Proverbs 15

Verse 5 reminds us of the need for fathers (either spiritual or physical) to correct their children. A foolish child refuses to be corrected, but one who has good sense is willing to learn. In a more general sense, sometimes we are the teachers (fathers/mothers), and sometimes we are the disciples (children). We need to make sure that we are wise in both roles, giving godly advice and willing to receive it too. And we need to make sure that we always pay attention to what our heavenly Father says to us!

Verses 10 and 11 remind us that, from a strictly human vantage point, immorality is usually punished. If you abandon honesty, integrity, and character, it generally catches up with you at some point. Followers of the right way, the good way, the godly way, tend to have better lives!

Verse 15 speaks of one’s attitude in life. Are you an Eeyore? If you constantly look for the bad you’ll find it. The challenge in life is to not become discouraged and focus on the negative. If we know God, we always have reasons to praise!

Our world seems to think that if we have things and money we’ll be happy, but that’s never guaranteed. The Bible shows us that we can be happy with a little, if we know and respect the Lord. Money also can’t compensate for strife and conflict in the home. It’s better to be poor in a household filled with love than rich in a house filled with hate (15:16-17).

We hear some things over and over again throughout Proverbs. Why so much repetition? Probably because we’re so dense! Look at verse 32. It’s because of our pride and unwillingness to accept correction that we end up harming ourselves. Wisdom, understanding, and even honor come from humility. A part of that humility is recognizing that we don’t know/understand everything. We need to look to the Lord, His Word, and His representatives for guidance and correction. That’s why the “fear of the Lord” is so important!

Thought for the day: Another ongoing theme in the book of Proverbs is being careful what we say!

Psalm 141:3 (WEB) “Set a watch, Yahweh, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips.”

Proverbs 14

From now on, when we go through Proverbs, I’ll comment on a few of the verses, rather than all of them. Hopefully it won’t be so overwhelming!

14:4 is at least a clever way of saying that laziness leads to poverty. You need to have and take care of the oxen in order to plow a field! It could also refer to the idea that you need to make sacrifices in order to have benefits. It could even be a warning that actions may have unintended consequences. By getting rid of the ox, you get rid of the harvest. With that last thought in mind, some have likened this to other areas of life as well. You may end up with a tidier life by cutting out some things, but you may also end up missing out on some blessings as well.

14:7-8 show us that if we’re wise, we won’t get taken in by foolish people. They can certainly rationalize their conduct and behavior, but that doesn’t mean that it’s smart or righteous! It’s better to stay away from those that have consistently proven that they make bad decisions. Once again, that’s not to say that outreach is a bad thing, but we have to make sure that we don’t get taken in and become fools ourselves. It’s better to avoid than to succumb!

There is a lot going on in verse 9! Reparation can refer to making restitution to God or man. Some translations reference the guilt offering, which was made when restitution was possible. The idea may be that the upright recognize the need for forgiveness and restitution, and thereby gain favor, but fools make fun of it. It takes on an even more sinister meaning from a spiritual standpoint. A fool doesn’t recognize the need to be made right with God, so will die separated from Him

14:15-16 challenges the idea that thinking is bad. That thinking leads to a lack of faith. That intelligence and understanding will take us away from God. The true issue revolves around what we think about and focus on. We need the wisdom that comes from above. We need to hold everything we think about and do up to the standard of Scripture. When we use our minds properly, we’ll turn away from evil instead of rushing into it without thinking. Faith and reason actually complement one another. Understanding leads to godliness.

Many see verse 20 simply stating facts, especially from a health/wealth mindset. Being poor meant that God wasn’t blessing you, so you must be doing something wrong in your life. Being rich meant that you must be doing something right! So, the poor are despised and the rich are loved. But it’s also possible that this is hinting at something else. The poor don’t have wealth or influence, so there is nothing to gain by being their friend. However, being friends with the rich may be beneficial. That’s why people suck up to the rich but ignore the poor.

