Proverbs 17:1 (KJV) Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.

God Does Not Want You RELIGIOUS,
But RIGHTEOUS, In Line With His Word

When I read this scripture, my mind immediately went to the current state of the news – particularly in the political world. Can you remember the last time that you heard any good news? If it’s on the news, they have a saying: “If it bleeds, it leads”. The devil loves to emphasize the divisive, to tear apart. Who was it in the Garden of Eden who introduced strife? It was the serpent, Satan (Revelation 12:9; 20:2).

It is Satan’s intent to separate us from the good things of God, by separating us from God Himself.

This is what Satan did in the Garden of Eden. He questioned the clear Word of God. “Has God really said you shall not eat of every tree in the Garden”? (Genesis 3:1). The implication was that God was establishing a parameter that would rob us of our joy, that God was limiting our happiness. Satan’s ploy was to draw our attention from God, to ourselves. “You will only be happy when you please yourself, when you do that which satisfies you above your neighbor”.

This is what brings destruction. Back to our proverbs:

Proverbs 17:1 (KJV) BETTER is a dry morsel

Word Study: The word translated “BETTER” is the Hebrew ṭôḇ (pro. Tobe). This word is first used in the Bible during the days of creation. As God created day by day, that which God made He decreed it was ṭôḇ, meaning “the best, much improved, or much better”. When God made the LIGHT, He said “ṭôḇ” (Genesis 1:4). When God separated the earth from the sea, it was “ṭôḇ” (Genesis 1:10). At each step of creation, God took the broken and made it whole. In each step God declared “this is ṭôḇ, BETTER”. When God crowned His creation by making:

Genesis 1:27 (KJV) man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.

As God gave Adam direction through His Word to “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion” (Genesis 1:28), God stood back and looked at what He had done. God said of the creation – united with Light, unified by His Word, that it was “mᵊ’ōḏ ṭôḇ” or “extremely GOOD”.

What made Paradise a paradise? Man was in union with God, following the Word of God, and man was in union with his God given family.

Proverbs 17:1 Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith

It is better to have a “DRY MORSEL” and the peace that comes with union with God. Pastor John Gill writes in his commentary:

“A small quantity of bread; a broken piece of bread, as the word signifies; which has been long broken off, and become “dry”; a dry crust of bread; old bread, as the Arabic version; an old, moldy, dry piece of bread: and the word used has the signification of destruction in it: bread that has lost its taste and virtue; or, however, a mere piece of bread is meant, without anything to eat with it, as … butter, cheese, or flesh: this, with quietness and peace among those that partake of it, peace in the family, in a man’s own mind, especially if he has the peace of God, which passeth all understanding; this is better than a house full of sacrifices [with] strife”

In America and in modern consumer driven Christianity we are taught that “God wants to give us whatever satisfies us”. But this is not truth. God does not want to give us full bank accounts, riches and lands. God wants His people to find contentment in His presence, in His love, not in material things. In 1 Timothy Chapter 6 the Apostle directs servants to honor their masters – especially if their masters are believers in Christ (verses 1-2). The servant was not to rise up and demand his “just desserts”, but to “count their masters worthy of all honor, that the Name of God and His doctrine be not blasphemed”.

Illustrate: I was watching a video the other day where a young woman was complaining how her boss was “racist and misogynistic” because he required that she groom herself a certain way on the job. The interviewer asked her, “When you interviewed for the job, were you told that there were standards of dress and grooming?” She said, “Yes, but I don’t think it applies to me”. But there are standards. We have been told in the Church that God wants to give us our own way. This is not true. We are as believers to be focused on God’s glory, and on God’s standard, not on our wants and desires. The Apostle told Timothy of those who do not adhere to godliness are:

1 Timothy 6:4-6 (KJV) proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, 5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

God does not promise us material riches, but “riches of His Grace” (Ephesians 1:7; 2:7). We are promised “riches in Christ” (Ephesians 3:8).

American consumer Christianity has taught us that God is a cosmic Genie, granting our every wish. But the Bible says that the greatest thing we have is the Presence of God in our lives. We are told:

Hebrews 13:5-6 (ESV) Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Proverbs 17:1 Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of SACRIFICES with strife.

