Proverbs 20

READ CHAPTER 20 OF PROVERBS ON YOUR OWN,

OR FOLLOW THE LINK HERE TO READ IT ONLINE!

  

**NEW** VERSE TO MEMORIZE THIS WEEK: 

The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord,
Like the rivers of water;
He turns it wherever He wishes.

 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
But the Lord weighs the hearts.

 To do righteousness and justice
Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

Proverbs 21:1-3 (NKJV)

 

 

After reading the daily devotionals this month, I feel very inadequate to be writing today!  This study has been so good.  Every day, I learn so much from reading the Word of God, and from reading the devotionals.  I am so very thankful for God’s Word, and for Godly people who can “rightly divide the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15)

I would also like to add that this opportunity to write yet another devotional for Proverbs came as a bit of a surprise.  The original writer had something come up last minute.  So here I am, with a very short notice, and very little time to prepare.  This could very well be as Betty described in her Proverbs 2 devotional….all I can say is you have been fairly warned.  Watch out for rabbit holes! LOL!

Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.

Our spirit is where we make connection with the Creator of the Universe.  It is within our spirit, that God gives revelation of Himself: His character, His nature, and His love.  It is at this point of contact, that we meet with God, and He is also able to show us ourselves.  He is able to show us our true nature. (YIKES!)  Oh that we would have eyes to see, and ears to hear.

Proverbs 20 came alive to me when I read it.  It was like reading it for the first time again.  Don’t you love those times when God speaks a word to you from something you have read before, and it just jumps off the page at you and takes residence in your heart.  That is a Rhema word!

In the NIV translation, 2 Timothy 3:16 says that “All scripture is God-breathed.”  When we get a Rhema word, God breathes revelation (understanding) of a specific word into that point of contact in our spirit that I just referenced earlier.  It is specifically for us! 

John 6:63 says, “The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.”  In this text, “the words” were translated from the Greek word Rhema.  With this understanding, we can know that the Word of God is deep and has very personal meaning to our life.  The Lamp of the Lord, the Holy Spirit, illuminates The Word with the goal of imparting wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, and immediately impacting our life right at that moment.  Hallelujah! 

You can read through Chapter 20 in its entirety, and find multiple things that might stick out to you.  This chapter deals with alcohol (vs.1), anger (vs.3), laziness (vs.4), integrity (vs.7), just to name a few.   My Rhema word was found in the next two verses.

Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin”?

Proverbs 20:11 Even a child is known by his deeds, Whether what he does is pure and right.

I am just going to be transparent with you.  As I read through the first couple of verses of Chapter 20, my mind was being bombarded with thoughts about how I have not had to deal much with these issues.  Alcohol, anger, or laziness just aren’t things that tempt me on a regular basis.  Don’t get me wrong, I do get angry, but if you know me, you know how much I hate fights and confrontation of any kind, and would rather just get over it, then have an issue.  As strange as it may sound, I LIKE TO WORK!  I was married before I was even old enough to drink alcohol, and we've been in ministry together since then, thus no time for drinking.

As I was thinking about this, I got to verse 9 and 11, and I felt like someone punched me in the stomach!  Here was what the Lord spoke into my spirit: There is always sin in my heart to be dealt with by the Holy Spirit.  No one can say that their own goodness has made their heart clean, or that they are without sin.   Even in that moment, the sin of pride, even if it was unintentional, was taking place in my heart, and sin is sin, no matter its name.

Everyone, even a child, is known directly by their actions: if they choose actions that are right, or if they choose sin.  Those actions might not always be visible to others, but they are ALWAYS seen by God.  He searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. (2 Chronicles 28:9)  He knows the very intent of our hearts.  Genesis 6:5 says, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”  Times have not changed much! 

When I read Proverbs 20:9 and 11, all I could think of was God’s goodness and faithfulness in comparison to my weakness, frailty, and failures.  It reminded me of this scripture.

Isaiah 6:5-7   

So I said:  “Woe is me, for I am undone!  Because I am a man of unclean lips,  And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;  For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”  Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.  And he touched my mouth with it, and said:

“Behold, this has touched your lips;

Your iniquity is taken away,

And your sin purged.”

A wise person will always be quick to remember that we are ALL DESPERATELY IN NEED OF A SAVIOR, and sin is sin, no matter what form it takes place in!  A person of understanding will be slow to judge others, and quick to examine the intent and motives of their own heart.  A person with Godly knowledge will remember that there is nothing good in any of us except for “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:2) 

Solomon’s wisdom waned because he forgot that he was known by his actions, whether they were pure and right.  God showed him the way to go, and instead of choosing to do right, he followed after other gods, more riches, and more women.  The same man who wrote Proverbs 20:9, turned from the truths in it.  True wisdom is allowing the Holy Spirit to show us the intent and motives of our heart, and then actually DEALING with it!   

     

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tera Kilpatrick is the wife of 14 years to Billy Joe, and homeschooling mother of four daughters.  Billy Joe serves as Worship Pastor, and Tera leads with him at Freedom Fellowship in Silsbee, Texas.  She is also the Assistant Director of Freedom Fellowship Home School Co-op.