Monday, March 26, 2012

Sin is like a warhorse and an eagle

I really enjoy this particular passage in Job.  Perhaps it is the imagery of the war horse i love so much....I can visualize a battle scene in my head and this passage becomes so alive!  In the past i have always enjoyed this passage as a passage of God's divine creation and control over all the earth and it's creatures.  Which has reminded me of who I am and who I am not.   As I came across this passage again in my devotions i read a commentary from matthew henry and he brought out another view of this passage which is awesome!  He talks about sin and how it can be like the warhorse or the eagle as you read further into the passage.  He states that sin makes us act more violent, it also makes us more angry, and makes us more cold towards others....As love from God makes us more humble and caring and sensitive to others sin does the opposite which I know but didnt really think about that much.  Sin also makes us confident in thinking we can hide it from others,  and continue on.  It also makes us continue further on in our course of sin as it is an appetite which we need to feed.  But sin also gives us a false sense of security and then we lose our fear of the wrath of God.  He compares to the eagle and being high up on a cleft and that it is secure up there and from there it can spy on its prey.  So my lesson today i must fear sin....and i must run away from it quickly, as it can deceive me from the fear of my God....
Job 39:19 “Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane? 20 Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrifying. 21 He paws in the valley and exults in his strength; he goes out to meet the weapons. 22 He laughs at fear and is not dismayed; he does not turn back from the sword. 23 Upon him rattle the quiver, the flashing spear, and the javelin. 24 With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground; he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet. 25 When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. 26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars and spreads his wings toward the south? 27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? 28 On the rock he dwells and makes his home, on the rocky crag and stronghold. 29 From there he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it from far away. 30 His young ones suck up blood, and where the slain are, there is he.”
 
The description of the war-horse helps to explain the character of presumptuous sinners. Every one turneth to his course, as the horse rushes into the battle. When a man's heart is fully set in him to do evil, and he is carried on in a wicked way, by the violence of his appetites and passions, there is no making him fear the wrath of God, and the fatal consequences of sin. Secure sinners think themselves as safe in their sins as the eagle in her nest on high, in the clefts of the rocks; but I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord, Jeremiah 49:16. All these beautiful references to the works of nature, should teach us a right view of the riches of the wisdom of Him who made and sustains all things. The want of right views concerning the wisdom of God, which is ever present in all things. (matthew Henry's commentary)

1 comment:

  1. I never thought of that passage like that before. I always thought of it as a "God is in control" (i.e. sovereignty) passage, but now it reminds me of how God used Assyria to judge Israel. In that sense these verses seen in this light may show how God can force us to act to deal with our own personal sin.

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