With the new year, Jon has returned to his series on Proverbs, this time looking at the 7th chapter and talking about keeping and being kept by the Word. Discussion questions are available at the bottom of the post.
“Ancient Anchors in Choppy Times: the book that we love”
Is everyone settled back in? I don’t mean into your sanctuary seat I mean back into the everyday rhythms of post holiday life, back into the rhythm of wakeup, hurry up, settle down, sleep. We’re going to find our way back into rhythm here this morning too. Do you remember a long, long time ago, sometime in the last decade, I think it was 2009, we were working through the book of Proverbs together? We were calling it “Ancient Anchors in Choppy Times.” We never finished Proverbs, we hardly made it a quarter of the way through that treasure trove of wisdom insights and poetry songs. So today we return, and for the next little while, we return, we return to the ancient anchors that have steadied God followers for the longest time.
What you’re about to here from the book of Proverbs requires a little prefatory caution and information, a caution and some information that will help you listen more carefully, experience more deeply what God has in mind for you from it.
Here’s the caution: what you are about to here is not tame. It is not Sunday School flannel graph material, you are likely to become a bit uncomfortable as you listen, saying to yourself “I didn’t know that was in the Bible,” while thinking to yourself, “I sure hope my kids not listening.” If this were a movie it would be rated R.
That’s the caution here’s the information. One of the 4th C. desert mystics named John Cassian became famous for his fourfold methodology of understanding the Bible in all its depth. The four methods are: 1. Historical; 2. Allegorical; 3. Analogical; and 4. Tropological. I’m going to steal this as a teaching opportunity and the screens are going to be my aids. You might want to write it down and use it in your own study of scripture. The historical method of reading the scriptures refers to the most basic and most literal meaning. Allegorical refers to the deeper meaning of the passage, where the passage is meant for just a historical audience, that existed somewhere, at sometime in the life of Israel or the church, but is meant for all of us at all times. The analogical method refers to the heavenly meaning of a passage, such as the “new Jerusalem” refers to heaven. And the tropological method, from the Greek word “tropos” meaning “the way” refers to the moral meaning or implications of the passage. Here is how Cassian said it himself:
“The four figures that have been mentioned converge in such a way that, if we want, one and the same Jerusalem can be understood in a fourfold manner. According to history it is the city of the Jews. According to allegory it is the church of Christ. According to analogy it is the heavenly city of God ‘which is the mother of us all.’ According to tropology it is the soul of the human being, which under this name is frequently reproached or praised by the Lord… Now revelation pertains to allegory, by which the things that the historical narrative conceals are laid bare by a spiritual understanding and explanation.
I know that’s a lot to take in. You need to know that though because we’re going to borrow the allegorical methodology of understanding this Proverb. Without the allegorical meaning you’re left with a young man who shouldn’t have gone into that woman’s house, but allegorically it means so much more to us, now, here.
So listen carefully, listen well, try not to become too nervous, I have two things I want to point out with you about it in a minute.
From the book breathes life:
My child, keep my words and store up my commandments with you;
keep my commandments and live,
keep my teachings as the apple of your eye;
bind them on your fingers,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call insight your intimate friend,
that they may keep you from the loose woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words.
For at the window of my house
I looked out through the lattice,
and I saw among the simple ones,
I observed among the youths,
a young man without sense,
passing along the street near her corner,
taking the road to her house
in the twilight, in the evening,
at the time of night and darkness.
Then the woman comes toward him,
decked out like a prostitute,
wily of heart.
She is loud and wayward;
her feet do not stay at home;
now in the street, now in the squares,
and at every corner she lies in wait.
She seizes him and kisses him,
and with impudent face she says to him:
“I had to offer sacrifices,
and today I have paid my vows;
so now I have come out to meet you,
to seek you eagerly, and I have found you!
I have decked my couch with coverings,
colored spreads of Egyptian linen;
I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,
aloes, and cinnamon.
