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 21:17-18 (AMP):
17 He who loves pleasure
will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
18 The wicked shall be a ransom for the (uncompromisingly) righteous, and the
treacherous for the upright (because the wicked fall themselves into the traps
and pits they have dug for the good).
These verses deal
with misplaced values. They reveal how the Lord turns things around, and blesses
the righteous through the wicked, who forfeit their blessings. The book of
Proverbs has a lot to say about finances and in verse 17 it is
saying that those whose lives center around pleasure, drinking, and eating
fine foods, will not be rich. More than a few people have been guilty of losing
their money through constant partying, gambling, sex and entertainment
endeavors. All of these are usually accompanied by alcohol and gourmet
food which are expense. Many have not only lost their money, but
have become alcoholics as well. Since this is an unhealthy lifestyle, it
can produce physical sickness, as well. One of the downfalls in our
society is the craving for constant entertainment; and these endeavors can also
be very expense. The virtues of unselfishness, serving others, saving and giving,
quickly disappear when someone's world revolves around pleasure. This
verse is not referring to occasional celebrations, and clean entertainment in
moderation, but is telling us that the one who practices a lifestyle that seeks
continual pleasure will end up in poverty.
Verse 18
is an interesting verse, as it tells us that many times the plots and plans of
the wicked against the righteous end up turning against the wicked themselves.
There is a story in the Bible about this in the book of Esther. The
story goes like this.
There was a woman
named Esther, who was made Queen to King Ahasuerus, who lived in a palace in
Shushan. He was king of the Persian empire. Esther was a Jew; however, her
nationality had not yet been revealed to the king. There was a plot by a
wicked man named Haman (who was one of the King's princes), to destroy the Jews,
because one of them named Mordecai, who was Esther's uncle, refused to bow down to Haman. His refusal to bow was based on
his commitment to only bow to the true
God, Jehovah. Mordecai's behavior incensed Haman and he convinced the king
that the Jews were a threat to his kingdom. He bribed the king by offering to
give a large sum of silver into the king's treasury, if the king would sign an
edict to destroy the Jews. The king agreed to destroy the Jews, not knowing that
Esther was a Jew. Since the king made Haman overseer of this project, Haman
thought he would succeed in destroying Mordecai, so he built a gallows to hang
him on.
But the king could
not sleep one night, and he began reading a book of memorable deeds. As he
did this, he
discovered that Mordecai had been responsible for saving his life at one time.
He also discovered that this noble man had not been rewarded for his brave
deed. So the king called Haman in and ask him what he thought should be done for
a man that he wanted to honor. Now Haman, in his own pride, thought that the
King surely spoke of him; so he told the King how he thought the man should be
given royal apparel, a crown on his head, and given the king's horse to ride
before the people in the city. The king then told him to do this for Mordecai,
for he was the noble man. Haman went away stunned and grieving, as he had
to obey the King's command.
The king then was
having a dinner with Queen Esther, and he summoned Haman to attend. At the
dinner, Queen Esther made petition to the King to reverse the wicked plot that
Haman had devised to destroy her people. She did this at the risk of her life,
as no one was allowed to go uninvited before the King with a petition. Because of prayer and fasting, Esther not only found
favor in the sight of the King, but he was also angry when he realized the evil in Haman's plot. The King, in his wrath, arose and went into the palace garden.
Meanwhile, Haman became afraid and tried to plead for his life by approaching
Queen Esther. He fell down on her couch pleading with her. At the same moment
that the King returned to the room. The King thought he was trying to assault
the Queen, so he ordered him taken way and hanged on the very gallows that Haman
had built to hang Mordecai. We can read this portion of the account in
these scriptures:
Esther 7:1-10:
1 So the king and Haman came to dine
with Esther the queen.
2 And the king said again to Esther on the second day when wine was being
served, What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted. And what is
your request? Even to the half of the kingdom, it shall be performed.
3 Then Queen Esther said, If I have found favor in your sight, O king and if it
pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition and my people at my
request.
4 For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, slain, and wiped out of
existence! But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I would have held
my tongue, for our affliction is not to be compared with the damage this will do
to the king.
5 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, Who is he, and where is he who dares
presume in his heart to do that?
6 And Esther said, An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman. Then Haman
was afraid before the king and queen.
7 And the king arose from the feast in his wrath and went into the palace
garden; and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Queen Esther, for he
saw that there was evil determined against him by the king.
8 When the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the drinking
of wine, Haman was falling upon the couch where Esther was. Then said the king,
Will he even forcibly assault the queen in my presence, in my own palace? As the
king spoke the words, [the servants] covered Haman's face.
9 Then said Harbonah, one of the attendants serving the king, Behold, the
gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman has made for Mordecai, whose warning
saved the king, stands at the house of Haman. And the king said, Hang him on it!
10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then
the king's wrath was pacified.
Dear Heavenly
Father, I do thank you for all the wonderful things You have given me to enjoy
in this life; however, I never want to be guilty of allowing those things that
bring pleasure, to become more important than the things of God. May I
always put You and Your will first in my life. Lord, even as Esther went
before the King, to petition for her people, at the very threat of her life, may
I be as courageous as she was. Lord, if the occasion should ever arise, that I
would need to stand up for others in the face of danger, let me do so with
strength and honor. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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