Yesterday we saw in Proverbs 1 that to walk in the reverential fear (awe, reverence and respect) of the LORD is what is required to even begin to walk in Wisdom! Proverbs 2 tells that we will understand this fear of the Lord WHEN we put the Word of God as our #1 priority! The first 4 verses (Amplified Bible) tell us what we are to do with the Word:
- Receive
- Treasure up
- Pay attention to
- Incline heart and mind to understand
- Seek as for silver
- Search for as for treasure
The reason we must do these things is because God will not just drop Wisdom into our lives! Verses 6-7:
6 For the LORD gives skillful and godly Wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He hides away sound and godly Wisdom and stores it for the righteous (those upright and in right standing with Him); He is a shield to those who walk uprightly and in integrity
Notice that He hides away the Wisdom FOR us! It is hidden FROM the enemy and FOR us to search out! And the Holy Spirit lives IN us to teach us these things and to bring them to our remembrance whenever needed (John 14:26)! We are of ALL people, MOST BLESSED! I don't know about you, but I wouldn't have wanted to live at any other time in the history of this world! Not even during the time of Jesus' earthly ministry! Why? Because they were not able to understand the Word of God yet! John 12:16:
16 His disciples did not understand and could not comprehend the meaning of these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified and exalted, they remembered that these things had been written about Him and had been done to Him.
I believe that WE are now living in the MOST exciting time in God's plan for mankind! We have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit as our Teacher! Treat His Word as vital for your life and you will be ready for ANYTHING that happens!
I have always liked these verses in 1 Samuel 30:24-25:
24 Who would listen to you in this matter? For as is the share of him who goes into the battle, so shall his share be who stays with the baggage. they shall share alike. 25 And from that day to this he made it a statute and ordinance in Israel.
God calls each of us to a different and unique calling, and none of our callings is more important than someone else's! We have ministry partners who go and preach the Gospel all over the world! Our responsibility is to "stay and pray and pay"! Without them we cannot "Go into all the world", and without US, they can go nowhere! We each have to find God's plan for OUR lives and then support one another completely! That way, everything and everyone is covered! Sounds like GOD to me!
In 1 Samuel 31 we see the death of Saul and his sons. The enemies hung their bodies on the wall at Beth-shan, but the valiant men came and took them down. When we were in Israel last year, we visited the ruins of Beth-shan and saw the now grass-covered sport where this wall once stood. Here is a picture of it:
The grassy area in the background is where the old wall is. This is called a "Tel" and there are many, many of these all over Israel!
If you ever get an opportunity to visit Israel, DO IT! You will appreciate the Word of God even more!
Shalom in Him!
