ABOUT TRUTH AND LIES

Proverbs 12:19
The lip of truth shall be established for ever:
But a lying tongue is but for a moment.

Our Lord and Master called Himself ‘the Truth’. He came to the world to bear witness to the Truth.

Truth, the truth from God has its own legs to stand upon. One who speaks the truth, the truth from God, does not need the help of lights and fanfares in order to impress and convince the masses. He doesn’t need the lure of charismatic educated oratory speech to convince its hearers. He doesn’t need those because the Holy Spirit in man will bear witness to what he is saying; It will bear witness for enmity or acceptance, but It will bear witness. Peace in man comes when he resigns himself to the Truth being spoken to his heart. This happens because truth, the Truth from God is a healing balm to the soul. Truth doesn’t mind being challenged.

Truth, Truth from God has its own engine fueled by God’s resources. It keeps going forever and cannot be shut down. It continues the work of convicting and feeding itself to the world until a decision is finally made. The decision is either the repentance of the hearers, or the execution of the bearers. What it will not do is leave people indifferent. Truth, the Truth from God is a catalyst for decisions.

Our Lord and Master called the devil the ‘father of lies’.

Lies are the least of our worries. They are easily recognized because they don’t stand on their own.: they need other lies to support them. They need the crutches of lights and fanfares to convince the masses. They need the lure of charismatic and educated oratory speech to convince their hearers. They need those because the Holy Spirit in man fights lies. Depression, stress, stomach ulcers, emotional and behavioral problems often happen when man accepts those lies in his heart; when he rationalizes them to convince himself that they are truth. This happens because lies are a poison to the soul. Lies resist challenge; it makes them feel uncomfortable.

Lies are temporary; they are only fueled by people’s willingness to believe them. , As long as one person believes in them, they will continue their preaching but eventually they run out of fuel and shut down of their own selves. When no one believes them, they die. They also exist as a catalyst for decisions.

When people have suffered enough under the tyranny of lies, they finally yield to the Truth. I am looking forward to that day.

ASSOCIATION THOUGH FUNCTION

Proverbs 12:18
There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword:
But the tongue of the wise is health.

This proverb gives us an awesome look into the fundamental culture of Hebraic writings: function. In the Hebraic mind, associations are made not by looks, but by functions. In this way, words are likened to either murderous weapons or healing balms.

This concept of comparison by function makes for beautiful poetry. For example the Bible, which is written with a Hebraic mind, compares anger to a ‘burning nose’, and calls the woman’s reproductive organ a ‘flower’. It calls God a ‘man of war’, compares Him to a hen who desires to gather her chicks under her wings, while at the same time calls His children made in His image ‘wild camels’ if they are rebellious and ‘sheep’ if they are docile. Yehoshua is the Good Shepherd but He is also the Lion of Judah, as well as the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world. Among other comparisons, Yehoshua is also ‘the Door, the Way and the Light of the world’. Not only He is the Oil of anointing as well as the High-Priest, but He is also the sacrifice, the Blood of atonement, the Altar and the Temple altogether.

These are the characteristics of our Master as compared with earthly elements. Here is a little game to play now. If God were to compare our lifestyle, define our virtues, character and speech with animals and objects, what would He use?

A TRUE WITNESS

Proverbs 12:17
He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness:
But a false witness deceit.

Much of the understanding of these Proverbs is hidden in the Biblical agrarian Hebraic culture. The word witness here means: the evidence of things.

Evidence proves facts through the act of seeing. Words are cheap; anyone can say the right thing, pronounce the right theology, pontificate on spiritual things, even do miracles. The crunch comes with the lifestyle. The question to ask ourselves is not, ‘Are they saying the right thing?’ but rather ‘Are they living the right thing’, “What does their lifestyle show me? Does it show me God as defined in His Word?”

Naaman, a Syrian high official mentioned in the Bible had leprosy. He was told by his young Jewish servant girl that Elijah the prophet from Israel could heal him. At first, Naaman was too proud to dip in the dirty Jordan River seven times as the prophet had prescribed; he preferred the nice clean pools of Damascus. After reluctantly obeying, Naaman was healed, and some time later appeared, healed of his leprosy, accompanying the King of Syria to the worship of their idol. What is wrong with this picture?

The people who saw him probably associated Naaman’s healing with his idolatrous worship. Yahweh healed him, but he worshipped the idol. Naaman knew it was wrong; the text of the story makes mention of his convicted spirit. How did God feel? Well, It is the same thing when we claim salvation in the name of God but then return to our old lifestyles. People cannot give glory to God and we become a false witness which shows deceit.

God doesn’t heal and save us so we can become more comfortable citizens of this world; He does it so we can belong to Him even if only for gratitude sake. Let therefore our lifestyle show the One who has truly healed and saved us from; let our lifestyle be a true witness of His love and care for mankind.

TO REPRESS, CONTAIN OR GIVE IT UP

Proverbs 12:16
A fool's wrath is presently known:
But a prudent man covereth shame.

One by one these proverbs take us through many important behavior definitions. Whether we are to be seen as foolish or wise is not defined by our words, but by our actions, by our responses and reactions to life.

In this case we are taught a principle that if applied, would save marriages, companies, Churches, and many other societal groups. It would literally lower the divorce rate if not eliminate it altogether.

In a more contemporary English, this verse could say, A careless person reacts immediately to injury, while the wise person contains and forgets it.

It is not hypocrisy to let go of an injury, to contain, even to repress the offense done to us. It is obedience to one of God’s greatest commandment. The second part of this commandment is well known, but not the first part; it is the one that says, Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am Yahweh. Leviticus 19:18

Of course, if we simply repress it within ourselves, one day it will eventually explode and cause more damage than if it had just vented right away, but this is not the kind of repressing I am talking about. I am talking about giving it as a sacrifice to the lord. A sin separates us from God. To come back near to Him we need an offering. What I am speaking about is offering a guilt offering to God for our sin of anger and grudge against our brother; taking full responsibility of it before God and pay the price for his washing our heart from it. In this way, it is not contained in the ‘old files’ cabinet for later use, but burned and consumed on God’s altar.

The only person we can change is ourself. We cannot change others neither expect them to be different. We might as live with that fact and learn to respond, not react, and give all offenses to God for his ‘consuming’.

THE WELL OF COUNSEL

Proverbs 12:15
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes:
But he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.

Many books are written, seminars given and sermons preached on the subject of the secret of success, but King Solomon, the man who once climbed to the top of the universal social ladder now reveals it to us. And what does he say? To hear (to listen to, obey and abide by) counsel. In his case, he wisely obeyed the counsel of a man of whom God had said He was please in all things but one: his father King David.

By contrast, the fool is one who defines himself and righteousness according to his own relative standards so his counsel comes from his own heart. Instead of weighing matters against the wise advice of others or even the Word, he weighs matters against his own standard. It is like a man who defines knowledge by his own brain and capacity to learn.

How foolish we are. Being creatures we claim to be able to define ourselves; and not only do we claim to define ourselves, but we argue with the very consistency of our nature. Paul rhetorically asked, Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

Let us be wise today and learn to draw good advice from the well of other’s perspective and learning; mostly from those in the Word who have gone before us and faced situations oh, so similar to ours.

THE FRUIT OF OUR LIPS

Proverbs 12:14
A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth:
And the recompence of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him.

This proverb associates the fruit of the work of our hands with the fruit of our lips. Knowing the author brings it even more meaning because King Solomon was not only known to be the richest man in his days, but also the wisest man.

While on earth, a man eats of the fruit of his good work. If he is faithful in his duties and responsibilities, if he is a good manager of his goods or if he is a faithful dependable employee, he will harvest a good crop or receive a good salary; who knows, maybe even get some bonuses.

It is the same with the fruit of our lips, only with greater ramifications. Our Lord and Master taught us, ‘by your words ye shall be justified and by your words ye shall be condemned’. In essence, this proverb teaches us that in the manner that the fruit of the work of our hands determines our reward n this world, the fruit of our lips determines our reward in the world to come.

In this day and age, everybody preaches something. Many spend their time trying to influence others in doing things and believing their way. Many proud and lofty words are spoken in attempts correct, justify, change, improve, and define the world around us. There comes a time when every word whispered in someone ears will be shouted on the rooftops. There now comes of judgment according to the words we have spoken.

When that day comes, may we be proud of our words; may they have been words that bring Messiah’s righteousness on earth in people’s hearts. May we be faced with eating of the fruits of our words with confidence, knowing that they are not poisoned with humanism and worldliness. May we come with boldness to Him who fed us of the fruits of his mouth, having offered the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

SAFE LIPS

Proverbs 12:13
The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips:
But the just shall come out of trouble.

The Hebrew text of this Proverb reveals a very strong subtlety. Bear with me a moment while I try to convey it to you in English. The Semitic word used for ‘transgression’ is: ‘peshah’: transgression, revolt. Its etymological root is ‘pesh’: step, spreading, as in spreading apart of legs. Therefore this word ‘pesha’ means: transgression, or rebellion by the spreading apart of legs, by letting go of the restraints of morality. In this proverb, the particular word ‘peshah’ is used as ‘rebellion by the spreading apart of the lips’ meaning ‘ungodly reprobate speech’, thus giving the meaning of’ the wicked is snared by his own ungodly reprobate speech’.

