Proverbs Reading Challenge – Chapter 7

Posted on February 3, 2020 by dkoop

PROVERBS 7

Congratulations!  If you are reading this you have completed one week.

At the beginning of chapter 7, for the third time, Solomon calls the young person back to the Word of God, (vs. 1) because keeping God’s commandments is a matter of life or death. The adulteress lives on a dead-end street: “Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death” (v. 27)

The familiar phrase “apple of your eye” (v. 2) refers to the pupil of the eye. We protect our eyes because they’re valuable to us, and so should we honor and protect God’s Word by obeying it. Sexual sin often begins with undisciplined eyes  (Matt. 5:27-30), but the heart of the problem is… the heart (Prov. 7:2-3). If we love God’s wisdom as we love those in our family, we wouldn’t want to visit the house of the harlot.

This chapter vividly describes a naive young man who falls into the trap of the adulteress. Note the steps that lead to his destruction.

He puts himself in a place where temptation will be (vv. 6-9). You get the impression that this young man is either terribly dumb or very proud, convinced that he can play with sin and get away with it. But he’s only tempting himself and heading for trouble. To begin with, he’s out at night (“walking in darkness”—see 2:13; John 3:19-21; 1 John 1:5-7), and he’s deliberately walking near the place of temptation and danger. He didn’t listen the wise counsel of the Lord, “Remove your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house” (5:8 NKJV). God’s Word wasn’t controlling his feet (3:26; 4:27).

We can’t help being tempted, but we can certainly help by not putting ourselves in places we know there will be temptation.

The woman pours on the temptation thick (vv. 10-20). Like the deadly spider in the web, the woman was watching at the window, ready to pounce on her prey. She was a man’s wife, but when he was out of town, she dressed like a prostitute so she could attract the men who were searching for her services.  While her husband was away, she saw no reason why she shouldn’t make some money and enjoy herself at the same time. She’d been in the streets, looking for victims (Prov. 7:11-12), but now one was coming right to her door!

She caught him kissed him (Prov. 5:3), and convinced him that it was an opportune time for him to visit her. Before leaving town, her husband had gone with her to the temple where he’d sacrificed a peace offering (Lev. 7:11-21), and she had some of the meat at home. She would prepare him a feast that he would never forget. “This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, and says, ‘I have done no wickedness’ ” (Prov. 30:20, NKJV).

She appeals to the young man’s male ego as she flatters him and makes him think he’s very special to her. What she’s offering to him she would never offer to anyone else! She appeals to his imagination as she describes her beautiful bed and the expensive spices that perfume it. She assures him that nobody will find out about it (except that somebody’s watching, 7:6) and that her husband won’t be home for many days. They have plenty of time to enjoy themselves.

He is destroyed by giving in to the temptation  (vv. 21-27). The youth made a sudden decision to follow the woman, and when he did, he began to act like an animal. He was no longer a young man, made in the image of God, but an ox going to the slaughter or a bird walking into the trap. Human beings are the only creatures in God’s creation who can choose what kind of creatures they want to be. God wants us to be sheep (Ps. 23:1; John 10; 1 Peter 2:25), but there are other options, such as horses or mules (Ps. 32:9), or even hogs and dogs (2 Peter 2:22). When we live outside the will of God, we lose our privileges as human beings made in His divine image.

By going to her house, her table, and her bed, the young man willfully disobeyed God’s Law, but the Lord didn’t intervene. He allowed the youth to indulge in his sensual appetites and suffer the consequences.   If the youth had looked up to the Lord and remembered His Word (Prov. 7:24), looked within and kept his heart focused on God’s truth (v. 25), and looked ahead to see the terrible consequences of his sin (vv. 26-27), he would have turned around and fled from the harlot’s clutches.

There are definite steps you can take to avoid sexual sins. First, guard your mind. Don’t read books, look at pictures, or encourage fantasies that stimulate the wrong desires. Second, keep away from settings or people that tempt you to sin. Third, don’t think only of the moment — focus on the future. Today’s thrill may lead to tomorrow’s ruin.

Until tomorrow, Darrell

http://www.Upwards.Church

Sources:
Bible Exposition Commentary – Old Testament
Life Application Bible Notes
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Proverbs Reading Challenge – Chapter 6

Posted on February 2, 2020 by dkoop

PROVERBS 6

 I hope that your day has been good.  I am praying for God to speak to you as we continue reading His word.

Chapter 6 deals with four enemies that can destroy a person financially, physically, morally and spiritually: unwise financial commitments (6:1–5)., laziness, (6:6–11), moral failures (6:12–15) & (6:16–19) and lust (vv. 20-35).

