VICTORY IS STATE OF MIND

Proverbs 15:15
All the days of the afflicted are evil:
But he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.

I used to sing a little song as a teenager, a song called, “Victory is a State of Mind”. It is quite a true fact that our attitude determines our altitude. External and internal pressures may try to dictate our moods and thereby confuse our lives, but stability of spirit belongs to he who does not yield to emotions dictates. Peace comes by keeping our eyes stay set on the Spirit of Messiah.

Jewish sages were aware of emotions’ unreliability. They determined that the influence of the intellect is stronger than that of the heart, and therefore levels it. They believed in ‘Mind over Matter’. They derive that concept from the main prayer in Judaism called the ‘Shema’. It is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. The prayer starts with, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might (Punctuation emphasis mine)”. Love is a reaction of the heart. Dictated, it is not love. How then can we be commanded to love God? The text teaches us, ‘Hearing God will cause us to love Him’. We hear the voice of the mighty Creator of our soul in our hearts, and like a woman being wooed with tender words we fall in love with Him. The intellect leads the heart.

In the same way, our proverb does not indicate that happiness is the emotional reaction to the demands of our environment. It rather teaches us that happiness comes with the leveling of our passions with the imposition of God’s Spirit on all that would dictate the ups and downs of our emotions. Making decisions solely on an intellectual basis may sound cold, but to indiscriminately react out of emotions is foolish. The two need to work together. The dangerous emotional fire needs to furnace to control it; we can all then enjoy its warmth.

“YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT”

Proverbs 15:14

The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge:
But the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.

“You are what you eat” the proverb affirms. This does not only mean that we take on the nature of what we eat; it also means that people are revealed by their diet. A wealthy man eats refined rich foods while an athlete sticks to a special regimen. A model eats hardly anything; a common person indulges in junk foods, and a child of God subjects himself to the biblical diet. So whatever the verbal confession of any person, whatever they claim to be, their appetite tells who they are.

Many of us want to believe people; we want to believe that they tell us the truth about themselves. The problem is that modern industrial society has people live in the media realm of what they want and would like to be. Religion also has them live in the ideal realm of what they should be. In the end, they are only deceived about themselves; they do not know who they are.

This proverb today gives us a clue. The heart is fed through the eyes and the ears. If therefore a person claims to love God and to be spiritual, we will see them be careful of what they listen to and watch. If that same person enjoys the exposure to worldliness but considers the study of God’s Word a chore, he lies and /or is deceived about his personal confession. Such a person would make sure their social environment does not feed them ‘foolishness”.

On the other hand, there are those who claim not to care about God, but their spirit is hungry. They are not satisfied with the spiritual starchy fatty protein lacking junk food of the spirit they are given. Like Moses, they have all of ‘Egypt’, but they are looking for something better, something that feeds their spirit. They seek the knowledge and understanding that comes from the Creator of their souls.

Let us not be deceived. It is good sometimes to, as a means of metaphor I would say: to come out of our person and look at ourselves with the eyes of a second-party observer. Let us replay the ‘film’ of our daily life, and check our spiritual and social diet. We may learn something about ourselves that will help us make some important corrections.

THE LEARNINGS OF MOURNING

December 29

Proverbs 15:13
A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance:
But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

Biblical narration tells us about the patriarch Jacob when he falsely concluded that his favored son, the one in whom were set all of his expectations, had been devoured by a wild beast on his way to his brothers. The text tells us that Jacob’s heart would not be comforted. We would say today that he did not have closure. In a way, the messianic interpretations of this are monumental. Jacob never had closure over Joseph’s supposed death, but Joseph hadn’t died. Like Messiah, he was raised from the pit his brother put him in after 3 days, to be set to rule over the gentile world until such a day that his brothers would recognize him.

Jacob was not a spiritual dwarf. His time in the ‘school of Laban’ had certainly exercised his spiritual knowledge great maturity and discernment. The Biblical narration reveals him as a man in touch with God through visions and prophecies and yet, he was not able to consciously discern that Joseph was still alive.

