Flea From Fools

1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
    so honor is not fitting for a fool.
2 Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying,
    a curse that is causeless does not alight.
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
    and a rod for the back of fools.
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly,
    lest you be like him yourself.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
    lest he be wise in his own eyes.
6 Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool
    cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
7 Like a lame man’s legs, which hang useless,
    is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
8 Like one who binds the stone in the sling
    is one who gives honor to a fool.
9 Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard
    is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10 Like an archer who wounds everyone
    is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit
    is a fool who repeats his folly.
12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?
    There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
    There is a lion in the streets!”
14 As a door turns on its hinges,
    so does a sluggard on his bed.
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.. – Proverbs 26:1-16 ESV

This collection of 28 verses contains a series of unflattering portraits of the fool that provide ample evidence that a fool should be avoided at all costs. Eleven times in the first 16 verses, the character of the fool is described through the use of a series of unlikely but very accurate comparisons.

This section of Proverbs has been called The Book of Fools because of its emphasis on this particular character trait. And it is interesting to note that this particular collection of proverbs was compiled by the sages who worked for King Hezekiah. He had commissioned these men to scour the royal archives to see if there might be any additional wise sayings that Solomon wrote or compiled. These admonitions or warnings concerning the fool were part of what they discovered.

It appears that they collated these various proverbs and organized them into a single unit for dramatic effect. And one of the primary main messages they seemed to be conveying was the folly of having a fool for a king. The opening line warns against elevating a fool to a place of honor.

Honor is no more associated with fools
    than snow with summer or rain with harvest. – Proverbs 26:1 NLT

“Honor” in this passage probably means respect, external recognition of worth, accolades, advancement to high position, etc. All of these would be out of place with a fool; so the sage is warning against elevating or acclaiming those who are worthless. – NET Bible Study Notes

Verse eight goes on to provide an apt illustration that reveals just how silly it is to honor a fool.

Honoring a fool
    is as foolish as tying a stone to a slingshot. – Proverbs 26:8 NLT

Such an act would be senseless and self-defeating. A sling with a stone tied to it would be rendered completely useless and of no value. And elevating a fool to a position of prominence or power would be equally ridiculous.

In the book of Proverbs, there  are at least five different Hebrew words that are translated as “fool.” In this chapter, the word is kecîyl, which means “fool, stupid fellow, dullard, simpleton, arrogant one.”

Throughout Proverbs, this term is used to describe a particular brand of fool, an individual who has some strikingly dangerous qualities that should neither be ignored nor emulated.

• He rejects the discipline of parents or authorities
• They are determined to make the wrong choices
• He focuses on that which brings him immediate pleasure
• He does not have a mental deficiency but rejects the wisdom of God
• He glories in that of which he should be ashamed
• He is unreasonable
• His motives and methods are subtle
• He should be avoided at all costs

A fool is like an unbridled and untamed pack animal. He requires a heavy hand of discipline.

Guide a horse with a whip, a donkey with a bridle,
    and a fool with a rod to his back! – Proverbs 26:3 NLT

And verse two suggests that a fool, like a stubborn beast, will be quick to declare his displeasure at such discipline by uttering baseless curses that bear no weight.

Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow,
    an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim. – Proverbs 26:2 NLT

Words of anger and accusation will flow from the mouth of a fool who receives just punishment for his behavior. But those exclamations should be ignored and treated as what they are: The rantings of a fool.

In fact, verse four warns against getting into a verbal sparring match with a fool.

Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools,
    or you will become as foolish as they are. – Proverbs 26:4 NLT

Yet the very next verse seems to contain contradictory counsel.

Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools,
    or they will become wise in their own estimation. – Proverbs 26:5 NLT

But notice the difference. In verse four, the advice is warning against getting into a shouting match with a fool. It’s a dangerous thing to allow yourself to descend to the level of a fool, casting curses back and forth, and using foolish epitaphs in an attempt to score points in a senseless battle of dimwits.

