The Lord by wisdom founded the earth, and by understanding established the heavens. Proverbs 3:19.
Those who ascribe the establishment of the heavens and the earth by random processes as prescibed by the theory of evolution really do have a problem when it comes to the shear volume of evidence that says to us that there is an intelligent design in all of creation. Wisdom itself tells us that there has to be a great intelligence behind all that we see and know in creation. Anyone who has studied the human body would go beyond saying it was just intelligence to say that what we have in creation is nothing less than divine genius. Those of us who ascribe to the Lord God the foundation of the earth and the establishment of the heavens have no such problem. Solomon tells us in Proverbs 3 that it was God who by His wisdom founded the earth. The glorious intricate design of our world is no miraculous accident. God's wisdom is inscribed on every aspect of what he has made. There is such a wondrous design in what we see on the earth that it should amaze and astound us. Just looking at the human eye should adequately blow our minds. Let me share with you some of the astonishing information concerning the human eye. Oue eyes contain a self-adjusting aperture, an auto-focus system, and inner surfaces surrounded by a dark pigment so that there is a minimal amount of light that scatters. The sensitivity of these aspects of the eye allows it to adjust to 10 billion-fold changed in brightness that come to it every day - while its circuitry of nerves enables it to automatically adjust and enhance contrast in what is detects. The ability of the eye to analyze color is breathtaking. The eye can distinguish millions of shades of color while also allowing it to adjust to lighting conditions such as incandescent, fluorescent, as well as natural light that would require a photographer to change filters, films, and housings on his camera. The eye does this instantaneously. All this works together to produce a depth perception that is beyond the range of anything we can imagine designing. In spite of all the technology that we currently have, engineers are still unable to design a system that can calculate the exact force necessary for an athlete to shoot and make a basket, on the run, from 25 feet away, in a split second. Take a moment to consider the array of nerves, sensory cells, lens, muscles, and tissue in the eye. Light passes through our cornea to deal with issues of focus. The cornea is a living, one-cell thick tissue that requires food and oxygen. This is gets through tears that are produced by our tear glands. These tear glands not only feed and lubricate our eyes, but they also inject enzymes into our tears that kill bacteria in our eyes. As light passes through the iris - a lens further focuses the light, fine-tuning it as it passes through until it strikes the pigmented retina. This God-given aperture is so intricate that we can make a biometric scanner that can serve for identification purposes. Whereas our fingerprints only have 35 measurable characteristics, the iris has 266 of them. This makes the chance of any two people having matching irises statistically impossible. It is a one in 10 to the 78th power that this could happen. Then we come to the retina itself. It has 127 million photovoltaic receptors. Only 7 million of these are used to provide color awareness and fine detail. The information gained from these 127 million receptors is then converted from light to electricity and then transmitted to our brain's cortex along one million nerve fibers in our optic nerve. How sensitive is this retina? As little as one photon can trigger these cells. Since a flashlight can fire 10 to the 18th power photons per second, this means that the eye can see a solitary candle flame from as much as 30 miles away. A scientist, trying to describe what happens in our eyes used this illustration to help us understand the incredible things that are happening in our eyes every second of every day. If you were to thnk in terms of a camera that could shoot incredible amounts of pictures, it would require a camera to take 100 photos per second for every one of the one million fibers of the optic nerve. Each of these individual 100,000,000 photos would be represented mathmatically by 50,000 nonlinear differential equations that would have to be solved simultaneously. Taking into consideration two eyes and only allowing five synaptic connections to other nerves from the retina to the cortex of the brain - it would require a 1983 Cray supercomputer a hundred years to process the information that our eyes can transmit every one hundredth of a second. What is even more amazing that all this is the fact that men posing as serious scientists expect us to believe that chance alone produced such a precision instrument with its interdependent parts. Remember in saying this that a retina would be useless without a lens and a lens without a retina. Even Charles Darwin himself said this about the human eye when he considered the possibility of it evolving from a single cell. "To suppose that the eye, with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, culd have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree." Mr. Darwin, we agree with you 100% that when looking at just the human eye we also find your theory absurd as well. What is even more mind-blowing to me while writing this is that we've only examined the human eye. It declares the glory of God - just as the Bible tells us the heavens do. It was by understanding that God established them - and when trying to consider both their vastness and intricacy we would once again ourselves lost in wonder, amazement, and awe. But then again - that is exactly what wisdom desires for us to do.