To compare the sin of the lips with the sin of immorality seems quite appropriate. Paul teaches us that any sin is outside of the body, but that the sin of fornication is against our body. In the same way, this proverbs tells us that the reprobate ensnares his own self through the spreading apart of his own lips when he speaks, but that the just, by the keeping of what comes out of his lips, comes out of trouble.

Much of Proverbs deals with the subject of speech. The apostle James tells us that the tongue is an unruly evil enflamed of hell. Our dear Lord and Master Yehoshuah taught us that by our words we shall be justified and by our words wee shall be condemned. If sometimes we have difficulty discerning the integrity of a preacher, speaker or politicien, all we have to do is let him or her speak; they eventually will ensnare themselves in their own words.

As followers of God, to stay out of trouble, we are instructed that our words should be few; to be quick to listen and slow to speak; that our speech should be always seasoned with salt (palatable); and that as teachers, we should speak as the oracles of God (to speak only when spoken through).

GOD’S ECONOMY

Proverbs 12:12
The wicked desireth the net of evil men:
But the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit.

The wicked craves the spoils of those of those who rob others, but the righteous are content with whatever they produce honestly, on their own. (Translation by Rashi)

Rightly did the Lord give us so many warnings against covetousness. Rightly did He make His Holy Instruction an antithesis to lust and covetousness. Our creator knows what we are made of; He knows that our hearts are bent towards evil. We only have to look at Leviticus 25 to understand God’s principles in economy.

God’s economy is one in which faith takes precedence over profit; Sabbaths are placed before harvests; the individual is more important than the bottom line; family heritage is prized before expansion and growth; and God is the owner of both land and human resources. In the economy of Torah, loans are made without interests, and debts are forgiven every seven years. The poor and the needy are continually at the center of concern. It is a completely different kind of approach, and one that requires a generous portion of faith and trust.

(Quotation from FFOZ Torah Club Vol. 5)

Men and women today try to lure us to their side making high and lofty promises to heal our economic woes. The only economic system that will heal our world is imbedded in the Word of the Holy Book.

Let us go back to God’s economy and behold, His blessings will return.

Turn thou us unto thee, O Yahweh, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.

'GET A LIFE'

Proverbs 12:11
He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread:
But he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.

There is always a reward for he that works hard.

What is it that God has put in front of us? A field? A factory? A song? An outreach project? Children? We have the guarantee that if we get down to the brass tasks of working at it, it will yield fruits. And if it is the thing God has chosen for us to do, it will even produce sustenance.

Oh, but sometimes the fields of the Lord are tough. Most of the hard work is in the preparation. We need to rid our ‘field’ of old roots, rocks, and fallen wood. We need to even landscape it. All this seems like hard work but when the field finally yields its fruit, the rejoicing of the farmer is as that of the mother kissing her child after a hard long labour. I am now thinking of children. Today’s young minds often seem like that field, cluttered with old roots, stumps and rocks. These all need to be removed before the word of instruction can take root and grow. It is hard work to remove them, but oh, what a reward we have in the mature child, once the field of his mind has been worked on by faithful parents and dedicated teachers.

Every fruit-yielding ‘field’ requires hard work. Let us therefore not follow after the vanity of fellows who will tempt us with the false hopes of promises of fruit yielding fields that require no hard work. Those who complain about hard work need to have a paradigm change and as is said here, ‘get a life’.

We thank You Yahweh for the work load you put in front of us; we thank You and we bless You that you have hired us to work in your fields. It is a blessing and a privilege to be a part of your work force of establishing your kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven. May we have the grace and strength to endure with praise and to work with courage until that perfect day comes when all things will be restored.

A GOOD SHEPHERD

Proverbs 12:10
A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast:
But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

The characteristics of a righteous person always include a personal knowledge and a compassionate understanding of others, including animals. The Hebrew text actually reads: The righteous knows the soul of his beast.

The humane society and animal activists in general should be pleased with God because a big part of His Instruction is concerning the proper and humane care of animals. Animals have to be slaughtered painlessly and beasts of burden have a right to food and to the Sabbath. God has dominion over us and we have dominion over the animals. Domesticated animals at our service are dependant on us just as we, who live in God’s house, are dependant on His bounty mercy and care. In ancient days, when people were close to their farm animals, a farmer knew that a well taken care of and loved animal would be more docile and productive.

How unlike the wicked who mercilessly kills and devours man and beast for his own pleasure. His mercies (Hebrew text: feelings) are cruel because they are self-centered. He does not give his life for his friends; rather he gives his friends for his Iife. His dominion is not tempered with mercy and he runs his animal to the ground.

A spiritual leader is compared to a shepherd. Sheep are dumb and man-dependant. How fitly then is the gaging of righteousness by our attitude towards animals. A shepherd of God’s people has to bring in the law, the rules; he has to expect productivity and obedience as per the Word, but he also has to temper the wind for the shorn lambs and gently lead those that are with young; carry the lambs in his bosom. A shepherd is to know the state of his flock; how can he lead them otherwise if he doesn’t know their needs and problems, the issues troubling them in their souls?

As parents also and as teachers, we fall in the same categories as pastors and need to apply these same virtues on Yahweh’s flock.

FINANCIAL PEACE AND FREEDOM

Proverbs 12:9

He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.

In the ancient world, the sign of financial resolve meant you had a servant. If you could not afford a servant you were poor. Our verse today hits at the proud hypocritical appearance of financial wealth and solvency in front of others while in reality, we are starving. The Latin Vulgate translations reads:¨“Better is the poor man who provides for himself, than the proud who is destitute of bread.” The Hebrew text reads: Better is the lowly one who serves for his keep (as of: serves himself because he doesn’t have a servant) than the pompous one (one who has servants) yet lacks bread.

I have spent many years as a missionary in poor countries of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, S.E. Asia and the Pacific. People may poor, but those who buy a house buy it cash. Those who buy a car come to the dealer with their briefcase full of bills. Once they buy it, they own it and no one can claim it from them for unpaid mortgage or payment. It is theirs. When I came to America, I thought everybody was rich. I remember a friend of mine who was a man with several children. He had a job sorting parcels at the post-office while his wife had a day-care in her house. I thought they were rich because they had a house, nice furniture, a brand-new van of the latest model and they seemed to be able to afford a comfortable life-style. It impressed me until I learned that he was 50,000$ in debt (not counting his mortgage payments). It is then that I realized that his apparent wealth was just a boast, that I actually was richer than him because I owed nothing to no-one.; because what I had, however little it was, was mine.

Later my friend went bankrupt and had to downscale his lifestyle.

Much of the financial problems people face today is because they want to appear to have a life-style they cannot afford. They drive a brand-new Jaguar when technically, they can only afford to drive a second-hand Ford. Their lifestyle is a pretence and for the sake of pride, they sacrifice their lives, their freedom, their faith and even their children on the altar of their own vanity. What a shame.

To pretend to be of a certain standing when we are not is lying.

It is lying to ourselves and to others.

May God deliver us from the notion of evaluating our worth by the things we own, by the clothes we wear and by the lifestyle we can afford.

The true values of the Kingdom of Heaven are love, mercy, faith, honesty, and our wealth of personal dedication and obedience to God’s Words.

May the Truth, the Truth of the knowledge and continuance in Yahweh’s Words set us free, free from the lies, and from the bondage of the vanity in the world around us.

CHOICES

Proverbs 12:8
A man shall be commended according to his wisdom:
But he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised.

What are we to commend a man for? Physical strength? Charisma? Charm? Handsomeness? Intelligence?

A man’s spiritual maturity is defined by the things he admires; by the things he has a high regards for and gives priority to. Does he care mostly for sensual things, carnal things? How does fare in the day of ‘hard choices’? Is he easily ticked by vanity? Is his conversation mostly shallow? Does he yield to pride? Does he feel the need to boast in order to make himself important in the eyes of others? On the other hand, a man’s spiritual maturity is also defined by his friends, those who seek his presence. Does he feel comfortable in the presence of the proud, shallow and foolish? In turn, do they feel comfortable around him?

Our media today, and even our system honors the shallow, the proud and the vain. These are given the honor and glory that in ancient days were onlyu given to kings. They are called ‘stars’ and ‘idols’, and rightfully so. They have become the object of venerations of many who spent their lives and money on these new gods who live their lives in abject wealth and perversion, all for the adulation of a crowd mostly consisted of vain, shallow, young and immature people.

But whom will God reward in the Day of Judgment? Our author says it: a man shall be commended by his wisdom; he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised. To define perversion, we must first define wisdom. The wisdom implied here is the wisdom of living a life seeking to please God; striving to emulate His virtues; of living a life that glorifies the Maker of us all and what He is all about. By contrast therefore, ‘perversion’ in this text is to rationalize God’s virtues so much in our heart that we end up living a life that dishonors Him who gives us our daily breath.

