Prostitution the oldest profession on earth. This is not true according to Scripture it is farming, for the LORD told Adam to tend the garden, but we do know that it has been around a long time. Every culture in the world has had to deal with this inevitable curse due to the wicked hearts of men. Throughout history women and girls have been defiled in the name of religion, such as the devadasi’s of the Hindu religion, which is really just a way of causing them to sell their daughters into prostitution due to the lack of provisions. There have been many cultures who throughout the centuries who have had temple prostitutes, these women sell their services in the name of religion. It is even spoken about in the Book of Proverbs in the Bible. If you would like to see what I am speaking about read the immoral woman study, and when she says that she just gave her sacrifices in the temple before she tries to seduce the young naïve man, this is what she was doing.

I have met a few different prostitutes throughout the years and they all have this in common, they are very street smart. They have hard hearts and they know what men desire sexually out of a woman. They do not do what they do typically for the sex, it is usually for the money. They tend to look at money as evil, for they do what they do for money. Most of these girls when you get talking to them have had horrible lives, they have usually been sexually abused since childhood and now they usually have drug addictions to try and cover up the pain of their lives. They would love to quit doing what they do, but society does not usually give them the chance. No woman would take them into their homes, for fear that they would try and seduce their man. These women usually turn to a pimp or a forced by a pimp to work for them. He tells them that he will protect them from predators, while they themselves are the predators.

I met a young prostitute named Rosemary and she told me that she was first pimped out when she was twelve years old. This girl is only twenty years old now. She has been used and abused by men almost half of her young life. She has been deceived into selling her body in order to survive. I told her that she has a father in heaven that is concerned about her and wants her to quit doing what she is doing. I gave her some ministries to contact, but the decision is hers. I pray for her all the time and I hope that she will make the right decision. I hope that this study will show her and many other prostitutes that they have a father in heaven that cares about them also. There are actually two prostitutes in Jesus’ own genealogy. This just tells you how much the LORD loves them!!! But He does give warnings about turning our daughters into prostitutes. The LORD does not condone the sin of prostitution, he wants these people to quit prostituting themselves male and female.

We live in a society today here in the United States that we are guilty of turning our daughters into prostitutes, between the name of entertainment (Porn, Hollywood, Craigslist, etc.), we are guilty as a nation. I pray and hope that we turn from our sins and truly get convicted and beg for God’s mercy in this area of our lives, so that God does not judge us, but forgives us and convicts us, so that we can get right with Him and so that our youth will have a good future. This next generation has a lot to deal with, from the last few generations that have embraced this sexual sin as a good thing and I pray and hope that they do not have to reap the consequences of the fathers bad decision making.

May God Bless You and keep you and I hope that when you read this study that the LORD shows you how devastating this sin is in our society, and also how much He cares about these people, in Jesus’ name, Amen!!!

Leviticus 19:29

“Do not defile your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be filled with promiscuity and detestable wickedness.”

Genesis 34:1-31

One day Dinah, Leah’s daughter, went to visit some of the young women who lived in the area. But when the local prince, Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped her. But Shechem’s love for Dinah was strong, and he tried to win her affection. He even spoke to his father about it. “Get this girl for me,” he demanded. “I want to marry her.”

Word soon reached Jacob that his daughter had been defiled, but his sons were out in the fields herding cattle so he did nothing until they returned. Meanwhile, Hamor, Shechem’s father, came out to discuss the matter with Jacob. He arrived just as Jacob’s sons were coming from the fields. They were shocked and furious that their sister had been raped. Shechem had done a disgraceful thing against Jacob’s family, a thing that should never had been done.

Hamor told Jacob and his sons, “My son Shechem is truly in love with your daughter, and he longs for her to be his wife. Please let him marry her. We invite you to let your daughters marry our sons, and we will give our daughters as wives for your young men. And you may live among us; the land is open to you! Settle here and trade with us. You are free to acquire property among us.”

Then Shechem addressed Dinah’s father and brothers. “Please be kind to me, and let me have her as my wife,” he begged. “I will give whatever you require. No matter what dowry or gift you demand, I will pay it- only give me the girl as my wife.”

But Dinah’s brothers deceived Shechem and Hamor because of what Shechem had done to their sister. They said to them, “We couldn’t possibly allow this, because you aren’t circumcised. It would be a disgrace for her to marry a man like you! But here is a solution. If every man among you will be circumcised like we are, we will intermarry with you and live here and unite with you to become one people. Otherwise we will take her and be on our way.”

Hamor and Shechem gladly agreed, and Shechem lost no time in acting on this request, for he wanted Dinah desperately. Shechem was a highly respected member of his family, and he appeared with his father before the town leaders to present this proposal. “Those men are our friends,” they said. “Let’s invite them to live here among us and ply their trade. For the land is large enough to hold them, and we can intermarry with them. But they will consider staying here only on one condition. Every one of us men must be circumcised, just as they are. But if we do this, all their flocks and possessions will become ours. Come, let’s agree to this so they will settle here among us.”

So all the men agreed and were circumcised. But three days later, when their wounds were still sore, two of Dinah’s brothers, Simeon and Levi, took their swords, entered the town without opposition, and slaughtered every man there, including Hamor and Shechem. They rescued Dinah from Shechem’s house and returned to their camp. Then all of Jacob’s sons plundered the town because their sister had been defiled there. They seized all the flocks and herds and donkeys- everything they could lay their hands on , both inside the town and outside in the fields. They also took all the women and children and wealth of every kind.

“Afterward Jacob said to Levi and Simeon, “You have made me stink among all the people of this land- among all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will come and crush us. We will all be killed!”

“Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?” they retorted angrily.

Side Note: In seeking revenge against Shechem, Simeon and Levi lied, stole, and murdered. Their desire for justice was right, but their ways of achieving it were wrong. Because of their sin, their father cursed them with his dying breath (Genesis 49:5-7 ), “Simeon and Levi are two of a kind- men of violence. O my soul, stay away from them. May I never be a party to their wicked plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and they crippled oxen just for sport. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; cursed be their wrath, for it is cruel. Therefore, I will scatter their descendants throughout the nation of Israel.” Generations later, their descendants lost the part of the Promised land allotted to them. When tempted to return evil for evil, leave revenge to God and spare yourself the dreadful consequences of sin. Such as these two did not and paid the consequences later.

Genesis 38:6-27

When his oldest son, Er, grew up, Judah arranged his marriage to a young woman named Tamar. But Er was a wicked man in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord took his life. Then Judah said to Er’s brother Onan, “You must marry Tamar, as our law requires of the brother of a man who has died. Her first son from you will be your brother’s heir.”

But Onan was not willing to have a child who would not be his own heir. So whenever he had intercourse with Tamar, he spilled the semen on the ground to keep her from having a baby who would belong to his brother. So the Lord took Onan’s life, too.

Then Judah told Tamar, his daughter in law, not to marry again at that time but to return to her parents’ home. She was to remain a widow until his youngest son, Shelah, was old enough to marry her. (But Judah didn’t really intend to do this because he was afraid Shelah would also die, like his two brothers.) So Tamar went home to her parents.

In the course of time Judah’s wife died. After the time of mourning was over. Judah and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went to Timnah to supervise the shearing of his sheep. Someone told Tamar that her father in law had left for the sheep-shearing at Timnah. Tamar was aware that Shelah had grown up, but they had not called her to come and marry him. So she changed out of her widow’s clothing and covered herself with a veil to disguise herself. Then she sat beside the road at the entrance to the village of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. Judah noticed her as he went by and thought she was a prostitute, since her face was veiled. So he stopped and propositioned her to sleep with him, not realizing that she was his own daughter in law.

