Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom, when they are not able to understand it?
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge and puts up security for a neighbor.
Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin; whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.
One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper; one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.
Proverbs 17:16-20
Most people would like to live a tranquil existence, even carefree if possible. Solomon has given us five verses here in chapter 17, which present some keys to finding tranquility. Looking at the first one, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that if we desire a tranquil life, we probably shouldn’t hang around with fools; especially fools with money− they will bring nothing but trouble.
In the next verse, good friends and family make the best companions. Verse 18 gives us insight into what is and is not smart in business matters. Next, we see the connection between quarrelling and sin, and advertising our wealth, in this case, by building a “high gate”. If you need a gate, there is really no point in building a target. Finally, in verse 20 we see the result of allowing ourselves to be corrupted by the world around us. I think it’s fair to say that this usually happens slowly, bit by bit, until we lose track of how far we have strayed from right and wrong. A corrupted heart ruins our good judgment and dirties our mouths and things start to go wrong.
More importantly, corruption pulls us away from God, and that never brings about a good result.
Jesus tells a third parable to the Pharisees and teachers of the law; this one is so familiar to us that I need not recount the details. Of course, we know that the younger son who had taken his inheritance early went out and squandered it on wild living. He ended up broke and in very bad circumstances, and then having come to his senses, had gone home to beg his father for a job as a servant, believing that he was no longer fit to be called a son. His father rejoiced upon seeing him and threw a great party to celebrate his return, causing his older brother to harbor serious resentment; their father explained:
“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” (15:31-32)
Such is God’s attitude when a sinner repents, as we all know. Now, picture in your mind the vilest, the most unattractive, the least deserving kind of person you can imagine; yes, the one you would least want to be seen with− that is the person we are talking about here.
When that person repents, God is in the mood to throw a party!
With this in mind, why do we not always share His enthusiasm?
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
This short parable is part of Jesus disputing with the Pharisee and teachers of the Law over His willingness to sit down and eat with tax collectors and sinners…
Jesus quickly moved on to the next parable, this time of a woman who loses one of her ten coins. She drops everything and searches the house until she finds it, and then tells her friends of her joy at having it back. Once again, He tells them that that it is just like this kind of joy in heaven when a sinner repents, for just as that coin was of great importance to the woman, it is that important to the angels of heaven. I would imagine that the Pharisees and teachers of the law might identify with this one, being rather well-to-do; imagine searching the house for ten percent of your net worth that has gone missing!
If this would get their attention, it just might serve as a revelation to them about the value that God places on each person, even those who are “tax collectors and sinners”. As we know, this term describes people the Pharisees didn’t much care for. Yet it was more visceral than just not caring for or enjoying their company for the Pharisees wouldn’t even want to be seen with such people because they were considered so ultra-nasty socially.
Oh yes, such people were so ultra-nasty that you would be damaged even being seen around them.
But God loves them anyway and does not want even one to perish.
Evildoers foster rebellion against God; the messenger of death will be sent against them.
Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly.
Evil will never leave the house of one who pays back evil for good.
Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.
Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent— the Lord detests them both.
Proverbs 17:11-15
11 The “rebellion” here under consideration was anarchy against the existing government. With the monarchical form of government of those days, this was common and accounted for many assassinations. When any such rebellion was detected, the rebellion was immediately put down (“a messenger of death shall be sent against him”).
12 The fierceness of a bear who has lost her young (“whelps”) is also referred to in I1 Sam. 17:8 and Hos. 13:8. One who is unfortunate enough to come along to become involved in some fool’s folly may suffer all the way from embarrassment to being murdered.
13 It is contrary to nature (an extreme wrong) to reward evil for good. It is bad enough not to receive thanks from those helped, but it is even worse for the blessed to repay evil to the giver of good. When this occurs, the promise is that “evil” will abide upon such a one and his house. Instances of repaying good with evil: I Sam. 25:21; Psa. 109:4,5; Jer. 18:20.
14 AS soon as the smallest breach is made in the dike or dam, the water begins to press from all parts towards the breach; the resistance becomes too great to be successfully opposed, so the dikes and all are speedily swept away. Such is the beginning of contentions, quarrels, lawsuits, etc.
15 In God’s books the wicked are to be condemned and the righteous commended (Matt. 25:34-36; 41-43 and many, many others). In addition, Prov. 17:26 has this to say: If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good, surely to flog honest officials is not right. Cf. EX 23:7; Prov. 24:24; IS 5:20.
The scene hasn’t changed from that of Chapter 12; the disciples are still there, and so is the crowd, when someone brings news of a massacre of Galileans in Jerusalem. This is the only historical account of this particular massacre, although Josephus the historian records others of a similar nature at the hands of Pilate. Jesus uses this news to further illustrate the point He has been trying to make to the crowd…
Those unfortunates who were killed by the Romans recently were not guiltier than anyone else although they had obviously come to Pilate’s attention for some reason. Nor were the unfortunate victims of the disaster that had taken place when the tower of Siloam had collapsed killing some eighteen bystanders; they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It sounds as though Jesus was having difficulty finding His well known compassion, doesn’t it?
Yet, as I said just above, He was trying to teach the people; He explains with a parable…
Then he told this parable:“A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down!Why should it use up the soil?’
“‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” (13:6-9)
Remember now the last passage, 12:54-59: The people need to understand that time is running out for them to repent, just as time is running out for that fig tree. Everything has been given to that tree; it should be producing fruit; what is its problem? Patience has already been given, along with the blessing of its provision by its owner. Yes, time is running out for that tree.
Just as time was running out for the Jews to repent and follow Jesus… Isn’t it interesting that the owner had been waiting on that tree for three years already?
