READING FOR AUGUST 14, 2025: PROVERBS 23, LUKE 8, PSALM 80:14-19                   PROVERBS 23 Back in Proverbs 13: 21 Solomon stated, “The righteous will be rewarded with pros- perity.” Now it seems he cautions against wealth acquisition: “Do not weary yourself to gain wealth; stop dwelling on it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens” (vs. 4-5).  Reading scripture takes effort as well as the guidance of the Holy Spirit. One aspect of scripture is that it often makes fine distinctions that are dis- cerned by close reading with attention given to the context, sometimes a much larger context.

Remember that God gave Solomon wealth because he did not seek it: “God said to Solomon, ‘Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth... therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth’” (1 Chron. 1:11-12). Solomon stresses our priority should be righteousness. Wealth may also result. But once we focus on it, we are not necessarily right-     eous any longer and wealth can go away. Jesus also takes the much larger eternal perspective toward wealth: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;  for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19-21).

Another major theme in this chapter that has also been addressed before is the parent-child relationship. In this case, the child seems to be an adult with children of his own. Does that mean that parents should still have an influence on adult children? That seems to be what Solomon says. Assuming that is the case, what advice should parents offer an adult child? 

• Don’t fail to discipline young children; to fail to do so could lead to their death (vs. 13-14).
• Keep seeking wisdom throughout life; this will make the parents joyful (vs. 15). 
• Don’t envy sinners; always place your faith in God (vs. 17).
• Avoid drunkenness and overeating; it will lead to poverty (vs. 20-21).
• Don’t forget about your older parents; they still have words of importance (vs. 22).
• Follow the elder’s example and don’t have an affair; it’s like falling into a deep pit (vs, 27-28).

Does this go against today’s conventional wisdom, which seems to stress just listening to children without comment? We have an important choice to make. At the risk of being melodramatic, consider Joshua’s statement: “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served, which were beyond the Euphrates River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15). 

READING FOR AUGUST 14, 2025 CONTINUED: LUKE 8, PSALM 80:14-19                                 LUKE 8 Jesus went on a preaching tour accompanied by His official “twelve.” Also on the tour were women whom He had healed and women financing His ministry. Both women and men were certainly involved, although apparently in different ways. It so interesting that a discussion about parables came up in between Jesus’s presentation of the Parable of the Sower and His explanation of it. Ken Boa beautifully summarizes Jesus’s reasoning: “Some of the parables were designed to reveal mysteries to those on the inside and to conceal the truth to those on the outside.” Thus, only one kind of soil embraced the word with faith, as did the disciples; for three other kinds of soil the truth was concealed.  Our job as sowers is to be loving and obedient in sharing the word. We can’t control how it’s received. Are we sowing?  

The parable of the lamp under a basket in Matthew is tied to the Beatitudes, suggesting that living out the Beatitudes shines a light to the world. Here it is closely connected to being to being productive soil, even mentioning to “take care how you listen.”  CONTEXT IS KING. Talking about good soil, it appears that at this time Jesus’s mother and brothers were not yet believers. If so, this seems to contradict the Catholic doctrine of Mary’s lifelong perfection. 

Miracles in Luke 8:  

• The disciples were in the boat with Jesus during a storm and thought they were perishing. They obviously had not read John 3:16 yet: “Everyone who believes in Him will not perish”
• The people of Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave because they feared change. The demon-possessed man proclaimed the great change that Jesus made in him. We can either choose his way or the people’s. 
•  A Jewish leader with a dying daughter and a chronically ill woman both fell at Jesus’s feet. No matter our place in life, all must fall at His feet in humble faith. Often personal crises can help bring us there.

PSALM 80:14-19 Certainly Asaph’s intent is asking for God’s deliverance for Israel and its current king. Yet, there are some allusions to Jesus that are hard not to catch. Let’s see how these themes might intertwine. Asaph is appealing to God’s strength and authority: God of armies. He suggests that we can appeal to certain attributes of God based upon our needs. If we need guidance for a decision, we can appeal to the God of all knowledge and wisdom. If we need emotional support, the God of love. Asaph’s poet description of Israel as a vine planted by His right hand, points to God’s loving and intentional work in establishing Israel as His people: “For the vineyard of the Lord of armies is the house of Israel” (Isa.5:7). Verse 16 states the real cause of Israel’s present problem is God’s rebuke. Asaph’s request is for God to strengthen the man of God’s right hand, the son of man. Given his urgency, Asaph likely wasn’t looking centuries ahead. Consider, though, how Jesus speaks about Himself: “But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” Luke 22:69. Only Jesus can deliverer humanity from sin and evil. Let’s look to Him and be saved.