Oil and perfume make the heart glad, So a man's counsel is sweet to his friend. Proverbs 27:9

A man is blessed if he has friends who offer him godly counsel.  When you have this you have something that both makes life sweet as well as fulfilling.  To better understand this proverb we need to look at the oriental purposes for oil and perfume. 

The word oil here is the Hebrew "shemen" which means fat - and it was the equivalent of middle eastern butter in its usage.  Shemen would be what a Hebrew Paula Dean would use in all her dishes to make them taste great.  Seeing that I am a southerner - I now fully understand that "butter" makes the heart glad.  I love how butter makes things taste.  To the Hebrew at the time, they knew that this oil mentioned here was what made their food have its distinctive taste.  When used properly - it took bland food and helped make it taste wonderful.  In the same way, the counsel of a true friend is sweet to us.  It makes life "taste" better.  When we have the sweet counsel of a good friend - things that may seem bland and boring to do are changed.  Having a good friend who counsels me to do the right thing - even though I've done it a thousand times and am bored with it - will help me do it another thousand times.  They remind me that doing the godly thing will bring blessing in the end. 

Oil was also used for medicinal purposes.  It was used to promote healing.  There are numerous passages in the Scritpures that speak of pouring oil into a wound to soften and to heal it.  These oils would have additives in them to help promote healing.  How often has the kind and gracious counsel of a friend helped heal a hurt we have had in our lives.  This counsel is sweet to us - just like oil is.  Finally, Oil is also offered as a cosmetic.  For a Hebrew oil was needed because they were in such a dry climate.  The oil helped their bodies not become dry, hard, and brittle.  I've had godly friends who have helped me be prevented from becoming dry, hard, and brittle in my personal and spiritual life as well.

The second thing mentioned here is incense.  This refers to the aromatic use of crushed materials which were burned to provide a smoke that perfumed the air.  The non-religious use of incense was simply to help the aroma of a tent or other area.  The counsel of a friend is like that to us.  It just makes things better.  To have someone to whom you can talk, bounce ideas and problems off of, and hear sound advice - is to have a life that is easier to live.  These people can make "stinky" times in life be much better.  There was also a religious use for incense.  It was used in the temple on the approach to God.  It is compared to the sweet savor of prayer offered in a godly way to Him.  Here is where the counsel of a friend is very sweet to a friend.  When that counsel is offered in light of prayer (your friend is praying for you) and it is offered with a view to having you in a right relationship with God - that, dear brothers and sisters, is very sweet counsel indeed!

The counsel of a godly friend is something we should not be without as we walk in this world.  What I find fascinating is a passage in 2 Corinthians 2:13.  Paul was experiencing a time of blessed ministry in Troas - an open door for the gospel - yet he wanted to see Titus.  There was something about the blessing of this brother - that made Paul leave that fruitful field and look for this brother.  Now I know that Paul was discipling several younger brothers like him - but I also think that Paul was missing the blessing of the "oil and incense" ministry of a godly friend and co-worker.  That is why a wise man will not take these kind of godly relationships for granted.  He will cherish them and thank God for the sweet counsel of a godly man or woman in his life.  If you have one of these relationships - praise God for it.  If you do not have one - cry out to God and do what is necessary to cultivate it.  The blessing it will bring to your live will be of greater value than you know. 

My son, eat honey, for it is good, Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste; Know that wisdom is thus for your soul; If you find it, then there will be a future, And your hope will not be cut off. Proverbs 24:13-14

Here we have it on biblical authority - eat honey!  There is an interesting study that comes with seeing the benefits of honey and then comparing those to the benefits of wisdom to our souls.  Let's take a look at them today and gain wisdom by learning a little more about honey and wisdom.