A life of perversion, the earthly crowds cheer; a life of wisdom, the heavenly crowds cheers; and we are the ones who choose.

THE PROMISE

Proverbs 12:7
The wicked are overthrown, and are not:
But the house of the righteous shall stand.

The history of believers testifies to this statement. By all means, faith in God should have been destroyed long ago but yet, it is not.

Abel, the first man of faith, was killed by his brother Cain. Seth the third son of Adam and Eve his parents, succeeded him. Seth continued in faith while his older brother Cain continued in crime. Fifteen hundred years later, the lineage of Seth is miraculously saved from a worldwide flood though the obedience of Noah in building an ark after God’s command. Around 2000 BCE, when God wanted to show Himself to mankind, He did it through one man: Abraham, whose wife was barren. Rebecca, his son Isaac’s wife whom he married at the age of sixty, was also barren. When Isaac and Rebecca finally had children, Esau the older threatened to kill the younger one Jacob who then fled from his home and crossed the desert by himself. After finding work at the house of Laban, a distant relative, Jacob married Laban’s two daughters, as well as their servants. These marriages gave him twelve sons through whom the believer’s race would be preserved.

This is only the beginning of the story. Through the offspring of Jacob, the world was to discover its God (John 4:22), so the enemy of God had to do everything he could to destroy them. Four hundred years later a Pharaoh decrees that the children of Jacob should not live. He orders all their male offspring thrown in the Nile. When God hears the cry of His oppressed children, He carries them on His wings to a land He had chosen for them. For fifteen hundred years, that land was built, destroyed, rebuilt, occupied and destroyed again several times, until finally, in 165 CE the Roman Empire evacuated every Jew from Israel and renamed it Palestina, after the name of their arch-enemies: the Philistines. In the meantime though, through the children of Jacob, God’s great purpose was accomplish: the birthing of the Messiah which would introduce the whole world to the God of the Torah, thus creating more believers.

From the times of their dispersion in the world until today, the seed of Jacob should have been exterminated not only though centuries of ruthless persecutions, but also through natural assimilation. Yet, it lives on. It lives on because God has a plan. God has established that in the end of days, the feet of Messiah will come and touch down on the Mt of Olive; that from Jerusalem He will rule the world with a rod of iron for a millennial sabbatical. At that time, all those in the world who believe in His words and all those who are faithful to His commandments will be reunited in peace forever. Yes, the wicked is truly overthrown, while the house of the believers, the house of Yehoshua the Messiah, the Righteous truly stands..

THE WORDS OF LIFE

Proverbs 12:6
The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood:
But the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.

Wars, cultural changes and even personal changes always start with words. Much is said about words in the Bible because words conceive in our hearts the ideas that motivate our actions.

In any sphere of society, before any major push in any direction, we are first ideologically trained with the input of words. Before the onset of any war, country’s leaders condition their people with propaganda that will win the support of their citizens. Today, because the digitalization of publishing technology, words are easily spread, ideas easily disseminated. We live in a giant ‘Super Wall-Mart’ of ideas and philosophies where our heads are dizzied with too many choices.

We must guard our hearts and carefully shop our ideas and philosophy. Just like food in the supermarket may seem good, sweet and soft to the taste buds while destructive to our basic body structure, so are ideas. They may seem good, but their real goal is to trap us into their deathlike culture; ideas that are out for our blood. We may now turn to the health section of our giant supermarket. Some food there appears to be good but it costs a fortune, and even though you may pretend to, you really don’t understand all the big words on the label.

The best way is to leave the supermarket altogether. The righteous words that deliver us from this death trap are not sold on shelves competing with the words of the wicked. Musing on our supermarket analogy, I would say, “Go to the source; go to the land where the food is grown by God”. Deliverance from the destructive words and ideas of the wicked is found in the words of the upright. They are found in the words in the Bible, and in those people who live a life loyal to its principle; in those people who did not accept their godliness to be soiled by marketing practices.

Let us go back to the Source: to the True and Righteous One, Yehoshua who has the Words of eternal life, not death.

TO WHOM SHALL WE GO

Proverbs 12:5
The thoughts of the righteous are right:
but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.

In these days of relativism, there seem to be a difficulty in defining the righteous from the wicked. Humanism attempts to denigrate Godly values of in our heart in order to glorify our own form of religion based on personal virtue and sense of morality. The ‘golden calf’ of our own attempts to define God according to our own senses and views seems to have succeeded where it had previously failed.

When Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth, he chided them for bringing their personal disputes to the city’s secular judges. He aimed at making them wonder how they could think that the Word of God ignorant judges of Corinth could rightly solve their issues. This practice was totally against the principles ingrained in the people of Israel who were taught to only bring their issues to be solved by people who were familiar with the Laws of God. Paul said that it would be better to let go of the issues and be defrauded rather than have the people of the congregation of God go to the ungodly for ‘justice’. I Corinthians 6.

Our author today puts things back in their place so we know now who to go to for advice. He tells us that only the righteous has right thoughts, while the thoughts of the wicked are deceit.

In our day of trouble, why should we go to the wicked? Why should we go to him who has forsaken God for advice? For where he is going we will also end. His counsel is not in God, but is birthed from his own hellish heart. As he think in his heart so is he, so why should we partake in the hellish lot of the liars?

In our day of trouble, this we must do: enroll people in our life who are righteous, whose heart is in God, for where they are going we will also end. We must engage people who fear God, people who know and obey His commandments and thus partake in the joyful lot of the righteous.

A VIRTUOUS WOMAN

Proverbs 12:4
A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband:
But she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

Let us for a moment return to the beautiful institution of marriage as God taught it to the ancients. Let us for an instant travel back to a time free from the modern pollutions of humanism, of feminism, and of atheism. Yes there was a time free from the modern curse of atheism. People did not always obey God, but they at least were intelligent enough to know He existed, and they even knew what He basically stood for.

In ancient Israel, a would-be bride was promised to her husband through a transaction sealed with a glass of wine with her parents. Wine is the Bible representation of blood; it is called the ‘blood of grapes’. This transaction was therefore sealed in blood. The would-be groom also redeemed his future bride from her parents’ house with a substantial dowry. This betrothal was a union legally as binding as the marriage itself. After this betrothal agreement, the future husband went to ‘prepare a place’ for he and his future wife to live in. He spent a year building a house for them. This was also a time of ‘preparation’ for the future bride. She was meant to learn everything possible about her future husband so she could be a wife he could be proud of. She knew that as she moved in with him, she would not anymore be a representative of her father’s house, but she was expected to become the reflection of her new husband. She was to reflect his desires, his hopes, his beliefs and his expectations. When people would see her, she would bear his name and her lifestyle was a perfect picture of her husband’s ideology, philosophy and faith. In ancient Israel, and even today, the Jewish idea of marriage was messianic: the husband was representation of the Messiah, and his wife represented the assembly of His people that he was coming to marry out of this world soon.

Two thousand years ago a betrothal transaction was signed in the blood of the Messiah. His shed blood and suffering was the dowry, the redemptive price presented to redeem us from the one who keeps us prisoner in this world. Even now our beloved betrothed, the Messiah, has gone ‘to prepare a place for us’. We are therefore in a time of preparation. We are now meant to learn everything about our future husband. We are to learn His Torah and His ways. We are to learn to become a ‘virtuous wife’, a crown of joy to Him as He is assured that our only joy is please Him, our only desire is to do things His ways. Because of our perfect reflection of His ways, when people see us, they are supposed to see Him.

There is a wedding banquet coming soon. At that time our marriage with the Messiah will be consumed. Will we have learned to live according to His expectation? Will He look at us as the crown of joy on His head because we have left everything to become the reflection of His heart? Will He know that as the moon reflects the light of the sun, we are able to reflect Him to the world, shining with His life, His ways, and His Instructions written in the Book?

Something to think about.

ONLY GOD'S APPOINTMENT BRING GOD'S ESTABLISHMENT

Proverbs 12:3
A man shall not be established by wickedness:
But the root of the righteous shall not be moved.

The ‘wicked’, he who does not look to God’s teachings for the establishment of his creed but to his own imagination, live in constant insecurity. He follows every wind of doctrine, of teachings, and as the Athenians in the Aeropagus, he is always waiting to hear a new thing. And when there is no new thing that suits his fancy, he creates one. He becomes a self-appointed teacher and starts teaching his new doctrine as if he had been appointed by God to do so. The result is spiritual anarchy; spiritual confusion of doctrines and teachings, and no one can agree on a spiritual consensus.

Did God leave us in the dark and at the mercy of presumptuous people?

From the time God gave His Instruction to the people at Mt Horeb, God has not changed. The fullness of the believer’s creed from beginning to end, even of the messianic era, was included in the writings of the Torah. No true teacher from God has ever uttered a thing in contradiction to the words spoken to Moses at Mt Horeb. Throughout history, the prophets of God reiterated and concurred their doctrine. Jesus reminded it to the Pharisees who had strayed from it into their own form of religious traditions, and Paul shepherded the Church according to its principles.

