Welcome to Wisdom Today with Bill Kelley. On today's podcast we will be reading Proverb 3. I will then key in on verses 1 & 2 - My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you. Friends, what a promise of God! On today's podcast I will continue my brief study of the minor prophet Habakkuk, which I began yesterday. I mentioned yesterday that the reason I chose this particular prophet to study is because Habakkuk is the only one of all the prophets that actually questioned God. I think that is useful to know - as I believe many people have questions for God today as well. The good news is that God never got upset with Habakkuk for asking these questions. By the end of today's lesson there are three things I ask that you consider:
1. Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One?
2. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A p[erson more righteous than he?
3. Shall they therefore empty their net, And continued to slay nations without pity?
Call to Action - Are you invested in the Word of God? Do you read it on a regular basis? Are you interested in having long life and peace in your life?
[00:00:06] Welcome to Wisdom Today. My name is Bill Kelley and I'll be your host. In this podcast we will be exploring the book of Proverbs.
[00:00:21] Let's open in prayer. Father God, I thank you for anyone listening to this podcast today. Lord, I pray that you would reveal to everyone listening how much you truly love each and every one of them. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
[00:00:37] This is Proverb 3, beginning in verse 1.
[00:00:42] My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands. For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.
[00:00:53] Let not mercy and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart.
[00:01:02] And so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones.
[00:01:31] Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the firstfruits of all your increase. So your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.
[00:01:44] My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction. For whom the Lord loves, He corrects. Just as a father, the son in whom He delights.
[00:01:59] Happy is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding. For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver and her gain than fine gold.
[00:02:13] She is more precious than rubies and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.
[00:02:20] Length of days is in her right hand. In her left hand, riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
[00:02:33] She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her.
[00:02:40] The Lord, by wisdom, founded the earth. By understanding, He established the heavens. By His knowledge, the depths were broken up, and clouds dropped down the dew.
[00:02:54] My son, let them not depart from your eyes. Keep sound wisdom and discretion, so they will be life to your soul, and grace to your neck.
[00:03:07] Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble.
[00:03:13] When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.
[00:03:20] Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes.
[00:03:28] For the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.
[00:03:34] Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so.
[00:03:41] Do not say to your neighbor, go and come back, and tomorrow I will give it to you, when you have it with you.
[00:03:51] Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he dwells by you for safety's sake.
[00:03:58] Do not strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm.
[00:04:04] Do not envy the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
[00:04:09] For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord, but his secret counsel is with the upright.
[00:04:18] The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the just.
[00:04:25] Surely he scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble.
[00:04:31] The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools.
[00:04:38] Friends, today I'd like to take a closer look at verses 1 and 2.
[00:04:45] And Proverb 3, verses 1 and 2 tell us this.
[00:04:50] My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands for length of days and long life and peace.
[00:05:01] They will add to you.
[00:05:03] Now, friends, we will come back and revisit those two verses prior to closing today.
[00:05:08] But what I'd like to do is to continue in my brief study, which I began yesterday.
[00:05:16] And yesterday I began a study on the minor prophet Habakkuk.
[00:05:23] Now, many of you listening today may not be familiar with the prophet Habakkuk.
[00:05:30] It's kind of a different name.
[00:05:32] It's actually a little bit hard to say.
[00:05:34] But one of the reasons I chose this particular book, and this study is only going to last two to three weeks because it's only three chapters long.
[00:05:44] Today we'll be completing the first chapter.
[00:05:48] But I picked this particular study because Habakkuk is known as the only prophet who would ask God questions.
[00:05:59] He asked God difficult questions.
[00:06:02] And most of the other prophets, God would speak to them, and the prophets would just talk to the people.
[00:06:09] Thus saith the Lord, thus saith the Lord, and he would give the message.
[00:06:15] But Habakkuk actually basically confronts God.
[00:06:19] And he says, I have questions about what I'm seeing.
[00:06:23] And today my three points are going to be three different questions that Habakkuk is actually asking God.
