If you have been foolish in exalting yourself Or if you have plotted evil, put your hand on your mouth. For the churning of milk produces butter, And pressing the nose brings forth blood; So the churning of anger produces strife. Proverbs 30:32-33
Pride, anger, and plotting evil are all very foolish endeavors. They may go a while without any kind of retaliating incident, but they are the kind of actions that store up trouble in the end. That is what this proverb proverb wawar us about today. There is no mincing words at the beginning of this proverb. We are told that things like exalting ourselves or plotting evil are "foolish" things to do. In fact this proverb is trying to warn us about the consequences of these actions. This is done in the classic "if/then" fashion that we are used to seeing in the book of Proverbs. Therefore we are being warned that if we engage in pride or plotting evil - bad things are on the horizon for us. The actions we are warned against here are twofold. First we have the sin of exalting ourselves. God values humility - and opposes the proud and those who would exalt themselves in the eyes of others. I knew of an educator who put himself up for awards in the educational system in which he worked. He genuinely thought he was worthy of the honor that these awards offered. The problem was that because he "exalted himself" in this way, he was seen as a joke among his fellow educators. Elsewhere in Proverbs we read that we need to let another praise us - and not our own lips. To speak in praise of self - is to speak foolish words of pride that, according to Scripture, goes before a fall. The second action we are warned against is that of plotting evil against another. We all know of the end of those who do this. Either they are caught in the process and shamed - or - they succeed in their plotting and it only causes them to become further corrupt. Whichever way this goes it is a foolish endeavor that often takes this lives of the ones who give themselves to such overt evil. What God warns against though is that these things in and of themsleves cause a churning of anger that will end in further strife. Two examples are given to reminds us ot this. The first is the churning of butter. When milk is put into a butter churn it is a liquid. But after you spend time churning that butter over and over again - it eventually turns to butter. The second example is that of pressing someones nose. The idea here is that of not just pressing down on a nose - but twisting it violently. This, we are told, will produce blood. Both of these things are undeniable truths. You do these things - and the results are destined to follow. The reason these two examples are given is because God wants us to know that the churning of anger will produce strife. When I first read this I fully understood how the churning of anger in plotting evil would produce strife. Consider someone who churns with their anger inside of them - and they submit themselves to their anger to the point to where they begin actively plotting evil against the one with whom they are angry. The plot unfolds - and the evil is done. The result WILL be strife. The one against whom the plot was carried out will become very angry - and strife between these two will last a very long time. The one I was a little confused about is the practice of someone exalted themselves. How does that produce anger and strife? Then it became clear to me that when someone exalts themselves - others around them resent it. They resent it because it is the natural desire of fallen man to be exalted. So the anger comes when they exalt themsleves - and I react because deep down - I think I should have been exalted. When this happens - I will begin to go out of my way (even subconsciously) to show how the person who exalted themselves does not deserve to be exalted. Another response is to have a resentment against this person because I despise the fact that they have exalted themselves. God promises that these kind of actions are going to produce strife. They will reveal the one guilty of them is a fool - and eventually their lives are going to be surrounded by problems that come from anger being churned up in themselves and others. Jesus promised blessing, not the proud and self-exalting ones, but rather to peacemakers - and to those who humble themselves in the sight of God. The lives that seek peace and the blessing and exalting of others will have far more peace and joy than the fools who only think of themselves.
