Hear, my son, and accept my sayings And the years of your life will be many.
Proverbs 4:10 The way that we listen and hear things is so important when it comes to spiritual matters. If we are wise, we will learn how to listen well so that what God says to us will be taken in and seized the moment we hear it. That kind of listening will allow us to not just hear - but also hearken to what is spoken to us. Obedience to a command or a call begins with how we hear it and how we grasp what is being said. Without that skill - communication is a roll of the dice at best. The father begins by calling his son to hear what he says. The word used to say "hear" is a famous one. It is the word "shema" and it is famous because the Jews call their most famous biblical reference "the shema." "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:4-9 The call to "hear" that is spoken to the son is used to indicate to him that something very important is about to be said. So what the father is about to say here in this passage is vital for him to grasp for his good. When we hear what someone says to us - the amount of importance we assign to their words will in great part determine what we do with them. Some times it will determine whether we hear them beyond the moment in which they speak to us. When this carries over to our relationship with God we see how important this is to our spiritual growth and maturity. When God speaks through His Word - are we listening? Jesus began His most important statements with the phrase, "truly, truly I say to you." Since most Hebrew Rabi's punctuated their important statements with just one truly, Jesus drew their attention very quickly with this manner of speaking. But we need to pay attention to everything our Lord speaks - so the necessity of listening well is even more important for us. The second thing the father is seeking to teach his son is to lock on to what is said and not let it go. He tells his son to accept his sayings. The idea here is to take hold of something and grab it tightly. There are times, I am embarassed to say, that my wife will ask me what she just said to me. She does this when I am being rude and allowing something to distract me from the importance of interacting with her. There are times when I can repeat what she has said word for word, but that is not why she asked me her question. Her statement was rhetorical - because she knew that I was listening without truly hearing. I might be able to repeat words - but I did not get her heart or her spirit. That is what the father is trying to teach his son. Don't just listen without hearing. Listen to where you truly get the words - and the spirit in which they were spoken. When you do this you will truly "get it." The father promises that when we do this we will experience a life of many years. This is not must promising a long life, but life itself - for a long time. We will have far more that a quantity of life - we will enjoy a wonderful quality of it as well. Learning to listen well - hearing far more than just words - will bless you in a multitude of areas. It will bless your relationships, most importantly those with your Lord and your wife. It will bless how you relate to your children, your boss, your friends, and even your acquaintences. It will bless your work life - because you will hear what to do and grasp it so that you won't make careless mistakes. It will also bless you when you begin ministering to others. Your ability to truly hear what someone is saying will put you miles ahead of those who simply try to minister - without really knowing where ministry is needed. Oh, to listen this way! It will prove a blessing that you cannot fully measure in life. But it is something that every father - especially our Father in heaven - desires for his son to learn. It will prove to be a monumental blessing to him.
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A man will be praised according to his insight, But one of perverse mind will be despised. Proverbs 12:8
Good godly Biblical-sense beats out common-sense every day. But what is interesting is that often common-sense, which we too often take for granted, comes from Biblical-sense. We read here that a man will be praised according to his insight. This word "insight" is a great Bible word. The word means to be intelligent and have good sense. But this is an intelligence that means more than just a mere book knowledge on a certain subject. It means an insight and understanding that is the gift of God. We obtain it as we seek God and seek to know God through the way He has revealed Himself through His Word - the Bible. This is why I stated at the beginning of today's post that common-sense actually arises out of Biblical-sense. Since studying Proverbs in depth I've noticed that the counsel that I offer to others has been radically affected. Rather than offer my own fallible insights and thoughts - I quote from Proverbs and Scripture as a source of counsel. By the way, this means it is no longer my counsel - but God's Word. A second "by the way" is in order too. A good counsellor is not always one with a degree or a certificate - but one with a good working knowledge of God's Word and how it speaks to every issue of life. Sorry for the digression, I'll get back to the point. People want that kind of counsel - and they say to me that I have great insight into their problems and situations. When this is said, I laugh and let them know that without the Scriptures I'm as dumb as a stump. Any profit they receive is because of God's grace and the way that "Biblical-sense" has affected my "common-sense." When a man is praised becuase of his insight - it is often due to the fact that He