Perhaps the Greatest Gospel Verse in the Old Testament

On New Years Day 2017, I have the privilege of preaching on the fourth Servant Song recorded in Isaiah.  It is perhaps the best known. How many of us have not heard many times these comforting words: “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5–6, ESV)?

 

Further into the riches of this Song, lies, I believe the greatest Gospel verse in the Old Testament .... perhaps the entire Bible.  It is found in Isaiah 53:11 (ESV):

"Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities."

The substitutionary death of Christ does not end in failure and regret but in great satisfaction.  The Hebrew is difficult to translate but it is likely that the commendation of Jehovah toward His Servant, as recorded by Isaiah, should read: "By knowledge of Him, shall My Servant justify many."   Who are the "many".  Are they not the same "many" as have looked to Him and realized that He suffered for our transgression, our iniquity?  The Suffering Servant, Jesus Christ, the Righteous, negatively bore our sin but positively granted us righteousness.  What a glorious transaction.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.

The Sayings of the Wise – Part 12

THIRTY SAYINGS OF THE WISE

SAYING NUMBER ELEVEN

“Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. Punish them with the rod and save them from death.” (Proverbs 23:13–14, NIV)

Rather than bring death, the right discipline of a child will "save them from death".  The obvious idea in this proverb involves the use of "corporal discipline".  Some define this as: "Corporal punishment or physical punishment (physical discipline in some contexts) is a punishment intended to cause physical pain on a person. It is usually inflicted in settings with a substantial disparity of power between the partakers. Corporal punishment is commonly practiced on minors, especially in home and also school settings, usually employing more modest forms. Common methods in this regard often include spanking or paddling."[1]

"The point is that the discipline has character training as its goal, not simply behavior; and this training equips the child to persevere in the way of life (cf. Prov. 22:15), which is the godly parents’ chief aim (cf. 23:15–18, 22–25)."^[2]  The Lord uses discipline in our lives. “… your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4, NIV).   My goal would be that I want to discipline my children, in the spirit and the means that God, my Father, disciplines me.

“And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?” (Hebrews 12:5–7, NIV)

Correction shows us that we are loved, but it also shows us that we are not above reproach and we are accountable to someone.  Those that ignore the notion of parental use of corporal punishment miss the obvious in this text.  There is no excuse of disciplining in anger; spanking as abuse; or punishing with the intent to maim and disfigure.  Most importantly it is never done outside the application of instruction and the approbation of the Gospel.  As in all cases, proverbial literature should be balanced with all that God says about the subject.  For example: “A rebuke impresses a discerning person more than a hundred lashes a fool” (Proverbs 17:10, NIV). 

Elsewhere the Wise write, “Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them” (Proverbs 13:24, NIV). This verse holds parents as responsible to instruct and discipline their children.  The weight of the proverb leans heavily toward "careful instruction" not the use of the rod.  Another misuse of these verses is to suggest that all premature death is due to a lack of parental discipline.  One cannot extend the passage to such extremes.   

As a parent, I have always thought of spanking as the "death penalty" of the home.  By that, I mean that "it is the last resort, not the first option".   If patient, godly instruction and the use of other means of discipline fail – especially in the face of "in-your-face" rebellion, then spanking may be necessary – and usually is.

If repeated spankings fail, then we have a problem.  One, if the child is young, you have exhausted all your options. Two, any escalation of punishment on a young child is probably wrong.  God's Word does not prohibit corporal punishment, but it emphasizes godly, sustained, consistent discipline.  One of the keys in all parenting is that important relationship that must be established.  We parents fail miserably when we are inconsistent in our discipline and inconsistent in our relationship.  The net result of discipline outside of a healthy relationship is rebellion.

