Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

These also are sayings of the wise:
To show partiality in judging is not good:
Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”
    will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.
But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
    and rich blessing will come on them.
An honest answer
    is like a kiss on the lips.
Put your outdoor work in order
    and get your fields ready;
    after that, build your house.
Do not testify against your neighbor without cause—
    would you use your lips to mislead?
Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me;
    I’ll pay them back for what they did.”
I went past the field of a sluggard,
    past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
thorns had come up everywhere,
    the ground was covered with weeds,
    and the stone wall was in ruins.
I applied my heart to what I observed
    and learned a lesson from what I saw:
A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest—
and poverty will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.

• Proverbs 24:23-34

Proverbs 24:27 ”First, secure by diligent work and planning a good living in your fields, then build. In other words, provide a financial base so that all the necessities and contingencies are secured, then move from the tents (which were acceptable) to a house (which was desirable).”

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

The Message

Proverbs 24:23-25 provide the concept that justice is blind.  No partiality should be given.  The guilty should be punished and the innocent set free.

Proverbs 24:26 is an odd metaphor, but there is a reason for this metaphor.  An honest answer is golden, wonderful, priceless, and many other adjectives.  But Solomon uses a kiss on the lips.  Usually kisses on the lips are not part of friendly greetings.  It is very important to know which cheek to turn first to avoid the kiss on the lips.  So, in making that equality, we are stating that an honest answer is like a very intimate thing, but it should be a daily occurrence.  Rev. MacArthur notes in his study Bible that this is an intimate analogy.  But a kiss on the lips that lingers might detect whether the answer was honest.  I have read where a kiss lasting 15 seconds is impossible to maintain if the kiss is not genuine.  Probably half that length of time would be uncomfortable, but that is a cringe-worthy lie detector.

And thinking of a kiss on the lips, my wife would get playful or bored, whichever applies.  She would say or do something, and I would kiss her on the cheek.  After I walked a few steps away, she would yell, “On the lippies!  On the lippies!”  I quickly returned and kissed her on the lips, and I lingered.  As I walked away the second time, she would mutter about how I was not getting away with that kiss on the cheek thing!

Proverbs 24:27 might have remained a mystery without the MacArthur quote above.  Get the crop planted.  While the crop is growing, then you can worry about building a house.

Proverbs 24:28-29 basically say not to take your neighbor to court.  The word “needlessly” is used, but then the motivation of revenge is not to be a consideration.  My wife and I have followed the idea of not suing employers, potential employers, or “neighbors”.  In a few cases we had good legal grounds.  In a couple of occasions, we considered it, but then how would we put food on the table while we had the court date delayed?  It was much easier to move on, and let God deal with the mistreatment and dishonesty.

The last wise saying makes me wonder that Solomon saw my kitchen table recently.  I got back from a trip and a lot of the odd bits from the trip went onto the kitchen table.  It is odd how, for the entire time my wife and I were married, 48 years, a clean flat surface always became cluttered.  Solomon is talking about the sluggard and his field, but it applies to any work, any procrastination, any “I’ll get to that in the morning.”  After a few days, the mess develops a life of its own.  Now that I have been living alone for two years, give or take a few days, I only have myself to blame.

And now let us sing.

The following song is The Truth.  This is sung by Megan Woods.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
We need Your wisdom.  Help us to value wisdom.  Solomon said he had 30 wise sayings, but then he mentions some really good ones once he was finished.  We all do that at times.  You don’t like dishonesty and when it happens to us, we must rely on Your judgment and Your avenging, if that is Your judgment.  We should give an honest answer every day, whether we get a kiss or not.  I guess, if we don’t get the kiss, You will have one waiting for us.  And help us to show wisdom when we have a lot of work to do, always getting the important stuff done first, and putting human comforts far down on the list.  And remind us of when we have slipped into sluggard territory.  A messy space does not clean itself, and when it sits there for a while, it grows bigger unless it is addressed now.  In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.