April 10 ▪ Day 100

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 15:12
Jeremiah 29–30
Ephesians 3–4
Psalms 100

Verse Focus (Proverbs 15:12)

Mockers resent correction,
     so they avoid the wise.

Meditation

Day 100. Wow! 🙂

Proverbs 15:12 says, in the NIV, “Mockers resent correction, so they avoid the wise.” The NRSV says, “Scoffers do not like to be rebuked; they will not go to the wise.” In some ways, this is a bit like yesterday’s proverb where we talked about how those who hate correction will die. Here, the fool — the mocker or the scoffer — may not hate correction, but they dislike and resent it. The actual Hebrew words say they “not love” it. So it seems to me that the fool is fairly close to hating rebuke (and is thus on the road to death), especially since they do whatever they can to avoid being in a situation where they might get rebuked.

It’s pretty sad, actually, because by avoiding the company of the wise, the mocker will remain a fool. There is opportunity to change by correction, and there’s further opportunity to change simply from being in the presence of wise people. The second is probably a lot more painless, but the fool denies himself that opportunity.

It strikes me that the mocker is perhaps the perfect symbol of foolish, fallen humankind. As a mocker, the fool sets him- or herself up as the one who decides what is worthy and right. Mockery is a response to anyone who contradicts the fool or the fool’s beliefs. By putting oneself on that pedestal and refusing to get wisdom, the fool remains isolated, deluded, and eventually self-destructive.

Father God, please help us to desire wisdom even when it includes rebuke and correction. Keep us from being so proud of our own views that we start mocking others for thinking or behaving differently. Conform us into the image of Christ Jesus. In his name, Amen.

Jeremiah 29:11 is a famous verse. According to one online Bible resource, it is the most searched for Bible verse after John 3:16. The Scripture reads: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

The words are as comforting to us today as they must have been for the Israelite exiles in Babylon. In Jeremiah 29, the prophet, who is still in Jerusalem, writes a letter to the elders, the priests and prophets, the court officials and leaders — including the former king and the queen mother, as well as the other people deported from Judah, including skilled workers and artisans. Through Jeremiah’s letter, the LORD tells the people to settle down in Babylon: to build houses and gardens, to marry and increase in numbers. They should actually seek the welfare of Babylon for “in its welfare you will find your welfare (v. 7).” However, when 70 years are completed, then the LORD will fulfill His promise to return them to the land of Judah.

The letter tells the exiles that the remnant in Judah will not fare well — harm will come to them. They will be like rotten figs. The letter also denounces two lying prophets: Ahab and Zedekiah.

The last part of chapter 29 deals with another lying prophet, Shemaiah. After receiving the letter from Jeremiah to the exiles, Shemaiah took it upon himself to write to the priest Zephaniah in Jerusalem to suggest that Jeremiah should be into stocks and neck-irons for what he wrote to the exiles. However, the LORD has Jeremiah send a message back to the exiles to say that He will punish Shemaiah for preaching rebellion and for leading the exiles astray with his lies.

Jeremiah’s letter, written during one of the bleakest periods of Israelite history, continues to resonate with believers today. The words are powerful, and remarkably relevant even though we do not live in exile. Like other saints, I have highlighted Jeremiah 29:11 many times; I have memorized it, quoted it, and written it in Christmas cards and letters. The promise that there is a plan, even when things look dark, comforts us. Verses 13 and 14 are also gems to memorize — promises we wish to claim:

¹³When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart,
¹⁴I will let you find me, says the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes.

Jeremiah 30 records a prophecy of the restoration of Israel from their captivity in Babylon. The LORD tells Jeremiah to put this prophecy in a special book. Again, even though this prophecy originally had application to the Babylonian captivity, I find many of its words are significant today. Verse 7 echoes with end-times prophecy: “Alas! that day is so great there is none like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; yet he shall be rescued from it.”

Verse 12 is especially significant. “Your hurt is incurable, your wound is grievous,” says the LORD. Within its historical context, the wound signifies the guilt and sin of the Israelites and their ancestors — sin that God punished via the Babylonian invasion, the captivity, and the exile. However, we know that the wound is so much more than that. It refers to the basic problem of humanity: original sin. We are all fallen, with hearts that are deceitful. Our situation is as hopeless as that of captive Israel. (Or it was until Christ came.)

But God promises in verse 17, “I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal.” Even though this refers, of course, to the problem of sin, I take special delight in this promise today as I continue to recover from my recent oral surgery. “For I am with you, says the LORD, to save you (v. 11).”

