Walking in the Ways of the Creator
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Shepherds and Herdsmen
Have you ever noticed all the references in the Bible to shepherds and sheep? The Hebrew word most often translated as “shepherd(s)” in the KJV is “ra’ah” (H7462) and means “to pasture, tend, graze, feed” according to Brown Driver Briggs. While it is only translated as “shepherd” or “shepherds” a total of 61 times, the word “ra-ah” appears almost 3 times as often (172). The first mention appears in Genesis 4, addressing the occupation of Abel, the younger brother of Cain, who was a “ra’ah” of sheep: Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the…
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If You Don’t Work, You Don’t Eat
Paul writes in his second letter to the Thessalonians… For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 ESV) I have always attributed the notion to not eating with not working within the context of this passage, relating to idleness. But the more I study, seeking to understand how to walk according to…