Come, let us take our fill of love
until morning;
let us delight ourselves with love.
For my husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey.
He took a bag of money with him;
he will not come home until full moon.”
With much seductive speech she persuades him;
with her smooth talk she compels him.
Right away he follows her,
and goes like an ox to the slaughter,
or bound like a stag toward the trap
until an arrow pierces its entrails.
He is like a bird rushing into a snare,
not knowing that it will cost him his life.
And now, my children, listen to me,
be attentive to the words of my mouth.
Do not let your hearts turn aside to her ways;
do not stray into her paths,
for many are those whom she has laid low,
and numerous are her victims.
Her house is the way to Sheol,
going down to the chambers of death.
There you have it, that’s Proverbs 7 in its entirety. Not exactly the tame, cozy, comfortable scriptures we can sometimes make them out to be, that was edgy, that was intense, I felt a little uncomfortable evening uttering some of those words. But it’s there, you can see it for yourself.
I want to draw your attention with me back to the beginning, back to this:
My child, keep my words and store up my commandments with you, keep my commandments and live. Keep my teachings as the apple of your eye, bind them on your fingers, write them on the tablets of your heart. Say to wisdom, “You are my sister” and call intimacy your intimate friend that they may keep you from the loose woman from the adulteress with her smooth words.
Two things: keeping and being kept.
I
Did you notice how many times, Solomon, the author of the book of Proverbs used that word, “Keep.” I counted four times, three of them as imperatives,
My child keep my words…
Keep my commandments…
Keep my teachings as the apple of your eye….
Keep, keep, keep, the Bible is allows seems to be inviting, commanding, urging, pleading, insisting that we keep it.
“Keep” the word itself is most often used now in terms of possession, “I will keep that for myself” or “keep that away from me.” But in this case in its much better sense, the word has to do with maintain, preserving, watching, guarding. Keeping. In this way its more meant in the same way that we speak of food, “How long will it keep?” “How long will it be preserved?” “How long will it maintain?” and we all know what happens when food doesn’t keep. One of the benefits of a pregnant wife, she knows quickly when food is not keeping, the bummer of course is that I have to find that unkept food and take care of it.
Keep.
Keep my words.
Keep my commands.
Keep my teachings as the apple of your eye.
The scriptures invite us, command us, urge, plead, and insist to us that we keep them, that we guard them and preserve them and maintain them, not merely keep them in our possession, you know in the living room on the shelf, but that we live them out, we maintain them, we preserve their intentions with our lives.
Could that be why Solomon adds, “Bind them on your fingers…”? Could that be why he says, “Write them on the tablet of your heart…”?
Could that be why Paul says, “All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction and training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work”?
Maybe that’s what Jesus was thinking when he said, “Whoever hears these words of mine and puts them into practice ….”
Keep my words…
Keep my commandments…
Keep my teachings….
Proverbs 7 mirrors impressively Deuteronomy 6, which you heard Austin read just a few minutes ago. Deuteronomy 6 is the passage Jesus pointed when asked, “Teacher which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.” Deuteronomy 6 has travelled down the corridors of faith known as the Shema, recited morning and evening by God followers for centuries. Before their feet hit the floor in the morning they would recite, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength.” Before their head hit the pillow at night, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength.” Deuteronomy 6 includes, “Bind them as a sign on your hand” what did Solomon say, “Bind them on your fingers.” Deuteronomy 6 includes, “Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.” What did Solomon, “Write them on the tablet of your heart.” Solomon is echoing Deuteronomy. Ancient God followers, now known as Orthodox Jews took Deuteronomy 6 literally. They would wrap their hands with leather cords called, “Tefillin” or “Phylacteries” on which Deuteronomy 6 was written. I have a picture of that very thing. My folks got this for me when I graduated from seminary. Since Austin read Deuteronomy 6, I’ll have in walk around and show you my picture.