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Every prudent man acts with knowledge, But a fool displays folly. Proverbs 13:16
There are several words for prudent that are used throughout the book of Proverbs. This one is slightly different than the others, and as such, is well worthy of our attention for the day. The Hebrew word used here is "arum" which means being crafty, shrewd, or sensible. This adjective can have either a positive or a negative connotation to it. Here in this proverb it is taken in a positive way. We learn more about this word in the other places it is used positively. In Proverbs 12:16 the prudent man does not take offense at an insult. Thus we see that the sensibility and shrewdness shown is seen in a man not allowing an insult to be the stimulus for a reaction. How often has a reaction to an insult gotten us into trouble? We are insulted by something someone says - and we react. The insult itself is not our problem - but too often our reaction to it exacerbates the problem greatly. The insult, if left alone, would not have caused us more than a few moments of uncomfortableness. But when we react, saying something back, suddenly the problem is ours. If things escalate further there could be a very real problem develop that could take months if not years to solve. The prudent man also does not flaunt his knowledge before others (Proverbs 12:23). The wise man understands that a "know-it-all" is often ignored - and even at times resented. He reserves sharing his knowledge for situations when he either is asked, or for times when wisdom is badly needed in a situation. The prudent man also takes careful thought of his ways (Proverbs 14:8). He realizes that his actions have consequences, therefore is careful about what he does and says. He takes care how he lives for he knows that wisdom will help him have a much more profitable and pleasant life. Twice in Proverbs (22:3; 27:12) the wise man avoids danger. He knows that stepping into dangerous situations when he does not have to will raise the risk of injury and damage not just to his physical well-being, but also his spiritual and mental well-being as well. The fool is said to display folly. He does not think before he acts - does not consider his words or his lifestyle. He is quick to do whatever enters his thoughts - and acts without seriously thinking about consequences. Therefore his life is more of a display than a thought out series of actions. What he displays therefore is his lack of thinking - his lack of foresight - his lack of wisdom. He displays foolishness, stupidity, and a lack of a heart for God. There is a saying that goes like this, "Look before you leap." What that saying communicates is that we should not just look at what is before us as we consider leaping - but it communicates thinking about what you are about to do. This is what the prudent man does and yet, he does far more. He actually thinks and reasons according to what God says in His Word. After taking the time to think - to consider - to be sensible in what he is about to do - he then considers as well whether this action is according to the Word of God. This is what allows him to act with knowledge - even displaying knowledge in the choices he makes - rather than just showing everyone that he is a fool. The wise will inherit honor, But fools display dishonor. Proverbs 3:35
Proverbs is all about the difference between the wise man and the fool. It is one of the major themes throughout this book. Therefore it should not be too suprising to see at the close of chapter three that we have a comparison between the wise and the foolish. The comparison that we see shown to us is what these two are receiving for their choices. The wise man receives honor - while the fool gets dishonor. What is most interesting though is how these two ends are described for us. The wise man is said to "inherit" honor. The Hebrew word "nahal" which is used here means to take property as a permanent possession. This was the word that was used to describe how Israel was to receive the promised land. The whole idea of inheritance also brings into focus that there is going to have to be a death for us to receive what God gives us. This points us to the sacrifices that were made when the Mosaic covenant was established. There was no covenant without blood - and without death. But for us the death is not ours - but the death of the sacrifice made on our behalf. Throughout the Old Testament that was the death and sacrifice of the animals upon which they had laid their hands and confessed their sin. But this was just a picture of what was to come. It was a picture of Jesus Christ who would take sin upon Himself and pay the full price for it. As a result, we would be able to inherit salvation - and honor from God. Truly, as the passage says, the WISE will inherit this honor. This reminds us that the ultimate wisdom from God, as stated in 1 Corinthians 1:21-24 is Jesus Christ as Him crucified. "For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." The wise turn to Jesus - who is the wisdom of God unto us - as well as our righteousness and our redemption. The fool though is said to "display" dishonor. Here is a wonderful illustration of not just truth - but even of salvation and how we can know that we are saved. The wise inherits honor, but the fool displays his dishonor. Here we have a picture of the fool. Since he has no wisdom by which he can be honored in God's sight - all he has left is to live out his days displaying the dishonorable way that