“How much will you pay me?” Tamar asked.

“I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” Judah promised.

“What pledge will you give me so I can be sure you will send it?” she asked.

“Well, what do you want?” he inquired.

She replied, “I want your identification seal, your cord, and the walking stick you are carrying.” So Judah gave these items to her. She then let him sleep with her, and she became pregnant. Afterward she went home, took off her veil, and put on her widow’s clothing as usual.

Judah asked his friend Hirah the Adullamite to take the young goat back to her and to pick up the pledges he had given her, but Hirah couldn’t find her. So he asked the men who lived there, “Where can I find the prostitute who was sitting beside the road at the entrance to the village?”

“We’ve never had a prostitute here,” they replied. So Hirah returned to Judah and told him that he couldn’t find her anywhere and that the men of the village had claimed they didn’t have a prostitute there.

“Then let her keep the pledges!” Judah exclaimed. “We tried our best to send her the goat. We’d be the laughingstock of the village if we went back again.”

About three months later, word reached Judah that Tamar, his daughter in law, was pregnant as a result of prostitution. “Bring her out and burn her!” Judah shouted.

But as they were taking her out to kill her, she sent this message to her father in law; “The man who owns this identification seal and walking stick is the father of my child. Do you recognize them?”

Judah admitted that they were his and said, “She is more in the right than I am, because I didn’t keep my promise to let her marry my son Shelah.” But Judah never slept with Tamar again.

In due season the time of Tamar’s delivery arrived, and she had twin sons.

Side Note: As you can see, just like it was said in Leviticus 19:29, that if you let your daughter be defiled as a prostitute that the land will be filled with promiscuity and wickedness. As you can see, this has happened in the last two stories. But don’t be judgmental towards prostitutes, for the Lord himself reached out to them and forgave them of their sins, as you will see in the coming up verses.

Joshua 2:1-24

Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia. He instructed them, “Spy out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.

But someone told the king of Jericho. “Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: “Bring out the men who have come into your house. They are spies sent here to discover the best way to attack us.”

Rahab, who had hidden the two men, replied, “The men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from. They left the city at dusk, as the city gates were about to close, and I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.” (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath piles of flax.) So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossing places of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the city gate was shut.

Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. “I know the LORD has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone is living in terror. For we have heard how the LORD made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below. Now swear to me by the LORD that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families.”

“We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety,” the men agreed. “If you don’t betray us, we will keep our promise when the LORD gives us the land.”

Then, since Rahab’s house was built into the city wall, she let them down by a rope through the window. “Escape to the hill country,” she told them. “Hide there for three days until the men who are searching for you have returned; then go on your way.”

Before they left, the men told her, “We can guarantee your safety only if you leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window. And all your family members- your father, mother, brothers, and all your relatives- must be here inside the house. If they go out into the street, they will be killed, and we cannot be held to our oath. But we swear that no one inside this house will be killed- not a hand will be laid on any of them. If you betray us, however, we are not bound by this oath in any way.”

 

This generation wants to be rich and famous. They believe that if they have everything that they ever desired that this will fulfill them. What they do not realize is that in every person on this planet whether rich or poor, they have a God shaped hole in them that only God can fill. No possession in the world can fill this hole in their soul. No matter what they own or whatever experience they do or achieve nothing will fill that God shaped hole in their soul. Only by receiving Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will fill this God shaped hole, for that is how we are designed, by our Creator.

On the subject of wealth, I once desired to be wealthy, until I put together this particular study. Once I put together all of the Scriptures on this subject and read them back to back, I realized that the LORD does not have a lot of good to say about wealth. What He does say about it, is that it is going to be a testimony against us on judgment day, that it is going to eat away at our flesh in hell, if that is where we are going.

We see that throughout this study that the LORD looks at the motives behind acquiring this wealth that He is talking about. He speaks about murder and cheating people of their wages, that the wealthy become arrogant and proud, that they devour people who cannot defend themselves. The Scriptures speak about how sometimes the LORD will allow them to acquire the wealth, then not give them the health to enjoy it. Wealth can be deceptive, we need to ask the LORD for wisdom to use the wealth that He has given to us for His benefit and our benefit. So that on judgment day, He can say “Well done faithful servant.”

I do not believe that if you are wealthy that this is a bad thing. On the contrary, God blessed a lot of His children throughout Scripture. But how you acquire wealth and how you spend your wealth is the test. We need to always ask ourselves if we are doing the right thing. I spoke to a pastor years ago that did prison ministry and he was a former mobster who had a lot of money when he came to Christ. Now he knew that the money was not acquired the right way, for it was acquire through mob activities and he did not know what to do with all of it at that time. So what he did was packed it all up and flew to India and built a whole bunch of schools and orphanages for the children. Now that is a guy who understood how to better his accountability on judgment day when it came to the wealth that the LORD let him acquire. I am sure that this bettered his status sheet on judgment day. Well, I hope that this study shows you how the LORD looks at wealth and that the LORD blesses you with wisdom of how to use it. I pray that you also read the study on the rich and the poor and that God truly gives you understanding of how to use whatever He has given to you to steward, for stewardship is the second biggest subject in the Bible, the first biggest subject is Jesus. May God Bless You and keep you and may God Bless you with more wealth if you are using it wisely, in Jesus name, Amen!!!

Wealth: n. much money or property; riches.

 

Habakkuk 2:12-14

“How terrible it will be for you who build cities with money gained by murder and corruption! Has not the LORD Almighty promised that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes? They work so hard, but all in vain! For the time will come when all the earth will be filled, as the waters fill the sea, with an awareness of the glory of the LORD.

Habakkuk 2:4-8

“Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked; but the righteous will live by faith. Wealth is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest. They range far and wide, with their mouths opened as wide as death, but they are never satisfied. In their greed they have gathered up many nations and people. But the time is coming when all their captives will taunt them, saying, ‘You thieves! At last justice has caught up with you! Now you will get what you deserve for your oppression and extortion!’ Suddenly, your debtors will rise up in anger. They will turn on you and take all you have, while you stand trembling and helpless. You have plundered many nations; now they will plunder you. You murderers! You have filled the countryside with violence and all the cities, too.

Habakkuk 2:9-11

“How terrible it will be for you who get rich by unjust means! You believe your wealth will buy you security, putting your families beyond the reach of danger. But by the murders you committed, you have shamed your name and forfeited your lives. The very stones in the walls of your houses cry out against you, and the beams in the ceilings echo the complaint.

Ecclesiastes 5:10-15

Those who love money will never have enough. How absurd to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what is the advantage of wealth – except perhaps to watch it run through your fingers!

People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich are always worrying and seldom get a good night’s sleep.

There is another serious problem I have seen in the world. Riches are sometimes hoarded to the harm of the saver, or they are put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children.

People who live only for wealth come to the end of their lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day they were born.

Ecclesiastes 5:19-20

And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life – that is indeed a gift from God. People who do this rarely look with sorrow on the past, for God has given them reasons for joy.

Ecclesiastes 6:1-2

There is another serious tragedy I have seen in our world. God gives great wealth and honor to some people and gives them everything they could ever want, but then he doesn’t give them the health to enjoy it. They die, and others get it all! This is meaningless – a sickening tragedy.

