He who walks blamelessly will be delivered, but he who is crooked will fall all at once. Proverbs 28:18
There are some who try to walk simultaneously on two divergent paths. They will find that their hypocrisy and duplicity will betray them in the end. Like a man standing on both sides of a draw bridge that is opening, they will find that sooner or later they will either have to pick a side - or face falling into the water all at once. That is what our proverb is about today. The crooked man is one who is trying to live two ways at one time. The Hebrew word for crooked means to walk twisted in two ways. The idea behind the word is that the two paths are opposite of each other. There is no way that this man can continue in this indefinitely. The paths themselves are mutually exclusive and will end badly. That end is given to us as a warning. He will "fall all at once." This is end for those who try to walk in hypocrisy - they will not slip up a litle - they will fall all at once. The best example of this is in the New Testament. The person who did it - Judas Iscariot. Judas tried to live in two completely different worlds. We learn that he followed Jesus - and was even one who saw the power of God in Christ up close and personal. Yet he also wanted to be in power - and he loved money. He would steal from their money box as the treasurer - and also was angry when the woman with the valuable vial of oil poured it on Jesus rather than sold it for a small fortune. He wanted money - evident by the fact that in the end he sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. But that money would not assuage his guilty conscience. Judas was an example of a man who fell "all at once." Unable to handle the guilt for betraying Jesus to crucifixion, he eventually went out and hung himself. He truly fell quickly and permanently. All hypocrites can know that this end looms before them. They can try to escape all they want - but the fact is either by an exposure here and now or by the judgment in the end - they are going to fall - and fall badly. The one who walks "blamelessly" is the one who will be delivered. This is an encouragement for all men to live a godly life. They reject the lies and deception of those who play games with their relationship with God. By this - and by the grace of God they are delivered from the destruction of sin itself. But this proverb goes even deeper - and presents to us the gospel. Those of us who desire to live for The Lord give it our best shot - but in the end we will not be "blameless" before The Lord. We unfortunately will sin - and that takes us out of the category of the blameless. But there is One who lived His entire time on the earth in a blameless state - never breaking God's Law - never sinning once. That One is Jesus Christ - and He is the One who was delivered first - to death - and then in the resurrection - from death. His deliverance to death was for our sakes - so that He could pay the price for our sin and rebellion required by God's holiness and justice. His deliverance from death in the resurrection reveals to us that God accepted the payment of His blood for our sins. Now, here is the tremendous news of the gospel. Through His blamelessness and His death, burial, and resurrection we can now be granted the same deliverance from the wrath of God against sin. The wise man knows that any attempt he makes on his own to get to God will be dogged by his own sinful duplicity. I cannot tell you how often I tried to clean myself up from my sin and bad character and choices - only to find that I could never finish the job I started. What was the most disappointing was the fact that often I simply chose sin and rebellion to God. I did so just because it felt good - or because my flesh wanted something, and I didn't want to "just say no." The fact is I couldn't "just say no." And a wise man realizes he can't either. We all wind up hypocrites who try it both ways only to find we fall all at once when our sinful selfishness rises up and demands its own way. The comfort to us who are wise enough to see our fallen conditin is that there is One who walked blamelessly before God. His choice was to always do what pleased His Father. Jesus is that One - and He will graciously grant us His deliverance from sin by grace. Thus we are rescued from the twisted way we walk by our very nature. But that rescue is never self-earned. It is received as we receive the grace of God in Jesus Christ proclaimed to us in the gospel.
