LYING BY INCONSISTANCY

Proverbs 14:5
A faithful witness will not lie:
But a false witness will utter lies.

The Hebrew word for witness is ‘add’: to repeat.

The faithful witness is not necessarily an eloquent preacher, an intelligent expounder or a smooth lips teacher. The witness doesn’t technically have to explain the message nor, as in the case of Balaam’s donkey, doesn’t have to understand it. The job of the witness is to repeat; to repeat what he has heard, to repeat what he has seen. All the witness has to do is to repeat what he has heard and what he has seen with integrity; without adding, without embellishment; just to repeat.

As witnesses of the El Shaddai, we on earth repeat and concur the Words of the Father with our mouths, but most importantly with our lives. People will understand the love of the Father much more by our action than by our wise rhetoric. It is important therefore that the ‘walk’ matches the ‘talk’. If the ‘walk’ is inconsistent with the ‘talk’, we find ourselves uttering lies and our lot will be thrown with that with that of false witnesses who lead people astray from the father. We will be like the parents who try to teach their children to be wise with their time and money, while they themselves indulge in shallow, foolish expensive activities.

Friends, may we not be found guilty of working against the father and His will to establish righteousness on earth as it is in Heaven.

May the language of our daily ‘conversation,’ be in sync with the rhetoric of our wise proclamations.

May we not be found guilty of lying by inconsistency.

HE CARES FOR THOSE WHO BEAR THE BURDEN

Proverbs 14:4
Where no oxen are, the crib is clean:
But much increase is by the strength of the ox.

The Father has ordained that we should work on the earth. He actually has commanded us to work the earth to make it fruitful. It is our duty to subject creation to our will to bring us all we need; not all we want, but all we need.

Abundant harvests and increase are even sometimes indications of His blessing.

To do the hard work of farming, our Father has given us help, mainly the strength of the ox, but no energy is free. If the farmer refuses to properly feed his ox, eventually the beast will become weak and die. At the least he will not work to his complete abilities. The increase of the farmer is dependant on the health and well being of his ox.

Today, especially in western cultures, less and less of us are farmers. We create business-like companies where people are the ‘oxen’. People are the strength of the company. In India, we used to tell prosperous Sikh factory owners that if they provided more sanitary conditions to their Hindu workers, such as clean water, clean food and a clean work area, his workers would not be sick so often, that they would be healthier and therefore produce more. Thailand prides itself to have never been invaded by a western foreign power, and that they have always kept the communists at bay. The present King, Rama IX, is like a father to his people. He uses his position to travel all over the poor areas of the country to help people develop their resources and better their lives.

As a result, people in Thailand deeply love, respect and obey their king.

The principle also works here. A worker whose needs are not met will not be as functional as one whose needs are met; not only his needs but also those of his family. It is contrary to God’s way of doing things when C.E.O.’s pocket multi-million dollars profits, but their workers struggle to get health insurance. If the worker is well tended to by his boss, like the ox, he will put in the effort just out of love and gratefulness.

Let us make sure to properly reward those who work for us, be it man or beast, and doing so, serve and worship Him in the purest sense of the words:

by obeying His Words.

‘PEH’ THE MOUTH

Proverbs 14:3
In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride:
But the lips of the wise shall preserve them.

James, the New Testament apostle, compares the tongue to a bridle leading a horse. He also compares it to a small rudder that can change the direction of a vast ship. He must have known about this proverb from King Solomon.

The tongue certainly leads a person in the direction in which it speaks. If we were fully aware of this fact, we would be careful to speak less and listen more. Maybe this is the reason why we have one mouth and two ears: we should do twice as much listening as we intent to speak.

It is impossible that we set ourselves to hear the Voice of the Father without getting humbled; as we listen to Him, we are then protected from the sin of pride. A teacher and speaker to the Body of Messiah should spend as much time as, if not twice the time to listen to the Father as he intends to speak. This will keep him from the snares of the foolishness of pride that will lead not only himself, but others astray. The concept of foolishness in the Bible refers to one who is ignorant of, oblivious to, spiteful of, and careless to obey the Word.

Foolishness therefore is certainly rooted in pride.