Verse five suggests that fools must be answered with words of wisdom. They will prove defenseless against words of admonition that are based on logic and reason. And an unchallenged and uncorrected fool will only make the false assumption that he was right all along. His ego will become ever more inflated and his love affair with foolishness will remain unchecked.

These proverbs are remorseless in their assessment of the fool. They pull no punches and spare no amount of sarcasm and irony.

Trusting a fool to convey a message
    is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison!

A proverb in the mouth of a fool
    is as useless as a paralyzed leg. – Proverbs 26:6-7 NLT

Those are brutally harsh statements that leave little to the imagination. They certainly don’t portray foolishness as some kind of silly, childlike quality that is to be smiled at and taken lightly. Trusting a fool to convey an important message is compared to drinking poison or amputating your own foot. Those two shocking illustrations of self-harm are meant to get the reader’s attention. No one in their right mind would willingly drink poison or cut off a perfectly good limb. So, why would anyone risk a vital message by placing it in the hands of a person of questionable integrity?

In the mouth of a fool, even the helpful words of a wise saying become as useless as a paralyzed leg. They provide no one with any benefit, including the fool who speaks them. In fact, wise words in the mouth of a fool will only end up doing more harm than good.

A proverb in the mouth of a fool
    is like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk. – Proverbs 26:9 NLT

And, according to Solomon, it would be foolish to hire a fool.

An employer who hires a fool or a bystander
    is like an archer who shoots at random. – Proverbs 26:10 NLT

Such an act would be senseless and wasteful. You might as well throw your money into a pit or set it on fire. A fool makes a bad king and a lousy employee because they can’t be trusted. They won’t come through. Instead, they will display a habit of doing the same foolish things over and over again.

As a dog returns to its vomit,
    so a fool repeats his foolishness. – Proverbs 26:11 NLT

Fools rarely change. The very things that made them “sick” in the first place will remain attractive, despite any pain or discomfort they might have caused. But to make matters worse, most fools fail to recognize their own foolishness. In fact, they are convinced of their own wisdom.

There is more hope for fools
    than for people who think they are wise. – Proverbs 26:12 NLT

A fool who knows he’s a fool might respond to correction. But a fool who thinks he’s wise will constantly reject the counsel of others because he doesn’t think he needs it.

Lazy people consider themselves smarter
    than seven wise counselors. – Proverbs 26:16 NLT

And to make matters worse, fools lack any kind of a work ethic. They’re inherently lazy. And they use their laziness as an excuse to avoid hard work.

The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion on the road!
    Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!” – Proverbs 26:13 NLT

They come up with clever-sounding excuses to maintain their sedentary lifestyle.

As a door swings back and forth on its hinges,
    so the lazy person turns over in bed. – Proverbs 26:14 NLT

In a starkly satirical line, the fool is described as being so lazy that he can’t even muster up enough strength to feed himself.

Lazy people take food in their hand
    but don’t even lift it to their mouth. – Proverbs 26:15 NLT

A lazy, unteachable fool is to be avoided at all costs. Don’t make him a king and don’t hire him as an employee. But even more importantly, don’t become a fool yourself.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Going Through the Motions

21 And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.

24 Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.

26 Still the Lord did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. 27 And the Lord said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.” – 2 Kings 23:21-27 ESV

Josiah’s efforts to restore the worship of Yahweh in Judah were unprecedented. He did more than any of the other kings of Judah to reestablish and reaffirm the nation’s commitment to the covenant they had made with God. But he faced a formidable and seemingly endless task. His own father had bequeathed to him a kingdom that was in a state of spiritual disarray and moral decline. It seems that everywhere Josiah looked, he found more idols, altars, and shrines to the many false gods his predecessors had erected in Judah. Their pervasive presence provided tangible evidence of the nation’s steep spiritual decline. Like cancer cells in the human body, idolatry had invaded the nation of Judah, spreading its deadly influence to the far corners of the kingdom. And Josiah spent a lifetime attempting to seek and destroy every last vestige of idolatry from the land.

