Bragging On Jesus

Proverbs In 365 Devotions

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Proverbs 22:1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. 2 The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker of them all. 3 The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. 4 The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.

Alright, as we start Proverbs 22, Solomon begins talking about money or wealth. He mentions riches in three of these four verses, but first he tells us there’s something better than great riches even mentioning silver and gold. This is actually very profound… It’s like in one hand Solomon holds out the greatest most valuable things the world treasures… the things that can be used to obtain any physical thing one might desire. Great riches… And he should know a thing or two about them…

1st Kings chapter 10 is one place you can read all about Solomon's wealth. ...

(transcript at braggingonjesus.com)

Great riches are still important to men right? … silver and gold are still at the top of the worlds list even around 3000 years after Solomon wrote these words. So Solomon holds great wealth in one hand and in the other… two things which he says are greater than these… a good name is a better choice than riches; and favor is better than silver and gold.

Solomon also reminds us that the rich and poor all share a common origin. We share the same Maker… the Lord… And he says the rich and poor meet. Somehow this meeting is connected to God making us all.

I was just thinking ... (transcript at braggingonjesus.com)

Man was made in Gods image for worshiping God and loving our neighbor as our self. Not for being obsessed with riches. ... (transcript at braggingonjesus.com)

Next, in verse 3 we see an example of how a prudent person can see danger and removes himself from it. Although this verse does not mention riches this prudent person ... (transcript at braggingonjesus.com)

Finally in verse 4 Solomon says: “The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life”.

And Solomon knows this truth on a deep personal level. Remember when he humbled himself in the fear of the Lord and ask God to be the leader God wanted him to be? 2nd Chronicles 1 tells us what God gave Solomon.

2 Chronicles 1:11 God answered Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king,

12 wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you riches, possessions, and honor, such as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like.”

So God gave Solomon the very things he mentions in verse 4… riches and honor and life.

In closing today my mind goes back to what Solomon said in verse 2 which we looked at. “The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker of them all.”

We talked about origins and how God is creator of us all… How the rich and poor both came into this world with nothing. You know, we were created for relationship with God. He wants us to neither be obsessed with poverty or riches but pursue and worship him as the greatest treasure in the Universe that he is. We were created in a fashion so that seeing his glory brings us the greatest joy possible and transforms our life.

And the truth is… the rich and poor will meet in some fashion again… even with our Creator on Judgment Day. Once again we will have nothing. We all stand poor before our Maker. If we have turned away from treasuring sin and looked to Christ. If our hope is in him then although we are poor we come before God with the righteousness of Jesus. and we receive life and riches and share in his glory forever.

Pray

Proverbs In 365 Devotions

For more go to braggingonjesus.com

Proverbs 28:23 Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with his tongue. 24 Whoever robs his father or his mother and says, “That is no transgression,” is a companion to a man who destroys. 25 A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the Lord will be enriched. 26 Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered. 27 Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse. 28 When the wicked rise, people hide themselves, but when they perish, the righteous increase.

In our last session, we considered a faithful man verses a man who hastens after riches and we looked at how his worship of money caused him to be an unfaithful man. Today Solomon floods us with a blitz of reasons not to be that wicked stingy unfaithful man who is only out for himself… These passages seem to me to serve as a kind of review for the whole chapter in some ways… I don’t know if Solomon wrote these all in one setting or if the Scribes organized the proverbs in this fashion but… hey it works well.

So in todays verses, as Solomon talks about the wicked rising to leadership roles and being greedy… having apathy towards the poor, not honoring their parents and trusting their own hearts over God… And even as he gives the positive to the negative telling us about the benefits of trusting the Lord… something else stands out strong. It’s in the first verse of the passage.

23 Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with his tongue.

You know... we live in an age where it is politically correct to give a false definition to the term “tolerant”. “Tolerant” does not mean to be a faint hearted paper tiger and hide truth in a sock in your bottom drawer or sweep it under the rug when company comes like it is dirt.

Look… all this wickedness Solomon speaks of needs to be addressed and as early as possible before hearts become hardened. But it has to be addressed in love and I think as believers it is imperative that we do this correctly to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

As I said, it needs to be done in love. In my life I’ve seen three ways believers respond to wickedness in the Church.

* One is by not reaching out in love… not serving with humility the one who is going astray… instead; keeping our mouth shut and doing nothing. And some times the whole church is being led in a way that is unscriptural and believers do not stand up for the Gospel or good theology and we just let the church fall into the lap of satan himself.

