Posted on 11/20/2020 7:15:56 AM PST by Pilgrim's Progress
“Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness” (Proverbs 20:20).
This lamp is explained later in this same chapter of Proverbs: “The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly” (Proverbs 20:27). It is always good to remember that the Bible is its own best interpreter. Scripture explains Scripture. Often the definition of a word will be found in the same verse, or somewhere in the immediate context. Not always, but usually. Sometimes the definition of a word is given in one Book even though the word is used in another Book.
What is this lamp? It is his life. The Old Testament often uses the words “spirit” and “life” interchangeably. They essentially both speak of the same thing. In the New Testament, the spirit never dies though the body will at some point. In the Old Testament, when God takes that spirit, the man dies.
To curse one’s parents was a direct violation of the commandments of God: “For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him” (Leviticus 20:9). And it was a commandment, that apparently, God took very seriously.
In Genesis 9:6, God instituted capital punishment (the death penalty) before the Law was ever established. It was continued, and restated, in the Law in Exodus 21:17: “And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death” (Exodus 21:17). Later in Acts 25:11 Paul states his approval for the death penalty: “For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar” (Acts 25:11). Again, in Romans 13 he states that the rulers bear not the sword in vain.
Capital punishment has never been done away with, and God expects a country to perform it in order to protect its citizenry, and when they don’t the land is polluted and will eventually cast out the people. We are given the handwriting on the wall for America. Eventually, our enemies will be given this land, and Americans will be driven off captive, if the Lord should tarry His return.
The Pharisees had come up with a custom, or a tradition, to get around God’s law toward their parents. There is always some religious system set up to bypass God’s perfect truth and will. “For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition” (Matthew 15:4-6).
They had come up with a system where they could bring gifts to the Temple and it would allow them to get by with cursing their parents. They learned how to reinterpret the Bible, much like the Bible scholars of today have done in order to get around a Bible as final authority, making themselves the authority over what it says.
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True that.
Wow. . .we are on Chapter 20 already! Thanks for keeping this going.
“Paul states his approval for the death penalty”
Had never thought about it in that way. Always something to learn!
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