Self-denial

How Nave’s arranged it

• General scriptures concerningGenesis 22:1–122 Samuel 24:24Psalms 132:3–5Proverbs 16:32Proverbs 23:2Daniel 10:3Matthew 5:29Matthew 5:30Matthew 8:19–22Matthew 10:37–39Matthew 13:44–46Matthew 16:24Matthew 16:25Matthew 18:8Matthew 18:9Matthew 19:12Matthew 19:21Mark 2:14Mark 8:34Mark 8:35
• See Cross
• See Humility
• INSTANCES OF
• Abraham, when he offered to Lot (his junior) his preference of the land of Canaan with 17:8Genesis 13:9
• Moses, in choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for only a little whileHebrews 11:25
• Moses, in taking no compensation from the Israelites for his servicesNumbers 16:15
• Samuel, in his administration of justice1 Samuel 12:31 Samuel 12:4
• The widow of Zarephath, in sharing with Elijah the last of her sustenance1 Kings 17:12–15
• Daniel, in his abstentionDaniel 1:8
• Daniel, in refusing rewards from BelshazzarDaniel 5:16Daniel 5:17
• Esther, in risking her life for the deliverance of her peopleEsther 4:16

The passages, in Bible order (101)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 16 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Genesis 13:9

   Is not the whole land before you? Now separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”

   ›Commentary on Genesis 13:92 voices

   “There was all the reason in the world that Abram should choose first; yet he recedes from his right. Note, It is a noble conquest to be willing to yield for peace' sake; it is the conquest of ourselves, and our own pride and passion, Matt. v. 39, 40 . It is not only the punctilios of honour, but even interest itself, that in many cases must be sacrificed to peace.

   “As if he had said, "Why should we quarrel for room, while there is room enough for us both?" (1.) He concludes that they must part, and is very desirous that they should part friends: Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 13:9→

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2. Genesis 22:1–12

   Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 22:1–122 voices

   “God did tempt Abraham--not incite to sin (Jas 1:13), but try, prove--give occasion for the development of his faith (1Pe 1:7). and he said, . . . Here I am--ready at a moment's warning for God's service.

   “Here is the trial of Abraham's faith, whether it continued so strong, so vigorous, so victorious, after a long settlement in communion with God, as it was at first, when by it he left his country: then it was made to appear that he loved God better than his father; now that he loved him better than his son.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 22:1–12→

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3. Numbers 16:15

   Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”

   ›Commentary on Numbers 16:152 voices

   “And Moses was very wroth,.... Or "it heated Moses exceedingly" (p); made him very angry, caused him to burn with wrath against them; even the speech they made, the words they uttered, not so much on account of their ill usage of him, as for the dishonour cast upon the Lord: and said unto the Lord, respect not thou their offering; their "Minchah", the word is commonly used for the meat or bread offering.

   “Herein he seems to refer to the history of Cain, lately written by his own hand, of whom it is said that to him and his offering God had not respect, Gen. iv. These that followed the gainsaying of Korah walked in the way of Cain (these are put together, Jude 11 ), and therefore he prays that they might be frowned upon as Cain was, and put to the same confusion.

   Everything gathered on Numbers 16:15→

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4. 1 Samuel 12:3

   Here I am. Bear witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated or oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe and closed my eyes? Tell me, and I will restore it to you.”

   ›Commentary on 1 Samuel 12:32 voices

   In this way, too, Samuel, who judged the people so many years, and bore rule over Israel without any pride, in the end cleared himself, saying, "I have walked before you from my childhood even unto this day: answer me in the sight of God, and before His anointed; whose ox or whose ass of yours have I taken, or over whom have I tyrannized, or whom have I oppressed? or if I have received from the hand of any a bribe or [so much as] a shoe, speak out against me, and I will restore it to you."

   “Samuel said unto all Israel--This public address was made after the solemn re-instalment of Saul, and before the convention at Gilgal separated. Samuel, having challenged a review of his public life, received a unanimous testimony to the unsullied honor of his personal character, as well as the justice and integrity of his public administration.

   Everything gathered on 1 Samuel 12:3→

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5. 1 Samuel 12:4

   “You have not wronged us or oppressed us,” they replied, “nor have you taken anything from the hand of man.”

   ›Commentary on 1 Samuel 12:42 voices

   In this way, too, Samuel, who judged the people so many years, and bore rule over Israel without any pride, in the end cleared himself, saying, "I have walked before you from my childhood even unto this day: answer me in the sight of God, and before His anointed; whose ox or whose ass of yours have I taken, or over whom have I tyrannized, or whom have I oppressed? or if I have received from the hand of any a bribe or [so much as] a shoe, speak out against me, and I will restore it to you."

