Again, we see that the Lord is sovereign over all things, we
can rest in that truth but we don't seem able to do so, we busy ourselves with
many things in order to get for ourselves what we truly want. In the final few verses of the passage we get
this, " One becomes rich through diligence and self-denial, and the reward
allotted to him is this: when he says, ‘I have found rest, and now I shall
feast on my goods!’ he does not know how long it will be until he leaves them
to others and dies." That sounds
very like a parable Jesus tells concerning a rich fool in Luke 12.13-21.
One thing is necessary, to attend to the word of the
Lord. Jesus came to serve and not to be
served. Martha is doing her duty
according to custom, she is working to provide hospitality to her guests,
attending to them and serving them. Mary
is acting out of societal norms, women didn't participate in learning the Law
from rabbis, they learned it from their husbands, but Mary sits with the other
disciples to soak up all that Jesus is teaching and Martha is busy with many
things and she is upset with her sister for not helping out. Jesus, however, commends Mary for her choice
and Martha is offered rest if she will but choose the one thing necessary. We can get so busy serving the Lord that we
never take the time to bask in His presence, to allow Him to attend to our
needs. It is a not so subtle trap and a
destroyer of our souls.
200 million mounted troops, two-thirds of the population of
the United States today,
are released from the
east of the river Euphrates onto the earth and they will kill one third of all
the people remaining on the earth. If that were to occur today it would mean
the death of 2.3 billion people. In spite
of this wholesale death, the people don't turn to the Lord. Again, like yesterday's reading of the locust
invasion, the plague is brought not by God Himself but instead the angel lets
loose what has been bound and kept back.
The protection of God is simply released and the hordes of hell are set
free to do their worst to humankind. We should
be thankful each day for God's protection.
Let us never take this life for granted, no matter what troubles we may
be experiencing.
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