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Open your mouth for the mute, For the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.
Proverbs 31:8-9 Today there is a form of theology that emphasizes social justice as its core value. This is somewhat confusing to those who desire to walk with God on the basis of grace because it tends to make concern for the physical poor and needy the primary cause of Christianity. As a guy who is quickly approaching the age of 50 I can tell you what the "social justice" movement is going to end up becoming. It will eventually follow in the footsteps of the social gospel of the 60's and 70's - and every other time when the emphasis of those teaching the Scriptures moved away from the gospel of Jesus Christ and the teaching that man needs salvation from his sins. I say this with a little hitch in my heart - because if we had just followed the teaching of the Word of God in the first place - we would not have needed an "emphasis" on social justice. Solomon's mom tells us straight up that the godly king - and for that matter any other godly man regardless of authority and position - stands up for those who cannot defend themselves against the powerful. Unfortunately the church from time to time forgets that when the gospel was clarified in the book of Acts the leaders also asked that as we preach the gospel we would remember the poor. There it is - not a social justice emphasis - or a gospel of social works that needs to be taught as a substitute for the real one - but a gospel that teaches salvation by grace from our sins against God and His law. As we go about preaching that gospel - we should also remember the poor - and minister to them accordingly. But at no time do the leaders in Acts condone a gospel that replaces the true one with mere gracious acts to raise the social level of a man without dealing with his fallen spiritual condition. To lifte a man socially without dealing with his core corruption of sin is to prepare a man for hell by making him enjoy earth better before he goes there. We are commanded to open our mouths for the mute. The word here refers to the physical condition of being unable to speak - but the idea is metaphorical. There are those who need an advocate. They are mute not because of a physical disability, but due to a social one. The unborn cannot speak for themselves - thus we must speak for them. If they could speak they would fill the world with their screams and cries of pain and anguish as they are slaughtered by the millions within their mother's womb. They cannot speak - therefore we MUST! In the 60's and 70's the plight of the black man in America was thrust before the church. Shamefully, we did not speak up for their rights - and by our silence (and too often unbiblical teaching supporting racism) we all but lost the black community to a political gospel. When we refuse to speak out for the mute and for the rights of the unfortunate - we are setting up disaster for ourselves in future generations. As much as I love our nation - we made a tremendous mistake in our founding in not abolishing the practice of slavery. We had an opportunity but did not do the right thing. That set up the disaster of the 1860's when our nation fought a bloody war over that issue. I know as a historian that many will complain that the war was fought over states rights, and in one way I would agree with them. But anyone wanting to be historically and morally honest knows that the rights that the state wanted were the rights to continue an odious practice of slavery that had horrific effects on the black man in America. We are to open our mouths and judge righteously. We cannot allow social mores to guide us - we must be guided by God's righteousness. That is why the plight of the homosexual is not the same as the plight of the black man and racism. Homosexuality is a choice - a moral choice. It is called sin in both the Old and New Testaments. It is not the unforgiveable sin, but it is one that Christ died to set us free from nevertheless. Therefore whereas we can speak against those who target homosexuals for violence and hatred, we cannot say that this should be accepted as a normal lifestyle and also should be taught to our children as an acceptable ssexual choice. We are to defend the rights of those afflicted and needy. In Jewish culture of that day this meant speaking out for the poor. It meant standing up for widows and orphans who had no voice in the gate or in a judicial setting. Money was not to speak in the place of justice, righteousness was. When we allow our judicial system to fundamentally treat the rich different than the poor - we must speak out against that kind of abuse. God expects it - no - God commands it. Maybe if the church in generations past HAD spoken up for the poor, the needy, and the afflicted - we would not have to see emphases that detract from the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Although we can do little more than humbly apologize for those past oversights - we can offer hope to those who were affected by speaking out against present day abuses. When it comes to the issues of our day we need to ask the question, "Are you speaking out - or have you suddenly lost your voice?"