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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporal_punishment

^[2] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1174). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

The Sayings of the Wise – Part 11

THIRTY SAYINGS OF THE WISE

SAYING NUMBER TEN

“Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.” (Proverbs 23:12, NIV)

There is an unspoken notion within Christian circles that wisdom and knowledge can either be learned by osmosis or at the very most the fruit is easy to pick and often left for you to find.  What is osmosis? "Osmosis is the spontaneous net movement of solvent molecules through a semi-permeable membrane into a region of higher solute concentration, in the direction that tends to equalize the solute concentrations on the two sides."[1]  In everyday language: IT KINDA JUST HAPPENS!

When it comes to godly wisdom, it doesn't just happen.  The wisdom of the wise is to "apply your heart" and "your ears" to instruction and knowledge.    Such a correlation "link[s] hearing with the seat of human intention and purpose."^[2]  The imperative to "apply" is the Hebrew word  שִׁית  that is pronounced "sheeth".  It can mean things like to lay your hand on or set your mind to.  It can mean to appoint or to be set upon.^[3] It just doesn't happen.  It takes purpose and planning.

How purposeful is your study – particularly your study of God's Word?  Dr. Kent Hughes writes, "You can never have a Christian mind without reading the Scriptures regularly because you cannot be profoundly influenced by that which you do not know. If you are filled with God's Word, your life can then be informed and directed by God - your domestic relationships, your child-rearing, your career, your ethical decisions, your interior moral life."[4]

Here is a helpful paragraph:

"The Bible is a book that is not merely for reading. It is a book for studying so that it can be applied. Otherwise, it is like swallowing food without chewing and then spitting it back out again—no nutritional value is gained by it . . . Studying the Bible can be compared to mining for gold. If we make little effort and merely "sift through the pebbles in a stream," we will only find a little gold dust. But the more we make an effort to really dig into it, the more reward we will gain for our effort."[5]

To gain the most from our study we need to have a plan; we need to have resources; and we need to "apply ourselves". 

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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmosis

^[2] Koptak, P. E. (2003). Proverbs (p. 533). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

^[3] Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.

[4] R. Kent Hughes. Disciplines of a Godly Man (Paperback Edition) (p. 77). Kindle Edition.

[5] https://gotquestions.org/why-read-Bible.html

What Should Motivate Our Goodness

Edwards, On the Motivation for the Common Good.

 “The message of Jonathan Edwards to modern evangelicals concerning our public life is not mainly a message about what party to belong to, or what social cause to trumpet, or even which unreached people to adopt and evangelize, as important as these are. His main message is that, if we would not be infinitely parochial, and thus fail in true virtue, then our private life, our public life, and our global life must be driven not by a narrow, constricted, merely natural self-love, but by passion for the supremacy of God in all things—a passion created through supernatural new birth by the Holy Spirit, giving us a new spiritual taste for the glory of God—a passion sustained by the ongoing, sanctifying influences of the Word of God—and a passion bent on spreading itself through all of culture and all the nations until Christ comes.”[1]

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[1] John Piper with Jonathan Edwards. God's Passion for His Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards (With the Complete Text of The End for Which God Created the World) (Kindle Locations 2087-2093). Crossway Books.

Exegetical Analysis Ephesians 3:14-19

I

In Ephesians 3:14–19, Paul, writing to Christians, reveals his prayer for them and then reveals the strangest purpose statement in verse 17: "So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." The obvious question is, "I thought He was?"   Does Christ not indwell every Christian?   Here's is the entire prayer:

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. [Emphasis mine]

In a recent Bible Study on PRAYING WITH PAUL, we discussed this prayer and in the end I was dissatisfied with even my own understanding of the prayer.  With deep concern and humility, I want to take another run at this.   I'm reminded that this is the second prayer[1] of Paul recorded in this letter to the Ephesian Christians.  Unlike some of Paul's letter there does not appear to be a specific problem or problem people that he is addressing.  "Ephesians articulates general instruction in the truths of the cosmic redemptive work of God in Christ; the unity of the church among diverse peoples; and proper conduct in the church, the home, and the world. Unity and love in the bond of peace mark the work of the Savior as well as Christians’ grateful response to his free grace in their lives."^[2]