* If there is a small fire in your house it is not good to ignore it …is it?… and a big fire… do your best and call the fire department. Look, we are to leave no brother or sister behind. We are our brothers keeper.

* Another way we respond to a pattern of sin in a believer is to start right out by rebuking him publicly not with humility but with a prideful super Christian I’m better than thou attitude. Really? Is that Christian in any way shape or form? We probably all know someone who has left the church because someone who has rebuked them in an unloving prideful way. This could be the arrogant man in verse 26 who trust in his own mind and is a fool. And it may even be the wicked man in verse 28 who when he comes to power every one hides from. I’ve seen this wrong way of rebuking in the Church and I don’t even want to repeat what I heard or how bad it was.

* Thirdly, I’ve seen what Solomon says in verse 23. That is... instead of flattering someone who is walking in sin... rebuking them with a heart of humility. Those who see how sin brings destruction while Jesus brings satisfaction... Those who turn from rejoicing in sin to delighting Jesus as the greatest treasure in the Universe will look to the one who rebuked them as the one who reminded them of Jesus. They will look to you with favor.

Pray

Proverbs 28:20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished. 21 To show partiality is not good, but for a piece of bread a man will do wrong. 22 A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him.

In today’s passage Solomon says how a faithful man will be bristling with blessings… overflowing… And then instead of simply giving a one line negative end for the one who is not faithful, he expounds on this truth in more detail than usual.

So one man in the text is faithful. Then, interestingly; without using the word “unfaithful”, Solomon uses other words to show us some of the attributes of this unfaithful man.

* He is one who hastens to be rich.

* He shows partiality towards others.

* He is willing to break laws and take advantage of others to get something he wants or needs.

Then in verse 22 Solomon repeats the fact that hasting after wealth is a bad thing and he uses a curious word… “stingy”. “A stingy man”. The dictionary on my computer says stingy means: “unwilling to give or spend;”

Again, Verse 22 says: ...

So Solomon gives us all these things that relate to a man being obsessed with money and getting rich quick and doing whatever it takes to do it… and somehow he seems to be saying this is the opposite of the faithful man who will abound with blessings.

To be faithful is to be steadfast in the things of God. ... This faithful man will bristle with blessings.

That does not mean money is bad in itself. Like anything else it can be used to bring glory to God. But rather it’s loving money so much that… even though one does not realize it… it has become what they worship and find their delight in.. You know, that is clearly making ourselves other gods that we place before the LORD.

1 Timothy 6:10 says: For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

You see, money does not bring delights that rise to even be compared to the joys that come through Jesus. This is where God wants us to find our worship.

So… money is not bad and things are not bad… but loving and delighting in them… being so obsessed with them that we run after them hastily… We put all kinds of things on credit cards that we want right now because we think they will bring us joy. God wants us to walk in his joy and worship every second of every day.

In Deuteronomy 28 Israel is about to go into the promise land and God will overflow them blessings of all kinds of things meant for their good. But in this chapter God gives them a severe warning of around 100 curses that will come upon them if they do not do this one thing when they come into the promised land.

46 They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. 47 Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things,

So there is a practical aspect of being faithful and saving without obsessing… for this world. Proverbs 13:11 says: 11 Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.

But at the end of the day it’s all gonna be long gone, right? So even here on earth whether we have much or little God has promised abundant overflowing blessings to those who have faith in him and in whom his faithfulness is working out in their life practically.

You know, Jesus is the only one who was ever truly faithful in this world. And his righteousness is applied to all who believe in him. On the cross he took the wages due us for our sin and gives us the wages due him for his righteousness… even fellowship and relationship and acceptance by God. In his resurrection we receive the same power he has over the hold sin has in death and in life as we walk in his joy and worship.

Proverbs 28:17 If one is burdened with the blood of another, he will be a fugitive until death; let no one help him.

From the beginning, intentional premeditated murder is something God has decreed to be an abomination and dealt with severely. We see this first when Adam and Eve’s son Cain killed his brother Abel and then in Gods commandments and the courts of his people and all of mankind. Its even something I believe is imprinted upon our hearts.

I suppose one reason this is so important is because Man was made in the image of God. Today I’d like to ponder that for a bit… What does made in God image mean? For one thing It must mean that unlike the rest of Creation we were created to be compatible with God in a more intimate way. I mean… families share lots of physical characteristics right? They might have the same eyes or chin or a similar walk. These things identify us as family and remind us we were meant to have strong unifying family ties in fellowship and relationship.