But Josiah knew that even if he was successful in removing every idol, shrine, and altar,  there would still be a problem. The eradication of idolatry would not necessarily result in faithfulness to Yahweh. To restore the peoples’ faith in God, Josiah knew they would need to be reminded of the greatness of God. That is why he spent so much time and money restoring the temple, the symbol of God’s presence and power. It also explains his determination to reinstitute the celebration of Passover.

This annual feast had been divinely ordained by God and was intended to serve as a perpetual reminder of God’s miraculous and gracious deliverance of the nation of Israel from their captivity in Egypt. On the night that God had sent the death angel to enact the tenth and final plague against the Egyptians, He had given the Israelites instructions that would guarantee their safety. Each family was to sacrifice a lamb and sprinkle its blood on the doorposts and lentil of their home. Then they were to gather inside their homes and “eat the meat the same night; they will eat it roasted over the fire with bread made without yeast and with bitter herbs” (Exodus 12:8 NLT).

The people of Israel were expected to faithfully observe this rather strange ritual in order to escape the judgment that was about to fall on the land of Egypt. And God assured them that if they would obey His instructions, they would be spared.

“I will pass through the land of Egypt in the same night, and I will attack all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals, and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, so that when I see the blood I will pass over you, and this plague will not fall on you to destroy you when I attack the land of Egypt.” – Exodus 12:12-13 NLT

And even before the lambs were slaughtered and the death angel appeared, God commanded His people to make this an annual celebration.

This day will become a memorial for you, and you will celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—you will celebrate it perpetually as a lasting ordinance. – Exodus 12:14 NLT

They were to observe it every year as a reminder of God’s power and provision. And Moses even told them what to say when the future generations of Israelites asked about the nature of this strange celebration.

“It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, when he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck Egypt and delivered our households.” – Exodus 12:27 NLT

But by the time Josiah became king, the celebration of Passover had become a distant and fading memory. Generations of Israelites had grown up having never celebrated this annual feast or having heard the story of God’s deliverance. As a result, they were ignorant of His goodness and greatness. In their minds, Yahweh was just one more God in the pantheon of gods worshiped in Judah. And when Josiah systematically removed all the other options, they found themselves left with a God they didn’t know and could not fully appreciate. And because they had not been taught the Book of the Covenant, they failed to understand the danger of their ignorance of and indifference to God. Centuries earlier, before the Israelites entered the land of promise, Moses had warned them:

“Then when the Lord your God brings you to the land he promised your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you—a land with large, fine cities you did not build, houses filled with choice things you did not accumulate, hewn-out cisterns you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—and you eat your fill, be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, that place of slavery. You must revere the Lord your God, serve him, and take oaths using only his name. You must not go after other gods, those of the surrounding peoples, for the Lord your God, who is present among you, is a jealous God—his anger will erupt against you and remove you from the land.” – Deuteronomy 6:10-15 NLT

Everything Moses had warned them about had happened. They had forgotten God. They had failed to revere and serve Him. And Josiah was desperately trying to remedy the situation by calling the people to recommit themselves to Yahweh. He used all his authority and power as king to reestablish the primacy of the one true God. He poured every ounce of his passion into the process and spared no expense to see that Yahweh was honored in a manner worthy of His greatness and goodness. Josiah went out of his way to ensure that this Passover was a spectacular occasion that would reaffirm God’s incomparable value and reignite the peoples’ faithfulness to Him.

Never since the time of the prophet Samuel had there been such a Passover. None of the kings of Israel had ever kept a Passover as Josiah did, involving all the priests and Levites, all the people of Jerusalem, and people from all over Judah and Israel. – 2 Chronicles 35:18 NLT

Josiah’s tireless efforts to restore the worship of Yahweh in Judah would not go unnoticed. He would go down in history as one of the greatest kings of Judah.

Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him. – 2 Kings 23:25 ESV

He was a man of great faith who used his divinely ordained role as king to lead the people back to God. Like his ancestor David, Josiah was a man after God’s own heart who shepherded the flock of God “with a true heart and led them with skillful hands” (Psalm 78:72 NLT). He did all he could do to reestablish the holiness of God’s name and reinvigorate the hearts of the people to serve Him alone. But his efforts, while sincere, would prove unsuccessful. God was not going to relent concerning His judgment of Judah.

