"But he who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death." Proverbs 8:36
What happens when we do not live according to the wisdom of God? What happens when we reject God's view of things - beginning with His work in creation - and then widening to include an ever greater rejection of what He says and commands? That is what today's Proverb tackles. This proverb meantions two views of God's wisdom. The first is to sin against wisdom. The second is to hate it. This speaks progressively of where we go in life as we convince ourselves that it is OK to reject the wisdom of God. The first step is to sin against wisdom. The word used for "sin" here means to miss the mark. Things begin as we miss the mark concerning what God says. It starts as simple as rejecting a command of God - or questioning whether we can even trust what God says. We miss the mark. The Hebrew word is "hata" and it means to miss the mark - but it also means to go wrong, to sin. The word was used of those who would miss the mark as archers or slingers. They would miss the target. But it also meant someone who would fail to reach a goal. Some miss wisdom by simply being ignorant of it - or not having any desire to read or study God's Word so as to grow in it. Their missing the mark, though unintentional at first - grows into a basic level of ignorance which is willfull. They see no real need to get God's wisdom - seeing that they think so highly of their own. They will do just fine in their own thinking - therefore to spend time studying to know God's viewpoint is silly and unnecessary. When we live like this, the Bible tells us that we "injure" ourselves. Injure is the Hebew word "hamas" and it means to be violent - or to act violently or wrongly. It was used to describe unethical behavior. When we miss wisdom - we are hurting ourselves. It is not just an error we are committing - we are hurting and injuring ourselves. To reject God's wisdom is injurious to our well-being because God's ways are always best for us. This comes back to seeing that God created us - and therefore knows exactly what we need and what is the way we should live. If we are just the sum of purely accidental happenings over billions of years - it really does not matter what we do. Everything is meaningless anyway. But if we are the creation of God - there is not only a purpose - but a plan for us to follow to become what we were created to be and to do what we were created to do. The latter stages of mankind's rejection of God is to eventually hate wisdom. At first the wicked are just annoyed by the wisdom of God. They are annoyed at a being who would claim absolute power, wisdom, and authority. But soon that annoyance would grow to become anger - and anger will give rise to hatred. The hatred grows out of a rejection of the notion that anyone or anything besides us have the right to control or even comment on our lives. The more one runs up against God's commands and against the consequences of rejecting them - the more they resent the God Who wrote them. That is why any sin - embraced long enough will bring us to the point of hating God. It is alway why the Word of God says in James chapter 4 that friendship with the world is enmity against God - the one who loves the world, hates God. We are told that those who follow their sin to this point are ones who "love death." God came to give us life and life abundantly. His Word and His wisdom are filled with life. When we embrace it we receive an abundance of life and joy. But when we reject it - we begin to love death. It is fascinating to see how the more a society rejects God - the more it begins to embrace self-destructive, even death-loving behavior. This makes perfect sense when we see that a rejection of wisdom is the love of death. May God give us grace to learn to love His wisdom. May we learn to treasure what He says to us - and to also treasure what His Word relates concerning the origins of all that He has made. These choices will lead us to love and embrace God's wisdom. To do otherwise is to love death. We've watched our society reject God's wisdom over the years - and also embrace a culture of death more and more. May we be those who embrace wisdom - the the overflow of life that comes with it.
