 Better is a dish of vegetables where love is than a fattened ox served with hatred. Proverbs 15:17
Some might think that this particular proverb is reason to preach vegetarianism - but the point of this proverb is not the content of your meals as much as it is the spirit in which you partake of them. The dish of vegetables is actually seen as far less sumptuous fare than the fattened ox. The difference here is what is going on while you are sharing your meal with others. The vegetables, though not nearly as fancy as the fattened ox, are better because they are seasoned with love. As a pastor I've had the joy of sharing meals with families. Some of the most precious meals I've enjoyed in my 30 years as a pastor have been shared with some of the poorest of people. The meals, though simple, were liberally seasoned with love and precious fellowship. It was such a blessing to sit at such a table. The proverb compares the simple fare of a dish of vegetables with the food of a rich man's feast. To have a fattened ox was about as special as it got in Israel. If you remember, the father of the prodigal son ordered that the fattened calf be served when his son came home. It was a time of glorious celebration - and only the best was to be served. But what this proverb tells us is that the fattened ox served by the rich man was seasoned with hatred. Though a wonderful culinary delight was served - it was served by someone who hated their guests. This is a strange kind of hospitality indeed. They have guests - but only to get what they can from them. They invite their guests to their high-class affairs to put them in their debt - so that at a later date they can collect what they are owed. The worst of these parties are the ones that are done for people they absolutely despise - but they do it anyway because then everyone there will owe them favors. This is a meal destined for relational indigestion. The food may taste good - but will only sour in their stomach as the problem of having to deal with their host comes to the surface. There is no love - only hatred and a desire to be owed or owned. Consider the practice of bringing food to a client from whom you desire sales. The saleesman may not even like the person - but feeds them to gain their business. Consider the political fund raising event where the purpose of it is not to enjoy good fellowship. The purpose is to separate those attending from their money at the end of the evening. Consider all these events - and many more where tasty and sumptuous food is served - but the core reason you are invited has nothing to do with true fellowship or heartfelt love. So our writer warns us that in situations where you are offered the finest of culinary delights - you need to check your own heart - and seek to discern the heart of those who feed you. it is better to be served vegetables than for expensive food to be placed before you with hidden motives. This is not for reasons of frugality, nor it is meant to be a call to vegetarianism. Actually, it is a warning against false hospitality and the expectations that often come with it. It is a warning to partake of true fellowship - even if it is over celery and water. It is a call for all of us to be active "love-etarians." Even though "love-etarian" is not a real word, I think we can all understand what is being said to us. That lesson is this: In the end, fellowship with love will always trump hatred and fine dining. One may fill your stomach - but the other fills your soul.
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The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, How much more when he brings it with evil intent! Proverbs 21:27
When I first read this passage I thought to myself, "Why would the wicked even want to sacrifice?" Then as I meditated on the passage and read through John Gill's commentary on it I began to see the reasons why this would happen. This will be a very eye-opening proverb if you had the same question as I did - because at the core of the wicked man's sacrifice is his own self-deception in regard to God and the true purpose of religion and religious observances. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to God becasue the wicked think they can do an end run around God's law by offering it. They walk through religious actions thinking that it pacifies God - yet allows them to continue to walk in a way that ignores His glory and disobeys His law. One of the ways that this was done in the former (and in some places it continues to this day) days of the church was through the practice of confession and penance. The religious person would go to a priest and confess their sins to him. Then the priest would give them some kind of religious punishment - to recite some religious writing or saying so many times. This would be their penance - or payment for their sinful actions. The religious person would then recite the required things - pay the required price - do the required works - and then go on their way. The problem was that often the religious person had no intention of stopping the actions they confessed as sin - they were just paying up to the point of the past week - so that they could soothe their guilty conscience before going out to another week of sinful choices and behaviors. Two problems exist with this view. First, is there is no REpentance going on in their life. God requires repentance for His people. They are to come sorrowing for their sins - but also with a desire to turn from them and do them no more. The second problem is even greater - becasue no amount of human effort will ever pay for sin. Only the blood of Jesus can do that. Even having repentance won't work - without faith in Jesus Christ and what He did to pay for our sins by the blood He shed on the cross. We do not need some kind of continuous religious rite to come to God at the start of each week - we need the full on gospel! We need to turn from sin in repentance and turn to Jesus Christ as the ONLY way that our sin can be forgiven. Then we go away from our time with God with a new heart and a new spirit - one that is not going back to its old ways like a dog to its vomit, but rather one that embraces God's ways - as they are now written on his heart. This new man in Christ is different - and walks in the power of God and the regeneration of God to change and walk in godly paths. The second half of this passage goes even further in what the first half says. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to God. But there is even a greater wickedness, which is when they bring it with an evil intent as well. What this speaks of is the deceived one who brings his sacrifice - but does so thinking he is deceiving even God - and can trick God into doing evil for him because of it. We have a biblical example of this very thing in the Old Testament. In the book of Numbers we run into two characters that baffle many of us. The first is a man called Balaam, who was a seer - a sooth-sayer of sorts. There was also a king named Balak who desired to hire Balaam to get God to curse Israel so that he could defeat them in battle and keep them from taking his kingdom from him. Balak sent important people to Balaam - and eventually got him to come to him. Balaam was a wicked man who thought God's Ok to go (after God said He would NOT curse Israel) was also an OK to make a lot of money from Balak by using a sacrifice to God to get God to do evil to His people. After a rebuke from a donkey who acted to save his life - Balaam listened to God a little closer - and was warned to only say what God said - or what God put into Balaam's mouth to speak. Three times Balaam offered the sacrifice of the wicked to God - hoping against hope that he would be able to do what Balak wanted - and make a fortune in the process. Three times the sacrifice of the wicked - offered with evil intent - was turned against Balak and Balaam in order to bless Israel. In the end, Balaam tried to destroy Israel with his wicked counsel - by getting the women in Balak's kingdom to go and commit adultery and fornication with the men of Israel. Fortunately the godly son of Aaron, Phinehas, brought God's judgment to an ungodly Israeli man who was about to have an adulterous relationship with one of the daughters of Moab - and delivered Israel from their insanity. There are still those like Balaam and Balak who think that they can pay God off to do what they want Him to do. They will try every kind of religious game and exercise possible to do this. But the end will always be the same - that God - who hates their sacrifices - will not be bought off or deceived to do things after their will. He will instead look at their offerings as abominations - and will curse rather than bless them. The fact is this - God is ultimate and supreme - He is sovereign and the One Whose will will be done. It is wisdom to shun the sacrifices of the wicked - to shun the idea that we can pay God off by some religious offering. The wisdom of God is this - to come to God as He has designated. We are to come through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We come not to get our own way - but rather to be transformed by an intimate relationship with God and do His will for His glory. Proverbs 23:6-8 (NASB)
6 Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies; 7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, "Eat and drink!" But his heart is not with you. 8 You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten, And waste your compliments. Proverbs lays out for us here three verses that warn us of selfish and greedy men. The term used to describe this men is a man of an 'evil eye.' This term is a Hebraism that refers to a man whose eye is set in a way that he is covetous and very selfish when it comes to his money. This guy has evidently made a promise of a sumptuous meal. To break bread with someone in this day was to offer them a meal. And from what we read here - this man is putting quite a the spread before us. It does not only involve putting food before us - but delicacies. Delicacies here is the Hebrew word "mat'am" and it means a very tasty, delicious food. It indicates soemthing like gourmet food or special tidbits and delicacies that were usually only served to the wealthy and influential person. This meal is provided to catch our eye - but dull our sensest. This is not just a Big Mac at Mickie-D's. This would be an entire meal at a fancy restaurant - including a top shelf dessert as well. Why would this man do this? What is even more important though is that God warns us to stay away - and not eat it - and not to be drawn in by the delicacies! We are warned against the desires that arise in us as we look at te delicacies set before us. Again, one might ask, "Why?" The answer lies with the character and the motives of the man who is providing the meal. He has a reason for what He is doing. And according to this passage - his motives are evil, selfish, and self-centered. Let's look a little further at all this as we seek to get all we can from this warning - as well as how all this applies to what we can face from men in THIS generation that use the same tactics. God now reveals to us this man's heart. The motives of his heart are hidden from us and the only way we know them is when God reveals them to us. This man thinks within himself differently than he is acting outwardly. His outward words say, "Eat and drink!" There is every indication that he is all about his hospitality. There is a problem though. His words do not match his heart. Who he is in his heart is who he really is and since his heart is not with us, we should question his true motives. Why would someone provide a great spread like this - and not have their heart in it? The answer to this question is that greed and selfishness are what motivate him. Ever been to a "free meal" or a "free weekend" at a time share? Yeah . . . that's what we're talking about here. We are provided what seems like an innocent and wonderful gift. Problem is the entire time we are enjoying it we are being set up for the real purpose. The gift is given to get something from us! Before the night is over - before the weekend is over - there is going to be a presentation. The reason for all the generosity is that you are supposed to buy something - commit to something. I've been to a free weekend at a resort - and the term "high pressure sales" is an understatement of what I eventually