Proverbs 4 is an integrated whole, in which King Solomon tells his “son” that wisdom is supreme and he must gain it at any cost. Remember, King Solomon was the richest man who had ever lived to that point in history, or at least the richest man in the history of Israel. Yet he said the most valuable “commodity,” the one to be “bought” at any “price” is wisdom. He offers a key truth about wisdom once we have gained it in verse 23: 23Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) “Above all else.” Nothing is more important than guarding our hearts. As we know from so many passages in Scripture our hearts are the source of our lives, or the “wellspring.” If our hearts are filled with God’s wisdom, we will live that out in our lives. If we allow them to become “polluted,” the result will be lives that fail to honor God, and fail to be lived to God’s best for us.
Proverbs 5 is devoted to another warning against adultery. We are told it leads to death. It destroys our lives. At the end of the chapter Solomon reminds his son, that every person’s ways are in full view of the LORD. This is such a vital reminder for us. I always recommend people have an accountability partner, because they can help us to develop and grow in our walk with the LORD. Yet, at the deepest level the LORD is each of our accountability partner. We are ultimately accountable to Him, and He sees everything we do. I might be able to hide something from my accountability partner, but the LORD knows my thoughts before I think them. That’s a helpful reminder to me, and to all of us, when we consider stepping outside of God’s plan for our lives, whether toward sexual immorality or any other sin.
The first fifteen verses of Proverbs 6 warn us against sloth or laziness. The end of such behavior is poverty and death. In verses 16-19, Solomon warns us of six matters the LORD despises. Obviously, we want to stay away from them! Then Solomon offers another warning against adultery. (Are you seeing a pattern?) While every sin breaks our relationship with the LORD, the Apostle Paul would one day remind us that sexual sin is a sin against “the temple” of the LORD, because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Solomon understood this a thousand years before Paul came on the scene, and reminded his son of the importance of maintaining purity before the LORD.
As we return to Luke 13, Jesus is moving toward Jerusalem where He will be crucified. We aren’t told that directly, but His interactions with the religious leaders show us. They warn Him that Herod is after Him. Jesus’ response is to note that a prophet can’t die outside of Jerusalem. That would seem an odd response, if we didn’t live on the resurrection side of Easter. Why would Jesus, who was so popular, who was amazing everyone with His teaching, His miracles and His power to cast out demons, say anything about dying? It seemed Jesus was “on the rise.” Jesus knew otherwise. He had come to die, and the ministry He carried out was leading Him in that direction. Thank God for that reality! If Jesus had followed the easy path of riding His popularity to fame and fortune, we would never have had the opportunity to know God personally, to receive salvation from sin and death, nor to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. All Jesus did points to His Lordship in our lives, but nothing more than His intentionality about moving toward His death on our behalf instead of away from it.