Ecclesiastes 7:14

Enjoy prosperity while you can. But when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. That way you will realize that nothing is certain in this life.

Matthew 6:19-21

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.

Matthew 6:24

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to on and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Proverbs 19:4

Wealth make many “friends”; poverty drives them away.

Proverbs 19:14

Parents can provide their sons with an inheritance of houses and wealth, but only the LORD can give an understanding wife.

Luke 16:1-9

Jesus told this story to his disciples: “A rich man hired a manager to handle his affairs, but soon a rumor went around that the manager was thoroughly dishonest. So his employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about your stealing from me? Get your report in order, because you are going to be dismissed.

“The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? I’m through here, and I don’t have the strength to go out and dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. I know just the thing! And then I’ll have plenty of friends to take care of me when I leave!’

“So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’ The man replied, ‘I owe him eight hundred gallons of olive oil. So the manager told him, ‘Tear up that bill and write another one for four hundred gallons.’

“And how much do you owe my employer?” he asked the next man, ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take your bill and replace it with one for only eight hundred bushels.’

“The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the citizens of this world are more shrewd than the godly are. I tell you, use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. In this way, your generosity stores up a reward for you in heaven.”

Luke 16:10-13

“Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? And if you are not faithful with other people’s money, why should you be trusted with money of your own?

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Luke 6:24-25

What sorrows await you who are satisfied and prosperous now, for a time of awful hunger is before you. What sorrows await you who are satisfied and prosperous now, for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.

Proverbs 15:16

It is better to have little with fear of the LORD than to have great treasure with turmoil.

Proverbs 11:4

Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living is a safeguard against death.

Proverbs 11:24

It is possible to give freely and become more wealthy, but those who are stingy will lose everything.

Proverbs 13:11

Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows.

Proverbs 13:22

Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren, but the sinner’s wealth passes on to the godly.

Proverbs 14:24

Wealth is a crown for the wise; the effort of fools yields only folly.

James 1:9-11

Christians who are poor should be glad, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should be glad, for God has humbled them. They will fade away like a flower in the field. The hot sun rises and dries up the grass; the flower withers, and its beauty fades away. So also, wealthy people will fade away with all of their achievements.

James 5:1-6

Look here, you rich people, weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. Your gold and silver have become worthless. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh in hell. This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment. For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The wages you held back cry out against you. The cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.

You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every whim. Now your hearts are nice and fat, ready for the slaughter. You have condemned and killed good people who had no power to defend themselves against you.

Ezekiel 28:1-10

This message came to me from the LORD: “Son of man, give the prince of Tyre this message from the Sovereign LORD: In your great pride you claim, ‘I am a god! I sit on a divine throne in the heart of the sea.’ But you are only a man and not a god, though you boast that you are like a god. You regard yourself as wiser than Daniel and think no secret is hidden from you. With your wisdom and understanding you have amassed great wealth – gold and silver for your treasuries. Yes, your wisdom has made you very rich, and your riches have made you very proud.

“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because you think you are as wise as a god, I will bring against you an enemy army, the terror of the nations. They will suddenly draw their swords against your marvelous wisdom and defile your splendor! They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die there on your island home in the heart of the sea, pierced with many wounds. Will you then boast, ‘I am a god!’ to those who kill you? To them you will be no god but merely a man! You will die like an outcast at the hands of foreigners. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!”

 

 

Being rich is not a sin, but the Word of God (The Holy Bible) does not have very much good to say about being rich. When you read the Scriptures about the rich, you will see that God is looking at their motives and their intentions. This is what He is condemning. How they used their wealth and how they acquired it. According to Scripture those who are rich should be glad, for God has humbled them (James 1:10). In Isaiah it says that destruction is certain for those who buy up property so others have no place to live, and it also says that their personal properties where they live are cursed.

Another problem with being rich is that the temptations are a lot more alluring. Everything in the world is at their finger tips. The drugs, the alcohol, the gambling, the women, etc. Possessions are always pulling at them, when this does not satisfy their desires, sometimes they go after power and position according to Luke 6:24. It also says in Proverbs that a rich man has a lot of friends, but this is real confusing to the rich, because a lot of times they do not really know who their real friends are. In 1 Timothy chapter 6 it says, that to tell the rich not to be proud and trust in their money. For it says in Proverbs that the rich think that their wealth is an impregnable defense. They honestly believe that their money will protect them. But it also says in the Book of Proverbs that money does not necessarily pass onto the next generation and that it can also make wings and fly off.

I hear a lot of people say that money is the root of all evil, and what they are saying is not true. It says that the love of money is the root of all evil. The big difference is the motive behind the money. I tell people all of the time that money does not have any morals. It is an inanimate object with no way of having morals. Money is just a tool, it can either be used for good or evil, depending upon who has it. The same money that is being stolen by dirty politicians could be sheltering and feeding homeless people. But it is the love of money that makes that dirty politician do what he does.

Now in the Word of God (The Holy Bible) there were quite a few rich people that believed in God. We will start out with Abraham, he was quite rich for that time period, according to Scripture he had 318 servants and such large herds of animals that his herdsmen and his nephew’s herdsmen had to separate in order to sustain their own pursuits. Now you look at King David he was rich and God so blessed him that he supplied everything to build God’s Temple. Now his son King Solomon was really rich, according to Scripture it says that silver was as common as rocks, while he was the king. Each of these men had faith in God and not one of them, does it ever say anything bad about being rich.

I want to address the false prosperity teachers and the people who teach that it is noble to be poor. Both of these teachers are not teaching the whole consul of God. When you read the Scriptures you will see that God says that the poor should be glad, for He has honored them. And to the rich He says, they should be glad for He has humbled them. Now the prosperity teacher teaches that if you are not rich it is because you are not doing something right in order to receive God’s blessings and the people who teach people that it is a noble thing to be poor teach that you have to have nothing in order to please God. Both of these teachers are not telling the truth. According to the Word of God (The Holy Bible), Jesus Himself said, the poor will be with us always. To the rich Pharisees who were stealing from the people, He rebuked for their hypocrisy. Not because they were rich. Matthew the Apostle who Jesus told “follow me” was quite well off, but Matthew left everything to follow Jesus. The reason being, Matthew knew that how he got wealthy was not right. Zacchaeus was also a tax collector who did the same thing that Matthew did, stole from the people through collecting an unfair tax amount. When he encountered Jesus, Jesus told him to come down from the tree that he was in and to go have dinner with Jesus, after their conversation, Zacchaeus repented of his sins and told everyone that he would pay back four times as much as he had stolen from them. Zacchaeus was trying to make things right. Getting back to the point, it is neither bad to be poor or to be rich, wherever you are at in life it says, to be content with what you have is truly peaceful in your spirit. It is not bad to have ambitions, but what is bad is when your ambitions start making you make bad moral choices, which in turn destroys yourself. This is where you start putting price tags on relationships and worst of all, your integrity! I hope that this study will give you a better understanding about what the Word of God says about being rich and I suggest that you also read the poor study along with the wealth study to get a good rounded opinion of how God views money and possessions. I am involved with a ministry called Crown Financial and according to them, money and possessions is the second biggest subject in the Bible, of course, Jesus is the first. And when you look at that, it just goes to tell you that God is interested how you steward everything that He gives to you, and when you read the wealth study you will find that you are going to be accountable of how you used the resources that He gave to you to steward, while He was in heaven. And soon each of us are going to give an account of what we have done with His possessions. May God Bless You and keep you and give you wisdom of how to be a good steward of His possessions before we give an account on judgment day, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Rich: adj. 1. having wealth; owning much money or property; wealthy

James 5:1-6

Look here, you rich people, weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. Your gold and silver have become worthless. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh in hell. This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment. For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The wages you held back cry out against you. The cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.