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A man who is laden with the guilt of human blood will be a fugitive until death; let no one support him. Proverbs 28:17
This proverb is stated in the context of God's wisdom about leaders and kings. Therefore most likely it refers to those leaders who have gained and maintained their power through the shedding of much human blood. The key to seeing this is the admonition that such a man is not to be "supported." The idea behind this admonition is that one would throw their support behind such a man as their leader, which in their day would mean the king. Ahab was a man who had shed much human blood. His power was maintained through intimidation and violent suppression of anyone who opposed him. He even allowed his wife, Jezebel, to act on his behalf to kill a man simply because he wanted his vegetable garden. When this happened, God sent Elijah to him because God had had enough of Ahab's wickedness and bloodshed. The Lord had Elijah tell both Ahab and Jezebel that they were going to come to violent deaths themselves. This is why we do not want to support violent men. The frightening aspect of God's judgment upon this wicked couple is that not only did they die - but their entire group of advisors were killed as well. Another king who shed much innocent human blood was king Manasseh. His 40 year reign was marked by more bloodshed than anyone before him. Toward the end of his reign God sent a conquering nation against him and had him watch as his army was destroyed and he was taken into captivity. It was in a dungeon that he realized that Jehovah was God. He turned to God in repentance and brokenness - and God in his marvelous mercy forgave and redeemed this wicked king. God's favor came to him as he was returned to Judah as king. It was after this time that he removed all the wicked false gods from the land and returned to seek The Lord with all his heart. When I review this I wonder, how could God support Manasseh after all the blood he spilled? The answer to such a question is found hundreds of years later in what Jesus Christ did by going to the cross. The fact of the matter is that Manasseh did not get away with anything. His sins (and ours as well) fell upon Jesus at the cross. They were paid in full in His death and resurrection. The only reason God supported Manasseh after he repented was because the penalty for his sin fell on God's Son instead. Thus what we have in Manasseh is an example of God's mercy and grace in the extreme. There was another man laden with innocent blood who stands as the New Testament extreme of God's grace in Jesus Christ. His name is Saul - who later was renamed Paul. The apostle whom God used to write the majority of the New Testament - was another who deserved no support because he was laden with the guilt of human blood. Yet God showed him mercy. Why would God show such grace to two of the most notorious men in the Bible laden with human blood. Paul answers that question in 1 Timothy 1:16 when he said, "Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life." God gave grace to these two men - one in the Old Testament and another in the New - as an example of his pefect patience and His incredible mercy and grace. If God can show grace to these men - we should take great comfort knowing that He can save us too! So what do we learn from today's proverb? We learn that a man laden with the blood of men should not be our leader. We should beware when a man wants to rise to power on the blood of others. But we should also remember two, laden with human blood, who teach us of the depths of God's mercy and grace. We should remember that such amazing love is available to all who respond to the gospel of God's grace in Jesus Christ in repentance and faith. There is hope for all - even those laden with the blood of the human race. Hallelujah! He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. Proverbs 28:13
Here is a proverb that agrees perfectly with what is said in the New Testament. We read in 1 John 1:9 that if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is the truth of 1 John 1:9 stated in another way. Whereas the 1 John passage states this truth in the positive only, this proverb also warns us of the consequences and danger of not dealing with our sins. The Concealer . . . First we are told about the fate of the one who conceals his transgressions. The word "conceal" means to cover - and has the idea of a cover up. This man is hiding his transgressions (word meaning a sin or rebellion - here against God and His Law and His way). Thus the concealer is not willing to bring his sin to light before God. He therefore hides his rebellion thinking that God does not see him. This same word was used to describe how Joseph's brothers tried to hide their sin when they dipped his coat in goat's blood and brought to Jacob. There was an attempted cover up by Joseph's brothers which eventually came to light. In the same way, we are warned against covering up our sins. They will come to light - and the way this happens in by a loss of the blessing of God. Psalm 32:5 also speaks of his particular sin of hiding and trying to cover up our sin. The Psalmist says, "I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord"; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah." When he was trying to hide his sin from God, the Psalmist had nothing but grief and pain. When he faced his sin before God he received forgiveness. Hiding our sins is not only counterproductive - it is also ridiculously foolish. We serve a God Who is omniscient. He knows all things. When Adam and Eve tried to hide in the garden - it was out of shame and rebellion. The problem for them was that God could still see them - and did even as they committed the first sin. Cain answered God rebelliously when God asked where his brother Abel was. Cain must have thought God did not see - but he did - and Abel's blood was crying out to God from the ground. Moses thought he could kill the Egyptian and hide him in the piles of grain - but God saw - as well