is studying and seeking to apply Scripture to life. My favorite people are my brothers and sisters who are in their 70's and 80's who have studied and sought to live out God's Word their entire adult lives. They are a treasure chest of wisdom and instruction, rebuke and correction, counsel and encouragement, knowledge and discernment. But there is another person out their offering their opinion and counsel. It is the one of "perverse mind." The word "perverse" here means to bend or to twist. It speaks of those who distort things and make them perverse and crooked. This one will be despised according to Proverbs. When we see where their counsel leads us we will hate their advice. The problem is that too often those of "perverse mind" are exalted in our culture. They are the ones who make movies and television shows that exalt sexual impurity. They tell us that a sexually immoral lifestyle is the bomb! We need to try it out and embrace the sexual revolution. What they don't tell us in their movie portrayals is the truth about sexually transmitted diseases, the truth about broken relationships and broken marriages. They speak of the pleasure without the payment - the joy without the judgment. When we finally learn where their perverse counsel has led us - we despise them for it and feel like we've been burned (because we have!). Don't seek out the counsel of the "perverse of mind." Be careful of the way you allow the culture and the world to color your thinking. We don't say it often enough in the church today, but the culture in which we live is a perverse and godless one. When we allow the print media and what is sent out over the airwaves to instruct us (and realize that they usually instruct us through what they call "entertainment") we are being taught by the perverse in mind and heart. Find those who have insight! Search out and locate those who have "Biblical-sense." Their counsel may hurt a little at first (especially if you've spent too much time among the perverse of mind) but in the end you will praise them for their insight and counsel. Don't be surprised though if they blush and defer all praise to the One Who gave us the revelation of Himself in the Bible. In the end, He is actually the One Who has all the wisdom and great insight. But that is because He is God! Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, Reprove a wise man and he will love you. Proverbs 9:8
Wisdom manifests itself in how we receive reproof. Here we see two people who experience reproof or correction. How they respond to that reproof has everything to do with whether they are a fool or whether they are wise. First we see a person who is called a scoffer. The word "scoffer" means one who boasts, scorns, mocks, or derides another. The reason that the scoffer does this is to express utter contempt of the person or comment that has been made to him. The context for the scoffers utter contempt is that of having someone reprove him. When he faces correction he reacts with complete disdain for the one who has offered the correction. To emphasize his disgust for the person who has tried to offer correction or constructive criticism, we read that this scoffer will hate them. There are those who bristle immediately to any correction or reproof offered to them. This indicates that they are indeed a fool. To say that one does not need any correction is to say that one is perfect. It is indeed a sad thing to watch someone who thinks in their own mind that they are the manifestation of perfection itself. They are above criticism - because everything they do and everything they say is without flaw. First of all this is the highest form of arrogance and pride. We all make mistakes and have flaws. When someone offers us correction - whether constructive or not - it is an opportunity for us to embrace humility and see ourselves improve. Second, when we reject correction, we are saying that we ourselves are the judge of what is right and wrong. The fool rejects any evaluation of himself - and chooses his own horrifically flawed and prejudiced view of himself as truth. That is the only way he or she can be deceived enough to think that they are above criticism. Finally, the fool who rejects correction is actually rejecting love. It is love that often motivates people to correct us. That is the motivation of loving parents and others who only desire us to succeed and prosper. It is the motivation of God who desires us to be a partaker of His righteousness. But the fool who rejects all this - rejects the very ones who love him the most. The wise man loves the one who reproves him. He understands that someone who is reproving him is not against him, but for him. This word reprove means to argue and convince, and was used to speak of those who would "prove" something. We need to see this word in this way because "proving" something was done by submitting it to the heat of a crucible - for the purpose of refining it. This was done only for one of two reasons. You proved something either to make it more valuable - or to make it stronger. The scoffer sees reproof as an attack - or as inaccurate information being used to hurt him. The wise man sees the reproof as something positive. He is being refined so that impurities are removed from his life. He is being refined so that weaknesses are taken out. He is being refined to be even more valuable in the Lord's work. He is being refined to be more valuable to God's kingdom and people. The reproof is making him stronger - better - richer. As he receives the reproof this way - the correction does its work - and he is blessed as a result. It is not fun or pleasant to be reproved or corrected. If it was - everyone would want it all the time in their lives. The fool looks at reproof only through eyes that see the negative. He is too focused on his own comfort and his own ego being protected at all costs. The wise man looks beyond the possible unpleasantness of the moment. He sees the value of refining and the blessing of having potentially harmful things removed from this character. He knows the benefit of this experience will far outweigh its problems and difficulties. If we want to be wise, we too will begin to love those who reprove us and help us to become more Christlike - and of greater use to our Master. Oil and perfume make the heart glad, So a man's counsel is sweet to his friend. Proverbs 27:9