The mouth is not just a part of the body; it is a concept. The Hebrew word for mouth is ‘peh’: ‘orifice’. Things go in and out of an orifice. This is why Yahoshua said that from what goes ‘out’ of our mouth, we defile our body, inferring thus that something goes in every time we speak. It is actually a scary thought. Every time we open our mouth, we stand to defile our body; anything can come in even as we thoughtlessly chatter.

What is then the concept of the lips of the wise that shall ‘keep’ (the Hebrew word is ‘guard’, ‘defend’) them? Maybe to keep their mouth closed and only open it when spoken ‘through’, and even then, with prudence and prayerfulness.

ATTITUDE; ATTITUDE; ATTITUDE

Proverbs 14:2
He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD:
But he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.

When we digress from walking in our uprightness, when we are less than He expects of us; when we stray from the straight and narrow to the right and to the left; we show spite for the Almighty and His ways and we deface Him in the heart of others.

There are some of us who are called to lead. We are called to lead as teachers, pastors, leaders or worship leaders. One cannot lead the flock into an upright walk unless he knows the way. One cannot know the way unless he’s walked it before. A leader who has properly walked and investigated the way has located pitfalls. He is therefore able to warn others by his words, but mostly, people will follow his footsteps. They will walk where he walks; they will follow his example. That is why a novice, one who is still prey to the pitfalls of pride and arrogance attached to any type of office, should never be given a position of leadership. His attitude will misrepresent that of the Great Shepherd and thereby deface Him in the sight of the people. Moses himself did not get away with it.

All believers are called to leadership. From the instant we confess in any shape of form to be representatives of The Almighty, we put ourselves in a position of leadership towards the unbelievers. They will judge every one of our steps in attempts to either prove or disprove our statement of faith. Great eloquent and talented words and performances can do much, but when accompanied with a wrong attitude of pride and arrogance, they become as vomit in a plate on top of a tasty dish; inedible.

If we are meant to know better, we also become responsible before God.

May we take this responsibility seriously. As leaders, may we represent The Almighty in a way He would have us do. May we walk in our uprightness, which is Yahoshua, and be accurate representations of His Image to both believers and unbelievers.

WIVES: THE GLUE OF A HOUSEHOLD.

Proverbs 14:1
Every wise woman buildeth her house:
But the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

The depth of this saying is found in its cultural and etymological roots. The ancients qualified a wife/mother as the root and foundation of the house. Isn’t the unity of a household more dependent on the mother than on the father? A wise mother can, if her husband be dead or neglectful of his duty, always keep the house together; but if the house-wife has neither understanding nor good-will for her calling, then the best will of the house-father will still find it very difficult to prevent the dissolution or separation of the household. The mother always tries to get everybody to come back to the ‘nest’. She is at rest when she knows her brood is together in one place. The Hebrew word for mother, (eemah), literally means glue. Hebrew women used to take the remaining parts of animals, such as hooves and hides, and boil them in water. A thick substance would then float to the top of the water to be collected and used as glue. This was the word for ’mother’, the’ glue’ of a household. Yet, if that woman is not wise, she will have the total opposite effect.

As the Bride of Messiah, we also function as ‘mothers’. Teachers of the Body have the responsibility to ‘glue’ the body together in unity. This is actually one of the on-going missions of messiah, to re-unite together as one the greater House of Israel. It is sad when teachers, preachers and expositors of the Divine Word of the Almighty, like foolish women, use knowledge to draw people after themselves, and that, at the cost of the greater unity of the overall Body. This shows how little knowledge and understanding of the purposes of God they really have.

May we, those who have been given the responsibility of teaching His Words by the Almighty El-Shaddai, be like Moses of old, and do so in the spirit of bringing all the families and tribes of Israel behind the Lord Tsavaot , the Lord of hosts. Let us rally the troops behind one standard, one faith, one doctrine, one immersion in water, that we may all receive together as one body the reward allotted to those who follow Him in integrity and sincerity.

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE

Proverbs 13:25
The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul:
But the belly of the wicked shall want.

There are a couple of ways we can expound on this proverb from our wise King Solomon. First we can relate it to our daily life. The righteous, because he is righteous, does not have an inordinate appetite. He has learned to be content with whatever the Father has chosen to give him. He receives it with thanks and is satisfied to his sufficiency with what he receives. The wicked on the other hand is a glutton and is insatiable. He is selfish, self-centered, narcissist and always wants more. He doesn’t need more, but he wants more.

