 Proverbs 30:1 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle. The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:
Here we have an interesting verse in Proverbs. It is generally accepted that this person named Agur was an actual man - and that his students, Ithiel and Ucal were also real as well. Thus this is probably part of the collection of wisdom that Solomon had. He was probably greatly impressed by this collection of wise sayings and incorporated it into his own collection as well. What do we know of these three men? Well, beyond the meaning of their names and this particular collection of sayings - nothing. Yet God used them to offer to us an entire chapter of Agur's wise sayings. In fact, Agur is called, "the oracle," which means that Solomon considered him a prophet - or at least a man inspired by God to put these sayings from Him into a list of sorts. Let's take a closer look at their names and what they mean. Agur means collector or gatherer. This name probably designates that he was a collector of wise sayings - but the "son of Jakeh" refers to his father. Jakeh means to be on one's guard - and this particularly before God Himself. Thus the idea here is that of piety - guarding ourselves before God - and guarding others so that they walk in godliness. Thus, when we grasp Agur's full name - he would be considered to be the gatherer, the son of the man who guarded piety - who desired to walk in holiness and purity before God. If a name meant anything - and in Hebrew culture it did - then this was quite a man God used to collect these sayings from God and then declare them as an oracle from God Himself. Not only did this man offer these wise sayings as much needed wisdom - he took the time to state them to others. Ithiel and Ucal were Agur's students. Ithiel means, "with me is God" while Ucal means "to eat or to devour." These are quite the names of his students. Evidently his students wanted the presence of God in their lives - and also had a hunger for the things of God. At least this is what their parents hoped and desired for them when they named their children. We come back to this verse - apart from trying to gain information from the names themselves and see a very important principle of discipleship here. At face value, we have a situation where a godly man - even a prophet or oracle of God is taking two others under his wing for the purpose of declaring to them the things God has made known to him. This is the heart of true discipleship. Life on life ministry is so important. It is not enough to just try to read the Bible - we so desperately need for godly men to pour their lives into younger men and pass wisdom to them. Jesus did it with 12 - Paul did it with Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Epaphroditus and others. If we are wise, we will do it too. The other thing we learn is that this kind of discipleship only happens as godly men take the time to spend a life gathering wisdom from God for the purpose of living a godly, holy, God-glorifying life. That means a life devoted to reading, studying, and knowing the Word of God. This means other things that waste our time need to be set aside for the Word. In our day we have young men who are experts at video games - who spend countless hours playing them. They will not be wise. There are others who waste countless hours watching television - and in our current culture - who use Netflix to watch entire seasons of shows for days at a time. They too will not become wise. A choice has to be made to become an Agur, an Ithiel, or a Ucal. The choice has to do with time - with what is eternal - and with whether we desire to be worldly-wise - or Word-wise.
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There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, But a foolish man swallows it up. Proverbs 21:20
The wise man takes what God has given him and uses it wisely. He spends some and uses it for himself, his family, and his friends. He also saves some and puts it away for future use as well as for lean times. Today let's take a look at the acts of the wise man who saves for his future and the foolish man who simply swallows everything God grants to him. We are told that precious treasure and oil are in the house of the wise man. Whether he received these things from the practices of industry and frugality - or whether he received them as an inheritance from godly, thoughtful parents - the wise man knows how to save. Precious treasure is an interesting word as it has two connotations. The first is from how the word is used to refer to things like gold, silver, and other commodities. He saves money, food, and other valuable things so that he will have access to them in the future. Why does he do this? Because a wise man knows that since the world in which we live is fallen and affected by sin - there will be times of shortage and leanness. Throughout all human history there have been both abundance and famine in our world. Joseph knew such things from God Himself when he interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh. He did not waste time in the purcuit of gluttony and over-indulgence. Joseph was a wise man and saved and stored much so that when the famine came he would be ready. His foresight and obedience to God saved all of Egypt, saved his own family, and made Egypt rich beyond their imaginations. There is a second way this word "treasure" is used. The word can also mean "temple treasures." These spoke of treasures that were given so as to build up and maintain the worship of God in the temple. In the dwelling of the wise there is provision stored up not only for physical welfare - but for the spiritual welfare of the home as well. There is little more foolish among mankind than to think this world is all that there is. They live ignorant of God and ignorant of their responsiblity to