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Proverbs
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 1
Proverbs 1:1-4
Reasons for the Proverbs
To Know Wisdom and Instruction
1. It is quite amazing to think that the God who created the universe, would even care enough about us to stoop and cause a book to be written for us, to tell us how to live… what to pursue and what not to pursue…
2. First of all note that this book was written that we might KNOW something.
a. It was not written so that we might FEEL good… or feel warm… or feel anything.
b. It was written that we might PERCEIVE the words of understanding.
c. Solomon wrote that knowledge excelleth folly and ignorance as light excelleth darkness. Ignorance causes men to wander in darkness.
3. God wants us to KNOW wisdom
a. The term for wisdom in vs. 2 is used 37 times in this book!
b. It means skillfulness; the ability to use knowledge properly.
c. It is possible to have lots of instruction and information in our head, and yet not have the wisdom to put it into practice in our daily lives.
d. We have many brilliant men and women throughout our country who have mastered their field… specialists in computer science… specialized fields of medicine… masters of literature… and yet have not the wisdom to get along with their neighbor or maintain a healthy family life!
e. Knowledge isn’t enough. If it were, our generation would be doing just fine! Knowledge has doubled every year since 1955. We have more information and data than we know what to do with. But we do NOT have the wisdom to use it properly.
f. The world has plenty of knowledge and information—but by anyone’s standards: the world today is a mess!
g. Unfortunately, the man who wrote this book failed on this very point! Read the account of the end of Solomon’s life. What a warning to us!
4. God wants us to KNOW instruction
a. Instruction – this term is used 26 times in proverbs.
b. It is sometimes translated “chasten”. (Cf. 13:24 – chastening a son.)
c. It means to instruct by discipline.
d. Instruction or training is a form of discipline… discipline of the mind… and ultimately, when the truth sinks deeper, into the heart.
e. Like a father who loves his son, and therefore chastens him, so God wrote this book as part of our “instruction”… discipline… chastening…
5. God wants us to KNOW the words of understanding
a. This term has virtually the same meaning as our English term.
b. It might be translated “discernment.”
c. This kind of spiritual discernment is what WE need today more than anything!—the ability to approve things that are excellent—
d. God wants His people to be able to discern between right and wrong… holy and unholy… clean and unclean. The devil is doing his best to blur those lines of distinction today.
e. Let’s make this our prayer: that we would all be better able to perceive the words of understanding… grasp a discerning mind…
f. The decisions many believers make today reveals a dearth of discernment.
g. It is far better to be poor and discerning, than rich and lack discernment; It is far better to be sick and discerning, than healthy and lack discernment; It is far better to be lowly and discerning, than important and famous and lack discernment; It is far better to be a failure in the eyes of the world and discerning, than to be a worldly and lack spiritual discernment.
h. The book of Proverbs has been written to help us put things in order… to give us discernment in ordering our lives… arranging our priorities…
To Receive the Instruction of Wisdom, Justice, Judgment, and Equity
1. Receive: God wants the readers of this book to KNOW wisdom… to learn in their heads all these wise principles… but also to TAKE IT IN!
It is possible to memorize the words of wisdom—but never “receive” it inwardly.
Ex: You can give your son a lecture. Once lectured, he has your words of wisdom in his head. He heard you. But that is not a guarantee that he “received” them! He could be just politely nodding to all you say… and not taking any of it in!
2. The purpose of the book is not accomplished in our life—even if we have memorized the whole book! God’s purpose is that we would RECEIVE these truths… take them to heart… make them “yours”… make them your words to live by… not just a dry lecture from an ancient king!
3. This term for wisdom in verse 3 is a different Hebrew word than was used in verse 2.
a. Harry Ironside wrote that this term for wisdom comes from a root meaning “bereavement”…
b. He concluded that this term differed in that this term described learning from unhappy experiences… the hard way… either on your own, or through the unhappy experiences of others. (the school of hard knocks)
c. Proverbs records many unhappy experiences and the results of folly… the young man and the harlot; the drunkard; the sloth; etc…
4. How much better to learn “by means of God’s Word”!!!
a. Ps. 17:4 – “By the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.”
b. That is the best way to learn—by God’s word rather than by experiencing all that Proverbs warns about—sloth; greed; lust; etc.
c. We can gain wisdom about the dangers of drugs by trying them out and paying the price—or by listening to words of wisdom!
d. We can gain wisdom about the consequences of laziness by experience OR by taking heed to the words of wisdom in God’s Word!
e. Proverbs was written that we might RECEIVE this wisdom the easy way—by learning through God’s Word rather than having to learn the hard way all the time!
5. Unfortunately, Solomon learned many of these lessons the hard way—by experiencing the emptiness of following his own understanding…
a. He pursued many of the foolish things he warns us about in Proverbs!
b. He sought happiness through fun and parties and having a good time! (Ecc. 2:1-3)
c. He sought happiness through collecting great possessions. (Ecc.2:4,7-11) But it was all vanity!
d. Solomon pursued wisdom through experience… the hard way.
e. Proverbs is written that we might obtain wisdom the easy way—by taking heed to the inspired word of God!
f. RECEIVE this wisdom… take it in — just as if we had experienced all these things ourselves!
6. God wants the readers of Proverbs to “receive” the instruction of justice
a. Justice = righteousness; right kind of behavior; fair; just behavior
b. One learns in proverbs not to be a respecter of persons. The rich are not always right or kind. The powerful are not always wise. Treat people justly and fairly…
c. God wants us to TAKE IN these truths that deal with justice… into our heart, not just our head.
d. Make these truths that deal with justice OUR truth… words that WE live by…
e. Proverbs has a lot to say about being fair and just in our daily lives.
• Prov. 14:20 – Justice will keep us from being a respecter of persons… as such we will not treat the poor harshly…
• Prov.22.2 – the poor and rich are the same in God’s sight!
• Proverbs will keep us from all the ungodly biases and prejudices of the world. It will make us fair and just—if applied!
• 29:27 – Being “just” is a way of life = and one that will often be opposed. But that is the path God wants US to pursue!
7. Next, God wants the readers to “receive” the instruction of judgment
a. Judgment = the quality or ability to hear and decide a matter or a case fairly. This is the work of a judge. Every one of us needs to have this quality of good judgment.
b. Proverbs was written that we might learn to have good judgment. Far too many have poor judgment!
c. Proverbs has a lot to say about exercising good judgment…
• Prov. 18:17 – One with good judgment does not make up his mind on a matter after hearing “him that is first in his own cause.”
• Solomon demonstrated that when the two mothers came with their own version of who was the real mother of the child.
• Solomon showed good judgment. Proverbs can give US that kind of good judgment too… if applied.
• Jesus said, “Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
• We all make decisions every day. Decisions on all sorts of issues and matters. How we need good judgment in making all those little decisions… because when you string all those little decisions together—that IS our life… that IS the course of our life.
8. Next, God wants the readers to receive the instruction of equity
a. Equity = even; upright; level; honest.
b. The author talks about a “just weight”—honesty and equity in business dealings! (Prov.11:1)
c. Honesty with our tongues… honesty with God…
Note what the author is doing here:
He is mingling together moral qualities with intellectual ones.
• Wisdom and instruction for the head;
• But they must be accompanied by justice; judgment; and equity for the heart.
• A truly wise man is a godly man.
• Wicked men can use their intellect and craftiness for evil purposes.
• But a truly wise man uses his intellect for that which is righteous; and equitable… Proverbs was written that we might KNOW wisdom and RECEIVE it… and allow it to produce its fruit in our lives: justice; good judgment; and honesty—integrity!
• Time spent in Proverbs is time well spent!
• One man likened Proverbs to medicine or vitamins. You shouldn’t make it your complete diet—but we need a little every day!
Proverbs 1:5
A Wise Man will Hear
A wise man will hear…
1. Wise = skillful, prudent, wise (ethically and religiously).
• The book of Proverbs is all about wisdom… (vs.2a)
• It teaches the simple ones and young men—knowledge and discretion. (vs.4)
• But in vs.5 he states that this book also is a book of wise instruction to the wise! (not just the simple)
• HOW does a man become wise or increase in wisdom? What is it that characterizes a wise man? (He will hear…)
2. Hear = to hear, listen to, to hear with attention or interest, obey;
• This is a close kind of hearing… attentiveness… interest…
• This is the kind of hearing that really sinks in…
• It implies more than simply hearing a sound; it implies the proper response to what is heard. (obedience)
• It might be translated “hearken”—because that is more closely associated with obedience.
• To the Hebrew mind, to hear God was to obey Him. For a parent to give a command to a child in his hearing meant that it would be obeyed.
3. It is not stated in this verse exactly WHAT he will hear… but that is implied in the context.
• All by itself, vs.5 is a valid principle—which will hold true in any number of contexts. Wise men listen wherever they are.
• In context here, the wise man will LISTEN and hearken to the proverbs found in this book!
• The author is explaining the purpose of the book of Proverbs. (vs.4)
• A wise man will pay attention to the practical truths in this book.
• Wise men will listen… fools will not. Wise men will pay close attention to what is said. Fools will not. Wise men will obey. Fools will not.
• This is a major difference between a wise man and a fool.
» The fool knows everything—or thinks he does—so he has no need to listen.
» The wise man knows that he doesn’t know everything. He realizes that he has much to learn—so he listens.
» The wise man realizes that he has not attained perfection yet, but he keeps on striving! (Phil. 3:12)
4. Pride and humility play an important part in this kind of wisdom.
• The fool, because of pride, feels himself to be superior to instruction.
• The wise man, out of humility of mind, knows that he has a lot to learn, and hence, will listen!
• I Cor. 3:18 – If a man thinks he is wise in this world (he is really a fool!) let him become a fool (humble himself—realize you don’t know everything) and thus, he will become wise!
• You cannot separate wisdom from humility… they go hand in hand. So too, pride and foolishness go hand in hand as well!
• A fool gets a little bit of knowledge, and it can produce pride.
» A believer may begin to understand some important Bible doctrines… and begin to think he’s got it all figured out…
» That pride keeps him from becoming wise!
» Once you’ve got it all figured out—who needs to learn any more? Who needs to listen?
» This kind of pride prevents a man from growing in wisdom.
5. The wise man is teachable. He does not insist on doing all the talking. He is willing to listen.
• Readiness to learn is characteristic of a truly wise person.
• Verse 5 refers to a wise person—young or old—male or female—anyone! Wisdom is characterized by the capacity to listen… and really hear what is being communicated.
• This is a priceless capacity—for the husband to be able to hear his wife… for the wife to be able to hear her husband—for the children to hear their parents!
• This is not selective hearing. This is hearing period! Listening… and understanding.
• This is not the kind of hearing that goes in one ear and out the other.
6. Hearing the proverbs… or any portion of God’s word is a moral capacity.
• It is much more than just the vibration of ear drums… it is a hearing that sinks in… It is the kind of hearing that results in us GETTING the message… the message is understood.
» However, it is possible to hear a proverb or a truth… understand it… and then reject it!
» Men do that all the time in the world.
• This kind of hearing implies the proper response… a hearing with the ears and the heart.
» He that hath ears to hear (he hears with his ears and understands with his mind) let him hear (hearken – obey).
» Hearing in the sense of hearkening is a moral issue!
» Many fools have heard these truths with their ears, but they didn’t really HEAR… hearken… respond in obedience.
And will increase learning…
1. Learning = learning, teaching, doctrine; insight; instruction…
2. A truly wise man will not be content with what he has learned thus far. He will want to ADD to his learning… increase his understanding.
• Prov. 18:15 – he seeks more and more.
• Why? Because although wise men may know a lot, they know enough to know that there is much MORE that they don’t know!
• The fool thinks he knows it all. The wise man knows he doesn’t.
3. The example of the psalmist.
• The psalmist had been given much wisdom by God. (Ps. 119:98-100)
» He was not saying, “I have arrived! I am in need of nothing!”
» He had such wisdom because he meditated all day long! (vs. 97)
» He had been given much wisdom, but he did not allow it to go to his head. That is not the point of these verses.
» He had more wisdom than the ancients—his teachers who studied philosophy or the wisdom of the ages… but they were not necessarily godly men.
» The psalmist not only heard—but he KEPT God’s precepts. That is true wisdom…
• Yet, he pleaded with God to increase his learning! (Ps. 119:12, 33-34)
» He recognized that there is so much more to learn!
» He pleads for God to teach him… to give him more understanding…
» And if he hears it—he will OBEY it! (119:34)
4. Prov. 9:9 – If you give instruction to a wise man—he will be yet wiser!
• Why? Because he is wise enough to listen… to hear… to accept the counsel!
• As a result, he gains MORE wisdom.
• Matt. 13:12 – For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
» Jesus was talking about faith and understanding.
» The man who HAS (faith and understanding) will end up with more and more… as a result of the parables.
» The man who rejects (faith and understanding)—will end up with less and less. His blindness becomes deeper and deeper.
• Teach a just man—a fair, honest, righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
• A wise man and a just man realize their NEED for instruction.
• The fool refuses to recognize that need. He thinks he is ABOVE instruction.
» Prov.23:9 – Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
» Prov. 9:8 – If you reprove (try to instruct) a scorner, he will end up hating you. He does not WANT any instruction… he feels ABOVE reproof.
» But what a contrast with the wise man. He will LOVE you for it! Even if the instruction hurts… even if the reproof was painful. He is wise enough to know that it is what he needed!
5. The example of Apollos
• Apollos was a highly respected man… admired by many.
• I Cor. 1:12 – Some said, “I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Peter, and I am of Christ.” That is quite an impressive group!
• Acts 18:24 – And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures…
• Yet note his humility and hunger to increase in learning…
» Acts 18:24-26 – This man who was so mighty and eloquent, was humble enough to know that he did not know everything!
» He was willing to be instructed by these lowly tentmakers!
» Foolish pride would have caused him to reject any instruction from these mere tentmakers. After all—he was learned and eloquent!
» However, humble wisdom enabled him to hear and to increase in learning!
» What an example to us! We are never to high and mighty to learn… even from the most mediocre of Bible teachers! There is always something we can learn… if we are wise!
6. How about you? Are you increasing in wisdom? Are you learning more and more truth about God and His Word—or have you arrived? Do you now know more than the Sunday school teachers and the pastor? Even so—follow the godly example of Apollos!
» A little knowledge puffeth up.
» A wise man LEARNS and gains great advantage from listening.
» Prov. 13:18 – Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honored.
» Ps. 141:5 – the godly and wise man DELIGHTS in reproof and instruction: Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head:
Proverbs 1:5-6
To Understand a Proverb
Introduction:
1. Solomon is giving some reasons for the book of Proverbs—the purpose of the Proverbs.
2. They were written to give subtlety to the simple and to the young man, knowledge and discretion. (vs.4)
3. They were also written for the wise man—that he might become even wiser… IF he hears and increases learning as a result. (vs.5a)
4. They were also written that the wise man might attain wise counsels… (vs.5b)
MEN OF UNDERSTANDING
1. Men of understanding…
• This is in contrast to the young and inexperienced mentioned in vs.4.
• Men of understanding are mature men… discerning men… men with insight… grown men… who have gathered much understanding and wisdom along life’s road.
• They are WISE men… the book of Proverbs is for you too!
• No one should ever shrug off the book of Proverbs—as if it were for kids… as if we were above the wisdom of this book… as if we had already attained to the wisdom found therein.
2. Men of understanding should HEAR what this book has to say! (vs.5a)
3. Sure, Solomon addresses his “son” at times (1:10). At times he addresses “simple ones” and the “youth”. (7:6-7)
• However, the lessons in this book are not for the simple ones exclusively!
• This book is for the wise and the men of understanding too.
• Men who are truly wise and understanding will readily acknowledge that. Fools and proud men might scoff… but not the truly wise.
WILL ATTAIN UNTO WISE COUNSEL…
1. The truly wise man—the man of understanding / discernment will attain unto wise counsels… in order to understand a proverb. (vs.6a)
• The fool thinks he is above instruction, and will pay little attention to the proverbs.
• But the wise man will do whatever he can to understand them! He will seek counsel—help in understanding them!
• Some of these Proverbs are described as “dark sayings.” In other words, while many of them are simple and straightforward, there are some that are difficult to understand.
» Prov.26:4-5 – do you answer a fool or not?
» Prov.26:13 – a lion in the street? (an excuse for not going to work!)
» Some of the Proverbs require a bit of thought and meditation!
» Proverbs 27:13 – Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman. WHAT???
» Proverbs 27:19 – As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man. WHAT???
» Proverbs 14:4 – Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox. WHAT???
• Some Proverbs are simple to understand on the surface, but take on a depth of meaning as we grow and mature!
» Prov. 15:27 – when you observe this in a friend or neighbor—or if you experience it—it takes a depth of meaning never before appreciated!
» Prov. 15:23 – When you are down and discouraged, and someone speaks a kind word in due season—how precious this verse becomes!
» Prov. 26:20 – When there is much strife in the home or in the local church, and this verse is applied and WORKS—how clear this principle becomes! How precious this little gem becomes!
» Prov. 27:17 – when you take counsel with a brother—and you are both able to converse and correct each other—tune each other up spiritually—how precious this passage becomes!
» Some proverbs—while understood superficially—take on a whole new depth of meaning when we actually experience them in our lives!
» There is milk in this book for babes, and there is strong meat for the mature—even in the same verse!
2. Because some of the Proverbs are not easily understood without meditation… and because some of the Proverbs have a depth of meaning that can only be fathomed through experience… a truly wise man will study this book—and seek counsel to really understand it… to fully grasp it… to plumb the depths of its meaning…and to learn how to apply these gems to ALL kinds of experiences in life.
• This book had to be written—it had to be recorded.
• God could have allowed these proverbs to be passed down from generation to generation orally… but He did not.
• They had to be written so that we could sit down and meditate upon them… discover their depth… read and reread them! And then reread them again!
• Even on a superficial level, these proverbs will give wisdom to the young and simple.
• BUT—the wise man will HEAR, increase in his learning… and he will attain unto wise counsel (seek teaching; share lessons learned; compare Scripture with Scripture) — in order that he might understand TO A GREATER DEGREE the Proverbs and the dark sayings of this book!
• In other words, a wise man will never stop learning from this book!
• Cf. Prov. 2:1-4 – wise men will realize the value of these gems of wisdom and will seek it all the more diligently! The truly wise man will keep on digging in the book of Proverbs and will never quit—because he knows that the book has an endless resource of wisdom and application for life…
• Matthew Henry: “This book will make the foolish and bad, wise and good, and it will make the wise and good, wiser and better!”
• Prov. 9:9 — Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
TO UNDERSTAND A PROVERB…
1. The truly wise man—the man who listens… the man of understanding—who is constantly increasing in learning… who is constantly attaining unto wise counsels… WILL understand this book!
2. This book’s meaning is NOT to be hidden. It is a revelation. It is to teach and reveal truth… not to conceal it.
3. The wise man will be able to understand this book. He will genuinely grasp and appreciate it… because he will be DOING what it says… and EXPERIENCING the benefits of applying this wisdom!
4. The wise man will understand the proverb and its INTERPRETATION.
• Interpretation: satire, mocking poem, mocking song, taunting, figure, enigma. — a saying which requires an interpretation.
» Someone described a proverb without an interpretation as a nut uncracked.
» It is valuable and you know it—but you cannot benefit from its value until you “open” it up!
• Some of the Proverbs require thought… and interpretation. A wise man will attain unto counsel… seek guidance… and obtain the meaning of them!
• Thus, true wisdom is described as a hungering for truth…
5. The wise man will understand these dark sayings…
• Dark sayings: riddle, difficult question, parable, enigmatic saying or question, perplexing saying or question.
• I Kings 10:1 – The Queen of Sheba came to prove Solomon with “hard questions.” —same word as “dark sayings.”
• The wise man will keep on digging in this book until he has all of his hard questions answered… until the light shines on the dark sayings and he gets it!
• He keeps on digging because he is wise—and because he is wise he realizes that he is not perfect — that he has areas of weakness… that he has blind spots… that he has not arrived. He is not only wise, but humble!
• Why would God ever reveal truth through “dark sayings”??? Why not reveal truth in an easier way? So that we would APPLY our hearts to wisdom… DIG deep… STUDY to show ourselves approved unto God!
Proverbs 1:7
The Fear of the Lord
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge…
1. The first occurrence of the expression “fear of the Lord” is found in I Sam. 11:7. The law of first occurrence indicates that what is revealed here is foundational. Totality
• What a dramatic beginning for an expression!
• Its original meaning was real FEAR—afraid of the awful consequences!
• The foundation of this expression is genuine fear—being afraid—shaking in one’s boots—
• Note also in this passage that the result of the fear of the Lord was that the people rallied to obey!
• They were moved by fear to obey…
• Heb.11:7 says that Noah was moved with fear and prepared an ark to the saving of his house.
• When WE are moved with fear, we too will obey! Fear drives us AWAY from evil and towards that which pleases God.
• Little children learn to FEAR the hot stove—usually by burning themselves. But once they discover the consequences of touching the stove—fear keeps them away from that which is not good for them! Fear is good and spiritually healthy.
2. Linking the fear of the Lord with wisdom and knowledge was first stated in Job 28:28.
• Chronologically, this occurs before the passage in I Sam… even though it appears after it in the order of the books. Job was written earlier.
• It would be quite foolish NOT to fear the Lord! Job learned just how immense God was… he got a glimpse of God’s infinite power in creation… God’s infinite wisdom and knowledge…
• God holds our next breath in His hand! He chastens His sons. He is omniscient… omnipotent!
• Not fearing that kind of a God would be foolish indeed!
3. It is a GOOD thing to fear God… to be afraid of Him…
• It is not popular any more to speak of God-fearing men… but the Bible sure speaks about it a lot! We should too!
• We have become so “buddy buddy” with God that there seems to be no fear left!
• Others have diminished the concept of fearing God by reducing it to merely reverence. Certainly it includes reverence, but fearing God is MORE than that. It is primarily and essentially being AFRAID!
• Fear – Hebrew word: yirah — fear, terror, an awesome or terrifying thing (object causing fear) ; reverence…
• The new testament Greek word used in the expression is “phobos” – fear!
• to put to flight by terrifying (to scare away); to put to flight, to flee; to fear, be afraid; to be struck with fear, to be seized with alarm
• Fearing God is a good thing, regardless of how it is being downplayed in our generation.
• Some like to emphasize the fact that we should LOVE God and not fear Him. (Of course we love Him—but we FEAR Him too!)
• I feared the Grand Canyon… and that fear caused me to be in awe over its beauty, and also it caused me to walk circumspectly down those narrow trails!
• A child should fear His father… and he should love him too. They two are not mutually exclusive… both are part of a healthy relationship.
4. What causes us to fear God is the infinite gap between creature and Creator.
• This fear is based on a lofty concept of who God is… and who we are!
• We should fear displeasing Him… ever conscious of the fact that we could fall at any moment… and sin against Him!
• There is far too much shallowness in man’s relationship to God today. There is no fear of Him because we have reduced Him to one of us! (Ps. 50:17-21) God is NOT like us. He is God!
What the book of Proverbs says about the fear of the Lord…
1. It is the beginning of knowledge. (Prov.1:7)
2. Prov. 9:10 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom:
3. Prov. 8:13 – The fear of the LORD is to hate evil:
4. Prov. 10:27 – The fear of the LORD prolongeth days
5. Prov. 14:26 – In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.
6. Prov. 14:27 – The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
7. Prov. 15:16 – Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.
8. Prov. 15:33 – The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom;
9. Prov. 16:16 – by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
10. Prov. 19:23 – The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.
11. Prov. 22:4 – By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
12. Prov. 23:17 – But be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
• So if you want a life full of knowledge, wisdom, prolonged days, satisfaction, confidence, honor, and a life that hates and avoids evil—then fear God!
• In each context the expression occurs, there is a slightly different emphasis. But every time, fearing God is good and wholesome!
The Context of Proverbs 1:7
1. Here, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
2. The beginning of knowledge:
• Beginning : first, beginning, best, chief; choice part
• The beginning of knowledge seems to refer to the MOST IMPORTANT part… the first and foremost…
• The most essential element in real knowledge is a fear of God!
3. The beginning of knowledge is contrasted to the fools who “despise wisdom and instruction.” (antithetical parallelism)
• The beginning of knowledge is the opposite of despising wisdom and instruction.
• There are two kinds of men. Those who (1) are moved with fear, and thus have true knowledge… and (2) despise wisdom and instruction.
• The fear of God is contrasted to a fool — in other words, the opposite of a God-fearing man is a fool! You are a FOOL if you do not fear God!
• Those two kinds of men are also characterized as (1) God fearing and (2) foolish.
4. What does fearing God have to do with knowledge? In what way is fearing God the chief part of knowledge?
• Consider the subject of marital problems…
• The God fearing man—because he fears God will fear displeasing God. He will want to know what God says about the subject. If he fears God, he will incorporate God’s Word to his marriage… He will want to marry a believer…
• The man who is NOT God fearing—the one described as a fool who hates instruction from God will seek help elsewhere…
• Consider the philosophical problem: why are we here?
• The God fearing man has the most important part of knowledge—God Himself! He knows just where to look for the answer.
• The man who is not God-fearing—the one described as a fool, is forced to seek the answer in his own fallen imagination!
• He is missing the most important part of knowledge: a fear of God!
• Where did the sun and moon come from?
• The God fearing man knows. The God fearing child knows.
• Some of the most brilliant minds in America are spending billions of your tax dollars to find out.
• He is missing the most important part of knowledge: a fear of God!
• How can I get to heaven?
• The man who fears God has no problem with the answer.
• The fool—who despises instruction will try to invent a way on his own… will attempt to make it through some religious endeavor, and end up in hell forever.
• He is missing the most important part of knowledge: a fear of God!
• Consider the problem of self control—either alcohol, drugs, lust, sexual sins, greed, or anger, etc. How do I deal with these problems?
• The God-fearing man has the answer: FEAR of displeasing God… and FEAR of the consequences of sin cause him to FLEE from evil!
• The fool who dismisses fearing God as an archaic concept lacks fear… and will be enticed… to his own destruction.
• He is missing the most important part of knowledge: a fear of God!
• How should I bring up my children? Should I spank them or not? Should I let them have equal authority in the home as the parents? What is the right way?
• The God-fearing man has the answer—
• The fool—who hates wisdom and instruction from God is doomed to grope in the darkness… and will pay dearly for it!
• He is missing the most important part of knowledge: a fear of God!
• Ecc. 12:13 – Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
• Fearing God is the chief or most important part of knowledge.
• Fearing God is the chief or most important part of our duty before God—in fact all else could be summarized by it!
But fools despise wisdom and instruction…
1. The fool runs headlong into all kinds of trouble that God fearing people avoid.
God has recorded His wisdom for us. It is all written for our learning and admonition!
Fearing God will keep us OFF the dead end streets the fool runs down…
2. Because he does not fear God, he does not listen to godly counsel or to the Word of God. Hence, he reaps the awful fruit of such rejection of truth. (Prov.1:30-31)
3. Because he does not fear God, he does not fear the consequences of sin before a holy God… and hence, he runs right into it! (Psalm 36:1-4)
4. A woodsman who does not fear his chain-saw… or does not fear the falling tree and refuses to receive instruction about his folly will PAY for it eventually! Sooner or later he will take a risk he shouldn’t… he will become careless… and he will be severely hurt.
5. Fear can be healthy and wholesome. A lack of fear is foolish.
6. If you want true knowledge, the place to start is “fearing God.” If you want to be a fool—despise instruction… and refuse to fear God.
• What is more reasonable than that a creature should trust and fear his Creator? What is more illogical than that a creature should reject the instruction of his Creator?
• vs.5 – A wise man will hear and learn. But the fool will despise wisdom and instruction.
• Because of his pride and arrogance, the fool learns lessons the hard way if at all.
• Solomon wrote this book to teach young men knowledge and discretion. (vs.4) Here he lays down one VITAL rule if that goal is to be accomplished: fear God! That is the principle part of knowledge! There is no true knowledge without it!
• Don’t be a fool and despise this kind of instruction. It is for your good!
Proverbs 1:8-9
An Ornament of Grace
8My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
1. This is the first “my son” passage in Proverbs. There are 23 more. (They would of course be applicable to daughters as well.)
2. This is appropriate during our “family series” time—so much in Proverbs is applicable to the family setting… directly or indirectly. This is direct!
3. Several truths should be noted in this verse.
a. It is the responsibility of BOTH parents to teach the children!
• We often think of training children as the mother’s job… the father is off at work all day.
• Not so in the Bible. In fact, the father is especially singled out in Eph. 6:4! “Fathers… bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord!”
b. Each parent will have wisdom in different areas. A wise husband will put to use the unique wisdom of a woman in training children.
• A father may be strong on nurturing a solid work ethic in the child
• A mother may be strong on nurturing manners and etiquette in the child.
• A father might be strong in nurturing a sense of honor and fair play in the child.
• A mother might be strong in nurturing love in the child.
c. The child is to listen to BOTH parents.
• A young boy might think he should listen to his dad, but doesn’t have to pay attention to mom. Not so!
• A young girl might like to think that she has to obey mom, but dad doesn’t really understand girl things—so she doesn’t have to listen to him. Not so!
• The husband and wife become ONE flesh in marriage. They are to behave like ONE flesh in bringing up children too. They must speak with ONE united voice!
• Any disagreement on dealing with issues with the kids must be dealt with in private—NOT before the kids.
• The son here is commanded to obey the instruction of BOTH mother and father. The writer takes it for granted that both parents are saying the same thing.
• The instructions from mom cannot be contradictory to those of dad or the child is being trained in confusion.
• If there is no agreement—the Bible still COMMANDS one voice. The husband is the head of the wife—the head of the household.
• But a wise husband will discuss these issues with his wife—and consider her viewpoint.
4. The father’s instruction
a. Instruction: discipline, chastening, correction.
b. The child is to “hear” = listen; hearken; obey; heed;
5. The mother’s law
a. Law = Torah — law, direction, instruction.
b. The child is to “forsake not” = to leave, cast off or away, reject, cease, abandon, quit, cast down, let fall, forgo…
6. Putting these two concepts together we see the role of the parents:
a. Lay down the law for the child.
b. Instruct the child concerning those laws…
c. Correcting him when he wanders outside the parameters of those laws
d. All three are necessary and vital—and there must be a balance.
• If all we do is lay down the laws and pile up laws—the children will feel oppressed and will become frustrated. (Eph. 6:4—strictly forbids that!)
• There must also be instruction—teaching the child the benefits of the laws—the reasons behind the laws—to protect him from evil and so he will develop a respect for others!
7. While there are slight variations which add new insights, the two phrases are actually a synonymous parallelism.
a. The instruction of the father = the law of the mother
b. Hearing = forsaking not
c. Putting them both together, a child is to hear the instructions and laws of his parents, and he is NOT to forsake them.
8. While these laws and instruction may certainly INCLUDE certain “house rules” (bed time; what to eat, wear, etc.) it would seem to EMPHASIZE the words of wisdom as found in the book of Proverbs.
a. In other words, it seems that the instruction and laws being drilled into the child’s heart mentioned here have to do with lifelong principles… principles which will govern the rest of their days.
b. The words of wisdom found in Proverbs include: the use of the tongue; the use of money and property; respect for elders; diligence vs. slothfulness; wise use of time; avoiding immorality; avoiding association with a foolish man; the pursuit of the knowledge of God; etc.
c. Parents have a responsibility to train a child in wise principles that will set them in a right direction the rest of their lives.
d. Parents have a responsibility to drill these principles of morality and godliness, as deeply as possible into the hearts of their children.
9For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
1. “They” in vs. 9 refers back to the instruction and the law of the parents.
a. If the parents do their job of drilling this instruction in the heart of their child, and if the child takes heed to the instruction… THEN the instruction will be an ornament on that child!
2. The author may have intended this verse to be a reference to both boys and girls.
a. An ornament of grace unto thy head: would refer to a garland placed on the head of a victorious runner in a race… usually young men. A garland on the head is a sign of victory.
b. A chain on thy neck: may refer to a necklace for a young woman… jewelry. (Although, men wore necklaces in OT times—pharaoh put a necklace on Joseph when he was taken from prison and dressed up.)
3. Regardless of whether he intended to include both boys and girls, the main point is clear: the ornament of grace about the head and the chains about the neck are to be desired! They are signs of beauty… grace…
• Gen.41:41-42 – Joseph was given a gold chain about his neck—and all others had to bend the knee before him! Great honor!
• Dan.5:7 – Daniel was given a gold chain around his neck IF he could interpret the dreams. It was a sign of great honor!
a. THIS is what makes a child beautiful—respect, honor, and obedience towards their parents… wisdom that has been drilled in and has become part of them…
b. It is not a beautiful face or expensive clothes that makes a child attractive. It is a beautiful heart! An obedient, respectful heart!
c. I have seen some obnoxious little brats who had cute faces and were well dressed.
d. I have also seen some physically unattractive children—and yet there was an attraction about them—they were obedient—respectful—well behaved. THAT is what makes a child attractive! THAT is the real ornament!
e. This is similar to what Peter says of the godly woman. (I Pet. 3:1-4)
• Peter is not forbidding women to wear gold jewelry, or to braid their hair, or to “put on clothes”!
• Rather, he is forbidding women to rely on those outward things for their real beauty! Their real beauty is to be found in a meek and quiet spirit!
• THAT is what is of great price—far more valuable than their jewelry!
4. If parents do their job, and the children respond in obedience, THEN those children are truly beautiful! Even if they don’t have fancy new clothes! Even if they aren’t physically attractive!
a. Real beauty—real attractiveness comes from within!
b. Children who PRACTICE the wisdom found in this book will be quite a testimony in the community—in the supermarket—in their school—
5. Those children will be wearing a garland of victory on their heads and a sign of beauty on their neck.
a. That is something the child can wear proudly—or with respect.
• The Awana kids wear their jewels proudly!
• Those jewels represent hard work—training—an accomplishment!
• So too a child who obeys his parents. That is quite an accomplishment, especially in today’s world!
• Obedient children should not feel like a nerd for being obedient. They should be proud of it!
b. It is also something the parent can be proud of—or feel satisfied in.
• It really IS quite an accomplishment!
• When the child is respectful and obedient and honors dad and mom, THEN that child is a victor—and so are dad and mom!
• It is a good thing for parents to praise obedient behavior too—because the garland on the head and necklace on the neck are really invisible… the child may not SEE the beauty of it—but he needs to know. He needs to be told!
6. But not only is this “drilled in wisdom and respect” a sign of victory and beauty when the child is at home. It is a crown they can wear the rest of their lives!
a. That son who listened to his father’s instruction about hard work and diligence will benefit from that the rest of his life! His hard work will pay off and he will wear a crown all his life!
b. The daughter who did not forsake the law of her mother—perhaps the law of kindness in her mouth—will be able to wear that kindness as a necklace the rest of her days! That will enhance her attractiveness the rest of her life!
c. And dad and mom can REST when they look at their grown children and SEE that their hard work paid off!
• When the parents SEE honesty and integrity in their son’s life, they will be seeing the crown of victory on his head! There will be a great sense of fulfillment knowing that all the hours you spent reading those McGuffey readers with him paid off!
• When the parents SEE their daughter show compassion and kindness to others … they can rejoice—knowing that all those lessons about the life of Jesus paid off…
• You see, in a sense, that crown belongs to BOTH the faithful parents AND the obedient children! ALL can rejoice in it!
• It is sort of like when a husband buys his wife a beautiful, expensive gold necklace. The wife can wear it proudly—but the husband can also get a sense of satisfaction from seeing it on her! “Boy she looks good in that! I have good taste!” They BOTH share in the joy of it!
• We might liken this to the proud parents of a young athlete who wins a gold metal at the Olympics! The child worked hard to make it—but so did the parents sacrifice a lot to bring the child to that place. They BOTH share in the glory of that gold metal!
• So too when we do a good job training our children—it is a crown of victory and a necklace of beauty for BOTH the child and parents to enjoy the rest of their lives!
Proverbs 1:10-12
If Sinners Entice Thee
10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
1. The enticement in this passage is to a life of crime.
2. He addresses “my son”… fatherly advice.
a. Any father would fear that his son would be enticed by the troublemakers… lured into the wrong crowd…
b. Solomon feared that for his own son… even though his son was not brought up in a ghetto, but in the royal court!
c. There are wrong crowds everywhere!
d. Every father should warn his sons about this potential problem. Daughters should be warned too!
3. The author EXPECTS that the young man WILL be enticed.
a. Perhaps we could understand this to be saying WHEN sinners entice thee—because it WILL happen.
• Evil men are quite industrious in their endeavors to entice!
• Misery loves company! Sinners love company in their wicked ways.
• It makes them feel good—to entice an otherwise “good kid” into their evil fold makes them look good… that “good kid” becomes a sort of trophy to them!
b. Entice: to be simple, entice, deceive, persuade…
• The wrong crowd will prey upon a young boy’s inexperience.
• They will deceive him into thinking that crime is a breeze—that crime pays!
• It looks pretty attractive to young boys… young men… especially if they live in poverty and feel trapped.
• They look at the drug pusher, driving a fancy new car, wearing gold necklaces, with wads of money in their wallets. It IS an enticing lifestyle!
• But the application is not just towards the drug pusher. The wrong crowd does not necessarily have to be gangsters… just ungodly kids… rebels… the bad crowd at school…
c. Consent: to be willing; to consent, yield to, accept…
• The command is “don’t yield”! Don’t give in! Don’t accept their offer!
• Life is FULL of enticements. Kids need to be taught to have enough backbone to say NO!
• Remember, they can entice you, but they cannot force you!
• There are enough people in the world so that you can afford to be picky with your friends!
• Too often the excuse is used: “ I just got in with the wrong crowd.” Here is the warning to stay away!
• You have been warned!!!—Have NO fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness!
11If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: 12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
1. Here the enticement seems to be to join the band of hoodlums for the sheer pleasure of hurting others!
2. “Come with us!” (vs.11) (Cf. vs.14 a)
a. There is an attractiveness to belonging…
b. The bad crowd here entices the young man by offering him “membership”—“with us”! You can belong somewhere… you can be a part of our gang… the in crowd… the cool crowd…
c. Sociologists say that that is one of the main attractions to the gang—a sense of belonging—a family—to young people who never had any strong family ties.
d. You young people will also be enticed by the wrong crowd—maybe not a gang, but the wrong crowd nonetheless.
e. That is why it is so important that you get your sense of belonging from your real family—and from the local church!
f. And to the young people today who do not have a mother or the father has left you: God says, “I will be a father to the fatherless!”
g. There is a clear line being drawn in the Bible on this issue.
• The evil crowd cries to the young man: “Come with us”!
• God’s Word says: “Come out from among them and be ye separate!” (II Cor. 6:14-18)
• Whose fellowship and companionship do you want?
3. Let us lay wait for BLOOD: The “draw” here appears to the SPORT of shedding blood!
a. They seem to LOVE it—they RUN to evil; and make HASTE to shed blood! (vs.16)
b. Lay wait = ambush; lie in the bushes waiting for your victim!
c. As sick and depraved as it sounds, there is a sport to crime… even to murder!
d. Stealing becomes a game—killing gives the murderer a “rush”!
e. In Littleton CO, there was a whole club of young boys called the black trench-coat club. This club glorified blood and violence and murder!
• MANY were lured into this club—perhaps never imagining that the club leaders would ever carry out their twisted plans… but they did!
f. Television has as one of its main enticements this same attraction: blood, violence, and murder!
g. If your sons are watching TV all day long—or every night—they are being indoctrinated —- and they very well may be seduced! Who knows where it might lead? Are you willing to take the chance?
h. On TV, they are watching blood and violence glorified…
• There is a lot of blood and violence and sex in the Bible too. But there is a BIG difference.
• TV glorifies sin. (alcohol—young healthy, tan beautiful people) The Bible exposes it and warns of its real life consequences! (What a different picture we have of alcohol in Prov. 23!)
• Lately TV not only glorifies sin but it also vilifies righteousness!
4. Let us lurk privily for the innocent without a cause!
a. Note that these ungodly criminals especially hate the innocent…
b. They hate the innocent and want to rob them because the innocence of the upright puts the criminal in a bad light!
c. The innocent are innocent because they worked hard and exerted much labor and effort to acquire their goods.
d. The diligence of the innocent makes the criminal look bad! It shames them and condemns them…
e. Darkness hates the light! (John 3:20 – “Everyone that doeth evil hateth the light!”)
5. Let us swallow them up alive — and whole! (vs.12)
a. Leave no clues behind so we won’t get caught!
b. The implication seems to be that there are no consequences to crime! You won’t get caught if you join with us! We’re smarter than the authorities! They will never catch us!
c. This is part of the “enticement”—the deception—the lie: there are no consequences to sin and crime… crime pays! It will make you happy! You can lead the “good life”!!!
d. The implication is that sin is liberating—you can do whatever you want and not get caught. The opposite is true. Sin does not liberate. It enslaves!
e. Prov. 5:22 – the “cords” of sin!
6. The crime that is described here seems so foolish… pointless… to harm other human beings… maim… wound… even kill—as a sport!
a. One would think that such warnings are not needed—but they are!
b. These kinds of senseless crimes happen every day. Check your local newspaper for recent illustrations!
7. We have a serious warning to all young people—choose your friends well! Avoid evil companions!
a. The Bible has a lot to say about this too…
b. I Cor. 15:33 – evil communications (fellowships) corrupt good manners!
c. Prov. 9:6 – forsake the foolish and live!
• A life of crime does not pay. It does NOT improve life.
• Take your son on a tour of the state penitentiary—to show them how much fun a life of crime is!
d. Prov. 13:20 – choose your friends carefully. You BECOME one of the crowd you join!
Proverbs 1:13-19
Greedy of Gain
Introduction
1. The author EXPECTS that the young man WILL be enticed. (vs.10)
2. “Come with us!” (vs.11) They offer “membership”!
3. vs.11 – Let us lay wait for BLOOD—The “draw” here appears to the sport of shedding blood!
4. vs. 12 – Let us swallow them up alive—and whole!
a. Leave no clues behind so we won’t get caught!
b. The implication seems to be that there are no consequences to crime! You won’t get caught if you join with us! We’re smarter than the authorities! They will never catch us!
The Motivation Behind Their Crime: Greed
13We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
1. First they invite the young man to “Come with us”. Then they make their crime sound like a sport… like going hunting. Then they put the finishing touches on their enticement: you will be RICH if you come with us!
2. Find = acquire; obtain… not just find, but find and take!
3. Precious = valuable, prized, weighty, rare,
4. Substance = wealth, riches, substance; (double emphasis on the value)
5. Their real motivation is greed… stealing.
a. The crime described here is highway robbery.
b. They planned to hide behind the rocks along the road, and wait for some innocent, unsuspecting travelers to come by. (vs.11)
c. They plan on killing them, and leaving no clues behind so they won’t be caught. (vs.12)
d. And then they expect to get away with all their wealth! (vs.13)
6. They expect to obtain enough to make the whole band of crooks rich!
a. They will FILL their houses with the spoil… the wealth…
b. And if this young man comes with them, he too can expect to receive a whole house full of riches. They include him in the “we”.
7. These crooks make their crime quite appealing… enticing… by painting a rosy picture of the results—a house full of riches!
a. They do NOT tell this young man what they expect of him!
b. No doubt they will be putting this young man—if he comes with them- in harm’s way!
c. If they are like most crooks, they will ensure that if anyone gets caught, it will be the rookie!
d. But of course, they don’t tell him that! They don’t tell him the chances of getting caught… nor do they tell him the penalties under the law for getting caught… they do not describe to him what life is like in the dungeon… nor do they mention the guilt and shame… just the riches!
8. Our enemy always presents the rosy side of sin!
a. There IS a pleasure to sin—Hebrews 11:25
b. Sinners don’t always get caught right away.
c. And the fact that sinners are not judged for their sins right away gives them a sense that they can continue in sin without any consequences… (Ecc. 8:11) a heart fully SET to do evil!
d. But the wise man knows that eventually our sin IS exposed! Either in this life or the life to come… always! (Num. 32:23) Be sure your sin will find you out!
e. As this band of professional thieves seeks to recruit this young boy, they give him only one side of the picture! When all you have is one side of the picture—WOW is your thinking lopsided and off base!
f. So far they have made highway robbery sound fun, like a sport, and profitable! And there are no consequences… at least if you hear only the crooks side of the story! (everything to gain; nothing to lose—what a lie!!!)
g. That is the way the devil presents all kinds of sin to us!
· Like the beer and whiskey commercials on TV—they are all young, tan, well off, beautiful people!
• They don’t show you the wino sleeping in his vomit on their commercials!
• Sin is presented as glamorous, exciting, fun, profitable!
• But after a while it bites like a serpent! Sin is a trap… a snare!
• That’s how I catch woodchucks. I put something very appealing to them in the mouth of the cage… and conceal the fact that once they go for it, they set of the trigger that results in disaster for them!
• That’s how men catch fish—the attractive bait conceals the real result—the deadly hook!
14Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
1. Once again, they appeal to this young man to join them. “You can be one of us! One of the cool guys! We are accepting members—and we don’t want just anybody, we want you!”
2. And note the next appeal: let us all have one purse!
a. We will share all our wealth equally! You can be an equal partner!
b. We will be like one big happy family! A commune!
c. Do you know life is like in a community of crooks? They are all dishonest… and nobody trusts anybody!
d. Crooks also usually fight over the distribution of goods too!!
15My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
1. Now Solomon gives more fatherly advice… an exhortation to his son.
2. The crooks will be saying, “Come with us!” (vs.11)
• Solomon’s advice is, “Don’t go!” Don’t walk with them!
• Refrain they foot from their path! Stay away!
• Refrain: to withhold, hold back, keep back, deny
3. Solomon is trying to give his sons words of wisdom that will protect them the rest of their days.
a. This wisdom and discretion will KEEP them from evil doers.
b. Prov. 2:10-15 – discretion will deliver a young man and keep him off roads that lead to trouble and destruction.
c. A parent has a responsibility to steer their children in the right direction.
d. Ps.1:1 – Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly… nor standeth in the way of sinners… nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful!
e. The young person who listens to his parents, and avoids walking with trouble makers will be blessed… happy in the long run. There is nothing cool about prison.
16For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
1. This verse is Solomon’s assessment of the band of crooks.
a. Evil men seem to have a sense of urgency about their evil… they are in a hurry to sin!
b. They are not just walking down the wrong road; they are running!
c. They seem to be infatuated by sin!
17Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
1. There are two interpretations to this verse. It is hard to tell for sure which one the author intended.
FIRST INTERPRETATION…
a. Here Solomon compares the criminals to birds about to be trapped in a net… a snare.
b. Birds have a bad reputation in the Bible. They are spoken of as foolish, silly creatures… stupid! (Ephraim is like a silly dove without heart)
c. Here Solomon states that even a stupid bird seems to have more sense than these criminals!
d. Criminals must KNOW that there are consequences to their sin… they must know that eventually they are going to get caught… yet they STILL not only commit crimes, they make HASTE to run to evil and shed blood!
2. It would be vain to spread a net or a trap in the sight of a bird. If an animal knows he is going to be trapped, he will avoid the trap!
a. As silly as birds might be—they have enough sense to avoid a trap when they see it.
b. Not so with the criminals. They KNOW that their crime is a trap ready to catch them at any moment, yet they RUN to evil!
SECOND INTERPRETATION…
3. It also possible to understand vs.17 another way. Some see vs.17 as a comparison of a bird not to the criminals but to the son Solomon is warning.
a. In this view, Solomon has just warned his son about the TRAP that the criminals have set for him. They have allured the young man into a life of crime… but a life of crime is a snare… a trap. They have used sport and riches as bait to lure him into their trap.
b. The point would be that Solomon’s son has been warned about the trap that is being set for him.
c. Even a silly bird wouldn’t walk into a trap if he knew it was a trap… therefore, Solomon expects that his son will NOT follow these criminals and enter the trap they have set for him!
d. In other words, Solomon is saying: Son, you have been warned! You know full well that their enticing words are nothing but a trap which will destroy you! Don’t enter it!
18And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. 19So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
1. vs.18 – The point is clear: evil men reap what they sow!
a. These criminals were seeking the blood of others. They were actually laying in wait for their OWN blood!
b. They were lurking privily to pounce upon their victims. In reality, it is their own lives that will be taken! Ambushers will be ambushed!
c. While these evil men set traps for others… for young recruits and for their victims—THEY will be the ones to be ensnared eventually!
d. A life of crime leads to ruin! Crime does NOT pay!
2. This is a conclusion to the whole section – vs.10-19.
a. This is the conclusion: every one who is greedy of gain and murders to obtain wealth will fall into their own trap!
b. Those who love money and are greedy of gain fall into a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts! (I Tim. 6:9-1)
3. I Tim. 6:11 – The son has been duly warned. Now he knows the ways of those who are greedy of gain… who are willing even to KILL in order to obtain their wealth.
4. Solomon’s desire, of course, is that if his son KNOWS the ways of the sinners and what they are really up to—that he will avoid them… that he will WANT to avoid them!
Proverbs 1:20-23
Wisdom Calls!
20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: 21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
1. In this section, Solomon personifies Wisdom.
a. Webster’s: A figure of speech in which a thing, quality, or idea is represented as a person.
b. Solomon uses this figure of speech here and in 8:1 and 9:3.
c. This is not the wisdom of man, but Divine wisdom.
2. Wisdom is pictured here as IF she were a person:
a. Crying out… uttering her voice in the street… crying out in the chief place of concourse… in the gates of the city…
b. In other words, wherever people gather—there is wisdom crying out to them…
c. Wisdom has a message she wants to communicate with all people!
d. Solomon speaks of Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly in this book. Each one is calling out to men to follow…
3. There is a difference between the way Wisdom calls and the way Folly calls.
a. Wisdom calls out in the open—in the streets—in the open gates and concourse.
b. When the fools call out to the youth in 1:10-11Iit is a secret, sly, covert kind of calling… done in the dark.
c. Lady Wisdom CALLS out loud… she cries out for all to her. Fools whisper… like the hissing of a serpent.
d. Wisdom has nothing to hide. Folly and evil attempt to hide their real intentions.
4. Wisdom is calling here—but evidently, few are listening! (vs.24)
a. The end of the chapter outlines the disastrous results of NOT taking heed to the call of wisdom. (vs.31)
b. There are GOOD consequences of taking heed. (vs.33)
THREE QUESTIONS ADDRESSED TO FOOLISH PEOPLE (VS.22)
How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity?
1. First, the foolish ones are addressed as “simple.”
a. Simple: naïve; inexperienced; babes in wisdom; ignorant ones; spiritual immaturity;
b. The simple are unstable—easily influenced for good or bad—but are naturally bent toward the evil.
c. This is not a sort of innocent kind of naïveté, but in this context, it has an evil connotation.
d. It is a kind of inexperience that rejects counsel… a willful ignorance…
2. Wisdom cries out, “How long will ye love simplicity?”
a. It is a rhetorical question. (He is not expecting an answer!)
b. The point of the question is really to highlight THINKING of the simple ones: they LOVE their simplicity!
c. Foolish people love their folly. Many ignorant people LOVE their ignorance! Many spiritually immature people LOVE their immaturity.
d. This, sadly, is human nature. That is the main point Solomon makes here. It is human nature for fools to love folly.
e. They do not WANT to be corrected! They don’t want to have light shine on their darkness. Darkness hates the light and will not come to the light lest its evil deeds be exposed!
3. This question is intended to be a call to repentance!
a. Wisdom is calling ignorant people to repent of their ignorance… calling upon inexperienced people to repent of their inexperience…
b. To ask, “How long” = “Stop! Repent!”
c. It is one thing to be ignorant because you have no access to information. It is quite another thing to HEAR wisdom calling… and to ignore her… and to go on in one’s ignorance!
d. Ignorance then becomes willful ignorance. It is no longer innocent but evil!
e. Wisdom is calling on the ignorant and the inexperienced here to STOP being ignorant and inexperienced!
4. The love of ignorance.
a. They say ignorance is bliss. This kind of thinking is exactly what Solomon is rebuking!
b. There is a childlike bliss to the ignorance of children.
• They don’t have to worry about atomic war…
• Or the economy… or whether the factory will close down and lose their job. They have no concern about their retirement package.
• They don’t think about cancer and other diseases.
• They get in a car and don’t think about the horrors of an accident.
• In the spiritual realm, I doubt if any of the kids here ever worry about Salem Bible Church being taken over by charismatics, New Evangelicals, Reformed theology, contemporary Christian music, Amillennialism; etc.
• Most young children are unaware that a spiritual battle is being waged in the heavens—to lure them away from Christ.
• Children are blissfully ignorant of all of the above! And rightly so! Enjoy your childhood, kids!
c. One would expect a child to love his cookies and toys. A child should love his years of inexperience ignorance of the adult world.
d. But there comes a time when a child SHOULD be concerned about things other than the sand in the sandbox or whether we have any cookies and lemonade!
• There comes a point when it is quite foolish for a grown man not to be concerned about cholesterol level… or his job security… or retirement…
• There comes a point when it is quite foolish spiritually for a believer NOT to be concerned about the spiritual battle being waged about him… he should be concerned about whether Salem Bible Church is overtaken by contemporary Christian music and the charismatics, etc.
• Grown men should not want to remain ignorant or inexperienced… especially in the spiritual realm—but also in the natural realm!
e. It is also clear that there are many grown men and women who seem to LOVE their simplicity… ignorance… they wallow in it!
• Many adults refuse to grow up!
• You’ve seen the 65 year olds dressing up and behaving as if they were 16!
• I have met many Christians that fall into this category—they refuse to grow up!
• Any attempt to enlighten them… teach them… admonish them is rejected — and the one attempting to help is considered to be promoting groundless alarm—
• They would reply, “Lighten up!” “Don’t worry, be happy!” “You’re just a Killjoy!”
• They love their simplicity!
HOW LONG WILL THE SCORNERS DELIGHT IN THEIR SCORNING.
1. Here, a second kind of fool is mentioned—a scorner.
a. Scorner: to be inflated, scoff, act as a scorner, show oneself a mocker; one who is arrogant;
b. This fool is more advanced in his folly than the “simple” one.
c. This fool not only ignores wisdom calling, but MOCKS her! He speaks arrogantly against her! He scoffs at her wisdom… inflating himself ABOVE any need for her!
2. Here wisdom is frustrated even more—because these fools DELIGHT in their scoffing!
a. They get great pleasure at mocking wisdom.
b. You’ve met these people! They are everywhere!
c. The scorner mocks purity… holiness.. truth… the Bible…
d. Any attempt to set him on the straight and narrow will not only be ignored, it will be actively rejected… opposed… ridiculed!
e. Anyone who attempts to share God’s wisdom with this crowd will be mocked as a “goody two shoes!” or a “holier than thou”!
3. Have you ever shared the gospel with someone—and become frustrated because they seem to love their sin… or they love their ignorance… they don’t really WANT to know what the Bible says—for fear that it might make them more accountable?
a. That is the same kind of frustration that God must feel even towards His own people—when He calls us with His wisdom—and we seem to love our simplicity!
HOW LONG WILL FOOLS HATE KNOWLEDGE?
1. The third term for fool is translated “fool” in English.
a. Fool = fool, stupid fellow, dullard, arrogant fellow;
b. If the three terms depict a “progression” in folly, this is the worst yet!
c. This is a person who is a settled fool… a determined fool… a career fool!
2. This kind of fool is characterized by hating knowledge.
a. Solomon speaks of this often in Proverbs.
b. vs.29 – they hated the knowledge that comes from God.
c. Sometimes, this kind of fool laments his case—when it is too late! (Prov.5:7-13) vs.12- How have I hated instruction!
d. Prov.12:1 – the one who hates instruction is brutish—stupid!
e. Prov.13:18 – Poverty and shame shall be to that man!
f. Prov. 15:
• vs. 5- a fool despises his father’s instruction—or any one else’s!
• vs. 10 – Correction is grievous! He shall die!
• vs. 12 – He does not appreciate the one who reproves!
• vs. 31-32 – He despises his own soul! His folly results in personal damage—catastrophe!
g. Eccl. 7:5 – The fool does not want to hear reproof. He just wants to hear happy sounds… upbeat… positive… eat, drink, and be merry! I don’t need to be corrected!
3. God’s Wisdom (personified) is pictured as being extremely frustrated with the attitude of these foolish people!
a. Wisdom is crying out—but no one is listening!
b. Wisdom is trying to reprove and rebuke so as to HELP—but instead of being appreciated, she is scorned… rejected… mocked… ridiculed!
c. Again, the point of the question is to highlight an aspect of human nature—people do NOT like to be corrected… reproved… admonished
d. It is because of arrogance and pride—a sign of great folly!
e. Remember how the book began—“a wise man will hear and increase in learning…” (vs.5)
4. II Tim. 4:2-4 – It is frustrating as a pastor sometimes too!
a. The pastor’s job is to reprove and rebuke when needed.
b. However, men do not WANT to be corrected or reproved! Yet God says, “Do it any way!”
c. Men behave much like a cornered cat!
d. Yet, I must at times, open God’s word and point out God’s wisdom on a particular issue—as a means of reproof—knowing that many men and women will behave like fools—
• I may have to point out a sin… or an attitude that is contrary to the Scriptures!
• I may have to point out an area where an individual has not been faithful…to their ministry… or in attendance…
• I may have to point out an offense…
• I may have to warn about backsliding or slipping away…
• A wise man will hear God’s Wisdom. A fool loves their ignorance… a scorner might even actively oppose the wisdom presented… and a hard hearted, full scale fool will even HATE it!
5. And, this wisdom cries out to us in many ways.
a. It may be the pastor…
b. It most likely will be in our devotion time—although many foolish people don’t have their personal devotions…
c. So it may have to come from another believer… (Rom. 15:14 – we should be able to admonish one another —- with God’s wisdom!)
23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
1. Turn = repent, turn back; return;
2. Reproof = rebuke, correction, reproof, punishment, chastisement
3. Wisdom is calling for repentance—for the simple, the scorners, and the fools to repent… to acknowledge God’s wisdom and to OBEY!
4. I will pour out my spirit unto you and make known my words unto you!
a. This is an awesome promise!
b. IF we are WILLING to OBEY Gods’ wisdom—God will give us all we need for life and godliness!
c. God isn’t trying to withhold wisdom from anybody! In fact, wisdom is calling out in the open spaces for all to come to her!
d. The promise is, “If you will respond to my call… come to me… seeking wisdom… in sincerity… willing to repent… willing to change… willing to DO what is right—I will not just trickle down—but POUR out my wisdom upon your life!
5. Thus, wisdom in the Bible is not a matter of intelligence… brain power… or academics. It is a MORAL issue.
a. The man who is WILLING to receive God’s wisdom will have it showered upon them.
b. The man who is UNWILLING to receive God’s wisdom does so because he LOVES his folly… he loves his simplicity… he loves his ignorance and sin. He will remain in his ignorance and darkness and folly.
c. When it comes to understanding God’s wisdom and truth—the words of Jesus are applicable :
• Matthew 13:12 – For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
• To the reader of Proverbs: “Should I put this book down because it points out my ignorance and folly, (and thus continue in my folly) or should I continue reading, respond to God’s wisdom, and gain wisdom from it… increase in learning?”
Proverbs 1:24-27
I Have Called and Ye Refused
THE FOOL REJECTS WISDOM
24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded.
1. The speaker is Wisdom, personified. (vs. 20)
2. Wisdom is calling out to everyone who passes by—crying out in the open places where people congregate. (vs.20-21)
3. Wisdom cries out to the simple ones (inexperienced); to the scorners and to hard hearted fools. (vs.22)
4. Now wisdom has a sad message for all of the fools—but first she gives them the REASON for her bad news…
REASONS FOR THE BAD NEWS…
a. Wisdom called to them, but they refused. (call = to summon, invite, call for)
• Refused: an intense form of refusal…
• It was not that the message slipped their mind. This was an open, conscious refusal to respond. “In your face—I will not” kind of refusal!
• This was not a matter of ignorance. It was open rebellion and refusal to do what was right.
• Wisdom called—they heard—they refused to heed the call!
b. Wisdom stretched out her hand = but no one regarded.
• Stretch out one’s hand = offer help; assistance; guidance; to rescue…
• Regarded = pay attention; give attention; take heed…
• NO one! Not one of these simple ones or scorners or fools paid any attention to the help offered by Wisdom!
• It must take a lot of pride to refuse this kind of hand… especially when you are drowning and are too proud to grab hold of the hand that is stretched out to rescue you! (I’d rather do it myself!)
• Wisdom is crying out so everyone can hear. Wisdom is holding out her hand so EVERYONE has the help they need—but NO ONE is paying any attention.
25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
MORE REASONS FOR THE BAD NEWS…
1. Wisdom offered counsel. (counsel = advice, purpose)
a. The fools “set at nought” all the counsel offered.
b. Set at naught = to let go, let loose, ignore, let alone.
c. The fools heard it—they had this wisdom at their fingertips, but they let go of it… they ignored it… they threw it all away.
d. How many people do we know like this?!?!?
e. Proverbs 19:20 – Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
• It is good in the long run to take heed to wise counsel!
• God knows that. God is pleading with men to listen to Him… to His word… to His wisdom…
f. Prov. 12:15 – The way of the fool is right in his own eyes… but the one who takes heed to counsel is wise!
• The sad truth is, however, that very few take heed to wise counsel!
• Most men are too proud to listen to others. They know everything—and therefore you can’t tell them anything!
g. Lady wisdom laments because she offers sound counsel, but the people set it at naught… they heard it; had it; but let it go!
• Wisdom is frustrated and discouraged !
2. Lady wisdom also offered reproof (vs.25c)
a. Reproof = rebuke, correction, punishment, chastisement.
b. Would = to be willing; They did not WANT to be reproved!
c. This is the kind of attitude that says, “Who are you to tell me what to do? Who do you think you are? I don’t need to be corrected!”
d. Here it states that the fools did not want reproof. In 1:30, it states that they actually DESPISED reproof!
e. Prov. 10:17 – He that refuseth reproof erreth.
• It is a serious error to reject counsel and refuse to be corrected!
• I have seen this countless times. Even believers hate to be corrected and reproved.
• Pastors and elders have to approach believers about sin or problems in their lives—and that takes place when the flesh is ruling. When the flesh is ruling, people hate reproof… and the one who approaches them often times gets blasted!
3. This pictures the heart of God toward sinners.
a. Matt. 23:37 – “I would… but ye would not!”
b. Rom. 10:21 – “All day long have I stretched out my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people…”
c. God is longsuffering… but even his longsuffering comes to an end!
d. Don’t play games with God!
WISDOM REJECTS THE FOOL
26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
1. This is not God laughing at the fool’s calamity. This is wisdom personified.
2. BUT—it is GOD’s wisdom that is laughing!
a. This is not a giddy or hilarious kind of laughter; Nor is it a sadistic or vindictive kind of laughter. Rather, it is a sad kind of laughter!
b. Have you ever seen those videos of robberies in which the robbers do the stupidest things and get caught? It is sad, but laughable!
c. “How could you be so stupid” kind of laughter—such as when you told your son to stay away from the puddle, and two seconds later, he is laying face first in the puddle—soaking wet! You want to cry, but you might as well laugh! (Comedy of errors!)
d. The main point of this figurative language (God’s wisdom laughing) is to demonstrate how foolish—stupid—ludicrous it is to defy God’s Wisdom! (like a flea shaking his fist at God!)
• Psa. 2:1-4 – God laughs — like a parent might laugh under his/her breath when a child attempts to pull a fast one on you—like when your son comes in and says “I didn’t touch the paint”—and he is covered with red paint! You laugh at their stupidity!
e. It is not so much that God is actually laughing. But to the scorner—the fool who openly rejects this wisdom—Wisdom seems to get the last laugh!—a kind of poetic justice!
27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
1. Here Solomon describes the life of the one who rejects counsel and wisdom.
2. Their life is full of desolation and destruction—like a whirlwind—one storm after the next!
3. It is a life full of fear, distress, and anguish!
4. There is no escaping it. You reap what you sow. This is the point of the remainder of the chapter!
5. The man who does not want to take heed to God’s Wisdom should expect a life of fear, distress, and anguish!
6. He will be running about putting out one fire after another—running from one storm of life to the next… he will wear himself out… spin his wheels in the mud and get nowhere.
7. I know way too many people in this category—sadly, many Christian people too!
a. Not every believer follows the way of wisdom. Many believers make some very foolish choices…
b. Many believers do their own thing—and refuse all counsel—reject reproof—and are determined to go their own way and do their own thing.
c. AND they pay for it! They are not experiencing the rest God promises His people. Instead, they are full of anxiety—fear—distress—stress!
d. Too many believers do not do things RIGHT. (I know I shouldn’t do this BUT… and on with 1001 excuses…)
e. It is sad to watch so many lives bent on destruction—right before your very eyes!
8. Hence, Solomon is giving his son ( and us!) ample WARNING
a. When wisdom calls—RESPOND in obedience!
b. When God’s Word has given you light and you know what is the right thing to do—DO IT!
c. LISTEN to Lady Wisdom! She is constantly calling to us! (vs.21)
• She calls to us each day as we read God’s Word! Be ye doers!
• She calls to us sometimes in a Sunday school class or Bible lesson…
• She calls to us sometimes through the brethren…
• She calls to us sometimes by means of reproof or rebuke…
• She calls to us sometimes in a still, small voice!
• She calls to us sometimes like the roaring of a lion—wake up!
• She calls to us sometimes by bringing to mind a Bible verse—perhaps while riding to work—or sitting on a lawn chair…
• She calls to us in all kinds of ways. The important thing is our response!
• She calls for obedience! (Prov. 8:10-11) ( or vs. 1-11)
• RECEIVE my instruction!
• Buy the truth and sell it not! (Prov. 23:23
Proverbs 1:28-30
Too Late For Wisdom!
Introduction:
1. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. (1:7)
2. The fools have been attempting to lure this young man into their evil ways. (1:11-19)
3. Lady Wisdom is calling out to all who will hear. (1:20)
4. She promises that all who will turn and listen will receive wisdom from her. (1:23)
5. She will laugh at those who mock her and refuse to listen to her words. (1:24-26)
6. Those who reject her will experience fear, destruction, desolation, and calamity. (1:27)
7. Now, the saga continues. Lady wisdom suggests that there comes a point when it is too late! (1:28-31)
28Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
1. They shall call upon me… they shall seek me early…
a. Even in the life of a fool, there comes a point when they discover that they really need wisdom!
• In vs. 20-27, we have Wisdom calling out to the fools…
• Now we have the fools calling out to wisdom…
b. A fool may wander aimlessly through life… he may think himself happy go lucky… he may not have a care in the world… doing whatever he pleases. But even the fool will eventually come to a crossroad in his journey…
c. At that point, he will NEED wisdom… even the fool despairs of danger… even the fool becomes afraid at what might happen to him at some point!
d. Even the fool who thinks he can play with fire eventually finds himself surrounded by a wall of fire—and afraid!
• It likely will come during the time of calamity or destruction (vs.26-27)
e. Like a rock that skims the water, so too a fool can only skim along the surface of life for so long before he starts to sink.
f. The fool will eventually find himself sinking… going under… and desperately WANT wisdom. (Like the boy who joked at the kids taking swimming lessons. When he finds himself sinking in the water—the joke will be on him!)
g. The boy sinking in the water—who mocked the other kids who took swimming lessons—may in that last desperate hour cry out for wisdom… cry out that he wished he had taken those lessons…
h. How many times over is this kind of scenario repeated?
• The foolish boy who jokes about his schoolmates doing their homework—only to wish he had done his when he finds himself flipping hamburgers at McDonalds!
• The foolish young girl who laughs at all her prudish friends… and then finds herself pregnant at 16… on a dead end street for many years to come… she might cry out for the benefits of wisdom at that point… but it’s too late!
• The foolish believer who scoffs at all his Christian friends who warns him not to marry that unsaved girl—only to discover after the wedding what all the warnings were about—but it’s too late!
2. But I will not answer… But they shall not find me…
a. When Lady Wisdom called to the fools, they did not answer her. (vs.24)
b. Now, the fools are calling out to Wisdom, but she will not answer them!
• The fool will come to a point in his life where he finally realizes how much he needs wisdom—but when he calls out—he discovers it is too late!
• The fool shall not find wisdom—he doesn’t even know where to look!
• The fool will probably seek wisdom from his associates—who will also be fools… the blind leading the blind…
c. This pictures opportunity past… the offer of wisdom is no longer extended… the chance to take advantage of the benefit of wisdom is over…
• Ezek. 8:18 – God’s offer of mercy came to an end for Israel. God came to a point where He said, “Mine eye shall not spare.”
• God would not hear their cries any more.
• Jer. 7:16 – God told Jeremiah to stop praying for the people. They had become hardened in their sin and God would no longer listen to prayers for them!
d. The point is NOT that it is impossible for older folks to BECOME wise.
• Older folks CAN get saved later on in life. It is never too late!
• Older folks CAN repent of their folly and choose a path of wisdom.
• But that is the exception to the rule. Proverbs does not deal with all the exceptions to the rule. Proverbs deals with the main thrust of the rule itself! (explain what a proverb is!)
e. The point being made is that, in general, when a fool spurns the wisdom offered and flies down the road of his own making, he is irreversibly headed for destruction!
• In other words, there is not much hope for a fool!
• A fool doesn’t listen to reproof or instruction. (vs.24)
• Therefore, his course is paved for him… and his runners are greased and headed for destruction!
• Prov. 29:1 – In general, when fools reject light and truth, they become MORE hardened to it!
• That is why most people who get saved, do so when young—before the heart has time to harden too much to respond to the truth!
• If God is speaking to your heart today about getting saved—DON’T put it off. You may be too hard tomorrow!
• If God is speaking to our heart as a believer about repenting of our sin or a bitter spirit or an ungodly attitude—REPENT NOW—because it only becomes MORE difficult with time… our heart can become MORE deeply embittered and hardened by sin!
• Don’t be a fool—get right with God now!
f. When the heart becomes hardened… (neck—becomes more obstinate) the fool is even LESS likely to hear reproof or the words of wisdom!
• In that condition, since he WILL NOT hear wisdom… he CANNOT hear!
• Light rejected is light denied!
• Wisdom is withdrawn in that sense… it is out of his reach!
• It is NOT that God is holding back wisdom from him… but HE has closed his eyes to the truth and therefore CANNOT see the truth.
• Truth—wisdom has been made out of his grasp—but it is the fool’s own doing—not God’s!
g. Thus, the fool SHALL NOT FIND wisdom… wisdom will not answer his call!
• Try to imagine a novice skier on the top of a triple black diamond trail.
• In his folly he says, “I can handle this!” Out of concern for him, his friends give him some words of wisdom: “Don’t take that trail! It’s dangerous!”
• Out of pride, the fool decides to reject the words of wisdom and he pushes off—only to discover that he wishes he didn’t!
• He might call out for wisdom—but it’s too late! He may really WANT to follow wisdom’s advice now—but it’s too late!
• He is headed for disaster—because he would not listen. Now, wisdom is out of his grasp…
• In the meantime—he may have to pay a price for his action!
• Young people may hear advice and reproof and warnings about sex, and alcohol, and drugs, and the use of credit cards — but if they don’t listen to the words of wisdom—and they pursue that dangerous course, they may discover that they have traveled too far down that road to return safely!
h. Wisdom is not something to be sought after as an afterthought… or when we are skidding out of control and headed for disaster. Wisdom is something to be sought after with all diligence! (2:2,4)
29For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
REASONS for Wisdom withdrawal of the offer
1. These two verses say essentially the same thing. It is the REASON why wisdom will not answer the fool.
2. The reason is that he doesn’t WANT it!
a. They HATED the knowledge offered them!
b. They CHOSE not to fear God!
c. They WANTED none of wisdom’s counsel!
d. They DESPISED all of wisdom’s reproofs!
• Which part of NO don’t you understand!?!
• The fool has made it perfectly clear that he does not want what wisdom has to offer.
• Eventually, the one offering gets the message and withdraws the offer!
e. The point is that as long as their heart attitude is unchanged, wisdom is no longer being offered to them!
• If they repent and seek wisdom with a whole heart, wisdom CAN be found!
• Why? Because as soon as they repent and seek wisdom with a whole heart—they are no longer a fool!
3. The fool hated wisdom… rejected wisdom… despised wisdom… refused her out stretched hand…—and now, it is out of his reach.
a. God is longsuffering, but His longsuffering comes to an end.
b. The Lord is pictured knocking at the door in Laodicea—but there is a last knock!
c. My Spirit shall not always strive with man…
4. NOW is the accepted time… (II Cor. 6:2)
a. This is a principle that applies to all of the invitations of God.
b. Wisdom begins with fearing the Lord. (Prov. 1:7 – and we ought to fear God’s hell and believe and be saved !)
c. Wisdom is also found in Christ… in Him is ALL wisdom. If you want wisdom, you must know God—a personal relationship to Christ is the only road to true wisdom! (Col. 2:3)
d. God’s wisdom is calling men first to salvation. Only the FOOL says NO to God’s call to salvation!
e. But even to the believer, Gods’ Wisdom calls us to forsake our folly too… to respond to His Word… the words of wisdom…
f. NOW is the accepted time for a believer to respond to God’s wisdom too.
• Why wait and risk an embittered, hardened heart?
• Why wait and risk quenching/extinguishing the ministry of the Spirit in our life?
• Why risk entering into Divine chastisement?
• If God’s Word/wisdom speaks to our heart—we ought to respond!
• Be DOERS of the word and not hearers only!
g. Isa. 1:18-20 – Isaiah told the people that NOW was the time to listen to and respond to the voice of God.
• Respond in faith and obedience would bring blessing…
• Respond in unbelief or disobedience, and it would bring a curse.
6Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, [NOW!!!!] and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Proverbs 1:30-32
Filled With Their Own Devices
INTRODUCTION:
1. This chapter speaks of a young man being called in two different directions.
a. The fools are calling him to a life of crime. (vs.14)
b. Lady wisdom is calling him away from the fools and to the way of wisdom. (vs.20)
c. You are all being called by voices out there in the world… called to worldliness… called to a life of sin… called to join the in crowd…
d. But you are also being called… wooed by the truth of God’s Word.
2. Lady wisdom cries out for all to hear.
a. She offers wisdom to whosoever will. (vs.23) (everyone here is being called by her – right now!)
b. But few are listening… few are taking her up on her offer. (vs.24)
• Unfortunately, few in the world listen.
• Hopefully MORE than a few here will listen.
• But I know human nature. Some of you sitting here today will NOT listen… but will go off on your own one day to flirt with a life of sin.
c. She warns that if they reject her too long, the offer may be withdrawn! (vs.14-16)
• This is a terrible tragedy! Opportunity lost…
• God gives you opportunity to respond to His Word… to His wisdom… but He won’t call forever — if you choose to ignore His call repeatedly… year after year!
3. Now, Lady wisdom states the penalty for rejecting her offer of wisdom. (vs.30-33)
They Would None of My Counsel
1. It is frustrating to offer counsel to men… and to children… only to see them reject the counsel and do their own thing anyway—especially when you see the sad results… knowing that COULD easily have been avoided.
2. They WOULD = to be willing; to desire; to want.
a. They did not want God’s wisdom!
b. They did not want to hear it any more. They had had enough!
c. They refused to listen to the sweet counsel of Lady wisdom.
d. Perhaps some of you have felt like that when your parents were trying to get something through to you… (I’ve been there!)
e. If you have an unwilling spirit – then NO amount of truth or helpful counsel will ever get through to you…
f. That stubborn, resistant, defensive, refusal to listen will be your doom! Few things in life are more dangerous than that.
g. If that is your heart attitude (unwilling to hear; unwilling to be taught), then even the Lord will not be able to teach you…
h. Your parents… your teachers… and your friends all want to help you, but you are unwilling… You are even LIMITING what God is able to do in your life…
i. God can’t work in an unwilling heart.
3. They DESPISED all my reproof.
a. Despise: to spurn, contemn, despise, abhor
b. Not only did they not want to be reproved—they HATED it!
c. Reproof is counsel with a bit more punch… pointed counsel. It is not only encouraging a man down the right path. It includes warning that man AGAINST the path he’s now on! It is a rebuke.
d. This was despised!
e. Nobody likes to be rebuked. But a wise man will receive it… and learn from it. (Proverbs 9:8-9)
• In the end, he will appreciate it… and even love you for it—though in the immediate, it might irk him a bit!
• He will increase in learning and be yet wiser.
• Can you accept reproof? Can you swallow your pride and take it in?
f. A reproof enters into a wise man more than 100 stripes into a fool. (Prov. 17:20)
g. But the people Lady Wisdom describes were NOT wise. They were fools. They HATED her rebukes. She could beat them over the head 100 times, and her wisdom would still not sink in… they would still refuse to hear. They were fools.
h. Don’t YOU be like that. Listen… take counsel…
Therefore… (results of rejecting wisdom)
A. The Fruit of Their Own Way
1. Fruit usually has a good connotation in the Bible… but not always, and not here. Here it refers to rotten fruit… bad fruit… evil fruit.
a. Here the fruit of their own way refers to the evil results of NOT following the counsel or reproofs from Lady Wisdom…
b. Fruit = the natural by product of…
c. When a fool follows his own way instead of the way of wisdom, the natural outcome is disaster!
d. This is not divine intervention or judgment. This is the NATURAL result of foolish behavior!
e. People who foolishly ignore the sign that says “Beware of thin ice” should expect to fall through.
f. When it happens, it is not God’s fault. It is the fault of the fool!
g. The water is cold and deep. And sometimes it is hard getting out!
2. Jeremiah said, “Thy words were found and I did eat them and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart!” (Jer. 15:16)
a. God’s Word… God’s wisdom is offered… and men are to “eat” it.
b. Eat it = take it in… appropriate it… make it yours.
4. The fools in Prov. 1 had God’s wisdom offered to them, but they refused to “eat” it. They rejected it.
a. They would not follow the way of wisdom.
b. They hated it… they wanted to do their own thing… follow their own way.
5. Now, they will be forced to eat their own fruit… the results of following their own way.
a. But there are some purely natural consequences of rejecting wisdom. There are consequences of following our own ways!
b. There are some ways that seem right to a man—but it results in death!
c. Some young fools have been warned about drinking and driving—but they rejected it. They chose to do their own thing… their own way… and it often results in death!
d. Other young fools have been warned about taking drugs… but they rejected wisdom and chose to go their own way. For many, that way spirals downward in disease, destruction, and death!
e. Some other fools have been warned about being married to their job… but they reject the warnings, and end up losing their family over it!
f. Some fools reject counsel and refuse to forgive a brother that has wronged them. Bitterness festers in their hearts… they become hardened… and eventually, they become a castaway spiritually.
g. Some fools reject the wisdom of their parents and pay no attention in school. They become lifelong, professional hamburger flippers.
h. Some fools are warned about smoking. They reject the wise counsel and end up with lung cancer.
i. Some foolish parents are warned NOT to allow their daughters to wear skimpy clothing, but they refuse, because it is “stylish.” They regret it later when their daughter comes home pregnant at 15!
j. Some fools are warned not to marry an unbeliever or a carnal believer. They reject the counsel, and pay a price for it the rest of their lives.
k. The examples are endless… countless applications… examples of rotten fruit abound!
B. Filled With Their Own Devices
1. Device: counsel; plan; device.
a. The fool rejects God’s counsel… and follows his own counsel/device/plan.
b. The fool thinks his devices or plans are better than God’s.
c. The fool will be FILLED with his own devices… he will reap the fruit of his own plan since he rejected God’s plan for his life.
2. Fruit grows because it was planted.
a. This passage teaches the same principle as found in Gal. 6:7-8.
b. Whatever we sow, eventually, we will reap. If I fill my garden with tomato plants, I will be filled with tomatoes!
c. If we sow rotten fruit—rejecting wisdom—eventually, we will reap rotten fruit.
d. Folly reaps a harvest just like wisdom does. However, the harvest of folly is not good for you… it is not wholesome food! And the fool will become FULL on that unwholesome food.
e. We cannot avoid the consequences of our actions!
f. Every man is free to make his own choices. But he is NOT free to choose the consequences of those choices!
g. God has established certain moral principles in the world. The consequences to defying them are just as sure as attempting to defy gravity!
h. example: adultery—Prov. 6:28 – you cannot walk on hot coals and not be burned! So too one who goes in unto his neighbor’s wife. He is going to get burned!
• He had the choice to go unto his neighbor’s wife or NOT go in unto her.
• But once he chose to go in unto her—he does not get to choose the consequences! He is going to get burned!
• God gives us as believers freedom to choose. We can choose to walk with God OR we can choose to backslide. However, if we chose to backslide, we shall be filled with our own ways! (Prov. 14:14) Sin hurts! The way of the transgressor is HARD!
3. The classic Bible illustration of this truth is found in Rom. 1:21-32
a. vs.21 – They had truth, wisdom, revelation—but rejected it.
b. vs.22 – they thought themselves to be wise. Who needs God’s wisdom?
c. vs.23 – They rejected truth… rejected God… and the inevitable process of corruption began.
d. vs.25 – They hated truth—and twisted it… they refused to honor God.
e. vs.26-28 – They rejected God and His wisdom. God rejected them. (I shall laugh at their calamity!)
f. vs.29 – They became FILLED with their own devices… and the inevitable consequences of their devices!
C. The turning away of the simple shall slay them… (vs.32)
a. Solomon makes the same point in different terminology.
b. The fool was invited to “turn” (respond) to the offer of wisdom. (vs.23) IF he did, great benefits were promised.
c. Yet because he turned away from that offer… that turning away shall be his undoing. It shall be his destruction… it will slay him!
d. Turning away = backsliding. Instead of turning toward wisdom, he headed in the opposite direction. He will pay for it!
D. The prosperity of the fools shall destroy them. (vs.32b)
a. Prosperity = quietness, ease, prosperity. This speaks of the easy going lifestyle of the fool.
• It comes from a word that means “to be at rest.”
• It can refer to a carefree kind of lifestyle… “not a care in the world…” “life’s a beach”…
• This kind of attitude is the destruction of them!
• They get 100 dollars and instead of paying down their debt or saving it—they rush out to spend it—thinking they are rich… thinking that they haven’t got a care in the world! Let’s eat, drink, and be merry!
b. That attitude destroys people’s lives… foolish people!
WHY do you think Solomon gave these words of warning to his son?
• To make life miserable for him? (Kids think that sometimes!)
• Because dads always have lots of negative things to say?
• Because he was old — and doesn’t understand young people?
• NO!!! (Prov. 1:8-9) — because if heeded, they will be like an ornament of grace on your head (like a crown – and a gold necklace)!
• Solomon loved his son and wanted the BEST for him.
• Solomon knew of dangers and their consequences and didn’t want his son to have to suffer and learn these lessons the hard way!
• Solomon loved his son – and knew that a few wrong choices in life could result in YEARS of regret… and some consequences might be irreversible!
• When your parents give you such warnings – it comes from the very same motivation – they love you more than you will ever know — till you have your own kids… and they want the very best for you!
Proverbs 1:33
Whoso Hearkeneth Unto Me
Whoso hearkeneth unto Me
1. Once again, this is lady wisdom speaking. (vs.20)
2. Hearkeneth: to hear, listen to, obey.
a. She wants everyone to listen to her words and obey! Pay attention!
b. She is crying in the streets to be heard…
c. She has stretched out her arm to offer help, instruction, guidance…
d. She wants everyone to listen and to hearken to her words!
e. She has something extremely valuable to offer to all…
3. However, she is discouraged because so few are even willing to listen!
a. vs. 24 – They refused… they didn’t want her counsel…
b. vs. 25 – they set at naught all her counsel…
c. vs. 29 – they hated her knowledge and did not choose to fear God
d. vs. 30 they rejected and despised her reproof.
e. What could be more foolish?
4. Lady wisdom also warns them of the consequences of rejecting her words:
a. vs. 26 – calamity and fear will strike them one day…
b. vs. 27 – desolation will come as a tornado… distress… anguish…
c. vs. 28 – they will seek her but not be able to find her one day…
d. vs. 31- they will be filled with their own devices—reap what they have sown.
5. There are also good consequences of hearkening unto her…
a. Already, several good results of following the way of wisdom were mentioned…
b. It gives subtlety to the simple, and knowledge and discretion to the young man! (vs.4)
c. A man who follows the way of wisdom will increase in knowledge. (vs.5)
d. Wisdom will keep a young man away from the wrong crowd. (vs.10)
e. 1:33 – two more GOOD results of following the words of Lady Wisdom.
Shall Dwell Safely
1. Dwell = to settle down, abide, dwell, tabernacle, reside.
2. Safely = securely, assurance, boldly , confidence, hope, secure
3. There is safety and security in following the way of wisdom.
a. He will be safe because he will avoid the calamity mentioned in vs.26-27!
• There are many calamities we bring on ourselves!
• God doesn’t want His people living in calamity, distress, and anguish!
• He wants us to dwell in safety… securely… at rest!
• Those who reject wisdom will be eating the fruit of their ways all their days… their life will be a whirlwind of troubles—troubles that COULD have been avoided!
• But the one who follows the way of wisdom can dwell safe and secure! No whirlwind in his household! (at least not of his own making!)
b. If you build your house on a solid foundation (as wisdom requires!) you will dwell safely in that house. If you build your house on sand (folly), you will NOT dwell safely. You will experience tragedy…
• This is a principle the Lord applies to salvation…
• But it holds to countless other situations too!
c. Security is big business today. (alarms; locks; security guards; cameras; passwords, etc…)
• People want security for their homes, cars, money, lives, property, retirement…
• Wisdom offers a life of security… freedom from many disasters.
• Much of this security is ours simply by doing what God says… following His words of wisdom… His counsel… His advice…
• For some strange reason, we seem to prefer to lean on our own understanding… and pay the consequences of it!
Shall Be Quiet From Fear of Evil
1. This is a promise of peace of mind… no need to live in anxiety and fear…
a. Quiet: to be at ease, be at peace, rest, rest securely, be quiet…
• The first result of following wisdom was security.
• Now comes the SENSE of ease from knowing you’re are safe and secure!
b. God wants His people to live in peace… rest… not in fear and anxiety…
c. The one who follows the way of wisdom IS secure. And also he can EXPERIENCE the quietude of that security!
d. This rest and quiet and peace is not just wishful thinking. It is because the follower of wisdom really DOES dwell safely! Therefore, he can enjoy peace of mind!
• Some fools enjoy peace of mind for a while… but it is built on false hopes… which eventually are dashed.
• But the wise man enjoys a peace of mind that built on a rock… he IS secure!
2. The fool brings fear upon himself—fear of being caught… being discovered… fear of the IRS discovering he was cheating… fears of people finding out about his lies…
a. This is the kind of fear evil criminals live with their whole lives. (Is anybody looking? Was that a police car over there? Is he an undercover agent?)
b. The evil fool lives a life full of fear and anxiety… always looking over his shoulder. (Whitey Bulger)
3. The foolish Christian—who refuses the words of counsel—lives in the fear of chastisement! (Prov. 3:11) And rightly so!
a. The wise Christian who listens to sound counsel need NOT fear the heavy hand of God!
4. The fool who refuses wisdom and lives in immorality fears that his body might be consumed! (Prov. 5:11) And when he discovers he has aids, he laments, but it is too late!
a. The wise man need not fear STD’s!
b. Wisdom keeps him away from sinful, risky behavior… and thus he need not fear what fools fear!
c. The wise man is satisfied with his own wife! (5:15,18)
5. The fool who refuses to abstain from sinful behavior fears becoming entangled… addicted… unable to free himself! (Prov. 5:22-23)
a. The wise man need not fear becoming entangled in sin… addicted to coke or alcohol…
b. He is free from the fear of this kind of evil!
6. The fool worries about his tomorrow because he is not diligent today! (Proverbs 6:10-11) He worries about poverty… going hungry… because he is lazy at his job… and is likely to be the first to be fired…
a. The wise man is diligent in his work. He is prepared for tomorrow.
b. Proverbs 10:4 – the hand of the diligent maketh rich…
c. A hard working man need not live with the same kind of fears that a foolish, lazy man lives with!
d. Lady wisdom says: Be diligent! Fools say: relax, life’s a beach!
7. The fool who goes in unto his neighbor’s wife lives in constant anxiety of being “burned!” (Prov. 6:25-28)
a. The wise man who listens to lady Wisdom need not live in fear of being “caught”… discovered… or ruining your family!
b. The fool brings this on himself… and many others suffer as a result of his folly!
8. The fool lives with the fear of having his slander revealed… or his hatred discovered… (Prov. 10:18)
a. But the follower of wisdom need not live with that fear!
b. He can have a clear conscience…
c. vs.19 – the fool who talks continually is bound to say something to get himself in trouble… and is condemned to live with the fear of trouble hanging over his head.
d. 13:3
e. The wise man restrains his lips… and has no fear.
9. The fool who refuses to listen to counsel experiences all his hopes and dreams and plans come to nothing… fall apart… and he has to live with that fear daily. (Prov. 11:14)
a. But the wise man who seeks counsel is safe!
b. One lives in fear of his world crumbling… one lives in safety and security! Which would you want?
10. Prov. 13:15 – the way of the transgressor is hard!
a. It is a life of worry… fear… distress…
b. That is because transgression has consequences.
c. But the one who follows God’s word of wisdom and avoids the sin will avoid the awful consequences of sin!
11. Prov. 13:10 – pride results in contention. Wisdom says “Humble yourself!”
a. Follow the ways of wisdom and we need not live in constant contention!
12. Prov. 13:20 – the fool walks with foolish men and is destroyed. He lives in fear of destruction because of their destructive ways!
a. The godly man who walks with godly men need not fear trouble befalling him!
b. Join a gang, and you are entering a lifestyle of constant fear…
c. The godly man has no such fear. He will become even wiser!
13. Prov. 13:24 – wisdom says “discipline your children.”
a. A fool thinks he can pamper them and sweet talk them into good behavior. He will live in misery as a result.
b. A wise man obeys God in this area… and has peace of mind from well rounded children by his side!
14. A wise woman shall be quiet from the evil of a house falling apart. A foolish woman lives in that constant fear. (Prov. 14:1)
a. cf. vs. 11 – overthrown or flourish? Which will it be?
b. It all depends upon whether we follow wisdom or folly.
15. Prov. 3:21-25 – safety, peace, security, a good night’s sleep! All this belongs to those who follow wisdom!
a. Ps. 91:5 – be not afraid of terror…
b. Isa. 32:17 – peace is the effect of righteousness!
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 2
Proverbs 2:1-5
How To Find the Knowledge of God
Introduction:
1.) 1:20-33 consisted of a lengthy plea from Lady Wisdom.
2.) Now the author returns to the format he used previously: a father/son format. (cf. 1:8)
3.) Here, Solomon teaches his son HOW to obtain the knowledge of God.
• If… then condition. (vs. 4a-5a)
4.) Many people want this knowledge and yearn for it, but do not obtain it. It is not obtained through scholarly exercises of the mind.
5.) Rather, it is obtained only by means of a right heart attitude.
I.) RECEIVE MY WORDS—(A WILLING HEART)
1. Receive: to take, lay hold of, seize, acquire, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away… (to take for oneself)
2. The words that Solomon is passing on to his son is TRUTH… we might paraphrase—“Bible truth.” “Divine wisdom.”
3. If we really want to know God—then we must begin with this as our heart attitude: willing to receive Divine truth… desirous to soak it in…
4. I Thess. 2:13 – These saints were praised for receiving God’s Word…
a. They received it AS God’s Word.
b. They acknowledged its supreme authority.
5. If we are not willing (deep, down inside) to receive truth from God, we will never obtain that knowledge of God!
6. God knows our hearts, too. If God knows that a person is not really willing to receive His truth, He will NOT illuminate that person’s mind.
7. If our heart is unwilling to receive light… darkness will set it! Blindness.
8. I think it is fair to assume that Solomon means ALL of his words, too. His son was not to pick and choose which words he wants to receive and which he wants to reject!
9. So, too, with God’s Word. We must be willing to receive it ALL…
a. If there are portions of God’s Word we are not willing to hear or receive, then something is wrong with our heart!
b. We must be willing to receive the WHOLE counsel of God—the blessings AND the cursings—or we are not really willing!
c. If we are not willing to hear anything and everything God wants to teach us through His Word, then we are NOT willing.
d. If we are not willing, then we will not obtain the knowledge of God.
e. Obtaining wisdom and the knowledge of God is not a matter of the brain, but is a matter of the heart. That puts us all on equal footing.
II.) HIDE MY COMMANDMENTS WITH THEE (AN OBEDIENT HEART) [VS.1]
1. The second requirement is obedience.
2. Solomon says that we must “hide” his commandments within us.
3. Ps. 119:11 – thy Word have I hid in my heart.
4. To HIDE God’s Word in our heart implies that we VALUE the commandment.
a. We hide the truth away in our heart as we would hide a valuable jewel away in a safe place… for safe keeping… so that it will not be lost or snatched away!
b. If something is NOT valued, you would not be so concerned about hiding it away somewhere. (junk mail!)
5. The fact that they are commandments also implies obedience is required.
a. If we value commandments, then of course, we will obey them!!
b. To disobey is to ignore them… which demonstrates we do NOT value them.
6. Thus, if we want to know God… then we must be WILLING to hear what He has to say to us through His Word AND we must be willing to obey that commandment… and keep it in a safe place the next time occasion arises to obey it!
7. John 7:17 – If you want to know doctrine… if you want to know truth… and gain spiritual understanding—then we MUST be willing to obey!
a. God knows our heart!
b. Why should He feel obligated to illuminate our minds concerning a truth in the Scriptures—a passage that seems to be an enigma to us—if we are not willing to obey it?
c. If we are lacking discernment, it may just be that it is because in our hearts we are not willing to respond in faith and obedience!
d. John 8:31-32 – IF we continue in the Word—(obedience) THEN we shall know the truth and experience the benefits of truth.
e. In order to know God and gain spiritual discernment, God requires a willing and obedient heart. (Superior intelligence is not a requirement).
III.) INCLINE THINE EAR UNTO WISDOM (A READY EAGER HEART) [VS.2]
1. Incline: to hear, be attentive, heed, incline (of ears), attend (of ears), hearken, pay attention, listen.
2. It speaks of a heart that is attentive to what is said…
a. Not everybody pays close attention to what is said.
b. If we are not paying close attention, then it reveals a heart that doesn’t really WANT to know or understand!
c. Paying attention indicates that we VALUE the truth or wisdom spoken!
3. God praised the Berean believers for this attitude—willing and eager and ready to receive God’s Word! (Acts 17:11)
a. The Bereans had a readiness of mind—(Readiness of mind = zeal, spirit, eagerness)
b. They searched the Scriptures carefully to make sure that what they heard was actually true! And to see if there is something MORE they can learn!
c. That is hearing attentively! Zealously.
4. This is reminiscent of the way Mary listened to Jesus. She sat at His feet and listened attentively… with zeal to hear His Word. (Luke 10:39)
5. If we really want to know God and His wisdom… we must have that kind of attentive zeal towards truth.
IV.) APPLY THINE HEART TO UNDERSTANDING (AN ACTIVELY EAGER HEART) [VS.2]
1. Apply = to stretch out, extend, stretch.
a. Stretch out—reaching out—stretching to grab something that seems almost in your grasp… but requires effort.
b. Like a child who is standing on the edge of a chair stretching up to the cookie jar—because he really wants one!
2. This speaks of a heart that is ready to hear more truth.
a. This is the heart that has heard truth—loves it—and wants MORE!
b. He is applying himself to obtain more, too—stretching himself!
c. Some folks hear truth—realize the responsibility that accompanies it—and wants to hear no more!
d. This person applies or stretches himself to obtain understanding.
3. The thought is similar to that of being eager—but takes it one step further.
a. This person is not just eager in his mind. He APPLIES himself to obtain it!
b. He doesn’t just sit around wishing and hoping for more wisdom. He stretches himself to obtain it!
c. God has stored wisdom in His cookie jar. And when we actively stretch ourselves to get at that jar—then God will see to it that the cookie jar is in our reach—though we will have to stretch—it IS obtainable!
d. Its okay to get caught with your hands in that cookie jar!
V.) CRIEST AFTER KNOWLEDGE, AND LIFTEST UP THY VOICE FOR UNDERSTANDING (A HUNGRY HEART) [VS.3]
1. IF we want to know God and obtain Divine wisdom and discernment, then we must CRY OUT for it.
2. Solomon taught his son and us — that we must PRAY for wisdom.
3. This speaks of a spiritual hunger for it—that results in prayer to God—the only One able to give this kind of wisdom.
4. James 1:5 – if we lack wisdom in trials—ASK! Ask in faith and you shall receive!
5. Too often we have not because we ask not!
6. Praying also implies a deep, abiding relationship to God.
7. The kind of prayer spoken of in Proverbs 2:3 is not a quick little ditty!
a. He speaks of crying after knowledge! Lifting up your voice loudly for it!
b. Of course, prayer alone is not sufficient. It must be accompanied by a heart that is willing… eager to learn… ready to obey… stretching out for it!
c. When that is our heart’s attitude THEN pray… and receive!
VI.) SEEKEST HER AS SILVER, AND SEARCHEST FOR HER AS FOR HID TREASURES (DILIGENCE)
1. And in addition to all of the above, God demands DILIGENCE of us.
2. Wisdom and knowledge of God and discernment is not something you stumble across.
3. Rather, it is to be sought with the same diligence and effort that men exert in their search for silver and hidden treasures!
a. Read about the gold rush—the sacrifice men made to find gold… the resolve… perseverance… dedication… devotion!
b. Unfortunately, most of them died before striking it rich.
c. God promises us that IF we put in that kind of effort in the pursuit of the knowledge of God, then we WILL find it!
THEN SHALT THOU UNDERSTAND THE FEAR OF THE LORD, AND FIND THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.
1. vs. 5- this kind of effort will not go unrewarded… ever.
2. It is an all out effort—ears, heart, voice!
3. The end result is assured – but only under the conditions listed above.
Proverbs 2:6-9
Wisdom Is Available
Introduction
1. The author is back to the father/son format.
2. In vs. 1-5, Solomon gives 6 prerequisites for obtaining wisdom.
3. He explains HOW to obtain the knowledge of God.
• If… then condition. (vs. 4a-5a)
• NONE of it had to do with intelligence or brainpower. It was entirely a matter of the heart.
• The simplest young man or woman can become wise IF they obey God and follow these simple instructions.
• The knowledge of God and divine wisdom is a matter of diligence and is a matter of the heart.
• All those who claim, “Oh, it is too hard for me to understand! I haven’t been gifted with the brain power to grasp all this wisdom!” = is a royal cop out!
4. In this next section, Solomon states that wisdom really IS available… for those who follow God’s commands.
FOR THE LORD GIVETH WISDOM: (VS.6)
1. FOR – this word connects this section with the previous section.
a. Vs.1-5 stated briefly that IF one has a willing heart to receive God’s wisdom and IF they are diligent in applying this wisdom THEN they will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God!
b. FOR God is not holding back wisdom from anyone!
c. God GIVES wisdom! Abundantly! As much as is needed!
d. As a gift! Freely!
2. This phrase implies first of all, that knowledge and wisdom is found in God! He is the Source of it all.
a. There are a lot of other sources which claim to have wisdom… (science falsely so called; philosophy; religion; even the man on the street makes such claims…)
b. But God is the Source of all true wisdom.
c. There is the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. (I Cor. 1:20-21)
d. There are many ungodly folks offering wisdom too… offering counsel… (Psalm 1:1-2) Blessed is the man who does NOT walk according to that ungodly counsel!
e. But if you want real wisdom—GOD is the only Source.
3. This phrase also is given as a MOTIVATION.
a. Solomon has just stated that much effort and diligence is required if we want the knowledge of God—the wisdom of God.
b. If a man is going to exert himself in an all out effort to obtain something, he needs to know that it IS obtainable!
c. Example – the Grand Canyon is a mile across. Jumping across is not possible. Nobody would put in an all out effort to train for jumping across the Grand Canyon! He knows that his goal is beyond his reach no matter HOW much effort he puts in.
d. However, in an athletic contest, athletes train hard and put in much diligence because they KNOW that their goals are possible!
e. So too in obtaining wisdom. It requires our ALL.
f. Solomon wants his son to know that the goal IS obtainable. God DOES give wisdom!
g. But again, it is all contingent upon the conditions—in vs.1-5.
• Receive my words—(a willing heart) (vs.1)
• Hide my commandments with thee (an obedient heart) [vs.1]
• Incline thine ear unto wisdom (a ready eager heart) [vs.2]
• Apply thine heart to understanding (an actively eager heart) [vs.2]
• Criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding (a hungry heart) [vs.3]
• Seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures (diligence)
• NONE of it is a matter of the head—all pertains to the heart.
h. Vs. 6 is geared toward the man who might feel intimidated by Bible STUDY… as if it were merely an intellectual pursuit.
• Solomon states clearly that wisdom is NOT a matter of the head.
• If you will put in the all out effort—and if you will open your heart, be willing, and ready to obey—THEN God will give it!
• And no other way!
• If we want a superficial kind of faith—half hearted effort—willing to obey only when we approve of God’s will—then we will receive NOTHING of the Lord! No wisdom at all. We are condemned to a superficial Christian existence… to bumble along like men of the world…
• FAITH is required—willing, obedient heart of faith! (James 1:5-7) If we are double minded—expect NOTHING from the Lord!
OUT OF HIS MOUTH COMETH KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING. (VS. 6)
1. God is the Source of wisdom. His mouth is FULL of knowledge and understanding.
2. Who is it that obtains this knowledge and understanding? The person who applies himself… and listens to the words which come from God’s mouth… and reads God’s Word… and obeys… and has an open, obedient, receptive heart! That’s who!
3. Everybody wants knowledge and wisdom and understanding… but not everyone is willing to go to the Source…
a. Are we faithful in reading God’s Word each day?
b. Have we put in an all out effort to learn from God and learn of God?
c. If we come to Him with the right heart attitude, He will give us the wisdom we need. He promises!
d. None that search for Divine wisdom search in vain… not if their heart is right! He sends none away empty handed…
• Except—those who don’t really WANT to learn…
• Except those whose hearts are not yielded…
• Except those whose hearts are not unwilling to obey all things
• Except those who are not diligent and are content with a superficial knowledge of God.
e. But those who come to God hungry, never go away hungry. They are FILLED!
f. But, God knows our hearts and He doesn’t play games.
HE LAYETH UP SOUND WISDOM FOR THE RIGHTEOUS (VS.7)
1. Once again, Solomon states the fact that wisdom is available.
2. God has plenty of it! He lays it up … like a treasure! Heaped up… piled up!
3. Layeth up = to hide away; to be hidden; to treasure up;
a. The point is that this wisdom and knowledge is precious to God.
b. He hides it away so that it is not taken by those who will not value it.
c. God doesn’t want just anybody getting a hold of these precious pearls. It would like a pig trampling over precious pearls.
d. God hides these pearls away for a select few…
4. It is hidden away, BUT—it is hidden away FOR the righteous!
a. God hides it away, but not so that He can keep it all to Himself.
b. He hides it FROM those who will not appreciate it.
c. He hides it FOR those who do.
d. It is stored away in a safe place… and is there any time the righteous need it!
e. It is as if God has deposited it in a bank for those with an upright, righteous heart. We can draw on that account any time we want to!
5. This kind of wisdom is available for the righteous.
a. Righteous: straight, upright, correct, right; straight, level; pleasing, correct… (those walking the straight and narrow road!)
b. This speaks of those whose lives are righteous… upright…
c. This is one more prerequisite for obtaining wisdom. God requires a righteous life!
d. Jesus warned us not to even bother casting our pearls before swine. They will not appreciate them. (Matt. 7:6)
e. Pearls of wisdom are not for those who place no value on them. They are for those who are righteous… the godly… those who live for God.
f. Why should God give wisdom to those who are unrighteous? He has no such obligation!
g. Why should God give further guidance and direction to the life of one who has not been following previous directions?
h. Many folks come to God half heartedly… with one foot in the world and one foot in the heavenlies… they want a superficial relationship to God… and with lackluster effort, search for wisdom… but never find it. (Some have the nerve to complain that it is too complicated!)
i. God is no fool. God is not mocked.
j. Those whose lives are upright and righteous—whose hearts are hungry and diligent RECEIVE knowledge and understanding.
k. All others receive confusion and darkness. (Matt. 13:12-15)
• WHY were so many unable to understand?
• Because their heart is waxed gross! Not a matter of the head! (vs.15a)
• They closed their eyes… because what little they did understand made them accountable… and they closed their eyes and hearts to it… and the result is ignorance and blindness.
• The same principle holds true for believers when it comes to obtaining wisdom. Some believers do. Some do not.
6. Thus, Solomon lets his son know that if he wants to know wisdom… he needs to know God. God is the Source of it all!
a. Col. 2:3 – In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom!
b. If we want wisdom to be manifested in our lives, we should seek to know God more and more.
c. And if we are going to know God, we must know His Word. Let it fill your heart and mind. Allow your mind to become saturated by it.
d. As we know Him and fear Him… and become more and more conscious of Him and His presence—THEN wisdom will be manifested in our lives… in the decisions we make… the direction our life takes…
e. Prov. 1:7 – There are two kinds of men. Those who (1) are moved with fear, and thus have true knowledge… and (2) despise wisdom and instruction.
f. To have divine wisdom you don’t need a big brain. But you DO need a tender heart—one that fears God; one that is willing to receive truth; one that is willing to obey truth; a heart that is hungry for truth.
HE IS A BUCKLER TO THEM THAT WALK UPRIGHTLY.
1. God is a buckler—a shield…
a. The point is that God protects His children who walk uprightly.
b. How does God protect us according to this context?
* Divine wisdom!
8He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
9Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
Proverbs 2:10-12
The Protection Wisdom Provides
THE PROTECTION WISDOM PROVIDES
• This section is an “if… then” condition, like the previous section. (vs.4-5)
• WHEN the two prerequisites of vs.10 are met, THEN the protection mentioned in vs.11-12 is available… and only then.
• Here, Solomon tells his son (and us!) HOW to experience the protection Divine wisdom affords.
PREREQUISITES TO PROTECTION:
Wisdom must enter into our heart
1. So far, the whole book has had one main theme: wisdom offered to the young and inexperienced.
2. Solomon speaks of Lady Wisdom, who has been crying out for everyone to hear her and receive her. (1:20)
3. Yet, she is discouraged because so many are not listening… and refusing to heed her call. (1:24-25)
4. In chapter three, Solomon begins to speak about the practical advantages of taking heed to wisdom… the protection it will afford.
5. BUT, before the listener is provided with any protection, FIRST he must allow wisdom to enter into his heart.
a. Note that it does not say “head.” (Wisdom is not just knowledge stored away… not just a collection of facts… but also implies the practice of truth… responding to it…)
b. Wisdom must enter the heart…
• This speaks of not just knowing truth, but receiving it personally…
• Allowing truth to sink in… become a part of us…
• This only happens when the believer STRIVES for wisdom! (2:3-4)
• Heart: the inner man; the center of moral character.
• Wisdom must ENTER INTO our heart… be absorbed into our innermost being…
• For wisdom to enter into our heart, means that our hearts must be WIDE OPEN to God’s truth… to Divine wisdom… receptive… open…willing. (vs. 2:2)
6. God’s wisdom comes to us through a divinely appointed channel:
a. From God’s mouth… to God’s Word… to our ear… and then to our heart.
b. This wisdom is available. She is crying out in the streets! God’s Word has been recorded and is available to all of us.
c. However, that does not mean that we are all wise. WE can short-circuit that divinely appointed channel.
d. God has spoken and has recorded His wisdom… BUT we might refuse to read God’s Word… or hear God’s Word!
e. It is also possible that even when we ARE reading the Word and hearing the Word preached, our hearts may be SHUT… CLOSED… unwilling to receive it…
f. And thus, either way, Wisdom does not enter into our heart.
g. If that is the case, we can expect NONE of the protection mentioned in vs.11-12.
h. BUT when wisdom DOES enter our heart (because of a tender, receptive heart) then we can expect this wisdom to protect us from many evils in life!
i. Allowing divine wisdom to enter our heart is the first pre-requisite.
7. Prov. 4:23 – Out of the heart are the issues of life.
a. If wisdom enters our heart, it is going to have a positive effect on EVERY aspect of our life… because ALL of the issues of life stem from the heart!
b. Wisdom is to enter our heart like leaven enters a loaf—it affects the whole lump!
c. Wisdom that sinks deep down into our heart will affect our thought life… our words… our deeds… our motives… our whole being!
d. If it doesn’t sink deep into our heart, but stays only in our head, it is superficial… and will never provide the kind of protection to our LIFE that God wants for us!
Knowledge is Pleasant unto Thy Soul
1. The world foolishly says, “ignorance is bliss.” Not so!
2. The Bible says knowledge is bliss! Knowledge is pleasant to the soul.
3. Pleasant: to be pleasant, be beautiful, be sweet, be delightful, be lovely
a. Can you honestly say that God’s Word is sweet, delightful, lovely to your soul?
b. When wisdom sinks deep down into our heart, it is pleasurable to the soul! (Prov. 24:13-14)
4. Knowledge is NOT pleasant to all souls. It is only pleasant to souls whose hearts are right with God. Fools hate knowledge! (1:29)
a. Bible study is boring… drudgery… a chore… dry and dusty when our heart is not right.
• If we are accustomed to filling our heart with the things of the world, then spiritual things are quite boring…
• Just like it is to the unbeliever… flesh is flesh!
• To the carnal man, spiritual things are foolish; boring; a waste of time
b. Bible study is pleasant to the soul of one whose heart is right with God!
• Jeremiah 15:16 – the joy and rejoicing of my heart. (Is that so with you?)
• Ps. 19:10 – More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
• Ps. 119:97 – O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
• I John 5:3 – His commandments are not grievous!
• ALL of God’s Word is pleasant—the blessings and the cursings. Every bit of it is agreeable to the soul right with God. Truth sits well in such a heart. It is right at home… comfortable… pleasant…
5. Is the knowledge we gain from God’s Word pleasant to your soul?
a. It is when the soul is hungry for God!
b. It is when the soul has developed a taste for God’s Word.
c. It is when the soul has not been feasting on the chaff of the world!
d. It is when the soul loves God—for this book is full of the knowledge of God!
e. Laurie Hipke’s testimony—when she dedicated her life to the Lord, suddenly the preacher’s messages became interesting!
6. Until knowledge is pleasant to our soul, we cannot avail ourselves of the protection Divine wisdom affords!
a. It is the man who delights in the law of the Lord who is preserved from “walking in the counsel of the ungodly.”
Discretion Shall Preserve Thee
1. Discretion: discernment; the ability to make good decisions
2. Preserve: keep; guard; protect;
3. Solomon states that WHEN wisdom enters our heart and our heart is so receptive that this knowledge is pleasant to our soul, THEN this kind of wisdom or discretion will preserve us!
* Matthew Henry wrote, “When wisdom has entire possession of thee, it will keep thee.”
4. This is God’s means of guarding or protecting the saints.
5. Discretion or spiritual discernment is what believers need the most today. There is a deplorable LACK of it in so many circles!
a. The ability to make wise decisions will preserve the believer from horrible results of making bad decisions!
b. I have seen believers make some really foolish decisions… walk down some dead end streets… even jump of the spiritual cliff…
c. As a pastor, I am left to deal with the aftermath of such poor decisions too!
d. As a result of this lack of discernment, believers are unprotected against the wiles of the devil… and many are falling!
6. If our hearts are wide open to the knowledge of God’s Word… wide open and receptive to hear and obey… THEN we will have the discretion necessary to keep us safe in the midst of spiritual warfare!
* Discernment… a working knowledge of God’s Word—when hidden in the heart will protect us against sin! (That I might not sin against Thee!)
7. We will be preserved! We will not have to fall in the battle and become another awful statistic!
a. Cf. vs.7-8 – In this passage Solomon states that GOD preserves such a saint.
• God is a buckler to the one who walks uprightly! (shield; protector)
• God keeps the path of that saint… and preserves the way of that saint!
• Here it is stated that the believer’s responsibility is to WALK uprightly—DO what God says, and God will protect him.
• In 2:11 Solomon states that DISCRETION will protect the saint who opens his mind and heart to the truth.
• BOTH are true. God does protect us—but He chooses to do so through the wisdom He has already revealed in His Word.
• Like a child who is told that the stove is hot. When that truth sinks into his heart, it will protect him from getting burned!
• If the child is stubborn and obstinate, and refuses to listen, he may have to learn the hard way.
• When we close our minds to His Word… when we harden our hearts to God’s Wisdom… then we have forsaken the protection of the Lord.
• We are on our own in a spiritual conflict which we have no hope of winning!
• Being on our own is a dangerous place to be—especially when our adversary is like a roaring lion seeking to devour us! We are no match!
Proverbs 2:12-15
The Evil Man Described
Introduction:
1. The author has been speaking about the merits and benefits of wisdom… (vs.11) It preserves and keeps you safe.
2. Now Solomon mentions two specific examples of protection afforded by wisdom: it delivers thee from the evil man (vs.12-15) and the strange woman. (vs.16-19)
THE WICKED MAN DESCRIBED
A.) He Speaks Froward Things
1. Discretion will PRESERVE a godly man from the ungodly man…
2. It will also preserve the godly man or woman from the TROUBLE that comes from speaking froward things.
3. Solomon’s point is that evil men speak froward things (perverse; evil)
a. Prov. 3:32 – the froward man is an abomination to the Lord!
b. Prov. 6:12 – frowardness is in his mouth because it is also in his heart! (6:14)
4. As a result of the evil things they say, much trouble arises… conflict… hurt… fightings…
a. 140:3 – evil men use their tongues like arrows to pierce others.
b. The psalmist prays that God would not allow an evil speaker to be established on the earth. He knows what grief and trouble comes because of his evil speaking!
• Prov. 11:11 – whole cities (churches!) are overthrown by the mouth of the wicked!
• Untold damage is done when men use their tongues for evil purposes.
• Friendships are broken. Church fellowship is destroyed.
• This kind of damage COULD happen to any one of us—or all of us could be affected by it!
• Yet, Solomon promises that DISCRETION (wisdom) will protect us from the evil man who speaks froward things!
• Wisdom will dictate to us NOT to put too much stock in the words of a troublemaker—and thus rescue us from anguish of heart!
c. Prov. 12:6 – the wicked “lie in wait”—await every chance to hurt! To tear down! To damage the reputation of another… for blood!
d. Prov. 12:13 – Ultimately, his own lips will be his downfall. He will be snared by the evil things he says… lies… deceit… exaggeration… stretching the truth…
• But the JUST (a man who lives by Divine wisdom) will come out of trouble!
• He is protected from the evil venom that flows from the mouth of the wicked man!
e. Prov. 13:3 – Guarding our mouth will protect us from the trouble that comes from the mouth of the wicked.
• The wicked man may spew out all kinds of poison…
• But the man who guards his mouth KEEPS (protects/preserves) his life!
f. Prov. 16:27 – the ungodly man digs up evil… he sniffs it out… if there is some dirt, he will find it… and spread it around!
• Thus, he is like a fire—spreading destruction wherever he goes!
• He may say just a few words—and like a little spark—it can ignite a fire that will destroy the whole forest!
• God’s wisdom will protect us from this kind of troublemaker… discretion will keep us out of trouble…
• Wisdom tells us to let that fire burn itself out! (Prov. 26:20-21)
B.) He Leaves the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness (vs.13)
1. This implies that the evil man at one time walked IN the paths of uprightness… and then chose to depart… he LEFT that path and chose to walk down another path—the way of darkness!
2. Prov. 21:16 – he wandered out of the way of understanding… wisdom…
a. He WAS in the right way… but he wandered away.
b. Wandering takes places slowly and gradually.
3. In both passages, Solomon is speaking about a man who had received MUCH LIGHT and truth… and chose to wander away into darkness and error.
a. This is the kind of evil man that wisdom will preserve us FROM.
b. Don’t assume that because a man seemed to have light, understanding and wisdom that he will always have it! Not so!
• II Pet. 2:20-22 – This was true of false teachers in Peter’s day!
• It is a warning to men today too. Wandering is dangerous!
c. It is possible even for believers to wander away… to leave the path of uprightness and end up in the way of sin and darkness… for a while.
d. Wisdom and discretion will PROTECT us from that man… by keeping us away! Don’t follow him down that road of darkness!
e. Often times, influential men can lead many astray with him!
f. Even if a man once walked in the light, if he departs and begins to walk in the way of darkness, he is going to stumble. And so are all those who follow him down that path! (Prov. 4:19)
g. When we see a believer who leaves the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness—urge him to return; plead with him to return; but do NOT follow him down that dark road. You BOTH will stumble!
h. The point of Prov. 2:12-13 is that this kind of wisdom will PRESERVE us from the evil man and his ways. We don’t HAVE to follow him… or be led by him…
C.) He rejoices to do Evil and He Delights in the Frowardness of the Wicked (vs.14)
1. Rejoice: joyful, merry, glad.
2. The evil man isn’t happy unless he himself is up to no good.
a. He rejoices in evil… evil speaking… tearing down…
b. He rather enjoys leaving the path of uprightness, and is beginning to adjust to the ways of darkness… it is becoming pleasant to him.
c. He finds a sense of satisfaction in throwing off the yoke of the way of uprightness. Now he is free to do his own thing… or so he thinks…
d. Prov. 10:23 – Mischief—causing trouble is a sport or a game to him!
3. He delights in the frowardness or perversity of the wicked… of others.
a. He enjoys doing evil himself… AND he enjoys other wicked men who join him in ways that are froward… twisted out of the way… darkness.
b. The godly man delights in the law of the Lord. The evil man delights in breaking away from the law of the Lord… and wandering away in darkness so he is free to do and say as he pleases.
c. Rom. 1:32 – he not only commits evil, but he also seems to get a sense of pleasure from others that do too!
4. Since evil men take pleasure in their darkness and delight in others who join them (Misery loves company!), we could make those men very happy by joining them!
a. Perhaps joining them would mean joining in on their evil gossip…
b. Perhaps joining them would involve some form of rebellion against authority… or wandering away from God with them…
c. The message of evil men to us is always the same: “Come with us!” (1:11) or “cast in thy lot among us!” (1:14)
d. Wisdom will prevent us from joining in that evil gang!
D.) His Ways are Crooked and His Paths are Froward (vs.15)
1. This passage speaks of the ways/paths of the evil man. (same idea)
2. Crooked: twisted, distorted, crooked, perverse, perverted.
3. His ways are twisted… distorted… slanted… out of line… needing adjustment.
4. The evil man demonstrates his wickedness by being OFF in his thinking.
a. He is not off on everything. He may have many fine qualities.
b. However, his thinking… his ways of going about things are twisted… distorted…
c. The way in which we are to walk is straight and narrow. This man’s way is crooked.
d. The simple man will be deceived and not realize how far off this man’s ways are. He may be deceived into following this evil man.
e. But the man who is discerning… the man who allows divine wisdom to sink in… the man with discretion will instantly spot that something is not right… (vs.11)
f. The roads may run parallel for a time… and nothing may be noticed at first… but eventually, that evil man will reveal his true colors and his ways will be demonstrated to be OFF… out of line with God’s Word… distorted…
g. What is it that will preserve us from distorted thinking? God’s Word! Wisdom! Discretion and discernment!
h. That is what this section of Proverbs is all about—giving to the young man knowledge and discretion (1:4b).
Proverbs 2:16-19
Wisdom Delivers from the Strange Woman
The Purpose of Wisdom: To deliver thee from the strange woman (vs.16a)
1. The topic has been wisdom and the effect it can and should have in our lives.
a. When wisdom enters our heart, it preserves us and delivers us from evil men. (vs.10-12)
• These evil men appealed to GREED to entice the youth to follow their evil ways. (vs.12-13,19)
b. Now the author states that wisdom will also deliver us from the strange or immoral woman. (vs.16)
• The evil woman appeals to LUST to entice the youth to follow her evil ways.
c. A wise young man will pay close attention to these words: greed and lust lead to spiritual disaster!
• They are equally sinful and equally powerful in leading young men AWAY from the Lord and the place of spiritual safety.
• The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil!
• The love of physical pleasure and sex is the root of all kinds of evil too! That young man will be brought to a piece of bread.
2. Delivered: to snatch away, deliver, rescue, save, plunder; to tear oneself away, to be torn out or away…
a. This term speaks of a narrow escape! Snatched out of the fire!
b. And so it is! Solomon likens going into a strange woman to a fire… (Prov.6:27-29)
c. It is like a fire:
• Because it burns within…
• Because once the fire starts it is difficult to put it out…
• Because one little spark can lead to something much larger…
• Because like a fire, it leaves scars that don’t go away…
• And it is like a fire because of the awful damage it can do… it can burn whole households down!
d. Thus in 2:16, Solomon speaks of a young man being “snatched” out of the clutches of this evil woman… like being snatched out of the fire… another moment or two, and who knows what might ignite!
e. Joseph was DELIVERED from a strange woman (Potiphar’s wife) in this same way—he RAN! He recognized the danger. Wisdom demanded that he RUN away. Lingering gives that spark all it takes to ignite!
The Strange Woman Described
A.) She is a STRANGE Woman: “even from the stranger” (vs.16b)
1. Strange: to become estranged; foreigner, an enemy; prostitute, harlot.
2. It is used here of a woman estranged or alienated from her husband, and who has become a harlot… seeking to entice a young man or older man to herself.
3. The term implies that a woman alienated from her husband might have a tendency to become a harlot!
a. Husbands—don’t let that happen in YOUR household! Don’t grow apart from your wife… don’t become alienated.
b. Alienation might cause such a rift that she seeks satisfaction elsewhere!
c. The same is true for men… men can become alienated from their wives and seek satisfaction elsewhere.
d. The husband/wife relationship is something that needs constant attention… constant work… the relationship is always growing—either closer or farther apart.
e. If you and your spouse have started to drift apart… pay attention to that rift… lest it develop into something much worse.
f. Husbands and wives should not be “strangers… foreigners!”
g. Spend time together lest you DO become strangers!
4. Solomon warns his son about the realities of life.
a. In ancient societies, they dealt with the same kinds of sin issues that we deal with today!
b. There was a seamy side to ancient cities… they had their share of prostitutes and immorality. Opportunities to commit fornication abounded in ancient times… just as it does today.
c. Human nature has not changed at all. We need to hear the same kind of warnings today…
d. And they need to be repeated. In fact, a large portion of Prov. 5-7 deals with just this subject… so we ARE going to repeat it, because God does. In our day and age, we NEED to hear it repeated.
B.) She Is A Flatterer: which flattereth with her words (vs.16b)
1. Flatterer: to be smooth, slippery, deceitful, hence, to flatter.
a. This term does not refer to the person who likes to say nice things to another person. Rather, it refers to the person who says nice things with evil intentions… to deceive…
b. She says nice things NOT because she wants to build you up… but because she wants to TAKE something…
c. There is nothing of real love in her words. They are deceitful words.
2. Prov. 7:18-22 – she flatters with her lips, and her purpose is to cause this young man to YIELD to her… submit to her… do what she wants… illicit sex.
a. Note that he yields, but she forces him!
b. Her words are so seductive and influential, that the young man is “forced.”
• Force: to be moved; impelled; driven; drawn;
c. There is such power in words. That is why wisdom demands that the young man RUN away right away… like Joseph!
3. The first book of the Bible ought to teach us the power of listening to the words of an enticer… the beguiler… Satan.
a. Eve’s first big mistake was not eating the forbidden fruit, but rather LISTENING to the devil!
b. As soon as she realized that his words did not line with up God’s words, she should have ENDED the conversation and LEFT!
• By lingering… and listening, Eve ended up confused over what God really DID say!
• And eventually,
C.) She Forsook Her Husband: the guide of her youth (vs.17)
1. The guide of her youth: her husband
2. Guide: translated variously: friend; intimate friend; governor; captain.
a. The term implies that husbands and wives ought to be friends. (above all else—because all else will eventually fail!
b. Too often people look for the wrong things in a mate, or at least they put such things in a twisted perspective: Looks; money; social status; etc.)
c. This term for friend also implies a friend that leads and governs…
3. This strange woman has forsaken her guide… her husband.
a. Forsake: to leave, abandon, forsake, neglect, and apostatize.
b. She did not want to be under his guidance or leadership any more.
c. She did not want to submit to him as her “captain” any more.
d. She was filled with self-will… and cared not for his will or for God’s will.
e. She has cast off her guide…her yoke… and has become a slave to self-will and unlawful desire.
f. She has NO guide now… not her husband… not God… not God’s Word.
g. Hence, she left her husband, and chose to become a harlot.
h.) She has turned to prostitution… and she is out to “get someone.”
i. She is not looking for a husband, but for a body and a wallet.
D.) She forgets the covenant of her God (vs.17)
1. Covenant of her God = her marriage vows.
a. Note that marriage is first and foremost a covenant made with GOD!
• Covenant: a pledge; agreement; alliance between parties;
b. It is made before God, in His presence, according to God’s institution, and also it is made WITH God!
c. Marriage is quite a simple thing in the Bible. A man and a woman agree to become friends… intimate friends for the rest of their lives… and they make that covenant with each other AND with God. It is a solemn vow!
d. It is an agreement before God that this is my partner for life!
2. The strange woman FORGETS about this covenant.
a. Forget = to forget, ignore, to cease to care.
b. It does not mean that it slipped her mind. Rather, it means that she no longer honors or even cares about the pledge she made before her husband and before God.
c. God “forgets” our sins. They do not slip His mind. Rather, He chooses NOT to put them in His mind.
• So too the harlot “forgets” her covenant with God.
• She chooses not to think about it. She no longer cares. She has other things on her mind.
3. Anyone who consciously chooses to put God out of her mind is to be avoided!
a. She has become a stranger to God… a foreigner to God and His ways.
b. God’s ways become strange… foreign to her.
c. Beware of entering into a deep relationship with any person who is a stranger to God and His word. It leads to no good.
The Wages of Immorality
A.) The Wages of This Sin is Death! (vs.18)
1. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead
2. Inclineth: to sink down, be bowed down, be humble
a. Her house, and everyone who enters in, is on their way DOWN! It is a slippery slope! They are sinking… morally… and perhaps even physically and financially!
b. This kind of behavior can lead to DEATH!
• If her husband comes home and catches them, he might kill them!
• STD can lead to death!
• Spiritually, this is the road to destruction which leads to eternal death… separation from God forever in the Lake of Fire.
B.) No Escape: None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life
1. This is the RULE. There are exceptions to the rule—such as the author of this book himself—Solomon!
2. The book of Proverbs gives us kernels of truth… gems… nuggets… short, brief, to the point. They are not intended to cover each and every example. Rather, these gems are inspired observations of life.
3. None that go in to the harlot escape and return again.
a. This does not mean that there is no hope for the man who has had illicit sex…
b. Rather, it means that as a rule—this sin destroys lives for good!
c. There is no escaping the consequences of this kind of sin!
d. Those who become ensnared by sexual sins will never be the same again.
e. They will not be able to take hold of the paths of life as they once did. Rather, this sin is life-dominating.
f. Every sin has ugly consequences, but this sin especially!
g. When innocence is lost, it is lost for good.
h. This is a sin that you CANNOT UN-DO.
i. This is a sin that you will carry the rest of your days.
4. Ecc. 7:26 – the sinner is TAKEN in by her… and by this sin.
a. A young man can be “taken in” by a strange woman… and by sexual sins.
b. Solomon implies in Prov.2:19, that once you start down that road, you may not be able to turn around! It is a snare… a trap…
c. Avoid it! Don’t take that route!
5. Solomon states that NONE that go unto her escape!
a. That is the rule… although there may be a few exceptions.
b. Don’t play with fire! Don’t assume that YOU will be one of the few exceptions!
c. NONE are able to deliver themselves. God by His infinite grace may rescue a few, but don’t count on it… don’t tempt the Lord…
d. Wisdom tells us that once you start sliding down that slippery, icy hill, it is mighty hard to stop… it may be impossible.
e. That is why Solomon used a term for deliver in vs. 16 which speaks of being “snatched out”… like a brand plucked out of the fire…
6. Thus, Solomon pleads with his son to LISTEN TO WISDOM speaking to him!
a. 2:10-12 – wisdom delivers from the evil man… and the evil woman.
b. Listen to Lady wisdom as she cries out in the streets on this subject!
Proverbs 2:20-22
Walking with Good Men
Introduction:
1. The immediate context of this passage begins in 2:01.
a. He gives an “if/when…then” condition. (when “A” occurs, “B” will follow)
b. “A” = when wisdom enters the heart; knowledge is pleasant to the soul;
c. “B”—THEN, discretion will preserve you. This wisdom results in discernment… and discernment protects and preserves.
2. Discretion preserves from two things:
a. Vs.12-15 – from the evil man.
b. Vs.16-19 – from the strange woman—the harlot—the fornicator
3. Now, Solomon states what discretion will preserve us UNTO…
a. It will preserve us UNTO good company… good men… good fellowship…
b. That is the way of safety.
THAT THOU MAYEST WALK IN THE WAY OF GOOD MEN
1. Solomon has been teaching his son about separation.
a. Separation FROM evil men and women.
b. Now he begins to teach the positive side of separation: separated UNTO good men!
c. This is a principle found throughout the Bible. (I Thess. 1:9-10)
d. What we are separated UNTO is by far the ESSENCE of the divine purpose in it all!
2. Of course Solomon wants his son to stay away from evil people.
a. BUT—he does not want his son to be a monk living in solitude in a monastery.
• Hopefully as parents, we don’t want that for our children either!
b. Solomon wants his son to find fellowship and friendship with good men!
• Any parent should desire this for his child… and seek it… and pray for it… and guide that child TOWARD good friends…and steer them away from evil companions!
c. That is my goal as a pastor too.
• Today there are 1001 types of fellowships and Christian organizations.
• We want to seek fellowship with GOOD men… godly men… sound men.
• Just as you want to steer your children in the path of safety… and steer them away from some kids that might be troublemakers… in the local church, we too want to seek the best godly fellowship we can.
3. Note the context here: he is talking about SAFETY that is produced by wisdom and discretion.
a. It is so easy for young people to get mixed up with the wrong crowd and get dragged down! There is no safety in the wrong crowd.
b. Wisdom mandates to us that we seek GOOD men as our friends and godly men to fellowship with.
c. This is God’s means of protecting us!
4. If we DON’T use wisdom and discretion and follow after evil men and the wayward woman… then we have forsaken God’s means of safety and protection!
a. Prov. 1:31-33 – forsaking wisdom comes with a heavy price tag.
• Filled with your own devices… (vs.31)
• Destruction (vs.32)
b. But those who listen to lady Wisdom will dwell SAFELY… and will be quiet from fear of evil! (vs.33)
AND KEEP THE PATHS OF THE RIGHTEOUS.
1. Wisdom and discretion will enable you to keep on the right path! (Path of righteousness).
2. The world is trying daily to knock us OUT OF the right way… and cause us to swerve into the wrong way… the wrong road…
3. The devil uses 1001 gimmicks to accomplish his goal. (TV, radio, books, billboards, magazines, sports, money, pleasure)
a. Whatever will be effective in causing us to take our eyes OFF the Lord… and causing us to become entangled in the affairs of this life…
b. He can even use GOOD things to cause us to swerve off the right path.
• If that good thing becomes more important than spiritual things in our life…
• If we begin choosing that good thing OVER God and church and our devotions…
• Good things can shove God out of his throne in our heart.
4. Solomon is teaching his son that he needs discernment and discretion to be able to NOTICE when this is happening…
a. Things of the world can creep up gradually in our lives so that they slowly choke out the things of the Lord.
b. It takes discernment to SEE what is happening.
c. Often times, OTHERS can see it happening in our life before we do. And sometimes when we are told, we shrug it off in disbelief!
d. Solomon teaches his son about the kind of discretion that has “eyes to see” the danger of a wrong way… and the good of the right way.
e. In a sense, this kind of godly wisdom is developing a healthy hatred for iniquity and a love for righteousness. (Heb. 1:9) This is a sign of growing in Christlikeness… spiritual strength and discernment.
5. Note the concept of two different “roads” or “ways” and their ends.
a. Solomon just mentioned the WAY (road) of the evil man (vs.12)
b. Now he mentions the WAY of good men and the PATH of the righteous.
c. The Bible often mentions these two roads or paths.
d. Psalm 1:6 – the way of the righteous and the ungodly.
e. Jer. 6:16 – The prophet encourages the people to seek the OLD path… the path of faith and holiness that the patriarchs walked… not the NEW road that is leading them astray!
• Note that walking in the old path = rest for your soul! Peace!
• It is the place of safety—which is why they can have rest… they are protected and safe. Rest is the natural by-product of safety and security!
f. Jesus spoke of two roads too! (Matt. 7:13-14)
• The worldly road leads to destruction.
• The narrow road of the disciple ends in life everlasting.
• Note that Jesus also spoke of the way of the disciple in Matt.11:28-29. There he stated that the disciple’s WAY is a road he travels while YOKED to Christ. That road… that narrow road… that old path… the life of a disciple… one sold out to Christ results in REST for your soul!
FOR THE UPRIGHT SHALL DWELL IN THE LAND, AND THE PERFECT SHALL REMAIN IN IT.
1. In the final two verses, Solomon gives his son some more motivation for choosing the path of the righteous.
2. Solomon states two positive reasons for wanting to follow the path of the righteous or the upright.
a. The upright dwell in the land.
b. The upright remain in the land.
3. The upright dwell in the land.
a. This needs to be understood in light of the Old Testament.
b. Jews did not think of the afterlife as we do. They thought primarily of life on the earth. They looked ahead to a glorious kingdom—on earth. That is where their future hopes were tied.
c. So they placed great emphasis on life… and a long life.
d. The first promise associated with the Law was “thou shalt live long upon the land.” (Ex. 20:12)
e. This seems to be the emphasis that Solomon makes to his son. “Avoid the way of the ungodly, walk with good men, and you will DWELL or live in the land”… meaning—you won’t be cut off or die.
f. You will DWELL in the land and REMAIN in it!
g. Whether he meant the land of Israel or the earth in general, his point is similar.
• Some Jews were taken OUT OF the land because of their sin and idolatry! (Assyrian and Babylonian captivities!)
• Thus, remaining in the land meant much to a Jew.
• With their land were connected all the covenants and promises of God for the future.
h.) To make application to us, we might say, “Walk in the way of the righteous… and you will remain in the place of God’s blessing!”
• Our heavenly blessings and spiritual blessings are permanent and eternal.
• However, the ENJOYMENT of those blessings is linked to our behavior now!
• I Tim. 4:8 – godliness is profitable in this life AND in the life to come!
• If we walk in the counsel of the ungodly… or if we chose to depart from the way of the upright, there could be serious consequences!
• But walking in the path of the godly means life… blessing… and rest!
BUT THE WICKED SHALL BE CUT OFF FROM THE EARTH, AND THE TRANSGRESSORS SHALL BE ROOTED OUT OF IT. (VS.22)
1. In contrast to the blessing upon those Jews who walk in the good path… the old path… we see the evil result of NOT doing so.
2. Note that he uses two agrarian verbs: cut off… and rooted out… (like plants)
3. These agrarian illustrations mean that the ungodly will DIE physically!
• This is a common theme in the Old Testament.
• Example: Ps. 37:9 – evildoers shall be cut off—die!
• But the meek shall inherit the land! (Psalm 37:9,11,22, 29,34)
• Prov. 10:30 – contrast the “R” and the ungodly in the land.
4. There are TWO means of fulfillment of this.
a. NOW: as a rule, those who follow the path of safety will live longer! And those who live in the fast lane with loose living die sooner!
b. LATER: Eventually, all of the ungodly will be rooted out of the earth and cast into hell.
5. Remember, these are Proverbs—generalizations about life. There are exceptions.
6. But these are good principles to teach our kids!
a. Life in the fast lane might seem quite appealing to a teen-ager… but they need to be told about the dangers too!
b. They need to be told about the blessings of following the straight and narrow way… of asking for the old paths… the way of the righteous.
c. This is the way the Good Shepherd wants to lead us all! (Ps. 23:1-3)
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 3
Proverbs 3:1-2
My Son, Forget Not My Law
FORGET NOT MY LAW
1. “My son…”
a. He begins with words of affection and love—for his own son.
b. The message is an exhortation given out of love. It is not a scolding or a rebuke, but an exhortation.
c. Others may neglect these words, but he wants his own son never to forget them!
d. In fact, one of the strongest motivations to remember these laws, is the family tie… they came from dad…
e. Nobody wants this son to succeed in life and do well more than the dad!
f. Ex: A car salesman may give you advice on selecting a car. That advice may not be coming from the purest of motives. He may or may not have your best interest in mind. BUT—when the advice comes from your father—his motives are pure. He wants the best for you!
2. “My law…”
a. The law here refers to the counsel, advice, and commandments this father (Solomon) gave to his son.
b. No doubt, Solomon spent many hours with his sons teaching them truth… teaching them the Scriptures… passing on lessons he learned from life… and from his mistakes…
c. The section almost sounds like the words of a father to his older son as that son is about to strike out on his own…
d. By way of application, we should note that the wisdom Solomon passes on to his son here is MORE than just fatherly advice—in the Bible it becomes divinely inspired fatherly advice!
e. Thus, we could apply Solomon’s words concerning his laws to his son to GOD’S LAW to us.
3. “Forget not my law…”
a. Forget: to forget, ignore, wither; to cease to care…
b. A young son striking out on his own is going to be tasting freedom… making decisions on his own… no more parental oversight…
c. The father warns him: Don’t forget what I taught you!
d. We too need to be reminded not to forget Gods’ Word!
• Prov. 4:5 – get wisdom—and don’t forget it! We CAN forget!
• Deut. 4:23 – Take heed that you do not forget the covenant of your God! The Jews often forgot!
e. The Psalmist was concerned about forgetting God’s law! Ps.119:93
• We should resolve NOT to forget God’s Law! They are life and revival to our soul!
• cf. 119:16, 109,141, 153,176
• It should be a concern to us too…
• HOW do we prevent forgetting God’s law? Fill our minds with it daily!
f. Prov.31:4-5 – Strong drink causes men to forget the law… and pervert judgment… discernment level decreases.
• Any kind of intoxicant can cause men to forget God’s law…
• Strong drink… drugs… worldliness… materialism… there are a lot of intoxicants out there…
• They all have the same effect—they blur the mind and reduce our level of spiritual discernment—and cause us to forget God’s law. (A good reason to stay away!)
g. That young man or woman NEEDS good training under their belt BEFORE they get to that place of freedom!
• Solomon taught his son… now he says, “Don’t forget it.”
• The fact that he says “Don’t forget what I taught you” implies that he DID teach him! Are we?
• That son is going to need his dad’s wisdom and advice.
• But the important point is to make sure that we as fathers are TRAINING our children… teaching them important lessons about life… teaching them principles from God’s Word…
• The NT gives this responsibility to the FATHERS! (Eph. 6:4)
• Sooner or later those young lives are going to be out on their own, facing the world system with all of its intoxicants designed to cause us to forget spiritual things…
• Solomon was concerned that his son FORGET NOT his law!
KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS
1. Keep = guard; observe;—hence,—obey.
2. Note that they are not to be kept in the head—but in the heart!
a. The heart is like the Ark of the Covenant in which the tablets of the law of God were stored and preserved.
b. The heart is the keeping place of God’s Word… or ought to be.
3. Ps.119:11 – thy word have I hid in my heart—that I might not sin!
4. Prov.4:4 – Let thine heart “retain” my words…
a. Retain = to grasp, hold, support, attain, lay hold of, hold fast; seize…
b. Does our heart grasp on to truth… hold it fast? We should!
c. ALL truth… ALL of God’s Word—the blessings and the cursings!
5. Deut.11:18 – lay up these words in your heart…
a. Vs.19 – and teach them to your children!
b. This is what Solomon did. He laid up the word in his own heart. Then, he taught it to his son—and pleaded with him NOT to forget it, but to lay it up in his heart too… treasure it… like laying up a treasure!
6. Throughout Proverbs, the HEART is the main issue. (Prov.4:23)
a. The heart is the first to wander away from the Lord…
b. The body may still be in church… but that is no guarantee that the heart has not wandered away.
c. It is so vital to KEEP the heart… guard it…
d. And how do we guard our heart? Keep it filled with God’s Word!
THE BLESSINGS OF REMEMBERING GOD’S LAW
A.) Length of Days and Long Life
1. Solomon tells his son that there is also a REWARD for keeping the Law… for obedience—a long and happy life!
2. This was considered the highest good to a Jew—a long and happy life. Who could ask for more? (Ps.34:12)
3. Cf. Prov.4: 10 – obey—and the years of your life shall be many!
4. Prov.9: 10-11 – the blessing of fearing the Lord is a long life! (cf. 10:27)
B.) Peace
1. Peace = shalom – has a wide range of applications—just as in English.
a. Shalom is usually translated peace—but it means more. It means something closer to “peace and prosperity… wholeness and health and harmony.”
b. “Shalom” as a saying is similar to the meaning of III John 2.
2. A long miserable life would not be much of a motivation to obey. But a long, happy life of peace sure is!
a. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow.
3. Ps.119:165 – those who love thy law have great peace. That makes life worth living!
4. Solomon makes it clear that the reward for obedience is not just the length of life, but the QUALITY of life –peace! Quantity time and quality time!
5. Living a life of obedience—with a pure conscience tends towards a happy, well adjusted, longer, happier life!
a. However, living in disobedience and rebellion—means living with a guilty conscience… and bearing that heavy burden on the soul day by day… God’s heavy hand upon your heart, weighing you down… is an unbearable burden! (Ps.32:3-4) David was miserable! His life was not characterized by SHALOM that year!
b. Cf. Ps.38:1-8 – another miserable point in David’s life!
c. That’s no way to live! Sin destroys the quality of our life…
d. A life of rebellion and disobedience is a life full of guilt, worry, anxiety, fear, despair, depression—and that will take its toll on anyone! It may even shorten your life!
e. Solomon wants something better for his son! God wants something better for me and you too!
Proverbs 3:3-4
Mercy and Truth
Introduction:
1. Solomon is giving his son words of wisdom to live by.
2. It is almost as if his son were about to strike out on his own. Dad wants to impress these important truths in his heart one last time.
3. First he tells his son never to forget the law… the truths that his father has drilled into his mind and heart. (vs.1)
4. Then he tells his son the results of taking heed to those truths = a long and peaceful life—rather than a short life in the fast lane that knows no peace!
5. In vs.3-4, he tells his son about the importance of two other virtues: mercy and truth.
TWO IMPORTANT VIRTUES: MERCY AND TRUTH
1. Mercy: goodness, kindness, loyalty; fidelity;
a. This term implies a good, kind, loyal, benevolent spirit…
b. One man defined this Hebrew term as “love and loyalty/faithfulness blended together… overlapping”
c. This Hebrew word is used in all 26 verses of Ps.136 (for His mercy endureth forever!)
d. The Good Samaritan is the one who showed “mercy.” He was the man who was loyal… kind… good… benevolent… (Luke 10:37)
e. This seems to be the spirit or the virtuous attitude that Solomon is trying to inculcate in his son…
• Prov.21: 1 – the one who follows after this kind of mercy will find life, righteousness, and honor! No wonder Solomon wants his son to remember mercy! He wants the very best for his son.
• Prov.14: 31 – Those who honor God will show mercy to the poor.
2. Truth: firmness, faithfulness, truth; sureness, reliability; stability, continuance; faithfulness, reliability;
a. This term means something solid… firm… reliable, and hence comes to refer to truth.
b. While it may connote truth in the objective sense–a body of doctrine from God—it seems to speak more of the virtue or quality of being TRUE…
c. A young man needs to be true… firm… stable… reliable…
d. He will need that quality with respect to his schooling… (steady; faithful).
e. He will need that quality with respect to his job—firm—reliable—steady—loyal.
f. He will need that quality as a husband—firm—stable—true to his wife.
g. He will need that quality as a father—a firm, steady, stable, man to uphold and guide and lead his family.
h. Many schools and universities have mottoes similar to what Solomon is challenging his son with here—virtue and truth!
i. This is almost a summary of everything that a father would teach his son throughout his life—all the lessons of life could be condensed into “virtue and truth.” It is like the book of Proverbs in a nutshell. Be true… be kind. Speak the truth in love.
3. The terms mercy and truth appear 10 times in the Old Testament.
a. Mercy and truth preserve the king. (Prov.20:28) Solomon’s son was the son of a king!
b. Mercy and truth purge iniquity! (Prov.16:6) It will purge both moral and doctrinal iniquity.
c. We may not be kings in this world, but we are kings and priests before God! A royal priesthood!
d. Mercy and truth will preserve us too… and will keep us from sin… purge sin out of our life.
e. A life dedicated to pursuing virtue and truth will be safe indeed! Safe from the many ills and troubles in life that sinful men fall into.
FORSAKE NOT; BIND THEM ABOUT THY NECK; WRITE THEM UPON THE TABLE OF THINE HEART (HOW TO TREAT THESE VIRTUES)
1. Forsake: to depart from, leave behind, leave, abandon.
a. Solomon admonishes his son not to allow mercy and truth to depart from his life… don’t let them depart from you…
b. Of course, it is not really that truth or mercy abandons men. Men abandon them!
c. This is the equivalent of saying, “Hold fast to mercy and truth!” Don’t ever let them go!
d. The point is that WE are the ones who slip away from showing mercy… and from the truth.
2. Bind them about thy neck!
a. Tie up; tie together; bind up… like a necklace.
b. If we tie them tightly around our neck, we will not depart from them.
c. His point is that we are to keep them near to our hearts. (like a pendant hanging from a necklace—figuratively speaking) (Prov.6:21)
d. Wearing them around one’s neck seems to imply more than the fact that they are near to one’s heart. It also implies that we are wearing them PROUDLY (in a good sense)—
• as one would proudly wear his school’s letter on his sweater…
• or as one would proudly carry the flag…
• or proudly wear a Red Sox hat…
• It speaks of not being ashamed. Solomon wants his son to be virtuous and true and not to be ashamed of it!
• In many circles it’s bad to be good. Solomon wants his son to know that it is good to be good!
e. Solomon tells his son to wear mercy and truth around his neck… and not to be ashamed to let others see it.
• Let your light so shine… (Matt.5:14-16) Don’t hide it under a bushel!
f. It may well also speak of the fact that when worn around one’s neck, they are always in view.
• Like frontlets before the eyes… (phylacteries)
• If mercy and truth are worn around one’s neck, it will be a constant reminder.
• Solomon wants his son always to REMEMBER them… keep them always before your heart and your mind’s eye.
3. Write it upon the table of your heart…
a. This speaks of making virtue and truth almost “second nature”!
b. Write it so indelibly in your heart that it IS your nature to show mercy… to be loyal and true…
c. This is language similar to that which God uses to describe what He does in our heart when saved.
• God writes his law in our hearts.
• Before, sin was engraved and deeply etched into our hearts.
• At salvation, God writes His law in our heart… so that it becomes our nature—our new nature—to obey.
d. Solomon wants truth and virtue to become second nature to his son.
• Good training does that. It etches right thinking and right behavior deeper and deeper into the heart of a child.
4. Solomon wanted mercy and truth worn around his neck (external) and written in his heart (internal).
a. This speaks of both an inner work and an outward demonstration of that inward work.
b. Solomon wanted these truths in his son’s heart… but he also wanted them demonstrated in his outward life…
c. Mercy and truth should be found in his inner life of mind and heart as well as in his outer actions!
SO SHALT THOU FIND FAVOUR AND GOOD UNDERSTANDING IN THE SIGHT OF GOD AND MAN
1. Vs.4 – Solomon tells his son here that IF he holds fast to mercy and truth and wears it around his neck… living it… THEN he will find favor before God and men. (if you do A above, then B will follow)
2. Mercy and truth will put you in good stead before both God and men.
3. Favor = acceptance…
4. Example: Joseph (Gen.39:2-4,21 – Joseph was true and virtuous… merciful. He continually found favor in the sight of God and men.
5. Example: Samuel (I Sam.2:26) Samuel was loyal, true, faithful, and was kind and merciful. God honors that. So do men.
6. As wicked as our world is—and perhaps even more so today—men acknowledge loyalty and virtue in a man. While many sneer and mock, deep down inside, they wish they had it!
7. Dan. 1:9 – Daniel was brought in favor before men. He too was loyal and true!
8. Luke 2:52 – this was also said of the Lord Jesus! He was certainly merciful and true!
9. Rom.14:18-19 – The believer who is sensitive not to needlessly offend others is showing mercy… he is being true and loyal to the Body of Christ. That brother will also find favor before God and men.
a. Some of these believers were binding TRUTH around their necks (they KNEW they could eat meat) but had forsaken virtue and kindness! They were destroying their brethren in the way they flaunted their exercise of truth.
b. Others may have had mercy, but were lacking in truth.
c. Paul exhorts the believers to demonstrate BOTH mercy and truth!
• Truth without mercy is cold orthodoxy.
• Mercy without truth is wishy-washy and easily led into sin and error.
• BOTH are essential.
10. When both are combined, it sends forth a powerful testimony!
11. Do you want friends? Do you want to find favor with men?
a. Prove yourself to be loyal… and kind… merciful… You will find favor with men!
12. Do you want to be a friend of God? Be loyal and faithful… practice mercy… and you will find favor with God too!
13. If we want this favor, WE MUST wear mercy and truth around our neck! That is OUR responsibility for the rest of our days!
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord
TRUST
1. Trust defined: trust in; to have confidence in, to be bold; to be secure.
2. Everyone has confidence in something.
3. Examples:
a. You have confidence that those 18-year-old metal chairs are going to hold you up. (They don’t always!)
b. We have confidence in the car that drove us here.
c. We had confidence that the food we ate tonight was not poison.
d. We are all demonstrating confidence that this roof will not cave in on us.
4. WHY do we trust the chairs, our cars, and this roof?
a. Because we have tried them and found them to be true… trustworthy.
b. We have tried them over and over again… with the same results.
5. In the physical world, we TRUST things every day to work… cars, planes, refrigerators, alarm clocks, banks, computers, food, etc…
6. When we TRUST something, we put it to good use…
a. We BOARD that plane that we trust will take us to our destination.
b. We DRIVE that car where we want to go.
c. We EAT that chicken… and enjoy it!
d. We SIT in the chair and rest comfortably.
e. We GET IN that elevator and it takes us to the right floor.
f. In reality, we are entrusting our LIVES to such things every day!
7. If we did NOT trust in those things… our actions would be quite different.
a. There are people who will not cross a bridge or fly or get on an elevator.
b. What we trust and don’t trust has a big impact on the way we live.
c. What or whom we trust affects what we do.
d. Our actions are thus largely based upon what we believe and what we trust.
e. Therefore, the foundational facts upon which we place our trust is VITAL!
• If you place your trust in an airplane that is unreliable, you could lose your life!
• If you place your trust in a bank that is about to fold, you could lose your shirt!
• If you trust your child in the hands of a babysitter who is not what she claims to be you could lose your child!
• If you place your confidence in the advice of someone who is dishonest, you could get trampled!
• If you trust a doctor to operate on you, he could make a mistake!
IN THE LORD
1. Solomon tells his son WHERE his trust is to be placed… a solid foundation that will never let him down… never fail!
2. All of the things mentioned so far involve men. (Machinery; advice; etc.)
a. That could malfunction… their advice could be lacking wisdom…
b. Sometimes things we trust in the world fail us… with or without malice.
3. But ultimately, our trust should be in the Lord.
a. We still have to board airplanes, eat food, and lie under the surgeon’s knife… but our confidence is to be in the Lord.
b. Sure—choose the best doctor you can; fly the airline you trust; eat only in restaurants you trust—but ultimately, we have to place our trust in God.
c. Men can and do fail us. God never does.
4. How is it that we are able to sit in these chairs with confidence? Because we have sat in them many times and they held us up… and we have sat in many other chairs that held us up. We have tried them… proved them… and found them to be true.
a. We are to trust God like this too. “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
b. Rom.12:2 – “proving” what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God!
c. We come to KNOW God. We have proven God’s Word and His will to be right… able… reliable… God has never failed us. We KNOW Him. We KNOW we can trust Him. He is tried and true!
d. There are not many things in life that are truly reliable. (Jobs; people; finances; health; plans we make—all are pretty “iffy”.)
e. But God is not like that. God is a SOLID ROCK. You can trust Him.
f. That is just what Solomon is communicating to his son.
5. The better we KNOW God… the easier it is to trust Him in all things!
a. The more we know men—the harder it is to trust them.
b. But God is not man that He should lie… neither the son of man that he should repent!
c. Ps.118:8-9 – It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
d. It is better to trust in God because He never lets us down!
e. How do we know that? Taste and see that the Lord is good! He’s better!
f. We have to KNOW God in order to trust in Him. You cannot trust someone you don’t know… someone about whom you know nothing!
g. The more we come to know the Lord, the easier it will be to TRUST Him in the time of storm!
WITH ALL THINE HEART
1. Solomon not only tells his son WHERE to place his trust but also HOW to place his trust: wholeheartedly
2. ALL thine heart means an UNDIVIDED heart.
a. Lots of people trust in the Lord—but not with ALL their heart.
b. The Samaritans trusted in the Lord… but they also trusted in Baal and Chemosh!
c. Jesus warns us about trusting in two masters! (Matt. 6:24)
• The eye (what we gaze at) should be single! (6:22)
• The opposite of a single eye is an evil eye! (6:23)
• Jesus describes a man whose eyes are looking in two directions… because his allegiance is divided…
• His allegiance to GOD is divided… he does not love the Lord or trust the Lord with his whole heart—just half his heart!
d. Ps.62:9-10 – Trust not in riches but in God. He is the One with real power!
3. With God it is all or nothing! He does not tolerate competition. He wants our heart… ALL of it.
a. He wants us to trust Him with ALL our heart…
b. He refuses to share allegiance with another.
c. If the Lord be Lord then serve Him… trust Him… and only Him!
d. I Kings 18:21 – How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.
e. Who or what do YOU trust? Is it the Lord? Do we trust Him with half our heart? ¾? Or with ALL our heart?
f. When we face a financial crunch… when we face bad news from the doctor… when we face opposition… our confidence and trust must be in God 100%.
AND LEAN NOT UNTO THINE OWN UNDERSTANDING
1. Riches and strength are enemies to putting our confidence in God. But intellectual pride is an even greater enemy to trusting in the Lord!
2. Solomon warns his son about intellectual pride: lean NOT on your own understanding!
a. Don’t think you are so smart! (This often plagues young people…)
b. Many young people know everything already. I did as a teenager.
c. Remember, it was pride of intellect that caused Lucifer to fall! (Ezek.28:17)
d. Pride was the “condemnation of the devil.” (I Tim.3:6) It is the reason many young people fall… “Who needs advice? I know everything!”
e. Trusting in SELF will keep us from trusting in the Lord. You can only have ONE master!
f. Prov.28: 26 – He that trusts in his own heart is a FOOL!
g. God has given us His Word to lead and guide and direct in ALL of our decisions in life.
• Anyone who departs from the wisdom of this book is a fool!
• Anyone who trusts in his own heart—wisdom—demonstrates that he does NOT trust in the Lord. That is folly.
• Ps. 147:5 – God’s understanding is infinite! How does our intellect compare?
h. Jer. 17:9 – our hearts are so deceitful, we cannot know them! How foolish to trust in a heart like that!
i. Mark 14:27-31 – The Lord said that ALL of them would be offended in Him. Peter—who trusted in his own heart—and was NOT trusting Christ said “Not me Lord!” Who was the first to forsake the Lord? Peter!
j. Jer.9: 23-24 – Let not the wise man glory (or trust) in his wisdom… but let him glory in the fact that he knows (relies upon) a God with infinite understanding!
• Who would you trust to invest all your hard earn savings? A man who is deceived or someone with infinite understanding?
• Who would you want to operate on you? Someone who is riddled with intellectual pride (I don’t have to study those medical books!) or a physician with infinite understanding?
• Doesn’t it just make SENSE to trust God?
k. Jer.10:23-24 – “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. 24O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.”
h.) In any decision we make—big or small—we need to examine it in light of God’s Word… we need divine guidance.
i. Unfortunately, many folks examine God’s Word in light of their own understanding… and their own understanding is given preference OVER God’s Word. Disaster!
3. Phil.3:3 – we are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh!
a. Paul knew better than to trust himself!
b. Trusting in the flesh… trusting in self becomes an idol… another master!
c. Jer. 17:5 – you cannot trust in SELF AND GOD! Cursed is the man who trusts in man!
d. Jer. 17:7 – BLESSED is the man who trusts in the Lord.
4. Either we walk by FAITH (trusting God) or we are walking by sight (trusting in that which we can see—the earthly, physical things—including self—human talents, riches, power, wisdom)
a. We can kind of stumble through our Christian life assuming we are walking by faith. A test will PROVE to us whom we are trusting!
b. Every day, we need to PRACTICE trusting God and NOT leaning on our own understanding.
Proverbs 3:6
Acknowledge Him
ACKNOWLEDGE GOD
1. Acknowledge: to know or to recognize… acknowledge…
2. The command is to acknowledge God. But HOW do we acknowledge Him?
a. We acknowledge God when we are conscious of His presence.
• The opposite would be to ignore Him… act as if He were not there.
• Ps.14:1-2 – the unbeliever does not consider God… he does not think about God… he does not acknowledge God. To him, there is no God!
• Rom.1:28–The wicked do NOT want to acknowledge God. They do not want to retain God in their thoughts… in their knowledge.
• Many men go to great lengths to block out any thoughts of God…
• For the sinner, thoughts of God make us responsible and accountable to Him! Unbelievers do not want to acknowledge that… hence, they do not want to acknowledge Him!
• If He’s there—even if we acknowledge His mere existence—then we are accountable to Him!
• Unbelievers do NOT acknowledge Him. We should!
• We SHOULD retain God in all our thoughts. We should be conscious of Him… of His presence in all of our choices and decisions in life.
• I Cor.10:31 – whatever we do—should be done with the consciousness of God… with concern for Him and His glory.
• Col.3:23 – all is to be done under the watchful eye of God—acknowledging that…
• Acknowledging God should have an effect on every part of our life!
b. We acknowledge God when we recognize who He is.
• He is everywhere… all knowing… all powerful. (Ps.139:1-12)
• These truths about God are to be acknowledged at all times.
• If we think a thought—acknowledge God’s omniscience!
• If we decide to go to a certain place, acknowledge God!
c. When we recognize who He is, we will reverence Him… fear Him…(Prov.23:7)
• Therefore, we walk humbly before Him… seek His will…
• We are to walk in the fear of God all day long… acknowledging Him…
d. When we acknowledge Him, we recognize His authority over our life.
• We acknowledge God when we are conscious of His Word… and restrict our actions accordingly.
• We acknowledge God’s authority over us by saying NO to things that appeal to our flesh… yet we know they are not pleasing to God.
e. When we give Him credit and glory, we acknowledge Him.
• Jas.1:17 – we acknowledge God when we recognize that every good gift is from Him ultimately!
• 2 Cor. 8:16 –Titus show concern and care for the Corinthian believers. Paul acknowledges that even that concern in his heart was from God!
• Ezra 7:27 – Ezra acknowledged that it was the Lord who put this in the king’s heart! GOD did that!
IN ALL THY WAYS
1. God is to be acknowledged in ALL of our ways.
2. WAYS: road, distance, journey, path; course of life (fig.)
a. In other words, God is to be acknowledged all through our journey here on earth.
b. God is to be acknowledged and considered in every way or direction our life takes. No turns are to be taken without acknowledging Him!
c. This would mean that we are to acknowledge God in every road we pursue… at every turn we take in that road…and each step along the way… in ALL thy ways…
d. God is to be left out of nothing!
e. Jer.10:23 – Jeremiah acknowledged that he needed God to direct his every move.
3. A good illustration of the opposite of this is found in Jas.4:13-15 – leaving God out of their plans. These men did NOT acknowledge God and His will in their plans.
a. They made good plans… but James rebukes them.
b. The rebuke is NOT for making plans, but for not acknowledging God in it all! (vs.15)
c. Does this sound like us? We make grandiose plans—and perhaps well thought out plans… but what about God? What does HE want us to do? Sometimes praying is the last thing we resort to—long after the plans are already made! We simply pray and ask God to bless what we have determined we are going to do. That is not acknowledging God.
d. In all of our steps… in all of our plans, we should acknowledge God! Don’t leave Him out!
e. Are you looking for a new job? Considering buying a new house? Thinking of changing careers? Thinking of serving in the choir? Considering quitting a ministry? Looking for a mate? A Pet? A new doctor? Thinking of putting up a church building? Let’s not leave God out!
f. Leaving God out invites disaster—and we may be led down the wrong road. These men THOUGHT they knew what to do. They thought they didn’t need to consult God or His will.
• Sometimes, we are like that. The way might seem so clear that it seems obvious to us what to do… so we forget to seek God’s face… no prayer!
• At other times, we have no idea of what to do… and therefore we seek God. (II Chron. 20:12) “We know not what to do but our eyes are upon thee…”
• BUT—our eyes should be on God at all times… we should seek when we don’t know what to do… AND when we THINK we know what to do.
• Don’t ever leave God out of your plans.
4. We acknowledge God in ALL of our ways, when God is on our mind and our heart at all times.
a. Neh. 2:4-5 – praying on your feet! Nehemiah was God-conscious all through his conversation with the king.
b. Are we God-conscious in our daily lives? We should be!
c. Matt. 10:29-31–We should acknowledge God in ALL events in life… see His hand in it all… every last bit. Not a sparrow falls… acknowledge that He is sovereign!
d. Ps.19:1 – the heavens declare the glory of God. Do we acknowledge Him when we look up in the sky? We should!
e. Rom.1:20 – the invisible things of Him are clearly seen. Do we acknowledge Him when we see His creation? God holds the whole WORLD accountable to acknowledge Him in creation. Do we as His sons?
f. Phil. 4:6- in EVERYTHING let your request be made known unto God. Acknowledge God and His will and His power in everything we do!
g. We are to acknowledge Him as Lord and Sovereign over every detail of life—no matter how small and insignificant it might seem.
AND HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATHS
1. God promises to direct our steps. BUT—there is a huge prerequisite. He expects us to acknowledge Him in EVERYTHING!
2. In other words, He will direct the overall path of our life IF we acknowledge Him every step of the way—and not take a step without Him!
3. If we start leaving God OUT of even the smallest decisions—we have no assurance that we will be led in the right direction.
4. Another way of stating this: IF we know God… and keep our mind and heart FULL of God… THEN God will direct our steps.
a. The better we know God—the more assurance we will have that we are headed in the right direction.
b. The better you know the road map—the better your chances of not getting lost!
c. God’s Word is our road map. KNOW God. Acknowledge Him and His will as recorded in the Bible. We will NOT lose our way!
d. Matt.6:22 – if thine eye be single (looking only unto Jesus) then the whole body will be full of light! We will not be lacking for light and guidance and direction from God! BUT—wholehearted, single-minded acknowledgement of God is required!
5. God WANTS our pathway to be clear and safe. Therefore He said, “Consult me in everything!”
a. God has plenty of wisdom… and He wants us to come to Him and seek it!
b. Seek it wholeheartedly! (Prov. 2:3-5)
c. If we need wisdom—and we DO—then come to God for it. Ask Him for it—He giveth liberally! (Jas.1:5)
d. God will give us the wisdom we need to walk down the pathway of HIS choosing.
e. Acknowledge Him as LORD… as the One who has the right to set our course… to change our direction… to command us to stop… turn… march… as our commander in chief! Acknowledge Him as Lord, and He shall direct thy paths!
Proverbs 1:1-4
Reasons for the Proverbs
To Know Wisdom and Instruction
1. It is quite amazing to think that the God who created the universe, would even care enough about us to stoop and cause a book to be written for us, to tell us how to live… what to pursue and what not to pursue…
2. First of all note that this book was written that we might KNOW something.
a. It was not written so that we might FEEL good… or feel warm… or feel anything.
b. It was written that we might PERCEIVE the words of understanding.
c. Solomon wrote that knowledge excelleth folly and ignorance as light excelleth darkness. Ignorance causes men to wander in darkness.
3. God wants us to KNOW wisdom
a. The term for wisdom in vs. 2 is used 37 times in this book!
b. It means skillfulness; the ability to use knowledge properly.
c. It is possible to have lots of instruction and information in our head, and yet not have the wisdom to put it into practice in our daily lives.
d. We have many brilliant men and women throughout our country who have mastered their field… specialists in computer science… specialized fields of medicine… masters of literature… and yet have not the wisdom to get along with their neighbor or maintain a healthy family life!
e. Knowledge isn’t enough. If it were, our generation would be doing just fine! Knowledge has doubled every year since 1955. We have more information and data than we know what to do with. But we do NOT have the wisdom to use it properly.
f. The world has plenty of knowledge and information—but by anyone’s standards: the world today is a mess!
g. Unfortunately, the man who wrote this book failed on this very point! Read the account of the end of Solomon’s life. What a warning to us!
4. God wants us to KNOW instruction
a. Instruction – this term is used 26 times in proverbs.
b. It is sometimes translated “chasten”. (Cf. 13:24 – chastening a son.)
c. It means to instruct by discipline.
d. Instruction or training is a form of discipline… discipline of the mind… and ultimately, when the truth sinks deeper, into the heart.
e. Like a father who loves his son, and therefore chastens him, so God wrote this book as part of our “instruction”… discipline… chastening…
5. God wants us to KNOW the words of understanding
a. This term has virtually the same meaning as our English term.
b. It might be translated “discernment.”
c. This kind of spiritual discernment is what WE need today more than anything!—the ability to approve things that are excellent—
d. God wants His people to be able to discern between right and wrong… holy and unholy… clean and unclean. The devil is doing his best to blur those lines of distinction today.
e. Let’s make this our prayer: that we would all be better able to perceive the words of understanding… grasp a discerning mind…
f. The decisions many believers make today reveals a dearth of discernment.
g. It is far better to be poor and discerning, than rich and lack discernment; It is far better to be sick and discerning, than healthy and lack discernment; It is far better to be lowly and discerning, than important and famous and lack discernment; It is far better to be a failure in the eyes of the world and discerning, than to be a worldly and lack spiritual discernment.
h. The book of Proverbs has been written to help us put things in order… to give us discernment in ordering our lives… arranging our priorities…
To Receive the Instruction of Wisdom, Justice, Judgment, and Equity
1. Receive: God wants the readers of this book to KNOW wisdom… to learn in their heads all these wise principles… but also to TAKE IT IN!
It is possible to memorize the words of wisdom—but never “receive” it inwardly.
Ex: You can give your son a lecture. Once lectured, he has your words of wisdom in his head. He heard you. But that is not a guarantee that he “received” them! He could be just politely nodding to all you say… and not taking any of it in!
2. The purpose of the book is not accomplished in our life—even if we have memorized the whole book! God’s purpose is that we would RECEIVE these truths… take them to heart… make them “yours”… make them your words to live by… not just a dry lecture from an ancient king!
3. This term for wisdom in verse 3 is a different Hebrew word than was used in verse 2.
a. Harry Ironside wrote that this term for wisdom comes from a root meaning “bereavement”…
b. He concluded that this term differed in that this term described learning from unhappy experiences… the hard way… either on your own, or through the unhappy experiences of others. (the school of hard knocks)
c. Proverbs records many unhappy experiences and the results of folly… the young man and the harlot; the drunkard; the sloth; etc…
4. How much better to learn “by means of God’s Word”!!!
a. Ps. 17:4 – “By the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.”
b. That is the best way to learn—by God’s word rather than by experiencing all that Proverbs warns about—sloth; greed; lust; etc.
c. We can gain wisdom about the dangers of drugs by trying them out and paying the price—or by listening to words of wisdom!
d. We can gain wisdom about the consequences of laziness by experience OR by taking heed to the words of wisdom in God’s Word!
e. Proverbs was written that we might RECEIVE this wisdom the easy way—by learning through God’s Word rather than having to learn the hard way all the time!
5. Unfortunately, Solomon learned many of these lessons the hard way—by experiencing the emptiness of following his own understanding…
a. He pursued many of the foolish things he warns us about in Proverbs!
b. He sought happiness through fun and parties and having a good time! (Ecc. 2:1-3)
c. He sought happiness through collecting great possessions. (Ecc.2:4,7-11) But it was all vanity!
d. Solomon pursued wisdom through experience… the hard way.
e. Proverbs is written that we might obtain wisdom the easy way—by taking heed to the inspired word of God!
f. RECEIVE this wisdom… take it in — just as if we had experienced all these things ourselves!
6. God wants the readers of Proverbs to “receive” the instruction of justice
a. Justice = righteousness; right kind of behavior; fair; just behavior
b. One learns in proverbs not to be a respecter of persons. The rich are not always right or kind. The powerful are not always wise. Treat people justly and fairly…
c. God wants us to TAKE IN these truths that deal with justice… into our heart, not just our head.
d. Make these truths that deal with justice OUR truth… words that WE live by…
e. Proverbs has a lot to say about being fair and just in our daily lives.
• Prov. 14:20 – Justice will keep us from being a respecter of persons… as such we will not treat the poor harshly…
• Prov.22.2 – the poor and rich are the same in God’s sight!
• Proverbs will keep us from all the ungodly biases and prejudices of the world. It will make us fair and just—if applied!
• 29:27 – Being “just” is a way of life = and one that will often be opposed. But that is the path God wants US to pursue!
7. Next, God wants the readers to “receive” the instruction of judgment
a. Judgment = the quality or ability to hear and decide a matter or a case fairly. This is the work of a judge. Every one of us needs to have this quality of good judgment.
b. Proverbs was written that we might learn to have good judgment. Far too many have poor judgment!
c. Proverbs has a lot to say about exercising good judgment…
• Prov. 18:17 – One with good judgment does not make up his mind on a matter after hearing “him that is first in his own cause.”
• Solomon demonstrated that when the two mothers came with their own version of who was the real mother of the child.
• Solomon showed good judgment. Proverbs can give US that kind of good judgment too… if applied.
• Jesus said, “Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
• We all make decisions every day. Decisions on all sorts of issues and matters. How we need good judgment in making all those little decisions… because when you string all those little decisions together—that IS our life… that IS the course of our life.
8. Next, God wants the readers to receive the instruction of equity
a. Equity = even; upright; level; honest.
b. The author talks about a “just weight”—honesty and equity in business dealings! (Prov.11:1)
c. Honesty with our tongues… honesty with God…
Note what the author is doing here:
He is mingling together moral qualities with intellectual ones.
• Wisdom and instruction for the head;
• But they must be accompanied by justice; judgment; and equity for the heart.
• A truly wise man is a godly man.
• Wicked men can use their intellect and craftiness for evil purposes.
• But a truly wise man uses his intellect for that which is righteous; and equitable… Proverbs was written that we might KNOW wisdom and RECEIVE it… and allow it to produce its fruit in our lives: justice; good judgment; and honesty—integrity!
• Time spent in Proverbs is time well spent!
• One man likened Proverbs to medicine or vitamins. You shouldn’t make it your complete diet—but we need a little every day!
Proverbs 3:9-10
Honour the Lord with Thy Substance
9HONOUR THE LORD
1. HONOR = TO BE WEIGHTY; TO BE HEAVY; TO HONOR;
a. There is a similar connection between weight and honor in English too.
• A man carries a lot of weight in town—he is important…
• His word carries a lot of weight around here—people highly esteem his opinion.
b. Originally it came from the fact that money was measured in weight. The more weight, the more value gold coins had.
c. Thus, the concept has to do with the value we place on something or someone.
2. Here, we are told to honor the Lord.
a. We are to value Him… give glory to Him.
b. We should esteem His word highly.
c. The Lord is the One we should value… highly esteem… glorify with our lives.
d. Imagine if there was an objective way to measure and assign everything in our life a certain weight? What would really have the most weight in your life? Imagine if there was a scale we could use to weigh the value we place on things… on pleasure… career… family… friends… money… on sports… etc? Which way would the scales tip?
WITH THY SUBSTANCE…
1. The particular WAY in which this honor is demonstrated is with material possessions.
a. Substance: wealth, riches…
b. Whatever substance we have comes from God anyway! (Jas.1:17)
c. Cf. I Chron. 29:11-16 –
d. Vs.11 – Everything in heaven and earth belongs to God
e. Vs.12 – Riches and honor come from God—God is sovereign in distribution
f. Vs.13 – He is to be thanked and praised
g. Vs.14 – the only reason we are able to give is because we have received from God!
h. Vs.15 – our time on earth is fleeting away
i Vs.16 – all the good saved to build the Temple came from God’s hand anyway!
2. We are to honor Him by sacrificing our material possessions to Him and His service.
a. Thus, there is a link between the concept of honor “weighty” and possessions or money, that which is “weighed.”
b. If you were buy a ticket to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra or Red Sox, you pay top dollar. You could see a AA team for $4! You can hear Salem High band for free. But to see a team or orchestra that has much weight—highly esteemed—you must pay a weighty price!
c. I Tim.5: 17-18 – double honor refers to remuneration for their labors. Their pay is a form of showing honor for the work they do.
d. Thus, we see a link between honor, weight, and giving.
3. Giving to God is one way to honor Him…
a. It shows how much weight we assign to Him…
b. It demonstrates how much we value Him…
c. It demonstrates that we value Him more than earthly possessions…
d. There is a link between our giving and the value we ascribe to God.
• We are not talking about the # of dollars given.
• Rather, it has to do with the degree of sacrifice!
4. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He doesn’t need anything.
a. But when we sacrifice in order to give to Him, it is a form of worship.
b. It shows Him what we think of Him.
c. Luke 21:1-4 – this poor woman honored God more than others who gave many more “dollars” than she did. God measures the honor given Him according to the degree of sacrifice involved.
d. Matt. 6:1-4 – Some men gave lots of money, but did so in such a way so as to be seen of men. Their real goal was not to honor the Lord, but to honor themselves!
e. Our giving should have as its goal the honor and glory of God! (It is far more than paying the mortgage, salaries, and electric bill of the church).
AND WITH THE FIRST FRUITS OF ALL THINE INCREASE:
1. Firstfruits – the first fruit on the vine or the tree.
a. It was a special fruit—the first one! Highly prized—like a firstborn son.
b. It was tantamount to giving the “best.”
c. The firstfruit also implied that after the first fruit, there were more to come. Offering the firstfruit to God was a way of showing that it ALL belongs to Him. The firstfruit also represented the whole.
2. God doesn’t want us to give second best. He was our firstfruit…
a. Mal. 1:6 – God laments because His children were not giving Him the honor He deserved.
b. Vs.7 – they demonstrated what they thought of Him by offering polluted bread on the altar—something that had gone moldy and had no value.
c. Vs.8 – they offered sacrifices that were blind, or lame and sick. God was not impressed!
d. Vs.13 – they were tired of offering sacrifices to God and began to offer Him the leftovers—something that had little value—because they did not value God!
e. Vs.14 – God wanted them to know that He was a great King and deserved their best—not their leftovers.
3. Increase – The increase is in contrast to the “substance” which is already in their possession.
a. We are to honor God with the “substance”—that which we already possess.
b. We are also to honor God with any “increase” He sends our way.
c. When God sends an increase to us, it is only right and fitting to express thanksgiving, and to show honor and respect to Him by giving back to Him from that increase.
d. It is a way to acknowledge that we realize that it came from Him.
10SO SHALL THY BARNS BE FILLED WITH PLENTY, AND THY PRESSES SHALL BURST OUT WITH NEW WINE.
1. This verse records the RESULT of honoring God sacrificially: God will supply all your needs!
2. Caution should be used in interpreting this passage.
a. There is a big push today in what is called the “gospel of success.”
b. It is found primarily in charismatic churches. They believe that God wants us all to be healthy and now, wealthy too!
c. Bible verses are YANKED out of their contexts to support their claims.
d. They wrongly assume that passages that promise physical blessings to Israel apply to the church.
e. Example: Deut.28:1-6 – physical blessings for obedience.
• This is not a promise to us!
• Jesus obeyed His Father, and had not a place to lay His head!
f. Example: II Cor.8:9 – He became poor that ye through His poverty might be rich!
g. Example: Matt.6:12 – and forgive us our debts… (Bring your bills and tear them up! We are going to have a debt forgiving.)
h. Have you ever wondered why there is such a market in Christian circles today for Larry Burkett’s books… with an inordinate emphasis on money?
3. The passage in Prov.3:10 does NOT give us the MOTIVE to give (so that we will get). Rather, it gives us a PROMISE in giving… that when we give sacrificially, God will provide for our needs!
a. Some charlatans I have heard on the radio have suggested that God will give you threefold if you give to his ministry. (Give 100 and God will give you 300!)
b. What is the motivation in giving? GREED!
c. They have turned the whole concept of giving around. Instead of a sacrifice, it becomes a means of getting more for self!
d. Instead of an investment in eternity, they see it as an investment in the here and now! It is giving in order to get! It is self oriented.
e. In the Bible giving is an investment in eternity. We give sacrificially—we turn over riches in this life that we might have riches in heaven. That is based on faith and grace.
• II Cor. 9:6 – the farmer that hoards his seeds and wants to keep it all now, is really a fool.
• He needs some “long range vision.” If he scatters his seed now, much later, he will have a large harvest… with many MORE kernels of corn!
• Long range investments pay off. The application is to the believer giving sacrificially and generously today—and in heaven he is richly rewarded! Long range planning is wisest and best.
f. The PROMISE found in this passage is that if we give sacrificially to God, He will provide all of our needs. We will have plenty in our barns to meet our needs.
g. This promise is similar to that found in Col. 4:14-19
• Vs.14-16 – The Philippians gave sacrificially to Paul that he might preach the gospel.
• Vs.18 – their sacrificially giving was well pleasing to God.
• Vs.19 – Because of their sacrificially giving, they have assurance that God would provide for their needs…
• The promise is NOT given to selfish, greedy believers who are seeking financial gain. Rather, it is given to those who are already giving sacrificially.
4. If we are giving SO THAT God might bless us, our motive is wrong.
a. God MAY bless us if we give generously. But our giving should not be done that we might get.
b. Rather, our giving should be gracious… selflessly… sacrificially… and for God’s glory. God knows those who are giving for selfish reasons and those who are giving for His glory.
c. God honors those who honor Him.
5. I Kings 17:8-13 – Elijah told this poor woman to take her last meal, and feed him with it first!
a. It sounds quite selfish and not very manly of Elijah. BUT—this was really a test from the Lord.
b. Vs.14 – it came with a promise from that her oil and wheat would not diminish.
c. Vs.15 – she obeyed…she gave sacrificially by giving to God’s prophet first. She put God first—others first—and God provided for her needs.
d. Vs. 16 – and God kept His promise!
Proverbs 3:11-12
The Chastening of the Lord
11MY SON, DESPISE NOT THE CHASTENING OF THE LORD;
1. Chastening: discipline, chastening, correction
a. The term refers to a type of correction that leads to education.
b. Used in Lev.26:18 – “punish”. But note the PURPOSE of the punishment:
• Vs.19 – Break the pride of your power
• Vs.20 – Demonstrate the vanity of trusting in your own strength—the vanity of independence from God.
• Vs.23 – To reform our ways—correct us—straighten us out…
c. Deut.8:1-5 – The wilderness experience was a 40 year period of chastening—as a Father does with his son.
• Vs. 2 – chastening is designed to humble man; and prove to us what we are like.
• It is a teaching tool…
• Vs. 3 – the chastening was designed to teach man that He needs God’s Word more than earthly goods…
• Vs. 5 – They were to know and consider in their hearts, the significance of the fact that Jehovah was disciplining them! (Do you know that? Do we consider it? Life is God’s university.)
• When the 40 years of chastisement were over, God wanted them to CONSIDER what had happened. Ponder what God did… that they might learn the lesson and not forget it!
• A loving father will chasten his son his whole life through. (Not endless spankings—but endless lessons to be learned…)
• God chastens us to keep us humble… to keep us obedient (vs. 2c) and to teach us our need for Him and His word.
• These are lessons we will never stop learning and relearning in this life.
2.) There are several illustrations of this truth in the Bible:
a. God is a Husbandman who prunes His vine branches (John 15)
b. God is a Father who corrects His sons
c. God is a Potter who removes the lumps from the clay
d. God is a Refiner who seeks to remove the dross from the metal
e. God is a Builder who has to cut, chip away at, and polish the stones He uses in the building.
3. Lessons from the illustrations. They all teach similar truths.
a. We all have need of endless correction… none are sinless.
b. God is the Teacher…Craftsman… we have a good Teacher.
c. God’s purpose is to change us and improve us—not hurt us.
d. The chastisement DOES hurt… but it is good for us. (Ps. 39:10-11)
e. The work will never be finished in this life.
4. Despise – refuse; reject; resist; it does not refer to a passive, inner “hatred”… but rather implies an active resistance.
a. It makes no spiritual sense to resist God working in us.
b. He is changing us—and making us more like Himself.
c. It is silly for the branch to resist the work of the Husbandman—His purpose is to make the branch MORE fruitful!
d. It is silly for the clay to resist the Potter. He is transforming a useless piece of clay into a masterpiece of craftsmanship that displays the glory of the Craftsman!
e. It is silly for the gold to resist the Refiner. The Refiner is purifying the gold… removing the dirt and dross… making it more valuable.
f. Yet, we DO resist.
• We get mad when things don’t go our way—when we should rejoice, knowing that the trial of your faith worketh patience!
• We get frustrated at our failures and foibles, when we should rejoice—realizing that when we recognize our weakness, then are we strong!
• God sometimes sends health problems, poverty, rejection, and failure our way so that we will lean on HIM—and not on our own understanding and strength.
• These trials and difficulties are often the chastening of the Lord… to humble us… keep us dependent… strong.
• And dare we resist?
5. Solomon exhorts his son (and us!) NOT to resist the work God wants to do in his life.
a. Jer.2: 30 – that was the problem in Judah. God was chastening them, but they refused to respond! (Cf. Jer.5:3; 7:28; 17:23)
b. Judah’s behavior is a warning to us. She refused the chastisement of the Lord—and the result was the Babylon captivity! 70 years in exile!
c. One way or another, God knows how to MAKE us respond to Him. If we refuse to respond to the lesser forms of chastisement, He knows how to heat up the oven.
NEITHER BE WEARY OF HIS CORRECTION:
1. Be weary: abhor, weary, loath, distressed, vex, grieved
a. The term refers to a deep emotional reaction issuing in a repulsion of the object.
b. The word is used to describe God’s feelings toward the ungodliness among the Canaanites… and to describe His feelings toward idolatry.
c. Num. 21:5 – It was used to describe Israel’s feelings towards the prolonged feeding upon the manna. They loathed it! They were tired of it… sick of it… They didn’t want it any more.
d. That seems to be the meaning of the term in Prov. 3: 11.
• We are warned NOT to grow sick and tired of the Lord’s chastening.
• We should expect it the rest of our lives.
• Trials and troubles CAN seem to linger on an on… difficulties and disappointments and discouragements never seem to end…
• We CAN even begin to hate it… loath chastening.
• But isn’t that the way children behave? They loath the punishment they receive.
• Rarely does a child really appreciate being chastened by his parents.
• Too often they complain, murmur, chafe, resist, and hate it.
• Thus, they are not learning the lesson… and may need to experience the chastening for a LONGER period of time… or more severe discipline.
• Rather than loath it, we should see it as an example of the love of God. He is reminding us that we belong to Him! He chastens out of love.
2. Job began to FAINT at God’s chastening. (Job 6:1-10)
a. He began a morbid brooding over his situation… dwelt upon it.
b. Even so much he wanted to die. (He was not the only godly man who ever had such thoughts! So did Elijah!)
c. Job became weary of His chastening.
d. David too became weary of God’s chastening. (Ps. 38:1-8)
e. Perhaps you have been there too. It is GOOD to be brought low by the Lord. It is DANGEROUS to brood over it… or to REFUSE to be comforted, like Rachel … and like Asaph (Ps. 77:2)
3. Solomon tells his son neither to RESIST the chastening of the Lord… nor to RESENT it. Instead, he should learn to appreciate it.
12FOR WHOM THE LORD LOVETH HE CORRECTETH; EVEN AS A FATHER THE SON IN WHOM HE DELIGHTETH.
1. In verse 12, Solomon gives his son the REASON why he should not resist but appreciate the chastening of the Lord: it is a sign that the Lord loves you!
a. Can’t you just envision this father telling this to his son.
b. No doubt Solomon wanted his son to realize that whatever chastening he received from him was an expression of love too!
2. When a father corrects his son, it is for the GOOD of his son… and an expression of the father’s love.
a. The same is true of a coach. A good coach will constantly be pointing out picky little things that his players are doing wrong… that need to change. But he does so for their good and the good of the team!
b. A good piano teacher will be constantly correcting a student…
c. The student, or athlete or son who understands this… and responds positively is going to excel.
d. It is never easy to be criticized or corrected. But it is a mark of wisdom to be mature enough to take it.
e. Solomon is REASONING with his son. He wants his son to respond properly to the correction of the Lord. Knowing WHY God chastens will make a positive response easier.
3. You young children—it is hard to be chastened by your parents, isn’t it. But did you know that it is just as hard for your parents to receive correction from the Lord?
a. Even when you grow up and are no longer under the authority of your parents, chastening never ends… correction never ends.
b. Solomon wanted his son to know that. But now, it is no longer DAD who is doing the chastening. It now comes directly from the Lord!
4. We need to know that chastening is GOOD for us.
a. Heb.12:10 – for our profit… that we might again be a partaker of his holiness!
b. Heb.12:11 – Afterward, it yields fruit… and fruit results in joy. (Like the husbandman pruning and bringing forth much fruit!)
c. Heb.12:12-14 – If God chastens, benefit from it! Don’t grow weary of it… discouraged… but say THANK YOU LORD and get on in your pursuit of good things!
d. Prov. 3: 13 – HAPPY is the man that finds wisdom—even this wisdom!
e. Solomon wanted his son to learn what the Psalmist learned…that it is GOOD to be afflicted by the Lord!
• Psalm 119:67 –to become obedient to His Word!
• Psalm 119:71 – to learn His statutes more deeply!
• Psalm 119:75 – learn of God’s faithfulness to us!
Proverbs 3:13-15
Happy is the Man
13Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
1. Happy = blessed; it is often used as an interjection. (O how happy is…)
2. The term is used 25 times in Psalms. (Ex – Ps.1:1 – blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly…)
3. Prov. 8:1-3 – Wisdom cries out to all who will hear… as in ch.1
a. Vs. 32 – Blessed is the one who keeps her ways… practices wisdom.
b. Vs. 34 – Blessed is the man who HEARS wisdom speak… watching daily… (Seeking to hear and learn more…)
c. Prov.8:36 – Whoever rejects wisdom will NOT be happy. He is sinning against his own soul… wronging himself!
d. Ex: the young boy who refuses to do his homework against the wisdom laid down by his father. He is only hurting himself! He is the one who will pay in the end…
e. Ex: wisdom says, “Obey God and you will experience blessedness; happiness.”
f. It is the fool who says that obeying God and walking the straight and narrow is boring. The fool will pay for his folly eventually.
g. The fool says, “I won’t be happy until I break away from God and do my own thing. God is too restrictive. I can’t be happy if I follow Him!”
4. Solomon has already described some of the “happiness” or “blessedness” associated with following divine wisdom.
a. 3:4 – you will find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man!
b. 3:8 – health! Follow divine wisdom will keep a man or woman away from dangerous lifestyles. God’s wisdom leads to purity—you won’t have to worry about sexually transmitted disease. You won’t worry about cirrhosis of the liver if you follow God’s wisdom and stay away from strong drink!
c. 3:10 – Following God’s wisdom will bless you with having your needs all met.
d. 3:2 – long life too!
e. Remember, these are proverbs—not promises in each and every case. But over all, the one who follows God’s wisdom will be BLESSED.
• Wisdom will keep him from doing foolish things that could result in disease, loss of friends, or an early death.
5. Blessed is the man that finds wisdom and gets understanding!
a. This kind of wisdom is God’s wisdom.
• Man must get or find it. We do not have this kind of wisdom in ourselves.
• This wisdom comes only from God—not the wisdom of the world.
b. What a stark contrast between divine wisdom which results in happiness and the wisdom of the world which sometimes results in grief! (Ecc.1:18)
c. How do we find it? Is it lost? Is it hiding?
d. It is found recorded in God’s word. It is available for all of us.
e. BUT—not every believer actually finds it! Many believers demonstrate by the foolish decisions that they make that they do not have this wisdom!
f. It is not because they CANNOT find it. It is because they WILL NOT find it.
g. We have 66 books of Divine wisdom in our Bibles. How much time do we spend getting spiritual understanding? It’s there for the finding… but we have to open the book and READ it!
h. If we are going to GET this wisdom or FIND it—it requires diligence! (Prov.2:1-4 – seek divine wisdom as gold diggers seek gold!)
i. BLESSED is the man who finds it! There is no blessing upon the man who watches TV… or who golfs… or skis… or puts around in his workshop on his hobby. But there is a blessing upon the one who finds wisdom!
j. You want some blessing in your life? Get into God’s Word!
k. Revelation 1:3 – Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
l. GETTING God’s wisdom means more than memorizing a verse. It means OBEYING the wisdom learned! BLESSED is that man in his DEED. (James 1:25)
14For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
1. Solomon wrote these words. He is preeminently qualified to speak on this subject. He had unimaginable wealth!
a. I Kings 9:26-28 – Solomon had gold shipped to him from all over the world… the world’s finest gold! (10:14-15)
b. I Kings 10:4-7 – This queen had her breath taken away by the extravagant wealth of Solomon! She was also taken in by his famous wisdom!
• She noted that even his servants were happy- they hear of his wisdom! (10:8)
• 10:23 – Solomon exceeded all kings of the earth in wisdom and wealth.
c. II Chron.9:20-28 – a brief overview of all the wealth brought to Solomon yearly. He was rich!
2. When Solomon spoke to his son and said that the merchandise of wisdom is better than that of gold or silver—he knew what he was talking about!
a. He was talking under divine inspiration—AND—experience!
b. In his official dealings with kings and princes of foreign lands, he no doubt came in contact with some very wealthy men. Not all wealthy men are wise. Many are quite foolish.
c. To become a king, all one had to do was to be the firstborn in the right family. That was no guarantee of wisdom!
d. No doubt Solomon knew some wealthy men who were foolish in their ways.
e. By observing Solomon came to realize that wisdom is better than wealth!
3. Merchandising = profitable
a. It is more profitable to have wisdom than gold and wealth.
b. It is even more profitable in a financial sense… on a purely materialistic sense—it is more profitable to have wisdom.
c. Which would you prefer?
• A million dollars and no wisdom? (eager to buy the Brooklyn Bridge?)
• OR no money, but the wisdom to earn a million $ a year?
d. On the news the other day they had a story about a man who won megabucks and was now in debt over his head. He lost it all gambling—and he even spent money he didn’t have!
e. It would make for an interesting book—to write about the lives of common people before and after they became instant millionaires through the lottery. Some of them would be pretty sad stories.
4. Even for the worldling—wisdom is more profitable than gold. But especially for the believer!
a. A believer might successfully accumulate wealth, but what profit is it if in the process, he loses his family? (divorce or neglect)
b. A believer might successfully accumulate wealth, but what profit is it if it causes you to forget God? (Deut. 8:11-14)
c. A believer might successfully accumulate wealth, but what profit is it if he ruins his health in the process and cannot enjoy it? (Ecc. 6:1-2)
d. A believer might successfully accumulate wealth, but what profit it is if he can’t even sleep at night worrying about it? (Ecc. 5:12)
e. A believer might successfully accumulate wealth, but what profit is it if when he stands at the Bema, he has no true riches? (Matt. 6:19)
5. Wisdom will NEVER allow us to put making money above the spiritual needs of his family… nor will he allow making money above God… nor will wisdom allow us to put earthly treasures above heavenly treasures…
a. WISDOM knows how to prioritize.
b. Wisdom knows what is really valuable.
c. The wise believer will realize that obtaining God’s wisdom is more valuable from eternity’s perspective than obtaining gold, silver, and rubies in this life.
15She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
1. In fact, wisdom is more precious than rubies or ALL THE THINGS you could ever desire or want or imagine!
2. There is nothing that can even qualify to be put in the same category as wisdom! She is in a class by herself.
3. Paul demonstrated this in the choices he made. He practiced this truth!
a. Col. 2:3 – in Christ are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
b. Phil. 3:4-8 – Paul left a lucrative position in Judaism behind in order to pursue the knowledge of God in the person of Jesus Christ! He chose wisdom over earthly wealth and success. He is our example today.
c. Paul knew that what he left behind was not even to be compared to the knowledge of God—the wisdom of God in Christ that he found! By way of comparison, he said they were like dung!
d. The things of this world cannot even be compared to the knowledge of God… God’s wisdom…
4. If we really BELIEVE this, then it will affect the decisions we make.
a. Paul believed it—and he left his earthly success behind and CHOSE Christ.
• In one sense, Paul TRADED his earthly success for the knowledge of God.
• Solomon said the “merchandising” of wisdom is better than the merchandise of gold.
• Merchants trade and swap their goods. Paul made a good trade.
• Often we make terrible trades… lousy decisions… horrible choices.
b. If we really believe this, we too will CHOOSE Christ and the knowledge of God—Divine wisdom over the things of the world that seem so valuable.
c. Paul PRACTICED this kind of wisdom. HAPPY is he who gets wisdom!
d. Earthly success would not have provided Paul with happiness.
e. Half hearted seeking does not result in this kind of happiness. God’s wisdom must be sought with all the enthusiasm and vigor that men exert in digging for gold—for what we are looking for is far more valuable! It deserves at least that much effort to find!
Proverbs 3:16-20
Benefits of Wisdom
Introduction:
1. Solomon has been teaching his son about the importance of Divine wisdom.
2. This isn’t the kind of wisdom you get at Harvard or on the street. This is God’s Wisdom—recorded in His Word. Much of this kind of wisdom is ridiculed at Harvard and on the street.
3. Solomon just told his son that wisdom is more valuable than silver and gold. (vs.14)
4. It is the source of true happiness. (vs.13)
5. He continues to instruct his son concerning the value of God’s wisdom.
16Length of days is in her right hand…
1. Wisdom is personified as a woman offering gifts to all who will listen to her.
2. First, she offers “length of days.” (a long life)
3. Keep in mind that these are Proverbs—truth crystallized into one little gem. They were never intended to cover each and every possible situation.
a. For example, if a man dies at the age of 20, that does not necessarily mean that he was foolish or did not employ God’s wisdom.
b. And if a man lives to be 95, that does not necessarily mean that he is wise.
c. Many fools live to a ripe old age… and many wise men die young (like the Lord Jesus!)
4. The proverb means that, generally speaking, if a man violates the principles of wisdom… he may well be endangering his life perhaps cutting it short.
a. Ex: if you want to ignore God’s Words of wisdom (obey man made ordinances) and speed down route 93 at 100 miles an hour—you may well cut your life short! That kind of folly tends to shorten one’s life!
b. Ex: if you want to indulge in drinks or drugs—and ignore the wise warnings in God’s Word of wisdom—you may make yourself sick, addicted, or wind up dead! (Prov. 23:29-30,34,35)
c. Ex: If you want to ignore God’s words of wisdom concerning the strange woman and indulge in illicit sexual activity—you may well be cutting your life short. (Prov.5:1-5)
d. God’s wisdom says, stay where it is safe. The fool wants to skate on thin ice… live life on the edge. That kind of behavior may result in a life cut short.
e. Solomon wrote, “A soft answer turneth away wrath.” Practice this and you are less likely to become a victim of road rage! Shout back at someone on the highway—an uncontrolled tongue—could result in a short life!
f. But Lady Wisdom has “length of days” in her hands—offering it to those who follow her!
And in her left hand are riches and honor
Riches…
1. She has long life in one hand. In her other hand she is offering us riches and honor.
2. Solomon just said that wisdom is far better than riches. (vs.14-15)
3. He is not contradicting himself in the next verse.
a. Rather, he is simply stating that although wisdom is far better than riches, wisdom often results in riches.
b. Again, remember that this is a proverb—not a promise. Not every wise person is going to have riches. Some wise people are quite poor—like the Lord Jesus. Nor does it mean that every wealthy person must have Divine wisdom. That is hardly the case.
4. Solomon means that when a person employs the principles of wisdom to his life, it will tend to cause him to prosper. When a person abandons the principles of wisdom, it tends to bring poverty.
a. God’s wisdom exalts diligence and hard work. (Prov. 10:4; 12:11; 13:4)
• This diligence goes for the student in school; the child at home doing his chores; and for the worker in the plant or office.
b. Wisdom also exalts honesty. The one who obtains money by dishonest means usually loses his wealth…
• The fool attempts to get his riches the easy way—usually by some dishonest means…stealing, cheating, etc.
• Prov.28:22 – He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.
• Prov.13:11 – Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.
• It is the fool who tries to attempt to obtain riches by a manner other than the way of wisdom. It often results in poverty.
Honor…
1. Lady wisdom offers HONOR to all who hear her and obey.
2. 4:7-8 – Embrace lady wisdom and she will promote you and bring you to honor!
3. 8:12,18 – riches and honor are with me!
4. 22:4 – true wisdom teaches us to FEAR GOD! That will in turn bring honor!
a. True wisdom also teaches us to be humble. That will in turn bring honor!
b. 15:33 – before honor is HUMILITY. Wisdom instructs us to humble self. Folly tells us to exalt self. If we want to be honored, we have to follow Lady wisdom’s advice!
c. Prov. 5:8 – Wisdom demands PURITY. The fool runs into the strange woman and in doing so gives away his honor! He has lost it!
d. Prov. 21:21 – if we follow after RIGHTEOUSNESS we will have honor. Lady wisdom demands that we pursue righteousness.
e. Lady Wisdom demands that we be God fearing, humble, pure, and righteous. THAT is the way to honor!
f. One does not become honorable by seeking honor for himself. Rather, he obtains honor by seeking righteousness, purity, humility, and by fearing God!
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness…
1. Pleasantness = kindness, delightfulness, beauty, favour
2. Again, this is a proverb. This does not mean that if we practice wisdom life will be nothing but blue skies and good cheer all our days.
3. But it does mean that by following the advice of Lady Wisdom, life will be so much more pleasant!
4. It will keep us off dead end streets… away from sins that will eat away at us…
5. There is a sense of joy and satisfaction that comes from doing what is right and wise. That is pleasant to the soul.
6. The devil would like nothing more than to convince men and women that if you follow God’s narrow path of wisdom, life will be boring… you will be miserable… unhappy… Not so! Her ways are the ways of pleasantness and peace!
7. Ps.1:1 – Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful!
8. Ps.19:11- there is a great reward to hearing God’s Word of wisdom and keeping it. The reward is a blessed, pleasant life—free from all the troubles and snares that folly brings.
9. The world knows nothing of Christianity. It’s only religion. Religion lays heavy burdens on souls. It gives men much to DO, but nothing to enjoy. But Christ frees us from sin, and gives us all things richly to enjoy! The world cannot imagine spiritual pleasures… reading the Word… fellowship… singing praises…
10. The world knows nothing of being totally satisfied in Christ or the joy of the Lord.
And all her paths are peace…
1. Peace = completeness, soundness, welfare, peace; tranquility
2. The person who follows Lady Wisdom will have so much more peace in personal relationships.
a. Prov.15:1 – a soft answer turns away wrath. Instead of wrath, wisdom enables you to defuse situations that could potentially disturb the peace!
b. Prov. 28:25 – some people are constantly stirring up strife and trouble. They seem to thrive on it. Wisdom teaches us how to avoid it.
c. Ps.119:165 – great peace have they that love thy law! God’s Word is God’s Wisdom in print. It is a great source of peace!
3. You can tell God’s wisdom from the world’s wisdom. God’s wisdom is pure and peaceable. (Jas. 3:14-17) The world’s wisdom is full of strife.
4. This means true peace. It does not involve compromise over the truth. He is talking about interpersonal relationships… not doctrinal issues.
5. When it comes to the truth, we are engaged in an unending battle. But in our dealings with people on a day to day basis, we are to be peacemakers. That is the way of wisdom.
6. The world would never give the kind of wise counsel we find in the Scriptures: turn the other cheek; suffer yourself to be defrauded; bless those that curse you; overcome evil with good!
7. Wisdom provides not only length of days (quantity) but pleasantness and peace (quality).
18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her:
1. Wisdom is A tree of life… not THE tree in the Garden of Eden.
a. THE tree of life was created to preserve life… eat of it and live forever.
b. Wisdom is LIKE a tree of life. It provides continual preservation and protection for us in our spiritual life.
c. Wisdom enables us to MAINTAIN our spiritual life…
d. Col. 2:7 – We need to be rooted and built up in Him… for HE is the source of all wisdom. (vs.3)
2. It is a tree—a continual source of life to those who lay hold upon her.
3. As an apple tree provides apples to those who lay hold of them… so too wisdom provides her fruit continually to those who will come by and lay hold.
And happy is every one that retaineth her.
1. Once again, Solomon states that the one who retains this kind of divine wisdom is a happy or a blessed man!
2. If you want a happy blessed life—then dig into God’s Word and begin to practice the principles of wisdom found therein! That is the real key to happiness… the only way.
3. Get it—and don’t ever let go! (Prov. 4:5)
19 The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath He established the heavens. 20 By His knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.
Proverbs 3:21-24
Keep Sound Wisdom
1. Another “my son” section begins in vs.21.
2. Here, Solomon gives his son a new line of advice.
a. It is quite similar in theme to what he has been saying for the last couple of chapters, but there is a significant difference as well.
b. He has been advising his son to obtain wisdom throughout the book.
• 2:2 – incline your heart to obtain wisdom and understanding
• 2:4 – seek after wisdom like silver or a hidden treasure.
• 3:13 – you will be happy if you FIND wisdom or GET understanding.
• Thus far, he has been advising his son to OBTAIN wisdom… at any cost—get it!
c. Now Solomon advises his son to KEEP it—retain it at all costs too!
• It is one thing to acquire something. It is another thing to keep it.
• A man might acquire wealth quickly—[inheritance; lottery; find it]. But he can blow it as soon as he gets it too. I have known people who make lots of money, but they’re always broke. They don’t know how to retain it.
• A man might become a talented musician through years of labor—a master pianist. But he needs to maintain that skill or he will lose it.
• A man might be a talented athlete. But no matter how talented, those skills need to be maintained—or they will begin to dissipate.
• A man might acquire wisdom too. But, he must be diligent to retain it too… or it could be lost through neglect.
• The clear implication here is that wisdom must be maintained or it can be lost… diminished… faded… become dim… darkened…
3. This is a truth found often in the Bible.
a. II Pet. 1:8-9 – it is possible for a true believer to become blind (shortsighted).
• His vision begins to fail him! He can’t see so clearly any more.
• WHY? Because he was not diligent in adding virtue to his life. He wasn’t practicing what he learned!
b. Heb. 5:12 – they should have been teachers, but had to be taught the ABC’s all over again! They had discernment, but through neglect, they lost it!
4. The advice given to the son in Prov. 3:21 is worthy of contemplation, especially in light of the personal history of the one giving the advice: Solomon.
a. Solomon was the son of the one of the godliest men in the Bible: David, a man after God’s own heart.
b. David had discernment. He was a wise man.
• II Sam. 5:2 – David knew how to come in and go out… conduct himself wisely.
• I Sam. 18:16 – all Israel loved David for the wisdom he demonstrated in his comings and goings…wise personal conduct.
c. Solomon did not. I Kings 3:7 – he did not know how to come in and go out.
• Solomon was no David!
• Somehow, when Solomon was a young man, he did not have nearly the wisdom that his father had when he was a youth.
• Vs. 9 – at least Solomon had common sense enough to realize that he lacked wisdom—so he asked God for it.
• Vs.10-12 – God was pleased that Solomon wanted wisdom. God granted wisdom to him. He was given more wisdom than any king on earth!
• Thankfully, the Holy Spirit led him to record much of that wisdom in the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
• God GRANTED this wisdom to Solomon.
d. David earned his wisdom by practicing what he learned. He tested it. He walked in it. He made it his own. David grew in wisdom. He learned lessons, and accumulated this truth and wisdom… and then lived it. You could say David got his wisdom the old fashioned way. He earned it!
e. Solomon on the other hand had his wisdom handed to him on a silver platter. He went from an inexperienced child who didn’t know how to come in or go out, to the possessor of more wisdom than anyone on earth—in an instant. (Like winning the lottery).
f. Although David did a few foolish things in his life, over all, he retained his wisdom.
g. Solomon received his wisdom overnight… but did not retain it.
• I Kings 6:38c and 7:1 – Solomon spent more time building his own house than he did building the Temple!
• I Kings 11:4-8 – foreign women turned him away from the Lord. He built places of worship for false gods in Jerusalem!
h.) Solomon reminds me of in a sense, of our young athletes today. Overnight, they are transformed from a 19 year old nobody from nowhere into a multimillion-dollar celebrity with people screaming for their autographs. Many of them are unable to handle it—and make a mess of their lives.
i. It is one thing to obtain wealth and success. It is quite another thing to handle it well and retain it.
j. It is one thing to obtain godly wisdom. It is quite another thing to retain it.
k. A man can absorb many words of wisdom rather quickly.
l. It takes a lifetime of faithfulness to retain it.
5. This is the message Solomon is communicating to his son in 3:21.
a. Unfortunately, Solomon was the kind of father that said, “Do as I say, not as I do,” because he did not retain wisdom in his own life!
b. I have seen quite a few believers start off well and wisely—but then end up like Solomon… making one foolish decision after the next…
c. Keeping wisdom requires practice. It requires practicing the restraint and self discipline of making wise choices which are usually harder… even if it FEELS GOOD to make the easy choices…
• Deut. 6:6-9 – practice means they are part of every day life, not just when you go to church!
6. Keeping (guarding) wisdom and discretion requires constant, diligent effort.
a. 4:20-21 – KEEP them in the midst of thine heart… the center of your thinking.
b. This is more than keeping them in our mind intellectually. It implies that we keep them NEAR to our heart… for out of the heart are all the issues of life. (vs.23)
c. God’s wisdom is to be kept in our heart and applied to all the issues of life.
d. The heart ought to be HOME for God’s wisdom. It should LIVE there… not be buried in a back closet. It should be right in the MIDST of all we think and say and do.
• Col.3:16 – the Word of God should be DWELLING in us… in our heart.
• Col.3:17 – it should affect every area of our life—all the issues of life.
e. Are the principles in God’s Word right in the center of all the choices you make in life? Are they right in the center of your thinking when making a decision?
f. Somewhere along the line, Solomon began to push God’s wisdom into the background of his life.
• These principles didn’t seem to be in the center of his heart during his building projects.
• These principles certainly were not in the midst of his heart when he married all the foreign women.
• He was not putting these principles in the midst of his heart when he had high places built to the pagan gods in Jerusalem!
• He HAD this wisdom, but didn’t keep it in the center of his heart.
• He HAD this wisdom, but did not retain it… He didn’t KEEP it… guard it.
g. Solomon had wisdom. He knew that it needed to be retained and guarded. He admonished his son to guard and keep sound wisdom and discretion. But he failed in this very area himself.
h. It’s not how much you know. It’s not how wise you have been. It’s how faithful you are in the little things right now… practicing the principles of wisdom… keeping them in the front of our mind and heart daily… that is what makes or breaks a believer.
Proverbs 3:23-26
Results of Sound Wisdom
SAFETY
23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble
1. The first result of sound wisdom is safety. When applied faithfully and consistently, wisdom will keep us safe—in every way (physically and spiritually).
2. Remember that these are proverbs. It is not a guarantee under every possible set of circumstances!
a. It doesn’t mean that if we walk in God’s wisdom that we will never stumble or have an accident!
b. Rather, his point is that following sound wisdom will lead us down safer roads in life!
3. Sound wisdom is NOT like a lucky rabbit’s foot or a St. Christopher medal. It is much more practical, more like a flashlight!
a. When you are walking in darkness, a flashlight will keep you from stumbling.
b. That doesn’t mean in each and every case. It is possible to be using a flashlight, and still trip.
c. BUT—you take a flashlight to AVOID that if at all possible!
d. Ps.119: 105 – God’s Word and wisdom is a lamp unto my feet.
e. Wisdom says, “Walk in the light, not in the darkness!”
4. Following wisdom’s advice, our chances of falling and stumbling are FAR less!
a. Prov. 2:16-18 – wisdom says to avoid the strange woman—the harlot. If we follow the advice of wisdom, it will keep our home safe and secure!
b. Prov.1:14-15 – fools cry out to us to follow them in their mischief and crimes. Wisdom says, “Stay away!” Following the advice of wisdom will keep us safe from the law!
c. Every word of wisdom found in this book is for our spiritual well being… for our good. Obey it—apply it—and it will keep you safe from trouble.
d. Violate the words of wisdom in this book, and there are serious consequences—which we will not be able to avoid!
COURAGE
24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid:
1. Many folks are afraid when they lie down to sleep at night. They are full of fear.
2. However, the man who incorporates God’s wisdom into his life need not be afraid at night.
3. If you have stolen money from your place of employment, you might lie in bed at night in fear of getting caught!
4. If we lied to someone at work, we might fear being discovered and exposed as a liar!
5. If you cheated on your income taxes, you might well lie in bed at night in fear of getting caught!
6. When we don’t do things right, we have good reason to fear.
7. But wisdom exhorts us to do things RIGHT… obey the laws… obey God’s Word… treat people honestly… and when we apply this sound wisdom to our life, we will NOT be afraid!
8. We will not fear! If our heart is right with God, we need not fear what men can do unto us.
PEACE
Yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. (vs.24b)
1. Psalm 4:8 – The psalmist could sleep at night—because he trusted in the Lord to keep him safe!
a. Perhaps some of us worry at night. Will our house be broken into?
b. With all the violence in our country, many worry at night.
c. As Christians, we should be able to sleep… because we know a God who never slumbers or sleeps! (Ps.121:4-7)
2. Acts 12:6-7 – Peter slept like a baby!
a. vs.1 – James had just been killed with the sword. Peter was next.
b. But on the night in which he fully expected to be executed, Peter was in prison, sleeping like a baby!
c. Could you sleep under such circumstances? Peter did.
d. Vs. 5 – the church was praying for him.
e. But more importantly, he was in prison for preaching Christ. He had rest in his soul. He was at peace with God. Therefore, his sleep was sweet—even though his circumstances were not very sweet!
f. If Peter lied to get out of jail—if he told the authorities that he would not preach Christ again, he may have been released. However, he would not be able to sleep at night! He would have been tossing and turning with an aching, guilty conscience!
CONFIDENCE (vs.25)
25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. 26 For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
1. The one who is applying sound wisdom to his life need not fear sudden fear!
a. He need not fear the future…
• We need not fear WWIII—we trust in a sovereign God.
• We need not fear being laid off—we can trust in God who holds our future in His hand.
• We need not fear becoming suddenly ill—God has already determined our days.
b. There are many sudden calamities in life—things for which we could never adequately prepare, but they come anyway!
c. Such sudden calamities cause many people in the world to live in constant fear.
d. Part of the reason for this fear in man is the guilt of knowing that he is not right with God—and whatever evil befalls him, he deserves!
e. We need not live like that. Things that terrorize the unbeliever need not cause us to fear.
f. We can have the confidence of the Lord in our lives. (Deut.33:27) He is our Refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. That should give us assurance and confidence!
g. When our heart is right with God, and we know how much He cares for His own, then we should be able to sleep like a baby—we are held up by His everlasting arms. (arms = strength)
2. Psalm 27:1-3 – no need to fear. If we know the Lord and trust Him, THAT is our confidence! That is all the confidence we need!
a. It matters not how tumultuous things are all around us. God is our Refuge. He is our strength. In Him there is no need to fear.
b. The LORD is our confidence!
3. Ps. 91:1-6 – we are under His wings… in a place of safety… security. In vs. One, the psalmist describes a relationship to the Lord by two similar figures.
a. Dwelling in the secret place of the Most High
• This speaks of abiding close to the Lord… the Sovereign Creator
b. Abiding under the shadow on the Almighty
• This is essentially the same thought …
• They both speak of the Lord as the place of “dwelling” for the believer.
• They both also speak of the Lord as the All Powerful One… hence, One who is quite ABLE to provide such safety and security.
c. Note here that he is not speaking about the Lord as One to whom we come running only when we are in trouble or danger.
d. Many people have that idea about God. When things are going fine we don’t need Him. But when we get in serious trouble, we pray… we seek His help… and when He helps us out, we don’t need Him any more!
e. Vs. 9-10 – Rather, the psalmist is speaking about an individual believer who DWELLS in the Lord… one who ABIDES… under the shadow of His wing.
