August 31 ▪ Day 243

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 22:11
Judges 3–4
I Corinthians 13–14
Psalms 59

Verse Focus (Proverbs 22:11)

One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace
     will have the king for a friend.

Meditation

Congratulations to us all — we have reached a significant milestone. With today’s reading, we complete two thirds of the year. We also complete two thirds of the Old Testament. And there are only four months left until our journey through the Bible is complete. Praise God for bringing us through thus far! Hallelujah!! 🙂

Our proverb today, Proverbs 22:11, says, in the NIV, “One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend.”

As I meditate on this proverb, I notice that it doesn’t say, “One who has a pure heart,” but rather “One who loves a pure heart.” As we know, we all fall short of purity. But one who loves purity of heart, who seeks to better him- or herself, who strives to please God — that is the person who will be the king’s friend. The one who loves a pure heart is one who values integrity and truth. Further, Jesus tells us that the pure in heart shall see God.

The proverb also mentions speaking with grace. This refers to one who has self-control. One who can be patient, and who avoids speaking in anger. One who can use the power of the tongue for good. One who speaks with grace mimics our Creator. It is no wonder that person will have the king for a friend!

It’s also not just that the king will have this person in his court. You can imagine that a king’s court would be filled with flatterers and sycophants, and with those who are looking to gain an advantage for themselves. So one who loves purity and speaks graciously will stand out. Such a person can be trusted. And so the king will allow himself to be vulnerable with this person. He will allow intimacy. He will have someone that can be his friend.

Of course, the king is also a metaphor for God. And this speaks of how we move from being subjects to a closer kind of relationship with our Creator. We do so by loving purity of heart and by speaking graciously. In doing these things, we are essentially loving what makes God who He is.

But imagine being God’s friend! Abraham was called God’s friend. And Moses also had that close and special relationship. Is that something you want? Do you long to be intimate with the LORD? Can you imagine God just wanting to hang out with you because He enjoys your company?

Father God, we’re grateful to be your children. But it would be very nice to grow in our relationships with you. To move from being servants and children into being friends with you. Cleanse us; transform us. Give us hearts that love purity and enable us to speak with grace. Through Jesus Christ our Savior, Amen.

Judges chapter 3 begins with the few concluding verses of the second prologue. In these verses, the Scripture tells us that God left the Canaanite peoples to test Israel — but also to teach warfare to the newer generations of Israelites and to give them battle experience. By leaving these remaining nations, God would test Israel “to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD (v. 4).” But, of course, it is not God who needs to know whether or not they will obey. It is the people who need to learn obedience — and they learn because they are not obedient.

Starting at verse 7, we read about Israel’s first judge. It is none other than Othniel. Suddenly the repetition of the story about Caleb, Achsah, and Othniel in chapter 1 makes sense! It is because Othniel will become the first champion of the new generation. The Scripture makes clear that it is the LORD who raises up these judges to save Israel. With Othniel, verse 10 even talks about the Spirit of the LORD coming upon him. Israel had spent eight years in servitude to the king of Mesopotamia, but after Othniel becomes a judge they regain their independence and then have peace for another 40 years.

But then the cycle of disobedience, coming under the rule of an outside nation, and being oppressed repeats. Chapter 3 also tells us about Ehud, and briefly mentions Shamgar. So this one chapter gives us the stories of two major judges and one minor judge.

By the time God raises up a second judge for Israel, they had been serving the king of Moab for 18 years. Some of the details in Ehud’s story are quite memorable. He was a left-handed man who kills the extremely fat king of Moab. Ehud’s sword is about 18 inches long, and verse 22 tells us that the blade is completely swallowed up in the fat of the king’s belly, including the hilt of the sword. Plus, with his death, the king’s body evacuates his bowels — and verse 22 tells us about that as well. (Lovely, just lovely.)

The king’s servants assume that the king is simply relieving himself in the bathroom and they wait “to the point of embarrassment (v. 25)” — meanwhile, Ehud escapes. He rallies warriors from Israel and they seize the fords of the Jordan. That same day ten thousand Moabites are killed. The tables are turned, and now Moab becomes subject to Israel. And, verse 30 tells us, the land has peace for 80 years.

