Month: September 2021

Proverbs 10:3 The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.

This is the promise of the Lord for those who believe in Jesus: their soul shall not famish. Negatively, you will not be empty, or hungry; positively, you will be always be full, or satisfied. Contrariwise, the substance of the unbeliever will be cast away, disappear, vanish, be dissipated, and cast away. “He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty [Luke 1:53].” “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied [Matthew 5:6].”

The wicked (those who do not believe in Jesus) are empty in their soul. They may not realize it, as they keep trying to fill the emptiness with the false promises and transitory thrills of the world. But the substance disappears and they are left empty, and unfortunately, they don’t know what’s missing.

The righteous souls (those who believe in Jesus) are not empty, for they have been filled with “good things,” God’s love and God’s life, with peace and joy. There may be times in a believer’s life when the soul feels empty, dry, and hungry, but we know where to go to be filled. We do have the soul-filling Lord always nearby ready to respond to our hearts and our lips by which we believe and confess. Since we have this promise we may hear the gospel and be filled with joy and peace in believing.

Proverbs 10:2 Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.

Life is being with God; death is being without God. Sin brings death; forgiveness of sins brings life. Put another way: righteousness delivers from death. “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 6:23]”

We are dead in sins, but alive in Christ. Forgiveness of Sins is earned by Christ and granted by grace for Christ’s sake. God forgives Sin and removes its effect, death. However, sinful flesh still remains until soul and body are separated in temporal death. Alongside the sinful flesh is also the righteous Spirit, or Life of God. These remain at war, but the promise is: righteousness delivers from death; the Victory of life is assured. With Christ, we win!

This “righteousness that delivers” is granted suddenly, at once, definitively, and forever; and it is also worked in and worked out gradually, over time, and in process throughout earthly life. The Holy Spirit is constantly and consistently driving out the deadly effects of sin, and producing new life in our lives. This life-giving power is increased in us when we receive absolution, hear the Gospel, and receive life in Holy Communion.

On the other hand, “the treasures of wickedness profit nothing.” Outward appearances may appear to show benefits coming from sin and evil, but we believe the Word: worldly pleasures and treasures profit nothing, that is, nothing substantial or eternal. We trust in God’s promise of righteousness. It is weighty and substantial, and will never be lost.

Proverbs 8:35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.

If you find me (Wisdom, Jesus), then you find life. “Seek and you will find.” “Whoever believes in me has eternal life.” Life, once again, is not just surviving or existing, but it is living fully, richly, and abundantly, as well as eternally. And the further good news is that he will obtain favor of the Lord.

The actual truth, of course, is that Jesus finds me, not that I found Him. I was the one who was lost, not Jesus. He is the finder. From my limited perspective, it may feel like I found Him, but I was the one lost in the weeds when He found me there, picked me up, and saved me. The lost coin, the lost sheep, or the lost son did nothing to “find” or even to be “found.” The Owner, the Shepherd, the Father did the work of searching and finding.

So my “finding” means “believing, or receiving” God’s grace and favor. And the faith itself was given freely by the Spirit through the Gospel. The point of the promise in this proverb is that finding Wisdom, finding Jesus, is the same as finding Life. And when we have life by faith in Christ we have favor with God. It is, of course, a good thing to be on God’s good side. God favors me because of Christ, and not because of any merit or worthiness in me, not because of my prayers or good works, and not because of my faith or decision.

Proverbs 8:32, 34 Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways….Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.

Many times God promises blessings and blessedness to those people who listen to the Word of God and keep it. Wisdom is speaking here, and She is encouraging the children to pay attention to the Word and Wisdom of God. If you listen and obey, then you will be blessed. Jesus says: “Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.” The Father says this about Jesus, His Son, at the startling events of Baptism and Transfiguration: “This is my Beloved Son; listen to him!”

It is repeated, and it can’t be said often enough: God promises blessings to those who hear the Word of God. Although we don’t see it obviously in real life families, closer inspection reveals the difference between “church-goers” and unbelieving non-attenders. The adage is true, “the family that prays together…” But we believe the conditional promise is true because said so, not because we can prove it.

What we can say, and believe, and confess is that life will be better and we will be blessed when we are in church, in Bible study, and in the Word. The more we hear and keep the Wisdom of Law and Gospel the more blessed we are. These promised blessings may not always be physical and material, but they will definitely be spiritual and eternal.

Proverbs 8:17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

Wisdom is personified in chapter 8 as calling out to us and inviting us to hear and receive her. The female person called Wisdom in Proverbs is widely considered to be the Word of God, who is Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Jesus is the wisdom of God, or the Word of God, through whom all things were created.

Jesus calls us through the Gospel, which is the message of love, forgiveness, and salvation. The Holy Spirit causes us to believe it through the word and to receive Jesus, Wisdom, as Lord and Savior. The Jesus who lives in us is the Wisdom of God, which is the knowledge and ability to live the right way. In this verse the Lord promises that Wisdom will be found by those that seek it. The promise is conditional: if you seek it, if you love it, then the Lord loves you and finds you.

Of course, God is the one who is seeking and calling. He takes the initiative to seek us out, to call and invite us, to take us in His arms and love us. He is the one who causes us to respond to His seeking and finding, loving and forgiving. It is the promise of His loving and finding that draws us to Him in fear and love. And once He has found you, He promises you the wisdom you need for daily and eternal life.

