The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD. Proverbs 16:33 Today's Proverb is not so much about using a system of drawing straws to make a decision, as it is about the sovereignty of God over those decisions. A universal fact of life is that God ultimately has sovereignty over everything that happens. There is nothing that is not under His rule or reign. He takes all things that happen and uses them for His ultimate purposes. The lot speaks of a system of drawing straws or pieces of wood, with one piece either shorter - or marked in some way to make it distinct from the others. This was one way that difficult decisions were made. It was also a way that God proved to His people that He indeed was sovereign. Take for example the sin of a man named, Achan, in the time of Joshua. Achan chose to take some of the things that were under the ban when they attacked and conquered the city of Jericho. When he did this - he hid what he took in his tent. But his act of disobedience and unfaithfulness caused the Lord to withhold His victory from their next opponent. As Israel wept thinking that God had left them - God said that their real problem was that there was sin in their midst. God said that He would give a perfect lot to expose who did this. Think for a moment what this meant. There were well over a million to choose from in this lot. It would be impossible for God to show them one man out of a million - by drawing straws. Yet - that is exactly what God did. He did this by breaking Israel down by tribe, group, family, and individual - until God put His divinely sovereign finger directly upon Achan. No less than three different times did God choose one man out of an entire nation - by lot. Oh, and by the way, He was absolutely correct every time. This is no mere game of drawing straws. What we learn from this is that God is truly sovereign over all things - and from what we read in this particular proverb - all decisions. If we will look to Him in the midst of every decision that we make - we can know He will be the one who guides us. This gives us so much more peace than to think we are at the whims of others - or just in a random world that will only exhibit randomness in every decision. We live in the world guided and directed by the hand of the Omnipotent, Omniscient, Sovereign God, Who knows exactly what He is doing - and where He is going.
Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; Do not destroy his resting place; For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity. Proverbs 24:15-16 There are times when you wonder about the providence of God. These are times when you look at the wicked - how they strut about on the earth - and how they attack the righteous and seek to destroy them. Asaph had one of these times in Psalm 73. He struggled mightily with the prosperity of the wicked and the difficulties and trials of the godly. Yet in the end, when he considered eternity and the end of the ungodly, David returned to his sanity and found himself worshipping God - and pitying the wicked. Here we have a warning given to the wicked - or at least the wicked man who thinks he can destroy the godly. He is warned not to lie in wait against the dwelling of the righteous. Here we have someone who is planning to do something destructive. The word used for "lie in wait" is a single Hebrew word that means to ambush, to lurk, or to lie in ambush as a military tactic. In the military context it always has the meaning of also doing this for the purpose of killing another. I don't want to make you stay awake at night worrying, but there are very sinister forces today that are lying in wait against the righteous. Radical Islam is one of them. For years the 9/11 terrorists were waiting and training for their one day of evil. It was spooky to say the least to learn just how long they were among us - acting like nothing was going on - and all the while they were planning the worst terrorist attack in history against us. It was even scarier to read an article that listed the top 10 ways that Muslim terrorists were planning to attack us. The article was written by someone from the homeland security department. This list blew my mind because the attack that they are planning currently makes the 9/11 attacks look timid in comparison. In addition to the threat from radical Islamic terrorists, there are also threats from the far left. The radical homosexual movement wants to destroy conservative Christianity, making it illegal to hold views that are consistent with Scripture. There are those among the religious and academic elites who think that Christianity should be relegated to the ash heap of ideas - with laws enacted and enforced to make sure this happens. Like I said, this is disturbing to know - that there are those who are plotting and planning our demise. God warns such people that this is not a wise thing to do. Remember saints, that God considers us the apple of His eye - and warns against those who would seek to harm us. He warns that such things are very unwise and will elicit his judgment. God warns specificially against seeking to destroy the "resting place" of the righteous. It is true that some want to destroy our "physical" dwelling places - but there is also the fact that those who oppose us among academia and the marketplace of ideas - want to destroy the Biblical Christian worldview and the philosophy that goes along with it. They fight us on the front of creation and science - saying that only their view is acceptable and that creation science is no science at all. They fight us on the moral front, saying that our views on morality from a biblical standpoint