• It is BECAUSE we have made the Lord our abiding place that we are safe…
• He uses the figure of a young chick under the shadow of the wing of the mother hen… the point: he LIVES there! That’s home! Safe and secure!
4. Psalm 112:7 – he shall not fear evil tidings.
a. Some worry about future “tidings”—what MIGHT happen!
b. Some folks lose sleep over things that haven’t even happened yet—and may not ever happen… but we worry.
c. Isn’t that kind of worrying a lack of trust in God to do what is right?
5. Isa. 41:10 – fear thou not for I am with thee…
a. If we were only MORE conscious of God’s Person, God’s Power, and God’s presence, we would worry less, and trust more!
b. Our sleep at night would improve!
c. Vs.13-14 – we may be but a worm, but we are a worm protected by the Almighty God! No need to fear!
6. I Pet. 3:14 –15 – Peter warns us NOT to fear men, even those men who may be persecuting us.
a. Instead of worrying about men, fear God! Sanctify Him in your heart!
b. That will put an end to our fear… even those sudden terrors!
c. The LORD is our confidence!
7. In a world that is so unstable and insecure, as Christians, we need to TRUST God and experience this rest and peace.
a. This is our testimony in the world too! It is a powerful testimony too.
b. Prov. 14:26 – In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.
c. Sound wisdom will send us straight to God… sound wisdom will demand that our heart be right with God… and when that is so, we will experience assurance and safety. We will be able to sleep at night…
d. We will be able to trust God for our health… our future… our children and their future… for our job… people problems… all those things that so often cause worry and anxiety—we can turn over to God and let Him be God!
Proverbs 3:27-28
Withhold Not Good from them to Whom it is Due
1. The subject here is withholding dues… money owed to another.
2. “Them to whom it is due” = baal;
a. Baal is a term for lord; or owner.
b. The author is using a play on words.
c. Someone else is the real owner (lord; baal) of this money or product or goods—whatever it is that is DUE.
3. To whom would our money be due?
a. If we borrow money from another person…
b. If we borrow money from a bank or finance company…
c. If we borrow someone else’s property (car; snow blower; bicycle; stereo)
d. If we owe someone a service—by bartering your time of service for money or for property—or even someone’s else’s service. (the plumber who promises to fix the carpenter’s leaky sink if the carpenter promises to fix his leaky roof!)
e. If we purchase items with a credit card…
f. If we hire someone to do a job, and they do the job…
g. If we live in a country, enjoy its services, then we owe taxes…
h. If we have been saved and appreciate God’s grace, we are responsible to give to the Lord’s work… it is due…
i. If we borrow money, time, or service, we have become a debtor to that person or company or country.
j. That person becomes a baal of our money, time, or service—that other person becomes the lord; master of our money, time, service.
k. If we owe someone—that person is the master of our money / service.
4. Those to whom it is due does not refer to anyone who WANTS your money or asks you for money. He is speaking someone to whom you OWE money.
Withhold Not Good
1. Withhold: to hold back, keep back, refrain, deny, restrain, hinder
2. Withhold not good is a command!
3. If our money, time, or service is DUE, then we are commanded by God to pay it!
4. Actually, the command is that we are NOT to withhold money when due.
a. Not withholding is different than a command to pay.
b. This command implies that there might be times when a person HAS the money to pay, but for some reason, chooses NOT to pay. This is forbidden.
c. Why would a person withhold money due to his debtors?
• Usually selfishness. We would rather KEEP it or spend in on self!
• Some might say they are withholding tax dollars because they do not agree with the government’s policy on Iraq or abortion, or because we don’t like the President, etc…
• Cf. Matt.22: 17-21 – Jesus said to pay taxes to Caesar!
• This is hardly an endorsement of Caesar or his regime by Christ.
• Jesus told Peter to pay his taxes so as to avoid offences. (Matt.17:26)
• We are not to withhold that which is due because it may be an offence—it will tarnish our testimony for Christ.
• There is no excuse for withholding taxes. It is money owed!
5. Before we ever begin a project (building a house; buying a car; etc) we are to sit down and count the cost whether we are able to finish the project—and pay for it! (Luke 14:28-30)
a. The point is that we are NOT to get in over our heads.
b. We are NOT to borrow more than we can pay back.
c. We are NOT to live beyond our means.
d. We are NOT to involve ourselves in a commitment we are not able to finish.
e. Doing our homework AHEAD of time will prevent us from making this mistake. It will keep us out of that awkward position of owing… being in debt… and finding ourselves unable to pay…
6. However, the passage in Proverbs seems to be warning about something even worse. The warning is about REFUSING to pay money owed, even when we have it!
a. This brings to mind the warning to the wealthy landowners in James.
• James 5:1-3 – James is addressing rich men.
• Vs. 4 – These landowners hired peasants to work their fields, but were withholding their paychecks by fraud.
• Either they were LYING about the amount owed… or coming up with an EXCUSE to hold on to their money as long as possible.
• The Lord knows all about it. And He is coming one day to make the crooked things straight! (vs.8)
b. We too can commit this kind of sin.
• In running a business, we have no right to withhold payment to our creditors… or to companies that have supplied us with goods or services.
• In running a household, we have no right to hire servicemen come and fix our home or car, if we know we can’t pay them… and we are going to put off payment when the bill comes in…
• We might be mad at a company/doctor/serviceman and refuse to pay.
• We can withhold good because of a grudge; anger; procrastination; laziness; revenge;—all of which are wrong and forbidden by this passage.
When it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
1. The specific example here is of refusing to pay when we have the money or the ability.
2. Power = el (the other half of the play on words).
a. The play on words is between baal and el – a name for God.
b. It is an unusual expression, consistently translated in a manner similar to the KJV.
c. El, God is powerful; able.
d. If we have the power and ability to pay off our baals, do so!
3. There are times when we may NOT have the power or ability to pay off a loan or a bill.
a. A man may begin a project, count the cost, and crunch all the numbers and the project may seem quite do-able.
b. But the economy could turn sour—suddenly and unexpectedly… any number of things could happen.
c. We might find ourselves without power or ability to pay. That is not the point of this passage.
d. This passage speaks of someone who is ABLE to pay but refuses.
• The McCoys and the Joneses having a feud…
• The man who piles up bills and doesn’t pay them, in order to save money for his vacation…
• The man who promised to do a good deed for someone, and is able to do so, but keeps putting it off… procrastination.
28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
1. The specific reason mentioned for putting off payment here seems to procrastination. (Mañana!)
2. Very often this kind of postponing is done with ulterior motives…
a. We put it off—secretly hoping that the other party will forget about it… or not bother to ask again… or grow tired of asking…drop it altogether…
b. This is often a cover for selfishness… covetousness. We put off paying because we love money and don’t want to pay what we owe… we like to keep it.
c. Sometimes the need is urgent and CANNOT be put off until tomorrow! Tomorrow might be too late.
3. WHY would someone (who had the ability to give) say, “Go and come again; tomorrow I will give?”
a. Probably because of greed. He really doesn’t really WANT to pay.
b. He wants to put it off…
c. It reveals what his heart is like… greed… self centered…
Applications:
1. While this text seems to be speaking specifically of paying back something that is owed to another, there are many applications that can be made about our responsibility to do GOOD unto others.
2. In principle, this passage is similar to James 2:15-16
a. In this text, nothing is actually OWED to the poor man.
b. But there is a moral obligation to help.
c. If a brother is destitute (starving; naked; etc)—drastic circumstances—we are morally obligated to help.
d. This does not refer to the brother who comes to borrow money for a new leather coat or one who needs money to eat at the Tavern on the Green.
e. It speaks of a brother who is destitute. This is more like the situation of the Good Samaritan who found a man lying destitute on the side of the road.
f. Vs.16 – saying, “Depart, be warmed and filled” is sending him away without helping. You are withholding good! It is just like saying, “Go and come again; tomorrow I will give.”
g. If we can help a brother or sister in Christ, we should.
• We may be used at times.
• There will always be freeloaders who take advantage of Christian generosity.
• But over all, if we can help, we should.
• If it is within our ability and power—don’t withhold.
2. Gal. 6:10 – as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, especially to those of the household of faith.
a. As we have opportunity—speaks of a person who has the power or ability to help.
b. We have been called to do GOOD works… we are to walk in the good works that God has ordained for us. (Eph. 2:8-10) This is the natural FRUIT of salvation, never the root!
c. When opportunity arises to do good, DO it. Don’t withhold it.
d. The question always arises—where do we draw the line?
• If we give money away, there will be a line of people at our door every day!
• I am ABLE to work every night—helping out a different brother every night of the week.
• But we also have to prioritize the use of our time.
• We also have to consider other things: our health; our family; responsibilities; our limits.
• We ARE to help and not to withhold help… but do it WISELY! Certainly the book of Proverbs while promoting KINDNESS also is promoting WISDOM in how we live our lives!
3. Titus 3:1 – We are to be READY to every good work.
a. That means we are NOT to put it off till mañana!
b. Ready = ready; prepared; even eager
c. We shouldn’t be withholding good from others. It shouldn’t take a crowbar to get us to do good to others.
d. Good should naturally FLOW out of one who is saved by grace!
4. While making application about paying our debts, consider Rom. 1:14-15.
a. Paul considered himself a debtor to the gentiles.
b. He had been given a responsibility to preach the gospel to them.
c. Paul saw this responsibility as an obligation and a debt.
d. It is a moral obligation… like a man who has the cure to cancer would be morally obligated to tell others. We have the cure to eternal condemnation!
e. Thus, he was READY to fulfill this obligation… to pay this debt. He was ready to preach the gospel wherever he was.
f. Are we? Do we see this as an obligation or a debt? Perhaps we should.
Proverbs 3:29
A Breach of Trust
DEVISE NOT EVIL AGAINST THY NEIGHBOUR, SEEING HE DWELLETH SECURELY BY THEE.
1. In this verse, the neighbor is dwelling securely by you.
a. Securely = assurance; sense of safety; confidence;
b. This speaks a neighbor who feels safe by you… he trusts you… he is at ease around you. He has confidence in you. He is totally unsuspecting of any evil being plotted.
c. Neighbors should feel safe around us. We should have a testimony that says we are able to be trusted.
2. These proverbs were written to Jews living in a Jewish community.
a. In that setting there should be a sense of safety.
b. If they were dwelling in a foreign land, surrounded by enemies, they would not be dwelling securely.
c. But Solomon is describing a scene at home… where they should feel at home.
3. The command is that we not devise EVIL against a neighbor.
a. Devise: to plough; to plot evil; usually an evil devise
b. Evil = anything bad; unpleasant; injurious; etc.
c. Prov. 6:14 – he devises mischief and sows discord
d. Prov. 16:29 – evil men lead others in the wrong direction – on purpose!
e. These terms are vague enough to include any number of applications.
• It would include devising evil against a neighbor by speaking evil of him… sowing discord among the brethren.
• It might include giving a person misleading information to make someone else look bad… giving only half the story… leaving out key details…
• It might include prejudicing people against your neighbor…
• It would include stealing from him; cheating him; moving the landmarks; taking advantage of him; borrowing and not returning; coveting your neighbor’s goods; his wife; slandering him;
• Evil, hurt, and injury take many forms.
4. But the proverb seems to be getting at something even deeper than the evil devise itself. Solomon is speaking about a breach of trust.
a. The picture here is of a neighbor who is dwelling safely with someone he assumes is a friend.
• He is at ease in his presence. He is comfortable around him.
• But, that man devises evil against his neighbor.
b. Perhaps this man feels at ease with his neighbor and begins to speak candidly, openly, and freely around him. He trusts that the conversation is confidential. BUT—the other man breaks that trust, and tells others what was said.
c. Perhaps a man trusts his neighbor, and shares with him some of his shortcomings. James tells us to confess our faults one to another. His trust is breached when that so-called friend begins blabbing to others the shortcomings of his neighbor.
d. It might not be with words only. One brother might be in the same business as another brother. When he discovers that you are planning to open up a new office in the next city, he tells your competition, and works behind the scene to harm you.
e. Deut. 27:24 – “Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbor secretly.”
• This is causing harm to someone behind their back. That hurts.
• They might have a sweet smile to your face, but a knife in your back.
• One might imagine an evil person offering a neighbor a refreshing drink, but it has been spiked with poison!
• We may not actually poison a person’s drink, but we could be guilty of poisoning the minds of people against someone… secretly.
5. Plotting to harm your neighbor is a double crime. Not only is the plot evil, but the breach of trust is worse!
a. It’s bad enough to plot harm against an enemy. But when it is done against an unsuspecting friend or neighbor, it is much more painful.
b. Psalm 41:4-9 – that’s what really hurts.
• Vs. 4 – What makes this experience so painful for David is the fact that he is agony inwardly, apart from the trouble his enemies are stirring up. He realizes that his troubles are in part because of his sins.
• Vs. 5 – David’s enemies spoke evil of him—waiting for him to die!
• Vs. 6 – the so-called friends who do speak to him come in vanity (empty words) and they then go spread rumors about him!
• Vs. 7-8 – others hate him and whisper evil about him, plotting evil against him!
• Somehow, David knew what they were saying about him. From his sickbed, this must have been like a knife in his heart! These are the things they were saying about him, behind his back.
• It’s understandable when our enemies speak evil of us and plot to harm us.
• Vs.9 – But when a friend or neighbor or a brother does—that digs in much deeper!
• This psalm no doubt, speaks of the time of Absalom’s rebellion,
• The friend who turned against David was no doubt Ahithophel, who was a trusted friend of David (he thought).
• However, when the opportunity came, he betrayed him and sided with Absalom.
• Regardless of the exact circumstances, this was the icing on the cake!
• David was sick… in body and soul….
• Some of his enemies pretended to be friends, visited him on his sickbed, but did so with evil in their heart.
• The rest of his enemies were secretly meeting, pooling all the dirt they had against the king…
• And now to top it all off, one of his trusted friends even joins the conspiracy! This is the ultimate betrayal. (The Lord quotes this in reference to Judas!)
• What hurts so, is not the actual deed. Enemies do the same thing, and it doesn’t hurt as much. It is expected. What hurts is the breach of trust—from a friend! A neighbor—someone we trusted!
c. Psalm 55:12-15 – again, the psalmist speaks of the pain that arises from a breach of trust.
• We expect such behavior from enemies.
• But the closer the friendship, the deeper the pain when that trust is breached.
• That is why discord in the local church hurts so much—because it is among brethren… friends who have shared so much together over the years…
d. I have had brethren stab me in the back—believers with whom I have had sweet fellowship! It does hurt more. Have you?
• If so, then you know what kind of pain it can cause. You know how hurtful it can be.
• Our deepest wounds as Christians will not come from the world, but from right here—in the local church!
• Thus, the command—Don’t YOU be guilty of devising evil against someone who trusts you!
• A breach of one’s trust is a painful experience.
6. This principle is especially applicable in a family setting.
a. Husbands and wives are “neighbors” in the closest sense.
• There MUST be trust in that relationship. The relationship must be built on trust.
• That which erodes relationships is not so much this or that particular deed—but rather the erosion of trust.
• When that goes, the relationship is in need of a complete overhaul.
b. So too with parents and children.
• Lots of topics are discussed around the dinner table.
• Many of those topics should not leave the dinner table—they certainly should not be spread around.
• There ought to be a sense of trust in a family setting. We should feel free to speak openly at home…
• We see and hear of the shortcomings of our family members. That is not to be spread around!
• Family members feel betrayed when things shared in confidence in the home are blabbed at school or at church… or in the neighborhood.
• The home should be a place where each member can dwell securely… and have a sense of assurance.
• Kids—if your brother is 10 years old and he still wets the bed, the kids at school don’t need to know that. If your sister lied to her father, the Sunday school class doesn’t need to know about that. If Dad got a speeding ticket, no one else needs to know that.
• We can embarrass, humiliate, and break the trust of those who should be able to trust us.
• Solomon says, “Don’t you be like that!” Don’t double cross someone that should be able to trust you.
• Trust is too precious a thing to ruin.
c. In the local church setting this trust can be breached too.
• James 5:16 – confess your faults one to another and pray for each other.
• Sometimes at testimony services or at prayer meeting a brother may open up and confess a fault. He does so because he senses safety and security in the Body. He trusts his brethren. It is an awful thing to breach that trust, and use his words against him… to put him down, or slander him.
7. Perhaps the reason this proverb is given is because neighbors and family members… and yes, even church members, have a lot of squabbles.
a. That is because we are so close!
b. And with neighbors and family members (as opposed to total strangers), we usually have a lot of “dirt” on them! We KNOW more about them… we know more of their failures…
c. Thus, when people who are close get in a squabble, there might be a tendency to use some of that knowledge to seek revenge!
8. Prov. 14:22 – Those who devise evil err. How much better is it that we seek to devise GOOD for our neighbor!
a. If we are going to do anything behind our neighbor’s back, let it be a NICE surprise, not evil!
Proverbs 3:30
Striving without Cause
Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
STRIVE NOT
1. A clear command is given in this passage NOT to strive.
a. Strive: complain; quarrel; contend; argue; strife either physically or with words.
b. Strife ought NOT characterize the life of a believer. “The servant of the Lord must not strive.”
2. We ARE called to certain kinds of strife and contending:
a. We are to contend for the faith… (Jude 3)
b. We are to strive together in prayer (Rom.15:30)
c. But that is not the kind of strife Solomon refers to here.
3. Solomon is speaking about a kind of strife that we should AVOID like the plague.
a. This kind of strife is the work of the flesh. (Gal.5:20)
b. This kind of strife is an evidence of carnality. (I Cor.3:3)
c. This kind of strife is demonic! (James 3:14-16)
4. The reason for the command: Some folks seem to gravitate toward strife. (Prov.25:8)
a. Some folks seem to have to stick their noses in every dispute or argument or disagreement among the believers.
b. Some folks seem to be able to stir up strife when there is no strife. They can manufacture it!
c. Solomon warns us NOT to haste toward stirring up strife.
• He gives an interesting reason—because while strife can be stirred up easily, it is often difficult to end it!
• It is like starting a forest fire. One little match is all it takes, but it could end up requiring fire fighters from many states to come to put it out!
• Spiritually, starting strife is just as damaging and dangerous as starting a fire. Many people can be hurt. Much damage can be done… damage you never intended to do!
• It’s like throwing a rock in a pond. It’s easy to throw the rock, but difficult if not impossible to stop the ripples!
• Prov.17:14 – it is like the letting out of water (from a dam). It may start off as a trickle, but it can soon escalate into an uncontrollable flood!
• Therefore, don’t meddle with it! Leave it alone! Stay away!
d. Thus, Solomon warns not to be hasty about jumping into an argument! You don’t always know what you are getting into! You may not have an easy way to escape!
• Like US involvement in many hot spots around the globe.
• It is relatively easy to send troops into one of those hot spots. But it is not always easy to END the dispute and bring the troops home!
• Once our troops are involved, we discover how dangerous and sticky the problem really is. Once you commit troops, it’s hard to un-commit them!
• Some troops remain in the hot spot for years to follow…
e. Solomon’s warning to us is similar. Don’t be so quick to jump into the fray!
• Don’t be so quick to stick your nose in someone else’s problems!
f. “When thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.”
• Sometimes we jump into a dispute, and discover that we jumped in on the wrong side!
• We might hear one side of the story and assume that we are fighting for the right, only to discover later that we were dead wrong! Our neighbor comes with the rest of the story and we are put to shame!
WITHOUT CAUSE…
1. Strife should be avoided. But especially strife “without cause.”
2. Without cause refers to strife that is not necessary.
a. Folks always insist that they have a “cause” for their fight.
b. Sometimes we create strife over someone’s oversight. We make mountains out of molehills.
c. But is that cause WORTHY of disrupting the peace? Is it worthy of breaking fellowship? Is it worthy of tarnishing the testimony of the Lord? Is it worthy of damaging the local church? Is it worthy of destroying friendships? Is it really worth all that heartache?
d. In the heat of the argument, many would declare that they were RIGHT… and therefore it IS worth fighting over.
e. BUT — later on, as time goes by and as we look back at the event, very often we might be forced to admit that it was really NOT worthy fighting over! There really was not a just cause for that fight.
3. Very often all it takes is to apply the salve of God’s Word—OBEY these principles and discover how causeless our cause becomes!
a. Suffer yourself to be defrauded… (I Cor.6:7)
b. In lowliness of mind, forbear one another in love…
c. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
d. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven us…
e. Be kindly affectioned one to another in brotherly love, in honor preferring one another…
f. Not rendering evil for evil, but contrariwise, blessing…
g. Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace…
h. Let love cover a multitude of sins…
i. Turn the other cheek…
j. Applying any one of those principles will usually cause the strife to cease! It is when we REFUSE to incorporate those principles that the strife continues… and drags on and on…
4. Instead, we feel that we have a just CAUSE for the strife to continue!
a. Some folks seem to be on a crusade to make their point… and to prove that they are right… and that they have just cause to continue the strife…
b. If that is our nature, we will ALWAYS find some cause of strife!
c. Prov.16:27-28 – if you want a reason to fight, you can always dig one up!
• Note that the evil is buried. Everyone wants it to stay buried.
• But the ungodly person digs it up! The ungodly man is not content until every piece of dirty laundry is dug up and displayed!
• The ungodly man then SOWS strife—like planting seeds. (Planting thoughts in people’s mind… to sway them to his or her side in the fight…)
• This kind of strife promoted by ungodly men results in separating chief friends!
d. Prov.17:9 – love is willing to bury a transgression. A person who demonstrates the love of God is going to demonstrate Christlikeness… willing to turn the other cheek… bury dirt… and get on with life!
e. Prov.10:12 – a person driven by hatred is unwilling to bury the offence. A person driven by love IS willing to bury it.
f. Prov.15:18 – A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
g. Prov.26:21 – As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.
• A contentious person will keep a fight going and going and going… like the energizer bunny.
• It is the SPIRIT of contention that keeps it going. It is like adding coals to a fire. God wants this kind of fire to burn out… and usually they will… stop adding fuel to the fire!
• Bury the fuel and the fire will go out by itself.
• God wants us to be peacemakers—driven by love—not driven by hatred and a contentious spirit!
• Prov. 22:10 – Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
• If nobody is there to keep strife going, it will die out…
• If no fuel is added to the fire, it will burn out…
• I Pet.4: 8 – this is the kind of love God wants US to demonstrate in the local church.
IF HE HAVE DONE THEE NO HARM…
1. The warning in this verse is for us NOT to get involved in strife—especially if it is none of our business.
2. If two people are fighting… because one has stepped on the toes of another, what is that to you?
a. What does the BIBLE say to do?
b. The offended party is to go to his brother ALONE. No one else is involved.
c. MOST offences can be easily resolved ALONE.
d. Once you add more people into the formula, it becomes much more sticky, difficult, entangled, and complicated… and harder to end.
e. Then more and more people jump in… sides begin to polarize, and before you know it, you have a BIG problem…
3. Prov.25:9 – The RIGHT way to settle a dispute is for two parties involved to go to each other privately.
a. Don’t involve other people in your debate. It doesn’t involve them.
b. All other parties are without cause in this argument!
c. The only one who has a CAUSE is the one offended… no one else has a cause, unless the church leaders need to be called. But that is rare.
4. If two people are having a dispute, stay away!
a. Prov.26:17 – don’t get involved—don’t meddle in strife that is not yours!
b. If you pick up a dog by the ears, you will get hurt… you will be bitten! Picking up a dog by the ears causes a lot of hurt and pain! So don’t do it!
c. If you see two people having a dispute, and you meddle in that strife—you will cause a lot of hurt and pain! So don’t do it!
d. If the person has done YOU no harm, stay out of the strife! You have no cause to step in!
e. If he has done YOU no harm… stay out of the debate… stay out of the strife… don’t complicate matters… don’t cause polarization… don’t add fuel to the fire.
5. Even in those situations where the party who was RIGHT seemed to get the raw end of the deal, let’s not forget God!
a. He knows everything. He knows all hearts, motives, and the intents of the heart.
b. He is keeping score—perfectly! He is unbiased and is no respecter of persons.
c. He is omniscient and a righteous Judge.
d. All parties will eventually have to give account of their actions to Him.
e. That is the judgment that really counts.
f. Every crooked thing will be made straight in that day. Justice will prevail.
g. In the meantime, as we live in an imperfect world, we are to follow the rule book left by the perfect judge:
• Don’t strive with men when it doesn’t concern you.
• Don’t promote hate and dig up dirt!
• Promote love and bury dirt!
• Bury the hatchet. Suffer yourself to be defrauded.
• Don’t add fuel to the fire to keep strife going…
• Be a peacemaker—and bury the fuel.
• Commit the situation to the Lord… who shall judge the living and the dead with RIGHTEOUS judgment!
• Rom.12:18 – in the meantime, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men!”
• Heb.12:14 – Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.
6. If we would simply OBEY these passages, we would be able to either prevent strife from occurring… or if it does occur, cause it to die out!
a. What happy families we would have in the home!
b. What glorious fellowship we would have in the local church!
c. Why, we might even get along with that cantankerous neighbor!
Proverbs 3:31-32
Envy Not the Oppressor
31 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
ENVY
1. In the last passage, Solomon warned his son not to strive.
2. In this verse, he warns his son not to envy.
3. Envy: envy or jealousy; wanting, craving what someone else has. Envy pains to hear of others doing well. Envy is grieved to see others prosper, or to hear them praised. (all stems from selfishness)
4. It is the opposite of contentment.
a. God has commanded us to be content with such things as we have… (Heb.13:5)
b. We are to be content in whatsoever state we find ourselves. (Phil.4:11)
• God is the One who sovereignly places us in our lot in life.
• Think of Christians who live in India under the caste system. They are born into a certain caste, and are stuck there the rest of their lives. That is God’s doing. They are to be content.
• So too for Christians born in poverty or great wealth in this country.
• It is entirely Lord’s doing… we are not to envy what others have. We are to learn to be content in whatsoever state we are in.
• Don’t envy others! You don’t know all the baggage that comes with their position that is not seen by others!
c. If we have food and clothing, we are to be content. (I Tim.6:8)
• How many of us really WOULD be content if that is all we had in this life?
• Folks in Ethiopia don’t even have food and raiment. They envy other tribes who have food and clothing.
• We have food and clothing and so much more. Yet, we are not more content. Instead, we envy what the wealthy in this country have…
• It is human nature to look around at what others have, and envy it… lust for it… we tend to covet our neighbors goods.
• Even if we obtained what our neighbor has… there is always someone with more… there is no end… unless the heart is changed.
5. Prov.14:30 – it is the rottenness of the bones!
a. It is the opposite of a healthy heart. It is sick… rotten.
b. It will eat away at the inner man, like a disease eats away at the body.
c. Envy gets under the skin—and burns away—when we hear others praised, promoted, and prospering… because we want the praise, promotion, and prosperity for ourselves!
6. Prov.27:4 – it is worse than wrath or anger!
a. Who can stand before it? It can engender more passion and rage than mere anger. It is an endless reservoir of rage!
b. It can totally control one’s life.
c. It can lead to all kinds of other sins… even murder!
d. Anger and wrath usually swell up for a while and then simmer down. Envy remains under our skin…
e. Anger and wrath may be appeased. Envy doesn’t go away so easily.
7. Prov.23:17 – the cure is to fear God!
a. People that fear God are conscious of Him… of His presence… His power… aware of His omniscience and omnipotence…
b. The more conscious we are of the Lord, the more satisfied with Him we will be. The more satisfied with the Lord, the less we will crave after what our neighbor has!
8. Another cure for envy is a closer relationship to God.
a. Heb.13:5 – we are told to be content with what we have—because we have Christ! He should be all we need! He is the one who satisfies the soul and brings contentment. When Christ is our life, we won’t be looking for contentment and satisfaction in the things our neighbor owns. We will glory in the Lord!
b. I John 2:15-16 – John commands us NOT to love the world… for the love of the Father is not in him! His point is that our heart can only love one Master—either the things of the world, or God.
OPPRESSOR
1. The particular kind of envying mentioned here is envying the oppressor.
2. Oppressor: violence, wrong, cruelty, injustice (margin reads: violent man)
3. One might ask, “Who would ever envy a cruel, violent oppressor?
a. Answer: Lots of people!
b. It is not the oppression that is envied, but the power and wealth often associated with it.
• Some men crave to exercise power over others.
• They get a sort of morbid pleasure in tyranny.
c. Some evil men trample over others to get where they want to go.
• They use people. They abuse people.
• They lie, cheat, steal, misrepresent, use fraud, violence, stab others in the back—all to get to the top of the ladder.
• Obviously, not all people in positions of power are like this. Some are quite godly—but Solomon is speaking about “oppressors!” (men of violence)
d. By mistreating others and trampling over the backs of others, some men manage to push and shove themselves into positions of power and great wealth.
• In the world, wicked men often prosper, and godly men are often taken advantage of.
• You don’t get ahead in the world by turning the other cheek, by putting others first, suffering yourself to be defrauded, by sacrificial love, or by esteeming others better than yourself.
• Sometimes ungodly men take advantage of those traits. In doing so, they may even prosper.
• The wealthy land owners in James 5 were such oppressive men. They took advantage of the lowly workers and obtained great wealth in the process.
e. Solomon is warning his son (and us) not to envy the power and wealth that men accumulate by oppressive, violent, and dishonest means.
• This passage would be especially applicable to Christian businessmen.
• Running your business in such a way as to please the Lord means that many tricks of the trade—used by all your competition—you may not be able use!
• Other companies may take advantage of their lowly workers, you may not. Other companies may employ questionable practices. You may not. You KNOW that those tricks work… and that other companies have grown, prospered, and expanded as a result.
• Don’t envy them!
• Be more concerned about pleasing the Lord than pleasing your accountant or your stockholders!
• The same principle is true in running a local church! In observing how local churches in the valley have operated in the past 20 years, I have seen some unsavory, unethical practices too… worldly tricks that draw in crowds, keep people happy, and result in numerical growth. We are NOT to envy that kind of “success.”
CHOOSE NONE OF HIS WAYS
1. The temptation would be to FOLLOW the ways of the oppressor… or of the man who uses dishonesty, violence to obtain power or wealth.
2. For the Christian businessman who observes another business use ruthless tactics and prosper—one might be tempted to imitate those actions—because they work!
3. One might be tempted to justify by saying, “Business is business. It’s a dog eat dog world out there. You gotta fight fire with fire…”
4. Yet the Bible says NOT to choose his ways. We are to follow in the ways of God—even if they don’t seem to advance our ambitions —even if they don’t seem to produce the kind of results we would like to see.
5. DON’T choose the ways of the dishonest oppressor… of the evil man. Follow God and trust Him for the outcome.
6. So too in running a local church—the principle is the same. We are NOT to choose the ways of the church growth movement just because they work. We are here to follow God’s ways (Bible) and to please Him (not men) and leave the increase to the Lord.
32For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.
1. The REASON we are not to envy that kind of success is because the froward is an abomination to the Lord!
a. Froward – crooked; devious; all kinds of evil practices.
b. Don’t envy it—God hates it!
2. The end of the ungodly is anything but enviable! The oppressors… the froward will one day be judged by God. Their days are numbered. Don’t envy that!
a. Prov.24:19 – Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
b. Prov.24:1 – Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them. For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
c. Psalm 37:1-2 – Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
d. Psalm 73:1-3 – Asaph was envious at the foolish.
• UNTIL he went into the house of the Lord and saw their end. (vs.17)
• Vs.18 – they are but a step away from destruction.
• That is nothing to envy. We would not envy these men if we saw them as one breath away from the Lake of Fire!
• Consider the terms used of them: there is no reward; their candle shall be put out; they shall be cut down like grass; they will be cast down into destruction; That is not an envious position to be in!
• When we get a heavenly perspective on things, our whole attitude will change. Envy will be turned into pity!
• Then, instead of wanting what they have, we will want to share with them what we have—salvation in Christ!
3. Solomon teaches his son the same lesson Asaph learned. Don’t envy wicked men.
a. They may prosper in the present world, but they are an abomination to the Lord, and in the life to come, they will experience judgment!
b. There is no cause to envy that!
c. Ecc.4:1 – later Solomon wrote about the oppressors. He noted all the sorrow and tears they created. He also noted that although they ended up with much power, they did not have any more inner comfort, rest, or peace than the people they oppressed!
d. There is no reason to envy them!
4. God’s secret is with the righteous.
a. God gives grace to the lowly… not the proud, powerful, arrogant oppressors! (Cf. Psalm 25:14 – the secret of the Lord is with them who fear Him, and He will shew them his covenant.”
b. The proud, ignorant oppressors know nothing of God and His ways.
c. God’s secrets… God’s counsel, which is hidden to the world is known to the righteous.
d. Sinners are an abomination to God. Saints are His delight!
e. Knowing God is FAR more valuable than any wealth or power the oppressors may have accumulated.
f. We have God’s secret—God’s word—which is far better than rubies… more to be desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold!
Proverbs 3:33
Blessing and Cursing
Introduction:
1. Here is a simple 7 straightforward principle, which is found in many contexts throughout the Word.
2. It describes something very basic about God and His nature: He blesses the just and curses the wicked.
3. This stems from God’s nature: He loves righteousness and hates iniquity. (Heb.1:9)
4. The final verses in this chapter seem to be given as a conclusion to the several commands given in the chapter.
a. vs.27 – Don’t withhold good when it is in your power to do it.
b. Vs.29 – don’t devise evil against your neighbor… don’t betray his trust.
c. Vs.30 – don’t strive with a man without a cause.
d. Vs.31 – don’t envy the wealthy oppressors.
5. After saying all that, in vs.32, Solomon writes FOR… the froward is abomination to the Lord.
a. After listing many “don’ts” to his son, Solomon then gives some REASONS why not!
b. FOR it is abomination to God!
c. The “for” seems implied in the next three verses.
d. Each of the next three verses expands on that reason given in vs.32.
The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked…
1. Don’t withhold good; don’t devise evil; don’t strive; don’t envy… why???
2. Because the curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked! That’s why!
3. Those who behave in a wicked way expose themselves to the judgment of God!
4. Lev. 26:14-18 – This curse was literal in the nation Israel.
5. Those who persist in it bring a curse upon their own lives!
Prov. 21:12 – God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness. (lawlessness – men who don’t go by the rules)
a. The wicked are no match for God.
b. God will eventually overthrow all of their evil schemes and plots. They are doomed to fail… if not in this life, certainly in the next.
c. This thought is a good motivation NOT to behave in a wicked manner! We too could find God opposing us… bringing a curse upon our life!
d. The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked.
• Solomon suggests that instead of FOLLOWING the ways and lives of wicked men, we OBSERVE their lives!
• Great lessons can be learned by observing men—even believers—who do not walk the straight and narrow. Watch men who compromise and cut corners spiritually.
• They may prosper in the world, but they will wither up spiritually.
• Good lessons are there for us all. Watch and learn.
6. Psalm 106:14-15 – Sometimes, the curse of the Lord is not easily seen.
a. Sometimes, God seems to be blessing, but He sends leanness to the soul.
b. It has been my observation that when God sends leanness of soul to a believer because something isn’t right in his/her life, that believer tends to blame it on someone else! (the church has no love; the brethren don’t minister to me; I’m unhappy, it must be my spouses’ fault; etc.)
c. A curse on the soul is far worse than a physical malady!
d. The curse of God is often not seen at all by the outsider.
• Matthew Henry likened it to the leprosy consuming away in the timbers of one’s house… quietly… unseen… unknown by the casual observer—but very much a presence in that house!
7. Prov.26:2 – An undeserved cursed does not come!
a. Just as birds wander in the sky but never land on us—so too, a curse does not come upon us without cause!
b. In other words, God doesn’t judge us unless we deserve it! Unless it is earned!
c. Thus, if God chastens us—it is for a good reason!
d. This does NOT mean that bad things won’t happen to us. But there is a big difference between a trial designed for our good, and chastening which is the result of our sin or rebellion.
8. When God chastens the believer, that believer will waste away… wither away… consume away… until he can take it no more!
a. Isa.57:21 – there is no peace to the wicked!
b. Job 9:4 – you cannot resist God and win!
c. Ps.32:3-4 – God’s hand was heavy upon him!
But he blesseth the habitation of the just.
1. However, just the opposite is true in the habitation of the just.
2. God blesses the just!
3. In the previous verse, Solomon said that God’s “secret” is with the righteous, the just.
a. Vs.32 – The wicked know nothing of God and His ways.
b. God’s secrets… counsel, [hidden to the world] is known to the righteous.
c. God blesses the habitation of the just—He shares His secret counsels with them! His Word!
4. Lev.26:3-7 – so too, God’s blessing is promised to the just—here to the obedient. (That’s how one demonstrates that he is just—obey!)
a. In any age, the principle is the same: Obedience brings God’s blessing!
b. In the church age, our blessings are spiritual, and our reward for obedience is not obtained in this life, but at the Judgement Seat. Nevertheless, the principle is the same.
c. God blesses those who obey Him… who honor Him.
d. God honors those who honor Him. (I Sam.2:30)
e. Ps.1:3 – “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
5. Note Solomon’s use of the terms “house of the wicked” (vs.33) and “habitation of the just” (vs.34).
a. The two terms are used synonymously.
b. His point is that we can bring either blessing or cursing on our house, depending upon our behavior!
c. Prov.9:1 – wisdom builds a strong house!
d. Prov.11:29 – the fool troubles his own house—he brings trouble to it.
e. Prov.12:7 – The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.
f. Prov.14:1 – a wise woman builds up her household.
g. Prov.14:11 – the two houses are once again contrasted.
h. Prov.15:27 – the greedy man troubles his house.
• It is far better to have a humble house with only herbs to eat with God’s blessing—than to dwell in a large castle without the blessing of God!
6. Some houses are overthrown. Why? Usually, because wisdom is not applied! Obedience is lacking or inconsistent!
a. Some houses are strong. Why? Because those in the house exercise wisdom… they trust and obey. It really is as simple as that.
b. We bring either blessing or cursing upon our own house.
» Either we build it up or tear it down…we bring blessing or trouble.
» It is important that we take God’s Word seriously.
» You cannot play fast and loose with this principle and expect to come out ahead!
7. Deut.29:19-20 – for the proud, arrogant man who thinks that he shall escape the curse of God! But he is dead wrong! Watch out! There is no escape!
Proverbs 3:34
The Proud and the Lowly
The Proud and the Lowly
1. This proverb is another simple truth crystallized into a short, concise saying.
2. It is much like the previous verse: God curses the wicked and blesses the just.
3. Here, God scorns the scorners and gives grace to the lowly.
4. It is possible (even likely) that this verse (as well as verses 32-35) is given at the end of the chapter as a REASON why Solomon’s son ought to follow his father’s words of wisdom. (see FOR in vs.32)
SURELY HE SCORNETH THE SCORNERS:
A.) Scorners
1. Means: Conceited mockers; arrogant talkers; to be inflated…
2. Prov. 9:7-8 – it is hard if not impossible for us to know how to deal with proud talkers!
3. Prov. 13:1 – scorners love to talk proudly and mock others, but they will not listen to instruction or rebuke themselves!
4. Prov. 14:5 – scorners seek wisdom but don’t find it. Pride keeps him from real wisdom.
a. Real wisdom comes through humility… and the proud talker knows it all already! You can’t tell him or her anything!
5. Prov. 21:24 – his pride leads the scorner to wrath… and fighting… arguments.
6. Prov. 28:25 – Proud, arrogant talkers stir up strife!
7. Prov. 15:12 – He hates to be told what to do. He gets angry when someone dares to approach him about something! He won’t go to the wise man to hear or to obtain wise counsel.
8. Prov. 22:10 – and when there is an argument or contention, it will END if you get rid of the scorner—the proud, arrogant talker! (Only by pride cometh contention!)
9. Psalm 101:5 – David would not tolerate proud talkers!
a. Such proud talkers and scorners and slanderers cannot be tolerated in the local church either!
B.) God Scorns The Scorner
1. Prov.24:9 – the scorner is an abomination (disgusting) to men. Imagine how much it must disgust God?
a. God hates pride because He is jealous of His glory. He shares it with no one.
b. Pride seeks to remove God from His throne… and place self there. (Lucifer; men)
2. Prov. 19:29 – judgments are prepared for scorners.
3. Psalm 31:23 – God will recompense proud men.
4. Prov.26:12 – there is no hope for a man wise in his own conceits. (proud; arrogant scorner—no hope!) God is against him. His case is hopeless… worse than a fool!
5. Ps.138:6 – the proud He knows afar off. Arrogant talkers do not have a close relationship to God. Period!
6. This thought is important to God.
a. This verse was repeated two times in the NT
b. In both verses the NT writers use the word “proud” for scorner.
c. Also in both NT verses, the authors use the word “resist” as a translation of the verb “scorneth.”
• Resists: to range in battle against; to oppose one’s self.
• God not only is disgusted by the behavior of proud, arrogant talkers… scorners… He actively resists them… opposes them!
• He allows proud scorners to continue in this life. But He is preparing judgments for them all!
BUT HE GIVETH GRACE UNTO THE LOWLY.
1. Lowly = the humble; meek; poor;
a. This term helps clarify exactly what shade of meaning Solomon meant to attach to “scorner.” He means the “proud” talker… emphasis on pride.
b. That is how both James and Peter understood his usage of the term too.
2. God judges the proud talkers, but God gives GRACE to the lowly.
3. Isaiah 57:15 – God dwells with the lowly… the hearts of the lowly is God’s dwelling place—and He revives the spirit of the lowly.
4. Isa. 66:2 –God looks to the lowly… humble… contrite in heart.
5. I Pet. 5:5-6 – God wants us to be clothed with humility!
a. Col. 3:12-13 – PUT ON humility…
b. When that is the case, there will be no fighting or contention.
c. If we humble ourselves, God will lift us up!
d. Luke 14:11 – For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
e. We need to promote self-abasement, not self-esteem!
6. 2 Ch. 32:26 – Hezekiah humbled himself of his pride, and the Lord removed the judgment that was about to fall upon him!
* Cf. 34:37 – God answers prayer because of humility!
7. Prov. 22:4 – By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, honour, and life.
a. God honors humility!
b. Note that the fear of God and humility appear together here. They are two peas in a pod. One who acknowledges God for who He is will fear Him AND will humble himself before Him! The bigger God is in our sight, the smaller we become!
c. A just apprehension of God will always lay us in the lowest dust before Him! (Charles Bridges)
d. For the Christian, humility and godly fear may not bring us earthly riches. But it will enable us to enjoy our true spiritual riches!
e. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of God!
8. True greatness is humility! Matt. 18:4 – Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
a. Matt.20:26-28 – If you want to be great = humble yourself—stop trying to be great!
b. Jesus is our example! He was great—and He was humble!
Proverbs 3:35
Glory or Shame?
The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.
Introduction:
1. Solomon has given his son a series of exhortations in this chapter.
2. He ends the chapter with a series of contrasts—given as reasons WHY his son ought to obey the previous commands.
3. Solomon contrasts the following:
a. The froward and the righteous (vs. 32)
b. The wicked and the just (vs. 33)
c. The proud scorners and the lowly (vs. 34)
d. Now he contrasts the fool and the wise. (vs. 35)
THE WISE SHALL INHERIT GLORY…
1. Solomon wanted his son to be wise. What parent wouldn’t want their children to be wise?
2. Solomon seeks to make wisdom attractive to his son. It results in glory!
a. Glory = honor; glory; dignity; good reputation…
b. This is attractive. A wise parent will seek to instill in his child a sense of honor… dignity… respect… integrity…
c. Solomon seeks to make this kind of glory a prize to be sought after. He wants it to be attractive to his son.
d. The world makes its evil ways look appealing and attractive!
• Cf. Prov.1:11-14 – they try to lure with promises of excitement and wealth!
• But what they don’t tell you is that this lifestyle is a trap! (1:17) and they are really laying wait for their own lives! (1:18)
e. The devil made evil look appealing to Eve. He showed her that the forbidden fruit was good for food; pleasant to the eyes… desirable to make one wise!
f. The devil made sin look appealing to Christ. He suggested that He turn the stones into bread when He was hungry. He showed Him all the kingdoms of the earth and their glory.
g. Solomon wants GOOD to look appealing to his son.
3. This is good advice to all parents. Make doing what is RIGHT appealing!
a. This doesn’t mean that we should make it look cool or acceptable to the world! That is a worldly approach.
b. Cool = “in”—acceptable with the “in crowd”. The “in crowd” is not the One we are trying to please!
c. Spiritual things will NEVER be cool with the world. The world hates truth! Darkness hates light.
d. But, as Christians, we should make light (truth; obedience; righteousness) look appealing to our children in a good sense.
e. Parents can do that by holding up and honoring that which is good and pure and holy!
f. Instead of holding up Michael Jordan or some other celebrity a role model, hold up Jesus Christ as a model! Or one of the apostles!
g. Reward good behavior in the home! Praise your children when they make wise choices! Praise them when they do that which is honorable… just for the sake of honor!
h. Make it appealing! It is appealing to God!
i. There ought to be an attractiveness to truth and light to those who are born again!
j. This is what Solomon is doing with his son. He wants his son to know that the wise will inherit glory!
k. He wants his son to know that there is great reward in following the way of wisdom!
4. This glory (honor; dignity) belongs only to the wise. It is their inheritance.
a. Inherit = to get as a possession; to acquire; to inherit.
b. It implies that it might not be acquired immediately.
c. The reward for wisdom is not always immediate… but it is sure.
• For us, the way of wisdom means to follow the Lord. That means suffering and persecution in this life.
• In this life, we may not inherit glory… we may inherit shame—at least in the eyes of the ungodly.
• The martyrs died a shameful death—in the eyes of the world. But they went on to inherit glory!
• If we follow the ways of wisdom, we will not be honored by the world… we will be treated shamefully. (I Thess. 2:2)
• The wise man who lives for the Lord and sacrifices in this life is considered to be a fool by the world. Their motto is “eat, drink, and be merry!” Why pick up a cross? Why suffer? Why sacrifice? The world thinks the godly saint to be a fool! (I Cor. 15:19)
• In this life, we don’t often see the result or the reward of wisdom. But we will in heaven!
• Whatever we suffer in this life for the Lord will seem like nothing compared to the glory that shall follow! (Rom. 8:18)
• When we follow the way of wisdom in this life, the immediate result is often suffering. But when we stand before the judgment seat, the reward will be glory! (I Pet. 1:6-)
• Even if we don’t see it right away, the way of wisdom results in glory! The wise shall inherit glory!
• The straight and narrow way may be quite straight and narrow now—but it leads to everlasting life… we inherit glory at the end!
• The Lord set the pattern—suffering in this life—and GLORY to follow! (I Pet. 1:11)
5. Sometimes, following the way of wisdom DOES result in glory NOW! (or at least profit… a degree of advantage)
a. There IS profit to godliness in this life too. (I Tim. 4:8)
b. Walking in wisdom is the way of godliness.
c. Those who walk in wisdom and follow godliness… will experience a certain degree of “profit” (glory) in this life AND in the life to come…
d. Examples:
• The wisdom in proverbs tells us to be diligent in our work. That usually results in profit!
• The wisdom in proverbs warns us against drinking strong drink. That profits our health… relationships… family life…
• The wisdom in proverbs tells us to be careful with the use of out tongue. That too will be profitable in this life!
• The wisdom in proverbs tells us to avoid evil companions. That too results in profit in this life.
• The wisdom in proverbs demands that we be honest. That will be of great profit too—if we can avoid going to jail!
e. We are rewarded from God at the Bema seat in heaven for wise behavior. But there is also some “glory” or profit to be had in this life.
6. Sometimes when we live godly and follow the way of wisdom:
a. We may suffer and be shamed in this life—but inherit glory in heaven!
b. We may experience honor in this life from following wisdom—and then ALSO inherit glory in heaven!
c. It is better to follow the way of wisdom all around.
d. At least ultimately—the wise shall inherit glory.
e. Psalm 84:11 – He gives grace and glory!
f. Prov. 4:8 – exalt wisdom, and she shall promote thee!
g. Dan. 12:3 – They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament for ever and ever!
BUT SHAME SHALL BE THE PROMOTION OF FOOLS.
1. Ultimately, fools inherit shame!
2. However, in this life, fools sometimes do well!
a. Folly in the Bible is not childishness… or silly pranks. It speaks of rebellion… ungodliness… evil… refusal to obey Lady Wisdom (God!)
b. They are eating, drinking, and are merry in this life! They seem to be having a grand old time!
c. The ungodly and those who reject the way of God’s wisdom might prosper in the world! (Ps. 73:1-3)
d. Jer. 12:1 – Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?
e. Job 21:7-13 – READ
f. This fact often puzzles the godly. It doesn’t seem fair!
• Solomon wants his son to know that while fools may seem to have power, wealth, and glory in this life, they have nothing but shame waiting for them in the life to come!
• Shame shall be the promotion of fools—regardless of what they say or think now!
3. Promotion: to exalt; to lift up; to rise, rise up, be high, be lofty, be exalted
a. In this world, it seems that the ungodly are winning. They seem to be exalted. The fools seem to have their share of glory.
b. Who has glory in this life? Movie stars… celebrities… athletes… wealthy tycoons… CEO’s…
c. Many of them (not all!) are ungodly fools!
d. What is it that exalts them today?
• Good looks; money; fame; athleticism; power; etc.
• In the future, they will be exalted in SHAME!
• Charles Bridges: “Their fame will be infamous; their disgrace conspicuous; lifting them up, like Haman upon his elevated gallows!”
4. Daniel 12:2 – And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
a. They will be raised to an eternity of shame!
b. Their shame will be experienced in the Lake of Fire.
c. The only exaltation the fool will have in that day is SHAME!
d. IN that day, God will eternally separate the wise from the fools.
e. Eternal glory for one—eternal shame for the other.
5. Solomon wants wisdom to be appealing. He also wants folly to appear as it really is: shameful!
a. This is good advice for parents today!
b. Solomon wanted to make it clear to his son that he should NOT therefore envy the wealthy, powerful oppressor! (Prov. 3:31)
c. Don’t envy those who seem to be enjoying fame, wealth, power, and glory in this life. Eternal shame is their end.
d. There is nothing appealing about the life of a worldly, ungodly fool! It ends in shame.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 4
Proverbs 4:1-4
Hear the Instruction of a Father
TWO COMMANDS:
A. HEAR, YE CHILDREN, THE INSTRUCTION OF A FATHER…
1. Here Solomon switches from the singular word for sons to the plural word – translated “children.”
a. Probably not a lot of significance.
b. Some have suggested it would include daughters… all of his children… or children in general, not just his own sons.
2. He commands children to hear the instructions of a father.
a. Hear – hear; give heed to; implies to listen to and to respond with obedience.
b. Children are to hear when their father speaks… and they are to obey.
c. If a child is going to be able to obey, he must first listen!
d. Too often children use the lame excuse, “I didn’t hear you, dad!” Usually the reason they didn’t hear is because they were not paying attention!
e. The command is to PAY ATTENTION when you father speaks (and mother too!)
f. If you didn’t hear, because you weren’t paying attention—then you disobeyed this command!
3. Implicit in the command is the fact that fathers are to instruct.
a. The emphasis in the Bible on child rearing is on the father—not the mother.
b. Fathers are to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord! (Eph. 6:4)
• Fathers can provoke their children to wrath—or frustrate their children by NOT giving them the instruction they need—and then by expecting them to obey!
• A father can’t expect a child to do something if they have not been instructed!
• A father can’t expect a child to comply by rules that he has never been taught—or has never heard!
• Sometimes as parents, we expect kids to know things that they don’t know! And we expect them to follow rules of behavior they have never heard!
• The father’s responsibility is to be an instructor… a teacher… a trainer…
c. The father is to instruct—and the child is to listen and obey.
• There are two ways in which this plan could be short-circuited…
• Sometimes the father fails to instruct; sometimes the child fails to obey…
• If the father instructs, and the child refuses to obey—God has given the father the moral obligation and responsibility to make SURE that the child hears and obeys!
• Fathers are bigger and stronger than their young children… by God’s design!
B. AND ATTEND TO KNOW UNDERSTANDING
1. Attend to know – hearken, pay attention, listen
2. I Kings 4:29 – how much understanding did Solomon have? (Sand on seashore!)
3. Solomon charges his son to pay attention to—to listen—all of this knowledge and wisdom that God has given him.
4. That’s a lot for a child to absorb… but God gives the children 15 + years to absorb it!
5. This command is virtually the same as the first. With all of Solomon’s wisdom and knowledge, one would think that he would cover different subjects and would avoid repetition in his writings—wrong!
a. Because Solomon is wise, he knows that it is human nature to forget.
b. Solomon repeats MOST of the truths in this book—several times over!
c. That is the quality of a good teacher—repetition!
d. This is a good reminder to parents too—kids need to have things repeated! Don’t assume that they’ve really got something just because you told them once! (not talking about picking up their dirty socks—but the big principles of life need to be repeated)
REASONS FOR THE COMMANDS:
A. For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. (vs. 2)
1. The first reason Solomon gives to his children to obey is a very positive one: it is GOOD doctrine!
a. Once again, Solomon seeks to make wisdom and obedience attractive to his children. (The wise shall inherit glory! 3:35)
b. The doctrine or instruction that he is giving them is first and foremost GOOD!
c. Note that his approach is positive—he does not tell his children to obey or he’ll knock their lights out! He was not afraid to use discipline or to warn his children of the consequences of disobedience—he does that often in this book.
d. But—FIRST he chooses to make wisdom and obedience attractive. It is GOOD! Hear it—pay attention—for it is GOOD!
2. It is good for them.
a. Like broccoli—it is good for them.
b. Sometimes, like broccoli, instruction from a father may not be pleasant—but it is good for you. It is for your own good!
c. Fathers should instruct their children for the good of the child—not just for the pleasure of the parents!
• Example: chores around the house—kids should learn these things, but not just to make it easier on the parents, but primarily because it is good for the child!
• Children don’t often understand HOW some instruction is good for them—any more than they understand HOW broccoli is good for them—but it is!
3. Doctrine (teaching) is GOOD for you!
a. This is true for adults in the local church too!
b. And often, folks in the local church do not want to hear doctrine. They, too, do not always see how it is good for us!
c. Eph. 4:14-15 – believers need doctrine that they be not carried about with every wind of doctrine—which is not good for them!
d. II Tim. 4:3-4 – the time is coming when men will not endure sound doctrine, but will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears!
e. Doctrine is good for us—even if it doesn’t always seem so practical.
4. “Forsake ye not my law.” (vs. 2b)
a. Solomon tells his sons that doctrine or teaching is GOOD for them.
b. Therefore—don’t forsake it!
c. Don’t ever grow weary of hearing law or instruction from your father!
d. Don’t ever stop listening… learning… obeying… don’t forsake it!
e. What often happens is the father will instruct his child, but the child will hear something contrary elsewhere…
• Dad says, “Don’t smoke”—but the son says, ‘Everybody’s doing it!”
• Dad says, “I don’t want you wearing that kind of clothing. You look punky.” “But dad, everybody wears them. They don’t look punky!”
• Dad says, “Be home when it gets dark.” Junior says, ‘But dad, I’m the only one who has to be home when it gets dark!”
f. This passage tells the child NOT to forsake his father’s teaching in order to follow the crowd.
• It could be that the crowd is dead wrong!
• The child is tempted to forsake what his father said—because everyone else is doing something different… or because it doesn’t seem fair… or because I don’t understand why I have to… or because of peer pressure to forsake it…
• The command still stands: forsake ye not my law!
B. For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother… (vs. 3)
1. This is the second reason given to obeying his father’s instruction.
a. Because dad’s doctrine is good… good for the child.
b. Because I was in your position once too!
2. I was my father’s son
a. His point is not just to share the obvious—but to tell his son that he was in his position once too.
b. Solomon, as a father, is letting his sons know that he understands what they are going through. He too was a young boy just like they are now. He too was a son who had to hear and obey the instruction of his father!
c. Sometimes kids don’t think of that. They assume that you were old forever!
d. This must have brought back sweet memories of his youth… listening to his father, David, teach him about the Lord… the laws of God… right and wrong… holy and unholy… how to be a godly young man.
3. Tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother…
a. Solomon also received instruction—tender, loving instruction from his mother.
b. Tender and only beloved—he was not really the only son of his mother. He is saying here that in the sight of his mother, it was as if he were an only child. That is how she treated him… only with tenderness and love.
c. Thus, Solomon received the firm, disciplined training and instruction from his father, and tender, loving instruction from his mother.
d. Note the relationship between firm instruction and tender love.
• The parents that truly love their children will train and instruct them!
• The more dearly the child is loved, the more carefully he will be taught!
• A child who is untaught and undisciplined will bring shame to the parents (Prov. 29:15)
• The child who is instructed and disciplined is the one who is truly loved. (Prov. 13:24)
• The child who is pampered and indulged could fit into the category of being left to himself. Just give him lots of things and we’ve done our duty! “Things” are no substitute for training and instruction!
4. Thus Solomon gives his sons two reasons to hear and obey his commands as a father.
a. Because his doctrine or teaching is good—good for them.
b. Because he knows what he is talking about. He has been young and now he is old. He was in their shoes once—and he knows what they need to know!
c. Because he loves them, he takes the time to instruct them.
C. He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. (vs.4)
1. Solomon now tells his son what his father told him as a young boy.
a. RETAIN my words!
• He wants his son not just to hear (in one ear and out the other) but to retain what he hears!
• Take this doctrine and instruction with him the rest of his life!
• Solomon wants his words of wisdom to stick to their ribs the rest of their days!
b. Retain here speaks of retaining in the heart.
• It is not merely memorizing verses.
• It is possible to memorize many verses containing godly wisdom, and not retain it in the heart. It is in the head only.
• It is also possible that some children will have a hard time memorizing…they try hard and are only a D student… and yet are able to retain the wisdom in their heart.
• They can’t quite retain the exact words. They can’t quote the verse, but they know that stealing is wrong… or lying… That’s what counts!
• You don’t have to be an A student in school to be an A student in God’s school! There is no connection between those two schools!
2. Keep my commandments and live…
a. There is a connection between obedience and life… or the enjoyment of spiritual blessings in life…
b. Prov. 4:13 – hold on to instruction. That is your life! That is the path of blessing in life!
3. Solomon is passing on the wisdom God gave him to his son… and reminding his son that he was once a young boy… and his dad did the same. Godly wisdom and instruction is to be passed on from generation to generation. The result: life! Abundant, godly life!
Proverbs 4:5-9
Get Wisdom!
Several Commands Concerning Wisdom
Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it. —Anon.
1. Get wisdom and understanding: (some translate wisdom and insight)
a. Get: to get, acquire, create, buy, possess; obtain; (whatever it takes!)
b. Vs. 5 & 7 – both make the same command: get wisdom and understanding!
c. Fathers can teach their sons many things… some of which becomes obsolete.
• Fathers teach their sons how to fix a car engine—then they become computerized!
• Fathers teach their sons how to fix the TV—then the TV’s change to high resolution…
• Fathers teach their sons how to use the computer software—which becomes obsolete a month later…
d. But if fathers pass on the principles of wisdom—that will stick with his son the rest of his days. It never becomes obsolete!
e. This is one thing the son can GET from his father that will serve him well the rest of his life.
f. HOW does a son GET wisdom?
• 4:1 – by “hearing the instruction of his father or mother.”
• Or by listening to the words of wisdom from an older, more mature saint.
• By reading God’s Word…
• By searching for it, like gold or silver! (2:2-4)
g. Is wisdom what you encourage your children to GET?
• Or are we more concerned that they get a great education? (a top notch education and wisdom are not the same thing)
• Or a good job? Or wealth? Happiness?
• Or are we content just for them to get through school without getting pregnant, thrown in jail, or hooked on drugs?
• What do we really want our children to GET?
• Solomon wants his sons to get wisdom—and he is DOING something to see to it! He is teaching them (he wrote a good book on the subject!) all about wisdom!
2. Forget it not.
a. It is possible to get wisdom and insight—and then forget it!
b. It is quite possible for a true believer to decrease in his level of discernment over the years.
c. II Pet. 3:18 – we are commanded to grow in the knowledge of Christ.
• Why the command? Because we sometimes get tired of study… tired of learning…
• Or, some might assume they have learned it all… and no longer pay attention…
• Some who at one time were diligent in studying and memorizing Scripture no longer study… and truth begins to slip away from their minds and understanding… they forget through neglect.
• Are we as diligent in our hunger for truth and God’s Word as we were before? Have we grown weary? Have we been neglecting God’s Word and wisdom?
• If so, then get back to where you once were!
3. Do not decline the words of my mouth
a. Decline – to be stretched out; bent; bowed; inclined in a different direction; turned away;
b. It is possible to obtain wisdom… and then decline from the words of wisdom.
c. This verb speaks of being turned away…
d. This could imply that something happened to turn you away…
• Do you know believers who have been turned away from wisdom… turned away from the church… or turned away from their walk with God over something that happened to them?
• Perhaps someone stabbed them in the back… perhaps someone gossiped about them and spread dirt about them… perhaps they were doublecrossed… used… abused… lied to… lied about…
• Thus, they become so disillusioned… so grieved… so discouraged, that they were turned away from following the way of wisdom.
• We have all had some very negative things happen to us as Christians. The devil wants to use those negative things to cause us to be turned away from following the way of wisdom.
• Have you been discouraged? Disillusioned? Don’t allow that to turn you away from the narrow way of God’s wisdom! It can!
e. It could also refer to a person who turned himself away from the way of wisdom…
• Our hearts are already BENT in the wrong direction.
• It does not require an outside source to cause us to turn away from wisdom. We can do that all by ourselves!
• It may be that nothing bad happens to us—but we begin to see the ungodly prosper and perhaps we begin to wonder like Asaph, if perhaps we followed the way of wisdom for nothing!
• Perhaps, through a neglect of our spiritual life, we just grow weary of following the narrow way… it begins to seem too restrictive… too narrow… too much of a cramp on our lifestyle…
• So, we decide to turn away.
f. This CAN happen to any one of us. I have seen it too many times!
• Get wisdom—but once we obtain it—take care of it!
• Don’t forget it—don’t turn away or decline from her words for any reason!
4. Forsake her not.
a. Some people, through neglect, forget wisdom. Others, through discouraging situations gradually decline away. But some outright forsake her—abandon her!
b. This isn’t necessarily a gradual declining away, but is more sudden… and complete!
c. Forsaking wisdom may creep up on a person for all kinds of reasons. But all of a sudden—the believer seems to forsake God, the church, his brethren overnight!
d. I have known believers who SEEMED to doing reasonably well, when out of the clear blue sky, we hear that they have gotten involved in immorality—or they have gotten a divorce—or they have been leading a double life—or have been stealing or cheating … and it blows you away, because you had no idea!
e. This doesn’t only happen to TV evangelists. It happens to what appear to be average believers in the pew!
f. It is possible for us as believers to have wisdom and walk in it one day, and then over time, forsake wisdom and walk in the way of folly all over again!
• I know Christians who done just that—they now walk in folly!
• Their behavior is immoral and foolish—as Solomon warns against!
GOD’S CURE…
1. Love her and embrace her! (vs. 6,8)
a. Love and embrace—speak of a relationship… one that requires work!
• Worldly men love and embrace their wealth; possessions; pleasure.
• We should love and embrace that which is truly valuable!
• A writer today may never attain to the status of a Shakespeare, but he can love Shakespeare and strive for that kind of quality in his writing.
• A Christian (an average Christian—like you and me!) may never achieve all of the wisdom in this book—but we can LOVE it—and make it our goal!
b. 4:21 – let these words of wisdom not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart!
• These are expressions of love!
• If you love someone, you want to BE with them… you want to SEE them… if you are away, you miss them…
• If you love someone, there is a special place in the center of your heart for that person.
• Solomon tells his son to reserve a special place in the midst of his heart for wisdom! Love her! Embrace her!
c. 2:10 – wisdom is to enter into our heart. When it does, it is pleasant!
• These too are words of love.
• It is pleasant to be with the one you love! It is uncomfortable being around enemies.
• Love wisdom! Wisdom should be pleasant—not a burden!
• Love removes the sense of burden and replaces it with pleasure.
• Do you love the truth? Do you love wisdom?
2. Get wisdom and understanding (vs.7)
a. Once again, Solomon repeats his exhortation to his children.
b. But here he states that wisdom should be obtained NOT as one of many equally valuable items. It is the PRINCIPLE thing! (first, best, chief)
c. Don’t just get it—but get this FIRST!
d. Prov. 8:34 – The blessed man is the one who waits daily at the gates of wisdom—waiting eagerly for the gates to open… that he might enter!
e. Matt. 6:33 – many things in this life are worth getting (food; clothing; shelter). But some things are worth getting FIRST!
f. Wisdom is not only important, it is all-important!
g. Solomon wants his sons to have the right priority… divine wisdom first!
h. Love it first! (Of course, we love divine wisdom as an expression of our love for God!)
i. Illustration – soldiers who were away serving their country in W.W. II received mail.
• Some of those men were engaged to be married, and received a love note from their fiancée.
• Don’t you think they would be EAGER to read that letter?
• It isn’t something they would throw in a pile of papers to get to if they have time some day. They would open it immediately and devour that letter!
• If we love God, we will love and embrace His word… and the wisdom which it contains!
3. God’s wisdom IS OBTAINABLE!
a. He commands that we get it—and this command is for EVERY believer, not just the highly educated or the intellectuals—it is for you and me too!
b. If God commands that we get, then it is possible for us all to get.
c. This wisdom is not obtained via great brains, but through great obedience.
• Many men with great intellectual minds are fools spiritually!
• Many believers who are quite slow are wise!
d. This wisdom is learned through experience—a life dedicated to DOING God’s will.
e. John 7:17 – if a man is WILLING TO DO GOD’S WILL, he will know doctrine… teaching… he will have wisdom!
• Thus, it is a matter of the WILL…
• If you WILL—if you have a hunger or desire for it—you can obtain it!
• We usually get in life what we hunger for!
• If a young person wants to be a musician bad enough, he will become a musician! The hunger and drive is more valuable than the raw talent!
• Thomas Edison said, “Genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration!”
• So too with divine wisdom. We are to hunger for it… strive for it… search for it… make it our goal… and GET it!
• We are commanded to—and we are ABLE to…
f. Wisdom is a heart issue… for out of the heart come all the issues of life!
Proverbs 4:8-12
The Blessings and Benefits of Wisdom
FOUR COMMANDS:
Exalt her (v. 8)
1. Exalt = to lift up; to exalt, esteem highly, prize.
2. Wisdom is to be lifted up; valued; highly esteemed; considered a prize to be sought after.
3. Real wisdom is God’s wisdom. (Job 12:13 – with Him is wisdom)
a. The world has wisdom—common sense—wisdom in the affairs of this life. Many unsaved men are wise with their time, talents, property, finances, and health.
b. The wisdom that counts is the wisdom that puts God and spiritual things first.
c. That which is missing from the world’s wisdom is GOD. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of real wisdom.
d. I Cor. 1:19-21 – The world in all their wisdom has been able to send men to the moon and back; they have been able to cure many diseases; but because they leave God out—their wisdom must be considered folly in one sense.
e. Men in worldly wisdom have built elaborate empires—but if it is built on sand—it is foolish from eternity’s perspective.
f. Wisdom that leaves God out will prove to be grossly deficient in eternity.
4. In order to exalt wisdom—it must be elevated ABOVE the wisdom of the world.
a. We are to exalt true wisdom—wisdom that has God right in the middle of it!
b. There are many religious people who demonstrate wisdom too—on a certain level. They display a sense of morality in their wisdom. That is greatly superior to wisdom that is cold and devoid of morality.
c. BUT—it is still infinitely shy of Divine wisdom!
d. Prov. 9:10 – There is no way to exalt wisdom apart from exalting God.
5. We HAVE this kind of wisdom—wisdom that comes from God and revolves around Him and His truth.
a. This kind of wisdom is God-centered.
b. It is a wisdom that has as its highest goal (not our own personal comfort, health or wealth) but God’s glory.
c. Solomon wants his son (and us) to exalt this kind of wisdom… hold it high… value it… esteem it highly… prize or treasure it…
6. We demonstrate in our lives that which we highly esteem… or value… or exalt.
a. Do you and I exalt wisdom?
b. Are we willing to say NO to opportunities because they are not in harmony with God’s wisdom? Or do we in fact exalt pragmatism in our lives—whichever seems to get the job done?
c. Are we willing to say NO to self-promotion—when it involves violating the way of wisdom—if it involves dishonesty… compromise?
d. Mark 8:36 – what advantage is it in the long run, if we violate God’s wisdom for personal gain and advantage? This isn’t a warning to the lost only. Jesus was addressing the disciples.
e. God’s wisdom demands obedience from us… truth… morality… submission to God and His Word. Any cutting of corners… any bending or stretching of the truth takes us OUT of the way of wisdom.
f. We demonstrate that we are exalting something other than wisdom in our lives… self advancement… self promotion… etc.
Embrace Her (vs .8)
1. This is a love word. We are to exalt wisdom—embrace her… hold on to her… be warm towards her ways… even when the way is straight and narrow.
2. Cf. vs. 6 – we are to LOVE lady wisdom.
3. Love and embrace Lady Wisdom. This speaks of a relationship… an ongoing relationship with wisdom.
4. Spending time in the book of Proverbs will kindle that love (though wisdom is found throughout the Bible!)
5. Our love for Lady Wisdom will be tested all throughout our lives.
a. Proverbs speaks of some of those tests.
b. Wisdom says to stay away from the strange woman. (Do we exalt wisdom above physical pleasure?)
c. Wisdom says to discipline our children. (Do we exalt wisdom above affection for our kids?)
d. Wisdom says to be a hard, diligent worker. (Do we exalt wisdom above leisure time or self indulgence?)
e. Wisdom demands that we bridle our tongue. (Do we value wisdom more than the pleasure we get from getting in the last jab?)
Hear (vs .10)
1. Hearing wisdom implies that we must LISTEN…
2. Some young people don’t listen when their parents are trying to tell them things they need to know and learn. They may sit quietly while the parent speaks… but they aren’t really paying attention.
3. This is the essence of folly “I know it all. I don’t have to listen. You can’t tell me anything I don’t know already.”
4. Prov. 7:24 – wisdom demands to be heard. “hearken!”
5. Do you children listen to your parents? Really listening? Do we parents listen to God’s Word—through messages we hear and in our private devotion time? Do we listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit when He inclines us to witness to our neighbor… or teach a Sunday school class… or apologize to someone we have offended?
Receive Her (vs. 10)
1. Genuine hearing will result in receiving the wisdom… taking it in… accepting its edicts…
2. To receive the words of wisdom means to allow them to sink into our heads and hearts… and to be practiced in our life. It implies obedience.
3. It is the opposite of rejection. When Lady Wisdom speaks, we either receive or reject her words. Ignoring her is rejecting her.
FIVE BENEFITS:
Promote thee
1. Promote: to exalt; to lift up; to set on high.
a. If we exalt wisdom—wisdom will exalt us!
b. Following the way of wisdom is GOOD for us.
2. Ultimately, wisdom will promote her followers to glory! (3:35)
3. There is a profit and promotion that comes to those who follow the ways of wisdom.
a. The wisdom in proverbs tells us to be diligent in our work.
b. That usually results in profit! A literal promotion at work!
c. Students: work hard and you will be promoted to the next grade… and perhaps will get into the school of your choice!
d. The wisdom in proverbs warns us against drinking strong drink.
e. Obey wisdom and it will profits our health… family life…
f. The wisdom in proverbs tells us to be careful with the use of out tongue.
g. Ignore Lady Wisdom and speak foolishly and you will pay for it.
h. Use your tongue wisely and it will be appreciated.
i. You will have friends… maybe promoted at work…
j. The wisdom in proverbs tells us to avoid evil companions.
k. That too results in profit in this life.
l. Evil companions will spiral downward and take you along with them!
m. Good companions will go places—good places—and take you along with them!
n. The wisdom in proverbs demands that we be honest. That will be of great profit too—if we can avoid going to jail! It promoted honest Abe Lincoln into the White House!
Bring to honor
1. I Sam. 2:30 – God honors those who honor Him. Honor God’s wisdom, and He will honor you.
2. This does not mean that we will necessarily be honored by men. The Lord told us to expect to be hated by man… dishonored by men because of our faith.
3. But—God will honor the one who follows divine wisdom at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
4. But often times, following wisdom results in honor in this life too.
a. A good name and credibility are valuable in the business world too. Sometimes the reason one man is chosen to be the manager is because people trust him… he has built up a reputation as being honest and fair!
b. Prov. 22:1 – a good name is more valuable than riches!
c. Sometimes an eminently qualified worker is overlooked in the promotion in favor of a less qualified but more respected and honorable worker!
5. Hear and receive Lady Wisdom’s exhortations, and it will bring honor to your life too!
Give an ornament of grace and crown of glory (vs. 9)
1. Solomon mentioned this previously (1:9; 4:9)
2. Examples:
a. Gen. 41:41-42 – Joseph was given a gold chain about his neck—and all others had to bend the knee before him! Great honor!
b. Dan. 5:7 – Daniel was given a gold chain around his neck IF he could interpret the dreams. It was a sign of great honor!
c. Both of these men are examples of men who were wise in a wicked environment. They followed the way of wisdom without compromise, and were exalted… promoted as a result.
3. An ornament of grace (laurel wreath?) is a sign of victory and beauty.
a. Life is often likened to running a race.
b. The one who runs wisely and stays on course is a winner.
c. The one who strays off course and wanders out of the way is a loser.
d. The winner gets the ornament… the crown.
e. We are challenged to live our lives according to Divine wisdom—God’s Word so that we too might be crowned. (I Cor. 9:24-25)
4. It is a crown of glory that can be worn the rest of one’s life!
a.) That son who listened to his father’s instruction about hard work and diligence will benefit from that the rest of his life! His hard work will pay off and he will wear a crown all his life!
b.) The daughter who did not forsake the law of her mother will be able to wear a submissive spirit as a necklace of honor the rest of her days! That will enhance her attractiveness the rest of her life!
Deliver thee (vs. 9)
1. Wisdom will SAVE you… (not from condemnation) but it will save you from many pitfalls in life.
2. Wisdom will deliver you from a wasted life in the gutter! (Prov. 23:29-35)
3. Wisdom will deliver you from the strange woman. (Prov. 2:16) (And all the other pitfalls associated with adultery—broken home; kids whose lives are forever hurt; financial loss; frustration; etc.)
4. A wise use of the tongue will deliver us from all kinds of trouble. (Prov. 12:6) (loss of friends; controversy; strife; anguish; division; etc.)
5. Wisdom (righteousness practiced) will deliver us from jail… loss of reputation… from shame… fines, fees, penalties…
6. Wisdom in doctrine will save us from false teachers and the wayward lifestyle associated with it. (I Tim. 4:15-16)
Sure steps (vs. 11-12)
1. Wisdom will keep us on the right road… and will keep our feet safe and secure… we won’t trip up.
2. All of this implies that so much of the trouble we endure in this life is our own doing!
3. If we do things RIGHT the first time, we avoid many potholes and pitfalls in life. If we try to cut corners, compromise, excuse our behavior, stretch the truth, etc… there are consequences.
4. If we don’t do things right… we have no guarantee that we will not fall. In fact, we can expect a big fall.
a. I have observed the lives of different kinds of believers over the years.
b. Some have behaved foolishly and don’t do things right… and their lives show it. They are paying for the lack of wisdom.
c. Some others have followed the paths of wisdom, have paid a price in doing so, and their lives show it too—happy; well adjusted; spiritually strong homes; consistent and faithful.
5. Follow the way of wisdom and you won’t trip up! What a promise!
a. The way of wisdom is narrow… difficult… it takes a long time to walk it and learn it… it involves sacrifice… it runs contrary to the way of the world… it is hated by the world… it has no short cuts… but those who follow this road inherit glory!
b. Those who follow this road will not slip.
c. Those who reject the way of wisdom are walking in slippery places.
6. Follow the principles in Proverbs, and you will avoid 90% of the troubles that cause others to fall!
Proverbs 4:14-17
The Path of the Wicked
INTRODUCTION:
1. In this section, Solomon likens life to a pathway… a road with many turns and twists.
2. There are many cut offs and forks in the road, and the pilgrim must make choices all along the way.
3. John Bunyan’s Pilgrim Progress has this as its theme… pilgrims journeying through life on their way to the Celestial city—with many evil men and seducers trying to cause them to swerve off the straight and narrow way.
4. Bunyan alludes to many passages from the book of Proverbs.
5. Solomon wanted his son to view life that way—a long journey down a road. This journey requires wisdom, discernment, and the ability to make good choices.
WARNINGS ABOUT THE PATH OF THE WICKED (VS. 14-15)
1. The path of the wicked
a. Path – path; road; way; figuratively used of a way of life.
b. Wicked = criminal; guilty one;
2. The way of evil men
a. Way: way, road, distance, journey, manner of life…
b. Evil men—evil (hurtful); bad, unkind (vicious in disposition); wicked (ethically)
3. The two expressions are synonymous.
a. Evil men are walking down the wrong road.
b. Prov. 2:12-15 – Evil men have left the path of uprightness and are wallowing in the ways of moral darkness. Their ways are crooked.
c. Prov. 1:10-19 – the way of the greedy criminals…
d. Prov. 7:24-27 – The way of the prostitute is the road to hell!
e. Prov. 16:25 – some ways SEEM right, but end in death.
f. Prov. 21:16 – the way of wandering away from understanding.
g. Ps. 1:1 – there is the way of ungodly counsel and scorning…
h. Jesus spoke of the broad way that leads to destruction. (Matt. 7:13-14)
i. Phil. 3:18-19 – The way of the enemies of the cross end in destruction.
j. Isaiah calls the wicked to forsake their wicked way (Isa. 55:7)
4. Wicked, evil men have forged their own way of life.
a. This road is contrary to the way of wisdom… to the way of godliness.
b. Every step taken down this road is a step AWAY from the straight and narrow way.
c. This road is filled with stumblingblocks. It is a slippery road. It is a dangerous road… and it leads to destruction of one’s spiritual life.
d. This road is deceptive—because they do not usually begin with a sharp right turn. Often the way seems so close and parallel to the straight and narrow way… but over time, the gap between the two is wider and wider.
5. Avoid it!
a. Solomon uses six verbs to make his point. (vs. 14-15)
b. Doesn’t that sound like a father? He repeats himself many times over—so that what he says will SINK IN his son’s head.
c. Kids of all ages (2-102) need to have truth and warnings repeated!
d. At times, when warnings are repeated, it might be irritating… but it is necessary because we have a tendency to forget.
e. Solomon repeats this warning many other times in Proverbs too.
• 1:15 – walk not in the way with them! Refrain thy foot from their path!
• 4:27 – don’t turn to the right or the left
• 5:8 – remove your way from the foolish woman.
• 9:6 – forsake the way of the foolish!
6. This is the doctrine of separation.
a. Solomon warns his son to AVOID the way of immorality, foolishness, and idolatry or false doctrine.
b. The New Testament is full of such warnings to Christians, too—mark them which cause division and offences contrary to the doctrine you have learned and AVOID them! Come out from among them and be ye separate!
c. If we are going to walk in the way of holiness, we are going to have to separate—avoid—go not by the way of evil men.
d. We are going to have to draw a line in the sand… take a stand… and refuse to be persuaded to compromise.
7. Why did Solomon give such warnings?
a. Because he loved his son! Any father that loves his son is going to warn him about the evil in the world!
b. If there is one thing a father wants for his son it ought to be discernment—so that the son will be able to make wise decisions and good choices in life—and stay off dead end streets.
c. Love rejoices not in iniquity but rejoices in the truth… love hates the way of the evil man and rejoices in the way of truth… holiness… righteousness… godliness.
d. So too, the preacher that has a warning ministry does so out of love for the sheep—not because he is a picky, unloving, and mean-spirited! It is love that motivates such warnings to avoid the way of evil men.
e. Acts 20:31 – Paul warned day and night for three years—with tears. Why do you suppose he was crying? He knew the dangers—and he loved the Ephesian believers! It broke his heart to think of some of them leaving the path of righteousness and following the way of evil men—wolves! But he knew it was going to happen. (vs. 29)
EVIL MEN LOVE THEIR MISCHIEF (VS. 16-17)
1. Solomon describes the evil criminals in this passage.
• They lie awake at night devising their evil plans… ways to steal or kill. (vs.16)
• These men can’t sleep unless they have caused someone else to fall… unless they have hurt or caused damage to another. (vs. 16b)
• They do not experience rest until they have taken away the rest from others.
• They are not happy unless they have done their damage.
• Crime is a game for the criminal… an evil game.
2. Ps. 36:4 – He deviseth mischief upon his bed.
a. These men are foolish—but they are not unintelligent.
b. Many criminals are extremely intelligent—consider the hackers on the web… they have the FBI and CIA confounded!
c. Those men must have stayed up at night devising how they could pull this one off… and they did.
d. Criminals get a sort of morbid pleasure from hurting and stealing… it isn’t just for the money, it is often for the thrill of it! The web hackers didn’t get any money—just the pleasure of causing trouble!
3. Micah 2:1-2 – Woe to them that devise evil upon their beds!
a. They sit up at night coveting what others have (because they earned it!)
b. They plot ways to obtain the wealth of others…
c. When it is in the power of their hand to do it—they practice their crime!
d. This speaks of evil men plotting evil schemes—and just waiting for the right time to strike!
4. Prov. 24:1-2 – evil men STUDY destruction!
a. Just like some men go to college and study engineering or math, these men study violence…
b. Some of them get quite good at their trade too.
c. In prison, these criminals share the tricks of the trade—it is sort of like a trade school!
d. God gave them brains and hands that COULD have been used for good. But because their hearts are evil, they use the tools God gave them for evil purposes. What a waste!
5. Prov. 4:17 – wicked people THRIVE on evil and violence!
a. This is the gang life—criminals who get pleasure from inflicting pain and injury on others.
b. Ex: an older couple took a wrong turn in Los Angeles a few years ago, into the territory of a notorious gang. The gang members blocked off the road with barrels so the car could not escape—and they then beat the couple to death—just for the fun of it.
c. A steady diet of violence, immorality, perversion, and vice creates an appetite for even more…
d. Job 15:16: “How much more abominable and filthy is man which drinketh iniquity like water?” (thirsty for evil and violence)
e. This does not speak well of human nature! Solomon knows it all too well.
6. Solomon knows HOW wicked men lure new recruits and he warns his son.
a. Evil men might come to an inexperienced young man and hope to capture him… make him their victim… infect him with their evil ways.
b. They may begin by speaking filthy language… to see how he responds. They may continue by showing him some dirty pictures… and eventually lead him to the prostitute…
c. They may entice him with promises of easy money (1:13-16)
d. They may entice him with strong drink or drugs…
e. Of course, they always begin on a small scale… then on to bigger and better things… more evil… more violence.
7. Solomon warns his son to AVOID the way of the evil man at all costs!
a. Young men might protest, “What’s the harm? What if I stay real close to the right path—I won’t go far down the other road. I’ll be able to come back at any time!”
b. Vs. 15 – Pass not by it—
• Not only is the son told not to walk down the road—he is told not even to go near it!
• If he goes near it he might become enticed to “test the waters”.
• He might not have the strength to say no—to come back—
• Prov. 5:8 – don’t even go near her house lest you be tempted!
c. Human pride tells us that we can handle it. God’s wisdom says that we cannot! Pride cometh before a fall! Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall!
• Solomon fell; David fell; Peter fell—and we think we won’t?!
d. I Cor. 15:33 – evil company/communication corrupts good manners.
• You can’t walk with evil men and expect that it will not have an effect on you! It will!
• It will have an evil effect! You will be contaminated.
• First the evil company is enjoyed; then the evil OF the company is enjoyed.
e. Beware lest any man SPOIL you through the rudiments of the world—(Col. 2:8) – context = false philosophy—but the principle is the same. Evil men will try to spoil the believer—entice him to follow his evil ways.
f. Eph. 5:11 – have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness!
8. Psalm 119:63 – “I am a companion of all them that fear thee and of them that keep thy precepts.” (vs. 115 – depart from me ye evildoers!)
9. Harry Ironside: “The true pilot may not know every rock or reef, but his wisdom consists in taking the safe channel.”
Proverbs 4:18-19
The Path of the Just
Introduction:
1. Solomon has just described the path of the wicked (vs. 14-17)
a. It is called the path of the wicked or the way of evil men. (vs. 14)
b. He described the thinking of the criminal mind. (they can’t sleep until they have plotted harm; they stay up at night devising their evil schemes)
c. They thrive and flourish on wickedness and violence.
2. Now Solomon speaks of the path of the just for a moment—before reverting back to the path of the wicked in vs. 19.
3. Thus, in vs. 18-19, Solomon presents one more contrast between the way of the wicked and the way of the just or the godly.
The Path of the Just (vs. 18)
1. In this text, Solomon likens the path of the godly man to the rising of the sun… a glorious sunrise!
a. It begins as the shining light—the first ray of light over the horizon that dispels the darkness of the night.
b. Then the sun shines more and more—brighter and brighter until the perfect day … until the day is complete…
• Perfect = firm; fixed; established; ready
• The perfect day speaks of a day that has been fully established… no more dawning but brilliant daylight!
Several implications about the path of the just by this illustration.
1. Light – truth; holiness; righteousness
a. Believers are to walk in the light.
• For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light. (Eph. 5:8)
• In this passage light and darkness represent two different realms—the realm of evil and the realm of holiness.
• We WERE darkness, but salvation changed us!
• Now, we are LIGHT in the Lord… because of our union with Christ.
• We now dwell in light—holiness; truth; righteousness… that is our position as children of light.
• Therefore, we should WALK in the light!
• Our position in the light brings the responsibility to WALK in light!
• Our walk, life, speech, thoughts, attitudes should all be in harmony with truth and holiness… pure… in the Light.
• This is the path of the just… it is a path of light.
b. John 8:12 – Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
• Jesus said that those who follow Him will be following LIGHT. He is the Light!
• Thus, those who follow Him are following the way of truth, holiness, and purity… light!
• Staying close to Christ and following Him will have an effect on us!
c. I John 1:7 – the way of light is the place of fellowship too!
• The one who is NOT walking in the light (truth; purity; holiness) does not have fellowship with God—even if he thinks he does!
• The one who walks in the light has fellowship… and his sins are covered.
d. The path of the just is a pathway of light—which first of all speaks of purity—moral and doctrinal purity.
2. Illumination
a. The next thing implied is that the path of the just is well illuminated.
b. The well-lit pathway speaks of understanding too… vision… sight.
c. Free from stumbling
• The path of the wicked is dark and they don’t know where they are going, and thus, they stumble. (vs.19)
• They walk in darkness (ignorance; immorality; doctrinal error)
• We are not nocturnal creatures. Those who walk in the night will stumble!
• Not so with the path of the just! The light shines on their path. They see… they understand… they discern what is ahead for them…
• John 11:9-10 – walking in a well-lit path is the way of safety.
• Are you walking in the path of safety? Why not?
d. Useful and precious. Ecc. 2:13 – the way of wisdom and light by far exceeds the way of darkness!
e. God’s favor is described as His light shining upon us—lighting our way. That is a blessing from God! (Ps. 4:6)
f. Ps.119:105 – the word illuminates our way. Forsake the word and we forsake the light and favor of God in our life!
3. Increasing light – maturity…increasing discernment… growing in wisdom.
a. The light begins as an almost imperceptible ray over the horizon, and increases in brightness, warmth, and intensity until the full blazing glory of it reigns over the day!
• Note that the illustration stops at the perfect day.
• It speaks of increasing light unto noonday—it speaks not of the sun setting. The illustration breaks down at that point—and Solomon omitted it.
• The point he makes is that the life of the believer increases in light… like climbing a mountain… higher and loftier heights sought after…
• We are to be increasing in the knowledge of Christ — filled with the fulness of God…reaching forth unto those things which are before… pressing toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus…
• II Pet. 1:19 – Peter uses the same illustration as Solomon used—only Peter uses the illustration of a rising sun to describe the increasing light that comes from God’s Word… as we lay hold of it.
b. In the straight and narrow pathway of light, light increases day by day
• The new believer walks in the light… and his eyes are opened to the spiritual realm!
• As that believer continues down the path of the just, the light becomes brighter and brighter.
• Thus, as he looks at himself, the light illuminates more and more dirt and dust that was previously not noticed… but now, with increasing light, comes increasing responsibility… and in turn, increasing holiness!
• Some of that dirt and dust may not even be recognized as such by the new believer… but in time, the light increases and so does responsibility.
• It is not a good idea for an older believer to make demands of a new believer that he is not ready to understand or perceive. That is God’s job to illuminate the mind and heart.
c. This is the norm for the believer… growth in the knowledge of Christ.
d. Increasing light ought to result in increasing gratitude to God.
• The more God shines His light on our heart, and the more we understand the depravity of our heart, the more appreciation and gratitude we will have for God’s cure for our sinful heart—salvation!
• This should increase our love for God too…
e. However, not all believers stay on the pathway of light. Some wander.
• Heb. 5 warns believers of the possibility of the Christian life becoming less and less discerning… decreasing in wisdom and discernment rather than increasing!
• Solomon wants his son to do just the opposite!
4. Testimony
a. The believer walking in the pathway of light is a light to others… a testimony for the Lord Jesus!
b. Not only should our WAY be the way of light, but WE should shine as lights too!
c. Matt. 5:16 – Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
d. Phil. 2:15-16 – we are to shine as lights in a dark world. That is God’s purpose for us living in the world!
e. As the believer walks in the light… and his pathway increases in light, his capacity to shine increases!
f. Before long, with every step along this pathway—his testimony radiates with God’s love, grace, holiness, righteousness, and purity.
g. Opportunities arise to share Christ!
5. A glorious future!
a. The path of the just keeps getting brighter and brighter… closer and closer to glory!
b. It is as if he sees the path of the just in the way John Bunyan did—a long pathway that leads up to the dazzling brilliance of the Celestial City! The closer you get, the brighter the path…
c. Rev. 21:21-25 – the heavenly city—God Himself is the light of it! No night there! This city is at the end of our journey! Imagine that!
d. Whatever we suffer along the way will not be worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us in that day! A far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory awaits us at the end of this path—in that city!
e. Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow!
Proverbs 4:20-22
My Son, Attend to My Words
PAY ATTENTION! (VS. 20)
1. Solomon addresses his son.
a. Many of the exhortation and the words in this book have a fatherly tone to them. Solomon wants the best for his son’s life.
b. He is not scolding… rebuking… or angry. Rather, what he says, he says out of love for his son.
c. Solomon knows the awful consequences of folly, and doesn’t want his son to have to suffer those consequences. What father would?
d. Any father would want his child to obtain wisdom and avoid the pain, suffering, and trouble that come by folly.
e. It can be frustrating—and scary—when you know the juvenile mind set (I can handle this! It won’t happen to me!)—and when you know the life long consequences of making foolish decisions as a youth. (missing school; getting pregnant out of wedlock; drugs; alcohol…)
2. Solomon charges his son to attend to his words and incline his ears to his sayings.
a. Attend: to hear, be attentive, heed, hearken, pay attention, listen to
b. Incline: to stretch out, pitch, turn, bend
c. Both expressions amount to the same exhortation—pay attention!
3. Solomon makes this exhortation OFTEN in Proverbs.
a. 3:1
b. 5:1
c. 6:20,21
d. 7:1
e. 22:17
4. Solomon employs 3 important teaching tools in this book: repetition, repetition, and repetition!
a. As we go through the book of Proverbs, this will become more and more apparent—there is a LOT of repetition in this book… and in the Bible for that matter!
b. This technique ought to be employed by all parents—and Sunday school teachers—and all Bible teachers.
c. Important truths and exhortations NEED to be repeated—even if some folks get tired of hearing the same old thing.
5. The exhortation to incline the ear to his father’s words are nearly identical to what God says to us! (Ps. 78:1)
a. Do we incline our ears to God’s Word?
b. This implies an eagerness to hear… wanting to hear every last word He says…
c. We can either incline our ear towards the word, or turn our ears away from what we hear.
d. The difference is a hunger for the truth. Some believers are hungry… some are not. Are you? If you are not hungry, then what have you been feeding on? It’s normal for a believer to hunger for God’s Word!
e. Are you hungry? Do you incline your ear to hear God’s Word—OR has it become old hat? Same old same old?
BE CAREFUL! (VS. 21)
1. Let them not depart from thine eyes…
a. This command implies that the sayings of a father COULD depart from a child’s eyes!
b. Even a child who inclines his ear and hears, CAN arrive at a point where the words he once heard and obeyed begin to DEPART…
c. This too is a truth repeated in Proverbs (3:21)
2. We too should not allow the words of our heavenly Father to depart from our eyes!
a. We should open up God’s Book before our eyes every day.
b. Do you? Are we faithful?
c. We shouldn’t let God’s word depart from our eyes for even one day!
d. We wouldn’t skip a whole day without giving our body any food. We shouldn’t skip a whole day without giving our soul any food either!
3. Rom.15:4 – whatever is written in this book was written for our learning and admonition!
a. We should never allow this book to depart from our eyes! It is just what our souls need.
b. Our eyes are bombarded with 1001 images every day.
c. Never before have human eyes had so many options to look at… so many things to read… to observe… to view…
d. But with all the videos, Internet web pages, magazines, TV shows, books, multimedia presentations, etc… there remains this command from God. “Don’t allow my words to depart from your eyes!”
e. Charles Bridges: “A neglected Bible is the melancholy proof of a heart alienated from God.”
4. Keep them in the midst of thine heart…
a. This is the more important part of the exhortation.
b. It is possible to read God’s Word, and let it go in one ear and out the other.
c. Here the author exhorts his son to hear his words and KEEP them… guard them… protect them… don’t let them slip away.
d. The object is to RETAIN the wisdom for the rest of your life!
• It is one thing to obtain godly wisdom. It is quite another thing to retain it.
• A man can absorb many words of wisdom rather quickly.
• It takes a lifetime of faithfulness to retain it… keep it.
e. They are not just to be stored in the head, but in the heart.
f. The author MAY have meant to memorize these sayings… keep them in your heart by memorizing them. (learn it by heart) Then you will always have them nearby.
g. Scripture memorization is a good practice.
h.) 4:20-21 – KEEP them in the midst of thine heart… the center of your thinking.
• This is more than keeping them in our mind intellectually. It implies that we keep them NEAR to our heart… for out of the heart are all the issues of life. (vs. 23)
• God’s wisdom is to be kept in our heart and applied to all the issues of life.
• The heart ought to be HOME for God’s wisdom. It should LIVE there… not be buried in a back closet. It should be right in the MIDST of all we think and say and do.
• Are the principles in God’s Word right in the center of all the choices you make in life? Are they right in the center of your thinking when making a decision?
i. When the Word of God is kept in our heart, it will be obvious in one’s life. God’s Word changes us.
• This was so in David’s life (Ps. 40:8).
• Lit = in the midst of my bowels.
• This was true of Christ as well! God’s law was in His heart.
j. Ps. 119:11 – Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee. It can help us have victory over sin too!
k. Our heart should be a HOME for God’s Word. (Col. 3:15-16)
• Is God’s Word at home in your heart?
• Our heart should be a sanctuary for God’s Word!
• Are you comfortable reading it? Hearing it? Talking about it?
THE BLESSINGS OF OBEDIENCE (vs.22)
1. They are LIFE unto those that find them…
a. 4:4 – Solomon links obedience with living—disobedience with dying.
b. 4:10 – he links obedience to a long life. (Cf. 3:1-2)
c. 4:22 – he seems to be linking obedience to a QUALITY of life… a good, healthy life.
• Life does not refer to salvation here—although one could certainly make application to salvation. (God’s wisdom is demonstrated in His plan of salvation—and those who seek it shall find and shall receive eternal life!)
• The Jews thought of life as life on earth… a long, healthy, prosperous, life on earth with the hopes of inheriting the kingdom promises.
• Solomon wanted his son to hear and obey his words so that his son might enjoy a long, healthy, prosperous, life upon earth…
2. The believer today who obeys God’s word and hides them in his heart will enjoy a superior quality of life.
a. His life will be lived in a right relationship to God.
b. Hence, no guilt… peace of mind… a level of rest in his conscience…
c. He will enjoy good relationships with other men—for when we employ the principles of God’s Word to our life, it will have a positive impact on our interpersonal relationships as well.
d. We won’t have to live in fear—fear of getting caught… (lying; stealing; cheating; gossiping; cutting corners) When we obey God, we don’t have to worry about such things.
e. We should enjoy the abundant life—full of God’s blessings and mercies!
f. John 10:10b – Christ came that we might have life and that we might have it more abundantly.
• Christ speaks here of eternal life.
• But in addition, we should have an abundant life on earth—a life full of God and full of God’s blessings.
• Christ gives us a life that is full and overflowing.
• This eternal life does not begin when we get to heaven, but begins the moment we trust Christ as Savior!
• The quality of life improves… from darkness to light! From dirty to cleansed! From condemned to forgiven! From alienated enemies of God to God’s own dear sons!
3. Has the quality of your life improved since you came to know Christ?
a. Not every believer’s life has. Some believers do NOT keep God’s Word in their hearts. They do not obey, but go off into the world of sin—and pay a dear price!
b. They have lost the joy of their salvation… their hope is dimmed… they have lost their assurance of salvation… some believers lead quite miserable lives!
c. Solomon doesn’t want that to happen to his son. He wants the BEST for his son. He wants his son to pay attention to his words, hide them in his heart—and live by them the rest of his life! (Don’t you want that for your children?)
4. Hiding His words in his heart will result in “health to all their flesh.” (vs.21)
a. Health = the term for medicine.
b. Obedience to the words of wisdom results in health to the soul and to the body. It is good for the whole person.
c. Prov. 3:8 – it shall be health to thy navel.
• In a word, humbling self, exalting and fearing God, and departing from evil is GOOD for you! (Prov. 3:7)
• It seems to point to a physical health as well as health to the soul. Spiritual health and physical health are related.
• Fear, worry, envy, hatred, anger, depression, resentment, guilt—are NOT good for you physically!
• If we don’t depart from these evils—they could kill us!
• A merry heart—a joyous heart, free from guilt and worry—is good for you like medicine! (Prov. 17:22)
d. Solomon wants the best for his children. So did John want the best for his spiritual children. (III John 2-4)
• The most important factor in enjoying an abundant, joyous, healthy, and prosperous life is to follow the words of wisdom!
• Advertisement of TV for some diet supplement: They will add years to your life… and life to your years!
• Obeying God’s words of wisdom will do that for you.
Proverbs 4:23
Keep Thy Heart with All Diligence
1.) Heart: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding; reflection; emotions;
• Heart = as seat of thought life; our appetites; seat of emotions and passions; as seat of courage.
• It is the seat of either sin or holiness. (Luke 6:45)
• Renald Showers refers to the heart as the “inner control center of the human being.”
• I Sam.16:7 – no wonder it is the part of man that God is most concerned about! God looks at the heart.
» How has your heart been lately?
» Has it been a source of that which is good, lovely, pure, holy, joyous… OR has it been a source of malice, bitterness, resentment, subtle, evil intentions?
» Do you want to know what kind of person you really are? Very often we put up a “front” that is not a good reflection of what is really going on inside. (hypocrisy)
» Prov. 23:7 – for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.
» Examine your heart. THAT is the kind of person we really are!
• I Thess. 2:4 – God tries the heart…
2.) Issues: outgoing, border, a going out, extremity, end, source, escape.
a.) Every issue of life is SOURCED in the heart.
• Issues – that which flows out of a source…
• NIV = for it is the wellspring of life.
• NASV = For from it flow the springs of life.
b.) Matt. 12:34b-35 – Everything that flows out of our mouth originated in our heart.
c.) Everything our hands do; our feet go; our mind thinks; everything we plan, desire, determine, and chose—all of these originate in the heart.
d.) OVERHEAD
3.) Keep: to guard, watch, watch over, to preserve, guard from dangers; observe, guard with fidelity.
a.) Since our heart is like the well spring of our life—doesn’t it make sense to protect the well?
b.) You wouldn’t want any poison in your well or in the town water supply. If there was poison in it, it would affect everything that came out of that well!
c.) So too with our heart. If there is poison there—it will affect every other aspect of our life—our words, deeds, direction of life!
d.) Heb. 3:12-13 – we need to exhort one another lest one of us develop an evil heart of unbelief—not trusting in the Lord, and ends up walking away from the Lord! It could happen to me, or you, or anyone in our church!
e.) We need to be confessing our sins daily… hourly… moment by moment… to keep our hearts clean and pure… undefiled. If our heart is defiled, it will manifest itself in countless ugly ways!
4.) Diligence: place of confinement, prison, guard, jail, guard post, watch, observance; jail, prison, guard-house; guard, guard post, act of guarding
a.) Keep with all diligence = to guard with great care… keep it in confinement… like a prison house.
b.) Gesenius: “Guard your heart above all things that are to be guarded.”
c.) We have a lot of areas in life to pay close attention to and to guard with great care. (spouse; children; job; money; church ministry; mouth; actions; property; time; etc…) They all require care, protection, and watching over… guarding.
d.) But above them ALL, we are to give the greatest diligence in guarding and protecting our heart.
e.) One writer said that the heart is the citadel of man. If the citadel is taken, the whole town must surrender to the enemy!
5.) But can WE really keep our hearts? Isn’t that God’s job? How can I keep or guard my heart?
a.) In one sense it IS our responsibility to keep our own hearts. (Deut. 4:9)
b.) This is not a self-help program that Moses and Solomon are proposing. Of course we are not able to “keep” our own heart by ourselves.
c.) Rather, we are to commit the keeping of our soul (our whole life, including our outward circumstances and inner heart) to God for safekeeping. (I Pet. 4:19)
d.) Ps. 25:20 – God keeps our heart as we commit it to Him by faith.
e.) Our responsibility
‣ Confess and forsake sin… when God illuminates sin in our heart… an evil motive… selfishness… covetousness… bitterness… unbelief… rebellion…
‣ We are to “watch unto prayer.”
‣ Bathe our mind and heart in the Word of God daily.
‣ Make no provision for the flesh.
‣ Refuse to allow anger, wrath, malice, bitterness, grudges, etc. to fester in your heart.
‣ Love not the world… neither the things in the world.
‣ Keep a pure conscience, void of offence.
‣ Fill your mind and heart with good thoughts… pure, lovely, of good report… full of virtue and praise…
‣ We are to keep constant vigilance over our heart… guard it with a holy jealousy…
Matthew Henry: “Our lives will be regular or irregular, comfortable or uncomfortable, according as our hearts are kept or neglected.”
Life can get so complicated. Don’t complicate the Christian life. Keep your heart—and the whole course of your life will flow in sync with God’s will.
Proverbs 4:24
The Froward Mouth
Context:
1. Solomon has just told his son to keep or guard his heart with all diligence, for out of it are all the issues of life. (vs.23)
2. The heart affects every other area of our life… it is the inner control center of our being.
3. Thus, Solomon expands on that same thought and mentions a few of the issues of life that have their source in the heart. (mouth; eyes; feet)
4. Tonight we will consider what he says about the mouth…
Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
1. This passage is a synonymous parallelism – he states the same thing in two different expressions for emphasis.
a. The froward mouth is equal to the perverse lips.
b. Putting away is = putting far from thee.
2. Froward mouth = distortion, crookedness
a. A froward mouth is one that speaks of distortion… distorts the truth… and is crooked… dishonest… not straight…
3. Perverse lips = deviation, perversity, crookedness
a. Perverse lips are lips that deviate from truth or holiness.
b. Perverse lips speak of perverse things… vile… immoral…
c. Both terms (perverse; froward emphasize lying and deceit)
4. Put away… Put far from thee…
a. Put away = to cause to turn aside, cause to depart, remove, take away, to put aside, reject, abolish
b. Put far from thee = to send far away, to make distant.
5. The passage is quite simple and straightforward. It is not hard to understand! That’s simple. But it is hard to obey!
a. Jas. 3:2 – we all offend others with our tongues… our speech.
b. Jas. 3:8 – no one has been able to tame the tongue yet.
c. Nevertheless, both James and Solomon have given us commands to TRY to tame the tongue.
d. We tame the tongue the same way we have victory over any other sin – by trusting in Christ…
• Reckon or believe that the old man who had perverse lips is dead.
• Reckon or believe that a new man with a tongue of praise is alive.
6. In context, Solomon’s point is that his son (and us!) ought to concentrate not on our tongue, but concentrate on our heart!
a. Out of the heart are all the issues of life… including the things our tongues say.
b. Matt. 15:18-19 – Whatever we SAY originates in our heart. False witness (lies) and blasphemy (evil speaking) originate in the fallen heart of man.
c. Prov. 12:19-20 – The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counselors of peace is joy.
d. Solomon’s advice is quite sensible.
• We should guard our heart… and in doing so, we will be putting away evil speaking.
• Don’t concentrate so much on the words we say… but concentrate on the attitude of our heart.
• If the heart is right with God, the words that proceed out of it will be pleasing to Him because they flow from a heart that is right with Him.
• If our heart is NOT right with God—the words that proceed from our heart will NOT be pleasing to Him… even if they were good and truthful words! The source was evil!
• Prov. 26:24-26 – There can be much evil in the heart—and that heart attitude makes whatever comes out of the mouth evil! Hypocrisy is deceitful.
7. The expression “froward mouth” is used a couple of other times in Proverbs.
a. 6:12 – a wicked person walks with a froward mouth
• vs.14 – note that the frowardness was first in his heart before it was expressed in words.
• He is up to mischief continually…
• He sows discord…
• If this is the kind of mouth that characterizes the wicked person, let it not characterize us as Christians! Put it away—far away!
b. 8:12-13 – divine wisdom HATES the froward mouth… so should we!
• Different but similar word for froward… (perverse)
• If you fear God, you will hate a froward mouth.
• Once again, it is a heart issue. If we fear God in our heart, that will have an immense effect on the kind of things we say… and the tone with which we say them…
• There will be a reverence for God and spiritual things… and a hatred for that which is perverse and evil.
• Prov. 6:16 – again, God states that HE hates the sin of lying. (it ranks #2 on God’s list of hated things!)
• Prov. 12:22 – lying lips are an abomination to God.
• Prov.13:5 – we too should hate lying!
8. Psalm 52:2-3 – the tongue can be like a sharp razor… deceiving.
a. The tongue can do a lot of damage… and inflict a lot of hurt… like a razor!
b. It is often deceptive—and that seems to be Solomon’s main point concerning the tongue in the proverbs passage… a crooked or dishonest mouth… “forked tongue”
9.) Prov. 26:28 – A lying tongue hates those that are afflicted by it;
a. It afflicts another person with distorted, froward words because it hates them.
b. It often smites them secretly—behind their back, when they are without defense.
c. When someone spreads lying gossip about another person, it demonstrates that they HATE that person.
d. They are trying to harm him or her. It is just like punching them in the face… or stabbing them in the back with a knife… only words can hurt longer.
e. No wonder we are told to put away such a lying tongue. We should not be demonstrating hatred towards others, but grace and forgiveness and kindness.
9. Ps. 31:12 – what do we do if someone is lying about us or slandering us?
a. Ask for God’s mercy (vs.9) Why mercy? Haven’t YOU and I been guilty of speaking evil of others? We need mercy!
b. Vs.13-14 – Place your trust and confidence in God—that He will take care of the situation. We need not take matters into our own hands and strike back. Leave it to God.
c. Vs.15 – realize that God is sovereign over our times… trust Him.
d. Vs.16 – pray for His blessing in the situation.
e. Vs.18 -Pray that the slander will come to nothing.
f. Vs.19 – Rejoice in God’s goodness; don’t dwell on their evil!
10. Prov. 12:13 – eventually the wicked will be snared or caught in his own web of lies!
11. Solomon tells his son to put away a dishonest mouth.
a.) Paul tells us to put away a lying tongue too (Eph. 4:25)
b.) Paul takes it a step further too—put away lying and speak the truth! Holiness is MORE than the absence of evil. It includes the positive side too—goodness and truth! (Cf. vs. 29 – no corrupt speech but that which is edifying)
c.) Eph. 4:31-32 – once again Paul says to put away all kinds of evil speaking.
• But notice that in verse 32 he speaks of concentrating on the heart!
• Be tenderhearted… kindhearted… forgiving heart…
• THAT will result in kind, truthful words!
12. Ps.19:14 – we should PRAY that the words of our mouth which arise from the meditation of our heart would always be acceptable in God’s sight!
13. Ps.141:3-4 – PRAY that God would enable us to watch our mouth… and that our heart (from which our words arise) would be inclined toward God and not toward evil.
Proverbs 4:25
Let Thine Eyes Look Right On
Context:
1. In vs. 23, Solomon tells his son to keep or guard his heart with all diligence for out of it are all of the issues of life. Every thought, word, deed, motive, and intention has its source in the heart.
2. Then Solomon lists a few of those “issues of life.” (mouth – vs. 24; eyes – vs. 25; feet – vs. 26-27)
3. Read verses 26-27 – he continues the theme of looking straight ahead and says to walk in a straight line too—don’t swerve to the right or the left.
4. Thus, when he says to look straight before you—he implies that we are NOT to allow our eyes to wander to the right or left … straight ahead as we journey down the straight and narrow path.
5. In verse 25 the warning or command it to keep our eyes looking straight ahead—this has always been good advice—but in our video age, this command is more needful than ever!
Things on the right and left to avoid looking at…
Riches
1. Prov. 23:5 – don’t set your eyes on riches
• Our eyes are not to be on riches… material things… bank rolls…
• They are only fleeting—they are just for this life which is a vapor.
• They fly away—fleeting…
• Even if you obtain them, they are not forever… they could be stolen… lost… worn out…
• We tend to set our eyes on the things that our hearts lust after… thus, if we keep our heart with all diligence, material things will not be as appealing.
2. Josh. 7:21 – I saw, I coveted, I took—like Eve.
• If we set our eyes on “things”—we will covet them in our hearts.
• When we keep on looking… we strengthen our inner desire for them… we are practicing covetousness.
• If we allow that kind of coveting to go on inside—eventually, we will be tempted to take it to the next level—and go for it… do whatever we have to do to get it… even if it takes us out of God’s will.
The world and the things in the world…
1. Mt. 4:8-9 – things we see can entice us to forsake the pursuit of the knowledge of God.
• Jesus was given a vision of all the glories of the nations—and was tempted to worship the devil in exchange for it all.
• All too often obtaining the things of this world have a hook attached. How many fathers have taken their families out of a good local church in order to take a better paying job—where they do not have a good church. There is a hook involved!
• When our eyes are upon the things of the world, there is always a hook. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. You cannot serve God and mammon.
3. Gen. 19:26 – Lot’s wife LOOKED back at her world and was judged.
• Here is another example of a person whose heart was attached to the world. She did not keep her heart with all diligence.
• As a result, her eyes were on the things of the world—and God judged her for it.
• She wasn’t looking straight ahead.
4. I John 2:16 – the lust of the eyes is NOT of the Father…
• When our eyes lust after the material things of the world, the source of that desire is NOT the Father.
• There is nothing wrong with owning possessions or making purchases.
• What John forbids here is the wandering of the eyes and the covetousness that causes the eyes to wander.
• We are living in a prosperous country in prosperous times. As Christians we need to be extra careful about the lust of the eyes…
• When our eyes are on the things of the world, it can cause our spiritual vision to become dim.
5. Ecc. 6:9 – Two possible ways to understand “the sight of the eyes.”
a. It refers to that which we have already and are able to see.
• Thus, the passage means be content with the things you have and can see now, rather than the things your eyes are wandering to see but you do not possess.
b. It could refer to the ability to see.
• Thus, eyesight is better than lusting after that which the eye sees.
• Be thankful you can see—rather than coveting the things you see.
• A blind multimillionaire would trade all his wealth for sight! What good is a pile of gold if you can’t even see it?
The strange woman
1. Prov. 6:25-26 – do not look with a lustful gaze upon a woman.
• The eye gate is a direct channel to the heart.
• Looking with the eye can cause lusting in the heart.
2. Matt. 5:28-29 – adultery can be committed in the heart merely by looking. God takes the use of our eyes seriously.
3. Job 31:1 – Job’s covenant not to look upon a maid.
• II Sam.11:2 – David did not have such a covenant.
• Do we dare to make a covenant with our eyes? This speaks of a heart commitment to purity and holiness.
• The click of a mouse can bring up any kind of image imaginable on our computer screen.
• We too should make a covenant with our eyes—that we will NOT look at anything on the computer—or TV screen that is of a sexual nature.
• Will you make that commitment? God will honor that resolve.
Wine
1. Prov. 23:31-33 – don’t look upon the wine when it is red
• vs. 33 – looking at wine will cause us to covet it and eventually take it—like Achan and Eve.
• Vs. 33 – Drinking wine can cause us to lust in our mind and heart and say perverse things.
• Don’t even look at it…
Wicked things
1. Ps. 101:3 – I will set no wicked thing before my eyes.
• David has determined NOT to set… appoint… place wicked things or wicked people before him.
» As King, David must have had 1001 temptations that most men never face!
» Some kings would have the most beautiful women in the kingdom dance before them. Not David!
» Some kings would arrange drunken parties and orgies. Not David!
» Some kings placed sons of Belial, worthless, evil men before them to extract more taxes from the people and to acquire more wealth… often unscrupulously. Not David!
» Some kings had great statues and images made of themselves for vain glory. Not David!
» David determined that he would NOT set evil things before him.
• For the believer today, we too are told to “Make no provision for the flesh”!
» An obvious application here is the TV and videos, magazines, books!
» Have you resolved before the Lord that you will put no wicked thing before your eyes?
2. Mt. 6:22-23 – an evil eye fills the body with darkness
• Jesus states that if our eye gate takes in darkness… our whole body—our heart—our whole life—will be filled with darkness!
• A single eye is good (single minded dedication to Christ)
• Anything other than a single eye is evil = an eye that wanders away from Christ and spiritual things.
• In this context, the eyes had wandered to mammon (vs.24)
3. Isa. 33:15-16 – he that shuts his eyes from beholding evil will dwell on high!
• vs.15c – he shuts his eyes from seeing evil—he looks the other way…
• This man will be blessed of God! (vs.16)
• He will see the king in his beauty too! He will enter the Kingdom and see the King—for his behavior is an indication that he is one of God’s redeemed!
Vanity
1. Ps.119:37 – turn my eyes away from beholding vanity
• vs. 36 – he is concerned about the covetousness he observes in his heart.
• That is the vanity mentioned in vs. 37 – it is vain—useless—a waste of time to have a heart attached to things.
• There are 1001 other vain things that our eyes might be beholding…
• This world is full of vain pursuits!
• We too should pray that God would enable us to turn away our eyes from vanity… pray for a heart that loves God and treasures things above…
Good things in the center of the road to look at…
Reminders
1. Num. 15:39 – they will look upon the fringe and remember the commandments.
• The tassels on the corner or border of the priestly garments were intended to be reminders of God’s commandments.
• It was like tying a string around your finger…
2. We might do something similar too—put Bible verses in our house as a reminder of God’s Word… listen to good Christian music to remind of God’s Word… a visual reminder of God’s Word is a good idea.
Christ
1. II Cor. 3:18 – we behold the glory of God in our mind’s eye as we read.
2. Looking unto Jesus—Heb. 12:1-2—
• We are to run the race with our eyes fixed on Christ.
• Thus, as the runner runs with His eyes fixed on the finish line, he will run straight towards it… not turning to the right or left.
• We cannot see Christ with our literal eyes, but we can with the eyes of faith—our heart and mind is focused on Christ…
Christ’s coming
1. Phil. 3.20 – we are to be looking to the heavens for the coming of Christ.
2. Titus 2:13 – looking for that blessed hope…
• If our mind’s eye is focused on Christ and His coming it will:
• Have a purifying effect on our life…
• It will fill us with hope in this life… blessed hope… no room for depression when the Lord is coming at any moment!
God’s Word
1. Ps. 119:18 – open mine eyes to behold wondrous things from thy law
• Here again is something GOOD to look at—the Bible!
• Pray that God would open our mind’s eye to SEE some of the nuggets of gold found in this book…
Looking above
1. Eph. 1:18 – pray that God would open our spiritual eyes to see spiritual realities clearly.
2. Look unto God for help – Isa. 31:1
• Don’t be like Israel who looked to the world for help when they should have looked to the Lord!
• Be like the psalmist who lifted up his eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord! (Ps.121.1)
3. There are lots of things vying for our attention… clamoring for us to look at… especially in our generation.
• More than ever we need to guard what our eyes see…
• Our eyes are bombarded with thousands more images than saints in past generations had to deal with.
• Yet, the Holy Spirit is still able to give us self-control… IF we keep our heart with all diligence. THEN our eyes will refuse that which is evil… and look unto Jesus…
Proverbs 4:26-27
Ponder the Path of Thy Feet
Ponder the path of thy feet
1. Ponder = to weigh, make level, balance
a. The idea is that we should weigh carefully every step we take.
b. Weigh/balance = ancient scales; we should weigh every step against the knowledge of the known will of God in His Word.
c. There are snares and traps and stumbling blocks all along the way. It is vital to PONDER the path of our feet!
d. Ps. 39:1 – I will take heed to my ways…
• Take heed = to watch or be a watchman.
• That’s how we ought to be with our feet—watch where we are headed!
2. It is a good thing to THINK about where we are headed… the pathway that lies ahead… where each step will lead and what will be the consequences or ramifications of taking that step.
• If I take that new job, how will it affect my family? My service in the local church? My spiritual life? My ability to witness?
• Is joining that sports league going to be good for my family spiritually? How will it impact my family? Will it lead to something else?
• Am I taking on too many ministries in the local church? Am I working too many hours at my job? How will this affect my family and me?
• If we are not careful about where we are headed spiritually, we could end up HURTING ourselves… or our family… or other believers.
3. Sometimes much time goes by, and we seem to just drift through life being carried along by circumstances that seem beyond our control.
• If we don’t stop and think about where we are headed, we WILL just drift along.
• Thinking is one of the major ways that God leads us!
• When we THINK about our life and actions we should then THINK about what the Bible says…
• It is a good idea to sit back and observe the whole course and direction of our life.
• Where have we been headed for the last few years? Were there some steps I should not have taken? Did I neglect to take some steps I should have?
• Have I even given any thought to where I am headed? What am I doing with my life?
• Have I been serving God the way He intends, or have I just be drifting and wasting God’s time?
4. Ps. 119:59 – I thought on my ways, and TURNED! Sometimes thinking produces some radical changes in our life!
• Sometimes that’s all it takes!
• It’s like a look in the mirror. When we are busy with the activities of the day, we might forget to look at our face in the mirror—only to discover later that we have a big smear of grease.
• Sometimes all it takes is a look… Solomon wants us to take the time to THINK about the path of our feet… where our life is headed… what our goals are… what we are aiming for…
5. The paths of thy feet
a. Vs.11 – Solomon told his son that he has led him in “right” paths. (straight; right)
b. Every father wants his son to walk down the right paths in life. Nothing is more disheartening than to see a beloved son make foolish decisions and choose paths that are not good spiritually.
c. Are we as fathers leading our children down the right paths? Setting a godly example for them to follow?
6. Prov. 4:18 – the path of the just is a shining light!
a. In this text, Solomon likens the path of the godly man to the rising of the sun… a glorious sunrise!
b. It begins as the shining light—the first ray of light over the horizon that dispels the darkness of the night.
c. Then the sun shines more and more—brighter and brighter until the perfect day … until the day is complete…
• Perfect = firm; fixed; established; ready
• The perfect day speaks of a day that has been fully established… no more dawning but brilliant daylight!
d. As a father, Solomon wanted his son to choose the right path in life… and to stay off dead end streets.
e. Prov. 2:13, 15 – what a contrast to the path of the wicked!
7. What is the difference between ending up on the path of the just and ending up on the path of the wicked?
a. Often it is just a wrong step or two that were never corrected.
b. It starts off as one little step… then two… and the road seems to run parallel to the straight and narrow for a while…
c. The foolish man who takes that step might be admonished by a concerned brother, “Hey, you have stepped off the straight and narrow! You should come on back!!” — to which he replies, “You people are so picky! What’s the big deal? I’m only a few steps away. Mind your own business—don’t be such a legalist!”
Let all thy ways be established.
1. Established: to be firm, be stable, be established; to be directed aright, be fixed aright, be steadfast (moral sense)
» When we stop to THINK and ponder the path of our feet, our ways WILL be established… fixed aright… directed aright…
2. We should not dare to take one step unless that step has been established as right…
a. Josh. 9:14-15 – Joshua was fooled by the Gibeonites BECAUSE he failed to take it to the Lord in prayer!
» Then Joshua and his people had to LIVE with that mistake!
» Later, the Gibeonites were attacked, and because they were Joshua’s servants, Joshua was obliged to risk the lives of his men to defend them!
b. How many wrong steps have WE taken because we moved before we were sure it was the right thing to do?
» Sometimes the wrong steps we take in life have consequences that stick with us a long time… like the Gibeonites.
» How much better to ponder the path of our feet and make sure that our ways are established BEFORE we make a move!
3. Prov. 3:6 – in all our ways we are to acknowledge God and He will direct our paths. If the Lord will we will do this or that!
Turn not to the right hand nor to the left:
1. This is to be linked to verse 25. His eyes were to look straight ahead.
a. First he fixes his eyes on the goal, then he heads straight for it.
b. Like the plowman who cuts a straight row by keeping his eyes on a distant target… and walking straight toward it.
c. After one has set his goal, he is to aim for it—without swerving to the right or the left.
d. As a Christian, we are to set our eyes on the Lord and keep on walking straight toward Him. (Heb. 12:1-2)—looking unto Jesus—RUN!
e. When our eyes are focused on Christ in glory—when our affections are on things above—when we are constantly looking unto Jesus, then our walk will be on the straight and narrow…
2. Gen. 39:7-9 – Joseph PONDERED this step… and refused to turn to the right or the left.
a. He was tempted to lie with a beautiful woman…
b. BUT—he pondered this temptation—and thought about the ramifications.
c. He reasoned that it would be a real disgrace to his master… and after all, his master had treated him so well!
d. By being faithful thus far, he had done quite well. He had become steward over all in his master’s house, and there was none greater!
e. But most importantly, it would be a sin against God! (vs. 9c)
f. He pondered that step and decided to REFUSE! (vs. 8a)
g. Pondering the path of our feet will keep us out of a lot of trouble and will enable us to avoid a lot of heartache.
h.) David came across a similar temptation and did not ponder the path of his feet—and he paid dearly for it!
i. David chose to act on his feelings at the moment. Joseph chose to THINK first.
Remove thy foot from evil.
1. When one is genuinely concerned about his “ways”, he is going to turn away from evil in any form.
2. In walking on the straight and narrow, there will be some crosses to bear… suffering involved.
a. The temptation is always to step OFF the straight and narrow to avoid it.
b. But that always involves evil—it is evil to turn to the right or the left.
c. Solomon tells his son to remove his foot from evil—don’t take any steps that would involve sin—or lead toward sin. Stay away, even if there is a price to pay!
3. It is possible that if we choose to depart from the straight and narrow, and embark on a wrong path, others might imitate that evil!
a. Our actions can be a stumbling block to ourselves and to others who are watching.
b. Gal. 2:11-14 – Peter stepped out of line, and caused others to follow.
4. We should PRAY like David did that God would cause us to know the way to walk… (Ps. 143:8-10)
» Pray that we should KNOW where and how to walk. (vs. 8)
» Pray for deliverance from enemies and wrong paths. (vs. 9)
» Seek God’s will and the leading of the Spirit in every move we make. (vs. 10)
5. Prov. 5:21 – The Lord is pondering all of our ways and goings!
a. We had better do the same!
Proverbs 3:1-2
My Son, Forget Not My Law
FORGET NOT MY LAW
1. “My son…”
a. He begins with words of affection and love—for his own son.
b. The message is an exhortation given out of love. It is not a scolding or a rebuke, but an exhortation.
c. Others may neglect these words, but he wants his own son never to forget them!
d. In fact, one of the strongest motivations to remember these laws, is the family tie… they came from dad…
e. Nobody wants this son to succeed in life and do well more than the dad!
f. Ex: A car salesman may give you advice on selecting a car. That advice may not be coming from the purest of motives. He may or may not have your best interest in mind. BUT—when the advice comes from your father—his motives are pure. He wants the best for you!
2. “My law…”
a. The law here refers to the counsel, advice, and commandments this father (Solomon) gave to his son.
b. No doubt, Solomon spent many hours with his sons teaching them truth… teaching them the Scriptures… passing on lessons he learned from life… and from his mistakes…
c. The section almost sounds like the words of a father to his older son as that son is about to strike out on his own…
d. By way of application, we should note that the wisdom Solomon passes on to his son here is MORE than just fatherly advice—in the Bible it becomes divinely inspired fatherly advice!
e. Thus, we could apply Solomon’s words concerning his laws to his son to GOD’S LAW to us.
3. “Forget not my law…”
a. Forget: to forget, ignore, wither; to cease to care…
b. A young son striking out on his own is going to be tasting freedom… making decisions on his own… no more parental oversight…
c. The father warns him: Don’t forget what I taught you!
d. We too need to be reminded not to forget Gods’ Word!
• Prov. 4:5 – get wisdom—and don’t forget it! We CAN forget!
• Deut. 4:23 – Take heed that you do not forget the covenant of your God! The Jews often forgot!
e. The Psalmist was concerned about forgetting God’s law! Ps.119:93
• We should resolve NOT to forget God’s Law! They are life and revival to our soul!
• cf. 119:16, 109,141, 153,176
• It should be a concern to us too…
• HOW do we prevent forgetting God’s law? Fill our minds with it daily!
f. Prov.31:4-5 – Strong drink causes men to forget the law… and pervert judgment… discernment level decreases.
• Any kind of intoxicant can cause men to forget God’s law…
• Strong drink… drugs… worldliness… materialism… there are a lot of intoxicants out there…
• They all have the same effect—they blur the mind and reduce our level of spiritual discernment—and cause us to forget God’s law. (A good reason to stay away!)
g. That young man or woman NEEDS good training under their belt BEFORE they get to that place of freedom!
• Solomon taught his son… now he says, “Don’t forget it.”
• The fact that he says “Don’t forget what I taught you” implies that he DID teach him! Are we?
• That son is going to need his dad’s wisdom and advice.
• But the important point is to make sure that we as fathers are TRAINING our children… teaching them important lessons about life… teaching them principles from God’s Word…
• The NT gives this responsibility to the FATHERS! (Eph. 6:4)
• Sooner or later those young lives are going to be out on their own, facing the world system with all of its intoxicants designed to cause us to forget spiritual things…
• Solomon was concerned that his son FORGET NOT his law!
KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS
1. Keep = guard; observe;—hence,—obey.
2. Note that they are not to be kept in the head—but in the heart!
a. The heart is like the Ark of the Covenant in which the tablets of the law of God were stored and preserved.
b. The heart is the keeping place of God’s Word… or ought to be.
3. Ps.119:11 – thy word have I hid in my heart—that I might not sin!
4. Prov.4:4 – Let thine heart “retain” my words…
a. Retain = to grasp, hold, support, attain, lay hold of, hold fast; seize…
b. Does our heart grasp on to truth… hold it fast? We should!
c. ALL truth… ALL of God’s Word—the blessings and the cursings!
5. Deut.11:18 – lay up these words in your heart…
a. Vs.19 – and teach them to your children!
b. This is what Solomon did. He laid up the word in his own heart. Then, he taught it to his son—and pleaded with him NOT to forget it, but to lay it up in his heart too… treasure it… like laying up a treasure!
6. Throughout Proverbs, the HEART is the main issue. (Prov.4:23)
a. The heart is the first to wander away from the Lord…
b. The body may still be in church… but that is no guarantee that the heart has not wandered away.
c. It is so vital to KEEP the heart… guard it…
d. And how do we guard our heart? Keep it filled with God’s Word!
THE BLESSINGS OF REMEMBERING GOD’S LAW
A.) Length of Days and Long Life
1. Solomon tells his son that there is also a REWARD for keeping the Law… for obedience—a long and happy life!
2. This was considered the highest good to a Jew—a long and happy life. Who could ask for more? (Ps.34:12)
3. Cf. Prov.4: 10 – obey—and the years of your life shall be many!
4. Prov.9: 10-11 – the blessing of fearing the Lord is a long life! (cf. 10:27)
B.) Peace
1. Peace = shalom – has a wide range of applications—just as in English.
a. Shalom is usually translated peace—but it means more. It means something closer to “peace and prosperity… wholeness and health and harmony.”
b. “Shalom” as a saying is similar to the meaning of III John 2.
2. A long miserable life would not be much of a motivation to obey. But a long, happy life of peace sure is!
a. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow.
3. Ps.119:165 – those who love thy law have great peace. That makes life worth living!
4. Solomon makes it clear that the reward for obedience is not just the length of life, but the QUALITY of life –peace! Quantity time and quality time!
5. Living a life of obedience—with a pure conscience tends towards a happy, well adjusted, longer, happier life!
a. However, living in disobedience and rebellion—means living with a guilty conscience… and bearing that heavy burden on the soul day by day… God’s heavy hand upon your heart, weighing you down… is an unbearable burden! (Ps.32:3-4) David was miserable! His life was not characterized by SHALOM that year!
b. Cf. Ps.38:1-8 – another miserable point in David’s life!
c. That’s no way to live! Sin destroys the quality of our life…
d. A life of rebellion and disobedience is a life full of guilt, worry, anxiety, fear, despair, depression—and that will take its toll on anyone! It may even shorten your life!
e. Solomon wants something better for his son! God wants something better for me and you too!
Proverbs 3:3-4
Mercy and Truth
Introduction:
1. Solomon is giving his son words of wisdom to live by.
2. It is almost as if his son were about to strike out on his own. Dad wants to impress these important truths in his heart one last time.
3. First he tells his son never to forget the law… the truths that his father has drilled into his mind and heart. (vs.1)
4. Then he tells his son the results of taking heed to those truths = a long and peaceful life—rather than a short life in the fast lane that knows no peace!
5. In vs.3-4, he tells his son about the importance of two other virtues: mercy and truth.
TWO IMPORTANT VIRTUES: MERCY AND TRUTH
1. Mercy: goodness, kindness, loyalty; fidelity;
a. This term implies a good, kind, loyal, benevolent spirit…
b. One man defined this Hebrew term as “love and loyalty/faithfulness blended together… overlapping”
c. This Hebrew word is used in all 26 verses of Ps.136 (for His mercy endureth forever!)
d. The Good Samaritan is the one who showed “mercy.” He was the man who was loyal… kind… good… benevolent… (Luke 10:37)
e. This seems to be the spirit or the virtuous attitude that Solomon is trying to inculcate in his son…
• Prov.21: 1 – the one who follows after this kind of mercy will find life, righteousness, and honor! No wonder Solomon wants his son to remember mercy! He wants the very best for his son.
• Prov.14: 31 – Those who honor God will show mercy to the poor.
2. Truth: firmness, faithfulness, truth; sureness, reliability; stability, continuance; faithfulness, reliability;
a. This term means something solid… firm… reliable, and hence comes to refer to truth.
b. While it may connote truth in the objective sense–a body of doctrine from God—it seems to speak more of the virtue or quality of being TRUE…
c. A young man needs to be true… firm… stable… reliable…
d. He will need that quality with respect to his schooling… (steady; faithful).
e. He will need that quality with respect to his job—firm—reliable—steady—loyal.
f. He will need that quality as a husband—firm—stable—true to his wife.
g. He will need that quality as a father—a firm, steady, stable, man to uphold and guide and lead his family.
h. Many schools and universities have mottoes similar to what Solomon is challenging his son with here—virtue and truth!
i. This is almost a summary of everything that a father would teach his son throughout his life—all the lessons of life could be condensed into “virtue and truth.” It is like the book of Proverbs in a nutshell. Be true… be kind. Speak the truth in love.
3. The terms mercy and truth appear 10 times in the Old Testament.
a. Mercy and truth preserve the king. (Prov.20:28) Solomon’s son was the son of a king!
b. Mercy and truth purge iniquity! (Prov.16:6) It will purge both moral and doctrinal iniquity.
c. We may not be kings in this world, but we are kings and priests before God! A royal priesthood!
d. Mercy and truth will preserve us too… and will keep us from sin… purge sin out of our life.
e. A life dedicated to pursuing virtue and truth will be safe indeed! Safe from the many ills and troubles in life that sinful men fall into.
FORSAKE NOT; BIND THEM ABOUT THY NECK; WRITE THEM UPON THE TABLE OF THINE HEART (HOW TO TREAT THESE VIRTUES)
1. Forsake: to depart from, leave behind, leave, abandon.
a. Solomon admonishes his son not to allow mercy and truth to depart from his life… don’t let them depart from you…
b. Of course, it is not really that truth or mercy abandons men. Men abandon them!
c. This is the equivalent of saying, “Hold fast to mercy and truth!” Don’t ever let them go!
d. The point is that WE are the ones who slip away from showing mercy… and from the truth.
2. Bind them about thy neck!
a. Tie up; tie together; bind up… like a necklace.
b. If we tie them tightly around our neck, we will not depart from them.
c. His point is that we are to keep them near to our hearts. (like a pendant hanging from a necklace—figuratively speaking) (Prov.6:21)
d. Wearing them around one’s neck seems to imply more than the fact that they are near to one’s heart. It also implies that we are wearing them PROUDLY (in a good sense)—
• as one would proudly wear his school’s letter on his sweater…
• or as one would proudly carry the flag…
• or proudly wear a Red Sox hat…
• It speaks of not being ashamed. Solomon wants his son to be virtuous and true and not to be ashamed of it!
• In many circles it’s bad to be good. Solomon wants his son to know that it is good to be good!
e. Solomon tells his son to wear mercy and truth around his neck… and not to be ashamed to let others see it.
• Let your light so shine… (Matt.5:14-16) Don’t hide it under a bushel!
f. It may well also speak of the fact that when worn around one’s neck, they are always in view.
• Like frontlets before the eyes… (phylacteries)
• If mercy and truth are worn around one’s neck, it will be a constant reminder.
• Solomon wants his son always to REMEMBER them… keep them always before your heart and your mind’s eye.
3. Write it upon the table of your heart…
a. This speaks of making virtue and truth almost “second nature”!
b. Write it so indelibly in your heart that it IS your nature to show mercy… to be loyal and true…
c. This is language similar to that which God uses to describe what He does in our heart when saved.
• God writes his law in our hearts.
• Before, sin was engraved and deeply etched into our hearts.
• At salvation, God writes His law in our heart… so that it becomes our nature—our new nature—to obey.
d. Solomon wants truth and virtue to become second nature to his son.
• Good training does that. It etches right thinking and right behavior deeper and deeper into the heart of a child.
4. Solomon wanted mercy and truth worn around his neck (external) and written in his heart (internal).
a. This speaks of both an inner work and an outward demonstration of that inward work.
b. Solomon wanted these truths in his son’s heart… but he also wanted them demonstrated in his outward life…
c. Mercy and truth should be found in his inner life of mind and heart as well as in his outer actions!
SO SHALT THOU FIND FAVOUR AND GOOD UNDERSTANDING IN THE SIGHT OF GOD AND MAN
1. Vs.4 – Solomon tells his son here that IF he holds fast to mercy and truth and wears it around his neck… living it… THEN he will find favor before God and men. (if you do A above, then B will follow)
2. Mercy and truth will put you in good stead before both God and men.
3. Favor = acceptance…
4. Example: Joseph (Gen.39:2-4,21 – Joseph was true and virtuous… merciful. He continually found favor in the sight of God and men.
5. Example: Samuel (I Sam.2:26) Samuel was loyal, true, faithful, and was kind and merciful. God honors that. So do men.
6. As wicked as our world is—and perhaps even more so today—men acknowledge loyalty and virtue in a man. While many sneer and mock, deep down inside, they wish they had it!
7. Dan. 1:9 – Daniel was brought in favor before men. He too was loyal and true!
8. Luke 2:52 – this was also said of the Lord Jesus! He was certainly merciful and true!
9. Rom.14:18-19 – The believer who is sensitive not to needlessly offend others is showing mercy… he is being true and loyal to the Body of Christ. That brother will also find favor before God and men.
a. Some of these believers were binding TRUTH around their necks (they KNEW they could eat meat) but had forsaken virtue and kindness! They were destroying their brethren in the way they flaunted their exercise of truth.
b. Others may have had mercy, but were lacking in truth.
c. Paul exhorts the believers to demonstrate BOTH mercy and truth!
• Truth without mercy is cold orthodoxy.
• Mercy without truth is wishy-washy and easily led into sin and error.
• BOTH are essential.
10. When both are combined, it sends forth a powerful testimony!
11. Do you want friends? Do you want to find favor with men?
a. Prove yourself to be loyal… and kind… merciful… You will find favor with men!
12. Do you want to be a friend of God? Be loyal and faithful… practice mercy… and you will find favor with God too!
13. If we want this favor, WE MUST wear mercy and truth around our neck! That is OUR responsibility for the rest of our days!
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord
TRUST
1. Trust defined: trust in; to have confidence in, to be bold; to be secure.
2. Everyone has confidence in something.
3. Examples:
a. You have confidence that those 18-year-old metal chairs are going to hold you up. (They don’t always!)
b. We have confidence in the car that drove us here.
c. We had confidence that the food we ate tonight was not poison.
d. We are all demonstrating confidence that this roof will not cave in on us.
4. WHY do we trust the chairs, our cars, and this roof?
a. Because we have tried them and found them to be true… trustworthy.
b. We have tried them over and over again… with the same results.
5. In the physical world, we TRUST things every day to work… cars, planes, refrigerators, alarm clocks, banks, computers, food, etc…
6. When we TRUST something, we put it to good use…
a. We BOARD that plane that we trust will take us to our destination.
b. We DRIVE that car where we want to go.
c. We EAT that chicken… and enjoy it!
d. We SIT in the chair and rest comfortably.
e. We GET IN that elevator and it takes us to the right floor.
f. In reality, we are entrusting our LIVES to such things every day!
7. If we did NOT trust in those things… our actions would be quite different.
a. There are people who will not cross a bridge or fly or get on an elevator.
b. What we trust and don’t trust has a big impact on the way we live.
c. What or whom we trust affects what we do.
d. Our actions are thus largely based upon what we believe and what we trust.
e. Therefore, the foundational facts upon which we place our trust is VITAL!
• If you place your trust in an airplane that is unreliable, you could lose your life!
• If you place your trust in a bank that is about to fold, you could lose your shirt!
• If you trust your child in the hands of a babysitter who is not what she claims to be you could lose your child!
• If you place your confidence in the advice of someone who is dishonest, you could get trampled!
• If you trust a doctor to operate on you, he could make a mistake!
IN THE LORD
1. Solomon tells his son WHERE his trust is to be placed… a solid foundation that will never let him down… never fail!
2. All of the things mentioned so far involve men. (Machinery; advice; etc.)
a. That could malfunction… their advice could be lacking wisdom…
b. Sometimes things we trust in the world fail us… with or without malice.
3. But ultimately, our trust should be in the Lord.
a. We still have to board airplanes, eat food, and lie under the surgeon’s knife… but our confidence is to be in the Lord.
b. Sure—choose the best doctor you can; fly the airline you trust; eat only in restaurants you trust—but ultimately, we have to place our trust in God.
c. Men can and do fail us. God never does.
4. How is it that we are able to sit in these chairs with confidence? Because we have sat in them many times and they held us up… and we have sat in many other chairs that held us up. We have tried them… proved them… and found them to be true.
a. We are to trust God like this too. “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
b. Rom.12:2 – “proving” what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God!
c. We come to KNOW God. We have proven God’s Word and His will to be right… able… reliable… God has never failed us. We KNOW Him. We KNOW we can trust Him. He is tried and true!
d. There are not many things in life that are truly reliable. (Jobs; people; finances; health; plans we make—all are pretty “iffy”.)
e. But God is not like that. God is a SOLID ROCK. You can trust Him.
f. That is just what Solomon is communicating to his son.
5. The better we KNOW God… the easier it is to trust Him in all things!
a. The more we know men—the harder it is to trust them.
b. But God is not man that He should lie… neither the son of man that he should repent!
c. Ps.118:8-9 – It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
d. It is better to trust in God because He never lets us down!
e. How do we know that? Taste and see that the Lord is good! He’s better!
f. We have to KNOW God in order to trust in Him. You cannot trust someone you don’t know… someone about whom you know nothing!
g. The more we come to know the Lord, the easier it will be to TRUST Him in the time of storm!
WITH ALL THINE HEART
1. Solomon not only tells his son WHERE to place his trust but also HOW to place his trust: wholeheartedly
2. ALL thine heart means an UNDIVIDED heart.
a. Lots of people trust in the Lord—but not with ALL their heart.
b. The Samaritans trusted in the Lord… but they also trusted in Baal and Chemosh!
c. Jesus warns us about trusting in two masters! (Matt. 6:24)
• The eye (what we gaze at) should be single! (6:22)
• The opposite of a single eye is an evil eye! (6:23)
• Jesus describes a man whose eyes are looking in two directions… because his allegiance is divided…
• His allegiance to GOD is divided… he does not love the Lord or trust the Lord with his whole heart—just half his heart!
d. Ps.62:9-10 – Trust not in riches but in God. He is the One with real power!
3. With God it is all or nothing! He does not tolerate competition. He wants our heart… ALL of it.
a. He wants us to trust Him with ALL our heart…
b. He refuses to share allegiance with another.
c. If the Lord be Lord then serve Him… trust Him… and only Him!
d. I Kings 18:21 – How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.
e. Who or what do YOU trust? Is it the Lord? Do we trust Him with half our heart? ¾? Or with ALL our heart?
f. When we face a financial crunch… when we face bad news from the doctor… when we face opposition… our confidence and trust must be in God 100%.
AND LEAN NOT UNTO THINE OWN UNDERSTANDING
1. Riches and strength are enemies to putting our confidence in God. But intellectual pride is an even greater enemy to trusting in the Lord!
2. Solomon warns his son about intellectual pride: lean NOT on your own understanding!
a. Don’t think you are so smart! (This often plagues young people…)
b. Many young people know everything already. I did as a teenager.
c. Remember, it was pride of intellect that caused Lucifer to fall! (Ezek.28:17)
d. Pride was the “condemnation of the devil.” (I Tim.3:6) It is the reason many young people fall… “Who needs advice? I know everything!”
e. Trusting in SELF will keep us from trusting in the Lord. You can only have ONE master!
f. Prov.28: 26 – He that trusts in his own heart is a FOOL!
g. God has given us His Word to lead and guide and direct in ALL of our decisions in life.
• Anyone who departs from the wisdom of this book is a fool!
• Anyone who trusts in his own heart—wisdom—demonstrates that he does NOT trust in the Lord. That is folly.
• Ps. 147:5 – God’s understanding is infinite! How does our intellect compare?
h. Jer. 17:9 – our hearts are so deceitful, we cannot know them! How foolish to trust in a heart like that!
i. Mark 14:27-31 – The Lord said that ALL of them would be offended in Him. Peter—who trusted in his own heart—and was NOT trusting Christ said “Not me Lord!” Who was the first to forsake the Lord? Peter!
j. Jer.9: 23-24 – Let not the wise man glory (or trust) in his wisdom… but let him glory in the fact that he knows (relies upon) a God with infinite understanding!
• Who would you trust to invest all your hard earn savings? A man who is deceived or someone with infinite understanding?
• Who would you want to operate on you? Someone who is riddled with intellectual pride (I don’t have to study those medical books!) or a physician with infinite understanding?
• Doesn’t it just make SENSE to trust God?
k. Jer.10:23-24 – “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. 24O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.”
h.) In any decision we make—big or small—we need to examine it in light of God’s Word… we need divine guidance.
i. Unfortunately, many folks examine God’s Word in light of their own understanding… and their own understanding is given preference OVER God’s Word. Disaster!
3. Phil.3:3 – we are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh!
a. Paul knew better than to trust himself!
b. Trusting in the flesh… trusting in self becomes an idol… another master!
c. Jer. 17:5 – you cannot trust in SELF AND GOD! Cursed is the man who trusts in man!
d. Jer. 17:7 – BLESSED is the man who trusts in the Lord.
4. Either we walk by FAITH (trusting God) or we are walking by sight (trusting in that which we can see—the earthly, physical things—including self—human talents, riches, power, wisdom)
a. We can kind of stumble through our Christian life assuming we are walking by faith. A test will PROVE to us whom we are trusting!
b. Every day, we need to PRACTICE trusting God and NOT leaning on our own understanding.
Proverbs 3:6
Acknowledge Him
ACKNOWLEDGE GOD
1. Acknowledge: to know or to recognize… acknowledge…
2. The command is to acknowledge God. But HOW do we acknowledge Him?
a. We acknowledge God when we are conscious of His presence.
• The opposite would be to ignore Him… act as if He were not there.
• Ps.14:1-2 – the unbeliever does not consider God… he does not think about God… he does not acknowledge God. To him, there is no God!
• Rom.1:28–The wicked do NOT want to acknowledge God. They do not want to retain God in their thoughts… in their knowledge.
• Many men go to great lengths to block out any thoughts of God…
• For the sinner, thoughts of God make us responsible and accountable to Him! Unbelievers do not want to acknowledge that… hence, they do not want to acknowledge Him!
• If He’s there—even if we acknowledge His mere existence—then we are accountable to Him!
• Unbelievers do NOT acknowledge Him. We should!
• We SHOULD retain God in all our thoughts. We should be conscious of Him… of His presence in all of our choices and decisions in life.
• I Cor.10:31 – whatever we do—should be done with the consciousness of God… with concern for Him and His glory.
• Col.3:23 – all is to be done under the watchful eye of God—acknowledging that…
• Acknowledging God should have an effect on every part of our life!
b. We acknowledge God when we recognize who He is.
• He is everywhere… all knowing… all powerful. (Ps.139:1-12)
• These truths about God are to be acknowledged at all times.
• If we think a thought—acknowledge God’s omniscience!
• If we decide to go to a certain place, acknowledge God!
c. When we recognize who He is, we will reverence Him… fear Him…(Prov.23:7)
• Therefore, we walk humbly before Him… seek His will…
• We are to walk in the fear of God all day long… acknowledging Him…
d. When we acknowledge Him, we recognize His authority over our life.
• We acknowledge God when we are conscious of His Word… and restrict our actions accordingly.
• We acknowledge God’s authority over us by saying NO to things that appeal to our flesh… yet we know they are not pleasing to God.
e. When we give Him credit and glory, we acknowledge Him.
• Jas.1:17 – we acknowledge God when we recognize that every good gift is from Him ultimately!
• 2 Cor. 8:16 –Titus show concern and care for the Corinthian believers. Paul acknowledges that even that concern in his heart was from God!
• Ezra 7:27 – Ezra acknowledged that it was the Lord who put this in the king’s heart! GOD did that!
IN ALL THY WAYS
1. God is to be acknowledged in ALL of our ways.
2. WAYS: road, distance, journey, path; course of life (fig.)
a. In other words, God is to be acknowledged all through our journey here on earth.
b. God is to be acknowledged and considered in every way or direction our life takes. No turns are to be taken without acknowledging Him!
c. This would mean that we are to acknowledge God in every road we pursue… at every turn we take in that road…and each step along the way… in ALL thy ways…
d. God is to be left out of nothing!
e. Jer.10:23 – Jeremiah acknowledged that he needed God to direct his every move.
3. A good illustration of the opposite of this is found in Jas.4:13-15 – leaving God out of their plans. These men did NOT acknowledge God and His will in their plans.
a. They made good plans… but James rebukes them.
b. The rebuke is NOT for making plans, but for not acknowledging God in it all! (vs.15)
c. Does this sound like us? We make grandiose plans—and perhaps well thought out plans… but what about God? What does HE want us to do? Sometimes praying is the last thing we resort to—long after the plans are already made! We simply pray and ask God to bless what we have determined we are going to do. That is not acknowledging God.
d. In all of our steps… in all of our plans, we should acknowledge God! Don’t leave Him out!
e. Are you looking for a new job? Considering buying a new house? Thinking of changing careers? Thinking of serving in the choir? Considering quitting a ministry? Looking for a mate? A Pet? A new doctor? Thinking of putting up a church building? Let’s not leave God out!
f. Leaving God out invites disaster—and we may be led down the wrong road. These men THOUGHT they knew what to do. They thought they didn’t need to consult God or His will.
• Sometimes, we are like that. The way might seem so clear that it seems obvious to us what to do… so we forget to seek God’s face… no prayer!
• At other times, we have no idea of what to do… and therefore we seek God. (II Chron. 20:12) “We know not what to do but our eyes are upon thee…”
• BUT—our eyes should be on God at all times… we should seek when we don’t know what to do… AND when we THINK we know what to do.
• Don’t ever leave God out of your plans.
4. We acknowledge God in ALL of our ways, when God is on our mind and our heart at all times.
a. Neh. 2:4-5 – praying on your feet! Nehemiah was God-conscious all through his conversation with the king.
b. Are we God-conscious in our daily lives? We should be!
c. Matt. 10:29-31–We should acknowledge God in ALL events in life… see His hand in it all… every last bit. Not a sparrow falls… acknowledge that He is sovereign!
d. Ps.19:1 – the heavens declare the glory of God. Do we acknowledge Him when we look up in the sky? We should!
e. Rom.1:20 – the invisible things of Him are clearly seen. Do we acknowledge Him when we see His creation? God holds the whole WORLD accountable to acknowledge Him in creation. Do we as His sons?
f. Phil. 4:6- in EVERYTHING let your request be made known unto God. Acknowledge God and His will and His power in everything we do!
g. We are to acknowledge Him as Lord and Sovereign over every detail of life—no matter how small and insignificant it might seem.
AND HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATHS
1. God promises to direct our steps. BUT—there is a huge prerequisite. He expects us to acknowledge Him in EVERYTHING!
2. In other words, He will direct the overall path of our life IF we acknowledge Him every step of the way—and not take a step without Him!
3. If we start leaving God OUT of even the smallest decisions—we have no assurance that we will be led in the right direction.
4. Another way of stating this: IF we know God… and keep our mind and heart FULL of God… THEN God will direct our steps.
a. The better we know God—the more assurance we will have that we are headed in the right direction.
b. The better you know the road map—the better your chances of not getting lost!
c. God’s Word is our road map. KNOW God. Acknowledge Him and His will as recorded in the Bible. We will NOT lose our way!
d. Matt.6:22 – if thine eye be single (looking only unto Jesus) then the whole body will be full of light! We will not be lacking for light and guidance and direction from God! BUT—wholehearted, single-minded acknowledgement of God is required!
5. God WANTS our pathway to be clear and safe. Therefore He said, “Consult me in everything!”
a. God has plenty of wisdom… and He wants us to come to Him and seek it!
b. Seek it wholeheartedly! (Prov. 2:3-5)
c. If we need wisdom—and we DO—then come to God for it. Ask Him for it—He giveth liberally! (Jas.1:5)
d. God will give us the wisdom we need to walk down the pathway of HIS choosing.
e. Acknowledge Him as LORD… as the One who has the right to set our course… to change our direction… to command us to stop… turn… march… as our commander in chief! Acknowledge Him as Lord, and He shall direct thy paths!
Proverbs 1:1-4
Reasons for the Proverbs
To Know Wisdom and Instruction
1. It is quite amazing to think that the God who created the universe, would even care enough about us to stoop and cause a book to be written for us, to tell us how to live… what to pursue and what not to pursue…
2. First of all note that this book was written that we might KNOW something.
a. It was not written so that we might FEEL good… or feel warm… or feel anything.
b. It was written that we might PERCEIVE the words of understanding.
c. Solomon wrote that knowledge excelleth folly and ignorance as light excelleth darkness. Ignorance causes men to wander in darkness.
3. God wants us to KNOW wisdom
a. The term for wisdom in vs. 2 is used 37 times in this book!
b. It means skillfulness; the ability to use knowledge properly.
c. It is possible to have lots of instruction and information in our head, and yet not have the wisdom to put it into practice in our daily lives.
d. We have many brilliant men and women throughout our country who have mastered their field… specialists in computer science… specialized fields of medicine… masters of literature… and yet have not the wisdom to get along with their neighbor or maintain a healthy family life!
e. Knowledge isn’t enough. If it were, our generation would be doing just fine! Knowledge has doubled every year since 1955. We have more information and data than we know what to do with. But we do NOT have the wisdom to use it properly.
f. The world has plenty of knowledge and information—but by anyone’s standards: the world today is a mess!
g. Unfortunately, the man who wrote this book failed on this very point! Read the account of the end of Solomon’s life. What a warning to us!
4. God wants us to KNOW instruction
a. Instruction – this term is used 26 times in proverbs.
b. It is sometimes translated “chasten”. (Cf. 13:24 – chastening a son.)
c. It means to instruct by discipline.
d. Instruction or training is a form of discipline… discipline of the mind… and ultimately, when the truth sinks deeper, into the heart.
e. Like a father who loves his son, and therefore chastens him, so God wrote this book as part of our “instruction”… discipline… chastening…
5. God wants us to KNOW the words of understanding
a. This term has virtually the same meaning as our English term.
b. It might be translated “discernment.”
c. This kind of spiritual discernment is what WE need today more than anything!—the ability to approve things that are excellent—
d. God wants His people to be able to discern between right and wrong… holy and unholy… clean and unclean. The devil is doing his best to blur those lines of distinction today.
e. Let’s make this our prayer: that we would all be better able to perceive the words of understanding… grasp a discerning mind…
f. The decisions many believers make today reveals a dearth of discernment.
g. It is far better to be poor and discerning, than rich and lack discernment; It is far better to be sick and discerning, than healthy and lack discernment; It is far better to be lowly and discerning, than important and famous and lack discernment; It is far better to be a failure in the eyes of the world and discerning, than to be a worldly and lack spiritual discernment.
h. The book of Proverbs has been written to help us put things in order… to give us discernment in ordering our lives… arranging our priorities…
To Receive the Instruction of Wisdom, Justice, Judgment, and Equity
1. Receive: God wants the readers of this book to KNOW wisdom… to learn in their heads all these wise principles… but also to TAKE IT IN!
It is possible to memorize the words of wisdom—but never “receive” it inwardly.
Ex: You can give your son a lecture. Once lectured, he has your words of wisdom in his head. He heard you. But that is not a guarantee that he “received” them! He could be just politely nodding to all you say… and not taking any of it in!
2. The purpose of the book is not accomplished in our life—even if we have memorized the whole book! God’s purpose is that we would RECEIVE these truths… take them to heart… make them “yours”… make them your words to live by… not just a dry lecture from an ancient king!
3. This term for wisdom in verse 3 is a different Hebrew word than was used in verse 2.
a. Harry Ironside wrote that this term for wisdom comes from a root meaning “bereavement”…
b. He concluded that this term differed in that this term described learning from unhappy experiences… the hard way… either on your own, or through the unhappy experiences of others. (the school of hard knocks)
c. Proverbs records many unhappy experiences and the results of folly… the young man and the harlot; the drunkard; the sloth; etc…
4. How much better to learn “by means of God’s Word”!!!
a. Ps. 17:4 – “By the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.”
b. That is the best way to learn—by God’s word rather than by experiencing all that Proverbs warns about—sloth; greed; lust; etc.
c. We can gain wisdom about the dangers of drugs by trying them out and paying the price—or by listening to words of wisdom!
d. We can gain wisdom about the consequences of laziness by experience OR by taking heed to the words of wisdom in God’s Word!
e. Proverbs was written that we might RECEIVE this wisdom the easy way—by learning through God’s Word rather than having to learn the hard way all the time!
5. Unfortunately, Solomon learned many of these lessons the hard way—by experiencing the emptiness of following his own understanding…
a. He pursued many of the foolish things he warns us about in Proverbs!
b. He sought happiness through fun and parties and having a good time! (Ecc. 2:1-3)
c. He sought happiness through collecting great possessions. (Ecc.2:4,7-11) But it was all vanity!
d. Solomon pursued wisdom through experience… the hard way.
e. Proverbs is written that we might obtain wisdom the easy way—by taking heed to the inspired word of God!
f. RECEIVE this wisdom… take it in — just as if we had experienced all these things ourselves!
6. God wants the readers of Proverbs to “receive” the instruction of justice
a. Justice = righteousness; right kind of behavior; fair; just behavior
b. One learns in proverbs not to be a respecter of persons. The rich are not always right or kind. The powerful are not always wise. Treat people justly and fairly…
c. God wants us to TAKE IN these truths that deal with justice… into our heart, not just our head.
d. Make these truths that deal with justice OUR truth… words that WE live by…
e. Proverbs has a lot to say about being fair and just in our daily lives.
• Prov. 14:20 – Justice will keep us from being a respecter of persons… as such we will not treat the poor harshly…
• Prov.22.2 – the poor and rich are the same in God’s sight!
• Proverbs will keep us from all the ungodly biases and prejudices of the world. It will make us fair and just—if applied!
• 29:27 – Being “just” is a way of life = and one that will often be opposed. But that is the path God wants US to pursue!
7. Next, God wants the readers to “receive” the instruction of judgment
a. Judgment = the quality or ability to hear and decide a matter or a case fairly. This is the work of a judge. Every one of us needs to have this quality of good judgment.
b. Proverbs was written that we might learn to have good judgment. Far too many have poor judgment!
c. Proverbs has a lot to say about exercising good judgment…
• Prov. 18:17 – One with good judgment does not make up his mind on a matter after hearing “him that is first in his own cause.”
• Solomon demonstrated that when the two mothers came with their own version of who was the real mother of the child.
• Solomon showed good judgment. Proverbs can give US that kind of good judgment too… if applied.
• Jesus said, “Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
• We all make decisions every day. Decisions on all sorts of issues and matters. How we need good judgment in making all those little decisions… because when you string all those little decisions together—that IS our life… that IS the course of our life.
8. Next, God wants the readers to receive the instruction of equity
a. Equity = even; upright; level; honest.
b. The author talks about a “just weight”—honesty and equity in business dealings! (Prov.11:1)
c. Honesty with our tongues… honesty with God…
Note what the author is doing here:
He is mingling together moral qualities with intellectual ones.
• Wisdom and instruction for the head;
• But they must be accompanied by justice; judgment; and equity for the heart.
• A truly wise man is a godly man.
• Wicked men can use their intellect and craftiness for evil purposes.
• But a truly wise man uses his intellect for that which is righteous; and equitable… Proverbs was written that we might KNOW wisdom and RECEIVE it… and allow it to produce its fruit in our lives: justice; good judgment; and honesty—integrity!
• Time spent in Proverbs is time well spent!
• One man likened Proverbs to medicine or vitamins. You shouldn’t make it your complete diet—but we need a little every day!
Proverbs 3:9-10
Honour the Lord with Thy Substance
9HONOUR THE LORD
1. HONOR = TO BE WEIGHTY; TO BE HEAVY; TO HONOR;
a. There is a similar connection between weight and honor in English too.
• A man carries a lot of weight in town—he is important…
• His word carries a lot of weight around here—people highly esteem his opinion.
b. Originally it came from the fact that money was measured in weight. The more weight, the more value gold coins had.
c. Thus, the concept has to do with the value we place on something or someone.
2. Here, we are told to honor the Lord.
a. We are to value Him… give glory to Him.
b. We should esteem His word highly.
c. The Lord is the One we should value… highly esteem… glorify with our lives.
d. Imagine if there was an objective way to measure and assign everything in our life a certain weight? What would really have the most weight in your life? Imagine if there was a scale we could use to weigh the value we place on things… on pleasure… career… family… friends… money… on sports… etc? Which way would the scales tip?
WITH THY SUBSTANCE…
1. The particular WAY in which this honor is demonstrated is with material possessions.
a. Substance: wealth, riches…
b. Whatever substance we have comes from God anyway! (Jas.1:17)
c. Cf. I Chron. 29:11-16 –
d. Vs.11 – Everything in heaven and earth belongs to God
e. Vs.12 – Riches and honor come from God—God is sovereign in distribution
f. Vs.13 – He is to be thanked and praised
g. Vs.14 – the only reason we are able to give is because we have received from God!
h. Vs.15 – our time on earth is fleeting away
i Vs.16 – all the good saved to build the Temple came from God’s hand anyway!
2. We are to honor Him by sacrificing our material possessions to Him and His service.
a. Thus, there is a link between the concept of honor “weighty” and possessions or money, that which is “weighed.”
b. If you were buy a ticket to see the Boston Symphony Orchestra or Red Sox, you pay top dollar. You could see a AA team for $4! You can hear Salem High band for free. But to see a team or orchestra that has much weight—highly esteemed—you must pay a weighty price!
c. I Tim.5: 17-18 – double honor refers to remuneration for their labors. Their pay is a form of showing honor for the work they do.
d. Thus, we see a link between honor, weight, and giving.
3. Giving to God is one way to honor Him…
a. It shows how much weight we assign to Him…
b. It demonstrates how much we value Him…
c. It demonstrates that we value Him more than earthly possessions…
d. There is a link between our giving and the value we ascribe to God.
• We are not talking about the # of dollars given.
• Rather, it has to do with the degree of sacrifice!
4. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He doesn’t need anything.
a. But when we sacrifice in order to give to Him, it is a form of worship.
b. It shows Him what we think of Him.
c. Luke 21:1-4 – this poor woman honored God more than others who gave many more “dollars” than she did. God measures the honor given Him according to the degree of sacrifice involved.
d. Matt. 6:1-4 – Some men gave lots of money, but did so in such a way so as to be seen of men. Their real goal was not to honor the Lord, but to honor themselves!
e. Our giving should have as its goal the honor and glory of God! (It is far more than paying the mortgage, salaries, and electric bill of the church).
AND WITH THE FIRST FRUITS OF ALL THINE INCREASE:
1. Firstfruits – the first fruit on the vine or the tree.
a. It was a special fruit—the first one! Highly prized—like a firstborn son.
b. It was tantamount to giving the “best.”
c. The firstfruit also implied that after the first fruit, there were more to come. Offering the firstfruit to God was a way of showing that it ALL belongs to Him. The firstfruit also represented the whole.
2. God doesn’t want us to give second best. He was our firstfruit…
a. Mal. 1:6 – God laments because His children were not giving Him the honor He deserved.
b. Vs.7 – they demonstrated what they thought of Him by offering polluted bread on the altar—something that had gone moldy and had no value.
c. Vs.8 – they offered sacrifices that were blind, or lame and sick. God was not impressed!
d. Vs.13 – they were tired of offering sacrifices to God and began to offer Him the leftovers—something that had little value—because they did not value God!
e. Vs.14 – God wanted them to know that He was a great King and deserved their best—not their leftovers.
3. Increase – The increase is in contrast to the “substance” which is already in their possession.
a. We are to honor God with the “substance”—that which we already possess.
b. We are also to honor God with any “increase” He sends our way.
c. When God sends an increase to us, it is only right and fitting to express thanksgiving, and to show honor and respect to Him by giving back to Him from that increase.
d. It is a way to acknowledge that we realize that it came from Him.
10SO SHALL THY BARNS BE FILLED WITH PLENTY, AND THY PRESSES SHALL BURST OUT WITH NEW WINE.
1. This verse records the RESULT of honoring God sacrificially: God will supply all your needs!
2. Caution should be used in interpreting this passage.
a. There is a big push today in what is called the “gospel of success.”
b. It is found primarily in charismatic churches. They believe that God wants us all to be healthy and now, wealthy too!
c. Bible verses are YANKED out of their contexts to support their claims.
d. They wrongly assume that passages that promise physical blessings to Israel apply to the church.
e. Example: Deut.28:1-6 – physical blessings for obedience.
• This is not a promise to us!
• Jesus obeyed His Father, and had not a place to lay His head!
f. Example: II Cor.8:9 – He became poor that ye through His poverty might be rich!
g. Example: Matt.6:12 – and forgive us our debts… (Bring your bills and tear them up! We are going to have a debt forgiving.)
h. Have you ever wondered why there is such a market in Christian circles today for Larry Burkett’s books… with an inordinate emphasis on money?
3. The passage in Prov.3:10 does NOT give us the MOTIVE to give (so that we will get). Rather, it gives us a PROMISE in giving… that when we give sacrificially, God will provide for our needs!
a. Some charlatans I have heard on the radio have suggested that God will give you threefold if you give to his ministry. (Give 100 and God will give you 300!)
b. What is the motivation in giving? GREED!
c. They have turned the whole concept of giving around. Instead of a sacrifice, it becomes a means of getting more for self!
d. Instead of an investment in eternity, they see it as an investment in the here and now! It is giving in order to get! It is self oriented.
e. In the Bible giving is an investment in eternity. We give sacrificially—we turn over riches in this life that we might have riches in heaven. That is based on faith and grace.
• II Cor. 9:6 – the farmer that hoards his seeds and wants to keep it all now, is really a fool.
• He needs some “long range vision.” If he scatters his seed now, much later, he will have a large harvest… with many MORE kernels of corn!
• Long range investments pay off. The application is to the believer giving sacrificially and generously today—and in heaven he is richly rewarded! Long range planning is wisest and best.
f. The PROMISE found in this passage is that if we give sacrificially to God, He will provide all of our needs. We will have plenty in our barns to meet our needs.
g. This promise is similar to that found in Col. 4:14-19
• Vs.14-16 – The Philippians gave sacrificially to Paul that he might preach the gospel.
• Vs.18 – their sacrificially giving was well pleasing to God.
• Vs.19 – Because of their sacrificially giving, they have assurance that God would provide for their needs…
• The promise is NOT given to selfish, greedy believers who are seeking financial gain. Rather, it is given to those who are already giving sacrificially.
4. If we are giving SO THAT God might bless us, our motive is wrong.
a. God MAY bless us if we give generously. But our giving should not be done that we might get.
b. Rather, our giving should be gracious… selflessly… sacrificially… and for God’s glory. God knows those who are giving for selfish reasons and those who are giving for His glory.
c. God honors those who honor Him.
5. I Kings 17:8-13 – Elijah told this poor woman to take her last meal, and feed him with it first!
a. It sounds quite selfish and not very manly of Elijah. BUT—this was really a test from the Lord.
b. Vs.14 – it came with a promise from that her oil and wheat would not diminish.
c. Vs.15 – she obeyed…she gave sacrificially by giving to God’s prophet first. She put God first—others first—and God provided for her needs.
d. Vs. 16 – and God kept His promise!
Proverbs 3:11-12
The Chastening of the Lord
11MY SON, DESPISE NOT THE CHASTENING OF THE LORD;
1. Chastening: discipline, chastening, correction
a. The term refers to a type of correction that leads to education.
b. Used in Lev.26:18 – “punish”. But note the PURPOSE of the punishment:
• Vs.19 – Break the pride of your power
• Vs.20 – Demonstrate the vanity of trusting in your own strength—the vanity of independence from God.
• Vs.23 – To reform our ways—correct us—straighten us out…
c. Deut.8:1-5 – The wilderness experience was a 40 year period of chastening—as a Father does with his son.
• Vs. 2 – chastening is designed to humble man; and prove to us what we are like.
• It is a teaching tool…
• Vs. 3 – the chastening was designed to teach man that He needs God’s Word more than earthly goods…
• Vs. 5 – They were to know and consider in their hearts, the significance of the fact that Jehovah was disciplining them! (Do you know that? Do we consider it? Life is God’s university.)
• When the 40 years of chastisement were over, God wanted them to CONSIDER what had happened. Ponder what God did… that they might learn the lesson and not forget it!
• A loving father will chasten his son his whole life through. (Not endless spankings—but endless lessons to be learned…)
• God chastens us to keep us humble… to keep us obedient (vs. 2c) and to teach us our need for Him and His word.
• These are lessons we will never stop learning and relearning in this life.
2.) There are several illustrations of this truth in the Bible:
a. God is a Husbandman who prunes His vine branches (John 15)
b. God is a Father who corrects His sons
c. God is a Potter who removes the lumps from the clay
d. God is a Refiner who seeks to remove the dross from the metal
e. God is a Builder who has to cut, chip away at, and polish the stones He uses in the building.
3. Lessons from the illustrations. They all teach similar truths.
a. We all have need of endless correction… none are sinless.
b. God is the Teacher…Craftsman… we have a good Teacher.
c. God’s purpose is to change us and improve us—not hurt us.
d. The chastisement DOES hurt… but it is good for us. (Ps. 39:10-11)
e. The work will never be finished in this life.
4. Despise – refuse; reject; resist; it does not refer to a passive, inner “hatred”… but rather implies an active resistance.
a. It makes no spiritual sense to resist God working in us.
b. He is changing us—and making us more like Himself.
c. It is silly for the branch to resist the work of the Husbandman—His purpose is to make the branch MORE fruitful!
d. It is silly for the clay to resist the Potter. He is transforming a useless piece of clay into a masterpiece of craftsmanship that displays the glory of the Craftsman!
e. It is silly for the gold to resist the Refiner. The Refiner is purifying the gold… removing the dirt and dross… making it more valuable.
f. Yet, we DO resist.
• We get mad when things don’t go our way—when we should rejoice, knowing that the trial of your faith worketh patience!
• We get frustrated at our failures and foibles, when we should rejoice—realizing that when we recognize our weakness, then are we strong!
• God sometimes sends health problems, poverty, rejection, and failure our way so that we will lean on HIM—and not on our own understanding and strength.
• These trials and difficulties are often the chastening of the Lord… to humble us… keep us dependent… strong.
• And dare we resist?
5. Solomon exhorts his son (and us!) NOT to resist the work God wants to do in his life.
a. Jer.2: 30 – that was the problem in Judah. God was chastening them, but they refused to respond! (Cf. Jer.5:3; 7:28; 17:23)
b. Judah’s behavior is a warning to us. She refused the chastisement of the Lord—and the result was the Babylon captivity! 70 years in exile!
c. One way or another, God knows how to MAKE us respond to Him. If we refuse to respond to the lesser forms of chastisement, He knows how to heat up the oven.
NEITHER BE WEARY OF HIS CORRECTION:
1. Be weary: abhor, weary, loath, distressed, vex, grieved
a. The term refers to a deep emotional reaction issuing in a repulsion of the object.
b. The word is used to describe God’s feelings toward the ungodliness among the Canaanites… and to describe His feelings toward idolatry.
c. Num. 21:5 – It was used to describe Israel’s feelings towards the prolonged feeding upon the manna. They loathed it! They were tired of it… sick of it… They didn’t want it any more.
d. That seems to be the meaning of the term in Prov. 3: 11.
• We are warned NOT to grow sick and tired of the Lord’s chastening.
• We should expect it the rest of our lives.
• Trials and troubles CAN seem to linger on an on… difficulties and disappointments and discouragements never seem to end…
• We CAN even begin to hate it… loath chastening.
• But isn’t that the way children behave? They loath the punishment they receive.
• Rarely does a child really appreciate being chastened by his parents.
• Too often they complain, murmur, chafe, resist, and hate it.
• Thus, they are not learning the lesson… and may need to experience the chastening for a LONGER period of time… or more severe discipline.
• Rather than loath it, we should see it as an example of the love of God. He is reminding us that we belong to Him! He chastens out of love.
2. Job began to FAINT at God’s chastening. (Job 6:1-10)
a. He began a morbid brooding over his situation… dwelt upon it.
b. Even so much he wanted to die. (He was not the only godly man who ever had such thoughts! So did Elijah!)
c. Job became weary of His chastening.
d. David too became weary of God’s chastening. (Ps. 38:1-8)
e. Perhaps you have been there too. It is GOOD to be brought low by the Lord. It is DANGEROUS to brood over it… or to REFUSE to be comforted, like Rachel … and like Asaph (Ps. 77:2)
3. Solomon tells his son neither to RESIST the chastening of the Lord… nor to RESENT it. Instead, he should learn to appreciate it.
12FOR WHOM THE LORD LOVETH HE CORRECTETH; EVEN AS A FATHER THE SON IN WHOM HE DELIGHTETH.
1. In verse 12, Solomon gives his son the REASON why he should not resist but appreciate the chastening of the Lord: it is a sign that the Lord loves you!
a. Can’t you just envision this father telling this to his son.
b. No doubt Solomon wanted his son to realize that whatever chastening he received from him was an expression of love too!
2. When a father corrects his son, it is for the GOOD of his son… and an expression of the father’s love.
a. The same is true of a coach. A good coach will constantly be pointing out picky little things that his players are doing wrong… that need to change. But he does so for their good and the good of the team!
b. A good piano teacher will be constantly correcting a student…
c. The student, or athlete or son who understands this… and responds positively is going to excel.
d. It is never easy to be criticized or corrected. But it is a mark of wisdom to be mature enough to take it.
e. Solomon is REASONING with his son. He wants his son to respond properly to the correction of the Lord. Knowing WHY God chastens will make a positive response easier.
3. You young children—it is hard to be chastened by your parents, isn’t it. But did you know that it is just as hard for your parents to receive correction from the Lord?
a. Even when you grow up and are no longer under the authority of your parents, chastening never ends… correction never ends.
b. Solomon wanted his son to know that. But now, it is no longer DAD who is doing the chastening. It now comes directly from the Lord!
4. We need to know that chastening is GOOD for us.
a. Heb.12:10 – for our profit… that we might again be a partaker of his holiness!
b. Heb.12:11 – Afterward, it yields fruit… and fruit results in joy. (Like the husbandman pruning and bringing forth much fruit!)
c. Heb.12:12-14 – If God chastens, benefit from it! Don’t grow weary of it… discouraged… but say THANK YOU LORD and get on in your pursuit of good things!
d. Prov. 3: 13 – HAPPY is the man that finds wisdom—even this wisdom!
e. Solomon wanted his son to learn what the Psalmist learned…that it is GOOD to be afflicted by the Lord!
• Psalm 119:67 –to become obedient to His Word!
• Psalm 119:71 – to learn His statutes more deeply!
• Psalm 119:75 – learn of God’s faithfulness to us!
Proverbs 3:13-15
Happy is the Man
13Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
1. Happy = blessed; it is often used as an interjection. (O how happy is…)
2. The term is used 25 times in Psalms. (Ex – Ps.1:1 – blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly…)
3. Prov. 8:1-3 – Wisdom cries out to all who will hear… as in ch.1
a. Vs. 32 – Blessed is the one who keeps her ways… practices wisdom.
b. Vs. 34 – Blessed is the man who HEARS wisdom speak… watching daily… (Seeking to hear and learn more…)
c. Prov.8:36 – Whoever rejects wisdom will NOT be happy. He is sinning against his own soul… wronging himself!
d. Ex: the young boy who refuses to do his homework against the wisdom laid down by his father. He is only hurting himself! He is the one who will pay in the end…
e. Ex: wisdom says, “Obey God and you will experience blessedness; happiness.”
f. It is the fool who says that obeying God and walking the straight and narrow is boring. The fool will pay for his folly eventually.
g. The fool says, “I won’t be happy until I break away from God and do my own thing. God is too restrictive. I can’t be happy if I follow Him!”
4. Solomon has already described some of the “happiness” or “blessedness” associated with following divine wisdom.
a. 3:4 – you will find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man!
b. 3:8 – health! Follow divine wisdom will keep a man or woman away from dangerous lifestyles. God’s wisdom leads to purity—you won’t have to worry about sexually transmitted disease. You won’t worry about cirrhosis of the liver if you follow God’s wisdom and stay away from strong drink!
c. 3:10 – Following God’s wisdom will bless you with having your needs all met.
d. 3:2 – long life too!
e. Remember, these are proverbs—not promises in each and every case. But over all, the one who follows God’s wisdom will be BLESSED.
• Wisdom will keep him from doing foolish things that could result in disease, loss of friends, or an early death.
5. Blessed is the man that finds wisdom and gets understanding!
a. This kind of wisdom is God’s wisdom.
• Man must get or find it. We do not have this kind of wisdom in ourselves.
• This wisdom comes only from God—not the wisdom of the world.
b. What a stark contrast between divine wisdom which results in happiness and the wisdom of the world which sometimes results in grief! (Ecc.1:18)
c. How do we find it? Is it lost? Is it hiding?
d. It is found recorded in God’s word. It is available for all of us.
e. BUT—not every believer actually finds it! Many believers demonstrate by the foolish decisions that they make that they do not have this wisdom!
f. It is not because they CANNOT find it. It is because they WILL NOT find it.
g. We have 66 books of Divine wisdom in our Bibles. How much time do we spend getting spiritual understanding? It’s there for the finding… but we have to open the book and READ it!
h. If we are going to GET this wisdom or FIND it—it requires diligence! (Prov.2:1-4 – seek divine wisdom as gold diggers seek gold!)
i. BLESSED is the man who finds it! There is no blessing upon the man who watches TV… or who golfs… or skis… or puts around in his workshop on his hobby. But there is a blessing upon the one who finds wisdom!
j. You want some blessing in your life? Get into God’s Word!
k. Revelation 1:3 – Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
l. GETTING God’s wisdom means more than memorizing a verse. It means OBEYING the wisdom learned! BLESSED is that man in his DEED. (James 1:25)
14For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
1. Solomon wrote these words. He is preeminently qualified to speak on this subject. He had unimaginable wealth!
a. I Kings 9:26-28 – Solomon had gold shipped to him from all over the world… the world’s finest gold! (10:14-15)
b. I Kings 10:4-7 – This queen had her breath taken away by the extravagant wealth of Solomon! She was also taken in by his famous wisdom!
• She noted that even his servants were happy- they hear of his wisdom! (10:8)
• 10:23 – Solomon exceeded all kings of the earth in wisdom and wealth.
c. II Chron.9:20-28 – a brief overview of all the wealth brought to Solomon yearly. He was rich!
2. When Solomon spoke to his son and said that the merchandise of wisdom is better than that of gold or silver—he knew what he was talking about!
a. He was talking under divine inspiration—AND—experience!
b. In his official dealings with kings and princes of foreign lands, he no doubt came in contact with some very wealthy men. Not all wealthy men are wise. Many are quite foolish.
c. To become a king, all one had to do was to be the firstborn in the right family. That was no guarantee of wisdom!
d. No doubt Solomon knew some wealthy men who were foolish in their ways.
e. By observing Solomon came to realize that wisdom is better than wealth!
3. Merchandising = profitable
a. It is more profitable to have wisdom than gold and wealth.
b. It is even more profitable in a financial sense… on a purely materialistic sense—it is more profitable to have wisdom.
c. Which would you prefer?
• A million dollars and no wisdom? (eager to buy the Brooklyn Bridge?)
• OR no money, but the wisdom to earn a million $ a year?
d. On the news the other day they had a story about a man who won megabucks and was now in debt over his head. He lost it all gambling—and he even spent money he didn’t have!
e. It would make for an interesting book—to write about the lives of common people before and after they became instant millionaires through the lottery. Some of them would be pretty sad stories.
4. Even for the worldling—wisdom is more profitable than gold. But especially for the believer!
a. A believer might successfully accumulate wealth, but what profit is it if in the process, he loses his family? (divorce or neglect)
b. A believer might successfully accumulate wealth, but what profit is it if it causes you to forget God? (Deut. 8:11-14)
c. A believer might successfully accumulate wealth, but what profit is it if he ruins his health in the process and cannot enjoy it? (Ecc. 6:1-2)
d. A believer might successfully accumulate wealth, but what profit it is if he can’t even sleep at night worrying about it? (Ecc. 5:12)
e. A believer might successfully accumulate wealth, but what profit is it if when he stands at the Bema, he has no true riches? (Matt. 6:19)
5. Wisdom will NEVER allow us to put making money above the spiritual needs of his family… nor will he allow making money above God… nor will wisdom allow us to put earthly treasures above heavenly treasures…
a. WISDOM knows how to prioritize.
b. Wisdom knows what is really valuable.
c. The wise believer will realize that obtaining God’s wisdom is more valuable from eternity’s perspective than obtaining gold, silver, and rubies in this life.
15She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
1. In fact, wisdom is more precious than rubies or ALL THE THINGS you could ever desire or want or imagine!
2. There is nothing that can even qualify to be put in the same category as wisdom! She is in a class by herself.
3. Paul demonstrated this in the choices he made. He practiced this truth!
a. Col. 2:3 – in Christ are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
b. Phil. 3:4-8 – Paul left a lucrative position in Judaism behind in order to pursue the knowledge of God in the person of Jesus Christ! He chose wisdom over earthly wealth and success. He is our example today.
c. Paul knew that what he left behind was not even to be compared to the knowledge of God—the wisdom of God in Christ that he found! By way of comparison, he said they were like dung!
d. The things of this world cannot even be compared to the knowledge of God… God’s wisdom…
4. If we really BELIEVE this, then it will affect the decisions we make.
a. Paul believed it—and he left his earthly success behind and CHOSE Christ.
• In one sense, Paul TRADED his earthly success for the knowledge of God.
• Solomon said the “merchandising” of wisdom is better than the merchandise of gold.
• Merchants trade and swap their goods. Paul made a good trade.
• Often we make terrible trades… lousy decisions… horrible choices.
b. If we really believe this, we too will CHOOSE Christ and the knowledge of God—Divine wisdom over the things of the world that seem so valuable.
c. Paul PRACTICED this kind of wisdom. HAPPY is he who gets wisdom!
d. Earthly success would not have provided Paul with happiness.
e. Half hearted seeking does not result in this kind of happiness. God’s wisdom must be sought with all the enthusiasm and vigor that men exert in digging for gold—for what we are looking for is far more valuable! It deserves at least that much effort to find!
Proverbs 3:16-20
Benefits of Wisdom
Introduction:
1. Solomon has been teaching his son about the importance of Divine wisdom.
2. This isn’t the kind of wisdom you get at Harvard or on the street. This is God’s Wisdom—recorded in His Word. Much of this kind of wisdom is ridiculed at Harvard and on the street.
3. Solomon just told his son that wisdom is more valuable than silver and gold. (vs.14)
4. It is the source of true happiness. (vs.13)
5. He continues to instruct his son concerning the value of God’s wisdom.
16Length of days is in her right hand…
1. Wisdom is personified as a woman offering gifts to all who will listen to her.
2. First, she offers “length of days.” (a long life)
3. Keep in mind that these are Proverbs—truth crystallized into one little gem. They were never intended to cover each and every possible situation.
a. For example, if a man dies at the age of 20, that does not necessarily mean that he was foolish or did not employ God’s wisdom.
b. And if a man lives to be 95, that does not necessarily mean that he is wise.
c. Many fools live to a ripe old age… and many wise men die young (like the Lord Jesus!)
4. The proverb means that, generally speaking, if a man violates the principles of wisdom… he may well be endangering his life perhaps cutting it short.
a. Ex: if you want to ignore God’s Words of wisdom (obey man made ordinances) and speed down route 93 at 100 miles an hour—you may well cut your life short! That kind of folly tends to shorten one’s life!
b. Ex: if you want to indulge in drinks or drugs—and ignore the wise warnings in God’s Word of wisdom—you may make yourself sick, addicted, or wind up dead! (Prov. 23:29-30,34,35)
c. Ex: If you want to ignore God’s words of wisdom concerning the strange woman and indulge in illicit sexual activity—you may well be cutting your life short. (Prov.5:1-5)
d. God’s wisdom says, stay where it is safe. The fool wants to skate on thin ice… live life on the edge. That kind of behavior may result in a life cut short.
e. Solomon wrote, “A soft answer turneth away wrath.” Practice this and you are less likely to become a victim of road rage! Shout back at someone on the highway—an uncontrolled tongue—could result in a short life!
f. But Lady Wisdom has “length of days” in her hands—offering it to those who follow her!
And in her left hand are riches and honor
Riches…
1. She has long life in one hand. In her other hand she is offering us riches and honor.
2. Solomon just said that wisdom is far better than riches. (vs.14-15)
3. He is not contradicting himself in the next verse.
a. Rather, he is simply stating that although wisdom is far better than riches, wisdom often results in riches.
b. Again, remember that this is a proverb—not a promise. Not every wise person is going to have riches. Some wise people are quite poor—like the Lord Jesus. Nor does it mean that every wealthy person must have Divine wisdom. That is hardly the case.
4. Solomon means that when a person employs the principles of wisdom to his life, it will tend to cause him to prosper. When a person abandons the principles of wisdom, it tends to bring poverty.
a. God’s wisdom exalts diligence and hard work. (Prov. 10:4; 12:11; 13:4)
• This diligence goes for the student in school; the child at home doing his chores; and for the worker in the plant or office.
b. Wisdom also exalts honesty. The one who obtains money by dishonest means usually loses his wealth…
• The fool attempts to get his riches the easy way—usually by some dishonest means…stealing, cheating, etc.
• Prov.28:22 – He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.
• Prov.13:11 – Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.
• It is the fool who tries to attempt to obtain riches by a manner other than the way of wisdom. It often results in poverty.
Honor…
1. Lady wisdom offers HONOR to all who hear her and obey.
2. 4:7-8 – Embrace lady wisdom and she will promote you and bring you to honor!
3. 8:12,18 – riches and honor are with me!
4. 22:4 – true wisdom teaches us to FEAR GOD! That will in turn bring honor!
a. True wisdom also teaches us to be humble. That will in turn bring honor!
b. 15:33 – before honor is HUMILITY. Wisdom instructs us to humble self. Folly tells us to exalt self. If we want to be honored, we have to follow Lady wisdom’s advice!
c. Prov. 5:8 – Wisdom demands PURITY. The fool runs into the strange woman and in doing so gives away his honor! He has lost it!
d. Prov. 21:21 – if we follow after RIGHTEOUSNESS we will have honor. Lady wisdom demands that we pursue righteousness.
e. Lady Wisdom demands that we be God fearing, humble, pure, and righteous. THAT is the way to honor!
f. One does not become honorable by seeking honor for himself. Rather, he obtains honor by seeking righteousness, purity, humility, and by fearing God!
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness…
1. Pleasantness = kindness, delightfulness, beauty, favour
2. Again, this is a proverb. This does not mean that if we practice wisdom life will be nothing but blue skies and good cheer all our days.
3. But it does mean that by following the advice of Lady Wisdom, life will be so much more pleasant!
4. It will keep us off dead end streets… away from sins that will eat away at us…
5. There is a sense of joy and satisfaction that comes from doing what is right and wise. That is pleasant to the soul.
6. The devil would like nothing more than to convince men and women that if you follow God’s narrow path of wisdom, life will be boring… you will be miserable… unhappy… Not so! Her ways are the ways of pleasantness and peace!
7. Ps.1:1 – Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful!
8. Ps.19:11- there is a great reward to hearing God’s Word of wisdom and keeping it. The reward is a blessed, pleasant life—free from all the troubles and snares that folly brings.
9. The world knows nothing of Christianity. It’s only religion. Religion lays heavy burdens on souls. It gives men much to DO, but nothing to enjoy. But Christ frees us from sin, and gives us all things richly to enjoy! The world cannot imagine spiritual pleasures… reading the Word… fellowship… singing praises…
10. The world knows nothing of being totally satisfied in Christ or the joy of the Lord.
And all her paths are peace…
1. Peace = completeness, soundness, welfare, peace; tranquility
2. The person who follows Lady Wisdom will have so much more peace in personal relationships.
a. Prov.15:1 – a soft answer turns away wrath. Instead of wrath, wisdom enables you to defuse situations that could potentially disturb the peace!
b. Prov. 28:25 – some people are constantly stirring up strife and trouble. They seem to thrive on it. Wisdom teaches us how to avoid it.
c. Ps.119:165 – great peace have they that love thy law! God’s Word is God’s Wisdom in print. It is a great source of peace!
3. You can tell God’s wisdom from the world’s wisdom. God’s wisdom is pure and peaceable. (Jas. 3:14-17) The world’s wisdom is full of strife.
4. This means true peace. It does not involve compromise over the truth. He is talking about interpersonal relationships… not doctrinal issues.
5. When it comes to the truth, we are engaged in an unending battle. But in our dealings with people on a day to day basis, we are to be peacemakers. That is the way of wisdom.
6. The world would never give the kind of wise counsel we find in the Scriptures: turn the other cheek; suffer yourself to be defrauded; bless those that curse you; overcome evil with good!
7. Wisdom provides not only length of days (quantity) but pleasantness and peace (quality).
18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her:
1. Wisdom is A tree of life… not THE tree in the Garden of Eden.
a. THE tree of life was created to preserve life… eat of it and live forever.
b. Wisdom is LIKE a tree of life. It provides continual preservation and protection for us in our spiritual life.
c. Wisdom enables us to MAINTAIN our spiritual life…
d. Col. 2:7 – We need to be rooted and built up in Him… for HE is the source of all wisdom. (vs.3)
2. It is a tree—a continual source of life to those who lay hold upon her.
3. As an apple tree provides apples to those who lay hold of them… so too wisdom provides her fruit continually to those who will come by and lay hold.
And happy is every one that retaineth her.
1. Once again, Solomon states that the one who retains this kind of divine wisdom is a happy or a blessed man!
2. If you want a happy blessed life—then dig into God’s Word and begin to practice the principles of wisdom found therein! That is the real key to happiness… the only way.
3. Get it—and don’t ever let go! (Prov. 4:5)
19 The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath He established the heavens. 20 By His knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.
Proverbs 3:21-24
Keep Sound Wisdom
1. Another “my son” section begins in vs.21.
2. Here, Solomon gives his son a new line of advice.
a. It is quite similar in theme to what he has been saying for the last couple of chapters, but there is a significant difference as well.
b. He has been advising his son to obtain wisdom throughout the book.
• 2:2 – incline your heart to obtain wisdom and understanding
• 2:4 – seek after wisdom like silver or a hidden treasure.
• 3:13 – you will be happy if you FIND wisdom or GET understanding.
• Thus far, he has been advising his son to OBTAIN wisdom… at any cost—get it!
c. Now Solomon advises his son to KEEP it—retain it at all costs too!
• It is one thing to acquire something. It is another thing to keep it.
• A man might acquire wealth quickly—[inheritance; lottery; find it]. But he can blow it as soon as he gets it too. I have known people who make lots of money, but they’re always broke. They don’t know how to retain it.
• A man might become a talented musician through years of labor—a master pianist. But he needs to maintain that skill or he will lose it.
• A man might be a talented athlete. But no matter how talented, those skills need to be maintained—or they will begin to dissipate.
• A man might acquire wisdom too. But, he must be diligent to retain it too… or it could be lost through neglect.
• The clear implication here is that wisdom must be maintained or it can be lost… diminished… faded… become dim… darkened…
3. This is a truth found often in the Bible.
a. II Pet. 1:8-9 – it is possible for a true believer to become blind (shortsighted).
• His vision begins to fail him! He can’t see so clearly any more.
• WHY? Because he was not diligent in adding virtue to his life. He wasn’t practicing what he learned!
b. Heb. 5:12 – they should have been teachers, but had to be taught the ABC’s all over again! They had discernment, but through neglect, they lost it!
4. The advice given to the son in Prov. 3:21 is worthy of contemplation, especially in light of the personal history of the one giving the advice: Solomon.
a. Solomon was the son of the one of the godliest men in the Bible: David, a man after God’s own heart.
b. David had discernment. He was a wise man.
• II Sam. 5:2 – David knew how to come in and go out… conduct himself wisely.
• I Sam. 18:16 – all Israel loved David for the wisdom he demonstrated in his comings and goings…wise personal conduct.
c. Solomon did not. I Kings 3:7 – he did not know how to come in and go out.
• Solomon was no David!
• Somehow, when Solomon was a young man, he did not have nearly the wisdom that his father had when he was a youth.
• Vs. 9 – at least Solomon had common sense enough to realize that he lacked wisdom—so he asked God for it.
• Vs.10-12 – God was pleased that Solomon wanted wisdom. God granted wisdom to him. He was given more wisdom than any king on earth!
• Thankfully, the Holy Spirit led him to record much of that wisdom in the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
• God GRANTED this wisdom to Solomon.
d. David earned his wisdom by practicing what he learned. He tested it. He walked in it. He made it his own. David grew in wisdom. He learned lessons, and accumulated this truth and wisdom… and then lived it. You could say David got his wisdom the old fashioned way. He earned it!
e. Solomon on the other hand had his wisdom handed to him on a silver platter. He went from an inexperienced child who didn’t know how to come in or go out, to the possessor of more wisdom than anyone on earth—in an instant. (Like winning the lottery).
f. Although David did a few foolish things in his life, over all, he retained his wisdom.
g. Solomon received his wisdom overnight… but did not retain it.
• I Kings 6:38c and 7:1 – Solomon spent more time building his own house than he did building the Temple!
• I Kings 11:4-8 – foreign women turned him away from the Lord. He built places of worship for false gods in Jerusalem!
h.) Solomon reminds me of in a sense, of our young athletes today. Overnight, they are transformed from a 19 year old nobody from nowhere into a multimillion-dollar celebrity with people screaming for their autographs. Many of them are unable to handle it—and make a mess of their lives.
i. It is one thing to obtain wealth and success. It is quite another thing to handle it well and retain it.
j. It is one thing to obtain godly wisdom. It is quite another thing to retain it.
k. A man can absorb many words of wisdom rather quickly.
l. It takes a lifetime of faithfulness to retain it.
5. This is the message Solomon is communicating to his son in 3:21.
a. Unfortunately, Solomon was the kind of father that said, “Do as I say, not as I do,” because he did not retain wisdom in his own life!
b. I have seen quite a few believers start off well and wisely—but then end up like Solomon… making one foolish decision after the next…
c. Keeping wisdom requires practice. It requires practicing the restraint and self discipline of making wise choices which are usually harder… even if it FEELS GOOD to make the easy choices…
• Deut. 6:6-9 – practice means they are part of every day life, not just when you go to church!
6. Keeping (guarding) wisdom and discretion requires constant, diligent effort.
a. 4:20-21 – KEEP them in the midst of thine heart… the center of your thinking.
b. This is more than keeping them in our mind intellectually. It implies that we keep them NEAR to our heart… for out of the heart are all the issues of life. (vs.23)
c. God’s wisdom is to be kept in our heart and applied to all the issues of life.
d. The heart ought to be HOME for God’s wisdom. It should LIVE there… not be buried in a back closet. It should be right in the MIDST of all we think and say and do.
• Col.3:16 – the Word of God should be DWELLING in us… in our heart.
• Col.3:17 – it should affect every area of our life—all the issues of life.
e. Are the principles in God’s Word right in the center of all the choices you make in life? Are they right in the center of your thinking when making a decision?
f. Somewhere along the line, Solomon began to push God’s wisdom into the background of his life.
• These principles didn’t seem to be in the center of his heart during his building projects.
• These principles certainly were not in the midst of his heart when he married all the foreign women.
• He was not putting these principles in the midst of his heart when he had high places built to the pagan gods in Jerusalem!
• He HAD this wisdom, but didn’t keep it in the center of his heart.
• He HAD this wisdom, but did not retain it… He didn’t KEEP it… guard it.
g. Solomon had wisdom. He knew that it needed to be retained and guarded. He admonished his son to guard and keep sound wisdom and discretion. But he failed in this very area himself.
h. It’s not how much you know. It’s not how wise you have been. It’s how faithful you are in the little things right now… practicing the principles of wisdom… keeping them in the front of our mind and heart daily… that is what makes or breaks a believer.
Proverbs 3:23-26
Results of Sound Wisdom
SAFETY
23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble
1. The first result of sound wisdom is safety. When applied faithfully and consistently, wisdom will keep us safe—in every way (physically and spiritually).
2. Remember that these are proverbs. It is not a guarantee under every possible set of circumstances!
a. It doesn’t mean that if we walk in God’s wisdom that we will never stumble or have an accident!
b. Rather, his point is that following sound wisdom will lead us down safer roads in life!
3. Sound wisdom is NOT like a lucky rabbit’s foot or a St. Christopher medal. It is much more practical, more like a flashlight!
a. When you are walking in darkness, a flashlight will keep you from stumbling.
b. That doesn’t mean in each and every case. It is possible to be using a flashlight, and still trip.
c. BUT—you take a flashlight to AVOID that if at all possible!
d. Ps.119: 105 – God’s Word and wisdom is a lamp unto my feet.
e. Wisdom says, “Walk in the light, not in the darkness!”
4. Following wisdom’s advice, our chances of falling and stumbling are FAR less!
a. Prov. 2:16-18 – wisdom says to avoid the strange woman—the harlot. If we follow the advice of wisdom, it will keep our home safe and secure!
b. Prov.1:14-15 – fools cry out to us to follow them in their mischief and crimes. Wisdom says, “Stay away!” Following the advice of wisdom will keep us safe from the law!
c. Every word of wisdom found in this book is for our spiritual well being… for our good. Obey it—apply it—and it will keep you safe from trouble.
d. Violate the words of wisdom in this book, and there are serious consequences—which we will not be able to avoid!
COURAGE
24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid:
1. Many folks are afraid when they lie down to sleep at night. They are full of fear.
2. However, the man who incorporates God’s wisdom into his life need not be afraid at night.
3. If you have stolen money from your place of employment, you might lie in bed at night in fear of getting caught!
4. If we lied to someone at work, we might fear being discovered and exposed as a liar!
5. If you cheated on your income taxes, you might well lie in bed at night in fear of getting caught!
6. When we don’t do things right, we have good reason to fear.
7. But wisdom exhorts us to do things RIGHT… obey the laws… obey God’s Word… treat people honestly… and when we apply this sound wisdom to our life, we will NOT be afraid!
8. We will not fear! If our heart is right with God, we need not fear what men can do unto us.
PEACE
Yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. (vs.24b)
1. Psalm 4:8 – The psalmist could sleep at night—because he trusted in the Lord to keep him safe!
a. Perhaps some of us worry at night. Will our house be broken into?
b. With all the violence in our country, many worry at night.
c. As Christians, we should be able to sleep… because we know a God who never slumbers or sleeps! (Ps.121:4-7)
2. Acts 12:6-7 – Peter slept like a baby!
a. vs.1 – James had just been killed with the sword. Peter was next.
b. But on the night in which he fully expected to be executed, Peter was in prison, sleeping like a baby!
c. Could you sleep under such circumstances? Peter did.
d. Vs. 5 – the church was praying for him.
e. But more importantly, he was in prison for preaching Christ. He had rest in his soul. He was at peace with God. Therefore, his sleep was sweet—even though his circumstances were not very sweet!
f. If Peter lied to get out of jail—if he told the authorities that he would not preach Christ again, he may have been released. However, he would not be able to sleep at night! He would have been tossing and turning with an aching, guilty conscience!
CONFIDENCE (vs.25)
25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. 26 For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
1. The one who is applying sound wisdom to his life need not fear sudden fear!
a. He need not fear the future…
• We need not fear WWIII—we trust in a sovereign God.
• We need not fear being laid off—we can trust in God who holds our future in His hand.
• We need not fear becoming suddenly ill—God has already determined our days.
b. There are many sudden calamities in life—things for which we could never adequately prepare, but they come anyway!
c. Such sudden calamities cause many people in the world to live in constant fear.
d. Part of the reason for this fear in man is the guilt of knowing that he is not right with God—and whatever evil befalls him, he deserves!
e. We need not live like that. Things that terrorize the unbeliever need not cause us to fear.
f. We can have the confidence of the Lord in our lives. (Deut.33:27) He is our Refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. That should give us assurance and confidence!
g. When our heart is right with God, and we know how much He cares for His own, then we should be able to sleep like a baby—we are held up by His everlasting arms. (arms = strength)
2. Psalm 27:1-3 – no need to fear. If we know the Lord and trust Him, THAT is our confidence! That is all the confidence we need!
a. It matters not how tumultuous things are all around us. God is our Refuge. He is our strength. In Him there is no need to fear.
b. The LORD is our confidence!
3. Ps. 91:1-6 – we are under His wings… in a place of safety… security. In vs. One, the psalmist describes a relationship to the Lord by two similar figures.
a. Dwelling in the secret place of the Most High
• This speaks of abiding close to the Lord… the Sovereign Creator
b. Abiding under the shadow on the Almighty
• This is essentially the same thought …
• They both speak of the Lord as the place of “dwelling” for the believer.
• They both also speak of the Lord as the All Powerful One… hence, One who is quite ABLE to provide such safety and security.
c. Note here that he is not speaking about the Lord as One to whom we come running only when we are in trouble or danger.
d. Many people have that idea about God. When things are going fine we don’t need Him. But when we get in serious trouble, we pray… we seek His help… and when He helps us out, we don’t need Him any more!
e. Vs. 9-10 – Rather, the psalmist is speaking about an individual believer who DWELLS in the Lord… one who ABIDES… under the shadow of His wing.
• It is BECAUSE we have made the Lord our abiding place that we are safe…
• He uses the figure of a young chick under the shadow of the wing of the mother hen… the point: he LIVES there! That’s home! Safe and secure!
4. Psalm 112:7 – he shall not fear evil tidings.
a. Some worry about future “tidings”—what MIGHT happen!
b. Some folks lose sleep over things that haven’t even happened yet—and may not ever happen… but we worry.
c. Isn’t that kind of worrying a lack of trust in God to do what is right?
5. Isa. 41:10 – fear thou not for I am with thee…
a. If we were only MORE conscious of God’s Person, God’s Power, and God’s presence, we would worry less, and trust more!
b. Our sleep at night would improve!
c. Vs.13-14 – we may be but a worm, but we are a worm protected by the Almighty God! No need to fear!
6. I Pet. 3:14 –15 – Peter warns us NOT to fear men, even those men who may be persecuting us.
a. Instead of worrying about men, fear God! Sanctify Him in your heart!
b. That will put an end to our fear… even those sudden terrors!
c. The LORD is our confidence!
7. In a world that is so unstable and insecure, as Christians, we need to TRUST God and experience this rest and peace.
a. This is our testimony in the world too! It is a powerful testimony too.
b. Prov. 14:26 – In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.
c. Sound wisdom will send us straight to God… sound wisdom will demand that our heart be right with God… and when that is so, we will experience assurance and safety. We will be able to sleep at night…
d. We will be able to trust God for our health… our future… our children and their future… for our job… people problems… all those things that so often cause worry and anxiety—we can turn over to God and let Him be God!
Proverbs 3:27-28
Withhold Not Good from them to Whom it is Due
1. The subject here is withholding dues… money owed to another.
2. “Them to whom it is due” = baal;
a. Baal is a term for lord; or owner.
b. The author is using a play on words.
c. Someone else is the real owner (lord; baal) of this money or product or goods—whatever it is that is DUE.
3. To whom would our money be due?
a. If we borrow money from another person…
b. If we borrow money from a bank or finance company…
c. If we borrow someone else’s property (car; snow blower; bicycle; stereo)
d. If we owe someone a service—by bartering your time of service for money or for property—or even someone’s else’s service. (the plumber who promises to fix the carpenter’s leaky sink if the carpenter promises to fix his leaky roof!)
e. If we purchase items with a credit card…
f. If we hire someone to do a job, and they do the job…
g. If we live in a country, enjoy its services, then we owe taxes…
h. If we have been saved and appreciate God’s grace, we are responsible to give to the Lord’s work… it is due…
i. If we borrow money, time, or service, we have become a debtor to that person or company or country.
j. That person becomes a baal of our money, time, or service—that other person becomes the lord; master of our money, time, service.
k. If we owe someone—that person is the master of our money / service.
4. Those to whom it is due does not refer to anyone who WANTS your money or asks you for money. He is speaking someone to whom you OWE money.
Withhold Not Good
1. Withhold: to hold back, keep back, refrain, deny, restrain, hinder
2. Withhold not good is a command!
3. If our money, time, or service is DUE, then we are commanded by God to pay it!
4. Actually, the command is that we are NOT to withhold money when due.
a. Not withholding is different than a command to pay.
b. This command implies that there might be times when a person HAS the money to pay, but for some reason, chooses NOT to pay. This is forbidden.
c. Why would a person withhold money due to his debtors?
• Usually selfishness. We would rather KEEP it or spend in on self!
• Some might say they are withholding tax dollars because they do not agree with the government’s policy on Iraq or abortion, or because we don’t like the President, etc…
• Cf. Matt.22: 17-21 – Jesus said to pay taxes to Caesar!
• This is hardly an endorsement of Caesar or his regime by Christ.
• Jesus told Peter to pay his taxes so as to avoid offences. (Matt.17:26)
• We are not to withhold that which is due because it may be an offence—it will tarnish our testimony for Christ.
• There is no excuse for withholding taxes. It is money owed!
5. Before we ever begin a project (building a house; buying a car; etc) we are to sit down and count the cost whether we are able to finish the project—and pay for it! (Luke 14:28-30)
a. The point is that we are NOT to get in over our heads.
b. We are NOT to borrow more than we can pay back.
c. We are NOT to live beyond our means.
d. We are NOT to involve ourselves in a commitment we are not able to finish.
e. Doing our homework AHEAD of time will prevent us from making this mistake. It will keep us out of that awkward position of owing… being in debt… and finding ourselves unable to pay…
6. However, the passage in Proverbs seems to be warning about something even worse. The warning is about REFUSING to pay money owed, even when we have it!
a. This brings to mind the warning to the wealthy landowners in James.
• James 5:1-3 – James is addressing rich men.
• Vs. 4 – These landowners hired peasants to work their fields, but were withholding their paychecks by fraud.
• Either they were LYING about the amount owed… or coming up with an EXCUSE to hold on to their money as long as possible.
• The Lord knows all about it. And He is coming one day to make the crooked things straight! (vs.8)
b. We too can commit this kind of sin.
• In running a business, we have no right to withhold payment to our creditors… or to companies that have supplied us with goods or services.
• In running a household, we have no right to hire servicemen come and fix our home or car, if we know we can’t pay them… and we are going to put off payment when the bill comes in…
• We might be mad at a company/doctor/serviceman and refuse to pay.
• We can withhold good because of a grudge; anger; procrastination; laziness; revenge;—all of which are wrong and forbidden by this passage.
When it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
1. The specific example here is of refusing to pay when we have the money or the ability.
2. Power = el (the other half of the play on words).
a. The play on words is between baal and el – a name for God.
b. It is an unusual expression, consistently translated in a manner similar to the KJV.
c. El, God is powerful; able.
d. If we have the power and ability to pay off our baals, do so!
3. There are times when we may NOT have the power or ability to pay off a loan or a bill.
a. A man may begin a project, count the cost, and crunch all the numbers and the project may seem quite do-able.
b. But the economy could turn sour—suddenly and unexpectedly… any number of things could happen.
c. We might find ourselves without power or ability to pay. That is not the point of this passage.
d. This passage speaks of someone who is ABLE to pay but refuses.
• The McCoys and the Joneses having a feud…
• The man who piles up bills and doesn’t pay them, in order to save money for his vacation…
• The man who promised to do a good deed for someone, and is able to do so, but keeps putting it off… procrastination.
28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
1. The specific reason mentioned for putting off payment here seems to procrastination. (Mañana!)
2. Very often this kind of postponing is done with ulterior motives…
a. We put it off—secretly hoping that the other party will forget about it… or not bother to ask again… or grow tired of asking…drop it altogether…
b. This is often a cover for selfishness… covetousness. We put off paying because we love money and don’t want to pay what we owe… we like to keep it.
c. Sometimes the need is urgent and CANNOT be put off until tomorrow! Tomorrow might be too late.
3. WHY would someone (who had the ability to give) say, “Go and come again; tomorrow I will give?”
a. Probably because of greed. He really doesn’t really WANT to pay.
b. He wants to put it off…
c. It reveals what his heart is like… greed… self centered…
Applications:
1. While this text seems to be speaking specifically of paying back something that is owed to another, there are many applications that can be made about our responsibility to do GOOD unto others.
2. In principle, this passage is similar to James 2:15-16
a. In this text, nothing is actually OWED to the poor man.
b. But there is a moral obligation to help.
c. If a brother is destitute (starving; naked; etc)—drastic circumstances—we are morally obligated to help.
d. This does not refer to the brother who comes to borrow money for a new leather coat or one who needs money to eat at the Tavern on the Green.
e. It speaks of a brother who is destitute. This is more like the situation of the Good Samaritan who found a man lying destitute on the side of the road.
f. Vs.16 – saying, “Depart, be warmed and filled” is sending him away without helping. You are withholding good! It is just like saying, “Go and come again; tomorrow I will give.”
g. If we can help a brother or sister in Christ, we should.
• We may be used at times.
• There will always be freeloaders who take advantage of Christian generosity.
• But over all, if we can help, we should.
• If it is within our ability and power—don’t withhold.
2. Gal. 6:10 – as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, especially to those of the household of faith.
a. As we have opportunity—speaks of a person who has the power or ability to help.
b. We have been called to do GOOD works… we are to walk in the good works that God has ordained for us. (Eph. 2:8-10) This is the natural FRUIT of salvation, never the root!
c. When opportunity arises to do good, DO it. Don’t withhold it.
d. The question always arises—where do we draw the line?
• If we give money away, there will be a line of people at our door every day!
• I am ABLE to work every night—helping out a different brother every night of the week.
• But we also have to prioritize the use of our time.
• We also have to consider other things: our health; our family; responsibilities; our limits.
• We ARE to help and not to withhold help… but do it WISELY! Certainly the book of Proverbs while promoting KINDNESS also is promoting WISDOM in how we live our lives!
3. Titus 3:1 – We are to be READY to every good work.
a. That means we are NOT to put it off till mañana!
b. Ready = ready; prepared; even eager
c. We shouldn’t be withholding good from others. It shouldn’t take a crowbar to get us to do good to others.
d. Good should naturally FLOW out of one who is saved by grace!
4. While making application about paying our debts, consider Rom. 1:14-15.
a. Paul considered himself a debtor to the gentiles.
b. He had been given a responsibility to preach the gospel to them.
c. Paul saw this responsibility as an obligation and a debt.
d. It is a moral obligation… like a man who has the cure to cancer would be morally obligated to tell others. We have the cure to eternal condemnation!
e. Thus, he was READY to fulfill this obligation… to pay this debt. He was ready to preach the gospel wherever he was.
f. Are we? Do we see this as an obligation or a debt? Perhaps we should.
Proverbs 3:29
A Breach of Trust
DEVISE NOT EVIL AGAINST THY NEIGHBOUR, SEEING HE DWELLETH SECURELY BY THEE.
1. In this verse, the neighbor is dwelling securely by you.
a. Securely = assurance; sense of safety; confidence;
b. This speaks a neighbor who feels safe by you… he trusts you… he is at ease around you. He has confidence in you. He is totally unsuspecting of any evil being plotted.
c. Neighbors should feel safe around us. We should have a testimony that says we are able to be trusted.
2. These proverbs were written to Jews living in a Jewish community.
a. In that setting there should be a sense of safety.
b. If they were dwelling in a foreign land, surrounded by enemies, they would not be dwelling securely.
c. But Solomon is describing a scene at home… where they should feel at home.
3. The command is that we not devise EVIL against a neighbor.
a. Devise: to plough; to plot evil; usually an evil devise
b. Evil = anything bad; unpleasant; injurious; etc.
c. Prov. 6:14 – he devises mischief and sows discord
d. Prov. 16:29 – evil men lead others in the wrong direction – on purpose!
e. These terms are vague enough to include any number of applications.
• It would include devising evil against a neighbor by speaking evil of him… sowing discord among the brethren.
• It might include giving a person misleading information to make someone else look bad… giving only half the story… leaving out key details…
• It might include prejudicing people against your neighbor…
• It would include stealing from him; cheating him; moving the landmarks; taking advantage of him; borrowing and not returning; coveting your neighbor’s goods; his wife; slandering him;
• Evil, hurt, and injury take many forms.
4. But the proverb seems to be getting at something even deeper than the evil devise itself. Solomon is speaking about a breach of trust.
a. The picture here is of a neighbor who is dwelling safely with someone he assumes is a friend.
• He is at ease in his presence. He is comfortable around him.
• But, that man devises evil against his neighbor.
b. Perhaps this man feels at ease with his neighbor and begins to speak candidly, openly, and freely around him. He trusts that the conversation is confidential. BUT—the other man breaks that trust, and tells others what was said.
c. Perhaps a man trusts his neighbor, and shares with him some of his shortcomings. James tells us to confess our faults one to another. His trust is breached when that so-called friend begins blabbing to others the shortcomings of his neighbor.
d. It might not be with words only. One brother might be in the same business as another brother. When he discovers that you are planning to open up a new office in the next city, he tells your competition, and works behind the scene to harm you.
e. Deut. 27:24 – “Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbor secretly.”
• This is causing harm to someone behind their back. That hurts.
• They might have a sweet smile to your face, but a knife in your back.
• One might imagine an evil person offering a neighbor a refreshing drink, but it has been spiked with poison!
• We may not actually poison a person’s drink, but we could be guilty of poisoning the minds of people against someone… secretly.
5. Plotting to harm your neighbor is a double crime. Not only is the plot evil, but the breach of trust is worse!
a. It’s bad enough to plot harm against an enemy. But when it is done against an unsuspecting friend or neighbor, it is much more painful.
b. Psalm 41:4-9 – that’s what really hurts.
