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There is a kind of man who curses his father And does not bless his mother. There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, Yet is not washed from his filthiness. There is a kind—oh how lofty are his eyes! And his eyelids are raised in arrogance. There is a kind of man whose teeth are like swords And his jaw teeth like knives, To devour the afflicted from the earth And the needy from among men. Proverbs 30:11-14
Today's proverb is a four verse description of the hateful, wicked man. The way this passage refers to this is with the phrase, "There is a kind." The word "kind" is actually the Hebrew word for generation. When you have a generation of people who are like this - you have a very difficult time coming upon the earth. It is an interesting list of things that make for a wicked generation. Verse 11 describes the first godless characteristic - which is having graceless, ungrateful children who dishonor their parents. This generation curses their fathers and does not bless their mothers. They disobey the one commandment with a promise - Honor your father and mother. The bedrock of any generation is their ability to learn from their parents. When the family goes awry there will be a basic disfunction and rebellion that will pervade the entire structure of the society. The basic unit for passing on wisdom is the family. Proverbs makes it clear again and again in the first 9 chapters of this book that it is through a father and mother that wisdom flows to the next generation. So, when they have basic disdain for their parents that wisdom is lost to an entire generation. We watched this in the late 1950's and 60's as almost an entire generation cast off the morals and the wisdom of their parents and decided to start their own revolution. They decided that their's would be a generation of love and peace. They tuned out on drugs, turned their ears from hearing and honoring their parents, and did whatever they wanted. It was a disastrous generation - and those who embraced this kind of lifestyle and living continue to wreak havoc on society today. The second godless characteristic of this generation is that they are pure in their own eyes. The Bible considered this particular sin one that is very damaging. Those who consider themselves pure in their own eyes are blind to the truth that they are fallen and sinful. They will justify themselves no matter who disgusting and disobedient their behavior becomes. It is as if they are deaf to anything God says - and decide that whatever their flesh wants is true and good. Those who fall into this trap will find themselves hopelessly bound in their sin and wickedness - and will only be delivered by the sovereign goodness of God as He draws them and illumines them to truth that is outside of themselves. The Word tells us that even though they are pure in their own eyes, they are still unwashed from their filthiness. Just because we decide we are going to redefine sin in our own minds does not mean that we are not guilty of it in God's sight. No matter how many times the world tries to redefine sin, God's Word stands as ultimate and absolute truth. When the wicked disobey God's Word - and decide that their own thinking is what defines pure - they still wind up standing before God as sinners. But the world in which they live is upside down - and as such it is a difficult place for believers and those who desire to lead holy lives to live. The third evil characteristic is that they are arrogant. This is described as having "lofty" eyes. This simply means that they look down upon everyone else. They consider themselves awesome and wonderful, while everyone else is lower than them. This makes them arrogant. Arrogance is defined in the Bible as primarily a sin agaisnt God. Psalm 119:21 speaks of the arrogant as those who wander from God's commandments. They ignore and look down upon God Himself - and therefore think far higher of themselves and what they want to do than they do of the commandments of God. Proverbs says this makes them embrace sin and be careless (Prov 14:16) as well as those who stir up strife (Prov 28:25). An arrogant heart ultimately disregards God. Such a generation will exalt their own thinking and reasoning above God's. If anyone tries to instruct them or correct them - up will go their eyes and eyelids as they look down on the poor fool who has decided to oppose their perfect wisdom. Problem is the fool is the one whose eyelids are lifted in arrogance against God and against those who walk in His wisdom. Disregard for parents, purity in our own eyes, and arrogance will lead to a society where gentility is gone. The last of these four evil characteristics is that this generation is one where their mouths are out of control. Their teeth are like swords - their jaw teeth are like knives - to devour the needy and afflicted among men. They have no regard for the poor and needy. They only see them as someone to exploit for their own ends. There is a complete lack of civility because there was never other characteristics built into their lives to encourage it. They do not regard parents - who would have taught them obedience and selflessness. They do not see anything as sin - because they justify their own actions - and would even justify treating the afflicted and needy badly. Finally, they are arrogant - and view all others as beneath themselves. This makes it far easier to have little or no conscience at all as long as they get what they want in the end. There is a generation that lives this way. Before you think I am going to refer to a specific generation - think about what the Bible says about the heart condition of mankind. This is actually what happens in every generation of men. It happens because of the fall of man into sin. It happens because we are in rebellion against God - and want to do our own thing. The generation of which Solomon speaks is any generation from the fall to the end of the age. Unless God intervenes with the gospel and the saving of mankind by His grace - we would all eventually gravitate in these four directions. These verses teach us wisdom by helping us to understand where the sinful nature and the flesh will take us. If anything these verses should make us very open to running to God for his grace and His transformation. Because if we don't - this is most likely what life will look like. A world filled with a disregard for parents, filth being called purity, arrogance, and a society filled with harmful and vicious words. This is a generation to be avoided at all costs. But the only way out is through the gospel of Jesus Christ - and the regeneration in Him that changes us from the inside out.
