Proverbs

Be a Wise Son or Daughter of God!

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Are you a wise son or daughter of God? And likewise, are the organizations of God’s true Church collectively wise sons and daughters of God the Father?

Sometimes, we claim the title of God’s children simply because we have the knowledge base of God’s Word. But is merely claiming that knowledge enough?

Remember, “…to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin,” (James 4:17). A truly, biblically wise person would recognize and embrace the responsibility to constantly reflect the goodness and kindness of God’s way of life by faithfully living it!  

Ultimate insight

The tenth chapter of Proverbs launches the third collection of God’s shorter statements of wisdom that form the Book of Proverbs. Commentators usually recognize nine of these proverbial collections.

Very often the Proverbs refer to God’s faithful followers as His sons and daughters. The historic, true Church of God is certainly the vital part of God’s true children in this age of history.

Blind to true wisdom

Yet traditional Christianity and Judaism also lay claim to the Proverbs and God’s Word generally. Although they are closer than the rank and file of pagan or secular mankind, they presently, and quite frankly, greatly misunderstand the eternal aspects of God’s wisdom.

Now this misunderstanding or “blindness” will be taken away by Christ at His second coming, but until that happens only the relative few of the spiritual Body of Christ actually have clear-minded access to the profound wisdom of God!

The veil of spiritual blindness refers to the Israelites of old who carnally rejected God’s way: “But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Cor. 3:14-15).

To the vast bulk of mankind, the true wisdom of God is simply not understood yet!

Of course, that’s obvious to us who have been (or are being) called by God to true repentance, baptism and spiritual conversion. We know that because we know God’s truth, we are divinely expected to obey and live by it!

Great expectation

It is a wonderful calling, a great calling and great expectation that God has given us!

We, by our actions, words and very thoughts represent the Kingdom of God on earth. God the Father expects us to be wise sons and daughters in the true faith of His Son. Seek the fathomless wisdom of God to truly be a spiritually wise son or daughter of the Most High God!

Originally written: March 6, 2021

*If you wish to reprint this commentary or learn more about how to do so, please contact me in the comments below. I reserve my rights to this content, it is not in the public domain for use or reprint without my permission.

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WHEN IS ENOUGH ALREADY?!

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Please puzzle this perplexing passage of Proverbs: 

The leech has two daughters—Give and Give! There are three things that are never satisfied, four never say, “Enough!”: The grave, The barren womb, The earth that is not satisfied with water— And the fire never says “Enough!”  (Proverbs 30:15-16).

God personally inspired the writers of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes (mostly King Solomon himself) to produce a collection of boiled-down-to-the-essence, powerful, pronouncements of divine wisdom.

The Proverbs weren’t just sage observations of itinerant wise men! They were God’s own inspired, authoritative statements of His divine wisdom making clear the wise and true action in any situation. What an incredible example of spiritual and physical success—if only Israel had correctly acted on God’s Word!

Don’t let yourself make their mistakes!

Wisdom was meant to spread

In the process of Jesus’ first coming He gave His life as a sacrifice for the sins of all persons, peoples and nations.  

With His resurrection by God the Father, Jesus Christ launched the true biblical and historical Church God. He had prepared it’s launch during His ministry by calling and training the 12 Apostles as His true Church’s initial human leadership.

The true, divine wisdom of God’s spiritual calling and understanding His way of life was and continues to be spread in anticipation of His second coming. The great challenge has always been getting the truth past the lies and false religions, paganism and false Christianity included, that permeate the world.

Back to the beginning

The third chapter of Genesis demonstrates that from the get-go in the Garden of Eden mankind has teetered on the verge of self-imposed disaster! We find there the lying serpent—none other than Satan the Devil manifesting himself as a snake, but who had originally been a holy angel until his rebellion. The devil tempted the original couple to eat of the forbidden (by God) tree and Adam and Eve succumbed to Satan’s lies, which set in motion active evil thinking in the culture of humanity.

Through them the Devil cleverly lied to all their descendants (including us today) as well as however many people are still to come before Christ returns.

Sin was not the invention of Eve or Adam. God’s plan required that each of the His created spirit being helpers [angels] must also personally choose the way of good and reject the way of evil. That test of truth has taken place and fully one third of the angels, let by Satan, rejected honest good and deliberately chose deceptive evil.