he lives. He shows forth what is in his heart - which is sin and dishonor. He has no work of grace going on inside of him - which is part and parcel of why he lives the way that he does. The lack of grace - the lack of salvation - the lack of wisdom - all will be disaplyed daily in a lifestyle that greives God. Dishonor will be given to God in how he lives because he is lost. So what we see throughout his life is not grace working to show honor - but foolishness and sin revealing dishonor. What do people see in us? What are we revealing or displaying to the world around us. If we were burnt in a fire - we would display the effects of the fire in our bodies for the rest of our lives. If we worked out 3 hours a day - there would be a display in our muscles of the fact that we have done this. What we see in the physical is also true in the spiritual realm as well. When we live by God's wisdom - or better said IF we live by God's wisdom - it WILL be seen in our lives. We will display an honorable life. If we are NOT displaying an honorable life, we should not lie and tell people we are living by His wisdom. IF we are being a fool - and living by the principles of the world - we will display dishonor in our lifestyle. If we are living in a way that dishonors the Lord - it is proof that we are living by foolish principles. There are many who ask the question, "How can I know that I am saved?" They may ask, "How can I know that I am doing God's will?" They want some kind of definitive thing that they can do once and say they know that they are saved. Yet God's Word tells us in a myriad of ways that the proof is in the lifestyle. This does not mean that we are saved by works - because God's Word is clear that it is only by grace we are saved. But . . . if there are no works - no change - no godliness - no living for God's glory and honor . . . we can honestly say that there is probably no salvation. If there is a continued lifestyle that displays dishonor to God - and dishonor towards His Word - dishonor when it comes to a righteous life - then we can know that we are living as a fool - and honestly - we don't know God through the grace He has given us in Jesus Christ. Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. Proverbs 26:12
There is a great deal of difference between a positive self-image and an arrogant one. Today's world places too much emphasis on this - to the point where we have men and women who do not have an adequate amount of self-deprecation in their personalities. We've raised a generation that feels better about itself more than any other - but this has not led to good things. Instead it has led to one of the most arrogant and foolish generations in American history. When a man is "wise in his own eyes," he is conceited and arrogant. A man wise in his own eyes thinks he is a genius when he is not. He considers himself far too brilliant in his own estimation, which leads him to think far too highly of his own thoughts, ideas, and opinions. A wise man is one who learns to see things from God's perspective - not from his own fallen one. Since the fall of man into sin - and the ongoing choice in every generation to seemingly plumb new depths of that fall - wisdom is something that comes only as we learn to question our own fallen assumptions and turn to God and His Word for true wisdom. The more we do this, the wiser we become. But the opposite it true as well. The less we turn to God and choose instead to trust our own natural, fallen assumptions, the more foolish we become. The man wise in his own eyes is fixed on himself and his own views and opinions. To turn him from them is not an easy task - some consider it almost impossible. He sees himself as the end-all, be-all of wisdom and understanding - and will argue with others about it until he is blue in the face. Considering all that God has to say about the fool - it is pretty amazing that God holds out more hope for the fool than for this man. The admonition of Scripture on this is clear. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and turn from evil. That is the counsel that God offers to us when it comes to the how we view ourselves and our own wisdom in life. To do otherwise is to mire ourselves in a pit of self-centered, foolish, and self-indulgent thought. The end of which is to so bury us under the weight of our own stupidity and selfishness that we cannot dig ourselves out. The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; He who would destroy himself does it. Proverbs 6:32
This passage deals with the stupidity of committing adultery, plain and simple. Several years ago Randy Alcorn wrote a book called, "The Purity Principle." In it I felt that Alcorn made a statement that is one for the ages. "Purity is always smart, impurity is always stupid." That is what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us today in Proverbs. "The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense." This is a very genteel way of saying what Alcorn said. We could restate his principle by saying that faithfulness in marriage is always good, adultery is always stupid. The actual words used here are the ones that are used often in Proverbs. The one who commits adultery with a woman lacks heart. We are being told that adultery shows that we have a heart problem more than anything else. We've allowed our hearts to be captured by lust and sexual immorality rather than by God. While reading a series of purity prayers I've run into the statement again and again where the puritans asked God to capture