Even so, the Lord was very angry with Judah because of all the wicked things Manasseh had done to provoke him. For the Lord said, “I will also banish Judah from my presence just as I have banished Israel. And I will reject my chosen city of Jerusalem and the Temple where my name was to be honored.” – 2 Kings 23:26-27 NLT

God knew their hearts, and He was fully aware that their outward displays of repentance were insincere and insufficient. The idols had been removed, but their hardened hearts remained. And this sad state of affairs would lead God to declare through the prophet Isaiah:

“These people say they are loyal to me;
they say wonderful things about me,
but they are not really loyal to me.
Their worship consists of
nothing but man-made ritual.” – Isaiah 29:13 NLT

Josiah had torn down all the idols, shrines, and altars, but he could do nothing to heal the hearts of the people. Despite all his efforts, the people remained just as unfaithful and unresponsive to God. The prophet Isaiah would accuse them of having a diminished view of God.

Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead,
who do their work in secret and boast,
“Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?”
Your thinking is perverse!
Should the potter be regarded as clay?
Should the thing made say about its maker, “He didn’t make me”?
Or should the pottery say about the potter, “He doesn’t understand”? – Isaiah 29:15-16 NLT

Josiah had purged the land of idols, restored the temple, reinstituted the Passover, and refamiliarized the people with the Book of the Covenant. But he could do nothing to legislate heart change. While he had successfully transformed the environment in which they lived, the people of Judah remained just as unfaithful as ever. God would later warn the prophet Ezekiel to be wary of the hypocritical hearts of the people of Judah.

“So my people come pretending to be sincere and sit before you. They listen to your words, but they have no intention of doing what you say. Their mouths are full of lustful words, and their hearts seek only after money.” – Ezekiel 33:31 NLT

Judah would experience the same fate as their neighbor to the north. Their disobedience and unfaithfulness to God would result in their destruction. Josiah had done his best, but the fall of Judah was inevitable and unavoidable because the hearts of the people remained unresponsive and unrepentant.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Valley of Vision.

1 The oracle concerning the valley of vision.

What do you mean that you have gone up,
    all of you, to the housetops,
2 you who are full of shoutings,
    tumultuous city, exultant town?
Your slain are not slain with the sword
    or dead in battle.
3 All your leaders have fled together;
    without the bow they were captured.
All of you who were found were captured,
    though they had fled far away.
4 Therefore I said:
“Look away from me;
    let me weep bitter tears;
do not labor to comfort me
    concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

5 For the Lord God of hosts has a day
    of tumult and trampling and confusion
    in the valley of vision,
a battering down of walls
    and a shouting to the mountains.
6 And Elam bore the quiver
    with chariots and horsemen,
    and Kir uncovered the shield.
7 Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
    and the horsemen took their stand at the gates.
8 He has taken away the covering of Judah.

In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest, 9 and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool, 10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. 11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.

12 In that day the Lord God of hosts
    called for weeping and mourning,
    for baldness and wearing sackcloth;
13 and behold, joy and gladness,
    killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
    eating flesh and drinking wine.
“Let us eat and drink,
    for tomorrow we die.”
14 The Lord of hosts has revealed himself in my ears:
“Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die,”
    says the Lord God of hosts. – Isaiah 22:1-14 ESV

God has spent a great deal of time addressing the nations surrounding Judah. Now, He turns His attention to His chosen people and, particularly, their capital city of Jerusalem. In this chapter, God delivers yet another oracle, this one aimed at the City of David, the place where Solomon’s Temple was located. This impressive structure poised prominently on the Temple Mount, was to have been the heart and soul of the nation. It was there that God had promised to meet with His people, providing them with the sacrificial system as a means of receiving atonement for their sins. But when construction of the temple had been completed, and Solomon had dedicated it to the Lord, he had received a very pointed message from God.

