Category: Adversity

Hide and Speak? - Proverbs 28:28

7/19/2018

Proverbs 28:28 When the wicked rise, men hide themselves; But when they perish, the righteous increase.

Here is a proverb dealing with what happens when the wicked come to positions of public power and influence. Such was the case when wicked king Ahab and his equally horrible wife, Jezebel ruled over Israel. Just as this proverb states, men began to hide themselves. This was especially the case with godly men. They knew that under Ahab and Jezebel's rule godliness would not be tolerated. Thus the prophets of God hid in caves. It seemed that only Elijah was speaking out - and he eventually ran from the death threats of Jezebel and hid too. It is difficult to speak out in such an environment - as honestly - many of us already know.

Let's take a closer look at the "wicked" mentioned in this proverb. The word used here is "rasa' which means someone who is wicked, guilty, criminal and a transgressor of God's Law. Let's take a closer look at each aspect of this definition. First off let's be honest about this word, "wicked." It is a word that we don't care for - especially if it is used to describe us or those with whom we agree. The word usually refers to those who are disobeying God's laws - or who are opposing God by their actions. This is why the "righteous" hide from them. The righteous are those who follow a moral and ethical path in agreement with God and His Law. So we learn that the wickedness of these who rise up is defined by how they view God's Law - and submission to God's way.

The truth spoken here though is that while these wicked men rise up and take their stand, the righteous will hide themselves. In any society where ungodly choices are exalted - even enshrined into law - godliness and righteousness will have to go into hiding. The sexual revolution in our nation has both exalted and now enshrined into law behavior that has perverted the sexuality God originally gave to us. As this turning away from God's plan continues (in the political realm as well as the realms of news, entertainment, and education) those who hold to what God calls right hide themselves more and more. We see this in the contentious debate in our culture - and especially in online discourse. It is difficult to write or speak what God calls sin and what He calls righteous, because to do so will yield almost instant censure from a majority culture who no longer views the sexuality taught in the Scriptures as right or relevant. We may try to speak out or write - but soon the general condemnation of such views relegates us to silence (at least in any social media format).

So what are we to do if (or in our current situation - when or as) this happens? First of all we need to realize that a more public discourse on biblical righteousness will become increasingly difficult. Another part of this will be that fewer and fewer will be willing to even speak out publicly. As the proverb states, such a situation will cause the righteous to hide themselves. But we do not have to completely abandon God's law - nor should we. The second thing we will need to realize is the value of more private, one on one conversations. Build honest and real friendships with those who disagree with you - and then share the truth with your friends over time. It would be wise to follow Scriptural guidelines in doing this. We are told to "speak the truth in love," as well as to speak with "gentleness and respect" toward those who listen to what we have to say. There is also a third thing I'd like to suggest - and I imagine it may cause some who are conservative Christians to cringe a little. Be careful that your conversations come from a loving gospel motivation - and move toward a gracious gospel presentation. It is too easy to find ourselves locked into very contentious political conversations in such days. That is one problem the early believers really did not have , as they lived under king/caesar/dictatorship rule rather than a representative republic. Yet, regardless of what system of government we find ourselves under, we should remember that we are to be "gospel-people" first - and political-folk second. I can possibly win an argument for my political view and yet seriously lose the honor of gaining a hearing for the gospel .

It is true that as the wicked rise - the righteous will want to hide themselves. It is also true that when they perish - the righteous will increase. We've live in times when the majority culture was far more in agreement with biblical morals - at least in reference to sexuality. But the "facts on the ground" now are that our culture is not moving that was presently. That will mean less public support for morals and ethics based out of Scripture. It also means though that those of us who still desire to give a reason for the hope that is in us - will have ample opportunity to do so. We need to embrace this role - even if it means we, at times, have to engage in "hide and speak" as we do so.

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Bad Teeth and Slippery Feet - Proverbs 25:19

8/31/2012

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Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot Is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble. Proverbs 25:19

Speaking as a man who has actually had a bad tooth and an unsteady foot, I can say that it must not be a good thing to put confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble. Today's proverb deals with who to trust when times are difficult. The one you want to trust is one who has proven himself faithful - and who has done it over the long haul of life.

