27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring.
2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
4 Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
but who can stand before jealousy?
5 Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.(ESV)
27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring.
2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
4 Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
but who can stand before jealousy?
5 Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
7 One who is full loathes honey,
but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.
8 Like a bird that strays from its nest
is a man who strays from his home.
9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.1
10 Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend,
and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.
Better is a neighbor who is near
than a brother who is far away.
11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
that I may answer him who reproaches me.
12 The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
but the simple go on and suffer for it.
13 Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,
and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress.2
14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,
rising early in the morning,
will be counted as cursing.
15 A continual dripping on a rainy day
and a quarrelsome wife are alike;
16 to restrain her is to restrain the wind
or to grasp3 oil in one’s right hand.
17 Iron sharpens iron,
and one man sharpens another.4
18 Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who guards his master will be honored.
19 As in water face reflects face,
so the heart of man reflects the man.
20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
and never satisfied are the eyes of man.
21 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
and a man is tested by his praise.
22 Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
along with crushed grain,
yet his folly will not depart from him.
23 Know well the condition of your flocks,
and give attention to your herds,
24 for riches do not last forever;
and does a crown endure to all generations?
25 When the grass is gone and the new growth appears
and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,
26 the lambs will provide your clothing,
and the goats the price of a field.
27 There will be enough goats’ milk for your food,
for the food of your household
and maintenance for your girls.Footnotes
[1] 27:9
Or and so does the sweetness of a friend that comes from his earnest counsel
[2] 27:13Hebrew a foreign woman; a slight emendation yields (compare Vulgate; see also 20:16) foreigners
[3] 27:16Hebrew to meet with
[4] 27:17Hebrew sharpens the face of another (ESV)
Saturday Study
Proverbs 26 (11-25-17)
Three different times in Proverbs 26, Solomon speaks of the foolishness and folly of pride and of one who thinks he is right in his own eyes:
Proverbs 26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
Proverbs 26:12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Proverbs 26:16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.
We must understand that pride and being wise in one’s own eyes are enemies of God.
This is because pride and self-wisdom cause man to believe he is most important or most central.
Pride is demonic: It is the essence of the fallen angel, who in his pride became a demon.
Pride was the chosen weapon of Satan in mankind’s demise from day one. It is the core of our folly! It is pride that caused Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit in their desire to be like God.
Ever since Eden, pride has been a central demise of mankind.
We live in a demonically-inspired culture that wants to make you and me the center of the universe, wants to make your glory the ultimate goal of your existence, and wants you to think that everyone should bow down and realize how amazing you are.
We have already read:
In Proverbs 6:16-17 that “a proud look is an abomination to the LORD.”
In Proverbs 15:25 that God promises to “destroy the house of the proud.”
In Proverbs 21:4, “A haughty look, a proud heart … are sin. ”
James 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud.” Think about that!
To be proud and wise in your own eyes is to fight God.
The Bible also says that God gives grace to the humble. We don’t need pride; we need grace!
Paul has a strong warning for us in Philippians 2:3: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.”
“Do nothing” are strong words!
Selfish Ambition– The pursuit of activity of achieving something for oneself.
These are the things we do, dream about, and long for that all ends up rewarding ourselves.
This is an endless maze that deteriorates at life. Why?
When selfish ambition rules our lives, the goal of filling our own cup never ends, because there is always something better out there or something to improve or have more of.
Vain Conceit or, more specifically, empty glory!
Empty glory is the need to be honored, the need to be lifted up, and/or the need to be right.
It is a form of secular self-esteem: This is a frame of mind that causes us to think we are always right, and no one else gets us or understands. Solomon calls this foolish because it is a false reality. It is also highly problematic because we are all too quick to avoid or ignore good, godly counsel.
Instead, we need to be humble and consider others more important than ourselves.
Paul continues in Philippians 2:4, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
We need to be settled in who we are in Christ and not constantly trying to get on top; rather, we need to be willing to listen to others and not always declare we are right.
What is humility? John Calvin wrote, “It is evident that one never attains to a true self-knowledge until he has previously contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself.”
A biblical worldview of humility is honestly assessing ourselves in the light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness.
Another definition: Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.
So, how do we move from being me-centered to other-centered?
How do we move from vain, selfish, and prideful to serving, loving, and humble?
Answer: Jesus!
Paul shows us this in Philippians 2:5-8: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
To kill the poison of pride and self-rightness we have to embrace a life in humility. This is only attainable if we are healed and redefined by JESUS!
We talked earlier about the popular secular self-esteem that we run after in sin.
There is a gospel self-esteem: We only have this esteem in Christ!
The only way to look away from self so that you can truly look towards others is to first look to JESUS!
The good news is Jesus humbled Himself to put on flesh and walk among us, to be ridiculed by us, and to be picked on. Because of His humility He didn’t stand up and level the mockers with His power. His mission was to free many captives from sin and set them free.
<>He did this for the humiliated, the beat down, the poor, and the forgotten.
<>Jesus humbled Himself for the corporate executives, for the glamour queens.
<>For the arrogant husbands and the vain wife.
<>For the always-judging female back-talkers and the stubborn-in-their-ways male dominators.
<>For those who use their bodies to be noticed and those who use their minds to make others feel dumb.
<>For those who use money to buy power and those who use their skills to remind others they fall short.
Jesus humbled Himself to death so we could finally be humbled in the gift of life!
How can you and I be liberated from the dominating power of the world’s empty definitions of greatness? JESUS!
How can you and I experience the lasting joy of being fully known and still fully loved? JESUS!
How can you and I experience the satisfaction of Christ’s definition of who we are and no longer run after the world’s definitions that never leave us satisfied? JESUS!
Everything that you and I stand to gain is because of what Jesus gave up. Praise God.
May we cling to Jesus and abide in Him daily so He will change what is arrogant, prideful, and self-defined into something humble, patient, and defined in Christ.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Joshua Kirstine
Disciples Church
23 Like the glaze1 covering an earthen vessel
are fervent lips with an evil heart.
24 Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips
and harbors deceit in his heart;
25 when he speaks graciously, believe him not,
for there are seven abominations in his heart;
26 though his hatred be covered with deception,
his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
27 Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.
28 A lying tongue hates its victims,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.Footnotes
[1] 26:23
By revocalization; Hebrew silver of dross (ESV)
15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven men who can answer sensibly.
17 Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own
is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.
18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death
19 is the man who deceives his neighbor
and says, “I am only joking!”
20 For lack of wood the fire goes out,
and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.
21 As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.(ESV)