“I have heard your prayer and your petition. I have set this Temple apart to be holy—this place you have built where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.

“As for you, if you will follow me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, then I will establish the throne of your dynasty over Israel forever. For I made this promise to your father, David: ‘One of your descendants will always sit on the throne of Israel.’

“But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the commands and decrees I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, then I will uproot Israel from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled and will gasp in horror. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’

“And the answer will be, ‘Because his people abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to them. That is why the Lord has brought all these disasters on them.’” – 1 Kings 9:3-9 NLT

But Solomon had failed to keep his part of the covenant. He had not walked with integrity and godliness. Instead, he had surrounded himself with countless foreign wives, in direct violation of God’s commands, and had ended up worshiping their false gods. As a result, God had divided his kingdom in half, allowing the ten northern tribes to form the nation of Israel. The tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi, remained in the south as the nation of Judah.

And this oracle begins to address the coming destruction that God had promised would happen if His people abandoned Him and disobeyed His commands and decrees.

God opens the oracle by referring to Jerusalem as the “Valley of Vision.” This designation, while somewhat cryptic to our western ears, would have been very clear to Isaiah’s original audience. Jerusalem sat on what is known as Mount Zion. Zion was originally an ancient Jebusite fortress that David conquered and took possession of, eventually creating the city of Jerusalem. He constructed a royal palace there, and Zion/Jerusalem became the seat of power in Israel’s kingdom. In Psalm 2:6, God refers to Zion as His “holy hill.” Psalm 48 gives a further description of Zion’s status as God’s city.

How great is the Lord,
    how deserving of praise,
in the city of our God,
    which sits on his holy mountain!
It is high and magnificent;
    the whole earth rejoices to see it!
Mount Zion, the holy mountain,
    is the city of the great King!
God himself is in Jerusalem’s towers,
    revealing himself as its defender. – Psalm 48:1-3 NLT

And yet, in this oracle, God refers to Jerusalem, which sat on and was synonymous with Zion, as the “Valley of Vision.” The Hebrew word for “valley” is gay' and conjures up images of a low, flat region, just the opposite of how the psalmist describe it. No longer a “holy mountain,” Jerusalem is fated to become a valley – an image of its coming humiliation and degradation. It will be the place where God’s vision or prophetic pronouncements will be fulfilled. 

And the oracle describes the people of Jerusalem as running for their lives, in an attempt to escape the swords of their enemies. But while some will manage to escape, only to become fugitives living in foreign lands, many will find themselves captured. And there will be many who die, but not as a result of battle. They will die of starvation because of a long, drawn-out siege.

Isaiah describes his reaction to this future judgment on the city of Jerusalem.

“Leave me alone to weep;
    do not try to comfort me.
Let me cry for my people
    as I watch them being destroyed.” – Isaiah 22:4 NLT

As a prophet of God, he knows that this outcome, while inevitable and inescapable, is still avoidable – if only the people will repent and return to God. But the very fact that God is speaking this oracle against Jerusalem reveals that the people will not listen to Isaiah’s warnings. They will not give up their wicked and rebellious ways. And the oracle makes it clear that this future day of judgment will come at the hands of God Himself.

Oh, what a day of crushing defeat!
    What a day of confusion and terror
brought by the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    upon the Valley of Vision!
The walls of Jerusalem have been broken,
    and cries of death echo from the mountainsides. – Isaiah 22:5 NLT

God describes a scene of chaos. The enemy’s chariots fill the valleys surrounding Jerusalem. They storm the gates and attempt to destroy the city’s fortifications. The people inside the walls busy themselves tearing down their own homes to repair the breaches made in the walls. They gather their weapons and attempt to ration their water supply, in hopes of surviving the siege. But Isaiah levels a serious charge against the people of Judah.

But you never ask for help from the One who did all this.
    You never considered the One who planned this long ago. – Isaiah 22:11 NLT

In the midst of all the suffering and threats of pending destruction, the people will party rather than repent. They will operate under the fatalistic assumption that all is lost and, rather than turn to God, they will turn to self-gratification.

