The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9
Who 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.
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The wicked are overthrown and are no more, But the house of the righteous will stand. Proverbs 12:7
Men rise to power - reign for a period of time - are overthrown and within a generation are forgotten. Only the most infamous of leaders is remembered after being destroyed - but their memory is like rottenness - a reminder of a horrific man who chose a wicked way to live. They are remembered as a byword and a warning. Don't become like such men - whose wickedness chased them down and destroyed them. There is an interesting thing about this particular proverb. The wicked after being overthrown are no more. First, their reigns are so odious to the people that they feel the need to rise up and destroy them. Once they are destroyed no one wants to continue their ways. This is because their ways were wicked. The people want nothing more to do with them - thus they do all they can to forget them. They leave no enduring house or legacy. The only thing they leave is a cautionary tale of warning to those who would desire to be like them. The very principles upon which they built their lives ensured their demise. This is why wickedness will not stand or last forever. The wicked and all their kingdoms will end up in the lake of fire in the last day - suffering everlasting torment for their godless, evil empires. Their house will eternally be destroyed around them - and their testimony will only be that of agony and knashing of teeth as they suffer the worst of ignominies for their choice to live a wicked life in defiance of God and His principles and rule. The righteous though have a house that will stand. The very principles that they have chosen will last. That is because they are principles that flow from the heart of God Himself. That Word will stand forever - as well as what is built accordingly. As an example of this consider the house and lineage of David. He was a man after God's own heart. He chose to follow the Lord - and even his greatest mistake (his adultery with Bathsheba) was an example for generations in its cost as well as David's example of repentance as he turned from his sin. That house stands forever. His writings in Psalms that record his conviction and repentance stand. They bless every generation that reads them. More than any of that - God's promise to build Him an everlasting legacy also stands as Christ Jesus was the fulfillment of that promise. His house - founded upon Calvary's hill stands to this day - though kings, false prophets, and wicked men have tried to destroy it in every generation. May we remember such things as we seek to build our house - not a structure made of rock, wood, and nails - but a life and family grounded on the solid rock of God's Word. May we remember as we labor on that house day after day - week after week - and year after year - teaching and admonishing our children with all wisdom from God's Word. May we remember as we sink deep foundations dug with time on our knees. May we remember as we build not with wood, hay, and stubble - but with silver, gold, and costly jewels. May we remember that our labor in the Lord is not in vain - but is used by the Lord to build an enduring house - one founded upon a rock - and that rock is Christ! Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die . . . Proverbs 30:7
I love people who can simplify life for me. It is actually not difficult to make things difficult - people do it all the time. They have a gift for taking something that should be simple - and making it incredibly complicated and hard to understand. Then they charge you money to do what they have made difficult - since now you think there is no way that you can do it yourself. If you are wanting the simple made difficult, this is not a proverb for you. God has this proverb written to help us understand important life principles - and do so in two easy concepts. In future posts I deal with the actual request - but this post I want to deal with the writer and his heart in making the request. The writer here asks two things from God. He has learned the blessing of economy in his relationship with God. There are times for us to expand things out and look at multiple aspects of a live lived for God's glory. and these two things are two principles we should remember to live a happy life and one that is founded on sound biblical footing. This request is vital because the writer says here that these two things are things he does not want God to refuse him before he dies. That is the last thing we can learn from this man - he is passionate about his request. "Do not refuse me before I die!" This is the way the writer expresses the intensity of his desire. Lord, there are definitely two things I have to have. I must have them before I die! There is a passion here that often is missing in ordinary Christians. This guy does not want to end his life without knowing and having walked out two things. We later learn that these two things are to walk in the truth always - and to experience contentment. As he seeks the Lord for these things, he does so with a hunger that is inspiring. Too often in our lives we're not really sure what we're really going after and we are thinking about being committed to getting it - at least we're pretty sure that we are. That is not what we see here. We