Day 66

Numbers 8:1–9:23; Mark 13:14-37; Psalm 50:1-23; Proverbs 10:29-30

IN OUR READING from Numbers today, we experienced the one-year anniversary of the children of Israel’s liberation from Egypt with the celebration of their first Passover as free people.

In Proverbs, we learned that “the way of the LORD is a stronghold to those with integrity, but it destroys the wicked” (Proverbs 10:29). We gravitate to verses like these because they bring great encouragement. But this is a pretty stark statement from the voice of Wisdom. The way of the Lord will indeed be a stronghold if we have integrity, but the way of the Lord will also destroy the wicked.

This typically seems fine and good, because we usually consider ourselves on the positive side of the equation. But are we? God’s purpose in the world is to heal and restore it, bringing humanity back into relationship with Himself. Part of that restoration is the abolition of wickedness and deception in every form, for it cannot coexist with the righteousness of God, and it goes against all we were created to be. Wickedness is counter to redemption.

“The godly will never be disturbed, but the wicked will be removed from the land,” the proverb reiterates (Proverbs 10:30). If these words immediately take us into our political views or make us cast judgment against another person, we must look a little deeper into our own hearts, because we’re wandering into wicked territory.

When we elevate ourselves to the position of cosmic judgment apart from God, we are denying the way of the Lord. This will destroy us in the end. If we want to live a life knowing that God is our stronghold and that we will not be disturbed, then we must take responsibility for our personal integrity —and not everyone else’s. This is Wisdom’s counsel and path.

MEDITATION:

The LORD, the Mighty One, is God, and he has spoken; he has summoned all humanity from where the sun rises to where it sets.