There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers. Proverbs 6:16-19
What does God hate? This is a good question to ask - because the Lord actually lists for us 7 different things that He hates. Some think that God doesn't hate anything because He is love. But when you realize that whereas He loves righteousness and holiness - it means that by nature He must hate the opposite - and that is sin. This is a good list to remember because it reminds us of at least 7 things we absolutely need to steer clear of in life. We do this because we do not want to incur God's wrath for loving something He hates. #1 - God hates Haughty Eyes . . . The proud look is something the Lord really despises. The eyes, according to Scripture, are the windows of the soul. When the eyes are filled with a haughty look it is a sure thing that the heart is filled with that same haughtiness or pride. We remember from the book of James that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. It is no stretch then to say that in hating haughty eyes God truly despises those whose look communicates an arrogance and pride that shows that they have no respect for God and His ways - just an utter disdain of them. #2 - God hates a Lying Tongue . . . One of the 10 commandments is not to bear false witness. That means lying is out with God. He is a God of truth, and He wants us to speak the truth. When a tongue is a lying tongue, God hates the lies that come from it. Truth opposes lies at every turn - and we can be assured that God opposes the liar whose lying tongue promotes just the opposite of what God loves and is. #3 - God hates Hands that Shed Innocent Blood . . . Here is one that we need to remember. Innocent blood is murder. God hates murder. Once again we find that one of the things God hates is listed in the 10 commandments. You shall not murder is commandment number five. Jesus goes further in Matthew chapter 5 when He tells us that even the thoughts and words that are at the core of a murdering heart - God hates. There is an application of this we also need to remember. The false god Molech required that his worshippers have their children pass through the fire as a child sacrifice to him. God hated this worship - and made it clear that the innocent blood shed in this practice would pay dearly for their sin. I believe we have a similar worship today in the practice of abortion. This practice is an abomination to God. We have decided that children (usually conceived due to sexual immorality) are too much of an inconvenience. Therefore we've devised the most heinous ways of disposing of them. We burn them alive through saline abortions or puree them within their mother's womb. And if this is not enough, when we wait too long to decide to dispose of one's conceived immorally, we just birth them partially and kill them in a way that we would NEVER consider for a convicted murderer. How God hates this shedding of innocent blood. #4 - God Hates a Heart that Devises Wicked Plans . . . There are hearts that are thinking of evil - and who begin to plan to do evil. This is true even of us when we set our hearts on sin and want to do our best to keep it hidden. But there are those whose plans involve far more than just one man wanting to sin without being caught. These are those who devise a wicked plan either in business or in the government. These plans will harm thousands - and possibly millions. They do not consider that their wicked plans will do this - because they are consumed either by the acquisition of wealth or power. God hates these people because of how their thinking harms others. #5 - God Hates Feet that Run Rapidly to Evil . . . Here we have someone who is just itching to run to evil things. There is no restraint in this one - because when he or she sees evil - they want to run "rapidly" to it. When a society turns from God - there is a growing stupidity and spiritual deadness that causes them to become insensitive to the warnings of Scripture. Thus they start to run to evil - rather than stop and think about the harm it will do to them and to others. When people run rapidly to evil it is also a sign that self is so completely dominant in their thinking that they are deaf to any other voice except the one that is urging them to do what they want. God hates this because it reveals that a conscience is dead to Him and dead to the warnings of both the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. #6 - God Hates A False Witness Who Utters Lies . . . Here we have what seems to be a second time that lying is mentioned. This second time though it is mentioned in the context of someone who is a false witness on a matter. This first time is was just a lying tongue. The false witness could be someone who speaks lies in a courtroom where the role of perjury comes into play. This would mean a perversion of justice and God loves justice and righteousness. It can also mean a false prophet or someone who lies about religious matters - thus causing some to put their faith in a god who is not God at all. Either way God hates it when someone who lies as a witness on a matter. They encourage people to make decisions based upon deception and lies. No wonder He hates these things - because the very first sin was due to the work of the devil as he was a false witness to Eve about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That lie, that deceit - when believed was the impetus that led to the fall of all of humanity into sin and rebellion against God. #7 - God Hates One who Spreads Strife Among Brothers . . . The final thing in this list of seven is a person who is causing problems - actually who is spreading strife among the brethren. This person is one who either learns of strife - or is causing it. He is not content though we knowing it himself. He becomes the ultimate evangelist for strife among the brethren. He wants to see as many people upset and involved in this strife as possible. It should be no small wonder to us then that God does not say, "Blessed are the strife-makers." He says just the opposite. It is the peacemakers who will be called the sons of God. When God could have magnified the ultimate strife of the universe in sin - He did not. He chose to make peace through the blood of the cross of Jesus Christ. Therefore it really should be no shock to us that He also hates those who go the opposite way - and spread strife rather than spread peace among the brothers. We might need to remember this the next time we have a choice to continue a situation of strife and conflict - when we have an opportunity to bring peace instead. Seven things God hates . . . it is a very sobering list. There are some things like murder and wicked plans that we would fully expect to be on this list. But other things that we tend to minimize tend to shock us here. Some call lying just telling a little fib - or a white lie. Others might not see spreading strife by gossipping to be something that is not the best - but certainly something that everyone does. The fact is that when God calls these things the seven things He hates - we need to remember them - and then learn to hate them in our own lives as well. That, my dear saints - is wisdom.
