Continuing on with our analysis of Proverbs 27 and what it is actually telling us. Again, it necessarily needs to be stated that our being enlightened isn’t merely to gain book knowledge, but rather more so to equip and inspire us to action and public acknowledgement of the LORD.
In the previous post we saw Proverbs 27 speaking of iron sharpening iron, and of the countenance of man as what is being sharpened into his spiritual nature. The process was/is to first awaken the spirit within, to cultivate it into its single-minded full potential, and then to call it out. The calling out is the Work of the LORD provoking us toward our outer-man becoming as is the inner man (in sprit and truth), and assuming our place as the children of God made in His image and likeness.
Again I warn the reader – the previous posts should be read for full understanding. If not you will, as do many here each day, make irrelevant statements due to not understanding the fullness of the message. Most of the misunderstandings come from associating the post with teaching of false prophets and false teachers, and in experiencing this we also see the compounding error that has led to the confusion of our day (the earth become without form, and void).
Proverbs 27
11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproaches me.
12 A prudent man foresees the evil, and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.
13 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
14 He that blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.
15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.
16 Whosoever hides her hides the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrays itself [and the remedy (exposing her) is in his power to boldly call her out].
17 Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
18 Whoso keeps the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waits on his master shall be honored.
19 As in water face answers to face, so the heart of man to man [the two men being the inner reasoning between the natural man and the spirit man – one an image of the other – and we determine by actions which is the true self].
The previous post is titled, “The Redeemed of the LORD, Called, Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.” This is a quote from the final verses of Isaiah 62, which was also including in total in ending the post. The word in Proverbs 27:16 translated “bewrays” (“called out”) is the same word rendered “called” when Isaiah 62 tells us of our being called “The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and you shall be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.”
In the previous post we also saw (but may not have comprehended) when Isaiah 62:3 tells of our being the crown in the hand (work) of the LORD, and the royal diadem in the hand of God, it, as does the full chapter, is what Paul was speaking of in His charge to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2.
Please suffer me a short while longer in my folly as I post those chapters again. (2 Corinthians 11)
2 Timothy 2
1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 And the things that you have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit you to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
3 You therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who has chosen him to be a soldier.
5 And if a man also strives for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.
6 The husbandman that labors must be first partaker of the fruits.
7 Consider what I say; and the LORD give you understanding in all things.
8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my Gospel:
9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.
10 Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
11 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
13 If we believe not, yet he abides faithful: he cannot deny himself.
14 Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the LORD that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.
15 Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
17 And their word will eat as does a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.
19 Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The LORD knows them that are his. And, let every one that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor.
21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the LORD out of a pure heart.
23 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they are meant to produce strife.
24 And the servant of the LORD must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Isaiah 62
1 For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burns.
2 And the Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory: and you shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
3 You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall your land any more be termed Desolate: but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah: for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married.
5 For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you: and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
6 I have set watchmen upon your walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: you that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,
7 And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
8 The LORD has sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give your corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink your wine, for the which you have labored:
9 But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.
10 Go through, go through the gates; prepare you the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.
11 Behold, the LORD has proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say you to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
12 And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and you shall be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.
I know many see what is being imparted. The verse of the day today at BibleGateway.com is from Philippians 2 acknowledging what they apparently understand. Everything is exactly where, when, and how it should be.
Philippians 2
1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
2 Fulfill you my joy, that you be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father.
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15 That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world;
16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
17 Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.
18 For the same cause also do you joy, and rejoice with me.
19 But I trust in the LORD Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.
20 For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.
21 For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.
22 But you know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he has served with me in the gospel.
23 Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me.
24 But I trust in the LORD that I also myself shall come shortly.
25 Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labor, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants.
26 For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that you had heard that he had been sick.
27 For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
28 I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when you see him again, you may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.
29 Receive him therefore in the LORD with all gladness; and hold such in reputation:
30 Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.
Again: (When verse 25 speaks of Epaphroditus and later of his recovering it is telling of his regaining his stability. Here are two paragraphs from June 28, 2016 and the post titled, “Fear God, and Give Glory to Him; for The Hour of His Judgment is Come.”
“The name Epaphroditus actually describes one who was a deceiver but now has recovered from his disease. The name is actually derived from epi, meaning distribution (in this case, of wisdom), and Aphrodite, which is another name for Venus the Roman goddess of beauty and love. The planets themself were symbols of deception (false gods), the name planet even coming from the Greek word planos, meaning rover. It is also the root word of planetes, meaning erratic teaching; and of plane, meaning fraudulent; also planao, meaning cause to stray from safety, truth or virtue.
The idea of planets being associated with deception is the fact that they appear in the night sky as if stars. The way you can tell the difference is they move all over the sky, as opposed to the stars that don’t go astray, nor do they lead astray those using them to keep their way as they journey. These false teachers lie in wait to deceive (see Ephesians 4:14), as a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour (see 1 Peter 5:8).”)
The word translated “Sought out” in Isaiah 62:12 is the word used in Isaiah 8 when we are asked, “Should not a people ‘seek’ unto their God?”
Isaiah 8
13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will wait upon the LORD, that hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which dwells in mount Zion.
19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
The same is used in Isaiah 65:1 to telling of those who haven’t sought the LORD finding Him. We understand this by what we are told in Isaiah 62:12; it is He who has sought us out so that we were able to find Him.
Isaiah 65 goes on to tell of those who finding the LORD remain among the dead and choose to linger there eating unclean and abominable things (corrupted truth) which have caused the desolation.
Isaiah 65
1 I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.
2 I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walk in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;
3 A people that provoke me to anger continually to my face; that sacrifice in gardens, and burn incense upon altars of brick;
4 Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
5 Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than you. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burns [contention] all the day.
6 Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,
7 Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, says the LORD, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills [My high places I have caused to rise out of the earth – even this one nation under God]: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom [return to them their own works shall be their destruction].
8 Thus says the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all.
9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.
10 And Sharon [corrected to be right – straightened out] shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor [where the waters had been troubled, now become stilled] a place for the herds [My flock] to lie down in, for my people that have sought Me.
11 But you are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number [the culture (church and civil) that has rejected Me].
12 Therefore will I number you to the sword, and you shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.
13 Therefore thus says the LORD God, Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be ashamed:
14 Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but you shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.
15 And you shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the LORD God shall slay you, and call his servants by another name:
16 That he who blesses himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that swears in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.
Psalm 145
1 I will extol you, my God, O king; and I will bless your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day will I bless you; and I will praise your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall praise your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 I will speak of the glorious honor of your majesty, and of your wondrous works.
6 And men shall speak of the might of your terrible acts: and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of your great goodness, and shall sing of your righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
10 All your works shall praise you, O LORD; and your saints shall bless you.
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and talk of your power;
12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
14 The LORD upholds all that fall, and raises up all those that be bowed down.
15 The eyes of all wait upon you; and you give them their meat in due season.
16 You open your hand, and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
19 He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
20 The LORD preserves all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