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A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water, But a man of understanding draws it out. Proverbs 20:5
Like deep, still waters, so the hearts of men can deeply conceal their plans. The word "plan" here is key to understanding this particular proverb. What this word means will govern what we need to learn. The word is "esah" and it means advice or a plan. What helps us most in understanding this word is the comments of Zhodiates who says the following about this word. "It sometimes suggests the idea of a plot." The plots and plans of wicked men are hidden deep in still waters deep within their hearts. Isaiah speaks of these kinds of hidden plans and plots when he says, "Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the LORD, And whose deeds are done in a dark place, And they say, 'Who sees us?' or 'Who knows us?'" (Isaiah 29:15). Thus we come to understand that this proverb is warning us of the ungodly plots of the wicked. We are told that these plans exist hidden deep within the hearts of the wicked - but a man of understanding will draw them out. This ability belongs only to the "man of understanding." He is the one who possesses the ability to distinguish between the good and bad, true and false, and the forthright and the one whose motives are deeply hidden. This man of understanding has the capacity to look through outward actions and words, and see the hidden places of the human heart. This one does not accept everything at face value alone. He not only estimates their words, but the deep underlying motives and aims that are behind them. It is such wisdom that allows the man of understanding to discern hidden motives or hidden agendas. This is the way that he draws out the hidden plans and plots of the wicked. In the New Testament this Spirit-given ability is called the gift of discernment - or discernment of spirits. It is a wonderful gift God has given to some to see below the surface. They are able to see into the heart by God's grace. What they see allows them to read below those deep waters - and see the real reason something is being said or done. Normally, without the Spirit of God, someone could easily pull the wool over our eyes and deceive us. A plan might be laid that we think is gracious, but actually has harm in store for us. That is when the ability to draw out the plans and plots of men is such a blessing. The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way, But the foolishness of fools is deceit. Proverbs 14:8
Are you more concerned about your own actions or the actions of others? Today's proverb offers us some pretty heady stuff about the way a wise man thinks about things in life. There is great wisdom for us today if we will open ourselves to what God has to say to us. Here we read that the sensible man has wisdom. To be sensible is to be shrewd and prudent. So a prudent man has wisdom to offer to us today. That wisdom is this, to understand one's own way. It is wise to be able to understand ourselves. This word, "understand" means to discern and perceive. The one who understands himself pays attention to what he himself does. He watches himself far more than he does others. This is not a selfish thing - but rather a desire to grasp why one does the things they do. This man takes a close look at where his actions and attitudes lead him. He looks at his own way - but only so that he can understand where he has gotten himself. He then uses this information for the purpose of change and growth. He studies himself to gain wisdom on how an attitude change - a change in actions - a change in how he speaks - can help him to be a better person. In the context of the Bible - he also does this so he can walk with God more closely and honor Him better in all that he does. He examines himself, considers himself, and after doing this he considers what is right - what is his duty and his responsibility - and then he goes about doing it regardless of what others say or do. This wise man wants to know his own way because he fully grasps that he is the only one he can change. He is not quick to blame others and fault others for his problems. He takes responsibility for himself. This is one of the best ways to improve your mental health. If you are forever blaming everyone else for your problems, you will rarely change - and - you will be filled with bitterness and unforgiveness. You will view yourself as a perennial victim of others. The sum total of who you are will only be what others have done to you. You will think that your own actions don't matter - or have real consequences because you see all your problems as someone else's fault. Oh, and by the way, you will also be a fool who lacks any real wisdom. The foolishness of fools is deceit. This is the second half of this proverb. The fool is focused on deceit. Simply put, the fool lies. He lies to others. He does not want to understand his own way - because he is too busy making up what he would like his own way to be. He seeks to manipulate others - not himself. He uses lies and deceit to dupe others into believing he really is not responsible for his own actions. When caught in a lie - he will use another lie to get out of his difficult circumstances. Most of all, he lies to himself. Every bad thing that happens is someone else's fault. Every problem is due to someone else. His shortcomings are the fault of others who did not do enough to equip and train him properly. He will never change because he honestly does not see the need for it in his own conduct. If others had