…you dance and play;
    you slaughter cattle and kill sheep.
    You feast on meat and drink wine.

You say, “Let’s feast and drink,
    for tomorrow we die!” – Isaiah 22:13 NLT

Not exactly the reaction God was looking for.

At that time the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    called you to weep and mourn.
He told you to shave your heads in sorrow for your sins
   and to wear clothes of burlap to show your remorse. – Isaiah 22:12 NLT

God’s judgment was intended to bring repentance. It was meant as a wake-up call for His people, to jar them from their spiritual lethargy and moral stupor. But they would fail to listen. They would prefer to revel and die than repent and live. So, Isaiah delivers a powerful statement concerning the danger of unbelief.

“Till the day you die, you will never be forgiven for this sin.” That is the judgment of the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. – Isaiah 22:14 NLT

Persistent refusal to believe and trust in God is deadly. It is the unforgivable sin. The people of Judah were faced with a decision, trust in themselves or trust in God. Turn to pagan nations for help or turn to God for salvation. But if they refused to repent and place their hope and trust in God Almighty, they would never experience His salvation.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

I'd Rather Die.

Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written. – Exodus 32:31-32 ESV

The people had sinned. While Moses had been up on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments from God, the people had grown restless and had decided to make their own god. They had turned to Aaron, Moses' right-hand man, and demanded, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him” (Exodus 32:1 ESV). And Aaron had given in to their demand, created a golden calf and allowed the people to worship it, attributing to it the glory due to God alone. “And they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” (Exodus 32:4 ESV). When God had seen what they had done, He was less than pleased and had told Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you” (Exodus 32:9-10 ESV). God was going to destroy them. They had rebelled against Him, turning their back on Him and making for themselves false gods to replace the one true God. But the Scriptures tell us that “Moses implored the Lord his God” (Exodus 32:11 ESV). When he heard what God was going to do, Moses was grieved. The word “implored” does not adequately convey what was going on with Moses. The Hebrew word communicates with much more intensity. Moses was grieved to the point of sickness. The thought of God destroying the people of Israel literally made him sick to his stomach. He couldn't bear the thought.

Now it's important to remember that Moses and the people of Israel had had their fair share of issues since the time they had left Egypt. They had questioned his leadership over and over again. They had doubted his word, grumbled and complained, threatened to go back to Egypt and generally made his life miserable. But when he heard that God was going to destroy them, he was sickened at the thought. So he took his concern to God. “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever’” (Exodus 32:11-14 ESV). Moses gave God four great reasons to show mercy. He appealed to the very nature and character of God. First, He reminded God that these were His people. Secondly, it was He who delivered them from Egypt with great power, redeeming them from captivity and promising them their own land in Canaan. Third, if God was to destroy them now, the Egyptians would have every reason in the world to mock God and question His integrity. Finally, Moses reminded God of the covenant He had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses knew God to be a covenant-keeping God.

As a result of Moses' prayer, the Scriptures say, “And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people” (Exodus 32:14 ESV). Now this raises all kinds of questions, not the least of which is whether or not our prayers can change the mind of God. Or to put it another way, can we alter the will of God with our prayers? God seems to have clearly indicated His plan to destroy the people of Israel for their actions. Moses interceded and God appears to have changed His mind. But on closer inspection, we see that God had told Moses, “Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you” (Exodus 32:10 ESV). This was God speaking to Moses. It was as if God said to Moses, “Get out of my way! Let me at them!” In essence, God was testing Moses' leadership characteristics. He was wanting to see what kind of a shepherd Moses really way. So He threatened to destroy those for whom Moses was responsible. And while Moses could have simply stepped aside and said, “Do what You want!”, he instead stepped up and intervened and interceded on their behalf. In fact, he told God that he would rather die than see the people destroyed. He was willing to give his life rather than see these rebellious, stubborn, stiff-necked people get what they deserved. It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word that is often translated that God “repented” could also be translated that God was “comforted”. His anger was eased by the way in which Moses rose to the occasion. He stepped up. He interceded. He put his own life on the line in order to see the people of God spared.