are outdated and should be cast aside for more modern (read immoral here) standards, which wind up being no standards at all. They fight us in the arena of human value - as they push abortion, euthanasia, and population control. They fight us in the arena of God's purpose as they exalt the earth with their environmentalism - even saying that humans are a blight upon the planet and should be culled back from our current 7 billion to no more than 300 to 500 million people. All these things are attacks on our "dwelling place" and "resting place" in the Lord God and in His Word as the ultimate source of truth. One could get the to the point of living in fear if he or she did not read the rest of this proverb. The relentless attacks have not been just in this generation. They have existed all throughout history. Whether it has been the emperors like Nero, Diocletian, and Galerius or the attacks of the currently worldly educated like Darwin, Nietzsche, Hitchens, Harris and Freud, Christianity is amazing just for the fact that it is still around and still considered even a marginally valid worldview. But it is far more that that. The Word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ continues to transform millions every year - and provide for them a resting place for their faith and their lives. We should take heart though, because this proverb gives us great hope - even though we are beset on all sides by those who seek to destroy us. God tells the wicked that even though a righteous man falls seven times - he will rise again. We have the peace of knowing that He Who began this good work in us, will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. He will not allow us to be destroyed and decimated. Even in death His martyrs speak - and the blood of the martyrs becomes the seed of His church. We may fall seven times - but He will pick us up and make us to stand because of His grace and work in us. But this proverb comes also with a warning. The wicked are warned that they will stumble in times of calamity. When difficult times come - when evil befalls because of their wickedness or because of God's judgment in their lives - they will stumble in it. The word for "stumble" here means to stagger, to totter, to be brought down or cast down. The word is used in the Old Testament to describe not just the fall of individuals, but the fall of cities and nations who fall because of the evil and wickedness that they've committed. So we come full circle on this proverb to what I began saying in this article. Asaph almost stumbled when he considered the prosperity of the wicked in Psalm 73. But in the end, he remembered the judgment and the sovereignty of God. He considered their end - and how they were consumed all at once in their wickedness and iniquity. This moved him to two things. First it moved him to worship God, who is truly sovereign over all things. He worshipped God because he knew there was more to this life than - well, just this life here on earth. In light of the fear and terror of God in judgment, he worshipped with trembling as he considered the end of the wicked. Second, he was moved to pity and mercy towards the wicked. Seeing their latter end, he pitied them and grieved over their destruction. Finally, he was thankful for God's grace and love for him. Here is wisdom . . . God is sovereign, even when it seems that the wicked are being destructive towards His people. We should not stumble over this reality - but rather realize that God is working, even in the moments when it seems like the world is out of control - or even worse - under the control of the wicked. Know this - God is working for His own glory. If He used a moment as horrific as the cross of Christ to redeem the world - believe me when I say that He can also use anything to eventually bring about His will in this life.
A divine decision is in the lips of the king; His mouth should not err in judgment. Proverbs 16:10
Here is a verse that was greatly misused by kings and rulers throughout the middle or dark ages. They would slightly misquote this passage and state that they had what is called, "the divine right of kings." This they then used to rule over people in a way that was totally contrary to what Scripture stated. Let's look at this issue - but also look at a balanced view of rulers and how God uses them in a nation to accomplish His purposes.
The misquote here was due to how the King James version rendered this verse. The KJV reads, "A divine sentence is in the lips of the king; his mouth transgresseth not in judgment." This was taken as meaning that the king cannot make an error in judgment - and that since a divine decision was in his mouth - he could not make mistakes. This bad doctrinal view was then used to state that no matter how wicked or ungodly a king was - his was a divine rite from God. The king was not to be questioned in any decision he made therefore, because it was God's decision when he said it. One can see how this bad exigesis led to horrific abuses by leaders. One can also see why so much resentment brewed toward the Roman Catholic Church because they supported this view. Part of their reasoning behind this was because if the king's decisions were divine, then that gave them the right to say that the church then would have to approve every king - and could depose them if excommunicated. Oh the power that was enjoyed unscripturally by so many who purported to be God's messenger. It was not until the reformation that this began to be corrected - and the divine rite of kings was reigned in by the proper understanding of this verse - as well as the whole counsel of the Word of God.
