August 6 ▪ Day 218

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 20:25
Deuteronomy 23–24
I Peter 1–3
Psalms 34

Verse Focus (Proverbs 20:25)

It is a trap to dedicate something rashly
     and only later to consider one’s vows.

Meditation

Proverbs 20:25 says, in the NIV, “It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows.” What is being dedicated is being given to God through a religious vow. As the NKJV says, “It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy, and afterward to reconsider his vows.”

We don’t have temple sacrifices, and it’s not customary in our culture for us to vow things to God. But it still happens. In situations of extremity, a person praying for help might promise any number of changes to his or her behavior if God will only save him. And even though the person is half desperate, and may not even remember promising to go to church regularly, to never drink, or any of a half dozen other promises to reform, God still takes these promises very seriously. And we will incur guilt if we do not follow through on these promises to change.

We trap ourselves by our words. Even though we don’t offer these promises using ritual words that remind us of the binding nature of these promises, speaking them to God is enough. God knows every single time we go back on our word to Him. And even though it was our words that created this situation, if we do not live up to what we have promised, we will reap judgment and condemnation from the broken vows. This is true both for believers and non-believers. At least believers can repent and ask for forgiveness in breaking their vows to God, but I’m not sure we ever simply get released from these vows (at least, not until death).

Obviously, the proverb encourages us not to be rash. We should carefully consider things before we offer them to God. With humans, we break our word constantly. We even have ways to make it seem like breaking our word didn’t matter. “Well, it wasn’t like I promised to do that.” When God gives His word to us, it is a promise. He is faithful to what He says. And that’s the way it should have been for us — but sin entered the picture. And now our words aren’t really trustworthy. But that doesn’t mean — just because when we speak we usually aren’t being trustworthy — that when we speak to God that He won’t hold us accountable for what we say. God demands that we be trustworthy with Him. What we say we’ll do counts as a promise.

Father God, help us to avoid being trapped and snared by our own words. Let us be trustworthy in what we say we’ll do — for you, and for other people. If we’ve already been trapped by broken promises, please forgive us. Help us to make reparations, by your grace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Moses continues recounting the law to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 23 and 24. The laws in these chapter cover a number of different topics. While a few laws are grouped together, a number appear to be in a random sequence, changing topics every other verse.

Moses begins by speaking of people who are excluded from “the assembly of the LORD (v. 1).” I have always interpreted this assembly as being the worship services of Israel, likely based on the New Testament understanding of what an assembly is. But there is disagreement as to what is meant here. Most commentators believe that it cannot refer to worship (especially since proselytes were allowed), but must refer to a ruling body — the priests, elders, and government rulers of Israel. There is another view that this refers to marriage covenants within Israel.

Whatever “the assembly of the LORD” refers to, certain people were to be excluded. First are eunuchs. Those born from forbidden unions, Ammonites, and Moabites were excluded — even up to the tenth generation of their descendants. This is of special note since David’s great-grandmother, Ruth, was a Moabitess. Either these laws were routinely broken, or “the assembly of the LORD” is a more restrictive group than the entire body of Israelites. The descendants of Edomites and Egyptians were allowed into the assembly after the third generation — and this was probably the more relevant law for these Israelites, since, as the second generation out of Egypt, many of them likely had Egyptian parents or grandparents.

The law recounted in 23:15 is interesting — Israelites were not to return an escaped slave to his or her master; rather, they were to allow the escaped slave to dwell among them in safety. Verses 21-23 in chapter 23 relate to today’s verse focus in Proverbs. They speak of fulfilling your vows to the LORD — God will surely require you to fulfill these vows, and you should not delay in doing so.

Verse 23:24 allows you to eat your fill of the fruit in a neighbor’s vineyard so long as you are present there — but you are not allowed to put any of the fruit into a bag and take it away with you. Likewise, in chapter 24, verses 19-24 command Israelites to “not go back” to pick up forgotten sheaves, or to glean a field twice, or to beat an olive tree a second time. Whatever is not collected on the first pass is to be left there for “the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.”