8 Comments
The Merciless Messenger Sent to the Rebellious - and His Terrifying Message - Proverbs 17:1110/17/2010 A rebellious man seeks only evil, So a cruel messenger will be sent against him. Proverbs 17:11
When a man is in rebellion against God he is seeking only evil in his life. What a fascinating statement this is - and yet, because it is Scripture, we know that it is true. So let's learn some lessons from the rebellious man so that we will not find ourselves visited in the same way that he is visited in this proverb. The rebellious man is the one who is obstinant - stubborn - and rebellious. But there is one very important thing about his rebellion. It is against God and His laws and ways. The term was used often to describe the way that Israel was determined to go their own way - stubbornly refusing to obey the precepts and laws that God gave them in His Word. It is used also of Saul's reusal to carry out the Lord's command concerning the Amalekites. This man wants nothing to do with what God desires and calls for from us. Thus he sets himself in a direction that only agrees with what he wants. We read here that this man, while in this sad spiritual condition, seeks only evil. Until he comes to the place where he will submit himself to God and to what God says in His Word - it matters not what he does - because it is evil. Turn from God and you turn from anything that is truly good. Turn from God and you will ultimately turn away from anything useful - at least in eternal matters. And since everything in this life and this existance will be destroyed with fire in the end, anything not laid up in eternity will be first consumed by moth and rust - but in the end it will be destroyed by fire. A promise is given to the rebellious man - one that is pretty frightening. God says that because of his rebellion, this man will receive a messenger from the Lord. We read that a "cruel messenger" will be sent against him. The word for cruel here is "akazarty" and it means someone whose cruelty is contrasted with a person who is merciful and righteous. What God is saying here is that a messenger who knows no mercy is going to come against the rebellious man. There is coming a day for the rebellious man - a terrifying day. God refers to such days in the prophets of the Old Testament. He calls such a day, "the cruel day of the Lord. Isaiah 13:9 tells us of such a day when God says, "Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it." In order to grasp what is said here - and what kind of things will come with this cruel day I want to take a few moments and exegete this verse for us. The "cruel" day of the Lord is described for us in five ways here. Each will help us understand better the cruel messenger that is going to be send against the rebellious man. 1. Cruel - this day is going to be one that is "cruel" The Hebrew here - akazary - means lacking mercy or kindness. This is the day - the day Jehovah removes mercy from the scene - in other words, man is going to receive what He deserves. He has deserved such cruelty - but God has withheld it - even pouring it out upon His Son for forgiveness to be given - but now - only cruelty is left. This word was used to describe the utter savagry of the cruel warriors of Babylong - now - that savagery is returning upon their head! 2. Fury - Hebrew is "ebrah" meaning an overflowing fury, wrath, and anger. God is overflowing with wrath. He has withheld it for the most part - but now, no longer. It is released - and like a dam breaking - it comes with power - crushing all that is before it. 3. Burning Anger - The word here means a fierce anger that is like an uncontrolled fire burning and consuming all that is before it. God is no longer holding back this fury and wrath - now it burns in all its measure upon the wicked. 4. Desolation - The land is now a desolation - a waste - a horror to behold. Those who would look upon it would do so with a sense of being appalled! 5. A Day of Extermination of Sinners - The end of this is to "exterminate" the sinners from it. The word means to destory, eraditcate, exterminate - to totally or utterly destroy or wipe out. That is what is awaiting those who grieve and anger the Lord of the universe! When we read these words, the wise among us tremble in fear of God. We also do all that we can to abandon any way that God would describe as rebellious. We want nothing to do with the rebellious man - or his ways. He is truly a stupid man for living in this way. Some might accurately go as far to say that he is close to insane for living in rebellion against God. Others (actually the rebellious themselves) will laugh all this off - rejecting God's warning and His holiness and justice. It is sad to say that the cruel messenger that will come to them to awaken them out of their spiritual lethargy and rebellion will be death. In that moment they will move from rebellion to terror. But in that day it will be too late. God will have already sent His final message to them - and what a cruel, absolute message it will be. No mercy will be available in that day. Just the opposite will be true. Having rejected God's mercy all their lives, these rebellious fools will have only the fiercest of the wrath of God as the reward for a life that sought only evil during the few brief years given to them. May God give us grace that we will reject such a stupid and foolish choice. May we look at rebellion and rebellious ways toward God as we would look at a vile of beubonic plague - as that which will bring certain death and destruction. Through insolence comes nothing but strife, But wisdom is with those who receive counsel. Proverbs 13:10
