Tag: wisdom

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Rash decisions or wisdom?

1 Sam 29-31 David decided to go with Achish to fight with the Philistines but is rejected by them. Sometimes, even in our hastiness or foolishness, we pay the price of disobedience. When David and his men return, they find the town they had been living in destroyed by the Amalekites, the very ones God had marked for destruction. Had Saul obeyed God, those enemies would not have had access to David’s army. And also, had David inquired of the Lord, he ‘might not‘ have gone, and this disaster ‘might not’ have happened.

Today, do you consider God’s ways before embarking on questionable things? When we wonder what to do but fail to inquire of God, we open ourselves up to the enemy’s ways, for he is crafty and seeking whom he can devour. [1Pet 5:8]

Before you step out, seek the Lord’s direction; ask Him for wisdom and discernment, just as James tells us. “If anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God…and it will be given to him.” [James 1:5] Want protection from our arch-enemy? Seek God first.

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The Spirit of Wisdom

the spirit of wisdom

Exodus 28-29 Gifts are precious. They may be tangible, but not always. God told Moses about preparing the garments for the priests, and as He did, He specifically said that He had gifted chosen certain men with the spirit of wisdom. Paul told the Ephesians that he prayed that God would give them this same trait. What is that? Who needs it? Is it something only God gives?

The Apostle John told the inquiring disciples that after His departure, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, would be sent to them from the Father and would cause them to remember everything He had said to them. The Holy Spirit is given to us by enlightening us or providing us with the spirit of wisdom as we study scripture. Paul prayed that God would give the Ephesians that gift along with revelation in their growing knowledge of him so they could know the hope of his calling and what is the incomparable greatness of his power.

When we accept Messiah, we are anointed with this trait. Pray and ask God to fill you with the spirit of wisdom so you can discern truth from error and so you will grow into maturity. Where do you need this spirit of wisdom today, and will you ask the Father to bestow that gift upon you?

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Whom do you fear?

Whom do you fear?

Jer 47-49 God gives Jeremiah His words regarding the nations around Judah who worship idols, and the message has bad omens. You will be defeated! God tells Jeremiah this about Moab: “you trust in the things you do and in your riches.” and “Your god Chemosh will go into exile along with his priests and his officials,. Your god Chemosh will go into exile along with his priests and his officials. “[Jer 48:7]

God singles out Moab because of their child sacrifice practices to the idol Chemosh. Today we have the same sin in our nation with the sin of abortion. It grieves the heart of God, and my own heart is grieved.
Solomon wrote that we must fear God, not man, yet men refuse to do that. The most significant and alarming sin is that of pride. “Fearing the Lord is the beginning of discernment, but fools have despised wisdom and moral instruction.” [Prov 1:7]

May I not be found as a fool but as wise.

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Learn from Wisdom.

Learn and heed

Prov 19: In this life, we face the scorners, the naive, and those who are the wise. The scoffer does not learn from rebuke, but the wise take a rebuke as a lesson to be heeded. The naive may glean wisdom in what not to do if caught in the same scenario but the wise glean from the rebuke of another and gain knowledge.

Charles Spurgeon spoke about this regarding the way men come to the cross. The scoffer/scorner seeks to add to the simple message of salvation by heaping up works rather than the simple message to repent and believe. The wise listen and accept the simple message of the gospel.

The scorner/scoffer is an example of Pharaoh. Prov 19:3 his heart rages against the Lord– Prov 19-19 A man of great anger will bear the penalty, For if you rescue him, you will only have to do it again.– But why is one person a scoffer who is rebuked but does not learn? Pride. Why does one person learn from another’s rebuke? Listen to the words of Jesus: Blessed are the poor in spirit/the humble; theirs will be the kingdom of heaven. [Matt 5:3]

So which person am I /are you?

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Wisdom? Get it from God.

Job 25-27, James 3 Two kinds of wisdom

Bildad reveals that his wisdom is, as James says: earthly. Jam 3:15 Such wisdom does not come from above but is earthly, natural, demonic. I don’t know if I would characterize Bildad’s wisdom as demonic, but as James says, it is natural that it is not coupled with the fear of the Lord. Then Job responds with a sharp retort. Do you not understand the ways of God? He is the author of all creation, which is a refreshing reminder of Romans 1:20 the eternal attributes of God are clearly seen in creation so that we are without excuse.

The dialog will continue, but we learn that no matter the trials on Job, he remains steadfast and immovable. What a powerful testimony: “I will maintain my righteousness and never let it go; my conscience will not reproach me for as long as I live.” [Job 27:6]

Which character do you most relate to?

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Lessons from Jethro

Truth!

Exodus 18 In the course of time after Moses has been guiding the children of the Exodus, his father-in-law arrives.  He observed and “rejoiced because of all the good that the Lord had done for Israel” [Ex 18:9] In addition, he said; “now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods.” [Ex 18:11] Would others who come to us recognize and say the same.  As Jethro observes Moses’ daily routine, he asks: What are you doing?  You will surely wear yourself out by being judge and jury for all these people.  After listening, Moses heeds his counsel to choose wise men to assist him.  Our judicial system is based on this example that we use even today. 

