No wonder Solomon was so wise. He sat at the feet of his father David and learned wisdom (4:3). King David made many mistakes (read 1 & 2 Samuel to learn more), teaching his son wisdom was not one of them. As parents, the greatest gift we can give our children is to teach them the wisdom of God. Or to repeat verse 7, “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.”
Verse 23 is an often quoted verse that will protect us from pain. Guarding our heart means guarding what we desire. Our heart is the wellspring of life. If we allow our heart to pursue the wrong things, our heart will be broken and life will spring a leak. Can anyone attest to the truth of this Proverb? I would love to hear from you. How do you guard your heart while still being open to the blessings God has for you?
As you know, today is a big day for our country. I want to close this devotion with a proverb prayer for the United States of America. Please join me in the prayer. Heavenly Father, I pray that the leadership of our county, our state, and our country would look straight ahead. I pray that they would take level paths for their feet and take only ways that are firm. Keep them from swerving to the right or the left and keep their feet from evil.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
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2 comments:
I have a question about verse 18. In the KJV it reads: But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more unto the perfect day. Now the NIV reads: The path of teh righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter til the full light of day. When I read this verse for the first time in the KJV I was thinking the perfect day was when Christ returns, but then reading it in the NIV I don't know. What do you think?
Misty,
Great question. Is this a proverb about our redemption or our sanctification? Keep in mind that when Solomon wrote this, he had no idea about the rapture of the church because Jesus had not yet come and made that promise. Solomon certainly had the hope of heaven, but the OT theology of the Day of the Lord was more of a day of judgement. Therefore I would lean toward the sanctification interpretation. There's an old hymn we used to sing. The chorus reads, "Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before, every day with Jesus I love Him more and more..." I think that is the way the life of righteousness (v.18), or the Christian life, is meant to be lived. The more we know God and the more we become like Jesus, the brighter the light shines.
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