Bible Reading Reflection from Proverbs 1-9

 [Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (FG), a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]

ℙℝ𝕆𝕍𝔼ℝ𝔹𝕊 𝟙:𝟛𝟚

"For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them."

In the book of Proverbs, there are two categories of people: Simple, Naive, Sinner, Wicked in one category; and Wise, Righteous, Prudence on the other side.

Spiritually – The Wicked and the Righteous

Ethically – The Fool and the Wise.

A reader must strive to flee from the doings of the simple and fools of v32. The book of Proverbs is written to be wise!

These two categories have almost nothing to do with intellectual capacity. Modern scientists will still be a fool, naive, simple, wicked in the standard of Proverbs. The wise ones are those who are spiritually and ethically aligned to the instructions of God.

Our modern school and university education will not make us wise. That's why it says, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (v7) That's why we need to read the book of Proverbs to examine ourselves whether we are the fools or the wise!

 

ℙℝ𝕆𝕍𝔼ℝ𝔹𝕊 𝟚:𝟚𝟘-𝟚𝟚

"𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘯

𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴.

𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥

𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵;

𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥

𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘵."

𝙻𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚋𝚜, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚝, 𝚝𝚑𝚎  𝚙𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚠𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚍𝚘𝚖.

𝙸𝚗 𝙽𝚃, 𝙹𝚎𝚜𝚞𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚍𝚘𝚖. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚋𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚜.

𝙱𝚃𝚆, 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚋𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚢𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚋𝚜, 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚜

𝙸𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚒𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝. 𝙸𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝. 𝙸𝚗 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝, 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍, 𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗.

𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎, 𝚟21-22, 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜, 𝚠𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏𝚏 𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝙹𝚎𝚜𝚞𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍.

That's how we read and understand and apply the teachings of Proverbs! 👍

 

Pℝ𝕆𝕍𝔼ℝ𝔹𝕊 𝟛:𝟙𝟞

"Length of days is in her right hand;

In her left hand are riches and glory."

If you seek after wisdom, if you have wisdom, you are looking at longevity and prosperity of life. The natural course of this world, the design of this world is for the wise and righteous to live long and be prosperous. If we want to live long and be prosperous it's to seek wisdom. Let's not be deceived by the corrupt fallen world. God is still in control. This world is still His, even if Satan is exercising as if he owns it.

The way to live long and prosper is not through a lottery, easy money, fraudulent activities, bribery, or corruption. Even if they seem to be promising, they shall all fail on the day of judgment. And even if we don't live long and aren't prosperous, let's stick to the path of wisdom, for this life on earth is transient. On the contrary, God's design and approval are everlasting!

 

ℙℝ𝕆𝕍𝔼ℝ𝔹𝕊 𝟜:𝟙𝟠-𝟙𝟡

“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,

That shines brighter and brighter until the fullness of day.

The way of the wicked is like thick darkness;

They do not know over what they stumble.”

So says the Proverbs. Is confirmed from the lives recorded in the Bible. Like Daniel and Joseph vs. Absalom and Saul.

It's also confirmed from the lives of the saints who have gone before us. And is still seen in the lives of godly leaders in our present times.

Even I, in my 3 decades of life on earth have seen it to be so.

𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝— 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜, 𝚢𝚎𝚊, 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚠 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚜, 𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑. 𝚆𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚍 𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚛 𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍!

 

ℙℝ𝕆𝕍𝔼ℝ𝔹𝕊 𝟝:𝟚𝟛

"He will die for lack of discipline,

And in the abundance of his folly he will stumble in intoxication."

Discipline. Self-control. Perseverance.

It's an effort. It doesn't come easy. It requires introspection, examination, and deep thinking. Whoever does not practice this will stumble because he is a fool!

 

ℙℝ𝕆𝕍𝔼ℝ𝔹𝕊 𝟞:𝟙𝟘-𝟙𝟙

"A little sleep, a little slumber,

A little folding of the hands to rest”—

Your poverty will come in like a vagabond

And your want like an armed man."

