 |
Visit the Walking In Truth Archives
|
|
Esek
What would cause a
young man to compete and contend with his uncle over the expanse
of the land laid out before them?
What would cause a
nation of people to stop up a Hebrew's wells that he rightfully
inherited from his father?
What would cause a
prosperous man to withhold his goods from those who were a
blessing unto him?
The answer is
Strife!
What exactly is strife?
There are two basic ideas behind this term - Selfish
Ambition and Contentiousness.
It involves the desire for personal gain...the desire to put
oneself forward - being selfish or self-promoting...as well as
the contest for superiority or advantage over others.
It also entails conflict, dissension, friction,
disagreement, and angry contention.
What causes such strife among
us in the first place?
T.S. Eliot said - "Most of the trouble
in the world is caused by people wanting to be important."
A. W. Tozer also said - "The itch to
have preeminence is one disease for which no natural cure has
ever been found."
The Scriptures delineate eight basic causes
for strife -
#1 Hatred
Proverbs 10:12
says - "Hatred
stirreth up strifes..."
#2 Pride
Proverbs 13:10 says - "Only
by pride cometh contention..."
Proverbs 28:25
adds - "He
that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife..."
#3 Wrath
Proverbs 15:18 says - "A
wrathful man stirreth up strife..."
Proverbs 30:33 says - "Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife." Proverbs 29:22 adds - "An angry man stirreth up strife..."
#4 Forwardness
Proverbs 16:28 says - "A
froward man soweth strife..."
#5 A Contentious Disposition
Proverbs 26:21 says - "As
coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a
contentious man to kindle strife."
#6 Talebearing
Proverbs 26:20 says - "Where
no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no
talebearer, the strife ceaseth."
#7 Scorning
Proverbs
22:10 says - "Cast out the scorner,
and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall
cease."
#8 Lusts
James 4:1
says - "From whence come wars and fightings
among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in
your members?"
In summary - hatred...he that is of a proud and greedy
heart...and a wrathful, angry, or hot-tempered man - are said to
stir up strife.
What
does it mean - "to stir up strife"?
The following people or conditions awake or rouse to action
controversy, disputes, quarrels, and contentions.
A froward or dishonest man sows strife wherever he goes. In
other words, like a farmer who sows seeds for the harvest, this
deceitful man is said to cast, throw, or shoot out contention
everywhere by his words and crafty ways.
The quarrelsome person and the slanderer love to keep the fires
of contention burning. They kindle or inflame disputes by adding
words which serve as coals added to burning coals or wood added
to an already burning fire.
The mocker or frivolous person also agitates controversy. Cast
him out of your company and remarkably all strife will stop.
Lastly, lusts and the inability to fulfill these lusts cause
people to be miserable, frustrated, and contentious - especially
with those who stand in their way of finding fulfillment.
Did
you ever notice in the Scriptures how
envying and strife are oftentimes listed side by side?
For instance, Philippians 1:15 tells us - "Some
indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife..."
Romans 13:13 tells us - "Let
us walk honestly, as in the day...not in strife and envying."
1 Corinthians 3:3 says - "For
ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and
strife..."
2 Corinthians 12:20 adds - "For
I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I
would... lest there be...envyings...strifes..."
Then we come to the Book of James where we find the same
coupling of words - "But
if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts...For where
envying and strife is..."(James
3:14,16).
In his Commentary on these particular verses in the Book of
James, Matthew Henry states that
envying usually comes first and excites
strife.
Dakes' Annotated Bible says that
envy deals more with the state of the soul and
is reflected in the thought life, whereas strife
is manifested oftentimes through our words to others.
Since our thoughts do produce our words, it does make sense to
say that a jealous thought many times activates contentious and
argumentative words. These, in turn, produce
"confusion and every evil
work"(James
3:16). In other words, envy and strife set the
stage for such tumult, unquietness, disunion, division, and
instability as well as anything and everything wicked under the
shining sun to be manifested.
That is why the Apostle James said to those who have
envy and strife in their hearts - "glory
not"(James 3:14). Don't boast or gloat over it!
Proverbs 17:19 tells us that a man or a woman
who loves strife actually
loves and delights in sin.
Proverbs 20:3 relates that -
"It is an honor for a man to cease from
strife: but every fool will be meddling."
The Scripture calls everyone a
"fool" who starts
arguments and calls the man honorable who gladly avoids them.
Remember the three questions asked
at the beginning of this message?
Who was the nephew contending with his uncle over land? It was
Lot.
Genesis 13:7 tells us - "And
there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the
herdmen of Lot's cattle..."
Lot was filled with Selfish Ambition. This was evidenced by his
choice of "all the plain of
Jordan..." which was
"well watered every where"(Genesis
13:10). He never thought to share this
"well watered"
land with his uncle Abram.
Abram, on the other hand, was honorable in that he stopped the
contention immediately -
"...Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and
thee...separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take
the left hand, then I will go to the right..."(Genesis
13:8-9).
Who was
the Hebrew whose wells of inheritance were being stopped up by
the enemy?
It was Isaac.
Genesis 26:12-22 relates the account of the
Philistines' strivings with him.
Verse 14 describes him as being a very wealthy
man - "...he had possession of
flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants..."
This would have been great, but the Scripture goes on to say
that - "...the Philistines
envied him"(Genesis
26:14).
Verse 20 tells us the outcome -
"And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with
Isaac's herdmen..."
Remember the Apostle James told us -
"For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and
every evil work"(James
3:16).
We find such evil in these Philistines as they ruthlessly stole
well after well from Isaac and filled them with earth. Then when
he found water in the valley of Gerar, they strove
with him and said -
"...The water is ours..."(Genesis
26:20). He
"called the name of the well Esek..."
meaning
quarrel or contention - "...
because they strove with him"(Genesis
26:20).
Nonetheless, he proved that he was an honorable man who ceases
from strife. Every time the Philistines strove
with him over a well that he himself dug, he went onward until
God intervened and made room for him and gave him a well of his
very own.
Isaac obeyed the Scriptural principle which says - "Let
nothing be done through strife or vainglory...."(Philippians
2:3). God honored him by removing the enemy out
of his way and giving him a well of his own. Proverbs
16:7 tells us - "When
a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be
at peace with him."
Lastly, who was the prosperous man
who rewarded evil for good to those who protected his
sheepherders?
1 Samuel 25:25 identifies him -
"...Nabal is his name, and folly is with
him..."
He is a perfect example of -
"...every fool will be meddling" - as
mentioned in Proverbs 20:3.
Nabal agitated a controversy between himself and David. This
contention was caused by his own pride... deceitful and scornful
ways...as well as the lust, greed, and covetousness in his
heart. He was most likely jealous of David. This jealousy led to
strife, and the strife
led to every evil work - the
"love of money" which is
"the root of all evil"(1
Timothy 6:10)..
His final outcome - "...the
LORD smote Nabal, that he died"(1
Samuel 25:38).
D.L. Moody once said - "Strife is
knocking another down; vainglory is setting oneself up."
Is it any wonder that the Apostle Paul said in
Philippians 2:3 - "Let
nothing be done through strife or vainglory..."
The Apostle James added - "But
if ye have...strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not
against the truth...For where envying and strife is, there is
confusion and every evil work"
(James 3:14,16).
In closing, we quote a man by the name of William Secker who
once said - "Where Self is the
end of our actions, there Satan is rewarder of them."
We ask you -
What is the end of
your actions and who is the rewarder of them?
May God Bless His Word.
Connie
| © COPYRIGHT Connie Giordano - All Rights Reserved
