December 10

Dec 10 – Today from Proverbs 10 we look at verse 27
"The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short."

To fear the Lord means to have a profound awe and respect for Him. Fearfullness is a little different. That would be as if we had lived our lives never respecting Him, dying, and then coming face to face with Him. Because of Jesus, we can look forward with joy in meeting Him as we live in respect for and awe of Him today. But how does that add length to life?
The obvious is that it adds eternal length to life. "Whoever believes in Him (Jesus), shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16). The life of the wicked ends on the day they draw their last breath in time. In their ignorance and total disregard for the value of life, some boast that they ‘would rather party in hell then serve in heaven.’ They have no idea what it will be like to exist in the absence of grace - there will be no parties. Man was created for the express purpose of communing with God in a loving relationship. Although sin cruelly distorted that purpose, it never changed it. I cannot imagine what it would be like to exist in eternity without ever finding any fulfillment, only torment. If we really think about it, we should not wish such an existence on any man. How grateful I am that Jesus found me and restored me.
But, is there also a practical aspect to this proverb? I think so. The fear of the Lord calls for discipline of the flesh (the sensual life). If we were to let our senses have their way, we would rather quickly kill ourselves. In many ways we are. We overeat and stress our hearts as well as our joints. We eat the 'good-tasting' foods and clog our arteries with cholesterol. We enjoy a good uninhibited buzz and drink too much alcohol, slowly destroying our vital organs. We enjoy even more intense buzzes and take drugs that fry our brains. We light nicotine infested weeds and suck the acrid smoke into our lungs, which only serves to cut off valuable oxygen supplies to the body and greatly increases the chance of cancer and heart disease. We engage in casual sexual activities that introduce and proliferate horrific diseases. We fly on adrenaline rushes and take life-threatening risks to get them. We lust for money and the power and the pleasures it can buy and we work when we should be resting or relating. . . and this is only a partial list. How strange this thing called sin, it has the illusion of intensifying life and all the while it is taking life.
To fear the Lord is to become a disciple of the Lord. He created life, and He best knows how to sustain it - even this temporal life in the flesh. Discipline. Moderation. Self control. He gives grace for all who will submit to His offer.
Two children go out trick-or-treating on Halloween. They both come home with a large bag of candy. One child indulges his flesh and has an incredibly intense sugar feast that night and all of the next day. The other child chooses only one or two pieces and enjoys them. On the third day the first child has an empty bag, an upset stomach and some strange emotional symptoms from an overload of sugar in his system. The second child has a bag full of candy and many days to look forward to enjoying it. The analogy breaks down, but it makes a point. Discipline and moderation will add length of days. Uncontrolled indulgence will cut days short. Finding grace to moderate and discipline is a benefit of fearing God.

December 9

Dec 9 – Today from Proverbs 9 we reflect on wisdom

Here we observe the use of the literary technique of personification while looking at the concepts of wisdom and folly. Both call out the same invitation to the same audience; in verse 4 it's wisdom, and in verse 16 it's folly; "Let all who are simple come in here!" she says to those who lack judgement.
But as you read on, you begin to see that their motives differ. Wisdom desires to instruct. Verse 9; "Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning." It is the teachable person who benefits from wisdom. Learning and discipleship call for patience, perseverance, submission, and is a lifelong process.
Folly on the other hand is the way of life's short-cuts. Verse 17; "Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!" Why spend all the time in learning to dig and form a well when you can just steal the water? "Those poor 'disciples' of wisdom waste all that time learning how to read the topography to try to discern where the best place to dig is," says folly. "Then they spend all that effort digging and shoring up the hole with stone, and if they get lucky, they may end up with water. Even then, they are never sure if it will be sweet water. Why not just wait and see who hits a sweet well, and then when nobody's looking, just dip in! There is more water than they will ever need for themselves anyway."
People like that never learn about life. They only learn the ways of folly. Some day when it is critical that they know how to read the topography, they won't have a clue - and there won't be any nearby water they can steal.
We all start out simple and lack judgment in some area. And both wisdom and folly call out to us. The choice remains to be our own. Do we submit to a wise teacher and patiently learn the processes and lessons? Or do we get clever and look for the short-cuts in life? "Get the maximum out of life with the minimum effort," says folly. It sounds good until the day of 'suddenly' comes - when the resources we drew from and leaned upon in order to avoid developing our own resourcefulness are gone. That's when one discovers that those who chose to be the guests of folly "are in the depths of the grave" (verse 18).
You will see this theme continually, throughout the book of Proverbs. That which seems to be the easiest and most trouble-free way ends up being the way of death. One needs wisdom to discern these things, and "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. . ." (verse 10).