Solomon tells us here that we should eat honey for it is good.  Anyone who has tasted honey knows that it tastes good - but Solomon is saying more than this.  He says that honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.  There are sugars in honey that make it a wonderful source of sweetness.  Note though that Solomon is telling us to eat honey from the comb - natural, not processed.  Then we are told that just like honey is good for us an sweet to our taste - so also wisdom is for our soul.  We are reminded that when we find wisdom, there will be a future.  The word used here is "acharith" which means, "a latter end."  What the word says to us is that when we get wisdom - there is a good end to things.  If we live our lives with wisdom - our lives will have a desired end - one that is blessed and good.  We are also told that when we partake of wisdom - our hope will not be cut off.  Wisdom yields a lasting hope.  Wise living is living for eternal things.  Living for this world may seem great at first - but in the end it is bitter.  We have things now - we have pleasures now - but they are all cut off by death.  Ecclesiastes also reminds us that we may be able to enjoy the things of the world when we are young - but when we are old those same things will not satisfy.  The older we get - the less we enjoy things due to the aging of our bodies.  So to live for the foolishness of this world - is to live for a hope that is cut off more and more every year.  In the end - when the "acharith" comes - it is cut off altogether.  Wisdom will protect us from living for a hope that will be cut off.

But how does honey factor into all this?  There are several ways that honey is helpful and healthy for our bodies.  The first is the way that honey gives us sugars.  Refined sugar is digested in a way that elevates our sugar levels in our blood stream - making it easier to become diabetic.  Honey has actually been pre-digested by the bees - and is digested in a way that gives us the energy we need - without an elevation in our blood sugar levels.  In other words, honey gives us what we need - but does so without also giving us the negative.  Wisdom is the same way.  There are those who desire to be smart and educated - but their education lacks God's wisdom and understanding.  When this happens a person has a tendency to become very smart, but also very arrogant.  They get the blessing of knowledge and education - but do so without getting humility and submission to God.  This makes their education dangerous in that they trust a man-centered wisdom - that due to the sin nature in man - rejects the moral wisdom of God.  In the end, their learning tends to corrupt them for they reject God's revelation and view education, knowledge, and wisdom to be purely a human endeavor.  God's wisdom is different.  Like the honey - it offers the good in a way that is not harmful.  God's wisdom educates us - but with a view to submission to God.  The more we learn, the more we embrace humility.  We see that wisdom comes from God.  The Lord does not bypass true learning and education - it is just submitted to God's moral law and is used to bring glory to Him.  Because the God-centered worldview is radically different from the humanistic worldview - the learned gained in each system will lead to drastically different conclusions about life.

A second benefit of honey is that it is filled with antioxidants that help us to fight disease.  We have learned over the years that antioxidants help us fight free radicals - a type of chemical compound in our bodies that weakens them and makes them more succeptible to disease and even cancer.  Honey helps fight these free radicals and keep them from harming us.  Wisdom is like honey in this regard.  Left to ourselves we will make choices that are harmful to us.  The fall of man into sin has guaranteed that.  According to Romans 1 and Ehpesians 4 - our understanding is darkened due to sin.  We will inevitably choose to make a god of our choosing rather than honor the God who made heaven and earth.  Wisdom from God counters this tendecy in sinful man - pointing us to God as the source of wisdom and understanding - rather than turning to our own ungodly wisdom instead.  Wisdom that we gain from God's Word is like a divine antioxidant that will counter our tendency to turn to ourselves and the world for wisdom.  Whereas the world tells us that we are free to make our own sexual choices - even if that involves sex outside of marriage - God's wisdom tells us that sexual intercourse outside of marriage is wrong and harmful to us.  God's wisdom has been vindicated as study after study shows us that abstinence before marriage and faithfulness in it keeps us from all kinds of disease that runs rampant in the sexually promiscuous population.  Like a divine antioxidant, the Word protects us from the free radicals of our sinful nature and the world system around us. 

