It is not a common practice for people to desire or pray for confusion. Yet, there are times in the word of God when believers pleaded with the Lord in hopes that He might send confusion to their enemies. For instance, David entreated the Lord to send confusion to those who devised (Psalm 35:4), desired (Psalm 70:2), and rejoiced at his hurt (Psalm 35:26). Perhaps those chasing David would be led by the Lord in the wrong direction. Perhaps the Lord would allow David’s enemies to turn against each other rather than being united together in killing David. Regardless, David knew there would be times when his enemies would have the ability to overtake him. In those times, he asked the Lord to intervene on his behalf by confusing them.
Where envy finds its breeding grounds, there grows confusion. Rather than churches, homes, and individuals choosing the blessings of peace, many have chosen the struggles resulting from envy and strife. In doing so, they reap the resultant confusion. Where strife oozes from the people, so will a mass state of confusion. This fact definitely accounts for the magnitude of Christians living outside the will of God with no opportunity to even discern what it is. The church should be a haven of truth, a place that clears up the confusion outside of its fellowship. The Christian home should be a place of clarity that serves to protect from the confusion perpetrated by the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Yet, far too many Christians have chosen rather to accept the curse of confusion.
The Bible plainly points out that God is not the author (or originator) of the confusion in the life of any believer. In fact, God desires for every individual to have clarity of mind when it comes to the truths found in His word. He wants man to know for a certainty concerning his eternal destination, whether heaven or hell. God furthermore wants man to have perfect clarity in distinguishing sin from righteousness. Simply put, God has no desire for believers to live in a confused state of mind. Had sin never entered into the world, there would be no conflicting feelings or voices introducing the confusion so prevalent today. Yet, God’s truth becomes even more essential in order to clear up the confusion caused by sin and Satan.
Confusion does not always result directly from personal sin, but sin surely causes a great deal of confusion. In today’s passage, we find Daniel making this point as he contrasted God and man. Daniel pointed out that righteousness belonged to the Lord and confusion belonged to the people. Why? Simply because God’s people chose to sin against the Lord. Sin blurs and transforms an otherwise clear and indisputable reality into corruption and vagaries. Committing sin blurs the broad chasm between sin and righteousness. This blurring makes it more difficult for a child of God to discern the perfect will of God. Therefore, only those believers who eschew evil can and will experience clarity of mind. Those who embrace evil reap uncertainty.
Paul’s stedfastness in the gospel message caused a stir throughout Asia. He boldly declared that the people’s idols were no gods at all. Such preaching angered the local craftsmen so they met together to discuss how to stop Paul and end his message’s impact of their livelihood. The mass confusion intensified the fear as it spread throughout the city. As some of Paul’s companions were ushered into the theatre, the crowd cried out conflicting things to the point that many had no idea why they had even gathered together. The people’s confusion escalated. Because of conflicting reports, they were unable to discern the reality of the situation. Confusion thrives when conflicting statements or feelings are present and people fail to discern the truth.
The Bible links together wisdom, knowledge, and discretion to help the Bible student comprehend God’s truths. Today’s passage provides insight into the composition of this connection. When wisdom enters the heart and knowledge is pleasant to the soul, then discretion preserves the believer. Preserve can mean to protect from harm as the context of this passage shows. Those who use discretion are protected from being ensnared by those who have little regard for God or the things of God. Verse 12 indicates that discretion protects the individual from the way of evil men. Verse 16 further reveals how discretion delivers from the strange woman. Discretion implements wisdom and knowledge to keep the believer from unnecessary difficulties that trouble those who fail to abide by biblical principles.
Joseph went through so many trials and tribulations that at times he must have questioned if he had been forsaken of God. Our passage picks up the story with Joseph unjustly imprisoned. Pharaoh had a dream and called the wise men of the land together for the interpretation. All of Egypt’s wise men could not interpret the dream, but Joseph could. God revealed to Joseph the impending famine with detailed information on how to prepare for it. He instructed Pharaoh on how to gather during the time of plenty to prepare for the famine. These guidelines would allow Egypt to survive and even increase throughout the period of famine. Joseph also counselled Pharaoh to set a man over the land of Egypt who was “discreet and wise.” Pharaoh told his servants that Joseph was the only one who could adequately do the task because he was “a man in whom the Spirit of God” resided. Joseph’s acts of discretion not only led Egypt through the famine but also provided for Joseph’s family when they too would come to Egypt in need of food (see Genesis chapter 42).
Most women who receive gold and jewelry consider them treasured gifts. In fact, gold and some jewels increase in value with some being of inestimable value. These treasures have many uses whereby their owners can benefit. Yet, imagine the reaction when a jewel of gold is mounted in a swine’s snout rather than in an appropriate decorative setting. No matter the perceived value of the item, its appeal significantly decreases. The Bible likens this scenario to a fair (beautiful) woman who is void of discretion. The world values outward beauty more than inward beauty though the Bible cautions against this. Today’s passage equates a beautiful woman without discretion to a jewel of gold in a pig’s snout. Discretion is of such importance that God instructed the aged women to teach the younger women to be discreet in Titus 2:5. The problem began where the Bible began – with a story about a woman in the garden in Eden who partook of the fruit based on what she saw and felt. All of God’s people, including ladies, should make their decisions with discretion.
The Bible proclaims that creation was not some type of random accident. Though proponents of the evolutionary theory vehemently disagree, the Bible indicates that creation involved wisdom and great carefulness by a benevolent Creator. Even scientific evidence reveals the truth of order in our world and the universe. For instance, the sun and the moon work perfectly together. The solar system runs its course without catastrophic misadventures. The heavens provide water for the earth and the earth cycles it back to the heavens. This system, far from haphazard, works together in harmony. What did the Lord do in order to ensure this type of perfection? According to today’s passage, the Lord “stretched out the heavens by his discretion.” To claim otherwise is to depict the Bible as false and God as a liar. God wants His people to use discretion in making decisions and clearly reveals that decisions made with discretion yield great benefits for those involved..
Last week’s subject covered the matter of discernment, but this week focuses on another closely related subject—discretion. The word of God uses three forms of discretion: discreet, discretion, and discreetly. A simplistic definition would be to gain knowledge on matters before making a decision and then using wisdom to make the right decision. According to today’s passage, discretion cannot be implemented without attending unto wisdom and bowing one’s ear to understanding. Only through God’s word can one hope to attain understanding, wisdom, or discretion. An individual must make decisions based on God’s word in order to be discreet.
