Prov 7:20 [ESV] he took a bag of money with him; at full moon he will come home.

 

In today’s world the temptation is often to isolation and loneliness. Pornography has a huge impact on the modern world’s culture every day. Many men and women are caught in the trap of illusion.

I think the Eagle’s song “Desperado” has a message for us that has some value. 

Desperado comes from the Spanish “desesperado” -“reckless – without hope”? 

Initially, the sense of loneliness (or alone-ness) is strong in the lyrics, resonating with today’s individualistic post-modern culture, where communication is completed and conducted at arm’s length. Often by people not looking at the surrounding world. Many people “exist” in remote places (not necessarily physically), rarely encountering deep, meaningful contact and discovering a type of pleasure for a time in unaccountability and anonymity. And yet the very occasions and objects they set sail to achieve through life’s prevailing storms and becalming are illusive and ethereal. The song says we want to “draw the queen of diamonds”. However, I perceive that it might be fairer to suggest  “The King of Diamonds” is a better representation of contemporary urgency, where pleasure, external possessions, appearance, and position have become the worldly gods to appease and worship.  If that’s the case then the “King of Hearts” is perhaps the other side of this facade, where in fact, the unseen and intangible are more real than we dare believe. 

Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses? You been out ridin’ fences for so long now Oh, you’re a hard one I know that you got your reasons These things that are pleasin’ you Can hurt you somehow 

Don’t you draw the queen of diamonds, boy She’ll beat you if she’s able You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet 

Now it seems to me, some fine things Have been laid upon your table But you only want the ones that you can’t get 

However that truth remains elusive and partially hidden as we scramble for every possible obtainable temporal treasure to fill our minds, our garages and lofts, and having struggled for the happiness promised we find some sort of relief in solitary contemplation, recognizing self-imposed boundaries and not noticing the open padlock on the prison gates. Hardships come in ever-increasing waves, slowly ebbing our purpose, and as we tire of the relentless pursuit of cresting, we dally longer in the troughs, and the “between times” become a place of shallow ongoing grey loneliness, where thoughts wander under the shadow of never-captured promised past fantasies and glories. If only we could stop chasing the Queen of Diamonds and instead come to the feet of the King of Hearts, if we would exchange the tangible for the intangible, the external for the internal, the temporal for the eternal, we would find our promise hidden in the reflection, even the shadow of the King of Hearts. 

Desperado, oh, you ain’t gettin’ no younger Your pain and your hunger, they’re drivin’ you home And freedom, oh freedom well, that’s just some people talkin’ Your prison is walking through this world all alone 

Don’t your feet get cold in the winter time? The sky won’t snow and the sun won’t shine It’s hard to tell the night time from the day You’re losin’ all your highs and lows Ain’t it funny how the feeling goes away? 

Desperado, why don’t you come to your senses? Come down from your fences, open the gate It may be rainin’, but there’s a rainbow above you You better let somebody love you, before it’s too late 

The Eagles are right, it’s time to let somebody love you, to stop covering over the hurts, the failings, and the pains of loss and disillusion. The King of Hearts is waiting, patiently, lovingly, without judgement, with restoration and fulfilment. He has plans for you to succeed beyond anything you can dream or imagine.

 

 

 

 

 

KNOWLEDGE – Proverbs 7:20 provides vivid details as part of a larger narrative. This verse is situated within a warning against adultery. The specificity in the verse (“He took a purse of money with him; he will not be home till full moon”) serves to highlight the opportune moment for the adulteress to seduce a naive young man. By offering a concrete timeframe, it underscores the deceptive planning involved and amplifies the urgency and danger of the temptation being described.

In essence, these details illustrate how temptations can be meticulously orchestrated, urging us as the readers to be vigilant and wise. The broader message is about the importance of our integrity and the consequences for us of falling into sinful traps.

 

 

 

 

 

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 used for “he took” in Hebrew is pronounced as “yaqah” and has the meaning “to become insolent, have audacity.”

The LXX translates Prov 7:20 as “a bundle of silver taking in his hands; for only after many days will he come back to his house.”

The word for took in the LXX is λαβών (labon) and this word appears 261 times in the New Testament. One good example is Matt 8:17 “this was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah; He took (ἔλαβεν – elaben) our illnesses and bore our diseases. So there was a very deliberateness implied in the word – a sense of being very accurate and very certain.

 

WISDOM  – By the time the women in scripture is providing these details the young man in question has already made several poor choices. It’s good to consider our choices each day – every choice we make has a consequence, some will help us and some will hinder us.

 

STRENGTHS THOUGHT: Activator as a Strength is brilliant at making things happen. People with this talent bring huge energy and drive to the start of something new, they are all in, to get some momentum going. Beware of impatience and its’ fruit though.

 

Allan’s Unauthorised Version – he has audacity and a pouch of silver in his hands; at the full moon he will bring himself back to the family.

 

He took – he has audacity

a bag of money – and a pouch of silver

with him – in his hands

at full moon – at the full moon

he will come home – he will bring himself back to the family

 

PRAYER: Father, thank you for today. Help me to not be drawn into another’s plans when they are not for my good and not part of your plans.

 

 

To chat to me as a professional coach/mentor – allan@theallankey.com

 

 

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