Pastor’s Corner

Good Monday morning, well it looks like we have a day of respet from the rain of this month. By the way, Do you know why the fruit was busy on Friday night? Well, It was because they had a date! Ha ha, sounds a little fruity if you ask me. It's also plum crazy. Oh Oh. That one was for you Jennifer & Richard, trust you are recovering from your recent procedure our dear Jennifer.

Monday 2/27

Prov. 28:15 "A wicked ruler is as dangerous to the poor as a roaring lion or an attacking bear."

Solomon compares the volital & inhumane nature as a tyrant, who leads over a weak, defenseless, hard working people. He shows no regard for those faithful, struggling people, when they are suffering total loss, primarily due to his ineffective leadership. This is why he calls them wicked; remember the wicked is considered evil in every way, due to the fact that they have a total disregard for God's law in the proper handling of the poor. He sees them as totally valueless. He desires to destroy & devour them even as a lion or bear upon his prey.

This verse is opening the curtain upon the view point of those leaders who are merciless, and oppressive in their dealings to the weak of his reign. Rather than, striving to lift them up, bring bounty for their tireless efforts, he attempts to bring harm & destruction to their lives. To hunt them down & tear their lives into shreds, like a lion or bear would do, with no attempt to bring comfort or value to their lives.

This wicked ruler is as evil as the Pharaoh of Egypt, who when Israel asked for a time to travel out of the land & worship of their God, he refused them. Even though their God & His presence in Egypt had brought salvation from a famine through His guidance & their faithful, loyal leader Joseph. Rather than granting their wish he doomed them to produce more bricks to build his kingdom with less assistance. You can read of this instance in Exodus 1. There the genealogies are recorded of God's chosen people & God's blessings on them regardless of His favor, that they were granted by God.

This wicked leader is also compared to Herod and his plan to kill Jesus the prophecied Messiah, they called him Jesus. King of the Jews, he was so merciless in this plot to kill Jesus. That when in Matthew 2 the wise men were told of Jesus' appearing by a star and were led to the place of His birth. They were wise in their ways & refused to give Herod any assistance to find the Christ child. In Herod's fury he declared his army kill all Jewish baby boys born in Bethlehem who were two years old & younger. Imagine that cruelty.

These two stories illustrate the extent of the evil of godless, rulers. They neither one had any concern for the Jews who caused their lands to prosper. They struck out like a lion or bear who had only one thing on their mind, destruction, domination, and annihilation.

This warning should be evident to us today in this same way. For those who refuse to agree, even speak out against those individuals who are evil, wicked, rebelling against the ways of God & seeking for any position of leadership in our lives. Recognize the warning bells in your heart & mind. Don't be fooled by their promises, rather recognize their harsh ways which brings harm even to the weak.

Our gracious God will give us wisdom in our life, if we will but follow His ways.

I remember as a young man my Uncle Ray left me in charge of the operation of the salvage yard, It was a quiet day and I was sorting a huge wooden box of nuts & bolts my grandfather had bought at an auction. It was a rainy day, when a frequent customer came to buy some welding supplies. We walked to the shed which was where these supplies were stored, he continued to brag on me. We loaded the supplies into a wheel barrow, and as we were walking to the scale he was attempting to barter with me on the price he should pay. I quoted him the price that my uncle had given me.

After weighing the supplies, I entered the materials weight and he argued with me as to how much they weighed. He threatened me that he was going to tell my uncle that I lied as to their weight. I for a moment was tempted to enter the weight he had offered, but, 50% off wasn't good enough for him, he wanted another 20% off.

This was back before cell phones, so I said I would call & ask if I could offer him this level of discount. My grand parents didn't have a phone, so as I walked next door I asked the neighbor to come & witness the weight of this man's purchase. I carefully listed the materials he had chosen, listed each individual weight & then had him sign for the purchase. He argued with me but decided due to the neighbors presence & the fact that together he wasn't able to move the supplies without our assistance.

I told him that when he returned with any future purchase he could try to barter with my uncle. Since he was approved for an credit account he knew that if he refused to sign, I was not going to allow him to take any supplies. He argued, accused, even cussed and sputtered but to no avail. Finally, muttered all sorts of things, but he signed.

Later, when my Uncle returned I told of this encounter, he was so angry with the man, that he reduced the discount he had been give, and then revoked his credit account and gave me a $20.00 dollar bill for standing my ground. Earlier, my gradfather had allowed this man to work at the yard when no jobs could be found during the depression, and he even gave him food for his family, now he had tried to cheat his grand son. When I read this warning in the Proverbs, I was reminded of the time that I was thinking of this man & his threatening ways.

This is the evil of those who refuse to follow God & despite the many times that our Heavenly Father has blessed them with love, compassion, and even mercy, yet they think nothing of bringing harm to those of His children.

So Go With God for He is merciful in His dealings even with the wicked though He knows of their harsh treatment of His children. Just think, if He deals with those who constantly seek to do evil against Him in continual mercy, how gracious He is in His working in our life. This reminds me of the Hymn "He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock". Just think even when He knows our failures none the less He showers our lives with blessings & mercies. What a wonderful Savior Is Jesus Our Lord.