August 24 ▪ Day 236

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 22:2
Joshua 13–14
Mark 16
Philemon
Psalms 52

Verse Focus (Proverbs 22:2)

Rich and poor have this in common:
     The LORD is the Maker of them all.

Meditation

Proverbs 22:2 says, in the ESV, “The rich and the poor meet together; the LORD is the Maker of them all.” This particular translation is very close to the Hebrew wording. The NIV is less literal in its translation, and thus can sometimes be easier to understand. It says, “Rich and poor have this in common: the LORD is the Maker of them all.”

Obviously, this proverb speaks of the intrinsic worth of human beings. God has created all people, and has personally gifted each person and crafted the kinds of good works that person will do. Thus, regardless of financial state or rank in society, each person is to be valued; each has something to contribute from the station that he or she finds himself in.

As I was meditating on this proverb and considering what I should write, I happened to look it up in some of the public-domain commentaries. I don’t always use commentaries, but sometimes it can help with inspiration or help clarify when I’m having trouble with a particular passage. I actually didn’t expect to find much, because when I’ve looked up proverbs in the past most of the commentators have had very little to say. This particular verse, however, seems to have sparked a lot of consideration. I liked all the things the various commentators had to say. And I think today I’ll just quote from one of them to give you additional food for thought on this proverb.

John Gill was an English pastor who lived from 1697 to 1771. The following commentary on Proverbs 22:2 is from Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible, which was written between 1746 and 1763:

“The rich and poor meet together,….” In an hostile way, as some; they rush upon one another; the rich despise the poor, and the poor envy the rich; they cannot speak well one of another, as the Arabic version; or they are dependent on one another, they cannot do without each other; as in the natural body one member cannot say to another, I have no need of thee; so, in the body politic, the rich and the poor cannot say they have no need of one another; the rich stand in need of the poor to till their land, to plough and sow, and do all other servile works for them; and the poor have need of the rich to employ them; have need of their money as their wages for their work, to support themselves and families with: or they sometimes change conditions, and so meet; the poor grow rich, and the rich become poor; the one goes uphill and the other downhill, and so meet in their passage. They meet together in all places of the earth; go where you will, there are rich and poor. The godly rich and poor meet together in one place to worship God; they meet together in a Gospel church state, enjoying the same privileges and ordinances; and will all meet the Lord, and all meet together at his judgment seat; and they will meet in heaven, and be together to all eternity, where the distinction will cease: and the wicked rich and poor meet together to commit sin; and they meet together in the grave, where there is no difference; and they will meet at the bar of God at the last day, and in hell, where they will be together for evermore;

“the Lord is the Maker of them all:” not only as men, but as rich men and poor men; God gives riches to whom he pleases, and poverty to whom he pleases; riches and poverty are according to the order of divine Providence; and he can and does change scenes at his pleasure; wherefore the rich should consider themselves as dependent on him, and not despise and crush the poor; and the poor should be content with their state, as being allotted to them by the Lord, who can alter it when he thinks fit.

In Joshua chapter 13, the LORD directs Joshua to go ahead and distribute the land to the nine and a half tribes, even though they have not yet finished driving out the Canaanites. “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess,” God tells Joshua in verse 1. In particular, there are Canaanites that are ruled by the Philistines. The Canaanites are still to be destroyed, and God has decreed that the land is to be given to the Israelites — but the Philistines’ own land is not part of the inheritance, nor are the Israelites called to destroy Philistia. That likely made it a bit trickier getting rid of these particular Canaanites, since they are ruled by a foreign nation. Additionally, there are Sidonians still in the mountain regions (Sidon was Canaan’s eldest son); the LORD declares that He will take care of driving these people out of the mountains, but He reminds Joshua to include this land with the rest of the inheritance in the Promised Land.

The rest of chapter 13 describes the inheritance that had already been given to Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

Chapter 14 tells us that the inheritance for the nine and half tribes was done by lot. It also reminds us that the Levites do not get territory as the other tribes did, although they are assigned specific cities throughout the entire region.

Before the book describes the inheritance given to Judah (detailed in chapter 15), it first deals with Caleb, son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite — a member of the tribe of Judah. As you recall, he was the one other person besides Joshua who is still left alive from the first generation of Israelites. Both Joshua and Caleb had gone on the original scouting trip under Moses; those two alone had faith in God and believed that the Israelites could take the land. The other spies spread a bad report and sparked a rebellion because of their fears.

Caleb was promised that he would receive as an inheritance the very land he had explored in that scouting trip 45 years earlier. And so he approaches Joshua to lay claim to the land that is to be his. Accordingly, Joshua assigns Caleb the city of Hebron. (If you recall, it is from Caleb’s age as reported in verse 10 that we determine how long the war against the Canaanites lasted.)

