How should a leader deal with drinking? with social justice. with personal integrity. Today, on Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah reveals what wise King Solomon had to say about these issues and how we ought to conduct ourselves before those in authority.
From Powerful Principles from Proverbs, here's David to introduce today's message, Power Up the Wise. Proverbs for the powerful. And here we go again from the book of Proverbs. We're talking about wisdom, and wisdom deals with practical things. We're not high in the sky by and by.
We're here today on the subjects that we face. And one of the subjects that you heard introduced today was the subject of drinking. What does a leader do with alcohol? Interesting subject, especially in this day in which we live. We'll talk about that in just a moment as we open our Bibles to the book of Proverbs.
If you have been listening the last two or three days, you know that we have. chosen as our resource for the month of August. A redemptive history and a prophetic destiny of the nation of Israel. Why does Israel matter so much to God and why should it matter to you?
Well, in this book, we'll bring clarity to one of the most debated subjects in Scripture, what biblical insight and pastoral wisdom has to say about Israel. I want you to have this book because I think this is really an important issue. If we are not careful, we are going to be on the wrong side of Israel as a nation. And you see it happening if you're not careful. Anti-Semitism is on the rise in our nation in a way none of us could have imagined.
Let's be clear as Christians about what the Bible says and how we should stand for this nation. That God brought into existence. I was seven years old when this nation became a nation, and I've lived throughout the entire time of Israel's current Nationhood. And I want you to know what I've learned from the Bible about this subject. Ask for your copy of God's Heart for Israel when you send your gift to Turning Point today.
Here's today's edition of Turning Point from the Word of God. Open your heart to receive it. Let's begin. I want to tell you about Some guidelines from the book of Proverbs that we need to be aware of. Because this book is so filled with truth, and it touches us in every part of our life.
If we ignore the truth in this book, we will Be diminished in our effectiveness, and we will be sorry when we look back on our life. The book of Proverbs differs from any other book in the Bible. It's not history, it's not poetry, it's not rhapsody. It's not prophecy, it's not law. It's not ritual, it's not story, it's not dogma.
It is classified among the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. but it's even very different from all of the rest of the wisdom literature. For a proverb is a pithy saying that usually is unconnected from anything else in the passage where it is found. The Proverbs were designed primarily for the young. And they fall into the pattern of the teaching process where they used repetition.
to drive home truths so that people would remember them. I suppose you could think of some of the proverbs that we have in our culture today. Like A stitch in time saves nine. Or Loose lips, sink ships. I heard that one not long ago.
We're going to look at some of the proverbs for the powerful. Proverbs for those in authority and those in government. This is a viewpoint you will never hear anyplace else except right here. That God has something to say about how we govern and how we follow government and what kind of people should be in government.
Solomon's day was not much different than ours. His advice for kings is good advice for all those who seek to occupy. any place of responsibility in the government.
Now, there are three sections that we're going to look at in the Proverbs that have to do with those who govern. First of all, we're going to talk about the proper conduct of rulers and authorities. And then we're going to talk about what our response to rulers and authorities ought to be. And then we're going to talk about this from God's perspective as we look at the whole landscape together.
So let's begin with the proper conduct of rulers and authorities. And you'll be interested in some of the things that Solomon writes about when he talks about rulers and authorities. Let's just start off with one of the most controversial: rulers and wine. Proverbs 31, 4 and 5 say this: It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine. nor for princes intoxicating drink.
lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the justice of all the afflicted. Proverbs 21 adds: Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whosoever is led astray by it is not wise. And here's a very graphic passage in the book of Proverbs, chapter 23, beginning at verse 29. Who has woe? And who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaints? who has wounds without cause, who has redness of eyes. Those who linger long at the wine, those who go in search of mixed wine. And if you read the rest of that chapter, you'll discover that Those who are given to this excess.
Find the following things popping up in their lives: poverty. Misery. Immorality and instability. All of those things the proverbs say are the result. of drunkenness.
These words take away the glamour of Loose living. They remind us that a ruler has better things to do than to anesthetize himself. The Japanese have a proverb. It goes like this: First, a man takes a drink. Then a drink takes a drink, and then the drink takes the man.
So often that's what happens, not just in the political realm. But I have read that the ratio of drinking and alcoholism inside the Beltway is more than twice the average of the United States. The number of cocktail parties and the number of opportunities for drunkenness are multiplied in the fast-paced life of the political world. And the Bible simply says that a man who leads should not be a man given to strong drink. He should be a person of sobriety, a sober person.
There's a story in the book of Daniel. About a man by the name of Belshazzar. who was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. And what we read in this chapter in the book of Daniel sounds like it could be a modern-day report. It's found in the fifth chapter of Daniel.
verses one and two and then verses four through six. Follow along as I read. Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and he drank wine in the presence of the thousand. While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and the silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken. from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines might drink from them.
And they drank the wine, verse 4, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. And in the same hour, the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. And the king saw the part of the hand that wrote, And listen to what happened to him. And the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened, and his knees knocked together against each other. Even in his drunkenness, he knew something miraculous was going on when the hand wrote on the wall.
We haven't time to tell that whole story, but you know that what that hand was writing was that this was the end of his kingdom. He had taken the holy vessels that had been brought from the temple, and he had used them desecratingly. in a drunken party honoring the pagan gods. And so we should not be surprised to look down in our Bibles in the fifth chapter. Of the book of Daniel, and in verses thirty and thirty-one, and read.
that that very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. and Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty two years old.
Now, I'm not saying that everyone who gets drunk ends up like Belshazzar. But here's an illustration from the Old Testament of The abuse Of wine in the public place to the ruin and destruction of a political leader. I have no statistics nor no personal stories to tell you. I'm just telling you what the Bible says, that that has no place. in the life of someone you trust with the leadership.
of great responsibility. And while we're being controversial, I have to be very careful here. Let me talk with you for a moment about rulers and women. It says in chapter thirty-one of Proverbs and verse three. Do not give your strength to women, nor your ways to that which destroys kings.
We have read all of the stories in these past years about the philandering of some of our presidents. We have had to watch the degrading of the office of the President because of that.
Solomon was right when he said that such a lifestyle destroys a king. When we look to the Bible and we see King David violating his principles of purity in the relationship that he had with Bathsheba. What we don't often see is the chaos that this caused the nation later on in his life. David paid fourfold for his sin. And in the closing days of David's reign, when he should have been enjoying the prosperity that his wisdom had provided, he was fighting off the domestic battles of his own home because of what had happened to him in his relationship with Bathsheba.
And his son Solomon, the human writer of many of the Proverbs, demonstrated this sinful human weakness in his life. The Bible tells us in 1 Kings chapter 11, verse 1, verses 3 and 4. That he loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, and the Ammonites and the Edomites and the Sidonians and the Hittites. And he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.
For it was so when Solomon was old that his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. I can only say I say it carefully. That while some will argue that leaders do not have any responsibility to set the moral tone of the nation. or of a city. That just runs cross current with the scripture.
Leadership is. nothing more than who we are. And then what we do. I have discussions sometimes with my physicians where I go over this issue, and some of them say, it doesn't matter how you live as long as you can govern in a good way. But we know better, don't we?
Morality is important. And when we look to find people to represent us in the government process, one of the things we need to know a little bit about is what kind of people are they. Do they represent us well? And will they be good? Role models for our children as they're growing up, looking to leadership themselves.
Those are the two most controversial, probably, so you can all kind of take a deep breath now, and we'll go on with the rest of this message. Let me talk with you for a moment about rulers and wise counsel. Proverbs 15:22 says this: Without counsel, plans go awry. But in the multitude of counselors they are established. Proverbs 11:14 adds, Where there is no counsel, the people fall, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
Proverbs 24, 6 says, For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, and in a multitude of counselors there is safety. And Proverbs 20, 18 says, Plans are established by counsel. By wise counsel, wage war. We need leaders who will not act unilaterally, but will get all the counsel they can get and act wisely. How important it is when deciding upon a leader to know what kind of people he gathers around himself, what kind of people he entrusts to be his counselors.
Because through council, leadership, Is guaranteed, but when there is no counsel, we have only the wisdom of one person. And how many of you already know, as wise as you are, that sometimes you make wrong decisions? The safety comes in the multiplication of counselors who understand the truth. Let's talk for a minute about rulers and the weak and the poor. This is a very interesting proverb.