December 8

Dec 8 – Today from Proverb 8 we look at verse 32
"Now then my sons, listen to me; blessed are those who keep to my ways."

This is the personification of wisdom speaking. When reading this verse, the Beatitudes that Jesus taught in His Sermon on the Mount immediately came to mind (Matthew 5:3-10). The Beatitudes were offered as keys to the kingdom of God. Proverbs were offered as keys to wisdom. Both offer the promise of blessedness to those who keep to their ways. God’s Word is seamless, and there is a very clear correlation to wisdom and kingdom living. Wisdom is understanding life the way God purposed it. In the Beatitudes, Jesus is calling the people of Israel back to the purity of God’s purposes. Volumes of inspired and inspirational material have been written on the Beatitudes. Wisdom claims them.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit . . ."
Wisdom is in keeping with a humble spirit, deeming the needs of others as a priority.
"Blessed are those who mourn . . ."
Wisdom learns more about life at a funeral service than at a festive party.
"Blessed are the meek . . ."
Wisdom surrenders all power and influence to the control of God.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness . . ."
Wisdom seeks to keep learning about God and His ways.
"Blessed are the merciful . . ."
Wisdom does not judge in keeping his fellow man in debt through unforgiveness.
"Blessed are the pure in heart . . ."
Wisdom seeks to purge from its heart that which dishonors God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers . . ."
Wisdom seeks to live at peace with all as far as it depends on its ability.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness . . ."
Wisdom is willing to endure anything for the furtherance of God’s kingdom.

Blessed are they who pursue Wisdom, and keep to her ways.

December 7

Dec 7 – Today from Proverbs 7 we look at verses 14 and 15
"I have fellowship offerings at home; today I have fulfilled my vows. So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you."

Verses 6 through 23 of this chapter tells the sad tale of a simple young man who was ensnared by a wayward wife (adulteress). The story reveals that from the adulteress’ point of view, in spite of her seductive words, he was really just a random victim. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But part of her clever seduction was to stroke his ego a bit by telling him that she specifically came out that evening just to find him. This was a half-truth. When she said, "I looked for you and have found you," she was saying "I looked for a victim and found you." His simplicity and his ego would never allow him to hear it that way, and that was just the way she wanted it.
Before stating that she was out looking for him, she provided the reason why. She makes a reference to a cultural norm that would readily be recognized by the students of the Teacher – the fellowship offerings.
When a devout Hebrew brought their peace offering to the temple, the greatest part of the flesh was given back to the offerer to be taken home and feasted upon with friends. It was to all be eaten that same day with none left over until the morning (Lev. 7:15). This kind of meat was a rare and enjoyable treat. In the culture of the day the adulteress was, in essence, saying to the young man, "I have plenty of excellent provisions at home, and it’s too much for me to enjoy by myself. I am by law to eat it in fellowship with someone, so you immediately came to mind. So, I came looking for you and now I have found you. Oh, lucky me. Oh, lucky you!" She goes on to share that her husband isn’t there to share because he left on a long business trip, leaving her all alone. Being the simple young man that he was, he fell for it, and paid the price.
The Teacher uses this illustration to teach his students what to beware of in the art of seduction. This particular portion reveals a couple of important lessons:

1. The seducer uses convincing practical elements, (in this case, even that of a traditional ceremonial religious practice) to hide any threat the offer holds.