Jewish sages who have pondered on this question for many years before we did tell us that the answer lies in the words of our proverb of today. Sorrow of the heart, uncomforted unresolved sorrow breaks our spirit and steals our spiritual faculties from us. A priest was forbidden to serve in the temple in a spirit of sadness. We even see Aaron who was not permitted to mourn the death of his two sons while he was in the service of the High priesthood. This principle is also echoed in ancient Semitic cultures where a servant was not allowed to show sadness in front of the king whom he served. We remember this in the story of Nehemiah who was afraid of having shown sadness in front of his king.

This may sound cruel and cold, but therein lies a very important principle: it is close to blasphemy to be sad in the presence of Him from Whom all blessings and comforts flow, in front of He Who does all things well and to our benefit, even those things that sadden us. The Hebrew word used here for sorrow is actually synonymous with the word ‘idol’, which shows us that even though God understands our human sorrow, it becomes idolatrous when it morphs into rebellious bitterness of the Father’s doings in our lives.

The Father certainly has a heart to understand the frailties of our human nature, but in the end, He expects us to have closure through the understanding that:

All things world together for good to them who God.

Romans 8:28.

CAN GOD BE 'MOCKED'?

Proverbs 15:12
A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him:
Neither will he go unto the wise.

The Hebrew word used for scorner in the text is ‘lets’, a very interesting word which takes us deeper into the meaning of the verse. This word ‘lets’ refers to the original sense of the verb to ‘mock’. It means to ‘imitate in a condescending way’. ‘to make fun with exaggerated acting’, and also ‘counterfeiting.

In this deeper meaning of the verse, we can almost see the person of Jeroboam who in order to bring the people of Israel’ Northern Kingdom to himself created a religion similar the one the people were used to but just changed the festival days and the places of worship. The episode of the Golden Calf smacks of the same in the fact that Aaron formed and fashioned the statue and then named it by the Name, and establish its own Feast day.

Sad to say, as we can see in the development of post-resurrection believers practices, history does repeat itself. Less than 200 years after the resurrection of the Master, people had already taken things in their own hands, and ‘synchretized’ the Jewish Messiah’s teachings with that of the Sun-god of Rome. As a result, they changed the Sabbath day to Sun-day, the worship day of the sun god, instead of Saturday; they celebrated the birth of the Messiah on the 25th of December, birthday of sun-god of Rome instead of in the Feast of tabernacles; and they synchronized the Resurrection from Passover to Easter, the celebration of the goddess of fertility also called in the Bible: the queen of heaven. This is the ultimate in mockery and blasphemy. If the Bible is in any way shape or form a book teaching us about the Almighty’s sense of right and wrong and justice, it would do good to remember the ends of both the people who worshipped the Golden calf and of Northern Israel.

In our generation, many of these things are done in ignorance, and the Master knows it. There is one thing though for which we are responsible: to not blindly follow man’s traditions. We need to know what it is we believe and practice and mostly why; and we are accountable to the Creator for what we teach the children He lends us.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7

WHEREVER WE ARE, HE IS.

Proverbs 15:11
Hell and destruction are before the LORD:
How much more then the hearts of the children of men?

The Almighty is perfect in light and purity. He is unadulterated Rectitude to its utmost degree. Nothing in Him is foul, vile, or corrupt. Yet in the vilest place in creation, the lowest region of Hades where the bodies of men putrefy; in the place where the worm does not die, the inner place of the earth which receives the body of the dead and lying deeper does the soul; in the place of deepest descent, of uttermost destruction, in the realm of the dead, He is present.

If now the Creator has this basest of regions in its whole compass wide open before Him, if it is visible and thoroughly cognizable to Him, how much more then are the hearts of the children of man fully open to Him?

King David acknowledged these facts in the following simple words, If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. Psalms 139:8

This acknowledgment of God’s omnipresence should fill us with fear, awe and security. Fear because there is no escape from His all-encompassing eyes. Awe because He can fill even the vilest of places while not Himself being defiled. Security because wherever we are, the Father has us in his mire. He may not agree with our decisions sometimes, but He stays our Father. He watches us always ready, waiting for that moment when we will finally have our full of husks, and are ready to climb the Ladder that only He sends.

