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Today: Proverbs 8:12-21; Luke 7:36-50; Numbers 26:12-65; Numbers 27:1-11
Proverbs 8 – Wisdom
Ah WISDOM! It is what Solomon asked for and was greatly blessed for the asking. Solomon’s request reveals that he already possessed a great portion of the gift he was requesting. I try to learn from this. I rarely ask God for material things. But wisdom is something I ask for every single day.
God did give Solomon great wisdom. He wrote an entire book about it — the Proverbs.
Proverbs 8 contains the most important conditional promise in the entire Old Testament:
“Those who diligently seek me [wisdom] WILL FIND ME.” Proverbs 8:17
Wisdom, in its purest form, is simply God. Jesus is called the “wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).
Do you want to become wise? Seek diligently after Jesus, and hunger for God’s presence.
Luke 7
The woman who anointed Jesus’ feet with perfume was a prostitute. Simon, the Pharisee, could see only her sin. But Jesus saw her heart. He knew exactly “what sort of person this woman [was].” (v.39) Yet he loved her and forgave her.
She was also very aware of her past. And she was overwhelmed with gratitude for the huge sin she had been forgiven. She was a prodigal, like me. We prodigals, people who lived rough lives before coming to Jesus, have been forgiven a greater debt. We don’t need to be convinced of our desperate need for a Savior. We completely understand how empty and futile it is to try to find our own way, to try to save ourselves. We know better than anyone that it cannot be done.
Others may only see our sins. Others may not be able to overlook our negative past. But Jesus says to us, “Your sins have been forgiven.” (v.48) Jesus says to us, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (v.50) Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus!!
Numbers 27
The daughters of Zelophehad were not initially given an inheritance of land because their father had died; land was only given to men as was the custom of the day. When they came to Moses to request an inheritance with the other Israelites, Moses took their request to God.
The LORD responded, YES! “You shall certainly give them hereditary property among their father’s brothers and you shall transfer the inheritance of their father to them.” (v.7) God then makes it the law of the land to include women in future inheritances. This was a radical decree in a time when women were considered not much more than property.
Jesus also honored women. He interacted with women with radical familiarity for the time period. He gave women important roles in His ministry and invited them into His inner circle of friends. In fact, the first people to see Him after the resurrection were two women.
Cancel culture tries to poison us against Christianity by saying that it is misogynistic and sexist. Nothing could be further from the truth.