He also believes that he deserves more than others.

The other way to look at this proverb is the eschatological way. Notice how the first clause is in the present tense, and the second clause in the future. In our world today, the righteous often suffers want and persecution, while the wicked seem to enjoy all the pleasures life has to offer. The day is coming for a reversal of fortune.

Today, the righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul by exercising restraint and thankfulness. He does this while the wicked indulges himself in gluttony and wanton waste. It shall not always be so. A time is coming when the belly of the wicked, who has received his pleasure here on earth, will want. It will suffer the pangs of hunger and the discomfort the righteous has suffered through the ages.

It can be a temptation for a believer who owns a business to want to use the same crooked methods as their ungodly successful counter-parts do. But we cannot fix our eyes on today’s outcome. We must fix our eyes on the outcomes of eternity, when the Father righteously rewards humanity. At that time, the righteous will be recompensed for his integrity with the satisfaction of his main desire: to be in the presence of the Father; while the wicked will reap the fruits of his ungodliness and hunger for the Kingdom.

FATHERLY DISCIPLINE

Proverbs 13:24
He that spareth his rod hateth his son:
But he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

The word for “betimes’ in the Hebrew text is ‘in his youth’.

Many of us can certainly agree that a child needs to be regularly and appropriately chastised in his youth if he is to grow into a responsible and mature human being. The problem is that for that to happen, his parents have to be intimately involved in his life. Many teenagers today claim independence when they haven’t really earned it. Independence can be only granted once a child pays his own bills; until then he is a dependant and has to live under the ‘golden rule’:he that has the gold, makes the rule (pun intended).

In order for parents to be intimately involved in their child’s life, the child has to be home and educated by the parents. Sad to say, today’s western society makes it very difficult. Parents feel that they each need a job to keep up, so they send their children to public school. As a result, children receive their educated from an ungodly system and they derive their values from their peers, which becomes a case of the ‘blind leading the blind.’ To top it all, after a long week of hard work, parents want to relax. Ass a result, the child spends most of his time watching TV, playing cyber-games, listening to his music, on the phone or visiting friends. He is really only physically home, and his parents only correct him when he gets in their way. Our next generation will be interesting, to say the least.

Our statement needs also be understood on a corporate level. Jews, and our author is a Jew, always referred themselves as children of God. Paul reinforces the idea by mentioning that those believers grafted into the Covenant of Israel are adopted, and also become children of God. Throughout history, Israel has certainly received its share of correcting for its sins; it is probably ready now to receive again the favor of the Father. Paul explained his troubled ministry to timothy saying that, all those who live in a godly fashion in the Messiah shall receive tribulations. Trials and tribulations are God’s intolerable compliments. They are the marks in our flesh that make us sons and not bastards.

Let us not therefore despise the discipline of the Father. Let us not loathe His reproof. For whom the Father loves He reproves, as a Father the son whom He delights in.

RICHMAN; POORMAN

Proverbs 13:23
Much food is in the tillage of the poor:
But there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.

This proverb, whose style can leave us perplexed, teaches us one of the cardinal dynamics of finances. Though seemingly different than Proverbs 13:22, its text reaches out to the same conclusions.

Someone told me once that days are like suitcases. Each day has the same amount of hours, but some can put more in it than others. It is the same with finances. When I was doing social world in India, people in Europe would send us support. Not having much money, we had to make do with what we had, so we used to tell our sponsors that we can ‘squeeze’ the dollar till the eagle screamed.

I presently run a gleaning ministry. I collect close-dated and non-shelveable food items from a big grocery store as well as from a meat company, and distribute them to low-income families. There is nothing wrong with these products except that maybe their shelf life is short, or that their box is slightly damaged. The sad part is that if I wouldn’t take these items, they would be tossed in the garbage. According to the dynamics of industrial marketing, it takes more time and money to sort though, in someway use and remarket these things than it does to throw them away.