Proverbs 7: 2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

When God commands “Live!” we know He means more than survive, more than just exist. And when God promises “You will Live!” we know He means more than just staying alive a little longer. We innately know what God means by life: He means a full, rich, abundant, and satisfying life, a life that has meaning and purpose. He says, “Your life matters. You are important to me.” Life that is living is really alive because it is God’s life, and that life is eternal. It is meant to be ever-increasing love and joy and peace and hope, and it never ends.

We do not naturally enjoy this life as God designed it to be because sin entered the earth, and sin brings death, the end of living. But God’s love doesn’t stop: He sent the Son to enter earthly life to forgive sin, deliver from death, and restore The Life that God originally intended.

This is the conditional promise of the Law: “Keep my commandments, and live.” If you keep my commandments perfectly, then you will live eternally. The problem is: we don’t, we can’t, and we won’t keep the commandments. The commandment is good; but I am not. Therefore, we do not have the promise. We shall die, and not live. Without Jesus there is no promise of life, only a fearful awareness of death.

So Jesus kept the commandments for us, paid the penalty of death for us, and rose to give us God’s righteousness and God’s life. Now the Gospel is an unconditional promise for us “You will live, today and forever.” Apply the Gospel to your life by faith now and enjoy life forever. The Gospel gives the power to keep and protect the Word as you would the pupil of your eye. It is that precious.

Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.

The Law of God with its specific commandments and eternal principles promises to be for us a lamp and a light. The Instructions (the Teachings, the Torah) of the Bible promise to be the way of life. Psalm 119:105: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” This is a promise from God: My Word will be sufficient for you to know what to decide, what to do next, where to go, and what is God’s will for my life.

We may trust God’s Word of Law and Gospel be an accurate and unerring guide to our life and what path we should be taking. Trust the Lord to be a light and shine it on the best path forward. We pray, we believe, and we act on the promise: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This petition does not pray “If it be your will…,” but it prays that my own sinful, selfish will, and the will of the devil and the world, will be overcome by the good and gracious will of God. It means I will submit my will to the will of God, trust it to be the good and right path. I can trust the revealed Word to be the light that keeps me on the Path of Life.

The Word, the Will, the Wisdom, and the Way of God is Jesus Christ. He is the light for your path, and He will not fail to lead and guide you on the right path and be for you the way of life. The only remaining question is whether our minds are settled to listen to Him.

As a passing note, we remember that God will not show us our whole future path , what’s down the road, but He will show us our feet, right now, that we are presently on the Way. “A lamp unto our feet” lives in the present moment, not the past nor the future.

Proverbs 6:22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepiest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

”It” in this promise is the commandment of your father and the law of your mother. If you keep them and bind them continually upon your heart, then these laws (the “it”) shall be your companion wherever you go. Father and Mother pass on the Word and Wisdom of God to their children. This includes the Torah of Moses, the Prophets, the Psalms, and Wisdom.

When you hear the Word, keep it, memorize it, meditate on it, and let the Spirit bring it to your remembrance, then life will be good. This Word will be in you as a companion always. Trust the Word to lead you and guide you as you go about your life. Trust the embedded Word to keep you safe and secure while sleeping. Trust the Word to talk with you when you wake up and go about your day. The Holy Spirit will bring the right word to your memory, the words you have already hidden in your heart. For example, in the context of Proverbs 5, here is one use of God’s Word: we call to mind the words of Joseph, when confronted with sexual temptation: “How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” The Word and Wisdom of God guides and guards us.

Go to church, attend Bible study, spend time alone with God, and the promise is that the Word and Spirit will be your companion to keep you on the happy path and keep you away from the door of death and destruction (Proverbs 6:32).

Proverbs 4:22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

The words and sayings of wisdom are life and health. The conditional promises of getting, gaining, and keeping Wisdom continue. The command is: listen to my words and keep them in your heart. Read, listen, study, and pay attention to the Word of God; keep God’s words in the middle of your heart; ponder and meditate on the Law and the Gospel; receive the Law to know what to do and believe the Gospel to have the power to do it.

The promise is life and health. Good, genuine enjoyment of life and living, along with solid mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health come to those who are “in the Word” and believe the Gospel daily. The Torah gives the right way to live; The Gospel gives the power to live that way. This is Wisdom. Wisdom promises life and health. A good life and good health are not automatic “rights” that we may demand; they are gifts and blessings received with faith and thanksgiving. Life and health are promises received based on the Word and Wisdom of God.

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

This is an odd simile. It is strange to compare a path to a light. It is saying that your path shines like a light for others to see the way. The Way is Jesus. He reflects His light through us so that others can see God and be saved. And the promise declares that this path light will shine brighter and brighter until the perfect day, the day when we become perfect, the day we die.

Jesus declares, “You are the light of the world….Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven [Matthew 5:14, 16].” This is a promise, not a command: you cannot become a light, you already are. You don’t shine it. Just don’t hide it under a bushel. Let it shine. The light that is in you is the light and life of Jesus, the Wisdom of God. Even others notice, they glorify God.

We do not normally see our own light shining nor notice the effect. But we take it as a promise coming true. Light shines and has an effect. The conditional part of the promise is “be just.” This refers to the believer: “The just will live (shine) by faith.” We believe: we are just: we live: we shine. This is a result of the condition in verse 13: “Take fast hold of instruction, for she is thy life.”