brighter

May 20, 2016

Male adulterer (Sir 23:18-23:21)

“Whoever sins

Against his marriage bed,

Says to himself.

‘Who can see me?

Darkness surrounds me.

The walls hide me.

No one sees me.

Why should I worry?

The Most High

Will not remember my sins.’

His fear is confined

To human eyes.

He does not realize

That the eyes of the Lord

Are ten thousand times

Brighter than the sun.

They look upon

Every aspect of human behavior.

They see into hidden corners.

Before the universe was created,

it was known to him.

So it is since its completion.

This man will be punished

In the streets of the city.

Where he least suspects it,

He will be seized.”

Sirach shows that the male adulterer thinks that no one sees him since it is dark and the walls protect him. Why should he worry? The Most High God will not remember his sins. He is only worried about human eyes catching him. However, he should realize that the eyes of the Lord are 10,000 times brighter than the sun. They see every aspect of human behavior, even the hidden corners. Before the universe was created, God had pre-knowledge of everything. Thus God knows everything. This man will be punished in the city streets at a time when he least suspects it.

January 4, 2016

The two ways (Prov 4:18-4:19)

“The path of the righteous is

Like the light of dawn.

It shines brighter and brighter until full day.

The way of the wicked is

Like deep darkness.

They do not know what they stumble over.”

There are classic two ways that you can go. One is the path of righteousness and the other is the way of the wicked. The righteous path is like the light of dawn that grows brighter until it reaches its height at noon. The way of the wicked is like stark darkness so that you do not know what you are stumbling over. The choice is yours.

July 8, 2015

Divine justice is correct (Job 11:13-11:20)

“If you direct your heart rightly,

You will stretch out your hands toward him.

If iniquity is in your hand,

Put it far away!

Do not let wickedness reside in your tents!

Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish.

You will be secure.

You will not fear.

You will forget your misery.

You will remember it as waters that have passed away.

Your life will be brighter than the noonday.

Its darkness will be like the morning.

You will have confidence,

Because there is hope.

You will be protected.

You will take your rest in safety.

You will lie down.

No one will make you afraid.

Many will entreat your favor.

But the eyes of the wicked will fail.

All way of escape will be lost to them,

Their hope is to breathe their last.”

Now Zophar turned on Job directly. He told him to pray with his hands stretched out. He wanted him to put away the iniquity in his heart. He was to get rid of the wickedness in his tents. Then his face would be without blemishes. Job would be secure and not fearful. All his misery would be like a stream that passed by. His life would be brighter than the noon day sun. He would have confidence and hope again. He would be protected and safe. He would not be afraid to lie down. People would come to him for favors. The wickedness would fade so that the only escape for the evil people was to wish for a quick death. This was a personal attack on Job.