So then does being made in Gods image mean we physically look like him?

I do not see that in scripture.

The truth is that Jesus himself who is God the Son, came to earth physically resembling the image of man… And yet there is something else… Jesus; quoting from Colossians 1:15 “is the image of the invisible God”.

So we were made in Gods image but Jesus is that image. Even as a physical man he had the invisible qualities of God. And so it stands to reason that Adam and Eve had something invisible about them that mirrored God.

So as we ponder this… I was just thinking… and this is interesting to me… how that mankind has plenty of invisible qualities at least in some context. …. but animals who where not made in Gods image have these also… so, that being said… I believe none of these things are mirror images of the invisible God which the bible speaks of… rather they seem to point us to their spiritual counterparts which must be awakened by God.

It does make sense that God is invisible because he is spirit… right?

In John 4:24 Jesus said this: God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

And so Gods way of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling is spiritual as well… And when God awakens his Spirit in you and I, all of a sudden our world is…. like full of beautiful colors and music… wonderful smells… We see Jesus as beautiful and savor his word as the best thing we’ve ever tasted.

Look, since Adam and Eve believed in satan over God, the relationship… the fellowship of the invisible image of God upon mankind was broken. Man became image bearers of sin and self and satan. But still, God created us in a fashion so that sweet spiritual camaraderie with God could be restored… even for those who never had experienced fellowship with God before.

...Read text again...

Please verify all my ponderings yourself by going to Gods Word.

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Proverbs In 365 Devotions

For more go to braggingonjesus.com

Proverbs 28:15 Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people. 16 A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor, but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.

Rulers Who Lack Understanding

R Aylor

I love the metaphors Solomon uses in his writings… Proverbs is full of them. Even in this chapter so far we have encountered a few. In verse one he says how the righteous are bold as a lion and then in verse 3 he gives a scenario where oppressing the poor is like a beating rain.

Here the picture Solomon paints is a wicked ruler coming for the poor people in his land… and he’s attacking in full assault mode like a roaring lion or a charging bear. Thats a pretty graphic picture… the outcome will not be rated G or PG13 but a lot worse… still its a true and honest representation.

The next verse… 16 continues speaking of a ruler who is a cruel oppressor saying he lacks understanding and then Solomon says how one who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.

Solomon does this quite often… He starts us with a truth to ponder… say a positive to a negative… something about the wise and righteous and something else about the wicked… Either somehow they are related… or we get to fill in the blanks to the negative or positive truth he is sharing. Many times Solomon seems to want us to finish the thought so we can work it out in our own mind and internalize it for ourself. I think he wants us to know why we believe what we say we believe instead of taking his or anyone else’s word for it.

So verse 16 says how a ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor… We might also consider 15 about a wicked ruler charging at the poor… and therefore as we think through this we can figure that a ruler who has understanding will be compassionate and just toward the poor instead of a beating rain that strips them bare. A understanding leader will work to raise the poor from their poverty for their own good and that of the nation.

Solomon then says the word “but’… “but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days”.

Again this seems to be a positive end for the ruler who has understanding… so what is the negative? Yes, Solomon says how a leader without understanding is a cruel oppressor; Solomon says thats the negative side but he has now added something else for us to ponder. The cruel oppressor must have loved unjust gain… Solomon tells us how this wicked leader oppresses the poor… They unfairly take advantage of those who have no recourse. They unjustly take what they have like the beating rain in verse 3 of this chapter.

Solomon also gives us another nugget to backtrack on. A good just leader will prolong his days. Therefore we can surmise that being an oppressive unjust leader will not wind up being a healthy course for his career or his life.

How does any of this relate to me? I’m not a king or leader of a nation.

We all lead others. Our life, our choices, our faith, our attitude… the way our heart works out into our life actions… even our facial expressions. At the very least even if we stay home and never involve ourselves socially with others there is some kind of butterfly effect that contributes to the heartbeat of the culture.

Fathers, be encouraging leaders in your families. Dont be a roaring lion or charging bear dominating them for your own self centeredness. Dont seek to have your family serve you but rather serve them and work to the end that they have joy in serving God and loving their neighbor… Encourage them… Work for peace and truth that your family might grow out of the things they are weak in and your family might become strong in the Lord for his glory. One benefit this will surly bring is that it will prolong your days as one who is looked to in love as the godly leader God has called you to be.

