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 For I
have heard [shama`] the slander [dibbah] of
many [rab]: fear [magowr] was on every side [cabiyb]:
while they took counsel [yacad] together [yachad] against me, they devised [zamam] to take away [laqach] my
life [nephesh]. KJV-Interlinear
13 For I
have heard the slander of many, Terror is on every side; While they took
counsel together against me, They schemed to take away my life. NASB
Will you know the answer to the question at the end of this study? This verse gives us the third of three troubles that have been mentioned in this passage. The first was the ostracism from friends and family which is a reference to the world. The second is being forgotten, as the world has a short memory and the typical impact that any given person has on life, is virtually nil.
Jesus Christ, of course, is the one and only exception.
And now the third source of trouble is the gossip or slander of the world, especially against Christians, but then the world plays no favorites to speak of, and eventually turns on everyone, even those that the world favors for a time.
Fear on every side is a reference to the complete lack of trust that can be placed in the world. No one and northing can be trusted, for when the chips are down, the friends fade quickly away. And even when life is prosperous and rosy, those who draw near, have ulterior agendas to themselves, and certainly not you.
As they say, when the food and beverage runs out, the party is over and everyone leaves.
Counsel against the believer, is the collective conspiracy of the world against truth and therefore against God and Christ and all that they stand for. A conspiracy is an evil, unlawful, secretive plan that has been formulated by two or more persons. And Satan’s plan of evil, when adopted by people who reject truth, and willingly even if unknowingly, becomes the greatest conspiracy in all of history. Its impact affects all of human history and certainly the lives of unknown endless numbers, of people.
Satan’s ultimate purpose is to defeat God, and thereby destroy us all.
Look at the world all around. We are ostracized from life by evil. We are forgotten as though we have no worth or value. We are slandered and despised with impunity. The world simply does not care for you or anyone. As far as Satan is concerned, he got along fine before man was created and will get along fine after man is long gone and forgotten.
So, through evil, which is what you choose by default, if you ignore the instruction of Gods word, then you will gain nothing and for certain, will lose everything. Your life will have no meaning or purpose, ever.
With Christ, you can certainly gain everything and more beyond your imagination.
Which is the best choice?
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