Day 44, Year 1 Following the Wisdom of the Just

“He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:17 NKJV)

… “Promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.” (2 Peter 2:19 NASB)

The former verse of today indicates one of John the Baptist’s missions—turning “the disobedient to the wisdom of the just.” Two key components of his mission were administering baptism of repentance and calling people to turn away from sinful behaviors. This verse first mentions “to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,” which I understand was to encourage the older generation to regain the innocence and purity of a little child. This marks the beginning of repentance and the right attitude for learning wisdom. John’s mission was twofold. First, to turn people from rebellion against God to obeying Him. Second, to turn evil people to justice by following the wisdom of the just. And Jesus is the just person. As previously mentioned, the Old Testament and John’s mission is to help people come to faith in Jesus. People of that time needed to believe in John to accept his baptism of repentance, discern good from evil, gain moral renewal, and repent from their sins with necessary changes—all in preparing them to believe in Jesus who was to come.

Other religions or philosophies might offer some help to clarify wisdom and justice. However, it is crucial to note that they might not effectively guide people from rebellion to obedience to God. Today, some who claim to believe in Jesus hold the notion that behaviors are unimportant, which is unimaginable in both the Old and the New Testaments’ teachings. 

The latter verse of today makes it clear that “for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.” Whether this is rebellion, corruption, sin, impurity, etc., they would enslave people and prevent them from becoming the Lord’s people. How could anyone under the control or bondage of sin wholeheartedly follow Jesus? “This,” as mentioned in the latter verse, is the thing who enslaves and inhibits people from gaining freedom and obeying God. In my opinion, “this” may include people, evil spirits, and materials—anything that causes addiction and hinders us to change but enslaves us. Thus, turning to the wisdom of the just involves being freed from all harmful habits and bondage, walking the path of righteousness for obeying God. We must pay attention to any wisdom that could help us to draw near to Him.

Reflection questions:

1) Do you feel you need more wisdom of God’s justice to discern good from evil, and thus turn to His goodness alone? If yes, what would you do?

2) Do you feel you need to be freed from any bad habit(s)? If so, pray and ask the Lord Jesus for wisdom and a way out, and when necessary, seek help from certain mature believers.