Pray

Proverbs 28:18 Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall. 19 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

Lets start with the second phrase… of vs 18... it says how the crooked “will suddenly fall”. This seems to indicate that there may be at least a season before that when the crooked might appear to be successful. I think we do see the wicked appearing successful often times in life. And that seems to trip up some people in their faith… It plants a seed of doubt.

In Psalm 73, the writer Asaph saw this and it bothered him. Verse 3 says: For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

...

Psalm 37 is a psalm of David and it’s likely just what you need if you don’t understand why God has not stepped in yet. It starts out like this:

1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!

Solomon also says how those who walk in integrity will be delivered. We’ll look more at that in a minute.

Next in verse 19 he plays off the word “plenty”. It says:

“Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.”

So these are surly the same men he has been telling us about throughout Proverbs. There are various attributes and characteristics of a “righteous” man who has a heart for God . Gods righteousness works out of his life as he grows practically in that righteousness. And then there is the wicked man with his characteristics.

Verse 19 speaks of this one who has a heart for God and righteousness… He is the man of integrity in verse 18… not lazy… he diligently works hard; has plenty of bread. This same righteousness from God also works in him to love his neighbor promotes a ton of other godly traits.

But the man without a heart for God… who in this sub genre of wickedness is lazy to the things of God that have to do with working for a living and providing for his family… Solomon says that they too will have plenty… plenty of poverty.

So in these two verses we see two examples of a wicked man.

One seems to be successful for a time so he is likely not lazy… and he will suddenly fall… It may be here on earth… it may be not come until death… But one thing is for sure… even if God waits until judgment day for the ultimate fall… it will happen.

The other wicked man was different in that he was lazy. It is logical to assume that he too may have seemed to have it good for a while as he lived off of those around him. A righteous government surly does not enable the lazy to remain as unproductive citizens. I suppose in Solomons kingdom it was like this… the lazy had plenty of poverty.

The physical and spirirtual application of todays verses are clear I think. Walk in integrity and not crookedness; be diligent in work and not lazy… there are consequences now and for eternity.

In eternity because truly good works which are motivate by the Holy Spirit in our life are evidence that God has worked his righteousness out through our life.

Spiritually I think our passage speaks loudest in the first phrase.

18 Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered,…

Integrity is a heart thing. It has to do with good character and righteousness but it is foreign to fallen mankind. It can only be received as a gift from the only one who is righteous… that is God and it comes through his son Jesus; the righteous God man.

If you delight in Jesus… the only one who came and lived a righteous life; who died a wicked sinners death… the death we deserve… If you believe in this one who then defeated the hold sin had through the law’s sentence of death… by rising from the grave… If your hope is in him… God will give you 100% of Jesus righteousness and begin working out righteousness and integrity through your life practically… and raise you up for eternity to be with him… all because of Jesus.

Proverbs In 365 Devotions

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Proverbs 28:11 A rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has understanding will find him out. 12 When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, people hide themselves. 13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. 14 Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

In verse 11 Solomon starts us out today with what appears to be a comparison taking two examples to their reasonable extreme in order to highlight the point he is making. Here we see a rich man and a poor man. But in keeping with the way chapter 28 is written I believe the implication is that these are also a wicked and a righteous man. So using the extreme vastness of the example we see that whether a man is rich or middle class or poor or anywhere in between… If he is wise in his own eyes… if he is prideful… he will be found out by a man of understanding whether he is poor, middle classed or rich or anywhere in between. An extreme example like this shows us the rock solid reliability of this truth across the board.

12 When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, people hide themselves. 13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

So here we can see the person who is found out in verse 11. This man who was wise in his own eyes and concealed his wickedness and true intentions… His ways has come to light and he will not prosper. A man of understanding has found him.

Who is this man of understanding? This one who triumphs and participates in great glory. This is who I want to be. Verse 13 says he is one who confesses and forsakes his transgressions. Thats called repentance. Then in Verse 14 it says:

14 Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

I think these are the same two people Solomon has been talking about through the chapter.

So this man of understanding is also one who fears the Lord always and does not harden his heart against God or his word.

By the way, this is a good kind of fearing. A child should not harden their heart against a loving parent… No! They should fear the thought of doing so! If they received no correction from their parents it would indicate their parents don’t love them as they should… they don’t care what path they follow or what kind of person they will grow up to be. So this kind of fear is good for the soul and it lets us know we are truly a child who has God as our Father.