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A man who wanders from the way of understanding Will rest in the assembly of the dead. Proverbs 21:16
To wander from God's way of understanding is a very dangerous thing to do. Here in today's proverb we see just how dangerous this can be. According to Solomon the eventual end of the man who does this is a final resting place among those doubly dead. The word "wander" is key to understanding this passage. This is the Hebrew word "taah" which means not just to wander off - but to err and go astray. The primary meaning is to err and to make a mistake. This word is used most often of thos who err or who are being misled in a moral or religious sense. It is the word used in Isaiah 53:6 when the prophet tells us, "All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him." To wander is to go astray of God's moral path - and to incur iniquity in His eyes. Therefore to wander is to go astray of God's path and God's will for us. The wandering here is to err from the "way of understanding." This phrase speaks of someone who no longer has discernment or any kind of spiritual insight. And since the phrase begins with the word "way" - it refers to someone whose very way of life turns from any spiritual insight and discernement and chooses instead a way of life guided by self and selfish desires and longings. The picture we get now is not just someone wandering away from a single situation where advice is offered, but rather a situation where as a way of life he is turning from God's will and Word. This is basically the condition of a lost person. They reject the wisdom of God - the Word of God - and the way of God. They instead choose the world, their flesh, and the lies of the devil - since that is what we have learned the Holy Spirit has been sent into the world to convict us of in life. What is important is the warning that is given to us in the second half of this proverb. The one who lives this way - "will rest in the assembly of the dead." For those who think this is a reference to spiritual death - or a lack of spiritual life and blessing here and now - the actual word for death here is, "departed spirits." This is a warning to turn from rebellion and purposeful rejection of God's will and way. The end of such a lifestyle is a life spent with those who are "doubly dead." They have died in this life losing their physical life - but infinitely worse they are devoid of spiritual life when they die physically - so - the place of their eternal dwelling is hell. That is why it is so important to reject the heart and mind that reject God's Word and way. To continue in it is to continue toward an abyss where there is no return. Far better to embrace God's way and Word now - to embrace repentance from our own fleshly mindset - to embrace a turn from ourselves to God - from our way to His. That will keep us from a rest that will be anything but rest. It will rescue us from a fate worse than death itself. He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of conduct will die. Proverbs 19:16
God's commandments are excellent keepers of our souls. God did not give us His commandments to make our lives miserable - or to keep us from ever having fun - as some would accuse. His commandments are boundaries that protect us from entering into areas where we would be harmed. He does not command us to honor and obey our parents because He desires for us to be miserable as children - not getting our own way and being dominated by an older generation forever. He does this so that children, who do not have good sense and whose sin nature would run rampant, would be protected from themselves. He does so because they must be guided and helped to know the right from the wrong in their lives. The Lord tells us to steer clear from adultery because God knows the damage and the destruction and misery caused by unfaithful partners in marriage. He knows that sexual immorality will lead to disease and to the destruction of our bodies. Thus the one who keeps the commandment indeed keeps his own soul. God's commandments go even deeper than our physical beings. The one who keeps the commandment keeps his soul. The word for soul here is the Hebrew word "nephesh" which means our breath. This speaks of our inner being with its thoughts and emotions. This came to mean our whole person - both body and spirit. It spoke of the whole creature of man - both his outer health and his inner. When we keep the commandment - watching closely to obey and even kep the "spirit of the commandments," we are protected inside as well as out. Our mental health will be blessed by holding fast to God's commands and living by His ways. God blesses our thinking, our reasoning, our understanding, our discernment, our decision-making processes . . . He blesses so much when we learn to walk in obedience to His commands. But again I want to stress we obey the command - and we come to grasp the heart and love that is behind them. The second part of the Proverb today reminds us that the one who is "careless of his conduct" will die. The word careless is "bazah" which means to hold in contempt or to despise. The reason one acts this way is because they have a basic disdain for something. They disrespect the idea of a code of conduct. They despise the idea that God would tell them how to live. Here is the sin nature exposed in all its ugliness. Mankind rebels against any master - and that is especially true of God as our Lord. Fallen man trumpets his own freedom of will to do as he pleases - yet is so blind not to see that his will is in bondage to his own sinful desires and the spirit of this world. He is careless of God's commands - and of his own ways. He walks where he wants - being led about by his own lusts and by the "ruler of this world" who has rebelled against God as well. He does not grasp that this rebellion - this contempt of God - this disrespect for His Word is a hellish thing. The one who lays hold of such a lifestyle will perish. He will die in two ways. First he will die physically - the wages of sin is death. When God told Adam and Eve that in the day that they ate of the fruit they would surely die - He was not lying to them. This was no mere ploy of God to keep them away from something good. It was a loving warning that death lay in that decision to turn against Him and rebel. But there is a death that comes spiritually as well. The first pair knew sweet fellowship with God. They could actually walk with the Lord in the cool of the day in the garden. They could talk with Him, love Him, fellowship with Him in ways that we will only know in eternity. All that was gone after they despised their conduct - or at least the one commandment given to them. They died spiritually and passed down to all future generations a dead spirit at birth. They were dead in their transgressions and sins - and so was every child descended from them. In the first Adam we all died. Oh such a warning is given to us by this proverb. How we should watch our ways - and watch God's commandments as our way. The one who does so watches not just over his physical existance in this world. He watches over the life that God gives him - both physically, but so much more importantly - spiritually. Watch dear saints - watch your life and keep it according to God's Word. See the positive call to life in every one of God's commandments. For though they are given with a thou shalt not - there is within every one of them a call to life and life abundantly. They is within them a freedom to walk in fellowship with God. Enjoy it and walk in it! The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn aside from the snares of death.