only done their part, his actions or words or laziness or inactivity would not have mattered. In the end, though, people grow tired of his blame game. Figuring he is either not worth dealing with - or - incapable of being honest with himself - they turn away from him. Two men are pictured here. One sees no fault in himself and turns to deceit to deal with his problems. The other man is prudent - he turns to look closely at himself. As he looks he seeks to understand how his own actions, attitudes, and words affect what happens to him. One man will fail while the other succeeds. One man will forever be blaming others while the other will receive encouragement to change. One will walk the way of fools while the other will live a life of godly wisdom. "Come, eat of my food And drink of the wine I have mixed. Forsake your folly and live, And proceed in the way of understanding." Proverbs 9:5-6
God places a feast of wisdom before us in this verse. We read of how wisdom has worked hard to place a wonderful table before us with God's sumptuous fare upon it. The invitation is very simple, "Come eat of my food and drink of the wine I have mixed." This kind of spread is not something that took place in the home. What is being spoken of here is the preparation of a feast. Each day we awake, God has that kind of feast awaiting us. There is an open invitation given to us to come and partake of that feast. The feast offered to us has conditions on it though. And if we will not meet the conditions, we will not enjoy what God has prepared. To partake of wisdom, we must forsake folly. That is what God says to us in this passage. Forsake your folly and live. To forsake something means to leave it behind and have nothing more to do with it. When we forsake folly - we are leaving behind the foolish ways of this present world and choosing instead to eat what God puts before us. Note here that when we forsake folly we will live. The foolishness that men embrace is a foolishness that has far more dire consequences that we think. It is a foolishness that will not listen to God or embrace what He says. It is a foolishness that makes us think we are just fine like we are - in need of no great change. It is a foolishness that does not see the dangers of sin and selfishness and proceeds from sin to sin day after day. Stay like this and you will find yourself in hell for all eterntiy. That is why wisdom calls to us to forsake such folly and live. We are also told that we need to proceed in the way of understanding. We leave folly and also embrace the way - the road - the path - the lifestyle of understanding. The word for understanding means not just to understand something - but also to comprehend it, to be able to discern the right action and then walk in it. We proceed in the "way" of understanding. This points us to a path and a lifestyle. This is not just a one time choice, but something we do over and over again. God leads us and teaches us and we add it to the other things He has taught us in the past. As He does this - a lifestyle - a highway is laid out before us. That is how God wants to lead us. He wants to show us those ways over time until walking in His way becomes like walking in a highway. We don't have to be concerned about tight turns - because we are on a highway that is wide and spacious. That only comes about as we forsake win and stupidity and embrace God's ways from our heart! There is a feast awaiting us every single day we live. But it is a feast that is found by the man who forsakes sin - and who embraces truth. He walks in this way - with many failings and with many sins. But as he does so - he begins walking in a broader and broader path uutil he sees things clearer than ever - and until choices which may have been difficult at first become successively easier. May God grant us that kind of meal - that results in that kind of maturity each and every day we live. Take my instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than choicest gold. 11 "For wisdom is better than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her. Proverbs 8:10-11 (NASB)
How valuable is wisdom? You can't find any valuation for it on the New York Stock Exchange or in a bank. There is no mention of it in any of the mutual funds or among the currency exchange markets either. So just how valuable is wisdom? Well, according to what we read in Proverbs 8:10-11 wisdom is extremely valuable - worth far more than anyone in the financial world could imagine. First we learn that we should take a father's discipline and instruction rather than silver. "Musar" is the Hebrew word used here and it means the instruction and discipline that comes through a father's oral instruction - but it can also mean the way this comes through the rod as well. According to other places in Proverbs (i.e. 1:7, 8:33, 13:1, and 15:5) if we receive this we receive life and the favor of God. When we reject our father's instruction and discipline, we receive death, poverty, and shame. In many ways the Word of God says that the way we deal with our father's instruction and discipline will be mirrored in how we receive His in our lives. Hmmm, a southern way of saying this might be, "Take your daddy's talkin's and whippin's rather than money." Might sound kind of strange - but when I think of the value of a godly father's instruction - it is something that is invaluable. When I consider how much I could have learned from my dad - and how much pain and problems could have been prevented in my life if I did - I see where this is worth more than silver. The second statement