Him. The wise man stores up for both the physical and the spiritual. There is in his house a physical inheritance - but also a spiritual one as well. He lives godly and rears his children to love and honor God. He makes sure that the Word dwells richly within their hearts - desiring for them to walk with God and know Him intimately. Not only is there treasure within this house of the wise, there is also oil. When speaking of oil - this could speak of the olive oil that was used in almost every aspect of a Jewish family. They needed this for food preparation - for spiritual worship for annointing oil - and for medical reasons like softening wounds and helping them heal. There was also the idea of savings - because some oils were very expensive. Mary offered a container of very expensive oil as she annointed Jesus with it in preparation for His crucifixion and burial. This alabaster vial was worth a whole year's wages. When one of the prpohetic students of Elisha died, his widow was in debt and in danger of haring her chidlren sold into debt slavery. Elisha answered this by having her collect numerous vials which later were supernaturally filled with oil. This she sold, paid her debt, and even had plenty to kep her and her children alive and well. This kind of oil would signify that a family was preparint for their future - for the needs of their children and grandchildren. On a spiritual note - oil was a picture of the Holy Spirit - so one could even consider this the way that a family cherished the work of the Spirit in their lives and encouraged it in themselves and in their children. The foolish ones don't save any of these things - either physical or spiritual. Theirs is a consumer mentality. They swallow up whatever they receive with no thought of the future. They live by their lusts and desires - and therefore do not even consider anyone except themselves. The end of such a life is that they are broke, both physically and spiritually. The saddest example of this is the prodigal son. He took a large inheritance and wasted it on the party life. In the end he was broke. His so-called friends abandoned him and left him to fend for himself. This was only after he abandoned any kind of spiritual preparation for the future by rejecting his father and his father's God. He was left with nothing - except the grace his faher would give him in the end. If we are wise we will realize we live in a fallen world. This will necessitate preparation for our future - both physically and spiritually. We will face famines physically that will require that lay up wise stores for that day in order for us and for our families to survive. But there is also a need to prepare spiritually - for there will also be a day when we will face being ready for the judgment of God. Oh to be wise and understanding so that our preparations will have our homes and lives filled with treasures both temporal and eternal so that we will be well provided for when the day comes that we need them. May God, in His grace, work in and deliver us from a life lived for self and for the moment. May we be ready for anything - famine in life - and fatal spiritual thinking in eternity. Man's steps are ordained by the Lord, How then can man understand his way? Proverbs 20:24
Wisdom acknowledges the sovereignty of God. God is omniscient - which means He knows all things past, present, and future. God also is working all things together to bring about His will that all things work together for good - and also work together for His own greatest glory. These are basic truths hat we learn from the Scriptures. Passages like Romans 8:38 and Romans 11:34-36 make these things very clear. We read here in Proverbs that a man's steps are ordained by the Lord. I wish I could write a pithy little article that would once and for all solve the problem that seems to exist between our seeming ability to make choices - and God's ultimate sovereignty over all things. But if such an article could be written it would already have been by men far more educated and godly than I am. But let me lay before you a few facts. First - you are going to have to make a whole series of choices today. It would be better if you made them in concert with God's will. Second - God is working in your life even if you choose today to be a rebellious little toot. Third - God will ultimately get everything that He desires and is working toward. And finally fourth - there is nothing you can do to thwart God's ultimate plans for His own glory and for the gospel of Jesus Christ. These are things that are true - will continue to be true - and are even true if you choose to think they are not. God ordains our steps - He guides our way. For some this is relatively easy because they see God's will portrayed in the Scriptures and quickly submit - receive His power to do them - and enjoy bringing glory to God. Others are not so much this way. For them the process of God working in their lives involves more than a fair share of rebellion, self-will, and self-seeking. Thus for them the will of God is a process of guidance through the Word - and guidance through discipline. In the end God receives what He desires both ways - one just takes longer - and often involves more pain and hard-learned lessons. Regardless of how you come to His desired ends - they will be accomplished. The second half of this verse asks us a question, "How then can man understand his way?" This question is meant to be answered two ways. First of all, there is no real way for us to understand our way - at least in our own thinking. Consider for a moment Job. He walked with God - was considered blameless - yet he faced incredible suffering for God's ultimate purposes. The entire book of Job deals with him and his friends trying to "understand God's way." It consists of his friends telling him he was ungodly - that was why he had to suffer. It