A man is blessed if he has friends who offer him godly counsel. When you have this you have something that both makes life sweet as well as fulfilling. To better understand this proverb we need to look at the oriental purposes for oil and perfume. The word oil here is the Hebrew "shemen" which means fat - and it was the equivalent of middle eastern butter in its usage. Shemen would be what a Hebrew Paula Dean would use in all her dishes to make them taste great. Seeing that I am a southerner - I now fully understand that "butter" makes the heart glad. I love how butter makes things taste. To the Hebrew at the time, they knew that this oil mentioned here was what made their food have its distinctive taste. When used properly - it took bland food and helped make it taste wonderful. In the same way, the counsel of a true friend is sweet to us. It makes life "taste" better. When we have the sweet counsel of a good friend - things that may seem bland and boring to do are changed. Having a good friend who counsels me to do the right thing - even though I've done it a thousand times and am bored with it - will help me do it another thousand times. They remind me that doing the godly thing will bring blessing in the end. Oil was also used for medicinal purposes. It was used to promote healing. There are numerous passages in the Scritpures that speak of pouring oil into a wound to soften and to heal it. These oils would have additives in them to help promote healing. How often has the kind and gracious counsel of a friend helped heal a hurt we have had in our lives. This counsel is sweet to us - just like oil is. Finally, Oil is also offered as a cosmetic. For a Hebrew oil was needed because they were in such a dry climate. The oil helped their bodies not become dry, hard, and brittle. I've had godly friends who have helped me be prevented from becoming dry, hard, and brittle in my personal and spiritual life as well. The second thing mentioned here is incense. This refers to the aromatic use of crushed materials which were burned to provide a smoke that perfumed the air. The non-religious use of incense was simply to help the aroma of a tent or other area. The counsel of a friend is like that to us. It just makes things better. To have someone to whom you can talk, bounce ideas and problems off of, and hear sound advice - is to have a life that is easier to live. These people can make "stinky" times in life be much better. There was also a religious use for incense. It was used in the temple on the approach to God. It is compared to the sweet savor of prayer offered in a godly way to Him. Here is where the counsel of a friend is very sweet to a friend. When that counsel is offered in light of prayer (your friend is praying for you) and it is offered with a view to having you in a right relationship with God - that, dear brothers and sisters, is very sweet counsel indeed! The counsel of a godly friend is something we should not be without as we walk in this world. What I find fascinating is a passage in 2 Corinthians 2:13. Paul was experiencing a time of blessed ministry in Troas - an open door for the gospel - yet he wanted to see Titus. There was something about the blessing of this brother - that made Paul leave that fruitful field and look for this brother. Now I know that Paul was discipling several younger brothers like him - but I also think that Paul was missing the blessing of the "oil and incense" ministry of a godly friend and co-worker. That is why a wise man will not take these kind of godly relationships for granted. He will cherish them and thank God for the sweet counsel of a godly man or woman in his life. If you have one of these relationships - praise God for it. If you do not have one - cry out to God and do what is necessary to cultivate it. The blessing it will bring to your live will be of greater value than you know. He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good. Proverbs 19:8
How does the Bible teach us to love ourselves? Here is an interesting question because there are some who think that before we can ever love someone else, we have to love ourselves. Personally, I find that kind of teaching to be contrary to sound wisdom. The reason I feel this way is because those who are taught such things spend all their time going deeper inward to determine if they love themselves enough. The problem with this kind of psycho-babble is that happiness comes when we are no longer consumed with ourselves and learn to give our lives for others and for the glory of God. A person who constantly goes inward to determine if they love themselves properly will have precious little time to love others. It is usually a downward spiral that can lead to a person being consumed by a desire for their own happiness. Jesus said that if we love our lives we will lose them - but if we lose our lives for Him and for His kingdom's sake, we will gain them for all eternity. But this passage in Proverbs genuinely speaks of loving our own soul. So what exactly is