Proverbs 16-18: Relationship

Today, instead of the actual words on the page, I am drawn to the purpose of Proverbs. You see, this isn’t just the template for a fortune cookie factory, nor is it words shouted from the streets to strangers, this is advice given from father to son. It’s advice given in relationship and that is why it was effective.

^{Luke 2:52} And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Jesus knew the value of both relationship with God and with men. It’s how he grew. Right now, the best thing we can do is to grow in relationship with God and with men.

Quite a bit can happen in relationship, in a real, transparent relationship. It’s a risk and it can hurt, but the benefits far outweigh the pain. Encouragement, correction, teaching, healing can all come in a healthy relationship between God and man.

It’s what we see in Proverbs. The topics discussed: wisdom, integrity, finances, trust–all of these things are taught within a relationship. In that beautiful lens of love, we can talk about anything. If you really know someone’s heart and they are speaking the truth in love, it is difficult to be offended. I believe that is the way the Lord designed the church to be.

Proverbs 13-15: Correction

Proverbs 13: 1  A WISE son heeds [and is the fruit of] his father’s instruction and correction, but a scoffer listens not to rebuke. (AMP)

Hebrews 12:6: It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. (MESSAGE)

Does anyone LIKE to be corrected? Does anyone ENJOY being wrong? I certainly don’t. I, in point of fact DETEST it. So, these scriptures are like joy-repellant to me. We’re cruising along in the Word being encouraged and loved and then: BAM! Smacked with a newspaper. It doesn’t feel good.

So, as I sit whimpering the corner, asking God why, oh why this is happening to me, a picture appears in my mind’s eye.

See the clay in the potter’s hand? See the excess clay? That stuff isn’t staying in the piece. It’s not needed. It’s not necessary. It will actually hurt piece, maybe structurally, maybe visually, it might even prevent the piece from being what it was originally intended to carry. That right there, my friends, is a picture of correction.

So, I yield. I allow it. I sit on the wheel voluntarily and tell Him to trim, smooth, squeeze, cut and mold me. Here I am. Let’s go.

Proverbs 10-12: The Farming Principle

People often tell me that they don’t hear from God. Then I ask them what things have been popping out to them. Are they similar? Do they have a connection? The answer is always “Oh, yeah, I guess He really is speaking to me!”

What has He been speaking in my life?

Seeds. Farmers. Fields. Wheat. Wheat. Wheat. I see fields in my sleep.

Every time I read the Word, the scriptures about sowing, farming, reaping and planting jump off the page toward me. Today was no different.

Proverbs 11:24 There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more,
And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want.

The person scattering is the farmer. He’s scattering his seeds so that they can grow into a crop. The crop will produce and will bear it’s own seeds.

The one withholding is saving the seeds just like the guy in the New Testament who saved the talents. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The seeds stay in the bag and no crop is yielded. People starve and no good came from the guy holding his seeds.

It is way more comfortable for me to go to church every Sunday, put on my “I’m in church so I have to be nice to you” face, come home, ignore my neighbors and focus on my family and the things that we need and want. It’s more comfortable to hold your seeds in your hand.

But, friends, were not made to do it that way. We were not made to hold it all for eternity. We were made to scatter those seeds.

I don’t know what scattering seeds looks like in your life but this is what it looks like here in our home. We share meals with others. It’s really not a stretch because these are folks that God has placed in our lives. We share meals with moms, dads and their kids, young ladies in their twenties who are waiting for Mr. Right, young couples on the brink of starting a family, older couples whose kids are our age and our daughter’s teenage friends. More life is shared at our dinner table than I’ve felt in thirty years of church attendance. (We still go to church. I’m not knocking the church, just saying that there is more to being The Church. Don’t send me hate mail.)

It’s risky to scatter seeds. Not all of the seeds will grow. Not all will bear fruit of their own. But, you don’t need to be a farmer to see that the one who scatters will always yield a larger crop than the one who holds tightly to his seeds and never lets them grow.

I am curious, though, what does seed scattering look like in your life?

Proverbs 7-9: Wisdom vs The Harlot

Ok, so we’re reading Proverbs, just minding our own business, learning about wisdom and good stuff and then BAM! there’s all of this talk about prostitutes who put spices on their beds. It’s just creepy. We spend some time learning about the naive man she dupes, then we go comfortably back to learning about wisdom. It’s one of those times that I question the placement of texts.

So. I did. I questioned.

It didn’t take long to notice that the author of Proverbs wants us to compare and contrast the two. He wants us to place them side by side and see how they measure up. He wants to let them duke it out not as people, but as symbols.

Here you have it. Wisdom vs. The Harlot. (Go ahead, place you bets, I dare you.)

