November 1 Daily Discovery
November 1 Daily Discovery - Read Proverbs Chapter 6
This passage below is from the King James Version (ekjv.org).
Remarks from the Berean Fellowship follow the passage below.
[1] My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
[2] Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
[3] Do this now, my son, deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
[4] Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
[5] Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
[6] Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
[7] Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
[8] Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
[9] How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
[10] Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
[11] So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
[12] A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
[13] He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
[14] Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
[15] Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
[16] These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
[17] A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
[18] An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
[19] A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
[20] My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
[21] Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
[22] When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
[23] For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
[24] To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
[25] Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
[26] For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
[27] Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
[28] Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
[29] So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
[30] Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
[31] But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
[32] But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
[33] A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
[34] For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
[35] He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
God's Hate List
In the near center of this collection of proverbs in this chapter we are given a list of six seven things that God hates.
Certainly we would show ourselves to be wise if we would carefully identify and understand the things that God hates and make sure that we are not doing them because we do not want to make this list!
[16] These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
[17] A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
[18] An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
[19] A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
1) A proud look
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God hates this use of our eyes.
It is no surprise that pride is the first thing listed. It, of course, was the original sin committed in heaven itself by a being that God created to have a high place in his divine council. His pride so perverted his wisdom that he actually believed that he could overtake the throne of the Most High. He definitely thought more highly of himself than he ought to have thought. He was extremely intelligent and he was very beautiful but everything he was was something that God had created. He did not make himself. Pride is so foolish and God hates it.
But the passage does not simply isolate pride it identifies a proud look. What is a proud look? I'm sure that it would include us looking about or upon things that we have accomplished with a certain smugness, having convinced ourselves that we have done amazing things, and are feeling an inordinate satisfaction, instead of resonating gratitude back to the God that made us and enabled us.
I would think as well that it would be a proud look when we observe someone that we have convinced ourselves is lower than us or we are better than them, - that would generate a proud look as well. God, please visit us with a spirit of humility and deliver us from the pride that is so deeply seated within our hearts. Help us to hate pride as you do.
2) a lying tongue
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God hates this use of our tongues.
God is 100% Pure Truth. He is Truth in perfection. His most antithetical opposite in his creation is the anointed cherub that fell through rebellion and pride and became the best example of a liar. God is Truth and He loves the truth. Loving the truth is going to have a flip side, which is hating lies.
John 14:1-6
[1] Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
[2] In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
[3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
[4] And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
[5] Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
[6] Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Jesus was and is Truth incarnate.
Eph. 4:17-25
[17] This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
[18] Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
[19] Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
[20] But ye have not so learned Christ;
[21] If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
[22] That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
[23] And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
[24] And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
[25] Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
3) hands that shed innocent blood
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God hates this use of our hands.
If a man takes the life of another man and does this willfully, on purpose, then man is supposed to execute God's judgment upon him by taking his life as well. This is a duty of human government in following God's law. God does not hate your hands when you use them to take a human life if you are in the place of an ordained judge and they deserve to die. God does not hate your hands if you end up taking a human life because you are defending the life of the innocent. God doesn't hate your hands because you have shed blood as an act of war and your target was a warrior that is an enemy.
Gen. 9:6
Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
However if your hands have shed the blood of the innocent they make God's hate list. Human beings can become so depraved that they can even get to the place where they habitually kill other human beings. God hates this!
4) An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations
- God hates this use of our hearts or minds.
If you use your mind the conjure up things that are wicked and evil, then your mind makes it to god's hate list. This was one of the things that is listed as one of the reasons god destroyed the earth with water as recorded in the book of Genesis.
Gen. 6:5
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
2 Cor. 10:5
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Wicked spirits can plant wicked thoughts within your mind but they cannot make you meditate upon them. We can cast the thoughts down when they are contrary to the nature of God.
5) feet that be swift in running to mischief
- God hates this use of our feet.
Mischievous things are things that are evil cause trouble or create harm.
The Bible lists some things that we can do with our feet that god loves but this particular thing is a use of the faith that god hates, when we hurry to create mischief. Those that enjoy such mischief will have the feet that are swift to run towards it.
Isa. 52:7
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
6) A false witness that speaketh lies
- God hates this motivation of the heart.
This is more than just the tongue that is speaking lies it is the motive that is focused on here. Why would someone become a false witness?
When someone is a false witness, they are acting to incriminate someone and show them as guilty when they are actually innocent. They may be doing this for money, or maybe doing this because they hate the individual. There may be other motives, but any motive that would move someone to give false testimony is evil.
7) he that soweth discord among brethren
God loves it when we live in harmony with one another. There has always been absolute harmony within the Godhead. We know that there were members of the divine council, before even the creation of man, that were guilty of this. These were created as brothers, - thus they are called sons of God. Some among them sewed discord discord in heaven itself. God loves unity among his family and he hates it when members of His family do things that create discord. Discord is like trying to play a chord on a guitar and hitting a very much wrong string that will not harmonize with the rest of the strings.
Psa. 133:1-3
[1] Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
[2] It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
[3] As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
We are instructed to work hard at maintaining unity.
Eph. 4:1-6
[1] I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
[2] With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
[3] Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
[4] There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
[5] One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
[6] One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
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Continue Your Search
From this chapter, do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?
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