God teaching us here? The translation here reads, "He who gets wisdom . . . " yet the actual word translated wisdom is the Hebrew word, "leb" which refers to the heart. What Solomon was seeking to say is that the one who gets a heart - the right kind of heart - loves his own soul. Here is where we need to grasp what the Bible says about our hearts. We learn from the whole counsel of Scripture some very interesting things about the human heart. First, we learn that our hearts are messed up due to the fall of man into sin. Jeremiah tells us that the heart is wicked and desperately evil, and is impossible to understand with our own wisdom. (Jeremiah 17:9) To plumb the depths of our hearts - without grasping the wickedness of sinful man - will get you no where. That is why secular psychology will yield very little in dealing with the true human condition. None of the major psychological constructs admits that man is a sinner - and that the real problem with humanity is a sin problem - a rebellion against God. The next thing we learn is that God Almighty can understand the heart - and has done what is necessary to change it and transform it. The change for the heart is available by faith in Jesus Christ. God takes out of us our heart of stone, that does not respond to God's Word or commandments. In its place God miraculously puts a heart of flesh that has the very commandments of God written upon it. Thus we are regenerated in Christ with a new heart and a desire to do what He commands. The other lesson that God teaches us in His Word is that once we are saved, our hearts and minds need to be renewed by the Word and the work of His Spirit. While we are here on earth, we will face temptation and a constant battle with the three enemies of our soul, the world-system, the flesh, and the devil. Because of the way that these three things want to influence our minds toward sin, it is imperative that we renew our minds with the truth - which is God's Word. Actually, this is the way we "get heart." We "get heart" when we begin to understand God's wisdom and God's ways. We no longer try in our own strength to deal with the myriad of temptations and trials that come to our hearts. We know that such an endeavor is doomed to be fruitless. Instead, we embrace what God has done in Jesus Christ. We embrace godly wisdom and understanding. As we do this we are actively loving our own soul! Remember that Jesus said that if we want to save our "fleshly" lives in this world - we will lose them. But the one who chooses to lose his soul - who dies to self - and who embraces a regenerated heart - that man loves himself in the end. He embraces an understanding of life that has conversion and regeneration at its core. As he does this - he finds good! He learns to die to himself - and die to the desires of the flesh. He learns that when his heart is drawn by temptation to a worldly point of view that he needs to reject it. He chooses instead to "not love the world or the things of the world." He goes to the Word of God to renew his mind so that he proves that the will of God is good, acceptable, and perfect. He faces the lies and deceit of the devil and learns to expose them for what they are. He chooses instead a life instructed by the Scriptures. He spends time in the Word so that he is walking with "understanding" at all times. The two words "keeps understanding" are very beneficial to know here. He "keeps" understanding points to the fact that he watches over it - guards it - and is constantly on the lookout for anything that would detract from God's ways and will in his life. He keeps "understanding" points to the fact that he desires a discernment from God on all things. The word "understanding" is the Hebrew "tebunah" which means to discern or understand how things differ. He looks at every choice wanting to discern the difference between his flesh and the Spirit of God. He wants to discern the difference between the kingdoms of this world vs. the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ. He longs to discern the difference between his own desires and those given by the Lord. He yearns to grasp the difference between sin and righteousness - between glorifying self and glorifying God. This is the way to love yourself. You love your own soul by protecting and guarding it from the tyranny of self. You choose instead to embrace God's wisdom in the heart. You decide that you will guard and protect yourself from anything that turns you even slightly from a life lived for the glory of God - from a life lived for the kingdom of God - and a life lived by the Spirit of God as He teaches and leads you by the Word of God. Want to love yourself? That is the way to do it! My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent. Proverbs 1:10
Here we are given an inside seat to a spectacle that takes place every day. This event is when a fool or group of fools approach a person to entice him to join with them in their ungodly schemes. This is something we need to see because as Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes, there really is nothing new under the son. Men have tried to get others to join with their gang to do mischief for numerous generations. The lies are pretty much unchanged - and yet they are good to know ahead of time so that we are not taken in by the offers of fools whose only true promise is to get us into serious trouble before everything is over. How young people need to read these words and profit from rejecting them ahead of time. Here a father speaks to his son to warn him against such foolish company - and against their foolish offers to "cut him in on the action." His first instructive comment is to refer to those who