The poor, because he has to make do with what he has, is more saving and resourceful. He is also less picky; therefore whatever he has seems to yield much more than the rich who is more wasteful. The rich on the other hand, destroys what is still good because of his lack of judgment, justice and appreciation. In the end, like in the parable of the talents, the Messiah will judge us, not by the amount we have, but by our faithfulness towards what had been given us. Some people also are poor because even though poor, they have a ‘champagne’ taste and behavior towards material things that cannot be supported on a ‘beer budget’. Ever though poor, they are wasteful and picky.

Another way to read this statement is: While the (industrious and God-fearing) poor man is richly nourished from the piece of ground which he cultivates, many a one who has incomparably more than he, comes by his unrighteousness down to a beggarly state, or even lower.

Let us not be guilty of waste because of a lack of judgment towards what the Almighty gives us in His goodness.

A SURE INHERITANCE

Proverbs 13:22
A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children:
And the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

When read in the Greek mind that dominates current western theological and philosophical perspective, this verse can easily be interpreted to endorse what is called today the Prosperity Doctrine. Again, we need to remind ourselves that we are reading a text written possibly about 3000 years ago by a person with a Semitic philosophy and an Hebrew mind. To contextually understand the spirit of this statement, we also need to remember that in the mind of the Semitic Hebrew, Scripture was not mainly a manual of healthy godly living. In the mind of those who were given charge of the Oracles of God, Scripture represented God Himself; a semantic description of His persona; a revelation of the integrity of His character which assured us that he would fulfill His promises towards us.

Whereas God can bless the ‘good man’ with wealth, wealth doesn’t determine that a person is ‘good’ and blessed by the Almighty. Also, many a wicked rich person is able to pass on their inheritance to their children. This verse therefore cannot be telling us about an equation between wealth and goodness. Rather, as we ponder on this Scripture, we are given reassurance of the promises, the One who Yahoshua called the only Good One, the Father, made to us.

Not only His chosen children will inherit, but also will their fruit in the nations. Our Father owns everything, and through the mouth of Yahoshua He said that the meek shall inherit the earth, concurring the second clause of our text today that the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

This verse is messianic. In it, Solomon saw the Messianic age of rewards, retribution and restoration. So no matter how wicked the world may become; regardless of the poverty we may suffer at times here; we can look to our Almighty father and rest assured of the full inheritance of which we already have the earnests in Yahoshua. We are assured, like King Solomon was at the beginning of his reign, that if we desire Him first, the Almighty Father will put everything in our hands.

“JUSTICE DEMANDS ANOTHER LIFE”

Proverbs 13:21
Evil pursueth sinners:
But to the righteous good shall be repayed.

The Hebraic contrast nature of Proverbs reveals the wisdom behind this statement.

As evil pursues the sinner, of he who does not walk the path of El Shaddai, so goodness pursues the righteous, he that is a faithful follower of the Master.

My wife quoted me a secular proverb the other day. It said,

‘Justice demands another life’;

I do not remember its author, but this statement is so true. Even non-believer can see that too many things go wrong in this life; too many things are left hanging and unrepaid. If we believe at least in the principle of justice, justice demands that we live another life, in order to reset the slate.

Believers know that they will live another life; it is their hope. They know that this next life, this rebirth, this resurrection, is the restoration of all things. Wrongs will be made right and all tears wiped from their eyes.

But what about sinners?

The prophet Daniel saw the end of all things and said,

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Some, will resurrect to everlasting life: the restoration of man’s former edenic state; while some, will resurrect to everlasting shame and contempt: the repayment. We see now how evil pursues the sinner, and how the righteous good shall be repaid.

Let us be part of the latter, not the former.

DESIRES VS TEMPTATIONS

Proverbs 13:19
The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul:
But it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.

From the beginnings of time desire is what has caused mankind to go astray from God. Yes, the desire accomplished brings such peace, satisfaction, rest in the soul. It also feeds that inner wicked feeling of entitlement that is so common today in western society.

The Father wants to please us his children. It is written that no goodness He will refuse to them that love him. He loves to accomplish the deep desire of our hearts just to see our faces light up the pleasure he procures us with His mighty goodness.

It all goes fine and well when our desires are towards Him in the respect and keeping of His Instruction; but most of the time, our sinful natures bends our lusts towards what the heavenly Father, in His great love, wisdom and faithfulness wants us to refrain from.

