“The light of the eyes gladdens the heart;

Good news puts fat on the bones.” – Proverbs 15:30

The book of Proverbs is considered to be part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament and is not generally viewed as the most evangelistic section of the Bible by most readers. I think, however, if we read Proverbs a little more slowly and a little bit more thoughtfully, we will find hidden in its wisdom a number of foreshadows of the gospel and of the Lord Jesus. I think Proverbs 15:30 is a good example of this.

First we need some background in how to read the proverbs. Because the book is not arranged in any apparent order, context for a given proverb does not help us understand the meaning of the proverb. There are, however, approaches to interpreting them. Many proverbs contrast the righteous and the wicked and give characteristics of each group and the wise man will make his life conform to the righteous standard. There are also a number of proverbs that display Hebrew parallelism, which means that the proverb says the same thing with two different expressions. If you can understand the meaning of one of the two expressions, then you have understood the basic teaching of the proverb. Proverbs 15:30 is such a proverb, an example of Hebrew parallelism. To grasp the message of Proverbs 15:30, then, we will focus on the second half of the verse.

“Good news puts fat on the bones.”

Having decided on an interpretation strategy, let’s look at the actual words. We can agree that the expression “puts fat on the bones” is not intended to speak about literal bones nor is it intended to speak about actual body fat. Rather, the expression “puts fat on the bones” can probably be translated as meaning, “brings happiness and prosperity.” Putting fat on the bones means that life is good and you feel that life is good. You are optimistic and hopeful and your life feels ‘fat.’ This is the opposite of worried or weary or withered or harried. Life is peaceful and content.

Now I would suggest that there are two different types of prosperity, two types of “fat on the bones.” There is temporary prosperity and there is permanent or eternal prosperity. Temporary prosperity is good, but there is with this temporary prosperity the feeling that it could go away at any time. There is the feeling that it is kind of like a beautiful sunset or a fragrant aroma: it is wonderful while it lasts, but this experience is definitely fleeting and fragile. But what if the prosperity was permanent, even eternal? Eternal prosperity that could never be lost – now THAT would truly be fat on the bones!

So, while the book of Proverbs is wisdom literature, we must realize that the Bible is not primarily written to make us happy for this life only. All of the Bible, including the book of Proverbs, is primarily aimed at telling us who God is, telling us who we are in relation to God, and instructing us how we can escape God’s wrath and enjoy Him instead. So when a verse in the Bible tells us about “putting fat on the bones,” we can be sure that the Bible is giving us some instruction about eternal prosperity. So “Good news puts fat on the bones” could also be rendered, “Good news guides us toward eternal prosperity.”

Now we are getting somewhere! Now we are making progress. So the key seems to be the “good news.” It would certainly be incredibly good news if the news we discovered led us to eternal prosperity, but what “good news” could do that? If we turn now to the pages of the New Testament, we find that there is a lot of talk about good news. In fact, the Greek word for “good news” is the word that is translated “gospel.” The main message of the New Testament is the good news (the gospel) of Jesus Christ. Mark begins his account of the life of Jesus Christ with this verse: “The beginning of the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Paul says in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel (good news), for it is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe.” What this means is that the good news that puts fat on the bones; the good news that leads to eternal prosperity is the gospel of Jesus Christ, that Christ has left heaven to come to earth to die an atoning death on the cross and to rise victorious from the grave, so that whoever places their faith in Him should not perish, but would have eternal life. Now that is good news that gladdens the heart and that puts major fat on the bones.

What we see, then, right here in Proverbs 15:30 is a veiled picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel of His salvation, the good news that puts fat on our bones eternally.

SDG                    rmb                    2/26/2017

With this study I want to take a fairly specific look at the tenth plague (Exodus 11-12) that the LORD brought on the land of Egypt and on Pharaoh, Egypt’s ruler. This is called either the plague of the death of the firstborn or the Passover, depending on whose experience is in view. Before I look at the tenth plague, I want to get some context for this great event.