In order to understand this verse, we first need to grasp that Solomon is writing to kings here. The Word of God clearly states that no authority exists except that which is from God. Yet, this does not guarantee that all rulers will be godly or Christian. If that were the case we would have to wonder why God couldn't even get that to happen in Israel and Judah. God is not interested in an earthly kingdom (Jesus said as much in the gospels) but in saving a people for Himself - and for His coming kingdom in heaven. Thus the natural flow of sin and rebellion will even affect the social institutions of this world and the governments that rule over the affairs of men.
When Israel rejected God from being king over them - and cried out for a king, "like all the other nations," God warned them what this would bring. He warned them of the excesses and the danger of having one "man" over them. As a man, this king was just as affected by sin as anyone else. This is why God also instructed the king to write out a copy of the Law by hand - so that he would be reminded to obey the Lord and do according to everything that was written in God's Law. We read about all this in 1 Samuel 8 and Deuteronomy 17. The reason this is important for us to understand is that God knew they would ask for a king - and therefore he gave command before it ever happened how the king was to live - what was allowed and what was forbidden. When you read through Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, you see clearly where the kings veered off God's course and subsequently turned evil. At this point the king was still in authority - but his actions were clearly outside of God's will. Thus for someone to quote this proverb and say that a king could never err in judgment or in what he says is patently outside the scope of Scripture.
What is actually said here is that a divine decision is in the lips of the king and that he SHOULD NOT ERR in judgment. Solomon knew that great power came with the title of king. That power had tremendous consequences for individuals - but much more than that - for the future of an entire nation.
He may have remembered the case of the two harlots who came before him. They argued over which of their babies had died, and which was alive. God gave Solomon great wisdom as he commanded that the living baby should be cut in half and a half given to each women. One agreed, while the other who was the real mother, had compassion on her child and said to give it to the other woman rather than killing it. Solomon, filled with the wisdom of God, knew that the compassion of the one woman showed that it was her child. He then gave the command to give it to her - for it was her child. Everyone was amazed at this decision and knew God's wisdom was in him. In many ways this strengthened his power and authority among the people. They knew God was with him - and that he ruled with great caution to make the right decisions.
But Solomon also knew of his sins - how his heart was drawn away by foreign women. God commanded that His people not do this - because these women would turn them away from God to their false gods. Solomon ignored this command and did his own thing. He erred in judgment. The end of this was the eventual destruction of Israel. The more they turned from God the greater the judgment fell upon the nation. Truly as king he should not have erred in judgment.
Every leader on this earth should have this verse etched into his psyche. We have those today who say that there should be a separation of church and state. I agree with them if they mean that Congress should not establish a national denomination - or a national church run according to the dictates of the government. But what they have done is enforce the establishment clause of the first ammendment, but have completely ignored the fact that there is also a protection clause. They are never to prohibit the free exercise of religion - and our founders meant the Christian religion in particular. They said that a man was not fit to run for office if he was not a Christian. Our founders said that this nation was predicated on our ability to obey the 10 commandments. They knew that if God's Law reigned in our hearts (realizing it needed to rein in our hearts) that a plethora of human laws would not be necessary. We've rejected such things - and as a result - our leaders have rejected God's ways and Word. It really should be no great shock to us that the nation has and is declining. The worst aspect of this is that our president and Congress no longer look to God's Word for leadership. They think that they know what to do from their own thoughts and ways. This can lead no where except to disaster in the end.
