Brain Outdo Muscle II

Monday, August 15, 2022

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7 Wise conversation is way over the head of fools;

    in a serious discussion, they haven’t a clue.

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8-9 The person who’s always cooking up some evil

    soon gets a reputation as prince of rogues.

Fools incubate sin;

    cynics desecrate beauty.

Rescue the Perishing

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10 If you fall to pieces in a crisis,

    there wasn’t much to you in the first place.

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11-12 Rescue the perishing;

    don’t hesitate to step in and help.

If you say, “Hey, that’s none of my business,”

    will that get you off the hook?

Someone is watching you closely, you know—

    Someone is not impressed with weak excuses.

-Proverbs 24:7-12 The Message

7 Wisdom is too high for a fool;

    At the gate, he does not open his mouth.

8 Whoever plans to do evil

    will be called a schemer.

9 The devising of folly is sin,

    and the scoffer is an abomination to mankind.

10 If you faint on a day of adversity,

    your strength is small.

11 Rescue those who are being taken away to death;

    hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.

12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”

    does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?

Does not he who keeps watching over your soul know it,

    and will he not repay man according to his work?

-Proverbs 24:7-12 ESV

Verse 7 study: Fools believe they are above and beyond. They are out of their depth because they are unteachable.

The gate is referred to as a town gate where a traditional meeting place was for counsel and judgment.

Verse 8 study: Plotting evil actions is as wrong as possible because what you think determines what you will do. If this is not checked, it can lead to severe sins. God wants pure lives free from sin and the prevention of planning evil spoils. It wouldn’t matter if purity was a hostile action that hasn’t been acted yet. Should you do it because you already arranged it? No. At this point, sin is the attitude, but haven’t damaged other people. Put a stop to it, ask God for forgiveness, and put you on a different path. Social values can beneficially suppress evil.

Verse 9 study: Folly doesn’t always mean the lack thereof, but being active in rebellion and always against the truth is, and you derived from it at that point.

Verse 10 study: Times of trouble is helpful. It shows who you really are and what character you developed into. It can help you grow stronger. Jeremiah questioned God because of the trouble he was facing. God asked him how he ever expected to face enormous challenges if the little ones tired him.

The Lord Answers Jeremiah

5 “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,
    how will you compete with horses?
And if in a safe land you are so trusting,
    what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan? -Jeremiah 12:5 ESV

Don’t complain about your problems. The troubles you are facing are training you to be more robust when more complex situations arise. We all have battles we face. We must be wise and frequent enough to fight them well.

Verses 11-12 studies: These two verses are best described as don’t use excuses of ignorance to avoid the responsibility to help another in need. This is an obligation to help. God won’t accept our excuses.

Verse 12 study: Accountability to God is stress. The eternal rather than the social consequences of failing to help others are considered.