In a way, I think this was far more a test for Moses than anything else. God was not surprised by the actions of the people. He was not caught off guard when He saw what they had done. But Moses was. He hadn't seen this one coming. And when he saw God's reaction, he suddenly realized just how serious the sin of the people really was. So he cried out to God on their behalf. He begged God to show mercy. He appealed to God's covenant-keeping nature. And God spared them. Moses learned a great deal that day. He learned just how sinful the people really were. He learned just how much God hated sin. And he also learned just how merciful God could be even when faced with open rebellion and the blatant rejection of His goodness and grace. But the most important lesson he learned was the value of godly leadership. He was responsible. He had a vital job to do and he did it. He was willing to die for the people God had given him to lead. It makes me wonder just how committed I am to the people under my care. Do I love the people of God enough to give my life for them? Am I willing to die in order to see God's people blessed by God? Jesus Himself said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13 ESV). My death can't save anyone, but my willing sacrifice of self is the greatest expression of my love for them. What would this world be like if we had more man and women with the attitude of Moses?

The Call of the Wise.

Proverbs 1

“How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? Come and listen to my counsel. I'll share my heart with you and make you wise.” – Proverbs 1:22-23 NLT

In these verses, God, personified as wisdom, calls out to mankind, inviting them to come to Him for wisdom. He specifically targets two different types of fool: The simple fool and the scorning fool. They represent two different extremes in foolish behavior. The simple fool is someone who, like a child, lacks basic common sense. They don't know right from wrong and are prone to make unwise choices because they just don't know any better. The scorning fool is further down the road in their foolish behavior and have learned to despise all authority in their lives. They actually enjoy their foolish behavior, defend it and reject anyone who tries to convict them about it. They mock those who would counsel them to change. They refuse to accept correction and visually disdain anyone who attempts to point them in the right direction. They "relish" their mocking.

The answer for both of these individuals is the same. They need God in their lives. They need to listen to His counsel and apply His principles to their lives. The simple fool needs to wake up and realize that he is simpleminded. He is an easy target for the enemy and has a tendency to have a simplified outlook on life. That's perfectly acceptable for a small child, but there comes a time when we are to grow out of our childish ways. The scorning fool actually enjoys his mocking ways. He has convinced himself that he is right and everyone else, including God, is wrong. They both hate knowledge. They prefer life as it is, doing what is right in their own eyes. But God calls out to them, offering to share His heart with them. He offers wisdom in place of foolishness. Life in place of a slow march toward death.

But in spite of God's patient, persistent calls, they have refused to come. They paid no attention. They ignored His advice. They reject the correction He offered. So God warns them" "So I will laugh when you are in trouble. I will mock you when disaster overtakes you – when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone, and anguish and distress overwhelm you" (Proverbs 1:26-17 NLT). There will come a time when they frantically search for God and cry out to Him for help, but they will not find Him. Why? Because they did not want what He had to offer. They hated knowledge and chose not to fear Him (Proverbs 1:29). They rejected His advice and ignored His loving correction. So God will allow them to "eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes" (Proverbs 1:31 NLT). We've all seen it happen. Perhaps we've seen it happen to ourselves. We've allowed our foolishness to result in pain and disappointment, all because we refused to accept God's offer of wisdom. We have refused to admit out need for Him. He reminds us that "all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm" (Proverbs 1:33 NLT). God cries out daily to all of us who struggle with being simpleminded and scornful. He pleads with us to listen to His wisdom. He offers us His heart. But too often we insist on being simpleminded and relish our own mocking. How long will we continue? How long until we listen? How long until we learn?

Father, You are all the wisdom I need in this world. You have all I need to live this life and yet I so often prefer my own foolishness over Your wisdom. I choose to live unwisely and then wonder why I suffer so much hurt and heartache because of the foolish things I end up doing. Open my eyes and help me see that it is YOU I need. Amen.