also consists of Job wrestling with the reason for his suffering Himself. There is little light of day in all this wrangling until 30 plus chapters into the book. Then God, first through Elihu, and then through His direct revelation asks Job a serious of questions. In all honesty these questions do not really answer the burning inquiry that Job - and those of us who read this historical account - have within our hearts. In the end, we come to the conclusion that God is God, God is good, and therefore no matter what happens in our lives - God ultimately purposes it for our good and His glory. We are left with the explanation of Proverbs - how can a man understand his way? There is an encouragement in all this though. That is the second answer to this question. How can a man understand His way? The answer is that he can only understand his way in relation to God. People spend their entire lives living for things that are worthless. Their lives are summed up as a cautionary tale for us to learn from in life. Consider the rich farmer who thought only of himself all his life. Some 30-50 years were spent allowing this man to accumulate a fortune. At the end of his life he had a bumper crop unlike any he ever had, and wondered what to do with it. His ungodly, ill-informed reply was to tear down his existing barns and build bigger ones. Then he could keep everything for himself - and retire rich and full. God then broke in on the scene informing him that he would die that night - and that all his wealth would mean nothing - except as a warning to all others who did not choose to be "rich toward God." What we would consider a total waste - God used to warn any generations about greed and self-serving living. A man understands his way in relationship with God. That is the only way to do this. A man understands his way by studying and understanding the Scriptures - which reveal to us the mind and heart of God. A man understands his way by turning to God and seeking to live for His ultimate purposes and plans. Philosophers may spend a lifetime trying to grasp a life of meaning and purpose - yet - if they only use their own understanding are like the blind leading the blind. As the Word of God itself tells us, if a man does not see according to God's light and revelation as given by the Holy Spirit in the Word - that man does not have the light of day. The truth is that God has been and still is working in this world to accomplish His desire and work toward His end. Life will be so much better for us if we acknowledge this - submit to it - and seek to walk surrendered to His sovereignty and His eternal plans. No harm befalls the righteous, But the wicked are filled with trouble. Proverbs 12:21
When I read this proverb I struggle a little. The reason for my struggle is that I know of many of the righteous who have experienced physical harm. But when I began thinking according to the whole counsel of God's Word, I take a much different view of things. Let's take a look at this passage in light of God's eternal perspective. No "real, lasting" harm befalls the righteous. The example I will give is that of Paul. In light of this I am going to quote a long passage of Scripture from 2 Corinthians 11."Are they servants of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure." (2 Corinthians 11:23-28) Paul, after writing this, could have seriously complained about this passage in Proverbs. He could have said, "No harm?! Are you kidding me? Harm is pretty much my middle name!". But that is not what he wrote. Instead he wrote that he would boast even more about these things because they put him in a place of weakness, which he knew made him strong in the Lord. He wrote to these same Corinthian believers that these were only light and momentary discomforts, that were working for him an eternal weight of glory beyond finding out. This only works for someone who maintains an eternal perspective. Paul said this in light of fixing his mind on the things that are above, not on earthly things. But when we do this even the things that would seem like earthly harm become that which is an eternal blessing to us. We don't live for the physical and this life. We live for eternity. Now let's look at this verse with God's perspective. No harm befalls the righteous. Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. The list in Romans eight covers it all. Because we are blessed forever due to the righteousness of Christ, we are blessed eternally. One might even say that we have eternal life! Because of this, even the so-called bad things cannot harm us for they are working for our good as we are conformed to the image of Christ. What a glorious truth! What a magnificent promise! Now consider the wicked, who do not know Jesus Christ. Many of them seem to live a charmed life here on earth. Yet our proverb today tells us their lives are filled with trouble. The blessings of the wicked only last in this life. When they stand in the judgment all their life will testify against them. James speaks of how their riches will burn them like fire. The foolish, rich farmer lost everything in a moment. At death all his wealth became evidence against him. There are also judgments that will come in this lifetime upon the acts of the wicked. Truly for them all things will come together for their condemnation. The key to grasping the wisdom of today's proverb is having eyes that see with an eternal perspective. But then again, that is the key to wisdom at any time. God desires for us to see as He sees. This may not gain us all the world says is valuable sin this world and in this life. But in the end only th perspective of God will be all that matters. May God give us grace to not only see this way, but also to reason and live this way as well. Great wealth is in the house of the righteous, But trouble is in the income of the wicked. Proverbs 15:6