A bad tooth is something that is very tricky. I had a tooth that was cracked. It was a hairline crack the entire length of the tooth. This made for a very interesting time eating - and especially drinking something cold. The problem was that the tooth would be fine a lot of the time. It was just when something hit it and opened the hairline crack that things got interesting. My dentist couldn't find it when I went to him about it. He looked and looked, but just couldn't seem to get the hairline to open so that he could see if it was that particular tooth that had gone bad. Then he was able to shoot some liquid where it went into and opened the crack. Needless to say, I began to levitate off the chair in tremendous pain. Thankfully, he was able to remove the tooth - and life has been much better. That experience helps me understand the need for good teeth - not bad.

The same can be easily said for the character of who you trust in a time of trouble. You do NOT want someone who is faithless in that moment. The faithless man is the one who will either run - or possibly even turn on you in trouble. He will not be faithful to stand and fight. He will not be faithful to stand and encourage you. He will not be faithful to stand back to back and watch your back and your blind spots as trouble passes by in life. That man is not to be trusted with your difficulties and trials. For that you want a faithful friend!

Similarly, you don't want someone who is like an unsteady foot. The Hebrew word here specifically speaks of a "slipping" foot. You want a foot that is steady - especially in times of trouble, trial, and storminess in your life. You want to plant your foot and know that it is steady and strong. You want to know that it will not slip - but will be a foundation that though all else is giving way - your foot will be steady. As I said at the begining of today's post - I know something about an unsteady foot. This particular story is somewhat embarassing because it also evidences my propensity for doing some fairly dumb things.

We live in northeast Arkansas - where in the winter we are in the habit of having some pretty nasty ice storms. One winter recently we had a doozy - which dropped about 5-7 inches of ice on us. The problem with ice storms is that they weigh down trees and break their limbs. This ice storm had broken a huge limb off of one of our trees and dropped it into our bedroom. The limb fell in such a way that it pierced through the roof and was sticking through our bedroom ceiling. Seriously lacking wisdom, I made my way onto the roof of our home (which was covered in ice) to get the limb off the roof. With a chainsaw (I know the level of stupidity is rising) and a tree saw, I went to remove the limb. I was able to accomplish this easily and lowered the chainsaw and saw with a rope to the ground. Then I went to get off the roof. The problem was I had pretty much flattened the ice on it to where it made a great slide - which, by the way, is not what you want your roof to be when attempting to get off of it. That is, unless you want to get off quickly - which was what happened to me. What was pretty sure footing on the way up - was not an icy slide on the way down. To say I had an unsteady or slipping foot is an understatement. I survived the fall off the roof onto my driveway (just missing a car hood) and decided that any other limbs could remain as a decorative touch to my roof if they damaged it. I was going to wait until the ice was gone. But, for our purposes today, this was the example of a slipping foot. Not something to trust on an icy roof - or in icy conditions in your life either.

We all are going to face difficulties and trials in life. There will be trouble if we are fallen humans, which we are, in a sinful world - which it is. Therefore there is no need to compound our trials and difficulties by having to rely upon someone who is untrustworthy and unfaithful in the midst of them. This is where you need true friends who are reliable. It is also a reminder to us on an ultimate level to consider Almighty God as the ultimate friend in all circumstances. The false gods of this world will fail you for they are infinitely unfaithful to stand in the ultimate day of trouble - the judgment day. In that day you want the "friend who sticks closer than a brother." You want the Savior whose blood speaks better than the blood of Abel. You want the foundation that will stand when the storms come and the floods burst against the house of your life. You want Jesus Christ - King of kings - Lord of lords - the True and Faithful One Who will stand. And in a lesser, yet very applicable picture for today, you want the Good Tooth and the Steady Foot - both of which Jesus is every day for all eternity. Trust Him - for He will never forsake you - or fail you!

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Revenge and Not Going Insane - Proverbs 20:22

6/7/2012

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Do not say, “I will repay evil”; Wait for the Lord, and He will save you. Proverbs 20:22

Revenge is something that is very dangerous. We are told by today's proverb not to say that we ourselves will repay the evil done to us. Instead we are to wait for the Lord to be the One who saves us. There are two interesting examples of this - and Solomon was well aware of both of them. These two examples were Saul and David. They were the opposite ends of this issue of taking our own vengeance and repaying the evil done to us. They are also the difference between blessing and destruction.