Today we are going to learn about the danger of the sin of presumption. I know that this one rarely comes across our lives - or at least we rarely talk about it. Can't really remember a time when anyone dealt with this in a teaching or a sermon. But, since that is where we are in Proverbs - let's take a look today. The Bible calls this sin "insolence," and we are warned that nothing comes through it except strife. The word for insolence here is the Hebrew word "zadon" and it means presumptuousness or pride. The idea here is that of a willful decision that has not consulted with God - or doing something without really knowing whether it is the will of God or not. We presume that we can do something or say something and we have no real idea whether the Lord is in it or not. But rather than back up and check - we push ahead. Suddenly the sin of presumption seems much closer to our world and lifestyle than we first thought. This was actually the original sin in the garden. Eve presumed that it would be OK to partake of the fruit - even though it was clearly NOT the will of God for her to do so. When she heard the arguments of the serpent, she presumed that the rules had changed. The sin of presumption comes in so many ways. It comes when we decide that we really don't need to study and read God's Word. Our ignorance of the Bible only radically furthers our presumption. Some mistakenly lump presumption with initiative. But initiative considers what someone wants - or what they need - and rather waiting to be asked to do something - takes the initiative to do what is right. Presumption doesn't know what is right - doesn't ask - and goes ahead with the plan and action without finding out. Through presumption comes nothing but strife. We first have strife with God because ultimately He is the One upon which we are presuming. We just figure that He approves what we want to do - and we do it. Later when we learn that it is sin - we justify ourselves and our actions claiming ignorance. Our most ignoranct moment was going ahead with our plans before we ever knew His will. Presumption draws upon pride for its strength. Pride tells us that we know what is best for ourselves - and we ought to be able to do some things without asking. We "presume" that we are free agents, able to do what we want without consequences. Yet, the consequences come - and come hard in the end. We also wind up with strife among people. Take 5 selfish people and put them in an organization. Each is prideful about their ability to lead - and each thinks their ideas are wonderful! Let them loose without any kind of restraint upon them - especially any when it comes to seeking the face and heart of God. Soon you will have more strife as they push forward with their "ideas" without any thought of their consequence (except the consequence of them being noticed, advanced, honored, etc.). They presume that because they think it is a good idea - it ought to be done - and done now. Oh, the battles, the strife, the infighting, and the grief that the sin of presumption causes. You sometimes watch entire churches set aflame with anger, broken relationships, and pride as they splinter due to the sin of presumption. How do we keep presumption from creeping into our thinking and our lives? The second half of this proverb tells us that the cure for presumption is to receive counsel. But wisdom is with those who receive counsel. First, we receive the counsel of God. The Lord told Joshua at the beginning of his leadership over Israel, "This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night. So that you may be careful to do all that is in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success." There is the key - to know God's Word. We receive counsel when we make sure that what we are doing is in accord with the Word of God. We are wise when we make it a priority to seek His face and know His ways. Then we make certain that what we are doing is what He wants. No presumption - but careful seeking and careful ordering of our lives according to His direction for us. The same is true when we take the time to ask for counsel from others BEFORE we launch out into an endeavor. The Word tells us that in an abundance of counsellors there is victory! How much better we do when we take the time to ask someone - and hone our ideas through the wisdom and eyes of others. We are resuced from our own extremes - and learn to live to serve one another - even in how we push forward with what we are desiring to do. Before we end today's proverb I would like to give one memorable Biblical example. When Joshua led Israel, the people of Gibeon came to him and the leaders of Israel deceptively. They wore worn out clothes and took crumbled provisions to make them think they were from a far country. They were from Canaan - and were not to be a people with whom Israel entered into any covenant. But Joshua and the leaders believed their eyes - and presumptuously decided to enter into a covenant with the Gibeonites. The Scriptures tell us that, "they did not seek the counsel of God." The end was a horrible decision - one that would cost them dearly. It happened all because they presumed to know what to