God even says of himself: I am God; I change not.

The Torah left many unanswered issues which in the old days, were supposed to be addressed and established, not by self-anointed individuals who told people what to do, but by peer-review and the general consensus of leaders chosen according to God’s appointment through the voice of the people (Acts 7). Doing so ensured the purity of the doctrine and brought down God’s establishment.

Everyone can speculate, but only God can establish.

Through the statement of our wise King today, we have the assurance that no false doctrine, no erroneous teaching ever stands secure before God. Only the root (the prophet Isaiah coined Jesus as the ‘root’ of Jesse) of the righteous is not moved.

Let us make sure not to be blown by every wind of doctrine and teacher. Let us personally be responsible for what we believe and practice because when we appear before His throne, we will be individually held accountable for what we believe.

Thus, let us be established.

. . . WHEN GAMES ARE OVER . . .

Proverbs 12:2
A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD:
But a man of wicked devices will He condemn.

Literal translation: the man of wicked devices, He declares wrong.

Yahweh loves to teach us through contrasts. In this statement, the ‘good man’ is contrasted with the ‘man of wicked devices’, and the ‘favour of the Lord’ is contrasted with one whom ‘He condemns’, ‘declares wrong’.

In Exodus and Leviticus, we learn that before we approach God, our sin needs to be atoned through the death of an innocent soul. This concept is confirmed in the Gospels that teach us that Jesus was that innocent soul through which we approach God. This teaches us that none of us are good; that none in this world is good enough to incur God’s favour, but that though Jesus we have it.

In the end, when the books are opened, when truth is revealed, when games are over, we will look around us and see who truly was ‘good’, who truly had Jesus in them because we will hear the words of favour God will impart to them; in the end, when games are over.

It will also be declared at that time who was the hypocrite; who pretended; who had a form of godliness while denying the power thereof. We will see who did the motions of obedience; whose lips worshipped Him while their hearts was far away from Him. In the end, when games are over, all will be declared because we will also see who He declares wrong.

The apostle admonished us with, it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Hebrews 9:27-28.

It is not on our deathbed that we need to take stock of our life; it is too late then. We may not even have a deathbed; we may die suddenly without even having the time to think about it. It is now that we need to get prepared.

It is now that we need to look at our life and compare it with the life He would have us live according to the commandments He gave us in His beloved Toratic Instructions.

It is now that we need to ask ourselves if we truly live in obedience to His Words or if we follow the easy road of the traditions and interpretations of man.

It is now that we need to take a look at our personal creed and see how we may have rationalized His words to fit our own comfort.

It is now that we need to ask ourselves the hard questions: Have I changed the image of God from what He is to what I want Him to be? Is my love for Him only in lip worship, or is it from a heart that dictates every motion of my body and of my mind? What if I lived with my spouse that same way I live with God, how would he/she feel?

DO YOU LOVE LIFE’S TESTS?

Proverbs 12:1
Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge:
But he that hateth reproof is brutish.

The way to growth and improvement goes through learning. The way to learning goes through tests, experience and often hardships.

Life is hard. I can seem like going down one of these fast slides at a water park; we get so dizzy going down all the curves and turns. Then, we get thrown into high and angry waters, and it seems to be all we can do just to keep afloat. We even lose our sense of direction so that we don’t know anymore which way is which. Life can also seem like swimming an angry sea. The waves go so high, we wonder which one will take us down. Every once in awhile though the waters are quiet and we can gently float carried by the surface of the waters. At such times, we can look back and appreciate our learning curve. We realize we have learned to be a much stronger and wiser swimmer of waters of life.

Those are wonderful moments.

A problem we have in our western industrial modern urban society is that we know longer appreciate pain, discomfort and hardship. Right away we pop a pill to stop the pain, and we either have a machine or a paid employee do the hard work for us. When we do that, we lose the strengthening of the pain and we rob ourselves from the experience of the hardship.

The difference between a wise human being and a brute beast is the ability to learn and progress. Once we hate the pains of instruction, we loose the ability to learn. Once we lose the ability to learn, we have become brutish, foolish, stupid.

So let us not be like the fool and despise life’s challenges. Let us embrace them with the knowledge that these tests are the ladder of knowledge that take us to new heights of wisdom. Let us look at the pains of God’s instruction with anticipation, knowing that on the other sides of their dark and cold tunnel, we will find new, wider brighter horizons.

THE RETRIBUTION OF THE RIGHTEOUS

Proverbs 11:31

Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

The original Hebrew reads: If the righteous of the earth offer restitution for their sins, how much more the wicked and sinner. This proverb defines the same idea as, and works in cooperation with the statement from the apostle Peter: And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Expounding on the same idea, Paul also reminds us that judgment always starts with the house of God.

In this arrogant generation that ridicules the righteous and godly; in this time of humanism that denies the elements of God’s role in the world; in this wicked world that persecutes the righteous and godly while the wicked seems to flourish like a green bay tree, it is easy to wonder about the retribution of the wicked, or if God is even righteous in His assessments. Those who think that way do so because they miss the overall picture.

In His great love, God chose to redeem humanity. To do so, He first chose His Son who suffered all things for us even before the foundations of the world. This One whom we call Jesus, came and made a covenant with one man Abram whose obedience, worthiness and trust was tested to the limits. From this man came the twelve tribes of a nation who would also be tested (and still is) and constitute the trunk of the tree where the rest of the world would be grafted un to God (Romans 11). Jesus, Abraham and the nation of Israel all suffered first because they are the firstfruits. They suffer first , before the rest because they blaze the trail, they lead the way.

In the same way the world of today is getting ready for the judgment of the Almighty. The shadows of God’s retributive hands are seen in this present day's physical, mental, moral and emotional persecution of His children and of His people. Rather than be arrogant, the world should look at God’s Children being purified and say uh-oh, my turn is coming next.

Waiting for the the day of the Lord, God's Children sometimes get impatient, and rightfully so, but here is the reason for what seems to be God’s lingering:

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9

THE TREE OF LIFE

Proverbs 11:30

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

Our Greek influenced mentality often leaves us satisfied with ethereal definitions of concepts and ideas. It was not so with the Hebrew mentality of the author of these Proverbs.

The righteous has an earmark. His fruit, the result of his hard labors, are left behind as a tree of life. The righteous has also the mark of winning souls to his God, which takes godly wisdom. That wisdom is part of his inherited righteousness.

This time of the year, this time of unleavened bread, presents us with the opportunity to leave behind the unfruitful works of darkness; to forsake the laboring for meat which perisheth. This is a time of looking forward towards the goal of purity in God’s righteousness. At the end of seven days, we hopefully will have left Egypt. We will have crossed the Read Sea in a massive baptism, and for generations to come, the whole world will remember the mighty acts of Yahweh on our behalf. At the end of these seven days, the world will not be the same anymore. God will have won over the powers of the world to take for Himself a people in order to accomplish His purpose.

God choose Israel out of many nations to be a trunk upon which the world would be grafted unto righteousness. Let us be worthy of this calling. Let us today know that our choosing by God with a mighty arm, both corporate and individual, , was not designed to be solely for us, but that by His great wisdom, He was creating a tree that would become the basis of redemption for humanity.

Let us not count it robbery to be a part of that tree, to have been chosen by our God. Let us not belittle it to the level of our petty conflicts. May we, as we cross that Red Sea in a few days, leave behind the petty conflicts that divide us, and as one nation of believers walk toward the mountain of our God to receive the Instructions that will mark the world of tomorrow.

FREEDOM

Proverbs 11:29
He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind:
And the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.

We do not realize sometimes that we are our own worst enemies. We do not realize that the majority of our troubles are self-inflicted. We indulge in unhealthy food and in a sedentary life, and we wonder why our body malfunctions. We allow ourselves bad attitudes, and we wonder why people avoid us.

At the end of the road of self-indulgence waits slavery. It is like Pinocchio in the Children’s Island. After he had a good time indulging himself in the pleasures of life and in worldly attitudes, after he had selfishly broke his father’s heart, it was time to ‘pay the fiddler’. Except for the dedication of his ‘creator’, Gepetto, Pinocchio would have spent the rest of his life as a beast of burden.

About 3400 years ago at this time of the year, the Children of Israel reconsidered their whole life. They had decided to leave the attitudes and ideas of worldly Egypt behind them , and in so doing, they freed themselves from servitude and slavery.

Let us also with them, on this week of Unleavened Bread, review our attitudes. Let us review our lifestyle. Let us forsake the leaven of Egypt. Let us free ourselves from its worldly indulgences. And as we empty ourselves of the world, let us expectantly receive the new doctrine, the new Instruction, the new ‘leaven’ God has for us.

A PARABLE OF THE FOOLISH TREE

Proverbs 11:28
He that trusteth in his riches shall fall:
But the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

The poetic and prophetic king compares us to trees. Trees offer very good analogies teaching us right and wrong.