Friend, there is no place that He cannot reach down to influence. This should make us want to pray for our spouses, our children, our friends, and many of those we don’t know in far-flung countries where brethren are persecuted, because where they are at in their lives, he is.

Let me end this devotional with an example of prayers in action to turn an evil tide. We are all familiar with the recent Mumbay tragedy. We remember the Jewish victims from the Chabad House outreach. The only reason why they were targeted was because they were Jewish. What I remember the most is the godly un-vengeful response from the Chabad American representative in Brooklyn. Also, the Chabad web site showed the response of Jewish people worldwide. As opposed to cries of outrage and revenge, their response was in prayers acted in deeds of kindness and piety in the name of the victims. Such an example of what the (former Rabbi) Apostle Paul said,

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:21

THE DOOR IS STILL AJAR

Proverbs 15:10
Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way:
And he that hateth reproof shall die.

Herein is the stern judgment for those who will not hear. As the result of sin/disobedience, the punishment of death has already been promised to us as early as in the days of Eden. God also appealed His own judgment by giving us a way of redemption: a blood payment for the sin, coupled with a lifestyle. But if we hate this reproof and healing correction; if we despise it by our words or inaction towards it, there is no other way to avoid the lethal punishment.

We still seem to live in a time when we have the possibility to learn. There is a possibility to turn back, from our ways to His, in which case the Father awaits us at the top of the hill with open arms and crying for joy at our return. The door of redemption is still open, or maybe ajar? Will this door someday close, leaving the rebellious behind?

As days move forward, both iniquity and righteousness polarize in their own camp. Eventually, the grey area will vanish away. Time will stand as Moses did upon entering the Promised Land demanding a decision. It will say: I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: (Deuteronomy 30:19). Then, just as it did before the incredulous world of Noah’s days, the Ark’s door or opportunity will close transporting the faithful to their renewed world of higher virtues.

Hear, even now,
Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?
She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.
She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.
Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.
O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.
For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.
Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
Proverbs 8:1-11

THE WORKS OF LOVE

Proverbs 15:9
The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD:
But He loveth him that followeth after righteousness.

Our Master, as a true Son of His Father, defined discipleship in the same manner: love of the Master which provokes obedience. He said, If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love (John 15:10).

This may sound legalistic, but whereas the Master shunned what we have today coined as ‘legalism’ (legalism: man’s ways and interpretation of applying God’s commandments), he certainly advocated obedience to His Almighty Father. The sad thing is that today any form of faithful obedience to the specific commandments of God is shunned as ‘legalism’. It’s almost like we agree to love God, but we certainly don’t want Him to infringe on our freedom and lifestyle; that would sound politically incorrect of Him. Can you imagine God interfering with our sex and emotional life? With what we do in our free time and when we do it? Even more unimaginable, God trying to tell us what to eat and what not to eat. How dare He! What does He know about life on earth anyways? (Sarcasm intended)

It is funny though, but the Greek concept of deity was of a spiritual being who didn’t interfere too much in our lives as long as people gave them recognition as gods. The Greeks felt that God’s business was above, but that that of below was theirs. The apostle Paul had to deal quite a bit with this “separation of earth and heaven” Greek concept in the Book of Corinthians. Our God is not solely ethereal. He cares about what we do and don’t do. He cares about what we eat and don’t eat. He even cares about how we manage our free time and finances.

When we find it inconvenient to do our Master’s command, the problem is neither with the Master nor His commands. The problem is with us, and our lack of love for Him. To say we love Him, but we don’t want Him to control our lifestyle, is like the girl who is happy to enjoy the fun of dating a rich guy, but doesn’t want to marry him, even less move in with him. Poet Hazel Hartwell Simon expressed it in these words:
“Love makes obedience a thing of joy!
To do the will of one we like to please
Is never hardship, though it tax our strength;
Each privilege of service love will seize!”
Paul expressed it by saying,

For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

Galatians 5:6

THE FINAL TEST

Proverbs 15:8
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD:
But the prayer of the upright is his delight.

