DCLM Daily Manna 2025: DCLM Daily Manna 9 April 2025: The Power of Wisdom
KEY VERSE: “There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise.” – (Proverbs 30:24).
TEXT: Proverbs 30:21-33 (KJV)
For three things the earth is perturbed,
Yes, for four it cannot bear up:
22 For a servant when he reigns,
A fool when he is filled with food,
23 A hateful woman when she is married,
And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.
24 There are four things which are little on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:
25 The ants are a people not strong,
Yet they prepare their food in the summer;
26 The rock badgers are a feeble folk,
Yet they make their homes in the crags;
27 The locusts have no king,
Yet they all advance in ranks;
28 The spider skillfully grasps with its hands,
And it is in kings’ palaces.
29 There are three things which are majestic in pace,
Yes, four which are stately in walk:
30 A lion, which is mighty among beasts
And does not turn away from any;
31 A greyhound,
A male goat also,
And a king whose troops are with him.
32 If you have been foolish in exalting yourself,
Or if you have devised evil, put your hand on your mouth.
33 For as the churning of milk produces butter,
And wringing the nose produces blood,
So the forcing of wrath produces strife.
There is a famous African folktale about an animal that claimed to have mopped up all the wisdom in the world into a pouch and attempted to hide it on a palm tree where no one else could reach it. Unfortunately, it placed the pouch on its chest and repeatedly failed to climb the tree until an onlooker advised it to put the pouch on its back. It dawned on the crafty animal that, indeed, it had been unable to capture all the wisdom in the world and, therefore, abandoned its mission.
There are lessons to learn from our passage in the light of this fable. First, wisdom is paramount in human affairs and applicable to specific situations. It also enables the weak to turn their disability into strength. It is described as “the principal thing”, which (coupled with understanding) should be sought by everyone.
The little animals mentioned in our passage illustrate the application of wisdom to the challenges of life: the ants make adequate provision for the winter of scarcity; conies are weak but build safe houses that are inaccessible to predators; locusts, without a single leader, demonstrate strength in collective action, by organising themselves in incredible, irresistible swarms, and the powerless spider sneaks into highly secured places where strong human beings find difficult to enter.
Second, different forms of wisdom apply to different situations in life, as shown by the different animals in the Bible passage. Third, no single person has a monopoly of wisdom, and true wisdom is from God. We must seek it from Him with unwavering faith. Finally, wisdom is most profitable if correctly applied to pleasing God. Sinners should be wise unto salvation by repenting and trusting the Lord for mercy and forgiveness.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The wisdom from above is above worldly wisdom.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Acts 3-4
Daily Manna 9 April 2025
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