do - and decided that they did not need to ask God about it. Oh the grief that would be spared if we would seek to destroy this sin of presuming upon God. The strife that would be avoided if we would only make it a lifelong practice to turn to Him and ask Him what should be done. Make it a point today to turn to the Lord - make it a point to turn to Him in every situation to ask His heart and His will. Learn from Joshua - that we need to meditate day and night upon the Word of God - so that we will do the will of God and prosper. That is how we can begin to see this little known - but often practiced sin removed from our lives. If they say, "Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause; Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit; We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with spoil; Throw in your lot with us, We shall all have one purse," Proverbs 1:11-14
Here is the call of the sinners who want to entice the godly son to come with them. Solomon has told his son do not consent to go with these young men. Let's take a closer look at their enticements today and hopefully learn wisdom from seeing why doing what they say is not wise. First we see that they want to lay in wait for some pour soul from whom they want to take their life and possessions. They evidently have marked someone and have plans to rob them and either kill them or harm them pretty significantly. A couple of things we should note from this. First of all that these people are not the kind of crowd you want to frequent if you are seeking to set your ways rightly in God's sight. There are some folks who spend a good portion of their lives looking for trouble. Here they want to ambush some poor schlub who has no idea what is about to happen to him. Second, they want to attack the "innocent." This is never a good idea if we read what God thinks about harming innocent people. These evil men want to swallow people up - like death itself. This is not too difficult to see since these people seem to be motivated by death and hell itself. This reveals a condition in their hearts that is truly evil. It is as if they embrace death itself. This speaks to much of our entertainment industry today. There is a whole genre of films today that glory in violence and destruction. It really should not shock us that the same kind of violence also is permeating our society as well. For years I've believed that the company we keep in the movie industry also has a great deal of influence in our thinking. Will we rise up and kill someone because we watched a movie - probably not. But the problem becomes that we are more and more desensitized to violence and evil behavior. Either way, it is not wise to keep the company of the wicked - or the films that they make. Just as a principle for future use - Jesus is preoccupied with life. If someone is preoccupied with death, destruction, the place of the dead, and the pit - probably not someone you need to hang out with in life. Here we see the true reason for their violence - greed. They covet what their victims have - and desire to use it to make themselves wealthy. Their worldly-mindedness shows itself in their desire to have money, to have wealth, to have houses filled with the spoil they gained from the destruction of anyone who had what they wanted. Their greedy appetite will be their eventual undoing. God's Word makes it clear that you shall not steal - and those who choose to do so - will not prosper but will eventually face the jugment of God against their actions. The enticement for the unwise young man is that they will all have one lot - and when the plunder is theirs - one purse. They are putting themselves together for a common cause as well as a common financial stake in all that they were going to do. What is NOT being said here is that they will also wind up sharing a common end. Since they have embraced violence and death - destruction and the pit - it is only fitting that they will also embrace those things as their common end as well. This is not an exciting lifesyle (although it may seem that way here on this earth). It is a destructive one that will end in the destruction of the one who is walking in it. Here we have seen the way of sinners. We have seen the way of those who live for their wealth and schemes to take from others so that they can be rich. We have seen those preoccupied with death and destruction. And hopefully - as we continue in another day to see what Solomon has to say about how unwise it is to live this way - we will see how as they open their heart to pour out death and wickedness, they will find that wickedness is poured to overflowing into their hearts as well. Here is the height of foolishness - may God give us grace that we will not fall into the company or the ways of such fools. May instead He give us a heart of wisdom. Do not go out hastily to argue your case; Otherwise, what will you do in the end, When your neighbor humiliates you? Proverbs 25:8