Word Study: The word “SACRIFICES” is the Hebrew zeḇaḥ, which refers to a religious ritual where an animal is slain to the Lord, then that animal is eaten at the command of God. When God established the Feast of the Passover the night that Israel was freed from Egypt (Exodus 12:27), the families of those being saved were to take a lamb and kill it, and put its blood on the portal of the home. The Bible said that:

Exodus 12:23 … the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

The lamb was to be eaten “not raw, nor boiled in water, but roasted with fire[symbolizing the judgment of God poured out on the lamb]” (Exodus 12:9). The lamb symbolized the Lord Jesus Christ Who would one day come, “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The slaying and eating of the Lamb unified Israel, and marked her as God’s Chosen People, distinctly separate from the world that was Egypt. To have a

an house full of SACRIFICES with STRIFE

is an anomaly.

Where God is, there is peace among His people, though they will be at war with Egypt.

In 1 Corinthians the Apostle chastises the believers of that Church (1 Corinthians 11:17-34). The Old Testament Feast of the Passover is fulfilled in the New Testament Communion of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:16), also called ‘the Lord’s Supper’ (1 Corinthians 11:20) and ‘the Lord’s Table” (1 Corinthians 10:21). The Corinthians misused the Lord’s Table, the Passover, and turned it into a riotous feast of “me above others”, where strife and partisanship dominated. When they did this the death angel did not “pass over” them, but began to sicken and kill believers (1 Corinthians 11:30). This proverbs, as well as all of Scripture, teaches us that God does not want us to be RELIGIOUS. He wants us to be RIGHTEOUS, in line with His Word. When we are all in line with His Word, then we will be in one accord with one another, loving and caring for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Faith is to be lived out in love and unity – not with the world, but with God.

Illustrate: Here’s something you’ll not hear on the network news. Breakpoint Daily recently reported on the repair efforts that are ongoing in Appalachia following last year’s Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. The News channels have reported how the Democrat and Republicans have finger pointed how the people in that devastated area received so little help from the government. There was over $200 billion in damage, and 230 people killed. Who did the most good in North Carolina? The State Government, the Republicans or the Democrats?

It was the Amish.

Breakpoint reported, “Somebody did show up, though. Over the last six months, over 2,000 volunteers from the Pennsylvania Amish community have been rebuilding homes and structures in places like Chimney Rock. Known for their ability to build a barn in a day and move a barn by hand, these faithful men and women are putting their considerable skills to work on behalf of another community. The Amish volunteers weren’t sent by the government, nor did they wait for government approval. They clearly weren’t there to curry political favor, as others were.

Their response to those in need comes from their way of looking at the world. First, the Amish believe that when someone is in need, that is a calling to help. Second, the Amish believe that a community, not a government, is best positioned to help. … the Amish also believe that faith is to be practiced not merely held.”

God Calls His Children To Obedience,
For In Obedience Is Safety

Proverbs 17:2 A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren.

In the ancient world obedience to the Head of the family was more cherished than physical blood ties. What destroyed the Roman Empire – which lasted around 1480 years – was when the values of discipline and civic duty were replaced with corruption and despotic leaders. This is the downfall of any empire or government. When a government departs from the way of truth and the Word of God, then it heads toward destruction. Rome had horrible, godless leaders like Caligula, who killed citizens on his whim, and made himself to be a god. Then there was Nero, who killed his mother so he could remarry. Nero kicked his second wife to death. His third wife was a slave that he castrated, a male that he renamed with a woman’s name. There were many other examples of poor leadership, godless men who gained power through blood lines.

They cared nothing for Rome, but for themselves and their power. Their selfishness destroyed a great empire.

In Daniel chapters 4-5 we see the fall of the great Empire of Babylon. Babylon lasted around 1460 years – almost as long as Rome – and faced failure because of poor leadership. In Daniel chapter 4 Nebuchadnezzar glorified himself saying:

Daniel 4:30 … Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?