2. The seducer couples that with an appeal to the ego – making the victim feel special and privileged to be in such a position as to even consider the offer before him.

It’s the one-two punch of a seducer, only the pain comes much later. Verse 21 defines these seductive tactics as persuasive words and smooth talk. They can be very deadly to one who does not walk in the ways of wisdom. Life is replete with seducers, and the simple are their greatest victims.

December 6

Dec 6 - Today from Proverbs 6 we look at verses 16-19
"There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers."

One day (Matthew 15), as Jesus was walking amongst the people, teaching and healing their sick, some Pharisees and teachers of the law came from Jerusalem to straighten Him out on a few things. They could not help but acknowledge Jesus as a Rabbi and great teacher, but His disciples were not chosen from the best schools or of pedigree families. They were fishermen, commoners, and one was even a former tax collector. If Jesus was to be a Rabbi in Israel, He must properly train and discipline His own disciples. For starters, they did not ceremonially wash before they ate. What kind of example was that to the people?
I am convinced that had they come to Jesus in private with an open mind, Jesus would have addressed them much differently. But their intention was to belittle this respected Rabbi in the eyes of the people. Because they chose a public venue to challenge Him, Jesus gave them a public reprimand. He revealed their hypocrisy in just one example. Then He revealed their hearts with just one scripture as He quoted from Isaiah; "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men." These learned leaders of Jerusalem were experts on the letter of the law, but had no concept of the spirit of the law. "It's not what physically goes into a man's mouth that makes him unclean," Jesus continued. "It's what spiritually comes out of his mouth that makes him unclean." It was a great opportunity for the Pharisees and teachers of the law to humble themselves and examine their own hearts. But the text reveals that they were not convicted in even the smallest way. They were offended!
His disciples, on the other hand, wanted further clarification. That's the heart of a true disciple. "Teach me Lord. I want to know you and better understand your ways." Jesus complied, and made it very clear; "The things which come out of the mouth come from the heart. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean.'" These have nothing to do with 'rules taught by men'. They have everything to do with God's order and His moral law. His moral law is meant to serve to protect human dignity and the value of every human life. The spirit of the moral law honors the fact that God has made every man in His image, and that God alone is the Supreme Judge. The Pharisees let tradition become law and lost sight of the fact that love is the perfect fulfillment of the law. If these learned leaders of Jerusalem can become self-deceived, you can be sure that we can too.
"A man who stirs up dissension among brothers." The Pharisees would be appalled to think that they were in service of the devil. Yet, in their attempt to discredit Jesus and turn the people away from Him, that is exactly what they were. That's pretty obvious to us now, here in the twenty-first century, because we know Jesus is the Messiah. Yet there is not an institution today in our modern culture that is more plagued with dissension than is the institution of the church. It appears that here are too many self-appointed leaders feeling they need to uphold traditions to the death, and yet have little or no concept of the spirit of the law. In their self-righteous, self-appointed zeal they make their case, build a following, and use whatever leverage they can acquire to right whatever situations motivate them. Soon the body is divided and the war is on. These great campaigners would never consider attacking Jesus as did the Pharisees, but they have no qualms about dividing and tearing apart Jesus' body. God hates it. One needs not to be a leader to be guilty. Any who enter in and follow dissenters share in the guilt. Dissenters have no power without followers.
God has set authority in His church for the purpose of unity. God's Word gives those who disagree with the authority proper venues of approach. Covert dissension is not one of those approaches. If the church will honor God's Word as the authority for church structure and discipline, there will be very little harmful dissension in the church. One thing is sure, stirring dissension among the brothers is odious to God because of all of the pain, discouragement and bitterness it produces amongst those for whom He loves and died. Once again, this is not an exercise for us to look for what God might hate in others. We are to look for corruption in our own hearts. Let us look into our hearts today and see if we are contributing to, or have been party to dissension in His body. When Jesus reveals any corrupt condition of our heart we can do one of two things: We can become offended, or we can humble ourselves and confess and repent. He leaves us with the choice, and He will respond accordingly.

