- Proverbs 21:1-5
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- Prov 21:1 (KJB)
- The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers
of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
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- Many people look at a dictator or a leader of some country and sometimes
their political record is anything but good. We tend to wonder about things
like that and ask the question if God is in control, how come these
political leaders can get away with things like that. What we must
understand is that we live in a fallen world and that fallen world is
enslaved to sin. God works out His plans through sinful man and sometimes
bad leaders are a testing program for the believers living in that country.
This verse teaches us that no leader of any country acts independently of
God as He directs them for His eternal purposes. This verse also has a
spiritual application. The Bible speaks about believers as being kings.
(Rev 1:6 KJV) And hath made us kings and
priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for
ever and ever. Amen. This verse teaches us that
God is the one who guides the paths of all believers and they are subject to
His will. This principle is borne out in John 3:8.
(John 3:8 KJV) The wind bloweth where it
listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it
cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Those who are born of the spirit, that is, the saved are
guided and motivated by God’s will for their lives. Many Christians have
stated that they would never have chosen the ministry they are in, yet are
doing them well because it is God who has guided them into it and made the
way possible for their ministry to flourish.
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- Prov 21:2 (KJB)
- Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD
pondereth the hearts.
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- Pondereth - Examines
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- There are many times man seems to plans his ways and planning is good
but we are never guaranteed in Scripture that we will bring those plans to
fruition. Sometimes our plans are in accord with the will of God and He may
bring the plans to pass by a different way than we had planned. Sometimes we
may plan something and God will examine the motives for our plans and He may
decide to stop us right in our tracks and that would be good simply because
he knows the beginning from the end. If our plans are detrimental to us
somewhere down the road, then when we pray and ask God to guide us, we
should not be surprised when He does and we should expect any type of
involvement by the Lord including the cessation of our plans. Sometimes we
think we know what is best for us but when the Lord examines those plans, it
could have been disastrous for us. Unbelievers always think they are right
in their plans and the Lord may allow them to go on but He takes special
care of those whom He has saved and that we count on.
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- Prov 21:3 (KJB)
- To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD
than sacrifice.
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- Acceptable - Choosing or select
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- Here the Lord is more concerned with the intents of the heart and not
the best sacrifice. Those who are wealthy can bring the best sacrifices
because they can afford it, but their hearts may not be right with God. They
may bring the best sacrifice for the purpose of pride and others seeing it
would be envious. What the Lord is concerned about is our walk and not
sacrifice.
(Micah 6:8 KJV) He hath
showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of
thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
The essence of the laws was to be mercy and justice for
all, regardless of a person’s status in Israelite society. God wants His
people walking humbly and compassionately toward others just as we read in
Micah 6:8. The Lord would choose a good walk over a big sacrifice any day.
There are many Christians today who will write a big check for ministry and
then have a wrong attitude. The Lord would rather us have a good Christian
walk with proper works than to give a sacrificial gift. Sacrificial giving
is good but it should be done in concert with a proper Christian walk.
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- Prov 21:4 (KJB)
- An high look
, and a proud heart, and the plowing of
the wicked, is sin.
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- An high look - Haughtiness of eyes
- Plowing - Lamp
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- An extremely prideful person is outright sinful. Their pride forces them
to think that they are better than others. This may have a link back to the
previous verse which talks about a person bringing a sacrifice without the
proper lifestyle. Not only is the proud look sinful but when they use their
eyes as a sinful gesture, like rolling them in the presence of someone who
may not be so intelligent.
(Mat 6:23
KJV) But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If
therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that
darkness! Matthew 6:23 states that if the eye be
evil, and that is what the haughty eyes are, then that is an indicator that
the whole body is full of darkness, that is, they are unsaved. The lamp of
the wicked produces only darkness which makes it sin.
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- Prov 21:5 (KJB)
- The thoughts
of the diligent tend only to
plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.
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- The thoughts - The plans
- Diligent - Industrious
- Only to plenteousness - Surely to profit
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- Here is someone who is described as a planner. This person plans their
moves. Solomon describes them as an industrious person. The industrious
person plans and then puts those well-thought out plans into operation. They
try to take into consideration any and all variables which they might face
and plan for them. Their plans will succeed because they have thought them
out. On the other hand, there is the person who does not think anything out
and rushes in to attempt something and normally those who do not think out
their situation will fail and utterly be in want by means of them losing
their investments. The other facet of good planning, especially for a
believer, is that they factor in the will of God and make sure that none of
their plans tend to be in opposition to the Scriptures. Once they factor
that in, they will see success in their endeavors. Now it is always present
that God can change even the best thought-out plans or He may even halt
them, as we saw in a previous verse that God is in control of everything and
can see the end from the beginning. He may approve of our plans by blessing
them, making them ultra-successful or He may halt them. We must be prepared
for either scenario but that does not mean we cease planning.
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