March, 2010

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A Look at Proverbs 10.29

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Pr 10:29
29 The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the upright,
But ruin to the workers of iniquity.

The Parts

Parallelism Examined

29a

29b

the way of the Lord

(the way of the __________)
{Which is anything other than the Lord!}

stronghold

ruin

to the upright

to the workers of iniquity

stronghold – safety, protection, fortress. The verb related to this noun carries the idea of taking shelter quickly, Ex9.19 (safety); Jer4.6; 6.1. In word-pictures we would see mountains, a harbor, a temple.

upright – ethically sound, with integrity. The related verb speaks of being “complete.” Pictures an “entire” (day), “healthy” (vine), “soundness” (of flesh). It’s used of sacrifices, to be complete, healthy, sound.

ruin – cf: Pr10.14. Basic idea is to be broken.

workers – often used of moral activity, i.e., someone foreign to God’s things, plan, land, people, kingdom.

References to consider:

Pr 21:15
15 The exercise of justice is joy for the righteous,
But is terror to the workers of iniquity.
cf: Ps52.7; 28.8; Isa25.4; 27.5

Ps 27:1
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?

Job 1:1; 9:20
1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.
20 “Though I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me;
Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty.
(This is not perfectionism or self-righteousness! Job never claimed sinlessness. He was whole-hearted in his commitment and life to the Lord.)

Sharpening for my life today:

As with the previous Proverb, our stronghold rests exclusively on the Lord’s justice and nature! This Proverb hits at the very heart of our security! That security is in integrity with the Lord and a whole-hearted life with Him.

It is worth the time to define: “The way of the Lord” . . .

And, it’s worth the time to define what is not: “The way of the Lord” . . .

Here’s a good opportunity to take some time and get a fresh look at the Lord of these Proverbs. The following article will get you well started.

The Doctrine of God in the Proverbs
His names. The name Yahweh is used of God in Proverbs eighty-seven times, ˒Ĕlōhîm occurs only seven times (Pr2:5, 17; 3:4; 14:31; 25:2; 30:5, 9) and ˓Ĕlōāh occurs once (Pr30:5). God is also called the Holy One (Pr9:10; 30:3), the Righteous One (Pr21:12), the Defender (Pr23:11), and the Maker (Pr14:31; 17:5; 22:2).

His attributes. The attributes of God presented in the book of Proverbs include his holiness (“the Holy One,” Pr9:10; 30:3), omnipresence (Pr5:21; 15:3), omnipotence (as the Creator of the universe [Pr3:19–20; 8:22–31; 30:4] and of man’s ears and eyes [Pr20:12; 29:13], and the Maker of the poor [Pr14:31; 17:5; 22:2] and the rich [Pr22:2]), and omniscience (in examining and knowing death [Pr15:11], man’s conduct [Pr5:21; 21:2], man’s motives [Pr16:2], and heart [Pr17:3; 20:27; 24:12] and in seeing good and evil [Pr15:3], and those who gloat over others’ misfortunes [Pr4:16–17]).

God also possesses sovereignty, working everything for His purposes (Pr16:4; 19:21), even determining man’s decisions (Pr16:33) and course of action (v. 9), directing the hearts (or interests and decisions) of kings (Pr21:1), and superseding every plan of mankind (Pr19:21; 21:30). God has wisdom (Pr3:19–20) and justice. In His justice (Pr29:26) He is the Righteous One (Pr21:12) who thwarts and punishes the wicked (Pr3:33; 10:3; 11:8; 21:12; 22:12), the crafty (Pr12:2), and the proud (Pr15:25), and He upholds the poor and afflicted (Pr22:22–23; 23:10–11). His justice is equitable for He repays man in accord with his conduct (Pr20:22; 24:12), and rewards the righteous (Pr19:17; 25:22).

In His justice God hates perversity (Pr3:32; 11:20), pride (Pr6:17; 16:5), lying (Pr6:17–19; 12:22), violence (“hands that shed innocent blood,” Pr6:17), wicked scheming and actions (v. 18), dissension (v. 19), dishonesty (Pr11:1; 20:10, 23), hypocrisy (“the sacrifice of the wicked,” Pr15:8; 21:27; the prayers of the lawless, Pr28:9), and injustice (Pr17:15).

God’s personality is evident in that He loves and disciplines (Pr3:12), hates (Pr6:16–19), delights (in honest business dealings, Pr11:1; in the conduct of the blameless, v. 20 [cf. Pr16:7a]; in people who are truthful, Pr12:22; and in the prayers and righteous conduct of the godly, Pr15:8–9).

His actions. The preceding paragraphs show that God’s attributes reveal a number of His actions. These include creating, seeing, examining, purposing, influencing, directing, punishing, defending, rewarding, hating, loving, and delighting. Other actions include giving wisdom (Pr1:7; 2:6), giving grace to the humble (Pr3:34), protecting the righteous (Pr2:7-8; 3:26; 10:29; 14:26; 15:25; 18:10; 19:23; 29:25; 30:5), providing for the righteous (Pr10:3), delivering the righteous (Pr20:22), blessing the righteous (Pr3:33; 10:22; 12:2), giving life (Pr10:27), giving men prudent wives (Pr18:22; 19:14), directing those who trust Him (Pr3:5–6), giving people words to say (Pr16:1), guiding man’s ways (“steps,” v. 9; Pr20:24) and decisions (Pr16:33), and hearing the prayers of the righteous (Pr15:29).

