Rising Seven Times (Proverbs 24:15-16)

Falling is falling. Failing is failing. The difference between us and the world is that we will rise up again.

"Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the [uncompromisingly] righteous - the upright, in right standing with God; destroy not his fold or his resting place; for a righteous man falls seven times an rises again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity." Proverbs 24:15-16, Amplified

The protects those who belong to Him. We all make mistakes but He is there to help us up again. The wicked man is overthrown because his strength resides within himself. Our strength resides in the Lord. Micah wrote, "Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light on me." (Micah 7:8, NKJV) He always covers those who are His children.

In the book of Job, after everything has happened to him and he is sitting alone, three friends come to his side to try and comfort him (poorly I might add). Eliphaz, one of the three, says something profound, considering that Job has sinned and this is why God has judged him so. But we know that the Lord was bragging on Job to Satan. God allowed for Satan to affect Job's life. Though Eliphaz is wrong in that Job had not sinned, what he said is no less profound. "Behold, happy is the man whom the Lord corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds but His hands make whole. He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes, in seven no evil shall touch you." (Job 5:17-19, NKJV)

What is it about the number seven that is so significant? Seven is the number of completion (i.e. seven days complete one week). I think that we need not focus on the seven times in which the man falls, rather focus on the seven times that he arises. It is a complete rising. We need not hobble or hunch our bodies in condemnation. There is no condemnation in Christ. Yes, we fall. But by His blood, we rise completely.

Number 3 on a List of Seven (Proverbs 15:27)

There is a need for more built into the human psyche. It has been said that greed is one of the seven deadly sins.

"He who is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live. Proverbs 15:27, Amplified

The word for greed that we may be more familiar with is covetousness. One of the original Ten Commandments tells us not to covet: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, not his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's." (Exodus 20:17, NKJV) Isn't greed nothing more than wanting more than what you have? And if you do not have it, then someone else must have it. Greed breeds a restless heart. Who who is content with what he has, he too has a contented house. His heart can stay focused on the most important of things: Jesus.

The original list of deadly sins can be linked to a 4th century monk named Evagrius Ponticus. He actually listed them in Greek and they read like this: gastrimagria (gluttony), porneia (lust), philargyria (avarice or greed), lype (despair), orge (wrath), akedia (acedia or sloth), kenodoxia (vainglory), hyperephania (pride). In AD 590, Pope Gregory I revised the list and replaced vainglory with envy and removing fornication and replacing it with extravagance.

In truth, there is not one sin greater than another. Any and all sin builds a barrier between myself and the Lord. Sin makes me undeserving of His grace and forgiveness. If I allow that way of thinking to guide my life, then I will never seek out His forgiveness. "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23, NKJV) Everyday we are on the battle field. Whatever sin has eclipsed God in your life, realize that it cannot rain all the time. The sun must come out again and it will come out again. The Son longs for fellowship with us, the only sin that will separate us is the sin we refuse forgiveness for.