Three years. When Jesus uttered these words, His ministry had been going for three years.
Chapter 17 has a theme which is that there is an ambiguity to human actions; we seek one thing and often get another instead. With that in mind, the first 10 verses show an ambiguity in our pursuit of tranquility.
Right off, we this in action in the first three verses:
Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.
A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son and will share the inheritance as one of the family.
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.
The idea of having only a dry crust to eat is intended to illustrate poverty. Yet in this case, poverty is coupled with peace and contrasted with wealth and problems. We all know that problems afflict people of all economic circumstances, but wealthy people, in addition to having the same basic dangers and the poor, have levels of trouble far and above those of the poor. Wealth does not bring happiness or peace.
In verse 2. We have a prudent servant, who has no expectations in life beyond a paycheck on Friday, to put this into modern terms. The servant has the boss’ disgraceful son under control, something the boss couldn’t do, and as a result may well find himself in the boss’ will, so grateful is that boss. In fact, this was the custom back in Solomon’s time.
In verse 3, there is a metaphor in play. The crucible and the furnace are tools used to refine silver and gold ore into their pure states, burning off all impurities. The human heart is purified in that way; God does the testing.
As you continue reading the remaining verses (17:4-10) you can easily see this ambiguity continuing to play out, and as you consider the verses, it isn’t difficult to see how all of this plays out in modern life, where a person intends one thing, and ends up with another in life.
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
1Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Jesus has been speaking to His disciples in a sort of an aside in front of a very large crowd when suddenly a man in the crowd shouts out a request: He wants Jesus to tell his brother to cut him in for a piece of his brother’s inheritance. Presumably, their father left his estate to the brother, probably the firstborn of the two… or maybe the more responsible of the two. Jesus isn’t getting involved in their dispute, but tells a parable instead, one that should be quite familiar to us…
A well-to-do farmer has a bumper crop of grain, much more than he can store in his barn. What will he do??
His solution is to tear down his old barn and build a new bigger one so he can store up his harvest and take the next few years off for a big party. That very night, he dies suddenly; who will get his riches?
Here’s the pinch line:
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (12:21)
I’ve heard it said in our time that ‘he who dies with the most toys wins’. But what do they win? Jesus’ point is that if we spend our whole life worried about amassing a great fortune, we will have nothing when we die, for while we could have been working and devoting ourselves to projects with an eternal purpose and reward, we wasted our efforts on something that will do us no eternal good whatever.
A person’s life is very short, blink and it’s about gone. Eternity is forever, so which of these should be a greater priority for us?
How about that? This pretty much what Jesus was telling the disciples in their little chat before the man asked Jesus to help him with his brother.
Looking Forward: Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness. (16:31)
Living to old age was the mark of a special blessing in the days of Solomon, as relatively few lived long enough to have grey hair. Grey hair then, is attained by righteous living in God’s favor.
Looking Inward: Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city. (16:32)
This gives us an interesting comparison, one that we might not phrase this way today, yet it still makes the point well. It is far better for a person to be patient and have self-control, than to be constantly putting themselves in harm’s way without thinking things through first. I have found that when taking a test, I should always go with my first impulse for an answer and not to question it. But in matters involving confrontation reactions and confrontation, my first impulse is usually wrong.
It is fair to say that I’m a very good test-taker, and usually a guy who has a cool head in a tough situation.
Looking Upward: The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. (16:33)
As we travel through this life, it is important for us to recognize that ultimately, God is in control of events. It is true that He gave us free will and a long rope, but ultimately, He is in control. Back in Old Testament times, lots would be cast in certain circumstances to determine what God’s will was in that situation, and while we don’t usually cast lots now, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, which people then were not. Thus, it’s great practice for us to seek His will in prayer and contemplation on a regular basis and to follow His lead as best we can in every situation.
Some time back I came upon a scene; this tree grabbed my attention because it was unusual…
The unusual thing about the tree isn’t the scar, but how well it has done in spite of the injury it sustained. I’m not sure exactly what happened to the tree, my first thought was a lightning strike, but who knows? It seems likely that whatever happened was storm related in some form…
We all deal with storms in our lives, sometimes literally, other times the storms are of a different sort. Many of these are caused by our own actions and choices, many are not. More important than anything else is how we respond to them.
When times are tough, do we let the circumstances keep us down; do we let circumstances defeat us? When we are hurt by life’s storms will we dwell in our pain or rise again from it? One of the most difficult lessons in life, at least in my life, was learning that we do have this choice.
Even more important than learning that we have a choice in how we respond to damaging storms in life is learning that we need not try to recover all on our own. It may sound overly simplistic to some, but we can turn much of this over to our Lord, for His strength is greater than ours. We can rely on Him, we can lean on Him, we can trust in Him. Living a Christian life is a life of setting self aside and serving the Lord Jesus Christ, and dealing with times of trouble is no different, so it stands to reason that He will sustain us all the more when we put our trust in Him and keep on serving others instead of serving ourselves.
Some may question all of this, but all I can say to them is “Come and see”
Join us on a journey through life following Jesus Christ. Our journey of life is an adventure of discovery that is both exciting and challenging. It is a discovery of clear and simple faith that comes from the a clear and simple understanding of the Word of God.
No, we aren't perfect, we are works in progress. There's no judging, no guilt and no condemnation here, just perspectives on life and truth as we work on our Project to become a little more like Him every day.
Join 7,780 other subscribers
AWARD FREE ZONE
The Life Project is an award free zone. Oh, don't get me wrong, I appreciate the thought more than you can imagine, but for me it's a matter of conviction, the Lord leading me... or maybe managing me! Your visits, "likes" comments and "follows" are more than enough... really!
Life Project Blog 