It is important to understand that the LORD brought the plagues on the land of Egypt (Exodus 7-12) to destroy the most powerful country then on earth as a demonstration of His power and to humiliate the false gods of the Egyptians by showing that those false gods were impotent. Almost each plague was an attack against a different Egyptian god.

But what prompted the LORD to destroy Egypt? What prompted the LORD to destroy Egypt was the arrogant question that Pharaoh asked Moses (Exodus 5:2): “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice?” Now, there should be a horrified gasp and an evident wince from everyone who hears that question from Pharaoh. “O Pharaoh, you should not have said that. You should not speak that way about the LORD of all the earth, for the LORD does not take your arrogance and pride lightly. And the LORD will not be ignored and despised, nor will He tolerate being compared to other gods. ‘Who is the LORD?’ you ask. You are about to find out who the LORD is, and when He is finished with you, you will not be in any doubt. The LORD, He is God and He will be obeyed and He will be worshiped or He will be your Destroyer.” So the ten plagues which systematically destroyed Egypt were the means the LORD used to answer Pharaoh’s question.

Now that we have established the context for the plagues, I want to focus on the tenth and final plague. This was by far the most significant plague, because this plague brought about the death of the firstborn. For God’s people, this event was known as the Passover when the LORD, in His mercy, passed over the houses which had the blood on the door post. Where there was the prescribed blood on the door, the LORD spared the firstborn. But for the Egyptians who did not put the blood of the lamb on the door post, this tenth plague meant death and judgment. The point to understand here is that the Passover event pictured both mercy and judgment. For those who were covered by the blood of the lamb, there was the LORD’s mercy, but for those who were not, there was death and judgment as the LORD killed the first-born. The difference between mercy and judgment was the blood of the lamb.

As we understand the Passover, we see that it is a crystal clear picture and a “foreshadow” of what the final Passover Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, accomplished when He died on the cross. For the situation today is exactly the same as it was for the children of Israel and the Egyptians so long ago, at least in this sense: still today, as then, every single human being will receive either mercy or judgment from the Lord, and the difference is the blood of the Lamb. Hebrews 9:27 says, “And it is appointed for man to die once and after this comes the judgment.” From this verse it is clear that there is a judgment coming. Whether we believe it or not, there is coming a day for every single human being when they will stand before the Lord to be judged, and on that day, the verdict will either be eternal life or eternal condemnation. For the one who has repented of their sins and who has believed in Jesus Christ, that day will be a day of mercy, since the Lord will see the blood of the Lamb of God on that person’s soul and judgment will forever pass over them. But for the one who has not placed their faith in Jesus Christ; for the one who has ignored the warnings and the pleadings and who has continued in their sin and who has never called upon the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13); for the one who has trusted in their own righteousness and who has continued to believe that the Lord’s patience would last forever, there will be terrifying judgment and eternal condemnation. Every single human being will experience an eternity of either mercy or judgment, and which eternity awaits you depends on the blood.

And so the question that must be answered is this: “Are you certain that the blood of the Lamb is over your doorpost?” That is, have you definitely and irreversibly committed yourself to follow the Lord Jesus by repenting from your sin and placing your faith in Christ? Because of your faith, have you been wrapped in a robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10)? In the Judgment, will Jesus’ blood cover your sin and atone for your sin and thus allow you to receive God’s mercy, or will you be one of those who experiences the terrifying wrath of God forever? It all depends on the blood.

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In our last study we saw that in these two verses there are two distinct cups: there is “THE CUP” and there is “My cup.” We saw last time that THE CUP (20:22) was a symbol of the judgment of God and the wrath of God against sin and that this was THE CUP of the curse that Jesus Christ was to drink.

But Christ also speaks of “My cup.” Jesus says, “My cup you shall drink . . .” “My cup” is the one that every follower of Jesus Christ will drink. Because Christ drank “THE CUP” of God’s judgment, we who are His followers will drink Christ’s cup of fellowship and grace and blessing. Let’s see what Scripture says about Christ’s cup, which we will call “My cup.”