You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every whim. Now your hearts are nice and fat, ready for the slaughter. You have condemned and killed good people who had no power to defend themselves against you.

James 1:9-11

Christians who are poor should be glad, for God has honored them. And those who are rich should be glad, for God has humbled them. They will fade away like a flower in the field. The hot sun rises and dries up the grass; the flower withers, and its beauty fades away. So also, wealthy people will fade away with all of their achievements.

Isaiah 5:8-10

Destruction is certain for you who buy up property so others have no place to live. Your homes are built on great estates so you can be alone in the land. But the LORD almighty has sealed your awful fate. With my own ears I heard him say, “Many beautiful homes will stand deserted, the owners dead or gone. Ten acres of vineyard will not produce even six gallons of wine. Ten measures of seed will yield only one measure of grain.

Luke 6:24-26

What sorrows await you who are satisfied and prosperous now, for a time of awful hunger is before you. What sorrows await you who are satisfied and prosperous now, for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow. What sorrows await you who are praised by the crowds, for their ancestors also praised false prophets.

Luke 16:19-31    Side note: This was a parable given by Jesus himself.

Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed and who lived each day in luxury. At his door lay a diseased beggar named Lazarus. As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. Finally, the beggar died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Lazarus in the far distant with Abraham.

“The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in these flames.’

“But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. Anyone who wanted to cross over to you from here is stopped at its edge, and no one there can cross over to us.’

“Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, send him to my father’s home. For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them about this place of torment so they won’t have to come here when they die.’

“But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read their writings anytime they want to.’

“The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will turn from their sins.’

“But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.”

Proverbs 13:7

Some who are poor pretend to be rich; others who are rich pretend to be poor.

Proverbs 13:8

The rich can pay a ransom, but the poor won’t even get threatened.

Proverbs 14:20

The poor are despised even by their neighbors, while the rich have many “friends.”

Proverbs 16:8

It is better to be poor and godly than to be rich and dishonest.

1 Timothy 6:9-11

But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

But you, Timothy, belong to God; so run from all these evil things, and follow what is right and good. Pursue a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

1 Timothy 6:17-19

Tell those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. But their trust should be in the living God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give generously to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of real life.

Proverbs 10:4

Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich.

Proverbs 10:15

The wealth of the rich is their fortress; the poverty of the poor is their calamity.

Proverbs 11:28

Trust in your money and down you go! But the godly flourish like leaves in spring.

Proverbs 14:31

Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who help the poor honor him.

Proverbs 18:11

The rich think their wealth as an impregnable defense; they imagine it is a high wall of safety.

Proverbs 18:23

The poor plead for mercy; the rich answer with insults.

Proverbs 19:4

Wealth makes many “friends”; poverty drives them away

Proverbs 21:17

Those who love pleasure become poor; wine and luxury are not the way to riches.

Proverbs 21:20

The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get.

Proverbs 22:2

The rich and the poor have this in common: The LORD made them both.

Proverbs 22:7

Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender.

Proverbs 23:4-5

Don’t weary yourself trying to get rich. Why waste your time? For riches can disappear as though they had the wings of a bird!

Proverbs 27:23-24

Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds, for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be secure for the next generation.

Proverbs 28:6

It is better to be poor and honest than rich and crooked.

Proverbs 28:8

A person who makes money by charging interest will lose it. It will end up in the hands of someone who is kind to the poor.

Proverbs 28:11

Rich people picture themselves as wise, but their real poverty is evident to the poor.

Proverbs 28:20

The trustworthy will get a rich reward. But the person who wants to get rich quick will only get into trouble.

Proverbs 28:22

A greedy person tries to get rich quick, but it only leads to poverty.

 

Lying in the United States of America is an epidemic that has spread throughout our entire nation. Over seventy percent of Americans lie on a daily basis and see nothing wrong with it. Our entire political system is full of liars along with the media and even attorneys who are supposed to represent the law. Our schools teach lies because of their liberal agendas and purposely deceive Americans in political campaigns to further their causes. We as a nation are bringing about our own destruction, because of our lies!!! Do not be deceived we will reap what we sow. If you do not believe me then you need to do some research on world history and you will see that I am right. Just as the Word of God says in Revelation 21:8 “But cowards who turn away from me, and unbelievers, and the corrupt, and murderers, and the immoral, and those who practice witchcraft, and idol worshipers, and all liars – their doom is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.” The second death spoken of here is when your soul is thrown into the lake of fire. Not your physical death, but when you are judged for being a liar on judgment day, if you have not received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. And if you are a child of God then you will hate lies Proverbs 13:5. According to Scripture the Devil is the father of lies a murderer from the beginning and has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar. Now I want to ask you a question, do you lie? And if so, who’s character are you portraying when you lie, the Devil’s or Jesus’? If you are a child of God and you have had a bad habit of lying, then you need to repent of your lying and ask God to take away the habit of lying from you. Any habit takes a while to break, so do not get disappointed with yourself if you fail consistently for a while. Just recognize it confess it to God and slow down what comes out of your mouth. There is an acronym that my pastor uses all of the time, it is, T.H.I.N.K. , is it True, is it Helpful, is it Inspiring, is it Necessary, is it Kind. We need to think before we speak!!!

Now I want to point out some of the things that the LORD has showed me through this study. That liars will not escape, they will be destroyed, that lies are soon exposed, that liars pay attention to destructive words. That it is even less fitting for a ruler to be telling lies!!! That it is better to be poor than dishonest.  You will see that the LORD hates a lying tongue. You will also see that the LORD sends disaster to the wicked through lying spirits. I guess they are reaping what they sowed. When you read that section of Scripture you will notice that this is all happening in the spiritual world that we cannot see, but does exist.

There are a few different stories throughout this study that will point out quite a bit of interesting observations, but the one thing that is conclusive, is that , the LORD hates lying and He will judge those who continue to do this!!! Get the point, quit lying!!! I hope that the LORD blesses you through this study and that He cleanses your heart of any of the lies of the Devil that continue to keep you in bondage. May God Bless You and keep you from lying, I pray, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Liar: n. a person who tells lies.

Psalm 140:11

Don’t let liars prosper here in our land. Cause disaster to fall with great force on the violent.

Proverbs 19:5

A false witness will not go unpunished, nor will a liar escape.

Proverbs 19:9

A false witness will not go unpunished, and a liar will be destroyed.

Proverbs 12:17

An honest witness tells the truth; a false witness tells lies.

Proverbs 12:19

Truth stands the test of time; lies are soon exposed.

Proverbs 13:5

Those who are godly hate lies; the wicked come to shame and disgrace.

Proverbs 14:5

A truthful witness does not lie; a false witness breathes lies.

Proverbs 17:4

Wrongdoers listen to wicked talk; liars pay attention to destructive words.

Proverbs 17:7

Eloquent speech is not fitting for a fool; even less are lies fitting for a ruler.

Proverbs 19:22

Loyalty makes a person attractive. And it is better to be poor than dishonest.

Proverbs 30:5-6

Every word of God proves true. He defends all who come to him for protection. Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you, and you will be found a liar.

