Text: “Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me” (Proverbs 30:7-8).
Context, Context, Context: Proverbs is part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. It’s practical wisdom for everyday life. And the recurring pattern in Proverbs is that of “Not this but that.” Not folly but wisdom. Not lies but truth. Not deception but transparency. Not evil but good, etc.
Teaching: In Proverbs 30:7-8 Agur asks God for two things: 1) to be shaped into an honest man/be removed from false men and 2) to have his daily bread.
Connection to Christ: Remember Jesus’s sermon from Matthew 6:11? It’s part of his Sermon on the Mount: “Give us this day our daily bread . . .” It’s the same principle as you find in Proverbs 30:7-8, written centuries before. It’s all connected; it’s one coherent story.
Two Things:
Honesty (one’s own and to not associate with liars)
Provision
Encouragement: The wisdom literature is called that for a reason. Agur’s words are part of the canon of Scripture. He is teaching the same things Jesus taught, namely, that God’s people are to be known via their integrity and the company they keep and that God is our provider.
Question: Have you ever thought about the meaning of intercession? “To intervene on behalf on another” is the meaning of the verb form of intercede.
Understanding intercession is fundamental to a biblical worldview. Why? Because Christ is the Christian’s great intercessor. He is our representative. The whole doctrine of imputation hinges upon Christ as our mediator.
That’s what Paul means when he writes to Timothy, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).
Christ is the Christian’s mediator, his intercessor.
A Glimpse Back at Recalcitrant People: Remember how often Moses interceded on behalf of sinful Israel? Remember how often the crowds complained to Moses that they had it better in bondage in Egypt? Here’s one example:
Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” (Numbers 14:1-4)
Moses as Intercessor:
Yet God was merciful. God was gracious. He had Moses, his intercessor. And Moses’ job, if you will? To petition the Lord on behalf of others.
Listen to Moses’ words:
And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now. (Numbers 14:17-19)
Encouragement: Do we understand the depths of God’s mercy and grace towards us sinners? God provided Moses as his intercessor on behalf of sinners. It’s a picture of the gospel, folks, where God was doing something through Christ, the ultimate intercessor and mediator, between God the holy and us, the sinners. Intercession is fundamental to a coherent understanding of the biblical narrative of redemption.
Text: “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions” (Romans 14:1).
Context, Context, Context: Paul was the sherherding leader. Paul knew the Lord more intimately than those he led. Why? Because how can you be qualified to lead and teach if you’re a neophyte? Pride precedes the fall, that is bromidic. Thus, it is essential for us to listen to wisdom, to inculcate it in our ministries.
You need some scars. You need some experience. You need God’s wisdom. And Paul, sinner though he was, was God’s man. And he, too, had to learn patience. And if there’s a hard lesson to learn when you’re trying to lead, that’s it: patience. Be patient with others, because they might not be as biblically mature.
Encouragement: Ever battle the temptation to just say, “Oh my goodness! How can you not understand this? This is so basic! I certainly have. But God is patient with us, dear ones, and we are to emulate that patience by being patient with others. It’s easy to win an argument but lose the person. Let us aim not to do that. Let us recognize that it’s people we are about, not just about appearing to win a temporal argument.
Text: “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1).
Context, Context, Context: Solomon is penning part of what’s known in Scripture as the wisdom literature. The book of Proverbs is, well, just that–a collection of aphorisms. And one of Solomon’s preferred literary techniques is the use of antithetical parallelism. All that means is that the first half of a verse demonstrates one quality, whereas the second half of the verse demonstrates its opposite via contrast.
Two Types of People:
The wicked person
The righteous person
The first half of the verse pictures the wicked person as evasive, on the run, fleeing. Why? Because he is up to no good. He is crafty and shady.
The second half of the verse pictures the contrast of a good and righteous man. He is “bold as a lion.” Why? Because he has nothing to hide. He values transparency and his life is an open book.
Encouragement: Christ commands his people to be salt and what else? Light. “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet” (Matthew 5:13).
And light, too: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house” (Matthew 5:14-15).
Jesus’ teaching is the same as Solomon’s. Why? Because all of Scripture is one coherent story. And what Proverbs 28:1 teaches is straightforward, namely, that God’s people are to be righteous, a people of the light.
An Instructive Ditty: “Be careful, little lips, what you say. Be careful, little ears, what you hear.” Those are some of the lyrics to a children’s ditty I recall from my church-saturated childhood. If you were reared in church, you may remember them, too.
Text: “You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:16).
Teaching: Per Scripture, the tongue is a dangerous creation:
So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell (James 3:5-6).
Ever been slandered? Ever been gossiped about? Of course, we all have. If you haven’t, count yourself lucky.
But God’s people are to be better than that. We are to remember the Lord, that the Lord sees, and that we will answer. “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).
Encouragement: There’s a lot of biblical wisdom in that children’s ditty, isn’t there?