Proverbs provides an amazing array of good practical advice for living. It also has passages that would help in any profession a person chooses. But there are certain proverbs that fit hand in glove with a specific profession. Here is one that definitely fits with the legal profession well. Since the word "argue" here has as one of its primary meanings, "to argue in court" or "to file a lawsuit" we can see that this has great wisdom to offer to someone who is a lawyer - or someone who is about to hire one. Proverbs 25:8-9 is a great reminder to anyone who wants to argue a case with another - which of course fits perfectly with the legal profession. We are warned to not do this "hastily." When someone chooses to argue a case for themselves or against another - they need to make sure that they proceed with wisdom and caution. To go out and hastily argue a case is to do so without due diligence. There a dangers in doing this that are inherent in reacting quickly to things. First, we have far too much emotion in our immediate reactions to argue without undue prejudice in our thinking. We are blinded to seeing wisely - which is the ability to look at multiple angles of the issue. When you are blind to something - you are very succeptible to being "blind-sided" when arguing your case. A wise man takes the time to look at every angle and consider every argument before beginning to argue a case. Our legal system allows for argument and cross-examination. This is inherently wise because it allows for two sides of an argument to be explored. It is designed to expose hasty decisions and ill thought out arguments so that wisdom and prudence prevail in the end. We would be wise to "cross-examine" ourselves when we have a knee jerk reaction that drives us to argue something too quickly. If we did this - we would avoid embarassment when someone who is thinking more rationally dismantles our open and shut arguments - and reveal them to be way more "shut" than open. This is what Proverbs warns us when it tells us to be careful about hasty arguments. We are warned about being humiliated by our neighbor in the end when we do this. Here we find our Hebrew friend "acharith" again. This word speaks of the end - but does so from the standpoint of being able to think about what the end of our actions will be. Here we see that that the end of hastily argued points is humliation by our opponents. If we saw this before we started arguing in haste, we would have stopped ourselves long enough to properly think though what we were going to say. I am for anything that will stave off moments of high embarassment. That has meant seeing my natural tendency to jump to conclusions as more of a jump into a pit of poisoned spikes. To put it another way - it is very unwise to jump to conclusions. It is wiser to look before you leap upon someone with your supposedly lock-tight arguments. The wise man takes the time to consider first whether pre-prejudice has affected his thinking. The wise man takes the time to decide whether silence would be more effective than blurting out what he thinks. The wise man takes the time to consider the end of the matter - before starting it. This, dear saints, can rescue us from a plethora of painfully embarassing moments. Oh, and by the way, in court - it can mean the difference between a case that is won - and one that is humiliatingly lost. The violence of the wicked will drag them away, Because they refuse to act with justice. Proverbs 21:7
When a man is unjust an violent, he is headed for disaster. Although at first it may look like his ungodly ways are a means of getting somewhere in life at first, his violence will eventually drag him down to destruction. In today's proverb, God makes it clear that the violent man is headed no where fast - and that a life of injustice and wickedness will not prosper in the end. The first half of today's proverb speaks of how the violence of the wicked will affect the wicked man. We are told that his wickedness will drag him away. The word for violence here can point to violence itself - but it can also mean robery and a whole host of other socially unacceptable behavior that causes havoc in people's lives. The wicked think that they can use violence to get what they want. The extreme examples of this are people who rob others violently - either beating their victims or even shooting them and killing them. Their actions trigger a man-hunt that works to bring them to justice for their wrong. In the end, their violence drags them away - and they are either arrested and sentenced to prison for a long time - or in some cases are killed while trying to be apprehended by the police. Others violently misuse their power to gain things. The number of CEO's that have gone to jail for abusing the law - and violently stealing the money from their clients and companies is too numerous to list here. But one thing is for sure. The violence of their wicked behavior dragged them down in the end. The whole problem with these individuals is that they refuse to act justly. They ignore the laws of the land as if they are immune to them and to the consequences they promise. They see them and may have even read them - but they think they are above them. Their refusal to act with justice will destroy them. That is how God has set things up in this world - that laws are given to identify lawbreakers and bring them to justice. He even puts the rod and the sword into the hands of government to punish those who do wrong. The truly wise man sees the laws of society and realizes they are there for the purpose of protecting and keeping people safe from the sinfulness of man. He does not refuse to act with justice . . . he chooses a just and righteous lifestyle for the wise one knows that it is the way of life. Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, But who can find a trustworthy man?
