WORDS AND BEES
“These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the desert east of the Jordan…”
Deuteronomy 1:1a

Within the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, are many hidden secrets and jewels that we would be wise to search out. I want to do my best to share one with you today. This is hot off the press – I just found this secret yesterday as I was listening to a message by Rabbi Daniel Lappin concerning the words we speak. He made mention that in the original Hebrew language there are no vowels. This I remember from my college days in Hebrew class. While in reading the Hebrew text now days we find the lines and dots that make up the vowel system, the original language did not have this. And as such, some words would be written the same way, but have two different meanings. One example of this is the word דברים
The word Deuteronomy, for which we have the fifth book of the Torah, is actually not a Hebrew word but is the Greek word “Deuteronomion” (Δευτερονόμιον), meaning “second law”. In Hebrew, the book is titled “Devarim” (דְּבָרִים), meaning “words”. In a quick outline of the book, we read that this is when Moses reiterated the words first given by God, including the re-giving of the Ten Commandments, to the younger generation that was about to enter into the Promise Land. The first few words of the book read, “These are the words…”
But these same Hebrew characters, with just the modern day move of a few vowels sounds, spell “devorim” (דְּבֹרִים), which means “bees”. Now again, since the original Hebrew text used no vowels sounds, one has to wonder why the word for “words” would be the same word for “bees”. Is there a connection between the two? The answer to that is yes. Both words and bees have two things in common. They both can produce sweetness or pain. Think with me first concerning the sweetness. We know that bees make honey, a sweet tasting fluid that can be added to tea, can be cooked with, and can be added to many medicines to escape the bitter flavor of the medication. So then is true of words. When spoken right, words have the power to encourage, heal, and soothe. However, at the end of each bee is found the stinger, which when the bee is working to defend itself can be used to bring pain to its enemy. Can words not work the same way? When we feel violated or in danger, picked on or threatened, do we not use our words as a stinger to bring about a pain on our enemy?
In seeing this comparison between our words and bees, it causes me to look at myself in a deeper way. How exactly am I using my words? James describes for us that our tongue is like a fire and one spark from it can set a forest or fire (Jms 3). This parallel from the New Testament was first seen then in the Torah, though, right here in these five Hebrew characters. But the challenge, whether grabbed from the Old or New Testament, is still before us and needs to be examined. How are we speaking? Are we speaking words that work to soothe, heal, and encourage, or are we speaking words that serve only to sting and bring pain? When Moses spoke the words we read in Deuteronomy, He spoke the words of God as God downloaded them to him. What are we speaking? Are we speaking God’s words as well?

NOTHING CAN STAND AGAINST THE LORD
“There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD”
Proverbs 21:30

I feel like today I want to shoot straight to the point, put the cards out on the table and dive right into the Word. As I was reading through parts of Proverbs again today, my spirit jumped at the following verse. “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.” I began to think about this in relation to accounts found in the Word. God had a plan to use Gideon and even Gideon’s self-image could not stand against God. God had the wisdom to use Samson and even his lack of hair and strength after being deceived could not stand against God. And God had the insight to use David to take down the giant, and even this mighty Philistine could not stand against God. So what then makes the enemy think that his plans are greater than God’s? What then makes the devil think that to any degree that he has a chance of winning?
I am facing giants right now. I am going head-to-head in a spiritual battle even as I write. But the difference between my view and my enemy’s view is ‘truth’. You see, the enemy thinks he will win. I know I will win. And I will win not because of who I am, but because of who God is in me. He is the one who has ordained my steps. He is the one who has forecasted the end result. And He is the one who has put His grand plan into motion. Who can stand, then, against the LORD?
This verse tells us that no wisdom, no insight, and no plan can stand against God. The Hebrew word here for ‘wisdom’ is CHOKMAH, meaning warfare skill or shrewdness. The Hebrew word for ‘insight’ is TABUWN, meaning intelligence, teaching, or object of knowledge. And the Hebrew word for ‘plan’ in this verse is ‘ETSAH, meaning counsel, advice, or purpose. These things, these strategies that the enemy uses on a daily basis in his warfare against us, have no ability to stand against God’s ways. Did you read that? They cannot stand against God. But we are easily convinced to some degree that they have power. Stop! Read the verse again! “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.”
I understand you may be facing hard times. I understand that you may be in a battle. I understand that your strength has been zapped, your self-image is poor, and the giant is standing there mocking you, but this verse says, “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.” You will win! You have the one piece to the puzzle that the enemy does not. You have God on your side and the enemy cannot stand against Him. Stand up, wipe yourself off, and grab this truth. You plus God is bigger than any army you will ever face. What can the devil do to you? Nothing! God is fighting with you!