Pretty cool isn’t it. Their hands bound in leather, with the scriptures written on them was their way of taking seriously the call to
Keep my words…
Keep my commandments….
Keep my teachings as the apple of your eye….
I’m not urging for you to bind your hands with leather, I’m asking you to keep, guard, preserve, maintain, the word with your lives. Walk around not with the word wrapped around your finger but written on your heart affecting the way you act. Walk around the world with the word not bound on your forearm but tied tightly to your intentions so that you might live it out.
We know what happens when we don’t keep food, it stinks, I wonder what happens when we don’t keep the word?
I was asked recently by somebody, I don’t even remember who, what I thought the greatest challenge facing the church today was. A fairly broad in scope question to quick ask and answer in conversations. I’ll tell you what I said in a minute but what would you say? I mean think of the options, morality, or the lack thereof that some suggest exists in the church. The watering down of our worship into inspirational speeches surrounded by some catchy tunes. The general competition for time that exists between the church and everyone’s lives. All I suppose could have been decent answers. I don’t know how you would answer, but my answer was this, our theology, people generally don’t know what we believe, we’re generally good on Jesus as Savior and God as love, but after that it seems to get really foggy, and how are we ever going to be clear on our theology if we’re not keeping our book.
Keep my words…
Keep my commandments…
Keep my teachings as the apple of your eye…
So here’s what I want you to do, if you would, if you’d allow me to intrude on the rhythm of your lives. Starting next Sunday and for the four Sundays after next Sunday, I’m going to post in the bulletin the following weeks Scripture passage which will be from Proverbs. I want you to take some time during the week to read what you’ll hear on Sunday. You can memorize if you choose, you can study it if you want, I just want you to carve out time to read it, to keep it, to guard it, maintain, preserve it, allow it inform who you are, who you become and how you behave. And I’ll tell you now, because I just thought of this yesterday, next Sunday’s sermon will be from Proverbs 10 v. 2.
Keep my words…
Keep my commandments….
Keep my teaching as the apple of your eye…
II
That’s the first thing I wanted to highlight, “keeping”, here’s the second, “Being kept.”
Listen again:
My child, keep my words and store up my commandments with you, keep my commandments and live. Keep my teachings as the apple of your eye, bind them on your fingers, write them on the tablets of your heart. Say to wisdom, “You are my sister” and call intimacy your intimate friend that they may keep you from the loose woman from the adulteress with her smooth words.
Did you hear that:
Say to wisdom, “You are my sister” and call intimacy your intimate friend that they may keep you…
That they may keep you …
The wonderful thing about the word and keeping it is that it’s a reciprocal relationship, you keep it, it keeps you.
That they may keep you…
And which one of us doesn’t need a little keeping, which one of us doesn’t need a little preserving, maintenance, being guarded, protected, watched, cared for, tended to, loved on, kept.
So just out of curiosity and you don’t actually have to answer out loud what did you think of Proverbs 7? This talk of an adulteress and loose women and things I’m embarrassed to say again now. Proverbs 7 depicts a young man, wandering purposeless, aimless, he wasn’t looking out looking for debauchery, for someone else’s wife, he was just wandering without a direction, and debauchery found him, someone else’s wife seized him. It’s the image, the picture, the story of a man who had not been keeping the word, who had not been preserving the teachings, who had not been maintaining the commandments, he wasn’t out to pursue evil, but he wasn’t filling his mind with things of God and so another voice began to chime in, another voice began to sound in his heart, an alluring voice, an attractive voice, a compelling voice, and like an ox to the slaughter he followed, like a stag to the trap he went.
On the one hand Solomon may just be urging men to stay away from other people’s wives, to avoid adultery. Which is true, but on the other hand, on a deeper level, this is not meant merely for the realm of morality but it meant for each one of us as we make our way in this way in which so many voices, call us, compel us, urge us down a way we should not go.
