to those who plot evil on their beds!
At morning's light they carry it out
because it is in their power to do it.
2 They covet fields and seize them,
and houses, and take them.
They defraud people of their homes,
they rob them of their inheritance.
3 Therefore, the LORD says:
"I am planning disaster against this people,
from which you cannot save yourselves.
You will no longer walk proudly,
for it will be a time of calamity.
4 In that day people will ridicule you;
they will taunt you with this mournful song:
'We are utterly ruined;
my people's possession is divided up.
He takes it from me!
He assigns our fields to traitors.' "
5 Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD
to divide the land by lot.
Questions to consider:
- Characterize the wicked classes of people.
- Relate the religious and economic evils.
- Compare and contrast the two devisers of evil as the (a) kind of schemes devised, (b) reasons, and (c) sufferers.
Possibilities for prayer:
I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t want to be counted among those who plan iniquity. Unfortunately, it seems that a lot of the people of Israel fell under that category and God has some serious punishment in store for them. God needs His people to learn a lesson from their mistakes, and that lesson is not going to be an easy one. It’s easy to read passages such as these and see a rather vengeful God and become discouraged. But don’t lose heart! We have to push through these passages to see the promises of redemption and rescue. So today, let’s ask God for the perseverance to push through our times of trial and tribulation, proclaiming all the while that God has a plan for rescue in the end.
Posts
