falling for innovation

Posted on November 8, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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falling for innovation

Proverbs 8:1-36 (JDV).

Proverbs 8:1 Doesn’t wisdom call out? Doesn’t understanding give her voice?
Proverbs 8:2 At the heights overlooking the road, at the crossroads, she is standing.
Proverbs 8:3 Beside the gates leading into the city, at the main entrance, she is crying out:
Proverbs 8:4 “People, I call out to you; my cry is to the children of Adam.
Proverbs 8:5 Learn to be smart, you who are morally naive; develop common sense, you who are foolish.
Proverbs 8:6 Listen, for I speak of noble things, and what my lips say is right.
Proverbs 8:7 Because my mouth tells the truth, and wickedness is detestable to my lips.
Proverbs 8:8 All the words from my mouth are righteous; none of them are deceptive or perverse.
Proverbs 8:9 All of them are clear to the perceptive, and right to those who discover knowledge.
Proverbs 8:10 Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold.
Proverbs 8:11 Because wisdom is better than jewels, and nothing desirable can equal it.
Proverbs 8:12 I, wisdom, share a home with smartness and have knowledge and discretion.
Proverbs 8:13 To fear Yahveh is to hate evil. I hate arrogant pride, the evil road, and perverse speech.
Proverbs 8:14 I possess good advice and sound wisdom; I have understanding and strength.
Proverbs 8:15 It is by me that kings reign and rulers enact just law;
Proverbs 8:16 by me, princes lead, as do nobles and all righteous judges.
Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, and those who search for me find me.
Proverbs 8:18 With me are riches and honor, lasting wealth, and righteousness.
Proverbs 8:19 My fruit is better than solid gold, and my harvest is better than pure silver.
Proverbs 8:20 I walk in the ways of righteousness, along the paths of justice,
Proverbs 8:21 giving wealth as an inheritance to those who love me and filling their treasuries.
Proverbs 8:22 “Yahveh acquired me at the first of his road, before his works of long ago.
Proverbs 8:23 I was formed before ancient times, from the beginning, before the land began.
Proverbs 8:24 I was born when there were no watery depths and no springs filled with water.
Proverbs 8:25 Before the mountains were established, prior to the hills, I was given birth —
Proverbs 8:26 before he made the land, the fields, or the first soil on the land.
Proverbs 8:27 I was there when he established the heavens, when he laid out the horizon on the surface of the ocean,
Proverbs 8:28 when he placed the skies above when the fountains of the ocean gushed out,
Proverbs 8:29 when he set a limit for the sea so that the waters would not violate his command, when he laid out the foundations of the land.
Proverbs 8:30 I was a skilled craftsman beside him. I was his delight every day, always rejoicing before him.
Proverbs 8:31 I was rejoicing in his inhabited world, delighting in the children of Adam.
Proverbs 8:32 “And now, sons, listen to me; those who keep my roads are fortunate.
Proverbs 8:33 Listen to instruction and be wise; don’t ignore it.
Proverbs 8:34 Anyone who listens to me is fortunate, watching at my doors every day, waiting by the posts of my doorway.
Proverbs 8:35 Because the one who finds me finds life and obtains favor from Yahveh,
Proverbs 8:36 but the one who misses me injures his throat; all who hate me love death.”

falling for innovation

Occasionally, you will hear someone talk about “old school.” It refers to the old way of doing things, which, depending on who uses the term, may be a good thing or not. Solomon says that wisdom is old school. In fact, it is the oldest. When God was creating the world, he used wisdom. It makes sense for us, as creatures, to live our lives by the same resource that our creator used to begin them.

LORD, forgive us for falling for innovation. Teach us how to live by your wisdom.

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countless victims

Posted on November 7, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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countless victims

Proverbs 7:1-27 (JDV).