faced. When my "free" weekend was over, I honestly wished I had just paid for my so-called free vacation. That was one of the longest three hours of my entire life. When someone's heart is not with you in providing that great meal or that wonderful weekend; when someone's heart is not with you in giving you those "free tickets" or that gift card for a free meal, you need to know that a the heart is not set on giving, but greed. You are being lured into a way for Mr. Generous to make money in the end. We are told that we will vomit up the morsel we thought we enjoyed. There will be a disgust in our hearts when we eat this man's food. That disgust will only be experienced after we find out the real agenda here. He didn't do this for us . . . He did it for himself. Covetousness and profiteering were the real reason this for Mr. Generosity's gift. In the end you feel like a fool for being tricked into doing something you "normally" would not do. You curse your desires that deadened you to the warnings of the Holy Spirit. Remember my time share story? Oh, how embarassingly this ended. I told myself that I would not buy anything! I was going to be strong - and say NO to everything. Then I'd enjoy the rest of my free vacation and go home. Remember the "high-pressure sales pitch?" Well, in the end, we didn't buy a time share. Instead we paid a ridiculous price for a promised "future" vacation - actually three were promised. I'm not stupid enough to fall for just one! Of course the promised triple play did not quite work out like it was mapped out for us. In fact the entire sitaution was a debacle. In the end - I vomited out the vacation we took - and wished I could take back my compliments about what a "great deal" I had just gotten! Remember this . . . when a selfish, greedy man "gives" you something, he has every intention to more than double or triple what he invested. At least that is my story - and my savings (or lack thereof) is sticking to it! In the end - you feel like a fool for complimenting the generosity of your host. You look at what was provided - and you think that it is wonderful. But the cost in the end - oh the cost in the end - makes you feel like a complete idiot for ever accepting his invitation. You kick yourself for ever getting involved. There are plenty of evil-eyed men out there in the world. They have their plans and their purpose for their pseudo-generosity. But remember that we've been warned by a wise God - and a wise man who walked with God - that there are subversive plans in this pseudo-generosity. The plans of these heartless givers are laid out like a trap for the unwary and the unsuspecting to step into. They want to catch your eye with their delicacies - and keep you from seeing the long-term plan in their ruse of free provision. Believe me when I say that their intention is to make far more than they have given. The truly wise man will see this ahead of time - and avoid even a meal provided by one whose eye is evil - and whose plans are selfish and filled with snares. "All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverted in them. "They are all straightforward to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge. Proverbs 8:8-9
Ah yes, that sticky doctrine of infallibility of Scripture rises again with a statement made by Wisdom. God is speaking in this passage as wisdom is personified. God is calling out to men and women everywhere to listen and to open their hearts to receive the wisdom that God wants to grant to them. Wisdom is awaiting them at home, in the workplace, in the market, where the two roads diverge in the wood (with thanks to Robert Frost). But the question should rightly be asked, "Can we trust what Wisdom says to us in all these situations?" ALL the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness! Well there is an answer for us. Wisdom cannot lie to us - cannot mislead us - will not deceive us! Every utterance - every word from the mouth of God given in wisdom is righteous (that means they are all in a state of being RIGHT!). What is even better is that we next read, "There is nothing crooked or perverted in them." Crooked here means to twist something - and it speaks of those who are shrewd and cunning - those who are devious and who wrestle the truth in a direction that is to their liking. God does not work like this. Holiness means that God's motives are utterly transparent. He may speak things in a mystery - but He never speaks things with devious or cunning intent. What drives Him is His love - and His passion for righteousness and for His own glory. Perverted here is the Hebrew word "iqqesh" which means something crooked and perverse. It describes one with a deceitful, perverse, and evil heart. The person like this perverts morals, social graces, even religious things for underhanded purposes. Once again - God knows nothing of this kind of mindset or motive. We read further of His heart in verse 9. All God's utterances - His Word - are straightforward. In the vernacular of our day - God shoots straight with us. The idea behind this word is honesty. It also has with it the idea of someone who is incapable of being perverted or being partial in their judgment. Something we all need to grasp is that ultimately God is worthy of all glory - therefore - what He does is ultimately to display His own glory. What we don't grasp is that God is not being in any way conceited by doing this. To be conceited, God would have to be gaining or seeking glory that is not rightfully His. The truth is - all glory is rightfully His - all the time - in every situation - and from every person that has ever lived or ever will live - period! Therefore God speaks the truth - and He does so with absolute honesty - and with a view to the absolute best at all times. Now there is something that would be nice to have. Someone Who will never be partial to anything but the very best. Someone Who knows what needs to happen, what needs to be said, what needs to be addressed - and does so every single time with wisdom, with tact, and with razor sharp accuracy. But we need to note that this ability to see God in this way is for those who "understand." There is a discernment that takes us beyond