The Process of Inspiration

Proverbs 12:28 (KJV) In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway therefor there is no death.

I don’t know what the scholars would say, but let’s assume for our discussion that Solomon wrote this chapter of Proverbs.  Sometimes the Bible will tell us, other times it’s open to our speculation, but for today this is Solomon writing.

What must have gone through Solomon’s mind as he wrote this?  It’s possible that he was thinking figuratively and talking about the quality of life, but it doesn’t seem probable.  It would seem to me as I read this that the message is clear about life after death.  If we want to know life after death, then righteousness is the avenue that we must follow.

Some people like to say that the ancient Hebrews did not believe in an afterlife.  Personally, I think this works against that idea.  Was Solomon aware of all that he was saying or was God just directing him to put this down?

So?  Keep in mind that inspiration works in multiple ways.  First of all it has to do with the actual writing.  After that we have the process of handing down the scripture, preserving it.  Then we have what it says to us as we actually read it and the Holy Spirit ministers to us.  Read.  Meditate.  Apply.  

How Is It Possible?

Proverbs 11:31 (KJV) Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

Once again, this word “righteous” just keeps coming up.  This time it’s in Proverbs.  Other times it’s in Psalms.  The word is not isolated to these two books.  And yet we have people quoting Paul saying that there are none righteous.

A recurring problem we have when reading the Bible is that we are dealing with the translation.  This is common to many books.  It is especially a problem with the Bible when we take the meanings that we attach to our modern words and try to automatically transfer them over to the Bible without thinking about what the original Hebrew or Greek actually is trying to convey.  I think that’s part of what we’re dealing with with the idea of righteousness.

We tend to think of righteousness in a moral sense.  While the moral sense is included, the basic idea behind the Hebrew is justice.  It involves a straight up allegiance to the law.  It involves possibly fairness but not in our modern sense of fairness when we say, “That’s not fair”.  It is very possible to live a moral life in most areas and to be rejecting justice and thus rejecting righteousness.

So?  So live a righteous life.  Pay your bills.  Be quiet after 10 o’clock at night.  Don’t start up your jackhammer before eight in the morning.  Park between the lines.  Execute serial killers.  It has many applications. We can do this, because God makes it possible.  

Skip the Trial

Psalms 143:2 (KJV) And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.

(Proverbs 10 also read)

This is a great verse for “out of context with a fly-by technique”.  What I mean by that is you emphasize the final statement and ignore the total verse and other verses that relate to it.

This could easily be quoted as a proof text that there is no one who has ever been righteous or who ever will be righteous.  That could be used as a foundation for saying that we cannot live a holy life and that sinning is something we are locked into every day in word, thought and deed.  In fact, it has been used for that.  That is not the point of this verse.  Notice the beginning of the verse.  He’s talking here about God judging us, about God putting us on trial.  And the clear statement is that compared to God and His holiness none of us have any hope

Fast forward to the words of Jesus,

John 3:18 (KJV) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Through Jesus, and His shed blood, we can have forgiveness, restoration, regeneration.  We can be born again.

So?  If you are walking with Jesus, you have no fear of the judgment.  If you are living in the power of the spirit you have no fear of the judgment.  Our justification is not a matter of comparing us to the eternal holiness of God in our natural sinful state.  Fear not. 

Jailbreak

Psalms 142:7 (KJV) Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.

(Proverbs 9 also read)

David has an interesting expression here, his soul is in prison.  Now I think we can assume he is still alive.  He is not traveling to Sheol.  He’s not in the grave.  He’s not locked up in some Philistine gaol.  This is a spiritual or emotional or psychological situation.  If we were just looking at the Bible and didn’t have our modern terminologies, I would simply say he’s having a bad day spiritually.

Have you ever had a bad day spiritually?  I assume that’s a rhetorical question.  Maybe you’re one of those rare individuals that never has had a down moment.  I accept that.  Most of us however, have had down days.  We should feel free to ask God to lift us out of that.