WHAT IS PURSUING YOU?
“Misfortune pursues the sinner, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.”
Proverbs 13:21

Yesterday I was studying the life of Jacob and how he was treated by Laban, when I began to see a few things that I had not fully noticed before. As my eyes were being opened to this account, I then remembered Proverbs 13:21, which reads, “Misfortune pursues the sinner, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.” Now unless we go back and look at the story of Jacob this verse may not make much sense. So then, travel back in time with me to the days when Jacob first comes on the scene at his uncle Laban’s home, in his escape from tricking his brother out of his birthright.
In looking at Genesis 29:14, we read that Jacob had been staying with his uncle for about a month. It was at this time that Laban approached Jacob concerning his wages. The two agreed that for seven years of work Jacob could have Rachel as his bride. However, in Genesis 29:23 we see the first instance of Laban changing the wages. Instead of giving Jacob his daughter Rachel, Laban gave his daughter Leah. It wasn’t until after this exchange that Laban advised Jacob of the customs of their village, which would have been good knowledge beforehand. With Jacob tricked and cheated of the original wage agreement, Jacob agreed to another seven years of work for the hand of Rachel.
But the story doesn’t end there. In Genesis 30:28 we read again of Laban being a wage changer. At the time when the speckled, spotted, streaked, and brown sheep were considered the faux pas, Jacob made an agreement to take these sheep and goats as his wage for more years of service. This served as a good agreement to Laban, and would be an evident violation of the agreement should Laban find pure sheep or goats in Jacob’s possession. However, right after the agreement was made, Laban ordered his sons to take the few speckled, spotted, streaked, and brown sheep they did have and proceed a three day journey from home (Gen 30:25). This left Jacob with no sheep of goats for his own, and therefore also proved once more that Laban was shroud and untrustworthy to his wage agreements.
As God worked to prosper Jacob and increase Jacob’s sheep and goats, the attitudes of Laban’s house grew vile and noticeable. So in secret, Jacob called his wives to him and explained that Laban had cheated on the set wage agreements ten times within twenty years of service (Gen 31:6-7). At this, Jacob took his family and departed, being gone three days before Laban ever knew (Gen 31:22). Yet when Laban pursued Jacob’s caravan, he accused Jacob of ill treatment, stating that his daughters were taken, his grandchildren were taken, and his flocks were taken. But did Jacob not work 14 years for the two wives? And did Jacob not father the grandchildren? And was not the faux pas flock part of the agreement? So what was Jacob stealing? Jacob stole nothing, and Laban had no footing to stand on.
I write this devotional today because I want to point out how God cares for His people, for those who are fair, just, and most importantly, in His will. Our opening Proverb passage reads, “Misfortune pursues the sinner, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.” Laban’s deceit in the changing of the wages was his demise, but Jacob’s blessing came from being righteous before God. Perhaps you are the one who has been Laban, changing your vows so often that your word now means little. Be warned, your misfortune will be your reward.
But maybe you are the Jacob of the story, the one who has been cheated on, stolen from, and accused of stealing what is rightfully yours. Know this, prosperity will be your reward. Jacob’s prosperity did not come from Laban, but rather from God. In Genesis 31:42, as Laban is accusing Jacob, Jacob replies, “If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.” It was God who defended and provided for Jacob. And for you, you Jacob, God will do the same.

