July 6, 2015

KEEPING UP WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

Proverbs 22–24

Corey Page
Monday's Devo

July 6, 2015

Monday's Devo

July 6, 2015

Central Truth

God's Word is to be heard, meditated, and pondered on with deep humility and attention. His truth is should be hidden in our hearts.

Key Verse | Proverbs 22:17–19

Listen to the words of the wise;
apply your heart to my instruction.
For it is good to keep these sayings in your heart
and always ready on your lips.
I am teaching you today—yes, you—
so you will trust in the Lord.
(Proverbs 22:17-19)

Proverbs 22–24

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
    and favor is better than silver or gold.
The rich and the poor meet together;
    the LORD is the Maker of them all.
The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
    but the simple go on and suffer for it.
The reward for humility and fear of the LORD
    is riches and honor and life. 1 22:4 Or The reward for humility is the fear of the LORD, riches and honor and life
Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked;
    whoever guards his soul will keep far from them.
Train up a child in the way he should go;
    even when he is old he will not depart from it.
The rich rules over the poor,
    and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,
    and the rod of his fury will fail.
Whoever has a bountiful 2 22:9 Hebrew good eye will be blessed,
    for he shares his bread with the poor.
10  Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out,
    and quarreling and abuse will cease.
11  He who loves purity of heart,
    and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend.
12  The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge,
    but he overthrows the words of the traitor.
13  The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!
    I shall be killed in the streets!”
14  The mouth of forbidden 3 22:14 Hebrew strange women is a deep pit;
    he with whom the LORD is angry will fall into it.
15  Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
    but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
16  Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth,
    or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.

Words of the Wise

17  Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise,
    and apply your heart to my knowledge,
18  for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
    if all of them are ready on your lips.
19  That your trust may be in the LORD,
    I have made them known to you today, even to you.
20  Have I not written for you thirty sayings
    of counsel and knowledge,
21  to make you know what is right and true,
    that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?

22  Do not rob the poor, because he is poor,
    or crush the afflicted at the gate,
23  for the LORD will plead their cause
    and rob of life those who rob them.
24  Make no friendship with a man given to anger,
    nor go with a wrathful man,
25  lest you learn his ways
    and entangle yourself in a snare.
26  Be not one of those who give pledges,
    who put up security for debts.
27  If you have nothing with which to pay,
    why should your bed be taken from under you?
28  Do not move the ancient landmark
    that your fathers have set.
29  Do you see a man skillful in his work?
    He will stand before kings;
    he will not stand before obscure men.

When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
    observe carefully what 4 23:1 Or who is before you,
and put a knife to your throat
    if you are given to appetite.
Do not desire his delicacies,
    for they are deceptive food.
Do not toil to acquire wealth;
    be discerning enough to desist.
When your eyes light on it, it is gone,
    for suddenly it sprouts wings,
    flying like an eagle toward heaven.
Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; 5 23:6 Hebrew whose eye is evil
    do not desire his delicacies,
for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. 6 23:7 Or for as he calculates in his soul, so is he
    “Eat and drink!” he says to you,
    but his heart is not with you.
You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,
    and waste your pleasant words.
Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
    for he will despise the good sense of your words.
10  Do not move an ancient landmark
    or enter the fields of the fatherless,
11  for their Redeemer is strong;
    he will plead their cause against you.
12  Apply your heart to instruction
    and your ear to words of knowledge.
13  Do not withhold discipline from a child;
    if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
14  If you strike him with the rod,
    you will save his soul from Sheol.
15  My son, if your heart is wise,
    my heart too will be glad.
16  My inmost being 7 23:16 Hebrew My kidneys will exult
    when your lips speak what is right.
17  Let not your heart envy sinners,
    but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.
18  Surely there is a future,
    and your hope will not be cut off.

19  Hear, my son, and be wise,
    and direct your heart in the way.
20  Be not among drunkards 8 23:20 Hebrew those who drink too much wine
    or among gluttonous eaters of meat,
21  for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
    and slumber will clothe them with rags.

22  Listen to your father who gave you life,
    and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23  Buy truth, and do not sell it;
    buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24  The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
    he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
25  Let your father and mother be glad;
    let her who bore you rejoice.

26  My son, give me your heart,
    and let your eyes observe 9 23:26 Or delight in my ways.
27  For a prostitute is a deep pit;
    an adulteress 10 23:27 Hebrew a foreign woman is a narrow well.
28  She lies in wait like a robber
    and increases the traitors among mankind.