Proverbs 13:14 Here God tells us that the law or teaching of the wise - the one who sees things as God sees them - is a fountain of life. As usual - we are being taught to have a very teachable spirit - and this is especially the case when we are hearing truths from someone who is wise and godly. Our ability to pay attention in these moments will make the difference in a large number of situations. The phrase "fountain of life" should catch our eyes because it is a term that is very rarely used in Scripture, yet when used it refers to some very important truths. The first time it is used is in Psalm 36:9 as a reference to God Himself. With God Himself is the fountain of life. We are told that it is in His light that we see light. If we don't take advantage of listening to God - we won't even have the light we need to see things properly. The other four times when this exact phrase it used is in the Proverbs. We read in Proverbs 10:11 the the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, so once again we are encouraged to listen closely when a godly or righteous man is speaking. Next in Proverbs 14:27 we learn that the fear ofthe Lord is a fountain of life. When we fear God - showing respect to Him and to His Word, we are given the wisdom necessary to "avoid the snares of death." Lastly in Proverbs 16:22 that understanding is a fountain of life - keeping us from the discipline of fools. These passages along with the promise here that the teaching of the wise (which is that fountain manifest again) will turn us aside from the snares of death. We see a pattern here that should catch our attention. The "fountain of life" is when God Himself is giving wisdom - and that comes through His Word, through godly men and women who speak it, and through gaining understanding when we hear what they have to teach us. Oh the problems and difficulties that we could avoid in life if we would only listen - and learn from this fountain - hearing what God has to say - and the understanding and cautions that He wants to offer to us. Our problem is that much like the people in Jeremiah's day, we abandon the fountain of living waters - to dig our own cisterns instead. We consider so many other sources more informative and worthy of our time rather than the Word of God. We do not realize the value of godly counsel and teaching until it is too late and we've landed ourselves in the discipline of fools. That is why it is wise to cultivate a desire for and an ear to hear what God is saying to us - no matter what the source at the time. Listening will provide blessing - and in some cases the difference between walking unhindered in our lives, as opposed to finding that our path has led us to fall into a pit. Such "snares of death" can be avoided if we will only listen and learn that the bait in the snare is a lie. It won't bring satisfaction. It will only be a lure to bring us down and yield death and destruction in our lives. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn aside from the snares of death.