as some other Hebrews. HEre is a fact you should always remember. We can never hide our sin from a holy, omniscient God. He truly sees all! He warns his people, "Be sure that your sins will find you out!" Proverbs tells us that this man who is trying to conceal his sin will not prosper. Prosper is the Hebrew word "tsalach" which means to succeed or to be victorious. This word has the idea of breaking out or breaking through - and has a military aspect to it. It spoke of how an army would break through their enemies - which was a sure sign that they were about to win the battle and defeat them. Proverbs says to us is that concealing our sins is way to ensure we will NOT PROSPER. God wants us to confess and forsake our sin. When we choose rebellion and sin against God, we are in serious trouble. We are facing judgment if we do not know Christ - or discipline if we do. What we need is grace - we need God's compassion. That is exactly what Proverbs is wanting to teach us. God wants us to know how to obtain His compassion when we sin? How do we obtain God's compassion and restoration? First, we confess our sins and rebellion. What is fascinating here is the word that God uses to describe confession. The Hebrew word is "yadah." This word means to throw towards - to cast something towards. Here it means to throw off our sin and cast it towards God. It means that we are throwing all our sin and rebellion to God - with a desire for Him to show us forgiveness and compassion. What is wild is that this same word is used for praising God - meaning that we are casting our hands up into the air and casting our praises toward God. God does not want us to try to hold our sins close to us - He wants us to cast those sins away from us and toward Him for His compassion and grace! There is a second thing that puts us in line for God's compassion and forgiveness. Some teach that all we need to do is to confess our sins and everything is fine with God. That is partially true. There is suppose to be a second attitude present. If it is not - I do not believe the Bible says that we will receive forgiveness. That attitude or action is to forsake our sins. This word means to abandon, desert, leave behind, completely neglect and STOP. When we come to God seeking His compassion and forgiveness - we need to come with a heart that says, "Please forgive me God . . . and I also want to forsake and abandon my sin." This is the kind of heart that finds compassion and forgiveness before God. This verse is vital in us knowing the fellowship and grace of God. It is so important for us to grasp the call of God to deal with our sins and rebellion. I honestly believe that just as 1 John 1:9 is such a blessed verse - this verse in Proverbs 28:13 is as well. Oh that we would hear this and heed it as well. It would throw open to us the door to God's grace, mercy, and compassion that we need every day of our lives. A leader who is a great oppressor lacks understanding, But he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days. Proverbs 28:16 When a leader becomes an extortioner either through bribes or through taxation - he is not a wise leader at all. Today's Proverb has to do with governing officials and how they receive the money with which they work - and by which they are paid. We are presented with a leader who according to Solomon is a "great oppressor." The word "oppressor" is very interesting because it, along with the second half of this proverb, opens up the meaning for us. The Hebrew word is "masaqqot" and it means one who oppresses by extortion. Zhodiates' dictionary defines this word this way, "It indicates a leader abusing his people by forcing them to pay money or contribute goods against their will. This he then uses to enrich himself and those ruling with him. An unwise leader is one who decides that the money of the people he rules is his money. It belongs to the government - and therefore to him and those who serve with him. There are numerous instances where government leaders tax their people - and use that money to enrich themselves. They also use it to enrich those who support them - making sure that anyone who is their friend, supporter (or in our society, voter, campaign contributor) is rewarded richly for their efforts. In the times of kings this group was their nobles and knights - in today's society it is donors and voters. God allowed for His people to be taxed for the purpose of their governmental leaders. He also warned the leaders not to oppress His people by taxing them exorbitantly. Bribes also were expressly forbidden by God. The proverbs are filled with wisdom that promotes hard work and labor so that we can be blessed and become more and more financially blessed by it. Nowhere in Scripture does God encourage government to take confiscatory taxes from the people and redistribute it to those whom the government desires to bless. We are told that any leader who does this kind of thing is lacking understanding. To understand something meant that you had gathered data together and were putting the pieces together so that you got a much bigger picture of things. In the context in which we find this proverb we are speaking of God's wisdom and knowledge being gathered so that we have an understanding of things beyond that of just this earth. It is seeing far enough into the future to make a wise decision and follow wise actions. The financially oppressive leader truly lacks any vision into the future. Government leaders have authority - but it is high level authority to lead and serve people as God would have them go. Their role, like any other is to serve the people - and bless them with how they lead a nation. Unfortunately for some people, their leaders see their authority and misuse it to get rich or to stay in authority by oppressing the people with ridiculous, oppressive taxes. The king and his officials live lavishly off the people's money - and care little for the plight of the average man. They think the tax money of the people is their own to use as they see fit. They then see fit to line their