Proverbs 20:6 I love it when one of the proverbs has a perfect biblical example in the New Testament. This is the case with today's proverb. It speaks of those who declare their own loyalty - but then asks the question of whether anyone can even find a trustworthy and faithful man. The situation we learn of in the New Testament is the history of Peter - who declared that though all the other disciples would abandon Jesus - he would not! Peter made this statement during the Last Supper - and it was followed by strong declarations made aby all the rest of the disciples. But what we saw at the crucifixion was a very different situation. Peter followed Jesus at a distance and eventually denied he even knew Jesus. The others did not even make it that far - abandoning Christ in the garden when the mob came to arrest Him. So much for the prideful declarations of those who proclaim their own loyalty. There is something fundamentally wrong with a man who trumpets his own loyalty. Filled with pride - he makes boasts of how loyal and trustworthy and faithful he is. Such declarations really should be made by those whom he serves. They are the ones who have evidence of his loyalty - and they should be the ones who speak of that loyalty. Yet this passage states that this guy is blowing his own horn. Be careful then with those who boast of how faithful and true they are. And . . . if you are one who has done this in the past, take the advice of another proverb and, "Let another praise you, and not your own lips." The question that is asked in the second part of this proverb is also interesting. "Who can find a trustworthy man?" Let us take a look at that for a few moments. There are trustworthy men found in the history of the Bible. Solomon knew of one because of his own mother. She was married to a man named Uriah. Now he was a trustworthy man. He was faithful to God and to David. When David brought him home under the guise of asking about the battle - he would not go to his home and sleep with his wife. That was what David desired so that he could cover his own adultery with Bathsheba. But Uriah was a trustworthy man. He said he would sleep in the open like his fellow soldiers - and not go to his home and to his wife. His faithfulness eventually cost him his life. David, who was not being a trustworthy man, had Uriah killed by taking him too close to the wall - where the archers would be able to kill him. The history of the world is more a history of men being unfaithful. When Solomon asks if anyone can find a trustworthy man - he is asking a very poignent question. There are actually no trustworthy men on the face of the earth - except one. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All have turned aside and become worthless. There is a sin nature that is in every man and woman alive that will assure us that they are not an absolute trustworthy person. There has only been one trustworthy man - the man Christ Jesus. God testified to that at His baptism where He declared, "This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased." Near the end of his time on earth - God allowed James, John, and Peter to see Jesus' inner nature at the Mount of Transfiguration - where the absolute purity and trustworthiness of Jesus was allowed to shine forth. And His resurrection from the dead was absolute proof that He was the only trustworthy man ever. Solomon's question is a good one. There is only One Who is trustworthy. That man is Jesus Christ - the God-man. He was trustworthy and faithful in all God's commandments. That is why He was able to go to the cross and die for all our sins and rebellion. It is also why God can now declare us righteous. It was because of the One Man Who was a trustworthy man. Although it was said in a different context - Pilate was right when he declared, "Behold the Man!" Even Pilate could not find any fault in Jesus. And the only sentence Christ was declared guilty of - was the fact that He said that He was the Christ. The Pharisees and Saducees on the council declared Him a blasphemer - but God declared Him the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead! Cling to that faithful and trustworthy Man. Do not claim honor in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the place of great men; For it is better that it be said to you, "Come up here," Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of the prince, Whom your eyes have seen. Proverbs 25:6-7
There is a real danger of claiming honor in the presence of leaders and people of importance. The danger lies in whether they agree with your evaluation of yourself or not. That is why it is wise to embrace humility when in the presence of leaders and people of importance. We are told not to claim honor in the presence of the king. This is because a king or a great man already has a standing of honor and respect. When we claim one - we may claim something they don't think we should have. We are also told to be careful about standing in the place of great men. Your mother may think you are awesome and great - but that's because she is your mom. Not everyone in the world carries a picture of you in their wallet. The wise man embraces humility and a low view of himself. He is not boastful and full of himself. Instead he chooses to let his works, his attitudes, and his value be evaluated by others who see what he does. He focuses on being a servant and being a person of excellence. Whatever happens as a result of his actions he lets others decide. This way, if he is lifted up and praised, it is due to the words of others and not due to the arrogant braggadocio of his own words. This is what verse 7 presents to us. We are told that is it better for others to say to us that we should, "Come up here." What is being said is that we