EXERCISE CAUTION

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.

Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.

Ecclesiastes 10:8-9

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever been injured doing something?

Maybe it was a cut or a slip and associated fall or a bruise from banging your hand, arm, or leg against something. I know I have had my fair share of mishaps and there seems to be no shortage of actions we take that can bring harm if we don’t exercise caution.

Taking this subject a little further, think about all the products we use like cleaning agents or pesticides/herbicides or medication, whether prescription or over-the-counter. All of them have some form of warning labels to tell us how to use them in ways that will prevent harm to ourselves. We just need to read and heed them to stay safe.

Well, as we look at our scripture passage from Ecclesiastes, Chapter 10, we see that there were reasons to be cautious back in the Old Testament days of Solomon who offers his own list of recommendations when it comes to exercising caution. Look again at his words:

Whoever digs a pit may fall into it; whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.

Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them; whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.  Ecclesiastes 10:8-9

Pits were dug out to trap animals but if the person digging the pit was not careful, they might fall in themselves, bringing sure injury if not an inability to get back out without assistance.

Demolition jobs seemed easy enough. All you had to do was break down the walls of the structure but inside those walls were often snakes who had taken up refuge within them. Thus, anyone not exercising caution when they broke through a wall might get an unwelcome surprise in the way of a venomous snake striking out and biting them, an event that could bring almost instant death.

Stones were needed for building and those stones needed cut out for use. In the process of cutting or carrying those stones, any number of injuries could happen from a chip of rock flying in the air and striking someone in the head or a stone falling on someone’s foot. In a worst case scenario, a person may even have a stack of stones fall on them, something that would bring great injury if not death.

Wood also was a primary building material and as logs were split, the hazard might come in the way of splinters that would either fly up to strike the one splitting the logs or embed themselves in someone’s fingers and hands as they carried the logs away.

The list covers ordinary jobs that people would engage in during the days of Solomon, all with their share of associated dangers. The message is simple: Exercise caution.

I could just leave this devotion here but I think there’s one more thing the Lord wants us to remember today. He wants us to always keep in mind that He is our great Defender and Protector.

I say this because we often take our safety for granted. For every time we were ever injured doing something, there were countless other times when we were not, far more actually. We seem to lose track of all the times we have done things without incident or those times when there may have been a near miss of injury but we escaped harm. It was during these times that we were guarded by the One who made us and is ever watching over us. He is our Shield and is ever present to save us from peril. We should always keep this in mind.

Friends, life can be dangerous. There is no doubt about that and so we need to always exercise caution in the way we live. There’s also little doubt that we serve a Lord who loves and watches over us with a parent’s tender care, a Lord who shelters and safeguards us from life’s threats.

Today and every day, let us give thanks unto Him for keeping us safe.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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