Maybe we should put this verse as our alarm ringtone, huh! Especially in the morning when we want to have more — little sleep, little rest!

Or maybe print out this verse and paste it on the wall or paste it on the table! Poverty is the friend of laziness, yes of procrastination too!

 

ℙℝ𝕆𝕍𝔼ℝ𝔹𝕊 𝟟:𝟙𝟘

"And behold, a woman comes to meet him,

Dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart."

Many women don't like to be regulated in their dressing, and that's because they are sinners like any human being.

Scriptures have given a lot of instructions on women's clothing, especially negative instructions. So, the dressing of a woman matters, even if they complain "sexist" and whatever. However, there is little instruction on how a man (male) must dress.

There's such thing called improper dressing, especially when it comes to women's dressing. Here's a woman recognized by her dressing — a harlot.

In the book of Proverbs, improperly dressed women are portrayed as culprits, not victims.

But when we read the story of David and Amnon, we see a man can still sin irrespective of a woman’s dress. And rightly those women are victims, not culprits in those incidents. And interestingly, they didn't dress improperly! 🙂

 

ℙℝ𝕆𝕍𝔼ℝ𝔹𝕊 𝟠

Proverbs chapter 1-9 is written differently from the rest of the Proverbs. They are written like a poem moving from one idea to another idea about the same topic.

For instance, chapter 8-9 is about the excellence of wisdom.  Chapter 7 is about instructions to avoid sinful women.

From chapter 10 onwards, it will be a collection of short and witty statements.

Now chapter 8:

It has a lot of similarities with what has been said before. v1-5 resembles chapter 1:20-23. It's a call to wisdom, that wisdom is easily found, there’s no excuse to ignore wisdom. And the rest of the chapter deals with what wisdom does and does not.

v10-11 resemble Ps. 19:10. That God's word is more valuable than gold, thus alluding that wisdom is found in God's word.

v22-23 resemble John 1:1-3 that wisdom is eternal, just as Jesus is eternal.

v35 resembles John 14:6 that wisdom is life.

And so, we see why and how the deeds of wisdom are like that of which a Christian must do as written in the New Testament.

Such as v7 — no lifestyle of any wickedness.

v8— everything righteous which resembles 1 John 3:8-10.

And as 1 Cor 1:30 summarizes Jesus has become wisdom for us.

 

ℙℝ𝕆𝕍𝔼ℝ𝔹𝕊 𝟡:𝟙𝟘

"The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom,

And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

One of the most quoted proverbs from the Bible. We have often heard it. But how many of us memorize which chapter and which verse is it taken out?

I, myself, have forgotten many times. Today I'm coming up with this hack:

The word p-r-o-v-e-r-b-s has 8 letters.

This is from the 9th chapter.

It's the 10th verse.

So, 8-9-10 fashion! 😎👍

And in the LSB version, both lines have 9 words in them. But this whole verse in Hebrew Bible had only 7 words, which in English has been translated into 18 words.

So, 7 words proverb, 8 letters in proverbs, 9th chapter, and 10th verse: 7-8-9-10.

Bible Reading Reflection from Psalms 139-150

 [Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (GP), a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]

ℙ𝕤𝕒𝕝𝕞 𝟙𝟛𝟡:𝟟

"Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?"

There are no hidden things before God. There's no escape from God. There's nothing that can thwart the plan of God. Not even our own sins, not all the forces of demons combined together. Nor would God change His mind. That's the greatest assurance that God is my God, no matter what because He owns me twice!

 

ℙ𝕤𝕒𝕝𝕞 𝟙𝟜𝟘:𝟠

"Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;

Do not promote his evil device, that they not be exalted. Selah"

Praying for the persecutors and enemies is of course not to prosper their plan. Actually, praying for their demise is also a prayer.

Indeed, we have to pray for the downfall of their evil schemes, and to establish them in some of the righteous paths they are put on!