The structure of this prayer is difficult to grasp.  How many petitions is Paul praying?  I would suggest three based upon the Greek text.  The Greek text gives us a clue by the use of the Greek ἵνα clause.  For example:

Introduction:   ¹⁴ Τούτου χάριν κάμπτω τὰ γόνατά μου πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, ¹⁵ ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεται,

First prayer: ¹⁶ ἵνα δῷ ὑμῖν κατὰ τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ δυνάμει κραταιωθῆναι διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον, ¹⁷ κατοικῆσαι τὸν Χριστὸν διὰ τῆς πίστεως ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν ἐν ἀγάπῃ· ἐρριζωμένοι καὶ τεθεμελιωμένοι,

Second prayer: ¹⁸ ἵνα ἐξισχύσητε καταλαβέσθαι σὺν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἁγίοις τί τὸ πλάτος καὶ μῆκος καὶ ὕψος καὶ βάθος, ¹⁹ γνῶναί τε τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν τῆς γνώσεως ἀγάπην τοῦ Χριστοῦ,

Third prayer: ἵνα πληρωθῆτε εἰς πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ θεοῦ.^[3]

If this be the case, the first prayer is verses 16 and 17: “that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love.”

The phrase "the riches of His glory" has already been used by Paul[4] and clearly speaks of the Gospel.  This relates directly to his introduction, "for this reason".  The reason he is praying for them is the overflow of his previous instruction in the marvels of the Gospel[5].  So as an outflow of this Gospel, Paul prays that they would be "strengthened with power, through his Spirit, in your inner being".  " The verbal form "strengthen" (καταλαβέσθαι) is the opposite of "be discouraged" (enkakein) in v. 13. It is a common expression in LXX and occurs four times in the NT. The agent of this enablement is the Holy Spirit."[6]  So Paul is praying that the Holy Spirit might encourage these believers, in the riches of the Gospel, into the very depths of their being.  "The preposition "in" (eis literally, "into") suggests the depth of the Spirit's penetration."[7]

So then we come to the difficult phrase "so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."  The Gospel encouragement of the Spirit, in the inner man, then produces the desired affect: Christ dwelling in their hearts through faith. The two participles ‘rooted’ (“evrrizwme,noi”) and ‘grounded’ (“teqemeliwme,noi”) (v 17b) are probably best taken as temporal adverbial participles modifying the verbal idea in "Christ making home".  The architectural phrase "dwell" corresponds to the agricultural phrase "rooted".  "It is not difficult to realize that love will result from Christ's indwelling presence."[8]  I find it helpful to think elsewhere where the notions of dwelling and loving coexist in the same passage.  Notice Christ's teaching found in John 15:

"⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me . . . ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love."

What does it mean to abide in Christ's love?  Answer: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:10, ESV).  Clearly we are taught that to abide in Christ and He in us, means to continue in obedience to him. The flow of vitality and life is maintained by obedience.

In Paul's letter to Ephesus he seems to suggest another means by which union with Christ is maintained – that being the Spirit-empowered application of the Gospel to our inner being.  The result is vital union and communion with Christ, grounding us in His love. 

So my paraphrase of Ephesians 3:16-17 would be, I pray "that the Holy Spirit will encourage your heart through the truths of the Gospel, to this end that you will remain in vital union with Christ, with established, resolute love – love for Christ; love for others."

This inadvertently provides a test for genuine faith and Christianity.  The evidence of whether Christ is abiding/residing/at home, by faith in our hearts is whether we are becoming increasingly more established/entrenched/stabilized/invested in love. 

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[1] Ephesians 1:15ff

^[2] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2258). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

^[3] Holmes, M. W. (2011–2013). The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition (Eph 3:14–19). Lexham Press; Society of Biblical Literature.