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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! By transgression an evil man is ensnared, But the righteous sings and rejoices. Proverbs 29:6
Snares are usually set by a hunter for an animal. They are set with great care and caouflaged so that the animal is unaware of their presence. The goal is for the animal to think everything is fine - and suddenly be caught in the snare and trapped. This normal situation with snares makes this proverb all the more interesting to us because God is warning us that certain behaviors and choices that we make actually set snares - not for another - but for ourselves. The way that an evil man sets a snare for himself if by his sin. The word transgression here means rebellion. The word speaks of rebellion against God and His laws. So the snare that the evil man sets for himself to be caught in is his own choice to rebel against God and His laws and principles. This ensnares him - it sets a trap for him and is bait for him as well. The word "ensnare" here means more than just a trap. The word actually speaks more of the bait that is in the trap. The bait here is the whole idea of living life without any responsiblity to God and to His Word. It is a life free from restraints - and free from serious responsilibity to God. We don't have to worry about God and His authority. We don't have to worry about accountability for our moral choices. We're free to do what we want. This is the most effective bait available to Satan. He catches thousands of people who don't want to be accountable to God - and who think that they truly can live however they want without consequences. The truth is that such living places us squarely in a trap. We cannot get past God's commandments. We will not sidestep them - we will trip over them and fall. Just like the proverb says, we will be ensnared when it is all over. The righteous though sings and rejoices. This is interesting to consider because it runs so contrary to the opening statement. Why do the righteous sing and rejoice? Since most proverbs present two opposing sides we can look at how that would help us understand what is being said here. Transgression ensnares and is bait for the evil man - and yet is a motivation for the righteous to sing and rejoice. When we look at the idea of a man being righteous we know that biblically this only happens by faith. We are made righteous by a gift of God's grace, given because of what Jesus Christ did through His death, burial, and ressurection. So whereas sin ensnares the evil man - the righteous one sees it and has an opposite reaction. The righteous man sees sin and does not see an opportunity to live how he wants. He does not desire a life free from the constraints of the Law of God. He sees a completely different picture. First he sees that God is not constraining him except from doing something that will hurt himself. Every prohibition of the Word of God is there because we need protection from the ravages of sin. He sees the love of God at work - whereas the evil man sees God trying to rob him of pleasure he should rightfully have. When the righteous see the love of God in His commands, he sings and rejoices! What a wonderful, loving God he has who has marked out all the things that bring pain and destruction! There is something else that the righteous see in the Law of God. He sees himself. At first this will not be a reason to sing and rejoice because what he will see is rebellion. He has rebelled against God and done evil as he has disobeyed God's commandments. That is painful at first to realize - but in the end it is a reason for glorious rejoicing and singing. It is only when we see our sinful rebellion against God's Law that we come to grasp why we need Jesus Christ. As Galatians 3:24 tells us, ". . . the Law is given to us as a tutor, to lead us to Christ so that we might be justified by faith." In our sinfulness we no longer are deceived and think we can be right with God on the basis of our own works. We are led to Christ to be declared righteous by faith in what Jesus has accomplished on the cross. There, dear ones, is the reason to sing and rejoice! The evil man sees sin as an opportunity to live out his demented ideas of freedom. He thinks he is free and that he will not have to be ultimately accountable for his actions. Too bad that he will find out in eternity that such thoughts were only the bait of Satan to damn his soul for eternity. The righteous sees sin as a reason to run to the cross of Christ for redemption and forgiveness. He sees his sin as proof that his works are worthless in making himself acceptable to God. This revelation from God is reason enough for him to turn to God in faith for the only righteousness that will stand in the judgment. Knowing this is absolutely fantastic! It is glorious and definitely turns our hearts to singing and rejoicing because of the manifold grace of God! Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than he who is crooked though he be rich. Proverbs 28:6
