GOD’S WISDOM FOR YOU
PROVERBS 21:30-31
30 No wisdom, no teaching,
no counsel can stand before the LORD.
The Greek translation struggled with the second term (ἀνδρεία means “heroics” or “manliness”), but “teaching,” “understanding,” or “insight” are better ways to understand the Hebrew word tabunah: “Understanding will protect you,” Prov. 2:11; “Blessed is the man who gains understanding,” Prov. 3:13; “No one has…knowledge or understanding,” Isaiah 44:19. Even in the more difficult Obadiah 7 we have: “Those who eat your bread will set a trap for you, but you will not detect (understand) it.”
No wisdom, understanding or counsel prevails if they oppose God’s wisdom. Why? Because none of these things are unstained by sin in us. The wisdom that stands before God is from God. So too with teaching and counsel—those that can hold up are those that come from the Lord, not those that would oppose him. This is why our position on Christian doctrine is so important. We stand on the teaching we find in Scripture, which comes from God. If a doctrine cannot be supported by the Word of God, it falls under the Lord’s condemnation of “rules taught by men” (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:9; Mark 7:7). Doctrine the opposes the Word of God is worse than useless, because under the guise of “doctrine” it may be taken for God’s Word by the sheep of the church, led astray by the vanity and wickedness of their leaders—even by leader long dead when only their lies and errors remain.
31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but the victory belongs to the LORD.
This Proverb pairs well with the preceding one since both of them compare man’s preparation as opposed to God’s plan. In this case, the focus is on man’s tool—the horse and its fittings for battle—but no amount of planning can circumvent God’s plan and design. This Proverb also recollects Psalm 20:7: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”
Verses 30 and 31 should not be used to oppose making plans in either the church or the family. They are describing plans that oppose God’s will, not plans in general. Paul made many plans for the spread of the gospel (Acts 15:36; Acts 16:7; Romans 15:24,28). Churches make plans for new construction, new outreach efforts, or even for combining ministries. These things are examples of us using our gifts to the best of our abilities, never of opposing God’s word or will.
For many people in former times, the horse was the ultimate in property and prosperity, giving the owner transportation, communication, power, companionship, authority, and freedom. Our modern obsession and romance with both the car and the computer (phone, pad, etc.) are merely extensions of this. In Hebrew, the word for horse is sus (סוּס). It’s one of the first words a student or child learns. If a play on words will help, then let’s be clear: We need to get beyond our love for sus, and put all our love and trust in Je-sus. In him, victory truly belongs to the Lord.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Archives by Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: http://www.wlchapel.org/worship/daily-devotion/
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota