Day 586: Down, but not out. - Proverbs 24 vs 13 - 16

13 My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. 14 Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off. 15 Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous; do no violence to his home; 16 for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity. Proverbs 24:13-16 (English Standard Version)

We read in the Old Testament that the son of King Jeroboam of Israel became ill, and the King sent his wife to ask a prophet named Ahijah what the outcome would be. He said to his wife: “Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the child.” (1 Kings 14:1-3) There were no Supermarkets in those days so a jar of honey was a precious commodity. How did the father apply this in vs 14 of today's reading, after telling his son to 'eat honey' because of it's goodness?

What honey is to the health of the body, so wisdom is to the health of our soul. In some other places the father had also urged his son to gain knowledge. But knowledge in itself doesn't necessarily lead to a good future. Some of the most terrible inventions in history were made by people with lots of knowledge. But wisdom will help even those who were never top of the class to make good decisions in life.

Verse 15 speaks of a situation in those days which is still very much with us today. It's the animosity that people who prefer evil have towards those who love what is honest, right and just. In some cases it's thieves who break into the homes of others to steal their possessions. But today we also see an ever increasing political hatred of people who hate the righteous ways of God, and who band together to verbally (and sometimes physically) attack those who try to live in the light of God's word. Why does the father urge his son to never go down that route? (vs 16)

What an encouraging verse that is! Those who seek God's righteousness and who try to walk in His ways will always get up again after taking a tumble. In contrast to this, it's the unhappy and uncontrollable situations in life that cause people who have no time for God to stumble. And the implication is that they stumble in a way that they are then unable to get up again.

So many truths to take from this. It tells us that righteous people DO have falls. Sometimes they are caused by our turning from the path God calls us to walk in. We go where we should not have gone. But sometimes our fall may be the wavering of our faith when we experience any sort of persecution. Even the apostle Peter 'denied' Christ at a critical moment. But just as the Lord restored Peter, so our Saviour restores all who follow Him when they falter.

This verse is also of great encouragement for what have been called our 'besetting sins'. I suspect it's true of every believer that there are areas in life where they are weak. For some it may be losing their temper. For others it may be selfishness, or finding it difficult to not think unkind thoughts of those who cause them sorrow. It may even be a struggle with things that cause addiction, or in controlling one's thoughts of a sexual nature. For a season it may look as if we've overcome our particular weakness, and then we fall again. And while this verse isn’t a reason to say such sins (and falls) don't matter, it is a reason to get up and press on again in seeking to follow, and to do, the will of our Saviour and Lord.

Jesus once told His disciples to forgive those who sinned against them even '70 X 7' times. He will surely show great mercy to us when we confess our sins and seek His forgiveness. Those who choose wickedness in life don't have such confidence and hope. When circumstances go sour for them they often end up blaming God. But happy is the man or woman who've tumbled often, but who know that they have a Saviour who will never forsake them.