Integrity and honor are character traits that are of high value in the kingdom of God. They make a person very wealthy even though at the time they may not have a fantastic financial bottom line. When someone is varying between two stances - which is what this passage called being "crooked," they can have all the money in the world and still be seen as far less successful than the poor man who lives a godly life. God's way of valuing things and people is far different than that of the world. The word "crooked" is very interesting. The literal Hebrew means, "perverse in two ways." What this describes is someone who is going back and forth between two opinions and two views. According to the Theological Wordbook of the OT this term refers to the twisted and perverting nature of sin. The word was also used to describe how a woman twists her hair for the purpose of putting it in braids. Thus the word came to mean the way that people twist their ways and choices contrary to what God commands and desires. The word is used to describe the way rulers "twist everything that is straight" (Micah 3:9). In a similar Proverb about the need for integrity, this same word is used to describe how fools are perverse in their speech. Too often the rich think they are beyond the law - or above it because of the influence their money buys in this world. I have several friends who are police officers who have told me again and again that they have far more trouble out of rich people they pull over for speeding than from any other group. They are told that they should give the rich person a warning or nothing at all because of all the people they know in City Hall. They try to throw their influence around to intimidate my friends in law enforcement into ignoring the law - or might we say perverting it. They want my friends to act crookedly. These guys write them tickets seeking to enforce the law - only to have them ignored by those in power when they come to court. Too many of the rich make the mistake of placing their hope in riches and what they provide in this world - rather than in God and the hope of His reward in eternity. I say this not to absolve the poor of integrity issues - because the problem is not money - it is the love of money. I've seen the love of money in every financial category there is. The warning here is to run after integrity and honor - and not allow money to make us think that these things don't matter as long as you are well off financially. Just an aside here for our mutual benefit. I've heard a saying again and again that grieves my heart. Here is the saying, "Money may not be able to make you happy, but it makes your misery much more bearable." Those who say that are truly deceived. They think that a few years of less miserable riches are worth trading for all of eternity. God does not countenance such foolishness. They are truly deceived because they do not understand that their momentary happiness in their wealth and stuff will actually make their judgment more severe. The Scriptures tell us, "To whom much is given, much is required." Whatever brief comfort they find in their things and their wealth will be infinitely offset by the searing judgment that awaits them for loving the world and therefore not having the love of the Father in them. Again - that was for free - because I'm tired of fools sounding wise to this world when they are only multiplying their foolishness for a judgment that awaits them at the throne of God. True wisdom is seeing the end, in this case eternity, and making sound decisions with God's ways in view. The poor man walks differently here because he walks in his integrity. The word "walk" is the Hebrew word "halak" which means to come and go, or to walk about. It was a word that was used to describe a flowing river, the blowing of the wind, and the movement of animals of all kinds. It was therefore used to metaphorically speak of the pathways of one's life - and came to mean the lifestyle that one chooses. This poor, wise man has chosen to walk out his life using God's wisdom as his guide. The best way to describe this integrity that the poor, wise man chooses is to walk with all of our heart in the things of the Lord. The word here for integrity was used to describe the way that men like David and Job spoke of walking with a perfect heart. This did not mean these men were sinless - just that they did not want to waver between two opinions and two ways of living. They wanted to live for the Lord with all their heart - all the time. There is something that God values greatly in this world. But what God values and what men value are two entirely different things. This world does not value living for God and His ways with a whole heart. They might give an honorable mention to the occasional religious person who they admire for a few moments because of their devotion to God, but they do not see this as a way of living for all men. They live for the things of the world - and chase after them with all their heart. But what is highly valued by men of this world is despised by the Lord. He is looking for men whose heart is completely given to Him. How much better it is to be one of these men - regardless of their financial bottom line. It is far better to be that kind of a man and poor - than to be the richest man on earth and only enjoy it for the mere length of a breath - which is how God describes this life in comparison with eternity. Like a bird that wanders from her nest, So is a man who wanders from his home. Proverbs 27:8