their heart so that they would not be satisfied by trifling affections. The heart can be captured in this way - and given to things that are so far less than what God wants to give us. The truth is what He wants to give us in Himself. We settle for so much less and so less fulfilling things than Him. And that is what the fool has done - he has settled for adultery rather than finding in God and in His provision of his wife true fulfillment. We are also warned in this passage that, ". . . he who would destroy himself does it." The literal Hebrew says that the destruction is in this man's soul. He finds his mind strangely drawn and lied to by the enticements of the adulterous woman. He finds his emotions stimulated by a false love and false promises of intimacy and pleasure. As he foolishly begins to embrace these thoughts and these concepts he also begins to lose the war within his will to continue in God's ways and in God's path. Soon he gives in to the onslaught that is coming toward his soul. He no longer lives out of his spirit - where the Spirit of God would give him strength to resist and overcome temptation - but instead allows himself to be taken over by his body and its lusts. As he does this He submits himself to the adultery - and in so doing he "destroys" himself in the process and the sinful choice. Destroy here is the Hebrew word, "sahat" and it means to spoil, ruin, destroy, pervert, or corrupt. When you look at these ways of translating this word they all fit this passage - and all take place as this man acts foolishly by committing adultery. For the next several days we will look at the terrible consequences and the wise warnings that God gives us in this area. Remember that this entire conversation is one that takes place between a man and his sons. How wise we would be to have this kind of conversation with our sons as they get older and begin to face the temptations of this present world. How wise we would be to also have these kinds of conversations with our adult sons who are married, as well as with our brothers in Christ with whom we share fellowship in God's church. Since these things are written about so many times in Proverbs - it is a reminder that the wise also warn one another with the very warnings given to us by God. How blessed is the man who fears always, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. Proverbs 28:14
This particular proverb is based on the previous verse. That verse deals with those who conceal versus those who confess and forsake their sin. This verse is a reminder to us about another comparison. This one is those who fear God versus those who harden their heart. That is what happens when we become aware of sin in our lives. We have a choice at that point as to whether we are going to fear God and deal with our sin - or - whether we are going to harden our hearts and think that sin is not that big of an issue. Some even deny that sin exists and in so doing, put another crusty layer of hardness from ungodly philosophies over their heart. When we become aware of sin we should fear God. We should fear God because He is holy and sin will break our fellowship with Him. As a holy God, we should also fear because His great love for us will respond with discipline in our lives to get us to turn from sin. Anyone who is even remotely familiar with the passages in the Old and New Testament where God responds to sin, should know that good things are NOT going to happen when we choose sin. Even worse things are in store if we not only choose sin - but them add to our sin by rejecting the conviction of the Holy Spirit when He seeks to alert us to our rebellion against God's Word. Just naming names and places should remind us of this. Sodom and Gommorah, Pharaoh, the Egyptian army at the Red Sea, Dathan and Abiram, Achan, Nadab and Abihu, David and Bathsheba, and Annanias and Saphira are names and places that should immediately make us aware that God takes sin seriously. Then there is that whole "judgement seat of Christ" thing, as well as the "lake of fire" in the book of Revelation that should remind us that God is anything but "pro-sin" in His dealings with mankind. Therefore we grasp and see that there would be a blessing on the man who "fears always," when it comes to sin. This does not mean that this man is cowering 24 hours a day thinking God will strike him dead at any moment. But it does mean that this man has a healthy fear of God that assists him in making godly choices - and steering clear of ungodly ones. When sin comes to us, we do have a second choice. That choice is to "harden our heart" toward God. The wise man receives the conviction of the Holy Spirit. He embraces what God has to say to him, knowing that God loves him - and sin will be harmful. But the fool stiffens when God offers rebuke and correction. The fool doesn't want to listen - and he doesn't want any other authority than himself in his life. He completely rejects any warning that is given. He wonders what an ancient document has to do with him. Why should he restrict his desires and wants due to what the Bible has to say. Thus he hardens his heart against God and against God's Word (think here whatever God has to say about an issue. The problem with a hardened heart toward God is that its rejection of God's Word puts him in the path of calamity. That is what we read here. God made this world - and it works best when we submit to Him. When we do not - problems are on our horizon. What I am about to say you can take to the bank. You cannot reject God's