Knowing God - He Cares for Those Left Behind

Isa 38:1

 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.

The Lord Cares About Those Left Behind

The Lord sent the prophet Isaiah to Hezekiah to warn him of his impending death.  With this warning came a command.  This command was not about Hezekiah’s relationship with God but his affairs with men.  The Lord was telling Hezekiah to get his finances in order, position people for responsibility and prepare them for his departure.  Preparing a trust or will and being sure that our families are taken care of when we face death are some of the ways we could obey this sort of command to Hezekiah.  The Lord took care of our debt and provided salvation so that when we die we have nothing to worry about.  He has left some of the provisioning and care of those we love to us to take care of.  How precious our God is to know that when someone dies, those left on earth need to sense they have been thought of and cared for.

Proverbs - Little but Wise

Proverbs 30:24-28

There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:

The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;

The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;

The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.

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These ‘little things’ are meant to teach us some things.  This way we won’t disregard those ‘little things’ we might be doing.  We can learn from ants that together things can get done.  We learn that if we are weak we would do well to get some sort of covering.  We learn that even if there is no established leadership we can team up with others to get the job done.  We learn that if we work hard, we can end up in prestigious situations.  All of these examples in creation are meant to instruct us and encourage us in those times that we might feel little or insignificant.  Let us learn from these creatures all that the Lord has built in to them for us to receive.

Knowing God - He Goes Before Us and is With Us

Ps 68:7

                  

 O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:

                                                 

The Lord Goes Before Us and is With Us

The Lord went through the wilderness and before His people in the wilderness.  When we are going through unfamiliar territory, the Lord goes before us and marches with us on our journey.  Our God is a God of fellowship.  He is our guide and He travels alongside us.  We can trust that the Lord is ahead of us and navigating the course with His foreknowledge.  We can enjoy the fact that we don’t travel alone either.  Our God is a God who leads and marches with us.  What a wonderful truth to hold on to when we don’t know our way or feel isolated in strange and new territory.  He is with you.  He goes before you.

Proverbs - Things that Disquiet

Proverbs 30:21-23

For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:

For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;

For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

These are things that will probably bother most of us and we are told here that this is to be expected.  The first thing we are told about is when a servant reigns.  This is not referring to a wise servant who is promoted but rather someone who should not be promoted yet ends up there anyway.  It could be due to a pay off, or favoritism.  This usually disquiets those around who know the real story and see such an undeserved promotion. 

The second thing that is hard to bear is when a fool is filled with meat.  This is saying that when someone wastes their time, is lazy or squanders what they have and ends up with financial blessings, we can find ourselves a bit burdened by this apparent inconsistency.

Another thing that disquiets us is when a hateful woman is married.  When we see a wicked, mean woman sought after and vowed to, we don’t understand why the man has chosen her.  This, too, is hard to bear.

Finally, when we see someone receive an inheritance that should have gone to someone else, we can get rather perturbed.  All of these things should help us understand that there will be those things in life that we may sense are unjust.  As we read through the book of Proverbs we see that there are general principles that God has placed to play out in life, but, at times, we will see temporary contradictions.  We must give these to the Lord and trust that He will deal with matters according to His everlasting truth.  When we find ourselves burdened with these inconsistencies we must wait on the Lord and trust He will bring all that He says to pass.  Don’t be too discouraged and don’t think that God’s Word is not true.  Trust in the Lord, commit your way to Him and He WILL bring it to pass.

Proverbs - Wisdom Admits Sin

Proverbs 30:20

Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

An adulterous woman is involved with a man who is not her husband and is able to walk away and proclaim with her mouth that she has done nothing wrong.  This should not surprise us.  In order to avoid the voice of the Holy Spirit people will often try to speak louder than Him.  Unrepentant sin requires lies and false justification.  To protect ourselves from ever becoming like this gal, we should confess our sins to the Lord and make no excuses when we walk outside of His boundaries.  Admitting we have sinned keeps us humble and allows the grace of God to come heal and repair.  Let us not be as this adulterous woman.  Let us not cover our tracks or speak such boastings.  Let us rather agree with God on His evaluation of our lives and receive the grace and help in time of need. 

Knowing God - He Hears and is Near

Prov 15:29

 The Lord is far from the wicked:

but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

The Lord Is Near and Listening

Here the Lord lets us know that having Him hear our prayers is likened to having him near to us.   There were no phones in bible days.  The act of listening meant, being in the very presence of the one who was speaking.  Being in the presence of the Lord is absolutely wonderful but have you considered that He is in your presence as well?  He hears the prayers of the righteous.  He is attentive to our petitions, praise, concerns and words.  He is not far for those He considers righteous.  He is listening and He is near.  You don’t have to wait for Him to answer the phone.  He hears.  He is near.

Proverbs - Considering with Awe

Proverbs 30:18-19

There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:

The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.

Here the writer is musing over things we should take time to consider.  The flight of an eagle in the air brings the writer to a place of awe.  He sees wonder in it.  Have you seen such a flight?  The stately wings, the determined course and the quietness of flight, should instruct us all in the creative abilities of our wonderful God!

A serpent moving without any feet shows the intricate design God built into its frame to allow such a creature to make its way stealthily through its environment.  A stately vessel loaded with cargo can not only float but cut through the sea in a determined manner usually reserved for living creatures that reside in its depths. 

Then the way of a man with a maid causes the write to stop and give up his intellectual grasp.  There is something so sweet about an innocent courtship designed to lead to marriage and a lifelong commitment.  This too brought a great deal of amazement to the writer.

Such wonder and amazement all of these things bring!  This section of verses challenges us to take in our surroundings and be amazed!  Ask the Lord to open your eyes to see His glory throughout the day.   Enjoy Him in His creation.  Enjoy Him in your relationships.  Have a childlike wonderment and never cease discovery.  Forsake the need to grasp and embrace the opportunity to wonder.