The biggest mistake a tree could make is one beautiful spring morning, to look at its strong trunk, its healthy protective bark, its fruitful branches and decide that it did not need this sappy messy stuff running through him anymore. Our tree could say, "Behold, I have a strong trunk; I don't really have to have this hidden sap, this unseen quantity, this unknown and unreliable and doubtful "inspiration" (God’s Spirit) that flows beneath the surface. I can do without it, because it keeps doing new and unexpected things and bursting into new blossoms and new branches. I just can't have this going on all the time because it creates issues. I ‘ve got all the branches and all the fruit I need. Now I've got to stop this life-giving flow that creates so many problems, and it's very simple. We'll just cut a little circle around my trunk just beneath the bark, just under the surface to choke off the sap, it'll hardly even be noticed. “ So he cuts off the flow of the sap. That's all we have to do to a tree to kill it. Just to just cut through the cambium layer just under the bark completely around the tree; to just strip off a little bit of that bark around the tree and just cut a little tiny groove through the cambium layer that carries the life-giving sap and our tree dies.

Oh, what a foolish tree. Yes, the inspiration of God’s spirit within us becomes problematic at times. It brings us righteousness, but it also constantly brings up new issues that we have to sort through. It’s conviction can be painful, but without it we die, and just like the tree, we fall.

Our life depends on it.

We cannot like the foolish tree decide to ‘retire’ from receiving God’s ‘Sap’. There is no retirement plan in Yahweh’s program. As long as His Spirit flows through our ‘veins’, we flourish in His righteousness, but once we solidify ourselves in our ideas and spirit, once we decide to stop the flow and rely on what we already have, we lose it and we die in our sinful concepts.

Let us now ponder on this analogy of the foolish tree. God’s ‘Sap’ creates life, brings righteousness, change, idea; it sometimes even wrecks havoc in seemingly already well-set situations. Are we ready to receive it, or do we rather solidify in order to keep our quiet modus operandi?

AN EARLY MORNING SACRIFICE

Proverbs 11:27
He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour:
But he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.

(Literal translation: he that ges up early in the morning seeking the good things will find God’s favor: but he that gets up to devise mischief, it will fall on him.)

I heard it said once: we are the sum total of the very decisions we make. I think it is so true, and our feet usually take us in the direction in which we are looking.

The morning is such an important time. The first few moment of the morning can decide the path, program and destiny of our whole day. In the days of the temple, a lamb was sacrificed every morning at dawn. This early morning offering would envelop every sacrifice laid on the altar that day. In the very same way, every morning as we get up, we ought to look at the sacrifice of the lamb for us; take the time to reflect on what it means for us. then let us bring the full burn offering of our person on the altar of god’s presence, present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. Let us then not to pray and ask for such things as protection and supply, but lay ourselves as a sacrifice to whatever He has decided for us that day. Who knows, maybe He has seen fit to bless with a great trial, a gigantic problem this day that would teach us the greatest lesson of our lives; we wouldn’t want to miss it by praying for protection from all evil tidings, right?

On the other hand, if we do not get up in the morning looking towards the Pascal sacrifice for us, but rather towards the idolatrous selfish ways of the world and lay ourselves on the altar of our own will that morning, this very evil will come back to us. We will certainly be blessed with ‘what we want’, at the cost being blessed with God’s perfect will for us.

Me friend, in the morning, look towards Jerusalem. Look towards the Holy Temple. Dot you see? Do you see the smoke rising up to the sky? It is the Pascal lamb killed for you. Let us come now together; let us go up to Jerusalem; let us bring the full burnt offerings of our lives for Him that we may be found in Him when He returns.

FUTURE PREPARATIONS

Proverbs 11:26
He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.

In a way, when famine or disaster strikes, a big part of our problems can be traced to man’s selfish economic systems. A man who is in tune with the signs of the times can use it to oppress his fellow men. He sees the dearth coming so he buys the corn supply ahead of time when prices are low and withholds it. When the dearth comes, he sells it at ‘famine prices’, and makes a wicked profit on the back of the hungry masses. This practice is at the core of our economic systems, but this is not the way God would have it. God blesses the people who sell the corn so people can stock up, and those who do not raise their prices in times scarcity. Along with their unrighteous gains, selfish profiteers reap the curses of the very people who will forever bless the name of those who use their marketing sense to help the people.

There are complaints this day about the state of our economy, but if our economic principles were based on God’s system as laid out in the Bible, our problems would disappear. Many of us would love to have these biblical principles in place, and one day they will be, but at this point they would find strong resistance from the financial powers that be. The reason for that is that God’s economic system is constructed in a way that no one ever gets to be neither too poor nor too rich. It also forces us to take responsibility for our family members, our health, our education and our professional future.

Many of those who see the handwriting on the wall think of storing food in preparation for evil days ahead. I think that this should be done in an unselfish way, not only storing for ourselves but have a sense of community and work together to preserve our communities and congregations.

Evil times really expose the character of a man: do we in times of dearth become selfish and hoard? Or do continue to trust Yahweh and share?

TODAY’S GIVERS; TOMORROW’S RULERS

Pro 11:25
The liberal soul shall be made fat:
And he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

Why are we so afraid to share ourselves? It is right to be wise in our giving but should we withhold that which God gave us only for the purpose of sharing? We have in Jesus our Messiah the epitome of the results of right giving: He poured out His own soul on humanity only to receive the anointing oil of kingship; at His death, waters for our purification poured from His side, only to be himself showered by the waters of resurrection.

We read promises of ‘ruling and reigning with Jesus’ in days to come, but do we realize what this ‘ruling and reigning’ involves? Any godly monarch, ruler or civil servant knows IT: his life belongs to the people he serves. Like Queen Elisabeth said of herself, he is married to the throne.

As an illustration, the Master gave us the parable of the talents. He who in this life is faithful with what God had given Him received rulership accordingly; but he who, through fear of loosing it, buried his talent, even that which he already had was taken away from him. Our ‘ruling liberalities’ in this life determine our ruling position in the next.

Some people serve unselfishly; they grab onto the vision they receive from His Spirit, and like the fire on the altar, never let it go out until it roars bringing warmth and light to all around them., even at their own cost. This provokes a sweet aroma in God’s nostrils. Others, in selfish laziness, bury their in the sand for fear of losing something if they share.

Here is the [perspective that we owe not to forget: We are pilgrims and strangers. We do not settle here; we are not citizens of this world; we are only passing through on our way to the Promised Land. We are not to build our life nor our comfort in this life; ig Yahweh gives it to us it is only as a bonus. This is the great test, and our attitude in today’s world determines our role in tomorrow’s.

We need to pray to find what God has given us to share, and share it liberally and sacrificially. Wee need to remember that we do not lose by sharing it , but that rather, it increases.

ALL; OUR BURNT OFFERING

Proverbs 11:24
There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

What is dispersed from our personal universe has a way of returning to us, if not in this life, in the next. Whether rich or poor giving is a stock each one of us can invest in. Giving had nothing to do with having. Sometimes, the rich practice their avarice by giving a lot of money; it makes them feel absolved for not giving of their time and person. Parents tend to do that too. They give money to their kids to replace giving personal attention and involvement. Some also have the same attitude with God; they give of their money to the local Church mission or social program in order to avoid giving their heart to the Lord so He could control their lives.

Yahweh is God; He sees beyond our smokescreen of hypocrisy and into the true motives of our hearts. Life tends to have a boomerang effect. Like spitting in the wind, we can always retrace what it dishes out to us to what we sent. We reap what we sow, and receive dividends from the very elements of our investments. What have we sown? What have we invested in life? Indifference, selfishness, hypocrisy, have we kept people and God at bay and away from us? Life then has nothing more to give to us than what we invested in it , and God certainly can be no closer than the distance we put between Him and us.

Let us give from ourselves, unafraid of being stripped from what belongs to God in the first place. If ‘all’ is our sole measly wealth, so be it. May it go on the altar of our God. The sweet t smelling of this complete burnt offering will be pleasing unto God, and pave the distance to the joy of partaking of His presence in the abundance of a joyful and festive peace offering.

HIS ENNEMIES, NOT OURS

Proverbs 11:23
The desire of the righteous is only good:
But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

We have already encountered a similar proverb (10:28). Why would our king repeat himself? I am not in his mind to be able to rationalize his reasons, which must have certainly been more than valid; I just know that in the Bible, when something is repeated twice, each mention bears the function of a witness to establish the word as sure. I would say also that he was influenced by the attitude of his father.

David, this king’s father, was a man who had seen war for most of its life. In His strategy, David was very particular in one thing: because of his love and dedication to God, he was very certain of his cause, and because he was very certain of his cause, he knew that no matter what the odds were, he would win. This is very important in any war and any conflict. To win, we must be very sure of our cause and that we are on the side of God’s will. When we are sure that we are in the camp of God’s side and God’s will (not believing that we have God on our side, but rather being on His side), we then know what befalls anyone who tries to malign and hurt us. We can safely determine that no matter how long it takes, they will not get away with it, and that their expectation is the wrath of God.