 

ℙ𝕤𝕒𝕝𝕞 𝟙𝟜𝟙:𝟠

"For my eyes are toward You, O GOD, the Lord;

In You I take refuge; do not leave me defenseless."

My eyes have been to many things, to many people, to many lofty things. Even this morning, as I saw doctors doing their duties very admiringly,  it replayed in my mind why I wasn't born to be a doctor. Well, though, I didn't remember this verse, I  knew this theology, and so, I just decided to do what I (also) was good at—opening my Bible for my sanctification and then to be the light in my world.

Doubly blessed to have this verse in today's schedule. Is this a chance, nay, the beauty of God!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟙𝟜𝟚:𝟜

"Look to the right and see;

For there is no one who regards me;

There is no escape for me;

No one cares for my soul."

How we look for help! Here and there. Remember, God is a very present help!

 

ℙ𝕤𝕒𝕝𝕞 𝟙𝟜𝟛:𝟚

"And do not enter into judgment with Your servant,

For in Your sight no man living is righteous."

Is this not the cry of our heart? Is this not our hope, strength, and comfort?

Indeed, this Davidic confession is my confession as well!

 

ℙ𝕤𝕒𝕝𝕞 𝟙𝟜𝟜:𝟛

"O LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?

Or the son of man, that You think of him?"

Indeed! What is man? Oh! What am I that God would number all the hairs in my head! Nothing, but how He notices and loves me.

 

ℙ𝕤𝕒𝕝𝕞 𝟙𝟜𝟝:𝟝-𝟞

"On the glorious splendor of Your majesty

And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.

Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts,

And I will tell of Your greatness."

Until one meditates on the works of God, he will never have any insight to tell of His greatness.

I have made it my business to tell the world the greatness of God. Even my WhatsApp Profile Status is "For the Fame of God's Name"

The greatest demonstration of the greatness of God is of course in the Gospel, the person and the work of Christ!

 

ℙ𝕤𝕒𝕝𝕞 𝟙𝟜𝟞:𝟚

"I will praise the LORD while I live;

I will sing praises to my God while I have my being."

Each day is a new day and indeed ought to live like it's the last day because death is certain, it shall come anytime.

The present is the Lord's, and praise from the upright is comely. Oh! My soul, praise Him while I have my being!

 

ℙ𝕤𝕒𝕝𝕞 𝟙𝟜𝟟:𝟙𝟙

"The LORD favors those who fear Him,

Those who wait for His lovingkindness."

There are some things I want to do but couldn't do, and I see others doing them.

They made me shut off my mouth and fixed my eyes on them in desire, admiration, and appreciation. They even made my soul jealous, envious, and yeah, distressful.

My soul recalls that God loves those whose delight is in God. They shall be like trees planted by the river of water, bearing fruits.

This Psalm, particularly v11 is a good reminder. Indeed, my hope, my strength, my joy, my life, my dwelling place is God! Oh! How I wish they also find this better one in God!

 

ℙ𝕤𝕒𝕝𝕞 𝟙𝟜𝟠:𝟝

"Let them praise the name of the LORD,

For He commanded and they were created."

This seems to be the best verse among the rest in this Psalm. We were, are made to praise God. That's our purpose, meaning, joy, delight, and satisfaction!

 

ℙ𝕤𝕒𝕝𝕞 𝟙𝟜𝟡:𝟙

"Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song,

And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones."

Indeed, praise (of God) is comely in the congregation of the godly ones. Or else it would be like a golden ring in a pig's snout.

 

ℙ𝕤𝕒𝕝𝕞 𝟙𝟝𝟘:𝟞

"Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD!"

The last verse of the last chapter of the biggest book in the book of the books.

And it tells everything to praise God. A life without praising God is a wasteful, ungrateful, and wicked life!

Sermon Tips from the text of 1 Peter 2:11-17

 Sermon Tips for Expository Preachers, Listeners, and Students