Proverbs 7:1 My son, keep my words and treasure my commands.
Proverbs 7:2 Keep my commands and live and guard my instruction as you would the pupil of your eye.
Proverbs 7:3 Tie them to your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
Proverbs 7:4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call understanding your relative.
Proverbs 7:5 She will keep you from a forbidden woman, a foreign woman with her flattering talk.
Proverbs 7:6 At the window of my house I looked through my lattice.
Proverbs 7:7 I saw among the morally naive, I noticed among the youths, a young man lacking sense.
Proverbs 7:8 Crossing the street near her corner, he strolled down the road to her house
Proverbs 7:9 at twilight, in the evening, in the dark of the night.
Proverbs 7:10 A woman came to meet him dressed like a prostitute, having a hiding heart.
Proverbs 7:11 She is loud and defiant; her feet do not stay at home.
Proverbs 7:12 Now in the street, now in the squares, she lurks at every corner.
Proverbs 7:13 She grabs him and kisses him; she brazenly says to him,
Proverbs 7:14 “I’ve made fellowship offerings; today I’ve fulfilled my vows.
Proverbs 7:15 So I came out to meet you, to search for you, and I’ve found you.
Proverbs 7:16 I’ve spread coverings on my bed– richly colored linen from Egypt.
Proverbs 7:17 I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
Proverbs 7:18 Come, let’s drink deeply of lovemaking until morning. Let’s feast on each other’s love!
Proverbs 7:19 My husband isn’t home; he went on a distant road.
Proverbs 7:20 He took a bag of silver with him and will come home at the time of the full moon.”
Proverbs 7:21 She seduces him with her persistent pleading; she lures him with her flattering talk.
Proverbs 7:22 Surprisingly he follows her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding toward a trap
Proverbs 7:23 until an arrow pierces its liver, like a bird darting into a snare — he doesn’t know it will cost him his throat.
Proverbs 7:24 Now, sons, listen to me, and pay attention to the words from my mouth.
Proverbs 7:25 Don’t let your heart turn aside to her roads; don’t stray onto her paths.
Proverbs 7:26 For she has brought many down to death; her victims are countless.
Proverbs 7:27 Her house is the road to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.

countless victims

Once again, Solomon warns his sons of the danger of sexual sin. He observes a scenario where a man is lured into a trap by a wife who makes it so easy for the man to cheat with her. He says that she has destroyed countless victims. They did not feel like victims. They thought they were in complete control of the situation. So does the ox, the stag, and the bird. Lust blinds men, making it possible for them to willingly enter the trap. The wages of sin is death.

LORD, open our eyes to the reality that our sinful nature wants us to ignore.

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trapped

Posted on November 6, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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trapped

Proverbs 6:1-35 (JDV).

