Prov 7:6 [ESV] For at the window of my house I have looked out through my lattice,
Have you ever had to stand by and watch as the consequences of someone else’s decisions started to unfold, and all your worst fears for them started to come to life? When I worked as a pastor, it was unfortunately not uncommon for someone to come to me with their problems, and looking for some sort of guidance as to how to navigate a drama in their life. I would choose not to give advice, but would say something like “in my experience so far…..this is what I have seen”. Or I may reference an author who is experienced in the area of their concerns. And for certain I would have at least one scripture for their reflection. I would intentionally do all I could to equip them to make the best decision they can.
Many times people chose another path, and most times I observed the consequences of their choices. Sometimes the person would ask to meet again, and I would ask them (kindly) if they had done what we had agreed on at our first meeting. Usually the answer was an honest “no”, although sometimes the answer would be lengthy and overly complicated.
I would gently suggest they take the action we had agreed upon and then we could meet again. It did not always go down so well.
KNOWLEDGE
Wisdom looks on as we make our decisions. She is never far away, her counsel is always available, and it’s our choice as to how we deal with this. There is an unfolding picture here in Proverbs 7, and the early instructions in verses 1-6, are to help us keep our feet in the right place each day, that our heart would be full of the moral purity of God’s word, and so that would guide our decisions. Temptation is always nearby, and opportunity is not far behind.
UNDERSTANDING – Let’s pick one word from this verse to look closer at and see if that can help us gain a deeper insight into how God would love us to live?
The word for “look” in Hebrew is pronounced “saqap” and this word appears twenty-two times in the Old Testament. It is mostly used in the context of “looked down”.
This same verse in the LXX is written as “For from [the] window of her house [into the squares she leans]”
The idea of someone having a house that could overlook the busy squares of the city centre, would almost certainly be a palace. And the female personalisation, would lend itself again to the idea of wisdom being a woman.
The Greek word παρακύπτω [parakupto] appears in the New Testament and is translated as “looking intently, or stooping and looking”. Such as in Luke 24:12 [ESV] “But Peter rose and ran to the tomb, “stooping and looking in – (παρακύπτω) “, he saw the linen clothes by themselves; and he went home marvelling at what had happened.”
WISDOM – Today we get to choose to “look intently” into God’s word, and to allow that word to guide our heart, and so also our hands and feet (and eyes) today in all we do. What’s your choice today?
STRENGTHS THOUGHT: The Arranger talent can help me organise my days to make the most of the opportunities, skills, and positions that God has given me, so that I can best serve Him and others with pure intentions.
Allan’s Unauthorised Version – “for from the parapet opening of my royal palace, I have gazed down from my grated window.”
For at the window – the parapet openings
of my house – of my royal palace
I have looked out – I have looked down
through my lattice – through the grated window
PRAYER: Father, thank you for today. Help me today to consider my decisions, where I will position myself, how I will intentionally choose to guard my heart.
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