see a man that knows the importance of walking in truth - and walking with a contentment in what God has given him. He knows one thing - that falsehood does not lead to a good end in life - and that running after this world does not either. He is chasing after something much different and much more satisfying. We learn by verse 9 that what he truly desires is to please and honor God. He wants to live a life that acknowledges God and that will be pleasing to Him in the end. We so desperately need to embrace what this writer is expressing in our lives. Do you know and can you enumerate a few things - no more than three that you absolutely have to have in life? Is there a higher purpose for living in your life than just making it through life? Are you bored - unchallenged by life and the goal for which you are living, or the lack thereof? Make the time to get alone with God and hash out what really matters in your life. Find in Him and in His purposes a reason to live! Than, rather than just having life go by as you watch confused as to its purpose, you can go out every day and agressively give yourself to a purpose that goes far beyond life itself - it goes gloriously into eternity! The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty. Proverbs 21:5
Planning, to some this word is a blessing - to others (and honestly, I have to say I'm among this number) it is a difficult area of their lives. Yet the Lord has some very pointed things to say here to us about the blessing that comes from diligent planning rather than hastily put together things that happen at the last minute. We read first here that the plans of the diligent surely lead to advantage. The word "plans" will help us to see what is meant here. The word means a thought, purpose, or intention. The idea is that we are thinking through things - considering their purpose and intention - and therefore laying plans that will not only plan an event - but also plan it with a sense of purpose in what it is to accomplish. Here is something which every believer should seriously consider. God has given us the few years we have on this earth as a gift - but also as a responsibility and a trust. How we use these years are important. Do we have a purpose behind the things we are doing? Are they working for us an eternal destiny and an eternal reward - or are we just committing "chonicide" (just killing time). Too many times our lives are just being lived with no real purpose or intention behind what we are doing. That leads to a wasted life. Solomon is telling us that the plans laid with a sense of purpose and intention to live for God's glory and purposes - are beneficial to us. But they are not just haphazard plans - these are plans that are set in place with "diligence." This word means something sharp and industrious. It refers to those people who are living industrious lives that are sharp in their focus and intent. The root word for this referred to a sharp threshing sledge. This was used to cut the harvest - and was sharpened to make the job easier and more effective. One might complain of the time spend with a wetstone or file sharpening the metal. This is hard work after all - and it takes time to sharpen something well. But if you are having to cut entire fields of grain - you know that the few moments spent sharpening your tool can save hours of time and much additional effort. So plans laid by someone who thinks through purpose and intent can make living life much easier and more focused. These kind of plans lead surely to advantage. Here is one of the times when I prefer the King James translation to the NASB. The word here means an abundance. It refers to an abundance of profit, materials, harvest, or whatever the word refers to and modifies. It can also mean advantage or a more favorable position - a superior one to someone who has not planned and thought through their actions. When you plan - you will have abundance and advantage over those who have not thought these things through well. Planning does not negate labor and faithful effort at a task. But it does halp ensure that the labor and effort invested is leading to a desired end. This way of living is compared to someone who is hasty. The hasty man is the one who prefers reacting to life - than planning it. The problem is that reacting to our circumstances can have us being led, not by our purpose and intent, but rather by whatever happens. Circumstances begin being our leader - rather than us seeking to control many of our circumstances by moving in a planned direction and way. When you live this way, the result is poverty. Just as the plans of the diligent man will surely lead to an abundance and advantage - the lack of planning and diligent effort doing something well - will eventually lead us to poverty. God wants us to live on purpose. He does not want us to spend our lives just reacting to whatever happens. We can do much to guide our lives according to His principles if we will just spend time learning them and directing our lives according to them. We will find that God's Word gives us a path - gives us counsel on how to live and how to plan to do things that God desires. This will ensure that we live a life God blesses - not just one that He tries to guide through whatever emergency happens next. To do this - with diligence and purpose . . . is wisdom indeed. When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of strong men perishes. Proverbs 11:7
