Proverbs 17:21-24 says,...

Today's verses are Proverbs 17:21-24, which read,

v.21 - He who sires a fool does so to his sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy.

We start this devotional with a proverb that is like many others to show the obvious downside of being a fool, someone is not following after God.  Being a fool has its effect on others and especially on those who love us.  Our parents are robbed of joy and live in sorrow because of our actions that do not bring glory to God.  If we could look outside of ourselves instead of the focus of being selfish to think only of ourselves we would see this effect on those who love us.  

The two greatest commandments are to love God and love others and in that order.  When I love God, when I follow after Him, then I have the tools to truly love others His way.  When I fear God with a reverent awe of who He is and what He says then my life will bring joy to God and those around me as I live my life to the glory of Him.  The two are connected.

v.22 - A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

We love good medicine.  We hate it when we feel like crud and our bones are aching.  When we drain the bones that contain very important elements for health, they become brittle and start to break down.  We say we are "chilled to the bones" or that a building has "good bones"  or "I feel it in my bones."  There was a huge media campaign regarding the building up of your bones.  It is the skeletal structure that keeps you upright and therefore very important to the creation God has given us.  When we have a broken spirit that is not following after God it dries up our lives for it will not last forever.  When we have a joyful heart for following after God it replenishes anything that the world might put a drain on us.  The world is draining out our bones but we are taking the good medicine of being a servant of God with a joyful heart and it more than counteracts the worlds attempts.  It feeds our bones, our core, with good things to hold us up in the most desperate of times.

v.23 - A wicked man receives a bribe from the bosom to pervert the ways of justice.

This is the second mention of a bribe in this chapter.  The first is in verse 8 which reads, "A bribe is a charm in the sight of its owner; wherever he turns, he prospers."  The bribe looks good and maybe looks good to others but it doesn't look good to God.  It is just a charm, a temporary material solution, to the situation.  In this proverb the bribe is received from another to specifically go around justice rather than have justice do what it is suppose to do.  God has given us justice for our good but the wicked man or the fool skirts it for a time with another route that will ultimately catch up with him.  To borrow the word picture from the previous proverb, we need to take our medicine of justice when we go against it for real reform to take place rather than sidestep it and continue to live as one who doesn't experience God's transformation through it.

v.24 - Wisdom is in the presence of the one who has understanding, but the eyes of the fool are on the ends of the earth.

The wise have their eyes on God, the giver of wisdom and understanding.  The fools have their eyes on something else and are always searching the ends of the earth for that next "new" thing.  They are looking for that "magic pill" to take that will negate the effects of living the life of a fool and make them wise but there is no such pill.

Have your eyes been open to see Jesus and are your eyes upon Him?  If so, you need to look no longer but continually look upon Him.  He will supply joy to those around you through the life you live in glory of Him.  He will provide the proper medicine needed for whatever life situation you walk through.  He will administer His justice that is always for our benefit and best interest even if it is a "hard pill to swallow."  He will be present with us so we need to search no longer.  Let's pray.

"Lord, thank You for Your presence.  Thank You for Your justice.  Thank You for Your medicine that replenishes us to our bones.  Thank You for the joy You bring to our lives and the lives of those who love us most.  May our eyes be on You today and that our ears would take in Your instruction to live our lives in the glory of You.  We know that we will get the most out of it because we are following after the Father of wisdom.  May we not settle for anything less.  Amen."

Pastor Adam
A simple man serving a great God and the local pastor of Stillwater Community Chapel (stillwater-chapel.org). We are in our 38th year of full time ministry. God directed us to this local body of believers on the Western Range of the Rockies to grow with them in mission and mindedness of Christ.

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