• Vs. 4 – What makes this experience so painful for David is the fact that he is agony inwardly, apart from the trouble his enemies are stirring up. He realizes that his troubles are in part because of his sins.
• Vs. 5 – David’s enemies spoke evil of him—waiting for him to die!
• Vs. 6 – the so-called friends who do speak to him come in vanity (empty words) and they then go spread rumors about him!
• Vs. 7-8 – others hate him and whisper evil about him, plotting evil against him!
• Somehow, David knew what they were saying about him. From his sickbed, this must have been like a knife in his heart! These are the things they were saying about him, behind his back.
• It’s understandable when our enemies speak evil of us and plot to harm us.
• Vs.9 – But when a friend or neighbor or a brother does—that digs in much deeper!
• This psalm no doubt, speaks of the time of Absalom’s rebellion,
• The friend who turned against David was no doubt Ahithophel, who was a trusted friend of David (he thought).
• However, when the opportunity came, he betrayed him and sided with Absalom.
• Regardless of the exact circumstances, this was the icing on the cake!
• David was sick… in body and soul….
• Some of his enemies pretended to be friends, visited him on his sickbed, but did so with evil in their heart.
• The rest of his enemies were secretly meeting, pooling all the dirt they had against the king…
• And now to top it all off, one of his trusted friends even joins the conspiracy! This is the ultimate betrayal. (The Lord quotes this in reference to Judas!)
• What hurts so, is not the actual deed. Enemies do the same thing, and it doesn’t hurt as much. It is expected. What hurts is the breach of trust—from a friend! A neighbor—someone we trusted!
c. Psalm 55:12-15 – again, the psalmist speaks of the pain that arises from a breach of trust.
• We expect such behavior from enemies.
• But the closer the friendship, the deeper the pain when that trust is breached.
• That is why discord in the local church hurts so much—because it is among brethren… friends who have shared so much together over the years…
d. I have had brethren stab me in the back—believers with whom I have had sweet fellowship! It does hurt more. Have you?
• If so, then you know what kind of pain it can cause. You know how hurtful it can be.
• Our deepest wounds as Christians will not come from the world, but from right here—in the local church!
• Thus, the command—Don’t YOU be guilty of devising evil against someone who trusts you!
• A breach of one’s trust is a painful experience.
6. This principle is especially applicable in a family setting.
a. Husbands and wives are “neighbors” in the closest sense.
• There MUST be trust in that relationship. The relationship must be built on trust.
• That which erodes relationships is not so much this or that particular deed—but rather the erosion of trust.
• When that goes, the relationship is in need of a complete overhaul.
b. So too with parents and children.
• Lots of topics are discussed around the dinner table.
• Many of those topics should not leave the dinner table—they certainly should not be spread around.
• There ought to be a sense of trust in a family setting. We should feel free to speak openly at home…
• We see and hear of the shortcomings of our family members. That is not to be spread around!
• Family members feel betrayed when things shared in confidence in the home are blabbed at school or at church… or in the neighborhood.
• The home should be a place where each member can dwell securely… and have a sense of assurance.
• Kids—if your brother is 10 years old and he still wets the bed, the kids at school don’t need to know that. If your sister lied to her father, the Sunday school class doesn’t need to know about that. If Dad got a speeding ticket, no one else needs to know that.
• We can embarrass, humiliate, and break the trust of those who should be able to trust us.
• Solomon says, “Don’t you be like that!” Don’t double cross someone that should be able to trust you.
• Trust is too precious a thing to ruin.
c. In the local church setting this trust can be breached too.
• James 5:16 – confess your faults one to another and pray for each other.
• Sometimes at testimony services or at prayer meeting a brother may open up and confess a fault. He does so because he senses safety and security in the Body. He trusts his brethren. It is an awful thing to breach that trust, and use his words against him… to put him down, or slander him.
7. Perhaps the reason this proverb is given is because neighbors and family members… and yes, even church members, have a lot of squabbles.
a. That is because we are so close!
b. And with neighbors and family members (as opposed to total strangers), we usually have a lot of “dirt” on them! We KNOW more about them… we know more of their failures…
c. Thus, when people who are close get in a squabble, there might be a tendency to use some of that knowledge to seek revenge!
8. Prov. 14:22 – Those who devise evil err. How much better is it that we seek to devise GOOD for our neighbor!
a. If we are going to do anything behind our neighbor’s back, let it be a NICE surprise, not evil!
Proverbs 3:30
Striving without Cause
Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
STRIVE NOT
1. A clear command is given in this passage NOT to strive.
a. Strive: complain; quarrel; contend; argue; strife either physically or with words.
b. Strife ought NOT characterize the life of a believer. “The servant of the Lord must not strive.”
2. We ARE called to certain kinds of strife and contending:
a. We are to contend for the faith… (Jude 3)
b. We are to strive together in prayer (Rom.15:30)
c. But that is not the kind of strife Solomon refers to here.
3. Solomon is speaking about a kind of strife that we should AVOID like the plague.
a. This kind of strife is the work of the flesh. (Gal.5:20)
b. This kind of strife is an evidence of carnality. (I Cor.3:3)
c. This kind of strife is demonic! (James 3:14-16)
4. The reason for the command: Some folks seem to gravitate toward strife. (Prov.25:8)
a. Some folks seem to have to stick their noses in every dispute or argument or disagreement among the believers.
b. Some folks seem to be able to stir up strife when there is no strife. They can manufacture it!
c. Solomon warns us NOT to haste toward stirring up strife.
• He gives an interesting reason—because while strife can be stirred up easily, it is often difficult to end it!
• It is like starting a forest fire. One little match is all it takes, but it could end up requiring fire fighters from many states to come to put it out!
• Spiritually, starting strife is just as damaging and dangerous as starting a fire. Many people can be hurt. Much damage can be done… damage you never intended to do!
• It’s like throwing a rock in a pond. It’s easy to throw the rock, but difficult if not impossible to stop the ripples!
• Prov.17:14 – it is like the letting out of water (from a dam). It may start off as a trickle, but it can soon escalate into an uncontrollable flood!
• Therefore, don’t meddle with it! Leave it alone! Stay away!
d. Thus, Solomon warns not to be hasty about jumping into an argument! You don’t always know what you are getting into! You may not have an easy way to escape!
• Like US involvement in many hot spots around the globe.
• It is relatively easy to send troops into one of those hot spots. But it is not always easy to END the dispute and bring the troops home!
• Once our troops are involved, we discover how dangerous and sticky the problem really is. Once you commit troops, it’s hard to un-commit them!
• Some troops remain in the hot spot for years to follow…
e. Solomon’s warning to us is similar. Don’t be so quick to jump into the fray!
• Don’t be so quick to stick your nose in someone else’s problems!
f. “When thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.”
• Sometimes we jump into a dispute, and discover that we jumped in on the wrong side!
• We might hear one side of the story and assume that we are fighting for the right, only to discover later that we were dead wrong! Our neighbor comes with the rest of the story and we are put to shame!
WITHOUT CAUSE…
1. Strife should be avoided. But especially strife “without cause.”
2. Without cause refers to strife that is not necessary.
a. Folks always insist that they have a “cause” for their fight.
b. Sometimes we create strife over someone’s oversight. We make mountains out of molehills.
c. But is that cause WORTHY of disrupting the peace? Is it worthy of breaking fellowship? Is it worthy of tarnishing the testimony of the Lord? Is it worthy of damaging the local church? Is it worthy of destroying friendships? Is it really worth all that heartache?
d. In the heat of the argument, many would declare that they were RIGHT… and therefore it IS worth fighting over.
e. BUT — later on, as time goes by and as we look back at the event, very often we might be forced to admit that it was really NOT worthy fighting over! There really was not a just cause for that fight.
3. Very often all it takes is to apply the salve of God’s Word—OBEY these principles and discover how causeless our cause becomes!
a. Suffer yourself to be defrauded… (I Cor.6:7)
b. In lowliness of mind, forbear one another in love…
c. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
d. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven us…
e. Be kindly affectioned one to another in brotherly love, in honor preferring one another…
f. Not rendering evil for evil, but contrariwise, blessing…
g. Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace…
h. Let love cover a multitude of sins…
i. Turn the other cheek…
j. Applying any one of those principles will usually cause the strife to cease! It is when we REFUSE to incorporate those principles that the strife continues… and drags on and on…
4. Instead, we feel that we have a just CAUSE for the strife to continue!
a. Some folks seem to be on a crusade to make their point… and to prove that they are right… and that they have just cause to continue the strife…
b. If that is our nature, we will ALWAYS find some cause of strife!
c. Prov.16:27-28 – if you want a reason to fight, you can always dig one up!
• Note that the evil is buried. Everyone wants it to stay buried.
• But the ungodly person digs it up! The ungodly man is not content until every piece of dirty laundry is dug up and displayed!
• The ungodly man then SOWS strife—like planting seeds. (Planting thoughts in people’s mind… to sway them to his or her side in the fight…)
• This kind of strife promoted by ungodly men results in separating chief friends!
d. Prov.17:9 – love is willing to bury a transgression. A person who demonstrates the love of God is going to demonstrate Christlikeness… willing to turn the other cheek… bury dirt… and get on with life!
e. Prov.10:12 – a person driven by hatred is unwilling to bury the offence. A person driven by love IS willing to bury it.
f. Prov.15:18 – A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
g. Prov.26:21 – As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.
• A contentious person will keep a fight going and going and going… like the energizer bunny.
• It is the SPIRIT of contention that keeps it going. It is like adding coals to a fire. God wants this kind of fire to burn out… and usually they will… stop adding fuel to the fire!
• Bury the fuel and the fire will go out by itself.
• God wants us to be peacemakers—driven by love—not driven by hatred and a contentious spirit!
• Prov. 22:10 – Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
• If nobody is there to keep strife going, it will die out…
• If no fuel is added to the fire, it will burn out…
• I Pet.4: 8 – this is the kind of love God wants US to demonstrate in the local church.
IF HE HAVE DONE THEE NO HARM…
1. The warning in this verse is for us NOT to get involved in strife—especially if it is none of our business.
2. If two people are fighting… because one has stepped on the toes of another, what is that to you?
a. What does the BIBLE say to do?
b. The offended party is to go to his brother ALONE. No one else is involved.
c. MOST offences can be easily resolved ALONE.
d. Once you add more people into the formula, it becomes much more sticky, difficult, entangled, and complicated… and harder to end.
e. Then more and more people jump in… sides begin to polarize, and before you know it, you have a BIG problem…
3. Prov.25:9 – The RIGHT way to settle a dispute is for two parties involved to go to each other privately.
a. Don’t involve other people in your debate. It doesn’t involve them.
b. All other parties are without cause in this argument!
c. The only one who has a CAUSE is the one offended… no one else has a cause, unless the church leaders need to be called. But that is rare.
4. If two people are having a dispute, stay away!
a. Prov.26:17 – don’t get involved—don’t meddle in strife that is not yours!
b. If you pick up a dog by the ears, you will get hurt… you will be bitten! Picking up a dog by the ears causes a lot of hurt and pain! So don’t do it!
c. If you see two people having a dispute, and you meddle in that strife—you will cause a lot of hurt and pain! So don’t do it!
d. If the person has done YOU no harm, stay out of the strife! You have no cause to step in!
e. If he has done YOU no harm… stay out of the debate… stay out of the strife… don’t complicate matters… don’t cause polarization… don’t add fuel to the fire.
5. Even in those situations where the party who was RIGHT seemed to get the raw end of the deal, let’s not forget God!
a. He knows everything. He knows all hearts, motives, and the intents of the heart.
b. He is keeping score—perfectly! He is unbiased and is no respecter of persons.
c. He is omniscient and a righteous Judge.
d. All parties will eventually have to give account of their actions to Him.
e. That is the judgment that really counts.
f. Every crooked thing will be made straight in that day. Justice will prevail.
g. In the meantime, as we live in an imperfect world, we are to follow the rule book left by the perfect judge:
• Don’t strive with men when it doesn’t concern you.
• Don’t promote hate and dig up dirt!
• Promote love and bury dirt!
• Bury the hatchet. Suffer yourself to be defrauded.
• Don’t add fuel to the fire to keep strife going…
• Be a peacemaker—and bury the fuel.
• Commit the situation to the Lord… who shall judge the living and the dead with RIGHTEOUS judgment!
• Rom.12:18 – in the meantime, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men!”
• Heb.12:14 – Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.
6. If we would simply OBEY these passages, we would be able to either prevent strife from occurring… or if it does occur, cause it to die out!
a. What happy families we would have in the home!
b. What glorious fellowship we would have in the local church!
c. Why, we might even get along with that cantankerous neighbor!
Proverbs 3:31-32
Envy Not the Oppressor
31 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
ENVY
1. In the last passage, Solomon warned his son not to strive.
2. In this verse, he warns his son not to envy.
3. Envy: envy or jealousy; wanting, craving what someone else has. Envy pains to hear of others doing well. Envy is grieved to see others prosper, or to hear them praised. (all stems from selfishness)
4. It is the opposite of contentment.
a. God has commanded us to be content with such things as we have… (Heb.13:5)
b. We are to be content in whatsoever state we find ourselves. (Phil.4:11)
• God is the One who sovereignly places us in our lot in life.
• Think of Christians who live in India under the caste system. They are born into a certain caste, and are stuck there the rest of their lives. That is God’s doing. They are to be content.
• So too for Christians born in poverty or great wealth in this country.
• It is entirely Lord’s doing… we are not to envy what others have. We are to learn to be content in whatsoever state we are in.
• Don’t envy others! You don’t know all the baggage that comes with their position that is not seen by others!
c. If we have food and clothing, we are to be content. (I Tim.6:8)
• How many of us really WOULD be content if that is all we had in this life?
• Folks in Ethiopia don’t even have food and raiment. They envy other tribes who have food and clothing.
• We have food and clothing and so much more. Yet, we are not more content. Instead, we envy what the wealthy in this country have…
• It is human nature to look around at what others have, and envy it… lust for it… we tend to covet our neighbors goods.
• Even if we obtained what our neighbor has… there is always someone with more… there is no end… unless the heart is changed.
5. Prov.14:30 – it is the rottenness of the bones!
a. It is the opposite of a healthy heart. It is sick… rotten.
b. It will eat away at the inner man, like a disease eats away at the body.
c. Envy gets under the skin—and burns away—when we hear others praised, promoted, and prospering… because we want the praise, promotion, and prosperity for ourselves!
6. Prov.27:4 – it is worse than wrath or anger!
a. Who can stand before it? It can engender more passion and rage than mere anger. It is an endless reservoir of rage!
b. It can totally control one’s life.
c. It can lead to all kinds of other sins… even murder!
d. Anger and wrath usually swell up for a while and then simmer down. Envy remains under our skin…
e. Anger and wrath may be appeased. Envy doesn’t go away so easily.
7. Prov.23:17 – the cure is to fear God!
a. People that fear God are conscious of Him… of His presence… His power… aware of His omniscience and omnipotence…
b. The more conscious we are of the Lord, the more satisfied with Him we will be. The more satisfied with the Lord, the less we will crave after what our neighbor has!
8. Another cure for envy is a closer relationship to God.
a. Heb.13:5 – we are told to be content with what we have—because we have Christ! He should be all we need! He is the one who satisfies the soul and brings contentment. When Christ is our life, we won’t be looking for contentment and satisfaction in the things our neighbor owns. We will glory in the Lord!
b. I John 2:15-16 – John commands us NOT to love the world… for the love of the Father is not in him! His point is that our heart can only love one Master—either the things of the world, or God.
OPPRESSOR
1. The particular kind of envying mentioned here is envying the oppressor.
2. Oppressor: violence, wrong, cruelty, injustice (margin reads: violent man)
3. One might ask, “Who would ever envy a cruel, violent oppressor?
a. Answer: Lots of people!
b. It is not the oppression that is envied, but the power and wealth often associated with it.
• Some men crave to exercise power over others.
• They get a sort of morbid pleasure in tyranny.
c. Some evil men trample over others to get where they want to go.
• They use people. They abuse people.
• They lie, cheat, steal, misrepresent, use fraud, violence, stab others in the back—all to get to the top of the ladder.
• Obviously, not all people in positions of power are like this. Some are quite godly—but Solomon is speaking about “oppressors!” (men of violence)
d. By mistreating others and trampling over the backs of others, some men manage to push and shove themselves into positions of power and great wealth.
• In the world, wicked men often prosper, and godly men are often taken advantage of.
• You don’t get ahead in the world by turning the other cheek, by putting others first, suffering yourself to be defrauded, by sacrificial love, or by esteeming others better than yourself.
• Sometimes ungodly men take advantage of those traits. In doing so, they may even prosper.
• The wealthy land owners in James 5 were such oppressive men. They took advantage of the lowly workers and obtained great wealth in the process.
e. Solomon is warning his son (and us) not to envy the power and wealth that men accumulate by oppressive, violent, and dishonest means.
• This passage would be especially applicable to Christian businessmen.
• Running your business in such a way as to please the Lord means that many tricks of the trade—used by all your competition—you may not be able use!
• Other companies may take advantage of their lowly workers, you may not. Other companies may employ questionable practices. You may not. You KNOW that those tricks work… and that other companies have grown, prospered, and expanded as a result.
• Don’t envy them!
• Be more concerned about pleasing the Lord than pleasing your accountant or your stockholders!
• The same principle is true in running a local church! In observing how local churches in the valley have operated in the past 20 years, I have seen some unsavory, unethical practices too… worldly tricks that draw in crowds, keep people happy, and result in numerical growth. We are NOT to envy that kind of “success.”
CHOOSE NONE OF HIS WAYS
1. The temptation would be to FOLLOW the ways of the oppressor… or of the man who uses dishonesty, violence to obtain power or wealth.
2. For the Christian businessman who observes another business use ruthless tactics and prosper—one might be tempted to imitate those actions—because they work!
3. One might be tempted to justify by saying, “Business is business. It’s a dog eat dog world out there. You gotta fight fire with fire…”
4. Yet the Bible says NOT to choose his ways. We are to follow in the ways of God—even if they don’t seem to advance our ambitions —even if they don’t seem to produce the kind of results we would like to see.
5. DON’T choose the ways of the dishonest oppressor… of the evil man. Follow God and trust Him for the outcome.
6. So too in running a local church—the principle is the same. We are NOT to choose the ways of the church growth movement just because they work. We are here to follow God’s ways (Bible) and to please Him (not men) and leave the increase to the Lord.
32For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous.
1. The REASON we are not to envy that kind of success is because the froward is an abomination to the Lord!
a. Froward – crooked; devious; all kinds of evil practices.
b. Don’t envy it—God hates it!
2. The end of the ungodly is anything but enviable! The oppressors… the froward will one day be judged by God. Their days are numbered. Don’t envy that!
a. Prov.24:19 – Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
b. Prov.24:1 – Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them. For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief.
c. Psalm 37:1-2 – Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
d. Psalm 73:1-3 – Asaph was envious at the foolish.
• UNTIL he went into the house of the Lord and saw their end. (vs.17)
• Vs.18 – they are but a step away from destruction.
• That is nothing to envy. We would not envy these men if we saw them as one breath away from the Lake of Fire!
• Consider the terms used of them: there is no reward; their candle shall be put out; they shall be cut down like grass; they will be cast down into destruction; That is not an envious position to be in!
• When we get a heavenly perspective on things, our whole attitude will change. Envy will be turned into pity!
• Then, instead of wanting what they have, we will want to share with them what we have—salvation in Christ!
3. Solomon teaches his son the same lesson Asaph learned. Don’t envy wicked men.
a. They may prosper in the present world, but they are an abomination to the Lord, and in the life to come, they will experience judgment!
b. There is no cause to envy that!
c. Ecc.4:1 – later Solomon wrote about the oppressors. He noted all the sorrow and tears they created. He also noted that although they ended up with much power, they did not have any more inner comfort, rest, or peace than the people they oppressed!
d. There is no reason to envy them!
4. God’s secret is with the righteous.
a. God gives grace to the lowly… not the proud, powerful, arrogant oppressors! (Cf. Psalm 25:14 – the secret of the Lord is with them who fear Him, and He will shew them his covenant.”
b. The proud, ignorant oppressors know nothing of God and His ways.
c. God’s secrets… God’s counsel, which is hidden to the world is known to the righteous.
d. Sinners are an abomination to God. Saints are His delight!
e. Knowing God is FAR more valuable than any wealth or power the oppressors may have accumulated.
f. We have God’s secret—God’s word—which is far better than rubies… more to be desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold!
Proverbs 3:33
Blessing and Cursing
Introduction:
1. Here is a simple 7 straightforward principle, which is found in many contexts throughout the Word.
2. It describes something very basic about God and His nature: He blesses the just and curses the wicked.
3. This stems from God’s nature: He loves righteousness and hates iniquity. (Heb.1:9)
4. The final verses in this chapter seem to be given as a conclusion to the several commands given in the chapter.
a. vs.27 – Don’t withhold good when it is in your power to do it.
b. Vs.29 – don’t devise evil against your neighbor… don’t betray his trust.
c. Vs.30 – don’t strive with a man without a cause.
d. Vs.31 – don’t envy the wealthy oppressors.
5. After saying all that, in vs.32, Solomon writes FOR… the froward is abomination to the Lord.
a. After listing many “don’ts” to his son, Solomon then gives some REASONS why not!
b. FOR it is abomination to God!
c. The “for” seems implied in the next three verses.
d. Each of the next three verses expands on that reason given in vs.32.
The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked…
1. Don’t withhold good; don’t devise evil; don’t strive; don’t envy… why???
2. Because the curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked! That’s why!
3. Those who behave in a wicked way expose themselves to the judgment of God!
4. Lev. 26:14-18 – This curse was literal in the nation Israel.
5. Those who persist in it bring a curse upon their own lives!
Prov. 21:12 – God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness. (lawlessness – men who don’t go by the rules)
a. The wicked are no match for God.
b. God will eventually overthrow all of their evil schemes and plots. They are doomed to fail… if not in this life, certainly in the next.
c. This thought is a good motivation NOT to behave in a wicked manner! We too could find God opposing us… bringing a curse upon our life!
d. The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked.
• Solomon suggests that instead of FOLLOWING the ways and lives of wicked men, we OBSERVE their lives!
• Great lessons can be learned by observing men—even believers—who do not walk the straight and narrow. Watch men who compromise and cut corners spiritually.
• They may prosper in the world, but they will wither up spiritually.
• Good lessons are there for us all. Watch and learn.
6. Psalm 106:14-15 – Sometimes, the curse of the Lord is not easily seen.
a. Sometimes, God seems to be blessing, but He sends leanness to the soul.
b. It has been my observation that when God sends leanness of soul to a believer because something isn’t right in his/her life, that believer tends to blame it on someone else! (the church has no love; the brethren don’t minister to me; I’m unhappy, it must be my spouses’ fault; etc.)
c. A curse on the soul is far worse than a physical malady!
d. The curse of God is often not seen at all by the outsider.
• Matthew Henry likened it to the leprosy consuming away in the timbers of one’s house… quietly… unseen… unknown by the casual observer—but very much a presence in that house!
7. Prov.26:2 – An undeserved cursed does not come!
a. Just as birds wander in the sky but never land on us—so too, a curse does not come upon us without cause!
b. In other words, God doesn’t judge us unless we deserve it! Unless it is earned!
c. Thus, if God chastens us—it is for a good reason!
d. This does NOT mean that bad things won’t happen to us. But there is a big difference between a trial designed for our good, and chastening which is the result of our sin or rebellion.
8. When God chastens the believer, that believer will waste away… wither away… consume away… until he can take it no more!
a. Isa.57:21 – there is no peace to the wicked!
b. Job 9:4 – you cannot resist God and win!
c. Ps.32:3-4 – God’s hand was heavy upon him!
But he blesseth the habitation of the just.
1. However, just the opposite is true in the habitation of the just.
2. God blesses the just!
3. In the previous verse, Solomon said that God’s “secret” is with the righteous, the just.
a. Vs.32 – The wicked know nothing of God and His ways.
b. God’s secrets… counsel, [hidden to the world] is known to the righteous.
c. God blesses the habitation of the just—He shares His secret counsels with them! His Word!
4. Lev.26:3-7 – so too, God’s blessing is promised to the just—here to the obedient. (That’s how one demonstrates that he is just—obey!)
a. In any age, the principle is the same: Obedience brings God’s blessing!
b. In the church age, our blessings are spiritual, and our reward for obedience is not obtained in this life, but at the Judgement Seat. Nevertheless, the principle is the same.
c. God blesses those who obey Him… who honor Him.
d. God honors those who honor Him. (I Sam.2:30)
e. Ps.1:3 – “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”
5. Note Solomon’s use of the terms “house of the wicked” (vs.33) and “habitation of the just” (vs.34).
a. The two terms are used synonymously.
b. His point is that we can bring either blessing or cursing on our house, depending upon our behavior!
c. Prov.9:1 – wisdom builds a strong house!
d. Prov.11:29 – the fool troubles his own house—he brings trouble to it.
e. Prov.12:7 – The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.
f. Prov.14:1 – a wise woman builds up her household.
g. Prov.14:11 – the two houses are once again contrasted.
h. Prov.15:27 – the greedy man troubles his house.
• It is far better to have a humble house with only herbs to eat with God’s blessing—than to dwell in a large castle without the blessing of God!
6. Some houses are overthrown. Why? Usually, because wisdom is not applied! Obedience is lacking or inconsistent!
a. Some houses are strong. Why? Because those in the house exercise wisdom… they trust and obey. It really is as simple as that.
b. We bring either blessing or cursing upon our own house.
» Either we build it up or tear it down…we bring blessing or trouble.
» It is important that we take God’s Word seriously.
» You cannot play fast and loose with this principle and expect to come out ahead!
7. Deut.29:19-20 – for the proud, arrogant man who thinks that he shall escape the curse of God! But he is dead wrong! Watch out! There is no escape!
Proverbs 3:34
The Proud and the Lowly
The Proud and the Lowly
1. This proverb is another simple truth crystallized into a short, concise saying.
2. It is much like the previous verse: God curses the wicked and blesses the just.
3. Here, God scorns the scorners and gives grace to the lowly.
4. It is possible (even likely) that this verse (as well as verses 32-35) is given at the end of the chapter as a REASON why Solomon’s son ought to follow his father’s words of wisdom. (see FOR in vs.32)
SURELY HE SCORNETH THE SCORNERS:
A.) Scorners
1. Means: Conceited mockers; arrogant talkers; to be inflated…
2. Prov. 9:7-8 – it is hard if not impossible for us to know how to deal with proud talkers!
3. Prov. 13:1 – scorners love to talk proudly and mock others, but they will not listen to instruction or rebuke themselves!
4. Prov. 14:5 – scorners seek wisdom but don’t find it. Pride keeps him from real wisdom.
a. Real wisdom comes through humility… and the proud talker knows it all already! You can’t tell him or her anything!
5. Prov. 21:24 – his pride leads the scorner to wrath… and fighting… arguments.
6. Prov. 28:25 – Proud, arrogant talkers stir up strife!
7. Prov. 15:12 – He hates to be told what to do. He gets angry when someone dares to approach him about something! He won’t go to the wise man to hear or to obtain wise counsel.
8. Prov. 22:10 – and when there is an argument or contention, it will END if you get rid of the scorner—the proud, arrogant talker! (Only by pride cometh contention!)
9. Psalm 101:5 – David would not tolerate proud talkers!
a. Such proud talkers and scorners and slanderers cannot be tolerated in the local church either!
B.) God Scorns The Scorner
1. Prov.24:9 – the scorner is an abomination (disgusting) to men. Imagine how much it must disgust God?
a. God hates pride because He is jealous of His glory. He shares it with no one.
b. Pride seeks to remove God from His throne… and place self there. (Lucifer; men)
2. Prov. 19:29 – judgments are prepared for scorners.
3. Psalm 31:23 – God will recompense proud men.
4. Prov.26:12 – there is no hope for a man wise in his own conceits. (proud; arrogant scorner—no hope!) God is against him. His case is hopeless… worse than a fool!
5. Ps.138:6 – the proud He knows afar off. Arrogant talkers do not have a close relationship to God. Period!
6. This thought is important to God.
a. This verse was repeated two times in the NT
b. In both verses the NT writers use the word “proud” for scorner.
c. Also in both NT verses, the authors use the word “resist” as a translation of the verb “scorneth.”
• Resists: to range in battle against; to oppose one’s self.
• God not only is disgusted by the behavior of proud, arrogant talkers… scorners… He actively resists them… opposes them!
• He allows proud scorners to continue in this life. But He is preparing judgments for them all!
BUT HE GIVETH GRACE UNTO THE LOWLY.
1. Lowly = the humble; meek; poor;
a. This term helps clarify exactly what shade of meaning Solomon meant to attach to “scorner.” He means the “proud” talker… emphasis on pride.
b. That is how both James and Peter understood his usage of the term too.
2. God judges the proud talkers, but God gives GRACE to the lowly.
3. Isaiah 57:15 – God dwells with the lowly… the hearts of the lowly is God’s dwelling place—and He revives the spirit of the lowly.
4. Isa. 66:2 –God looks to the lowly… humble… contrite in heart.
5. I Pet. 5:5-6 – God wants us to be clothed with humility!
a. Col. 3:12-13 – PUT ON humility…
b. When that is the case, there will be no fighting or contention.
c. If we humble ourselves, God will lift us up!
d. Luke 14:11 – For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
e. We need to promote self-abasement, not self-esteem!
6. 2 Ch. 32:26 – Hezekiah humbled himself of his pride, and the Lord removed the judgment that was about to fall upon him!
* Cf. 34:37 – God answers prayer because of humility!
7. Prov. 22:4 – By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, honour, and life.
a. God honors humility!
b. Note that the fear of God and humility appear together here. They are two peas in a pod. One who acknowledges God for who He is will fear Him AND will humble himself before Him! The bigger God is in our sight, the smaller we become!
c. A just apprehension of God will always lay us in the lowest dust before Him! (Charles Bridges)
d. For the Christian, humility and godly fear may not bring us earthly riches. But it will enable us to enjoy our true spiritual riches!
e. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of God!
8. True greatness is humility! Matt. 18:4 – Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
a. Matt.20:26-28 – If you want to be great = humble yourself—stop trying to be great!
b. Jesus is our example! He was great—and He was humble!
Proverbs 3:35
Glory or Shame?
The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.
Introduction:
1. Solomon has given his son a series of exhortations in this chapter.
2. He ends the chapter with a series of contrasts—given as reasons WHY his son ought to obey the previous commands.
3. Solomon contrasts the following:
a. The froward and the righteous (vs. 32)
b. The wicked and the just (vs. 33)
c. The proud scorners and the lowly (vs. 34)
d. Now he contrasts the fool and the wise. (vs. 35)
THE WISE SHALL INHERIT GLORY…
1. Solomon wanted his son to be wise. What parent wouldn’t want their children to be wise?
2. Solomon seeks to make wisdom attractive to his son. It results in glory!
a. Glory = honor; glory; dignity; good reputation…
b. This is attractive. A wise parent will seek to instill in his child a sense of honor… dignity… respect… integrity…
c. Solomon seeks to make this kind of glory a prize to be sought after. He wants it to be attractive to his son.
d. The world makes its evil ways look appealing and attractive!
• Cf. Prov.1:11-14 – they try to lure with promises of excitement and wealth!
• But what they don’t tell you is that this lifestyle is a trap! (1:17) and they are really laying wait for their own lives! (1:18)
e. The devil made evil look appealing to Eve. He showed her that the forbidden fruit was good for food; pleasant to the eyes… desirable to make one wise!
f. The devil made sin look appealing to Christ. He suggested that He turn the stones into bread when He was hungry. He showed Him all the kingdoms of the earth and their glory.
g. Solomon wants GOOD to look appealing to his son.
3. This is good advice to all parents. Make doing what is RIGHT appealing!
a. This doesn’t mean that we should make it look cool or acceptable to the world! That is a worldly approach.
b. Cool = “in”—acceptable with the “in crowd”. The “in crowd” is not the One we are trying to please!
c. Spiritual things will NEVER be cool with the world. The world hates truth! Darkness hates light.
d. But, as Christians, we should make light (truth; obedience; righteousness) look appealing to our children in a good sense.
e. Parents can do that by holding up and honoring that which is good and pure and holy!
f. Instead of holding up Michael Jordan or some other celebrity a role model, hold up Jesus Christ as a model! Or one of the apostles!
g. Reward good behavior in the home! Praise your children when they make wise choices! Praise them when they do that which is honorable… just for the sake of honor!
h. Make it appealing! It is appealing to God!
i. There ought to be an attractiveness to truth and light to those who are born again!
j. This is what Solomon is doing with his son. He wants his son to know that the wise will inherit glory!
k. He wants his son to know that there is great reward in following the way of wisdom!
4. This glory (honor; dignity) belongs only to the wise. It is their inheritance.
a. Inherit = to get as a possession; to acquire; to inherit.
b. It implies that it might not be acquired immediately.
c. The reward for wisdom is not always immediate… but it is sure.
• For us, the way of wisdom means to follow the Lord. That means suffering and persecution in this life.
• In this life, we may not inherit glory… we may inherit shame—at least in the eyes of the ungodly.
• The martyrs died a shameful death—in the eyes of the world. But they went on to inherit glory!
• If we follow the ways of wisdom, we will not be honored by the world… we will be treated shamefully. (I Thess. 2:2)
• The wise man who lives for the Lord and sacrifices in this life is considered to be a fool by the world. Their motto is “eat, drink, and be merry!” Why pick up a cross? Why suffer? Why sacrifice? The world thinks the godly saint to be a fool! (I Cor. 15:19)
• In this life, we don’t often see the result or the reward of wisdom. But we will in heaven!
• Whatever we suffer in this life for the Lord will seem like nothing compared to the glory that shall follow! (Rom. 8:18)
• When we follow the way of wisdom in this life, the immediate result is often suffering. But when we stand before the judgment seat, the reward will be glory! (I Pet. 1:6-)
• Even if we don’t see it right away, the way of wisdom results in glory! The wise shall inherit glory!
• The straight and narrow way may be quite straight and narrow now—but it leads to everlasting life… we inherit glory at the end!
• The Lord set the pattern—suffering in this life—and GLORY to follow! (I Pet. 1:11)
5. Sometimes, following the way of wisdom DOES result in glory NOW! (or at least profit… a degree of advantage)
a. There IS profit to godliness in this life too. (I Tim. 4:8)
b. Walking in wisdom is the way of godliness.
c. Those who walk in wisdom and follow godliness… will experience a certain degree of “profit” (glory) in this life AND in the life to come…
d. Examples:
• The wisdom in proverbs tells us to be diligent in our work. That usually results in profit!
• The wisdom in proverbs warns us against drinking strong drink. That profits our health… relationships… family life…
• The wisdom in proverbs tells us to be careful with the use of out tongue. That too will be profitable in this life!
• The wisdom in proverbs tells us to avoid evil companions. That too results in profit in this life.
• The wisdom in proverbs demands that we be honest. That will be of great profit too—if we can avoid going to jail!
e. We are rewarded from God at the Bema seat in heaven for wise behavior. But there is also some “glory” or profit to be had in this life.
6. Sometimes when we live godly and follow the way of wisdom:
a. We may suffer and be shamed in this life—but inherit glory in heaven!
b. We may experience honor in this life from following wisdom—and then ALSO inherit glory in heaven!
c. It is better to follow the way of wisdom all around.
d. At least ultimately—the wise shall inherit glory.
e. Psalm 84:11 – He gives grace and glory!
f. Prov. 4:8 – exalt wisdom, and she shall promote thee!
g. Dan. 12:3 – They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament for ever and ever!
BUT SHAME SHALL BE THE PROMOTION OF FOOLS.
1. Ultimately, fools inherit shame!
2. However, in this life, fools sometimes do well!
a. Folly in the Bible is not childishness… or silly pranks. It speaks of rebellion… ungodliness… evil… refusal to obey Lady Wisdom (God!)
b. They are eating, drinking, and are merry in this life! They seem to be having a grand old time!
c. The ungodly and those who reject the way of God’s wisdom might prosper in the world! (Ps. 73:1-3)
d. Jer. 12:1 – Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?
e. Job 21:7-13 – READ
f. This fact often puzzles the godly. It doesn’t seem fair!
• Solomon wants his son to know that while fools may seem to have power, wealth, and glory in this life, they have nothing but shame waiting for them in the life to come!
• Shame shall be the promotion of fools—regardless of what they say or think now!
3. Promotion: to exalt; to lift up; to rise, rise up, be high, be lofty, be exalted
a. In this world, it seems that the ungodly are winning. They seem to be exalted. The fools seem to have their share of glory.
b. Who has glory in this life? Movie stars… celebrities… athletes… wealthy tycoons… CEO’s…
c. Many of them (not all!) are ungodly fools!
d. What is it that exalts them today?
• Good looks; money; fame; athleticism; power; etc.
• In the future, they will be exalted in SHAME!
• Charles Bridges: “Their fame will be infamous; their disgrace conspicuous; lifting them up, like Haman upon his elevated gallows!”
4. Daniel 12:2 – And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
a. They will be raised to an eternity of shame!
b. Their shame will be experienced in the Lake of Fire.
c. The only exaltation the fool will have in that day is SHAME!
d. IN that day, God will eternally separate the wise from the fools.
e. Eternal glory for one—eternal shame for the other.
5. Solomon wants wisdom to be appealing. He also wants folly to appear as it really is: shameful!
a. This is good advice for parents today!
b. Solomon wanted to make it clear to his son that he should NOT therefore envy the wealthy, powerful oppressor! (Prov. 3:31)
c. Don’t envy those who seem to be enjoying fame, wealth, power, and glory in this life. Eternal shame is their end.
d. There is nothing appealing about the life of a worldly, ungodly fool! It ends in shame.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 5
Proverbs 5:1-6
The Strange Woman
1 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
1. Solomon addresses his son on an issue that is obviously of grave concern to him: he is speaking about the strange woman—the harlot.
2. In fact, Solomon spends nearly three entire chapters (5-7) on this subject!
3. Why does he devote so much time to it?
a. Evidently, the sin of adultery was very much available in his day. There is a LOT in the Bible about this sin—as it is today.
b. Perhaps another reason for such an extended treatment of this subject is because of the devastating and long lasting consequences of this sin!
c. One man suggested that Solomon gives such a lengthy treatment of the subject is because it was a beam in his own eye.
• His own personal downfall began by taking on many wives. (I Kings 11:1-3)
• These may be lessons Solomon learned from experience. He doesn’t want his son to make the same mistakes he did.
4. Now Solomon tells his son to listen carefully to what he is about to say on this subject. Bow thine ear!
5. At this point, Solomon may be speaking to a grown, married man. (vs.15 – seems to imply that he was married.)
2 That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
1. Solomon wants his son to regard discretion…
a. Regard: watch; keep; observe; pay heed; retain
b. Discretion: purpose, discretion, device,
c. Solomon wants his son to guard this purpose or resolve in life: to remain pure…
2. That thy lips may keep knowledge… he wants his son to KNOW and to be aware of the dangers of the strange woman…
3. A father who loves his son will warn him about the harlot… her ways… her deception… and a father who loves his son will do all he can to see to it that he regards discretion and keeps this knowledge…
4. Ps.119:9, 11 – a young man will cleanse his way by taking heed to God’s Word… and hiding it in his heart—that he might not sin against God.
3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil…
1. Now Solomon begins to describe the strange woman. The first thing he says about her is that she is deceptive.
2. When he mentions her lips and mouth, it is not clear whether he is speaking of her kisses or her words.
3. But that is not the main point. The main point is that she comes across as sweet as honey and smoother than oil…
a. 2:16 – the strange woman flatters with her words…
b. 7:21 – the strange woman used her sweet words to entice this young man.
4. His warning seems to be this: be careful if someone comes across as TOO sweet… or TOO smooth.
a. Ps. 55:21 – smooth words on the lips CAN be a phony cover for something sinister in the heart.
b. This is a good warning in lots of areas other than the strange woman!
c. Be careful about the sweet talking salesman who is smoother than oil!
d. Be careful about anyone who “butters you up.” They often have ulterior motives.
e. The salesman’s motive is to get your money into his pocket…
• When a total stranger calls me on the phone and begins asking how I am… I can be pretty sure that he really doesn’t care.
• When someone is syrupy sweet to me, alarms go off immediately.
f. That is the case with the strange woman. She does have ulterior motives.
g. The strange woman wants to use the young and foolish man… she is not out for your good!
5. Of course we don’t want to go overboard and not trust anyone. But we do need to exert caution when the words are sweeter than honey… smoother than oil. That is often a tactic used to “get something” out of you…
6. This woman tries to lead the young man to believe that his life will be sweeter and richer…happier… more enjoyable and more pleasant by being with her.
a. Her flattery makes him feel good… important… someone cares about him… thinks highly of him… …(“she really cares about me!”)
b. For somebody that has been down in the dumps, that can be quite enticing…—that is exactly her plan.
c. Like the salesman who tries to convince a prospective customer that if he signs on the dotted line, his life will be immeasurably improved! That is not always the case once you sign!
d. Very often the snake oil and all purpose elixir doesn’t really cure arthritis and make your hair grow back! The words of the salesman were sweet and smooth—but were deceptive. They led you to believe something that was not true.
7. In a sense, this is the very nature of sin. It is sweet, smooth, and promises us the world… but does not come through…
a. Sin of all types makes promises of pleasure… and seems to come through at first. (Heb. 11:25)
b. Sin is pleasurable, but it doesn’t last. It is only for a season…
c. Like the high of a drug—it is pleasurable for a time, but soon you crash… and your body eventually pays the consequences…
d. The devil is a master at making evil look good…and so is Madison Avenue. And so is the strange woman. Don’t be fooled by any of them. It is all the same tactic.
4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.
1. Now Solomon describes her END…
a. At first, she comes across as sweet as honey… but in the end, she is as bitter as wormwood.
b. At first she comes across as smooth as a fragrant oil anointing your skin… but in the end she is as sharp as a sword piercing and penetrating into your skin… ripping you open!
2. His point is the obvious contrast between her beginning (how she first introduces herself) and her end (the end results).
a. The beginning: sweet and smooth. The end: bitter and sharp!
b. The pleasure and sweetness that seemed to characterize this relationship at first will eventually develop into a bitter spirit.
c. The adulterer who seeks a few moments of pleasure may discover that the price was his marriage… his kids… his home… everything down the tubes… and a life of bitterness sets in.
d. I’m sure every one of us knows several families ruined by adultery. It is bitter.
e. The adulteress promises pleasure and happiness… but brings ruin and destruction and bitterness instead.
f. Adultery feels good initially… but in the end it hurts like the piercing of a sword.
g. These are not idle threats… these are not exaggerated warnings. This is the stuff of real life.
3. This contrast between the initial sweetness and bitterness in the end is true of virtually every enticement of sin.
a. Prov. 23:31– when you initially look at wine in the cup its color, smell, and ambiance are quite appealing… sweet and smooth…
b. Prov. 23:32 – however, in the end (at the last) it bites like a serpent!
c. Prov. 23:33 – alcohol leads to all kinds of other sins.
d. Prov. 23:34-35 – it makes you sick…
e. Prov. 23:19 – it produces woe, contentions, wounds…
f. I Tim. 6:9-10 – the same thing is true of the promise of riches. They allure through covetousness… and promise happiness… but in the end pierce men through with many sorrows… hurtful lusts… it can drown men in destruction and perdition!
g. Sin is always attractive in prospect—but hideous and hurtful in retrospect!
4. The sinner is deceived into thinking that nothing will happen to me. I will be able to get away with it. There will be no consequences to my action.
a. If the men and women living in cardboard boxes and sleeping in their own vomit in the back streets of Boston could have seen a video of their “END” before they took their first drink—they probably would never touch alcohol.
b. If the married man who ended up getting divorced, losing his wife, his kids, his home, his job… was told the outcome of his adulterous affair, he probably would never have gotten involved.
c. Why does it happen? Self-confidence—it won’t happen to me! I can handle this. I won’t fall! Pride!
d. I Cor. 10:12 – Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall!
5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
1. The way of this strange woman is the way of death… she is on the road to destruction that leads to condemnation.
2. There is a narrow way—which is too straight and narrow for her ways.
3. Then there is the broad way of destruction. That is her road… She is headed for death and hell… and she is enticing others to come along.
4. At first she seemed so sweet and smooth… but in the end—death!
5. There is a way which SEEMETH right unto a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.
6. The devil attempts to make evil look good—seem right.
7. Don’t be fooled. Those who practice sin are headed for death and hell.
6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
1. Finally, he describes her most effective tactic—speed.
2. Her ways are moveable…
a. She is slippery… she moves and changes to meet the various circumstances… lest you get away!
b. She works upon every weakness… snatches up every unguarded moment—LEST you ponder the path of life!
c. She knows she has but a short time to make the sale…
• Have you ever tried to say NO to a lively salesman?
• You don’t want new vinyl siding, well, could we interest you in some new windows? No windows, well how about a new roof!
• They are trying to make a sale before you hang up or walk away… and thus are moveable… slippery… changeable… if you don’t fall for the first sales pitch, they’ve got ten more!
3. The strange woman is moveable… LEST you begin to start thinking… pondering the path of life…
a. She does not want to give time for the conscience to begin to kick in…
b. She affords the young man no time to reflect upon what he is about to do…
c. She does not want the young man to have time to think about the possible consequences…
d. The idea here is similar to the unbelievable offer the salesman has for you on this new time sharing condo… but the offer is only good if you sign now… don’t stop and think about it—just sign now!
• They too can be quite “moveable”!
• If you don’t fall for their first pitch… they keep the pitches coming until one seems to sound too good to ignore!
e. In a similar fashion, the strange is moveable…changeable… she’ll say whatever you want her to say… promise whatever you want to hear… just ACT NOW! Don’t stop and think about how this will impact your life… just do it!
f. Ps. 119:59 – she’s afraid that he will think on his ways and turn away!
4. Solomon wants his son to KNOW this… to know her tactics… her motives… so that his son will FLEE youthful lusts… and not fall prey to this evil woman.
Proverbs 5:7-14
The Results of Immorality
Introduction:
1. Thus far in the chapter (vs.1-6), Solomon pointed out to his son the deception of the immoral woman. She comes on as sweet as honey and smoother than oil, but in the end is bitter… and sharp like a sword.
2. In this next section (vs.7-14), Solomon warns his sons about the consequences of immorality.
3. He begins in vs. 7 as he did in vs.1 by strongly exhorting his son to LISTEN carefully to what he is about to say… HEAR… and don’t depart from what you hear! This is important.
4. In vs. 8 he warns his son to stay away from the immoral woman.
a. Notice that he warns his son not even to come NEAR her door!
b. Don’t put yourself in temptation’s way!
c. Lit. = distance your road from her…
d. Pray that God would lead us OUT of temptation…
e. If we pray for that, then we are responsible to stay away ourselves too!
• There is no sense in praying for deliverance from sin if we insist on toying with objects or places that are associated with sin!
• Run away—like Joseph!
f. Rom. 13:14 – make no provision for the flesh!
g. The application to us is clear. We, too, should avoid ANYTHING and everything that would stir up our flesh… (TV; videos; Internet; magazines; — make no provision for the flesh! Don’t even come close to her door!)
h. Of course there isn’t anything sinful about being near her door—except that it places you only one step away from sin!
i. For that reason, we should FEAR sin… and fear being around temptation. We should fear it and stay away like we would fear leprosy and stay away… or any other deadly disease. Avoid it like the plague!
Lost honor (vs. 9a)
1. Honor = splendor, majesty, vigor, glory
2. The man who spends his time with immoral women is handing over… throwing away… losing his honor, integrity, and self-respect.
3. Prov. 6:32-33 – this man receives dishonor and a reproach that will not go away!
a. This sin results in a wound—a painful experience—in contrast to the pleasure of sin in the immediate… the long lasting consequences are a painful… like a wound that never heals. It will always be a sore spot.
b. This sin produces a reproach that is not wiped away. It is a mark of dishonor that you wear…
c. All sin can be forgiven, but not wiped out. The consequences of some sins cannot be wiped out…
d. David’s reproach for his sin with Bathsheba was never wiped out.
• He genuinely repented and God forgave him.
• God called him a man after his own heart.
• But—this reproach of this sin STICKS to David to this day!
• It didn’t mean God had no use for him or that he could not be restored to fellowship with God. He was… but the stigma remained. That is the nature of the sin of immorality.
• This is what Solomon warns his son about! If you fail in this area, you will be branded with this label as David was.
Lost years (vs. 9b)
1. The adulterer and fornicator will not only lose his honor, he will lose years off his life.
2. It is not entirely clear whether Solomon had in mind
• Sexually transmitted diseases…
• Or perhaps the revengeful rage of a jealous husband who seeks to kill the man who went with his wife…a love triangle often results in murder… watch the 6:00 o’clock news!
• Or perhaps just as a general principle that those who live in the fast lane lose years off their life…
• When children obey their parents—it adds years to their life. Here’s one way a son can listen to and obey his father and add years unto his life.
Lost wealth (vs. 10)
1. This sin is costly too—expensive! Your wealth could end up in the hands of strangers!
a. There is a cost for prostitutes… and it can become addicting like a drug… (Prov. 29:3)
b. The prodigal spent his father’s wealth on harlots. That was the complaint of the older son, “He hath devoured thy living with harlots.”
2. If disease results, there is a cost to that too. (lost wages; doctors; etc.)
3. Sometimes bribes and blackmail must be paid to keep the affair quiet…
4. 6:34-35 – Solomon implies that the man involved in this sin might have to try to make up to the offended husband with gifts and money—but it will not work.
5. If a child is produced, then there is the cost of child support…
6. This kind of lifestyle and the reputation earned by it may result in poor performance at work and it may hinder your career and thus your pay…
7. If this sin is widely known it can cause you to lose your job in some instances… especially if it involves someone from work.
8. This sin can be costly in many ways. Your wealth could end up in the hands of strangers.
9. There could be lawsuits involved! All your labors (all you have worked for) could end up in the house of a stranger… someone else might end up possessing all your possessions! Recently there have been court cases where one spouse sues the adulterer for breaking up the home—and they have won!
10. Prov.6:26 – this sin can reduce a man to a piece of bread. It strips a man of all he has… down to a piece of bread! I know of such cases! Solomon probably did too—thus he warns his son!
Lost health (vs. 11)
1. Not only can the sin of immorality take away your honor and wealth, it can destroy your body too!
2. The flesh and body being consumed may speak of diseases transmitted.
3. It can shorten your life… it can also make your life miserable… sick… a consumed body.
4. The destruction of the body may be the result not only of this kind of immorality, but of the whole lifestyle that goes along with it—life in the fast lane… usually includes drugs or alcohol…
5. This kind of person is obviously not taking care of his or her body. In time, this lifestyle WILL catch up to you and will consume your flesh.
Lost opportunity (vs. 12-13)
1. These are the words of the man given to lust at the end of his life.
a. He has just experienced all of the consequences of his sin.
b. Now he knows what people had warned him earlier.
c. Now he has lost his honor, his wealth, his health, his respect…
d. At the end of his days he has nothing… and he laments his life of poverty, disease, and disgrace.
2. People warned him of the dangers and the consequences, but he hated the instruction… he despised the reproofs… back then he didn’t want to listen to anyone. He just wanted to do his own thing.
3. Now he realizes how he has wasted his life… he should have listened, but it is too late now. “If only I had listened…” seems to be the intent of this verse.
4. This seems to be the most painful of the consequences… living the rest of his days knowing that the shame, disgrace, poverty, and poor health is all his fault! Living with the guilt… the stinging conscience… the regret… the irretrievable loss… hurts!
• David said of his sin, “my sin is ever before me.” (Ps. 51:3)
• How many times did David say, “If only I had turned away that night on the roof”?
5. This foolish man groans because he refused to listen to his parents… to his Sunday school teacher…
Lost respect (vs. 14)
1. Finally, the author speaks of his loss of respect in the community.
NIV = “I have come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.”
2. This man’s sin caused him to lose face in the community… it brought him not pleasure but disgrace…
3. Some have been brought to the brink of suicide because of the shame, guilt, and consequences associated with their sin.
4. This loss of respect also served as a warning to others NOT to commit sins of immorality. There was a stigma attached to it—like the wearing of the scarlet letter. That had a sobering effect on the community…
5. Unfortunately, this stigma seems to be lost in our culture… unless your picture appears on TV as a sexual offender. Adultery seems to have no stigma any more—but it sure did in Bible days.
6. Our society seems to have lost its ability to blush or to feel shame.
7. However, if there is any sense of shame at all—this sin will bring it out!
8. This kind of a lifestyle leads to remorse and a wasted life… and ultimately the man is disgraced in his community—which meant something in the olden days—when honor meant something.
Conclusion:
1. We reap what we sow. (Gal. 6:7-8)
2. Failing to take heed to the warnings of a godly father results in a life of regret later on.
3. In our loose age these warnings are more needful than ever before. These kind of warnings need to be given to kids at a younger and younger age nowadays too.
4. Solomon gives his son lots of things to THINK about. He wants his son to THINK about the consequences of sin. We should think about such things too. It leads to making wiser decisions. It instills fear in us…
5. In the end it results in a loss of health, wealth, honor, it leads to mourning (vs. 11a); is bitter (vs. 4); regret (vs. 12-13); ends in disgrace (vs. 14).
6. These are good reasons to remove thy way far from the immoral woman!
Proverbs 5:15-17
Drink Waters Out of Thine Own Cistern
15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.
1. In figurative language, Solomon tells his son to be faithful to his wife.
2. Solomon uses these two figures (a cistern and a well) to illustrate a man’s relationship to his wife.
a. Cistern: a shallow well…a pit… often a large container to store water in.
• In Bible lands, each man had to keep his own supply of water.
• There was no running water… and sometimes even the wells would run dry. A cistern was necessary.
b. Running waters = speaks of a spring of water… sometimes called “living” water—because it moves…
3. To a man living in a dry, hot, arid region, a cistern or running well water would symbolize perfect physical refreshment.
a. When the man is hot, he runs to the well for a drink. That’s what it’s for!
b. When a man or woman has a physical need—that is what your spouse is for!
c. The cistern or well is itself bubbling up and is for his refreshment; to satisfy him;
d. A well is always there—always a source of satisfaction.
e. I Cor. 7:4 – this is a two way street—for both husband and wife.
• If Solomon was speaking to his daughter, he might say the same kind of things. In fact, he did in Song of Solomon.
c. A spring shut up; a fountain sealed: (Song of Sol. 4:12)—Here Solomon uses a similar illustration.
• His bride was like a garden enclosed in walls—keeping all others out. Gardens were walled off to keep out intruders… people who don’t belong there…
» Isa. 5:1-4 – God spoke of Israel, his wife, as an enclosed garden.
» God wanted Israel all to Himself. He did not want her to chase after other lovers…after other gods.
» Thus, she was enclosed… hedged about…
• She is like a spring that is shut up—closed to all but her husband.
• He likens his wife to a sealed fountain of refreshment and satisfaction, but only for him.
• She had kept herself “sealed” up for only her husband, preserving her purity for her husband.
f. Your marriage partner is for your refreshment and satisfaction—physically, emotionally, and in every other way.
4. The command here is to “drink water out of your own cistern” or to seek refreshment and satisfaction from your OWN cistern… and from your OWN well.
a. The sexual desire is likened to a desire for water—an intense thirst that needs to be satiated. A cistern or a bubbling well will satisfy that thirst.
b. In other words, his command is—don’t seek satisfaction or gratification outside of your marriage partner! Drink from your own well.
c. If you don’t have your own well (if you are not married) then wait until you have your own well! (It is better to marry than to burn—if you’re really thirsty, you need a well)
d. If you DO have your own well (if you are married) then don’t go seeking to drink from some other man’s well! That’s adultery.
e. The husband is not to drink from another man’s well. And the wife is to be a fountain sealed off—a spring shut up to all but her husband.
f. These passages speak clearly about God’s design for marriage.
• And note that the man is to have ONE cistern (singular).
• Interestingly, these words of wisdom were spoken by Solomon—who later came to have 700 wives!
• He recorded this wisdom for us, but he didn’t follow it himself. This was his downfall. (I Kings 11:1-4)
5. Jeremiah 2:11-13 – illustrated unfaithfulness using the figure of a cistern.
a. vs. 11 – Israel was unfaithful to God—her Husband. She went after other gods.
b. Vs. 12 – this is a fearful thing… this kind of sin should cause men to shudder.
c. Vs. 13 – God’s people committed two evils:
• First, they forsook God. He was to them a fountain of living water! Unending refreshment and satisfaction spiritually.
• Secondly, they hewed out cisterns. They made their own replacement for God! (Idols) A cistern is a pretty poor substitute for a spring of living water… but they made the exchange. Later they discovered that the cistern they made was cracked and unable to hold water—their false gods provided no real satisfaction.
d. Thus, seeking another cistern was used to illustration unfaithfulness. Here to God—in Proverbs, to one’s wife.
6. Taking these two passages together makes it clear that God demands faithfulness.
a. Not everyone is always happy in their marriage. I have counseled quite a few folks who were not.
b. But regardless of the level of happiness or fulfillment—the command still stands: Drink waters out of thine own cistern! Physical needs are to be met only within the confines of marriage.
c. And those emotional and spiritual needs that are not being met by your earthly cistern can be met in God—He is better than a cistern. He is a ever-springing fountain of living water—unending Source of satisfaction and refreshment for the soul.
d. We have no guarantee that our spouse will walk with the Lord, be kind to us, or even be faithful to us.
e. But we DO have a guarantee that the Lord will be faithful—and that He can supply all the inner needs of our soul, which may not be met by an unfaithful spouse.
f. Our God is a fountain of living water…
16 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.
1. The same motif is used in this passage—of fountains and waters.
a. Only this time, he speaks of the fountain as the husband—the male. His inner physical drive is likened to a fountain or a river of water… constantly flowing or bubbling up and needs an outlet.
b. The wording in the KJV seems to be encouraging the male to disperse his fountain all over town.
2. This sentence seems to contradict what Solomon just said in vs. 15.
a. For that reason, most translations have chosen to translate this sentence as a question.
b. NAS: Should your springs be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets?
c. NIV: Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?
d. NKJV: “Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets?”
e. The obvious answer to the rhetorical question is NO! Of course he should not let his water flow out into the public squares!
f. His point is that Solomon did not want his son to be promiscuous and father children all over town!
g. The passage speaks of the utter waste of reproductive power when involved with a prostitute or adulterous situation.
h.) He likens it to a man who would take water from his cistern and throw it away on the streets of the town! What a waste! This would be seen as an especially foolish thing to do by those who lived in a dry, desert region.
i. The physical relationship between husband and wife is a precious commodity—not something to be thrown around foolishly.
3. Thus, the wife is like a bubbling fountain—an inner drive that is to satisfy the husband. The husband, too, is like a bubbling fountain, and that fountain is not to be thrown all over town, but is for the satisfaction of the wife.
a. I Cor. 7:1-5 – this union was created by God.
b. Marriage was designed by God to satisfy needs.
c. It is designed to meet those needs in order to prevent immorality. (vs. 2)
d. Paul warns the marriage partners to render due benevolence to their spouse—in other words—both partners are to satisfy! So that your spouse doesn’t seek to drink from another cistern!
17 Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee.
1. Now he tells his son not to allow his fountains (reproductive powers) to flow all over town.
a. Some understand the “them” to refer to the children produced illegitimately…
b. Others see the “them” as a reference to fountain of sexual desire mentioned in the previous passages.
c. The two ideas are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
d. He may be speaking of the drive and the product of that drive (children)
e. If he dispenses this drive all over town, then the product of that (the children) will not be your own, but will belong to a stranger!
f. The Bible speaks highly of the value of children. Our society doesn’t value them as God does (or we wouldn’t have all the abortions we do).
g. The result of the man who is dispersing his fountain all over town is such a waste!
• Precious children who could be such a blessing to him will instead be brought up in miserable environment of a prostitute.
• It is a tragedy when illegitimate children are brought into the world. The circumstances are tragic…
h.) If the “them” refers only to his fountain—his drive—then Solomon is saying that it should be satisfied not with strangers, but with his own wife.
Proverbs 5:18-21
Rejoice with the Wife of Thy Youth
Introduction:
1. Solomon has been warning his son against the sin of sexual immorality.
a. He warns against the strange woman—harlot (vs. 3-4)
b. He tells his son to stay away from the evil woman (vs. 8)
c. He warns of the consequences of failing to do so (vs. 9-14)
2. In the last half of this chapter, he tells his son HOW to remain pure in this area.
a. Be faithful to your own wife—don’t go to someone else’s wife… drink out of your own cistern. (vs. 15-17)
b. Be satisfied with your own wife. (vs. 18-21)
18 Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
1. In the previous section, Solomon had just warned his son to be faithful to his own wife. He reiterates that in different language in vs. 18.
2. Let thy fountain be blessed…
a. His fountain refers back to vs. 15 – his wife is his source of water—his cistern… his well of running water.
b. Solomon says, let your own well be blessed… Your wife IS a blessing. Let her be a blessing to you physically too.
c. Your OWN wife ought to be the source of your happiness or blessedness. Don’t go looking elsewhere to find “happiness.”
3. Rejoice with the wife of thy youth…
a. Don’t go to another man’s wife to find happiness or joy. Find it with your own wife!
b. Learn to rejoice with your wife…
c. God has designed the wife to be a source of blessing and joy to her husband—and vice versa. (Ecc. 9:9)
d. It was not good that man should be alone, so God made him a helpmeet.
• It was not good because man is a social creature and needs the fellowship…
• It was not good because man has a physical need too that could only be filled by a woman…
• So God created marriage… to be a source of blessing and joy.
• Solomon warns his son NOT to look outside of marriage to find this blessedness or joy. Rejoice with your own wife!
4. Solomon seems to imply here that a lack of happiness of joy could LEAD to immorality.
a. Too often a partner in marriage becomes unhappy… discouraged… disappointed… down… depressed… and in need of a lift… in need of some happiness and joy… (A vulnerable position!)
b. Along comes what appears to be someone who makes you feel good… they flatter you… make you feel happy again… takes away the blues… you feel uplifted… just what you needed… Watch out!!!
c. We are so FEELINGS oriented… but we shouldn’t be. We are to live our lives by FAITH that rests upon the FACTS of God’s Word… not by how we feel!
d. Solomon warns his son to find his joy with his own wife!
e. WORK at being happy with your own spouse…
f. And if your spouse is not cooperating… then remind yourself that you DIED with Christ…
g. Remind yourself that your main purpose in life is NOT being happy but being faithful to God—which means being faithful to your spouse.
h. God expects us to be faithful to our spouse regardless of HOW we feel!
i. If we DO what is right, in time, we will FEEL joy and contentment in the fact that we are obedient…
j. Thus, if we know that unhappiness in a marriage leads to immorality, we ought to work at being happy with our spouse! AND do all you can to make your spouse happy and joyous in the relationship…
k. Rejoice with the wife of thy youth!
5. Note also that Solomon did not say to rejoice with the WIVES of your youth, but with your wife—singular!
19 Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.
1. Here Solomon gives his cure for a young man being captivated by the strange woman—be captivated by your wife!
2. Let her be as a loving hind and a pleasant roe…
a. This is language similar to that used in Song of Sol. 2:9,17.
b. Obviously, this was flattering language… in an agricultural society it was considered flattering to be compared to beautiful, graceful animals like a deer.
c. I wouldn’t recommend that any men here compare their wives to any sort of animal today—it won’t go over nearly as well today!
d. BUT—compliment her!
3. Solomon then tells his son to be satisfied with his wife and to be ravished in her love.
a. Satisfied – if a man is satisfied with his wife, there is no need to look elsewhere!
• Drink from your own cistern and satisfy your thirst—and then you won’t be tempted to drink from another man’s cistern.
• Satisfied = to be satiated or saturated, have or drink to one’s fill; to be drunk or intoxicated…
• Marriage should be physically satisfying—for both partners.
• It should be joyous, satisfying, and fulfilling.
• How does a young man avoid being ensnared by the immoral woman? By drinking from his own cistern and to drink to one’s fill = be satiated and saturated!
• The marriage bed is HOLY—be filled with that kind of holiness… and don’t go looking elsewhere. It isn’t holy anywhere else!
• A wise husband who wants to remain pure will drink to the full at his own cistern! His thirst is FULLY satisfied!
• A wise wife will do the same…
• Note that it says, “at all times”…
• One of the quickest ways to drive a spouse to immorality is to “close the well”—if the thirst isn’t satisfied at home, it WILL be elsewhere!
• That’s why Paul says in I Cor. 7:3-6 – that the wife doesn’t have power over her own body—the husband does… and the husband doesn’t have power over his own body either—the wife does!
• Paul also said “defraud ye not one the other” = except it be with consent and for a little time lest ye tempted for your incontinency! (lack of self control)
» The problem is that we usually approach this from the wrong perspective. We expect to BE satisfied… to BE happy…
» However, true fulfillment comes from satisfying your partner!
» Contentment and satisfaction does not come by “receiving” but through “giving.”
» If we selflessly serve others—we will BE satisfied. If we are constantly looking to BE satisfied, we will be empty… because we are approaching the matter in a selfish way.
» Love is about giving… not getting.
» This principle is true in marriage… in the local church… in all kinds of relationships—“It is better to give than to receive.”
» This is true of the physical relationship in marriage—it is true in every other part of marriage — true fulfillment and contentment comes through selflessly serving and pleasing the other…
b. Be ravished in her love…
• Ravished = to err, stray; to swerve, meander, reel, roll, be intoxicated, err (in drunkenness)—here it has the idea of being drawn into something… captivated…
• Solomon tells his son that it’s OK to be enticed or captivated by love—just make sure it is HER love … the wife of thy youth!
• Note also: always! This is a constant part of marriage. Don’t ignore it.
• Don’t be ravished or intoxicated by magazines… or TV… or movies… or videos… or pictures on the Internet… or by flirting at the water cooler… or in any other way…
• Be always ravished in HER love!
• This is Divine wisdom speaking in these verses… God’s method of sexual purity…
20 And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
1. Now Solomon challenges his son to THINK… to think about WHY he would ever want to do such a thing as get involved in immorality.
2. WHY? (vs. 3-4) when you know it ends in bitterness?
3. WHY? (vs. 9) when you know your honor given to others…
4. WHY? (vs. 10) when you know that strangers will be filled with thy wealth?
5. WHY? (vs. 11-12) when you know that it will bring nothing but remorse and mourning later…
6. WHY? When you know that water from your own cistern is just as sweet… and without the guilt, remorse, and loss of honor?
7. WHY be ravished with a strange woman when God has given you your own spouse… to have and to hold and to embrace and to rejoice with… WHY?
8. WHY embrace the bosom of a stranger if (1) you know it ends in bitterness, and (2) your own wife is a source of blessing and joy?
9. Why poison your own fountain? Immorality just doesn’t make sense. It is folly.
21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
1. WHY be ravished with a strange woman? There are lots of reasons not to. Here’s one more: God is watching!
• God is watching when we are sitting in front of the TV… or a video
• God is watching when we read a magazine… or are on the Internet…
2. If YOU don’t want to watch your own steps—rest assured, God is watching… He is pondering ALL our goings… and our thoughts… and desires…
3. This truth should affect our conscience… and cause us to FEAR sinning against the Lord in this way.
4. Consider the words of Solomon as he ended the book of Ecclesiastes: (12:14) – “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.”
5. That’s why it is a good idea for US to “ponder the path of thy feet” (Prov. 4:26) Pay attention to what you are doing… what direction you are taking… where your feet are leading you… especially in the area of morality.
6. Immorality is a plague in our land today… it is considered acceptable in the world. It is UN-acceptable to God.
Proverbs 5:22-23
The Cords of Sin
Context
1. Solomon is warning his son about the dangers of sin in this verse.
a. vs. 22 – his own iniquities…his sins…
b. What Solomon says is true about sin in general… all sin.
2. The context of the chapter indicates WHICH sin in particular he is speaking about: the sin of sexual impurity… adultery…
a. vs. 3 – Warning of the strange woman
b. vs. 8 – remove your way far from her
c. vs. 15 – be faithful to your own wife… don’t look elsewhere for satisfaction.
d. vs. 20 – why be ravished with a strange woman?
e. The entire chapter deals with this one issue.
3. He has also warned his son about the consequences of this sin…
a. vs. 4 – it ends as a bitter experience
b. vs. 5 – her feet go down to death… hell…
c. vs. 9 – loss of honor
d. vs. 10 – strangers filled with your wealth
e. vs. 11 – mourning… body consumed…
Consequences
A.) His Own Iniquities Shall Take the Wicked Himself
1. Iniquities – perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity.
a. Note that Solomon is not talking about sin in general, but about a man’s own personal sins.
b. There is a sense in which we are ALL affected by sin in general…
• We all live in a cursed earth…
• We all have bodies that are affected by sin in general…
• We all face the possibility of being robbed… killed… potential of war…
• We all face the potential of dealing with the consequences of the sins of others.
• Sometimes others sin and we have to pay the consequences (ex: if a politician wastes our money; if someone wrongly accuses us)
c. But here Solomon is talking about a man’s OWN sins.
• There are consequences to our own sins too…
• And we have no one to blame for these sins but ourselves.
• There is no passing the buck when it comes to our own sins.
• This passage deals with an obvious but often overlooked consequence of our own sins.
2. Take – to capture, take, seize; to take hold of;
a. The wicked is TAKEN by his own iniquities.
b. The wicked here refers to the sinner… and the particular sin in this context is immorality.
c. The term take means “capture.”
d. Gesenius defines the term as “to take or catch animals in a net or in snares.”
e. Cf. its usage in Amos 3:5 – “and have TAKEN nothing?”
f. Cf. Ps. 35:8 – “catch” is the same word as “take” in Prov. 5:22
g. It is also used of taking captives or capturing a city. (Josh. 11:12)
h.) Thus, Solomon is saying that (of sin in general, but this sin in particular) that sin can take hold of a person… seize him or her… capture him/her… carry away as a captive…
i. Thus, the picture of this sin is like that of a trap… there is bait… and then there is the closing of the trap…
• The bait – vs. 3
• The trap – vs. 4
j. A trap takes you in… but doesn’t let you go!
• A trap usually has some bait to allure the animal
• But, once the door closes, that animal is trapped and is no longer free…
• The little bite of carrot or meat that allured the animal to the trap is certainly NOT worth the consequences!
• The point of this passage is not simply that there ARE consequences. The point seems to be that sin can SEIZE us—lay hold of us and not let go!
k. NIV – The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him;
l. NASB – His own iniquities will capture the wicked,
m. Of course the obvious answer to this sin problem is never to start!
• Whether the sin is immorality… adultery… pornography… alcohol… drugs… if you don’t start, you won’t get trapped!
• If you turn away from the bait, the trap door will never close on you… and rob you of your freedom!
• If you don’t take your first drink, you won’t become an alcoholic!
• If you drink from your own cistern, and are ravished always in her love (vs. 20), then you won’t become ensnared in an illicit affair.
• If you refuse to open that first pornographic web site or magazine, you won’t become captured by it!
• If you refuse to take that first hit of cocaine, you will never become addicted.
n. BUT, the wicked man IS taken captive… and by his OWN sins! He has no one to blame for the tragic results but himself!
B.) Holden With the Cords of His Sins
1. The second part of the verse says essentially the same thing… synonymous parallelism—for emphasis and explanation.
2. Holden – to grasp, hold, support, attain, lay hold of, hold fast
a. His sins “HOLD” him… hold him fast…
b. The sense is similar to the previous term “take” = take captive; seize
c. Sin will “take hold” of a man… or woman… or young person…
d. The previous term implied a trap or a snare. Thus, we have a picture of HOW a man’s iniquities can “take” or capture a man…
e. This part of the verse also gives us a mental picture as to HOW sin holds us… like cords.
3. Cords – a cord, rope, territory, band, company
a. Used in Josh. 2:15 – Rahab let the spies down from the wall with a cord.
b. Ps.140:5 – used in conjunction with a snare—a rope trap…
c. Gesenius translates this word as a “gin, a noose, a snare”
d. Its main meaning is that of a cord… a rope… that has the capacity to ensnare and do harm…
4. Solomon warns his son that the sin of adultery and immorality is ensnaring…
a. It is like winding a cord around yourself.
b. Even if that cord is as thin as a tiny piece of thread…it CAN ensnare.
c. Sin is deceptive like that. A man might commit a sin, and discover that the sin can be broken as easily as a mere piece of thread.
d. That self-confidence emboldens him to commit the sin again… and again…
e. And while it might be broken easily at first, once MANY threads have been wound about the man—he soon discovers he can’t get out!
f. Our pride and self confidence assures us that we can break the habit at any time… this passage implies that that is not so.
• Repetition forms a habit
• Habit becomes a ruling principle… second nature…
• Sin becomes easier to commit… harder to break…
g. Cf. Prov. 29:6 – sin has a built in “snare”!
h. Cf. Prov. 1:31 – sinners eat the fruit of their own way… filled with their own devises…
i. In a sense, God doesn’t have to continually judge men for their sin. Sin has a built in judgment attached. God doesn’t have to chain the sinner down… his own sins are like chains that he places on himself…
5. Ecc. 7:26 – And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.
a. Once again, Solomon warns that the sinner will be TAKEN by her.
b. The immoral woman is like a snare, a net, a trap, bands that will seize a young man.
c. Now if Solomon were talking to his daughter he would have warned her about the immoral man in the same way…
6. The way to escape is to escape NOW…
a. Don’t wait… don’t linger… run like Joseph.
b. Sin’s habit might be broken as a thin thread at first…but if left unchecked those threads can accumulate rapidly… and become binding…
c. It’s easy to quit smoking after your first cigarette. It is difficult after 10-20 years of smoking!
C.) He Shall Die Without Instruction
1. This kind of sin is destructive.
a. Prov. 11:3b – the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
b. Prov. 11:5b – but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
2. Death is not unusual for a man who has no control in this area of his life.
a. Death because of an outraged husband seeking revenge…
b. Death because of disease
c. Death because of life in the fast lane in general…
3. NIV – He will die for lack of discipline…
a. Instruction: discipline, chastening; correction
b. The point is that underneath the sin of immorality a total lack of self discipline… a lack of self control…
c. That is a killer!
d. Prov. 28:25 – A man without self control is like a city whose walls are broken down… defenseless… powerless… easily overtaken by anyone or anything…
e. That man will die… he will be attacked and defeated!
D.) In the Greatness of His Folly He Shall Go Astray
1. Here Solomon speaks about another consequence of the sin: going astray.
2. The sin of immorality will lead a man FAR away from where he once was.
a. Away from God… from family… from kids… from friends…
b. He ends up far, far away… not because there is no way back, but because usually the man has LOST his common sense…
c. Hos. 4:11 – Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart. (no sense left—no heart for leaving the sin…)
3. It is not just folly, but GREAT folly!
4. Gal. 6:7-8a – Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption;
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 6
Proverbs 6:1-5
Make Sure Thy Friend
1. Here, Solomon warns his son about the sin of irresponsibility.
2. The particular form of this sin is financial irresponsibility.
3. He is NOT discouraging his son from being generous—just from being foolish!
THE SITUATION
1 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger…
1. Surety for thy friend…
a. Surety = to pledge, exchange, mortgage, undertake for, take on pledge, give in pledge
b. This speaks of a man who has either promised to pay a debt or obligation for a friend, or has pledged his own money or property as security for a friend. (Like co-signing on a loan for someone—or putting your property up as security on a loan. There are consequences if that friend doesn’t pay!)
2. Stricken thy hand with a stranger…
a. Clapping one’s hands was similar to a handshake today. It sealed a deal or a business transaction.
b. Again, he is speaking about a binding financial obligation to a stranger… a bank… a loan shark… a business partner…
3. Co-signing a note for a friend might appear to be quite generous and kind.
a. There may be times when it IS the RIGHT thing to do. (Your son’s first car… student loans…)
b. But there are other times when it is a FOOLISH thing to do.
· A casual friend at work who fell upon hard times…
· A relative you know is irresponsible…
· A teenager who needs a brand new Lexus…
· A risky or questionable business deal…
2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
1. Snared with the words of thy mouth…
a. The one who entered into this foolish loan arrangement has done so by the words of his mouth. This was a verbal agreement to be the surety for the loan.
b. Solomon equates such a verbal agreement with a trap… a snare…
c. In other words, he entered into an agreement which seemed like a good idea at first, but eventually became a trap!
d. Prov. 22:7 – the borrower is servant to the lender!
e. It is possible for us to agree to things that we shouldn’t! Things that can become a snare… from which we might not be able to extricate ourselves!
f. Prov. 5:22 – the sin of sexual impurity can be binding and entrap us. Now Solomon states that the sin of financial irresponsibility can also entrap us!
2. Taken with the words of thy mouth…
a. Taken – used as a synonym for “snared”… = captured; seized;
b. Same word in 5:22 – take the wicked…= holden with the cords of his sins
c. The words we say, the agreements into which we enter, (to put it in more modern terms)—the contracts we sign… can ENSLAVE us… seize us… capture us and keep us captive…
3. This is the hypothetical situation Solomon raises before his son.
a. “If you ever do this…if you ever find yourself in this situation, then here’s what to do…”
b. Solomon is NOT encouraging his son to BECOME a surety for a friend. Rather, he is warning his son about the DANGERS of such action.
c. He is saying, “If you ever find yourself in such a bind… then follow my instructions.”
d. The instructions Solomon gives are especially needed in our day and age—in light of the constant barrage of opportunities there are to buy on credit, to lease a car, take out a loan, use a credit card, borrow off the equity of your home… we are credit happy… could easily sign our life away.
e. This situation speaks of a man who entered into a financial arrangement without thinking it through… without thinking of the consequences… without reading the fine print…
WHAT TO DO
3 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend;
1. DELIVER thyself! His first word of advice to his son is to do whatever it takes to get yourself OUT OF that obligation… get OUT of that trap!
2. Solomon warns his son to find a way OUT of the foolish financial obligation to which he verbally committed himself.
3. If you have “come into the hand” of a friend… NIV = fallen into your neighbor’s hand… meaning you are now under his control… he’s got you in his hands and you can’t get out…
4. If you find yourself in that position, do whatever you can to get out of his hand… out of the banker’s clutches… out of financial bondage…
Go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
1. Here Solomon states that part of “doing whatever it takes” may include swallowing your pride!
2. He says to humble yourself.
a. Why humble yourself? Because one who enters into such agreements often does so out of pride.
b. We like to think of ourselves as big shots… as being well to do… thinking we can handle that… we’re too smart to get taken… I know all about these agreements… no problem for me…
c. We might feel important signing a loan for someone else… it sort of makes us feel superior to them… they will look up to us as a hero who saved the day!
d. Then after we enter the agreement, we might discover that we bit off more than we can chew… more than we can handle… that we are not such a big shot after all…
3. Make sure thy friend…
a. Make sure thy friend =
· NASB – importune your neighbor…
· NIV = Press your plea with your neighbor!
b. Make your case before this person… by admitting that you spoke rashly… tell him you really aren’t able to follow through… you don’t have the resources to be surety for another man…
c. In short—plead for mercy! (Cf. Matt. 18:25)
d. This was a legitimate method of escaping from a financial obligation in the days of old… appealing to the mercy of one to whom you are obligated.
e. However, today, our financial institutions are a little different. Good luck pleading for mercy at Citizen’s Bank! They don’t know mercy… just the bottom line.
f. But, you may be able to work out another arrangement with them… a workable payment schedule… another way of guaranteeing the loan…
4 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. 5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
1. Here Solomon makes the same exhortation: deliver thyself!
2. However, in this verse, he speaks of the URGENCY of doing so.
3. If you are in financial bondage or have co-signed a risky loan, do whatever you can to get out of that bondage and don’t wait! Do it NOW!
4. Don’t put it on the back burner. Take care of it right away… Don’t sleep or rest until you are free!
5. Don’t get USED to it… get OUT of it! Don’t get comfortable just paying the minimum balance… just paying off the interest… get the monkey off your back!
6. Have you ever seen a bird in a man’s hands? Have you ever seen an animal try to free himself from a snare? They give it their all!
7. Make this kind of freedom a priority!
8. Don’t rest until you are disentangled from bondage!
9. This is especially true of credit… the longer you postpone paying it off, the more you owe. The sooner you are free from those shackles, the better!
Conclusions:
1. This is NOT an exhortation against generously helping a brother in need.
2. It is a warning against RASHLY entering into arrangements without thinking the long-term consequences through properly. (Prov. 22:26)
3. Prov.11:15 – He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it: and he that hateth suretiship is sure.
a. DON’T enter into a surety for a stranger… don’t cosign for a stranger… don’t put your property up as collateral. You will SMART—it will hurt you!
b. The man who HATES that kind of financial bondage is sure—safe!
c. Don’t risk your financial safety—be safe!
4. This might SEEM like a friendly, gracious, loving, kind, Christian thing to do… BUT — it may not turn out like you think.
a. It is not necessarily a good thing to enable someone to buy something they cannot afford!
b. You might be encouraging him to be a big spender… and get himself in financial trouble…
c. You could be encouraging irresponsibility on his part…
d. And if he fails on the loan and you have to pay—it could easily ruin the friendship…
e. Thus, we are challenged to be extremely cautious about signing a loan for someone…
f. If you want to show kindness, it is better to give the money away…
5. This does NOT mean don’t ever do it under any circumstances.
a. There may be times when it is perfectly legitimate. Paul became a surety for Onesimus. (Philemon 10,17-19)
b. The warning is against entering into it rashly… foolishly… clapping you hands…
6. The difference is doing it wisely. (Ps. 112:5 – good men show favor and lend, but they do so with discretion!)
Proverbs 6:6-8
Go to the Ant
THE TEACHER
6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
1. Go to the ant… go = to go, walk, come—Come take a walk over to the ant and observe…
a. We are told to go to the ant to LEARN something from her.
b. The ant is our teacher in this Proverb.
2. This is kind of humbling isn’t it!
a. God tells us to get down on our knees in the dirt and watch ants. They could teach us a lesson!
b. It’s kind of humbling to think that we could learn a lesson from ants… but God says so!
3. Sluggard: lazy; slothful person…
a. The lesson of the ant is especially designed to teach lazy people.
b. In ancient times, a diligent, hard working person would probably be out in the field, plowing or planting. He wouldn’t even notice any ants walking about… he’s too busy working!
c. BUT, the lazy person is not likely to be out plowing in the field. He is more likely to be taking a little siesta, lying under a big shade tree…
d. The man lying down, lounging in the grass, is the one who is likely to see ants walking about…
e. Could it be that God designed the ant with its qualities just TO BE a teaching tool for the lazy person as he lounges around?
4. The sluggard is told to consider her ways…
a. Consider: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider—take a good look at the ant… inspect her ways… observe… see how they behave.
b. There is something instructive about the ways of an ant that God wants us to recognize… especially the sluggard.
c. Evidently Solomon had observed the ants and learned some valuable lessons himself! (I Kings 4:32-34)
d. Sometime when you’re on vacation this summer—or on the camping trip, take a few minutes to observe a group of ants… and you’ll see that Solomon’s observations are right on target!
THE LESSONS
7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
1. They are self-motivated… unlike the sluggard who has no motivation! (no guide or ruler)
a. Nobody has to stand over the ant with a whip to get him to do his job. He just does it!
b. This is a great lesson for the kids here tonight—wouldn’t it be great if nobody had to tell you kids to clean your room? You just did it!
c. Wouldn’t it be great if nobody had to tell your son to pick up his dirty socks… he just did it!
d. Wouldn’t it be great if the believers in the local church were so motivated?
e. Imagine how great if people just noticed a need in the church and volunteered to meet that need? “I notice we need some more helpers for Vacation Bible School. Here am I send me!” Or “I notice we need some more helpers on the clean up crew, Here am I send me!”
f. Ants don’t need to be prodded and lassoed into doing the work. They just do it!
2. They don’t work with eyeservice and are not men pleasers. (Col. 3:22-23)
a. Some men work only when the boss is looking. They work with eyeservice… in other words, they aren’t REALLY busy, they just try to LOOK busy… appear to be working…
• These are traits we could ALL incorporate into our work ethic!
b. They try to please the boss by working hard only when he is watching, but goof off when he can no longer see them. (When the cat’s away, the mice will play!)
c. Ants aren’t like that. They don’t even need a boss or an overseer keeping an eye on them to make sure the work gets done. They just do it!
d. What a great testimony for a Christian worker to be like the ant… his boss can trust him to get the job done even if he is not there to oversee the whole project!
3. Ants are diligent and hard working.
a. Have you ever watched ants work? They seem like they are in a hurry… they seem like they are on a mission to get the work done.
b. Have you ever noticed how HARD they work? Have you ever seen the size of the morsels they carry? (Like me carrying a car!)
c. Edison said, “Genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.”
d. Ants may not be brilliant, but they sure put a lot of perspiration into their work. We could learn from them!
e. Prov. 14:23 – In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.
• Hard work pays off—but those who talk instead of work will lose out!
• Penury = poverty; need;
f. Especially in the spiritual realm do we need to be diligent in our work—keep your heart with all diligence! (Prov. 4:23)
g. II Pet. 1:5 – give diligence in adding Christian virtue to your life!
4. The ant works and doesn’t make excuses.
a. She gathers her meat in the summer… when it’s hot…
b. Other critters might think it’s too hot to work. They take the day off and go to the beach… not the ant. He doesn’t make excuses.
c. He doesn’t put pleasure above his work. He gets his work done first… even if he has to work on a beautiful summer day!
d. Prov. 26:13 – the sluggard on the other hand makes all kinds of excuses as to why he can’t go to work. (There’s a lion in the street!)
5. The ant makes use of opportunities and doesn’t procrastinate.
a. The summer is the time to plant and provide food. Fall is time to harvest.
b. There is time for rest and relaxation in between, but when it is time to work, the work needs to get done. The ants make good use of the proper opportunities to work.
c. Prov. 27:23-27 – (vs. 25) – when the hay appears, that’s the time to get it! You can’t go early… you can’t go late. You have to take advantage of opportunity when it arises.
d. Good shepherds do that for their flocks. Ants do the same.
e. We too should follow that example.
6. The ant lays up for the future.
a. Prov. 30:25 – The ant provides (prepares; makes ready) her food in the summer… she provides food for the whole year during the summer and stores it up.
b. Prov. 10:5 – The wise son gathers in the summer… like the ant!
c. The sluggard on the other hand, does not think about the future.
d. Prov. 13:4 – the sluggard may desire food next winter, but because he didn’t provide for it, he goes without.
e. Prov. 20:4 – the sluggard does not prepare ahead of time, and goes hungry! (He makes excuses… it’s too cold… then it’s too hot…)
f. It is the presumption to behave like a sluggard, and then to expect divine provision in time of need… or expect someone else to bail you out.
g. Prov. 12:11 – He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread:
h. I Tim. 6:18-19 – we need to be diligent in our good works for the Lord—laying up treasures in heaven… providing for our eternal future!
LESSONS:
» Self-motivated
» They do not work with eye-service
» Diligent and hard working
» Don’t make excuses (too hot!)
» Makes good use of available opportunities to work
» Lays up for the future
Proverbs 6:9-11
How Long Wilt Thou Sleep?
Introduction:
1. In vs. 6-8, Solomon tells his son to consider the ant and learn some lessons.
2. The lessons to be learned from the ant are:
» Self motivated
» They do not work with eye-service
» Diligent and hard working
» Don’t make excuses (too hot!)
» Makes good use of available opportunities to work
» Lays up for the future
3. Now Solomon warns against the dangers of laziness—the opposite of the ant (vs. 9-11)!
9How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
1. The challenge: how long will you sleep?
a. This is a reasonable question to ask.
b. Over all, Americans are not generally lazy people… quite hard working. In fact, many Americans do not get enough sleep! But, there are always some who would need such a challenge…
c. In other cultures, laziness is a much bigger problem… life is a siesta!
d. Whatever our problem (too much or too little) it is a legitimate and profitable question to ask! Are you sleeping too much? Too little?
2. The lazy man is challenged to THINK about what he is doing with his time.
a. First he was challenged to think about the lifestyle of the ant (vs. 6)
b. Now he is challenged to think about his own lifestyle, and in particular, how HE uses his time… evidently, the ant has a few good lessons to teach him!
c. Perhaps he never really thought about how much of his life he was sleeping away!
d. If he tallied all of his hours in a chart and saw exactly how much time he wasted sleeping and lounging around, perhaps he would make some changes!
3. HOW LONG is a good question! Every once in a while, it might do us all good to chart out what we do with our time…
• How long do we sleep?
• How long do we lie on the couch and vegetate?
• How long do we sit in front of the TV or computer?
• How long do we spend reading the Word? In prayer?
• After making a chart of how our time is spent, we might see some areas that need prioritizing… rearranging…
4. WHEN is a good question too. “When will you arise?”
a. The lazy man is challenged to consider how long he sleeps.
b. Then he is challenged to DO something about it—get up!
c. When? When will you get up? When will you change your bad habits?
d. If we are wasting time, we too should be challenged: when are you going to do something about it? When are you going to change?
e. Arising is the answer to sleeping too much—just get up!
f. Notice how simple God’s answer to this lazy man’s problem is: Arise! Get up! You don’t need a 12 step program to deprogram yourself from old habits… just obey… arise…
5. We are all stewards of our time… our own lives.
a. We all have the same amount of hours in a day and days in a week.
b. However, not all men USE their time properly.
c. Ps. 39:4-5 – make me to know my days… my life is short… make good use of it! Don’t waste precious time!
d. Ps. 90:12 – so teach me to number my days… that I may apply my heart unto wisdom!
e. Eph. 5:16 – Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
f. We are told repeatedly to make GOOD use of our time and not to waste it.
g. In reality, time belongs to God. He has entrusted each one of us with a certain measure of it… and will call us into account one day for HOW we used His time…
h. We are all managers of the 24 hours we have each day.
i. Some men use it wisely. Others bury it… waste it…
• If you are wasting God’s time, the question is “how long?”
• WHEN will you stop? When will you use time for God’s glory?
• Are you a procrastinator?
j. HOW do you manage YOUR time? Are you a good steward?
• Are you spending time in the Word? With your family? Getting the rest your body needs?
• Redeem the time! Buy it up! Use it well!
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
1. Here the author speaks about the insidious nature of laziness…
a. It is something that creeps up on you… a little sleep here… a little slumber there… and before you know, the day is gone!
b. The question is sent out, “How long wilt thou sleep?” His answer, “Oh, just a little more sleep… just a little more slumber…
c. The answer sounds a bit like a drug addict or an alcoholic. How much do you want? Oh, just a little more… Rockefeller was asked how much money would it take to make him happy. He replied, “Oh, just a little more!”
2. Getting oneself into a lazy lifestyle is a trap… it can creep up on you…
a. 5:22 – this is another example of a man becoming enslaved and bound by his own sin!
11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
1. Solomon warns that laziness is followed by poverty.
a. This doesn’t mean that all poverty is the result of laziness…or that all poor people are poor because they are lazy.
b. But it does mean the lazy man is usually poor! Slothfulness breeds poverty!
c. Prov. 10:4 – a slack hand results in poverty; diligence results in wealth.
d. Prov.14:23 – labor has its rewards, but standing around results in poverty. (You may not get a raise; you may get laid off!)
2. The lazy man shall WANT
a. His poverty drives him crazy too… because he craves after the things (wants things) that the more diligent possess… (21:25-26)
b. There are all kinds of things that others have and he wants… but because he is lazy, he doesn’t have them… he just WANTS them… covets…
c. II Thess. 3:10 – if a man is not willing to work, neither should he eat!
• Giving money to a lazy man is not helping but hurting!
• In fact, poverty, hunger and going without things ought to be a wake up call—it’s time to get a job!
3. An armed man: his poverty comes on him like an armed bandit…
a. This doesn’t mean his goods are stolen…
b. Rather, it means that he will wake up one day and realize that he is poor! He has nothing!
c. It came like a thief in the night!
4. Prov. 18:9 – slothfulness is a great waste…
a. Waste = that which is spoiled; corrupted; like rotten fruit left out too long
b. There are a lot of gifted, talented people who could accomplish great things, but do not because they are too lazy! What a waste!
c. Perhaps one of these men might have discovered the cure for cancer if they were diligent…
d. And think of the waste that takes place in our schools! Young people with such potential to learn and develop their talents… waste it because they are too lazy to do their schoolwork…
e. And think of the things we could accomplish as a church—if only everyone would use their spiritual gifts more diligently!
• We would be witnessing more and leading others to Christ…
• We would be ministering to one another more diligently…
• Think of the talent and gifts that believers here have—in art, music, writing, teaching, working with children, evangelism, etc.
• What a waste when such gifts are not used for the glory of God because of laziness!
5. Ecc. 10:18 – through idleness, a house decays and falls apart! So too the life!
a. This is true of the wooden house we live in…
b. It is also true of our family… if we through laziness neglect our family and spiritual things, our HOME will fall apart too!
c. No one has a right to expect God to supply their needs bail us out when laziness and sloth characterize their life… either in the physical realm or in the spiritual realm!
d. We know already that idleness will ruin our house… our life…
6. In the spiritual realm this principle is true as well.
a. Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; (Rom. 12:11)
b. Phil. 2:12 – WORK out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
• Are we working at it diligently?
• Are we exercising ourselves unto godliness?
• Are we “giving all diligence to add to our faith virtue… knowledge… temperance… patience… godliness… brotherly love…
c. The man who is spiritually lazy will come to spiritual poverty!
d. The man who is too lazy or too tired to read the Word and pray will be spiritually weak… and an easy target for the devil!
e. The man who is too lazy to get up for Sunday school and church will be poor spiritually…now and at the Bema seat!
f. Perhaps we should all ask ourselves the question: How long are we going to sleep spiritually? When are we going to wake up and be diligent about spiritual things?
g. Eph. 5:14 – Awake thou that sleepest and Christ will give thee light!
h. Rom. 13:11-14 – it is time to wake up and get to work for God! The Lord is coming!
Proverbs 6:12-15
Body Language
12 A naughty person, a wicked man,
1. In this section, Solomon is describing an evil person… a particular KIND of evil person.
2. He introduces this person with two adjectives
a. Naughty = worthless, good for nothing, unprofitable, base fellow; (sometimes translated “man of Belial”)
b. Wicked = trouble (troublemaker), wickedness, sorrow (one who causes sorrow and grief)
3. This person is introduced in a less than flattering manner: a worthless, good for nothing trouble maker!
a. Perhaps you have met such a person—we probably all have at one point or another.
b. The world has no shortage of good for nothing troublemakers! Sometimes the church has no shortage either!
4. There are lots of ways for a troublemaker to cause trouble. Solomon is going to highlight demonstrate how a talented and experienced troublemaker is able to use every part of his body to cause trouble!
Walketh with a froward mouth.
1. The most obvious way for a troublemaker to cause trouble is with his mouth. James says that the mouth is a “world of iniquity!”
2. Froward: crooked; distorted
a. A froward mouth is one that distorts the truth…
b. A froward mouth is one that speaks in such a way so as to distort another person’s character… or motives… or put a person in an evil light.
c. Vs. 14 – frowardness is in his heart too—that’s why it eventually comes out of his mouth!
d. Prov. 17:20 – his heart is distorted; his words are distorted; and the end result is mischief—he is a mischief-maker—a first class troublemaker!
e. Prov. 24:2 – he dwells on ways to cause mischief and destruction—and then proceeds to use his mouth to accomplish it!
3. All kinds of trouble has been stirred by troublemakers who have a big mouth.
a. Prov. 16:27-28 – the troublemaker has a froward mouth… and stirs up strife, trouble and controversy which separates chief friends!
4. Note that this naughty person WALKS with a froward mouth: walk = one’s whole manner of life… a lifestyle of such behavior!
13 He winketh with his eyes,
1. The naughty person uses his mouth to cause trouble… but he doesn’t stop there! He uses his eyes too! And the rest of his body!
2. The eyes are in a sense the windows to the soul… (In fact, Solomon speaks of our eyes as windows in Ecc. 12:3 – windows be darkened = losing vision)
3. We can speak with our eyes…
a. Lots of messages can be communicated with our eyes…
b. We can communicate suspicion… surprise… disgust… disbelief…
c. We can smile approvingly with our eyes…
d. But eyes can also scowl… glare… and say “I hate you!”
e. Today a wink can mean several things:
• It can expression flirtation… making a pass…
• It can also mean, “I’m not telling the truth…”
4. In different cultures and in different time periods, there were no doubt different kinds of signals sent… (example: a signal in one culture might be a sign of friendliness, but a huge insult in another culture!)
5. But regardless of the exact meaning of a wink in Bible times, it was a means of communicating a message…
• Ps. 35:19 – winking with the eye = something malicious
• Wink = to narrow or squeeze the eye—it could have the sense of a glare…
6. The naughty person used a wink of his eye for evil purposes…
• With the wink of an eye he might be communicating that Joe is a liar… that Joe is a fool… that Joe is hated…
• We can say a lot without opening our mouth.
7. Wise parents will deal with the messages sent by body language from their child as if it were vocalized—it is the same thing. He is communicating a message…
a. The glare… the rolling of the eyes…
b. He doesn’t have to say “I hate you” or “You’re stupid”—but the eyes may say it.
c. That is rebellion just as much as if it were vocalized.
He speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers…
1. It is unclear to me how a person would communicate with his feet—but in that day in that culture, there may well have been some widely understood customs… (Shuffling of the feet; a little kick into the dirt; etc.)
2. Teaching with his fingers—
a. While we do not know for sure exactly what the signs were in those days, we use our fingers to communicate messages.
b. Thumbs up; thumbs down; middle finger; high five; OK sign; etc…
3. There are all kinds of ways we can speak without opening our mouth.
a. Some are subtle… some less than subtle…
b. These body language signs might be done behind someone’s back… or to their face.
c. It could even be the TONE of one’s voice…
d. Solomon doesn’t even mention facial expression here—facial expression can speak volumes! Pleasant countenance; sourpuss; grumpy face; happy face or an ‘I hate this’ face…
e. In all of this, it is demonstrated that we can use every part of our body as an instrument of unrighteousness… OR of righteousness.
14Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually;
1. Solomon’s point is that the naughty person has a 1001 ways to do his dirty work… without saying a thing.
2. Frowardness is in his heart…
a. Thus, it will eventually be expressed outwardly… through his froward mouth or through more subtle body language…
b. Either way, it WILL be expressed!
c. Whatever comes out of the mouth first resided in the heart.
d. Whatever is expressed through body language first resided in the heart.
e. His outward countenance might be a façade of sincerity… which only covers up the heart full of frowardness… deception… a clever liar!
3. He deviseth mischief continually…
a. This naughty person is on a mission—to stir up trouble and mischief!
• What a contrast between the sluggard in vs. 6-11 and the relentless diligence of the naughty person in performing evil!
b. It is continual… it is the nature of this kind of person… and thus his/her wheels are always in motion…
c. Prov. 2:14-16 – forwardness is the PATH… the course of life for this person. He rejoices in his evil! He loves stirring up trouble! That’s how he gets his kicks.
d. Prov. 20:3 – It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.
• A godly man may try to stop mischief… that is an honorable pursuit.
• But the naughty person… the fool will not give it up… he devises mischief continually… he won’t stop his meddling… stirring up the pot…
He soweth discord.
1. This is the ultimate goal of the naughty person described here: to sow discord! To cause division… to stir up trouble and controversy!
2. 6:19 – he might even use lies to sow discord… he may send out lies by means of his body language… to lie about a person…
3. Some people just aren’t happy unless they are stirring up trouble.
15Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
1. Solomon reminds his son that the naughty person… the one who stirs up trouble will not be able to do so forever…
2. Eventually, his calamity shall come… he shall be broken… without remedy.
3. It may not even be in this life… but eventually, troublemakers will have to face the music before the Lord.
4. They may think that nobody saw their wink… or their body language… or the subtle messages they had been sending out… which caused so much trouble.
5. BUT—God knows! God sees it all. He not only understands English and Hebrew—He also understands body language. (Heb. 4:13)
6. For every idle word we say we shall give an account one day. The same is true for the words we say with our eyes… our fingers… our facial expression… they are all manifestations of what is going on in our heart…
7. And the Lord looks at the heart… He knows it all before we even express it!
Proverbs 6:16-19
Six Things the Lord Hates
Introduction:
1. This section (vs. 16-19) may well be considered a conclusion to the previous section, which deals with the naughty person or the wicked man.
2. In the previous section, Solomon spoke of the deceitful body language of this person—using the parts of his body for evil purposes… froward mouth; winks with his eyes; speaks with his feet; teaches with his fingers; frowardness is in his heart.
3. This next section also deals with the parts of the body—and their use in an evil sense. (look; tongue; hands; heart; feet; and a mouth that speaks lies and sows discord.
4. These evil uses of these body parts are things the Lord particularly hates. Yes, God DOES hate certain things. Some things are abominable—disgusting to Him!
A Proud Look (haughty eyes)
1. Ps. 101:5 – a high look is linked to a proud heart.
2. Prov. 30:12-13 – there is a generation that is pure in their own eyes…
a. But they are unclean in God’s eyes. There is often a huge difference between our concept of self and God’s!
b. They are lofty… proud… and you can see it in their facial expression.
3. Ps. 10:4 – a proud look indicates that God has been excommunicated from their thoughts!
a. Pride prevents men from seeking God… from seeking His will.
b. If we are proud, who needs help? Who needs guidance! I can do it myself!
c. Pride was at the root of the original sin—Lucifer became proud of his beauty and his wisdom… and was cast out of heaven.
• Ezekiel 28:17 – Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
• Pride sees no use for God or His Word.
• Imagine the horror in heaven when Lucifer gave that very first proud look… haughty eyes in heaven! No wonder he was cast out!
• How totally out of place are haughty eyes in God’s presence! Holy angels blush in His presence!
4.) Proud looks
a. Eyes that glory in might – physical strength (Jer. 9:23)
• Have you ever seen the proud look on the face of a body builder? A Mr. America contest… flexing their muscles for all to see?
• Women don’t often glory in strength… this is more of an issue with men…
• Perhaps there is a look of pride on the face of a boxer as he defeats his foe… “I am the greatest” is written all over his face
• God hates proud looks.
b. Eyes that glory in riches – wealth and the things money can buy (Jer. 9:23)
• The proud look on the face of a person with a fancy new car… an expensive new suit… an extravagant necklace…
• There is a look that likes to show off wealth…
• They look DOWN on the rest of us… like pompous royalty looking down upon the mere serfs and peasants…
c. Eyes that glory in wisdom – (Jer. 9:23)
• Have you seen the look of arrogance on the faces of some college professors?
• There is a look of the “intellectual snobs”!
• Their face wreaks of an air of intellectual superiority…
d.) Eyes that love SELF (II Tim. 3:2)
• One of the marks of the end times is a proud boaster who loves self.
• A sense of superiority can be seen on the face…
• You can actually read some people’s face. It says, “Aren’t I fabulous?”
• God reads it too—and hates it!
4. Prov. 21:4 – a haughty look is SIN! And God hates it!
The danger of proud looks…
1. Pride leads men to contempt and rejection of God’s word and messengers. (Jer. 43:2)
a. Proud sheep won’t listen to the shepherd…they know better
b. Proud men will not listen to God’s Word… or God’s spokesmen.
c. These proud men rejected Jeremiah’s warnings—pride caused them to think that they had a better idea!
d. Imagine a mere man thinking that his ideas or opinions are better than God’s? What is that but unmitigated pride!
2. Prov. 21:24 – it results in wrath… fighting…
a. Prov.13:10 – pride results in contention… wherever people are fighting, pride is at the root of it all… Someone is unwilling to give in… too proud to say “I’m sorry or I was wrong.” And the fight goes on!
b. 28:25 – proud men stir up strife… pride causes men to feel like they are in charge… they are able to manipulate situations to their own advantage… pride stirs up strife.
c. Pride demands its own way and will not bend until it gets its own way!
3. Ob. 1:3 – pride deceives us…
a. We begin to actually BELIEVE that we are some great one… that we can handle anything…
b. Like petty crooks who get away with a few crimes and begin thinking that they are smarter than the police…
c. Pride causes us to think that we can handle anything… nothing is too hard for us…
d. Pride is at the root of much evil… we begin to believe that our own strength, our own power, our own abilities are much greater than they really are.
4. Ps. 73:6 – pride ties us up like a chain… prevents us from walking freely. Pride is oppressive… binding… limiting…
a. The young student who thinks he knows it all will hardly see any need for study!
b. The musician who thinks he has arrived will not see the need for practice.
c. The Christian who thinks he has a superior knowledge of God, church, or the Christian life is not going to see his need to study the Word—after all—what could be better than his opinion?
d. Pride hinders us from really GROWING… it limits us… it keeps us from stretching for the mark… from striving for excellence, because it deceives us into thinking we already HAVE excellence!
e. Pride ties us up like a chain!
5. Prov. 11:2 – pride brings shame!
a. The one who exalts himself will be abased!
b. Luke 14:8-11 – this man took the seat of honor, but had to be moved out to a lower seat. How much better to take the lower seat… and be moved up when called upon!
6. I Cor.10:12 – Pride results in a fall!
a. Let him that THINKETH he standeth take heed lest he fall!
b. Prov. 16:18 – “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
c. Remember Peter’s famous words: “Lord, though all be offended in thee, yet I will never be offended!”
d. Isn’t that just like us? Don’t worry about me! I’m ok. I won’t fall. I can handle this… famous last words.
God seeks fellowship with the humble…
1. Ps. 131:1-2 – David demonstrates the opposite of a proud look.
a. He declares that his heart is NOT haughty or his eyes lofty…
b. He does not exercise in matters too high for him… he leaves circumstances that are beyond him in God’s care. (Can you do that? That is humility!)
c. Surely he behaved himself – to agree with, be or become like, level, resemble… he agrees with God; not proudly fighting against the Lord…
d. He quieted himself before God – to be silent, be still, wait…
• David learned to leave situations in God’s sovereign care and control.
• David learned not to be proud but to be still and know that God is God!
e. That is the perfect position of humility before God… a place we all ought to take… that’s our place.
f. Our place is NOT to walk about with a proud look—like the world does.
• Worldliness is characterized by the “pride of life.”
• We are to be the opposite—walk humbly before God…
2. Isa. 66:1-2 – God looks not to the proud but to the lowly!
a. God looks to the poor (lowly) man with a contrite spirit = crushed.
b. God looks to the man who trembles at His Word…
c. Ex: Luke 18:10-14 – two men in the Temple
• The Pharisee had a proud look…
• The publican had a humble look…
• God look favorably upon the publican…
• God hates a haughty look…
3. James 4:6 – God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
4. James 4:10 – if we humble ourselves, God will lift us up!
One day God will humble the proud!
1. Isa. 2:11-12 – the haughtiness of man will not be tolerated forever.
2. The tribulation period is designed to do just that: crush the pride of man and exalt the Lord.
3. The tribulation is quite a drastic measure God reserves for the world.
4. BUT — God even sends trials and thorns to KEEP us humble… and thus useable! (II Cor.12:7) (Lest I should be exalted above measure…)
5. God hates a proud look—and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Proverbs 6:17a
A Lying Tongue
1. God hates a lying tongue.
a. A lying tongue is an abomination to God (Prov. 12:22)
b. What strong terms! Lying is one of the seven deadly sins that God hates and it is also called an abomination to Him—something particularly disgusting to God.
c. God’s view of lying is quite clear. Unambiguous. Yet—in some circles men have attempted to teach that it’s OK under certain conditions, as long as no one is hurt—situational ethics!
d. God hates it! It is an abomination to Him. We don’t have to wonder what God’s view is.
2. We too should learn to hate lies like God does.
a. The thought of lying should make us cringe.
b. The Psalmist said: “I hate and abhor lying…” (Ps 119:163)
c. Prov. 13:5 – “A righteous man hateth lying.”
d. When someone asks you to say that they are not here—we should recoil and be revolted over the thought!
e. If we love the truth, then we must hate the opposite: lies!
f. Do we really hate lying? Or do we think it is cute at times?
3. We tend to dress up lies… to make them look good.
a. We call them “little white lies.”
b. We excuse them… justify them… (O, just tell him I’m not here!)
c. We like to refer to it as just “stretching the truth”—or telling a half-truth.
d. But in God’s book, there is no excuse for lying… ever! There are no mortal lies or venial lies. Sin is sin—and God hates it!
4. Lying includes much more than what we would refer to as a bold faced lie.
a. Lying includes all kinds of deception… distortion of the truth…
• We can distort the truth by making true statements, but over-emphasizing one element in the story and minimizing something else.
• Sometimes our choice of words can intentionally distort the truth… (John went to Filenes and took a pair of pants! He put it in his bag! Or—“He hung up on me!” (don’t you always hang up after a conversation? Or “I saw our Sunday school teacher fly by us on the highway!)
• We can distort the truth by what our words imply—even if they are factually correct! That’s lying—if we are intentionally deceiving!
b. Lying might include telling truth, but leaving out key facts so as to deliberately mislead…
• When two people are having a feud, ask each person privately what happened… and you will hear many of the same facts—but a wildly different arrangement of those facts!
• Party A will leave out all the facts that incriminate party A; party B will tell the same story, but leave out the facts that incriminate party B! It’s human nature—and it’s sinful!
• Prov. 18:17 – one man’s version of the story might includes lots of facts BUT when his neighbor comes, he will fill in some of the missing facts—(the rest of the story!) and it gives the story a completely different flavor! That is deception! It is lying—and God hates it.
c. Lying might include telling a half-truth.
• Abraham saying that Sarah was his sister—she was his half sister—but she was his wife!
• A half-truth is a whole lie!
• Ex: Did you pick up your room? “Yes I did, mom!”—when in reality you only picked up one pair of dirty socks—out of two week’s worth!
5. What is the source of all lies?
a. Satan is the father of all lies. (John 8:44)
• The Pharisees were OF their father the devil! They behaved like he did—they lied and were about to kill Jesus!
• When we lie, we are following the lead of the devil…
• He lied to our first parents—he said, “Ye shall NOT surely die!”
b. Satan can fill the heart of men to lie—exert some sort of external control and influence… pressure to lie. (Acts 5:3)
c. Lies proceed out of the fallen heart of man. (Mat. 15:19)
d. Lies proceed from our fallen nature—no one has to teach a child how to lie… as soon as they be born! (Ps.58:3)
6. Knowing the source of all lies, we should avoid those who lie when possible.
a. We cannot altogether avoid liars—or we would have to leave the world!
b. Ps. 40: 4 – we should not respect those who lie—even if they hold high position. We can respect their office, but not the person!
c. Ps. 101: 7 – David would not walk with those who lied. He wanted no dishonest liars in his court! He wanted to surround himself with men of truth! We should too!
• Read vs.1-6 – David wanted to surround himself with godly people!
• Vs. 3 – he wanted nothing wicked before his eyes…
• Vs. 3 – he hates those who turn away from doing right
• Vs. 4 – he rejects those with a froward or evil heart
• Vs. 5 – he will cut off any who slander. He wants no slanderers or gossips in his court
• Vs. 7 – he doesn’t want to associate with any deceitful men or liars! Avoid them!
• Vs. 6 – he wants to associate with the faithful… the godly… those who walk in a perfect way.
• That’s what WE should want too!
• We can’t avoid sinners and liars altogether—but our close friends and associates should consist of the godly!
7. What damage liars can do! They slander… they gossip… they spread rumors… they distort the truth… they tell half-truths… and untold damage is the result!
a. Prov. 26:28 – A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.
• It is an expression of hatred of those afflicted.
• If someone lies about another person—that is hate in action!
• Sometimes that hatred can be covered up in flattery… which is a lie! (Prov. 10:18)
• Prov. 27:6 – faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Sometimes lies are covered up in sweet words—even kisses… like the kiss of Judas.
• But in the end, it works ruin… destruction… great damage.
b. Prov. 25:18 – like a maul, a sword, and a sharp arrow—all mighty destructive instruments! (try to envision each illustration!)
• Lies can hurt individuals…
• Lies can break families apart…
• Lies can separate chief friends…
• Lies can split churches…
• And there are individuals who DELIGHT in lies! (Ps. 62:4)
• Some individuals delight in telling lies because they delight in sowing discord and getting even… and hurting people.
• That is pure wickedness.
8. What should our response be to lies?
a. Pray: Ps. 31:18 – Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
• Pray that God would not allow much damage to be done by those who lie about us… our family… our church…
• I Pet. 2:15 – by our well doing we may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men who are trying to harm us…
b. Pray: Psa. 109:1-4 – when it happens to you personally, GIVE yourself to prayer!
• This is acknowledging that God knows all…
• This is an acknowledgment that you are leaving it all in His care…
• This is a refusal to take vengeance into our own hands…
• This also expresses the fact that MUCH prayer is needed—give yourself to prayer!
• Ps. 52:1-5 – ultimately God will deal with every liar. No one lies without Him knowing all about it…
c. Pray: that God would deliver us from lying too!
• Ps. 119:29 – Remove from me the way of lying!
• Pr. 30:8 – Remove far from me vanity and lies.
• Let’s be honest. We have all lied… distorted the truth…
d. Purpose in your heart: Job determined that he would not use deceit!. (27:4)
Proverbs 6:17b
Hands that Shed Innocent Blood
Introduction:
1. Solomon had warned his son about the evil use of his body parts—body language really IS a language and God knows how to read it! (vs. 12-14)
2. Now he speaks about 7 sins God hates—sins that incorporate different parts of the body—facial expression; lying tongue; and now hands used to shed blood.
THE SIN OF MURDER
1. After talking about a proud look or a lying tongue, we have all been convicted. Now Solomon speaks of the sin of murder. We can all join in on a collective sigh of relief—for none of us have ever committed murder!
2. The 10 commands state, “Thou shalt not kill.” We feel pretty good about that commandment—for none of us have ever killed anyone. We are not guilty. (We might not fare so well against some of the other commandments: covet; bear false witness; etc…)
3. However, the sin of murder makes us all feel a litter safer… less convicted… innocent.
4. While the expression “hands that shed innocent blood” does refer to the sin of murder, the Lord expanded its meaning in Matthew 5:21-22.
a. Killing puts a man in danger of the judgment. Anger at a brother without a cause also puts a person in danger of the judgment!
b. Both sins have the same penalty… both sins are the same KIND of sins.
c. They differ only in degree, not in kind.
• The sin of anger is like a sin in seed form.
• If allowed to grow and fester that sin of anger will manifest itself in various ways… (Bulging blood vessels in the neck; insults; pushing; shoving; hitting; even shooting or stabbing!)
• The ultimate demonstration of the sin of anger is murder.
5. Murder begins in the heart. (Matt. 15:19)
a. Murder is a sin of the heart—just like every other sin.
b. The hands will only do what the heart/mind tells them to do.
c. Hands don’t shed innocent blood all by themselves.
d. The premeditation takes place in the mind and heart long before the blood is ever shed.
e. Notice that the Lord says that evil thoughts proceed from the heart. The mind thinks evil… and if that mind is not controlled by the Holy Spirit, it has the capacity to think the ultimate evil—committing murder.
f. Thus the murder is actually incubated in the heart.
g. The Lord Himself indicates that there is a link between anger or hatred in the heart and hands that shed innocent blood.
• Cain was angry (very wroth) (Gen. 4:5)
• Cain slew his brother (Gen. 4:8)
• The first record of an angry man in the Bible also turns out to be the first record of a murderer!
• From that point on, there are lots of examples of murderers in the Bible!
• Esau planned to kill Jacob; Joseph’s brothers planned to kill Joseph;
6. Gal. 5:19-21 – the source of this hatred is fallen human nature.
a. The potential for the outbreak of all of these sins resides in us all… and in our kids.
b. Murder is the fruit of strife… anger… wrath… hatred… envies…
c. Each of them can potentially result in murder.
d. Think of the case of the plastic surgeon in Methuen who shot his wife’s lover in the hospital room. His envy led to anger to hatred to murder—or manslaughter… the Lord knows. Prior to this, he was a mild mannered, upright model citizen!
7. Probably none of us here will ever actually commit murder. BUT to prevent us from being guilty of the same kind of sin, we must guard our hearts.
a. It is VERY like that our hearts might be filled with anger… hatred… envy… vengeance… wrath… strife…greed… pride…
b. Each of those sins of the heart could be translated into physical action if we are not careful to guard our hearts.
c. Psalm 55:21 – David speaks of some men with WAR in their heart. If that war is not resolved, it could lead to a physical war with the hands… no longer just in the heart!
d. Prov. 27:4 – these sins of the heart can manifest themselves in outrageous ways… and we might even shock and scare ourselves of what we are capable of doing or saying…
e. Prov. 19:19 – a man who does not guard against wrath will eventually pay a price…
• The sin of anger results in punishment…
• There may be serious consequences to our sin of anger—even if it doesn’t lead to murder.
• It could lead to getting fired… breaking up your marriage… ruining your testimony for the Lord…
f. I Pet. 4:15 – Christians are warned against the sin of murder—because it is possible.
HOW TO PREVENT THE SIN OF ANGER AND WHAT IT MIGHT LEAD TO
• Psychology says that we should VENT our anger… reenact difficult situations… have rap sessions in which we yell at people to let off some steam… punch a tree…or a pillow…or perhaps you need a prescription!
• The message in the Bible is quite different:
1. Cease from anger!
a. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. (Ps. 37:8)
• This is a command—and places the responsibility on us!
• If we get angry, it is our own fault. It is not to be blamed on our second grade teacher or our wicked step mother!
b. The Bible says do NOT express your anger! Cease!
• Cease: to let drop, abandon, relax, refrain, forsake; to let go; to refrain, let alone; to be quiet
• Anger in the heart is NOT like steam under pressure. It does not need to be vented like a volcano.
• Venting anger is simply TRAINING ourselves to be an angry person and to express our anger in open and violent ways
c. In reality, when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the anger is GONE. If we confess our sin of anger, it is gone… gone… gone!
2. Control your anger – be slow to anger
a. Prov.16:32 – the man who is SLOW to anger = the man who controls his spirit.
• It IS possible to control one’s spirit… to control one’s temper.
• The fruit of the Spirit is temperance—self control!
• Jas. 1:19 – slow to wrath—a command!
b. It isn’t easy to control one’s temper—but by God’s grace and God’s power we can…we have the power of the resurrection available to us!
c. We all blow up from time to time… and we will never eradicate anger altogether. But we can learn to control it… or rather to allow God to control our hearts…
3. Ignore the insults of others – Prov. 19:11 – we need to learn to ignore the transgressions of others… the hurtful things they say and do…
a. We don’t need to always have the last word…
b. We don’t have to retaliate for every barb thrown our way…
c. Learn to turn the other cheek…
4. Avoid angry words—for they lead to angry action—Prov. 15:1 – a soft answer turneth away wrath.
a. This wrath speaks of the wrath of the other person.
b. However, in an argument… wrath leads to more wrath on both sides.
c. God’s answer to anger is STOP… resolve issues that lead to anger… and worse…
5. Avoid the rowdy crowd – Prov. 22:24-25 – make no friendship with a furious man… with someone who lacks self control.
a. Why? Because it might rub off on you!
b. Because after a while those uncontrolled outbursts of his might begin to sound normal…
c. Because you will learn his ways… (It is passed on from generation to generation—this is an example of a sin that is passed on from the father to the third and fourth generations!)
d. Kids learn how to deal with situations at home. How do you make your point? Throw a lamp? Kick the door? Punch a hole in the wall?
e. Angry behavior is learned.
6. Deal with the upsetting situations each day – Eph. 4:26 – Let not the sun go down upon your wrath… for it might lead to something worse tomorrow!
a. To control your anger, deal with the issues that cause the anger!
b. Avoiding the issues and sweeping it under the rug only leads to frustration and more anger…
7. Those are all helpful passages which give us some common sense wisdom in dealing with wrath and anger—and the violence they could lead to. But the real cure is to be filled with the Holy Spirit!
a. Gal. 5:16 – walk in the Spirit and ye shall NOT fulfill the lusts of the flesh—listed in vs.19-20—which include hatred, wrath, strife, envy, and murder—bloody hands and the heart sins that lead to it!
b. Gal. 5:22-23 – temperance—self control—we can either be controlled by anger or by the Holy Spirit!
• It is a choice—whom we choose to serve—the Lord or the flesh!
• No believer is the poor, innocent victim of an overactive anger gland!
• We have a choice whether we want to yield our members to God or not. God has plenty of power to enable us to have victory.
• Anger does not have to be a life controlling sin for the believer. The cross is the answer.
Prov. 25:28 – He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
♦ There is nothing more pitiful than a man who cannot control himself.
♦ The prisons are FULL of such men—and women…
♦ A city that is without walls is a city that cannot defend itself… the smallest army can successfully attack!
♦ A man who cannot control his anger is also easily attacked… the smallest little irritation sends him off into a tailspin…
♦ I know people who cannot control their temper… they are to be pitied.
♦ A lack of control over our temper can ruin a life… lead to destruction…
Proverbs 6:18a
A Heart that Deviseth Wicked Imaginations
Introduction:
1. Previously: the evil use of body language – vs.12-14.
2. Solomon continues to warn his son about the things God especially hates—the seven deadly sins.
3. So far, they are also linked to a part of the body. (face; tongue; hands; now the heart)
The Heart
1. Heart: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding; reflection; emotions;
a. Heart = as seat of thought life; our appetites; seat of emotions and passions; as seat of courage.
b. It is the seat of either sin or holiness. (Luke 6:45)
• It is where we treasure up all of our innermost thoughts, desires, plans, ambitions, goals, and purposes…
• Whether they be good or bad!
c. I Sam. 16:7 – God is most concerned about the heart.
• How has your heart been lately?
• Has it been a source of that which is good, lovely, pure, holy, joyous… OR has it been a source of malice, bitterness, resentment, subtlety, and evil intentions?
• You want to know what kind of person you really are? Very often we put up a “front” that is not a good reflection of what is really going on inside. (hypocrisy)
• Prov. 23:7 – for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.
» What kind of person are you? What fills your heart throughout the day? What do you think about continually? What’s on your mind?
» Is our heart filled with ambitious thoughts of worldly success?
» Is our heart filled with inflated views of self?
» Is our heart filled with self-righteousness?
» Is our heart filled with a desire to please and honor God?
• Examine your heart. THAT is the kind of person we really are!
d. All of the issues of life proceed from the heart. That’s why we are told to keep your heart with all diligence! (Prov. 4:23)
e. The heart devises all the plans and sets the direction for our whole life. It is the very core of our being… the inner control center of our life…
The Heart Devises
1. Devise: to cut into; plow; engrave; or to plot evil…
a. Evil is plotted out like a man plots out how he is going to plow his field. (Which way would be the most advantageous? In what direction should the rows be plowed? How long? How many? When is the best time? How deep? Which fields?)
b. Farmers don’t just start plowing any old field. They put a lot of planning into growing their crops if they want to be successful.
c. As the seat of thought life, the heart thinks, makes plans, imagines things, tries to predict the outcomes of certain actions, devises the whole course of one’s life… it all starts in the mind… the heart.
d. Prov. 6:14 – Frowardness is in his heart; he deviseth mischief continually!
• The kind of person Solomon is describing is one who is constantly thinking of new ways to exhibit mischief… planning to stir up trouble… it is a full time job!
• If frowardness (evil—the old nature) is in the heart and controlling the heart, then that heart is going to be continually devising ways to express itself… planning… plotting… imagining…
2. Prov. 24:8 – a froward heart naturally devises mischief. Thus, the one who makes such plans is called “mischievous.”
a. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he!
b. He behaves that way because that is the kind of person he is.
c. Solomon warns his son about the kinds of evil he should expect to see out there in the world.
3. Ps. 36:3-4 – another mischievous person—
a. His mouth is deceitful
b. He has quit following the ways of wisdom; he has quit trying to do good.
c. He stays up at night devising his mischievous plans…
d. He doesn’t abhor or hate evil. He seems to delight in it!
4. Micah 2:1 – Others plan and plot evil at night… and just wait for the morning light that might carry out their plans.
a. Note that they carry them out when it is in the power of their hands to do so.
b. Many evil people make such plans but do not have the ability or opportunity to carry them out.
c. God holds them responsible for their thoughts!
d. Prov. 24:9 – the thought of foolishness is SIN! Even if the opportunity to carry out your plan never materialized.
e. Mischievous people are constantly devising wicked imaginations…
5. There are people like that out there!
a. Perhaps you work with one. Perhaps there is one or two in your class at school! Perhaps you live next door to one.
b. Perhaps you have even met one in Christian circles!
c. What destruction such a person can do! What damage—in a neighborhood… in a school… a church… even a family!
Wicked Imaginations
1. Imaginations: thoughts; plans; inventions;
2. I Chron. 28:9 – the Lord knows all the imaginations and thoughts of our hearts! David told this to Solomon…
a. We are to seek God with a pure mind and heart…
b. If there are evil intentions or motivations in our heart, God knows.
c. That is comforting to know—especially when people treat us cruelly. God knows their hearts too—and will deal with them in justice one day.
d. We can rest in that—and need not take vengeance into our own hands.
3. God hates those who devise wicked imaginations. He loves those who devise pure imaginations.
a. We ARE responsible for our imagination… our mind… our thoughts… our day dreams… where we allow our minds to wander…
b. Jer. 7:23-24 – The Lord rebukes Israel for her imagination
• God said “Obey me. Keep my commandments.”
• Israel resisted—and chose to walk in her OWN imagination…
• Whatever she devised in her own mind—THAT would she do.
• It speaks of a mind that refuses to submit to God… and demands to imagine and plan its own ways.
c. Jer. 13:10 – God has spelled out one direction and one course, but they have devised another course in their own minds. (This seems better!)
6. II Cor. 10:3 – “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
a. God does not tolerate imaginations that wander from the straight and narrow.
b. He demands that they be cast down—by the HOLY SPIRIT as we fill our minds with things that are pure, lovely, of good report, full of virtue…
c. God requires that our MINDS be in submission to His Word and His will.
d. It is possible to be a total rebel in our minds—and put on a front on the outside. (Hypocrisy)
• We can do the right things; say the right things; outwardly obey; and yet rebel on the inside.
• God sees the heart. One cannot fool God.
7. Solomon’s point is that the HEART devises such wicked imaginations!
a. Such plans and intentions originate in the human heart.
b. Jeremiah tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked!
c. Unless the HOLY SPIRIT controls us, our hearts could deceive us!
d. Unless we are Spirit controlled our hearts could devise wicked imaginations… make evil plans and plots… (With great subtlety of course!)
8. The world is full of sinners whose hearts are fallen and are filled with wicked devises.
• God hates it. How much? Read Gen.6:5, 11, 13!
• There was a time when the whole world was characterized by this deadly sin… and God destroyed the whole world.
• If God hates it that much—suffice it to say that we should not use our minds and hearts that way—to plan and plot evil!
9. We have a responsibility to RENEW our minds… daily. (Rom. 12:2)
a. Notice that this renewed mind is PRECEDED by a life that is given over to Christ… presented as a living sacrifice… our all on the altar.
b. The end result of a renewed mind is that we begin to PRACTICE God’s will… those good thoughts are put into practice, just like the wicked put their evil thoughts into practice.
c. Just as the wicked lie in bed at night devising wicked imaginations, we too should lie in bed at night meditating on our great God! (Ps. 63:5-6;
d. Ps. 143:5 – I will meditate on the Lord and MUSE on His works!
• Muse: put forth thoughts; commune; ponder… wondering about good things…
• Just as the imagination can be let loose to devise evil, it can also be let loose on the wonderful works of God!
e. When our minds are daily renewed in the Word of God, we will be busy using our minds to think of ways to glorify God—to witness to the lost—to minister to the saints—to improve our service in the local church—to be a better vessel in God’s hands!
Proverbs 6:18b
Feet that be Swift in Running to Mischief
Introduction:
1. Solomon has been using body parts as a figure of a sin that God hates.
2. Face; tongue; hands; heart… and now the feet.
The Feet
1. The last figure was that of the heart—devising wicked imaginations.
2. Now the feet carry out those plans… the feet go where the heart devises…
3. How “feet” are used in Proverbs…
a. Feet move us… from one place to another. (Either literally or figuratively)
b. Feet move us… and thus speak about the direction our life is taking (Prov. 4:26 – ponder the path of thy feet.)
c. Feet move us… and thus eventually bring us to places we should not be if we are not careful. We can sin with our feet! (Prov. 19:2)
d. Feet bring us swiftly to mischief! (6:18)
e. Feet run to evil… (Prov. 1:16)
f. Paul quotes Isaiah when he describes human depravity: “Their feet are swift to shed blood.”—feet carry out the evil deeds of the inner man.
4. When used figuratively, feet are most often used in a negative sense in Proverbs… running to evil rather than to good.
a. Obviously, it is not the feet that are evil… they only go where we tell them to go!
* Cf. Prov. 6:14 – mischief is in his heart—so his feet run to it!
b. But they symbolize wandering… running to carry out evil… going here and there to perform the mischief just devised…
c. The heart devises the evil plan—the feet execute that plan… the feet carry out that covetous, envious, crafty, revengeful, mean-spirited plot…
d. Feet are spoken of as running to evil most often—because the heart of man is evil… the heart is the control center that directs our feet… that steers our ship… that sets the tone and direction of our life.
e. The feet here are RUNNING to evil… which speaks of the speed and diligence and vigor used in carrying out the evil plan. Evil men are often hard workers… quite diligent in their plans and plots.
f. The diligence and tenacity of evil men in carrying out their evil plans should shame us—O that we would be as swift to do good—how beautiful are the feet of them that proclaim the good news!
5. God hates feet that run to carry out mischief.
a. Prov. 10:23 – for some, causing mischief is a sport! They love it! Have you met people like that? I have.
• If there is a spark of controversy, they are right there to fan the flames… keep the controversy going and growing!
• It is a sport to them… (sport = laughter; fun; sport)
b. Prov. 1:15-16 – thus we are exhorted to stay away—refrain your feet from the path of those who are headed for trouble!
c. This is good advice for young people at school… and for businessmen… and for housewives… for anyone!
d. If God hates what their feet are up to—then stay away!
e. Prov. 14:7-9 – Don’t follow the way of foolish… the wicked… remove your feet from their path!
• When you perceive by listening to him that he is headed in the wrong direction—GO from him!
• Prudent or wise men will THINK about where their feet are headed!
• How do you tell a fool? He mocks at sin… makes light of holy things… stay away! His feet are headed for destruction.
• It is so easy for young people to get involved in the wrong crowd—parents—keep an eye on the friends your children choose! Teach them HOW to choose good friends…
Our Feet Can Lead Down the Wrong Road
1. Prov. 16:25 – Sometimes the wrong road SEEMS right…
a. Read Pilgrim’s Progress—almost every wrong turn Christian took LOOKED pretty good at first… softer grass, more shade, ran parallel to the main road, seemed to be headed in the same direction…
• But he always ran into mischief down that road…
• One day Christian asked Greatheart how to tell if he was on the straight and narrow. Greatheart replied, “It’s simple my boy. The straight and narrow goes straight… it doesn’t have any twists or turns! ANY turn off the straight and narrow is a wrong turn!”
b. Our adversary is a master at making evil look good… at counterfeiting… he can make the wrong road look like the right one…
c. Remember—the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Nothing is more deceptive than the machinations of the fallen heart!
d. Beware! We CAN be deceived by our heart! Our feelings can fool us into thinking, “this seems right… it feels good… it must be God’s will.”
2. Knowing that our heart easily deceives us—and knowing that our feet are prone to wander off on to the wrong way—even toward mischief, we need God’s guidance…
a. Jer. 10:23 – it is not in man to direct his steps.
• This is the beginning of wisdom—realizing that we don’t have what it takes to direct our own steps… we need God in every step we take!
b. Ps. 37:23-24 – the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.
• Do we let God order our steps? Or do we give the orders ourselves?
• God delights in the one whose steps are ordered from above!
• If that is our heart attitude (Lord guide me!) then even if we fall, He will lift us right back up again!
• God hates feet that wander off into mischief. He delights in feet that are directed by His Spirit.
c. Prov. 16:9 – You choose which way you want to go—in the straight and narrow or your own road!
• If we choose to walk with God—He will direct our steps!
• That’s a promise.
d. Prov. 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord and He will direct your path!
• Ours is a walk of faith… trusting in the Lord to direct our steps.
• Acknowledge Him—recognize His leading… His hand in directing your steps… be conscious of His presence…
• THEN He will direct our path…
• Sometimes it seems like God has NOT directed our steps… that our way has become all tangled up… like Paul when he intended to carry out his missionary journeys when suddenly his steps were halted—and he was cast into prison. Even there Paul realized that his steps “turned out rather to the furtherance of the gospel!”
• God WANTS our pathway to be clear and safe. Therefore He said, “Consult me in everything!”
• God has plenty of wisdom… and He wants us to come to Him and seek it!
• Seek it wholeheartedly! (Prov. 2:3-5)
• Ps. 119:105 – God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet… a lamp to illuminate the right way for us go… the right path… and will keep our feet from mischief!
• Ps. 119:9 – how can a young man cleanse his way? How can we keep our feet off dead end roads… away from mischief… away from sinful lifestyles? TAKE HEED to the Word! (vs.11 – hide it in your heart!)
Proverbs 6:19
Sowing Discord
What would cause a person to want to sow discord?
a. Pride – a proud heart stirs up strife (28:25)
• If a person can sow discord and make others look bad, then they make themselves look good!
• Note that the sower of discord is linked together with a false witness… one who speaks lies.
• In order to make one party look bad, it is often helpful to twist the truth a bit… stretch the truth… spice it up…
• The uglier the picture you paint of your victim, the sweeter you smell—self always comes out smelling like a rose!
• Pride is often behind those who stir up strife among friends and sow discord.
• III John 9-10 = Diotrephes – he loved the preeminence. In order to maintain his preeminence, he was evidently putting down the apostles… trying to turn the people against them… in order to exalt himself!
b. Anger – an angry man stirs up strife (29:22)
• Another reason for sowing discord is anger.
• When anger is not dealt with right away, it can fester and result in all kinds of residual sins.
• Jesus said that anger is at the heart of murder!
• But most believers would never commit murder… but we might try to hurt someone by less drastic means. (After all—we’re too respectable to commit murder!
• We love ourselves too much to want to sit in jail for 50 years! Thus, we come up with other ways to hurt.
• Thus, instead of assassinating the person, we assassinate their character!
• We poison their friendships… by sowing discord…
• What is often at the core of this kind of sowing of strife and discord? Anger! A person who is angry will invent ways of retaliating… of getting even… getting back… inflicting pain and suffering…
• Hatred – hatred stirs up strife (10:12) If an angry man sows strife, hatred will cause a man to stir up strife—but on a grander scale!
c. Froward man sows strife (16:28) – (froward: turned or twisted; perversity, a perverse thing; crooked—used several times of Sodom and Gomorrah)
• This term indicates a perversity in the thinking of the one stirring up strife… sowing discord.
• There is something unnatural about their behavior… like the unnatural perversity in Sodom…
• Brethren ought to be like family… there is something perverse about trying to break up a family.
• Friends ought to be friendly… there is something perverse about the one who attempts to break up friendships… but that is exactly what Solomon says of this kind of person. (Prov. 16:28)
d. Earthly, sensual, and demonic! (James 3:14-16)
• James says that behind this kind of strife is a worldly, earthly kind of thinking… that is sensual (feelings oriented) and is influenced by demons!
• I Cor. 3:3 – carnality—wherever there is this kind of strife—and division—caused by the sower of discord—there is carnality—the opposite of spirituality.
e. A love of transgression – Prov. 17:19 – “He loveth transgression that loveth strife”.
• Some men just love sin… and they especially love this sin of sowing strife.
• They are not happy unless they are involved in some controversy… strife… argument… etc.
• They hate to see a good argument die down!
f. What is behind the sowing of discord among brethren?
• A proud, angry, worldly person who is motivated by his carnal nature, a love for sin and strife, and influenced by demons!
• That makes me want to think twice before sowing any discord among brethren!
What are the results of sowing discord?
1. Separate chief friends. (16:28; 17:9)
a. Two times Solomon warns us of this danger.
b. A third party—for various reasons (pride; anger; love of strife) can become a wedge between others…
c. Like a boat in a small pond, some people leave a string of broken relationships in their wake…
d. Like a boat—you only begin to feel the ripples after it has done its work.
e. Some believe that all seven of the things the Lord hates in Prov. 6:16-18 are related to the sowing of discord.
• A proud look; lying tongue; a heart that devises wicked imaginations; feet that are swift in running to mischief… all aimed at sowing discord!
• The fine art of sowing discord involves the whole person… the look… the words…the whispering… the clever plots… the body language… the crafty twisting of words…
f. Anyone can separate chief friends. It’s easy. All you have to do is be willing to sow discord… innuendoes… stretch the truth… roll the eyes at times… throw in a little gossip… put down one of the friends… emphasize every unkind thing they’ve ever done… and a few little white lies and VOILA! Friends are no longer friends!
g. I’ve seen it happen over the years… it’s happened to me… I’ve watched the wake of broken relationships… I’ve had to deal with the aftermath…
h.) All I can say is, “No wonder God hates it! It is mean spirited… hurtful… destructive… and sometimes irreversible!”
• Prov. 18:19 – “A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.”
2. Divisions in the church (I Cor. 3:3)
a. A divisive person can not only break up friendships, but can cause divisions and splits in churches!
b. I’ve seen that happen too.
c. Sometimes division in the church is good and needful—if it is over the truth… doctrine. But normally, church splits are NOT over important issues.
d. The issue in I Cor. 3 – was over personality and style… not doctrine!
e. That was a sinful kind of division… Paul rebukes those involved.
f. It doesn’t take much to cause people to polarize either… just one or two sowers of discord… and the work of God can be destroyed.
g. I Cor. 3:17 – no wonder the severe warning!
• Anyone who interferes with that sacred unity will have to answer to God!
• You don’t step in and stir up trouble in another person’s family… or between husband and wife. They are sacred unions…
• The church is God’s family too… it is His bride… He is the groom. He takes very seriously those who sow discord and seek to harm His family!
• Confusion and every evil work. Jas. 3:16. There is no end of the trouble that can be caused by a sower of discord.
h.) Ps. 133:1 – Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
• God loves peacemakers… but God hates sowers of discord!
• This is especially so with BRETHREN!
3. People will get hurt (26:17)
a. This verse gives us a graphic picture of a meddler… a busybody… one who steps into the business of others when they shouldn’t… a trouble maker!
b. The point is that someone is going to get bit! People are going to get hurt!
c. The person who meddles in the affairs of others is like a man picking up a dog by the ears. That dog is going to bite!
d. The person himself may get hurt too!
e. Prov. 11:27 – the one who seeks mischief—it will come to HIM!
f. This is not karma… this is divine justice. It often comes in this life—but justice will certainly be meted out in the life to come. (See 11:6)
Several years after inventing radar, Sir Robert Watson Watt was arrested in Canada for speeding. He’d been caught in a radar trap. He wrote this poem:
Pity Sir Robert Watson Watt,
Strange target of his radar plot,
And this, with others I could mention,
A victim of his own invention.
g. That’s why we don’t have to retaliate against the sowers of discord. God knows what they have done and God will deal with each one.
h.) Prov. 12:13 – time will tell… time exposes all. The wicked is snared and the just come out of trouble.
How do you handle it?
1. Prov. 22:10 – Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
• Prov. 26:20-21 – As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.
• Where no wood is, the fire goes out! So does the discord!
2. We are commanded NOT to be a busybody in another person’s matters (I Pet. 4:15)
a. This is a sower of discord among brethren—one who feels he has to put his two cents into every argument, just to stir things up.
b. God hates this—and so should we!
3. How much BETTER to be a peacemaker—a sower of peace rather than a sower of discord! A sower of harmony!
a. God loves one and hates the other.
Proverbs 6:20-23a
Guidance Through God’S Word
20 My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother
1. Once again, Solomon addresses his son… a father/son talk.
a. The particular theme of the rest of the chapter is a warning against adultery.
b. In fact, Solomon spends several whole chapters warning his son against adultery. (vs. 24ff.)
c. Interesting isn’t it, that Solomon would spend so much time warning his son in this area—since this is the very area in which his father David fell.
d. No doubt, Solomon saw some of the ripples in his home life which were directly related to his father’s behavior. The kids pay a price.
e. Solomon didn’t want his son to continue that kind of behavior.
2. Evidently both Solomon and his wife (the mother of his son) BOTH warned their son about this evil.
3. Several truths should be noted in this verse.
a. It is the responsibility of BOTH parents to teach the children!
• We often think of training children as the mother’s job… the father is off at work all day.
• Not so in the Bible. In fact, the father is especially singled out in Eph. 6:4! “Fathers… bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord!”
• Fathers need to talk to their sons… especially about the subject at hand…adultery.
• But not only the father… the mother too.
b. Each parent will have wisdom in different areas. A wise husband will put to use the unique wisdom of a woman in training children.
• A father may be strong on helping his son avoid temptations…
• A mother may be strong on warning the son about the dangers and sorrows to the home and children when infidelity strikes…
• A father might be strong in nurturing a sense of honor and reputation to be maintained for the Lord.
• A mother might be strong in teaching her sons and daughters HOW to love their spouses…
• With an older son or daughter—both the father and mother might profitably warn about the dangers of infidelity from different perspectives.
• When it comes to the sin of adultery—Solomon wanted his son to remember what he had been taught by BOTH his father and mother.
c. The child is to listen to BOTH parents.
• The son here is commanded to obey the instruction of BOTH mother and father. The writer takes it for granted that both parents are saying the same thing.
• The instructions from mom cannot be contradictory to those of dad or the child is being trained in confusion.
• A wise husband will discuss these issues with his wife—and consider her viewpoint.
• But when it comes to this subject—adultery—there should certainly be agreement!
4. While these laws and instruction in context refers particularly to the sin of adultery, they would also apply to ALL the words of wisdom as found in the book of Proverbs.
a. In other words, it seems that the commandments and laws being drilled into the child’s heart mentioned here have to do with lifelong principles… principles which will govern the rest of their days.
b. The words of wisdom found in Proverbs include: the use of the tongue; the use of money and property; respect for elders; diligence vs. slothfulness; wise use of time; avoiding immorality; avoiding association with foolish men; the pursuit of the knowledge of God; etc.
c. Parents have a responsibility to train a child in wise principles that will set them in a right direction the rest of their lives.
d. Parents have a responsibility to drill these principles of morality and godliness, as deeply as possible into the hearts of their children.
e. Solomon and his wife taught their sons about the evil of adultery…
• In our culture today, our teens need to be taught by dad and mom on this important subject today!
• Don’t leave it to the kids on the corner to teach them… or TV… or the school systems… they are going to get twisted information.
• This is the responsibility of the parents!
• When it came to the subject of sexual immorality, Solomon gave his sons some clear commandments!
• His mother laid down the law!
• We need to be clear too.
21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck
1. The commandments that Solomon gave his son are to be kept close to his heart… for the rest of his life.
a. In his heart, he should HATE the sin of adultery…
• Especially as you see its effects over the years…
• The awful scars it leaves on the kids…
• The bitterness and even hatred between families…
• But especially because it is sin against GOD!
b. He should LOVE the warnings against it that he received from his parents.
• Most young people hear the warnings, and say, “Yea, I know! Next subject, please!”
• Perhaps not til later in life will they grow to appreciate the training they received in this area… and the repeated warnings…
c. This truth about holiness, which was passed on to him from his parents, should be BOUND next to his heart…
2. He is to keep this truth next to his heart CONTINUALLY…
a. This warning is not just for young people in their teens and twenties… but it is for believers of all ages!
b. Immorality ruins the homes of older folks who have been married for decades!
c. This is not a truth that we can afford to forget… keep the warning FRESH in your mind… bind it on your heart continually…
3. One of the very first qualities (after salvation!) that a young person should look for in a mate is faithfulness… fidelity…purity…
a. Looks are quite insignificant. They are going to get old, fat, and wrinkly one day anyway! Dig a little deeper than their looks!
b. Don’t even think of going out with a person who is a flirt… whose mouth spouts out filthiness, foolish taking, or jesting which are not convenient. Do not tolerate behavior that is unbecoming of saints! (Eph. 5:3-4)
c. Unclean persons are not believers in Christ! Be not ye therefore partakers with them! Stay away! (Eph. 5:5-7)
d. You will meet such persons… when you do, remember the godly advise your parents gave you—stay away!
22When thou goest, it shall lead thee
1. Goest = going, walking, traveling
a. It is used as a figure of our whole life… not just when we are taking a walk.
b. One’s whole life is seen as our journey or our pilgrimage on earth.
c. When thou goest means “all throughout your life here on earth” or “as you journey through life…”
2. It shall LEAD thee…
a. All throughout your life, this godly wisdom passed on to you from your godly parents will lead you… guide you… direct your steps…
b. If we keep our parents godly wisdom next to our heart, it will continually give us guidance… even long after we have moved out of their house!
c. Such godly advise will prevent us from falling… tripping over stumblingblocks that many in the world fall over.
d. Wherever we go through life, these lessons will go with us… and will provide guidance in decisions we make.
e. Those lessons about purity will cause us to choose to stay away from situations where we might be tempted… to avoid compromising situations…
f. They will teach us to make no provision for the flesh…
g. Ps. 119:24 – “Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.” Godly parents should be giving advice based on God’s word. His word and wisdom from it will continually serve as our counselors all throughout life!
h. Keep the wisdom of God’s word close to your heart… and you will have a built in counselor! A built in guidance counselor!
22 When thou sleepest, it shall keep thee
1. He switches from walking along life’s way to sleeping or reclining… from life’s activities to life’s quieter moments.
a. Sleep = to lie down; rest; relax,—not just sleep.
b. Godly wisdom will guide us through all the hustle and bustle of life… and it will KEEP us in those quiet times… times of relative tranquility…
2. Another difference here is from guidance to KEEPING…
a. Keep = guard; protect; watch over; keep charge over… like a guard
b. The man or woman who keeps these rules of purity and fidelity will be safe… protected…
c. There are lots of immoral people in the world who are not safe at night…
• Because of their adultery and immorality, they have made enemies.
• Many so-called “love triangles” end in murder.
• Those folks are not safe at night…
• Others may have deadly sexually transmitted diseases in their bodies and they don’t even know it.
• Immoral people are not safe when they sit down to relax…
• And even if they are not in danger of disease or being murdered, they are always in danger of being caught…
d. The son or daughter who KEEPS the godly advice of his parents concerning adultery and moral purity… is safe! He is protected. He can sleep soundly at night… in purity of both body and conscience!
3. The protection and safety afforded by taking heed to the commandments and godly advice is a theme often seen in this book.
a. 3:19-24 they will keep you safe… day and night… keep you from falling…
b. 4:10-13 – godly parental advice is a lifesaver! She is thy life!
22 And when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
1. After the time of resting or relaxing, it’s time to get up… to awake…
2. Even then, godly wisdom will TALK with you…
a. Talk = to put forth, mediate, muse, commune, speak
b. The godly wisdom passed down from parent to child is something that will stick with them the rest of their lives!
c. When they wake up—they will have something to think about… something to meditate on… to muse over in their mind.
3. As our children begin their day, and thoughts turn to their friends who are going through a divorce… perhaps YOUR words of wisdom will come to their mind!
a. Perhaps they will be able to share those words with their friend!
b. Perhaps something you told them years ago, that they had never really come across in real life suddenly they are faced with such a situation… and know just what to do… just what to say…
4. Perhaps a generation later, the same wisdom you heard from your parents—which you shared with your kids—will be passed on to your grandchildren.
5. Godly wisdom will stay with you the rest of your life… and will be a constant companion—one who stays with you and talks with you… God’s wisdom is to be a friend… a companion… one who walks with us and talks with us… God’s wisdom will be the best friend you will ever have in life!
6. The warnings from our parents—this godly wisdom—will still be warning us all throughout life! (Ps. 19:11)
Proverbs 6:23-26
Ruined By Lust
23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light;
1. The commandment mentioned here is not the commandments of Moses, but rather the commandments of Solomon given to his son. It is his fatherly advice given in this book. (see 7:1-2)
2. The advice Solomon is giving his son here is likened to a lamp and a light.
a. This is a common figure in the poetic books.
b. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Ps. 119:105
c. The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. Ps. 119:130
d. The advice Solomon gives his son is now recorded in Scripture for us. It is not only Solomon’s advice, but God’s Word!
3. The wisdom Solomon gives his son… and the wisdom we receive from God’s Word illuminates our way.
a. Illumination keeps us from stumbling… from falling…
b. We are viewed as pilgrims on our journey through life… and there are many potholes and pitfalls to avoid. In the darkness, we will fall in. But if our way is illuminated, we can avoid them!
c. If we follow God’s wisdom, we don’t have to fall into those pitfalls.
d. If we think we can handle life on our own, we WILL fall… and fall hard!
e. Ps. 18:28-30 – God will “light our candle”… if we let Him. He will illuminate our way so that we can leap over a wall… He will give strength… guidance… enablement… victory… BUT—we must walk in the light of that candle!
f. Ps. 43:3-4 – God’s light leads us out of darkness and unto the place of holiness and purity.
And reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
1. God’s wisdom and Word not only give light… positively shining on the way we should go. It also gives REPROOFS… warnings… rebukes when we take a wrong turn!
2. When Divine wisdom speaks through His Word and we follow those warnings, we will walk in the way safely and will not stumble. (Prov. 3:21-23; 4:12)
3. Solomon has driven home this point several times. “Son, please be safe! Be careful! Follow my advice… take heed to my reproofs and warnings!”
24 To keep thee from the evil woman,
1. Now he gets real specific. “Son, if you follow my advice, you will be kept from the evil woman!”
a. Kept = guarded; protected from; preserve from;
b. The wisdom Solomon gives his son is for the PROTECTION of his son!
c. If his son takes heed, he will be protected from the evil woman…
d. Note that this fatherly advice… recorded as divinely inspired Scripture… will keep on protecting that son when dad is not around… (vs.22)
2. The evil woman is a seductress… a harlot… an adulteress…
a. She is called a whorish woman and an adulteress in vs. 26
b. Solomon’s point is that this kind of woman is one of the pitfalls in life that divine wisdom will enable us to avoid… IF we take heed.
c. Wisdom will provide protection from all kinds of trouble… here’s an important one—the evil woman… the harlot…
3. Every young man (and young woman—there are evil men out there too!) needs to hear this advice from their father.
a. Young people need to be TAUGHT the danger of such behavior…
b. We can’t expect them to know all this unless they are told. That’s the father’s job.
c. Solomon spends a good portion of several chapters dealing with this issue with his son. We should follow his pattern.
HOW THE SEDUCTRESS SEDUCES:
She uses her tongue: From the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
1. Remember back in vs. 12-19 how Solomon had been speaking about the way people use the members of their body to sin… body language…?
a. vs. 13 – winking with the eye and speaking with the feet; teaching with fingers
b. vs. 17 – a proud look; lying tongue
c. Now, Solomon speaks about the harlot—how she uses her body to entice.
d. Vs. 24 – Her tongue: she flatters the foolish young man with her tongue.
• Cf. 2:16 – she flatters with her words
• 5:3 & 7:5 – her mouth is smoother than oil… her words are so sweet…
• 7:21-22 – she flatters with her lips and “forces” him! He goes like an ox to the slaughter… defeated by her tricks.
» Forced = to drive; impel; move; chase;
» With her words, she caused him to yield.
e. She can be the CAUSE of the fall… but the man who falls is not a poor innocent victim of circumstances.
• Solomon has already told us what to do—stay away!
• Remember Joseph—he didn’t give Potiphar’s wife TIME to talk him into anything! He ran!
• Nobody can FORCE us to sin.
• The adulteress is the bait that entices a man to bite the hook… but she cannot force it.
• Solomon is warning his son NOT TO LISTEN to such a woman! Her words can draw you in… don’t listen! We’ve already been warned.
• The young man does not have to fall. If he follows his father’s commandments, he will not yield.
• If you KNOW that she uses her tongue to entice—then don’t listen—and you will be protected from her evil ways.
She uses her body – 25Lust not after her beauty in thine heart;
1. The harlot will show enough of her body to cause the young man to lust.
2. This is human nature: exposed flesh causes lust. Therefore, godly women will dress modestly.
3. This is the ungodly woman—the harlot. She exposes herself enough to draw the young man in… entice… lure… tempt…
4. She is trying to entice him into committing adultery. But that begins with adultery in the heart…
5. Solomon warns his son not to lust after her beauty in his heart… in his mind…
• This is just what Jesus warned against in Matt. 5:28 – lusting in the heart = committing adultery in the heart.
• The next step is actually committing adultery!
6. How can a young man NOT lust after her beauty? Don’t look!
7. Where is this evil woman to be found?
a. In Solomon’s day, she was probably found only in certain sections of the ancient city of Jerusalem. You would have to go out of your way to see her.
b. Nowadays, she is everywhere.
• She is in your livingroom if you watch the regular programming on TV!
• She is in the movie theatre!
• She is at the beach.
• She is on the Internet! Pornographic web sites are among the most profitable.
• She is on the billboards as you drive down the highway.
• She is in the magazine racks at the barbershop.
• And if you don’t keep your mind and heart pure, she will be in your bedroom next!
25Neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
1. Again, Solomon mentions how she uses her body parts to entice… here her eyes.
2. She flirts with eyes… she doesn’t have to speak… you get the message. She speaks with her eyes. (Cf. 6:13)
3. She uses her tongue to entice you… she exposes enough flesh to entice you… she flirts with her eyes to invite you in…
4. A young man who is not taught what to expect out there will be taken in by this woman… he won’t be prepared… it will seem so innocent at first… and then he won’t know what hit him… until its over.
5. Remember the image Solomon uses: like a dumb animal going to the slaughter…
26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread:
1. Once a young man gets caught up in this lifestyle, it will ruin him. He will be reduced to a piece of bread!
2. Life in the fast lane can lead to alcohol and drug abuse… divorce… broken homes… and literally to poverty!
3. Consider the warning in 5:8-10 – lest strangers are filled with thy wealth.
4. Prov. 29:3 – he that keeps company with harlots spends his substance… on riotous living… like the prodigal son.
5. That lifestyle can lead to poverty.
And the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
1. This is the true goal of the adulteress—to hunt for another victim!
a. Remember Solomon’s description of the young man going in unto the harlot—a dumb animal going to the slaughter.
b. She is actually a hunter… hunting for lives to ruin… precious young lives to be brought down the wrong path… for her pleasure… for her financial profit… and for the ruin of the young man and his family!
c. She hunts for another victim… and reduces him to poverty… dishonor and shame.
d. She is like a hunter, hunting for a dumb animal, to kill, slay, to save the skin for herself, and eat the flesh… and throw the rest away.
e. The young man who believes her words of flattery is a fool indeed!
2. Now Solomon was talking to his son… and certainly our sons need to hear this. But so do our daughters!
a. Young people are by their very nature inexperienced… and easy prey.
b. They need to be taught at home. They need to be warned.
c. And note that Solomon says these parental commands and words of instruction will KEEP the young person from evil! (vs. 24a)
Proverbs 6:27
The Danger of Sexual Sins
Introduction:
1. Solomon has been warning his son about the danger of sexual immorality.
2. In vs. 24-26 he warned his son about the seductive methodology of the immoral woman… how she lures and entices.
3. Now he warns his son about the consequences of such behavior.
a. It Burns (vs. 27-29)
b. It Is Not Easily Forgiven (vs. 30-32)
c. It Leaves a Reproach That Won’t Go Away (vs. 33-35)
IT BURNS (VS. 27-29)
1. First of all, Solomon likens this sin to fire.
2. Can a man take fire in his bosom and not get burned? Can a man go on hot coals and not be burned? Of course not!
a. Fire burns! A little spark can ignite a whole forest!
b. If the woods are dry, it only takes one little spark to ignite.
3. Think of the implications of the analogy here. There are two ingredients: the spark or fire and the clothes.
a. The spark or fire = contact with this woman… (this would include a touch, a hug, a stare, a wink of the eye, etc. – vs. 25)
b. The clothes or that which catches on fire = the man, his heart, his life…
• Clothes are dry and extremely flammable.
• The point is that a man is too… susceptible to burning.
• It doesn’t take much to start a fire. One little spark will cause the clothes to ignite…
• A man is like the dry, flammable clothes—easily burned!
• The point is that if he comes in close contact with a spark, he WILL get burned! That’s a law of nature.
4. Don’t play with fire!
a. At some point, every parent has to warn the child about something hot… something that can burn and do a lot of damage.
b. We warn our young children not to touch the stove… or the wood stove… or the electrical outlets. “Hot” is one of the first words we teach our young kids.
c. Not to do so would be negligence on our part. They NEED the warning.
d. It would be negligence because of the serious consequences of a burn… they could be scarred and disfigured for life—even killed! They could burn the whole house down.
e. Sexual immorality is far worse. This too can cause us to become scarred and disfigured for life… it can burn our whole household… our family down… ruin!
f. Light a match to dry, flammable clothing and there will be a fire. It is unavoidable. There are serious and unavoidable consequences to the sin of sexual immorality too.
g. Far worse than a scar on one’s face or hand is a scar on the soul.
h. Solomon is giving his son some good advice: Don’t play with fire. You WILL be burned! You are not the exception to the rule.
5. The illustrations given imply a man who is almost defying the laws of nature.
a. Have you ever seen someone walk on coals? They are defying this principle. (Ask one of those voodoo priests to stand on them for a few minutes!)
b. A man who takes fire in his bosom is also defying such laws.
c. The implication of such a man is, “This won’t hurt me. I can handle this. Maybe others would get burned, but not me.”
d. This is an attitude of pride… (Cf. I Cor. 10:12 – Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”)
e. Prov. 16:18 – Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
f. Prov. 28:14 – Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
• What does it mean to fear God? Should we be afraid of drawing near to God? No! We should fear sinning against Him or displeasing Him!
• That kind of fear stems from two things: an acknowledgement of who God is (infinitely holy)… and an awareness of who we are (fallen and so very capable of sinning at any moment!)
• An exalted view of God and a humble and lowly view of self results in fear. This kind of godly fear will keep us AWAY from any spark that might ignite us—for we recognize how easily we could be ignited.
g. The man who is painfully aware of how vulnerable he is in this area will not play with fire. Or even a spark!
6. The wise man stays away from fire… and sparks.
a. Anything that might ignite impurity in our mind or heart ought to be avoided.
b. Be careful in your use of the Internet. This invention has made pornography easily accessible—just the click of the mouse! And it has been the ruin of many a man… (I have had to console women who are heartbroken because their husbands spend time viewing pornography)
c. Be careful about going to the beach! It is no secret that modesty is not in vogue at the beach.
d. Be careful about what you watch on TV… or videos.
e. The pilgrims didn’t have to worry about any of these things… not like we do. That demands all the more vigilance on our part.
f. However the Puritans were not exempt from this sin—some did wear the scarlet letter. But even though they didn’t have the high tech contraptions and media to deal with… human nature was the same!
› Flirting with an adulterous or an immoral woman is playing with fire.
› Touching ignites the flesh. That is not a debatable point. Once those juices get flowing, they are virtually impossible to stop. That’s the natural law. You know this law. You know it to be true… scientific even!
• If you want to be pure… if you want to avoid sparks flying… and being burned… then don’t touch!
• That’s what the text is implying here.
• Don’t touch your neighbor’s wife… and for unmarried people—avoid whatever will ignite you.
• Remember I Cor. 10:12!
g. If something ignites you like a spark—don’t play with fire. (I Thess. 5:22)
• Don’t think of it as innocent or harmless.
• Don’t think that it won’t lead to something worse… that’s how sparks work. (warm, to hot, to smoke, to a tiny flame, to a bigger and bigger flame—that eventually is difficult to put out.)
• Stay away! That is the way of safety.
• Even some in the world are recognizing now the value of abstinence for the unmarried.
• But abstinence in young people doesn’t just happen. You have to work at it… the Bible says that we should abstain from any appearance of evil… of any compromising situation that might lead to evil…
• Young people might ridicule the idea of “abstinence even from touching”—but it is probably the only way to maintain any kind of abstinence.
• Once you touch—and get the juices flowing… you may not be able to stop. Once the sparks fly—you will burn! That’s exactly what Solomon is saying here.
h. Rom. 13:14 – “Make no provision for the flesh.”
• Whatever stirs up the flesh—get rid of it… avoid it… turn the other way.
• This might mean making some lifestyle changes… some personal sacrifices… but it is far better to sacrifice than to burn!
7. Wise parents will be careful with their children.
a. If you KNOW that your son is like dry, flammable material that only takes one small spark to ignite… don’t allow him in situations where sparks might fly!
b. It is foolish to allow teens to have the opposite sex over the house without supervision. Don’t be so foolish as to say, “But my kids wouldn’t do anything. I trust them.”
c. You shouldn’t trust them. In fact, Solomon is warning his son not to trust himself! That’s the point. We can’t trust in human nature…
d. The natural law says that if you put a spark next to dry clothes, it WILL ignite! Don’t ever trust that your clothes won’t burn!
e. With young people today, it is not only that their clothes are dry. It is more like they are soaked in gasoline!
f. There’s only one way to prevent a fire from starting—Keep the sparks away from the clothes! Don’t walk on hot coals. Don’t play with fire. You will get burned.
g. When Joseph found himself near a spark, he ran as fast as he could.
h. Would you play with matches if your clothes were soaked in gasoline? Would you even go near a fire? It is folly to think that our clothes won’t burn… this won’t happen to me… or this won’t happen to my kid! I already gave him a talk about that.
8. Fire burns—and is extremely painful. It leaves scars.
a. Solomon warns his young son about the sin of sexual impurity. He doesn’t want his son to have to suffer through the awful consequences of the sin—it’s like getting burned. It hurts for a long time after the fire goes out.
b. Think of some of the consequences of this sin in the life of a young person today…
• Single mother—or father—no hope of going to college—
• confined to a low paying job the rest of their life—often means poverty
• a constant reminder of their sin staring them in the face every day—
• there are many long lasting and far reaching consequences to this sin.
9. Going into your neighbor’s wife (vs. 29)
a. Now Solomon states that the sin of adultery is like a fire that ignites.
b. The man who commits such a sin is not “innocent.” (be clear, be pure, be free, be innocent; exempt from punishment)
c. There are consequences to the sin of adultery… they are as sure as a scientific law… like the law of gravity… or fire.
d. You can defy the law if you will, but you will lose in the end.
e. The consequences of adultery are unavoidable. Play with fire and you will be burned.
f. Job 31:9-12 – Job also states that this sin is a fire that destroys.
g. The warnings are many and lengthy. Take heed. God knows human nature. This is repeated for a purpose.
Proverbs 6:30-35
The Reproach of Adultery
30Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; 31But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
1. Solomon speaks about the sin of stealing.
a. Men do not despise a thief when he steals a loaf of bread when he is hungry.
b. The passage seems to be speaking about an otherwise honest man, who has fallen into hard times, and has no food to eat… so he steals. Perhaps he steals because his children are hungry.
c. This is not a drug addict stealing to support his habit; or a slothful man stealing because he is too lazy to work. This is not a bank robber who steals in order to get rich quick.
d. It is a poor man… who is hungry. He steals just enough to eat and cause the hunger pains to go away… and perhaps some for his family to eat.
e. Men do not despise such a person.
• His actions are understandable…
• We can easily forgive such a man…
• A judge in court would probably be quite lenient on such a man.
• This is not the kind of crime that would cause a public outcry of rage against the man.
• People might despise a bank robber who steals their hard earned money… but most people wouldn’t despise a hungry man who stole a loaf of bread.
2. However, Solomon is not condoning such behavior! (vs. 31)
a. It is still sin. This is not a matter of situational ethics. Stealing a loaf of bread is sin whether we are hungry or not.
b. There is no such thing as a set of circumstances in which it is OK to sin… to break God’s commandments.
c. Thus, Solomon states that this man is to restore sevenfold.
d. In fact, if caught, he is to restore sevenfold, even if he has to empty the contents of his house to pay for his crime!
e. The law was quite strict about such crimes. (Ex. 22: 1,3,4) Sometimes the punishment would be according to what the judge decided.
f. Stealing was wrong. It was a violation of the ten commandments. It was sin… and there were no excuses for it… not even hunger.
3. The main point of these verses is this: if a hungry man steals, it is sin, and there are consequences and punishment according to the law if he is caught.
a. You will be punished. The Law does not excuse your behavior.
b. BUT—on the other hand, men WILL have mercy. Most men will be sympathetic to such a man. Men will forgive such actions. Most men would say, “There but for the grace of God go I!”
c. Jas. 2:13 – Mercy rejoices over judgment. There are times when judgment might be appropriate, but mercy is better. A man who steals a piece of bread is such an example. (cf. vs. 15-16)
d. Men are much more likely to show forgiving mercy rather than severe judgment on such a situation.
e. The thief who repents will receive forgiveness from God and from men.
4. At first glance, these two verses seem out of place in the context of the chapter.
a. From vs. 24-29 – Solomon had been speaking about the evil woman and the sin of adultery.
b. Then in vs. 30-31, he seems to suddenly interject a command concerning stealing a loaf of bread.
c. And following this passage on stealing, he reverts back to the topic of adultery.
32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. 33 A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
1. BUT—Solomon had just mentioned stealing… BUT in contrast to stealing a loaf of bread, is the sin of adultery.
2. Actually, the verses on stealing were not just a diversion of thought, but are PART OF his teaching on adultery.
3. BOTH sins are in essence, stealing… a loaf of bread… and stealing a man’s wife.
4. BOTH acts are sinful.
5. BOTH are forbidden in the Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt not steal.” “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
6. BOTH sins can be forgiven by God upon repentance.
7. However, there is one huge difference.
a. Men won’t despise a thief who steals bread when hungry… when he hungers and lusts for food.
b. But men WILL despise the man who hungers and lusts after his neighbor’s wife… and commits adultery!
c. The sin of committing adultery is not like stealing a loaf of bread. It is far worse.
• A loaf of bread stolen might be a nuisance. But it can easily be replaced… restored as the breadbox was before. (Our dog stole 6 muffins off the counter one day. We forgave him.)
• When you steal a man’s wife and commit adultery—that can never be restored as it was before.
• If a man stole a loaf of bread and was caught, the people from whom he stole would probably have given it to him any way! Not so with a man’s wife.
• Even beyond bread—anything physical can be replaced. (car; house; machinery; jewelry; gold nuggets)
• It is one thing to put your hands on another man’s property. It is another thing altogether to put your hands on his wife!
• The husband/wife relationship is a sacred thing. Hands off!
8. The man who commits adultery lacks understanding.
a. He does not understand that pleasure of sin lasts but a few moments… but the consequences –the shame, guilty, and reproach go on and on!
b. He does not understand that he is being enticed to bite a hook… like a fish going for the bait—only to be hooked.
c. He does not understand his sin will find him out.
d. He does not understand that such a woman will reduce him to a piece of bread. (vs. 26)
e. He does not understand that by taking hot coals in his bosom, he is going to get burned.
f. He doesn’t understand that he is really being led like an ox to the slaughter (7:22).
g. Therefore, he is called a FOOL repeatedly.
9. The man who commits adultery destroys his own soul.
a. The man who commits adultery thinks it is going to be nothing but pleasure. He is dead wrong. It will destroy his soul.
b. Just like the man who turns to drugs for comfort, excitement, or pleasure. It starts off as fun, but soon becomes destructive. So too with the sin of adultery.
c. Prov. 5:22 – he shall be holden with the cords of his sin… enslaved by it…
d. Prov. 8:36 – but it is especially destructive, because it is sin against God.
• Remember what Joseph said to Potiphar’s wife? “Shall I do this great evil and sin against God?
• It destroys our relationship to Him. It’s not worth it. RUN!
10. A wound and dishonour shall he get. (vs. 33)
a. Prov. 5:11 – it can destroy the body physically with disease.
b. But worse than the physical sickness is the dishonor and shame it brings.
c. It brings a wound to the soul! (Ps. 38:1-8 – David’s inward wound after his sin with Bathsheba.)
11. His reproach shall not be wiped away. (vs. 33)
a. People will never forget David’s sin with Bathsheba. This reproach just doesn’t go away. (I Kings 15:5)
b. Men will forgive and forget the sin of the man who steals a loaf of bread when he is hungry. But it is far more difficult to forgive and forget the sin of adultery.
c. This reproach will haunt him for years and years.
d. It is NOT the unpardonable sin. God will forgive… but men will not forget. (That’s why it is NOT a good idea to receive men back into the pastorate after they have committed adultery—men don’t forget!)
34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. 35 He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
1. The consequences of adultery are far worse than of stealing bread… and longer lasting.
2. The jealousy and rage of the man whose wife was stolen… he will not spare in his vengeance.
a. He will not spare—he will stop short of nothing—even killing the adulterer!
3. There is nothing the adulterer can do to make it up to him either.
a. You can restore a stolen loaf of bread—even sevenfold.
b. But you cannot restore this situation… though you try with a ransom and with large gifts.
c. The man offended will never be able to look at the man who committed adultery against him without thinking of the adultery… even after many long years.
4. Thus, Solomon teaches his son about long lasting consequences of the sin of adultery. His hope is that his son will listen and spare himself from guilt and shame.
a. Listen to the words of Augustine: “When that which delighteth is soon gone, that which tormenteth remaineth without end.”
b. Listen to the words of the apostle Paul: “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.”
c. Listen to the words of Joseph: “Shall I do this great evil and sin against God?”
d. Listen to the words of the Lord Jesus: “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
e. We would do well to take heed. FLEE youthful lusts.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 7
Proverbs 7:1-5
Wisdom Protects from Immorality
1 My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
1. Solomon once again addresses his son. This has been a very personal, father/son talk through the past several chapters.
2. Since 6:23, Solomon has been warning his son about the sin of adultery and its consequences.
3. 7:1-4 might seem like a diversion from the context, but actually, it is not. It is a continuation of the same theme.
4. In this section, Solomon is speaking about the importance of holding his words of wisdom near and dear to his heart… SO THAT they might provide protection from that evil woman in a time of temptation (vs. 5).
5. Thus, he charges his son once again, to KEEP (guard; obey; take heed to) his words and commandments.
a. In particular, he is charging his son to obey what he has just told him… the commandments and words of wisdom found in the previous section.
b. What words? What commandments?
• vs. 24 – stay away from the evil woman…
• vs. 25 – don’t lust after her beauty…
• vs. 27 – don’t take fire into your bosom…
• vs. 32 – don’t commit adultery…
2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
1. Now he states that his son is to keep these commandments and LIVE.
a. Keeping these commandments is a matter of life and death.
b. Adultery was punishable by death according to the Mosaic Law.
c. Lev. 18:5 – Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.
d. Lev. 20:10 – adulterers were to be put to death.
e. Jesus was brought to a woman caught in the act of adultery, and He too upheld the law. He asked the accusers to cast the first stone…
f. Thus, in a real way, obeying this commandment could save the life of Solomon’s son!
g. We don’t live under the Mosaic law—but that doesn’t mean we should take the sin of adultery less seriously! God hates this sin and so should we!
2. Keep this law as the apple of thine eye!
a. This expression means either:
• The apple on the tree that catches your eye—a special apple…
• The apple of thine eye might refer to the pupil of the eye… and would speak of the perhaps most sensitive part of your body. You guard your eye much more carefully than you do your arm or leg. With that same extra care, guard yourself concerning this commandment!
• Either way, the meaning in this passage is similar — “There are lots of commandments. But be sure to keep this one! This one is especially important!”
• Just as you guard your eye with special care—guard yourself in the area of moral purity with special care too!
• Of all the commandments “on the tree”—this one should catch your eye and be seen as one especially worth paying attention to!
3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
1. Solomon’s words of wisdom, advice, and commandments concerning sexual purity are to be bound on his fingers and written upon his heart.
2. Fingers: this principle of purity should affect everything he DOES with his hands… everything he TOUCHES with his hands…
3. Heart: These principles about holiness ought to affect everything he THINKS about in his heart…the inner man.
4. Thus, there is to be purity for the inner man (don’t lust in your heart) and the outer man, the body (don’t commit the act of adultery).
a. Solomon wanted purity in his son’s heart… but he also wanted it demonstrated in his outward life…
5. We are to be perfecting holiness and to be cleansed from filthiness of the flesh and the spirit. (II Cor. 7:1)
• It is possible to have our body or flesh pure (never committed the act) but our spirit defiled (lusting in the heart).
• God requires complete holiness…
6. 6:21-24 – the same context — this wisdom, if bound to the body and the heart, will protect you, lead you, and counsel you throughout your days… and throughout your life!
7. Having these commandments bound to the hands and heart also speaks of how precious they ought to be to us.
a. Purity and holiness ought to be near to our heart!
b. Holiness should be written upon our heart… deeply etched in our heart
c. All of the commandments are holy… but this one should be especially kept near our heart.
8. The fact that it is written on the heart also implies that there should be some passion about keeping this commandment.
a. Written on our heart, we will have a heart-felt conviction about the importance of this commandment!
b. This sin isn’t like an unfortunate slip of the tongue… or getting angry at the dog. That is sin too, but this command is to WRITTEN on our heart…
c. This sin is far more serious in that its consequences are far more serious.
4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman
1. Thou art my sister (relative; beloved; wife) and thy kinswoman (female relative)
a. This implies that Solomon wants his son to LOVE wisdom… to have a close relationship to wisdom.
b. It may well be that wisdom is to be his wife…
2. Here Solomon personifies Wisdom… Lady Wisdom. (He speaks of wisdom as a lady calling unto us to hear her – 4:5-9)
3. Thus, there is a sharp contrast being made here between Lady Wisdom and the Evil or the Strange Woman…
a. Both are calling to this young man… trying to lure him to them.
• Lady wisdom calls him – 1:24; 8:1-4 – she is calling to young men to come to her… hear her…
• The harlot lady is calling to the young man too – 7:18 – come!!!
b. Solomon tells his son to avoid the strange woman and her enticing ways, and to embrace Lady Wisdom… “say unto wisdom, “Thou art my sister.”
c. Solomon encourages his son to enter into a close relationship with Lady Wisdom… and to avoid the evil woman.
5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
1. The words of wisdom Solomon is giving his son (personified as a Lady Wisdom) will protect his son from the strange woman… the harlot… the prostitute… the immoral woman.
a. Solomon’s son—like our sons—need protection. They need to be warned.
b. And as we go through the next couple of chapters, we will see that Solomon warned his son OFTEN about this sin!
c. It is repeated a lot, but worth repeating. We need to hear it!
2. One lady will keep you from the other.
a. Lady Wisdom will keep you from the evil, immoral woman…
b. And the evil woman will keep you away from God’s wisdom!
c. His son must choose… who will he listen to?
d. Solomon has been trying to train his son in making the right choices—the kind of woman to pursue, and the kind of woman to avoid.
e. One man wrote, “If wisdom is not loved, lust will be indulged.”
f. To love one is to hate the other.
3. The stranger flatters. That is her method of alluring and enticing…
a. Cf. 2:16; 5:3; 6:24
b. This is her method—a smooth tongue… convincing… reassuring that it will be OK… just this once!
c. Contrast the words of Lady wisdom (8:6-8). She speaks excellent things; right things; her words are truth… there is nothing perverse in her words!
4. It is interesting to follow the descriptions of the two women throughout these chapters—Lady Wisdom, the godly, wise, woman… and the strange woman, an evil adulteress.
a. Young men need to be taught the difference between the two and to seek a godly woman!
b. Young girls need to be taught the difference between the two, and should be encouraged to follow the example of Lady Wisdom…
c. Our daughters are bombarded with images of movie stars, whose lives are glamorous—but are just like the strange woman Solomon warns us about! They allure through scant, slinky clothing… and Hollywood has somehow managed to make sin look glamorous. It is not!
d. How our young girls need examples of a godly woman!
Proverbs 7:6-21
The Deception of Sin
Introduction:
1. Solomon is teaching his son about the dangers of sexual immorality.
2. In chapter six, he describes a scene in which a young man is enticed into sin by the strange woman…
a. The person observes the scene from a latticed window… looking out over a city street late at night.
b. He recounts what he saw…
3. This is actually one scene he describes, so we will look at the whole picture at once.
4. Next week we will look at the same scene from the perspective of the young man—at his ignorance, inexperience, folly, and sin.
5. Tonight we will look at it from the perspective of the woman—and notice her methodology in enticing and alluring.
She has Set a Physical Trap…
1. She was out there late at night (vs.9)
• This woman is taking advantage of the darkness.
• If you are going to set a trap, you try to hide or camouflage the trap.
• Thus, this woman hides under the cloak of darkness.
• John 3:19 – men loved darkness because their deeds are evil!
2. She was waiting… (vs. 10) “There met him a woman”…
• As he walked down this street, the woman was waiting for him… anyone!
• That’s how any trap is set. You put the trap out and wait for your victim.
• If you leave a trap in a good location, eventually, you will snag something!
3. She was attired like a harlot… (vs. 10) This is the bait.
• A trap needs bait… something that will allure the animal into the trap.
• Therefore, you have to appeal to the animal’s senses… sight, smell, taste, etc
• That is just what this woman does. She dresses in the attire of a harlot…
• This means her clothing was designed to attract attention to herself… to appeal to this man’s eye…
• Just as you would put a piece of meat in a trap to lure an animal in the forest, so this woman shows her flesh to attract this young man…
• Note here that the Bible acknowledges that there is such a thing as the “attire of a harlot.” Be careful ladies what you wear—and what you allow your daughters to wear! The way a woman dresses makes a loud statement about that woman! Her clothing was bait!
4. But subtlety was in her heart
a. NIV – with crafty intent.
b. Again, like a trap… an alluring exterior… but with ulterior motives… crafty, evil intent…
c. She is exactly like a trap… lying in wait for a victim to come by; her trap hidden under the cover of darkness; alluring bait; but with the intent of taking a victim… crafty intent.
5. She lies in wait for her next victim. (vs. 11-12)
a. First Solomon describes her character.
• A godly woman has a meek and quiet spirit. This woman is loud and stubborn (defiant; rebellious).
• She does not abide in her house… but is out all over the place.
• She refuses to submit to her husband but is stubborn and defiant.
• She refuses to be a housewife faithful to her husband, but is all over town looking for her next prey.
b. The reason she is out of her house is that she is waiting at every corner to meet her next lover. (vs. 12)
c. Now she is pictured as a trap that doesn’t stay in one place.
d. If the fish aren’t biting in one spot, you move to another. If you aren’t getting any beaver or rabbits in your trap, then you move the trap where you are more likely to catch some!
e. This woman could be found at the corner bar… at hotel lobbies… at parties… busy street corners…
f. But wherever she is found, she is on the prowl…
g. That is how Solomon describes this woman. She is determined!
h. The term “lie in wait” in vs. 12 is a word that can be translated “ambush.”
i. It is used in Prov. 1:11 – of men ambushing someone to steal from them. This woman is going to ambush her victim too…
j. The trap is set… and it might be found in any number of places… so be careful! Be aware!
6. She caught him… she is aggressive (vs. 13)
a. Now the young man walks into her trap… and the trap springs on him!
b. Any trap would have a mechanism to spring on its prey and capture them. (a door will shut on the animal; levers will spring shut on his leg; a net falls over him…)
c. But whatever mechanism used, the trap is designed to “catch” the animal off guard…
d. That is just what this woman does. She “catches” this young man and kisses him… throwing him off guard. She’s got him!
e. With an impudent face—sometimes translated “brazen”—Lexicon defines it as “firm; strong; prevailing”—She has the brazen face of a conqueror. She won! She got what she wanted! She prevailed again!
She Sets an Intellectual Trap…
• Unlike an animal in a trap, this young man CAN physically escape if he so chooses.
• The seductress now has to set an intellectual trap for him… and convince him not to flee.
• She has allured his flesh—now she attempts to capture his head too. She appeals to logic… she gives him reasonable arguments why he should stay with her that night.
• Her arguments are as follows:
1. She convinces him that there will be NO CONSEQUENCES… (Vs. 14-15)
a. These verses are difficult to understand… and could be interpreted several different ways.
• Some have suggested that by stating she has just made her offerings, that she implies that she has a great banquet of food at her house, left over from the offering. (Lev.7:15)
• Some have suggested that the woman is telling the man that she is ceremonially clean… and he would not become ceremonially unclean by lying with her—although that is hard to see in light of the gross sin!
• It is more likely that she is telling this young man that she won’t get pregnant. (Lev. 15:30 – speaking of a ladies’ menstrual cycle and the offering made at the end of it)
b. If this last view is correct, then the woman is trying to calm this young man’s fears of ending up with an unwanted child. She won’t get pregnant… not now!
c. Thus, her first intellectual argument to talk this man into sin was that there would not be any long lasting consequences! Don’t worry!
d. We can sin—and there will be no consequences!
• This is an old lie of the devil!
• This is the temptation in any sin—not just sexual sins.
• Satan told Eve, “enjoy the forbidden fruit and you will not die! Don’t worry about the consequences!”
• But that was a lie—and this woman is a liar too.
• Sin deceives us! It exaggerates the pleasure and hides the consequences.
• Sin promises us to enjoy the pleasures of sins and promises we can avoid the evil consequences.
2. She makes the sin as ATTRACTIVE AND APPEALING as she can (vs. 16-18)
a. She describes to the young man how enjoyable it would be if he came home with her.
b. She speaks of beautiful tapestry and carved work to capture the eye gate…
c. She speaks of the perfumed bed—to capture the nose gate…
d. She speaks of the pleasure of the sexual relationship…
• Our fill of love – fill = to be satiated… satisfied… fulfilled…
• But sin does not fulfill. It leaves a person quite empty and guilty…
• Solace ourselves in love – solace = rejoice; delight;
• She promises delight; but the joys of sin are short-lived… followed by feelings of guilt that last a long time…
e. But her appeal is that the pleasure will be worth it all… the pleasures she has described were designed to appeal to his sense of logic—the pleasure will outweigh any misgivings he might have. It makes sense to enjoy. You only live once!
3. She promises him that they will NEVER GET CAUGHT (vs. 19-20)
a. Her husband is gone—on a long journey! He won’t be back. Nobody’s home!
• vs. 20 – day appointed = full moon or new moon…
• NAS & NIV – will not be home till full moon
• He is on business and can’t return before a certain date. There’s no way we could get caught!
b. She convinces him that it is a safe and reasonable plan.
c. She is allaying any fears he may have of being caught.
d. This too is a lie. God knows all. Be sure your sin will find you out! (Num. 32:23)
4. Finally, she flatters… convinces… and conquers her prey (vs. 21)
a. She allured him originally with subtlety and her skimpy, appealing attire.
b. But once she catches him, she then has to convince him…
c. She has already appealed to his senses:
• She alludes to the smell—the spices in her bed
• he felt her embrace—as she caught him and kissed him (vs. 13)
• he saw the way she was dressed (vs. 10)
• He now hears her invitation and flattery… (vs. 14-15)
d. Ultimately, it is her tongue… her reasoning… her cunning speech… her words that were smoother than butter… that convinces the young man to stay.
e. She flatters him… somehow she makes him believe that HE is the one she has been waiting for—even though she was a trap waiting for ANY prey to walk by…
f. She forced him… (force = impel; thrust; drive)
• She didn’t physically force him… it was the force of her powers of persuasion.
• Like a slick salesman, she one by one removes all his reasons for NOT buying her product. There are no negatives—only positives!
• In particular—it was her lips… what she said… her convincing arguments that there would no consequences… it would be pleasurable… and they would never get caught… why not?
Conclusions
1. Solomon is warning his son what he should expect to find out in the world.
2. He warns his son so he is not caught off guard… so he will be aware and alert to temptation.
3. Seduction is a trap… the evil woman sets a trap. Young people need to be aware of such traps—and to be careful!
4. Eph. 5:15-17 – walk circumspectly—for we live in evil days!
Proverbs 7:7-27
The Simple Young Man
The Young Man Described
1. Simple: simplicity, naïve; foolish, open-minded; inexperienced;
2. Void of understanding:
• Void = in need of, lacking, in want of;
• Understanding – inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding; inner part, midst.
• This man is lacking in mind and heart. He is empty in the inner most part of his being. He is hollow… shallow… superficial… no depth of character.
3. The terms used speak of a man without discernment… lacking in judgment.
a. In fact, the exact same terms are used in 6:32 – the adulterer lacks judgment… in 7:7 – “void of understanding.”
b. The woman in this scene convinces the young man that they are too smart to ever get caught. (Adulterers always think they will not get caught.) (vs.19-21)
c. Yet later we are given a vivid image of just how lacking he really IS in judgment—he is like an ox going to the slaughter! (vs. 22)
d. This young man lacks understanding… he is a fool… he is like a dumb animal… he is shallow… no depth of character… empty… shallow kind of a person… a youth with little experience… naive…
4. He is seen passing through the city under the window of an observer. (vs. 6,8)
a. We are not told if he just happened to be walking that way, or if he was headed for the red light district on purpose.
b. We are not told this—perhaps so that the passage might be applied more broadly.
c. Thus, it would apply to a young man who innocently stumbles upon temptation (like Joseph) — or a man who went seeking for sin.
d. One man wrote, “If you want to avoid the devil, stay out of his neighborhood!”
e. If he HAD discernment, he would have AVOIDED the temptation.
f. Paul wrote, “Make no provision for the flesh.”
His Failure
1. The young man was met by a woman in the attire of a harlot.
a. Her attire should have alerted him to the danger. He should have turned around and ran… like Joseph did.
b. Instead, she caught him and kissed him. He should have turned around and ran as fast as he could in the other direction.
c. But he did not. He stayed. He listened.
2. He follows the same pattern of failure we saw in the Garden of Eden.
a. Eve listened to the serpent. Satan reasoned with her…
• ye shall not surely die (Gen. 3:4) (no consequences) (Cf. Prov. 7:19)
• ye shall be as gods (there is great advantage to sin—Gen. 3:5—cf. Prov. 7:16-18—it will be like paradise!)
• The woman SAW the fruit was good for food and pleasant to the eyes (Gen. 3:6) This young man SAW the harlot… and her skimpy clothing… and the flesh…
• And just like Eve who took of the fruit and ate—so too, he partook of sin with this woman.
b. This young man listened to the persuasive arguments of the harlot, and was convinced to follow her home. (vs. 21)
• This shows his lack of understanding… naïve… easily led…
• The wise man does NOT listen to the arguments of evil. The devil is clever enough to package evil in such a way that it looks good! He is clever enough to beat us in arguments.
• What we need is to rest upon “Thus saith the Lord!”
• Don’t even LISTEN to anything else! As soon as you hear anything contrary to God’s Word—depart! Run!
c. The woman was subtle of heart. The young man was simple… and void of understanding. (vs. 7-10)
• We don’t have to be more clever than the devil.
• We don’t need to be able to out argue our adversaries.
• All God wants of us is to know His Word and DO it!
• As SOON as he knew what this woman was up to, he should have left… but he didn’t. He hesitated… he listened… he fell pray.
• The sin of adultery or sexual immorality is not something that you can toy with… you will get burned! (6:27-28)
• Don’t try to hold on to coals of fire and reason with it. You will lose. You will be burned.
• You’re not going to out smart coals of fire. You are not going to over power coals of fire. You are going to be burned by coals of fire!
• There is no reasoning with the flesh. Run away—or the flesh will carry you away.
• Once this woman had this young may toying with the idea of coming home with her, she won.
• She got him thinking about the sin… then she gave arguments why he wouldn’t get caught… and all the while juices are flowing… and that becomes irreversible… overwhelming…
• Don’t give the flesh any opportunity whatsoever. Run like Joseph!
• By running, Joseph wasn’t being weak spiritually. Rather, that is a sign of spiritual strength: recognizing the weakness of the flesh = spiritual strength! The spirit may be willing to do what is right—but the flesh IS weak! Acknowledge it.
• When I am weak, then am I strong! (II Cor. 12:9-10). God’s strength is available to us when we admit our weakness and our need for Him!
• One who is spiritually strong will ALWAYS recognize the total weakness of the flesh. He has NO confidence in the flesh. He knows that in his flesh dwells no good thing. He knows that the arm of flesh will always fail you.
• If you are in a building engulfed in flames—is it a sign of weakness to run out as fast as you can? Hardly. It is the RIGHT thing to do… the smart thing to do. Only a fool would remain inside and say, “I can handle these flames!”
• If you want to avoid sin, you must avoid the temptation to sin. Flee youthful lusts! Flee temptations!
The Consequences (Vs. 22-23
1. We do not know for sure whether this man went looking for a prostitute, or whether in ignorance, he just happened to run into her.
2. We don’t know for sure if the meeting occurred out of ignorance on his part. But we DO know that he was ignorant of the consequences.
3. Solomon gives several illustrations to demonstrate his ignorance:
• An ox going to slaughter—
• He goes willingly… but is unaware of the results. He doesn’t know what he is really getting himself into.
• An ox is a picture of strong but dumb animal…
• He is strong—but looses all strength in the slaughterhouse. He gives up his life.
• A fool going to the stocks—
• Again, not a complimentary picture.
• NIV = like a deer stepping into a noose, till an arrow pierces his liver, (food in stocks doesn’t explain the arrow and liver)
• Either way, it speaks of a naive person who is ensnared because of his foolish behavior
• A bird in a snare—a bird blindly walks into a snare, and is oblivious to the danger until it is too late.
4. The meaning of each of the illustrations is summed up in vs. 23c – “Knoweth it not that it is for his life.”
a. Just as an animal that is brought to the slaughter or is caught in a trap is going to lose its life, so too the simple young man who goes after the immoral woman.
b. Such a situation COULD result in the loss of his physical life, but that is not what Solomon means.
c. Such behavior will RUIN a life… his good life will come to an end…
d. When a man commits adultery, and has to hide it with lies… constantly covering up… leading a double life… he has no peace or rest.
e. He loses his honor. (5:9)
f. He could lose his wealth. (5:10)
g. His physical flesh COULD be consumed in disease. (5:11)
The Moral of the Story
1. Now Solomon asks his son to pay attention. He is about to give the moral of the story just told. (vs. 24)
2. The moral of the story: (vs. 25)
a. Don’t let your heart (mind; inner man) be drawn in by her
b. Keep your body out of her paths! Stay out of her neighborhood! Run away! If you see her coming, head in the other direction.
c. Stay away mentally and physically!
• Don’t fill your mind and heart with her ways—through bad literature… pornography… TV… soap operas… movies…
• Avoid places where you are likely to run into such temptation.
• Keep your heart with all diligence… keep it pure… clean…
• Keep your body away from anything and everything that will stir up evil in your heart—TV, movies, videos, literature, impure web sites… theatres… shows, beaches, clubs, parties—anything that will stir up your flesh.
3. Reasons to stay away:
a. She (the immoral woman) has not only wounded a few, but MANY men have been wounded by her!
• Many STRONG men (physically) have been slain by her!
• This ONE sin has been the ruin of MANY people… many households… many families… many men and women, young and old.
• Strong men—like Solomon himself—have been completely undone by this sin… their lives ruined… their testimony for the Lord ruined… their ministries ruined…
• Solomon wants to warn his son that if MANY STRONG men have been ruined by this sin—don’t be so presumptuous to think it won’t harm you!
b. Her house is the way to death and hell… (vs. 27)
• Death—her husband; disease; the stress of a double life; drugs and alcohol which often accompany such behavior…
4. Moral purity… faithfulness to one’s marriage partner is the way of life and peace. Adultery is the way of death and guilt. Choose life!
Conclusion
1. These are not warnings for the unsaved who hang around the barrooms. These are warnings for believers who have been raised into heavenly places in Christ Jesus!
2. WE are warned about the fleshly lusts which war against the soul. Be vigilant! (I Pet. 2:11)
3. Col. 3:1-5 – Those who have been raised up with Christ and whose lives are hidden with Christ in God are warned: “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication… etc.)
Charles Bridges: “If impure love solicits, remember that holy love of thy Saviour to thee, proved by His most shameful death. Think of Him, as looking into thy heart boiling over with corruption, showing thee His wounds, and exciting thee to a reciprocal love of Himself.”
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 8
Proverbs 8:1-6
Wisdom Speaks of Excellent Things
Introduction:
1. Chapter 8 is one long, personification of Wisdom.
• This is no longer Solomon having a father/son talk.
• Wisdom is spoken of as if she were a woman calling out to men… to take heed to her voice… and follow her ways.
2. Some have understood the “Wisdom” in this chapter to refer to Christ – because of vs. 22 and following (I was there when the world was created).
• It is better to understand wisdom here as one of God’s attributes personified
• In chapter 9, Lady Wisdom is seen in contrast to Lady Folly.
• But this chapter, 8, is a song of praise for God’s wisdom. Wisdom is extolled throughout the chapter.
1Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?
1. Once again, wisdom is seen crying out… putting forth her voice.
a. She WANTS to be heard.
b. There are 1001 other voices calling for our attention…
c. God’s wisdom is trying to get our attention…
2. Put in the form of a question—seems to indicate some frustration…
a. It is as if wisdom was calling out—but few are listening!
b. God says, “Isn’t wisdom crying out? Am I the only one who hears her?”
c. Don’t you hear her? Isn’t she crying out? Is anyone listening?
d. Illustration – Suppose the fire alarm went off in a crowded building and no on was paying attention. Nobody gave it any notice.
• You might say, “Isn’t the fire alarm ringing? Isn’t it crying out in warning? Am I hearing things? Isn’t anyone going to pay attention?”
• “Am I the only one who hears it? Is it ringing for nothing?”
• That seems to be the import of the question in vs. 1
2She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. 3She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.
1. In these verses we are told that not only is Lady Wisdom crying out… she’s doing it in a most public way!
2. She is positioning herself so as to be heard by as many people as possible.
a. High places – standing on the hill top shouting out…
• If you want God’s wisdom, just look up! It is being shouted from the tops of the high hills!
b. By the way in the places of the paths—at the crossroads…
• The way where different paths come together…
• Crossroads are places of decision in our life where we could follow the wrong signpost and head in the wrong direction… get confused… lost!
• When we come to a crossroads in our life, we need wisdom—she’s right there at the crossroads!
• God’s wisdom isn’t trying to trick us… or abandon us…
• When we need her, she’s there! At the crossroads of life.
• Jer. 10:23 – it is not in man to direct his steps—BUT God gives wisdom and guidance at every crossroad in life.
c. At the gates, the entry of the city; the coming in of the doors… where everyone who enters must pass by.
• God’s wisdom is crying out in the most prominent places to be heard.
• She is not elusive… mysterious… or obscure…
• She’s not whispering… or hiding in the shadows; she is crying out… shouting out… boldly… clearly…
• You can’t miss her… unless you try!
• II Pet. 3:3-5 – some scoffers act as if God has NOT spoken. Peter says that they are WILLINGLY IGNORANT.
• Some people CHOOSE not to listen to truth… because darkness hates the light… and light makes us accountable…
• Lady Wisdom does NOT want us to be willingly ignorant. She is crying out to be heard.
3. Wisdom is not hard to find… but it does require work! (Prov. 2:1-6)
a. Here we are told that you have to dig for wisdom…
b. WE are told to cry after wisdom (vs. 3) (Ch. 8 – she is crying after us!)
c. Here the emphasis is on the effort on our part to obtain wisdom… through the study of God’s word. That takes work.
d. BUT—this wisdom is there for the digging… not hard to find… if we dig!
e. In chapter 8, the emphasis is on the availability of wisdom… she’s everywhere!
f. Illustration – In the days of the gold rush, in certain areas, gold was readily available… just crying out to be had! But, they still had to dig it up! It was readily available, but required effort. So too with God’s wisdom. (or picking apples in an orchard!)
4Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.
1. Once again, Lady Wisdom is seen calling out. (I call; my voice)
2. Here, the emphasis is on her audience: to the sons of man! (mankind)
3. Lady Wisdom is making a direct appeal to the sons of men.
4. God’s wisdom is available for all of mankind… men, women, children, red, yellow, black, and white, rich and poor, educated and uneducated… ALL the sons of Adam!
5. One of the wonderful things about God’s wisdom is that you don’t have to be smart to obtain wisdom… wisdom is a matter of the heart more than the head.
6. Wisdom is offered to all… without respect of persons… to all without reservation.
a. Lady Justice is supposed to be blind. Lady Wisdom really is!
b. If you want God’s wisdom, you can have it.
c. If you want to lean on your own understanding, God will let you.
d. Prov. 3:5-6 – God will direct our paths ONLY if we trust in Him… and lean NOT on our own understanding… listen to Lady Wisdom!
e. Prov. 3:7 – don’t be wise in your own eyes!
5O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.
1. Wisdom is crying out to all of mankind. All men need this wisdom.
2. However, the appeal is made directly to the simple and the fools.
a. Simple: naiveté; foolish, open-minded;
• Young people are often naïve; open minded to things they should NOT be open to…
• Those who are naïve and overly open-minded are at a crossroads OFTEN… and wisdom is there.
• Young people come to roads they have never seen before OFTEN…
• The wrong road often looks right… and a simple man is likely to take it… naively… being open to more than he should… and may get lost…
• There is a way that SEEMETH right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Prov. 16:25)
• Wisdom is there to guide… to point in the right direction to the one who has little experience…
• But this kind of evil simplicity is not limited to the youth. There are many older folks who are simple and foolishly open minded to!
b. Fools: stupid fellow, dullard, simpleton, arrogant one
• The “fool”, like the simple one is lacking wisdom. However, the fool seems a bit more accountable.
• The fool is foolish because he hates wisdom… he is arrogant… defiant of wisdom and the right way. Fools rarely change.
• Nevertheless, Lady Wisdom is still calling out… making a special effort to offer guidance and direction… only to be rejected by the fool.
6Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.
1. HEAR: once again, this lady begs to be heard… listened to…
2. FOR: She gives a logical reason to listen to her too…
3. The sons of men should listen to Lady Wisdom because she speaks of EXCELLENT things…
a. The term “excellent things” = is the Hebrew word for: leader, ruler, captain, prince.
b. The idea seems to be that Lady Wisdom speaks of noble things… princely things… things that are higher, things that are nobler…
c. Too often we talk about ordinary things. (soccer; stock market; Olympics; cars; etc… not bad things… just not excellent things)! There is a place for small talk.
d. But there is also a place for excellent things! Noble things!
4. Lady Wisdom leads us to consider higher things…
a. Oftentimes in life, we come to a five-way intersection.
• About to choose a mate; a school; a church; a job; a neighborhood; a ministry; a new career;
• One way might be dead wrong… sinful.
• Another road might be OK…
• Another road might be pretty good.
• But one stands out as being excellent.
• Wisdom is there to lead us on to excellent things… to choose the best!
b. Paul prayed that the believers might abound in knowledge and judgment (wisdom). (Phil. 1:9-10)…
• THAT ye might approve things that are excellent.
• Lady Wisdom is right there urging us to choose the excellent.
• It may be the road less traveled…
• It may be the most difficult road…
• But it is the BEST road spiritually.
5. She opens her lips and speaks RIGHT things…
a. Right things = evenness, uprightness, straightness, equity
b. Lady Wisdom helps us see things fairly… justly… without bigotry… without prejudice…
c. Our ears are inclined towards that which is crooked; Lady Wisdom speaks of that which is even… fair… upright… just…
d. She beckons to us to listen to her… follow her leading…
e. This is in reality GOD speaking to us through His Word!
f. This is GOD’S wisdom crying out. Be sensitive. Listen when He speaks.
Proverbs 8:7-9
All the Words of My Mouth
Introduction:
1. This chapter personifies wisdom. Wisdom is spoken of as a woman crying out to be heard. (vs.1)
2. She cries to the simple and to the fools—but also to ALL the sons of men. (vs. 4-5)
3. Her last exhortation was for men to HEAR her when she speaks, for she speaks of excellent things. (vs. 6)
4. Next, Solomon describes the words of Lady Wisdom: they are characterized by truth; righteousness; and plainness.
Truth
1. When Lady Wisdom speaks, you KNOW it is truth.
a. How does Lady Wisdom speak to us? Through the Word!
b. Thy Word is truth. (John 17:17)
c. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. John 14:17
d. The Holy Spirit guides into all truth. John 16:13 (He guides and illuminates us into the truth too.)
2. We don’t have to WONDER about truth. We HAVE it! (We don’t appreciate this fact as we should.)
a. Consider the parent in the world… and the struggles they face because they don’t know the Lord and don’t have the truth.
• They love their kids just like we do…
• They want to be good parents… and want their kids to turn out well.
• BUT—they have been fed all kinds of contradictory information… they have heard countless voices on HOW to raise children.
• Some spank their kids and feel guilty because they are afraid they are harming them… teaching them to be violent.
• Some don’t spank their kids because they have been told spanking is harmful… and yet they see a lack of good results and wonder if they are doing the right thing…
• They don’t know the truth. Knowing the truth will set you free from such needless worries!
b. Consider the religious man. (I am corresponding with one right now!)
• He may want to go to heaven. He may fear going to hell.
• His priest has told him to keep the sacraments, so he does.
• Yet, he doesn’t have peace… and he sees his Jehovah’s Witness neighbor who is just a nice family man—and he wonders if perhaps he is missing out… so he goes to a Jehovah’s Witness Bible study… and he is being witnessed to at work…
• There are a lot of religious men who are genuinely searching for truth… but don’t know where to look.
c. Consider the psychologist.
• The so-called “science” of modern psychology is in disarray today.
• The practicing psychologist KNOWS that there are several very different and contradictory schools of psychology today. They can’t all be right.
• They are entrusted with the fragile lives of people every day.
• Some of them MUST wonder if what they are prescribing is right… if what they are saying is true…
• I’m sure some of them have a hard time sleeping at night… on occasion.
• No matter how well versed they are in their particular school of psychology, they must be troubled by the concept of TRUTH…
d. Consider Pilate and his famous question to the Lord Jesus, “What is truth?”
• No doubt kings, judges, lawyers, and other officials have battled over this subject.
e. BUT—we don’t have to worry about truth. We don’t have to wonder. We just have to READ God’s Word and we KNOW we have truth!
• We don’t have to wonder and worry about whether we are doing right by our kids when we spank them. We know God’s Word on the subject is truth!
• We don’t have to worry or wonder whether we are going to heaven or not. God’s Word is truth and settles all those worries. It gives rest.
• We are not seeking for truth any more. We have found it! Men in the world may be seeking, but don’t know where to look or how to recognize it when they see it.
• We only seek truth in the sense of examining all the jewels in God’s treasure chest—the Bible.
• Men in the world are looking for the treasure chest…
• We have found the truth in God’s Word… and we can TRUST and believe everything it says… rightly divided.
• God said it; I believe it; that settles it! That’s rest!
• When the Bible speaks on history, creation, salvation, doctrine, man’s nature, man’s purpose in life, our eternal destiny—it is all TRUE!
• Since I became a Christian, I have never once wondered, “Where did I come from? What is the purpose in life? Why am I here? Is there an afterlife?”
• Those issues plague many people. Not the believer! Praise God for Lady Wisdom.
3. We should value the truth.
a. Prov. 23:23 – Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
• Whatever Lady Wisdom says, it’s worth buying… and keeping.
• ANY truth from God’s word is valuable and useful—even if it doesn’t seem to apply to your life today… or meet your needs today — hold on to it. It may be just what you need later! So buy it and put it on layaway if need be.
4. We should speak the truth like Lady Wisdom!
a. Eph. 4:25 – Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
b. Phil. 4:8 – Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true…. THINK on these things.
c. Prov. 3:3 – We should be thinking truth and speaking truth because truth should be engraved on our heart… it should be part of us. It IS part of our new nature!
d. Prov. 12:22 – God delights in those who deal truly. (deal = work; spend one’s time; act)… if it characterizes our life, God is delighted!
e. Everything that comes out of Lady Wisdom is truth. That should be the case in our lives too.
5. Wickedness is an abomination to her lips.
a. In this context, wickedness refers to anything less then truth… pure truth…
b. Truth that is mixed with error is an abomination.
c. A misleading ½ truth is abomination.
d. A true statement taken out of context and presented deceptively is abomination.
e. Deep down in our heart, we know when we are speaking pure truth. We know if we are changing it; twisting it; bending it; taking it out of context; diluting it; and God knows too.
f. Anything less than pure truth is an abomination—something utterly disgusting to God.
Righteousness
1. All the words coming out of Lady Wisdom’s mouth are in righteousness.
2. Psalm 11:7 – The Lord LOVES righteousness.
a. Righteousness is His character. It characterizes all He is and all HE does.
b. Whatever God does or says is RIGHT.
3. Psalm 119:128 – Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.
a. Can you say Amen to that?
b. Do we really esteem ALL of His precepts concerning ALL things to be right?
c. When God destroyed the world in the days of Noah—do you esteem Him to be right?
d. When the sweet little old lady down the street dies and goes to hell, do you esteem that God’s judgment is right? What if she was your grandmother? Or do we rebel against some of His precepts and judgments…
e. Some of God’s precepts have been quite harsh. When God sent the Israelis into the land to kill all the Canaanites and take their land—do you esteem those precepts to be right?
f. Sometimes—with our limited perspective—it is difficult to understand HOW some of God’s precepts can be “right.”
g. How do we settle this in our mind and heart? By knowing and trusting God Himself. If we trust Him, we can leave all those hard to understand issues in His hands.
h.) We need to learn to esteem ALL His precepts in ALL things to be RIGHT!
4. Psalm 119:75 – I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
a. When we are afflicted and suffering it is hard to see how that suffering is an example of God’s righteous judgment—especially if we have been walking with the Lord. Job struggled with this issue.
b. But, God wants our hearts to be tender toward Him. Faith and trust answers all those unanswerable questions for us. If we know God and trust Him… then we can be comfortable leaving the affliction with Him.
c. Faith enables us to say, “He doeth all things well” “Thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.” “All thy judgments are right.”
5. Hosea 14:9 – Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
a. Israel often had a hard time accepting that the ways of the Lord were right.
b. They sometimes accused God’s ways of being crooked—uneven—unfair!
c. Ezek.18:29 – Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
d. This is a common cry even among believers today. “That wasn’t fair!”
e. Lady Wisdom wants us to know that whatever she says (all God says or does) is RIGHT!
f. We don’t have to understand it all, but he does expect us to trust Him.
6. Psalm 19:8 – The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart.
a. Once this truth is established in our hearts, it will cause us great joy!
b. At first glance, some of God’s words or actions might cause us grief. But as we get to know Him, we discover that he is GOOD, kind, gracious, loving, holy, and always does that which is best and right. We can bank on that.
c. Thus, we can trust Him… leave difficult issues in His care… knowing that all He does is right!
d. When this truth finally sinks in what peace and joy it will bring to our heart.
7. His wisdom and His Word is FULL of righteousness.
a. Whatever God says, is RIGHT. No debates. No arguments. No amendments.
b. The world is beginning to have some strange ideas about children and child rearing—“children are little adults.” They are NOT little adults, they are children.
c. Children are NOT to rule in the home. They are to obey their parents. Why? Because it is RIGHT. Why is it right? Because God said so. He knows best.
d. I Tim. 2:11 – women are not to be teachers in the assembly. The world says that is wrong—but God says it is right.
e. Eph. 5:23 – the husband is to be the head of the wife. The world says that is wrong—but God says it is right.
f. God’s wisdom says that homosexuality is sin. The world says it is acceptable. What God says is right—no matter how unpopular it might become.
g. I Cor. 5:5 – this might seem harsh, but it is RIGHT! God means it for good—for the individual who sinned and for the assembly.
h. If we did not have God’s Word—Lady Wisdom shouting out to us—we would be just as blind as those in the world… wandering in darkness… having to GUESS as to what is right and wrong.
i. That Lady Wisdom is crying out in the streets… and thank God what she says is always right.
j. There is nothing froward (twisted) or perverse in them! You can trust what God says.
Plain
1. All these difficulties—things hard to be understood—are PLAIN to the one who understands God… who knows who God is!
2. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him.
3. There are many things in the Bible that cause men much consternation… anguish… distress… (election; virgin birth; feeding 5000, creation from nothing; resurrection of the body)
a. But these things are PLAIN… straightforward to the one who understands… to the one who knows God and fears Him.
• The Bible really is plain. It is not much that it is hard to understand—but it is hard to believe!
• But the one who has a heart of faith—God’s word is plain.
• It is PLAIN when it speaks of—virgin birth; feeding 5000, creation from nothing; resurrection, etc…
• I don’t know HOW God created the world from nothing. BUT, through faith we can understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God—and the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
• That’s plain.
b. These things are all RIGHT to the one who has found knowledge!
4. Whatever we don’t understand or perhaps there are some things that don’t SEEM right to us… remember the following:
a. There is a way that SEEMETH right, but the ends thereof are the ways of death!
b. Ps. 147:5 – Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
c. God’s understanding is infinite. That should settle everything for us. Trust Him.
Proverbs 8:10-12
Lady Wisdom is Clever
10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.
1. Lady Wisdom urges the readers to RECEIVE what she offers them: instruction and knowledge.
2. Receive – to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, snatch, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife…
a. Lady Wisdom wants young men to lay hold of wisdom… to marry her… seize…
b. Wisdom is crying out… now she wants men to receive what she says.
c. In effect, she wants men to be DOERS and not just hearers. (James 1:22)
• When wisdom cried out in all the public places, everyone heard.
• But not many listened… not many paid much attention.
• This is always a concern in the local church too. Many hear the Word.
3. Instruction – discipline, chastening, correction
a. Wisdom corrects us.
• If we are headed down a wrong road, God’s wisdom, found in His Word will point it out to us… if we have ears to hear.
• Parents correct children. Parents have wisdom that children have not yet obtained. Therefore, the correction is good.
• God is our Father. He corrects us. It is His WISDOM that corrects us.
b. Wisdom chastens us.
• If we fail to take heed to the correction… we may be disciplined and chastened.
• If that takes place, it is God’s WISDOM at work.
• God is all-wise. Sometimes we think that we are all-wise… and we choose to travel a road contrary to what God would have us to do.
• At that point, God has to demonstrate to us that it is HE and not we who is all wise. That demonstration might be painful…
c. Real wisdom corrects and chastens if necessary.
• It is the wise parent who disciplines his children.
• Parents who don’t discipline think they are being loving. In reality, they are acting contrary to God’s wisdom. It is folly… and they and their kids will pay a price for that folly.
• In the local church, wise leaders will practice discipline… when called for.
d. When God in His infinite wisdom sees fit to chasten us—RECEIVE it! Receive instruction! It’s good for you.
• It is possible to fight and kick against wisdom… and correction… to resist it… and stubbornly rebel against it.
• Kids do that all the time. Oftentimes this inner rebellion is covered up with silence… but there is rebellion in the heart.
• Whether they outwardly kick against the wisdom… or inwardly rebel against it… it is still rebellion… and folly.
• Lady Wisdom beseeches us to RECEIVE the instruction she gives. It is good for us!
4. Receive IT (instruction) and not silver and gold.
a. Once again, Solomon makes it clear that wisdom is superior to money.
b. Prov.3:14 – the merchandise of it is better than gold!
• Solomon knew what he was talking about. He had more silver and gold than we could dream of. He said that instruction is better!
• Merchandising = profitable
• It is more profitable to have wisdom than gold and wealth.
• It is even more profitable in a financial sense… on a purely materialistic sense—it is more profitable to have wisdom.
• Which would you prefer?
» A million dollars and no wisdom? (how many dollars would you have in a year?)
» OR no money, but the wisdom to earn a million dollars a year?
» Think of some of the immigrants that come here from Vietnam or India—who are wise in the ways of the world. They come broke and through wisdom and hard work make a good life for themselves.
» Then think of some of the airheads graduating from high school today—with all the advantages in the world, and they spend their money on cocaine…
» It is far better to have wisdom than to have gold.
c. Wisdom is better than gold.
♦ A believer might successfully accumulate wealth, but what profit is it if he ruins his health in the process and cannot enjoy it? (Ecc. 6:1-2)
♦ A believer might successfully accumulate wealth, but what profit it is if he can’t even sleep at night worrying about it? (Ecc. 5:12)
♦ A believer might successfully accumulate wealth, but what profit is it if it causes you to forget God? (Deut. 8:11-14)
11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
1. Not only is wisdom better than rubies (money). It is better than “all the things that may be desired!”
2. What are some of the other things men desire?
a. Fame – wisdom is better than fame. Do you know any famous people whose personal lives were in shambles? Hollywood is full of examples.
b. Power – do you know any powerful people who ruined their lives through foolishness? You can be the president of the United States and ruin your life through foolish behavior! Wisdom is better than power.
c. Position – perhaps you desire a certain position in your company… or perhaps you desire to be the lead violinist in the Boston symphony… perhaps you desire a position in the church… or on the Red Sox… wisdom is better.
d. The words ALL THINGS is all inclusive! It includes anything else that anyone might desire! Fill in the blank—and wisdom is greater!
e. No doubt some of you young people here tonight have lots of ideas as to what you would like in life… things you desire to do… to be… to have…
f. NOTHING can be compared to wisdom. It is in a class by itself.
g. You have a copy of God’s wisdom in your hands! It is better than money, fame, power, position… and all other things your heart might desire!
