Text: Proverbs 19:12 (ESV) 12 A king's wrath is like the growling of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass. THE KING’S WRATH ‘Do not poke the bear’ is an idiom to not deliberately provoke or antagonize someone, especially someone more powerful than oneself. Those in authority have the power either to help or hurt those under them, haven’t they? Thus, it is wise not to provoke those authority figures (Prov 20:2). A story is told about a lion in a bad mood. That morning his wife, the Lioness, had told him that his breath smelled, and that perhaps he needed to do something about it. The Lion had pretended not to care, and had roared loudly and angrily just to show the Lioness who was king. Secretly though, he was worried. So as soon as the Lioness left the den to go about her day’s work, the Lion called his three counsellors – the Sheep, the Wolf and the Fox. First he called the Sheep. ‘Tell me, Sheep,’ growled the Lion, ‘do you think my breath smells?’ The Sheep thought the Lion wanted to know the truth. So she bowed low before the Lion and said, ‘Your Majesty, your breath smells terrible. In fact, it smells so bad that it is making me feel quite ill.’ This was not what the Lion had wanted to hear. Roaring angrily, and calling the Sheep a fool, he pounced on her and bit her head off. Then he called the Wolf. ‘Tell me, Wolf,’ growled the Lion sharpening his claws, ‘do you think my breath smells?’ The Wolf had seen the dead Sheep on the way, and he had no plans to end up the same way. He bowed low before the Lion and said, ‘Your Majesty! How can you ask me that? Your breath smells as sweet as the flowers in spring, as fresh as the…’ He could not finish what he was going to say. ‘Liar!’ roared the Lion, and ripped him to pieces. At last the Lion called the Fox. The Fox came warily; she had seen the dead Sheep and the dead Wolf on the way. ‘Tell me, Fox,’ growled the Lion, sharpening his claws and yawning widely so that the Fox could see his long sharp teeth, ‘do you think my breath smells?’ The Fox coughed and sneezed and blew her nose, and then clearing her throat noisily, said in a hoarse whisper, ‘Your Majesty, forgive me. I have such a nasty cold that I cannot smell a thing!’ The fox was wise not to provoke the lion to anger. It is sensible to keep a positive relationship with one's employer, government, and other leaders. But, God obligates us to disobey earthly authority in cases wherein we are asked to disobey God.(Acts 5:29) Our ultimate loyalty is to God and not to men. Daniel’s friends had experienced the wrath of the king Nebuchadnezzar for not worshipping the image. "Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego" (Dan 3:19). They refused to participate in idolatrous worship. As a consequence, they received the death penalty. In his wrath, the king ordered a fire pit heated seven times hotter than normal and commanded soldiers to throw the disobeying believers in. In that case, God miraculously intervened (Dan 3:26–27). This is not always to happen for God may not intervene sand allow His children to undergo suffering(John 16:1–4). Honoring God through submission to authorities may result rto blessing like Joseph. He was a good example of this truth (Gen 39:1–6, 20–23; 41:38–40). He made a good-faith effort to please his superiors, without compromising his faith in God. As a result, he became the prince in Egypt and was able to rescue His brothers and God's people. Listen and FOLLOW us on our podcast ------------------------- Visit and FOLLOW Gospel Light Filipino on YouTube , Facebook and Instagram…