Unwise financial commitments (6:1–5)

This passage says that it is not wise to cosign a note “put up security for another” or, if a person has already made that mistake, they should get out of the arrangement as quickly as possible.

To co-sign or “put up security” (6:1) means to take responsibility for another person’s loan; so if the borrower defaults, the cosigner has to pay the obligation.   The idea is that no one should get into legal agreements and indebtedness in which circumstances are out of your control. This is certainly the case when co-signing for another.

Laziness, (6:6–11)

The ants are models of diligence in that they work tirelessly and they prepare for the winter in spite of having no administration to lay out economic plans. Laziness leads to inescapable poverty and ruin. “Like a bandit” and an “armed man,” laziness will steals time and resources until there is nothing left.

Moral failures:  scoundrel & villain (6:12–15) & 7 deadly sins (6:16–19)

Take note of two more people: the scoundrel and villain (6:12–15) the “scoundrel” is someone who works to undermine social and personal relationships for his own benefit. In particular he attempts to corrupt an organization’s ability to run smoothly (government, company or church).  The “villain” joins in the chaos caused by the scoundrel (they often run together) to steal something: resources, power or recognition they have not earned.

7 Deadly sins: The medieval church had its list of “seven deadly sins” (pride, anger, envy, impurity, gluttony, slothfulness, and avarice). Here, Proverbs provides us with a list that may be considered the Israelite version of the seven deadly sins. This teaching is arranged for easy memorization. The first five things the Lord hates are body parts set in a sequence that moves generally from the head to the feet (eyes, tongue, hands, heart, feet), and the last two are specific types of persons (the false witness and the troublemaker).

In each of the first five members of the list, some body part is associated with a particular type of sin. More specifically, the body parts that act out certain sins (e.g., hands that shed blood) represent the distorted personalities behind such actions.  it is that the verse uses such strong language in v. 16, saying that God “hates” or “detests” these things. The person whose eyes, hands, or feet carry out such deeds has a twisted soul and  grossly corrupts the image of God that should be recognizable in every human.

“Haughty eyes” are eyes that are lifted up in arrogance. The position of the eyes describes the attitude of the heart. The arrogant spirit may vaunt itself against any and all people, but fundamentally this reflects haughtiness before God and refusal to reckon with one’s finitude and creatureliness.

A “lying tongue” is a person who has no regard for truth. To lie is to distort reality for one’s own purposes and bespeaks a refusal to submit to norms of right and wrong; by lying, one seeks to rearrange not just individual facts but one’s just place in the world and so avoid having to live by the normal rules of life.

The phrase “hands that shed innocent blood” describes the violent personality and as such is one who would be prone to murder if circumstances were conducive. A lack of control over anger is implied, as is a profound lack of regard for the value of human life. This is the personality that will beat or even kill another person out of anger over a presumed insult.

The “heart that devises wicked schemes” might be in modern terms a sociopathic personality. Such a person has no regard for anything but that which might work to his or her advantage. Rules and values are used when it is beneficial to do so, but they are disregarded when they are inconvenient. Such a one is always looking for an edge over everyone else.

“Feet that rush to do evil” bespeak a terrible enthusiasm for opportunities to do wrong. Such an individual regards the occasion to sin, when it appears, as a stroke of good luck and a terrific chance to get away with breaking a rule and perhaps get something for nothing. But the benefit that may come is secondary; like the vandal who destroys property that he cannot steal, the real object is the simple joy of wrongdoing.

The “false witness” seeks to subvert justice in the courts, while the “one who stirs up dissension,” like the “scoundrel” in the previous section, attempts to break apart the bonds that hold a society together. These two figures are fundamentally antisocial in that they break bonds of friendship, promote the decay of public justice, and ultimately bring a community into chaos.

Lust (vv. 20-35).

More good stuff of the dangers of sexual sin!  Those caught in lust lose…

…their way (vv. 20-24)  In ancient as in modern societies, both father and mother fear for the sexual future of their child. Their deepest desire is that the child have a fulfilling and joyful married life. Against them stands the lure of illicit sex.  Even better than a parent’s advice the Word of God in the mind and heart is like a guide who leads us on the safe path and protects us from attacks. It’s also like a friend who talks to us and counsels us along the way (Prov. 6:22). If we listen to God’s voice in His Word, we won’t fall for the enemy’s flattery (Prov. 6:24).

…their wealth (vv. 25-26) To be “brought to a piece of bread” means to be degraded to the lowest level of poverty  If the adultery results in scandal, a lawsuit, and a divorce, the price will not be cheap; in this day of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, the adulterer is taking chances with his health and his life.