pockets and their supporter's pockets. Often this is done as the rest of the nation suffers under the load of larger and larger taxed amounts. We are told that the one who hates this kind of unjust gain will prolong his days. Two things we see here. First, God calls this kind of ungodly confiscation of the goods of hard working people "unjust." It is not good - and God does not approve of it. Second, we see that this kind of activity in government will not last long. The people will inevitably rise up and call for this to stop! History has shown that leaders who oppress their people with extortionary taxes will eventually be overthrown. Kings and queens have been beheaded - dictators overthrown, and elected officials voted out of office because they were making themselves rich on the people's taxes. Unfortunately for us, we've watched over the years as our leaders on both sides of the aisle have voted themselves to wealth and to pensions that are beyond imagination - while taxing us out of more and more of the money we earn. Over the past four years alone - the Washington D. C. area has grown in wealth and luxury, while the populace is either given the wealth of others through taxation - or taxed barren to provide such things. As I studied this passage - and looked over history - I saw again and again leaders who loved their unjust gain. This was the case whether the government was a monarchy or a representative republic like our own. Men are greedy and want to be rich. They will do so even while falsely championing the "little guy" in their speeches. The one thing that we can be sure of though is that these governments will not long endure. They will fall just like all the others have over the years who have oppressed their people with their taxation and schemes to be rich on the people's dime. Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear Is a wicked ruler over a poor people. Proverbs 28:15
Oppression of the poor by a wicked ruler - that sounds like a modern day headline in one of our newpapers - or in a report that we would read online. Unfortunately oppression has been going on every since the fall of man - and the beginning of politics. When the sinfulness of man combined with the treachery of politics - it was not going to be long before men learned how to oppress the poor and helpless for their own benefit. We read in today's proverb that a wicked ruler over a poor people is like a roaring lion or a rushing bear. A roaring lion scares the other animals in the forest. The lion roars to establish his territory and his authority. Thus when a wicked ruler acts like a roaring lion - he is establishing that he has the power and authority over the poor ones he is oppressing. We've seen it again and again in history. The powerful oppress and dominate the poor - even resorting to attacking them with the army to establish their power. They will use the secret police to kidnap them and torture them to silence anyone's opposition and threat to their power. It is a sad thing to see - but unfortunately it will continue until the day that Jesus Christ comes to establish a kingdom based upon justice and righteousness. Those who dare to stand against such a wicked ruler will find themselves quickly attacked and often silenced for good. They may be thrown into prison - or summarily executed for their boldness to oppose the ruler - or threaten their absolute stranglehold on power. However it is done, the poor quickly learn to hide any desire for freedom and justice, because these things can cost them their lives. This is why it is so vital for those who have the freedom to choose their leaders, to choose wise and godly ones. To do otherwise will cost us far more than just a wrongly cast vote - it could cost us our freedoms - and in some severe cases - even our lives. How blessed is the man who fears always, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. Proverbs 28:14
This particular proverb is based on the previous verse. That verse deals with those who conceal versus those who confess and forsake their sin. This verse is a reminder to us about another comparison. This one is those who fear God versus those who harden their heart. That is what happens when we become aware of sin in our lives. We have a choice at that point as to whether we are going to fear God and deal with our sin - or - whether we are going to harden our hearts and think that sin is not that big of an issue. Some even deny that sin exists and in so doing, put another crusty layer of hardness from ungodly philosophies over their heart. When we become aware of sin we should fear God. We should fear God because He is holy and sin will break our fellowship with Him. As a holy God, we should also fear because His great love for us will respond with discipline in our lives to get us to turn from sin. Anyone who is even remotely familiar with the passages in the Old and New Testament where God responds to sin, should know that good things are NOT going to happen when we choose sin. Even worse things are in store if we not only choose sin - but them add to our sin by rejecting the conviction of the Holy Spirit when He seeks to alert us to our rebellion against God's Word. Just naming names and places should remind us of this. Sodom and Gommorah, Pharaoh, the Egyptian army at the Red Sea, Dathan and Abiram, Achan, Nadab and Abihu, David and Bathsheba, and Annanias and Saphira are names and places that should immediately make us aware that God takes sin seriously. Then there is that whole "judgement seat of Christ" thing, as well as the "lake of fire" in the book of Revelation that should remind us that God is anything but "pro-sin" in His dealings with mankind. Therefore we grasp and see that there would be a blessing on the man who "fears always," when it comes to sin. This does not mean that this man is cowering 24 hours a day thinking God will strike him dead at any moment. But it does mean that this man has a healthy fear of God that assists him in making godly choices - and steering clear of ungodly ones. When sin comes to