Another benefit of honey is that is it a wonderful antibacterial and antibiotic.  I learned from a local honey grower in our town that honey is wonderful to use in fighting infection - especially among burn victims.  In China honey is used to keep burn victims from getting infections.  Their success rate in keeping burn victims from getting infections puts ours to shame in America.  Wisdom is just like honey in this regard.  It is a divine remedy to keep us from being infected with the world's thought - and thus from the world's maladies.  God's wisdom tells us that in relationships we should be selfless and patient.  The world tends to be all about themselves in relationships.  That is why there are so many broken relationships in the world.  Marriages are protected from selfishness infections when God's wisdom prevails.  Families are protected from self-centered outbreaks when we apply a healthy dose of God's wisdom to the inevitable difficulties and problems that we will face in this world. 

These are just a couple of the ways that honey and wisdom are good for us body and soul.  When we choose to have a daily diet that includes these things, we will be blessed.  As we read earlier - this will provide us with a desired end and a hope that will not be cut off.  We will find ourselves energized with God's power - as well as protected from the infections of the world in our minds, hearts, and spirits.  So eat up dear saints!  Eat honey - do so wisely, but partake of it.  Take a healthy daily dose of wisdom from God's Word as well.  You will find that when you do this - there will be blessings that will last far beyond a moment - or even a day.  You will be given blessings that will last a lifetime. 

Apply your heart to discipline And your ears to words of knowledge. Proverbs 23:12

This is a simple admonition here in Proverbs - and yet if we will look at it carefully, it will yield to us some very helpful information. 

The first thing we see is that we are to apply our heart to discipline.  The word "apply" here means, "to bring to" - thus what God is saying to us is that we need to bring our hearts to something.  Here we read that what we bring our hearts to is discipline.  The word discipline is "musar" which means to instruct with discipline.  It refers most often to the discipline given by a father - both by word and by the rod. 

It is very easy when discipline is applied to us for us to not allow it to reach the heart.  We may hear the words - and receive the correction - but we do not bring our hearts to it.  True correction and discipline is for the heart - not the bottom.  It might be applied to the rear end with the rod - but the aim in these things needs to be directly to the heart.  Those who protest the use of the rod see the issue being striking a child - and they see it as evil in all circumstances.  But the godly parent is not aiming for the rear end alone.  They want to instruct with their discipline.  They want their words and their use of the rod to affect the heart of the child.  If you have their heart - in the end you will truly change their behavior.  What Solomon is saying though, is for the one receiving the discipline.  Apply your heart to what God is trying to teach you. 

If you are like me - there are times when you bristle at discipline.  It is not pleasant to have God apply the rod to us.  It is not a delightful thing for us to be corrected and rebuked.  But when God grants us discipline it is only for our best interests.  We can be absolutely assured of this.  Therefore we need to train ourselves to receive it joyfully - gratefully - and educationally.  If we do, maybe we won't need a second dose of discipline to complete the job for us. 

The second admonition here is that we also apply our ears to words of knowledge.  Knowledge here refers to more than just head-learning.  Solomon is telling us about a knowing of God and His ways.  He refers to a working knowledge - a practical knowledge - intimate knowledge - knowledge that truly changes the way we act.  The verb "apply" is assumed here - thus we are told to bring our ears to this knowledge that God is seeking to give us.  It is more than just hearing it - it is concentrated listening.  It is listening to learn and to apply it to one's life.  This is key to us becoming wise. 

If we will truly bring our hearts and ears to what God is seeking to communicate to us, we will be blessed greatly.  God longs for us to be wise and to know and follow Him with all our hearts.  These two practices - bringing our hearts to times of discipline - and bringing our ears to hear obediently what God says to us - will assure that we grow and personally experience all the godliness that God desires to give us when He works and speaks in our lives.

He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good. Proverbs 19:8

How does the Bible teach us to love ourselves?  Here is an interesting question because there are some who think that before we can ever love someone else, we have to love ourselves.  Personally, I find that kind of teaching to be contrary to sound wisdom.  The reason I feel this way is because those who are taught such things spend all their time going deeper inward to determine if they love themselves enough.  The problem with this kind of psycho-babble is that happiness comes when we are no longer consumed with ourselves and learn to give our lives for others and for the glory of God.  A person who constantly goes inward to determine if they love themselves properly will have precious little time to love others.  It is usually a downward spiral that can lead to a person being consumed by a desire for their own happiness.  Jesus said that if we love our lives we will lose them - but if we lose our lives for Him and for His kingdom's sake, we will gain them for all eternity.  But this passage in Proverbs genuinely speaks of loving our own soul.  So what exactly is God teaching us here?

