Proverbs 21

Proverbs 21

1 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. 2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. 3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. 4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin. 5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. 6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death. 7 The violence of the wicked will sweep them away, because they refuse to do what is just. 8 The way of the guilty is crooked, but the conduct of the pure is upright. 9 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. 10 The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes. 11 When a scoffer is punished, the simple becomes wise; when a wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge. 12 The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked; he throws the wicked down to ruin. 13 Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered. 14 A gift in secret averts anger, and a concealed bribe, strong wrath. 15 When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. 16 One who wanders from the way of good sense will rest in the assembly of the dead. 17 Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich. 18 The wicked is a ransom for the righteous, and the traitor for the upright. 19 It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman. 20 Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling, but a foolish man devours it. 21 Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor. 22 A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust. 23 Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. 24 “Scoffer” is the name of the arrogant, haughty man who acts with arrogant pride. 25 The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. 26 All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back. 27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with evil intent. 28 A false witness will perish, but the word of a man who hears will endure. 29 A wicked man puts on a bold face, but the upright gives thought to his ways. 30 No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord. 31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.

Devotional

Introduction

I went to a Christian school throughout my childhood whose motto declared that God should be given all the glory! But throughout my schooling, I would so easily turn to being proud of my own academic achievements and almost patting myself on the back for that. In terms of evangelism, I would pat myself on the back for being able to share my faith or what I believed with Non-Christians with little fear. Whether in the physical or the spiritual achievements, I would allow my own ego to be boosted, all the while forgetting I should be giving God all the glory.

You know that in our spiritual battles - where we fight against sin, where we battle against the desires of the flesh, where we seek justice for sin in this world - Proverbs says we are to be given victory. But this is not based on our own doing - it is God's. Proverbs 21 reminds us that whilst the righteous can overcome the wicked, the Lord has won every victory. We are simply made to give him the glory. But in our sin, we easily forget this.

Study

1) The righteous are able to bring the wicked to ruin... (vs.12,22)

"The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked;  he throws the wicked down to ruin." (vs.12)

"A wise man scales the city of the mighty  and brings down the stronghold in which they trust." (vs.22)

Wisdom is better than strength, as inferred in verse 22. So we can assume that these verses are not talking about the physical victory over our enemies on this earth (like getting into a petty fight or something like that), but the spiritual victory over them. Because of our salvation, we have a kind of spiritual strength provided by God.

You might think of the Armour of God talked about in Ephesians. We are given such armour so that we might succeed in the fight. It is spiritual armour, not literal physical armour.

Elihu, in the book of Job, talks about such victory that occurs because one is righteous and not wicked. In chapter 34 of Job, it says this:

"Shall one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty[?]" (Job 34:17)

Elihu knows that if someone wicked was to go against someone who is righteous, the wicked one would not win. There is no way to condemn the righteous and mighty one of any fault, unless you were to change what is right and wrong. Which is exactly what our culture is doing: changing wrong to right and right to wrong.

But in the end, God defines the righteous and wicked. As we saw yesterday, he will divide the sheeps from the goats, the Christian from the non-Christian. The spiritual battle that we have fought in has been won. We are the righteous ones, if we have faith in the salvation offered in Jesus.

However, no matter what we do, it is still God's victory in the end.

2)...but it is the Lord who has the victory (vs.30-31)

"No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord. The horse is made ready for the day of battle,  but the victory belongs to the Lord." (vs.30-31)

You know, I read verse 30 and was kind of startled. "No wisdom...can avail against the Lord". It kinda sounded wisdom, the very attribute of God, was an enemy of God. But its true, the wisdom of the world, the very people of this world who think they are right, will not have victory over God.

You see, no one on earth has got wisdom down pat. Only one man did, and he himself was the very "wisdom of God", as defined in the word.

The earth could be prepared for battle against the Lord ("the horse" of verse 31), but it is still God who will have the victory. If God could create the world, don't you think he could probably destroy it as well? It is in his very mercy that he gives us the chance for salvation before he creates a new Heaven and a new Earth.

Knowing the victory is God's means we actually should trust him. I mean, we will be defeated if we trust in earthly wisdom, understanding and counsel. Now that would be foolish!

No, I refuse to trust in anything this world offers as truth. I refuse to be moved on the foundation of God as my redeemer and Jesus as my saviour.

As David says in Psalm 20...

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright" (Psalm 20:7-8)

Don't you see? It is God who allows us to stand upright. I cannot logically trust in something that will just make me fall and be condemned. To do that would be to stand before the God, who offered me his right hand, and now puts me at his left.

It is him, not me, who has the victory. If my sinful heart had its way, it would ride with pride into a battle and fall off a cliff before it even made it to the fight. Stupid.

So let's trust in the Lord our God to help us. Let us look to him to win the battle. Let us thank him that Jesus has already had victory over sin and death, and that he will end all the evil in this world the second he comes back.