us, we do have a second choice. That choice is to "harden our heart" toward God. The wise man receives the conviction of the Holy Spirit. He embraces what God has to say to him, knowing that God loves him - and sin will be harmful. But the fool stiffens when God offers rebuke and correction. The fool doesn't want to listen - and he doesn't want any other authority than himself in his life. He completely rejects any warning that is given. He wonders what an ancient document has to do with him. Why should he restrict his desires and wants due to what the Bible has to say. Thus he hardens his heart against God and against God's Word (think here whatever God has to say about an issue. The problem with a hardened heart toward God is that its rejection of God's Word puts him in the path of calamity. That is what we read here. God made this world - and it works best when we submit to Him. When we do not - problems are on our horizon. What I am about to say you can take to the bank. You cannot reject God's Word without causing yourself harm. There are going to be consequences for disobedience and rebellion. There are going to be consequences for following your own lusts. There are going to be consequences for choosing your own way or the ways of the world system rather than choosing God's ways. The best way to describe these consequences is with the word "calamity." This word is the Hebrew word "raah" and it means something evil or bad. Zhodiates says that this word has ten or more shades of meaning about evil according to the context where it is used. It describes absolute evil as well as various aspects of bad things that happen in our lives. One thing though about this word is that it never means something good. Thus we may not physically die immediately after rejecting God's Word and hardening our hearts toward Him - but - you can know that nothing good is going to come of it. We have a choice day by day as to how we are going to live. Will we respect our own thinking and ways or the ways of God? Will be fear God and choose to honor and obey Him and His Word - or will will consider our own finite minds more than adequate to guide us through life? In the end, the choice that we make will yield very clear consequences. Thus we need to know as we make these daily choices that every one of them will come with either a reward or a recompense. May we be wise and choose the right way - the way of fearing the Lord - and the way of turning from sin rather than turning to it. When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, But when the wicked rise, men hide themselves. Proverbs 28:12
The Bible does not know anything about a political environment where issues of godliness and righteousness are not considered. Since God is sovereign over all things - He is also sovereign over all political entities. So, even though our worldly wisdom counsels us never to mix politics and religion - God knows no such artificial division. Our proverb today tells us that when the righteous triumph, there is great glory. When godly men rule a nation according to God's ways and laws - that nation will be blessed. We read in the psalms that the nation is truly blessed whose God is the Lord. Too many consider the righteous ruling to be an oppressive thing. Yet we see that it is not godly men who oppress but sinful ones. Sin brings bondage and injustice to a society - whereas godliness brings justice and truth to bear on all that happens there. Solomon gave a godly judgment when two women were fighting over whether a child was their child or not. But in the end, it was not pure justice that let Solomon know the truth - it was which woman was willing to show mercy. Godly rulers will know both how to administer justice and how to show great mercy. But when the wicked rise in power - men hide themselves. Consider the history of the despots who have ruled over the affairs of men. Godless men make the populace fear for their lives. They are terrified of a man who knows nothing except his own immediate self-interest. They cringe when his mode of justice knows little beyond swift and terrifying judgment. Very seldom is there mercy manifest. Consider Daniel and his judgment for praying to God rather than to the king. For his supposed crime he was thrown into a lion's den. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were cast into a fiery furnace because they refused to worship the image of the king. These men were not shown mercy - but were judged swiftly without it. Over time large segments of the population hide from the king - terrified not just of his justice, but of his anger. There were wicked kings who killed men for being sad in their presence. Others were murdered because the king either did not like them - or thought that they might be an adversary in the future - whether it was true or not. They hide themselves because a wicked king or ruler is untrustworthy in his judgment. They don't know what might come next - or who might be killed for just looking a little suspicious. One might honestly ask, “How do we know whether a ruler is righteous or wicked?” Because we are reading from God’s revelation, the Bible - that question is easy to answer. The king will be judged like every other person in the kingdom. He will fall under the same standards in the Word of God as everyone else does. The Bible knows no respect of persons - even kings and rulers. Thus, when a king sins, God will send a prophet to rebuke him for his wickedness. You can ask David about that one. There is not one standard for the ruling class and another for the people. All are held to the same standard of godliness. The wise man desires a righteous leader to rule or to triumph. Such a leader will lead according to God’s will and direction. He will judge based upon truth - and it is truth that does not change with the winds of societal evolution. He will formulate laws with his ear tuned toward heaven rather than with his finger stuck up in the air trying to ascertain what the people what at any one moment. Such a leader’s kingdom or nation will have great glory - for it will shine with God’s righteousness and mercy. Rather than listen to the pundits, the political hawkers, and the professional politicians - we would be wise to listen to every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. The rich man is wise in his own eyes, But the poor who has understanding sees through him. Proverbs 28:11
