 Proverbs 29:24 He who is a partner with a thief hates his own life; He hears the oath but tells nothing.
In our law courts we have something called, "being an accessory to a crime." This particular aspect of our law (as many of them do) has its roots in biblical law. The whole idea of being an accessory to a crime has to do with knowing or seeing that someone has committed a crime - and saying nothing about it when called to testify against them. For our courts the one who is with someone while they commit a crime - even if they are not involved - can be brought up on charges of being an accessory to the crime. Charges like this are dropped when the one who has seen the crime testifies against the one who committed it. Some call this ratting someone out or being a snitch. Reality is that they are speaking the truth about someone who has a complete disregard of the law, public safety, and the cohesiveness of the fabric of our society. To be a partner with a thief here means to be one who divides or shares in his actions. Proverbs 1 speaks of ignoring someone when they make an offer like this. The thief says that they will all share in one purse as they steal and kill to take what is not theirs. The same word is used in that passage as it used here. We are warned that someone who will do this with a thief (who will be their watchman to warn them if someone is coming - who is the get-away driver - who turns the other way when they break into someone's home or business) is someone who "hates" their own life. Hate is the Hebrew word "sane" and it means to be hostile to, loathe, or dislike intensely. When we ignore the warnings of God - His commandments - and indeed even those of our society - we do damage to our souls. To be an accessory to a crime means we need to hurt our souls. We begin with our minds. We need to convince ourselves that God's laws and those of our society do not apply to us. We need to ignore the Word of God and its calls to us - as we ignore the Holy Spirit and our conscience. We then move to our emotions. Due to the Work of the Spirit in our consciences, we will begin to have adverse emotions. We will feel guilty (because we are guilty). We will also have to put to death things like mercy, compassion, and kindness in order to act in those ways toward whoever is being robbed. Finally, our will is affected. We set our course direction with our will and our choices. We intentionally chose against God's way - and in agreement with our flesh and the devil (who by the way loves it when we sin). Now we see the damage to our soul - or the way that we disdain the work of God within it. The Bible speaks of hearing an admonition or oath - but saying nothing. This speaks of the Law in Leviticus 5:1 which says, "Now if a person sins after he hears a public adjuration to testify when he is a witness, whether he has seen or otherwise known, if he does not tell it, then he will bear his guilt." There it is plain and simple - the law against withholding information and in so doing helping a thief, murderer, or any kind of criminal who is acting outside of the law. Wisdom tells us that we should speak up on these matters - not to be a snitch or someone who is telling on everyone about everything possible - but rather as someone who desires for a society to hold together on the basis of law. This passage is speaking of clear cut crimes being committed. It also speaks of us being made aware of those crimes - being called to testify - and then choosing to withhold our testimony so as to be in league with the crime and the one who committed it. That is never wise. God's desire - and indeed the healthiest thing we can do for our souls - is to be a friend and ally of the truth. That is the position of wisdom - and of loving our souls, not hating them.
