Lord’s Day, Vol. 8 No. 41
What a Day May Bring Forth
Proverbs 27:1 Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
We are taught by Solomon to walk humbly with God, trusting Him in His guidance, waiting upon His providence, surrendering to His holy will. Man’s lofty plans for the future conceived from present state of strength needs to be qualified first by divine approval.
(1) Boast Not (v1a)
– Boast not thyself of tomorrow;
“To boast” is “to indulge in self-glory”. Such boasting is ungodly. It is to plan without God in the equation. There is a sense of presumptuousness in such boasting. It is reflexive verb, describing a misplaced sense of self-confidence. The negative “not” signifies an urgent emotive appeal to rid our hearts of such prideful boasting.
Our Lord Jesus illustrated this truth well in a parable recorded in Luke 12:16-21 – “The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
When one’s sufficiency and confidence is not in God but in self and one’s possessions, such a one is liable to be sorely disappointed. The rich man in Jesus’ parable faced the judgment of God in death and his treasured worldly goods were left behind and as it were snatched away from him.
The Christian writer S.D. Gordon said well, “In every man’s life there is a throne. And when self is on the throne, Christ is on the cross. But when Christ is on the throne, self is on the cross.”
We are exhorted to rid our hearts of every idol and let our hearts be in Christ.
(2) Thou Knowest Not (v1b)
– for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
It is not in us to determine the outcome of each day but it is for God to order. As such, we are taught to wisely commit our lives to His care and comfort. James explains well in James 4:13-16 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
The adverb “now” in the opening statement “go to now” conveys a sense of urgency, a great burden to be discharged for God’s people from the Lord. Our life is but a vapour, transient and transitory. As such, we are told not to rejoice in our boasting in the times of our strength for it is evil! James says, “You will face disappointment with such a mindset, with such a willful way of life.”
I recall the headlines news on 30 December 2013 entitled “NUS student dies on Kelantan camp trip” – “A camping trip in Kelantan for a group of students ended in death for one of them on Saturday.” This 23-year old student is believed to have slipped and fallen into a ravine next to the Mount Stong waterfall, where he and his friends had camped for the night. Mount Stong is known for its mountainous terrain and breathtaking views of one of Malaysia’s highest waterfalls. It was reported in The Straits Times, “He was standing on a cliff to admire the sunset but could have lost his footing on slippery rocks at the campsite called Kem Baha which is located atop the waterfall.” The student’s parents arrived on Sunday afternoon to claim the body. Imagine the anguish in the hearts of his parents. Indeed, this group of 23 students did make plans but their plans were cut-short with the death of their friend. When we read and hear of such news we must acknowledge that James is right when he said in verse 14, “what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” It causes us to think and reflect on life. We do not know if this 23-year old student is a believer. If he is not, this soul is lost forever. But if he is a believer, he is safe in the arms of Jesus. The Bible tells us that either we are secured by faith in Christ or we are lost. This is the crux of the matter. You either know for certain that when you die, you will be with God or you are not! This is simply a true statement that you won’t hear outside the church.
Jesus calls out to us, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) And Jesus lovingly instructs us after our spiritual rebirth, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).Let us yield to Christ and do His bidding for He is returning soon to reward His servants. Amen.
Yours lovingly,
Pastor Lek Aik Wee