Examining The Scripture XCVIII: Blind To Sin

Old Testament prophets most often begin their messages with a critique or criticism of the people/society to whom they are sent or the society they are living within. From a reading of Isaiah 1:2-17, we begin to get a real clear image of the spiritual and moral state of Jerusalem and Judah in the eighth century B.C. that surrounds Isaiah.

The Wickedness of Judah is on display in the first chapter of Isaiah and the Lord is well aware of their sins and transgressions. Right from the outset in verse 2 we have some pretty damning evidences that God is not happy with Israel.

(A) Introduction

(v. 2) "Children have I reared and brought up but they have rebelled against me.” They had been taught and raised in the Law by God, but rebelled

(v. 3) “…but Israel does not know, my people do not understand." Spiritually they are blind

(v. 4) sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity...children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.

(B) Here we really get to the heart of the matter. Israel has turned its back on God and walked the other way (estranged). Not only have they estranged themselves from God, it appears to be active disdain for Him.

(v. 5) “Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel?

(v. 6) “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil.

(C) A pronouncement of Israel’s condition as though they are being diagnosed in a severe state of trauma in a near death situation.

(v. 7-9) “Your country lies desolate”,” cities are burned”,”foreigners devour your land…desolate, overthrown by foreigners.”,”besieged city”.

(D) The descriptions of punishment for Israel’s disobedience is pronounced.

(v. 10 & 11) God’s stamp of authority through His prophet. Burnt carcasses are not going to be satisfactory atonement for what Israel has done. It is clear Israel is now only going through the motions. “Vain offerings” done with repetition of ritualistic practices with absolutely no heart intent behind the offerings to the Lord. God is clearly going to pour out His wrath.

(v.14) Your …”appointed feasts” my soul hates…The feast of first fruits is mentioned in this verse

It has gotten so bad that God will not even allow them/accept raised hands in worship to Him because He will “hide my eyes” from them. When they pray He “will not listen” because their “hands are full of blood”. God knows that nothing they do is done with integrity it is done with selfish motive. They are abusing God’s grace and mercy by this point. One final exhortation to do good and be righteous is mad in the verse 16 and 17 but with Israel’s track record of being a stiff-necked people and their pattern of apostasy the overriding impression is they are in big trouble. They are too corrupt, backslidden and apostate to even realize they are seriously messed up. Like many today they are probably trying to justify their goodness and how they are deserving of accolades and back slaps for their righteousness when the truth couldn’t be farther from them. They are in denial and deluding themselves. God will show them otherwise.

Martin, John., John Walvoord. "Isaiah." Bible Knowledge Commentary Old Testament: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Bible Knowledge). Acambaro: Victor, 1985. 1035-1037. Print.

Examining The Scripture XCVII: Everlasting Love

A comparison / contrast of Song of Songs 4:12-15 and 4:16-5:1. We see a sequence of events in courtship that is consumated in marriage. We then see what kind of romantic relationship the woman would like. In verse 12 (the male) mentions the word “locked” twice and “sealed up”. Gardens are often locked because of pest and intruders. The products of a garden “choice fruits”, “nard plants” are anthropomorphized. The fruits are kept from others...virginity or purity most likely are being referred to here. She has kept herself sealed up maintaining sexual abstinence for her husband until after marriage. Here we see Jesus Christ and the Church. The Church is God’s garden. The seeds that have been sown are ready for harvest so that they can be taken home. “Spices” referred to in v. 14 could be passion or zest for the relationship partner. The male (Solomon) is praising her attractiveness and desirableness. I have to assume from the figurative language that includes “bride” that this is consummation of a marriage. The implication although not explicitly stated is that sexual relations within marriage is acceptable and is to be enjoyed not looked upon as improper. In verses 16 & 5:1 we see the culmination of not wanting to be separated from a mate after marriage whether this means momentary separation like disengaging sexual activity or even from an embrace to carry on the other activities of life and /or the separation that is long term like war or death. It also shows that these two compliment one another. Here too we can also see Christ and the Church to some extent because, If Christ delights in the Church, the Church also delights in Christ.