By subjecting ourselves to the Father’s Instruction, we learn to differentiate between healthy desires and sinful lusts. But only living close to and in love with Him makes us want to essentially please Him, and keeps us away from us the pull of temptation towards sinful lusts. The fools, which is one who has no respect for the Father’s Instruction, has no power to want to depart from evil, so it is an abomination for him to restrain his wicked appetites.

“Abba, Father:"

"I want to pray the prayer Your Son taught us to pray when He visited us on earth. ‘Give us this day our daily bread’, ‘ lead us not into temptation’, and ‘deliver us from evil’. Help us also to make the difference. The evil one (cursed be his name) often tricks us by promoting to us things that seem godly, healthy and wise. Help us, by a thorough intelligent understanding of your Words of Instruction not to fall for his wicked devices.

In the Name of Yahoshua Hamashiach,

I pray.”

1) READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS. 2) KEEP THESE INSTRUCTIONS. 3) HEED ALL WARNINGS. 4) FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS

Proverbs 13:18
Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction:
But he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.

It is so easy to look at the world today and wonder where is God. Those who disobey His ways seem wealthy and honored while those who give regard to His Instructions seem poor and persecuted. Thus it has always been through the generations since the fall of man into sin.

But in the end, when the ‘day’ is done, when the books are opened and judgment is pronounced, what are the parameters whereby we will be evaluated? If they are the unadulterated and non-rationalized Words of the Almighty, some of us who have the habit of changing the perspective of the Word in order to make it fit our preferences may be in trouble.

Many may be surprised on that day. The prophet tells us that some will be resurrected to eternal honor and glory, and some to everlasting shame and contempt. The Master also taught us the same through the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. Lazarus who was poor in this world received his reward in the next, while the rich man who enjoyed his heaven on earth had none left ‘over there’, so to speak.

I just purchased an acoustic guitar amplifier. I looked at the instruction booklet that came with it and here is how it starts:

“1) Read these instructions.

2) Keep these instructions.

3) Heed all warnings.

4) Follow all instructions.”

Only after all these injunctions does the booklet proceed to give me the very precious safety instructions for my amp, and this only for a mechanical type of machine. Those who wrote this booklet must be used to people being disobedient.

What if I were to rationalize the instructions in the booklet and use my machine as I pleased? I would surely break it; I could also injure others and myself with it. Our bodies, life and its interactions are a much more complicated and dangerous machine than a simple guitar amp. How much more then should we respect the Instructions for it given to us by our Creator. If we do, honor awaits us in the next world; if we don’t, poverty and shame.

Let us not be fooled. We will be evaluated by the Instructions given in the Book without any of our modern rationalizations and excuses. We would therefore do well to stop reading books about the Book, and start immersing ourselves in the Book itself, and learn to:

“1) Read these instructions.

2) Keep these instructions.

3) Heed all warnings.

4) Follow all instructions.”

REVIVAL?

Proverbs 13:17
A wicked messenger falleth into mischief:
But a faithful ambassador is health.

Many appear today as messengers, prophets, revivalist, healers all claiming to be sent by God. People travel great distances, at great expenses just ‘to get some’. The wealthy, in search of atonement for their ungodly riches, sponsor these modern-day prophets, while poor widows give them their last mite. But at the end of the day, there often remains an obstinate question accompanied with a sinking feeling, something like: ‘This man/woman sure does everything claiming the name of Jesus, but deep down in my heart, I am not really sure they are from God; are they?’

Yahoshua warned us that in the last days, false prophets would come on the world scene and do things in His Name; that by such actions, they will try to deceive even the very elects. Yahoshua even foresaw that these will argue with Him blocking their entry to the final wedding feast saying, ‘haven’t we done thus and thus in Your name?’ So how do we know the difference?

I would think that the Word is pretty clear. Healing and miracles do not prove the presence of God. The devil, who was God’s right-hand man, has no scruples to copy the outward appearance of what God does in order to deceive us poor humans. What he cannot copy though, is the form and format, the heart of God’s actions. Healings and miracles from God are always a means to an end, not an end in themselves. In the Old Testament, healings and miracles are always accompanied with a declaration of faith and repentance; that is the biblical form and format. Healings and miracles without faith declaration and/or true repentance demonstrated by a life change are not from God. They are the devil’s counterfeit; religion versus true faith.

