February 1 ▪ Day 32

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 10:9
Isaiah 13–14
Romans 7–8
Psalms 32

Verse Focus (Proverbs 10:9)

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,
     but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.

Meditation

Good morning, and welcome to February — or to your second month (should you have begun this plan on a date other than January first). 🙂

As believers, we want to be people of integrity. So, what does that mean? We’re so familiar with the word integrity that we sometimes struggle to define it. I had to laugh when I read The Urban Dictionary’s definition of integrity. They said, “Doing the right thing even when nobody’s looking.” Of course, we know that God is always watching us. 🙂

The Oxford English Dictionary defines integrity as, “The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.” This is the meaning we typically remember. But integrity also has a secondary meaning: “The state of being whole and undivided.” When you consider that the word integrity evolved from the Latin adjective integer, meaning whole or complete, this secondary meaning makes a lot of sense. One could define integrity is an inner “wholeness” that derives from qualities such as honesty and consistency of character. Such internal consistency must inevitably result in behavior that conforms with one’s values. In this respect, integrity is the opposite of hypocrisy.

Technically, we could say that a person has integrity so long as they’re not violating their own principles (in which case, a murderer could be seen as having integrity by supporting gang territory through elimination of rivals). However, such a narrow definition of integrity violates how the word is typically understood. Adherence to moral principles is integral to integrity. Although definitions of integrity do not typically specify the moral values it encompasses (other than honesty), in our society these principles are loosely based on Judeo-Christian values.

Merriam-Webster relates the meanings of integrity to incorruptibility (firm adherence to a moral or artistic code), soundness (an unimpaired condition), and completeness (quality or state of being complete or undivided). Every definition I read adds nuances to my understanding of integrity. Suggested synonyms for integrity include honesty, truthfulness, honor, nobility, virtue, sincerity, decency, accuracy, scrupulousness, righteousness, trustworthiness, and steadfastness. There are more synonyms, too, but you get the idea. Integrity is starting to sound an awful lot like God’s character, isn’t it?

Proverbs 10:9 says, “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.” It’s no surprise to hear that integrity will protect you. Walking in integrity is also walking in godliness. However, I take great comfort in knowing that those who are devious and deceptive will be found out. Shenanigans at work or in the political spectrum can make me fret; I am a helpless spectator to the dishonesty and lies. But I can take this verse to God and hold this promise of Scripture up to Him. He is the true judge. He is the one who hates wickedness. He is patient, but eventually, those who are corrupt will be discovered and — unless there is a change of ways — they will fall.

Father God, we long for integrity in ourselves and in our land. However, we do not possess integrity in and of ourselves. It is a gift of grace. The Holy Spirit gives moral purity and consistency. Cleanse us from our sinfulness and help us to walk in your ways: to be truthful and honest and righteous. May your light expose those who take crooked paths. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Isaiah chapters 13 and 14 contain prophecies against several other nations. Although Isaiah primarily spoke to the people of Judah, he also recorded God’s prophetic messages to the enemies of Israel and Judah. In these chapters, we have prophecies for Babylon, Assyria, and Philistia. Some Bible scholars place the timing of these prophecies to about 725 BC, which would have been about three years before Assyria conquers Israel and deports the people. About 20 years after the fall of Israel, Judah narrowly escapes being conquered by Assyria. However, about 115 years after that narrow escape, Judah does indeed fall to Babylon in 586 BC.

So, Chapter 13 is a proclamation entirely against Babylon. Isaiah speaks of the coming “day of the LORD” and prophesies judgment for Babylon. Verse 9 says, “See, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation, and to destroy its sinners from it.” Verse 11 records God’s promise, “I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity.” In verse 17, Isaiah names the Medes as the ones who will eventually topple Babylon. Verse 19 gives me the shivers: “And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pride of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.”

Chapter 14 speaks briefly of the restoration of Judah but goes on to then prophesy of the downfall of the King of Babylon. These events will be intertwined. Not only will the king fall, but the entire nation will become a distant memory. “I will rise up against them, says the LORD of hosts, and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, offspring and posterity (v. 22).”

Isaiah next prophesies against the Assyrians who will rule over Samaria (Israel), that he will break their yoke. God’s people will be freed. Isaiah also prophesies against Philistia because they rejoiced over the death of King Ahaz of Judah; the LORD promises to remove both root and remnant, and warns them about smoke from the north (v. 31) — presumably invading Assyrians and Babylonians. Verse 27 seems a fitting epitaph to the entire chapter: “For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?”

