Godly Wisdom Produces Daily Prudence - Proverbs 14-15

Proverbs 14:8 (ESV)

The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way,

but the folly of fools is deceiving.

Proverbs 14:15 (ESV)

The simple believes everything,

but the prudent gives thought to his steps.

Proverbs 14:18 (ESV)

The simple inherit folly,

but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

Proverbs 15:5 (ESV)

A fool despises his father’s instruction,

but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.

The Hebrew word for prudent is ‘ârûm; it means crafty, prudent, subtil.  It is translated in the Bible as: prudent 8, crafty 2, subtil 1.   At the start of the book of Proverbs, Solomon outlines his purpose for the book.  Note:

Proverbs 1:2-4 (ESV)

To know wisdom and instruction,

to understand words of insight,

to receive instruction in wise dealing,

in righteousness, justice, and equity;

to give prudence to the simple,

knowledge and discretion to the youth—

The entire book of Proverbs is to develop prudence for the person who wants to walk in wisdom.  Prudence is what happens when you have wisdom.  Wisdom without prudence just makes you pompous.   Prudence is the practical out-working of wisdom.   When we have more knowledge of God and more understanding of who God is, that gives us the day to day prudence we need to walk in that wisdom before others.   If wisdom is in the heart and the mind, prudence is shown in the shoes.   We walk more sure when we take God’s wisdom and put it to practical steps.  That is what the above four verses are teaching us.   Head knowledge does nothing for us.   Knowledge about God that impacts our walk before men is what God’s wisdom is all about.  

  

Bad News Ushers In Good News - Psalm 90-92

Psalms 90:3-8 (ESV)

You return man to dust

and say, “Return, O children of man!”

For a thousand years in your sight

are but as yesterday when it is past,

or as a watch in the night.

You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,

like grass that is renewed in the morning:

in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;

in the evening it fades and withers.

For we are brought to an end by your anger;

by your wrath we are dismayed.

You have set our iniquities before you,

our secret sins in the light of your presence.

The above lines come from a prayer of Moses.   It was at the end of Moses’ life and it reflects truths we all should know and remember:

1.  Our time is limited.   God has a clock, but it does not run like ours.   His days are limitless, our days are limited.   We are running out of time.   Use it wisely. 

2. Our destiny is dust.   Unless Jesus returns, all mankind, upon death, are reduced to ashes.   We know from the New Testament that we will raise again in a new body (1 Corinthians 15).  But our final dispositions on this earth is dust.   No matter our beauty, our strength, or our metabolism, we are reduced to dust.  Use it wisely. 

3. Compared to God’s time-line, we go quickly.   We think 70 or 80 is a long time. It is not.   It is over quickly.   Use it wisely. 

4. Death is a result of the sin of Adam.  Remember, we are ALL dying because Adam sinned. Death is the final outcome.   Death is separation.  The first death of Adam’s sin was separation from God.  He hid himself in the garden and God had to come and look for him.   God searches us out and offers to cover our sin (he covered Adam’s nakedness).  We can avoid the second death (permanent separation from God).   

The bad news is that we die.  The bad news is that sin kills us.  The good news is that God offers to cover our sin with His Son’s blood.  The bad news ushers in the good news.  

God Is Faithful To The End - 2 Kings 21-25

2 Kings 25:27-30 (ESV)

And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table, and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived.

If you have read through this entire book of 2 Kings, this epilogue of the book stands in quite a contrast.   The book is about the kings of Judah who, mostly, did acts of evil while serving as kings.   The book is giving the reasons why God had to discipline Judah and carry them off to captivity by Babylon.  It is interesting that the book returns to Jehoiachin. It is especially odd that, in the end, this evil king is honored by the King of Babylon.   It should be noted what was said about Jehoiachin, in the previous chapter:

2 Kings 24:8-9 (ESV)

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done.

Despite his reputation for doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in the end, Jehoiachin is honored at the table of his foreign captor.   There is much debate about why the authors of 2 Kings go back to this and end with this.   Remember that the King of Babylon has utterly destroyed Jerusalem, Judah and all that was theirs, is gone.  He has taken all the gold and burned the Temple and the great house Solomon built for himself.  Nothing is left that is recognizable (as we see from the eyes of Nehemiah, who will later return to rebuild it all).   Judah is done.  Yet, we might be wise to remember what Samuel prophesied about the throne of David:

2 Samuel 7:15-16 (ESV)

but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

This unusual epilogue is here for our benefit. It is a reminder of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness.   Despite the evil things they did and the discipline they now must endure for 70 years, God is faithful to HIS promises.  He promised a remnant would be saved out of this mess.   This story of Jehoiachin is the first indication that God is still working with Judah and the lineage of David.   God is faithful despite our unfaithfulness.   The authors of 2 Kings knew exactly what they were doing.  They were giving hope at the end of the story. Not hope based upon man’s performance.  It is hope based upon God’s faithfulness.  