MY CUP

Jesus said to them, “My cup you shall drink.” After reading of what “THE CUP” meant to Christ (20:22) and how He incurred tremendous suffering to drink that cup, the reader may conclude that “My cup” has a similar meaning. At first, Jesus’ words may sound like an ominous warning, but they are, in fact, entirely different than that. Instead of an ominous warning, these words are the Savior’s sure promise of unspeakable blessing for every disciple of Jesus Christ. With these words, Jesus gives His promise that everyone who has trusted in Christ is entitled to sit at His heavenly table and to drink eternally of Christ’s cup of communion and joy and peace.

“My (heavenly) cup you shall drink . . .”

There are three aspects to “My cup” that we need to understand.

First, “My cup” is a cup of fellowship with Jesus and with His Body, the church. This fellowship is explicitly celebrated in the Lord’s Supper, where Jesus is spiritually present and the Body of believers is gathered to remember Him and to have fellowship with Him, but this fellowship is also manifested in the many “one another” teachings in the New Testament and in the ongoing expressions of Christian love experienced in the Body of Christ.

In the Last Supper (Mark 14, Matthew 26, Luke 22 and John 14-16), the Lord Himself initiated this time of intimate fellowship between Christ and His disciples. The fellowship is now continued through the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 10-11). Because Christ drank THE CUP, His followers have peace with God (Romans 5:1-10; 2 Cor. 5:18-20) and enjoy intimate fellowship with God (1 John 1:3). So the first aspect of Christ’s cup (“My cup”) to recognize is that it is a cup of fellowship.

Second, the disciple of Jesus Christ gets the privilege of sharing in the sufferings of Christ. With the blessings of Christ’s cup inevitably come the sharing in Christ’s sufferings. My experience of suffering is limited, but in that suffering I find that I am in closest fellowship with Christ and am most identified with Christ. (Phil. 3:10; Col. 1:24; 1 Peter 4:12-14; Gal. 6:14, 17; Acts 5:41; Matthew 5:10-12) Because Christ drank THE CUP of God’s wrath, we can joyously and fearlessly endure suffering for His name’s sake.

The third aspect of “My cup” is to realize that we who belong to Christ will ultimately drink Christ’s cup in heaven with Him for all of eternity. Because Christ drank THE CUP of God’s wrath for us, there is a time coming when all believers of all the ages will be gathered around the table of the King of kings and the Lord of lords to forever drink from His cup of peace and joy and love. Jesus’ words from the Last Supper point forward to that day:

“This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new WITH YOU in My Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:28-29). Our destiny is to forever drink from His heavenly cup, because Christ drank THE CUP on our behalf.

SDG         rmb        2/13/2017

Back in October of last year we explored the story of Jesus and His disciples on the Lake of Galilee in the midst of a fierce storm. This is a continuation of those lessons.

There is yet another principle that we see displayed in this story of Jesus and His disciples on the Lake of Galilee. We see the necessity of storms in the spiritual life of disciples. There were a number of lessons learned on the Lake of Galilee in the midst of this fierce storm that could not have been learned any other way.

For example, the storm reveals to the disciples their powerlessness and their need for someone to rescue them. They are weak and the storm that threatens them is strong and, in their own power they will not survive. Realizing the threat and their own powerlessness, the disciples fly to Jesus for rescue. Without the storms of life, how do we see our need to be rescued and how do we see our dependence on one much more powerful than us? For this reason God brings storms into our life so that we will never forget our weakness and will constantly look to Him for rescue and protection.

Also, the storm provided a perfect context in which Jesus could reveal His true identity and His true power. Up to this point the disciples had seen Jesus perform some pretty amazing miracles, but they still did not grasp who He actually was. And then the storm comes upon them on the lake and this seemingly ordinary man stands up in the boat and commands the wind and the waves to be hushed. If there had been no fierce storm on the lake, there would have been no occasion to realize the identity of the Stiller of the storm, but in the storm, Jesus displays His power and glory when He shows He is God.