Human nature is such that it always tries to establish a peck order. It is a sub-conscious reaction of both man and animal kind to define themselves in some sort of preferential order according to a given set of parameters. In the animal world, this peck order is generally (though not always) established by physical strength. In human, parameters can very, but sad to say, the idea has not escaped the religious domain.

Knowing that He lives in the spiritual realm and we in the physical realm, in His oracles the Almighty teaches us how to connect with Him, how to express our needs and gratitude to Him. The sacrificial system is an education on the principles of prayer and communication with Him. The gifts and sacrifices made to the Temple were also part of the social structure for the care of the poor, which teaches us that everybody benefits from one person’s devotion to the Father.

Sad to say though, as happened in ancient times, today’s prayers, services and sacrifices are often rather used for pride, cover-ups, self-righteousness, and personal validation in the eyes of others, rather than for a pure, undistracted communication with our Maker. Such can be qualified as blasphemous, abominable, and could be the reason for so many unanswered prayers.

We cannot judge a person’s the pure sincerity in spiritual matters, but we can certainly assess the fruits in their life. A person of obvious prayer, service and sacrifice should own the peace, the emotional stability and spiritual maturity and clarity that pervade such people who are in touch with the Almighty. But if that person is confused, unstable, arrogant and unable to maturely manage the many blows life generously offers, their prayer life is probably merely a boast.

In the end though, the coming Messiah will be the final judge. The day is coming when all will be revealed; when Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. 1 Corinthians 3:13-15.

TAKE A STAND AND RESIST THE ENEMY

Proverbs 15:7
The lips of the wise disperse knowledge:
But the heart of the foolish doeth not so.

The heart of the fool (fool: one who is devoid or ignorant of the rectitude that is from God) wants for wisdom. He lacks everything that generates from God. It is good to recognize these factors because in the same manner and for the same reasons, the heart of the fool is arrogant.

A fool comes in and appears to know right and thereby can be very deceiving to the believer who is not strongly founded in the principles of the Word. It is important therefore that before any personal endorsement, any would-be speaker, preacher or teacher goes through the test required by the Word of our contract. Paul was very strong on the subject keeping theology pure, clean and singular. He said,

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all

(Ephesians 4:4-6).

He also affirms that ,

though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed

(Galatians 1:8).

Paul undoubtedly took his model from Moses who by the inspiration of God admonishes that any would-be teacher, priest or prophet; may he be acquaintance, kinsman or stranger, who declares and teaches to do the things that are abominable and contrary to the Spirit of God, should be put to death.

We certainly cannot practice this commandment today (Biblical death sentence was Land related. It requires a Sanhedrin of Levites elected by the people and who serve in front of the Ark, and even Paul recommended excommunication for such cases.), but its principles are not nevertheless abrogated. The God who found abominable the idolatry of the fool is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

So because we live as foreigners and strangersin an ungodly world , it behooves us to regularly check that our lifestyle hasn’t been subtly polluted by the doctrines and traditions of man. We are not under penalty of death when we are found guilty, but we simply discover the reason why we feel out of fellowship (excommunicated) with Messiah and therefore, with the Father.

This year, Christmas falls right in the middle of the Feast of Chanukah. Chanukah is the Feast that commemorates the time when Israel compromised with Hellenist idolatry. Israel realized its error, repented, and decided to take a stand. As Israel resisted the Greek enemy, spiritual and physical, it won against Antiochus Epiphanes, a foreshadow of the Antichrist.

This story can be found in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd chapters of the Book of 1 Maccabees, and describes a spiritual situation not unlike that of today.

I hope you read it.

THE AUDITOR CAME

Proverbs 15:6
In the house of the righteous is much treasure:
But in the revenues of the wicked is trouble.

How could we read this proverb and fail to contemplate this world’s present-day economic troubles?

The God who in His Word advised us towards a greed-proof economic system must be looking with disgust at how we got ourselves in such a mess to start with. We are like young adults who considered our cautious parents old-fashioned and not in ‘sync’ with the times. We thought that we had better ideas, but now, as it has before, the whole system is unraveling leaving many people without even some of the basic necessities, while a few line their pockets with gold. There is no better recipe for abuse than an economic system independent from God’s paremeters.