In the face of conflict with the opponents of God’s way, we are often faced our personal feelings of hatred and sense of justice, but none of these will do. God’s commandments even forbid us rejoicing and boasting at the sight of the demise of our enemies. Our sole assurance and strength is the knowledge that those who in their ignorance dare to touch us, the apple of His eye, are destined to the wrath of God; we should even mourn for it. We should even mourn for it because in paraphrasing the apostle Paul we could say, ‘By the grace of Yahweh, go we!’

God’s children have always had many enemies and things are not ready to change. Let us therefore, like our kingly author, forbid ourselves the luxury of indulging in hatred, frustration and self-righteousness. Let us, even in mourning, know that our enemies are not really our enemies; they are the enemies of the Most High, of the Almighty El-Shaddai.

MUD ON A GOLD RING

Proverbs 11:22
As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.

Farmers used to put rings on their pig’s noses in order to prevent them from digging the earth. Because pigs love mud and in everything filthy, farmers used cheap iron rings. This proverb alludes to how a unfitting it would be for a farmer to ring his mud-wallowing pig’s snout with a gold ring.

These words certainly warn our women about their chastity and their behavior. How unfitting it is for the beautiful creation that is a woman to be immodest and give the virtue to be reserved for one to all that pass by. Why should the gold ring of her beauty and virtue be muddied in such a manner?

We also, God’s people, are the beautiful Sulamite of the Songs of Songs; we are the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31, and we have been betrothed unto Yahweh at Mt Sinai. We will soon enjoy the wedding party and consummation of our marriage at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. We are rightfully called the ‘Bride of Christ’. These words from our kingly author warn us also about the impropriety of our dabbling in the filthiness of the world. The culture in which we live is saturated with spiritual filth, dirt and mud, and as the Bride of Christ, if we go wallow into it we are comparable to a pig’s snout set with a gold ring. Very soon this golden snout will be taken through dregs and filth; what an unbefitting picture. The fact that pigs are also the antithesis of biblically clean animals brings to mind the notion of how God views us when we indulge in the elements and attitudes of the world.

The God of Mt Sinai, the Almighty El-Shaddai admonished us saying, be ye holy, for I am holy. A better choice for the word used in the original text translated by ‘holy’ is: ‘set-apart’. Retranslated, we now have the following injunction: be ye set-apart (from the filth of the world) for I am set-apart (from the filth of the world).

May we be pleasing to our husband.

THE DELIVERANCE OF THE REMNANT

Proverbs 11:21
Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished:
But the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.

Fear not Child of El Shaddai. The wicked join forces; their lofty words come to your ears. You are backed to the sea and with mountain on each side, but see, oh, see the mighty hand of your God; He opens, yes He opens even the sea and protects your escape with His mighty lightning.

Is this a lone scenario? Are Moses and the Children of Israel the sole history witnesses of God’s mighty power? Of course not; the full six thousand years of past history witness to the lame boasts of evil against God. From Genesis to Revelations we read of the defeat of the devil and of his cohorts. The end is like the beginning; there is no reason to doubt it; when the armies of the world will surround Jerusalem, our mighty Lord will return to administer judgment on those who have abused, and seek to abuse again His people.

Our present history is sandwiched in between the references of God’s past protection and the promises of future vindication. Today, even today our world is in a polarization stage. The Words of Jesus through John the Beloved, Let the righteous be righteous still and let the wicked be wicked still, find their mate right in front or our eyes.

As history in our generation unfolds, we hear the drums of war in the distant Northeast. As always, God’s people who obey Him will be vindicated. What remains for our future is the assurance of the endtime promise Jesus gave again to John, And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Let us make sure to be part of this vindicated camp of the remnant of the women’s seed: the one who keeps God’s commandments and have the witness of Jesus-Christ.

COME NEAR TO GOD

Proverbs 11:20
They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the LORD:
But such as are upright in their way are his delight.

The changes in our culture, mostly the departing from agrarian society, have crippled our understanding of the beautiful principles laid out in the Old Testament. Those who believe that the first part of the Bible is no longer valid should also discard the second part, because it is conceived in the first. In essence, if you kill the Mom you also kill the seed conceived in her body.

Today we tend to think we can be familiar in approaching God, but He Himself said that He only delights in those who are upright in their ways. What is to be upright in our ways? In my book, just confessing to be a believer is not enough; many a believer is not upright. As always, the Hebraic mind requires any spiritual value to be validated by a physical action.

Approaching in a manner pleasing to Him is fully described in the book of Leviticus. If we remember our story until then, Moses, who had entered God’s cloud of glory while on Mount Sinai, could no longer enter therein once this cloud was located in the finally build Ark of the Covenant. What went wrong? Wasn’t the whole goal to be in communication with the Presence of God? The book of Leviticus ends this cliffhanger we are left with at the end of the book of Exodus. God finally calls Moses, not from the mount this time but from the Tabernacle, and He teaches him the means by which the people should approach Him. The word ‘sacrifice’ or ‘offering’ used in our English Bibles in the book od Leviticus doesn’t give true meaning to what was going on. The word actually used in the Hebrew text is a word we also find in the New Testament: ‘korban’ which means ‘a coming near gift’. The semantic emphasis is on ‘coming near’ not gift.

Our nature being sinful, we were to come in God’s Presence through the vicarious representation of the blood of a domesticated innocent clean animal. That blood, domesticated and innocent, would represent us before God for the sins of our flesh, until such a time when the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, would eventually clean our conscience which causes us to do all these bad things that are not pleasing to God.

There were three main ‘korban’ by which to approach God, and those define the spirit in which we are to enter in His presence. 1) The Sin Offering: parts of it are burnt to God, the rest given to the priests; this represents admission and confession of sin;. 2) The Burnt Offering: the whole sacrifice goes to God and represents a full and complete rededicated life to God after admitting and confessing sin. 3) The Peace Offering: God, the priests and the offeree share in the sacrifice and eat together in a big feast. This represents God’s acceptance of our fellowship with Him, because of the first two.

Thus are revealed to us the principles of integrity that make us acceptable to God. We must first admit and confess our sin, but we must also show the sincerity of our heart by true repentance and dedication by turning a whole new page in our lifestyle and starts obeying His Words. One doesn’t go without the other. Then, and only then, God sees the integrity of our hearts and is pleased in our presence.

‘WHO’S WHO’ IN THE WORLD TO COME?

Proverbs 11:19
As righteousness tendeth to life:
So he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.

Who is he that loves life? Who is he that desires many days of happiness on this earth? But even more now, who is he who, ignoring the elements of death surrounding him in this world, prepares for life in the world to come?

Life has rules. It is ironic, but many who claim to love life live as if they were practicing for a perfect death. We see it everyday. Those who say they just want to enjoy life to the full without being bound to the mundane, usually end up dying at the hand of their own vices and indulgences. With their mouth they say they love life, but with their actions, they pursue death.

Many in fact who claim to love life live it as if they were preparing for death. They do not realize that this present time on earth is preparation for the real thing in the world to come. Life continues after the general resurrection, but tickets are issued according to performance in this present day. Some receive extra life powers and rule and reign with Messiah; others have to start the faith course they postponed all this time; and still others don’t even make it. They stay dormant for a thousand years waiting for the final judgment of all things, when they will be judged according to their works.

The rules of the games and of ‘who’ gets ‘what’ have been established since the foundations of the world and revealed in their fulness to the world at Mt Sinai about 3600 years ago. Maybe we should go back and look at them sometimes to make sure we don’t miss anything.

Who is he therefore who loves life and desires many days on this earth?

He who follows its prescription, and follows the righteousness of the saints as prescribed in His Word.

WHO’S WHO?

Proverbs 11:18
The wicked worketh a deceitful work:
But to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.

Oh, for the Truths of the Almighty, may He be blessed forever. His inspired Word exposes the Truth. Like a clear case reveals the mechanisms of a clock, so His Words reveal the mechanisms of Heavenly wisdom; the wheels and gears that run the universe.

The wicked, he who refuses to know God, doesn’t see the mechanisms; he is blinded by his own righteousness and concepts. Because he rejects the love of the Truth, he creates his own form of righteousness. He promotes the legalistic rote rituals of empty religion, the deadness of the works of man, and the perverse lies of man’s ever-wicked heart. He exchanges the true simple wisdom of God for intellect. so he learns and never comes to the knowledge of the Truth; he works and is never satisfied; he gathers his money in bags with holes and at the end of the day, to his great dismay, he knocks at the door of the bridal chamber only to find himself rejected and in the sole company of his own deception.

Look now at his righteous anti-thesis. He pursues God with all his heart, so his eyes cut through the deceptive smoke screen of the world and see the underlying truths of the Word. Dead works cannot deceive him because he finds life in obedience to God’s commandments. His heart is bound to the simple wisdom of God, so he comes to the knowledge of the truth; he works and is satisfied; he gathers and enjoys his earnings and at the end of the day, to his great joy, his beloved Masters welcomes him in the bosom of Abraham and says, welcome good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of Yahweh.

TRUE RELIGION

Proverbs 11:17
The merciful man doeth good to his own soul:
But he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.

A returning theme for these kingly proverbs is: ‘What goes around comes around.’ The saying can also be reversed to say, ‘What doesn’t go around, doesn’t come around’. Could sometimes our poverty be the result of our own withholding?

