Echoes Of Eden

Focus verses: Job 34:1-4

The words of Elihu struck as arrogant. The younger man is presuming to teach his elders. And he ends with "Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good."

So here we have a young man determining what is good, and by inference what is evil. It seemed to me an echo of the conversation in the Garden of Eden between Satan and Eve. "You will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Man's intellect falls short of understanding God. He is too big for us to wrap our tiny little minds around. We cannot see the eternal ramifications of our actions. God has no such limitations. We are better served to listen to His teachings on good and evil rather than to make up our own minds on a case by case basis.

My grandmother used to say "when God wants to let you know how small you are, He gives you your own way." The implication being that He also lets you reap the fuit of your selfishness - because most of our desires are naturally selfish.

God has a plan for each of us. We are well advised to ask Him for the itinerary of our lives.

Father, God,

Help us not to be so caught up with our own thinking that we have no room to listen to You. Keep us seeking You and Your will first in our lives that we might know what You say is good and do it.

In Jesus' most precious name.
Amen.

Finite or Infinite

Focus verse: Ecclesiastes 11:5

As you do not know the path of the wind,
or how the body is formed in a mother's womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things.

As we study, we can succumb to the arrogance of the intellect. That is the spirit that says I'm as smart as anybody else. Anything anyone else knows, I can know, too. We are treading on thin ice here.

Lets go back the garden. The arrogance of the intellect was what got Eve into trouble in the first place. Look at the progression of the original sin. (Genesis 3:1-6)

The serpent was crafty. He started with a question: Did God really say...?
Eve answered him with God's words, and then the serpent called God a liar. What gall!
And Eve, with the arrogance of learning something new, believed the father of lies.

Man, who had been given dominion over this world, ceded that dominion to the father of lies. And the world has never been the same.

We are in danger of believing that same lie. That God isn't big enough; we can be in charge. When that happens, the enemy can tempt us to all kinds of wrong and foolish actions.

We need to remember that God is more than we can understand. There is no way we can wrap our finite little minds around all the wisdom and knowledge of an infinite God.

Father, God,

Keep us hungry for more of you and less of the world's "wisdom." Lead us to study to show ourselves approved in knowledge of Your ways and keep us from the "wisdom" of this world.

In Jesus' most precious name.
Amen.

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Discerning Wisdom

Focus verses: Proverbs 2: 6-15

The wise words of Solomon are as true today as they were the day they were written down.

Here, wisdom is a prize greatly to be desired. You can get it from God, and implied is the thought from God only.

Seeking wisdom from the Lord, you can be certain that he will guard your steps so that you will not fall into bad company.

Note please, that wisdom will enter your heart. It is not just a function of the intellect, but is also a function of the emotions. When you have wisdom, you can follow what we've called "that gut feeling" with confidence.

Wisdom will keep your feet on the secure path. All other paths will lead to destruction and dishonor, but wisdom will keep you on the Lord's path, walking in His ways.

Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom and was given wealth and honor and power as a result of his wisdom.

Father, God,

Grant us Your wisdom so that we may walk in Your ways and become more and more Your children.

In Jesus' most precious name.
Amen.