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 13:22-23(KJV):

22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
23 Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.

Proverbs 13:22-23(AMP):

22 A good man leaves an inheritance (of moral stability and goodness) to his children's children, and the wealth of the sinner (finds its way eventually) into the hands of the righteous, for whom it was laid up.
23 Much food is in the tilled land of the poor, but there are those who are destroyed because of injustice.

Thoughts for the Day:

The practical wisdom found in the book of Proverbs will bring material blessings to men, as well as spiritual blessings to his soul. Within the plan that God has for His children, is a plan for blessing them materially and financially. We are never encouraged in the Bible to seek wealth, but rather, we are encouraged to seek God and His righteousness.  Material blessings will then come as a result of our obedience to God.  The Word of God teaches us to give, and as we give of the things He has entrusted us with, this activates the spiritual law of sowing and reaping.  God multiplies back to us in answer to our needs. In verse 22 we are told that a good man will leave an inheritance that will bless even his grand children. This inheritance is a spiritual one, and is not just talking about material blessings. If we lead a godly life before our families and teach them the Word of God, this is the greatest inheritance they could receive.

The last half of verse 22 points out that the wealth that sinners store up will eventually find its way into the hands of the righteous, for whom it was laid up. God is a just God. He is watching those who are faithful and righteous. When they have needs, at times the Lord will divert the wealth of the wicked to the righteous. He does this in different ways.  A Biblical example is found in Exodus 12 when the Hebrew children came out of Egypt. When the Lord led Moses to bring them out of bondage, God repaid them by spoiling the Egyptians of their goods.  Because the Egyptians had oppressed and afflicted the Israelites for years by slavery and bondage, the Lord settled the books.

Exodus 12:36: "And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians."

Verse 23 in our study scriptures states that even the poor have much food when their land is worked properly.  However, because the poor often suffer from a lack of education, they do not know how to work their land to the fullest and make it productive. They usually just barely get by.   Wicked men may come along and recognize the potential that exists with the poor and therefore they exploit the poor and take advantage of them.  This is very evil in the sight of God as He sees poor people being destroyed because of injustice.

This is why God sends missionaries into spiritually and physically impoverished places so they might learn of God and His ways.  Of course, bringing the gospel to them so that they might have eternal life is the most important thing they can receive.  However, most missionaries will also teach the natives who are ignorant about the laws of life. They help them so that their ground will yield better.  They teach them to read and write.  They teach them sanitation laws so that they might be healthy. I read a statistic recently that 80% of the diseases in remote areas are caused by drinking contaminated water. These water-borne diseases are entirely preventable.   The Lord does not want people to remain ignorant.  As Christians, we have been commissioned not only to preach the gospel to the poor, but we must teach the poor the laws that govern the affairs of their lives also. 

The Bible not only is filled with the spiritual principles of life, but the Word of God is full of wisdom in the area of physical laws also.  Some of the subjects that are covered in the Bible are nutritional laws, sanitation laws, land conservation laws, animal husbandry, ecology, social etiquette, government administration, and family structure. This is just a partial list as the Bible has much to say on many subjects. When we seek God's answers to any problem, we can find something that the Bible has to say about it. 

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father, I am thankful for Your love and the opportunity to serve You. I truly want to leave my children and grandchildren a godly inheritance. I pray that they each will be guided by You and that they remain in the will of God. May they all serve and follow You.  Protect them each, and keep them from evil. Lord, filter out the humanism of this world so it does not enter into their thinking patterns; may they be influenced by godly thinking instead. Lord, may Your Words be spread to the poor around the world so they might be set free from all bondage and come into the knowledge of the Lord.  Lord, use all of us who are Christians to reach out to the impoverished and hurting and share with them the ways of God.  I ask this in the name of Jesus.  Amen.