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"For my husband is not at home, He has gone on a long journey; He has taken a bag of money with him, At the full moon he will come home." Proverbs 7:19-20
Once the adulteress has caught the fool in the trap of his own ungodly sexual desires - she then informs him of his soon-to-be-committed adultery. At this point, the man is so entrapped, that he is no longer considering sin - but the ability to not get caught. She says to him that her husband is not at home - but is gone on a long journey. Evidently her marriage means nothing to her. Long gone are the words of her covenant to God - or any real love for her husband. Instead she is interested in her next sexual escapade or conquest. Her words betray her husband - and also betray that she cares nothing for her own spiritual condition, or that of her sexual prey. Her focus is on neither of them getting caught - in this world. In verse 19 she even knows the approximate time he is coming home. Therefore she can sin unfettered until that time. She even uses her treachery to lure the fool in closer. She is utterly blind to the fact that God sees all this - and they are caught - NOW! Think for a moment of David. He thought no one saw him lusting for Bathsheba on his rooftop. He thought that only a few knew of her coming to his chambers - and none of them actually knew if they committed adultery. Then, when she became pregnant, he thought that no one knew of his treachery of bringing Uriah from the midst of a battle to cover his tracks. When that did not work, he thought only a few knew of his plan to kill Uriah - and try to legitimize his adultery by marrying his widow after murdering him with an enemy army. But the fact was David was caught the moment he sinned in his heart. It was along the way that more people knew - and if you understand the nature of gossip - far more knew than he thought. Covering our sin does not work. David said after his sin that he who covers his sins will not prosper. He spoke of how he suffered when he hid his sin - how the work of the Holy Spirit convicting him and sapping his very strength as he tried to keep things hidden was strong. Sin will try to deceive us of its very existance in our lives. It will tell us that we have NOT sinned. It will tell us that we are FINE. But all along the way are lies. The wise man is the one who knows that trying to hide sin is the most foolish act in which a person can engage. God is omniscient and sovereign - that is absolute fact. This means that there is nothing we can hide from Him - even for a second. It also means that all our attempts to maintain our sin are superceded by His sovereignty. Man may plan his steps - but God ordains his way. While that does not mean that God makes us sin - it does mean that His discipline WILL prevail when we do - no matter what we think we are doing to stop it. "Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; Let us delight ourselves with caresses. Proverbs 7:18
As we continue our look at overcoming sexual temptation, we come to the direct statement of the harlot. We need to look at this statement to see the deception and the encouragement of sin in it. She makes the fool an offer of sex - but the way she states it is having his fill of love until the morning. The word she uses for love here is the one that is usually used in the Hebrew for "lover." But what she offers is not love in the truest sense. She offers a fullness of love - at least until the morning. She offers fullness of love - at least until her husband gets home - or she finds someone else to be her sexual dupe. But all the fool hears is that he has a lover for the evening. That is the problem with sexual temptation - it offers an immediate pleasure - but says nothing of the long-term cost. Sexual tempation (and actually any temptation for that matter) always focuses on immediate gratification. Our flesh wants immediate gratification - and calls out for it every day we live. But immediate gratification may leave a wake of incredible destruction. Therefore, the more we allow oursevles to be deceived into thinking there are no consequences for our actions - the more likely we are going to fall for the lies being fed to us. The adulteress says that a night of wonderful love-making awaits us. But let's be perfectly honest about this. That promise is for about 10 to 15 minutes. Drinking our fill of love until morning is a euphamism for little more than 30 minutes of our time. The destruction had in that brief period of time - lasts far longer - and I would submit the pain involved is far worse than the intensity of the pleasure promised. I've walked with people through divorce proceedings that last months. I've walked with men who made this fatal mistake - and even years later they were still paying a price when their wives struggled with trusting them when they were late from work. But sin never talks to us in these terms - sin only speaks of the "now" moment of pleasure. Wisdom considers the moments after - the days after - the months and years after. Delighting oursevles with caresses is another call to live for our flesh, and the adulteress uses it craftily. The word "delight" here is interesting. It means