John 8:44

For you are the children of your father the Devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning and has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

John 8:54-56

Jesus answered, “If I am merely boasting about myself, it doesn’t count. But it is my Father who says these glorious things about me. You say, ‘He is our God,’ but you do not even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But it is true – I know him and obey him. Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.”

Acts 5:1-11

There was also a man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, but he claimed it was the full amount. His wife had agreed to this deception.

Then Peter said, “Ananais, why has Satan filled your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God.”

As soon as Ananais heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. Then some young men wrapped him in a sheet and took him out and buried him.

About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?”

“Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.”

And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of doing a thing like this – conspiring together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Just outside the door are the young men who buried your husband, and they will carry you out, too.”

Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear gripped the entire church and all others who heard what had happened.

Romans 3:3-4

True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they broke their promises does that mean God will break his promises? Of course not! Though everyone else in the world is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say, “He will be proved right in what he says, and he will win his case in court.

1 John 1:8-10

If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

1 John 2:3-6

And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments. If someone says, “I belong to God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth. But those who obey God’s word really do love him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did.

1 John 4:20-21

If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we have not seen? And God himself has commanded that we must love not only him but our Christian brothers and sisters, too.

1 John 5:6-12

And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross – not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit also gives us the testimony that this is true. So we have these three witnesses – the Spirit, the water, and the blood – and all three agree. Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. All who believe in the Son of God know that this is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son.

And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. So whoever has God’s Son has life; whoever does not have his Son does not have life.

Psalm 116:11

In my anxiety I cried out to you, “These people are all liars!”

Isaiah 44:24-28

The LORD, your Redeemer and Creator, says: “I am the LORD, who made all things. I alone stretched out the heavens. By myself I made the earth and everything in it. I am the one who exposes the false prophets as liars by causing events to happen that are contrary to their predictions. I cause wise people to give bad advice, thus proving them to be fools. But I carry out the predictions of my prophets! When they say Jerusalem will be saved and the towns of Judah will be lived in once again, it will be done! When I speak to the rivers and say, ‘Be dry!’ they will be dry. When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,’ he will certainly do as I say. He will command that Jerusalem be rebuilt and that the Temple be restored.”

1 Timothy 1:3-11

When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those who are teaching wrong doctrine. Don’t let people waste time in endless speculation over myths and spiritual pedigrees. For these things only cause arguments; they don’t help people live a life of faith in God. The purpose of my instruction is that all the Christians there would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and sincere faith.

But some teachers have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time arguing and talking foolishness. They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don’t know what they are talking about, even though they seem so confident. We know these laws are good when they are used as God intended. But they were not made for people who do what is right. They are for people who are disobedient and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who murder their father or mother or other people. These laws are for people who are sexually immoral, for homosexuals and slave traders, for liars and oath breakers, and for those who do anything else that contradicts the right teaching that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God.

Titus 1:10-16

For there are many who rebel against right teaching; they engage in useless talk and deceive people. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation. They must be silenced. By their wrong teaching, they have already turned whole families away from the truth. Such teachers only want your money. One of their own men, a prophet from Crete, has said about them, “The people of Crete are all liars; they are cruel animals and lazy gluttons.” This is true. So rebuke them as sternly as necessary to make them strong in the faith. They must stop listening to Jewish myths and the commands of people who have turned their backs on the truth.

Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are defiled. Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are despicable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.

Revelation 2:1-7

“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:

“I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen from your first love! Turn back to me again and work as you did at first. If you don’t, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. But there is this about you that is good: You hate the deeds of the immoral Nicolaitans, just as I do.

“Anyone who is willing to hear should listen to the Spirit and understand what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Everyone who is victorious will eat from the tree of life in the paradise of God.

Revelation 21:5-8

And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making all things new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega – the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give the springs of the water of life without charge! All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. But cowards who turn away from me, and unbelievers, and the corrupt, and murderers, and the immoral, and those who practice witchcraft, and idol worshipers, and all liars – their doom is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”

1 Kings 13:1-34

At the LORD’s command, a man of God from Judah went to Bethel, and he arrived there just as Jeroboam was approaching the altar to offer a sacrifice. Then at the LORD’s command, he shouted, “O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you.” That same day the man of God gave a sign to prove his message, and he said, “The LORD has promised to give this sign: This altar will split apart, and its ashes will be poured out on the ground.”

King Jeroboam was very angry with the man of God for speaking against the altar. So he pointed at the man and shouted, “Seize that man!” But instantly the king’s hand became paralyzed in that position, and he couldn’t pull it back. At the same time a wide crack appeared in the altar, and the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had predicted in his message from the LORD.

The king cried out to the man of God, “Please ask the LORD your God to restore my hand again!” So the man of God prayed to the LORD, and the king’s hand became normal again.

Then the king said to the man of God, “Come to the palace with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift.”

But the man of God said to the king, “Even if you gave me half of everything you own, I would not go with you. I would not eat any food or drink any water in this place. For the LORD gave me this command: ‘You must not eat any food or drink any water while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’” So he left Bethel and went home another way.

As it happened, there was an old prophet living in Bethel, and his sons came home and told him what the man of God had done in Bethel that day. They also told him what he had said to the king. The old prophet asked them, “Which way did he go?” So they told their father which road the man of God had taken. “Quick, saddle the donkey,” the old man said. And when they had saddled the donkey for him, he rode after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak tree.

The old prophet asked him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

“Yes,” he replied, “I am.”

Then he said to the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some food.”

“No, I cannot,” he replied. “I am not allowed to eat any food or drink any water here in this place. For the LORD gave me this command: ‘You must not eat any food or drink any water while you are there, and do not return to Judah by the same way you came.’”

But the old prophet answered, “I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this message from the LORD: ‘Bring him home with you, and give him food to eat and water to drink.’” But the old man was lying to him. So they went back together, and the man of God ate some food and drank some water at the prophet’s home.

Then while they were sitting at the table, a message from the LORD came to the old prophet. He cried out to the man of God from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: You have defiled the LORD’s message and have disobeyed the command the LORD your God gave you. You came back to this place and ate food and drank water where he told you not to eat or drink. Because of this, your body will not be buried in the grave of your ancestors.”

Now after the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet saddled his own donkey for him, and the man of God started off again. But as he was traveling along, a lion came out and killed him. His body lay there on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. People came by and saw the body lying in the road and the lion standing beside it, and they went and reported it in Bethel, where the old prophet lived.

When the old prophet heard the report, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the LORD’s command. The LORD has fulfilled his word by causing the lion to attack and kill him.”

Then the prophet said to his sons, “Saddle a donkey for me.” So they saddled a donkey, and he went out and found the body lying in the road. The donkey and lion were still standing there beside it, for the lion had not eaten the body nor attacked the donkey. So the prophet laid the body of the man of God on the donkey and took it back to the city to mourn over him and bury him. He laid the body in his own grave, crying out in grief, “Oh, my brother!”

Afterward the prophet said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried. Lay my bones beside his bones. For the message the LORD told him to proclaim against the altar in Bethel and against the pagan shrines in the towns of Samaria will surely come true.”

But even after this, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil ways. He continued to choose priests from the rank and file of the people. Anyone who wanted to could become a priest for the pagan shrines. This became a great sin and resulted in the destruction of Jeroboam’s kingdom and the death of all his family.

Psalms 78:35-41

Then they remembered that God was their rock, that their redeemer was the Most High. But they followed him only with their words; they lied to him with their tongues. Their hearts were not loyal to him. They did not keep his covenant. Yet he was merciful and forgave their sins and didn’t destroy them all. Many a time he held back his anger and did not unleash his fury! For he remembered that they were merely mortal, gone in a moment like a breath of wind, never to return. Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the desert and grieved his heart in the wilderness. Again and again they tested God’s patience and frustrated the Holy One of Israel.