There are additional laws about divorce and marriage. An interesting one is that a man who is a newlywed is released from military service or other required duties — he is free to make his wife happy for one year before he becomes subject to such responsibilities again (24:5). This actually adds an interesting perspective to the parable that Jesus told about the wedding feast (Luke 14:16-24). One guest refused to come on the grounds that he had just gotten married — and we see now that might have been an acceptable excuse. However, a banquet is not the same thing as a “public duty,” so the king was rightly angry that his guest used his new marriage as an excuse not to come.

Verse 24:16 gives an important principle for justice, saying, “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.” Certainly, many evil regimes have put to death generations of families for the treason of one individual, but those societies that are just will limit punishment to the guilty individuals only.

Peter begins his first letter by addressing it to God’s elect, those “who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit (1:2).” To have foreknowledge means to know something before it happens or before it even exists. The Greek word used in this verse is defined as “foreknowledge” or “previous determination.” In the second sense, the Greek lexicon also uses the words “forethought” and “prearrangement.”

So it would be a valid interpretation of this verse to say that the elect were chosen by prearrangement of the Father. But in terms of “foreknowledge,” the verse is saying that God chose His elect because He knew them, who they were, and what they would do even before they were born.

I don’t want to get too deep into theology, especially since there are very differing ideas about God’s election of the saints and how it relates to free will. Different churches and different theologians have different ideas of how much depends on God, and how much depends on us. I’m not even sure what I fully believe about this. Yet I think it’s important to understand that God’s omniscience is about more than just history and world events. He has foreknowledge of individuals. He chose us before the foundation of the world — He knew when we would be born, He created good works for us to do, He already knows when we will fail and when we will succeed. He knows us inside and out. And in love, He chose us. For those of us born after Christ’s death and resurrection, we know that He sent Christ to die for us even before we were ever born. He made this world, He sent Christ, He sent the Holy Spirit, He paved the way with prophets and saints, He created the Scriptures — He made provision for us.

Since the Scripture today speaks about God’s foreknowledge of us, that is obviously one of the things we learn about God from this chapter. So I thought that would be a good thing to look at — at least, just a little bit. I know I don’t spend enough time thinking about this specific aspect of God’s omniscience. I’m more comfortable thinking about Him as Creator, and as our Redeemer and Friend.

Peter writes of God’s “great mercy (1:3),” and of “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you (1:4).” He writes of God’s holiness (1:15). He writes that the Lord is good (2:3). He says that we are “chosen and precious (2:4)” in God’s sight. Peter’s view of God gives me a glimpse of purity and sacredness. I have a stronger sense of what sanctification is all about.

But even as I get a glimpse of the reward, Peter also grounds us in the realities of life on this earth. There will be trials (1:6-7). There will be persecution. And yet we are to submit to the authority of human institutions (2:13). Peter says that we are “called” to suffering, and that Christ is our example in this (2:21). We are to love one another, and repay evil with blessing (3:8-9). But no matter the difficulties, we have Jesus Christ on our side. He “has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand — with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him (3:22).”

Psalm 34 celebrates the goodness of God. Verse 8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”

Good can mean a lot of different things in English. It can mean pleasing, desirable, beneficial, or satisfying. It can mean morally excellent. And, in our vernacular, good can also mean only so-so. It can mean bland, or even boring — not outrageously fantastic. Sometimes when we say something is good, we mean that it is not great. Good can be a less-than-enthusiastic approval of something.

But that’s not what the Hebrew word, towb, means. Towb means good, pleasant, agreeable, beautiful, bountiful, and best. There is also a sense of favor and prosperity. There is no sense of being “only” good and not great; rather, this type of good is the best of the best, a good that is also joyous, kind, and precious.

And this is how God is. He is good — He is wonderful, precious, and satisfying. He is delightful, beautiful, and most desirable. Best of all, the psalm invites us to test Him and find out for ourselves. “Taste and see,” says the psalmist.

In this psalm, we see that God gives favor, protection, and blessing. He rescues us. He listens to us. He hears us. He acts to save us from people, from circumstances, and from our fears. He delivers us, and He redeems us. Verse 10 says, “Those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.” In other words, God is the highest good there is.

Father God, I thank you for your essential goodness. Thank you that you are excellent, great, gracious, and bountiful. Thank you that you watch over us and protect us. Thank you for your favor. Thank you that you invite us to see for ourselves how wonderful you are. Thank you for your foreknowledge, and for your eternal purposes. Thank you for choosing us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.