[00:06:34] So hopefully you'll learn from this because the point I really want to try to get across to everyone listening today is people still have questions that they are unsure of.
[00:06:46] And they want to ask God questions.
[00:06:50] And Habakkuk tells us throughout this study we're going to learn that God never does get upset with Habakkuk for asking these questions.
[00:07:02] So let's continue in chapter 1 and we will be going over the last six verses beginning in verse 12.
[00:07:11] And these six verses are entitled, The Prophet's Second Question.
[00:07:17] But actually he asks, let's begin with verse 12.
[00:07:22] Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One?
[00:07:27] We shall not die.
[00:07:29] O Lord, you have appointed them for judgment.
[00:07:34] O Rock, you have marked them for correction.
[00:07:40] So friends, my first point today, are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One?
[00:07:49] So Habakkuk is showing reverence here for God.
[00:07:54] And he's reminding God of who he is.
[00:07:57] But he is really having a difficult time that God is using the Chaldeans or the Babylonians to judge his people, Israel.
[00:08:12] And what Habakkuk is arguing is that they are actually worse than we are.
[00:08:19] So how can you possibly allow them to be judging us?
[00:08:25] Now, friends, I am reading out of the Nelson Study Bible.
[00:08:28] And what I'd like to do is go over the commentary for verse 12.
[00:08:34] Habakkuk's point seems to be that God's holiness should have prevented him from using a dirty instrument like Babylon
[00:08:46] to accomplish his purposes in judging and reproving his own people.
[00:08:53] Now, let's go to verse 13.
[00:08:55] You are of purer eyes than to behold evil and cannot look on wickedness.
[00:09:04] And here is his second question of the day.
[00:09:08] Why do you look on those who deal treacherously and hold your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he?
[00:09:21] Now, my second point today is why do you look on those who deal treacherously and hold your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he?
[00:09:34] Now, let's look at the commentary.
[00:09:36] Pure eyes.
[00:09:38] Habakkuk wondered how God could look on as the wicked Babylonians perverted justice.
[00:09:46] A person more righteous than he.
[00:09:50] This was the ethical dilemma that faced Habakkuk.
[00:09:55] The Judeans were less corrupt and idolatrous than the Babylonians who were being used to judge them for their sins.
[00:10:06] So Habakkuk really has a good point.
[00:10:09] And, you know, I hope you guys see the point I'm trying to get across here.
[00:10:15] Wait a minute.
[00:10:16] And I'm going to say in our world today, friends, there's no one that is righteous.
[00:10:21] The Bible tells us that in Romans.
[00:10:23] No one is righteous.
[00:10:25] Basically, no, not one.
[00:10:26] We all fall short of the glory of God.
[00:10:30] We are going to make mistakes.
[00:10:32] We are.
[00:10:33] No matter how hard we try in life, we're going to make mistakes.
[00:10:37] We're going to fall short of the ideal that God has for us.
[00:10:42] But Habakkuk is saying, hold on a second, God.
[00:10:46] This doesn't make any sense.
[00:10:48] These people that you are using to judge us are way worse than we are.
[00:10:55] Think about this.
[00:10:56] Gosh, he just did not understand why God was allowing this to happen.
[00:11:04] Let's go to verse 14.
[00:11:06] Why do you make men like fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler over them?
[00:11:14] They take up all of them with a hook.
[00:11:17] They catch them in their net and gather them in their dragnet.
[00:11:23] Therefore, they rejoice and are glad.
[00:11:25] Therefore, they sacrifice to their net and burn incense to their dragnet,
[00:11:33] because by them their share is sumptuous and their food plentiful.
[00:11:41] And let's close with verse 17.
[00:11:44] Shall they therefore empty their net and continue to slay nations without pity?
[00:11:53] So my third point today, shall they therefore empty their net and continue to slay nations without pity?
[00:12:03] Friends, the Babylonians were judging Israel and they were making life difficult for them.
[00:12:12] Let's look at the commentary for verse 17.