The first similarity we notice is that they both single out the naive. They call to them from their various perches. The Harlot calls out to exploit the naive while wisdom identifies him so that she can help him discern truth from lies.

Their sales tactics vary. Wisdom advertises at the gate of the city where business and government join and along the large well-traveled roads. She shouts and later people come to her house in groups, in droves. The Harlot has a corner where she persuades a man, grabs him and brings him back to her home.

Wisdom and the Harlot have a different work schedule. While Wisdom wakes early and speaks at the gate when the city opens, The Harlot choose her clandestine activities when the sun is setting. Wisdom operates where all can see, where the Light is. The Harlot’s activities are dark, mirroring the sun’s position.

When wisdom invites people to her home it is open and well-known to all. She shouts from the roof tops. Nothing is hidden. She has pillars of strength to offer. The Harlot’s home is not her own, it is her husband’s and her work is only done while he is away; therefore, secrets and whispers echo in her home.Her bed is covered with blankets of sin, faithlessness and the past from Egypt.

The Harlot seduces, persuades and flatters while wisdom speaks only the truth. The man who visits the Harlot will one day realize the lies and see that he has gained nothing from his association with her. He sees that she is in bondage. Wisdom shows her followers the truth and in truth, freedom. It is a far better gift to give.

So, how do we stay away from The Harlot and work with Wisdom? After all, this a practical trip through the Bible, not a symbolic one.

There are so many lessons we can learn from these chapters, but today, this is what I’m walking away with. Take a look at the words and ideas used to describe The Harlot: exploit, lies, flattery, seduction, darkness, usurping, whispers, private…and contrast them with Wisdom: open, truth, governmental, light, strength. The Lord wants s to embrace who Wisdom is. He doesn’t want us in the dark, isolated, looking out for only ourselves and lying to others. He wants us to be in the light of fellowship learning about the Truth. (Notice there, it’s a BIG “T”?)

I praying that you and I would continue to walk with Wisdom and to grow closer to this Truth and Light that she proclaims.!

Proverbs 4-6: Evil

 

The more I read Proverbs, the more I like it. I realize that it was written for us: people who love God, who want to do right in His eyes. Proverbs is a book about character building and I think we could do with a lot more of those.

Proverbs is not a book of the Law. It does not instruct us on what is evil or what we should do to absolve ourselves of doing evil. It doesn’t even really define evil. It doesn’t say this is evil and this is not evil. It just says to keep clear of it.

14 Do not enter the path of the wicked and do not proceed in the way of evil men. 15 Avoid it, do not pass by it; turn away from it and pass on.

Evil. It’s bad. Don’t go near it.

Except.

Evil looks different from the way evil used to look. When I was young, evil was more clear. It has certain looks, certain tastes and certain sounds. There were many times where I found myself in the midst of evil and I knew it.

But these days, evil looks and sounds like good things. We may call it different things like worry, gossip, and offense, but in the end, they are the things that are on the path to evil, the things that Proverbs warns us about. Cain had little intention of killing his brother, but offense led him to it. These little foxes creep up and destroy men and women who would never be caught dead on the evil path.

It’s a good lesson: keep away from evil and all it’s faces.

 

Proverbs 1-3: Wisdom

Proverbs. Quips. Advice. Nuggets. Counsel. They are the words we use to describe wisdom that is passed to another. It’s the hope that we learn from the mistakes of others rather than our own, though learning comes with both.

What I love about the opening scene in Proverbs is the definition of wisdom. Wisdom isn’t merely being smarter than someone else, or lording your omniscience over someone else. Wisdom is something given, like a gift. It’s a leading, it’s instruction.

 

Our world values knowledge, information, if you will. So much is at our fingertips, yet the choices people make in this day seem to be far from wise. Could it be because we re so focused on facts and the bottom line that we’ve simply searched for knowledge and disregarded wisdom completely? After all, knowledge by itself is only pleasant to our soul, not to our spirit.

Proverbs 2: 10 For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;11 Discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you

I really enjoy what this brings out about wisdom, knowledge, discretion and understating. To have all four working in harmony in one’s life would truly be a gift.

Song of Solomon

It’s not that I’ve avoided you. It’s just that every time I sit down to read this book, I get discouraged. Not so great when you are the “encourager”. It’s not that I’m put off by the subject. It’s just that I hate the battle lines that have been drawn around this book.

Some people say “It’s an allegory of Christ’s love for the church!” While others hold up their sign “It’s literal, talking about a man’s love for his wife!”