3. Phil. 3:4-8 – Paul left a lucrative position in Judaism behind in order to pursue the knowledge of God in the person of Jesus Christ!
a. He chose wisdom over earthly wealth and success. He is our example today.
b. Paul knew that what he left behind was not even to be compared to the knowledge of God—the wisdom of God in Christ that he found! By way of comparison, he said they were like dung!
12 I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.
1. Lady Wisdom has a roommate. She dwells with prudence.
a. Dwell – to settle down, abide, dwell, tabernacle, reside
b. Lady Wisdom’s sister is named prudence
• in a negative sense = shrewdness or craftiness;
• in a positive sense = prudence; skillfulness;
2. Prudence is the product of wisdom. Prudence is a DOER of the Word of wisdom.
a. Proverbs 12:23 – a prudent man conceals knowledge… isn’t a blabbermouth.
b. Prov. 12:26 – a prudent man covers shame—(suppresses his anger)
c. Prov. 14:8 – a prudent man knows where he is going… he understands the direction his life is taking… he ponders the path of his feet.
d. Prov. 14:16 – the prudent man is not gullible; he looks well to his going.
e. Prov. 14:18 – the prudent man is crowned with knowledge.
f. Prov. 22:3 – a prudent man foresees evil and avoids it.
g. Prudence seems to put wisdom into PRACTICE.
h.) Thus, wisdom and prudence DWELL together. The one who really has received wisdom will conduct his life in a prudent manner.
i. It is possible to have wisdom in the head, but not practice it. Prudence practices wisdom.
3. Wisdom finds out witty inventions.
a. Witty inventions: purpose, discretion, device, plot
b. Find out = discover; detect
c. You don’t pull the wool over the eyes of Lady Wisdom. She is too clever.
• She sees through the cunning plots of evil men.
• She is not gullible.
• Men might concoct “witty inventions” (clever plots) to deceive, but wisdom finds them out.
• The devil has devised his wiles against us—witty inventions. But we are not to be ignorant of his devices. Wisdom studies the Word and finds them out… and avoids trouble thereby!
d. Through wisdom, the Lord Jesus avoided many of the witty inventions of His enemies!
• Matt. 12:14-15 – He withdrew… wisely… and avoided trouble.
• Matt. 22:15-22 – the adversary came with their witty inventions to trap Him, but in the end, they marveled at His wisdom.
• Matt. 22:46 – His words of wisdom and prudent behavior ended their questions.
• I Peter 2:15 – we are urged to demonstrate the same kind of wisdom and prudent behavior. Our “well doing” will put to silence the ignorance of foolish men… and all of their witty inventions.
• Of course, the Lord Jesus is the Source of our wisdom. He abounds towards us in all wisdom and prudence! (Eph. 1:8)
4. The person with wisdom and prudence (who avoids the clever inventions of his enemies) will not only be safe. He will be HAPPY too!
a. Prov. 3:13 – happy is the man!
b. Prov. 8:36 – Whoever rejects wisdom will NOT be happy. He is sinning against his own soul… wronging himself!
• Ex: the young boy rebels against his father’s wise counsel and refuses to do his homework. He is only hurting himself! He is the one who will pay in the end…
• Ex: wisdom says, “Obey God and you will experience blessedness; happiness.”
c. It is the fool who says that obeying God and walking the straight and narrow is boring. The fool will pay for his folly eventually.
d. The fool says, “I won’t be happy until I break away from God and do my own thing. God is too restrictive. I can’t be happy if I follow Him!”
e. In reality, real, lasting happiness comes from following the way of wisdom!
f. Foolish ways and decisions will linger to haunt you. Wise, prudent decisions will bring delight and blessing the rest of your life.
Proverbs 8:13-14
Pride and Counsel
13a The fear of the LORD is to hate evil…
1. The author speaks about the fear of the Lord. This is a topic mentioned often in Proverbs.
a. Remember who is speaking here: Lady Wisdom (8: 1-2)
b. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom! (9:10) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Lady Wisdom.
c. These two concepts go hand in hand. A wise man WILL fear God. A God-fearing man will be wise. A God-fearing man will submit to the words of Lady Wisdom.
d. We might even say here, “The beginning of Lady Wisdom is to hate evil…”
e. Lady Wisdom HATES evil, pride, arrogance, and the evil way.
2. It is WISE to fear God, for that fear will cause us to hate evil and stay away.
a. One of the reasons we commit sin and do evil is because we don’t hate it enough.
b. If your son was killed by a drunk driver, wouldn’t you hate drunk driving? God’s son was killed because of our sin. He HATES sin. He hated sin BEFORE the cross too.
c. But if we feared God as we should, that FEAR would keep us away from sin.
d. How much do you hate sin? Enough to stop? How much do you fear displeasing God? Enough to change?
e. Heb. 11:7 says that Noah was moved with fear and prepared an ark to the saving of his house.
f. When WE are moved with fear, we too will obey! Fear drives us AWAY from evil and towards that which pleases God.
13b Pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
1. Lady Wisdom (God’s wisdom) hates pride and arrogance. (self exaltation)
a. Note that she DWELLS with prudence (8:12), but she CANNOT dwell with pride, arrogance, and the evil way!
2. Pride and arrogance think they don’t need Lady Wisdom’s advice. They can handle life on their own… or so they think.
3. Note that the young man about to ruin his life is “void of understanding.” (7:7)
4. Note that the young thieves about to rob and plunder think that they are going to get away with their crime… no wisdom… they are proud and think they can outwit the police… the authorities. (1:12-13)
5. Dan. 5:20 – his mind was hardened by pride—DENSE! (hardened to all reason;: truth; common sense). Proud men can be extremely foolish at times! It blinds; it hardens the mind.
6. Ps. 10:4 – because of pride, men will not seek after God or His ways.
7. Prov. 26:12 – a man who is blinded or hardened by pride is hopeless! There has got to be a breaking of the pride before you can get through to him.
8. Prov. 28:25 – a proud heart stirs up strife.
9. Obadiah 3 – The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
a. Edom FELT secure nestled away in her rock palaces, but she was not.
b. Her pride made her feel secure, but that same pride deceived her.
c. Pride hardens the mind… blinds the eyes… deceives us.
d. “Wherefore, let him that THINKETH he standeth take heed lest he fall!” That is a warning against pride!
10. The proud man THINKS he is safe; thinks he is secure; able to stand; invincible; yet, he is deceived!
a. This man will listen to no one… why should he? He knows it all already!
b. It is this kind of pride that LEADS to every evil way.
c. That evil way then leads to shame. (Prov. 11:2 – When pride cometh, then cometh shame.”)
d. That is why Lady Wisdom warns of pride and arrogance—because of where it leads… its END.
14a Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom
1. Right after stating that she hates pride and arrogance because they lead men in the evil way, Lady Wisdom now states that counsel is HERS!
2. Good counsel BELONGS to Lady Wisdom!
3. This statement stands in direct contrast to what was said in vs.13.
a. Young men have a choice. They can walk in the way of pride and arrogance OR they can come to Lady Wisdom for her counsel.
b. It is one or the other. You can’t have both.
c. It is HUMBLING to come for counsel. It is in effect saying, “I need help.”
d. It is the proud macho man who says, “I can handle it myself. I don’t need anybody’s help!”
e. This kind of pride keeps people away from salvation. (I can do it myself!) It is humbling to come to salvation God’s way… admitting we are helpless and in NEED of a Savior!
4. Yet if that proud young man humbles himself and comes to God for wisdom, God will ABUNDANTLY supply all the wisdom he needs! (Jas. 1:5-7)
5. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. (Jas. 4:6) Humility and fear of the Lord is the way of wisdom.
14b I am understanding; I have strength.
1. Lady Wisdom is understanding.
a. She knows HOW we ought to live.
b. She knows HOW we are to handle situations at work.
c. She knows the right thing to say to your boss… to your teacher… to your friend.
d. She knows HOW to restore that broken relationship.
2. Lady Wisdom has strength.
a. The young man who takes her counsel and follows her ways will have strength he needs for life’s journey.
b. He will have strength of character… and that will carry him far throughout his life.
c. He will have strength in facing temptations… the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom… and that same wise fear causes us to flee from temptation!
d. He will have the strength he needs in facing tribulation in life… and it will come!
e. Lady Wisdom not only knows WHAT we ought to do. She also has the strength we need to carry it out! She not only provides the wisdom in knowing which road to take… she offers strength for the journey… or at least can point us to the source of strength!
3. Those who follow Lady Wisdom are STRONG
a. Prov. 24:5-6 – “A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.”
• The military leader with fewer troops but with much wisdom is stronger militarily than another leader who may have more troops, but lacks wisdom!
• Ecc. 9:13-15 – a poor wise man saved a city from a strong, powerful king!
• Ecc. 9:16 – Wisdom is better than weapons of war:
• Ecc. 7:19 – “Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.”
• Prov. 21:21 – a wise man can defeat all the strongholds of the city… not by strength but through wisdom!
• Prov. 30:25 – this principle can apply to us too. Put the principles of wisdom into practice and THAT will more than compensate for your lack of money or size or skill or strength in other areas!
• Ignorance is WEAK. Wisdom and knowledge result in strength.
• Young people—do your best in school! Knowledge increases your strength in many ways… it will increase your spiritual strength… it will strengthen your safety… your finances will be stronger by use of wisdom… your friendships will be stronger… your marriage… your ministry in the local church—wisdom and knowledge increases strength!
4. Prov. 10:29 – “The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.”
a. Two distinct WAYS are set before us. The way of the Lord (which is the way of wisdom) and the way of iniquity… the broad way.
b. One way results in destruction to one’s life. (a life full of pride; laziness; drunkenness; immorality; ignorance; folly—a road to disaster. Sin, pride, and ignorance weaken the believer.)
c. The other way, the way of wisdom… the way of the Lord results in STRENGTH.
• God’s way is a narrow way. God restricts our paths… keeps us off dead end streets. God’s wisdom keeps us away from that which is harmful.
• The way of God’s restrictions are GOOD for us… and strengthen us.
• Think of food—who is stronger, the one who eats wisely, or the one who eats whatever and whenever he wants?
• Think of school work—who is stronger? The one who restricts himself from all the entertainment and games and hits the books, or the proud know-it-all who never studies? Who enters the final in a stronger position? Who enters life in a stronger position?
• Think of the Christian life—who is stronger? The proud believer who thinks he can live the Christian life on his own? The one who hardly ever reads the Word? The one who never prays unless he is in a crisis? The one who lives for himself and the world? OR—the one who fears God, and thus, hungers after His wisdom… and practices it in his daily life?
• There really is no contest. Wisdom possesses strength. Those who submit to the words of Lady Wisdom are strong… in every way! Wisdom leads to strength. Pride and sin lead to destruction… weakness… a pitiful life.
• We can humble ourselves and come to Lady Wisdom for counsel… OR we can go on in our pride and arrogance… which weaken us and set us up for a fall.
• Lady Wisdom is still calling out to young men. “Don’t go the way of pride and evil. I hate that way! Come to me. I have counsel. I am understanding and strength!
Proverbs 8:15-16
By Me Kings Reign
Introduction:
1. Lady Wisdom who is seen in vs.1 crying out to be heard.
2. It is she who is speaking in vs.15. “By me” = Lady Wisdom.
3. This lady is a personification of God’s wisdom.
THE TERMS
1. Kings – the normal word for king… royalty… a ruler… one who reigns.
2. Princes: (first term) prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain
3. Nobles: a noble one
4. Judge: a judge in a controversy; judicial system ruler
15a By Me kings reign
1. REIGN (reign – to be or become king or queen, and hence, reign as king).
2. It is by means of Divine wisdom that this occurs.
a. This does NOT mean that all those who reign as king (or president or sheik or Prime Minister) are wise… or that they conduct the affairs of their realm by means of Divine wisdom.
b. Rather, it means that the whole system of human government came about because of God’s wisdom… God’s wise design.
c. It was the wisdom of God that put this system in place. Back in the day of Noah, God instituted human government. (Gen. 9:5-6)
3. The kings that reign today are ordained by God’s wisdom, as God’s ministers… and as such are an example of the wisdom of God. (Rom. 13:1-4)
4. All who reign as king do so by God’s design and by God’s appointment. (Dan. 4:17) (Yes even those rulers who are the basest of men!)
a. Dan. 2:20-22 – God in His wisdom sets up and removes kings… and presidents.
b. Jer. 27:5-7 – God appointed Nebuchadnezzar to bring His will to pass upon Israel: captivity!
c. Ezra 1:1-3 – God used Cyrus to bring His will to pass for His people: bringing them back to the land to rebuild.
d. It was the wisdom of God that puts men into positions of power… and God uses them for His purposes… whether they be wise, fools; good or evil; believing or pagan!
e. One might legitimately ask, “Where is the wisdom in such flawed systems of government?”
• God’s concept of man governing is not flawed. That is a perfectly good system.
• The problem is that MEN are flawed. God doesn’t have much to work with!
• In the Kingdom, men will be governed by men… and it will be a perfect government… the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-Man being King of kings.
• But even today, the fact that kings reign is an expression of Divine wisdom.
• God uses the whole system of nations to bring His perfect plan for the ages to pass… and one day, the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.
5. As flawed as human governments are, could you imagine the alternative? (Every man doing what is right in his own sight! Anarchy is no improvement! Thank God that the Lord in His wisdom instituted human government for our protection.
6. When kings reign, there is a sense of law and order in the land.
a. This too is by God’s design. He is a God of order.
b. He has established a sense of order in the world today… although 6 billion sinners seem bent on destroying that order.
7. When Kings reign, they collect taxes from the people:
a. And provide roads, bridges, and services for the common good of the people.
b. They support an army for the protection of the people.
c. These are all expressions of Divine wisdom. This is God’s idea!
d. Different political parties debate over the details, but the overall concept is God’s idea!
8. When kings reign, good is rewarded and evil is punished.
a. When there is no king… no government, criminals rule… evil rules.
b. When a king reigns, criminals are punished. Murderers are put to death or at least incarcerated. (Deut. 25:1-3)
9. When kings reign, those who have been mistreated have somewhere to take their complaints. (Like the two women who came to Solomon when one of their babies died in the night.) People came to kings for justice to be executed.
10. Certainly not all individual kings exercise wisdom as they execute the duties of their office. But the fact that there IS such an office is an expression of God’s wisdom.
a. The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor (Prov. 28:16)
b. Some in positions of power are BABES: (Isa. 3:4) – And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
c. Sometimes God gives a people a ruler who is a babe as a form of judgment upon the sins of the people. We get what we deserve!
d. Let’s pray that God will be gracious to us next week!
11. The laws which governed the land of Israel were DIVINE LAWS… that was certainly a reflection of God’s wisdom. (Deut. 4:5-8)
a. When the people obeyed the laws of the land, they would demonstrate the wisdom of God before the nations.
b. The kings in Israel were to read the Scriptures every day! (Deut. 17:18-20)
c. When all this was practiced, kings would reign by wisdom… God’s wisdom!
WISDOM IS NEEDED BY RULERS
1. We are about to elect a president who will likely appoint several chief justices, which could affect the direction of our nation for years to come.
2. We need people in positions of power who are WISE… that is not always the case.
3. Prov. 31:4-5 – it is not good that ANYTHING should hinder the ability of a ruler to rule… and to think clearly… to make sound judgments!
a. vs. 8-9 – Kings should protect those who have no voice; the weak; poor; needy
4. I Tim. 2:1-2 – we are commanded to PRAY for kings and for all that are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Let’s pray tonight for our nation… and for the election…
5. Ecc. 10:17 – BLESSED is the people whose leader is WISE… and not a self indulgent fool! This isn’t a given—we are to pray for these things.
6. Prov. 16:12 – It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness. Let’s PRAY for a leader who will bring honor to the office and execute his office in righteousness!
7. Prov. 16:10 – A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment. Let’s PRAY for a leader with a divine sentence in his lips… one who isn’t afraid to speak up for what is right!
8. Isa. 5:20 – Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Let’s PRAY that we might have a leader that knows the difference between good and evil and isn’t afraid to say so!
9. These are some simple, but practical things we can pray for — for our country and the upcoming election.
Proverbs 8:17
I Love Them that Love Me
I love them that love me.
1. Again, this is Lady Wisdom speaking.
a. Solomon has personified God’s wisdom as a woman calling out to be heard by all. (vs.1-4)
b. She has counsel, sound wisdom, understanding, and strength to offer. (vs.14)
c. It is by means of God’s wisdom that kings reign (vs. 15).
2. Now this woman (Divine wisdom) states that she loves those who love her. (vs. 17)
a. This woman loves to be loved.
b. This woman extends her love to those who love her.
c. Nothing pleases her more than to have those who are lacking in wisdom come to her FOR wisdom!
d. She loves those who genuinely love wisdom. (This is God speaking!)
3. How many of us really LOVE wisdom?
a. Lots of people love to have others think they are smart or wise. But that is not a love of wisdom. That is a love of self.
b. Lots of people love education… but that is not necessarily a love of wisdom. There are plenty of highly educated people who are NOT wise… and certainly many who do not possess God’s wisdom… nor want it!
c. Wisdom BEGINS with the fear of the Lord.
• Do we love the fear of God? Are we God-fearing?
• Do we love to humble ourselves before Him and His Word?
• God-fearing people are fearful of stepping outside of Gods’ will. Are we?
4. How can we TELL if we truly love wisdom? (I’m sure we would all SAY that we do…)
a. Consider how the term “love” is associated with choice:
• Rom. 9:13 – Jacob have I loved; but Esau have I hated. (God chose Jacob = love; God did NOT choose Esau: hated.)
• Love is defined as choosing one thing over another. Love is a choice
• Luke 14:25 – A man must “hate” his parents to be a disciple of the Lord. (meaning that he does not choose them; he chooses God OVER them. That is demonstrating love for God and hatred for anything else… by way of comparison)
• We are to LOVE wisdom in this way… by CHOOSING the way of wisdom above other roads…
b. Love speaks of a heart-attachment that is demonstrated by the choices we make in life.
• When our heart is attached to a thing, then we will pursue it… and choose it over other things.
• If our heart is attached to the things of the world, then we LOVE the things of the world… and will choose to pursue them…
• This pursuit is contrary to the Word of God, and is thus NOT God’s wisdom operating in us. It is the wisdom of the world… (love not the world…)
• If we LOVE the things of the world, the love of the Father is not in us.
• Lady Wisdom does not love us either!
c. Those who CHOOSE the way of wisdom demonstrate that they LOVE wisdom.
d. Those who CHOOSE the way of folly demonstrate that they LOVE folly and hate wisdom!
e. Those who demonstrate by their actions and choices that they HATE wisdom will be hated BY wisdom! (vs. 13 – some things this lady hates!)
f. Thus, if we love wisdom (if we choose the way of wisdom and pursue wisdom) then wisdom will love us!
• She will then choose us… and pursue us for our good.
• This speaks of a RELATIONSHIP between the young man and Lady Wisdom: He shows love to her and she responds to that love and returns the love!
• This is a beautiful and poetic way of speaking about the importance of God’s wisdom: it is a love relationship to be pursued and developed!
• Every time we choose the way of wisdom, she responds with blessing. (cf. vs. 18-19)
g. Those who practice wisdom… will INCREASE in wisdom! The relationship grows.
h. Those who reject wisdom and refuse to practice wisdom will be hated by this lady…
• Lady Wisdom (God’s wisdom) hates pride and arrogance. (self exaltation) (Prov. 8:13)
• Pride and arrogance think they don’t need Lady Wisdom’s advice. They can handle life on their own… or so they think.
• Wisdom will NOT pursue that life. She hates it… she will avoid that person! There is no relationship there.
i. Lady wisdom loves some people… (chooses and blesses) and she hates (rejects) others.
• Prov. 1:20, 28-31 – those who hate Lady Wisdom and hate her knowledge will seek but will NOT find her!
• Be one that she loves!
• How? By loving her… choosing her way of wisdom… daily… moment by moment…
• Seeking God’s wisdom and God’s will for our life should be a MAJOR element in our prayer life! (Col. 1:9-10)
• If that is what we seek after, then we love wisdom.
And those that seek me early shall find me.
1. Lady Wisdom loves those who love her—and prove it by choosing her ways.
2. Now she states that all those who seek her shall find her! She’s not hiding from anyone!
3. Thus, ANY godly person can be wise if they WANT to.
a. Having divine wisdom has nothing to do with one’s IQ or educational background or being famous.
b. You don’t have to be listed in Who’s Who to know what’s what.
c. Having divine wisdom depends upon ONE thing only: seeking it!
d. If you want it, then you will seek it. And if you seek it, you will find!
e. This truth was mentioned in chapter two (Prov. 2:3-6)
4. Matt. 7:7-8 – If we pray, and in our prayer ask for God’s wisdom, He will give it!
a. In the context, the Lord has been speaking about judgment (truth; discernment; wisdom; vs. 1-2)
b. He uses a present tense indicating that if we KEEP ON asking, seeking, and knocking, we will receive and find!
c. God is not obliged to give it unless we seek for it.
d. The seeking demonstrates a HUNGER for it… a diligence… and implies sincerity in the desire for it.
5. James 1:5-6 – if we need wisdom, then ASK… and ask in faith.
a. Again, God is not trying to withhold His wisdom from anybody! Lady Wisdom is not trying to hide!
b. And again, the present tense is used: Let him keep on asking…
c. The diligence in prayer demonstrates a sincere heart… and God delights in answering those kinds of prayers.
d. God feeds the hungry heart.
6. They that seek me EARLY shall find me… (Prov. 8:17)
a. The verb here is a word meaning “to seek early”… the concept of early is part of the verb… not an adverb.
b. It can mean to seek early, diligently, or earnestly.
c. The idea is to seek it right away… and dig in and don’t let up until you find it…
“There’s a story about a proud young man who came to Socrates asking for knowledge. He walked up to the muscular philosopher and said, “O great Socrates, I come to you for knowledge.” Socrates recognized a pompous numbskull when he saw one. He led the young man through the streets, to the sea, and chest deep into water. Then he asked, “What do you want?” “Knowledge, O wise Socrates,” said the young man with a smile. Socrates put his strong hands on the man’s shoulders and pushed him under. Thirty seconds later Socrates let him up. “What do you want?” he asked again. “Wisdom,” the young man sputtered, “O great and wise Socrates.” Socrates crunched him under again. Thirty seconds passed, thirty-five. Forty. Socrates let him up. The man was gasping. “What do you want, young man?” Between heavy, heaving breaths the fellow wheezed, “Knowledge, O wise and wonderful…” Socrates jammed him under again Forty seconds passed. Fifty. “What do you want?” “Air!” he screeched. “I need air!” “When you want knowledge as you have just wanted air, then you will have knowledge.”
d. Wisdom is to be sought for with all diligence… early… and you don’t let up till you have it!
e. With that kind of sincerity and diligence, you will find it!
7. It is GOOD for children to be taught to seek wisdom early.
a. Job 13:26 – Job regretted the sins of his youth. Young people should be taught to seek wisdom so that they DON’T have to bear the burden of regret over the sins of their youth!
b. Ps. 90:14 – Young people should pray that God would satisfy them EARLY with His mercy… that their life may be glad and full of rejoicing!
c. I Sam. 2:18 – Samuel ministered before the Lord from a child. He sought after the Lord and found Him. He sought God’s wisdom and found it.
d. Think of all the trouble and grief that could be avoided in life if our young people sought wisdom with all their hearts at a young age!
Proverbs 8:18-21
Riches and Honor are with Me
18 Riches and honour are with me; Yea, durable riches and righteousness.
1. This is God’s wisdom speaking… as throughout the chapter.
2. Riches and honor are with God’s wisdom.
a. Riches = wealth of any kind
b. Honor = glory, honor, splendor, dignity, reputation
3. Those who follow God’s wisdom throughout their lives will have a life of honor… dignity… a good reputation.
a. He has just spoken about a young man who REFUSED to walk in the way of God’s wisdom.
b. 5:1-4 – Wisdom will keep him from the strange woman.
c. 5:9 – the young man who does NOT follow the words of wisdom will be robbed of his honor…
d. 5:10 – strangers will be filled with your wealth…
e. 5:11-13 – he will regret not having listened to the words of wisdom… and followed instruction.
4. Thus, riches and honor are in the way of wisdom. This is a truth mentioned several times in Proverbs.
a. 3:13, 16 – Lady Wisdom holds riches and honor in her left hand.
b. 4:7-8 – Exalt wisdom and she will exalt you and bring you to honor!
c. 22:4 – Riches and honor come through the fear of the Lord—which is the beginning of wisdom!
d. Thus, four times, this book states that the way of wisdom leads to riches and honor.
e. But those who refuse to walk in the way of wisdom (like the young men in chapters 5 and 7) will LOSE both their riches and their honor!
5. Passages such as these are often taken out of context by the gospel of success folks.
a. They say, “See! The Bible says that if we follow the way of wisdom then we will be wealthy and rise to a position of honor!”
b. This passage promises riches… but DURABLE riches… riches that endure…
c. Durable: enduring, durable, valuable, eminent, or surpassing.
d. What are durable riches? Not money in the stock market. Not the gold that perishes!
e. Proverbs 23:4-5 – Proverbs speaks of earthly riches as fleeting… here today, gone tomorrow! We are NOT to strive to obtain earthly wealth.
• Earthly wisdom (thy own wisdom) will cause us to strive for earthly riches and possessions.
• Godly wisdom will cause us to strive for heavenly riches and treasures! Those are the durable riches!
• Labor not (don’t drive yourself into the ground) for riches that are not enduring… corruptible things such as silver and gold.
• Labor for that which will endure… for eternity! (Matthew 6:19-21) Those are words of wisdom… God’s wisdom!
f. And should we seek honor to ourselves?
• Before this kind of honor is humility!
• This is not a self-aggrandizing kind of honor…
• This is not honor before men… but honor before God! (John 5:44)
• The kind of honor mentioned here is linked together with “righteousness.” (Prov. 8:18)
» The one who walks in the way of wisdom… and in the way of righteousness will not receive honor from men. He will more likely receive ridicule from men.
» Walking in righteousness is considered foolish by many today.
» But he will receive honor from God one day: Well done, thou good and faithful servant!
19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.
1. Fruit = produce; product of; the reward of labor; wages; payment;
2. What is the reward for walking in wisdom?
a. In vs.18, he suggests that the fruit is riches… but he defines it as the durable riches…
b. Now he states that the payment for walking in the way of wisdom is BETTER than gold or silver!
3. Those who walk in the way of godly wisdom will not always be rich in this world… but they will have something far better!
a. Wisdom DOES offer a reward to those who follow her ways. It is a treasure unspeakably valuable… far better than gold.
b. They will have riches in heaven.
c. They will have the approval, honor, and blessing of God!
4. Think of the man who chooses NOT to follow the way of wisdom…
a. Some men, like the young fool in ch.7, pursue the pleasures of sin.
b. Other men might seek earthly riches… and live for their jobs and money.
c. In the process, many such men lose that which is truly valuable:
• They lose their marriage…
• They lose their honor…
• Their kids no longer respect them… they lose all self respect;
20 I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment.
1. God’s wisdom is given that it might LEAD us in the way…
a. Lead – to take on a walk…
b. If we are going to go with Lady Wisdom, we will have to walk where she walks… follow her steps… her pathway…
2. The way of righteousness.
a. There are lots of different ways to go in life…
b. Some SEEM right, but lead to death.
c. Following the way of wisdom doesn’t just seem right; it IS right!
d. Prov. 4:26 – we are challenged to “ponder the path of our feet.”
• THINK about what direction your life is taking right now.
• Apart from Divine wisdom, our feet will NATURALLY wander from the right path.
• Compare that to the wisdom of God recorded in the Word.
• Does it line up? Are we really walking in the way of righteousness?
3. Follow her leading…
a. Cf. 8:17 – Those who love her will seek her… and if you seek you will find.
b. Now she states that as we seek her… she is leading us… down the path of righteousness.
c. She is leading; we are seeking; following; finding; and walking… in the RIGHT pathway.
d. Note her description of those who find her—“them that love me”! (vs. 17)
e. Those who love godly wisdom will have no problem following her leading.
f. She leads down a path of righteousness… and a path of “judgment” or discernment.
• How can you tell if you are following Divine wisdom?
• Are you walking in righteousness? Is the righteousness of God being manifested in your life? Do you do things righteously according to the Scriptures?
• Are you walking in the way of judgement or justice?
• The Bible is the objective check!
• Just because we tote a Bible around and come to church on Sunday doesn’t mean that our life is headed in the way of wisdom. We COULD be headed for destruction.
g. Prov. 4:10-11 – Solomon taught his son to take the right path.
• This wisdom LEADS him down the right paths…
• The right path will keep him safe (vs. 12)
• BUT, Solomon’s son… and each one of us are responsible to CHOOSE the path of wisdom.
• And there will be times when we take the wrong path… and pay a price for it!
• There will be times when after teaching our children to take the right path, they too will swerve off course.
• But the good news is we don’t HAVE to! God’s wisdom is ready, willing, and ABLE to lead us… if we will but follow. (Follow and find!)
• Prov. 6:20-22 – a father’s wisdom will lead the son the rest of his life… it can TALK to you when you are in a difficult place…
• Do YOU allow God’s wisdom to lead you? Are your steps REALLY directed by divine wisdom… or is it the wisdom of the world?
21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.
1. Those that love me (those who love wisdom will FOLLOW her leading.)
2. Those who HATE her refuse to listen or follow. (Prov. 1:20, 29-30)
a. Some men do not love wisdom but demonstrate (by the choices they make) that they HATE her.
b. Those individuals will eat the fruit of their own ways. (Prov. 1:31) This speaks of rotten fruit… evil fruit…
3. But those who love wisdom and demonstrate that love by CHOOSING to follow her ways will inherit substance… and will be filled with treasures.
a. Enduring riches and honor are with her.
b. Again, this passage seems to be speaking in figurative terms. (Children who follow wisdom are not really promised that their parents will be rich and will leave them a lot of money!)
c. Rather, Solomon says in poetic language, in this lengthy personification, that Wisdom will leave something quite valuable with those who love her and follow her ways.
d. It is not a literal, earthly inheritance, but rather, wisdom leaves behind a great intangible treasure to those who embrace her.
e. It is better than gold or money. Money gets spent up and it’s gone. But with wisdom, the more you use it, the more you have! It is an unending reservoir of valuable treasures.
f. Our treasure chests can be FILLED with the results of following wisdom:
• Children that love the Lord!
• A happy home where Christ is exalted!
• A conscience that is clean and at rest.
• A content and merry heart…
• Good Christian friends…
• A life that is focused above… not running in 15 different directions at once.
g. AND, wisdom leaves behind a TREASURY from which to draw… like a large bank account.
• You can draw on God’s wisdom today… tomorrow… and in 20 years from now.
• It will lead us today and the rest of our lives.
• If we follow wisdom… and love wisdom… she will FILL our treasure chests with all we need for all we face in life!
• This is like a bank account that can continually be drawn upon but never goes down… never runs dry!
Proverbs 8:22-34
The Lord Possessed Me in the Beginning
22 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before the works of old.
Introduction:
1. In vs. 22-36 we have a description of creation.
a. In this section, someone is mentioned as being with God as He created the world.
b. Many good commentators state emphatically that this person is Christ… for the New Testament does teach that Christ is responsible for creation. (Ironsides; Gaebelein; Matthew Henry; Charles Bridges;)
c. Christ certainly seems to fit this description… and if this passage were taken all by itself, one might be able to make such a case.
d. However, the context of this chapter demands a different interpretation.
2. Throughout this chapter, God’s wisdom has been personified as a Lady. It is the personification of Divine wisdom that we see speaking throughout.
a. Wisdom is NOT a person, but is spoken of in poetic language AS IF it were a person… in this case a lady.
b. Thus, wisdom speaks… she calls unto young men (vs. 4)… she has a mouth (vs. 7)… she has a dwelling place (vs. 12)… she gives counsel (vs. 14)… kings reign by her (vs. 15)… she has feelings… she loves (vs. 17)…
c. If one traces the first person singular “I” & “me” mentioned throughout the whole chapter, it leads back to Lady Wisdom as the speaker.
d. Thus, in vs. 22, the “me” must be the same.
e. This does not ROB Christ of His deity or of His role as Creator. That is clearly stated in Heb. 1, John 1, and Col. 1… but not in Proverbs 8!
23I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
1. The Lord possessed Divine wisdom in the beginning (same word as in Gen. 1:1).
2. In other words, Lady Wisdom predated the creation… before God’s works of old.
3. Go back as far in time as you can… to the beginning… and Divine wisdom was there! Always and eternally the possession of God.
4. Lady Wisdom is trying to impress her readers with her great antiquity!
5. Real wisdom did not arise with Solomon… it predated the earth!
6. We have folks out today who think that the present generation has arrived at a set of morals and a standard of wisdom that is superior to the old fashioned wisdom.
7. Here Lady Wisdom isn’t ashamed that her wisdom is old—she glories in it! Her antiquity proves that she is true… the real thing… genuine…
8. Our generation says that the wisdom recorded in the Bible on subjects such as husband/wife relationships… child training… sexuality… is to be discarded because it is old… outdated… and therefore irrelevant.
9. Just the opposite is true. The fact that God’s wisdom has lasted so long is the greatest demonstration of its truth!
10. It’s almost laughable to hear college professors, politicians, and sociologists declare that they have wisdom superior to that of Moses, David, Solomon, or Jesus! And yet they make such claims every day!
11. The wisdom we stand by IS old fashioned. In fact, it’s eternal! God’s wisdom has been around as long as God has existed! God possessed this wisdom before He created the earth!
12. It’s fair to say that God’s wisdom has stood the test of time.
13. God has never had a recall on the wisdom He recorded for us. He never had to correct any errors in the wisdom recorded in this book.
24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: 26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. 27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: 28When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: 29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
1. This section makes one main point: Lady Wisdom was right there by God’s side all during the creation of the universe.
2. Not only was she there (present), but the passage implies that it was BY MEANS OF divine wisdom that God created the universe!
3. The world we see around us was made by Lady Wisdom in one sense: the created universe is a manifestation of God’s wisdom!
4. Vs. 25-26 – God made the solid earth… the fields… by means of Lady Wisdom.
a. cf. Jer.10:11-12 – God established the earth by His wisdom.
5. Vs. 27-28 – God made the heavens by means of Lady Wisdom.
a. Psalm 19:1 – the heavens declare the GLORY of God.
b. How does it declare His glory? It is a demonstration of Divine wisdom… which is glorious! The heavens declare the power and infinite wisdom of the Creator!
c. Ps. 33:6 – by the word of God the heavens were made… by the wisdom of God… expressed in words… He spoke words of wisdom… and it was so!
6. The best minds in the world have been busily studying creation for centuries… and they MARVEL at how complex it all is!
a. After centuries, man hasn’t even begun to scratch the surface. In fact, the more we learn, the more we discover we don’t know!
b. Astrologers marvel at what they are discovering about outer space… its immensity… its beauty… its mystery…
c. The medical profession has been studying the human body… and stand in awe at how fearfully and wonderfully we are made… whether they believe in God or not!
d. Every bit of it is an open display of the wisdom of God manifested in the creative works of God!
30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him. 31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.
1. Here Lady Wisdom states that way back in the beginning, she was with God as His son… as one brought up with Him… a closeness to Him.
2. I was daily his delight—Lady Wisdom was daily God’s delight.
a. God delights in wisdom… He loves it…
b. God delights when WE walk by wisdom too… HIS wisdom, not the wisdom of the world.
c. I Cor. 1:30 in Christ He has been made unto us wisdom. To KNOW HIM is to be wise… the better we get to know Christ, the wiser we will be.
d. Col. 2:3 – In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
e. God DELIGHTS when we get to know Christ better… and thus walk in wisdom…
3. Rejoicing always before Him… Lady Wisdom continually rejoiced in God’s presence.
a. The presence of God makes wisdom glad… joyous… happy.
b. The presence of God makes fools nervous… uneasy… sad…
4. Her delights were with the sons of men. (vs. 31b)
a. Lady wisdom dwelt with God and delighted in Him!
b. Now she states that she also is with the sons of men and delights in them.
c. The delight that wisdom brings to God is available to bring delight to men too!
d. This seems to be the capstone or conclusion to this section before the exhortation.
e. This is an awesome fact: the very same wisdom that was used in creating the universe is available to the sons of men… to you and me! In fact, we have a copy of it in our hands!
f. This wisdom was powerful enough to create the universe. It is powerful enough to solve your problems!
g. This wisdom was enough to put the sun, moon, and stars in their orbits and maintain their steady course for thousands of years. It is good enough to put your life in working order too!
h. This wisdom was enough to provide for the needs of every creature in the world’s eco-system… from micro-organisms all the way up to the elephant. The birds don’t worry about what they are going to eat tomorrow. The lilies don’t worry about what they are going to wear tomorrow. God in His wisdom will provide for your needs too.
• Matt. 6:26-31 – look at the created world… made under the direction of Lady Wisdom.
• God in His wisdom has taken care of every tiny detail. We need not worry! He hasn’t forgotten us!
i. The wisdom that was used in creating the universe is available to the sons of men… to us!
• The same wisdom that guides the stars in their intergalactic journeys is certainly able to guide us through our earthly journey!
• God’s wisdom is rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth (where WE live!) (vs. 31b)
• His wisdom is available to us… daily… moment by moment!
• It seems quite FOOLISH not to read the Bible…
• And yet our tendency is to lean on our OWN puny understanding when we have available to us the wisdom God used in creating the world! (Prov. 3:5-7)
32 Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.
1. Here is the exhortation which is based upon the section from vs. 22-31.
2. The exhortation is the same as Lady Wisdom has been making for the past couple of chapters: hearken unto me! Listen to what I have to say!
3. The difference here is that the author has laid a foundation for this exhortation: this wisdom is DIVINE… it is ancient… it was with God before the world was… in fact, it was the wisdom God used to CREATE the world…
4. Who in their right spiritual mind wouldn’t want to hearken to this kind of wisdom!
5. BLESSEDNESS is promised to those who hearken to her.
a. This kind of wisdom is powerful enough to bring a universe into existence.
b. It is powerful enough to bring blessedness into your life too!
c. Follow God’s wisdom… apply it to your life… and your life will be blessed.
d. Bridges: those who follow God’s wisdom “choose rightly; walk surely; live happily; progress honorably; and end gloriously.”
e. Ignore it, and you will pay a price…
Proverbs 8:33-34
Hear Wisdom and Be Wise
Hear instruction, and be wise…
1. Lady Wisdom continues to speak. She represents Divine wisdom.
2. God’s wisdom here commands the readers to HEAR her instruction.
3. Hear: this has been a theme in the book of Proverbs.
a. Prov. 1:5 –a wise man will HEAR and will increase in learning…
b. Prov. 1:8 – Solomon instructs his son to HEAR the wisdom he wants to pass on to him.
c. Prov. 4:1 – the same command as 1:8
d. Prov. 4:10 – the same command with a promise of long life attached.
e. Prov. 5:7-8 – the son is instructed to HEAR what his father has to say about immoral women… hear and stay away!
f. Prov. 8:6 – Lady Wisdom is crying out to young men… HEAR, for she is speaking excellent things!
g. Prov. 8:33 – once again at the end of the chapter—hear instruction.
4. The fact that it is repeated so often implies something: we are prone to let God’s wisdom go in one ear and out the other!
a. Perhaps some of you parents have had to deal with this sort of thing.
• You tell your child once… twice… many times the same thing…
• They heard you, but it seems to go in one ear and out the other.
• You have to repeat it many times before it really sinks in.
• Children are like that. They need to have truth repeated many times.
• As children of God, we are like that too.
b. The repetition of the word HEAR in Proverbs implies that we need to hear it today… but also hear it tomorrow!
c. It implies that we need to be reminded over and over about these truths.
d. Sometimes folks in the local church say, “Oh, I’ve heard that preached over and over again. Why not something new once in a while?” — the reason is because we NEED to HEAR… and to hear repeatedly… because we are PRONE to let these truths slip!
e. Heb. 2:1 – give the more earnest heed to the things which you have HEARD lest at any time we should let them slip!
5. There are different levels of “hearing.”
a. It is possible to hear with the ears, but it goes no farther… it doesn’t sink in.
b. The expression, “He that ears to hear, let him hear” implies different levels of hearing. We all have ears, but we don’t all HEAR.
c. Hear in the Bible often rises to the level of DOING… obeying…
d. James 1:23-25 – it is possible to be a hearer of the word but NOT a doer. That man is a “forgetful hearer.” He heard, but it never went any further than his ears.
e. Matt. 13:14-15 – it is possible to hear and not understand… but notice that Jesus states the reason WHY they cannot understand or see: because THEY have closed their eyes… they didn’t WANT to understand or see… because that makes them accountable.
f. Matt. 7:24-25 – real wisdom is obtained when one hears AND obeys!
g. Ezek. 33:30-32 – some PRETEND to hear, but have no intention of obeying or practicing what they hear.
h.) True hearing is hearing with the ears AND with the heart. It sinks in!
• Prov. 8:32 – hearken here implies obedience. It is the very same word as is translated “hear” in vs. 33.
• Prov. 23:21 – same word again—and it is used as a synonym for “obey your father… hearken to his words.”
• Lev. 26:14 – here hearkening EQUALS obeying. (same word as hear)
• It can hardly be said that a child hearkened to his father if he did not do what he said!
6. Prov. 8:33 – Note that Solomon equates “hearing instruction” with “being wise.”
a. Again, as always in Proverbs, being WISE has nothing to do with being smart. It is not merely an intellectual issue.
b. Rather, being wise is a matter of the heart.
c. Any child of God—regardless of his IQ—can be a wise person… simply by hearing God’s wisdom with his ears and heart… really taking it in.
d. That puts every single believer on the same level. There are many ways in which we are NOT all created equal. Some are born with great wealth; others with great intellect; others with the advantage of great education available to them; while others may be born in poverty; simple minded; no educational advantages possible…
• Yet, when it comes to divine wisdom we ARE all equal! It is obtainable to anyone who chooses it! It is a matter of the heart… and has nothing to do with our education or IQ.
• Hear… and be wise—a command to every believer. It is possible for every believer too… IF we will hear… IF we choose to follow the path Lady Wisdom sets before us.
• Intelligence and education is no guarantee of godly wisdom!
And refuse it not.
1. Once again, Solomon lets us know that obtaining wisdom is a matter of the heart… the will and determination and choices made by the heart.
2. It is possible to choose wisdom… AND it is possible to refuse it.
3. Prov. 1:24-29 – those who refuse wisdom will regret it one day, and wish they HAD it… but it may be too late.
a. Is it ever too late to obtain wisdom? Yes and no.
b. No—in the sense that we can always repent and choose to follow the path of wisdom… but that is a growth process.
c. Yes—in the sense that some folks only want God’s wisdom when they are in a crunch… and the rest of the time they make choices based on their feelings or desires rather than what is best… and when they are in a crunch, THEN they want it—but wisdom will laugh. It is too late then.
Blessed is the man that heareth me…
1. This too has been a theme in Proverbs. True blessedness or happiness comes through following the way of wisdom.
2. Prov. 3:13, 18 – happy is the man…
Watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
1. These two phrases explain to us what REAL hearing means.
2. The man who truly hears wisdom is the one who watches daily at the gates for it…
a. The picture is that of a guard on a city wall near the gate… a watchman… setting watch for the sight of anyone approaching.
b. The one who truly hears is the one who watches daily for God’s wisdom… eyes and ears open… listening attentively… continually…
3. HOW do we watch daily at the gates for wisdom?
Watching
a. By reading the word daily… the Bible is the gateway for God’s wisdom to enter our heart.
b. This passage implies that we need the Scriptures DAILY… we need a daily dose of God’s wisdom…
c. It implies that if we are NOT reading the Word daily for our daily dose of God’s wisdom… we are like a guard at the city gate asleep on the job!
d. We are unprepared… perhaps open to attack by the enemy!
e. This implies that we need to be watching our own heart as we read.
• When the guard sees the enemy coming, he is responsible to ACT… to blow the horn and warn!
• When God’s wisdom speaks to our heart through the word, we too need to take heed to the warning… and ACT on it!
Waiting
f. The sentinel is to watch AND wait.
g. We don’t always like to wait… but it is necessary.
• Often guards watch and seem to see nothing…
• It might even seem boring at times…
• So too with reading God’s word. Some days nothing seems to pop out at us… nothing seems to apply.
• The same is true in our study of the Word at church.
• But the true guard will watch and wait.
• If God is not convicting our heart about anything today… then that is good. But keep on watching and waiting. Sure enough… in time, a warning will sound!
• But if we grow weary and STOP watching and waiting… then when the enemy comes and we NEED to be warned… we will be defeated.
4. Others have seen in this an allusion to watching and waiting at the gate of the Temple… waiting to hear from God.
a. The point is the same in either illustration…
b. The point is that of watching and waiting for God’s wisdom!
• Ps. 25:5 – Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
• Lam. 3:25 – The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. —– if we need wisdom, God is good to those who wait!
5. This passage also tells us that the BLESSEDNESS spoken of is obtained by the kind of hearing that watches daily… and waits!
a. It is not enough to watch once a month and expect this kind of blessedness. It comes through watching DAILY at the gates!
b. But if we watch for God’s wisdom… and wait for God to speak to our heart… THEN we will receive wisdom, which will bless our lives immensely!
c. James 1:25 – “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”
Proverbs 8:34
Blessed is the Man that Heareth Me
Introduction:
1. Last week we looked at the command “to hear” in vs. 33—
2. We looked at several different KINDS of hearers in the Bible:
• Those who hear and then forget: hear, walk away, and forget
• Those who hear but do not understand—because they shut their eyes
• Those who hear but don’t do
• Those who only pretend to hear and have no intention of doing
• Those who hear with their ears AND their hearts… and obey!
3. The next few verses speak of the great advantages to being a WISE hearer.
Blessed is the man that heareth me…
1. This too has been a theme in Proverbs.
2. True blessedness or happiness comes through following the way of wisdom.
3. Prov. 3:13, 18 – happy is the man… that obtains and applies wisdom.
4. One might THINK that the happy man is the one who pursues pleasure and ease.
a. There IS a pleasure to sin… but it doesn’t bring about true blessedness.
b. Consider the young man in Prov. 7:7 – a man void of wisdom.
• He pursued the pleasure of sin… (vs. 13,18,21)
• But after the brief moment of pleasure, there was no blessedness. (vs. 22-23,26-27)
• Prov. 5:11 – instead of blessedness it brings remorse.
• Prov. 5:4 – the end of that kind of relationship is not blessed but bitter.
c. This is true of virtually any kind of sin… we are attracted to the superficial pleasure or happiness it appears to offer… but we later discover that the happiness is shallow and short-lived.
d. The man who pursues after money does so because he assumes that it will bring to him a lifetime of pleasure and satisfaction. He later discovers that instead it pierces him through with many sorrows. (I Tim.6:9-10)
e. Those are the ways of folly… and there are countless other foolish things to pursue in life… none of which bring true blessedness.
5. The man who is truly BLESSED is the man who HEARS Lady Wisdom.
a. This kind of hearer is the one who hears with his ears and heart… and who obeys.
b. Wisdom says do NOT pursue a life of pleasure, pomp, pride, gratification, wealth, worldly pleasures. Wisdom says follow her… and she is headed in the opposite direction.
c. True happiness comes from a life that is disciplined enough to be willing to forsake the instant gratification… and pursue wisdom’s ways.
d. There is a deep, abiding sense of joy, contentment, and satisfaction that comes from doing things RIGHT. That’s the blessed man.
e. Living life the foolish way ends up in remorse, regret, bitterness, frustration, and guilt. That’s no way to live.
6. Blessed is the man who learns from his folly. (Psalm 94:12)
a. We don’t always take the way of wisdom first. We may stray down a pathway of folly for a while.
b. But God chastens His own. If God has to chasten us, then praise Him for that.
c. HAPPY is the man who learns from the Lord’s chastening… and turns from his foolish ways and chooses to follow the path of wisdom.
d. Heb. 12:10-12 – God’s chastening hurts, but it results in JOY… happiness… contentment and blessedness IF we learn from the chastening… and turn from our folly and sin to the way of wisdom and holiness.
Watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
1. These two phrases explain to us what REAL hearing means.
2. The man who truly hears wisdom is the one who watches daily at the gates for it…
a. The picture is that of a guard on a city wall near the gate… a watchman… setting watch for the sight of anyone approaching.
b. A guard who watches for an enemy invasion doesn’t just watch every other day… he has to watch EVERY day!
c. The one who truly hears is the one who watches daily for God’s wisdom… eyes and ears open… listening attentively… continually…
3. HOW do we watch daily at the gates for wisdom?
Watching
a. By reading the word daily… the Bible is the gateway for God’s wisdom to enter our heart.
b. This passage implies that we need the Scriptures DAILY… we need a daily dose of God’s wisdom…
c. It implies that if we are NOT reading the Word daily for our daily dose of God’s wisdom… we are like a guard at the city gate asleep on the job!
d. We are unprepared… perhaps open to attack by the enemy!
e. This implies that we need to be watching our own heart as we read.
• When the guard sees the enemy coming, he is responsible to ACT… to blow the horn and warn!
• When God’s wisdom speaks to our heart through the word, we too need to take heed to the warning… and ACT on it!
f. We should pray as we read: Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. (Ps. 119:118)
• There are WONDERFUL truths in God’s word… but we don’t always watch carefully as we read. We skim over some real gems!
• It is better to read just a few verses with our mind, heart, and eyes open, than to skim over many chapters.
• Every time we read, we should be watching… and listening… to hear from the Lord… to BEHOLD something wondrous from His Word.
Waiting
g. The sentinel is to watch AND wait.
h. We don’t always like to wait… but it is necessary.
• Often guards watch and wait… and seem to see nothing…
• In fact, most often the sentinel sees nothing. It is RARE that he sees an enemy invading… the norm is nothing happening.
• It might even seem boring at times…
• So too with reading God’s word. Some days nothing seems to pop out at us… nothing seems to apply… didn’t learn anything new…
• The same is true in our study of the Word at church.
• But the true guard will watch and wait.
• If God is not convicting our heart about anything today… then that is good. But keep on watching and waiting. Sure enough… in time, a warning will sound!
• But if we grow weary and STOP watching and waiting… then when the enemy comes and we NEED to be warned… we will be defeated.
i. Watching and waiting of a sentinel means SAFETY. The city is safe as long as the sentinel is doing his job of watching… and waiting.
• So too with us. As long as we are in the word daily… we are safe…
• Having our devotions isn’t a lucky charm or a rabbit’s foot, but it does keep us safe.
• Part of our armor is the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. (Eph. 6:17)
• The Lord Jesus confronted the devil’s temptations by quoting scripture. How did He know those Scriptures? Because since he was a young boy He studied the Word… DAILY…
• Consistent, daily time spent in the Word keeps us safe spiritually.
• The sentinel who waits and watches faithfully will keep his city safe. But the unfaithful sentinel is a real threat to the safety of the city.
» A security guard may slack off for a night, and nothing happens. Nobody invades the city… so he thinks he can get away with it.
» He may make it a habit… starting off small (just snoozing an hour here or there)
» Gradually it increases… more and more time is wasted snoozing.
» And it doesn’t seem to affect the city at all… UNTIL the attack.
» We might think that we can go without reading the Word because we skipped all last week—and nothing happened!
» That gives a false sense of security… for the thief comes when you least expect it… and so does our adversary… so does temptation.
j. Our adversary watches and waits daily… seeking whom he may devour. He is faithful to his watch. He never stops watching… and waiting for the right moment to strike. (I Pet. 5:8)
• He waited until the Lord had gone 40 days without food before tempting Him to turn the stones into bread.
• He will watch and wait until we are sleeping on the job… when we have been neglecting God’s Word and God’s wisdom… and have been leaning on our OWN understanding. That’s a good time to strike.
4. Others have seen in this an allusion to watching and waiting at the gate of the Temple… waiting to hear from God.
a. The point is the same in either illustration…
b. The point is that of watching and waiting for God’s wisdom!
• Ps. 25:5 – Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
• Lam. 3:25 – The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. —if we need wisdom, God is good to those who wait!
5. This passage also tells us that the BLESSEDNESS spoken of is obtained by the kind of hearing that watches daily… and waits!
a. It is not enough to watch once a month (or even once a week) and expect this kind of blessedness. It comes through watching DAILY at the gates!
b. But if we watch for God’s wisdom… and wait for God to speak to our heart… THEN we will receive wisdom, which will bless our lives immensely!
c. James 1:25 – “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”
Proverbs 8:35-36
Results of Our Response to Wisdom
* Blessing – v. 34
a. We saw this result last time—the life that listens with the ears and the heart to Lady Wisdom is the life that will be blessed by God.
b. If we refuse to follow the way of God’s wisdom… we are refusing His blessing in our life!
c. This is all our choice.
Life and Favor
1. Finding Wisdom.
a. This implies much more than simply “hearing” the words of wisdom.
b. This implies more than just “knowing” what the wise thing to do is.
c. The one who truly finds wisdom is the one who practices it. If you aren’t practicing it… you haven’t yet found it! You may be close… but not there yet.
d. Wisdom… the wise choice… the wisest way to go… the right decision… doesn’t always come right away. Wisdom isn’t INSTANT. It doesn’t always come easily.
e. The picture given here is that the one who finds wisdom is the one who WAITS for it – v. 34… watching… looking… expecting… waiting…
f. The one who finds and follows the way of wisdom is the one who does NOT act impulsively… he does not act rashly… he waits patiently.
g. If he doesn’t hear from the Lord right away… he doesn’t move until he does! He waits… rests… trusts… looks unto the Lord…
h. We act on our feelings way too often. We are by nature impatient.
• Sometimes we decide and then pray.
• On other occasions, we pray and then decide… which can be just as bad!
• What God wants us to do is to pray… and wait for an answer! Don’t pray… and then go ahead and do what we have already decided to do!
• That is the way of the flesh… acting on feelings and impulses.
• God is able to guide us… incline our mind and heart… to use His Word… to work IN us both to will and to do of HIS good pleasure.
• The one who truly FINDS wisdom is the one who waits at the posts of Lady Wisdom’s doorposts… waiting to KNOW what is the right way to go… the right thing to do… the right and wise decision to make.
• Ex. 29:42 – the priests waited at the door of the tabernacle to hear the word of the Lord!
• THEN we need to act and obey—even if the way seems tough… even if the way of wisdom involves suffering… crosses to bear…
2. The one who FINDS wisdom finds LIFE.
a. Consider the apparent contradiction in terms:
• We are to FIND wisdom.
• Yet in 2:6 it says that God GIVES wisdom.
• In both contexts, however, we have a responsibility to diligently SEEK wisdom or we will never find it! (2:4-5)
• God gives it… but only to those who hunger for it… and demonstrate that they truly want it… by seeking it diligently… and waiting for it… and practicing it when received!
b. When we diligently seek the way of wisdom, we find LIFE.
• Life here does not refer to regeneration… the impartation of eternal life.
• Rather, it speaks about the QUALITY of life… a good life…a long life… a joyous life… an abundant life… a life worth living!
• Prov. 3:1 – a long, peaceful, good life for those who follow wisdom.
• Prov. 3:13, 16-18 – a long, happy, pleasant, peaceful life—a tree of life—a source of all kinds of good fruit!
• Prov. 1:33 – if we hearken to God’s wisdom, we will dwell safely and be quiet from fear of evil. We can sleep at night… not having to worry about the IRS knocking at our door… worrying if we are going to lose our driving license… worrying about contacting aids… worrying about being caught in the middle of a love triangle…
3. The one who finds wisdom obtains favor of the Lord.
a. Everybody wants God’s favor in his or her life… God’s blessing.
b. Num. 6:25-27 – a blessing from the Lord—a prayer.
c. Psa. 31:16-17 – another prayer for God’s blessing in our life… that God’s favor would come our way in the form of answered prayers.
d. Not everybody is willing to obtain God’s favor the way God says it is to be obtained: by diligently seeking, finding, and following the way of wisdom!
e. If we refuse to find wisdom God’s way… then we are choosing to forfeit God’s blessing in our life. God’s way of wisdom and God’s blessing go hand in hand.
f. There is a simple principle found in I Sam. 2:30 – “Them that honor Me I will honor.”
• That doesn’t mean a life free from trials or troubles.
• But it does mean a life full of the blessings of God in the midst of life’s difficulties! Grace, strength, and courage enough to keep on going!
Wronged Soul and Death
1. The one who SINS against Lady Wisdom wrongs his own soul!
2. Wrongs: to wrong; or to do violence to; to treat violently; it refers to sinful violence, not the violence of storms or natural disasters; an act of injustice committed against someone;
a. The one who sins against Lady Wisdom—misses the mark—refuses to walk in her ways is hurting himself!
b. He is committing an injustice against his own soul!
c. He is doing violence to his own soul… his inner life… his emotions… his thoughts… etc…
d. When we refuse to follow the way of wisdom, we are inflicting deep, violent wounds on our own soul… and we will have to live with that.
3. Consider the hurt we inflict upon ourselves:
a. The alcoholic—he chooses not to follow the way of wisdom, and inflicts suffering and ruin upon his whole life.
b. The young man who pursues a life of sexual immorality—he chooses a path that is similar to an ox going to the slaughter. Think about a slaughterhouse for cattle… and picture your SOUL there!
c. I Pet. 2:11 – fleshly lusts WAR against our soul! Therefore, abstain from it! When we give in, it is war… think of the horrors of war… and picture your soul in the midst of it all.
d. Those who pursue money pierce themselves through with many hurtful sorrows! (I Tim. 6:9-10).
e. Those who ignore their kids and let them run wild have to live with shame on their soul. (Prov. 29:15)
f. Those who refuse to control their tongue… not only hurt others, but themselves. They have to live with all the conflict created.
g. Those who are lazy have to live with the fruits of laziness. (Prov. 21:25-26)
4. These are all self-inflicted wounds… that cause real pain and suffering.
a. Those who refuse God’s wisdom are forced to EAT THE FRUIT of their ways… which is painful to the soul. (Prov. 1:31-32)
b. Even Christians inflict these kinds of wounds upon themselves.
c. When God’s wisdom warns us against certain pursuits in life, and we pursue them ANYWAY… we are doing violence to our own soul!
5. Violence to our soul.
a. This includes emotional pain and suffering… (guilt; remorse; resentment)
b. This includes spiritual violence to our soul…
• Prov. 5:22 – the man who practices sin CAN become BOUND by the cords of that sin… addicted… trapped… enslaved…
c. Our enemy is out to get our soul. He can do enough damage. We don’t need to HELP him do violence to our soul!
6. Those who hate wisdom love death.
a. In other words, those refusing wisdom are skating on thin ice… they are demonstrating that they are choosing the way that leads to death and destruction!
b. Following the way of wisdom leads to a long, healthy, satisfied, blessed life.
c. Hating the way of wisdom and not following it leads to the opposite of a long, healthy, happy life…
d. There are only two ways: the way of wisdom that leads to an abundant life… and the way of folly that leads to destruction and death.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 9
Proverbs 9:1-6
Wisdom Hath Builded Her House
Introduction:
1. In chapter nine, Solomon continues the same figure as in the previous chapters.
2. In chapter seven, wisdom is seen looking out her window at the young and foolish men passing by the home of a harlot… making observations about the fool.
3. In chapter eight, wisdom is seen crying out in the high places for men to listen to her.
4. In chapter nine, wisdom is likened to a prudent woman who invites us into her house to feast at her table.
5. Solomon employs several different poetic images to communicate the fact that God wants US to follow the way of wisdom and to avoid the folly of sin.
Wisdom Has Built A House…
1. A house is:
a. A place of refuge and shelter from the storm.
b. A place of safety from the evil.
c. A place of rest and comfort.
d. A place of dwelling… and be at home.
2. Wisdom invites us to her house.
a. Wisdom offers us refuge from the storms of life.
• I know people who have not followed the way of wisdom, and they are being beaten down by the storms of life!
• Some Christian folks have not done a good job in bringing their children up in the things of the Lord—and are now being beaten down by the storminess of their own creation!
• Some Christian folks have not applied wisdom to their marriage and are going through some very stormy times as a result.
• Some Christian folks have not applied wisdom to their use of money, and are experiencing stormy waters as a result.
• Yet, wisdom invites each one into her house for refuge! Apply that wisdom to child rearing… to marriage… to money… and to 1001 other areas of life and you too will experience a refuge while others may be experiencing a storm!
b. Wisdom offers safety from evil.
• Out in the highways of life men are living in sin… and believers get drawn into that lifestyle too… slowly… gradually…
• Believers can become ensnared and trapped by sin…
• It is our nature to flirt with sin… to skate on thin ice…
• Wisdom offers us safety from all kinds of evil and calamity when we come into her house. We are truly safe there.
• Wisdom tells us to err on the side of safety and NOT to skate on thin ice.
• Ex: Rom. 13:14 – make no provision for the flesh; (stay away from anything that might stir up the flesh!)
• Ex: Rom. 14:23 – avoid anything that cannot be done without a pure conscience… avoid anything questionable. That’s the safe way!
• Folly says, “It’s fun on the thin ice! You don’t know what you’re missing!”
c. Wisdom offers rest and comfort.
• I don’t worry about becoming an alcoholic; or coming down with aids; or getting hooked on drugs. Other people do, but I don’t.
• If you follow the way of wisdom, you are safe in her house!
• Following the way of wisdom brings rest and comfort to the heart… to all who come into her house.
d. Wisdom offers us a house… a place in which to dwell…
• Wisdom isn’t something that we need in a pinch. It ought to be where we dwell… where we live… everyday life, not just when tragedy strikes or a big decision needs to be made.
• A house is a dwelling. God’s wisdom is inviting us all into His house of wisdom… to dwell there… and to feast there.
3. Wisdom’s house has seven pillars…
a. In other words, it is a STRONG house!
b. Upon entering this house, you don’t have to worry about the roof caving in. It is strong. Wisdom is built on a strong, solid foundation—and it is held up by seven (a perfect #) of stone pillars.
c. Wisdom’s house is like a temple… strong; beautiful; safe; a sanctuary.
d. Wisdom’s house has SEVEN pillars.
• While some go overboard in the area of numerology in the Bible, I do believe that the number 7 is significant… and seems to be used as a number of completion.
• That being the case, then the wisdom offered here is COMPLETE… this is all the wisdom we will ever need!
• II Pet. 1:3 – all things pertaining to life and godliness.
• Wisdom’s house is both sturdy and complete.
e. A house with 7 pillars is quite a substantial house… no small shanty! This is a grand old mansion!
Wisdom Has Furnished Her Table… (V. 2)
1. This is a grand old mansion… and an opulent feast has been spread out!
2. The table is furnished… the fatted calf has been killed… wine has been mingled (mixed with water)…
3. The feast is ready! She has provided everything her guests could ever want!
4. This is a figurative way of saying that the wisdom God offers will satisfy our souls… meet our every need… strengthen us in the inner man… keep us strong and healthy spiritually…
5. God hasn’t provided for us just a few nuggets or tid-bits here and there. He has furnished His table—a feast!
6. Jas. 1:5 – ask for wisdom, and God gives it liberally! Generously! Lavishly!
7. The picture is of a great feast at a grand house. The table is set… and there is a seat reserved for you! For each one of us… and the lady of the house WANTS us to come.
Wisdom Has Sent Out Maidens to Bid Us to the Feast… (V. 3-5)
1. Wisdom is going to wait for us to come on our own. She sends out her maidens/servants to beseech us to come.
a. This implies that there is some reluctance on our part TO come and feast on God’s wisdom.
b. One would think that we would all want to come to such a feast. God knows that we need to be dragged in by our ears!
c. She is crying in the high places of the city… from the walls and towers… she WANTS to be heard. (8:1-4)
2. vs. 4 – The maidens are inviting the simple (inexperienced) and those who lack understanding (ignorant).
a. Aren’t we all lacking in understanding in one area or another? Aren’t we all inexperienced in one realm of the Christian walk or another? Don’t we all need to respond to the call of wisdom?
b. You know what area of your life needs some godly wisdom applied. Don’t put it off. Respond in faith and obedience.
3. v. 5 – The invitation.
a. How simple! “Come, eat, drink.”
b. What we are asked to do isn’t difficult. Go in the house, eat, and drink. You can do that. So can I. But WILL we?!
c. There are no prerequisites; entrance fees or entrance exams; no waiting in line; no forms to fill out; just come as you are—and feast!
d. Those who come are invited to eat her bread and drink of her wine.
• These are the elements of communion… though not yet revealed.
• God invites men to come and dwell in his house of wisdom… take it in… eat and drink it… make it yours… fellowship and commune with Him through His Word.
e. Of course, we do this through His Word.
• This is figurative language, but it is designed to teach real truth.
• God is offering to each one of us a FEAST… and it is found in His Word.
• Steak and potatoes are available to us every day… just what our hungry soul needs!
• Isa. 55:1-3 – God wants us to eat that which is GOOD… namely, His truth… His wisdom.
• Job 23:12 – I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. Job considered the food for his soul more important than the food for his body.
4. Opposition to the invitation. (v.6)
a. Lady Wisdom sent her servants out to drag us to her feast.
• The maidens beseech the young man to forsake folly…to foresee the evil that lies ahead on that road. (Prov. 22:3)
• The simple NEED to be warned and dragged into the house, because the simple are easily deceived. (Prov. 14:15)
b. However, our foolish friends are latching on to us to keep us walking in their ways.
c. The picture is of a young man being torn between the two… wisdom and folly.
d. In order to go in the way of understanding, he has to forsake the foolish.
• That implies that he is presently walking in the way of the foolish—since he is told to forsake it.
e. Once, again, the choice is ours. There are two ways to follow in life; the way of wisdom and the way of folly. You can’t straddle both roads; you can’t have the best of both worlds; it’s one or the other. You can’t have two masters…
f. God beseeches us here to FORSAKE the way of folly and come into His house of wine… a strong, safe, secure, house of comfort, refuge, that is complete… has all we need…
• Is there something in your life that needs to be forsaken… left behind?
• Perhaps the Lord has been convicting you about a habit… a time waster… a money waster… a foolish pursuit… a besetting sin… that needs to be forsaken…
g. We are invited to COME to a FEAST… a fantastic feast… one that is furnished with all we need… one that will feed and satisfy our souls…
h.) When we leave all our foolish friends behind and all the revelry, we will not be lacking.
• We will have new friends in the house of wisdom…
• Our soul will not lack for any good thing!
• The world knows nothing of this kind of feast… spiritual communion… the bread and wine in the house of God’s wisdom…
• But ALL are invited in…
Proverbs 9:7-9
Reproving a Scorner and a Wise Man
7 He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot. 8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee:
1. Here Solomon warns against reproving a scorner… or rebuking a wicked man.
a. These two expressions are virtual synonyms.
b. Scorner: one who scoffs; mocks; or talks arrogantly.
c. Wicked man: criminal; one who is guilty of a crime.
d. Solomon has in mind those who mock God, truth, holiness, or righteousness.
e. The term wicked man would include any sort of wickedness or evil.
f. They are both very general terms describing the ungodly…
2. The warning is against reproving (discipline; instruct; correct) or rebuking (rebuke; correct; point out error) them.
a. “Reproof” is a theme often repeated in Proverbs.
b. It does not appear that Solomon is forbidding the reproof of a fool. Rather, he seems to be saying that such reproofs are wasted—they accomplish nothing because the fool doesn’t respond properly.
c. Prov. 28:23 – here Solomon speaks highly of reproving a man who needs reproof. This man may not like it at first, but afterwards will appreciate it.
d. The problem with reproving is we don’t know how men will respond to it. We don’t know if they will act foolishly or wisely in their response.
e. But if we DO know a man to be a stiff-necked fool—then the point of this passage is, “Don’t waste your time reproving him!”
f. Reproving a fool does not result in anything good—no good fruit comes of it. In fact, it results in BAD fruit!
3. Three results of reproving a scorner or a wicked man:
a. Shame: shame, disgrace, and dishonor.
• The one who ignores this truth, and seeks to reprove foolish men anyway should expect to receive dishonor in return.
• Ex: If we are constantly reproving a smoker for smoking; a drinker for drinking; a curser for cursing; or a tardy person for being tardy—we very well may be provoking an argument… stirring up trouble unnecessarily…
• As a result, we may bring shame to ourselves… and to the Lord we represent.
b. A blot: blemish, spot, defect;
• The man who disregards Solomon’s advice, and continually rebukes wicked men for their wickedness may get a blemish or a blot.
• That person is damaging his own testimony.
• Our constant nagging will be perceived as a defect in our character—especially if our reproof is done in public!
• Solomon warns us against such behavior. It is a waste of time… and worse—it will bring a blemish to our reputation.
c. Hatred: hatred; enmity
• Again, the one who disregards Solomon’s advice here is stirring up hatred… unnecessarily…
• And even if the evil we are pointing out is real, we are not serving God in doing so—not if we violate this Scripture!
• Some believers might attempt to point out all the evil ways of evil men and do so with a sense of self-righteousness… or believing they are doing God’s will. But that is not the case if they are disregarding this passage!
• Prov. 15:12 – a scorner loveth not one that reproveth him.
• Prov. 23:9 – he will hate your words! Don’t do it!
• Reproving fools only stirs up anger and hatred.
• Apply this passage while driving on the highway. Some “fool” cuts you off. Should you yell a word of rebuke to him? Scold his behavior with a pointed finger? You may be stirring up road rage!
• You get a blot on your reputation—by having your picture on the front page of the paper for inciting road rage.
• You might end up quite ashamed… shame… blot… and hatred—all from reproving a wicked man.
4. Solomon’s point in these verses is not that we should never reprove or rebuke. We should. However, we should be DISCERNING.
a. There are times when rebuke will be helpful and necessary.
b. There will be times when rebuke does more harm than good.
c. His point: avoid irritations. Wait for a favorable circumstance to reprove. Be discerning—not everyone can handle reproof. Some men are hardened fools!
d. Prov. 26:4-5 – Solomon gives two opposite commands in these verses.
• v. 4 – Do NOT answer a fool—or you will be foolish like him! Sometimes, a foolish or a wicked man does something foolish or wicked, and it is best to be silent. Otherwise, you will end up in a foolish argument that brings a blot, shame, and dishonor.
• V. 5 – Answer a fool—or you will cause him to become proud—thinking that his actions or argument is right… and the Christian has nothing to say against it!
• Obviously, Solomon is NOT contradicting himself—not in the very next verse. This was no oversight. These two passages were placed next to each other by design.
• His point is that when it comes to dealing with foolish and wicked men—you can’t win!
• If you speak up—you are letting him draw you into a foolish argument. (As Nabal dragged David into a foolish debate!)
• If you don’t speak up—he, in his conceit, considers himself the victor.
• In other words—you need discernment in dealing with a fool. There will be times when it is necessary to answer him. At other times, under different circumstances, it is better to remain silent.
• Solomon later wrote, There is a time to speak and a time to keep silent.
• The challenge comes in discerning when it is the time to speak up and when it is time to be silent. Pray for that kind of wisdom and discernment.
• Rom. 15:14 – Believers need to be filled with the knowledge of God and His word in order to ABLE to ADMONISH one another!
5. If we discern that the person is a fool, then wisdom dictates to us to keep silent.
a. Matt. 7:6 – Jesus warned against casting your pearls to the swine!
b. We have pearls of wisdom in God’s word. Some men will want to hear them… and will appreciate them.
c. Foolish men are like pigs—they care not for pearls. They will sniff at them and then trample them under foot…
d. They may even turn and trample over you! That’s the kind of warning in Prov. 9:8 – don’t reprove a scorner. He will not only not appreciate the correction—he will hate YOU!
8b Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. 9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
1. It is often difficult to know what to do and how to handle foolish men.
2. However, wise men are much easier to deal with…
3. Solomon instructs us TO reprove a wise man… to give instruction to a wise man… to teach him… correct him… rebuke him…
4. Three results of rebuking wise men:
a. He will love thee.
b. He will be yet wiser.
c. He will increase in learning.
d. What a contrast to the fool: 3 results = shame; blot; hatred!)
5. The fool will hate you, but the wise man will love you!
a. Prov. 28:23 – Solomon warns us that even wise men may not LOVE you at first… it may take a while for the rebuke to do its work… but eventually, they will appreciate it.
b. Heb. 12:11 – it does not seem joyous but grievous at first, but AFTERWARD… when it has its desired effect, it is appreciated.
c. Ps. 141:5 – Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head:
d. Prov. 13:18 – regarding reproof leads to honor!
6. All of these warnings concerning GIVING reproof can also be understood as a warning about the way we RECEIVE reproof.
a. WISE men receive reproof. Fools reject it. Don’t be a fool!
b. WISE men profit from reproof. They respond and make the appropriate changes, which is to their honor.
c. WISE men eventually appreciate the one who points out his error.
d. We need to learn to be wise reprovers—but also to be willing to RECEIVE reproof. That is a sign of wisdom.
Proverbs 9:10-12
The Benefits of Wisdom
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
1. This statement is repeated four times in the Bible. (here plus Prov. 1:7; Job 28:28; Ps. 111:10)
2. The book of Proverbs is a book of wisdom… and it begins with this expression (1:7)
3. All those who want God’s wisdom should know what the starting point is: fearing God!
a. First of all, the fear of God will lead a person to salvation!
b. Men OUGHT to fear One who can cast their body and soul in Hell forever! (Matt. 10:28)
4. As believers we are to fear the Lord too. We need not fear having Him reject us or cast us into Hell, but we should fear Him in the sense of:
• being terrified of sinning against Him…
• reverence and respect for who He is…
• fear of displeasing Him…
5. Fearing God is all encompassing here. It includes believing that He is; knowing of His power and majesty; knowing that His Word is truth.
a. Even unsaved men who have this superficial kind of fear will be able to demonstrate a certain amount of wisdom.
b. Many unsaved men formed this country. Most of those men feared God… they believed that He existed… they believed His word was true… and they feared displeasing Him. They formed a great nation on that basis!
c. Other unsaved men who fear God in that sense can benefit greatly from the book of proverbs!
• The principles in Proverbs will aid men in being productive workers; good family men and women; give wisdom in the use of money; spare lots of anguish when they apply the principles concerning the tongue…
• In fact, there are times when the unsaved practice the principles in this book such that they put believers to shame! (Luke 16:8 – for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.)
• There have been many unsaved archeologists who have used the Bible in locating ancient cities and have been quite successful in their endeavors—because they believed the Bible was accurate—while some of the liberal and New Evangelical scholars have been doubting the accuracy of the Bible!
6. The knowledge of the Holy is understanding.
a. Those who know God and His Word are those with true understanding…
b. We understand more than
• the ancient philosophers… who have spent their lives trying to discover the meaning and purpose of life…
• the leading scientists at NASA who are trying desperately to discover how the earth got here… how old the moon is…
• the leading psychologists who are trying to discover the true nature of man…
• the leading sociologists who are trying to discover a scheme whereby society can “get along”
• The knowledge of the Holy (God) is understanding.
• The least Christian has this understanding. The greatest and most brilliant unsaved mind in the world does not.
7. v. 10 – a Hebrew poetic form called synonomous parallelism.
a. The same expression is worded in two different phrases to make a slightly different emphasis.
b. If this is a synonymous parallelism, then Solomon is saying that to KNOW God is to FEAR Him!
c. The one who FEARS God has this wisdom… the one who KNOWS God has this wisdom or understanding…
d. If a person genuinely knows God, then he will fear Him!
e. In fact, the better we come to know God, the MORE we will fear Him! Everything about Him is awesome and instills fear in us!
f. God delights in that. He wants us to KNOW Him and to fear Him! They go together.
11 For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.
1. This principle too is repeated several times. (3:2, 16; 10:27)
2. The young person who follows the way of wisdom will add years to his life.
3. Remember—these are proverbs, not promises! Sometimes wise men die young. The Lord Jesus did! Sometimes very foolish men live long lives.
4. Those who play fast and loose with wisdom may die young! Some fools are executed by the state. Some are murdered by the people they angered. Some overdose on drugs. Others die of diseases they contracted through their folly. Others die in accidents because of the foolish risks they take.
5. It’s always safer to follow the way of wisdom.
12 If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
1. Here is a kind of summary statement on the benefits of wisdom.
2. If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself.
a. In other words, if YOU follow the advice of Lady Wisdom, her wisdom will be for YOUR good! You are the immediate beneficiary of her blessings!
b. It’s for your own good!
c. Young people especially need to hear this.
• Oftentimes young people think that their teachers or their parents are always harping on them for the good of the teacher or the parent. Not so!
• The teacher isn’t the one who will benefit from you doing your homework. YOU will! YOU will benefit from following her wise counsel and working hard at school.
• The pastor preaches through the Bible… making countless exhortations from the Bible.
• Some folks get annoyed by it… and complain.
• Some folks leave and find a church where they are not so challenged… and are made to feel comfortable in a worldly lifestyle.
• But the preacher isn’t the one who benefits from you following the wisdom of God’s word. YOU do!
• If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for THYSELF!
• Young people might think that they are constantly told to clean their room for the benefit of the parent. Not so. It is for YOUR good to learn to develop self-discipline and cleanliness. It will benefit you the rest of your life… not your mother!
• Parents are constantly giving words of wisdom and wise counsel to their children. However, often times the kids think that they are saying those things to make their life miserable… so they won’t have any fun! Not so! If you follow the wise counsel, YOU will benefit! Be wise for yourself!
d. This has been a theme in Proverbs so far: following wise counsel is GOOD for us !
• Job 22:2-3 – God isn’t the one who benefits from you being wise. YOU DO! God is seeking to bless US.
• 3:1-4 – the son who keeps his father’s words of wisdom will discover later on that they will enable you to find favor with God and man! (v. 4)
• 3:13, 16 – happiness; riches; honor;
• 4:1-6 – A father counsels his children to get wisdom… why? It will preserve you… keep you! (v. 6) She will promote you all through your life (v. 8) You won’t stumble through life. (v. 12)
3. But if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
a. In this chapter, the scorner is equal to a fool. He is seen to be the opposite of a wise man. (9:8)
b. The scorner is one who scorns wisdom. He has no use for it.
c. The one who follows wisdom receives the benefit himself. The one who scorns wisdom receives the curse himself!
d. The one who scorns Lady Wisdom will bear the awful consequences the rest of his life.
e. V. 12 is saying, “It is good for you to be wise, and it is harmful to you to be foolish!”
f. In other words, if the son doesn’t listen to his father’s wise counsel, and he runs off into a life of folly, it is the SON who will pay the awful price! The prodigal son was the one who ended up eating pig slop. The father had a fatted calf in the stall!
g. The student who scorns the advice of his teacher will bear the consequences of doing poorly in school the rest of his days. It doesn’t hurt the teacher but the scorning student! He’ll be flipping hamburgs at McDonalds till he’s 65!
4. There is an awful price to pay for scorning Lady Wisdom. This lady doesn’t like to be scorned.
a. But if she IS scorned, she is not the loser. The scorner is!
b. The one who rejects her wise counsel will bear the consequences of his folly. He’s hurting only himself.
c. The consequences of our conduct (good or bad; wise or foolish) will be borne by ourselves…
d. Prov. 8:35-36 – life and favor vs. wronged soul and death.
e. Proverbs 1:30-32 – they shall eat of the fruit of their own ways—either good or bad.
f. There is no getting around this principle: whatsoever a man soweth, that also shall he reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Gal. 6:7-8)
g. Let’s LISTEN when God’s wisdom speaks to our heart. Listen and respond in faith and obedience. The consequences of disobedience are too great. The blessing of wisdom is better than rubies.
Proverbs 9:13-18
The Foolish Woman
13 A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing.
1. Solomon now speaks of a foolish woman.
a. This is in contrast to Lady Wisdom mentioned so often in the previous chapters. (8:1) Now he speaks of Lady Folly.
b. This lady personifies FOLLY…
c. Folly is just as earnest to destroy lives as God’s wisdom is to save!
2. The temptation is to equate this lady with the harlot of previous chapters. The language used of her is quite similar.
a. v. 14-15 – she sits at the door of her house calling men in.
b. v. 17 – stolen waters are sweet—cf. 5:15—admonition given to a man tempted by the harlot. “Be satisfied at your own fountain. Don’t steal from another man’s fountain!” — Stolen waters = adultery.
c. Warnings against adultery and the harlot have been repeatedly woven through the last five chapters of the book.
d. Thus, it is easy to think of this lady folly as a harlot.
e. Everything said of her certainly would apply to a harlot, but that might be too narrow an interpretation.
f. It is probably better to understand this woman to be the counterpart to Lady Wisdom… thus, Lady Folly.
g. She should be understood in a broader sense as MORAL FOLLY in general, not a specific form of folly, such as adultery.
3. She is clamorous.
a. Clamorous: to roar; to be in a stir, be in a commotion; to be boisterous, be turbulent.
b. This lady is loud. She makes a lot of noise and commotion. She has anything but a meek and quiet spirit.
c. While God’s wisdom is likened to a still, small voice, Lady Folly is loud and boisterous… like the thunder and the fire—but the Lord is not in it!
d. Zech. 4:6 – “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”
e. Like the harlot, she is loud! (Prov. 7:11)
f. There are 1001 voices in the world today—all crying out in loud voices and spewing forth their folly. They are not quiet about it either.
• There are some quite vocal organizations out there promoting the murder of babies; sexual perversion; loudly demanding their rights to promote their filthy, blasphemous art and music; witches and wiccan groups loudly parading through the streets demanding their rights; groups demanding that the Bible or any trace of religion be eradicated from any public place…
• Then there are other philosophies crying out to us in loud voices… through TV ads… radio… talk at the water bubbler… saying such things as:
• Life is about making it rich!
• Anything goes. There is no right or wrong. Whatever turns you on.
• Truth is relative…
• You can be saved and still live for the world…
• Those promoting these foolish ideas and philosophies are loud and clamorous! The squeaky wheel… and they seem to get all the grease—all the attention.
• And if you really want to see how LOUD and clamorous these folks are, but try to oppose them! They will scream at you: Archaic! Bigot! Hate monger! Unloving! Relic from the dark ages!
• Folly can be quite loud and clamorous!
4. She is simple.
a. Simple: simple or naïve.
b. This woman is folly… and folly is naïve.
c. Those who follow her are naïve too.
d. The devil is a master at packaging. He can package his worldly folly in such a way that it LOOKS appealing…
e. But those who go for it are naïve.
5. Yet she knows nothing!
a. Those who know the least seem to shout the loudest.
b. She really has no truth… no wisdom… nothing of any value to offer.
14 For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city. 15 To call passengers who go right on their ways:
1. She’s right there in the midst of all the city’s activities…
2. Just like Lady Wisdom, Lady Folly is found in the high places of the city… at the door of her house…
3. Prov. 8:2-4 – Lady Wisdom was seen in the high places calling out to all who pass by to listen to her. Lady Folly does the same thing.
4. The people who pass by are hearing two different voices calling to them.
a. Let’s not be naïve. Our young people are hearing those two voices today too… more than we might want to think.
b. As sheltered as we try to keep them, these voices are heard everywhere.
c. They are being called to walk the straight and narrow AND to follow the crowd down the broad way to destruction!
d. They are being called by the Lord to come to Christ and submit to His yoke… and they are being called to throw off that old yoke!
e. They are hearing on the one hand, “to me to live is Christ” and on the other hand, “to live is to have fun.”
f. The many voices of the world are calling out to our children AND to us.
5. In order to COUNTER those opposing voices, we need to keep our mind renewed… through the constant reading of God’s Word.
a. Folly is spewed out at us when we watch TV… when we read magazines… when you drive down the road and see the billboards.
b. Lady folly is constantly telling us you can’t be happy unless you’re young, handsome, and rich. (Strike three!)
c. The voice of folly comes at us from all different directions… all day long.
d. That is why our daily devotion time is so important… that is why the local church is so important… Sunday school… Bible studies…
e. Rom. 12:1-2 – either we are renewing our mind through the word or we are being conformed to the world. We are always being affected by one of these two ladies.
16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him.
1. Lady Folly again mimics Lady Wisdom. (9:4 = lady wisdom speaks)
a. Wisdom invites the simple into her house. (9:4)
b. She offers them bread and wine—fellowship with Divine wisdom. (9:5)
c. She challenges them to forsake the foolish. (9:6) All those who enter the house of wisdom HAVE forsaken the foolish.
d. Now, Lady Folly attempts to do the same: invite the simple and naïve into her house of folly.
e. But folly has no bread and wine to offer. She has nothing to offer but empty husks.
17 Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.
1. She has no bread and wine to offer… so she suggests stolen bread and stolen water!
2. The language is similar to that used of the adulterer… but is used in a much broader sense here.
3. She has a corrupting effect on the simple who come to her.
a. She suggests that they steal their bread and drink.
b. Thus, she is promoting outright sin… criminal activity… violation of the law of the land… and violation of God’s law.
c. Cf. 1:10-14 – youth being enticed into a criminal gang of thieves…
d. She is naïve—if she thinks that they can get away with this very long. She must have forgotten the passage: be sure your sin will find you out!
4. She promotes laziness and a lack of diligence.
a. Lady Wisdom promotes hard work and diligence which produces its rewards.
b. Lady Folly says, “Why work hard for something? Let someone else work for it—then steal it!”
5. She has promoted a lie.
a. She said that evil is good. (Something we hear today too!)
b. Stolen bread and water is sweeter… is more pleasant!
c. She says that if you do evil, there will be sweet, pleasant consequences! Not so!
d. This is the lie of the devil. Satan told Eve that if she ate of the forbidden fruit something GOOD would result: you will be like God!
e. Lady Folly packages her products with a great looking outer cover… but it’s a lie.
f. Stolen bread and bread eaten in secret might taste good at first—BUT—(Prov. 20:17)
• Afterwards, his mouth is full of gravel.
• Perhaps this speaks of the guilt and shame to follow.
• Perhaps the consequences of getting caught!
• Cf. Prov. 5:3-4—adultery—it is sweet at first, but soons turns bitter!
• Cf. Prov. 23:31-32 – wine is like that. It looks, smells, and tastes so good at first—but in the end, it bites like a serpent!
• All sin is like that!
18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
1. The young simple ones who enter the house of Lady Folly are ignorant.
a. They don’t know that the DEAD are there…
b. Those who enter don’t leave alive.
c. Her guests are in the depths of hell…
d. She claims to offer something good… sweet… pleasant—but in reality, it is the pathway to hell!
e. Don’t be fooled by the lies and the pretty cover. There is NO form of folly or evil or stealing or sin that is good. It is all bad… and the consequences are always bad spiritually.
2. God is warning us about the real END of folly and the consequences of folly.
a. Many fools enter her house… but few escape alive.
b. God is warning young, inexperienced people to take a good, long, peering LOOK into the ways and consequences before you enter that house. Look a little deeper… beyond the pretty cover… look deep into its inner chambers… it is a house of horror.
3. This section of chapter nine presents two very different voices, each attempting to WOO us into their house… and into their ways…
• The Lord Jesus warns of two very different roads in life too. One leads to life eternal… the other to eternal destruction.
• Perhaps some of you young people should stop and think about which road you are on! Which voice you have followed!
• If you are on the wrong road—get out while you still can!
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 10
Proverbs 10:1
A Wise and a Foolish Son
1a A wise son makes a glad father
1. This is a principle often repeated in the book of Proverbs.
a. 15:20 – same thing
b. 23:15 – if your son’s heart is wise, you can rejoice!
c. 23:16 – when your son speaks right things, your reins (inner most being) shall rejoice.
d. 23:24 – the father of the righteous shall GREATLY rejoice. (if your son is righteous… before God!)
e. 23:25 – both parents will rejoice… this isn’t just a fatherly thing.
f. 27:11 – Here Solomon challenges his son to be wise, so that his heart (the father’s heart) can be glad.
g. 29:17 – a child who is well disciplined will bring rest and delight to the parents… later. (Not during the years of discipline!)
h. Thus, Solomon mentions this at least 8 times!
2. Parents are so attached to their kids, that later on in life (to a certain degree) the parents’ happiness is linked to the spiritual well being of the child.
a. This is true even when the child is a grown man or woman. They will always be your children.
b. For the rest of your life, your happiness (to a certain degree) will be linked to the spiritual well being of your kids.
c. What a joy for parents to see their children grow up and be saved… and to walk with the Lord… and to bring their children up in the things of the Lord. No greater joy!
3. Parents have no guarantee that that will happen… but as parents we have a responsibility to do ALL WE CAN to see that it does.
a. Prov. 22:6 – this verse means what it says…
• But it is a proverb, not a promise.
• This is the norm, but it certainly does not cover all bases.
• But since it is the norm… we should be FAITHFUL in training them in the things of the Lord… early!
b. Prov.19:18 – chasten them while there is hope!
• If we want joy from our kids, then we need to start training them from the cradle…
• If you let them run on auto-pilot until they are teens, they are pretty well already formed.
• If you want a tree to grow up straight and tall, you have to support it when it is young and tender. If you wait until it is grown, it’s too late. You’re never going to straighten out the trunk of a full grown tree. Only God can do that.
• Thus, Solomon sends a message to us as parents and even grandparents: get them while they are young! While there is hope.
• Prov. 29:17 – discipline them when they are young and they will give you rest for the remainder of your life.
1b But a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother…
1. This principle (the opposite of the first phrase) is also found often in Proverbs. Foolish children (even if they are 40!) are a grief to godly parents.
a. 17:25 – grief to the father; bitterness to the mother. (That’s a warning to parents too—deal with those feelings in a godly manner!)
b. 17:21 – the one who begets a fool will have sorrow… no joy…
c. 19:13 – a foolish son is the calamity of his father…
d. Gen. 26:34-35; 27:46 – Esau was a grief to both of his parents.
• He was selfish and worldly and cared not for the things of the Lord.
• The choices he made in choosing a spouse was a continual grief to Rebekah.
• But he was reared in the same house as Jacob was! Who can figure?
2. Again, this is a warning to young parents… do what you can NOW to train them in the things of the Lord… they are only young and pliable for a short time…
• Parents whose grown children are not saved will always grieve and pray for their salvation.
• Parents whose grown children are saved but are not walking in the truth will always grieve over their spiritual condition too.
3. I fear for the young parents today who are so busy they don’t have time to spend with their kids…
a. We have a whole generation of kids being brought up in daycare centers—where they are not getting parental training…
b. Many of those parents are going to wish they never did… they will wish that mom had stayed at home… they will wish that they had spent themselves more on their kids than on their careers…
c. Putting the time and effort and sacrifice into your kids today will pay off later.
d. Failing to do so today could result in a lot of sorrow and regret later.
The example of Paul and his spiritual children
1. This principle is true of spiritual “parents” and their children too!
a. I Thess. 3:8 – we live IF ye stand fast! (I feel that here as pastor!)
b. III John 2-4 – no greater joy… you wish the best for them… John agrees with Paul!
c. Unfortunately, not all of those assemblies Paul established DID stand fast. Some fell into immorality… some into doctrinal error… some into petty divisions…
d. That must have broken Paul’s heart… or John’s…
2. In fact, it did… especially Corinth.
a. He was jealous over them! He wanted the best for them (II Cor. 11:2)
• He feared the worst for his spiritual children (v. 3)
• He grieved over those who hurt his children (v. 4)
• He was hurt when his spiritual children misunderstood his concern for them (v. 7)
• He knew how dangerous it was out there for them. (v. 13)
b. Paul felt the joys, fears, and grief over his spiritual children that we feel for our natural children…
c. Even though these churches were established and on their own, Paul never stopped feeling this “parental” concern for them. They will always be his “kids.”
d. So it is with our kids… they can bring us the greatest joy or the greatest heartbreak.
e. With Paul’s spiritual children in Corinth, he:
• Prayed for them (13:7a)
• He kept in touch (13:10)
• He encouraged them to do that which is right (13:11)
• He committed them to the grace of God and left them in God’s hands. (13:14)
f. That’s good advice for us with our children too once they are off on their own.
g. The good news here is that Paul’s spiritual children in Corinth DID turn around… (II Cor. 7:13) The good report from Titus about the Corinthians comforted Paul and brought exceeding joy to him!
• Isn’t that true of our own children? Aren’t they often like the Corinthians?
• Sometimes they stumble about for a while… skating on thin ice… making foolish decisions… stumbling and falling on their faces… breaking their parent’s heart…
• God intervened in Corinth and got a hold of their hearts… and the church got back up on their feet…
• This brought great joy to the heart of their spiritual father.
• If our children are bringing great grief to us…remember that the Lord is able to turn them around and nobody but the Lord can!
• Once you commit them to the Lord, the peace that passes understanding can return to your heart…
• Remember—God loves them more than you do. He is grieved more than we are when our children turn away from Him. He rejoices more than we do when they walk in the truth.
• We can trust a God like that. Entrust your kids to Him.
Proverbs 10:2
Righteousness Delivers from Death
2a Treasures of wickedness profit nothing.
1. In fact, any kind of earthly treasure profits very little.
a. Prov. 11:4 – Riches profit not in the day of wrath:
b. Ps. 49:6-11 – riches cannot buy redemption, nor do they last forever.
c. Zeph. 1:18 – silver and gold cannot deliver in the day of God’s wrath.
d. Luke 12:15-21 – what does it profit if a man gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Not much. Compared to eternal things, there is little profit in earthly riches.
e. Ecc. 5:10-11 – riches don’t satisfy; and once we heap together material goods, what good are they but to look at?
f. Ecc. 5:13 – rich men obtain great wealth, but often to their own hurt. (loss of family; loss of living a life; loss of enjoyment of life)
2. But riches gained by wickedness have even LESS profit!
a. Jer. 22:13-19 – God rebukes Jehoiakim
• V. 13-14 – He built a palace for himself… but did not pay the workers…
• V. 15a – shalt thou reign just because you have a nice palace? No! Your wealth, obtained through wickedness, will not enable you to reign. (He didn’t act like a king… he won’t have a royal reign!)
• V. 15b-17 – contrast him with his righteous father Josiah! His father did profit… he will not.
• V. 18-19 – he will die in dishonor.
b. I Kings 21:4 – Ahab obtained wealth through wickedness. Through murder and robbery, he stole the vineyard of Naboth.
• His wife Jezebel wrote a letter and sent it to the elders of the city. They were instructed to lie about Naboth, charge him with blasphemy, and stone him… which they did.
• Ahab then obtained the vineyard he desired.
• But along with the vineyard came a message from God: (v. 17-19)
• I Kings 22:28-29 – Ahab did a lot of building of palaces and accumulating of wealth through wickedness… but with no profit.
c. II Kings 5:20 – Gehazi – Elisha’s servant was upset that his master healed Naaman the Syrian and did not take any payment for it.
• Gehazi went back to Naaman and lied, saying that Elisha sent him to receive the gifts.
• The servant DID receive the treasures by wickedness.
• Ultimately, they did not profit him, for he was smitten with leprosy! (v. 27)
d. Matt. 27:5 – Judas gained some earthly treasure through the worst form of wickedness: he betrayed the Lord for 30 pieces of silver.
• This too was to no profit. It brought him nothing but guilt.
• Eventually he threw the money away and hanged himself.
3. The Bible says much about riches obtained through dishonest means.
a. Jer. 17:11 – he shall leave them and not enjoy the benefits of them.
b. Prov. 22:16 – he shall come to want… he will experience unmet needs in his life… of one sort or another.
c. Prov. 21:6-7 – they are playing with fire… flirting with death…
d. This principle is mentioned often, perhaps because it is so common among men.
• Listen to the 6:00 o’clock news. Every night there is a story of someone who on a grand scale, has attempted to obtain treasures by wickedness…
• Bank robbers…museum thefts… white collar crimes… stealing money from the school systems…stock market thieves… e-commerce thieves… price gouging… skimming…
• And perhaps a little closer to home—running our own business in a less than ethical manner… misrepresenting the product or service we are selling…
• There is a lot of money to be made through dishonesty… BUT, ultimately, it “profits nothing.”
4. Even if the wicked SEEM to prosper and profit greatly… their day is coming.
a. Ps. 73:3 – Asaph noticed that wicked men DO seem to prosper.
• v. 5 – they are not in trouble…
• v. 7 – they have more than heart could wish.
• V. 12 – they have great gain in the world. They DO prosper. Their wickedness DOES profit them!
b. Solomon said they profit nothing. Who’s right?
c. They both are.
• The wicked DO prosper in the world, but only for a while.
• V. 17-19 – ultimately Asaph realized that their profit was short lived… their end was bitter… condemnation.
• On the other hand, the godly may work hard, be honest, and NOT profit much in the world.
• BUT—their end is far better! (v. 23-24) Even now, they have God’s presence!
d. The principle in Prov. 10:2 is true ULTIMATELY. When men stand before God, the treasures they obtained through lies, deceit, and unethical behavior will be of no profit.
e. They will discover that instead of heaping up riches, they were heaping up judgment upon their own heads! (Rom. 2:5-6)
2b But — Righteousness delivereth from death…
1. This section of Proverbs contains many antithetical parallelisms… statements that speak of opposites, often connected by a “but.”
2. In contrast to the wickedness which might produce immediate treasures, but in the long term does not profit… we have RIGHTEOUSNESS… Righteousness delivers from death… it does profit… especially in the long term!
3. Eph. 6:14 – part of our Christian armor: the breastplate of righteousness.
a. Like a breastplate which protects our vital organs, righteousness protects us…
4. Prov. 12:28 – in the way of righteousness is life… there is no death in its pathway!
5. Psalm 25:21 – David expected that his righteousness or uprightness of life would preserve him. It will us too!
6. Ps. 41:12 – God upholds us IN our integrity. If we do things right, God is with us to uphold us. If we DON’T do things right, we are on our own!
7. Dan. 6:22 – My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
a. Daniel did that which was right, and God delivered him from the mouth of lions!
8. In the book of Esther, we have two men who illustrate the truth of Prov. 10:2.
a. Haman obtained treasures and riches through wickedness… but in the end it did not profit him. He was hung on the gallows he designed!
b. Mordecai did that which was right—and was delivered from death.
9. Sometimes martyrs do what is right and God allows them to die. Is this a contradiction? No. It is a proverb.
a. Normally—doing what is right keeps us safe…
b. Do what is right in your car and your chances of an accident are greatly reduced. (But if you want to drink beer, read the paper, talk on the phone and eat a cheeseburger—then your chances of an accident greatly increase.
c. Criminals may face the death penalty… but to avoid it—do what is right!
d. Do what is right and you will be spared the awful consequences of sin… including death.
10. A simple principle here: ill gotten goods God will not allow to profit; but the man who operates in righteousness will be blessed… long life… delivered from death…
Proverbs 10:3
Hunger and Riches
There were a lot of famines mentioned in the Bible:
• In the days of Abraham. Ge 12:10.
• In the days of Isaac. Ge 26:1.
• In the days of Joseph. Ge 41:53-56.
• In the day of the Judges. Ru 1:1.
• In the reign of David. 2 Sa 21:1.
• In the reign of Ahab 1 Ki 17:1; 18:5.
• During the siege of Samaria. 2 Ki 6:25.
• Of seven years foretold by Elisha. 2 Ki 8:1.
• In the time of Jeremiah. Jer 14:1.
• After the captivity. Ne 5:3.
• In the reign of Claudius Caesar. Ac 11:28.
3 The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteousness to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
1. Is this statement really true?
a. Does God NEVER allow righteous people to go hungry?
b. What about in times of famine in Ethiopia? Bangla Desh?
c. How about the potato famine in Ireland?
d. What about the Great Depression in this country? What about the aftermath of WWII and the famines and hunger in Europe? Were Christians exempt from all that?
e. What about the martyrs that suffered great hunger in dungeons and in prisons around the world?
f. What about the seige of Jerusalem (Babylonians; Assyrians) when some Jews in the city even turned to canabalism? Were there no believers in Jerusalem during those days?
g. How about the Lord Jesus. The Lord allowed Him to go 40 days without food. That qualifies for being famished, doesn’t it?
h. Is it impossible for a believer to starve to death?
2. There are a lot of Bible verses that seem to support such a notion.
• Job 5:20 – In famine he shall redeem thee from death:
• Ps. 33:18-19 – Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; 19To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
• Ps. 34:9-10 – O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. 10The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.
• Ps. 37:3 – Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
• Ps. 37:17 – The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. 19They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
• Ps. 37:25 – I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
• It sure SOUNDS like God promises that His people will never lack bread.
Three Things to Consider:
1. The passage is a proverb; not a promise.
a. The passage makes a generalization… in general, the righteous (the godly; wise men) do not starve.
b. The righteous don’t starve because they employ the principles of wisdom in their life.
c. The righteous are diligent workers—not lazy. (v. 4)
• Some ungodly men starve because they are lazy. Laziness is ungodly!
• The one who deals with a slack hand (lazy) becomes poor!
d. The righteous don’t waste their money on gambling… or foolish things.
• The opposite of a righteous man (an unrighteous fool) DOES waste his money on foolish things… gambles… booze… etc.
• That man and his family very well MAY go hungry…
e. Of course, this is a proverb… and there are exceptions to the rule.
• Sometimes the ungodly DO prosper in the world. They seem to be fed quite well!
• Sometimes righteous men work hard and due to circumstances beyond their control DO suffer loss… and experience hunger…
• When war breaks out; or famine; or an economic depression, the godly are not exempt from feeling it!
• It’s good to know this—so that if it should happen to you, you don’t begin to doubt God… or experience a lack of faith… or begin to think that God has failed you…
f. This is written to Jews living during the Old Testament dispensation; Israel’s blessings were primarily physical; ours are spiritual.
• Lev. 26: 21, 26 – famine was sent to the Jews because of sin… with the purpose of driving them back to God.
• Consider the book of Lamentations – written to Jews in Jerusalem concerning the devastation and famine they were experiencing.
• Amos 4: 6-10 – famine the result of Israel’s sin… sent by God.
• When famine strikes a nation, even the godly are affected!
g. The meaning of “soul.”
• Soul = nephesh = soul; life; a creature; a person; a living being
• Famish = languish in hunger; extreme hunger.
• It is possible to take the passage in Proverbs as a reference to the spiritual hunger of the soul… as opposed to the physical hunger of the body. (Although nephesh is often used in the sense of “life.”)
• If understood as soul in contrast to body, then the proverb is stating that God will always nourish the soul of the righteous… even if his outward circumstances include poverty, hunger, or famine.
• Hab. 3:17-19 – Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation…
• God is able to lift the SOUL of the righteous to joy even in the worst of times physically… In such times, believers have experienced a peace that passes understanding…
• Thus, the body may starve, but not the soul… the inner man may prosper and do well! (II Cor. 4:16).
• Of course, the opposite can be true as well. It is possible for the outer man (the physical part of man) may be doing quite well (well fed; well housed; well dressed; etc.) while at the same time the inner man is starving spiritually!
3b He casteth away the substance of the wicked…
1. Again, this is a proverb. Sometimes wicked men prosper.
2. The wicked in the world don’t often read the book of Proverbs.
3. However, we as believers can behave like the wicked.
a. We can waste our money on gambling… lottery tickets… foolish purchases… luxury items… and experience hunger and poverty as a result!
b. Too often we can dig huge financial holes for ourselves. The Lord lets us fall on those holes too. God lets foolish people “eat of the fruit of their own way… be filled with their own devices…” (Prov. 1:31).
c. If we behave foolishly or wickedly and the consequences of our actions include poverty or hunger, don’t expect the Lord to bail us out. He may; He is gracious;
d. But don’t presume upon it! He may want to teach us a lesson… one we can only learn the hard way, by suffering through the consequences of our actions.
4. This passage is speaking about God Himself “casting away the substance” of the wicked.
a. This is the Lord’s doing.
b. Very often God allows criminals (bank robbers, etc.) to get caught… and lose all their substance!
c. But we believers may have OUR substance cast away by the Lord too… if our actions are displeasing to Him.
d. Haggai 1:7-11 – they looked for “much” but God “blew” upon their riches… and they were gone!
• They were selfish and demonstrated a lack of concern for the house of God.
• God simply “blew” upon the riches they thought were so secure!
• Mal. 2:1-2 – God rebuked the priests and “cursed their blessings.”
e. God can change our financial stability in a moment.
• In fact, the proverb states, that as a general rule, God casts away the substance of the wicked!
• It is especially wicked for a BELIEVER to think that he can live his life apart from God accumulating riches in this life while ignoring spiritual things… and expect God’s blessing! The rule is God CASTS AWAY the substance of the wicked.
• It is kind of silly for us as puny clay pots to think that we can defy God and hold on to our riches…
• God is the SOURCE of all blessing! He has every right to cast away the substance (riches) of the wicked… and believers behaving in a wicked, rebellious manner!
• And even if we seem to “get away with it” our whole life on earth… those riches will be seen as wood, hay, and stubble at the Bema seat!
The main thought for us: God takes care of His own!
1. Even though the passage may have some special dispensational distinctions, there is still a valid principle for us today… God takes care of His own!
2. He takes care of the righteous… the godly… the wise… the obedient… God honors those who seek to honor Him.
3. In difficult times, we can trust our Heavenly Father. He does NOT delight in seeing His children suffer hunger… (Psalm 10:1-2; 8-14)
4. The general rule is: God provides for all our needs… and above and beyond our needs!
a. There may be times when God tests our faith and ALLOWS us to suffer poverty… hunger… or some other kind of need.
b. But the RULE is: The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want! The Good Shepherd leads His sheep into green pastures and to the still waters.
• Ps. 34:9 – O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. 10The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.
• Ps. 84:11 – For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. 12O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.
• Matt. 6:25-33 – TAKE NO THOUGHT… don’t worry about such earthly needs. Do what is right… seek God first… and they will all be added to you!
• Don’t seek after the blessings… seek after God. With God comes the fringe benefit of His blessings… but He wants us to seek Him for who He is… not what He will do for us! Nobody likes that kind of a relationship!
5. Phil. 4:19 – But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Context: the Philippians had been selfless and generous. God takes care of folks like that!)
Proverbs 10:6-7
The Just and the Wicked
6 Blessings are upon the head of the just
1. The term for blessing here is a general term, which is translated lots of different ways: blessing, prosperity; praise of God; a gift, present; treaty of peace.
2. God delights in bringing blessings upon the head of the just… the righteous… those who live right before Him.
3. The just are mentioned often in Proverbs.
a. 3:33 – God blesseth the habitation of the just.
b. 4:18 – But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
c. 10:20 – The tongue of the just is as choice silver:
d. 10:31 – The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom:
e. 11:9 – through knowledge shall the just be delivered.
f. 12:13 – The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.
g. 20:7 – The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.
h. 29:27 – An unjust man is an abomination to the just
4. The “just” here is an Old Testament expression of salvation.
a. It speaks of those who are justified by faith… like Abraham.
b. It speaks of those who are just before God and demonstrate it by righteous living.
c. A similar term translated “the righteous” also refers to the saved… and it appears 47 times in Proverbs.
d. Without all the technical revelation on the subject of salvation that we possess today, the Old Testament did say much about the “just”… those justified.
e. The Old Testament (like the New Testament) also makes it clear that the just lead righteous lives!
f. Paul puts it this way: II Cor. 5:17 – if you are in Christ, you are a new creature… the old has passed away.
g. We are not saved BY good works, but we are saved UNTO good works. (Eph. 2:10)
h. Once saved, God EXPECTS a righteous lifestyle… God expects to see fruit in our lives… holiness… godliness…
5. Those who are just… and live like it can expect God’s blessing in their life.
a. A simple principle: God honors those who honor Him.
6b But violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
1. The wicked – another Old Testament term for the unsaved.
2. Proverbs has lots to say about the wicked too… (Occurs 73 times in the book!)
3. The just can expect blessing… the wicked who live wickedly can expect violence… cruelty… injustice…
4. Remember this is a proverb… not a guarantee.
a. Sometimes innocent folks do suffer violence… and are shot… murdered.
b. But most often, those who suffer violence are those who live and walk with the wicked.
c. The mob kills members of the mob… one violent gang kills members in another violent gang… the Hell’s Angels have no reason to attack you or me, but they do attack other biker gangs… where there is much adultery there are love triangle murders… often the violence is associated with drugs…
d. In other words, wicked people associate with the wicked… and thus place themselves in harm’s way.
e. A simple way to avoid violence is to obey Psalm 1 – walk not in the counsel of the ungodly… nor stand in the way of sinners… nor sit in the seat of the scornful!
5. The New American Standard translates this: “the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.” (If so, the meaning is that you just can’t trust wicked men. They say one thing, but violence and trouble is what they are really up to!
a. Either way, Solomon is linking together the wicked with violence.
b. The wicked and violence are associated. To avoid one—avoid the other!
7a The memory of the just is blessed
1. In this verse, Solomon switches from the lives of the just and the wicked to their death.
2. During the life of a just man, he can expect God’s blessings.
3. After his death, his memory will also be blessed… in the eyes of those he leaves behind.
4. This has reference to a person’s legacy. How will people remember you when you’re gone?
a. Will they remember your temper or a tender heart?
b. Will they remember you as a tightwad or generous?
c. Will they remember you as caustic and abrasive or gracious?
d. Will they remember you as one who stands or who waffles?
e. Will they remember you as one who is honest or one who stretches the truth?
f. Will they remember you as one who builds up or tears down?
g. Will they remember you as a troublemaker or a peacemaker?
h. Will they remember you as a murmurer or an encourager?
5. Solomon states that those who are just (justified by faith and demonstrate it by living a righteous life) will leave behind a fragrant odor from their life.
6. Matt. 26:6-13 – the Lord made sure that the memory of this woman was blessed!
a. She gave sacrificially to the Lord. She gave her all for the Lord.
b. At first the disciples had evil thoughts of her. They saw it as a foolish act. The Lord made sure that her memory was blessed!
7. Prov. 31:28 – Children will have blessed memories of a godly mother. So will her husband.
a. Be sure you are leaving good memories for your children… to remember you by!
b. Be careful about TODAY… don’t be snappy… irritable… grouchy… moody… That’s how they will remember you! Leave them good memories.
c. Before you know it, those kids will be off on their own… and you can’t go back and erase their memory of growing up.
d. Live godly and justly before them and you will leave them with blessed memories.
8. Heb. 13:7 –blessed memories of godly leaders!
a. I have some wonderful memories of godly leaders in my life.
b. I will be eternally grateful for their godly influence.
c. Pastors, missionaries, Bible speakers, and Sunday school teachers…
9. Psalm 112:5-6 – the memory of good men—an everlasting remembrance.
10. Barrow: “No spices can so embalm a man; no monument can so preserve his name and memory, as a pious conversation, whereby God hath been honored, and man benefited. The fame of such a person is, in the best judgments, far more precious and truly glorious, than is the fame of those who have excelled in any other deeds or qualities.”
11. Consider these good memories:
a. Jehoida: 2 Chronicles 24:15
b. David – II Kings 19:34 – For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.
c. Mary – Luke 1:48 – from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed
7b But the name of the wicked shall rot.
1. The godly leave blessed memories behind. The name of the wicked shall rot!
2. Name: Strong’s = name; reputation, fame, glory
3. The godly leave behind a reputation. So do the wicked.
4. The reputation of the wicked shall ROT!
a. What graphic language… the odor of their reputation is like a smelly, rotting corpse…
b. As the body rots in the grave, so their name shall rot… perish…
c. They lived in corruption… their name continues in corruption.
5. Psalm 9:5-6 – “thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.” (their name is put out)
a. No one wants to remember the wicked.
b. Consider how many men name their sons Paul… and how few name them Judas.
c. Consider how many women name their daughters Mary… and how few Jezebel!
6. Ecc. 8:10 – the wicked are buried and are then forgotten. (what a sad ending!)
7. Presidents are concerned about their legacy in their last days in office.
a. The point of this passage is that they should be concerned about their legacy their first day in office!
b. We too should be concerned about our lifestyle and behavior NOW… that we might leave behind pleasant memories.
c. Our emphasis is NOT on building a reputation, but rather building character… which will of itself leave a godly reputation.
d. The godly… the just who lead righteous lives will leave behind blessed memories. The reputation of the ungodly shall rot.
e. Consider it in terms of odors:
• The woman who anointed the Lord with a fragrant ointment will be remembered by that fragrant odor.
• The ungodly will leave behind a rotting odor.
• What kind of odor will you leave behind? How WILL people remember you?
• They will remember what you were… mean or kind; stingy or generous; lazy or hard working; self-centered or Christ-centered; a sharp tongue or a soft tongue; a servant or one who expects to be served?
• How will you be remembered?
Proverbs 10:8
Responsibility and Consequences
8a The wise in heart shall receive commandments…
1. Wise men are able to take orders… commandments;
a. Obviously, “receiving” the commandments implies obeying the command too!
b. The ability to receive instruction and commandments speaks of a teachable spirit… one who is willing to learn… to be corrected… instructed.
c. Samuel: “speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.” (I Sam. 3:10)
d. The kind of wisdom spoken of here is the wisdom that causes a man (or woman!) to be ready to respond to commands immediately…
e. Can you take orders? Do you have a teachable spirit?
f. Soldiers need to receive orders and carry them out.
g. Workers need to be able to take orders from their boss.
h. Children need to be able to receive orders from their parents… teachers.
i. Wives need to be able to receive orders (??) from their husband.
• With soldiers, there is no such thing as arguing or debating the order.
• Teachers give orders to students every day… homework… essay assignments…
• Soldiers that are wise will take the orders and obey without debate.
• Students that are wise will take the orders and obey without debate.
• Workers that are wise will receive orders from their boss without murmuring and complaining.
j. Wisdom demands that we hear instruction… receive commandments and respond in obedience to authority.
• Prov.1:5 – the wise man will “hear”
• Ps.119:34 – wholehearted desire to obey
• Ps.119:4-5 – pray for a heart to obey… more inclination…
• Ps.119:33-34 – a desire to obey and a resolve to obey!
k. By implication, foolish men are not able to take orders and commandments.
• Prov.1:7 – fools despise wisdom and instruction.
• Prov.19:20 – ‘Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. ‘
• Prov.13:18 – Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.
2. The wise man is able to submit to authority;
a. Receiving commandments = submitting to authority.
• Wisdom recognizes authority and responds properly to it.
• Folly bucks against authority…
b. Life is full of situations where we need to take orders from others.
• Home, school, work, local church, government, etc…
• All of these are expressions of receiving commandments from God—who is the ultimate Authority.
c. Gen.18:19 – Fathers are to give commandments to their children; children are expected to submit and receive those commandments.
• The foolish son does not submit.
• The wise son will.
d. Ps.119:15 – “respect unto thy ways.” We may not always agree with the commandments set by those in authority… but we should respect them… because it is a reflection of our respect for God—the ultimate Author of all authority.
3. Not stated, though certainly true, the wise man shall receive the BLESSING from obedience; the fool does not.
a. Ps. 25:10 – All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
b. God’s blessing is in the life of the obedient child. God chastens the disobedient child.
c. The son who receives commandments and obeys will be blessed. The one who bucks against authority and does not submit will LACK God’s blessing in their life.
4. We are to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Good soldiers take orders from their commander in chief… no questions asked.
a. Poor soldiers rebel against their orders… their commander… authority…
b. For the military to function properly, soldiers receiving orders is an absolute essential.
• If that breaks down, the military is paralyzed!
• If submission to authority breaks down… chaos results.
c. The same thing is true of the home… submission to authority is essential.
d. The same things is true in school—if you young people want to do well, you will be required to take some orders and assignments that you may not like… you may think it is a waste of time… even foolish. But to learn to take orders well is WISDOM.
e. It will prove beneficial to you in the long run! It will prove beneficial to a school… a home… a country… a church.
8b But a prating fool shall fall…
1. Prating = lip; language; speech (lit. = a fool of lips) (perhaps a big mouth)
a. This big mouth is not into hearing. He is more interested in talking.
b. He isn’t interested in receiving commandments. He thinks he’s too important.
c. Prov. 15:32 – He refuses instruction… to the detriment of his own soul.
• He won’t take advice; won’t listen to counsel; will not be governed; or taught.
2. Prov. 26:12 – a man wise in his own conceit… this is a big mouth, conceited fool who thinks he is above instruction… he thinks he is too important, too smart to humble himself and take orders from someone else. (Who do they think they are anyway?!)
a. A solider with this kind of attitude will receive a dishonorable discharge from the military.
b. A church member with this attitude will cause endless trouble for the local church.
c. A child who refuses to hear instruction but learns to shoot off his/her mouth will find himself in endless trouble… at home… at school… and if not corrected, with the law!
3. The prating fool shall FALL…
a. Fall = come to ruin; thrown down; cast down;
b. The fool who refuses to submit to authority and shoots off his mouth will come to ruin…
• The man who is all tongue usually pays little attention to his feet… his walk… and thus stumbles and falls.
• The student who demonstrates this kind of folly will come to ruin… his studies will suffer.
• The church which has members who demonstrate this kind of folly will come to ruin… unless the insubordination and rebellion is dealt with.
• The army with soldiers who do not take orders will come to ruin…
• The home where the wife refuses to submit… where the children are not made to obey… will come to ruin…
c. Prov.1:29-31 – there are consequences for rejecting counsel… for refusing to hear instruction… to refusing to receive commandments.
d. Don’t you be a prating fool—a fool of lips. Rather be wise and be willing to receive instruction.
• Jas. 1:19 – Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
• Ecc. 5:1-2 – be more ready to hear… be not rash with thy mouth…
Proverbs 10:9
Walking Uprightly
9a He that walketh uprightly…
1. Walketh = one’s whole manner of life.
a. Our life consists of all the steps we take.
b. Each step is important… one step in the wrong direction can take us WAY out of the way over time.
c. Every decision we make in life is like another step we take in our walk along the road of life.
d. Every step we take sets the direction for the next step…
e. The steps taken together constitute our walk… and our walk overall constitutes our life.
f. The concept of our life as a WALK is interesting because it weaves together:
• The individual steps with the whole walk…
• The present (each step) with our life as a whole… (all the steps taken thus far… and all the steps not yet taken)
• The direction of one step (decision) and its relationship to the direction of one’s life as a whole…
2. Uprightly = integrity, completeness, innocence, simplicity
a. An upright person speaks of that which is honest, innocent, simplicity or sincerity, nothing to hide, open, and full of integrity.
b. Job 1:8 – Job walked uprightly. He was not perfect, but his walk was upright… honest with God.
c. Gen.17:1 – Abraham was commanded to be “perfect” – same root word as upright. (see margin note)
d. An upright walk (perfect walk) is not one of sinless perfection. Rather it is a life characterized by obedience…
3. An upright walk in the book of Proverbs.
a. Prov.14:2 – An upright walk is one that is conducted in the fear of the LORD.
• A man who walks in uprightness is one who fears God.
• But the fear of the Lord will also CAUSE a man to walk uprightly.
• If you fear God, you will be afraid to step out of line!
• The fear of God and a godly, upright walk go hand in hand.
• You want to learn to fear God more? Spend more time in His Word! This whole book is designed to instill the fear of God in us!
• Reading of how God dealt with men who strayed away from the upright walk should motivate us to walk uprightly… read about the flood… the Babylonian invasion… the Tribulation Period!
• Even those chapters in the Minor Prophets that you don’t seem to get much out of — it should instill the fear of God into us. That is precious!
b. Prov. 16:17 – the way of the upright departs from evil.
• The highway of the upright is to depart from evil.
• Why? Because the highway is characterized by the fear of God… which causes us to depart from evil!
c. Prov. 15:21 – An upright walk is one that is walked in the light… with understanding of spiritual things.
• An upright walk is characterized by spiritual understanding… discernment…
• I have driven down Ermer Road enough to know to look for potholes… I know where they are so I can avoid them.
• An understanding of spiritual truth will keep us safe as we walk down the pathway of life too.
• The upright walk is not constantly falling into the potholes… or stumbling over the stumblingblocks. Understanding enables him to avoid those troubles.
• 2:13 – the path of the upright is light
• Note the two pathways: the way of darkness; the other is the way of the upright… light!
• Col. 1:9-10 – pray for light… spiritual discernment that we might WALK WORTHY!
d. Prov. 2:20 – the upright walk is one that is traveled not alone, but with other good men.
• The one who desires to walk uprightly will not walk alone, but will choose good men to walk with!
• That is one of the reasons for the local church… that we might walk together… and encourage one another to keep on walking uprightly… and to admonish one another when we begin to stray…
• We NEED fellowship. If you know a believer who is trying to walk with the world and has precious little fellowship with believers… drag them away… drag them back to the path of the upright.
• Good men who walk uprightly enjoy the fellowship of other good men who walk uprightly.
e. Prov. 29:27 – the upright man is hated by the world.
• Not surprisingly, good men who walk uprightly are hated by wicked men.
• The upright are hated by the world… they hate the narrow way.
• The upright are also hated by believers who have the world in their heart… they too are not too fond of the straight and narrow way. They prefer to find a group of likeminded worldly believers… birds of a feather flock together.
f. Prov. 11:20 – the upright in the way are a delight to God.
• While the world will hate us for our upright walk… and even some believers will not appreciate the upright walk… the good news is that it is a delight to the One who counts! God!
• If you are walking uprightly in the way, you bring delight to God’s heart! Isn’t that awesome?!
Walking uprightly summarized:
Walking in innocence and obedience
Walking in the light…
Walking in the fear of God… departing from evil…
Walking in fellowship with good men who also walk uprightly…
Walking in such a way as to arouse the hatred of the world, but the delight of God!
9a He that walketh uprightly, walketh surely…
1.) Walketh: two different Hebrew words
a. First = walk; manner of life
b. Second = to go, walk, come, depart, proceed, move, go away
2.) Surely = safely 17, safety 9, carelessly 3, securely 2, assurance 1, boldly 1, care 1, confidence 1, hope 1, secure 1, surely 1;
3.) The one who walks uprightly is SAFE!
a. Prov. 2:7 – he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
• Buckler – a small shield… for protection.
• God protects those who walk uprightly… they are safe…
• As soon as we decide to step OUT of the way… and no longer walk uprightly… we are not longer safe!
• It is like taking off a shield in the midst of a battle. You could be slain!
• The enemy is hurling fiery darts at us… poison arrows. It doesn’t make any sense to remove our God-given protective shield, does it?
• Would you want to be goalie in hockey without any protective equipment? Sooner or later you’re going to get seriously hurt.
• If we walk uprightly, we have GOD as our shield and buckler. Stepping OUT OF the way of uprightness is like stepping out of our buckler… out of our layer of protection.
• Such a move can have disastrous results!
b. Prov. 3:23 – Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
• Solomon tells his son in this section that if he holds on to wisdom and discretion, then his walk will be safe.
• An upright walk is one that is conducted according to the principles of spiritual wisdom and discernment.
• Such a walk is also SAFE! No tripping up… no stumbling…
c. Prov. 28:18 – deliverance for those who walk uprightly.
• This isn’t talking about salvation from hell… otherwise, he is saying that a good life results in salvation.
• Salvation here means (as it often does in the Old Testament) deliverance from earthly troubles…
• People who drink and drive have to worry about wrapping their car around a telephone pole. The one who walks uprightly doesn’t have to worry about that. He has been delivered from that.
• This man is saved… safe… he proceeds upon sure ground.
• An upright walk is a safe walk.
• The upright man is concerned about safety… he doesn’t skate on thin ice… he doesn’t stand on the edge of cliff… he takes the safe route.
• We too should be concerned about our spiritual safety too…
• There are lots of things that might be dangerous for us spiritually… stay away!
• There may be a crowd of kids at school who are known for trouble… or who flirt with trouble…stay away…
• Your teacher gives you an important homework assignment, but you can’t remember whether she said to do 1 and 5 or 1-5. Do the safest thing… do 1-5! Better safe than sorry.
• Your parents aren’t home and you’re not sure if a certain TV show is OK or not. Take the safe route—if you’re not sure, then don’t watch it!
• The upright path will save us from getting into trouble! Always!
• Sometimes we ask the Lord to send us down an easy path. We should be asking Him to send us down a SURE path… a safe road!
d. Prov. 11:3 – the integrity of the upright will guide them…
• Not only is the way of the upright safe, it is guided in the right direction… it stays on track.
• Integrity can guide… honesty… sincerity… purity…
• How much better is it to be guided in the right direction than to wander in the wrong direction!
• When you are walking in the pathway of the upright and you come to a fork in the road, always choose the BEST way to travel… the safest… the right way…
• It may be a difficult way, but it is the safest… the best.
e. Prov. 11:6 – their righteousness will deliver them…
• Righteousness also keeps the upright safe… and delivers him from many troubles and heartaches.
• Do things right… and you will be delivered from all the troubles that come from NOT doing it right!
• Put the roof on your house right, and it will keep you warm, dry, and secure for many years to come. Put it on wrong… and it will be a headache for many years to come.
• Life is like that. Do things the right way and you will delivered from horrors of wrong decisions… wrong actions.
• Do your taxes wrong (cheating!) and you may pay a steep price. But do your taxes right… and you are safe. Righteousness in doing taxes delivers you from the IRS… and perhaps jail!
• Many believers do not enter into marriage right. They may marry an unbeliever… and may suffer for it later. The one who approaches marriage properly, will be delivered from many heartaches.
• A man who runs a business and doesn’t do his jobs right (cutting corners; etc.) will suffer… he will lose customers… earn a bad reputation.
• The same thing holds true in running a church. If we do things right (God’s way) then we will be delivered from all kinds of trouble.
• Train your children the right way… according to the priorities found in the Word… and that will deliver you from years of regret and heartaches.
• The righteousness of the upright WILL deliver them!
f. Prov. 12:6 – the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
• Once again, uprightness delivers… keeps us safe.
• Here Solomon is speaking about the safety that comes as a result of a mouth that is characterized by uprightness… honesty… sincerity… openness.
• The opposite is true too. If our mouth is NOT characterized by uprightness… it will get us into a lot of trouble! (lose friends; job; earn a poor reputation; etc…)
• Watching our mouth will keep us safe… it might prevent you from getting into a fight… from causing division…
g. Prov. 14:11 – the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
• You want your life… your household to flourish? Then walk uprightly… do things right… God’s Way…
• Flourish = blossom.
• This speaks of being fruitful… having God’s blessing upon your household.
• The alternative is not too encouraging… overthrown!
• Psalm 84:11 – the way of the upright is the way of blessing from God.
The safety of the one who is upright:
God is our buckler… shield…
We won’t stumble… safe…
Delivered from trouble…
Guided through life…
Flourishing… blessed of God
Proverbs 10:10
He that Winketh with the Eye
Winking with the eye:
1. Prov. 6:13-14 – The one who winks with his eye is called a naughty person.
a. He uses his eyes to communicate… in context, an evil message! He uses the rest of his body to communicate too!
2. The eyes are in a sense the windows to the soul… (In fact, Solomon speaks of our eyes as windows in Ecc. 12:3 – windows be darkened = losing vision)
3. You can say a lot with your eyes…
a. Lots of messages can be communicated with our eyes…
b. We can communicate suspicion… surprise… disgust… disbelief… mocking…
c. Have you ever noticed in a group of people talking that there are several silent conversations taking place in the background through body language? (While the teacher is teaching a class—the kids can be silently saying with their eyes “This is boring!” or “This is awesome!!”
d. We can smile approvingly with our eyes…
e. But eyes can also scowl… glare… and say “I hate you!”
f. Today a wink can mean several things:
• It can express flirtation… making a pass…
• It can also mean, “I’m not telling the truth…”
• It can be a grandfatherly way of saying “Hi” or showing attention.
• It is often used in pulling pranks or jokes on people—but even there it has the same meaning—deception… although not malicious.
4. In different cultures and in different time periods, there were no doubt different kinds of signals sent…
a. Ex: a signal in one culture might be a sign of friendliness, but a huge insult in another culture!
b. It is hard to know for sure the exact meaning of winking with the eyes in the mind of the ancient Jews.
5. Context: There are several things we DO know from Scripture about “winking”
a. Prov. 10:10 – the one who winks causes sorrow… to others. It is hurtful…
b. Prov. 6:13 – it had an evil connotation—naughty persons winked.
c. Ps. 35:19 – the psalmist was afraid that his enemy would “wink” at him.
d. Job 15:12 – Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at… (Here it was used in an evil connotation—with one whose heart carried him away… and he turned away from God.)
e. Acts 17:30 – And the times of this ignorance God winked at; God “overlooked” something.
f. Summary: winking was used of:
• Enemies; naughty persons
• Men feared being winked at
• It results in sorrow or hurt
• Usually appears in an evil context. (nothing cheerful)
6. But regardless of the exact meaning of a wink in Bible times, it was a means of communicating a message…
a. The naughty person used a wink of his eye for evil purposes…
b. With the wink of an eye he might be communicating that what he is saying is not true… or “don’t believe what so and so is saying.”
c. We can say a lot without opening our mouth.
7. The one who winks “causes sorrow.”
a. Sorrow: pain, hurt, injury, wound
b. Winking causes sorrow to others, while bringing a kind of selfish gratification to the one winking.
c. Winking involves two or more people. One person winks AT another person… or perhaps at a group of people.
• It is done behind the back of someone else… to deceive them…
• It is a way of making division… us against him or against them.
• It involves some folks who are “in” on the deception, and others who are left in the dark.
• There is the one who winks and his accomplices AND the one who is being deceived.
d. Thus, a lot of damage can be done by “winking.”
• It can be funny if it is a well-intentioned joke.
• But, if the intentions are not so good, it can hurt.
• It would be hurtful to discover that a group of your friends are all privy to something, and they left you out. It makes you feel like an outsider… that they are against you… left out…
• It can be even more sinister—a wink can be a sign to one’s accomplices when to come in to assist him in executing his wicked plot…
e. Actually, this kind of divisiveness is hurtful no matter HOW it is conducted! (Wink or no wink!)
• The SPIRIT of what Solomon is saying here certainly extends beyond the mechanics of it—winking.
• The spirit of the proverbs has to do with deceiving others unto their hurt.
• Matt. 26:48 – Judas used a different mechanism to accomplish the same thing: a kiss! All the soldiers knew what the kiss meant… and Judas assumed Jesus did not.
8. Wise parents will deal with the messages sent by body language from their child as if it were vocalized—it is the same thing.
a. The child is communicating a message…
b. The glare… the rolling of the eyes…
c. He doesn’t have to say “I hate you” or “You’re stupid”—but the eyes may say it.
d. That is rebellion just as much as if it were vocalized.
e. They are practicing deception or inflicting hurt… through winking!
f. If learned that he can communicate that message silently… it will only be a matter of time before he communicates it vocally.
g. And actually, both are equally wrong. The rebellion is in his heart… and WILL come out one way or another.
10b A prating fool shall fall…
1. Prating = lip; language; speech (lit. = a fool of lips)
a. In this context, it describes someone who is “lippy”… “mouthy”… one who is a big mouth.
b. III John 10 – prating against us with malicious words.
c. However, this big mouth doesn’t communicate with his mouth, but rather with his eyes… he speaks with his eyes…
d. The same expression is found in 10:8.
• In this verse, the prating fool is contrasted to one who receives commandments.
• The wise man receives commandments…
• The mouthy fool will not listen or receive… he is a big mouth!
e. In both contexts, the fool is one who communicates a lot… more than he should.
f. Vs. 10 – this prating fool communicated with his eyes… he should have kept his eyes open… or his mouth shut… same thing!
g. In Prov. 10:10, the prating fool is the one who winks with his eye…
• He is deceptive…
• His communications are not honest…
• He has set himself up for a fall.
2. The prating fool shall FALL…
a. Fall = come to ruin; thrown down; cast down;
b. Whether he speaks with his mouth or his eyes… his malicious intent will catch up to him. He is in for a fall!
c. The fool who deceives others for his own selfish gratification will come to ruin…
d. Eventually, his deception will be discovered…
3. The fool FALLS a lot in the book of Proverbs!
a. 11:5b – the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
b. 11:28 – He that trusteth in his riches shall fall:
c. 16:18 – Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
d. 26:27 – Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein:
e. 28:10 – Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit…
4. Judas gave a secret sign to his accomplices…
a. At first, Judas thought that he won. He gained 30 pieces of silver.
b. But in the end, his secret sign was discovered. His wicked intentions were made public. His name is now infamous.
c. Judas was discovered. He ultimately threw away the 30 pieces of silver… and “fell down headlong” after committing suicide… out of pure guilt and shame… (Acts 1:18-19)
d. When we give secret signs… and use deception, we find ourselves in some unsavory company!
5. How much better to use wisdom—and avoid this kind of winking deception—or deception of any stripe!
a. Speak the truth in love…
b. Let your body language also speak the truth in love…
c. Prov. 4:23 – Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
• Instead of winking with the eyes, let your eyes look straight ahead… honest… open…
• Be honest with your tongue… AND your eyes… Honesty applies to body language too!
d. II Cor. 8:21 – Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
e. Prov. 3:3 – Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
• Is honesty written upon the table of your heart? Is honesty bound around your neck?
• It should characterize us as believers. Truth and honesty and integrity!
Proverbs 10:11
The Mouth of the Righteous Man
Introduction:
1. This is an important topic in Proverbs.
2. Consider how often the subject appears:
a. Mouth – 52 times
b. Lips – 42 times
c. Words – 40 times
d. Tongue – 19 times
e. About 150 times in 31 chapters (5 times per chapter!)
f. That does not even include the many other times the topic appears using different wording…
3. This is a huge subject in the book of Proverbs. Can you guess why?
a. James says, “in many things, we all offend” (3:2)
b. The tongue is a fire; a world of iniquity! (3:6)
c. The tongue can no man tame! (3:7-8)
4. Our tongue is flapping all day long…
a. It constantly expresses what is going on in our heart at the moment.
b. What it expresses is not always in harmony with the holiness of God.
c. This is a spiritual problem we all face… some more than others… but let’s face it—we ALL have problems with our mouths.
11a The mouth of a righteous man
1. Most of the passages in Proverbs deal with a froward mouth… warnings about the evil that comes out of our mouths.
a. Most of the passages are warnings about the evil use of our mouth.
b. However, this verse is very positive about the mouth.
c. This verse speaks of the GOOD that can and should come from our mouths.
2. Here Solomon speaks about the mouth of a righteous man… a godly man.
a. A righteous man will speak of righteous things.
b. This is the RULE. Obviously there are exceptions.
• Sometimes righteous men speak evil things… they murmur… complain… gossip… slander… tear down…
• But as a rule, righteous men speak of righteous things.
c. Ps. 37:30 – The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
• Why does the righteous man speak wisely? Why is he discerning?
• Because the Law of God is in his heart. He is a man of the Scriptures!
• His mouth speaks of wisdom because wisdom is in his heart.
• This is good old-fashioned common sense: if you want to hear someone speak of righteousness, then go to a righteous man!
• If you want to hear Chinese spoken, go to a Chinaman. If you want to hear Russian spoken, go to a Russian. If you want to hear French spoken, go to a Frenchman. And if you want to hear righteousness spoken, go to a righteous man! It only makes sense.
• You won’t hear righteousness spoken by the ungodly. They don’t speak that language. It is foreign to them.
• Rom. 3:13-14 – the mouth of the ungodly.
d. 10:31 – The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom:
• The word for “just” here is the same Hebrew word as is translated righteous in 10:11. (Hence, this is the mouth of the righteous…)
• Here Solomon states that the mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom.
• If you want wisdom, go to a righteous man.
• The Bible speaks often about our need for counsel.
• One of the most important pieces of counsel we will ever receive is when we are counselled as to where to find good counsel!
• Walk NOT in the counsel of the ungodly. (Ps. 1:1)
• But if you want good counsel… if you want wisdom… then go to a place where you can get it! Go to a wise man… a godly man… a righteous man.
• Not every believer qualifies. Sometimes well meaning, but ill taught Christians give poor counsel… worldly counsel… spiritually damaging counsel.
• But the mouth of the just is a source for WISDOM.
e. 10:32 – The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable.
• The righteous man also knows what is acceptable. (fitting; good; appropriate)
• Righteous men have discernment… and not only know what is good and right, but they also know what is an appropriate way to communicate it… they seem to have discernment in knowing the appropriate timing… a fitting way to present it…
• Col. 4:5 – Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
• Prov. 25:15 – a soft tongue breaketh the bone.
• I have heard some believers speak truth… but in a loud, boisterous, obnoxious way.
• They don’t seem to know an appropriate manner and tone to say it… a fitting context in which to speak… or the proper timing…
• The lips of the righteous man know what is acceptable… fitting.
• Pray for that kind of discernment. It is priceless beyond rubies!
11a The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life
1. A well of life—figurative language
a. A well is a SOURCE of water… a source of something to refresh the soul.
• Those who live in a desert area go to the well weary, and expect to be refreshed.
• The well is FULL of water… cool, refreshing water.
• Nothing is better than water when you are hot and thirsty.
• A thirsty soul needs water… and a well is a deep source that meets that need.
b. The mouth of man is a SOURCE too.
• The mouth of the wicked is a source of evil… because the man is evil… his heart is evil. (Matt. 15:18-19)
» The mouth of the wicked is a well of sin and death…
» When you talk to an evil man you can expect evil to pour forth from his mouth.
» A contaminated well brings forth contaminated water.
• The mouth of the righteous is a well of life.
» If the man’s heart is right with God… a pure heart… a regenerated and Spirit filled heart… then that which comes out of the mouth is going to be good…
» Out of that man’s heart come righteousness and life…
• Examples of the mouth of the righteous in Proverbs.
» Prov. 10:20-21 -T he tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth. 21The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
» 12:14 – A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: (see 13:2)
» Just as a well is a place where the body is satisfied… thirst is quenched… the lips are “fed” what they need… so too the mouth of the righteous brings satisfaction… and quenches thirst.
» Is your mouth like that? Does it satisfy or does it murmur and spew out dissatisfaction?
» It is difficult to even be around folks who are constantly complaining… about their health… the weather… politicians…
» Sure, there are a lot of things to complain about.
» But the righteous man uses his mouth more positively. His mouth is a well of life… a source of good…
» There may be times when it is necessary to be negative… but over all, his mouth is full of good.
2. A well is an unending source… the water just keeps coming and coming.
a. So too with the things that tend toward life… that aid the abundant life…
b. In a righteous man, the mouth will be an unending source of life and good.
c. One expects water every time he goes to the well.
d. One should expect to hear GOOD every time a righteous man opens his mouth.
e. You don’t have to cringe wondering what he’s going to say… (Will his language be off color? Will his joke be irreverent? Will his language be offensive?)
f. A righteous man will speak righteously! Good things continually come from his mouth. There is no need to be constantly on guard around him. You can trust him.
3. Of course, the problem not mentioned by Solomon is the problem of inconsistency. James brings up that problem.
a. Jas. 3:10 – out of the same mouth proceeds blessing (at times) and cursings (at times.)
b. Vs. 9 – We go to church and bless God’s holy name… and then ride home from church and get in an argument with our wife or yell at the kids!
c. Vs. 11-12 – Nature tells us that this kind of behavior is not right…
d. The problem: we have two natures! (sin and new nature)
• A righteous man still has two natures… and still has the potential to use his tongue for good or evil.
• If evil is coming out of our mouth, our old nature is in control.
• If good is coming out of our mouth, the new nature is in control.
e. The discouraging news is that NO MAN has ever tamed the tongue… completely. (Jas. 3:8)
f. The encouraging news is that our sin nature was nailed to the tree… crucified with Christ… and by faith we can walk in newness of life.
• For the believer today, the answer is the Holy Spirit.
• The Spirit in us is also like a well of water springing up… living water! (John 7:38)
• The mouth of the believer, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, will also be a well of life… a source of good for others…
g. We don’t HAVE to allow our tongue to sin. It is our choice.
h. But, it is a choice we need to be on guard against at all times… vigilance.
4. The mouth of the righteous is a well of life… meant for the good of those who come to the well.
a. Eph. 4:29 – Use your tongue to minister grace to the hearers!
b. Col. 3:16-17 – You want to be used of the Lord? Do you want your tongue to be a source of good… a well of life? Then let the Word of God dwell richly in your heart! If it’s in your heart, it will come out of your mouth.
Proverbs 10:12a
What Kind of People Stir Up Strife?
Introduction:
1. Solomon studied many aspects of life and recorded many of his findings in Proverbs.
2. He studied ants, spiders, birds… and wrote down his observations.
3. He also studied human beings… and recorded his observations as well…
a. Thus, in Proverbs, we have a divinely inspired book on human psychology.
b. There is nothing wrong with psychology… the study of man.
c. While Proverbs is not a book on psychology per se, it does contain a lot of information about the human psyche…
d. What we learn about the human psyche in this book is true.
e. What men write about psychology is to be questioned… realizing that mere men who write on human nature are not writing objectively—but from a fallen, twisted perspective.
4. Let’s look at God’s analysis of the troublemaker… one who stirs up strife. What is he or she like?
Description of the Troublemaker
1. He is characterized by hatred.
a. 10:12 – hatred stirs up strife.
• The troublemaker is often angry and full of hate for one reason or another.
• He may be bitter over some low blow he perceives having been done to him.
• He may have a chip on his shoulder over being slighted… overlooked…
• This hatred could have been brought on by envy, jealousy, slander, insult… any number of events in life.
• When someone has hatred in their heart, look out! They are a time bomb ticking away… ready to explode into trouble.
• There are lots of examples in the Bible of men who hated others… and the trouble that resulted from it: Cain; Esau; Joseph’s brothers; Haman hated Mordecai; Saul hated David; the other presidents hated Daniel…
b. 10:18 – hatred is sometimes hidden under a nice exterior—lying lips.
• Some folks may stir up trouble… and others may have no idea of the hatred that is in their heart… because lying lips cover up the hatred.
• Hatred is a vicious sin. Get rid of it. Confess it. Forsake it. It can be the source of all kinds of trouble being stirred up.
• Don’t let hatred boil up in your heart.
c. 26:24-26 – hatred is sometimes hidden by deceit.
• A hateful man or woman will often have hatred laid up within…
• BUT—his or her words are sweet. You would never know that there are 7 abominations in his heart.
• The only good news is that that deceptive hatred is often discovered.
• But until it is exposed = a LOT of trouble and hurt can be inflicted on many people!
2. He has a big mouth.
a. Prov. 18:6 – fools lips engage in contention.
• This implies that the one who enters into contentions may have a big mouth… his LIPS enter into contention.
• His folly lies in his lips… his big mouth…
b. Prov. 16:27-28 – the lips of this man is like a burning fire…
• One little word from his mouth can set a whole house on fire… a church on fire…
• He uses his mouth to sow strife… (Sowing = spreading the seeds of strife everywhere he goes.)
• He is like Johnny Appleseed—only he is planting trouble wherever he goes.
• We have all come in contact with this kind of person.
• They separate chief friends. By their words… gossip… innuendoes… they drive wedges between people… friends, church members, parents and children, even between spouses!
• The results of their strife can be disastrous for relationships.
3. He is contentious by nature…
a. He digs up evil… (16:27)
• Even after an issue has been laid to rest… buried… he digs it up again…
• He just won’t let an issue die and be buried. He insists on digging up the rotting corpse… and exposing everyone to its stench.
• You want strife to end? Don’t dig it up. Keep it buried… even if you have to eat a little humble pie to do so… even if the big mouth gets the last word… suffer yourself to be defrauded if necessary… just keep it buried.
• Once you dig it up—you start the controversy all over again.
b. 26:20-21 – a contentious man stirs up strife—it is his nature; he loves it.
• A contentious man loves to keep the flames of the fire burning… he just loves a good fight…
• Solomon analyzed the population sample he came in contact with and noted that a certain percentage of men just love to argue… they are contentious by nature… and will do whatever it takes to keep the controversy alive.
• Just like a fire—most controversies among men will die out on their own if no more fuel is added to the flames. But some men—like pyromaniacs—are intent on stoking the fire with more fuel.
4. He loves sin.
a. 17:19 – he who loves transgression loves strife.
b. These two character traits go hand in hand.
c. Over the years, Solomon observed that men who caused trouble and strife seemed to love transgression… they love crossing the line…
d. You have to love sin to love strife—for when you cause strife, you are multiplying sin: your sin… and you drag many others into sin… strife… anger… cursing… slander… division…
e. It is like saying, the one who loves throwing rocks in a lake loves watching the ripple effect of his actions.
5. He is full of anger.
a. 29:22 – an angry man stirs up strife.
• An angry man is one who has no self-control.
• He is not filled with the Spirit—but is filled with anger.
• A furious man ABOUNDS in sin… and trouble.
• 15:18 – a wrathful man stirs up strife.
• The man or woman who cannot or does not control his anger is the source of unlimited trouble…
• You want to rid your home of strife? Keep strife out of the church? The workplace? Keep your heart with all diligence! Be filled with the Spirit… do not let the sun go down upon your wrath!
6. He is proud.
a. 28:25 – he that is of a proud heart stirs up strife.
• If there is pride in the heart… it often manifests itself in strife.
• Pride says, “I want my way.” “I’m right; you’re wrong.”
• Pride says, “Me first.”
• I am not getting the respect I deserve; the position I deserve
• I demand the last word. No one is going to speak to me like that! No one is going to insult me.
• Pride refuses to be humbled… and humility is NEEDED to end strife… to prevent strife…
b. 13:10 – only by pride comes contention
• Every single controversy among men comes about as a result of pride—on one party or both.
• If people are fighting… if there is a controversy… if there is strife… rest assured, somewhere beneath the surface is human pride!
c. Solomon observed troublemakers and noticed that in every single case—they were proud men.
7. Sometimes, troublemakers are drunks… or druggies.
a. 23:29-30 – a drunk causes much contention… they are in a fighting mode.
b. A person who is drunk has no self-control… the evil in his heart is going to come out…
8. The New Testament also describes the troublemaker… the one who sows strife and breeds contention:
a. Jas.4:1 – worldly lusts in men are the cause of strife and contention in the church.
• James asks the question, “Where do wars and controversies come from?”
• His answer: from your lusts… desires.
• What kind of lust? It is not sexual lust.
• Rather, he is speaking of worldly lusts (4:4)
• This is a source of MUCH strife in the local church.
» It was the case in the Exodus—it was a mixed multitude that caused so much strife… not the godly remnant.
» There will always be those who seek to tear down our standards… who seek to introduce worldly music… water down the message… make things lighter… less convicting… more fun… like the world.
» That will always be a source of strife and controversy between them and the godly remnant.
» They will murmur and complain—just like the mixed multitude did in the wilderness.
» The worldly professors constantly cause strife and anguish for the godly remnant.
b. I Cor. 3:3 – carnal men produce strife…
• All of the above indicate that it is the carnal believer who causes strife… one who is not under the control of the Spirit of God, but is under the control of the flesh.
• It is not immaturity, but carnality that results in strife.
• The carnal believer walks like “men”… unsaved men. He behaves no differently.
• Strife is ALWAYS the result of carnality among believers.
c. Jas. 3:14-16 – one influenced by demons stirs up strife.
• James lets us know something else about the troublemakers in the local church—they are influenced by demons!
• Strife in the local church (in God’s program for this age) is often rooted in demonic influence. (not possession—but influence)
• The devil would like nothing more than to ruin God’s work from within.
• Unfortunately, he finds no shortage of volunteers in his service.
• A true believer would not willingly be used of the devil… but they can be… unawares… vessels for the evil master’s use!
• What an awful thought… but one we should be apprised of.
• If God’s goal is peace and unity in the Body of Christ, rest assured that the devil’s plan is disunity and unrest… schism…
Conclusion: The Bible gives us a pretty good insight into the character… the heart and mind of a troublemaker:
1. He is characterized by:
• Hatred
• Deceit
• A big mouth
• Contentious
• Loves sin
• An angry man
• Proud
• Worldly lusts
• Carnal
• Demonically influenced
Proverbs 10:12b
Love Covereth All Sins
Introduction:
1. This verse is a parallelism of opposites: love and hate; cover and stirring up;
2. The last time in Proverbs we looked at the first half: hatred that stirs up strife. We noted that Proverbs has a lot to say about troublemakers!
3. The opposite of stirring up strife through hatred is now discussed: exercising LOVE to cover up sins.
4. This passage is quoted or alluded to by both Peter (4;8) and James (5:20)
WHAT does this NOT mean?
• Liberals have interpreted the verse to mean that kindness and love will cover our sins in the sense of atoning for sin. (good works will make up for our sins)
• It does not mean a spiritually insensitive indifference to sin.
• Jesus certainly did not cover up all the sins of the Pharisees.
• John the Baptist didn’t cover up the sin of Herod.
• It does not mean covering up a crime from the authorities.
• It does not mean covering up our own sins.
HOW does love cover sin?
1. Sometimes love covers sin by going to a brother and POINTING OUT HIS SIN… in love… and meekness.
a. Matt. 18:15-18 – When a fault between believers is settled on a one to one basis, the sin can be covered up permanently. It need not be repeated.
• We are to seek his restoration… confession to God and forgiveness from God.
• THEN his sin is truly covered—covered by the blood of Christ and forgiven. (I John 1:9)
• But if the brother doesn’t respond, the sin may not be covered.
b. James 5:19-20 – James quotes Proverbs 10:12 and applies it to restoration of a brother.
• It is a brother (one of YOU)
• A brother errs (wanders) from the truth—involved in false doctrine or wrong practice.
• If a brother coverts him (causes him to turn around and come home), he has saved a soul from death (God may have taken his life!)
• And he covered a multitude of sins—restored a brother from a life of sin… now that brother walks with God.
• Anyone who is willing to restore a brother like that is demonstrating Christlike LOVE!
2. Sometimes love covers up sin by OVERLOOKING it.
a. When a believer loses their temper… when a brother says an unkind word… an indiscretion… when a brother speaks a word of slander in passing… (a little dig)…
b. There is a time to rebuke; there is a time to remain silent too. Pray for discernment to know the difference. (Ecc. 3:7)
• Matt. 23 – Jesus rebuked the Scribes and Pharisees.
• John 8:3-11 – Jesus attempted to cover up the sin of the woman caught in adultery. He did not ignore her sin, but forgave her… and did what He could to take it OUT of the limelight.
c. One who walks worthily will “forbear one another in love.” (Eph. 4:2)
• We are to forbear one another… bear with one another’s shortcomings… faults…
• Note that this is done in love. Love forbears and covers the faults of others. Hatred digs them up and exposes to the public eye.
d. I Cor. 13:7 – love bears all things… even our faults and indiscretions…
e. Love seeks to cover it up… by not repeating it. (Prov. 17:9)
• This is a more aggressive wording. It involves actively SEEKING to do deeds of love by covering up sin.
• This implies more than passively overlooking a sin. This implies actively seeking to cover it up.
f. Ex: Joseph to his brothers (Gen. 45:5-8)
• What a perfect opportunity to expose their sin and rub it in their face.
• He could have made them pay dearly.
• Instead, Joseph chose to bury it. It was history.
• It must have been tempting for Joseph to seek revenge… he certainly would have been justified in the eyes of men after what his brothers did to him!
• Love covers sin; hatred stirs up strife and drags out the controversy.
• Have you ever been in a position to rub someone’s sin in their face? It feels good to get even… but it’s sin.
• Love covers it up… hatred stirs it up.
g. Overlooking the faults and sins of others often involves forgiveness—if the offence is against you.
• Wicked men and righteous men both overlook sin—but for different reasons.
• The wicked hide their own sin: deceit.
• The righteous hides the sins of others: forgiveness.
• The word for “cover” is translated “forgiven” in Ps.32:1
• When someone sins against you, are you able to cover it up? Forgive them without making a big deal of it?
• Some sins against you may require going to the brother (if it is eating away at you…)
• On other occasions it is best to simply bury it… cover it up… and not spread it.
3. Sometimes love covers up sin by NOT EXPOSING IT.
a. Shem and Japheth (Gen. 9:23)
b. It was a shameful thing that did not need to be looked at, exposed, or discussed. (Eph. 5:12)
c. The Bible describes much sinful behavior (adultery; homosexuality; murder; incest) — but (unlike Hollywood) it does so without the gory and grisly details! It covers them up.
d. Even if a sin has been exposed, love covers up the shameful details.
4. I have known believers who have gone overboard in one direction or the other with this issue.
a. Some make a big deal out of every sin and infraction and insist that discipline be executed each and every time.
b. Others seem to overlook every sin as if it were nothing… taking a light view of sin.
c. There needs to be discernment exercised in knowing what to do in different situations.
d. These two concepts also seem to describe two different parenting types: the military drill sergeant vs. the lenient parent who is indifferent towards sin.
e. As in everything, there needs to be a discerning balance. Going overboard in any direction is never a good idea.
5. Love will not only overlook the sin—but it will overlook the offence.
a. It will not hold grudges… ill feelings toward the offender…
b. It will be ready to bury the offence… not bring it up again…
6. By this kind of love, strife is avoided. (work; home; church)
a. When someone does or says something against you, are you able to say, “It was an oversight; it was done through forgetfulness; it was an oversight”… in some way to put the best construction on it.
b. Or do you have to dig up every word said about you? Every deed?
c. I have dealt with some folks who seem to have been on a rampage in what they called “a quest for truth.” “I just want to know the truth.” When in reality, they are bent on digging up dirt…
d. How much better to be able to bury dirt… to overlook indiscretions of others… to cover a multitude of sins… that’s love.
Proverbs 10:13-14
Wisdom and Folly Contrasted Again
The Wise Man
1. He has understanding.
a. “Him that hath understanding…”—the first description of the wise man in this context.
b. He HAS it… he possesses it… it belongs to him.
c. How did this man obtain his wisdom and understanding? He listened… he paid attention…(Prov. 1:5)
• O, if only we would listen better!
• I know it’s hard to pay attention during a long class… or a long sermon… it’s easy to tune the teacher out.
• But what increase would be ours if we would try.
• Try this sometime: listen to a sermon or Sunday school class in person… and then play a tape of it later and see if you hear something new!
• A wise husband will hear his wife—really listen! A Wise wife will do the same… and wise children will pay attention when their parents speak…
• Prov. 9:9 – he takes instruction and increases in wisdom.
• When Solomon speaks of the wisdom of man who has understanding, he doesn’t mean that the wise man was BORN with this wisdom. He got it the old fashioned way!
2. He speaks Wisdom.
a. He IS wise, and since he has wisdom in his heart, it comes out of his mouth.
b. Wise lips are the fruit of an understanding heart.
c. Matt. 12:34-35 – What’s in his heart will eventually come out. Hypocrites are good at covering it up for a while…
d. Prov. 17:28 – that’s why a fool can appear to be wise if he keeps his mouth shut… but as soon as he opens it, he exposes himself to be a fool.
e. But when a wise man speaks, wisdom comes out!
• If wisdom is found in the lips of wise men, then seek out wise men! Listen when they speak!
• If you want wisdom, go to a wise man for counsel!
3. He lays up knowledge.
a. Lays up = to hide, treasure, treasure or store up
b. The wise person VALUES knowledge. He stores it up like a greedy man would store up treasure. This IS his treasure!
c. The truly wise man realizes his limitations.
• He realizes how much he doesn’t know… and seeks to gain ground.
• The fool thinks he knows it all already!
d. This is a good proof text to promote continuing education.
• When your child asks, “Why do I have to go to school?” Why should I go to college?
» The Biblical answer is found here! Wise men lay up knowledge.
» Not just so you can make more money!
» But it is not just GOING to school. One could go to school and not treasure knowledge… not give much attention to laying it up!
e. The same thing is true of spiritual knowledge.
• It is good to lay up spiritual knowledge.
• It is also possible to come to church faithfully, and not TREASURE spiritual knowledge… not store it up… to allow it to go in one ear and out the other. That happens all too often.
f. It is God’s will that we all lay up knowledge.
• We are COMMANDED to grow in the knowledge of Christ. (II Pet. 3:18)
• Paul prayed that believers would increase in the knowledge of God… (Col. 1:10)
• What we learn from God’s Word should not simply be laid up in the sense of being stored away in a dusty old attic. It implies treasuring it away… keeping it… valuing it… making sure it is not lost!
g. Ecc. 12:9-10 – Solomon says of himself, “BECAUSE the preacher was wise, he SOUGHT OUT and set in order many proverbs.
• Because he had wisdom, he sought for more…
• He sought to lay up many proverbs for future use… his and ours. Aren’t you glad he did?!
• The wise man lays up wisdom so he will have it when he needs it!
• He also lays it up and sometimes records it in print so that others can benefit from his wisdom too!
• Parents: read books on childrearing… you never know when some of that material might come in handy!
• Church members: read books on church history—
• Musicians: keep on studying your instrument…
• Students: keep on learning your algebra—even though you may see no need for it today.
• Christian: keep on reading the WHOLE counsel of God—even those portions you feel are not so relevant to your life today… it may be tomorrow!
The Fool
1. He is void of understanding. (vs. 13c)
a. What the wise man has, the fool lacks: understanding.
b. The fool can’t cry, “Unfair.” How did the wise man obtain his wisdom? A wise man will hear. A fool refuses to hear… to learn… to pay attention.
2. A rod is for his back. (vs. 13)
a. God says this is what the fool deserves: corporal punishment.
• Our culture and society balks at such a thought.
• Remember the bad press given to Korea for “caning” the American caught selling drugs?!
b. Prov. 26:3 – Just as you would use an instrument to force a stubborn animal into submission, a fool needs a rod… you’ve got to whip a donkey to get him to move in the right direction!
c. Ps. 32:9 – don’t be like a mule! Like the fool, the mule has no understanding either!
d. Prov. 22:15 – The rod needs to be applied to children to drive out their folly before it becomes too deeply ingrained.
• Young people: thank God for parents who discipline you… you may not like it now, but it will drive folly from you… and benefit you the rest of your life!
• But the one who does not have his folly driven from him will suffer the rest of his life… one way or another.
e. Matthew Henry: “He exposes himself to the lashes of his own conscience, to the scourges of the tongue, to the censures of the magistrate, and to the righteous judgments of God.”
3. His mouth is his destruction.
a. Prov. 13:3 – He opens his mouth wide and suffers for it!
b. Prov. 18:7 – Solomon repeats this theme! A fool’s mouth is his destruction… his undoing!
c. His mouth may well be the undoing and destruction of others too.
• Foolish persons have ruined families with their mouths… spreading slander and lies.
• Foolish persons have ruined churches… brought destruction upon the work of God because of their vicious gossip…
Proverbs 10:16
The Labor of the Righteous
Introduction:
1. This verse is another version of that familiar principle: you reap what you sow.
2. It looks at it from both the positive and negative angles.
3. It also speaks about the results of each.
16a The labor of the righteous tendeth to life… (positive)
1. The labor of the righteous.
a. This speaks of that for which a righteous man WORKS…
b. Everybody works for something… righteous men and evil men…
c. But there is a difference between that for which righteous and unrighteous men work… even though they may work side by side in the same plant.
2. What a righteous man labors for:
a. He labors for his family.
· It’s a lot of work to bring up a Christian family nowadays.
· The righteous man labors to earn his living… and provide for the needs of his family.
· If a man provides not for his own, he is worse than an infidel… an unbeliever! (I Tim. 5:8)
b. He also labors in the word of God. (I Tim. 5:17)
· It is work to labor in the Word…
· While this is speaking about elders, it is also true that ANY godly man will labor in the Word… to one degree or another.
· A righteous man will lead his family in devotions. That’s labor… a labor of love.
c. He labors in teaching and training his children… (Eph. 6:4)
· That too is a lot of work.
· It is a labor of love for the Lord AND your children.
· It’s easy to slack off in this department… but just remember the principle of the passage: “you reap what you sow.”
· It is labor that pays off.
d. He labors for his local church. (I Cor. 15:58)
· God saved us that we might serve Him.
· A righteous man labors for the Lord in the local church.
· We are to be always ABOUNDING in the work of the Lord. It is not in vain. (Other pursuits in life might prove to be vain at the Bema…)
· It may be in teaching, singing, cleaning… or a 1001 other ways.
· Boy have we seen a lot of righteous men laboring on this building project!
· But all service for God IS work… labor… whatever your ministry might be.
· Solomon describes it as the labor of the righteous.
e. He labors that he might have to give to others. (Eph. 4:28)
· A righteous man labors not just for himself.
· The labors of a righteous man are also to help a brother in need…
f. He labors bringing the gospel to the lost in his community.
· The disciples were called to leave their labors in the fishing industry and labor in another field… bringing the gospel around the world.
· In a sense, we have all been called to that kind of labor.
· A righteous man will labor in bringing others to Christ.
3. The labors of the righteous tendeth to life. (meaning)
a. Gal. 6:8 – sow to the flesh and you will reap corruption. Sow to the Spirit, and you will reap life everlasting.
· This does not mean that you EARN everlasting life by sowing to the Spirit.
· Only a believer can sow to the Spirit. He is writing to folks who already have everlasting life.
· In context, Paul is speaking about money… support for those who teach the Word. (vs. 6)
· His point is that we can use money to satisfy the flesh OR we can use money to support spiritual endeavors.
· We can choose how to spend our money, but once spent, we cannot choose the harvest. That is settled in the original decision.
· The principle is much broader than the immediate context. You reap what you sow. Once you sow your seed, your harvest is determined.
b. The labors of the righteous bring forth fruit that is determined by the sort of labor!
· A righteous man labors in righteous things… his harvest will be good…
· His harvest will tend towards life… and that which aids or supports a good life.
· To be spiritually minded is life and peace. It doesn’t produce life, but it aids our new life… tends towards life… bolsters life…
4. The labors of the righteous tendeth to life.
a. His labors in the home tend to life…
· His labors with his children tend to bring about the salvation of their souls!
· His labors in the home tend to produce an atmosphere where new life can flourish…
b. His labors in the Word tend to life…
· His labors in the Word strengthen his own personal spiritual life…
· His labors in the Word strengthen the spiritual lives of his family…
c. His labors in the local church tend to life…
· His labor in the local church tends to strengthen the spiritual life and vitality of the church.
· His labors for the Lord in the local church tend to build up the spiritual lives of other believers… (Sunday school class; youth group worker; music)
· He may labor with his hands to give to others… give money… give a helping hand…
· A righteous man is generous with his labors… this tends to life—to aid or enhance the lives of others.
d. His labors for the lost tend to life…
· His labors in his own private mission field result in others coming to know Christ and receiving eternal life.
· In every way, the labors of the righteous tend to life.
4. Prov. 11:30 – the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.
a. The labor of the righteous = the fruit of the righteous.
b. Both tend to life… or another way of saying it—is a tree of life… an ongoing source of good fruit…
c. The life of a righteous man is like a tree of life… he keeps on producing works that tend to life… an unending source of spiritual strength, vitality, nourishment, health… that which sustains and the abundant life.
5. Hebrews 6:10 – God remembers your labors for Him.
a. God remembers those who labor in prayer for the saints… though none see.
b. God remembers those who clean the church… season after season…
c. God remembers those who share the gospel with the lost… and don’t blow their own trumpet about it…
d. God remembers those who labor putting up the building…
e. God remembers those who give… those who work with the children…
f. God remembers those who are friendly to visitors… those who encourage and counsel other believers… those who teach the Word… those who practice special music… those who work with the youth…
g. God remembers and rewards the labor of the righteous man. You reap what you sow… in God’s time.
6. John 6:27 – labor not for that meat which perishes, but for that meat which endures to eternal life!
a. Everybody is laboring for something. Labor for something worthwhile… that which will endure…
b. The labors of a righteous man tends to life…
16b The fruit of the wicked to sin…
1. Now Solomon speaks of the negative side of the principle—
a. The righteous man is contrasted to the wicked.
b. His labor is contrasted to the wicked man’s sin.
c. Just as the verb was added (note italics) in the first phrase, it needs to be added here to. “The fruit of the wicked tendeth to sin.”
d. “Fruit” = produce or product (not the word for fruit…)
· Solomon is speaking about that which the wicked man produces through his labors: sin!
· The labors of the righteous man result in aiding the abundant life… newness of life…
· The labors of the wicked results in the opposite: sin!
· A corrupt tree produces corrupt fruit; a contaminated well does not produce clean water…
e. The labors of a righteous man produce much good. The labors of a wicked man result in evil… sin…
· Take warning young people—choose your friends carefully.
· Choose righteous friends. That will HELP your spiritual life.
· Choose “unrighteous” friends and that will HURT your spiritual life.
· You reap what you sow.
· Matt. 7:17-18 – Jesus put it this way: good trees produce good fruit. Corrupt trees cannot produce good fruit. Therefore, don’t pick off a corrupt tree!
2. Isaiah 3:10 – Isaiah put it this way: the righteous shall eat the fruit of his own doing… but woe to the wicked. He too shall eat of the fruit of his own doings.
a. Each tendeth to his own end… the righteous to life… and the wicked to sin and death.
b. This principle is inescapable… and has been proven over and over again.
c. And it doesn’t matter how MUCH the labor of the righteous man produces. His “little” is better than the wicked man’s “much.” (Psalm 37:16)
d. Every man will EAT of his own fruit… he will reap what he has sown.
e. Be careful what you sow… use your labors for good…
Proverbs 10:17
Keeping or Refusing Instruction
17a He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction.
1. Keeping instruction:
a. Keep = to keep, guard, observe, give heed; keep watch and ward, protect.
b. Instruction: discipline, chastening, correction
c. The one who keeps instruction is one who:
• Pays attention to and takes heed to any correction he recieves.
• The child who responds well to being corrected… disciplined…
• The church member who is rebuked by the elders or even disciplined… and who responds in repentance…
• The employee who is able to be told he is doing something wrong and it needs to change… and he changes!
• The student who is chastised for laziness and then put more effort into their schoolwork…
2. These folks are in the way of life.
a. The way of life = the way life OUGHT to be lived.
b. Correction directs us to the RIGHT way to live…
c. Instruction sets that right way before us to follow…
d. The whole purpose of instruction is to correct us from a wrong way, and set us headed down the right way.
e. The one who receives correction is headed down the right way… and will REMAIN on the right way… because he is humble enough to receive correction and change when he makes a mistake!
f. Are you humble enough to take correction?
• From your boss? From your wife? Your kids? The elders? The Pastor? A brother in the Lord? An unsaved friend?
• If we have enough humility to receive correction, and respond properly to that correction, we are on the way of life and will stay there!
g. Prov. 8:32-35 – those who hear instruction find life… the good life… the life worth living… they are blessed of God and discover God’s favor in their life.
• Do you have God’s favor in your life? You can’t fight against Him!
• There isn’t much sense in seeking to provide our own blessings in life. God can simply blow upon all that we gather together on our own.
h. It is also possible to understand this phrase as “he IS a way of life.” (no “in”)
• If this is the case, then the author is saying that the life of such a person becomes a GUIDE for others…
• Watch that person’s life—that’s the way to live. He takes correction.
3. Instruction, correction, chastening, and discipline are good for us.
a. It is often humiliating, hard to take, ego crushing, and embarrassing, but it is how we learn!
b. Prov. 27:6 – “A friend means well, even when he hurts you.”
• A friend is willing to wound you or me… not because they like to wound, but because they don’t want their friends headed down the wrong road.
• Count your critics as friends. (That’s hard to do… but true!)
• A friend is willing to wound because they want us on the way of life… not death.
• You’ve seen the bumper sticker, “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk”… which is good as far as it goes.
• Sometimes God has to “hurt” us to help us. Faithful are His wounds too! Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth… even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
c. Prov. 27:9 – VALUE the counsel from a friend! It rejoices the heart.
• Prov. 20:15 – the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
• Cf. Psalm 141:5 – it is like a precious ointment.
d. God corrects and chastens us to keep us in the way of life too.
• Heb.12: – no chastening for the present seemeth to be good, but grievious, nevertheless, afterward, it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness.
• Every time we open God’s Word to read (daily!) we are being chastened… trained… disciplined by the Lord, IF we receive His instruction.
• There is ALWAYS something God wants to teach us in His Word.
• We should pray like the psalmist, “open mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things from thy law.”
• The Bible is God’s complete manual, full of instruction!
e. Even when the instruction comes from another source (as opposed to reading the instruction in the Word)… consider it a message from the Lord.
• It may be the pastor needs to approach about an obvious trend in your life…
• It may be that your spouse has to point something out to you…
• It may even be your boss…a brother in the Lord.
• Consider this instruction ultimately from God. God uses people in our lives.
• THIS is the way of life.
f. Prov. 19:20 – no one LIKES to be reproved, but keep in mind that it is good for you in the long run… in the end.
• It may mean making some tough decisions today, but in the end, it will be worth it.
• Sometimes when men give us counsel in means backtracking… doing something over… changing direction… maybe eating some humble pie.
g. Give counsel and instruction to a wise man and he will become even wiser! (Prov. 9:9)
17b But he that refuseth reproof erreth
1. Now Solomon speaks about the opposite of a man who hears instruction… the one who REFUSES reproof.
2. Reproof: rebuke, correction, reproof, punishment
3. Refuseth: to leave, abandon, forsake, neglect
a. This is the man who hears reproof… but walks away from it… neglects it… ignores it… forsakes it.
b. There is no excuse for this kind of behavior. It is not a matter of ignorance. This man heard, but refused to heed.
4. To turn a deaf ear to the voice that is trying to help us… and to save us from ruin is a most fearful error!
a. Prov. 12:1-2 – this kind of behavior is “brutish” (stupid!)
b. This folly is the result of a heart that is not humbled.
c. Resistance to correction as a child leads to uncontrollable arrogance and pride later in life.
d. Parents need to nip this behavior in the bud… lest it develops into a habit, and then into character…
e. It is the responsibility of parents to MAKE their children obey. Dad, you’re bigger and stronger than that 4-year-old. You CAN make him obey. When he’s 18 and weighs 200 pounds it might be too late!
5. Refusing correction is the forerunner to destruction.
a. Prov. 1:25-31 – they refused my counsel… they will eat of the fruit of their own ways.
b. Prov. 29:1 – some men are reproved often, and seem to get away with it…
• There may be no immediate consequences, and hence they ridicule the advice and reproof… and continue in their foolish ways…
• Then suddenly they find the roof caving in…
c. Prov. 13:18 – when reproof is NOT heeded, it can bring a man to poverty or shame.
• Doesn’t it make sense to LISTEN to counsel and avoid the shame and poverty?
• Warn a man who drinks about the danger of drinking and you may be laughed at by him… yet he may discover later in life that alcohol ruined his life and brought him to poverty and shame!
• Warn a man who is unfaithful to his wife… that too could bring him to poverty and shame…
d. II Chron. 16:7 – end of chapter. The pride of Asa led him to refuse instruction from one of God’s prophets. He paid a dear price. (life filled with wars; died a diseased man)
• Life is NOT easier when one forsakes the way of life… when one forsakes good counsel and instruction.
• The way of the transgressor is hard. Asa is proof.
• God gives us instruction for our GOOD… not to make life more difficult.
» Vs. 7 – Asa was rebuked… a rebuke which should have been taken as instruction on what NOT to do.
» Vs. 8 – a reminder of God’s faithfulness in the past was given.
» Vs. 9 – A warning of the consequences was given: ye shall have wars!
» Vs. 10 – Asa’s response? He became angry at the messenger! He oppressed some of the people too.
» Vs. 12 – God sent him a disease to his feet… since he didn’t want to walk with God— don’t walk at all!
» How foolish to ignore good counsel… it is the result of arrogance and pride… and we will pay for it in the end.
» A good reminder to KEEP instruction… and hence remain in the way of life… and blessing.
Proverbs 10:19
A Multitude of Words
Introduction:
1. Vs.18-21 – all center on the subject of speech—good and bad.
2. In vs.18 Solomon spoke about lying lips and slandering lips.
3. In vs.19 he speaks about a different kind of lips: non-stop lips…
19a In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin
A multitude of words…
1. Solomon first mentions a man who is verbose… a big mouth… motor mouth… one who never stops talking… the multitude of words… flow like a raging river that knows no end.
a. Have you ever met a person who never stops talking?
b. One who has no interest in listening to others…
c. His only interest is in taking and keeping the floor to him or herself.
d. This is not a girl thing either. Men are just as guilty of a “multitude of words.”
e. It is a selfish trait.
• I’m worth listening to… not you or anyone else!
• My stories are the best…
• I have something to say and worth listening to…
• Very often their stories are about themselves
f. There is no conversation… because conversations flow back and forth. This just flows forth from his mouth in a multitude of words that doesn’t allow anyone else opportunity to pipe in.
g. Some folks are ingenious at it too.
• They don’t even come up for air in between sentences.
• They seamlessly weave from one subject to the next… without missing a beat.
• They never have a closing remark… their last sentence becomes a natural segue into their next topic…
• One story reminds them of another story, which reminds them of another story…
h. All one has to do to turn on that endless spigot is to say, “How are you?”
i. This is the man Solomon is describing—one out of whose mouth flows a multitude of words.
j. Prov. 29:11 – the fool utters all his mind (and is proud of it!)
2. Ecc. 5:3 – a fool is characterized by an abundance of words.
a. He has an opinion on every subject—whether he has done his homework on the subject or not.
b. He has something to say about every issue—whether he knows anything about it or not.
c. The Bible does not speak highly of one with an abundance of words. Next Solomon explains why…
19b There wanteth not sin…
1. Ecc. 10:13 – his words begin in folly and end in mischievous madness… but they keep on flowing…
a. In other words, the fool begins to speak folly… but it grows into more and more evil.
b. Like a fire that starts off as a little spark… and increases in heat and intensity and destruction. So too is the speech of the fool.
2. Sins which result from a multitude of words:
a. OFFENCE: Jas. 3:2 –
• In many things we offend all (we all offend—because we all speak… too much!)
• The more we speak, the more chance there is of offending someone—intentionally or unintentionally.
• Talk enough and eventually you are going to step on somebody’s toes.
• Try preaching in the same place for a number of years. Eventually you are going to offend everyone. (No wonder preachers often move every few years!)
b. SELF PRAISE: Prov. 27:2 –
• It is natural for us as proud men to praise ourselves.
• When we tell OUR side of the story, we always come out smelling like roses… while the other guy doesn’t look so good.
• It is sin to praise self… to put self on a pedestal.
c. CONTENTION – Prov. 18:6
• The one who never stops talking is eventually going to stir up some sort of trouble… contention…
• Sooner or later, the one who speaks endlessly and mindlessly, will hurt someone’s feelings… offend someone… get someone angry…
d. LIES – Prov. 6:16 – God hates a lying tongue.
• The one who continually speaks without thinking is eventually going to say something that is not true.
• Perhaps he will exaggerate the truth… stretch it a bit… color it a bit… embellish a story…
• These are all lies before God… and the Lord hates them.
3. The real issue is one of self-control…
a. Have you ever said something (out of a LACK of self-control) that haunted you later on in life? But it’s too late to take it back once the damage has been done.
b. The answer is to be yielded to God and to be filled with the Spirit—self-control… there is no other way to control the tongue.
4. The mouth of the fool is near destruction. (Prov. 10:14)
a. A multitude of words flowing from our mouth WILL result in sin.
b. Sin results in destruction—eventually it will catch up to you.
19c But he that refraineth his lips is wise
1. Refrain: to withhold, restrain, hold back, keep in check
2. The term does not imply SILENCE, but CONTROL…
a. Some might see the dangers of speech and be inclined not to say anything… that is not the point.
b. Wisdom demands that we control our speech… refrain it, restrain it, keep it in check… use caution…but not to stop it altogether.
c. In the next verse (20) he speaks of the virtue of good speech.
d. Speech is not bad—but a relentless flow of speech is… because sooner or later something will be said that you regret later.
3. Solomon lets us know that the wise man speaks, but also knows how to STOP speaking… and when to stop speaking…
a. That too is an art.
b. There is an art of conversation. (A valuable tool which can be used for God’s glory).
c. There is also the art of knowing when NOT to speak. (Ecc. 3:7) There is an appropriate time for speech… and an appropriate time for silence. The wise man knows the difference.
4. Prov. 17:27– he that has knowledge spares his words.
a. The wise man not only can discern when to speak and when to keep silent. He also has the discernment to “spare” words.
b. Spare: refrain; hold back. (same word as refrain in 10:19)
c. There are times perhaps when we would LOVE to unload all that is on our mind on someone else.
d. The wise man knows enough to restrain himself… and his words. That is self-control.
e. There are times when just a few words—carefully and tactfully chosen—will suffice.
f. Sometimes a soft answer—with just a few soft words will suffice to turn away anger… and prevent a war of words. Wise men know how to spare their words.
g. Ecc. 5:2 – be not rash (hasty) with your mouth; let your words be few.
h. James 1:19 – The wise man is slow to speak.
5. The wise man uses words carefully… cautiously… sparingly…
a. It is not that he is afraid to speak up.
b. Rather, it is that he doesn’t speak unless he has something to say… something worth saying…
c. He speaks at the proper time… using the right words… sparing his words… he weighs his words before speaking them… they are well thought out… not just blurting out the first thing that pops into his undisciplined mind…
d. Prov. 15:28 – he studies to answer… (As opposed to just “pouring out” whatever comes out!)
• Studieth: muse, mutter, meditate, devise, plot,
• He muses… meditates… thinks before he speaks!
• Thus, he will not speak continually. It takes time to speak… to think of an answer.
• The fool just pours out his speech without thinking… impulsive speech…
6. Prov. 17:28 – even a fool with his mouth shut looks wise. But once he opens his mouth, his cover is blown!
a. Keep your mouth closed once in a while, and even if you aren’t wise, you’ll look wise!
b. We should pray like the psalmist, “Set a watch O Lord, before my mouth and keep the door of my lips.” (Psalm 141:3)
• We ALL offend with our mouths…
• We ALL say things we regret later…
• Why not pray for the Lord’s strength?
7. Psalm 39:1 – David determined NOT to sin with his mouth. We all should be so determined.
a. But don’t just pray about… DO something about it!
b. You don’t just pray for your daily bread. You go to work too!
c. Pray for the Lord’s strength… AND be determined not to sin.
d. And if we DO sin with our mouth, confess it… and forsake it.
e. This is a sin that we will have to deal with in our lives till the Lord comes…
8. And since it is such a part of human nature to sin with our tongues, be gracious with others! (Ecc. 7:21-22) Haven’t you done the same? We all have, James says!
Proverbs 10:20-21
The Tongue of the Just
20a The tongue of the just is as choice silver
1. The just
a. This speaks of a righteous man… one justified by faith.
b. This man stands in stark contrast to the wicked (vs.20b)
2. This passage illustrates the fact that there is a difference between the just and the unjust… between a believer and an unbeliever.
a. The difference is a changed heart… a new nature.
b. The fruit of a just man’s heart will eventually be manifested in his mouth… through his speech… what’s in a man’s heart will come out of his mouth.
c. The believer has two natures and has a capacity to produce good fruit or evil fruit.
d. The believer has a capacity to use his mouth for good or for evil.
• When we use our tongue for good, it is godly; Christlike; pleasing to God.
• When we use our tongue for evil, we sound no different than the unbeliever! Flesh is flesh!
e. Solomon describes the difference between the kind of speech that characterizes the just man and that which characterizes the wicked in this passage.
3. The tongue of the just is as choice silver.
a. This is a simile—a figure of speech using like or as—“as” choice silver.
• Just men don’t literally have a silver tongue.
• But they are in a figurative sense “silver tongued.”
• A simile compares two things which are NOT literally similar, but there is a sense in which they are similar.
b. In what sense is the tongue of a godly man like choice silver?
» Choice silver is silver that has been refined and has had all the impurities removed.
» Choice silver is therefore much more valuable than ordinary silver.
» Choice silver is also much shinier and more beautiful.
» Choice silver is also relatively rare.
4. The tongue of the just has had impurities removed.
a. Ps. 12:6 – God’s words are like choice silver too—purified in a furnace seven times! (7 = perfectly purified!)
b. Eph. 5:4 – “There is no filthiness, nor foolish talking nor jesting which are not convenient” in his mouth.
c. When a godly man speaks, godly people can relax. You don’t have to worry about impurities flying out at you!
d. When a godly man or woman tells a joke, you don’t have to wonder whether it is clean or not.
e. As believers we need to carefully weigh what we say.
• We need to consciously remove any dross from our speech.
• Godly speech is pure speech.
• There can be no mixture of purity and impurity either… just as there is no communion between light and darkness.
• Not only is it sin to say blatantly evil things… it is just as sinful to say things that are “shady”… leaving doubtful innuendoes in the minds of others… purposely using ambiguous terms that can be understood in a dirty sense…
• That is not choice silver. That is tarnished silver… full of dross.
• Col. 3:8 – we are to put off “filthy communication out of our mouth.”
f. It is not necessary that as believers our speech is interesting… or erudite… or scholarly… but it is necessary that our speech be pure… with all the impurities removed… like choice silver.
• Our speech should be pure…
• Free from the impurity of ulterior motives… manipulation by flattery… impure designs… selfish intentions… free from the dross of guile and slander…
• Our speech is to be pure and free and cleansed from all that.
5. Choice silver is therefore much more valuable than ordinary silver. The tongue of the just is also valuable.
a. The one who owns much choice silver has a valuable treasure that can be used for much good.
b. Speech is like that. It is valuable and can be used for good.
c. Prov. 15:4 – the speech of the righteous is a tree of life—a source of health, fruit, life, nourishment…
d. It can edify believers and minister grace to the hearers (Eph. 4:29).
e. Ps. 37:30-31 – the law of God is in his heart… and it comes out!
f. Ps. 71:24 – my tongue shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long! That is choice silver!
g. Our tongues are valuable when they are used to praise God… valuable to God. (Heb. 13:15)
h. The apostles did not have much “silver” in this life.
• Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none.”
• Paul said of himself and other apostles, “as poor, yet making many rich.”
• How did the poor apostles make many rich? Spiritually!
• With their tongues they spread choice silver generously wherever they went!
• They used their speech to teach God’s Word… to exhort and encourage the saints… to build up the body of Christ.
• They had no physical silver or gold, but choice silver poured out of their lips for many, many years!
i. Do you use your tongue for things that are truly valuable in light of eternity?
j. Are others ENRICHED by our speech?
k. How we use our tongues today will be judged and rewarded accordingly at the Bema. Only THEN will we recognize the true value of our speech.
6. Choice silver is also much shinier and more beautiful. The tongue of the just is producing beautiful speech.
a. Choice silver is clean and pure… shiny… and able to be used in fine jewelry. Silver, with chunks of dross and streaks of stone mixed in, is not quite as beautiful… and is not able to be used in fine jewelry.
b. When our speech is like choice silver—it too has a beauty all its own.
c. Prov. 25:11-12 – like apples of gold in pictures of silver—beautiful!
• Such words can be also like earrings of gold—beautiful!
• As beautiful artwork and jewelry are to the eyes, so are beautiful words to the heart… the inner man.
d. There is nothing quite like words fitly spoken… properly timed… tactfully phrased… and delivered in kindness. There is nothing quite as valuable as that to a thirsty soul. That is choice silver! Beautiful!
7. Choice silver is silver that is carefully selected.
a. Choice = to choose; to elect
b. Choice silver is silver that is chosen… on a counter of silver, stones, and silver ore, the choice silver is the one that would naturally be chosen…
8. Choice silver is also relatively rare. The tongue of the just… wise, well thought out, controlled, edifying speech is relatively rare…. And thus more appreciated.
a. The contrast seems to be with vs.18 – a “multitude of words.”
• This speech is not rare. These words are ceaselessly flowing… endlessly rambling on and on and on…
• In contrast to the endless flow of words from the fool—who speaks without thinking, there are the fewer… more rare… and much more valuable words of the just!
b. In heaven speech that is like choice silver will not be rare… but it is today.
9. Just as our tongue can be our shame… it can also be our glory!
20b The heart of the wicked is little worth.
1. Note the contrasts in this verse:
a. The just and the wicked—two kinds of men
b. The tongue and the heart—two sources of words
c. Choice silver and “little worth”—two measures of value.
2. The tongue and heart run parallel in this verse.
a. What the tongue says originated in the heart. The heart is the source of all of our words.
b. Matt. 15:18 – “but those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart…”
c. Matt. 12:35 – this is true of the just and the wicked… two kinds of men will produce two kinds of speech, over all.
3. That which proceeds out of the heart of the wicked…
a. In context, he is speaking about WORDS… flowing from the heart and then through the mouth…
b. These words are of “little worth.”
c. What a contrast between choice silver (worth a lot!) and “little worth.”
d. The wicked might produce a multitude of words (vs.18) but there is little worth or value in any of it.
e. The just may say few words… but they are valuable, choice words!
f. If words continually flow out of our mouth without thought… (speaking before we think), those words will not be very valuable (certainly not rare!)… and they will be of little value to edify another.
4. What comes out of our mouth is our choice.
a. We can decide to use our mouth for valuable purposes… or for worthless purposes.
b. Our words can be pure or impure.
c. Our words can be well chosen… or thoughtless.
d. The choice is ours.
e. And eventually, every word we have spoken will be evaluated by the Lord… and either rewarded or burned up.
f. Let’s use our tongues as instruments by which others are enriched… with choice silver… something valuable they can keep with them…
Proverbs 10:21
The Lips of the Righteous Feed Many
Introduction:
1. Vs. 18-21 deal with the subject of communication and the use of the tongue.
2. Solomon states the reason God gave for our mouth… to feed others! We often think of the lips or our mouth in relation to BEING FED, not feeding others.
3. He uses an ear-catching phrase to grab our attention… and thus make his point.
21a The lips of the righteous…
A.) There is an Expectation from the Lips of the Righteous
1. There are different expectations from the lips of different people.
2. There is an expectation for the lips of a drunk… for a fool… or a young punk…
3. There is another expectation from the lips of a king… or a statesman… or a university professor… a philosopher…
4. There is also a certain expectation from the lips of a righteous man.
B.) The Lips of Righteous People
1. Prov. 10:11 – the mouth of a righteous man is a well of life.
2. Prov. 10:20 – the tongue of the just is as choice silver.
3. Prov. 10:21 – the lips of the righteous feed many.
4. Prov. 10:32 – the lips of the righteous know what is acceptable.
5. Prov. 15:7 – the lips of the wise disperse knowledge
6. Hence, David and Solomon both outline for us what we ought to EXPECT from the lips of righteous people…
a. If a person is righteous, his speech ought to be righteous.
b. If a person has been sanctified, his lips ought to be sanctified.
c. What God did on the inside in saving us ought to have a very practical effect on the outside… externally — what we do and say.
d. If you have been justified by faith (a righteous person) then your lips ought to show it! There is such a thing as the lips of the righteous!
7. Perhaps you have experienced this: you begin talking to a complete stranger and you begin to think that this person is a believer—even though you have said nothing about being saved or the Bible.
a. Perhaps you discerned a sense of respect and reverence in his speech.
b. Perhaps some term or expression he used (KJV English would be a hint!)
c. Perhaps you noticed that he chose not to be led in a certain direction in the conversation by someone else present.
d. Perhaps the choice of subjects he raises leads you to think he is a righteous man.
e. There really IS an expectation of a particular kind of speech among the righteous.
8. We CAN be fooled.
a. Sometimes an unbeliever may SOUND like a believer—just a moral man with a clean mouth. (Apostate radio preachers often sound good for a while…)
b. Sometimes a believer can have a mouth that does not at all appear to be what Solomon refers to as “the lips of the righteous.”
c. Truck drivers and sailors have bad reputations with respect to their speech. (I think it is a bad rap—I think some of the soccer moms are just as vile!)
• There are truck drivers who have sanctified tongues…
• There are sweet little old ladies with filthy mouths…
• There are some unbelievers who are quite careful about what they say.
• There are some Christians whose speech is a disgrace to the name of Christ.
• We can be fooled. This proverb is a proverb… a general principle.
• Overall, righteous people have righteous lips.
• Sometimes we slip… but overall, the principle stands.
• There is such a thing as the “lips of the righteous.”
21b Feed many…
1. Why did God give you lips (tongue; mouth; speech)?
a. Most of us would say to “talk” or “communicate.”
b. That is partially right.
c. But why did God give us the ability to talk?
d. So that we could use our lips to FEED others.
2. You mouth (lips) is an instrument designed by God to help others.
a. We often think of our tongue in a selfish way… it is for me… to help me… for my enjoyment… to sit around and gab for the mere pleasure of gabbing.
b. Certainly God DID give us our tongue for our own use.
c. But here it is emphasized that there is a greater purpose for our lips… to feed others!
3. The Term “Feed”
a. Feed = pasture; pasturage; pasturing; bring to pasture—the work of a shepherd.
• It is a shepherding term, similar to the Greek word for “shepherding” which is sometimes also translated “Feed.”
• It is primarily used of feeding domestic animals
• The root is used of Jacob “feeding” Laban’s flocks. (Gen. 30:36)
b. The most common occupation in Bible times was shepherding, so this concept would be quite familiar to Solomon and his readers.
c. Shepherds fed their sheep… they led them to still waters… green pastures.
d. The term for feed is broader than just feed… to take to pasture…
e. The term was used in a figurative sense too.
• Jer. 3:15 – pastors feed the people with knowledge and truth.
• Pastor and feed = the same term—noun and verb…
• The term involves that which a shepherd does for his sheep—especially feeding, but other duties are involved as well… caring, leading, guiding, etc…
4. In the Old Testament, God was the one who fed His people.
a. Gen. 48:15 – the God who fed me my whole life!
b. Ps. 23:1 – the Lord is my shepherd…
c. Isa. 40:10-11 – the Lord shall come… and will feed His flock like a Shepherd… gather the lambs… gently lead…
d. In the Theocracy, God “shepherded” His people by means of the king. The kings of Israel were to be good shepherds under God. (II Sam. 5:2 – David)
e. God used men (like the kings) to shepherd or feed His people.
5. Solomon states that ALL righteous men should use their lips to feed others. In fact, God uses all believers to “feed” His sheep… not just the pastor and elders.
a. That’s what our lips are for according to Prov. 10:21!
b. Do you use your lips to feed others?
c. The Bible has a lot to say about using our lips for the benefit of others.
6. HOW can you use your lips/mouth to feed others?
a. Teaching…
• Prov. 15:7 – the lips of the righteous disperse knowledge.
• Col. 3:16 – we are to use our mouths to teach and admonish one another… but FIRST, we must let the Word dwell in us richly! Is it dwelling in you richly? If so, then you can feed many with your lips!
• Prov. 15:28 – a righteous man studies to answer. This well thought out answer will be of great help to others… you are feeding them!
• Ps. 89:1 – with my mouth will I make known His faithfulness.
• Ps. 71:15 – my mouth will show forth His righteousness all day—I know not the numbers of them all!
• Ps. 119:27 – each of us can share what God has taught us in His word.
b. Comforting…
• Job 16:1-5 – Job could have torn his so-called friends to pieces. Instead he would use his tongue to strengthen them and comfort them. A good use for our tongues too!
• That’s what our tongues are for—when we see someone suffering!
• II Cor. 1:3-4 – God uses us to comfort others… by the WORDS we say to them… to lift up… encourage… strengthen…
• We all need comforting from the Word—not just the women and children either.
• We get weary, tired, worn, stressed, worried, fearful, anxious — and there is nothing as comforting as a believer sharing an appropriate verse of Scripture—especially if they have gone through a similar trial!
c. Exhorting… we can exhort one another… to love and good works… to faithfulness… to serve God… there is no end to the ways in which we can use our lips to exhort others…
d. Admonish… (mild rebuke; warn) (Rom. 15:14)
• Note the prerequisite! FILLED with goodness…
• What great benefit can spring from the mouth of the believer who uses his/her lips to admonish another and keep him on the straight and narrow.
e. Counsel… Prov. 11:14 – in many counselors there is safety.
• You don’t need to be a professional counselor to counsel the brethren.
• You just have to have some pertinent Scripture to share!
• It may not even be scripture—just wise observations from life!
• That’s what Pastor Stringer is doing—
• Titus 2:3-4 – older women giving counsel to younger women… older men giving advice and counsel to younger men… this is God’s plan.
f. Minister grace… (Eph. 4:29)
• Grace here seems to be used in a broad sense… something good… a good gift… undeserved, but freely given… the gift of our tongue.
• Unwholesome speech grieves the Holy Spirit. (vs. 30) Good speech pleases the Spirit of God. It is the fruit of the Spirit in us!
• The goal of our speech ought to be to “the use of edifying”… building one another up… strengthening one another…
• Try it sometime!
g. Getting results…. (Ecc. 9:17) The words of a wise man are often HEARD!
• If you have earned the right to counsel a brother… and have demonstrated spiritual discernment and wisdom THEN he might be willing to listen and respond!
• Your quiet words… words spoken one on one… are more valuable than the loud shouts of fools!
h.) Spreading the gospel… (Eph. 6:19 – pray for boldness to open our mouths!)
• This of course is a way in which we can feed to others the bread of life!
• How rewarding when people respond in faith and are saved!
21c Fools die for want of wisdom…
1. The lips of the righteous feed others.
2. The fool uses his mouth to feed himself—but he does not have good taste in food!
a. The fool feeds on folly (Prov. 15:14)
b. The fool feeds on ashes (Isa. 44:20)
c. The fool feeds the flames of gossip. (Prov. 26:20-21)
3. Solomon has not much use for the fool…
4. The righteous man builds up the spiritual lives of others. The fool dies… destroys his own life… and perhaps drags a few down with him!
a. He lacks wisdom for his own life.
b. He has none to share with others… no wise counsel… nothing worth teaching… no good exhortation… no edification… no grace…
Proverbs 10:22
The Blessing of the Lord Maketh Rich
22a The blessing of the Lord…
1. The psalmist seems to have in mind primarily, earthly, physical blessings from God.
a. Blessing: blessing; prosperity; gift;
b. It makes rich – (rich = wealthy; gain riches)
c. The nature of the book of Proverbs: practical wisdom for life in this world.
2. Of course each of these terms (blessing; rich) could also have a spiritual connotation.
a. Our blessings as Christians are mainly spiritual in nature. (Eph. 1:3) (Predestined; chosen; accepted; redeemed; forgiven; indwelt; etc…)
b. Of course the Jews had many spiritual blessings too.
c. But most often—especially in Proverbs—the emphasis on blessings from God was earthly in nature… physical blessings.
22b It maketh rich…
1. In this verse, Solomon traces the source of blessing and prosperity to the Lord… Jehovah.
2. This is a truth that is often repeated in Scripture—and a principle that we would do well to be mindful of.
a. Gen. 12:2 – early in the Bible God made it clear that HE was the Source of prosperity for an individual or a nation.
b. Gen. 14:23 – Abraham was very careful NOT to give anyone the impression that the source of his riches was polluted. He did not want his wealth to be tainted by the king of Sodom!
c. Gen. 24:35 – it was the Lord who made Abraham rich…
d. Gen. 26:12-14 – Isaac’s wealth also came from the Lord.
e. I Sam. 2:7 – the Lord maketh poor and the Lord maketh rich.
f. Psalm 107:38 – God blessed them SO THAT they multiplied greatly.
g. Prov. 2:6 – even wisdom comes from God.
h. James 1:17 – Every good gift we ever receive comes from God the Father!
i. I Cor. 4:7 – “What hast thou that thou hast not received?” If so, how dare we glory in it, as if it were our own doing?
3. If anyone has been blessed physically… has been enriched financially… blessed materially… GOD is the Source of it all.
a. Thus, He should be praised for it!
b. The danger arises when we begin to think of these blessings as arising from SELF… (Deut.8:11-18)
• Always recognize that GOD is the source of our blessings.
• Always be thankful to God for them.
• Never boast of our own wisdom, strength, or might… God hates pride. He could take it all away to teach us a lesson (vs. 19).
4. However, there is another line of truth found in the Bible that attributes wealth to diligence and hard work! (Prov.10:4)
a. Consider also Prov. 13:4; 21:5;
b. Notice the identical language in vs. 4 and vs. 22. They seem to be saying the opposite!
• Which is true? Should we trace the source of riches back to God OR to diligence on our part?
• Is this a contradiction?
c. The answer is that these are Proverbs. Each one is a small kernel of truth. No one proverb is the final word on any subject… just a nugget of truth that looks at a situation from one angle or another.
d. Actually BOTH are true—and they do not contradict, but complement one another.
e. Each type of proverb looks at the subject from a different angle: from God’s perspective, and from man’s.
5. When it comes to the gaining of wealth and prosperity… success… any kind of earthly blessing… there are two distinct lines of truth running parallel…
a. The will of man and the sovereignty of God.
b. Both are involved in salvation… and in the ordinary and mundane events of life too…
c. Just a few verses apart from each other, Solomon writes that that true source of riches is BOTH diligence (man’s will) and the Lord (sovereignty).
d. BOTH work together… to make rich. Neither one will be effective without the other.
6. Some men seek for riches without diligence…
a. Gambling and casino betting is all based on this aspect of human nature—get rich quick!
b. Gambling actually FOSTERS and encourages that kind of twisted thinking… just the opposite of what is called the “Protestant work ethic.”
c. The general rule is: it doesn’t work!
• Prov. 10:4 – poverty…
• Prov. 19:15 – hunger…
• Prov. 20:4 – he shall beg…
• This is the general rule… crystallized into proverbs.
d. If you want to prosper—work at it! Kids—study hard in school… do your best… be diligent. Workers: do the best you can at your job… be diligent… a good worker…
• Why? Prov. 10:4 – because the hand of the diligent maketh rich.
• If you seek for blessing without diligence, you will likely be sadly disappointed in life.
7. Others seek riches by diligence… and ignore GOD as the source of blessing.
a. They too are often sadly disappointed… especially believers—for unbelievers leave God out their lives almost entirely.
b. James 4:13-16 – diligence all by itself…
• Vs. 13 – Their goal was to make gain… prosper… a good goal.
• Vs. 14 – they made a lot of “assumptions”—assuming that they would even be alive on the morrow is an assumption…
• Vs. 15 – but the biggest assumption was that by their diligence efforts and good planning they would succeed.
• They SHOULD have said, “If the Lord will…” They left God out of their plans!
• Vs. 16 – they boasted that they would succeed—after all, they would work harder than any other business man… they would make the best of plans… they would use wisdom and the latest technology to their advantage. How could they NOT succeed?
• God said such boasting in human wisdom and efforts is EVIL!
• How could they not succeed? They failed to recognize the sovereignty of God in ALL of man’s endeavors!
c. Ecc. 9:10 – Work your hardest and do your best! (man’s responsibility)
• vs.11 – but don’t ever ignore the sovereignty of God!
• The race is not always to the fastest runner! (He could have a cold that day; trip over his shoestrings; the sole of his sneaker could come apart;
• A ski racer—he could be the best—but he could always hit a patch of ice…
• The battle isn’t always to the biggest, best equipped and best trained soldiers either! Consider Israel against Egypt! How could the Egyptians ever have imagined that they would be defeated? Who could have imagined the Red Sea opening!?
• Bread is not always to the wise! You may make the wisest investments humanly possible on Wall Street—and the unthinkable could occur… war could break out… a new technology could render your investment obsolete…
• A farmer could work his hardest planting his crops—and the Lord may hold back on the rain…
• Robert Burns put it this way: The best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley (often go astray)!
d. Psalm 127:1 – Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it!
• What a principle for us to dwell upon as we work on building the house of the Lord here…
• Note the two elements combined in this verse: man’s responsibility (doing the work of building) AND God’s sovereignty (if He’s not in it—we are spinning our wheels in the mud!)
• BOTH are needed and necessary.
• Who built this house? The Lord… He is the source of it all.
• Who is it who gave each of the workers health, strength, wisdom, ability, tools, finances, motivation? The Lord! He built the house.
• But from a human perspective, who built the house? Those who showed up for work days… those who gave sacrificially of their finances… those who labored behind the scenes—THEY built the house.
• If we want our efforts to be blessed… if we want this project to continue… then we need BOTH elements
» We need to show up and do the work… put money in the offering plate… that’s our responsibility.
» And we need an attitude of dependence upon God… and joy in serving the Lord.
• Neither will be effective without the other.
» Beware lest we trust in ourselves—our labor; effort; talents; power…
» Beware lest we sit back as the sluggard and not put forth diligence into the project…
» Either one is a road to disaster.
» But when BOTH are employed joyously depending upon God AND diligent labor… then we can expect the Lord’s blessing.
22c He addeth no sorrow with it…
1. The blessings that come from the Lord are truly BLESSINGS… occasions for joy…
2. When we do our best… put in diligent effort… work in dependence upon the Lord… and do so gladly and cheerfully… THEN, when God blesses the finished product (building a church; building a business; or building a family)… there is no sorrow in it!
3. There is no sorrow with the outcome when we do our part, joyfully dependent upon the Lord.
4. When we leave God out and seek riches on our own, it may be accompanied by much sorrow and grief!
a. I Tim. 6:9-10 – we may or may not obtain the wealth—but the end is that we are pierced with many sorrows… regrets…
b. When we prosper in the same way as the wicked prosper—leaving God out, that will always be accompanied by grief and sorrow… regrets…
c. George McGovern—out of selfish ambition devoted his life to becoming president and lost his daughter to drugs and alcohol. His success politically came with many regrets and sorrows.
d. Gen. 13:10 – Lot lifted up his eyes—and made his decision based upon his eyes… what LOOKED good physically to him.
• vs.14 – note that Abraham waited until the Lord told him to lift up his eyes.
• Lot’s choice was materially prosperous for him… but spiritually, poverty stricken!
• Peter tells us that Lot’s righteous soul was vexed daily because of the deeds of the men of Sodom.
• He became rich… but it was accompanied by much sorrow.
5. When God blesses, there is no sorrow with it. It is a TRUE blessing.
a. There is no regret… no second thoughts… no grief.
b. God’s blessings are to be enjoyed!
c. And God blesses us with poverty. He is able to make our little cabin a palace… (Prov. 17:1)
d. I Tim. 6:17 – when God blesses, there is no sorrow with it. He intends for us to ENJOY His blessings… and to use them wisely for His glory. (vs. 18-19)
Proverbs 10:22b
Blessings without Sorrow
Introduction:
1. God’s blessings make “rich”…
2. All the blessing we have in life have GOD as their ultimate source.
3. Of course, vs. 4 indicates that the hand of the diligent makes rich. BOTH are true… Solomon writes of the human and the divine side of prospering financially…
4. Oftentimes, God in His sovereignty allows the wicked to prosper.
5. God also allows diligent workers to fail at times. (The race is not always to the swift; the battle not always to the strong…)
6. But the rule is… the proverb states that diligence results in riches… AND God’s blessing results in riches… two sides of one coin.
7. Now Solomon states that when God blesses with riches… there is no sorrow added to it!
Sorrow often Accomplishes Riches…
1. There is a right way to obtain riches and material goods and there are MANY wrong ways. (lying; cheating; stealing; bribing; extortion; begging; misrepresentation; taking advantage of the weak; pyramid schemes; gambling; fraud; selling drugs; selling your body; etc…)
2. However, riches obtained by these means are often accompanied by sorrow…
3. When we leave God out and seek riches on our own, it may be accompanied by much sorrow and grief!
4. I Tim. 6:9-10 – we may or may not obtain the wealth—but the end is that we are pierced with many sorrows… regrets…
a. When we prosper in the same way as the wicked prosper—leaving God out, that will always be accompanied by grief and sorrow… regrets…
b. Those who WILL be rich…
• This is not talking about rich people necessarily. Poor people could fall into this category… and DO quite often!
• Will be rich = desire or intend to be rich… those who long to be rich…
• Rich people long to be rich. So do many poor people… perhaps more poor than rich!
• What Paul is about to say concerning wealth is not a criticism about the wealthy, but rather a criticism about the WANNA Bes
• He is speaking against the LOVE of money… the LUST for riches… not the possession of them.
c. Hurtful lusts:
• Lusts: desire, craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden, lust
• Hurtful = injurious; painful
• Paul states that people who long to be rich, lust after riches to their own detriment…
• Eventually it will cause them hurtful lusts…
• A hurtful lust is a lust that goes unsatisfied.
• Prov. 13:4 – the sluggard has strong desires for riches, but does not work… and thus never satisfies those longings. Those lusts are the source of much hurt to him!
• Prov. 10:4 – he becomes poor… and if on the inside you desperately LONG for riches… that is a painful position to be in!
• The stronger your WILL to be rich… the more painful your poverty will be!
• I Kings 21:1-4 – consider the hurtful lusts of King Ahab! He had the whole kingdom except for this little garden plot… and he could not be happy until he had it. His lust wasn’t satisfied, and he went into depression! What folly!
• The stronger our lust for things… the more hurtful it becomes when not satisfied!
• Even when riches are obtained, rich men STILL lust to KEEP their riches. They are painfully aware that riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. (Prov. 23:4)
• They worry that their riches will be stolen… rust… corrupt…
d. Fall into many temptations…
• Those who long to be rich will find themselves tempted in ways others are not…
• Tempted to steal… to lie… to cheat… to misrepresent… to get ahead! The desire to get rich is behind many of those temptations!
• There is the added temptation to forget about the Lord… for when one is faithful in serving the Lord and faithful to His house, you are losing overtime! Your co-worker and not you might get that promotion and raise!
• There is the temptation to cut corners spiritually…
e. Drown men in destruction and perdition…
• Men who LONG to be rich often find themselves drowning… overwhelmed in destruction…(drown: to plunge into the deep, to sink)
• They sacrifice their marriage in order to make it in the world… they risk losing their kids in order to advance at work… they may even risk their health or their lives in order to make it…
• Destruction: destruction or ruin…
• Perdition: a perishing, ruin, utter destruction; (more intense—this term sometimes speaks of eternal ruin in hell… but not always!)
• Many men and women have RUINED their families and utterly destroyed their lives in order to make it rich.
• Read some of the accounts of hardships that men put themselves through in the days of the gold rush—especially the Alaskan gold rush! Men tortured themselves… and most did not make it rich.
• The desire to make it rich has resulted in many men plunging into the deep… and brought destruction and ruin to their lives.
• Most never make it rich… but even those who do, do so at a great price… to themselves and/or their families.
• Prov. 20:28 – A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
» Many men will resort to unlawful means in order to make money… and make it fast…
» Rather than earn it the old fashioned way, they resort to all kinds of evil… but in the end, it catches up to them… destruction and ruin… to their home… their name… their business…
f. Pierced themselves through with many sorrows…
• More strong language about those who long to be rich…
• Here they are described as those who LOVE MONEY…$
• One often thinks of love as something warm and wonderful.
• This love pierces with sorrows… many sorrows…
• Pierce: to pierce through; metaph. to torture one’s soul with sorrows
• Sorrows: consuming grief, pain, sorrow
• Paul uses extremely strong language to describe the pain brought to one’s soul because of a love of money…
g. George McGovern – out of selfish ambition devoted his life to becoming president and lost his daughter to drugs and alcohol.
• His success politically came with many regrets and sorrows.
• He wishes he could do it over… but you don’t get a second chance.
• He was out seeking to advance himself… but his kids paid the price.
• Countless times that scenario has been repeated… a longing to “make it” can bring ruin and destruction and many sorrows to one’s life.
• What irony—the very thing we THINK will bring us joy and happiness turns out to be the source of our most painful hurts and sorrows instead!!
5. Gen. 13:10 – Lot lifted up his eyes—and made his decision based upon his eyes… what LOOKED good physically to him.
a. vs. 14 – note that Abraham waited until the Lord told him to lift up his eyes.
b. Lot’s choice was materially prosperous for him… but spiritually, poverty stricken!
c. II Peter 2:8 – Peter tells us that Lot’s righteous soul was vexed daily because of the deeds of the men of Sodom. It was his longing to prosper that brought him to that place.
d. He became rich and successful… he sat at the gate of the city… but it was accompanied by much sorrow.
e. He too lost his wife and his family in the process.
f. He was pierced with many sorrows… vexed daily… because of his longing for riches…
But when God blesses with riches, there is no sorrow with it!
1. The blessings that come from the Lord are truly BLESSINGS… occasions for joy…
a. When we obtain riches the wrong way… or when we lust after riches the wrong way, we will experience sorrow.
b. But when we obtain blessings the right way… there IS no sorrow attached!
c. Prov. 10:4 – When we do our best… put in diligent effort… work in dependence upon the Lord… and do so gladly and cheerfully… THEN, when God blesses the finished product (building a church; building a business; or building a family)… there is no sorrow with it!
d. There is no sorrow with the outcome when we do our part, joyfully dependent upon the Lord.
2. When God blesses, there is no sorrow with it. It is a TRUE blessing.
a. There is no regret… no second thoughts… no grief… no guilt…
b. God’s blessings are to be enjoyed!
c. And God blesses us with poverty, He is able to make our little cabin a palace… (Prov. 17:1)
d. I Tim. 6:17 – when God blesses, there is no sorrow with it.
• He intends for us to ENJOY His blessings…
• And to use them wisely for His glory. (vs.18-19)
3. The reason the Lord’s blessings and riches add no sorrow with them is because the experience of the joy of the Lord is not sourced in the blessings… but in the One who blesses!
a. Hab. 3:17-19 – Even when we are diligent and faithful and never obtain physical blessings or riches… we can STILL rejoice…
b. Our rejoicing is not in the Blessings, but in the Lord who gave them.
c. That no one can take from us… the Lord never changes…
d. The real blessing is that we know God… and can walk with Him and trust in Him… regardless of the economy… or our wallet… Wall Street… or a bountiful harvest time…
e. Whether rich or poor, the believer can rejoice in the Lord.
f. We can learn to abound and to suffer want… and still have the joy of the Lord in it…
g. If God blesses us with poverty or if God blesses us with riches… He adds no sorrow with it.
h. If we work hard and do our best and we are still poor, then you can sleep at night and enjoy the Lord.
i. If we work hard and do our best and become rich… then we can enjoy those riches and use them for God’s glory. There need be no guilt… no sorrow… it is all the Lord’s doing… blessed be the name of the Lord.
Proverbs 10:23
Evil as a Sport
Introduction:
1.) This passage stands as a single nugget—not part of any greater context.
2.) Like vs. 15, Solomon is not endorsing or promoting in any way the topic at hand, but rather is stating it as it is. This is a fact—this is what is often true in life.
3.) This is an observable part of fallen human nature: there are many folks out there, for whom mischief is a game… evil is their sport.
4.) Human nature hasn’t changed a bit.
It is as sport…
1.) Sport – laughter, laughing stock, mocking, derision
a.) The term does not mean sport in the sense we use it today.
b.) It means that which is laughed at… in derision… mocked…
c.) Job 12:4—used twice here—Job lamented that he had become the laughingstock in town… a JOKE…
d.) The term means something to laugh at… a joke… but usually with an evil connotation.
e.) Laughter is not always found in an evil connotation however. Job 8:21 speaks of laughter as a gift from God. HE put laughter in his mouth!
f.) But just as is the case in laughter and humor today, in Solomon’s day, there was good clean humor (a gift from God) or an evil or even sick kind of humor.
g.) It is the latter sense that Solomon uses the term in Prov. 10:23.
2.) Mischief: plan, device, (used of God’s plan to judge men)… and when used of men it speaks of wickedness, evil plans
a.) We often use the term to describe innocent, childish behavior… sometimes even cute.
b.) That is the not the connotation the term has in the Bible. It is a much more sinister term.
c.) It refers not to little boys playing their cute little pranks, but evil plans or devices concocted by evil men.
d.) Used in Gen. 6:11 – of the men who devised the plan to build a tower unto God… and form a one world empire without God! (which they “imagined to do”)
3.) Solomon is stating here that some twisted and perverted men (or women) somehow derive a morbid pleasure from making and carrying out evil plans… a sick sense of humor.
4.) Prov.15:21 – folly is his joy… his delight…
a.) Folly is his joy in life… (folly also has a sinister connotation in Proverbs)
b.) This person derives his JOY (fun; pleasure; satisfaction) from what the Bible calls “folly.” Evil things…
c.) Serial killers often derive a sick pleasure from killing and torturing people. It has become their greatest thrill in life…
d.) That is perhaps the bottom of the barrel… but this principle operates much more often than just in serial killers.
e.) Young gangs of teenagers go out on Friday night for some fun—which to them means getting into trouble…
• Perhaps they get their thrill from shoplifting… beating up a smaller kid in the neighborhood… shooting out the street lights…going through parking lots and scratching their keys against cars… slashing tires… writing graffiti on old buildings…
• Seeing how much they can get away with becomes a game… trying to outsmart the police becomes a game…
f.) And it is not just young teenagers who operate this way either.
• What about the man who has made a game of stealing electronic equipment from his company… piece by piece… just to be able to say he did it?
• What about the housewife who is leading a double life… one with her family and having an affair on the side… for the thrill of getting away with it…
• What about the modern day snake oil salesmen… peddling products they know don’t work… and laughing at all the suckers who bought it?
• What about the extreme sports of our day… trying some foolish stunts for the thrill of it?
