Proverb A Day, Proverb 24 [Prayer and Meditation]

Peter tells us that we should always be ready with a response to any question about the reason for our faith. 1 Peter 3:15. Thus the reason Paul told Timothy to be diligent in his studies to rightly divide the truth, 2 Timothy 2:15, because many will come and give false answers just to satisfy the itchy ears of the lost. 2 Timothy 4:1-5. So it is up to us to be prepared to help the lost find the way. If you desire to share the Gospel, and you should, then be sure you are prepared to answer the questions that will come your way. If you cannot properly respond to a persons questions, then don't wing it, be honest and tell them you will find the answer and get back to them. Most heresy begins with individuals who share the Word, but do not know the Word.

Probably the most asked question I get while sharing the Gospel is,

To begin with, we also learned from Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:11, that God has set eternity in our hearts. What does this mean? Well, common misconception is that people of the world who have never been visited by anyone sharing the Gospel are lost for eternity. So many actually reject the Gospel since their ancestors were unfairly judged and thus they consider God an unjust God. Sadly many Christians actually believe that their own ancestors may be lost because they were just fumbling around in darkness their whole life. Wrong! God set eternity in the hearts of all men so that we would seek Him. Just like a child who was put up for adoption may one day search out their true parent, so too all humans desire to meet the Parent of their eternal soul. Or as I like to say, The Lover of our souls, our Creator Christ Jesus.

In places that have not had the Gospel shared, people tend to create a god on their own. Some good, and some bad, but they need a higher power to believe in because their heart instinctively tells them there is more to life than what we know. People will point out that just because they made a god does not mean they are saved. I would agree, but for a different reason that you may think. For me, I go to today's Proverb, Proverb 24:12 and see that God does not hold us accountable for things we do not know. He will not condemn a person if they are not walking in the way that we who have the truth understand is right. What He does is look at the heart. Would this individual stop doing the things that are evil if they were presented with the truth?

There is precedence for this being true, consider those in Ephesus who practiced magic, but burned books together in the sight of all when they were convinced of the Gospel. All they needed was convincing under good reasoning that they were wrong, and their hearts were of the type that God knew they would accept the Gospel. Acts 19:19. God knows if you will stop doing evil if your eyes were open. Abraham's father was a man who sold idols, Abraham heard a voice from God and learned it was wrong. God knew his heart and knew he would change his ways once he knew the truth. Same with Moses, he learned after he met God at the burning bush what the truth was, and ceased doing things he learned were wrong.

Don Richardson wrote a book on this topic titled, "Eternity In Their Hearts". In it he provides evidence of foreign tribes scattered throughout the world having had found some knowledge of God, biblical ethics, and Judeo-Christian traditions. Truly God is at work in the world, providing some evidence of Himself to the peoples of the most remote areas of the world. God is a missionary God, and we are His instruments. But, even without us, He is making His ways known.

You ever wonder why in Genesis 2:9 that the bad tree in the Garden was named the, "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil?" Think about it, it wasn't until they ate the fruit that they knew they were naked and considered it to be something wrong. After all, they had been living without cloths all along and never had a problem with it. Then they eat the fruit and consider their nakedness is something that should be covered. [[[I will share more on Tree of knowledge at another time]]].

Now Paul tells us in Romans chapter 7 that the Law was given to man so that we would know what was sin and what wasn't. It did not save us, but it did distinguish the difference between good and bad, where as the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, just made us aware that there was a morality difference in the way we live. It wasn't until the Law that we would learn the difference, and then understand why we were lost and needed a savior.

Before the law, one would not know they were not following God's desires of a proper way a child of God should. Just as those who lived before they were given the Gospel, they did not know what was right in God's eye, so they lived as they thought was right, but when they learned the truth when others came and shared the Law and how to be saved from the Law. The ones with good hearts stopped their evil ways. Had those missionaries not brought the Gospel to them, and taught the truth of God's commandments, their eternal fate would still be in God's hands, but they may make it while still having lived a life that is far more sinful than one who knows the truth could live. Now you know why the Proverb says,

Proverb 24 (NKJV)
Do Not Envy Evil Men

01 Do not be envious of evil men,
00 Nor desire to be with them;
02 For their heart devises violence,
00 And their lips talk of troublemaking.

03 Through wisdom a house is built,
00 And by understanding it is established;
04 By knowledge the rooms are filled
00 With all precious and pleasant riches.

05 A wise man is strong,
00 Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength;
06 For by wise counsel you will wage your own war,
00 And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.

