Saucy

Proverbs 7:18 (KJV) Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.

This person is a good example of the dangers of quoting the Bible out of context.  This sounds like the beginning of a romance novel.  If you get a chance, look over this whole section where the local whore is seducing the young fool.  It’s pretty graphic.  If you quoted just as verse, you might think that the Bible is approving

Obviously that’s not the case.  At least it’s obvious to me and I think to you.  It may not be obvious to the person who has not read their Bible at all.  Be leery of one-word proof text.  There are times when it works.  There are times when it is disastrous.  I have been in a lot of discussions lately, where people are taking quotes out of context and using them for their own purposes.  We must be alert.

So?  The more you read the more you are informed.  The more familiar you are with the real thing the easier it is to detect the false.  May God bless your thinking and your reasoning.  

Was Solomon Confused?

Proverbs 6:16 (KJV) These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

Notice how Solomon seems to change his mind halfway through the sentence.  He starts off talking about six things and then decides that there are seven.  Did he really change his mind or was he just using a literary device.  I think it was a literary device.

We need to be careful when we read to not take things literally which are designed to be taken figuratively.  This is a good example which does not necessarily affect any theology that might change your mind about how inspired scripture can be changed when people talk about God, not changing his mind.  They obviously don’t take into consideration things like this or how He repented of creating man when He was talking just before Noah.

So?  Read with discernment . Read with your brain turned on.  Yes I know there are times when we find ourselves reading in a zombie state.  That just means you have to back up and hit it again.  

Yes, They Do

Proverbs 5:13 (KJV) And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!

I have a picture of judgment day.  The picture varies depending on my mood, but one of the landscapes that I see is that people are standing before God and claiming ignorance. “I didn’t know.”  “No one ever told me.”  “It’s not my fault.”   All I can really say is , “Yes, they did.”

In Proverbs here it talks about how they didn’t listen, let alone obey.  They didn’t listen mainly because they didn’t want to hear what was being said.  It’s kind of like when you get on an airplane and the stewardesses stand up in the aisle and go through the nonsense of showing you how to buckle up the buckle and unbuckle the buckle.  They go through how to put on a vest in case of a water landing.  It always mystifies me when I’m flying from San Antonio to Las Vegas where they think they’re going to find a body water big enough to crash land an airplane.  But they go through the motions.  I tune them out.

That may be no big deal on an airplane flying over desert and being instructed on the water landing.  I pay a little bit more attention when they point to the exit rows.  Most people have many people pointing out exit rows to them.  But they don’t listen.

So?  Pay attention.  I like to think that anybody reading this it’s doing that.  I certainly work at it.  God will let you know what you need to know if you want to hear it.  

You Don’t Need to Look under the Rocks

Proverbs 4:16 (KJV) For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

Every month as I come to Proverbs 4 this verse stands out to me.  I am reminded not only that evil as a force is very real and there are evil people in the world, but that these individuals are focused on spreading the evil and causing problems for others.

You don’t have to go looking for the bugs, they come to you.  Just like in Texas we don’t have to go looking for scorpions. They somehow have a way of wiggling their way through cracks and showing up in our bathrooms.  I have found them tucked in the shower curtain.  I’ve seen centipedes 5 inches long crawling across the floor of my bedroom.  In the same way, your neighbors, your coworkers, and possibly even members of your family are out to get you.  It’s not just you being paranoid.

So?  All the more reason to live in faith and faithfulness.  All the more reason to follow the righteous path and keep our eyes on the things that God is teaching us and His wisdom literature. He will be your shield. 

Double Promise

Proverbs 3:16 (KJV) Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.

Living a life based on wisdom comes with a promise.  When I said a double promise, I wasn’t referring to the first and second parts of the verse.  I was referring to the double meaning you can have when we talk about length of days.

There is the obvious sense in which we will live longer lives.  Wisdom, if nothing else, tends to create more healthy activities, and more moderation in the crazy activities of life.  So however long you would’ve lived without the touch of God’s wisdom, you will live longer with it.

The second sense which is not necessarily obvious or even implied is the concept of eternity.  The wise person trusts in God.  A wise person repents, and calls upon Jesus to forgive his sins.  As a result, the wise person enters eternity with anticipation that he will be spending it in the presence of Almighty God.

So?  Choose the path of wisdom.  Get started on eternity today. 

The Blessings for Israel

Proverbs 2:22 (KJV) But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

Obviously, this person is not talking about blessings.  Consider it though in the context.  The previous verse talks about blessings.  This one talks about the results of disobedience and rebellion.  One of the big questions that I have is how Israel can be the chosen people of God, and still be so blatantly rebellious and disobedient.  We even have what seems to be a promise in Romans about all Israel being saved.

One of the things I’ve noticed in reading through the Old Testament and the parts dealing with the law is that the promises of God to Israel seem to focus on this life, this world, before we die.  They are promised land.  They are promised a king.  We are promised a lot of things with the understanding that it is contingent upon their obedience.

They were in constant rebellion and rejection of God.  As a result the majority of Israelites, over the years, were regularly culled and discarded.  The faithful remnant receive the results of the promise.  Noticed that even here it’s not talking about eternal life, but being cut off from the Earth.

So?  Don’t get too excited about Israel’s place in the end times.  God will work that out the way He plans on, and we will have a little to say about it.  Focus on the fact that you have a promise of eternal life, because of the grace of God extended to you and your faith in Jesus.  That goes beyond the land.  That goes beyond the king sitting on a throne in Israel.  That goes into eternity. 

A Good Reminder

Proverbs 1:33 (KJV) But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

When I read promises like this, I find that it is a stabilizing reminder.  We need to be constantly reminded that God is watching over us, and that we are in His hand.

At the same time I tend to look at these as general assurances of protection, not specific guarantees that my 401(k) will not be devalued.  Security.  Safety.  Prosperity.  The repulsion of evil from our lives.  And since these are relative concepts, I can remember the time when I was down to being a month behind on my rent and nothing but a can of soup on the shelf.  I would not exactly consider that a time of celebration, but God saw me through.

So?  Trust.  Continue to live in joy.  God has our back.  He also has your front and sides and above us and below us.  Things are crazy in our world.  Things are calm in the heart of God.