Proverbs 20:24

Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?

Some people go to the islands of Hawaii for a vacation. Some people go to work at aerospace companies. Some people go to watch a parade on July 4th. Some people go to heaven. Others go to hell. But where will you go on vacation twenty years from now? Where will you be working? Where will you go when you die? This text gives a clear and irrefutable answer to that question—“Man’s goings are of the Lord.” God determines your future. To anticipate all future events and to organize all of the circumstances of your life, such that you can be sure that you will be working at a certain company and vacationing in Hawaii twenty years from now, is entirely impossible. Even governments cannot assure that this country will exist in twenty years from now. So how can we plan for the future when we cannot possibly direct the future? Of course, the Christian knows that the future is in God’s hands.

This does not dismiss our responsibility to plan and pray and prepare for the future. But if we forget that God is sovereign over the future, we will begin to assume that what happens in the future is either a matter of our own fallible, pitiful actions or a consequence of fate. If we cannot possibly forecast the future, and we cannot understand our own way, then what can we do? Well, certainly we can understand God’s laws and apply them wisely in the situations that life presents to us. We can trust in God and acknowledge Him in all our ways. If we do this, we have confidence that God will direct our paths in the way of righteousness and life. Of course, God still directs the unbeliever, but into the paths of death and hell—because this man refuses to trust in God and acknowledge Him in all his ways. Either way, man’s goings are of the Lord. The idea that God is in sovereign control of the most important aspects of life—whether we go to heaven or hell, for example—is not popular today. Nor has it ever been. But this is the clear teaching of Scripture passages like Romans 9:10ff and John 6:44.

Proverbs 20:25

It is a snare to the man who devours that which is holy, and after vows to make inquiry.

There are some things more special to us than other things. A family picture in the hallway is more important than a pile of dog feces in the back yard, for example. Also, God’s Word is holier than a cheap and sleazy novel. By the word “holy,” we refer to something that is special or represents something special. It would be inappropriate to take the President’s picture and use it for a dartboard, only because the picture represents a person and an office deserving of respect.

God is holier than a cow. This should go without saying, but occasionally you will still hear people take this very special adjective used for God and apply it to a cow! However, those that wish to live godly lives in a godless age must not reduce everything to the profane by a flippant use of language and by perpetual cynicism and irreverence. If we were to incorporate the expression “holy cow!” into our conversations, what does that do to the expression, “Holy God?” That man who has taken up using the term “holy cow!” may not have meant to cast disrespect upon the holiness of God. “I’m only using the term flippantly,” he tells us, “I don’t really mean that cows are holy.” But that is precisely the point. Some words are special words, and should not be used flippantly. If every single word in our language is used in a profane and flippant way, then there are no words left that are special and holy, particularly when referring to God. “It is a snare to the man who devours that which is holy.”

The Bible has a great deal to say about vows. For example, Paul takes a vow in the New Testament. Elsewhere, Solomon issues a sharp warning to those who make a vow and fail to follow through on it. God takes no pleasure in fools. It would be better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it (Eccl. 5:4–5). Therefore, it is prudent not to make many vows, or what are known as “rash vows.” As this text puts it, don’t make a vow about something when you are unsure of what you are doing. Be sure you know what you are doing before you take on something. There is a current popular song, verging on the profane, that supplies a fine example of this sort of foolishness. In this ballad, the woman testifies to marrying a man without either her or her family even learning his name. The marriage vow especially should be taken very seriously (Mal. 2:14), and when people fail to do this, they violate the important principle contained in this nugget of wisdom.

Family Discussion Questions:

1. How do we plan for the future if we have no ultimate control over what happens in the future? Shall we neglect to plan for the future at all? What is our responsibility in relation to the future?

2. What is the overall attitude in our home? Are we cynical and irreverent? Or is there a constant sense of the fear of God that pervades our home? In what ways are we flippant in our handling of special words or sacraments?