“Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.” (Proverbs 27:23)
It’s thought that Solomon wrote Proverbs 27. He wrote a total of 3,000 proverbs. (1Kings 4:32) King Solomon asked for wisdom and God granted his petition and gave him also riches and honor. (1Kings 3:12-13) Solomon was wiser than any man living at the time. People from all over the known world would come to hear the wisdom that Solomon had. (1Kings 4:34)
Proverbs 27:23 above seems like a fairly simple command. A wise merchant, rancher or owner of any business has inventory often and scheduled, some yearly, others more often, depending on the business. This inventory will reveal the success or failure of the business. It will disclose weaknesses and strengths of the business. It will let the business owner know what changes he may need to make in order to succeed. Even every family has one, either the husband or the wife, who will shore up the family’s financial situation monthly, reconciling their account with the money in the bank. These practices are wise practices that keep one’s business or financial situation in a healthy state.
Now, the majority of us are not merchants nor business owners and may or may not be in charge of the financial situation of our families. But there is a very important part of our lives we must know the “state of” and need to “look well into.” And that is our spiritual life. We need to know the “state” of our spiritual lives and “look well” to it. It’s called a self-examination. We cannot continue doing what we’re doing day in day out and think that as long as we’ve checked off the required things to do, our spiritual life is fine. Our spiritual life doesn’t consist of do’s and don’ts. It’s a relationship with our God, our Lord.
Our relationship with the Lord God is a relationship that should be always changing. The Lord is not stagnant in anything. It’s true that He doesn’t change. His character is non-changing. His Word doesn’t change. What He said He will do will not change. His commandments do not change. His standard doesn’t change. But His revelation of Who He is changes because we don’t know everything about Him. And as we grow closer and in the knowledge of Who He is, our perception of Who He is changes. Our relationship with Him changes.
We can see it throughout the Bible as God reveals Himself to us. In Genesis 1:1, God is revealed as Elohim, God Creator, Mighty and Strong. In Genesis 22:14 God reveals Himself to Abraham as God Who Provides, Jehovah Jireh, when He provides the ram for the sacrifice instead of Isaac. In Exodus 15:26 God reveals Himself as the God Who heals, Jehovah Rapha, when He promises to keep the Israelites healthy from all the diseases of Egypt. And when Moses defeated Amalek, God reveals Himself as Jehovah Nissi, the Lord Our Banner in Exodus 17:15.
And just as the Lord continues revealing Himself throughout the Bible, He reveals Himself to us personally in the victories of our lives through illnesses and struggles within ourselves and with others, difficulties in our finances and in our relationships. As we trust the Lord and rely on Him, He reveals Himself to us as Savior, Provider, Healer, Mighty, Comfort, Peace etc... As we draw nearer to Him, He reveals Himself as Father, Friend, Helper and Counselor. And He continues to reveal Himself throughout our lives just as He continues to reveal Himself throughout eternity. And all of heaven glorifies Him continually as He reveals more of Himself. (Revelation 4:8-11)
Is our relationship with the Lord a continuing revelation of Who God is in our lives? We don’t have to wait a week, a month or a year to do a self-examination of our relationship with the Lord. We can do it daily, nightly as we review our day, our words, our actions. Did I depend on the Lord or my limited knowledge and strength today? Were my words in line with the Word of God, full of faith and trust in the Lord or did I betray myself and my Lord and God by speaking unscriptural words of doubt and unbelief? Did I exhibit the love and affection of my Lord even when others rejected me, wounded me or hurt me? Did I serve others as Jesus served me or did I only serve myself? Did I give the Lord praise and glory in all things, even in the difficult times? Review how the Lord revealed Himself throughout that day. And so, we “look well” to the “state” of our spiritual walk daily, nightly.
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