The Straight and Narrow

Read Proverbs 4

Today in Proverbs we are encouraged to walk the straight and narrow path, as the expression goes. We are not to veer left or right. This way of wisdom, we are told, is a way of light and health. To stray, however, is darkness. The wicked don't even know what trips them up. But they do stumble and fall. And some must fall over and over again before they stop refusing to walk in the light.

What also catches my eye early in Proverbs are the expressions like "Hear a father's instruction" (4:1), or "forsake not your mother's teaching" (1:8). Good luck getting this through to teenagers, but we see in Scripture that parents have the responsibility of passing down their wisdom. The wise (of any age) listen humbly and take it to heart. And the best thing parents can be passing down, the highest wisdom, the teaching of light and health, is the teaching of Jesus Christ. He is the wisdom of God. His cross is God's wise plan. His Word makes us wise unto salvation.

I am thankful my parents passed this wisdom down to me. May God strengthen me to do all I can to instill it in my children!

Read Exodus 4

In the previous chapter Moses encounters the burning bush and is called by the LORD to lead Israel out of Egypt. In this next chapter, then, Moses has many doubts. God gives him three miraculous signs to perform, but Moses is still worried. He doesn't think he is a good public speaker. So God provides Aaron to do the speaking. So Moses finally sets out.

Verses 24-26 are just plain confusing (and even a little bizarre). The best we can tell is that God was upset that the leader of Israel had a son that wasn't circumcised. But what the significance is of Zipporah taking the action, or throwing the foreskin at Moses' feet, or the comments concerning the "bridegroom of blood" escape me.

But Moses does return to Egypt, and we see the beginning of Israel's deliverance set in action. The Lutheran Study Bible provides these thoughts: "Moses returns to Egypt as an act of faith. Confronting Pharaoh with God's demands and confronting the people whom he fears (4:1) proves a daunting assignment. Yet Moses obeys, and the people believe. Luther calls faith the 'skill above all skills. It is the work of the Holy Spirit alone"...There is no other way to explain the faith of Moses and of the people, and there is no other way to explain our faith. By our own reason and strength, we cannot believe in Jesus Christ. But because 'the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel,' I bow my head and worship" (TLSB p. 103).

Ask Yourself:

Do I listen to the wisdom of my parents? Do I pass on wisdom to my children?

Do I listen to God's wisdom myself and walk in the straight and narrow path? Or do I veer left or right in my beliefs, in my thoughts, in my words, in my actions?

Do I pester God with "But, but, but" (as Moses did) when he calls me in his word to trust and to act?

Pray:

Pray from your heart today. Pray for faith like Moses who set out for Egypt. Pray for the Wisdom that Proverbs professes. Pray that God would be with you to help and strengthen you today.

Study with me tomorrow,

Pastor Jon

Soli Deo Gloria!