“And thou wilt give thyself relief, if thou doest every act of thy life as if it were the last, laying aside all carelessness and passionate aversion from the commands of reason, and all hypocrisy, and self-love, and discontent with all the portion which has been given to thee.”
Encouragement: In modern parlance, do first things, first. Have the right priorities and act on them, not worrying about getting the credit.
Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace (Leviticus 10:1-3).
Context, Context, Context: God’s priests are called to holiness. We’re to be reverential towards God. Presumptuousness and cavalier dispositions are damning.
Teaching: God is holy. He is not to be toyed with or mocked or minimized. Sinners scoff at God to their utter ruin. Yet God welcomes sinners who are broken over their sin and look to God’s grace in the person and work of Christ.
Nadab and Abihu presumed upon God’s grace. And it was fatal.
Encouragement: Whosoever will may come, but we must come in recognition that we are dressed in filthy rags. That’s what our works are. Then and only then will God clothe us in his robes of righteousness.
The storms passed through and we weathered them safely. Significant rainfall, cold temperatures, ice, a dusting of snow, and winds, but we made it safely through it all. Other parts of our nation were less fortunate.
It never got above freezing today, but I had to get out of the house. I took to the hills.
After hiking a bit I sat down at my favorite spot to watch the sun set over the ridge. It was again moving to my soul. I even saw a healthy spike walk within a few yards of me.
After a breakfast with friends at Cracker Barrel, CJ and I ran some errands for a while. Upon arriving home, she asked, “You going hiking?”
“I am.”
“Okay, love. Have fun.”
“I will.”
I already had a pair of hiking boots on, so all I had to get was something to drink, my iPhone for pictures, gloves, my neck gator, and a wool hat.
Securing my gear, I stepped off and headed into the woods.
I began on my favorite trail, one that leads to one of the creeks. I walked under the oaks for a mile or two. Acorns and sticks popped under the soles of my boots. I stopped regularly, looking for deer. I knew they’d spot me long before I spotted them.
At last one of the creeks came into view.
I sat down on some of the flat stones in the creek and just was. All was quiet. Occasionally the winds would pick up and the leaves would dance and shuffle on the forest floor.
I snapped a couple of pictures with my iPhone.
Deer prints were pressed in the sand. Green mountain laurel grew on the banks. The winds picked up a bit and I could smell scents carried by the creek. The tall thin pines rocked back and forth, back and forth, with the winds. I sat for a few more moments on the stones. Just being.
After some time passed, I thought it wise to head back towards home. It would take me at least an hour to get back via the trail I chose. Up, up, and up. The trial was clear, though, and I could see a long way into the woods and the hills. I stopped regularly to enjoy the views with which I am so familiar.
The mountain ridge was to my back now. I was headed north towards home.
When I exited the woods the road came into view. A fellow hiker, a woman, was dressed in a blue puffer jacket, tan gloves, and burgundy hat. She watched me and I watched her. As we passed each other going opposite directions, it became clear she was in her happy place, too.
“Doesn’t it feel great out here?”
“It does,” I said.
“I just love it,” she said.
“As do I.”
When I finally arrived home, CJ warmed me a bowl of potato soup. I sat down and ate, took Lady out to pee, watched the cardinals on my birdfeeder, and hugged our son. He was gaming online with some of his friends.
I went to my library and began preparing to upload a lesson for the saints for tomorrow. Since our area is likely to get hit with pretty heavy rain and eventually ice, I was thankful I had taken the time to feed my soul in the woods, on the hills, and down by the creek.
Home now, full of warm potato soup, and Lady is in her chair beside me as I study in order to teach and upload a video. My cup is full. Let the storms come. That’s just part of it all. But there are moments like these, too, and I remain grateful.
32 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” (Exodus 32:1-2)
Context, Context, Context: Moses, the shepherd/intercessor/leader of Israel, had just come down from meeting with God atop Sinai: “And he [God] gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God” (Exodus 31:18). Moses had received the Decalogue from the Lord. They were ‘the ten words,’ if you will, from God. (They are, by the way, the basis of what’s left of civilization. Deny transcendence, deny human responsibility, deny individual property rights, deny law and order, and see what happens. You get chaos. But if folks cannot see that unfolding in front of their very eyes, I do not know how they will ever admit truth and reality until they stand before the Lord. You can deny both, but you don’t break them; they break you.)
Teaching: When Moses had been away from his people for a while, the people grew restless, unbelieving, and selfish. They demanded Aaron’s brother take charge and “make us gods who shall go before us” (Exodus 32:1b). In other words, all people everywhere are religious. It is only a matter of whether they worship the true God or an idol/false god.
Encouragement: In 2026, folks might scoff at this historical event of the golden calf and think, “What? Really? A bovine creature crafted with a gold patina?” Yes, folks. If you don’t worship the true God, you will worship necessarily at the altar of an idol–be it cows, self, power, popularity, or Satan; but you will worship.
This Sunday my family and I are praying that this weather will spare us and others, so that we can gather with the saints in worship of the true and living God, because he alone is worthy.
MIND & MATTERS 