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 30:11-14 (KJV):
11 There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
13 There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.
14 There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

Proverbs 30:11-14 (AMP):
11 There is a class of people who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers.
12 There is a class of people who are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their own filth.
13 There is a class of people -- oh, how lofty are their eyes and their raised eyelids!
14 There is a class of people whose teeth are as swords and whose fangs as knives, to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among men.

Thoughts for the Day:

These verses from Proverbs tell us there is a generation of people who are so wicked that they curse their own parents; and they are so prideful, they do not see their own wickedness of evil speaking, and taking advantage of the poor and needy for their own benefit.

I believe these verses were not only speaking of an evil generation at the time of this writing, but they are also prophetic in nature, pointing to the generation that would exist right before the second coming of the Lord Jesus. In the New Testament, this same generation is described in these words:

2 Timothy 3:1-5:
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

As we compare these two lists of verses, we can see that in Proverbs, the Bible says this generation will curse their parents, while in 2 Timothy, it is stated that they will be disobedient to their parents.  In Proverbs, it says this generation will be prideful and think they are holy, while in 2 Timothy, it speaks of them as heady and  high-minded and having a form of godliness.

James 5:1-6:
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

Proverbs 30:14 talks about a generation that devours and takes advantage of the poor, while the scriptures in James speak of rich men who have heaped up their money at the expense of defrauding those who labored for them by paying them inadequate wages. The Lord hears the cries of these poor people and in the end, these kinds of wicked people will surely reap what they have sown. There is a generation of people who have hardened their hearts to the things of God, and God is angry with them. They cannot enter in the rest of God unless they repent. The generation that does evil toward their own parents by cursing them, is low indeed. And the second evil of taking advantage of the poor, makes them more despicable, as they are hard-hearted with no feelings for the needy.

Hebrews 3:7-11:
7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your many blessings. Lord, may all of Your people be mindful of honoring and blessing their parents. Lord, I pray that You will use me to reach out to the poor and needy.  Lord, scatter this wicked generation of people who are exploiting the poor and needy. Send your servants out to minister to the poor, the hungry, the needy, the hurting, the sick and the lost.  As You use each of us to do our part, we can be the answer to the cries of the needy. Meet all of their needs. I ask in the name of Jesus.  Amen.