The woman says: “Put me like a seal over your heart”. Seals were used as identification and ownership. The identity of a person was imprinted into the seal. By saying this she is saying that she wants everyone to know that he is permanently identified with her and as a symbol of this she wants the seals placed in the location where they would be the most significant. Over the heart which in those times was believed to be the center of thoughts and the arm which seem to signify actions and are highly visible. Additionally, the seal is created by a signet ring or [Strong’s H2368: chotham], from a root “to impress” It was sometimes carried by a string on the breast, and would, therefore, be near the heart. So this statement sort of has a double meaning. It is to put a seal on the heart as a seal on a letter to close it and also to impress upon the heart or add gravity to a situation to drive home a point or impress upon someone the importance or significance of something (Pulpit Commentary) .

It is a love and relationship so certain as to be compared to the certainty of “death” and “Sheol” (grave). Of course we then have the key verse about any “true” love. Love comes from the Lord (like a flame), even a love between a man and a woman a husband and wife. The woman submits to the husband and the man submits to Christ. In doing so we do what was planned by God and is stated in the Bible. “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having (BE)cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. Ephesians 5:22-27 (NASB, Bible Gateway [Online]). By comparing this love to the Lord she is saying she wants the love the God wants for all humans. A perfect love based in Him, according to His will. That…is a good thing. Amen!

Examining The Scripture XCVI: Corporeal Senses

You would expect the five physical human senses to manifest themselves in the course of Song of Solomon. If you expect this you will not be disappointed and I will use Song of Solomon 2:3-13 as a case in point. The bulk of Chapter 2 is "physically" descriptive and because of this they have a visceral impact to the reader.

I interpreted this solely from the NIV translation to keep things simple and to avoid rabbit trails. I believe the intent of using sensory images is to better relate to what is being written in the text at a more visceral human level. Some of the descriptions within this book literally “put us in the action” as if we are there. As a matter of fact, comments from She/Beloved (NIV) are directed to the reader.

Taste:

(v. 3) Describes the Lover among men as an apple tree in a forest and he is the fruit of that tree. In other words He/Lover is a rare find. Normally all you find in a forest is hardwoods or evergreens. Obviously the word taste implies intimacy with him or a type of relation. “Delight to sit in his shade” seems to imply that He is the protector and she the protected just as a shade tree protects one from the harsh rays of the sun.

Touch:

(v. 6) Describes embracing (lover holds beloved). Another indicator of a very close intimate relationship. The previpous verse states she is faint with love so the embrace may also be a support or an effort by him to hold here upright, bolster, perhaps even exhort in a relationship.

Hearing:

(v. 8) Listen! (at reader?) He approaches her (see more below in Sight)
(v. 10) My lover spoke (He)…asking her to
(v. 12) season of singing, cooing of doves

Sight:

(v. 8,9) Look! (at reader) He approaches her, she notes his attractive appearance as a “gazelle or a young stag”.

(v. 9) Gazing through windows & lattice: He is also anxious to see her also. There is a reciprocated relationship occurring here. The feelings are mutual. Probably a young love because there appears to be a bit of infatuation (visual and ideological) going on which is common in new relationships. The idealism of the other has not diminished yet. Interestingly, it should be noted that we should always approach Jesus like it is a new relationship (I do) because there will always be something new to find when worshipping and pondering God for eternity. He is infinite…the infatuation of Him will never end. Nice.

(v. 11) See the winter has past (directed at reader) Which means Spring is next in the progression of seasons. Birth or rebirth, blooms, etc. (v. 12) Spring is pleasant to hear, see, smell and the by-products of springtime pollination are the summer fruits which are tasty. This verse covers multiple sensory imputs. Spring also brings the chirping of birds and the sound of cicada and nocturnal warm weather creatures.

Smell:

(v. 13) Smell: Fragrance (vines, directed at reader) Fig trees from what I have read are extremely pleasant to smell. As above in verse 11 there is reference to blossoms flowering and their pleasant smell.