do such things as "sinners." What is instructive about this word is the comment made by Zhodiates that this word is used, "to describe those who, by their actions, are under the wrath and judgment of God and face ultimate destruction." In Psalm 104:35 we are told that these folks will be consumed from the earth - and in Isaiah 1:28 that they will be crushed and will come to their end by the hand of God. The father warns that these people will come to "entice" them. They will come with words to try to allure, persuade, and deceive. They want to convince this young man to join with them as they plan to do their evil deeds. This may sound all melodramatic to some who read this - but that is only because the world has done a good job of mocking this kind of talk. They do so by overdramatizing the father or the spiritual guide - making him sound stupid when he warns of such things. Their effectiveness has only dulled the minds of our children to those who truly will come to them with such wicked counsel. In the end they only make it easier for the criminal and harder for the parent or mentor. This father is doing a good thing in warning his son about this kind of interview. His advice to his son is not to consent. In the end the boy is going to have to make a decision on his own. Eventually every child will leave the home and will face temptation to do evil. If we do not instruct them - they will face this without godly counsel on their side. This father does an admirable job of letting his son hear the enticing words ahead of time. But the father does so with additional commentary explaining to his son just where such counsel will lead. Hey dad, let me ask you a question. Are you preparing your son to face these things? Are you taking the time to let him hear the kind of things he is going to be told - and then put them into the context of where they will take him? There is a kind of Christian parenting that is going on today that does not think kids should be exposed to anything that is remotely wrong. I agree with this when it comes to exposing them to such things and encouraging them to do them. But what this godly father is doing is exposing his son to the reality of what wicked men will say to him one day. He is letting his son know the arguments - the offers - the lies that will be told to him. Then he is taking those statements and dismantling them before his son. He does so by showing his son where such lies will lead him. The warning his boy receives is a wise one - and one that we would do well to teach to our own children as well. When we think that placing them into a world without any form of tempation of proposed evil will protect them - we may be deceiving ourselves. One day they won't be with us - and an evil man will approach with his slick lies. What will they do then? Will they know how to stand and resist the lies? Maybe . . . maybe not. The only way we can prepare them for such a day is to teach them by exposing them to what will be said - as well as the sure judgment and destruction that comes with the lifestyle that will result. The lips of the wise spread knowledge, But the hearts of fools are not so. Proverbs 15:7
In life there are those we meet that just spread knowledge that is helpful to our souls. What a wonderful thing it is to meet such a men or woman. They are like an oasis in the midst of our wicked and perverse generation. It is a delight to talk to them - but even more of a delight to listen to what they share. This is the kind of person Proverbs speaks of today. Let's look more at what this today as we examine Proverbs 15:7. The lips put forth words that reveal what is in the heart. Here we see clearly that the wise have knowledge stored up in their hearts while the fool is devoid of it. The word for "spread" is very descriptive. It is an agricultural word that speaks of how a farmer goes into the field and scatters and disperses seed by casting it out on the ground. The wise man is taking every opportunity to cast out the seed so that it can bear a harvest later. Thus the wise man takes the opportunity to put out God's Word for a harvest that will come later in life. The wise man spreads knowledge. He spreads learning but his learning is not just head knowledge or uselessh information. He is spreading the kind of knowledge that leads to discernment, insight, and notion. Let's look at these three words for a moment to gain insight on what the wise man is spreading. When we have discernment we are learning to distinguish between two things that differ. We need to know the difference between good and evil, God's will and the world's mindset, the flesh and the Holy Spirit's work in our lives. The wise see things from God's perspective thus they can help us to learn the subtle and not so subtle differences between what is of God and what is not of God. They also help us gain insight. This word means exactly what it says, in-sight. It is seeing into things and realizing there is usually more to things that just their outward appearance. God says that man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart. Therefore if we are going to see things as He does, we will need to see into the heart of a situation. The last word is notion. There's a word that we don't use much any more. Webster defines notion as an conception or impression of something. A notion can also be that conception or impression carried out to a theory or belief about a person, thing, etc. When we speak of the notions we receive from the knowledge of the wise man - these are not just the notions of an average person - but they are notions, beliefs, theories, conceptions and impressions gained from Scripture and from