Proverbs 13:14 Here God tells us that the law or teaching of the wise - the one who sees things as God sees them - is a fountain of life. As usual - we are being taught to have a very teachable spirit - and this is especially the case when we are hearing truths from someone who is wise and godly. Our ability to pay attention in these moments will make the difference in a large number of situations. The phrase "fountain of life" should catch our eyes because it is a term that is very rarely used in Scripture, yet when used it refers to some very important truths. The first time it is used is in Psalm 36:9 as a reference to God Himself. With God Himself is the fountain of life. We are told that it is in His light that we see light. If we don't take advantage of listening to God - we won't even have the light we need to see things properly. The other four times when this exact phrase it used is in the Proverbs. We read in Proverbs 10:11 the the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, so once again we are encouraged to listen closely when a godly or righteous man is speaking. Next in Proverbs 14:27 we learn that the fear ofthe Lord is a fountain of life. When we fear God - showing respect to Him and to His Word, we are given the wisdom necessary to "avoid the snares of death." Lastly in Proverbs 16:22 that understanding is a fountain of life - keeping us from the discipline of fools. These passages along with the promise here that the teaching of the wise (which is that fountain manifest again) will turn us aside from the snares of death. We see a pattern here that should catch our attention. The "fountain of life" is when God Himself is giving wisdom - and that comes through His Word, through godly men and women who speak it, and through gaining understanding when we hear what they have to teach us. Oh the problems and difficulties that we could avoid in life if we would only listen - and learn from this fountain - hearing what God has to say - and the understanding and cautions that He wants to offer to us. Our problem is that much like the people in Jeremiah's day, we abandon the fountain of living waters - to dig our own cisterns instead. We consider so many other sources more informative and worthy of our time rather than the Word of God. We do not realize the value of godly counsel and teaching until it is too late and we've landed ourselves in the discipline of fools. That is why it is wise to cultivate a desire for and an ear to hear what God is saying to us - no matter what the source at the time. Listening will provide blessing - and in some cases the difference between walking unhindered in our lives, as opposed to finding that our path has led us to fall into a pit. Such "snares of death" can be avoided if we will only listen and learn that the bait in the snare is a lie. It won't bring satisfaction. It will only be a lure to bring us down and yield death and destruction in our lives. But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of Sheol. Proverbs 9:18
We now come to the closing verse of the this passage. We have been warned of the dangers of listening to Folly and her call to live foolishly. We've seen where she dwells and from where she is callling us. We've also seen that she is calling us with deception and lies. But the final warning that is given to us has to do with where those who listen to her wind up going. One of the reasons we listen to the call of foolishness is because we do not realize where we will wind up spending eternity if we follow her counsel. We are told that we do not know, as we foolishly listen and follow her counsel that we will end up dead. We will go to the dead - because that is where all her guests find themselves in the end. What an interesting picture this paints for us. She invites guests to come and partake of what she offers to them. Yet what she feeds them, though appetizing at first - winds up killing them spiritually. What a hostess she is to us - lying to us and deceiving us into eating what will bring us death. This gives us another clue to where she is from. The other one who did this did it in the garden - with the offer of food to Adam and Eve. Satan offered them what seemed to be food that was delightful to the eye and that also looked good for food. But when they partook of it all they received was death. The same lie that was offered in the garden is the same lie that is still being offered to people by Folly today. And it has the same consequences - it yields death for us instead of life. A wise man will learn how to discern when foolishness is calling. It is not an easy thing to do because we are fallen - and our tendencies are to walk in such things. It is only as we renew our minds with God's Word that we will be able to detect the lies of the evil one, the calls of foolishness to us, and the deception that is involved. But no matter what the cost for us - to discern foolishness' call is vitally important for us. It is also vital that we take the time to instruct and advise our sons and daughters to do the same. May God bring up a generation that learns to reject Folly's call - and instead - have our ears and spirits in tune with the voice of God's Spirit instead. For her house sinks down to death And her tracks lead to the dead; None who go to her return again, Nor do they reach the paths of life. Proverbs 2:18-19