• What about the sick people who set up hidden cameras to watch people undress?
• What about the guy in the office who gets a big laugh out of passing smutty jokes around?
• What about the thousands who get drunk or take drugs just for the FUN of it… and put your life at risk on the highway?
• What about the computer hacks who delight in getting into company or government files and creating as much havoc as they can?
• What about the arsonist who takes pleasure in burning buildings down… without any concern about the cost or pain to others.
• What about the twisted geniuses who invent these bizarre Internet diseases… just for the fun of it! It is their JOY in life.
• Human nature certainly has not changed since Solomon’s day.
5.) Prov. 26:18-19 – a sport at deceiving his neighbor.
a.) Here Solomon describes such a person as a “mad man.”
b.) And not just any old mad man. Some mad men are harmless… this one is not.
c.) This mad man is casting about flaming arrows… resulting in death! He is dangerous!
d.) He runs about like a violent terrorist, inflicts harm on his neighbors and excuses it as a “game”… a sport…
e.) Here is a man who has made harming and hurting others a sport!
f.) However, this twisted sport is fun only to him.
• What about those who get some sort of twisted pleasure by standing on the overpasses and throwing rocks at cars?
• No doubt when those kids are caught their excuse is that they thought it was a game… they didn’t really want to hurt anyone.
g.) Solomon warns us often about this kind of person.
6.) Why do you suppose that Solomon wrote about the twisted thinking of the fool who delights in creating mischief?
7.) I would suggest three reasons:
a.) So we won’t behave like a fool… but rather like the wise man.
b.) As a warning… these proverbs are to give subtlety to the simple (1:4-5 & 2:11-14)
• Young people—be aware that there are evil men out there with evil intentions… who love nothing better than to prey on the unsuspecting and the naive…
• Be careful in choosing your friends… there are many young people out there who are in the process of developing this evil character themselves… learning to get pleasure or make sport out of mischief and wickedness… (Prov. 1:10-15)
• Be careful about the kinds of GAMES you choose… be careful about the kinds of amusements that you choose…
• Delight yourself in GOOD things and avoid anything that might be evil or lead to evil… Prove all things… hold fast and abstain…
c.) As an aid to parents…
• Solomon describes an evil element in human nature that parents should look out for—a child who seems to gain pleasure out of mischief…
• This is a character flaw (sin) that may develop quite innocently… even unnoticed at first.
• Video games and Hollywood capitalize on this twisted part of human nature. (How many video games are popular because the kids get to blow up bridges or cut people’s heads off?)
• Yes it is just a game… make believe, but isn’t it also possible that it is nurturing this twisted kind of thinking that Solomon warns us against?
• Some kids might begin to make a game out of hurting animals… cutting the tails off cats…
• Be careful about a child who goes overboard on reading horror stories…
• Don’t let practical jokes get out of hand…
• Things that might seem so innocent at first may be quietly and inwardly feeding an inner lust for mischief… it may be nurturing a sick pleasure derived from evil…
• If you think you see that developing, cut it off… and redirect your child’s heart to GOOD things… get them involved in another kind of “sport” or activity that they can delight in… with no mischief involved.
• Vines will often grow in the wrong direction. Don’t freak out over it… gently but firmly redirect the vine… redirect your child’s interests to that which is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report; virtuous…
• Pay attention to your child’s heart… what they love… what excites them… where their interests lie… what they delight in… for out of the heart are all the issues of life.
But a man of understanding hath wisdom…
1.) In stark contrast to the fool who loves mischief is the man of understanding who loves wisdom.
2.) What a person delights in determines his character.
a.) Foolish men delight in folly. Evil men delight in evil. Sick, perverted men derive their happiness from twisted plans.
b.) Wise men delight in wisdom and understanding.
3.) Be careful what you delight in.
a.) Keep your heart with all diligence…
b.) Delight in the Word of God.
c.) Delight in God Himself.
• “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Ps. 37:4)
• People usually seek out that which they have grown accustomed to delighting in…
• “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” (Ps. 40:7) What’s in your child’s heart? (TV shows and rock stars?)
d.) Be careful what you delight in!
Proverbs 10:24
The Fear of the Wicked; The Desire of the Righteous
Introduction:
1. This proverb, like so many others contrasts the wicked and the righteous.
2. Once again, it should be pointed out that this is a proverb—and does not cover every base… it is a general truth, but not one that is true in each and every case.
The fear of the wicked
1. Wickedness takes on many shapes and forms. (laziness; adultery; stealing; gossip; etc.)
2. The wicked have many fears.
a. Lazy people fear having to go to work! (Prov. 26:13)
b. (Prov. 7:18-21) Adulterers fear getting caught by her husband. They fear their own spouse finding out. They fear getting aids.
c. Drug users fear the police. They become paranoid that they are being watched. They fear being sold contaminated drugs. They fear dirty needles. They fear overdosing. They fear not being able to get any drugs.
d. Thieves fear being caught… having to pay back… jail… (Prov. 6:30-31)
e. Gossips fear being discovered as the source of gossip. They fear losing their friends as a result. (Ecc. 10:20)
f. Sinners in general fear being discovered… exposed…
• Sinners fear and dread having to pay the consequences of their sin.
• They may fear being exposed and losing their reputation.
• They may fear going to jail.
• They may fear being kicked out of school…
• They may fear having to face their parents… their teacher… or their boss… or the judge…
• They fear losing their job… their family…
g. Ultimately, sinners fear facing God and giving account to Him!
• While sinners may talk like macho men who aren’t afraid of dying, for the most part, it is just talk. Men DO fear dying.
• The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Men FEAR having to answer for their sin, for their lack of righteousness, and the judgment to follow.
• Heb.10:27 – The ultimate fear of the wicked is death… and the judgment to come.
3. Because of these fears and worries, the wicked can never experience the REST that a cleansed conscience can bring.
a. Instead of rest, they experience fear and anxiety.
b. They are always looking over their shoulder to see if they are being followed… or have been discovered…
c. Isa. 57:20-21 – there is no rest for the wicked… no peace… just fears and worries.
d. Think of that principal in Newton who was caught and exposed to be a heroin addict. Her picture splashed on the front page… her reputation was destroyed… her job lost… her family shamed… her career gone… sent to prison… She must have feared that day. No doubt she knew that the day would eventually come… and she could have no rest… no peace.
e. Prov. 13: 15 – the way of the transgressor is HARD.
It shall come upon him
1. Solomon’s point here is this: that which the wicked fear, they must ultimately face.
2. They fear getting caught. It SHALL come upon them. (Num. 32:23)
3. The wicked might seem to be doing quite well… but that which they fear will overtake them… fear; anxiety; being caught; exposed; shamed; paying consequences.
4. For a living lesson on this proverb, just take a visit to the local prison.
a. There you will find row after row of men and women who lived out their wickedness in one of its many ugly forms…
b. There you will find living examples of men and women for whom that which they feared came upon them—they were caught and penalized! That’s what they feared—and that’s what came upon them.
c. Sure there are some who never get caught in this life… and on that basis, the majority of criminals who DO get caught carry out their crimes with the hope that they will be the exception to this proverb… they hope that they will be the one who lives out wickedness and his fear does NOT come upon him.
d. Heb. 4:13 – But this proverb is true even for those who do NOT get caught or exposed in this life. A few get away with their crimes in this life… and their fears never materialize in this life… but they WILL when they face God.
The desire of the righteous
1. In contrast to the wicked who get what they DON’T want, the righteous get what they DO want!
a. This is a proverb… and a promise.
b. It is in effect like saying, “It shall go well for the righteous; but it shall not go well for the wicked—woe to the wicked!”
c. Ecc. 8:12-13 states the same principle.
2. This proverb states that the righteous get their desires (what they want), but the wicked get what they fear and dread!
3. Psalm 37:4 – God promises to grant the desires of our hearts to the righteous.
a. This is not a blank check promise.
b. It is for those who TRULY delight themselves in the Lord! God is their joy and delight. Pleasing and glorifying Him brings joy to their hearts.
c. We sometimes lament that this verse doesn’t seem true. (I love the Lord. How come He didn’t give me that new Cadillac I wanted so much?)
• Why? Because that desire arose from a love of self… delighting in pleasing self.
• When we delight in the LORD, our desires will be quite different.
• We will then say, Not my will but THINE be done! Doing His will be our true joy and pleasure!
• If the desire of our heart is to please and glorify God, then we will delight in doing HIS will—even if it means bearing a cross… facing a trial… or experiencing tragedy…
• If God can be glorified and magnified through it, then that becomes the desire of our heart.
• “I delight to do thy will O God”—the words of Jesus Christ as He took on a body—that He might die for the sins of the world! The desire of Christ’s heart was to do His Father’s will and glorify His Father’s name.
4. What is the desire of your heart?
a. If it centers around making life pleasant, comfortable, healthy, wealthy, successful for SELF… then it is fair to say we are delighting in SELF, not the Lord.
b. But if the true desire of our heart is to please and glorify God—then we will desire to do His will whatever it may include!
Shall be granted
1. Righteous people shall be granted the desires of their hearts.
2. God WILL give us all opportunity to serve Him, to suffer for His name, to manifest His life, to witness of Him, and to glorify Him.
3. On a more practical level, this principle can be applied to everyday life.
a. Lazy people fear having to work. Diligent people desire to prosper and shall be granted the rewards of their labors! (Prov. 10:4 – he becomes rich… blessed richly)
b. Adulterers fear getting caught. But those who are faithful in marriage desire a happy home and shall be granted a happy relationship.
c. Gossips fear being exposed. But those who use their tongues righteously shall be granted the blessing of being a tree of life! (Prov. 15:4)
4. Ultimately, the righteous desire to be with the Lord in glory. That too shall be granted!
a. Our desire, our blessed hope is to be with the Lord at the Rapture. That will be granted to each of us!
b. Our desire is to shed this body of sin and replace it with a glorified, sinless body. That desire shall be granted!
c. Our desire is to see our Savior face to face—and that shall be granted to us!
d. Our desire is to dwell forever in that heavenly Jerusalem—and that shall be granted to us!
e. Our desire is to serve and worship God forever—and that shall be granted to us!
5. Ultimately:
a. That which the wicked fears shall come upon him: he shall face God the Judge and be cast into the Lake of Fire.
b. The desire the righteous shall be granted: to dwell in the heavenly house of the Lord forever!
c. Sometimes from our earthly perspective, we SEE the opposite. (The wicked seem to prosper and have whatever they want; the righteous seem to go without).
d. From eternity’s perspective this Proverb will be completely and eternally true—no exceptions.
Proverbs 10:25
An Everlasting Foundation
Introduction:
1. This is another contrast between the wicked and the righteous.
2. It is closely related to the previous proverb.
3. Prov. 10:24 – The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him…
a. The wicked have many fears.
b. Ultimately, sinners fear facing God and giving account to Him!
c. Isa. 57:20-21 – there is no rest for the wicked… no peace… just fears and worries.
d. Solomon’s point here is this: that which the wicked fear, they must ultimately face.
e. They fear getting caught. It SHALL come upon them. (Num. 32:23)
4. Verse 24 had to do with the temporal and ultimate consequences that the wicked and the righteous will face…
5. Verse 25 deals with the kind of security each can have in the meantime.
a. The wicked will be swept away like a tornado.
b. The righteous will be found on a solid, everlasting foundation.
6. Contrast: the destruction of the wicked vs. the everlasting security of the righteous.
As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more…
1. Whirlwind: a storm of wind; tornado; great gusts of wind; hurricane
2. The point: a whirlwind leaves devastation in its wake.
a. It blows everything all away—especially if you lived in the Bible days in a tent in the wilderness.
b. A tornado can pick up a house and leave just the foundation.
c. It can pick up a car and drop it down the road a ways.
3. So is the wicked no more…
a. His point is that just as a whirlwind can take something away in an instant—so that it is gone… so, too, the wicked will be taken away in an instant… gone!
b. There is no safety or security for the wicked. None whatsoever.
c. Vs. 24 – that which they fear (being blown away!) SHALL COME upon them.
• For some it comes in this life.
• For all it comes as they stand before God to give account for their lives.
4. This is a partial answer from God to ongoing question in the minds of godly people: Why do the wicked prosper? Why do the ungodly seem to be so successful? Why do evil men seem to get away with murder?
a. God’s answer: They don’t!
b. Vs. 24 – that which they fear shall come upon them…
c. Vs. 25 – like a whirlwind they will be no more… blown away forever.
d. From our limited perspective in time, it APPEARS that the wicked prosper and get away with murder, but not from God’s perspective.
e. In fact, God is even USING their wickedness to bring His perfect plan to pass.
f. As awful as the tragedies of last week were, there was one tragedy that causes all others to pale in comparison: the crucifixion of Jesus Christ!
• Acts 2:23 – wicked men with wicked hearts performed the most wicked deed in all of history.
• YET—it was all according to God’s foreknowledge and determinate counsel.
• God used that deed for good.
• The wicked men will be judged for their wickedness… and will be taken away as a whirlwind one day.
g. But wicked men are not prospering from God’s perspective!
• At the cross, the devil seemed to triumph—he succeeded in putting Messiah to death.
• He bruised the heel of Messiah—and for a moment thought himself to be the victor.
• But in the very process, Christ arose from that mortal wound to crush the head of the serpent!
• Even the devil will be taken away like a whirlwind one day and cast into the Lake of Fire forever.
• Evil will NOT continue forever.
• The same is true for all evil men.
h. From our limited perspective in time, it may appear that the wicked prosper… but Solomon assures us that one day they will be no more…
• No more a threat to the righteous…
• No more able to propagate their evil plans…
• No more able to oppose God or God’s people…
• We should take heart from this passage: in the end, evil men are the losers and will be no more!
• All of his hopes, pleasures, opportunities for God’s grace will be swept away in a moment of time for every wicked man.
5. Many wicked men with their wicked plans have been carried away like a whirlwind.
a. In the days of Noah, wicked men were carried away like a whirlwind… in the flood.
b. In the days of Abraham, wicked men in Sodom and Gomorrah were taken away like a whirlwind—in a storm of fire from heaven.
c. In the days of Esther, the wicked Haman, who almost succeeded in a plan for worldwide genocide of the Jews was taken away in an instant—hung on the very gallows he had built for his enemy.
d. In the days of Daniel, wicked men devised a plan that landed Daniel in the lions den. However, the calamity suddenly fell upon the wicked and they and their families were torn to shreds by the lions!
6. Proverbs speaks of this principle often: sudden calamity that befalls the wicked.
a. 6:12-15 – he causes great calamity in the lives of others with his tongue… but his calamity shall come upon him suddenly.
b. 24:21-22 – those who seek to meddle with governments (rebels; traitors; those who seek to overthrow governments; terrorists; etc.) Their calamity shall come suddenly… and their ruin will be indescribable!
c. Don’t fret over evil men who seem to get away with their evil plans. Not one of them will get away with anything before God.
d. Perhaps their plans will blow up in their faces in this life. Perhaps it will not be exposed until they face God—but wicked men and their evil devices will all be carried away like a whirlwind one day.
7. I Thess. 5:2 – The coming of the Lord will bring sudden calamity upon the wicked—like a whirlwind… suddenly… unexpectedly…
a. Vs. 3 – they FEEL safe, but are not.
b. Wicked men often attempt to build for themselves a false sense of security.
c. The godly see the wicked who seem to prosper, seem to have not a worry in the world—yet the whirlwind is coming. It is a false sense of security derived from their wealth, power, and worldly mindset.
d. There is no escape when this whirlwind comes.
8. Matt. 7:26-27 – great was the fall of it…
a. Here the Lord Jesus describes the fall of the wicked.
b. The wicked fool built his house on sand…
c. It may be a beautiful house… well designed… well laid out… well furnished…an elaborate structure… with steel girders… fire extinguishers… an expensive house… that took years to build… the latest in safety features which give its builders a sense of great security…
d. But if it was built on sand, (by folly and wickedness) then that house will be swept away when the storm comes!
e. Its fall will be GREAT.
f. Here the Lord has in mind the ultimate coming to justice: standing before God at the Great White Throne Judgment.
g. What if we never find the evil men who have bombed our cities? Will they get away with murder?
• Maybe in this life, but not forever.
• As a whirlwind, they will be no more!
• No more around to carry out their evil deeds. They will be cast into the Lake of Fire.
But the righteous is an everlasting foundation…
1. In contrast to the insecurity of the wicked—who could be carried away in a storm at any moment… to their ruin and destruction is the RIGHTEOUS… and the everlasting security that belongs to them.
2. Matt. 7:24-25 – the Lord states that the righteous man (believer who builds on a solid foundation—Christ) is TRULY safe and secure.
a. The storm came, but this house stood tall. It was not swept away.
b. This house may not LOOK as secure as the fool’s house…
c. It may not be as big, expensive, impressive from the outside…
d. BUT it is secure because of its foundation.
e. As Solomon puts it, the righteous is an everlasting foundation.
• The KJV adds the verb “is”. It might be better understood if the verb “has” was added.
• The righteous man HAS an everlasting foundation. Unshakable.
3. I John 2:17 – The world and its wickedness will pass away, but he who does the will of God abides forever. Safe and secure forever.
4. Psalm 112:5-7 – The righteous man need not fear evil tidings… dreadful news. (and there is no shortage of evil tidings)… Why does he not need to fear?
a. Vs. 6 – he will not be moved!
b. Vs. 7 – His heart is fixed.
c. He trusts in the Lord and is thus attached to a solid rock… an unmovable foundation… an everlasting foundation.
d. Evil men CANNOT:
• Undo our salvation…
• Separate us from the love of God…
• Take us out of the hands of our heavenly Father…
• Touch our heavenly inheritance and treasures…
• Take away our joy in the Lord…
• The things that are really important to the righteous man are untouchable…
• They can harm our body or take our earthly goods, but they cannot touch our soul.
• Jesus said, “Fear not them who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul: but rather, fear HIM… God…” (Matt. 7:28)
5. Psalm 37:10-11 – Wait on the Lord. In a little while, the wicked will not be! But the meek shall inherit the earth.
a. Again the psalmist encourages his readers: (vs. 32-36)
b. The wicked often appear to have great power…
c. But wait… it will pass away, and he will be found no more.
d. Evil men have ALWAYS attempted to wreak havoc on the lives of others.
e. God’s message has been the same throughout the ages: wait on the Lord and keep His way.
f. Vengeance belongs to Him. In His time and in His way, the godly shall be exalted and the wicked shall be no more!
Proverbs 10:26
The Sluggard
Introduction:
1. This proverb speaks about a single issue: the sluggard.
2. The book of Proverbs has much to say about the sluggard, but this passage looks at him from only one dimension… what he is to others.
As vinegar to the teeth and as smoke to the eyes…
1. Vinegar, or something similar that is strongly acidic causes the teeth to stand on edge…
a. It is an uncomfortable feeling.
b. Every little grinding action of the teeth seems accentuated.
2. Smoke to the eyes…
a. At the very least is irritating… even painful.
b. Smoke in your eyes hinders you from seeing…
c. When there is smoke in your eyes, you have to stop what you are doing to rub your eyes and take care of the irritation.
d. It is crippling.
e. It brings tears.
So is the sluggard to them that send him…
A. Sending a Sluggard
1. The sluggard mentioned here has obviously been “sent” on a mission.
a. He has been given a job to do… a mission to carry out… a ministry or service to perform…
b. Whoever sent him put confidence in him… trusted him to do the job… is counting on him… relying upon him… perhaps MANY people are relying upon him.
2. Sluggard: a sluggard is a lazy, slothful person.
a. A sluggard does not take his job seriously.
b. He doesn’t really care about the success or failure of his role. He’s just putting in time.
c. Sluggards are to be found everywhere.
d. Schools: some students are lazy and sluggish in doing their work. Some teachers are lazy and sluggish in preparing to teach.
e. Workplace: Does anyone here know someone in your workplace who fits this bill? Have you ever worked with a lazy person?
f. Government: Some people get a government job and think they are now entitled to loaf the rest of their lives.
• Have you ever seen a sign on the road that says, “Men working”? You rarely do!
g. Pastors: some pastors are sluggish in their duties too! “Much study is a weariness of the flesh.” (Ecc. 12:12)
• Some pastors are not willing to weary themselves in the study of the Word. (ex: “I am not a student; I can’t teach the Bible…)
• Just because someone holds that position, doesn’t mean he is faithfully carrying out his duties.
• Some men assume that once they graduate from seminary, their studies are over!
h. Sunday school teachers: Some Sunday school teachers wait until the last minute to look over their lesson. No preparation… little prayer… little study… slothful.
i. Parents: Almost anyone can bring children into the world. That’s no great feat.
• However, it takes a lot of effort, time, energy, money, sacrifice, and hard work to see that they turn out right.
• Some parents are sluggish in their responsibilities as parents…
• They may be fantastic breadwinners, but sluggish in their real parental duties.
• Some kids are left to themselves. (Prov.2 9:15 – a slothful parent will pay for it one day.)
j. Children: Some kids are slothful… in doing their chores at home… in doing their schoolwork… picking up their room… have their own personal devotion time… serving in the local church…
k. Let’s face it: sluggards are found everywhere… in every walk of life… sluggards are found in every culture… in every company… in every church… in every country…their battle cry is “manyana.”
• Obviously, Solomon observed this often… and wrote about it often.
• Human nature is the same today.
• This is a subject we need to consider too.
B. The Sluggard Irritates Those Who Sent Him
1. The sluggard is irritating to those who sent him… and to the MANY who were counting on him to do his job… like vinegar on the teeth or smoke in the eyes.
2. This is the main point of the proverb. There are lots of sluggards out there… and every one of them is an irritation to others.
3. Prov. 25:19 – He is like a broken tooth or a foot out of joint.
a. Here Solomon speaks about the very same issue: confidence in an unfaithful man.
b. You give someone a job to do, but they are unfaithful.
c. You place confidence in that person… expecting the job to be taken care of… and it isn’t!
d. Like a broken tooth.
• You are unaware that your tooth is broken… or perhaps you forget, and you bite down on something.
• You have confidence your tooth will function, but it doesn’t! It causes you great pain instead!
• Those in charge give people jobs to do and SHOULD be able to get busy on other issues and not give that chore another thought. Just like our teeth should work. When they work faithfully we don’t give another thought to biting down on a piece of food.
• A servant is like a tooth. When it works faithfully you don’t give it another thought. When it doesn’t do it’s job—OUCH! It hurts.
• We have a lot of servants here who are faithful! I never have to worry whether they are going to show up and do their job… reliable… trustworthy… faithful. Praise God!
e. Like a foot out of joint.
• This is another illustration teaching the exact same truth.
• When your foot works well, you don’t think about it. (How much thought did you give your foot today?)
• When a person walks he just expects that his foot will hold him up… that it will bend… and he can walk smoothly.
• But if your foot gives out on you (when you were counting on it to hold you up)—it can cause great trouble to you!
• If a mountain climber’s foot gives out on him, he could fall to his death! If a skier’s foot refuses to cut his edge into the snow, it could spell disaster for him! Or something as simple as climbing the stairs—if your foot proves to be unreliable, it can cause great harm!
• So is the unfaithful servant. If people are counting on you to do your job and you are not reliable—it can cause great harm… hurt… and trouble to others.
f. Solomon wrote about this often because it is quite likely that as KING he experienced this trouble and pain often!
• As a king, he would have appointed many people to many different tasks in the kingdom.
• Some would be faithful workers and he wouldn’t have to give that department a second thought. Those are the kind of workers the king would want! Anyone would want!
• Others would prove to be unreliable… and would become the source of much grief to him… a thorn in the flesh… and trouble to the nation.
4. This principle holds true in countless different scenarios.
a. The President appoints men to various panels—and relies upon them to do their job.
• President Bush has just appointed the former governor of PA to head up anti-terrorism task force. Pray that this man would be reliable!
• If HE loafs on the job, it could harm many others… beyond irritating to deadly! Pray for him.
• The way we do our job will have an effect on others.
• If someone’s job is to protect our country from terrorists, it is obvious that it is important for him not to be a sluggard. (Get ‘em!)
b. You wouldn’t want a firefighter to be lazy when the bell rings! When you need emergency medical attention you don’t want someone who is lazy… and will get around to it when they feel like it!
c. Perhaps some folks here have been irritated because of a sluggard in the office—who never does his job… or never finishes his job… or does a poor job because he is lazy… and YOU have to pick up the slack! Irritating!
d. Perhaps you have been irritated by a check out clerk who was slow as molasses…
e. Perhaps you have been irritated by the lackadaisical attitude of workers in a store… a garage… or at the registry. They don’t seem to care if you dropped dead before them. They seem to be bothered no end if you have the audacity to ask them a question.
f. They irritate you. But eventually they will irritate the one who sent them… the one who hired them for that position.
g. This is the sluggard. He is like smoke in the eyes… vinegar on the teeth… a broken tooth… or a sprained ankle…
5. DON’T put confidence in them!
a. That’s the lesson to learn from this.
b. If you are a leader in a ministry… don’t accept workers unless you can count on them… they must be reliable… faithful…
c. Some Christians are not reliable… but are sluggards. I have met believers I would never hire if I were working in the personnel department for a corporation.
d. This quality has nothing to do with talent or ability. There are some extremely talented people who are not reliable. They possess much ability but not much reliability.
e. Don’t put confidence in that which is unreliable… like a broken tooth or a sprained ankle… because it will be painful and irritating… like smoke in your eyes or vinegar on your teeth.
6. The sluggard is that irritating to those who send him. So DON’T be one!
a. If we know how much trouble it can cause… how much pain it might involve… how irritating it is to others, then DON’T DO IT!
b. Rom.12:11 – not slothful in business; but fervent in spirit!
c. Ecc. 9:10 – do your job… perform your ministry… with all your might!
7. In the church:
• Church dinners – if you sign up to bring the mashed potatoes and don’t bring them… then that can irritate those who were counting on you! If you sign up to go and someone buys and prepares food for you and you don’t show up… that can be like smoke in the eyes!
• Sunday school teachers – Who would want a Sunday school teacher whom you couldn’t rely upon to be there! You may be an extremely gifted teacher, but if we can’t count on you to be there… what good is your gift? It is wasted.
• Building project – decisions were made based upon the amount of man-hours signed up for. If you volunteer to do a job, then do it! Be faithful.
• Choir – You may have a fantastic voice and be gifted in music, but if you’re missing half the time, then it becomes an irritant to the choir director—who “sent” you there to do a job. It can hold up the rest of the choir from learning the song…
• Clean up crew – if you volunteer to do church clean up and you don’t show up, then the church members sit in a dirty building that Sunday. It is like stepping on a sore ankle… you expect it to work, but it doesn’t.
8. In the world workers who cannot be relied upon are fired…or they don’t get a pay raise or a promotion. That motivates them to do a good job.
• In the Lord’s work, our payday doesn’t come in this life. But that is no excuse for sloppy work. God wants our best.
• In fact, we should be even MORE motivated than workers in the world. We will be rewarded with that which is eternal!
• Col.2:22-24 – not with eyeservice… but from the heart…we receive a reward from the Lord. This goes for how we perform our ministries at church AND how we do our duties at work… AND how we do our duties at home!
9. The opposite is true also. When folks do their jobs faithfully, it is a delight! (Prov. 25:13)
a. Just as the unfaithful worker irritates the one who sent him, the faithful worker is refreshing to the one sent him! (master)
b. In the local church, when each member is FAITHFUL in performing their ministry, the Body functions smoothly… to the glory of God.
c. I Cor. 12:22 – even those members that seem feeble… insignificant are necessary. It is necessary for them to be faithful too… or the body will not function properly. (Just like our physical body requires faithfulness on all the tiny, seemingly insignificant, and unnoticed organs… or there could be a SERIOUS IRRITATION to your health and well being!
d. Don’t be unreliable. That quality irritates people. Don’t be a pain!
e. Be faithful… reliable… trustworthy… dependable… that quality is a delight.
Proverbs 10:27-28
The Fear of the Lord
Introduction:
Introduction:
1. Once again, Solomon contrasts the righteous and the wicked.
2. Once again he speaks in terms of a proverb… truths that are not true in each and every case. They are generalities about life.
3. In general, he states that the righteous will live long happy lives, and the wicked will live a short life and their hopes for their future will not be fulfilled.
27a The fear of the LORD prolongeth days…
1. This truth has been mentioned several times already in the book.
2. There are several MEANS of prolonging one’s days in the book of Proverbs:
a. 10:27 – fearing God will lengthen one’s days…
• David feared God when he stood before Goliath.
• Had he feared Goliath more he may never have written a psalm!
b. 3:1-2 – obeying one’s parents will lengthen one’s days…
• How many teenagers have been told by their parents to drive under control… no drinking… no speeding…
• How many would be alive today had they obeyed their parents when they got behind the wheel?
c. 3:13, 16 – holding on to wisdom will lengthen one’s days…
d. 9:10-11 – by fearing God and taking heed to wisdom…
• Remember Lot’s wife?
• Wisdom demanded that she flee the city and not turn back.
• Wisdom calls to us and makes demands of us. However, we have the freedom to choose to take heed or to ignore wisdom.
• When we take heed, we prolong our days…
e. Ps.91:9, 15-16 – by making God one’s refuge; calling upon Him…
• The soldiers at Jericho made God their refuge. They trusted in Him and their lives were preserved.
• The soldiers at Ai did not trust in the Lord. They trusted in themselves… and some lost their lives.
• When we stay close to the Lord, we are safe… and who knows how often our life has been preserved as a result?
3. It is good to fear the Lord for many reasons… one of which is “length of days.”
27b But the years of the wicked shall be shortened…
1. This is the flip side of the same truth. It too is mentioned often in Scripture.
2. Reasons for a shortened life:
a. Divine chastisement (Ps. 55:23 – they won’t live out half their days!)
• Some of the Corinthian believers lost their lives because of their sin… God’s ultimate form of chastening… death!
• Ananias and Saphira too lost their lives…
b. Giving oneself to folly and wickedness (Ecc. 7:17)
• Many men have had their days cut short because of their foolish lifestyle…
• Drinking… drugs… STD’s…
c. God calls fools out of this world in a time when they are not prepared to leave. (Luke 12:20)
28a The hope of the righteous shall be gladness…
1. Terms:
a. Gladness: joy, mirth, gladness
b. Hope: confident expectation
2. Righteous people can have a confident expectation of gladness and joy in their lives. This is the general rule.
a. True, many righteous men have suffered greatly.
b. True, many ungodly men SEEM to live the life of Riley… but things are not always as they seem.
3. Yet even if we suffer greatly in this life… (and some saints DO suffer much in this life) our whole life long — we can still have that HOPE (confident expectation of good for the future)… for the life to come.
a. THAT is the source of our true joy and gladness.
b. Hab. 3:17-18 – we can still have gladness or joy in the Lord. No one can take that from us.
4. The Lord has promised us JOY in this life. (John 15:11)
a. Joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
b. It is our every moment that we are yielded and thus filled with the Spirit… whether we are happy or not. Joy is not happiness.
c. Happiness is based upon pleasant circumstances.
d. Joy is much deeper. It exists entirely apart from circumstances.
e. Believers who are not happy with their circumstances can still have the joy of the Lord… true gladness…
f. Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS—and again I say rejoice! (Paul wrote from prison!)
g. The hope of the righteous is gladness and joy.
• Solomon makes a direct connection between righteousness and joy.
• The righteous shall have joy. The ungodly will never know true joy.
• Ps.32: 10-11 – the righteous shall experience joy. They have every reason to shout for joy and to rejoice!
h. John 16:22 – our hope for the future is the coming of Christ. We will have a joy that will never be interrupted!!
5. Ps. 16:9-11 David’s bright hope for the future enabled him to experience joy and gladness in the present.
a. His hope for the future involved passing through death victoriously and being in the presence of God!
b. Thus, he could say, “my heart IS glad”… (not shall be!)
c. If we believe that which we hope for, if our hope is genuine confident expectation of good—then we can experience gladness today… regardless of today’s circumstances.
6. Prov. 14:32 –The righteous have HOPE in death.
a. Death is the ultimate bad experience in life… the worst circumstance we face.
b. Yet in death, we have a hope that no man can take from us.
c. Not happiness, but JOY as we face death…
7. We have a fabulous HOPE as Christians:
a. Being used of the Lord here on earth… to represent Christ and lead others to a saving knowledge of Him…
b. Being rewarded for our present labors some day…
c. Resurrection of the body…
d. Eternally separated from our sin nature…
e. An eternal inheritance in glory…
f. A heavenly dwelling place being prepared for us…
g. The new heaven and new earth… new Jerusalem…
h. Living in the presence of God…
i. Our blessed hope, the coming of Christ…
j. So let others be miserable if they so choose. Not me. I refuse to be miserable.
k. I Cor. 15:19 – if this life is all there is then we have reason to be miserable here. But this is NOT the case.
l. We have every reason to rejoice in the Lord… to serve the Lord with gladness!
m. This too is a matter of personal choice.
• You can CHOOSE to be miserable by CHOSING to focus on the earthly and temporal circumstances.
• Or you can CHOOSE to experience the joy of the Lord by keeping your focus on Him and His wonderful promises that fill us with hope…
• We need to CHOOSE to set our affection on things above, not the things of this earth.
28b But the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
1. All men have hope and expectation concerning their future.
2. Even the wicked hope for GOOD days ahead… for gladness… happiness… favorable circumstances… good health… prosperity… good friends…
3. Wickedness FRUSTRATES any hope of good…
a. Think of the thousands of people in prison right now because of their wickedness… for their crimes…
• They had hopes of going on to college and building a successful career…
• They had hopes for a family…
• Every one of them had hopes for a good life… the little house with a white picket fence…
• Now all their hopes are dashed… some put on hold for 10 years… some dashed forever.
• They chose to commit a crime… to sin… and their wickedness dashed all their hopes for the future.
• Many are left with no hope whatsoever…
• Job 11:20 – Job spoke of this hopeless condition…
b. Solomon is warning us about this very real possibility. Don’t do it! Avoid wickedness. It is a hope-killer!
c. Ps.112:9-10 – the wicked shall see the exaltation of the righteous… his hopes coming to fruition, and it shall cause the wicked to gnash his teeth… frustration…
4. What a good challenge to us all—to lead a life of “Righteousness”… do things RIGHT before the Lord.
a. That is the way of gladness… peace of mind…
b. This is all a matter of choice. We can have either:
• A long happy life by living righteously
• OR a short frustrated life by living wickedly.
• The way of the transgressor is hard. The way of the backslider is hard.
• The choices we make in life will determine the QUALITY of our life… joy or frustration… gladness or a life of dashed hopes.
Proverbs 10:29-30
Strong and Unmovable
Introduction:
1. These two passages make yet another contrast between the righteous and the wicked.
2. The righteous are strong and unmovable. The wicked will be destroyed and removed from the land.
29a The way of the LORD is strength to the upright:
1. The way of the Lord.
a. Way: road, distance, journey, manner; course of life; path
b. It speaks of a way of life…
c. It is the way of the Lord… the right way to live… with the Lord as LORD of your life…
d. Those who have set their affections on things above and have given the Lord the place He deserves in our hearts are on the way of the Lord.
e. Ps. 119:1 – those who are in the way of the Lord are those who walk in obedience to His Word. If we are disobedient, then we are out of the way… off course… The word of God is designed to get us back on course when we wander.
f. This is the straight and narrow way… the way that refuses to walk with the ungodly… or stand in the way of sinners. It is a holy, separate way…
2. The way of the Lord is strength… power…
a. Strength: place or means of safety, protection, refuge, stronghold; fortress…
b. Isa. 25:4 – Speaking of the Lord, Isaiah describes Him as a place of strength and safety… for the poor… for those in distress…
• Those who walk in the way of the Lord find that they are in the way of this kind of strength and safety.
• God Himself is our strength… (Ps. 6:1)
c. Ps. 32:8-9 – if we are walking in the way of the Lord, the Lord promises to lead and guide us in that way.
• We are challenged not to be stubborn…when God leads, follow!
• Don’t make God FORCE us to follow in the way…
• The way of strength is the way of being yielded…led… surrendered…
• When that is the case, we are in a stronghold… safe in the will of God. THEN God can strengthen us with might in the inner man. And we NEED a strong inner man or we could crumble!
d. Prov. 2:7-9 – God preserves the way of His saints, and He gives them wisdom and discernment enough to stay ON that right way… that good path.
3. Being strong is a choice.
a. Everyone wants to be strong… especially in those days when we really NEED to be strong.
b. BUT, not all people are strong. Not all believers are strong… but that need not be the case with you.
c. Neh. 8:10 – the joy of the Lord is our strength.
• Cf. Prov.10:28 – gladness is their hope. Joy is their strength!
• Strong people have hope and joy.
• When sorrow and grief seem to overwhelm, there is something even MORE overwhelming—the joy of the Lord.
• If the spirit is broken… through grief or discouragement or depression, then we are weak.
• Prov. 17:22 – a broken spirit dries the bones.
• Prov. 18:14 – a wounded spirit, who can bear? It will crush you… it will defeat you… feelings take over…
• Ps. 32:3-4 – we are weak in the inner man when sin is tolerated… not confessed and forsaken.
• Sin will take away all our joy in the Lord… and our confidence in Him. That makes us an easy target for the adversary.
• Ps. 38:2-10 – a picture of spiritual weakness as a result of sin. That is the condition of the soul when sin is not dealt with… like a body with a disease…
• I John 1:4 – these things were written that our JOY might be full.
» What did he write about? The WAY of the Lord!
» Walking in the light… (vs. 7)
» maintaining fellowship (vs. 9)
» When we walk in the light; maintain fellowship with God, we have the joy of the Lord and we are strong in the Lord.
» We walk by faith and we are safe from all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
» If the Lord be for us, who can be against us?
• BUT if we forsake the way of the Lord, it is presumptuous to think that we can still experience the power of the Lord in our life.
» If we forsake the way of the Lord, we have NO strength.
» We are left to ourselves… to the power of the flesh… and the arm of flesh will fail us!
» As believers, our strength lies “in the Lord.” (Eph. 6:10)
» That strength is ours as we walk in the way of the Lord…
» The way of the Lord is strength to the upright…
» Isa. 41:29-31 – The Lord gives power and strength to those who are faint…strength comes from the Lord.
» If we step out of the way, we have stepped out of the way of safety, protection, and strength.
29b But destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
1. There is another way… the way of the enemy of the Lord. (Eph. 2:2-3) This is the course of the world.
a. The way of the world is a course of life… the general direction of one’s life.
b. It has nothing to do with where you live, or what one’s occupation is. It is a matter of the affections of the heart.
c. Our heart sets the whole direction of our life… it directs the feet down this pathway or that…
d. Those whose hearts are full of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life and on the course of this world.
2. Those believers who walk in that other way… (The way of iniquity) will find themselves without strength.
a. A worker of iniquity doesn’t necessarily mean a murderer, adulterer, or bank robber.
b. Iniquity is simply any step OUT OF THE WAY of the Lord!
c. We may still be coming to church regularly… even reading our Bible and teaching Sunday school. But if there is unconfessed sin in the heart, we have lost our strength… like Samson after his hair was cut.
3. Destruction: destruction, ruin, terror, a breaking…
a. Those who chose not to walk in the way of the Lord have wandered away from the place of safety and refuge.
b. They have wandered into a way that leads to destruction and ruin.
c. The believer who departs from the way of the Lord opens the door for ruin and destruction to enter his life.
d. Those who chose the life of sin will soon find themselves in a mess… a mess of their own making.
e. When believers walk away from the Lord and make a mess of their lives, they sometimes discover that the grass is NOT any greener on the other side… the way of the transgressor is hard…
• Then they come to the pastor and want him to recite a Bible verse and make the mess go away.
• It doesn’t work that way.
• Prov. 1:31 – here is a principle that applies: “you make a mess, and you have to eat it!”
• There are consequences to walking away from the Lord… and while God will forgive our sins, there are often many consequences that just don’t go away.
• It’s like pouring salt on your field. You may repent later… but it’s going to be a long time before that field grows any fruit…
• Prov. 14:14 – the backslider is filled with his own ways…
• Prov. 22:8 – he that sows iniquity will reap vanity.
30a The righteous shall never be removed:
1. This verse is quite similar to verse 29.
2. Removed = slip — it speaks of insecurity. The righteous shall NEVER be insecure.
3. Vs. 29 states that the righteous will be strong. Vs. 30 states that the righteous will be immovable.
4. Prov. 10:25 – the wicked are tossed about like a whirlwind. But the righteous are an everlasting foundation… solid… secure… not about to be blown away!
5. Eph. 4:14 – the righteous will grow in the Lord… as he keeps on walking in the way of the Lord.
a. In that pathway, he will mature and become discerning.
b. He will NOT be tossed to and fro…
c. He will be on a solid foundation.
6. Ps. 16:8 – the one who sets the Lord before him always shall not be moved!
a. Other people may be shaken from their footings… but not the one who sets the Lord before him.
7. Ps. 112:5-8 – the good man… the righteous man…
a. Vs. 5 – He is gracious and guides his affairs with discretion.
b. Vs. 6 – He will not be moved! He is solid!
c. Vs. 8 – He is not full of fear because he is FIXED on the Lord.
d. This ought to be a goal for all of us… and for our children — that we would be gracious, discerning, and stable… steadfast… like a rock!
e. That’s not impossible. We have rock solid believers in this church… praise the Lord… stable and steadfast in the faith for many, many years! Discerning and gracious too!
f. Not all believers are that way. Others are not so stable and solid.
g. BUT—they could be… if they walk in the way of the Lord and keep their heart with all diligence.
30b But the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.
1. Some choose to walk in the way of the world… in the way of the wicked.
2. They shall not inherit the earth… they shall be cast out.
3. Prov. 2:22 – eventually, wicked men will be rooted out of the earth… even if it does take the Great Tribulation Period and the Second Coming of Christ to accomplish this.
4. Solomon wants his sons (and us) to follow his wisdom… and to follow the way of the Lord. If so: we will live long (vs. 27), be glad (vs. 28), strong (vs. 30), and stable and steadfast!
Proverbs 10:31-32
Wise and Discerning Speech
31a The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom
1. The mouth of the just has been mentioned already in this chapter.
a. Vs. 11 – a well of life…
b. vs. 13 – wisdom is found
c. vs. 20 – as choice silver… valuable
d. Vs. 21 – feed many… a source of spiritual edification for others.
2. Brings forth wisdom…
a. The righteous man is a source of wisdom.
b. He learns wisdom. He seeks wisdom. He stores up wisdom.
c. He is a well of life… a fountain of information on living life…
3. The emphasis in vs. 31 seems to be on the continuing nature of this wisdom.
a. These are all antithetical parallelisms.
• A poetic style in which opposites are put back to back for the purpose of comparison.
• Ex: vs. 29- strength to the upright; destruction to workers of iniquity.
• Ex: vs. 30 – the righteous will never be removed from the land; the wicked will not inhabit the land.
b.Verse 31 does not seem to be an exact antithetical parallelism – the righteous brings forth wisdom; the forward tongue is cut out.
• The righteous and the froward are opposites.
• But bringeth forth wisdom does not seem be the opposite of cutting out the tongue.
• A possible explanation is found in another translation: the mouth of the just KEEPS ON bringing forth wisdom… while the tongue of the froward is cut out… stops.
• Then, we have true opposites—one that continues; the other does not.
• The NASV seems to capture this shade of meaning: The mouth of the righteous flows with wisdom… (implies continuous action)
c. This seems to add to what Solomon has already said about the mouth of just men. Now he adds that it is not only a source of wisdom, but a continually replenishing source! A renewable source of wisdom.
• Just men continually seek after wisdom… and hence they keep on discovering more and more!
• Just men are wise enough to know that they don’t know it all. There is always more to learn… and they keep at it.
• The fool thinks he knows it all, and hence, does not seek more wisdom.
» Why bother?
» You can try to talk sense to a fool, but he will roll his eyes and not pay attention. Why should he listen? He thinks he knows it all already. He has nothing to learn. That is folly and vanity at its worse.
• The just man is not like a fool. He listens. He hears. (Prov. 1:5) He is continually increasing in learning and wisdom.
• That is why wisdom is associated with age. Wise, righteous men keep on learning. They are continually being replenished with wisdom. They continually read God’s Word… and keep on learning… and listening.
• In that sense, we should all be lifelong students of God’s Word.
4. The mouth of the just brings forth wisdom like a spring bubbles up water. It is not like a stagnant pool… but more like a spring or a flowing stream… a continual supply…
a. You want advice? You need wisdom?
• Study the Scriptures and become wise…
• And go to a godly man or woman who has been walking with God for many years!
b. If you have gained wisdom over the years—do what Solomon says here: let it flow out! Bring forth wisdom… don’t keep it all to yourself!
c. One of the most serious mistakes of modern churches in America—even the fundamental churches—is that everything is geared around the youth.
• The older saints are not being used as they ought… not being tapped for the valuable wisdom they have accumulated!
• Church growth folks are taking surveys of the youth to find out what kind of a church they would like.
• We would do much better to tap the wisdom of the older saints… the epistles COMMAND us to!
• The last 20 years has seen a huge push towards counseling… yet the New Testament says that if younger women are having marriage problems or problems with their kids they are to go to the older women in the church and tap their wisdom!
• The mouth of the just keeps on bringing forth wisdom. Shame on us if we ignore the wisdom of older saints.
31b But the froward tongue shall be cut out.
1. Froward: perverse; wicked; the opposite of the just or righteous man.
2. While the mouth of the just keeps on flowing out with wisdom, the tongue of the perverse man shall be cut out. It shall NOT continue to wag!
3. Unfortunately, fools often talk too much.
a. Prov. 10:19 – in a multitude of words there is no lack of sin!
b. Ecc. 5:3 – a fool is characterized by an abundance of words.
• He has an opinion on every subject—whether he has done his homework on the subject or not.
• He has something to say about every issue—whether he knows anything about it or not.
c. Sometimes it seems like the froward tongue will NEVER stop.
• Solomon states that in time, they WILL be stopped.
• Eventually they trip over their words… get caught in their lies… others eventually begin to see through their evil intentions…
• The froward tongue will not go on forever.
• Eventually, such men will have to stand before God and give an account for every idle word.
• Some folks who talk non-stop will have an awful to give an account for!
• Evil tongues will not wag forever. Sooner or later they will be “cut out.”
4. Cut out – not literally, but figuratively.
a. There have been some folks who have gossiped, slandered and have separated chief friends. I have been tempted to literally cut out their tongue. Fortunately the fruit of the Spirit is self control.
b. Solomon did not mean literally.
c. But the truth the figure of speech portrays IS to be taken literally.
• The message of the figure is that eventually the tongue of the wicked man WILL be exposed… and dealt with.
• This exposure and treatment may well HURT… as if someone cut it out with a sword.
• Gossips don’t like to be found out. It hurts their pride.
• Those who seek to stir up trouble with their tongue don’t like to be discovered and exposed as a troublemaker.
• A liar doesn’t like to have his lies exposed as lies either.
• The MANNER in which the tongue is finally stopped may hurt a lot!
• Their reputation is ruined; they lose friends; people’s opinion of them plummets; no one can trust them. Ouch!
5. Eventually, however, they will get what they deserve.
a. Psalm 120:2-4 – what does the froward tongue deserve? A sword!
b. Psalm 31:18 – we should pray that froward tongues would be silenced!
c. What a warning to all of us—NOT to use our tongue in that manner.
32a The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable
1. In addition to being a continual source of wisdom… the lips of righteous people also have discernment.
2. Acceptable: good pleasure, delight, favour, goodwill
a. The wicked speak perverse things, but the righteous speak things that are pleasant… delightful… acceptable…
b. They know what to say and when to say it. Their speech is acceptable and well pleasing to God and to those who love God.
c. They are aware of that which is socially acceptable… and stick within those parameters in their speech.
d. There are believers with no social skills whatsoever. They just don’t have the discernment to know what is acceptable and what is not acceptable in different settings.
• For example: in this setting—the local church—it may be perfectly acceptable to have a Bible study exposing the errors of Rome.
• But if you are invited to the home of Roman Catholic, it is NOT acceptable to just tear his church apart now that you know many of its errors.
• There is a time and place for everything. Timing means a lot.
• Tearing someone’s church apart is not the best way to win him to the Lord.
e. This doesn’t mean he is a people pleaser with his speech. He does not compromise truth or holiness in order to please the crowd. But he does not unnecessarily offend others with his speech either.
f. They are not caustic and sarcastic, but pleasant.
g. They speak the truth, but they speak it in love.
h. They know the right thing to say and the right time to say, and the right spirit with which to say it.
i. Prov. 15:23 – when they speak, others say, “How good it is!” He speaks the right words in due season. We should cultivate this!
3. Ecc. 8:5 – A wise man discerns the “time and judgment” in his speech!
a. He knows WHEN… to speak and when to keep quiet.
b. He knows WHAT to say… he has the good judgment to know words that are acceptable.
c. This goes for speaking up in prayer meeting too! There are some requests that are not acceptable for public prayer!
4. Ecc. 12:10 – we too should SEEK OUT acceptable words.
a. When you are witnessing to a friend—pray about what words to use… how to present the gospel.
b. When you have to approach a brother who has offended you, seek out the right words to bring it up so that you don’t inflame the situation even more!
c. When you are going to your boss to ask for a raise—rest assured you would go over the exact wording in your mind. Do the same on other occasions!
d. When you have to bring up an issue with your spouse—avoid the inflammatory speech. Seek out acceptable words…
32b But the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness
1. The wicked… the fool… just keeps on uttering frowardness… perverseness.
2. Be careful with your tongue. Out of the same fountain comes both sweet water and foul. Avoid the foul!
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 11
Proverbs 11:1
A False Balance
A false balance is abomination to the LORD:
1. This passage speaks about dishonesty and deception in business transactions.
a. Balances or scales were used to measure all the goods sold in the marketplace.
b. How they worked: a one pound weight was placed on one side of the scale…and one pound of grain on the other. When they balanced in the middle, the consumer knew that he was getting one pound for his money.
2. However, if the merchant was dishonest, there were two ways he could cheat his customers.
a. He could use a false or uneven balance.
• If the balance arms were of unequal length, the scale would appear to say that they were equal, but they would not be equal.
• It works like a sea-saw. The short end requires more weight to balance the bar.
• Thus, dishonest merchants could use a “false balance”—with arms of unequal length.
• They also used to come up with tricks to falsify their balances. (let one side get dirty and greasy and all gummed up with whatever they were selling, and keep the other side clean.
• The Talmud required merchants to clean their scales either weekly, daily, or monthly, depending upon the product they sold.
b. He would use unequal weights.
• Some merchants would shave off a few ounces from his “weight.” (or the yardstick)
• Hence, the consumer would think he was getting a full pound, but he was not. He was being cheated.
• The merchant claimed he was selling a full pound, but it may have been only 15 ounces. The customer was getting shortchanged and the merchant was getting rich.
• Years ago in America, when some of our coins were silver, men began shaving the edges off the coins and saving the silver.
• Then the government decided to put those little lines on the edges of quarters so you could tell if you were getting a full quarter.
3. Amos 8:5 speaks of this dishonest practice
• making the ephah small (the weight was shaved)
• making the shekel great (the money; cost; their profit increases)
• falsifying the balances by deceit
• vs. 6 – the rich merchants took advantage of the poor (the rich become richer and the poor become poorer)
• vs. 7 – God takes notice; He will never forget!
• Vs. 8 – the land will be judged for this deception and oppression
4. Micah 6:10-11 – Micah also rebukes the people for this sin of cheating.
• He calls that dishonest gain as “treasures of wickedness” from a “scant measure.”
5. This is not a new phenomenon! It is as old as the hills…
a. Ever since the fall in Eden, men have been lying, cheating, deceiving, and stealing from one another in the marketplace.
6. This kind of behavior is a violation of four of the 10 commandments.
a. Thou shalt not bear false witness (lie)
b. Thou shalt not steal
c. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself
d. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods
7. Unfortunately, the Jews did not always obey the law.
a. Lev. 19:35-26 – God had to record a very specific command to the merchants…
b. Here God spells out clearly that shaving the ephahs was contrary to His commandments. It was stealing!
c. Why were they not to do this? “I am the Lord.” I said so!
d. The real reason for honesty is because of who God is. He is true. He is pure. He is holy… honest… reliable…
e. For a believer to steal not only harms the person from whom he steals—it disgraces God! It is a poor reflection on Him!
f. Deut. 25:13 – they were not even to OWN different kinds of measures…because of the temptation to use them!
• They were to use only the standard nationally accepted weights…
• They were not even to possess in their bags anything that might even be used for deception…
g. I Chron. 23:29 implies that there was a national standard weight… and that it was likely kept in the Temple area and monitored by the Levites.
8. It is probably no great surprise, but merchants in our country don’t obey this rule either!
a. Have you ever bought anything in a magazine that looks much larger in the picture than it does when you get it in the mail?
b. Have you ever bought a roll of Christmas wrap?
c. Have you ever bought a large box of cereal only to discover that when you open the box, it is only half full?
d. Then there are the proverbial butchers who “accidentally” leave their thumb on the scale…
e. The gas station owners who skim… adding an extra cent or two to the price… or adjusting their pumps to give a hair less than a full gallon?
f. How about the grocery stores where you have one price on the shelf, but it rings up more at the counter?
g. Or the paving companies that charge an arm and a leg and leave only a thin membrane of asphalt on your driveway!
h. Have you ever really counted your bottle of aspirin to see if there are REALLY 100 tablets in it?
i. And how about all the fine print in contracts, which the merchants hope no one will ever read?
j. Recently many food companies were caught selling their products in slightly smaller packages for the same price. (A deceptive way of charging more)
k. We call it price gouging… cutting corners… skimming… fraud…or scams. The ancients called it “false weights.”
l. Regardless of whatever men call it, God calls it abomination!
• The one that really gets me is when you spend $20,000 on a new car and they give you a spare tire that’s just about big enough for your lawn mower!
• That’s an abomination in my books!
9. Prov. 20:10,23 – divers weights = abomination
a. Having a bag of slightly different weights enabled the merchant to sell an honest weight to his friends and to cheat those he did not like. It opens the door to being a respecter of persons; bigotry; discrimination…
b. Sometimes they would have two separate sets of weights… one for buying and one for selling… and would use them to his own advantage… when he bought, he would get more than he paid for; when he sold the customer would get less then he paid for.
c. God called divers weights abomination… what makes it SO abominable is that it is conducted under the pretence of truth and honesty… God hates it.
d. We should hate it too.
e. Jack the Painter…
But a just weight is his delight.
1. In contrast to the “abomination” of dishonesty is the “delight” of honesty.
2. The “just weight” is one that conforms to the national standard. It is the accepted weight… the one the customer is EXPECTING.
3. It represents fair trade… honesty… respect for other human beings made in the image of God…God delights in that.
4. God is pleased (delighted!) with honesty in all the affairs of life… whether a man is selling a 10 million-dollar estate or a pencil!
a. This passage indicates to us that God is cognizant of every transaction that takes place on earth.
b. Every transaction… every deal… every trade is conducted in God’s presence… under His watchful eye.
c. The consumer may not realize he is being taken, but God does.
d. God is angry with deception and thievery. He is pleased with honesty.
5. The Christian ought to be more interested in pleasing God in his business enterprise than making money.
a. Perhaps everyone else is the business is cheating… that does not mean the believer may.
b. Perhaps everyone in the business cheats the government in reporting taxable income… that does not give us permission to do so. That is no different than the butcher with his finger on the scale.
c. Our goal should be to bring pleasure to God with our WHOLE life… including the business side of life… our financial affairs…
6. A just weight and balance are the LORD’S: all the weights of the bag are his work. (Prov. 16:11)
a. They are the LORD’S. They are HIS work. Why?
• Because God is truth. God is trustworthy.
• God is fair and just… justice is His work.
• Honesty is a reflection of God’s character.
• Even the unsaved are made in God’s image. They too have a sense of righteousness… they understand honesty… they expect it.
• There are many unsaved businessmen who are honest in their dealings. If so, that is the Lord’s work… a reflection of His image in them.
• God DELIGHTS in that.
b. As believers, we should certainly want to please God. When we do our work… it should a reflection of His work… honesty…
Proverb 11:2
The Proud and the Lowly
When pride cometh…
1. Note that word pride is italicized, and was thus added.
a. Pride comes (a statement of declaration!)
b. Solomon states an obvious fact: pride comes.
c. Hence, the word WHEN (although not needed) does capture the correct meaning here. It is not a matter of IF, but WHEN.
d. Pride will come. Count on it.
2. Pride is so deeply embedded into our fallen human nature, that it is our NATURE to be proud.
a. Pride is our constant enemy.
b. We need to KNOW our nature… and BEWARE of our pride.
c. It does no good to hide and try to proclaim, “I’m not a proud person!” We ARE proud people. God says so. No exceptions apart from the Lord Jesus.
d. The act of denying that we are proud is an expression of pride!
3. I Tim. 3:6 – pride was the original sin in the universe.
a. The sin of pride is here called “the condemnation of the devil.”
b. It was pride that condemned Satan and caused him to be cast out of heaven.
c. His 7 “I wills” were expressions of his pride. (Self-will opposing God’s will—that’s sin—that’s pride!)
d. He became proud of his beauty and intelligence.
4. I Tim. 3:6 – pride is commonly found in new believers.
a. It is only a new or untaught believer who would ever make such a claim as to say, “I’m not a proud person.” It is a display of pride and immaturity… and inexperience in the Christian life.
b. I’ve heard people say, “I don’t have a proud bone in my body.” Poor soul—he doesn’t know what he’s made of! He hasn’t got much of a grasp of human nature.
c. He may genuinely believe it—which can only be attributed to the fact that the heart is deceitful above all things… who can know it?
d. Obadiah 3 – The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee (speaking to Edom)
e. Pride is there. Our hearts are proud. Rather than trying to deny it, we should face up to reality and learn to deal with it God’s way.
f. Denial is of no help. That’s what Peter did.
• Matt. 26:31-33 – Peter in pride said he would NEVER be offended in the Lord. He had to eat his words that night.
• What pride! The Lord said that they would be offended in Him, and Peter said that the others might, but he NEVER would!
• He had a puffed up view of himself… of his strength… of his bravery… (We always think more highly of ourselves than we ought—don’t we?!)
• Matt. 26:75 – why do you suppose he wept so bitterly? He realized that he had denied the Lord AND he got a glimpse at how sinfully proud and deceitful his own heart was. That hurts!
5. Solomon wrote: Pride comes. It will come. It will rear its ugly head… in your life and in mine.
a. Come: to go; to come; or to enter in;
• Entering in seems to fit best here.
• Pride enters into our minds and hearts—when we let it.
• It resides in our fallen heart and it will come in and take over unless we keep it in check.
• If we DON’T keep it in check—it will come…
b. If we know that pride will come… and if we know that it is our nature to be proud… then we should be on constant alert for it in our lives.
c. Beware of it. Watch for it. Learn to nip it at the bud.
d. It is EASY to see pride in others.
• And we hate it when we see it.
• It is disgusting… repulsive… obnoxious… nauseating…
e. But somehow, it is not so easy to recognize it in ourselves.
• We seem to have blinders on when it comes to our own faults. We like to call it by some other name… to justify it… excuse it… tolerate it…
f. We would do well to be looking for pride—not in others, but in ourselves.
g. Turn a blind eye to the pride in others… but be critical about the pride in our own heart. DEAL with it, don’t ignore it.
h. That is the only pride we can DO anything about: our own! There’s enough there to keep us busy till the cows come home.
Then cometh shame…
1. Pride brings shame… either as the natural consequence of the foolish things pride does—
a. Luke 14:8-11 – exalting self leads to shame!
b. How much better to walk lowly… and let others exalt you!
2. OR God may bring the proud to shame Himself.
a. God hates pride and cannot tolerate it. (Prov. 16:5)
b. Nothing is more detestable to God than fallen creatures with sinful flesh (which has NOTHING to be proud of) that exalts self.
c. NO flesh should glory in His presence.
d. There are six things the Lord especially hates—pride was at the top of the list! This is no small matter with the Lord. He hates it. So should we.
e. We should cut off pride in our life because God hates it. That’s a good enough reason in itself.
3. We should avoid pride also because it leads to shame.
a. Pride comes. So does the shame. This is a certainty.
b. Pride itself is shameful. It leads to more and more shame.
c. Pride manifests itself in countless ways… with all kinds of disastrous results… all of which could be characterized as shameful!
4. Prov. 28:25 – proud hearts stir up strife. (shameful!)
a. Prov. 23:10 – only by pride cometh contention!
b. Fights; arguments; strife—can all be traced back to PRIDE.
• I demand my way! I demand to have the last word.
• I think I’m right! My way is the only way!
• This kind of fighting is shameful all by itself.
• But it can lead to divorce; church splits; friendships breaking up — shameful behavior… trace it back to pride.
5. Prov. 29:23 – a man’s pride shall bring him low (humiliate; abase)
a. Dan. 5:30-33 – King Nebuchadnezzar exalted himself in pride… taking all the glory to himself—as if he single-handedly built Babylon to its height of splendor!
b. God brought him low—like an animal for 7 years!
c. How shameful… and how ashamed Nebuchadnezzar later was—think of it—a king going from the ruler of the world to walking on all fours and eating grass like a madman… like an animal!
d. God knows how to bring proud people DOWN to earth!
6. Prov.16:18 – pride goeth before destruction
• Destruction: breaking, fracture, crushing, breach, crash, ruin, shattering
• Pride fractures, crushes, and ruin all kinds of relationships: marriages; parent/child relationships; church families; work relationships…
• The deterioration and abasement brought about by pride will result in shame.
• Such destruction causes people to say and do shameful things… hurtful things…
• Nebuchadnezzar learned the lesson. He learned that God is able to ABASE (crush) those who walk in pride! (Dan. 4:37).
• Pride is a killer.
But with the lowly is wisdom.
1. Here again, Solomon uses a common poetic form – a parallelism that highlights a contrast: the proud and the lowly.
2. Pride is associated with shame. Lowliness is associated with wisdom.
a. This of course makes perfect sense.
b. If a person knows that pride results in destruction… being abased… and shame, then it isn’t very wise to be proud. It is quite foolish!
c. Thus, those who humble themselves are the truly wise ones.
3. The world doesn’t see it that way. The world associates lowliness and meekness with weakness!
a. The world’s way is to demand our rights… to seek for self esteem… to aggressively push to advance self… to step right over people in order to climb the ladder… take care of number one… to be assertive… and don’t let anyone push you around…
b. God’s way is quite different. God honors the meek… and the lowly. God says things like “humble yourself”… “turn the other cheek”… “walk… in all lowliness and meekness”… walk humbly with God…
c. God’s ways are certainly not the ways of the world—that’s for sure.
4. While walking in lowliness and humility might seem foolish to the world, God says it is WISE.
a. It is wise because it keeps us from the destruction and shame that result from pride!
b. Prov. 3:34 – it is wise because God gives grace to the lowly!
c. Prov. 15:33 – before honor is humility. (In other words—humility is followed by honor! Pride is followed by destruction, shame, and a fall… but humility is followed by honor) It makes good SENSE to walk humbly… to be lowly… exercise humility…
d. Isa. 57:15 – It is wise because only the lowly can have sweet fellowship with God.
e. James 4:10 – it is wise because it is the lowly that God lifts up!
f. Prov. 22:4 – by humility are riches and honor!
• Proud arrogant people cannot keep a job; cannot keep friends; cannot handle life well…
• It is wise to be humble if it results in true riches in God’s sight… and honor before the Lord!
Proverbs 11:3, 5
Led by Integrity and Righteousness
Introduction:
1. Verses 3 & 5 will be taken together, because they are so close in meaning.
2. Both of these passages speak about “guidance” through life—a most practical lesson. Who doesn’t need guidance in decision-making?
Led by integrity and righteousness
A. WHO
1. The upright: (v. 3) straight; upright; correct; right; straight; level
a. The term “upright” is found in Proverbs 16 times—4 times in chapter 11.
b. This is a description of a man who goes by the rules.
c. He does things the “correct” way, rather than cutting corners…
d. He is “on the level”… straight… true… right… not crooked.
e. This man cares about ethics and morals and truth.
f. 12:6 – their words are true and right… and helpful
g. 15:8 – his prayers are a delight to the Lord—because his heart is right.
h. 16:7 – the upright depart from evil. They avoid it… separate from it.
i. 29:10, 27 – they are hated by evil men, but godly men seek them out.
• They are hated by the wicked because they take a stand against their wicked ways. No one likes their sin exposed.
j. The upright man is upright in his heart, his speech, his motives, and his actions. This is GENUINE uprightness being described—not a mere outward show.
2. The perfect: (Vs. 5) complete; whole; entire; sound; grown up; mature
a. This does not refer to one who is sinlessly perfect. Only the Lord was sinless in that sense.
b. It refers to a person is whole… balanced… has a mature perspective… sees the bigger picture… not childish, but grown up…
c. This verse runs parallel to verse 3—and the term perfect is parallel to “upright.” It does not appear as often in Proverbs as the term “upright.”
d. Taken together Solomon is describing a person who is well balanced, and who does things right… he’s on the level… he is mature and is accustomed to walking on the straight and narrow path…
e. These are the kinds of people who will experience this kind of guidance through life.
B. WHAT
1. They (upright; perfect) are GUIDED through life (vs. 3)
2. Their ways will be DIRECTED (vs. 5)
3. Their ways are DIRECTED (21:29)
4. They will be KEPT in the way… prevented from wandering. (13:6)
5. Their souls (lives) will be PRESERVED from many of the pitfalls and troubles that others face. (16:17)
C. HOW
1. Guided by integrity. (vs.3)
a. Integrity: innocence; simplicity; integrity; honesty; loyalty
b. How does integrity lead a man or woman or child through life?
• The person of integrity is led BY his integrity or sense of innocence and honesty… in that many of life’s choices are already decided BECAUSE of the love of honesty and innocence.
• Ex: the boss called in sick today… should I loaf like everyone else, or should I do my work as diligently as if he were here? Integrity answers that for you! The decision has been made already!
• Or any other issue that arises which calls for a decision—integrity will make the decision for you! If it’s shady, you don’t do it! If it is questionable, you stay away! If it involves dishonesty, integrity will guide you in another direction.
• Integrity will ALWAYS guide us away from that which is dishonest or shady… and will always direct us TOWARD that which is upright and fair and truthful.
• A person of integrity doesn’t have to debate these issues or agonize over them. He isn’t puzzled over which route to take. His integrity guides him. (Joseph before Potiphar’s wife)
• He instinctively KNOWS which route to take… integrity guides him! (Abraham refusing money from Sodom)
c. The upright man who has integrity is GUIDED by that integrity. His way is DIRECTED by that integrity.
d. It’s quite simple: “Which way do I go?” Go the way of integrity… avoid all other ways!
• He doesn’t chose on the basis of what he wants, and then attempts to justify his actions.
• He doesn’t make excuses for his choices; you don’t have to when integrity guides you!
• He doesn’t merely try to make his decisions LOOK like integrity guided him.
2. Directed by righteousness. (vs. 5)
a. Direct: to make the way straight; smooth; level; right;
b. How does righteousness direct the steps of a mature man? It greatly LIMITS his choices… narrows down the alternatives dramatically: he does what is RIGHT! End of the argument.
c. We live in a world that Paul calls a “present EVIL world.” We are surrounded by things that are not right all the time.
d. We are faced with many decisions in this evil world too… the choices we are faced with each day seem to be multiplying faster than we can compute.
e. It is sometimes difficult in making decisions—but here is a sure-fire way of simplifying our decision-making processes: do what is right!
• How should I do my job? Do it right! The way you were told.
• How should I do my homework? Do it right! Don’t cut corners… do whatever your teacher said to do… and the way they said to do it…
• How should I treat my spouse? Do it right… according to God’s standard of righteousness—the Word of God.
• How should I bring up my family? Do it right! Follow the instructions in the word!
f. If you brought your car to the garage because it is not working well, you want the mechanic to do the job right!
• You certainly hope that the doctor who is cutting you open is going to do his job right.
• Having a heart that is SETTLED on doing things right will simplify your life immensely.
• It will eliminate debates and conflicts. It eliminates many—perhaps most choices—because they are not right.
g. The mature man does what is right. That’s Solomon’s point.
• The choice for the mature man is already made for him—he will always do that which is right.
• It may be harder (usually is)… it may take longer… but in the end it is the BEST route to take.
• Direct: to make straight; remove obstacles—the stumblingblocks are removed, making it less likely to trip.
• A mature man can often tell instantly what is the right thing to do…
• There are some difficult issues in which right and wrong is not so clear—but the vast majority of decisions are obvious. Do what is right.
• The mature man often knows instinctively, deep down inside, what is the right thing to do. And he does it.
• The perfect or mature man has his WAY DIRECTED by righteousness.
• He comes to that crossroad—and righteousness is like a signpost directing his steps.
• If you are driving to Providence, you follow the signs for Providence. You don’t debate whether to go north or south… or whether to take the exit that says Cape Cod… or Hartford… You take the right road.
• If you are headed for Providence, not all roads are the right roads. The mature driver will take the right road… and he will arrive at his destination.
3. The UPRIGHT man who is guided by integrity and righteousness will also be ABLE TO BE LED by the Lord.
a. 15:8 – God delights in his prayer… and answers his prayer.
b. This man already has most of life’s choices answered for him: he does what is right because of integrity and honesty.
c. In those areas where it is not so easy to discern what the right thing to do is—he can pray and be heard and guided by God—because God delights in the prayers of such an upright man.
d. God will lead and guide those who are sensitive to Him… and to truth and honesty… and who desire to do things right. If that is the character of his heart—God can lead him.
4. His integrity, uprightness, and righteousness will also keep him safe.
a. 13:6 – Righteousness “keeps” (watch over; preserves) the upright man in the way.
• Ps. 25:21 – integrity and uprightness will preserve us… as we wait on the Lord.
• If you are walking in the straight and narrow way, righteousness will keep you there… prevent you from taking a turn out of the way…
• It’s a safety valve… it not only tells us what is the right way to go—it also warns us to avoid all the wrong ways.
• He is delivered from the TRAPS that ensnare others. Safe!
• Eph. 6:14 – a “breastplate” of righteousness… keeps us safe…
• Prov. 2:7 – God is a buckler (shield) to all those who walk uprightly. (If you want to do things right—God is right there to help, guide, and protect.)
• If we DON’T want to do things right, we are on our own.
Led by perverseness and wickedness
1. In these two verses (3, 5) the opposites of the upright and perfect man are recorded: transgressors and the wicked.
2. Instead of their lives being guided and directed, their lives are destroyed (vs. 3b) and they shall fall into more wickedness. (vs. 5b).
3. The perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. (vs. 3)
4. The wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. (vs. 5)
5. The transgressors (who lack integrity) and the wicked (who have no righteousness) will also be guided through life—guided right to destruction… directed to a fall.
6. It’s pretty clear which way God wants our lives to be guided and directed. The results are much better too.
Proverbs 11:4
Righteousness, Not Riches
Riches profit not in the day of wrath…
1. Riches: wealth, riches, substance; anything with a high value
a. Solomon knew a lot about riches. He was a great collector of gold.
b. It would be wise for us to do as he says, not as he did.
c. The riches here refer to ANY kind of wealth: gold; cash; property; real estate; stocks, bonds, jewelry… baseball cards…
2. The day of wrath is used of the day of God’s judgment… especially upon the heathen.
a. Wrath: speaks of God’s wrath
b. Job 21:30 – the day of destruction and wrath… for the wicked.
c. One day every unbeliever will face the wrath of God.
3. Riches will not profit in that day.
a. Profit: to gain, profit, benefit, avail
b. Ezek. 7:19 – in that day men will realize how useless silver and gold is!
c. Zeph. 1:15, 18 – God will devour and will not be bought off with silver or gold!
d. Rev. 6:15-17 – in the day of God’s future wrath in the Tribulation Period, the world’s wealthiest men will find their wealth worthless… and they will hide in the rocks and caves and hope for death rather than face the wrath of the Lamb!
e. September 11th was a day of wrath (not THE day of wrath).
• The thousands of people in the world trade center faced the wrath of mad men…
• Many of the people in those towers had great personal wealth… the movers and shakers in the financial world.
• But they all perished—no differently than did the janitors and room servants in that place.
• The flames and the falling walls did not discriminate between the wealthy and the poor in that day.
• The same will be true in the day of God’s wrath. When judgment falls it is no respecter of persons.
f. When judgment begins to fall, men will finally realize that earthly wealth is unable to deliver… but it’s too late then.
• The folks who died in those towers would gladly trade their bankrolls to reverse those events… but it was too late.
• When the sinner stands before God in the Day of Judgment, he will realize how foolish his trusting in uncertain riches really was… but it will be too late.
g. Do wealthy people really believe that they can buy God off in that day?
• Evidently, they do… indirectly.
• The Bible says that many TRUST in their riches.
• They trust in wealth as their security… their safety… all the security they will ever need.
• That is because there is a deceitfulness that accompanies riches.
• Riches provide a FALSE sense of security.
• Job 31:24 – “If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence…” Job knew that some men DID make gold their confidence…
• Ps. 52:7 – “Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.”
• Here trusting in riches is seen as the opposite of trusting in God!
• Some men trust in their wealth… find their security in their money… make riches their strength… instead of God. It IS their God.
• While wealthy men may not actually believe that they can give God a bribe in the day of wrath—unbelievers do trust that money is all they need—ever. They are dead wrong.
• Prov. 11:28 – “He that trusteth in his riches shall fall.” When the day of wrath comes, this man will fall flat on his face.
4. Not only will riches not profit in the day of wrath, but they can even HINDER a person from getting saved today.
a. Mark 10:17-25 – the rich young ruler’s riches prevented him from coming to Christ to be saved. He loved his riches too much. The life of a disciple did not seem too appealing to him…
b. Prov. 28:11 – the rich man is too proud and self sufficient to be saved. The thought of humbling himself, admitting he has a need; and trusting in Another is repulsive to him.
c. I Tim. 6:7-8 – Rich men cling tightly to their wealth in this life, but when they face death, they are forced to let go. We take nothing with us.
• Job 1:21 – And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
• Prov. 27:24 – For riches are not for ever: (only our heavenly riches last forever!)
• Ecc. 5:14-15 – But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. 15As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.
But righteousness delivereth from death.
1. The Old Testament saints looked at the life of a believer differently than we do. They did not have much revelation about the afterlife. They considered life on earth… a long healthy life on earth to be a desired goal.
2. Hence, the “deliverance” and “wrath” mentioned in this passage are not so much to be understood in the sense of eternal and spiritual, but rather temporal and earthly.
3. The wrath of God previously mentioned had to do primarily with God’s wrath poured out upon the earth… and certainly we can apply this to the final day of His wrath at the Great White Throne Judgment.
4. The death from which men are delivered here also seems to refer an earthly deliverance…
a. His point here is similar to other similar passages: live a righteous life and you can expect to live longer than the fool who lives in the fast lane.
b. Righteousness DELIVERS us from many tragedies in life… it may even deliver us from death!
c. Those who lead righteous lives don’t have to worry about contacting the deadly diseases contracted through drugs or illicit sex.
d. Any unrighteous lifestyle is quite risky. Those who lead righteous lives will be rescued by that righteousness.
e. They will be delivered from jail… from punishment… from sickness… from tragedies… from heartaches… and perhaps even DEATH… all by simply leading a life in harmony with God’s Word.
5. Eph. 6:14 – part of our Christian armor: the breastplate of righteousness.
a. Like a breastplate which protects our vital organs, righteousness protects us…
b. Gen.7:1 – Noah was righteous in God’s sight. He was delivered from death.
6. Prov. 12:28 – in the way of righteousness is life… there is no death in its pathway!
7. Righteousness will deliver a man from temporal judgments and physical death. However, righteousness will also deliver a man from eternal judgment and the second death!
a. The believer is robed in the righteousness of God… and hence, is safe forever. (Rom. 3:22) That is the righteousness that counts!
b. For a man to get into heaven, he must be righteous. Yet no man is ABLE to produce righteousness on his own.
c. If we are going to have the kind of righteousness that will permit us to enter heaven, we must RECEIVE that righteousness as a gift… through faith.
d. It is often helpful to witness to folks along these lines: explaining that righteousness is needed; righteousness is impossible to produce; but righteousness is available freely through the grace of God. (Rom. 3:23)
RICHES WON’T PROFIT IN THE DAY OF WRATH, BUT RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL.
Proverbs 11:6, 8
The Righteousness of the Righteous
The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them…
1. This verse fits into a context of proverbs that speaks of the benefits of righteousness.
a. Vs. 3 – Integrity will guide the upright through life.
b. Vs. 5 – the righteousness of the perfect will direct his ways.
c. Vs. 6 – now he speaks of another benefit of righteousness: it will deliver you!
2. The righteousness of the upright.
a. The upright: straight; upright; correct; right (this is the kind of person he is describing… the one who does things the RIGHT way.
b. The righteousness spoken of here refers to practical righteousness… or good works… a righteous lifestyle… righteous behavior…
c. Solomon is stating that the righteous behavior of men will serve to DELIVER him.
3. But deliver him from what?
a. Not hell! Isa. 64:6 – all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags in the sight of God. They will never deliver us from hell. But the term is used here as a synonym for good works… righteous works…
b. From trouble – 10:8 – delivered out of trouble… and the wicked man takes his place in that trouble…
• 21:12 – “The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked.” Thus, the righteous man is delivered from much of the trouble that the wicked bring upon themselves.
• You want to be delivered from trouble? Consider the house of the wicked; learn from it; and follow the way of the righteous!
c. From sin – 10:16 – labor of the righteous (good works) tends to life and is the opposite of that which leads to sin. (You want to keep away from sin? Keep busy doing that which is right!)
d. From folly – 8:20 – wisdom leads in the way of righteousness… and that way will keep us out of the path of folly.
• In other words, staying in the path of righteousness—determined to do what is right… will keep a young man OUT OF the way of fools.
• Fools will constantly entice a young man to follow their path of folly and sin.
• 1:10-16 – Fools enticing a young man to follow their sinful ways. The young man who manifests wisdom and refuses to depart from the RIGHT way… will be delivered from all that awaits the fools:
• Vs. 17-18 – they lay wait for their own blood—they are about to fall into a trap!
e. From spiritual barrenness – 11:28 – the righteous shall flourish as a branch… and be fruitful.
• If you do things right, fruit is the result.
• In a garden if you provide good soil, plenty of sunlight, and water, the garden will be fruitful!
• If you do it right, it works… it produces fruit.
• So too in the life of a believer. If we do things right (according to God’s word) fruit will result.
• 12:12 – the root of the righteous yields fruit. Guaranteed!
• 10:3 – the righteous soul shall never famish!
f. From God’s curse – 3:32-33 – God’s secret (circle of friends; counsel; intimacy) is with the righteous.
• That intimate counsel will deliver us from the curse that inhabits the house of the wicked. There is blessing instead!
• God gives intimate, person counsel to those who walk in righteousness. That counsel will deliver us from all kinds of trouble we might otherwise bring upon ourselves!
g. From the trouble our mouth can stir up – 10:11-12 – the mouth of the wicked stirs up trouble and creates violence.
• The righteous man who has a righteous tongue is delivered from all that kind of trouble.
• Do you know someone who is constantly saying things he shouldn’t say? (other than self—of course!) That person is setting himself up for all sorts of problems in life.
• The righteousness of a man will manifest itself in his speech—and a righteous tongue will deliver him from all kinds of trouble.
h. From a ruined life – 10:24-25 –
• Vs.2 4 – This proverb states that the righteous get their desires (what they want), but the wicked get what they fear and dread!
• A whirlwind or a storm of life blows the wicked away, but the righteous man is delivered from that kind of ruin. He is an everlasting foundation… solid… immovable…
» 10:30 – shall never be moved…
» 12:3 – the root of the righteous shall not be moved.
» 12:7 – the house of the righteous shall stand…
• The righteousness of the upright delivers them from a ruined, wasted life.
i. From a life of sadness – 10:28 –
• The righteous man can expect gladness and joy;
• The opposite (the wicked) can have no expectation or hope of gladness, but his hope and joy will perish… be ruined.
• Ps. 64:10 – “The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.”
• How many sad souls are there pining away in prison cells and in flop houses—because they didn’t do things right in life… always cheating… avoiding work… sliding through life… cutting corners and refusing to choose the right pathway… how miserable those souls are!
j. Delivered from a hopeless death – 14:32 – he has hope in his death… the wicked do not.
k. Delivered from poverty – 15:6 in the house of the righteous is much treasure.
• This simply means that the man who does things righteously will have all he needs.
• If he does things righteously then he will be a hard worker—and that work will be rewarded.
• If he does things righteously he will not squander his wealth.
• If he does things righteously he will not waste his wealth on frivolous things.
l. Delivered from getting stuck in mischief – 24:15-16 –
• Solomon states here that righteous men and wicked men both stumble in life. All men fall on occasion.
• The difference is that the righteous or just man falls but gets up again!! He doesn’t stay stuck in the pit… in his fall…
• A righteous man may fall, but he gets back up, makes things right with God, and continues walking in the right path.
• Righteousness delivers us from getting STUCK in our sin!
m. Delivered from fear – 28:1 – Righteousness will give us courage in the face of our enemies.
• The wicked have no courage. They flee when the battle rages.
• The righteous man does not flee. He sticks it out.
• Why fear? Why run when we have done nothing wrong? If we are doing what is right, there is no need to flee.
• Righteousness delivers us from fear and instill us with courage.
n. Delivered from vanity in old age. Prov.16:31 – The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.
• Those who follow the way of righteousness are delivered from a sense of worthlessness in old age.
• Instead, their old age is a “crown of glory.”
• The glory of old age is found only IF it be found in the way of righteousness.
SUMMARY: So from what does “Righteousness” deliver a man?
Trouble, sin folly, spiritual barrenness, God’s curse, trouble our mouth brings, ruined life; sadness; a hopeless death, poverty, stuck in mischief, fear, and vanity in old age…
But transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.
1. Righteousness will deliver the upright, but there is no deliverance for transgressors.
2. They shall be “taken” (captured; seized) in their naughtiness (evil desires).
3. Ps. 34:15-16 – the eyes and ears of the Lord are over the righteous… but He is against the transgressors. One is the way of safety… the other, well, look out!
Proverbs 11:9
Hypocrisy vs. Knowledge
Antithetical parallelism: (opposites are being contrasted)
• Hypocrite vs. the just
• A mouth vs. knowledge
• Destruction vs. deliverance
An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour:
1. Hypocrite: godless; profane; impious; irreligious; (the term does not include the concept of hypocrisy)
a. A godless or irreligious man… one who is profane as opposed to sacred… God is not in this man’s life.
b. If this man is “claiming” to be religious, then he is a hypocrite.
c. But the term is broader than that. It also includes the man who is just plain ungodly… and has no concern for God or spiritual things.
2. This proverb considers the MOUTH of this godless man.
a. Lots of things could be said about the mouth of a godless man. (Filthy; vulgar; full of lies; pride; cursing; etc…)
b. But this proverb focuses in on one aspect of his mouth: its destructiveness.
3. Destroys: to destroy, corrupt, go to ruin, decay; spoil; pervert
a. That which comes out of the mouth of the godless man tends to bring RUIN to his neighbor.
b. It has a corrupting effect on his neighbor.
c. I Cor. 15:33 – evil communications corrupt good manners.
• Communications: homilia; speech; communion;
• If the speech is evil, it has a corrupting effect on the ones who hear it.
• Manners: custom, usage, morals, character
• Those whose speech is evil will have an evil, corrupting, destructive, decaying effect on the morals and manners and ultimately on the character of those who listen.
d. God has given us fair warning: the speech and communications of the godless RESULT in the corruption of those who listen.
• A good lesson: don’t listen!
• Why listen to that which is evil or comes from godless men? You KNOW that hearing it will have a corrupting effect on you.
• This is a good reason to be extra discriminating in watching TV or videos… it can have a spiritually damaging effect!
• It can have an awful influence over our morals… and eventually our character.
e. How? We become accustomed to it.
• If you listen to shows with foul language long enough, it is no longer shocking.
• The original repulsion we felt toward it is gone… we become insensitive… spiritually dull…
• After a while, we don’t even blink when we hear that kind of language.
• That is called “being conformed to the world.” (No longer shocked or offended by its shocking and offensive behavior!)
• We might even find some of those offensive terms showing up in our own vocabulary…
f. The answer of course is not to listen to it, when possible.
• Sometimes it is not possible to avoid such language.
• But there is no reason under heaven for the believer to willingly subject himself to it by watching such videos or the ungodly sitcoms!
• Don’t listen to false teachers on the TV or radio—their speech WILL HAVE a corrupting effect on you… God said so.
• Why CHOOSE to listen to that which will have a destructive effect on our spiritual life?
• Why not choose to listen to that which you know is edifying?
4. There is another sense in which the mouth of the ungodly can bring DESTRUCTION to his neighbor.
a. Such speech can have a destructive and corrupting effect on the neighbor. (Prov. 16:29) – A corrupting influence through the enticing words of an ungodly man.
b. It can also bring outright RUIN to his life…
c. The godless man can bring ruin to his neighbor’s life through lies… gossip… slander… deceit…
d. The speech might corrupt the person… or speech can also have a destructive effect on his life.
e. Some men lie about their neighbor—and cause all kinds of trouble for him…
f. He can turn his friends against him…
g. He can cause him to lose his job… bring turmoil to his life.
h. And some godless people LOVE bringing about such trouble for others. It is their “sport”. (Prov. 10:23)
But through knowledge shall the just be delivered.
» The godless man brings about ruin by means of his mouth. The just man brings about deliverance by means of knowledge.
» An ungodly mouth brings destruction. Godly knowledge brings deliverance.
1. Just: speaks of a righteous man; a believer…
2. The ungodly man is characterized by a mouth; the godly man is characterized by knowledge!
3. A large amount of knowledge is by far superior to a large amount of mouth!
4. Delivered: to pull out; tear out; rescue; set free;
a. The meaning of the term implies that the deliverance is like being snatched out of a fire… it implies the DANGER of that which makes deliverance necessary.
5. From what is the just man “rescued”?
a. He is rescued from the destructive mouth of the godless man!
b. He is delivered from the corrupting effect of godless speech!
c. If the just man (godly man) is not careful, he too would come under the influence of the godless man.
d. If he is not careful (if you and I are not careful) godless speech will begin to corrupt our morals and manners! It could eventually affect character!
e. If we are not careful, godless speech can bring about destruction in our lives!
6. How is he delivered? (or, we…)
a. Through KNOWLEDGE…
b. Godly knowledge delivers from ungodly speech…
c. Godly knowledge delivers from the destructive effects of ungodly speech.
d. An IGNORANT man (who is just before God—saved) can be adversely affected by the godless man… but if that does happen, it was because of a lack of knowledge.
e. Knowledge will deliver him.
• Through knowledge they will be able to see through the evil intention of the ungodly and avoid being ensnared by him!
• Prov. 1:4 – the book of Proverbs was written to GIVE this kind of knowledge to the young man… so that he could avoid many of the pitfalls in life. (vs. 5 – if he listens!)
• 10:6 – violence is in his mouth. It is good to KNOW that!
• 10:19 – in many words is sin. It is helpful to KNOW that.
f. Do you want to be delivered from ruin, corruption, and destruction? KNOW what God says about the subject!
• Ecc. 2:13 – wisdom and knowledge by far surpass ignorance!
• Knowing God’s Word DELIVERS the believer from destruction.
• Some folks have been unhappy here because I didn’t make them FEEL good… or excited…
• I don’t want to sound too insensitive, but quite frankly, I don’t really care all that much how the people FEEL.
• My job as a pastor/teacher isn’t to cause you to feel something… or to get you excited…
• Besides, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. I wouldn’t trust my feelings as far as I could throw them!
• My job is to feed you the KNOWLEDGE of the truth…
• Feelings come and go. Knowledge of the truth is rock solid… stable… unmoving… steady…
• Feelings don’t result in deliverance from corruption. (Feelings often LEAD to corruption!) But knowledge DOES deliver from corruption!
• Knowledge delivers us from the corrupting influence of the godless man and his speech.
g. Increase in spiritual knowledge!
• II Pet. 1:5 – add to your faith knowledge…
• II Pet. 3:18 – grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Col. 1:9-10 – Pray that we might increase in the knowledge of His will… and in the knowledge of God.
• Hos. 4:6 – My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge! (vs.1 – indicates that it was the knowledge of God that they lacked—not a lack of math or science…)
• The more we know of God, His Word, and His ways, the more deliverance we will experience.
7. Godless men are all around us. Their speech might have a corrupting influence on us… our morals and character. Their mouth may spew out lies and gossip about us that could bring destruction in our life.
a. How can we deal with that? What are we to do?
b. Solomon tells us that the JUST man is delivered from all this by KNOWLEDGE.
c. Prov. 1:4 – To give subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
d. No wonder Lady Wisdom cries out, “Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go; keep her, for she is thy life!” (Prov. 4:13)
Proverbs 11:10-11
The Righteous and The City
10a When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth:
1. There is a direct connection between the well doing of righteous men and the condition of the city…
a. This would go for any community… town… state…country… etc.
b. The same could be said of a family or a church.
c. When righteousness flourishes, the city rejoices… the family rejoices… the country rejoices… the church rejoices.
2. When those who do RIGHT are treated well, the entire community benefits.
a. Some countries suppress those who do right—and the whole nation suffers for it.
b. Other countries reward the righteous (hard workers; honest men; law-abiding citizens) and the country does well.
3. This proverb also seems to imply that the entire city benefits from God’s blessing on the righteous living in it.
a. This is a principle often repeated in the Scripture… and is true today.
b. Gen. 18:23-26 – The Lord promised not to judge the city if there were 50 righteous men found there. The city would have benefited from the presence of righteous men in their midst.
c. Jer. 5:1 – God would have pardoned the city if it contained righteous men!
d. Ezek. 22:30 – God sought for a righteous man so He wouldn’t have to judge the city—but didn’t find one!
e. Those cities would have REJOICED had they allowed the righteous to flourish in their midst. Too often, the righteous were persecuted and chased out of the city.
f. The presence and well being of righteous men give the community good reason to rejoice! The city benefits from their presence.
4. The world today benefits from the presence of the church.
a. Believers today serve as salt—a preservative. Salt keeps flesh from rotting too fast. It slows down the process of corruption.
b. The presence of the believer in the world today has the same effect.
c. As soon as the church is taken away, the full manifestation of sin takes over—the Tribulation Period. (II Thess. 2:7-8)
• The presence of the Holy Spirit indwelt Body of believers (church) in the world today HINDERS the mystery of iniquity—the full manifestation of sin.
• We are the salt of the earth…
• The world SHOULD rejoice because of the presence of righteous men, but it does not. The world refuses to give the glory to God.
• BUT—people in the world today—in our country today ARE glad because of the overall EFFECT of righteous men in the world.
» Could you imagine what Hollywood would be like were it not for the presence of righteous men in the land?
» Could you imagine what would happen in the medical world were it not for the presence of righteous men? (not only abortion, but euthanasia, assisted suicide; legalization of drugs—God help us!)
» That seems to be the way things are headed—but the presence of righteous men slows down the process.
» People with sense in the city REJOICE because of this influence.
5. Solomon keys in on an unusual phenomenon in the world:
a. While the world collectively is evil and anti-God; and while individuals in the world are sinners and do not come to the light… they still acknowledge the benefits of doing things RIGHT.
b. I know folks in the world today who never read the Bible; never go to church; tell dirty jokes; swear; watch filthy movies; have a live in lover—and then lament over how bad the lyrics in the rock songs are… or how vile TV has become!
c. There are folks out there who drink, smoke pot—and lament over the drug problem in the country… and all the violence associated with it.
d. They are PART OF the problem… and yet at the same time, they acknowledge how awful the consequences of that kind of behavior are upon the nation.
e. And while they are part of the problem, they rejoice—they are grateful that there are some righteous folks out there preventing the entire culture from immediately going down the tubes.
6. The whole community benefits from the presence… the convictions… the actions… the lifestyles… the prayers… and the overall influence of righteous men…
a. While they would revolt against anyone telling them personally that their life is headed in the wrong direction—they are grateful for leaders who direct the nation as a whole in the right direction.
b. It is the kind of thinking we hear often in America: Everybody agrees that we need a new power plant—but not in my back yard! “We all agree that we need righteousness in the land—but don’t you dare tell me how to live!”
c. It is part of human nature:
• Folks always want to enjoy the benefit but they do not want the cost.
• They want the blessing of God without the behavior that results in the blessing.
• Sort of like what we are seeing today: God bless America—keep on praying for us all you churchgoers!
10b And when the wicked perish, there is shouting…
1. When wicked people perish—it brings relief to the city, especially if that wicked person was a ruler.
a. Even though the city is full of sinners, who lie, cheat, and steal, they don’t want their rulers to lie to them… or steal from them!
b. There is a great sense of relief when wicked ruler perishes.
c. Prov. 28:28 – when the wicked perish, the righteous increase!
2. Wicked rulers DO oppress people… cheat…lie… steal… plunder…
a. When they perish—or are chased out of office, the people rejoice!
b. Consider the many people who have had to live under the rigors of cruel dictators. Such nations have always abounded, and still do today! Cuba; Romania; Bosnia; Philippines; Chile; Haiti…
c. When the Taliban was destroyed, most of the people of Afghanistan rejoiced! Girls can go to school! Women can take those blue sheets off their heads! The soccer stadium is no longer used for public executions, but for soccer! Music is no longer illegal!
d. What happened in Afghanistan is an extreme example, but it is just what Solomon is talking about!
3. Even in free countries wicked men sometimes gain power… and when they are gone, the people shout for joy!
a. We have had leaders who have promoted wickedness in our land.
b. We will probably have more of them in the future.
c. When they are out of office—the godly can rejoice!
d. As a side note: whether we like their policies or not, we are commanded by God to honor the king… good or bad!
11a By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted:
1. Prov. 29:2 – When the righteous are in positions of authority, the people can rejoice.
a. But the people mourn when the wicked rule.
b. Whether they are believers or not is irrelevant. What matters is that they do things RIGHT!
c. The city is exalted when its leaders are upright men.
d. When choosing a surgeon, I am not looking for one who is born again. I want one who knows his stuff… and is skilled… and performs his duties correctly… right.
e. The same thing with a politician. It’s nice if he is a believer, but I would be more concerned about what he does… what he promotes… the wisdom he demonstrates. (Not all believers are wise!) (There was no way I would have voted for Pat Robinson a few elections ago when he ran.)
f. PRAY for those in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty… and REJOICE!
2. Thus, Solomon is saying that the people rejoice when:
a. The righteous do well… and the wicked are removed!
b. Both are cause for joy to the city… or the nation.
c. In Israel they had good kings and evil kings. They had good prophets and evil prophets. And the people in the land either benefited or suffered as a result!
3. The same truth holds in the local church:
a. When God blesses with a godly board of elders who want to do things right, godly people will rejoice! God has given us good men to serve here. Pray for them! It’s no fun having men in leadership positions who oppose that which is right! But it happens.
b. And if men are in a leadership position that do NOT want to do things right, the people will mourn under their leadership… but will rejoice when they are gone!
11b But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
1. II Sam. 15:1-6 – Absalom stole the hearts of the people away from David his father.
a. Absalom was a selfish, proud man who turned the nation against David—a man after God’s own heart!
b. Through his deceitful and wicked mouth he overthrew the kingdom of his own father, David.
c. The kingdom was NOT in better hands under his leadership.
2. Note the obvious contrast in the verse:
a. Through the upright, the city is exalted.
b. Through the wicked, the city is overthrown.
3. Overthrow: to tear down; break down; overthrow; beat down; break; break through; destroy; pluck down; pull down; throw down; ruined.
a. Whether it is a city, a village, a state, a nation, a business, a family, or a church… wicked men in positions of leadership will either build it up or tear it down.
b. Ecc. 9:18 – one sinner destroys much good! One leader without wisdom… without integrity… without faithfulness can undermine so much good that others have worked so hard to produce! Building up takes time. Destroying takes but no time at all!
1 Tim. 2:1-2 – I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
Proverbs 11:12
Wisdom and the Tongue
Introduction:
1. In this section of Proverbs, Solomon had a lot to say about the tongue
a. 10:11,13,14,18,19,20,21,31,32
b. 11:9… and now in vs.12-13.
2. It might not be apparent when reading the verse at first that the topic is the tongue—since words like tongue, mouth, speak, etc., do not appear in the verse.
3. One of the best ways to understand proverbs like this is to dissect them… or put the comparisons side by side in a chart…
a. He that is void of wisdom contrasts with a man of understanding…
• They are opposites.
b. Despising one’s neighbor contrasts with holding one’s peace
• These two are also opposites.
• Holding one’s peace = being quiet —
• Hence, the opposite of holding one’s peace is SPEAKING.
• How is this speech described in the verse? “Despising one’s neighbor.”
• In other words, the fool demonstrates his hatred towards his neighbor by what he SAYS about him.
4. The contrast is this:
a. A man of understanding holds his peace. He bites his tongue. He doesn’t speak against his neighbor.
b. But a man who LACKS wisdom DOES speak against his neighbor… which in reality is an act of despising one’s neighbor.
c. The next verse gives us an example of despising one’s neighbor by revealing his secrets. (read vs. 13)
d. A wise man holds his peace. A man void of wisdom does not hold his peace. He speaks out against his neighbor… proof that he despises his neighbor.
He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbor.
1. Here is the description of a foolish man who despises his neighbor.
2. He is VOID of wisdom.
a. Wisdom would lead him to bite his tongue…
b. Note that Solomon describes this sin not so much as a lack of control of one’s tongue—but rather a lack of wisdom!
• This person does not have common sense… he lacks good judgment!
• Cf. Prov. 6:32 – he says the same thing about the one who commits adultery.
• It is not so much a sin of a lack of self control of the desires of the flesh. It is a lack of good judgment… a lack of understanding… void of wisdom!
• Wisdom and understanding in 6:32 are the same Hebrew terms. (they speak of good judgment; common sense)
• How can those kinds of sins be overcome? Not so much by self discipline — but rather by means of filling one’s head and heart with Divine Wisdom!
• A lack of wisdom results in the sins of the tongue and the sins of the flesh!
• We will never tame the tongue… and our old man will never improve. But we can fill our minds and hearts with God’s Word… the more the better.
c. Prov. 11:9 – the hypocrite with his mouth DESTROYS his neighbor.
d. We can do a lot of damage to our neighbor by the things we say about him—especially behind his back.
e. Prov. 10:18 – he is void of wisdom—a FOOL—who hides his hatred for his neighbor…or utters a slander…
• That kind of speech is a perfect example of despising one’s neighbor…
• It is also a perfect example of one who is void of wisdom.
• Wise people don’t tear others down with their mouth.
• Why? Ecc. 10:20 – because the wise man knows that those things have a way of being discovered… found out… Sooner or later that fool will earn the reputation of being a big mouth that no one will trust.
• Why else do wise people avoid slandering their neighbor?
» Because he knows that every idle word we speak we will have to give an account for at the Bema seat! (Matt. 12:36)
» Men who are void of wisdom don’t care about what they say about their neighbor. Men of wisdom do care.
3. Despise: to despise, hold in contempt, hold as insignificant
a. The man who speaks against his neighbor in reality does not think too much of his neighbor!
4. Psa. 120:1-4 – Here the psalmist states the awful effects of a lying or deceitful tongue.
a. Note that such talks hurts the SOUL of another person!
• For a believer to speak against another person, knowing that it hurts their SOUL… is a demonstration of the fact that they do not think too highly of that person! Not if they don’t care about hurting his soul.
b. What can you do about such a deceitful tongue? What is the answer?
• In verse three David addresses the lying deceitful tongue (poetic language).
• What should be done to such a tongue? The psalmist answers his own question: Radical surgery. Cut it out with a sharp arrow—or burn it out with hot coals!
c. The point: deal with the sins of the tongue! Don’t let it continue to inflict pain on others.
• The psalmist realizes that what is being said about him is a lie and deceit.
• However, it is painful to think that others might believe it of you.
• It is also painful to think of the damage that can be done by lies and deceit!
• The deceitful tongue can be like a dagger… a sword… a knife in the heart.
d. Anyone who could knowingly and willfully inflict such pain on another person obviously does not think too highly of that person. He is pretty insignificant in the sight of the slanderer.
• The one who despises his neighbor by speaking evil of him or her is VOID of wisdom.
• Void: He LACKS wisdom. (He might have a lot of dirt on someone else, but no wisdom; he might be a smooth talker and come out smelling like a rose, but he lacks wisdom)
• This is an ancient problem. Solomon wrote about it centuries ago!
• Men and women have ALWAYS spoken behind the backs of their neighbors and inflicted hurt on others through the unwise use of their tongue.
• There is nothing new under the sun.
But a man of understanding holdeth his peace.
1. Hold his peace = keep silent.
a. The fool blurts out all kinds of dirt on his neighbor—because he does not think highly of his neighbor.
b. The wise man keeps silent. He too may have some dirt on his neighbor… but he doesn’t blab it all over town. That’s wisdom.
c. Note again that Solomon does not attribute this to self-control—or control of his tongue—but rather to wisdom.
d. Prov. 11:19 – he that refraineth his lips is wise! (same point as in vs. 12)
2. This man does NOT despise his neighbor by speaking evil of him.
a. If his neighbor is worthy of scorn—he will in time demonstrate that himself!
b. You don’t have to proclaim his folly. Let him do it!
3. The man who lacks understanding despises his neighbor by magnifying the mote that his in his neighbor’s eye.
a. If he had any wisdom, he would consider the beam in his own eye!
b. Wisdom sometimes gives us something to say. More often than not it gives us reason to keep quiet… especially when it comes to speaking evil of our neighbor.
4. The man of understanding may look at his neighbor… and see a multitude of faults.
a. But his wisdom causes him to PITY his neighbor—not lash out at him.
b. His wisdom causes him to PRAY for his neighbor—not slander him.
c. His wisdom will cause him to keep his peace before men—and pour his heart out for that neighbor before the Lord.
d. If his neighbor is overtaken in a fault, rather than gossiping all over town about his fault, the spiritual man will attempt to “restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering himself lest he also be tempted.” That’s wisdom.
e. If our neighbor… or our child… or brother… or spouse… has a fault, the fool will blab. The wise man will keep silent—and try to help.
f. The wise man does not try to pick a fight… he tries to pick him up.
5. Fools despised Christ and spoke evil of Him. He did not lash out at them. (I Pet. 2:23)
a. Wise men know enough to hold their peace… be still… be quiet.
b. Any fool can lash out with the tongue. In fact, EVERY fool does so.
c. It takes grace and wisdom to hold one’s peace.
d. It is not a sign of weakness to hold back, but a sign of great strength and wisdom!
e. A man of understanding holds his peace.
f. Do you want victory over your tongue? Grow in wisdom and understanding… get as much of it as you possibly can… fill you head and heart with it… it is available… avail yourself of it!
6. What do we DO when others despise us and speak evil of us?
a. Psa. 119:23 – Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. Spend time in the word.
b. The word of God is also a balm for a wounded spirit.
c. The word of God also gives wisdom… and understanding… and that in turn will prevent us from BECOMING a fool and lashing back!
Proverbs 11:13
The Talebearer
A talebearer revealeth secrets.
1. What is a talebearer?
a. This verse defines it for us. He reveals secrets.
b. In other words, when you tell something to this person in private—it doesn’t remain private. He blabs it all over town.
c. This is the person who cannot be trusted with a secret… you cannot speak in confidence to him… for your confidential words will be broadcast.
d. Consider the OPPOSITE of a talebearer in this verse: one who is of a faithful spirit.
• A faithful spirit is one that can be trusted.
• A talebearer is UNFAITHFUL.
e. A faithful friend is one in whom we can confide. We can open up and share with him some of the secrets of our heart. We can confess our faults to him. A faithful friend conceals the matter.
f. A talebearer: is the opposite. When he gets wind of a person’s faults… or when he is told something in confidence… he does NOT conceal the matter but REVEALS the matter.
g. According to this passage, the real problem with a talebearer is not just that he has a big mouth. The problem is not that he is talkative… gregarious… lacking self-control… or
h. The real issue is one of faithfulness.
• It is not just a matter of the tongue. It is a matter of the heart.
• He is not faithful to God who says NOT to be a talebearer.
• He is not faithful to his so-called friend he tore up with words.
• He is not faithful to his word. He said it was in confidence, but instead of concealing it, he reveals it.
• He is not a faithful person! His is not a faithful SPIRIT… there is a lack of faithfulness deep in the innermost part of his being.
2. This was part of the Law of Moses. (Lev. 19:16)
a. This is no new problem facing the modern world.
b. This problem has been around ever since shortly after the fall. (Immediately after the fall Adam and Eve had no third party to whom secrets could be told! If there was another person there, Adam would have snitched on Eve and vice versa! It’s human nature.)
THE CONSEQUENCES OF TALEBEARING
1. HE SEPARATES VERY FRIENDS (17:9)
a. Very friends = chief friends.
b. The talebearer is one who REPEATS matters that should not be repeated. (Haven’t we all been there!)
c. Not only is it sin for the one repeating the matter, but it is also extremely disruptive & divisive.
d. Talebearing separates friends… good friends… even chief friends!
e. This sort of thing can ruin friendships… marriages… families… churches…
f. Talebearing can turn friends against each other.
g. Usually when someone “bears a tale” he spices that tale up a bit… exaggerating here… stretching the truth there… leaving out key ingredients to make the one he’s tearing down look even worse…
h. The tale that people end up hearing from the talebearer is often quite distorted… twisted… manipulated… jaded… — you get the idea!
i. This kind of talebearing is effective at dividing and disrupting.
2. STRIFE (26:20)
a. When the talebearer is gone, so is the strife.
b. In other words, his presence means trouble… strife…
c. He is constantly telling other people bad things about his victims.
d. He usually does so to make himself LOOK GOOD and the other person LOOK BAD.
e. In the process, he turns people against each other.
f. He causes division and strife.
• The strife will continue as long as he is practicing his evil trade.
• Prov. 20:19 – we are told NOT TO MEDDLE with a known gossiper. Stay away. That person is trouble.
• He goes around from one person to the next telling everyone how awful his victim is…
• God’s word to us: don’t listen! Don’t get involved! Don’t meddle with such a person. He is up to no good.
3. HIS WORDS ARE USUALLY ACCEPTED (18:8)
a. His words are like wounds.
• Strong’s defines it as gulp; that which is gulped down;
• Gesenius Hebrew Lexicon – defines it as that which is swallowed down greedily… like a glutton…
• Theological Wordbook of Old Testament – “bits greedily swallowed down.”
• I couldn’t find any dictionaries or lexicons or other sources which agree with the KJV on this verse.
• Most translations translate this word as “dainty morsels.”
• This changes the meaning of the verse drastically.
b. This means then that Solomon is not speaking about the pain that talebearing inflicts on people, but rather on the insatiable desire there IS for such talebearing.
• People love to hear gossip. They gobble it up like dainty morsels of lobster dunked in melted butter!
• Of course, this causes great pain to the one who is gossiped about—especially when he realizes that it is human nature to gobble it up!
c. People gobble them up and they are taken in… into their innermost parts! Men have an insatiable desire to hear gossip. They eat it up and take it in.
d. Just consider how many gossip papers there are on the newsstand… how many gossip columns in the newspaper… on TV…and radio talk shows give men opportunity to hear the latest gossip about the stars… they eat it up like dainty morsels…
e. People LOVE juicy stories.
f. The words of the talebearer are usually taken in… eaten up… rather than examined.
• Hence, it is dangerous! Much damage can be done by gossip.
• He is divisive and disruptive BECAUSE people listen… because people take it in and swallow it without careful examination.
• We are told to PROVE ALL THINGS. (I Thess. 5:21-22)
• Phil. 1:10 – We are told to APPROVE (test with a view towards approval) things that are excellent… THAT we may be sincere and without offence!
• In other words, the believer should not be ready to gobble up gossip and take it in… accept it without examining it.
4. THE TALEBEARER HAS NO FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
PS. 15:1-3 – WHO CAN ABIDE IN THE TABERNACLE OF THE LORD?
a. The question might be paraphrased, “Who can have fellowship with God? Who is close to the Lord? Who is able to worship the Lord acceptably?”
b. David gives the answer: The one who uses his mouth to speak truth and not to backbite… that’s who!
c. In other words, if we use our mouth to backbite and speak reproachfully of others and to tear others down, we are NOT abiding in the presence of the Lord! Period!
d. Even if we think we are… or feel like we are. God says we are not! His is the opinion that counts!
e. The talebearer may be accepted and his words may be gobbled up by unthinking men. But he is NOT accepted before the Lord.
5. THE TALEBEARER OPENS HIMSELF UP FOR CHASTENING
PSALM 50:19-23 – ASAPH REBUKES THE CARELESS USE OF THE TONGUE. GOD ADDRESSES THESE MEN.
a. Vs. 19 – God notes that these men used their mouths for evil.
b. Vs. 20 – They spoke against and slandered their own brothers.
c. Vs. 21 – These men used their tongues in an evil manner and God said nothing.
• The men made a wrong assumption.
• They assumed that since God didn’t immediately chasten them for their sin—no lightening bolt fell from heaven—therefore, God must be like them!
• God must not care too much about slander… talebearing… etc.
d. Vs. 21b – BUT—God begs to differ with their assumption!
• They could think whatever they wanted to about God. That doesn’t change God’s character.
• BUT—God will reprove them for their error. God will set matters in order in His own good time.
e. Vs. 22 – God reminds them NOT to forget about Him when they speak, or He will “tear them in pieces!” Harsh language. God takes the use of our tongues seriously!
f. Vs. 23 – on the other side of the spectrum is the one who uses his tongue for good—to praise the Lord!
• God will deliver this one from trouble! This is the man God will honor.
• What a contrast: those who use their tongues for evil God will tear to pieces! Those who use their tongues for good, God will deliver from trouble (save).
• It makes sense for us to use our tongues wisely… especially now that we know how God feels about it.
• He’s NOT like us! He is infinitely holy…
But he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.
1. Note once again, that the opposite of a talebearer is a man who is of a faithful spirit.
2. This man CONCEALS the dirty laundry rather than displaying it for all to see.
3. Conceal: to cover; conceal; hide; to clothe; to cover for protection.
4. Prov. 10:12 – it is LOVE that motivates a man to cover the faults of others… of his spouse, children, parents, brethren at church, office workers, classmates, neighbors.
a. We all have faults… we all have dirty laundry.
b. Nobody wants their dirty laundry displayed for all to see. It is embarrassing and humiliating.
c. A person motivated by something “other than love” will display that dirty laundry… in order to embarrass and humiliate his victims!
d. But a person motivated by love will cover it… hide it… protect that person by covering his faults…
e. What motivates you? And me?
• Is it hatred? Then we will spread gossip, display dirty laundry, and stir up strife.
• Is it love? Then we will bury the gossip… not listen to gossip… conceal the faults of others… and refuse to add fuel to the fire.
• When love is functioning—the strife will disappear. When you stop throwing logs on, the fire goes out!
5. The person who operates in love, conceals the dirty laundry of others rather than exposing it, refuses to go around as a talebearer speaking evil of others.
a. Solomon doesn’t say here that that person has great self-control. Nor does he say that that person has learned to tame his tongue.
b. It isn’t really a matter of the tongue, but of the heart.
c. Solomon says that the person who CONCEALS the matter is FAITHFUL!
• Don’t you want friends like that? Faithful!
• For a spouse to reveal the secrets of his or her spouses heart before others would be the ultimate example of unfaithfulness.
• For family members or church members to reveal dirty laundry is an expression of UNFAITHFULNESS.
• How much better to be loyal and faithful… a faithful friend… a faithful spouse… a faithful family member… a faithful church member.
• Faithfulness is a matter of the heart. Keep your heart with all diligence—and your tongue will be kept as well.
Proverbs 11:14
Safety in Counsel
Where no counsel is, the people fall:
RESULTS OF A LACK OF COUNSEL
1. People fall…
a. People are DEFEATED through a lack of counsel and good spiritual advice.
b. Solomon states here that with a little bit of counseling, those who might have experienced victory, instead experience defeat — a fall.
c. Businesses fall because of a lack of counsel…
d. Teams lose games because the players refuse to listen to their coach and demand on playing the game their way…
e. Marriages fail because someone is too proud to get help… to listen to advice from the Bible… or refuse to implement it.
f. People make terrible choices sometimes because they make important decisions on their own. They don’t get advice from those in the know.
g. If I went to the doctor and he told me I needed to have a leg amputated, I would want a second opinion… and maybe a third and a fourth!
h. You don’t make big decisions like that without getting much counsel… the best counsel you can find!
i. People FALL by not getting the counsel they need. Sometimes terrible decisions are made with irreversible consequences!
2. Prov. 15:22 – Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counselors they are established.
a. Purposes are disappointed as a result too.
b. Purposes: our goals; our plans; that which we are aiming for…
c. They can be disappointed if there is no counsel.
• Disappointed: frustrated; cracked; split; made ineffectual.
• Our goals in life… our best made plans can be frustrated and made ineffectual by a lack of good counsel.
d. No one likes to be disappointed… to have their plans and goals smashed… crushed… frustrated…
• But without wise counsel, that is what often happens.
• A person may have a great goal… and may put his all into accomplishing it… and work as hard as he possibly can to achieve it… but may fail to obtain because of a lack of counsel.
• A young person may think, “I know what I want to be. I want to start a business. I want to start up my own nursery. I know a lot about planting trees and shrubs. I don’t need to go to college for that.” That person may try their whole life to bring that plan to pass… but may be lacking some important and necessary business management training… and never get anywhere. A little counsel may have changed that.
• A person may have to confront a Christian brother on an important issue… and he does so the best he can. However, a little counsel from the Scriptures might help that meeting go much more smoothly.
e. Often, all it takes for plans to be successful is a little tweaking here or there.
f. Wise counsel from people who have expertise in that area might mean the difference between success and failure.
• A coach might transform a lousy batter into a pretty good batter with some simple advice about how to stand or how to hold the bat!
• A skier can be spared falling down many times by taking advice from an expert—something as easy as bending the knees or leaning forward. Such counsel can prevent a fall.
g. How much MORE important is it when it comes to spiritual matters!
• The believer who thinks he knows how to live the Christian life may never ask for help or advice or counsel.
• He may never grow or mature in the faith either!
• He may WANT to grow and advance in the faith… and try real hard. But without counsel, even good purposes fail… and leave us disappointed.
• Perhaps you’re having a hard time getting along with people. Have you ever thought of asking advice from a trusted friend?
» He may know! Perhaps you talk too much. Perhaps you are not reliable. Perhaps you have some annoying habit that makes people not want to be around you. Perhaps you are too nosey. Perhaps you are too quiet… or too loud.
» Counsel from a trusted friend might be just what the doctor ordered.
» Prov. 27:6 – faithful are the wounds of a friend. That kind of counsel might hurt, but is GOOD in the long run.
h. Failing to obtain such counsel or failing to listen to such counsel can result in disappointment or a fall—or a disappointing fall!
3. Why do some folks refuse to seek counsel or take heed to counsel? Often the reason is pride.
a. Prov. 12:15 – The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
b. If he thinks his plans are superior and he doesn’t need any counsel and that the way he is doing it is right—then he will never receive the benefit from good counsel. That’s pride.
c. Sometimes we do things the hard way because we think we’re right… and won’t admit that perhaps someone else has a better way of doing things.
d. I’ve learned some valuable tricks on the building projects… ways to straighten out a crooked stud… better ways to cut siding… easier, neater, stronger, more accurate ways to fit things together.
e. Why reinvent the wheel? If a brother or sister has learned some valuable lessons in life and wants to share them—by all means LISTEN!!
f. It is only the fool who says, “My way is right. I don’t need any advice thanks!”
g. Prov. 16:22 – Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.
h. If we insist on doing things our own way, and are too proud to take advice, we will experience much disappointment and failure in life… unnecessary disappointment and failure!
But in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
1. The opposite is now mentioned: those who seek a multitude of counselors!
a. It is GOOD to get advice before making an important decision. It is good to get a second and third and fourth opinion!
b. Different people approach problems from a different perspective… and there may be a different perspective that never entered your mind… but it DID enter someone else’s mind!
c. It is wise to seek counsel from godly folks who might have a different perspective than you do.
d. In making decisions for the church it is wise to get counsel from men… and also from ladies. They are going to view the matter from a different perspective… from a different set of concerns… a different outlook.
2. Multitude = abundance;
a. It is possible to get TOO MANY opinions and cause more confusion.
b. But get AMPLE… an abundance for the situation… plenty… don’t skimp on advice.
c. Get GOOD advice. Ask spiritually minded people for help and guidance… folks who know God and who know His word.
d. When you get a multitude of spiritually minded people all pointing you in the same direction… all telling you the same thing… that is a good indication that the counsel is sound!
e. If you are debating whether to go into business with Fred and you ask two people, you might get two different answers… and cause confusion and cloud up the issue.
f. But if you ask 25 people about going into business with Fred and 23 out of 25 tell you that Fred is lazy and dishonest, stay away—you would do well to listen to that multitude of counselors!
g. Two opinions might confuse the issue. A multitude may clarify matters considerably.
3. Prov. 24:6 – For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.
a. Here Solomon suggests that we get WISE counsel before entering into a war.
b. Kings might have to be concerned about declaring war. We don’t.
c. But we may have to face a different kind of confrontation… confronting a brother who sinned against you… confronting a boss… a neighbor…the pastor… your spouse… over this or that.
d. It’s a good idea to bounce your proposed plan off a trusted friend before plowing ahead like a bull in a china closet. They might have some advice that could save you a lot of grief…
e. They might just say something like,
• “I don’t think you should. It sounds to me like your boss was right!”
• Or “I don’t think now is the time to approach that subject.”
• Or “I would wait until you cool down. You’re not thinking straight right now. You might make matters worse.”
• Or “I think you’re right. That person ought to be approached, but have you thought of wording it this way…”
f. You’d be surprised what good advice others might offer… if we ask… or are willing to listen.
g. Kids—you’d be surprised what good advice your parents might have—advice that might make life easier and more pleasant for you in dealing with your teachers… classmates… or siblings…
h. They might even know something you don’t know!
4. There is SAFETY in such counsel.
a. Safety = deliverance…
b. In other words, wise counsel results in providing DELIVERANCE from the problem… solutions and resolutions to problems…
c. Getting wise counsel will keep you out of trouble… it will keep you safe… it may even prevent you from doing something stupid!
5. Prov. 20:18 – Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.
a. Purposes are disappointed without counsel. (15:22)
b. Now he states that purposes are established WITH counsel.
c. Established: made firm; stable; secure.
d. Do you want your plans and purposes to be disappointed or to be established? Wise counsel can make all the difference in the world.
e. Kids: your parents WANT your life to be a success—spiritually and in every way!
• They really DO want to help.
• And (believe it or not!) they have learned some valuable lessons in life they would LOVE to share.
• What keeps you from getting that valuable counsel that might help firm up your plans for life? Pride!
• If you think you know it all and your parents don’t know anything… you are what Solomon calls a FOOL. Your purposes WILL be disappointed.
• But if you will humble yourself—and listen to advice when it is given—you will prosper as a result.
• YOUR plans and purposes in life will be established…
f. Adults: the same principle is true for adults too.
• Sometimes folks think they have all the answers and refuse to seek counsel from a Christian brother.
• After all, what do the elders know? I know what they’re going to tell me.
• We can be just as stubborn as our kids at times = when we refuse counsel.
• But if we will humble ourselves, and listen to wise counsel, our plans may prosper!
g. Acts 15:6 – And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of the matter of legalism. They sought counsel from one another… and their purpose was established.
h. Prov. 1:5 – A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.
i. Prov. 9:9 – Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
j. Prov. 19:20 – Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
k. Prov. 27:9 – Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.
Rom. 15:14 – And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
Col. 3:16 – Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
I Thess. 5:12-13 – Know those who are over you in the Lord and admonish you… and esteem them highly…
II Thess. 3:15 – Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
Proverbs 11:15
Suretyship
He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it:
1. What does surety mean?
a. Surety =
• (Strong’s) to make a pledge for; exchange; mortgage
• (thesaurus) security; backing; collateral; guarantee
b. The idea of surety is guaranteeing payment
c. It involves guaranteeing a financial payment; making a pledge to pay;
d. It could be applied to signing a loan for someone today—which means you are guaranteeing to pay if they default.
e. It could be applied to putting up your house as collateral… thus you are guaranteeing that the one loaning the money will not lose out. (But if the loan goes bad—you lose your house.)
f. It refers to any kind of financial pledge or guarantee (with cash or with property)… which serves to make the loan safe for the one loaning the money.
g. You tell the loaner “Your loan is safe; the payment is sure—because I am pledging to you that I will pay if the one borrowing the money does not pay.”
h. That’s the way banks operate. They want their loans to be safe and secure. They don’t want to take huge risks. They look for SURETY… a guarantee that if anyone loses out on the loan it’s not them!
i. Thus, if a loan or business deal goes sour, it is the one who is surety who loses out.
2. What is surety for a stranger?
a. Stranger = a foreigner; a stranger.
b. Solomon is not promoting a fear of foreigners… but the idea is a stranger; someone we don’t know… or don’t know well.
c. Solomon is not saying that it is wrong under all circumstances to sign a loan for someone… or to put up collateral.
d. Rather, he is warning us of the danger of obligating yourself to a STRANGER!
e. Be careful not to enter into such a financial obligation with a stranger.
f. Don’t let a smooth talking stranger lure you into signing something you don’t really want to sign!
g. Don’t let a golden tongued salesman talk you into buying something you don’t need…
h. Don’t let a slick telemarketer convince you to buy a house full of furniture on credit—with no payments until next year… because next year will be here before you know it!
3. But not only strangers… even casual friends and acquaintances.
a. Prov. 6:1 – here he speaks of a friend or a stranger.
• Friend: companion; fellow; fellow-citizen; another person
• Here the term could refer to a close friend OR (which the context seems to indicate) just a casual friend… someone you met at work… or at the gym…
b. Co-signing a note for a friend might appear to be quite generous and kind.
• There may be times when it IS the RIGHT thing to do. (Your son’s first car… student loans…)
» Solomon is speaking about putting your money at risk to help out a third party.
» His warning is: be careful who that third party is!
» If it is a son or a life long friend, that’s one thing.
• But there are other times when it is a FOOLISH thing to do.
» A casual friend at work who fell upon hard times…
» A relative you know is irresponsible…
» A teenager who thinks he needs a brand new Lexus…
» A risky or questionable business deal…
» A total stranger… a salesman knocking on your door.
c. In 6:1-2 – Solomon has in mind a decision that was made HASTILY.
• You struck hands… spoke too quickly before thinking it through.
• Those hastily spoken words could become a snare later on.
• It takes a long time to go to work every day and earn your money. Don’t hastily sign it all away without thinking it through!
• Be careful. We are usually well advised to avoid any business transaction that requires our signature TODAY… hurry up or the offer expires…
• If you feel you are being pressured into a decision—say NO!
d. In 6:3 Solomon implies that the agreement was made out of PRIDE. (He says, “Go humble yourself!)
• Why humble yourself? Because one who enters into such agreements often does so out of pride.
• We like to think of ourselves as big shots… as being well to do… thinking we can handle that… we’re too smart to get taken… I know all about these agreements… no problem for me…
• We might feel important signing a loan for someone else… it sort of makes us feel superior to them… they will look up to us as a hero who saved the day—and won’t everyone think you’re great!
• Then after we enter the agreement, we might discover that we bit off more than we can chew… more than we can handle… that we are not such a big shot after all…
e. Prov. 22:26-27 – Another time when we should not be a surety is when we are NOT ABLE to back up what we pledge!
• If a person (who acts rashly or out of pride) co-signs for a large loan and does not have the money to back it up, he may find himself homeless!
• When you enter into a legal agreement, you are BOUND to keep your pledge!
• If you pledge yourself as a guarantee on a loan, and the person defaults, you are responsible for that loan. If you don’t have the cash to pay it, you could lose your house… or your bed!
4. Thus, Solomon gives some advice when it comes to signing for a loan.
a. He warns us NOT to do it under the following circumstances:
• For a stranger… or a casual acquaintance…
• Don’t enter into a pledge hastily… or out of pressure…
• Don’t do it out of pride (to be seen as the good guy or a hero)
• Don’t do it if you can’t afford it… if you are not financially able.
5. The one who becomes surety for a stranger will SMART for it.
a. Smart = to shout out either in joy or distress (distress here)—or to be destroyed.
b. You might become destroyed financially… ruined…
c. In other words, THINK before you act!
d. Remember that there are consequences to our actions. You could lose your shirt! Or your bed! Or your house!
e. Our country is full of scam artists… clever people who spend all their time scheming up ways to trick you into signing your life away. And once you sign—they’ve got you! Legally, they’ve got you!
And he that hateth suretyship is sure.
1. Here Solomon speaks about taking the safe route… as opposed to the risky route.
2. Hateth: can mean hate; or to be adverse to something; the degree needs to be determined from the context.
a. The context implies something closer to aversion than outright hatred.
3. The one who is adverse to… suretiship is safe.
a. Suretiship = to strike, clap or grasp the hands (as in a handshake); to pledge (which was often done by striking hands—like a business deal that is sealed with a handshake today)
b. The person who is leery or suspicious of entering a deal with a stranger is sure.
c. Sure = safe; secure; to have confidence.
d. The one who goes off and provides financial guarantees and safety for a stranger –may find that his OWN financial security is not so safe any more.
e. But the one who is reluctant to make rash guarantees to strangers is the one who is truly safe and secure!
f. In other words, don’t risk YOUR personal, financial security in order to provide financial security for someone else—especially a stranger!
4. The book of Proverbs gives us lots of little nuggets of truth.
a. One proverb doesn’t tell the whole story on a particular subject.
b. In fact, some of the Proverbs may even seem to contradict others…
c. They do not contradict, but rather, give truth from different perspectives. And it is a good idea to consider BOTH perspectives before making a decision.
d. Example:
• Some proverbs encourage us to be generous and give to others in need. (11:24-25; 13:7)
» Some proverbs encourage us to be thrifty and save.
• Some proverbs tell us to use our mouths to encourage, edify, counsel, and instruct others…
» Some other proverbs tell us to use our words sparingly lest we sin.
• Some proverbs tell us to answer a fool; others say not to.
• Some tell us to be kind to strangers; others to be careful.
• Some proverbs warn us not to live for riches or devote our lives to accumulating riches. (23:5) He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own household (15:27)
» Other proverbs tell us to work hard—the hand of the diligent maketh rich (10:4).
e. We need discernment to know WHEN to apply WHICH principle.
• When it comes to the use of our money and our property, Solomon warns us to be careful—especially with strangers!
• Strangers are rarely out for your best interest. That’s human nature. Be careful!
Proverbs 11:16
A Gracious Woman and a Strong Man
Introduction:
1. This is a simple statement, yet difficult to be certain about which Solomon is contrasting.
2. What IS the main point of the verse? Is he contrasting:
• Men and women? (Is the emphasis on differences in gender?)
• Grace and strength? (Is the emphasis on differences in character?)
• Honor and riches? (Is the emphasis on differences in results?)
» Or is he highlighting all of the above?
» Usually a proverb is intended to drive home one main point.
CONTRASTING MEN AND WOMEN
1. Solomon associates grace with women and strength with men.
a. Roman Catholic Church play: Sister Mary _______ says, “Girls are good and boys are bad.”
b. Solomon doesn’t go that far, but he does seem to be singling out a difference between men and women.
c. Men are not viewed in the most favorable light in this passage.
2. Being gracious seems to come more naturally for a woman.
a. Gracious: (Strong’s) – charm; favour; grace; elegance;
b. The term describes the virtuous woman as a charming, elegant, kind, compassionate, caring, loving woman…
c. I Pet.3:4 – The gracious woman is of a meek and quiet spirit… being in subjection to her husband.
d. Being gracious is not exclusively a feminine quality (for the Lord was FULL of grace)… but it is one of those qualities that seems to come easier for women.
e. Isn’t it true men, that on not a few occasions, we were about to do or say something quite UNGRACIOUS—and our wife stepped in and reminded us to be gracious and kind—rather than allow our hot temper to carry us away?!
3. Being strong seems to come more naturally for men.
a. Strong = (Strong’s) – terror-striking; awesome; terrifying; ruthless; mighty; violent…
b. The term does not highlight strength of character.
c. Rather, it speaks of an inclination towards violence… aggressive… mighty… and even ruthless.
d. Of course, this doesn’t mean that women are never aggressive or violent… and that all men are.
e. But over all, most would agree that men are more aggressive… more forceful…
f. Strength is often associated with men in the Scriptures.
• Be strong; quit you like men! (I Cor. 16:13)
• Let us play the men for our people… (II Sam. 10:12)
• Women are referred to as the “weaker vessel.” (I Pet. 3:7) By implication, the man is the “stronger vessel.”
• There might be exceptions, but this is the rule.
4. This is a basic difference between men and women that God wants us to KNOW… (I Pet. 3:7)
a. The husband is to dwell with his wife with this knowledge… that men and women are different.
b. Men are by nature more aggressive; women more gracious.
c. You would be surprised to discover how many husbands don’t get it… and how many wives don’t understand either—that there are huge differences.
d. Sometimes wives don’t understand why their husband doesn’t come home from a hard day at work and want to talk for 2 ½ hours about their feelings…
e. Sometimes husbands don’t understand why, when his wife is all stressed out emotionally, that he can’t just tell her to “snap out of it”—and he expects that she will just be strong like him.
f. Husbands and wives are to dwell together in this knowledge—they are different… one is weak, elegant and gracious… the other is strong and aggressive…
g. It’s a good combination—but it is a difference that must be understood.
h. Without this basic knowledge of the difference, there can be disastrous results.
5. The gracious woman who retains HONOR for her household is every whit as valuable as the breadwinner—
a. The husband who through strength retains riches… he brings home the bacon…
b. The contrast puts the woman in the best light here…
c. The contrast is between a godly, gracious woman and an aggressive (even violent) man…
d. They both RETAIN something… but what she retains is more valuable! Honor! Riches are good, but honor is better.
*** That is looking at the verse as contrasting the gender differences… but that is not the main point of the passage.
CONTRASTING GRACE AND STRENGTH
1. Both of these qualities (grace and strength/aggression) retain something. (Retain: to grasp; hold; support; attain; lay hold of; hold fast.)
2. Grace retains honor.
a. The gracious woman lays hold of honor… in the end.
b. The woman whose life is characterized by grace will be honored… if not on earth at least in heaven.
c. Prov. 31:28-31 – she is praised by her children, husband, and God! This is honor!
d. Ultimately, she will receive a well done, thou good and faithful servant.
e. The gracious woman lays hold of something she will keep with her for all eternity—honor!
3. Strength retains riches.
a. The strong, violent, aggressive man often retains riches.
b. If a man is aggressive enough, he can gather many riches to himself.
c. He might be a hard worker… even a bit pushy…
d. The term for strength is not all that complimentary. It may imply the man who climbs over others and even stabs them in the back in order to obtain a better position for himself…
• NIV = A kindhearted woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth.
• NAS – A gracious woman attains honor, And violent men attain riches.
e. He’s strong and aggressive—and he successfully obtains wealth.
» But the strong, aggressive man eventually leaves all his riches behind! (I Tim. 6:7)
» In his aggression to obtain wealth—he may obtain it—but often at a price to himself and his family. (I Tim. 6:9-10)
f. There is a big difference between the gracious woman and the strong, aggressive man.
» The gracious woman takes honor with her into glory.
» The strong man leaves what he has obtained all behind.
g. The violent aggressive man might obtain the riches, but he also may loose his honor in the process… and a good name is BETTER than riches! (Prov. 22:1) Honor is far better than riches!
4. There is a good example in the Old Testament of a gracious woman and a strong, violent, aggressive man… (I Sam. 25)
a. In this story, Abigail was a gracious woman who retained honor.
b. David was the aggressive violent man who was about to obtain wealth…
c. In the context, David and his men were fighting battles and were hungry.
d. Vs. 2-3 – They came across the home of Abigail and Nabal.
e. Vs. 5-8 – David sent men to Nabal to ask this wealthy man to provide some food for David and his soldiers.
f. Vs. 10-11 – Nabal refused.
g. Vs. 13 – David’s immediate response: Ruthless violence: let’s get him! Let’s fight! We will show him whose stronger… we will be aggressive and take all the goods!
• David demonstrated a violent, aggressive side…
• Grace and honor were not on David’s heart at this point.
• Rather, he was ready for a confrontation.
• He wanted the riches—the goods… and he was ready to fight for them.
h. vs. 18 – Abigail’s response Grace: (when she heard about the situation)
• She very graciously provided abundantly for David and his men.
• She very graciously took care of her mindless, drunken, selfish, foolish husband.
• Vs. 23-25 – Abigail graciously approached David… not in violent aggression, but in a gracious, meek, submissive grace!
• Vs. 28-29 – She reminded David of Gods’ marvelous provision and promises.
• Vs. 31 – She talks sense to him graciously—and reminds him that the Lord is able to take care of Nabal…
• Vs. 32-34 – David gives HONOR to this gracious woman!
• He recognizes that she prevented him from shedding blood causelessly… he recognized that her advice was good and from the Lord…
• He realized from personal experience that which his son Solomon would later record in Proverbs: A kindhearted woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth.
i. Abigail proved herself to be a gracious woman who retained honor!
• David was about to prove himself to be an unthinking, aggressive, violent man who almost LOST his honor in order to obtain some earthly wealth… food—porridge!
• David did well to listen to this gracious woman rather than plunging ahead in his violent aggression and losing his honor…
• We as men are prone to this kind of aggression and strong headedness.
• Thank God for women who can talk sense to us when we need it!
• We would do well to stop and listen to our wives when they want to point out to us that there might be a better and more gracious way to go about our business… a kinder, gentler, more gracious way to word it…
• God made men and women different… to compliment one another.
5. Looking at it from this angle (RESULTS), grace is better than strength.
a. Strength can aggressively seek and obtain wealth all to be left behind.
b. Grace retains honor… from God and men… and will be rewarded in eternity.
c. The author is really speaking about two KINDS of strength:
• One is the raw brute strength of body and will…(physically strong or strong headed)… aggressive violence that demands its rights and often gets what it wants in this life…
• But in doing so, it often hurts others and makes enemies… it promotes self and tramples over others…
• One is the strength of character—a gracious spirit… that is willing to suffer itself to be defrauded… to put others first… This is far superior to being strong in body or being strong headed.
• The reward of a gracious spirit is of eternal value; the reward of brute force is temporal—of little value.
d. Jesus was a man… a manly man too.
• He had strength of body. (Omnipotence! How’s that!)
• But he also had strength of character (John 1:14) (full of grace and truth)
• But He didn’t think it was necessary to push his weight around; to demand His own way;
• His gracious spirit is seen in Phil. 2:6-8 – all of this was done out of grace… sacrificing Himself for the good of others… for those who were undeserving…
Proverbs 11:17
The Merciful and the Cruel
Introduction:
1. Once again, Solomon draws a contrast. This time, it is between two very different types of people—kind and mean!
2. He also makes a wise observation about each…
17a The merciful man doeth good to his own soul…
1. The merciful man described…
a. Merciful: goodness; kindness;
b. Prov. 14:31 – Often showing mercy was expressed by helping a person in need…
• Showing mercy was a very practical expression of one’s faith.
• Showing mercy to the poor is one of the ways that we demonstrate that we genuinely honor God!
c. Ps. 112:4 – a good man shows favor or grace to others; he helps the needy… he is merciful!
d. Prov. 3:3-4 – Solomon commanded Old Testament saints to bind mercy about their neck and not forsake her. Wear mercy as an ornament!
e. Col. 3:12 – as believers, we are to put on bowels of mercies… it is part of the clothing of the new man. Wear mercy as clothing!
• Our old man is quite selfish; he wants others to show kindness to him.
• The new man looks beyond himself to others. He is more interested in giving than getting.
f. Rom. 12:8 – we are to show mercy to others—and to do it with cheerfulness!
g. It is stated in Luke that the Good Samaritan showed “mercy” to the poor soul who was beaten and left for dead. He showed compassion and took care of the man’s needs… that’s mercy.
2. Good to his own soul…
a. Here Solomon states that those who show mercy help others… but they are also helping themselves! They are GIVING… but they receive a blessing from it too.
b. It IS better to give than to receive…
• Giving to the poor or helping others is good—it helps that other person.
• But the one GIVING is doubly blessed!
• His gift may help another man’s belly… but his giving results in a greater blessing to his own soul!
c. Matt. 5:7 – BLESSED are the merciful—for they shall receive mercy… from God!
d. Prov. 14:21 – he that hath mercy on the poor; happy is he!
e. Psa. 18:25 – God shows mercy on those who show mercy to others!
f. II Sam. 22:26 – With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful…
g. Ps. 41:1 – the Lord delivers and protects those who show mercy to others.
h. When we show mercy to others, God blesses us ten fold!
3. Be careful about the motivation…
a. We ARE to show mercy to others.
b. And the giver gets a bigger blessing than the receiver.
c. BUT—we are not to give IN ORDER to get!
d. In other words, we are not to give to others SO THAT God will give to us 7 fold!
e. I have heard charismatic preachers tell their listeners to give generously to their ministry SO THAT God would bless them 7 fold!
• The idea was, if you give me $100.00, God will send in $700.00 to you!
• He was encouraging people to give in order to get more back!
• The motivation in that kind of giving was not mercy. It was pure greed! Covetousness! Selfishness!
• The charismatic preacher called it “faith giving.” I call it a religious scam!
• While I do not know any individual’s heart—it is hard for me to believe that those men do not know exactly what they are doing—twisting scripture for their own advantage!
• Jude would say, “Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward!”
• And not only are THEY greedy, but they are promoting greed.
• Nothing could be further from the kind of mercy… selfless giving… the Scriptures describe!
f. Yes, showing mercy DOES do good to our own soul… but that is not the reason for showing mercy.
• The reason or motivation ought to stem from a genuine desire to help… from a heart of compassion… from gratitude for what God has done for us…
• And especially because Christ lives in us… and as we are yielded to Him, His life and character is manifested through us!
• Christ shows mercy to others THROUGH us… we are “channels only.”
• But as Solomon says, what a blessing it is to BE a channel through whom God’s mercy flows!
• There is a joy that comes through showing mercy—a joy that is only experienced IF our motives are right.
• If we show mercy to someone else because we really want God to do something for us—don’t kid yourself. God knows our hearts.
• But when we show mercy out of compassion and a desire to show God’s mercy to others—then God knows that heart too.
• With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful…
17b But he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.
1. Cruel: cruel; mean; fierce; merciless; (Here this is the opposite of one who shows mercy)
2. Prov. 27:4 – angry wrathful men are often cruel—mean spirited to others.
3. Cruelty can manifest itself in 10,000 different ways…
a. There are bullies who are cruel or unkind to the other kids at school
b. There are bullies who are cruel to the other workers at the office or in the plant—perhaps you work with one… mean spirited!
c. Sometimes kings and political leaders can be cruel to their own people… Stalin… Saddam Hussein…
d. Cruelty can take the form of prejudice… bigotry…
e. Cruelty can take the form of harming the innocent and the helpless… like abortion…
f. Cruelty can take the form of spreading gossip and rumors in order to inflict pain on someone…
g. Cruelty today takes on the form of scam artists who take advantage of the elderly…
h. And there are various DEGREES of cruelty—from name calling to genocide!
i. I don’t need to go on and on about the various forms cruelty can take.
j. We have all been hurt by the cruelty of others.
k. We have all BEEN cruel to others—by the things we have said or done…
4. Troubleth his own soul…
a. Jas. 2:13 – he shall have judgment without mercy who showed no mercy!
b. James 5:1-4 – rich men who oppress the poor trouble their own souls… the Lord hears the cries of the poor… and is observing all that transpires.
c. Those who are cruel are always troubled by it…
• Gen. 42:21 -Joseph’s brothers were tormented by their cruelty.
• The Egyptians who put the Jews under hard taskmasters were later troubled. They discovered that they had poked God in the apple of His eye… and incurred His wrath!
• Paul when he stood by and consented to the stoning of Stephen—he was later tormented by that!
• The king of Babylon who had all of Zedekiah’s sons slain before his eyes, then he poked out his eyes… that king must have had a hard time getting to sleep for a while…
• The men and women who inflicted cruelty upon others have to live with themselves… and have to live with the guilt…
• Mean people are MISERABLE! Not only will they face God for their sin in the life to come—right now they are condemned to live with themselves… their own miserable self!
• Blessed and happy are the merciful. Miserable are the mean!
d. Not only must they live with the guilty conscience, they also may have to deal with the effects of their cruelty!
• Cruelty incurs the wrath of God! Think of the ignoble death of Ahab and Jezebel… dogs licking her blood!
• Cruelty often incurs the wrath of man… seeking revenge for the cruelty done to them… or to their family… or friends…
e. Cruelty breeds trouble…
• Trouble: to trouble; stir up; disturb; bring calamity upon…
• Cruel people do not WANT to stir up trouble or calamity upon themselves, but they do…
• This is one of the consequences of the sin of cruelty…
• You can’t be cruel without consequences…
• Cf. vs.19—
• Prov. 11:29 – troubling one’s own household. How? Cruelty is one way! Be mean spirited to your spouse… to your kids… to your parents… and you are troubling your own house!
Summary: you reap what you sow! Sow mercy, and you will reap good for your soul. Sow cruelty and you will reap trouble!
Proverbs 11:18
You Reap What You Sow
18a The wicked worketh a deceitful work:
1. vs. 18 states a familiar principle with a slightly different expression.
a. The familiar principle is: you reap what you sow.
b. However, this passage adds one slight difference in the shade of meaning… it adds to the familiar theme by coloring it slightly.
2. This phrase teaches that wicked men who perform their wicked works are often deceived in the end.
a. Those who sow wickedness will reap the results of wickedness.
b. But note the usage of the word “deceitful.”
• Some have translated this “deceptive wages.” (NAS & NIV)
• The point is that these wicked people who are sowing wickedness are DECEIVED into thinking that they will obtain a good crop in the end!
• They really believe that they will reap something “good”. They are deceived.
c. What are they thinking?
• Ecc. 8:11 – Because they have been sowing wickedness for some time now and haven’t been caught, they are deceived into thinking that they can CONTINUE to do the same without being caught.
• Num. 32:23 – They are forgetting another Biblical principle: Be sure your sin will find you out!
• But the wicked are deceived. They genuinely believe that they have outsmarted the “system.”
• They think that they can sow wickedness and reap benefits to themselves.
• They think that they can steal and enjoy the fruits of it…
• They think that they can lie to their advantage…
• They think that they can be lazy and not suffer for it…
• However, this passage teaches that such men are dead wrong. They THINK they are smarter than anyone else, but they themselves have been deceived.
d. Their wages?
• They receive “deceptive wages.”
• In other words, they are going to be PAID back… but it is not what they had hoped… it is not what they were planning on… it is not what they expected.
• Prov. 20:17 – the man who thinks he can steal, get away with it, and enjoy the booty is deceived.
» Bread of deceit may be sweet at first, but eventually it turns to gravel in one’s mouth.
» Eventually the conscience will kick in… and all the sweetness of that stolen bread turns to gravel.
» Eve took fruit she was forbidden to take—and that first bite may have tasted sweet—but what sorrow followed!
» The fear of being discovered; having to look over one’s shoulder; the possibility of facing the disgrace of being exposed… all tend, over time, to turn the stolen bread to gravel.
» It’s not all it’s cracked up to be!
• Prov. 13:5 – the man who thinks he can lie, get away with it, and be advantaged by it is also deceived.
» This man comes to shame… his lies will eventually be discovered.
» Prov. 19:5 – he shall not escape. He will be caught and pay for his lie!
» However, Prov. 11:18 states that the wicked man sowing his wickedness (lying) is deceived!
» He really believes he can get away with it and that it will benefit him in the long run. He couldn’t be further from the truth.
» He will not escape — and he will be shamed!
• Prov. 10:4-5 – other men think that they can sow laziness and reap riches. They too are deceived.
» This man will not gain from his laziness. He will be poor.
» In addition, he will be ashamed… his folly will be exposed.
3. This Proverbs 11:18 states a familiar principle, but adds to it this thought—the one who sows wickedness not only with reap what he sows, but he is going to be surprised by what he reaps, because he was deceived!
a. His wages will be “deceptive.” He will be tricked by them.
b. Hebrews scholars state that there is a pun involved in this passage… one that is virtually impossible to translate.
c. One interesting note about Hebrew puns is that they are never intended to by funny. They are usually biting…even sarcastic, as is the case here.
d. Here is his folly: he is so foolish that he has actually convinced himself that he can DEFY this Biblical principle. He genuinely believes that he is the exception to the rule—that he is so smart, he can sow wickedness and reap something good and beneficial from it. He is deceived!
e. Have you ever spoken to people in jail? They all seem to have this mentality—even AFTER they have been caught! (If I only had done it this way, I would not have been caught! Better luck next time!)
18b But to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.
1. In contrast to the wicked man working his wickedness is the righteous man who sows righteousness.
2. The righteous man sows righteousness.
a. In other words, his works are good… in harmony with God’s Word.
b. His life is clean and pure… he does things RIGHT.
c. He doesn’t fudge with the rules nor does he overstep the law.
d. While others might lie seeking personal advantage, he tells the truth even if it hurts.
e. While others might steal to advantage themselves, he sows righteousness. He works hard and gives to others… rather than taking from others.
f. While others are sitting around letting others do the work—he is one of those who DOES the work. He is sowing righteousness.
g. Eph. 4:25,28… the new man behaves in new ways. He puts away lying, stealing, cheating, laziness—and tells the truth, works hard, and gives.
h. Salvation ought to CHANGE the way we live… who we ARE ought to have an impact on how we behave…
i. We WERE like the wicked who sowed wickedness. Now we are changed… righteous. We are now to sow righteousness.
3. And there are wonderful rewards for sowing righteousness.
a. This man has a SURE reward.
b. Sure: can mean either firm; secure; reliable OR true.
c. In this proverb it is probably best to understand it in the sense of TRUE… in contrast to the deceitful reward of the wicked. Their reward is NOT true… it is a lie… deceitful.
d. If it is understood in the sense of firm, secure or reliable, then the contrast is between a reward for the wicked that they were hoping to get but proved to be “unreliable.” The righteous however, will receive a reward that IS reliable… one they can count on… one that is sure!
e. The two concepts overlap a bit…
f. One thing is clear: what the righteous man receives for sowing righteousness is a reward that he can count on… one that is REAL… a true reward!
g. Both men (the wicked and righteous) sows their seeds… and both seem to have hope of a reward. One is a false hope; the other a true hope!
4. Of course, there are some men who DO seem to successfully defy this principle. (Psalm 73)
a. This is what caused Asaph so much confusion and heartache.
b. He saw evil men sowing wickedness who DID seem to benefit from it! It was as if they sowed wickedness and reaped a good reward.
• vs.3 – they prospered…
• vs.5 – they are not in trouble…
• vs.7 – they have more than heart could wish
• vs.8 – they sow corruption and seem to reap no trouble… prosperity… strength… power…
c. Asaph sowed righteousness. (vs. 13)
• He seemed to think it wasn’t fair. He sowed righteousness but reaped plagues! (vs. 14)
• I’m sure we have all experienced similar thoughts… it seems like we are NOT reaping what we have sown.
d. These apparent contradictions to the Biblical principle were all easily resolved by viewing the situation from eternity’s perspective.
• vs. 17 – when he went into the sanctuary, he saw things from God’s perspective.
• The principle usually holds true in this life.
• But there are some apparent exceptions.
• However, in eternity there are NO exceptions!
• Vs. 18 – Those who sowed wickedness in this life and SEEMED to reap prosperity and blessing, will eventually find themselves in slippery places!
• Soon they will die and face God. In that day, all facades will be removed. They will in that day reap what they have sown.
• Before the Great White Throne (and the Bema) men will be judged according to their works… by a Judge who is omniscient… and knows our hearts and motives.
• There will be no exceptions in that day.
• Many men will receive a “deceptive wage” in that day… something they didn’t count on.
• Think of the many religious leaders who do not know Christ—to discover that they had been sowing corruption and will be quite surprised by what they reap… Mother Theresa… the suicide bombers…
• They built their house upon the sand… and were deceived, because from their perspective, the house looked pretty good! But they were deceived by their works.
• Multitudes of religious folks are deceived by their works.
5. What an encouragement to realize that our reward is SURE… regardless of how things appear from our earthly perspective!
a. We need NOT be deceived by our works.
b. We can serve the Lord, live for Him, and KNOW that our reward in heaven is sure… even if we don’t have much to show for our efforts in this life!
c. Those who sow righteousness in this life and laying up a sure foundation for the life to come.
d. I Tim.6:19 – Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
Proverbs 11:19
Righteousness and Life
19a As righteousness tendeth to life:
1. Solomon is making another comparison… righteousness and evil and life and death.
2. The comparison runs like this: A is to B as C is to D.
a. Note the italicized words… delete them and the verse reads like this: “As righteousness to life; so he that pursues evil to his own death.”
b. The verb is only used once—but only needs to be used once. It seems best to understand that the author means the same verb in both cases.
c. As A is to B so is C to D. A and B hold the same relationship to each other as do C and D.
d. In other words—righteousness and life hold the same relationship to each other as do pursuing evil and death…namely, one naturally follows the other!
3. The one who pursues righteousness does so unto LIFE…
a. The one who pursues righteousness enhances his life… causes his life to flourish… experiences an abundant life…
b. The one who pursues righteousness promotes life… advances life… LIVES life
4. Solomon spoke often of this principle: righteousness tendeth to life…
a. Prov.10:16 – the labor of the righteous tends to life…
» This speaks of that for which a righteous man WORKS…
» Everybody works for something… righteous men and evil men…
» But there is a difference between that for which righteous and unrighteous men work… even though they may work side by side in the same office.
» The things a righteous man labors for tends to life…
» His labor provides food for his natural life… to keep himself and his family alive…
» His labor enhances his spiritual life…
» He labors in the local church… and that promotes life… the preaching of the Word of life… and the salvation of souls… eternal life…
» His labor enhances his home life… by providing food and shelter…
» He labors in the Word and that too enhances life… his spiritual life… and it enhances his home life… and his attitude at work…
» He labors with his hands—that he might give—and that helps advance the life of others in need…(Eph. 4:28)…
» He supports missionaries and that supports their life…
» The LABOR of a righteous man tends to life… life in the fullest sense.
» The man who is a hard worker… and whose labors are motivated by standards of righteousness tends to life… to promote life in every way…
» the labor of the righteous tends to life
b. Prov. 12:28 – the way of righteousness is a tree of life… (way = path; road)
• The way or road of a righteous man is a tree of life… sprouting all kinds of good fruit…
• The tree of life is a source of that which aids life… good things come from trees: apples, pears, bananas, coconuts, wood for building and burning for heat; branches for shade; shelter for animals and birds; — trees have been a symbol of life for centuries.
• The WAY of righteousness is a source of good things necessary for life… for an abundant life.
• The ROAD a righteous man travels promotes life…
• Jesus lived on earth and left us an example to follow… to follow His path… the way of that righteous Man is a tree of life!
• But in a lesser sense, the way of any righteous man is a tree of life… a pattern of good works and faith to follow.
• Jesus also used a similar expression when He said that the narrow road (of righteousness) leads to life… not salvation by works, but nevertheless, showing a relationship between righteousness and life.
• If someone possesses eternal life, the QUALITY of his life will change—forever!
c. Prov. 11:30 – the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life…
• This is a similar principle… the labor, way, and now FRUIT of a righteous man is a tree life…
• Fruit = that which a man produces… and a righteous man produces the fruit of the Spirit… (the fruit of the flesh is certainly not a tree of life!)
• The fruit of a righteous man’s life is godliness… God-likeness.
• Psalm 1:2-3 – the righteous man produces fruit…
d. Everything about the man who pursues righteousness tends to life… his labor, his way, and his fruit…
5. Another relationship between righteousness and life is that righteousness preserves life.
a. The one who does things RIGHT tends to live longer.
b. Cf. Prov. 4:4 – same principle. (Disobedience resulted in death—either directly or indirectly or judicially)
c. The one who does not do things right… but lives in the fast lane… drinks… takes drugs… runs around with someone else’s wife—may not live so long. He may die young. His lifestyle does not promote life but death. (The second part of the verse teaches this).
6. There is a built in reward for pursuing righteousness.
a. This inference comes from the preceding verse: 18
b. Ps. 19:11 – in keeping God’s commandments (the way of righteousness) is great reward.
• There is great reward in this life—but especially in the life to come!
• Jesus said, “Behold, I come quickly and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” (Rev. 22:12)
• Pursuing righteousness in this life not only enhances and enriches our life on earth—it enhances and enriches our eternity!
c. Isa. 32:17 – The “effect” of righteousness is quietness and assurance… forever!
• In other words, the man who pursues righteousness can live in peace—his conscience is at rest… and he has assurance of his standing before the Lord.
• The one who pursues evil—believer or unbeliever—has no peace. His conscience will convict him… and he will be uneasy and uncomfortable before God—not poised and assured.
19b So he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.
1. The same principles holds for pursuing evil: it tends toward death. He who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.
2. Prov. 7:22 – here Solomon gives one example of pursuing evil to his own death—like an ox going to the slaughter.
3. Men willingly chose to pursue evil things that they know can kill them… drugs, alcohol, immorality, cigarettes…
4. It is because as fallen creatures, apart from faith in Christ, men normally choose the here and now over the by and by.
a. It is the same kind of twisted thinking of Esau: I want my porridge now—and I don’t care about tomorrow.
b. Men want to feel good right now and don’t want to even think about the long term consequences of their actions.
c. This is why most men reject Christ. They simply want to pursue their FUN now… and don’t care or believe there will be any eternal consequences to their actions.
d. They do so to their own death!
e. Prov. 11:17 states the same principle: cruel men trouble their own souls!
f. Prov. 8:36 – those who reject God’s wisdom and pursue evil do so at their own peril.
g. How we wish we could instill this truth in our kids—so that they might AVOID harming themselves… troubling their soul… being forced to eat the fruit of their own ways… maybe even save their life… save them from pursuing that which tends toward death!
5. Isaiah 3:10 – Isaiah put it this way: the righteous shall eat the fruit of his own doing… but woe to the wicked. He too shall eat of the fruit of his own doings.
a. Each tendeth to his own end… the righteous to life… and the wicked to sin and death.
b. This principle is inescapable… and has been proven over and over again.
c. Every man will EAT of his own fruit… he will reap what he has sown.
d. Whatever a man sows or pursues in life, he will receive… that which promotes an abundant life… or that which stifles one’s Christian life…
e. Some men pursue that which advances his own death… physical death, spiritual death, and the second death in the Lake of Fire.
f. Prov. 11:5-6 – the same principle — the wicked fall because of his own wickedness; the transgressor is taken in his own sin.
g. In other words—the evil he pursues catches up to him in time… and takes over his life. He becomes ensnared… entangled… overcome… defeated… and it may result in death.
h. All pursuits in life lead in one of two possible directions: life or death.
i. Be careful what you pursue in life.
Proverbs 11:20
Relationship to God
20a They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the LORD
A.) Abomination in God’s Sight (from Proverbs)
1.) Abomination defined: a disgusting thing; abomination; abominable; in ritual sense (of unclean food; idols; mixed marriages) in ethical sense (of wickedness, etc.)
2.) The term “abomination” is used in Proverbs of the following:
• 3:32 – a froward man is an abomination.
• 11:1 – a false balance
• 11:20 – a froward heart
• 12:22 – lying lips
• 15:8 – the sacrifice of the wicked (false religious systems)
• 15:9 – the way of the wicked
• 15:26 – the thoughts of the wicked
• 16:5 – every one that is of a proud heart
• 17:15 – he that justifies the wicked and condemns the just
• 20:10 – divers weights and measures (stealing)
• 24:9 – the scorner (arrogant mocking)
• 28:9 – the prayer of the disobedient
3.) Other places in the Old Testament indicated that particular sins were considered abominations to God… (used 74 times in Old Testament)
• Leviticus often used the term to describe eating things forbidden by the Levitical dietary laws. Why? Because it was a violation of the principle of separation.
• Lev. 18:22 – homosexuality
• Deut. 7:25 – idolatry
• Deut. 12:31 – burning their sons and daughters to false gods
• Deut. 22:5 – wearing clothing of the opposite sex; cross dressing
4.) God hates all sin. All sin is infinitely wicked in God’s sight, but some sins are referred to as “abominations”… that which is particularly hated by God.
B.) A Froward Heart… an abomination to God
1.) Froward = twisted; distorted; crooked; perverse; perverted
a.) The term is related to an Aramaic word that means to “twist or braid hair.”
b.) The term is used often in the Old Testament describing sin and the effects of sin… as twisted, crooked, human nature.
c.) Just as women twist their hair, so men twist their ways… crooked.
d.) God puts the condition of a man’s heart in the same category of abomination as sexual perversion, idolatry, offering children as a sacrifice, etc…
e.) God is extremely concerned about the spiritual condition of our hearts!
2.) A froward heart
a.) 11:20 – is an abomination to the Lord.
• Heart speaks of his inner life… thoughts… intents…
• A man or woman with a perverse, twisted heart is an abomination to God.
• A froward heart would include sexual perversion… but is much broader.
• It would include troublemakers of all stripes—who seem to get some kind of twisted pleasure from stirring up trouble.
• It would include a heart that perverts justice… bigotry, prejudice, hatred, oppression, inequity, etc…
• It would include a heart that twists the truth… doctrinal deviation comes from a froward or twisted heart and mind.
• It would include a heart with twisted priorities… whether it be an obsession with money, pleasure, power, worldliness, etc.
• It would include so much of our youth culture today—twisted music… twisted goals… twisted pleasures… twisted clothing… a devious attraction to the occult and perverse things of darkness… twisted tastes…
• All of this stems from a froward heart… whether it comes from the MTV crowd—or the Wall Street crowd…
• A heart is froward if it is twisted and perverted… bent out of shape… in a devious sense.
b.) 17:20 – a froward heart—same word as in 11:2—This man will find no good…
• Find: find; obtain; meet up with; light upon; be found in possession of; acquire…
• The man or woman or child with a froward heart will be found in the possession of “nothing good”—nothing pleasant, agreeable, rich, excellent…
• Those things in life will escape the man with a froward heart.
• He may “possess” good things, but not have the capacity to appreciate them… enjoy them… experience the goodness of them.
• His froward heart PREVENTS him from appreciating them. It HINDERS him from acquiring that which is truly good and excellent in life…
c.) Ps.101:4 – the psalmist determined not to associate with those who had a perverse heart.
• Vs.4-5 – David will not tolerate wicked behavior in his court as king! He will tolerate none of it!
» Men with a froward or evil heart “need not apply” for positions in David’s court!
» Men who slander… proud men… David said he would not SUFFER… he would not put up with… would not tolerate in his court!
» Those are not the kind of people David wanted around him… to serve him in the kingdom… as generals, as stewards, as appointed officials… character meant something to him!
» We would do well to seek friends and fellowship from those with upright hearts and refuse to associate with those with a froward heart.
» Wisdom demands that we avoid those who are unscrupulous… those who cheat… those who steal… those who are wicked… twisted in their thinking…
» We have to live in an evil world that has plenty of evil people. We have to work with them… live near them… we are told to “go into the world”.
‣ Yet we are also commanded to remain unspotted from the world!
‣ These men may be acquaintances, but not our close friends! Chose your close friends carefully!
‣ We may have to work with them… but if you are a manager of any type, chose men and women with character…
20b But such as are upright in their way are his delight.
A.) The Upright.
1.) The term upright = complete; entire; sound; wholesome; unimpaired; innocent; having integrity; what is entirely in accord with truth.
2.) In Proverbs it speaks of those who are living lives in accord with truth… it is similar to the term the “righteous.”
3.) Those who are upright in their way walk in the straight and narrow way of righteousness.
a.) Their minds and hearts are not perverted or crooked.
b.) The fact that they walk the straight and narrow is proof.
c.) A twisted, crooked mind and heart will lead the feet OFF the straight and narrow…
d.) But the upright are upright in their heart… their minds… and hence their feet are headed in the right direction.
4.) Those who walk the upright way are those who know God… and God knows them… there is a relationship there… they are walking TOWARD God…
5.) They are seen here as the opposite of those with a froward, twisted, perverted, crooked heart.
6.) The heart of the upright is right… right with God…
7.) Consider what Proverbs says about the upright:
• 10:29 – The way of the LORD is strength to the upright:
• 11:3 – The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
• 11:6 – The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them:
• 14:11 – the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
• 15:8 – the prayer of the upright is his delight.
• 16:17 – The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
• 28:10 – The upright shall have good things in possession.
8.) Doesn’t this sound like the WAY that you would want to travel? Consider the sum of what is found in the way of the upright:
• Strength; integrity; guidance; deliverance; a flourishing tabernacle; prayers that delight God; soul preserved; good things in possession!
• Why would a person ever want to walk in any other way than the way of the upright?
B.) The Upright Are God’s Delight.
1.) God delights in the way of the upright.
a.) Delight = pleasure, delight, favour, goodwill, acceptance
b.) Those who walk in the way of the upright will experience God’s acceptance, goodwill, and favor, and will bring pleasure, and delight to Him!
c.) God is well pleased… delighted with those whose lives are in harmony with His word and ways.
d.) I Chron. 29:17 – David recognizes that God takes great pleasure in the upright…
• First He tests the heart… (is it upright or crooked?)
• Of course, there is no fooling God with respect to being upright in heart. He KNOWS every nook and cranny of our heart!
2.) Note that it is the one who is walking in the WAY of the upright God delights in…
a.) Way = way; road; distance; journey; manner of life; habits; course of life; moral character; direction
b.) Just men do not always walk in the way of the upright… saved men do not always obey… the righteous do not always act in a righteous manner… the upright sometimes wander from the way of the upright.
c.) But when the upright travel down the way of the upright… that brings pure delight to the Lord.
d.) YOU can bring delight to God’s heart. Imagine that!
3.) Note also that the verse does not say that God delights in the WAY of the upright, but rather He delights in the UPRIGHT in the way.
a.) His delight is not in the way but in the person…
b.) God’s delight is in the man, woman, or child who is walking in the way…
c.) God’s delight is found in His people… in YOU… as we walk in the way… abide in Christ…
d.) Prov. 12:22 – they that deal truly are His delight. God delights in people… people who love the truth…
e.) Ps. 84:22 – no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly!
Conclusion:
1.) Solomon is contrasting the upright and the froward. (He helps us to better know man…)
2.) Solomon is also teaching us what GOD is like… what He loves and what He hates.
3.) God delights in the upright in the way… and He considers the froward to be abominable.
4.) Thus, by learning Scripture, we are learning about the Lord—who He is—what He likes and dislikes.
5.) By learning this, we come to know Him better… and we are better equipped to live lives that are pleasing in His sight.
Proverbs 11:21
No Safety in Numbers
21a Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished:
1. Not all proverbs are true.
a. Virtually every country has a book of proverbs of one sort or another.
b. There are ancient Turkish proverbs, Chinese proverbs, etc.
c. Ben Franklin even wrote some proverbs.
d. While none of them are inspired, some of them DO quite accurately describe a particular truth.
• A penny saved is a penny earned.
• Like father, like son.
• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
e. However, not all of those un-inspired proverbs are accurate. Some we have heard so often, we accept as truth—when it may NOT be true.
2. Here, Solomon puts down an ancient urban legend… a false proverb…
a. We have often heard, “There is strength and safety in numbers.”
b. Here the proverb read, “hand in hand”… or hand joined in hand…
• This is an unusual Hebrew idiom… which is interpreted and translated in several different but similar ways.
• The implication seems to be that when men hold hands and join together, they are strong and safe. Safety in numbers.
c. There is a certain amount of truth in that.
d. This truth is elaborated upon in Ecc. 4:9-12.
• 4:9 – The Bible does say that two are better than one…
• It is true in one sense that two hands are better than one…
• Many hands make light work…
• 4:10 – two are better if you fall down!
• 4:11 – two are better at generating heat
• 4:12 – there is strength in unity
• This is a general principle… a proverb.
3. In Prov. 11:21, Solomon singles out an exception to that principle or proverb, and demonstrates it to be a lie.
a. Normally, there IS safety in numbers. Normally two are better then one. Normally there is safety in numbers.
• All things being equal, one would expect the army with the most soldiers to win the battle!
• If both armies are equally well trained and equally well equipped and with equal leadership… one would expect that the army with 100,000 soldiers should easily defeat an army with only 2,000 soldiers.
b. There are times when there is NO safety in numbers!
c. “Though hand joined in hand” the wicked shall NOT be unpunished.
d. When it comes to wickedness, there is no safety in numbers. This is the exception to the rule!
e. Wicked men DO join hands in their plans to carry out their wickedness.
• Prov. 1:10-15 – Solomon warns of the allurement of a gang.
• There IS such a thing as a mob mentality.
• People will do in a crowd what they would NEVER do alone…
• WHY? We believe that there is safety in numbers. The sheer number of people involved will serve as a shield.
• Kids in a gang stir one another up to do evil—even murder… something they would probably never do on their own.
• In a riot, we see people breaking store windows and walking away with the loot. They would never do that all by themselves!
• In any group, there is mutual encouragement, mutual affirmation, prodding one another, daring one another, challenging one another, pushing one another to the edge, etc…
• One or two wild radicals in the group may push the whole group into action that they would never have thought of on their own…
f. There is a common thinking in men: if there are enough of us, we can get away with it! They can’t catch us all! They can’t arrest us all!
g. In a mob, or in great numbers, people get a sense of power… that they can do what they want and no one can stop them… “if hand join in hand.”
h. Many movements (good and bad) operate on that principle. There is strength and safety in numbers. Numbers empower.
• The principle of power in numbers has done a lot of good in some groups… civil rights… and other democratic and social reforms…
• But the same principle works within groups of wicked men with evil intent too.
4. The Bible has many illustrations of this principle operating among the wicked… that there is no safety in numbers for the wicked.
a. Gen. 6:5,11-12 – the whole world was in wickedness, but there was no safety in that! They were all destroyed!
b. Gen. 11:1-4 – the whole world once again joined hand to hand in their rebellion against God—but to no avail. The Lord judged them (vs. 8)
c. Just walk through the Bible book by book and you will come up with countless examples.
5. The wicked fail to acknowledge GOD!
a. The wicked might THINK that if they join hands they can get away with their wickedness.
b. And perhaps they CAN on earth… for a time… but nothing escapes the notice of the Almighty!
c. When hand joins hand against God, there is NO safety in numbers!
d. It matters not whether there is one speck of dust or a million specks of dust… man is nothing before the Lord. Even all the nations put together are nothing before Him! A drop in the bucket! (Isa. 40:15)
e. Psalm 2:1-4 – in the end times, the nations will join hand in hand and think to fight against the Lord Jesus at His Second Coming! God will laugh at their folly.
f. Wicked men THINK there is safety in numbers…
g. Perhaps you’ve even heard men say, “The gospel you preach can’t be true. There are so FEW born again believers and 6 billion people in the world. I’ll take my chances with the 6 billion rather than with you!”
h. There will be no safety on judgment day. MANY walk the broad way and they are ALL headed towards destruction. FEW are walking the straight and narrow. The MANY will find no safety in their numbers.
6. The wicked shall not be unpunished.
a. The MANY on the broad way will be punished.
b. Num. 16:2 – Korah and 250 princes gathered together—hand joined in hand in their rebellion.
• They assumed safety because there were so many important men involved.
• Vs. 3 – They rejected the authority of Moses and demanded to take authority upon themselves.
• Vs. 31-33 – Korah and his whole company—went down into the pit… hand joined to hand!
• Their numbers provided no safety in that day.
c. This is a good lesson for our young people.
• You too will be faced with peer pressure—from a group of kids trying to get you involved in something that you KNOW you shouldn’t do.
• They might tell you that you will be safe—that the gang or the group will shield you from getting caught…
• Don’t believe them. Don’t do anything in a group that you wouldn’t do by yourself!
• Don’t do anything in a group that wouldn’t be pleasing to the Lord.
• You don’t want the false kind of strength that comes from flesh trying to prop one another up. You want the kind of strength that comes from the Holy Spirit within!
• When you trust in the Lord, you will have the strength to say NO to the group… and to walk away.
• Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall NOT be unpunished!
21b But the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.
1. In contrast to the large numbers of wicked men joining hands… the remnant… the seed of the righteous… always a minority…
2. This minority shall be delivered!
3. Perhaps you’ve heard the expression, “You and God are a majority.”
a. I don’t know if you are a majority with God—but you CERTAINLY are more powerful and stronger than a crowd full of frail human flesh!
b. Little David with God was far stronger than Goliath and the Philistine army! Goliath was punished (decapitated!) and David was delivered.
4. II Chron. 20:1- Hand joined in hand against Jehoshaphat.
a. Ammonites, Moabites, and others joined hands against Jehoshaphat.
b. Vs. 3 – Jehoshaphat feared, but went to the Lord in prayer.
c. Vs. 6 – he recognized that true power does not come in raw numbers of men, but from a relationship to God!
d. Vs. 7 – the numbers of men ought to fear God!
e. Vs. 22 – the invaders were destroyed… and Jehoshaphat was delivered.
f. Though hand join in hand—the invaders did not go unpunished.
g. The seed of the righteous, Jehoshaphat, was delivered.
h. There are MANY such examples in the Scriptures… and history.
5. Applications to us today:
a. As fundamentalists, who seek a God-centered worship, we will always be in the minority.
• Hand will join in hand in the New Evangelical world… and seem to prosper.
• Rest assured, that ultimately they will not go unpunished. The Bema seat is coming.
• II Tim. 2:5 – “And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.”
• The seed of the righteous—those who seek to honor God and do things RIGHT—regardless of the response from men—will be delivered.
• We will be vilified on earth—but vindicated at the Bema seat.
• So let’s just keep on doing things right… and don’t be concerned about the vast numbers in the evangelical world who join hand to hand… even in violating principles of Scripture.
b. When you are overpowered by men… outnumbered… and seemed overwhelmed in the world… or at your office or school… just remember what Jonathan said:
• I Sam. 14:6 – “It may be that the Lord will work for us; for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.”
• Judges 7 – remember what God said to Gideon – “you have too many men! (22,000) Pare it down to about 300!
• Rom. 8:31 – What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
• It doesn’t matter how many men oppose us; or how big they are; or how well equipped.
• Ultimately, wicked men will be punished; the righteous will be delivered! Wait on the Lord for Him to work.
• You and God overpower any enemy! Numbers are irrelevant to God.
c. In our uncertain times, it is easy to become paralyzed in fear over terrorism.
• All over the world, Muslims are joining hand in hand to destroy the big Satan… America and the little Satan, Israel.
• We can rest in this truth: though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished. They aren’t getting away with anything ultimately.
• And in the end, the righteous shall be delivered. We are on the winning side in Christ…
• Justice may come slowly, but it WILL come.
Proverbs 11:22
An Attractive Pig?
22a As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout…
1. Our present verse is perhaps the most colorful comparison he makes.
a. Undoubtedly, Solomon intended this verse to strike a funny bone in his readers.
b. The visual picture is so outlandish as to be humorous.
c. The picture is of a pig wearing beautiful gold jewelry.
d. This was written in the day when animals were animals… long before Peta and animals rights groups… long before the time when an abused cat is the headline in the newspaper.
e. This was written long before our yuppie generation began providing psychologists for their dogs; before the days of air-conditioned dog houses; before the use of Ritalin for dogs; and before doggie day care centers and summer camps.
f. In Solomon’s day, the thought of an animal with jewelry on was so outrageous and bizarre it was humorous. In those days, an animal was an animal.
2. To make the image all the more arresting, Solomon stretches the contrast to the ridiculous.
a. The jewelry is GOLD… the most precious of all metals in Solomon’s day. That which is exceptionally beautiful and valuable.
b. And where is this beautiful and expensive jewelry placed? In a swine’s snout!
• Why a swine? Because they were considered exceptionally unclean to Jews.
• And because they ARE unclean by anyone’s standards. They love rolling in the mud and coating themselves in it.
• And to boot—he places the jewel of gold in the pig’s snout! Have you ever seen a pig’s snout? It is disgusting!
• They snort, stick their nose in the mud… quite a disgusting feature on an already unattractive creature!
• A gold necklace around its neck maybe. Even a nice earring would be more agreeable. But IN a pig’s snout—quite revolting!
3. What is Solomon trying to highlight with this image?
a. First of all, how inappropriate… they just don’t seem to go together! Something is wrong with this picture!
b. The jewelry, as beautiful as it is, doesn’t really make the pig any more attractive! A pig’s snout is disgusting even if it is wearing gold jewelry!
c. You can dress up a pig, but its still a pig! It doesn’t change its nature. One grunt and everyone is reminded that this is just a pig. A pig with jewelry is still going to roll in the mud and grunt.
d. Very few people would be fooled by the jewelry. It is easy to see through this poor attempt to dress up a pig.
e. The little piece of jewelry is grossly insufficient to overshadow the pig’s real problem: he’s dirty and ugly and disgusting.
4. Solomon then makes application from the gold bedecked pig to a woman without discretion.
22b So is a fair woman which is without discretion.
1. The comparison:
a. A woman without discretion is like the pig.
• Discretion = taste; judgment;
• A tasteless woman with no common sense; a female fool.
b. Her “fairness” (outward beauty) is like the gold nose ring.
The Four Comparisons
1. How inappropriate!
a. It is inappropriate to dress up a pig and try to make the pig look nice.
b. A gold nose ring and pig’s snout don’t go together.
c. External beauty on a woman who is a pig on the inside doesn’t go together either.
d. Because we are so influenced by sight, we might assume that a woman with beauty is a nice person. Wrong! I’ve known some that were witches—figuratively speaking.
e. Just as it is a waste of fine jewelry putting gold in a pig’s snout, it almost seems like a waste of beauty when attached to a woman who is cruel, vicious, angry, full of hate, maliciousness, etc…
f. A pig doesn’t deserve gold jewelry. A filthy woman without discretion doesn’t deserve external beauty.
g. There is just something altogether inappropriate when you see a beautiful woman who looks so sweet—until she opens her mouth and out comes a cesspool of vileness and wickedness.
h. Your immediate reaction is the same as if you saw a pig with gold jewelry: something is wrong with this picture!
i. This principle is true not only of women—but men too… and children.
j. We have all seen little children who are so cute… so sweet looking… until they open their mouth! What comes out is often shocking! It seems so inappropriate for a cute little kid to behave that way… without discretion… without respect…
k. There is something very ugly living in that beautiful exterior!
2. The jewelry, as beautiful as it is, doesn’t really make the pig any more attractive! A pig’s snout is disgusting even if it is wearing gold.
a. A beautiful body doesn’t enhance very much, the overall impression one gets of a woman without discretion.
b. I wouldn’t want to marry a pig, just because she had nice jewelry and some fancy clothes! Would you?
c. Solomon’s point is that although the gold may be priceless, it FAILED to clean up the overall image of the pig. It did precious little to improve her.
d. All the external beauty… and riches… and fancy clothes… and expensive cars… jewelry… mink stoles… will FAIL to make a woman who is ugly on the inside truly attractive.
e. I Pet. 3:3-4 – your real beauty is inward, not outward. Put the emphasis where God does!
3. Outward beauty does not change the nature of a foolish woman, just as a beautiful nose ring doesn’t change the pig’s nature.
a. She may be beautiful on the outside, but is still a pig on the inside.
b. Hollywood is FULL of these kinds of women (and men!)—Good looking pigs! (Sounds harsh; blame Solomon, not me!)
c. Many of the pigs in Hollywood have become exceptionally wealthy… and influential.
d. Our last president was often seen hob-nobbing with these beautiful pigs.
• They had his ear… and evidently he listened to them too.
• It’s not surprising that Clinton was so soft on the homosexual community that has made such inroads in Hollywood.
e. Don’t be fooled by looks. A person’s facial features, skin color, height, weight, clothes, and build tell you absolutely NOTHING about a person that lives inside that body.
• Some well-dressed, good-looking people are beautiful on the inside too. (Moses; David; Joseph) Some are pigs.
• Some not so well dressed, not so good-looking people are ugly on the inside… mean, cruel, and vicious. Others are gems on the inside.
f. You can dress up a pig, but it is still a pig. Its nature has not been changed.
• II Peter 2:22 – you can wash a sow—even put gold jewelry on her, but she is still a sow on the inside—and will return to her wallowing in the mire!
• While this is talking about false professors in Christ, the principle is the same as in Prov. 11:22 – don’t be fooled by a person’s exterior…
• You can dress a person up with religion too—but it doesn’t change his nature! He is still an unbelieving rebel on the inside… a choir robe doesn’t change that one bit.
g. We are warned NOT to treat men according to what they look like.
• James 2:1-4 – don’t be fooled by their looks… their clothing…
• Don’t treat the well dressed better than the poorly dressed…
• You might be giving a pig a front row seat, and hiding a real gem in the corner!
4. Very few people would be fooled by the jewelry. It is easy to see through this poor attempt to dress up a pig.
a. Most people will not be fooled by a beautiful woman without discretion.
b. It is easy to spot a woman without discretion—as you listen to her speak… and observe what she does.
c. I’ve known some… beautiful on the outside, but not so beautiful on the inside.
d. I remember watching a famous TV evangelist and his wife on TV some years ago. She wore expensive clothes, gobs of make up, rode in fancy cars, had jewelry dangling all over her… but she had no discretion… no judgment… no spiritual discernment. She was easy to spot. The make up was not enough to cover up her nature…
e. Don’t be fooled by a fancy exterior. It’s what’s on the inside that counts.
f. Some women think they look pretty sharp… pretty cool. Some young girls think they are cool… Well sure you are—like a pig with gold jewelry! That’s what God thinks of good looks, fancy clothes and being in with the in crowd! A well dressed pig… not very complimentary.
5. The little piece of jewelry is grossly insufficient to overshadow the pig’s real problem: he’s dirty and ugly and disgusting.
a. So too with the woman without discretion. Her looks and clothes will never overshadow her real problem: she’s ugly on the inside!
b. Nothing will change that but the new birth—or if she is saved and has an ugly spirit—repentance!
c. This proverb illustrates a truth about human nature. We are inclined to try to cover up… and make self LOOK good… rather than BE good. Good looks, fancy clothes, or expensive jewelry will never overshadow an ugly heart.
d. Prov. 31:3- beauty is vain… but a woman who fears the Lord—that is a woman with real beauty.
6. This is how GOD sees things.
a. Men might look at a beautiful woman and think that her exceptional good looks will overshadow all other shortcomings.
b. God looks at this beautiful woman without discretion and sees a pig… with a nice nose ring, but still a pig.
c. God sees things as they really are.
• The pig is large. The ring is quite small in comparison.
d. Men might look at a person and see someone who is beautiful… hip… cool… in… popular… in the limelight… and be attracted to that… to that which is superficial and shallow.
e. This proverb warns us to look a little deeper… beyond the fancy clothes to the KIND of person he or she is.
f. It’s what’s inside that counts. Do they fear God? Honor Him? Love the Lord? Serve Him? Or are they out gathering gold earrings to try to cover up the fact that they are not very godly on the inside?
g. Don’t let a gold ring fool you! Don’t judge a book by its cover.
h. A pig is a pig—regardless of how well you dress him or her up.
i. A godly person is godly and beloved of the Lord—regardless of how good looking they are… or what kind of clothes they have on.
j. We need to learn to see people as God sees them.
Proverbs 11:23
The Desire of the Righteous
Introduction:
1. Yet once again, Solomon makes another comparison.
2. So far he has compared the following:
• the froward and the upright
• pursuing righteousness vs. pursuing evil
• sowing wickedness vs. sowing righteousness
• the merciful man and the cruel man
• a gracious woman and a strong man
• a talebearer and a faithful man
• a man void of wisdom and a man of understanding
• a just man and a hypocrite
• a righteous man delivered from trouble and a wicked man who falls
• the upright and transgressors
• guidance for the righteous vs. falling of the wicked
• riches vs. righteousness
• integrity vs. perverseness
• the proud and the humble
• And this is just in chapter 11 so far!
• Now he compares the desire of the righteous and the expectation of the wicked.
The Desire of the Righteous: Good
1. Desire: desire; wish; longings of one’s heart; lust; appetite; covetousness (bad sense); the thing desired; object of desire
a. One man wrote: Desire is the wing of the soul, whereby it moveth , and is carried to the things which it loveth, as the eagle to the carcass, to feed itself upon it, and to be satisfied with it.”
b. Desire is a powerful thing.
c. Desire can be good (As the hart panteth after the waterbrooks, so panteth my heart after thee, O God)…
d. Desire can be evil… lust… covetousness… greed… ambition…
e. Desire must always be guided by Scripture and controlled by the Spirit of God.
f. Even good desires must be kept in control…
2. Good: good; pleasant; agreeable; excellent (of its kind); valuable in estimation; appropriate; becoming; good, right (ethical)
• Good people desire good things. Do you?
• Do you desire God’s blessings on others? Even your enemies?
• Do you wish things to go well for others… or do you secretly hope things will go poorly for some?
3. The OBJECT of their desire:
a. Righteous people want to achieve good things. That’s only natural!
b. Righteous people have regenerated hearts. A regenerated heart loves good things.
• He desires GOD—
• Ps. 73:25 – there is none on earth I desire more than God!
• He loves the Word of God and the house of God. (Ps. 27:4 – a desire to dwell in the house of the Lord!)
• He loves what God loves.
• He desires that which is pleasing to the Lord.
• He desires to go do good things… serve others… and God.
• A righteous wife desires to do her husband good… (Prov. 31:12)
• A righteous husband desires that which is best for his wife… and family.
c. Righteous people, filled with the Spirit of God, and guided by Scripture will have GOOD desires.
• Phil. 2:13 – It is God who works in us both to WILL (desires) and to do of His good pleasure.
• Ps. 10:17 – God delights in the desire of the humble… (Not the proud who come demanding…)
• I John 5:14 – our desires must be subordinated to His will.
• Good desires are easily recognized. They are always subordinated to God’s sovereign will.
• When we bring our good desires to the Lord, He answers according to His will… but it is not always His will to grant our good desires… even though they are good!
• God said that David’s desire to build Him a temple was a good desire, but God said no! Not the right time… not the right man…
• If our desires are REALLY submitted to His will, we will be able to deal with a “no” from the Lord.
• A believer might have a desire to serve in a particular ministry, but perhaps he is not yet mature enough… or the leaders have been led to choose someone else. It is a good desire. Is it submitted to the will of God?
• We need to be careful with our desires. It is so easy for our motives to be wrong… or have mixed motives. (To glorify the Lord AND self… to serve the church… and make friends for me… )
• It is sometimes hard to even KNOW if our motives are pure because our heart is deceitful.
• James 4:3 – Hence, the exhortation to be careful with respect to the desires of our heart we pray for—it could be wrongly motivated!
• Don’t your children have a lot of desires that are not necessarily evil, but are just not appropriate now… (Like the 12 year old who wants to drive the car… etc.)
• Righteous men have GOOD desires… bound by truth… controlled by the Holy Spirit… and submitted to the will of God.
• Phil. 4:19 – There is great rest in this truth. While my desires may go unanswered and unfulfilled, God will always supply my NEEDS. The branch gets all it truly needs on the Vine.
• Ps. 21:2 – very often God does give us the desire of our hearts…
4. The RESULTS of their desires…
a. Righteous people have desires that will result in good things.
b. The consequences of their desires are good; wholesome; beneficial.
c. They result in things beneficial to themselves and to others.
d. The man who desires the office of a bishop desires a good work—and when done well, produces GOOD fruit that is beneficial to the flock…
The Expectation of the Wicked: Wrath
1. Expectation: hope, expectation; ground of hope; things hoped for, outcome.
a. All men have hopes, expectations, things they hope for… even the unsaved and the wicked.
3. Wicked: wicked, criminal; one guilty of crime; (hostile to God); guilty of sin (against God or man).
a. The wicked refers to the unsaved… evil men…
b. Ps.10:3 – the wicked boast of their heart’s evil desire!
4. The OBJECT of their desires: wrath…
a. Wicked people desire to cause wrath… presumably to others.
b. Wicked men wish evil on others… wrath…
c. If it is to be understood in this sense, the meaning is that evil men EXPECT… plan… have intentions of making others angry… and making God angry.
d. There is certainly an element of truth in that. It is often the case!
e. Ex: the Muslim terrorists were wicked men whose intentions were to get the USA angry. They achieved their goal! Their expectation was to anger a lot of people.
(It seems better to understand it to refer to the result here…)
5. The RESULT of the expectation of wicked people: wrath
a. The consequence of their desires is a future wrath.
b. This seems more likely the correct interpretation.
• Wicked men have all kinds of desires and expectations.
• They expect to lie and cheat and get ahead.
• They expect to live it up in sin and get away with it!
• They expect to be the master of their own destiny and thumb their nose at God.
• Many wicked men expect that the world owes them a living…
• They expect to be able to slide through life doing the bare minimum… and do well…
• They expect that they can climb over other people to get ahead and advance themselves up the ladder…
• They expect all kinds of things.
c. But what they SHOULD expect in the end: Divine wrath!
• Rom. 2:5 – he is treasuring up wrath…
• He should expect wrath.
• The children of Israel desired meat. (Tired of the manna.) God gave them their desire, and it became loathsome in their teeth. It was an expression of God’s wrath—heaps of rotting quails!
• Ps. 106:15 – He gave them their desire, but sent leanness of soul! This was an expression of God’s wrath.
What a challenge in this passage to put all of our desires to the TEST.
• Is it truly a good desire?
• Is it in line with revealed truth?
• Will it glorify God?
• Is it designed to please God or is it merely that I might consume it in my own lusts?
• Are we aware that wisdom is more valuable than all things we canst desire? (Prov.3: 15)
• Is it submitted to the sovereign will of God?
• Is my real delight in the Lord Himself first and foremost?
Ps. 37:4 – Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
This passage emphasizes the importance of having worthy goals… high and lofty goals… good desires in life. Who knows. You just might achieve them!
Proverbs 11:24-26
Scattering and Withholding
Introduction:
1. These next verses all speak of a familiar theme in the Scriptures:
• You reap what you sow.
• Sow sparingly, and reap sparingly! Sow generously and reap generously.
2. This passage speaks of a principle or truth which at first glance seems contradictory… it seems impossible…
• It demands further investigation… further thought… meditation.
• It might be classified as an oxymoron (a wise saying that seems foolish)—it at first appears to be foolish.
• But upon further contemplation is found to be quite wise.
THE PRINCIPLE IS FOUND IN VS. 24-26
24a There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth…
1. Solomon speaks of a situation where one scatters what he has, and yet increases what he has.
a. At first glance this seems foolish. (This was written by Solomon, not Yogi Berra)
• Normally, when you scatter what you have, you end up with less. You don’t increase.
• What Solomon writes seems to run contrary to all known laws of mathematics… contrary to common sense…
• When you subtract, you don’t end up with MORE. (I’m no math major, but even I know that!)
b. However, there are situations where one who scatters DOES increase.
• Remember that Proverbs are truths crystallized into a tiny nugget. They do not hold true for every possible situation.
• The principle Solomon describes is true with scattering seeds. (…As opposed to keeping them in a bag.)
• It is true with investments. (…As opposed to withholding them under your mattress.)
• So there ARE situations where what Solomon says is true.
2. Scatter.
a. The term means to disperse (scatter!) ; spread out; spread abroad;
b. It is translated either scatter or disperse. (Usually used of Israel being scattered among the nations)
c. The term is used in the same sense that Solomon uses in Ps. 112:9 where it speaks here of dispersing money or goods or charity to the poor.
3. Increaseth.
a. Increase: add; gain; increase; join;
b. This is the point of the oxymoron… one who scatters gains; increases…
c. This kind of scattering doesn’t subtract, but adds to what he has.
4. Psa. 112:9 – The psalmist describes the one who disperses his money to the poor…
a. What is the result of his scattering his goods to the poor? Does he end up with less?
b. His righteousness endures… it does not decrease. It increases! His righteousness doesn’t run dry, it endures!
c. His “horn” (symbol of strength; power) doesn’t run dry either. It is exalted.
• By giving to the poor, this man does not become weaker, but stronger.
• His bank account may become weaker, but HE becomes stronger as a person.
• The owner of a company who treats his employees fairly and scatters his earnings to them… might discover that his company becomes stronger for it, not weaker!
• His employee loyalty increases. He keeps better workers. (Good workers want to work for him.) The morale is up. The zeal to do well increases… all because the owner scattered his wealth to them.
• Over time, this may well increase his bottom line too.
• Just as Solomon said; there are times when scattering results in increase… as crazy and nonsensical as it may sound at first!
5. This same truth is repeated in different form in vs. 25a: The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
a. The liberal soul (not talking about Ted Kennedy and his crowd).
• It is GOOD to be liberal in this sense. (Not theologically however!)
b. Liberal: blessing or prosperity…
• It speaks of one who dispenses blessings or prosperity and goods to others.
• He is liberal in his giving—not his politics or theology.
• The liberal soul could be translated “the generous man.”
• The English term is used of God as a liberal… a liberal giver. (James 1:5 – He giveth liberally and upbraideth not)
• II Cor. 9:13 speaks of their liberal giving to the saints in Jerusalem. (liberal here = free; open)
c. The liberal soul is one who gives generously.
• He “scatters” what he has among those who have need.
• He is generous in giving to the Lord’s work… and the poor…
• He uses his wealth wisely and generously… he is a true liberal.
d. This man shall be made fat.
• In our culture, this probably seems like a punishment… in reality it is a blessing.
• But in Bible times, fatness was a sign of prosperity… of doing well… well provided for.
• Times change.
» In ancient times—and in the golden era of the British Empire, it was considered chic NOT to have a tan.
» The British aristocrats prided themselves in their ghoulish white skin. The ladies wore parasols when they went in the sun… to keep their skin lily white.
» Only the lower class—those who had to work in the sun had tans. The upper class did not.
» Today, it is chic to have a tan; in fact, we have tanning parlors on every block!
» Today we have gyms and weight clinics on every corner.
» Back then fat and fair were in. Now dark and lean are in. What fickle people we are!
• In ancient times, fat was considered to be a good thing. Being skinny meant you were probably poor… Fatness was a sign that you had made it!
• So when God says that the liberal soul shall be made fat, He means that His BLESSING is upon the liberal soul.
• He will not starve. God will take good care of him. “Let thy soul delight itself in fatness.” (Isa. 55:2)
e. Vs. 25b – The same thought repeated once again: he that watereth shall be watered himself.
• Water was an exceptionally important commodity in those days before running water… in that dry region.
• The man who is generous with his water to others would be reciprocated.
• The man who scatters his water does not end up with less, but with MORE!
• If he shared his water with several neighbors when their wells ran dry…he ends up with access to MANY wells down the road, not just his own.
• His well could run dry one day too… and his neighbors would remember his generosity. (They would also remember a stingy neighbor too).
6. This same principle is found in yet another illustration in vs. 26b.
a. “Blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth.”
• Solomon is speaking of a farmer who sells grain… perhaps a very wealthy landowner who controls the market on grain.
• If he withholds it, (and thus drives up the price) the people will curse him… because he is taking advantage of them.
• But the one who sells it… (fair market value)… will be blessed.
• The one who sells his corn or grain is like the man who scatters what he has…
b. The man who is willing to scatter his grain in order to feed the hungry will be blessed.
• This man is not actually “giving” it away, but selling it.
• But by selling it, he is doing the people a favor. Otherwise, they go hungry.
• In those days, in an agrarian culture, so much depended upon the weather. The whole economy depended upon the crops.
• A powerful, wealthy landowner would always have enough for himself, even in a time of famine.
• But in those rough years, the price of grain might go up 10 fold! If the famine was bad enough, the farmer might keep it all to himself… not knowing when the famine will end.
• In fact, if the landowner had a corner on the market, he could even withhold corn in a good year to drive up the price…
• No wonder James decries the wealthy landowners of his day.
• James 5:1, 5 – they lived in pleasure and got fat by taking advantage of the poor.
• James says they were getting fat all right, but like an animal that is fattened up for the slaughter… God’s judgment upon them!
• The man who was considerate enough of other families to SELL his corn… at fair market value, was like the man who scattered his wealth… like the liberal or generous soul… like the man who watered others…
7. In all of these illustrations and examples, Solomon states that those who show mercy, compassion, generosity, kindness, consideration of those who are poor or are suffering, will be BLESSED.
a. They scatter what they have (be it money; kindness; corn; water; etc.)
b. And in the end, they are not losers, but gainers!
c. They scattered what they had, but ended up increasing… with MORE:
• More friends
• More joy
• Access to more wells when their well runs dry
• More dedicated employees
• More satisfaction from what remains
• More contentment out of life
• More of God’s blessing in your life (that’s what counts)
d. Those who scatter increase. They are never losers but winners. They don’t end up with less but with more…
e. In a word (or two!)—these proverbs mean: he who sows generously shall reap generously!
POSSIBLE ENDING IF TIME RUNS OUT…
8. Be careful not to twist the meaning here.
a. The gospel of success folks do just that: twist this principle and apply it where it was never intended to be applied.
b. They say, “If you give generously of your wealth, God will increase your wealth.”
c. In other words, “Give more in order to get more.” That is entirely SELFISH. The motive is all wrong.
d. The whole point of the proverb is about being generous … giving to others, not thinking of yourself!
• The emphasis is on giving, not getting.
• The motive behind it is thinking of others, not self.
e. They likewise twist Proverbs 3:9.
• What is the emphasis here? HONOR God!
• It is equal to Matt. 6:33 – seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you.
• We are never told to put God first SO THAT we will have food on the table and clothes to wear!
• We are never told to give SO THAT we will receive from God or others.
• Just the opposite. We are taught NOT to put self first, but God and others.
• And when we do, God will take care of our needs. God will bless. God will provide. He will fill our barns with what we need.
• The point is this: Seek God first; be generous to others; and trust God to take care of your needs… and He will.
• Being generous in order to receive is really a perversion of this principle.
• This gets right down to the MOTIVE behind our generosity and willingness to share.
• We may DO good deeds, but ruin the value of them in God’s sight by doing a right thing with a wrong motive.
f. In fact, if we give generously, our bankroll goes DOWN not up.
• We can’t expect to scatter wealth and increase wealth in this life.
• But in glory, we will find our riches ARE increased.
• We lose out on earthly treasures by scattering them.
• BUT—we INCREASE our heavenly treasures… and they are eternal!
• Don’t expect that if you give generously in this life, then God is required to increase your wealth in this life. We already HAVE all of our blessings as Christians! (Eph. 1:3)
• God may bless our generosity with physical, earthly blessings, but the Bible does not promise it. In fact, we are exhorted not to expect much from this world!
• But if we put others first, and are generous in this life with our present stewardship, then we can KNOW that God has heavenly riches awaiting us in glory!
• From eternity’s perspective, this principle is always true: If we scatter what God gives us in this life, we will be greatly increased in true riches at the Bema seat!
NEXT WEEK we will look at the other side of this principle: the one who withholds… and tends to poverty.
And there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
26 He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him:
Proverbs 11:27
Seek and Ye Shall Find
Introduction:
1. The principle that is found in this passage is similar to a principle found often in the Bible: you reap what you sow.
2. Solomon (as well as New Testament writers observed this principle often—and made many spiritual applications from it.
3. However, this verse puts a slightly difference emphasis on it: “You usually get what you’re looking for…” “Seek and ye shall find…”
27a He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour…
THE TERMS…
1. Diligently Seeking –
a. Diligently seeketh: to seek early or earnestly; look early or diligently for…
b. This is not just a haphazard kind of seeking… but with great diligence.
2. Good –
a. Pleasant; agreeable; pleasant (to the higher nature); good; excellent; valuable in estimation; appropriate, becoming; morally good; kind; benevolent…
b. This term is broad enough to have 1001 applications to all areas of life…
c. It could mean good things, good friends; good fellowship; good attitudes; good policies; good use of the tongue; good days; etc…
3. Procureth –
a. This term means to seek and find… seeks and obtains… seeks and secures…
b. The point is that the one who seeks diligently… seeks in such a way that he obtains… he secures… he finds what he’s looking for!
4. Favour –
a. pleasure, delight, favour, goodwill, acceptance, good will
b. Solomon seems to imply favor from GOD here primarily.
5. Putting the terms together:
a. The one who seeks good diligently, will obtain favor from God.
b. The one who diligently seeks, usually finds what he’s looking for.
c. Diligent seeking is the kind of seeking that produces results…
d. God shows divine, sovereign favor to the one who seeks diligently… and He knows our heart… if we are seeking diligently or not.
VARIOUS APPLICATION OF “DILIGENTLY SEEKING GOOD…”
1. Seeking the good of others…
• Phil. 2:4 – seeking the welfare and benefit of others, not self. This is the mind of Christ. (vs. 5)
• Phil. 2:19-22 – Timothy was such a man. Are you?
• Do we seek good for others, or just for self… for me… my family… my own…?
• I Cor. 10:24 – seeking the welfare (good—not wealth)… of others… in a context of liberty. In other words, always be willing to give up the exercise of your “rights” for another brother… seek HIS good… not your pleasure.
2. Seeking a change for the good of your spiritual life…
• Hopefully, we all want changes in our lives… change for the good.
• Only those who are perfectly Christlike should not seek change.
• Paul was not one of those. He had not yet arrived. Hence, he longed for more transformation into the image of Christ.
• Those who SEEK for such change—will find it… they will find the favor of God.
• Diligently seeking for spiritual growth and transformation could be likened to a hungry and thirsty man diligently seeking to be fed… diligently seeking a drink of cool water
• The whole process of growth and change is based upon the principle of seeking… hungering… thirsting… longing.
• Matt. 5:6 – Those who hunger will be fed!
• No hunger, no feeding. No thirsting, no drink.
• God knows the desire of our heart. If we are not diligently seeking to be fed, He isn’t going to feed us! If we are not hungering because we’ve been fed in the world… God isn’t going to feed us.
• Take that one step beyond: no drinking or feeding means no growth…
• Plants grow this same way. Tiny fibers extend out from their roots seeking water and nutrient… always hungering… and when there is a supply, always finding…
• Sometimes plants dry up because their supply of water or nutrients dries up.
• But our supply is found in the Lord Himself. This source never dries up… BUT—we need to keep on seeking… hungering… thirsting… and we will be fed.
3. Seeking that which is “good” for your spiritual life…
• Some seek what is good for them economically without any regard for that which is good for them spiritually.
• As a result, they are willing to let Raytheon or IBM lead them withersoever they will…rather than being led of the Holy Spirit.
• Lot sought that which was good for his family economically—but found the spiritual climate of Sodom not quite what he had hoped!
• You usually get what you seek diligently for…
• Solomon admonishes us here to seek that which is GOOD—good for us spiritually.
• To seek spiritual things diligently means to put them on the TOP of the list of priorities. (Matt. 6:33).
• If you seek God and spiritual things FIRST… then you will seek them diligently. Other things will fall into place… God will take care of the rest.
• But if we diligently seek after the wrong things… things that are NOT good for us spiritually, God can BLOW upon all of our efforts!
• Haggai 1:7-11 – These folks were not seeking evil things, but they were not seeking that which was GOOD spiritually.
• As a result, all of their hard work, effort, and labor was but in vain. God blew upon it and brought it to naught.
• The implication is that had they been seeking diligently that which was good spiritually… the kingdom of God FIRST… then God would have blessed in other areas too.
• Those who seek good spiritual things in their lives, usually get what they are looking for.
• Jesus said, “Seek and ye shall find.” God isn’t hiding on us. Neither are His blessings beyond our reach.
• BUT—God does want us to seek them diligently…
4. Seeking good at your job…
a. This principle is broad enough to apply to every area of one’s life.
b. Do you seek the GOOD of your company… your employer?
c. Do you DILIGENTLY seek good for your employer?
d. Prov.10:4 – Those who diligently seek good for their employer usually find favor… and that may even pay off financially!
e. Things are not always equal in the workplace.
• There is a lot of dishonesty, hypocrisy, buddy system, cronyism, lying, and misrepresenting… that takes place.
• But apart from all of that… the worker that DILIGENTLY seeks to do a good job… will be noticed eventually…
• He will find favor… eventually… under normal circumstances.
• Remember—these are Proverbs—they do not apply to each and every situation… but are generalities.
• Prov. 12:24 – He may even rise to the position of leadership…
• Prov. 22:29 – he shall stand before kings… praised for his diligently seeking after good.
• Generally, the worker who diligently does GOOD work will find favor.
• He will be noticed… his work will stand out… he will be advanced… will do well.
5. Seeking good at school…
a. The student who diligently seeks good at school will find favor too.
b. This does not mean that the student has to be brilliant… but rather diligently seek to do good… to do his or her best.
c. That is the child who will be noticed by the teacher… and whose diligence and enthusiasm will be praised…
d. The student with average ability… but who applies above average diligence… will do well. He will probably do much better than a student with greater intellectual ability, but who lacks diligence.
e. Thomas Edison has been quoted many times for saying, “Genius is 10% inspiration, and 90% perspiration.”
6. Seeking good in marriage…
a. The husband who seeks a good relationship with his wife will usually find favor…
b. Even if there have been difficulties in the relationship, the wife who sees her husband is trying… even DILIGENT about doing his part… being a good husband will be pleased. What wife wouldn’t?
c. People don’t usually expect perfection in their spouse… but they DO expect to see their spouse WANT to make it work… diligently seek GOOD for their home life…
d. The Bible says that we are to esteem OTHERS better than ourselves. That certainly applies in marriage. It’s hard not to love someone who is doing that… and working at it DILIGENTLY!
e. What wife wouldn’t want a husband who went the extra mile to put his wife first? To love her as Christ loved the church?
f. What husband wouldn’t love a wife who did the same?
g. It’s a great encouragement to a spouse just to know you’re trying hard to work at it!
h. The spouse that diligently seeks good for the relationship will naturally find favor!
7. Seeking good in the local church…
a. The believer who is continually looking for good in the local church will find it. (Conversely, the one who is continually looking for something to complain about will find that too!)
b. If you diligently seek for something hard enough, you will find it!
c. Be the kind of believer who diligently seeks the GOOD of the congregation…
d. Look for good qualities in other members… and overlook those areas where they need improvement.
e. Look for ways to increase the good in a congregation… if you see a deficiency, rather than murmuring about it—DO something good. Fix it! Support it… help it… nurture it… heal it… seek to make that which is less than good, good…
f. That is the member who will find favor… with men and with God!
g. How do you seek the GOOD of the local church?
• Be a peacemaker… (Cf. second part of verse 27!)
• Be available to work towards improving areas that need help…
• If you hear, “We don’t have a very good youth ministry”—then diligently seek to make it good!
• If you hear, “We don’t have a very good music ministry”—then diligently seek to make it good!
• If you hear, “We don’t have a very good Sunday school ministry”—then diligently seek to make it good!
h. James 1:27 – pure religion and undefiled is to “diligently seek good”… for others in the Body of Christ…
• Diligently seeking good is an activity… active, not passive.
• What a testimony and what a demonstration of the indwelling life of Christ, when all of God’s people are actively and diligently seeking GOOD for others.
27b But he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.
1. The reverse of this principle is true as well.
a. Those who seek good usually find what they are looking for.
b. And those who seek mischief usually find that too!
2. Notice the absence of the word “diligently” with respect to seeking mischief.
a. Actually, it is not a word that is absent, rather it is another term for seek, only a milder term…
b. Seeking after good requires diligence. It is not as easy to find. It can be found, but requires diligent seeking.
c. However, mischief can be found much easier.
d. You don’t have to look quite so hard to find trouble.
3. The main point of the proverb is that people usually find what they’re looking for… whether they are looking for good or for mischief!
4. Ps. 36:4 – states that evil men stay up at night devising mischief! Thinking about ways to create trouble. (Consider those who send out internet viruses… just for the fun of it!)
5. Note also what the two different men (one seeking good and one seeking mischief) RECEIVE in this comparison:
a. The one who seeks good for others, finds FAVOR for himself.
b. The one who seeks mischief for others, finds MISCHIEF for himself.
c. The bottom line: be careful what you seek for others. You might just find it for yourself!
Proverbs 11:29
Troubling One’s Own House
Introduction:
TROUBLING ONE’S HOUSEHOLD…
1. Trouble Defined:
a. To trouble; stir up; disturb…cause hardship and distress for another, implying social chaos from the interaction or situation.
b. Note: in some contexts there is a focus on the wretched state of distress that this oppression causes.
2. HOUSE: home; dwelling place; the inhabitants of the dwelling place; descendants; family; family affairs; the affairs of a household; etc.
• It can refer to one’s immediate family; to one’s tribe; one’s nation; one’s spiritual family; it is a broad term…
3. The term is used in the following passages:
a. Used in Gen. 34:30 – Simeon and Levi stirred up other tribes against the tribe of Jacob.
• 34:1 – Shechem lay with Dinah, the sister of the 12 sons of Israel, Jacob.
• To get vengeance, the sons of Jacob devised a plot.
• They told Shechem he could marry their daughter and that they would be one people, IF all their males would be circumcised.
• All the males in those tribes complied… and while they were sore, and unable to move, Levi and Simeon came and killed them all with a sword.
• Vs. 30 – as a result, all the people of Canaan land turned against Jacob.
• Hence, Jacob said that the actions of his two sons TROUBLED his whole household.
• Their dirty, conniving deeds stirred up trouble for the whole house of Jacob… turned everyone in the region against him.
• The Jews were viewed as strangers in a strange or foreign land. Their behavior would naturally be watched carefully. They should have been on their best behavior!
• Levi and Simeon troubled their whole house…what folly!
• Solomon warns about dastardly deeds that cause trouble for others… especially one’s own household!
• What a warning to us all.
» Think of how careful missionaries must be in a foreign land, before people of a different culture…people who look different than they do… behave differently…
» That missionary is likely going to be watched carefully… with a bit of healthy suspicion at first.
» If the actions of that missionary greatly offends the people to whom he was sent… or worse, if he should ever get caught lying or stealing from them… he has stirred up trouble against the whole missionary family… the whole missionary enterprise!
» It would be extremely difficult to win back their trust.
• Immigrants often have to deal with this issue…
» One in a group might commit an act that brings trouble on the entire community… smears the reputation of the whole community…
» It is wrong to judge the whole community on the basis of the actions of one—but that is human nature.
» The actions of a few troublemakers can bring trouble on the whole community.
» Don’t stir up trouble for your own household… for your own family, tribe, or nation.
• As Christians, we too are strangers in a strange land… pilgrims!
» Our behavior before the community will either be a testimony for the glory of Christ OR it can cause trouble for other believers.
» Sometimes one Christian group will be defiant before the city officials… refusing to follow the local ordinances… and thus, make trouble for the other Christian groups in the region!
» Our actions can stir up trouble for our own house… even for the household of faith!
» Our behavior should be such that our behavior does not disgrace, but enhances the doctrine we profess…
b. Used in Josh. 6:18 – Achan stirred up trouble for Israel by taking of the accursed thing.
• Achan’s sin stirred up God’s wrath against his own people!
• After the defeat of Jericho, God plainly stated that all the goods of the city were to be “accursed” — devoted to God.
• None of the goods were to be taken by individuals as spoils of the battle.
• God also warned that if anyone DID take of the goods, that they would make the camp of Israel a curse and TROUBLE Israel.
• Vs. 19 – the goods were to go directly into the treasury of the Lord.
• However, Achan disobeyed and stole gold and clothing and hid it in his tent…
• 7:1 – the disobedient actions of Achan stirred up God’s wrath against the whole nation—his own household…
• His own people had to suffer as a result of his actions.
c. Achan’s sin brought trouble on all Israel… his own people!
• Consider some of the sins mentioned in the New Testament epistles… and the trouble they stirred up for the household of faith.
• I Cor. 5:1—incest—imagine how much trouble that stirred up in the church at Corinth? In that man’s own family?
• The sin of divorce also stirs up trouble for one’s own family.
• Consider how much trouble alcohol stirs up in a man’s own home… coming home drunk… mistreating the wife and children… disgracing the family name…
• On and on it goes. Our sinful actions can easily stir up trouble for our own household.
• THINK about the ramifications of your actions on others before you act! That’s the message here!
• God’s answer for those who trouble others: 7:25!
• That’s what the one who stirs up trouble for his own people deserves!
d. I Kings 18:17-18 – the one who stirred up trouble tried to blame others.
• Ahab was an apostate that brought Baal worship to Israel. THAT troubled the nation!
• Had Ahab repented and turned the nation to the Lord, God would have BLESSED the entire nation according the promises of the Mosaic Law.
• Ahab’s immorality and apostasy instead brought about a lack of God’s blessing… and all kinds of trouble. (Deut. 28:15)
• Ahab wrongly assumed that the trouble they were facing (drought) was the result of Elijah…who opposed the prophets of Baal…
• Typical! Denial that he was the cause of the trouble… and he tries to place the blame elsewhere.
• Those who stir up trouble often like to the point the finger elsewhere… put the blame elsewhere…
• There will be those in the local church who also stir up trouble… and will never admit that the friction in the local church is the result of THEIR slander… their gossip… their bitter spirit… their divisiveness…
• What a foolish thing to do: stir up trouble in the local church. That is as foolish as stirring up trouble in your physical body—injecting your body with poison!
e. Used in Proverbs 15:27 – he that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house.
• Here is another instance of stirring up trouble for one’s own house.
• This seems to refer to a man’s immediate household… his wife and children.
• The man who is greedy of gain stirs up trouble for his own flesh and blood.
• Perhaps in his pursuit of material things—his family never gets to see him! Dad never has any time to spend with his kids! What trouble that brings to the kids. And if they are not properly trained, they could well bring trouble to dad in their teen years!
• Or the wife who is greedy, and piles up bills on the credit card—what trouble she is making for her household!
Inherit the wind
1. Inherit:
a. Strong’s: to have or get as a possession or property; to divide the land for a possession; to divide for a possession; to cause to inherit; give as an inheritance; to be allotted; be made to possess.
b. Used in Job 7:3 – made to possess months of vanity and wearisome nights.
2. Inherit the wind:
a. It’s hard to know for sure how to take this expression.
b. It could mean: the one who stirs up a little trouble for his own family or own people will end up creating a tornado or whirlwind—a disaster!
c. Or, it could mean: the one who stirs up trouble for his own will end up with nothing but air… an empty, vain life…
• This is certainly true in the case of men and women who stir up trouble for their households through infidelity, drug abuse, alcohol, theft, or some other crime for which they are caught…
• They may well bring their family to nothing… poverty…lose everything.
• I Sam. 25:17 – Consider Nabal—the fool. His foolish, drunken, selfish, belligerent behavior troubled his whole household… and were it not for his gracious wife, would have left him with nothing…
d. In a sense, we as believers trouble our own households if we do not set a good example for our children.
• We stir up trouble for our home if we engage in worldly behavior… if we neglect our spiritual life… if we forsake the assembly of the saints… if we neglect our family devotion time…
• If we don’t set a good example in the home, we are asking for trouble down the road.
• We shall inherit a storm before too long… you reap what you sow!
• Our behavior can bring either a blessing or a blight upon our family… our tribe… our people… our nation…
e. A house (family; nation; church; tribe) that is at unity with itself will flourish. A house divided will fall.
3. This man is a fool—and though he is higher in station, he will end up as a servant to those who may be lower in station, but are wise of heart…
• The master of the house, through stirring up trouble could PAY for his behavior — and end up as the servant of the house!
• We reap what we sow!
Proverbs 11:30
Winning Souls
Introduction:
1. We hear this expression a lot today… “winning souls”!
2. There are seminars on soul winning… books on soul winning… conferences on soul winning…
3. Some churches boast that they are “soul winning” churches…
4. But what does the BIBLE mean where the expression is found?
a. This is the ONLY passage in Scripture where the expression is found.
b. Rather than looking to the way men use the expression today, let’s consider how it is used in the Scriptures.
30a The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life…
1. The fruit of righteousness.
a. Solomon is speaking here of the fruit or RESULT of being righteous… of living a righteous life…
b. Every man’s life brings forth fruit… some good fruit; some evil.
c. A righteous man brings forth good fruit.
d. Matt. 7:15-18 – here the Lord uses the illustration of men as fruit trees to distinguish the false teacher from a good teacher…
• Ye shall know them by their fruits
• The principle is simple: good trees bring forth good fruit.
• In this illustration, the man is the tree… the fruit refers to his works.