The translation here reads, "He who gets wisdom . . . " yet the actual word translated wisdom is the Hebrew word, "leb" which refers to the heart.  What Solomon was seeking to say is that the one who gets a heart - the right kind of heart - loves his own soul.  Here is where we need to grasp what the Bible says about our hearts.  We learn from the whole counsel of Scripture some very interesting things about the human heart. 

First, we learn that our hearts are messed up due to the fall of man into sin.  Jeremiah tells us that the heart is wicked and desperately evil, and is impossible to understand with our own wisdom.  (Jeremiah 17:9)  To plumb the depths of our hearts - without grasping the wickedness of sinful man - will get you no where.  That is why secular psychology will yield very little in dealing with the true human condition.  None of the major psychological constructs admits that man is a sinner - and that the real problem with humanity is a sin problem - a rebellion against God.  The next thing we learn is that God Almighty can understand the heart - and has done what is necessary to change it and transform it.  The change for the heart is available by faith in Jesus Christ.  God takes out of us our heart of stone, that does not respond to God's Word or commandments.  In its place God miraculously puts a heart of flesh that has the very commandments of God written upon it.  Thus we are regenerated in Christ with a new heart and a desire to do what He commands.  The other lesson that God teaches us in His Word is that once we are saved, our hearts and minds need to be renewed by the Word and the work of His Spirit.  While we are here on earth, we will face temptation and a constant battle with the three enemies of our soul, the world-system, the flesh, and the devil.  Because of the way that these three things want to influence our minds toward sin, it is imperative that we renew our minds with the truth - which is God's Word.  Actually, this is the way we "get heart."

We "get heart" when we begin to understand God's wisdom and God's ways.  We no longer try in our own strength to deal with the myriad of temptations and trials that come to our hearts.  We know that such an endeavor is doomed to be fruitless.  Instead, we embrace what God has done in Jesus Christ.  We embrace godly wisdom and understanding.  As we do this we are actively loving our own soul!  Remember that Jesus said that if we want to save our "fleshly" lives in this world - we will lose them.  But the one who chooses to lose his soul - who dies to self - and who embraces a regenerated heart - that man loves himself in the end.  He embraces an understanding of life that has conversion and regeneration at its core.  As he does this - he finds good!  He learns to die to himself - and die to the desires of the flesh.  He learns that when his heart is drawn by temptation to a worldly point of view that he needs to reject it.  He chooses instead to "not love the world or the things of the world."  He goes to the Word of God to renew his mind so that he proves that the will of God is good, acceptable, and perfect.  He faces the lies and deceit of the devil and learns to expose them for what they are.  He chooses instead a life instructed by the Scriptures.  He spends time in the Word so that he is walking with "understanding" at all times. 

The two words "keeps understanding" are very beneficial to know here.  He "keeps" understanding points to the fact that he watches over it - guards it - and is constantly on the lookout for anything that would detract from God's ways and will in his life.  He keeps "understanding" points to the fact that he desires a discernment from God on all things.  The word "understanding" is the Hebrew "tebunah" which means to discern or understand how things differ.  He looks at every choice wanting to discern the difference between his flesh and the Spirit of God.  He wants to discern the difference between the kingdoms of this world vs. the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ.  He longs to discern the difference between his own desires and those given by the Lord.  He yearns to grasp the difference between sin and righteousness - between glorifying self and glorifying God. 

This is the way to love yourself.  You love your own soul by protecting and guarding it from the tyranny of self.  You choose instead to embrace God's wisdom in the heart.  You decide that you will guard and protect yourself from anything that turns you even slightly from a life lived for the glory of God - from a life lived for the kingdom of God - and a life lived by the Spirit of God as He teaches and leads you by the Word of God.  Want to love yourself?  That is the way to do it!

Prize her, and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her. Proverbs 4:8

As we are getting wisdom and understanding it would benefit us to know why we should prize it so highly.  That is what this wise father does next as he is seeking to teach his childern.  He does so by personifying wisdom as a lady who will begin showing those who value her with wonderful things.  There are several things he tells his son in this way - pictures that he will not forget.

Prize her . . . this is the first thing he is told to do.  The idea here is that this young man should lift up and exalt wisdom.  He should give wisdom and understanding a marvelous reputation and worth.  A smart man highly values and exalts the wisdom of God in his life.  He puts a premium upon it - and makes obtaining it a priority.  The son is told that if he does this - Wisdom will exalt him.  Wisdom will lift you up - will grow you - will promote you and cause you to be raised up in position and in your place in life.  Here is a wonderful benefit of wisdom.  People might not value a person of wisdom initially - but in time wisdom reveals itself in what it does and how it blesses.  When a man has wisdom to see the right thing to do - and understanding so that he can practically carry out what needs to be done in order to secure the blessings - he becomes incredibly valuable to those who are around him.  Far too many bad things happen in life because people follow the advice of fools.  So when a man truly wise and understanding comes around - he is noticed and he is desired. 

Embrace her . . . this is the next attitude we need to have toward wisdom and understanding.  When you embrace someone you are showing affection and affirmation.  To embrace wisdom means not having it at an arm's distance.  We pull wisdom and understanding close.  We want it and we love it.  When we do this wisdom, we are told, will honor us.  The word for honor here means to be heavy and the idea behind the word is something that carries weight.  This is the same word that elsewhere is used for the glory of God.  If we will embrace wisdom, she will honor us.  She will give our words and ideas weight to those around us.  To use a modern phrase - we won't be lightweights in the world of ideas.

Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than he who is crooked though he be rich. Proverbs 28:6

Integrity and honor are character traits that are of high value in the kingdom of God.  They make a person very wealthy even though at the time they may not have a fantastic financial bottom line.  When someone is varying between two stances - which is what this passage called being "crooked," they can have all the money in the world and still be seen as far less successful than the poor man who lives a godly life.  God's way of valuing things and people is far different than that of the world.

The word "crooked" is very interesting.  The literal Hebrew means, "perverse in two ways."  What this describes is someone who is going back and forth between two opinions and two views.  According to the Theological Wordbook of the OT this term refers to the twisted and perverting nature of sin.  The word was also used to describe how a woman twists her hair for the purpose of putting it in braids.  Thus the word came to mean the way that people twist their ways and choices contrary to what God commands and desires.  The word is used to describe the way rulers "twist everything that is straight" (Micah 3:9).  In a similar Proverb about the need for integrity, this same word is used to describe how fools are perverse in their speech. 

Too often the rich think they are beyond the law - or above it because of the influence their money buys in this world.  I have several friends who are police officers who have told me again and again that they have far more trouble out of rich people they pull over for speeding than from any other group.  They are told that they should give the rich person a warning or nothing at all because of all the people they know in City Hall.  They try to throw their influence around to intimidate my friends in law enforcement into ignoring the law - or might we say perverting it.  They want my friends to act crookedly.  These guys write them tickets seeking to enforce the law - only to have them ignored by those in power when they come to court.  Too many of the rich make the mistake of placing their hope in riches and what they provide in this world - rather than in God and the hope of His reward in eternity.  I say this not to absolve the poor of integrity issues - because the problem is not money - it is the love of money.  I've seen the love of money in every financial category there is.  The warning here is to run after integrity and honor - and not allow money to make us think that these things don't matter as long as you are well off financially. 

Just an aside here for our mutual benefit.  I've heard a saying again and again that grieves my heart.  Here is the saying, "Money may not be able to make you happy, but it makes your misery much more bearable."  Those who say that are truly deceived.  They think that a few years of less miserable riches are worth trading for all of eternity.  God does not countenance such foolishness.  They are truly deceived because they do not understand that their momentary happiness in their wealth and stuff will actually make their judgment more severe.  The Scriptures tell us, "To whom much is given, much is required."  Whatever brief comfort they find in their things and their wealth will be infinitely offset by the searing judgment that awaits them for loving the world and therefore not having the love of the Father in them.  Again - that was for free - because I'm tired of fools sounding wise to this world when they are only multiplying their foolishness for a judgment that awaits them at the throne of God.  True wisdom is seeing the end, in this case eternity, and making sound decisions with God's ways in view.

The poor man walks differently here because he walks in his integrity.  The word "walk" is the Hebrew word "halak" which means to come and go, or to walk about.  It was a word that was used to describe a flowing river, the blowing of the wind, and the movement of animals of all kinds.  It was therefore used to metaphorically speak of the pathways of one's life - and came to mean the lifestyle that one chooses.  This poor, wise man has chosen to walk out his life using God's wisdom as his guide.  The best way to describe this integrity that the poor, wise man chooses is to walk with all of our heart in the things of the Lord.  The word here for integrity was used to describe the way that men like David and Job spoke of walking with a perfect heart.  This did not mean these men were sinless - just that they did not want to waver between two opinions and two ways of living.  They wanted to live for the Lord with all their heart - all the time. 

There is something that God values greatly in this world.  But what God values and what men value are two entirely different things.  This world does not value living for God and His ways with a whole heart.  They might give an honorable mention to the occasional religious person who they admire for a few moments because of their devotion to God, but they do not see this as a way of living for all men.  They live for the things of the world - and chase after them with all their heart.  But what is highly valued by men of this world is despised by the Lord.  He is looking for men whose heart is completely given to Him.  How much better it is to be one of these men - regardless of their financial bottom line.  It is far better to be that kind of a man and poor - than to be the richest man on earth and only enjoy it for the mere length of a breath - which is how God describes this life in comparison with eternity. 

The memory of the righteous is blessed, But the name of the wicked will rot. Proverbs 10:7

What kind of memories come to mind when you hear the following names.  Take a moment and remember Billy Graham.  Now take a moment and remember Adolf Hitler.  That brief exercise has just proven the proverb that we will examine today.

Proverbs tells us that the memory of the righteous is blessed.  God is not saying that the righteous will have a great memory - but rather when people remember the righteous they will do so with a smile on their face and good things in their heart.  Godly people not only die well - they also are remembered well.  Billy Graham is nearing the day when he will go to be with the Lord.  I can promise you that on the day our brother goes to be with Jesus, the memory of who he is and what he has done in the Lord will be a blessing to millions.  I remember a scene from the movie, "Chariots of Fire."  It was at the very close of the movie.  Two men are remembered for the lives that they lived.  The first was Harold Abrahams, a sprinter who won a gold medal in the 1924 Olympics.  He was a determined man who lived for that medal.  When he died some rememebered him as a great sprinter - but Abrahams was not known for his graciousness or great soul.  The second man was Eric Liddell, a scotsman, who won gold in the 400, a race many thought he would compete in poorly.  Liddell was supposed to be in the 100, but chose not to compete as it would make him do so on a Sunday, something that was against his own religious convictions.  After the Olympics Liddell went to China as a missionary where he was dearly loved by the Chinese during his ministry there.  The movie spoke of the day Liddell died with these words, "All Scotland mourned."  When that godly man went to be with the Lord - all of Scotland mourned his death - and remembered his life with great joy.  The memory of the righteous is blessed!  That is the case with men like Liddell - but it is also the case with much lesser known men.  Being a pastor, I've watched it again and again at funerals. 

My third funeral, after I did two for lost people, was for a precious 90+ year old woman who loved the Lord with all her heart.  She never raced in the Olympics or went to China as a missionary.  She just lived in a small Arkansas community and loved Jesus and those around her all her life.  When she died it was such a precious thing to hear from all those who knew her.  They spoke glowingly of her commitment to Christ and the way that she lived for God's glory as she gave herself to those around her.  Indeed her memory was blessed that day - and many afterward.

But let us turn to Mr. Hitler.  Just that name causes people to cringe.  Over the years - the rot of that name continues to cast a putrid shadow over history.  Adolf Hitler's name will rot throughout all time.  He was a wicked man who lived for his own power and conquest.  After World War II we learned of his horrific efforts to exterminate an entire race of people.  There are few if any who have any kind thoughts toward this man - and those who do usually share his twisted philosophy of a master race.  His name will live in infamy and shame for what he did. 

So, what kind of memory will you create when your days are done?  Will you live for righteousness and godliness?  Will you live for Christ and His kingdom with a selfless, self-emptying passion that drives you to bless all those around you?  Or will you give yourself to more selfish and self-centered pursuits.  Will you embrace wickedness instead of righteousness.  What you choose in life will determine how you will be remembered in death.  Choose life - choose godliness - choose the path of the righteous that is like the light of dawn, shining brighter till the noon day.  If you do this you will leave a memory that will delight the hearts of those who think of you and your works - even long after you have left this life for life eternal.

"Do not forsake her, and she will guard you; Love her, and she will watch over you. Proverbs 4:6

Of all the great love stories that have filled the pages of books, this one is by far, the least familiar.  Believe me there are plenty of love stories (which to be honest, many are more like lust-stories or idolatry-stories) that capture the minds of men and women.  This love story though - doesn't get much book or screen time. 

I'm speaking of the love story between a man or woman and wisdom.  That is what is described for us in this verse of chapter four of Proverbs.  First, the father tells his son not to forsake her.  The word "forsake" here means to abandon, to leave, to desert something or someone.  How often has wisdom watched us teary-eyed as we descend into stupidity and foolish - crying out all the way, "Don't leave me!"  Yet we leave - we abandon and desert wisdom and go out on our own.  We return to her - often with the scars and the marks of sheer stupidity later - wondering how we left such a "hottie" for a "nottie."  Sin and stupidity looked so good for a moment - in fact sin promised so much.  Problem is that sin never delivered (and never does). 

If only we had not forsaken our love - our Wisdom.  She would have guarded us.  The word for guard here is our old Hebrew friend "shamar" which means to keep watch over, to preserve, to be careful and diligent.  This was the word used for a doorkeeper or a guard.  She would have protected us from the ravages of evil and the mistakes of foolishness.  If only we would have listened.

The love story here involves love itself.  Wisdom gave all of herself to us.  What we should have given in return was an equal love.  The word for love here (aheb) means to have a strong emotional attachment to and desire either to possess - or to be in the presence of another.  If only our love would have reached this level.  If only we had desired wisdom and gotten fully attached to her.  If only we had desired to possess her - to have her - and to keep her near.  To be in the presence of wisdom whether it meant sage older men - or just a good book (actually THE good book).  How often has Wisdom desired that we return the great love of the Father to us.  If we would love like this - responding to Wisdom's call and Wisdom's protection - she would have literally "protected us" and "watched over" us. 

God has given us His Word - and has put it in a 31 chapter volume that holds great wisdom for us.  How He desires that the love He gives us through Wisdom - through the Holy Spirit teaching and leading, and guiding us - would be returned. 

There is a love story that will bless us marvelously, if we will become a character in it.  This love story promises to be one that will last throughout all the ages.  It is almost as if this love story has existed all throughout time - and is available to anyone who will embrace wisdom - and hold wisdom fast.  Know this - each and every day you awake and get ready to start your day - there is One who loves you more than you could ever imagine.  There is a wisdom that He wants you to have - that will guard and watch over you for good and for blessing.  This love is there if you will respond.  The question then resounds, "Are you going to get involved, or are you just going to play the field?"  How you answer that question will determine whether you enter into the most awesome love story ever - or just waste your life on bad choices. 

