Proverbs 13:7b, Judge Not By Feeble Sense!

July 2, Proverbs 13:7b

Phil. 2:1-13; 3:3-9 “O the depth of the riches… of God” (Rm. 11:33)

Judge Not By Feeble Sense!

There is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches. This is a type of the poor-rich man. Jesus says: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. No amount of riches can buy poverty of spirit! Is not Christ Himself the Highest example of this truth? He was rich; He became poor, that we might be rich (2 Cor. 8:9)!

a. His Boundless Possessions: He was rich. Christ’s riches were infinite. Paul speaks of Christ’s unsearchable riches (Eph. 3:8). No computer can compute unsearchable riches; they are unfathomable, incomprehensible! He is “the sparkling diamond in a ring of glory” (Brooks). He put off His tiara and its jewels became the Milky Way (G. Herbert).

Ere seraphim had winged a flight,
Where brightness knew no shades of night,
Amid the grand immortal light – He was there.
Where dwell the Godhead three in One,
Whose glories pale the brightest sun,
Ere mortal time had yet begun – He was there.

b) His Matchless Poverty: He became poor. He was very God of very God – yet He left that heavenly glory to be clothed with our humanity. He took the form of a servant. He humbled Himself even to that cursed death on the Cross for rebel sinners. He was born in a stable, had no place to lay His head, was buried in a borrowed tomb! Christ is the supreme example of giving, of dying, and of loving.

Majestic sweep! Lo now I see
The Christ upon a mother’s knee
Upheld in feeble infancy – He was there.
And, oh my soul! I see Him now
A crown of thorns upon His brow;
Creation groans and wonders how He was there.
(Poem by Mrs. McKendrick)

c) His Ceaseless Purpose: …that ye through his poverty might be rich. Every Christian must now look differently at riches and poverty. “What a bubble are the world’s riches” (Bridges)! There is that makes himself poor, and yet – has great riches. Redeemed man truly sees himself as a beggar before God (Lk. 18:13), yet, in Christ, he has the deposit, the guarantee, of riches beyond compare (Eph. 1:14). Paul said he was Poor, yet [was] making many rich (2 Cor. 6:10). Every believer poor (Phil. 3:7-8), yet possessor of a glorious kingdom (Mt. 5:3; 25:34)! Praise God, I’m a child of the King!

Thought: “The making of a disciple means creating a duplicate.”

Prayer: Let this mind be in me, which was also in Christ Jesus.