her is to take knowledge rather than gold. This is the Hebrew word "daath" which means a knowledge gained from learning, discernment, and insight. The word speaks of a knowledge about how life works, as well as a knowledge of the divine. A way to put this where you can really grasp it is that the knowledge God commends is knowing Him and therefore knowing how to life live to its fullest. Now if we thought that a father's instruction and discipline was valuable - we will be blown away at the value of the knowledge God gives. It is worth more than the choicest gold. The gold described here is what is known as "fine gold" and it describes gold that is highly refined and extremely valuable. To know God and thus to know how to live this life is so incredibly valuable. Nothing is worth more to a human being because such wealth does not leave you when you die physically. To know God and how to live will last for all eternity. Next we are told that wisdom is better than jewels. The word used here usually refers to rubies and other highly valuable gems. The word also indicates that these are not raw jewels, but ones that have been cut and adorned with gold and other items to make them highly valuable. Imagine if you will the entire collection of England's crown jewels. These are not as valuable as wisdom. Wisdom again is simply seeing things the way that God sees them and thus knowing how to make decisions that please and honor Him. To close out this proverb we finally read that "all desireable things cannot compare with her." Take all the things of this world that men consider valuable. Pile them all up into one glorious wealthy heap - and all these things together cannot compare to wisdom. This world puts great pride in what they consider valuable. We even used to have a show were the lives of the rich and famous were put on display for all of us to covet. The problem is that all those things are not as desireable as knowing God. They don't add up to a life where we learn valuable and wise lessons from our earthly fathers - then follow their example by learning from God Himself the very things they have sought to teach us. What is the value of wisdom? It is of such a high value that they've not even invented charts that can accurately show the true value and the wealth that comes from it. That can only be measured in the joy and thrill of a myriad of lifetimes spent in the presence of God Himself in heaven. A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, Proverbs 1:5
When does a person stop learning in life? According to Proverbs, only an unwise man stops learning. A truly wise man will hear things throughout his entire life and will continue learning from what he hears. Here in verse 5 of chapter 1 of Proverbs we see that in the opening statement of Proverbs a lifetime of learning is what the wise man embraces. The fool is the one who thinks he knows everything. He walks about in life thinking he has learned all he needs to learn. But it is a fact of life that we will never learn a billionth of all there is for us to know. Were we to spend a thousand lifetimes doing nothing but learning - we would only scratch the surface of all that there is to know in the universe - let alone know all there is to know about God. Therefore we should always be listening, studying, and opening our minds to learn as much as we can. Only this way can we ever hope to have a heart of wisdom. When the wise man hears the words of Solomon - and more importantly the Word of God - he hears. Note it does not say that he listens - for many listen but don't actually hear what is being said. The wise man hears what is said and allows it to sink deep within his heart. When he does so he increases in learning. The word for learning here is very interesting. It is "leqah" and it means learning or insight. The idea behind this word is not just gathering a group of facts. It refers to when a person has insight due to the facts that they know. Spiritual education requires that we know the facts - but it goes far beyond that. Spiritual education leads someone to be able to have insight - to be astute to what God is doing and saying. It means we are able to discern between good and evil - between knowing God and not knowing Him. When we increase in learning we are not just increasing in the amount of knowledge we have. We are increasing in our ability to walk with God and discern all things from His standpoint. The second half of the Proverb points this out to us. It tells us that a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel. When we hear and learn - we will also gain understanding and wisdom. We hear and are able to distinguish the difference between things - between choices - between outcomes. We understand the truth - and can apply the truth to every situation of our lives. In doing this we acquire the counsel of wisdom from God. The Lord makes Himself known to us - and knowing Him makes all the difference in the world. We see things differently - and definitely make different choices. A good question to ask ourselves is whether we are just gathering information - or we are gaining a greater insight and ability to make godly choices in life. If we constantly hear what God is saying to us in His Word, in the circumstances of our lives, and through the godly counsel of others, we will increase in our ability to discern and see things as God sees them. "THAT" will do wonderful things in helping us make good choices all day long - and over the course of our lives. A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none, But knowledge is easy to one who has understanding. Proverbs 14:6
It is interesting in our day to see how many mock the things of God. The large number of best sellers that mock the existance of God and the morality and truth of His Word is a little shocking to the general public - but for those who know the Word - just another proof that we live in a fallen world that rejects God and therefore rejects truth. The scoffers present themselves as seekers of knowledge. They paint themselves as the wise among us - and as those who are trying desperately to turn the ignorant masses away from God and away from seeing God's Word as anything more than an old, archaic, rotting document that no longer deserves our attention. But, no matter how much these mockers present themselves as wise - they are anything but wise in the end. They may seek wisdom - but they will find none. The one prerequisite of wisdom is what they lack. We read in a myriad of places that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom - and that is what these individuals lack - any fear of the Lord. Their mocking shows that they consider themselves to be the ultimate resource of wisdom and understanding - which honestly - makes them fools. They will not humble themselves and admit that they are not the repository of all things wise. They are so filled with pride that they will not admit their own ignorance and lack of perfect knowledge. They not only don't know what is going on in perfect detail on the remotest planet in the universe - they are not even aware of its existance! Yet they have the arrogance to say that unequivically there is no God in the universe. Their scoffing will always keep them from knowledge and wisdom. Only their foolishness will be verified in the end. We are told something wonderful here though. Knowledge is "easy" to him who understands. The concept behind the word "understands" is that this person is teachable. It is not that he already understands all things - but rather than he has a desire to understand all things. His admission of a lack of knowledge is what makes his so marvelously teachable. He longs to better understand things and to know what is true. Therefore he has a very teachable spirit and heart. This makes him a perfect candidate for wisdom. James counsels us that the man who will receive wisdom from God is the very one who says that he does not already have it. Since he doesn't have it - he asks God for it. God loves this man - because he is open to all that God has for Him. The Holy Spirit loves this man because He knows that this man will not resist Him when He comes to teach him truth. Knowledge then becomes easy to this one - because he is wide open to God when He teaches him. He loves receiving things from the Lord - and is longing to be taught - to be instructed - even to be rebuked and corrected. Therefore knowledge becomes something very pleasant to his soul. He is a wise man indeed - because he admits lacking wisdom. But the arrogant scoffer - who exalts his own mind - his own learning - his own egotistic sense that he is always right? That man won't receive anything from God - except an invitation to repent of his arrogance and come to the table to learn from the only One who truly has all wisdom. My guess is that without God's mercy and grace touching his life - he would reject it anyway. "Come eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed." Proverbs 9:5
There is a feast that God is wanting to serve to us every day. It is a feast that the Holy Spirit has prepared for us and one we are daily invited to partake. The question that honestly needs to be answered is whether we are going to sit at God's table each day and enjoy it? The invitation is very clear and pointed in this passage. Come eat of my food. It is interesting to read of how often God prepares a table for us in Scripture. In Psalm 23 He prepares it in the presence of our enemies. In the gospel Jesus speaks of how He will come and dine with us and invites us to dine with Him. The Old Testament feasts were times when the Lord had Israel come to worship - yet this was centered around a time of feasting with one another from the bounty of the very sacrifices He had them bring. Finally we read that in heaven we are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Here in Proverbs the Lord is telling us that when we need His wisdom the most in our lives the Spirit of God has a feast of it awaiting those who will seek it. To often our problem is thy we do not want it. We do not accept or acknowledge His invitation to dine with Him. We speak of our need of strength and wisdom and yet we do not admit to Him that these needs can only be met when partaking from His table and eating what He provides. God also speaks here of how He has "mixed His wine" for us as well. Mixed wine was something not done for just anyone. This was done by adding spices to wine to make it taste better. It was not the usual practice to do this, but was done when company came or for special occasions. Think about this for a moment, especially in light of the context in this passage. According to what we read here, God is offering wisdom when we need it most. At the true points of decision in our lives He is seen mixing a special batch of wine (often a picture of the Word of God or of a special work of His Spirit). He knows exactly what we need from the Word and from His Spirit and He puts it together just for us - just as we need it. The question hangs in the air once again, "will we partake of what He has for us? Think about this again. When we need it the most God has