At that point God caused Nebuchadnezzar to become like a wild ox until he honored the Lord. When Nebuchadnezzar:

Daniel 4:34-35 lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: 35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

Honoring God and His Word, Nebuchadnezzar regained his mentality and his kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar “praised and extolled and honored the King of Heaven, all whose works are TRUTH and His ways judgment” (Daniel 4:37). The Babylonian Empire would have continued had his son Belshazzar honored God. Rather than honor the Lord, Belshazzar had a beer party and used the gold and silver services that his father had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem (Daniel 5:2). That very night Babylon was invaded and destroyed by “Darius the Median General” (Daniel 5:31), just as God foretold by His “handwriting on the wall”.

Any nation, any community, and Church, any family that departs from the Word of God can expect similar destruction. The Bible says of Christ:

Colossians 1:15-18 (KJV) {Jesus Christ} is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: [16] For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: [17] And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. [18] And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might have the preeminence.

The servant who honors the Head is much more cherished than the disobedient son. “A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame”. We who are saved are “sons of God by faith in Christ” (John 1:12; Galatians 3:26), but we are “servants of God as citizens of His Kingdom” (Romans 8:14; Philippians 2:15).

The saved are to serve!

God Fine Tunes His People Through Trials

Proverbs 17:3 The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the Lord trieth the hearts.

There is no great man or woman of God who has not been through great afflictions. The value of your faith, and your growth into Christ likeness, comes only through trials. Satan has numerous wolves in pulpits who will tell you that any trial or any suffering is from Satan, not from God. Yet this is not what Jesus taught.

Illustrate: In my back yard is a grape vine – a huge grape vine. I got the cuttings from Jimmy Aslinger years ago, planted them, and periodically I trim the vine. I do not tend the vine, but let it grow wild on my fence, providing a privacy hedge. This vine never grows fruit – it has never produced even one edible grape. Why? Because I let it grow wild. I never prune it. Leaving it alone, the vine grows like mad, making leaf after leaf. But since its so invested in itself, it never – never – grows fruit.

That’s not the vine’s fault, but mine. I never prune it.

In John 15 Jesus spoke of the Christian standard way of life. Jesus said:

John 15:1-2 (AP)I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Gardener. EVERY BRANCH IN ME THAT DOES NOT BEAR FRUIT, My Father takes it away – He CUTS IT OFF. Every branch that BEARS FRUIT, the Father PRUNES it so it will BEAR MORE FRUIT.

God wants His people, saved by Grace, to be fruit bearing. When we become self centered, much like my grape vine, the Father Who is a Great Gardener “cuts us off”. If we love our bank account more than Jesus, He may cause us to lose funds. If we love our children more than we love Jesus, He may take our children away. The Bible says that “our God is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5; 34:14; Deuteronomy 6:15) Who can ‘destroy you off the face of the earth’”.

God saves us for His purpose, for His Kingdom. We are branches off of the True Vine which is Jesus Christ. God expects us to be fruitful for Him.

When we bear fruit, God prunes us so we will bear MORE FRUIT. The normal Christian life is to be fruitful, valuable to the Kingdom of God. Saved by Grace, we are “members of his Body” (Ephesians 5:30). The more we abide in ourselves, the less fruit we will bear. As Jesus said:

John 15:4-5 (KJV) Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. [5] I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.

God tries our faith – and our hearts – so that we can grow in Him and bear more fruit. My commentary notes:

“The refiner of silver and the purifier of gold know just what heat is necessary to purge away all dross. They will take care that just the right amount is permitted. So it is with our God and Father. He desires to free us from the base things of earth, and He allows us to pass through the fires of affliction for that end. But it is precious indeed to know that He sits by the fining pot, waiting until His own image is reflected in the soul; and He walks in the furnace with His persecuted children.”

God says in Malachi 3:3, “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.” In the Old Covenant, the priests of Israel were the Levites. But in the New Covenant every believer is a priest before God:

1 Peter 2:5-9 (ESV) You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. . . . But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”.

As believer-priests, our High Priest is Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:14-16). There are no earthly mediators between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5) – the only Mediator is Jesus Christ our Lord. There is no more sacrifice for sin, for Christ fulfilled the Law of Atonement on the Cross of Calvary. We who are Christ’s “offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”.

We bear fruit that honors our Lord, and promotes His Kingdom on this present earth. God sends trials with the ultimate purpose of refining our faith, and to make us more fruitful until the day He calls us home.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus!