An ear to hear

The Book of Psalms is not written just as poetry, or a hymn book, or for the delight of people in all the ages.

“Many of the psalms are timeless as far as there spiritual impact," says Jordan. "How many times have you been to a funeral and heard someone quote the 23^rd Psalm: ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.’ And you find comfort in that because, apart from what it’s saying to Israel doctrinally, there’s poetic license we use and get comfort out of.

“The problem with using it devotionally is people think that’s all there is to it. The psalms are designed to look at and demonstrate, ‘Here’s Israel’s Messiah who comes to be numbered with the transgressors,’ and He identifies Himself with the Believing Remnant.

“In John 21, you see the risen Christ standing on the shore. His disciples are out on the sea and He enters into their labors. They labor all night and catch nothing and He asks them, ‘Do you have any meat?’ I love that; He didn’t even say, ‘Do you have any fish?’ It’s, ‘You got anything to eat, guys?’

“You read down through the Messianic psalms and sometimes you say, ‘Well, that’s the Messiah; no, that’s the Remnant; no it’s the Messiah; no it’s the Remnant.’ He’s so intertwined because He’s numbered with the people in their sufferings.

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“There’s more involved in Proverbs than just a bunch of daily ditties to give you information about how to get through tomorrow and that kind of thing. There are, for example, doctrinal issues the Little Flock are going to need to know in order to equip them to get through the onslaught of the Antichrist against them in the Last Days.

Proverbs 1 starts, 1] The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
[2] To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
[3] To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
[4] To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

"Proverbs is basically in three sections: Chapter 1-9 gives an explanation of the purpose of the wisdom given and how to use it. Chapter 10-29 details the wisdom that is outlined in four specific purposes. Chapter 30-31, the conclusion of the Book, keys the reader into what this information is specifically related to and who specifically is going to need to use it.

“It’s fascinating when you read books about Proverbs, nobody seems to agree or even come close to agreeing on how the book should be structured but he starts out telling you. To know wisdom and instruction is the most basic issue—how to put information into practice, making wise application of what you’ve learned.

“That’s why the writer says in verse 7, ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.’ It’s not the ultimate goal of knowledge; it’s where it starts.

“Verse 2 says to ‘perceive the words of wisdom.’ There’s foolishness, deceit and contrary doctrine and you’re to be able to pick out truth from error.

“The issue is you’re going to have an ear to hear and grasp this deceit, recognizing it when it comes along.

“Verse 4 says the proverbs are to ‘give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.’ In Proverbs, a simple person is not a dumb person. You remember Romans 16 where Paul says ‘I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil’?

“Simple doesn’t mean dumb, it just means unmixed; somebody who doesn’t have exposure to things. People who just focus on what God says will have some subtlety given to them. You remember Jesus said to His apostles, ‘Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves’?

“Why? ‘You’re going to need to be able to identify the wolf in sheep’s clothing.’ The people who say they’re Jews and aren’t, as Revelation 2 says. Their given the keen discernment so they’re not going to be sucked into the trap.

“The first time you see the word subtle in the Bible is in Genesis 3: ‘The serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field.’ You’re not going to be wise to Satan’s attempts through human viewpoint and the world’s attitudes.

“Proverbs 1 says, [10] My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
[11] If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
[12] Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
[13] We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
[14] Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

“That’s sort of a little humor there. I mean, they’re so stupid they catch their own selves in the net they spread to catch somebody else. ‘So don’t go with them and get caught in that and I’m going to give you some wisdom not to do that.’

“If Israel had understood these verses and followed this all along, when the Lord Jesus Christ showed up, instead of crucifying Him, instead of doing exactly what this passage said they were going to do, and they did do . . . all of their history was a dress rehearsal for the events of the Last Days.”