Day 244: Something longed for - Proverbs 13 vs 11 - 19

11 Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. 12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

13-14 Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.

15 Good sense wins favour, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin. 16 In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly. 17 A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing.

18 Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honoured. 19 A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools. Proverbs 13:11-19 English Standard Version (New Living Translation link)

As I mentioned before, a big section of Proverbs consists of sayings that contrast the difference between living sensibly or living foolishly. And the best source for sensible living is the wisdom that comes from God through His word. Sometimes the verses easily connect to each other in a sort of theme, but at other times they appear to be stand alone comments. This is the case in today's nine verses although there is a possible thread as well. What is the wise advice given in vs 11?

The New Living Translation puts it as “Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time.” That's pretty useful advice even in our day when there so may get-rich-schemes about, many of which are empty promises. Steady hard work is the better option in the long run. But perhaps that's why he followed it with vs 11. The long road option may mean that our hopes and ambitions are not realized for some time, and that can be discouraging. But when we achieve our goal it's like a tree of life. This is true of the whole Christian journey. What we ultimately long for is deferred for now. But Jesus said: “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7)

Verses 13-14 highlight how using our ears to listen to what the Holy Spirit teaches leads to blessing, not only for ourselves, but to others who we share God's word with. For people who are not saved, death will be a snare from which there is no escape. Jesus Christ is the ultimate fountain of life – eternal life.

What are the opposite attitudes and outcomes that vs 15-17 bring out?

Good sense as opposed to treachery, knowledge as opposed to folly, and faithfulness as opposed to wickedness. The one lifestyle leads to favour (with God and man) and the sort of healing that honesty brings about – the other lifestyle leads to ruin, foolish bragging and trouble. In Luke 2:53 we read that “Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and all the people.” That was in Jesus' formative years and we see that wisdom played a big part. Which brings us to vs 18-19. Can you see a connection in them to what we've seen in the earlier verses?

Those who are willing to use their ears to listen, and their hearts to take on board the wisdom that comes from God's word and be corrected in their behaviour, will win respect from all who love what is good. Those who desire God's blessing rather than the praises of people who delight in wickedness will find their souls sweetened by His love. Jesus said “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness - for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6) Our ultimate desire to be with Jesus may be deferred for now– but the day will dawn when it will be realized and we will be truly satisfied. Is that the longing of your heart today?