   “Samuel said unto all Israel--This public address was made after the solemn re-instalment of Saul, and before the convention at Gilgal separated. Samuel, having challenged a review of his public life, received a unanimous testimony to the unsullied honor of his personal character, as well as the justice and integrity of his public administration.

   Everything gathered on 1 Samuel 12:4→

   Verse page →Original language →

6. 2 Samuel 24:24

   “No,” replied the king, “I insist on paying a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

   ›Commentary on 2 Samuel 24:242 voices

   “Therefore, the king himself offered blessed David the threshing floor and oxen for a burnt offering, but King David refused to accept them without first paying a price. This, too, was fulfilled at the coming of our Lord and Savior, for he refused to take …

   “Neither will I offer burnt-offerings - It is a maxim from heaven, “Honour the Lord with thy substance.” He who has a religion that costs him nothing, has a religion that is worth nothing: nor will any man esteem the ordinances of God, if those ordinances cost him nothing. Had Araunah’s noble offer been accepted, it would have been Araunah’s sacrifice, not David’s; nor would it have answered the end of turning away the displeasure of the Most High. It was David that sinned, not Araunah: therefore David must offer sacrifice, and at his own expense too.

   Everything gathered on 2 Samuel 24:24→

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7. 1 Kings 17:12–15

   But she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”

   ›Commentary on 1 Kings 17:12–152 voices

   “For though the famine was chiefly in the land of Israel, yet the effects of it were in Tyre and Sidon, which were fed by the corn of that land. But what a poor supporter was this likely to be? who had no fuel, but what she gathered in the streets, and nothing to live upon herself, but an handful of meal and a little oil!

   “A handful of meal in a barrel - The word כד cad is to be understood as implying an earthen jar; not a wooden vessel, or barrel of any kind. In the East they preserve their corn and meal in such vessels; without which precaution the insects would destroy them. Travellers in Asiatic countries abound with observations of this kind. The word cruse, צפחת tsappachath, says Jarchi, signifies what in our tongue is expressed by bouteille, a bottle. Jarchi was a French rabbin.

   Everything gathered on 1 Kings 17:12–15→

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8. Esther 4:16

   “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!”

   ›Commentary on Esther 4:162 voices

   “Many women, fortified by the grace of God, have accomplished many heroic actions. The blessed Judith, when the city was besieged, asked permission of the elders to be allowed to go into the foreigners' camp. By exposing herself to danger she went out for love of her country and of the people who were besieged, and the Lord delivered Holophernes into the hand of a woman. To no less danger did Esther, who was perfect in faith, expose herself, in order to save the twelve tribes of Israel that were to be destroyed.

   “Why did Queen Esther expose herself to death and not fear the wrath of a fierce king? Was it not to save her people from death, an act both seemly and virtuous? The king of Persia himself also, though fierce and proud, yet thought it seemly to show honor to the man who had given information about a plot that had been laid against himself, to save a free people from slavery, to snatch them from death and not to spare him who had pressed on such unseemly plans.

   Everything gathered on Esther 4:16→

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9. Psalms 132:3–5

   “I will not enter my house or get into my bed,

   ›Commentary on Psalms 132:3–52 voices

   “Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house,.... The new house and palace David built for himself after he came to the throne, made of cedar, 2Sa 5:11; not that he should never enter into it till he had found a dwelling for God, but that he should not go into it with pleasure till that was done; for this and what follows are hyperboles, as Kimchi observes, and signify that he should have no peace nor satisfaction of mind till this was accomplished.

   “If I shall enter into the tabernacle of my house. David says this: I seek no other rest but Christ, who is to be born of my seed, that is, whom you promised would be born of my loins.

   Everything gathered on Psalms 132:3–5→

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10. Proverbs 16:32

    He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and he who controls his temper is greater than one who captures a city.

    ›Commentary on Proverbs 16:322 voices

    “If you are angry, be angry with yourselves, because you are roused, and you will not sin. For he who is angry with himself, because he has been so easily roused, ceases to be angry with another. But he who wishes to prove his anger is righteous only gets the more inflamed and quickly falls into sin. "Better is he," as Solomon says, "that restrains his anger than he that takes a city," for anger leads astray even brave men.

    “He that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city - It is much easier to subdue an enemy without than one within. There have been many kings who had conquered nations, and yet were slaves to their own passions. Alexander, who conquered the world, was a slave to intemperate anger, and in a fit of it slew Clytus, the best and most intimate of all his friends, and one whom he loved beyond all others. The spirit of this maxim is so self-evident, that most nations have formed similar proverbs.

    Everything gathered on Proverbs 16:32→

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11. Proverbs 23:2

    and put a knife to your throat if you possess a great appetite.

    ›Commentary on Proverbs 23:21 voice

    “And put a knife to thy throat,.... Refrain from too much talk at the table; give not too loose to thy tongue, but bridle it, considering in whose presence thou art; do not use too much freedom, either with the ruler or fellow guests; which, when persons have ate and drank well, they are too apt to do, and sometimes say things offensive to one or the other; it is good for a man to be upon his guard; see Ecc 5:

    Everything gathered on Proverbs 23:2→

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12. Jeremiah 35:6

    “We do not drink wine,” they replied, “for our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us, ‘Neither you nor your descendants are ever to drink wine.

    ›Commentary on Jeremiah 35:62 voices

    “The sons of Jonadab, we are told, drank neither wine nor strong drink and dwelled in tents pitched wherever night overtook them. According to the Psalter, they were the first to undergo captivity; for, when the Chaldaeans began to ravage Judah, they were compelled to take refuge in cities.Others may think what they like and follow each his own bent. But to me a town is a prison and solitude paradise. Why do we long for the bustle of cities, we whose very name speaks of loneliness?

    “We will drink no wine - The reason is given above. Their whole religious and political institution consisted in obedience to three simple precepts, each of which has an appropriate spiritual meaning: - 1. Ye shall drink no wine - Ye shall preserve your bodies in temperance, shall use nothing that would deprive you of the exercise of your sober reason at any time; lest in such a time ye should do what might be prejudicial to yourselves, injurious to your neighbor, or dishonorable to your God.

    Everything gathered on Jeremiah 35:6→

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13. Jeremiah 35:7

    Nor are you ever to build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Instead, you must live in tents all your lives, so that you may live a long time in the land where you wander.’

    ›Commentary on Jeremiah 35:72 voices

    “Note, Those are in the best frame to meet sufferings who are mortified to the world and life a life of self-denial. (6.) That in general they might learn to live by rule and under discipline. It is good for us all to do so, and to teach our children to do so.

    “The sons of Jonadab, we are told, drank neither wine nor strong drink and dwelled in tents pitched wherever night overtook them. According to the Psalter, they were the first to undergo captivity; for, when the Chaldaeans began to ravage Judah, they were compelled to take refuge in cities.Others may think what they like and follow each his own bent. But to me a town is a prison and solitude paradise. Why do we long for the bustle of cities, we whose very name speaks of loneliness?

    Everything gathered on Jeremiah 35:7→

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14. Daniel 1:8

    But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself.

    ›Commentary on Daniel 1:81 voice

    “But Daniel - would not defile himself - I have spoken of this resolution in the introduction. The chief reasons why Daniel would not eat meat from the royal table were probably these three: - 1. Because they ate unclean beasts, which were forbidden by the Jewish law. 2. Because they ate, as did the heathens in general, beasts which had been strangled, or not properly blooded. 3. Because the animals that were eaten were first offered as victims to their gods.

    Everything gathered on Daniel 1:8→

    Verse page →Original language →

15. Daniel 5:16

    But I have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

    ›Commentary on Daniel 5:162 voices

    “Dissolve doubts - Untie knots - unbind what is bound. An expression used in the east to signify a judge of eminent wisdom and skill.

    “But God so ordered it that they had nothing at all to say, as, when Christ was born, the heathen oracles were struck dumb. The interpretation which Daniel gave of these mystic characters, which was so far from easing the king of his fears that we may suppose it increased them rather.

    Everything gathered on Daniel 5:16→

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16. Daniel 5:17

    In response, Daniel said to the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the inscription for the king and interpret it for him.

    ›Commentary on Daniel 5:172 voices

    “Verse 17. "To this Daniel made answer before the king, saying: 'Thy gifts be unto thyself, and bestow the presents of thy house upon someone else...'" We should follow the example of a man like Daniel, who despised the honor and gifts of a king, and who without any reward even in that early day followed the Gospel injunction: "Freely have ye received, freely give." (Matthew 10:8) And besides, when one is announcing sad tidings, it is unbecoming for him willingly to accept gifts.

    “For here he declares his interpretation of the words is not from the desire of reward. The honors in Da 5:29 were doubtless urged on him, without his wish, in such a way that he could not with propriety refuse them. Had he refused them after announcing the doom of the kingdom, he might have been suspected of cowardice or treason.

    Everything gathered on Daniel 5:17→

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