This is the difference (as observed in Hebraic etymology) between the use of the word messenger and the word ambassador in our text today. The messenger was sent by God but went and did his own thing so instead of giving the life-giving message of God he lead people to mischief. The root of the Hebrew word used for ambassador is synonym with the word ‘hinge’ one who is securely attached to its other part, in this case God, through a proper application of His Instruction.

Let us not be fooled nor deceived. Yes life is hard, but difficulty with God has an eternal reward that greatly outshines the devil’s shiny noisy counterfeit. Let us rather judge everything by a proper educated intelligent understanding of God’s will, Words and purposes.

A DESERT JOURNEY

Proverbs 13:16
Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge:
But a fool layeth open his folly.

As walking through a maze inlaid with dangerous inlets and outlets, so is our walk through life in this world, but the Word warns us of pitfalls. If we are to arrive at destination, we are to walk prudently, meaning, in the knowledge of the Word.

Baal Shem Tov, a seventeenth century sage one day said, “The forty-two ‘stations’ from Egypt to the Promised Land are replayed in the life of every individual Jew, as his soul journeys from its descent to earth at birth to its return to its source.” The Torah also mentions that God orchestrated the desert wondering of the Children of Israel to test them; to know what was in their heart, whether they would obey or not.

The desert journey revealed many temptations. There were temptations to murmur; temptations to complain; temptations to disobey; temptations with idolatry; temptations with impatience; temptations with rebellion; you name there it was. Our lives in this world seem to be full of the same temptations. As it was with the Children of Israel, our destiny is decided by the how we respond to these tests.

The prudent, acts in harmony with his knowledge of the Word, thus displaying wisdom.

The foolish acts ignorantly of it, thus spreading to all the depraved fruits of his ignorance.

Up to the second half of the twentieth century, not everyone could learn to read. Only the financially privileged or those who worked very hard could afford an education; illiteracy kept people from reading and studying the Word for themselves. Today, even though most people read and can therefore avail themselves of the knowledge in the Word, the devil found another way to keep them away from It: distraction. We are so distracted by life, by its social demands and its constant broadcast of vanity, that even though knowledge and wisdom are readily available to us, and often free for the getting, we are today more ignorant of the good advice in the Word than when people couldn’t read.

As a result, few are prudent, many are foolish.

May we not be guilty of this.

Let us lay our priorities straight; spend our time wisely and in the study of the Word that can save our soul and bring our heart to its Promised Land destination.

FAVOR FOR FERVOR

Proverbs 13:15
Good understanding giveth favour:
But the way of transgressors is hard.

Who is he of good understanding? Here is what King David, the father of our author said: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments:

Because they accepted the statutes of God, the Israelites were accounted by their contemporaries as a wise and an understanding people. Yahoshua, when he increased in wisdom, received favour with God and men. After a long doctrinal explanation on how to wisely address differences in scripture application within the Body, Paul says, he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.

It seems that the ‘good understanding’ that receives ‘favor’ is about doctrine. Good doctrine, sound practical understanding of Scripture, provides grace to its applicant. Others see it and marvel at the wisdom. God is pleased also because He loves it when we give due attention to His Words.

The Hebrew word Solomon used for ‘transgressor’ is the word ‘traitor’. Ancient Israelite culture recognized the grace and bounty of God. They also knew that their blessings were contingent on their obedience. Consequently, they considered those who discarded the commandments of God’s grace as traitors. They were traitors because they selfishly brought God’s displeasure on the whole nation.

The way of these traitors is hard because not only do they displease God, but they also displease the people around them. Israelite lifestyle was a community-based lifestyle. People worked together to make things happen. One who was in disobedience found himself alone and with very little help. That in itself was deterrent against criminal activities. Maybe our present world should learn something from the ancients.

Life in itself may be hard, as we are meant to labour for our existence. But if we live by God’s commandments, if we have a sound, well balanced, intelligent and wise understanding on how to apply His commandments, we often draw to ourselves the grace of not only God, but also of the people around us, believers and unbelievers.

