Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Boasting » What not to boast of
For you do not know what a day may bring.
Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city and spend a year there and carry on our business and make money. Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen tomorrow. What is the nature of your life? You are [really] but a wisp of vapor (a puff of smoke, a mist) that is visible for a little while and then disappears [into thin air]. You ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing, we shall live and we shall do this or that [thing]. read more.
But as it is, you boast [falsely] in your presumption and your self-conceit. All such boasting is wrong.
But as it is, you boast [falsely] in your presumption and your self-conceit. All such boasting is wrong.
death » Preparation for
If you address as Father, the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in [reverent] fear [of Him] and with profound respect for Him throughout the time of your stay on earth.
“Lord, let me know my [life’s] end
And [to appreciate] the extent of my days;
Let me know how frail I am [how transient is my stay here].
In those days [when Sennacherib first invaded Judah] Hezekiah became deathly ill. The prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not recover.’”
[There is no exemption,] but whoever is joined with all the living, has hope; surely a live dog is better than a dead lion.
If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. So then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
For to me, to live is Christ [He is my source of joy, my reason to live] and to die is gain [for I will be with Him in eternity].
For here we have no lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
“O that they were wise, that they understood this,
That they could discern their future and ultimate fate!
“O look away from me, that I may smile and again know joy
Before I depart and am no more.”
So teach us to number our days,
That we may cultivate and bring to You a heart of wisdom.
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) where you are going.
Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun. Yes, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all; yet let him [seriously] remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that comes is vanity (emptiness, falsity, vainglory, and futility)!
For Sheol (the place of the dead) cannot confess and reach out the hand to You, death cannot praise and rejoice in You; they who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness [to Your promises; their probation is at an end, their destiny is sealed]. The living, the living -- "they shall thank and praise You, as I do this day; the father shall make known to the children Your faithfulness and Your truth.
Keep your loins girded and your lamps burning, And be like men who are waiting for their master to return home from the marriage feast, so that when he returns from the wedding and comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately. Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are those servants whom the master finds awake and alert and watching when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will gird himself and have them recline at table and will come and serve them!
Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and we will do this or that.”
Evil » What is evil
Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city and spend a year there and carry on our business and make money. Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen tomorrow. What is the nature of your life? You are [really] but a wisp of vapor (a puff of smoke, a mist) that is visible for a little while and then disappears [into thin air]. You ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing, we shall live and we shall do this or that [thing]. read more.
But as it is, you boast [falsely] in your presumption and your self-conceit. All such boasting is wrong.
But as it is, you boast [falsely] in your presumption and your self-conceit. All such boasting is wrong.
The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma [a soothing, satisfying scent] and the Lord said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intent (strong inclination, desire) of man’s heart is wicked from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.
“For My people have committed two evils:
They have abandoned (rejected) Me,
The fountain of living water,
And they have carved out their own cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That cannot hold water.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it [perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind]? I the Lord search the mind, I try the heart, even to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.
As for the rogue, his weapons are evil;
He conceives wicked plans
To ruin the poor with lies,
Even when the plea of the needy one is just and right.
The Lord saw that the wickedness (depravity) of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination or intent of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually.
Verse Concepts
This evil is in all that is done under the sun, that one fate comes to all. Also, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and afterwards they go to the dead.
There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, like an error which proceeds from the ruler: Folly is set in great dignity and in high places, and the rich sit in low places. I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking like slaves on the earth.
God » Will of, submission to » The rule of every-day life
The world is passing away, and with it its lusts [the shameful pursuits and ungodly longings]; but the one who does the will of God and carries out His purposes lives forever.
Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and we will do this or that.”
natural Life » Described as » Uncertain
Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city and spend a year there and carry on our business and make money. Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen tomorrow. What is the nature of your life? You are [really] but a wisp of vapor (a puff of smoke, a mist) that is visible for a little while and then disappears [into thin air]. You ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing, we shall live and we shall do this or that [thing].
The Surrendered life » Submission to the divine will » The rule of every-day life
The world is passing away, and with it its lusts [the shameful pursuits and ungodly longings]; but the one who does the will of God and carries out His purposes lives forever.
Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and we will do this or that.”
Will » God's, submission to » The rule of every-day life
The world is passing away, and with it its lusts [the shameful pursuits and ungodly longings]; but the one who does the will of God and carries out His purposes lives forever.
Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and we will do this or that.”