prepared a gourmet meal of food and drink that will give us the very wisdom that we need. It is waiting only one thing. It awaits our acknowledgement of need and of spiritual hunger, and our acceptance of His invitation. To turn down this offer is the very highest of stupidity and foolishness. I think we might be shocked to see how many wonderful meals of wisdom and instruction we have left on the table uneaten. Blind to the feast that awaits us we trudge on in our own strength and our own horribly fallible wisdom wondering where God is when we need Him, or worse, not even recognizing him at all. May God give us grace - give us a spiritual appetite - give us a hunger for Him in every situation to where we would come to His table utterly famished for what He has prepared. May that hunger spur us on to eat well at His table, feasting upon wisdom and knowing the way in which we are to walk. May all this lead to a walk with Him where we know the right way, know the right path, know the right choice and walk in it to the very glory of God. When it comes to eating at His table all I can say is Bon appetit! "All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverted in them. "They are all straightforward to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge. Proverbs 8:8-9
Ah yes, that sticky doctrine of infallibility of Scripture rises again with a statement made by Wisdom. God is speaking in this passage as wisdom is personified. God is calling out to men and women everywhere to listen and to open their hearts to receive the wisdom that God wants to grant to them. Wisdom is awaiting them at home, in the workplace, in the market, where the two roads diverge in the wood (with thanks to Robert Frost). But the question should rightly be asked, "Can we trust what Wisdom says to us in all these situations?" ALL the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness! Well there is an answer for us. Wisdom cannot lie to us - cannot mislead us - will not deceive us! Every utterance - every word from the mouth of God given in wisdom is righteous (that means they are all in a state of being RIGHT!). What is even better is that we next read, "There is nothing crooked or perverted in them." Crooked here means to twist something - and it speaks of those who are shrewd and cunning - those who are devious and who wrestle the truth in a direction that is to their liking. God does not work like this. Holiness means that God's motives are utterly transparent. He may speak things in a mystery - but He never speaks things with devious or cunning intent. What drives Him is His love - and His passion for righteousness and for His own glory. Perverted here is the Hebrew word "iqqesh" which means something crooked and perverse. It describes one with a deceitful, perverse, and evil heart. The person like this perverts morals, social graces, even religious things for underhanded purposes. Once again - God knows nothing of this kind of mindset or motive. We read further of His heart in verse 9. All God's utterances - His Word - are straightforward. In the vernacular of our day - God shoots straight with us. The idea behind this word is honesty. It also has with it the idea of someone who is incapable of being perverted or being partial in their judgment. Something we all need to grasp is that ultimately God is worthy of all glory - therefore - what He does is ultimately to display His own glory. What we don't grasp is that God is not being in any way conceited by doing this. To be conceited, God would have to be gaining or seeking glory that is not rightfully His. The truth is - all glory is rightfully His - all the time - in every situation - and from every person that has ever lived or ever will live - period! Therefore God speaks the truth - and He does so with absolute honesty - and with a view to the absolute best at all times. Now there is something that would be nice to have. Someone Who will never be partial to anything but the very best. Someone Who knows what needs to happen, what needs to be said, what needs to be addressed - and does so every single time with wisdom, with tact, and with razor sharp accuracy. But we need to note that this ability to see God in this way is for those who "understand." There is a discernment that takes us beyond fleshly, earthly wisdom that is necessary for men to understand the straightforwardness of God at all times. You see all the time in liberal circles men and women who don't understand - and who accuse God of the most horrific sins and the most terrible motives. The fact is that they DON'T udnerstand and are blind the true nature of God. This understanding comes from the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds. Without Him and without God's gracious work in us - we will never understand. Our minds and hearts are perverted and twisted by sin. It is only when God's grace is manifest to us that we are transformed - and that our sinful tendencies are no longer dominant in our thinking. God is offering wisdom to us every day - in a myriad of situations where we need it. The truly wise man is the one who submits himself to God - and learns to listen at the crossroads as God instructs him in how to live and how to walk. May we be such men and women - and may we be blessed by the wonderful straightfoward words of God! That they may keep you from an adulteress, From the foreigner who flatters with her words. Proverbs 7:5