• The Lord implies that there is a direct relationship between the KIND of tree and the KIND of fruit. Good trees = good fruit. Evil trees = evil fruit. Apple trees produce apples. Crab apple trees produce crab apples.
e. Solomon speaks of the FRUIT of the righteous…
• He means the fruit… the visible results or works in a man’s life.
• The righteous refers to believers—those justified by faith.
• If a man is righteous in God’s sight—then the fruit he produces (over-all) will be good.
• Of course, some men justified by faith have produced some not so good fruit… and some downright rotten fruit. But over all, the fruit of a righteous man is good. (Isn’t that true in all of our lives?)
• Are you righteous? Have you been justified by faith? What kind of fruit is being manifested in YOUR life right now?
2. A righteous man is a tree of life.
a. The result of living a righteous life is that the person becomes a TREE of life.
b. This is the result or FRUIT of such a righteous life.
c. If YOU live a righteous life… YOUR life will be a tree of life.
3. A tree of life defined:
a. Prov. 3:18 – Wisdom itself is A tree of life… not THE tree in the Garden of Eden.
b. THE tree of life in the Garden of Eden was created to preserve life… eat of it and live forever.
c. Wisdom is LIKE a tree of life.
• It provides continual preservation and protection for us in our spiritual life.
• Wisdom enables us to MAINTAIN and SUSTAIN our spiritual life…
• Wisdom is health… like medicine for our spiritual lives… refreshing and restoring our souls…
• Wisdom keeps us from evil—enables us to avoid ruining our lives… protects us…
• A tree of life is a source of that which is life sustaining, life invigorating, life stimulating, life strengthening, life protecting, life guiding, life healing, life restoring, life nourishing, life promoting, life preserving…
d. It is a tree—a continual source of life to those who lay hold upon her…
• Trees keep on producing fruit… season after season. They are not like annuals—they bloom and die. Trees keep on producing their fruit.
• Trees like people, go through seasons. Sometimes our lives may be exceedingly fruitful. At other points, we may go through a dry period with not much fruit…
• But the tree keeps on growing… and there is always another season coming…trees have to wait for their season.
• A tree of life is exceptionally helpful… even necessary… supportive… an endless source of that which is needed in life.
4. Solomon says that the RESULT of a righteous man’s life is that HE becomes a tree of life…
a. He becomes a tree of life… and out of his life comes the kind of wisdom that will guide and sustain him throughout life.
b. The righteous man who walks the straight and narrow way will be like a tree that keeps on producing good fruit…
c. This kind of fruit will be exceedingly helpful to him for the rest of his days.
5. He becomes a tree of life for OTHERS…
a. It is the idea of helping OTHERS that seems to take precedence in this verse.
b. The man, woman, or child who leads a righteous life will also be a tree of life for OTHERS.
c. He will be an endless source of help for them… wisdom…
d. Prov. 15:4 – his wholesome tongue will be a source of wisdom for them… admonition…
e. Prov. 13:12 – a tree of life also has the capacity to LIFT UP a discouraged soul. YOUR righteous life can have that effect on others.
f. Prov. 3:18 – HAPPY is the one who has this source. The man who has access to this kind of wisdom will have blessedness in his life… and enough to spread around to others.
g. Rom. 15:14 – the believer who is walking in wisdom and leading a righteous life… will have what OTHER believers need:
h. He will be filled with the knowledge of God. He knows God and is able to teach others about the Lord…
i. He is able to admonish… warn… encourage… give advice… help.
6. Do YOU want to be a tree of life for others?
a. Lead a righteous life!
b. This implies that our HEART is right with God… for our life flows out of our heart relationship to God.
c. Col. 2:7 – We need to be rooted and built up in Him…
• For HE is the source of all wisdom. (vs. 3)
• The closer we are to Christ—the source of ALL wisdom… the more wisdom we will have to share with others…
• The closer we are to Christ, the more fruit will be manifested…
d. The more fruit in our lives, the better able we are to function as a tree of life for others.
7. Do you know Christians who are trees of life?
a. You know you can come to them and find a person in tune with God
b. You see fruit in their lives all the time…
c. They are always helpful… always willing to share the wisdom God has given them… willing to give advice when asked… willing to help… willing to encourage…
d. When we are hungry, we go to the refrigerator. In ancient times, they might take a walk to a tree for a fig or a pomegranate.
e. The tree has the fruit you need to sustain life… to feed and nourish.
f. There are believers who are just like that. You KNOW that when you come to them, you are going to be pointed to a Scripture verse that will be helpful… or perhaps have a fault pointed out that needs attending to… or a word of encouragement.
g. You know that they are more than willing to share the fruit of their righteous life.
h. Perhaps in their righteous life they have studied the Scriptures…
i. Perhaps during their righteous life they have developed a sweet, gentle spirit…
j. Perhaps during their righteous life they have gained much spiritual discernment and are able to distinguish between holy and unholy, unclean and clean.
k. And all this fruit from their lives is available to you… free for the picking!
l. This brother or sister refreshes your soul—like a tree of life.
8. The believer who walks closely to the Lord and leads a righteous life becomes a source of guidance, hope, help, wisdom, admonition, and inspiration for others… a tree of life.
a. The godly man who leads a righteous life is a great blessing to others.
b. They are to be valued—like a tree of life.
c. The example of their lives; their prayers; their instruction; their interest in things above… in the eternal…
d. They, like a fruitful tree, continually provide nourishment for the spiritual lives of others…
e. They are spiritually refreshing to be around…
30b And he that winneth souls is wise…
1. Winneth =
a. Strong’s: to take; get; fetch; lay hold of; seize; take in the hand; to take and carry along.
b. Winning souls refers here to the believer who… through his righteous life is a tree of life to others… and takes hold of a person’s hand… and leads them along… leads them to God’s wisdom… becomes a source of guidance, hope, help, wisdom, admonition, and inspiration for others… a tree of life!
2. The one who DOES win souls (attracts them to wisdom) is wise himself!
a. It is a DEMONSTRATION of wisdom to take others by the hand and lead them to the way of wisdom.
b. The one who leads a young man away from a life of immorality is a tree of life (preservative) to that young man AND he is demonstrating that he himself is wise.
c. The one who leads a righteous life and uses that righteous life to help others is a wise man.
d. Attract your children to wisdom. That IS wisdom at work!
e. Be that kind of a member in the Body—to attract others to walk in the way of wisdom…
f. A wise man WILL SEEK to take others by the hand and build them up…
g. Wise men will seek to be a channel of blessing to others.
h. The wise man walks in wisdom and shares it with others along the way. He is a tree of life.
3. Winning souls here has nothing to do with Christian evangelism.
a. That was certainly not on Solomon’s heart when he wrote these words.
b. He DID have in mind the capacity of a believer’s righteous life be a source of help to others.
c. It may include the idea of winning them over to wisdom… attracting them to the way of wisdom…
d. YOUR righteous life… and the fruit of righteousness manifested in your life can have this effect on others… it can attract them to the way of wisdom.
e. Perhaps a disobedient believer will be convicted by your righteous life and miss the fellowship that you are presently enjoying!
f. Perhaps a confused believer will recognize the stability of your life and seek guidance and counsel from you…
g. Perhaps a distraught believer will be attracted to peace and rest that is seen on your countenance… and will come to you and ask how he too can obtain that kind of fruit…
h. The wise believer will WIN over others to walk in the way of wisdom… (Cf. James 5:19-20)
i. He can WIN a brother away from a life of sin, wood, hay, and stubble and TO a life of living for God!
j. The context here is sinning BROTHER (one of you) who sins… and needs to be converted (turned around)…
k. YES—brothers in Christ at times need to be turned around…
l. Their hearts need to be WON back to the Lord… WON back to walk in the way of wisdom.
m. The one who wins his brother’s soul back from a life of sin and wandering will hide a multitude of sins…
n. That seems to be the primary emphasis… in James & in Proverbs.
o. Of course, we can make APPLICATION to evangelism.
p. By our righteous life, we can also point men to God… and the gospel of God’s grace.
q. We SHOULD be interested in attracting the unsaved to our Savior… but let’s use the Bible term for that: evangelism… not winning souls.
Proverbs 11:31
Recompensed
Introduction:
1. This passage makes another comparison…
• The righteous and the wicked…
• Recompensed in the earth vs. in eternity…
31a Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth:
1. Righteous men will be recompensed…
a. The righteous refers to those who are righteous in God’s sight… saved… justified… born again…
b. Recompensed: rewarded; make restitution; repaid;
• This term can refer to either being rewarded for good or for evil.
• Ruth 2:12 – a prayer that the Lord would recompense her good work.
• II Sam. 22:21 – David expected the Lord to recompense him…
• Jer. 16:18 – recompense for iniquity…
c. This passage is similar to several others in this section—you reap what you sow!
• The righteous will be recompensed and so will the wicked…
• They will be repaid according to what they have done…
• They will REAP rewards according to how they have sown…
2. In the earth…
a. The righteous man is recompensed in the earth… in the world.
b. This was common, Old Testament, Jewish thought.
c. Their concept of eternity was linked to the earth… the kingdom.
d. God’s promises to Israel concerned the earthly, Messianic, Theocratic kingdom on earth.
e. The Jewish prayer the Lord taught His disciples to pray as he was preaching, “Repent for the kingdom is at hand…” = “Thy kingdom come; thy will be done ON EARTH… as it is in heaven.”
f. They hoped to live forever on the earth… a paradise-like earth… and their Scriptures gave them this hope…
• Isa. 2:4 – an earth in which they will learn war no more…
• Isa. 11:6-9 – a peaceful earth with Eden-like conditions…
• Isa. 30:23-24 – an earth in which prosperity is universal…
• Isa. 33:24 – an earth in which sickness is virtually wiped out…
• Isa. 35:1-2 – a rejuvenated earth…
• Isa. 35:5-6 – an earth in which the curse will be lifted…
• Isa. 61:1-3 – an earth in which the brokenhearted will be comforted and joy will replace grief…
• Isa. 65:20 – an earth in which longevity reigns…
g. God certainly DID give the Old Testament saints hope for recompense “in the earth.”
• And, under the Old Testament law, their blessings were linked together with their obedience.
• Hence, a righteous man, who lived a righteous life, could expect to be recompensed in the earth.
• If he sowed righteousness, he would reap righteousness in the earth.
• Deut. 28:1-8 – God promised to bless their obedience in the earth. He would bless them “in the land.” (vs. 8)
3. The righteous are recompensed on the earth, but also in heaven.
a. This is not stated in the proverb, but it is certainly true.
b. For the Christian, promises of blessings in the earth aren’t always realized.
c. SOMETIMES God rewards His faithful children of the church age in this world… but that is not guaranteed.
d. In the world we shall have tribulation!
e. All they that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
f. As we walk in obedience to God, expect hatred and rejection.
g. Many godly Christians are poor in this world’s goods…
h. So don’t be discouraged if you don’t seem to experience recompense in the earth… our REAL reward comes in glory!
4. On the other hand, it is also true that God will recompense the righteous on earth for any wickedness that he may commit.
a. In the second part of the analogy, (the wicked) it is clear that the “recompense” is for evil that is committed, not good.
b. Hence, many try to make the parallel by interpreting the recompense of the righteous a payback for EVIL they have done.
c. When sin is committed, God deals with it—regardless of from whom it comes!
d. The best of saints are but sinners… and God recompenses our sins.
• He dealt with David’s sin of numbering the people… and his sin with Bathsheba…
• He dealt with Peter’s sin of denial—with a piercing look…
• He dealt with Jonah’s sin… by sending a great fish…
• He dealt with Asa’s sin—and he became diseased in his feet.
• He dealt with the sin of the prophet from Judah who lied—a lion met him and slew him.
• He dealt with the sins of the saints in Corinth too.
• God will deal with sin in MY life too… and YOURS…
• Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth…
e. Amos 3:2 – There is support for this principle found in Scripture.
• It is certainly true that righteous men do not always behave in a righteous way.
• When that is the case, God does CHASTEN His own…a sort of “recompense.”
f. I Pet. 4:17-18 – Judgment must begin at the house of God. The Lord will not spare judging or chastening His children.
• And if God will not spare in His own house, then where shall the sinner stand?
• In other words, his judgment shall be even MORE severe.
• This seems to be what the second half of Prov.11:31 says.
• In fact, it is likely that Peter was quoting from the Septuagint version of Prov. 11:31 in I Pet. 4:18.
31b Much more the wicked and the sinner.
1. God is the Judge of all the earth. He always does that which is right.
a. Because He is a righteous God, He feels obligated to reward the righteous.
b. And if God judges the righteous man for sin in his life, how much MORE shall God judge the sinner for sin in his life!
c. He is also obliged to reward the wicked and the sinner too!
2. God’s justice WILL fall on the wicked…
a. They too shall reap what they sow.
b. This would include wicked individuals… wicked nations… wicked groups… wicked families…
c. The terrorists who kill innocent men, women, and children shall not escape the retribution of God.
d. The thief, the mugger, the rapist, the child abuser, the corporate criminal, shall not escape the righteous sentence of God.
e. It may at times APPEAR that the wicked are getting away with murder, but this passage is designed to put our hearts at ease. They are NOT. God’s eyes are everywhere. God’s justice WILL be executed.
f. If the righteous don’t escape God’s justice, MUCH MORE will the wicked not escape.
3. Note that there is no parallel to the phrase “in the earth” in the second half of the proverb.
a. The wicked are often recompensed in the earth.
• They are often caught in their crime.
• Prison time; execution;
• They sometimes suffer a vigilante type wrath…
• They lose their good name… lose friends… lose their freedom…
b. But sometimes the wicked seem to suffer NO recompense for their evil doings in the earth. They seem to have it all!
c. Sometimes it seems like the wicked prosper in the world…
• Ps. 73:3 – it even makes the righteous jealous!
• Ps. 73:17 – until we consider their “end.” Their end is an eternity in the Lake of Fire!
• They may seem to live it up on earth and not have a care in the world, but this world is not all there is.
• Rev. 20:11-15 – Ultimately, the wicked SHALL be paid back for their sin… and none shall escape God’s justice in that day.
• This is the ultimate “much more” element to the comparison between God’s justice for the righteous vs. His justice toward the wicked and sinners. Theirs is much more…
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 12
Proverbs 12:1
Loving vs. Hating Instruction
Introduction:
1. This proverb contrasts the one who LOVES instruction with the one who HATES it.
2. This is a theme that he has hit often in this book… and one that needs repeating… because we probably don’t like to hear it.
1a Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge
THE ONE WHO LOVES INSTRUCTION…
1. Instruction: discipline; chastening; correction.
a. Used in Prov. 15:10 – correction is grievous…to some.
b. Others LOVE it.
c. Used in Prov. 22:15 – the rod of correction… (Do kids LOVE that rod?)
d. This term COULD be used of classroom instruction, but more likely, Solomon had in mind correction and discipline.
2. Love: desire; to willingly accept;
• have an affection based on a close relationship
• have a desire for an object based in desirability, with a focus on a preference of one thing over another
3. Loving instruction (correction or chastening)
a. No chastening is joyous. (Heb. 12:10)
b. Hence, the term love in this passage does not mean immediate delight and joy. It is a different kind of love.
c. It is NOT a love based on a close relationship of affection. (No one in their right mind would have great affection—feel warm and fuzzy about being chastened of the Lord—or of man!) It’s not like loving ice cream.
d. The kind of love the author describes fits better with the second definition… “a desire for an object based in desirability, with a focus on a preference of one thing over another.”
e. One might LOVE chastening in the sense of PREFERING it to the alternative…
• The alternative to chastening is NO chastening… being left alone…
• The alternative to chastening is NOT experiencing God’s correction…or His love.
• The alternative is for God to let us continue to wander far away…
• The alternative is to let us eat of the fruit of our own doings.
• The alternative is to let us choose to squander away our spiritual lives… to waste God’s time and talents… and to produce a life of wood, hay, and stubble… useless…
f. Love is a choice. It is preferring one thing over another.
• While we as believers may not have immediate JOY when we are rebuked of men or chastened of the Lord… it is possible to PREFER that to the alternative.
• That choice… that preference is what Solomon calls LOVE.
• Love CHOOSES chastening… reproof… instruction… correction OVER the alternative… just going our own way and doing our own thing.
g. We looked at a passage Sunday night in which David demonstrated that he LOVED correction…
• Ps. 141:5 – Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil.
h. Prov. 6:23 – we LOVE instruction when we choose reproof BECAUSE it keeps us in the way of life… it keeps us off dead end streets.
• Young people—your teachers in school may have to correct you… tell you that you were wrong…
• Adults—you too may have to be approached for sin your life… or an offence… or some other type of infraction…
• Keep in mind, that reproof keeps us in the way of life. It is GOOD for us… if we submit to it and learn from it.
• Your teacher corrects you NOT because he gets some kind of morbid pleasure from it… but because he is trying to HELP you…
• Your pastor or elders may have to reproof you—not because they enjoy it—but because it is GOOD for you… to keep you walking in the way of life…
• We ALL need reproof and correction—unless of course, you are perfect already. But the rest of us need it!
• Matthew Henry wrote of the one who loves instruction: “They will value a good education, and think it not a hardship, but a happiness, to be under a strict and prudent discipline.”—an excellent application for students… and for students in God’s university too!
i. We LOVE instruction when we CHOOSE it over the alternative…
• The obvious exhortation arising from this proverb is CHOOSE instruction!
• Submit to correction!
• Think about the alternative to correction… (self will; pride; leaning on one’s own understanding; doing my own thing)…think about where that will lead you—and then choose to reject the alternative and surrender to instruction…
j. Prov. 9:8c, 9 – when a wise man receives instruction, he becomes wiser!
• WISE men profit from reproof. They respond and make the appropriate changes, which is to their honor.
• WISE men eventually appreciate the one who points out his error.
• We need to learn to be wise reprovers—but especially to be willing to RECEIVE reproof. That is a sign of wisdom.
THAT ONE ALSO LOVES KNOWLEDGE…
1. Knowledge: perception; skill; discernment; understanding; wisdom.
• a knowledge with focus on moral qualities and its application
2. Loves – same word as earlier
3. The one who LOVES reproof, instruction, or correction is the one who LOVES knowledge.
a. He wants to walk properly. He wants to do things right.
b. If there’s dirt on his face, he wants someone to point it out to him.
c. If there is sin in his life, he wants it pointed out to him.
d. If his thinking is off base… worldly… out of harmony with Scripture, this man wants it pointed out to him.
e. He is SERIOUS about spiritual things… serious about pleasing God… serious about his walk.
f. Ps. 119:67 – before I was afflicted (chastened) I went astray… but now have I kept thy word! He has welcomed the affliction—the correction—chastening—BECAUSE now he’s back in the word!
4. This man loves knowledge… knowledge of the truth…
a. And he DESIRES that knowledge—even if it hurts!
b. He wants it—no matter what channel God uses to deliver it to him.
c. It may be through the channel of being reproved by reading the Word quietly and alone.
d. It may be through a message heard in church—the Word pierces the heart and we stand reproved.
e. It may be through the admonition of a concerned brother or sister in the Lord.
f. It may be through the mouth of a babe—a little child!
g. It might even be through a nitpicker who always has something negative to say. Perhaps God would use something that was said—even though the one speaking it did not have the proper attitude either! (God is certainly able to reprove that person’s attitude!)
h. It should matter what channel God uses to deliver the message. The one who loves instruction will RECEIVE it… regardless of how it is transmitted.
i. II Sam. 16:5-7,11 – Even though Shimei’s attitude, and approach was all wrong—David heard the voice of God’s rebuke in his words! David LOVED instruction—and DESIRED knowledge from the Lord—regardless of the channel God chose to deliver it.
j. A good lesson for us all—LISTEN to the rebukes and reproofs—even if some of the reproof is wrongheaded or exaggerated. There may be some helpful fault pointed out… something to be learned through it…
k. If you really love knowledge—then LISTEN and respond to instruction or correction.
5. The wise man WELCOMES reproof and rebuke—because he knows that hearing and responding to it will make him a better person.
a. As Christians, we shouldn’t be afraid of rebuke… or reject it…especially since we know that it is GOOD for us… it keeps us in the way of life.
b. Consider the Olympic athletes. They hire expensive coaches to criticize them… to point out their weaknesses… to show them where they are going wrong… to pick on the tiniest detail of their performance that needs correction.
c. Industries hire efficiency experts to criticize their factories and every aspect of their work.
d. WHY do people in the world hire such experts? Because they want to improve… to run a better business… to be a better athlete…
e. Shouldn’t we want to be better disciples? Shouldn’t we want to improve our service for the Lord? Our walk with God?
f. If so—if we really love knowledge of the truth—then we should love instruction… correction… chastening… rebuke.
6. This proverb implies that there is a direct connection between one’s willingness to receive correction and one’s ability to gain knowledge.
a. If you reject correction—you will remain in your ignorance.
b. As a believer, if we reject correction, we will never progress into a deeper knowledge of God.
c. Knowledge of God is linked to our willingness to change… our willingness to accept correction and DO something about it.
1b But he that hateth reproof is brutish.
1. Brutish: like a brute beast; stupid;
a. Used in Prov. 30:2 – Brutish = have not the understanding of a man.
b. Ps. 32:9 – Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
2. Prov. 5:12-13 – The one who hates reproof will regret it one day…
a. This speaks of the young man who gets involved in immorality—and as a result loses his honor, his wealth, and his health!
b. He was warned… he was rebuked… but he thought he was smarter than everyone else.
c. He thought he could skate on thin ice and it wouldn’t bother him.
d. He was dead wrong… and he lives to regret his foolish behavior.
e. He lives to regret NOT listening to the words of warning and rebuke… but it was too late. He has already lost his home, family, health, and wealth… he is sick, alone, penniless, he’s a loser… and he regrets what he did… but it’s too late now.
3. Prov.13:1 – A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.
a. Kids—your parents are on your case because they love you.
b. They don’t want you making some of the foolish mistakes in life that they made… and learned from.
c. Now they have been put in a position of authority over you, to instruct you—not to be picky—but to be helpful…
d. A wise son—or daughter—will HEAR his father’s instruction.
e. This is the way the book of proverbs began—a wise man will hear and will increase in learning.
f. Vs. 18 – the child who rebels and rejects such correction may find himself in poverty one day. Dad wanted him to go to school. He was too cool for that. He will pay one day!
g. As believers, we have our heavenly Father to listen to… regardless of the channel He uses to speak to us to correct us. When God speaks—LISTEN and respond. That’s wisdom.
h. May the Lord give us ALL teachable spirits. That’s the bottom line.
i. When God’s wisdom reigns in our heart, we will be easy to be entreated. (James 3:17)
Proverbs 12:2
Favor from the Lord
2a A good man
1. Good: good; pleasant; agreeable; appropriate; becoming; valuable in estimation; pleasing; fair; beneficial; kind; prosperous; bountiful; well favored; (used 559 times in the Old Testament).
2. There are four passages in the Bible, which describe the character of the good man.
3. Looking at the character of the good man will tell us what KIND of man can expect to obtain the favor of the Lord.
a. Ps. 112:5 – a good man lends, shows favor to others, and handles his affairs with discretion—common sense; discernment; wisdom.
• He shows favor to others. (Favor: to be gracious; show favor; pity; mercy; consideration)
» Good men are not selfish, but are considerate of others… of the needs and feelings of others.
» Good men show grace to others… if God has shown grace to us, then we ought to show it to others. Good men are gracious—not ready to chop your head off for the slightest infraction… gracious!
» Good men show pity on the plight of others… show mercy.
» The man who shows favor to others will OBTAIN favor from the Lord!
• He lendeth: he gives money or goods to those in need.
» Eph. 4:28 – he works so that he is ABLE to lend or give.
» Again, the good man is not selfish, but considers others.
» If we are selfish and keep everything to ourselves, we are not good men. Good men think about others.
• He guides his affairs with discretion:
» His affairs: word; speech; business; occupation; acts; matter; case; manner (by extension).
» It can be used of speech in particular (what he talks about) and it can be used in a more general sense of his business matters… his affairs… his manner of life…
» Discretion: judgment, justice, ordinance; sound judgment; wisdom; a sense of right and wrong;
» A good man does things RIGHT… he doesn’t cut corners; he doesn’t cheat; he doesn’t fudge with the truth; he follows the way of wisdom.
» Good men walk in the way of wisdom. Good men LISTEN to sound judgment because they WANT to do things right.
» The speech—in fact the whole manner of life—all of the affairs of a good man are submitted to discretion… judgment.
• THIS is the man who can expect to obtain favor from the Lord: the one who lends; gives; shows favor to others; and guides his life by means of discretion… he does things right.
» You can’t be a good man if you don’t have these qualities.
b. Prov. 13:22 – he leaves an inheritance for his children—he takes care of his family financially.
• The good man is here described as one who leaves an inheritance for his children.
• Once again, the emphasis on selflessness.
• Bumper sticker: I’m spending my kids inheritance!
• The idea behind the proverb is not so much how MUCH money one leaves behind. The real thought is a good man is CONCERNED about the well being of his family!
• He is concerned about them in life; and he even plans ahead for them after his life is over! That’s a good man.
• He doesn’t spend it all on himself; he doesn’t blow his wealth on fast living; he is frugal; honors the Lord with his substance—and God blesses his substance!
• This is consistent with what the previous passage said about the good man: he thinks of others; he shows favor to others; and he guides his business affairs with discretion—wisdom, and thus HAS something to leave to his children.
c. Prov. 14:14 – the good man is satisfied with his ways.
• Just as the evil man is filled with his ways; the good man will be filled with his ways too.
• You reap what you sow. The good man sowed good seed and will be rewarded with good fruit. That is satisfying!
• He will be satisfied because of what GOD wrought in his life!
• Nothing is more satisfying than to see more of Christ manifested through us—more of His grace, mercy, love, and holiness.
• Nothing is more satisfying for the believer than to be growing in grace and the knowledge of Christ—become more and more mature in the things of the Lord…
• This brings deeper rest and deeper satisfaction…
• A good man is a satisfied man… content… resting…
• He is content and can sleep at night because he knows he is walking with God… he knows he is using discretion in the affairs of his household… he knows he is submitted to the Word of God… and abiding in Christ.
• Being satisfied and being a good man in the eyes of the Lord go hand in hand.
• If you are not this kind of good man—you won’t experience this kind of satisfaction.
• If you are this kind of a good man—you can’t help but experience this kind of satisfaction in life—even if you are facing severe trials.
• Outer turmoil has nothing to do with inner rest.
d. Matt. 12:35 – good things come out of his heart.
• Good trees produce good fruit. Corrupt trees produce corrupt fruit.
• Good hearts emit good things. Evil hearts emit evil things.
• Our hearts are capable of all kinds of evil. (Matt. 15:19)
• When controlled by the Spirit, good things will come from a good heart. GOODNESS is a fruit of the Spirit.
• When controlled by the flesh—evil things will come from our old heart.
• A good man is Spirit controlled—and thus good things will emanate from his heart… good thoughts… good words… good motives… good intentions… good deeds… good steps…
• The man who expects to obtain favor from the Lord is Spirit filled… and consistently has good things coming out of his heart. That man WILL obtain favor of the Lord.
4. Obtaineth favor: not every man will obtain favor from God… only the “good man.”
a. Ps. 5:12 – God’s favor is a shield:
b. Ps. 30:7 – God’s favor = our strength!
c. Favor: pleasure; delight; favour; goodwill; acceptance
d. God is pleased with and will show favor upon the good man.
e. This speaks of a RELATIONSHIP.
• When your son is doing well, the relationship is sweet. You delight in showing your approval.
• When your son is not doing well, but shows a rebellious spirit… murmuring…confrontational… mean-spirited…THEN the relationship is hurting.
• That parent is not going to be showing favor or delight to that child… not until the attitude changes.
• A relationship is reciprocal. So is our relationship with God.
• Our position before Him is eternally settled—but the condition of that relationship is very changeable.
• When our life displays the life of a good man—then God delights in showing us favor.
• When our life displays the opposite of being a good man—then God is not obligated to bless us… He is not obligated to show us favor at all!
• It is the GOOD man who obtains favor of the Lord.
5. Ways in which God shows favor to the good man
a. Prov. 8:35 – here is another description of the man who obtains favor from the Lord.
• Vs. 12 – Wisdom is personified.
• The man who FINDS wisdom finds life… (He knows how to live!)… and he will obtain favor from the Lord.
• Wisdom leads to favor!
• The good man is the one who walks in wisdom… who seeks after wisdom… who FINDS wisdom—for the one who genuinely seeks for God’s wisdom WILL find it.
• Prov. 1:20-23 – wisdom is crying out—and God expects us to LISTEN. If we listen, we will find wisdom.
• If we find wisdom… and walk in it—then we will obtain favor from the Lord.
• God can bless whomever He wants. He TELLS us who He is going to bless—the one who seeks, finds, and walks in His wisdom.
• The one who rejects God’s wisdom is wronging his own soul… and loves death!
b. Ps. 37:23-24 – his steps are ordered by the Lord and he delights in his way.
• God makes the steps of a good man FIRM.
• The steps are ordered by the Lord = [Ordered =established; made firm; strong]
» Translated ‘ordained’ — Ps. 7:13 – arrows ‘directed’ or pointed and thus ‘ordained’ in a certain direction.
» Translated ‘establish’ — Ps. 89:5 — God promises to ‘establish’ David’s seed… take care of it… protect it… build it up…
» Translated ‘make ready’ — Gen. 43:16 — used of preparing food. Food is prepared when all the necessary ingredients are provided for and put together.
» Translated ‘fixed’ — Ps. 57:7 – a fixed heart = a firm, solid heart; steadfast; steady;
• All of these usages give us a flavor of what is meant. The steps of a good man are:
» Ordained by God—set in a certain direction—pointed like an arrow at a target… God gives direction to the steps of a good man through the Word!
» Good men walk with God and are thus protected by Him… held up by Him… in the place where all the necessary ingredients for a good life are available!
» If a good man steps outside of that pathway, there IS no help from God… no protection… no strength from above..
» The straight and narrow road is the path on which we find the steps of a good man! And while narrow and restricted, it is safe!
• And if the good man falls, the Lord will help him up!
2b But a man of wicked devices will He condemn…
1. Prov. 24:16 – A just man falls 7 times, but gets up again. The wicked fall… and stay there!
2. The man who is NOT good (a man of wicked devices) will NOT be held up by the Lord. He will be condemned.
3. The man who SHOWS favor to others will OBTAIN favor from the Lord.
4. The man who does NOT show favor to others is kidding himself if he expects to obtain favor from the Lord.
5. God has already TOLD us how He operates.
Proverbs 12:3
The Root of the Righteous
1. Established: to be firm; be stable; be fixed; be stable; be secure; be enduring; steadfast; prepared; ready
2. The term is used in the following passages: (these give a flavor of its meaning)
• Josh. 3:17 – they stood FIRM on dry ground
• Josh. 4:4 – men who were trained, prepared, and ready…
• II Sam. 5:12 – David perceived that the Lord had ESTABLISHED him as king.
• I Kings 5:18 – the timbers and stones were cut and PREPARED
• I Chron. 16:30 – the world is made STABLE that it move not
• II Chron. 29:35 – the service of the Lord was SET IN ORDER
• Ezek. 7:14 – They have blown the trumpet, even to MAKE ALL READY
3. Everybody wants to be established…
a. We want our family established…
b. We want our health to be established…
c. We want our finances to be established…
d. We want our job to be established…
e. We want our friendships to be established…
f. We want the world political scene to be established…
g. We want the world economic system to be established…
h. We want our country to be established…
4. Change can be unnerving.
a. Prov. 24:21 – My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change…
b. Stability is good; change should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism. This is certainly true in the realm of theology and truth.
c. Of course, there are situations where change is good.
d. In one sense, we should be changing every day: more and more changed into His likeness. Growth involves change.
e. But what the proverb speaks of is something quite different than that. Solomon is speaking of a PERSON being established. That is a GOOD thing.
5. As a human being… as a father… a mother… a church member… a son or daughter… a worker… it is GOOD to be established… solid… steady… reliable…
a. In Prov. 12:3, Solomon is not talking about circumstances being established, but the PERSON.
b. Not his job, health, finances, or even family—but the PERSON…
c. As a human being, God wants us all to be ESTABLISHED… solid… firm… unmovable… fixed in heart…
d. We SHOULD want our heart to be established… our soul… our inner man.
• Ps. 57:7 – my heart is FIXED…
• Ps. 119:5 – oh that my ways were DIRECTED to keep thy statutes
• Ps.37:23 – the steps of a good man are ORDERED by the Lord.
6. When trials strike… we NEED to be firmly fixed in place…
a. If YOU are fixed… your heart is established…solid… then the winds can blow all they want, and you will not be blown away.
b. Ps. 46: 1-3, 10 – the solid person will rest and be still in the midst of a storm.
• He doesn’t run away. He doesn’t bury his head. He doesn’t pretend there is no storm.
• But, he is not moved… he is solid… built on a solid foundation… of reliance upon the Lord.
• He doesn’t fall apart even if his world seems to be!
• He is established… not because he is something in himself, but rather, because he takes refuge in an omnipotent God…
• There he can be still… poised… unshaken… still and resting… he stands on his foundation in all confidence…
c. This MAN… the PERSON is established and firm, even though circumstances around him are not. The earth is removed, but he is not.
7. This man’s confidence and steadiness did not arise in a context of wickedness.
a. In other words, the wicked man will NOT experience this kind of confidence… he will not be established… unmovable…
b. Prov. 12:7 – the wicked are overthrown and are not…
c. Prov. 10:25 – the storm comes and the wicked are gone!
d. The righteous are solid… stable… built on a solid foundation.
e. The unrighteous are unstable… built on a foundation of sand… and the wind will knock over whatever they have built on that foundation—no matter how elaborate a structure it appears to be… a building is only as solid as its foundation.
f. Godly people weather the storms… the ungodly do not.
• Serving God in the local church means that we too will have some storms to endure.
• The righteous are not moved. They are solid. Secure.
• I have seen so many folks pack up and leave when the winds begin to howl… even men in the ministry.
• Here is an important principle: apply it to your service in the local church; apply it to you marriage; apply it to your schoolwork; apply it to your job: you don’t pack up and leave because of a storm!
• Godly people weather the storms of life… and over time build up a testimony of one who is SOLID… established.
• Wickedness does not produce this kind of a testimony.
8. The opposite of being established…
a. Gen. 49:3-4 – Reuben had much going for him, but he was unstable as water. He would not excel at anything.
b. This is a tragic character flaw…
c. James 1:6-8 – unstable in all his ways. This man should expect nothing from the Lord.
d. This is the flip flop person… unstable… tossed to and fro… never able to make up his mind… never certain about anything… never settled… never resting in the will of God… always searching and never finding… going from one fad and phase to the next…
e. We see this kind of person often today… flipping and flopping from marriage to marriage… from church to church… from one job to another job… from house to house… from one circle of friends to another… from one state to another… from one hobby to another…
f. His insecurity is seen in every area of his life… this trait affects everything!
g. This man’s cellar would be stuffed with THINGS that he tried for a while and then ditched… an exercise bike; kayak; snow shoes; scuba diving gear; ½ stamp collection; an old trumpet…
9. The righteous man shall not be MOVED.
a. Moved: to totter; shake; slip; to be shaken; be moved; be overthrown; to dislodge, let fall; drop
b. The mountains may shake about him. The earth may fall into sea. But he stands firm… unshakable… not overthrown… not dislodged from his place…
c. That which would cause others to be blown away does not cause him to move. He SHALL NOT be moved!
d. I Chron. 16:30 – the earth shall not be moved (same word—and same word as established)
e. Ps. 55:22 – cast your burden on the Lord; and He shall sustain thee; he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
f. Ps. 62:6 – with the Lord as our ROCK, we SHALL NOT be moved! This is not said in pride, but rather with a boldness that comes from our confidence in the Rock…
10. The root of the righteous…
a. The storms of life may cause his leaves to quiver… his branches may tremble in the fierce winds… but his root is solid… stable… steadfast. He is not going to be moved out of place.
b. Solomon is careful to point out that the trials that a righteous man faces may scare him… it may upset him… may discourage him for a while… it may perplex him… it may even knock him over for a time…
c. But the root of the righteous shall not be moved… That’s a promise!
13. The point of the proverb: wickedness breeds instability; righteousness breeds steadfastness… endurance… reliability…
a. This kind of stability does not result from a life of wickedness.
• Wickedness and sin result in guilt, insecurity, an uneasiness, and instability… unstable in all his ways.
• Righteousness results in just the opposite: the righteous man is stable, secure, safe, poised, at rest and ease… not flipping and flopping… but settled into his beliefs… settled into his lifestyle… and secure because he is on a good foundation.
Proverbs 12:4
The Virtuous Woman
4a A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband
A. A Virtuous Woman
1. Virtuous:
a. Strong’s: strength; might; efficiency; wealth;
b. Theological Workbook of the Old Testament: vigor; strength; noble character; ability
2. The term is used in:
a. Ruth 3:11 – Ruth is referred to as a virtuous woman.
• This was not simply because she was a chaste woman, but because she was a hard worker; honorable; a strong woman…
b. Prov. 31:10 – there the virtuous woman is described—not as one who is pure and chaste (although she was!)… but primarily as a strong woman… a hard worker… one with ability—to sew, to work a field, to buy real estate, etc…
c. II Sam. 22:40 – this usage obviously speaks of strength… in battle… not purity or chastity.
d. Ex. 18:21,25 – able men were chosen… a virtuous woman is an able woman… a woman with great ability…
e. I Chron. 9:13 – able men for the service of God…
f. I Kings 1:52 – a “worthy” man…
3. The concept of being “virtuous” in this passage is much more than chastity… sexually pure. In fact, that is not the thought in the Hebrew term.
4. The term used speaks of a woman who is able… a strong woman… a hard worker… with a noble character… one who is worthy…
5. She is active for the good of her family and looks well to the ways of her household…
B. A Crown to Her Husband
1. She is a crown: crown or wreath…
a. Crown would speak of royalty…
b. Wreath would speak of a victor…
c. Theological Workbook of the Old Testament:
• wreath or metal adornment on the head as a symbol of rulership;
• It speaks of a high honor or blessing on a person…
2. The term is used in:
a. Ps. 21:3 – it speaks of a blessings of goodness…
• The virtuous woman is a blessing of goodness for her husband.
• She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
b. Prov. 17:6 – it speaks of that about which one glories.
• A king glories in his crown.
• A husband GLORIES in his virtuous wife… she is hid pride and joy.
• He is not ashamed of her… she is hard working… a good mother… a good housekeeper… and he glories in her abilities.
c. Ezek. 16:12 – God put a crown on Israel—to beautify her… to dress her up…
• A crown makes a person look good…
• A virtuous wife can make a man look pretty good…
• She won’t let him wear the tie he wants to wear; she keeps the checkbook so that their finances aren’t a mess—as they would be if left to him… she reminds him when it’s time for a haircut… she makes him look “together”—when otherwise he would not!
• A virtuous wife can make an average Joe look pretty good! She is a crown
3. A virtuous woman as a wife makes a man feel like a king… he’s proud of her… honored to be seen with her… wants others to know that this is his wife…
a. Her husband is her head, and she is the crown upon that head.
b. A crown is a sign of power invested in the king. A virtuous woman supports her husband’s authority in the home… she is not constantly fighting against it…
c. Her submission to his headship serves as a crown—to accentuate his authority.
d. Her submission to him teaches the children to respect him as head as well…
4. When a king lifts up his head, his crown is lifted up too.
a. The virtuous woman who supports her husband, and helps him lift his head up high… will discover that she too is lifted up in the process!
b. The wife who delights to see her husband honored and respected will be lifted up herself… find satisfaction in that…
c. As a crown draws attention to the man wearing it, so too a virtuous wife seeks to draw attention to her husband’s good qualities… and in love covers up the multitude of bad ones…
d. She makes him look good—and then they both look… the king and his crown!
4b But she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.
1. Ashamed: ashamed or disappointed…disgrace… humiliate… associative meaning of causing frustration, and loss of hope to the object one is shaming
2. A wife can bring her husband to shame too…
a. Her behavior can bring disgrace upon him… if she is unfaithful.
b. Her gossip can humiliate him before his friends…
c. Her laziness around the house can cause him frustration…
d. Her nagging can frustrate him…
e. The woman described here could be anything from a nag to an adulteress.
f. Continued bad behavior on the part of a wife can cause a husband to lose hope… lose hope that the relationship will ever be what it ought to be…can tear down a relationship.
g. The wife can make them both look good… OR she can bring him to shame… and herself too!
• The king’s head and his crown are a unit. They go up together, or they fall down together.
• It is quite foolish for a wife to be knocking her own head down… she should be lifting him up!
• Ladies: YOUR happiness is linked to his! Don’t work against him! Be a helpmeet…
3. Rottenness: rottenness; decay,
• undergo decomposition of organic material by bacteria, fungus, or parasitical animals;
• infection, degeneration, caries (bone decay)
• an inflammation or degeneration of a joint or bone which can cause pain or weakness
4. This term for rottenness is used in:
a. Prov. 14:20 – a sound heart is life, but envy, rottenness of the bones!
• Here, rottenness of the bones is seen as the OPPOSITE of a sound heart… a healthy, wholesome heart… a well adjusted, content, inner life.
• Rottenness of the bones speaks of a DEEP inner decay… something deep inside that is degenerating… decaying… and causes much inner pain.
• A wife who is NOT a virtuous woman causes deep inner pain to her husband… like bone cancer…
b. Hab. 3:16 – the feeling of a man whose heart was pounding, his lips quivering, and his legs trembling…
• The prophet stood in utter awe, fear, and virtually fell apart because of the awesome encounter with God.
• Rottenness entering his bones describes this feeling of falling apart…
• Just try to imagine your bones ACTUALLY rotting… disintegrating…
c. THIS is the awful feeling that Solomon is trying to describe for us in figurative, poetic language… rotting bones!
5. The wife who makes him ashamed is the opposite of the virtuous woman. This woman is slothful, wasteful, lazy, lacking noble character… she does him evil and not good all the days of her life.
6. Prov. 21:9 – Solomon says that this husband would be better off dwelling on the rooftop than in the house with her!
7. Prov. 14:1 – some women do their utmost to destroy their own household! This behavior makes a man crazy… rottenness deep down inside!
CONCLUSIONS:
1. What potential a woman has for good or evil in the life of her husband!
a. She can make him feel like a king… or she can make him feel like a man whose bones are rotting away with cancer!
b. She can make him proud (showing off the crown) or she can make him ashamed… disgrace him… (hang his head low).
c. She can complement and support his authority as head… (an ornament to the head) or she can undermine his authority as head.
2. A sensible man will APPRECIATE a virtuous wife!
3. Prov.18:22 – he that hath found a wife findeth a good thing…
a. This of course is true only if the wife is a virtuous wife!
b. A man who finds a wife who is not virtuous has found something that is not good—for him or their family.
4. If any young men here are thinking of looking for a wife — (if not now, some day…) think about this verse long and hard.
a. You might find one you think is a real dreamboat—but if she is not a virtuous woman = get used to the awful, unending, gnawing pain of bone cancer!
b. Don’t just marry anyone. The Bible makes it clear that this decision will affect you the rest of your life—more than any other decision other than getting saved.
c. A good wife makes you proud… feel like a king.
d. A bad wife will make you ashamed… disgraced… and will produce a deep inner pain that won’t go away.
e. BE CAREFUL about making such an important decision.
f. When looking for a wife, be more concerned about her heart than her body.
g. Be more concerned about what you are going to feel like the rest of your life rather than how wonderful you feel right now…
5. Husbands and wives: let’s remember that our feelings, our fortunes, our happiness, our comfort, are LINKED together.
a. Wives: don’t be rottenness in his bones. Work for his spiritual well being… seek for his good… his happiness… because YOURS is directly linked together with his.
b. Make him miserable and YOU too will be miserable. You’re a unit!
c. I Pet. 3:7 – dwell TOGETHER as heirs together of the grace of life.
Proverbs 12:6
The Words of the Wicked and the Mouth of the Upright
6a The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood. (an ambush)
THE WORDS OF THE WICKED: DESTRUCTION
a. This speaks of planning evil and destruction for another person.
b. Evil men often plan to harm others… to bring ruin to them…
c. Gangs of wicked youths gather together to plan robberies… rapes… muggings… and other ways to harm people.
d. Drug addicts sit around in dingy cellars and discuss how to break into homes, drug stores, and banks—and yes, kill if necessary.
e. Political leaders in rogue states sit around gilded palaces making plans to invade their neighbor’s land… and kill and plunder to overthrow it.
f. Terrorist cell groups meet secretly to discuss ways to destroy America and Israel.
g. Some ethnic groups holding on to political power sit around conference tables and discuss how to ethnically cleanse the region of those they hate.
h. Guerilla groups meet in a secluded jungle discussing how they can take over the villages on the other side of the mountains…
i. What might appear to be perfectly average suburbanite, might be sitting in someone’s living room, talking to some street thug plotting to have his wife killed.
j. There is no new thing under the sun. The same evil scenarios that existed in Solomon’s day exist in our day.
2. We may not like to think of it too often, but the words of the wicked DO lie in wait for opportunities to shed blood.
a. This is just a fact of life: wicked men talk of wicked things.
b. Evil men use language—words—a gift from God—in the most perverse and violent ways… to shed innocent blood.
c. Long before the crime, the invasion, the attack, the rape, the robbery, or the mugging ever took place… wicked men sat around somewhere planning it… discussing it… discussing the best way to carry out their evil deeds.
d. Solomon is speaking here of crimes which were premeditated.
e. And before they even got together to plot and plan, someone sat around THINKING it out… running it through his mind… mulling it over in the counsels of his depraved heart. (Prov. 12:5, 20a)
f. Evil and crime doesn’t just pop out of nowhere. Wicked men THINK wicked thoughts… and DISCUSS wicked plans… and then carry them out.
g. Their thoughts and their discussions are designed “for blood”… the harm and destruction of others… and usually to the benefit of the criminal in some devious way.
3. It is unlikely that any of us ever hear first hand of such evil plots to kill.
a. However, we MAY become privy to OTHER forms of wicked words.
b. We might hear of others gossiping about a person…
c. We might hear of some employees that are planning to steal some of the company’s property.
d. We might hear damaging words of slander against a brother.
e. We might hear of plans to cause trouble in the local church.
f. Some of you young people might hear conversations at school of kids who are planning to break the rules… or to hurt someone in the class… or to steal… or to buy drugs… or get in some other kind of trouble.
g. All of this is destructive behavior too…
h. The principle is the same. Wicked people use words to plan and plot their wicked devises.
i. Wicked people often try to HURT others.
j. And there might be an occasion when WE get wind of it… when WE hear of their plans to bring destruction, harm, or trouble of some sort.
6b But the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
THE MOUTH OF THE UPRIGHT: DELIVERANCE
1. On the other hand, Solomon speaks about what how the upright or the godly use their mouths and words which proceed from their mouths.
2. The wicked use words to DESTROY others. The upright use words to DELIVER others.
3. THEM: to whom does the “them” refer?
a. Some understand it to mean that the upright use words to deliver themselves.
b. It seems best to understand the “them” as a reference to the same people who are being plotted against in the first part of the verse.
c. We’ll put a name on “them”. We’ll call this person TOM.
• While the wicked are plotting to shed Tom’s blood…
• The upright speak up to deliver him!
4. The upright speak up for those who are oppressed… for those who are being plotted against… for those who may be unable to speak up for themselves.
a. Righteous men speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves… for those who may be ignorant… or have no voice or say…
b. Prov. 31:8-9 – Open your mouth and speak up for the dumb (those who cannot speak… who would not be listened to… for those who are appointed to destruction.
c. Example: Acts 23:12-24 – Paul’s nephew heard of a wicked plot to kill Paul, and he spoke up… which led to Paul’s deliverance.
d. James 4:17 – he that KNOWS to do right… (by speaking up) and does nothing about it, to him it is sin.
• There is a responsibility that comes with knowledge.
• Ex. 23:4-5 – if you see or know about something is wrong, and you have the ability to correct it, then we are responsible to correct it!
5. Applications:
a. Whistleblowers… if you work for a company and know of theft, or criminal activity, it is our responsibility to speak up for that which is right!
• We are to use our mouths to deliver.
• If a person at work is being blamed for something he didn’t do, and is going to be fired for it, and you know who really did it, you have a responsibility to speak up!
• The wicked use their words to cause trouble. We should use our mouths to deliver those folks unjustly accused.
b. School… if there are kids at school who are planning illegal activity (stealing; drugs; violence, etc.) you have a responsibility to report it to an adult!
• I wonder if any of the kids at Columbine knew about the murderous plot and were afraid to speak up! Imagine how awful they would feel afterwards!
• If you know that your friend at school bought some drugs, and you say nothing about it… imagine how awful you would feel if they overdosed and died?! And just a few words to the right people could have prevented it.
• I wouldn’t want that on my conscience!
• We’re not talking about being a snitch for every tiny infraction. We are talking about serious issues… grave matters that might affect someone’s health or life…
c. Local Church… if you know of someone spreading gossip… or false doctrine, you have a responsibility to let the leaders know about it… before many are hurt.
• Leaven can spread rapidly.
• The sooner such activity is dealt with in the local church, the better.
• If you know that someone’s reputation is being dragged through the mud, and you have information that could deliver that person, then you are responsible to help!
d. In our country: if we hear of a crime being planned, then by all means, report it to the authorities!
• This is part of our responsibility as a citizen… to promote the welfare of the state… and safety of its people.
• Our government is urging us to be eyes and ears to report all suspicious activity that might be related to terrorism!
• Consider Prov. 31:8-9 – in light of abortion. As believers, we have a responsibility to “speak up” for those slated for destruction… for those unable to speak up for themselves. And we can SPEAK on this issue on Election Day!
• There are a lot of issues we as believers can and should speak out on… on Election Day!
e. Prov. 24:11-12 – if we forbear to do what is right… and pretend we didn’t know, rest assured, God knows our heart!
• God will hold us accountable.
• We could have and should have delivered someone from injustice… and we sat quietly by and said nothing. Shame on us!
• Sometimes just one simple word can save a man’s life… or a man’s reputation… his career… because someone had guts enough to stand up and speak up for that which was right.
• You be that kind of person!
Proverbs 12:7
The Wicked are Overthrown, but the Righteous Stand
7a The wicked are overthrown, and are not…
1. Here Solomon states that wicked men are overthrown.
a. This passage seems to be connected to the previous proverb.
b. The wicked in vs.6 are men who use words to “lie in wait” for others.
c. Lie in wait implies an ambush. The wicked use their mouths to set traps for others… to harm people with their words.
d. They are pictured in vs. 6 as a bloodthirsty animal, just waiting to ambush and pounce on their prey.
e. Wicked men try to overthrow others.
2. Next we are told that the very men who attempt to overthrow others, are themselves overthrown!
a. “The wicked are overthrown.” These wicked men are the same as the wicked in the previous verse… the words of the wicked.
b. Those who attempt to overthrow others will be overthrown themselves.
c. This is a principle repeated many times in various ways in the book of Proverbs.
• Prov. 26:27 – Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.
• Prov. 28:10 – Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit:
• Ps. 7:14-16 – the wicked stir up all kinds of trouble for others, but eventually, it will fall upon their own head.
• Ps. 9:15 – The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
• Ps. 57:6 – They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves.
• Ecc. 10:8-9 – He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. 9 Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.
3. Overthrown: turned over; upturned; reversed; retired; tumbled… etc.
a. The wicked shall not stand forever.
b. Their wicked plans to overthrow and harm others will not go on forever.
c. Eventually, they themselves will be overthrown: reversed; tumbled; turned upside down…
d. Example: Esther 7:10 – they hanged Haman on the very gallows he built for Mordecai! The entire situation—which looked so bleak and impossible for the Jews—was completely reversed overnight!
e. God is able to overthrow the evil plans of wicked men… and reverse hopeless situations… and He doesn’t need decades to do it either!
4. Why is it beneficial to look up so many passages emphasizing this truth?
a. Because we need to be convinced from Scripture—or perhaps refreshed concerning this truth… that the wicked aren’t getting away with anything!
b. Think about the world our kids are growing up in…
• People have been driving airplanes into buildings…
• Anthrax being spread through the mail…
• Buildings and ships being blown up…
• Shoe bombs in airplanes…
• Suicide bombers…
• Sexual perverts and kidnappers…
• School shootings…
• Nations which hate us are secretly planning weapons of mass destruction… chemical and hideous biological weapons…
• Many nations hold anti-American rallies—burning the flag… shouting death to America… calling us the big Satan…
• Snipers randomly shooting people…terrorizing our cities…
• Paul’s description of the last days as “perilous times” certainly fits our day and age.
c. There are no shortages of wicked men who are out to overthrow us… to do us and our children harm.
• This has got to have a serious, adverse effect on our young people growing up in today’s climate.
• Kids don’t have the skills necessary to process all this… to put things into perspective…
• Young people (as older people too!) need to KNOW and to be REMINDED that wicked men who seek to do harm to others… who lie in wait to shed blood… who seek to overthrow others… will THEMSELVES be overthrown!
• Young people need to know that there is an END to wickedness. It will not go on forever.
• Job 20:5 – the triumphing of the wicked is short…
• And evil men eventually will be brought to justice.
• The wicked ARE going to be overthrown…
• Even if some evil men escape judgment in this life—none will escape the judgment of God.
d. In light of the perilous times in which we live, it is imperative that kids know that God is still on His throne… and that wicked men will NOT get away with murder. They WILL be overthrown one day…
e. Knowing this brings a sense of finality to evil… it brings a sense of justice… and puts a little rhyme and reason into a world that otherwise seems so chaotic and out of control.
f. God is STILL ruling the universe. There is no chaos in the heavenly places.
g. In God’s good time, all wicked men will be overthrown… and ultimately, brought to justice.
h. Prov. 11:21 – no matter how many of them there are, they shall NOT be unpunished!
i. Ps. 37:35-36- the wicked might seem to be strong and invincible, but in time, they will come to naught.
j. Ex. 15:9-11 – God overthrows the wicked by merely blowing upon them! (Context here = Red Sea)
• Cf. 10:25 – again, the same thought.
• God sends a wind and blows over the wicked. They may seem strong—but are easily brought to nothing by God.
k. Knowing that and relying on it will greatly aid in bringing rest to an otherwise anxious soul… whether that anxious soul might be your 10 year old son—or YOU yourself…
7b But the house of the righteous shall stand.
1. In contrast to the wicked who shall be overthrown, Solomon now describes the righteous. Their house shall STAND.
a. Stand: stand; remain; endure; take one’s stand; be in a standing attitude; to stand still; tarry; continue; abide; endure; persist; be steadfast; hold one’s ground. (You get the picture!)
b. It only takes one simple storm, and the wicked, who have built so elaborately on the sand, shall all come tumbling down.
c. But the righteous, who are built on a solid foundation, they shall remain standing.
d. Cf. Vs.3 – same thought. The righteous shall not be moved… unshakable.
2. Prov. 14:11 – a parallel passage. The house of the righteous shall not only remain, but it shall FLOURISH… better and stronger than ever!
a. The “house” of the righteous and wicked refers to their household… family… dynasty.
b. Carrying on the family name meant much to people in Bible times.
c. Thus, to say that the wicked are overthrown and “are not” = that their dynasty will be cut off… an awful fate!
d. But the house of the righteous shall stand… and flourish. His dynasty shall continue…
e. This was considered a GREAT blessing. (More so to folks in Old Testament times; they thought of life as always existing on earth…)
3. God doesn’t want His people to live in fear of the wicked.
a. God wants us not to fear man, but to trust God!
b. The fear of God removes the fear of man.
c. When our faith is in God we shall flourish… thrive… grow… be fruitful.
d. Ps. 56:4 – In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
• Oh, to have this under our belts!
• If we really believe that God is on His throne, and that we need not fear what man can do… and if we truly trust in God—then we can go about our daily business… undistracted… poised… composed… unruffled… and what a testimony that can be!
Proverbs 12:8
Commended According to Wisdom
Introduction:
1. This proverb contrasts the attitudes people have towards others.
2. Those who are wise are commended and those who are perverse are despised.
3. The proverb doesn’t say WHO it is making these judgments. (Who is commending or despising)
4. It implies that this is the attitude of people in general.
5. Like any proverb, there are exceptions to this principle, but this IS the general rule: wise men are praised; perverse men are despised.
8a A man shall be commended according to his wisdom.
A. According to His Wisdom
1. The wise man is commended.
a. His commendation is directly linked to his wisdom.
2. Wisdom: this is not the most common term for wisdom in Proverbs.
a. This term means: prudence, insight, understanding;
b. It is the term used in Prov. 1:3—
c. Prov.1:1-3 – The book of Proverbs was written for this purpose: that its readers might obtain this kind of insight and understanding.
d. This kind of wisdom and insight does not require superior intelligence.
• It is offered to the simple and the young… (Prov. 1:4)
• It is not just for the scholar, but for the one who will humble himself enough to listen… pay attention… (Prov. 1:5)
• The one who is willing to hear… to listen… pay attention… will understand, and shall attain unto wise counsels.
3. This kind of wisdom is not so much cerebral as it is a matter of the heart.
a. A heart that hungers for God’s wisdom WILL attain it.
b. A heart that is willing to hear will hear and will understand.
c. A heart that is closed up, set in its ways, unwilling to hear—will NOT understand… and will not attain to wise counsels.
d. John 7:17 – Jesus put it this way: the heart willing to DO what God wants will understand what God wants.
• Others will cry out, “It’s all too complicated. It’s too deep for me. Tell me something else.”
• The wisdom God wants us ALL to have is NOT too deep for any saint.
• Sometimes deep down inside we don’t WANT to know—because it will make us accountable… responsible to respond in obedience…
4. But there will always be SOME folks (a few—willing to walk the narrow way) who will be WILLING to hear… willing to DO… and thus ABLE to understand.
a. Those folks will be the ones who have prudence… wisdom… understanding… insight in spiritual truths… a firm grasp of spiritual things… discernment… insight…
b. They will have the discernment to distinguish between holy and unholy, clean and unclean.
c. They will hold firmly to the deep things of God—and hunger for more and more.
d. These are the folks that not only HAVE insight and discernment, but also are willing to share and distribute it… to offer wise counsel to others…
B. He Shall Be Commended
1. Commended: 1 to shine; to flash forth light. 2 to be praised, be made praiseworthy, be commended, be worthy of praise.
a. Perhaps we might think of it in the sense of having the spotlight put on him… to make him stand out as worth looking at…
b. This man will SHINE… and others will take notice.
c. This man will have a reputation for wisdom…
2. I Kings 10:1-6 – Early on, SOLOMON earned a reputation for wisdom. He shined among men.
a. The Queen of Sheba came from afar to hear of his wisdom.
• Even the world recognizes a man of great insight and wisdom… and the world values that.
• Solomon wasn’t sought out because he was rich or handsome or intelligent… but because he had a reputation for wisdom… and had insight.
• This queen commended Solomon for that very reason.
b. During those years when Solomon practiced the wisdom God gave him, he stood out among men. He shined brilliantly and earned a reputation. He was commended of men… according to his wisdom.
3. JOSEPH was commended according to his wisdom.
a. The Pharaoh recognized his wisdom and insight, and elevated him to the position of Prime Minister of Egypt!
b. Gen. 41:38-44 – Joseph was commended and elevated because of his wisdom.
c. God gave him great insight. He lived by that wisdom—and it was obvious to onlookers.
4. DANIEL was also commended according to his wisdom.
a. Dan. 6: 1-3 – an excellent spirit was found in Daniel.
b. The king commended him… praised him… and elevated him.
5. The Bible describes many faults and flaws in godly men. However, not one negative thing is said of Joseph or Daniel in the Bible.
a. All we know about these two men is that they were wise and godly.
b. Even the world acknowledged them for this—and they were both commended… and elevated to high positions.
c. There are occasions in the world when even a BELIEVER is praised — not for his faith, but for his wisdom, dedication, insight, etc.
d. I am told that Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft is a believer. Though most in the media would not speak highly of his faith—yet they DO acknowledge that he is a man of wisdom and integrity… I have heard quite a few media folks praise him for this. He has been commended for his wisdom… just as Solomon suggests in Prov. 12:8.
6. This is the kind of testimony that God would have us ALL to have in the world.
a. If we live godly, and demonstrate wisdom in our lives—at work, at school, wherever we are—then we too will earn a reputation of wisdom… which even folks in the world will have to acknowledge.
b. I Pet. 2:12 – maintain a testimony of wisdom and godliness such that even if they do speak evil of you—they may be FORCED by your wise behavior—to glorify God.
c. I Pet 3:16 – walk in wisdom and integrity such that if folks do speak evil of you, they will be ashamed—deep down inside… because they are forced to acknowledge your wisdom—and commend you for it… at least inwardly.
d. A world that on the one hand hates the faith in God—will be FORCED to acknowledge the wisdom of God.
e. John 7:46 – This was certainly true in the life of CHRIST. They had to commend His wisdom.
* To a lesser degree, this can be true in our lives as well.
8b But he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised.
1. Perverse:
a. to bend; twist; distort; to do wrong
b. Used in Lam.3: 9 – “he hath made my paths crooked.”
2. Heart: inner man; mind; will, heart; understanding…
a. The inner life of this man is bent… twisted…
b. His thinking is off base… off color… perverse…
c. The man of a perverse heart is one with a twisted way of thinking… a twisted mind… a distorted view of the world… of life… of values… bent out of shape…
3. This man is despised.
a. Despised:
• To be held in contempt; contempt springing from evil; a reproach; a shame;
• Used in Prov. 18:3 (contempt = despised)
b. Even the world does not like this kind of man.
c. Matthew Henry: “All that have a true sense of honour will despise him as unworthy to be dealt with and unfit to be trusted, as a blemish and scandal to mankind.”
d. There are many men in the world (unsaved) yet they have a sense of honor.
• Solomon is saying that all believers and even the unsaved who have a sense of honor will despise the man whose thinking is twisted.
e. Mal. 2:8-9 – The priests were corrupt… bent… twisted… perverse spirits.
• The people expected to hear words of wisdom, but instead they heard nothing but corruption.
• These perverted spirits perverted others too.
• Nobody respected these priests. They were not commended.
• Nobody respects corruption—even those who are corrupt don’t respect it.
f. In many different realms, the man who shows a lack of wisdom… whose thinking is not right… is despised.
• Politicians who exhibit great wisdom are commended—and voted back into office… sometimes.
» But politicians who make a fool of themselves… and demonstrate a lack of wisdom and sound judgment—no one likes.
• Not all men in the ministry are wise. Some are not straight as arrows, but are bent.
» Those who love the Lord will commend a servant of the Lord with insight and wisdom…. But they will not appreciate one who demonstrates thinking that is off base… twisted… doesn’t line up with Scripture, but is bent…
• Not all parents exhibit wisdom and understanding.
» Those who do are commended, but there are some who do not.
» Some demonstrate twisted thinking… they let their kids run wild… they set poor examples for them… they bring up rebels… and as a result, they are a reproach.
• The same principle holds true in the workplace.
» Some bosses (saved or unsaved) demonstrate insight… an understanding of human nature… they know how to handle people… they are kind but firm… they get the job done because they are wise. They are commended.
» But others are twisted… bent… unfair… egotistical… have twisted values… They are a reproach… despised.
CONCLUSION:
1. Solomon is teaching here that ultimately, it is WISDOM that brings honor—not riches, talent, good looks, or popularity… but wisdom and insight.
a. II Cor. 10:18 – And also, ultimately, it is whom the Lord commends that counts.
b. Many wise men never receive much commendation on earth—but they will one day when they stand before the Lord.
2. And what is it that makes men despised?
a. It is not poverty or a low IQ… it is not bad luck or a lack of talent.
b. It is a perverse spirit… twisted thinking… a mind and a heart that is crooked.
c. Even crooked men admire those who do things right… who are wise.
d. They don’t live up to those standards themselves, but they expect believers to. They may not like all our views—but they appreciate someone who is honest… wise… straight as an arrow—everything they are not.
e. Herein lies our testimony in the world.
Proverbs 12:9
He that is Despised with a Servant
Introduction:
1. This is one of many verses in Proverbs that use the “better . . . than” formula. (19 others; not consecutive)
2. A contrast is presented by the words better and than instead of “but.”
a. Note the contrast with “but” in vs.1-8.
b. Now Solomon makes contrasts using the “better than.”
9a He that is despised and hath a servant
1. Despised: This term might be a bit overstated in English.
a. The term CAN mean to despise…
b. It can ALSO mean lightly esteemed… not thought of too highly.
c. There is quite a difference between being despised, and not thought highly of…
d. The Hebrew term speaks of one’s “estimate” of something… and so does our English translation. It is the DEGREE that is question…
e. Translating this term as “despised” seems to go overboard a bit—and makes the passage difficult to understand… at least to me.
f. The DEGREE of that personal estimation can range from not esteemed too highly to being despised…
g. It is probably better here to understand the term in the sense of not esteemed… or not thought highly of…
h. Consider its use in Deut. 27:16 – “set lightly by”… not given honor…
i. Consider its use in I Sam. 18:23 – a poor man and “lightly esteemed.”
j. Example: on a basketball team you might have a few players from the bench who are okay. But Michael Jordan is the one who is highly esteemed. You may not despise the other players, but they are not thought of nearly as highly as a Michael Jordan!
2. The person Solomon is describing in the first half of the verse is not one who is hated… but rather, an average man who is not in an especially high position socially.
a. Some might look down upon him because he is in a relatively lowly position…
b. It is not so much that he is despised, but rather he is just not looked up to as a great man… not esteemed to be a hero… not famous… not prestigious…
c. He doesn’t have all those qualities that folks seem attracted to.
d. He is not one of those magnetic personalities that everyone seems to gravitate towards.
e. He is not Mr. Big Shot…He’s not Mr. Personality… He is more like your average Joe. (Like you and me!)
f. Nothing flashy… nothing spectacular… He is not highly esteemed like a celebrity.
g. It doesn’t mean others think LOWLY of him. It’s just that he’s no icon. No big name.
h. He’s no President Bush. He’s no Colin Powell. He’s no Superstar athlete… no Tom Brady. He’s no Bill Gates.
3. Yet he has a servant.
a. In other words, he’s not esteemed as some great one—but he does all right for himself.
b. He is able to provide for his family, and he is well off enough to hire servants too.
c. Perhaps he runs a farm or an orchard. He’s a hard worker and he does well.
d. He does well enough to hire others to work for him.
e. He’s not nobility, but is probably doing just fine in the middle class.
f. His little business is never going to make it in the Fortune 500.
g. Ken Burns will never do a PBS documentary on his life.
h. His name will not go down in history as one who changed the world.
i. But he did ok. He ran his little business… reared his family on it… provided for his wife and children… and was even able to hire a servant.
4. Solomon says that this man is BETTER than the one he describes in the second part of the verse…
a. He may not be some great one—but he’s better than this other man…
b. Nobody is going to write a biography about this man… he doesn’t have his name written in lights…
c. But what he does have is better than what the next man described has…
d. He doesn’t have what the rich, superstar, celebrity CEO has, but what he does have is better than what this next man has…
9b He that honoreth himself and lacketh bread
1. The first man is NOT highly esteemed in the world. He’s just average.
2. But the second man IS highly esteemed.
a. Only he is highly esteemed in his OWN eyes!
b. He honors HIMSELF!
c. In other words, he’s not a big shot, but he thinks he is!
d. He thinks that he’s the rich, handsome, superstar, celebrity CEO!
e. He THINKS he’s Donald Trump or Bill Gates.
f. However, reality is a little different!
3. Honor: to be heavy; be weighty; be grievous; be hard; be rich; be honorable; be glorious; be honored.
a. His problem is self-aggrandizement…
b. This man thinks that he’s a heavy weight…
c. He glorifies himself in his own mind…
d. He thinks he’s important; walks about as if he were some great one…
e. He is dripping with self-importance…
f. He is convinced that he is STAR material…
g. He believes that he deserves to live in the lap of luxury…
h. He believes that he belongs with the upper crust of society…
i. He sees himself as one of the elite… one of the movers and shakers…
j. He is puffed up with self-esteem…
k. This man has delusions of grandeur…
l. He is like:
• Diotrephes who loved to have the preeminence…
• Haman who said, “To whom would like king delight to honor more than myself?”
• Simon the sorcerer who made himself out to be some great one
4. But this man lacks bread!
a. He THINKS he’s important; he heaps praise upon himself and congratulates himself for being so successful, but he goes hungry.
b. In his proud mind and heart he sees himself one of the great ones… but in reality, he can’t even pay his bills!
c. In his mind he is by far superior to the average Joe mentioned in the previous section…
5. But in reality, the average Joe is BETTER off than he is.
a. The average Joe doesn’t lack bread.
b. Joe pays his bills, feeds his family, and even hires a servant.
c. This man doesn’t.
6. Our country is FULL of the kind of people Solomon describes.
a. In fact, our American system seems to BREED this type.
b. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for the American way… for the entrepreneurial spirit… for Capitalism… I think it’s the best system, but it’s not perfect.
c. Our system encourages people to shoot for the stars… and many folks do!
d. Immigrants come here and believe that coming here they can make it rich… and many do!
e. We have thousands of people every year who move to Los Angeles hoping to become a movie star… and some do!
f. We have thousands of kids whose dream it is to be an NFL player… or the next Larry Bird… or make it in Major League baseball and become a millionaire…and some will!
g. We have thousands of entrepreneurs starting up new businesses, hoping to be the next success story—the next Walmart or IBM…
h. We have scores of senators and congressman who put their whole being into their work—hoping to become president some day… and some from among their ranks will!
7. Thousands—perhaps millions of Americans are shooting for those stars… but very few will actually make it.
a. Every year thousands of people start up new companies—each one with a dream to strike it rich… and each year thousands of companies go belly up… and their founders go broke… bankrupt.
b. I wonder how many “would be” movie stars can barely scrape up enough money to pay their rent…
c. I wonder how many “wanna-be” pro athletes are spending their most productive years playing on B teams—and will never make to the pros… will never strike it rich.
d. I wonder how many entrepreneurs are throwing every last penny into a business that is eventually going to go belly up…and will never be the next Microsoft…
e. I wonder how many of these folks have convinced themselves that they DESERVE to be the next Bill Gates… or George Bush… or Tom Brady…
8. Solomon is describing the man who thinks highly of himself. He really believes that he:
a. Is so good looking that he is just waiting to be discovered in Hollywood…
b. He is so smart that his company is bound to explode into an international corporation…
c. He is so talented that the baseball scouts are bound to notice him.
d. He sees himself as too important to take an average job…
e. He is constantly waiting for his ship to come in… because he thinks highly of himself and thinks he deserves a big ship.
f. Yet for most of these folks, their ship never comes in… or if it does, they discover that it is less like the Queen Elizabeth—but more like a canoe.
9. Solomon says that the average Joe is better off than he is.
a. His Self-aggrandizement does not change reality one bit.
b. Nor does it pay the bills. Nor feed his family.
c. He has grand ideas in his head… but he lacks bread.
d. Solomon gives this man a little reality check:
• It is better to BE well off than to DREAM of being well off.
• Shooting for the stars is great if you make it—but if you miss a star—you can end up way off base!
• There are times when it is better to have a more moderate estimate of self… of our abilities… of what we can achieve—and shoot for something a little more reasonable.
• Stars are really far away—and very few people reach them!
• Some folks honor themselves and think they can make it… and end up lacking bread.
e. It is BETTER to aim a little lower and to be sure you can hit the target… to have a lower estimate of self—and do ok!
• Aim for a target you can hit…
• Aim for something that matches your ability…
• Don’t flatter yourself into thinking you can achieve things beyond the abilities God has given you…
10. Solomon—a king, who observed human nature carefully, observed this in men often… and he tells us what he learned from his observations: that DOING OK IS NOT BAD!
a. In fact, it’s BETTER than THINKING you’re going to be a star, or a millionaire, or big shot… if you end up lacking bread.
b. It is better to accept a lower social position and to be well off, than to make a great outward show, and lack bread.
c. It’s better to take that average job without much glory—and to be able to feed your family, than to honor yourself by waiting for an offer to be CEO… and go hungry!
d. It is better to be an average Joe worker… than a hungry CEO.
Proverbs 12:10
The Life of a Beast
Introduction:
1. This passage really isn’t about how to treat animals. It isn’t about animals; it’s really about men… people.
2. Solomon’s main purpose is not to tell us how to treat animals—but rather, how to identify certain types of men.
3. Solomon was a keen observer of human nature.
4. From his careful observations, he tells us that one can tell a lot about a man by the way he treats his animals.
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT ANIMALS
A. Original Creation
1. Gen. 1:24-25 – God made all the creatures of the earth… and said they were GOOD.
2. Gen. 1: 26, 28 – God gave man dominion OVER all the creatures…
3. Gen. 1:30 – Originally, animals ate herbs—even lions, and tigers, and bears!
• As created by God, they were NOT meant for killing or eating.
• In the Millennial Kingdom, animals will be restored to their original created purposes. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb… and the leopard shall lie down with the kid. But we don’t live in the Kingdom today.
4. Gen. 2:19-20 – God brought all the animals to Adam to name. They were not harmful to man… but friendly.
a. Animals were all willingly submitted to Adam before the fall…
b. Animals were evidently easily trained and useful…
c. They all had a purpose…
B. When Sin Entered the World
1. When sin entered the world—everything changed. The whole creation was affected by the fall…cursed: sun, moon, stars, earth, and even the animals.
• God never made a man-eating beast… or even a beast-eating beast.
• Animals were all vegetarians… until the fall.
• But now, the world is full of carnivores… and poisonous snakes… dogs that bite…
2. Since the fall, some animals are dangerous…
a. Some will kill and eat man…and other beasts.
b. They are not so easily trained…not as useful…
c. They do not submit to man… dominion has been broken…
• Gen. 9:2 – God put a fear of man into animals—to protect early man.
• But even with that, man and beast have had a sort of adversarial role since the fall. The relationship has been cursed by God.
• Bugs are constantly eating our crops—and we are constantly figuring out ways to kill the bugs.
• Ants get in our homes… woodchucks in our gardens… birds eat the berries… deer steal apples off the trees… beavers reroute our rivers
• It has been an ongoing battle between man and beast.
• And it continues today—cattle ranchers out West are livid that the government—influenced by environmentalists—has repopulated their grazing areas with wolves…
• Even on Cape Cod—there has been a recent problem with coyotes!
3. Other changes that occurred after the fall…
a. God slew an animal after the fall to make clothing for Adam and Eve.
b. God gave man permission to kill and eat animals… (I Tim. 4:3-4)
• “Rise, Peter. Kill and eat.”
c. In fact in the Old Testament, God commanded that animals be slain and their blood shed as a sacrifice… thousands upon thousands of times.
d. Throughout history, man has needed animals for food, sacrifice, clothing, milk, and even shelter at times… and animals no longer cooperate.
e. Thus, there has been this ongoing conflict between man and beast.
f. It is this conflict that Solomon addresses in this passage.
C. Contact Between Man and Beast
1. Men and animals had much more contact in ancient times.
a. Animals were used to work… plow the fields… man and beast worked together.
b. Animals were kept for food, milk, clothing… herds of them.
c. Animals were the main means of transportation… until as recently as the early 1900’s.
2. When traveling on a camel or donkey, a man had to deal with all the idiosyncrasies of that beast.
a. A camel or donkey might get tired and sit down in the middle of your important trip to town.
b. An ox plowing your field might get spooked by a woodchuck and swerve out of line…
c. A loose goat might sneak in the house and make a mess…
d. Wandering sheep might not come when you call them—and cause you to waste more time to go get just one silly sheep…
e. An animal pulling a cart might trip and fall and spill all your goods on the ground.
f. Your camel or goat might get into your vineyard and start eating your grapes and pomegranates.
g. Some of this can be quite irritating.
3. Solomon was an observer human behavior.
a. He noted the various ways in which men dealt with the idiosyncrasies of his beasts…
b. How does he react to these conflicts and irritations between man and beast?
c. How does he respond to unexpected occurrences?
d. How does he deal with a problem with a beast?
The Righteous Man
1. The Righteous man regards the life of his beast
a. He has compassion and mercy
b. He demonstrates it even in his treatment of animals
c. Regards: to know; to be acquainted with; perceive
d. Life: soul; self; life; creature; person; appetite; mind; living being; desire; emotion; passion
2. Solomon observed that a righteous man will be characterized by compassion…
a. He also noted that a righteous man will display compassion towards his beast too…
b. A righteous man has a heart. And one of the ways you can see his heart is by his concern for animals.
c. When his oxen are tired—does he push them to their limits, or does he provide them with food and water?
d. Deut. 25:4 – God made provision for the oxen as they worked. A righteous man will show concern for his beasts.
e. If his animal trips over a rock or a pothole and knocks over his cart full of vegetables for the market, does he beat the donkey silly with a club? Or does he realize that it is just an animal—it wasn’t his fault…
f. If his horse gets spooked and knocks him off—does he beat the horse… or does he have the sense to realize that horses get spooked?
g. When his animal is trapped, will he take the time to get him out? Or does he let him suffer?
h. Ex. 23:4-5 – God made provision for animals in His law. A righteous man will take care of animals as God has commanded.
3. Solomon’s implied point: If he has compassion on dumb animals, he is likely to have compassion of those made in the image of God!
a. If this man is kind to animals, he is kind.
b. If he has compassion on animals—he is a man of compassion.
c. If he helps animals who are stuck—he is a helpful man.
d. You can tell a lot about a man by the way he treats animals.
4. Animals are sort of helpless creatures…they need protection… and are dependent upon their owners for their food, shelter, and care.
a. A righteous man will be responsible to his creatures… and care for their needs.
b. He will protect the sheep from wolves; he will give them hay, food, and water…
c. He will clean their hoofs… pull them out of ditches… because he has a compassionate heart.
d. A righteous man is considerate of his animal…
The Wicked Man
1. The wicked man has no compassion or mercy. His heart is full of cruelty.
2. His “tender mercies” are cruel.
a. Tender mercies = womb; bowels of compassion; pity.
b. Cruel = usually translated as cruel…fierce; merciless…
c. In other words, in his gut where he should have tender mercy—instead is found cruelty.
d. Num. 22:28-30 – Balaam’s donkey was mistreated… without reason! Balaam’s tender mercies were cruel… and it showed.
3. Solomon doesn’t say anything about the way this man treats animals, but he doesn’t have to. It’s obvious.
a. This is the man who would beat his horse…
b. If his animal caused him trouble, he would curse and lose his temper and take out his anger and frustration on the poor animal
c. He wouldn’t bother looking for a wandering sheep. He’d leave him for the wolves.
d. He wouldn’t go out in the rain to feed his pigs or goats. Why should he put himself out for a dumb animal?
e. This man would shoot an animal just for the fun of it—not for food or clothing.
f. Maybe as a young person he used to torture animals… burn their tails… (Samson) — or cut off their legs…
g. This man would be into cock fighting… pit bull fighting…bull fighting…
4. How does this man deal with his animals?
a. How does he react to these “conflicts” between man and beast?
b. How does he respond to unexpected occurrences?
c. How does he deal with a problem with a beast?
d. This man would respond by cursing… swearing… beating… not feeding them… not providing for their need for shelter…
e. He is a cruel man—and you can even see his cruel heart in the way he treats animals!
f. This man abuses his power… and that trait will flow over into other areas of life too.
g. Watch this sort of behavior… you can learn about a man this way.
Updating this principle to the modern world
1. It is not Solomon’s point here to teach us about animals… but to point out human nature.
2. The kind of contact between man and beast Solomon describes is NOT a man and his pet…
a. He did not have in mind 21st century American yuppies pampering their pet poodles… in bubble baths and letting them sleep on fluffy pillows… in air conditioned dog houses…
b. Solomon isn’t expecting his readers to have a New Age concept of animals either—like the PETA group…
c. This verse has nothing to do with animal’s rights… protecting the environment… or protecting the spotted owl or saving the baby whales. Let’s not go overboard on this.
3. The passage is designed to teach us about MAN… and what his heart is like.
a. Solomon seemed to have in mind HOW to differentiate between a compassionate man and a heartless man.
b. He is teaching us how to observe the behavior of a man… or woman…
4. One of the problems in applying this passage is that we no longer have this close contact with animals.
a. We don’t plow our fields with oxen…
b. We don’t ride to work on a horse or camel.
c. We don’t have a flock of goats and sheep.
d. For us animals are pets… but that’s not what Solomon is talking about.
5. To make a modern day parallel, we might even consider MACHINES!
a. When your laptop malfunctions, do you swear at it?
b. When your car breaks down—do you kick it? (story of man in Wisconsin…)
c. When your washing machine breaks down—do you feel like taking a hammer to it? (TV ad)
d. When your computer crashes, do you punch the screen? Throw a temper tantrum?
e. What Solomon is getting at is observing a man’s heart by how he reacts to situations… and how he treats animals… or machines… or things…
f. It is not an exact parallel, but we probably don’t have one in our society…
6. Application for young people today—especially if you are looking for a potential mate…
a. If a man loses his temper over a dumb animal—he will lose his temper against you too!
b. If a man kicks his dog … he has a problem with violence. You don’t want a husband like that!
c. If a man curses every time his machine malfunctions… he’ll probably be cursing at you after the honeymoon.
d. Does he blame the animal for mischief when it was really his fault for not properly tying them up? Then he will probably get mad at you and blame you for his mistakes in the future.
e. Does he get mad at an animal for acting like an animal? Then he will get mad at you for acting like a woman!
f. You can tell a lot about a man by observing how he treats animals.
g. You can tell a lot about a man by how he treats his car… his house… or his machines…
h. By the way—this goes for women too!
• A woman who is cruel to animals will not make a very good wife—or a good mother.
• If that’s the way she treats poor helpless ones who are unable to take care of themselves… and are dependent upon her compassion for their care… what kind of mother is she going to make?
• Guys—you don’t want a woman like that.
7. It’s a good idea to OBSERVE people… be a people watcher.
• Are they short-tempered? Are they kind? Do they control their tongue? Do they show compassion? Are they cruel?
• Are they responsible? Do they care for the helpless?
• We should observe and choose our friends and especially a mate carefully! (Prov. 22:24-25)
8. God cares for animals (Jonah 4:11). Godly people will too.
• And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six-score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?
Proverbs 12:11
Satisfied with Bread
11a He that tilleth his land…
1. Previously Solomon noted that the righteous man takes care of his animals.
2. Now he states that he also takes care of his fields.
3. This man is on the ball… a hard worker… he takes care of business.
a. This man does NOT follow vain persons.
b. Proverbs makes this kind of statement several times.
• 27:18 – the one who takes care of his fig tree gets to eat the fruit!
• 13:11 – labor brings increase! You want increase? You’ve got to work.
• 13:23 – there is much food in the tillage even of the poor… hard working poor people eat well!
• 14:23 – in all labor there is profit.
• 27:23-27 – take care of your flocks and you will have plenty of milk and meat.
• 22:29 – a man who is diligent in his business (whatever it may be) will stand before kings… exalted… honored…
c. The Bible HONORS the concept of hard, honest, diligent labor.
4. Tilling the land was commonplace in ancient times, but not so today—unless your business is a farm.
a. This principle should be applied to WHATEVER your business is…
• You don’t have to be a farmer. Nobody here is… at least for a living.
• But whatever we do, God requires diligence.
• Ecc. 9:10 – whatever you put your hand to do—do it with all diligence.
• Matthew Henry: “Keep thy shop and thy shop will keep thee.”
• Whether you own your own business; or work for a large corporation; or a small company—God wants His people to be hard workers.
b. Certainly this principle should be applied to you young people in your schoolwork… “till your field” Do your homework! Dig deep into your studies! This honors God.
5. This principle holds true for Christian ministry too…
a. I Tim. 5:17 – elders who rule well… double honor…
b. Rom. 12:11 – not slothful in business, but fervent…
c. Heb. 6:10-11 – our ministry is to continue—with all diligence. No rocking chairs in the Lord’s service.
6. We could ALL apply this principle to God’s Word too…
a. It is a field of study just waiting to be “tilled”—dug into… studied.
b. II Tim. 2:15 – Study (give diligence) to show thyself approved…
c. Those who study the Word receive GREAT satisfaction from their efforts.
d. God’s “pay” for such labor is in the inner satisfaction to the soul that results from time spent in studying His truth.
11b Shall be satisfied with bread.
1. Satisfy: to be enriched; satiated; fulfilled; to have in abundance…
2. The believer who “tills the land” of God’s Word will be richly rewarded… with satisfaction!
a. Some folks don’t seem to discover wonderful “nuggets” in the Word… for one reason: they haven’t been tilling the land!
b. The nuggets are there… but they have to be dug up. And when you do—it is truly rewarding — to see a truth clearly — or in a new light — or applied to a new set of circumstances — is truly rewarding.
c. Dig in—and you too will be rewarded with such golden nuggets.
d. Prov. 2:1-5 – these nuggets are found when we till the land with the kind of diligence that those seeking earthly treasures exert.
e. It is good to be fed in church or Sunday school. It is far better to learn to feed yourself. I wouldn’t want to eat just once or twice a week! Would you?
3. Eph. 4:28 – The hard worker will be satisfied because he has earned enough to GIVE to others in need.
a. It is MORE blessed to give. That is true satisfaction!
b. Nobody likes to beg. That feels awful. But it feels good—because it IS good to give… more blessed.
c. That is part of the satisfaction of hard work… having to give…
d. The man who is truly satisfied is the man who is both hard working and generous!
4. Col. 3:22-23 – service at work should not just be “eyeservice”… but diligence even when no one is looking! Our jobs are to be done “heartily!” (from the soul!)
a. vs. 24 – satisfaction comes from knowing that we have a reward in heaven for diligence on earth.
b. Even if we are mistreated at our job—we work hard and are not recognized—God sees all… and rewards hard work with a proper attitude.
5. Prov. 6:6-8 – Solomon tells his readers to consider the ant. The ant takes care of business through hard work… and it pays off! Nobody has to TELL her to do her work. She just does it… and is rewarded for it! Satisfied… when the lazy bugs are going hungry!
6. Whatever we do in life—if we work hard at it and do our best, there is a sense of satisfaction that comes from the end result. That’s Solomon’s point.
a. It doesn’t have to be in a farm setting—any setting.
b. We will experience much greater satisfaction from this new building because we WORKED hard on it—much more satisfaction that if we hired someone else to do the work.
c. This is God’s CURE for depression…
• Depressed people are usually lazy… and depressed because of the results of laziness.
• But hard working people don’t have time to sit around feeling sorry for themselves. They are busy working… building… producing fruit—and enjoying the satisfaction that comes from a bumper crop… and then enjoying the additional satisfaction of GIVING some away to those in need.
• That person is going to be quite satisfied.
• The lazy person is depressed… because there is fungus growing in her refrigerator… or because his house needs painting, the wall is falling down, the barn needs a new roof, and as he sits in front of the TV thinking about all the work that needs doing—he’s depressed!
d. God invented work—for Adam in the Garden of Eden before the fall. God designed it such that man receives great satisfaction from the fruit of his labor.
• That labor is much more difficult … but the satisfaction from a job well done remains… as our reward.
• Ecc. 2:24-25 – There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
• This truth holds in any setting—your job; your home; your school; your church ministry; your life!
11c But he that followeth vain persons…
1. Persons is added by the translators. It does not appear in the original.
a. It makes good sense if left out…Hence—he that followeth vain things… or vanity…
b. Or as the King James Version – following vain persons… who are following vain pursuits. The meaning is the same.
2. The believer is not to follow vanity… emptiness… pursuits that have no value in light of eternity.
a. Seeking to do your best at your job is NOT vanity… that is a good pursuit.
b. But there are LOTS of other pursuits in life that are vain…
c. Anything that takes away from our spiritual lives is vanity…
• Golfing that causes you to miss out on the worship on the Lord’s day is a vain pursuit…
• A woman who abandons her young toddlers in order to pursue her career = a vain pursuit.
• Playing video games when you should be doing your homework is a vain pursuit…
• Working out at the gym every morning at the expense of reading God’s Word is a vain pursuit.
• Sitting around watching the grass grow when you have a lot of work to do is a vain pursuit.
• Young people—getting involved with a group of kids that do nothing but hang around the mall and get into trouble is a vain pursuit.
11d Is void of understanding.
1. The man who wastes time on vain pursuits and projects ends up wasting his time… and over time, that trait develops into a wasted LIFE!
2. This man’s behavior demonstrates his lack of wisdom and understanding.
3. The man who is void of understanding is the same man who lacks diligence and follows vain pursuits.
4. It is the LAZY man who is void of understanding (Prov. 24:30-31)
Proverbs 12:12
The Righteous Yield Fruit
12a The wicked desireth the net of evil men
A. The Net of Evil Men
1. A net is used to trap an animal… to “catch” something…
2. The net of evil men refers to the booty or goods that evil men are able to “catch” from unsuspecting men.
a. Solomon is talking about crooks… thieves… and their tactics.
b. They use deceit to trap their victims—like a net for a bird.
c. Solomon is talking about the age-old method of setting traps of deception to rob unsuspecting men and women.
3. Prov. 1:17-19 – those who are greedy of illegal gain set “traps” for people… to steal their goods.
a. An ambush of a stagecoach… or a chariot.
b. Thieves set up traps for people in airports too. (Two or three of them will wait for an unsuspecting woman to lay down her pocketbook, and then one bumps into her… and in the confusion, the other one takes the bag. They set a trap for her.
c. Shoplifters set traps for the clerks. One thief will get the clerk’s attention in a lonely corner of the store—so that his partner can help himself to the goods without being seen.
d. Muggers set a trap for people walking down a dark street at night.
e. These are evil men who “spread their net”… in order to “catch” someone off guard… that they might rob them.
f. Today these crooks have become quite sophisticated.
• We have white-collar “nets” in which thieves rob people of their retirement money—through deceit…
• There are countless scams devised by crooks today to get your money in their pockets.
• They use the telephone—and tell you that you have won a million dollars—and can collect it by simply mailing them $100.00 collection fee!
• They use the Internet to lure people all over the globe into their nets…
• Many prey on the elderly—win their confidence—and rob them blind!
4. Jer. 5:26-27 – The prophet describes the same “net.” Evil men use deceit to get the money and goods of other men into their houses.
5. Ps. 10:7-9-11 – the wicked set a net to catch the poor…
a. Their net is a net of deceit…
b. They catch the poor to keep them poor… to trap them in their poverty… and to take advantage of them…
6. These scams very often include risks…
a. If the scam artist gets caught, he could go to jail for years.
b. There is a fear of losing one’s reputation for the white-collar executive who gets arrested for laying his net…
c. There is great risk involved—but there is also great gain if not apprehended.
d. The case was similar when men used literal nets to catch their prey. They may set a trap for a lion. If the lion breaks out of the snare—you might be eaten alive!
e. But the reward was great. If you caught the lion—that was quite a valuable trophy!
f. The crooks who were willing to take the risk… sometimes were “rewarded” for their labors (in a twisted sort of way) in their risk taking. (At least that was the way the crooks looked at it.)
B. The Wicked Desire that Net
1. We have two groups of wicked men here.
a. The first group
• Called evil men
• They lay the net to ensnare others and rob them.
• They took the risk… and when successful ended up with much booty.
b. The second group
• Called the wicked
• These men observed what the evil men did—and covet the booty.
2. The wicked who DESIRE that net.
a. The term net is actually used here of that which the net pulls in or “catches.”
b. In other words, the wicked men observe the evil men lay their nets as traps… and see all the money they make… and all the riches they accumulate from their deceitful scam… and they COVET the gain!
c. They DESIRE the net… they wish they had the booty.
d. Evil men crave after illegal booty MORE than other goods—because evil is appealing to them! (Prov. 21:10)
e. Prov. 20:17 – that “bread of deceit” (stolen goods) are sweet—at first. Thieves love the rush they get from goods illegally gained. But that sweetness does not last.
f. Prov. 9:17-18 – stolen waters… but it is not eaten in good company. The end result is hardly something to be coveted!
g. The fallen heart has an attraction towards evil… but the wise believer will see evil for what it really is… and where it eventually leads! Don’t be deceived by the initial sweetness…
3. These wicked men who DESIRE the net (wish they had the booty) are just as evil as the men who laid the net.
a. But for one reason or another, they did NOT set a trap.
b. Perhaps they WISH they had thought of that scam…
c. Perhaps they really would like to extort money… or run a scam… but they are too afraid of getting caught…
d. They covet the profits from illegal activity—but for one reason or another are either too cowardly, too stupid, or lack the opportunity to engage in illegal activity.
4. There are young people on our streets selling drugs—and making a killing.
a. They spread a net for their victims—letting the young kids think that drugs are cool… or will make you popular.
b. In reality, drugs will make you a criminal, sickly, and poor… and eventually imprisoned. There is nothing cool about that.
c. But the pushers drive a BMW and wear fancy clothes.
d. They are risk-taking entrepreneurs in evil.
e. Then there are the other guys who envy them… who wish they could be like him… who wish they had a BMW and fancy clothes.
f. But they are too afraid of getting caught… or they don’t have the right connections to get involved…
g. They DESIRE the net of evil…
5. These wicked men are just as wicked and evil as the evil men who LAY the trap!
a. Their hearts are no better.
b. They DESIRE the goods…
c. Hence, they are just as cold hearted toward the elderly they abuse… or towards the young people they deceive into thinking that drugs are cool… or the poor they take advantage of…
d. In fact, giving the right set of circumstances, this second group would BECOME part of the first group!
e. Prov. 1:10-14 – the actual criminals will eventually LURE wanna be criminals INTO their lifestyle.
• Those who wanna be—usually end up getting involved in that which they desire.
• If you covet after something—eventually you will follow those desires… and act on them.
f. Prov. 1:15 – good advice: stay away! Don’t covet. Keep your heart with all diligence.
• Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.
• Especially if your neighbor is a crook!
• Don’t desire his net—or the goodies in it.
12b But the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit
1. Here Solomon contrasts the wicked and evil men to the righteous man.
2. The contrast is primarily between the fact that the wicked TAKE, but the righteous PRODUCE. The wicked is a minus, the righteous a plus!
a. The wicked set a net to trap… plunder… rob… steal… take away.
b. The righteous, on the other hand, YIELDS fruit…
3. The righteous man is a ROOT… stable… dug in deep… unmovable. (Prov. 10:30 – shall never be moved)
a. Isa. 27:6 – God shall one day cause Israel to take ROOT in the land—and become fruitful.
• It is in this sense that Solomon uses the terms.
• The righteous man is a root; he shall take root; and produce fruit.
• Isa. 37:31 – see the relationship again between root and fruit.
• A plant with a good root system WILL produce fruit. It is self-contained—unlike the wicked who does NOT produce what he needs. He robs. He is not self-sufficient.
b. The righteous shall flourish (11:28) and shall be a tree of life (11:30).
c. A root has access to a continual supply of nutrients to keep on producing fruit. (Not like a net—a one time trap)
d. This principle is true in the physical realm.
• The hard working man who follows the principles of righteousness found in the Scriptures will prosper… will have enough.
• The lazy man might go hungry—but the man who is diligent won’t.
• The man who does things right will do well in life… he will yield fruit.
• Because he does things right, he doesn’t have to worry about going to jail… about getting caught in some crooked scheme…
• The dishonest man usually gets caught and loses everything…he gains much in the short term through dishonesty—but when caught, loses it all. He takes four steps forward and nineteen back.
e. This principle is also true in the spiritual realm. (Ps. 1:3)
• This man is strong, stable, and unmovable spiritually—like a tree planted by the rivers of waters.
• He will keep on producing fruit, season after season.
• In the physical realm, righteousness does not always prosper. Sometimes righteous men suffer in this world.
• But in the spiritual realm, the righteous always produces fruit. (Heb. 13:15-16)
4. One man PRODUCES good things; the other man STEALS good things… or COVETS what other men have stolen.
a. Prov. 12:11 – here Solomon speaks about a righteous man as one who is hard working (tilling his land)—and thus is satisfied with the works of his hands.
b. This man’s hands are full of the fruit of his labor—and he is satisfied.
c. He has enough for himself—and enough to share.
d. The unrighteous man follows vanity—lazy—and has nothing. He is NOT fruitful.
e. This lazy kind of man will then look at other lazy men who may be wealthy through theft—and he will COVET what is in his net!
f. What a lousy way to live: lazy; having nothing; not able to give; and yet always wanting what others have; wanting even what the criminal has!
g. How much better to be like the righteous man—he works hard; tills his land; digs his roots in deeply; and produces fruit. This man’s life will be strong and stable.
Proverbs 12:13
The Transgression of His Lips
13a The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips
A. Transgressions Are Committed By the Lips
1. Men lie with their lips.
2. Men deceive with their lips.
3. Men brag and boast with their lips.
4. Men curse with their lips.
5. Men blaspheme with their lips.
6. Men gossip with their lips.
7. There are countless ways to transgress with one’s lips.
B. Transgression with the Lips Brings a Snare
1. Sinning with the lips eventually comes back to BITE you…
a. Transgressing lips are a snare… something that traps you…
b. Solomon is saying that when we sin with our lips, we get CAUGHT in a trap of our own making!
c. If we sin with our lips, sooner or later, those words will come back to haunt us…
d. They may come back to “catch” us in a trap.
e. Prov. 26:27 – “Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.”
• Prov. 12:13 is the very same principle as 26:27 – only much narrower.
• 26:27 speaks of a broad principle which is applicable to many areas of life… those who dig a pit shall fall in themselves.
• 12:13 applies that principle to sinning with the lips.
• One who sins with his lips is like a man who digs a pit. Eventually, he will be snared by the pit he himself dug!
C. Biblical Examples of This Principle
1. Men lie with their lips… and are snared.
a. Gen. 12:11-13 – Abraham lied about his wife’s identity.
• Gen. 12:18-20 – Pharaoh rebukes Abraham for his lie! What a sting that must have been—a pagan rebuking the believer for lying! That should never be…
• Abraham lied—and he fell in the pit that he dug for himself. He was CAUGHT in his lie…
b. II Kings 5:20 – Gehazi, Elisha’s servant lied and said that Elisha sent him to Naaman to receive a gift.
• This was a boldfaced lie—in order to get silver for himself.
• II Kings 5:21-27 – Gehazi was snared by the transgression of his lips.
• He lied and at first was successful—for he did get the silver.
• BUT—he was smitten with leprosy! He was snared… by the pit he dug for himself.
2. Men deceive with their lips… and are snared.
a. I Kings 2:23 – Adonijah wanted a concubine SO THAT he could attempt to steal the throne from Solomon.
b. He deceived Bathsheba… but not Solomon.
c. He was put to death for this deception…
d. The transgression of his lips was his undoing… his snare.
3. Men brag and boast with their lips… and are snared.
a. Esther 6:6-10 – Haman in his pride boasted that no one is worthy of more honor than himself and proceeded to tell the king HOW to honor the man whom the king wanted to honor.
b. He didn’t realize it at the time, but he planned a parade of honor for his worst enemy!
c. His words of pride and selfishness came back to haunt him!
d. He was a wicked man who was snared by the transgression of his lips.
4. Men curse with their lips… and are snared.
a. II Sam. 16:5-12 – Shimei cursed David at perhaps David’s lowest point… and Shimei thought that he got away with it.
b. I Kings 2:44-46 – King Solomon remembered the cursings of Shimei and had him put to death.
c. His words of transgression and cursing came back to haunt him in later years.
d. Shimei wasn’t caught in the snare for many years after the transgression with his lips—but he WAS snared eventually!
e. Sometimes we can sin with our lips and seem to get away with it… for a while. But sins with our lips have a way of catching up with us… don’t they?!
5. Men blaspheme with their lips… and are snared.
a. Matt. 27:25 – His blood be upon us and upon our children!
b. These men spoke in blasphemy against the Son of God…
c. Surely those words came back to haunt that generation of Jews… they will haunt many of them forever and ever in the Lake of Fire.
6. Men gossip and speak evil with their lips… and are snared.
a. Ecc. 10:20 – don’t speak evil of someone behind their back.
b. A little birdy somehow seems to get your words to them sooner or later… and you may live to regret having said it.
c. Our words of gossip often come back to haunt us… to embarrass us… to bring us to shame…
7. Men compromise with their lips… and are snared.
a. Matt. 26:74 – Peter compromised with his lips—and he denied the Lord—I know not the man!
b. Vs. 75 – He was caught… and snared… and wept bitterly.
8. The first part of this verse is nearly identical in meaning to Proverbs 18:7 – A fool’s mouth is his (OWN) destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.
a. The wicked man says things he shouldn’t say—and ends up paying for it! It eventually destroys him.
b. He may lose his job because of his loose speech…
c. He may lose his friends… He may even lose his freedom and end up in prison…
13b But the just shall come out of trouble
1. This proverb presents a contrast:
a. The wicked who sins with his lips vs. the just (presumably who does not sin with his lips—at least at time of contrast)
b. The wicked who is snared in a trap; and the just who comes OUT OF trouble.
c. Hence: (1) one who sins with his mouth vs. one who doesn’t
(2) One who gets in trouble vs. one who doesn’t.
2. This proverb states that the wicked man gets himself in much trouble because of his lips… but the righteous man (one who does not sin with his lips) comes OUT OF trouble… he escapes the snare.
a. You can get in a lot of trouble with a big mouth.
b. But if you keep it shut—you will deliver yourself from a lot of unnecessary trouble and heartache.
c. If you tell the TRUTH you will deliver yourself from much trouble.
• The Rabbis used to say that if you always tell the truth, you don’t have to remember what you said!
d. Prov. 14:3 – lips of the wise shall preserve them…
e. Prov. 21:23 – Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles…
f. We could avoid many traps, snares, and pitfalls in life if we would simply learn to control our tongue. That requires the power of the Holy Spirit.
g. Yield that member to God—and life will be a much more pleasant experience!
Proverbs 12:14
Satisfied with Good
Introduction:
This proverb speaks of two kinds of FRUIT: the fruit of one’s mouth and the fruit of one’s hands (speech and works—and their results).
The Words of His Mouth
A. The Fruit of a Man’s Mouth
1. Solomon is assuming here that the man uses his mouth for GOOD.
a. That is not always the case… sometimes the use of our mouth is not consistent (James 3:9-12).
b. It is possible to use our mouth as a weapon to hurt… to tear down… and attack.
• Prov. 11:11 – a city is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked—so are marriages ruined; churches torn apart; friendships destroyed.
• Prov. 12:18 – There is that speaketh like the piercing of a sword.
• We can use our tongue like a sword to tear a man apart—to run the Sunday school teacher over the coals… pick apart his lesson… talk him down in front of the kids… and then go back to the evening service and sing, “I Love Thee Lord Jesus With all of My Heart.”
c. But Solomon is talking about GOOD fruit in 12:14…
• He is talking about good fruit that results from the use of one’s mouth.
• We always hear warnings about the use of our tongue. No man can tame it! It is a world of iniquity! Sets on the fire of hell! Like a piercing sword!
• But Solomon also wants us to know that the mouth (and speech) was created by God for good!
• We can use our mouths in good ways—and we SHOULD be using our mouths for good.
2. Good fruit from the mouth
a. Ps. 37:30 – The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment. The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
• A righteous man can use his mouth to give good counsel to a brother… share wisdom learned from experience…
• He can share “judgment”—discernment…
b. Ps. 50:23 – Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me.
• We can use our mouths to praise God—for worship…
• This brings glory to God—especially when we praise the Lord even if there is no fruit on the vine…
• When we praise God before other believers, it encourages them to do the same… and look to the Lord… and think of Him.
c. Ps. 119:46 – I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.
• We can use our mouths to speak about God and spiritual things before the world…
• We may not speak before kings—but we can speak about the Lord before people in high positions elsewhere—to your teachers at school… your boss…
• We can speak of God’s testimony before those who are not in high positions too—
d. Prov. 10:21 – The lips of the righteous feed many.
• Feed = pasture; pasturage; pasturing; bring to pasture—the work of a shepherd.
• It is a shepherding term, similar to the Greek word for “shepherding” which is sometimes also translated “Feed.”
• It is primarily used of feeding domestic animals
• The root is used of Jacob “feeding” Laban’s flocks. (Gen. 30:36)
• The most common occupation in Bible times was shepherding, so this concept would be quite familiar to Solomon and his readers.
• Shepherds fed their sheep… they led them to still waters… green pastures.
• The term for feed is broader than just feed… to take to pasture…
• The term involves that which a shepherd does for his sheep—especially feeding, but other duties are involved as well… caring, leading, guiding,
• Solomon states that ALL righteous men should use their lips to feed others. In fact, God uses all believers to “feed” His sheep… not just the pastor and elders.
• That’s what our lips are for according to Prov. 10:21!
• Do you use your lips to feed others?
3. Our speech should be kind and gracious… edifying to the soul.
a. Prov. 15:26 – but the words of the pure are pleasant words.
b. Prov. 16:24 – Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
c. Ecc. 10:12 – The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious.
d. Col. 4:16 – Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt.
e. Eph. 4:29 – speak only that which will build up brother… not that which will tear him down.
f. It takes work… effort… concentration… the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to transform our speech into gracious speech.
B. Satisfied With Good
1. Satisfied: satisfy; filled; filled to excess; fulfilled… satiated… full… content.
a. Used in Ps. 107:9 – satisfaction is accomplished in the soul—produced by God.
b. When the Lord redeems Israel at His coming: And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD. (Jer. 31:14)
2. A man shall gain great satisfaction from a good use of his speech.
a. The father who faithfully reads the Scripture to his family can be satisfied—knowing that God will use His Word… it never comes back void!
b. The man or woman who sacrifices time each week to prepare a Sunday school lesson and uses his or her tongue to teach young people God’s Word can experience a sense of great satisfaction…
• What satisfaction knowing that you had a part in a young person’s life—his spiritual growth… perhaps even salvation!
• This isn’t a smug, patting of self on the back Solomon is describing. Rather it is a spirit of great blessing and contentment that comes from being used of the Lord to help build up the spiritual life of another believer.
c. There is a sense of satisfaction that comes from telling others about Christ—whether they respond in faith or not—we can rest in God’s contentment, knowing that He used us for His glory… for the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel!
d. Prov. 25:11 – Well timed words are beautiful and valuable — like golden fruit in a silver basket… beautiful… attractive… appreciated… appealing to the soul…
e. II Cor. 1: 3-4 – What a sense of satisfaction is ours when God uses us to comfort the afflicted—even one or two words, fitly spoken can be used greatly!
• Do you know someone who needs comforting? Use your mouth for good!
• Solomon says that not only will the other person benefit—but so will you!
• What a sense of accomplishment when we are used of the Lord to lift someone up… comfort a downcast heart…
• It is better to GIVE than to receive.
f. This sense of satisfaction even comes rebuking a brother—especially if he receives it well… and you can know that your warning was used of the Lord to keep a brother from making a foolish mistake…
The Works of His Hands
1. This thought is nearly identical to vs.11 –
a. The man who works hard and tills his land will be satisfied with the fruit of his labors.
b. Here, the man who works hard with his hands will be recompensed—paid back… he will be rewarded with the RESULTS of his labor.
c. Whether it is a farmer tilling the land, or a factory worker building cars, a carpenter building a house, or a baker baking pastries, or a computer programmer programming computers… there is a sense of satisfaction that comes from the work of one’s hands. (Assuming he is a hard worker doing a good job).
2. Solomon compares two kinds of fruit—the fruit from our mouth and our hands.
a. The words of a man’s mouth are seen here on par with the works of his hands.
b. They can bring equal satisfaction.
• One man may not be a great exhorter or teacher… but he can use his hands to help others… he can paint a fence… help a brother chop down trees… or use his hands to help..
• Whether we are adept at using our speech to help a brother—or using our hands, both can be helpful—and both bring satisfaction to the one who helps.
• It doesn’t matter what your gift is—when your gift is used for the good of others and the glory of God—it brings a sense of satisfaction.
c. Everybody knows the satisfaction that comes from doing a good job on a project. (The boss compliments your work; you feel good that it came out well; it brings a sense of pride—or perhaps better—satisfaction.)
d. Perhaps we hadn’t thought of the satisfaction that can come from the use of our mouth in this way.
3. Rom. 6:13 – Regardless of our spiritual gift and natural abilities (speech or hands) — EVERY member of our body is to be yielded to God… presented as an offering to Him for His service.
a. When we do this, we might be surprised HOW God can use your consecrated tongue… and hands.
b. You may have thought that you had no talent with your hands as a craftsman—but when yielded to God, the Lord can use them in a great way!
c. You may have thought that you have no talent with your tongue—to teach, exhort, comfort, sing, testify, witness, etc…
d. Try YIELDING your tongue to the Lord. You may be surprised to see how God uses you!
e. God could feed 5000 with a little boy’s lunch. He can use our meager talents for His glory too!
4. Prov. 12:14 states that God REWARDS men who yield their members to Him.
a. Whether it be your mouth or your hands…
b. The reward is an inner sense of satisfaction that comes from a life yielded TO God and used BY God for His glory.
c. To the degree that our members are yielded to God and used of the Lord — we will experience satisfaction… a contentment that only God can give.
d. We get a sense of satisfaction in this life—and rewards in glory! It pays to be yielded to God.
e. Godliness—with the contentment it breeds—is great gain!
Proverbs 12:15
Right in His Own Eyes
Introduction:
1. This verse marks a preeminent characteristic of a fool and of a wise man.
2. A person’s response to advice and counsel differentiates between a fool and a wise man.
• Do we continue to cling to ideas that we have been repeatedly counseled to abandon as being inconsistent with Scripture?
• Do we continue to be involved in a practice that godly people have advised us against?
• Do we listen to advice? Do we take it to heart, or do we just listen as a gesture of politeness… and then continue to do our own thing?
15a The way of a fool
1. Way: road, journey, manner, path; direction; habit, course of life
2. This term implies that the fool is paving his own way… his own path…
a. The fool has his own way of doing things…
b. He has chosen the direction he wants his life to take…
c. He has picked up his own habits along the way…
d. He is carving out his own course of life…
e. He has developed his own mannerisms…
3. Over time this “way” (his habits) become not only a way of life, but his character. Over time, fools develop their own “way.”
15b Right in his own eyes
1. “Right in his own eyes.”
a. The fool THINKS he is always right… regardless of the facts.
b. From HIS slanted perspective, he IS right… or at least as far as he is concerned.
c. The fool doesn’t care how his actions are perceived by others. All he cares about is whether he is right in his OWN eyes.
2. What he fails to appreciate is the fact that his OWN way is twisted… off base… and often just plain wrong!
a. Jer. 17:19 – the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, who can know it? Man’s heart deceives him into thinking he is right…
b. Things are NOT as they appear to the fool.
c. The fool has developed his own way of rationalizing everything away… so that in the end, he has concluded that whatever he wants… whatever he likes best… whatever he chooses must be right!
d. Jer. 10:23 – it is not in man to direct his steps. God has TOLD us this… yet the fool denies it. He thinks that he CAN direct his steps, and that his direction is right… or at least as good as anyone else’s!
e. Prov. 16:25 – “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
3. Prov. 21:2 – “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes.”
a. This proverb takes it one level higher.
b. Not only are the ways of a fool right in his own eyes, but here Solomon says that men have a knack for justifying ANYTHING in their own eyes!
c. It is part of human nature to think that OUR way is the right way. Every one of us thinks this way… whether we want to admit it or not.
d. Even Christians learn to justify their actions… and rationalize them.
• We watch things on TV and video that believers NEVER would have watched 25 years ago, and we justify it because, “at least it’s not as bad as that other show…”
• Christians are listening to the golden oldies radio station and are listening to the old rock songs—and justifying it, because, after all, the Beach Boys aren’t nearly as bad as the Gangster Rappers are today.
• Churches are doing away with prayer meeting and justifying it because “everybody’s too tired”… it’s too much trouble… and effort to come out mid week…
• Believers turn to drugs to calm down their nerves… and justify it because they have a prescription…
• Some believers begin dating an unsaved person—and rationalize that after they get married, my spouse will surely get saved…
• Some believers violate the biblical principle of separation and rationalize that they are doing it in order to lead someone to Christ. Separation will only turn them off…
• EVERY way of man can be rationalized away…
e. And if believers can justify such evil things—surely men in the world will!
• Even terrorists justify their horrible plots and are RIGHT in their own eyes!
• Abortionists are right in their own eyes.
• One of the priests arrested in Boston was part of an organization that believes pedophilia is right!
• The violent animal rights groups have convinced themselves that they are right… and if they destroy businesses and lives in their crusade, so be it!
• When two countries fight in a war—usually both sides think that they are right. One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.
4. Prov. 1:7 – “fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
a. Fools will not listen to instruction.
b. Why? Because they are right in their own eyes. Why listen?
c. Their motto is, “I’m right. Don’t confuse me with the facts.”
d. Their view of themselves is, “I’m smarter than everyone else. Nobody can give me advice.”
e. They are often so cynical that they believe when someone offers help, they are really trying to hurt them… tear them down—when often the person is trying to help!
f. Prov. 11:14 – he doesn’t realize that in the multitude of counselors there is safety! Counselors are out to help us, not hurt us!
5. He may be right in his own eyes, but not in any one else’s eyes!
a. Often others can see our errors more clearly than we can.
b. Very often when we are in the middle of a storm, our emotions take us away—and we are likely to make decisions based on emotion rather than reason. Sometimes we can make very foolish decisions!
c. Others who are standing outside that storm often have a clearer picture of what is really happening… and can offer some helpful advice!
d. Sometimes in counseling with folks with marital problems, it is so OBVIOUS what needs to be done… but that’s not what they wanted to hear. They say, “I want to do it MY way.”
e. A young person is tired of college, and in his junior year he gets a handsome offer at a local company. He wants to quit school and take the job—but you KNOW that his reason is because he is tired of school… you advise him to hang in there just another year and a half…
f. Sometimes believers do some foolish things… and have rationalized it in their own eyes… but in the eyes of everyone else, it is OBVIOUSLY foolish!
g. I have heard some folks justify some pretty crazy financial schemes… they are under a lot of financial pressure… and in their frenzy came up with a plan that includes all kinds of loans and credit cards…hopes of a ship coming in… with a little religious superstition thrown in…
h. As an outside observer, my counsel has been simple: you’re spending more than you are taking in. You can’t continue this way!
i. Sometimes folks are running around like a chicken with their head cut off trying to put out 15 fires—and they never seem to put any out at all…
j. Very often an outsider—who knows the Lord and His Word is able to offer some good advice!
6. Prov. 21:2b – The fool may be right in his own eyes, but his eyes are not what counts. What counts is how the Lord views their actions! (Cf. 16:2)
a. Regardless of how WE view things, the Lord ponders the heart.
b. The Lord knows what is going on in our heart… (Are we making excuses for ourselves? Are we purposely rationalizing things we know to be wrong? Are we violating our conscience?)
c. Knowing that it is our nature to rationalize and justify our actions… it is a GOOD thing to listen to godly counsel… especially if we know that God ponders the heart—He gets to the heart of the issue… and isn’t hoodwinked by our rationalizations…
d. Prov. 30:12 – they may be clean and pure in their sight, but they are not clean in God’s sight! We can deceive ourselves!
7. The fool is right in his own eyes.
a. This is what keeps a fool a fool… and prevents him from becoming wise!
b. This is what prevents a young person from maturing…
c. This is why many parents are not able to give their children more responsibility and privileges… because they haven’t grow up yet—they STILL think their foolish, childish ways are right!
d. Until they abandon those foolish ways, they CANNOT be given the privileges that belong only to the more mature.
15b But he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
1. Prov. 1:5 – a wise man will hear and OBEY.
a. Hear—does not mean that he hears simply with his ears, but he hears with his heart… it sinks in… he responds in a right way.
b. Sometimes kids will hear—because they HAVE to… their parents sit them down and give them advice… and they endure it…
c. But that does not mean that they are “hearkening” to the counsel.
d. Hearkening implies obedience…
• The wise man not only will LISTEN—he will SEEK after counsel… realizing the VALUE of it.
2. Prov. 9:9 – give instruction to a wise man and he becomes even wiser.
a. But if you give counsel to a fool, he does NOT become wiser… just more set in his foolish ways!
b. Good counsel is like good food. It has to be eaten before it does you any good!
3. Prov. 19:20 – listen to good counsel. It will be good in the “latter end.”
• It may be painful now… but good for you in the long run.
• It may involve some humbling of self or egg in the face now—but it will be much better over time.
4. What keeps a wise man from becoming a fool?
a. This very capacity to listen: He hearkens to counsel and advice!
b. A man can be wise for a while, and then revert BACKWARDS… to being foolish. Solomon was like that!
c. Ecc. 4:13 – an old foolish king who won’t listen to advice is worse off than a wise boy who is poor… growing up in the slum… (Could Solomon have been thinking of himself here?)
5. Prov. 3:7-8 – Don’t be wise in your own sight. FEAR God! That will be good for you in the long run!
Proverbs 12:16
A Fool’s Wrath
16a A fool’s wrath is presently known
1. The fool: one who rejects wisdom;
a. The fool is contrasted to the prudent man in the second half of the verse.
b. The fool is deficient morally—not mentally.
c. In the previous verse, the fool was characterized by being “right in his own eyes.” Nobody can tell him anything—because he thinks he’s always right.
d. Now we’re told that this fool is also characterized by making known his wrath.
2. Wrath: anger; grief; frustration; vexation; provoked; annoyed.
a. This term includes more than just anger…
b. It is a term used to describe several emotions—frustration; anger; grief of heart; being provoked.
c. Solomon is describing the fact that if somebody provokes a foolish man… the fool displays his anger… he blows up.
d. How is a man provoked?
• Insults…
• Attempting to show him his errors… trying to correct him…
• An argument over an issue…
• Cutting him off in traffic…
• A boss telling him to do a task he doesn’t like doing…
• Seeing someone else elevated above him…
• Run out of gas…
• A delivery comes late…
• Washing machine breaks…
• Snow blower won’t start…
• There are countless ways in which a man might be provoked to anger… or insulted… put down… slandered…annoyed…
3. The fool’s wrath is presently known.
a. Presently: time; today; now; in that day; at that time;
• He lets his wrath or frustration be known instantly!
• Prov. 14:17 – He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly…
• He gets mad in a hurry and he displays it in a hurry.
• Prov. 14:29 – hasty of spirit… he instantly reacts to his anger or frustration… in doing so, he exalts folly.
b. Known: manifested; displayed; perceived; made known; declared.
• When a fool is mad, everybody knows it… right away.
• He doesn’t hold his anger in. He lets it rip… right in front of everyone… no matter where he is.
4. He exercises no self control; no self restraint;
a. Prov. 25:28 – He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
• This is a pitiful condition…
• He is a slave to his emotions… to his anger… frustration…
• Like a city broken down and without walls.
» City walls were its first line of defense… to protect the city from the enemy.
» A man who cannot control his emotions is like a defenseless city… easily overcome by the enemy!
» No line of defense—the enemy can march in and take over at will!
• All it takes is a little something to go wrong and he blows up.
» All it takes is a minor incident, and he looses it—because he has no control over his own spirit…
» The smallest annoyance sends him into a rage…
» At the tiniest insult or dig and he explodes and turns it into an all out war!
» He’s like a city without walls… defenseless against the enemy: himself!
b. Prov. 29:11 – a fool utters all his mind… wise men don’t. Wise men use restraint. (No control of his tongue either…)
• I wish I had a nickel for every person who has said in one form or another, “I’m the kind of guy who says what he’s thinking. If I don’t like something I let you know! If something’s on my mind, I say it!”
• Thinking that he is the macho, cowboy type to be admired…
• In reality, he is more like the fool who utters all his mind.
c. This poor fool has no control over his spirit… his inner man.
• He can’t control his tongue… and suffers for it…
• He can’t control his anger… and suffers for it…
• He can’t control his emotions… and everyone around him suffers for it!
5. This is the behavior of a fool.
a. He always thinks he’s right…that his way is the best way…
b. And if anyone tries to tell him otherwise, he gets upset… and everyone hears about it… NOW!
c. “I’m mad and everybody around me is going to pay for it!”
d. Road rage; loud arguments in the parking lot.
e. It can lead to murder; to divorce; to a ruined life…
f. It’s a miserable way to live… a slave to our fallen nature.
16b But a prudent man covereth shame.
1. When a prudent man is angry, provoked, or insulted, he covers his anger.
a. He doesn’t make a big deal of the insult.
b. He is not thin skinned… easily bruised.
c. If someone tries to shame him, insult him, or hurt him, or annoy him — he ignores it… turns the other cheek… covers it up…
d. This is a demonstration of the grace of God at work in the heart.
e. This is the way of wisdom… the prudent man.
f. Prudent: subtle, shrewd, crafty, sly, sensible…
g. He is subtler about that which annoys him.
h. There are better ways to deal with insults… provocations… and annoyances.
i. Blowing up; making a scene; losing one’s temper; are hardly examples of subtlety.
j. He sees it as shameful behavior to explode. That kind of shameful behavior ought not to be displayed… but rather buried!
2. Shame:
a. What is the shame that is covered?
• Anger; outward expressions of wrath; frustration.
b. The prudent man knows that anger is shameful… and SHOULD be covered up… not expressed.
c. The wise man is ashamed of anger in his own breast… and refuses to let it speak out…
d. Anger loves to lash out in loud, boisterous ways… shameful ways.
e. The wise man refuses to vent it.
3. Wisdom demands that anger be COVERED.
a. This is the opposite of what psychology says.
b. They say, “let it out.” “Express it” or it will damage you internally… like a pressure cooker—you have to let out the steam eventually or it will blow up and create much damage.
c. Solomon says that the heart of man is NOT like a pressure cooker.
d. Solomon says that anger is not to be publicly expressed in a loud explosion, but covered up.
6. How Hannah handled provocation…
a. I Sam. 1:6 – Hannah’s adversary provoked her…
b. Provoked – same term as “wrath” (provocation)…
c. Elkanah had 2 wives (not a good idea.)
• Peninnah had children… and provoked Hannah, who had none.
• Provocation: insulted her; tried to put her down; grieved her heart.
• It had to do with the fact that Hannah had no children; a sensitive and sore spot… Peninnah attacked her and tried to provoke her into a fight… to grief… to hurt her…
• Vs. 7 – this went on for years…
d. Hannah’s response
• Vs. 7b – she wept and fasted… but did not strike back.
• 1:15-16 – Hannah took her provocation (wrath/grief) to the Lord…
• Her wrath or provocation was NOT presently known. She didn’t blast the one provoking her.
• Rather, she controlled her spirit… took her frustrating experience to the Lord… and trusted in Him.
• Hannah was a prudent woman.
7. II Chron. 16:10 – How Asa handled provocation…
a. Vs. 7 – Hanani the seer came to rebuke Asa for having relied upon the king of Syria rather than the Lord.
b. Vs. 10 – Asa’s response: his wrath was presently known—and God’s prophet was put in prison and the people oppressed!
c. Asa, (of whom it was written—his heart was perfect before the Lord) at this moment of weakness, acted like the fool.
d. He refused to take counsel… thought his way was right… refused correction… and when corrected went into a rage.
e. He was angry—and everyone around him suffered!
f. Even godly men can behave like fools… when we refuse correction… and when we refuse to control our emotions.
g. And how damaging to our testimony when believer’s wrath is presently known!
8. Prov. 16:32 – He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
a. The man who was HASTY to anger… who could not control his spirit… the man whose wrath and frustration is presently known is like a city broken down and without walls—on easily conquered.
b. But the man who is SLOW to anger… who covers shame… ignores insults and countless other infractions daily… is not easily conquered. He is the conqueror—like a mighty man who takes over a city!
c. It is a far better quality to be able to have victory over one’s own SELF… to conquer one’s own emotions… than it is to be able to conquer a city.
Proverbs 12:17
Speaking Truth
Introduction:
1. This passage speaks about “righteousness” or “justice.”
2. The verse has a legal ring to it… almost like a courtroom… where two men give testimony.
3. One man testifies truly and the other man lies.
4. In a courtroom scene… or in a school… or at the workplace… or even in church—these are the two types of testimony: truth or deception.
17a He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness
1. In this first section of the verse, Solomon equates speaking the truth with righteousness.
2. Truth: firmness; fidelity; faithfulness; truth; steadfastness.
a. Truth is viewed as that report which is faithful…
b. A true report is faithful to reality…fidelity to the facts… it is an accurate account of what actually occurred… nothing added… nothing subtracted.
c. If it is a true report, then it is firm and steadfast—for truth does not change. One testifying does not change his report if his report is true.
d. A man reporting on a true account doesn’t change the details for any reason (make self look better; embellish; help out a friend; to hide something; to support an ideology; to bolster a personal agenda; etc.)
e. A true report is firm… unchangeable—even if pressure is applied. Lawyers try to cross examine a witness with rapid fire, blistering questions—hoping to get the witness to change a detail of his story and thus cause him to lose credibility.
f. A true report is steadfast over time. The gospel was true 2000 years ago, and it is just as true today. When a man speaks truth, his words (taken in their context) will be true when he spoke them—and years later too.
3. Speaking truth…
a. Solomon does not have THE truth in mind… but truth in general.
b. Solomon is not speaking about doctrine or the faith… but rather speaking that is accurate…correct… factual…honest… free from lies or deception.
c. This ought to characterize OUR speech. We should speak truth.
d. James 5:12 – Hence, the believer has no need for making oaths…lest ye fall into condemnation (lit = hypocrisy)
e. When we speak, others should have confidence that they are hearing an accurate account of the facts.
f. When some folks talk, you KNOW that you are getting some facts and lots of embellishment… their speech is to be taken with a grain of salt…
g. James’ point is that our speech should be simple… just the facts… the truth…
• Yea should mean yea. Nay means nay.
• This is a call for straightforward speech. Don’t speak like so many politicians do!
4. Righteousness: justice; right-ness. The term is used of kings; judges; civil or judicial.
a. Justice is an important theme in the book of Proverbs.
• Understandably so. These are the writings of a King—who also functioned as a Judge.
• One of Solomon’s first acts as a king was his work as a judge—in determining who was the true mother of the infant.
• An important duty of a king in those days was to act as a judge in important matters, which were not able to be resolved in the judicial system.
• Hence, Solomon wrote a lot about justice. It is an important element in any society…
• If people believe they are not being treated with justice, there can be no peace. No justice, no peace!
• The concept of justice and fairness crops up often in both Testaments. God demands it of us.
b. Truth and righteousness are parallel in this proverb.
• The one who speaks truth is at the same time speaking righteousness—justice.
• Truth and justice go hand in hand.
• If people feel they are being treated fairly and justly, they will normally submit to the king’s reign… or the teacher’s classroom… or the family rules… or the local church leadership.
• But if people feel that they are being treated UNFAIRLY… unjustly… they will often rebel… stir up controversy…
• This leads to disruption in the classroom… rebellion in the home… division in the local church… and even a civil war in a nation.
5. Sheweth forth: to tell; declare; announce; report; make known; to inform of; proclaim.
a. The man who speaks truth is an announcer… a reporter…
b. He speaks truth and in doing so he proclaims righteousness… justice.
c. In other words, Solomon tells us here HOW to make justice known: speak TRUTH!
d. When two sides are in a controversy go head to head…
• Whether it is fighting between siblings; feuding tribes; political battles; racial conflicts; religious arguments; moral conflicts like abortion; or management in-fighting…
• Solomon has a solution: speak truth.
e. What often happens is that:
• The two sides speak loudly against each other.
• They use inflammatory rhetoric.
• They employ name-calling.
• They embellish their arguments.
• They speak half-truths to make their side look good and the other side look foolish.
• They conveniently leave out facts not favorable to their side… and over-emphasize facts that put them in a good light.
• They make their opponents’ faults look like mountains and make their own faults look like molehills…
f. When the goal is to win the argument… or come out on top… or to promote your agenda… too often justice is not obtained—even if you DO win the argument…
• Solomon’s advice here is to put all that energy into seeking and then speaking the TRUTH.
• Truth carries great weight. When truth is clearly demonstrated, there IS no arguing with it.
• Show the evidence and put an end to the argument.
g. Truth promotes justice…
• If Tommy and Billy are arguing over who got the biggest piece of cake—stop and measure the cake—present the evidence—and that will end the argument. Once the cake is measured, you can speak the truth… and the truth will carry great weight.
• When two sides are arguing… it is wise to stop… take the emotion out of the argument… remove the inflammatory language… strip the argument down to the bare facts. Let the facts speak for themselves.
• This is a helpful tool for conflicts in the home too… or the office… or the church.
• When the truth is arrived at—speak it… cling to it… to whatever position it leads… and that will promote justice.
• People will no longer feel they are being cheated… wronged… violated… if they can see the truth clearly.
• Nothing promotes justice, equity, fairness, and righteousness like speaking forth truth.
• If someone is being treated unfairly—speak the truth. The truth will expose it.
• If someone is embellishing the facts or stretching things a bit—speak the truth. Error is exposed by truth.
• In so many of these types of conflicts—truth resolves the conflict… if it can be clearly demonstrated.
• Speak forth the truth—and SHOW justice…
6. Truth and Justice.
a. Solomon also seems to imply that there should be a relationship between truth and justice: truth should be spoken in order to get at JUSTICE.
b. It is possible to testify and not lie… but avoid justice.
• A witness in a courtroom may have witnessed a murder. Perhaps he saw his friend Tom kill his wife… but nobody knew that he knew.
• Everything he said was true… he never lied on stand… he did not commit perjury.
• However, he kept his mouth shut when he should have spoken truth. Fred got convicted UNFAIRLY… wrongly… a travesty of justice… and our witness did nothing to promote justice.
c. Solomon implies that the PURPOSE of speaking truth is to promote righteousness… equity… justice!
• Speak truth AND show forth righteousness! Don’t stop short of justice.
• Truth is good—but use it properly. Use it to promote that which is right… fair… and just.
• It’s not enough to speak truth. We must also show forth righteousness… justice… speak truth with a purpose… the RIGHT purpose.
17b But a false witness deceit
1. The false witness = the liar!
a. He distorts the truth… stretches the truth… covers up the truth… embellishes the truth… omits the truth… changes the truth…
b. He is not fair; not honest; not faithful; not reliable; not trustworthy;
2. No verb is inserted here—but implied is “shows forth.”
a. The true witness shows forth righteousness.
b. The false witness shows forth deception.
3. Deception.
a. Translated: “false” twice; “guile” twice; “feigned” once; “craft” once; “subtlety” once; and “treachery”.
b. This term does not necessarily imply an outright, boldfaced lie. It speaks of subtlety… craftiness… deception…
c. It is possible to speak true facts and present them in such a way so as to deceive… to lead astray… to give people the wrong impression…
d. This can be accomplished by lying. It can also be accomplished by telling half-truths… by omitting important details… by speaking true facts but in the wrong order. There are all kinds of ways to deceive…
4. Solomon says here that the false witness promotes deception…
a. Perhaps to make himself look good—or to make an enemy look bad.
b. Perhaps to promote his cause or agenda… or to damage the cause of the opposition…
c. Politicians might call this “spin.”
d. Some might call it “personal perspective.”
e. Some might call it “the official party line.”
f. If it is a deception of any sort, God calls it a “lie.”
g. God sees the heart—the motive—the intent of the heart.
Proverbs 12:18
Piercing or Healing?
18a There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword…
1. There is:
a. What Solomon is about to describes EXISTS… there truly IS such a thing…
b. He states it this way almost in anticipation of someone having a hard time believing that such a thing actually exists.
2. Speaketh:
a. Strong’s: to speak rashly or angrily; speak thoughtlessly; one that babbles; one that speaks unadvisedly.
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: to use words in a reckless manner showing little or no wisdom or discipline, as a kind of foolish talk.
c. The term is only used 4 times in Bible.
d. The term is used in Ps. 106:33 – he “spake unadvisedly” with his lips.
e. Thought (though not the word) appears in Prov. 15:28b – the mouth of the wicked poureth out…
f. This term is translated by the English word “speaketh”… but means more. We have to add adverbs to get its equivalent in English.
3. It is a particular KIND of speech…
a. It is rash… thinking harshly… and without forethought… babbling out words without consideration…
b. It is the kind of speech that just bursts out without thinking.
c. Evidently this kind of speech was so common, they had a special Hebrew just for this kind of speech.
d. I don’t think I have to belabor the point. We all know from experience the kind of speech Solomon is describing… don’t we!
4. Thoughtless speech comes in many varieties too.
a. Anger is the most common culprit…
b. Other uncontrolled emotions can trigger it too: envy; jealousy; bitterness; hatred;
c. Constant speech is often thoughtless…
• Prov.10:19 – in the multitude of words there lacketh not sin
• The one who is constantly talking cannot be constantly thinking about what he is saying. Hence—sin… and piercing…
d. Self-centeredness often results in thoughtless speech (thinking of self and oblivious to the sensibilities and feelings of others)
e. Frustration often results in thoughtless speech.
f. Ignorance: some folks speak without knowing the facts. What they ignorantly say can be quite hurtful… (Prov. 18:13)
g. A general lack of self control results in thoughtless speech.
5. Like the piercings of a sword…
a. Piercings: thrust through, stab, piercing…
b. This is figurative language which speaks of the result of thoughtless speech: it hurts like being stabbed with a sword.
c. The figure is one of a man taking a sword and stabbing someone…
• Picture it—blood; cutting into the flesh; deep piercing wounds;
• The figure is designed to be hard to take.
d. Paul used another figure of speech which means something quite similar: “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.” (Gal. 5:15)
e. There is something about thoughtless language that is like being stabbed with a sword:
• It is painful…
» Words can hurt more than a sword…
» Words can paralyze another human being…
• It is a deep wound, not a superficial scratch…
» Physical wounds heal over time. Usually there are stitches, some medication, pain relievers, or ointments that help the heal the wound.
» But no such pain relievers can take away the pain of thoughtless words.
• It takes a long time to heal… unlike the scratch…
» Physical wounds heal much quicker than wounds on the inside… wounds that are inflicted because of rash speech.
» Some people live with the burden of thoughtless words all their lives…
» Like a sword, thoughtless words can leave scars that don’t ever go away.
» You can forgive a person for rash words… but that doesn’t mean you will ever forget it.
» Long after the argument is over—or the harsh words are ended, those words continue to echo in the back of your mind…
• It has long lasting effects; it takes one second to stab someone; it takes a long time to heal.
» Think of that before you speak. You can cause weeks—even years of hurt—by one harsh word, thoughtlessly and rashly spoken.
• It cannot be reversed; once you stab someone, you can’t take it back or undo it.
» After you stab someone, you can pull the sword out and promise not to do it again—but that doesn’t change anything. They’re still stabbed!
» We can say cruel things thoughtless, and WISH we didn’t later… but our repentance doesn’t make the hurt go away.
» Once you say it, you can’t ever really take it back. You can’t un-ring the bell.
» You can apologize — and they can forgive you… but you still said it… and the person still remembers… and it still hurts.
» How much better not to stab someone in the first place!
6. This kind of rash speech makes life miserable…
a. In the home…
• Sometimes parents say the harshest, cruelest things to their children… without even thinking of the effects of their words.
» Don’t ever call your child stupid… useless… good for nothing…
» You may say it without thinking—but those wounds could last a lifetime.
» You won’t stab them with a sword would you? Then don’t stab them with your mouth!
• Sometimes spouses use their speech to tear into their mate.
» Married couples can inflict such misery upon their spouses… and in turn, upon themselves by a careless use of the tongue.
» Arguing is like throwing knives at each other. It is a similar kind of battle…
» You can use your tongue to constantly hurt… throw barbs… use words as a dig… designed to hurt…
» Why live that way? Lot’s of couples decide enough is enough. I can’t take this kind of abuse any more. I’ve had it with being pierced and stabbed every day.
» I don’t blame them one bit for saying “I’ve had it.”
» Unfortunately, too often couples get divorced because they are worn out and emotionally exhausted and wounded from all the thoughtless speech…
» How much better to put an end to the thoughtless speech rather than putting an end to the relationship!
» Don’t live that way. It’s too hard. It’s too painful.
• Sometimes church members can use their speech as a sword… to harm, pierce, and stab others in the back.
» Thoughtless speech in the home can result in divorce.
» Thoughtless speech in the church can result in division…
7. The answer to rash, thoughtless speech is slow, thoughtful, careful speech.
a. Prov.17:27-28 – a man of understanding carefully chooses his words; uses words sparingly; He thinks first—and after thinking, realizes that much of what he COULD have said is better left unsaid.
b. Prov. 15:28 – it is wise to STUDY to answer… don’t just blurt things out without thinking. THINK before you speak.
c. Col. 4:6 – the answer to rash, harsh, biting speech is grace!
d. James 1:19 – be swift to hear; slow to speak; slow to wrath…
18b But the tongue of the wise is health
1. Prov.18:21 – death and life are in the power of the tongue. They can be either like poison or medicine.
• With all the harm that can result from rash speech—great GOOD can result from wise, thoughtful speech.
2. Health: wholesome; sound; profitable; cure; healing…
a. We can use our speech like a sword to tear someone to shreds…
b. We can use our tongue to tear down our household OR we can choose to use our tongue to build it up!
c. Words that are carefully, thoughtfully, graciously spoken can have a wonderful healing… restorative… gentle… soothing effect.
d. A word spoken in due season, how good it is!
e. Our words can be used to lift up a discouraged soul; to cheer the sorrowful; to comfort the weak; support the feeble; to edify; restore; heal
3. Words can heal relationships that have been hurt by thoughtless speech… making all whole again, restoring peace, bringing about reconciliation…
a. Prov. 12:14 – a man who brings about health… healing… restoration… reconciliation… by his speech will be SATISFIED!
b. It feels good to restore and heal relationships that have been stressed, strained, and frazzled by life’s trials… and exacerbated by careless speech.
c. Prov. 15:26 – if our heart is pure, then our words will be pleasant… healing… healthy… sound… uplifting…
• When our words are NOT pleasant—then our heart is not pure.
• But if our heart is pure—then our words WILL be pleasant.
• Prov. 16:24 – Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
• Isn’t that what we want in our homes and in our church?
• Our tongue is an instrument; yielded to God it results in healing.
• Yielded to the flesh—it tears others apart like a sword.
• We can make life exceedingly pleasant OR incredibly painful.
• What we yield our tongue to is our choice. Choose to use your tongue as an instrument of righteousness… to build up… heal… and bring sweetness to the soul.
• No man can tame it; but we CAN yield it… to God.
Proverbs 12:19
Truth and Lies
Introduction:
1. These two verses continue the ongoing context of speech which began in vs.14.
2. In verse 19, Solomon makes a statement about speaking truth that perhaps some of us might question. Is it really true?
19 The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
1. Is this statement true? Is it always true or just sometimes true?
2. He seems to be saying that truth wins out over lies.
3. It is certainly a noble thought, but is it true?
a. What about the Christian martyrs during the Reformation?
• Their lips spoke truth, but they were not established forever. They were put to death.
• Those who put them to death promoted lies… and didn’t last but a moment. Many of them remained in power for years after the death of those who spoke the truth.
b. What about Pastor Harlon Popov, who spoke the truth and was imprisoned and tortured for 13 years in Bulgaria? Those who lied in order to send him to jail went free.
c. What about the Christian people in Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan who spoke the truth and were imprisoned or suffered at the hands of the religious police?
d. What about the countless men who are in prison in our country today for crimes they did not commit—because they told the truth but someone else with a better lawyer lied against them?
e. What about the time that you were telling the truth but your so-called friend was lying about you behind your back?
4. Solomon is not saying that truth always wins out in our daily experience.
a. Rather, he is saying in this passage that from God’s perspective, truth will eventually win out over error…
b. From eternity’s perspective, truth will last… lies and liars will not.
19a The lip of truth shall be established for ever…
1. Truth SHALL BE established forever.
a. Maybe not in our lifetime… but it shall be one day!
b. The martyrs never lived to see truth established, but it shall be one day.
c. We should not be discouraged nor should our faith be shaken if we do not see truth established in our day.
d. Folks at the office may lie about you and cause you to lose out on a promotion… they may slander you falsely… and may seem to win the day… and win the hearts of your coworkers.
e. But their day is coming…
f. I Cor. 4:5 – Here Paul points ahead to the Bema seat—when the Lord will judge all things.
• Paul had been lied about and slandered—by the Corinthians!
• Vs. 3 – they judged Paul and his ministry wrongly. (Perhaps you too have been criticized and judged wrongly…)
• Vs. 4 – Paul knew that while men might lie about him and judge him wrongly, the judgment he truly cared about was that from the Lord.
• Vs. 5 – Paul states that when the rapture occurs, believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
• And in that day God will bring to light the hidden things of darkness.
• These are not bad things… just hidden… “In darkness” does not refer to that which is evil, but to that which is not seen.
• While men lied about Paul, his ministry, his motives, his intentions, etc… Paul states that one day the Lord will bring to light what was REALLY on Paul’s heart… his true motives…
• And then he shall have praise from God — for the things hidden away in Paul’s heart that no one else could see, (his motives and intentions) — would be judged PROPERLY by the Lord and Paul would be exonerated by the Lord.
• This is what enabled Paul to deal with such lies and slander leveled against him without going crazy… without blowing up.
• He knew that one day—maybe not in his earthly life, but one day, his lips of truth shall be established… and the liars exposed.
• You and I need to know this too. Even though lies and liars seem to get away with using their tongues like the piercings of a sword—they won’t get away with it forever.
• One day truthful lips SHALL BE established.
g. This has long been a prayer of godly saints throughout the ages… that finally truth and righteousness would be established and the lies, liars, and the ungodly would have their day of justice.
• Ps. 7:9 – Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
• It has always SEEMED to the human eye that wicked men and liars get away with murder… and the just and those who tell the truth suffer.
• Solomon, speaking from eternity’s perspective states that one day, the lip of truth SHALL BE established.
• How we all long for that day.
2. Truth shall be ESTABLISHED forever…
a. Established: to be firm; be stable; be established; fixed; enduring; secured; stable.
b. It SEEMS like liars are well established in the world. They control the thrones and kingdoms…
c. And believers, who have the truth—are a tiny remnant… a miniscule minority…
d. Our existence here seems tentative at best.
e. At any moment the government could pass a law and outlaw Christianity… or demand that we join the World Council of Churches…
f. Yet, the one who speaks truth shall be established.
• This will take place before the Bema seat…
• But even in this life, the one who speaks truth will be established in heart… strong in the inner man…
• Ps. 112:7-8 – his heart is fixed; established… the lips that speak truth will be established; such truth comes from a heart of truth… which heart is established—strengthened by God!
• There is something solid, poised, dignified, strong about the man, woman, or child whose lips speak truth.
• That person is firm, stable, secure, stable…
3. Truth shall be established FOREVER…
a. The one who speaks truth is established FOREVER…
b. Truth is eternal. Truth doesn’t change.
c. No one can change the truth either.
d. Men may attempt to burn all our Bibles; they may try to quench our preaching; hinder our evangelism; outlaw our faith—but nothing can overthrow the truth. It shall be established forever.
e. I Pet. 1:24-25 – Evil men who attempt to hinder the truth and promote lies are but grass. But the truth—God’s Word—abides forever.
19b But a lying tongue is but for a moment.
1. From our perspective, this doesn’t always seem to be the case.
a. Sometimes liars and deceivers lie and deceive for many years!
b. How long has Rome been lying about the gospel? How long have some of the world’s dictators lied to their people? How long have people lied about you?
c. From our perspective, the lying tongue may go on for a long time… for years… for centuries.
2. But from God’s perspective, it IS but for a moment.
a. Our whole life is but a vapor.
b. Time is nothing to God.
c. Even if God allows lies to go on for centuries, that is but for a moment from eternity’s perspective.
3. While we struggle with the time element… God doesn’t. The important point in this passage is that lies and liars will NOT go on forever.
a. Eventually Satan, the father of all lies will be banished… and so too all that speak lies.
b. Rev. 21:8 – liars shall have their part in the Lake of Fire.
c. Rev. 21:27 – no one shall enter who makes lies.
d. Rev. 22:14-15 – note that those who do NOT enter the heavenly city are described as “whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”
c. The Bible makes it clear that in the end, God deals with liars with force and finality.
d. God is truth and in Him is no lie. He hates lies infinitely.
e. Psalm 52:4-5 – Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. 5 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
4. But to revisit this thought from our perspective…
a. In this life, lies are but for moment in this sense: we usually lie when put on the spot—and find that a little lie is the best way to save face in the immediate… or the easiest way out of an uncomfortable situation…
• A police officer asks why you were speeding;
• Your boss asks why you were late to the meeting or how the project is coming;
• Your teacher asks you if you understand the problem you are working on… and you are embarrassed to say no…
• Or at home, someone says, “who finished off the ice cream? Or “who spilled the juice?” Or “who left the lights on?” — and nobody did it!
b. Sometimes we lie to take the pressure off us in a heated conversation… we think that the lie will bring some immediate relief… and it may… for the moment. But it is only for a moment.
c. In time—be sure your sin will find you out!
d. Prov. 19:9 – eventually, the liar will meet up with the truth. Eventually, all liars shall be punished. Truth and justice shall ultimately prevail.
e. The book of Job says, “The joy of the hypocrite but for a moment.”
f. Sometimes the liar is dealt with immediately—as with Ananias and Saphira. But sometimes the liar seems to get away peddling his evil wares for years.
g. Solomon gives us assurance, that in the end, the lip of truth shall be established—and the lying tongue will be but a moment—a blinking of an eye.
Proverbs 12:20
Deceit or Joy
20a Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil
1. Them that imagine evil…
a. Evil = evil; distress; misery; injury; calamity; adversity; trouble; strife; tragedy.
» The term does not always imply that which is immoral, but it does in this passage.
» Solomon states here that some men IMAGINE evil… they plan it… they prepare for it… they devise it… and carry their evil plans out!
b. Imagine: to cut in; plough; engrave; devise.
• This term implies a plan to cut out a course of action—as a plowman cuts out a furrow in his field.
• He plans it and carries it out…
• Prov. 3:29 – same term is used here—“devise” not evil against thy neighbor. This verse forbids doing what 12:20 is talking about… imagining… planning evil against someone.
• We are commanded NOT to imagine such things… NOT to even think about harming others.
• Let’s face it—we’ve all had such thoughts.
• Don’t allow your mind to THINK on such things. Don’t train yourself to think along those lines.
• Think on things that are lovely, pure, honest, of good report, etc…
• Yet, we know that some men DO imagine evil.
• Prov. 6:12-14 – Some wicked men devise mischief continually! It’s their life… their reason for being…
• Prov. 6:16-18 – This is one of the six things God hates: men whose hearts devise wicked imaginations… evil plans.
• There are cells of evil men around the world today planning evil against Americans and Jews… waiting for the opportune time to carry out their evil plans.
2. Deceit = falsehood; treachery; craft.
a. Of course, he is speaking here of intentional deceit.
b. Sometimes men with good intentions are given incorrect information and mistakenly deceive others… or lead them to a wrong conclusion.
c. Solomon is not speaking about someone who has been fed some misinformation.
d. He is speaking about someone who has deceit in his heart… he lets deceit fester in his heart… his heart is a breeding ground for deception… he is planning to deceive… he purposes to deceive… that is what is going on in the depths of his heart—deception and more deception.
3. Deceit is a way of life for the wicked… it is in his heart.
a. vs. 5 – the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
b. Prov. 11:18 – the wicked work a deceitful work
c. Prov. 26:24 – a hateful man dissembleth with his lips, and lays up deceit within him.
d. Prov. 26:26 – hatred is covered up by deceit
4. Solomon states here that evil men imagine (plan and plot) their evil designs with deception in their hearts.
a. They plan evil, but cover up their real intentions.
b. They plan evil, but deceive others as to the course of action they are devising.
c. They plan evil, but deceive by making it look good.
d. They plan evil, but deceive men as to their actions, their motives, their goals, their purposes, their methods…
e. They plan evil, and deceive men into thinking that they have no evil intentions… until they carry out their evil intentions to the harm and injury of others.
5. There are countless examples of such evil devices in the Bible… men who planned evil, and used deception to cover up their true intents.
a. Absalom – planned to overthrow his father, and accomplished by deceiving the people into thinking he was out for their best interest.
b. Haman – planned to destroy all the Jews in the Persian Empire… and tried to cover up his true intentions.
c. The Babylonian presidents – planned to get rid of Daniel, whom they hated—and did so by a deceptive plan they knew would snare only Daniel.
d. The Jews who planned to kill Paul – and secretly deceived the rulers into thinking they wanted to examine him.
e. The devil – the first example in the Bible of one who planned evil against mankind—and did so with deception in his heart.
6. Have you ever imagined or devised evil against someone—with deceit in your heart?
a. Chances are, we all have.
b. Maybe you never carried the plot out, but have you ever imagined evil against someone? Have you ever wished harm, or shame, or a fall, or some calamity, or evil to befall someone you didn’t like? Perhaps hoping they would not get the promotion… hoping someone in the office would slander them… wishing that people would turn against them….
c. Have you had such thoughts, and then try to hide those thoughts? Have you perhaps smiled at the very person you had evil thoughts about? Isn’t that deception? Hypocrisy? Secretly wishing harm to them, but not letting on?
d. That’s the same kind of sin described here.
20b But to the counsellors of peace is joy.
1. Counsellors of peace:
a. Counsellors: to advise; consult; counsel; purpose; devise; plan.
b. Peace: lots of various usages: completeness; soundness; welfare; safety; welfare; health; prosperity; quiet; tranquility; contentment; friendship.
c. Counselors of peace: those who make plans and intend to carry out their plans—to be HELPFUL… sowing seeds of peace; contentment; friendship; safety; prosperity; health…
d. That’s the kind of person you want in the local church… or in the home… and even in school or the office!
e. You BE that kind of person!
2. “The counsellors of peace” stand in contrast to “them that imagine evil.”
a. The contrast may not be apparent until we consider the various meanings of the terms.
b. Counsellors of peace — those who plan; give counsel for; whose purpose it is to devise peace…
c. Imagine evil — those who plan or plot calamities for others… they plan strife and confusion…
d. The contrast is thus:
• Some folks make plans to bring about strife …
• Some folks make plans to bring about peace…
• Some folks make plans to tear people apart; some make plans to bring people together…
e. I’ve seen both sorts in the local church.
• Some have separated chief friends, sowing discord, making division, and disrupting the unity…
• Others have been peacemakers… sowing peace and unity… endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.
3. Those who promote peace—and seek peace—shall also enjoy peace and joy!
a. The counsellors of peace are those who actively PROMOTE peace… they pursue peace… they follow after peace…
• Follow peace with all men (Heb. 12:14)
• And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. (James 3:18)
• Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. (Ps. 34:14)
• If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. (Prov. 12:18)
b. The principle is: seek and ye shall find… those who continually seek peace will usually find it.
c. Joy comes to the peacemakers. Blessed are the peacemakers. (Matt. 5:9) This is a principle with application in all ages!
d. Those who pursue peace and help bring about peace get to ENJOY that peace too!
e. Col. 3:15 – the peace of God ought to RULE in our hearts.
• If that is the case, then we will experience peace—and continually seek peace.
• If God’s peace is in our heart—then it will come out in our daily pursuits.
4. Be that kind of a person in the home—be a counselor of peace. Plan peace. Make it your purpose to have peace in the home.
• That might require putting others first.
• That might mean not getting your own way.
• That might require controlling one’s tongue.
• That might require some humility… meekness…
• It might require letting love cover a multitude of sins…
• It might require some self-sacrifice…selflessness…
• It might require some compassion… understanding…
• It might require that we listen to the other’s point of view…
• It might require that we be a little less demanding…
• It might require a soft answer…
• It might require prayer… seeking God’s will, strength, and wisdom…
• It might require us to turn the other cheek… or to go the extra mile…
• It might require us to be less like our miserable self—and more like our wonderful Savior.
• OR—we could refuse to seek peace—and go slam the door, kick the dog, punch the wall, and throw something. Then we could go sit in a corner and “imagine evil” — think the worst about our spouse… or our parents… or siblings… or children.
• Solomon admonishes us to be a counselor of PEACE!
5. What a contrast:
a. Those who sit around and imagine evil—have hearts full of DECEIT… and evil. There is no joy in that.
• The heart that is full of deceit will also be full of: bitterness; anger; wrath; frustration; jealousy; rage; envy; hatred; guilt; etc.
• That’s an awful way to live!
b. But those who pursue peace—have something else in their hearts: JOY!
c. Solomon contrasts two kinds of people—with two different pursuits in life (peace vs. trouble) — and two very different hearts: one full of deception… the other full of joy.
Proverbs 12:21
No Evil Shall Happen
21 There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief.
Introduction:
1. Is this proverb true? Is it always true?
2. Is it always true that no evil happens to the just?
a. Was it true for Steven? Paul? Jeremiah? David?
b. Was it true for those mentioned in Heb. 11:36-38?
3. If we take this proverb at face value, I’m sure we can all think of situations where it was in fact NOT true!
a. And doesn’t this create all kinds of ethical and spiritual problems for us?
b. How could this Hebrew king, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit write something that isn’t true… or is only true some of the time?
4. We’ve mentioned this many times so far in our study of Proverbs—but it bears repeating. This is a PROVERB… not a prophecy or an epistle!
a. A proverb is a crystallized truth…it is a general statement of truth…
b. Proverbs were never intended to cover all the bases…they were never intended to be applied in an absolute sense.
c. Proverbs were never intended to cover absolutely every situation.
d. Proverbs paints pictures for us—with a very wide brush… one stroke.
e. Ex: A stitch in time saves nine. Does it always? A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Is it always?
f. Proverbs—whether inspired or uninspired—are a special kind of literature… and they need to be understood for what they are—proverbs! A generality. It is an observation from life of things that usually occur…
g. Before we even look at what Solomon writes, it is good to know HOW he wrote… what type of literature we are looking at: a proverb!
21a There shall no evil happen to the just
1. One might look at this statement—and spend time going through the Scriptures seeking to disprove it. And many examples could be found which SEEM to disprove it.
2. However, let’s look at what Solomon wrote.
a. His over all point is that the wicked are always falling into mischief… but those who are just or righteous don’t fall into such mischief. No evil happens to them.
b. (Painting with a broad brush) he says that usually, when you do what is right and just—you avoid trouble!
3. Just here means right, correct, lawful.
a. The person Solomon is describing is the one who does things right.
b. He lives a lawful life… he obeys the law.
c. He follows orders. He does what he’s supposed to do.
d. He is fair… just… he treats people fairly and justly.
e. He walks the narrow pathway.
f. He does everything the right way.
4. Evil here is used in the sense of calamity… not a moral evil.
a. The term means: trouble; suffering; sorrow; affliction; tragedy.
b. Solomon is saying that just men avoid a lot of trouble in life; a lot of sorrow and grief; they avoid a lot of affliction and suffering.
c. Doing what’s right and fair and just — is GOOD for you!
5. Solomon’s point is that when you do things right, you avoid a lot of trouble!
a. This is the nugget of truth being expressed in this part of the proverb.
b. This truth is echoed in several other proverbs as well.
• Prov. 11:8 – The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.
• Prov. 12:13 – the just shall come out of trouble.
• While we might all think of some exceptions, this IS truth crystallized… it is truth generalized… this is what generally happens.
6. Application to real life: do things right and you won’t get into trouble.
a. If you put up the staging properly, you won’t have an accident. (If you skimp and don’t put up all the braces—then you might fall into mischief!)
b. If you do your homework and study, you will probably do well on the test! (If you skimp and take short cuts—you may not do so well.)
c. If you obey the law, you can avoid a lot of trouble.
• If some of your friends decide to go out drinking and you know it’s not right and choose to go to the teen activity at the church instead—and they wrap their car around a phone pole and 4 of them die… think of this proverb! It will ring true to you!
• If your friends want you to steal some stereo equipment, and you say no because you want to be just or lawful, and they get arrested—remember this proverb. Evil or trouble doesn’t befall those who do things right!
d. If you do things right at the factory, and others are cutting corners and are not putting the extra wire on the boards, when it is discovered and mischief befalls them and you are given a promotion—think of this proverb. It will ring true!
e. If you are just—and treat others justly and fairly, and as a result are respected…and the other guy treats people unfairly… when trouble arises, you will have lots of friends and support. He won’t. Think of this proverb.
7. God has also given us a few supernatural examples of how He honors this principle.
a. Dan. 6:23-24 – Daniel was a just man. He did that which was right. NO evil befell Daniel. But the evil presidents DID fall into mischief!
b. Esther 7:9-10 – Mordecai was a just man. He was doing that which was right… and no evil happened to him. But the wicked Haman? He sure fell into mischief. He was hung on the gallows he built for Mordecai!
21b But the wicked shall be filled with mischief.
1. In contrast to the just or the righteous who (because of their righteousness) escape trouble, the wicked do not escape.
• Once again—this too is a proverb. You may know some people who did wicked things and never got caught. Well—they may have escaped on earth—but none will escape facing God!
2. But even on earth—this principle holds. It is a generality of truth. This is what generally happens: those who are wicked fall into trouble.
• Mischief: evil; distress; misery; injury; calamity.
• Wicked: criminal; guilty one; one guilty of crime;—this is the person who does NOT do things right. He breaks the rules… He violates the law… he doesn’t mind lying or cheating…
3. To this person, Solomon says, will befall much mischief—injury, trouble, calamity, and distress.
a. He will not only face trouble, but will be FILLED with it!
b. The one who keeps on committing crimes… who keeps on breaking the rules… who keeps on cheating—will also keep on falling into trouble.
c. Prov. 1:30-31 – the one who does NOT do things right… he does NOT listen to God’s wisdom… will be FILLED with his own devices: mischief! The mischief he got into will come back to haunt him.
d. Prov. 14:14 – the backslider will be FILLED with his own ways.
e. Prov. 13:21 – evil pursues sinners!
• Bad things happen to those who transgress the law…those who don’t do things right.
• You may know of some exceptions… BUT!
• This is what generally happens!
• Folks who don’t do things right lead their whole lives with a dark cloud following them… the dark cloud of their own making!
• Law-abiding citizens usually lead a quiet and peaceable life. But criminals and lawbreakers bring trouble upon their own heads and upon their households.
• There might be some exceptions—but you can’t get around the logic… or the wisdom of Solomon’s words.
Proverbs 12:22
Lying Lips
22 Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
Introduction:
1. This is the final verse in a section of this chapter which has dealt extensively with the subject of truth vs. lies and deception.
a. vs. 17 – truth vs. a false witness and deceit
b. vs. 19 – the lip of truth vs. a lying tongue
c. vs. 20 – counsellors of peace vs. deceit in the heart
d. vs. 22 – Solomon speaks about lying lips vs. they that deal truly
e. vs. 18 – speaking like the piercing of a sword—perhaps lies intended vs. the tongue of the wise which is healthy—truthful?
• Perhaps we might not associate vs. 18 with lying vs. truth except for the context in which it is found.
2. A clear theme has been running through these verses.
3. Verse 22 ends this section by stating what God thinks of it all.
22a Lying lips are abomination to the LORD
1. What does man think of lying?
a. We often hear lies referred to as a “little white lie”—as if it wasn’t so bad…
b. “As long as it doesn’t hurt anybody, who cares?”
c. “Sometimes the end justifies the means. It’s OK to use a lie in order to accomplish a good end.” (If you can get somebody out of trouble; or save a few bucks; save face; prevent a fight… if some good can come out of it… why not?)
d. “Everybody does it…”
e. “My intentions were good…”
f. Men are so accustomed to lies that they no longer seem like such a big deal. Politicians lie. Presidents lie. Lawyers lie. Even deacons and pastors have been caught in lies.
g. Somehow, men have put the sin of lying into a kind of innocuous category… not quite so bad…
2. What does God think about lying?
a. It is an abomination to the Lord.
b. Abomination:
• Strong’s defines it as “a disgusting thing”.
• Dictionary of Biblical Languages: that which is detested, abhorred, loathed, despised, degraded, i.e., have a hate or very strong dislike for an object, implying contempt; repulsive; vile; shameful.
• Detestable
c. Things God calls “an abomination.”
• Lev.18:22 – homosexuality
• Lev. 18:23 – bestiality
• Deut. 7:26 – idolatry is called an abomination
• Deut. 17:1 – offering a BLEMISHED sacrifice to the Lord (why?)
• Deut. 17:3-4 – worshipping the sun, moon, and stars
• Deut. 18:10-11- children burnt on idols; witchcraft
• Deut. 22:5 – cross-dressing—wearing clothing of the opposite sex
• Deut 23:18 – using money made through prostitution as a payment of a vow to the Lord in the holy place!
• Prov. 15:8 – the sacrifices of the wicked—religious hypocrisy
• In this despicable camp God places “lying lips.”
3. When you or I lie, God puts that sin in the same category as burning a baby to an idol… cross-dressing… homosexuality… worshipping the sun and moon…
a. We might not see it that way, but God does.
b. God calls a lie an abomination: that which is vile, shameful, detested, abhorred, loathed, despised!
c. It doesn’t sound like God considers it a little white lie, does it?
d. God hates all sin, but this is an especially vile sin in God’s sight.
e. Prov. 6:16-19 – there are six things the Lord hates… and not only hates, they are an abomination!
• The second on this “hate list” is a lying tongue.
• In fact, it appears TWICE on this list—a lying tongue; and a false witness that speaks lies.
• God REALLY hates this sin.
f. John 8:44 – the sin of lying is traced back to Satan. He is the father of it. Those who lie are acting like the devil…
• Acts 5:3 – it was Satan who filled (influenced and controlled) the hearts of Ananias and Saphira and led them to lie to God.
• Satan FILLED their heart… same word as “be FILLED with the Holy Spirit” in Eph. 5:18.
• There is something quite Satanic about lying. It speaks of satanic influence.
• God showed His displeasure to Ananias and Saphira by taking their lives.
• God REALLY hates this sin.
4. Why is this sin so detestable to God? Because of who He is.
a. Num. 23:19 – God is not man that he should lie; neither the son of man that he should repent.
• Lying is associated with fallen men.
• Truth is associated with a holy God. He never lies.
b. Ps. 86:15 – plenteous in truth
• Plenteous can mean either “great; strong” or it can mean “captain or chief.”
• God is the captain of all truth… chief of truth. (we are chief of sinners!)
c. Ps. 31:5 – the Lord God of truth
d. Isa. 65:16 – the God of truth
e. John 14:6 – Jesus said, “I am the truth.”
f. Truth is God’s nature; He IS truth;
g. Nothing could be more contrary to the nature and character of God than a lie!
h. Prov. 26:28 – “A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it.”
• When you lie against a person, it hurts the person who was lied about. We have probably all been afflicted by a lie… slandered… false accused… and it hurts.
• But ultimately, all lies are in reality against God, because God is a God of truth, all lies are against HIM…
• All lies are an affront to the One who is the Truth.
• All lies are done in opposition to Truth… and the God of truth.
• All sin is against God. “Against thee and thee only have I sinned.”
• God Himself is afflicted by our lies—and He hates them.
5. Could WE be guilty of abomination?
a. Believers DO lie.
b. Prov. 30:8 – he asks God to REMOVE lying. Evidently he had a problem with lying.
c. Ps. 119:29 – the psalmist had the same problem… and sought the same help from the Lord.
d. Let’s be honest. We have ALL lied… stretched the truth… embellished… added to… subtracted from… purposely left out pertinent details…half truths…
e. Deut. 25:15-16 – using false weights; cheating customers
• A salesman; a store clerk; a business man might deceive his customers… that is a false weight… abomination… lies and deceit… false advertising…
• We might make promises and not keep them. That’s a lie.
f. We can learn from Prov. 12:22 the degree to which God hates lies… abomination… it is satanic… placed in a category with the most despicable of sins.
g. Ps 62:4 – The wicked delight in lies. We should hate them.
h. Prov. 13:5 – We should learn to HATE lying… God does. We should too: “A righteous man hateth lying.”
22b But they that deal truly are his delight.
1. Note the contrast to God:
a. Lies are an abomination.
b. Truth is His delight!
2. Truly: firmness; fidelity; steadfastness; faithfulness; truth.
a. It stands in contrast to lying lips in this proverb, so “truly” is probably the best shade of meaning to attribute to it here.
3. Delight: pleasure; delight; favour; goodwill; acceptance.
4. That which is called a “delight” to God:
a. Ezra 10:11 – those who lead a separated life…
b. Prov. 11:1 – a just weight is His delight…
c. Prov. 11:20 – they that are upright in their way are His delight
d. I Sam. 15:22 – he has delight in obedience.
e. Ps. 16:3 – His delight is in His saints
f. Prov. 15:8 – the prayer of the upright is His delight
g. Jer. 9:24 – God delights in the man who glories in the fact that he knows God… the God of truth.
h. God delights in:
• Those who lead a separated, upright life; and who walk in obedience…
• Who are honest and truthful in their business affairs
• His saints—who are thrilled about knowing Him!
• Those who “deal truly” are in the category of that in which God delights! What a category to be in!
• That’s the category I want to be found in. How about you?
5. Dealing truly…
a. Speaking the truth; Loving the truth; Guarding truth; Honoring truth.
b. Not stretching it; perverting it; distorting it; exaggerating it; or in any way diminishing it…
c. It also includes of faithfulness; reliability—LIVING a true life; honest; etc…not just talking truth but LIVING it.
d. If this is characteristic of our lives, we bring God delight!
Proverbs 12:23
Prudence Conceals Knowledge
23a A prudent man concealeth knowledge…
1. Solomon states here that a prudent man isn’t constantly blurting out whatever he knows. There are times when he wisely keeps it to himself.
2. Prudent: subtle, shrewd, crafty, sly, sensible, crafty.
a. This is meant in a good sense.
b. This speaks of a person who is wise and who knows how to use wisdom… is clever…
3. The clever man POSSESSES his knowledge.
a. Knowledge: perception, skill, discernment, understanding, wisdom.
b. The prudent man is clever… and he has discernment and understanding.
c. He has a lot of insight…
d. Perhaps the conversation is about computers… or on the issue of Bible translations… or maybe the conversation switches over to gardening…
• The subject matter is not the point.
• Solomon is simply describing a man who has understanding—in any realm.
• Solomon’s point is that prudent men—clever men—have insight in various realms of knowledge.
e. But it isn’t possessing the information that makes the man prudent or shrewd.
4. The clever man CONCEALS his knowledge.
a. This does not mean that he plays dumb.
b. Nor does it mean that he ALWAYS conceals his knowledge.
c. Solomon’s point is that the prudent man is NOT like the fool, who constantly blurts out everything he knows.
d. The prudent man refuses to dominate the conversation—and dazzle people with his knowledge.
e. A little knowledge puffeth up.
5. A wise and prudent man knows when to be quiet and when to speak up.
a. Therein lies his shrewdness… his craftiness… his wisdom.
b. He is sensible to the whole situation… going on around him.
c. He is careful to distinguish between adding knowledge which might be helpful… and he knows when it would simply be being picky…
d. Example: imagine having a conversation with your old English teacher. This woman has LOTS of knowledge about the proper use of the English language.
• A foolish English teacher would be constantly correcting everyone’s English—and being obnoxious about it.
• A prudent English teacher would conceal her knowledge… and perhaps in a helpful way—in a private setting give you a pointer that would be beneficial.
e. Example: as pastor, I sometimes hear folks in conversations say things about the Bible or Christianity that are not correct.
• There is a time to speak up and correct.
• The foolish believer will be constantly pointing out the error in everyone’s speech.
• There are also times to be quiet… keep your knowledge concealed.
• One needs wisdom in knowing WHEN and WHY to speak up.
• One needs wisdom in realizing that not everyone is at the same level of maturity… and that is not a bad thing.
• A high school English teacher would be quite foolish indeed to keep interrupting a 4-year-old toddler and correcting their English!
f. Wisdom and prudence demand that we conceal knowledge…and not continually blurt out everything we know.
• It can become obnoxious… irritating…
• It tends to dominate a conversation… and thus selfishly leave others out of the conversation…
• It is usually an expression of pride—the love of hearing oneself speak… and the love of bragging about one’s superior knowledge…
6. The truly prudent man or woman will conceal knowledge…because he or she considers this knowledge to be PRECIOUS.
a. If you have something that is of little value, then you can throw it to the wind if you like. It’s no great loss.
b. But if you have something that is precious and valuable… you use it sparingly.
c. Knowledge and wisdom are precious—like rubies. (Prov. 20:15) You don’t just scatter rubies all over the place… toss them about as if they were worthless rocks.
d. When the value of knowledge is appreciated, then that knowledge will be dispersed with great care… slowly… wisely… helpfully… constructively… humbly… judiciously… graciously…
e. When the value of knowledge is not appreciated, then that knowledge is to be concealed.
• Jesus said, “Cast not your pearls before swine.” (Matt. 7:6)
• In that situation, keep your pearls to yourself.
7. This proverb also speaks of another truth mentioned several times in this book: wisdom often requires us to be quiet.
a. The prudent man is not a blabbermouth. (Prov.10:19)
b. The prudent man is not a know-it-all! (Prov. 17:27)
• Solomon says that a prudent man won’t act like a know it all!
c. Nor will he be a gossip. He conceals knowledge… especially if that knowledge could harm someone. (Prov.11:13)
• You might know some dirt on another person.
• But prudence and wisdom demand that you conceal it…
d. There are often good reasons to conceal things you know.
• This is a proverb. There are exceptions to this proverb.
• If you know someone about to blow up an airplane, don’t conceal that knowledge!
• But if you know that Fred and Alice had an argument—conceal it… bury it…
• Some things you know are to be proclaimed. Other things you know are to be concealed.
• The prudent man is shrewd enough to know the difference.
• The fool doesn’t know the difference…
• Be prudent.
8. The wise man sometimes conceals and sometimes reveals knowledge.
a. Cf. Prov. 15:2 – the wise man USES knowledge aright.
• This means he knows how, when, and where to use it.
• He is careful in what he says… in the information he gives out.
• Be CAREFUL about what you write in emails—especially if it might be gossip. Once it is out in cyberspace—who knows where it could end up! You may end up with egg on your face!
• Using knowledge aright means knowing when to speak…
• It means knowing in whose company to say what…
• It means at times withholding information…
b. Prov. 15:28 – he studies to answer. (meditates; muses)
• He is careful with his words.
• He chooses them carefully… cautiously…
• He THINKS before he speaks…
• Usually, when we think before we speak, our words will be FEWER.
23b But the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.
1. Proclaim: to call; call out; recite; read; cry out; utter a loud sound.
a. Solomon speaks of the fool as one who does NOT conceal, but does just the opposite.
b. The fool makes loud proclamations for all to hear…
c. He isn’t trying to hold anything back. He cries out… a loud sound… like a megaphone blurting out its message.
2. The fool behaves in the opposite way of the wise or prudent man.
a. The prudent man conceals knowledge.
b. The fool conceals nothing, but blurts out whatever is on his mind… which is usually foolishness.
c. The wise man conceals his knowledge. The fool reveals his ignorance.
d. This proverb implies that foolish people don’t POSSESS knowledge. They have in its place “foolishness.”
e. They who are full of folly and ignorance of ALL people ought to be quiet… but alas, the fool PROCLAIMS all of his ignorant foolishness.
3. This demonstrates a threefold problem on the part of the fool:
a. Folly is in his heart… (the fact that it is there)
b. He has no self-control… (the fact that it all comes out) (Cf. 12:16 – a prudent man also covers up shameful wrath and anger! He doesn’t blurt it all out.)
c. He has no discernment to recognize it as folly.
4. We have all experienced this phenomenon too.
a. The person with the least amount of worthwhile things to say, dominates the conversation… and says the most.
b. Prov. 15:2 – the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.
• Cause to bubble; ferment; flow; to pour forth; emit; belch forth.
• The fool’s mouth is a constantly flowing river… fomenting out folly and foolishness.
c. Prov. 29:11 – A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
• The wise man has self control over his thoughts. The fool does not.
• The wise man knows when to keep his thoughts to himself. The fool does not.
• The wise man sometimes conceals knowledge. And sometimes (afterwards) he utters it… at the appropriate occasion…
d. One of the best and wisest things a fool can do is to keep quiet… and refuse to display his ignorance! (Prov. 17:28) That is the first step towards wisdom!
Proverbs 12:24
The Hand of the Diligent
Introduction:
1. This is a frequent theme in Proverbs: diligence and hard work.
2. Here once again, is another of Solomon’s great contrasts:
• Two kinds of people: the diligent vs. the slothful
• Two results: bearing rule vs. being under tribute
3. This principle is just as viable and practical today as it was when written many centuries ago.
24a The hand of the diligent shall bear rule
1. Diligent: sharp-pointed; sharp; diligent. 2 strict decision; decision. 3. Gold.
a. The term translated “diligent” is an interesting term… with interesting roots.
b. It is translated as “diligent” consistently in Proverbs.
c. Elsewhere it is translated “gold” or “sharp” as a threshing instrument.
d. It is also translated “decision” (valley of decision in Joel)
e. Diligent is the proper English term in the context in Proverbs.
f. But consider how “sharp” applies to the other translations:
• Decisions; decisiveness—those making decisions need to be sharp and decisive
• This kind of sharpness includes an intellectual sharpness… also connected to the concept of HOW one works.
• Diligence = sharp workers…
g. Thus the term “diligent” fits well here—with the added shade of meaning missing from the English word. The added shade of meaning seems to include the idea of a “smart” worker too.
• He is not just a diligent hard worker, but a good, smart worker.
• He is contrasted to the fool—the slothful man.
2. Sharp workers…
a. It came from the practice of sharpening tools… weapons… knives… axes…, etc.
b. A good, productive worker will sharpen his tools…
c. A lazy worker might not sharpen his ax, and as a result will not get much work done…
d. A diligent worker will sharpen his ax, and as a result will produce much more.
e. It is in this sense that the term “sharp” is translated diligent in all 8 of its occurrences in Proverbs.
f. Of course, this worker is sharper intellectually too—it makes good sense to sharpen one’s tools.
g. We use the term “sharpening one’s skills” today—
h. This worker excels because he is SHARP…
• Sharp intellectually—a smart worker.
• Sharp in his work ethic—a diligent worker—geared toward productivity… hence he sharpens his ax.
• The term seems to imply these two qualities about a worker.
3. Hand: hand; strength; power (fig.); part; portion (metaph.) (fig.)
a. This word is used of the diligent, but is omitted in the other half of the contrast…
b. It obviously is IMPLIED in the second half of the contrast.
c. The contrast is between the HAND of the diligent and the HAND of the slothful.
d. This fact helps us hone in on which definition Solomon hand in mind here…
• It is not the literal hand of a man…
• Nor does the term “strength” fit well… at least not directly.
• It is best to understand the term in a figurative sense of “portion.”
e. Thus, Solomon is contrasting the “portion” of the diligent with the “portion” of the slothful.
• Portion here in the sense of their “lot in life.”
• Their part or portion shall be either bearing rule or being under tribute.
4. The hand or “portion” or “lot in life” for the diligent is bearing rule…
a. “Bearing rule” = to rule, have dominion, reign.
b. Gen. 37:8 – Joseph’s brothers said: “shalt thou have dominion over us?” (same word as “bearing rule”)
c. Sharp/hard workers will advance in life…
d. Sharp/hard workers will become leaders…
e. Prov. 22:7 – the rich rule over the poor; and the borrower is servant to the lender.
• Rule over = same word as “bear rule” in Prov. 12:24.
5. Applications to today:
a. The diligent tradesman who sharpens his tools…
• The tradesman—will keep his tools in tiptop shape… so that he can do his best. When he proves his diligence and his ability to work smart, he will end up becoming the foreman… the boss.
b. The student is also to be a “sharp” worker.
• The student who applies this passage will use all diligence in doing their schoolwork.
• They will not be studying or writing a term paper while watching TV…
• They will use all avenues available to do their best—extra help after school hours; extra credit assignments; take advantage of the library; use the computer wisely—for research and not for video games…
• This student will, in the end, bear rule over the students who did NOT do their best… but goofed off.
• When they get out into the world, they will be the boss… and the students who did not do well because of laziness will be UNDER them.
c. The teacher, engineer, and those with a career in the high tech industry… in ANY career path… will benefit from putting this passage into practice.
• Whatever your position in the workplace, being a hard worker and a smart worker will pay off…
• Like the root meaning of the term “diligent”—sharpening one’s tools… a worker in any field ought to be diligent about honing his skills… keeping up with the industry… working smart… rather than working with “dull tools”… will always be beneficial.
• This might mean going to seminars; taking a course; learning some new software; going the extra mile to stay on top of things.
• That person will bear rule… he will rise up to the top in his company.
d. Perhaps we could apply this to our SPIRITUAL life too.
• We should be “sharp” spiritually as well—even more importantly!
• We are commanded to keep our hearts with ALL DILIGENCE!
• God is a rewarder of those who DILIGENTLY seek Him.
• We are told to be discerning… hence, be aware of the spiritual dangers we face… false doctrine… new evangelicalism… the snares of the devil…
• If we can see the importance of keeping on top of things in the office or workplace, how much MORE do we need to keep sharp spiritually!
• Heb. 5:11-14 – don’t be DULL, but be sharp spiritually. Be skillful in the knowledge of God’s Word… grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ…
• The believer who is DILIGENT about his spiritual life will also bear rule… he will NOT be under tribute to the devil or the world. He will not fall into the traps set by our adversary.
• Believers who are careless about their spiritual lives may find themselves under tribute to our spiritual foes… serving the lusts of the flesh… serving the ways of the world…
• I Cor. 9:27 – the diligent believer will bring his body under subjection to God and not be ruled by his body… this whole context is about the diligence required to run the race.
• II Pet. 1:5-9 – How do we “keep sharp” spiritually? By honing our spiritual skills… keeping them sharp by diligent practice.
24b But the slothful shall be under tribute
1. Slothful: lax; slack; lazy; (the term is usually translated “deceit or guile”)… but either slothful or slack in Proverbs.
a. Prov. 10:4 – He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: (same word as slothful).
b. Perhaps the idea here is that the lazy or slothful worker PRETENDS like he is doing his work…
• He tries to deceive others into thinking that he is working hard… when in fact he’s hardly working!
• He does his job with eyeservice… only when the boss is watching.
• The slothful worker isn’t a SMART worker. It is quite foolish to PRETEND like you are working when you are not.
c. You will NOT be productive… and sooner or later that will be noticed…
d. And your lack of productivity will be the cause of a lack of promotion… a lack of a raise… or even a loss of a job.
e. Being a Christian does not necessarily mean a person is a sharp, diligent, smart worker. I have met some Christian sloths whom I would never hire.
• Some unsaved folks put believers to shame in this area.
• And, this is part of our testimony in the world!
• A poor worker in the workplace is a poor testimony for the Lord.
2. The slothful worker shall be under tribute…
a. The slothful worker will NOT advance…
b. The slothful worker will do just the opposite… he will not rise to the top, but will find himself on the bottom.
c. Under tribute: forced service, serfdom, tribute…
• The NIV translates it “slave labor”
• The NKJV translate it “forced labor”
d. Prov. 22:7 – the rich rule over the poor; and the borrower is servant to the lender.
• Other proverbs indicate that the diligent tends to gather wealth and the slothful ends up poor.
• Hence, the diligent man who works hard and smart and gathers wealth will bear rule over the slothful man who does not work hard or smart…
• The slothful man will find himself with no money…borrowing money… spending more than he makes… and thus becoming a “slave” to his credit card company… or the bank…, etc.
e. And note that Solomon states NOTHING about ability here.
• It is not so much inspiration but perspiration that results in great advances.
• Solomon states that a slothful man will be on the bottom… whether he’s talented or not.
• You may have great intelligence, but if you are lazy—you will not succeed.
• Another person with much less talent, ability, or intelligence, but who is DILIGENT—and just keeps plodding along… will do well in life.
• The hot shot know-it-all who thinks he’s so smart he doesn’t have to do his work… will find to his dismay the truth of this passage.
Proverbs 12:25
A Good Word
25a Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop…
1. Heaviness:
a. 6 occurrences; Authorized Version translates as “carefulness” twice, “fear” once, “heaviness” once, “sorrow” once, and “with care” once.
b. Anxiety, anxious care, care. (Strong’s)
c. Dictionary of Biblical Language: anxiety; restlessness; worry; i.e., an attitude or emotion of distress.
d. The term is used in the following passages:
• Jer. 49:23 – Damascus has been judged severely by God. The neighboring cities hear of it. They are confounded… fainthearted… they have sorrow (this is the term translated “heavy” in Prov. 12:25)… there is no quiet.
• The term here means worry… anxiety… they saw what was happening in the cities all around them and they are full of worries and fears that it will happen to them… much like what the Iraqis soldiers must be experiencing today.
• Ezek. 12:18-20 – “carefulness” is the word translated “heaviness” in Prov. It means worry, fear, anxiety, being torn on the insides… it is used together with the word “astonishment” = horror.
e. In the Bible it is translated “heaviness” only once—and that might not be the best translation.
• It implies to us today a sense a burden, depression, discouragement, sorrow, or grief.
• While that may be included in its meaning, the real thrust of the word is worry, fear, and anxiety.
• Of course, over time, worry often does become an overpowering burden, a weight, which leads to discouragement and heaviness of heart.
• But the main thrust of the word is anxiety and worry… not so much the grief or sorrow or heaviness which results from it.
2. Anxiety in the heart…
a. Heart: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding, reflection, thinking…
b. Worry digs down deep, doesn’t it?
c. It can stick into our belly… and fester there…
d. It can take over our thinking… our emotions… and be THE controlling factor in our lives…
e. Hence, we become FILLED with worry.
f. We should be filled with the Spirit… controlled by God’s Holy Spirit. (Eph. 5:18)
g. Instead, we are filled (controlled) by fear… worry… anxiety.
h. It is not sin to experience fear or anxiety. That is pretty normal and natural.
i. It IS sin however, to be FILLED with it… controlled by it.
• The cares and anxiety of this world tends to choke out the Word…
j. Whatever FILLS our heart, controls it.
• In Acts, we read of men being filled with envy, indignation, joy, or wrath.
• In each case, it had a controlling effect on them… on their words and deeds.
k. Our hearts SHOULD be filled with Christlikeness by means of the Holy Spirit… under His control… so controlled by the Spirit that it SHOWS in the way we talk and walk…
l. We ought to be so filled with the Spirit that it AFFECTS our thoughts, words, choices, motives, and deeds.
m. Worry and anxiety in the heart can also be CONTROLLING.
• It too can affect our words…
• It can affect our thoughts… dominate them…
• It can affect the choices we make…
• It can affect our deeds…
• It can be so controlling that everything we think, do and say is first filtered through this lens of worry…anxiety…
• When we are filled with worry rather than being filled with the Holy Spirit, the end result will ALWAYS be the fruit of the flesh… (read list in Gal. 5!)
3. Maketh it stoop…
a. Stoop = to bow down; to depress.
• This term means to bow down; to be low; to weigh down.
• It is often used of bowing before idols… bowing before a king or superior… and is most often used of worshipping the true God… bowing in obeisance.
• It is usually translated “worship.”
• Dictionary of Biblical Languages: take a bowing stance, here as a position of submission to a superior.
b. “Stoop” is used in Prov.12:25 in a FIGURATIVE sense.
• It is not a literal or physical bowing down of the body… but an internal bowing down of the heart.
• Hence, it is used of being “down cast”… discouraged… depressed… weighed down… heavy laden… burdened.
c. ANXIETY makes the heart stoop…
• Fear, worry, and anxiety bring us down…
• It results in discouragement, even depression.
• We worry about so MANY THINGS…
• We worry about our finances… our health… our kids… our home… our country… our job…
• The cumulative effect of ALL of these worries, weighs us down… drags us down…
• It is a burden on our back… and one we need not carry about with us.
• Worry is stronger than we are. It is a heavier burden than we are able to bear.
• God never intended for our hearts to bear the burden produced by worry and anxious care.
25b But a good word maketh it glad.
1. God’s plan: replace the anxiety with gladness.
2. Good word:
a. Good —- good;
b. Word: speech; word; speaking; saying; an utterance.
3. Glad: make merry; cause to rejoice; gladden.
a. This isn’t the kind of gladness or joy that comes from winning the lottery…
b. This is a much deeper, inner, spiritual joy… the work of the Spirit in the heart.
c. This might be (as the song writer put it) the kind of joy that seeketh me through pain…
d. This is the kind of joy that does not change the circumstances… but rather it TRANSFORMS the inordinate, controlling anxiety and worry, into a reasonable concern.
e. It takes the bite and sting out of the worry… so that it is no longer THE controlling factor in our lives…
4. Solomon’s point here is that you and I can have a WONDERFUL ministry to the hearts and minds of miserable men, women, and children. (anxiety makes life miserable).
a. We can bring gladness to a heart that is burdened and weighed down with fear and worry.
b. We can lift the spirits of one another.
c. This is a ministry that doesn’t require some special talent. Anyone can do it… even kids! Perhaps especially kids!
d. If you know how to talk… have an ounce of compassion… a healthy dose of tactfulness… and know a few Scriptures passages, YOU can make a sad heart glad!
5. What IS a good word? THE BIBLE! Here are a few good words you might try with a brother who is experiencing anxiety and worry:
a. Phil. 4:6-7 – we are to be anxious for NOTHING… anxiety is replaced with peace. Don’t just blurt out, “Be anxious for nothing!” That’s not going to help… finish the verse!
b. I Pet. 5:7 – we are to cast our cares upon the Lord. The anxious cares are gone. Emphasize His care for us!
c. Matt. 11:29 – Too often we are heavy laden… with fears and worries in life. But, we are NOT to submit to worry and anxiety. We are to submit to Christ. Submit to His yoke—and the end result is REST… not fear and worry.
• Challenge a worried, anxious brother to come to Christ… submit to His will…
d. Ps. 55:22 – Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
e. Ps. 42:10 – Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
f. Ps. 62:8 – Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.
g. Luke 12:22 – And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought (be anxious for nothing—same word) for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
h. Luke 12:25-26 – And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
• We worry about our finances… our health… our kids… our home… our country… our job…
• We live more often like Martha—cumbered about by so many things… rather than Mary, who rested comfortably at the Savior’s feet…
i. Isa. 50:10 – Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.
• Isaiah is speaking to the godly who fear God and obey Him.
• Nevertheless, they are walking in darkness—not sin—but are walking in dark days… difficult days… trials and trouble is implied here by the darkness.
• They are counseled to TRUST… and to STAY upon God (lean; lie; support oneself upon another; to rest upon)
• Even the godly, who fear and obey God face the worries and fears of darkness and trials…
• But God has an answer… STAYED upon Jehovah! LEANING on the everlasting arms! Jesus I am RESTING, RESTING in the thought of who thou art! My faith has found a RESTING-place! Thou wilt keep Him in perfect peace, whose mind is STAYED upon Thee.
j. In each of these passages, the reader (who had previously been heavy laden with burdens and anxiety) is pointed to Christ… and encouraged… challenged… commanded (!) to cast those burdens upon the Lord.
k. These are some “good words” that can lift the cast down soul… the heart that is weighed down in worry and anxiety… and replace that fear with gladness… the joy of the Lord.
l. Such folks need to KNOW of the infinite LOVE of God… to be reminded of the marvelous PURPOSES of God… and the PRESENCE of God in the midst of those struggles.
m. Prov. 12:18 – we can use our tongue to pierce… or like a medicine… to bring about good spiritual HEALTH…
n. Prov. 16:24 – Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
o. Prov. 15:23 – A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
• What a gift—to be able to lift up souls… to bring joy to a brother who is bent over in grief…
• What a talent—to know what to say—and WHEN to say it… in due season.
• How good it is!
Proverbs 12:26
Excellence vs. Seduction
Introduction:
1. The contrast, once again, is between the righteous and the wicked.
2. Exactly WHAT is being contrasted is not apparent in the first part of the verse.
a. The righteous is more excellent…
b. But in what WAY is he more excellent? HOW is he more excellent? In what AREA is he more excellent?
c. If this proverb is to be of any practical value to us, then we need to probe into this contrast…
d. By God’s grace, that’s what we are going to attempt tonight.
26a The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour:
1. The righteous man: who is he?
a. Righteous: just, righteous (in conduct and character); right, correct, lawful; righteous (as justified and vindicated by God).
b. The emphasis is on a man who is right with GOD… and whose practical life demonstrates it…
c. In other words, he is righteous judicially (justified by faith) AND his lifestyle is right and lawful.
2. The righteous man is contrasted to his wicked neighbor.
a. But in what WAY is he more excellent? HOW is he more excellent?
b. To answer that, the second ½ of the proverb must be considered.
c. As is so often the case in proverbs, the proverb is broken into two sections—and one cannot be understood without the other.
3. The contrasts:
a. Righteous and wicked men
b. Their “ways” (second half)
c. Seduction which results from their way (second half)
d. Nothing is said about the WAY of the righteous or his capacity to “seduce”… but the second half makes it clear what the proverb is contrasting.
e. Proverbs use words conservatively… short, succinct, yet powerful statements. The PUNCH that a proverb delivers comes in part because of its brevity. In boxing they might be likened to a quick jab to the gut… these are, in reality, quick jabs to the mind and heart.
4. The righteous are more excellent.
a. Excellent:
• Strong’s: searched out; sought out; spy; make a reconnaissance.
• It is used of the spies searching out the Promised Land.
• It is most often translated “spy, seek out, or search out” in the King James Version. (about 20 of the 25 occurrences)
• Dictionary of Biblical Languages: explore; investigate; search out; spy, i.e., try to find out information by traveling on foot;
• Dictionary of Biblical Languages: be cautious; formally; send out a spy; i.e., be sensible in the way one relates to a person, with a focus that one tries to learn information before joining in an association. (related to spying; searching)
b. In this context, the concept of searching out in order to be careful and cautious is the way Solomon describes the righteous man.
5. Solomon contrasts the WAY of the wicked and the WAY of the righteous.
a. The way of a righteous man is to be cautious… careful… he searches things out.
b. Acts 17:11 – He doesn’t BELIEVE whatever he hears preached from the Bible. He searches it out. He is careful with doctrine.
c. Prov. 18:17 – He doesn’t believe everything he hears through the grapevine. He searches it out. He waits to hear the other side of the story.
d. Prov. 15:28 – He is careful and cautious in his speech and his answers. The heart of the righteous studieth to answer.
e. Prov. 1:5 – He is cautious and careful in gathering as much wisdom and information as he can.
f. Prov. 11:14 – he searches out for addition counsel from wise men. The fool hates to listen to people giving advice…
g. Prov. 4:26 – he PONDERS his pathway… he studies the roadmap of God’s Word… he searches out the END of each possible route and decision he makes. He searches out the results of turning to the left… and he searches out the results of turning to the right… He searches out all possible options AND the result of each one. (Will this be good for my family and me spiritually?)
6. The way of the righteous is discerning; thoughtful; he has some DEPTH to him; he THINKS before he moves; he thinks before he speaks; he studies before he believes; he investigates both sides before he accepts or rejects.
a. In this way, he is more excellent than his neighbor.
b. Margin: abundant: he is richer, deeper, fuller in his thoughts and decisions… more abundant…
26b But the way of the wicked seduceth them.
1. The WAY of the wicked…
a. WAY = (Hebrew = derek) — road; distance; journey; manner; conduct.
b. Wicked = guilty; criminal; guilty of sin against God.
c. The way of the wicked = his whole manner of life; the direction of his life; the pathway he is pursuing.
d. This way is contrasted to the way of the righteous man… who is headed down a very different road… a different lifestyle… different pursuits in life… a different manner of life altogether.
2. The way of the wicked in practical life…
a. The wicked do not investigate to see which way is pleasing to the Lord… which is the RIGHT way to go…
b. The wicked are often led by “what feels good”… by earthly advantage (like Lot choosing Sodom)… by ease—the pathway of least resistance… by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life… that’s their WAY of life.
3. The way of the wicked SEDUCETH them.
a. Seduce: Strong’s: to cause to err; wander; go astray; stagger; to wander about (physically); used of intoxication… to mislead mentally or morally.
b. The way of the wicked leads men astray…
• They themselves are led astray… and those who follow them are led astray.
• Their way may seem attractive and seductive—but it will lead you astray!
4. Examples of being seduced or led astray by the ways of the wicked…
a. Prov. 7:25-27 – sexually seducing…
• There are those who seek to lure believers into a life of sin…
• Hollywood movies and the pornography industry all lure men astray…
• This sort of thing can be life dominating…
• The way of the wicked is seductive—stay away!
b. Ps. 95:10 – erring in the heart… their hearts were seduced away from loving God wholeheartedly.
• The ways of the wicked can be seductive in a physical sense, but can also be seductive to the inner man.
• They can lead men, women, and children astray in the HEART…
• It is possible to be led astray in our heart… in our thinking… our attitudes… our world views… our philosophy of life…
• II Cor. 10:3-5 – Don’t allow your heart… your thoughts… your mind to be brought into captivity by the seduction of evil men!
c. Col. 2:4 – Seduced into false doctrine — And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
• Here Paul speaks of the seduction of false teachers…
• They use enticing words of men’s wisdom to lure aside those who are NOT willing to study for themselves… to think… to investigate into the Scriptures for themselves…
d. Prov. 14:15 – seduced by gossip… The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
• Gossips attempt to lure us into their evil tactics…
• The wicked love to tell juicy stories… and there is something seductive about hearing such juicy stories about others.
• It is the FOOL who believes every word of the gossiper.
• The righteous man searches things out.
5. The wicked fool is easily seduced… led astray.
a. He does NOT investigate—but believes every word…
b. He doesn’t search out right answers… he is superficial… no depth…
c. Therefore, he is tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine…
d. He is easily drawn into controversies between people—because he doesn’t investigate both sides of the story…
e. He is easily seduced by the ways of the world…
f. They themselves are seduced by their wicked way — AND they tend to draw others into this seduction.
Application:
1. If you are looking for counsel or advice: seek out the excellent righteous man!
a. The righteous man avoids much trouble because he is cautious.
b. The wicked fall headlong into error!
c. Darby translation: The righteous guideth his neighbour; but the way of the wicked misleadeth them.
d. Another: The righteous person is a guide to his friend, but the path of the wicked leads them astray.
e. If you need advice or counsel—seek counsel from someone who is CAREFUL in his handling of Gods’ Word!
f. If you need wisdom in choices—seek advice from a person who is discerning… with some spiritual maturity and depth…
g. Seek someone who searches out wisdom and truth…
2. If you are seeking to make friends: seek out the excellent righteous man!
a. Another translation: A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
b. NKJV – The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.
c. We need to be cautious in choosing our friends. Not all so-called friends will lead us in the way of righteousness. Some will seduce us into the way of evil!
d. The way of the wicked is seductive… it is appealing to the flesh… it feels good… it looks attractive… but so did that forbidden fruit in the garden.
3. If you are looking for an example to follow: seek out the excellent righteous man!
a. Prov. 13:20 – “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
b. God wants us to BE that righteous man… the one who searches and seeks out that which is true… that which is right… that which is pleasing to God…
c. God wants us to BE discerning… investigate WHICH men to follow… be cautious in choosing WHICH example to imitate…
4. In fact, BE like this righteous man: investigate… search out things for yourself… dig deep, don’t be superficial…
a. I Cor. 2:15 – He that is SPIRITUAL discerning all things… is an example of a wise, searching, discerning believer.
b. A man led and filled with the Spirit of God WILL behave like this righteous man. He will be discerning… digging… investigating… proving all things… holding fast to that which is good and abstaining from all appearance of evil.
c. This is the kind of excellency which is, in the sight of God, of great price.
Proverbs 12:27
The Value of Material Possessions
To the Slothful Man
27a The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting…
1. The slothful man:
a. Slothful: laxness; slackness; slackening; deceit; treachery.
b. This term seems to imply more than laziness… it is a laziness that attempts to deceive… or cover up its true colors…
c. The term is used 15 times in the Old Testament; 1 time = guile; 11 times = deceit or deceitful; 1 time = slack hand; 2 times = slothful; 1 time idle.
d. All of the times when it is translated highlighting the “lazy” side of the term are found in Proverbs (slack; idle; slothful).
e. In each of those cases it SHOULD emphasize the lazy side of the term, because the context demands it… as in this verse.
2. He roasteth not…
a. The slothful man is being criticized for not roasting the game he caught in the hunt.
b. He went hunting. He was successful in either trapping or shooting an animal… but, he didn’t roast it.
3. The result… WASTE.
a. When meat isn’t cooked, it rots rather quickly.
b. Once it rots, it is useless.
c. That which could have been of great value, was wasted due to negligence and laziness.
d. Prov. 18:9 – the lazy man is a brother to one who WASTES.
• Brothers—cut from the same cloth… the same family…
• The lazy man wastes the good gifts God has given…
• He wastes time, talents, opportunities, and material possessions.
• Sometimes all it takes is a little effort to prevent that waste too.
• A stitch in time saves nine!
• Cooking that meat or salting it makes it last longer… It takes a little effort and diligence, but it pays great dividends.
4. Possible reasons for not roasting…
a. Abundance…
• Perhaps he caught so many he ate some, and didn’t bother with the rest.
• Even if it was abundance—more so than the hunter could ever have eaten, he could have given it to the poor… but he didn’t.
• Abundance is no excuse for laziness or wasting goods.
b. Procrastination…
• A hunter who caught two deer perhaps got excited and did all the work in skinning one… roasted it and ate it…
• But he kept putting off skinning and cooking the other one… until it was too late. He discovered that the meat began to rot!
c. Too tired after the hunt…
• Perhaps he excused his behavior by convincing himself that he was too tired.
• He did all the work of hunting… but felt too tired to finish the job… skin and cook or salt the meat…
• And the meat rotted!
d. The hunt was exciting, but skinning and cooking wasn’t fun…
• Perhaps he didn’t cook the meat because he didn’t LIKE that part.
• He loved hunting… but he wasn’t interested in the skinning and cooking… it wasn’t appealing to him… so it never got done…
• And the meat rotted… wasted…
• This verse always reminds me of the cowboys riding the first trains across America and shooting the buffalo just for fun…
e. Laziness…
• Whatever the immediate excuse might be, they are all traced back to slothfulness… laziness…
• And as a result of his laziness… the meat rotted and was wasted. Perfectly good meat was wasted.
5. This spirit demonstrates a lack of appreciation for the VALUE of gifts of God.
a. James 1:17 – The animals that the hunter caught, were in fact, gifts from God.
b. The slothful man ruined a gift God gave him. This is the ultimate in poor stewardship.
c. Certainly this could be applied to other areas of life as well… other “good gifts” that God provides… which should be VALUED and used to their fullest… not squandered or wasted.
6. Hunting for food, leather, and horns may not seem to have much immediate application to most of us.
a. However, the principle certainly applies.
b. We may not hunt for our goods, but we DO go to school or to work.
• The things we learn in school… or the money we earn at work are also commodities that we should value… and take care of.
• Just as the hunter might be able to take out his bow and catch 3 pheasants… the principle is that he should exercise good stewardship over those 3 pheasants.
• Don’t waste the gifts God gives… don’t neglect them…
c. We earn money… we buy machinery, a house, and other material goods.
d. We too are expected to be good stewards of those things…
• The man who spends thousands of dollars on a car ought to have the oil changed… and maintain that vehicle!
• The man who spends thousands on a home ought to be diligent in the upkeep of that home.
• If we aren’t diligent about the upkeep… that car or that home could be ruined… like the meat that rotted.
• And what about our own bodies? Take care of it… don’t neglect it and let it rot… like the hunter’s wasted meat!
7. Don’t waste what God has given you! Put it to good use—for God’s glory!
a. Brains… don’t waste them! Study hard! Don’t waste those valuable school years!
b. Talents… art… musical instrument… singing… craftsmanship… teaching… helping… giving… administration…
c. Don’t let them sit around and rot; put them to good use! Use it or lose it.
8. Someone is sure to say, in a spirit of artificial piety and false humility: “Well, I don’t care much about material things. I don’t want to be worldly or materialistic. Therefore, I don’t pay much attention to them. If they rot, so be it. I am too heavenly minded to care about earthly things.”
a. This is twisted thinking. It is NOT spiritual.
• This kind of thinking is akin to the Gnostic error… that material things are evil and spiritual things are good.
• The gnostic thinks and behaves as if there were some sort of disconnect between being occupied with heavenly things and our earthly life… between the spiritual realm and the physical realm.
• There is no disconnect. Our lives on earth are DIRECTLY linked to spiritual and eternal things…
• Every thought word, and DEED is being recorded and will one day be judged and rewarded.
• We are to live our spiritual lives in a material world… created by God. Everything God made is good.
b. Material goods are entrusted to us… for our use… benefit… pleasure… but especially as a TEST of our faith.
• Will we love them? Will we be generous with them? Will we acknowledge them as gifts from God and thank Him for them? Will we take care of them as God has commanded? Will we value them as gifts from God and use them for His glory? (I Tim. 6:17-19)
• The way we relate to and interact with the physical world around us… ought to be an expression of our submission to our Heavenly Father…
• He hasn’t told us to retreat to a cave and chant OM!
• He sends us INTO the world and commands us to be NOT conformed by the world, but transformed in our minds—into the image of Christ.
c. As a carpenter, it is fair to say that JESUS took the best care of His tools; He didn’t waste wood or other materials;
d. Caring for our earthly possessions is one of the ways that we demonstrate TRUE heavenly mindedness…
• WHEN we are God-conscious… we will do our best for Him.
• WHEN we do so in obedience to the Word…
• WHEN we do so in submission to our Heavenly Father and His Word.
• This is being truly heavenly-minded… living life on earth as if even the tiniest details (down to washing our car or painting the fence!) has eternal ramifications — because they DO.
e. In fact, it is not heavenly mindedness that causes a person to say, “I don’t care about material possessions.” This kind of thinking IS often worldly!
• We SHOULD care about the physical gifts God has given… and that care should follow the principles in the Word…
• Spiritual thinking will always be in harmony with the Scriptures.
• Worldly thinking ignores the principles in the Scriptures.
f. Taking good care of earthly possessions does not mean that we are materialistic.
• It COULD be—if we are overly careful about them… worry about them… love them… live for them… crave and covet them…
• It is NOT materialistic to CARE for them according the Scriptures.
• That is good stewardship… it is obedience… it is wisdom…
To The Diligent Man
27b But the substance of a diligent man is precious.
1. In contrast to the worldly mindset of the slothful man who wastes what God has given him is the attitude of the diligent man.
a. Substance: wealth; riches; substance. (His earthly goods; physical things.)
b. The diligent man sees the substance (physical things) as precious.
c. Precious: valuable, prized, weighty, precious, rare, splendid
• This does not mean that he LOVES those things or is covetous.
• Rather, it means that he sees the value in things.
2. This man is wise. He sees the value in every gift of God.
a. He may be a poor man… and may not have as MUCH property as a rich, lazy man, but whatever he has, he values and takes care of it.
b. To him, it is precious… He will not let things rot, rust, and decay.
c. He will be diligent about the upkeep of his property. (paint; termites; etc.)
d. He will be diligent because he sees the VALUE in it.
3. If he has extra things he doesn’t need, he won’t let them waste away. He will put them to good use.
a. He will either sell them and buy things he DOES need…
b. Or he will take care of them until he finds a use for them.
c. Or perhaps he will give them to someone in need.
d. This man is probably frustrated when he sees others waste gifts from God…
e. He goes by the field of the slothful and is upset… that such a potentially productive field is being wasted because a lazy man lives there!
4. This wise man sees the SPIRITUAL VALUE in taking care of God’s gifts
a. It is part of his testimony before the world…
b. Our use and care for material things is spiritual training… an ongoing exercise in submitting to Scriptural principles in our everyday daily life…
c. He sees such material goods as opportunities to help others…
d. He sees them as opportunities to advance the cause of Christ…
e. He sees potential in them… and refuses to waste them.
f. The spiritual man will see in his earthly possessions an opportunity to manifest Christlikeness through his heart attitude towards, his care of, his unselfish generosity with, and his wise use of his earthly goods.
g. The use of material goods is a most profitable spiritual exercise…
• This spiritual exercise includes guarding the heart against covetousness and loving the things of the world…
• It includes practicing giving and selflessness…
• It includes the practice of seeking things above… and using earthly good to heap up treasures in heaven…
• It includes the healthy discipline of upkeep of our property… developing a healthy work ethic…
• The treatment and care of possessions is excellent training for kids!
The contrast:
The slothful man does not value his possessions… and through negligence, he wastes them.
The diligent man sees the value of his possessions—he sees them as gifts from God—and he sees them as his stewardship from God…
Proverbs 12:28
The Way of the Righteous
28 In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.
The Way of the Righteous Preserves Life
WAY: pathway; road; course of life; way of living.
1. Prov. 2:8 – God preserves their path.
a. God gives wisdom to the righteous (vs. 6-7)
b. And as they apply that wisdom to their way… God preserves them!
c. Preserves: keep; guard; watch; observe; restrain; protect.
d. The way of the righteous is the way of applied wisdom—and that way is protected by God.
e. That is a safe way to travel through life… and one that preserves one’s life!
2. Prov.13:6 – Righteousness KEEPS him who walks in an upright way
a. The man who is … who practices righteousness in his life will find that that practice KEEPS him!
b. Keeps: guard; watch; watch over; keep.
c. It is the practice of righteousness that guards our life…
d. Certain practices are dangerous (drinking; taking drugs; reckless speeding in a car; etc.)
e. Other practices preserve life… and keeps a man safe (careful about what he eats; how he drives; what activities he involves himself in)
f. Practicing righteousness is taking care of oneself.
3. Prov. 9:11 – God’s wisdom adds years to our life…
a. Wisdom is speaking.
b. By ME (God’s wisdom—the Word) years are added to our lives.
c. By rejecting God’s Wisdom—years are subtracted from our lives.
• The teens who brush off their parents’ words of wisdom are a perfect example…
• They are told to drive carefully—but proceed to speed down the highway—to their death!
• Older believers who are warned about smoking—disregard the words of wisdom, and end up with lung cancer. Years are taken off their lives.
d. But to those who listen to God’s wisdom—and incorporate it into their daily practice discover that they don’t have to worry about lung cancer; or hepatitis, cirrhoses of the liver, alcoholism, drug addiction, or aids; broken homes, etc…
e. Why no worries there? Because they practice righteousness… and righteousness preserves their lives.
f. Prov. 11:19 – the man who practices righteousness discovers that what Solomon says is true: righteousness tendeth to life…
The Way of the Righteous Encourages a Strong, Healthy Walk
1. Prov. 10:29 – the way of the Lord is STRENGTH.
a. Strength – a stronghold; place or means of safety; protection; refuge.
b. II Sam. 22:33 – God is my strength… my fortress…
c. This verse pictures the safety of the believer who walks in the way of the Lord—or the way of righteousness as a walk INSIDE a stronghold; a fortress;
d. His walk is made STRONG by God…
e. In the way of the Lord STRENGTH is given to the upright… to the righteous.
f. When walking, strength is NEEDED… and God offers all the help and strength we need—AS we are determined to walk in the right way. God doesn’t offer His strength when we turn off course.
2. Prov. 4:11-12 – Lady Wisdom tells us HOW to walk and run SO THAT you won’t stumble.
a. Those who have a STRONG walk trip up less frequently than those who are weak.
b. Have you ever climbed a mountain? You are much more stable on your feet when walking over a rocky area than you are when your legs are tired—like rubber. You are much more likely to stumble when your legs are tired and weak.
c. God’s wisdom is our strength. And when we practice it, we won’t stumble.
d. That is a strong walk… one that keeps on walking without tripping up…
e. They shall walk and not be weary; run and not faint.
f. The way of righteousness is LIFE… a good, strong, healthy, spiritual life…
The Way of the Righteous Requires Instruction
1. Prov. 6:23 – reproofs of instruction are in the way of LIFE…
a. In our verse in ch.12, Solomon states that the way of the righteous is LIFE…
b. Here he states that along the way of life are found many reproofs…
c. Reproof = a rebuke or correction…
d. Instruction = discipline, chastening
e. The one who seeks to walk in the way of the righteous… the way of life… must be willing to accept correction along the way!
f. This implies that it is human nature to tend to swerve OFF course… and to wander away from the right pathway.
g. Hence, along the way, correction and instruction are often needed and should be heeded!
h. Cf. 10:17 – keeping instruction and remaining in the right way go hand in hand. The fool who refuses to listen to correction errs… wanders off course… out of the way of safety and life… on to a dangerous road.
i. 15:10 – note the connection between wandering off the way of righteousness… and death!
j. This is especially important for young people—who are in a position to make central and vital choices in life that will affect your spiritual life for good or bad for many, many years to come… (school; career; marriage; ministry; etc…)
k. Young people haven’t had the life experience yet to have wisdom required for such life transforming decisions. Hence, they are warned here to TAKE HEED to counsel, instruction, and correction!
2. Prov.3:6 – He shall direct thy paths (same word as way)
a. What is the way of righteousness? How are we to walk down that pathway?
b. By acknowledging GOD every step of the way… acknowledging Him as LORD… acknowledging His authority… acknowledging His Word… acknowledge Him as the One who enables us to walk… empowers us to walk…
c. Acknowledge—most often translated “know”. KNOW God! That’s how we are to walk through life.
d. The better we know Him, the more our steps will be directed by Him…
e. The more we know Him, the safer, surer, stronger, more stable and steadfast will be our walk down that pathway!
f. The way of righteousness is a life that has the knowledge of God at the forefront of our thinking all the way… all the time.
3. Ps. 25:4 – “shew me thy ways; teach me thy paths” = same term… we should PRAY along the way.
a. This is a prayer of the psalmist—asking God to SHOW him God’s ways… and asking to be TAUGHT His paths.
b. It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. We are to pray…
c. Show = cause to know; make known; reveal…
d. The psalmist wanted to know God and His ways… that is the way of the righteous.
e. We need God’s guidance in life more than we realize. Ask and ye shall receive!
f. These are the kinds of things we ought to pray for—not just our sore toes and aching backs!
g. Lord, teach me how to walk… teach me about the way of righteousness… teach me about the way of life…
h. Ps. 27:11 – lead me in the way—in the plain (level ground)—because of the enemies.
• There are enemies at every corner!
• Walking in the way is dangerous—ask for God’s leading.
• Ask God to lead you in a “plain” (level; straight) way… so that we can avoid the pitfalls and potholes of life. If we don’t ask—and if we are not walking in dependence upon Him… we will find those potholes… when we could have been directed to a plain way!
The Way of the Righteous Requires Heart Preparation
1. Prov. 23:19 – guide your heart along the way…
a. The way of righteousness is life.
b. As we journey down that way… that road… that pathway,
c. Guide: go straight on; make progress…
2. Prov. 4:18 – the path of the just = a shining way!
a. The path of the just is virtually the same expression as the way of righteousness.
b. In this text, Solomon likens the path of the godly man to the rising of the sun… a glorious sunrise!
• It begins as the shining light—the first ray of light over the horizon that dispels the darkness of the night.
• Then the sun shines more and more—brighter and brighter until the perfect day … until the day is complete…
• Perfect = firm; fixed; established; ready
• The perfect day speaks of a day that has been fully established… no more dawning but brilliant daylight!
• We are to be increasing in the knowledge of Christ—filled with the fullness of God…reaching forth unto those things which are before… pressing toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus…
• II Pet. 1:19 – Peter uses the same illustration as Solomon used—only Peter uses the illustration of a rising sun to describe the increasing light that comes from God’s Word… as we lay hold of it.
• In the straight and narrow pathway of light, light increases day by day
• The new believer walks in the light… and his eyes are opened to the spiritual realm!
• As that believer continues down the path of the just, the light becomes brighter and brighter.
• Thus, as he looks at himself, the light illuminates more and more dirt and dust that was previously not noticed… but now, with increasing light, comes increasing responsibility… and in turn, increasing holiness!
c. As we walk down the way of righteousness… we should be growing and increasing in righteousness…
• This requires heart preparation DAILY… in the Word of God.
• This requires guiding our heart along the way… in the way… making progress spiritually…
3. Ps. 119:9 – Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
a. The way is cleansed by taking heed to the Word…
b. Ps. 119:101 – I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.
• Self restraint is required to remain in the way of righteousness
4. Ps. 119:104 – hate every false way…
a. Part of preparing the heart is learning to LOVE righteousness… and learning to HATE iniquity.
b. That is part of godliness… righteousness… the way of righteousness
c. It is a matter of training the heart.
d. Hate it enough to forsake it!
* Prov. 9:6 – the foolish are in the way of death… forsake it and live!
5. Ps. 119:15 – I will have respect unto thy ways…
a. Hating the false way is proper… but loving and respecting the right way is part of heart preparation needed for our journey on the “right road”…
b. Respect = show regard to, pay attention to, consider…
c. Do we show the proper regard… respect for remaining on the righteous road?