If there are only blue skies and if all the rains are gentle and refreshing and if all the seas are calm and all the barns are full of grain and if everything is peaceful and prosperous (etc., etc.), how does God reveal to us that He is mighty to save? If all our problems have human solutions, how does God demonstrate He is a great deliverer?

And so God allows and even brings storms into our lives so that:

• We will call out for help to the great Stiller of the storms;
• We will be reminded of the identity of the God who can still the storms;
• When He delivers us, we will have another testimony to His faithfulness and to the fact that “the eye of the Lord is toward the righteous and His ear is open to their cry.”

So when there are storms in your life, call out to the one who is able to still any storm, realizing that though we are often powerless, He is mighty to save.  SDG    rmb   1/15/2017

In meditating about the first three verses of Psalm 14, I have been struck by how much these verses teach us about the sinfulness of man and about how justly he deserves judgment from the Lord.

These verses teach us about the willfulness of unbelief. The fool (‘nabal’ in Hebrew, which can also be translated ‘godless one’) has defiantly rejected the one true God in a willful act of rebellion. That is, the fool is not neutral or passive in this situation. A fool is not a fool because he is ignorant, but, in the Hebrew mind, a fool was a fool because he was not obedient to the LORD. The psalm reads, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’“ Notice that he has said “in his heart.” For the Hebrew, the heart was where the will and the emotions dwelt. So out of his wicked heart, the fool’s will and emotions rebel against the authority of the LORD and the mouth then shouts its godless defiance: “There is no God!” But again this is not the shout of ignorance, but is the defiant rebellion of a sinner. The fool’s unbelief is first willful.

Next the psalm instructs us about the consequences of unbelief. “They are corrupt; they have committed abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.” When a person choose to reject God, they necessarily discard all moral restraint in the same moment. As a result, they become corrupt in their mind and heart and then inevitably become corrupt in their behavior. Having abandoned the only authority of moral right and wrong, the godless one “commits abominable deeds” with apparent impunity. Right and wrong are removed and there is nothing that prevents the most heinous wickedness. These are the consequences of unbelief.

Thirdly, this psalm teaches is there is a motivation for unbelief. What I mean is that the fool enjoys the personal benefits of his unbelief and so, to keep receiving those benefits, the fool is motivated to reject God and refuse His rule and reign. By “benefits” I am referring to the rewards of sin which accrue to the fool from his iniquity. Having tasted the pleasures of sin, the fool craves more and he knows that bowing the knee to the LORD in obedience will put an abrupt stop to his pleasure from sin. Therefore, the fool does not “seek after God (14:2),” for this would threaten his sin. “They have all turned aside (14:3),” and have turned away from the path of righteousness, for there is no pleasures of sin on the highway of holiness. So the fool is motivated to remain in his unbelief to indulge in the wicked pleasures of sin.

And so the word of God presents us with man, the planet’s great, dominant biped. Created to be God’s vice regent and to spread the glory of God throughout the earth, because of sin he has been rendered a fool who commits abominable deeds and who, in his natural, fallen state, is unable to do good. The Bible is remarkably consistent in its description of man after the Fall. This short paragraph from a psalm echoes what the Scripture teaches throughout its pages, that man is morally ruined and has turned aside from God to pursue his sin. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” In fact, these three verse from Psalm 14 are quoted by Paul in his epistle to the Romans as he summarizes his prosecution of mankind (3:10-12) and declares “There is none righteous.” As we have seen from this short study, man is in his unbelief by willful choice and he remains in his sin because the natural man loves his sin.

It is from this miserable state that all mankind must be rescued if men and women are ever to stand before the Holy One, God the Almighty. But how could this ever take place? Where is the Champion, the Rescuer, the Redeemer, the Savior who has the power to change this situation and who, having the power, is willing to pull men and women from the pit of destruction?