Sabbath Rest - Leviticus 22-24

Leviticus 23:3 (ESV)

The Sabbath

“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places.

Exodus 20:8-11 (ESV)

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

The Law of the Sabbath rest was a major law for the nation of Israel.  They were to rest from all labor each Saturday.    The reason given for this law, in the Ten Commandment list in Exodus, was because God, Himself, rested from His work of creation.    That is a significant point to understand the Sabbath principle of rest.   Yes, it is one of the Ten Commandments.  No, we don’t observe the Ten Commandments today like they did in the Old Testament.  However, the point of rest from our labor is not based upon the Law of Moses.  As seen, it is based upon the example of God.   To have intentional rest each week, from our labor, is still a principle we should follow.   God designed us to be this way.  The fact that we don’t rest with intentionality might be a major reason for burnt out and our stress levels.   God created day and night to give our bodies rest.   God created this law to remind us to intentionally take rest.   Rest is not laziness.   Rest is godliness.   

Standards For Christian Living/Judging - 1 Thessalonians 1-3

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (ESV)

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul is writing to the church in Thessalonica.  He wanted to know how they were doing after he visited them and preach the gospel to them on his second missionary journey.   While there, he was run out of town by the Jews, because he dared to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.   He would send Timothy back there to see how they were doing.  He was hyper concerned that the Jews may have hindered his work among them.   As seen in the above passage, this was not true.  Timothy had returned to report great things about them:

 1 Thessalonians 3:6 (ESV)

But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you—

It is interesting that Paul commends them as believers who excel in faith, love and hope.  These three would become the claim of Christian faith (1 Corinthians 13:13).   Paul was not looking to see how they were dressed.  He was not looking for signs that they sang the right songs in their worship.  He was not looking to find out if they stayed separate in their actions (as important as all those might be).  No, Paul characterized their great walk with God as having a work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.  It might do us all well to evaluate our fellow believers with these three standards.  We tend to all cast judgment on others.   Let us, if we must, judge our fellow believers with these three guardrails.   This what the Christian life is like.   This is what it is supposed to be; designed to be.  Work out your faith, labor in love and hold on steadfastly to the hope we have in Christ. If we do, we will fulfill what God intended for us by sending His Son to die for us.  

Saving Faith vs Selfish Faith - Luke 23-24

Luke 23:39-43 (ESV)

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The two thrives give us a perfect example of those who approach God by faith and those who approach God for personal gain.   The two were both criminals.   They both had done something wrong, apparently worthy of a cruel death.   The first thief wanted Jesus to prove He was the Son of God, but not because he thought Jesus was, but only because he had a personal motive: He wanted to be saved from the pain of the cross.   The second thief had faith to believe Jesus was the Son of God.  He didn’t need Jesus to prove it.  He only wanted Jesus to save him from the second death:  Separation from God for all eternity.     He put his faith in Jesus that Jesus would be able to bring him into the Kingdom.   He had faith that Jesus was the Son of God.  All we can assume is that in his criminal life he had some revelation about Jesus.  In this moment he came to faith.   One of the two wanted self-preservation for life on earth.   One of the two wanted eternal life with Jesus.   That is the difference in our world about how to approach Jesus.  Some simply want personal gain and don’t need Him unless that is the outcome. Some simply want to be with Him in paradise.   

God Has A Design - Ezekiel 37-42

Ezekiel 40:17-19 (ESV)

Then he brought me into the outer court. And behold, there were chambers and a pavement, all around the court. Thirty chambers faced the pavement. And the pavement ran along the side of the gates, corresponding to the length of the gates. This was the lower pavement. Then he measured the distance from the inner front of the lower gate to the outer front of the inner court, a hundred cubits on the east side and on the north side.

Whenever we come to this section in Ezekiel we are challenged by the content and the practical application to our lives today.   To make sure we don’t miss the point of any passage in the Bible it is important to remember what Paul told Timothy, the pastor of an early church in the 1st century. 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

There is not a passage in Scripture that does not bring significant meaning to our lives.  Although it does take work from us to find some of that meaning.  It is doubtful that any church did a year long series on Ezekiel 40-47 (the passages that are written about the new temple).   But each time we do read this section it is important to learn and/or remember these valuable lessons:

1. God is a God of design.   We may not like to read the architectural plans for the temple, but it does show God is a God of design.  Nothing is done without plan and forethought.  God has a design for our lives, as well. 

2. God is a God of order.   God is having Ezekiel tell us the way the entire temple is laid out.   God has a plan and He wants the temple laid out in a specific way.  God is the same for us today. He has a plan for us and it is laid out in a particular way.  God is not the God of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:23).

3. God reveals His design and order.   No, we do not have the blueprints for our lives like God gave Ezekiel for this temple.  But He does reveal to us what we need to know to follow His designed and orderly plan for our lives.   