Proverbs 6:1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor or entered into an agreement with a stranger,
Proverbs 6:2 you have been trapped by the words of your mouth trapped by the words from your mouth.
Proverbs 6:3 Do this, then, my son, and free yourself, because you have put yourself in your neighbor’s power: Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.
Proverbs 6:4 Don’t give sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids.
Proverbs 6:5 Escape like a gazelle from a hunter, like a bird from a hunter’s trap.
Proverbs 6:6 Go to the ant, you idler! Observe its roads and become wise.
Proverbs 6:7 Without leader, administrator, or ruler,
Proverbs 6:8 it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food during harvest.
Proverbs 6:9 How long will you stay in bed, you idler? When will you get up from your sleep?
Proverbs 6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest,
Proverbs 6:11 and your poverty will come like a robber, your need, like a bandit.
Proverbs 6:12 A worthless person, a wicked man goes around speaking dishonestly,
Proverbs 6:13 winking his eyes, signaling with his feet, and gesturing with his fingers.
Proverbs 6:14 He always plots evil with perversity in his heart; he stirs up trouble.
Proverbs 6:15 Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly; he will be shattered instantly, beyond recovery.
Proverbs 6:16 Yahveh hates six things; in fact, seven are detestable to him:
Proverbs 6:17 arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
Proverbs 6:18 a heart that plots wicked schemes, feet eager to run to evil,
Proverbs 6:19 a lying witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.
Proverbs 6:20 My son, keep your father’s command, and don’t reject your mother’s teaching.
Proverbs 6:21 Always bind them to your heart; tie them around your neck.
Proverbs 6:22 When you walk here and there, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you wake up, they will talk to you.
Proverbs 6:23 For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light, and corrective correction is the road to life.
Proverbs 6:24 They will protect you from an evil woman, from the flattering tongue of a wayward woman.
Proverbs 6:25 Don’t lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyelashes.
Proverbs 6:26 For a prostitute’s fee is only a loaf of bread, but the wife of another man goes after a precious throat.
Proverbs 6:27 Can a man embrace fire and his clothes not be burned?
Proverbs 6:28 Can a man walk on burning coals without scorching his feet?
Proverbs 6:29 So it is with the one who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.
Proverbs 6:30 People don’t despise the thief if he steals to satisfy his throat when he is hungry.
Proverbs 6:31 Still, if caught, he must pay seven times as much; he must give up all the wealth in his house.
Proverbs 6:32 The one who commits adultery lacks sense; whoever does so destroys his throat.
Proverbs 6:33 He will get a beating and dishonor, and his disgrace will never be removed.
Proverbs 6:34 Because jealousy enrages a husband, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
Proverbs 6:35 He will not be appeased by anything or be persuaded by lavish bribes.

trapped

The essence of wisdom is knowing the right way to live so that you can avoid trouble. Wisdom is designed to keep is from getting trapped.

But what do you do after you have already made a mistake or two? Is it hopeless? No, but it is serious. Solomon advises his sons if they are ever caught in a trap, they should seek freedom immediately, and keep seeking it until they are free. They should not just sleep on it, and hope everything turns out alright. It is in that context that he asks them to consider the ant compared to the sluggard. When we have made our bed (so to speak), the last thing we should do is just lie in it.

LORD, give us the wisdom to seek freedom from our traps, keep working at it until we are free, and stay away from future traps.

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wormwood road

Posted on November 5, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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wormwood road

Proverbs 5:1-23 (JDV).

Proverbs 5:1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom; bend your ear to my understanding
Proverbs 5:2 so that you may maintain discretion and your lips safeguard knowledge.
Proverbs 5:3 Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her words are smoother than oil,
Proverbs 5:4 in the end she’s as bitter as wormwood and as sharp as a double-edged sword.
Proverbs 5:5 Her feet go down to death; her steps head straight for Sheol.
Proverbs 5:6 She doesn’t consider the path of life; she doesn’t know that her roads are unstable.
Proverbs 5:7 So now, sons, listen to me, and don’t turn away from the words from my mouth.
Proverbs 5:8 Keep your road far from her. Don’t go near the door of her house.
Proverbs 5:9 Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others and your years to someone cruel;
Proverbs 5:10 strangers will drain your resources, and your hard-earned pay will end up in a foreigner’s house.
Proverbs 5:11 At the end of your life, you will lament when your physical body has been consumed,
Proverbs 5:12 and you will say, “How I hated correction, and how my heart despised it when I was corrected.
Proverbs 5:13 I didn’t obey my teachers or listen closely to my instructors.
Proverbs 5:14 I am near complete ruin before the entire community.”
Proverbs 5:15 Drink water from your own cistern, water flowing from your own well.
Proverbs 5:16 Should your springs flow in the streets, streams in the public squares?
Proverbs 5:17 They should be for you alone and not for you to share with strangers.
Proverbs 5:18 Let your fountain be blessed and take pleasure in the wife of your youth.
Proverbs 5:19 A loving deer, a graceful doe — let her breasts always satisfy you; get lost in her love forever.
Proverbs 5:20 Why, my son, would you lose yourself with a forbidden woman or embrace a strange woman?
Proverbs 5:21 Because a man’s roads are before Yahveh’s eyes, and he considers all his paths.
Proverbs 5:22 A wicked man’s violations will trap him; he will become tangled in the ropes of his own failure.
Proverbs 5:23 He will die because there is no correction and be lost because of his great stupidity.

wormwood road

Two possible paths of sexuality. One leads to a lifetime of joy with one spouse, no sorrow, no shame. The other leads to shame in the assembly, the torment of body and mind, and early death. The problem is that the first option looks and sounds so tempting. The wise father’s advice is to stay away from the front door – don’t look, don’t click, don’t surf. Keep your way far from her.

