Proverbs 31:10-31, Psalm 1, Jeremiah 11:18-20, Psalm 54, James 3:13-4:3, James 4:7-8, Mark 9:30-37.
A). A FINAL PERSONIFICATION OF WISDOM.
Proverbs 31:10-31.
The book of Proverbs closes with an acrostic poem which commends the virtues of a certain (literally) “strong woman” (Proverbs 31:10). If we have been reading through the book up to this point, we will find that we have met her already. This woman of worth, whose “price is above rubies” - is Wisdom itself (cf. Proverbs 3:13-15).
We find that Lady Wisdom is like Jesus. Wisdom, like Jesus, is to be sought after; to be desired: to be found. Wisdom, like Jesus, is to be trusted; and will do us good (Proverbs 31:10-12).
This efficient homemaker and provider for her household (Proverbs 31:13-15) is one and the same as the Wisdom who furnishes a table before us, and calls us to ‘Come and eat’ (Proverbs 9:1-6). In fact - viewed in this light - we can see in her the LORD our shepherd, who prepares a table before us (Psalm 23:5). We can hear Jesus, who cries ‘Come unto me’ to the weary and heavy laden (Matthew 11:28-30; cf. Isaiah 55:1).
This lady’s industriousness stands as an example to all of us, both women and men (Proverbs 31:16-19). Yet behind the imagery we see that the LORD God is the landowner, and that we are His vineyard (cf. Matthew 21:33). We also perceive that Jesus is the true vine (John 15:1).
The Lord strengthens His arm for our salvation (cf. Proverbs 31:17). Wisdom stretches out her hand to the poor, as should we when we are able (Proverbs 31:20). In like manner, the needy find their solace in Jesus: He is the LORD our provider (cf. Proverbs 31:21).
There is great honour in being attached to Wisdom (Proverbs 31:23). We are not foolish to follow Christ. When we walk with Him we will be respected, even by those who do not agree with us.
We read of this woman’s coverings (Proverbs 31:22), and merchandise (Proverbs 31:24): but her greatest adornment is her strength and honour (Proverbs 31:25). We, like her, will have assurances as to the future when we are ‘clothed’ with Christ. We have put on Christ (Galatians 3:27); we must put on Christ (Romans 13:14).
In the poem, this woman opens her mouth with wisdom, and speaks kindness (Proverbs 31:26). In this, as in so much else that we can discover, she is the very personification of Wisdom (cf. Proverbs 4:5-6). If the law was our tutor, pointing us to Christ (Galatians 3:24); then Wisdom serves us in the same way: steering us away from folly, and pointing us towards Jesus the Word of God, the ultimate manifestation of Wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:24).
Just as Lady Wisdom looks to the way of her household (Proverbs 31:27), so the LORD also is industrious (John 5:17). The Father continually watches over His people (Psalm 121:5); and the Son feeds His flock, and tends the lambs with the tenderness of a good shepherd (Isaiah 40:11). The Holy Spirit preserves us in hope, even in adverse circumstances (Galatians 5:5).
The person who is married to Wisdom safely trusts in her (Proverbs 31:11), and is honoured to be associated with her (Proverbs 31:23). In a similar way the people of Jesus (Hebrews 2:12-13) deem Him to be blessed, and praise His holy name (cf. Proverbs 31:28). Wisdom is the principal thing, so by all means get wisdom (Proverbs 4:7) – and wisdom will teach you that ‘there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved’ apart from the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12).
There is a kind of beauty which is only skin-deep. We find this personified in the woman whom I call Dame Folly (Proverbs 6:25). Yet Lady Wisdom’s attraction is of a spiritual order: she fears the LORD (Proverbs 31:30).
Works stand as the evidence of wisdom’s virtue (Proverbs 31:31). The works that the Father was doing in the Son stood as a verification of Jesus’ words (John 14:10-11). Works are an evidence of faith in the believer (James 2:18-20), who is ‘called unto good works which the Father has before determined’ (Ephesians 2:10).
B). THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED.
Psalm 1.
The Book of Psalms begins with a benediction. Psalm 1 then proceeds to declare who are the righteous and who the wicked, along with their separate destinations.
Psalm 1:1.
The blessing is literally, “Oh the happiness!” We are put in mind, of course, of the Beatitudes taught by Jesus in Matthew 5.
Yet the happy man is not seen first in what he does, but rather in what he does not do. The contrast with the wicked is intended from the very beginning.