I’ve made every attempt possible not to fall into a pattern of thinking carnally as a Christian. Song of Solomon (Songs) easily lends itself to taking this route and perhaps in some cases it should. I personally chose not to because there is so much more that can be gleaned from the book. To get locked into the human sensuality aspect, which many through history often have, is to undermine the true value of the book and to go against some of what the Bible says about outward appearances since Song of Solomon tends to often dwell on appearances or external attributes rather than what God looks at which is the heart (although “Songs” deals with the heart also). I took the road less travelled on this one. I mentioned it but that is as far as I went with it. Someone else can take that avenue.

Deere, Jack S., John Walvoord. "Song of Songs." Bible Knowledge Commentary Old Testament: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Bible Knowledge). Acambaro: Victor, 1985. 1014-1015. Print.

Examining The Scripture XCV: She, He, Beloved, Lover, Friend & Other

I reviewed the Song of Songs and chose to do it with the NIV version for two reasons. (1) To show that there are definitive differences in English versions sometimes they are the product of poor translation (2) To show in detail who the speakers are and how they interact and a paraphrased version like NIV was best suited for this because of unit titles like "Lover" & "Beloved". This editorial distinction is based on the fact that certain pronouns in Hebrew are different for masculine or feminine gender.

Primarily on the basis of the gender of the Hebrew pronouns used, male and female speakers are indicated in the margins by the captions Lover and Beloved respectively. The labeling of “Friends” is anyone other than these two. The caption to this book also says, in some instances the divisions and their captions are debatable in the NIV. The ESV Beloved is replaced with She, Lover is replaced with He and Friends are replaced with Others. In some cases the ESV drops the designation completely and doesn’t distinguish (example: Ch 2). The NASB refers to the female (Beloved) as Shulammite Bride and/or Jerusalem's Daughters, the male (Lover) is Solomon. What we appear to have is (pun) schizophrenic gender labeling or eisegesis of “jots and tittles” or cantillations. Thank goodness we are not dealing with the TNIV or “gender neutral” Bible…that must have been a real nightmare to transliterate / translate *{chuckle}*. In actuality, the TNIV makes a gender distinction in Song of Solomon . Either way, the English versions are clearly not consistent with labels although the versions I looked at did get the gender correct. What I will say is that this book is a Hebrew song and being so is subject to the possible allegory, literal, or metaphorical interpretation.

There are multiple important meanings and/or distinctions found in this book in reference to the identity of the Beloved and the Lover. I will list four of them.

(1) The Song of Solomon puts forth the glory of wedded love:
(a)The Masculine and Feminine roles would have their normal human gender specific meanings here. When taken in this context there is a sensual/sexual connotation that adds (eh…hmmm) tension to the narrative. In the past it was debated whether or not to even teach this to young men and women until they reached a certain age and maturity level. Origen and Jerome have told us that the Jews would not even allow this to be taught to men until they were 30 yrs old (McGee 143)

(2) The Song of Solomon puts forth the Love or God (Yahweh) for Israel:
(a) The Masculine/He being God and the Feminine/She Israel
(b) The problem with this is that it sexualizes the relation between Jesus and the believer.

(3) The Song of Solomon puts forth the Love and Relationship of Christ and the Church:
(a) The Masculine/Bridegroom being Christ and the Feminine/She is the Church /Bride of Christ

(4) The Song of Solomon puts forth the Relationship and Communion of Christ and Individual Believers:
(a) The Masculine/He being Christ and the Feminine/She the individual

The bottom-line regardless of who HE and SHE are is that this book is about a Divine love or a love that has its under-girding and/or strength drawn from a Divine source, God. If we miss this about this book we have missed the entire point. It is about unity in a relationship between two beings that are unequal or a relationship that would require a compromise on one side. I’ll let you figure which side that would be ;).

Holy Bible: New International Version (NIV). [electronic].

McGee, Dr. J. Vernon. "Song of Solomon-Intro." Thru the Bible, Vol. 3: Proverbs-Malachi. Waco, TX: Thomas Nelson, 1983. 143-144. Print.

The Self & The Selfless: Two

{ This is a continuation of The Self & The Selfless: One }

As stated in the previous post, we as Chrsitians are called to a life of self-denial, self-giving or outright sacrifice. We need to kill off our old selves to do this properly. It is done in three ways.