Ultimately, every human must also choose good and reject evil. But before the final form of that test can be taken by mankind each must have his or her mind opened by God to know specifically what good is and what evil is. God Himself defines both.

The Devil’s nasty work in our age

Satan deserves the lion’s share of guilt for introducing a culture of lies and deception. After beguiling and convincing first Eve and then Adam to reject God’s command, and then to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (see Genesis 3). No doubt he convinced them that the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil would open their minds to even greater wonders! The “wonders” of depravity and destruction.

Sadly, that immoral sales pitch still works! In its twisted way modern man still symbolically consumes the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Continuing to feed the fires of sin, evil, and violence that resulted in almost continuous warfare for nearly 6,000 years of human history.  

What God’s faithful should do today?

Stand your guard. Listen and beware of the spouting of evil – the false values of life that drive society today.

Read and study God’s Word. Highlight the foundational truths that undergird godly wisdom: God’s law, His plan of salvation pictured through the annual holydays, the value God put on human life when Jesus Christ gave His life to pay for the sins of humankind.

Actively seek the true values (God’s true ways of living). Ask God to open your mind and sharpen your awareness of and moral resistance to the evil ways and false reasoning driving today’s world.

– Commentary by Randy Stiver

*If you wish to reprint this commentary or learn more about how to do so, please contact me in the comments below. I reserve my rights to this content, it is not in the public domain for use or reprint without my permission.

The Best Laid Plans

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A commentary by Randy Stiver

Every culture on the face of the earth has its own wise sayings or proverbs. Some sayings appear in multiple cultures, although the wording may be varied. Here are several timeless wise sayings:

  • “A stitch in time saves nine.”
  • “A fool and his money are soon parted.”
  • “Too soon old, too late smart.”  
  • “A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.”

The strength of God’s wisdom

Wise sayings are also called “proverbs.” They are typically gems of insight that wise men and women coined through alert observation. Sometimes a saying rhymed in the language of origin, but not always. Over time the actual wisdom of a people (tribal or national) accumulated into their particular storehouse of proverbial wisdom.

However, not all of what ancient Israel (or any other nation) called wisdom was true wisdom. Only the sayings that were directly based in word or principle on the true wisdom of the Bible carried the strength of divine truth.  

That last statement is important. Always analyze any culture’s “wisdom” in the light of God’s Word.

Recording true wisdom

Some cultures and nations grew to be wiser than others. For instance, ancient Greece and Israel were famous for their recorded wisdom.

In ancient Israel, wisdom flourished during the reigns of Kings David and Solomon (approximately 1000 to 900 BC). God, specifically Jesus Christ before His human birth, directly inspired that wisdom to be recorded in Scripture as proverbs or sometimes in the longer form of psalms, such as the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

Later Christ inspired the New Testament where more wisdom statements were sprinkled throughout the gospel accounts and the Epistles (of Paul and others).

The earlier divine collections of God-inspired wisdom remain a dynamic part of God’s holy Word for us today and for those to be called in the Millennium and Great White Throne Judgment. Collected together, the psalms and proverbs can have a tremendous impact on our minds and in our lives!

Applying true wisdom

Having free access to such literally-divine wisdom is wonderful! However, actively using that wisdom for guidance in your personal life, or in Israel’s case – their national life, can be another matter altogether! It’s too easy to exchange the true wisdom of God for the false wisdom of “this, present, evil world” or “age” (Galatians 1:4).

If only they had used that God-given wisdom more often during ancient Israel’s history! Would that the modern, western world (where the Bible was preserved and published) had wisely followed its guidance through the centuries and especially now, during this modern time of chaos and confusion!

Making the Plan

There is a fitting proverb that came to us from the Scottish poet Robert Burns: “Among the best laid plans of mice and men, things often go awry!” The plans of humanity have failed continuously since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  

But, critically important, God’s plans do not go awry (i.e. “fail to work or function).”

We can count on God’s plan, and especially His Kingdom to come to pass. Jesus Christ will return and there will be a future of peace for all nations. No more chaos, no more confusion in even the most basic facets of life, and no more aimless violence and tragedy. Mankind was designed to thrive within God-inspired structure and guidelines that lead to a thriving, vital life of purposefulness and peace.

