Text: Habakkuk 2:9-14

 9 Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!   10 Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul. 11 For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. 12 Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity! 13 Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts that the people shall labour in the very fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity? 14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Wednesday, 28^th February 2024

THE SNARE OF GREED

Text: Habakkuk 2:9-14

Memory Verse: 1 Timothy 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

John Ritenbaugh describes greed as a “ruthless self–seeking and an arrogant assumption that others and things exist for one's own benefit.” Ecclesiastes 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. Three of the vanities of wealth are that it does not satisfy; it brings an increase of followers and expenditure; it deprives its owners of sleep. Not only will God punish them at last, but meanwhile the oppressive gainers of "silver" find no solid "satisfaction" in it. The oppressor "eat his own flesh" he is not satisfied with the gain that he makes, that is, a gain which shall turn to his own destruction.

Habakkuk 2: 9 Woe to him that desired an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil. Nebuchadnezzar wished to expand his family and make his empire permanent: but both family and empire were soon cut off by the death of his son Belshazzar, and the consequent destruction of the Chaldean empire. The experiment of building a town with blood, and establishing a city by iniquity, has often been made; but the result has been shame and ruin to those who attempted it in this way to set themselves on high: so it must always be; for God is on the side of the truth, and it is his purpose to make it triumphant throughout the earth.

Jeremiah 22: 13 Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work. Jeremiah 49:16 “Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD”. Obadiah 1: 3 says, “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, who shall bring me down to the ground? 4 Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD”.

Birds like this, though get into the highest cliff of the highest rock, it will not avail thee. To defend thee, when Jehovah has determined thy destruction, thy deepest caves and highest rocks will be equally useless. God, who is in the heavens, would throw them down. When men could not marshal armies against thee, stars should fight in their courses against thee. Nothing can stand whatever God is determined to cast down,

CGDS HYMN 21: SS&S 873:

BLESSED ASSURANCE, JESUS IS MINE

1. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Refrain

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Saviour all the day long.

3.  Perfect submission, perfect delight,

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;

Angels descending, bring from above

Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

4. Perfect submission, all is at rest,

I in my Savior am happy and blest;

Watching and waiting, looking above,

Filled with His goodness, lost in His love

   Prayers:

1.  Lord Jesus, purge me from any iota of greed in me by the blood.

2.  LORD God Almighty, deliver me from any form of greed, and make me a man of contentment, in Jesus’ name. Amen.    

3.  Pray for others in this regard.