We begin to grasp why wisdom and understanding need to be our sister and kinsman redeemer when we see the way that the adulteress seeks to capture men. The wise father here is offering very sage advice to his son - in an effort to rescue him from the snares of immoral women who would capture him with their wiles. Wisdom and understanding keep us from the adulteress. There is something we need to hear in our day - or any day for that matter. If a man does not walk in this world with his spirit open to the Holy Spirit - he will have the normal abnormalcy of walking in his flesh. I call this normal - because it is the state of all who come into this world. I call it abnormalcy because that was not how God originally made man - nor is it where God wants us to be. Too many men, young and old, walk blind to spiritual realities. This makes them sitting ducks for immorality and every other kind of vice common to mankind. It is only seeing things from God's perspective that will guard us from the adulteress. Thus we need to think in cooperation with the Holy Spirit who desires to give us wisdom and understanding - not with our desires and with our labido. We need to be guarded and protected . . . from ourselves. This "strange woman," which is what the Hebrew literally says, is a foreigner. This term may surprise you, but it has more to do with a "spiritual" foreigner than any kind of nationality issues. God warned Israel about the nations that surrounded her because their daughters would intermarry with Israel's sons. God's concern was that this situation would result in Israel's sons worshipping the false god's that these women worshipped. As a result, these sons would turn from the Lord and follow the false gods of the nations instead of the one true God, Jehovah. The adulteress has a secret weapon in her arsenal. It is one that God warns us of - and yet still hundreds and thousands of men fall for it every day. She "flatters" with her words. Men love for their egos to be stroked and pampered. They love it when a woman says nice things about them - compliments them - and tells them how wonderful they are. (As a man, I fear that this comes from the arrogant prideful thought within me that when they do - they are so right - because . . . well . . . because I just so incredibly awesome!) Oh, here is the danger, men! We want the ego strokes because of our pride. When a man has been married for a while - too often these ego-strokes begin to fade in the marriage due to men being doofusses and due to the natural progression of sin. (Just a note to wives . . . ladies, you cannot ever grasp how important it is for your husband to know you appreciate him - and that you still consider him your hero - and a warning as well is needed here. If you don't do this - or think its just dumb to say things like this cause you've been married 5, 10, 20, 30 years. I can promise you that at some point, some other woman may begin complimenting and flattering your husband. He is still responsible to be godly, be pure, and be faithful. But that task becomes all the more difficult - when he receives no encouragement at home - no ego-strokes - no compliments. This makes it harder to resist when someone finally appreciates him. This is not meant to justify unfaithfulness - it just hopefully helps you see that your God-given task of being his helpmate (which includes encouragement and seeing him as your hero) will make it so much easier for him to see the smooth, flattery of the adulteress for what it is . . . a trap!) The adulteress uses flattery to trap a man. She uses compliments and smooth statements as bait for another woman's husband. The word for flattery means words that are smooth and slippery. What a picture of the deception and the lies that are at work here. She worships herself and her own desires - and she is working hard through her slippery, smooth comments to get this poor sap to join her in her worship. He can worship himself and enter into her worship of herself through an illicit relationship. She catches her prey by luring him in through the baited compliments she places into her trap. Wisdom and understanding are essential to delivering us from such things. God's viewpoint is simple men. Are you married? Do you presently have a wife? Then this is totally and completely out of bounds! If this is absolutely outside of God's will for you - then who could be behind such counsel and such temptation? We need to see these compliments for what they are. They are bait on a hook! If you nibble at the bait - a hook is going to tear through the flesh of your lip - possibly rip open your jaw - and no matter how hard you fight, you're going to be reeled in and mounted as a trophy on Satan's wall! My how that description just changed how we view the flattery and slippery speech of the adulteress! We went from being enamored with her beauty and the promise of ecstasy - to feeling sick at our stomachs at the thought of a hook tearing through our skin and the pain that it would yield. Good!! That is what wisdom and understanding are supposed to do. They are supposed to take the silly trappings off of the devil's lies - off of our flesh and its deceptive thoughts - and show us the horror of what truly lies ahead. This is why wisdom is to be our sister - and understanding our kinsman redeemer. They can take the most sensual, inviting situation and show it for what it is. It is going to be horrible! It is going to be bondage! It is going to be regretted in the end! May God give us grace to see these things - to wake up out of the stupor of our fleshly sleep - and see the truth before it is too late. |
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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