Maybe it’d be helpful if you turned with me to Proverbs 7. It’s just after the book of Psalms which is basically right in the middle of your Bible. Open your Bible to the middle your likely to be close to the book of Psalms, Proverbs is right after it. Find Proverbs 7 and let me show you something.
Proverbs 7 v. 1 begins: My child, keep my words…
Proverbs 7 v. 5 which is the end of the call to keep the word and precedes the story of a wandering man and a loose women goes like this:
That they may keep you from the loose women, from the adulteress and her smooth words.
Proverbs 7:1 and Proverbs 7:5 are pit against each other:
Keep my words…. That they may keep you from her smooth words.
My words…. Vs. her words.
Do you see that?
This aimlessly wandering young man, not out to do evil, but found in evil is meant to tell a much larger story that each of us needs to listen to carefully when we wander through life without keeping the word. Without keeping the word, we leave room open for all the other voices, alluring and tempting as they are to call us, urge us, and invite us down the road we’re not meant to go. But when we keep the word, when we maintain it, guard it, watch over it, it keeps us, it guards us, it preserves and protects us from all the voices seeking to call us in so many wayward directions. Sometimes you’ll get the benefit of a seeing exactly how it keeps you, and guards you, most of the time you don’t and won’t but to be sure it is and does keep guard, and watch.
I should be more clear than I am, I don’t mean the Bible as a book is going to somehow watch over you, I mean the God of the Bible, Christ who is the word, watches over you.
That’s Psalmist says, “I lift my eyes to the hills from where does my help come, my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.”
That’s why he cries out, “You are my refuge and strength a very present help in trouble…”
That’s why we pray, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil…”
My child, keep my words…. That they may keep you from the loose women, from the adulteress and her smooth words.
My words … her words.
Keeping and being kept.
Yesterday was a wonderful day. Not only was the sun shining beautifully, a mild 45 degrees in OH while the rest of the country freezes under ice and snow but one of our dearest, and longest members Ed Boonstra came home from the hospital after 40 days. Forty days. I couldn’t help but think of the Israelites in the wilderness. He went into the hospital the Monday after Thanksgiving if I’ve got it all straight in my head in order to have a tumor removed from his esophagus near his stomach. He had esophageal cancer. It was a 7 hour surgery. He remained in the hospital through Advent, over Christmas, past New Year’s Eve and now into 2010. Now a 7 hour surgery is not easy for the youngest and healthiest among us but when you’re in your 80s and have hard time walking around the block without stopping to rest because of back pain, a 7 hour surgery seems even longer, is even more precarious. It was the better option though than doing nothing. So they went for it. His dear wife Willie by his side through it all. I visited them before they went down to Seattle to Virginia Mason hospital for their 40 day stay. You might want to join me around their dining room table. Its Sunday afternoon November 29, 2009. Their Sunday morning coffee crew has all left and it’s just the two of them, Willie was reading mail I think, Ed was drinking coffee if I remember. Now if you know Ed and Willie you love them like I do, if you don’t you need to know they travelled here from Holland, not Michigan but the Netherlands 50 some years ago, and though they’ve been here for longer than I’ve been alive they maintain their heritage through their brogue, ,they have as thick an accent as someone just stepping off the boat. It’s almost like a whole other language. You have to listen carefully when they talk. We gathered around their dining room table it was Kristyn and mean and our girls. Willie was quick to give Lydia and Tabitha candy, they were quick to eat and find the jar of candy in the living room. Then they found her Dutch trinkets sitting on the window sill, I was agitated, they didn’t seem bothered at all. In the midst of all the movement of my girls, Willie offered us coffee and baked goods, Ed sat quietly to my right. I finally asked, “How you feeling, Ed, about tomorrow,” Ed shrugged his shoulders Willie answered, when they planned to leave in the morning, some of the things that doctor had been saying to them to expect. After getting some of the details clear I asked if I could pray, Ed said, “Sure” in his really Dutch voice. Just before I began to pray he interrupted me, he said, “We want it to go good, of course, but…” and he paused, he smiled, not a smile but a smirk, he winked, he pointed to the heavens, and said, “we trust, and that’s it.”