[4] “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,” (Ephesians 3:8, ESV)

[5] “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (Ephesians 3:6, ESV)

[6] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Ephesians/Exposition of Ephesians/II. Doctrine: The Implications of Christian Faith (1:3-3:21)/F. Knowledge and Fullness (3:14-21), Book Version: 4.0.2 

[7] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Ephesians/Exposition of Ephesians/II. Doctrine: The Implications of Christian Faith (1:3-3:21)/F. Knowledge and Fullness (3:14-21), Book Version: 4.0.2

[8] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Ephesians/Exposition of Ephesians/II. Doctrine: The Implications of Christian Faith (1:3-3:21)/F. Knowledge and Fullness (3:14-21), Book Version: 4.0.2

The Sayings of the Wise – Part 10

THIRTY SAYINGS OF THE WISE

SAYING NUMBER NINE

Again we are warned about removing a boundary stone and encroaching on the property of others – probably the vulnerable and defenseless (e.g., see 22:22-23, 28).  “Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, for their Defender is strong; he will take up their case against you.” (Proverbs 23:10–11, NIV)

Because of the inclusion of the "fatherless" and the implication of a court procedure, ". . . the movement of the boundary stone is not something surreptitiously done but is an open seizure of another family’s land, perhaps through the courts."^[1] "Yet they have a strong “Defender,” a kinsman redeemer (goʾel),[2] who will take up their case (rib); the rib is a controversy or wrong that must be set right."^[3]

"The goel among the Hebrews was the nearest male blood relation alive. Certain important obligations devolved upon him toward his next of kin. (1.) If anyone from poverty was unable to redeem his inheritance, it was the duty of the kinsman to redeem it (Lev. 25:25, 28; Ruth 3:9, 12). He was also required to redeem his relation who had sold himself into slavery (Lev. 25:48, 49)."^[4]

The law systems in Israel were intended to protect the vulnerable.  This Proverb warns that those who do not respect that will find themselves squarely against the law. "He who invades the fields of the fatherless in order to enlarge his possessions will learn to his sorrow of the power of their kinsman-redeemer."^[5]

The implication (in the English texts) because of the capitalization of Redeemer/Defender is that if there is no human court of appeal that God Himself will deliver and those that take advantage of the weak will find themselves confronted with Jehovah God.

" God is Israel's Redeemer, the one who will defend and vindicate them. The idea that God is a kinsman to Israel can be defended by those passages of Scripture that identify him as Israel's Creator and Father ( Exo 4:22-23 ; Deut 32:6 ),Deliverer ( Exo 20:2),owner of the land ( Lev 25:23 ), the one who hears innocent blood crying out for vengeance ( Deut 19:10 ; 21:6-9 ), and the King who has made his covenant with the people ( Exo 6:2-8 )."[6]

Christ is portrayed in the New Testament as our Kinsman-Redeemer, our glorious brother (Heb 2:11).  Paul, in writing to the Thessalonians made this sobering pronouncement:

“All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.” (2 Thessalonians 1:5–10, NIV)

God is clearly on the side of His people.  Justice will come to those of Christ's family that are harmed and unfairly treated. “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31, NIV)

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^[1] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1174). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[2] The goʾel is one who steps in on behalf of the family to execute some sort of responsibility of redemption by paying a debt (Lev. 25:48ff.), buying back land (Lev. 25:25ff.), exacting a debt, avenging blood (Num. 35:12ff.) or, in the case of Yahweh, redeeming those who are in trouble (cf. Job 19:25; Jer. 50:34).

^[3] Koptak, P. E. (2003). Proverbs (pp. 546–547). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

^[4] Easton, M. G. (1893). In Easton’s Bible dictionary. New York: Harper & Brothers.

^[5] Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 1240). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[6] http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/kinsman-redeemer.html

Why Read Old and Hard Books?

THE END FOR WHICH GOD CREATED THE WORLD[1]

WHY PUBLISH AN OLD BOOK?