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Proverbs 28:24 He who robs his father or his mother and says, “It is not a transgression,” is the companion of a man who destroys. Proverbs 28:24
At first glance this proverb seems a little severe. Who would rob his father and mother - and then assert that he had not sinned. Yet this proverb is lived out again and again in our cities and towns as children wnat that their parents have - and resort to robbery and even destruction to obtain it. I had the sad priviledge of watching my mother's family almost disintegrate due to a dispute about the inheritance and the dividing of furniture and possessions when the homestead was separated to the children. This is one of the ways that this proverb is seen in our world. A greed for and a sense of entitlement to a parent's wealth will lead children to do horrific things to their parents. Lizzie Borden killed her father and step-mother by hacking them to death with an ax. This unfathomable action took place because Lizzie and her sister feared that their father was about to change his will and keep them from his riches, which they had wrongly assmed were theirs. In this way we see that this kind of greed which seeks to steal what belongs to father and mother is a companion of a man who destroys. The other way I see this passage fulfilled is in our current drug culture. Those who get hooked on drugs will do anything to get them. They will even steal from their parents to get their next fix. Often, when confronted about their behavior, the drug addict will bitterly state that they should get what their parents have - even absolving themselves of responsibility of stealing from them. The booty they take from their parents is then poured down a hole as they buy more drugs and exhaust what they've stolen on another temporary high. Following this sordid path has led to numerous overdoses by these drug enslaved chidlren. Their robbery leads to their destruction. The wise man knows that two of the commandments of God are to honor one's parents as well as not steal. When they ignore these commandments and do as they see fit, they put themselves on a path toward destruction. Sin in David's household led to such a demise for Absalom. Embittered over his sister's rape at the hands of a half brother - he felt he had a right to first kill his brother - then to steal the kingdom from David - then to rape 10 of his father's concubines in front of all Israel. His last act of rebellion was to gather an army which he himself led to find and kill his father. All the robbery of this bitter young man was a companion of what would eventually destroy him. Caught in an oak tree by his own hair - hanging between earth and heaven with his failed attack falling apart all around him - his life ended with a man thrusting a spear through his heart. Oh that we would learn from such horrific cautionary history, and honor our parents. Our parents are not perfect - but they are ones God has given us to teach us ultimately to honor Him. To do otherwise is to put yourself in a direct collision course with the one who will destroy your life. Therefore learn to bless and not curse your parents. If they have failed you in some way or another - learn from the grace God has given you - and love them with affection born of mercy. He who digs a pit will fall into it, And he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him. Proverbs 26:27
This is not a proverb that explains why bad things happen to Wylie Coyote - even though at first glance it might. It is actually about those who plan to do evil to others. Those who set traps to catch others and have bad things happen to them are warned in this proverb that what they do will eventually happen to them. Let's take a look at what this means - and also see an example or two. Those who dig a pit do so to catch someone in it. In biblical times people would dig pits and cover them for the purpose of catching more than just animals who would fall into them. These pits would be dug and covered with camouflage as well as wetted down on the sides so that whoever was caught in them would not have opportunity to escape. Those who caught the person would then either take them captive as a slave - or kill the one who fell into the pit. The reason a stone would be rolled is to be put on a steep hill so that it could then be rolled down to kill or badly injure someone who was coming through the valley. This was a tactic of thieves who wanted to steal what travellers would have as they went through valleys and along roads that were next to hilly or mountainous areas. The idea with a pit or with a stone was to injure or kill someone for evil purposes. God warns that those who do such things will fall into a pit themselves. God also warns that the stone that is rolled with come back on them. This is not a reference to an actual pit or an actual stone rolling on them - but was a warning that God was going to hold them responsible for their wicked actions. A good example of this would be the story of Joseph and his brothers. The brothers threw Joseph into a pit with the original intention of killing him because of their jealous hatred of him. Joseph and his stinking varicolored coat reminded them every day that their father loved him more than them - so why not teach the little runt a lesson. Of course killing your brother is a little intense. In the end they decided just to sell him into lifelong slavery (their sibling rivalry was way more intense that what I remember with my brothers). They covered their tracks by dipping the hated coat in blood and telling their father that a wild animal killed Joseph. But the pit they dug - and the rock they rolled was