Proverbs 28:15 says, As a roaring lion and a raging bear, so is a wicked ruler over the poor people. And 29, 14 says, The king who judges the poor with truth. His throne will be established forever. I think we ought to ask some questions about our leaders. How do they deal with the poor?
How do they care for those who are not as fortunate as we may be? That's a good little checkpoint, according to the book of Proverbs. How does the king deal with those who are poor? Let's talk about rulers and wickedness. This also comes from the book of Proverbs, chapter 11, verses 10 and 11.
When it goes well with the righteous, The city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there is jubilation. By the blessing of the upright, the city is exalted. but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked. Proverbs 20 and verse 8 says, A king who sits on the throne of judgment scatters all evil with his eyes. Get that picture clearly.
That a righteous king can scatter evil by his very presence, by his persona, by his very eyes can he scatter evil. There is no more powerful tool in the hand of Almighty God than a righteous man who is doing the right thing. The Bible says that a ruler who is righteous can have an impact on his culture. Proverbs 25, verse 5 says, Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne will be established. in righteousness.
Let's talk for a moment about rulers and integrity.
Now we're getting back into the controversial again. 17:7 says it this way: Excellent speech is not becoming to a fool. much less lying lips to a prince. 29, 4 says, The king establishes the land by justice, but he who receives bribes overthrows it. 29, 12 says, If a ruler pays attention to lies, all of his servants become wicked.
If ever there was a need for credibility and integrity in government, it's today. Thomas Jefferson once said, the whole art of government consists in being honest. And it's sad to say that this has been so violated over the years that honesty and political involvement almost seem like. Antonyms. almost seem like opposite.
Almost seems like to talk about somebody who is in the political realm and is honest. Is hard to understand and hard to explain. I'm happy to say that there are many in our own government. Who deal with issues honestly, but it is one of the most important ingredients for a leader. In the world of business, in the world of government, and in the world of sports, whatever world you're looking at, if you can find somebody who is honest.
I've told people, if you can start with the truth, you've got some place to go. But if you can't start with the truth, you've got no place to go.
So honesty and integrity is very important. When we look at our culture today, it's so interesting because we even have words that defy this. Who can put a spin on what happened? Who can embellish it to such a degree that it's favorable to the person they represent? Why not let us just let it be?
Let your yay be yay and your nay be nay. Why do we have to spin it? And you know, it's not just in the political realm. Pastors and preachers and evangelists have been known to exaggerate sometimes when they talk about statistics. We have to be real careful we don't do that.
I remember hearing about two pastors who were talking to one another, and they were trying to. explain this and one guy said if I lie about my statistics And you know that I'm lying about my statistics. And I know that you know that I'm lying about my statistics, isn't that like telling the truth? I don't think so. I don't think so.
Honesty is discarded in our present age, isn't it? pushed away like it was unimportant. People lie about the age of their children in order to get them by on half fare. High schools and colleges have to set up special programs to deal with the cheating factor. We have government by deceit, business by fraud, education by deception.
And we're learning that a person who will lie in one instance cannot be trusted in another. There is never an excuse for deception. Honesty is always the best way. And for a Christian leader, for someone in government, honesty is not only the best policy, it's the only policy.
So, those are just a few little things from the book of Proverbs for us to look at when we think about: now, who do I want representing me in the government? But this is not a one-edged sword, this is a double-edged sword, because the Proverbs also tell us how we're to respond. Not just how the rulers are to respond. We talk about that, but what are we to do? How are we to act?
Let's talk about when we deal with authorities, what should our response be? And first of all, we should be truthful. It says in Proverbs 16:13, that righteous lips are the delight of the king. And they love him who speaks what is right.
Now, you probably wonder: how do I ever speak to the king? How do I ever speak to the government? You speak. With your taxes, don't you? You speak with how you deal honestly with the things that have been entrusted to you.
Ray Stedman, who is now with the Lord but was a wonderful pastor here on the West Coast for many years, confessed that he often struggled with the issue of taxes. He said, you have a right, of course, as everyone else does, to protest injustice and to correct abuse. But don't be forever grumbling about the taxes you have to pay. I've had to learn some lessons on this myself. He said the first time I had to pay income tax was when he was first starting in the ministry, and he said his income was so low for such a long time he didn't have to pay any taxes.
