Reading: Proverbs 8-11
Now therefore hearken unto Me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep My ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors. For whoso findeth Me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord. But he that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate Me love death (Prov. 8:32-36).
The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was (Prov. 8:22-23). When reading the book of Proverbs, identifying the speaker can sometimes be challenging. There are times when Solomon appears to be referring to himself, while other times he is clearly recording the Words of God as revealed to him through his gift of wisdom. The opening chapter in today’s reading gives us no such issues. Here, tucked among Solomon’s pearls of wisdom and approximately 1000 years before His entrance into the world, the pre-incarnate Christ has left us a most precious gift. In these verses, He is revealed to us in all His majesty. For whoso findeth Me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord. With these words, the path to eternal life is illuminated. Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him (John 14:6-7).
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth. Before the first moment of creation, God’s plan for us was fully formed and already in motion. Then I was by Him, as One brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him; Rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth; and My delights were with the sons of men (8:30-31). God has loved us from the beginning of time and has prepared the way so that we might learn to love Him in return. I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me (8:17).
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. There is only one path we can take that will end in eternal life. In the time of Solomon, the world was being prepared to receive the Light. They were watching and waiting, even though most did not understand what they sought. Today, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt whom we must follow and to whom our allegiance must lie. God’s plan has been fully revealed, and the choice has been laid before all of creation. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness (Rom. 6:16)? Jesus is here, and all who findeth (Him) findeth life. Will we follow Him into life everlasting, or would we rather follow the devil into hell?
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the begin- ning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men (John 1:1-4).
Thought For TodayThough we cannot hope to know in advance the Day of the Lord, it draws closer every day. What line will you be standing in when it arrives?
Christ Revealed: As the Creator who prepared the heavens (Prov. 8:27- 31). The heavens are the works of Thine hands (Heb. 1:10, John 1:3).
Word Studies:8:12 of witty inventions = with wise insight; 8:29 his decree = its boundary; 9:7 getteth himself a blot = gets insults in return; 10:1 heaviness = grief, shame; 10:4 slack = negligent, lazy; 10:8 prating fool = self-sufficient know-it-all; 11:6 naughtiness = wickedness..
Pray For Staff:Gilbert Palafox • Government Officials: Rep. Robert Aderholt (AL), Rep. John Larson (CT),Sen. George Santos (NY),Rep. Seth Magaziner (NY) • Country: Tokelau (1,337) South Pacific Ocean • Major Language: Tokelauan, English, Samoan • 58.2% Congregational Christian Church; 36.6% Roman Catholic; 1.8% Presbyterian; 2.8% Other Christian; 0.1% Spiritualism and New Age; 0.5% Unspecified • Prayer Suggestion: Be glad in the Lord and rejoice at all times (Ps. 32:11).
Optional Reading: Titus 3