For lack of guidance a nation falls,
but victory is won through many advisers.
Summary: A timely proverb for our day. Nations, like people, sometimes lose their way and fall into disrepute. Our nation is in danger of going down this path.
If you take a look at the headlines these days, it is easy to understand the meaning of this proverb. As of this writing (Spring, 2022), our nation feels like it is constantly stumbling. The once unthinkable idea of our nation “falling” is now on the minds of many.
Israel in Solomon’s day was at the peak of its game. Times were good. 1 Kings 10:27 tells us, “The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills.”
When I was a boy, our country’s coinage was still based on silver. Until 1964 dimes, quarters, half-dollars, and silver dollars all contained real silver. You might say that in the 1950s and early 60s silver was as “common as stones” in this country.
Solomon was blessed by God with wisdom greater than anyone who had ever lived or ever would live (1 Kings 3: 12). In addition, God gave Solomon wealth and honor almost beyond measure (1 Kings 3:13).
From a human perspective, Israel’s future looks unstoppable. They have survived slavery in Egypt, forty years in the desert, the years under Joshua’s leadership taking over the land, four hundred years under the judges God provided, the kingship of King Saul who disappointed God and man, and the kingship of David. Now David’s son is on the throne, and God has promised that David will always have a son on the throne (1 Kings 11:36; Psalm 132:12)… if only they will remain faithful to God.
Our country followed a similar path. The leaders of the early colonists were all men who recognized God as our Creator and the Bible as his book. The Declaration of Independence and our Constitution both reflect this belief. When asked what form of government these men had created, Ben Franklin is quoted as saying, “A republic, if you can keep it.” The freedoms woven into our Constitution were based on the model of the early Israelite judges. Like the nation of Israel, our nation would depend on its fealty to the Creator. Having survived over two hundred years and won two world wars, our country seems unstoppable.
By the end of Solomon’s reign, he had taken about a thousand women as wives. This in itself was in defiance of God’s instruction that Israel’s king should not take many wives (Deuteronomy 17:17). But to make matters worse, Solomon had taken many of them from the Canaanite nations Israel was supposed to have driven out in defiance of God’s instructions (Deuteronomy 7: 3-4). The women led Solomon to do the one thing that God considers the biggest sin there is; he worshiped other gods (1 Kings 11:4).
Like the Israelites, we, too, have strayed from recognizing God as our Creator. God was patient with Israel, but they never did fully return to the Lord. In the end, God fulfilled his promise and sent them into exile. Are we also headed towards a national demise? Or, perhaps, are we headed towards a time of renewal as in the days of Hezekiah? (2 Kings 18:5)
If victory is to be won, this advisor counsels that we need to return to being a nation that trusts in God.
Application: Use your voice to promote faith in God in others.
Food for Thought: What kind of advisors are helpful for gaining victory, and which kind are not?
Jeff, Todays 3 minutes devotion could not be more true. We all need ‘ heart change’ to turn to prayer, revival and to Jesus Christ to save our nation for our children and grandchildren!🙏🇺🇸
Thank you, Jim.
We have lots of reasons to pray!
What kind of advisors are helpful for gaining victory, and which kind are not?
I looked up to see what types of advisers were recorded in the Bible (1 Kings 12 & 20, 2 Kings 6 & 25, 2 Chronicles 10 & 20, Ezra 7 & 8, Daniel 2). The difference between the ones that helped gain victory and those that didn’t appear to have a lot to do with 3 things: who the advisors truly served, the experience level and wisdom of the advisor, and what the advisor was trying to accomplish. If the advice was coming from a place of worldly or self-interest, or the advisor was “out of their depth”, then the advice usually came to ruin. If the advice was centered in Scripture or in tune with what God wanted, the advice led to victory, as long as the advised person was willing to listen and heed the advice.
Thanks, Chris!
It is hard to go wrong if our advice (or advisor) is grounded in the Lord.
Advisors that trust the Lord with all of their heart and do not lean on their own understanding. Proverbs 3: 5. Advisors who point to Christ as the way and speak truth. John 14: 6.
Amen, Rich. Amen! 🙂
05-26-2022, Proverbs 11:14
1.) What kind of advisors are helpful for gaining victory?
The greatest advisors would be those selected by God to record His words for His people.
John 14:26, John 15:26
2.) What kind of of advisors are not helpful.
Rulers of this world who have brought our nation to this path of ruin for their personal gain.
Proverbs 12:5, Isaiah 8:19-20, Acts 5:38-39
Well said, Ron
I guess it would depend on how we are using the word victory. What are we seeking victory for? Why are we seeking victory? Victory came when Jesus was on the scene.
Victory can be used in so many different ways. I have victory in Jesus, and I believe He is wiser than Solomon. Yeah,..it sucks what our country is going through with the so called wise counsel and to be honest I am part to blame,.. for not doing more than I should at getting the victorious message of the gospel out to others.
It is because of the counsel of Jesus that I get to experience victory regardless of what this country is putting itself through with it’s many so called advisors.
The only way to get to God is to go through Jesus,..I believe that’s the biggest problem why no one see’s victory. They think they can go directly to God without going through Jesus first. I have met quite a few people like that. Some have listened and others have scoffed it off like I haven’t got a clue about what I am talking about. It’s all good,..Jesus said to knock the dust off my boots and move on! So that’s what I do,..the seed has been planted,..it’s up to God to produce life in any seed that’s been planted.
Hope I am not off track here,..but I am victorious with Christ not with this country. And Jesus has given us the best advice possible,..love God and one another, that’s where we gain true victory is through the love of Christ and for each other.
John,
You might be on a ‘different track’ but it is definitely not the ‘wrong track!’ You make a great point about the word victory.
The proverb is couched in a worldly context. You have deftly taken it out of that framework and set it in its proper perspective alongside our Lord’s eternal victory.
Thank you!