Day 9/24 – Tempting God

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
Tempting God
Day Two Hundred Sixty-seven

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”‘ Matthew4:7

There are many ways to tempt God. Jesus, when tempted by the devil to jump from the Temple, said that to commit God to act on Jesus’ behalf without either the need or a promise, tempted God. One of the most insidious ways people tempt the Lord is when they marginalize His commandments. Many believe that if they love God with all their hearts, expressing devotion and commitment to Him, that they can compromise His commandments.

People school themselves into believing that this is possible by how they relate to human authority. You know that the speed limit can be broken as long as you don’t overdue it. Your employer has a policy that you cannot make personal phone calls on company time, but you also know that your supervisor won’t really mind if you do it, providing you do not abuse the practice. All of life seems to teach that if you are careful, you can compromise the law.

Having discovered the ease with which you can marginalize the law of man, you can easily conclude that you can do the same thing in your relationship with God. It is not that you don’t love the Lord. Rather, you think that if you don’t overdue it, you can ignore His commandments without any substantial downside. Nothing could be further from the truth. God calls the violation of His will sin, and no one will get to heaven and be glad they sinned.

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Song of Solomon 4-5 Galatians 3 (New King James Version)

Song of Solomon 4-5
The Bridegroom Praises the Bride
The Beloved
4
Behold, you are fair, my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats,
Going down from Mount Gilead.
2
Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep
Which have come up from the washing,
Every one of which bears twins,
And none is [a]barren among them.
3
Your lips are like a strand of scarlet,
And your mouth is lovely.
Your temples behind your veil
Are like a piece of pomegranate.
4
Your neck is like the tower of David,
Built for an armory,
On which hang a thousand [b]bucklers,
All shields of mighty men.
5
Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle,
Which feed among the lilies.
6
Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh
And to the hill of frankincense.
7
You are all fair, my love,
And there is no spot in you.
8
Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse,
With me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of Amana,
From the top of Senir and Hermon,
From the lions’ dens,
From the mountains of the leopards.
9
You have ravished my heart,
My sister, my spouse;
You have ravished my heart
With one look of your eyes,
With one link of your necklace.
10
How fair is your love,
My sister, my spouse!
How much better than wine is your love,
And the [c]scent of your perfumes
Than all spices!
11
Your lips, O my spouse,
Drip as the honeycomb;
Honey and milk are under your tongue;
And the fragrance of your garments
Is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
12
A garden [d]enclosed
Is my sister, my spouse,
A spring shut up,
A fountain sealed.
13
Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates
With pleasant fruits,
Fragrant henna with spikenard,
14
Spikenard and saffron,
Calamus and cinnamon,
With all trees of frankincense,
Myrrh and aloes,
With all the chief spices—
15
A fountain of gardens,
A well of living waters,
And streams from Lebanon.
The Shulamite
16
Awake, O north wind,
And come, O south!
Blow upon my garden,
That its spices may flow out.
Let my beloved come to his garden
And eat its pleasant fruits.
The Bride Praises the Bridegroom
The Beloved
5
I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse;
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.
(To His Friends)
Eat, O friends!
Drink, yes, drink deeply,
O beloved ones!
The Shulamite’s Troubled Evening
The Shulamite
2
I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
He knocks, saying,
“Open for me, my sister, [e]my love,
My dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew,
My [f]locks with the drops of the night.”
3
I have taken off my robe;
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
How can I [g]defile them?
4
My beloved put his hand
By the [h]latch of the door,
And my heart yearned for him.
5
I arose to open for my beloved,
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
My fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.
6
I opened for my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My [i]heart leaped up when he spoke.
I sought him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he gave me no answer.
7
The watchmen who went about the city found me.
They struck me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls
Took my veil away from me.
8
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
That you tell him I am lovesick!
The Daughters of Jerusalem
9
What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
O fairest among women?
What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
That you so [j]charge us?
The Shulamite
10
My beloved is white and ruddy,
[k]Chief among ten thousand.
11
His head is like the finest gold;
His locks are wavy,
And black as a raven.
12
His eyes are like doves
By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And [l]fitly set.
13
His cheeks are like a bed of spices,
Banks of scented herbs.
His lips are lilies,
Dripping liquid myrrh.
14
His hands are rods of gold
Set with beryl.
His body is carved ivory
Inlaid with sapphires.
15
His legs are pillars of marble
Set on bases of fine gold.
His countenance is like Lebanon,
Excellent as the cedars.
16
His mouth is most sweet,
Yes, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,
And this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem!
Footnotes:
• Song of Solomon 4:2 bereaved
• Song of Solomon 4:4 Small shields
• Song of Solomon 4:10 fragrance
• Song of Solomon 4:12 locked or barred
• Song of Solomon 5:2 my companion, friend
• Song of Solomon 5:2 curls or hair
• Song of Solomon 5:3 dirty
• Song of Solomon 5:4 opening
• Song of Solomon 5:6 Lit. soul
• Song of Solomon 5:9 adjure
• Song of Solomon 5:10 Distinguished
• Song of Solomon 5:12 sitting in a setting

Galatians 3
Justification by Faith
3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you [a]that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed [b]among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so [c]many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
5 Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
The Law Brings a Curse
10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” 11 But that no one is [d]justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”
13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
The Changeless Promise
15 Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. 16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God [e]in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. 18 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Purpose of the Law
19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.
21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, [f]kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our [g]tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Sons and Heirs
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Footnotes:
• Galatians 3:1 NU omits that you should not obey the truth
• Galatians 3:1 NU omits among you
• Galatians 3:4 Or great
• Galatians 3:11 declared righteous
• Galatians 3:17 NU omits in Christ
• Galatians 3:23 Lit. confined
• Galatians 3:24 In a household, the guardian responsible for the care and discipline of the children