Hebrews 12:5-6 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

So these righteous who triumph… are those who repent and confess and look to God as Father… Our righteousness comes from Gods Son Jesus… our self righteousness… (todays text indicated this as being wise in our own eyes) The Bible says our righteousness is as filthy rags.

Jesus did not come to earth to pay us for our sins but rather to take the payment for our sins. He lived a perfect righteous life and died a wicked sinners death… He took the wages of sin we deserve. He gives all who delight in him and his words… all who believe… all who have faith in him… his own righteousness that we might be accepted by God and have fellowship and relationship with him. He defeated the hold sin had through the law by rising from the grave and God gives us that same resurrection power to have victory over sins hold in life as we walk with him.

Pray

Proverbs In 365 Devotions

For more go to braggingonjesus.com

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.

Solomon does a great job painting a picture of an evil person leading someone in a bad way. It could be this wicked person is simply exalting himself and trying to set himself up as a mentor to a righteous person. Some people thrive on having people like them and think they are cool… It makes them feel good when people see them as a leader… even a rebel who gets what they want and don't take no lip from anyone… and they want approval and acceptance for who they are. So many times they would likely be trying to lead someone down a road they were familiar with… their own territory if you will.. one they have traveled on many times. Evil men tend to exalt their own wickedness as a kind of exalted glory toward others. It could be that kind of leading.

But it also could be that he is leading this righteous person astray into a snare with evil intentions. He could be actually setting a trap and trying to trip up the righteous person. This happens often as well.

I think satan himself combines both of these tactics of leading mankind. Remember, he was the one who fell from Gods favor when he wanted glory equal to God.. and what did he do? He led Adam and Eve down that same path. They were righteous before they sinned… Satan told Eve that God was a liar and if she disobeyed God she would not die but would be like Him.

The path for self glory would be an alluring temptation and it would serve two purposes… It would lead Adam and Eve to be like satan instead of God… And that would bring some kind of a feeling of glory to satan. They and their descendants would be his kindred spirits in a sense. But not only that… It would become their demise… you see… All mankind would would be one day cast into a pit for eternity because they believed satan and his promises for satisfaction instead of believing God.

And the thing is… this trap satan set for these first two righteous ones will one day hold him as well. The devil will be thrown into a pit which God created for him and all the angels who followed him…

Well, after Solomon says how this one who misleads the righteous will fall into his own pit he says “but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.”

So the truth is that we are all wicked, bent towards sin… so, not blameless… we are all bent toward seeking our own glory in some fashion. But although we are not a righteous race, God has made a way for us to obtain a foreign righteousness and then what Solomon says will ring true for us… “the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.”

After Adam and Eve sinned, God said in Genesis 3 how through the offspring of Eve one would come who would bruise or crush the head of the serpent… that is… the devil. So for generations there were men and women who believed God once again and waited for this Messiah to come and do what no one has or ever would do… live a perfect life so he might give his righteousness to all of fallen mankind who believe God with hope and delight. Gods only Son Jesus, the offspring of Mary did this very thing. And he also took the wages of our sin (which is death) by dying on the Cross. Then on the third day he broke the hold sin had through the law and was raised up from the dead. God will one day raise all who joyfully believe in him never to suffer the entropy that is associated with sin again… no pain, no arthritis, no covid-19, no death. And while here in this broken world God gives all who believe the power of the resurrection to have victory over sins power in life as we walk with him.

This is good news to believe in and share with others… I hope you have a great day in the Lord

Proverbs 28:4 Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive against them. 5 Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely. 6 Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways. 7 The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding, but a companion of gluttons shames his father. 8 Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit gathers it for him who is generous to the poor. 9 If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.

...

...

Well, Verse 4 starts us out by saying how those who disobey God are not praising him… they are not worshipers of God… ...

Thats a heart issue. We’ve talked a lot about that… ...

When from the heart we forsake Gods word, our praise or… our worship goes to those who are wicked. ...and most of the time to his own self… ... Of course, that was satans sin which caused his fall and that was the temptation he brought to Eve which led to Adam and Eve’s fall and ours as well.

Nest Solomon says how evil men dont understand justice but seekers of God do so completely… then it seems there is an example of this very thing in verse 6.

6 Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity...