1 Kings 22:10-38

King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, dressed in their royal robes, were sitting on thrones at the threshing floor near the gate of Samaria. All of Ahab’s prophets were prophesying there in front of them. One of them, Zedekiah son of Kenaanah, made some iron horns and proclaimed, “This is what the LORD says: With these horns you will gore the Arameans to death!”

All the other prophets agreed. “Yes,” they said, “go up to Ramoth-gilead and be victorious, for the LORD will give you victory!”

Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah said to him, “Look, all the prophets are promising victory for the king. Be sure that you agree with them and promise success.”

But Micaiah replied, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will say only what the LORD tells me to say.”

When Micaiah arrived before the king, Ahab asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead or not?”

And Micaiah replied, “Go right ahead! The LORD will give the king a glorious victory!”

But the king replied sharply, “How many times must I demand that you speak only the truth when you speak for the LORD?”

So Micaiah told him, “In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, “Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace.’”

“Didn’t I tell you?” the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat. “He does it every time. He never prophesies anything but bad news for me.”

Then Micaiah continued, “Listen to what the LORD says! I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the armies of heaven around him, on his right and on his left. And the LORD said, ‘Who can entice Ahab to go into battle against Ramoth-gilead so that he can be killed there?’ There were many suggestions, until finally a spirit approached the LORD and said, ‘I can do it!’

            “ ‘How will you do this?’ the LORD asked.

            “And the spirit replied, ‘I will go out and inspire all Ahab’s prophets to speak lies.’

            “ ‘You will succeed,’ said the LORD, ‘Go ahead and do it.’

            “So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of your prophets. For the LORD has determined disaster for you.”

Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah walked up to Micaiah and slapped him across the face. “When did the Spirit of the LORD leave me to speak to you?” he demanded.

And Micaiah replied, “You will find out soon enough when you find yourself hiding in some secret room!”

King Ahab of Israel then ordered, “Arrest Micaiah and take him back to Amon, the governor of the city, and to my son Joash. Give them this order from the king: ‘Put this man in prison, and feed him nothing but bread and water until I return safely from the battle!’”

But Micaiah replied, “If you return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me!” Then he added to those standing around, “Take note of what I have said.”

So the King of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah led their armies against Ramoth-gilead. Now King Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “As we go into battle, I will disguise myself so no one will recognize me, but you wear your royal robes.” So Ahab disguised himself, and they went into battle.

Now the king of Aram had issued these orders to his thirty-two charioteers: “Attack only the king of Israel!” So when the Aramean charioteers saw Jehoshaphat in his royal robes, they went after him. “There is the kign of Israel!” they shouted. But when Jehoshaphat cried out, the charioteers realized he was not the king of Israel, and they stopped chasing him.

An Aramean soldier, however, randomly shot an arrow at the Israelite troops, and the arrow hit the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. “Get me out of here!” Ahab groaned to the driver of his chariot. “I have been badly wounded!” The battle raged all that day, and Ahab was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. The blood from his wound ran down to the floor of his chariot, and as evening arrived he died. Just as the sun was setting, the cry ran through his troops: “It’s all over – return home!”

So the king died, and his body was taken to Samaria and buried there. Then his chariot was washed beside the pool of Samaria, where the prostitutes bathed, and dogs came and licked the king’s blood, just as the LORD had promised.

2 Chronicles 18:9-34

King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, dressed in their royal robes, were sitting on thrones at the threshing floor near the gate of Samaria. All of Ahab’s prophets were prophesying there in front of them. One of them, Zedekiah son of Kenaanah, made some iron horns and proclaimed, “This is what the LORD says: With these horns you will gore the Arameans to death!”

All the other prophets agreed. “Yes,” they said, “go up to Ramoth-gilead and be victorious. The LORD will give you a glorious victory!”

Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah said to him, “Look, all the prophets are promising victory for the king. Be sure that you agree with them and promise success.”

But Micaiah replied, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will say only what my God tells me to say.”

When Micaiah arrived before the king, Ahab asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead or not?”

And Micaiah replied, “Go right ahead! It will be a glorious victory!”

But the king replied sharply, “How many times must I demand that you speak only the truth when you speak for the LORD?”

So Micaiah told him, “In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, “Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace.”

“Didn’t I tell you?” the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat. “He does it every time. He never prophesies anything but bad news for me.”

Then Micaiah continued, “Listen to what the LORD says! I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the armies of heaven on his right and on his left. And the LORD said, ‘Who can entice King Ahab of Israel to go into battle against Ramoth-gilead so that he can be killed there?’ There were many suggestions, until finally a spirit approached the LORD and said, ‘I can do it!’

            “How will you do this?” the LORD asked.

            “And the spirit replied, ‘I will go out and inspire all Ahab’s prophets to speak lies.’

            “You will succeed,’ said the LORD, ‘Go ahead and do it.’

            “So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of your prophets. For the LORD has determined disaster for you.”

Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah walked up to Micaiah and slapped him across the face. “When did the Spirit of the LORD leave me to speak to you?” he demanded.

And Micaiah replied, “You will find out soon enough, when you find yourself hiding in some secret room!”

King Ahab of Israel then ordered, “Arrest Micaiah and take him back to Amon, the governor of the city, and to my son Joash. Give them this order from the king: ‘Put this man in prison, and feed him nothing but bread and water until I return safely from the battle!”

But Micaiah replied, “If you return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me!” Then he added to those standing around, “Take note of what I have said.”

So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah led their armies against Ramoth-gilead. Now King Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “As we go into battle, I will disguise myself so no one will recognize me, but you wear your royal robes.” So Ahab disguised himself, and they went into battle.

Now the king or Aram had issued these orders to his charioteers: “Attack only the king of Israel!” So when the Aramean charioteers saw Jehoshaphat in his royal robes, they went after him. “There is the King of Israel!” they shouted. But Jehoshaphat cried out to the LORD to save him, and God helped him by turning the attack away from him. As soon as the charioteers realized he was not the king of Israel, they stopped chasing him.

An Aramean soldier, however, randomly shot an arrow at the Israelite troops, and the arrow hit the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. “Get me out of here!” Ahab groaned to the driver of his chariot. “I have been badly wounded!” The battle raged all that day, and Ahab propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then, just as the sun was setting, he died.

Psalm 31:18

May their lying lips be silenced- those proud and arrogant lips that accuse the godly.

Psalm 52

You call yourself a hero, do you?

Why boast about this crime of yours, you who have disgraced God’s people?

All day long you plot destruction.

Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor; you’re an expert at telling lies.

You love evil more than good and lies more than truth.

You love to say things that harm others, you liar!

But God will strike you down once and for all.

He will pull you from your home and drag you from the land of the living.

The righteous will see it and be amazed.

They will laugh and say, “Look what happens to mighty warriors who do not trust in God.

They trust their wealth instead and grow more and more bold in their wickedness.”

But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God.

I trust in God’s unfailing love forever and ever.

I will praise you forever, O God, for what you have done.

I will wait for your mercies in the presence of your people.

Psalm 59

Rescue me from my enemies, O God.

Protect me from those who have come to destroy me.

Rescue me from these criminals;

save me from these murderers.

They have set an ambush for me.

