December 1, 2008

Today's Reading - Proverbs 1
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Following Scripture Verses

1. The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
2. To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
3. To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
4. To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
5. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
6. To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
7. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
8. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
9. For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
10. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
11. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
12. Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
13. We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
14. Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
15. My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
16. For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
17. Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
18. And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
19. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
20. Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
21. She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
22. How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
23. Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
24. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
25. But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
26. I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
27. When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
28. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
29. For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
30. They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
31. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
32. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
33. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

Today's Pathway:
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"For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil." - Proverbs 1:32

In these closing verses of the chapter we see the contrast between the man who chooses to listen to the Lord and the one who chooses to reject Him. Solomon paints a very sad picture of the foolish man. He turns away from the admonition of the Scriptures, and this simple choices ruins his life. Note that it does not say that he commits murder, or becomes a thief, or any of the other "serious" sins that people think that would bring severe punishment. He simple turns away from God, and that is enough.

The second half of the verse shows how a fool can be swayed by his material prosperity. This man does not make decisions based upon the Bible; he makes them based upon whether or not his own selfish needs are being met. As long as he is making money and enjoying the pleasures of life, everything must be OK. Of course, this thinking will ultimately result in his destruction.

Verse 33 shows the end result of the man who obeys God. It indicates that he stops to listen to what the Lord says, and then acts accordingly. It does not say that he will be financially prosperous, but it offers him something better: safety and fearlessness. Many a rich man would gladly exchange his prosperity for some peace and quiet. Many live in fear that others will take what they possess. Still others, if they would be honest, have a fear of dying and standing before God because they know that they have rebelled against Him. The man who has faithfully obeyed the Lord has none of these concerns, and he would never trade places with the fool.

Don't turn away from Biblical principles. Hearken unto His Words, and His blessings will be yours.

Pastor Mark J Montgomery