4.  God is the God of details.   God does not mess around with the description we have in these verses.   He is precise.   He tells us exactly how long and how far something is from one thing to the other.    

5. God designs beauty.  This temple is symmetrical in concept.  All the parts of the temple are designed to focus on the main aspect of the temple: Worship of God.   God makes the temple beautiful by making sure there is perfect summitry. 

6.  God wants worship.  The entire point of the temple is to provide a place of worship to God. Don’t miss the point of a temple.   It is not the beauty, summitry, or order that is the point. Those are only a reflection of the God we worship.  The point of the temple is not the physical design, it is that it was designed for worship.   God wants to be worshipped and provides to man all that is necessary for worship.  

What Is Chasing You? Proverbs 13

Proverbs 13:21 (ESV)

Disaster pursues sinners,

but the righteous are rewarded with good.

This proverb should be read in contrast to Psalm 23:6.   

Psalms 23:6 (ESV)

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD

forever.

In that great Psalm we read the "goodness and mercy" will "follow" those who make The Lord their Shepherd. By contrast, in this proverb, Solomon tells us that those who do not make The Lord their Shepherd will not be pursued by goodness and mercy but rather by "disaster."  The righteous will be rewarded, followed by, prosperity - but the wicked need to know what is pursuing them.   Look behind you!!   Those who reject God need to know that they will be hunted by adversity.  Those who pursue God will be pursued by the prosperity that God offers.  That doesn't exempt them from suffering and from difficulty but it does guarantee that God will ultimately reward them.   God always blesses obedience.  He always brings eventual adversity to those who reject Him.

THE Place To Worship - Psalm 87-89

Psalms 87 (ESV)

A PSALM OF THE SONS OF KORAH. A SONG.

1 On the holy mount stands the city he founded;

2 the LORD loves the gates of Zion

more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.

3 Glorious things of you are spoken,

O city of God. Selah

4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;

behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush—

“This one was born there,” they say.

5 And of Zion it shall be said,

“This one and that one were born in her”;

for the Most High himself will establish her.

6 The LORD records as he registers the peoples,

“This one was born there.” Selah

7 Singers and dancers alike say,

“All my springs are in you.”

This Psalm is a praise and jubilation song about Jerusalem, often referred to in scripture as Mount Zion, on Zion.   In many places of the psalms we read about the destruction of nations or punishment on nations, particularly Israel.   Here, however, it a great praise song about the major city of Israel, Jerusalem.   In the proceeding Psalm we read the following: 

Psalms 86:8-10 (ESV)

There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,

nor are there any works like yours.

All the nations you have made shall come

and worship before you, O Lord,

and shall glorify your name.

For you are great and do wondrous things;

you alone are God.

Jerusalem is that place where all the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and glorify your name.  Jerusalem is the place.   This song reflects how important it is even to be born in Jerusalem.    Jesus died in Jerusalem.  Jesus will return to Jerusalem (Revelation 14).   God has put this place as THE place.   Even though heaven is our home, this Psalm shows that God has special places on this earth that He counts significant in His plan for His Kingdom.   

False Worship Is No Worship - 2 Kings 16-20

2 Kings 17:29-33 (ESV)

But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived. The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. They also feared the LORD and appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. So they feared the LORD but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.

This section of 2 Kings comes right after the Assyrians took all of Israel captive and only Judah was left.   The King of Assyria replaced the captive people of Israel with captives of other nations.   He put them in the land to maintain it.   However, God sent among them lions to torment them (the land still belonged to God!):

2 Kings 17:25 (ESV)

And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the LORD. Therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

To counter this, the King of Assyria sent a Jewish priest back to the land to teach them how to live in the land and how to appease the “god” of the land. In those days, the unbelieving world, thought that each land had its own god.    When the priest returned to the land of Israel the people there did listen to how to worship Yahweh.  However. Instead of worshipping Yahweh, solely, they just added Him to their cocktail of other gods.  The gods mentioned in the above passage were the gods of each of those peoples.   Like today, the philosophy was, it didn’t matter what “god” you served, as long as you served “a” god.   Like the Egyptians, when Moses lead the people out of Egypt, these nations had gods for everything.  Our world today has a similar approach to their theology.   But instead of a formal worship of “gods” today, we just worship wealth, power, position, prosperity, self and/or anything shinny for the day.   These are our “gods.”   However, Jesus explained to all mankind the challenge with this “all gods count for something” approach.   

John 14:6 (ESV)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 10:1 (ESV)

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.

Jesus is the only way and He is the only Shepherd to bring people back into a relationship with God.   Our world has not changed.   We just name our “gods” with different names.   But unless with worship the God of the universe, through His Son, by His Spirit, we fail to worship the true God. As Jesus told the woman at the well:

John 4:23 (ESV)

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.