Our President and Congress need to recapture what is said in this proverb. They have great power - and God tells His people to honor the power of their governing officials. But that power is not absolute. They are under the same Word of God as we are. They should not err in judgment as they rule over the people. When they do, they need to realize that their power is NOT absolute. God, who said we should obey them, is also the One who said that He raises up kings and overthrows them as well. In his divine providence He has seen nations rise up - and others destroyed and humbled. In the end we all will answer to Him. For some He may not do it as quickly as they want, but the fact remains that He ultimately rules over all the affairs of men. If only our current rulers would recognize this - our nation would turn around to a place of blessing under their leadership. But as long as they think they cannot err in their own judgment - we are probably not going anywhere good in our future as a nation.
The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9Who controls the events of this world? Ever wonder that in an ultimate way? Solomon had great wisdom in this regard because he had a good grasp on reality. He understood that though a man may think he determines his own way by planning and by careful thought - that ultimately God is the One who directs his steps. To some this is a very disturbing reality. James wrote about this same thing when he said, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.' But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. " What an interesting thing we have before our eyes here. God wants us to consider His will and plans ultimate in our lives. We are not to think that we can plan to do whatever we want and thus think our way is made plain. We are to say, "Lord, if it is Your will, I will do this - and may it be for Your glory and to adance Your agenda and purposes on earth." James then warns us that we cannot move our lives in any direction unless God is pleased with that choice. The fact that we have another day to live is a gift from Him - and we should never take that for granted. The truth is that when we take our days for granted - we are guilty of arrogant boasting before God. Men plan their way. That is a simple fact of life. God is not against planning - just against those who think that they determine their lives by their planning alone. Plans can be good things when they are submitted to the Lord. They become bad things when they are contrary to what God desires in your life. He still may allow you to plan your way and work your plan. Yet, He will direct your steps. You are not a free agent to do whatever you want or please. Your way will ultimately be directed by Almighty God - and whether you serve Him or not - He will even take your rebellion and clothe Himself in it - to prove to you and everyone else that His purposes are the ones that will stand in the end. Anyone who thinks otherwise will no longer think that way when they face the ultimate judgment at His throne. History is littered with examples of men who thought they could conquer and change the world. In the end their lives were brought to their end - and God even used their arrogance in His ultimate plans and purposes to bring Jesus Christ to this world to die for sin and be raised to life. The Pharisees and Saducees thought that they would control things - and planned to kill Him by having the Romans crucify Him. Even that supposed plan of men was used by our sovereign God to accomplish salvation for His people. No man ultimately controls his steps. They are directed by God to achieve what He desires in this world. What a wise man would do when faced with this self-disturbing truth is humble himself and turn to the Lord. He would learn to live by the will of God. This way his works will be profitable - as He does the will of God. He can enjoy being God's workmanship, created for good works that the Lord has planned beforehand - so that he may walk in them. This way no aspect of life is wasted on the lie that a man controls his own destiny.
The righteous is delivered from trouble, But the wicked takes his place. Proverbs 11:8 God's ability to deliver out of trouble is nothing short of amazing. If we only knew all the times that God has delivered us from situations and problems - we would fall and worship at His feet. As it is we will have to wait for that day when we see Him and know as fully as we are known. But thankfully the Lord has put some of His glorious history in the Bible from which we can glean the wonders of His power to arrange providence according to His will. We read here that the righteous is delivered from trouble, but that the wicked takes his place. The first thing we need to state here is that God does not promise to deliver the righteous from ALL trouble. There are times when God's purpose is served by the death of His martyrs. But for every martyr it seems that there are also those times when God does glorious deliverances among His people. There are two that are amazing because they mirror exactly what is said here in this passage - that the wicked take the place of the one who was delivered. We read of Mordecai who would not give worship to the wicked