…their enjoyment (vv. 27-31) Fire is a good thing if it’s confined and controlled. It can keep us warm, cook our food, drive our turbines, and manufacture our electricity. Sex is a good gift from God, but like fire, if it gets out of control, it becomes destructive. What begins as a “warm” experience soon becomes a burning experience, like holding a torch in your lap or walking on burning coals.

“But sex is a normal desire, given to us by God,” some people argue. “Therefore, we have every right to use it, even if we’re not married. It’s like eating: If you’re hungry, God gave you food to eat; if you’re lonely, God gave you sex to enjoy.”  Certainly hunger is a strong force in human life, and the only way to satisfy hunger is to eat, but if you steal the bread that you eat, you’re breaking the law. You’ll end up paying more for that bread than if you’d gone out and bought a loaf at the bakery. As you sit in jail or stand in court, the enjoyment you had from that bread will soon be forgotten.

 …their sense (v. 32)  Even today bank presidents, CEOs, pastors, professor and people who are considered intelligent or successful get drawn into an affair only to find that it was poor judgment.

…their peace (vv. 33-35) The angry husband will use every means possible to avenge himself.  The adulterer loses his reputation in the community.  In today’s society, if a person has enough money and “clout,” he or she might be able to survive an adulterous scandal, but life is still never quite the same. Whether in this life or the next, ours sins are exposed.   Its best to avoid sexual sin.

I’m glad we’re reading God’s word together.

Until tomorrow, Darrell

http://www.Upwards.Church

Sources:
Bible Exposition Commentary – Old Testament
New American Commentary
Life Application Bible Notes
Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary
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Proverbs Reading Challenge – Chapter 5

Posted on February 1, 2020 by dkoop

Proverbs 5 – SEX

 Sex, the word has a way of getting attention.  That’s what today’s Proverb is all about.   Chapter 5 has some very good insights on the dangers of sexual sin and highlights the fulfillment of sex within marriage.

God created sex not only for reproduction but also for enjoyment, and He didn’t put the “marriage wall” around sex to rob us of pleasure but to increase pleasure and protect it. In this chapter, Solomon explains the disappointments that come when people violate God’s loving laws of sexual purity.

Sexual Sin starts sweet, but ends in bitterness (vv. 1-6). We’ve met “adulteress” before (2:16;) and she’ll be mentioned again (5:20; 6:24; 7:5; 20:16; 22:14; 23:27; 27:13). The beginning of this affair  may be exciting and sweet, because the kisses and words from her lips drip like honey (7:13-20), but in the end, the “sweetness” turns to bitterness and the honey becomes poison (5:4).

The book of Proverbs emphasizes the importance of looking ahead to see where your actions will lead you (see 5:11; 14:12-14; 16:25; 19:20; 20:21; 23:17-18, 32; 24:14, 20; 25:8). The wise person checks on the destination before buying a ticket (4:26), but modern society thinks that people can violate God’s laws and escape the consequences. They’re sure that whatever has happened to others will never happen to them. Sad to say, their ignorance can never neutralize the tragic aftermath that comes when people break the laws of God. “Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!” (Deut. 32:29)

 Sexual Sin ends in heartbreak (5:7–14).  Temptation always includes hopeful promises; otherwise, people would never take the devil’s bait.  For a time, it seems like these promises have been fulfilled, and sinners bask in the sunshine of pleasant experiences and false assurances. This is what is called, “the myth of the greener grass.” People who commit sexual sins think their problems are solved (“She understands me so much better than my wife does!”) and that life will get better and better. But disobedience to God’s laws always brings sad consequences and sinners eventually pay dearly for their brief moments of pleasure.

When you read verses 9-14, you hear the words of a suffering sinner lamenting the high cost of disobeying God’s laws, because the most expensive thing in the world is sin. He discovers that the woman’s husband is a cruel man who demands that he pay for what he’s done, so the adulterer ends up giving his strength to others and toiling away to pay his debt. Instead of luxury, the sinner has misery; instead of riches, poverty; instead of success, ruin; and instead of a good reputation, the name of an adulterer. He looks back and wishes he had listened to his parents and his spiritual instructors, but his wishes can’t change his wretched situation. Yes, God in His grace will forgive his sins if he repents, but doesn’t erase all earthly consequences.

Sex with Marriage is Best (vv. 15-20). Solomon compares enjoying married love to drinking pure water from a fresh well, but committing sexual sin is like drinking polluted water from the gutter or sewer.