29  Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
    Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
    Who has redness of eyes?
30  Those who tarry long over wine;
    those who go to try mixed wine.
31  Do not look at wine when it is red,
    when it sparkles in the cup
    and goes down smoothly.
32  In the end it bites like a serpent
    and stings like an adder.
33  Your eyes will see strange things,
    and your heart utter perverse things.
34  You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
    like one who lies on the top of a mast. 11 23:34 Or of the rigging
35  “They struck me,” you will say, 12 23:35 Hebrew lacks you will say “but I was not hurt;
    they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
    I must have another drink.”
Be not envious of evil men,
    nor desire to be with them,
for their hearts devise violence,
    and their lips talk of trouble.

By wisdom a house is built,
    and by understanding it is established;
by knowledge the rooms are filled
    with all precious and pleasant riches.
A wise man is full of strength,
    and a man of knowledge enhances his might,
for by wise guidance you can wage your war,
    and in abundance of counselors there is victory.
Wisdom is too high for a fool;
    in the gate he does not open his mouth.

Whoever plans to do evil
    will be called a schemer.
The devising 13 24:9 Or scheming of folly is sin,
    and the scoffer is an abomination to mankind.

10  If you faint in the day of adversity,
    your strength is small.
11  Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
    hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
12  If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
    does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
    and will he not repay man according to his work?

13  My son, eat honey, for it is good,
    and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
14  Know that wisdom is such to your soul;
    if you find it, there will be a future,
    and your hope will not be cut off.

15  Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous;
    do no violence to his home;
16  for the righteous falls seven times and rises again,
    but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.

17  Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
    and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
18  lest the LORD see it and be displeased,
    and turn away his anger from him.

19  Fret not yourself because of evildoers,
    and be not envious of the wicked,
20  for the evil man has no future;
    the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

21  My son, fear the LORD and the king,
    and do not join with those who do otherwise,
22  for disaster will arise suddenly from them,
    and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?

More Sayings of the Wise

23 These also are sayings of the wise.

Partiality in judging is not good.
24  Whoever says to the wicked, “You are in the right,”
    will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,
25  but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,
    and a good blessing will come upon them.
26  Whoever gives an honest answer
    kisses the lips.

27  Prepare your work outside;
    get everything ready for yourself in the field,
    and after that build your house.

28  Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause,
    and do not deceive with your lips.
29  Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;
    I will pay the man back for what he has done.”

30  I passed by the field of a sluggard,
    by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
31  and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
    the ground was covered with nettles,
    and its stone wall was broken down.
32  Then I saw and considered it;
    I looked and received instruction.
33  A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest,
34  and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
    and want like an armed man.

Footnotes

[1] 22:4 Or The reward for humility is the fear of the LORD, riches and honor and life
[2] 22:9 Hebrew good
[3] 22:14 Hebrew strange
[4] 23:1 Or who
[5] 23:6 Hebrew whose eye is evil
[6] 23:7 Or for as he calculates in his soul, so is he
[7] 23:16 Hebrew My kidneys
[8] 23:20 Hebrew those who drink too much wine
[9] 23:26 Or delight in
[10] 23:27 Hebrew a foreign woman
[11] 23:34 Or of the rigging
[12] 23:35 Hebrew lacks you will say
[13] 24:9 Or scheming

Dive Deeper | Proverbs 22–24

As I've gotten older, I've learned a lot from my experiences and the people in my life. I've learned how to drive a car, get through an airport alone, manage in a country where I know no one, fill out an expense report, love others well despite myself, live in authentic community, etc. While all of these things are good and helpful, the most important thing I've learned throughout my 23 (almost 24!) years of life is that God loves me just as I am. And He has provided His living and active Word to help me grow more each day into His likeness. How awesome is that!

I grew up attending a private Christian school where it felt like Scripture memory was part of our weekly assignments. Because of this, I began to look at Scripture as just that: a school assignment. I became totally numb to the way His Word could teach me and mold me into His character. It wasn't until recently that I understood the importance of not only reading His Word, but also meditating on it with deep reverence and understanding. He is teaching us all daily about our need for Him and His Truth, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not.

When I think about how I learned to drive a car, get through the airport alone, do a budget, etc., it is most certainly not because I am just incredibly gifted and excel at all things in life (although wouldn’t that be nice if it were true?). No, it is because someone took the time to teach me and model these things to me as I grew up. God wants the opportunity to do the same for you! He desires to spend time with you and teach you what it means to live a life in complete dependence on Him. Trust Him, people. You won’t regret it!

Discussion Questions

1.  What do you think God is teaching you —yes, you— today?

2.  Have you spent time truly reading and meditating on His Word lately?

3.  How are you taking His Truth and applying it to your current circumstances?