The generosity that we bestow on our neighbors usually comes back to shower us a hundred times. The care that we dote on those in true need often finds its way back in the pockets of our hearts in the form of internal peace asnd contentment. And what is the true heart of the commandment? What is true religion, pure and undefiled before God? Isn’t part of it to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction?

Much is spoken about the old biblical laws. Do we even realize that the Instruction given us at Mt Sinai was weaved into a social system that actively cared for the less fortunate? In the sight of God, religion has never been some sort of abstract concept floating on a high intellectual cloud. In the sight of God, faith isn’t a passive thing, it is and active concept. That is the heart of the commandment. It was the Master who taught us that even our so-called religious sacrifices were not acceptable if we had no compassion for the poor. James and Paul concurred this principle by adding that even our fellowships are not acceptable in God’s sight if people in it are not taken care of.

Show me today a faith-filled person. Show me here and now a Torah observant, a spiritual person that religiously observes the commandment. Show me one who has studied; who has a good grasp and understanding of the weightier matters of the Word. Oh, I do not need to see them late burning the midnight candle studying the Word. I will know how spiritual they are by seeing how they react towards small people, small matters, and the mundane things of life.

GRACIOUS BRIDE OR MERCENARY?

Proverbs 11:16
A gracious woman retaineth honour:
And strong men retain riches.

The contrast property of these proverbs defines the wisdom they bring us. The word ‘strong’ in the original text is ‘aritz’, a word with the connotation of violent oppressing ruler.

As His Bride, our Master doesn’t want us to lord over His heritage. He does not want us to treat the ones we serve in His name with harsh commanding oppression, all for the sake of filthy lucre. Jesus doesn’t want us to be mercenaries who drive the sheep hard with the motivation of retaining the rich fleece.

We are His bride. We are meant to be an example of His Holy Spirit on earth. We are the ‘gracious woman’ who values retaining the honor of her Master more than her own wealth. We are the virtuous woman who rises up early to feed the children of her Lord. Our master Yehoshua has gave us the same warning when He said to His apostle Peter, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

At His return, may our Lord and Master find in us a Bride faithfully tending to His children, One busy serving His house with honor and integrity.

A KNOWLEDGEABLE INVESTMENT

Proverbs 11:15
He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it:
And he that hateth suretiship is sure.

Another wording of this proverb could say: He that contracts himself in bondage to another will become his own ransom: peace is with those who don’t bind themselves to each other through contracts.

In ancient times, a man freed himself of his obligations the same day. Wages were paid in the evening and there was no credit for trades. To owe money, and even to borrow put the beneficiary in potential slavery. (Note: Is it different today?) This must have made organizing finances a lot easier than the system of payment and repayment we have today.

Sometimes though, we can voluntarily, out of love, put ourselves as a pledge for someone else. In those cases, we are aware of the conditions and of the price, and are willing to suffer it. In the Book of Genesis in the Bible, Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law disguises herself as a prostitute to entice her father-in-law unbeknownst to him. Judah wants Tamar, but doesn’t have payment for her by him. Judah promises Tamar a sheep and as a pledge, leaves with her very important personal items such as would represent an I.D. card, a passport or his Social Security number. When he returns to her to pay and retrieve his items, Tamar is gone. Judah is compromised for his actions. Later in the story, Tamar returns his belongings to Judah, but not through a bitter experience of remorse when he learns the reasons of her actions: she was insuring his dying posterity, without which Jesus birth would have been also compromised.

Judah involuntarily puts himself in a position of bondage to Tamar, but this story represents a prophetic analogy of what Jesus, our Messiah would do for us. Out of love, Jesus voluntarily puts himself in obligation and ransom to the enemy for each one of us. He frees us through His enslavement. He pays our debts by His own investment. He becomes indebted and bound and we are liberated. The Messiah, Judah’s descendant pledged himself as a ransom for our Salvation.

This proverb leaves us with a feeling of contradiction. It is wrong to invest ourselves as surety, but Jesus saved us by doing it. Maybe the difference is that He has His Father’s big bank account to bail Him out every time, and we do too. Let us therefore make sure that whatever investment of our person we make, even for the sake of others, is backed by the securities of Heaven.

THE COUNSELOR

Proverbs 11:14
Where no counsel is, the people fall:
But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

To define this passage, we need to invite the many counselors of other passages. We need them to help us weight and align verse with verse, precept with precept, line with line. We also need to summon linguistic counselors.

Divine Scripture leaves us with differing examples concerning the question of human advice. Jeremiah and Micaiah were both prophets who challenged a whole court of prophets and were right. King Solomon lost the kingdom by listening to his wives and his son Jeroboam divided it by listening to the wrong people. Most of the prophets were lone voices against an opposing majority, and the apostles followed suit by challenging every human authority around. In fact, anyone who would be used of the Lord cannot be swayed by the opinions of others.

One with God is a majority.

Where does the issue of ‘multitude of counselors’ come in then? Common sense tells us that if I need counsel on how to bake bread, the mechanic may not the one to tell me. In the same manner, if I need to know how to serve God, I need to surround myself with counselors who are sincere unadulterated servants of the Lord; I need the right kind of counselors. ‘

Multitude’ seems not to be the key word here, but ‘counselors’.

In fact, the appearance of the word ‘multitude’ in this passage may even be dubious. In the Hebrew original, if the word ‘multitude’ indeed was there, ‘counselors’ should have been pluralized but it is not. The Hebrew word translated as ‘multitude’ is ‘rav’ and also means ‘great’, therefore the verse could be read, ’in a great counselor there is safety’, thus reuniting the adjective with its noun, and most of all, putting the emphasis on the ‘Counselor’, not on the ‘multitude’, as God seldom works with majority rule.

Let us ponder on these things and make sure that no matter the number of our human advisors, we get our counsels from the Great Counselor of all: Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; from the God who challenged and defeated the kings and armies of whole nations through the obedience of lone men who decided to abide by His counsel in spite of that of the multitudes before them.

GOD’S ‘SECRET’ARIES

Proverbs 11:13
A talebearer revealeth secrets:
But he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.

Our text today makes a distinction between he that reveals confidences and he that conceals them. This text also teaches us of the contrast between he that is called in a more literal translation the ‘walking busybody’, and he that is of a faithful spirit.

Going about revealing the juicy details of another’s confidence is explicitly forbidden. In his divinely inspired Instruction, Moses has tale bearing lumped up with lying. He says, Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:16. (Note: ‘stand against the blood of thy neighbour’ is a Hebraic expression for being a false witness in a death sentence sin). In this instruction, a colon follows God’s command against such actions. This means that the following clause is an attribute to the fist one. A colon also follows this attribute and then we have the statement, I am the Lord, a strong reminder of the reason, and of the authority behind the Instruction.

Revelatory details revealed to us in confidence make us feel so important. Mostly they feed our egos: they tell us that someone has confidence in us. By revealing them, we also prop ourselves up in the eyes of others: we actually inform people that someone else trusted us, and that therefore we are ‘safe territory’ for them to also spill their precious nuggets on our plate. The facts are, that the moment someone unnecessarily reveals another’s secrets, they are dangerous territory for our confidences. They will unscrupulously and in a, oh so secretive way, tell someone else all the intimate things you simply needed to get off your chest. The problem is that by the time we do that, our personal spin has twisted the issue, and we are liable to be found ‘false witnesses’ which we are forbidden to be.

Who in this world is a faithful person who is secure enough in themselves? Who doesn’t need to use the crutch of other’s confidences to boost their own sense of importance? The word ‘secretary’ means ‘keeper of secrets’. Secretaries are privy to the affairs of the company, and they are not supposed to go about revealing them. We are meant to become a nation of ‘priests’. We are a bit like God’s ‘secretaries’ to people. We need therefore to start learning to faithfully keep the confidences of others. Sometimes, these confidences are heavy to bear, but that is why we have God.

BE WISE

Proverbs 11:12
He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour:
But a man of understanding holdeth his peace.

‘Great minds ... discuss ideas.
Average minds ... discuss events.
Small minds ... discuss people.’
Author unknown

Negative criticism seems to be the favorite activity of little people. They feel insecure in themselves, so they derive their glory in abasing others. They think their own candle will shine brighter if they dim that of others. It is the activity of the idle; he who is busy exerting positive energy doesn’t indulge in such time wasting. Our wise king Solomon relates this attitude as a lack of wisdom.

Let us rather take example from he who is slow with his words, careful with his judgment. He knows that only by the grace of God he goes, and he does not indulge in quickly divulging his opinion. He knows how to hold his tongue until afterward. Was he born that way? Let me rephrase that question: is a man born wise? Or is a child born mature? The only person I know of that caliber was Jesus who at twelve years old confounded the sages of Israel. The Word mentions that Jesus learned obedience through the things which He suffered. How much more then will we learn wisdom by the things which we suffer. But how do we learn? Where do we find the syllabus?

