King David’s son, Solomon, succeeded his father as ruler
of Israel and Judea, (around 950 BC). (1)
My mother told me about his wisdom when I was a young boy. She was fond of the Biblical account of how,
when he could have asked God for anything, he asked for the wisdom to rule justly. She loved the explanation of how he demonstrated
God’s gift of wisdom when he determined who the real mother of a baby was by
finding out which of the two women who claimed the baby really loved the child.
(1Kings 3)
Solomon was the primary human author of the book of
Proverbs. He also wrote Ecclesiastes and
the Song of Solomon. Chapters 1-9 of Proverbs
are written like a legacy of wisdom that a father is passing down to his
son. Since all scripture is inspired by
the Holy Spirit, today we can understand it in terms of God speaking to us.
In these troubled times, we can take what follows as
instruction from God about why things aren’t working out so well, and how, with
God’s help, we can fix them. Please hear
what God is saying to us, and take it to heart:
How long will
you who are simple love your simple ways?
How long will
mockers delight in mockery
and fools
hate knowledge?
Repent at my
rebuke!
Then I will
pour out my thoughts to you,
I will make
known to you my teachings.
But since you
refuse to listen when I call
and no one
pays attention when I stretch out my hand,
since you
disregard all my advice
and do not
accept my rebuke,
I in turn
will laugh when disaster strikes you;
I will mock
when calamity overtakes you—
when calamity
overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster
sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
when distress
and trouble overwhelm you.
“Then they
will call to me, but I will not answer;
they will
look for me but will not find me,
since they
hated knowledge
and did not
choose to fear the Lord.
Since they
would not accept my advice
and spurned
my rebuke,
they will eat
the fruit of their ways
and be filled
with the fruit of their schemes.
For the waywardness
of the simple will kill them,
and the
complacency of fools will destroy them;
but
whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be
at ease, without fear of harm.” (emphasis added)
(Proverbs 1:22-33
NIV) (2)
God is patient, loving, and kind. He has withheld punishment for our self-indulgence
and willful sins. At present, He simply
is allowing us to reap the evil that we sow; to experience the natural and
logical consequences of the way we are living.
For the sake of those who belong to Him, He has arranged for believers
to escape His coming wrath. (Revelation
3:10) When we who believe are taken up
to be with Jesus in the air, the time of judgement will come to those who are
left behind. Please believe in Jesus. Ask Him to live in you, and give control
of your life to Him, today.
(1) Michael Rydelnik and Michael Vanlaningham, General
Editors. The Moody Bible Commentary. Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. 2014. (p.
883)
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