SUCCESSFUL STEPS
“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”
Proverbs 16:3

We have probably all gotten these emails before, or maybe even tried one once. You know what I’m talking about. Those get rich quick schemes. If you give $50 to enter into the program, they will send you a list of 100 names to contact. For every one that contacts you back and joins, you make a percentage off them. For everyone that responds to them, you not only make your original percentage, but now you make also a percentage off the newbie. The pyramid goes on and on until you have so much money you are considered a millionaire. Have you been part of that scheme before? Or how about my favorite one. It seems that in every remote part of the world I have some relative who has passed away leaving bundles of money. Every other relative is dead and I am the next close of kin. By giving this banker handling the estate my bank account information, they will place the money into my account and I will be richer than when I started. While that one shows more promise, it too is a con as in the end I have heard stories of people doing this and then being deleted of anything in their bank instead of it being added to.
Get rich quick schemes are all around us, and chances are we have fallen for a few without even knowing. But there are those that we are able to read for what they are and yet we still give in. What am I talking about? How about the lottery? For the price of a lottery ticket you too can have the chance to win millions. Is this not also a get rich quick scheme? And can you really justify gambling, which is what the lottery is, as something God wants you to engage in?
We all want to get rich quick; we all want to be secure in our financial steps. There is nothing wrong with having money or savings. But when we look to other things as opposed to God, then we are walking the line of distrusting Him. I use money as it is something we can all relate to, but Proverbs 16:3 doesn’t just relate to money. “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” We all want to succeed in life, but it is how we chose to find our success that we must be careful in. Putting the lottery or a get rich quick scheme in place of trusting God is a dangerous place. And what exactly does ‘commit’ mean? The Hebrew word is GALAL, and it means to roll down or flop down on. At first that word doesn’t seem to fit, but let us read it in context. Flop down on the LORD and in whatever you do you will succeed.
I want to find success in my finances, but also in every other area as well. I want success in my skills as a father and husband, in my work place, in my relationships, and in every other area where it matters. But how can I honestly get to that point? The answer is simply by flopping down in the Lord’s lap and letting Him guide the movements that bring me into success. On my own I can do nothing – John 15:5 reminds me of that. But flopped down in his lap I have the source of all the success I will ever encounter. If I desire successful steps, then I need to remember where the success comes from. I need to make the secret of my success not a get rich quick scheme, but a planting of myself in His lap.

JUST PLAIN STUPID
“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.”
Proverbs 12:1

Don’t worry, I have no intention of embarrassing you, but raise your hand if you have ever done anything stupid. Wow, that is a bunch of hands raised up. And look, mine is being raised up right along with yours. There was the time that in showing off my white boy dance moves I broke my leg. There was the time when I was playing kick back with my little brother that I kicked the ball over his head and through the window. And there was the time as a kid I played chicken on my bike through traffic while crossing the busiest street in town. All three of those events, and so many more, were just plain stupid on my behalf. I sometimes wonder how many overtime hours the angels have had to work just to keep up with my stupidity.
When I think about it all, it wasn’t that I didn’t know right for wrong. I knew that I probably should not be showing off my dancing skills as pride comes before the fall. I was corrected many times prior by my mom and dad to never kick the ball toward the house for that exact reason. And I had been told the rules of bike riding and when, where, and how to cross the street with my bike. Yet I continued to make decisions that were not the smartest and put me, and sometimes others, in danger. If Proverbs 12:1 is correct, then why was it that I continued to pick stupidity instead of knowledge and discipline?
With this thought in mind, let us look up a couple keys words in this verse. First I want to look at the word ‘love’. As we see in the Bible, there are many types of love. In the Greek alone we can count four different meanings for this one word. In this verse, however, the word is the Hebrew word ‘AHAB, meaning a human love for, or an appetite for. It is the one who has an appetite for discipline who then has an appetite for knowledge. These two words are pretty much translated correctly, with ‘discipline’ translated as MUWCAR, correction, and ‘knowledge’ translated as DA’ATH, discernment or wisdom. The second portion of the scripture is just as important to look at, though. The one who hates correction is stupid. Translating ‘hate’ in the Hebrew is the word SANE’, which means literally to hate, but also to purposefully become the enemy of. If we fail to have an appetite for the good things, then we choose willing to embrace the dark side of hate. The end result, other than perhaps the red lightsaber passed to us from Darth Vader, is that we become the fool.
As children we all probably did some stupid things. As adults I pray we are not still doing the same stupid things. But wherever we find ourselves on this measuring stick of stupid, we have wisdom in this verse. If we release this hatred and alliance with the foolish ways we once purposefully embraced, and instead have an appetite for correction and wisdom, then we will be walking the way that Solomon encourages, and more so the way that God desires us to walk in. How about it? Are we willing to love discipline and knowledge? In the end it just may save our lives more than we know.