There are those who take verses like this and use them to promise riches and possessions to those who walk with God. They are also used to speak judgment and condemnation on those who are poor and needy. If that were the case, then Jesus should have been the richest man who ever walked on the earth. Yet Jesus Himself said that He had no place to lay His head - and He was ultimately betrayed by a disciple who saw that Jesus' kingdom was not going to be of this world - or at least consisting of this world's goods. There is a prosperity that comes from Godly circumspect religion though. It comes from being wise with money - and from knowing the blessing of God in financial endeavors. There is great wealth in the house of many of those who use right principles in dealing with money. Proverbs itself is filled with excellent financial counsel, which, if followed, would ensure blessing on those who heed it. The true wealth, though, of the righteous is in things that cannot be stored in a bank or lock box. These things consist of forgiveness, joy, peace, and love. They come when we choose to walk consistently in God's ways and adhere to the paths into which His Spirit guides us. To the one who does NOT have them - they are utterly invaluable. Many a rich, ungodly man would give his entire fortune for these things - but usually only later in life. This wealth is even more wonderful than earthly riches because moth and rust cannot corrupt nor thieves break in and steal them. They will last forever - and they are the true currency of heaven. To spend a lifetime building up a treasure of this kind is to be rich indeed. To live without them is to know nothing but poverty of spirit here and now - and damnation throughout eternity. The income of the wicked is often desired by those in this world. Occasionally, as we see in Psalm 73, even the godly at times wish for a life without trouble and hardship. They wish for a life bathed in butter and human delicacies. This longing stops though, when we see that their income is filled with trouble. Their riches come with problems. First there is the trouble of keeping what you've already got when the world desires it too. Men stay up late and rise early to protect their income - they lose sleep trying to keep what they have. There is also trouble in getting such income. Too often riches are gained to the damage of those who get them. They resort to ungodly tactics and ungodly ways to garner more and more wealth for themselves. In the end - the trouble they face is trouble from two sources. First there is those whom they have cheated. Leaders like Sadaam Hussein lived a life of opulent luxury most of their days - but in the end - those whom he cheated and stole from hated him fiercely. He wound up hiding in a hole - and hanging from the end of a rope - as crowds ultimately cheered his execution. Biblically, Haman had it all - but in the end lost it all when his greed and hatred caused him great trouble. The last we see of the great and wealthy Haman is him escorted from the king's presence with a black bag over his head. In the end . . . his wealth was used to construct a gallows from which he himself hung. There is certainly trouble when those whom we have hurt and bilked come for their revenge. But there is a great trouble awaiting the wicked rich. Scripture speaks of a wealthy farmer who thought life consisted of his possessions. Trying to keep a bumper crop as his crowning achievement led to God's final sentence upon him. God considered him a fool. He thought his life consisted only of his wealth and goods. Yet the true riches were knowing God and being prepared to face Him on the day of judgment. "You fool!" was the way God addressed this wicked, rich man on the eve of his death. "Today your soul is required of you - and what is going to become of all your wealth." The only term accurate to his situation was the term, "fool." Live for true riches and you will be wise. Live for the wealth that comes from knowing, loving, and obeying God. Nothing else matters when you leave this world and enter into eternity. The wealth of the righteous will be stored up for them in heaven all their days. It will never pass away. But the troublesome income of the wicked . . . it will burn them like fire all their days. It will be part of the everlasting trouble that will afflict their souls for all eternity. Blessings are on the head of the righteous, But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Proverbs 10:6
Proverbs often compares the righteous and the wicked. Here is no exception. This passage speaks of what covers the righteous man and what covers the wicked as well. Whereas we read that blessings are on the righteous man's head - the wicked have something far different covering them. The head of the righteous receives blessings. Why the head? The Hebrew culture viewed the head as the most important part of a person. Cut off the head and the body is dead. The head is also considered the leader. It represents what truly is leading us in our lives. So, when we read here that the "head of the righteous" has blessings poured out upon it, we see that when what leads us - what drives us in life is geared toward righteousness (just think simply - doing what is right in God's sight - doing what pleases Him). There is wonderful blessing when we choose God's way. We need to know this. When our "chooser" (yes I know that this is not a word - but it works here) functions according to God's way and God's direction - blessings ensue! Make your choices according to his Word and according to His ways. You will never regret it - especially in light of the fact that these choices go beyond the grave - while others only last in this life (unless you consider punishment and hell for those who reject Christ altogether). But there is actually even more to this. There is blessings not just in eternity - there are blessings here and now. The way of God may be difficult at times - but it is also filled with joy and peace. The Scriptures warn us that it is the way of the transgressor that is hard. Remember this when you get ready to set a direction with your head - with your "chooser." The second part of this proverb is a little more difficult to understand because it involves a hebraism - a saying that makes perfect sense to a Jewish person - but does not exactly transfer with words alone. It is like us saying, "a stitch in time saves nine." That won't make sense to most people unless they know something about sewing. This hebraism says, "the mouth of the wicked conceals violence." The meaning here has the idea of covering something or someone. The words of the wicked - what comes out of his mouth - is both covered in violence - and due to what he says makes it inevitable that he himself will be covered in violence as well. The simplest way to grasp what this means is when someone speaks violently to another with their words. Not only are they speaking violence - but whan the other person responds, they are pretty much going to guarantee violence as a return for their violent words. The wicked, due to their ungodly choices and ways, are using violent words - and in the process are guaranteeing a culture of violence that will surround them. Take a look at our society for a moment or two. I'll use two examples to explain this. First is the abortion industry. They use extreme violence to end the life of an innocent child. They choose to execute the baby - who has done nothing wrong. Those in the industry say that they are preventing child abuse by those who don't want an unexpected child (Interesting to me that they don't get that sex produces pregnancy - which by the way - makes a child - guess what they were expecting was sex without consequences and without the biological process of reproduction being a result - hmmm). The fact though is that since we've begun throwing away children in this way - child abuse has risen exponentially. Kind of looks like the violence with which they cover themselves with their words and actions - is now covering them too - just like God said. The second example is the way that violence is glorified by our culture. We see it everywhere. The most obvious example is in television, movies, and the video game culture. We are encouraged to deal with our problems with violence. We've actually gotten to the point where we see violence and violent acts as a form of entertainment. There seems to be no limit to how graphic and how grotesque we will get when it comes to these things. The result of our violence? We have watched an explosion of violence consume our culture and our relationships in society - just like God said. Wisdom tells us very plainly here that what abounds in our words and with our choices is what is coming back upon us. It is almost like God is saying here in the Old Testament what He says in the New Testament. What a man sows, that he will also reap. Sow righteousness - sow doing what is right in God's eyes - you receive blessings here - and even greater blessings in eternity. Sow violence now - you will reap an ever increasing harvest of violence as well. May God give us true wisdom that does not embrace the fullness of our culture - but the harvest of righteousness and blessing that comes from choosing His way at every turn. The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches, honor and life. Proverbs 22:4
What brings a person riches and honor? That is widely debated in our world today. There are those who act with pride and isolence - who step on whoever they need to step on to get to the top. They use questionable tactics and ungodly ways to gather their riches and they demand honor from their subordinates. The problem is that once they leave this life - they leave their so-called honor and riches behind - and enter into eternal poverty. The other problem is that while in this life honor is not afforded to them except by threats - and their riches are in danger of someone just like them - who would gladly take them away and toss them on the trash heap of those who were formerly rich and famous. God gives us wisdom as to the place of lasting riches, honor - and most of all life. These three must come in their trio-form for a person to truly be rich and truly be honored. For what honor is there in hell? What riches await those burning in flame and eaten by worms? Without life in eternity our earthly honor will mock us as the ages pile upon the ages. Without life our riches will slip through our hands like one trying to grasp and hold oil. The way to these things is through humility. We read in the Word that God resists the proud. That the Lord hates the proud look and the arrogant heart. Temporary riches and deceptive honor may come without humility - but the real thing demands it. The wise man realizes that at the top of all things is God - and the true "way to the top" comes as we humble ourselves before Him. History is littered with those who thought they could become the big cheese - yet in the end - only smelled like it. When we humble ourselves before God - we place ourselves in the path of blessing. The truly wise man embraces humility and his own weaknesses. He even glories in them because he knows that as he sees himself weak - then God becomes strong in his life - his choices - and his actions. God also speaks through this proverb to tell us that the other twin of riches, honor, and life is the fear of the Lord. This is a respect and intrinsic honor shown to God, His Word, and His judgment on all matters. We are told at the very beginning of Proverbs that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Without a proper fear of God - we will degenerate into a pride and self-assuredness that will lead us astray from wisdom. This fear of God