōnizomai (ἐπαγωνίζομαι =ep-ag-o-nid'-zom-ahee). It is made up of two words: “epí” which means toward, and “agonizomai” which means to strive, contend earnestly. This word is only used here in New Testament, and means fight, contend for, struggle. We get our English word “agony” from this word which suggests pain too intense to bear! In classical Greek epagōnizomai is used to refer to fighting a war or to a struggle in politics or law. The word is not found in the Septuagint. In the New Testament epagōnizomai signifies contending or striving together, and as used here in Jude, it is striving for the faith of the gospel.

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Gen. 15:1 JKV).

Did You Know…

The Bible states that the death of the Lord Jesus demonstrated God’s unfailing love toward us (John 3:16-17).

Bible Quiz

According to the Psalms, how far has God removed our sin from us?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: What did Moses tell the Israelites to do to preserve the stories of the exodus? To “teach them to their children and grandchildren” (Deut. 4:9).

Names For God Found in the Bible

“Fuller's Soap”

"But who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a Refiner’s fire, and like Fullers’ soap!” (Mal. 3:2 KJV)..

1. Meaning – Fuller's Soap speaks of God as the One who cleanses His people.

2. Insights – The “fuller’s soap” was used to remove impurities and unclean elements from clothing and other items. In Old Testament times, there was the constant emphasis on washing which was a continual reminder of the separation between sinful man and a holy God (cf. Ex. 19:10). Physical washing became associated with the need for spiritual cleansing. Here the analogy emphasizes the effectiveness of God’s spiritual cleansing of His people. The Lord promises a time of judgment when He will remove the wicked and refine / cleanse His people. Of course, spiritual cleansing ultimately can only be accomplished through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Did You Know...Christian History

Pacific Garden Mission is a homeless shelter on the Near West Side section of Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1877 by Colonel George Clarke and his wife, Sarah. Nicknamed “The Old Lighthouse,” it is the largest homeless shelter in Chicago and among the oldest in the city. According to the PGM website, Pacific Garden Mission is the oldest continuously operating rescue mission in the country.

Convicted by the Lord about her lifestyle, Sarah Dunn developed a passion to convert people to Christianity. She persuaded her husband Colonel Clarke to visit the city slums, with their gambling halls, saloons and brothels. He went, but was more interested in making money than dealing with human wrecks. However, while on a business trip, he was convicted by the Lord that people matter more than money. He dropped to his knees and consecrated himself to the service of the Lord.

On his return to Chicago, he began preaching to the broken men and women of Chicago’s slums. His friends considered him one of the world’s worst preachers. And yet through his love and concern, lives were changed. On September 15, 1877, Colonel and Sarah Clarke opened a mission on South Clark Street. The Clarkes saw it as a work of the Holy Spirit when many lives were changed.

Five years later, the mission moved to a bigger building that had been the Pacific Beer Garden. Dwight L. Moody suggested its new name – “Strike out the ‘beer’ and add ‘mission’ was his suggestion. And so the Pacific Garden Mission got its name. Among those converted in its meetings were evangelist Billy Sunday; Mel Trotter, who was on his way to commit suicide when he wandered in; and Harry Monroe who became a powerful leader of the very organization that introduced him to Christ.

Moody considered the Pacific Garden Mission the greatest slum work in the world. He often preached there. The mission leaders kept their sermons simple and men and women did come: prostitutes, gangsters, alcoholics, gamblers. They would stand in the meetings and tell how God had delivered them from their sins and gave them a new life. Their testimonies to the power of Christ played a big part in winning others to follow Jesus.

The work changed its location again after many years, but the Pacific Garden Mission is still going strong. Its stories of people who were “unshackled” air as weekly radio broadcasts and have power to move hearts. Most observers would say God picked right when he chose Colonel and Sarah Clarke to work for Him.

A Little Humor

A Trappist monk was allowed to say only two words every three years. After the first three years, he said to the Brother Superior, “Bad bed.” Three years later he came back to say, “Bad food.” After three more years of silence the monk said, “No TV.” Another three years passed. This time the monk appeared with robes and sandals in hand and announced, “I quit.” The Brother Superior answered, “It’s no wonder. You’ve done nothing but complain since you got here!”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Only the fear of God can remove the fear of death!”