The true test of a man and his choices is how he dies. More accurately it is what happens to him after he dies. That is what this proverb addresses today. When a wicked man dies - everything dies with him. He has no expectations beyond this world. During his life he lived for the things of this world - and now that he is dead - he has to face the fact that he lost everything at the moment he died. You leave it ALL behind. The wicked man's expectation was centered in this world. He bet his entire life that this was all that there is - that there is no afterlife. He figured that all he did will speak for him on that day. The fact is that the moment the wicked man dies - things will never get any better than the moment before his death. Any good perishes the moment he perishes. All that he can look forward to from that moment on is the wrath of God. Jesus spoke to the rich man who was in torment in flame after death. He reminded him that he received his good things in this life. He rejected God - rejected serving God - and rejected living for God rather than for his own selfish agenda. He bet that God did not exist - that heaven was just a state of mind - that judgment day was just a device used by Christian preaches to get people to walk down the aisle at church. He was radically wrong! God is real - and He is holy and just. The strong man and the complete weakling are identical before the throne of God. The strong man does not want to humble himself before the Lord. But no matter what he does - his hope and his expectation perish before the Lord. There are times when we can learn from the wicked. The first two funerals I ever did were for two people who were lost. As I worked through the service - I felt completely helpless and unable to offer a lot of hope for those who had died. This was because the hope and expectation of the wicked perish when they do. When death made its play for them they lost everything. The lesson I learned from them was to be prepared for the ultimate loss of all earthly things. Death will rob a wicked man of everything he owns and everything he has hoped for in life. I learned that I need to live for things that last beyond the grave. I need to live for the spiritual reality that will continue throughout eternity. I need to be prepared to die - and to have an expectation that goes beyond my trip to the funeral hope and graveyard. Jesus promises life eternal - a reward that goes beyond the grave. The wise man . . . places his hope and expectation in Jesus Christ. But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. Proverbs 5:4
Where does immorality and adultery take you? What do they leave you in the end? This is what is told to us today in the proverb of the day. It is wise for us to think about this soberly - because in the heat of the moment - sexual immorality and adultery seem to hold so much promise - promise of sensual pleasure - a feeling of being loved and cared for by someone who thinks your special - a promise that someone really thinks you are sexy. All these things dominate the mind at the moment - and they cloud it terribly so that we cannot see the horror that will come in the end. The end . . . there is a reminder all by itself. "Acharith" is the Hebrew word for "the end." It is a word that means after it is over, or, in the latter end. It speaks of thinking of where all this is going to end. What will be the result of my actions and attitudes? What will all this lead to in the end? What a great question for everything we do - but especially for the one who is being led by his or her own desires into sexual immorality and adultery. Note in the previous verse we learn that the adulteress' speech is "smoother than oil" and that her words "drip honey." She is quite the winder of words, the adulteress is. The problem is that in all the honey-dripping promise - her words deliver something quite different in the end. The latter end of her words are "bitter as wormword." Wormwood is the most bitter taste you can imagine. Commentators say wormwood is excessively bitter. She leaves a bitter taste in your mouth in the end. All promise at the beginning - all bitterness and pain in the end. Think about the broken family - about the STD - about the divorce - about the shame and disgrace. These are the things that will taste like wormwood and cut like a two-edged sword. We don't think like this about sexual immorality because the enemy is doing all he can to keep us from thinking wisely like this. Only think about your pleasure - but never mind the pain that will last for days and years - for what - 15 minutes of pleasure. Pretty stupid trade off if you ask anyone. But we don't think of the consequences of our actions. Instead too many just stumble along like an animal led to slaughter. And they will continue stumbling along - blind to the end of the matter. But the wise will think - will consider - will weigh things not just by the instant gratification they hold - but more importantly by how things will feel a day, a week, a month, or a year later. They will also realize that enough of these "instant pleasure trips" will amount to a lifetime of pain and regret. That is what we need to help us turn away from the adulteress - not matter how much honey she uses to season her lying words. Commit your works to the LORD And your plans will be established. Proverbs 16:3
