You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
13 And
behold joy [sasown] and gladness [simchah],
slaying [harag] oxen [baqar], and killing [shachat]
sheep [tso'n], eating ['akal] flesh [basar], and drinking
[shathah] wine [yayin]: let us eat ['akal] and
drink [shathah]; for to morrow [machar] we shall die [muwth]. KJV-Interlinear
13 and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering
sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. “Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.” ESV
Eating and drinking and having a good time is not a sin, nor even a bad thing. The error in this verse, is the attitude that is taken by people who are facing imminent danger, even death, and they are frivolous in their attitude, even rebellious, and that leads to despicable behavior.
They are surrounded and near the very end of human history.
They are not looking to God. Not looking to Christ. Not even questioning or wondering just how the world has fallen so far in such a very short space of time. The world in that day will be on the brink of extinction, literally.
Most normal folks, when they face disaster after disaster after disaster, begin to wonder just what is wrong.
And since God is perfect, then that wrong thing has to be related to themselves.
And again, most normal people will begin to look at their own life, and examine where they are right, and where they are wrong. They will seek out answers, try to find a solution, try to get things straight with God, try to get their life turned around.
Most normal people will turn to God, and by turning to God they turn to the words that give them Gods counsel. That is Bible study, by the way.
And then there are the fools of this world. They don’t look to God, instead they look to their own pleasures, and food and sex and partying, where they can distract themselves from their formidable problems, with instant gratification, is their first choice.
Instead of correcting themselves and improving their life, they look to one last fling, which leads to nothing but a worse and worse existence. They are unable to face the realities, and so they look to hide themselves from any and all responsibility. It is an ‘Oh well,’ attitude. Which means that you have given up.
A spiritually growing believer, never gives up. They persevere in life believing that God is there close by, that whatever the problems are, there is a solution close by as well, and even if not, the end is always going to be with God one way or another, and that is always a winning situation.
The growing believer knows that God has a plan and that God wants the believer to advance to maturity. So … there must be a solution.
When David was selected as king, he was just a boy. He had to live a long time before he actually became king. He faced many hardships and challenges, but he had Gods promise that he was going to be the king. That means he had to be alive for that to happen.
He did not make foolish decisions, even when he faced Goliath. All of his life as a shepherd boy he practiced with that slingshot and became proficient. He was prepared before he faced Goliath.
So the spiritual life is a preparation, and it also teaches preparation. Apply this to your life. Before you can do something, you have to be prepared, you have to learn, you have to train, you have to do things over and over, until you become proficient.
Your alternative is to waste your life away and then what do you have?
But as a prepared believer, then God can actually use you. And when you face the Goliath of your life, you will come out of it a winner. Perhaps even impressing someone else, besides yourself. And when you stand before Christ, you can stand tall and confident as He actually praises you and rewards you, because the story of your life will be a great one.
But these folks have given up and their destiny is an empty life, and nothing after that.
A party and laughing and having a good time are good things, but they have their place in life. We all have to come back to reality and work and make a living and get along in life, and keep looking to Christ through doctrine.
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