the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. To have a notion based on these things is to gain a way of looking at life - a theolry about people - about the world around you - but one gained from a biblical worldview. The proverb finishes with the fact that the heart of a fool is not like the wise man. He does not offer knowledge to others. He does not spread seed that will sprout and bring a godly harvest of righteousness and peace. His seed is filled with his own foolish notions, theories, and conceptions of life. Since these are governed by his own sinful nature - and by the world around him (remember and think a fallen world that rejects God's revelation and authority) they are useless. These things will bring about a harvest of foolishness and harm. How wonderful it is when we can surround ourselves with wise men and women. How marvelous it is that in our society and with our electronic capabilities we can expose ourselves to great men and women of God - actually hearing them speak - hearing them spread the seed of God's wisdom and Word to us. The truly wise person will seek to be in the range of their voices. Take away the dross from the silver, And there comes out a vessel for the smith; Take away the wicked before the king, And his throne will be established in righteousness. Proverbs 25:4-5
How important is it for a national leader to be surrounded by godly counsellors? According to what we read here in Proverbs 25, it is absolutely vital! When a king, chancellor, or president is surrounded by the wicked - there is a much greater chance that his rule or administration will be visited with problems. The picture that is given for us first is a silver vessel that is being made by a smelter or silver smith. If he is making something valuable and something that will last, he will take the time and the effort to remove the dross from the silver. This requires a crucible and a lot of heat. It requires watching over the silver to make sure that he scapes off all the dross that comes to the surface as it heats. Dross is the junk and impurities that are in the silver ore. As it heats up this rises to the top and can be scraped away. It is what will make the silver polluted, less valuable, and more liable to be brittle and break. If he takes the time to properly take the dross out of the silver - he will have something he can properly mold - and something that will both last and be very valuable. The dross in any governmental structure is the wicked who are trying to influence and counsel the king. We read next that if the wicked are taken from before the king - his throne will be established in righteousness. The wicked are constantly trying to gain the king's ear - so this is often a matter of wisdom in the king himself - and how he views his power. If he sees power as something he himself has - and something he uses to do what he wants - he will be far less likely to take away the wicked from before him. The reason this is the case is that men will use flattery and his own ego against him. Consider the story of Daniel and the lion's den. The king's greatest ally and wise advisor was Daniel. But because the king was liable to be led astray by his own ego, he listened to men who wanted to declare a day where no one could pray to anyone except him. When he made the fateful choice to enact this law - he learned that any real honor to him was the farthest thing from the minds of his advisors. They lay in wait for Daniel to pray - knowing he would. Then they brought the king's most trusted advisor before him - demanding that he pay the price for his evil prayers to God. Even though the king hated the action - he did so - and were it not for God's intervention, Daniel would have been torn to pieces. This is why it is so important for a king to know WHERE he got his power - and HOW he is to use it. Kings and presidents get their power from God. Ultimately He has allowed them to come into a position of power - and the king and president would be wise to use that power to advance God's agenda in that nation. We read that "righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. Therefore it is a wise king who removes wicked advisors from his presence and seeks to advance his kingdom on godly, righteous principles. Consider the advice of Ahithophel, who counselled Absalom when he robbed David of the kingdom of Israel. He told Absalom to rape the king's concubines in public view - to strengthen his kingdom. This was foolishness - because he was not strengthening anything but wickedness. God was not going to advance such a man - and it is no surprise that he was killed soon afterward in battle. There is one misnomer I need to correct in commenting on this particular passage. The Bible does not say that this course will keep a king from trouble. Sometimes it puts a king in the crosshairs of the ungodly when he does this. But what is does do for a godly leader is place him in the safest of all places - the center of God's will. If a kingdom has previously been run by godless men and has been filled with godless leaders, there will be much opposition to this kind of rule. In the end, though, that king will be blessed, because historically, God rises up and brings wonderful deliverances to such a leader. Something built with dross can look good upon first glance. It may even be useful for a time. But in the end - in a time of stress and testing - it will fail because it does not have inner strength upon which to draw in difficult times. It is far better to withstand the heat of becoming pure - because the heat (which is usually pretty unpleasant at the time) will in the end ensure greater strength and stability in the end. Therefore - pray for our president and for all our leaders. Do not be cowered into a corner by the separation of church and state crowd. Not only are they wrong constitutionally in their assertions, but more importantly - they are only seeking to lay a foundation that will NOT stand. Our forefathers understood much better that a nation built upon righteousness will stand. Any other foundation is only paving the way for failure in the end. The thoughts of the righteous are just, But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. Proverbs 12:5