Word without causing yourself harm. There are going to be consequences for disobedience and rebellion. There are going to be consequences for following your own lusts. There are going to be consequences for choosing your own way or the ways of the world system rather than choosing God's ways. The best way to describe these consequences is with the word "calamity." This word is the Hebrew word "raah" and it means something evil or bad. Zhodiates says that this word has ten or more shades of meaning about evil according to the context where it is used. It describes absolute evil as well as various aspects of bad things that happen in our lives. One thing though about this word is that it never means something good. Thus we may not physically die immediately after rejecting God's Word and hardening our hearts toward Him - but - you can know that nothing good is going to come of it. We have a choice day by day as to how we are going to live. Will we respect our own thinking and ways or the ways of God? Will be fear God and choose to honor and obey Him and His Word - or will will consider our own finite minds more than adequate to guide us through life? In the end, the choice that we make will yield very clear consequences. Thus we need to know as we make these daily choices that every one of them will come with either a reward or a recompense. May we be wise and choose the right way - the way of fearing the Lord - and the way of turning from sin rather than turning to it. The Life and Times of the Drunken Fool, part 5 - From the Mouth of Fools . . . Proverbs 23:354/28/2011 "They struck me, but I did not become ill; They beat me, but I did not know it. When shall I awake? I will seek another drink." Proverbs 23:35
The life and times of the drunken fool comes to an end with this last verse. Yet this last verse as much as any of the others describes perfectly what alcohol can do to someone. It makes them a fool. The problem is that they do not know it - nor do they really care. Their life is spent going from one drunken episode to another - or as we see in today's world - they live from one party to the next. They are unaware of the real damage that is being done to their lives - and even when it is evident it is worn more as a badge of honor than as what it is - the marks left on a fool in the midst of his pursuit of more and more sensuality. When this drunken episode and party is over - his thought when he awakens is the next party, the next time he can drink, the next time he can act the fool. This last verse is the drunken fool speaking to himself. He is remembering some of his most recent party experiences. He remembers that someone hit him - but the inebriated deadening of his senses did not remember it. His thought is that he was not badly injured - or at least not injured enough to be incapacitated. That is the idea behind the word "ill" here. It speaks of being ill enough to be weak or incapcitated. It speaks only of a severe wounding. Since this drunken fool was not so badly injured that he was laid up for days - he doesn't even consider the fact that he was struck. Even worse he repeats this again when he says, "They beat me, but I did not know it." The first statement was a single blow received from someone. This second statement speaks of being beaten with multiple blows. His answer to this is that he did not even know he was being beaten. I've actually met people who were beaten badly - but did not realize it until someone else told them the next day when they were questioned as to why they had bruises on their body. What is truly sad is that they laughed about the situation, finding it funny that they were in a serious fight and didn't even know it. At this point I must also mention another sin of the drunken fool - and that is that some of them beat others. What I refer to is those drunken fools who beat their wives and their children. Some of them do not even remember the pain their inflicted on their loved ones while in the midst of their drunken stupor. The point here is that these fools are so drunk that they do not know what is happening during their beatings. The last statement here is the worst of all. "When shall I awake? I will seek another drink." As the drunken fool falls asleep after his binge - he knows that he will wake up eventually. Does he awaken to seriously consider what he as done - the damage that is in the wake of his indulgent lifestyle? He does not. In fact, most alcoholics will blame everyone else for their choices and the havoc that follows in their wake. Their thought when they awaken is getting another drink. The literal statement here is this, "I will yet again drink." His thoughts are dominated by the next party, the next binge, the next over-indulgence, his next drunk. His life has become his drunkenness - and his desire to drown his miserable life in another bout of partying. I know that some of you who read this may be thinking that I am too hard on the drunken fool. In fact you are pretty offended that I use that term to describe this man or woman. You prefer calling them an alcoholic - referring to their situation as a social disease rather than a series of foolish choices. You almost cringe at the strong statements that have been made in this post. God desires to deliver the drunken fool - and He loves him as He does any other sinner. But God makes it clear here and elsewhere that drunkenness is not funny, neither is it something we should treat lightly. God would not spend seven verses in a book that promotes wisdom unless this