The wise has often felt the lash of his own lack of wisdom; he finds the syllabus imbedded within the suffering of his life’s experience. The difference between the wise and the unwise is that the wise knows how to draw the lessons carved in the syllabus of his life. He knows God wrote the curriculum, so pays attention to it. One of his principal lessons is that his own words have often come back to haunt him, so he knows better than to indulge in negative campaigns of criticism.

Our Master said, But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. And again, For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

DIVINE ENDORSEMENT

Proverbs 11:11
By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted:
But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

These proverbial principles are as sure as the law of gravity.

To comprehend the meaning of our text today, we first must understand ‘exalted’. What is ‘exalted’ in the sight of man is usually accursed in the eyes of God. The exaltation meant by our kingly author is surely meant as ‘divine endorsement’, but this ‘divine endorsement’ can come in different forms. A divine endorsement can be bestowed in the form of persecution, as it is an honor to be persecuted for the cause of our Messiah. When we become victims of man’s wrath because of our loyalty to our Master, we enter God’s hall of fame. It is a confirmation that, whether man canonizes us or not, God has found us worthy to join the rank of sainthood,.

To be exalted in the sight of God, or divinely endorsed can also mean being given the material blessings of this world, as He has surely given all things for us freely to enjoy. A difference must be made though, as every time a man enjoys material blessing is not necessary a sign of God’s blessing or endorsement. If it were so, Bill Gates would be the most blessed man on earth, and is he? God offered King Solomon anything he wanted, but all he asked for was the wisdom to do his job as king of God’s people. Because of that, God also gave him all the rest that he didn’t ask. This is the difference: when material wealth comes of its own self at our door when we are just busy going about doing God’s will to the best of our ability.

By these parameters, let us judge now our life, our community, our town and country. Is it exalted by the blessing of the upright? Or is it overthrown by the mouth of the wicked?

LEGACY

Proverbs 11:10
When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth:
And when the wicked perish, there is shouting.

I have heard it said once that the measure of a man is valued in the countenance of his wife. I believe that. According to God, the same principles applies in governments, and that the measure of a civil servant, from mayor to president or king, is valued in the happiness of the people he serves.

No, promises, speeches or good intention can replace the vivid results of our actions. Faith has to be validated by works or it is dead. It is a pity how today we get excited at the empty promises of would-be officials who only try to lure our votes. Until today, the French King Henry lV from the Middle Ages, is remembered because of a decree that French people should afford to eat chicken every Sunday. Works accompanied this promise, and songs were written about this King. Until today, it is traditional for French people to eat chicken on Sunday. When such a king dies, there is mourning in the land; people rejoiced in his well-being, just as a wife would rejoice at the well-being of a very caring and considerate husband. But when the guillotine severed the head from the body of Louis XVI, who lived in exuberant wealth while the people of France starved, there was rejoicing in the land. No one cared for his well-being.

The only funeral I ever attended as a child was that of a great-aunt who was rich but as stingy as stingy could be. When she died, my family went through the memorial but then, they went to her old house and celebrated her death by opening a bottle of Champagne. In the famous Charles Dickens story, A Christmas Carol, the clincher that made Ebenezer Scrooge change his ways was when he saw the reaction of people after his death. People plundered his house; they did not mourn him; some were indifferent, others were even relieved.

This may sound a little morbid, but as time passes, reality declares that we have fewer years in front of us than we have behind us. Should such of us in this case start thinking of legacy? Will people mourn at our death? Will they rejoice? Will they be indifferent? Some people believe that from the other side, we attend our own funerals.

I don’t know if it’s true, but does thinking about this possibility makes us want to change the way we live, especially the way we are with others?

THE WORD REVEALS THE TRAPS OF HYPOCRISY

Proverbs 11:9
An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour:
But through knowledge shall the just be delivered.

As our civilization goes on, we lose more and more of our fundamental values. We now live in a society where double-speech is the norm in finances and politics. Everything is based on what is stated and signed rather than the facts. Societal relationships also, whether related to Church, work, or common interests rely on double-speech in their communications. Unbeknownst to us, we have created a world where we have to constantly translate what is being communicated to us so we don’t fall for it. Either that or we play the game.

Why is it that a smile does not necessarily mean a smile? Why is it that a simple question concerning our welfare can be loaded with innuendos and agendas? At the store someone says, “How are you today?” Do they care or is this a pretended concern just so you feel welcome at that particular store? We are daily submerged with advertisements that pretend to care for every single side of our welfare, when their sole concern is to sell their product to us at any cost, even if it is not the right things for us to do financially at the moment. Unscrupulous hypocrites use these methods born of hypocrisy to target teens into drink, drugs and sex. Older folks are also victims of smooth-tongued predators who lure after their retirement savings.

Why have we given in to the notion that it is OK to lie when it is for business, personal interests, or even for a good end? Have we grown so numb to the truth as told us in God’s Word? Or is that the reality of our wicked nature is too hard to bear, so we live in a pretend world of courtesy?

Our protection and deliverance against such global perfidy is based on a working knowledge of the Word. It is the Word of God that helps us see the truth in people no matter what they do or say. As we know and believe in the principles outlined in the Word, we can make the right conclusion that will help us see the traps of hypocrisy scattered around us like those infamous I.E.D.s that maim so many of our soldiers.

One day, the chief hypocrite will appear on the world scene. With his smooth tongue, he will deceive the world and even many saints. He will use the whole arsenal of lies and hypocrisy in the book to win the world to his side and against God. He will speak of peace, but war will be his heart. May we learn today to protect ourselves against him. May we learn today, through a thorough personal working knowledge of the Word of God, to discern the difference between truth and lying hypocrisy. May we be willing to face the truth of every matter when it comes, no matter what the cost.

To reckon with hard truth, is better, safer and healthier than accepting the traitorous cushioning lies of hypocrisy.

THE VOICE OF THE MARTYR

Proverbs 11:8
The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.

The Polish Jewish rabbi had a grin on his face. His Nazi tormentors looked at him with disgust and asked, what makes you smile so, you Jew, don’t you know you are coming to your death? The old rabbi answered, In the days of the Persian Empire, a man called Hamman, just like you determined on the annihilation of our people. Today we celebrate his demise by eating a cookie called after his name: Hamantashen; I was smiling cause I was wondering what we will call the cookie we will eat after your demise.

The enemies of God’s people never seem to get it. As they kill God’s children, they are automatically sent into the Bosom of Abraham. They are forever delivered from their torment. They go to a place of rest and comfort waiting for the great day of the resurrection of all the saints. It is not the same with their persecutors. Those who seek the destruction of God’s people, just like Hamman of old in the Book of Esther, are hanged on the very gallows they prepared for God’s people.

This could seem very little comfort for those today who have to endure persecutions at the hand of very wicked people and governments. Yet, God’s people through the ages, starting with one of the oldest ones, have learned that nothing is due to us in this life; that our lot here is to make the best to keep our virtue, and that within the parameters of what has been dished out to us by the Almighty El-Shaddai.

As he was leaving the Russian village where he and his family had lived for generations, the old man was reminiscing on the pogroms they had suffered and on the order of eviction of all Jews fro Russia. He frustratingly prayed, Why God, why us? Then he cynically answered his own question and said, I know, I know, it is because we are the Chosen People; but sometimes couldn’t you choose somebody else?

Let us not be like this old man. Let us rejoice when we are chosen to suffer for the cause of Christ. Like the apostles and martyrs of old, let us count it all joy and honor when we are called to be a witness by suffering for him, when we are called to His side to share in His fate.

In the Bible, the word ‘witness’ originates from the Greek word used to make the word, martyr.

HOPE. AGAIN I SAY, HOPE.

Proverbs 11:7
When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish:
And the hope of unjust men perisheth.

Thankfully, we are not as those with no hope or whose hope perishes.

We all muddle through life. We go through each with a sense of hope. We hope that we are right. We hope that we are doing the proper thing and that we stand for godliness.

Through the Messiah’s atonement, we also have the hope that if our heart is turned towards God’s Instruction, our bungling steps are counted to us for righteousness. We hope for ourselves; we hope for our children; we hope for this world and for the one to come. Hope is what makes us get up everyday, what gives us the stamina to happily go through the routine of life. Hope is the incentive that keeps us on the right path; it is the balm that heals our broken hearts to try on another day.

Because our hope is birthed from God, our death does not destroy it; its heavenly Author dotes upon it even after we are gone. Death cannot destroy our hope; death has no power over it. Even now, even now we are the recipient of these great people of faith who hoped for the world to come and who saw it coming in our day. We are the receivers of the blessings inherited because of their hope of righteousness. These people did what they did in the concern that their seed, us, would receive the blessing of God. They themselves did not receive the promises from God, they did not see in their lifetime the outcome of their accomplishment, but they hoped in them for their children and here we are, we receive them.

Let us therefore not live for today only. Let us have that same hope of our ancients. May we know that our hope doesn’t die; that it goes on forever. Because God has no pleasure in the death of anyone, He has delayed judgment. In a way, time is our friend; there is always more of it coming and it is free. Let us hope for our children; let us hope for our friends; let us hope for this world as well as for the on the come.

As the apostle says, hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.