Birds begin every spring by gathering what is needed to construct a nest. Usually they select a place that they believe will give them protection and shelter. This becomes the location where they then lay eggs and work to build a family. The nest serves as the location of safety and of security. For a bird to leave the nest is dangerous. Note that the term used for this leaving is the word wander. The bird is not flying from the nest for the purpose of hunting or finding food for itself and its young. This bird is just following its own curiosity wandering away from the nest to see what he can see. This indicates that we are probably speaking of the young - because an adult bird knows better than to wander from the nest. There is a word for birds who wander from their nests - prey! They become prey for those who are watching to see if they leave the protection and cover of the nest. They are sitting ducks as they go out from the nest just wandering wherever they go. It is a very dangerous thing to just go wandering away. The picture of a bird wandering from its nest is compared to a man who wanders from his home. Here again is God's wisdom. God establishes the home as the central unit of society. It is also the place where God intends for children to be reared to maturity. There God provides for the child two loving parents who are focused on selflessly giving themselves for this child's good. As long as the child stays within the home (meaning its influence and protection) that child is safe. When the child wanders from that place - he is in danger. But what we have said to us here is not about a child - it is about a man. The man who wanders from his home is like the bird wandering from his nest. What would cause a man to wander from his home? There are many things actually that work toward guiding a man toward this disaster. First is another woman. Many men wander from their home and wind up being involved with a woman who is not their wife. They wander away from their commitment - away from their vows to God and to their bride - and much like the bird wandering from his nest - this man is caught . . . trapped . . . hunted and captured. Sexual immorality and adultery are both strong traps that have destroyed many a man who wandered from the nest of his home and marriage. Another thing that causes men to wander is outside interests that begin to dominate their lives. Please understand I'm not against a man having outside interests like hunting, fishing, sports, cars, motorcyles, or whatever else a guy chooses to pursue. What I warn men against is having pursuits that take them away from the home far too often. Our commitment as a husband and father is to our wives and our children. Anything that takes us away from them - and hinders us from being there for them as we should - is not good. It is another way men "wander" from the nest - and leave themselves (and their families) unprotected. There is more to this than just the damage done to the man who wanders away. When he is in this "wandering" state, his family is left unprotected. His sons are untaught in the things of the Lord - and undirected into God's way by watching and participating with their father in vastly important ways. His daughters are left unprotected - and grow up with a sense that they have to take care of themselves. They face dealing with boys on their own - and since dad has been off acting like a boy - they don't know what a real man looks like. Too often this leads to disaster as sons grow up being boys perennially as they follow the footsteps of a father who leads them there by not growing up himself. Daughters grow up unprotected and wind up going out with and marrying the wrong kind of man. There are truly multiple disasters that come from a man wandering from his home. Men . . . God wants you to be MEN! That means leaving behind boyhood and choosing to be the man God wants you to be in your home. The church and our world desperately needs men like this. We need guys who choose to die to themselves and see more and more as they grow older that life is not about them. They grow up and realize that shirking serious responsibilities in the home and in the church is creating a horrific society and a broken nation. We cannot continue on the course we are on - because to do so is to embrace destruction on a national scale. I realize that this is not just a problem for us - it has been a multi-generational problem in our nation. Many of us are like we are - because we have had fathers who wandered from the home - either physically, emotionally, spiritually, or all the above. But we cannot continue on this path - it surely leads to disaster! May God move in our hearts and in our homes to fulfill His promise in Malachi 4:5-6. There the Lord spoke of a day when he would send us "Elijah the prophet" before the great and terrible day of the LORD. His purpose and ministry would be to, ". . . restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers . . ." God's promise here was so that He would not have to come and smite the land with a curse. I think we see all the marks of that curse on our land today. To be honest, the vast majority of the responsibility for that curse lies on the fathers of today and yesterday - for wandering from home. May the work of revival and reformation bring fathers back home - first back to the Lord Himself, then back to their wives and children. Basically - back to the nest - a place they never should have wandered from in the first place. Like the legs which are useless to the lame, So is a proverb in the mouth of fools. Proverbs 26:7