often begins with a terror initially as we grasp Who God is - and where we stand before Him. Imagine the moment Paul grasped the true fear of the Lord. He had settled into a self-assured sense of his own right-ness in his religious views and stands. This had led him to the point of persecuting Christians to the death - and imprisoning others. On his way to Damascus to continue his unholy war on the church - Jesus Christ manifest His ultimate power and knocked Paul off his horse and blinded his eyes with light. Imagine the fear that must have gripped Paul when he heard that the answer to "Who are you Lord?" was, "I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting." The fear of God had to almost paralyze this man who lay on the road. But that moment of terror was also the beginning of wisdom for Paul. It led him away from a religion of effort and self-righteousness - to the true wisdom of God's grace in the gospel. There are many voices telling us how to be rich, honored, and truly alive in this world. Unless they are telling us that the way to these things is through the path of humility and the fear of God . . . they are wrong. God will resist those who take other messages than this one. But for those who embrace humility and the fear of the Lord - there is a wealth, an honor, and life that can never be taken from them. Truly theirs is the wise way of achieving them - and holding to them forever. The LORD has made everything for His own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil. Proverbs 16:4
Well, here is a proverb that many would rather leave alone. But the good thing about disciplining yourself to walk through the Scriptures is that you have to deal with verses like this one. So . . . let's take a few moments to consider this little bit of wisdom. The first thing we run into is the fact that God made all things. The simplest sense of the Hebrew word "made" is that God is the maker of all things. This comes as a shock to those who hold to evolutionary theory. Yet even their theory does not explain where all things came from - because their theory never explains why matter itself existed. Their theory, whether they realize it or not, has far more to do with their own pride and unwillingness to submit to a god - any god, than it has to do with valid science. The proverb gives the reason why this is so. God has made everything for His purpose! The evolutionist and the atheist chaffe at this statement. They reject God so it is only consistent with their beliefs that they also reject His purposes. Yet, God HAS made everything for His purpose. This world - even as it rebels against God - is fulfilling His ultimate purpose. Oh how angry this makes them. Yet we see at the close of this proverb the most brazen statement yet. Even the wicked are fulfilling God's ultimate purposes when the day of evil comes. This presents to some a very real problem with God. God makes the wicked for the day of evil? That is what this passage says. So the question arises, "Does God make wicked people - is He responsible for wickedness?" The answer to this question is a resounding NO. God is incapable of doing wickedness or evil. He will not - in fact, He cannot sin. Thus this speaks of those who have descended from Adam - who were made after his image and likeness. It refers to God working in spite of the fall of man to accomplish His eternal counsel and plans. He does so in spite of man's wickedness. He is not responsible for it - but He will indeed judge it. Thus even the wicked God works into His purposes. But what is His purpose for them? That is a sobering reality as we see it revealed in Scripture. God's ultimate purposes for those who sin - and then who reject His grace in Jesus Christ - is that they are reserved for the day of evil. This "day of evil" could be just an ordinary day when the just desserts of wickedness are served. But when we consider this view we run into problems because even with the righteous there are days when "bad" things happen to them. This day of evil I believe refers ultimately to the day when God's judgment falls upon them. They rejected God all their lives. They rejected Him with their sinful choices and desires. When God offers forgiveness and grace they reject Him again. They continue rejecting Christ until the day of their death - thus culminating a lifelong wickedness. What remains for them is the day of evil. The day when God brings the ultimate punishment and "bad day" that will last forever. This my dear friend is wisdom. Wisdom is acknowledging God as Creator of all that there is. Wisdom is then realizing that everything He made - though originally made good - is truly messed up due to sin. Wisdom is seeing that sin is not just some ethereal concept - it is a choice. Wisdom is seeing that sin is personal - you've committed it every day of your life by disobeying God's laws and commandments. Wisdom is then realizing God's ultimate purpose by embracing Jesus Christ as His way of paying for sin and providing salvation. Wisdom is receiving the conviction of the Holy Spirit and rejoicing when you are granted repentance and faith! Wisdom is then turning from your sins and trusting Jesus Christ to pay for them with His work on the cross and resurrection! Wisdom is then living for God's purposes all the remaining days of your life - embracing His glory as your ultimate pursuit! Interesting isn't it - how a proverb that seems like a can of worms can wind up being a gracious gift from God? If we will only learn the wisdom of seeing God as the Ultimate - then living for His ultimate purpose and plan. That will be the day when we truly embrace what is wise! Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it. 5 When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens. Proverbs 23:4-5