In 1765, Jonathan Edwards published his work “The End For Which God Created The World”.  Though rarely asked today, the question of why God created the world captured the thought and imagination of Jonathan Edwards, one of history's most profound thinkers. Using both reason and Scripture, Edwards determined that God created the world primarily as an arena for his eternal and innate glory to flow outward like a fountain, and for his emanating glory to be received, praised, and enjoyed by the creatures he made.[2]

 

In 1998, Dr. John Piper published the book, “God’s Passion For His Glory”, which is an essay on Edwards’ work. Here Piper passionately demonstrates the relevance of Edwards’s ideals for the personal and public lives of Christians today through his own book-length introduction to Edwards’s The End for Which God Created the World. 

In the first chapter, entitled: Why Publish an Old Book?, Piper includes these insightful, challenging and important thoughts from Mortimer Adler.  Here is an excerpt from that chapter:

Mortimer Adler on the Necessity of Hard Books Mortimer

Adler would use another argument to persuade us. In his classic, How to Read a Book, he makes a passionate case that the books that enlarge our grasp of truth and make us wiser must feel, at first, beyond us. They “must make demands on you. They must seem to you to be beyond your capacity.” If a book is easy and fits nicely into all your language conventions and thought forms, then you

probably will not grow much from reading it.

It may be entertaining, but not enlarging to your understanding. It’s the hard books that count. Raking is easy, but all you get is leaves; digging is hard, but you might find diamonds. Evangelical Christians, who believe God reveals himself primarily through a book, the Bible, should long to be the most able readers they can be. This means that we should want to become clear, penetrating, accurate, fair-minded thinkers, because all good reading involves asking questions and thinking.

This is one reason why the Bible teaches us, “Do not be children in your thinking; be babes in evil, but in thinking be mature” (1 Cor. 14:20 RSV). It’s why Paul said to Timothy, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will grant you understanding in everything” (2 Tim. 2:7). God’s gift of understanding is through thinking, not instead of thinking.

Adler underlines his plea for the “major exertion” of reading great books with the warning that such mental exercise may lengthen your life, and television may be deadly.

The mind can atrophy, like the muscles, if it is not used. . . . And this is a terrible penalty, for there is evidence that atrophy of the mind is a mortal disease. There seems to be no other explanation for the fact that so many busy people die so soon after retirement. . . .Television, radio, and all the sources of amusement and information that surround us in our daily lives are . . . artificial props. They can give us the impression that our minds are active; because we are required to react to stimuli from out-side. But the power of those external stimuli to keep us going is limited. They are like drugs. We grow used to them, and we continuously need more and more of them. Eventually, they have little or no effect.

Here’s some summary points that I think are worthy of consideration:

1. Books, sermons, studies that will cause us to grow MUST, at first, feel beyond our capability.

2. Material that will improve us IS HARD WORK.

3. The Bible is a Book and must be read as a book – an old, sometimes, difficult book

4. We must learn the art of thinking – thinking deeply, thinking provocatively.

5. All amusement (from the French, amuser -- "to divert the attention, beguile, delude") is mindless.

Piper concludes: “Making the effort to read Jonathan Edwards merely for the sake of living longer would be a great irony. His aim is not to help us live long, nor even to live forever, but to help us live for God and that forever. And since our media-intoxicated culture is neither given to thinking, nor to straining Godward, the challenge and the potential of reading Edwards is doubled. The End for Which God Created the World may prove to be a life-giving fountain in more ways than we know—all the better for its mountain-height, and all the strain to climb worthwhile.”[3]

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[1] John Piper with Jonathan Edwards. God's Passion for His Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards (With the Complete Text of The End for Which God Created the World) (Kindle Locations 353-371). Crossway Books.

[2] https://www.amazon.ca/End-Which-God-Created-World-ebook/dp/B00R0FQVR4

[3] John Piper with Jonathan Edwards. God's Passion for His Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards (With the Complete Text of The End for Which God Created the World) (Kindle Locations 373-377). Crossway Books.

