Prov 7:26 [ESV] for many a victim has she laid low, all her slain are a mighty throng.
I know this is a silly example, but for me temptation is in the pantry at 9pm when I am binge watching a great series on a streaming service. I have had a fantastic day – fresh pink grapefruit for breakfast, a masala chai mid-morning, three litres of water with fresh lemon throughout the day. Dinner is salmon with a salad of tomato, cucumber, onion, capsicum, and some mango and a touch of feta.
After dinner I may have a no-sugar ice-lolly, and a can of sugar free soda.
And then around 8.30 or 9pm, things take a turn. Pop-corn is calling to me from inside the closed pantry door. Potato chips joining in the muffled chorus, as do the choccy-biscuits. All calling to be set free.
It’s my duty to help them fulfill their destiny, surely that can’t be wrong.
I have high Responsibility and Achiever in my Gallup Strengths – so if I set myself some written goals in the form of a task list to be achiever, then I become goal orientated. No goal – no orientation. My main goal though, is to hear from God and walk in his ways. Still plenty of room to grow in that.
KNOWLEDGE There are temptations that are common to all men (and women). They have a purpose of taking us to one end only. Many people (multitudes) have thought they were strong enough and wise enough to navigate the path that leads us away. And the bible tells us here plainly, rather starkly, that countless people have wandered away from God and their end has been devastating. Temptation starts as a thought, and that’s where the battle of the mind comes in. The bible is clear that we need to “renew our mind” in Romans 12:2; 2 Corinth 4:16; Psalm 51:10 and 2 Corinth 5:17. The responsibility is with us, the power is with Jesus.
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 in Hebrew for “victim” is pronounced “halal” and carries the meaning of dead, slain, and casualty.
The LXX reads as “For in piercing many she has thrown down, and innumerable are whom she has murdered.”
The word for piercing in Greek is τρώσασα trosasa – and this is unique to the Old Testament.
WISDOM – What, in this world, truly has the greatest influence on how I lead my life. What would an audit of my life reveal?
STRENGTHS THOUGHT: The Gallup Strength of Command has the ability to influence situations, and to take control, especially in a crisis. On the flip side they can be domineering and bossy, forcing people into situations that are not the best.
Allan’s Unauthorised Version –there are abundant casualties that she has caused to fall, and those slaughtered were powerful and strong.
For many a victim – there are abundant casualties
has she laid low – that she has caused to fall
and all her slain – and those slaughtered
are a mighty throng – were powerful and strong
PRAYER: Father, thank you for today. Help me once again to stay on the path you have guided me onto, and to have discernment for those things of people that would take me off your path.
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