Do not plot harm against your neighbor,
who lives trustfully near you.
Summary: Why does the Bible talk about weird things? Is it because people do weird things?
Do you ever wonder why certain things are in the Bible? For example, why does it say “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk”? It is not like this is a passing comment, either. The Bible lists this instruction in three separate places (Exodus 23:19, Exodus 34:26, Deuteronomy 14:21).
Joseph tells us that when God tells us something twice, it is a way of emphasizing what has been said (Genesis 41:32). Listing it three times is like underlining a word more than once and then adding stars and exclamation points all around it.
I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the reason God included this instruction in the Bible is that people were doing just that. They were cooking young goats in their mother’s milk.
Maybe that does not sound so bad to you? Things often look different from God’s perspective. Some guesses proposed by scholars about why the goat/milk thing is bad include:
“Was it commanded to avoid an idolatrous practice? Because it was cruel? Because it was aimed at preserving the dignity of the parent-child relationship? Or because God wanted his people to avoid indigestion?” ((1983). Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 26(1), 104.)
Two things I feel certain of is that people were doing it and God did not like it. The reason God mentions it in his Word is that it was a “thing.” If nobody had been doing it, he would not have had to mention it.
The same holds true for today’s passage, “Do not plot harm against your neighbor…” Why is this in the Bible? Because people were doing it!
People were stealing their neighbor’s ox and sheep. (Exodus 22:1)
People moved their neighbor’s boundary stone (property marker). (Deuteronomy 19:14)
People plotted to take their neighbor’s house, wife (or husband), servants, or anything else he might own. (Exodus 20:17)
Do people do this today? Sadly, yes.
Do we still need God to tell us that we should not do these things? Again, yes.
Of course, it helps if people believe in God. (It is hard to take God’s Word seriously if you do not believe.)
Maybe if we all understood that there IS a God and his name is Jesus…
Application: Practice acting like God is watching every minute of the day.
Food for Thought: Are we God’s neighbor? If so, how does today’s passage apply?
I think it’s very important to not only look at the things we should not do towards our neighbors, but look at what we should do. That’s why Jesus took the focus off of the do nots, and put them on the dos. What’s the most practical and loving things we can do for our neighbors today? And if you have good and trusting neighbors, then you just swap milk to cook your kids in. Duh.
Thank you, Mr. B!
Great point about the “dos.” I am going to meditate on that for a bit.
As far as swapping milk … brilliant! 🙂
I did a little research on today’s blog. The origin of “neighbor” translates to “near dweller.” Also though the original idea of “neighbor” is not just about proximity, but also familiarity. A neighbor is at least someone you would know, if even in passing, or at least recognize. This doesn’t mean that the Bible is telling us to love the people who live next door, but forsake anyone who doesn’t. God encourages us to form community, live in harmony, and worship together. This is where I believe Jeff’s question comes into focus: Are we God’s neighbor? Jesus said in Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” God wants us all to be in that community of neighbors. God lives in our hearts, which by proximity is closer than the closest next door. As believers, we can recognize God’s presence in our lives; He becomes more and more familiar to us as our walk with Him progresses.
I believe today’s passage applies to God. Whereas we cannot “harm” God directly, we can harm our witness and confuse others as to God’s purpose in their life. The Bible tells us many times that helping others is a way to honor God. The opposite would then be true too. We can dishonor God by, as believers, bringing harm to the church or others, or even ourselves. I think the key takeaway here is that, as believers, God is in our hearts and our neighbor. We are not alone, in our hearts we are co-existing with our creator.
Thank you, Chris!
I appreciate you wrestling with the “God as neighbor” question. It puts our relationship with God in a different light. As you say, “We are not alone…”
02-15-2022, Proverbs 3:29, Are we God’s neighbor? If so, how does today’s passage apply?
God has preserved the words or thoughts of Satan who thought he could make himself equal to God.
Isaiah 14:14b
There is only one God and He is our Omnipresent Father who cannot be contained. We exist in Him and for Him, we are His children, belong to Him. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. We are His, no matter what, and I can only hope when I meet with Him, He might say, “well at least you tried son.”
Ephesians 4:6, Acts 17:28, Romans 14:8
When I was young and lived in the flesh, I could not get out of my parents house soon enough. Fortunately a judge told me and six budies, 30 days you are in the military or jail, and I was on a big bird headed for San Diego.
Today I live in God and and He resides in me. We are much closer than neighbors. There is no place I want or can go. I listen for His voice as He provides me with wise counsel, I have no desire to leave the love and security He provides. I have opened every door to my heart, giving Him full access, I am not perfect but know it is OK. I am in the process of becoming the being He wants me to become.
Keep our eyes on what is right, ignore and RUN from anything that would interferer with the relationship we have as obedient children
serving Him with our lives.
Ron,
I love the image of being “much closer than neighbors.” Being in Jesus – “Remain in me, as I also remain in you.” (John 15:4) — is more than neighborly, it is oneness.
“well, at least you tried”
Are we God’s neighbor? In Matthew 25 Jesus told us that what we do or don’t do to those who are His – we have done or not done to Him. According to Jesus, if we love the least if these then we are loving Him in the process.
As to who is our neighbor, Jesus answered that rather clearly in Luke 10: 25 – 37.
Literally everywhere we look we can serve God as our neighbor by serving others. Part of that is an attitude. My wife was serving at a funeral once (she does this often but I have one occasion in mind). She was running around serving and being ordered around and not treated very well. The people actually thought we had hired someone to serve them and and did not realize it was my wife serving as a volunteer. Why they thought they could treat a hired hand poorly just shows where they were coming from. Despite the abuse, Gena served kindly and with a smile. I was getting angry and told her I was going to say something. She asked me not to. When I asked her why she was putting up with it, she said “I am not serving them, I am serving Jesus.” My mind was blown.
Rich,
I love hearing the story you tell about Gena at the funeral. It is a testimony to our purpose here, to serve Jesus.
You bring to mind Malachi, that great Italian prophet, who wrote:
“When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.” (Malachi 1:8)
How much more so our service to our God?
Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you. Proverbs 3:29
Are we God’s neighbor? If so, how does today’s passage apply?
I agree with the general consensus above that God is most definitely our neighbor. (Whether by proximity, or by actions taken, or by familiarity)
How does this passage apply? Sometimes we intend to rebel against God, and knowingly do something He’s told us not to do. Nothing we do will actually (tangibly) harm God, but we can provoke, rebel against, displease, sadden, grieve, or anger Him by our actions.
I like R’s point about Matthew 25. Often times the harm we inflict is indirect. For some of us, we’ve done more literal harm to others. But also, remembering the Sermon on the Mount, this includes our heart towards others. So some of us may have ‘no event’ where they enacted any tangible harm upon another, but have murdered in our hearts. This too can harm God.
How much better now can we answer Paul’s question in Romans? “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?” I know he answers himself with a hearty ‘no’ and a very good theological explaination for all of our apologetics studies. But if we simplify it with the greatest commandment, to love God, and the understanding that every sinful action we take toward another person is equivalent to a sinful action towards the God we claim to love, then shouldn’t we be motivated to stop harming our neighbors?
Shouldn’t that motivate us to treat all others well?
“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.” Psalm 139
“Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge” Psalm 51:4
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:7-10
A —
Yes! Whatever we do to our neighbor, we do to our God as well.
“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” (Matthew 10:40)