People complain that God’s commandments are full of negative commands: ‘You shall not…’ However, the usual state of man since the Fall of Adam is one of disobedience to God. It is only natural that we should use man in his estate of sin and misery as a contrast to what man should be, and what the “righteous” man is.
We see the blessed man refusing to enter into the postures of the wicked. Whether he walks, stands or sits, he is not numbered with them in their negative attitudes. They are without God, and God has given them over to sin. Their “seat” is the chair of bold irreverence.
Psalm 1:2.
The righteous man is described as one who delights in the law of the LORD. This is to place our confidence in the Scriptures of God, and in the God of the Scriptures.
Psalm 119:1 gives us a description of the happy man by way of another benediction: ‘Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.’ Here the character of the righteous is seen to be based firstly in his being ‘undefiled.’
Who are undefiled but those whom God has declared righteous in Jesus Christ? We cannot begin to walk this way without Him. But when we are clothed with Christ, God looks upon us and sees not our sins, but the very righteousness of Christ.
Only after this great transaction can we even begin to “delight in the law of the LORD.” It is well to make the Scriptures our constant study. If we are truly His it will be no drudgery, but rather a delight.
Psalm 1:3.
The present state of the blessed man is described as being “like” a tree planted by the riverside. To be planted is to take root, to have a permanent residence. Those who are rooted in Christ are irrigated by His Spirit, and bring forth fruit for Christ. (cf. John 15:1-10).
Jeremiah 17:7-8 uses the same figure: ‘Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither cease from yielding fruit.’
Here the basis of our blessedness is seen to arise from our faith, our trust in Christ. Being ‘rooted and grounded in Him’ (cf. Ephesians 3:17; Colossians 2:7) we find that we are protected from the forces which would otherwise wither our Christian lives.
All that we do for His glory will prosper. The man who pursues holiness will find not only what he sought, but will also incidentally find true joy and everlasting happiness.
Psalm 1:4.
The conduct of the wicked is seen to be contrary to that which typifies the righteous. They delight rather in those negative postures and attitudes enumerated in verse 1.
The wicked are not really happy. The man who uses all his energy in the pursuit of happiness will never really find it. The reaper in Israel uses the wind to separate the chaff from the grain. Thus shall it be for those who seek not God: they will be driven away and separated forever from the righteous (cf. Matthew 13:30).
Psalm 1:5.
The contrast between the righteous and the wicked is now stood upon its head. The righteous “stand” as those acquitted, those accepted by God.
The wicked made his choice in this life to “stand in the way of sinners” (back in Psalm 1:1). His destiny (here in Psalm 1:5) is that he “shall not stand in the judgment.” The sinners scoffed at the righteous, but now they find themselves excluded from “the congregation of the righteous.”
This eternal separation of the wicked from the righteous is taught throughout the Scriptures. Jesus Himself speaks more than once of a place where there shall be ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ This is no temporary punishment: Matthew 25:46 reads, ‘And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.’
The blessing of the righteous and the separation of the wicked is a theme echoed at the very end of the Bible. Revelation 22:14-15 reads: ‘Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates of the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.’
Psalm 1:6.
By way of encouragement for the godly we are told that “the LORD knows the way of the righteous.” Perhaps at times we are cast down, burdened in the midst of trials. The LORD knows, and is present with us in the midst of them all.
Job 23:10 tells us: ‘He knows the way that I take: when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.’
Though we may ‘walk through the valley of the shadow of death’ (Psalm 23:4), it is after all just a shadow. And even there, our Good Shepherd is present to lead and to guide. If we have new life in Jesus, we have life in all its abundance, and life for all eternity.
As for the ungodly, their way shall perish (cf. Psalm 37:1-2). All their rebellion against God, all their sinful schemes and plans against His people, shall end in ruin. The fact that Psalm 1 does end on this negative note stands as a warning to us all: get right with Jesus, before it is too late!
C). THE COMPLAINT OF JEREMIAH.
Jeremiah 11:18-20.
The last of the ‘good’ kings of Judah was Josiah, whose name means ‘he will be sustained of the LORD’ (2 Chronicles 34:2). Long story short, having purged the land of idols, Josiah sent men to repair the Temple (2 Chronicles 34:8), and they found ‘the book of the law of the LORD given by Moses’ (2 Chronicles 34:14). Josiah made a covenant with the LORD on behalf of all his people (2 Chronicles 34:31), and held a great Passover feast, such as had never been seen before (2 Chronicles 35:18). After this Josiah made his one great mistake: he went out against the Pharoah of Egypt, and was fatally wounded in the battle of Megiddo. ‘And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah’ (2 Chronicles 35:25).