God is not against people becoming wealthy. There are people in the history of the Bible who became wealthy because of God's specific blessing upon them. So God is not "anti-wealth" as some people would suppose. But, He is concerned with how people view money and wealth - and to be more specific how they pursue it. That is where the real danger lies. Don't weary yourself to gain wealth. There is the first principle God puts before us. The word weary means to become weary with work. It indicates that the person is putting forth great effort and exhausting exertion to try to accomplish something. It should probably be noted here that God is for hard work. He wants us to work hard at the things we do. He wants us to offer excellence and effort to our jobs and in the things we do for Him and for others. The Lord is not encouraging laziness here. He is saying that those who put forth exhausting labor with the ultimate goal being to become wealthy are focusing on the wrong goal. I remember working at UPS in Seminary and watching one of my supervisors live this way. His goal in life was to work so hard when he is young, that he could retire when he was 45 as a millionaire. This poor guy was always at work. He had a wife and a couple of kids - but from the way he spoke of them to us - they were just obstacles to him getting where he wanted to go. I've watched men like this who labor so hard to become rich. They reach their goal - but find out that the loss of their marriage and the fact that their kids have no respect for them - costs far more than the millions they have to spend in their old age. Proverbs tells us next that we are to cease from our consideraton of becoming wealthy. An interesting word is used for "consideration" here. It means to think hard about something. The result of this thinking should be a proper discernment of it. But according to what is being said here God is warning us against making wealth the thing we consider and think hard about in life. There are those who constantly chase the illusive goal of being rich. They read books about it - they listen to tapes that promise them the way to get there - they listen to radio shows that promise them that if they do what this man says - they'll be rich. There is even a "chrisitanized" version of this thinking. The health/wealth/prosperity teaching promises that God Himself is nothing but a divine sugar daddy. If we treat Him right - and confess the right things - we'll be rich! Wonder how that works for persecuted Christians behind the bamboo curtain who are in jail for their faith. If they confess the right words and really have faith, they'll get twice the gruel that their cellmate receives? God wants us to have our minds fixed on other things than our own financial bottom line. If we truly had discernment we'd know that our bank account will matter only in how we used it for God's glory. Our "consideration" should be of the Lord Himself and what His will is for us in life. To have a constant consideration of wealth is to waste our minds on things that are not eternal. There is another reason we should not be chasing wealth. That reason is that wealth is often illusive. In the simplest terms - take the example of the guy buying lottery tickets thinking he is going to win and get rich. This proves two things - first, this guy is not very good at Math - and second, he is focused on the wrong things. He thinks that money will solve his problems. If he only took the time to study previous big winners of the lottery he'd learn that it usually causes more problems than it solves. Then there is the person who is chasing the illusive goal of inventing something that will make him rich. Too often the inventions don't pan out and the guy pursuing them for wealth winds up broke - and broken because of his failure to "make it to the big time." Wealth takes wings like an eagle -flying off into the heavens. What a picture for us to remember! This is true in so many ways. What was just covered is one of the ways that wealth takes wings - but there is another that is even more important for us to remember. Ask a rich man how much money he needs to be content. His answer will be, "Just a little more than I have now." That is the most deceptive part of wealth. When we "get there" to our stated goal - we'll find it is not enough to bring peace and satisfaction to us. So, we figure we'll set our goal a little higher - only to find that when we get there we still don't feel satisfied. Some folks spend their entire lives chasing the eagle as it soars higher and higher into the air. They die richer than they ever dreamed - but learning that the dream becomes a nightmare because of the lack of satisfaction in their wealth. One last thing needs to be said of a life spent chasing after wealth and riches. The ultimate bummer for the rich man is when he dies. He leaves everything behind. There are no "rich people" in heaven or hell. The basis of success or ultimate failure has to do with being able to stand before God in the judgment. Jesus tells the story of the rich farmer who has a bumper crop. He wonders what to do with his untold wealth. He finally decides that he will tear down his barns and build bigger ones. Then he will store his abundance and say to his soul that he has much wealth and can rest. Jesus' words here are frightening. He says, "You fool! Tonight your soul is required of you - and how will mere wealth help you?" We can be as wealthy as 10 Solomons - and still find ourselves eternally impoverished if we don't have forgiveness and salvation in Jesus Christ. We can chase wealth into the heavens like that eagle - only to find that iin the end the descent into infinite poverty lasts not a human lifetime - it lasts for all eternity. Here true wisdom - be rich toward God - that wealth will last beyond what can be stolen or rust away. |
 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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