going to come back on them one day. The first "pit-experience" was when their father almost died from grief. Then there was the famine that came and caused them to have to go to Egypt where they had to ask for food from . . . wait for it . . . their snotty little brother who was now the second ruler of Egypt. What was very good for them was that their brother had far more mercy on them in their pit that they had on him when he was in theirs. They had rolled their stone on him - but he refused to roll his on them. He chose forgiveness rather than revenge. The varied pits that you can fall into are as numerous as the ones you dig for others. It is amazing as I grow older to see all the various pits that people have fallen into after they've dug ones for someone else. It is a fact of life that what goes around comes around. That is the simple, one-sentence way to define this particular proverb. I just hope that we all remember that the next time we grab our shovels and start digging for someone else. Like clouds and wind without rain Is a man who boasts of his gifts falsely. Proverbs 25:14
Have you ever met someone who boasts of incredible abilities to do something, only to find out when you actually need those services that they were inflated beyond their actual size by the imagination of the person's mind? That is what today's proverb deals with. It warns us about the dangers of eggeration - especially when it comes to skils of abilities that we possess (or maybe don't possess). I live in Arkansas - and that means that in the months of July and August there is a lot of excitement when any clouds show up to our west. That is because we are hoping that in those clouds there will be a little known commodity called rain. What is truly discouraging is when the sky grows cloudy - and even sometimes dark - and the result is . . . nothing. There is the promise of rain, but the actual wet stuff itself never falls. The clouds come - the winds come - and nothing else comes with it. Our hopes are raised and we become very excited about the propect of rain, only to see dust stirred up and trees bend in the wind, but the main act, rain, just is not going to show today. This is the metaphor that God uses to describe a man who boasts of skill - who boasts of gift that would help others - only to learn that he is eggagerating and lying of these things. You believe and hope in this man - only to learn that he is full of hot air - and little else. Some folks put their whole hope in such people and are crushed by the truth that their only skill is being able to tell tall tales of their supposed exploits. In the end their promise has as much worth as a 3 dollar bill. It may look good on the outside - even holding promise for being useful - but when you take it to a store, it is worthless. Beware of men who are all talk and little or no action. They will take your for a ride - and then leave you on the curb heart broken. Do not entrust yourself to someone unless they have shown by their words and their actions that they can deliver on what they've promised. The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, And the treacherous is in the place of the upright. Proverbs 21:18
When reading this proverb one gets the idea that the wicked pay the price for the salvation of the righteous - but that is not what the Scriptures are saying here. What is being communicated is that often the wicked pays the price for how they treat the righteous. That cost is usually to have their own evil plans come down upon their own head. The best example of this is found in the book of Esther. Haman is the villian in the book of Esther. It is his evil mind that hatches the idea of getting revenge on Mordecai for his supposed irreverence by destroying not only him, but his entire race. Money is given to the king - a bargain is struck - letters are written - and soon the entire Jewish people are under a death sentence in the future. The rest of the book of Esther shows us God's sovereignty through the hand of His providence working again and again on behalf of His people Israel. In the end, the plot put in place by Haman comes down upon his own head - destroying not just him, but his entire family before the book ends. Throughout history attempt after attempt has been made to destroy the work of God by destroying the people of God. Again and again God has worked wonderfully to deliver His people individually and coporately. Daniel is thrown into a lion's den for his audacity to pray to anyone besides the earthly king - and yet is delivered by the hand of God. Who is destroyed in this plot? The very men who planned and put it into place where thrown into the lion's den and crushed and killed once Daniel was lifted out. Nebuchadnezzar casts the three friends of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego into a firey furnace thinking to kill them in the process for not bowing down and worshipping his idol. Once his dastardly deed is done he is shocked to see the men walking around the fire with the pre-incarnate Christ unharmed - while the brave soldiers who threw them in are killed instantly in their task. Ahab sends 50 men to forcefully bring Elijah to himself - and yet fire falls from heaven and consumes two groups of them as they draw near. These historical accounts happen throughout the Scriptures revealing that the wicked and treacherous become the payment for their own wickedness while the righteous and upright are delivered. It is an unwise thing to try to annihilate the people of God. It is also an unwise thing to attempt to kill His spokesmen, the prophets. Those who try will learn an oft taught lesson that God will deliver His people - and bring the ways of the wicked upon their own heads and even at times on the heads of their children and followers. The truly wise man honors the upright and the righteous - knowing that their defender is strong - and also knowing that He can take any plot and any plan and turn it around so that the destroyer becomes the destroyed. A truthful witness saves lives, But he who utters lies is treacherous. Proverbs 14:25
