Proverbs 1:8-19

Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching… (v. 8) In other words: Listen up! Pay attention! Don’t be one of those fools who despise wisdom and instruction. (v. 7)

My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. (v. 10) If that is not good advice, I don’t know what is. It goes hand in hand with Psalm 1:1. In case there is any confusion over what “enticement” might look like, we get a pretty good word picture of plotting an ambush — highway robbery, if you will. And what are the natural consequences for such evil?

[T]hese men lie in wait for their own blood;
they set an ambush for their own lives.
Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.

Proverbs 1:18-19

Although the word picture describes a particular type of crime, the principle is much more general. It really applies to any sin. Whatever the temptation might be, the “prize” is not worth it, and the sin ultimately leads to death.

Proverbs 1:1-7

Today we get the preface to Proverbs. In the first verse we see that King Solomon is the primary author, though we learn later that there are other contributors to this book. We then learn that the purpose and goal of this book is to convey wisdom in its various forms: instruction, understanding, insight, knowledge, prudence, discretion, learning, guidance. But wisdom is not just a goal unto itself; it is directed toward righteousness, justice, and equity. (Pr. 1:3)

Most importantly, we see in Pr. 1:7 that we must begin with the fear of the LORD. The importance of the fear of the LORD is reinforced throughout Proverbs. (See Pr. 1:29; 2:5; 8:13; 9:10; 10:27; 14:26-27; 15:16; 15:33; 16:6; 19:23; 22:4; 23:17.)

We also see that fools despise wisdom and instruction, which sets up a contrasting theme. That is, we see that although the goal of this book is to encourage and cultivate wisdom founded on the fear of the LORD, there are those (i.e., fools) who deliberately choose to reject wisdom. As we look around us today — 3,000 years after this book was written — it is obvious that such fools abound, lacking any fear of the LORD and despising wisdom and instruction. Let’s not be among them; rather, let’s pay heed to what Solomon (and others) had to say. Let’s accept instruction and seek out wisdom, treasuring it and walking in the fear of the LORD.

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Finally, before we get too far into Proverbs, let’s just sort out the difference between knowledge and wisdom:

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

Miles Kington

🙂

As you may have noticed from the reading schedule, tomorrow we’ll detour away from the Psalms for a bit and dive into the Book of Proverbs, perhaps the central book of Old Testament “wisdom literature”. The first verse is a bit misleading as it appears to attribute the entire book to King Solomon, but Solomon was not the sole author, as later chapters clearly indicate other authors. (See Prov. 24:23; 30:1; 31:1.) Solomon is nevertheless a driving force for much of this book, and rightly so, as Solomon was famous for his wisdom. (See I Kings 3;4:29-34.)

The majority of the Book of Proverbs consists of, well, proverbs; that is, adages, aphorisms, axioms, maxims — short sayings that present general truth, advice, or life observations. It is important to note that such proverbs should not be taken as prophecies or divine promises. Instead, they provide practical advice for living well — otherwise known as wisdom. For example, take Prov. 22:6, Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. That is not a promise that if you do a good job as a parent then your child is guaranteed to grow up to be an upstanding citizen. (I am sure we can all find examples of “rogue” offspring.) But it is a call to teach your children well and to set a good example — with the recognition that, for the most part, things will work out better that way. Of course, the other side of the coin is likewise generally true; that is, if a child is neglected or is encouraged toward bad behavior, then he is more likely to become a “ne’er-do-well” as an adult. (Yet we can likely point to exceptions to that, too.)

This month we’ll start on Proverbs with just the first nine chapters, which ironically do not contain many proverbs per se. 🙂 These early chapters instead contain longer passages that extol wisdom in contrast to folly (personifying both as women) and urge the reader (“my son”) to pay attention, to listen to instruction, and to gain wisdom that derives from the fear of the LORD.

Finally, as we read through Proverbs, bear in mind James 1:5: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

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For a more thorough introduction, see the following (among any number of other resources on the web):

• https://www.biblestudytools.com/proverbs/
• https://www.studylight.org/commentary/proverbs.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Proverbs

Today, verses that are so familiar to us from music and from their use in penitential services. I have a hard time simply reading verses 10-12 without singing them! Verse 15 is another verse that we recognize from liturgical use.

Verses 16-17 spoke to me today: For You will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; You will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. A few days ago I posted that God prefers our prayers of thanksgiving, praise, and asking over our “sacrifices” of service (our time, talent, and treasure). Today we see that He also prefers our broken and contrite hearts to these “burnt offerings” of service. That is, we need to add repentance to our prayers of praise, thanksgiving, and asking.

