Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. … Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others. … The godly give good advice to their friends, the wicked lead them astray. … Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise. … Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble. [Proverbs 1:7,12:15,12:26,13:10,13:20 (NLT)]
Under King Solomon’s reign, the temple and palace were built in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, to accomplish this task, the people were severely overworked and heavily taxed. When Solomon’s son Rehoboam became king, the populace pled with him to reduce their taxes and ease up on the labor demands. The sacrifices they’d endured during the building of the temple could not be sustained forever. They pledged to be Rehoboam’s loyal subjects in return for his lightening their load.
Rehoboam asked for three days to consider their request. First, he conferred with his father’s experienced advisers who suggested honoring the people’s request. They counseled that a king’s subjects will remain loyal to a ruler who shows concern for them, saying that, if the king served his people well, his people would be his servants. Motivated by power and greed, however, Rehoboam disliked their farsighted advice; he was not about to serve anyone. Ignoring his father’s proverb about walking with the wise, he asked his friends for counsel. While the elders served the needs of the people, these young men only served Rehoboam (and themselves). Echoing Pharaoh’s response when first approached by Moses, they recommended making even greater demands on the populace, which is what Rehoboam did. As a result, the already unstable kingdom of Israel became divided into Judah in the south and Israel in the north and the two nations remained at war throughout Rehoboam’s reign. That wealth that was so important to the new king? Within five years, Judah was invaded by the Egyptians and all the treasures that had been accumulated by Solomon were lost.
Like Solomon’s son, there are times we need advice. The most knowledgeable counselor available is God and Scripture. Since God often speaks to us through others, however, we need to choose our earthly advisers wisely. Unfortunately, like Rehoboam, we often go to the people who will tell us exactly what we want to hear and not what we need to know. We need the good judgment to know when we are hearing wise or foolish advice.
Father, remind us to come to you when we have a question and give us the discernment to recognize your answer.
At last Sunday’s worship, we sang Frances Havergal’s beautiful hymn “Lord, Speak to Us, That We May Speak.” First published in 1872, the hymn originally had the heading “A Worker’s Prayer,” and made reference to Romans 14:7: “none of us lives to himself alone.” It is a simple prayer that God will speak to, lead, feed, teach and fill us so that He can use us in the service of His kingdom. Busyness had taken over my days and, having fallen behind in my writing, my supply of devotions was running dangerously low. Indeed, I needed Him to speak to me so that I could speak!
A few years ago, while skiing, I got lost during a snowstorm and ended up on a double-black diamond run. In knee-deep powder, I faced a narrow steep trail that was covered with ferocious-looking moguls. Looking down at the daunting terrain, tears filled my eyes. Picturing all that could go wrong, I wanted to quit but, unless I planned on staying there until the spring thaw, I had no option. If I wanted to get to the base, I had to get down that run and so I prayed for guidance. Words spoken by a ski instructor came to mind: “You can get down anything if you take it one turn at a time.” While I couldn’t picture doing the whole run, I could picture making just one turn and so I made that turn. Then I made another and another and got down that intimidating slope simply by taking one turn at a time.
While packing for our move, I considered Sarah and Abraham; they always seemed to be moving from one place to another. After starting in Ur of the Chaldees, Scripture mentions seventeen places through which they passed, sometimes more than once, including Haran, Bethel, Egypt, Dan, Salem, Gerar, and Beersheba before finally settling in Hebron. They did it all without cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, U-Hauls, pods, moving companies, pack-and-ship, or car transports. Of course, they didn’t have things like food processors, business files, Christmas decorations, picture albums, waffle irons, books, or electric toothbrushes! In all of Sarah’s 127 years, she probably never had as many sandals as I have shoes in my closet and, in all of Abraham’s 175 years, I’m sure he never had as many robes as there are tee-shirts in my husband’s. Because they were nomads, if it wasn’t necessary and easily transported, they didn’t have it.
When Jesus stopped in Jericho, He was on His way to Jerusalem; His trial and crucifixion would soon follow. Although our Lord knew He would not pass that way again, no one else did; certainly not Zacchaeus. What if the publican had been too busy collecting taxes that day to go and see Jesus? What if it looked like it might rain or he was just too tired to make the effort? What if Zacchaeus had been discouraged by the large crowd and his inability to get a good viewing spot? Thinking he always could see Jesus the next time He passed through Jericho, what if he hadn’t run ahead and climbed that tree? Zacchaeus would have missed meeting Jesus and accepting His call.
Consider the determination of Zacchaeus, the despised little man who, unable to shove his way through the crowd to see the rabbi from Nazareth, doggedly ran ahead and climbed a tree just to catch a glimpse of Him. Running and climbing were undignified behavior and certainly inappropriate for a wealthy businessman like Zacchaeus. Do we desire Jesus so much that we’d push our way through obstacles or risk looking ridiculous for Him? Are we as determined as the publican to learn about the Lord or do we use any flimsy excuse to miss church, Bible study or time in prayer?
