Posted on 11/05/2022 12:50:48 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!” (Proverbs 5:12-13 KJV).
“. . . my heart despised reproof,” reproof is harder than instruction. Reproof is, “You are doing that wrong, this is the right way to do it.” Now, nobody likes to be told that they are doing something wrong, but they like even less to be told by someone else how to do it right. Especially if they are enjoy it better their way. But that is what reproof is. And that is what a good preacher is supposed to do.
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (II Timothy 4:2 KJV).
Reprove is strong, but a rebuke is even stronger. A rebuke is “Sit down and quit!” “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life” (Proverbs 6:23 KJV).
Most people are afraid of reproofs. They’ll file a grievance if you reprove them. Everybody’s got their rights! That’s why the world is in such a mess. They won’t listen to God, they would rather do it their own way.
In the Bible, 13 is always the number of rebellion, and verse 13 says that they “have not obeyed,” that is rebellion in a nutshell. We find 13 in connection with the Antichrist in Revelation 13. Over and over again you will find the number 13 in connection with Judas Iscariot in the Gospels.
- 13 letters in Judas Iscariot - John 6:70, “Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?” Twelve and one is 13.
13 is connected with the Antichrist, connected with the Devil, and connected with Mystery Babylon.
Verse 13 says, “And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!”
Sin is ugly, vile, destructive. It darkens the mind, poisons the heart, enslaves the will, deadens genius, sears the conscience, undermines the health, enflames the passions, blights the usefulness, crushes hopes, breaks hearts, ruins homes, wrecks lives and damns the soul. Its products are ignorance, superstition, disease, poverty and death.
One sin is awful in its power. There are no little sins. Ask God to help you feel the blackness of sin. This will help to keep you from sin.
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