“Drink water from your own cistern” is a picture of faithfulness in marriage. It means to enjoy the spouse God has given you. In desert lands, water is precious, and a well is a family’s most important possession. In Old Testament times, it was considered a crime to steal water from someone else’s well, just as it was a crime to have intercourse with another man’s wife. In both cases, the offender is endangering the health and security of family

A man and woman pledged to each other in marriage can experience the growing satisfaction that comes with love, commitment, depth, and purity.

But there’s something else involved here. Solomon admonishes the husband to be “ravished” with his wife’s love (5:19-20); the word translated “ravished” also means “intoxicated” or “infatuated.” The adulterer watches the springs turn into a sewer, but the faithful husband sees the water become wine! I think it’s significant that Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding feast, as though He were giving us an object lesson concerning the growing delights of marriage (John 2:1-11).

When a husband and wife are faithful to the Lord and to each other, and when they obey Scriptures like 1 Corinthians 7:1-5 and Ephesians 5:22-33, neither of them will look for satisfaction anywhere else. If they love each other and seek to please each other and the Lord, their relationship will be one of deepening joy and satisfaction; they won’t look around for “the greener grass.”

 Sexual Sin Leads to Death (5:20–23).

Freedom of choice is one of the privileges God has given us, but He instructs us and urges us to use that freedom wisely. The laws of God are guideposts to lead us on the path of life, and He watches the decisions we make and the roads we take.  (15:3).

As long as we use our freedom wisely, we will mature in godly character, and God can trust us with more freedom. But if we abuse our freedom and deliberately disobey His Word, our freedom will gradually become bondage, the kind of bondage that can’t easily be broken. (5:22). Those words could have been used as an epitaph for Samson (Judg. 13-16).

It’s impossible to sin without being bound. One of the deceitful things about sin is that it promises freedom but only brings slavery.  The cords of sin get stronger the more we sin, yet sin deceives us into thinking we’re free and can quit sinning whenever we please. As the invisible chains of habit are forged, we discover to our horror that we don’t have the strength to break them. Millions of people in our world today are in one kind of bondage or another and are seeking for deliverance, but the only One who can set them free is Jesus Christ. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36, NKJV).

No wonder the father warns his children to stay away from the adulteress. “Remove your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house” (Prov. 5:8, NKJV). “Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death” (7:27).

In contrast to much of what we read, see, and hear today, this passage urges couples to look to each other for lifelong satisfaction and companionship. Many temptations entice husbands and wives to desert each other for excitement and pleasures to be found elsewhere when marriage becomes dull. But God designed marriage and only within this covenant relationship can we find real love and fulfillment. Don’t let God’s best for you be wasted on the illusion of greener pastures somewhere else. Instead, rejoice with your spouse as you give yourselves to God and to each other.

Until tomorrow, Darrell

http://www.Upwards.Church

Sources:
Bible Exposition Commentary – Old Testament
New American Commentary
Life Application Bible Notes
Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary
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Proverbs Reading Challenge – Chapter 4

Posted on January 31, 2020 by dkoop

Proverbs 4

Thanks for being a part of the Proverbs challenge.  I am praying for you as you take time in God’s word.

Today’s reading is Proverbs 4 which describes how Wisdom guides us in the way or the “path” we should go.   Remember wisdom comes from God.   “The Lord gives wisdom” Proverbs 2:6   Wisdom is found in the words of God.  Often as I read Proverbs and see the word “wisdom” I think God’s word.

Here is another definition that may be helpful:  “wisdom is Jesus Christ” In other words wisdom is personified in Jesus Christ. The New Testament says, “You are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:30).   Sometimes as I read Proverbs, I substitute “Jesus Christ” where it says “wisdom”

Let’s see how wisdom guides in the right way or “path”.

If we walk in the way of God’s wisdom, the path gets brighter and brighter and there is no sunset (heaven). When the path ends, we step into a land where the light never dims, for “there shall be no night there” (Rev. 22:5).

God has a plan for each of His children (Eph. 2:10). Our path may not be an easy one, but it will always be a fulfilling one as we walk in the will of the Father. This involves three responsibilities on our part: Knowing God’s Word (Prov. 4:19), Trusting God’s Guidance (vv. 10-19), and Guarding My Heart. (vv. 20-27).

Knowing God’s Word (vv. 1-9).   Again Solomon speaks as a father instructing his children.  Or you can see this as God speaking to his children (you and I).  The first verses tell the importance of listening, and keeping  to God’s words,   “Get wisdom” (Prov. 4:5) suggests, “buy wisdom,” because the Hebrew word carries the idea of a commercial transaction. There’s a price to pay if you want to know God’s truth and obey it. “Buy the truth, and sell it not” (23:23). The father tells his sons to treat wisdom the way they would treat their mother, sister, or wife: love her, honor her, and embrace her.  The one you love is the one who will control your life. Embrace Wisdom and you will have security (4:6), honor (v. 8), and beauty (v. 9).