fleshly, earthly wisdom that is necessary for men to understand the straightforwardness of God at all times. You see all the time in liberal circles men and women who don't understand - and who accuse God of the most horrific sins and the most terrible motives. The fact is that they DON'T udnerstand and are blind the true nature of God. This understanding comes from the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds. Without Him and without God's gracious work in us - we will never understand. Our minds and hearts are perverted and twisted by sin. It is only when God's grace is manifest to us that we are transformed - and that our sinful tendencies are no longer dominant in our thinking. God is offering wisdom to us every day - in a myriad of situations where we need it. The truly wise man is the one who submits himself to God - and learns to listen at the crossroads as God instructs him in how to live and how to walk. May we be such men and women - and may we be blessed by the wonderful straightfoward words of God! Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him. 5 Answer a fool as his folly deserves, That he not be wise in his own eyes. Proverbs 26:4-5
This particular verse and the next one have caused a stir among some who would like to think the Bible contradicts itself here. As usual though, when you actually study the text (rather than knee-jerk react to it) you will find no contradiction. You will find wisdom in dealing with fools - even those who have knee-jerk reactions hoping to discredit the Scriptures! The wisdom given here in verse 4 is that we are not to answer a fool according to his folly because when we do so, we become just like the fool. The fool would ask whether the infinite God can create a rock bigger than he can pick up. If we answer him according to his folly, we will become like him. The unwise man will answer, "No," to this question. He thus falls into the trap set by the fool, who then jumps on the answer saying that then God is not infinite - because God cannot make the rock. The problem with this question is that it is foolish in its very presupposition. If God is infinite (which He is according to His self-revelation in Scripture) then by this very definition He is without limits in every way. The question presupposes God is either less than infinite in power to make the rock - or less than infinite in power to pick up the rock He makes. If God is infinite - any language that presupposes anything but infinite power and ability is by its very nature foolish. Don't answer the fool according to his folly - for in doing so you will become like him. You will make the same foolish presupposition that God can in any way be limited. You answered the fool within the scope of his foolish thinking. When a fool speaks this way - he proves he is a fool. These kind of questions do not seek knowledge or answer - they seek an opportunity to pounce on anyone who answers them. Therefore to answer them at all is to place yourself on the level of the fool - to make yourself just like him - a fool. Jesus spoke of not casting our pearls before swine - because they will trample them and then turn on us. To answer a fool in his folly is to cast pearls before swine. There are times when Christians need to remain silent. Our lives and our faith should speak for us. Our wisdom at times is better revealed by saying nothing than it is by wanting to have an answer for everything. But there are times to answer a fool according to his folly. A better way to state this for our understanding is that we are to answer a fool as his folly deserves. So let's take a look also at verse 5 today - because it offers wisdom from the other way we need to deal with fools. Answer a fool as his folly deserves, that he not be wise in his own eyes. When we answer fools it often does not need to be as they have questioned us. We don't need to get into the slop with them in their statements. But often we need to answer not their questions, but their spirit and their intent. Oh, how we need to watch Jesus on this one (actually we should watch Him all the time - but on this one He offers such great interactions with fools). When I read the gospels I am always fascinated that Jesus answers some people's questions - and others He does not. He offers answers to his disciples when they question Him about certain things - but when he is asked questions by the foolish Pharisees and Saducees - He often answers their questions with questions - or with statements that reveal their heart. Here is how to answer a fool as his folly deserves. When Jesus asks a question to answer a question - He puts the responsibility to answer back into the court of the fool. Almost every time He did this - it revealed the wicked, foolish heart of the questioner. He answered as they deserved - and answered in such a way as to reveal the motives and heart of the one who wanted to trap Him. Here is true wisdom dear saints. He took the time to see past words to the intent of their heart. We err when we think our purpose is to simply answer the words of those who questioin us. What we need to do is to answer their heart. But the question naturally arises, "How can we answer the intent of someone's heart? How can we know this?" Let me answer your question with a question. How well do you know the Word of God? How often do you discern what someone says using the Word of God? The reason I ask this question is because Hebrews 4:12-13 says, "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Do you see the highlighted part of this verse? It says that the Word of God can judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. This means when we look at all things (including what a fool says to us) through the lens of God's Word, we will be able to see thoughts and intentions of the heart that are behind the words we hear. You ability to answer fools as they deserve to be answered will rest on your ability to see what they are saying through God's Word - and avoid the traps that your own ego or your own desire to put them in their place afford. Why should a fool be answered? It is because he needs to experience God - and God's wisdom. If your desire to speak, as I said above, is because "you" want