At the same time I can’t help but feel that perhaps David is getting the cart before the horse.  Or I could be just looking for some technique that brings renewal.  I will do just that.  I will suggest you take the second half of this verse and spend some time in praise about who God is and what He’s done for you.  Somehow, I think that will open up channels for His Spirit to refresh you.

So?  Don’t wallow in the pond of despair or whatever Pilgrim called It.  I enjoy the words of that chorus which went, “Reach out to Jesus, He’s reaching out to you.”  

The Attribute of Wisdom

Proverbs 8:22 (KJV) The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.

One of the puzzles that keeps coming to my attention is the place of wisdom in creation.  If you read down through this chapter, you find that it seems wisdom is there at the beginning, and is a part of the creation process.  There is a tendency to personify wisdom.  That is a mistake because wisdom is not God.  Wisdom is not the fourth person of the trinity.  What I see happening here is that the attribute of God, wisdom, is involved in the creation process.

When I look at the universe around me, I think of the creativity of God.  I see it from my front porch in the oak trees, the wild flowers, even in the dandelions and weeds.  Creativity is an attribute in my mind.  I think I would add to that creativity takes place in the context of wisdom.  It’s not just a matter of seeing what kind of wild and crazy ideas you can come up with.  It is a matter of assembling all of this, in an attitude of wisdom.

So?  As we go through our day it’s not just a matter of seeing how creative we can be or what kind of bright ideas we can have.  It is a matter of us taking the wisdom of God which He offers to us and applying it to our unique situations.  Of course, we need to apply it to the every day situations that everyone faces, especially to the unique ones. 

Plan for the Day

(Pro 7:8 KJV)  Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,

If you look through this chapter in Proverbs, you see the story of a young man who is seduced by a married woman whose husband is out of town, and the end of the story is that his soul is lost to hell.  At least that is a common way of reading it and interpreting it.  I will grant you that parts of this are true and accurate.

The woman was out looking for some action.  It is clear that she knows her husband is going to be gone for a while and that she has a clear field for her operation.  She is out on the prowl.  That much is clear.  She has her house all set up for a night of wild abandon, and she is ready to go.  All she needs is someone to fill the role of seduced.

Enter the young man.  Some might think that he is the innocent victim.  In a sense he is a victim because if he had found no one to fill the spot in his soul, he would have gone home frustrated.  However, this verse tells us that he took the path to her house.  I guess it’s possible that this was just a coincidence.  It may have been an accident.  Or maybe it wasn’t.

We can’t know for sure with him.  We can know for sure with us.  We can know what our ultimate goal is for the day.  We can know that certain pathways will not get us to our goal if our goal is righteous.  We can know that certain behaviors will make it impossible to reach a goal of righteousness.

So?  What is your goal for the day?  Where do you want to be when the sun goes down?  Do you have a choice of paths?  Choose prayerfully.  Choose wisely . Choose with eternity in mind. 

Yes, Virginia, There Is Evil

Proverbs 6:12 (NKJV) A worthless person, a wicked man, Walks with a perverse mouth;

Somewhere this week, I read that letter that was written, assuring Virginia that there was a Santa Claus.  That came to mind today as I was reading this verse.  We tend to be surrounded by doubters.  These doubters look at what is obvious, they look at the teachings of the Bible, they listen to the wisdom of their elders, and then decide all people are basically good.  They decide that it is society that is the problem and that we have to do away with all of the established norms in order to set the goodness in us free.

Not so fast.

The Bible is very clear that there are “worthless” people.  There is evil, and there are evil people.  At the same time, we are told to turn the other cheek, to witness with gentleness and reverence, and to be courteous.  None of those do away with the fact that most of the people we work with are on the side of evil, and although they don’t radiate the fact, they themselves are lost in sin.

So?  No one ever said it would be easy.  We are seeking to live the righteous life.  In doing so we become a target of those who hate righteousness and who reject the holiness of God.  Make sure you’re on the right side.