One other item with reference to verses 16-17. My more liberal academic Study Bible suggested that verses 18 and 19 were added later by “liturgists” who did not want sacrifices of burnt offerings to be so soundly diminished. Interesting…

Psalm 51:1-9

The header/title clearly places Psalm 51 in its historical setting. I’m sure you all know of David’s adultery with Bathsheba, but if you’ve never read the full account that includes Uriah’s death and Nathan’s prophetic encounter with David, you should read II Samuel 11-12:23 before you continue with today’s and tomorrow’s readings. It’s a life lesson on sin, repentance, and forgiveness for us all.

Two verses stood out for me today, back-to-back verses 3-4a. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight… As to “my sin ever before me” it is frustrating to me to be confessing the same sins over and over, but there are habits/addictions that are hard to break. And as for verse 4a, I typically think of my transgression as if I am sinning against myself or someone else, but I seldom think of my sin as hurting God. My relationship with God, yes, but hurting Him… That’s a different thought.

Psalm 50:16-23

Today, the wicked… (v. 16) In Job and in our reading of past Psalms it has seemed to me like “the wicked” were outsiders or other nations – certainly not participants in regular Jewish rituals. But in Psalm 50 God has made it clear through the psalmist that He is speaking to Israelites: Gather to Me My faithful ones, who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice! (v. 5) That is, “the wicked” join in with and are those people who bring their sacrifices and offerings, who attend temple worship and make annual pilgrimages. Today we might see them in church on Sundays and active in various ministries, maybe even active leaders in their congregations! (Personal note and clarification: I am not making ANY suggestions as to St. Andrew’s members, but no doubt there are regular church attendees worldwide who behave like “the wicked” described in today’s reading.) The “outside world” sees many church people as hypocrites; Christians on the far right have certainly hurt the image of the church as a caring, loving body.

As I have said the past few days, I like to consider myself to be aligned with “those of honest intent”, not with “the wicked”. However, I don’t have to look very far back in my life to see that I have hated discipline (v. 17a) or have spoken against “my brother” (v. 20). In Job we read, “I have made a covenant with my eyes.” (v. 31:1) I need to make that covenant with my lips!

Psalm 50:7-15

Yesterday I noted from my Study Bible that today’s reading would be words of correction for those of “honest intent” (vv. 7-15), with tomorrow’s reading a sharp rebuke of “the wicked” (vv. 16-23). And as I read today’s verses I can see that these authors are correct. The Israelites are offering their daily sacrifices, as the Lord prescribed in Leviticus, so that’s a good thing. However, I get the sense that these sacrifices are, to the Israelites, the “be all, end all”, the essence of what they need to do to please God. Very likely they have this perspective from looking at other nations and the gods that they worship. Those peoples can never do enough to please their gods who, it seems, are always angry. But God is saying in today’s reading that the sacrifices are nice (Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you, v. 8), but that what He really wants is thanksgiving for all that He has done for them and more expressions of their need for Him (vv. 14-15).

I’ve long equated the sacrificial offerings of the Old Testament with our own “sacrifices” of our time, talent, and treasure to the Lord. I see the time that people put in through the ministries we have at St. Andrew’s. For many of these ministries people are also offering their talent (flowers, Children’s Worship, Avanza, etc., especially our upcoming Creative Arts Camp). And as church treasurer I record and summarize all the financial offerings from our generous congregation. And then I look at my own time, talent, and treasure offerings and ask if my praise, thanksgiving, and asking of the Lord matches those other “sacrifices”. Yes, I have “honest intent”. But with all that what I truly need, what the Lord truly wants is more prayer time, more “sacrifice of thanksgiving”, more praise, more asking.

Psalm 50:1-6

Today’s six verses form a prelude to the rest of the Psalm. Today God is calling His people forth for judgment. See verse 5a (God speaking), “Gather to Me My faithful ones…” Over the next two days (according to my Study Bible) God will offer “words of correction for those of honest intent” (vv. 7-15) and a “sharp rebuke of ‘the wicked’ among them” (vv. 16-23).

It’s interesting to me that God could look on His Old Testament people and see “those of honest intent” and “the wicked”. I presume that He could look down today upon our church body and see the same two groups. I like to put myself in that former group, but with a presumption like that I wonder if I belong to that second group. God, be merciful to me, a sinner! (Luke 18:13)

He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that He may judge His people… (v. 4) Again, my Study Bible pointed out that when Moses renewed the covenant on Mt. Sinai, he called upon heaven and earth as third-party witnesses to this renewal (Deuteronomy 30:19, 31:28). Now God is calling to heaven and earth to confirm that His judgments in the rest of this Psalm are consistent with that covenant.

Psalm 49:10-20

Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. (v. 11) Suppose we edit and rearrange this a bit: Though they called lands by their own names … their graves are their homes forever. That old line, “You can’t take it with you.” Too true – the psalmist knew this thousands of years ago. It’s as true today. Intriguing that many funeral homes today are called “Legacy Centers”, trying to impress upon people that even though you die, your legacy remains. Perhaps a better thought is a two-line bit from a poem by C. T. Studd (1860-1931): “Only one life, twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.”