The Inheritance

For Friday, January 11, 2008
Proverbs 28:10

Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way
will fall into his own pit,
but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.

Consider the consequences of our actions. This is where the wicked miscalculate. He digs his pit and cleverly leads the upright to fall in it. Perhaps he does so through temptation causing the upright to walk off the righteous path; perhaps the concealment of the pit causes the upright to fall in even as he is walking in obedience. Either way, the upright who possess the righteousness of Christ will be delivered and the wicked will find himself trapped in the very pit he prepared.

The blameless in Christ will receive his goodly inheritance. It is an inheritance "that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for [him]" (1 Peter 1:4). But can he be waylaid from receiving that inheritance by the pit dug by the wicked? No, for he is "by God's power guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:5).

Can he stumble and fall into a pit? Yes. For he can be lead into temptation. He can rest from being alert to the "adversary the devil [who] prowls around like a roaring lion" (1 Peter 5:8). And so he needs to be delivered out of sin and trouble. Thank God that receiving the promised inheritance lies in the strength and faithfulness of our Savior to carry us through. All the more then, we are to strive to walk in obedience to our Lord, looking to him each day to guide us, protect us, and deliver us from evil. Let us be thankful to the "God of all grace, who has called [us] to his eternal glory in Christ [and who] will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish [us]. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen" (1 Peter 5:10-11).

Prayer as Abomination

For Thursday, January 10, 2008
Proverbs 28:9

If one turns away his ear from hearing the law,
even his prayer is an abomination.

This lesson is taught elsewhere.

Consider Isaiah 1:11-17:

11 "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the LORD;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
12 "When you come to appear before me,
who has required of you this trampling of my courts?
13 Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—
I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers, I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good; seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.

Consider 1 Peter 3:7:
Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

To break God's law, to ignore God's law and then to presume that he will hear our prayers is an abomination to him. Yes, we are always sinners and always guilty of sin when we pray. But this proverb addresses the attitude that one can consciously sin and then expect God to listen to one's prayer as though no wrong had been done. It is good to pray aware of God's mercy; it is an abomination to pray presumptious of God excusing our sin.

Exploitation

For Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Proverbs 28:8

Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit
gathers it for him who is generous to the poor.

The first line depicts the individual who charges interest to his poor neighbor who is in need. The neighbor perhaps needs money to buy seed for his crop or to purchase food. He is in a difficult circumstance and needs help for the moment to get by. The rich individual exploits that opportunity to increase his own wealth and charges his neighbor in the same way a commercial institution would charge clients.

The intent of such a person will be thwarted, so that he ends up supporting the wealth of another - the person who is generous to the poor. Compare this proverb with 11:24:
One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give,
and only suffers want.

God blesses generosity to the poor. He disapproves of the miser who withholds blessing to others, and punishes the oppressor who uses his wealth to exploit the poor. We can apply this to ourselves literally in how we use our money, which we should examine closely. Furthermore, apply this principle to how we use all that we possess - our time, our friendship, the gospel, etc. Is our focus on protecting what we have or being as generous as we can be? And if our focus is on self-protection, do we not easily cross the line into exploitation? We do favors expecting favors in return. We give, expecting to receive back. We calculate the investment we will receive in whatever we do.

There is only one investment that should be on our minds - investing in the pleasure of God. Seek first the kingdom and whatever else we may need will be provided.

Of Lawkeepers and Gluttony

For Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Proverbs 28:7

The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding,
but a companion of gluttons shames his father.

Here is a contrast of two sons - the one who keeps the law and the one who is gluttonous. Note though the descriptions of the law keeper and the glutton. The former has understanding; the latter is a companion of gluttons, i.e. he is swayed easily by his worthless companions. This understanding, or lack of it, is at the heart of the father's pride in one and shame in the other as can be seen in Jesus' parable of the "Prodigal Son" (Luke 15:11-32).

The younger son is reckless and squanders his money in gluttoness living. He eventually "came to himself," i.e. he came to his senses. He acquired understanding, which led him back to his father. The older son was a law keeper, yet also without understanding. He kept the law out of duty. That is good to do, but what the father really desired is a son who kept the law out of desire to please him; who kept the law because he understood how good the law was in blessing his life.

Keep the law, but with understanding. Understand that the law is summarized by the commandments to love God and to love one's neighbor. Understand that the law is good and that by keeping it you are blessing yourself. Then you will give your heavenly Father delight. Then he will not be shamed by either your hypocritical lawkeeping nor your gluttony.

Better a Poor Man

For Monday, January 7, 2008
Proverbs 28:6

Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity
than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.

This is a concept that the evil men of verse 5 would not understand. To them, and to most people, being rich is what matters. The wicked are blatant about this and thus will commit crime with impunity to get money. Most will do whatever is within "reasonable" bounds to attain wealth. What happens is that their greed inevitably corrupts them.

The blessing of the poor man who walks in his integrity is the very integrity itself. It provides him with peace of mind. It protects him from the anxiety of having to hold on to his riches or keep up with his neighbor. It allows him to focus on real pleasures, such as enjoying good relationships. He has clearer perspective about what matters. Most importantly, he is in good standing with his Maker and gains eternal riches (understanding that walking in integrity is walking in Christ).

The crooked rich man has only momentary pleasure in his riches, which he has to continually protect. He cannot be sure of his friends, nor they trust him. It is difficult for him to see what is truly good. He is blind to his need for God. When he dies, he loses all. Pray for the crooked rich who are the poorest on earth.