Fierce enemies are out there waiting,

though I have done them no wrong, O LORD.

Despite my innocence, they prepare to kill me.

Rise up and help me! Look on my plight!

O LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel,

rise up to punish hostile nations.

Show no mercy to wicked traitors.

They come at night,

snarling like vicious dogs

as they prowl the streets.

Listen to the filth that comes from their mouths,

the piercing swords that fly from their lips.

“Who can hurt us?” they sneer.

But LORD, you laugh at them.

You scoff at all the hostile nations.

You are my strength; I wait for you to rescue me,

for you, O God, are my place of safety.

In his unfailing love, my God will come and help me.

He will let me look down in triumph on all my enemies.

Don’t kill them, for my people soon forget such lessons;

stagger them with your power, and bring them to their knees,

O Lord our shield.

Because of the sinful things they say,

            because of the evil that is on their lips,

let them be captured by their pride,

           their curses, and their lies.

Destroy them in your anger!

Wipe them out completely!

Then the whole world will know

that God reigns in Israel.

My enemies come out at night,

snarling like vicious dogs

as they prowl the streets.

They scavenge for food

but go to sleep unsatisfied.

But as for me, I will sing about your power.

I will shout with joy each morning

because of your unfailing love.

For you have been my refuge,

a place of safety in the day of distress.

O my Strength, to you I sing praises,

for you, O God, are my refuge,

the God who shows me unfailing love.

Psalm 109

O God, whom I praise,

don’t stand silent and aloof

while the wicked slander me

            and tell lies about me.

They are all around me with their hateful words,

            and they fight against me for no reason.

I love them, but they try to destroy me – even as I am praying for them!

They return evil for good,

and hatred for my love.

Arrange for an evil person to turn on him.

Send an accuser to bring him to trial.

When his case is called for judgment,

let him be pronounced guilty.

Count his prayers as sins.

Let his years be few;

let his position be given to someone else.

May his children become fatherless,

and may his wife become a widow.

May his children wander as beggars;

may they be evicted from their ruined homes.

May creditors seize his entire estate,

and strangers take all he has earned.

Let no one be kind to him;

let no one pity his fatherless children.

May all his offspring die.

May his family name be blotted out in a single generation.

May the LORD never forget the sins of his ancestors;

may his mother’s sins never be erased

from the record.

May these sins always remain before the LORD,

but may his name be cut off from human memory;

For he refused all kindness to others;

he persecuted the poor and needy,

and he hounded the brokenhearted to death.

He loved to curse others;

now you curse him.

He never blessed others;

now don’t you bless him.

Cursing is as much a part of him as his clothing,

or as the water he drinks,

or the rich food he eats.

Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing;

may they be tied around him like a belt.

May those curses become the LORD’s punishment for my accusers

who are plotting against my life.

But deal well with me, O Sovereign LORD,

for the sake of your own reputation!

Rescue me because you are so faithful and good.

For I am poor and needy,

and my heart is full of pain.

I am fading like a shadow at dusk;

I am falling like a grasshopper that is brushed aside.

My knees are weak from fasting,

and I am skin and bones.

I am an object of mockery to people everywhere;

when they see me, they shake their heads.

Help me, O LORD my God!

Save me because of your unfailing love.

Let them see that this is your doing,

that you yourself have done it, LORD.

Then let them curse me if they like,

but you will bless me!

When they attack me, they will be disgraced!

But I, your servant, will go right on rejoicing!

Make their humiliation obvious to all;

clothe my accusers with disgrace.

But I will give repeated thanks to the LORD,

praising him to everyone.

For he stands beside the needy,

ready to save them from those who condemn them.

Psalm 119:27-39

Help me understand the meaning of your commandments,

and I will meditate on your wonderful miracles.

I weep with grief;

encourage me by your word.

Keep me from lying to myself;

give me the privilege of knowing your law.

I have chosen to be faithful;

I have determined to live by your laws.

I cling to your decrees.

LORD, don’t let me be put to shame!

If you will help me,

I will run to follow your commands.

Teach me, O LORD,

to follow every one of your principles.

Give me understanding and I will obey your law;

I will put it into practice with all my heart,

Make me walk along the path of your commands,

for that is where my happiness is found.

Give me an eagerness for your decrees;

do not inflict me with love for money!

Turn my eyes from worthless things,

and give me life through your word.

Reassure me of your promise,

which is for those who honor you.

Help me abandon my shameful ways;

your laws are all I want in life.

Psalm 120

I took my troubles to the LORD;

I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.

Rescue me, O LORD, from liars and from all deceitful people.

O deceptive tongue, what will God do to you?

            How will he increase your punishment?

You will be pierced with sharp arrows

            and burned with glowing coals.

How I suffer among these scoundrels of Meshech!

It pains me to live with these people from Kedar!

I am tired of living here

among people who hate peace.

As for me, I am for peace;

but when I speak, they are for war!

Proverbs 6:16-19

There are six things the LORD hates – no seven things he detests:

haughty eyes,

a lying tongue,

hands that kill the innocent,

a heart that plots evil,

feet that race to do wrong,

a false witness who pours out lies,

a person who sows discord among brothers.

Proverbs 10:18

To hide hatred is to be a liar; to slander is to be a fool.

Proverbs 12:22

The LORD hates those who don’t keep their word, but he delights in those who do.

Proverbs 21:6

Wealth created by lying is a vanishing mist and a deadly trap.

Proverbs 26:28

A lying tongue hates its victims, and flattery causes ruin.

Isaiah 30:8-17

Now go and write down these words concerning Egypt. They will then stand until the end of time as a witness to Israel’s unbelief. For these people are stubborn rebels who refuse to pay any attention to the LORD’s instructions.

They tell the prophets, “Shut up!” We don’t want any more of your reports. “They say, “Don’t tell us the truth. Tell us nice things. Tell us lies. Forget all this gloom. We have heard more than enough about your ‘Holy One of Israel.’ We are tired of listening to what he has to say.”

This is the reply of the Holy One of Israel: “Because you despise what I tell you and trust instead in oppression and lies, calamity will come upon you suddenly. It will be like a bulging wall that bursts and falls. In an instant it will collapse and come crashing down. You will be smashed like a piece of pottery – shattered so completely that there won’t be a piece left that is big enough to carry coals from a fireplace or a little water from the well.”

The Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says, “Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle. ‘But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you! One of them will make all of you flee. You will be left like a lonely flagpole on a distant mountaintop.”

Isaiah 32:1-8

Look , a righteous king is coming! And honest princes will rule under him. He will shelter Israel from the storm and the wind. He will refresh her as a river in the desert and as the cool shadow of a large rock in a hot and weary land. Then everyone who can see will be looking for God, and those who can hear will listen to his voice. Even the hotheads among them will be full of sense and understanding. Those who stammer in uncertainty will speak out plainly.

In that day ungodly fools will not be heroes. Wealthy cheaters will not be respected as outstanding citizens. Everyone will recognize ungodly fools for what they are. They spread lies and give no water to the thirsty. The smooth tricks of evil people will be exposed, including all the lies they use to oppress the poor in the courts. But good people will be generous to others and will be blessed for all they do.

Isaiah 59

Listen! The LORD is not too weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call. But there is a problem – your sins have cut you off from God. Because of your sin, he has turned away and will not listen anymore. Your hands are filthy with sin. Your mouth is full of lies, and your lips are tainted with corruption.