Death to Sin: The Legal Death

It happens to all Christian by the fact of our union with Jesus Christ, His death and His Resurrection. In this union not only are we forgiven but we also share in the benefits of God’s gift of eternal life but we also share in His death as is symbolized in our baptism. Where we can we must kill the sin in our lives and/or resist it. Sin cannot be free to manifest itself whenever it feels like it wants. You are to control it through a sanctification process with Christ. You are to take captive any thought that is sinful or as 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 states:

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.” 2 Corinthians 10:4-6

Die to Self: The Moral Death

Is is called self-mortification, to denying one’s self or taking up one’s cross. The result is a committed fellowship with a fellow suffering servant. It is not a death that we have done directly to ourselves but rather something that we do to ourselves through the power of the Spirit. We kill our old nature.

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Colossians 3:5-11

Carrying The Death of Christ Within Us: The Physical Death

We must carry the life and the death of Jesus Christ in us so that it is revealed to the world in our bodies.

“…persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” ~ 2 Corinthians 4:9-10.

This is clearly carried out plainly in our bodies. It speaks of our infirmities, weaknesses and our mortality. It is why Paul said, “I die daily” in 1 Corinthians 15:30-31. It is human frailty. The subsequent resurrection is the inward vitality or renewal in a Christian’s life with Jesus that continues to renew us in hope until our last breath.

In Addendum:

I would like to add that this theology is not advocating negative attitude towards humans. Anyone that knows the story of Jesus Christ could ever get the impression that Jesus held humans of low or poor value. How could anyone imply that? If anything just the opposite is true and is shown in the Bible. There is a continued pattern throughout the Old Testament of moral and spiritual failure, punishment and repentance. If Jesus Christ had held people in such low regard why did He make Himself of no accord and humble Himself so greatly, great enough to allow Himself to be humiliated by crucifixion on a cross?


“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11

Jesus’ main mission ended in a death for humanity. How can anyone think that God is holding man in low accord after a sacrificial love like that for humanity? Whatever we do, we should NEVER see us as anything less than God sees us as. Additionally, Jesus during His life went out of His way to approach those that society rejected because He valued them so highly. The disowned, the rejected, the one’s society saw as human refuse, and He honored them. The pimps, the prostitutes, the diseased, the homeless, the broken….you and I.

He became like us in all things except sin. He renounced His position to become like us. Jesus, The King of Kings came down to serve, not to be served.

"...the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." ~Matthew 20:28


Stott, John R. W.. The Cross of Christ. 20 Anv ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006. Print.

The Self & The Selfless: One

Intro:

Jesus told us how we are to view Him, others and ourselves and how we should feel about it too. We are not to allow ourselves to become arrogant and "high and mighty" especially in light of the fact that The One who could've, didn't allow Himself to become that way while He was here on earth, and He did so to serve as an example for us. On the flip side of the coin, we are not just interplanetary refuse spinning around a galactic core, in a vast cosmic void for the sake of giggles either. We have a distinct and apportioned value and purpose given to us by God, Creator of the κόσμος/Kosmos which is by definition an orderly and harmonious system. The One who created the orderly system created its components. A defense for an intelligent creator or intellegence built into the creation itself, even at the macrocosmic level. Even more interesting is that the entire universe, the earth, everything seems as if it was created to support human life, it is called the Anthropic Principle (Doesn't this fact seem to allude to importance given to humans in general? More on this later.)

Low Self Esteem:

The idea of low self-esteem is relatively common today. There are many with crippling inferiority complexes. Sometimes the origin of these issues arose from childhood. Perhaps they arose more recently because of a broken relationship or failed marriage. The pressure of today’s competitive society makes matters worse. When people are politically or economically oppressed, as today in some cases, people feel demeaned and often worthlessness. Racial or sexual prejudices can contribute to inferiority as does the idea of being redundant in a system or organization and released from employment because of this to "downsize". These kinds of oppression can degrade anyone’s confidence. Technology can demote a person’s value also by making job positions unnecessary or they can do a job more accurately more often in an automated process that most of todays manufacturing is geared toward (even men are not).