December 5

Dec 5 – Today from Proverbs 5 we look at verse 16
"Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?"

This question immediately follows an admonishment to the student to drink water only from his own personal resources, "Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well." (verse 15). Water was (and is), a primary basic staple of life in the Mid Eastern culture, and was crucially important to family life. So important was the family water supply to their health and security, that it was actually a crime to steal water from another person's well. Thus a man was not to dip into another’s well simply to satisfy his own desire. In doing so, he threatened the well-being of another’s family. Here the water is a metaphor for intimate relations, and the admonishment is to refrain from having intimate relations with the wives of others. Where verse fifteen warns against drinking from another’s well, today’s verse warns about liberally distributing your own water around town. It’s the same call to fidelity from a different perspective. Now the student is called to place the same value on his own household. If his water supply is critical to the health and security of his own family, why would he go about distributing it as if it were of little or no value to his loved ones? Why would he threaten the well-being of his own household?
"It’s my water, am I not free to do with it as I please?" No. You have committed your water supply to the care of only one household through a sacred covenant. It is in fact, no longer yours to do with as you please. If your values do not dictate it, your covenant commitment certainly does. When a couple marries, God reveals that the two have become one flesh (Genesis 2:24), and that their bodies no longer belong to themselves alone but to one another (1 Cor. 7:4).
Although this verse applies specifically to a married person, it does not let the single person off the hook. This is not all the Bible has to say about sexual relations, it is but one discourse of many. It is meant to teach the student about the values of fidelity in the marriage covenant, life the way God purposed it. To allow the cravings of the flesh to dictate one’s actions will bear certain consequence. It not only brings harm to one’s self, but to many others – most of whom are innocent victims. These victims may bear emotional scars for years to come, and often they are children.

December 4

Dec 4 - Today from Proverbs 4 we look at verse 8
"Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you."

The subject of this verse, of course, is wisdom (personified). Wisdom is understanding life the way God meant it to be. Chapter four is a father's lengthy and descriptive plea for his children to seek and pursue the path of wisdom early in life. In verse 18 he tells them it is like 'the first gleam of dawn'. Keep moving on that path, and it will get continually brighter in clarity and understanding.
The two thoughts in today's verse are somewhat of a play on words. In the first, the Hebrew word for 'esteem' here literally means to 'mound up'. In the positive sense, it suggests a picture of a path or a highway, where the earth is mounded up above common ground level in order to provide the traveler with a relatively smooth and passable way through what would otherwise be difficult terrain. The Hebrew word for 'exalt' here literally means to 'raise up'. Thus the play on words; we must do the work of mounding up wisdom if we want to benefit from wisdom in raising us up through the rugged and difficult terrain of life. We mound up wisdom by seeking it out, and then applying that which we find. We cannot walk the mounded path of others. We can receive wisdom from others as we mound up our own path, but each person is responsible for their own path.
The second thought does not have to do with height, but rather with weight. The Hebrew word for 'honor' here means to 'make weighty'. We use the concept in our modern vernacular when we say things like, "His word carries a lot of weight around here." That usually means that he is a person of honor. We address Judges as "your Honor" because of the weight their words carry. The Hebrew word for 'embrace' here means to 'enfold'. Think of the picture of an envelope enfolding a letter. The greater the content of the letter, the more weight the final sealed envelope will be. The envelope itself does not increase in weight, it is the contents of the letter which determines the final weight. Thus the play on words; if we will enfold wisdom into our lives, wisdom will increase our honor. We cannot stuff the wisdom of others into our envelope. We can receive wisdom from others and make it our own through application - only then does it become weighty in our own lives.
Wisdom is a great asset to any person. I pray that as parents and grandparents, we too will have the same passion to direct our offspring to seek and to love wisdom, that they may find a stable path through the difficulties of life, and to do so honorably.