LORD, give us wisdom to stay away from temptation.

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rules of the road

Posted on November 4, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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rules of the road

Proverbs 4:1-27 (JDV).

Proverbs 4:1 Listen, sons, to a father’s correction, and pay attention to know understanding,
Proverbs 4:2 because I am giving you good instruction. Don’t abandon my teaching.
Proverbs 4:3 When I was a son with my father, tender and precious to my mother,
Proverbs 4:4 he taught me and said: “Your heart must hold on to my words. Keep my commands and live.
Proverbs 4:5 Get wisdom, get understanding; don’t forget or turn away from the words from my mouth.
Proverbs 4:6 Don’t abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you; love her, and she will guard you.
Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is first – so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding.
Proverbs 4:8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you.
Proverbs 4:9 She will place a garland of favor on your head; she will give you a beautiful crown.”
Proverbs 4:10 Listen, my son. Accept my words, and you will live many years.
Proverbs 4:11 I am teaching you the way of wisdom; I am guiding you on straight paths.
Proverbs 4:12 When you walk, your steps will not be hindered; when you run, you will not trip.
Proverbs 4:13 Hold on to instruction; don’t let go. Guard it, for it is your life.
Proverbs 4:14 Keep off the path of the wicked; don’t go straight on the road of evil ones.
Proverbs 4:15 Avoid it; don’t travel on it. Turn away from it and pass it by.
Proverbs 4:16 Because they can’t sleep unless they have done what is evil; they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone trip.
Proverbs 4:17 They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
Proverbs 4:19 But the road of the wicked is like the thick darkest; they don’t know what makes them stumble.
Proverbs 4:20 My son, pay attention to my words; listen closely to my sayings.
Proverbs 4:21 Don’t lose sight of them; keep them within your heart.
Proverbs 4:22 Because they are life to those who find them, and health to one’s whole body.
Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else, because it is the source of life.
Proverbs 4:24 Don’t let your mouth speak dishonestly, and don’t let your lips talk deviously.
Proverbs 4:25 Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead.
Proverbs 4:26 Carefully consider the path for your feet, and all your roads will be established.
Proverbs 4:27 Don’t turn to the right or to the left; keep your feet away from evil.

rules of the road

When you are learning to drive, some of the advice you get sounds very much like Solomon’s wisdom for his sons. You need to turn the headlights on when it gets dark so that you can see and avoid all possible obstacles. You must pay attention to what is ahead of you, not straying your gaze to the right or left. You need to learn the rules because they will keep you safe.

The road we are on in life is an adventure, but without following the rules of wisdom, it can be a dangerous trap.

LORD, give us all the wisdom to be good drivers in life.

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Don’t be devious

Posted on November 3, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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Don’t be devious

Proverbs 3:27-35 (JDV).

Proverbs 3:27 When it is in your power, don’t withhold good from the one to whom it belongs.
Proverbs 3:28 Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go away! Come back later. I’ll give it tomorrow” — when it is there with you.
Proverbs 3:29 Don’t plan any harm against your neighbor, because he trusts you and lives near you.
Proverbs 3:30 Don’t accuse anyone without cause, when he has done you no harm.
Proverbs 3:31 Don’t envy a violent man or choose any of his roads;
Proverbs 3:32 for the devious are detestable to Yahveh, but he is a friend to the upright.
Proverbs 3:33 Yahveh’s curse is on the household of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous;
Proverbs 3:34 He mocks those who mock, but gives grace to the humble.
Proverbs 3:35 The wise will inherit honor, but he holds up fools to dishonor.