I’ve heard really smart people take hard sides. Down to how you name it (is it Song of Songs or Song of Solomon?) it’s heavily debated. I’m an English major. This is the angriest I’ve seen people get over poetry and that includes the age-old question “Who wrote the works of Shakespeare?”

Really. Do you think that God intended for us to get so very upset about a poem?

My stance on the issue? I think it’s both. I think it holds allegorical truth as well as practical truth. Why? Because I believe that marriage is, in itself, a symbol. I believe that it is a sacred thing.

Why can’t it be both? What? That’s to hard for God? We allow other authors to do it, so why can’t we allow scripture to be multi-leveled?

2 Chronicles 1 and Psalm 72: The Reign of Messiah

In first reading, Psalm 72 looks like many of the others. It proclaims the king and His son and speaks of justice for the poor. However, in closer examination, we can see that this particular song isn’t about the present, but about the future.

5 Let them fear You while the sun endures,
And as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

This Psalm is taking about the Messiah. He’s the one who will rule His kingdom until the sun and the moon are no more.

4 May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor.

He’s the only one who can rid the poor of their plight and give them justice. Government can’t do that, not even well-meaning people can do that. Jesus told us that the poor would always be among us. (John 12:8) (That doesn’t, by the way, absolve us from showing mercy and helping the poor. If Jesus, the Messiah, loves the poor, and we are His followers, there is no excuse for ignoring the poor, the poor in spirit or the afflicted.)

I’m struck here in Psalm 72 by the Holy Spirit’s presence in this kingdom. Peace and wealth reign yet they are still longing for another day, the day of Messiah’s reign. It;s one thing to lean on Jesus when we’re crippled by circumstances, but it’s another to lean on Him when the sun is shining and all is well.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul talks about abounding in every season and the fact that we must recognize whether it is a sowing season of a reaping season. In either case, we are dependent upon the Master.

So, dear reader, I pray that this day sees you with the Messiah whether it be peace time or war, whether you abase or abound, whether you are well or sick. I pray that He will bless you continually.

1 Kings 3 & 4: Learning from Solomon

Even though Solomon was the wisest man on earth and he did a bunch of great things, I was always put off by him for all the women he “collected”. I didn’t really talk about him very much. In fact, I kind of ignored him. (Am I the only one who gives the ancients the silent treatment?) Today, I’m forgiving him and moving on. I’m recognizing his good points. I am remembering that there are no villains, only people.

That being said. I have to confess that I just read what may be the best response to a question by God that I have ever read.God asks Solomon what he wants. Pick it Solomon, you can have anything you dreamed of. Enemies falling at your hand? Peace? Prosperity? 72 inch flat screen tv?

Here is Solomon’s response:

7 Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.8 Your servant is in the midst of Your people which You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted.9 So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

Yep. It’s awesome.

I love how Solomon humbly says that he feels like a child. I get that! I still fell like I’m twelve and then when I’m asked to speak in front of grown ups, I feel so incompetent. I need three people (including myself) to give me a pep talk. So, Solomon, I understand you. You didn’t pretend to be bigger than your britches because you know that He knows you.

God’s response is priceless, literally:

10 It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing.11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice,12 behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you.13 I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there will not be any among the kings like you all your days.14 If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days.”

Ah, that we would respond in a way that is pleasing to the Lord! That, friends, is my goal for today.

Psalm 119: A New Psalm

Perhaps it is because of Psalm 119′s reputation. At one hundred at seventy-six verses it was the Free Bird of the ancient world and I guess there were times when I skipped over some verses, you know, so I could check it off of my list. Now that I read more for understanding (or for confusion depending on the list of questions that I’m saving for heaven) rather than a program, I find myself thinking thoughts like “Whoa, is that new?” or “Where did that come from?”

Like here in verse 18: Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law. Wonderful things in the law? Really? How did I miss such a strange idea in the past. Who opens up the Bible and hopes to be struck breathless by the law of God? What a neat thought to ponder.

What about 25: My soul cleaves to the dust; revive me according to Your word.It speaks of our need to cling to the earth, the past, the things that we can touch and pleads with the Lord to renew our allegiance to Him and His word.

54:Your statutes are my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. I think I could sit for days and think about that one.

89 Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven. What a great reminder and faith builder hidden here in the middle of my Bible!

It’s amazing how a book that you’ve read so many times seems so different each time you read it. I’m reminded of a movie I watched a long time ago called The Amazing Book. One of the songs describes this mystery:

It’s more than ink and paper
It’s more than words to read
It’s a letter of love from up above
Special delivery

Simple. Elementary. I think an animated mouse might sing it. But, hey, they hit the nail on the head, didn’t they?

Lessons for today: Expect to find new things in His Word and never discount the songs of animated rodents.