to rejoice in something - finding pleasure in it - and delighting in pleasure by expressing that pleasure above all other things. What is interesting about this word is that the Bible uses it of the pleasure that is found in the sexual relationship in marriage. God actually blesses this delight in pleasure - but He does so with the boundaries of marriage fully in place. We read in multiple places in the Bible that God fully desires for us to experience the joy of married sexual love. God did not give us sexual organs, desires, and the ability to feel pleasure only to forbid it. But He knows that when we do so outside the bounds of a committed marriage relationship, it will turn destructive. Just delighting ourselves with caresses can lead to the idea of multiple sexual partners - which we know leads to sexually transmitted diseases. It leads to a shallow love based on physical attraction and physical pleasure alone. In its more perverted forms - this leads to homosexualtiy - and in its worst forms to things like incest and rape. Living for the physical pleasure of anything alone will lead to a complete abandonment of wisdom. Sins like gluttony, drunkenness, and drug abuse are all ways that we start with a desire for the physical pleasure of something alone. They all end in a bondage to sin that is very difficult to break. The call to sexual temptation is a call to live for our flesh - and for a rejoicing in pleasure alone. It does not think at all beyond the moment - and misses altogether the bondage that awaits in the future. The fool does not think ahead - he only thinks of now. He wants his pleasure now and is deaf to any consequences that await him. The way to defeat sexual temptation is to use something other than your physical organs to make your decisions. It is to use God's Word as wisdom guiding your mind as you encounter various things - various people in life. That way you do not wind up a slave to your senses. Biblically Romans 6 reminds us that in life we are going to be either a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness. Sin will destroy us. The wise man submits himself to God - to His Word - and to a life that promises pleasure and blessing beyond the next 30 minutes. Like a city that is broken into and without walls Is a man who has no control over his spirit. Proverbs 25:28
Self-control is a fierce fruit - yet one that is absolutely essential for the man who desires to be godly. The one who lacks it is definitely in danger. Without it our defenses our down and the likelihood of having our base desires control our lives is high indeed. The wall of a city was essential to it defenses. The wall was a barrier that allowed a city to withstand a far greater opponent with only a few warriors. But when the wall was breached, the cities defenses would themselves be breached. Once this happened, it was not difficult to conquer the city itself. The first picture painted for us by the Lord is that of a city that is broken into. The picture is of a city whose walls have been breached - and a break through of the enemy is happening. This is a dangerous moment because once the enemy is aware of such a breach, all of its might will be concentrated on that point to exploit it in the greatest measure. What begins as a small breach, if not dealt with quickly and decisively, will become a huge gaping hole through which the enemy will pour in a matter of days and hours. This picture is compared to a man who has no control of his spirit. A man's spirit here is his inner fortitude. This is limited in the fallen condition of man, yet is greatly strengthened in salvation and in a continuing relationship with the Holy Spirit. A man who has no control over his spirit is unable to deal with his flesh. His selfish ego is ungoverned and unfortunately tells him what he shall do. The list of sins in Galatians 5:17-21 are a good list of what will come forth from this man. To say that this is not a pretty sight is an understatement. More and more the devil, the world, and his own godless ego will dominate his life. What is sad is that this situation grows over time. It may start as just a small fault early in life - yet when not dealt with decisively and completely it will develop into quite the breach in his defenses. A little temper while young can become a horrendous temper when older. A little deceit and lying can grow into a way of deceit as an adult. Oh, how we need to heed the Scriptures that sin must be dealt with viciously - with every effort and amount of strength needing to be focused on killing the flesh and its desires. As Paul said, "If we by the Spirit put to death the desires of the flesh, we will live." The word used here as "control" is the Hebrew "matsar" which means restraint and control. There are those today who say that we should not seek control or restraint - but allow the Lord to give us victory. Yet the Word says again and again it is both that need to happen. We need to fight passionately against the flesh - while looking to the Lord as the source and strength for the victory. Looking alone will not do - just as striving alone will not either. The second picture is much more grave - for it is the picture of our lives when a lack of self-control