Even though I slept much better last night, words and phrases in Paul’s letter continue to pop out to me in today’s reading of Ephesians 3 and 4. Both chapters are heavily highlighted. I’m not sure I can even express how these chapters impacted me today. The words are familiar. I have read these chapters many times previously. Yet there is still a sense of lavish opulence — a majesty and richness that we have inherited through God’s grace. A sense of destiny and purpose permeates these chapters as well.

Paul writes of the “mystery of Christ” — a secret of “eternal purpose (v. 11)” that was hidden to former generations, but is now revealed to all — that Gentiles also share in God’s grace and receive the inheritance through Christ Jesus. God’s grace is a gift received through His mighty power. The church will make “the wisdom of God in its rich variety” known to those in “the heavenly places (v. 10).” Through Christ Jesus we now all have “access to God in boldness and confidence (v. 12.)”

Perhaps it is Paul’s prayer in verses 18 and 19 that best sums up the heart of Ephesians 3:

¹⁸I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

I also love the benediction in verses 20 and 21 — it is another treasure to highlight, ponder, and claim.

Ephesians 4 becomes more practical as Paul exhorts his listeners to lead a life “worthy of the calling (v. 1)” we have received. He writes first of the unity in the body of Christ, encouraging the saints to make every effort to maintain this unity. As Paul describes God, faith, and the church in verses 4 through 6, I hear the echo of the Hebrew Shema — the daily liturgical prayer that comes from Deuteronomy 6:4 — “Hear O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is One.”

Paul describes those without Christ as having futile thinking — they are ignorant and hard of heart, having lost all sensitivity to spiritual matters. As a result they live in impurity and are full of greed. Saints, on the other hand, should not live like they do. We are to “clothe” ourselves with the “new self (v. 24).”

Paul’s instructions for Christian living are dense with spiritual truths packed into a few small verses. Each one deserves full consideration, but I will limit myself to commenting on only a few.

Verse 26 says, “Be angry, but sin not.” This is an important verse for us to understand. Too often we believe that negative emotions are in and of themselves sinful. But it is not the emotion that is sinful, it is what we do and say while under the influence of this emotion that is often sinful. Anger is not wrong. Indeed, anger is not, in and of itself, sinful. What people do when angry is often extremely sinful. Therefore the Scripture exhorts us to be angry — but we must be careful not to sin when we are angry. Honestly, I’m not sure anyone other than Jesus really knows how to do this. I think we all tend to sin when we are angry — but we can still strive to sin less. To curb any cutting and hurtful speech, and to avoid nursing the anger into rage or bitterness.

Verse 28 is fascinating as to why it tells us that thieves should no longer steal. They should work “so as to have something to share with the needy.” It’s peculiar that Paul’s argument doesn’t say anything about the value of labor or the need to support oneself as part of our social contract. No, the reason they shouldn’t steal and should instead work is specifically so that they can help support the vulnerable in society — widows, orphans, and others truly in need. In other words, Paul is telling us that our responsibility to the poor outweighs the responsibilities we have for ourselves.

Finally, verse 30 directs us not to “grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” For young believers, this can be a shocking verse because — even though our theology tells us that the Holy Spirit is a separate Person in the Trinity — we don’t really think of the Spirit as having personality. But as I’ve matured, I’ve come to understand the Spirit through his roles as Teacher, Helper, Comforter, and Friend. The Spirit loves me as much as God the Father does. If I resist how the Holy Spirit wants to help me, that will grieve the Spirit. There are many ways we can cause sorrow to the Spirit — by disobedience or delayed obedience, by ignoring the Spirit, or by doubting the testimony the Spirit gives us. Paul’s instruction in verse 30 is vitally important for our well-being. As the Bible exhorts us in the Psalms and in Hebrews, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”

Psalm 100 is and has been, through the ages, a much-beloved psalm of praise and thanksgiving. Today, as I read the psalm, I noted the different commands the psalmist gives us. Make… Worship… Know… Enter… Give thanks.

I was especially struck by verse 3. “Know that the LORD is God.” This knowledge is the root of our worship and praise. We must know that God is GOD. But as the psalmist gives the command in verse 3 to know Him, it is about more than just head knowledge. We need to understand the LORD as God with all of our being. When we do, we cannot help but to make a joyful noise, to worship the LORD with gladness, to enter His gates with thanksgiving, and to give thanks to Him.

Father God, help us to come to really know you and to understand you for who you are — the God of the universe. Help us also to understand the vastness of Christ’s love for us, even though that love surpasses what ability we have to comprehend. May we be filled to the brim with your Holy Spirit. Please use us to demonstrate the riches of your grace.

Thank you that you have a plan and a purpose for each of us. You desire us to prosper in life — perhaps that will manifest in material ways, but sometimes you choose not to bless us in those ways. Regardless, it is the eternal realities that are important. Help us to build for your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.