Don’t be devious

Intentionally bringing harm on others, or withholding good to them is detestable to Yahveh. He wants us to demonstrate his love, and when we choose another approach, we bring dishonor to him. God will mpt bless the home of someone like that, no matter how many wall hangings we have with Bible verses on them.

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the wisdom to pursue wisdom

Posted on November 2, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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the wisdom to pursue wisdom

Proverbs 3:13-26 (JDV).

Proverbs 3:13 Fortunate is a man who finds wisdom and who acquires understanding,
Proverbs 3:14 for she is more profitable than silver, and what she produces is better than gold.
Proverbs 3:15 She is more precious than jewels; nothing you desire can equal her.
Proverbs 3:16 Long life is in her right hand; in her left, riches, and honor.
Proverbs 3:17 Her ways are pleasant, and all her paths, peaceful.
Proverbs 3:18 She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who hold on to her are made fortunate.
Proverbs 3:19 Yahveh founded the land by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding.
Proverbs 3:20 By his knowledge the watery depths broke open, and the clouds dripped with dew.
Proverbs 3:21 Maintain sound wisdom and discretion. My son, don’t lose sight of them.
Proverbs 3:22 They will be life for your throat and adornment for your neck.
Proverbs 3:23 Then you will go safely on your way; your foot will not stumble.
Proverbs 3:24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; you will lie down, and your sleep will be pleasant.
Proverbs 3:25 Don’t fear sudden danger or the ruin of the wicked when it comes,
Proverbs 3:26 for Yahveh will be your confidence and will keep your foot from a snare.

the wisdom to pursue wisdom

My daughter, if you are looking for something to pursue, if you need a target for all of your life’s energies, let me suggest that you seek wisdom. If you aim for riches, you might gain them, and then find them not enough to satisfy. If you pour out yourself for a cause, even if it a good cause, you might succeed, and ruin your health doing it. Then, what good will you be to those who depend on you? Wisdom will never let you down. You will never find yourself saying “what a waste of time that was.”

LORD, give us the wisdom to pursue wisdom.

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keep him first

Posted on November 1, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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keep him first

Proverbs 3:1-12 (JDV).

Proverbs 3:1 My son, don’t forget my instruction, but let your heart keep my commands;
Proverbs 3:2 because they will bring you many days, years of living, and well-being.
Proverbs 3:3 Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you. Tie them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.
Proverbs 3:4 Then you will find favor and high regard with God and people.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in Yahveh with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;
Proverbs 3:6 in all your roads know him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:7 Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear Yahveh and turn away from evil.
Proverbs 3:8 This will heal your body and strengthen your bones.
Proverbs 3:9 Honor Yahveh with your possessions and with the first of your entire harvest;
Proverbs 3:10 then your barns will be filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine.
Proverbs 3:11 Do not despise Yahveh’s instruction, my son, and do not loathe his reprimand;
Proverbs 3:12 because Yahveh sets the one he loves right, just as a father does the son with whom he is pleased.

keep him first

My daughter, look at the “celebrities.” They are popular and you might be tempted to be like them. But look at the mess they have made of their lives. They are not truly successful. If you want to be successful, here is the secret: cultivate your relationship with God. Fear him, follow him, trust him, honor him with your wealth, and when he disciplines you, do not reject him for it. That is the secret to true success, and you can live with it.

LORD, give us wisdom to keep you first in our hearts.

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haunted house

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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haunted house

Proverbs 2:1-22 (JDV).