Where does sexual immorality get you in the end? We all realize that it promises pleasure in the short term - but where do we wind up when the pleasure subsides and a life course reaches its end? That is what today's proverb tells us. It informs us of this through the destination of the harlot - the "strange woman" - the adulteress. First, we learn of her "house." This speaks of the place where someone dwells. The word was used to indicate the building in which a family or household lives. Here, though, it speaks metaphorically of where she will take you - as she encourages you to enter into adultery with her. Her house sinks down to death. There is no solid ground upon which to stand - or upon which to found a house with this woman. How could there be - she is trashing her marital vows - ignoring God's Word - and striking out into her own desires for sex and for unbiblical companionship. Her house will collapse - and sink like one built on sand. Christ spoke of this in Matthew 7:24-27. A person whose life is not built upon obedience to Christ's Word - is a life built upon sand. The adulteress may promise passion and pleasure for a night - but when the storm of the adultery is known - the house will collapse because it was built on the sand foundation of sexual desires. Her house sinks like sand - down to death. Her tracks or steps also lead to the dead. Her house here is sinking toward being dead. The term death here refers to more than just physical death. When this term is used figuratively it expresses the idea of ruin and destruction. It is most often contrasted with the opposite ideas of life, prosperity, and happiness. Can you imagine walking into a buildling - a home - where you are guaranteed that any desires for life, prosperity, and happiness are going to be dashed upon the rocks of your own strong sexual urges. What the father is trying to get the son to see here is that embracing God's Word will instruct him and help deliver him from such things - and from such women. He is also telling his son that to follow her steps toward the bedroom - is to follow in a path that leads to the spirits of the dead. I am not a fan of horror movies - but I can imagine a scene where seduction is taking place - and a man chooses to follow an adulteress into the bedroom. But what I see as a result of the Scriptures is not a hot and heavy sex scene - but a transformation of those steps from following a sultry seductress to following an evil spirit. Each step renders the former beauty that was leading me to the bed of adultery into a hideous, horrific creature that would make any horror film antagonist look like little bo peep in comparison. That is the picture that is being painted for us. But there is more in the next verse. As this fool follows the adulteress into her bedroom - the door behind them begins to shut. Movie producers would have us to believe the shutting of that door closes the two of them in a room of ecstacy and a night of sexual pleasure that the two of them will never forget. That is not the picture that the Word of God wants us to see though. As the door closes - it is not with a gentle click of the doorknob hitting the plate. What we hear is a slamming sound - and the sound we hear reverberates throughout all of eternity. We read in the proverb that none who go to her return again, nor to they reach the paths of life. What we need to hear is not a gentle door closing - but a snapping of a trap which ends with the crushing sound of our spiritual life being snuffed out. If we go this way - we are closing ourselves into a prison cell - into a torture chamber. We are locking ourselves into a sin the likes of which we may never escape. This is not a pleasure palace. It is a poisoned pit that will captivate us forever. The poison is released when the flesh has secured our devotion to sexual immorality. We become addicted to the high of sexual release - especially the kind of release that involves secret, unlawful, hidden, wicked actions. That kind of high has enslaved men and women since the entrance of sin into this world. I realize in reading this some will accuse me of resorting to extremes to prove a point. But consider the lengths the movie and television industry goes to in order to supposedly entertain us. They are capturing us with pictures - with scenes that they want to etch into our minds. The vast majority of the time these pictures and scenes are promoting the very things that the Scriptures warn against. Yet we do not accuse them of something elicit. God understood the power of pictures long before the idea of cinema ever entered the mind of man. That is why His Word is filled with some of the most expressive language ever written. That is why He uses word picture after word picture to warn us of the pitfalls and dangers of sin. Rather than discourage a child from seeing the ones God gives us - maybe as fathers we should paint them in the most vivid colors imaginable for our sons and daughters. I know that if we do we will find ourselves in the company of some very wise and godly men who knew how to use them for the glory of God and the protection of their children - rather than for a gold statue handed out at an awards show. Remember dads, the only awards show that matters is the one at the end of the age - where the ONLY presenter will be God Himself. There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Proverbs 14:12 Why is it that we cannot just trust our natural instincts concerning God and issues of morality and truth? If this proverb is true (and it is), then we face a very real danger when we trust what we think is right in our lives. When we live a self-directed life and a life that is self-oriented - we are going to have very serious problems. Why is this the case? First of all, we need to see that for a time in this life - this proverb may seem like it is wrong. There are those who do what they think is right - and it seems to go well for them. I would agree with this assessment for the here and now - for life on this earth. But that is not what this proverb is saying to us. It is saying that the end of a self-directed life is death. The word end here is our old friend, "acharith," the Hebrew word meaning the latter end of things. Things seemed to be going marvelous for the rich farmer who did not use his riches for the glory of God. Things seemed to be going well for the rich man who lavished abundance on himself, but did not even