God Will Take Care of You

“The hay appeareth,
and the tender grass sheweth itself,
and herbs of the mountains are gathered.
The lambs are for thy clothing,
and the goats are the price of the field.
And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food,
for the food of thy household,
and for the maintenance for thy maidens” (Prov 27:25–27).

Since last August, we have been slowly working our way through Proverbs 27. This is the final installment of that chapter. In these three verses, we see a promise of blessing. In Solomon’s day, people practiced subsistence farming; that is, they raised crops, not to sell, but to feed themselves. The same was true with livestock: they raised animals to drink their milk, to use their wool or hides for clothing, to eat their eggs, and eventually to slaughter and eat them.
In these verses, we find a promise of provision. What is interesting is that nowhere does it say that God will provide for our needs. However, the means by which the needs are met imply that God is the one who provides. The proverb says that there will be hay, grass, and herbs to feed the livestock. Who is able to produce hay? Can you make hay grow? Ultimately, God is one who provides the sun, the rain, and the nutrients to make grasses grow.
The hay and grass feed the animals, which in turn, provide food and clothing for man. These provisions make possible the hiring of servants to continue to produce food and clothing from the animals. But where does this process start?
It begins with God’s providential care. When we speak of God’s providential care, we mean that God provides for our needs through ordinary or non-miraculous means. Could God not perform a miracle of nature so that our clothes never wear out? Of course he could—and in fact, he did that for children of Israel (Deut 29:5)! Could God not speak the word and make food fall from heaven? Of course he could—and he did that for Israel as well (Exod 16:14–21)!
God can perform miracles to provide for us, but he generally chooses to work through normal, everyday means. For example, God takes care of your needs through your parents. Your parents have jobs and make money. They use that money to take care of your needs. But does not that provision come from God? Where did your parents get the skills, intelligence, health, and strength to do those jobs? God has providentially blessed you and taken care of your needs.
Could not God make money miraculously appear in our wallets or purses? Of course he could—he created the entire universe out of nothing, so he could certainly do that. But remember the time when Jesus and Peter needed money to pay their annual temple tax (Matt 17:24–27)? Jesus told Peter to go and catch a fish, look in its mouth, and there would be exactly the money they needed to pay their tax. How did the coin get into that fish’s mouth? Somebody probably dropped it and it rolled into the water, where a fish swallowed it and swam around until Peter caught him. But God sovereignly orchestrated all of these seemingly “normal” events to provide in a special way for Peter.
Could God “zap” you one night and make you smart enough to pass all your classes at school? I’m sure he could, but the way he will help you get through school is by you studying the material and using the mind and intellect he has given you. Could God have somebody show up and write you a huge check to get through college? He certainly could, and some people give testimony to this very thing. But we shouldn’t wait around, twiddling our thumbs until the big check arrives in the mail. Rather, we should get a job, save our money, and consider that God will providentially provide for our needs.
God always takes care of us. Sometimes he gives us what we need in a way that is mind-boggling. Other times he helps us realize we don’t really need all that we thought we did. Still other times he takes care of us in normal, “boring” ways—but it is still God’s provision and care for us.

What About the Future?

“For riches are not forever:
and doth the crown endure to every generation?” (Prov 27:24).

Last week our proverb talked about priorities, and the importance of making sure that we put first things first. This week’s proverb is a continuation of that thought. We ought to take care of what is really important because we cannot guarantee our future.
Just as the book of James tells us that our lives are like a vapor (Jas 4:14), so this proverb reminds us that wealth is not a guarantee of future success and prosperity. Just because you have a lot of money does not ensure that you will always be prosperous. Money and possessions can be lost very quickly. The biblical character Job lost all his wealth in one short day. Many others in our time have gone from millionaires to beggars very rapidly. Money is no guarantee that you will always be successful or comfortable.
Furthermore, even positions of power are not guaranteed. Someone may hold an influential position and people may listen to everything he says. Just as quickly, the tide of public opinion may turn, leaving that person with nothing. Even a king can lose his throne. In Solomon’s day, kings who were defeated in battle were routinely disposed, their heirs slaughtered, and replaced with a new king. Within a few days, a king, who previously enjoyed absolute power over his kingdom, was reduced to nothing. Power and position are not guarantees for the future.
So what about the future? The proverb leaves unsaid what we already know to be true: the only thing we can trust for the future is an omniscient and sovereign God, who not only knows what will happen, but is in control of all things that will take place. He is the one we can trust in for the future.

First Things First

“Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks,
and look well to thy herds” (Prov 27:23).

Priorities are important, because they help us determine what we will do. There are literally millions of things we could do, but there are only twenty-four hours in the day. We have to decide every day what we will do: those are our priorities.
This proverb talks about priorities. The writer says a man should be well-apprised about his own flocks and herds. In Bible times, a man’s cattle was his wealth—the more he had, the wealthier he was (think about Job). Before he worried about getting more or expanding his holdings, he should make sure he took care of what he was already responsible for.
The same is true for you and me. We must take care of business at home before we go out to conquer the world. You are getting to the age when you are beginning to think about the future, but don’t ever forget about your priorities. While school and friends are important, even more important is your personal relationship with the Lord, your responsibilities toward your parents, and your relationship with your siblings. Don’t ever become so eager to “get out” that you ignore the people who love you most.
Before you can please God “out there” you need to demonstrate obedience at home and in your own personal life. Jesus told his disciples, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10). If you want to know how you will handle big, adult-sized responsibilities, just take a look at how you handle smaller ones right now. Before you head out into the world, make sure you are taking care of your own “flocks and herds.” Put first things first and remember your priorities.

Not Soon Parted

“Though thou shouldest bray a fool
in a mortar among wheat with a pestle,
yet will not his foolishness depart from him” (Prov 27:22).

We have a saying that you have probably heard before: “A fool and his money are soon parted.” In other words, unwise people make unwise choices with their money and quickly waste it. In this proverb we find that a fool and his foolishness are not soon parted.
The first part of the proverb talks about “braying” a fool. That is not a word I think I’ve ever used before, but it means to crush something or to grind it into a fine powder. In Bible times, people didn’t go to the store and grab a five-pound bag of flour off the shelf; they produced flour “from scratch.” They grew the wheat, harvested it, threshed it (removed the chaff), and then pounded it in a mortar with a pestle until it was crushed. Then they sifted it and crushed the larger parts again until it was uniformly fine. The picture of beating those kernels of wheat with a pestle into a fine flour in a mortar is used to describe just how ingrained foolishness is for a fool.
The writer says you could pound a fool and grind him into powder, but he would still cling to his folly. Foolishness simply flows from him. It is not a matter of just breaking a few bad habits, putting on some clean clothes, or trying to be a little nicer. It is part of his nature.
We have said many times that foolishness in the Bible is not stupidity, but ungodliness. An ungodly person cannot simply “clean up” his act and stop being ungodly. It is engrained in him. The only way for an ungodly person to become godly is through the work of God’s Holy Spirit. You may try to be a “good kid,” but unless you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, you are wasting your time. You cannot separate a fool from his foolishness.