This word is true and unfailable: Good understanding gives favour.

COME TO THE WATERS

Proverbs 13:14
The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

The Hebrew version of this text reads, The Torah (doctrine; instruction) of the wise man is . . . In another passage our author teaches us that counsel in the heart of man is as deep waters. The Master said, He that believeth on me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Many rivers flow. They all have sources, usually mountains. They all go somewhere, usually to the sea. On their way, to their final destination, rivers fill people’s wells, irrigate lands, and provide refreshments to weary travelers. Most early cities were built on riverbanks because water is the essence of life.

When drinking water out of a well in Samaria, Yahoshua said to the woman who served him that who ever drinks of this water will surely thirst again. He will have to return to the well and get a refill. The Samaritan woman who probably came daily to the well understood this very well. The Master offered her the waters that quench thirst once and for all. He could give her the waters that remain as a perpetual sustenance; the only waters that would free her from dependence on the human well of phony doctrines.

This water comes from Mt Zion. It is the water of life mentioned by the prophets. The water that flows from Jerusalem fills up the world with its doctrine and gives eternal life to all who drink it. Once we drink from this water, we are satisfied; our heart is at home and has found its soul mate. This is the true water of life. It is not like the water of man; there is no need to return once we’ve partaken of it, except for pleasure.

Come everyone. Why drink of the waters that do not quench. Why partake of what doesn’t satisfy. Let us not be like the dependant customers of temporary bliss that only fill the pockets of their peddlers. Come and satisfy yourselves from the waters of Zion. Let us quench our thirst for true justice, love and righteousness with the doctrine that flows from Jerusalem. Let us live by the waters of the Son of God, Yahoshua Hamashiach. Hasn’t He said, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled?

GOD WAS SERIOUS WHEN HE SAID IT

Proverbs 13:13
Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed:
But he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.

No one can keep all the commandments; at least not in a sense of obedience to all of them. Only Yahoshua has succeeded to do so. That is why the Hebrew Old Testament never uses the expression to ‘keep the commandments’ in that sense. The word it uses is ‘shomer’ meaning to ‘guard’ the commandments. We can certainly guard the Word in our heart. We can certainly fear It and give It due respect even if sometimes we fail in our obedience to it.

We may not like traffic rules. We may even feel that some of the speed or seat belt restrictions are stupid. But respecting and obeying them insures us a better chance to safely enjoy the benefit of driving. It also avoids us getting tickets. We may not always like exercising and eating healthy, but using our bodies properly ensures us a better chance to a healthier happy life. If we despise health principles, we surely bring destruction upon ourselves.

God is serious about obedience to His Word. The wood gathering Sabbath breaker had to be stoned (there is no way he could have crossed the whole camp and not be reminded of the Sabbath as he saw others around him), and Pinchas, the man who slew the two idolatrous revelers, was recompensed for his zeal by being elevated to the position of high-Priest. To say that God doesn’t mind whether we explicitly obey His Word or not is like saying that the teacher doesn’t mean if the children don’t follow instruction or that the IRS was not serious about filing and paying our taxes, nor about the way to do it.

Surely the word of our text comes to pass. Everywhere around us we see people’s lives emotionally, physically and spiritually destroyed just because of a lack of obedience to the Word of God. I seriously believe that all, and I mean all, of our social problems could be solved without spending a single penny if we gave heed and obedience to the Ten Commandments. It is a simple solution, but somehow, one that very few people are willing to adopt. The big question of the day is: why?

SUCK AT THE BREASTS OF GOD

Proverbs 13:12
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick:
But when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

LINGUISTIC NOTE: In Hebrew, the literal translation of the word ‘El Shaddai’ would be: ‘The Great and Mighty Breasted One’. The Torah has always been seen by Jews as the breasts of God. That is the origin of Paul’s expression ‘desire ye the sincere milk of the Word’. Psalms also uses the expression: ‘nursing fathers’ as a picture of a father teaching Torah to his child.

Fear not ye daughter of Zion. For you have put your hope in the everlasting God, in the Adonai of the Heaven and earth. Hath He said and shall He not do it?