14:23-24 shows us that if we’re wise, we’ll work hard and profit from it. If we’re fools, we’ll talk about all the things we can do to make money, but we won’t do any of them, and we’ll be both poor and foolish! Can we work hard and not get ahead? Yes. Can we not work hard and be rich? Yes. But Proverbs is dealing in probabilities. Working hard should enable us to live, and it will certainly please God.

Thought for the day: Fearing, respecting, or being in awe of God means that you’re willing to follow Him. Following Him means that you’ll stay out of trouble. He is a life-giving fountain, providing us with both eternal and abundant life!

Proverbs 14:27 (WEB) “The fear of Yahweh is a fountain of life, turning people from the snares of death.”

Psalm 23 & 24

Jesus describes Himself as our shepherd when we believe in Him. As our shepherd He provides for us, guides us, restores us, comforts us, and protects us from death. Even though death is a valley, it is still only a shadow, because God has promised that we will be His forever.

John 10:11-16 (WEB) “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. The hired hand flees because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own; even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd. Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again.”

Psalm 24 revels in the fact that God is the creator, and He should be sought after, clung to, worshiped and praised! The problem is, none of us deserve to ascend His hill and be with Him. None of us are clean, pure, trustworthy, and true. That’s why we need grace. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve.

Some commentators think that this Psalm may have been written to celebrate the coming of the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. The imagery here is of a majestic God so awesome that the gates and doors must be raised and lifted up just so that He can enter. He is the Lord of armies! He is strong and mighty! He is the King of Glory!

Thought for the day: We can only approach God through Jesus!

Hebrews 10:19-23 (WEB) “Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, and having a great priest over God’s house, let’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and having our body washed with pure water, let’s hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for he who promised is faithful.”

Psalm 22

Psalm 22 is a marvelous depiction of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He points us to it by crying out the first verse from the cross, but it goes beyond that. His mocking is portrayed. His thirst is depicted. It even predicts the casting of lots for His clothing! Finally, verse 31, “he has done it” (WEB) may even be a precursor of “it is finished!”

Thought for the day: In addition to teaching us about Jesus Christ, it also shows us something about life. Expressions of despair are countered with expressions of faith, reminding us that even when things look bleak, we can put our trust in God. And even though so much may come against us in life, we can boldly proclaim “you have rescued me” because of the final victory that is ours in Jesus Christ!

Colossians 1:12-14 (WEB) “giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.”

Psalm 20 & 21

Psalm 20 is a prayer before battle. It starts with a request for the victory of the king, and concludes with the recognition that God will secure the success of the king. There is some discussion as to whether the last verse references the king of Israel or the King of the universe. I suspect it refers to God who is the supreme and sovereign King, which the king of Israel represents. We can also see Christ in this passage. His day of trouble was the cross, which He overcame through the victory of the resurrection. He fully trusted in God and was literally raised up!

When we look at Psalm 21, we have to ask the following question: is David instructing the people how to pray for Him (by the direction of God’s Spirit), or putting down their thoughts to music (still at the direction of God’s Spirit)? Either way, it seems to be in response to God’s answered prayers from Psalm 20. When we recite this psalm we should remember that: (1) we are God’s, (2) that He watches over us, (3) that we will be a part of His kingdom forever, (4) that one day evil will be destroyed, (5) that David’s victorious kingdom is a foreshadowing of the kingdom of Jesus Christ that is yet to come, and (6) that we need to praise God for what He has done and will do for us!

Thought for the day: Praying for God to be exalted is also a part of the Lord’s prayer and should be a priority for us.

Matthew 6:10 (WEB) “Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Judges 21

600 Benjamites were left, but without wives. The rest of Israel had sworn an oath to not let their daughters marry them, so the tribe itself was in danger of being wiped out. In order to revitalize the tribe, the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead were destroyed and the remaining virgins were given as wives to the remnant of Benjamin. And then, to avoid breaking their vow not to allow their women to marry the Benjamites willingly, the Benjamites were allowed to kidnap dancers at the annual festival at Shiloh in order to have brides. Truly, “everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.”

