Pr. 20: God Knows

Proverbs 20:15 "Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel."

Don't overdrink. You become a mocker and a brawler. Note that beer and wine are not forbidden. Just don't be led astray. (v. 1)

So many people fight for honor. Proverbs flips that. Avoiding strife is the honor. Any dope can quarrel. (v. 3)

Didn't plow or plant? Don't expect to harvest. (v. 4)

An understanding man draws his heart's purpose out of deep waters. (v. 5)

Nobody hasn't sinned. But you can be blameless. (v. 7, 9)

Unfair weights and scales are detested by God. You don't want to be a part of any activity God detests. God is well aware of what people are doing. (v. 10-12)

I love sleep. I guess I will be poor. (v. 13) No, this speaks to the sluggard, who does nothing all day.

Lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel, even compared to gold and rubies. Wow. (v. 15)

Don't make plans on your own, it is wise to seek advice. (v. 18)

If you don't want to become a victim of gossip, avoid those who gossip. (v. 19)

Don't make hasty vows. Can you cash that check? (v. 25)

Discipline purifies. (v. 30)

Ps. 139: God Knows

Psalm 139:7 "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?"

This 139th Psalm is a pretty incredible confession and a great revelation of who God is. It's been emphasized in previous readings and books that God knows everything and is all powerful. The macro view of God's power is fairly awe-inspiring, but here David makes it personal. God cares for creation and everything, which includes man. But God also cares about the individual man, and cares deeply. It doesn't matter where a person is, who they are, or how far from God they seem, God knows every thought, every emotion, every sense a person experiences. God also knows the future, being able to know every man's words before he speaks them. That is an incredible power, can you imagine that? It isn't enough to just know what a person is thinking. God takes it a step further and knows what a person will think. Before we think it. And that includes every single person. All at once. And it doesn't confuse him. In some ways that is chilling, but in other ways that's comforting. He understands a person.

There is no where to go to escape this omni-everything God. Even in darkness, which is just as light to God, He sees everything. As we walk through the daytime, it is just as God walks through the night, nothing is hidden.

I love the visual in verses 13-16. He created my inmost being, he knit me together in my mother's womb. "Fearfully and wonderfully made" the text says. Being "fearfully made" gives me pause, but I imagine that fear is another word for "awe." Every person is an awesome creation, wonderfully made, no matter who they become. I'm not sure what "woven together in the depths of the earth" means, but the idea that this may be a metaphor is not lost on me, after all, Job 1:21 offers a similar concept, comparing a mother's womb to the earth. All the days were ordained for a person, before that person lived one. This speaks to planning, for every single person. God knows exactly who a person will be. I don't think this means necessarily that God puts a person on a rail so to speak, and the person drifts into God's ordained destiny. I believe this speaks more to God knowing who a person will become.

And then there is more imprecation at the end of the Psalm, imploring God to crush those who oppose him. Which seems a bit of a weird juxtaposition in a Psalm that glories in God's creation and care in forming lives.

David ends by asking God to search him and to know his mind. David invites God in, as if to say, "Try me," and to keep drawing him to the everlasting if there is any wicked way in him. There's a great song by Christian music iconoclast Steve Taylor called "I Just Wanna Know" that really crystallizes that concept. Give it a listen. Don't worry about the RIAA, Taylor's made a lot of music freely available.

Ps. 121: God is Watching

Psalm 121:7-8 "The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."

The 121st Psalm is pretty incredible, and demonstrates just how closely and carefully God keeps watch over his people. He is constantly watching. He doesn't let anything fall to chance. Never slumbering or sleeping, he shows great care in protection.

My daughter is now about one month old. I have to sleep. Every night. I simply can't watch over her all the time. If I could watch over her all the time, I could not protect her from all the kinds of harm that can suddenly befall an infant.

It makes this watchfulness of God that much more wonderful, and it makes me glad.