There are certain things that are useless in life. A screen door on a submarine, a picture window in tank, an honesty pledge by a congressman - and here we learn that a proverb in the mouth of a fool is another. A Proverb in the mouth of a fool is a complete waste of time and energy. A fool wants nothing to do with wisdom - and this word for fool indicates that he is immovably opposed to God and the morals that come from knowing God. The fool doesn't care about the future. He only cares about his own immediate desires. He thinks that God's Word and ways are stupid and a burden to live by - and rejects them for whatever his lusts are telling him to do. The example here to compare how useless it is to have a proverb in the mouth of a fool is that of how the legs of the lame are useless to them. They cannot walk and cannot move. Therefore their legs are useless to them. They just hang there and have no purpose any longer. This is a tragedy - but then again so is the proverb in the mouth of the fool. He may say one thing - but his lifestyle militates against it - and he desires something altogether different. When you hear a proverb being spoken by a fool - you can listen to the wisdom of the Proverb - just don't expect that wisdom to be carried out by the fool who speaks it. Do not claim honor in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the place of great men; For it is better that it be said to you, "Come up here," Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of the prince, Whom your eyes have seen. Proverbs 25:6-7
There is a real danger of claiming honor in the presence of leaders and people of importance. The danger lies in whether they agree with your evaluation of yourself or not. That is why it is wise to embrace humility when in the presence of leaders and people of importance. We are told not to claim honor in the presence of the king. This is because a king or a great man already has a standing of honor and respect. When we claim one - we may claim something they don't think we should have. We are also told to be careful about standing in the place of great men. Your mother may think you are awesome and great - but that's because she is your mom. Not everyone in the world carries a picture of you in their wallet. The wise man embraces humility and a low view of himself. He is not boastful and full of himself. Instead he chooses to let his works, his attitudes, and his value be evaluated by others who see what he does. He focuses on being a servant and being a person of excellence. Whatever happens as a result of his actions he lets others decide. This way, if he is lifted up and praised, it is due to the words of others and not due to the arrogant braggadocio of his own words. This is what verse 7 presents to us. We are told that is it better for others to say to us that we should, "Come up here." What is being said is that we should leave the praise to others. When we receive it - others are elevating us. We simply receive their praise graciously and gratefully. There is one of the dangers of having too high a view of ourselves. We begin to believe our own press. We think we are awesome and that others really should be praising us and lifting us up. This places us in a very precarious place. We read the final admonition to us in this verse and it is one we should think about very seriously. It's better for someone to say, "Come up here," than or us to be demoted in the presence of the prince. To be humbled is . . . well . . . a humbling experience. It is bad enough to be humbled in a one on one situation - but here we are talking about being humbled before a prince - and probably before his court as well. Arrogance has a very high cost - and that is seen nowhere more clearly than in this one who decided to assume a high place in the court of a king or a prince. The Biblical example of this is found in the book of Esther. Haman was elevated to a high place in Ahasuerus' kingdom. He was given authority which quickly went to his head. Soon Haman decided that everyone should exalt him - like he was king. When Mordecai would not do this - he decided to abuse his authority not just to hurt Mordecai, but to destroy his people as well. This plot seemed like it would succeed, were it not for the prayers of God's people and God's intervention. This process wasn't hindered at all by Haman's exceedingly great pride and arrogance. His fall came when he was asked by the king what should be done for the man who the king desired to honor. Haman's pride was at its highest and worst point when the only thought that came to him was that he was the one whom the king spoke of when asking this. Little did he know that the one the king decided to honor was his rival. Suddenly all the arrogance and pride in destroying an entire people for a slight he felt to his pride was caving in upon him. He faced devastation as a series of events took place where he was no longer asked to, "Come up here," by the king. His was a careening fall from grace to his death by execution. Arrogance does not pay in the end. It will bring about a devastating end for the one who embraces it. But the humble man who does not seek to advance himself will prosper. He will do so in one way or another. Either he will be advanced by the king - a turn of events he will receive with the same grace and attitude with which he served in the first place - or - he will continue to serve graciously because his goal was not honor and glory anyway. His goal was simply to serve those around him in the name of Jesus Christ. If he accomplishes that - he is happy. Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back. If you say, "See, we did not know this," Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work? Proverbs 24:11-12
