March 30, 2019 -- Proverbs 30:10-14 -- Scrutinized by the Light of Christ
/Do not malign a servant to his master,
Lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.
11 There is a generation that curses its father,
And does not bless its mother.
12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,
Yet is not washed from its filthiness.
13 There is a generation—oh, how lofty are their eyes!
And their eyelids are lifted up.
14 There is a generation whose teeth are like swords,
And whose fangs are like knives,
To devour the poor from off the earth,
And the needy from among men.
Proverbs 30:10-14 New King James Version
These verses seem rather enigmatic. It takes a bit of digging to understand what God, the Ruler over all the kings of the earth, is saying to His people.
Verse 10 helps the reader to understand what follows. A tale-bearer or a wicked snitch will not get the justice he is seeking. The LORD knows how to judge among His people and determine what is true and who is guilty. This truth governs the next four verses so that the Word can winnow the heart, removing what is chaff and useless and leaving behind the good.
Verse 11 reiterates the fifth commandment—honour your father and mother. In fact those who do not honour their father and who curse their mothers will be held guilty. This extends also to honouring those whom God has placed in authority over us. What a difficulty that can be. How our hearts need to be governed by the Spirit and the Word.
Verse 12 Translators often struggle to use the vulgar words which the original language uses. Here is an example. The immoral believe they are clean when in fact they are not washed of their own excrement (the translation we have uses instead the word “filthiness”). Indeed that is quite graphic. Immorality such as is celebrated in our generation is as if people are going out in public covered in their own feces.
Verse 13 touches on pride. It is great wickedness that blinds the boastful. We are familiar with such texts as: Pride goes before destruction. Why is this true? Our text gives wonderful imagery of why it is so: because people have lifted up their eyes so high they are not aware of the true condition of their steps nor their surroundings. They cannot get a read of what is really going on and therefore will trip and fall.
Verse 14 plainly shows the contempt of the rich for the poor. The entitlement of those who are rich without mercy means their teeth are swords dispossessing the needy. Even more forceful, their eye-teeth are fangs which are sharp cutting tools to relieve the impoverished of every last morsel. Consider a simple example: our current prime minister took a vacation worth over a hundred thousand dollars. The ethics commissioner charged him with several ethics violations. To my knowledge he has never repaid this money. Consider on the other hand how a Canadian citizen who had been on employment insurance may, when he has a new job, be reassessed by CRA and be found to have a $75 overpayment. This person will be hounded and charged interest until this small debt is repaid in full. The fangs of the rich are knives of injustice. The one who owed $75 is just as much in debt and rightfully ought to pay back this overpayment as should also the government official who was found to be in the wrong, repay his debt. However the weight of injustice is seen in the fact that the scales are unevenly weighted against the needy.
Now, the temptation of this passage would be to say: “Phew, good thing I am not like those people.” Instead, what the passage calls for is for each one of us to examine our hearts. Remember slides? They are dark little squares and the picture is almost impossible to make out until you hold it up to a bright light. This is a perfect illustration of the work of the Holy Spirit and the Bible. The Holy Spirit applies the light of Jesus Christ to the darkest corners of our life. In God’s light we see light and the picture develops of what we really are like. At that moment we can humbly confess our sins and find in Christ forgiveness full and free, or we can be confirmed in our evil-doing, choosing instead to continue as if nothing is wrong.
There is coming a day of full and final judgement. Jesus Christ will return with all His saints and holy angels and will judge every single person according to what he has done and the good he has left undone. Verses 5 and 6 are a sharp warning:
Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
Tomorrow is Sunday. Plan on going to church. Submit to the light of Christ and find in him the healing refuge for your weary soul and sin-sickened heart. Not only will you avert the judgment of God’s wrath against your sin, you will find now that God is True, He is the Shield to all who take refuge in Him. He is our salvation and the joy of this life and the life to come!
God of wisdom and holiness, You are true and every man, every woman, every child is a liar.
Christ in Whose light we see light, we confess there are sins we are aware of in our life and so many more that lurk in the dark corners of our heart and mind beyond our own awareness. Who can stand in Your perfect presence? Forgive us the sins we know about. Help us to perceive and turn from the sins we don’t even know about.
Spirit of Truth and holiness, renew our hearts and minds so that we will long to be more and more like Jesus. Heal us from our propensity to wander away from God.
God, Faithful in all You do, bring us to church tomorrow. Those of us who know You, may we welcome those who do not usually attend church and who may therefore feel uncomfortable and out of their depth. By our welcome in Jesus’ Name may those who need you and those who know you walk together in renewed obedience to Jesus. Together may our hearts praise You and our words of confession be deep and true. Direct us in all holy living which is the greatest adventure and the highest blessing possible. Glory and honour, dominion and power belong to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and forevermore. Amen.