Inflated Self Esteem:

The other extreme of this takes a pendulous swing in the other direction. The attitude is that you are to be full of yourself, or your sole need is to fulfill yourself; the attitude that life is short and you need to take advantage of it even if it means using and stepping on others. Nothing in life is more important than you. The power in self-affirmation and self-thinking has even transcended the church walls and has infiltrated the church. Feeling good about you is fine. Making yourself the entire and complete focus of your life in the church atmosphere is not. Self-help gurus and even some motivational speakers passing themselves of as pastors in a pulpit tell us that if “we” put “our” minds to something, “we” can do anything. Can someone please tell me where God is in that statement? Today’s culture has created a religion of positive psychology. A worship of self is all over the public theater. Intrinsic goodness of humans is assumed and coddled.

What The Bible Says:

Many Christians have been victimized by both of these "religions" (self belief systems). We are lured into them by the misunderstanding that we are to love ourselves. How so you ask? Many seem to misinterpret Deuteronomy 6:5 where it says to: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” This is later reiterated by Jesus Christ and elaborated on in the New Testament in Luke 10:27, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.” Does it then say love yourself? No, it doesn’t and this is where people make an assumption that is wrong. They read something into the text that is not there...and it burns them badly. Nowhere does it say this in the Bible. Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself, for as Paul said in the context about marriage, no man hates his own body. If we look at the Greek in these verses the word for “love” is [Greek: agapao; agape] or [Hebrew: 'ahab; raheb ]. These loves are loves of self-sacrifice and for the service of others. They cannot therefore be used to refer to one’s self. The idea of sacrificing to love ourselves is ludicrous or at worst narcissistic (clearly not Christian demeanor).

As a matter of fact loving self is kind of counter-Christian. As a Christian we are called to a life of self-denial, self-giving or outright sacrifice and this is a tough pill for many to swallow. Somehow many glance right over Jesus’ statement:

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”. Mark 8:34

So what must we do? What is the imperative, our imperative? We must die to self and commit ourselves wholly to God. Even this is not that easy because there are three different types of deaths and resurrections in a Christian’s life and they need to be distinguished so that they can be recognized for what they are.

Continued in Part Two (next post:------>)

Examining The Scripture XCIV: Stay Focused on What Matters

We will now look at the conclusion to Ecclesiastes in Chapter 12. In particular we will look closely at the fading & waning years of a human life and the penultimate stage of our sanctification before moving on to be with Jesus Christ in glorification. We will wrap with verses 13 & 14 and their single-minded exhortation to focus on God's glory. To stay transfixed on Jesus Christ as a man narrows the gap to the finish line in the course he calls life.

Verses 1 through 5 exhort us to remember God in the days of our youth (while we can enjoy Him). When we will not be suffering the decline of health and the affects of old age like aches, pains, poor sleep, the onset of chronic ailments and disease, etc. Much of the figurative language in verses 1-12 appear to be referring to declining physiological attributes. I have to assume the repeated references to darkness and may be physical manifestations of poor eyesight, blindness or even death itself. “Stooping” could be crippling effect of many injuries over time, osteoporosis or frail bones. “the grinding ones stand idle because they are few” are teeth worn down and painful or a total lack of them. “Men rise up at the sound of birds” notes that older folks have trouble sleeping (bone/joint pain) and are light sleepers (@ 41 I can relate to this one already). “sound of the grinding mill is low” is also obviously denoting deafness or inability to hear because of a lifetime of hearing damage. Verse 6-12 are basically an exhortation to live responsibly and a reiteration that all human accomplishments for human ends for this world are futile.

The verses specified 13 & 14 in the question conclude with the imperative to “fear God and keep His commandments”. Why fear God? We are to fear God because nothing in God’s creation happens without Him knowing about it. So what does that mean? It means God is sovereign...and He is just...which means He must judge us. The second part of verse 13 says, “because this applies to every person” and it makes this statement applicable to all humans. We will all stand in judgment before the Lord some day. If that is the case we are best served by fearing Him with reverential awe and following His commands. By doing this we are more inclined to obey and in so doing less prone to sin.

In a nutshell, although it doesn't say it like this, this passage is exhorting us to run the race as Christians until the end regardless of how hard it gets. To stay the course and never forget why we are running as Christians. We are running to and for the glory of God. By doing this, chances are we are also running with joy in our hearts and we are enjoying the run we are engaged in. Never mind that your knees ache and your feet are sore. :)

Glenn, Donald , John Walvoord. "Ecclesiastes." Bible Knowledge Commentary Old Testament: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Bible Knowledge). Acambaro: Victor, 1985. 1004-1006. Print.

Examining The Scripture XCIII: Random Proverbium

I decided to randomly point (with my finger) to a proverb in Ecclesiastes 10 because chapter 10 is generally agreed to be units of stand alone wisdom listed out and I figured they would all be good to pick from. They are short aphorisms (wisdom literature) dealing with right or wrong choices.

The first thing that strikes you about many of the verses in Ecclesiastes 10 is that they are odd in the dark brooding way that we have come to expect from Ecclesiastes. When I say odd I mean out of the ordinary. They are littered with Hebrew idioms and turns of phrase that are difficult to understand or come across as foreign to modern readers. They are bits of eclectic wisdom that are useful but...seem as though they are viewed from an eccentric point of view. They are Tim Burton-esque (Beetlejuice, Sleepy Hollow). They have a feel that is darker or more pessimistic than many proverbs that you would find elsewhere in the Bible: “fly in ointment”, “dig a pit”, “serpent bites before it is charmed”, “he who splits logs is endangered by them”. The tone turns brighter towards the end but even there I detect a hint of sarcasm such as “money answers everything”. I would have to say that this Chapter is a representative cross-section of Ecclesiastes as a whole: dark in tone, intelligent, useful but inherently odd from my point of view. It is a book that sees the absurdity of life, puzzles over it as if it is a riddle, a riddle with a single and often times subtle and evasive conclusion. God is behind everything in His sovereignty and providence...often times He is hidden from the human eye.

All this being said I feel compelled to pick the most eccentric of the lot. Although it is very useful information and wisdom its contrasting comparison is quite odd. As it was in Ecclesiastes 3 so it is here. These contrasting ideas are antithetical.

So...here it goes.

"Through sloth the roof sinks in, and through indolence the house leaks." Ecclesiastes 10:18

My first thought after reading this was, “---Whaaaa???--- That’s bizarre ---, I don’t get it”. For the life of me I could not understand what verse 18 was talking about. What does sloth and roof sinking have to do with one another. It then dawned on me that this verse has to be taken in context to the previous verses 16 & 17 because this verse is not stand alone or existing here in isolation as I had first thought. As it turns out "groupings of verses" in chapter 10 are isolated wisdom such as v. 16-18 referring to kings/royalty, v.14 & 15 are grouped around the idea of a "fool" which ironically lead into the verses about kings so in a superficial level all the verses from 14-18 contend for the same context: foolish people making foolish decisions as noted in my intro. As for my misunderstanding, this serves as an example of why taking random verses from the Bible out of context is so dangerous. You should always read the surrounding verse or even the entire chapter that a verse resides in to make sure you have a good idea of its context. If you still don't get it, go even wider, read the whole book. Anyway...my finger pointed verse is referring to princes, kings or leaders and carries over to verse 18 (and even resurfaces again in v.20).

In context: Lazy kings or leaders are about as useful as a sagging roof or a roof that leaks. They give the illusion that they are protecting or or keeping you safe but in reality they are about to fall in and allow some of the outside elements inside. This obviously can be interpreted from a spiritual angle also. Slothful spiritual leaders (both mental and physical) can also allow their roofs to sag allowing outside influences into the Church that shouldn't be in it. Additionally, lazy leaders also do nothing to repair rundown conditions of things within their spheres of influence. If let go too long and the deterioration continues the roof will collapse making the abode uninhabitable or unusable. If that abode is a place of worship, that is a nearly unforgivable. Clever.