A sated man loathes honey, But to a famished man any bitter thing is sweet. Proverbs 27:7

This proverb is about much more than just when a person likes and dislikes honey.  It is about hunger - first physical hunger as the physical meaning suggests - but it is about much more than just physical hunger.  It is about how we walk through life - about worldliness and about knowing and walking with God.

The physical picture painted for us is very clear.  When a man is sated he loathes honey.  To be sated means that you are stuffed.  This is like when you have eaten too much at a meal and you are miserable.  It wouldn't matter what someone offered you - you would not want any part of it.  This is why the man loathes something as sweet and enjoyable as honey.  He is too stuffed with food to enjoy anything.  The opposite is also true though.  A famished man considers any bitter thing sweet.  The famished man is truly hungry.  He has not eaten all day long - and as a result he is ready to eat anything.  Even something which others might consider bitter is sweet to him.  He will take it up and eat it grateful for anything to help him with his hunger. 

Beyond the physical picture shown to us are great spiritual truths for us to glean.  A man sated with the world will look at the Word of God and loathe it.  He is filled up with the daintes of the world and as a result has little or no spiritual hunger.  1 John tells us that everything in the world, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life comes not from the Father, but from the world.  When we fill our hearts and souls with whatever our eyes desire, whatever our flesh demands, and with a heaping helping of boasting in this life - we will not have any desire for the Word, which is sweeter than the honey or the honey comb.  The glories of God and what He has in store for us seem like nothing when we are glutted with worldliness and selfish pursuits.  This is why it is so hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  He is so filled with what "this world" has to offer - that often he has no room left for the things of God.  We need to see the danger of feasting on the world, the flesh, and the fast food of the devil.  When we do - we will despise and loathe the things of our Lord. 

Then there is the famished man.  The man who knows that the things of this world and this life are temporary.  They are fleeting pleasures - what the Bible calls lying desires.  They lie to us because they constantly promise fulfillment - but in the end they do not satisfy.  They don't provide contentment - they do just the opposite.  They eye is never filled with seeing - the flesh is never satisfied with food - and when we set our sights on wealth and riches, they take flight and soar to the heavens, always just a little beyond our ever grasping hands.  Knowing these things - he seeks God for his "daily" bread - and asks not for riches.  He knows that often the man with them forgets his God.  Thus he wants something more.  He has heard of this One Whose Spirit within is like a spring that rises up to heaven and salvation itself.  He has heard of One Whose bread of life actually fills.  He seeks the One Who offers rivers of living water - not a river outside of himself - but one that God puts within that overflows out of him to bless others.  He is a famished man when it comes to worldliness and sin.  He is a famished man when it comes to the religion of the eyes and flesh.  He knows that boasting in this life provides him nothing in the end.  Therefore he hungers and thirsts after God.  He has heard from One that blessed is he that hungers and thirsts for righteousness, for he will be satisfied. 

This hunger makes it to where any bitter thing is sweet to him.  Where the worldling is constantly receiving but is never satisfied, this one receives everything from the hand of God - good and bad - and it all works together for good in his heart and life.  Whereas the worldling ever complains that it is just not enough - the spiritually hungry one has eaten of contentment itself in the presence of God.  Having his spirit filled to overflowing - he knows that all that God allows in his life (whether sweet or bitter) is working on his behalf.  He even knows that the light and momentary discomforts, disappointments, disconcerting events - are working toward an eternal weight of glory that cannot be ascertained.  God is at work in this famished man's heart - thus any way that God's providence and sovereignty designs his circumstances are going to be satisfying for eternity. 

When you look at this proverb - and the truth that it represents - you come away with the paradox of God's work in this world.  The filled go away hungry - while the hungry are deeply satisfied.  The difference between seeking this world - and the world to come - is the difference between knowing contentment and fulfillment in hunger - or just walking through life empty even though you are sated with the world and all it offers.  Truly, blessed are the poor and destitute in spirit - for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.