Here is a couple of verses that seem a little dramatic to us at first glance. How often in our society do we see people being taken away to their death and staggering to a slaughter? We need to remember though that the proverbs not only speak of physical realities but spiritual ones as well. So how can we learn from this particular proverb? There is the obvious slaughter to those who know Christ that is coming on the horizon. That event is the judgment seat of Christ - and the day when all men shall give an account of themselves to God. Too many think that on that day God's mercy will prevail and God will allow all men into heaven - or - they just deny God altogether. The problem is that the time of mercy - where God is showing amazing mercy to mankind is NOW - not then. Every day God has indignation with the wicked (Psalm 7:11) - and as a righteous Judge - He is showing unimaginable mercy by not consuming the wicked each and every day that He withholds the just consequences of mankind's sin. So contrary to popular thinking, God is showing mercy NOW - but in the day of judgment that general mercy shall no longer remain. All there will be on that day is grace for those who have run to Christ - and infinite, eternal judgment to those who chose to remain in their rebellion, thinking their own works will bear up in the judgment. There have been other slaughters in history. To the Germans who watched the Jews being carted off to the slaughter houses of the Third Reich, they were responsible to do something. To those who watched the awful specter of ethnic cleansing in country after country in our world, they were responsible to speak out against it and do what they could to stop it. In our own nation there has been a silent slaughter that has been going on since 1973. Abortion has dwarfed the slaughters foisted upon society by the likes of Adolf Hitler, Stalin, Mau, and Pol Pot. Sadly, this slaughter continues at a rate of 4000 a day - all legally - and now even paid for by our government. We've exported our murder of the innocents through the auspices of the United Nations and their wicked population control efforts. So for us to say that such a slaughter is not happening in our enlightened century - is to simply close our eyes to the truth that the wickedness of man has only multiplied to where they have come up with far more efficient ways to slaughter the innocent. God's call to us in the midst of the slaughter of the innocent is to hold them back. You can hear the cry of heaven saying, "Stop this! Hold them back from such a slaughter." Just like the heros of the past who spoke against slavery - and the racism that desires to cleanse the world of others unlike themselves - we need to speak out and act to stop the slaughter. To do otherwise is to be complicit with the murderers themselves. We may not be the actual executioners - but our inactivity and unwillingness to take the cause of the innocent empowers them to continue the slaughter. I find it the most perverse of activities that people camp outside prisons protesting the death sentence on the most vile of criminals - but justify abortion even up to the day of a child's birth. There has never been a more disgusting form of execution than that perpetrated upon the victim of a partial birth abortion. Yet for the most part - our society remains unmoved by this most horrific of injustices. God's Word to those who sit silently by and watch the evils of a slaughter of innocents is terrifying. The Lord speaks first to those who claim ignorance. They say that they did not know this - they knew nothing of a slaughter of this kind. They say this not because of actual ignorance - but as a ruse to cover their culpability. God's answer to them is simple. He who weighs hearts will consider this. God is saying to the multitudes who want to ignore such things that He knows their hearts. He weighs all hearts - and knows exactly what we know and what we do not know. The term weigh here is used of God's process of moral evaluation. The Lord says that a man's ways are all good in his own eyes - but God will weigh his motives and the "end" of his actions. God weighs our hearts by what happens as a result of our actions. Even when we choose to deceive ourselves - God is aware of the truth we refuse to embrace. If this is so in the little perjuries of our souls - is it not even more accurate in the major sins which we wink an approving eye toward by our inaction? God knows it because He keeps our souls - a term that speaks of how God watches over all that we do. There never has nor will