Jeremiah, whose name means ‘the LORD will cast forth’, was the son of a priest, from a priestly settlement in the land of Benjamin (Jeremiah 1:1). At the beginning of our chapter, Jeremiah was commissioned by the LORD to pronounce a curse against those who would not obey ‘the words of this covenant’ (Jeremiah 11:1-3).
However, despite all Josiah’s outward reforms, the LORD ‘found a conspiracy’ against His covenant (Jeremiah 11:9-10). ‘Therefore thus saith the LORD,’ pronounced the prophet (Jeremiah 11:11) … ‘The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult He has kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken’ (Jeremiah 11:16).
In our text for today, Jeremiah 11:18-20, the LORD gave Jeremiah “knowledge” and “showed him the doings” of the men of his own hometown (Jeremiah 11:18), that they sought his life (cf. Jeremiah 11:21)! Prior to this, Jeremiah was oblivious to, and had no knowledge of the plots against him: “I knew not that they had devised devices against me” (Jeremiah 11:19b).
‘Jesus Himself testified, that a prophet has no honour in his own country’ (John 4:44), and even He moved His base of operations away from His hometown of Nazareth to Capernaum.
The words which they spoke against Jeremiah parodied his earlier words from God (cf. Jeremiah 11:16). “Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof,” they mocked, “and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be no more remembered” (Jeremiah 11:19cd).
“But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter,” complained the prophet (Jeremiah 11:19a). The same is said of Jesus: 'Behold the Lamb of God' (John 1:29). ‘He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter’ (Isaiah 53:7). Yet Jesus complained not (cf. Acts 8:32). And whilst Jesus’ sufferings were unique (1 Peter 2:24), the Apostle Peter reminds us that God’s people in every generation are also called to suffer after His example (1 Peter 2:21).
Having heard of his neighbours’ threats, Jeremiah, like Jesus after him, committed himself to the One who judges righteously (Jeremiah 11:20; cf. 1 Peter 2:23). Unlike Jesus, Jeremiah called for the vengeance of the LORD, but he was asking for no more than justice. ‘Behold, I will punish them,’ answered the LORD (Jeremiah 11:22).
We live in a different era, when sin has already been dealt with at the cross of Calvary. Jesus exhorts us to ‘pray’ for those who ‘despitefully use’ us, and ‘persecute’ us (Matthew 5:44). The Apostle Paul reminds us that vengeance belongs to the Lord, and that rather than avenging ourselves, we should overcome evil with good (Romans 12:19-21). It is the LORD who will fight our battles (Exodus 14:14).
D). GOD IS MY HELPER.
Psalm 54:1-7.
The superscription to this Psalm associates it with a particular act of betrayal. David was on the run from King Saul (1 Samuel 23:15); and his neighbours, members of his own tribe, reported his whereabouts to his pursuers (1 Samuel 23:19). However, in the original this Psalm does not start with David, nor with any other petitioner. It starts with God:
“O God (Elohim), by thy name save me” (Psalm 54:1a);
The key to the whole Psalm is what God is to David. We are talking about a relationship here. So, while David recognises God as his “judge”, he calls upon His “strength” (power) for vindication (Psalm 54:1b).
This is the right way to turn in times of trouble. Pity parties get us nowhere, but when we turn to God, we can expect results.
“O God (Elohim), hear my prayer” (Psalm 54:2a).
“Give ear to the words of my mouth” (Psalm 54:2b) is a plea connecting the imperatives of the first two verses with the statement of the petitioner’s case in Psalm 54:3. David’s neighbours are acting like “strangers”, whilst “oppressors” (like King Saul) “seek after” his life. Unlike David, who set God first in this Psalm, these “have not set God before them.”
“Selah.” Pause for thought.
Perhaps we see something of an empowering of the petitioner as the Psalm proceeds:
“Behold, God (Elohim) is my helper;
The Lord (Adonai) is with them that uphold my soul” (Psalm 54:4).
“God is my helper” (Psalm 54:4a) proves true in the prophetic future of Psalm 54:7. Meantime, the statement “He shall reward evil unto my enemies” (Psalm 54:5a) is simply a statement of fact; whilst “cut them off in thy truth” (Psalm 54:5b) is a call for ‘the judge of all the earth’ (Genesis 18:25) to vindicate His own righteousness.