But gradually it caught up and he had to pay. And he said, I remember how I resented it. In fact, when I sent my tax form in, I addressed it to the Infernal Revenue Service. He said they never answered, but they cashed my check. The next year I addressed it to the Eternal Revenue Service.
But he said, I've repented from all those sins, and now I hope to pay my taxes cheerfully. The United States government has what they call a conscience fund for people who want to pay their debts to the government and remain anonymous.
Some city governments have a similar fund. And I read recently about a city that had investigated some tax frauds and announced that several citizens were going to be indicted. They did not release the names of the citizens, but that week a number of people visited the city hall to straighten out their taxes, and more than half of them were not on the indictment list.
So just a little bit of conscience and things get straightened out. We're to be truthful. As citizens, we're to be respectful. I need to talk about this for just a moment because I think sometimes as Christians we violate this. We violate it because we're not in favor of the people who are over us in government.
Please remember that these words were not written, they do not always apply. To peaceful government. We're to be respectful of our rulers because of the office. 24, 21 and 22 says, My son, fear the Lord and the king. Do not associate with those given to change, for their calamity will rise suddenly, and who knows the ruin these two can bring.
16, 15 says, In the light of the king's face is life. and his favour like a cloud of the latter rain. Justin Martyr lived in a time of great persecution. Between 100 and 165. And the government was very corrupt.
And one time he wrote, In an open letter to those in authority over him, these words: an open letter to the government. Listen to what he said. Everywhere we, more readily than all men, endeavor to pay to those appointed by you the taxes. both ordinary and extraordinary as we have been taught by Jesus. We worship only God.
But in other things we will gladly serve you, acknowledging you as kings and rulers of men, and praying that with your kingly power you may be found to possess also sound judgment. An open letter to the government. That ought to be the spirit of every Christian. Rather than railing, and we go through our list of jokes and all the things that we do to ridicule those who are in authority. We ought to find the common ground where we can obey in absolute submission and respect.
And declare our allegiance and our loyalty to the government because Christians have throughout history been known to be the best citizens in any culture. were to be patient. says the word of God. 25, 15 says, By long forbearance a ruler is persuaded, and a gentle tongue breaks a bone.
Sometimes we try to get things changed. I'll tell you what, when you're trying to get things changed or When you're trying to get things approved, you've got to have patience. That's one of the great virtues of a Christian: to be patient. It doesn't happen overnight. You've got to wait.
You've got to be patient and gently deal with the issues that come. The Bible says that when you're dealing with the government, patience is a very important virtue. And I'll tell you one thing, you will learn it if you haven't already. One of the first things I learned when I moved to California was patience. I never stood in so many lines in my life growing up in the little village of Cedarville, Ohio, but in San Diego, you stand in line to get into restaurants, to eat in restaurants, to pay your bill in a restaurant.
It's all very interesting. And patience is a quality that the Bible speaks about a lot, and it's very important for us as we've learned today. We will continue our discussion tomorrow on powering up the wise, and I want you to be with us as we conclude this discussion from the book of Proverbs. Men and women, when you study Proverbs, you study it with a pencil and a pad, and you write down the scriptures that speak about the same things, and you collect the Proverbs together. That's what we've done in this series.
We want you to be a part of it going forward in the month of August. Hey, have a great day, and I'll see you next time right here on this good station for the next edition of Turning Point. For more information on Dr. Jeremiah's series, Powerful Principles from Proverbs, please visit our website where we also offer two free ways to help you stay connected: our monthly magazine, Turning Points, and our daily email devotional. Sign up today at davidjeremiah.org slash radio.
That's davidjeremiah.org slash radio. Or call us at 800-947-1993. Ask for your copy of David's inspiring new book, God's Heart for Israel. It's yours for a gift of any amount. You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible in the English Standard, New International and New King James Versions.
complete with notes and articles from Dr. Jeremiah's decades of study. Get all the details when you visit our website, davidjeremiah.org/slash radio. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow as we continue powerful principles from Proverbs on Turning Point with Dr.
David Jeremiah.
