Judge Not That You Be Not Judged. Part [9] 03/24/2024 (Evening thought)

Genesis 39:17 And she spoke unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me. 18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out. 19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.

This tendency to draw conclusions based on what a person sees, or the evidences of one’s senses is one of the reasons why some marriages are in trouble, because favorable impressions are made, up front to the point where persons may neglect to do their homework, and due diligence, and just like Samuel, what might have seemed as gold initially, turned out to be iron mixed with miry clay.

Therefore, on the issue of drawing conclusions that are based on intelligence, gut feeling, circumstantial evidence, and outward appearance, it is always best for us to be humble, knowing that we can be wrong, and for this reason we should be willing to give God the last word, since He makes evaluations internally.

However, the caution against judging, given in our first passage, primarily has to do with the tendency to judge motive, which in many instances, can only be determined by God, who sees all, and knows all. There are times when mortals could make a precise determination on motive, especially when the hard evidence is coming from the horses’ mouth.

Genesis 19:4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: 5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!

Judge Not That You Be Not Judged. Part [8] 03/23/2024 (Morning thought)

1st Samuel 16:4 And Samuel did that which the Lord spoke, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, do you come peaceably? 5 And he said, peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

[Testimonies Vol. 5 pp 168] “Love is unsuspecting, ever placing the most favorable construction upon the motives and acts of others.” We do pick up information from our five senses, and we draw what we reckon as reasonable conclusions, but let us always keep this caveat in mind, we could be wrong. One of the most important lessons we, as Christians must learn is to give to others the benefit of the doubt.

The fact that persons do judge doesn’t always mean it will be negative conclusions that may be drawn. In many instances persons might come to very positive conclusions, and still be off kilter. A case in point is when Samuel went to anoint one of Jesse’s sons to be the next king of Israel.

Him being tall and of a commanding presence made a deep, favorable impression upon the prophet, and without waiting for God’s take on the matter Samuel declared that Eliab was The Lord’s anointed. But this turned out to be a wrong conclusion, even though it was a very favorable impression made.

1st Samuel 16:6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him. 7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, look not on his countenance, nor on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord sees not as man sees, because man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!