Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life,
    but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips
    and spreads slander is a fool.
Sin is not ended by multiplying words,
    but the prudent hold their tongues.
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,
    but the heart of the wicked is of little value.
The lips of the righteous nourish many,
    but fools die for lack of sense.
The blessing of the Lord brings wealth,
    without painful toil for it.
A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes,
    but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.
What the wicked dread will overtake them;
    what the righteous desire will be granted.

• Proverbs 10:17-24

“Proverbs 10:22 rich ”While having more than what one needs is not the object of wisdom, it is generally the result (cf. Deut. 6:11-15; 1 Kin. 3:10-14) … no sorrow. None of the sorrow that is associated with ill-gotten wealth (cf. 13:11; 15:6; 16:19; 21:6; 28:6) is associated with wealth provided by the Lord.”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

The first two of these proverbs could be two parts of the same, but I would like to ask questions rather than telling tales.  Have you ever met someone that thought they never did anything wrong because they meant to do everything that they did?  Thus, any form of discipline, any method at all, was abuse?  With that frame of mind, there is never any correction.  And have you ever had someone talk to you, always smiling, but never saying a kind word, in fact insulting you continuously?  You get irritated due to the constant barrage of slurs meant to hurt you, but they keep smiling.  With your obvious irritation and their smile, who does everyone else consider the “aggressor”?  Or is this just me that attracts such folks?  Obviously, Solomon wrote the two proverbs from experience.

The next three proverbs go together also, to a point.  When someone sins, and it is obvious, they have a thousand excuses, including passing the blame onto others.  The fictional tale told this morning had a bit of that.  But if you have been prudent, there is no need for excuses or blame.  In fact their words are like silver and the words nourish many.  But the words of the foolish have no worth and make no sense.

The next proverb (v. 22, with the quote from Rev. MacArthur) is kind of odd.  Those righteous people to whom God has entrusted with wealth, moderate wealth or more, are some of the hardest working people I know.  Yes, they have people working for them that are hard working and the boss makes a nice profit, but the lack of toil?  It is possible if you do not consider office work ‘toil.’  But most that I know do the manual labor also.

The last two verses are not exactly entwined, but they have a similar theme, one possibly leading to the other.  The person who delights in wisdom has understanding and their desires will be granted.  I correlate this to New Testament promises that when you desire only God, God will grant you your desires, desires which are only God and more of Him.

But some of the schemes of the wicked are covering the trail of the initial wicked scheme because they dread their wicked deeds catching up with them.

And now let us sing.

The following song is Into the Secret Place.  It is sung by Sarah Begaj.  I loved this song.  I will return to her music in the future, I hope.  How do we seek God, and wisdom for that matter?  The composer speaks of a secret place where we go to seek God, but then we seek God in those times when we are in the wilderness, and we sometimes wrestle with these truths, wrestling with God until the truths become a part of us.  At least that is my thoughts of the synopsis that was written in the comments of the video.

“Into the secret place
Into the holy of holies
Lord I will seek Your face
Lord I will seek Your glory
Hol – y , hol y, hol y
Lord God Almighty
Into the wilderness
Into the lonely valley
Lord I will offer praise
Lord I will give You glory
Worth -y, worth -y , worth -y
Lord God Almighty
Into the dark of night
Into the wrestling soul
Lord I will not let go
Lord til I know You’ve blessed me
Glor – y, glor – y, glor – y
Lord God Almighty”

• Sarah Begaj, Into the Secret Place

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
We need Your wisdom.  Lord, we are sinners and discipline accompanies sin quite often.  May we rejoice in that discipline for then we know where we got off track and we can more easily get back on track.  Help us to control our words, seeking wisdom so that the wisdom speaks for itself.  For those who are righteous and richly blessed, help us remember from whom those blessings came and spend even more time helping others.  And help us to seek You, keeping our eyes on You, and seeking Your wisdom, and then applying that wisdom to our daily lives.
In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.