Haman. Haman decided to do more than just kill Mordecai. He got authorization from the king to kill the entire people of Mordecai - going after the entire Jewish nation. As the Jews prayed earnestly for deliverance, God was engineering a wonderful array of providence to provide deliverance for them. Esther was queen so she had access to the king - and was willing to go even though she was not requested - thus risking her own life. As Haman proceeded to build a gallows like none other upon which to hang Mordecai - God was having the king experience a sleepless night in which he had court records read to him. He learned of Mordecai speaking of a plot to kill him - and desired to honor him. That event led to a glorious change of circumstances - in which Mordecai was delivered from the gallows - yet Haman was hung on them instead. Instead of Mordecai's family being killed - the family of Haman was hung along with him upon the gallows he built for Mordecai. Ah, the glories of my God and King - Who can work miracles of providence to accomplish His own will in history. The second piece of Bible history involves Daniel and a lion's den. A group of wicked advisors to the king were jealous of Daniel - and thus sought a reason to accuse him before the king. Darius the King was a vain man so he fell for the trap laid for Daniel. The advisors had him sign a law that no man could pray to anyone except him for a day - with the penalty being death by lion's den if they disobeyed. Once signed - these wicked advisors awaited Daniel's godly choice to pray to God three times a day. When he bowed to pray to Jehovah, they were ready to pounce. They dragged him before the king and had him pass sentence even though he was loathe to do so. Thus Daniel found himself being lowered into a den of ravenous lions - a trouble that seemed destined to have him consumed as soon as he reached the floor of the den in which the lions awaited his arrival with salivating mouths. But God shut those mouths and delivered Daniel until morning. As he was raised out of the den - the lions did not have to worry about going hungry. The king, furious with their deceitfulness, had the wicked advisors thrown into the pit with the lions who more than obliged his offer of a second meal - crushing them as soon as they hit the ground. God is able to deliver to the uttermost. We need to know that and trust Him to deliver us when we face trouble because we confess His name. We also need to know that He is also able to bring the wicked to a most horrific end as well - even having them take our place as He delivers us. Trust Him at all times, dear saints of God. He is good and will do what is good in our lives. Whether He offers an earthly deliverance or not - remember this one thing. The most glorious deliverance that He offers is that which is bought and paid for with the blood of His own Son at Calvary's cross. There He delivered us from His own wrath and judgment - not at the cost of the wicked - but at the cost of His own beloved Son. May that ultimate deliverance from trouble drop us to our knees daily in worship, adoration, and praise!
The LORD has made everything for His own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil. Proverbs 16:4Well, here is a proverb that many would rather leave alone. But the good thing about disciplining yourself to walk through the Scriptures is that you have to deal with verses like this one. So . . . let's take a few moments to consider this little bit of wisdom.
The first thing we run into is the fact that God made all things. The simplest sense of the Hebrew word "made" is that God is the maker of all things. This comes as a shock to those who hold to evolutionary theory. Yet even their theory does not explain where all things came from - because their theory never explains why matter itself existed. Their theory, whether they realize it or not, has far more to do with their own pride and unwillingness to submit to a god - any god, than it has to do with valid science. The proverb gives the reason why this is so.
God has made everything for His purpose! The evolutionist and the atheist chaffe at this statement. They reject God so it is only consistent with their beliefs that they also reject His purposes. Yet, God HAS made everything for His purpose. This world - even as it rebels against God - is fulfilling His ultimate purpose. Oh how angry this makes them. Yet we see at the close of this proverb the most brazen statement yet. Even the wicked are fulfilling God's ultimate purposes when the day of evil comes. This presents to some a very real problem with God.
God makes the wicked for the day of evil? That is what this passage says. So the question arises, "Does God make wicked people - is He responsible for wickedness?" The answer to this question is a resounding NO. God is incapable of doing wickedness or evil. He will not - in fact, He cannot sin. Thus this speaks of those who have descended from Adam - who were made after his image and likeness. It refers to God working in spite of the fall of man to accomplish His eternal counsel and plans. He does so in spite of man's wickedness. He is not responsible for it - but He will indeed judge it. Thus even the wicked God works into His purposes.