is fully matured in our hearts. The city without walls is a sitting duck, just waiting for the first enemy to come and wreak havoc upon it. Here is the man who has cultivated quite the harvest of self-indulgence. His city is without walls at all. Thus when the enemy attacks - there are no defenses. What a foolish strategy this is - yet that is what too many rely upon in life. They think that there is no battle - no fight - no enemy. All will be well - and all willl go perfectly. This is nothing more than an exercise in self-deception, and it is one that will cost the person who holds is everything. We need to take Paul's attitude when it comes to how we fight against sin in our lives. "Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:26-27) We do need to take this attitude toward our bodies and our spirit. If there is no control of our spirit - where whatever influence that comes upon us rules - we are doomed. Instead, we need to work daily to build high walls of the Word and godly living that will help us to repel the enemy when he comes. When we do this, we will find the blessing of a spirit that is cooperative with the Holy Spirit and a life that embraces the godliness laid out for us in the Scriptures. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
Right choices and right paths - how to we make them and how do we stay on them? People always are interested in a study or a piece of wisdom that will help them know and walk in God's will. What we have before us in Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of the best nuggets of wisdom in the entire Word of God dealing with this subject. It begins with trust. We come to the Lord and trust Him with all our heart. The word trust here is the Hebrew word "batach" and it means to trust or be confident. It speaks of someone with whom you feel safe and secure. When you trust someone in this way you are saying you can rely on them. In certain places this word even means to be bold and extremely confident in someone. Note that the one we trust in this way is the Lord. Here is an interesting yet very telling question, "Do you trust God?" Do you have a great confidence in Him? Is there a sense of great safety and security in placing yourself completely at His disposal - and putting your future absolutely in His hands? Do you approach the Scriptures and the things God says with a confidence so great that you boldly walk in whatever He says? That, dear saint, is trust. In order to trust someone in this way - you have to know them. A very godly man once said, "If you truly know God, you will love Him - and if you truly love Him, you will trust Him - and if you love and trust Him, you will obey Him." Knowing and making right choices and decisions continues with distrust. I know this sounds contradictory, but it is true. The one you need to distrust is yourself. Do not lean on your own understanding. Understanding is an interesting thing to examine in the Scriptures. The word itself means the ability to have insight and discernment into things. It is derived from the base Hebrew word "bin" which means "between." Thus the idea here is to be able to distinguish between things. One example is to discern between good and evil. There is definitely a moral component to this word as it means to see the good and embrace it and shun the evil. When we truly have understanding - we will choose God's way. What is more fascinating is that in Proverbs 9:10 we read, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. So if we want understanding - we need to know God as the Holy One. It is when we see Him and look to Him as the One who gives us true understanding as to what is holy and what is not that we gain understanding and can distinguish between what we should trust (trust Him) and what we should not trust (the working of our own minds). Why should we distrust our own understanding? Scripture gives ample reasoning for this. Ephesians 4:17-19 tells us the following: "So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness." Walking in our own mind's eye is to walk in futility - to walk in a darkened understanding. We are ignorant and hardened in heart to God's ways - which results in giving ourselves over to sensuality and impurity. We are fallen, sinful creatures who have left the way of God. We will walk according to the course of this present world - according to the prince of the power of the air (a designation for Satan) and by the spirit that animates the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2). Trust yourself and you are trusting a rebel who does not desire God's ways or paths. That is why we need to distrust our own understanding. Our own understanding will surely lead us astray of God's will. Right choices continue as we acknowledge God in all we do. The word "ways" here refers to our life paths - the very lifestyle choices that we make. This does not refer to isolated choices here and there, but to the entire direction of our lives. In all those life choices we are to acknowledge God. The word for acknowledge is "yada" and it means to know someone. It means not just knowing them as an acquaintence, but knowing them intimately. It is the actual word used for sexual relations between a man and woman. This