Daily Devotional

Betty Miller shares her daily devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the Bible.

 The Wisdom of God

Verses for the Day:

Proverbs 23:9-11 (KJV):
9 Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
10 Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
11 For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.

Proverbs 23:9-11 (AMP):
9 Speak not in the ears of a (self-confident) fool, for he will despise the [godly] Wisdom of your words.
10 Remove not the ancient landmarks, and enter not into the fields of the fatherless,
11 For their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause against you.

Thoughts for the Day:

These verses in Proverbs give advice about not sharing wisdom with fools and also tell us that God defends the fatherless. Verse 9 tells us not to give wise advice to a fool because he will simply despise it.  In Webster's Dictionary, we find this definition of a "fool."  1.) a person with little or no judgment, common sense, wisdom, etc.; silly or stupid person; simpleton. The Hebrew definition of a "fool," in Wilson's Old Testament Word Studies, carries the same meaning, with the added element of one who is rebellious with a will too hard for his understanding, and no reason for what he does.

Since he is a fool, he not only will not listen to reason, he will despise wisdom. A person would waste their time and breath, even if they tried to speak to them about a situation. A fool is self confident, while a wise man will listen and weigh things out according to the Word of God.  That is the reason he is a wise man; he gets his wisdom from God.  I use a personal expression whenever I need to see if something is of God or not.  I usually say, "Let us run that through the Holy Ghost filter before we act on it."  By doing that, it has saved us from many problems as the Lord filters out anything that is not of Him and if it gets through, then we can proceed with it.

Verses 10 speaks again about not removing the old landmarks. Landmarks in Bible times were boundary markers.  Sometimes these were rows of stones or double furrows so that people would have their property rights established for others to see.  These were to keep people from infringing on the property rights of others. Agriculture was a main business in Bible days, so many people owned fields and raised crops. The last part of this verse warns people not to enter the fields and try to steal from those who were fatherless and vulnerable, since all land was not protected by strong oversight.  When this was the case, verse 11 warns that the Lord and Redeemer will plead the case against those who would dare do such a thing.

Those who do not know the Lord, might not be aware that when we come to the Lord, and He becomes our Redeemer, we now have unseen help that is not visible to the eye.  Our heavenly Father sends His angels to watch over us.  He especially watches over the fatherless, the weak, and the helpless, that belong to Him.

Matthew 18:10:                                                                                                                                                   Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

There is a lot of fascination with angels today, with distorted information and unscriptural notions being circulated about them.  However, the good angels from God are called "ministering spirits" and they are sent to help His people when they need supernatural help. There are three different kinds of angels --  messenger angels, warring angels, and worshipping angels. These angels assist God's people when they need it.  God can plead the case of the fatherless by touching the hearts of people around them, through the influence of angels. Although the fatherless may find help from ordinary people, it is because God uses His angels to touch the right people to help them.

Hebrews 1:13-14:
13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Psalm 27:9-10:
9 Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.

God even takes up the children, whom their mothers and fathers have forsaken, if they call out to Him.  It is the nature of God to continually reach out to the weak, the sick, and the fatherless. He is a mighty God who will plead their cause. May the Lord use us, to also plead their cause.

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your wisdom and discernment in the daily affairs of my life.  Lord, teach me to use wisdom, when I must deal with foolish and obstinate people.  Help me keep my mouth closed and not speak, when You know that the person I am trying to reason with cannot receive what I may have to say. Also, give me grace and boldness to speak when I am supposed to share with others about the wisdom that is in Your Word. Lord, use me to help the weak and fatherless and plead their causes.  May I be used as one of Your messengers in the natural, like one of Your angels, to bring a blessing to someone who needs to hear from You, or needs help from You.  I ask this in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.