Proverbs 2:1 My son, if you take my words and store up my commands within you,
Proverbs 2:2 listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding;
Proverbs 2:3 yes, if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,
Proverbs 2:4 if you pursue it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure,
Proverbs 2:5 then you will understand the fear of Yahveh and discover the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 2:6 Because Yahveh gives wisdom; from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 2:7 He stores up success for the upright; He is a shield for those who live with integrity
Proverbs 2:8 so that he may guard the paths of justice and protect the road of his faithful followers.
Proverbs 2:9 Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and integrity — every good path.
Proverbs 2:10 Because wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will taste good to your throat.
Proverbs 2:11 Discretion will watch over you, and understanding will guard you.
Proverbs 2:12 It will rescue you from the evil road — from anyone who says perverse things,
Proverbs 2:13 from those who abandon the right paths to walk in roads of darkness,
Proverbs 2:14 from those who enjoy doing evil and celebrate perversion,
Proverbs 2:15 whose paths are crooked, and whose roads are devious.
Proverbs 2:16 It will rescue you from a forbidden woman, from a wayward woman with her flattering talk,
Proverbs 2:17 who abandons the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God;
Proverbs 2:18 because her house sinks down to death and her tracks to the land of the ghosts.
Proverbs 2:19 None return who go to her; none reach the paths of life.
Proverbs 2:20 So follow the way of the good, and keep to the paths of the righteous.
Proverbs 2:21 For the upright will inhabit the land, and those of integrity will remain in it;
Proverbs 2:22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous ripped out of it.

haunted house

I did not plan a Haloween themed devotional today, but it just so happened that I landed on this text. These are the words of a concerned father who wants his son to make wise choices in life. He encourages him to stay away from the forbidden woman. Her house sinks down to death, and if his son follows her tracks, it will lead to a land of ghosts. None return who go to her; none reach the paths of life.

I don’t celebrate Haloween, and I don’t encourage others to do so. Death is a serious matter to me. It is an enemy — an enemy my Lord is going to destroy.

But the image in today’s text is helpful because it reminds those who are tempted to go after an illicit relationship that there are dire consequences in doing so. She who has already abandoned her first companion and covenant will do the same again. Death is in her house. Avoid her. Don’t walk away. Run away.

LORD, give us the wisdom to stay away from those who transgress your boundaries.

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we can’t handle this

Posted on October 30, 2024 by Jefferson Vann

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we can’t handle this

Proverbs 1:20-33 (JDV).

Proverbs 1:20 Wisdom sings out in the street; she makes her voice heard in the public squares.
Proverbs 1:21 She cries out above the commotion; she speaks at the entrance of the city gates:
Proverbs 1:22 “How long, morally naive ones, will you love ignorance? How long will you mockers enjoy mocking and you fools hate knowledge?
Proverbs 1:23 If you turn at my warning, then I will pour out my spirit on you and teach you my words.
Proverbs 1:24 Since I called out and you refused, extended my hand and no one paid attention,
Proverbs 1:25 since you neglected all my counsel and did not accept my correction,
Proverbs 1:26 I, in turn, will laugh at your calamity. I will mock you when terror strikes you,
Proverbs 1:27 when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when trouble and stress overcome you.
Proverbs 1:28 Then they will call me, but I won’t answer; they will search for me but won’t find me.
Proverbs 1:29 Because they hated knowledge, didn’t choose to fear Yahveh,
Proverbs 1:30 were not interested in my counsel, and rejected all my correction,
Proverbs 1:31 they will eat the fruit of their way and be full of their own schemes.
Proverbs 1:32 Because the apostasy of the morally naive will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.
Proverbs 1:33 But whoever listens to me will live securely and rest securely from the dread of harm.”

we can’t handle this

We are introduced to four characters today, each of whom we will see developed in the chapters that follow: Wisdom is the voice calling in the streets. The others (the smorally naive ones, the mockers, and the fools) are the people who need wisdom, but choose to ignore her invitation. They are all idiots in the technical definition of the term. They need help from the LORD to live their lives rightly, but choose to ignore his help. They want to do it themselves. They each say “I can handle this.” So, when disaster comes, wisdom will say “you refused me then, I will refuse you now.’

LORD, we need your wisdom. Forgive us for being such idiots.

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