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Lilies Do Not Toil: Difference between revisions
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:''Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. | :''Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. | ||
===What the Bible means=== | |||
Jesus gives the reason why his disciples are not to worry: “See how the lilies of the field grow.” This expression draws to mind God’s provision in nature for flowers growing wild, which probably surrounded Jesus, the disciples, and the crowd as he spoke. Even today, red and purple anemones with crowning ten-inch stalks, along with blue irises, grow wild on the hillside above the Sea of Galilee. | |||
The beautiful flowers surrounding Jesus elicit a striking contrast to Solomon’s royal robes: “Not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.” Solomon’s wealth prompted the visit from the Queen of Sheba and his life became a proverbial success story (see 1 Kings 10:1–29; 2 Chron. 9:1–28). Yet God’s provision for wild flowers causes them to be more beautiful, if one would only look. | |||
The emphasis shifts slightly to regard lilies as the clothing of “the grass of the field” (6:30). The green grass of spring when cut, dried, and bundled was a natural source of fuel for fire ovens and was a common biblical metaphor for dramatic changes of fortune and for human frailty and transience. If God’s sustaining care extends to such a transitory part of his creation, “will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” Those with eyes of effective faith will see the beauty of God’s creation in contrast to human efforts at splendor and will learn daily how to follow God’s guidance and how to trust in his gracious provision. “Little faith” (oligopistos) is a favorite expression of Jesus, found mainly in this Gospel.16 It is only directed to Jesus’ disciples, indicating that “little faith” is not absence of faith but deficiency of faith.<ref>Michael J. Wilkins, Matthew, The NIV Application Commentary, 298 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2004).</ref> | |||
This scripture has nothing to do with works, | |||
==What William Branham said== | ==What William Branham said== | ||