07 Wisdom is too lofty for a fool;
00 He does not open his mouth in the gate.

08 He who plots to do evil
00 Will be called a schemer.
09 The devising of foolishness is sin,
00 And the scoffer is an abomination to men.
10 If you faint in the day of adversity,
00 Your strength is small.
11 Deliver those who are drawn toward death,
00 And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.
12 If you say, "Surely we did not know this,"
00 Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it?
00 He who keeps your soul, does He not know it?
00 And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?

13 My son, eat honey because it is good,
00 And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste;
14 So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul;
00 If you have found it, there is a prospect,
00 And your hope will not be cut off.

15 Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;
00 Do not plunder his resting place;
16 For a righteous man may fall seven times
00 And rise again,
00 But the wicked shall fall by calamity.

17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
00 And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
18 Lest the LORD see it, and it displease Him,
00 And He turn away His wrath from him.

19 Do not fret because of evildoers,
00 Nor be envious of the wicked;
20 For there will be no prospect for the evil man;
00 The lamp of the wicked will be put out.

21 My son, fear the LORD and the king;
00 Do not associate with those given to change;
22 For their calamity will rise suddenly,
00 And who knows the ruin those two can bring?

Further Sayings of the Wise
23 These things also belong to the wise:
00 It is not good to show partiality in judgment.
24 He who says to the wicked, "You are righteous,"
00 Him the people will curse;
00 Nations will abhor him.
25 But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,
00 And a good blessing will come upon them.

26 He who gives a right answer kisses the lips.

27 Prepare your outside work,
00 Make it fit for yourself in the field;
00 And afterward build your house.

28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,
00 For would you deceive with your lips?
29 Do not say, "I will do to him just as he has done to me;
00 I will render to the man according to his work."

30 I went by the field of the lazy man,
00 And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;
31 And there it was, all overgrown with thorns;
00 Its surface was covered with nettles;
00 Its stone wall was broken down.
32 When I saw it, I considered it well;
00 I looked on it and received instruction:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
00 A little folding of the hands to rest;
34 So shall your poverty come like a prowler,
00 And your need like an armed man.

The purpose of Writing the book of Proverbs was to reveal the mind of God in matters high and lofty and in common, ordinary, everyday situations. It appears that no topic escaped King Solomon's attention. Matters pertaining to personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and Godliness are among the many topics covered in this rich collection of wise sayings.

Without wisdom, knowledge is nothing more than an accumulation of raw facts, influenced by emotional feelings. Many highly educated people are in positions of power in the United States, but very few of those educated leaders have the wisdom needed to rule properly.

One can say that they have been educated well beyond their intelligence. A cursory look at the court system will prove my point that knowledge without wisdom will only lead to an immoral society that eventually crumbles from within. Judges are supposed to be above the fray, and immovable to emotions. Instead, the vast majority of judges today are Godless individuals who are vacant of wisdom. So their rulings are totally based upon emotional feelings.

We the people are to blame, because we ignored God's guidance in appointing our leaders. Instead of putting leaders full wisdom in power, we instead chose those who would scratch our itchy ears to lead us.

Of the 31 Proverbs, only the first 24 were written by Solomon. King Hezekiah wrote 5, Proverbs 25 to 29, Agur wrote Proverb 30, and Lemuel wrote Proverb 31. Now many believe Lemuel was in fact King Solomon and Lemuel was just a nick name his Mother, Bathsheba gave him. We are told that Solomon write over 3000 Proverbs and composed 1000 songs, but the only Proverbs God decided to preserve for us are Proverbs 1-24. Like the New Testament epistle by James, it is impossible to get a chronological outline for a study since they all bounce from subject to subject.

Along with my daily routine of reading the Bible, I try to read through the book of Proverbs once a Month. It's an easy task when you consider there are 31 Proverbs. So all you need to know is what day of the Month it is. In the Months that have 30 days, or in the case of February, I just double up by reading more than one two proverb so I can begin the next month with Proverb 1 on the first again.

Mat 11:20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:

Mat 11:21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Mat 11:22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

Mat 11:23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

Mat 11:24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

This passage in Matthew is very interesting in light of "not knowing" the Word. In them, Jesus Christ upbraids Israel in their disbelief in His signs, miracles and wonders, that had the same been done in Tyre and Sidon (a spiritually dark hell hole) they would have believed.

Jesus Christ seems to be saying, Tyre and Sidon will be judged on their deeds in the end and may well receive more rewards than Isreal, due to their their utter disbelief.

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