I believe it’s pretty clear that this evil man who praises the wicked is the same one who does not understand justice. He has decided in his heart that it is just plain better to be dishonest than honest and poor. For him, wickedness seems better than integrity… for him money trumps honesty and good relationships, loving your neighbor as yourself. He looks out for himself and rationalizes his choices. Even when he knows he is in the wrong he thinks it is ok as long as no one else knows of his wrong doing and he can become overly defensive and judgmental against those who question his actions. ...

... another example ...

7 The one who keeps the law ...

The son who is a keeper of the law understands… in keeping with verse 5, he understands justice; while the companion of gluttons brings shame to his father… and according to verse 4 he praises the wicked. ...

8 Whoever multiplies his wealth by...

We actually covered this verse in a Proverbs 13:22-23 devotion called Wealth, Poverty, Injustice and Giving. (https://soundcloud.com/obinylor/proverbs-1322-23-ra-wealth-poverty-injustice) But this is definitely another example of praising wickedness or praising God and obedience to his word.

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

This fits nicely with the rest of the passage. I mean if a person forsakes Gods law and praises the wicked… how can he sincerely pray to God if he is praising someone else? He worships something else… wickedness. He does not understand being just and he does not understand the justice of God.

In Romans 3 Paul talks about Gods justice and how he can show mercy and still be just.

In Romans 3:23-24 he says: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

So Gods justice for those who believe comes by grace through Jesus redeeming us.

Paul goes on to explain how God has reserved his final judgment with 100% justice until after a time when his only Son came to do what no man has ever done… that is to live a perfect righteous life… then to take the wages of sin we deserve in his death…

Finally in verse 26 we can see how Gods righteous justice comes to those who have faith in his Son who was just on our behalf.

26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

That’s the justice of God that the wicked persons eyes are closed to… and in so being they are unable to grasp the fullness of how to live a life full of justice practically towards their neighbor and instead are bent on praising the wicked.

For more go to braggingonjesus.com

Proverbs 28:3 A poor man who oppresses the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food.

So here is a verse which can also be translated a couple different ways. Listen to the audio for more on this. (out of space)

If this is referring to a leader…. think of this: You know that a good rain is good for growing crops. If a leader as a beating rain… its’ a bad thing; he should be one who brings nourishment and things needed for prospering and growth to the poor and not be as one who takes advantage of them as easy prey.

On the other hand, a poor man who oppresses the poor reminds me of the parable Jesus gave in Matthew 18. A servant owed the king 10,000 talents… that was a ton of money which he could not pay. The king ordered that his wife and children and all that he had be sold and applied to his debt. The servant begged the king for mercy and the king forgave him the debt in full. This was a poor man right? Here’s what he did next:

Matthew 18:28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’

So look, whether rich or poor… we are all like the rain to others around us; either beating or nourishing.

Instead of nourishing and helping the poor we are tempted to take advantage of their need… we offer them less than market value for their houses… We might even go to their garage sales and counter offer an item they have marked at 25 cents… “Will you take a nickel for that?”.

It seems to be ingrained into our culture… We are a brainwashed people to be all out for ourselves… There are plenty of books teaching it…. our culture boldly says it… “You are Number 1” “To look out for yourself is your primary purpose”…

However, if you are a good nourishing rain… then you will come softly upon the weak plants. Your touch will be tender. Your gentleness will nourish them and bring them healthy growth.

How do we do that? If you have ever cared for a garden then you know it means you will have to get dirty. Your hands and knees… well, your whole body. You see, relationships are messy and a simple hand out will not nourish them out of their poverty… If we give money and then with clean hands step away we are enabling them to depend on that very thing and so stay in their poverty.

So helping the poor has always been something Jesus did and charged us to do hand in hand with our primary mission of seeing more of his glory and sharing his beauty with others…

But I want to close with another thing that seems to parallel todays verse.

In Ephesians 3:8 the Apostle Paul considered it a privilege… He was humbled to be given the grace to (quote) “preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ”.

Look, we are to go into all nations and make disciples… That does not mean we tell them about Jesus and leave them to be washed away by the acid rain of the world. It means getting involved with tenderness and love… getting our hands and knees dirty.

If you are a leader in your church… this is for you… do not keep your congregation poor in the Lord. This goes for leaders in families as well. Encourage them in the Lord; lead them in Bible study, teach them to rightly divide the word of truth and how to dig for the never ending riches of Gods glory in his Word so that they may grow up full of joy to worship him better and share his beauty with the world.