Here is a proverb that at first glance deals with being truthful or a liar. But as we look at what God is truly saying in this proverb, we see that this goes farther into what we are sharing with others - and whether we are sharing a saving message or a treacherous one that will cost people everything when that day comes upon all the living and the dead. I am going to comment on this proverb from the last phrase first. The one who utters lies is treacherous. There are those who share things that are not truth on a mere earthly level. This is called lying - and the Bible says that we are not to bear false witness to our neighbor. This simply means we are not to lie to others. So on a mere earthly level it is sinful to speak lies to others. It hurts relationships and betrays trust, which is so important to the very bedrock upon which they are built. But there is a greater sin - and that is being one who speaks lies about things that are beyond the earthly. They lie about heaven - about eternity - about God. There are those who do this very blatently. Atheists like Richard Dawkins and his fellow mockers write quite voluminously about their opposition to God, His Word, and His salvation. They offer no honest alternative except a life lived for self as God. Thus they bring a very "treacherous" message. They mocking turns people from the things of God - as their flesh desires - and they put God and His gospel out of their minds. They see this as freeing because they no longer think themselves under His law - no longer bridled by His moral restraints. But truly their message is treacherous - because they still must stand at the judgment seat of the One whom they deny. Like the fool who stands in the street denying the existance of the bus barreling down the road toward them - they will find that denying God's existance does nothing to stop the inevitability of His sure and exactlng judgment. On that day how they will be ashamed at their false and damning beliefs - but that day will be too late. The treachery complete - they will join Dawkins and all his mates in hell where they will be tormented for their foolishness and unbelief. This is not how it has to be though. God speaks a blessing on those who are truthful witnesses. We are told that a truthful witness saves lives. Here is where we see this proverb transcend the physical. True, speaking the truth to someone can save their life physically - as the one who confronts the drug user or alcoholic that there is a horrible demise awaiting them at the end of the road of their lifestyle. But what we are dealing with is a salvation dealing with more than just our physical lives. The truthful witness shares the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ with those who need to hear it. They speak the truth regardless of whether it makes them popular or not. They consider popularity with God infinitely superior to the familiarity of those on earth whose opinion of each other changes as often as the wind changes directions. They know that there is a God and that we must stand before Him on that fateful, yet glorious day. They know that there is nothing that will stand on that day but perfection - the absolute righteousness that God demands when He says, "Therefore be perfect, as God is perfect." (Matthew 5:48) There is no way we can achieve this standing for our righteousness is as filthy rags before the perfect God of this universe. Thus we must turn to His provision - which is the only way and the only hope for us for eternity. He made Him who knew no sin, to become sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:20) This is the answer - and it is the only answer acceptable in that day. The world may hate this, but it is true nevertheless. We have a choice therefore as His children and His ambassadors. Are we going to be treacherous to our friends, neighbors, and associates - or truthful? Do not take this choice lightly - for the difference between obedience and rebellion on this point will often be the difference between others seeing you as a true friend or a treacherous one. It is the difference beteween life and death. Speak the truth saints - whether it is popular or not - whether it is socially acceptable or the word by which you are made a social outcast. There is nothing more important than being a truthful witness who saves lives! Good understanding produces favor, But the way of the treacherous is hard. Proverbs 13:15
Intelligence with insight and discernment is worth its weight in gold and jewels. We see the phrase "good understanding" at the beginning of this proverb today. This phrase means to have an intelligence or good sense. God did not intend for us to be ignorant. The Word of God makes it clear that we are to learn, to be educated, and to gain knowledge. Where the world has made its fatal mistake is to separate their gathering and thirst for knowledge from God and from a life given to know and please Him. The idea behind having good understanding is ones ability to take their intelligence and use it to also manifest good sense and discernment. It is the ability to have more than just knowledge - it is the ability to gain insight from that knowledge. It is taking our knowledge and seeing it as the servant of God. Unfortunately in the past there were some in the church (not necessarily