there ever be something we've thought or done that He does not know intimately. This is a terrifying thought to those who think God will forget our sin. To help us grasp this even more clearly the writer of proverbs tells us He is the one who will render to every man according to his work. This term render is one that is sobering because it means to turn back or to return to another. In other words, what we have done and what we have allowed - will be done and allowed upon us for all eternity. This is true with the physical injustices that we see in the world - but it also will be true for those who do nothing for those staggering toward judgment without Christ. The ultimate injustice spiritually is when we refuse or cowardly back away from sharing Christ with the multitudes staggering toward the judgment seat without anything to pay for their sins. What an injustice we perpetrate when we enjoy salvation ourselves, but do nothing to stem the fearful judgment that will come upon others. We need to speak - speak for the wicked injustices that are happening in our generation - and speak to those who do not know Christ. I read a statement somehwere that said, "Daddy, what were you doing when they were killing babies?" Each generation that passes is often asked by history what they did to stem the tide of evil in their generation. We look back on Hitler's Germany and wonder why they did not speak out? We look at the horrific murders of the communist regimes of Stalin and Pol Pot and wonder why no one spoke out. And at the judgment seat of Christ the loudest thing we will hear will be the sound of our own silence in sharing the gospel as billions face the ultimate judgment of eternity. In light of such ultimate moments we need to ask ourselves, "Why do we not lift our voices to speak for the ones being led to the slaughter?" Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words. Proverbs 23:9
There are people in life that you cannot speak to or teach. That is one of the irrefutable facts of life that you need to realize and embrace . . . or go crazy. Proverbs addresses this fact today. The fool is a dull, thickheaded, stubborn person who will not welcome or allow God's wisdom into his life. Proverbs 1:7 reminds us that fools despise wisdom and instruction. Three different words are translated fool in the Old Testament, and none of them are particularly flattering to the one who is a fool. The first is the Hebrew word "kesl" which speaks of someone who is spiritually dull and characterized by a mind closed to God and His Word. He is thickheaded and very stubborn in holding to his own ways, his own thoughts, and his own ideas. This person will usually reject information from others - and is especially beligerent toward information from God. This is the word used most often for fool throughout the book of Proverbs - and is the word used here. The second word for fool is "nabal" which refers to one who lacks any kind of spiritual perception or discernment. The third word for fool is "ewl" and speaks of the one who is arrogant, flippant, and mentally dull. he is also hardened in his ways and unwilling to change in response to information from others - and once again even more so when it comes to information from the Word or the Spirit of God. This is the person to whom you are speaking - who is either hearing you speak directly to him - or indirectly hears what you are saying. We need to see here that we are not even to speak in the "hearing" of a fool. This guy will not listen - his mind is closed to the things of God - and thus his ears are too. He is settled in his ungodly and worldly thinking. He will not just reject your words - he will despise them. The word despise is the Hebrew "buz" and means to hold in contempt and utter disrespect. What we have said here in Proverbs 23:9 is the same as we read in chatper 1 verse 7. They hate the wisdom of God. This probably sounds harsh to some who read this and react with the template of being tolerant of everyone's views. The problem though is not with the person who knows and loves God's wisdom - it is with the fool who is anything but tolerant of God's views. It is so important that we remember that God's wisdom is simply seeing things from God's perspective. We learn to look at things the way that God looks at them. We want to have His mindset and His heart. But when the fool hears these things - he reacts with disgust - even hatred! He wants NOTHING to do with God's Word or His ways. We see this in our society more and more. Those who are unsaved are becoming more and more hardened in their ways. They accuse us of intolerance - and yet as we love them and share the truth with them - it is they who are the intolerant. It is not that they just disagree with us - they want our views labelled as "hate speech" and forbidden from public discourse. They radically and hatefully respond to our views of morality - and see them as an afront to their very existance. Therefore when we speak - they will react strongly to us. Some will even become so angry that they will attempt to shout us down or shut us down. Others will go as far as taking our views to court to see them labelled as illegal. Thus they not only reject them - they reject having them spoken out loud even when they are not present. So how do