We trust and that’s it.
This 80 some year old man on the eve of 7 hour surgery that very possibly could take his life, and if the surgery didn’t the process of recovery might, smiles, winks, points to the heavens and says, “We trust and that’s it.”
We trust and that’s it.
On the one hand that’s the remarkable testimony of a man of faith, on the other hand it’s the wonderful reality that is ours in Christ, “We are kept, we preserved, we are maintained, guarded, sustained, tended to, loved on, cared for…”
When we keep the word, we are kept by the Word, Jesus Christ.
Keep and being kept.
We trust and that’s it.
Keeping and being kept.
Keeping and being kept.
That’s what I want for you, that’s what God intends for you.
In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Discussion Questions
- How do we most appropriately “keep” the Word?
- What does it mean that we are “kept by” the Word? How does that show up in our lives? Can you point to a time in your life when the Word “kept” you?
- What was your “reaction” to Proverbs 7? How does a passage like Proverbs 7 fit into your understanding of what the scriptures are, what’s in them, and how they should be used/preached/studied?
- What are John Cassian’s four fold method for understanding the scriptures? Which do you most naturally tend to use? Do you see vlue in the ones you haven’t used as often? How might you use a different method in your scripture study?
1.How do we most appropriately “keep” the Word?
Become familiar with the Bible, Personal with Christ. Learn, understand and Obey His commands. Shun Evil.
“Fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom. To shun evil is understanding.” Proverbs 3 somewhere, I’d guess, but that one is my favorite.
Elaborating, I think as important as doing good deeds, or perhaps the ultimate good deed, would be prosyletizing. Seems like that is the first deed Jesus assigns once a Christian is born again. Later God commands that we guard our doctrine closely. (How can you know God unless you believe the true things about Him?) The other good deeds, even lack of bad deeds done would be supportive of that primary role of Evangelism.
2.What does it mean that we are “kept by” the Word?
Ultimately it means for the elect that we are irreversibly saved from damnation and for fellowship with God for all eternity. That we are sanctified, fortified by the Holy Spirit so that we can understand that which is incomprehensible to the unregenerate and obey with full understanding of the good and need for it.
“No one can snatch them out of My Hand.” – Jesus
How does that show up in our lives?
Simply, we live much better lives and the lives of others than if the word didn’t keep us.
Well, love covers a multitude of sins. Because He is merciful we have hope. And we can literally get away with murder. How did The Word save David for killing Uriah? David knew The Word said that he could repent. And he did. Now that did not undo some of the consequences. The child of the union he killed Uriah over died, and I think that’s probably why he didn’t get to build the temple (blood on his hands, but I’m not sure).
One example of The Word keeping me, a blatant one was that I was in pretty bad shape with a back and neck condition back in ’88. I ran across Isaiah 58 where the Israelites aren’t offering a clean Sabbath Day because they were fighting with each other. Well, the second half says that if they did certain things their healing would appear and my frame would be strengthened. I went along with what was suggested. I forced myself to think blessings on those who iritated me. Especially tailgaters. So, when I was tailgated I’d pray for the tailgater. For a year or more, every time I did, the driver would back off all by himself. I mean, it was uncanny. Then I prayed for the nastiest person I knew in my life that I previously had felt moraly justified in harming greatly. He got converted and stayed faithful long enough to bring a passle of street urchins to the House of Prayer on the south end. God keeps us by performing marvels right in front of our eyes to validating His Word. Anyway, that year I played softball with the EFC in Greenbank.
Can you point to a time in your life when the Word “kept” you?
Yes. Easily. From before Day One until the present and for all the days of the future.