Plans . . . we all have them. Some people have detailed plans on just about everything, while others have sketchy plans at best. Where do planning and plans fit in the Christian life? How wise is it to plan and, how do you go about doing it? I doubt if every aspect of planning will be addressed by this proverb, but it is a good place to start. The actual Hebrew word that starts this proverb is "roll." When we commit our works to the Lord, what we are doing is rolling them onto Him. When I hear this word I see a picture of a man trying to roll this huge, heavy object. He is straining himself trying to get this thing rolling and keep it rolling. It is difficult work - and if he ever gets to a hill where he will have to roll it up that hill, he'll never be able to do it. That is us in our lives. We are living from day to day with things that we need to do. God calls us to walk through this life accomplishing these things - yet also calling us to get them done in a way which honors and glorifies Him. I don't know about anyone else, but for me this load is heavy. In fact, it is too heavy for me to bear and to carry. This is why I need to roll this burden and heavy load onto the Lord. What is involved in "rolling your works onto the Lord?" First we ask the Lord what kind of works we should be doing. This is accomplished by spending time in His Word and learning His heart each day we live. We learn what He wants us to be doing - and we go about doing those things to His glory. Second, we turn to Him for the strength to accomplish these works. It is a simple fact that the Christian life cannot be lived in our own strength. It is the life of Christ within us that enables us to live out God's purposes and plans. Third, we commit ourselves to this path and have no plan B. Here is a problem that often crops up in Christians. We are committed to God's plan - until it gets too difficult. When difficulties mount up and become too much for us - then we start looking for a different way - or want to modify God's way. The promise from God is that when we do this, our plans will be established. The plans of our heart need to be established by God. We can seek to establish them here on earth - but then the only promise we have is that they will last until our lives are over - or maybe a generation beyond. They will not last throughout eternity. If our plans are not established and made firm and fixed by God - we will carry nothing into eternity. We will lose it all. Living for our own plans and purposes is a dead-end lifestyle. Such a lifestyle of planning only plans for now - but does nothing for eternity. This counsel from Proverbs helps us make plans that will last - plans that God will approve - and plans that God will establish not only for now - or next week or year - but for all eternity. Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth. Proverbs 27:1
Just about everyone thinks they have plenty of time left in life. The only ones who don't think this way are those with a terminal disease in its latter stages. And, to be honest, they are the ones who are living like we all should live - taking advantage of every moment that they have - because they know it may be the last one they have to live. Boasting about tomorrow is the problem in this passage. It is the attitude that says, "I not only have tomorrow - I can make of tomorrow anything I want of it!" Pride is the reason we would boast of tomorrow. We do it because we think "we" determine our future and that "we" can make it what "we" want. When this attitude prevails in our lives it also carries with it that the only reason to live is for this world and what it can bring. James speaks of this attitude when he writes, "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." (James 4) This is all about whether we rule our lives - or if God rules them. And the fact is that God not only rules our lives - but that He is sovereign over all creation. We don't know what a day may bring forth. Here is the second reason why this attitude of boasting in a day is prideful. When we do we are acting as if we are omniscient and omnipotent. We think we have the power to make whatever we want to happen - when the truth is that we cannot make anything happen that is outside of God's ultimate purpose and plan. We also think we know tomorrow when the fact is that we don't even know what the next 10 minutes hold. As James said, our attitude needs to be, "If the Lord wills, we will do this or that." Anything other than this is sin. The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death. Proverbs 21:6
Being a wealthy man is not sin - there are many wealthy men who honor God with their lives and their testimony. The problem often is not wealth itself, but how we deal with wealth - and here - how we get it. We are told by Paul in his letters to Timothy that is it the "love of money" that is the root of evil. How do you go about gaining your treasures? Here the foolish man goes about gaining his by a lying tongue. He uses deceit to gain his wealth. He lies about his abilities - or about his product in some way - or he uses deceit to lure others into a financial trap whereby he profits from their misfortune. But the Lord instructs us in Proverbs that this way of gaining a fotrune is a "double-loser" in the end. Let's see why. First, we read that such a plan is a "fleeting vapor." What a descriptive phrase this is. First we have the idea of something fleeting. This refers to something blown or driving away. Psalm 1:4 tells us that the wicked will be