notice the starving Lazarus at his gate. Things seemed to be going well for Belshazzar the king as he feasted with his nobles and friends and drank wine out of the temple goblets and toasted the gods of silver and gold. Things seemed to be going well for many people who lived a life of luxury and self-indulgence here on earth. The problem is going to come at the latter end of their lives. The rich farmer, after building bigger barns and saying he was set for life - experienced the end of his life - and had done nothing to prepare for eternity. The rich man realized as James said, the humiliation of his exalted position on earth, as he envied the destitute Lazarus' one in the afterlife. He begged for Lazarus to only dip the tip of his finger in water and touch the end of his tongue - for he was in agony in the fires of hell. Belshazzar soon grasped the infinite foolishness of serving the false gods of silver and gold - when the true and living God sent a hand to write on his wall. He learned that his self-directed life had been weighed in the balances - and he was found wanting. One can only hope he enjoyed that banquet that evening - for by the next evening he was dead and in hell - forever wanting in the sight of God. These three are examples for us of the stupidity of the self-directed life. There are many others in Scripture and in life who follow their footsteps into hell. There is Dathan and Abiram who opposed God and received a non-stop trip to hell via the ground opening up and swallowing them and their families whole. There were the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah who undoubtedly held the same concept of God keeping His morality off of their bodies. They wound up fried along with their cities as God's judgment revealed their latter end. And, lest we think that this ignoble end is only for those guilty of heinous sin - there are those who die every day as good ole boys - as "good" "moral" people. Their ultimate end was sealed when they decided that they were decent enough and did not need Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross to pay for their sins. When you listen to the news, the entertainment industry, the religious elite, and the gurus of public opinion - you would think that the cross of Christ is foolishness (Gee that sounds like Paul in 1 Corinthians doesn't it). You would think that mankind does not need a religious crutch to lean on - mankind can solve their own problems without religion or some savior. But reality is this - mankind does not need a crutch. We would only need a crutch if we were injured. The fact is that we are dead! We need a whole new life. We might need a religious system if we only needed modification. The fact is that we are ruined. We need to be completely regenerated and made new. But the world for the most part rejects these truths revealed to us in Scripture. They have a way that seems right to them - that makes more sense. That is because "the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." It is because, "the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks (read thinkers here) search for wisdom; but we preach Christ curcified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." There is that way that seems to right to men - but in the end "THAT WAY" is actually the foolish and the stupid one. If they continue following it and reject the gospel . . . it will end in death - eternal death in hell. I know that is not popular in today's culture - either religious or secular - but nevertheless - it is the truth. If we are wise we will reject what the world calls wisdom - and embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ - for that is truly wisdom that will last through all the ages and until the end of time. And you groan at your final end, When your flesh and your body are consumed; Proverbs 5:11
The latter end of our days. The consequences of our actions not after a few moments - but a week later, a month later, a year later, a lifetime later. This is what verse 11 of our proverb today is calling out to us today. It is a challenge to think beyond the moment when we make choices. It is a challenge to think longer in to our future and consider where our choices are going to take us. This chapter of Proverbs deals primarily with the adulterous woman and what she will do to the poor schlub who decides to engage in sexual immorality with her. So far this proverb has told us of some very harsh consequences that will come to the one who does this. We've seen so far that we will give our vigor to others (11), we will give our years to the cruel one which is a reference to the devil (11), the divorce that will likely come will end up having us send our goods to the house of someone else (12), and we will watch strangers be given the money we've earned with our strength (12). These are pretty difficult things to handle - but now we see that the latter end of our lives will be bad. The term "final end" is only one word in the Hebrew. It is the word "acharith" which means to the end of the matter. It has to do with having the wisdom to see what the final end of something is going to be. According to today's proverb, our latter end - our acharith will be that we will groan as our flesh and body are consumed. Let's take a look at what that may mean for us. The rabbis speak about this passage and beleive it speaks to a problem with disease. When you engage in sexual immorality it opens you up to the world of STD's that run rampant among the sexually active crowd. I just took a few minutes to peruse the CDC website on sexually transmitted diseases and it was frightening to consider how many in our society are infected already. What is even more frightening is that these are statistics from those who report that they have STD's. Some experts believe that these numbers would at least triple or quadruple if we knew everyone who is truly infected. Most