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
27:13-14 (KJV):
13 Take his garment that is
surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning,
it shall be counted a curse to him.
Proverbs
27:13-14 (AMP):
13 (The judge tells the
creditor) Take the garment of one who is security for a stranger; and hold
him in pledge when he is security for foreigners.
14 The flatterer who loudly praises and glorifies his neighbor, rising early in
the morning, it shall be counted as cursing him (for he will be suspected of
sinister purposes.)
Thoughts for the Day:
These verses
from Proverbs state cases where we can take note of
advice in two areas; one - making known the risks of one who pledges things
indiscreetly, and secondly - alerting us to be highly suspicious of those who go
too far with flattery. To understand verse 13 we should look at another
verse in Proverbs.
Proverbs 20:16 (NIV): Take the garment of one who puts up security
for a stranger; hold it in pledge if he does it for a wayward woman.
These
Proverbs, in essence, tell us to avoid a man who has a bad
character. We have a description of that character in these scriptures.
In the Amplified version, verse 13 begins like this: "The judge
tells the creditor." In other words, this is a declaration of how a man
who is a fornicator and who is careless should be treated by the court.
The judge says he is not to be trusted, so hold his garment for security
until he settles with the court.
The book
of Proverbs advises us not to take surety for a stranger. What is
surety? It means that a person will give security for the payment or
will pledge to pay another's debt if they fail to pay it. We are told
that if we do this for a stranger (someone we do not know that well), we
will end up hurting for it, as we can lose all that we have put up for
them. Strangers, who have the audacity to ask someone they do not even
know to be surety for them, usually do not possess the character to
repay the debt in the end. It is better to avoid this kind of dealing,
so that we will not be stuck with the penalty of paying someone else's
debt.
There are
many scams going around and most of them could be avoided if we heeded
the principal of not trusting a stranger when they ask for money for an
investment. Many times the person who is gullible and falls for these
scams will end up not only losing their money, but they can also end up
being arrested as part of the scam too, if they get deeply involved with
the wrong kind of people.
Verse 14 in
today's study tells us that someone who is using flattery to the extreme, in a
manipulative fashion, will be suspected of wrong motives and his flattery will
be counted as cursing, instead of blessing. It would be like someone who was
singing in a loud voice outside your window, early in the morning, while you
were still sleeping. You might appreciate their singing another time.
However, when they did this while they were working for you, and they were aware
that you were sleeping, you would tend to question their motives, wondering why they were
irritating you so early in the morning. Their singing would be like a curse to
you instead of a blessing. We should beware of those who use flattery to
gain favor or get something from us.
Prayer for the Day:
Dear Heavenly Father,
I do appreciate the sound advice and wisdom found in the book of Proverbs.
Lord, help me to apply this advice to situations in my daily life when I am
faced with certain issues. Lord Jesus, give me Your discernment to know
how I should relate to certain people who irritate me or bother me in some way.
May I respond to them in love and in wisdom. May I know the difference
when I am approached by someone with an honest heart or someone who is
manipulating me for the wrong purposes. Fill my mouth with wisdom in these
cases. I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
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