we deal with this? First, we do what Proverbs says. We realize a fool when we run into one - and we don't speak in their hearing. It is not that we hide from them or take our message underground. We just simply speak to others instead of them. This is a tricky thing to manage, because we don't want to refuse the gospel to people. Paul was very harsh toward Christians before he was saved - yet the Lord wanted him to hear the gospel. Some who persectued the church - came to Christ simply because those persectured shared their faith with them. So, we approach this with wisdom and the leadership of the Spirit - not just our own tendency to react to the more strident in their views among the wicked. This being said, we do exercise wisdom and share with those who receive the message. To do otherwise would be to waste the message with those who will reject it outright. Even Jesus told us not to throw the pearls of the gospel before swine. He said that they would trample them under foot and turn to attack us. Kinda sounds like what Solomon is seeking to tell us here. So be wise - share the gospel and the wisdom of God freely - but be wise with those who reject it violently. Share with those who have a heart to hear - a heart where God is granting them ears to hear and a heart to respond to the Spirit's moving. They won't despise the Word or the wisdom of God. They will embrace it and prove it by the change that they experience in their lives. The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender's slave.
Proverbs 22:7 Proverbs is an interesting book in that it is presenting wisdom to us. But as we read it there are times when we struggle with what is being said. Here we read about how the rich rules over the poor - and we wonder about the wisdom of this statement. But before we make the fatal mistake of questioning an all-wise God, let's take a moment to look at this proverb without the liability of the class warfare that has too often been used to color our thinking about such things. The rich does rule over the poor. This is too the advantage of both if they are wise in how they conduct themselves. The rich often become that way because they have learned how to manage things and deal with them so that they are profitable. These sound like the kind of skills needed to be a leader. Solomon is saying that this is the case - that the ones who rule over others are usually those who have worked hard to accomplish something. Ones who have used their abilities to manage and accumulate wealth and influence. that influence naturally puts them in a position to exercise even greater influence over a larger and larger number of people. For those who are offended that the Bible speaks of the rich ruling over the poor also need to consider the things the Bible says to protect the poor. God has said numerous things to make it clear that He bring judgment upon the man who oppresses the poor. He warns the rich again and again not to put their hope in riches. He also warns about how riches can deceive a man and destroy him if he decides to pursue wealth about pursuing the things of God. God may say that the rich rules over the poor - but He does not in any way condone the rich abusing the poor. In fact, God promises that He will rise up to defend the poor and needy. The second thing we learn from this passage is the dangers and evils of living on borrowed money. We learn that the borrower becomes the lender's slave. When I read this statement I remember the rendition of a Disney song that goes, "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go." The borrower owns the lender - or at least he owns whatever was purchased with loans until they are completely paid off. Things become worse for the one who owes an exorbitant amount to the lender. More and more interest is charged the larger the amount - and the worker suddenly is working to pay off the interest without even touching the loan amount itself. Then the borrower becomes the lender's slave. He will never get out of debt and spends a lifetime paying for something he will never own. When I read this particular proverb I fear for our nation. We are no longer a lender nation - but a debtor one. Our leadership on both sides of the aisle have mortgaged our future trying to buy our votes. The sick reality of our situation is that they've bought our votes promising things they've bought with our money as they enact more and more confiscatory tax policies. Thus we've been bought using our own money - and those who have used it have done so to further enslave us to government programs and promises to save us. In the end, this house of cards will come crashing to the ground. Our greed to become rich with loans will come home to roost as our currency and our economy become worthless. The wise man does not seek riches through becoming a lender's slave. Instead he uses industry, sacrifice, and saving to purchase what he wants - and greater wisdom to have what he has saved be used to increase his ability to earn more. And if he is truly wise, he will use the wealth God has given him the ability to earn to bless others. He will not allow riches to use him, he will use riches to bring glory to God. |
 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. 
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