As we draw towards the end of the Psalm, the petitioner makes a confident promise. He will bring his freewill offering (Psalm 54:6a). God has loved His people freely (cf. Hosea 14:4); and Jesus died for our sins freely, although at great cost to Himself. In the context of the church’s mission to preach the gospel, the gospel is to be offered freely: Jesus said, ‘Freely you have received, freely give’ (Matthew 10:8).
At last the Psalmist feels free to name the Name:
“I will praise thy name, O LORD (Yahweh); for it is good” (Psalm 54:6b).
In the immediate context, that name is “Yahweh”. Yet New Testament believers may read ‘Jesus’. After all, the name ‘Jesus’ refers to the One who shall ‘save His people’ (Matthew 1:21). Furthermore we may recognise that some Old Testament verses referring to the LORD (Yahweh) are also used with reference to Jesus (e.g. Isaiah 45:23; Philippians 2:10).
Yet Jesus also gave us another name: He speaks of ‘your Father and my Father’ (John 20:17). As THE Son of God, He addressed the LORD in prayer as ‘Abba, Father’ (Mark 14:36). As God’s adopted sons, we are allowed to call God ‘Father’ in this way (cf. Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6).
Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name’ (Matthew 6:9). However, He also encouraged us to ask in His name (John 16:24). So prayer, for Christians, is made to God the Father, in the name of His Son Jesus, in the power of the Spirit of adoption (Romans 8:16).
So, whatever way we look upon it, the Name of our God is good! We have an investment in that goodness, “For He has delivered us out of all trouble” (Psalm 54:7a). Whether that trouble is physical or spiritual, Jesus is our deliverer.
Whether those enemies are slanderers and persecutors; or spiritual forces such as sin, death, and the devil, Jesus has got it covered. “And our eyes have seen His desire upon our enemies” (Psalm 54:7b).
E). CHRISTIAN WISDOM.
James 3:13-4:3; James 4:7-8.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God” (James 1:5)
James has used an illustration of two sources in his discussion of the divisiveness of the tongue (James 3:10-12). Now he wants to get to the heart of the matter. It is not, after all, unwashed hands that morally defiles us - but our danger rises from within (Matthew 15:19-20). It is out of the heart that flows “the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
THE MEEKNESS OF WISDOM DEMONSTRATED.
James 3:13.
“Who is wise and understanding among you?” asks James. As usual, the brother of our Lord expects a practical demonstration of our “religion” (James 1:27). Are you a friend of the world or a friend of God? (James 4:4).
The friend of God will be known by the “good conduct” of his works. That which he does will be useful, valuable, and of great worth. This is the meaning of this word for “good” in Matthew 13:45.
Having received with meekness the engrafted word (James 1:21) - and continuing to take on the yoke of Jesus (Matthew 11:29) - the discerning and knowledgeable will demonstrate the Christ-like gentleness that is born of wisdom in all that they do. “The meek shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5)!
James 3:17.
“The wisdom that is from above” reflects in behaviour, in the good life. Its meekness is seen in its purity, peacefulness, gentleness, openness to reason, mercy, fruitfulness, impartiality, and lack of hypocrisy.
James 3:18.
When the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, the result is fruitfulness and peace, quietness and assurance for ever (Isaiah 32:15-18). This is the harvest of righteousness, due to those who make peace (James 3:18). Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)!
WORLDLY WISDOM EXPOSED.
James 3:14.
In contrast, worldly wisdom is betrayed by a strong feeling of jealousy, or bitter envy. This is the same word as is used for the “brackish” or “bitter” water of James 3:11. This is a misplaced, fiery zeal - perhaps not unlike that of Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:1). This arises out of a contentious heart, selfish ambition, divisiveness and disobedience (Romans 2:8).
James 3:15.
The source of this kind of so-called “wisdom” is sinister. It is not from heaven. It is of Adam, earthy and earthly (1 Corinthians 15:47). It is natural, of fallen nature, un-spiritual. It is devilish, not God-breathed but arising from Satan himself.
James 3:16.
The fruits of this divisiveness are confusion, disorder, and all kinds of evil practices. We are reminded that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33).
THE VIOLENT OFFSPRING OF WORLDLY WISDOM.
As we move on into James 4, we see the violent offspring of this worldly wisdom. In the church context which James is addressing, this may conceivably be hyperbole: but let us not forget that Jesus, in His famous rewrite of the law-book, places harsh words and unforgiving attitudes under the heading of “murder” (Matthew 5:21-22).
James 4:1.
All such attitudes arise from within, from our inner passions. This is the kind of self-willed determination which fires and inflames many a war, - and causes church division.
James 4:2.
