October 16: OH, TO CARRY WISDOM IN THE HEART! (part 1)
Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever. Daniel 12:3
Wisdom is a virtue that is personified in the Proverbs. Those who desire “her” are silently, vividly distinguished from those who do not. The Source of all wisdom is the Lord Jesus. Spending time with Him in His word and prayer supernaturally affects a positive change in His bride as she prepares—makes herself ready—for His return (Revelation 19:7). With this change comes a boldness of knowing when to speak up in the course of each day. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).
The idea of shining for God is not new. When Moses spent time with the LORD on Mount Sinai, his face radiated with heavenly glory (see Exodus 34:30-35). Make a point to note that which he was carrying: Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him (v.29).
The chief underpinning of wisdom is utter dependance upon the Holy Spirit of God. Its beginning is in the fear—sincere reverence—of Him (see Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; 9:10). At the heart of the controversy between God and Satan is Satan’s accusation against the law of God; he claims that it is arbitrary, unnecessary, and cannot be kept. But Jesus came to cast that lawless ruler of this world out of the hearts of His beloved people (John 12:31).
Job, as one who possessed a true desire for wisdom, was blameless and upright in the eyes of the LORD (Job 1:1). Though he is a rare example, our Lord intends to demonstrate to a watching universe that He has a people at the end of earth’s history who carry the law of God with them, written on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10). When Satan came (uninvited) to the heavenly counsel, he presented himself as earth’s representative. Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8)
The context of today’s verse is immediately prior to the coming of Jesus, during the unprecedented time of trouble (Daniel 12:1). But what is God’s purpose for having His people shine after the close of probation, when all people living are fixed in their decision to follow the Lamb or the beast? The answer is found in what Moses carried down the mountain with a shining face: the Ten Commandments. Imagine our Lord saying to Satan within earshot of the watching universe: Have you considered My faithful people? There are none like them on the earth, who fear Me and shun evil! Jesus said:
“Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Matthew 13:42