lifestyle was a breeding ground for fools. Having been a drunken fool in my past also gives me a pretty clear perspective on this sin. I know first hand the damage that comes from living this way. I also know that since I was in high school and college things have gotten progressively worse. Living in a college town and ministering to college students has made me aware that drunkenness on our campuses is running rampant. We don't even blink any longer - nor do we weep and pray for those who are caught in these lifestyles. We just say that they're kids and that is the way that kids act these days. We shrug our shoulders and walk away. Yet the damage increases every weekend. I know because I often deal with the young men and women who ache from it. Maybe instead of just winking at this - we should begin to fall to our knees and pray that God would so revive His church and restore us. Maybe we should not just complain and vote for dry counties - but also wade into the world of these young men and women who desperately need Jesus Christ in their lives. Maybe we should fight drunkenness with the greatest weapons we have in our arsenal - the gospel of Jesus Christ - and the truth of God's Word. Maybe then we could begin to see a harvest - not of drunken fools - but of redeemed ones who have turned to Jesus Christ and, as a result, have become wise! The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on folly. Proverbs 15:14
Here we have a comparison between the mind and thinking of the intelligent and the mouth of fools. One thinks and comtemplates on things while the other is far more interested in what he will say than what fills his mind. Let's take a few moments then today to see what the intelligent man as well as the fool can offer as far as instruction. Who is this intelligent man? He is the thinker for he wants to discern. He is observing and paying attention to what is before him, what is said to him, and what he sees in others. He considers things diligently because in the end he desires the knowledge that only God can give him. We read here that he is seeking knowledge. "Daath" which is the Hebrew word for knowledge here means that he seeks to have knowledge by experience, relationship, and encounter. He is not content with a knowing that is in his head alone. That is why this particular statement is interesting to me. It is the mind of this man that wants knowledge. In other words, even though he is a thinker, thinking is not all that he wants to do. He wants a thinking that results in action. Some refer to "daath" kind of knowledge as a path or a way that one walks - thus a lifestyle. So our thinker is contemplating and discerning a way to walk out his life. The fool here is living for a much more sensuous journey. We know this because he is not contemplating or thinking - but merely feeding on something. The word "feeding" means to graze in a pasture. The fool is not using his mind - he is using his mouth. He is spending his time grazing on folly. Since folly (ivoleth) means to be one who hates wisdom and who chooses instead to walk in folly - we see here a man who despises the wisdom and knowledge that God offers. This word also has a sense in which it also hates the morality that comes from a contemplated life. He doesn't want to think - he just wants to graze on the contemporary philsophies of the day. He is content to just feed on what is fed to him by the world system. Two paths are taken here - one toward disernment and knowledge - the other toward folly and whatever the world is slopping on his mental plate. One thinks and considers his path - wanting to experience all that God has for him. The other is hardly interested in God - unless the common talk is of him, her, or whatever mankind decides is god for the season. One lifts his head and stops to discern and deeply consider his path - his very lifestyle. The other pretty much takes the lifestyle that the world dishes out to him daily. In the end one lives a life of purpose while the other is driven by the spirit of the age. Consider well reader - for if you live only to consume what the world offers, a fool you will be. If you think well and often about where you walk and what you do, a rich reward of wisdom will be yours - and that from God Himself. "For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them. Proverbs 1:32
Never will you understand the necessity of a negative message, a message of warning - than you will when you see the latter end of someone who ignores then when they are given. That is the case here as we look at this next to last verse of chapter one of Proverbs. This verse lets us know that the unwise moral and spiritual choices of the fool cost him dearly at the end of his life. Actually, here we learn that these choices may be what ends his life. The first thing of which we are warned here is imitating the "waywardness" of the naive. To be wayward is to be one who turns away from God and His Word. The Hebrew word here is "mesubah" and it means to turn away, to be apostate, or to backslide. What it refers to is someone who is constantly fluctuating or vacillating in their views. This describes the ones who turn away from the Word. Their "open-mindedness" that describes their naive thinking will constantly change and morph as society itself does. In time, they will have one view - but change to another. This accurately describes the reason that the morals of society seem to constantly be in flux. But the part of this that is frighening is that we read here that it is these very