6. There is not only life at the end of the road of righteousness, but there is life all along the way—a good life; abundant life;
a. There is no death on this pathway… not on the straight and narrow road…
b. There is nothing but life… good life… a life worth living…
c. There is no death in this way… none of the ways or sorrows of the world that end in death and diminish our joy in the Lord along the way.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 13
Proverbs 13:1
Hearing Instruction
Introduction:
1. The first three verses of this chapter all deal with the subject of speaking.
2. A wise son pays attention and takes heed when his father speaks. A foolish son is a scorner… he does not hear rebuke.
3. This is a theme that occurs several times in Proverbs… one that God felt was worth repeating.
1a A wise son heareth his father’s instruction…
1. Earlier in this book, Solomon gave wise instruction to his son. (4:1-12)
a. vs. 1 – “hear”—one of the greatest desires on the heart of any parent.
b. vs. 2 – the parent has instruction that which is “good” for the child. The parent knows how good it is. The child is often skeptical.
• That’s how it was in the Garden of Eden…
• God’s instruction was good for Adam and Eve…
• But they thought He was holding back something good from them… they would be like gods…
• By restricting them from the tree of knowledge, God was not preventing them from enjoyment… He was keeping them from evil—and from the awful consequences of evil!
• Somehow, man became convinced that they would be better off—have more fun—if they could ignore the instruction of the heavenly Father.
• So has it ever been since with the sons and daughters of Adam.
c. vs. 3 – Solomon knew what he was talking about. He was once the son. He knows what his son is going through.
• So too with every parent today.
• We have all been on the other side… we were all once kids listening to our parents.
• We all remember thinking we knew more than they did.
• We all remember how foolish and restrictive our parents’ rules seemed at the time.
• And we have all grown up—and realize NOW how necessary they were… and that they were for our good.
d. Consider the GOOD this parent wants for his child: (Prov. 4)
• vs. 6 – she shall preserve thee… and keep thee
• vs. 7 – get wisdom—it is the most important thing in life
• vs. 8 – she will promote you… bring you honor…
• vs. 9 – she will be an ornament of grace; deliver you.
• vs. 10 – she will add years to your life.
• Vs. 12 – she will keep you from stumbling…
• When parental instruction is so GOOD for you, it’s hard to grasp WHY young people seem to fight and kick against it so… except for the fact that we have all been there…
e. The parent KNOWS from experience how important God’s wisdom is. The child has not yet learned that from experience.
• Hence, the child has to take it by faith…
• The child has to TRUST his/her parents… and BELIEVE that the instruction dad or mom gives is for my good—even if I don’t see how right now… “trust me—it’s for your good.”
• They have to believe that their parents love them and are giving such advice or counsel out of love and for my best interest.
• That is how we walk with God too. We don’t always see how or why God does what He does, but He encourages us to TRUST Him.
• And when we don’t trust Him… and do things our own way… it grieves God. It grieves parents too…
• Because both God and parents KNOW that there are some awful consequences of not following the way of wisdom.
2. Wisdom listens to instruction.
a. The book of Proverbs was written for this purpose—of passing on vital instruction to young men and women.
• Prov. 1:2-3
• Prov. 1:5 – a wise man will HEAR
• Prov. 1:7-8
3. Receiving instruction is GOOD for you!
a. 8:10 – receive my instruction and not silver (better than money)
b. 8:32-34 – hear; hearken; don’t refuse; blessed is the one who hears
c. 9:9 – give instruction to him and he becomes wiser
d. 10:17 – it keeps you in the way of life
e. 13:18 – but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured
f. 15:5 – but he that regardeth reproof is prudent
g. 15:32 – he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.
h. 19:20 – ?Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.?
i. 20:11 – when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.
4. It HURTS to be rebuked, but it is good for us in the long run.
a. It is often humiliating, hard to take, ego crushing, and embarrassing, but that is how we learn!
b. Prov. 27:6 – “A friend means well, even when he hurts you.”
• A friend is willing to wound you or me… not because they like to wound, but because they don’t want their friends headed down the wrong road.
• Count your critics as friends. (That’s hard to do… but true!)
• A friend is willing to wound a friend because they want us on the way of life… not death.
• The same is true of a parent and child…
• When a parent gives instruction… and reproves… or corrects, it is for the good of the child.
• The same is true of elders and members of the Body…
• The same is true in the workplace as well…
1b But a scorner heareth not rebuke.
1. How can a person ever correct a fault if we don’t admit we have one, and we refuse to be told of it, and who make enemies out of those who point it out?
a. That person is doomed to a life of failure and faults that NEVER get corrected.
b. If the person refuses correction and instruction, then he will never correct those faults… they are his for life.
c. This is WORSE than the man in James who looks in the mirror and walks away, forgetting what manner of man he was. This man refuses to look! He will walk around with dirt on his face…
d. This of course, is the result of PRIDE. Pride refuses to acknowledge its faults… refuses to admit that it needs to change… and hence, pride keeps a man from changing.
e. It takes a healthy dose of humility to accept instruction and reproof.
f. But the proud man who refuses to hear a rebuke is doomed to live with his faults forever.
2. Some people even HATE or despise being corrected.
a. Prov. 5:12 – “how I hated it!”
b. Prov. 15:10 – correction is grievous to the one who has broken the rules!
c. Prov. 15:12 – a scorner loveth not one that reproveth him; neither will go unto the wise
d. Prov. 3:11 – despise not the chastening of the Lord (same word)
e. Young people sometimes HATE being rebuked by their parents.
f. Older folks sometimes despise the chastening of the Lord.
g. This is the same heart problem… despising authority… self rule… stubbornness… pride… all rolled up into one big, bad attitude.
h. But no matter how uncomfortable it FEELS… no matter how embarrassing… humbling… the right response is to submit!
3. There are serious consequences:
a. Prov. 5:11-13 – the pain and regret of not listening…
» These are the words of the man given to lust at the end of his life. He’s looking back over his life of sin.
» He has already experienced all of the consequences of his sin.
» Now he knows what people had warned him earlier.
» Now he has lost his honor, his wealth, his health, his respect…
» At the end of his days he has nothing… and he laments his life of poverty, disease, and disgrace.
» People warned him of the dangers and the consequences, but he hated the instruction… he despised the reproofs… back then he didn’t want to listen to anyone. He just did his own thing.
» Now he realizes how he has wasted his life… he should have listened, but it is too late now. “If only I had listened…” seems to be the intent of this verse.
» This seems to be the most painful of the consequences… living the rest of his days knowing that the shame, disgrace, poverty, and poor health is all his fault! Living with the guilt… the stinging conscience… the regret… the irretrievable loss… hurts!
b. Prov. 10:17 – but he that refuseth reproof erreth?
• He not only errs by not listening… but he is on a road of continually erring!
• Erreth = to wander about; stagger about; as a drunkard
c. Prov. 12:1 – but he that hateth reproof is brutish
• Brutish: like a brute beast; stupid.
• The one who hates reproof is behaving like a beast… an animal… mindless… no conscience… no heart…
• It is behavior based solely on the gut feeling… like a beast.
• Brutish is not a compliment!
d. Prov. 13:18 – ?Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction…
e. There are serious consequences of not listening to instruction: regret, a life of wandering, poverty, shame… need we go on?
f. Prov. 15:10 – it gets worse. It can lead to death!
• Johnny, don’t you dare try drugs!
• Johnny, don’t take a ride with those kids who drink!
g. The point is well made: LISTEN to instruction!
Proverbs 1:1-4
Reasons for the Proverbs
To Know Wisdom and Instruction
1. It is quite amazing to think that the God who created the universe, would even care enough about us to stoop and cause a book to be written for us, to tell us how to live… what to pursue and what not to pursue…
2. First of all note that this book was written that we might KNOW something.
a. It was not written so that we might FEEL good… or feel warm… or feel anything.
b. It was written that we might PERCEIVE the words of understanding.
c. Solomon wrote that knowledge excelleth folly and ignorance as light excelleth darkness. Ignorance causes men to wander in darkness.
3. God wants us to KNOW wisdom
a. The term for wisdom in vs. 2 is used 37 times in this book!
b. It means skillfulness; the ability to use knowledge properly.
c. It is possible to have lots of instruction and information in our head, and yet not have the wisdom to put it into practice in our daily lives.
d. We have many brilliant men and women throughout our country who have mastered their field… specialists in computer science… specialized fields of medicine… masters of literature… and yet have not the wisdom to get along with their neighbor or maintain a healthy family life!
e. Knowledge isn’t enough. If it were, our generation would be doing just fine! Knowledge has doubled every year since 1955. We have more information and data than we know what to do with. But we do NOT have the wisdom to use it properly.
f. The world has plenty of knowledge and information—but by anyone’s standards: the world today is a mess!
g. Unfortunately, the man who wrote this book failed on this very point! Read the account of the end of Solomon’s life. What a warning to us!
4. God wants us to KNOW instruction
a. Instruction – this term is used 26 times in proverbs.
b. It is sometimes translated “chasten”. (Cf. 13:24 – chastening a son.)
c. It means to instruct by discipline.
d. Instruction or training is a form of discipline… discipline of the mind… and ultimately, when the truth sinks deeper, into the heart.
e. Like a father who loves his son, and therefore chastens him, so God wrote this book as part of our “instruction”… discipline… chastening…
5. God wants us to KNOW the words of understanding
a. This term has virtually the same meaning as our English term.
b. It might be translated “discernment.”
c. This kind of spiritual discernment is what WE need today more than anything!—the ability to approve things that are excellent—
d. God wants His people to be able to discern between right and wrong… holy and unholy… clean and unclean. The devil is doing his best to blur those lines of distinction today.
e. Let’s make this our prayer: that we would all be better able to perceive the words of understanding… grasp a discerning mind…
f. The decisions many believers make today reveals a dearth of discernment.
g. It is far better to be poor and discerning, than rich and lack discernment; It is far better to be sick and discerning, than healthy and lack discernment; It is far better to be lowly and discerning, than important and famous and lack discernment; It is far better to be a failure in the eyes of the world and discerning, than to be a worldly and lack spiritual discernment.
h. The book of Proverbs has been written to help us put things in order… to give us discernment in ordering our lives… arranging our priorities…
To Receive the Instruction of Wisdom, Justice, Judgment, and Equity
1. Receive: God wants the readers of this book to KNOW wisdom… to learn in their heads all these wise principles… but also to TAKE IT IN!
It is possible to memorize the words of wisdom—but never “receive” it inwardly.
Ex: You can give your son a lecture. Once lectured, he has your words of wisdom in his head. He heard you. But that is not a guarantee that he “received” them! He could be just politely nodding to all you say… and not taking any of it in!
2. The purpose of the book is not accomplished in our life—even if we have memorized the whole book! God’s purpose is that we would RECEIVE these truths… take them to heart… make them “yours”… make them your words to live by… not just a dry lecture from an ancient king!
3. This term for wisdom in verse 3 is a different Hebrew word than was used in verse 2.
a. Harry Ironside wrote that this term for wisdom comes from a root meaning “bereavement”…
b. He concluded that this term differed in that this term described learning from unhappy experiences… the hard way… either on your own, or through the unhappy experiences of others. (the school of hard knocks)
c. Proverbs records many unhappy experiences and the results of folly… the young man and the harlot; the drunkard; the sloth; etc…
4. How much better to learn “by means of God’s Word”!!!
a. Ps. 17:4 – “By the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.”
b. That is the best way to learn—by God’s word rather than by experiencing all that Proverbs warns about—sloth; greed; lust; etc.
c. We can gain wisdom about the dangers of drugs by trying them out and paying the price—or by listening to words of wisdom!
d. We can gain wisdom about the consequences of laziness by experience OR by taking heed to the words of wisdom in God’s Word!
e. Proverbs was written that we might RECEIVE this wisdom the easy way—by learning through God’s Word rather than having to learn the hard way all the time!
5. Unfortunately, Solomon learned many of these lessons the hard way—by experiencing the emptiness of following his own understanding…
a. He pursued many of the foolish things he warns us about in Proverbs!
b. He sought happiness through fun and parties and having a good time! (Ecc. 2:1-3)
c. He sought happiness through collecting great possessions. (Ecc.2:4,7-11) But it was all vanity!
d. Solomon pursued wisdom through experience… the hard way.
e. Proverbs is written that we might obtain wisdom the easy way—by taking heed to the inspired word of God!
f. RECEIVE this wisdom… take it in — just as if we had experienced all these things ourselves!
6. God wants the readers of Proverbs to “receive” the instruction of justice
a. Justice = righteousness; right kind of behavior; fair; just behavior
b. One learns in proverbs not to be a respecter of persons. The rich are not always right or kind. The powerful are not always wise. Treat people justly and fairly…
c. God wants us to TAKE IN these truths that deal with justice… into our heart, not just our head.
d. Make these truths that deal with justice OUR truth… words that WE live by…
e. Proverbs has a lot to say about being fair and just in our daily lives.
• Prov. 14:20 – Justice will keep us from being a respecter of persons… as such we will not treat the poor harshly…
• Prov.22.2 – the poor and rich are the same in God’s sight!
• Proverbs will keep us from all the ungodly biases and prejudices of the world. It will make us fair and just—if applied!
• 29:27 – Being “just” is a way of life = and one that will often be opposed. But that is the path God wants US to pursue!
7. Next, God wants the readers to “receive” the instruction of judgment
a. Judgment = the quality or ability to hear and decide a matter or a case fairly. This is the work of a judge. Every one of us needs to have this quality of good judgment.
b. Proverbs was written that we might learn to have good judgment. Far too many have poor judgment!
c. Proverbs has a lot to say about exercising good judgment…
• Prov. 18:17 – One with good judgment does not make up his mind on a matter after hearing “him that is first in his own cause.”
• Solomon demonstrated that when the two mothers came with their own version of who was the real mother of the child.
• Solomon showed good judgment. Proverbs can give US that kind of good judgment too… if applied.
• Jesus said, “Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
• We all make decisions every day. Decisions on all sorts of issues and matters. How we need good judgment in making all those little decisions… because when you string all those little decisions together—that IS our life… that IS the course of our life.
8. Next, God wants the readers to receive the instruction of equity
a. Equity = even; upright; level; honest.
b. The author talks about a “just weight”—honesty and equity in business dealings! (Prov.11:1)
c. Honesty with our tongues… honesty with God…
Note what the author is doing here:
He is mingling together moral qualities with intellectual ones.
• Wisdom and instruction for the head;
• But they must be accompanied by justice; judgment; and equity for the heart.
• A truly wise man is a godly man.
• Wicked men can use their intellect and craftiness for evil purposes.
• But a truly wise man uses his intellect for that which is righteous; and equitable… Proverbs was written that we might KNOW wisdom and RECEIVE it… and allow it to produce its fruit in our lives: justice; good judgment; and honesty—integrity!
• Time spent in Proverbs is time well spent!
• One man likened Proverbs to medicine or vitamins. You shouldn’t make it your complete diet—but we need a little every day!
Proverbs 1:1-4
Reasons for the Proverbs
To Know Wisdom and Instruction
1. It is quite amazing to think that the God who created the universe, would even care enough about us to stoop and cause a book to be written for us, to tell us how to live… what to pursue and what not to pursue…
2. First of all note that this book was written that we might KNOW something.
a. It was not written so that we might FEEL good… or feel warm… or feel anything.
b. It was written that we might PERCEIVE the words of understanding.
c. Solomon wrote that knowledge excelleth folly and ignorance as light excelleth darkness. Ignorance causes men to wander in darkness.
3. God wants us to KNOW wisdom
a. The term for wisdom in vs. 2 is used 37 times in this book!
b. It means skillfulness; the ability to use knowledge properly.
c. It is possible to have lots of instruction and information in our head, and yet not have the wisdom to put it into practice in our daily lives.
d. We have many brilliant men and women throughout our country who have mastered their field… specialists in computer science… specialized fields of medicine… masters of literature… and yet have not the wisdom to get along with their neighbor or maintain a healthy family life!
e. Knowledge isn’t enough. If it were, our generation would be doing just fine! Knowledge has doubled every year since 1955. We have more information and data than we know what to do with. But we do NOT have the wisdom to use it properly.
f. The world has plenty of knowledge and information—but by anyone’s standards: the world today is a mess!
g. Unfortunately, the man who wrote this book failed on this very point! Read the account of the end of Solomon’s life. What a warning to us!
4. God wants us to KNOW instruction
a. Instruction – this term is used 26 times in proverbs.
b. It is sometimes translated “chasten”. (Cf. 13:24 – chastening a son.)
c. It means to instruct by discipline.
d. Instruction or training is a form of discipline… discipline of the mind… and ultimately, when the truth sinks deeper, into the heart.
e. Like a father who loves his son, and therefore chastens him, so God wrote this book as part of our “instruction”… discipline… chastening…
5. God wants us to KNOW the words of understanding
a. This term has virtually the same meaning as our English term.
b. It might be translated “discernment.”
c. This kind of spiritual discernment is what WE need today more than anything!—the ability to approve things that are excellent—
d. God wants His people to be able to discern between right and wrong… holy and unholy… clean and unclean. The devil is doing his best to blur those lines of distinction today.
e. Let’s make this our prayer: that we would all be better able to perceive the words of understanding… grasp a discerning mind…
f. The decisions many believers make today reveals a dearth of discernment.
g. It is far better to be poor and discerning, than rich and lack discernment; It is far better to be sick and discerning, than healthy and lack discernment; It is far better to be lowly and discerning, than important and famous and lack discernment; It is far better to be a failure in the eyes of the world and discerning, than to be a worldly and lack spiritual discernment.
h. The book of Proverbs has been written to help us put things in order… to give us discernment in ordering our lives… arranging our priorities…
To Receive the Instruction of Wisdom, Justice, Judgment, and Equity
1. Receive: God wants the readers of this book to KNOW wisdom… to learn in their heads all these wise principles… but also to TAKE IT IN!
It is possible to memorize the words of wisdom—but never “receive” it inwardly.
Ex: You can give your son a lecture. Once lectured, he has your words of wisdom in his head. He heard you. But that is not a guarantee that he “received” them! He could be just politely nodding to all you say… and not taking any of it in!
2. The purpose of the book is not accomplished in our life—even if we have memorized the whole book! God’s purpose is that we would RECEIVE these truths… take them to heart… make them “yours”… make them your words to live by… not just a dry lecture from an ancient king!
3. This term for wisdom in verse 3 is a different Hebrew word than was used in verse 2.
a. Harry Ironside wrote that this term for wisdom comes from a root meaning “bereavement”…
b. He concluded that this term differed in that this term described learning from unhappy experiences… the hard way… either on your own, or through the unhappy experiences of others. (the school of hard knocks)
c. Proverbs records many unhappy experiences and the results of folly… the young man and the harlot; the drunkard; the sloth; etc…
4. How much better to learn “by means of God’s Word”!!!
a. Ps. 17:4 – “By the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.”
b. That is the best way to learn—by God’s word rather than by experiencing all that Proverbs warns about—sloth; greed; lust; etc.
c. We can gain wisdom about the dangers of drugs by trying them out and paying the price—or by listening to words of wisdom!
d. We can gain wisdom about the consequences of laziness by experience OR by taking heed to the words of wisdom in God’s Word!
e. Proverbs was written that we might RECEIVE this wisdom the easy way—by learning through God’s Word rather than having to learn the hard way all the time!
5. Unfortunately, Solomon learned many of these lessons the hard way—by experiencing the emptiness of following his own understanding…
a. He pursued many of the foolish things he warns us about in Proverbs!
b. He sought happiness through fun and parties and having a good time! (Ecc. 2:1-3)
c. He sought happiness through collecting great possessions. (Ecc.2:4,7-11) But it was all vanity!
d. Solomon pursued wisdom through experience… the hard way.
e. Proverbs is written that we might obtain wisdom the easy way—by taking heed to the inspired word of God!
f. RECEIVE this wisdom… take it in — just as if we had experienced all these things ourselves!
6. God wants the readers of Proverbs to “receive” the instruction of justice
a. Justice = righteousness; right kind of behavior; fair; just behavior
b. One learns in proverbs not to be a respecter of persons. The rich are not always right or kind. The powerful are not always wise. Treat people justly and fairly…
c. God wants us to TAKE IN these truths that deal with justice… into our heart, not just our head.
d. Make these truths that deal with justice OUR truth… words that WE live by…
e. Proverbs has a lot to say about being fair and just in our daily lives.
• Prov. 14:20 – Justice will keep us from being a respecter of persons… as such we will not treat the poor harshly…
• Prov.22.2 – the poor and rich are the same in God’s sight!
• Proverbs will keep us from all the ungodly biases and prejudices of the world. It will make us fair and just—if applied!
• 29:27 – Being “just” is a way of life = and one that will often be opposed. But that is the path God wants US to pursue!
7. Next, God wants the readers to “receive” the instruction of judgment
a. Judgment = the quality or ability to hear and decide a matter or a case fairly. This is the work of a judge. Every one of us needs to have this quality of good judgment.
b. Proverbs was written that we might learn to have good judgment. Far too many have poor judgment!
c. Proverbs has a lot to say about exercising good judgment…
• Prov. 18:17 – One with good judgment does not make up his mind on a matter after hearing “him that is first in his own cause.”
• Solomon demonstrated that when the two mothers came with their own version of who was the real mother of the child.
• Solomon showed good judgment. Proverbs can give US that kind of good judgment too… if applied.
• Jesus said, “Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
• We all make decisions every day. Decisions on all sorts of issues and matters. How we need good judgment in making all those little decisions… because when you string all those little decisions together—that IS our life… that IS the course of our life.
8. Next, God wants the readers to receive the instruction of equity
a. Equity = even; upright; level; honest.
b. The author talks about a “just weight”—honesty and equity in business dealings! (Prov.11:1)
c. Honesty with our tongues… honesty with God…
Note what the author is doing here:
He is mingling together moral qualities with intellectual ones.
• Wisdom and instruction for the head;
• But they must be accompanied by justice; judgment; and equity for the heart.
• A truly wise man is a godly man.
• Wicked men can use their intellect and craftiness for evil purposes.
• But a truly wise man uses his intellect for that which is righteous; and equitable… Proverbs was written that we might KNOW wisdom and RECEIVE it… and allow it to produce its fruit in our lives: justice; good judgment; and honesty—integrity!
• Time spent in Proverbs is time well spent!
• One man likened Proverbs to medicine or vitamins. You shouldn’t make it your complete diet—but we need a little every day!
Proverbs 1:1-4
Reasons for the Proverbs
To Know Wisdom and Instruction
1. It is quite amazing to think that the God who created the universe, would even care enough about us to stoop and cause a book to be written for us, to tell us how to live… what to pursue and what not to pursue…
2. First of all note that this book was written that we might KNOW something.
a. It was not written so that we might FEEL good… or feel warm… or feel anything.
b. It was written that we might PERCEIVE the words of understanding.
c. Solomon wrote that knowledge excelleth folly and ignorance as light excelleth darkness. Ignorance causes men to wander in darkness.
3. God wants us to KNOW wisdom
a. The term for wisdom in vs. 2 is used 37 times in this book!
b. It means skillfulness; the ability to use knowledge properly.
c. It is possible to have lots of instruction and information in our head, and yet not have the wisdom to put it into practice in our daily lives.
d. We have many brilliant men and women throughout our country who have mastered their field… specialists in computer science… specialized fields of medicine… masters of literature… and yet have not the wisdom to get along with their neighbor or maintain a healthy family life!
e. Knowledge isn’t enough. If it were, our generation would be doing just fine! Knowledge has doubled every year since 1955. We have more information and data than we know what to do with. But we do NOT have the wisdom to use it properly.
f. The world has plenty of knowledge and information—but by anyone’s standards: the world today is a mess!
g. Unfortunately, the man who wrote this book failed on this very point! Read the account of the end of Solomon’s life. What a warning to us!
4. God wants us to KNOW instruction
a. Instruction – this term is used 26 times in proverbs.
b. It is sometimes translated “chasten”. (Cf. 13:24 – chastening a son.)
c. It means to instruct by discipline.
d. Instruction or training is a form of discipline… discipline of the mind… and ultimately, when the truth sinks deeper, into the heart.
e. Like a father who loves his son, and therefore chastens him, so God wrote this book as part of our “instruction”… discipline… chastening…
5. God wants us to KNOW the words of understanding
a. This term has virtually the same meaning as our English term.
b. It might be translated “discernment.”
c. This kind of spiritual discernment is what WE need today more than anything!—the ability to approve things that are excellent—
d. God wants His people to be able to discern between right and wrong… holy and unholy… clean and unclean. The devil is doing his best to blur those lines of distinction today.
e. Let’s make this our prayer: that we would all be better able to perceive the words of understanding… grasp a discerning mind…
f. The decisions many believers make today reveals a dearth of discernment.
g. It is far better to be poor and discerning, than rich and lack discernment; It is far better to be sick and discerning, than healthy and lack discernment; It is far better to be lowly and discerning, than important and famous and lack discernment; It is far better to be a failure in the eyes of the world and discerning, than to be a worldly and lack spiritual discernment.
h. The book of Proverbs has been written to help us put things in order… to give us discernment in ordering our lives… arranging our priorities…
To Receive the Instruction of Wisdom, Justice, Judgment, and Equity
1. Receive: God wants the readers of this book to KNOW wisdom… to learn in their heads all these wise principles… but also to TAKE IT IN!
It is possible to memorize the words of wisdom—but never “receive” it inwardly.
Ex: You can give your son a lecture. Once lectured, he has your words of wisdom in his head. He heard you. But that is not a guarantee that he “received” them! He could be just politely nodding to all you say… and not taking any of it in!
2. The purpose of the book is not accomplished in our life—even if we have memorized the whole book! God’s purpose is that we would RECEIVE these truths… take them to heart… make them “yours”… make them your words to live by… not just a dry lecture from an ancient king!
3. This term for wisdom in verse 3 is a different Hebrew word than was used in verse 2.
a. Harry Ironside wrote that this term for wisdom comes from a root meaning “bereavement”…
b. He concluded that this term differed in that this term described learning from unhappy experiences… the hard way… either on your own, or through the unhappy experiences of others. (the school of hard knocks)
c. Proverbs records many unhappy experiences and the results of folly… the young man and the harlot; the drunkard; the sloth; etc…
4. How much better to learn “by means of God’s Word”!!!
a. Ps. 17:4 – “By the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.”
b. That is the best way to learn—by God’s word rather than by experiencing all that Proverbs warns about—sloth; greed; lust; etc.
c. We can gain wisdom about the dangers of drugs by trying them out and paying the price—or by listening to words of wisdom!
d. We can gain wisdom about the consequences of laziness by experience OR by taking heed to the words of wisdom in God’s Word!
e. Proverbs was written that we might RECEIVE this wisdom the easy way—by learning through God’s Word rather than having to learn the hard way all the time!
5. Unfortunately, Solomon learned many of these lessons the hard way—by experiencing the emptiness of following his own understanding…
a. He pursued many of the foolish things he warns us about in Proverbs!
b. He sought happiness through fun and parties and having a good time! (Ecc. 2:1-3)
c. He sought happiness through collecting great possessions. (Ecc.2:4,7-11) But it was all vanity!
d. Solomon pursued wisdom through experience… the hard way.
e. Proverbs is written that we might obtain wisdom the easy way—by taking heed to the inspired word of God!
f. RECEIVE this wisdom… take it in — just as if we had experienced all these things ourselves!
6. God wants the readers of Proverbs to “receive” the instruction of justice
a. Justice = righteousness; right kind of behavior; fair; just behavior
b. One learns in proverbs not to be a respecter of persons. The rich are not always right or kind. The powerful are not always wise. Treat people justly and fairly…
c. God wants us to TAKE IN these truths that deal with justice… into our heart, not just our head.
d. Make these truths that deal with justice OUR truth… words that WE live by…
e. Proverbs has a lot to say about being fair and just in our daily lives.
• Prov. 14:20 – Justice will keep us from being a respecter of persons… as such we will not treat the poor harshly…
• Prov.22.2 – the poor and rich are the same in God’s sight!
• Proverbs will keep us from all the ungodly biases and prejudices of the world. It will make us fair and just—if applied!
• 29:27 – Being “just” is a way of life = and one that will often be opposed. But that is the path God wants US to pursue!
7. Next, God wants the readers to “receive” the instruction of judgment
a. Judgment = the quality or ability to hear and decide a matter or a case fairly. This is the work of a judge. Every one of us needs to have this quality of good judgment.
b. Proverbs was written that we might learn to have good judgment. Far too many have poor judgment!
c. Proverbs has a lot to say about exercising good judgment…
• Prov. 18:17 – One with good judgment does not make up his mind on a matter after hearing “him that is first in his own cause.”
• Solomon demonstrated that when the two mothers came with their own version of who was the real mother of the child.
• Solomon showed good judgment. Proverbs can give US that kind of good judgment too… if applied.
• Jesus said, “Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
• We all make decisions every day. Decisions on all sorts of issues and matters. How we need good judgment in making all those little decisions… because when you string all those little decisions together—that IS our life… that IS the course of our life.
8. Next, God wants the readers to receive the instruction of equity
a. Equity = even; upright; level; honest.
b. The author talks about a “just weight”—honesty and equity in business dealings! (Prov.11:1)
c. Honesty with our tongues… honesty with God…
Note what the author is doing here:
He is mingling together moral qualities with intellectual ones.
• Wisdom and instruction for the head;
• But they must be accompanied by justice; judgment; and equity for the heart.
• A truly wise man is a godly man.
• Wicked men can use their intellect and craftiness for evil purposes.
• But a truly wise man uses his intellect for that which is righteous; and equitable… Proverbs was written that we might KNOW wisdom and RECEIVE it… and allow it to produce its fruit in our lives: justice; good judgment; and honesty—integrity!
• Time spent in Proverbs is time well spent!
• One man likened Proverbs to medicine or vitamins. You shouldn’t make it your complete diet—but we need a little every day!
Proverbs 13:6
Safety in Righteousness
Introduction:
1. Here Solomon contrasts two kinds of men:
• The upright in the way
• The sinner… the man who practices sin.
2. Solomon also contrasts their ends:
• The upright is preserved
• The sinner is overthrown
3. He also contrasts the reasons for their ends:
• Righteousness
• Wickedness
6a Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way…
A.) The Upright in the Way
1. Upright: integrity; innocence; simplicity; a state or condition of moral goodness in a life, with a focus of not having guilt or sin; blameless.
a. This isn’t a sinlessly perfect man… but a man of integrity.
b. I Kings 32:24 – an interesting use of the term: translated “at a venture.” (He wasn’t intending to hit the king; he shot the bow innocently… with respect to killing the king.)
c. The upright man is one who is free of ulterior motives… no sinister intent… nothing up his sleeve… pure… innocent…
2. Way: road; way; journey; manner; course of life; of moral character.
3. The man being described here is one whose WAY—his whole manner of life… his habits… his character… the road he is on is one of purity… innocence… a goodness that isn’t phony… nothing sinister… blameless.
B.) This Man is “Kept”
1. Kept: guard, watch, watch over, keep; protect from dangers.
a. Ps. 32:7 – Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble.
• Preserve = same word as “kept”
• God guards over His people—and we are safe.
• The Bible uses the images of a mighty fortress; a strong tower; a hiding place; a place of safety and refuge.
• In Gods’ care we are kept… safe… secure… guarded… protected.
• This is the idea behind this term.
b. The Lord does the preserving—but He uses various means…
c. HOW does God keep His people safe? What does He use to protect us? The Bible tells us how…
C.) Righteousness Keeps the Upright Man
1. The practice of righteous living serves as a wall of protection around the believer.
a. The man who practices righteousness will do things the right way.
b. The man who doesn’t practice righteousness will not be protected…
2. Think of some of the things that righteousness will keep us safe FROM:
a. Jail. If you rob banks or steal you should fear this… but if you practice righteousness—there is no fear. (Rom. 13:3-4)
b. Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases… If you practice righteousness and remain happily and faithfully monogamous, there is no need to fear such diseases in the slightest.
c. Becoming an alcoholic. I have alcoholics in my family. I may even be genetically predisposed to alcoholism. But practicing righteousness keeps me safe. I am not in the least bit worried.
d. Expelled from school—no need to fear that if you practice righteousness. Doing the right thing at school will protect you. It will keep you safe… safe from all the trouble that others might find themselves in because they did NOT practice righteousness.
e. Fiery darts of the wicked one. (Eph. 6:16) Believers who do not practice righteousness may find themselves wounded by the devil… but if we practice righteousness… we are safe. There is nothing he can do to us… other than bring us into a trial that God has allowed to purify us and remove dross. If we practice righteousness—the worse thing Satan can do to us is to make us stronger and purer.
f. Eph. 6:14 – Righteousness is a breastplate—that keeps us safe from attacks.
3. The way we live and the choices we make will serve to PROTECT us and PRESERVE us from many of the pitfalls and troubles others experience.
a. Ps. 25:20-21 – Let integrity and uprightness preserve me…
• Here the psalmist PRAYS for the Lord to keep and preserve his soul… his life…
• And he prays for God to use the means He has revealed: integrity and uprightness…
• Think of HOW this prayer request might have come about…
» You face a situation where you are forced to choose—the way of deceit or the way of integrity.
i. Perhaps quite a few of the kids are cheating on their exams…
ii. Perhaps the office workers are all in a conspiracy to lie…
iii. Perhaps an opportunity to do a little stretching of the truth would be very profitable for your business…
» You choose the way of integrity—and then PRAY that God would use that choice to preserve and protect you!
» It is a request for God to bless the right choice you made…
» Choosing integrity will always preserve our soul. It may not be the best choice economically, socially, or politically… but it is always best spiritually.
b. Prov. 2:11 – Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
• Discretion and discernment will deliver us from evil men and all the trouble they will eventually find themselves in.
• Discretion – the ability to make wise decisions.
• If our minds and hearts are FULL of God’s Word, we will always have a biblical principle that will come to mind for this or that situation.
• Spiritual understanding preserves us too.
• Spiritual understanding comes over time… time spent in the Word… reading… in Sunday school… hearing messages…
• In all those times you read the word and didn’t think you got anything out of it… and in those times when you heard a message that you thought wasn’t so great… God is giving spiritual understanding… drilling truth in deeper and deeper… whether we are aware of it or not.
• The more discretion we have… the more light… the better… and the safer we are.
• Discretion preserves us… indiscretion gets us in all kinds of trouble.
c. Prov. 4:5-6 – wisdom shall preserve thee
• The same principle applies here.
• The more wisdom we have… the more we know of God’s wisdom found in His word—the safer we will be spiritually.
• Ignorance is NOT bliss in the Christian life.
• Ignorance and darkness are extremely dangerous to our Christian walk. The devil loves ignorant believers. He preys upon them… and often devours them.
d. Prov.13:3 – He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life
• Righteousness keeps him that is upright in the way.
• This verse says that a righteous use of one’s tongue will protect us.
• Oh, what trouble we can get ourselves into because of indiscriminate use of our tongues…
• Righteousness protects us. An unrighteous use of our tongue will do the opposite.
• If you want to be safe and protected from evil—guard your mouth.
4. God does protect us… but He chose to do so THROUGH the means He has recorded in His Word.
a. If we ignore the means He has provided, we will miss out on the protection they afford.
b. But if we utilize the means of safety God has given us, we will be protected.
c. God’s means: a closed mouth; wisdom; integrity; uprightness; doing things the right way; purity;
d. If we reject the means of safety, we are at the same time reject the safety itself!
e. If you work with radioactive materials, and your company provides a means of protecting you against it, USING the MEANS PROVIDED will keep you safe. You’d be a fool not to use the means provided.
f. If a machine comes with a bright yellow warning label that says, “Don’t use near water”, that label is there for your safety and protection. If you reject the means of protection provided, you could get seriously hurt!
6b But wickedness overthroweth the sinner.
1. The upright in the way is protected by righteousness… by doing things right… by availing himself of the means God has provided for his spiritual safety.
2. The opposite is true as well. The sinner is not protected, but is overthrown because of his sin and wickedness.
3. Overthrown: twist; pervert; distort; overturn; to turn upside down; ruin.
4. Prov. 5:22 – his own sin shall take hold of him. (alcohol; sexual sins; drugs; lying; stealing)
a. Certain sins can become life dominating… they take hold of you and won’t let go.
b. The sinner’s sin becomes his destruction.
5. II Chron. 28:23 – the gods that seemed too enticing and helpful became the ruin of King Ahaz.
• Do we have any idols hidden away in our hearts?
• They will be the ruin of our spiritual life.
• Get rid of them before they DO bring ruin to our lives.
6. Prov. 21:12 – Solomon tells us to take a good look at this principle in action and LEARN from it… so it doesn’t happen to you!
a. The same ruin and destruction that happened to the sinner because of his sin could happen to you or to me.
b. Sin and wickedness ruins lives.
c. Sin is deceptive… because it is marketed as that which is fun, appealing, has no bad side effects, no consequences, etc… but it is all a lie.
d. It is like that attractive LURE that has a hook attached. The fish goes for the attractive lure without a thought of the hook. That’s the way the devil packages sin too.
e. Beware. We have been warned.
7. Righteousness keeps and protects. Wickedness overthrows and ruins.
a. Here Solomon contrasts two kinds of men:
• The upright in the way
• The sinner… the man who practices sin.
b. Solomon also contrasts their ends:
• The upright is preserved
• The sinner is overthrown
c. He also contrasts the reasons for their ends:
• Righteousness
• Wickedness
Proverbs 13:7
Rich, yet Poor
Introduction:
1. This proverb might be listed as an oxymoron.
a. Sharp/dull—
b. It is a saying that sounds foolish at first, yet upon reconsideration, its wisdom becomes apparent.
2. There is also a bit of ambiguity in this proverb—one that may well have been intended by the author—in order to give the proverb a second level of meaning… or at least a second level of application.
a. The ambiguity lies in the word behind our English word “maketh rich.”
b. This term has two meanings:
• Become rich (make yourself rich)
• Pretend to be rich (make off like you’re rich)
c. Most of the commentators and the translations understand it in the sense of “pretend” to be rich.
• However, if that is the case, this is the only place in the Bible where it has that meaning.
• In the 16 occurrences, it obviously means to “become rich.”
d. If Solomon had only ONE meaning in mind for this term, then we have no way of knowing for sure WHICH meaning he did have in mind!
• Both make perfect sense—and both are in harmony with other Scripture passages and principles.
• Thus, we are going to look at the proverb from both levels… simply because it is virtually impossible to tell WHICH meaning he had in mind—if he had only one in mind.
e. If Solomon purposely chose an ambiguous term in order to give meaning at each level… then looking at both levels is what he intended.
3. There is also a possible way to harmonize the two thoughts: Either way, Solomon describes a man whose heart is set on riches.
a. A man who pretends to be rich does so because he LONGS to be rich… he wishes he were. He loves the lifestyle and pretends to live it.
b. A man who makes himself rich does so because he too LONGS to be rich.
MAKETH RICH = PRETEND TO BE RICH
7a There is that maketh himself rich
1. Solomon thus describes a man who pretends to be rich.
2. He is NOT rich, but pretends to be. He is not a Rockefeller or a Bill Gates, but is a wannabe.
3. His reasons?
a. The lust of the flesh (I John 2:16)
• He loves the things of the world.
• He loves that which makes his flesh comfortable.
• He loves to be able to buy luxurious items for the satisfaction of his flesh.
• No man ever yet hateth his own flesh. This man has an inordinate love for his flesh… for himself.
b. The lust of the eyes (I John 2:16)
• He loves the worldly things that attract his eye.
• If he sees something shiny and new, he thinks he needs one.
• His eyes are never satisfied. He is always looking to see what others have… so he can keep up with the Joneses. (Ecc. 4:8)
• He is not content with his lot in life… and thus seeks to pretend to have a better lot in life.
c. The pride of life (I John 2:16)
• He wants men to look up to him.
• He wants men to respect him.
• He wants men to think highly of him.
• He wants men to think that he is smart and successful. (If you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?)
• He wants to hob nob with the rich and famous
• He is not satisfied with his lot in life, but out of pride, seeks to pretend to be someone he is not.
• He is out to impress people: Hey! Look at me! Aren’t I something?
4. His methodology?
a. He buys fancy, expensive clothes for himself…
b. He drives a car he cannot afford.
c. He buys a house that is out of his price range.
d. Or if he is unable to do both, he might live in a tiny house, never tell anyone his address, and drive around in a shiny, new Cadillac.
e. He is a name dropper—to make himself sound important… as if he knows all the rich and important people.
f. He’s the guy who has a meagerly job with a low income, but rents a Lexus and buys a new suit and gold jewelry to go to his class reunion—so that his old friends will THINK that he is rich and successful.
g. When he is out with his friends he throws money around like it were nothing but paper… to impress his friends with his wealth… so they will think he is well off… even if he has to go without eating the rest of the week!
h. He’s the big tipper… to impress others.
i. When out to a restaurant, he volunteers to pay for the meal… not out of love or generosity, but to impress.
j. He is constantly wearing a new suit to the office to show off his expensive clothes… to impress coworkers.
k. He takes expensive vacations in order to brag about them.
l. Very often his pretense of great wealth compels him to lie about what he owns, what he makes, where he lives, where he goes, etc.
m. He even tries to talk with that upper crust accent that seems to exist only among the mansion owners in Newport, RI.
n. He goes to expensive places, just to be seen of men.
o. He’s not crazy about skiing, but he loves being seen at Vail. He’s not much of a golfer either, but he loves being seen at the country club.
p. He PRETENDS to be rich.
7b Yet hath nothing
1. This man pretends to have everything, but has nothing.
2. Because he spends all his money on expensive items he cannot afford, he ends up with nothing.
3. He has saved NOTHING for his future—he lives for today… to show off today.
4. He sometimes forces his family to go without—because he has spent way more than he can afford on luxury items.
5. He pretends that all the rich and famous people are his friends, but they are not. He has nothing.
6. Before too long, living beyond his means will catch up to him…
a. He may have his shiny new Cadillac repossessed.
b. He may lose his big home to the bank.
c. He may lose the hearts of his family members—after years of living with his royal selfishness.
d. He ends up with an empty heart… earthly riches cannot satisfy even if you really did own them. But pretending to own them leaves a man not only empty but ashamed.
7. His love of money which he never possessed became a root of all kinds of evil for him.
8. This is a sad man (or woman!) indeed. What a miserable, phony, shallow, self-absorbed life he leads!
9. There is a man who pretends to be rich—and yet has nothing. Don’t try to be a phony rich man. Be CONTENT with whatever state God has called you to.
7c There is that maketh himself poor
1. Here, the term is used in the same sense as the man who makes himself rich.
2. This would thus refer to a man who is actually rich, yet PRETENDS to be poor.
a. He is not a welfare case, but he makes himself out to be one.
b. He has a fortune in the bank, but pretends to be poor.
c. Rehoboam was such a man.
• He inherited the throne of Israel from Solomon, his father.
• Solomon had elevated Israel to its height of glory, fame, and wealth.
• Solomon had depleted the population of their wealth in order to complete his building projects.
• But Solomon finished the work… and left the fruit of his labors in the hands of Rehoboam.
• Young Rehoboam was warned to lighten up on the taxes… but he rejected the wisdom of the older men.
• Instead, he cried poverty… and in spite of his incredible wealth, demanded more taxes from the people than Solomon demanded—even DURING the building projects.
• My father made your yoke heavy; I will add to your yoke.
• My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins.
• This was pure greed—a man who did not HAVE to drain the people—but out of greed pleaded poverty… when he in fact had great riches.
3. His methodology?
a. This is the millionaire who shops in the second hand store… not because he has to, but because he can’t spend his money. He wants to keep it in the bank… and watch it grow… and covet it… and drool over his increasing savings.
b. This is the man who COULD afford to drive a shiny new Cadillac, but instead drives a beat up old Volkswagen.
c. This is the man who could afford to put $1000.00 in the offering plate every Sunday, but instead puts in $2.00.
d. This is the millionaire lady who buys cheap, fake jewelry because she can’t stand to take money out of her pocketbook.
e. This is the wealthy guy who charges top dollar for goods at the stores he owns, but complains about the price everyone else charges when he has to buy something.
f. This is the wealthy guy who, when on a trip to Mexico, barters with a poor little half starving kid on the side of the road to talk him down from 2 dollars to 50-cents for the basket he wove.
g. This is the man who pretends to be poor in order to muster up sympathy so that he can get a better price.
h. Just like the poor man who ends up lying in order to pretend to be rich—this man ends up lying in order to pretend to be poor.
• He lies on the college application for his son—so that he can qualify for a grant that he doesn’t need.
• He cheats on his taxes, hiding his wealth in order to pay less tax…
• He lies in order to get food stamps or welfare from the government (you’d be surprised how many people are on welfare that don’t need to be!)
• I think we would be shocked to hear some of the unscrupulous things wealthy people have done… feigning to be poor… in order to keep more of their wealth.
• Shame on them! That’s what Solomon is saying here!
4. His reasons?
a. His reason for doing so is not due so much to the pride of life (to be seen of men), but it IS due to his love for the things of the world. (I John 2:15)
b. He loves his money, so he doesn’t spend it. He would rather spend YOUR money and keep his.
c. He is stingy and cheap.
d. What is being described here is not a frugal poor man who uses wisdom to stretch what little resources he has. Rather, Solomon is describing an unscrupulous wealthy man who PRETENDS to be poor in order to prosper even more.
e. His love of money causes him to be dishonest and pretend to be poor in order to keep more of his money.
7c Yet hath great riches
1. The fact that this man HAS great riches makes his behavior all the more despicable!
2. If someone who really NEEDS welfare or a government loan and gets it, then that’s one thing. But when a wealthy man PRETENDS… and lies to get it—what a disgrace!
3. It is never acceptable, but it IS understandable when a poor man lies or steals in order to feed his family.
• Prov. 6:30 – Men do not despise a thief, if he steals to satisfy his soul when he is hungry…
• But it is despicable when a wealthy man does so. Men DO hate that kind of a thief!
4. Some weeks ago there was some famous Hollywood actress who was arrested for shoplifting.
a. She was probably wealthy enough to buy the store.
b. She didn’t NEED the clothes.
c. But she stole and got caught.
d. This is far worse than the poor man who steals a loaf of bread… yet she will probably get off with a slap on her wrist.
e. What made her crime so loathsome was the fact that she “had great riches.”
Proverbs 13:8
The Rich and the Poor
Introduction:
1. Verse 8 is akin to vs. 7. They both speak of a contrast between the rich and poor.
2. Vs. 7 – the rich may have nothing; the poor may have great wealth.
3. Vs. 8 – again, a contrast between the rich and the poor.
4. They both indicate that wealth isn’t all its cracked up to be.
a. Vs. 7 stated that a man might have many earthly riches, and yet have nothing… no happiness… no peace… no security… no health… no friends… and especially, he may have no salvation! He may not have God or spiritual blessings.
b. He may be a spiritual pauper… though rich in the goods of this world.
c. Ecc. 5:11 – a poor man may have only one meal in his cupboard at a time.
d. A wealthy man may have 30 years worth of wheat and grains stored up in his barns…
e. But what good is it, other than to look at? You can only eat one meal at a time!
5. We have all known people with lots of money, yet they are miserable…
a. Money can buy a lot of things, but it cannot buy happiness. If you are a miserable poor man, putting money in your wallet isn’t going to change your disposition.
b. Money cannot buy friends. It can buy leeches, but not true friends.
c. Money does NOT make all your problems go away. In fact, it simply introduces you to a whole new array of problems that poor people never have to worry about.
d. That is exactly the point of vs. 8.
8a The ransom of a man’s life are his riches
1. Here again is a contrast between the rich and the poor.
2. At first glance, it appears that the rich man’s riches are quite valuable.
a. If a poor man is kidnapped, he has no riches to pay off a ransom.
b. If a rich man is kidnapped (or his wife or child), he has many riches. He is able to pay the ransom.
c. So at that level, his riches are a good thing. They may save his life… or the life of his family member.
d. Many lives have been saved by paying the ransom price.
e. Without being able to pay the ransom, their loved ones would perish.
f. The ransom of a man’s life are his riches. This has been proven to be true over and over again throughout history.
g. If someone kidnapped your son or daughter, and demanded a million dollars… you would wish you had a million dollars, and would probably do what you could to borrow it!
h. If a kidnapper called you and left a threatening message of murder to a loved one unless X amount of dollars is given them, you would wish you had X amount of dollars.
i. Thus, money has its advantages. It could save your life… or the life of a loved one.
3. Thus, Solomon makes this point in the first half of the proverb.
a. However, the point of the proverb is actually just the opposite as it begins.
b. In the second half, Solomon makes a dramatic shift in emphasis…
c. In the first half, he states: money talks; money has its advantages and privileges; it could even save your life.
d. And there is certainly an element of truth in that.
• Julio Iglesias’s father – kidnapped in 1985
• John Paul Getty III – 1973
• Patty Hearst (daughter of Wm. Randolph Hearst, publishing magnate) early 70’s
• Charles Lindbergh Jr. – 1932
8b But the poor heareth not rebuke.
1. Now Solomon makes his real point. The first part was a sub-point to accentuate what he really wanted to say.
a. He started off by implying that money has its advantages.
b. Now he states that money also carries a curse with it.
c. This thought was similar to vs. 7 – money isn’t all its cracked up to be. You can be rich… and yet have nothing!
d. Let’s look at HOW Solomon makes his second point… or his main point.
2. There are some obvious disadvantages to being poor.
a. They have to worry about little things that the wealthy never have to worry about… rent money… food… paying the bills…
b. But just as Solomon’s earlier point (being rich isn’t all it’s cracked up to be)… so too, being poor isn’t as bad as it might sound at first!
c. Poverty has its advantages too.
3. Rebuke: rough contrary words.
a. In context, this refers to the threatening words of the kidnappers.
b. Only the rich man is likely to hear such threatening speech from those who kidnap their family members. (Kidnapping is nothing new…)
c. Consider various translations of this passage:
• The rich may have to pay a ransom for their lives, but the poor will face no such danger.
• A man’s riches may ransom his life, but a poor man hears no threat.
• The rich can pay a ransom, but the poor won’t even get threatened.
• The rich have to use their money to save their lives, but no one threatens the poor.
d. The poor man may APPEAR to be at a disadvantage because he has no riches to pay off the kidnappers.
e. However, in reality, nobody ever kidnaps a poor man! Or a poor man’s family. They go after the rich and famous!
• Jorge Campos – famous Mexican soccer player—kidnapped…
• Julio Iglesias’s father – world-renown celebrity 1985
• John Paul Getty II – 1973
• Patty Hearst – daughter of publishing magnate, WM. Randolph Hearst – who paid 6 million for her ransom
• Charles Lindbergh – 1932—selected by the kidnappers because of his celebrity status.
• Notice that John Doe doesn’t appear on this list.
f. Only the rich and famous have to worry about kidnappers seeking a ransom.
• Who would be the easiest people in the world to kidnap?
• Street people… but it never happens.
• Why? Obviously, because they have nothing. They could not pay a ransom.
• If a kidnapper is going to kidnap for money, he is naturally going to choose a target where he can get a LOT of money.
• Not only do kidnappers not go after street people, they don’t even go after average middle class folks like us…
• They target the wealthy… this has been the case since the days of Solomon—and is true today too.
4. The poor man may sit around and feel sorry for himself because he has no money to pay off a ransom if his family was kidnapped… but his lack of money in this case is NOT a curse, it is a blessing in disguise!
a. This is really the main point of the proverb.
b. The apparent advantage of money is not necessarily an advantage.
c. And Solomon intends for us to apply this principle in all kinds of areas… not just kidnapping and ransom paying.
d. The principle is that wealth and money aren’t all they’re cracked up to be… they have some advantages, but they also carry with them a great risk and burden, that the poor don’t have to worry about!
e. Solomon writes this proverb to encourage the poor… and to let them know that while there are some disadvantages to not having a lot of money… there are also some not so obvious advantages!
5. Problems with great wealth…
a. They have to build large walls and iron gates around their property… they have to hire security guards to protect their property… body guards to protect themselves… their kids are targets for kidnappers. That thought has got to be on their minds constantly.
b. Young athletes who suddenly become multi-millionaires find that with the wealth comes many problems…
• People seek them for their money…
• People are constantly thinking of ways to sue them…
c. The person who wins the lottery and is suddenly a multi- millionaire, discovers that money does two things:
• It instantly solves some problems: bills are paid; debt is gone; putting food on the table is no longer a concern.
• However, they soon learn money also creates a whole new realm of problems…
• Their friends are gone… people turn against them… and try to use them…
• Money does awful things to relationships between people…
d. There is a burden that wealthy people have to bear every moment of every day…that the poor never have to be concerned about. (Ecc. 5:12)
• The poor woman can go out at night and she doesn’t have to worry about her expensive diamonds being stolen. She doesn’t have any diamonds! They’re all fakes… if they get stolen—no big loss.
• The poor man who works at the factory doesn’t stay up at night worrying about law suits… but the owner of the factory might…
• The weekend warrior who plays baseball on Saturdays for fun doesn’t have to worry about some woman accusing him of rape so she can sue him for millions. The 10 million baseball star does have to worry about that. But the weekend dubber? He gets to play baseball worry free… and just for the fun of it.
• Ecc. 5:13 – sometimes wealth is kept for the HURT of its owners!
1. The wealthy are hurt through kidnappings… thefts… murders… law suits… isolation…
2. The ultimate hurt associated with great wealth is exemplified in the rich young ruler. He was hurt for eternity.
3. This is Solomon’s point both in Ecc. and in Proverbs. Money has advantages, but it has many disadvantages too.
Prov. 30:8-9 – Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient? for me: ? 9 ?Lest I be full, and deny? thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
1. This should be our prayer… neither riches nor poverty.
2. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.
3. In whatever state we find ourselves—be content… and rejoice in the advantages God has given… and be careful of the dangers.
Proverbs 13:9
The Light of the Righteous
Introduction:
Consider the contrasts in this proverb:
1. Righteous and the wicked
2. Light and lamp
3. One demonstrates joy… the other demonstrates sorrow.
4. One continues (to rejoice) the other cease… its light is extinguished.
9a The light of the righteous rejoiceth
LIGHT AND LAMP
1. The light and lamp are used as synonyms.
a. However, there DOES seem to be a distinction.
b. The righteous has light… the wicked has a lamp.
c. If a righteous man has light, it is implied that he also has a lamp. If he has light, then he has a lamp.
d. However, it is possible to have a lamp… but with no light. This is how the wicked is pictured here.
2. These are common illustrations in the Bible.
a. In different contexts light is sometimes used to illustrate different entities…
b. It is used as a symbol of life… the blessings of life… or one’s testimony… illumination… understanding, guidance, vision, discernment.
3. In this context, Solomon uses lamp/light as an illustration of the continuance of life… or the blessings that flow from a life that continues to shine.
a. Prov. 20:20 – his lamp shall be put out is a figure of speech to denote that his life shall be extinguished.
b. Prov. 24:20 – there is no reward for the wicked. When it comes time for rewards to be distributed, his candle shall be put out. (Candle here = same word as lamp; not a wax candle, but an oil lamp)
c. Job 18:5-6 – the light and spark of the wicked shall be extinguished.
d. Jude 1:13 – to the false teachers: to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
e. This is the sense in which Solomon uses the illustration in Prov. 13:9.
f. The life of the righteous shall continue to shine…radiantly… brilliantly… gloriously.
g. The life of the wicked shall be snuffed out early… and ignominiously… without honor… in shame… in darkness…
9b But the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
Rejoicing or the Sorrow of Being Put Out
1. The righteous lead a life of joy.
a. It seems like an odd term to use in contrast to extinguish: rejoiceth.
• Lights don’t rejoice… they shine.
• This is obviously figurative language—but isn’t it telling… descriptive…
b. Can’t you picture a light rejoicing? There is something happy about light… and sad about darkness.
• There is a sense of joy that comes in watching the sun rise…light therapy… try going on top of a snow covered Mt. on a sunny day… don’t you feel that joy on a sunny day that is somewhat missing on a dull, dreary, gray, cloudy day?
• Everybody knows that you can set a mood with light… restaurants use light to set a mood… so do theatres… and other establishments.
• When a person is depressed they might seem to have a dark cloud hanging over their heads… and when they break out of the depression—it is as if the light finally begins to shine!
• Bright shining light is happy.
c. Understanding that the proverbs are written in a poetic style makes it perfectly understandable how Solomon could speak of a shining lamp as rejoicing.
2. In fact, this and other proverbs imply that it is his righteous life that is the BASIS of his rejoicing.
a. A righteous man rejoices because of his righteous life.
b. The wicked cannot experience the JOY of a righteous life. He doesn’t shine happily.
• The wicked is constantly looking over his shoulder to see if he is going to get caught for his wickedness.
• If he is cheating on his wife—he lives with that dark burden… of being found out…
• If he is cheating on his taxes—he lives under the dark cloud of being arrested… and fined… and shamed publicly.
• If he is lying, he lives under the dark cloud of being caught with that too…
• Sin does NOT produce happiness and joy. It produces death… and all the sorrow and suffering that goes along with it.
• Joy and sin don’t go together.
c. But a righteous life DOES lead to joy… promotes joy… yields joy
• The believer who walks in sin is hindering the ministry of the Holy Spirit… whose ministry it is to produce the fruit of love and joy in our hearts.
3. An “unrighteous life” produces guilt and misery.
a. Ps. 51:7-12 – Sin hinders that ministry… it restricts true joy.
b. David prayed for a restoration of the JOY of his salvation—a joy that was forfeited because of his sin… and his ongoing refusal to repent for upwards of a year after his sin with Bathsheba.
c. David recognized here that sin and guilt need to be cleansed away before that joy can be restored.
d. There needs to be a confession of our sin… and a genuine repentance… before we can once again experience that JOY.
e. David learned that the light of the righteous rejoices… but when that righteousness ceases, so does the JOY of one’s salvation.
f. David learned that sin could extinguish his happily shining light.
g. We need to learn that lesson too… hopefully not through experience, but from God’s word…
h. But unfortunately, we are prone to learn it from experience.
4. But a righteous life… one lived in the power of the Holy Spirit will always be full of the JOY of the Lord.
a. Joy is the FRUIT of a Spirit filled life.
b. It may be filled with trials—but there will always be divine joy in our hearts… even if it is a joy that seeketh me through pain…
c. The light of the righteous rejoiceth.
d. A righteous life is one with a purged conscience… cleansed and free from sin and guilt…
e. Free to feast on Christ and His Word unhindered… free to partake of the joy fellowship… free to experience the joy of being used of the Lord… joyous!
f. The light of the righteous rejoiceth!
• This is the kind of freedom, and unhindered joy that only those who walk closely to Christ can experience.
Continuing or Being Extinguished
1. The final contrast in this proverb is between a light that happily rejoices… and (by implication) CONTINUES to go on happily rejoicing… vs. a lamp that is suddenly snuffed out… extinguished.
a. Solomon doesn’t actually SAY that the light of the righteous continues to shine… but the contrast with the second part of the verse makes it obvious that that is what he had in mind.
b. The life of a righteous man continues to shine brightly and happily… while the life of a wicked man is suddenly snuffed out.
2. The continuation of a lamp is used to distinguish between the righteous and the ungodly.
a. Matt. 25:1-13 – the lamps of the wise virgins continued to shine… while the lamps of the foolish went out.
• Why? Because the wise brought oil for their lamp. They not only had a lamp… but they also had a SOURCE of light… oil!
• Oil sometimes represents the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures.
• The wise virgins were prepared to meet the Lord and did so… their lamps continued to shine.
• The foolish virgins were not prepared. Their lamps had no ongoing source of light… and went out.
• The continuation of the light was used to describe the difference between the righteous and the unrighteous here.
• The godly in Israel would enter the Kingdom when Christ returns at His Second Coming, the others will not.
3. However, this illustration also creates some problems at times.
a. It doesn’t always seem TRUE!
b. Saints throughout the ages have always EXPECTED this to be true, but have not always OBSERVED it to be true.
c. Many saints have been discouraged because at times, it appears that just the opposite is true.
d. Too often it appears that the wicked seem to shine brightly in the world… they seem to prosper and do so well… and the righteous are the ones who seem to suffer… and have their light diminished.
e. This is what caused Asaph such bewilderment… (Ps. 73:2-12)
• It appeared to Asaph that HIS candle was going out (vs. 2,13-16)
• It also appeared to Asaph that the candle of the wicked seemed to shine brightly… their lives continued and seem to prosper and be happy (vs.5,12)
f. Asaph went into the sanctuary and learned to see life from God’s perspective. (vs.17)
• What did he learn?
• He learned that the ungodly seem to shine for a while.
• Consider the illustration of a lamp (not a candle as we know it today—an oil lamp)
• A lamp has a wick in it—and the wick is flammable. It will burn for a while… but only for a little while. If there is no oil—the wick will go up in a bright flash—and then die out.
• Asaph was discouraged because he was looking at the wicked—who seemed to SHINE.
• And they DO shine… but only for a short time… their lives are also like a vapor.
• They go out in a big bright flash… and disappear into everlasting darkness.
» Or to use a different illustration from James, which teaches the very same point: the ungodly are like the glory of a flower that blooms for a short time—and then the grace of the fashion of it perisheth…
• While the righteous shine (as Daniel puts it) as the brightness of the firmament… or as stars forever and ever! (Dan. 12:3)
• Or as Jesus put it, “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matt. 13:43)
• Prov. 4:18-19 – the way of the righteous shines in increasing glory and brightness as time goes on. The way of the wicked grows increasingly dark… until their lamp is put out in the lake of fire forever.
• Don’t ever be jealous of the momentary flash the ungodly enjoy in the world.
• We will shine for ever with the Lord. Far better.
• There is an initial pleasure of sin…that the ungodly will enjoy… but it is short lived.
• That is the point of the proverb.
• The wicked are like a lamp with no oil—it has a wick that makes a big flash for a while—and is extinguished.
» The wicked lack the oil of salvation… the Holy Spirit. Their lamp must go out.
» To them is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
» The righteous go on shining as stars—forever and ever.
• Our light may be obscured by clouds for a time—but it continues to shine… and will for ever.
• When we look at this principle as Asaph did when his focus was earthbound—this principle does not always seem true.
• But from God’s eternal perspective—it is always so!
Proverbs 13:10
Only by Pride
Introduction:
1. Here is yet another contrast of opposites… although exactly WHAT is being contrasted is not clear at first glance.
2. There is no obvious contrast as in many other proverbs, such as between the wise and the foolish; the wicked and righteous; or the lazy and the diligent.
• Those contrasts are clearly opposite one another.
• The contrasts made in this verse are not so clear at first… until one begins to think…
3. Here Solomon makes the following contrasts:
• Between pride and good advice… (they are opposites)
• Between contention and wisdom…(they too are opposites)
10a Only by pride cometh contention…
1. Contention:
a. This term is used only 3 times in the Bible, and is translated by 3 different English words: contention; strife; debate;
b. Unfortunately, the concept is only too familiar to all of us. We have all had our share of contentions and arguments in life.
c. We have experienced contention in various settings too:
• in our homes… with our spouses… with our parents… with our children…
• in our school… with other students… with teachers… on the bus… in the cafeteria… during recess… gym…
• in our workplaces: with our co-workers; with our boss; with our employees;
• in the local church: with other believers; with a Sunday school teacher; with the leaders; Awana worker; youth leader; in the choir; at a board meeting; perhaps with me. 🙁
d. Contention is a problem we all have to deal with because we live in a world full of sinners; there is no escaping contention…
e. Paul said, “As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” His very statement implies that there are times when it is NOT possible to live peaceably. It takes two.
f. The most peace loving people on earth are going to be confronted with contention at one time or another. Try as you may, it’s inescapable.
2. Contention is like a plague or a disease that is constantly spreading from one place to another… like a cancer.
a. Scientists know that the best way to prevent a disease is to discover how it starts… what causes it to arise…
b. Sometimes when the cause is discovered, prevention becomes relatively easy.
c. For example, when it was discovered that many diseases were spread by contact of hands… washing hands resulted in far fewer incidents of the spread of deadly diseases!
d. A simple, very doable preventative measure can result in avoiding something potentially dangerous and deadly.
e. In this proverb, Solomon tells us HOW contentions arise… through pride!
f. The obvious REASON for telling us this is so that we might PREVENT the disease from arising… so that we might either prevent altogether… or at least greatly reduce the amount of contention in our lives.
g. With just a simple washing of our hands, we can prevent a near fatal disease.
h. With just a simple washing of our attitudes, we can prevent a near fatal contention in our homes… or local church… or workplace… or school…
3. The Bible commands us to AVOID contention and strife. They are unhealthy…
a. As much as lieth in you… live peaceably with all men. (And quite a bit lieth in us as Christians… Christ is in you… the Holy Spirit is in you!)
b. Prov. 25:8 – “Go not hastily to strive.”
• Some folks seem gravitated towards strife and contention… always looking for a good fight.
• Solomon warns us NOT to be hasty in getting involved in strife.
• You could end up in a situation where you don’t know what to do… how to get out of it… how to END the strife…
• Prov. 17:14 – it is like the letting out of water.
1. Imagine a dam with a little crack.
2. Imagine taking your finger and poking that little crack… so that water begins a tiny trickle out
3. Imagine that tiny crack expanding and expanding as the water washes away weak cement
4. Imagine this going on for some time… until that tiny crack widens and the dam begins to break…
5. There comes a point of no return… when the flow of water becomes uncontrollable.
6. That is the illustration Solomon uses of contention. It begins like flowing water… easily controlled at first… but, if meddled with, can quickly develop into that which is unable to be controlled.
b. Prov. 20:3 – It is an honor to avoid contention. But fools will love to meddle… to play in the dirt… to find things to fight about.
c. The kind of strife and contention Solomon describes in this passage is like a disease… to be avoided… rejected… not to meddle with it…
d. Fools love to meddle in strife and stir things up; wise men avoid it.
4. Pride results in contention…
a. Pride: pride; presumptuousness; arrogance.
b. In a sense, pride is at the root of all sin. It was pride in Lucifer that resulted in his fall… and proud arrogance on the part of Adam in the Garden that resulted in their fall… to exalt self… to be like God…
c. Solomon warns us that pride results in contention…
• The KJV seems to indicate that at the root of all contention is pride in one form or another.
• However, the word “only” can be attached to either the word pride OR the word contention.
• KJV connects it with pride and it has one meaning.
• If it is connected with the word contention, then Solomon is saying that pride results in nothing but contention. It never results in peace… only contention.
d. There is more than one cause for contention according to the following passages:
• I Cor. 3:3 – For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions??, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
• Prov. 10:12 – Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
• Prov. 15:18 – A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
• Prov. 16:28 – ?A froward man soweth? strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends. (An evil spirit)
• Prov. 26:21 – As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.? (a contentious spirit)
• These verses- might cause us to lean in the direction of placing the ONLY with the word contention… or understanding that pride is really at the root of the following list of sinful roots of strife.
5. Hence, we are told by Solomon exactly what it is that leads to fighting… arguing… contention… and strife.
a. Since we are told to avoid contention, we should also avoid that which LEADS to it…
b. In Prov. 13:10, it is pride or arrogance that leads to contention.
c. Therefore, wash your hands of pride… take it to the cross and leave it… pride, arrogance, self exaltation… take it all to the cross… and the strife will cease…
d. Phil.2:3 – Christlikeness demands this: let NOTHING be done through strife or vainglory.
10b But with the well advised is wisdom…
1. The contrast: contention is listed as the opposite of wisdom.
a. In other words, it is WISE to avoid contention…
b. It is folly to pursue contention.
c. The wise man will follow the advice in this proverb and avoid contention.
d. Fighting is stupid… foolish… not helpful… it destroys homes, churches, relationships, etc.
2. The second contrast: between a proud man and one who is well advised.
a. At first it’s hard to see the relationship…
b. However, think of this pride as a proud arrogance…
• Here is a man who thinks he knows it all…
• He thinks his way is always right…
• He thinks his opinions are always right… and everyone else’s opinions are worthless…
• He’s the man who will not listen to anyone. He won’t take advice. He is close-minded. There is no talking to him.
• This kind of pride always results in contention.
c. The OPPOSITE of this kind of proud, arrogant man is the man who is well advised.
d. Well advised: to advise; consult; give counsel.
• This man is one who takes advice; listens to counsel; consults with others…
• He is not a proud arrogant know it all.
• He is a humble man who knows he needs advice and counsel… and he takes it in… weighs it… and responds in a right way to it.
• Prov. 15:22 – Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.
• Prov. 24:6 – For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.
• An arrogant man would not seek counsel… he wants to do it his way.
• A proud man would not consult with others to try to understand their view. He thinks his view is always right.
• Hence, the proud man sets himself up for contention… (with those who know better)
• But with the humble man, who SEEKS COUNSEL and is thus well advised … with this humble man is WISDOM.
• Arrogant pride leads to contention. Humble seeking after counsel results in wisdom.
• Prov. 12:15 – The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
• This is the man who will prevent contentions… by his humble spirit that is willing to recognize that he is not always right… and by a spirit of being willing to hear good advice and heed it…
• Wouldn’t that kind of a spirit transform your home? This church? Your office? Your ministry? Be willing to listen to people… listen to their side… listen to their views… their opinions… weigh them thoughtfully… take advice and be well advised.
• Who knows? It might bring peace… and prevent contention. That good result is worth the little extra involved… a simple thing like washing one’s hands can prevent deadly disease. A simple thing like humbling self and listening to others can prevent deadly contentions… and bring real peace!
Proverbs 13:11
Wealth: Gotten by Vanity or Labor
Introduction:
1. This is a proverb that gives some sound financial advice… and a warning.
2. It is simply an observation that Solomon made as he observed how people obtained wealth and what they did with it.
3. Here the contrast is between two ways in which wealth is obtained, and two results…
11a Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished…
A. Wealth Gotten By Vanity
1. Wealth: wealth; riches; substance; that which is of high value.
a. Wealth is the topic of this proverb.
b. Wealth comes in all degrees.
c. Even the poor have some wealth… some substance… some material goods.
d. Hence, the passage is not just for the upper crust of society. This principle applies to the rest of us too!
2. Gotten: actually this verb is not in the original… but it is certainly implied.
a. In the proverb, the “vanity” is contrasted with “labor” and “gotten” is contrasted to “gathering”…
b. Solomon is speaking not about the AMOUNT of wealth obtained, but rather the MEANS of obtaining it.
c. Wealth can be obtained in lots of different ways… through various means.
d. When you see wealthy people—don’t automatically assume that they are wealthy because they are hard workers… or because they were smart or wise in their business deals… or because they are insightful visionaries. That is not necessarily the case!
e. Solomon addresses that issue in this verse.
f. And Solomon should know! He was king. He was BORN into great wealth, prestige, and power.
• Solomon grew up with the aristocrats in the kingdom.
• Solomon rubbed elbows with the rich and famous his whole life.
• He was involved in huge construction projects in Israel—and would have had much contact with wealthy land owners… with stone quarry owners… with those who traded in gold, silver, and precious stones…
• Solomon knew all the important business men… all the Bill Gates and John Rockefellers of his day…
• Solomon also knew many foreign kings and their royal families. He married into about 900 of them!
• Solomon observed these men his whole life… and he jotted down his observations on papyrus for us…
• What he records for us are valuable and insightful words of warning from an insider… from one who lived among the wealthy his whole life—and is letting us paupers in on his findings…
g. Solomon observed that many men obtained their wealth by what he called VANITY.
3. Vanity: vapor; breath; empty; brief; meaningless; uselessness.
a. This is a rather vague term—vague enough to include MANY different applications.
b. This would include wealth obtained QUICKLY… like a vapor that appears for a moment… and is gone.
• Some people obtain wealth by betting on the horses…
• Some obtain wealth quickly by winning the lottery…
• Some obtain wealth quickly by a rich uncle leaving them a fortune in an inheritance.
• Some struck oil… others invested a few dollars in a new company called Microsoft 20 years ago…
• Some young men become wealthy overnight and sign multimillion dollar contracts because they can run fast or throw a ball well…
• Some came into great wealth by selling pet rocks—inventing a hula hoop
• Some obtain money quickly in some “get rich quick” scheme –Some obtain wealth quickly by illegal means—robbing a bank… embezzling money… by fraud… selling drugs…
• Prov. 21:6 – obtaining money by lying is a “vanity”
• Prov. 28:20 – getting rich quick is often associated with illegal or questionable behavior
c. Solomon’s point is not whether the money was obtained legally or illegally. His point is that some men obtain money by VANITY… in a breath… rapidly… quickly…
• No doubt Solomon saw a lot of this. In fact he himself came into great wealth this way… he was BORN into money! Born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
• Solomon knew many young men in royal families, who, when their father died, suddenly became exceptionally wealthy and powerful!
• He comments on what happened next…
B. That Wealth “Shall be Diminished”
1. Diminished: make small; make few; diminish; become few in number.
a. His point here is that money that is obtained quickly, is often diminished quickly too.
b. We have a similar proverb: easy come, easy go!
c. Prov. 23:5 – money has a way of disappearing fast… especially money that was obtained fast!
2. Wealth obtained illegally will disappear! (Prov. 28:22)
a. If he is caught and thrown in jail, he is quite poor!
b. Even if he is not caught, easily gained money is usually not spent wisely… but foolishly… and before you know it—it’s gone.
c. This is a warning against trying to get rich quick by illegal means. That money won’t last you… and you will be forced to rob again and again… don’t start!
3. Wealth gained suddenly or quickly will soon disappear.
a. Solomon doesn’t actually tell us WHY this is so.
b. However, the second part of the proverb gives the answer.
11b But he that gathereth by labour shall increase.
A. He That Gathereth By Labor
1. The contrast is between one who obtains wealth quickly… and this man who gathers wealth the old fashioned way—he works for it!
2. Gathering wealth by labor is anything but sudden or quickly.
a. This is the man who works hard every day—and slowly but steadily salts away a nest egg for the future.
b. This principle is true regardless of what economic level one lives at either…
c. The first part of the proverb is like our modern proverb: easy come; easy go.
d. The second part of the proverb is like another modern proverb: slow and steady wins the race… like the tortoise and the hare.
3. Something else is implied in the expression “gathereth by labor.”
a. The man who receives a bundle of money all at once—just laid on his lap… without any labor, is not going to appreciate the VALUE of that money. He has no sense of its real worth. He has nothing to gauge it by.
b. It is a good idea to teach children the VALUE of money…
c. Young people today might grow up thinking that you can get all the money you want by driving up to an ATM machine… that’s all there is to it!
d. When money is obtained easily or quickly—it might be assumed that it can ALWAYS be obtained easily or quickly. They will probably have to learn that lesson the hard way.
e. But those who gather their wealth the old fashioned way—by labor—they have something with which to gauge the VALUE of their money… the hours and sweat it took to earn it!
f. When a working man brings home his weekly check—he knows exactly what it took to get that amount of money.
g. If he has any brains, he is not about to squander it away foolishly—because he knows how hard he has to work to replace it!
h. Nobody is going to value this church building more than the men and women who devoted two full years of their lives to building it… working in the hot sun… and in the cold winter… carrying boards… nailing down shingles… putting on siding… painting… washing… etc.
i. Those folks will appreciate the value of this building… they can gauge what it took to put it up… and they will probably have more interest in its upkeep too. They wouldn’t want to see their hard labor go down the tubes.
j. If you spent two years painting a canvas, you are going to take good care of that painting. It won’t sit in the musty cellar growing mildew!
k. The man who works all summer long in his garden is going to appreciate the value of the fruits. The neighborhood kids who come in and steal his tomatoes for a tomato fight don’t appreciate their value.
l. There is something about WORK… labor… that causes a man to appreciate the fruit of one’s labor.
m. When a man appreciates the fruit of his labor—he is not going to sit by and watch it waste away.
n. That’s the point of the proverb.
B. Wealth Gathered by Labor “Shall Increase”
1. Slow and steady wins the race.
2. The man who slowly, but gradually—and through hard labor salts his money away—is going to keep an eye on that money. He has a vested interest in that money. He is not going to let his hard labor be wasted foolishly.
3. He knows the value of it, so he won’t spend it foolishly—like the man who got his money overnight and doesn’t realize its value.
4. Because of his labor, he understands its value… and thus he uses it wisely and with discretion… and gradually, his wealth increases.
5. While the hot shot who won the lottery is out foolishly blowing all his money on frivolous pursuits, the hard worker is wisely and gradually increasing his wealth.
Spiritual Application:
1. Spiritual wealth is obtained in two different ways too: quickly and easily… or through labor.
2. Some believers come to church and are fed meat from God’s Word.
a. It is easily obtained—just sit comfortably in a pew and listen.
b. It doesn’t take any digging… any studying… any preparation… any research… any toil…
c. Just sit and soak. What could be easier?
d. If that is all our spiritual life consists of—then expect the spiritual riches you are hearing about to diminish…
e. You won’t appreciate them as you ought… you won’t experience them in your life…
f. You will become dull of hearing after a while…
g. It will go in one ear and out the other.
h. Easy come, easy go. That’s the principle—and it holds for earthly riches as well as spiritual or heavenly riches.
3. II Tim. 2:15 – STUDY to show yourself approved unto God!
a. It is the WORKMAN that needeth not to be ashamed.
b. It is the man who LABORS in the word himself … reading for himself… looking up terms himself… comparing Scripture with Scripture himself—that will be truly blessed.
c. That man is going to do more than just HEAR about those truths… they will become REAL to him.
d. He will value them… treasure them… his spiritual riches will increase.
e. Let’s be that kind of man—or woman—or young person.
f. He that gathereth spiritual riches by labor—he that labors to enter into God’s rest—WILL enter—and will be blessed.
Proverbs 13:12
Hope Deferred
Introduction:
1. In this proverb, Solomon makes an observation from an occurrence in life that we have all experienced… perhaps many times over: deferred hope.
2. This proverb comes to us not in the form of an exhortation, a command, or a warning… but a simple observation.
a. It doesn’t draw any conclusions from the observation either.
b. It doesn’t even give us any advice or counsel. It is simply an observation about life on earth.
3. No doubt Solomon had observed this truth in his own life—and also in the lives of many others.
4. He saw it occur so often, that he decided to write it down in a proverb… for us all to understand what he observed.
5. Like many of the Proverbs, the truth he declares here is self evident…one of those things that are “common to man”… and so much so that one might argue it to be unnecessary to record it as a proverb…
6. However, it is good for us to know that this is an ORDINARY experience of life… and that when it occurs in our lives, we are not the only one… we are not alone… it is not some strange thing that happened unto you and you alone.
7. Perhaps that is the real reason behind writing this proverb.
12a Hope deferred maketh the heart sick…
A. Hope
1. Defined: always translated “hope”… from a word that means “to wait for; hope for; expectation of a positive future prospect”
a. The term is generic enough to include ALL the hopes and dreams and wishes that enter our hearts.
b. It speaks of all the inner longing and hungering of our soul for something better… an expectation of good for the future…
2. Hope is a wonderful thing…
a. Hope is encouraging… uplifting…
b. It is GOOD to have a “bright hope for tomorrow”.
c. In fact, spiritually, we have a BLESSED hope—the coming of Christ!
d. When focused on a good hope for tomorrow, we are encouraged and motivated to endure through today’s trials. Hope springs eternal! Life is good!
e. When we give up on hope… we sink into discouragement… and all is dark and dreary… life is miserable.
3. We all have hopes… hopes that keep us going… hopes of a better tomorrow…
a. hopes for our kids… to have wisdom; to walk with the Lord; to make sensible decisions; to turn out right; to find a godly spouse; to do well in their careers…
b. hopes for this assembly… for unity; growth; spiritual strength;
c. hopes for the salvation of souls… friends; family; neighbors; spouse; co workers;
d. hopes for doing well at school…
e. for promotion at work…
f. hopes of finding a mate…
g. for others, their hope is having a baby…
h. for buying a house… to fix up a house; to pay off a house…
i. for losing weight…for getting physically fit… for a disease to remain in remission…
j. for finishing college… for landing a good job
k. for restoring a broken relationship…
l. Hope for a backslidden believer to return to the Lord…
m. hopes for getting victory over a besetting sin…
n. Hopes for getting out of debt…
4. The proverb is not speaking about any one particular KIND of hope… but rather is general enough to include ALL kinds of hopes that reside in the human breast… hopes that are common to man.
5. Heb. 6:18-20 – in the spiritual realm, CHRIST is our hope…
a. He is the hope of glory…
b. As our hope He is the anchor of our soul… which gives stability in the rough seas of earthly life… until we reach our eternal home in glory.
c. He is our BLESSED hope… a truly bright hope for tomorrow.
d. It is HE who keeps us going today… otherwise, we might grow weary and quit!
e. We all NEED hope… an expectation of good to come… light at the end of the tunnel…
B. Hope Deferred
1. Deferred: the basic meaning relates to linear motion… something being dragged along… born along…
a. It is translated in many different ways in the Old Testament… according to the context.
b. Here it speaks of that which has been drawn out, dragged out; goes on an on… to be postponed, be deferred; put off…
2. Hope deferred…
a. Bright hope for tomorrow is a wonderful thing… but when tomorrow comes… and the next day, and the next day—and our hopes never seem any closer to fruition… there comes a point when we no longer HAVE good expectations for tomorrow…
b. We have all been there—we have our heart set on something… that looks like it might come to pass… but it doesn’t… time goes on and opportunity is lost…
c. Our hopes are dashed…
d. There sometimes comes a point where we stop hoping… when it seems fruitless… pointless to continue to hope for that which seems to elude us…
3. Examples of hope deferred…
a. We had our heart set on getting that big promotion at work… and Fred got the job instead of you…
b. We had hoped and dreamed that this certain relationship would develop into marriage… and our hopes are dashed… she goes off with someone else…
c. We had hoped for our son to do well at college, and after his first year he quits…
d. We had hoped that this new medication would put our disease into remission—only to discover that it didn’t work and the disease has returned…
e. We had hoped that our wayward son would return to the Lord, but instead he moves in with his girlfriend and becomes a Unitarian…
f. Perhaps a woman had longed to have a child and is told that she will not be able to…
g. We had hoped to pay off our loans and get out of debt, but another huge, unexpected expense comes along…
h. All too often in life we discover that the things we had such bright and vibrant hope for… after time, seem so elusive.
C. Maketh the Heart Sick
1. Sick:
2. When the heart becomes “sick” in this sense, it means that the man becomes discouraged… disappointed… despairing that his hopes may NEVER be realized.
3. That bright, encouraging, uplifting hope can soon turn to bitterness… the bubble of anticipation is popped… our hopes dashed… our hearts become “sick.”
4. We all know that feeling… all too well. Heart sick…
5. And to compound it—we have prayed and prayed for our hope to be realized… but nothing happens… the heart becomes sick over it.
12b But when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
1. But when that desired hope DOES come to fruition… when their hopes are realized… it is like a tree of life.
2. Tree of life:
a. Implies life with all its fullness and richness… an abundant life… a fruitful life…
b. It speaks of LIFE… abundant life… a fruitful life… vibrant, encouraging life… health, strength, vitality,
c. The sun begins to shine in your life again… after an extended period of gray, dreary, darkness and gloom… LIFE begins to spring up once again…
3. There are lots of examples of the desires fulfilled in the Bible too:
a. Gen. 21:5-7 – Sarah had hoped for a child for so long… decades… and finally, the desire came!
b. Gen. 46:29-30 – Jacob’s hope was to see his beloved son Joseph again… and when he saw him—he was ready to die. His life was now fulfilled…
c. Psalm 40:1-3 – David waited patiently and hoped in the Lord—and finally his hope was realized. He then had a new song in his heart!
d. Consider the hopes of the Jews during the period of captivity:
• Ps. 137:1-4 – they wept and longed for their hopes of returning to their beloved homeland to be realized…
• Ps. 126:1-3 – when the Lord finally DID turn around their captivity—it was like a dream come true! The hearts that had been sick… were now filled with laughter!
• This became to them a “tree of life.”
4. There are various seasons in life… seasons of waiting for hopes to be fulfilled… and seasons of fulfillment.
Applications:
• Solomon doesn’t draw any conclusions from this fact. Nor does he give advice or make any commands.
• He expects US to draw our own conclusions and make our own applications… to all kinds of situations.
1. Be careful what you set your hopes on…
a. If we KNOW that dashed hopes make the heart sick—be careful about what we hope for…
b. Don’t set yourself up for a big fall… don’t set your hopes on that which is unattainable… unrealistic…
c. If GOD sets our hopes on something big—then go for it.
d. But be careful—often our hopes get confused with selfish desires of the heart…
e. Sometimes we pray for these hopes to be realized—and we ask amiss that we may consume it on our own lusts…
f. Sometimes we bring heart sickness on ourselves.
g. Our real hopes ought to be on spiritual things… things God has promised… hope thou in GOD… my hope is in THEE.
h. When our hope is in the Lord, we will NOT be disappointed. Those hopes will NOT be dashed. He is faithful.
2. With our kids…
a. Be careful with what you promise your kids. They set their hopes on what dad or mom say to them.
b. If you tell them they are going for an ice cream—don’t dash their hopes. Keep your word! God keeps His word to us!
c. If you tell them you are going to take them to Canobie Lake—don’t frustrate them. They aren’t going to forget that promise. They will set their hopes on it.
d. Don’t promise them things you can’t come through on…
3. In marriage…
a. It’s no secret that marriages are breaking up all around us today.
b. While the reasons are various and sundry, one reason has to do with the truth described in this proverb: raised expectations that are never fulfilled… and bring sickness to the heart!
c. Young people today have some silly notion of married life…
• They expect to be instantly adjusted…
• They have expectations of going right into purchasing a home… fully furnished… with two cars in the garage… and a pool would be nice too…
• They go out and spend like crazy only to discover that they are spending beyond their means…
• That leads to cutting back… expectations dashed… heart sickness setting in…
• And suddenly, the marriage isn’t what you thought it would be…
• The bliss has turned bust…
• Why? Too many young people set unrealistic expectations…
• They expect to change their spouse as soon as the honeymoon is over…
• Expectation after expectation gets dashed against the wall… and two people end up with sick hearts and are sick of each other!
5. In the local church…
a. Sometimes we expect marital bliss forever in our homes… only to discover that not every day is bliss… the honeymoon doesn’t last forever.
b. The same is true in the local church. Some folks come expecting a perfect church—only to discover that the church has as many flaws as it has people…
c. And the expectations they had are sometimes dashed… when they begin to see the feet of clay displayed by its members.
d. A healthy, realistic, balanced set of expectations will go a long way to preventing such heart sickness.
e. Solomon didn’t draw these conclusions in the proverb—but he hoped we would be able to…
f. And there are scores of other applications as well.
g. This is a good proverb to revisit from time to time—at various stages of life.
Proverbs 13:13
Despising the Word
13a Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed…
A. Despising Instruction
1. Despise: (Hebrew: booz) – to despise; hold in contempt; hold as insignificant; to despise; show despite toward; scorn; deride.
2. Word: instruction; speech; word; utterance; communication; counsel; commandment… (it is a broad term used in lots of different contexts.)
a. This term could include all kinds of words of instruction…
• From one’s parents…
• From the church leaders…
• From your boss…
• From a friend…
• From your teacher…
• From a brother in the Lord…
• From experts in a particular field (medicine; law; tax preparers; your industry; etc.)…
• From God Himself—refusing to listen to HIS WORD
3. Despising the word is utter folly.
a. Those who despise the word are CALLED fools…
b. Prov. 1:7 – fools despise wisdom and instruction…
• The book begins with this warning and repeats it OFTEN
• 1:4 – consider the purpose of the book.
• In light of its purpose WHY did Solomon repeat this thought so often—the fact that fools despise instruction?
• Because it is human nature… especially in the young to think they know it all… and to refuse to be instructed.
• Solomon gives repeated warnings of not only the FOLLY of that kind of behavior, but also of the CONSEQUENCES of it!
• Note also that a refusal to listen to instruction is the OPPOSITE of the fear of the Lord.
• This kind of refusal to hear stems from a lack of fearing God. If you feared God—you’d listen!
• If you don’t fear God—but think you are a little god unto yourself… if you think you have all the answers… then you won’t listen.
• FOOLS behave that way. Godly, God-fearing men, women, and children will listen.
c. Prov. 23:9 – fools despise the wisdom of thy words…
• Here Solomon gives the same kind of warning—only not to the listener, but to the one giving advice.
• Here Solomon warns: Don’t bother to give advice to a know it all fool.
• Not only will they not listen—they will despise it… and probably hate you too!
• Matt. 7:6 – This is like casting pearls before swine. The pig has no concept of the value of pearls… he will think you are throwing rocks at him to harm him and might attack you!
B. Shall Be Destroyed
1. Destroyed: to take a pledge; to bind; to spoil, corrupt, offend; to be ruined; ruin; be broken; to writhe, twist, travail.
a. Its normal meaning is that of taking a pledge…
b. The pledge BINDS a man… (sort of like taking out a loan binds the borrower…)
c. This speaks of a man who made a pledge, and if he doesn’t come through on his part of the pledge, he will lose his shirt.
d. That is not exactly the meaning here—but it does throw some light on the meaning.
e. In context the term here has the idea of being brought to ruin… corrupted… or destroyed… because of foolish behavior.
f. The man who binds himself under a pledge he is not able to pay brings himself to ruin. His foolish behavior (taking on more than he could handle) resulted in his financial ruin…
2. Solomon states that the man who refuses to listen to instruction is in a similar condition.
a. Because of his foolish behavior (not listening to instruction), he too will have a price to pay… a penalty…
b. This penalty may bring him to ruin…
c. It could destroy him in several different ways:
• Financially…
1. I have seen men brought to financial ruin because they refused to listen to advice…
2. They lost their homes… businesses…
3. Because of self will and folly…
• Flunk out of school…
» How many times have students flunked courses because they didn’t think they had to do the homework… or study hard…
» How many college kids drop out or are kicked out because they refused to go by the rules…
» They thought they were smarter than everyone else and the rules didn’t apply to them…
• Lose his job…
» How many folks (yes even believers!) have been fired… not because of their testimony but because they didn’t listen to instruction.
» They didn’t follow the rules… they didn’t do their job well… they didn’t get along with people…
» They were warned and warned about being late and leaving early—but didn’t listen.
» Now, they are unemployed.
• Ruin a marriage…
» Not listening to a word can ruin a marriage too.
» This word might come from your spouse… but you are not listening.
» They might be trying to communicate to you—but you refuse to hear.
» Something could be really eating away at them, but you despise any attempt at communication—and as a result, your marriage could be destroyed.
• Lose friends…
» People lose friends because they won’t take advice.
» They have been warned about gossiping… or backbiting… talking too much…
» Perhaps they have been warned about dishonesty… or not being reliable…
» And when they continue to refuse to listen to their friend’s exhortations—they could find themselves WITHOUT any friends… at least without any good friends.
• Spiritually…
» Every believer who falls away has been warned…
» He has been warned from God’s Spirit; God’s Word;
» And quite likely he has been warned from God’s people… many times over…
» Men are brought to spiritual ruin because they despise the word or instruction they were given.
» It CAN ruin you spiritually.
• The principle is broad enough to be applied to various contexts…
• The one who despising such instruction (sees it as insignificant) shall be destroyed… ruined…
4. Destruction to the fools who refuse to listen to instruction.
a. Prov. 1:25-31 He will be MOCKED when calamity strikes.
• vs. 25 – He rejects all counsel and reproof…
• vs. 26 – Lady Wisdom will mock at your folly!
• vs. 27 – destruction will come like a whirlwind…
• vs. 28 – you will wish you had not made such a foolish decision… you will wish you had listened… but it will be too late. You will live with your sorrow and regret…
• vs. 31 – therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own way… they shall have to deal with all the fallout… and all the consequences of their folly.
• vs. 32 – it shall destroy them…
• vs. 33 – but the one who listens… the one who does things right… the one who takes heed to the advice and counsel given… shall be quiet.
• He will not have all the turmoil and mess to deal with.
• He can rest—while the fool is running around trying to put out all the fires he caused by his folly.
b. II Chron. 36:15-16 – the children of Israel refused to listen to God and His instruction… until there was no remedy!
• Israel rebelled and refused to listen for so long, that God saw that generation as without remedy.
• Nothing God could do would turn them around.
• Even chastening would not soften their hearts. It would only harden them.
c. Some folks can travel down this path so far that there is no return!
d. The book of Hebrews warns us of this spiritually… of those who refuse to listen and became so dull of hearing that they couldn’t hear any more… and found no place of repentance!
e. This is a fearful warning.
13b But he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.
A. Fearing the Commandment
1. Here Solomon describes the opposite of despising the word: fearing the commandment.
a. Proverbs began (1:7) with this contrast: between fearing God or despising wisdom.
b. If you fear, you will listen… and respond!
c. Fearing implies showing respect for the person and what he has to say.
d. Fearing God implies showing respect for God and His Word.
2. Fearing the commandment:
a. This concept is applied to all the above situations.
b. The child who fears the commandment of his parents will show respect for his parents AND what they say.
c. The worker who fears the word of his boss will show respect to the boss AND he will respect what he says.
d. The church member will show respect to the church leaders and respect what they say…
e. Fearing the commandment implies listening AND obeying.
f. It also implies being AFRAID of the consequences!
• The fool doesn’t think about the consequences. He just plows ahead doing his own thing.
• But the wise man—who fears the commandment and obeys—DOES think about the consequences of his actions.
• That fear of consequences keeps him from making foolish decisions.
B. Reward
1. Reward: recompense; receiving compensation; paying back.
2. Those who refuse to listen to instruction will be destroyed—brought to ruin.
3. Those who chose to listen to instruction… those who fear the commandment and demonstrate that fear by obedience will be rewarded! They will be paid back for their obedience. Their wisdom will be rewarded…
4. Psalm 19:10-11 – the one who takes heed to the warnings in God’s Word will be rewarded… in this life and in the life to come!
5. Proverbs 1:5 – a wise man will hear… and will increase in learning. He is rewarded for applying that increased learning and wisdom.
Proverbs 13:14
The Law of the Wise
Introduction:
1. In this proverb, Solomon sets before our mind’s eye two images in stark contrast.
a. One is a fountain of life—with all the beautiful thoughts that it conjures up in the imagination.
b. The other is a snare or trap of death—with all the ugly thoughts that it conjures up.
c. The contrasts are obvious in the proverb:
• Terms: Death and life
• Images: Fountain (unending source) and snare (once will do!)
• Plural and Singular: One fountain—many snares (singular and plural)
• Actions involved: drinking and departing
14a The law of the wise
1. Again we see in this proverb the keen sense of discernment that was exerted by Solomon as he observed life…
a. Solomon was obviously a people watcher.
b. He watched how people lived; the kinds of choices they made; the directions their lives were headed; their words; their deeds; their decisions; their goals; their pursuits in life.
c. And as he watched, he took notes, and recorded his findings for us—under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
d. Solomon observed how wise men lived; and how fools lived… and recorded the differences.
2. A law is an observable principle that can be tested and proven.
a. Solomon observed wise men repeatedly, and perhaps even tested their behavior and choices.
b. He observed an aspect of human behavior that was repeated so often by wise men that it could be referred to as a LAW.
c. One of the laws of the wise is recorded here.
d. “Wise men avoid death traps… and are attracted to the fountain of life.”
e. The opposite is implied here as well—that FOOLS are attracted to the death traps… and avoid the fountain of life!
14b A fountain of life
1. The action of drinking is not mentioned in the proverb, but is implied. That’s what a fountain is for!
2. The one who drinks from the fountain of life receives the benefits of that fountain.
a. This is an especially graphic picture for one who wrote in the Middle East—an exceptionally dry and arid region.
b. A fountain takes on even more significance to those who live near a desert.
c. A source of water in the desert is not simply a convenience; it is a matter of life and death.
3. The benefits include promotion of health; nourishment of one’s life; refreshing; the extension of life; the quality of life; the sustenance of life; the preservation of life…
4. Wise laws which govern our lives are like this fountain of life.
a. Wise men observe life and discern the way of wisdom.
b. Wise men incorporate those lessons into their own personal lives and prove their beneficial effects.
c. Wise men then try to pass on these lessons to the younger generation—so that the younger generation can learn from the years of testing, failing, and proving what is best.
d. Titus 2:3-5 – For this reason, the NT tells young men to seek wisdom from older men; and younger women are to learn from the older women… in areas not specifically covered in the Bible—like how to love your husband and how to care for your children… to be good housekeepers… etc.
e. The younger generation is to learn from the older generation… the law of the wise is a fountain of life! Take advantage of it!
f. Why re-invent the wheel? Why should each generation have to test and retest, learn and relearn… the same old laws and principles? Why not learn from the older generation and put those principles into practice?
g. Wise men also record those laws for others… as Solomon did.
h. The laws of human behavior discovered by men who have gone on before us are often like a fountain of life…
5. Younger men, who have good sense… and have a bit of wisdom, will drink at that fountain. (Prov. 1:5)
a. The young man with even a little bit of wisdom will want to seek out MORE wisdom…
b. This is the young man or woman with a TEACHABLE spirit… a thirsty heart. To the one with a teachable heart, he will find these laws to be a foundation of life… and he will seek to drink from that fountain. That’s the WISE young man.
c. The wise GUY will find them a pain in the neck… old fashioned… your opinion… too restrictive…
d. But the wise young person will see the benefits of such a fountain… an unending source of life, help, nourishment, and benefit.
e. They will want to learn from the lives and experiences of other wise men…
f. They will want to avoid the pitfalls in life that others have already tested and found to be dangerous and not worth pursuing…
g. They will perceive the laws of the wise as a fountain of life… and will be attracted to it.
h. They will see the value of those laws… and will seek them… seek to learn them… practice them… drink at that fountain.
6. This is true at your job… whatever your job is!
a. Whatever your profession… whether you are a lawyer, doctor, craftsman, artist, a homemaker, teacher, a musician, a pastor…there are others who have gone on before you in that profession and have recorded helpful hints… laws that they have observed… for YOUR benefit.
b. Their observations may have been gleaned from a long life in that career… years and years of experience condensed into a little manual… or a book…
c. A master sculptor may have tried and failed on hundreds of projects before he discovered the right way to do something… and perhaps he has recorded his findings for others…
d. Electricians have formulated rules and regulations for their trade—and the more a young electrician learns those rules the better will be his work.
e. Many good books on homemaking have been written by godly, experienced women which could be a fountain of life for a young woman just starting a family. The older woman learned the hard way what works and what doesn’t… the younger woman might find her writings to be a fountain of life!
7. But this is especially true in the spiritual realm…
a. In one sense the whole BIBLE is the law of the wise…
b. I Cor. 10:11 – It was written for our learning and admonition!
c. The history of Israel is recorded for us… it is not dry ancient history. It is a fountain of life!
14c To depart from the snares of death.
THE SNARES OF DEATH
1. Wise men will drink from the fountain of life—they will be attracted to it.
2. Wise men will also DEPART from the snares of death.
3. Note that this ONE law has two sides:
a. This law is a fountain that provides nourishment and refreshment to those who drink at it…
b. This law also causes men to depart from the snares of death.
4. It is the SAME law… the same principle of wisdom… the same sword, but with a double edge… two sides of the same coin…
a. The same wisdom that attracts men to the good fountain… also scares men away from the snares of death.
b. Cf. Prov. 14:27 – note that this verse is nearly identical to 13:14, except that the “law of the wise” is replaced with the “fear of the Lord.”
c. The law of the wise attracts men to the good fountain.
d. The fear of the Lord (part of that wise law) scares men away from the snares of death.
e. There is a positive and a negative side to wisdom… encouraging the good and discouraging the evil… promoting spiritual health, and warning against that which is spiritually unhealthy…
5. Unfortunately, not all men take heed to the law of the wise.
a. Wise men are attracted to the fountain of life and its benefits and depart from the snares of death.
b. But FOOLS seem attracted to these “snares” or traps of death.
c. Young fools love to speed in their cars… not listening to the law of the wise (which says, don’t go over the speed limit!)
d. Young fools are attracted to smoking… it might seem “cool” to them… not thinking about emphysema or lung cancer!
e. Young fools are attracted to alcohol… which also is a snare of death… think of the countless lives lost each year on the highways because of alcohol…
f. Young fools are attracted to drugs… which also is a death trap… through overdoses… contagious diseases… addiction… it is a death trap! Only a fool would be attracted to a death trap…
g. Young fools are attracted to illicit sexual activity… not knowing that it too is a death trap… spreading HIV and aids…
h. Fools are attracted because there IS a pleasure to sin…
• But the folly lies in this: the pleasure is short lived…
• But its consequences are long lasting…
i. The devil is a master at disguising his “snares” and “traps” and making them look attractive.
• Look at all the TV commercials for alcohol… everyone drinking is having fun… they are young, healthy, good looking, physically fit…
• The picture they are painting is a LIE…
• It is a pretty face on a trap…
• It is like the bait that seems so appealing to the fish—who discovers too late that there was a hook under that bait…
• It was a snare of death to the fish… and those snares are death traps to young fools who are attracted by the pretty packaging…
j. SIN is such a death trap! (Jas. 1:13-15)
• Sin tempts us with an attractive cover…
• It entices us with its appealing bait…
• As soon as we see this trap, we should FLEE!
• Because if we linger, it will continue the enticement… our sin nature will draw us into the trap…
• Lust will conceive…
• And the trap door closes on us…
• Sin when it is finished bringing forth death…
• Therefore, RUN!
• Flee idolatry! Flee youthful lusts!
k. The love of MONEY is such a death trap! (I Tim. 6:9-11)
• A desire to be rich is a trap. We are TOLD that. Take heed to the warning.
• It causes good men to go astray… and pierces them with many sorrows!
• Therefore, FLEE the love of money!
• It looks appealing, but it is a death trap… it DROWNS men spiritually… brings to an end their spiritual health and vitality…
• Countless other examples of death traps could be cited in the Scriptures.
6. The wise young man will be AWARE of such traps… and will learn from the laws of the wise… see through the deceitful bait in the trap… and depart from it!
a. And hence, he is protected—spiritually!
b. This young man wasn’t fooled by the short lived promise of pleasure…
c. He sees the trap for what it is: a trap to be avoided!
d. Instead, he will be attracted to the fountain of life… because he sees the long term benefits of it.
e. Stop and think about a carefully baited death trap.
• Try to picture an animal standing before a baited trap—looking at the bait… being enticed.
• The animal is absorbed with thoughts of a luscious meal… and is about to pounce.
• But as we stand back and observe, we KNOW what’s going to happen. He will be caught in the trap… and killed!
• We look and think—what a dumb animal to fall for such a trap.
• Solomon observed men falling for the same kinds of traps…
• He recorded his findings for our learning. Don’t be like the dumb animal. Be wise. See the traps for what they are… and depart from them.
• Be attracted instead to that which is good—to the fountains of life…
Proverbs 13:15
The Way of the Transgressor
15a Good understanding giveth favour…
A. Good Understanding
1. Understanding: prudence; insight; prudence; good sense.
a. Solomon is speaking about the man (woman or child!) who has good common sense… a good head on his shoulders… insightful… discerning… wise…
b. This term is used 6 times in Proverbs.
2. Nehemiah 8:8 – Our term is translated sense in this passage.
a. The Scriptures were read, and then the SENSE was explained to the people.
b. In other words, not all the people understood the word of God as read, so men stood and explained it in such a way that it was understood by the crowds.
c. They had a good understanding of its meaning once it was explained to them. It made sense to them.
d. This term has the idea of “sense…good, intelligible sense…”
3. Prov. 19:11 – The discretion of a man deferreth his anger.
a. The term “discretion” is the same term as is translated “understanding” in Prov. 13:15.
b. A man with discretion is one who has the good common sense to know when to show anger and when to suppress it.
c. Have you ever seen a young mother blow up at her kids in the frozen foods dept. at the grocery store? No discretion… not a woman with a good sense, timing or control.
d. Have you ever seen a husband and wife fight in a most inappropriate setting? (the mall… church parking lot… at the office…) People with a good sense of discretion may get angry, but they have the good sense to defer that anger — and take up that issue at a later and more appropriate time.
e. Have you ever heard a father yelling and cursing out his young son… calling him an idiot and a jerk and a loser in front of all of his friends?
f. Sure — we all get angry… but there are some things you just don’t say… that is if you have discretion… good understanding…
4. I Sam. 25:3 – Abigail was said to be a woman of good understanding (same term).
a. The context tells us what the author meant by good understanding.
b. David was about to make a fool of himself by over reacting to the ingratitude and cold heartedness of Nabal.
c. David had protected this man and his property… and yet Nabal wouldn’t even provide him and his soldiers with some food…
d. In a rage, David was going to fight against this man and put him to death… which really was not the wisest thing to do.
e. David was caught up in the emotions of the moment.
f. Abigail saw the whole scene from a distance… was used to the folly of Nabal… and just had the good common sense to know what to do.
• She didn’t fall to pieces…
• She didn’t over react…
• She didn’t just start crying… she didn’t faint…
• She didn’t get angry… yell…
• She handled herself with poise… dignity… calm… and approached the situation with good common sense.
• She instinctively knew just what to do… how to handle this potentially volatile situation.
• She immediately came up with just the right procedure… and followed it.
• Have you ever met people like that? Make friends with them!
• They just know how to handle situations… discretion… common sense… wisdom…
• They are able to see the big picture…
• They are able to extract the emotion from the scene and act rationally… calmly… sensibly… prudently.
• Such folks are priceless in the local church… especially during turbulent times.
• Such folks are invaluable in the office…
• What an asset to the home life…
• In other words, a person with this kind of discretion is going to demonstrate discretion in whatever setting they find themselves.
g. She went to David, spoke softly to him (a soft answer turneth away wrath)… and convinced David to think about his actions.
h. Vs. 32-35 – David responded well. Abigail’s good sense MADE sense to David…
i. This woman proved herself to be a woman of good understanding.
j. Evidently as Solomon observed human behavior, he realized that when it comes to discretion… some people have it… and some people don’t.
B. Giveth Favour
1. Favor – grace; good standing; acceptance;
2. Giveth – bestow; give; yield; produce; entrust; extend…
3. Good understanding (good sense) yields favor… it produces favor… acceptance…
4. Those who demonstrate this kind of discretion and good common sense find themselves in favor…
a. This favor is broad enough here to include favor with God and man.
b. The person with this kind discretion and good sense is going to find themselves in favorable standing… before God and men.
c. This was certainly the case with Abigail. She demonstrated good sense — and David married her! She found favor with David!
d. But Abigail found favor with God too. The passage implicitly praises her wisdom.
5. In human affairs, those who demonstrate this kind of good sense often find themselves in favor with men.
a. Prov. 14:35 – The king’s favour is toward a wise servant. Kings notice the servants in whom dwells wisdom and discretion… and they are often rewarded… as Pharoah rewarded Joseph. Joseph’s discretion brought him favor.
b. Those who demonstrate wisdom and discretion in the office will be noticed… and recognized… and promoted accordingly.
c. Those who demonstrate discretion and discernment in the local church are the kind of people we want serving in positions of leadership!
d. Those who demonstrate discretion and good sense in the social realm usually have no problem making and keeping friends.
6. Those who do NOT have good sense find just the opposite.
a. The man who does not defer his anger proves he doesn’t have discretion… and he will invariably turn his friends off… get them angry…
b. The man who is constantly doing foolish things at work a lack of wisdom… no discretion… no common sense… this is not the man who will find good favor with the boss…
c. Ps. 111:10 – The young person who does not have good understanding demonstrates it by habitual disobedience.
• This person is not going to find favor with God OR with men…
• At least not with men of good understanding!
• He might find favor among other disobedient fools… but not with men of wisdom and understanding.
7. But those who manifest wisdom, discretion, and good sense in their lives will always have friends… and will be in favor with men in whatever setting they find themselves in.
15b But the way of transgressors is hard.
1. BUT—in contrast to the way of the wise man of good understanding.
a. Generally speaking, those with good sense do well in life.
b. They are in favor with God and men.
c. It shows in their home life; their career; and in the local church.
d. They have friends. They advance. They are respected.
e. BUT—such is NOT the case for the transgressors.
2. Transgressor: to act treacherously, deceitfully, to act or deal faithlessly, deceitfully, offend.
a. In context, the transgressor is seen as the opposite as the man of good understanding.
b. A man of good understanding is NOT going to be a transgressor.
c. The term transgressor implies one who is deceitful… not faithful… and even offensive.
d. This person is not going to find favor… nobody likes a sneak… a cheat… someone who cuts corners when everyone else has to do it the right way…
3. Way: road; pathway; journey; course of life.
a. The men are different… and so are their ways…
b. They take different routes in life… and their experiences are also quite different.
c. The way of the one with good understanding is the way of favor… grace… acceptance…
d. The way of the transgressor is just the opposite.
4. Hard: this term is not easy to translate.
a. Defined: perpetual; constant; perennial; ever-flowing; firm; hard.
b. It is translated either as “strength, strong, mighty, or rough.”
c. The English version might give the wrong impression. The term does NOT mean “difficult.”
• The verse is not saying, the way of the sinner is difficult… fraught with difficulties.
• While that is certainly true, this isn’t the best verse to support that concept.
5. There are two possible meanings of this term in this verse.
a. The way of the transgressor is hard in the sense of firm… stubborn… calloused… hard hearted.
• All throughout life the transgressor takes this hard heart with him…
• Of course that makes his way rough…
• But he himself is the hardened one…
• After a person commits a sin or a crime… he becomes calloused to it.
• His conscience may have convicted him the first time he beat someone up… or the first time he stole… but after doing it year after year, he becomes hardened…
b. The way of the transgressor is constant… unchanging… perpetual… immoveable…
• The idea here would be that the transgressor isn’t going to change his ways…
• He has walked this way so long… he is stuck in it…
• No amount of exhortation or even punishment is going to change him. He is set in his ways…
c. These two ideas can be harmonized: the way of the transgressor is hard: he is hardened; calloused; and is set in his ways… and thus unchangeable… like cement.
• As clay or cement becomes hardened… it becomes unchangeable…
• Solomon may have observed that some criminals are hardened… they have lost sensitivity… they become hard and set in their ways…
• His sin became a habit… his habit became lifestyle…his lifestyle had a grip on him…
• He is hardened in his ways…
• A correctional institution isn’t going to do this man any good. He is incorrigible… set in his hard hearted ways…
• Apart from the miracle of the new birth, this man has no hope.
• He is set in his evil ways… and on a road to ruin.
6. What a contrast to the man of good understanding…
a. He has good sense. He listens. He learns. He changes. He knows what to say and when to say it… and when to keep quiet.
b. He has discretion and is in favor with God and men.
• Like Joseph—who found favor in prison—because he demonstrated discretion and good sense…
• Like Daniel who found favor in the court of Babylon for the same reason…
• Like Jesus—who found favor with God and man… because as a young boy He showed good understanding. (Luke 2:52)
• Good understanding… discretion… common sense… are respected everywhere…
c. The transgressor on the other hand has become hardened… set in his ways… He is respected nowhere.
Proverbs 13:16
Prudent Men Deal with Knowledge
16a Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge
1.) Prudent: this term can have two possible senses: good and evil
a.) Evil: subtle; shrewd; crafty; sly; tricky; cunning.
i. This term is used of the devil—he was more subtle than any beast of the field. (sly; shrewd; crafty)
ii. It is also used in this sense in Job 5:3 – He disappointeth the devices of the crafty…
b.) Good: sensible… discerning… wise…
i. The term is used in a good sense here.
ii. Here it is used of a man who is shrewd in the sense of being wise… sensible…
iii. Prov.14:8 – the prudent man’s wisdom is defined here: he looks well to his goings…
iv. Prov. 22:3 – the term even adds a moral sense to it in Proverbs. Here a prudent man foresees evil and goes the other way! That is being shrewd in a spiritually sensible way!
v. The term is used 8 times in Proverb and always in a good sense.
2.) Deals with knowledge.
a.) A prudent man has knowledge: knowledge, perception, discernment, understanding, wisdom.
i. The man who (in a good sense) is shrewd and sensible wants to observe and works with the FACTS…
ii. He wants a proper understanding of things…
iii. He wants to perceive what is really happening…
iv. He uses his head… he thinks… he uses the intelligence God gave him…
v. He doesn’t want the wool pulled over his eyes. He wants to see clearly… to understand the situation…
vi. And he wants the discernment and wisdom to draw the proper conclusions from those facts.
vii. The prudent man does not act on gut impulse. He lets his head direct his steps, not his stomach.
viii. He does not let his feelings or his emotions blind him from the facts.
ix. He deals with knowledge… facts… not impulses.
b.) Deals with: to do; fashion; accomplish; make; use; produce; acts with; observes; acquires…
i. The term has a wide range of meaning… but the general meaning is clear. A prudent man observes and works with… acts with… knowledge.
ii. Darby translated it, “Every prudent man acteth with knowledge.”
iii. In another translation it reads: “The clever do all things intelligently.”
3.) The verb speaks of continual action or repeated action…
a.) This tells us that the prudent man Solomon is describing is CONSISTENTLY dealing with the facts… with knowledge…
b.) He isn’t swayed by his feelings on Monday… and thinks rationally on Wednesday…
c.) When situations arise, the prudent consistently seeks for the facts… and he then acts on knowledge… he acts intelligently…
4.) The prudent man deals with knowledge because he SEEKS knowledge. (Prov. 18:15)
a.) He is wise enough to know that he doesn’t know everything… that he doesn’t have knowledge in every realm…
b.) So he does his homework… he researches when necessary… because he wants knowledge… he wants the facts.
c.) Perhaps he consulted with others…
d.) He sought for counsel…
e.) He is careful not to meddle into affairs of which he has no knowledge.
f.) He knows when to speak and when to be quiet—when he doesn’t have the facts.
g.) He is a prudent man.
h.) This is the kind of man that we should strive to be.
16b But a fool layeth open his folly.
1.) Folly: the term means what it says… but takes on a specialized meaning in this proverb.
a.) Here it is seen as the opposite of knowledge… the opposite of the facts…
b.) Hence, the particular KIND of folly described here is ignorance… a lack of knowledge or information.
2.) Lays open: scatter; spread out for all to see… spread abroad… make information or behavior known to others in a public manner.
a.) Solomon says that the fool (the opposite of a prudent man) shamelessly spreads out his ignorance for all to see…
b.) One translation reads: fools advertise their ignorance.
c.) They make their ignorance known:
i. By the things they say…
ii. By the things they do…
iii. Their words and their works… speech and behavior…
iv. Their walk and their talk BOTH display ignorance.
3.) The fool displays his ignorance in his speech… by the things he says and repeats.
a.) Prov. 29:11 – A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
i. The fool says what he thinks. Solomon says that is FOLLY!
ii. Why is it folly for a man to speak his mind? Because what we THINK may not be true… accurate… or kind!
iii. What we think may not be well researched.
iv. What we think is often lacking information…
v. Often that which is in the mind of a fool is folly!
vi. Just because we think something doesn’t make it so!
vii. Without all the information… without hearing both sides of the story, what we THINK could be misleading, inaccurate, and WRONG!
viii. Thus, it is NOT a good idea to utter all our mind. Not everything that goes through our head is worth uttering.
b.) Prov. 15:2 – the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.
i. When a fool speaks, foolishness comes out.
ii. And note that the fool POURS it out… shamelessly.
iii. It is as if he doesn’t care what comes out of his mouth…
iv. When the mouth is constantly pouring things out like a river—it is impossible for all that information to be verified… and with the fool, it isn’t!
v. Ignorance pours out…
c.) Prov. 18:13 – the fool answers a matter before he hears it!
i. He gives his opinion or view before he hears the whole story… before he hears both sides.
ii. He does not deal with knowledge. He speaks out of ignorance…
iii. It is a folly and a shame to him!
4.) The fool displays his ignorance in his behavior… by his WALK.
a.) His walk… his manner of life… display his ignorance and folly.
b.) Ecc. 10:1 – his walk says to every one that he is a fool.” He doesn’t have to open his mouth. His actions speak. And what do they say: “I am a fool.”
c.) Solomon says here, “Just observe such men. Their lifestyle sends out a clear message. I am a fool!”
5.) The fool does not deal with knowledge. Instead, the fool deals with:
a.) Hearsay… and is foolish enough to accept it as fact.
b.) Assumptions… without research, he assumes his view is right.
c.) Gossip… and he spreads it as if it were fact.
d.) Conclusions drawn without hearing the facts…
e.) Ignorance…don’t confuse me with the facts…
f.) Feelings… who cares about the facts; I feel it should be done this way…
g.) Impressions…
h.) Gut impulses…
i.) The fool is not moved by his head… at least he is not moved by an informed head. He is moved by all kinds of other things: pride; ignorance; showmanship;
j.) The fool blurts out what is in his head whether he has the facts or not. When he speaks and when he acts—he demonstrates his folly.
Conclusions:
1.) Learn from the folly of the fool. Make sure you have the facts before you speak… and before you act.
2.) If you go to a wise man for advice, you will get knowledge. Go to a fool and you will get foolish advice. Be careful from whom you seek advice!
3.) Let’s be like the prudent man.
a.) DEAL with the facts…
b.) SEEK the facts
c.) Seek to draw the proper conclusions from them…
d.) Don’t speak or act UNTIL you have good, solid knowledge of what you are about to say or do.
4.) A man’s speech and conduct are usually consistent with his character. This is true of the prudent man AND the fool!
5.) And of course, a prudent man deals with knowledge from God’s Word!
a.) The prudent believer will SEEK to know God’s word…
b.) He will seek guidance and counsel from God’s Word
c.) He will want the right information from the Word BEFORE he speaks… and before he acts…
d.) He is prudent enough to know that it is folly to ASSUME without consulting God and seeking knowledge from Him…
e.) It is folly to ACT without KNOWING what God would have us to do…
f.) A prudent man DEALS with knowledge. His life—his words and his works—all seek to be in conformity to the Word of God.
g.) When problems arise in the local church—the elders want to act in accordance with the knowledge of God’s Word—not hearsay; gossip; gut feelings etc… but the facts!
h.) When problems arise in the home—seek knowledge in dealing with it from Gods’ Word… it contains all we need…
i.) What folly to ignore the jewels of wisdom and knowledge in the Word… and go off speaking and acting … leaning on our own understanding. That’s true folly.
j.) Col. 2:3 – “In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” The better we know His word… and the closer we stay to Him… the more sound knowledge will be manifested in our lives… that’s the prudent man spiritually!
Proverbs 13:17
A Wicked Messenger and a Faithful Ambassador
17a A wicked messenger falleth into mischief…
A. The Wicked Messenger
1. Wicked: criminal; guilty; guilty of sin or guilty of a crime…
2. Messenger:
a. Translated angel 111 times; messenger 98 times
b. It refers to a messenger, representative, or ambassador… one who informs or announces… or proclaims.
c. It is used of both men and angels—of men in this proverb.
d. In ancient times (before telephones, email, and cell phones), messengers played a much more important role.
e. Because virtually everyone has a cell phone, we have instant access to almost anyone on the planet—24-7! But obviously, that was not always the case.
f. We even have instant messenger on the Internet—so that we can instantly communicate with MANY people at the same time…
g. In ancient times, messages often took a long time to reach their destination… weeks… months… even years… as long as it took for the camel to get there—or the pony express.
h. Messengers were sent with valuable information… and information can be critical—for businesses, for countries at war, for interpersonal relationships, etc…
i. The application of this proverb probably takes on a little different shape in the modern world, but it is STILL a valuable principle—and still has many valid applications for us today.
3. The messenger is defined in the proverb in three ways:
a. The meaning of the term wicked (crime…)
b. The mischief into which he falls…
c. He is seen as the opposite of the faithful messenger… hence, he is unfaithful.
4. This messenger is wicked…
a. He is sent on a mission… but some sort of wickedness arises…
b. The wickedness arises because of his CHARACTER.
c. This proverb is really about a man’s character… and hence, the real heart of the principle is just as valid today as ever—though the area of application may change a bit.
d. This messenger is wicked, falls into mischief, and is unfaithful, not because of circumstances, but because of his character… because of the kind of man he is.
e. Solomon is warning us in this proverb about different KINDS of men… different characters…
f. The proverb is about betrayed trust… a man trusted to deliver a message and falls into mischief along the way.
g. The application today could be made to anyone HIRED to do a job… to perform a service… to deliver goods… to represent a firm, a country, or a church… anyone who is trusted with a job to do…
h. When appointing a man to a position of trust CHARACTER counts!
• We used to hear during the presidency of President Clinton that character didn’t matter… as long as the job gets done.
• Solomon implies here that it DOES matter.
• Solomon implies that the quality of a man’s character affects the quality of job…
5. The wicked messenger falls into mischief…
b. Mischief: evil; distress; misery; injury; calamity; pertaining to that which is not morally pure.
• This is a broad term which encompasses all kinds of trouble… hurt… calamity… immorality… sin.
c. Falls: Dict. Of Biblical Languages: fall, i.e., have an object go from a higher position to a lower position, often with the implication of being out of control in relation to the situation.
• The wicked messenger was put into a pretty high position—a position of trust… by whoever sent him…hired him…
• But he fell from that position to a lower position…
• This implies that the fall was self inflicted and by design… not an accident.
• Falling into mischief isn’t like catching a cold. It involves the will… especially when Solomon describes the character of this man as “wicked.”
6. Possible WAYS in which he falls into mischief…
a. Perhaps he is to deliver some goods—and steals some of those goods.
b. Perhaps the hired messenger proves to be a sluggard. (Prov. 10:26)
• Here Solomon states that he is an irritation to the one who sent him… or hired him.
• If a person is hired to do a job and never seems to get around to doing his duties, it irritates like vinegar on teeth or smoke in the eyes.
• Who wants a messenger who causes irritation rather than helps?
• When the president sends an ambassador to Iraq to help stabilize the region and provide security for our troops, I want him doing his job. Don’t you?!!
• When the Sunday school superintendent assigns a class to a teacher, he expects the teacher to do his/her duty and study the word… pray… and show up on time prepared to perform the ministry assigned!
• When people sign up to bring a dish to a church function and don’t bring what they signed up for—it is an irritation to those in charge.
• When an employee is hired to deliver the company’s mail and packages, and out of laziness, they are continually late, it is an irritation.
• When a job is to be done—and the wicked messenger doesn’t do his job—no one is pleased.
d. Prov. 25:19 – confidence in an unfaithful man is like a broken tooth or a foot out of joint.
• A broken tooth—try biting into a piece of meat with a broken tooth… it HURTS!
• Try taking a step on a foot that is out of joint—it HURTS!
• Don’t BE that kind of person… don’t HIRE that kind of person… don’t place your TRUST that kind of person… that is the reason for the warning here.
e. There are lots of possible scenarios in which a messenger / worker could commit a crime or sin… or make mischief.
• Perhaps he is to deliver a private message and does not keep it private…
• Perhaps he to deliver a message for the government, but works for a foreign government as a spy…
• Perhaps he is hired to deliver goods for a company, and instead tosses them in the dumpster…
• A new employee is hired and all he does is stir up trouble.
• A new deacon, or Sunday school superintendent, or pastor is put into a position… and instead of carrying out their ministry, they fall into mischief… create problems and controversy…
7. The warning: if you hire a wicked messenger or worker… if you entrust a responsibility into the hands of an unreliable man… if you are counting on a man with a flawed character to deliver a message or perform a service, expect trouble! Count on it! Wicked messengers fall into mischief.
17b But a faithful ambassador is health.
1. In contrast to the wicked messenger is the FAITHFUL man…
a. Here the opposite of wicked is faithful…
b. Faithful = trustworthy; reliable.
2. Ambassador: messenger; envoy; one who represents another…
a. The ambassador is a synonym for messenger in the first part of the verse.
b. The contrast is not between their function, but rather between their character… wicked vs. faithful.
3. The faithful ambassador (one sent on a mission or with a message) is HEALTH…
a. This health stands in contrast to the mischief of the unfaithful, wicked messenger.
b. Health: health; profit; sound (of mind); peaceful state; formally, time of healing,
c. Solomon states here that the faithful ambassador—the one who is sent with a job to do and DOES it faithfully is HEALTH to those who sent him!
d. The sluggard sent on a mission is not health or healing to those who sent him. He is like smoke in the eyes.
e. But the faithful ambassador is like a balm of Gilead… soothing… healing… the one who sent that man can REST, knowing the job will be done and done well… he doesn’t have to worry about it!
f. Are YOU that kind of person?
• When you are given a task at work, does your boss have to bite his nails wondering whether you will get it done?
• When you are assigned a ministry in the local church, is the leadership able to rest, knowing that the job will be done and done well?
• When you are given a responsibility—at home, school, office, the local church—do you bring health and rest to others, or does your irresponsibility cause irritation?
• The faithful ambassador does his job and puts the minds of those who sent him at rest.
• BE that kind of worker!
g. Prov. 25:13 – the faithful ambassador refreshes the soul of those relying on him!
4. What is it that brings HEALTH, peace, rest, and refreshment to those involved in a work? FAITHFULNESS!
a. I Cor. 4:2 – it is required in stewards of any sort, that a man be found faithful.
• Whether you are sent on a mission, sent with a message, sent as an ambassador, or appointed an assignment, faithfulness is required—and expected!
• Someone has well said: the most important ability is reliability!
• Skill, talent, ability, and brilliance are worthless if not accompanied by faithfulness!
• What good is a skillful surgeon if he decides to play golf the day you are scheduled for surgery?
• What good is an eloquent Sunday school teacher who doesn’t come to church?
• What good is any ability if it cannot be counted upon?
b. II Tim. 2:2 – Paul tells Timothy to pass the glorious gospel message and the whole counsel of God on to other men…
• But note that he does not tell him to pass it on to those who are intelligent and quick learners… or to those who are skilled orators… or to those with special powers of persuasion.
• The truth is to be passed on to FAITHFUL men… those who are reliable… those you can count on to do the job…
f. Prov. 20:6 – such men are hard to find… but worth their weight in gold when you do come across one.
• Ask anybody looking to hire people for their small business… reliable, good workers are hard to come by!
• Ask any pastor—reliable servants in the local church are worth their weight in gold…
• Ask the head nurse in the hospital… the foreman in the factory… a landlord… the owner of a restaurant… they will all tell you the same thing: reliable, faithful people are hard to come by!
Proverbs 13:18
Regarding or Refusing Instruction
18a Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction
A.) Him That Refuseth Instruction
1.) Instruction: discipline; chastening; correction.
a.) This term is translated “chastening” in Job 5:17
b.) This is repeated in Prov. 3:11
c.) Chastening is child training… it is God’s method of teaching His children… instructing us… molding us…
2.) What we are NOT to do with instruction:
‣‣ Don’t REFUSE it…
• Refuse: to let go; let loose; ignore, let alone.
• This term is translated variously in the Old Testament.
• In the Pentateuch it is usually translated: to uncover; to make naked.
‣‣ It is translated in several different ways in Proverbs:
• 1:25 – set at nought all my counsel…
• 4:15 – avoid …
• Several times it is translated “refuse”—as here.
‣‣ While the term CAN mean refuse, that word might have too aggressive a connotation in English.
• It is a refusal but can be quite passive—by simply ignoring… not paying attention to…
• It can even imply one who AVOIDS instruction…
• The term is broad enough for all of those shades of meaning…
B.) Various Ways in Which Instruction is Refused
1.) The point is that refusing instruction CAN occur in an open, defiant, confrontational manner.
a.) Like the little child shouting NO, or in a much more subtle manner.
b.) Some hear instruction and argue, fight, oppose, and openly rebel against it.
c.) I Kings 12:13-15a – Here Rehoboam refused the counsel of the older, wiser men… openly, defiantly, and rebelliously.
d.) There wasn’t any question as to what his opinion of the counsel and instruction was.
‣‣ Sometimes WE defy instruction that way. Sometimes our kids do.
a.) After hearing counsel, they might say, “I will not! Don’t tell me what to do! Who do you think you are!”
b.) This kind of refusal is easy to spot—and often easy to deal with in kids.
c.) Usually the rod will drive this kind of rebellious foolishness from them.
‣‣ Poverty and shame shall be to him!
a.) Consider Rehoboam: he lost the kingdom! He was brought to shame! (I Kings 12:16)
• He was warned—but defiantly rejected the instruction.
• The nation was divided—civil war—because one man defiantly refused to listen to instruction.
• This is the point of the proverb: terrible things can happen when we reject counsel!
b.) Prov. 5:9-13 – the man who defiantly refused to listen to instruction concerning purity. He pursued immorality and fornication—and was brought to shame… and lost his wealth… ended up poor and disgraced. That happens every day.
c.) Prov. 6:26 – Lady Wisdom was crying out—but this young fool rejected her counsel and pursued immorality—and was reduced to a piece of bread!
i. The context indicates that it was not just the immorality that is to blame—but the rejection of the counsel!
ii. This goes for young men and young women.
iii. When teenagers get pregnant—they bring shame to themselves immediately…
iv. AND they are often condemning themselves to a life of poverty…
b.) Ask any number of teenage mothers—who find themselves irretrievably TRAPPED in poverty, welfare—unable to go to college… unable to find a moral young man who is looking for a faithful wife and mother of his children…
c.) Shame will set in… but it’s too late to reverse history then.
d.) That is not always the case—but these are proverbs… USUALLY!
e.) One more good reason to remain pure.
f.) One more good reason to LISTEN to those giving counsel concerning the purity of life God expects.
3.) Other people may avoid situations where they know the possibility for correction or instruction may arise… (the Sunday school lesson is on a topic that makes you uncomfortable—so you skip Sunday school till it’s over…)
a.) I Kings 22:8 – King Ahab didn’t allow Michaiah to prophecy in his presence because he never said what the king wanted to hear! He avoided hearing that prophet altogether…
b.) Such folks don’t want to bother with instruction. He avoided hearing the instruction from this prophet—because he knew that Michaiah would tell him what he didn’t want to hear! So he avoided it altogether…
c.) They become astute at learning when and where and from whom instruction or reproof might occur—and avoid it like the plague.
d.) The person that avoids counsel and instruction will NEVER gain or benefit from it.
e.) I have counseled with couples in years gone by—during which it was discovered that the wife ended the counseling sessions and insisted on going elsewhere for counseling (for $80.00 an hour!). The reason? To avoid hearing instruction from the Word it was worth $80.00 an hour to have someone tell her what she wanted to hear!
f.) Folks will go to great lengths to avoid instruction… or correction.
g.) I Kings 22:37-38 – the king died and dogs licked his blood… he lost his royal dainties (his throne, his crown, his gold) and died in shame.
4.) Other folks will refuse instruction by PRETENDING to listen… pretending to be very interested… feigning to see its value… but then go their way and do what they were going to do anyway…
a.) These are the YES men… and women. Yes and thank you!
b.) They politely listen, and appear to hang on your every word… but INWARDLY are rebelling and refusing.
• They are hearers but not doers.
• It is exactly the same kind of rebellion; it just appears under a different mask.
• Some people have naturally meek, shy, non-aggressive, non-confrontational temperament…
• In a situation where their behavior is being confronted, they meekly listen… but inwardly are as adamantly as a rock opposed to the instruction.
c.) This kind of meekness is NOT the fruit of the Spirit—but is natural… fleshly… a cowardly meekness… the fear of man.
• True meekness is meek before God.
• This shy person appears to be meek (fear of man) but is not at all meek before God.
• This person is a rebel… but too shy or too afraid to let it show…
d.) Don’t let your kids fool you with their passive rebellion—that appears to be submissive and receptive to correction—but inwardly rebels.
• Even if they comply—check their attitude in obedience!
• Because they passively comply does not necessarily mean that they have inwardly received the instruction.
e.) Ezek. 33:31 – they sit before the prophet AS IF they wanted to be instructed, but their rebellious hearts were unchanged.
• Read about the shame and poverty that came to Ezekiel’s generation—the Babylonian Captivity!
• They lost their homes, their nation, their temple, and were carried away as defeated captives… shamed!
f.) Jer. 42:1-4 – the people came to Jeremiah for counsel… to be instructed in the things of the Lord.
• Jeremiah agreed to give them counsel from the Lord.
• Vs. 6 – they all agreed to hear and to submit to the will of the Lord whether it was good or bad!
• This appears to be a most hopeful setting—the people seem eager to hear what the Lord had to say!
• Jeremiah then reported to them the word of the Lord. The instruction they sought, they received!
• Jer. 43:1-4 – the people pretended to want instruction, but deep down inside, they had no intentions of changing.
• They simply wanted see what Jeremiah would say. If it was agreeable to them, then they would continue their charade, and pretend to be submitted to God.
• But they DIDN’T like what he had to say… and hence, they rejected the counsel and instruction.
• Lots of folks approach instruction and counsel that way.
• Their self will and rebellious spirit is temporarily MASKED by their superficial and apparent eagerness to hear instruction.
g.) This is just another FORM of refusing instruction. God sees through all of our masks. He knows the intentions of our hearts.
h.) Approaching instruction that way will lead to poverty and shame. Jeremiah and his so-called listeners ended up in poverty, famine and shame in Egypt! (Jer. 42:17)
18b But he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.
1.) Proverbs speaks much about instruction—and tells us exactly what to DO with instruction. Consider the various verbs associated with instruction in Proverbs:
a. 1:2 – know wisdom and instruction…
b. 4:1 – hear instruction…
c. 4:13 – take fast hold of instruction…
d. 8:10 – instruction is to be received over choice gold
e. 10:17 – he that is in the way of life keepeth instruction…
f. 12:1 – we are to love instruction…
g. 23:12 – apply thine heart to instruction…
h. 23:23 – buy wisdom and instruction… and sell it not…
i. 24:32 – receive instruction… learn from it…
2.) The one who responds PROPERLY to instruction will be honored.
a.) Honor: heavy; weighty; glory; of value… as in gold…
b.) 13:13 – he will be rewarded…
• The student will be rewarded with good grades…
• The worker will be rewarded with good pay…
• The friend will be rewarded with more friendship…
c.) 13:18 – he will be honored… rather than living in shame
• He will avoid the shame of Rehoboam, those who pursue immorality, those who rejected Jeremiah’s counsel…
• He will instead receive HONOR…
• Ultimately, he will be honored at the Bema Seat…
• But even on earth—the one who follows instructions is honored.
Proverbs 13:19
Desire Accomplished
19a The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul…
1. Desire: desire; wish; longings of one’s heart; the object of one’s desire; wish or want for something for the pleasure it brings.
a. These desires can be either selfish (lust) or proper.
b. Here it is used in a good sense… a proper desire.
2. The desires of our fallen, depraved, sinful hearts are always evil. However, when a person is regenerated he receives a new heart… a new capacity of mind and heart… new desires.
a. Prov. 11:23 – the desire of the righteous is only good.
b. The new man desires that which is good… he longs for righteousness… he craves for that which pleases the Lord.
c. Ps. 27:4 – the psalmist had a desire to dwell in the house of the Lord… because he loves the Word of God and the house of God.
d. Every man that is alive unto God is going to have a desire to DO that which is right… and to BE holy as He is holy… and to walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing…
e. Every man who is alive unto God is going to desire to accomplish things which are good and bring glory to God.
3. In the believer today, it is the LORD who produces these good desires in the regenerated heart.
a. Phil. 2:13 – it is God who worketh in you both to WILL and to do of His good pleasure.
b. Not all desires that come into our hearts are evil. What matters is the SOURCE of the desire. Is it the Lord working in us or is it the selfish, sinful flesh?
c. Don’t we often struggle with this in life… debating whether a desire is of the Lord or not? Isn’t it difficult sometimes sorting out our motives? Am I being selfish, or is this a desire from the Lord?
d. The key is to stay close to the Lord…
• keep your heart with all diligence…
• examine your heart and motives often…
• compare them to the Word of God…
• be renewing your mind…
• ask the Lord to search our hearts…
• so that if we do proceed on a desire that is not of the Lord—He is able to woo us away…
e. Sometimes desires that seemed good may not have been the Lord’s leading:
• Rehoboam who wanted to fight to keep the nation together, when it was of the Lord to let it split.
• Paul’s desire to preach the gospel in Asia Minor, when the Lord had other plans.
• But the one with a proper heart attitude is easily re-routed by the Lord back to the path of His will…
f. Even good desires must be kept in control…
• A man may have a good desire to take care of his body… but can go overboard on that good desire and become a slave to the gym!
• A man can have a good desire to serve in the local church… and spend so much time here that his family suffers.
• A man can also have a good desire to spend time with his family… and that good desire to spend time with his family turns into selfish doting… and he begins to forsake the assembly of the saints!
• A desire to play sports… or to do well at school… or to play music… — virtually ANY good desire can get out of control… and cause us to be off balance.
• We need to make sure our desires are balanced… and are Spirit led… and are not choking out other priorities.
4. The desire ACCOMPLISHED…
a. Accomplish: to be,; become; come to pass; exist; happen; occur.
b. 13:12 – when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life…
• Hope deferred makes the heart sick…
• There is nothing like seeing a goal, an ambition, an aspiration, a longing, a prayer request being fulfilled… answered… brought to pass.
c. This is the point of contrast in this proverb… the man whose desire is accomplished… and the fool, whose desire is NOT accomplished.
5. Is SWEET to the soul…
a. Sweet: to be pleasant; be sweet; be pleasing; favorable and welcome.
b. It is a tree of life…
c. The term is used in various contexts:
• My meditation shall be sweet…
• My sleep shall be sweet…
• Sacrifices offered to the Lord were pleasant… sweet…
d. This term speaks of a feeling of great satisfaction that is obtained from a desire accomplished. There is a sweetness to it.
e. This is true in ALL kinds of areas of life…
• A big project at work gets finished—there is a sense of sweet accomplishment when it is done…
• Seeing one’s children go on to live for the Lord…
• Finishing a building project… a sweet sense of satisfaction…
• Finishing paying off your mortgage… a goal accomplished… is sweet…
• After 4 long years in college, receiving your degree is sweet to the soul…
• After many years of praying, training, schooling, raising support, the missionary who finally sets foot on the soil of the country he desired to serve in… sweet accomplishment…
• Some folks may have had an ambition to DO something adventurous… climb Mt. Everest… run a marathon… swim the English channel… visit China… when the desire of many years is accomplished, there is a sweetness to it…
• After praying for many years, to see that loved one get saved… is sweet to the soul…
• Even after something simple like remodeling your kitchen—when the desire is accomplished, there is a sweetness… a pleasantness associated with it.
• And the more labor, energy, effort, and heart longing that preceded it—the sweeter is the accomplishment!
6. The concept of having good desires accomplished will have an eternal fulfillment one day for the believer in Christ.
a. Ps. 17:15 – “I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness!”
b. This is our ultimate desire… our true ambition…our goal… to one day be with the Lord and be LIKE the Lord!
c. One day that desire will be accomplished—and it will be sweet. Just imagine! Sweet to the soul!
19b But it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.
1. Fools do NOT end up accomplishing good desires. WHY?
a. Because they are too busy doing evil things…
b. They don’t WANT to leave what they are doing in order to accomplish something good.
c. The fool will continue in his folly, and his hopes and desires for good will never be realized.
2. Very often fools have desires for good things… just like wise men.
a. They want a happy family… but refuse to stop messing around… and their hopes for a happy family are dashed!
b. They want to do well at work and get promotions… but they continue to show up late… do sloppy work… because they refuse to get up on time… or put in an honest day’s work.
c. They would love to have a college degree, but will not depart from all their partying and night life to go to college…
d. They want to have friends too…but refuse to stop their gossip and bad behavior that causes their acquaintances to stay away…
e. They want good health too… but refuse to depart from their many habits that are hazardous to their health… they drive fast, smoke, drink, take drugs… etc… and good health seems to elude them.
f. And their desires are not accomplished… and it’s not because they couldn’t be. It’s because they refused to depart from their foolish and evil ways!
g. Prov. 21:25 – the slothful man desires all the things that the hard working man possesses… but he refuses to depart from his evil ways… from his slothfulness… and thus his desires are never accomplished!
3. The point here is that to be truly happy… experience this sweetness of soul that Solomon describes, it is necessary to depart from evil… which the fool is unwilling to do.
a. It seems so illogical to those observing…
b. A man with lung cancer who continues to smoke…
c. A man who just wrecked his family because of his drinking who continues to drink…
d. The homosexual who contracts aids, and refuses to depart from his lifestyle…
e. The big mouth who gossips and slanders wherever he goes and makes enemies and brings trouble on himself… who continues to blab…
f. Until the fool departs from his evil, he will never experience this sweetness of soul.
g. He will continue to have a desire for good things… but those desires will go unfulfilled… because of his foolish ways.
• Prov. 3:7-8 – depart from evil and it will be HEALTH…
• The fool is unable or unwilling to make the connection between the sweet soul and departing from evil.
Proverbs 13:20
Walking with Wise Men
Introduction:
1. In this proverb, the theme is companions.
2. Some companions are wise; others are fools…
3. In either category, the point is that one’s companions exert a great deal of influence… for good or for evil.
20a He that walketh with wise men shall be wise…
1. The book of Proverbs is all about wisdom… words of wisdom… gems of wisdom… the ways of wisdom… the signs of wisdom… the benefits of wisdom…
2. In this proverb, Solomon describes a unique way to become wise: associate with wise men!
a. His implication is that wisdom rubs off on you!
b. Walk with wise men and their wisdom will rub off on you.
c. Walk with wise men and you will become a wise man!
3. If you want to be wise… if you want to be good, you must keep good company… associate with those who exhibit wisdom.
4. In one sense, a man’s character is known by the kind of company he keeps.
a. You can tell a lot about a person by the friends he chooses to associate with.
b. There is an old saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” Watch as the Canada geese line up in their formations to fly south for the winter. There will not be one robin or one blue jay in the bunch… nothing but Canada geese.
5. A man’s character is known by the company he keeps. This is true in the spiritual realm as well.
a. Lev. 19:2 – if we walk with God, HIS character of holiness should rub off on us!
b. Mark 10:43-45 – Christ’s example as a humble, selfless servant should have rubbed off on the disciples.
c. Acts 4:13 – it became obvious to the onlookers that the apostles had spent time with Jesus. His character, wisdom, grace, and strength rubbed off on them.
d. Ps. 119:63 – So too the believer who walks with spiritually minded men…obedient God-fearers.
• The one who walks with spiritually minded men is much more likely to become spiritually minded.
• Choose friends who fear God and keep His Word… not only believers, but believers who are walking with God and have a testimony for Christ.
• If there is no fear of God, then there will be undertones of murmuring, ridiculing spiritual things, undercutting the teaching ministry of the Word, making fun of those who want to do what’s right…
• This can even happen in church!
• What is a person’s ATTITUDE towards God and spiritual things? Is he sincere? Does he mock? Make jokes? Act irreverently?
• Then don’t walk with that person—no matter how “cool” they think they are! God calls him a fool…
e. Ps. 16:1-3 – CHOOSE GODLY FRIENDS…
• David delighted in the SAINTS… men who were holy in their lifestyles… set apart to God…
• and excellent (noble; moral excellence)
6. WALK… wisdom doesn’t rub off when you have a passing acquaintance with wise men… but rather a walk.
a. Walk: one’s whole course of life… the general direction of one’s life…
b. This speaks of one who has determined not just to walk with wise men on occasion, but to make it the whole course of his life!
c. He has purposely chosen NOT to walk with fools but with the wise.
d. He carefully chooses his close friends and has made a conscious decision to walk with wise men…
e. For the believer, this means another believer of like precious faith who walks with God… faithfully… consistently… one who loves God and desires to honor Him in everything… one who spends time in the Word… one who loves righteousness and shuns evil… one who is led by the Spirit… and seeks to bring glory to God with his whole life…
f. Amos 3:3 – can two walk together except they be agreed?
7. This does not mean that we will not ever be with those who are not wise.
a. We are commanded to live in the world… but not to become CONFORMED to the world… not to become LIKE the world. In it but not of it.
b. We will have lots of acquaintances in the world… but our close friends should be wise, discerning, Spirit filled believers
c. We will be with carnal believers at times… but we should not seek to be with them for close friendship, but rather for ministry… to help them… to provoke them to higher ground… to encourage them to live for the Lord and not to love the world.
8. HOW does walking with wise men make us wise?
a. Walking with someone implies conversation… interaction…
b. Prov. 27:17 – Iron sharpens iron. Wise men actually make each other wiser by discussing ideas… views… spiritual things… they will challenge your thinking if it seems to be conformed to the world… and cause you to defend it or change…
c. Prov. 2:20 – those who walk with wise men learn to appreciate the way they walk and will KEEP it (guard it… protect one another… with a warning… encouragement… help along the way…)
d. Mal. 3:16 – God fearing people stick together and SPEAK together… fellowship and share together in spiritual things.
e. Heb. 10:24 – walking with wise men means that if we begin to pursue folly, they will PROVOKE us back to the way of good things… good counsel… advice… warning… even a loving rebuke now and then…
20b But a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
1. Companion: to associate with; be a friend of; to be companions; to be a special friend.
a. When it’s time to pick your close friends, walk with wise men and avoid the wise guys!
b. Wise guys think they are cute… think they are cool… think they are popular… and people laugh when they tell their jokes… and often play along with their game to their face.
c. But oftentimes, they are not laughing with him, but AT him… those same people turn away are repulsed by their folly and stupidity.
d. Prov. 4:14-16 – associating with evil men also rubs off on you. They don’t sleep until they have caused you to fall… DOWN to their level.
e. Don’t let the wrong crowd drag you down to their level. If you associate with them, it will.
f. When you get in with the wrong crowd, you BECOME the wrong crowd!
g. Therefore, stay away! Walk with wise men—who know and love the Lord.
2. Just as walking with wise men rubs off on you, so too walking with foolish men rubs off on you.
a. Prov. 16:29 – violent men will encourage you to become a violent man.
b. Prov. 22:24-25 – angry men will teach you to become an angry man… and to blow up easily… uncontrolled… short fused…
c. Prov. 23:20-21 – wine bibbers are not good companions. You may learn their ways too… or druggies.
d. Prov. 28:7 – a companion of riotous men shames their father. (Riotous = worthless; vile; light; vain.)
e. Are YOU associating with these kinds of people? Take a good look at them. Is that what YOU want to become? You will, if you keep associating with them.
3. Psalm 1:1-3 – blessed is the man who does NOT walk with the ungodly… with sinners… and with the scornful.
a. It appears that the psalmist implies here that the blessed man does NOT walk with the ungodly and with fools… because he loves the Word of God.
b. It is implied (I think) that he therefore walks with those who love God’s Word and live it!
c. Instead of being destroyed, he is strong and fruitful, like a tree planted near water—where it receives all it needs for growth and strength.
4. I Cor. 15:33 – Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
a. This New Testament verse pretty much sums up the last part of the proverb.
b. Communications (homilia) companionship, intercourse, communion.
c. If the ones you commune with on a daily basis… fellowship together with… are evil, it will have a corrupting effect on your life!
» Your love for holiness will be adversely affected.
» Your attraction to earthly things will increase.
» Your fear of God will be diminished.
» Your horror over sin will be neutralized.
» Your resolve to obey God’s Word will be weakened.
» Your separation from the world will be compromised.
» Your zeal to evangelize will cool down…
» You may not notice it at first, but it will happen… gradually… a change will take place in your life.
» If you see that beginning to happen FLEE! Seek good, godly fellowship and friendship.
d. Corrupt = destroy; ruin… just as the proverb said.
e. The world is FULL of such fools. We can’t avoid being around them… but we can CHOOSE not to commune with them… become close friends… seek to walk with them.
Proverbs 13:21
Evil Pursues Sinners; Good to the Righteous
Introduction:
1. This proverb is yet another variation of the principle, “You reap what you sow.”
2. Like the many other variations, it adds its own unique shade of meaning.
3. This proverb (unlike many others) appears in a context. Vs. 21-25 for the most part speak of prosperity vs. poverty…
a. vs. 21 – doing well vs. doing poorly…
b. vs. 22 – leaving an inheritance…
c. vs. 23 – food stored vs. food destroyed…
d. vs. 24 – training a child to be hard working and prosperous
e. vs. 25 – eating and being satisfied vs. lacking…
4. It should be pointed out that what Solomon records in this proverb is GENERALLY true… but keep in mind it is a proverb.
a. There are exceptions to this rule…
• When viewed from the earthly perspective. Perhaps MANY exceptions.
• From heaven’s perspective, this principle is always true.
• But Solomon was writing from an earthly perspective… gems of wisdom to be applied to life down here on earth.
b. It was not intended to cover every possible situation…
c. Like the Red Sox, it doesn’t cover every base.
d. I’m sure we could all think of many exceptions… perhaps in our own lives.
e. Nonetheless, it is also clear that this is a TRUTH… and generally, this is what comes to pass most often.
21a Evil Pursueth Sinners
1. Evil: translated variously: evil; trouble; disaster; adversity; misfortune; misery; calamity; distress; injury; affliction.
2. Pursueth: chases; persecutes; runs after; follow after…
3. Solomon’s point: bad things are constantly happening to sinners.
a. Everywhere they go—calamity follows… tragedy strikes…
b. For the sinner—the man whose life is characterized by sin—there is no escaping calamity… trouble… misfortune…
c. Solomon depicts the sinner as a man who is running along his regular course of life… and someone is chasing him—someone called “tragedy”… trouble… calamity… distress…
d. The sinner can run as hard as he can to try to ditch his pursuer, but will never be able to do so.
e. Have you ever met a person like that? If there is trouble anywhere to be found, rest assured he’ll find it… or it will find him! Trouble seeks him out!
f. Trouble has locked its radar on this person and will follow him until it gets him!
g. One of the bad things that often happens to the lazy sinner (in this context) is hunger (vs.25).
4. Sometimes such a person develops a poor me attitude.
a. Poor me! Bad things always happen to me! Trouble and adversity seem to seek me out!
b. And when you look at his life, you might agree… the poor guy!
c. We’ve all seen people who seem to have to deal with an inordinate amount of trouble… (lose their job; house is repossessed; kids are in trouble; health is on the skids; they go through life putting out one fire after another…)
d. The point of this proverb is that SOMETIMES that kind of a life… a life full of trouble and tragedy… is self-induced.
e. In other words, the trouble follows them BECAUSE they are sinners… because of their sin…
5. Calamity is often the consequence of sinful behavior.
a. Those who think they are too cool to wear a helmet may end up with a head injury…
b. Those who think they can handle alcohol bring an endless series of tragedies into their lives…
c. Sinners often stir up trouble as they go too… because they don’t control their tongue… or their temper…
d. Because of their sinful words and actions, they are often pursued
• by people they provoked to anger and now hate them.
• pursued by people who are mad enough to take them to court…
• or perhaps people who want to harm them physically
• perhaps they are now pursued by the IRS or the police because of their sinful actions…
e. Sinful behavior can RUIN our lives… and the lives of those around us. There are consequences to sin.
f. Sinners bring trouble on themselves.
• Prov. 11:17 – he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh (Joseph’s brothers who were so cruel to him were troubled the rest of their lives!)
• Prov. 11:29 – troubling one’s own household.
1. How? Greed, selfishness; immorality; anger; lack of self control.
2. Cruelty is another way! Be mean spirited to your spouse… to your kids… to your parents… and you are troubling your own house!
3. If that’s the way you live at home, then expect trouble to pursue you… till it gets you! And it WILL catch up to you eventually.
• Psalm 140:11 – trouble HUNTS for the violent man.
• Sinful behavior brings trouble upon us… you reap what you sow…
5. BUT beware of judging others on the basis of circumstances!
a. Don’t be like Job’s miserable so called friends!
b. The principle in Prov. 13:21 is a proverb. It does NOT cover every possible situation.
c. There are many times when we could easily misuse this principle—as Job’s friends did.
d. Job 4:7-8 – the misreading of circumstances by Eliphaz. This man was dead wrong. His theory just did not fit the facts here.
• By this principle we would have to conclude that Job’s sufferings and afflictions were because of his sin.
• We would have to conclude the same thing for Joseph; Daniel; Paul; and others… including Jesus Himself!
• BUT—the Bible tells us just the opposite. These godly men were not suffering because of their sin… but because of their righteousness!
e. When we see a brother who faces one trial after another, it is NOT a good idea to follow the example of Eliphaz and Job’s other “friends.” They were miserable comforters.
f. Acts 28:3-4 it is superstitious to think that way. The barbarous pagans on the isle of Melita thought Paul must have been a criminal—because calamity appeared to strike.
g. The truth is, we can’t know WHY a person faces many trials. In Job’s case, we know…
h. The purpose of the proverb is not for us to judge others—but perhaps to judge ourselves.
i. If we seem to face one trial after another… one calamity after another… that is good cause to slow down and examine our hearts honestly before God.
j. Now, the proverb stands as a TRUTH. Evil does pursue sinners… but be careful in applying that proverb.
21b But to the righteous, good shall be repaid.
1. The righteous – righteous; lawful; just in his cause;
a. In Proverbs, the righteous are the just; those who do things right; those who are hard working; faithful; good, obedient, law abiding citizens.
b. They do things the right way—and are repaid for doing so.
2. Good – good; agreeable; pleasant; gladness; benefit; prosperity; bounty.
3. Repaid – recompense; restitution; pay back.
4. This is the flip side of the first part of the proverb: evil pursues the sinner… good pursues the man who does things right.
a. Cf. Prov. 11:31 – God repays good for good…
b. The repayment for good may not come immediately… but it WILL come. Consider the end of Job.
c. For the Christian, it may not even come in this lifetime… but it will come—at the Bema seat…
d. And the sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us.
e. Isa. 3:10 – in God’s time and in God’s unique way for each dispensation, ultimately, this principle will be seen to be true…
f. Prov. 3:2 – For length of days, and long? life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
g. Prov. 10:6 – Blessings are upon the head of the just…
h. Psalm 23:6 – Here the psalmist says, “surely goodness and mercy shall FOLLOW me all the days of my life.”
• The word for follow is the same word that is translated “pursueth” in Prov. 13:21.
• Just as evil chases down and pursues sinners, so goodness and mercy chases down and pursues the godly… the sheep following the Shepherd…
• And this will pursue them all the days of their earthly lives.
Proverbs 13:22
Leaving an Inheritance
Introduction:
1.) Vs. 21-25 for the most part speak of prosperity vs. poverty…
a.) vs. 21 – doing well vs. doing poorly…
b.) vs. 22 – leaving an inheritance…
c.) vs. 23 – food stored vs. food destroyed…
d.) vs. 24 – training a child to be hard working and prosperous
e.) vs. 25 – eating and being satisfied vs. lacking…
22a A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children…
A.) A Good Man
1.) Good: good; appropriate; becoming; morally good.
2.) This is the good, moral, righteous man mentioned in the previous verse.
a.) Evil follows the sinner… the immoral man.
b.) But GOOD follows the righteous man… and he is repaid for his good.
c.) Prov. 11:31 – often times he is paid off in this life—in the earth.
• The good man is a hard worker… and his hard work pays off.
• The good man is a diligent student… and his studies pay off.
• The good man does things right—and thus is not investigated by the police and does not have his property repossessed… it pays off.
d.) Psalm 23:6 – Here the psalmist says, “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
3.) The good man, who works hard, studies hard, does his best, practices the famous Protestant work ethic, is fair, honest, ethical, and upright in all he does NORMALLY does well.
a.) If he’s a business owner, that man’s business should do well.
b.) If he works for a company, that man will advance in the company.
4.) If he honors God with his life, he can expect God’s blessings in his life.
a.) Prov. 10:6 – Blessings are upon the head of the just…
b.) The godliness, honesty, uprightness, and integrity of this good man manifest themselves in diligence, hard work, high standards, and faithfulness in the workplace.
c.) That usually translates into doing well… prosperity… there is usually a monetary reward for that kind of a life.
d.) There are exceptions… often the wicked do well in the world and the righteous suffer… but those issues are not under discussion in this proverb.
e.) The good man does well…
5.) And when his life is over, his goodness… integrity… and uprightness keep on manifesting themselves.
a.) At the end of his life, he has something to show for all his labor.
b.) He was a good man. He didn’t blow all his money at the race track… or on drinking. Thus, he has set aside a little nest egg.
c.) He was a good man. He didn’t spend his money foolishly, but spend it wisely and frugally. Thus, it’s not all gone… he had a savings.
d.) Prov. 21:17 – he didn’t live beyond his means…
e.) He was a good man. And when the end of his days came, he had gathered a savings of some value.
f.) Prov. 12:27 – this man was wise—and counted as precious all the physical blessings God entrusted to him. He wasted nothing.
B.) Leaves an Inheritance to His Children’s Children
1.) Solomon states that this is what a GOOD man does.
a.) He leaves an inheritance to his children… so they will have something to leave to their children.
b.) His children and grandchildren benefit from his goodness… from his hard work… frugal living… wise investments…
c.) This isn’t worldliness or materialism. This is what a GOOD man does.
2.) Good men leave their inheritance to their children.
a.) It doesn’t say to leave your inheritance to the Temple or the church… or to science… or to a favorite charity… but to your children.
b.) I have received many solicitations from Christian organizations attempting to get me to leave my earthly goods to their organization…
c.) It is a great way to increase revenue.
d.) But could you imagine how WEALTHY the churches would be if everyone left their inheritance to the church?
e.) I don’t think God WANTS the church to be that wealthy. It didn’t do Laodicea much good.
f.) Matt. 23:14 – the Jewish wolves used to prey on widows in hopes of devouring their homes when they died… leaving it to them.
g.) Many charlatan evangelists do the same thing today—and it is equally despicable! God hated it—and rebuked the Pharisees for doing so.
h.) You may want to leave a portion of your inheritance to the Lord’s work… or to a charity… but the BULK of it ought to go to your children!
i.) There is nothing unspiritual or selfish about leaving your earthly goods to your children.
3.) Again, this statement is NOT universal. It is a proverb. It doesn’t cover every situation.
a.) Some good men have no children to leave an inheritance to.
b.) And there are many good men who are poor—and have nothing to leave to their children… nothing earthly, that is.
• Ecc. 7:11 – wisdom is one of the best possible inheritances to leave behind to your children—the example of a life lived in the wisdom of God.
• Far greater than gold that perisheth is it for a father to leave his children an inheritance of a righteous example… of godliness… mercy… compassion…Christlikeness… charity…
• That is leaving behind is a true fortune… true riches…
• Whether you leave earthly goods behind or not—be sure you leave this behind in your portfolio… a godly heritage…
• One man may leave behind a valuable family heirloom: perhaps an antique grandfather clock… or a valuable picture… or a bed George Washington slept in. For years to come your children and grandchildren will remember you by that clock or bed…
• But far more important is it for them to remember grandpa as a man who loved the Lord… who read his Bible every day… and prayed for them every day… and was seen in the Lord’s House every Lord’s day. That’s a priceless inheritance to leave behind!
22b And the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
1.) On the other hand, the wealth of the sinners is NOT passed on to his children’s children.
a.) This man may have spent his money foolishly…
b.) He may have wasted his money living above his income…
c.) He may not have made much money because of laziness… he didn’t want to study… he didn’t want to work hard… and thus he never advanced… and neither did his salary.
d.) He had nothing to leave to his children and grandchildren.
2.) His wealth is laid up for the just…
a.) Laban’s wealth was laid up for Jacob; Egypt’s wealth was laid up for the poor slaves of Israel; Haman’s wealth was laid up for Esther and Mordecai.
b.) How did the wealth of the sinner end up in the hands of the just or the righteous?
c.) The righteous man is one who does things right…
d.) The foolish man may have spent all the money he could have saved by eating out at a restaurant run by a righteous man…
e.) The sinner may have been involved in illegal activity—and had all his possessions repossessed… and turned over to men more righteous than he.
f.) Ecc. 2:26 – this thought HAUNTS the ungodly… the thought of an atheistic father having to leave his wealth to a God-fearing son!
3.) There are a lot of inequities in our present economic system. Many things are not fair. The poor are not dealt with fairly…
a.) Should we redistribute the wealth as some are pushing for?
b.) This passage seems to imply that wealth IS redistributed… it goes from the unjust to the just… from the lazy to the diligent… from the foolish to the wise…
c.) Of course this was written for Jews and was intended primarily to be practiced within Israel—it was not intended to be the basis of some United Nations initiative…
d.) But within a city, a region, a smaller society or a tribe… Solomon hit the nail on the head. Wealth often changes hands… and it seems to end up in the hands of good men.
4.) Even the good man may leave his wealth to his son—but his son’s son may end up being a fool.
a.) Ecc. 2:17-19 – wealthy men are also haunted by thoughts of having to leave their hard earned money to their son… who may be fool… and blow it all… ruin the family business…
b.) That son could quickly LOSE all the hard earned wealth his dad and granddad left him…
c.) Ultimately, all that wealth could end up in the hands of men in the region who are wise, diligent, and hard working.
d.) The poor fool of a son may have to sell the farm… and all of dad’s hard work is now in the hands of a stranger… no longer in the family. That’s a shame—but it happens every day.
5.) One thing is sure—you can’t take it with you.
a.) You are never sure how your hard earned wealth will be used…
b.) But if we leave behind a heritage of godliness—that can never be wasted…
Proverbs 13:23
Good Judgment and Wealth
Introduction:
1. This is one of those proverbs that has one of two possible meanings.
a. Of course Solomon only meant ONE thing when he wrote it.
b. The problem is that today there is a problem interpreting what Solomon meant.
c. There are some good reasons WHY some of the proverbs are hard to be understood:
• There is also the nature of a proverb—written to capture the mind with sometimes-tricky wording that makes you think. Sometimes the wording is purposely ambiguous. Sometimes it appears to say one thing at first glance, but after some thought, its real meaning shines through.
• On top of that, we are trying to interpret it several thousand years after it was written.
• In addition, there is the problem of translation… and sometimes the original nuances aren’t quite so apparent in the translation.
2. The two POSSIBLE meanings:
a. A hard working poor man often does better with his little than a lazy and foolish wealthy man with his much.
b. The lower classes could do much better were it not for the injustice of the wealthy who destroy their gain.
3. Both of these interpretations make good sense and are in harmony with other Scriptures… but the context seems to lend weight to the former interpretation… contrasting the hard working poor man to the lazy and foolish wealthy man.
a. The reason: this view follows the pattern in the chapter of making such contrasts.
b. Ex:
• vs.11 – wealth gotten by vanity vs. that which is gotten by labor
• vs. 12 – hope deferred vs. hopes fulfilled
• vs. 13 – despising vs. fearing the word
• vs. 14 – life vs. death
• vs. 15 – favor vs. hardship
• vs. 16 – prudent man vs. fool
• vs. 17 – wicked vs. faithful messenger
• vs. 18 – refusing vs. receiving instruction
• vs. 19 – desires accomplished vs. desires never accomplished
• vs. 20 – companions of fools vs. wise
• vs. 21 – evil or good pursuing men
• vs. 22 – inheritance of a good man vs. a sinner
c. It makes sense that in the next proverb there would be such a contrast too. The second meaning mentioned does not follow this pattern like the first one does. For that reason, the first makes more sense.
d. Like the rest of the context, we have a proverb with an antithetical parallelism—which simply means that he is contrasting opposites.
e. The contrast is not so obvious at first glance… but it is there:
• Much food which is kept is contrasted to that which is destroyed…
• The poor man is contrasted to the other man—the opposite of which would be a well to do man… a wealthy man.
• The sound judgment of the poor man contrasted to the lack of judgment on the part of the wealthy.
• The tillage of the poor is contrasted to the “tillage” of the wealthy.
23a Much food is in the tillage of the poor
1. Tillage: tillable ground; ground that is able to be tilled, plowed, and planted.
a. The term is only used 4 times.
b. Ex: Jer. 4:3 – “break up your fallow ground…” In other words, if you have land that is able to be tilled, then USE it! Plow it! Plant!
2. The tillage of the poor.
a. This refers to the relatively SMALL plots of land owned by the poor man.
b. The wealthy land owners owned perhaps thousands upon thousands of acres. The poor man did not. He owned but a small plot.
3. Much food.
a. Solomon’s point is that it is possible for a small plot of land to yield a large amount of food.
b. I read an article on “intensive gardening.” It was for people who live in the city and may only have a tiny patio area with only a few feet of growing space… techniques were given to make the most of that space… and to make it as productive as possible.
c. You would be surprised how much food can actually be grown in a small garden area. This seems to be Solomon’s point in the first part of the proverb.
4. What he doesn’t say, but is implied in the proverb is HOW that much food in a small plot is accomplished.
a. He implies it because it is contrasted to the wealthy man who “lacks judgment”… or a lack of good sense.
b. Somehow, the poor man gets a lot out of a little.
c. This good judgment… good sense… on the part of the poor man is manifested in several ways.
5. He has the good sense to make the best of what little he has.
a. He doesn’t sit around and bemoan the fact that he doesn’t own as much as his neighbor. His attention is not on what others have.
b. Rather, he gets busy concentrating on what he DOES have…
c. He thinks to himself, “This is my plot of land; this is my lot in life; I had better make the best of it… this is what I have to work with to feed my family…”
d. He determines that somehow this little piece of land is going to have be utilized to the very fullest… I am going to squeeze every last vegetable out of this land that I can!
e. This mindset (I’ve got to make the best of what I have) will take a person a lot farther than one might think… and we’re not talking about mind over matter.
f. Feisty woman in Florida who survived on gum and a half a candy bar!
g. People who survive in the wilderness in the winter for long periods of time on virtually nothing… but a will to make it. Others may have given up and died facing the same set of circumstances.
h. Sometimes when we are FORCED into an undesirable position, we are also FORCED to accomplish things we would otherwise never accomplish.
i. Families who never thought they could live on one income—when forced—discover they can!
j. You’d be surprised how much you do with a little… when it’s all you’ve got!
k. You are then forced into the kind of mindset Solomon describes here: this is all I’ve got; I’ve got to make it work!
l. That kind of mindset and drive will take you farther than you could imagine…
m. A farmer with just a little plot of land looks at his hungry kids and determines that he is going to do whatever it takes to MAKE that land feed his family!
6. He has the good sense to use some good old fashioned Yankee ingenuity. (Yiddish ingenuity!)
a. When forced into a corner, one becomes quite resourceful.
b. I know people who have fixed their cars with duct tape and coat hangers and garden hoses.
c. If you only have a small plot of land, you CAN make it productive:
• By planting at one week intervals—so the crops keep on coming.
• By planting early—and covering at night… extend the season.
• By growing crops in between other crops—to extend growing space… and not to waste one square inch.
• By planting up! Plant vines and make them climb up to use less space…
• By intensive labor you can keep the garden weed free—so as to maximize the harvest…
• By using every part of the plant you can get more food from each plant…
d. There are lots of ways to get a lot out of a little… if you put your mind to it.
e. That’s what Solomon is saying—the tillage of the poor—a small plot of land yields MUCH FOOD… because of the diligence, ingenuity, and determination of the poor farmer.
23b But there is that is destroyed for lack of judgment.
1. On the other hand, there is also another possible scenario…
a. The opposite of the poor man’s tillage (acreage) is the tillage of the wealthy man.
b. He has lots of land. He doesn’t need to use such labor intensive practices per square foot as the poor man.
c. In fact, the rich man may not see the need to be resourceful.
d. He may not see the need to be diligent.
e. He may not see the need to be so careful about breaking up the fallow ground, pulling out weeds, or frost.
f. He may waste a lot of space… seeds… fertilizer…
2. As a result, much of his crops will be destroyed… by frost, bugs, or weeds…
a. Because of his lack of judgment… good common sense… the poor man’s small plot may produce much more than his rolling plantation!
b. Due to neglect, slothfulness, and apathy, his fields may yield no fruit.
c. Prov. 24:30-34 – Poverty could come to a man who owns a large farm… if it is not take care of.
d. Good judgment with a little, is better than a lot—without good judgment. Egypt with all her riches would have been destroyed were it not for the good judgment of Joseph.
3. Application to the spiritual realm:
a. Often one believer (Tom) who has lots of time on his hands that COULD be used to study the Word, feed his own soul, and prepare Sunday school lessons to feed others… is not very diligent in spiritual things.
b. Yet there may be another brother (Joe), who works long, hard hours, and yet becomes resourceful with what little time he has… to feed his soul… and to be able to minister to others…
• He uses his commute time to listen to sermons on tape…
• He carries a pocket sized Bible to read at lunch time…
• He puts Scripture on post’em notes at work to memorize scripture… when he is put on hold on the phone…
• He gets up a half hour early each day to prepare for his Sunday school class—and pray for his students.
• He may not have as much time, talent, or education as Tom, but what little he has he puts to good use for the glory of God.
• He doesn’t have all the advantages Tom has, but he has the good judgment to utilize what he does have to the fullest.
• So there’s no point in grumbling because we don’t possess all the privileges and advantages of someone else. Use what little you have to its fullest—and you’ll be surprised how much FRUIT you will be able to bear for the glory of God!
Proverbs 13:24
Sparing the Rod
24a He that spareth his rod hateth his son:
1. Clearly Solomon’s point is that the rod should be USED on our children IF we love them!
a. One commentary noted that “sparing the rod” was figurative language and that the Bible did not mandate corporal punishment for children.
b. Such a view was not arrived at by a careful consideration of the meaning of the text.
c. It was obviously arrived at by a careful consideration of what men are saying in our day and age… and in particular what psychologists are saying.
d. There isn’t anything that would lead one to believe that this is figurative. In fact, there are quite a few passages where chastening is mentioned… and involves corporal punishment for children.
• 22:15 -?Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.?
• 23:13-14 – Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.? 14 ?Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
• There isn’t any way around this language. It speaks of using a ROD… a stick of some sort… and beating with it.
e. As a side note: what IS a rod?
• It is not a baseball bat… or a pipe…
• Rod: rod; staff; branch; offshoot club…
• Beat: hit, strike, or smite…
• The rod mentioned in Proverbs is a stick used for hitting. Period.
» BUT — Solomon is not encouraging brutality with children…
» Nor is physical chastisement the only instrument of child training mentioned. (cf. 22:6)This is positive instruction.
» And without positive instruction—beatings are of no avail…
» Positive instruction is the MAIN means of child rearing. The corporal punishment is for disobedience or rebellion.
• In our day and age, we need to use extreme caution in the WAY we discipline our kids. Christian parents have lost their children for following the commands in this book…
• But with a little wisdom and common sense, we can make that an unlikely occurrence in our homes.
• I would advise that you use the thin rod from the plastic mini-blinds.
» Some years ago I was counseling with a parent who was in trouble with the social workers for the way this parent’s children were being treated. Spanking became an issue.
» This individual was using a wooden spoon… and I suggested—right before the social worker that she should NOT use a big, thick wooden object like that… and suggested the mini-blind rod.
» I brought one to show to a social worker in Salem who, after examining it, agreed that it would be an acceptable form of corporal punishment.
» I showed her how it flexed… how skinny it was… and that when applied to the rear end it was unlikely it was to leave a mark…
» With a hard wooden spoon, if you miss and hit a bone, you could do some damage… and have some “splaining” to do!
» What I did not tell her was that it stung a lot more than a wooden spoon…
» It fits the bill as a “rod”… it stings and thus does the job… and it is not quite as intimidating looking to a social worker.
• A word of caution with social workers:
» I understand that many of them have quite liberal views and are often against corporal punishment altogether.
» But keep in mind, that they are ministers of God to thee for good! (Rom. 13:4)
» I have found that if you treat them with respect, they are often quite reasonable people…
» If you come flying at them with 10 Bible verses and a holier than thou attitude… he is likely to make a mental note about you… and you will be put in the “kook” category—which could really make things worse for you!
2. Solomon states in this verse that the rod SHOULD be used and not spared.
a. The rod needs to be used because our children are sinners!
b. They are not only our children, but they are children of Adam… and have the fallen nature of Adam.
c. Even as a child, that nature is there. It may not have manifested itself in all the ugly ways of an adult… but the nature is there…
d. The rod is to restrain the child… and keep the manifestation of that sinful nature in check… whether the kids are saved or not—the rod works!
e. Spare: withhold; restrain; keep back…
• Don’t spare in its use…
• Don’t hold back… use it, and it will bear good fruit…
• What would cause a parent to spare?
» Often if the child cries… or puts up a fuss…
» Prov. 19:18 – Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
» Of course, we are not to go overboard… but don’t go underboard either!
» Sparing the rod is a much more common sin than using the rod in excess… both are problems… but sparing the rod occurs more often.
3. The parent who spares HATES his son!
a. Of course the kids will try to convince us of the opposite.
b. Remember little Elizabeth Shafer? Her father told me that when she was about 2 and he had to give her a spanking, she cried out, “You’re killing me dad!”
c. Kids think: “If you loved me you wouldn’t punish me like this!” When the exact opposite is the case. The Bible says if a parent DOESN’T spank their child they HATE them!
d. In what way is it hate?
• Prov. 22:15 – foolishness is in the heart of a child. It is like a disease that will handicap them the rest of their lives. If you know it’s there… and don’t do anything to remove—you can’t possibly love that child!
• What if it were malaria and you had a cure for malaria in the cabinet, but you chose not to use it, because it was too much trouble to get the child to swallow the pill… that isn’t love. That’s neglect… and worse if the child dies!
• We have a cure for the disease of foolishness… and shame on us if we don’t use it!
• It IS an act of love to discipline a child… sacrificing self for their good!
• It is an act of hatred and neglect not to do so.
24b But he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
1. The parent who truly LOVES HIS CHILD, will discipline him.
a. This is following the pattern of our heavenly Father… (Cf. Prov. 3:11-12)
• Our heavenly Father doesn’t spare the rod.
• He uses it on EVERY one of his sons… out of love. (Heb. 12:7)
• He is our pattern of parental love… manifested in chastening…
b. Parent-inflicted pain in his youth enables him to avoid a lifetime of self-inflicted pain!
c. A little discomfort now spares them from years of disaster…
d. 22:15 – ?Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.?
e. A parent who loves his child will do what is BEST for the child. God says that discipline is best for them!
f. 23:13-14 – Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.? 14 ?Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
• The term for hell = the grave.
• The point is that disciplining a child when young may deliver him from death! You could save his life! Isn’t that love?
• The little boy who disobeys positive instruction to stay in the yard and goes across the street needs a good spanking… one he won’t soon forget—and that could save him from going in the road again and getting killed by oncoming traffic…
2. The loving parent will chasten him “betimes.”
a. Betimes: to seek diligently; to seek early; seek earnestly…
b. In other words, don’t wait…
• Don’t wait until 3 days later… when it is forgotten…
• Don’t wait until they have become so disobedient that you end up disciplining in a fit of anger…
• Don’t wait until it’s too late…
• Don’t wait until the police knock on your door… if we don’t discipline our kids, the judicial system may have to.
c. Begin early in life… from the earliest stages in that toddler’s life… don’t allow the child to gain the mastery early… chasten early!
d. Bad habits are best broken early. It’s much easier to quit smoking after your first cigarette than after smoking for 25 years!
e. Deal with the issues of rebellion when they are young… the young, tender plant is most easily bent… Charles Bridges put it this way: “bend the tender twig before the knotty oak is beyond our power.”
f. Kids are like wet cement… make your impression on them while they are still able to be formed… before they become hardened and it’s too late.
3. Parents should demonstrate TRUE love… a Biblical kind of love to their children.
a. Ps. 103:13 – “like as a father pitieth his children.” It is natural and right for a parent to have pity on his child.
b. But love also demands that a parent express the tough side of love too—in using the rod… ignoring the cries… knowing that it is for the child’s good… it may even save his life!
Proverbs 13:25
Eating and Satisfied
Introduction:
1. The proverb states that righteous men eat well and the wicked go hungry.
2. And once again, we must remind ourselves that these are Proverbs: truth crystallized… and sayings that do NOT cover every situation.
3. Certainly Solomon knew of many exceptions to this principle.
a. As a king, he would no doubt have known many of the wealthy land owners and the nobility… many of whom were ungodly wicked men… but who ate quite well.
b. And no doubt as king, Solomon heard many cases where righteous men were cheated, unjustly treated and who were very poor… and who did not eat so well.
c. In fact, he even wrote about such godly but poor men. (Prov.15:16-17)
d. Solomon KNEW that the righteous are often poor… and he knew that the wicked were often wealthy.
e. Nevertheless, there is a principle in Prov. 13:25 that Solomon thought was worth writing down… and so did the Holy Spirit!
25a The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul…
1. The righteous will have enough… AND they will know that they have enough (satisfaction).
a. They are not gluttons… they eat till they have satisfied their appetite… they do not eat until they could not possibly stuff in another bite or they’d explode!
b. The righteous eat in moderation… and are satisfied with moderation. He eats till he is satisfied and then he stops.
c. The righteous soon discovers that eating in moderation is enough. That’s all you need! All we need is enough.
d. God promises enough to satisfy our needs…not enough to satisfy all our lusts.
2. Enough can be as good as a feast! Prov.15:17
a. A dinner of herbs is enough to satisfy the appetite. You don’t need steak and lobster.
b. In fact, a modest meal of vegetables is far BETTER than a feast of meat and potatoes with all the trimmings IF there is love… as opposed to a wealthy home with a huge meal served by servants… where everyone hates each other…
c. Who had the better meal? Who enjoyed the meal more?
d. Try to put your own house into this scenario:
• I’m sure that every one of us here tonight have experienced family problems where there was fighting, friction, frustration, anger, unkind words, maybe even yelling, and hostility… you all sat around and ate supper with a big pit in your stomach…
• Under that cloud, it doesn’t matter whether you had filet mignon or a just a bowl of rice… it wouldn’t be a very enjoyable meal…
• Regardless of the quantity of the meal or the quality of the food… it would not be enjoyable.
• And yet at other times, when there is real joy in the home… mom can go to the cupboards and discover she has very few ingredients to work with…
• But if there is love in the home… and all are in a good mood… getting along well… and trusting in the Lord—and everybody gathered around the kitchen to make a game out of trying to put a meal together out of three stalks of celery, a half a cup of peanuts, a can of peas, a can of tomatoes, and a little left over tuna… that meagerly meal can be extremely enjoyable! Enjoyable putting it together—and enjoyable laughing about how awful it tastes!
• In fact, that meal time could even become one of the favorite family memories!
3. You don’t need shrimp and lobster to have an enjoyable meal.
a. All you really need to have an enjoyable meal is a bowl full of “herbs”—and people sitting around the table who love each other… and love the Lord… and are content with whatever God has provided.
b. I doubt if the Queen of England has never had such a good meal!
c. All you need is enough.
4. It is the LORD who provides enough to satisfy.
a. The point of the passage is that GOD blesses the righteous with enough to eat…
b. Prov. 10:3 – The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish.
c. It was part of the promise God made to Israel under the Mosaic covenant… (Deut. 28:1-5) God promised to bless their crops and provide enough in their basket if they obeyed… if they were righteous.
d. If they did NOT obey… they had no such promise (28:15,17)
e. Thus, when the nation obeyed the Law and was righteous, they could expect God’s blessing and bounty.
f. This is the essence of the proverb.
5. This principle is found in many Old Testament passages.
a. Ps. 34:10 – they that seek the Lord shall not want.
b. Context: God’s constant care for His people.
• vs. 6 – In trouble, David cried and God delivered.
• Vs. 7 – The Angel of the Lord (and His hosts) encamp around those who fear God… for our good. Protected!
• This care is not for everyone:
‣‣ For those who bless God continually (vs.1)
‣‣ For those who boast in the Lord (vs.2)
‣‣ For those who magnify the Lord (vs.3)
‣‣ For those who seek the Lord (vs. 4)
‣‣ For those who cry to the Lord (vs. 6)
‣‣ For those who fear the Lord (vs. 7)
‣‣ For those who taste and see for themselves! (vs. 8)
‣‣ For those who fear the Lord (vs.9)
c. Vs. 10 – With that as a background David says, “They that seek the Lord shall not want (lack) any good thing.
• If God is your all in all—then you will not lack… you will taste and be satisfied…
• Ps. 23:1 – The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want (lack).
‣‣ Those who want to travel their own route don’t have this promise.
‣‣ Those who don’t want to follow the Good Shepherd may not make to the green pastures and experience fulfillment…
• Ps. 84:11 – no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.
‣‣ Sometimes we complain and think God is withholding good from us when we don’t eat shrimp and lobster and only have herbs.
‣‣ But having shrimp and lobster every day may not be best for us.
‣‣ We might miss out on the joy of the Lord that is ours as we sit contentedly around a table of herbs… with love!
‣‣ If all we have is a table of herbs… just remember, God may be withholding many things from us—but no GOOD thing… He withholds nothing that is good for our soul… for our spiritual lives.
» Daniel and his friends ate herbs… and it didn’t do them any harm. They appeared “fairer and fatter in flesh” than those who ate at the king’s table.
» They profited from it!
» What most would look upon as a meagerly meal—did them GOOD!
» Families who go through times of trial and dry periods financially often discover that it was the very BEST thing for them spiritually!
» It is not always the case, but often is: prosperity in the world tends to cause us to forget the Lord…
» Poverty often causes us to focus more clearly on the Lord… to seek Him… as we see our need for His care moment by moment.
‣‣ Even for folks in the world, this principle is true… and has often been proven.
» Think of the many wealthy families in California who lost their homes in the recent fires… all their earthly goods gone up in smoke.
» On TV we probably all saw pictures of families weeping over their loss… and yet thankful that they still had each other… the parents and kids made it away safely…
» In fact, the removal of all earthly and material things enabled them to see a little more clearly that which was far MORE important… life and loved ones!
» Luke 12:15 – “a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”
» Sometimes it takes losing one’s possessions to make us to see how precious is LIFE itself… and our family and friends.
» The unsaved can learn this lesson on that level.
4. But how much GREATER should be the lesson to the believer!
a. God may chose to reduce us to a table of herbs…
b. But we can still have LOVE around that table… a poor economy can’t take that away from us!
c. And we are still blessed with ALL spiritual blessings in heavenly places.
d. Sometimes it takes loosing our earthly blessings for us to appreciate how richly blessed we are spiritually!
e. For the believer in Christ, God hasn’t promised a stalled ox every meal. But He does provide for the complete satisfaction of the soul!
f. Even if we find ourselves reduced to a table of herbs for a season in life… taste and see that the LORD is good… HE is the One who truly satisfies our soul…
25b But the belly of the wicked shall want.
1. The curse of Deut. 28 would be upon the wicked… those who disobeyed God’s Law.
a. Their baskets would not overflow with bounty.
b. Their crops, fields, and cattle would be cursed.
c. They could expect famines and hunger if they disobeyed.
d. The belly of the wicked shall WANT (lack).
2. Their belly shall want…
a. They will not experience satisfaction…
b. Their desires will be insatiable…
c. In fact, there is nothing in all the world that could really satisfy the inner cravings of man… apart from God Himself…. And the wicked don’t want the Lord.
d. Thus, they shall suffer want… lack…
e. Their belly won’t be satisfied with food…
f. Their souls won’t be satisfied either…
3. This is a picture of the awful future condition of those wicked men in the Lake of Fire: they will desire to be satisfied, but will not… they will burn in those unfulfilled desires…
a. Cf. Luke 16:24-26 – the wicked rich man in Hades… longing for the satisfaction of a drink of water—but cannot be satisfied.
b. In whose shoes would YOU rather be? (Luke 16:19-23)
i. The rich man who fared sumptuously every day and ended up in Hades…
ii. Or the poor man that ate of the crumbs that fell from his table… yet who would soon be transported to Paradise… into Abraham’s bosom… into the presence of the Lord… and ultimately into the heavenly city forever?
4. The main point of the second half of this proverb is that there is NO SATISFACTION for the wicked… in this life or in the life to come.
5. A spiritual application: the Christian who may have precious little in the world… but who feasts upon Christ… will find TRUE satisfaction of his soul…
a. While the unbeliever who prospers in the world… with all of his millions… finds that his belly (inner man) goes hungry… unfulfilled… discontent… unhappy… without any true satisfaction.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 14
Proverbs 14:1
A Wise Woman
Introduction:
1. Once again, Solomon contrasts wisdom and folly.
2. He has contrasted wisdom and folly in all kinds of situations:
• Wisdom causes a son to hear his father…
• Wisdom causes a man to obey the commandments…
• Wisdom causes a man to walk with other wise men…
• Wisdom causes a man to fear the Lord…
3. In this verse Solomon applies wisdom to the home… and especially to the lady of the house.
1a Every wise woman buildeth her house…
1. House: can mean either the physical house (dwelling place) or a household, household affairs; family; descendants; those who live IN the dwelling place.
a. It is used hundreds of times in the Old Testament.
b. It is most often used of physical dwelling places; or of a group of people and their descendants—i.e.,… of the house of God; the house of Judah and Israel;
c. That is NOT the sense in which Solomon uses the term.
d. Solomon uses the term in a slightly difference sense:
• Ps. 68:6 – translated families.
• Isa. 38:1 – “set thine house in order” = the affairs of one’s household…
• Jer. 5:27 – “houses full of deceit” = speaks of the moral climate within that household…
e. When Solomon refers to a wise woman building her house, this is the sense that he is suggesting: the family life; the affairs of the household; the moral and spiritual climate within that household.
2. Building: to build; rebuild; establish; cause to continue
a. This also a very common Old Testament word—used scores of times in the Old Testament.
b. Gen. 33:17 – it often has the meaning of construction—masonry; carpentry… building a physical structure…
c. It’s used often of building altars; building cities; building the walls of Jerusalem; building houses; used of the stone quarriers who built the Temple;
d. But this term also has another shade of meaning…
• Ps. 147:2 – building up a community of people… Jerusalem.
• Ps. 89:2 – “mercy shall be built up” = strengthening of virtue is called building up…
• It is in this sense that Solomon uses the term in Prov. 14:1… a community… fellowship… spirituality and virtue… which are built up…
3. Thus, Solomon is using a play on words—one which makes sense both in Hebrew and in English… for we use these terms in a similar sense.
a. Solomon uses the concept of physically constructing a building as an illustration of making and preparing a home.
b. He draws an analogy from carpentry or masonry and applies it to homemaking…
c. In those days, the husband usually built the house structure… and the wife’s responsibility was to make it a home on the inside. That’s the analogy here.
d. Today most men do not build their own homes. Some do. (I love my family too much. I would never let them live in a house that I built.)
e. But we have a few carpenters here who built their own houses. But whether we built it or not—the analogy holds… and is practical and helpful.
f. This proverb is designed to be practical for WOMEN in building up their homes… on the inside.
4. It takes wisdom to construct a building.
a. When the Tabernacle and later the Temple were built, there were plans… divinely inspired plans. (Ex. 25:9; I Chron. 28:11-12; 18-19)
• God expected that the plans were to be followed.
• The Lord would not have been pleased if His plans were ignored… and they built the Temple according to what pleased Solomon or the construction workers.
• They were to follow the plans even if it was difficult and involved much sacrifice.
• They did not have the liberty to alter the plans or add or subtract from the plans.
• They were not to look around them at how the other nations built their Temples. They were to build according to the pattern God gave them.
• The finished structure was to look like the pattern they were given.
• A construction worker might attempt to undermine the architect’s work… by cutting corners here or there… or by using inferior materials… or out of sheer pride think that he has a better way of doing it…
• Wisdom demands that the construction workers follow the architect’s pattern and plan.
b. A wise woman builds her home on the inside the same way.
• God has given the godly wife a blueprint for the home: God’s Word!
• Just as a set of blueprints spells out how everything is to be assembled on the outside of the structure… God’s Word is the woman’s blueprint which spells out clearly how things should be ordered on the inside of the home.
• There IS an order: the husband is to be the loving head; the wife is to willingly submit; they are to work together to bring up the children according to God’s pattern… and children are to obey.
1. This order is never to be ignored or reversed.
2. Kids are NOT in charge; wives do not rule the nest; husbands are to lead…
3. God would not be pleased if Solomon changed the pattern David gave him from the Lord—neither would God be pleased if we change the pattern for the home!
4. God’s pattern for the home is under attack in our day and age… and it is probably irreversible.
a. Gay marriages certainly are not according to the order found in God’s Word.
b. Anyone who dares to oppose it is called a hate monger and a bigot…
c. God’s order for the home is being replaced with disorder… and that does not bode well for our country and future generations.
• Women are to follow the pattern even if it is difficult.
1. There is a lot of pressure on young married women today to change this pattern…
2. There is pressure to be like the women of the world who do NOT believe in submission to their husbands… and have changed the pattern to share in the authority… to share the headship.
3. Sometimes husbands make foolish demands on their wives and it is difficult for them to submit.
4. Sometimes husbands have the wrong concept of headship and lead like a drill sergeant… and the wife feels like NOT submitting…
5. Some of the stones for the Temple were MASSIVE. It would have been a lot easier to make many smaller stones… following the pattern is not always easy… but it is always best.
• Just as the construction workers building the Temple were not to look around them at how the other nations built their Temples, so Christian women today are not to look around at how other women handle the affairs of their homes.
1. A godly woman will look into the Word for her pattern.
2. If you pattern your home after the way others do… you are worldly. You are being conformed by the world.
3. Pattern your home life after the principles in God’s Word…
4. Just because all the other ladies on the block are dropping their kids off at a day care center, that doesn’t mean you should. That is NOT the pattern we see in the Bible. Parents are to bring up their kids—not some hired hand.
5. Just because none of the ladies on the block spank their kids, that doesn’t mean you should stop!
• In building the Temple, the finished product was to look like the pattern, so too the Christian home should LOOK like the pattern we see in the Bible…
1. Be careful with this—not everything that Bible characters DID was to be imitated. (polygamy; adultery; etc..)
2. We see a pattern of a virtuous woman in Prov. 31. That picture should resemble YOUR life as a wife, mother, and home maker.
3. Ladies, does YOUR home look like the pattern we see in the Bible? If not, then perhaps some changes are in order.
4. In fact, the point of this proverb is just this: the woman’s role is to give attention to this very issue: does your home fit the pattern a Christian home according to the principles found in the Bible?
5. It takes wisdom and humility to stick to the pattern God gave.
a. The architect of the home is God Himself!
b. Wisdom doesn’t try to improve on God’s pattern, but humbly submits to it.
c. Wisdom attempts to pay attention even to small details of the pattern… and to incorporate them all.
5. Ladies, your home is YOUR construction project! Be busy at that task. And that does take a lot of work… energy and effort.
a. Buildings don’t just arise up out of the dust on their own. Neither are HOMES built on their own.
b. The woman’s job is to be working on the moral and spiritual climate in the home before the kids.
• A house is built with brick and mortar; wood and nails;
• A home is built with love, kindness, beauty, orderliness; discernment; education; harmony; unity; stability.
c. The woman’s job is to taking care of the internal affairs of the home…
• Is your house IN ORDER?
• Do you take care of your possessions?
• Is it neat or messy?
• Do you walk around the home teaching your children about the Lord?
• Is it a place where Christ is lifted up or hardly mentioned?
• Is it a place of chaos or discipline and order?
• Is the home cold and impersonal or warm and inviting?
• Are the affairs of your household being attended to faithfully—or are you so busy in other things, that the affairs of your household are ignored and unattended to?
• A house is more than a pile of wood, nails, glass, and shingles. A home is more than just people eating and sleeping at the same address.
• Turning that pile of building materials into a house is the job of the construction workers.
• Turning the inside of that building into a home is the wife’s responsibility.
d. A wise woman builds her home…
• The woman builds the family numerically by giving birth.
• She also builds it up spiritually by her godly character reflected in the home day in and day out… and by teaching her children in the things of the Lord.
• She builds it up economically by her industry and hard work. Read Prov. 31 – this woman was a hard worker and profited the whole family from her efforts.
Proverbs 14:2
Fearing or Despising the Lord
Introduction:
1. This proverb is quite simple. It states that a person’s attitude towards the Lord is seen in his behavior.
2. Those who fear God will walk in the way of uprightness.
3. Those who hate the Lord walk in perverse ways.
4. A person’s behavior is often a reflection of his attitude towards God.
2a He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD…
1. Fearing God is a LIFE DOMINATING attitude.
a. The fear of the Lord affects absolutely everything we do, say, or even think!
b. Prov. 1:7 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning? of knowledge (9:10)
• The God-fearing man will have a knowledge of right and wrong… and he will fear the wrong.
• This will keep him walking in uprightness.
c. Prov. 2:3-5 – fearing God is associated with seeking Him wholeheartedly… and the knowledge of God.
• The one who fears God will seek Him.
• He will seek His favor; His grace; His word.
• He will realize that a half-hearted approach to an omniscient God is foolish.
d. Prov. 3:7 – fearing God is associated with departing from evil. (16:6)
• To know God is to fear Him.
• To fear Him is to depart from evil.
• One with knowledge and fear of God will be deathly afraid of displeasing God—for our God is a consuming fire! It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God!
• It is good to fear God. It will keep us from evil—AND from the awful consequences of evil.
e. Prov. 8:13 – The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
• The God-fearing man departs from evil and HATES evil!
• He hates every form of evil: beginning at self with pride and arrogance…
• He hates an evil mouth… Godly fear will clean up our mouths too!
f. Prov. 10:27 – Associated with a long life… considered a great blessing.
g. Prov. 14:26-27 – A place of safety and a fountain of life…
• The fear of God will keep us away from foolish behavior that is dangerous.
• Fearing God = fearing the government = obeying the laws. That results in good standing; safety! If you fear god, you don’t have to fear the sword of government.
• Fearing God = safety from sinful behavior that might cut short one’s life…
h. Prov. 15:16 – Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.?
• It results in a life of contentment.
• A God-fearing man who has but a little is far better than a godless man who may have a lot.
• One is weightier than the other.
i. Prov. 19:23 – The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.
• The God fearing man has a heart attitude that tends to life; it tends toward safety.
• This man is content… more content than the wealthy man who has no fear of God. That godless man may be miserable!
• The God-fearer also “shall not be visited with evil.” (Calamity can be avoided by fearing God and submitting to His word.)
j. Prov.22:4 – By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
• In other words, the man who fears God will be honored by God and blessed by God.
• Godly fear and humility go hand in hand.
• That is an honorable life… a life of honor and integrity… uprightness.
k. Prov. 23:17 – it keeps us from envy… satisfied…
l. Prov. 24:21 – it will keep us from meddling with those prone to rebellion and anarchy… overthrowing the government… and getting thrown in jail or worse!
m. A God-fearing heart results in an upright life.
2. Uprightness
a. Defined: right; straight and even (as opposed to crooked); with moral implications; the quality of conforming to a standard.
b. Prov. 4:11 – I have led thee in RIGHT paths (same word).
c. Fearing God will keep us on the RIGHT road… the right pathway… doing things RIGHT before God… conforming to His standards…
2b But he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him.
1. He that is perverse in his ways…
a. Perverse: to depart; turn aside; to depart; to go wrong, go crooked; devious, perverse.
b. This does not necessarily speak of a twisted and demented pervert… but rather, it is the opposite of uprightness…
c. Uprightness is straight and even… this is crooked… dishonest… wayward…
d. Walking in uprightness means doing things the right way; this term speaks of doing things the wrong way…
e. Uprightness speaks of walking the straight and narrow way. Perverseness speaks of turning out of that way… to another way.
2. 2:14-15 – the ways of the evil man are crooked… anything that departs from the straight and narrow way is crooked… and it doesn’t matter at which point they depart either. His ways are dishonest, unfaithful, unjust, crooked…
3. Those who live this way demonstrate that they do NOT fear God. In fact, their actions demonstrate that they DESPISE God!
a. Very few people would ever SAY that they despise God, but their actions speak for them.
b. Many folks might actually SAY that they LOVE God, but their actions demonstrate just the opposite. They HATE God.
c. This is GOD’s estimate. Regardless of what men might say, GOD says that the one who is walking OFF the straight and narrow way actually hates God!
d. Titus 1:16 – They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
• However lovely their words are, their works demonstrate that they do not know Him.
• They profess to know God—but in reality they despise Him—and their works prove it.
e. Matt. 6:24 – Jesus stated one example of this. Walking in the way of covetousness is in reality “despising God.”
4. Despise:
a. Meaning: to despise; hold in contempt; disdain; consider worthless.
b. This is quite a powerful statement: when a man is not walking in uprightness… when he steps out of the way… his works are proclaiming a message.
c. That message is: “I hate God. I disdain God and His ways. I consider God and His truth to be worthless.”
d. Would YOU ever say that? Like it or not, that IS the message our lifestyle proclaims when we are not walking in uprightness.
e. Prov. 1:29 – Some men do NOT fear God; they reject His words… and from God’s perspective, they actually “despise Him.” This attitude results in perverse ways.
f. Those who despise God will despise His Word… and thus will not submit to it. Hence, they follow perverse ways.
3. His attitude towards God affects his lifestyle… his behavior… his walk.
a. Nothing has a great effect on our lives and holiness than the fear of God… a reverence for God…
b. Hence, that is just one more reason why we are going to CLING to what is considered an old fashioned way of worship… one that emphasizes reverence… and godly fear.
c. Once the fear of God is gone—you just watch the behavior change—and go right downhill! (in the churches!)
d. A God fearing attitude results in uprightness.
e. When the fear of God is gone… the result is perversity.
4. Our heart attitude towards God has a great effect on the way we live.
a. Whatever is in our hearts has a way of flowing out and manifesting itself.
b. Prov. 4:23 – out of our hearts flow all the issues of life. Keep your heart with all diligence. Keep it pure. Keep it reverent. Keep it in the fear of the Lord.
c. If our heart is full of godly fear and reverence, it will SHOW in the way we live.
d. Prov. 23:17 – THEREFORE, we should LIVE in the fear of the Lord! Every day… moment by moment… day by day…
Proverbs 14:3
Foolish and Wise Mouths
Introduction:
1. Once again, Solomon contrasts the foolish and the wise.
2. In particular, he speaks of their mouths or lips… as a figure of speech to denote what comes out of their mouths and lips: speech!
3. Everybody has a mouth. Fools use their mouths in one way; wise men use them differently.
4. This is a common theme in Proverbs.
3a In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride
1. The fool’s mouth is characterized by PRIDE…
a. This is a different term for pride than is most often used.
b. Meaning: majesty, a rising up; swelling (of the sea); majesty (of Israel); pride, haughtiness.
c. It is translated variously; excellency; haughtiness; swelling; highness; arrogance…
d. It is used here in the sense of arrogance and pride—a spirit that is lifted up or a head that swelled up… puffed up…
2. Actually, pride exists in the heart… not the mouth.
a. Prov. 16:5 – a proud heart is an abomination to God.
b. Prov. 21:4 – pride in the heart is sin.
• It is sinful and God hates it.
• Even if it is never acted upon, it is sinful and wrong.
• BUT—it is much WORSE to act upon it…
c. Prov. 28:25 – pride in the heart is manifested in stirring up trouble.
d. Prov. 13:10 – only by pride cometh contention.
e. Pride is at the root of all controversy and contention.
• Thus, WISDOM has the good sense to suppress pride.
• A wise man will.
• Where there is pride in the heart and NO WISDOM to suppress it, it WILL manifest itself in all kinds of ugly ways…
• Wisdom will “keep a lid” on pride… and eventually will DEAL with it…
3. The fool has pride in his heart—AND lets it all out through his big mouth.
a. Pride manifests itself in the mouth through BOASTING.
• This is overt pride… nothing subtle about this.
• This is the man who lets everyone know about HIMSELF… because frankly, he can’t think of a more fascinating topic!
• He speaks about how well he does at his job… at all of his hobbies… how much money he makes…
• He drops names of important people he hob-knobs with
• The Christian who has a mouth full of spiritual pride is worse.
1. He lets everyone know how long he prays;
2. He drops hints as to how much money he gives.
3. He makes sure everyone knows how many tracts he passed out; how many people he has witnessed to;
4. He, like the proud Pharisee, blows a trumpet every time he does a good deed…
5. And like the Pharisee, he gloats over the fact that he is not as sinful as others…
6. He likes everyone to know how holy he is… and rest assured, he is truly holier than thou!
7. God hates this kind of proud boasting.
b. Pride manifests itself in the mouth through CRITICIZING.
• Pride is demonstrated in a round about way at other times.
• This man may not boast overtly of himself, but he does the same thing by constantly criticizing others and pointing out their faults.
• The implication each time is: “I am better than he is” even though it is never stated as such.
• He tears down others to make himself look good… to exalt himself.
• Now there are times when faults NEED to be pointed out… where error must be exposed. Jesus did so often.
• BUT—when we do so, we need to be extremely careful about our MOTIVE.
• Our motive ought to be a love for the truth—not a love for self… not a desire to make US look good.
c. Pride manifests itself in the mouth through RIDICULING.
• Pride sometimes pokes fun at others in order to make self look good… just like pointing out faults.
• There is of course, good clean fun.
• But there is also a kind of poking fun that has as its source PRIDE and arrogance…
• Little kids do this all the time. They poke fun at someone who might look different or might be a little slow. (Na, na na na na!)
• Adults do the same thing—but with much more sophistication.
• God hates the pride behind it all—regardless of how cleverly we disguise it!
d. Pride manifests itself in the mouth through proud COMMANDING.
• Some demonstrate a proud mouth by taking authority to themselves that does not belong to them.
• They make commands and tell others what to do—when in fact, they are not in charge!
• Pride blinds that person into thinking that he or she is the head of everything…
• When we present God’s Word we are to speak with all authority.
• But when we speak on other issues—perhaps a little humility would help.
• Our way of doing things isn’t necessarily the only way.
• We are not in charge of everything. We should not try to speak authoritatively on all subjects under the sun!
• This is the know-it-all… and the one who THINKS he is the boss… and enjoys telling others what to do…
• God hates this kind of pride when it spews out of our mouths.
• A wise man will learn to control that tongue.
4. A ROD.
a. The fool who says proud, arrogant, and foolish things needs to be punished with a rod…
• Some understand the rod of pride as a stick that the proud man uses to hurt others… by what comes out of his mouth: criticism, ridicule, etc.
• Others see this rod as a rod that is needed to DEAL with the pride and arrogance that comes out of the mouths of fools.
• Ps. 64:8 – it may be that the rod is BOTH… the proud man’s words that HURT like a rod… and that CORRECT like a rod—because they hurt HIM… they come back to bite him!
b. Prov. 10:13 – a rod is for the back of a fool… for beating some sense into him! To knock some sense into him.
c. Prov. 26:3 – just as animals need to pulled and whipped and beaten into submission—so does the fool. Like a dumb animal, he doesn’t seem to learn any other way.
d. Parents would LOVE to not have to spank their children. Kids—here’s a way to avoid it: do what is right! Don’t talk or behave foolishly… rebelliously… SUBMIT!
e. Elders would LOVE never to have to discipline a church member—and here’s the way to do it—don’t talk foolishly… humble yourself… don’t be proud or arrogant… submit to the God-given authority in the local church… and there is no need for it!
f. But there are times when the rod is needed.
g. As adults, no one is going to spank us… but the rod should speak to us ALL of DEALING with this kind of pride…
h. We should learn to chasten ourselves… examine our own hearts… MORTIFY the deeds of the body that are not pleasing to God.
i. Let’s face it. We are ALL guilty of having PRIDE flow out of our mouths… rather than pretend it’s not there, let’s be honest and deal with it!
j. And when you hear pride coming out of the mouth of a brother, show love: love covers a multitude of sins.
k. Don’t make a big deal out of HIS pride. Let’s rather attack the pride in our OWN heart. There’s plenty there to keep us busy.
3b But the lips of the wise shall preserve them.
1. On the other hand, words of wisdom will PRESERVE the wise man.
a. Foolish words of pride bring judgment upon the fool.
b. Wise words of humility protect the wise man.
c. Prov. 13:3 – the one who watches his mouth is safe.
d. His words do not come back to bite him or haunt him.
2. A clear contrast…
Pride
Folly
Losing friends by hurting them with your tongue
Bringing trouble and difficulties into your life through a proud use of the tongue
He has to deal with the consequences of his foolish pride: (driving the tractor into the river)
Humility
Wisdom
Preserving friendships by a wise and humble use of tongue.
Preserving your life from trouble by a wise and humble use of the tongue
He can avoid those kinds of consequences. Pride hurts; humility pays!
Rom. 6:13 – it is our privilege as believers to allow the Holy Spirit to control us—and thus our tongues. This member can thus be transformed as a weapon to hurt others into an instrument of righteousness unto God!
Introduction:
1. This proverb is a bit different from most of the others in recent chapters.
2. There is no contrast between the wise man and the fool or the righteous man and the wicked.
3. Rather, this proverb teaches a lesson through an illustration that would have been very familiar to most of Solomon’s readers…
4. The illustration might not be quite so familiar to us today, and it might require a bit more thinking… but once you see the illustration, the light goes on… and its truth is undeniable.
5. This proverb illustrates a principle that has countless applications.
a. For you young people wondering whether going to college is worth it or not…
b. For the factory worker who prefers to take the easy, shortcut way to do the job—here’s something to think about.
c. For the factory owner who wants his factory to be productive.
d. For the Sunday school teacher who really wants to see fruit from his or her ministry—here is a valuable principle.
e. For the commander in Chief of the armed forces…
f. For the homemaker… the construction worker… the student… the engineer… here is a principle that will transform your work, your success, your finances, and perhaps your whole career!
4a Where no oxen are, the crib is clean…
1. The farmer who doesn’t use oxen to plow his fields has some immediate advantages:
a. He doesn’t have to clean up the messy stall every day!
b. He doesn’t have to shovel manure; that’s no fun!
c. Nor does he have to feed the oxen every day.
d. He doesn’t have to carry piles of hay out to the barn twice a day.
2. In fact this farmer might look at the farmer next door and even laugh at him!
a. Look at that fool shoveling manure!
b. Look at that fool carrying hay out to the barn!
c. My life is so much easier… my barn so much cleaner…
d. That poor fool next door sure goes to a lot of trouble on those dumb animals…
e. Those oxen are more work than anything else!
f. If only my neighbor were as smart as I am… he would see how much extra work he has to do to keep those animals.
3. In the short run, the farmer who chooses NOT to use oxen has a point.
a. He DOES have less work to do.
b. His stalls are cleaner.
c. The farmer next door DOES have extra chores to do.
4. But this is precisely this man’s problem. He is looking at the situation from a very narrow perspective… he doesn’t see the whole picture. He only sees the immediate.
a. The farmer who chooses NOT to use oxen is looking only at the “immediate”… and has no vision for the future.
b. Kids often think like this. They have no vision for the future.
c. Kids often do not see WHY they have to do this or that. What good does it do right NOW?
d. In a sense, the farmer who chooses NOT to use oxen thinks like Esau. Esau wanted his porridge right now… and was not interested in tomorrow or the future. His only concern was for me, myself, and I… right now! Nothing matters but the immediate.
e. This proverb teaches the folly of that kind of an attitude.
f. If our focus is on “me, myself, and I and right now”—it will affect our decisions. It will affect our future. It will affect our success.
5. The farmer in the first part of this proverb chose the easy route… for the immediate.
a. He chose not to use any oxen.
b. He didn’t want to do the dirty work associated with having oxen. (Cleaning; shoveling manure; feeding; etc.)
c. And in the immediate, he DID have it easier than his neighbor.
d. But Solomon is going to demonstrate how FOOLISH this man’s narrow perspective really is.
e. Perhaps some of us here have been a bit narrow in our perspective… and maybe the Lord will make a personal application of this principle.
4b But much increase is by the strength of the ox.
1. On the other hand is the farmer next door who DOES use oxen in his fields for plowing.
2. This man uses oxen to plow his fields… which means that this man has at least three immediate DISADVANTAGES.
a. There was the initial investment in purchasing the oxen. There was a big cost up front… which his neighbor didn’t have to pay!
b. Then there are the ongoing expenses of feeding the oxen.
c. And there is also the extra maintenance work of cleaning the stalls.
3. Those disadvantages notwithstanding, Solomon emphasizes here the STRENGTH of the ox.
a. Oxen are expensive. And they eat a lot. And they can make a mess too.
b. That’s all the farmer in the first part of this proverb saw—the expense, the dirty work, and the mess.
c. But the farmer in the second part of the proverb sees something BEYOND that.
d. He sees the STRENGTH of the ox.
e. This farmer sees the potential in the ox.
f. He sees the benefit of using an ox.
g. He sees the increased productivity from the ox.
h. This farmer observed that his neighbor is able to cultivate one acre by hand and reap a one acre harvest, he could cultivate 10 acres with oxen—and reap 10 acres worth of harvest!
i. And not only is this farmer able to plow 10 times the acreage, each acre is greatly increased by the oxen. The farmer who uses oxen has to shovel manure—but that manure also greatly increases his productivity!
j. The farmer who takes the easy route and sold his oxen because they were too much work and who didn’t want to get his hands dirty shoveling manure, looses out all around!
k. He ends up with far less acreage plowed—and what little he does get plowed is not nearly as productive as the acreage next door that is fertilized organically!
4. The principle:
a. With a little extra investment of money and work—he could in the long run—be MUCH BETTER OFF!
b. The benefits of the strength of the ox by far outweigh the extra expense and work.
c. By doing a few extra unpleasant chores (manure duty!)—he reaps a huge benefit.
d. Kids—in this illustration, doing your homework and studying for tests might seem like shoveling manure (you’ve got better things to do, right?)—but in the long run, there is a great benefit from it!
5. A meaningful project always requires a little extra investment of time, energy, money, and care… but the end product is WORTH every bit of it!
a. That’s a great lesson to learn—and one that has application in absolutely EVERY field of endeavor.
b. This principle is as valuable to the housewife and to the president of the USA.
6. Applications for today…
a. There are some young people who think that going to college is a waste of time… because they know a friend who got a job at Raytheon without going to college… and now he’s got his own car!
• But over time, the one who stayed in school will likely advance much more rapidly at Raytheon!
b. There are homemakers today who think that making a pie from scratch is a waste of time. You can buy one much cheaper…
• Maybe you can buy a Tabletalk cherry pie cheaper than you can make one, but there’s nothing like a homemade cherry pie!
• The benefit by far outweighs the extra effort!
c. There are factory owners who don’t want to buy the newer more efficient equipment… because they don’t want the extra burden of debt…
• So they take the easy way, and use the old fashioned equipment.
• This machinery was good enough for my father when he ran the company…it’s good enough for me.
• The extra upfront investment in new equipment—and even the burden of a loan to purchase it might seem like shoveling manure…
• But, if the new machines can produce 10 times as many widgets per hour, it is worth every penny invested!
d. There are young people today who think that it’s not worth paying all that money for college, when they could be living a lot better right now by going to work and not spending all those thousands of dollars on tuition.
• They would rather keep that money for themselves right now.
• But take the time to compare the “earning power” over the long haul.
• The time and effort invested in college might enable you be much better off than if you chose not to invest 4+ years at the university.
e. The small business owner who doesn’t want to spend money on advertising…
• But his competition might discover that there is strength in advertising…
• Investing money up front to advertise and let your products be known may pay off by 10 times the sales!
f. The US military operates by this principle.
• The new soldier might liken boot camp to shoveling manure—but over time he will see the benefit of it.
• The Pentagon spends millions of dollars on equipment, planes, research, training programs, education, and technology…
• Some men might complain about those expenses… (and some complain about the expense)—but when they go to war and are 10 times as efficient and effective as the enemy—we ALL benefit.
g. The CEO who slashes the budget for research and development because he sees it as a waste of time…
• Yet the company who spends the research money up front and discovers a new medical breakthrough, a more efficient engine, or a better mousetrap—could leave their competition in the dust!
h. The man who chops wood—and takes the time to sharpen his ax.
• The guy next door who chops wood for the same amount of time but doesn’t take the time to stop and sharpen his ax may work just as long and hard, but will not be as productive.
• He may view stopping to sharpen the ax as a waste of time… but the benefits greatly aid productivity.
i. The computer user who invests a little extra time to read the manual and learns a much more efficient way to use his software.
7. In every area of life—the strength of the ox is by FAR worth the extra expense and effort required to maintain the ox.
a. This is especially so in our spiritual lives.
b. There was no LAW that required farmers to use oxen. It was his choice.
c. In our spiritual lives, there is no LAW that requires believers to go to prayer meeting or Sunday school.
• Like caring for an ox, there is extra effort involved in caring for our spiritual lives.
• Getting up earlier for Sunday school; gobbling down supper in a hurry or even eating late in order to make it to prayer meeting.
• But think about the benefits and the spiritual STRENGTH available to those who take advantage of it.
• Evening mid-week fellowship 52 weeks a year! 52 practical lessons from proverbs for ourselves and our kids… priceless!
• Sunday school—52 hour long classes a year—on all sorts of subjects… think of the strength that results from the extra discernment…
• Like the farmer who doesn’t want to shovel manure—life would be a bit more comfortable for self RIGHT NOW… in the immediate if we could sleep later on Sundays… or lie on the couch Wednesday nights…
• But the long term spiritual benefit by far outweighs the extra investment in time and effort.