Trusting God’s Guidance (vv. 10-19). When you receive God’s truth into your heart, God renews your mind (Rom. 12:2) and enables you to think wisely. This helps you make right decisions and experience the guidance of God day by day. God in His loving providence directs us and prepares the path for us.

If you are willing to do God’s will, you will have God’s guidance (John 7:17), but if you treat God’s will like a buffet lunch, choosing only what pleases you, He will won’t direct you.   But God’s children can’t expect God’s leading if they shuttle back and forth between the path of wisdom and the path of the wicked (Prov. 4:14-17). Stay as far away from that path as you can! Don’t enter it! Avoid it! Don’t go near it! Go as far from it as you can! Certainly we must share our faith with people who do not know Christ people but we must never adopt their lifestyle or imitate their ways. God doesn’t guide His children when they’re walking in darkness. When you’re living in the will of God, the path gets brighter and brighter, not darker and darker (1 John 1:5-10).

The danger is that we let the lessons of wisdom slip through our fingers and we lose them. “Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go” (Prov. 4:13). Hold on to wisdom the way a child holds a parent’s hand and trusts Mother or Father to guide and protect. God is able to keep us from stumbling (Jude 24) if we’ll keep ourselves in His wisdom.

Guarding My Heart (vv. 20-27). This is a wonderful paragraph to us as a personal spiritual inventory. Let’s ask ourselves:

“What comes into my ears?” (v. 20) Whatever enters my ears will ultimately influence my mind, my heart, and my decisions, so I’d better be careful what I listen to. Paul warns us to beware of “obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking” (Eph. 5:4, NIV), and Psalm 1:1 tells us to avoid ungodly counsel. When people speak, we must be able to identify God’s voice (John 10:3-5, 16) and obey what He says.

“What is within my heart?” (v. 23) Whatever the heart loves, the ears will hear and the eyes will see! “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (v. 23, NIV). If we pollute that wellspring, the infection will spread; before long, hidden appetites will become open sins and public shame.

The Bible warns us to avoid a double heart (Ps. 12:2), a hard heart (Prov. 28:14), a proud heart (21:4), an unbelieving heart (Heb. 3:12), a cold heart (Matt. 24:12), and an unclean heart (Ps. 51:10).

“What comes out of my mouth?” (v. 24) Whatever is in the heart will ultimately come out of the mouth (Matt. 12:33-34).

As we shall see in a later chapter, Proverbs has a great deal to say about human speech; in fact, the word “mouth” is used over fifty times and the word “lips” over forty times in the KJV. Among other things, Solomon warns us about perverse lips (Prov. 4:24), lying lips (12:22), flattering lips (20:19), deceptive lips (24:28), and undisciplined lips (10:19). “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin” (13:3, NIV).

“What is before my eyes?” (v. 25) Outlook determines outcome. Abraham was the friend of God because he walked by faith and “looked for a city… whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10). Lot became a friend of the world because he walked by sight and moved toward the wicked city of Sodom (Gen. 13:10, 12). Everybody has some vision before them that helps to determine their values, actions, and plans. We would all be wise to imitate David who said, “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes” (Ps. 101:3), and the writer of Psalm 119 who prayed, “Turn my eyes away from worthless things” (v. 37, NIV). If you are “looking unto Jesus” (Heb. 12:2) as you walk the path of life, then keep that posture of faith. If you look back (Luke 9:62) or around (Matt. 14:30), you may go on a detour.

“What is beyond my path?” (vv. 26-27) The Hebrew word translated “ponder” means “to weigh” or “to make level.” It is related to a word that means “scales” (16:11). Paul wrote, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (2 Cor. 13:5, NKJV). The Lord is weighing our ways (Prov. 5:21) and our hearts (21:2), as well as our actions (1 Sam. 2:3), and we had better do the same. Life is too short and too precious to be wasted on the temporary and the trivial.

If we’re walking in the way of wisdom, God promises to protect our path, direct our path, and perfect our path.  But if we go our own way it can lead to danger, detours, and disappointments, ultimately leading to death.

Let’s let God’s word and wisdom guide us in the right path.

Until tomorrow,  Darrell

http://www.Upwards.Church

Sources:
Bible Exposition Commentary – Old Testament
Vernon McGee’s Thru The Bible
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