Thought for the day: Rash vows were never supposed to be fulfilled. Here we see bad decisions being made just to justify other bad decisions, which is a sure recipe for disaster.

Proverbs 13:15-16 (WEB) “Good understanding wins favor, but the way of the unfaithful is hard. Every prudent man acts from knowledge, but a fool exposes folly.”

Judges 20

Finally, something that draws most of the nation together! After the Benjamites refuse to turn over the men who engaged in the sexual deviancy that caused the death of the woman, the rest of the tribes engage them in war. There were three attacks, with Judah going first. The first two times the attackers were repelled, but the third time resulted in the tribe being destroyed. Why did God allow such destruction? Why didn’t he ensure the victory on the first attack? Maybe he was looking for something? It’s not until the second attack fails that we see them weeping and fasting before the Lord (20:26). Perhaps they were trusting entirely too much on their own strength and prowess (as 20:10 may indicate), rather than relying on God.

Thought for the day: “All the people arose as one man.” “Knit together as one man.” Unfortunately, it often takes a tragedy of momentous proportions to get this type of unity.

Nehemiah 4:4-6 (WEB) “Hear, our God, for we are despised. Turn back their reproach on their own head. Give them up for a plunder in a land of captivity. Don’t cover their iniquity. Don’t let their sin be blotted out from before you; for they have insulted the builders.’ So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.”

Judges 19

“No king” — the people have shown repeatedly that they refuse to follow God and accept His rule over them. God raises up judges to help, but they don’t want temporary help. The book of Judges reveals how they continually rebel, sin, and sink further and further into depravity until they eventually ask for a king (1 Samual 8:5). In our chapter today we see immorality, infidelity, rape, murder, and mutilation. We don’t need to go over it all again, but this last sin is used to provide a rallying cry to make all Israel understand how bad things have gotten in Gibeah.

Thought for the day: There have been plenty of bad times that the nation of Israel experienced, just as there have been plenty of bad times throughout the history of the world. At one of these points in the future God will finally say, “Enough is enough!”

Revelation 18:1-5 (WEB) “After these things, I saw another angel coming down out of the sky, having great authority. The earth was illuminated with his glory. He cried with a mighty voice, saying, ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and she has become a habitation of demons, a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hated bird! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from the abundance of her luxury.’ I heard another voice from heaven, saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, that you have no participation in her sins, and that you don’t receive of her plagues, for her sins have reached to the sky, and God has remembered her iniquities.’ “

Judges 18

The tribe of Dan had been given an allotment in the land (Joshua 19:40-47), but they failed to capture it (Judges 1:34-35). They were essentially homeless and looking for a place to settle. When spying out some land to the west of Jerusalem, they sought the advice of Micah’s priest. He blessed their endeavors, so they went and ended up approving of the land. When they came back to subdue and settle it, they also took Micah’s household idols and his priest and made them their own. However, the priest was more than happy to get more power and prestige!

Thought for the day: Micah learned the hard way that just having a shrine and some idols was no real help. Many others still make that same mistake today.

Romans 1:22-25 (WEB) “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, four-footed animals, and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored amongst themselves; who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

Judges 17

Chapter 17 starts a new section of the book. While chapters 2–16 of Judges describe the external threats to Israel that come from other nations (but as a result of their own sin), chapters 17–21 describes the internal chaos that results from their increasing depravity. Stealing from family. Household gods. Ongoing idolatry. Priests for hire. The most sordid and tragic stories in the book are found here, for the ultimate depths of Israel’s apostasy have now been reached.

Thought for the day: “Everyone did what was right in their own eyes” led to chaos and despair, and we can see the same thing happening in society today.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (WEB) “But know this: that in the last days, grievous times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, not lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding a form of godliness but having denied its power. Turn away from these, also.”