Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. (Psalm 146:3 NIV)
Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. (Jeremiah 17:5 ESV)
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. (Psalm 118:8 ESV)
God does not allow you to be too efficient when you work for yourselves. You must leave some for the unfortunate.
"When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. It is the same with your grape crop - do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:9-10 NLT)
"'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the LORD your God.'" (Leviticus 23:22 NIV)
God does not allow you to work too hard. You must rest one day in seven. The penalty for violating this is death.
You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. (Exodus 31:14-15 ESV)
While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. And the Lord said to Moses, "The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp." And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the Lord commanded Moses. (Numbers 15:32-36 ESV)
Did God ask Moses to tell a lie when He asked Moses to ask the Pharaoh for a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to God?
"The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.' (Exodus 3:18 NIV)
God did not ask Moses to lie. If the Pharaoh had accepted the request, it would be so. But the Pharaoh had not accepted the request. Finally after the ten plagues, the Pharaoh expelled the Israelites from his land.
During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the LORD as you have requested. (Exodus 12:31 NIV)
After that, the Pharaoh regretted his action and decided to pursued the Israelites.
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!" (Exodus 14:5 NIV)
God had foretold to Moses that the Pharaoh will expel them.
So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. (Exodus 3:20 NIV)
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country." (Exodus 6:1 NIV)
Now the LORD had said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. (Exodus 11:1 NIV)
In the same manner, the LORD hardened the hearts the enemies of Israel during the time of Joshua so that they could be destroyed completely.
So Joshua took this entire land: the hill country, all the Negev, the whole region of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah and the mountains of Israel with their foothills, from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, to Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and put them to death. Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time. Except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, who took them all in battle. For it was the LORD himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the LORD had commanded Moses. (Joshua 11:16-20 NIV)
The LORD is treating the Palestinians the same way. When offered up to 50% of the land in 1948, the Palestinians refused the offer. As they continued to fight, the land offered got smaller and smaller.
"But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen." (Matthew 22:11-14 ESV)
Today is the start of a new decade. What shall we put on (ἐνδύω)? Where will we be at the end of this decade?
And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:24 KJV)
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: (Colossians 3:10 KJV)
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:14 ESV)
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (Galatians 3:27 NASB)
The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:12 ESV)
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11 ESV)
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. (Colossians 3:12 NLT)
For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." (1 Corinthians 15:53-54 NIV)
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? (Matthew 6:25 NIV)