to put him in his place - well - then we have two fools speaking to each other. That kind of motivation comes from pride and a misplaced zeal that has little or nothing to do with God's honor and glory. Note in the gospels how many times the words of Jesus left men blown away with the wisdom with which He spoke. His answers left them with a touch of God. Do our answers do as much? You see, this is what we should covet. We should desire that whatever answer God has us give leaves them with a sense of God's wisdom. Amazing isn't it that when we take the time to examine the full intent of God's Word - that seeming contradictions become some of the most wonderful truths. There is a large contingent of fools out there in the world. Our purpose needs to be to walk with God so that whether we are silent or speak - they do not run into us being God's vigilante - but rather they run into God Himself. In the end He will be the One who answers all their questions and statements. But He will do so bringing them to His desired humility for their lives - but also bringing them to Himself - and to His grace that can change their hearts from foolishness to wisdom - from their sinfulness to His righteousness - from being children of wrath to being children of grace. Honestly . . . isn't that what He wants in the end? He's not after some kind of prideful display where He puts them in their place - unless the place of which we speak is His salvation through grace. Every man's way is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts. Proverbs 21:2
Men will rationalize everything and think that their views and choices are right. The Lord tells us that these men consider their way right - in their own eyes. The problem is that our greatest scrutiny is not that of our own eyes - but rather the Lord God who weighs our hearts. God told Samuel, when he was looking at Jesse's sons, not to look at the outside appearance. Jesse was impressed with the size and the look of several of Jesse's sons - yet God was not looking for a well wrapped package - he was interested in the contents - the heart. God's instruction to Samuel that day was that man looks on the outside, but God looks on the heart. The saying goes, "You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." There needs to be another phrase added to this saying. "You can't ever fool God." The Lord weighs what is going on in our hearts. The pharisee may look awfully good standing on the street corner praying out loud - but God sees the pride and selfishness of his heart. The giver may make an offering at the temple which sounds and looks impressive to men - but the widow with her two pennies is the one with the most heart in the matter. Oh, how we need to fundamentally distrust what we think is right in our own eyes. It is too easy to be deceived in this matter. Wait for the Lord - search His Word - know His heart and you will find the true measure of any man and any situation. The Word warns us to wait for God's judgment. We are to wait until God weighs in on all things. He is not affected by greed or injustice - He cannot be bought off with bribes or wrongly influenced by flattery - He cannot be misled or deceived. His statements are true statements - and they arise from One who has absolute omniscience - thus we know He does truly know everything. Wait for God's evauation in the end - when every man will receive His praise from God. Until then - trust what the Scriptures say on all matters for a true picture of His mind and what brings joy to His heart. Search them daily and live according to what you find there. That way you will not be deceived into the false evaluation of your own heart - but you will be looking to the One who is right in His estimation of all things. All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, But the Lord weighs the motives. Proverbs 16:2
Motives . . . everything can look great that a man is doing until someone begins to reveal his motives. I remember the first time the Lord revealed to me the issue of motives. It was like a light went on inside of my spirit. When the light went on, things did not look very pretty. In fact, things looked horrible the first time God decided to show me my motives in something I had done. If all we do is look at the outward acts of a man - most men will look fairly good. But why is this man doing what He does? Is there an ulterior motive behind all the good works that reveals a darker side to things? This is why Solomon says that even though a man's ways are clean in his own sight, the Lord is going to weigh the motives behind his deeds. It is like a man giving millions to a cause - for all the good press it will earn him in the eyes of men. Sure the money will still bless those who receive it, but the heart of the one who gave it is far from sterling. The word "motives" here is the word "ruach." It is plural, so the literal word means spirits. The Lord weighs the spirits involved in whatever acts that we do. The weighing the Lord does involves taking the act or acts and putting them through His "moral evaluation" where not the act itself is tested, but the spirit in which the act was done. It is possible to do the right thing the wrong way or with the wrong spirit. Such heart-searching is a minefield for humans because they are fallen and will usually think whatever they are doing is fine. That is why the verse says that in his own sight a man considers all his own ways clean (a word used to describe the objects used in worship of Jehovah in temple worship). We need God to reach into the deepest recesses of our spirit and reveal what is truly going on there. Then and only then can we know if an action in which we are engaging - a path we are taking - a word we are speaking - is the right or godly one. It takes going to the level of the work of the Holy Spirit to truly understand yourself. Only God Himself can test us to the level of our spirit. Thus, in the end, fellowship with God and walking in the fullness of the Holy Spirit is the only way to ensure that you are walking in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. |
 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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