All we know of Shamgar is that he kills 600 Philistines with a farming implement — but “he too saved Israel (v. 31).”

Chapter 4 tells us the first part of Deborah’s story. She is the only female judge among the lot — of course, she also works with Barak, a military commander. Deborah is working as a magistrate, hearing court cases for the Israelites. But she is also a prophetess. So she summons Barak to give him a message from the LORD, directing him to go fight against their oppressors.

In verse 8, Barak replies to the prophecy by saying, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” Barak is a shrewd man, and his response is the epitome of human wisdom. With this question, Barak tests Deborah to see how much faith she has in this prophecy. Is she willing to put her own life on the line?

But, of course, Barak totally fails to have faith himself. Surely he knew who Deborah was otherwise he wouldn’t have come in response to her summons. But knowing that she was a respected leader and knowing that she was a prophetess does not mean that he knows the LORD himself. Barak has human wisdom, but not godly wisdom. He is not able to recognize the word of truth that is spoken to him. But Deborah agrees to go with him. She warns him, however, that the glory of killing the general of the king of Hazor will go to a woman, rather than to him and his armed forces.

And so we have the story of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite. Chapter 1 had made a point of reminding us that the Kenites, descendants of Moses’ father-in-law and a people friendly to the Israelites, had also settled in the Promised Land. And the king of Hazor was on good terms with Heber the Kenite. So when Sisera the general arrives there from battle, he expects peace and safety. Yet Jael kills him as he sleeps. This is probably a quite shocking story from the perspective of Middle Eastern culture and the expectations of hospitality. But we know nothing about Jael. It is possible that she too was an Israelite. At any rate, her actions help to free the Israelites from their oppression at the hands of the king of Hazor.

Today we get to read 1 Corinthians 13 and 14 again. Chapter 13 is such a wonderful chapter! It is a pleasure to read it again. But it never ceases to amaze me that I can still learn new things even though I have read this chapter hundreds of times.

As I read the chapter today, I noticed, for what feels like the very first time, that Paul says two different things about not having love. First, in verse 2, he says that if he has not love, “I am nothing.” In verse 3, Paul writes, “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” Am nothing. Gain nothing. So it’s not just that you are a noisy and worthless windbag. You are nothing. But there’s also no possibility that you can change unless you have love. Without love, no matter how laudable your actions, you gain nothing.

Prophecies, tongues, and even knowledge will pass away. But faith, hope, and love will remain. “But the greatest of these is love (v. 13).”

Chapter 14 speaks more about the spiritual gifts of tongues and prophecy. But Paul exhorts believers to be eager for those gifts that build up the church. As edifying as tongues may be personally, it is not a gift that directly strengthens the church body. And Paul exclaims in verse 19, “I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others.”

Verse 32 makes an interesting point. Paul says, “The spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.” In other words, prophecy will not overwhelm you and cause you to speak against your own will. On the contrary, the prophet has the ability to speak or not speak as the occasion requires. This is part of Paul’s point about orderly worship, but it should also help us to judge whether or not someone speaks with a true spirit of prophecy. If the individual lacks control and speaks compulsively, this would be a sign that it is not the Spirit of God within that individual.

Psalm 59 is a wonderful prayer for deliverance from enemies. Although David is innocent, men “lie in wait (v. 3)” for him. They “treacherously plot evil (v. 5).” Twice, David compares these men to a pack of dogs. Snarling, angry, yet working together as dogs do. They are vicious and threatening. A single person might be overwhelmed by a pack.

Yet David turns to God his “Strength (v. 9).” God is David’s fortress.

In verse 11, David asks, “Kill them not, lest my people forget.” He wants them defeated, but he also wants them to stick around so that defeat will be remembered. Yet two verses later David seems to change his mind and he asks that God “consume them till they are no more.”

The reprise of verse 9 in the concluding verse 17 is beautiful. “O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.” May we also be able to sing of God’s faithful love when we are in jeopardy!

Father God, we may not have men lying in wait for us and our physical lives may not be under threat, but there are other dangers we face. We are grateful that you are always our Strength and our fortress. Help us to sing praises to you, not just for what you will do but for what you have already done. Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to save us. Thank you for filling us with your love and your peace and your grace. Transform our lives and our hearts by your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.