Many of these prophecies were fulfilled 400 years or more before Christ was born, and yet there is also application for today. We still look forward to end times: to a Day of Judgment when the scrolls will be opened and the sheep and goats will be separated, and the kingdom of Jesus Christ will be fully established. So these prophecies against the nations are also prophecies for us. The day of judgment will come: it will be terrible and devastating. The wicked will be punished; nations will fall.

The book of Revelation uses Babylon as a symbol for the wicked world that will exist in end times. I take this to mean that we should pay special attention to these prophecies concerning Babylon, although we can learn from all Biblical prophecy.

Isaiah 14:12 deserves special mention. The prophet cries, “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!” Some translations use the terminology of “morning star” for Day Star. It was originally a reference to the planet Venus, which was seen as the morning star or the evening star. In the Latin Vulgate, the word for morning star or day bringer was Lucifer, so the King James translation uses that word for Day Star. The reason I mention all this is because there has been a longstanding Christian tradition of interpreting “Day Star” to be another name for Satan. This identification is based on two New Testament passages that describe the fall of Satan: Luke 10:18 and Revelation 12:7–9. Although many dispute whether this prophecy is really talking about Satan (in addition to speaking of a Babylonian ruler), the passage is certainly reminiscent of what we know of the devil and his overweening pride.

Romans 7 and Romans 8 continue Paul’s discourse on how the law and how sin function in the life of the believer. Both chapters are beloved by Christians through the ages: chapter 7 because it speaks of the terrible conflict we face because of our sinful natures, and chapter 8 because it speaks of the glorious certainty we have of being held fast by God in Jesus Christ.

As chapter 7 begins, Paul talks about how death frees one from bondage in the law. After giving an example of marriage, Paul writes in verse 4, “In the same way [that a woman is freed from law of marriage when her husband dies]… you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another.” He again tells us how the law reveals sin to us, saying in verse 7, “Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.” However, the sin perverts the law. Paul writes, “The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me (v. 10).”

And so Paul speaks of the difficulties of living under grace while still possessing a sinful nature. There is now a deep divide in his being. Part of Paul desires to follow God; but part still sins. It is a terrible conflict coming from the sinful nature (or “the flesh”). Paul cries out in verse 15, “For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” In verse 18 he elaborates, “I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.” Any Christian who has struggled against temptation only to fail can identify with Paul’s situation. There is comfort is recognizing that we are not alone in our struggles. Paul concludes the chapter by giving thanks to Jesus Christ as the one to rescue him from “this body of death” (v. 24), and wraps up the discussion by saying, “So, then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.”

Romans 8 is chock-full of verses that you want to highlight and memorize. Paul begins with the triumphant proclamation, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Despite the struggle, despite failing to do what is right, there is no condemnation for believers. Paul writes how in Christ Jesus we are under the law of the Spirit. He speaks of the critical importance of where we set our minds. Do we set our minds on the flesh (which leads to hostility to God and to death), or do we set our minds on the Spirit (which leads to life and peace)? As believers, we live by the Spirit, who testifies that we are the children of God, adopted into his kingdom and becoming co-heirs with Christ.

Paul writes of suffering, future glory, and patient hope. We have the steadfast promise in verse 28: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

Paul goes on to write of the certainty of our salvation. Verse 31: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Verse 35: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?” And the triumphant conclusion in verses 38 and 39 (a must-memorize combination): “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Considering the discussion of sin and the sinful nature in Romans 7, it is very appropriate that our psalm today is Psalm 32, a psalm about forgiveness. Verse 3 is key: when David remained silent, his bones “wasted away.” But once he confessed his sins and stopped hiding from the LORD, then the LORD forgave David the guilt of his sins (v. 5). Indeed, despite his earlier attempt to hide from God, David now discovers that the LORD is his true “hiding place (v. 7).”

Verse 9 is interesting as it counsels us to “not be like the horse or the mule” that must be controlled by “bit and bridle.” These animals have “no understanding.” We think of obstinacy when we think of mules, and that is part of what the psalmist is warning us against. But I think the psalmist is more concerned about God needing to use circumstances (“bit and bridle”) to shepherd us in the right direction. Rather, we should develop our understanding — an awareness of God’s plan and His goodness, so that we have the desire to please Him.

As is often the case, the psalm ends with a beautiful benediction: be glad and rejoice, you righteous; shout for joy, you upright in heart (v. 11). Because we have been forgiven, we have cause for joy and the ability to count ourselves among the righteous.

Father God, I’m so grateful that you forgive us our sins. Thank you for sending Jesus and giving us the Spirit of adoption. Thank you that nothing can separate us from your love — not even our own obstinacy. Please help me to set my mind on the things of the Spirit, to resist temptation, and to walk in obedience to you. In Christ’s name, Amen.