tendencies that will kill them. Their naivete is that they can order their own lives and have no real consequences from such choices. The truth though is that by turning away from the Lord, they will face judgments and severe consequences, the most severe of them being what will happen to them after they die and face the final judgment before God. The second thing we see here is that the complacency of fools will destroy them. Complacency here is the Hebrew word, 'salway" and it speaks of a sense of security and quietness in one's prosperity. There is no anxiety or concern. There is only an excessive easy and prosperity. They take the lack of trouble as a sign that everything is fine and there is no need to even be concerned about eternal matters. The problem for them is that there is very real trouble in their future - but their attitude toward God's Word keeps the from knowing the danger. There is a need for messages that warn and correct us. If we could guarantee that we would life perfect lives that never need correction, we could blow off these kind of things. But the fact of the Biblical worldview is that we are fallen, sinful people who are prone to rebellion and disobedience. This necessitates that we have to be warned of the consequences of unbiblical choices. We need to be reminded that there are very real, very negative results that come with walking apart from God's revealed will in His Word. Hopefully, such warnings will turn us away from ungodly choices and lifestyles. Hopefully we will hear such things and not trust in ourselves - but in God who guides us into paths of righteousness and blessing. "Whoever is naive, let him turn in here," And to him who lacks understanding she says, "Stolen water is sweet; And bread eaten in secret is pleasant." Proverbs 9:16-17
Up to this point we have only had limited information upon which to examine Folly's call to us. We have had to use our understanding and insight to see that such a call is detrimental to us. But when we come to verse 16 of this passage we no longer have the slightest doubt that the call to foolishness is a call to wicked, sinful choices and to a life embracing deception and lies. "Stolen water is sweet." This is the statement that Folly offers to us. This is her advice to those seeking to make their paths straight in life. This phrase is actually saying to us that stolen water is sweeter than water that you have by normal legal means. We are being told that there is something about immoral, illegal behavior that makes the water taste just better than it normally does. The quest of stealing it adds something - maybe a sense of adventure and risk - that just drinking your own water does not provide. There is a biblical allusion here that Keil and Delitzsch offer that is fascinating to me. A passage in Proverbs chapter 5 is mentioned where we are told to "Drink water from your own cistern and fresh water from your own well." (Proverbs 5:15). What is counselled here is that drinking stolen water or water that is NOT from your own spring or well - is compared to adultery. If that is the case here in Proverbs chapter 9, then this passage explodes with meaning - and warning. Folly will encourge you to drink sexually from a fountain other than that of your own marriage. Adultery and fornication are being encouraged. Steal a drink from your neighbor's marriage - or from an unmarried woman's life - that kind of sex is far more sweet than being faithful to your own marriage. This is wicked counsel of the worst order! Whether or not this refers to stealing water - or adultery and fornication - either way, Folly is out to destroy us. The second thing she says to us is that ". . . bread eaten in secret is pleasant." Here again Follly is saying to us that we need to be deceptive. Simply eating bread with family or friends is not enough. We need to be eating bread in secret - which intimates that we are doing something that necessitates hiding from others. Anyone with an eating or drinking problem will tell you that when you begin to hide your eating or drinking from others and do it secretly - you've got a serious problem. When I sneak a cookie - or buy some kind of food I know I shouldn't be eating - it is amazing how often I eat this food away from the sight of family - who lovingly would warn me that eating that way is not the healthiest choice for me. The sad thing is that Folly is lying to us. She is saying to us that even the water and the food taste different when we sin in eating and drinking it. Normal living, holy living - is a drag - and only people who are boring live that way all the time. Live on the edge - do something out of the ordinary - live for yourself a little. These are the messages of the fool - and they are heard and heeded by other fools. Amazingly - the truth is that God sees you even when you drink your stolen water - when you commit adultery in secret - or when you eat your bread hidden from the sight of others. God sees - and He will eventually expose you and show your folly. It is far better to live in open obedience - than to listen to lies that secret sin is better. This, though, is something about which we must absolutely warn our children. These lies WILL come to them and it would be much to their benefit to be able to recognize them as lies when they arrive. A wise father will take these things to heart and will take the time to faithfully teach his children to avoid them. |
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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