The Sayings of the Wise – Part 9

THIRTY SAYINGS OF THE WISE

SAYING NUMBER EIGHT

A number of sayings in Proverbs caution against speaking wisdom to fools, who will reject it.  For example:

“Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you.” (Proverbs 9:7–8, NIV)

“Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.” (Proverbs 26:4–5, NIV)

In this collection of Sayings of the Wise, the Wiseman records in Proverbs 23:9 (NIV), these words: "Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words."   Who are the "fools"?   "The fool is the person steadily opposed to God’s covenant (cf. 1:7b)."^[1] The base definition of a fool is someone who disregards God's Word.   The ultimate description of a fool is one who “says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ That person is not an atheist, he or she is a person who acts like an atheist – a practical atheist. 

The wise counsel of this proverbial statement is don't speak to a fool.  The person that disregards God and His Word will simply "scorn" the wise things you say.  "The problem is not the fool’s lack of intelligence but his obstinacy."^[2]  To try to advise someone who rejects the basic authority of your words is a waste of time.  Perhaps this is what Christ had in mind when He said,

““Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7:6, NIV)

Matthew Henry correctly observes: "There are some that will make a jest of everything, though it be ever so prudently and pertinently spoken, that will not only despise a wise man’s words, but despise even the wisdom of them, that in them which is most improvable for their own edification."^[3]

The implication of this proverb is that there is required a change of heart before one can receive wise counsel.  That heart-change results in a person fearing God and embracing His Word.  This is the pre-requisite of all evangelism and all wise counsel. 

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^[1] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1132). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

^[2] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1174). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

^[3] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1007). Peabody: Hendrickson.

The Mark of the Believer

Ezekiel 9:3–4 (NIV)

³ Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side ⁴ and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”

In the midst of God's horrific judgment against His people, He calls an angel who has a writing device to out a mark on all those who were faithful -- all those who were appalled at the idolatry in Jerusalem. That mark, from the Hebrew word 'taw' in the day of Ezekiel was an 'X'.  " Ancient Christian interpretation saw in this symbol an anticipation of the cross." [1]

“Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.” (Revelation 7:2–4, NIV) 

 “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (2 Corinthians 1:21–22, NIV)

________________________________________

1. Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1512). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

The Sayings of the Wise - Part 9

THIRTY SAYINGS OF THE WISE

SAYING NUMBER EIGHT

In Proverbs 23:1 we were apprised of how a wise person would eat before the king.  In Proverbs 23:6–8 we are given more advice about banqueting. 

⁶ Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies; ⁷ for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. ⁸ You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments.

Here the Wiseman tells us exactly the character of the host.  He is a “begrudging host”.  He is stingy.  “Like the ruler of 23:1, he also has a table of deceptive delicacies (cf. 23:3), for he says, “Eat and drink,” but does not mean it.”^[1] The advice is “do not eat”.  We are given the rather gross picture that what we do eat will become indigestible and we will vomit the meal, wasting any compliments or gratitude.

Lack of sincerity in your host will induce regurgitation.  “Eating and drinking with him will be irritating and disgusting.”[2]  “Ultimately, you will be sorry you ever partook of his gifts and will even wish you could vomit up.”^[3]

I know someone who is in a position and role of serving.  However many times during the expressions of their duties I hear reluctance, complaining and a sense of abhorrence for their task.  If I am a recipient of their responsibilities I want to just “up chuck”.  I actually don’t want their so-called benevolence because I know it’s not genuine.  I’d just like to do it myself.

This passage teaches us not to become recipients of begrudging goodness, so to speak.  But it also reminds me that as a servant of Christ, I am called to serve faithfully and cheerfully – diligently and joyfully.  Nobody wants to be at the other end of a minister who is doing what he is doing and hates every minute of it.

Let’s heed the Wiseman.

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^[1] Koptak, P. E. (2003). Proverbs (p. 545). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[2] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Proverbs/Exposition of Proverbs/IV. The Sayings of the Wise (22:17-24:34)/A. Thirty Precepts of the Sages (22:17-24:22), Book Version: 4.0.2 

^[3] Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 1240). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.