Saul started out his career being wise in this way. When he became king some scoffed at him - and did not bring him any kind of present - on a day when presents were in order. Shortly after this God allowed a situation where Saul proved his worth - and showed that he indeed was fit and called to be king. When some wanted to bring vengeance on these men who rebuffed Solomon, his response was wise. He said that no one was going to be put to death, because God was gracious and had been good to His people. Thus Solomon allowed the Lord to defend him. But later in life Saul no longer followed the Lord - and began to be rebellious to God's purposes. When he faced a supposed wrong by the priests of the Lord - he reacted violently. Even though the priests acted without any knowledge of any kind of rebellion, Saul had the entire city, men, women, and children put to death. Thus was his reign marred by a continual desire to repay any suspected slight or evil done to him.

David was much different. He was wronged repeatedly by Saul and by those who followed him. Yet twice David rejected the opportunity to kill Saul - even when God put the opporutnity to do so. He saw Saul as God's annointed and therefore a man to be honored. His statement to the men with him who desired to put Saul to death was that God would be the One to bring Saul down - but David would not take his own vengeance and repay the evils done to him. David was blessed greatly because of this -a nd God greatly prospered his kingdom. God also blessed David with deliverance after deliverance.
Saul . . . he experienced something much diffferent than David. Saul went crazy - he was mad - he lost his mind. This is what happens to us when we think we have to defend ourselves against every slight and every evil done to us. This is a responsibility and a weight on our minds that we cannot carry. Soon the world itself is against us - and everyone and everything is suspect. This will make you lose your mind - just like Saul did. The way to peace is through forgiveness.
When we choose to forgive the evils done to us we are blessed. We are adopting the mind and heart of God, Who chose to forgive even though it cost His Son His life to do so. Our minds, when we forgive, are loosed from the constant torture of remembering the wrongs done to us. They are set free from bitterness which will consume our sanity like a dry forest is consumed by a fire driven by dry winds. We are free to give all our slights to God and allow Him Who sits on the throne to determine how to measure out justice and righteousness. Since there is only one ultimate throne in this universe - with only One Who sits upon it - truly, only He can mete out perfect justice. We are liberated from decisions taht are beyond our ability to make.

As long as we live in a fallen world there are going to be slights, problems, evils, and injustices that come our way. The wisdom that God offers to us today recognizes these things and gives us a way to deal with them without losing our minds. In the process we are protected from the deeper damage these things can do to us - and we are given the glorious priviledge of forgiving others - which is when we reflect both His character and His glory most.

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What Are We Setting Loose Upon Ourselves? Proverbs 13:21

12/13/2011

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Adversity pursues sinners, But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity. Proverbs 13:21

When we sin, we are setting loose a nemesis who will hunt us down to bring us the adversity that our sin produces. That is a rather disconcerting thought - but still one that is true. When we decide to depart from the Lord for a period to pursue the fleeting pleasures of sin, we are paving with our own hands the road that adversity and retribution will walk to our door. This is why the wise man considers the end of a choice before he makes it.

Consider David in regard to this matter. He thought he was only lingering on the sight of Batsheba bathing for a lustful look. He did not know that the look would lead to a desire which would lead to a choice to bring her to his chambers. He did not know that this choice would lead to adultery with another man's wife - which would lead to a pregnancy that promised a scandal in the kingdom. He did not know that asking her husband to return from battle would lead to seeing Uriah's character and godliness far exceed his own. He did not know that this would lead to his order to have Uriah killed by the hand of the Ammonites as he reacted in panic about what to do. He had no idea that all of this would lead to a year of his life spent in spiritual agony as the Holy Spirit convicted him of his sin - and drained him of life itself. He couldn't even imagine that his little look - his brief indiscretion of lust would lead to two dead sons, a raped daughter, and 10 women locked away as widows for life. He did not see in his departure from pure eyes that several men would be killed with Uriah at the wall - and that thousands would die in a battle between himself and his rebellious son. If anything David thought this "little look" might result in a brief departure from God's will. He had no idea that he was paving a superhighway for adversity, pain, and regret that would last for many years to come. He was clueless that in that moment he was releasing a beast that would pursue him relentlessly until adversity would nearly overwhelm him as he trudged up a mountainside, cursed by a fool, and feeling that he was one because of the sin that had finally caught up with him. Indeed adversity pursues sinners.

We are not left hopeless though with this proverb. We are also reminded that the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity. David was pursued with adversity by his sin - but he was also blessed for his godly obedience. He deserved death for his transgressions, yet God showed him mercy. He was able to amass tremendous riches and wealth for the construction of the temple during the time of his son Solomon. He was blessed not just during his time on earth - but for all time by the fact that one of his descendents would be the Messiah. There is tremendous blessing that will come to the godly.

