Proverbs 28:16 ¶ The prince that wanteth understanding is
also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.
To lack understanding is to lack wisdom.
Deuteronomy 4:6 Keep therefore and do them;
for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations,
which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a
wise and understanding people.
Just a note, things connected by “and” usually
have like meanings or are in the same class but sometimes can be opposites
based on the context. Notice how Paul uses “abound” in his letters if you have
a computer version of the Bible that lets you search words and verses.
Covetousness is idolatry, worshipping things
other than God. For instance, placing something in front of you that is more
important to you than your relationship with Jesus Christ.
Colossians 3:5 Mortify therefore your members
which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil
concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Here, in contrast, it is not being satisfied
with what you have.
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without
covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I
will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
To covet is to lust after something that you
don’t have.
Romans 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law
sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known
lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
The ruler, which is what a prince is, who is
possessed by a spirit of covetousness is oppressive. He’s never satisfied and
always wants more; whether it be wealth for himself or territory and power. We
have seen this many times in history, even over the last century. Leaders like
Hitler were never content with any territory they had but always wanted more,
living space, as he called it in German.
Let this be a lesson for the average Christian. Be content
with what you have if YOU wish to prolong your days. A life of always hungering
for that which you don’t have is not the life God has willed for any of us. It
is sin.
1 Timothy 6:6 ¶ But godliness with
contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is
certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be
therewith content. 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. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while
some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves
through with many sorrows.
Proverbs 28:17 ¶ A man that doeth violence to the blood of
any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him.
When God blessed Noah and his sons after they
left the Ark and gave them permission to eat the flesh of animals for the first
time (compare Genesis 9:3 with Genesis 1:29) He also commanded that, unlike in
His dealings with Cain after the murder of his brother, Abel, He would now
ordain capital punishment for the murder of a man, whether it be by a beast or
a man.
Genesis 9:5 And surely your blood of your lives
will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand
of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. 6
Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of
God made he man.
In fact, the shedding of innocent blood pollutes
a land when justice is not executed.
Numbers 35:33 So ye shall not pollute the
land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be
cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed
it.
And again, with the exception of the cleansing
of the promised land of Canaan from child sacrificing, bestiality loving,
temple prostitute (male and female; the dog and the whore of Deuteronomy 23:18)
using, incestuous degenerates; the Canaanites, God told the Hebrews that they
were not to kill.
Exodus 20:13 (Deuteronomy 5:17) Thou shalt
not kill.
Which the Lord Jesus Christ defined as murder.
Matthew 19:17b ……but if thou wilt enter into
life, keep the commandments. 18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou
shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou
shalt not bear false witness...
Here it is said that the man who commits murder
will flee to his own destruction, the pit.
Psalm 30:3 O LORD, thou hast brought up my
soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the
pit.
Psalm 55:23 But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the
pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their
days; but I will trust in thee.
It is the place of torment, Hell, prepared for
Lucifer (Satan) in his judgment.
Isaiah 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst
weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into
heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the
mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be
brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
And for those angels who chose or choose to
follow him.
Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto
them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels:
[Important doctrinal note for Bible believers
(the rest of you can go back to sleep): The Devil, Satan, aka Lucifer is not a
“fallen” angel but a cherub (Ezekiel 28:14), one of the living spiritual
creatures that are the spiritual prototypes for all living things (Ezekiel 1
and 10; Revelation 4). He has wings and is a reptilian dragon (Job 41;
Revelation 12:9; 20:2; Isaiah 27:1) but can appear as an angel of light to
deceive you as do his preachers (2 Corinthians 11:13-15) and he is the god of
this world system (2 Corinthians 4:4). Angels don’t have wings (compare Daniel
9:21 with Luke 1:19; Revelation 21:17.) If you see an angel with wings start
running….and praying. You’re in big trouble. You might invite an angel into
your house unaware, but I doubt you’d think your guest was just a poor stranger
if he had the big wings of the mythological angels the Roman church borrowed
from Persian Zoroastrianism (Hebrews 13:2). Angels are appearances,
representatives of things and persons that can act as those things and persons
and for all practical purposes are those things and persons. See Judges 2:1 for
an appearance or angel of God; see Matthew 18:10 for angels or appearances of
children, see Acts 12:15 for one reference to an appearance or angel of a man;
and see Revelation 1:20 for appearances or angels of churches.]
This Proverb would say to not prevent the
unrepentant murderer from fleeing to his own destruction. That would be under
the Law of Moses. Under the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ even a murderer
could obtain forgiveness if He called on the name of the Lord. The assumption
here is that he is unrepentant and flees to his own destruction without
receiving the free gift of forgiveness by faith in and trusting in Christ. Let
no man prevent him from his fate then but every murderer in every prison in the
land should hear of Christ’s forgiveness and as much as it might rattle you,
Christ might just decide to save that murderer. It may not be our way but it is
certainly God’s way to forgive, even a murderer, if in sincerity and simplicity
he asks for salvation.
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