should leave the praise to others. When we receive it - others are elevating us. We simply receive their praise graciously and gratefully. There is one of the dangers of having too high a view of ourselves. We begin to believe our own press. We think we are awesome and that others really should be praising us and lifting us up. This places us in a very precarious place. We read the final admonition to us in this verse and it is one we should think about very seriously. It's better for someone to say, "Come up here," than or us to be demoted in the presence of the prince. To be humbled is . . . well . . . a humbling experience. It is bad enough to be humbled in a one on one situation - but here we are talking about being humbled before a prince - and probably before his court as well. Arrogance has a very high cost - and that is seen nowhere more clearly than in this one who decided to assume a high place in the court of a king or a prince. The Biblical example of this is found in the book of Esther. Haman was elevated to a high place in Ahasuerus' kingdom. He was given authority which quickly went to his head. Soon Haman decided that everyone should exalt him - like he was king. When Mordecai would not do this - he decided to abuse his authority not just to hurt Mordecai, but to destroy his people as well. This plot seemed like it would succeed, were it not for the prayers of God's people and God's intervention. This process wasn't hindered at all by Haman's exceedingly great pride and arrogance. His fall came when he was asked by the king what should be done for the man who the king desired to honor. Haman's pride was at its highest and worst point when the only thought that came to him was that he was the one whom the king spoke of when asking this. Little did he know that the one the king decided to honor was his rival. Suddenly all the arrogance and pride in destroying an entire people for a slight he felt to his pride was caving in upon him. He faced devastation as a series of events took place where he was no longer asked to, "Come up here," by the king. His was a careening fall from grace to his death by execution. Arrogance does not pay in the end. It will bring about a devastating end for the one who embraces it. But the humble man who does not seek to advance himself will prosper. He will do so in one way or another. Either he will be advanced by the king - a turn of events he will receive with the same grace and attitude with which he served in the first place - or - he will continue to serve graciously because his goal was not honor and glory anyway. His goal was simply to serve those around him in the name of Jesus Christ. If he accomplishes that - he is happy. A fool's lips bring strife, And his mouth calls for blows. A fool's mouth is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul. Proverbs 18:6-7
Our mouth can be a source of blessing or our downfall. For the fool the latter is more the case. His mouth is a means of trouble, strife, and eventually ruin. Let's try to learn from him today and avoid the things that happens when a fool is speaking. First we learn that a fool's lips bring strife. The idea here is that when a fool opens his lips to speak - along with his speaking comes strife. Evidently the fool is itching for a fight because that is what takes place after he speaks. His mouth calls for blows. The fool is the one who always has to have the last word - and that word is usually highly offensive to those who hear it. You watch the fool escalate his statements from offensive to provocative. He provokes those around him to the point where their anger is boiling over. He enrages people with the way he speaks - and the end of it all is blows - a fist fight. Rather than walk away from a growing tension, the fool throws gasoline on the fire and stokes it in every way he can. He does not have the ability to let an insult go - and just walk away. He has to one up the person who insulted him by offering an even greater insult. Actually, the fool usually is the one who starts all this - almost as if he or she is wanting the fight. At the core of all this is pride. The fool is filled with it. As I said earlier he can never let something go. Anything said requires his provocative response. He loves contention and controversy. He loves quarrelling and disputes. He thrives on hostilities and his words invite them constantly. A wise man knows how to calm people with his responses. The fool only inflames them. No wonder that in the end we watch him punching and being punched as the fight erupts. The next verse continues this thought. The fool's mouth is his ruin - and his lips are continually snaring his soul. The word ruin is the Hebrew word "mehittah" which means destruction, ruin, and terror. The root word for "mehittah" is "hatat" which means to be broken or afraid. The fool thinks he is bringing himself honor or at least respect when he won't take anything from anyone else. He thinks he is standing up for himself and that all others will know he is not someone with whom you want to tangle. But the opposite is true. His mouth is not bringing him respect, it is bringing him ruin. His mouth is a continuous source of terror for his life. He is constantly in danger because of his big mouth. He keeps opening it and getting himself in trouble. He says that he wants to stay out of trouble - at least that is what he tells the officer each new time he is arrested - at least that is what he says when he stands before the judge again and again - but his mouth is a snare for him. He speaks out for himself and in doing so sets another trap directly in front of himself to step into. We would consider a man the ultimate fool if he set a bear trap and then stepped into it - but that is what the fool does with