It is easy when hope is deferred to start relying on fables and lies. We so much want it to come that in fear and lack of faith we start inventing the fulfillment of our hope. What was then meant to be God’s edenic gift becomes the doing of our own hands which eventually makes us sick.

Let it not be so my friend. Let us not be found like a child playing with Lego blocks, fabricating the fulfillment of God’s promises in our lives. Let us not like an imaginative writer redefine theology to fit our conscience. Let us not as an impatient people carve ourselves a definition of Him who is indefinable. Horeb and Calvary stand today as two undeniable witnesses of the unchangeable definition of the Almighty. The blood sprinkled on these two mountains sealed forever the promises of their Maker.

When the Jewish people lost their Temple in 70 C.E., their leaders thought of a way to preserve their spiritual and cultural heritage. Since they couldn’t continue the Temple rituals, they decided that reading the commandments of the rituals on their particular days would accomplish their commandment by default. Today, let us learn from the wisdom of the ancients. By default of Eden, let us live It by reading It.

We have been promised to sit on His throne with Him. So when the world gets us down; when it seems impossible to hope on, when we feel that the great final Millennial Sabbath will never come, here is what we should do. Like a lover who satisfies himself at the breast of his beloved, let us sit with Him on His throne and satisfy our hopes at the breasts of His Words. Let us nestle in His bosom by opening our books to learn everything about His promises to us. In the same faith of a child, let us put our full weight on Him of whom we know the Word of promise never to fail.

TRUE WEALTH OR VANISHING DREAM?

Proverbs 13:11
Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished:
But he that gathereth by labour shall increase.

From the Fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, God has decreed that we should work for our substance. The Torah requires a man to work for his support. Even the Levites and the priests who benefited from people’s tithes and offerings worked at the service of the Temple and of the people. One who went bankrupt was to be helped by being given employment, even to be used as a servant if need be. Paul reiterated the principle by saying that he who doesn’t work should not eat.

Man’s markets dance at the rhythm of the whims of man. Only in a couple of years, the worth of a house has diminished to almost halt its inflated price. Shares rising at an inflationary rate fall the next day leaving its doomed investors in the dust. Like drugs, the roller coaster of man’s fluctuous market offer the make-believe high of illusionary temporary wealth, only to take it away the next day when man’s cloud of vanity disappears and gives way to the reality of true substance.

A bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush. The only wealth we own is that which we hold in our hand in the present tense; that for which we honestly worked for. It is that true substantial wealth which is not the result of debt repayment nor dependant on fickle relative appraising. It is that wealth which is born from honest hard work earned on a daily basis.

The man in rural India who own his ox, his small rice paddy and his mud hut, is richer than he in American suburbia who lives in a house, drives a car and spends his holidays in an RV that belong to a bank who only lends him these things as long as he can keep a job that is in itself dependant on the fluctuating whims of worldwide markets.

One day, Yahoshua will return. In that day there will be a great restoration. Elements will be appraised at their true worth. On that day, mountains shall be made low and the low places shall be exalted. When all is said and done, we will discover the true value of all things. We will learn to judge and appraise according to His eternal unchanging standards.

A WORD TO THE WISE

Proverbs 13:10
Only by pride cometh contention:
But with the well advised is wisdom.

The humble man doesn’t think he has all the answers. He takes the time to counsel with others. He is well advised and balanced in his opinion. He has taken the time to do his homework. He does not go on a tangent unadvised or on someone else’s thought process. He also makes sure that he is led of Yahoshua and that he is in the right spirit. Because of all this, he is not uncomfortable with opposition and with opinions different to his own.

Let’s take a look at the prophets of old. They were simple messengers. They knew where their authority came from, so they didn’t feel like they had to push their point. They came, they delivered their message, and they left, if they could. So is the humble man. To be right does not give us license to be disagreeable. The humble man does not feel like he has to contend and make everyone agree with him in order to feel validated. He just comes, humbly and softly expresses his view and lets Yahoshua do the rest. It is the responsibility of an audience to be sensitive to what is being spoken; it is not the responsibility of the speaker to push it.

Solomon speaks of the world ‘fitly’ spoken, which is the right word, at the right time, in the right place, in the right way and by the right person. Sometimes also the right word at the right time is to say nothing at all and allow our Master to do the job.