Keep your eyes on God’s best laid plans….His soon-coming Kingdom!

*This originally appeared as a weekly note sent to my local congregation. If you wish to reprint this commentary or learn more about how to do so, please contact me in the comments below. I reserve my rights to this content, it is not in the public domain for use or reprint without my permission.

The Plowing of the Wicked

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A commentary by Randy Stiver

Obviously, the “plowing of the wicked” can’t be a good thing. In fact, that’s precisely the case. It also sounds proverb-ish because it’s based on Proverbs 21:4.

“A haughty look, a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked are sin.”

During God’s seven Days of Unleavened Bread we, as part of God’s faithful, avoid bread made, or “plowed”, as it were, with leavening (yeast, baking soda or other leavening agents—including sourdough). We know the meaning of getting rid of sin and its haughty or puffed-up outlook.

God’s law of plowing

“You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together” (Deut. 22:10).

Physically, it’s the principle of “like with like.” Donkeys and oxen are not “like” each other when it comes to plowing. A donkey or an even an even larger mule (which typically is half horse and half donkey) can effectively pull together only provided they are similar sized.

However the typical donkey is small, and the ox is big. The yoke is the most effective pulling apparatus for oxen, but not for donkeys which need a harness. Nor are their strides similar—another critical requirement for teamed pulling.

We today are among the few called out of this evil, end-time world. Those not called at this era are spiritually unmixable with true Church of God. Spiritual plowing time for us in the true, historic Church of God – is now!

Plowing toward the future

God’s inexorable, intervening power through Jesus Christ comes soon. The plan of salvation through the intervention of God’s calling to true repentance will be ultimately extended to everybody who will have ever lived. The repentant faithful will plow positively straight furrows. Then we, and they, will finally be equally yoked in truth and righteousness before God.

Plowing sin vs. plowing righteousness

God inspired Job to record the “cause and effect” plowing observation of his friend Eliphaz the Temanite:

“Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same” (Job 4:8).

It appears to be a harsh accusation against Job for supposedly causing his own trouble by secret sins. A valid observation, but greatly misapplied to Job—as he truly was a faithful and righteous man.

What about not plowing at all? “The lazy man will not plow because of winter; he will beg during harvest and have nothing” (Proverbs. 20:4). Being too lazy to plow the ground for planting is in effect “plowing” the sin of laziness. Consider the great, spiritual danger of being the lazy plowman or plow-woman!

“Plowing” as national punishment

Hosea the prophet wrote during the early to mid-700s B.C. This was the very time that the Assyrian Empire conquered and took into captivity the northern 10 tribes of Israel who had been led by the tribe of Ephraim.

“Ephraim is a trained heifer, that loves to thresh grain; But I harnessed her fair neck, I will make Ephraim pull a plow. Judah shall plow; Jacob shall break his clods” (Hosea 10:11).

The tribes of Israel plowed crooked, spiritual rows to their own hurt. Let us as modern plowers beware!

“Plowing” for repentance

There is also repentance plowing, as well as “promise” plowing for the lost 10 Tribes of Israel (as well as for all humanity):

“Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground [by plowing], for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you” (Hosea 10:12).

Hosea goes on to explain the cause and effect of bad vs. good plowing for both ancient as well as the modern Israelite nations (mainly the America, Britain and the northwest, European nations):

“You have plowed wickedness; You have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of lies, Because you trusted in your own way, In the multitude of your mighty men (Hosea 10:13).

Our modern nations have put their hands to the plow wrongly—and will ultimately suffer for it: “Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into gall, And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood” (Amos 6:12).

Plowing to the Kingdom of God

Our great Lord Jesus Christ also lovingly but clearly admonishes His true Church: “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

As we progress through the Days of Unleavened Bread and concentrate on de-leavening our lives of sin, we are strengthening our hands on the plow of truth.

Let us therefore, with all our might and with all the might that God may give us, plow straight furrows that will yield large spiritual harvests when our Savior returns to earth!  

*This originally appeared as a weekly note sent to my local congregation. If you wish to reprint this commentary or learn more about how to do so, please contact me in the comments below. I reserve my rights to this content, it is not in the public domain for use or reprint without my permission.