We are not to imagine that the churches to whom James was writing were literally murdering one another. However, there was an insatiable atmosphere of conflict at work in their midst. Their prayer life was marred, and fighting and bickering seems to have broken out within the fellowship.
James 4:3.
Yet even when they did pray, they prayed amiss. They desired to use what they prayed for to feed their pleasures. What is the point of asking for wisdom from above (James 1:5) if we have no intention to use such wisdom for the glory of God?
SUBMISSION TO GOD.
James 4:7.
Thankfully James offers us an antidote to this worldliness. It is one of those “Choose you this day whom you will serve” moments (Joshua 24:15). “Submit to God,” he says. “Resist the devil” - who will then flee!
James 4:8.
Nurture a mutual fellowship with God. Seek God, and - even while you are a great way off - you will find Him seeking you (Luke 15:20).
F). A CHILD-LIKE HUMILITY.
Mark 9:30-37.
1. CONTEXT (Mark 8:29-34).
On the back of Peter’s famous confession of faith (Mark 8:29), Jesus began to teach His disciples about His upcoming death and resurrection (Mark 8:31). About this the disciples were, to say the least, slow on the uptake: Peter’s first instinct had been to rebuke Jesus (Mark 8:32), drawing from Jesus what is perhaps the sternest reprimand that He ever made (Mark 8:33)! So, Jesus called the people to Him, along with His disciples, and taught them the necessity of self-denial, Cross-carrying humility, and loyal following of Him (Mark 8:34).
2. THE CROSS (Mark 9:30-32).
In the first part of today’s passage we again find the motif of secrecy (Mark 9:30; cf. Mark 8:30). This was because of the divergence between the people’s perception of what Messiah should be, and Jesus’ own agenda. The emphasis on the Cross was still uppermost in Jesus’ mind as the apostolic band walked through Galilee on their way home to Capernaum, and Jesus again sought to convey this message to His disciples (Mark 9:31): but again, they found it a difficult pill to swallow (Mark 9:32).
We need not be surprised at this, because the way of the Cross has always been a stumbling-block to religious people: ‘For the message of the cross is foolishness unto those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). Left on his own, Man would rather trust in his own (in)ability to keep the Law of God than trust in the sacrifice of Another! Yet there is no other way (John 14:6; Acts 4:12): Jesus came ‘not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life as a ransom for many’ (Mark 10:45).
Speaking of His death, Jesus often refers to Himself grammatically in the third person as “the Son of Man” (Mark 9:31; cf. Mark 8:31; Mark 9:12; Mark 10:33). He who is fully God is also fully Man: who humbled Himself (Read Philippians 2:5-8) and gave Himself over unto death (John 10:18). He is the new representative head of the human race; ‘the last Adam’ if you will: and as ‘the last Adam’ He gives His life as a substitute for the many; and became, by His resurrection, ‘a life-giving spirit’ (1 Corinthians 15:45).
3. THE SUBTEXT (Mark 9:33-35).
The irony of this piece of peripatetic teaching is found in the subtext: meanwhile the disciples were “arguing about who was the greatest” (Mark 9:33-34)! The solemnity of what Jesus was saying had almost passed them by: and again, on the back of yet another attempt to teach them (Mark 10:33-34), there would be a resurgence of this same distraction (Mark 10:37). Jesus’ initial answer was to invert the twelve’s perception of “first” and “last” (Mark 9:35).
4. THE LITTLE CHILD (Mark 9:36-37).
Jesus set a little child in their midst (Mark 9:36). Now such children, in the ancient world, had no rights: yet Jesus was happy to scoop one up into His holy arms and teach. A little child represents the least of the least; yet has a special place in the heart of Jesus: to receive “one such” is to receive Jesus; and to receive Jesus is to receive God Himself (Mark 9:37).
Luke’s account adds, ‘for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.’ (Read Luke 9:48).
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus seems to identify ‘these little ones who believe’ with His disciples. (Read Matthew 18:6 with Matthew 10:40-42). And things done/ not done ‘unto one of the LEAST of these My brethren’ shall be judged accordingly (Matthew 25:40; Matthew 25:45-46).
The Apostle Peter tells us that the suffering of Christ was an example for us to follow (Read 1 Peter 2:21-23). However, whilst the death of Jesus furnishes us with the supreme example of humility, it is unique in its application (Read 1 Peter 2:24-25).
The Apostle Paul teaches: ‘Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself’ (Philippians 2:3).
There is a chorus based on Mark 9:35: ‘If you want to be first in God's kingdom, learn to be the servant of all.’