Why is it far more wise to deal with a righteous man than with someone whom the Bible would refer to as wicked? That is what is set before us today in Proverbs. The first thing we see here is that the very thoughts of the righteous are described for us. The word "thought" here is the Hebrew "machashabah" and it means a thought, a purpose, a device, or an intention. The word means the actions and deeds that spring from the thoughts that fill someone's mind. These thoughts that lead to actions are described as "just." These thoughts are governed by the justice and the right-ness of God. The righteous man has as his guide and as his governing principles the Word of God. As the Spirit of God uses the Word to guide him - the righteous man wants to do what is just in God's sight - and thus is most likely to do that which is truly just and right in any situation. That is why you definitely want to do business and to be in the counsel of a righteous man. He is not governed by his lusts and by wicked desires. Things like dishonesty and stealing are just wrong to him. Therefore you can trust him to do what is right at all times and in all situations. One of the psalms describes this man as one who will swear to his own hurt - and not change. This means that even when he sees later that he has made a business decision that is not in his best interests - he will be true to his word - even when that means being hurt by it. The counsels of the wicked on the other hand - are deceitful. You do not want to do business with a man the Bible describes as wicked - because of the issue of character. The counsels here are the advice and the counsel that this wicked man follows. They are consistent with his character, which by the way is seriously lacking. His counsels are deceitful. He may promise something, but in the end he will not deliver on it. He is out for his own good and does not even blink at lying to someone if he can gain from it. He is not trustworthy - and therefore any commitment and any decision he makes is not worth the paper it is printed upon. This is why you want to know the character of those with whom you do business. This is important because a man's word should be his bond - but often it is not. Let me close this particular proverb with a cry for godly Christian businessmen to rise up and make themselves known in our society. As a pastor, I deal with brothers who are businessmen. One thing that I have heard that grieves me deeply is how they talk of other Christian businessmen - and of born again Christians in general. They have made statements that they really don't like to deal with those who readily identify themselves as Christians. The reason they say this is because of the number of times they have been burned by so-called brothers in business deals. What a horrific commentary this is on the church! God's people SHOULD BE the best people to deal with in business matters. They should be the most honest - the most godly - the most righteous and trustworthy. What I hear though is that they are not. In fact what I hear consistently is that the one person you don't want to do business with is a Christian. I say this not to denigrate the church - but to chastise myself and all true born again Christians for not being the witness that they should be when it comes to how we do business. God calls us to be a witness for Him - not just in words - but in all that we do. It is the counsels of the wicked that are to be deceitful. The thoughts and ways of the righteous - they are to be just. May God gives us grace to reclaim the culture in the days ahead so that the name of Christ no longer has to bear the disgrace of ungodly believers. Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Proverbs 4:5
How do you become wise? There is a question for the ages, yet the answer as you will see is much easier than you would think. Becoming wise involves first wanting to be wise. We've seen from other Proverbs that the first step in becoming wise is to realize that you are not wise. That may at first sound ridiculously simple - but you would be surprised how many people miss it. Once you realize that you are not wise, the next step is told to us here. You begin to do all that you can to acquire wisdom and understanding. Of course I know the next question will be, "How do you do that?" That is what we will examine today as we look at this Proverb. If you want to acquire wisdom, you hang out with wise people. This is important mainly because it should move you toward God. Since He is the author of all wisdom - you would want to spend a lot of time reading what He has to say and listening to what He desires to communicate to you. This also means you want to cultivate the habit of being very sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you in the Word each day. One of the quickest ways to move from foolishness to wisdom is to listen to and to follow Him. This means working on the discipline of getting into God's Word every day. It means getting into it with a heart that listens to God. You are not just "doing your Bible reading," but you are seeking God's face - desiring His counsel - and longing to communicate with Him in a