blown away like the chaff of the grain. Again in Job 32:13 God uses this word to speak of how He will rout the evil man - blowing Him away like wind blows the dust of the earth effortlessly. The second word is vapor. This word refers to just what it says - a small whisp of water vapor that would vanish almost as soon as it appears. What is speaks of is more interesting. It speaks of vanity, emptiness, and meaninglessness. It is the favorite word of the book of Ecclesiastes - where it is used thirty-five different times to speak of how life is like a breath. Put together, these two words intensify one another. Thus we see that gaining treasure by lying is like pursuing the most momentary of vapors - one that is even more vain and empty than any you've ever seen. Thus, the first loss is that of a meaningful life here on earth. To chase after wealth by lying and deceit is to make your life worthless. It will have all the value of a breif water blowing away in the wind. Not exactly what most people are searching for in life - is it? The second loss you experience is much scarier than the first. God tells us that living this way is the pursuit of death. Now there is a phrase you don't hear very often. "Hey, Bob, let's go out later today and pursue some death!" The phrase itself simply means that someone is chasing after or hunting something - here - death. So we learn that we are not only hurting ourselves here and now with a meaningless life, but that we are also harming ourselves for the life to come. That person is hunting after their own death. They're pursing dying. What is sad is that all of those who live this way describe their pursuit and use of money as, "really living." The fact though is that their pursuit of false riches - results in a very real death. Reading this encourages us to see the pursuit of the wrong kind of treasure as a dangerous thing. It is something deadly - killing those who engage in it. It also helps us, as Proverbs often does, with a picture of what we're doing. While the world sees such activity as harmless and even adventageous because of the things you can buy and do with it, the Word of God paints a much different picture. Living this way is pictured as chasing our own death and destruction. It is pictured as the most foolish and meaningless of lifestyles. And hopefully, such a picture will turn us from pursuing things that actually make us poor rather than rich. Watch the path of your feet And all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil. Proverbs 4:26-27
Wondering in advance is one of the practices of those who are wise. It helps us to consider what is ahead of us when we make certain decisions. As we see the future laid out before us - and we see the consequences of our actions, both good and bad, suddenly choices that we have to make are much easier to make. Watch means to weight out or to ponder. The idea here is that someone is pondering evil and then choosing to avoid it. It means to seriously think about the path your feet are going to take - and choose to take them in a direction pleasing to the Lord. Sometimes we don't think enough about the path of our feet. We just act and go along with our lives. We don't take the time to think about where we're going - what we're doing - and where it is going to lead when things reach a conclusion. We are told that if we will do this we will have all our ways established. Ways is "derek" which again is the Hebrew word that refers to our lifestyle - the way we're going in life. To have that way or that lifestyle established means to have it firm and fixed. It means our lifestyle is one that is upright and good. We will have a life that matters and just as important - one that will be steadfast in what pleases and honors the Lord. There is also a sense in which we are being told our lives will last - whereas the worldling and the wicked man will only be temporary. When we look at the way of our feet, we need to know not to turn to the right or the left. This is assuming that our feet are on God's paths and ways and not our own. When we turn to the right or the left, we are choosing to depart from God's paths and walk in our own, the world's ways, or those of the devil. Which ever of these three are true, we will find ourselves in a way that is wrong - and ultimately a way that will hurt and cost us. The only turn we should make in life is one away from evil. The word "turn" here is a Hebrew word that means to go away from something, to desert it, to quit, to keep far away. When we see evil we need to remove ourselves from it - depart - honesly - RUN! To hang around evil is to court its greater influence in our lives. When we see evil we should hide ourselves from it. The longer we remain in the presence of evil, the more likely we are to participate in it. Thus the wise man runs from evil. Think about where you're going. It is important to do this - to consider our lives and examine them from time to time. It is too easy to begin to wander from the ways of God - too easy to take a path that leads us away from the Lord. That is why this Proverb helps us so much - it encourages us to think through where our journey reaches its destination. We think about the end of things. When we do this - we will see the wisdom of turning away from evil and keeping clear of the wicked one and his ways. |
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!
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