“Laws of Life” ( Proverbs 12)

“A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth.” This verse is very similar to the last Vida, “A man shall be satisfied by the fruit of his mouth.” The importance of not only our choice of words, but the heart from which we say them cannot be understated. In fact the choice of our words, the tone of our speech and the expression on our face, all start with our heart. Therefore to be “satisfied by the fruit of our mouth,” we first must correct our heart. In Jeremiah 17:9 the Lord teaches,  “The heart is deceitful above all things, and — desperately wicked: who can know it?

The word deceitful comes from two adjectives ” Aqaba and Aqeba.” The first adjective means “deceitful, insidious” and the second means “foot printed.” Jeremiah uses the first adjective to describe Israel dealings with God. Israel was always forsaking God and “whoring after the gods of the other nations.” God was never good enough for her. Only when they were in trouble – normally because of their waywardness, did they cry out to God (sounds like some of us ). The other adjective  refers to footprints. Hosea uses this word to describe the town of Gilead, saying that it was “a town with bloody footprints.” So though murder is far from us, what does the scriptures say about hatre?

 In  1 John 3:15  we read, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” I have met and know individuals, both Christian and non Christian that have struggles in this area –  feeling justified in hating certain individuals. This is not OK; hatre enslaves and eventually destroys the barer of it. Also, hatre is a form of judgement and all judgement belongs to God. We are free to dislike the person, having nothing to do with them, but to hate them is crossing the line. At times the offense is so overwhelming that hatre is the only response we have. God understands the offense and how it has deeply wounded and hurt you, even changing your life, but hatre is not the answer; it only accentuates the act, and deepens the pain. If you happen to see the individual or something triggers your memory you relive the event because of hatre; you can never get free of it. Only forgiveness stops the cycle, and forgiveness is not because they deserve it, it’s because you need it. Imagine carrying a dead body on your back the whole of your life. That would be disgusting. It would effect everything you do, making it super difficult to have healthy relationships. And in fact, this was a form of punishment for someone who was a murderer. I cannot remember what culture or period of time, but the murdered victim was tired to the back of the murderer and through the process of the corpse decaying, disease spread into the murderers body taking his life. That’s a super gross picture, but an extremely accurate picture of what happens to our soul when we give in

to hatre.

“Desperately wicked” Anas has several meanings. It means in poor health, weak, sickly or a sickness that can lead to death, and in context to the verse, it means an incurably wicked and desperately sick heart.  It is hard for us to relate to this definition for ourselves but from God’s position of being utterly holy it’s not. So desperately in need of a new heart that it required HIS LIFE to be able to transforms us. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we have a hope that is God born, not subject to man’s weaknesses. I would say that our state of being, based on God’s solution, was and is very, very serious. When God spoke through Jeremiah these words Jeremiah’s response is found in verse 14, “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.” Many times we hear truth and deflect it from ourselves: yes this is true of these people or that person, but we never see ourselves in it. Jeremiah, one of the main Old Testament prophets, not only spoke these words to his people the Jews, but then he accepted them for himself.

King David after committing adultery with Bathsheba, which as King he was above reproach ( he could do what he wanted) sought to hide his sin except God knew and God was not ok with David’s sins. When confronted with his sin by Nathan the prophet, David accepted it and repented. Chapter 51 of Psalms is his full repentance. In verse 10 he seeks God for a new heart, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”When we honestly examine ourselves as 2Corintians 13:5 speaks of,” Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves…” If we do this, we will find that we are in desperate need for a Savior as well. 

To “eat good or be satisfied by the fruit of our mouths” a heart transformation then is required. Of course it does not happen overnight, but by growing in His grace we are changed. It is His love that changes us, heals our hurts giving us hope and making us vessels that not only know His love, but can give His love to others. We will never completely be free of our sin nature, but we do not have to listen to it or follow it. A changed heart equals changed actions and changed speech that seeks to exalt Christ.

“but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.”  In varying degrees does this verse play out on the stage of humanity. The “violence eaten” is dependent, and measured out in accordance to the transgression. The verses in Galatians 6:7&8 speaks to this “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” What a man sows is what he shall reap (or eat).  Nothing escapes the universal laws that God has established. As the law of gravity which governs man physical world, so has God established His moral laws that are just as universal governing over man’s actions.

Father,

 Thank you for this time of study. Help me to see the freedom that grows in me as I continue to seek You. Let me not grow weary, but remain true to the path of faith. Others may have their fun here, while because of your love for me, I am in the furnace being purified from my pride and ego. As the goldsmith purifies the molten gold removing the dross till he see’s his reflection, so let me stay the course believing that You are doing a good work in me. Thank you and Amen.