Delight of the Lord
Proverbs • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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There are two expressions that highlight the approval of God: “delights in” and something that brings about His “favor”.
Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.
Two things are identified here that will find a person favor with both God and with man: steadfast love and faithfulness.
The steadfast love mentioned here is the Hebrew word “hesed” with always refers to the covenant that God has with His people that results in action. In this case, there are some translations that mention this as “mercy” which is fitting, although it is not the typical translation of “hesed”. With both steadfast love and faithfulness, these are actions we ought to put on display before both God and man because they are attributes of the Lord Himself. Because they are characteristics of our heavenly Father, we ought to put them on display like a person would display a beautiful diamond necklace given to them by a parent. (Deuteronomy 6).
The results are favor by the Lord but good success is also mentioned here. The idea here is that there is good reputation for the person who refuses to allow steadfast love and faithfulness forsake them.
For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord,
A speech of Lady Wisdom. The person who seeks wisdom finds life as well as favor of the Lord. The life that is found is both quality of life here on earth as well as eternal life, which is within the favor of the Lord.
To find something most often means that you are searching for it. Though there are moments where we find things by accident from time to time. We ought to set out each day seeking wisdom.
A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.
The honesty that we have when dealing with others is important to the Lord. It is vital that we are fair and aboveboard when we deal with other people in every situation. Because we have been partnered with the Lord in life, it reflects well on Him when we conduct ourselves in such a way of honesty.
Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those of blameless ways are his delight.
To be blameless is to have consistent conduct that is pure both in intention as well as never has any sort of deceit with others. This aligns with the sort of honesty mentioned in Proverbs 11:1.
A good man obtains favor from the Lord, but a man of evil devices he condemns.
A good man is the opposite of the man of evil. This is broad just like the description of a person who is blameless. This is the sort of conduct that starts in a person’s heart and then is portrayed in their actions.
Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.
This sort of faithfulness is the exact opposite of a person who lies or is deceitful. To be truthful is to be faithful to the Lord and is something that He delights in.
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.
The ESV translates the word used as delight elsewhere as something that is acceptable to the Lord. The praying person is delightful to God. It puts on the idea that a person who trusts in God will spend time often praying. In comparison to the one who is wicked and sacrifices, the heart of the one who prays has a genuine desire to worship God and praise Him. Prayer is an expression that we have a great need for God.
He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.
We are first reminded of the intention that God had when He created the institution of marriage in the first place. “It is not good for man to be alone” was stated in Genesis about Adam and so “a helper fit for him” was created from his rib.
The idea here is that the Lord finds favor in marriages between two people who have committed themselves to one another for their entire lives. It is not enough to find a wife but rather to find a good mate for life.