It is when the ‘stock’ of Egypt, the supply afforded us by the world fails, that our faith is tested. Then the question pops up. ‘Is our faith in ‘Egypt’ or is it in the Almighty God? Are we dependable to this world’s unreliable granaries, or to the God owns the cattle on a thousand hills?’ Whatever may the hand that brings the paycheck home, believers may do well to always remember that the original Giver is our Father Which is in Heaven. He is the only reliable Giver, the only dependable source of supply. Any other one will fail when the bell counts midnight and the books are open for review and scrutiny.

In that day, every penny earned, lost, wasted, given, invested and received will be accounted for. Questions will be asked. The Auditor of all auditors will come and require that we turn in the books. He will ask hard questions; demand explanations. Payments will be required for His investments in us; He will require seeing tangible returns.

All revenues will go through the fires of His scrutiny.

Only silver and gold will remain.

Everything else will burn.

Can we stand the final audit of our lives?

LEAD BY EXAMPLE

Proverbs 15:5
A fool despiseth his father's instruction:
But he that regardeth reproof is prudent.

I have spent many years working with dysfunctional families. I have seen and heard of many a father unworthy of the title. Such is the iniquitous world in which we live. I therefore could not expound on this proverb solely towards the submission to earthly fathers. It would be abuse. Only a husband who submits in love to the Almighty can earn a wife who submits in love to him. Only a father who yields to his own Heavenly Father is worthy of children who in turn yield to him.

The Hebrew word used for ‘father’ is ‘ahv’. Each Hebrew letter has a meaning. The first letter of the word father is ‘strength’, the second is ‘house’: the strength of the house. The Semitic nomads did not live in houses but in tents. The word ‘ahv’ therefore refers to the strength and stability of the main pole holding the tent up. The ancient meaning therefore of the word father was: ‘the tent-pole’. He holds the structure of the house together.

Not every father is a spiritual giant, but such a father who holds his family together, who works hard, loves his wife, spends time with the children has accomplished a lot and deserves to be looked upon. One who has done all that is the ultimate Father and Creator of us all.

Our Almighty Father is the ultimate example to follow. His wife cheats on Him but He does His best to preserve the marriage. His children stray but if they only but look back in His direction he runs towards them crying. He is just, but merciful. He is merciful, but not lenient. He is not lenient but He still takes upon Himself the price of our backsliding. A tough act to follow.

It is the Instruction of such a Father that we should not despise. It is the regard of His reproof that is birthed of prudence, and His Word is to submit to our earthly fathers as much as we can. On this issue the apostle which Yeshua sent to us wrote in these terms,

. . . we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

Hebrews 12:9-10.

If we expect our children to mind our ‘torah’, let us make sure that we ourselves mind the ‘Torah’ of our Father.

A FATHER’S TONGUE IS HEALTH TO HIS CHILDREN

Proverbs 15:4
A wholesome tongue is a tree of life:
But perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

The Hebrew word used for ‘wholesome’ in this proverb is ‘healing’. Let us remember here that in the World to Come the Tree of Life will be accessible again for the healing of the nations.

The Hebrew word for a ‘breach’ is a ‘breaking’, not as beneficial breaking that provokes goodness, but as a breaking provoking insalubrities.

This proverb tells us that a godly tongue procures health while the ungodly tongue, sickness of the spirit.

I had to use my tongue to correct my son last night. He has bad habits concerning his school assignments, so I had to give him a tongue-lash. I had to use the weapon of speech to convict his spirit and demand that he fulfills his responsibilities. My sermonizing, haranguing, yelling and demanding were not for the mere purpose of exercising power and authority over him. Just as we attach a rod by a seedling to help it grow straight, my words were for the purpose of creating a rod that will keep my son grow upright. My tongue became the ‘rod of correction’, which hopes to force on him upright growth.

This is healthy.

This is tree of life for my son’s spirit.

On the contrary, the tongue that would allow leniency, deny retribution for sin and unfaithfulness is guilty of false pity. It applies a cicatrizing balm on a dirty untended wound. Later on, this wound may become an infected sore festering with puss.