But this is exactly how the Bible describes Jesus. The gospel of Jesus Christ declares that Jesus is mighty to save and that, if a man or a woman will confess their sins and will repent of them and will forsake their love of sin and will bow the knee to Jesus Christ as Lord and will trust in Jesus, then the Lord Jesus will save them and will change them. The Lord Jesus left heaven and came to earth to die on the cross to take away sin, so that whoever believes in Him would have eternal life. The fool has said in his heart that there is no God, but through faith in Jesus Christ, even the fool can be saved and can go to heaven.                     SDG            rmb     1/10/2017

Right now, the entire southeast United States is experiencing an extreme drought with places like north Georgia having been without any rain at all for almost three months. I live in North Carolina where we are seeing forest fires in the western part of the state. I have lived in or near western North Carolina for more than 50 years and have never heard about a single forest fire until this year. For reasons that I will explain in this series of blogs, I believe that the drought is a judgment from God because of the sins and disobedience of this nation, and I want to urge all believers to pray and ask the Lord to be merciful and to send rain on the parched ground of the south.

So before I begin this study on drought and on how to pray for rain, I appeal to all my brothers and sisters in Christ, and especially those in the southeast United States, to pray using 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 that the Lord would hear from heaven, would forgive our sin and would send rain on our land.

How Adam’s sin has affected the earth and has given us drought – The Fall

In the Garden of Eden, the LORD God provided everything that Adam and Eve needed to flourish. Everything was given in abundance and there was no lack of anything. This was a consequence of what may be called “the Adamic covenant” or “the Adamic probation.” God had promised the first man Adam that He would provide everything he needed, but this promised provision was conditioned on Adam’s obedience. When man rebelled and sinned against the LORD God by eating the forbidden fruit, the arrangement between God and man changed. Instead of providing all that the man needed, the earth was cursed (Genesis 3:17-19) and, from that point on, anything that man received from the earth was solely the result of God’s gracious provision. In fact, from the point of the Fall onward, the earth became a means of expressing the LORD God’s favor or, more evidently, God’s judgment. In this present study, we will see that God will withhold rain from the earth as an expression of His judgment on a people or on a nation. The point is that, because of his sin, man has forfeited God’s initial covenant and thus has no legitimate claim on any of God’s blessings which were promised to him in the beginning. After the Fall, all mankind in all places on the face of the earth is dependent on God’s grace for whatever blessings He gives.

The implication of this brief look at this aspect of redemptive history is that God is perfectly justified in withholding His rain from a geographic region when the people’s sin and rebellion has exceeded God’s grace. What we will see in this study is that there are several places in the Old Testament (in the Law, in the history of Israel and in the prophets) where the LORD warns that He will withhold His rain from disobedient Israel, and there is nothing in the contexts of these Old Testament warnings that would suggest they have been abrogated.

To sum up, here is what we have learned from this study so far.

• In Adam’s sin, man has forfeited his right to God’s blessings as a promise and now receives those blessings solely as a result of God’s grace. Thus rain is now a result of God’s common grace.
• In the Old Testament, the LORD warned that He would shut up the heavens and send no rain if the people did not obey Him and did not observe the LORD’s commandments and statutes (references verses will be given later)
• There is nothing in the context of these Old Testament warnings that would indicate they are no longer in effect today, so we can assume that God’s threatening about withholding rain as judgment for sin still holds.
• MY CONCLUSION is that our sin and rebellion in the USA has exceeded the LORD’s patience extended to us in His common grace and, as a result, God is judging us by withholding rain. Our disobedience has led to drought

The next blog will discuss the Scriptures which support the statements that I have made in this blog and will cover many of the verses which present the instances when God warned of the consequences of disobedience or tell of His withholding rain.

There will also be a blog on how to pray for rain biblically so that the LORD will hear our prayers, including how to prepare our heart as we present our requests to God.

In the meantime . . .

“If I, the LORD, shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, and My people, who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chron. 7:13-14

SDG      rmb      11/23/2016