his mouth all the time. Let me offer an example from real life. We read of sports figures who are constantly getting in trouble. It seems that they go from one altercation to another - in and out of a courtroom as if they were walking through a revolving door. Why does this happen? A lot of it happens because they have the mouth of a fool - and they use it in the company of other fools. Where do they go regularly? They go to bars and clubs. What happens to them - they run into other fools whose minds are dulled by alcohol. When they do some fool (either one at the bar or they themselves) opens their mouth in typical drunken arrogant fashion. Feeling "dissed" they then "bow-up" in pride and let their foolish mouth run free. Of course when you get two drunken fools like this together the escalation is not only going to happen - it is going to happen quickly. More foolish words are exchanged as they trash talk one another and, you got it, a fight breaks out betwen them. In recent years we've added to the fist fights - fools who carry guns with them into bars and other places - and someone becomes angry enough to shoot someone else. Then we get the court case where any normal person would be send away for their crime - but in the case of the rich, spoiled athlete - some deal is cut to let him continue to entertain us with his physical prowess. We never think about the damage done to our children who unfortunately are taught to idolize these fools - and who follow in their footsteps. Our mouths are incredibly powerful things. James says that our tongue's can set the course of our lives on fire - and that they can be set on fire by hell itself. That is why we need to learn things like humility, patience, and restraint. It is also why we need to be wise and to avoid the company of fools whose mouths continually snare their souls. Let your mouth be filled with the Word of God - with gracious and kind words - and with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let your mouth become the instrument that brings you blessing - not the tool which the devil, working unhindered through your flesh, uses to bring you to ruin. Haughty eyes and a proud heart, The lamp of the wicked, is sin. Proverbs 21:4
Two things that God hates are haughtiness and pride. They are actually two sides of the same sin - but nevertheless God really despises these things. We learn from this proverb that these two things are the very lamp that shines within the wicked - it is what they think gives them light and guidance. It should be a no brainer then why they are so blind to the things of God. Haughty eyes are the first thing mentioned here. The word for haughty here means something having height - and actually refers to the physical height of the heavens. In the oriental culture it was considered a good thing to cast your eyes down before a superior. It showed respect. To this day orientals show their honor and deference to someone by bowing to them and lowering their eyes. Thus to have lifted eyes - even eyes raised to the heights - is to be a very disrespectful and arrogant person. It is a way of saying that you recognize no greater authority in life than yourself. Everyone else is "below" you. A "proud heart" is also mentioned here. The word proud means something wide, spacious, and broad. When put with the word "heart" it came to mean someone arrogant - of a broad and prideful heart. One of the ways this speaks to us is that in biblical times someone who held a "broad" view of their morals and choices was someone who ignored the Scriptures and the Law - and chose rather to walk in the pride of their own desires (broad as they may be - yet still wrong!) rather than submit themselves to the Law of God and the boundaries it put on their actions and attitudes. When a man has arrogant eyes that refuse any authority but their own, and a heart that refuses God's Law - that person is wicked. This proverb tells us that this is the "lamp" of the wicked - these arrogant eyes and proud heart. The lamp refers to the light by which this person seeks to live. The psalmist prayed, "Send forth Your light and Your truth, let them lead me." This was his request - that the light and the lamp that shone within him would be in agreement with God's Word - God's Law. Thus, as this light shone within him - he would see to know where to go and what to do. But for the wicked, their light is their own arrogance and pride. The light that guides them utterly rejects God's authority over their lives - and God's Word that speaks what is truth and light. The result is that their lamp shows darkness and not light. They are blind as a bat when it comes to any kind of vision or any kind of ability to walk in God's ways. Oh, how we as believers need to reject in us eyes that are arrogant and lifted against God's authority in our lives. How we need to reject a heart that says that God's Word has nothing to say to us. If we want to be spiritually blind, these are the things we need to embrace - but if we want any kind of spiritual vision whatsoever - we need to reject anything that has to do with arrogance or prideful attitudes toward God or toward His Word. |
Proverb a DayEach day, we'll take a look at a verse from the chapter of Proverbs for the day. Our hope is to gain wisdom each day - and from that wisdom - to have understanding to make godly decisions in the throes of everyday life. Thank you for visiting our website! Everything on this site is offered for free. If, however, you would like to make a donation to help pay for its continued presence on the internet, you can do that by clicking here. The only thing we ask is that you give first to the local church you attend. Thank you!
Archives
August 2018
Copyright 2024 Calvary Chapel Jonesboro | all rights reserved |