in Christ) who reacted wrongly to those who in foolish education decided that part and parcel of their education was a call to reject God. In their misguided zeal to "protect" God - they began to reject education. In our day there has been such a false separation between God and education that many believe you have to choose one or the other. Such a separation is falacious entirely. What the academic rejects is submitting his knowledge to anything or Anyone - which leads him to many foolish conclusions. What the Christian academic does is submit his study to the Word of God - which, if he will do so consistently, will lead him to even greater discoveries (and by the way - acurate ones as well). Ultimately - and here is where the purely secular academic will howl with disapproval - the goal of life is to experience God's favor and grace. This is wholly unacceptable to the academic who rejects the Bible as ultimate truth. He sees this as a step backwards into stupidity and ignorance. But his rejection of God's favor only produces problems for him - and for those who adopt his worldview based upon purely flesly science and research. The Scriptures here state very clearly that the way of the treacherous is hard. The word treacherous is telling here. It is the Hebrew word "bagad" and it means to be traitorous, to act unfaithfully, to betray. This has at least two applications. First is the one I to which I am currently referring in this discussion of true scholars - who move past mere research to conclusions which ultimately seek the favor of God. The treachery of which they are guilty is a betrayal of their very principles of research and understanding. In cutting off any consideration of the divine - they betray their own conclusions. They demand a world without anything except what their fallen senses can detect. But such a world would be one without meaning or purpose. Thus their very science which seeks to make sense out of the world and its workings - is passionately pursuing of a moot point. There is no meaning - there are no morals - there is no purpose in a world that is based on an amoral starting point. You cannot begin with amorality - and come to a conclusion of any moral reasoning. This is why the way of the treacherous is hard. Rejecting God, rejecting truth, rejecting the biblical worldview - is hard. In the end you are left with a machine that has no purpose nor meaning that crushes the life out of those who are desperately wanting their philosophical nothingless void to whisper that there is something to live for in life. Though they may never admit it in their lifetime - their pursuit of a nothing that means something will laugh at them in the end - showing that their lifetime has been spent tilting at philosophical windmills. Even worse - they will give the philosophical underpinnings that will give rise to the most monstrous of men. Germany rejected God - and rejected truth in the early 20th century in what they thought was a freedom from the mentally constipated constructs of Christian theology which they felt constricted science and philosophical thought. The step-child of their philosophy rose to power amidst the Third Reich - and Hitler arose as the one who would take their atheistic, evolution-driven understanding and put it to a use that would horrify the ages. His actions that sought a super-race - free from the restraints of human kindness and consideration - gave us the genocide of the Jews in his generation. Yet he was only following the treacherous path laid for him by those who asserted that a worldview based on the survival of the fittest. He was only taking their philosophical treachery and drawing conclusions that make sense in that system. In the end the way is hard for the treacherous. There is a second kind of treachery - one that exists in the church itself. It is the treachery of hypocrisy within our hearts. This is where our so-called Bible understanding short-circuits and does not lead us to valid discernment of sin and righteousness. This is where we have a disconnect with the truth. We choose NOT to follow the Word - nor the conclusions that should be drawn from it. We choose NOT to walk in obedience - or to reject an action because the Scriptures clearly show it to be sin. Thus we become treacherous in how we either know the Word or how we should apply it. Once again the conclusion of this matter is that the way of the treacherous one is hard. Sin, regardless of who commits it, is going to be hard. There are going to be stumbling blocks - consequences - and difficulties that will not go away simply because we claim to be Christians. The Word stands - we can either follow it and walk in a way that will be blessed - or go the way of the transgressor, which the Bible also tells us, is hard. The wise man is the one who grasps that God is truly God - and that His Word IS truth. Knowing this he is armed with what I would call "advanced" information about this world. It is information given to us - indeed revealed to us - from an Infinite Intelligence. If we learn to follow it - and know that stepping outside of its philosophical and moral constructs will only bring difficulty - we will be blessed - even favored if you will accept it. But to do so requires us to also accept the Author's worldview of man - that of a fallen one who has rebelled and turned from the right way to follow his own base nature. It requires us to see that the purpose of all things does not find its apex in man - but in God. Unfortunately for many academics - and religious hypocrites - that is the most odious step to take. |
 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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