But what is His purpose for them? That is a sobering reality as we see it revealed in Scripture. God's ultimate purposes for those who sin - and then who reject His grace in Jesus Christ - is that they are reserved for the day of evil. This "day of evil" could be just an ordinary day when the just desserts of wickedness are served. But when we consider this view we run into problems because even with the righteous there are days when "bad" things happen to them. This day of evil I believe refers ultimately to the day when God's judgment falls upon them. They rejected God all their lives. They rejected Him with their sinful choices and desires. When God offers forgiveness and grace they reject Him again. They continue rejecting Christ until the day of their death - thus culminating a lifelong wickedness. What remains for them is the day of evil. The day when God brings the ultimate punishment and "bad day" that will last forever.
This my dear friend is wisdom. Wisdom is acknowledging God as Creator of all that there is. Wisdom is then realizing that everything He made - though originally made good - is truly messed up due to sin. Wisdom is seeing that sin is not just some ethereal concept - it is a choice. Wisdom is seeing that sin is personal - you've committed it every day of your life by disobeying God's laws and commandments. Wisdom is then realizing God's ultimate purpose by embracing Jesus Christ as His way of paying for sin and providing salvation. Wisdom is receiving the conviction of the Holy Spirit and rejoicing when you are granted repentance and faith! Wisdom is then turning from your sins and trusting Jesus Christ to pay for them with His work on the cross and resurrection! Wisdom is then living for God's purposes all the remaining days of your life - embracing His glory as your ultimate pursuit!
Interesting isn't it - how a proverb that seems like a can of worms can wind up being a gracious gift from God? If we will only learn the wisdom of seeing God as the Ultimate - then living for His ultimate purpose and plan. That will be the day when we truly embrace what is wise!
The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes. Proverbs 21:1Do kings and rulers make their decisions and run their kings totally independent from the Lord? Some would think so, but the truth is that God is ultimately sovereign over the king. What is interesting about this particular proverb is that we see the king as an instrument of the Lord - and the Lord can direct this king's actions in whatever way He chooses. Can this be true? Can God honestly direct a king's heart like a channel of water?
We turn again to the pages of Scripture. We see again and again that God controls the heart of the king. For those who struggle with authority and think they constantly have to take things into their own hands, this passage is a reminder that God can work in any person's heart to accomplish His purpose. To see this, we only need to turn to the book of Esther and watch how God works in the heart of king Ahasuerus. The nation of Israel was on the brink of extinction within the kingdom, due to the wicked influence of Haman on the king. Esther has been praying for three days before entering the presence of the king - fearing that if he is displeased with her entrance - she could face death. Haman has his plot in place - ready to not just punish Mordecai, but to destroy his people as well. All seems to be moving to this horrific end for Israel - until God moves on the king's heart. Providentially, the king cannot sleep and asks for the anals of the kingdom to be read to him. Coming across an oversight on his part - he learns that Mordecai had rescued him from a plot to overthrown his rule and reign. As the king hears of this kindness we see the hand of the Lord turning the water course wherever He desires. Soon, we watch a complete reversal and now Mordecai is the spiritual leader - and Esther is honorred as Queen
There are those who fear that their lives are just being used as a pawn in a large chess game need to be encouraged as to the outcome. But we are not just cosmic pawns put in a game where higher powers move us to and fro. We are ultimately a part of what God is doing in bringing His own purpose and plan about each and every day. What is best for us is to search out and know God's purpose for our lives. If that purpose seems to be thwarted -even by royalty - we need to remember that our God directs kings and guides them like a husbandman directs a vine which he grows. Never lose heart - because God is ultimately in control - even over the highest office imaginable.