way that you have the wisdom you need for life itself. Some other things that would be ways to acquire wisdom would be to read often in the book of Proverbs. This is the book of wisdom itself in the Scriptures, so it is only right to spend time in this particular book. Learn to do a "daily proverb." This is the practice of reading the chapter of Proverbs that coincides with the day of the month. Since there are 31 chatpers in Proverbs you will never lack a chapter for the day of the month - and over time you will watch your mind be filled with God's wisdom. Another thing to do is to learn "the moral of the story" in the history of the Bible. We can learn a great deal from both the wise and foolish behavior of people in the Bible. You can add to this reading books written by wise men, receiving godly counsel from older, wiser men and women, and also listening and going to your own parents for counsel. These are all ways you can acquire wisdom. By the way, the word wisdom itself simply means, "learning to see things from God's perspective." That is what you are seeking as you do all these things. The verse here also says that we are to acquire "understanding." We are not just gathering wise sayings and teachings. We are wanting to be able to comprehend and discern what do to and what to say in life. This word means to have that discernment that knows how to choose the right thing and reject the wrong thing. It has a strong moral and religious sense to it. We want to gain and acquire an ability to see two things that differ (even if they only differ slightly) and know how to choose the right one and embrace it wholly. This involves not just learning and acquiring wise sayings and information - it involves using it to see our situation as God sees it. It is applying the wisdom we've learned to each and every situation that we face. This comes with time and with continued wise counsel. It comes as we do post mortem work on our previous decisions - and on the decisions of others. This is not done for the sake of condemnation - but to learn from what we've done wrong and what we've done right. It involves humility as we pick a personal disaster apart and examine just what made us make such a foolish decision. As we do this - we will better know what do to in the future - and how to recognize similar situations and make much wiser decisions when we face those sitiuations in the future. The last thing we need to do also seems so simple - but actually it is very profound. We need to remember what we've learned. The father tells his son, "Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth." As we hear the earthly father parrot these words, we should realize that these are the same words that God uses over and over again throughout the Law, the Prophets, the wisdom writings, the Psalms, and the New Testament. I think in some way all of us are afflicted with a little spiritual alzheimers. We forget what God taught us. One of the funniest, yet saddest pictures of this is the disciples freaking out in a boat that is being tossed and turned by the waves. In order to move around in the boat they had to step over the 12 baskets of food Jesus just had them gather the day before. They had to stumble over them to get to Jesus to tell Him to wake up because they were all about to perish! Jesus then got up - rebuked the wind and waves - and pretty much blew their minds at the power God gave Him. But where would they have learned this? Oh, from the feeding of the 25,000 to 30,000 people from just yesterday!! But then again - we have a bad tendency to forget what we've been taught. God calls us to remember! Remember the lessons God taught you. Don't forget the valuable information He shared with you. Don't drop the ball that He just gave you! This is not easy folks. If it was He wouldn't say it so often - and we wouldn't blow it so often. We are prone to pride and to self-sufficiency. That is often at the root of why we forget. We don't exactly embrace the whole idea of not being able to do things ourselves. We don't exactly enjoy going to God for counsel on decisions. We don't exactly warm up to the fact that we need to surrender our wills to God daily - even hourly and if it were a word, "minutely." This deals with the last bit of wisdom the father shares with his son. The last thing that keeps us from acquiring wisdom and understanding is rebellion and disobedience. The father says to his son that he is not to "turn away" from the words that he speaks. Our last problem with acquiring wisdom is that we turn away from it willingly. WE ARE REBELLIOUS! There are times when we choose to be wise in our own eyes - and chart of course for disaster in the process. This requires that we die to self daily. It requires that we recognize that though we are converted - we are not fully sanctified. We need to see the subtle workings of our flesh, the world system, and Satan in our lives. Follow these three and you will not walk in wisdom. You will not acquire it - nor keep it. Acquiring wisdom and understanding is imperative for each of us. It involves humbling ourselves and listening to God - and those through whom He would speak to us. It involves not just listening, but learning and discerning what is said and how it applies to where we are going and what we are doing and saying. It is a life long process that allows us to grow in wisdom only in so much as we continue to view our world through the eyes of God. It will only be then that we will have acquired wisdom - acquired understanding -and have learned how to glorify God in the things we say and do. |
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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