Title: God's Promise from Wisdom
[Min Byeong-seok’s Commentary on Proverbs] 6 God’s promise from wisdom
( Text : Proverbs 3 : 1 - 10 )
What do people want the most in the world? It would be happiness. What is happiness? Have you ever wondered what happiness is for yourself? Perhaps the old maiden thinks that getting married quickly is the happiness of her life. A poor person would consider it happiness to own a house, even if it is a small one. A person running for the National Assembly may think that once elected, there will be no greater happiness.
The first is the blessing of longevity.
Second, it is a blessing of honor.
The third is the blessing of receiving God's guidance.
The fourth is the blessing of health.
The following are the material blessings that everyone consistently desires.
Then, let's take a look at the words in the text about how we can receive the blessings that life expects.
1. Longevity Blessing
What is the greatest desire that man wants to enjoy since he has lived on this earth? It's a long-lived thing. To die like Judas Iscariot is not worth living any longer. It is not worth living a longer life for the people who committed only wicked sins and evil things in his life to die for their sins, but everyone has the desire to live a long life while living a normal life.
Let us take the case of King Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the great king of Israel and a king who feared God. However, one day the king fell ill and fell ill. The prophet Isaiah came to the king and told him the word of God that the king was suffering from a disease that could not be cured, but a disease that would die. What did King Hezekiah do when he heard these words of God? Are you waiting for death and quietly waiting for your own time to die? no. Isaiah 38 tells us that King Hezekiah prayed to God. “Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, and said, “O Lord, I pray, remember that I have walked before you in truth and with all my heart, and that I have done good in your sight.”
It was said that God heard King Hezekiah's prayer and extended his life by 15 years. (All, it's worth a try) Longevity is not something that people want to do on their own. In the old days, the king of Jinsi died of old age, even though he sent his servants to the world to look for the fireweed. Who is in control of human life? He is God. Therefore, those who wish to live long must follow God's way.
The principle is really simple and easy. But he said that you should not forget the word of God and follow it with your heart. In order not to forget the Word of God, we must learn the Word of God. And by keeping the learned Word of God in your heart, you always yearn for it in your heart and meditate on it. And he said that if we live a life that applies the Word to our lives, such a life of faith will make us live long, enjoy many years, and increase peace.
2. Blessings for Honor
It is instinct for people to value honor. What one or two people would rather die than dishonor their honor? However, people are wasting their lives for vain honor because they have a wrong knowledge about the honor that life should have.
Then, what is the honor that God gives as a gift to life? Please see verse 4. He said, “You will find favor and esteem in the sight of God and men.” He said that the true honor that Christians should enjoy is to receive favor and esteem in the sight of God and men. If we read the book of Daniel, it tells us that Daniel was greatly favored by God. Although Daniel was taken captive to the enemy's country, he was the prime minister who ruled that country for the rest of his life, revealing the glory of God in everything.
Everyone, receive only grace from God. As long as you live a life that is favored by God, God will exalt you as that person in front of all people. Proverbs 22:1 says, “Choose grace rather than silver or gold.” You must know that the work of being valued and respected in front of many people is the truth, that is, it is God's work.
Then to whom is this blessing of honor bestowed? Please see verse 3. I hope you will read it together with ‘Let kindness and truth never depart from you, tie it around your neck and write it on the tablets of your heart’. ‘Then you will find favor and esteem in the sight of God and men.’ Hallelujah! This principle is also very easy and simple. You just have to hold on to the mercy and the truth so that they do not leave your body. And he told us to put what we caught around our necks and write it on the tablets of our hearts.
If you keep the love of God in your body, live in the word so as not to leave your body, and know that this is your life, tie it around your neck and engrave it in your heart like an eternal treasure, then you will receive God's grace and enjoy the best of things while you live on this earth. He is highly valued in front of people, his position in the workplace is elevated, his business prospers and he becomes richer day by day, and his reputation spreads all over the place, earning the respect of all peoples. Amen.
3. Blessings of being led by God
If you look at verse 6, you will find the blessing of being led by God. ‘Acknowledge him in all things, and he will direct your way.’ He said that the way of life is the way of a stranger. There are so many unfamiliar places on this pilgrimage route and so many hard-to-find spots. You don't even know how many times you have to move forward without even guessing how far ahead. It's always fun to go sightseeing. In order for us to have a meaningful tour, we need to be guided by a guide. If the God who created us and controls us Himself becomes our guide and guides our lives, then there is no greater blessing in our lives than this.
If so, whose life path is God guiding? Please see verses 5 and 6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding,” he said. We must live a life that depends only on God. To trust in God means to trust in the word of God. And he commanded us to acknowledge God in all things. It means to admit that whatever things you encounter or encounters come from the hands of God. When I failed in my business, I had to honestly admit that it was God who did it. Only then will you realize that the cause of your failure lies with you, repent, and start a new life of blessing according to God's word.
4. Blessing of Health
Let's look at verses 7 and 8. “Do not be wise in yourselves, fear the Lord and turn away from evil, for this will be good for your body and nourish your marrow.” There is nothing in a person's womb that is more precious and urgent than health. Go to the hospital. Occasionally, when I stop by the intensive care unit, I see scenes that are so terrifying. It's cancer, it's heart disease, it's high blood pressure, it's heart failure, it's a stroke, all these diseases make your heart pound. Still, a healthy person lives without knowing the gratitude for that health.
People do not know the source of the disease. And sadly, they do not know the name of the person who heals their disease. The root of the disease is sin, and it is God who will heal it. He said that I am the Lord who heals. Look at verse 8, He said, “This will be good medicine for your body, and it will refresh your marrow.” Not only is it a medicinal herb, but it also makes the bones rich.
How do you say you do that? Look at verse 7. He said, “Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” He said, “This will be good for your body.” A life free from evil is closely related to our illness. Knowing that evil contains the terrible poison of Satan, Christians must live a life far away from evil that spreads the poison of disease in our bodies.
5. Material Blessings
Look at verses 9 and 10. “Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of your produce, and your storehouses will be full, and your presses will overflow with new wine.” Matter is a strange being. It has wings attached to its body. If it is not the place where he will be staying, he will move from time to time. It is important to know that people come and go from time to time, regardless of whether they earn money righteously or unjustly, but that money does not stay in the hands or safes of the unrighteous for long.
When the person who spends money uses it well, it benefits his life and brings glory to God, but if it is used incorrectly, this money pierces my heart and ruins my whole life. You have to be good at making money, but you also have to be good at writing. But verse 10 says, “Then your storehouses will be full, and your presses will overflow with new wine.” How did you do that? The answer is found in verse 9.
Honoring God requires both the mind and the material to go hand in hand. Matter is the scale of our love for others and the depth of our hearts. The love of lips alone is nothing more than an ostentation of love between husband and wife, brotherly love, and filial piety to parents, not to mention our relationship with God.
The four things and the firstfruits of your produce means the most precious of our produce. These are our tithes and thanksgiving offerings today. What you need to know is that God's blessings with the material you give are necessarily proportional to the material you give.
Conclusion: I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become a saint who will deeply cherish the word of wisdom given today and receive the blessings of God's covenant from these words.