Today we read the final chapter of Mark again. Verse 1 mentions three women who went to the tomb: “Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome.” Salome was the wife of Zebedee, and the mother of the disciples James and John. She is also believed to be Jesus’ maternal aunt. When I read it today, I wondered if “Mary the mother of James” was referring to Mary the mother of Jesus. Although it would be odd not to say that it was Jesus’ mother, perhaps it was just some weird thing that the author avoided saying because of Jesus’ divinity. So I looked it up. In chapter 15 verse 40 she is referred to as “Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph.” According to church tradition, and some of the early church fathers, “James the younger” referred to the apostle James, son of Alphaeus. So not Mary the mother of Jesus. I probably knew that before, but I’d forgotten. Of course, this just makes it clear why Jesus was so intent on heading up to Galilee — he expected to find his family there, and he wanted them to be among the first to know about his resurrection.

Again, I am struck by the disbelief displayed by the disciples. They didn’t or wouldn’t believe Mary Magdalene’s account of seeing Jesus; they also refused to believe the two disciples who had been on the road to Emmaus. When Jesus sees the disciples, he rebukes them for their unbelief and their hardness of heart. When I wrote about this chapter six months ago, I mentioned that there was a willful element to this unbelief. It was a stubborn refusal to believe. It’s odd, too, since Jesus had told them multiple times that he would be killed and that he would rise again. Didn’t they remember the times he told them this? Why was it so hard for them to believe?

But as I think about it now, I wonder if the disbelief actually was less about stubbornness and more about fear. It’s not that that they didn’t want to believe but that they were afraid to believe. They couldn’t bear to get their hopes up. They feared they would be disappointed. And so they wouldn’t allow themselves to believe the testimony of Mary Magdalene and the two disciples who had been on the country road.

Either way, whether it is stubbornness or fear at the root of our disbelief, we miss out on what God wants for us by our lack of faith.

We also read Philemon again today. It is such a short little letter. I like how Paul always begins his letters by thanking God for the people that he is writing to. He starts out by building up his hearers and speaking of their good points. He also shares what he prays for on their behalf. In this case, Paul prays “that the sharing of your faith may become effective (v. 6).” Would you like that, too? Does it ever occur to you to pray for this? For an effective sharing of your faith? I know that I will sometimes for the courage and the boldness to share my faith. But I rarely remember to pray for the effectiveness of my witness. It’s a good reminder.

A few other phrases struck me today. Paul writes of Onesimus that in sending him back to Philemon he is “sending my very heart (v. 12).” Later, he writes — in his very own handwriting — that if Onesimus owes any debts, Paul will pay it himself (v. 19). The affection Paul has for Onesimus is so clear. And today I also find it moving.

Finally, verse 14 made an impression on me today. Paul writes that he did not want to keep Onesimus with him without Philemon’s consent “in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord.” This reminds me of Paul’s saying in 2 Corinthians 9:7 that “God loves a cheerful giver.” Gifts should be freely given.

I don’t think we talk enough about this idea of giving freely in our modern culture. In fact, if anything, I think we tend to think that compelling financial gifts or compelling good works is all for the good — we’re helping someone be how they should be anyway. But using force to achieve good behavior will always only have temporary gains. It will fail to be effective in the long run. The desire to do right must come from within if it is to be sustainable.

Psalm 52 was written after David learned that Doeg the Edomite had massacred the priest Ahimelech and 84 other priests at Nob (1 Samuel 21 and 22). Hence the topic of the psalm: how the wicked behave and how God will then destroy them. Curiously, according to this psalm, the damage the wicked do is primarily through their words. There is no mention of rage or violence or other types of wicked behavior. Instead, four different verses speak of the evils of their speech: they “boast of evil (v. 1),” their tongues “plot destruction (v. 2),” their words cut and are sharp like a razor, they are deceitful, they love to lie, and they love “words that devour (v. 4).” The only thing the psalm says about the wicked that is not about what they say is in the first half of verse 3: they “love evil more than good.”

Verse 9 says, “I will thank you forever, because you have done it.” The language is ambiguous. Is David thanking God for saving him? For showing His steadfast love? Or is David thanking God for destroying the wicked? Likely David has both in mind.

Father God, thank you for your sovereign grace. You will uproot the wicked and establish the righteous. I’m so grateful that you sent Jesus so that I will not be counted among the wicked. We have all been deceitful at times. We have all used words to cut. We have all said things that we should not. We pray for your Holy Spirit to guide our tongues and keep us from wicked speech. We also pray for you to transform the hearts of the wicked. Cause them to repent and turn toward Jesus. Thank you for the Bible and for all that you teach us in your Word. May your blessing be upon this day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.