There is no better illustration of this than the gospel message itself. We read here that "the righteous" will be rewarded. Yet our problem is that we are sinners - not righteous. There is no way we can be righteous by our works or by God's law. But when we were helpless Christ died for the ungodly. He can make us righteous - having been the One who became sin for us - so that we might be made righteous because of God's gift of salvation. Because of the gospel we are righteous in God's sight - but only because a gift of God's grace was bestowed on us when we responded in repentance and faith to the gospel message. Our passge here reminds us that the righteous will be rewarded with "prosperity." The word for prosperity here means entering into a wholeness and restored relationship with God. Too many think prosperity means money and wealth - but we must remember that the greatest riches we can have are those that come in spiritual blessings arising from a renewed relationship with God.

We face one of two choices - which results in one of two ends. We can choose sin and rebellion which sets off a chase in which the sinner or rebel will be hunted down for a visit from adversity. We can also choose to embrace God's way of righteousness through the gospel. This will set off a much different kind of pursuit. This sets in motion the grace of God working in us throughout out lives here on earth. His grace will bless us with spiritual prosperity here on earth - but also will culminate with His blessing on the day of judgment as well. The wise man knows that sin and rebellion set loose the hounds of adversity. That is why he chooses instead to set loose the spirit of blessing in his life by the gospel.

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The Right Kind of Messenger - Proverbs 13:17

12/4/2011

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A wicked messenger falls into adversity, But a faithful envoy brings healing. Proverbs 13:17

Recently we've watched as the "Wiki-leaks" betrayals have become public. These were betrayals because they were the release of secret government documents that should not have been released to the public. Their exposure - as the exposure of any message that a messenger should have kept to himself, or delivered faithfully only to those to whom he was sent - is a betrayal of the highest order. Let us take a closer look, though, at why such things happen in every generation.

We learn that it is a "wicked" messenger who falls into adversity. This is a messenger with a propensity for his wickedness. It is that wickedness that makes him fall into adversity - first with those who wish to use him for their own purposes. They know of sordid details of his life. Many who have been wicked messengers were involved in adulterous affairs with double agents - or had financial problems - or drinking problems. Whatever the case - their wickedness was a flaw that their enemies used to get information from them. They finish using them when they are eventually caught by their own government. Then their lives are filled with even more misery as they are jailed or even executed for their crimes against their nation.

Whereas this is true of nations, it is even more true of those who preach a false gospel. They are wicked messengers because they preach peace to people, when there is no peace. They preach a gospel of man's works, when man cannot be made righteous by his own works. They preach a gospel of self-effort when no amount of man's effort will ever make him right with God. It is either by God's grace - or man will face the wrath of God for his sin. This kind of wicked messenger falls into adversity because if nothing else - he will fall into the hands of an angry God in the judgment.

A faithful envoy brings healing instead. He is faithful with the message with which his superiors sent him. This is a blessing to those above him. In the case of the gospel he is a faithful messenger of the gospel. This indeed brings about eternal healing - as the breach between man and God is closed by the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This faithful envoy brings exactly what man needs. He speaks the truth about man's condition before God - sinful and rebellious. He speaks truth about God's nature - that He is holy and just - as well as merciful and loving. He speaks the truth about Jesus Christ - that He is the God-man who came to earth to pay for our sins. He speaks the truth about salvation by grace alone, through faith alone. He faithfully calls men to repentance and to put their faith in Jesus Christ rather than their works or in man-made religion. This man truly brings the healing of man's soul from his eternal malady of sin. The wise man is the one who embraces this role of speaking the truth - and who faithfully offers the healing of God to a world that desperately needs it.

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Proverb A DAy

Hide and Speak? - Proverbs 28:28

Bad Teeth and Slippery Feet - Proverbs 25:19

Revenge and Not Going Insane - Proverbs 20:22

What Are We Setting Loose Upon Ourselves? Proverbs 13:21

The Right Kind of Messenger - Proverbs 13:17

Proverb a Day

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​Proverb A DAy

Hide and Speak? - Proverbs 28:28

Bad Teeth and Slippery Feet - Proverbs 25:19

Revenge and Not Going Insane - Proverbs 20:22

What Are We Setting Loose Upon Ourselves? Proverbs 13:21

The Right Kind of Messenger - Proverbs 13:17

Proverb a Day

Archives

Proverb A DAy