You can glean much from studying, but sometimes it is the older generation that can offer wise counsel that we had not considered and Jethro has experiential wisdom to guide Moses.  Scripture tells us, “Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.” [Job 12:12] They are able to give wise counsel from their experiences to help those who are younger make wise decisions and judgments. And again: “But solid food is for the mature, whose perceptions are trained by practice to discern both good and evil.” [Heb 5:14]

Who is your Jethro?  Who are you being a Jethro to?

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The Wise and The Foolish

Be wise not a fool who can't decide which way to go

1Kings 15-16, 2Chron 17 Asa may not have been the perfect king, but it seems he did one thing right; he raised a godly son Jehoshaphat, who took his place. He reigned in Jerusalem and followed in his ancestor David’s footsteps.  He sought the God of his ancestors and obeyed his commands, unlike the Israelites. Asa’s son cleansed the land and brought about many godly reforms.

Over in the Israelite kingdom, we read of the progression of kings who followed in the steps of wicked king Jeroboam. Over and over, we read, “he did evil and encouraged Israel to sin.” And over and over, we read, “these sins angered the Lord God of Israel.” Were there godly people there? Was there peace in the land? The author reminds the reader that there were wars continually. The author of this book wants us to see and learn that the king’s sins were predominant, and his leaders followed his lead.  As He has done in the past, God sent them wise counselors, yet they were rejected.  After two full chapters, the author leaves us at the end of 1Kings 16 to read about Ahab, who did more to anger the Lord God of Israel than all the kings before him.

What are the lessons to be learned from these kings? Like them, we will stand before a holy God to hear our life’s record. What is being recorded in your life story?

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“What Voice Do You Listen To?”

2Chron 10 -12 Voices can be misleading, or they can lead to the truth. Take a page out of Rehoboam’s life. He is a foolish king who listened, not to the Spirit, but his “boys from the hood.” God gave him wise counselors, but he rejected their wise counsel on having a peaceful transfer of power.  Instead of choosing wisdom, he chose war. He forsook wisdom for folly, righteousness for power.  The kingdom experienced a “divorce” of a magnitude never before was seen. God hates divorce, and He hated that His beloved kingdom would suffer over a foolish decision.

Rehoboam might have avoided this had he followed the counsel of God as his grandfather David had done. When we listen to the voices of the Tempter, we sacrifice godliness for ungodliness. 

Rehoboam rejected the wisdom of God who is ever and always wise and discerning to counsel us aright. Perhaps that is why He put 2Tim 3:16 into His word: Wisdom from scripture is useful for “teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”

Learn from the mistakes of Rehoboam. Listen to the voice of the Spirit speaking the words of God. Have you experienced the indwelling Spirit of God? Are you listening to His voice?

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Wisdom comes from God

Job 28 James succinctly addresses wisdom and remarks that there are two avenues: earthly and heavenly. One is demonic, and the other is godly.  James further notes that we have godly wisdom through our good conduct and works done in gentleness. On the other side of the coin is earthly, natural, and demonic wisdom, and then describes it as jealous, selfish, disorderly, and full of evil practices. The contrast is clear; the wisdom from above is peaceable, gentle, accommodating, merciful, impartial, and true.  

Job had no Bible, preachers, prophets, or the indwelling Holy Spirit, yet he understood what men today do not comprehend: ‘The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’ [Job 28:28] Thus, the truth that Paul expounds proves that even without all of the outside intervention:  through the “creation of the world [God’s] invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse.” [Rom 1:20]

 Which wisdom do you have? May you be encouraged to know that as Job wondered, you may also, but, even in his wondering, he still trusted God and had godly wisdom. You can be as well.

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Potholes and Wisdom

Prov 30 Have you ever driven a city street only to feel your tire’s jarring as it fell into a pothole? Like a pothole, the writer, Agur bluntly said, “I am more brutish than any other human being…” I’ve got potholes in my wisdom. Perhaps you can relate to him. In God’s providence, Agur knew that there were three things more beautiful and four that he did not understand. There are three things that tremble in the earth and four that it cannot bear up.  Just like a road that has potholes that cause the bumps in our journey, so Agur’s understanding is lacking, and his potholes needed repair. He needed the nuggets of wisdom.

Agur saw himself as God saw him.  He concluded, wisely, he was not only NOT God! He didn’t even measure up to His standards!  So his first wise counsel was to take a long hard look at what potholes were on his road of life that needed fixing. He concluded just as the Preacher did: the true source of wisdom is God, who is in heaven, and we are on earth, therefore let our words be few. [Eccl 5:2] Keep short accounts with God lest you demean his holy name. Be sure to fulfill the commandment to honor your parents, so your days are long and profitable.

Let the light shine in your pothole, so you see what is lacking and ask God for that wisdom. In a nutshell, that is the wisdom from Agur.

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