No one cares about being fair and honest. Their lawsuits are based on lies. They spend their time plotting evil deeds and then doing them. They spend their time and energy spinning evil plans that end up in deadly actions. They cheat and shortchange everyone. Nothing they do is productive; all their activity is filled with sin. Violence is their trademark. Their feet run to do evil, and they rush to commit murder. They think only about sinning. Wherever they go, misery and destruction follow them. They do not know what true peace is or what it means to be just and good. They continually do wrong, and those who follow them cannot experience a moment’s peace.

It is because of all this evil that deliverance is far from us. That is why God doesn’t punish those who injure us. No wonder we are in darkness when we expected light. No wonder we are walking in gloom. No wonder we grope like blind people and stumble along. Even at brightest noontime, we fall down as though it were dark. No wonder we are like corpses when compared to vigorous young men! We growl like hungry bears; we moan like mournful doves. We look for justice, but it is nowhere to be found. We look to be rescued, but it is far away from us. For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are. We know that we have rebelled against the LORD. We have turned our backs on God. We know how unfair and oppressive we have been, carefully planning our deceitful lies. Our courts oppose people who are righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth falls dead in the streets, and fairness has been outlawed. Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who tries to live a godly life is soon attacked.

The LORD looked and was displeased to find that there was no justice. He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his mighty power and justice. He put on righteousness as his body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with the robes of vengeance and godly fury. He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes in distant lands. Then at last they will respect and glorify the name of the LORD throughout the world. For he will come like a flood tide driven by the breath of the LORD.

“The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem,” says the LORD, “to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins. And this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the LORD, have spoken!

If there is one thing that I believe that our society is really lacking today, is this one thing “Fear of the LORD.” I personally believe that this is the reason that we have such chaos in our streets today. Since the internet has come into existence our world has changed phenomenally in last few decades and I would not say that it has changed for the better. Technology has indeed put the entire world at your finger tips and the whole rest of the world also. We hear about all of these hackers getting into websites from around the world and causing all sorts of havoc for our society alone. Some of these people are all the way on the other side of the world and they believe that there is no accountability. Well, that might be what they think, but I have news for them. God is everywhere and sees and knows everything. If people really knew this and believed it the world would be like heaven on earth. But obviously they do not and they continue to sin against their fellow man. Psalm 36:1 says, “Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God to restrain them.

Fear of the LORD has many benefits! It gives life, security, and protection from harm. It teaches a person to be wise. It is the beginning of wisdom. It lengthens your life. It is the beginning of knowledge. All who have fear of the LORD will hate evil. And it says that evil is avoided by having fear of the LORD.

I want to address the word fear in Scripture, it is typically interpreted in two different ways. The first is like the definition that we typically think of “to be scared”, the second is translated “in reverence of”. To revere someone is to be in total respect of who they are and give them that respect. It is like someone that you look up to and want to please.

I personally fear the LORD “am scared of”, but not because I am afraid of Him, but I do realize that it is His decision of how long I live, the quality of what kind of life I live and where I spend my eternity. As He puts it in Scripture, do not fear man, for he can only kill the body, but fear God for He can condemn the soul, which is the second death that is spoken about in the Book of Revelation. This last Scripture quote was a paraphrase. Then I also fear the LORD, the other way that it is translated. I am so happy that He revealed Himself to me and I know that I am going to spend eternity with Him in heaven that I want to please Him now also, before I get up there. I do what He has commissioned us to do and that is to preach the gospel message and make disciples of men. What a privilege to be able to be involved with the Creator of the entire Universe!!! To know if I die tomorrow that I will wake up in His presence with the assurance of knowing that my name is written in the Book of Life! This is why I fear the LORD. I pray that you have not hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD, because if you have there will be dire consequences to pay, you will read about them in this study and you might want to reconsider your decision. I hope that God blesses you with fear of the LORD and that it catches onto others around you so that our society will get back in order. God does not want you to really fear Him, but He does want you to have a relationship with Him and in order to have a healthy relationship there definitely has to be a certain level of respect. So I hope that you cry out to God to get to know Him and once you know Him you will automatically fear Him, because He is so good!!! Well, I pray that this study enlightens you to who God is and He reveals to you what He wants to do for you, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Proverbs 19:23

Fear of the LORD gives life, security, and protection from harm.

Proverbs 15:16

It is better to have little with fear of the LORD than to have great treasure with turmoil.

Proverbs 15:33

Fear of the LORD teaches a person to be wise; humility precedes honor.

Proverbs 14:26

Those who fear the LORD are secure; he will be a place of refuge for their children.

Proverbs 16:6

Unfailing love and faithfulness cover sin; evil is avoided by fear of the LORD.

Proverbs 2:1-5

My child, listen to me and treasure my instructions. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight and understanding. Search for them as you would for lost money or hidden treasure. Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God.

Proverbs 1:7

Fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. Only fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Proverbs 1:20-33

Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square. She calls out to the crowds along the main street, and to those in front of city hall. “You simpletons!” she cries. “How long will you go on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools fight the facts? Come here and listen to me! I’ll pour out the spirit of wisdom upon you and make you wise.

“I called you so often, but you didn’t come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention. You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered. So I will laugh when you are in trouble! I will mock you when disaster overtakes you – when calamity overcomes you like a storm, when you are engulfed by trouble, and when anguish and distress overwhelm you.

“I will not answer when they cry for help. Even though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me. For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD. They rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them. That is why they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way. They must experience the full terror of the path they have chosen. For they are simpletons who turn away from me – to death. They are fools, and their own complacency will destroy them. But all who listen to me will live in peace and safety, unafraid of harm.”

Proverbs 9:10

Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding.

Proverbs 8:13

All who fear the LORD will hate evil. That is why I hate pride, arrogance, corruption, and perverted speech.

Proverbs 10:27

Fear of the LORD lengthens one’s life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.

Psalms 36:1

Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God to restrain them.

Leviticus 19:32

“Show your fear of the God by standing up in the presence of elderly people and showing respect for the aged. I am the LORD.

 

 

This Psalm is dedicated to all of our American Soldiers around the world who are faithfully protecting the world from Evil. This ministry prays a hedge of protection around every one of our soldiers that are about!!!

I read an article years ago about a platoon that would get up every morning before their missions and quote verbatim Psalm 91, and during their entire tour not one of their soldiers were killed. I do have to say that there is power in prayer and I know that the LORD ALMIGHTY is our protector. I hope that our men and women in the military memorize this Psalm and that the LORD honors their prayers!!! May God Bless You and keep you throughout your duty and may you come to know Him in an intimate way, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 Psalm 91

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High

            will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

This I declare of the LORD:

            He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;

            he is my God, and I am trusting him.

For he will rescue you from every trap

            and protect you from the fatal plague.

He will shield you with his wings.

            He will shelter you with his feathers.

            His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,

            nor fear the dangers of the day,

nor dread the plague that stalks in darkness,

            nor the disaster that strikes at midday.

Though a thousand fall at your side,

            though ten thousand are dying around you,

            these evils will not touch you.

But you will see it with your eyes;

            you will see how the wicked are punished.

 

If you make the LORD your refuge,

            if you make the Most High your shelter,

no evil will conquer you;

            no plague will come near your dwelling.

For he orders his angels

            to protect you wherever you go.

They will hold you with their hands

            to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.

You will trample down lions and poisonous snakes;

            you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

 

The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me.

            I will protect those who trust in my name.

When they call on me, I will answer;

            I will be with them in trouble.

            I will rescue them and honor them.

I will satisfy them with a long life

            and give them my salvation.”