July 1

Jul 1 - Today from Proverbs 1 we look at verse 23

"If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you."

In this section of the chapter we are dealing with wisdom personified - a literary style used to help us better understand the subject. We define wisdom as understanding life the way God meant it to be. We gain understanding through revelation and application. If the revelation is not applied, the student of life gains no wisdom.
Because we are born with a fallen nature, our view of God and His purposes are distorted and corrupted. Wisdom is corrective. Knowing what must be corrected is not enough. Even knowing how to correct it is not enough. In order for true restoration to take place, there must be application of knowledge. This is Wisdom's task. She calls out a rebuke. In the original Hebrew rebuke means a corrective offer. A loving parent can rebuke a misbehaving child without necessarily being harsh. The degree of the harshness of a rebuke would likely depend on the child's character and the degree of disobedience. God in His wisdom knows what degree of rebuke is needed in given situations. The principle remains to be the focus. The child will not benefit from the parent's rebuke if the child does not heed and apply the corrective intent.
The last half of the proverb is also an observation of life, and a comforting promise. When a child properly responds to a parent's rebuke and grows in character pleasing to the parent, does not the parent feel more confident in giving that child privilege and responsibility? The parent of such a child grows in confidence of the child's abilities and integrity, and can share even greater things with the child knowing the child will seek to do the proper thing with all that is shared. On the other hand, a child that resists correction and continues in rebellious ways will never come to a place of being entrusted with more - especially things that require wisdom and integrity in order to be properly handled.
We are confronted with the rebuke of wisdom regularly. It is only 'natural' because we live in a corrupted world, and we live in constant temptation because self (the old nature), is poised to emerge at every opportunity. The complexity and subtleties of sin are such that we too often fall into the snare and we yield to self. Wisdom rebukes. It might be a painful circumstance. It might be conviction of conscience. It might even be that uncomfortable feeling deep inside when the Word is being shared in the Sunday morning service. Second Timothy teaches that God’s Word is profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (3:16). On any given Sunday morning we may, in the intensity of the moment, know what must be corrected and even know how to correct it. We leave the sanctuary under conviction. We go out and begin to converse with friends about work, about the game yesterday, about anything but the message of conviction. Soon the feeling begins to wane. By time we're in the car driving home, we have convinced ourselves that it wasn't all that urgent and we will do something about it later. By time Monday evening arrives, it's no longer an issue - we're dealing with everyday life again. Whatever issue Wisdom sought to correct in our life has gone uncorrected. Her rebuke was unheeded. Every time this happens, hardness sets in and self becomes stronger. Eventually we begin to wonder why God isn't doing more in our lives, and we become even more distant and complacent. Then . . . well, read the rest of the chapter. We seem to do well enough without heeding the rebuke of Wisdom - until the storms of life hit. But, because we never appropriated the correction Wisdom offered earlier, we are unable to handle the storms and we are too emotionally unbalanced to even hear Wisdom above the noise of the storm. It is a terribly frightening and unpleasant place to be. But, when we properly respond to Wisdom's rebukes and commit ourselves to being restored to God's original purposes for us, then we will know how to weather the storms of life and actually come through them with even greater character.
The next time you are reading your Bible, or listening to His message in church - listen for the rebuke of Wisdom. It is a voice of love. When you hear her voice, do not wait until a more appropriate time to respond. Ask God for grace to respond NOW - or at the first opportunity that presents itself. Look for the opportunity, don't explain it away. It is an effort in character growth, and an investment for the future.