The plans of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. Proverbs 16:1To what level is God sovereign in our lives? There are some who think God is not sovereign over their lives - they can do whatever they want. They can plan their lives to the smallest detail without ever consulting with the Lord to make sure that their lives are pleasing to Him. The truth though is something far different. The plans of the heart belong to man is what Proverbs tells us. A man makes plans - and tries to set up how his life is going to be. There are those who make a few plans - and others who have an entire plan-book detailing almost every aspect of their lives. Whichever you are - you make those plans in your heart thinking that if you act on them you will be able to do what you want. But here is where Proverbs tells us something a little different - well - a lot different. The answer of the tongue is from the LORD. Jehovah is the One who determines whether the plans of men are accomplished or whether they just remain plans. God is the ultimate arbiter of all things - if He says this will not happen - it will not happen. But on the flip side of this is a very comforting realization. If God says something IS going to happen - it will just as He said it would. This does place us in choppy waters at times, because men will criticize God for what He allows within the scope of difficulties, disasters, and ungodly behavior. All we can do in these situations is to call upon the revealed character of God as well as His perfect wisdom and wait until the day that all the secrets of men's hearts will be revealed to us. To us life may take on the look of the backside of a tapestry with threads seemingly going all directions in what looks like a helter-skelter pattern. Yet the front of the tapestry reveales His eternal plan which is beautiful in every way.What we are to learn from this Proverb is what James tells us in his letter. When we presume upon God by saying we will do this or that, we are acting in insolent pride. What we need to say is that we will do this or that if God wills it. That is the wise man's stance on these things. There is one last lesson though - and that is we should seek and know God to where what is most important is not the inadvertant ways we may cross God's will with "our" desires, but rather that we would strive to know Him intimately so that "our" desires are submitted to His design at all times.
Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord, How much more the hearts of men! Proverbs 15:11
So, how much do you think God knows about you? How much do you think He knows about every person there is and ever has been? How we answer this question often will betray how we live as well. For the person who thinks of God in very low ways, God does not have a knowledge of everything going on in our world. This is especially true when it comes to themselves. God doesn't know everything about me - every thought and every motive. The result of such thinking is that such a person will sin more frequently and reason within themselves that God doesn't know what is going on in their lives.
There is a problem with this thinking though - it is inaccurate. This proverb may seem strange to us at first - but it's purpose is very clear once we grasp what it is saying. Remember the fear of the Lrod is the beginning of wisdom. Thus we need to have adequate reasons to respect, honor, and fear Him. One of those reasons is the fact that everything lies open before Him. Nothing - including the thoughts and intents of our hearts is hidden from His sight. This One Who is Judge - knows every conceivable fact about our lives that can be gathered.
Sheol is the place of the dead. That place lies open before the Lord. He knows everyone there - and everything about them. The place of the dead is not a mystery to God. He konws every intimate detail about those there - and about everything they did before they arrived. Even in death His knowledge is absolute. What seems to be the idea here is that no matter who you are - God knows all there is to know about you - even when you are dead. But what about those who reject Him - those who say either He does not exist, or if He does - that they offer Him no information about themselves? Well, that is an interesting question - and one which this passage answers.
Abaddon lies open before the Lord. What is Abaddon? This is the place of the wicked dead. It means "destruction" and is the Old Testament equivalent to hell. This lies wide open to God. He knows everyone there - and knows all there is to know about them. Even those who reject Him - are known intimately by Him. There is an interesting statement made by some - that God is not present in hell. That is not Scriptural. He is there - but only in absolute judgment and wrath. Those in hell know God - but they only know Him in His wrath and judgment - and will only experience this for all eternity. He knows all about their rebellion and arrogance - and every last bit of it is reaping eternal destruction and devastation.
Now, if Sheol and Abaddon lie open before God - where do you think this places the hearts of men still living today? Since God knows everything there is to know about everyone who has ever died - godly or ungodly - it is not a stretch to realize that every man's heart lies open before Him. What a comfort this is to those who seek Him - yet what a terror to those who think they can reject and shut him out of their lives. Yet that is the very purpose of this passage - this proverb. It is given to bring men to the terrifying realization that the One Who stands as their Judge - is One Who has absolute knowledge about them down the tiniest detail of their lives. To rebel against Him is the height of insanity. All their hearts are open before Him - and they will have to answer for every deed and word - every action and attitude - every mood and mood - every sin - all this will be at His instant disposal. This is meant to humble us - possibly even horrify us if we are living definantly toward Him. May He do His work through it to bring men to the end of themselves and to a point of repentance and faith in His only answer, Jesus Christ.
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