is considered the height of knowing someone and there is nothing casual about it. So the command here is to know God in all our ways. In all our lifestyle choices we are to know the Lord. This leads to another interesting question for us when it comes to our choices. When we make our life choices - every decision that makes up the direction of our lives - do we know God in the midst of it? Are our decisions made in the context of knowing God? Can we honestly say that our decisions were made as a result of an intimate, close relationship with God? And here may be the ultimate thought . . . Do our decisions help us know Him more intimately - or do they push us away from such an intimate knowing of God? What is the payoff in all this? When we live this way, we have the assurance from God Himself that he will make our paths straight. The path mentioned here is the course of our lives. The word was used to describe the road taken by a traveler - the roads over which the caravans and troops travelled. There is a highway mapped out for our lives when we make our decisions in this way. That way is described as "straight." This is the word "yashar" and it means to be straight - to be smooth and pleasing. The road is a pleasing road because it brings us to our desired destination. There are some who might say, "I know those who chose God's path - and it led to persecution and trouble for them in the name of the Lord. How can you say that He makes our paths pleasing and smooth?" My answer to this person would be to ask if they would consider a road pleasing and smooth if it led to a place where they would be destroyed in the end? Reardless of how marvelous the road and how wonderful the view - they would consider that a cursed road because of where it took them in the end. Yashar does not mean a road pleasing to our flesh, but a straight road. It is a road that is a good road because of where it leads. To walk in God's will - to please Him will bring about a desired end - not a destructive one. The payoff his pleasing God here and now - it is walking in His favor and blessing - it is knowing His presence and peace now and also for all eternity in heaven. Right decisions and right paths - they are what we would all like to make daily. The way to make those right decisions is laid out for us perfectly by the writer of Proverbs. Trust God implicitly and do not trust your own darkened way of thinking and reasoning. Make it your goal in life to know God as intimately and closely as you can in everything you do and say. And as you walk in this way - realize that the destination to which you are being led is the most wonderful, pleasing, and marvelous one possible - even thought the ride there may get a little bumpy every now and then. He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered. Proverbs 28:26
"Just trust your heart," is a phrase that we hear often in our world. Yet this counsel runs absolutely counter to what God tells us in Proverbs - and honestly - everywhere else in Scripture. How could there be such a wide discrepancy between the common wisdom of the world and that which God gives us in the Word? To trust in your own heart is to be confident in it. The word means to feel safe and secure - to feel that you can rely on it in every situation. God calls the man or woman who lives this way a fool. But there is a reason God says this - a good reason. The world in all its philosophies usually does not want to take into account the fall of man into sin and rebellion against God. Those stories of a garden and a tree of good and evil are just that - stories. So they write off the rebellion of man - and choose instead to trust their own rebellious hearts. But the one who does not take into account the fall of man is a fool. He does not realize the corruption of his own heart. It is like trusting a watch that has been set incorrectly. No matter how accurate you think it is - it is fundamentally flawed. So is the man who trusts himself and does not see his sin. The one who walks wisely is promised deliverance. We've seen these words before in Proverbs. Walk speaks of our lifestyle - the way we walk about the world. The walk of this man is according to wisdom - which is "chokmah" and means a wisdom - but one used with skill - meaning a practical wisdom that is lived out in a myriad of decisions every day. The one who walks this way will be delivered. Delivered? From what are we to be delivered? What are we escaping? When we walk wisely according to God's ways - we will be delivered from our sinful ways and tendencies. We are declifered . . . from ourselves and from a fallen world that walks contrary to God's wisdom. Believe it or not, that is the primary trap set for us every day - to turn to ourselves rather than to turn to God. Only the wisdom of God's Word will deliver us from such a fate - such a natural fate that it seems like the height of normalcy to live that way. Yet, to fall into those normal patterns of the flesh - trusting ourselves rather than living in a conscious dependence upon God - well - that is a fate which we all need to be delivered from every day. |
 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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