The Hand of Man

1. The Essence of Man
2. The Oppression of the Poor
3. The Prince
4. The Honored Possession of the People
5. The People’s Inheritance
6. The Reproach of God
7. The Refuge in the Time of Trouble

3. The Prince

When Jesus Christ [WHO is GOD manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16)] came to this earth nearly two thousand years ago HE identified a truth, which truth was established by HIM when HE created the earth, and all that is in it. [Colossians 1:16] It is called: The Laws of Nature and of Nature's God.

Maxim:

All men prosper when men are moved and guided by the laws of God: The Laws of Nature and of Nature's God.

In the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty, Jesus shows the purpose for human government. Are you ready? “But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” [Matthew 20:25-28]

The purpose of human government is to exercise authority over the people for the express purpose of ministering to them … in the similitude of what Jesus Christ performed when in going to the Cross of Calvary to die for the sins of all mankind.

Therefore, the institution of human government exists … as a service … to those who are served … to protect what God has already given to every man, woman and child on the face of this earth: that they [all mankind] are endowed by their Creator with certain rights.

The premise herein is this: All men are created equal, and are to be allowed to enjoy these unalienable Rights. [I will qualify this.]

What are these unalienable Rights? These Rights are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Now mind you, the presence of sin in the world in the hearts and minds of all men has abridged these rights in this present evil world. “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:” [Galatians 1:4].

Therefore, God has provided to us [we who are living in this sin-cursed world] legislation [THE LAW] to guide in all these difficult matters. For example, read Exodus, chapter twenty-one, to see the light God’s BOOK offers in the case of servants, and such like. “If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.” [Exodus 21:2]

Without the abridgement caused by sin it is seen that God had endowed certain unalienable Rights to be enjoyed by all men through Adam.

In time, these Rights, as given to man by God, were intended by God to be preserved through the institution called human government.

[The time for the implementation was the time noted in Genesis chapter nine, verses five and six, which see.]

A study of human government will bring us to the PRINCE.

[The Kingdom of Heaven’s Prince will be a perfect government!]

In the book of Ezekiel chapter, forty-six, verse eighteen, we find this thing concerning “the prince”: “Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.” [Ezekiel 46:18]

We see from this that the “the prince” has a certain role. The “the prince” is to protect the people’s rights to possess their own land, which rights were derived from God, not from “the prince”.

The people of Israel were given “the land” by God, and they were told to go into “the land” and to “possess the land”. The “land” was to be the people’s property. “Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.” [Deuteronomy 1:8]

Now, the “the prince” [as found here in the Scripture] forms, or collects, into a body, a type for the government for any nation or people. It is worthy to note here: The prince is constrained by God to observe and to operate by these truths and to never violate them.

Now here is a question for you?

Are all men really created equal? What saith the Scripture?

In the book of Genesis, chapter eighteen, Abraham testified that he was “but dust and ashes.” All men are formed from dust and ashes: “And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:” [Genesis 18:27].

All men are created equal.

Dust to dust!

All men are formed from the dust of the ground … with God breathing life into the dust to create a living soul. See for this in the book of beginnings, Genesis chapter two, verse seven: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” [Genesis 2:7]

All men are created equal. They are all “dust”!

Man is a living soul!

And there is something else!
All men will return to the dust: “for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” [Genesis 3:19b]

Then, it’s dust to dust for all of us! In this, we are all found to be equal. It cometh for us. We are all going to our long home. [Ecclesiastes 12:5]

Now, there is something else that proves that men are all equal!

We all have sinned!

Scripture saith: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” [Romans 3:23].

There can be no argument about this! It is in the BOOK, and God has said it! All men are created equal. They are all sinners!
There is one more thing!

All men are appointed to die, and it follows, all men will appear at the judgment.

Proof for this?

Why, it’s staring you right in the face! Open up your eyes: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” [Hebrews 9:27].

For every one of us, there is a measured amount of time given to each one of us to run our course, and then we must cut out of here, and go to keep our appointment: “A time to be born, and a time to die;” [Ecclesiastes 3:2a]

Thus, all men are created equal. Maybe not in wealth, nor power, nor intelligence, nor beauty, but in the central things [in the main things] we are all most certainly equal.

“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:” [Acts 10:34]. And indeed, GOD IS NOT!!!!

In summary these truths are listed below. These laws reveal that all men are created equal.

A. The Laws of Nature and of Nature's God are established by God.

B. These laws reveal that all men are created equal,

C. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,

D. That these Rights are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,

E. And that Government exists to secure or protect these rights.

We must next consider something called: the possessions of the people.