A son may resent the temporary discomfort of the tongue-lash, but it is nevertheless health to his soul. May we, as mature Sons and Daughters of the Almighty, learn to appreciate the ‘tongue-lashes’ we receive from our Father in whatever form they come. May we learn to know that these are only premises of the Tree of Life which will eventually fully heal our spirits in the World to Come. May we, though them, learn to grow as upright citizens of the Creator’s Kingdom.

THE EYES OF THE PRESENCE

Proverbs 15:3
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

The eyes of the Almighty are everywhere: within our innermost intimacy, as well as over the whole earth.

The eyes of Adonai, behold with a penetrating look the evil and the good.

They observe; they examine men whether they are good or evil, keeping them closely before His eyes, so that nothing escapes Him.
This is an awesome reality, but do we walk in such a fear and respect of The Presence that we feel His eyes are over us at all times?

Driving the many roads that cross this city, I often notice how orderly every vehicle behaves, exactly at the speed limit, when around a police car. These drivers drive differently than they normally would; they clean up their act because at that moment, they feel the presence of the authority of the road.

Would we walk differently and would we clean up our act if we could see the Master right by our side wherever we went?

Whatever we did?

At every moment of the day?

Not seeking to over spiritualize the proverb, I still acknowledge that each and every word, their spelling and even their order within the Sacred Writs are not random but have a reason. By the order of the words, I see that the author of this proverb must have had a good handle in the knowledge and understanding of the program of the salvation of mankind. It would not be surprising, since this program has been written from before the foundations of the world, in the Scriptures as well as in the stars.

Our author here presents the fact that the Almighty first looks at the evil and then the good. In His redemptive program, in the same manner that Moses came down twice from the mountain, Yeshua comes twice. The first time, He saw the evil. He paid the price for our evil and even left us with a ‘Comforter’ to teach us: The Spirit of Truth. (John 14). The second time will be different. Having made the evil responsible for itself, He will be able to concentrate on the good, and extend rewards to those who deserve it. He does truly behold the evil, then the good. Let us therefore conduct our lives with the knowledge that like the police car on the road, His eyes are upon us at all times, beholding the evil, and the good in our daily walk.

WHO IS THE ‘HARPIST’?

Proverbs 15:2
The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright:
But the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

The Hebrew text in this verse offers a beautiful poetry. The Hebraic word used for ‘useth’ is the word ‘etiv’, which means ‘to strikes the harp well’. We consequently understand that the tongue of the wise has the ability to ‘play’ ‘wisdom’, harmoniously; to use it in way that inspires people towards the Almighty, just as a man who elegantly plays the harp. Let us not forget that the father of our author, King David, was himself a harpist who was employed at the Israeli court to sooth King’s Saul tormented spirit.

On the other hand, (and sad to say, there is always another hand), the wisdom which has been made available for mankind’s own good is not always ‘played’ wisely. Satan, our archenemy, was the right-hand man of the Almighty. Ezekiel prophesied about him, By thy wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches: Ezekiel 28:5

The same wisdom used to lead people to their Creator, can be used to lead them towards false leadership. The same wisdom we employ to impart the knowledge of the Father can also be used to proclaim heresies. The same wisdom that will teach a man the ways of God, can also be used to teach him the foolishness of ungodliness and of life without His Instruction.

When we hear the music, before we dance to it, we need to learn to recognize who plays the ‘fiddler’, or to continue the poetic analogy of this proverb, who is the ‘harpist’. Our Rabbi and Master Yeshua has taught us how to recognize the prophetic harpists that fill this world. He said, ‘by their fruits ye shall know them’.

Let us remember that the word use for foolishness tells us of someone who is devoid of desire to follow in then ways of his Creator. He is his own ‘self-made’ man, if there can be such a thing.

In this day when the world seems to titter back and forth like a drunken man trying to find its place in a history that seems to repeat the same foolishness of its past, let us not be mused by the tender words of smooth tongue preachers, politicians, motivators or to-good-to-be-true financial deals. Let us not allow our God-given desire for peace and tranquility to make us settle for the heresies of untruth and the glitter of false peace and security. Let us always learn to unveil the ‘harpist’.