An interesting thing about men is that the wealthier that they are - the more that we tend to give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to intelligence and wisdom. We assume that because they have accumulated wealth that a certain amount of wisdom and knowledge were used in doing so. This may be the case, but when a rich man begins to be "wise in his own eyes," his wealth is only a facade to cover his foolishness. The rich are often wise in their own eyes. This is because wealth can buy you a lot of things - including a group of well paid sycophants who will tell you that you are a genius. This is the age old "yes-man" who follows about his benefactor telling him how brilliant he is publically, even though privately he man consider the rich man a moron. But while on the dole, this person gives the rich man a sense that he is wise. Unless his wisdom is gained from Scripture - this is only wisdom in his own eyes. The problem with being wise in our own eyes is that one, we can easily impress ourselves - and two, once we have impressed ourselves our pride can shut out any other evaluation others may try to give. But this proverb tells us that the poor man who has understanding can see right through the foolish rich man. The word for understanding here means the ability to discern. The poor man examines the rich man wise in his own eyes. He discerns the difference between wisdom gained of experience and God, and that paid for with money. He discerns that those who praise the rich man are all paid patrons of his supposed wisdom. He also knows that if the money flow stops, the truth concerning this man's foolishness will not be tolerated - and he will be abandoned by his fair weather pals. Wisdom knows others who are wise. Since that wisdom comes from God, there is no need to brag about it. Since it comes from God, there is also no price that can be paid for it. Such wisdom is given by grace - and gained by the teaching of the Holy Spirit as we daily search the Scriptures and learn to listen to God. He who leads the upright astray in an evil way Will himself fall into his own pit, But the blameless will inherit good. Proverbs 28:10
It is one thing when the wicked are evil in their own ways and in their own thoughts, but that is not the case with some. They are not content unless they lead others astray into a similar lifestyle. This trait is at its worst when the one who has an ungodly lifestyle desires to lead the upright into that same wicked lifestyle. Yet God makes it plain that such choices - such attitudes will have to pay in the end. The upright are thsoe who are desiring to walk straight - and this refers to someone who desires to do what is morally pure and right. Of course, since this is a biblical reference, we can assume that the moral course that is sought is that of the Scriptures. The wicked man spoken of here wants to lead this morally upstanding person astray. The word used here implies that someone has been deceived into their error. Thus they are now wandering and straying like lost sheep. They used to know the way of the Lord, but now they are straying like lost sheep having somehow been deceived to where they no longer look to the Scriptures for their moral rudder in life. The path they are trying to lead them in is the "evil way." Evil here is "ra" which is the term used for active evil - and it carries with it the idea of distress, misery, injury, and calamity. I find it fascinating, living in a city with a major university, how often godly students are turned by professors who hate Christianity. What I find amazing is that the attacks that are made are almost always made at their trust and belief in God's Word. I think of the passage in Hosea that warns that if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? A very good question this is for us today. This is the reason why I take the time to teach high school and junior high students classes on worldviews and philosophy. During those classes I play devil's advocate and let them see what they will face in college. I challenge their statements as one of the professors at the university would - and do so mercilessly for 5 or 10 minutes. Then I back up and help them grasp what the philosophical backdrop was to that attack. We work on understanding the false reasoning that was in the attack and also how to raise up the shield of faith by holding fast to a biblical worldview. It is not easy for these students, because the barrage of questions, as well as the ignorance of other students is hard to stand in the midst of in class. Too often they are ganged up on in the midst of the discussion - and the teachers will use their authority to make the students stop talking before they can make their point. That is why we cover these things as well in class. They need to know that Christianity is credible as a worldview - but also that Paul said that the cross was as stumbling block to Jews - and considered foolishness by the Greeks (the philosophical eggheads of that age). Our passage, though, has a warning to the wicked ones who try to lead the upright astray. They will fall into the pit that they are trying to dig for the upright. They think they will make the upright fall into a pit - that they will destroy their faith - but the one who will ultimately fall into the pit is the ungodly person who is trying to deceive. He thinks that the believer is deceived - but he is the one who is deceived. In the end, the very foolishness and philosophical ignorance of this man will damn him to the ultimate pit. I know that this sounds pretty harsh - but it is what the Scriptures say is the end of those who mock the things of God - who oppose God and His Word. Just a note at the end