4. The Honored Possession of the People

We have fingered by the Spirit of God in the Gospel according to Matthew an eye-opening attribute found in the sin nature of all men: “But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.” [Matthew 26:8-9]

The disciple’s “indignation” at the so-called “waste” of the precious ointment illustrates the self-righteousness that spews forth from within all our hearts. Understand this: The hearts of sinful men generally only feign a concern for the poor.

Thus, this “indignation” generally only serves to hide the true motive, which is for legislation. The secret motive for legislation in any person who experiences the indignation, is for laws to correct, or remedy, the perceived wrongs suffered by a group of people, through another group of people.

Indignation, therefore, provides, or fuels, the desire within certain men to legislate other men as to how those other men should live their lives, or how they use their property.

For more light on this, “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” [Psalm 119:130], we will need to read the entire passage found in the book of Matthew, chapter twenty-six, verses six through thirteen:

“Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?

For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.

Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.” [Matthew 26:6-13]

Now, Bethphage and Bethany [along with the Mount of Olives], were both very near to the city of Jerusalem. [Mark 11:1] Bethany was also the home of Lazarus, Mary, and her sister Martha. [John 11:1]

This woman had in her possession an alabaster container of very precious ointment. She determined within her heart by faith [Hebrews 11:1, 6] to perform an operation.

This operation could also be called … a mission.

This mission was to pour out all of this precious ointment over the body of the Son of God [Who is Jesus Christ] … in a prelude to the soon-coming death and burial of the Lamb of God, “Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” [1 Timothy 2:6]

Thus, we will see what this woman purposed, did happen, and is now recorded forever in the Bible: “There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.”

We can learn more about this woman’s mission. When this mission was accomplished, it was defined in that very same day as a good work by no less than the Son of God, and was recorded forever in the BOOK “for a memorial of her.”

What is more, this woman’s good work, which was performed on Jesus Christ, glorified God. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” [Matthew 5:16]

Therefore, the fundamental purpose of mankind is to glorify God.

GOOD WORKS GLORIFY GOD!

Now we see here though this “memorial of her” that the Spirit of God is showing to us the philosophy of life intended for this planet in the beginning act of his creation [Genesis].

God is showing to us the the divine order, and viewpoint, that HE intends for all of us to adopt in our form of government, which is to include economics.

Here are more observations in the memorial of this woman.

The scene involves “a woman” who came to Jesus while He was in the house of Simon the leper.

This woman is a human being.

A human being is a three-part being … made up of a soul, a body and a spirit in the “image” of God. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” [Genesis 1:27]

This woman had an alabaster box of very expensive ointment. Her having had possession of the box of precious ointment indicates she had ownership of the property.
[Having implies personal ownership].

She is a Person!

The alabaster box of very precious ointment is property. The alabaster box of very precious ointment was her personal possession. She owns it!

God shows early the BOOK [in the book of Leviticus] that all men are created with a free will. Look with me in chapter one, verse three: “If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.” [Leviticus 1:3]

Man is not an android, or some robot! He is a person with the given ability to choose what he will do, or will not do, with regard to God and God’s BOOK.

The question is Will man willingly offer to God according to God’s will? God leaves the whole matter for a man to decide.

[Of course this means we are also responsible for the consequences of those decisions.]
Now back to this woman! She is a volunteer.

Furthermore, we can see this woman came to Simon’s house on a mission … for a specific purpose.

She had a plan to execute, which came from own her free will. This free will was expressed in an act of volition.

[“Volition is the actual exercise of the power which the mind has of considering or forbearing to consider an idea.” Webster, 1828.]

We need now to finally amplify this matter of the indignation of man.

This act of free will by one person [Mary] gave rise to the indignation which was experienced within the people [the disciples] surrounding her, which produced a desire for legislation by these same people to control the act of free will of the first person [Mary].

Thus, this impulse to regulate, or control [through the indignation of men], increasingly results over time in the strengthening of the tyrannical hand of man.

In review:

1. This woman is a human being.

2. A human being is tri-part being, which is composed of a body, a soul and a spirit.

3. This tri-part being is a PERSON!

4. A PERSON has a NAME, [a person is not to be identified by a number].

5. Further, this PERSON has in her possession: PROPERTY.

6. This possession of property implies ownership.

7. This property [the alabaster box of very precious ointment] is personal property.

8. She is a volunteer.

9. By the act of the FREE WILL of this PERSON, her personal property was consumed [or poured out].

10. Through free will she expressed her personal choice as to how to use her personal property.

11. A person’s VOLITION will express outwardly this personal choice by their actions.

Next  5. The People’s Inheritance