LOVE LETTERS
“Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens. Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men.”
Song of Solomon 2:2-3a

Isn’t love a great feeling? Personally I have been in love and few times, not to get confused with lust or just a strong liking. In the early days, before computers and text messages, and video chats, I would actually spend time writing love letters to the girls I had feelings for. For hours I would pour out my feelings in pen on paper and list the things that I was drawn to in that person. I would doodle on the page, drawing little flowers or hearts or our initials together. I never really expected a response in return because not every girl I loved loved me back or was a (self proclaimed) poet like me. But when the response was given, if it was given, despite the length of the letter or the grammar errors, the feeling was the same. Love was great and it gave me such a high.
As I have been reading the words of Solomon, and specifically looking at the loving words found in Song of Solomon, I have been taking notes. I mean, this guy was good. He knew the words to say to his lover to make her feel like she was royalty. And as a guy who is dating currently, I will take all the help I can get. I don’t mind even sharing that I just may write a few of his lyrics down and share them with the one I love.
Look with me at the words and response found in Song of Solomon 2:2-3a. He, Solomon, writes, “Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.” Solomon is basically saying that in a thicket of thorny branches one flower sticks out and grabs his attention. That flower is this woman, his Shulammite lover. And her response is, “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men.” She in return is saying to him that other men, in this case trees, can be seen, but she sees only him. And is that not how love is? The saying ‘love is blind’ is true in this instance as we read that both Solomon and the Shulammite have eyes only for each other.
Now while I indeed my use Solomon’s words in my next love letter to my special woman, I cannot help but wonder why this passage, or even this book, is found in the Bible. I have narrowed to two reasons, though. First, I think in some ways God knew that love was going to get tainted. Love isn’t sex, love isn’t butterflies, and love isn’t slavery. Love is a true deep feeling that God crafted for His creation. If we read through the rest of this book we will find these two get married, they celebrate the marriage with consummation, they share an argument, and they come back together to grow in a deepened, mature love. They made it work even when it got tough. I think God wanted this book here because He wanted us to have this picture of what love really is. But secondly, I believe this book is here to show not only a man and woman love, but His love for us. You see, to Christ we are His bride. He has looked over all the world and calls us His lily among the thorns. He is waiting for us to respond that He is our apple tree among all the trees of the forest. Can we say that of Him?
I challenge you today to read this book. It is small, poetic, and only eight chapters. But I challenge you to read it with Him as the Solomon character, the groom and husband in your relationship. See how He feels about you. See how He cares for you. And pay attention to His description of you. Maybe I am just a lost romantic, but I think it may help to fall a little deeper in love with Him again as you read His love letter to you.

MEANINGLESS
“Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”
Ecclesiastes 2:11

