As I read chapter 18, I cannot get past the first verse: Proverbs 18:1 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. At first glance, this seems to be speaking of something that is good, especially in our Independent, Fundamental, Baptist circles. But further reading and understanding reveal something different to us.
The word intermeddleth here means, obstinate; which means to be stubborn, determined to have own way. What I think Solomon, through the inspiration and leading of the Holy Spirit, is trying to warn us against is those who swant to seperate themselves by seeking and pushing "new" ideas, doctrines, etc. Remember, it was Solomon who told us that there is "no new thing under the sun."
So, this sepereated man here in Proverbs seeks desire, but not the right kind of desire. His desire is his own self reputation and pleasures. He is not content with traveling down the "old paths" with everyone else, but seeks to make his own, new path. Now there are times we are called to be a trailblazer, just like Paul in the New testament, but that should not be our desire The desire that motivates us should be God's desire working in us and through us. The man who desires to make his own path and way so that he does not have to answer to anyone and gets the glory for being on their own is not a man we should seek to be.
I know there are a lot of other truths to be learned from this chapter. What interested you today?
Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
ReplyDelete"Runneth" is present tense - The Lord is the strong tower and place of safety to those who continually run to Him.
Proverbs 18:13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
Proverbs 18:17 He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.
How many times do we make up our mind about a situation before hearing all the facts? How many times are we gullible and believe the first person to come along and say something? What we need is discernment and to carefully consider what is presented to us. Is there more to the story, more that we need to know to understand the situation?
Then of course, there is this wonderful verse:
Proverbs 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
I used to bug one of the teens that got saved in our Sunday School bus ministry by calling her Proverbs 18:24. Her name was Amanda - now reread the first part of that verse: A man that hath friends - Amanda hath friends...
It is amazing how the Lord has changed her life since she got saved and started attending a solid IFB church. She is just finishing up her first year at Bible college. My, how time flies!
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ReplyDeleteYou make a good point - people who are trying to be known for some unrevealed biblical discovery/so-called doctrine tap dance with heresy. We've had a few from our church over the years come up with these outlandish isogetic ideas based on a single verse. If they were to take the Bible as a whole, they would run into 10 verses that contradict their ideas for every verse they claim supports it. Like you said, it's nothing more than a pride issue, and recognition craving.
ReplyDeleteProverbs 18 is not much different than any other chapter in that it is jammed with super practical verses. The ones that jump off the page at me are Prov18: 12, 13, and 24.
12Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.
Before honor is humility – hmm, it sure does sound a little bit like, “he that humbleth himself shall be exalted”. It was true in the Old Testament, it was true when Jesus walked the earth, and it's true today. God operates in humility.
13He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
This reminds me of 1Sam1 where Eli lashed out at Hannah for her intent prayer. He called her drunk. His failure to recognize earnest prayer indicates that he probably didn't do much of it himself. After Hannah explained herself, he backpedaled and blessed her. The only reason I believe his blessing came to pass is because God honored the office of high priest, not the merit of Eli. We would do well to not jump to conclusions.
24A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
It’s sort of funny, but mostly sad that some people think that everyone else needs to come up to them and extend the greeting of the day. If I’m not careful, there’s times I’m one of them! Their scowl scares people away and then they get mad that no one talks to them.
This is one verse that has really helped me realize that it's not right to expect other people to initiate friendliness. How fair is it to expect something of someone else that I don't expect of myself? Sometimes we just need to get over ourselves and be interested in the lives of other people.
Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. [Proverbs 18:1 KJV]
ReplyDeleteIt's the desire within mankind, not seeking for God's wisdom, but to meddle in it. You've hit the nail on the head with this one.
I also think of the sadness apparent in verse 14 -- who can bear wounded spirit? God is the only healing power for that.