Roy B. Zuck, A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, electronic ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1991), 238–239.

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A Look at Proverbs 10.28

Friday, March 12th, 2010

Pr 10.28
28 The hope of the righteous is gladness,
But the expectation of the wicked perishes.

Parallelism Examined

28a

28b

hope

expectation

righteous

wickedness

(comes to reality as)

perishes

gladness

(with no gladness)

hope – an expectation in the future. Hope does not reside in the person, hope resides in the object of hope. Hope becomes a motivation in a person based on the “foundation” of hope.

Since “good” is always sourced in God, any expectation of such is also sourced in God.

expectation – or “hope,” a synonym of the above word. Used in Zech 9.17 where he calls God’s people “prisoners of the hope”!

gladness – joy, mirth

The root word pictures glad and joyful with the whole disposition as indicated by its association with the heart (Ex4.14; Ps19.18; 104.15; 105.3), soul (Ps86.4), and eyes (Pr15.30).

Many things bring such gladness, e.g., wine (Ps104.15), ointment and perfume (Pr27.9), a wise son (Pr10.1), a kind word (Pr12.25), meeting a loved one (Ex14.14), God’s law (Ex19.8), and more. The Lord and His salvation are cited most frequently as the reason for joy.

Such gladness is to be shared, Dt12.7!

While fools find joy in folly (Pr15.21), the righteous find everlasting joy (Isa51.11).

Gladness is frequently used for holy days (Num10.10).

perishes – perish, be destroyed, die, withers like a plant!

References to consider:

Pr 24.20
20 For there will be no future for the evil man;
The lamp of the wicked will be put out.

Pr 11.7
7 When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish,
And the hope of strong men perishes.

Pr 15.21
21 Folly is joy to him who lacks sense,
But a man of understanding walks straight.

Is 51.11
11 So the ransomed of the Lord will return
And come with joyful shouting to Zion,
And everlasting joy will be on their heads.
They will obtain gladness and joy,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

On the “righteous” and the “wicked,” see the previous notes on Pr10.27.

On the future of the wicked . . . 

their wages are deceptive, Pr11.8
their treasures are without value, Pr10.2
their hopes come to “destruction,” Pr10.28
what they dread occurs, Pr10.24
the Lord thwarts their craving, Pr10.3
the Lord allows them to be hungry, Pr13.25
the Lord curses them, Pr3.33
they are ensnared by their evil deeds, Pr5.22
they are humbled before the righteous, Pr14.19
they are punished, Pr10.16
they are overthrown, Pr12.7
they are brought down by calamity, Pr14.32
they experience trouble, Pr11.8, ruin, Pr3.8, disaster, Pr16.4, violence, Pr10.6, premature death, Pr10.27
they perish, Pr11.10, are swept away, Pr10.25, destroyed, Pr14.11, snuffed out, Pr24.20

Sharpening for my life today:

The expectations of the wicked are weighed against their aspiration, sin, and, against God’s justice. Because expectations rest on their foundations, the way of the expectation is the way of the foundation!

Here’s a gem from the Lord that goes to the heart of hope!

Learn carefully, when hope is realized you find relief, strength, confidence, patience, peace. Our hope rests in God’s Word and Work! Pr23.17-19, the righteous have a “latter end” (NASB margin on Pr23.18) while the “wicked” are “cut off.”

Consider carefully, real hope finds its harbor in God, His character, His justice, and most definitely His “loyal-love,” most definitely the heart of hope!

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The “Z” Tree

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
Copyright www.dasyas.com

The "Z" Tree

Here’s a very unusual tree I recently photographed in the Florida Everglades. At firsts glance, this dwarf cypress is a little, maybe a lot, weird! It looks deformed, out of place.

The more I looked at this tree, the more it was causing me to open my eyes, and my heart! The tree has obviously been through a great deal, probably several hurricanes!

It has obviously been broken, damaged severely, even deformed in its life. Yet, even with the hardships it has stood its ground, grown as the Lord provided, and stands today lifting its branches toward the heavens!

Clearly, faithfulness and steadfastness may not be demonstrated in the tallest, sleekest, most well developed (on the outside!), but there’s no question of the faithfulness and steadfastness of one who shows the scars of life and yet stands firm in whatever the Lord has allowed!

The more I thought of this little “Z” tree, the more lessons for my life began to unfold. I often think those scars, hurts, and heartaches don’t really belong. Yet, I know the Lord has allowed them, and, I know He wants to be glorified in my life, even with those things.

My heart was turned to the words of the Apostle Paul who had a “thorn” in his flesh. He even sought the Lord to remove it, but, the Lord said, “No.” Instead of that “fix” that seemed so desirable at first, the Lord promised, in the midst of the “thorn” (or scar, or hurt, or heartache) an even greater glory, His grace would be displayed as sufficient!

For, God is able to take us “Z” trees and demonstrate clearly His grace is sufficient! When the Lord said to the Apostle Paul, . . . , “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness,” Paul responded, “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Co 12:9–10)

The “Z” tree had a message for me and maybe it has a message for you too, for the Lord’s grace is truly sufficient to those sustained by what He faithfully provides, even in the storms of life.

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