for our instruction is given. The blameless will inherit good. Blameless here is the Hebrew word "tamim" and it means something or someone who is complete and tested. The word was used of the sacrificial animals that had been examined and found to be without flaw. What a marvelous word this is for this context. Here is the truth we need to see here. The wicked will seek to lead the upright astray into an immoral path - but we need to hold fast to the truth - to the Word of God. We need to stand through every trial - and oppose every falsehood that we face. Every time they try to deceive and undermine the foundation of our faith - we need to lift high the banner of Christ - hold fast to the Word of our God - and watch every argument fall infinitely short of the truth upon which we stand. When we do this we will be the blameless, tested, tried one who will inherit good. Be ready, precious saints, for what you will face in the world. Christianity is not just a religious practice - something we can tack on to our lives like we would put up a poster in our rooms. It is a way of life - a philosophy - a worldview that is superior to all other worldviews. It is a relationship with the living God that we are granted through Jesus Christ. We need to view it as that - a life-changing way of viewing the world. We need to therefore make understanding and knowing God our first and most important priority. The reason so many supposedly lose their faith in college is because they never had one. They had their religion - they had their denominational status - they had their childhood habit of going to church with mommy and daddy. But . . . they never took Christ to themselves, repented of their sin - and entered into a life-altering relationship with God. They never received a love of the truth so as to be saved. As a result all they had was the trappings of Christianity - without a mind honed by the Word. Therefore when tried and tested - when faced with someone who forced them to defend their faith with truth - they had nothing with which to fight back. Assuming that Christianity had failed them - when all that had failed them was their false faith - they turned and fell into the pit of the wicked. Oh saints, know your God! Know your Bible! Know that the faith once and for all handed to the saints in the Scriptures has withstood every attack of man for some 2000 years. Stand fast upon it - and stand strong with Him. When you do you will be tested, tried, and approved - and according to this passage - due to inherit good. He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, Even his prayer is an abomination. Proverbs 28:9
So, how does God view the prayers of those of us who are actively disobeying His Word? That is what we learn today in the proverb of the day. This is going to be a proverb that confronts those who think God hears their prayers - when they are actively disboeying a command of the Word of God. It is also going to be a time when we realize that God sees issues of obedience to His Word in stark black and white - not in a plethora of grey. When we disobey the Word - we are in effect turning our ears away from listening to it. Here in Christian America, we think that having heard the word with the ear alone is akin to having obeyed it. The most rebellious places in America are not the bars or the strip joints. The most rebellious places in America are the parking lots of her churches. This is where far too many saints of God go after hearing the truth preached by their pastors - and justify letting it go into one ear and out the other. They hear the Word - but it never penetrates their hearts. Some will even justify their present disobedience - while praising what was said by the preacher. Thus the American practice of thinking we've obeyed, when we have only heard something - is continued weekly. When we do not obey - we are turning our ear from listening to the truth. The term here for turn away means that we go away from the Word - we desert it - we quit the Word, meaning that we hear, but do not DO it. We turn aside from it and do not allow it to do a work in our hearts. When we do not obey the Word - God considers our prayers and abomination. Whoa now! Did we read that right! God considers prayers uttered by the disobedient to be an abomination. We thought that word was just reserved for homosexuals - didn't we. But God is holy - not just anti-homosexual. He is pro-holiness all the way. Thus, when we are not pro-holiness (read here pro-obedience, pro-godly, pro-doing what God says when He says it) - we are in effect, anti-God. He is shocked and appalled by our lack of listening and obeying. He is horrified that we would actually turn a deaf ear to what He has said. He considers such things an abomination! There were a group of people that Jesus was hardest upon in the gospel accounts. To the shock of most people, this group was not the classic sinners. He was not hardest on the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the scum of society, or the usually suspects we consider when we wonder who a "hell-fire-and-brimstone" preacher would single out in his preaching. Jesus was hardest on religious hypocrites. He reserved His most scathing comments for those who practiced religion outwardly, but inwardly ignored the Word. By the way - this is where the pray-er, but not obey-er would be put by our Lord. The one who turns his ear from listening to the Law, by not obeying it - IS the hypocrite. And contrary to our popular habit of thinking that the hypocrite is anyone other than us - it IS us. Whenever we engage in pious prayers - without having obeyed the Word that God has spoken to us recently - we are an abomination. Wisdom tells us that we are to hear and heed the Word of God. This will give our prayers wings that will fly them to the very throne of God. May we always watch our hearts to make sure that we are hearing, obeying - then praying. This is the proper order of things. |
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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