There are times in life where I find myself reviewing the things I have done. This actually happens quite a bit for me. I cannot help it, I am a thinker. I have a thinking spot, a thinking position, and a mind that won’t let up. But it is normally in these times that I find myself questioning my life thus far. The main question I ponder is, “What am I doing?” Sometimes this question comes soon after I have done something majorly wrong and my eyes have been opened to my error. Other times I ponder this question before I am about to make a big decision. Still there are times when it is not a beforehand look, or a recent look, but a look a great time down the road. Regardless of when, I find myself reviewing my actions to contemplate if there was any value in what I had done. Honestly, I could tell you stories both positive and negative from my times of thinking.
Maybe Solomon and I have a little in common. Now granted I may not be the smartest man to live like he was. And truthfully, if given the choice of honor, wealth, or wisdom like Solomon was offered, I probably would have chose wealth (sad, but true). But as Solomon looked over his life near what we assume is the beginning of the end in Ecclesiastes, we see that he contemplates the futility of his life. “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun” (Ecc 2:11). Now wait a minute – this is the guy who had everything he wanted. In fact, because he chose wisdom, God also gave him riches and honor (I Kings 3:12-13). He had a great number of wives and concubines. He had plenty of ‘things’ and yet here he is saying that it was meaningless. The stuff people desire and work to achieve Solomon is here saying is meaningless? So then, I wonder what would be considered meaningful.
As I sit in my thinking spot and contemplate the words of Solomon here, I find myself thinking more about what I know of this former king. I am reminded that Solomon allowed his heart to be turned from God because of the influence his many women had on him. He began to travel the path of being swayed from devotion to the one true God and embracing the idol worship of other gods. So that makes me question if that is when his life moved from meaningful to meaningless. When he left God behind for the gods, is that when life began to have no real substance? I cannot help but think this true, and cannot help but be warned about this truth in my own life. I do not want to wake up one morning, suddenly feeling as though life is meaningless, only to put 2 and 2 together and figure out it was because I turned my back on God that I have now no reason for living.
We sang a song in church this past week where the words pronounced there was nothing better than God. As I stood in this moment of worship with my eyes fixed on God and digesting this truth, I began to think of the things I had put in front of God and called ‘better’. At one time I would say women, but now I see how it too only swayed me from God to a life of pride and selfishness. I might even say music as I grew up with a love for music, but see too how the allowance of just any kind of music can be tainted and still me from God. Is there anything that is really better than God? I cannot think of one thing. So if I am chasing after these things that honestly will not fulfill me, then I am chasing after meaningless stuff and life really is futile. I do not want that to be my end result. I want a meaningful life. I want God, and God alone.

ENCOURAGING WORDS
“Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, but an encouraging word makes it glad.”
Proverbs 12:25

Can I just be honest with you? There are days when I struggle; in fact, there are minutes when I struggle. There are times when I know what I should do, or know what I should refrain from, and yet I do not. While I know this opening phrase could be about anything, I am specifically referring to my words and tone. We are told many times in the Bible to speak in love to another, to build each other up in what we say, and to be on guard with this dagger we have in our mouth known as the tongue. But, I cannot say that even with all this knowledge about how I should speak that I make the right choices when speaking.
Keeping in regards to the words of Solomon for this month, I find myself today reading Proverbs 12:25. Simply put, an encouraging word makes a man’s heart glad. I know this, but do I know this? When I speak to my children, am I speaking down to them or am I encouraging them? When I speak to my clients on the phone, do I work to help them or belittle them? Perhaps if I look back over my past I can answer this. Back in the early stages of my first marriage, there would be times when my wife and I would fight. Now I understand that fighting occasionally is bound to happen as we are two individuals working to merge together. However, the rule we established was to fight fair. When I felt her going for my jugular in our battles, though, whether she really was or not, I pulled out of my mouth-shaped sheath my sword, my tongue, and would rip her to shreds. Countless times she would comment, “Let me go retrieve my head since you cut it off.” Honestly, it was not funny then and still is not funny now. I realize the damage I did in those moments and I am not proud one bit.
I never was abusive to her or my children in regards to physically hurting them, but I know and am not proud to say that in my words I did just as much damage. Truthfully, maybe I did more damage. I can look back even now and see how things I have said to my children, and in not even a stern voice, have dampened who they are. I can see how little sly comments that I think will have no effect do in fact leave permanent damage. Just the knowledge of these words and their stain on my children hurts me when I see their effect.
So maybe you find yourself described in my honest words about me. What do we do? Well first I think we must ask God to open our eyes so that we can see this sin, or any sin, the way He does. He is disgusted by the way we behave when we join ourselves to sin. If we see it the way He sees it, I believe our hearts will begin to hurt over our sin like His does. Next, we must ask Him to forgive us. It is not enough for me to have remorse over how I speak, but I must also ask Him to forgive me. And then here is the kicker, the hard one of the bunch. I believe we must ask that person to forgive us. They say one of the hardest phrases to say in marriage is “I was wrong,” but in truth I think it is hard whether inside or outside marriage. We want to be right all the time. But in speaking this way of negative toxins, I need to admit I am wrong and seek forgiveness. My last bit of advice, and challenge to myself, is to speak life. An encouraging word makes the heart glad. I have worked to adopt the punishment that for every one bad thing said we must then say three positive things. My children have caught this concept, but have I? I wonder what would happen if I spoke encouragement only in my home. You know what, stop the wonder…I’m just going to try it out.