Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Like a bird that flees its nest
    is anyone who flees from home.
Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,
    and the pleasantness of a friend
    springs from their heartfelt advice.
Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family,
    and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you—
    better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.
Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart;
    then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.
The prudent see danger and take refuge,
    but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;
    hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.
If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning,
    it will be taken as a curse.

• Proverbs 27:8-14

Proverbs 27:8 the man who wanders ”Such are not only out of place, but off duty and in danger. Stay close to home.”

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

The Message

Proverbs 27:8 speaks of staying close to home, but that is not always practical, especially in today’s industrial world.  I had a Chemical engineering degree, eventually a master’s degree, but there were few opportunities in my home state for that degree.  And the only job offer that I received was almost exactly 500 miles away in Texas.

With a busybody mother who ruled with an iron fist, being hundreds of miles away was a good thing, but she lived by the concept of this verse.  Leaving home to get a job did not compute with her, so I was essentially eliminated from the inheritance.  I got money, but the only land that was offered was swamp land.

But whether the home front was a loving one or an embattled one, you have support.  Many people have their parents subdivide the ancestral land and help their children build a home at a fraction of what buying a home in a strange town would cost.  When the children come into the picture, aunts and uncles can be used to babysit.  There is a support group within the family and even in a dysfunctional family, you learn who can be trusted.  But in my case, there was no work, and we paid dearly for that support group, until we established a church family.

Proverbs 27:9 talks about a comparison with perfume or incense and the advice of a good friend.  Whenever I talk about Job’s “friends”, I put it in quotes or label them “so-called” friends.  But good advice from a trusted friends gives off an aroma that is pleasing and makes you have more comfort in the decisions that you make.

Proverbs 27:10 speaks of when disaster strikes.  We need to be there for our friends.  I have written about the reporters who go to the site of a disaster to complain that the government is slow in helping with the recovery, but they never seem to mention the faith-based work crews that are working in the background, trying to put people’s lives together.

In a recent post from Julie Cook, she mentioned how Hurricane Helene caused so much damage that the area months later is still in great need.  While federal support is slow, Samaritan’s Purse, Red Truck Men, and the Cajun Navy have been on the ground ever since the hurricane tore through those mountain communities.  We should not abandon such family and friends.

Proverbs 27:11-12 are a plea to value wisdom.  While the book of Proverbs provides a lot of ideas on how to do things the right way, if we do not heed the advice, it does us no good.  The quote attributed to Einstein, but he probably never said it, is important here.  Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result is not wisdom.  It is insanity.

In separate advice, I believe earlier in Proverbs, we should return a cloak at sunset so that the poor man has something to keep him warm, but here it speaks of holding that garment as a pledge to provide aid to an outsider.  God speaks often of taking care of the widows and orphans, but there were many rules in Mosaic Law about treating the foreigner in your midst fairly.

And Proverbs 27:14 is an old favorite.  I cannot remember the circumstances, but the church leaders and volunteers were working in the extreme early hours at the church.  Whatever it was that had to be done, we had to finish prior to the sun coming up.  I was doing something in the kitchen, working as hard as I could and as fast as I could when the pastor came into the room.  I greeted him cheerfully, asking how he was this glorious and wonderful day in which God had made.  He growled, “Proverbs 27:14.”  He walked past me.  Before the days of drip coffee makers or the quick one-cup coffee, he saw that the percolator was not ready.  He gave out a cry from deep in his loins and stormed from the room.  I found a napkin and wrote down “Proverbs 27:14” until I had a break, which did not happen until the work was finished and the sun had come up.  I went to the sanctuary and read the verse in a pew Bible.  I got a few strange looks as I rolled in laughter.  The verse is basically saying, “Beware, the person you meet might not be a morning person.”

And now let us sing.

The following song is Morning Has Broken.  This is sung by Orla Fallon.  I have used it recently, but as I said above, Proverbs 27:14 is a favorite.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
We need Your wisdom.  Help us to value wisdom.  If we get bad advice or we fail to follow good advice, we are not acting wisely.  When we find ourselves far from home, let us not forget that church family might be able to help.  And when disaster strikes, may we first pray and then take action.  As my wife always said, ‘A stranger is a friend that you have not yet met.’  That may not always be the case, but few turn down a helping hand when they have just lost everything.  And, Lord, give a special blessing to those people who are not ‘morning people.’  They could be blessed by You, but they start off every day without being able to see the blessings you have provided.  Maybe they can see them after their second cup of coffee.  In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.