Before I became born-again a hard rock miner from BC gave me his pocket New Testament and Psalms because he couldn’t anser my questions. I was really down and out physically, morally, psychologically, spiritually, but like Nazi Germany, I wanted my one last hurrah, my Battle of Kursk. I hate to admit that I though like that. I figured the insurance company could afford the shrink so I went to the Local old wiseman. I told him my story so he loaded me up with pills that would knock out a horse. One morning I had to get to PT and I didn’t have the gas to even get there, much less back, but they cut you off at the drop of a hat if you miss the appointments. I had been reading Psalms from the Billy Graham Crusade hand-out Nt & Psalms I’d gotten from the co-worker. I quoted a Psalm, gallows humor, I hated hitch hikikng at my age and I fully expected to be shortly leaving my car on the side of the road and hoofing it the rest of the way.. Anyway, “The Lord is my Shepherdf. I shall not want.”
The clouds parted and shined brightly on the white metal garage door I was parked in front of. It was blindingly bright, and then it faded back. It was one of those solid overcast mornings. I chuckled, “He’s got a sense of humor, too.” Anyway, 4 miles down the road at “Cackle Corner” (before the light) a little old lady, a Sunday School teacher, it turned out, accelerated out from the stop sign and clobbered me right in the door. Didn’t hurt me much, but their insurance co forked over 2500 bucks to fix the rig that was ugly but still fully operational. Naturally, I didn’t fix the very old Olds. I know that’s dubious and shallow, but you won’t convince me it wasn’t an act of God.
3. What was your “reaction” to Proverbs 7?
“Amen”
How does a passage like Proverbs 7 fit into your understanding of what the scriptures are, what’s in them, and how they should be used/preached/studied?
Axiomaticly.
4.What are John Cassian’s four fold method for understanding the scriptures?
1. Historical; 2. Allegorical; 3. Analogical; and 4. Tropological.
Which do you most naturally tend to use?
Literal. I take prophecy literally as you can realizing it uses allegories. Scripture I take as advisement for myself, my nation, my family, my church as is appropriate. Most of it is quite clear as to what God is talking about. Just take it to heart. I find that when God admonishes a sinful person, nation, city, family, order congregation it is good for me to personalize it. Often the Holy Spirit will convict one with a passage, often he will delight. I take it literal, the Book, that is. I’d rather error on the literat side than allegorize something for convenience. For instance, the Day in Genesis to me is one evening and morning and that when the Nile turned to blood, it was stinking blood and not red clay. When the waters stood aside for Moses, he wasn’t crossing a swamp at low tide.
Furthermore, I feel it is proper to take heed in Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth (CI Scofield wrote a booklet by that name). In doing this context is important as well as audience and time. Whichever way the Bible is examined, it is meant to be personalized, taken to heart. Conceeding, of course that no verses are to be read with special interpretation. It means the same to all, but often the Holy Spirit will jhighlight passages for you particularly illuminating one’s situation. A passage that is of primary and special importance to your personal situation.
So, as long as the ways of examining passages don’t get in the way of the literal meaning of the original manuscripts, I am all for it. I think the Word uses all those forms of words, literal, allagorical, analogical to help us understand.
Do you see vlue in the ones you haven’t used as often?
I’m wondering if one could read more than a chapter anywhere without running into the need to apply the above all disciplines of analysis to understand the overall meaning.
How might you use a different method in your scripture study?
I think the only way left is language analysis. Another is to just read it and the let the Spirit lead you in a meditation like experience. For me, I can read over and over about the Centurion’s faith, and when He raises the daughter, “Talitha koum.” I don’t know where the deep meaning is, there. I just know when I read it, I feel something wonderful. An infusion. All the words are familiar. I just like to go there. Psalm 23, 110. But then, that’s not really study, that’s letting the Word dwell in you richly.
“Study to show yourself approved….” It’s dim in my recall, right now, but I think you’d know. I bet it appropriate. I need to read some Timothy.