[00:12:15] Habakkuk wanted to know how God could allow the brazen activity of the Babylonians to continue unabated.
[00:12:26] The prophet reasoned that God surely had a desire to punish the Babylonians for their pride.
[00:12:35] And the Bible tells us that, that God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.
[00:12:41] Now, the Israelites certainly weren't using humility in this time period.
[00:12:47] And, you know, I believe Habakkuk actually felt that Israel should be judged for the way they were acting,
[00:12:54] but he didn't understand how he could use the Babylonians to be the one that would judge them.
[00:13:03] Now, before we close today, I'd like to go back to our proverb of the day.
[00:13:07] And this is the 3rd of January.
[00:13:10] So we are on Proverb 3.
[00:13:13] Let's take a look once again at verses 1 and 2.
[00:13:17] My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands.
[00:13:25] For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.
[00:13:32] Now, let's look at the commentary for those two verses.
[00:13:36] Law and commands are words that draw attention to the connection between wisdom and the law of Moses.
[00:13:47] The Proverbs are an application of the law.
[00:13:51] But let's break these two verses down because one of the reasons I like to do this podcast
[00:13:59] is to give people practical advice.
[00:14:02] I want to give you information and suggestions that can help you live a better life.
[00:14:12] So let's listen to this because this is almost a promise of God.
[00:14:16] My son, do not forget my law.
[00:14:19] This is God actually speaking to each and every one of us.
[00:14:23] He wants us to get into his word and read it.
[00:14:28] But let your heart keep my commandments.
[00:14:33] And I like this point here because what he's saying here is do not read my word, the Bible, like a regular book.
[00:14:44] The word of God is alive.
[00:14:47] It is breathing.
[00:14:49] You cannot read it like a regular novel.
[00:14:54] You simply can't.
[00:14:55] And I often tell people before you read the Bible, pray to God and ask him this.
[00:15:03] Father God, as I read your word, I want you to speak to me and tell me what it is that you want me to get
[00:15:13] and understand from this particular passage that I'm going to read.
[00:15:19] Help it make my life better and help it make me a better person.
[00:15:25] Let's go to verse 2.
[00:15:27] For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.
[00:15:36] Now friends, that is a powerful promise of God.
[00:15:41] Length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.
[00:15:51] So what God is literally telling us here is if we read his word,
[00:15:58] we will have length of days and a long life
[00:16:04] and we will have peace in our hearts.
[00:16:10] What a promise.
[00:16:13] So friends, my call to action today is very simple.
[00:16:17] Are you invested in the word of God?
[00:16:21] Do you go and read the word of God on a regular basis?
[00:16:28] Are you interested in length of days and long life and peace in your life?
[00:16:37] I'd like to think that everyone listening would wholeheartedly say,
[00:16:43] Yes, I want that.
[00:16:46] If you do, I suggest that you begin to open up the book called the Bible
[00:16:54] and begin to read it on a regular basis.
[00:16:58] Friends, I will never end a podcast without giving anyone an opportunity to receive Jesus
[00:17:05] as their Lord and Savior.
[00:17:07] If there is anyone listening today and you've never taken that step,
[00:17:11] I invite you to repeat a simple prayer after me today.
[00:17:15] Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God.
[00:17:19] I believe that you came to earth and died on a cross
[00:17:23] for everyone listening to this podcast today.
[00:17:27] Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner and in need of a Savior.
[00:17:33] I believe that by dying on that cross, all of my sins have been forgiven.
[00:17:40] Jesus, I invite you to come into my heart.
[00:17:43] I ask that you lead me and guide me in every area of my life from this point on.
[00:17:51] I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
[00:17:55] Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you.
[00:17:58] The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
[00:18:03] The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
[00:18:08] Friends, this is the weekend.
[00:18:11] I pray that you take out your spouse, take your kids along, have a good family weekend.
[00:18:18] Enjoy your time together.
[00:18:19] Let everyone know how much God loves them and how much you love them.
[00:18:25] And I will see you back on Monday as we further explore wisdom today.