May 6, 2008...12:37 am
7.4 Where Are You, And Who Are You With?
Sanballat and Geshem invited Nehemiah to a special meeting of high-level leaders, but Nehemiah knew that he had no business associating with men like them. We should avoid isolation, but we also have to be careful not to put ourselves in harm’s way by going places we shouldn’t go with people we have no business being around.
Far too often, we unnecessarily put ourselves in the way of temptation. As a result, it becomes almost impossible for us not to do the wrong things. Look at Peter, for example. Where was he when he denied the Lord? He was warming himself by the enemy’s fire. He was at the wrong place, listening to the wrong voice, which led him to lie and deny.
And where was Adam when he fell into sin? He was at the tree that God had told him not to eat from. He was listening to the wrong voice (even if it was his wife’s), leading him to give in to his curiosity.
I’m just getting started…
Wrong Place
- What was David doing back at his palace when the kings are supposed to be out at war (2 Samuel 11)?
- Why was the youth who lacked judgment walking in the direction of the adulteress’ house at nighttime (Proverbs 7)?
- What was Samson doing in Timnah looking for Philistine women (Judges 14) or in the valley of Sorek, where he met Delilah (Judges 16)?
Wrong People
- What was Hezekiah thinking when he invited the envoys from Babylon into his storehouses, his armory and his palace to show them all his riches (2 Kings 20)?
- Why did Rehoboam ask his friends for counsel when he already had solid counsel from the elders who had served his father Solomon (1 Kings 12)?
- Why did Solomon (the wisest man who ever lived) act so foolishly by taking 1,000 wives when he knew the law forbade it (1 Kings 11)?
- What convinced Jehoshaphat that allying himself with Ahab through marriage and joining him in war against Ramoth Gilead would be a good idea (2 Chronicles 18)?
- What was Amnon doing getting advice on love from his crafty cousin Jonadab, who encouraged him to rape his own sister (2 Samuel 13)?
When we’re in a place we know we shouldn’t be and we’re with people we know we shouldn’t be with, we are setting ourselves up for a fall. Where are those places, and who are those people for you? Stay far, far away from them. They weaken your resolve. By way of example, let’s look at another man of God who was in the wrong place with the wrong people.
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