of these diseases do not have an immediate effect on someone, but just about every one of them have devastating long-term problems that come with being infected. This is what we would expect when we read what God has to say about sexual immorality here in Proverbs. It is at the latter end of your days that you find your flesh and body consumed by the consequences of your actions. It is a sad reality though that when these things begin to strike, we will groan because of them. The groan mentioned here refers to a groan or a growl - even a roar could be the meaning. What is being communicated to us is that the pain involved here is pretty excruciating. If you've ever seen or heard of how someone dies of AIDS or syphilis, it is not pretty. But this is what awaits those who indulge in sexual immorality very often. Wisdom is this - God's way in sexuality. He desires for us to reserve ourselves for our husband or wife. He desires abstinence in singleness and faithfulness in marriage. If our society were to adopt these practices we would watch STD's plummet in number - and eventually be gone from our world. But the truth is that fallen men and women engage in sexual immorality. The result therefore is that we have a world that is unfortunately running wild in a very dangerous area - and that the infection rates will continue to rise. May God give us wisdom to avoid being one of the statistics and hold fast to God's way. May we also be wise as fathers in instructing our children - especially our sons as to the true dangers that are out there for the sexually immoral one. Grievous punishment is for him who forsakes the way; He who hates reproof will die. Proverbs 15:10
What happens when we depart from God's ways? According to this passage in Proverbs there is a very serious consequence for us when we do this. Even worse is what awaits us if we go even further than this and reject God's reproof after we've left his ways. What is at stake here? Well, what drives this particular proverb is the idea of "forsaking the way." "The way," refers to God's way - the way of his commandments. Several times the phrase, "the way of the Lord" is used to refer to this. If you want to understand it better you can turn to the 119th Psalm which calls it by various names like, "the way of righteousness," "the way of Your testimonies," "the way of Your precepts," "the way of Your statutes," as well as what we've already said as the way of God's commandments. This way is the commands and the things God calls us to be and to do in His Word. When we "forsake" this way, we are doing the following. We no longer listen carefully to God's Word - we don't pay heed to it or obey it. But the core idea here is no longer listening or paying attention to someone. That Someone here is God. In case you do not know what this means - it means as you listen - you do so in order to respond and obey God. What happens when we forsake God's way? The Word here says that we face "grevious punishment." The word translated for this is the Hebrew word "ra" - and it simply means, bad things! When you no longer walk with God, listen to Him, or obey Him - bad things are going to eventually happen in your life. This is the case no matter whether you are His or not. If you take a close look at the progress (or regress) of the world around you, you can see that ignoring and forsaking God's ways has never led to a world of peace and blessing. By its very nature this world works best when God's ways and paths are followed. When they are ignored - or worse - shunned, things go bad. This is a fait accompli - an established fact! Now a second warning is also issued at this point - and I think it is a reminder that God's rebuke and reproof are proofs of His love - not hate. When we forsake God's way, we will face bad things, but when we go further and ignore His loving reproof of those ways and continue in rebellion - we are headed toward death. It is God's great mercy and love that arrests us in our rebellion with disciplinary action. He allows difficulties and problems to come to us to turn us from the insanity of abandoning His ways. But when we are too stubborn to listen - we are moving toward death itself. What is terrifying is the warning in 1 John that there is a sin leading unto death - a point at which a disciplinary measure from God involves having a person die. Wisdom tells us to respond to His discipline and His reproof quickly - so that we will not have to go that far. One last comment on this passage. These two truths are just that - truth. But they had their most astounding fulfillment in the cross of Jesus Christ. It was there that we saw the most grievous punishment imaginable. It had nothing to do with the Roman scourage or the nails in the hands of our Savior. It had little or nothing to do with the agony of the cross physically as Jesus gapsed for air as His torn and bruised body slowly died on the cross. But it had everything to do with why Jesus sweat blood the night before in the garden. It had everything to do with the agony of the wrath and judgment of God upon sin. Calling it a grevious punishment seems too small in light of what it truly cost Christ to pay for our sin before His holy Father. That is why we should never take sin in our lives lightly. Yes, our sin was paid in full by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross - but we should always view that truth with both trembling and a sense of honor to God for what He did for us. Otherwise we will take sin too lightly - and risk thinking that forsaking His way really is not that bad - and it really won't cost us much. There is foolish talk that reaches to the heavens themselves - and the kind of talk that will give rise to actions that will in the end yield that grevious punishment and stinging rebuke. |
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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