Proverbs 18:10

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." (Proverbs 18:10)

The above proverb relates to a recent post about the names of God. The very name of God is a strong tower or defense. According to Philippians 2:9-11 (Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father), there is nothing higher than the name of Jesus Christ (nor more powerful!). And, as Christians are supposed to point the way to Jesus Christ, Jesus points the way to the Father. In Him is found everything we need or want.

In these present times, which are more than a little uncertain, some things remain certain. Those things are found in my Bible, from which I daily seek comfort. Lately, I've been spending a lot of time in Proverbs, which is written specifically to young men but applies to everyone. The very fact that it is written to young men should make women want to read it, too. It talks about what kind of woman a man should seek to spend his life with, for one thing, as well as the kind of woman to avoid. But, basically, it defines how to be a man in God's eyes. 

Proverbs details what kind of woman a man should seek. I found a compilation of women's godly attributes all found in the book of Proverbs. I'm pretty well versed in what to avoid. This gives me a good idea of what I should look for. Is it funny these remind me of a certain woman?

• Manages her household (Proverbs 31:10-12)
• Works willingly with her hands (Proverbs 31:13)
• Serves her household (Proverbs 31:14-15)
• Invests wisely (Proverbs 31:16)
• Strengthens herself through proper care of her body and spirit (Proverbs 31:17)
• Uses her gifts consistently and creatively (Proverbs 31:18-19)
• Gives generously to the poor (Proverbs 31:20)
• Protects her children (Proverbs 31:21)
• Dresses herself attractively (Proverbs 31:23)
• Uses her time and energies efficiently (Proverbs 31:24)
• Exhibits a spirit of optimism (Proverbs 31:25)
• Speaks with wisdom and kindness (Proverbs 31:26)
• Exemplifies faithfulness and excellence (Proverbs 31:27-29)
• Receives praise for her work (Proverbs 31:30-31) 

When I was a young man, a preacher said if you want to get into the Word, here is a suggestion. Start reading the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Read through all of them five or six times, reading at least five chapters a day, but also keep a marker in Psalms and Proverbs to supplement. Acquaint yourself with Jesus Christ first because He is what the Bible is centered on. Fall in love with Jesus, and the rest of the Bible opens up to you. Even the book of Revelation makes more sense because what is being revealed but Jesus? It is interesting to note that in all of the New Testament, the word "alleluia" is not used until the book of Revelation, then suddenly a flourish of them appear when Jesus is revealed. Who or what deserves more praise than the final revelation of Jesus Christ? The whole world is waiting for Him to come back. Just thinking about it makes my heart leap in my chest. But I digress. 

The preacher went on to say that the Old Testament makes more sense when we look at it through the lens of the New Testament. The OT wasn't tossed aside with the NT but was, rather, fulfilled or completed. Likewise, Jesus could not have done what He did had not the OT existed. The OT and NT are both indispensable. Jesus came to fulfill the law, not destroy it. People like to toss out the harsh realities of the OT. That is a mistake. The OT still applies, only we don't have to pay the price for our sins. The scapegoat Jesus Christ did that for us. He was smitten once, and after that, all we have to do is speak and are forgiven. There is a good picture of that in Moses at the waters of Meribah. He smote the rock once and after that was supposed to speak to the rock (which is a picture of Jesus Christ necessarily being smitten once and after that only needing to be spoken to for remission of sins). But Moses screwed up the picture by smiting the rock again because he was angry (which is a theme with Moses), which God punished by not allowing him to enter into the Promised Land. 

My point is, we shouldn't throw out any part of the Bible and say it's not for today. All of the Bible is for our instruction and benefit. Nothing should be cast aside. There are very important principles in the OT for spiritual warfare, for instance. The Promised Land is inside each believer. The rules governing battle in the OT apply now, only spiritually. The enemy is still with us, and very real, and very wicked. There are giants in the land today just as there were then.

Wow, that was a longwinded and tortuous way to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs are little nuggets of truth. Each verse can be taken and expounded on indefinitely. Sometimes I read one verse and feel like my head is going to explode because there is so much contained in one of those thoughts. Together, they are a picture of how a young man should behave and govern his life. When I was a young man, they were very important to me. I gleaned so much from reading them. Sadly, I did not always chase after them. I knew better but did not always do better. Much of my life was wasted chasing after things of little or no profit. 

Needless to say, I'm spending a lot of time in Proverbs right now. I'm aligning my life with God's direction. Each and every good thing Proverbs says I should have, I ask for as I read. Reading and praying at the same time makes sense to me, as I immediately grasp the importance of what I'm reading and ask for what I'm lacking. Two birds with one stone. 

In Proverbs, there are verses that seem to contract, such as Proverbs 26, verses 4 and 5: “Don't answer a fool according to his folly lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly lest he be wise in his own eyes." The full meaning of those verses can be explained by the Holy Spirit, but I liken it to driving down a road and having a ditch on either side of the road. Many verses in the Bible seem to contradict, but look further and they show a ditch on either side of the road. Go too far in one direction, and you're in trouble. Likewise, go too far in the other direction, and you're in the other ditch. The point is to be careful and navigate with caution and stay on the road. 

The Bible talks about "the foolishness of preaching," and, indeed, it looks like foolishness to the world that people can go to church or listen to a sermon online or in their car or whatever and come away changed somehow. But God uses things that are simple to confound the wisdom of the world. Each verse in Proverbs is spiritually discerned. We don't see how it transforms people's lives, but God does. How the Holy Spirit accomplishes so much while we know next to nothing about Him blows my mind. In God's infinite wisdom, He has blinded us to the Holy Spirit's working. No doubt He blinds the devil to His working, as well, because when you read the Bible you see the devil make massive blunder after massive blunder, which I'm sure he thought were massive victories at the time. The devil knows the Bible. He can quote it like no human being can. But that doesn't mean he understands it or knows what God is going to do next. That understanding and knowledge come from the Holy Spirit.

Proverbs are for the edification and instruction of young men, but we can all benefit from reading them. That's why I'm revisiting them so heavily. I went off track early in life, and I want to get back on track. Let's find out where we went wrong, Joshua, and make amends. I can't make up for lost time, but I can get back on track. 

We live in very strange and troubling times. I feel I can't trust what I'm told by various media sources. And the man on the street knows no more than me. There is so much conflicting and clearly wrong information being propagated by supposedly trustworthy sources. But, I know I can trust the Word of God. And it is always broadcasting. So today and every day, I will tune my radio to God's station. Now more than ever, people need to seek and find the truth. In the truth is safety, and Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. But knowing Jesus is only the beginning. After all, He directs us to the Father, who has every good and perfect gift. Where are those gifts? Many are found in Proverbs.

Thank you for reading and God bless.