• Think of the eternal benefits: a WELL DONE from the Lord…
Proverbs 14:5
A Faithful and a False Witness
Introduction:
1. Here is a contrast between two kinds of men: one who lies and one who does not lie… a faithful and a false witness.
2. Solomon is not so much describing what these men DO or SAY… as he is describing their character.
3. Character is reflected in our actions… our words… our witness.
5a A faithful witness will not lie:
1. Solomon speaks first of the FAITHFUL witness.
2. Witness: witness; testimony; evidence; an object which is a symbol of a past event, and so acts as a memorial;
a. Men function as witnesses in a courtroom setting. (Num. 35:30)
b. Men also function as witnesses in everyday life.
i. In daily conversations, we testify about things we have heard, seen, situations we have observed, information we know, things we have done, places we have been, people we have met…
ii. We testify as a witness about events and situations in life every time we utter a word to others.
iii. We testify when we stand up in church and give a testimony.
iv. We testify when we repeat a story…
v. We testify when we tell someone what we saw in the parking lot…
vi. We testify when we talk on the telephone and tell Fred what Tom said… or when we tell Alice what Sue said…
vii. We testify when we fill out our tax forms… when we write out a resume… when we fill out an auto accident report…
viii. In a sense, every time we open our mouths… every time we put pen to paper… every time we send an email… we are testifying about something… we are functioning as a witness.
3. Faithful: faithful; trusting; trustworthy; fidelity; firm; steadfastness; reliable; loyal to a person or a standard.
a. 13:17 – a faithful ambassador (same word for faithful)
b. Solomon highlights the character of the man; not so much his actions.
c. Notice that the word “faithful” does not describe the WORDS but the PERSON.
i. It is the witness who is faithful… not his speech.
ii. Of course it is implied that his speech is faithful, but that’s not what it says.
iii. It SAYS that the WITNESS (the person who is a witness) is faithful.
iv. It speaks of the character of the man, woman, or child.
d. Daniel was a faithful man (Dan. 6:4) (same root for faithful)
i. When Daniel spoke, his words were true and everyone knew it.
ii. When Daniel attested to something—it was accurate.
iii. Daniel was loyal to God… to God’s standard of truth.
iv. Daniel was conscientious in his replies to men.
v. Daniel was faithful and reliable… a man of integrity.
vi. His word was truth… he didn’t embellish… he didn’t exaggerate… he didn’t stretch the truth… he didn’t slant the truth.
vii. He SPOKE the truth… and was a faithful witness to truth.
viii. The REASON Daniel’s words were faithful was because Daniel himself was a faithful man… reliable… loyal to God… loyal to God’s Word… steadfast…
ix. A man’s words are but a reflection of his character.
4. A faithful witness WILL NOT LIE.
a. The faithful witness is a person with character… loyal… true… faithful… steadfast… firm.
b. That kind of a person will not lie.
c. He won’t lie today; he won’t lie tomorrow; he won’t lie next year… because he himself is a faithful witness.
d. A faithful witness will be asked what he heard or what he saw and he will report accurately… fairly.
e. He won’t slant the truth to make himself look good; or to cover for a friend; or to sell some goods and make a profit.
f. He won’t lie when he is under pressure; to hurt an enemy; or to help himself.
g. He is steadfast and firm in the truth.
5. HOW do we testify?
a. Are we steadfast and firm in testifying to the truth?
b. Or do we take liberty with the truth—to stretch it when it is to our advantage?
c. Or to leave out important details when it will make us look good?
d. Do we embellish our deeds and minimize the deeds of others?
e. We don’t have to be in court to be a witness… we are a witness (either faithful or false) every time we open our mouths.
6. Rev. 1:5 – Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness
a. Christ is called THE faithful witness.
b. He came to testify of the father… and His testimony was true.
c. We are called to be like HIM… faithful witnesses…
d. John 3:11, 32 – what He saw and heard He testified of.
e. John 18:37 – Christ came to earth to testify about what He heard and saw of His Father.
f. He was a faithful witness—He accurately communicated truth about God…
g. This He did both verbally and through His life… His life was a witness of truth.
h. When He spoke of God, His life was a reflection of that truth.
i. We should be faithful witnesses like this… not just our words… but our lives.
j. Is your LIFE a faithful witness to the truth that you know?
7. Psalm 15:1-2 – The psalmist used this quality to identify a true believer.
a. Who shall abide in God’s tabernacle? In close communion with God?
b. Only the man who speaks truth in his heart. This is a faithful witness. Truth is in his heart—and only truth comes out of his mouth.
c. This man is the one who shall abide in God’s tabernacle.
5b But a false witness will utter lies.
1. This indicates that a false witness (a man whose character is less than sterling…) WILL lie.
a. Matt. 15:19 – false witness arises out of a sinful heart.
b. If the heart is evil, evil comes out. If there is deceit in the heart, it will result in false witness.
c. If the fountain is corrupt—the fountain POURS OUT corruption.
2. In our courts men are to swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
a. This implies that lies can take many forms.
b. Lies may contain much truth—but can twist a few details…
c. Lies can take the shape of truth… but not the whole truth… leaving out key ingredients that would make a difference!
d. A half truth is a whole lie.
e. Lies can contain much truth with a few errors added in. Hence, nothing BUT the truth.
f. A false witness may say a lot of things that are true… but he is not completely honest with truth. He is not afraid to twist and mold the truth. This is a false witness.
g. Nothing will tarnish our testimony for Christ faster than gaining a reputation for being a false witness… a liar.
3. This speaks of habitual lying… he will lie today… tomorrow… and next year… whenever it is convenient for him to do so. Count on it!
a. It literally reads, “the false witness breaths out lies.”
b. There are 4 different translations of the Old Testament, which translate it “breaths out lies.”
c. One translation reads: “an unreliable witness tells nothing but lies.” (habitual lying)
d. This speaks of character. A polluted well brings forth polluted water.
e. A false witness is always unreliable. It speaks of the KIND of person that he is.
4. The false witness is a man or woman with no scruples.
a. He is not conscientious. He isn’t concerned about truth… integrity… righteousness… honor.
b. He is concerned about expediency… self… his own image… his own advantage…
c. False witnesses can be hired for money… like the men hired by Jezebel to lie about Nabal in court…
d. False witnesses were hired to lie about the Lord Jesus, which ultimately led to His death.
5. Don’t expect Sadaam Hussein to be a faithful witness.
a. Expect him to lie in court… to lie before his interrogators…
b. We can expect him to be a false witness… and to utter lies. The CIA is poised to deal with that too.
6. A false witness is unreliable… unfaithful.
a. Prov. 25:19 – he is like a broken tooth and a foot out of joint
b. If you are looking for the truth, don’t count on him… don’t put confidence in him.
c. Seek someone else for the job—seek out a man like Daniel! Or a man like Nathaniel, of whom the Lord said, “An Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.”
d. Character DOES matter!
e. Are you a false witness or a faithful witness?
Proverbs 14:6
Understanding
6a A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not:
1. Scorner: to scorn, talk arrogantly; speak words which show no respect for the object, and make fun of the object, (used 18 times in Proverbs)
2. Hence, Solomon is describing a man who SCORNS God and spiritual things.
a. This is the man who makes light of the Bible…
b. He laughs at the concept of a Personal God…
c. He ridicules the creation account… and the miracles…
d. He looks down at believers as unsophisticated, naive folks who are to be pitied for their archaic and medieval religious views.
e. He makes fun of the concept of a universal flood; of Jonah being swallowed by a great fish; of the resurrection, etc…
f. He is a mocker! A scorner! He is an arrogant know it all…
3. And, as a scorner, he will not accept rebuke or correction. (Prov. 13:1)
a. This makes his condition doubly dangerous.
b. It’s bad enough to ridicule that which one believes to be false.
c. It’s even worse when, because of pride, he refuses to listen to reason… he refuses the evidence which would put an end to his mockery and scorn. (Prov. 9:8)
4. Solomon tells us something else about this kind of person: sometimes scorners genuinely SEEK after wisdom — but they can’t seem to find it!
a. This proverb teaches that a lack of desire is NOT the reason for his inability to obtain wisdom.
b. The scorner DESIRES wisdom. In fact he is seeking after it.
c. However, he doesn’t find it!
d. Some might see in this a contradiction with Prov. 2:1-6
i. Here Solomon promises that those who seek wisdom WILL find it.
ii. Here Solomon states that those who lift up their voice after wisdom and understanding WILL obtain it.
iii. Yet, in Prov. 14:6, he says that the scorner who seeks after wisdom will NOT find it.
5. WHY? Because he is a scorner! He scorns God and His Word.
a. Prov. 9:10 – The scorner is missing two key ingredients:
i. The fear of the Lord—he doesn’t fear God.
ii. The knowledge of the Holy One—he doesn’t know God.
b. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom!
c. A lack of the knowledge of God prevents him from obtaining understanding… spiritual understanding…
d. It doesn’t matter how HARD he seeks… how LONG he seeks… or how DILIGENTLY he seeks… or how SMART he is.
6. Example: Think of the NASA scientist working on the Mars project.
a. He is a brilliant man… a life dedicated to science… a rocket scientist.
b. He is seeking for the ultimate answers: how did these planets get here? How old are they? What are they FOR?
c. If I read to him Genesis 1:1—he might laugh me to scorn!
d. If I read to him Gen. 1:17—and explained what they were for: to give light upon the earth…
e. If I read to him Ps. 19:1—they are there to declare the glory of God… he would pity me as an archaic relic from medieval times!
f. He might turn to me and say something like: “I’m a scientist. I deal with the facts.”
g. To which I would reply: “Sir, I am a Christian. I too deal with the facts. And I have some facts that you will never discover through space exploration or scientific experimentation.”
h. And yet he might spend the rest of his days seeking diligently for the wisdom he genuinely desires (the answer to these ultimate questions) but he will never find.
7. Example: Think of the cosmopolitan philosopher who has studied all the major philosophies of the world… has traveled the world extensively… studied in many of the great universities…
a. He too may be diligently seeking for wisdom: why am I here? What is the purpose of life? Is there life after death? Is there any rhyme or reason to the world? How then shall I live?
b. He may spend the rest of his life in pursuit of the answers… and seek after them as diligently as a gold digger seeks after gold…
c. He spends years talking to all the gurus, the rabbis, the mullahs, Dali lama, medicine men, monks, and philosophers of the world… but never finds the wisdom he desires… never finds the answers to his ultimate questions.
d. In his pursuits he may come across a simple Christian man who opens the Bible to him and shows him that those answers are all found in God’s Holy Word…
e. But he scorns those answers as too simplistic…too naïve… not mystical enough… so he laughs under his breath… he’s a scorner.
f. Like the NASA scientist, the REASON the philosopher doesn’t find wisdom has nothing to do with his lack of seeking. It is because he doesn’t know God… and he doesn’t fear God!
g. Therefore he CAN’T have the wisdom he desires—no matter how hard he seeks.
8. The wisdom of God is NOT AVAILABLE to the wise men of the world who seek the ultimate answers apart from God.
a. I Cor. 1:20 – God has made their wisdom “foolish.”
b. I Cor. 1:21 – by means of their earthly wisdom they will never know God—which is necessary before they can obtain true wisdom.
c. God will never be discovered by meditating in a cave in Tibet; He will never be discovered under a microscope; He will never be discovered in a space ship… (Russian cosmonaut mockingly said: “I don’t see any god out here!”)
d. The scorner who rejects God and God’s Word can seek for divine wisdom for 100 years and never find it.
e. I Cor. 2:9 – true spiritual wisdom does not come through scientific discovery… or through studying the classic philosophers… it is supernaturally revealed in the Bible.
f. One who rejects God’s Word—and laughs it to scorn forever condemns himself to seeking after that which he will never obtain!
g. Prov. 17:16 – Solomon describes the FOOL who seeks wisdom.
i. He seeks it; he is willing to PAY for it; sacrifice for it;
ii. But he never obtains it.
iii. Why? Because he has no HEART for it!
iv. True wisdom requires HEART involvement… not just intellectual seeking… nor fleshly sacrificing…
v. Without a genuine heart for wisdom—it will never be found!
vi. A student can pay top dollar to attend the finest of seminaries… and study diligently… but his heart isn’t right—he will not find the wisdom he seems to be seeking.
vii. (Cf. 18:2)—it’s a heart problem.
viii. God’s wisdom is like a precious diamond. But if one has no heart-appreciation for diamonds—then digging up a diamond is like digging up a worthless rock.
6b But knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.
1. In the second part of this proverb, God MOCKS the so called wise men of the world.
2. All the brilliant minds the world’s highly educated, sophisticated, upper crust are busy seeking for something that is beyond their grasp…
3. Yet, God made what they are seeking for EASY for the simple child of faith.
a. The sixth grade Sunday school student knows why we are here! He read it in the Bible and believes it.
b. The fourth grade Christian student knows where Mars came from: God made it. He said so in His Word!
c. Why are we here? We are here to glorify God. The Bible tells me so!
d. The ultimate answers to life really ARE easy—IF you take God’s Word for what it says.
e. Why did God make Mars? To give light upon the earth!
4. The 6th grade Sunday school student who believes the Bible has something the brilliant scientist and the worldly philosopher doesn’t have: UNDERSTANDING!
a. He has spiritual understanding… spiritual discernment.
b. He is able to discern things EASILY…
c. The scientist spins his intellectual wheels in the mud his whole life long trying to discover what the child knows.
d. God has always dealt this way with truth and wisdom.
e. Matt. 13:10-13 – This is why Jesus spoke in parables.
i. To those with spiritual understanding would see and hear. The scorners would reject it as folly.
ii. The one who has spiritual understanding, God will give him MORE.
iii. The one who does NOT have spiritual understanding will lose what little discernment he has… spiritual blindness will set in.
5. Knowledge is easy to the one who knows where to look!
a. The gold digger who digs where the gold is will find some if he keeps on digging.
b. But the gold digger who is TOLD where the gold is—and laughs at you—and starts digging elsewhere is NOT going to find any.
c. And the reason he doesn’t find it is not because he isn’t diligent… it’s not because he doesn’t desire it… it’s not because he isn’t dedicated to finding it…
d. It’s because he is looking in the wrong place.
e. If you know where to dig—it’s not hard to find gold! It’s EASY to find knowledge in this gold mine! (Bible!)
f. James 1:5-6 – do you need wisdom? Go to God and ask. It’s that easy. The proud man who refuses to go to God may put his brilliant mind to work studying the ancient philosophers—but he will come up empty… because he’s barking up the wrong tree.
g. The fear of the Lord causes a man to depart from evil too… and that will put him back on track… the wisdom of God is not going to be found on the wrong road.
i. The one who fears God will depart from evil—will stay on the straight and narrow way… and that man will find what he’s looking for.
ii. On the narrow way, he will discover that God’s wisdom is EASY. That road is well marked.
Proverbs 14:7
Go from His Presence
Introduction:
1. In this passage, Solomon begins with an imperative—a command—something that we haven’t seen much of in the book of Proverbs.
2. This is a great passage for our young people and students to hear… and also for those who are in the business world and making associates there… and for the housewife making friends in the neighborhood… and for the elders in a local church.
3. In other words—this proverb is for everybody—because everyone one of us can be hoodwinked by a foolish person from time to time.
7a Go from the presence of a foolish man…
1. The Fool
a. Fool: kesi^l – Strong’s: fool; stupid fellow; dullard; simpleton; arrogant one.
b. Dict. Of Bib. Lang. = insolent person, i.e., one completely lacking understanding; implying to be a rebel against standard or person. (Pr 10:18)
c. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament: referring not to mental deficiency, but to a propensity to make wrong choices.
2. Folly
a. kesi^l refers to a way of life that is enticing to the immature, but can lead to destruction and ruin.
b. Prov. 10:23 – the fool ENJOYS his folly… it is a sport to him.
c. Folly is especially enticing to young people because they have not the foresight or experience to know its END.
d. Prov. 1:32 – the end of his road is destruction.
3. The particular KIND of folly mentioned in 14:7
a. A lack of knowledge in his lips.
b. Prov. 17:24 – his folly is seen in that he does not seek wisdom… he seems unable to see it… he is blind.
c. Prov. 17:16 – even if he did see it, he doesn’t WANT wisdom! He prefers his folly.
d. Prov. 13:19 – he doesn’t WANT to depart from his folly.
e. Prov. 18:2 – he takes no delight in wisdom or understanding. Hence, pointing out his folly isn’t likely to help… because he isn’t likely to listen.
f. Prov. 1:22 – he HATES knowledge!
g. Solomon describes well the HEART of a fool in Proverbs.
h. Prov. 14:7 states that eventually that which is in the heart of a fool will manifest itself on his lips… in the things he says… in the ideas that pop into his mind… the “fun” things he talks about…
4. GO from his presence!
a. Go = go; go away from; walk; walk away; depart.
b. Don’t associate with that person any more!
c. Prov. 13:20 – not only is the fool headed for destruction and trouble—but so are his associates!
d. Hence—don’t BE one of his associates! Go from his presence. Avoid that person.
e. Sometimes it is impossible to depart from such a person altogether.
i. He might work in the office with you… he might be your boss!
ii. He might live next door to you.
iii. He might be a classmate.
iv. It may be impossible to depart altogether, but avoid contact when possible and don’t become a close associate of that person.
v. Be kind and polite—but GO!
5. Go because…
a. Go because he’s headed for destruction… and so are his followers.
b. Go because you are but a trophy to the fool… gratifying to his ego and pride… that he has someone like you as an associate… most wise people have nothing to do with him!
c. Go because there is no point in trying to reason with him. Fools don’t listen to reason. It is a waste of time. Just leave.
d. Go because he is a bad influence in your life… evil communications corrupt good manners.
e. Go because God said so!
f. Go because there is BLESSEDNESS in NOT walking with such an ungodly person (Psalm 1:1).
g. Go because in some instances, your LIFE may depend upon it! (Prov. 9:6 – if he drinks and drives; if he takes drugs; etc.)
6. Some might be reluctant to GO from his presence.
a. How is he ever going to learn?
b. The problem: he is a fool. He refuses to learn!
c. And if enough people depart from him… that might make him start to think that something is wrong and needs changing.
d. Separating from that person might be the best thing in the world for him or her! They may not learn any other way.
7b When thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.
1. This implies that a fool’s folly is not always known immediately.
a. A fool’s folly might be hidden away in his heart LONG before he talks to you about it.
b. Some fools are adept at disguising their folly. (Prov. 10:18)
c. But if this person is a fool—sooner or later that folly will be manifested in his speech… in the things he talks about… in his lack of wisdom or even disdain for wisdom and for spiritual things.
d. Remember that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge.
e. Sooner or later a person who has no fear of the Lord will make it known one way or another… by what he says.
2. This also implies that the person being addressed here was ALREADY in the presence of a fool… and is being commanded to leave.
a. You may not know at first. It may be well hidden.
b. But gradually, a fool’s folly is revealed.
c. I Tim. 6:5 – Look for the following: “Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.”
d. II Tim. 3:5 – some have only an outward FORM of godliness but deny the power thereof—no life—avoid them! That is not a good Christian friend. The outward form may fool you for a while…
e. There are LOTS of things to look for… be alert when meeting new people… listen… look… not everyone who SAYS they are a Christian IS a Christian.
3. When thou perceivest:
a. Perceivest: to know. Learn; to perceive; find out and discern. to discriminate, distinguish; to know by experience; to recognize.
b. Knowledge: wisdom; perception; discernment; understanding.
c. A fool’s folly—or his lack of understanding, isn’t always perceived by onlookers at the first meeting.
d. Fools don’t normally introduce themselves as such.
i. They don’t say, “Glad to meet you. I’m your local fool.”
ii. I hate wisdom; I despise authority; I’m immoral; I refuse correction, and I am headed for trouble. What’s your name?”
iii. Unfortunately, too often, fools are not even discerning enough to know that they are fools. They think everybody else is a fool!
iv. Therein lies their arrogance, pride, and thus their blindness… his or her inability to perceive things as they really are.
e. Since they don’t introduce themselves as fools, they often hoodwink others… for a while.
i. But eventually their folly will be manifested in their lips.
ii. They just can’t keep it in forever.
f. WHEN you perceive it… then it’s time to depart… to go from his presence.
i. If we associate with a fool ignorantly, at first, it is his fault.
ii. But once we PERCEIVE him to be a fool and we continue to associate with him, then it becomes OUR fault.
iii. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me! Shame on me because no more can I claim ignorance!
iv. If I perceive the folly and continue that association… and I too get in trouble… then I have only myself to blame.
4. Prov. 15:20 – if you perceive that he has no respect for his parents… if he despises his mother… be suspect.
a. Any person who does not respect authority should be avoided! He or she is TROUBLE.
b. One could make an application not just to children and their parents, but to anyone who is rebellious… and speaks evil of authorities… police… boss at work… leaders in the local church…
c. A fool has no respect for authority because they have no respect for God—the ultimate Authority.
5. In a round about way, this passage teaches us HOW to identify those who would make good friends:
a. They have the words of knowledge… wisdom… understanding… and discernment.
b. They speak of GOOD things…
c. There is a fear of God in their lives that manifests itself in their speech and in their deeds….
d. They seek company of others who are wise and godly… and whose lips are filled with good things… godly things… discernment.
Proverbs 14:8
The Wisdom of the Prudent
Introduction:
1. Once again, Solomon contrasts wisdom and folly… and once again, in a unique way.
2. This time he contrasts their understanding of where they are going.
3. The wise man understands his way. The fool is deceived.
8a The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way
1. Wisdom: this term covers the whole gamut of human experience.
• Wisdom is seen in the skill of technical work in making garments for the high priest (Ex. 28:3), craftsmanship in metal work (Ex. 31:3, 6).
• The execution of battle tactics (Isa. 10:13).
• Wisdom is required from government leaders and heads of state for administration (Deut. 34:9; II Sam. 14:20).
• This is wisdom, which we all need for life… wisdom for the average Joe… for daily living… for making decisions day in and day out.
• This is the kind of wisdom we especially need in our pilgrimage here on earth… as we journey toward the heavenly city.
2. Prudent: shrewd; crafty; sly; sensible—used in a good sense.
• It can be used in an evil sense too—translated “crafty or subtle”—used of the devil in Gen.3:1
• Prudence is used in a good sense in this proverb.
• It refers to the man, woman, or child who is shrewd in good things; sensible; balanced; level headed; skillful.
• II Sam. 20:22 – this woman had wisdom. Her actions were prudent.
» She convinced the people of the city to kill the troublemaker in order to save perhaps thousands of them from being killed!
» She could FORSEE what would happen if she did nothing.
» She chose to do the sensible thing. Her actions were prudent.
• Like a village in Pakistan where Osama was hiding, surrounded by coalition forces about to invade—and one wise person handing Osama over rather than see the whole city blown up. That is wisdom… prudent action.
• The actions, decisions, and choices of a wise person are prudent… shrewd in a good sense… sensible… skillful.
• The wisdom of the prudent is DIFFERENT from the wisdom of the “learned.” This is wisdom in a practical rather than an intellectual sense… a sensible and practical use of wisdom.
3. The prudent man understands his way.
a. WAY: way; road; distance; journey; manner; course of life.
b. The prudent man knows where he’s going… where he’s headed…
c. He isn’t just meandering through life… wandering aimlessly… drifting along wherever the current takes him…
d. Wandering, meandering, and drifting do not involve any thinking or planning. That’s the way of the fool.
e. But the prudent man THINKS ahead. He PLANS.
f. Prov. 4:26 – He PONDERS the path of his feet.
g. The road he is traveling is the road he CHOSE to take… because he THOUGHT about the direction it would take him.
h. Understanding one’s way also implies that he knows WHERE he’s going. If you don’t have a destination, there’s no point in planning your course or your pathway. If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.
i. The prudent man KNOWS where he wants to go… where he wants to be… therefore he THINKS about his way… the best road to get there!
4. THE WAY…
a. Of course, one could apply this passage to making wise decisions concerning college, career, business decisions, etc.
b. But it should also be applied to our MANNER of life along the way.
c. The prudent man demonstrates wisdom in his own personal ways… his attitudes… his goals… his character… the kind of person he is.
d. The way speaks of our walk—both in the sense of where we are headed… and HOW we live along the way.
e. The direction our life is taking is far more than cold, calculated, shrewd business decisions.
f. The direction our life is taking also (and more importantly!) involves how we live… how we treat others… whether we are KIND… forgiving… gracious… humble…honest… fair… just… holy. (That’s one walk.)
g. Another person’s walk might be characterized by cruelty, selfishness, deception, greed, bitterness, impulse, lust.
h. That’s no way to walk… that’s not a good road to be headed down.
i. The wise man THINKS about his way… he thinks about the direction his life is taking… and makes adjustments as needed.
j. His ship is not drifting through life… he is at the helm, observing the navigation instruments, and actively steering it.
5. The wise man thinks about where he is headed SPIRITUALLY…
a. He thinks about where his family life is headed…
b. He thinks about where his church life is headed…
c. He thinks about where his personal life is headed…
d. Just as some folks drift through their careers without any planning or preparation, some drift through their spiritual lives too… without thinking about where they are headed.
e. A runner in a race needs to KNOW the course of the race…which way to go…to run… for if he runs off course, he is disqualified.
f. Hence, as believers, we need to know the way God wants us to be running… so as not to find ourselves disqualified for service.
g. The way we should go is recorded for us in the Word.
» It is our wisdom to understand it and DO it! (Eph. 5:17)
» The prudent man will SEEK to understand the will of the Lord… the way he should go. (Prov. 2:3-6) (Ps. 143:8,10)
h. The spiritually prudent man understands this way… he studies it… he lives it…
» There are spiritual dangers along the way—we should understand how to avoid them!
» There are spiritual difficulties along the way—we should understand how to work through them!
» There are spiritual temptations along the way—we should understand how to flee from them!
6. The wisdom of a prudent man causes him to:
a. Look well to his going… (Prov. 14:15)
i. He thinks before he acts…
ii. He looks before he leaps…
iii. He measures the ice before he skates…
iv. He does his math before he makes a purchase…
b. Foresee evil and hide himself (Prov. 22:3)
i. If you are looking well to the road ahead of you, you are able to foresee the potholes and avoid them!
ii. If you keep your eyes and ears open, you can tell when a group of friends is up to no good. When you foresee that coming… hide yourself!
iii. The fool might see evil straight ahead—but plunges in anyway.
iv. The wise man sees it—and hides from it! He stays away… he wants to be nowhere near it!
v. Young people: if you know kids who seem attracted toward evil… find a new friend! He’s a fool.
vi. The wise man sees evil and is repulsed by it.
vii. God wants us to learn to foresee evil—and flee from it!
viii. When Joseph understood what Potiphar’s wife was up to, he ran and hid himself from her… that’s wisdom.
c. Deal with knowledge. He wants to know the facts. (Prov. 13:16)
i. A truly wise man wants knowledge; he wants to KNOW what is the right way to go… the right thing to do…
ii. A wise and prudent man devotes his attention to understanding his way…
iii. Knowledge is a friend to the wise man. He wants as much of it as he can get. He’s never afraid of the facts.
iv. He doesn’t change the direction of his life on hearsay… or feelings… or what others are doing… or fads. He deals with the facts.
d. Regard reproof. (Prov. 15:5)
i. If he’s headed in the wrong direction, he WANTS to know…
ii. He doesn’t get mad when someone tries to point out error… or a misstep!
iii. The only people who regard reproof are the ones who genuinely WANT to head down the right path.
e. He has insight… because he stops to think… he listens… he wants to know the facts…
f. The ostrich is an example of an animal with NO wisdom or prudence. (Job 39:13c-17)
i. She lays her eggs, and leaves them unattended.
ii. She does not foresee the danger and acts irresponsibly
iii. She doesn’t seem to realize that a beast could come by and break the eggs and eat them…
iv. She does NOT have wisdom or prudence.
v. The proverbial ostrich buries her head in the sand. (really?)
7. Note also that the prudent man understands HIS way…
a. He is not a critic of the way of others. He is more concerned about his OWN way.
b. He ponders the path of HIS feet…
c. Prov. 14:15 – he looks well to HIS going…
d. He is not a busybody in the affairs of others…
e. He realizes (wisely and prudently) that taking care of his OWN way is enough to keep him plenty busy!
8b But the folly of fools is deceit.
1. The fool is DECEIVED about his way…
2. Prov. 12:15 – he THINKS his way is right… so why bother pondering the path of his steps?
3. The fool thinks his way is right… so he won’t listen to correction… he won’t turn from his ways… he misses the right way… and continues on in his false way…
4. He is deceived… by his own pride… his own “know it all” attitude.
5. This person is headed for disaster!
6. He is too proud to realize that he NEEDS God’s wisdom…
7. The fool doesn’t care about his “manner of life.”
a. Perhaps he is cruel—and will not admit it.
b. Perhaps he treats others with no kindness… no compassion.
c. Perhaps he is driven by greed and selfishness…
d. Perhaps he is motivated by a love of pleasure and fun, fun, fun…
e. But if he THINKS his way is right… there is no helping such a person. He will have to learn the hard way. He’s a fool.
Proverbs 14:9
Fools Mock at Sin
Introduction:
1.) Yet one more contrast—only this time it is between the fool and the righteous.
a. Usually the contrast is between the fool and the wise; or the righteous and the wicked.
b. But here it is between the fool and the righteous.
c. This contrast emphasizes that which we have seen all through this book: that the kind of folly Solomon describes is a MORAL folly… not just childlike silliness.
d. In a real sense, the opposite of a righteous man IS a fool. What could be more foolish than to behave in an unrighteous manner?
9a Fools make a mock at sin:
1.) Fools MOCK = to scorn; make mouths at; talk arrogantly; to boast; to scorn; deride.
a. They mock because they are hardened in their sin… set in their ways.
b. This is not the person who is experimenting with sin and getting a taste of it. This is the person who has had his fill of sin… he is bent on sin… and mocks at those who shy away from sin.
c. Sin is a laughing matter to them. It is a game or sport to them to cause mischief. (Prov. 10:23)
d. That which brings grief to the heart of God brings laughter to them. They delight in bringing grief to God and to the godly.
e. They have hardened their hearts to the pain they cause others and to the damage they are doing to themselves.
f. They laugh at those who try to point them in a different direction.
2.) But there isn’t anything funny about SIN!
a. God is dead serious about sin. He has put the death penalty upon sin—any sin! The wages of sin is death.
b. They will not be joking about sin in Hell. And certainly there is no joking about sin in heaven. Only on earth… and only by fools… who have no idea of what a serious issue it is. If only they could get a glimpse of Hell for a moment…
c. It is a serious enough issue that Paul warns us as believers NOT to be involved in any kind of foolish talking or jesting that is not convenient—fitting. (Eph. 5:4)
d. Hollywood makes a mockery of sin.
e. The modern sitcoms make light of holy things… they all joke about sin.
f. If you watch those sitcoms—YOU are making a mockery of sin. YOU are what Solomon calls a fool!
g. Hollywood has an agenda—to change attitudes about sin. They call evil good—and they call good evil.
h. They joke about adultery, stealing, lying, homosexuality, drinking, marriage, etc…
3.) Prov. 24:9 – thinking about sin is sin. But mocking or scorning sinful behavior is an abomination.
HOW FOOLS MOCK AT SIN…
1.) Prov. 1:22 – scorners delight in their scorning (mocking—same term)
2.) Prov. 30:20 – fools mock at sin—they do not think that it IS sin! “I have done no wickedness!”
a. Thus, they joke about those who DO think it is sin.
b. They deride anyone who dares to speak against their lifestyle.
c. They deny the sinfulness of sin.
d. Jude 18 – we live in the midst of a generation of mockers—who mock at the concept of sin; have redefined sin; they call evil good and good evil. Beware!
3.) Prov. 9:7-8 – it can be a waste of time to attempt to correct a mocker… a scorner… you will just cause more trouble. Sad but true. When a person has arrived at a place where they have no conscience… no sensitivity to God or spiritual things… and they laugh them to scorn—attempting to correct that man is often a waste of time.
a. Prov. 13:1 – the scorner won’t listen… but a wise son will.
b. The scorner will scorn his father’s advice—the one person who wants to see him succeed and do well in life… and he ridicules his father’s advice.
c. With that kind of an attitude, he has a hard, sad life ahead of himself!
d. 14:6 – and when he gets in trouble and DOES begin to seek for wisdom—he won’t find it. He won’t know where to look. He will ask his foolish friends—who are void of God’s wisdom… and wisdom will escape this man.
e. I have seen it over and over again—they grow into angry, bitter old men—with a huge chip on their shoulder—because things never seem to go their way.
f. And it is because of the long chain of foolish choices they have made along the way. They cannot place the blame anywhere but on their own shoulders.
g. 15:12 – he will despise the one who tries to correct him… and he will not seek wisdom in the right places.
THERE IS A PRICE TO PAY FOR MOCKING SIN…
1.) Prov. 9:12 – here again Solomon contrasts the wise man and the mocker (scorner). He states that both men will LIVE with themselves… and the fruit of their character.
a. The scorner will chase all the righteous men from him—and will be left to himself—and other fools and mockers. He will pay a dear price for his folly—and for the folly of his friends.
b. The righteous man will attract friends who are also righteous… and will himself benefit from his own righteous behavior—and from the association with righteous friends.
c. But if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
• In this chapter, the scorner is equal to a fool. He is seen to be the opposite of a wise man. (9:8)
• The scorner is one who scorns wisdom. He has no use for it.
• The one who follows wisdom receives the benefit himself. The one who scorns wisdom receives the curse himself!
• The one who scorns Lady Wisdom will bear the awful consequences the rest of his life.
• V.12 is saying, “It is good for you to be wise, and it is harmful to you to be foolish!”
• In other words, if the son doesn’t listen to his father’s wise counsel, and he runs off into a life of folly, it is the SON who will pay the awful price! The prodigal son was the one who ended up eating pig slop. The father had a fatted calf in the stall!
• The student who scorns the advice of his teacher will bear the consequences of doing poorly in school the rest of his days. It doesn’t hurt the teacher but the scorning student! He’ll be flipping hamburgs at McDonalds till he’s 65!
d. There is an awful price to pay for scorning Lady Wisdom. This lady doesn’t like to be scorned.
• But if she IS scorned, she is not the loser. The scorner is!
• The one who rejects her wise counsel will bear the consequences of his folly. He’s hurting only himself.
• The consequences of our conduct (good or bad; wise or foolish) will be borne by ourselves…
• Prov.8:35-36 – life and favor vs. wronged soul and death
• Proverbs 1:30-32 – they shall eat of the fruit of their own ways—either good or bad.
• There is no getting around this principle: whatsoever a man soweth, that also shall he reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Gal. 6:7-8)
• Let’s LISTEN when God’s wisdom speaks to our heart. Listen and respond in faith and obedience. The consequences of disobedience are too great. The blessing of wisdom is better than rubies.
2.) Ps. 1:1 – we are NOT to associate with these kinds of fools… who MOCK (called the scornful…)
a. The righteous will no longer associate with them… no friends but fools.
b. They will find themselves isolated in a world full of fools like themselves… and in that environment—their folly will seem NORMAL… but it is not… and will perpetuate itself.
3.) Prov. 19:29 – he will PAY for his scorning one day.
a. Judgment day is coming.
b. Solomon seems to imply in this life… but certainly he will face the Lord one day for his folly.
c. The fool who mocks sin will (sooner or later) end up paying a heavy price for that kind of folly… in jail… physical suffering… illness for sinful lifestyle…
4.) Prov. 3:34 – God will scorn the scorners (mock the mockers!)
a. Prov. 1:26 – I will mock when your fear cometh!
b. If God mocks their folly—they are hopeless indeed.
5.) Another possible meaning to this proverb is suggested by some of the Hebrew scholars that note that grammatically, two translations are equally possible here:
a. Fools mock at sin…
b. Sin mocks fools…
• This is an interesting thought.
• The sin that the fool eats up like candy—will one day MOCK him.
• One might envision a bottle of alcohol mocking the alcoholic—“I got you! You fool!”
• Or perhaps the thief sitting in prison… and figuratively speaking—his sin hovering overhead mocking him…
• Both are true—but Solomon only had one mind. I’m inclined to understand it as recorded in our English Bible.
9b But among the righteous there is favour.
1.) The righteous have a right attitude toward sin. They HATE sin as God does. The fool mocks sin… a light, flippant attitude.
2.) What should our attitude toward sin be?
a. Go to the cross. See what it cost the Son of God to deal with our sin.
b. When we fill our minds with Calvary—jesting about sin will be unthinkable!
c. Off colored jokes will never come from our lips.
d. Ezek. 9:4 – the righteous are grieved over sin. It is no joke to them. They sigh and cry as they see sin around them… and the effects of sin.
e. The righteous fear God. They fear displeasing Him. Thus, joking about that which God hates is anathema to the godly!
f. A healthy fear of God… reverence for God and holy things will prevent a man from joking about sin.
g. It is no wonder that the devil is doing his best (and is quite successful!) at removing all traces of reverence and godly fear from the churches—so that what is left is fun…
h. The new trend in Bible conferences and church services: “humorists.” (as Christians call movies, films; so they don’t call comedians, comedians—they call them humorists.) Rest assured that (if they are not already) they will soon be joking about God, spiritual things, and SIN.
3.) The righteous also sin, but they turn to God’s grace… and receive His favor… His mercy… instead of punishment.
4.) The righteous too will sin against a brother… he too may offend, but he quickly repents and makes things right… and goes on to experience the grace and favor of God in his life.
5.) Prov. 8:25 – the righteous will seek God’s wisdom and find it; they will treasure it; and as a result, they will have the sweet favor of God in their lives. God honors those who honor Him.
6.) Fools live in sin and make light of it… eventually, they will pay a price. But the righteous lead godly lives and find the favor of God.
Proverbs 14:10
Bitterness and Joy of Heart
10a The heart knoweth his own bitterness…
1.) The Heart: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding; seat of inner emotions and passions; inner reflection;
a. The term is also used in the sense of “in the midst of” or “in the depths of”… as in the depths of the sea.
b. It has the sense here of “deep down inside” a man… the depths of our inner man… the deep recesses of our heart.
c. Psalm 9:1 – translated “whole heart” = from the depths of my heart.
2.) Knows: to perceive and see, find out and discern; to discriminate, distinguish; to know by experience; to be acquainted with;
a. It is used of the most personal and intimate of human relations… (Adam knew his wife…)
b. It used in Prov. 14:10 of a deep, personal, intimate, experiential knowledge.
3.) His own: nephesh – the word for soul… though not translated in the King James Version.
a. It is the word for one’s own life… a living being… a soul… or the person himself… your SELF.
b. I Kings 19:3, 4 – used 3 times: life; himself; my life… Elijah had bitterness in his soul… in the depths of his heart… and as a result, wanted to die!
4.) Bitterness: mara – bitterness; grief; (as the city in the wilderness where the water was bitter)—the bitter herb myrrh is derived from this word…
a. This is the only time this exact form of the word appears in the Bible.
b. The term speaks of a literal bitterness to the taste—but most often is used of emotions.
c. The sense is that we FEEL similar to what bitterness tastes like.
d. A similar term is used in Gen. 26:35 – of the grief of heart that came to Isaac and Rebecca because of their son Esau’s foolish choices in marrying a Hittite woman.
e. This bitterness speaks of the feelings that arise because of difficulty, hardship, stress or strain of life, the dark valleys, the deep waters, the tragedies and trials of life.
f. We all face such times of bitterness… grief… sorrow… loss…
g. We all have to deal with our emotions… feeling the grief, bitterness, frustration, disappointments.
h. These feelings are all common to man (I Cor. 10:13).
5.) The heart knoweth his own bitterness… (putting all these concepts together)
a. Solomon is saying that the emotions and feelings that accompany life’s bitter experiences are felt DEEP within a man’s heart… in his innermost being.
b. Solomon is saying that only the man himself can really feel and experience this bitterness. It is his OWN unique bitter experience.
c. These are the gut feelings going on inside this man’s own life… deep in the recesses of his heart.
d. This is where such emotions are felt… in his own private life… deep down inside his heart.
e. That’s where man knows his bitterness. That’s where he feels and suffers and KNOWS experientially that kind of pain and grief and sorrow.
6.) In other words, this deep grief is his own experience… felt deep in his gut.
a. Prov. 17:25 – a similar term is used here—sorrow; grief; bitterness of heart. This is a grief that cannot possibly be communicated accurately or completely. It is one that is felt… experienced… only the parent of that son really knows what he is going through.
b. Nobody really knows the bitter experience that a young man with a growing family is feeling when he just looses his job.
c. Nobody really knows the bitterness of heart that is endured by a widow with the loss of her husband of many years…
d. Outsiders can’t really know the fear or anxiety that a young person experiences when the family moves and they have to enter into a new school…
e. Nobody knows what you are going through on the inside when diagnosed with cancer.
f. Your friends may not know how it feels to face racism every day and the sneers of hateful men.
g. Others don’t know the bitter experience of loneliness that some folks have to deal with each day…
h. This is the main point of this proverb—it is quite similar to that the old saying, “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.”
i. Nobody CAN know… but that person himself…
7.) We can and should TRY to relate to others… but we can not really fully enter into their bitterness or grief. It is theirs alone.
a. Rom. 12:15 – we are to weep with those who weep.
• We can feel sorrow for them and with them.
• But Solomon’s point is that even those who weep with you don’t know experientially the depth of your grief.
• Sympathize = to share or understand the feelings or ideas of another.
• Sympathy = sameness of feelings.
• Try as we may to sympathize—we cannot possibly feel the SAME things they are feeling.
• Empathy = the projection of one’s personality into the personality of another in order to better understand that person and identify with him.
• Solomon’s point in Prov. 14:10 is that there isn’t any such thing as TRUE and COMPLETE sympathy or empathy among men.
• We can and should try… but our best efforts fall short.
• Nobody else can really know fully what YOU are feeling and experiencing… but you yourself…
b. II Cor. 1:4 – we get much closer when we have experienced a similar thing.
• We go through common experiences in life… the trials we face are “common to man.”
• Someone who breaks their leg can enter into more fully what a person with a broken leg is going through.
• Someone who has lost their job knows what it’s like to lose a job and is able to minister to someone else in the same boat.
• Someone who has had cancer can minister to someone who is going through chemo-therapy better than someone who has just read about it.
• While what Paul says is perfectly true—Solomon’s point is that no matter how similar our experiences may seem—NOBODY really knows what kind of emotions another person is experiencing deep down in his or her soul.
• We try to help by saying, “I know how you feel.” But we really don’t!
• No two individuals have the same life-experiences… the same feelings… carry the same burdens… the same perception of things…
8.) Sooner or later we will all face a bitter experience in life… and discover what Solomon wrote to be true: nobody really knows what I’m going through… nobody understands.
a. Some folks discover that nobody understands what they are going through, so they decide to go into seclusion over this… and stay away from people… Poor me… nobody understands.
b. Others may get angry at people… “How come nobody knows what I’m going through? Don’t they care about me?”
c. Don’t get mad at others. Realize the truth of this proverb—nobody knows but you! Nobody COULD know but you!
• I Cor. 2:11 – what man knows the things of that man except that man himself? Like it or not, that’s the way it is. Nobody knows what you are feeling deep down inside…
• So don’t get angry at others because they don’t know. They CAN’T know!
9.) But we do have a Great High Priest who does FULLY and COMPLETELY understand and know what we are experiencing.
a. Heb. 4:14-16 – Christ knows our feelings… our emotions… As the omniscient God He knows them all… and as the God-Man, He knows them experientially…
b. And we are invited to come to His throne of grace… to find the grace to help in time of need.
c. Solomon never knew Christ in this way.
d. Bring your troubles and the bitterness of your soul to Him!
10b And a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.
1.) A stranger: a stranger; foreigner; alien; one not acquainted.
2.) Intermeddle: exchange; engage; fellowship.
3.) The second part of the proverb states the same as the first part, but relates it to JOY rather than to bitterness.
a. Only the man himself can fully experience and understand the grief he faces… and so too with joy.
b. An outsider—stranger—cannot fully participate in or even understand his joy.
c. I saw pictures of the Curds jumping in the streets when they heard that Sadaam was captured… I understand that they were happy—but I cannot really understand what it feels like to live in a region where thousands of your people were gassed and buried—some buried alive—and to hear that the perpetrator of it all was captured.
d. Gracie Burnham was rescued after having been held captive by the Filipino terrorists for a year… starved… sick… traipsed through the woods for a year… seeing her husband killed… and then to be rescued… we know that she had experienced something bitter… and we can imagine her joy when the soldiers rescued her…
e. But Solomon’s point is that we can only DIMLY enter into what was really going on in that woman’s heart… in the deep recesses of her soul… a stranger could never know the JOY of the day she looked up and saw the face of a friendly soldier to take her home…
4.) Hab. 3:17-18 – A believer experiences the joy of the Lord—and a peace that passes all understanding.
a. The unsaved man is a stranger to such emotions.
b. How a man could have joy under such circumstances is an enigma to him. He cannot fathom it… he cannot enter in…
c. This kind of joy is spiritually discerned and thus foolishness to one who cannot understand it.
d. The unsaved cannot relate to them… cannot possibly participate in them…
e. There is a peace and joy that “passes understanding.”
5.) In a sense, we all stand alone in our deepest inner feelings—either grief or joy.
a. Solomon is not saying that we therefore shouldn’t TRY to sympathize with others…
b. He simply states that there are limitations on the ability of one person to fully share in the life experiences of another.
c. There are secret joys and secret griefs that we all bear… because we chose NOT to share them.
d. But there are also griefs and joys that are simply incommunicable… inexpressible… too deep for words…
e. Some joys are too great to be expressed in words: Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift!
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 15
Proverbs 15:1
A Soft Answer
Introduction:
1. Chapter 15 speaks often about speaking. (vs.1,2,4,7,14, 23, 28)
2. This particular verse teaches us how to keep an argument going OR how to end it.
1a A soft answer turneth away wrath:
1. Soft: tender; soft; delicate; gentle words; pertaining to an attitude or behavior which is not harsh; a positive moral quality of kindness or responsiveness.
a. II Kings 22:19 – Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD…
• Soft answers are soft in the sense that our hearts are to be soft and tender in dealing with people… humility.
• If our hearts are soft and tender then that which comes out of our heart (words) will be too.
• A corrupted fountain does not bring forth sweet water but bitter.
b. Gen. 18:7 – Meat that is tender—as opposed to tough. Tender meat is easy to swallow. Tough meat is hard to swallow…
• Here the term is used of soft, tender meat… the kind that you can cut with a fork and melts in your mouth.
• That kind of meat is easy to chew, to swallow, and to digest.
• The same is true with our words. When they are soft answers, they are easy to swallow and digest.
2. Answer: answer; response; reply.
a. Solomon is speaking about a confrontation of some sort… and the way we RESPOND to the confrontation.
b. What is our response to criticism… to unkind words… to someone who is obviously trying to stir us up and get us mad… how do we answer such a person?
c. When confronted, we are often forced to respond. We have to answer the question or respond in some way.
d. The WAY we answer will determine which way this confrontation progresses.
e. Solomon notes that when someone is trying to pick a fight with us… our first response is vital. It can either cause the confrontation to be defused or explode.
3. Solomon suggests a SOFT answer.
a. A gentle, tender, cool, calm, and collected answer… a delicate answer…
b. Note that he doesn’t recommend:
• A brilliant answer…
• A snappy answer…
• A put down of an answer…
• A “setting the record straight” kind of an answer…
• A long and convoluted answer…
• An answer that includes the entire history of the problem… including 1001 details…
• Getting in a little dig…
• An answer that demonstrates the folly of the one making the confrontation… and the intellectual weakness of his/her argument…
c. It is NOT unmanly to use a soft answer.
• It takes strength of character to do so.
• Any fool can shout back.
• Prov. 16:32 – this man is more valiant than a mighty warrior!
d. In fact, Solomon says NOTHING about the content of the answer.
• This verse doesn’t tell us WHAT to say.
• Rather, it tells us HOW to say it: gently, tenderly, softly, and with a cool head and heart.
• When an argument is in the process of erupting… the other party will be reading your emotional response as much if not more than your verbal response.
• If someone is out to pick a fight with you, he is out for the challenge… to conquer… to win… to defeat you…
• If you respond with equal antagonism and hostility… (and you are also trying to win… to conquer), then the opposing party will be further psyched for the battle.
• But if you respond with meekness and gentleness… then you have let the air out of his/her balloon… you have removed the “challenge”…
• A person will get psyched up for a battle and their adrenalin will start flowing when confronted by an aggressive bear. But when confronted by a meek and mild lamb… the adrenalin stops flowing…
e. Solomon’s advice speaks more of the heart attitude to manifest rather than the correct words to say.
• Matt. 15:18-19 – that which comes out of our mouths proceeds from the heart.
• The soft answer for which Solomon appeals is in essence an appeal for a soft and tender heart.
• Prov. 4:23 – Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are ALL the issues of life… including this issue — the issue of interpersonal relationships.
• The only way for our speech to be soft and tender towards men is for our heart to be soft and tender before the Lord.
• Love is not easily provoked. Love is the fruit of the Spirit.
4. Turneth away: cause to return; bring back; to bring back; allow to return; turn around; reverse.
a. Solomon states that a gentle response to confrontation has the power to turn that rage and anger away.
b. We have no control over whether we will FACE confrontation. That could happen at any moment.
c. However, we DO have control or power over its progress.
d. WE have the power to diffuse potential arguments.
e. A soft answer turns away wrath…
• Remember, this is a proverb.
• This is the way things NORMALLY progress or occur.
• There are always exceptions…
• Sometimes we could be confronted by someone so enraged that NOTHING will turn away their wrath.
• But normally, a soft answer will.
• Be conciliatory. Be gentle. Of course, this requires self control… the fruit of the Spirit.
• This requires putting self aside… Self wants to strike back… and twice as hard and even more viciously.
• But we should have some foresight too. KNOW that a soft answer turns away wrath. Is that really what you want to do? Do you really want to go down that road? Haven’t you been there before?
5. Wrath:
a. Strong’s: heat, rage, hot displeasure, indignation, anger, venom, poison, burning anger.
b. Dict. of Biblical Languages: hostility, and antagonism, usually in relation to a wrong, real or imagined, as an extension of the heat and burning feeling one can have when one is emotionally worked up and in strife and turmoil/
c. Translated: “the poison of serpents”… the “poison of dragons”… “hot displeasure”
d. Our soft answer can SAVE us from the burning anger, rage, hostility, and poisonous venom which is about to poured out upon us.
e. An argument that starts out relatively mildly COULD quickly escalate into uncontrolled rage… with venomous, poison words being cast like darts…
f. When that occurs, reason, truth, and common sense go right out the window.
g. From that point on, it is no longer cool minds reasoning together.
h. Emotion takes over and it becomes a battle to the death… survival of the fittest… a quest to hurt and conquer.
6. Thus, the BEGINNING of an argument is critical.
a. When someone approaches you with criticism, a problem, or a failure… your FIRST response is vital…
b. Prov. 17:14 – “The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.”
• When water begins to be let out (say a crack in a dam), it is easily fixed if dealt with right away.
• The beginning is the time to be most concerned about. It is relatively easy to deal with a little leak.
• It is nearly impossible to deal with a broken dam.
• When someone is attempting to “begin strife” with you (pick a fight!) leave off contention right away…
• Respond with a soft answer right away… before you start meddling with something that will soon burst out of control… like a broken dam.
1b But grievous words stir up anger.
1. Grievous words:
a. Defined: pain; hurt; toil; sorrow; labour; hardship; offensive.
b. Grievous words could include words that put down our opponent… pointing out his failures… his sins… weaknesses in his argument.
c. That only fans the flames. That only incites his defense mechanisms… and causes him to defend his character and his argument more vehemently… with more force and aggression…
2. Stir up:
a. Defined: spring up; cause to ascend; to rouse, stir up.
b. Like a smoldering fire—leave it alone, and it will probably die out on its own. Stir it up… and it can burn out of control again.
c. By adding grievous words, we stir up wrath… causing the argument (which was ready to die out) to ascend and spring up again…
d. Adding those grievous words is like adding fuel to the fire.
e. Prov. 30:33 – if you stop churning the milk, it won’t turn into butter! If you stop wringing the nose, it will stop bleeding. If you stop adding grievous words… the argument will die down too. It takes two to argue.
f. Prov. 15:18 –
• It is a heart of wrath that spits out those grievous words!
• Being slow to anger appeases strife.
• But this requires being slow to anger on our part. For it is natural to want to strike back!
3. In a sense, Solomon has empowered us. He has given us the power to incite an argument… or to diffuse an argument.
a. This is like teaching your son to drive a car.
b. By learning how to operate the steering wheel, he has the power to control the direction of the vehicle.
c. By learning how to respond to an argument, we have the power to control the direction of the conversation.
d. This is a fabulous tool God has given us. Let’s use it!
Proverbs 15:3
The Eyes of the Lord
3a The eyes of the Lord are in every place
1. This speaks of the omnipresence and omniscience of God.
a. He is everywhere. There is no escaping His presence.
b. He sees all and He knows all. He is observing everything in your life and mine.
c. His eyes are everywhere… even inside your head, your mind, heart, and conscience.
d. There is no escaping His presence… or His knowledge.
2. The eyes of the Lord are in every place.
a. Psa. 139:7-10 – God sees everything on earth, in heaven, under the earth, and in the sea.
b. That’s every place! The entire universe is under His watchful eye.
c. So is every detail of our lives.
3. God sees all and knows all.
a. He knows our deeds (Psa. 139:2)
b. He knows our thoughts (Psa. 139:2)
c. He knows our ways (Psa. 139:3)
d. He knows our words (Psa. 139:4)
e. He knows ME! (and you!) (Psa. 139:1) (how many hairs on my head… down to the tiniest details of our lives)
f. We can hide these things from men. We can fool our parents, our kids, our teachers, our spouses, our bosses, the police, the church leaders… but there is no pulling the wool over God’s eyes.
4. Psa.11:4-7 – God sits in heaven as Judge of all the earth… He is observing and judging.
a. But being in heaven does not mean He is a God who is afar off… or distant… or unengaged in the affairs of the earth.
b. He sits in heaven’s throne observing all… and taking notes… evaluating men’s lives.
c. Nothing is hidden from His eyes. Nothing escapes His scrutiny.
d. This means that not only can nothing can be concealed from the eyes of God, but also that everything is perfectly VISIBLE to God…
e. And because it is under His vision, it is being inspected… examined… scrutinized.
f. He sees our sins; our service; our home life; what we delight in; what we secretly lust after; what we grieve over; our hearts; our minds; our motives; our intentions.
5. John 3:19-20 – men love darkness.
a. The reason? Men think that if the lights are out, no one can see.
b. Many crimes occur at night… so that the criminal can hide his face and his deeds in the darkness.
c. Darkness gives a sense of safety to the criminal and the sinner… thinking that no one will see… no one will know.
d. They hate the light because light exposes them and their evil deeds.
6. Psa. 139:11-12 – There is no hiding from the Lord.
a. Even if we DO cover our deeds from men by means of darkness, we are not covering them up from God.
b. Darkness and light are the same to Him. He has night vision.
c. The eyes of the Lord are in everyplace:
• Heaven, earth, under the earth, the sea, the universe!
• In light and darkness…
• He observes our external deeds.
• He observes with equal clarity our thoughts, imaginations, motives, and intents.
3b Beholding the evil and the good.
(Now Solomon subdivides his main statement into two parts: evil and good)
A. He Beholds the Evil
1. Prov. 5:20-21 – He beholds the young man who heads off to the home of a prostitute.
a. Prov. 7:6-10 – note that this young man meets the harlot in the “black and dark night” (vs.9)… thinking that no one will see; no one will know.
b. God beholds the evil… even in the dark… as this man committed sin… and He observes when WE commit evil too.
c. Think about who God is the next time you are tempted to commit evil.
2. Psa. 66:7 – This truth is a check on our sinful pride.
a. God observes the nations and each individual in them.
b. He sees when proud, rebellious flesh exalts itself.
c. He sees this in us too… every exaltation of self is in the clear view of God.
d. He even sees self-exaltation when we try to cover it up with false humility… or with some other artifice or pretense.
e. Knowing who God is will keep us from exalting self… and it will help us keep self on the cross by faith.
3. He knows our sins (Psa. 69:5)
a. He knows all about our sins… regardless of how well we think we have mastered the art of covering them up.
b. Not one of them is hidden from God’s eyes.
c. Ps. 90:8 – He has set our secret sins in the full blazing light of His countenance.
d. If you think about this truth—it will become life transforming. Gazing upon God and His character ALWAYS has that effect on us!
B. He Beholds the Good
1. II Chron. 16:9 – He watches the good men do with a perfect heart. He is on their side.
a. He saw good old Joseph in the prison, suffering wrongfully. And the Lord kept good records of it all.
b. He saw the good the apostles were doing as they preached the gospel, and He saw how they were treated.
c. He saw Hagar being cast out of Abraham’s home… and she called God, “Thou God seest me.”
d. He saw the affliction of the children of Israel in Egypt. (Ex. 3:7)
e. He saw Daniel’s three friends in the fiery furnace…
2. He sees every ounce of injustice that is leveled against those who are doing good things… and He remembers.
a. He remembers the injustice done to His people and how they honored Him through it all.
b. He remembers those who committed the injustice and will never forget to BRING them to justice… one day.
C. This Truth is a Two Edged Sword
1. His eyes can tell the difference between good and evil. In fact, He is the Judge.
a. Heb. 4:12-13 – His Word is a two edged sword.
» It cuts deep into our hearts and separates between soulish and spiritual… and the thoughts and intents of the heart…
» It cuts both ways.
» It sometimes divides in order to exonerate the righteous.
» It sometimes divides in order to expose and condemn the evil.
2. Prov. 15:11 – He knows our heart.
a. There is no hiding from Him. There is no hiding behind lies, deception, or dishonesty.
b. He sees and knows all that is going on in our hearts.
c. Our own hearts can DECEIVE us. We might think things are not so bad. God knows the truth.
d. I have often heard believers use this thought as an excuse for their sinful behavior, when in reality, they should TREMBLE over this truth!
e. But when our hearts are right with God, this is comforting.
3. To those who are practicing good… this is a great comfort and encouragement.
a. Those who mistreat you and inflict injustice upon you are doing so in the clear vision of Jehovah… and will one day have to give an account to Him.
4. To those who are secretly practicing evil… this is a frightening and terrifying thought…
a. To those practicing evil: take heed! This is a warning. You will NOT get away with anything before the Lord.
5. Jer. 32:19 – He beholds for the purpose judgment… judging all works…
a. This means that the wicked shall not go unpunished. At the Great White Throne God judges according to works.
b. This also means that the righteous will not go unrewarded.
c. At the Bema, it is our works that are to be judged.
6. Justice eventually will be meted out to all… even though things seem so unfair today.
a. “Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?”
b. It appears like evil men are getting away with murder today… but in light of eternity—no one ever gets away with anything!
7. Hence, a pure conscience is absolutely VITAL to the Christian life.
a. God knows our heart and motives.
b. Hence, He knows all about our conscience too… if we have violated it… ignored it… seared it…
8. This Proverb is about God… His Person… His attributes.
a. And the knowledge of who God is should have an effect on the way we live!
b. It should engender FEAR.
c. That godly reverence and fear of God should keep us from evil… and lead us to the good.
d. Knowing this truth about God has a wholesome effect on our lives.
• When you are thinking about cheating on a science test at school… or you are planning to not do your homework and think you can get away with it tonight… God knows.
• When you think that I can loaf at work today because the boss is away on a business trip… God sees.
• When you think that you can give a sweet and syrupy answer… and harbor bitterness in your heart at the same time… God sees our heart.
e. In countless ways… be cognizant of the presence of God… and of the omniscience of God, which will have a spiritually healthy effect on our lives.
• Keep God on your mind and heart throughout the day. Be looking unto Jesus… and be aware that He is looking back.
f. Ps. 139:23-24 – This should lead us to be HONEST before God… knowing that He knows the truth anyway!
• Lord, help us to see this!
• When things are not right in our lives, this is a terrifying thought. When we are honest with God, and walking with Him, this is exceedingly comforting.
Proverbs 15:4
A Wholesome Tongue
Introduction:
1. In this proverb Solomon states a principle that is repeated in various ways in this book: words can either encourage or crush someone’s spirit.
2. Hence, while he doesn’t make the application, the application is obvious: be CAREFUL with our speech!
4a A wholesome tongue is a tree of life:
1. A wholesome tongue:
a. Wholesome: health; healing; cure; soothing; tranquil; sound; health; lacking disease or weakness.
b. Prov. 12:18 – ?There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.
• Solomon is describing the purpose of the tongue (speech) in ordinary conversation.
• A wholesome tongue is one which does not pierce like a sword. It is not cutting; offensive; It is not used to hurt others; to make others feel bad;
• That is not the tongue of a wise man… that is the tongue of a foolish man.
• A wise man uses his tongue to bring health… healing… like the balm of Gilead…
• He uses his tongue to cure, to sooth, to bring peace and tranquility.
• This is the way of the wise.
c. Prov. 16:24 – Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
• A wholesome tongue speaks pleasant words…
• The wholesome tongue leaves a sweet taste in someone’s mouth… not bitter… or sour. Wholesome words are sweet as honey!
• Have you ever spoken to someone… or heard someone speak that leaves a bitter taste in your mouth… because they were unnecessarily harsh or abrasive? Have you found yourself cringing over their words?
• Those are not pleasant words… nor is this a wholesome tongue… nor it is a wise man.
• Pleasant words are health to the bones… soundness deep down inside… strength… support… stability…
2. A tree of life… (It is best to let Solomon define how HE uses the term.)
a. Prov. 13:12 – Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
• A tree of life is the opposite of being heart-sick… discouraged… defeated… disappointed… down… depressed… a sense of hopelessness… etc)
• A tree of life is hopeful; refreshing; encouragement; cheerfulness; a healthy heart.
b. Prov. 11:30 – The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life
• It is likened to good fruit…
c. Prov. 3:13-18 – Here, a tree of life is likened to the fruit of wisdom: peace, happiness, prosperity, honor, pleasantness…
d. A tree of life is mentioned in Gen. 2:9 – in the Garden of Eden… in paradise before the fall.
e. Rev. 22:2 – John tells us that in heaven there will be trees of life for the healing of the nations.
• Not that folks in heaven will be sick; rather, the leaves promote health…
• Healing = Therapeian – health giving; health promoting;
• The tree of life promotes good health… that which is wholesome… sound… healthy… it contributes to the well being of folks…
• Solomon uses the literal effects of the tree of life to figuratively describe the effects of our speech.
• A wholesome tongue is a tree of life.
• Our speech should be wholesome: and like a tree of life, it should promote spiritual health and vitality among the saints.
• Matthew Henry wrote: He that knows how to discourse will make the place he lives in a paradise.”
3. Our speech should be healing… and spiritually GOOD for the hearer.
a. We are not to use flattery dishonestly, but our speech is to be tempered with kindness… not cruelty.
b. Eph. 4:29 – our speech should minister GRACE to the hearer… something good… beneficial… helpful…
• Perhaps you have something TRUE to say about a person… but is it kind???
• That’s a mighty ugly hairstyle; that was a stupid thing to say; you have the worst solo voice I’ve ever heard; your family is a group of losers.
• It all may be true… but does it minister grace? Does it build up or tear down? Is it kind? Is it Christlike?
• Truth is important… but there are a lot of other virtues to consider when we open our mouths.
• When there is grace in the heart, there will be wholesomeness in the tongue.
4. The wholesome tongue is healing… promoting the spiritual life and health of the hearers.
4b But perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.
1. Perverseness:
a. This term is only used 2 times in the Bible; both times in Proverbs; and both times translated perverseness in the King James Version.
b. Defined: crookedness, perverseness, crooked dealing; spoken words that are crooked and perverted from the truth and so false; duplicity, deceit.
c. This would include outright lies and deception. It would also include impure motives… hypocrisy…
2. Breach:
a. Defined: breaking, fracture, crushing, breach, crash, ruin, shattering.
b. The shattering or crushing of the human spirit is an awful thing.
c. Deceitful words are a breach of the spirit and are like a crushing wound…
d. They shatter a person’s joy… wound the spirit… knock the wind of out a person…
3. Breach in the spirit.
a. Prov. 15:13 – A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
b. Prov. 17:22 – A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
c. Prov. 18:14 – The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?
d. A crushed spirit wounds rather than heals; it saddens rather than cheers up; it dries the bones rather than rejuvenates; it becomes unbearable rather than sustaining…
4. This is all the result of speech that is not kind and gracious, but is rather perverse… crooked… twisted…
a. Prov. 6:19 – Sowing discord among the believers is perverse speech… it is almost always done under pretense… deception… perverse intent…
• Nobody ever sows discord and SAYS that they are sowing discord.
• That can wound the spirit… crush the spirit of a believer… or of a whole church!
• That can have a widespread, crushing effect.
• That can result in the sorrow of heart that leads to a broken spirit… discouragement…
b. Prov. 11:9 – An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour.
• A man whose speech is perverse (deceptive; not what he claims to be; hypocrite) DESTROYS… his neighbor.
• Words can and do destroy. They destroy lives; friendships; churches; families; marriages; relationships of all kinds.
c. Prov. 18:21 – Death and life are in the power of the tongue.
• Because of lies in court, many have been executed unjustly.
• Because of courageous truthful words in court, many who were slated for execution were spared.
• The tongue is powerful. It can heal and save life. It can wound, crush, and kill.
• Think of the POWER of the tongue of a mother or a father in the life of a young child.
• Some kids grow up in homes where they are constantly barraged with expressions like: “I hate you.” “Can’t you do anything right?” “You’re useless; you’ll never amount to anything.” “You worthless piece of trash!”
• That kind of language is powerful… powerfully destructive in a young life.
• It will CRUSH the spirit… wound a young life… cause a child to quit life on the inside… and develop a “what’s the use in trying” attitude…
• It’s bad enough when it happens in the world. Don’t ever let it happen in a Christian home!
• Dad—learn to control your anger. Your words are more powerful and destructive than you will ever imagine.
• No child… no spouse… no human being should have to put up with that kind of language.
5. Prov. 4:24 – Put away from thee a forward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
a. If you have been using perverse or deceitful speech… put it away. Stop! Stop before you do any more damage! And yes we can stop!
b. The fruit of the Spirit is self-control. If we yield to God we CAN have victory over our tongues… but it requires supernatural power.
c. Prov. 8:13 – as we learn of who God is… and we learn to FEAR Him… we will be putting away the froward mouth… perverse speech…
Proverbs 15:5a
A Father’s Instruction
5a A fool despiseth his father’s instruction
1. Fool:
a. Strong’s: one who despises wisdom; one who mocks when guilty; one who is quarrelsome.
b. Dict. of Biblical Languages: without understanding, or one not using one’s capacity for understanding; simpleton; often by stubborn will and stupid behavior.
c. The particular KIND of fool Solomon has in mind is a son (or daughter) who despises the instruction of his father… (or mother).
2. Despises:
a. Strong’s: to spurn; contemn; despise; abhor.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: to feel contempt or strong dislike, rejecting as having little or no value; treat with contempt.
c. Stevenson: A deliberate, conscious rejection.
3. His father’s instruction:
a. Strong’s: discipline, chastening, correction.
b. Dict. of Bibl. Languages: warning, the teaching of a principle or axiom for life.
c. Job 5:17 – Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty. (chastening = same word as instruction) (similar passage: Prov. 3:11).
4. The response of a foolish son (or daughter) to his father’s instruction
a. What he thinks and feels: He feels contempt for the reproof… he feels insulted that they felt he needed instruction; he strongly dislikes being told what to do; he sees little value in what his parents say; he thinks he knows more than they do.
b. What he does: he rejects the counsel and does what he wants anyway.
c. Prov. 19:27 – Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err.
• Often fools reject wise instruction because they are listening to other voices…
• And these young fools give more credence to what their foolish peers have to say than to the instruction of their parents…
• They reject their father’s instruction because they are listening to the wrong advice.
d. Prov. 12:15 – The way of a fool is right in his own eyes. He does his own thing because of PRIDE.
• His pride blinds him from seeing the issue clearly.
• He thinks his way is right and his father doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
• Hence, because pride is involved, it is not just an intellectual issue; it is a moral issue.
e. Prov. 14:3 – In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride
• The young man is likely to think that his opinions or views are as good as his father’s. He might even think that his knowledge is superior to that of his father.
• After all, his dad is ancient. What does he know about the modern world?
• Young people forget… or never seem to consider that their parents have many years of experience under their belts… the value of which cannot be estimated.
• It is childish pride that causes a son to reject the reproof of a loving father.
• I Pet. 5:5-6 – it takes a healthy dose of humility for a young person to humble themselves and ADMIT that maybe those who are older (especially his parents) really DO have more wisdom than he does.
f. Prov. 14:9 – Fools make a mock at sin.
• Dads warn about the dangers of this sin or that… and a foolish son mocks at sin!
• Either he doesn’t see it as sin… or he doesn’t see it as being all that bad… or he doesn’t see the long term consequences of sin…
• The fool is warned by his parents; mocks at their warning about sin; and commits it anyway!
• He assumes that all of their warnings are overstated and unnecessary… and that it won’t happen to him.
g. Prov. 1:7 – fools despise wisdom and instruction
• It is a characteristic of a fool… to despise instruction.
• They don’t like to be told what to do.
5. The price that foolish son pays:
a. Prov. 15:32 -He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul.
• He does damage to no one but himself… and he will have to live with the consequences of his folly the rest of his days.
• He is ruining his own life… and usually his father can foresee what his future will be like if he continues down that path… but the fool chooses that path anyway…
• He makes choices that are equal to despising his own life.
b. Prov. 10:21 – …The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom…
• Not only could it ruin his life. It could END it!
• Prov. 15:10 – Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.
• When a father hears of his son getting involved in drugs, alcohol, or road racing, gangs, or other forms of dangerous behavior… it COULD end that young life prematurely! It has happened thousands of time.
c. Prov. 11:29 – the fool shall be servant to the wise.
• The fool who follows the path of folly may well end up as a servant to those who LISTENED to good advice and took heed.
• The fool who didn’t listen to his father and decided he wanted to hang out with his friends rather than to go to college might end up in a subservient position to the young person who listened… and took heed.
• Rejecting a father’s instruction could affect the condition of the rest of your life.
• It could be the difference between doing well in life… or struggling just to put food on the table.
• Prov. 13:18 – Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction. (He could end up poor… and ashamed of the path he chose…)
d. Prov. 5:12-13 – And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me.
• He may spend the rest of his days regretting his folly… when it is too late to do anything about it.
• Very often decisions that we make in life are irreversible… the time you spent walking down a pathway in life can never be reversed… you can’t go relive the past… and undo past failures… you have to LIVE with them the rest of your life.
• Young people, your father is not trying to ruin your life.
• He is trying to help you AVOID making foolish choices and having to live with all that regret. He knows best. Listen to him.
• He’s out for your good… more than you may realize.
e. Prov. 27:22 – Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
• Here Solomon suggests that there comes a point in a fool’s life where his folly is SET like cement…
• The rod will drive out folly from a child, but if folly is practiced and practiced… it becomes a lifestyle… it becomes our character… and it may never depart!
• You could become permanently STUCK in a condition of folly.
f. Prov. 12:1 – but he that hateth reproof is brutish.
• Brutish = Stupid – he is learning to become a stupid person…
• How foolish to refuse to take heed to the warnings of a man who has walked the pathway you are about to traverse.
• LISTEN to those who have traveled life’s pathway before you! They have some valuable insight and advice to give.
• Those who refuse to listen pay a serious price… which could adversely affect your health, your wealth, your position in life, your career, your happiness, your family, and even your children, when they come along.
Proverbs 15:5b
He that Regardeth Reproof is Prudent
1. Regardeth:
a. Strong’s: to keep; guard; observe; give heed.
b. Dict. of Bib: obey a command with diligence and in detail; respect and revere.
2. Reproof: rebuke; correction; punishment; chastisement. (It is a different term than instruction, but in context is used as a virtual synonym.
3. Prudent: to be subtle; be shrewd; be crafty.
4. Context:
a. This expression stands on its own and could have a wide application to anyone’s response to any kind of reproof.
b. But since it is the second half of a proverb, it must be understood in light of the proverb in which it is found.
c. Solomon is speaking about a son who is reproved by his father…
• Only this son is wise… prudent. This son takes heed!
• This son doesn’t treat his father’s words with contempt. He VALUES the admonition.
• He doesn’t HATE to be admonished. He appreciates the genuine love of a parent that is seen behind the rebuke… he knows that his father only wants the best for him.
• He knows that his father has wisdom and his counsel is beneficial.
• He doesn’t reject the advice. He obeys.
The Proper Response to Reproof
1. Prov. 1:8 – HEAR the instruction of thy father.
a. The wise son responds first by hearing.
b. The first step towards obtaining wisdom is to LISTEN to your father.
c. While Proverbs was written as a father to his son, it also applies to a father and his daughter… or a mother and her son…
d. The first step towards wisdom is to listen to the instruction of BOTH of your parents.
e. Proverbs15:5 says that the one who regards reproof is prudent/wise. But it is impossible to regard reproof if you don’t hear it!
f. Early on, young people learn to tune out that which is unpleasant… that which they don’t really want to hear.
g. Hearing implies more than just being bodily present as your father speaks to you. Hearing implies more than that the sound waves vibrated your eardrums. Hearing implies an attitude of being WILLING to hear… AND willing to obey.
h. If you hear and DON’T respond… then you may have heard with your ears… but not with your heart. It is the heart that counts.
i. Prov. 4:1 – HEAR, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
• For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. (vs.2)
• The first reason Solomon gives to his children to obey is a very positive one: it is GOOD doctrine!
» Once again, Solomon seeks to make wisdom and obedience attractive to his children. (The wise shall inherit glory! 3:35)
» The doctrine or instruction that he is giving them is first and foremost GOOD!
» Note that his approach is positive—he does not tell his children to obey or he’ll knock their lights out!
» He was not afraid to use discipline or to warn his children of the consequences of disobedience—he does that often in this book.
j. But—FIRST he chooses to make wisdom and obedience attractive. It is GOOD! Hear it—pay attention—for it is GOOD!
k. So too when teaching God’s Word. We are not to bang people over the head with the Word. Rather, we are to be like a shepherd feeding the flock… making the food attractive… and to be desired… not something fearful and painful!
l. Fathers should instruct their children for the good of the child—not just for the pleasure of the parents!
• Example: chores around the house—kids should learn these things, but not just to make it easier on the parents, but primarily because it is good for the child!
• Children don’t often understand HOW some instruction is good for them—any more than they understand HOW broccoli is good for them—but it is!
m. The wise son will regard reproof. He will see that his father reproves him for his own good…
2. Prov. 23:12 – APPLY THINE HEART unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
a. This proverb also takes the concept of hearing into the heart.
b. What the ear hears, the heart is to apply.
c. This implies a hearing that is diligent, eager to learn, and desirous to obey.
d. Applying your heart to instruction is the way of wisdom. It is like saying “pay attention.”
e. Prov. 22:17 – bow down thine ear to hear…
• This implies a HUMBLE hearing…
• It is also translated “incline” in incline your heart unto the LORD God. (Josh. 24:23) (implying turning in the direction of…)
• It is also translated “stretched out” (as a hand)… (this implies eagerness to hear).
• It is translated yield… implying a submissive hearing.
f. Regarding reproof involves all of this: submission; humility; eagerness; inclination toward…
3. Prov. 4:13 – TAKE FAST HOLD OF instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
a. The wise son who regards reproof… not only regards it… he takes fast hold of it and won’t let go!
b. He grabs a hold of it with a firm grip… determined not to let it go. (As when you’ve got a big fish on the line… it is something you really WANT… so you take a firm grip on the pole… determined not to lose it!)
c. In other words… a father’s instruction is not to go in one ear and out the other. Grab hold of it! Keep it!
4. Prov. 12:1 – Whoso LOVETH instruction loveth knowledge
a. The fool… the brutish person, HATES instruction.
b. The wise son LOVES it.
• He loves to be corrected… because he wants to do things right.
• A young girl making a pie might need to be corrected by her mother. She may need some instruction (there’s a difference between baking soda and baking powder!) If she wants the pie to come out… she should WANT to be corrected!
• A young boy may be doing a math problem all wrong, and dad has to correct him. If the son is wise… and wants a good grade in math, he should LOVE to be corrected. (Because it’s better to be corrected by dad at home… than by the teacher’s red pen on your test!)
c. Do you LOVE to hear instruction from your mother or father? How about your teacher?
• Be honest. God knows.
• Or do you chafe when corrected… grind your teeth when dad tells you to do something… do you get angry when told what to do?
• Examine your own heart. Is your reaction towards your parent’s instruction closer to that of a wise man or a fool?
d. Prov. 9:8 – a wise son will love the one who rebukes him! That is the right response.
• “Thank you dad! Had you not corrected me, I might have flunked my math test!”
• “Thank you mom. Had you not corrected me, that pie I was going to bring to the party would have tasted awful!”
5. Ps. 141:5 – we should APPRECIATE and even desire reproof…
a. David didn’t resist reproof. He invited it!
b. He saw it as an excellent oil… a sweet smelling anointing!
c. To anoint a person with oil was a sign of friendship. It was refreshing. It made you smell good—as opposed to dirty and sweaty without any deodorant! It was considered a great blessing.
d. Hence, David appreciated those who rebuked him. He saw it as a sign of love, care, concern, and something that would remove an unpleasant odor and replace it with something sweet smelling.
e. Young people—that’s what dad and mom are doing every time they correct you! They are trying to improve your character…
Benefits
1. Prov. 13:18 – Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.
a. The one who regards reproof receives honor. (weight; value)
b. The fool gets poverty and shame. The wise son who regards reproof gets the opposite: honor… and perhaps wealth is implied.
2. 15:31 – he gets understanding
a. The son who does NOT regard his father’s instruction THINKS he already has understanding. He has the understanding of a child.
b. As long as he is willing to humble himself… and LISTEN to his father… he will gain REAL understanding… mature understanding.
3. 6:23-24 – will keep you from immorality and all the problems associated with it
a. Here Solomon states another benefit of listening to reproof and counsel: it will keep you from falling into immorality.
b. There are many problems associated with immorality: broken home; disease; heartache.
4. 19:20 – he will be wise in the latter end.
a. The son who listens to and obeys his father’s advice may be made fun of for a while… but in the end, his true wisdom will be seen.
b. This may refer to the end of his life OR it may refer to the end of the particular situation.
c. It is always better in the end to follow instructions… to regard reproof…
Application: our Heavenly Father has given 66 books full of instructions.
a. What kind of son are we?
» DO we despise His instruction? Do we despise His chastening?
» Do we read God’s Word READY to be admonished? Looking for areas where we can make improvements?
b. II Tim.3:16-17 – the Bible is given to us for REPROOF… and that is for our profit.
» Every time we read God’s Word… be ready to HEAR what the Spirit wants to say to you… and apply it… and be admonished by it…
» And make the necessary adjustments too!
Proverbs 15:6
Treasure or Trouble
6a In the house of the righteous is much treasure:
A. Terms Used
1. The house of the righteous.
a. The righteous: just; lawful; righteous; right; correct.
b. This is the man who is righteous before God… and as a result, he LIVES righteously.
c. He does things right. He obeys the law. He doesn’t cheat, lie, steal, or deceive.
d. The righteous man will walk in wisdom. He will not cut corners. He will walk in integrity and honesty.
e. Because he is righteous… he will follow the Scriptural principles: he is a diligent worker… a faithful employer or employee… he is honest with his customers… he makes the best product he can make… he doesn’t cut corners, but does things right at work…
f. The righteous man is also self-controlled… temperate in all things.
g. The righteous handles his finances well. He is not a big spender. He doesn’t make big purchases just to show off.
h. A righteous man leads a righteous lifestyle.
2. Much treasure:
a. Defined: riches; treasure; wealth; stored treasure, i.e., valuable material possessions.
b. He not only has treasure, but he has MUCH.
B. Meaning
1. All things being equal, those who live righteously normally prosper.
a. Of course, this is a proverb and does not cover every possible situation.
• This proverb does not account for stock market crashes, an extended illness that causes a loss of job; death of a breadwinner; famine, natural disasters, wars; etc… all of which could result in the loss of great wealth… through no fault of the individual.
• This proverb isn’t talking about the exceptions to the rule either (like the crooked mobster who lives in the lap of luxury because of his illegal activities…)
• Very often the wicked seem to prosper in the world.
• So there are many exceptions to the proverb.
b. But all things being equal—two men facing the exact same set of circumstances will have very different results.
• The man who lives righteously will prosper
• The man who does NOT live righteously will not prosper.
2. Consider the way of wisdom:
a. Prov. 3:16 – Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
b. Prov. 8:18 -Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.
c. Prov. 8:21 – That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.
d. A righteous man follows the way of wisdom… and that way leads to prosperity.
3. Think of how RIGHTEOUSNESS translates into prosperity.
a. He does things right. He obeys the law.
• Therefore, this businessman is not going to waste valuable time in jail… and ruin his business he spent so many years developing! (Like Martha Stewart)
• He is not going to have to pay expensive fines for violating the law… (Companies that pollute; don’t report potential dangers of their products are often sued and lose millions!)
b. He doesn’t cheat, lie, steal, or deceive. He is an honest mechanic.
• Hence, his customers believe him… trust him.
• They also tell their friends: “Finally, I found an honest mechanic!” Your reputation skyrockets… and your business thrives!
• By doing things right… you prosper.
c. The righteous man will not cut corners.
• He will walk in integrity and honesty. This earns him a good reputation which is exceedingly valuable in the business world.
• Doing things right… and making the product right earns your company a good name.
• That good name translates into much business… prosperity.
d. The righteous man follows Scriptural principles:
• Prov. 21:5 – The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness.
» A righteous man plans ahead; thinks ahead; and makes diligent plans.
» That approach usually leads to prosperity.
• Prov. 10:4 – He is a diligent worker…—the hand of the diligent maketh rich.
» A faithful employer or employee…
» He makes the best product he can make…
» He doesn’t cut corners, but does things right at work…
e. The righteous man is also self-controlled… temperate in all things.
• He doesn’t waste his money on alcohol… he has self control.
• He has self-control. He doesn’t throw his money away on gambling.
• He has self-control. He doesn’t waste his money on expensive toys he doesn’t really need and that he can’t afford. Some people can’t control their spending.
• The righteous handles his finances well. He is not a big spender. He doesn’t make big purchases just to show off. He doesn’t spend beyond his means.
• Prov. 21:20 – There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.
• Money doesn’t burn a hole in his pocket.
f. A righteous lifestyle leads to prosperity.
• An unrighteous lifestyle leads to poverty and trouble:
4. Consider this proverb in light of spiritual treasures and wealth.
a. Even if a righteous man does NOT increase in earthly riches, this proverb is still true at another level.
b. The home of the poor righteous man may not have expensive trappings, but he has a treasure of another sort: contentment; peace; joy; love; harmony;
c. This is something the prosperous unrighteous man could only dream of! He has wealth, but he can’t enjoy it.
d. Prov. 15:17 – Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.
5. God personally BLESSES the homes of the righteous.
a. Prov. 3:33 – he blesseth the habitation of the just.
• God’s blessing is not to be measured in physical blessings alone, but primarily in spiritual blessings; things money can’t buy.
• The ungodly cannot expect such blessing from the Lord, but the righteous man can.
• Again—this blessing is not merely physical… but primarily spiritual.
b. Ps. 112:1-3 – the blessing of the Lord is upon the house and the life of a righteous man.
a. Not only does a righteous man’s behavior tend toward prosperity… he has God’s hand of blessing in his life too… to bless his efforts… and to give increase.
6b But in the revenues of the wicked is trouble.
1. Prov. 15:6 – the wicked man (opposite of the righteous man) may bring in lots of revenue.
a. But the revenue of the wicked is accompanied by much trouble.
b. Trouble: to stir up; to trouble; disturb; calamity.
2. Prov. 15:27 – He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house.
a. He may bring in a lot of money… but he brings much trouble with it. It isn’t worth the trouble that it brings!
b. A wicked man’s troubles increase with his riches.
c. Matthew Henry: In the revenues of the wicked, the great incomes they have, there is trouble; for there is guilt and a curse; there is pride and passion, and envy and contention; and those are troublesome lusts, which rob them of the joy of their revenues and make them troublesome to their neighbour.
3. Prov. 15:16 – Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.
a. This proverb implies that the great treasure is obtained APART from a fear of the Lord… hence, the trouble.
b. Trouble: tumult; confusion; disquietude; discomfiture; destruction; trouble; vexed.
c. Prov. 10:22 – The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
d. Ecc. 4:6 – Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.
Proverbs 15:7
The Lips and the Heart
7a The lips of the wise disperse knowledge:
A. The Terms
1. LIPS
a. The organ which forms words on the front of the mouth; closely associated with language and speech.
b. The lips are the gates of speech, and hence the gates of honesty or deception, righteousness or wickedness, wisdom or folly.
c. 15:2 – Solomon also uses the tongue and mouth in the same sense… as the gate of speech… to represent speech.
2. WISE
a. Strong’s: Learned; shrewd; prudent; wise (ethically and religiously).
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: a capacity for understanding and discernment.
c. This wise man is contrasted to “the foolish” in the second part of the proverb.
3. DISPERSE
a. Strong’s: to scatter; fan; cast away; winnow; spread out.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: as a figurative extension of spreading an object over an area, it illustrates speech… as in words that are scattered like seeds.
4. KNOWLEDGE
a. Strong’s: knowledge, perception; skill; discernment; understanding; wisdom.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.; understanding; wisdom, i.e., a knowledge with focus on moral qualities and its application.
c. The illustration: knowledge is like seed. It is to not to be kept in a barn. It does no good there. It is to be scattered over the field… where it can produce good fruit… and do good for many.
B. The Meaning of the first half of the Proverb
1. Wise men speak wise words… and SHARE their wisdom.
a. This is similar in meaning to 15:2.
• There, Solomon states that wise men know how to USE wisdom aright.
• Here, Solomon states that wise men SHARE wisdom.
• Sharing wisdom IS the right way to use it!
2. If you need wisdom, then go to a wise man—or woman.
a. This speaks of the great BLESSING that a wise man is or can be to others.
b. Titus 2:1-5 – God commands the church to take advantage of the wisdom of the older generation… and commands the older generation to DISPERSE the wisdom they have gleaned over the years.
c. Older folks often have wisdom, common sense, and the maturity and calm spirit needed to disperse it to others.
d. If you are an older, mature believer, don’t be afraid to disperse the wisdom God has given you!
e. If you are a younger, less mature believer, don’t be afraid to avail yourself of the wisdom of the older saints! You’ll be surprised how helpful they can be!
f. A good fountain brings forth good waters. A good tree brings forth good fruit. When you need advise or counsel, choose a good fountain… a good tree… and you will get sweet water… and good fruit.
3. DISPERSE: The lips of the wise disperse knowledge; wise men scatter wisdom wherever they go… that’s what wise men do!
a. Prov. 10:21 – the lips of the righteous feed many.
• This implies that a truly righteous man not only possesses wisdom, but SHARES it! He disperses it!
• Vs.32 – they know what is acceptable.
b. A truly wise man will disperse his wisdom with humility and meekness…
• Not in pride… showing off his great wealth of knowledge and wisdom!
• Rather, his purpose is to be helpful… not haughty.
• He will give out words of wisdom in meekness, considering himself, lest he also be tempted.
• He will not look down on the young person for their lack of experience or folly… but rather, in humility will remember the days when they were in the same boat… and will be Spirit filled… Spirit led… gracious… gentle… kind… helpful… and not pushy.
c. He disperses his wisdom and knowledge because he sees the VALUE of it.
• This kind of knowledge is like wealth.
• If we have this world’s goods, and see a brother in need, and don’t share our wealth with him… then how dwelleth the love of God in you? (I John 3:17-18)
• The man who has valuable knowledge that he knows others could benefit from will be willing to share.
d. It is a SHAME not to disperse knowledge if you have it.
• If you have knowledge that can help someone… and you refuse to share it… shame on you!
• Your knowledge might save them from misery… from sickness… from injury… from failure… from a great loss… from death even!
• If we have this kind of knowledge and keep it to ourselves, we are guilty of spiritual negligence.
4. KNOWLEDGE: Helpful, useful, accurate information is to be found coming from the lips of a wise man.
a. Prov. 10:14 – First of all, wise men “lay up” knowledge… like a storehouse. They gather it in.
• Lay up = to hide, treasure, treasure or store up
• The wise person VALUES knowledge. He stores it up like a greedy man would store up treasure. This IS his treasure!
b. But they don’t gather it just to hoard it for themselves.
• They gather it in so that they might USE it for good!
• They gather it in for future use. They may need it later on… even if it is not relevant for today. (Remember that when hearing sermons!)
• You have to gather it in first… before you can disperse it… and share it with others!
c. Ecc. 12:9 – the wisdom of Solomon was seen not only in the wisdom he possessed, but what he DID with it.
• He shared his knowledge with others… and wrote it down for future use… for himself and for future generations.
• He didn’t hide or hoard the wisdom God gave him. He shared the wealth.
• His wisdom was obviously a gift of God… and he felt compelled to share the wealth and not to selfishly keep it for himself.
d. Eph. 4:29 – wise men disperse knowledge that is good, helpful, and edifying.
• Not all knowledge and information fits into that category.
• Some knowledge should NOT be shared.
• Knowledge or information may be true, it may be accurate, but it may not be wise to share it.
• It may be gossip… slander… aimed at tearing down rather than building up.
• Wise men use their knowledge to build up and edify others. It is to be used for GOOD.
e. II Tim. 2:2 – we have a responsibility to share the knowledge we have learned from God’s Word with one another… that they might have it to share with others.
f. The wise man disperses knowledge.
7b But the heart of the foolish doeth not so.
A. The Wise Man Shares Wisdom; the Fool Does Not
1. The fool has no wisdom to share.
a. Instead of wisdom dispersed from his lips come idle chatter, gossip, jesting which is not convenient or fitting, and unkind words. That’s what a fool disperses from his lips.
b. He has nothing worth sharing. He does best when he keeps his mouth shut.
2. Prov. 15:2 – the mouth of a fool pours out folly.
a. This implies that folly doesn’t just trickle out of the mouth of a fool. It POURS out… overflowing… like a fountain!
b. So be careful little ears what you hear!
c. Be careful about from WHOM you seek counsel and advice!
d. Not all men have wisdom. Choose your counselors carefully!
e. That’s why it is not such a good idea for young people to seek advice on important decisions from your peers.
• You would do well to seek counsel from older, more mature, and more experienced believers.
• A fool pours out folly. An inexperienced man will pour forth inexperience.
• In other words… the kind of well you approach is pretty much going to determine the kind of water you get from it!
• In seeking advice from your peers you are seeking experience from the inexperienced!
• In many ways, they are not going to have the kind of knowledge you need.
• The lips of the wise disperse knowledge. The lips of fools… have no knowledge to share.
B. The Relationship Between the Heart and Lips
1. Note the parallels in this proverb:
a. Contrast the wise and the foolish man. (used as opposites)
b. Comparison of the lips and the heart. (used as virtual synonyms)
2. Both the lip and heart are symbols of the SOURCE of our words.
a. Prov. 10:20 – The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth. (A contrast between tongue and heart.)
b. Matt. 12:34 – that which comes out of the mouth originated in the heart.
c. Ps. 37:30-31 – he speaks wisdom because God’s Word is in his heart.
• That which is in the heart (be it good or evil) will eventually come out of the mouth… or lips.
• Have you ever blurted things out… and you wondered where that ever came from?
• Did it really arise out of the clear blue sky, or was it not a thought that germinated in the heart?
• The things that come out of our mouths don’t really arise out of the clear blue sky. They arise out of our heart… which when controlled by the flesh is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked!
• What is going on in YOUR heart? Sooner or later it is going to come out.
• The best way to deal with what we SAY (no man tames the tongue) is to deal with our heart… (what we think… what we ruminate over during the day… where our imagination takes us…)
3. A spiritually wise man WILL take care of his heart, knowing that from it are all the issues of life!
a. That heart will be a source of words of grace… a fountain of sweet water… a tree of life bearing good fruit…
Proverbs 15:8a
Sacrifice and Prayer
8a The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD:
A. The Sacrifice of the Wicked
1. The sacrifice of the WICKED. (Who are the wicked?)
a. Wicked: a criminal; a guilty one, one guilty of crime against man or sin against God; unrighteous, i.e., pertaining to being evil, with a focus on the guilt of violating a standard.
b. The man or woman described here as wicked would refer to any unsaved person.
• a sinner; unrighteous; guilty before God.
• This would be the most natural understanding of the term.
c. It could also refer to a true believer who is behaving like a wicked person…
• And that occurs all too often!
• A believer can also be guilty of sinning against God… or violating God’s standard… or of committing a crime against a man.
• The fallen heart of the believer is STILL desperately wicked. It does not improve with time.
d. Thus, the wicked here could refer to any person (saved or unsaved) whose heart is not right with God and/or man.
2. The SACRIFICE of the wicked.
a. Sacrifice:
• Strong’s: an offering or a sacrifice to God; the covenant sacrifice; annual sacrifice; thank offering.
• Dict. of Bib. Lang.: an offering killed and presented as an act of worship or propitiation to any deity.
b. Sacrifices are offered to the true God and to false deities every day!
• For many centuries pagans have been offering sacrifices to their idols in hopes of appeasing the wrath of their false deities and in hopes of avoiding judgment… or “bad luck.”
• For centuries pagans have been offering sacrifices to the TRUE God too… in hopes of appeasing His wrath.
» The pagan Philistines offered sacrifices to Jehovah God in hopes of removing His wrath and judgment from them. (I Sam. 6:4,17)
» The Roman Catholic Church has been offering what they call the “perpetual sacrifice of the Mass” to God every week… in hopes of expiating their sins.
• Israel has also offered sacrifices to God throughout the centuries.
B. An Abomination to the Lord
1. NOT every sacrifice is acceptable to the Lord. Some are an abomination!
2. Abomination:
a. Strong’s: a disgusting thing.
b. Dict. of Bib Lang.: detestable thing, repulsion, i.e., an object which is loathsome and abhorrent.
3. Here is a strange but common occurrence Solomon describes for us: men sacrifice and present to God their offerings in hopes of pleasing Him, but God HATES it—and He SAYS so!
a. This does not often occur among men.
b. If you sacrifice your own time, effort, and money to purchase a present for someone, NORMALLY the one on the receiving end is pleased and appreciates the effort, even if they don’t like the item offered to them. (Men usually PRETEND to like it!)
c. But God is not man that He should lie. God is painfully honest!
d. When people offer worship and sacrifice to Him, He SAYS what He thinks about it!
• Isa. 1:11 – To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
• Isa. 1:14 – Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
• Amos 5:21-23 – I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. 22Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. 23Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.
e. Strange occurrence: Men offer worship and sacrifice to God and God HATES it… it nauseates Him! It is an abomination.
4. God appointed those feast days, offerings, and sacrifices in Israel… and then when they were kept and offered to God, God said it was an abomination! How can that be?
a. God hated their feast days and their sacrifices because of the HEART ATTITUDE that offered them.
b. God wasn’t really interested in receiving a dead goat or the blood of bulls. His concern was not for the offering.
c. God WAS interested in the HEART of the offerer.
d. The offering was to be a heart felt expression of love, gratitude, submission, obedience, dependence, and reverence, and faith in God.
e. But not every sacrifice WAS such an expression. Very often the heart of the offerer was filled with other things… and God can see the heart!
f. Men only see the outward appearance (two men offering the same sacrifice; two people singing special music; two Sunday school teachers teaching a class; two men passing out tracts; two women sitting in the worship service.) All look quite equal from man’s perspective. It seems unfair almost that one should be accepted and the other rejected, when they do or offer the very same thing!
g. But God sees the heart. He knows the motive; the intent of the heart; the attitude;
• And where men hear a lovely solo—God may see sickening pride!
• When men hear a helpful sermon—God may see laziness and sloppy workmanship on the part of the preacher.
• When the treasurer records the offerings of the Smiths and the Joneses, he may record the very same amount on the line… but God sees in one offering generosity and sacrifice… and in the other offering He sees stinginess, pride, or a grudging spirit.
• When the heart is not right… nothing that comes from that heart is acceptable to the Lord.
5. Could OUR worship and sacrifices be an abomination to the Lord?
a. Could it be that we sit through an entire worship service, thinking we are pleasing God, and yet He is nauseated by us?
b. Could it be that we sing in the choir, teach a Sunday school class, preach from the pulpit, or offer some other form of sacrificial service to the Lord… only to discover that it is repulsive to Him?
c. The answer is YES! NOT every sacrifice or expression of worship is acceptable to God.
• Gen. 4:4-5 – And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.
• Rev.3:16 – God was nauseated with the religious activities occurring in the church of Laodicea—and was about to vomit them out of His mouth!
d. John 4:24 – our worship and sacrifices MUST be offered “in spirit and in truth” to be acceptable to the Lord.
• If our spirit isn’t right—no matter WHAT we offer to God, it is unacceptable!
• And it doesn’t matter how hard we try to please God… how much we give… how long we work… how many good deeds we do… how many worship services we attend…
• If our spirit isn’t right—whatever we offer is an abomination to God.
• It is HYPOCRISY! We are PRETENDING to love and honor God—when in reality our heart is cold towards God… and there is no honor or reverence!
• We are pretending to obey Him outwardly, when inwardly there is rebellion and not a submissive spirit.
• God SEES the heart! What folly to pretend He doesn’t!
• That’s why every effort of the lost to please God is doomed to failure! They that are in the flesh CANNOT please God—no matter how hard they try—and no matter how MUCH they offer to Him.
• Our worship is to be in accordance with TRUTH.
• The Mormon billionaire can offer many millions to his church—but it is an abomination to the Lord.
• The Roman Catholic priest or monk can dedicate his whole life to his church… and offer sacrifices… do penance… go to Mass… fast… beat his body… take a vow of poverty… but it is all an abomination to God—it is not in harmony with God’s Word.
• It is all based upon a lie… not the truth. The truth has been rejected and replaced with traditions of men!
• God only accepts worship in spirit and in truth.
• Matt. 15:7-8 – Their hearts were far from God (wrong spirit) and their doctrines were of men (no truth). Jesus rejected their worship (vs.9)
6. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord because of the SOURCE of the sacrifice.
a. If there is no faith… no repentance… then the sacrifice or worship is merely outward show… ritualism… self righteousness… hypocrisy. (Without faith it is impossible to please God!)
b. Without faith the heart is a polluted well—and no good water can come from a polluted well.
c. It is a corrupt tree—and no good fruit can come from a corrupt tree.
d. Prov. 15:26 – The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD:
• Even if their outward DEEDS look good to men… if their thought life is not right, their deeds are rejected!
• It MATTERS to God what is going on in a man’s mind and heart AS he offers the sacrifice.
e. I Sam. 15:22 – And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
• In Israel they walked in their own ways all week long—but then kept the holy days and offered the proper sacrifices and assumed all was well before God!
• Men do that today too. They live in the world with no thought for God all week long—and then come to church on Sunday, put money in the plate, and think that that will make up for it.
• We can fool men with our sacrifices and worship—but we can NEVER fool God.
Proverbs 15:8b
The Prayer of the Upright
8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
THE UPRIGHT CONTRASTED TO THE WICKED
1. Who are the wicked?
a. Wicked: a criminal; a guilty one; one guilty of crime against man or sin against God; unrighteous; i.e., pertaining to being evil; with a focus on the guilt of violating a standard.
b. The man or woman described here as wicked would refer to any unsaved person.
• a sinner; unrighteous; guilty before God.
• This would be the most natural understanding of the term.
c. It could also refer to a true believer who is behaving like a wicked person…
• And that occurs all too often!
• A believer can also be guilty of sinning against God… or violating God’s standard… or of committing a crime against a man.
• The fallen heart of the believer is STILL desperately wicked. It does not improve with time.
d. Thus, the wicked here could refer to any person (saved or unsaved) whose heart is not right with God and/or man.
2. Who are the upright?
a. Upright Defined: correct; straight; level; right; just; righteous.
b. To be right with God required salvation through faith.
c. Thus, the upright is the righteous man… the godly… the one who has entered the straight gate and walks the straight and narrow road…
d. This is the believer who does things right… he lives for God… his heart is right before God.
PRAYER CONTRASTED TO SACRIFICE
A. Sacrifice
1. Religious men sacrifice many things for God… but God hates it. It is an abomination to Him!
2. Consider the COST of some of the sacrifices men made in the Old Testament times.
a. II Chron. 35:7-9 – 35,000 bulls offered!
b. For a family to offer up a bullock or a goat sacrifice was quite costly.
c. Think of the sacrifices that the ascetics put themselves through… and for God!
d. Think of the sacrifices made for God among the Roman or Buddhist monks… or the Muslims who cut their heads for God and parade through the streets bleeding…
e. Think of the sacrifices that were made to build some of the lavish gold temples around the world… the Mormon temple… the gold mosques in Saudi Arabia… the Hindu temples…
f. Think of the sacrifices made by the worshippers of Chemosh in offering their children in a sacrifice of fire to their deity!
g. Sacrifices are often quite costly.
3. Yet regardless of the COST of the sacrifice, if the heart attitude in offering it was not right, it was an abomination to the Lord. If it was not offered in spirit and in truth—it was an abomination to the Lord.
B. Prayer
1. Prayer on the other hand, does not cost a million dollars. You don’t have to give up the family bull or goat.
2. Prayer is a quite simple thing… talking to your heavenly Father.
3. The prayer of the upright is a prayer that is prayed with a right spirit… the right way.
4. Prayer is a child talking to his father… having communion and fellowship with his father… and enjoying his company.
5. Prayer is simple, heart to heart communion between a child of God and his heavenly Father.
6. And prayer is free. Sacrifices are costly, but prayer is free.
ABOMINATION CONTRASTED TO DELIGHT
A. Abomination
1. No matter how many sacrifices are offered from the wicked… or how costly… or how much effort was involved, God hates all sacrifices offered from a wicked heart.
2. They are repulsive to Him.
a. Prov. 21:27 – it is an abomination because it is offered with a wicked mind (intent; purpose; plan)
• God knows what’s going on in the mind as the sacrifice is offered.
• The wicked mind can devise all kinds of reasons to offer sacrifice to God: an attempt to atone for our sin; to restore fellowship = a lack of confidence in the blood of Christ; a cloak for maliciousness; pretense; pride; showmanship; to be seen of men…
b. Prov. 28:9 – even the prayer of the wicked is an abomination!
• All religious activity on the part of the wicked is hypocrisy… it is a cloak for his sin…
• God is not impressed with the thousands of little old ladies saying their rosary beads… not if they have not received Christ as Savior and are earnestly seeking Him.
• God is not impressed with a room full of people here at our prayer meetings… if we are harboring SIN in our hearts at the same time we come to the throne of grace in prayer!
• If we behave in a wicked way—even our prayers are an abomination to God.
• Flowery prayers can dazzle and fool men—but will never fool the Lord.
B. Delight
1. Delight: pleasure; delight; favour; goodwill.
2. When the heart is right, everything changes!
a. The sacrifice that was an abomination (when the heart was not right) is now a delight to God!
b. The prayer that was not heard is now heard!
c. Sin in the heart makes our prayers an abomination; confession and forsaking sin makes our prayer God’s delight!
3. The simple saint who but talks to God brings DELIGHT to the Father’s heart.
a. What human father wouldn’t delight in sitting down to have a heart to heart talk with his son or daughter about the issues of their heart… things on their minds… their concerns… their burdens… their problems.
b. And when the child initiates that talk… (which is what prayer is) so much more delightful!
• That is an expression of LOVE for his father…
• The child DESIRES to spend time with his father… talking, communing, and fellowshipping with his father.
• A good father would WANT his children to come to him for help… guidance… comfort… direction…
• It is healthy for the lines of communication to be OPEN between the father and his children.
• When that is NOT the case, those kids (starved for attention from dad) are going to seek out guidance, comfort, and direction in life elsewhere! And you may not like the source!
• As earthly fathers, we can learn from our heavenly Father.
• Our heavenly Father is equally DELIGHTED when we come to Him with our problems, concerns, and burdens.
• It is no burden to Him… but His delight.
• John 4:23-24 – the father SEEKS such to worship Him in spirit and in truth… to commune with Him.
» He desires us to come to Him in prayer.
4. Praying and sacrifice that bring delight to God are examples of service that is the FRUIT of the new life… not religious labor to obtain life.
a. A new life empowered by the Holy Spirit will naturally result in the sacrifice of praise and prayer.
b. Rom. 8:15 – prayer prompted by the Holy Spirit.
• Prayer is the FRUIT of the Holy Spirit… or the evidence of Spirit filling.
• When filled with the Spirit, we will be a praying people… crying out continually: Abba, Father! Many, many times throughout the day!
• Eph. 5:18-20 states that the evidence of Spirit filling is singing in the heart TO the Lord… and thanksgiving UNTO God. That is prayer. (Communication directed to God… whether through music or just words…)
• Prayer and praise directed to God as prompted by the indwelling Holy Spirit, and vocalized by a yielded child of God is always a DELIGHT to God the Father.
5. Prov. 15:29 – God does not hear the prayers of the wicked, but He DOES hear the prayer of the upright.
a. It is not that God is unable to hear the prayers of the wicked, or that He is ignorant of what they are saying in their prayers. He knows their hearts.
b. It is that God CHOOSES not to hear them… BECAUSE He knows their heart!
6. He not only hears our prayers, but delights in them!
a. And this too is BECAUSE God knows our hearts. When our hearts are pure, our prayers are delightful to God.
b. Rev.2:3-4 – (and Rev.5:8)
» Prayer is illustrated as “SWEET INCENSE ascending to heaven.”
» The smell of it is sweet to God. It brings Him delight. (anthropomorphism)
c. I Kings 3:10 – Solomon’s speech pleased the Lord—because he asked for wisdom and not riches.
» God does not delight in the mere movement of our lips… but what it is we express!
» Solomon expressed his helplessness and his need and the Father delighted to answer that prayer.
» Solomon knows from experience that the prayer of the upright is a delight to God.
» DO you want to please your heavenly Father? Keep on praying—out of an upright heart.
7. REASONS God is delighted with the prayer of the upright:
a. I John 5:14 – The Father delights in our prayers because prayer is an expression of our CONFIDENCE in God.
b. Phil. 4:6 – The Father delights in our prayer when it is an expression of confidence in God in EVERYTHING… every tiny detail of life.
c. John 14:13-14 – The Father delights in our prayers in Christ’s name because through that prayer, the Father is glorified in the Son.
8. That Which Brings God DELIGHT
a. Ps. 19:14 – “acceptable” = same word as delight. Our prayer should be that our words and meditation be a DELIGHT to God. Are they?
b. Col. 1:10 – a worthy walk can be “all pleasing” to God.
c. Col. 3:20 – children obeying their parents is well pleasing to the Lord.
d. Prov. 12:22 – God delights in truth.
e. Ps. 103:21 – ministers who do His pleasure (same word as delight—bring Him delight). We can delight God through our ministry… IF our heart is right with Him.
f. Prov. 11:1 – a just weight is His delight too! (a man whose uprightness spills over into his job.) Honesty!
Proverbs 15:9
The Way of the Wicked and the Righteous
Introduction:
1. Once again, Solomon contrasts the wicked and the righteous.
2. Once again, Solomon speaks of that which is an abomination to the Lord. (vs.8 = sacrifice of the wicked; vs.9 = the way of the wicked)
3. Two WAYS are described in this verse: the way of the wicked, and the way of those who follow righteousness.
9a The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD:
A. The Way
1. Way:
a. Strong’s: way = road; journey; manner; path; direction; habit; of course of life; moral character.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: way of life, the manner one conducts one’s life, including habits.
2. The way of the wicked described.
a. Prov. 4:19 – the way of the wicked is the way of darkness… and they stumble all along the way.
b. Prov. 22:5 – Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward.
c. Prov. 13:15 – the way of the transgressor is hard.
d. Prov. 2:13-14 – the wicked choose to leave the paths of uprightness and choose to walk in darkness. They delight in it!
e. Prov. 1:31 – the wicked shall EAT of the fruit of their own way. (cut by the thorns; trapped in the snares; stumble and get hurt from the fall; there are many consequences to walking in the way of the wicked)
f. Prov. 14:12 – the way of the wicked might SEEM right to him, but God’s estimate is quite different. It is the way of death… and an abomination to the Lord.
g. Psalm 146:9 – but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
B. An Abomination
1. This is the REASON for their sacrifices being an abomination—because their entire WAY of life is an abomination to God.
a. 15:7 – their sacrifices are an abomination.
b. 15:26 – even their thoughts are an abomination!
c. 28:9 – his prayers shall even be an abomination.
d. God considers the entire way of life of the wicked to be an abomination.
e. If a man is walking in the way of sin, rebellion, and unbelief, no prayer, no sacrifice, no thought could ever endear him to God. Nothing on that way is acceptable to the Lord.
f. The sinner has gone “out of the way”… and thus NOTHING he offers to God from that way (sacrifice or prayer) is of any merit.
g. Sacrifices and prayers offered to God from one walking in the way of the wicked is nothing but a corrupt stream flowing from a corrupt fountain.
2. Prov. 29:27 – “he that is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked.”
a. God views the way of the wicked as an abomination.
b. Those who are walking on the way of the wicked view those on the straight and narrow way as an abomination.
c. The wicked cannot take their anger out on God directly, so it vents its wrath against godly men and women.
d. This is the world’s way of saying to God, “the feeling of abomination is mutual!”
e. This is one of the reasons for such hostility and deep division in our nation today.
» The deep division and hostility is not so much over tax cuts, building highways or schools, or passing this bill or that.
» The real division is over the MORAL issues of our day: abortion; gay marriage; fornication; euthanasia; divorce and the breakdown of the traditional Christian family; etc.
» The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. And the way of the upright is an abomination to the wicked.
9b But he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.
1. Follow: pursue; chase; persecute; (following with intensity… not just strolling along aimlessly…)
a. This speaks of the believer who pursues righteousness with his whole heart… he dedicates his life to living for the Lord… he chases after purity and holiness…
b. He pursues godliness with as much vigor as the unsaved pursue money, power, and success in the world!
2. In contrast to the “way of the wicked” is the one who “follows after righteousness.” (two very different “ways of life”)
a. Isaiah refers to the faithful remnant of Israel as “ye who pursue righteousness” (Isa. 51:1)
b. I Tim. 6:11 – the man of God is also commanded to “pursue righteousness.”
c. Following after righteousness ought to characterize believers in any age.
3. The way of righteousness DESCRIBED in Proverbs
a. Prov. 3:5-6 – the way of the righteous is the way of acknowledging God and being led by Him. God loves those who follow that path
b. Prov. 3:23 – the way of the righteous is a way guided by wisdom… and is thus the way of safety…
c. The way of the righteous is the way of making proper CHOICES…
• Prov. 1:10-15 – it the way of choosing to avoid those who are dishonest.
• Prov. 3:30-31 – choosing to avoid the oppressor (violence).
• Prov. 4:14-15 – AVOID the way of the wicked. It is your choice. (mischief and violence (vs. 16-17)
d. Prov. 6:6 – the way of the righteous OBSERVES the ways of others and makes proper choices accordingly.
• If one is to avoid the way of the wicked, then it requires observation.
• It is necessary to observe the roads people take… and to observe the consequences of those roads…
• The way of the righteous LEARNS from that observation and avoids the pitfalls that ensnare others.
e. Prov. 8:13 – God fearing people HATE the way of the evil. (they don’t hate the people… just their “way”)
• When a way is observed and proves to be evil—learn to HATE that way.
• When it is known from Scripture that a road is evil—avoid it. Hate it. Love righteousness and hate unrighteousness.
• Ps. 119:104, 128 – the psalmist hated every false way. There is such a thing as good hatred. Hating evil = loving truth and righteousness.
f. Prov.10:29 – the upright who follow the way of the Lord find STRENGTH for their journey.
• We need never fear taking the way of righteousness.
• The way is hard, but strength is provided.
• Those who choose to pursue righteousness with all their heart will discover that God will enable them in that pursuit every step of the way.
g. Prov.2:7-8, 12 – Those who walk in the way of righteousness find protection.
• The way of righteousness has proven to be dangerous for many saints. (saints in Communist countries; Muslim countries; etc.)
• But for those who choose to pursue righteousness with their whole heart, God provides not only strength for the journey buy journey’s mercies: protection along the way.
h. Isa. 3:10 – the righteous shall also EAT of the fruit of their doings.
» There are evil consequences to sin and poor choices.
» There are good consequences to righteousness and good decisions.
» Prov. 21:21 – He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.
» God blesses those who follow righteousness. Do you want God’s hand of blessing in your life? Pursue righteousness… follow righteousness… and you will find righteousness and much more.
4. God LOVES those who follow righteousness.
a. I Tim.6:11 – the man of God is commanded to FOLLOW after righteousness.
b. This is the way of life that God loves… the way of wholehearted dedication to pursuing that which honors HIM.
c. Prov.11:28 – God causes the righteous to flourish.
d. Prov. 5:21 – For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
• God is observing, pondering, all of our ways… every last one of them… every step along the way.
• Our steps and our ways are either an abomination to Him or He loves them!
• What about YOUR ways? Are we following (pursuing; chasing) righteousness? Is it wholehearted dedication?
• Or are we just drifting along… floating… wandering… dabbling… pretending to follow?
• The ways of man are all before the eyes of the Lord… whether we are pursuing righteousness or whether we are following some other road.
• Psalm 1:6 – two ways; two endings; God loves one and hates the other.
Proverbs 15:10
Correction & Reproof
Introduction:
1. Because of verses like this one, I struggled and debated at first as to HOW to approach the book of Proverbs.
a. Should I teach it topically, and lump together those passages which deal with various reoccurring subjects… such as work/laziness; the tongue; choosing friends; the use of money; immorality vs. purity… reaping what you sow; or this topic: correction and reproof.
b. Should I teach it verse by verse? But if I do, then we are going to come across certain themes (like this one) over and over again. It might be too repetitious and thus become monotonous…
2. Consider how often this theme is repeated:
a. 15:10; 15:5; 15:12
b. 1:30; 5:12; 10:17; 12:1; 13:1
c. I believe the Lord led me to teach His Word exactly in the order and with the same frequency of repetition as HE put in it… by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
d. And if certain themes are repeated often… and if it seems a bit repetitious at times—you take that up with the Author. I’m just the messenger boy.
3. There is good reason for repetition.
a. It is the very best aid to memory and learning device.
b. It helps drill truth in deeper so that it sticks.
c. We forget and need reminding.
d. We sometimes begin to drift in the wrong direction and need to be wooed back.
e. We sometimes disobey and need rebuking…
f. And an area that may not have been a problem when you heard it preached six months ago MAY be a problem in your life today!
g. Or maybe the Lord knows that you will be tempted tomorrow and need a FRESH reminder today…
h. God has His reasons for repetition.
10a Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way:
1. Correction is grievous.
a. Solomon was a keen observer of human nature.
b. He was a people watcher and noticed that NOBODY likes to be corrected.
c. It is human nature to assume that our ways are right and thus we don’t need to be corrected.
d. Correction is grievous because it highlights something that is WRONG with self… and is always damaging to our so called “self image.”
e. Correction casts us in a bad light.
f. It places us BENEATH the one correcting us.
g. It involves accepting the fact that they’re right and I’m wrong!
h. That always hurts… doesn’t it?
2. It is grievous experience for many reasons… most of which are based in PRIDE.
a. Students don’t like to be corrected in class because they feel foolish… embarrassed…
• Everyone is looking at them… they feel “stupid” for doing the math wrong…
• However, they SHOULD be pleased that something wrong is being righted!
• It is far better to have it corrected in class… than with a red pen on your final exam!
• If you’re doing the problems wrong, the most helpful thing a teacher or a fellow student can do is correct you!
b. Workers don’t like to be corrected in the workplace for similar reasons.
• They feel embarrassed if their coworkers find out that they were doing something wrong.
• It makes them look bad.
• Or perhaps, they still THINK that their way is right… and who does my boss think he is?
• Workers also don’t like to be corrected because it might mean doing the work over again… correcting all the mistakes… fixing the errors…
• Lazy, mediocre workers do not like to be corrected.
c. Young people don’t like to be corrected.
• It hurts their pride… they feel that they are being treated like a little child…
• Sometimes, because of a lack of experience, they don’t see the error of their way and resent being told that they might be wrong.
• Sometimes it is just pure sin—they want to do it their way and don’t want anyone telling them anything different!
• They hate the authority which the reproof represents.
d. As Christians we don’t like being corrected.
• Once again, the reasons are similar.
• We don’t like to have our sin or failure to be highlighted.
• We don’t want to admit that we are wrong and someone else is right. Pride!
• We sometimes allow our hearts to become hardened and we don’t WANT to bend… to yield… or to submit to God’s Word.
• II Tim. 2:16-17 – the Scriptures are profitable for REPROOF…
» Refusing to be reproved—when the reproof is based upon the Scriptures, is refusing to submit to God Himself!
» We often take it out on the person who reproves (parent; teacher; boss; elder; pastor; brother… )
» In reality our problem is with God.
» It is a spiritual problem; an issue of the heart;
» Reproof points out an infection in our heart… and it HURTS to touch a sore, infected spot!
» When we are infected, it is precisely that infected spot that NEEDS identifying and cleansing! That’s reproof!
• Heb. 12:11 – NO chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous!
1. None of it is joyous; all of it is grievous!
2. This is true for young and old; parent and child; boss and employee;
3. EVERY son is chastened… no one escapes… and it always hurts.
4. But it is always good for us!
5. It hurts in the immediate; but is good in the long run… like cleaning out an infection.
3. Him that forsaketh the way.
a. Forsake: to leave; lose; to depart from; leave behind; abandon.
b. The way they forsake:
• Prov. 2:8 – the way of His saints.
• Prov. 2:13 – who leave (forsake) the paths of uprightness.
• Prov. 2:20 – the way of good men; the paths of the righteous.
• Prov. 4:11 – the way of wisdom; right paths.
• Prov. 10:29 – the way of the Lord.
• Psalm 119:1 – the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.
c. Those who forsake the right way, end up going the wrong way.
• Prov. 1:15 – the way of foolish sinners who seek after mischief.
• Prov. 2:12-15 – the way of wicked men; darkness; crooked ways.
• Prov. 12:26 – the seducing ways of the wicked.
• Prov. 13:15 – the way of the transgressor… which is hard.
• Prov. 15:19 – the way of the slothful.
4. Correction is grievous to the one who forsaketh the way.
a. One would think he would WANT to be corrected!
b. Especially if he finds himself in the way with the wicked… the way of darkness… (stumbling) the way of the transgressor (hard life)… the way of mischief (getting in trouble and paying the consequences…)
c. One would think that when a friend points out a BETTER way, that it would be greatly appreciated. WRONG!
d. It is grievous. He HATES to be corrected.
e. Why? Because he is in darkness… and the darkness doesn’t comprehend the light; because he has been seduced by wickedness… and the wicked way seems “wicked good” to him… and because there is a temporary pleasure to sin.
f. This man who hates to be corrected is quite shortsighted.
• There is an immediate pleasure to sin, but there are also long term consequences.
• The darkness is appealing when you are trying to cover up your lifestyle.
• And after you’ve been in the darkness for a while, your eyes adjust… and the light seems TOO bright!
• But ultimately, it is PRIDE at the root of it all.
• Fallen flesh likes to do its own thing… and doesn’t want to be told what to do… and is BLIND and thus unable to see what’s wrong with his evil way.
g. Prov. 13:18 – Wandering off into the wrong path is shortsighted because (regardless of how much FUN that way may seem), the end of that path is often poverty and shame!
10b And he that hateth reproof shall die.
1. Prov. 13:13 – whoso rejects the Word shall be destroyed!
2. Prov. 15:10 – even death!
3. There are serious consequences of NOT LISTENING to the words of wisdom… to words of correction and rebuke…
a. Sinning is bad enough. It is bad enough when we stumble and fall into sin… caught unaware.
b. But this is much worse. This is the man (or woman) who sins… and HATES to be reproved! He is told of the danger; warned not to proceed; but continues going the wrong way anyway!
c. This is willful sin… deliberate sin… this is rejecting light and truth… and a refusal to acknowledge sin. And we are judged according to the light we receive.
d. The man who trips into sin and bangs his head usually is ready to accept help in getting up.
e. But this man walked off into sin… and is being encouraged to get up and turn around… and he HATES to hear it!
f. There is no help for those who refuse help… for those who hate to be helped.
4. Those who refuse to be corrected… those who hate reproof… shall suffer and even die!
a. This doesn’t mean that in every single incident, the person who hates reproof dies.
b. But the one whose life is characterized by “hating reproof” is on a pathway that is headed towards death.
c. It is the way of the transgressor… the way of sin… and the wages of sin is death.
d. Prov. 29:1 – He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
e. Even a righteous man (a believer) who refuses to submit to the correction of God’s Word may experience physical death as a result. There is a sin unto death! (The Corinthians!)
5. Ultimately, this man will refuse the offer of salvation… for the GOSPEL message is a message of reproof, isn’t it?
a. First God reproves us for our sin. He points it out and makes us admit it. He tells us that we are headed the WRONG WAY.
b. Then He offers a BETTER way… HIS way. (John 14:6)
c. Those who refuse correction will remain in the broad way that leads to eternal destruction.
Proverbs 15:11
The Hearts of the Children of Men
11a Hell and destruction are before the LORD:
1. Hell: Sheol – the Old Testament Hebrew term for the abode of the dead.
a. It is usually translated by either “grave” or “hell.” (and a few times by “the pit.”)
b. It should not be thought of as MERELY the grave into which the body is placed, but the rather, “the place of the dead.”
c. It is the ABODE of the souls and spirits of men who died in Old Testament times.
d. It is the Old Testament equivalent of “Hades” which is also translated “hell” in the New Testament.
2. Destruction: abaddon = to die; to perish.
a. This term is used often in conjunction with death, hell, or the grave.
b. Prov. 27:20 – Hell and destruction are never full.
c. Job 28:22 – Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
d. Ps. 88:11 – Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?
e. It may be used as a synonym for death or those who have died.
f. Rev. 9:11 – it is the name of the angel of the bottomless pit…
3. Before the Lord:
a. The main point: God SEES and thus KNOWS all.
b. That which is HIDDEN from our eyes… hidden from all in the land of the living is open and BEFORE the eyes of the Lord.
c. God sees the souls of men in Hades/Sheol.
d. God is aware of their attitudes and their thoughts.
e. God is completely aware of all that transpires in the abode of the dead.
f. Everything that is OUT OF our sight is BEFORE the eyes of the Lord.
g. Even death and the grave cannot hide a man’s thoughts, words, attitudes, and motives from God.
h. It is ALL before the Lord—even after death.
i. Some men have committed suicide because of the guilt of their sin… because they were aware that it was not hidden from Him with whom we have to do. But even death will not hide us from God’s eyes.
j. There is no hiding from God’s piercing, penetrating eyes.
k. Psalm 139:8 – If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
l. Men commit suicide as an escape from their guilt and pain. However, it brings no relief whatsoever. It is like jumping from the frying pan into the fire for the lost.
m. God is in the land of living and in the land of the dead. He is omnipresent. There is no escaping His presence or His piercing eyes…
n. Psalm 139:12 – Darkness hides us not from Him. Neither does death!
o. Job 26:6 – all are naked and open to the Lord…
p. There is ABSOLUTELY no escape from God’s presence… God’s knowledge… God’s penetrating eyes.
11b How much more then the hearts of the children of men?
1. Solomon makes ONE simple point in this proverb: Since God knows all about that which is hidden from our eyes (even in Sheol!) then He certainly knows what is going on in our hearts and minds!
2. This is a truth that is amplified throughout the Scriptures.
» Prov. 15:3 – The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
» Prov. 5:21 – The ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord
→ Way: road; manner; habit; course of life (fig.) of moral character.
→ God knows all about our moral character; our habits; the ordinary course of life we live.
→ Doesn’t it make sense to be CAREFUL about our habits and the course of our life?
→ Doesn’t it make sense to be COGNIZANT of the fact that God is observing all of our ways?
» Ps. 38:9 – Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee
→ Desire: Wish; longings of one’s heart; lust; appetite; covetousness (bad sense). Thing desired, object of desire.
• God knows all of our desires. That for which we crave and long for… all the affections of our heart.
• He knows what we have an appetite for—both good and evil. Do we long for spiritual things? For His Word? He knows.
• Do we long for the things of the world… do we lust after pleasure… do we secretly lust after that which is impure and immoral… do we covet our neighbors goods? He knows all that too.
• God knows what the true OBJECT of our desires is. Is it Christ? It should be!
→ Groanings: sighing, groaning (expression of grief or physical distress).
• Even our groanings cannot be hidden from God.
• But people groan for different reasons.
• In a positive sense, He is aware of all of our grief and mourning… of all of our suffering and loss.
• In that sense, we have a great High Priest who is touched with the feelings of our infirmities.
• In a negative sense, He is aware of all of our complaints and murmurings…
• God said: Do all things without murmurings and disputings. He knows when we are disobeying His word.
• This kind of negativity, constant groaning and complaining can easily become a way of life… a habit… and habits over time develop into character.
• Cut it off before it becomes your character. Remember: God is aware of your attitude.
» Ps. 44:21 – Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
→ God knows the heart.
→ God also knows the SECRETS of the heart (hidden things)
→ God is aware of the things we foolishly ATTEMPT to hide from Him.
» Jer. 17:10 – I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins,
→ God IS already omniscient. But He uses language we can relate to.
→ God doesn’t search our hearts in order to DISCOVER something about us He doesn’t know.
→ But the image is that of a SEARCH going on in the deep, inner recesses of our hearts. God “looks” in every nook and cranny. There is no hiding from Him.
→ When God searches our hearts… and points His light upon an area that needs “fixin”, then we had better respond in faith and obedience!
» Heb. 4:13 – Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
→ When we sit before our computer; watch TV; listen to the radio; read a book from the library; watch a video; God is perfectly and completely aware.
→ When we are all alone and no one earth can see. God is aware.
→ When we think in our minds and no one knows what we are thinking—God is aware.
→ When our heart grows fond of and becomes attached to a person, a car, a house, a fancy vacation, a swimming pool, the corner office, and our affection is given to this or that “thing”—God is aware… and jealous!
3. This is a two edged sword. It can bring great conviction AND great comfort.
a. Verse 11 seems to be part of a CONTEXT in Proverbs 15:
» Prov. 15:10-12 – DO appear to be speaking about the same subject: receiving or rejecting correction or reproof.
» Vs.10 and 12 both speak on this issue.
» Vs. 11 seems different, but it is likely that it was strategically placed there to highlight a truth.
• A man, woman, or child who is corrected or reproved has an option….
• He can either RECEIVE the correction and repent…
• OR he can REJECT the correction or reproof as in vs. 9.
• OR he can only PRETEND to receive the correction… and let it go in one ear and out the other.
» Solomon’s warning: God knows. You can fool your boss, your teacher, your parents, the policeman, but not the Lord.
• You can try to HIDE your real feelings… HIDE your real attitude behind the words you know they want to hear—even if you don’t mean it.
• But you can never HIDE anything from God.
• He knows what’s going on in Hades! He surely knows what’s going on in our hearts in the land of the Living!
4. Perhaps there is another intended application from this truth.
a. Sometimes people are corrected and reproved IMPROPERLY!
b. Perhaps they did not DO what they were accused of doing.
c. Perhaps the reprover is wrongly judging their motives and the secret intents of the heart.
d. Perhaps the reprover misinterpreted their actions—or put the wrong construction on their actions.
e. Parents, teachers, pastors, elders, bosses, policemen, judges, —any human being in a position of authority—in a position whereby they may attempt to correct or reprove another person is LIABLE TO ERROR.
• If you are WRONGLY corrected or reproved… and are forced to suffer the consequences for something you DIDN’T do… take heart.
• God sees all! He knows your heart when it is guilty. He also knows your heart when it is innocent!
• The Judge of all the earth does what is RIGHT.
• He condemns the guilty and He justifies the innocent!
• So, if you are wrongly accused, follow the example of Jesus who also suffered wrongfully.
• Thank God for the opportunity to experience the fellowship of His sufferings… and do so with a good attitude!
• God knows what’s going on in the hearts of the children of men. He would be PLEASED to see that kind of a Christlike spirit manifested in your heart!
Proverbs 15:12
The Scorner
Introduction:
1. Here is yet another proverb that deals with the subject of receiving or rejecting correction.
2. 15:10 dealt with the same subject… with a slightly different emphasis. This proverb emphasized the fact that the one reproved had “forsaken the way” and as a result would “die.”
3. 15:5 also dealt with the same subject. It too had its own emphasis. This proverb emphasizes the fact that a foolish child hates his father’s instruction… but a wise or prudent child regards the reproof.
4. 15:12, while speaking about the same subject of responding to reproof, this passage emphasizes the attitude of the one being reproved.
12a A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him:
A. Scorner Defined
1. Strong’s: talk arrogantly; to boast; to mock; deride; to be inflated; scoff.
2. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: speak words which show no respect for the object, and make fun of the object.
3. Usage:
a. Prov. 14:9 – fools make a mock at sin. (scorners treat sin lightly—no sense of holiness or purity)
b. Prov. 22:10 – cast out the scorner and contention is gone. Scorners are by nature troublemakers. They stir up controversy and trouble.
c. Prov. 1:22 – Scorners delight in their scorning. (Scorners make a game out of mocking and making fun of sin and holy things. They not only do such things, but delight in it… in the mockery or in stirring up trouble.)
4. The particular KIND of scorner mentioned in 15:12 is one who talks arrogantly and mocks REPROOF.
a. When a person is a big mouth mocker… who treats sin lightly… and delights in his arrogant mocking… he is in NEED of reproof!
b. Solomon speaks of reproof, but he does not mention WHY the person is being reproved.
c. Rather, he speaks about the KIND of person who is being reproved: a scorner.
d. One might assume that the reproof is on account of his scorning… mocking… arrogance… big mouth.
e. BUT—the reproof could be given for ANY kind of behavior.
f. Usually arrogant big mouths who make light of sin have other issues too.
g. Thus, the reproof Solomon had in mind here could be for anything.
h. This proverb emphasizes not so much the REASON for the reproof, but the TYPE of person being reproved… and what to expect.
B. The Scorner Loveth Not the Reprover
1. First of all, this is a warning to all well-meaning reprovers.
a. This proverb really has meaning for BOTH parties: the scorner and the reprover.
b. To the reprover comes this warning: WATCH OUT! Be careful! The one you reprove isn’t going to like it.
c. We have seen this thought before. People do not like to be reproved or corrected.
• 15:10 emphasizes the correction – the correction itself is grievous to him.
• 23:9 – he will hate the words of wisdom you speak.
• 15:12 emphasizes the person giving the correction.
d. Love: affection; human love for one another, includes family, human appetite for objects such as food, drink, sex, sleep, wisdom; the act of being a friend.
e. The scorner will have no affection… no appetite… no desire for the one reproving him. He will have NEGATIVE affections… he will HATE the reproof AND the reprover!
f. So if you see a person who needs reproof: BEWARE!
• Before you begin to reprove him, think about what you are getting into!
• If the person is a fool and a scorner, he will not only hate the reproof. He might hate YOU too!
• He might even take out his anger on YOU.
g. Prov. 9:8 – here Solomon says NOT to reprove a scorner lest he hate you!
• Note the different reaction from a wise person. He will love you!
• The wise man will see that you are concerned about him and will take heed to the correction, change his ways, and will appreciate you!
• Ps. 141:5 – it shall be received by a righteous man as a sweet anointing… an excellent, fragrant oil… that causes his face to shine.
• The same reproof to a scorner results in hatred. He might even turn on you… strike back… make trouble for you… gossip about you…
• Prov. 9:7 – Here’s WHY Solomon says in vs. 8 NOT to reprove a scorner: if you do, you will receive SHAME and a BLOT.
» This reprover receives shame and a blot because he is disregarding Solomon’s advice: DON’T reprove a scorner!
» The advice here is DON’T constantly nag a person for their behavior. A fool will quite likely NEVER change his behavior.
» If you disregard Solomon’s advice here and continually reprove a person—he will turn on you. You will earn a bad reputation.
» I have heard Christians nag unbelievers because they smoke or drink… or the music they listen to at work.
» Solomon’s point is that constant nagging… continual reproof is only going to work against you… and it may embolden the one reproved to action against YOU!
» You may receive shame and a blot from the person being reproved… he may pick a fight over the issue… or strike back…
h. This is a warning to the one giving the reproof.
• The warning is this: if you feel the need to reprove a person… be careful! Be wise! Be discerning!
• Not everybody is going to respond to reproof in the same way.
• Some will love it and appreciate your concern and thank you.
• Some will hate what you say and despise YOU for saying it!
• Matt. 7: 6 – Jesus said, “Don’t cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn and rend YOU!”
» This means that we need to size people up a bit before we seek to help them.
» Some people are like dogs or swine.
» Jesus said DON’T cast your pearls (gospel message; or words of wisdom; or reproof) before them.
» Jesus gives the same warning as Solomon.
» Not only will mockers and scorners (dogs and swine) hate your words … they will then vent their anger on YOU!
» Prov. 13:1 – besides, “a scorner heareth not rebuke.” There are times when it is best NOT to rebuke a man who needs rebuking. If he is a scorner, he isn’t going to listen anyway!
i. Be discerning. Think about what you might be getting yourself into. Is that really the route you want to go?
• You may NEED to rebuke the person (especially if it is your son or daughter!)
• But if it is a co-worker, it may not be the best idea.
• Try to discern the TYPE of person you are dealing with… before you offer advice or reproof.
• If he is a genuine scorner and has proven himself to be… or if he has demonstrated himself to be a dog or a swine, you may want to think twice!
• The situation may be uncomfortable, but you may find yourself jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
• God says to be discerning. Not every person who could benefit from reproof or needs to be reproved… SHOULD BE.
• Here, God is taking care for the one who wants to be helpful and offer reproof or correction.
2. This is also a word of warning the scorner.
a. The scorner is described as one who does not love (hates?!) the one who rebukes him.
b. Perhaps the scorner reading this verse ought to reconsider his scornful attitude! I think Solomon intended that to occur because of this passage.
c. Perhaps a scorner ought to RETHINK his reasons for not liking rebuke or reproof. (Could it actually be for my good?)
d. Perhaps he should think about the CONSEQUENCES of his actions… (Cf. 15:10c – he could die!)
12b Neither will he go unto the wise.
1. The scorner will not go to the wise.
a. WHY? Because he loves not… (he hates!) those who rebuke him!
b. If a scornful fool goes to a wise man, the wise man is going to point out his folly… point out his faults… correct areas that need correcting.
c. John 3:20 – For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
→ Sinful men don’t want the light to shine on their sin.
→ Foolish men don’t want their folly pointed out to them.
→ Scorners don’t want to have their faults displayed either.
→ Hence, they stay away from wise men… lest they hear words of wisdom that makes them feel uncomfortable!
2. This also seems to be designed as a warning to the scorner.
→ The average scorner will not go to a wise man.
→ But perhaps there are some scorners who are reconsidering their scorning and mocking of holy things.
→ Perhaps this passage could serve as a slap in the face to such scorners… a wake up call!
→ If you remain in your scorn… bitterness… anger… and mocking of holy things… and you refuse to go to a wise man… you may end up being a scorner FOREVER!
→ Prov. 3:34-35 – 34Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. 35The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.
Proverbs 15:13
A Merry Heart
Introduction:
1. Vs. 13-15 speak of the heart… and in particular that which makes for a merry heart.
2. A large percentage of the American population is on antidepressants.
a. That tells us that possessing a merry heart is a problem in our land. Everybody wants one… but few people have it!
b. The treatment I’m on for my virus is a depressant… and after 7 months on a depressant, I’m sure I’m not the best poster boy for a cheerful countenance…
c. But this is the next verse, so I’m going to teach what it says—even if it hurts!
13a A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance:
1. Merry = the word for rejoice; to be glad.
a. Ps. 113:9 – He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children.
b. When a barren woman bears a child, she has the kind of heart described in Prov. 15:13.
c. In this case, the favorable circumstances resulted in a merry heart: barrenness was turned to motherhood!
d. There is a place for joy and rejoicing. It is essential to being a whole, balanced, well adjusted person. That’s the way God made us!
2. When the heart is merry on the inside—it shows on the outside (countenance).
a. This countenance will be CHEERFUL: “good, pleasing, glad”.
b. The barren mother probably looked a bit gloomy at times when she was barren.
c. But rest assured, when she brought her baby home, she glowed! It changed her countenance… to cheerful!
d. Changing circumstances can change the condition of our heart… and the condition of our heart is reflected in our countenance.
3. But the condition of our heart as a CHRISTIAN ought not to be determined by circumstances!
a. The condition of our heart ought to be determined by our relationship to Christ! (Ps. 42:11 – HE is the health of my countenance!)
b. If we are close to HIM… then even the barren woman can have the joy of the Lord. She might be sad over her barrenness, but that does not diminish her joy in the Lord! The man who losses his job may be sad about that, but it is not crushing IF his focus is on Christ… because CHRIST is the true source of our joy.
c. We are told to rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS.
• And circumstances aren’t always favorable! Oftentimes they are considerably less than favorable!
• But we are to rejoice anyway!
• Our joy has a source other than circumstances.
• And notice that we are commanded to rejoice, but our joy is completely separated from circumstances.
• We are to rejoice in the LORD… not in favorable circumstances!
d. Hab. 3:17-18 – Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
4. Solomon’s point is that a merry heart is GOOD for your countenance.
a. Countenance = face; front; presence; one’s overall body language, especially facial expression.
b. The condition of the inner man is expressed outwardly by the outer man… the body. That is by God’s design.
c. Prov. 17:22 – A merry heart doeth good like a medicine
• Just as medicine is good for the body, the outer man, so a merry heart is good for the inner man.
• Solomon may even have had in mind the fact that a merry heart does the BODY good too.
» There is definitely a connection between body, soul, and spirit.
» We humans are a unit.
» That which affects our inner man also affects our body: worry; anxiety; fear; hatred; bitterness.
• It is GOOD to be happy… merry… joyous… upbeat. It is healthy to be cheerful… healthy physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
• Wholesome mirth and merrymaking is good for your countenance; it’s good for your inner life!
• It’s also good for the people around you!
» It’s good for your spouse and kids when YOU are cheerful!
» It’s good for your brethren in the local church when you are cheerful.
» It’s good for the people at work when you are cheerful!
» It’s hard to live with a person who never has anything good to say… everything is negative… always sour… never sees the silver lining; can only see the dark cloud… always nit-picking… complaining… generally unhappy and miserable! Nothing’s good enough…
• That’s a terrible way to live. It’s a terrible training for our kids who watch us every day. They are learning HOW to be a person by observing dad and mom.
• But a merry heart does GOOD.
» Living cheerfully with your wife at home is the best training your kids will ever have.
» God instituted feast days in Israel—times of festivity and joy and celebration. It is GOOD for man to experience such festivities and opportunities for merriment and rejoicing.
» If you are more like the one who never sees the silver lining—you need to get out more often!
» Get out to times of fellowship more often.
» Don‘t sit around in your gloomy world all day. Open the windows… let in some light… fill your mind and heart with the Word… and spend time with God’s people. Smile!
» Do something fun. We can lift one another’s spirits.
» It isn’t worldly to be merry. God says it’s good for us!
13b But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken
1. Neh. 2:1-3 – Nehemiah’s countenance was sad and it was obvious to onlookers.
a. External events/circumstances (condition of his people) made Nehemiah’s heart sad.
b. That sad heart was seen in his countenance… face. He couldn’t hide it—even though it could have meant his job… even his life.
2. Like it or not, external events DO affect our hearts… and this is quite normal and natural.
a. Who isn’t saddened at the death of a loved one? Who wasn’t affected by the events on 9/11? Whose heart wouldn’t be sad if your house burned down?
b. Who doesn’t grieve over the moral decline in our country… and even more so the spiritual decline in the churches?
c. This kind of grief and sorrow is normal and natural.
d. Ezek. 9:4 – In Ezekiel, the identifying mark of the godly remnant was the fact that they grieved over the awful spiritual decline and the abominations in their country.
e. It’s not a sin to be sad or sorrowful. Jesus was a “Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” (Isa.53:3)
f. Phil. 3:10 – Paul states that the godly of this age FELLOWSHIP in Christ’s sufferings and sorrows… as we lead holy, separated, godly lives.
g. There are times when it is RIGHT to be full of sorrow and grief… just like Jesus our Lord.
3. Proverbs 15:13 is not teaching that it is WRONG to experience sorrow of heart.
a. Rather, the proverb is a WARNING: sorrow and grief CAN break the spirit!
b. Sorrow and grief in their time and place are right, normal, and natural.
c. Ecc. 3:4 – A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
• There is a time to weep. There is also a time to STOP weeping… and to return to laughing.
• Some folks experience the death of a loved one and refuse to be comforted. They refuse to laugh and to join into life again… thinking that if they attend a festive activity or begin to laugh again, it would be insulting to the lost loved one. If that person loved you, they would NOT want you to remain in misery!
• And what about insulting GOD? Do you think God is pleased if we refuse comfort?
→ II Cor. 1:3 – Where does comfort come from, if not the God of all comfort? (That’s the Father’s name!)
→ The Holy Spirit is the Comforter according to John 14:16-17.
→ Jesus Christ is the Comforter according to I John 2:1.
→ God also uses His Word to encourage and comfort hearts full of sorrow.
→ In addition, God uses His people to encourage and comfort hearts.
→ God is the GOD… the Source of all true comfort.
→ So when God sends comfort to our hearts… RECEIVE it! Don’t refuse to be comforted! Submit to His comfort in whatever form it takes!
→ ALLOW Him to comfort your grief stricken heart.
d. There is a normal and natural period of grieving after the death of a loved one… but to wallow in grief… to refuse to be comforted…
• There seems to be a morbid delight some folks have in wallowing in their sorrow…
• This behavior is DANGEROUS!
• Over time, it can crush the spirit…
• Prov. 17:22 – a broken spirit drieth the bones. The bones can take a lot… they can bear much, but over TIME… if the sorrow continues unabated… it will eventually dry out the bones—
» This is a picture of a withered inner man!
» A broken spirit will eat at you from the inside out!
» Once again, we have a picture of the effect of our emotions on our body: on our whole being.
» It is dangerous to continue in grief and sorrow and to refuse to be comforted.
• II Cor. 2:7 – So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
» Swallowed up = devoured; destroyed.
» The assembly was commanded to forgive this brother, lest his spirit be broken, and his spiritual life be destroyed!
» There is a time and place for grief. There is also a time and place for grief to end.
• Prov. 18:14 – A wounded spirit, who can bear?
• Unending grief… sorrow that refuses to be comforted… can make life unbearable… miserable… intolerable.
• WHO can bear it? The implied answer is no one! You are not the exception!
• A wounded spirit makes life unbearable… and it can lead to suicide… and it has many times over.
• A broken spirit seems even WORSE than a wounded spirit… but actually, wounded and broken are the same Hebrew terms.
• Thus, by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken… and that broken spirit is unbearable!
• A wounded or broken spirit seems to be inoperative… broken and unable to function as designed.
• If that broken spirit REFUSES to be comforted… if it refuses the comfort God sends… if it insists in wallowing in grief… it may arrive at a place where it CAN’T function… it is STUCK in depression…
• The one who is offered comfort and refuses to be lifted out of the miry clay may discover that, if they persist in that condition, when they WANT to get out… they may not be able to!
• God is the Source of all comfort. If we refuse the source of all comfort… we may not have that opportunity again for a long time. Don’t put God to the test.
Proverbs 15:14
Knowledge vs. Foolishness
14a The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge:
1. The heart of him that hath understanding.
a. This speaks of a man with discernment… good understanding… wisdom… common sense… sound judgment… prudence… insight.
b. This man is contrasted with the FOOL in second part of the proverb. Hence, this is the WISE man.
2. He SEEKS knowledge.
a. He doesn’t wait for wisdom and knowledge to come to him. He SEEKS it.
b. He wants light… truth… the best education he can get…
c. SEEKS: The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; asks; begs; demands.
• Translated “begging” bread.
• Used in Prov.2:4 – of seeking wisdom as for hidden treasure! That is wholehearted pursuit!
d. Note that it is the HEART of this man that seeks knowledge.
• He seeks knowledge from his heart—wholeheartedly.
• This is not superficial or phony. It is the desire of his heart.
e. A wise man is never satisfied with the wisdom he has. He always SEEKS more.
• A truly wise man is aware of how much he does NOT know… and hence, seeks to learn.
• A wise man’s education does not end when he graduates from school. That’s when it begins!
3. Prov. 18:15 – he not only seeks it but he GETS it!
a. This implies that he keeps on knocking until it is opened unto him! He keeps of digging until he finds that treasure!
b. He doesn’t seek for a while and then quit. He seeks until he finds.
c. It is like the man who has developed a “taste” for wisdom and knowledge and craves more… and he won’t stop seeking until he gets it!
d. He is HUNGRY for knowledge and wisdom… and a man who is truly hungry has a mind for nothing else but to satisfy that hunger.
e. Prov. 2:10 – “When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul.”
• The man who hungers after knowledge, and then gets a taste of it… learns to LOVE it.
• It becomes pleasant to his soul and thus he will hunger and crave for even more!
• Once a man learns wisdom… and puts it into practice in his life… and discovers how VALUABLE it is… how safe it keeps him… what trials and pitfalls it enables him to avoid… how much grief and heartache he can avoid by using it… he wants more and more wisdom!
• This is the man who will never be satisfied until he GETS it!
f. Acts 17:11 – and when he obtains a treasure, he checks it out to make sure it is real gold and not fool’s gold… a shiny but phony counterfeit.
• This too is part of seeking knowledge… investigating for yourself!
• Whether it is the pastor or Sunday school teacher in church… or a professor in college… a true seeker of knowledge and truth will not swallow everything he is fed. He wants to make sure it is good food…
• To our young people in college—beware—it is no secret that the ivory tower leans to the left… and when everyone in that box is leaning to the left it begins to look straight to them all.
• It is helpful to step back for a different perspective, and examine what is being said through the filter of God’s Word.
4. Prov. 21:11 – sometimes he gets knowledge through simple instruction.
a. He is told, he listens, and he learns. This is the simplest way to learn.
b. He is instructed and he pays attention.
c. This implies instruction that actually SINKS IN.
d. Much instruction is given in the schoolhouse, but it doesn’t all sink in.
e. In the local church, much instruction is given too, but even there it doesn’t all sink in.
• Sometimes it is because while our body is present, we are not really “there.”
• If we were up too late Saturday night at a party or playing games… we will be too tired on Sunday morning… it’s hard to gain understanding when you’re sleeping… or staring out the window!
f. If we are harboring sin in our heart, (a bad attitude) spiritual instruction may be given, but it won’t sink in.
• And when that is the case, it is not primarily an issue of the intellect (too hard to understand)…
• It is usually an issue of the heart and will.
• It is not that the information is too hard to understand, it is the heart that is too hard… to obstinate… too stubborn… too rebellious… too callous.
• We don’t want it to sink in because it might require repentance; it might require a change of behavior or attitude; personal responsibility; etc.
g. But when the heart is right, the wise man… the man who has understanding will SEEK knowledge… and when he is instructed in knowledge, he will take heed… receive it.
h. What is the MAJOR means of instruction for the believer? The word of God—is given for instruction! Are you listening? Receiving? Doing? Practicing? Or resisting and rebelling? (II Tim. 3:16-17)
5. Prov. 19:25 – He gets wisdom through various means.
a. Sometimes the wise man obtains knowledge through being rebuked.
b. He is wise enough to receive the rebuke and gain knowledge through it!
c. He will “understand knowledge.” In other words, he will “get it.” It will make sense to him. He will see the value of it. He will appreciate it. The light will go on!
6. Prov. 14:6 – it becomes EASIER over time.
a. The man who exercises himself in seeking wisdom discovers over time that obtaining knowledge becomes easier.
b. The man who seeks to dig up buried treasures may find it very difficult to find his first gem. At first he is not familiar with the use of the minor’s pick. He doesn’t know where to look. He doesn’t have experience, and hence wastes a lot of time looking in the wrong places.
c. The experienced minor, who is skilled in the use of his tools, knows the land, knows his minerals, knows what to look for, knows where precious metals are most likely to be found will have an EASIER time finding such treasures.
d. So too, the man who already HAS a measure of wisdom and understanding, he will find it easier to obtain MORE.
e. Matt. 13:12 – For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
f. Prov. 9:9 – The wise grow wiser
g. Prov. 1:5 – a wise man will hear and will increase learning.
14b But the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness.
1. The mouths of fools FEED on foolishness.
a. Feed: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
b. The picture is like cattle slowly walking about the field, grazing and feeding… filling up on grass and grain.
c. So too the fool walks about grazing on folly… filling his gut with it.
d. The man of understanding is feasting on knowledge and wisdom. The fool is feasting on folly…
e. The fool feeds his mind and heart continually with that which is foolish.
f. He reads books that promote folly; he listens to music that encourages folly; he watches videos that glorify folly;
g. He is continually feeding his sinful nature… with vanity… gratification of the flesh and sensual pleasures: folly!
h. We could say to this fool: you are what you eat!
2. Poureth out foolishness (Prov.15:2).
a. Pour out = to flow; pour; gush forth; spring; bubble up.
b. This speaks of a continual flowing… constant motion.
c. Once a fool is full with folly, folly will pour out of his mouth… His mind and heart are full of it—and what’s on the inside will eventually come out.
d. And it doesn’t just trickle out. It POURS out!
e. Prov. 18:4 – The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing (same word) brook.
f. Prov. 15:28 – he pours out folly—but not in the sense of silly, innocent, childlike things. His folly is EVIL… immoral.
g. Prov. 29:11 – A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
• The fool blurts out whatever is on his mind—without any thought for the impact it might have on others… the hurt, the offense, its truthfulness, kindness, the feelings of others, etc…
• The wise man keeps it all in… until the right time.
3. It is a JOY to him. He delights in it. (Prov. 15:21)
a. Folly is a joy to the fool.
b. He cares not for that which would strengthen his faith, nourish his soul, or build his character.
c. The fool HATES knowledge! (Prov.1:22)
Proverbs 15:15
Evil Days vs. a Continual Feast
15a All the days of the afflicted are evil
1. Afflicted: poor; humble; weak; wretched; needy; oppressed, i.e., pertaining to being a lowly, needy state; miserable; wretched with the focus on the trouble and hardship caused by poverty.
a. This term is almost always translated POOR.
b. Solomon is speaking about a particular kind of affliction: poverty.
c. Of course, application could be made to all kinds of other afflictions, but Solomon is speaking about poverty in this passage… and two very different responses to it.
2. Evil: bad; disagreeable; malignant; unpleasant; misery; injury; calamity; distress; adversity.
a. To some men afflicted with poverty, every day is evil: miserable, disagreeable, unpleasant.
b. WHY? The reason is not stated explicitly, but putting the two sides of this proverb together it is clearly implied.
c. Why are all the days of this poor man miserable, disagreeable, and unpleasant? Because the spirit of the man himself is miserable, disagreeable, and unpleasant!
3. The point: unfavorable circumstances can RUIN the lives of some folks.
a. Every day is miserable because this poor, afflicted man has not yet learned to be content.
b. His source of joy and happiness is related to things that are out of his reach… treasures of this world which can be destroyed by moths or rust or thieves.
c. Wealth does not bring happiness. One man said: “Wealth only makes misery more comfortable!”
d. When one’s joy is found in the Lord—even poverty and other forms of affliction won’t get us down… at least not for long.
e. Hab. 3:17-18 – 17Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.
• Poverty didn’t get this man down!
• His cheerfulness was not dependent upon wealth. The Lord was the strength of his heart—and his joy.
• Of course there is a certain amount of earthly grief and discouragement that comes from failed crops—after all the work he put into his vineyard!
• But a poor year on the farm—or in the office—or in the family business—does not have to translate into a poor year with the Lord.
• In fact, such years of physical poverty CAN be (with the right attitude) prove to be exceedingly WEALTHY years spiritually!
f. Phil. 4:11-14 – Habakkuk didn’t allow his poverty to get him down spiritually. Poverty didn’t get Paul down either.
• He LEARNED to be content.
• He saw various forms of affliction as learning opportunities…
• He grew spiritually through various seasons of life… times of abundance and times of poverty.
• Paul was afflicted with poverty and no one but the Philippians seemed to offer assistance.
• But he didn’t grow bitter. He learned to LEAN on Christ. He experienced the strength of Christ in him
• Vs. 15-18 – Paul learned that even though in the world he suffered need—in Christ he was abounding!
4. But not all afflicted people have the spirit of a Paul or Habakkuk.
a. Solomon’s point is that some folks who are afflicted (with poverty or any other affliction) seem to let their affliction dominate their lives… and life is miserable to them.
b. They allow unfavorable circumstances to RUIN their lives… and make life miserable.
c. Such a person is a slave to circumstances… And let’s face it… Circumstances in a cursed earth are not always favorable!
d. If our happiness is dependent upon favorable circumstances: it’s going to be long, tough, miserable life!
15b But he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.
1. Solomon now contrasts two kinds of persons.
a. At first glance, it appears that he contrasting a person afflicted with poverty and a merry/happy person. (poverty and happiness)
b. It seems better to understand Solomon’s contrast this way: a poor person who is not happy and a poor person who is happy.
2. One issue to settle in this verse is this: is the continual feast the RESULT of the merry heart or is it the CAUSE of the merry heart?
a. In other words, does this person have a merry heart because he is wealthy and has a continual feast before him? Does he have a merry heart because of merry circumstances?
b. OR does this person have a continual feast even in the midst of poverty… BECAUSE he is a merry person… a content person with a merry heart?
→ This second view is correct.
→ Solomon is teaching that if a man is a cheerful person with a merry heart, even if he is poor—he is happy!
→ 15:17 – this is similar to what he states here.
→ If the spirit is right (love) then a dinner of wild vegetables is better than a steak dinner around a table full of unhappy, bitter, angry people!
→ Where the attitude is right (love; contentment; cheerfulness) even a peanut butter sandwich is a feast!
3. A continual feast.
a. It appears that his continual feast is not necessarily the result of favorable circumstances, but rather, it is due to his merry heart.
b. A person who is cheerful and has a merry heart will be cheerful regardless of his circumstances.
c. Our disposition rather than our circumstances is the key to enjoying an abundant life.
• Paul and Silas sang in prison.
• Job praised God when everything was taken from him. The Lord took away: Blessed be the name of the Lord!
• The Hebrew believers took joyfully the spoiling of their goods.
• In Acts, the apostles were imprisoned and then beaten, yet they went away “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.”
d. It is the condition of our heart—our inner man that determines whether we are miserable or cheerful… not the stock market… not the job market… not the traffic… not our health… not any tranquility from without. It is tranquility from within!
e. The same set of circumstances may befall two different kinds of persons (loss of income; loss of health; tragedy; accident; loss of mobility; loss of a relationship; house burning down; etc…) — and there will two very different reactions.
f. Even something like losing a baseball game can reveal differences in the hearts of men. Sports are good training for that reason.
• Some folks can walk away from a loss and say, “That was fun.”
• Others tromp away in a rage, complaining about this call, saying the refs are not fair, and angry at the coach etc…
g. Some folks find themselves with a handicap. One person may handle it well, and learn to life with it and be cheerful. Another with the same handicap grows bitter and resentful.
h. Solomon noticed that about human nature.
• It isn’t really one’s health, income, social status, intellect, looks, talents, or favorable circumstances that determine whether a person will be happy or not. It is his heart attitude.
j. Enjoying life is not determined by what’s happening on the outside, all around us. It is determined by what’s going on inside… in our heart… our inner man… our inner attitudes.
k. This passage teaches that a merry person with a merry heart is going to be merry in any environment… in any set of circumstances! A miserable person will also be miserable in any circumstances.
l. People find themselves in unhappy circumstances all the time—and think that if they could just change their circumstances or their environment, that life would be happy again.
• For this reason we have a high divorce rate.
• For this reason, we have folks running from one church to another.
• For this reason we have people who face problems and pack up their goods and move to Miami, hoping that life will be happy there… in a new environment… leaving all my problems behind.
• The problem is, if we leave our spouse, leave our local church, leave our job, or even leave our country because we are not happy… we are not really leaving our problem behind.
• SELF is the problem… and there isn’t any way to leave him behind. He goes with you to Miami, or to a new church… or to a new marriage.
• That kind of thinking is wrong! If life is miserable, it is a heart problem, not an environmental problem!
• As a Christian, the right way to deal with our real problem (self) is the cross!
• That miserable old man will follow us everywhere and make life miserable until we by faith learn to leave him on the cross where he belongs!
• As a new creature in Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, we will then learn to be CONTENT. And even if dinner is a bowl of plain rice, it will be a continual feast if our heart is full of the joy of the Lord!
4. Obvious application: those who have a merry heart ought to try to cheer up and encourage those who are afflicted and are miserable.
a. One way to cheer them is to try to improve their circumstances. (if they are poor, give money; if they are weak, do something for them that they are not able to do)
b. But the best way to cheer up a person who is miserable, is to point him to the Source of unending joy: Christ.
• The money you give will be an immediate, but short-lived encouragement…
• Because that kind of help doesn’t change the HEART of the person. After the money is gone, then he’s back to his old, miserable, square one.
• But if we teach a person to focus on that which is eternal, then he too can learn to have a continual feast, regardless of his earthly condition.
• If we teach a person to encourage himself in the Lord, he has a valuable skill! (David at Ziklag)
• It is the difference between giving a hungry man a fish and teaching him how to fish.
Proverbs 15:16
Better is a Little
Introduction:
1. Vs. 16 and 17 are 2 of the 19 “better than” proverbs in this book.
2. The purpose of “better than” verses is to give us wisdom in making choices.
a. We will all face similar issues in our lives.
b. Sometimes it’s hard to know what to do.
c. God gives His advice: 19 times God says, “This is better than that!”
d. The implication is obvious: choose that which is better!
e. That simplifies decision making considerably.
3. Whenever we approach a fork in the road and have to decide which way to go… read through the book of Proverbs.
a. There are lots of proverbs which tell us “this way is better than that way.”
b. Following God’s counsel is always the best way to travel through life’s journeys.
4. This proverb deals with the fear of the Lord.
a. Better is a LITTLE with the fear of the Lord than great treasures accompanied by trouble.
b. Solomon pictures a crossroad: a right turn leads to you becoming a poor man but God-fearing. A left turn leads to you becoming wealthy—but a life of turmoil.
c. When faced with that choice, turn right. Solomon says that it is better to go right.
d. Prov. 1:29 – For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD—the fear of God is a choice—a choice we make every day… a test we face continually throughout our lives.
16a Better is little with the fear of the LORD
1. Solomon contrasts the following in this verse:
a. Little with great treasures (poverty vs. wealth)
• Prov. 16:8 – the same contrast is made between little and great revenues.
• Little in both passages means a little money: poverty.
b. Fearing God vs. trouble
2. The fear of the Lord.
a. Ps. 111:10 – is the beginning of wisdom.
b. Prov. 8:13 – leads to hating evil.
c. Prov. 14:27 – is a fountain of life and safety.
d. Ps. 19:9 – “is clean” = cleanses and purifies.
e. II Cor. 7:1 – holiness is perfected in the fear of God.
f. Ps. 89:7 – Godly fear is an integral part of worship. —God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.
g. Ps. 147:11 – The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him.
h. Ps. 103:13 – Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
i. Ps. 103:11 – For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
j. Ps. 115:13 – He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.
k. Ecc. 8:12 – Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him.
3. The fear of the Lord is OVERWHELMINGLY good for the believer.
a. Solomon’s point here is that it is overwhelmingly good even if it must be accompanied by poverty (a little in this life) it is far better than the other route.
b. The eternal SPIRITUAL treasures of being a God-fearing man, woman, or child by far surpass any temporal, physical treasures that may be accumulated by violating our attitude as a God-fearer.
c. If you come to a crossroad in life and are forced to give up or leave something behind, leave the wealth or opportunity for wealth behind. Don’t ever leave behind your fear of God.
d. It is far better to have just a little of this world’s goods and the fear of the Lord than to choose a path of great earthly treasures which cause you to COMPROMISE the fear of God.
e. I Tim. 6:6 – godliness with contentment is GREAT gain—in this life and in the life to come.
f. James 2:5 – God has called the poor of the world to be RICH in faith.
4. There are many occasions in life where a man is faced with this kind of choice; crossroad in life- where important decisions must be made.
a. The fear of the Lord causes us to HATE iniquity and to DEPART from evil.
b. When you have been out of work and are desperate for a job, and have an opportunity for a good job IF you embellish your resume… would you do it?
c. Or, your boss offers you a promotion with a huge pay increase, BUT it requires working every Sunday.
d. You live in a country where Christianity is persecuted. Christians are denied decent jobs and are relegated to servitude if they fear God and make their faith known. If they fear man and refuse to take a stand, their income is secure.
e. At such crossroads in life, it is as if the devil were standing there appealing to the flesh: “Choose the way of wealth; forget fearing God—that is the way of losers. That will get you nowhere!”
f. It is also as if the philosophy of the world makes its appeal to us at that crossroad too: appealing to the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
g. Then of course, there is the old self-life who HATES a little for self. He would prefer the great treasures for self. He too is an influence to take a wrong turn.
h. But if we fear God, we will put all those thoughts aside and choose that which pleases Him—and we do so because we fear displeasing Him.
16b Than great treasure and trouble therewith.
1. Great treasure in context.
a. In this proverb, the great treasure is seen in contrast to the little in the first part of the proverb.
b. There is an assumption made in this proverb that this particular great treasure is gained by means of rejecting the fear of God.
c. This choice is seen here as the OPPOSITE of choosing a little with the fear of God. This is choosing a lot without the fear of God.
d. This involves making a conscious choice to ABANDON the fear of God in order to obtain earthly wealth and prosperity.
e. Not ALL treasures are obtained that way. Consider Solomon. He was the wealthiest king Israel ever had—and his treasures were a gift from the Lord.
f. But the context of this proverb indicates a particular KIND of treasure.
2. This great treasure (material advantage) is accumulated or obtained by violating or abandoning the fear of the Lord.
a. The examples cited above illustrate the type of choices and crossroads where decisions need to be made.
b. If we choose to fear God, sometimes it results in poverty.
c. If we choose to fear man, compromise our fear of the Lord, choose NOT to depart from evil, we may prosper in the world…
3. BUT there are strings attached.
a. It may be the way to prosperity, but not the way to peace and rest.
b. It may be the way to financial gain, but to spiritual loss.
4. Trouble:
a. Defined: has a wide range of meaning
• Strong’s: tumult; confusion; disquietude; discomfiture; destruction; trouble; vexation; disturbance; turmoil; disquietude; panic.
• Turmoil seems to fit best here.
b. The one who rejects the fear of the Lord and chooses the way of prosperity at the expense of godliness is in for serious trouble!
• Those who receive great treasures the honest and godly way have a blessing from the Lord.
• Those who use their great treasures for the glory of God receive a blessing from the Lord.
• But those who receive great treasures by rejecting the fear of the Lord and choose mammon over God do so to their own peril.
• This crossroad decision forces the believer to choose masters: Christ or mammon… which way will I go? For whom do I live—Christ or self? Whom do I really serve?
• It is far better to choose the route that leaves us with little to show in this life, but treasures in heaven!
• Those who choose to reject the fear of the Lord and walk down the opposite pathway of earthly riches will have TROUBLE… from without and from within.
5. He can expect trouble and turmoil from WITHOUT.
a. One of those roads led to God’s protection, satisfaction, contentment, mercy, pity, and blessing.
b. This man has chosen the OPPOSITE way!
c. When a man steps OUT OF the way of fearing God is also stepping out of the way of God’s pity, mercy, protection, and blessing, he is on a dangerous path spiritually—even if he does prosper in the world.
d. He may obtain the riches, but he soon discovers that the way of the transgressor is hard.
e. Treasures obtained by abandoning the fear of the Lord come with strings attached… a heavy price…
→ Consider Lot—choosing the land that was lush: Sodom. He had to flee for his life.
→ Consider Achan who coveted riches and was stoned to death.
→ Consider Gehazi, the servant of Elisha who did not fear God but chose mammon—and was smitten with leprosy!
→ Consider Ananias and Saphira—who did not fear God, but coveted wealth… and were struck dead by God. THEN the church walked in the fear of God and was multiplied!
6. He can expect trouble and turmoil from WITHIN.
a. The believer who forsakes the fear of God for earthly gain will NEVER have the peace of God ruling in his heart.
b. He will not have contentment.
c. He will not have rest of conscience—but will be plagued with guilt and remorse.
d. When a man forsakes the fear of God for monetary gain, things may go well for him on the outside (the ungodly who prosper in the world seem to have no plagues as other men)… but if he is saved, it is a different story on the inside!
• I Tim. 6:9-10 – The motivation for rejecting the fear of the Lord in this proverb is the love of money… two masters… choosing the way of prosperity OVER the way of the Lord.
• This man will never be at rest. He will live with guilt and shame until he repents… and chooses the fear of the Lord.
e. Prov. 10:22 – The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
• When we choose God and put Him first, He often blesses us abundantly with the things we need for this life…
• And far better is it to possess material goods that come with God’s blessing than (like Achan) possess things that come with His curse!
Proverbs 15:17
What Love and Hatred Can Do
Introduction:
1. This proverb is quite similar to vs.16, with a few differences.
a. They both contrast poverty with wealth.
• Vs. 16 – little vs. great treasures
• Vs. 17 – a poor man’s meal vs. a wealthy man’s meal.
b. They both teach a similar truth: poverty can be better than wealth, and often is. That which really determines one’s wealth is not his earthly treasures or his lavish meals, but his heart attitude.
c. There is also a notable difference between the two:
• Vs. 16 – the heart attitude that makes poverty better is the fear of the Lord.
• Vs. 17 – the heart attitude that makes poverty better than wealth is love.
17a Better is a dinner of herbs where love is…
1. In one sense, the contrast appears to be between a bowl of vegetables vs. a steak dinner.
a. For most folks, there is no contest! Steak dinner is better!
b. The contrast is between poverty and wealth… a poor man’s meal and a wealthy man’s meal.
c. When viewed at that level, anyone and everyone—rich and poor alike would choose the steak dinner if they had their choice!
d. Given that choice, choose the steak dinner. It’s way better!
2. But the REAL contrast in the passage is between a steak dinner with a side order of hatred… and a bowl of broccoli with a side order of love.
a. If you have to eat the whole thing—side order and all, then the dinner of herbs is better!
b. A poor man’s meal of plain vegetables is better than the rich man’s banquet, if it is accompanied by love.
c. In this case, choose the herbs! It is far better!
d. All things being equal, no one in their right mind would choose poverty over being prosperous. That would be like choosing sickness over health.
e. But take a deeper look at this proverb.
f. Sometimes, things come with STRINGS attached. This is what Solomon is getting at in this proverb.
3. A deeper principle appears upon further thought…
a. Many things in life APPEAR to be superior on the surface, until we dig a little deeper and read the fine print.
b. When offered a steak dinner in life—be sure to ask what comes WITH it!
c. On the surface, of course a steak dinner is superior to a bowl of rice. But when the whole package is examined, the rice dish might prove to be better!
d. If you are offered a new position at work—a raise from a bowl of rice to a steak dinner, so to speak—be sure to ask what comes with it!
e. On the surface, the pay and position might seem to be better, but when the whole package is examined (all the new responsibilities that come with it) the old job and lower pay might be better in the long run!
f. Sometimes choices on the surface seem like a no-brainer!
→ Of course steak is better dinner. Why bother giving it any further thought?
→ Advertisers prey on this principle: they have ways of wording their sales pitch that make buying their product SOUND like an obvious choice. Why look any further? Why read the fine print?
→ Of course I should go to this college; that’s where all my friends are going! It’s obviously better, why bother praying about it? (Do you see the potential danger in this kind of thinking?)
→ Lot looked out over the landscape and saw a very appealing lush valley… the lush valley compared to the other drier areas was like comparing a steak dinner to bowl of rice. Of course you choose the lush valley! Why think about it? Why investigate further? Why pray about it? The choice is obvious.
→ BUT, the lush valley of Sodom came with a side dish… it was an evil city!
4. There is something that can make the poor man’s dinner BETTER than the rich man’s feast: LOVE.
a. Love can SWEETEN the most meager portions in life and make them better than prosperity.
b. It is far better to be poor and have genuine LOVE in the family… displayed at mealtime… than to have 6 cars, 3 homes, 2 boats, 3 bank accounts, and 4 lawyers ready to divide it all up in divorce court!
c. This is Solomon’s main point in this proverb.
d. LOVE can transform poverty into something BETTER than wealth!
e. Psalm 133:1 – dwelling in unity (and love) is SO pleasant!
• When family members dwell in love, they can have a grand time around a table spread with peanut butter sandwiches.
• They can enjoy their mealtime far better than the royal family can enjoy their banquet in the palace… when accompanied by hatred.
• The same principle applies in the local church: when there is love and unity in the body, the fellowship is a taste of heaven on earth!
• When there is no love or unity—but hatred, it can be a taste of just the opposite!
f. Prov. 15:15 – A merry heart can turn any meal into a feast!
• This is the same principle in different words… with a slightly different twist.
• Here that which sweetens up a poor meal and is able to turn it into a feast (make it better) is a merry heart—a sweet disposition—a happy, joyous attitude.
• The heart attitude towards those sharing a meal with us can make a poor man’s meal a feast!
• No wonder the Lord instituted the Lord’s Table –an occasion when believers sit around a table to share a meal with one another… and no wonder it is to be preceded by a time of self-examination!
• Without love for the brethren and love for the Lord –we turn the Lord’s Table into a mockery.
• But a simple cracker and juice WITH LOVE, is a FEAST!
• In vs.17 Solomon states that LOVE for those sitting around ANY table can turn it into a feast… including your family’s kitchen table… even if it’s only leftovers!
• Thus, in the immediate context of vs.15-17, Solomon lists 3 things that will transform meager conditions into banquet-like conditions:
→ A merry heart (vs.15)
→ A fear of God (vs.16)
→ Love (vs.17)
• Thus, if we want a continual feast,… if we want to transform our meager portion in life into something BETTER than a feast, what REALLY needs transforming is not the condition of our bank roll, the condition of our earthly circumstances, but the condition of our heart!
• I have known both types of people: God-fearing folks who love the Lord, love people, and love life, who seem to be eternally cheerful though not well off financially… and I have known some miserable wealthy folks who, though they possess many things, don’t seem to be able to enjoy any of them.
• It is far better to love the Lord, love people, and love life… even if you do have to eat rice.
• It is better to eat rice and enjoy it and be satisfied, than to eat steak and not enjoy the meal.
17b Than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.
1. This man has a stalled ox for his meal.
a. This is a fatted calf—a desirable meal of luxury!
b. This speaks of the meal of a well to do man… a wealthy man… prosperous in the world.
c. He is able to afford the “best.”
d. But Solomon’s point is that his meal is not really the best!
e. Everyone would look upon this man’s circumstances and agree that this meal is best… this man is truly BLESSED!
2. BUT—the steak dinner comes with a side order of HATRED.
a. This hatred is powerful enough to REVERSE his blessings.
b. Hatred undermines his capacity to ENJOY his blessings.
c. Possessing material blessings does not guarantee that the owner is able to ENJOY them.
3. A bad attitude… a bitter spirit… a lack of love… can RUIN the best of events.
a. It ruins a banquet here.
b. It can ruin a trip to Disneyland too!
c. It can ruin all your efforts to go camping.
d. It can ruin a very expensive ski trip to Vail.
e. It can ruin a first class suite on a cruise to Hawaii.
f. Has it ever happened to you?
• You planned this big family vacation for months, saved all year for it, and then when you finally hop in the car to go—tempers flare… bad attitudes boil up… hurtful words are spoken… the atmosphere is poisoned.
• Suddenly your dream vacation is no fun… you almost feel like heading home.
g. Try this: pull the car over… have a family prayer time… confess your sin of an angry, bitter spirit… apologize to those you hurt—and then go to Disneyland and enjoy the rest of the vacation!
4. The cure for the issue Solomon raises is to deal with the attitude of our heart.
a. A merry heart doesn’t need a trip to Vail or Disneyland to have an enjoyable time.
b. With love and a merry heart—a meagerly picnic at Billerica common can be as enjoyable as a trip to Vail.
c. Just as a good spirit can SWEETEN poverty and make it better than wealth, a hateful spirit can SOUR wealth and make it worse than poverty!
d. Prov. 21:19 – if the attitude in the house is contentious and bitter—life in the wilderness is better than living in a comfortable home!
e. Heart attitude is everything.
f. There are many extremely wealthy people who are so miserable, hateful, suspicious, jealous, etc… that they are unable to ENJOY the physical blessings they possess.
5. Remember, the MAIN contrast here is not between the poverty and wealth, but between love vs. hate—the spirit of the man or woman.
a. Solomon mentions the possibility of a wealthy man with a hateful spirit.
b. Of course, it is equally possible for a poor man to have a hateful spirit too. That’s a subject for another proverb!
• The BEST situation is the steak dinner with love.
• But if you have to choose between steak dinner and hatred or a bowl of vegetables and love—choose LOVE!
• It is superior—far more enjoyable.
Proverbs 15:18
Wrath
Introduction:
1. This proverb states that the man (woman or young person) that is full of wrath causes trouble wherever they go.
2. In particular, they stir up STRIFE.
3. But the one who controls his anger has the power to bring about peace.
4. The power to start a fire or to put out a fire in relationships with other people lies within the breast of man.
18a A wrathful man stirreth up strife:
A. Wrathful Defined
1. Strong’s: heat; rage; hot displeasure; indignation; anger; wrath; venom; poison; (implying that uncontrolled anger is like injecting poison into a relationship).
2. It speaks of the he heat and burning feeling one can have when one is emotionally worked up and in strife and turmoil.
3. Wrath is often associated with FOLLY in Proverbs. Fools break out in anger. Wise men hold it in. Prov. 27:3, 4.
B. Stir Up Defined
1. Stir up; contend; meddle; strive; be stirred up; wage war against; excite oneself against; foment; provoke; meddle.
C. Strife
1. Uncontrolled wrath always results in strife… contention… fighting.
2. Prov. 30:33 – forcing wrath produces more strife—like continually blowing one’s nose results in a nosebleed.
3. Prov. 29:22—an angry man stirs up strife.
a. Trouble and contention follow this man around.
b. But he isn’t the poor innocent victim of circumstances. It’s his FAULT! His anger produces the strife and contention.
c. Wrath and anger produce strife; fighting—wherever they are manifested: home; school; work; neighborhoods; etc.
D. Consequences of Uncontrolled Wrath
1. Prov. 14:17 – He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.
a. Solomon states that the angry man does FOOLISH things in his anger.
→ Anger causes us to do and say things that we would never do or say with a cool head.
→ And then you have to live with the aftermath.
→ Have YOU ever said something foolish when angry? Have you ever done anything stupid when angry? Then you are living proof of this proverb. (I am living proof too!)
b. Solomon suggests in the second part of this proverb that people end up HATING YOU because of the foolish things you do and say when anger takes over.
→ There are serious consequences to submitting to anger and letting it take over.
→ They may even HATE you as a result of your anger.
→ Angry men make a lot of enemies along the way.
→ You say and do foolish things. People won’t like you! You will gradually lose your friends. (Cf. Prov. 22:24 – wise people will stay away!)
→ Prov. 22:10 – Strife ceases when the source of the strife is removed.
1. When it is discovered that the SOURCE of all the strife in the office, or the church, or in a group of friends is YOUR ANGER… those folks may not want you around any more… and can you blame them?!
2. Get rid of the trouble maker—the one who will not control his anger—and the trouble ceases!
3. Before too long folks will begin to notice that when the hot head is not around, things are much more peaceful… more unity… a better atmosphere.
4. One hothead can really spoil the atmosphere in a local church, a home, an office, a classroom, a team, etc.
5. Don’t YOU be that hot head… because before too long, folks will notice that YOU are the source of their strife and will want you OUT of the picture.
c. Uncontrolled anger can RUIN relationships! It can turn people against you. It can cause people to hate you. It will make life miserable for you. It complicates life.
→ Hence, CONTROL your anger!
→ Why go through life having to continually put out fires… continually mending broken fences… continually trying to restore broken relationships… continually trying to put Humpty back together again!
→ It makes so much MORE sense, to put all that energy and effort into controlling one’s temper in the first place…
→ Preventing fires is much easier than putting them out.
→ An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.
→ It only takes a moment to blow up and do and say something stupid. It could take the rest of the week to try to REVERSE the consequences of that anger.
→ It only takes a moment to blow up and hurt someone’s feelings. It could take a year to restore those feelings back to where they should be.
→ Rather than spending the rest of our days putting out fires in our personal relationships, work on preventing those fires from get started in the first place.
18b But he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
A. Slow to Anger
1. Defined: these two words combine to give the meaning of patience… a patient man… longsuffering… meekness… not short fused.
a. This attitude (longsuffering; patient; meek) will go a long way to reducing strife and friction in a relationship.
b. Ps. 103:8 – the Lord is slow to anger. We should be too.
2. Prov. 14:29 – the man who is slow to wrath is of GREAT understanding. That is wisdom in practice!
3. Prov. 19:11 – deferring anger is a sign of wisdom and discretion.
4. Prov. 16:32 – he is better… more powerful than a mighty warrior!
5. James 1:19 – we too are commanded to be slow to wrath.
a. God wants to spare us from all the heartache, broken relationships, and other problems that we bring upon ourselves by not controlling our tempers.
b. Of course, controlling one’s anger must be the work of the Holy Spirit in us.
c. On our own, we are helpless to control anger—try as we may! Anger just happens in the flesh!
d. Only by being filled with the Spirit will we control our anger. The fruit of the Spirit is self-control!
e. This means being absolutely YIELDED to the Lord… holding nothing back… surrendered so that God is able to work in us both to will and to DO of His good pleasure: that we be meek, mild, longsuffering, and patient—like the Lord Jesus.
f. If we are unyielded in one area, the result is the FLESH is in control… and flesh often manifests itself in anger. Therefore, be yielded in EVERY area, if we expect God’s power and victory in this one!
B. Appeaseth Strife
1. Appease Defined:
a. Strong’s: to be quiet; be tranquil; be at peace; be quiet; rest; lie still; be undisturbed; to produce tranquility.
b. To be at rest (Josh. 11:23 – the whole land rested from war.)
2. Not only does patience, meekness, and longsuffering PREVENT strife from arising, but once it does arise, this same quality will go a long way to appeasing it…
a. Appeasing anger is like putting water on a flame… like the balm in Gilead… a calming, soothing effect… bring rest where there was once war…
b. God would have the believer to be a peacemaker.
c. Rather than loving controversy and stirring up strife, we should seek to appease it… seek to put strife to rest…
d. We should endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3)
3. Prov. 15:1; – a soft answer turns away wrath.
a. It takes patience to reply with a soft answer when someone has just yelled at you and said some mighty unkind things about you!
b. Any idiot can start a fight… and any idiot can shout back.
c. But a man who is SLOW to anger (meek; mild mannered; patient) can turn wrath and strife away.
d. That man can END a fight. It takes a lot more wisdom, grace, patience, and inner strength to END a fight than it does to start one.
4. Ecc. 10:4 – yielding pacifieth great offences.
5. So often we assume that the way to end a fight or an argument is to WIN the fight or argument.
a. Solomon says the way to end strife is to control our spirit… our wrath…
b. A controlled spirit is able to control the atmosphere.
c. You don’t end an argument by demanding the right to have the last word. You end an argument by YIELDING.
d. A soft answer turns away wrath—not a loud, strong, counter attack.
e. Wrath is explosive, like gasoline. It won’t put out a fire, but will fuel the fire.
f. Water is not explosive. It is MILD compared to gasoline. The mild water will put out the flames and end the heat.
g. Meekness, yieldedness, longsuffering, and patience will cause the strife to cease.
h. The one who is patient—slow to anger—will APPEASE strife.
i. What a valuable and useful quality for the Spirit of God to develop in each one of us… till Christ be formed in you!
Proverbs 15:19
More Problems We Bring on Ourselves
Introduction:
1. In this section, Solomon speaks about various ways in which we bring trouble upon ourselves.
a. Vs.17 – greed – seeking earthly treasures often brings trouble to our homes.
b. Vs. 18 – uncontrolled anger also brings trouble to our lives… a life full of strife!
c. Vs. 19 – now Solomon speaks about how laziness can bring much trouble into our lives.
2. These are good things to know… for if we know these things, then we should be able to avoid much of this trouble in our lives.
a. Sometimes we as people INVITE trouble into our lives. Solomon teaches us here how to AVOID it.
b. By revealing the doors through which trouble enters our lives and homes… we then know which doors to SHUT in order to keep trouble out.
c. Once we know this, it is then up to us to KEEP those doors shut!
d. By knowing and practicing this, we are empowered with the God-given capacity to make our lives easier!
e. Let’s face it. Not all, but much of the trouble we face in life is self-inflicted!
19a The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns:
A. The Way of the Slothful Man
1. Slothful Defined: sluggish; lazy; pertaining to be slow to take any action; suggesting a lack of discipline or initiative; as a moral failure.
a. Solomon is describing the LAZY man, woman, or child.
• This is the person who doesn’t want to do his work;
• He always wants to do his chores mañana…
• He lets things pile up so much, that when he does decide to tackle the job, it is a mountain of work… overwhelming… too much… so he doesn’t bother trying.
• He lets work pile up because he lacks personal discipline.
• He lacks initiative and motivation. He needs a stick of dynamite placed under him to do his chores.
• This is the housewife who allows green fur grow in the refrigerator.
• This is the student who takes the book out of the library the night before the book report is due.
• This is the employee who won’t tackle an assigned project until the final warning comes from the front office.
• This is the teenager who won’t clean their room until the consequences are made clear: like no meals until it is done… or you’re missing the activity on Friday night if your room is not cleaned…
• Slothfulness takes on many forms and shapes.
b. This word is found only in the book of Proverbs… but appears often in this book—14 times.
c. This is so perhaps because there are a lot of good lessons for young men to learn from the sluggard… and that was Solomon’s purpose in writing the book—to give discretion and wisdom to young men.
2. The WAY of the slothful man revealed in Proverbs…
a. Prov. 6:9-10 – He sleeps and takes it easy when he should be working.
b. Prov. 10:26 – when he is assigned a job to do, he takes forever to finish it!
c. Prov. 20:4 – when it is time to plow, he comes up with an excuse:
• “It’s too cold out!” Lazy people have no lack of excuses for their laziness.
• 22:13 – “There’s a lion in the street!”… It’s too dangerous! This is just another excuse.
d. Prov. 21:25 – he refuses to labor. He is unwilling to work.
• This is not the man who, through no fault of his own has no job.
• This is the man who has work available to him, but he refuses to do it!
• It’s beneath him; he’s too important for a tedious task like that; etc…
• Prov. 26:16 – Pride is associated with laziness.
e. This is the WAY of the sluggard in Proverbs:
• He invents excuses not to work; he sleeps too much and is late or doesn’t show up; he has no motivation to work; and if he does work, he takes forever finishing the job; and sometimes he outright refuses to work.
• And this is a MORAL problem. It is not entirely genetic; it is not entirely cultural; it is not entirely a physical problem.
• It is a MORAL problem. Let’s call it what it is: laziness is SIN.
f. It is the result of BOTH nurture and nature.
• It is nurtured in children when parents don’t TRAIN their children to work…
» When children are left to themselves and not chastened or disciplined, they become UN-disciplined!
» In this sense it is LEARNED behavior.
» Parents who do everything for their children are actually nurturing… cultivating… encouraging laziness in their children.
• It is nature as well. It is part of our fallen nature to be lazy.
» It comes naturally… just like any other sin.
» Hence, this tendency in our fallen nature must be overcome by the indwelling Holy Spirit in the believer.
» Perhaps you know unsaved people who are not lazy.
» Well, that may be so—but they are diligent because they exert much EFFORT to overcome laziness.
» And they are MOTIVATED by many things to work hard (greed; pride; self respect; even phileo love… a natural, family love; etc…)
» Either way, it requires effort and motivation to overcome the natural tendency in us all to be lazy… and to let someone else do the work.
B. A Hedge of Thorns
1. A hedge of thorns described…
a. The way of the slothful man is characterized by a hedge of thorns.
b. If you are walking down the way… a pathway… a road… and you come to a hedge of thorns, it is a serious OBSTACLE to your progress!
c. That is the main point of this proverb: laziness will HINDER your progress in life… in every possible realm.
d. It will be an obstacle at your place of employment… in your home life… and especially in your spiritual life.
e. And laziness is a hedge of thorns (an obstacle; a hindrance) that we impose upon our own selves!
f. A hedge is hard enough to climb over as we travel down a pathway… but a hedge of thorns is especially hard to get over.
2. And when viewed from this perspective, it is so irrational for us to put a difficult obstacle in our OWN way!
a. Solomon is attempting to warn the lazy man about the LONG TERM consequences of his laziness.
b. The lazy man is lazy (presumably) because he does not like to do hard things… he likes to take it easy…
c. In the short term taking it easy might SEEM like the easy route.
• Think of the high school grad who is too lazy to go on to college.
• He thinks it’s easier to skip going on to school… so he opts for what he thinks is the easy route in life.
• In the short term, he is working at McDonald’s and has more spending money and more free time than his friends at college.
• In the short term he has taken the easy route.
d. But in the long term, it is the more DIFFICULT route!
• To his dismay, by and by, he discovers that by NOT going to school he has actually set up many roadblocks that he will have to hurdle LATER in life.
• Roadblocks full of painful thorns!
• When his friends are out of school, they will walk down life’s pathway and have many doors opened to them… because of their diligence.
• But their lazy classmate will walk down the same pathway in life and where his hard working friends find open doors, he finds many obstacles to his progress… hedges of thorns… obstacles of his own making!
• Don’t forget Solomon’s point here: Laziness is NOT the easy route in life. It is by far the more difficult route!
e. Apply this to our spiritual lives…
• The spiritually lazy man invents excuses too: “I can’t seem to get up in time for Sunday school. I don’t have time to read the Bible every day. I’m too tired on Wednesday nights to come to prayer meeting.” (There’s a lion in the street!)
• But when out of laziness we excuse ourselves from spiritual exercise (work!) we are building hedges of thorns for our pathway.
• Those hedges of thorns will eventually make life DIFFICULT for us a little farther down that pathway.
• We are constructing obstacles that will eventually HINDER our development and progress spiritually…
• You don’t know how many times as a pastor I have had to deal with this sort of thing.
» I spend six months teaching on an important practical subject during the evening service—because I know that ignorance of this subject causes believers to be confused and perhaps to stumble.
» Then someone (who does not come to evening service) comes to me all upset because he is confused over this issue…
» Could it be that the trouble and confusion he is dealing with is a thorny hedge of his own making… because he was too tired to come to evening service… or because there was a lion in the street?!
» When we are spiritually lazy and slothful, we bring MUCH spiritual trouble into our lives and into our families… and into the church!
» Heb. 6:11-12 – be diligent, not slothful.
→ What precipitated this exhortation?
→ Cf. 5:14 – they were not exercising themselves spiritually…
→ Spiritual laziness resulted in a thorny hedge for these believers… they lost their discernment… and became dull… blind… and immature.
→ Their spiritual laziness not only hindered their spiritual progress. It resulted in spiritual regression.
19b But the way of the righteous is made plain
1. Notice that the opposite of a slothful man is a righteous man in this proverb!
2. The righteous man is one who does things right.
a. He does his work diligently… and on time.
b. He doesn’t make up excuses.
c. He doesn’t refuse to do his chores.
d. He doesn’t procrastinate.
e. He doesn’t take a nap when it’s time to work.
f. He doesn’t take forever to get his job done.
3. The righteous man takes the RIGHT route.
a. It might be more difficult up front… but in the long run, it makes his life EASIER!
b. Instead of finding his way strewn with thorny hedges, his way is PLAIN.
• Plain = to cast or lift up.
• It is used in good and evil senses.
• In an evil sense it is used of being lifted up in pride or rebellion.
• But here it is used of the process of “lifting up” a road and making it a bit higher than the land around it for a smoother ride.
4. Consider the trouble from which the hard worker is delivered:
a. Prov. 10:26 – people will be irritated with you—loss of friends.
b. 13:4 – a life overflowing with unfulfilled desires… always craving and never obtaining.
c. 20:4 – poverty and hunger is the result of laziness. That is a thorny hedge of his own making. (24:30-34)
Proverbs 15:20
A Wise Son
Introduction:
1. In this section, Solomon is speaking about various ways in which we can improve the quality of our home-lives.
a. vs. 15 – a merry heart brings a continual feast… regardless of the external conditions.
b. vs. 16 – the fear of the Lord is better for a household than great treasures!
c. vs. 17 – Love with a plate of vegetables at the family table is better than a steak dinner with hatred.
d. vs. 18 – the ability to control one’s anger removes strife from the home.
e. vs. 19 – diligence and hard work makes life plain and easy… as opposed to laziness which erects hedges of thorns to obstruct the way.
f. vs. 20 – now Solomon speaks about the joy that is brought into a home by means of wisdom.
2. Note the contrasts also:
a. Wise/foolish
b. Glad/despise
c. Father/mother
d. Son/man
20a A wise son maketh a glad father:
1. A wise son brings joy and gladness into the home.
2. When a son makes wise decisions in life, he makes his parents proud… glad… joyous.
3. This puts responsibility on the children in the home.
a. They are a vital part of the atmosphere in the home.
b. They can add or subtract from the peace and joy at home by their behavior and by their choices in life.
4. Faithful, good, obedient, wise children are the JOY of their parents.
a. III John 4 – What a joy for parents to see their children grow up and be saved… and to walk with the Lord… and to bring their children up in the things of the Lord. No greater joy!
b. Ps. 127:5 – When they turn out right, HAPPY is the man who has his quiver FULL of them!
c. Prov. 23:15-16 – My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. 16Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
• In a sense, the joy of a parent is contingent upon the way their children turn out.
d. Prov. 29:3 – Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.
e. Prov. 23:24-25 – not just the father but BOTH parents will rejoice in a wise, righteous son!
f. And parents OUGHT to have joy from their children… seeing that they have poured so much into them!
20b But a foolish man despiseth his mother.
1. The foolish son does not bring joy into the home, but grief, sorrow, worry, and heartache.
a. Often the foolish son was pampered too much and given too much…
b. And after all he received FROM his parents, this only makes his sin in despising his parents all the more sinful and makes it all the more sorrowful to the parents!
c. A foolish son is a grief to his MOTHER…
d. Prov. 17:25 – But he is also a grief to his father!
2. But note the subtle SHIFT Solomon makes here.
a. One would expect that he would contrast gladness with grief or sorrow.
b. This IS the contrast in Prov. 10:1 = glad dad or a heavyhearted mother.
c. Instead, in this proverb, he contrasts gladness with despising.
• Prov. 15:5 – The foolish son is characterized by NOT listening to advice and NOT taking heed to counsel.
• Hence, it is likely that there would be much FRICTION between him and his parents.
• His reaction to this rising tension in the home is scorn. He despises his parents’ counsel and advice—and proves it by not following it!
d. The wise son brings GLADNESS into the home.
e. The foolish son brings HATRED into the home.
f. Note also that Solomon shifted from the father’s reaction to the wise son… to the heart attitude of the foolish son.
g. Instead of making his parents proud of him, and filling them with joy and gladness (that is what LOVE would do)… the actions of the foolish son demonstrate that he DESPISES his mother… his parents.
→ Despise: to hold in utter contempt; to have no respect for; disdain.
→ He SHOULD love his parents and demonstrate it by showing respect. The fool does not. He is not demonstrating love… just the opposite.
h. It is not love to hurt one’s parents. It is not love to bring them grief and sorrow. It is not love to cause them to worry.
i. Love is willing to sacrifice self for others. The fool is not willing to sacrifice self.
j. His only goal in life is to PLEASE himself… regardless of how it affects others… including his parents.
k. And in the process of pleasing himself, he does some very foolish things and makes hasty and unwise decisions.
l. When you make a decision that you KNOW hurts your parents, you are despising them.
m. When you do something you know will grieve your parents—that is not love. That is the opposite of love… it is an act of hatred… it is despising one’s parents.
n. Love is kind, love vaunteth not itself, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth.
o. Love is selfless and thinks of others.
3. Note also that the wise SON is contrasted to a foolish MAN.
a. That is because (apart from repentance) foolish sons turn into foolish men. Wisdom doesn’t always come with age!
b. Notice I didn’t say they grow up to become foolish men. They don’t ever grow up! The folly that is normally associated with youth and inexperience stays with them the rest of their days!
c. Thus, even when they are 30, 40, 50 years old—they are STILL making foolish decisions.
d. And they are STILL a grief to their parents.
e. And their ongoing actions STILL constitute hatred towards their parents… demonstrating they have no concern for their parents’ feelings.
f. And even though their bodies have developed to adulthood, they did not. They are still, foolish, immature, inexperienced, childish, and self-centered… there are a lot of 60 year old teenagers… who never grew up!
g. And the consequences of their folly continues with them the rest of their days… and is a grief to their parents the rest of THEIR days!
h. Prov. 23:22 – Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
• Any son will do a few foolish things in their youth and inexperience.
• But when that foolish son becomes a man… and retains his folly, there is a point when those foolish indiscretions become HATRED and despising one’s parents…
• Old age for parents should be a time of peace and rest.
• Prov. 29:17 – Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul. (This implies that the son RECEIVES the correction—the problem is that foolish sons do NOT receive reproof!)
• But there is no peace or rest for the parents of a foolish son.
• The son that ends up in prison or an alcoholic, or lives on the street, or becomes a drug addict… will be a grief to his parents the rest of their lives. They will NEVER get over that entirely.
• But those are burdens that parents will carry to their graves.
• That is HATRED for a son to knowingly put their parents through that!
• And this is perhaps why Solomon speaks of the MOTHER here… because the mother is the one whose heart is more burdened by this folly than the father.
i. Folly is a vicious cycle. If it is not driven from a child, it will continue with that child.
• Prov. 22:15 – Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
• Prov. 19:18 – chasten them while there is hope.
• And if it isn’t driven from him as a child, God has other means of driving folly from a man.
• Prov. 30:17 – The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it. (Poetic language—but you get the point!)
• Justice WILL catch up to a young fool sooner or later… and when it does, it may not be very pretty either!
• Prov. 19:29 – stripes are prepared for the back of fools. (Punishment… if they don’t get the stripes at home from the rod… the judicial system may have to do it—at the State Pen!
Proverbs 15:21
Folly is Joy
Consider the contrasts:
1. Him that is destitute of wisdom / a man of understanding
2. Folly / walking uprightly
3. The joy of a fool / Implied: the joy a man receives by walking uprightly
21a Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom:
1. Fools enjoy their folly. They love doing foolish things.
→ Prov. 14:9 – fools mock at sin.
→ Remember, the fool in Proverbs is foolish morally too.
→ The fool in 15:21 is seen as the opposite of one who walks uprightly. In other words, the walk of this fool is NOT upright!
→ His ways are crooked… dishonest… he doesn’t stay on the straight and narrow, but wanders off.
→ He gets JOY out wandering out of the way. He enjoys his folly.
2. Wicked men LOVE sin…
a. Like a fish with an appetite for the bait, but no consciousness of, and no fear of the hook.
b. Ad campaign against drugs (effective for girls; had the opposite for young boys.)
→ The fear scared the girls off and was effective. The girls were disgusted by the image in the ad.
→ The fear became a challenge and a game for the boys… a sport… The boys thought it was “cool” and said the ad made them want to try the drugs!
→ Prov. 10:23 – it is a sport!
→ Prov. 4:16 – they can’t sleep until they have done mischief. They stay up at night thinking of mischief to get involved in…
c. Consider the folly of many of the extreme sports today.
→ Most of those involved are young boys.
→ You don’t see too many 50-60 year old men jumping off cliffs on skis… or jumping a motorcycle over a school bus… or some of the other foolish stunt.
→ A lot of young boys see those stunts on TV (done by professionals) and try it at home… and get hurt. That is truly foolish.
d. Heb. 11:25 – There is a pleasure to sin. The pleasure is short lived, but the consequences are long lasting.
3. Not only does the wicked fool sin, he DELIGHTS in his sin and folly…
→ Prov. 12:23 – the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness
a. Proclaim: to call; cry; utter a loud sound.
b. He isn’t quiet about it. He shouts out his folly.
→ Prov. 13:16 – a fool layeth open his folly
a. Lay open = to spread out; display.
b. He isn’t embarrassed by it.
c. He isn’t trying to hide it… like a closet drinker.
d. His folly is right out in the open for all to see.
e. He has no shame.
→ Prov. 14:29 – he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly
a. Hasty of spirit—an uncontrolled temper… this is a special kind of folly.
b. Not only does he commit folly, he EXALTS folly!
c. Exalts: to lift up; rise up; to be on high; lofty.
d. The man who blows up instantly makes his folly conspicuous.
e. Everybody knows he’s a fool. Just listen… watch! He proves it every time.
f. He seems to be proud of his foolish temper…
→ Prov. 15:14 – the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness
a. it is sweet in his palate; like ice cream; he can’t live without it
b. Feed: to pasture; tend; graze.
c. The picture is like cattle slowly walking about the field, grazing and feeding… filling up on grass and grain.
d. So too the fool walks about grazing on folly… filling his gut with it.
e. It is his joy; his delight; he eats it up every opportunity that he can.
f. The fool feeds his mind and heart continually with that which is foolish.
g. He feeds on folly by what he watches on TV; the kind of video games he plays; the books he reads; the company he keeps.
h. All of this FEEDS his appetite for folly.
→ Prov. 15:2 – the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.
a. He feeds on folly… fills his mouth with folly.
b. It should be no surprise that folly pours out of his mouth too!
→ Prov. 26:11 – As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
4. This young fool is destitute of wisdom.
a. Margin: void of heart…
b. Destitute: in need of; lacking; needy; in want of; empty.
c. Wisdom: inner man; mind; will; heart; understanding.
d. Solomon is describing a man who is empty in head and heart.
• There is a VOID in his head and heart.
• His appetite for sin and folly PROVE that he is destitute of wisdom… void of head and heart.
e. It is likely that he was warned… but the fool hates to take advice.
• 15:5 – a fool despises his father’s instruction.
• 15:10 – correction is grievous!
• Because he rejects counsel, his head and heart remain empty… void of counsel and wisdom that COULD have enabled him to avoid the folly and its consequences!
• He is often warned, but rejects the counsel and plunges straight on into the folly.
• Prov. 14:16 – a wise man fears, but a fool rages and is confident. This foolish confidence convinces him that he is invincible… and he plunges right into the folly. (I can do this—and won’t get hurt—I won’t get caught!)
5. The ultimate form of his folly is his hatred for the gospel.
a. He loves his sin and folly.
b. Hence, he hates the gospel, because salvation DELIVERS him from his sin and folly!
c. Christ came to save us from our SIN!
d. But that fool can become wise in a moment—by means of repentance. He can choose to turn to God and leave his folly behind!
e. God can convert a sinner into a saint. He can also transform a fool into a wise man.
f. The first step in that transformation is to believe on Christ and be saved!
21b But a man of understanding walketh uprightly.
1. Uprightly
a. Defined: to be right; be straight; be level; be upright; be just; be lawful; be smooth; to be straight.
b. Vs. 19 – his way is made plain—smooth; easy; well paved; less likely to trip up.
c. He is careful, thoughtful, sober, sensible.
d. Eph. 5:15-17 – Wisdom is associated with walking in the will of God. The wise man walks the straight and narrow way… he walks with God… He walks in obedience to God’s Word…
2. Though not stated, it is implied: his upright walk is his joy.
a. There is JOY in walking with God… and receiving God’s blessing in one’s life.
b. Prov. 21:15 – it is a JOY to the just to do what is right.
• Only those who PRACTICE righteousness and justice will delight in justice!
c. Prov. 11:5-6 – he gets joy from doing what is right, and from reaping the benefits of doing what is right.
d. Prov. 14:16 – A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil. That brings him joy—avoiding evil and its ugly consequences.
e. A fool gets his joy from his folly.
f. A truly WISE man will get his joy from God’s wisdom.
g. He loves God and His Word… and he walks in it… feeds on it… is nourished by it… and delights in it!
h. Ps. 40:8 – I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. That is real wisdom.
i. John 4:34 – My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
Proverbs 15:22
Good Counsel
22a Without counsel purposes are disappointed:
HOW does a man find himself without counsel?
1. He refuses to seek it… so he never hears it in the first place.
2. He refuses to receive it. They hear it but reject it, and thus, are without counsel.
WHY would anyone refuse to get counsel?
1. Often it is the result of arrogance. By not seeking counsel we demonstrate that we think we know enough already.
a. Prov. 12:15 – ”The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.”
2. Often it is the result of impulsiveness.
a. We like to act on impulse and gut feeling, rather than reason.
b. We don’t like to take the time to think an issue through… to seek advice and counsel.
c. So rather than listen to words of wisdom, we just do it!
3. Often it is the result of a lack of faith.
a. Why a lack of faith? Because God SAID to seek counsel because we need it. Those who refuse to seek counsel don’t believe God’s word of warning.
b. It is a demonstration of leaning on our OWN understanding… the opposite of faith. We are not trusting in God’s advice, but are trusting in our own wisdom.
c. Prov. 3:5-6 – Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
4. Often it stems from pride. (I don’t need their advice! If I ask for advice, they’ll think I’m foolish.)
WHAT are the results of a lack of counsel?
15:22 – Purposes are disappointed.
1. Like the foolish driver traveling in Boston, trying to get to Kenmore Square, but is too proud to ask directions… and thus spends two hours driving in circles… and is too late for his appointment. His purpose of making the meeting was disappointed…
2. As Christians, we can be just as foolish. There may be a simple way of dealing with a spiritual problem, but we are too proud to ask for help… and thus we wander around in circles for years trying to get there on our own!
3. Without counsel, circumstances arise which defeat them which, with a little consultation and advice, might have been foreseen and prevented.
4. We discover the hard way that an ounce of preventative advice would have saved us from needing the 10 pounds of curative advice!
5. Often, all it takes for plans to be successful is a little tweaking here or there.
6. Wise counsel from people who have expertise in that area might mean the difference between success and failure.
• A coach might transform a lousy batter into a pretty good batter with some simple advice about how to stand or how to hold the bat!
• A skier can be spared falling down many times by taking advice from an expert—something as easy as bending the knees or leaning forward. Such counsel can prevent a fall.
7. How much MORE important is it when it comes to spiritual matters!
• The believer who thinks he knows how to live the Christian life may never ask for help or advice or counsel.
• He may never grow or mature in the faith either!
• He may WANT to grow and advance in the faith… and try real hard. But without counsel, even good purposes fail… and leave us disappointed.
11:14 – The people fall.
1. Solomon states here that with a little bit of counseling, those who might have experienced victory instead experience defeat—a fall.
2. Businesses fail because of a lack of counsel…
3. Teams lose games because the players refuse to listen to their coach and demand on playing the game their way…
4. Marriages fail because someone is too proud to get help… to listen to advice from the Bible… or refuse to implement it.
5. People make terrible choices sometimes because they make important decisions on their own. They don’t get advice from those in the know.
6. People FALL by not getting the counsel they need. Sometimes terrible decisions are made with irreversible consequences!
22b But in the multitude of counsellors they are established.
From WHOM should we seek counsel? From a multitude of counselors!
1. Parents—
a. 13:1 – a wise son heareth his father’s instruction.
b. But sometimes a Christian child has unsaved parents.
c. That child should STILL listen to his parents. They may not know the Lord but they are still out for your good.
d. Of course be careful about their advice in spiritual matters.
e. Perhaps an unsaved young person could ADOPT some Christian parents in the church—to get their spiritual advice from them.
2. A Spirit filled Christian friend
a. Prov. 27:9 – the hearty counsel of a friend rejoices the heart.
b. Do you have a good, solid Christian friend? Someone you can bounce your ideas and goals off?
c. Prov. 27:17 – iron sharpens iron. (Speaks of spirited conversations… discussing and even debating issues… thinking an issue through…)
d. Prov. 27:6 – a true friend doesn’t just flatter us and tell us what we want to hear. He may have to wound us on occasion. That kind of advice is necessary!
3. Mature, Spirit filled brethren in the local church
a. Psa. 55:14 – We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
b. This was true in the Old Testament times. It should be true in this age as well.
c. When the saints gather for worship and fellowship, it should also be a time for sweet counsel!
d. Psa. 89:7 – the word “assembly” is the same word as counsel in Prov. 15:22! This indicates that an obvious purpose of assembling together is to counsel one another… to share together in spiritual things…
e. Gal. 6:1 – spiritual men can offer good counsel on walking with God.
4. Pastor and Elders in the local church
a. One of their qualifications is to be apt to teach…
b. They are spirit filled men who know God and His Word.
c. They have been serving God in the local church for quite some time… and have dealt with all kinds of issues… probably some just like your situation!
5. Seek Expertise: in a specialized field of knowledge (medicine; law; technology; creation science; nutrition; consult consumer guide… etc.)
6. Seek Experience: seek men and women with hands-on experience… (sports; art; music; someone who has experienced the same trial you are going through).
WHAT are the results of a multitude of counselors?
1. Purposes are established.
a. Those goals and plans will come to fruition!
b. And all it took was a little swallowing of one’s pride… a little humility… and ASKING someone in the know for advice!
c. Ask for directions and you might make it to the meeting on time!
d. Ask advice on buying a car and you might not end up with another lemon.
e. Ask advice in seeking a college; a career; a marriage partner; surgery; —things go much smoother and purposes are established when we seek good counsel.
2. Safety (11:14)
a. Many eyes see more than one.
b. Skiing: if somebody wants to warn you about a rock or a patch of ice—listen!
c. If someone wants to give a new driver advice about driving on route 93, listen.
WARNING
1. The purpose of a multitude of counselors is NOT to go from counselor to counselor until you find one that tells you what you want to hear! That’s not seeking counsel. That is seeking confirmation for what you have already decided to do.
a. I Kings 12:8-16 – Solomon’s own son, Rehoboam sought counsel from the older, wiser men—but evidently didn’t like what he heard.
b. He continued to seek counsel from others (younger, less experienced men) who told him what he wanted to hear.
c. We will ALWAYS be able to find a counselor who will tell us what we want to hear… especially marriage counselors.
2. Not every Christian friend is Spirit filled. Not every believer has a good grasp of God’s Word. Not every believer is mature in the faith. Not every believer is wise. Not every believer is walking with the Lord. Not all advice from Christians is GOOD advice.
3. Be sure to get counsel on the BIG issues.
a. It isn’t necessary to seek counsel on every single issue… which shirt to buy…
b. Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war. 20:18
• Trained, experienced generals in the military seek counsel when they face war in various places in the world.
• Generals seek counsel concerning their strength, their resources, other branches of government, etc.
• Shouldn’t we seek counsel as we face spiritual battles in life?
4. Test everything by the Word of God. (Acts 17:11)
5. Don’t forget to go to the Wonderful Counselor first—the Mighty God! (Isa. 9:6)
Proverbs 15:23
Good Words
23a A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth:
1. The fact that this man receives JOY by the answer of his mouth obviously indicates that his answer is a GOOD answer!
a. Not every answer brings joy… but this one does.
• Unfortunately, many of the answers I’ve given I have regretted later.
• You don’t get joy if your answer was wrong… or deceptive… or untrue… or unkind… or if your motive was impure… or if your answer was intentionally hurtful… vengeful… slanderous…
b. The answer that brings joy is an appropriate answer: well worded… one that gets right to the heart of the matter…one that actually answers the question.
• We receive joy from the answer of our mouth IF our heart is right with God and we are filled with the Spirit.
• If the Spirit is in control of our tongue—JOY is the result.
• If the flesh is in control of our tongue… there is no joy in that… maybe bitterness…
2. Prov. 23:16 – JOY is natural when we say the right thing…
a. Just as you feel AWFUL when you say the wrong thing, so there is a good feeling when we say just the right thing!
b. There is personal blessing in GIVING a good answer… a helpful, kind, Christlike answer. It is more blessed to give than to receive.
c. We can give to others from our wallets. We can also give to others with our words… Selfless giving is rewarded.
d. When we speak the truth IN LOVE… there is reward in glory… and JOY in this life.
e. But our reins won’t rejoice when we speak the truth in order to expose someone’s failures or hurt someone…
f. Some folks might THINK they get JOY from hurting people. But that isn’t joy. Joy is the fruit of the Spirit.
g. They might receive a ghoulish glee from their hurtful words, but not joy.
h. They might get a morbid delight out of hurting someone with their tongues… but that delight is soon replaced with guilt and shame.
i. There is a pleasure to sin, but a short-lived pleasure.
j. Prov. 12:14 – the REJOICING that is brought to our hearts when our words are RIGHT is a sense of satisfaction!
3. Prov. 25:11-12 – a word fitly spoken = apples of gold in pictures of silver.
a. Words FITLY spoken refer to good words… choosing just the right words to say what you want to say. This is an art.
b. Such well spoken words are beautiful…
c. They are as beautiful as golden apples on pictures of silver
d. Pictures: Showpiece; image; idol; picture; carved figure.
e. Perhaps a reference to the beauty of the ornate carvings in precious metals that adorned the Temple and other public buildings.
f. Some see it as a reference to real apples (golden in color) that are served in a silver basket. (good food well served!)
g. Both views make good sense.
h. The point: words fitly spoken are a beautiful work of art! Either way, the emphasis is on the beauty of it… not its taste.
23b And a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
1. This refers to timely words: words spoken at the right time.
i. It is possible to say the right thing at the wrong time and get in trouble.
• It is possible to speak up BEFORE we should.
• It is possible to speak up AFTER we should have.
• It is possible to be afraid to speak up at all.
• It is possible to speak at a time when we are irritated and ANGRY. That is the time to be silent… and wait for a right spirit to return.
j. When your husband just walks through the door after a long difficult day at work—that is NOT the best time to bring up all the problems of the day…
k. A much better season to speak would be after dinner… when he has eaten, has relaxed a bit, and has calmed down!
l. When your son just got bumped off the baseball team he was trying out for… that is not the best time to bring up other issues he needs to deal with.
m. When your wife has just spent a whole irritating day dealing with three sick, crying, dirty-diapered kids… that’s not the best time to talk to her about the long distance calls she made!
4. To have the wisdom to say the right thing at the right time is an art! It is also WISDOM.
a. It is an art and a type of wisdom that not everybody possesses.
b. Learning this art makes our speech considerably more useful and influential.
5. In many areas of life—timing is everything.
a. This is also the case with speech.
b. Unfortunately, we often learn this the hard way… by saying the wrong thing at the wrong time… and smarting for it right after you say it!
c. When investing money in the stock market—timing is everything. If your timing is right, you will do well. If your timing is off, you will lose your shirt!
d. When driving a car, timing is important: knowing WHEN to turn the wheel… WHEN to step on the brake… WHEN to step on the gas… if your timing is OFF… it can be disastrous!
e. In playing sports, timing is everything. A smaller basketball player who excels at timing can fake out a much larger player, get him to jump at the wrong time, and then go up for an easy basket!
f. Timing is even MORE important with our speech.
• Even if we know WHAT to say… we can do more harm than good… if we don’t know WHEN to say it.
• I have heard well meaning, but ignorant believers ask a brother in the Lord, who is grieving at his mother’s funeral: was she saved?
» THINK about the thoughts it will conjure up in the mind and heart of that grieving person if she was NOT saved!
» Wouldn’t it have been a better TIME to ask the question when the woman is up and about and healthy… or even when she was in the hospital and there was TIME left to bring the gospel to her… but NOT at her funeral!
• Timing is important in dealing with our kids. You may have to rebuke your son or daughter about something personal and is a private issue.
» There is a time for that… but certainly NOT when they are standing around all their friends at a school event… so everyone can hear!
» There is a time to speak and a time to keep silent. That was a time to keep silent!
» What damage can be done if our timing is off!
→ Your basket will get blocked; your investment dwindle; your car will hit a tree; your friend’s grief will be increased; and your son will be humiliated before his friends.
→ When our timing is off, we do a lot of damage… especially with our speech.
6. There is a time for everything under heaven. (Ecc. 3:1,7)
a. There is a time to speak and a time to keep silent.
b. The ability to know the difference is priceless.
c. Without that kind of wisdom we do much damage—even if we have all the good intentions in the world. We still do damage!
d. Even if we have good intentions AND a good word to say. If the timing is off that good word will not do the good it COULD have done if spoken in due season… and the good intentions don’t mitigate the harm done.
e. If we are trying to accomplish a good goal with our speech (encourage; rebuke; teach; comfort; etc)… our TIMING of the speech is almost as important as the CONTENT of the speech!
7. How GOOD it is!
a. When a good word is spoken at the right time, it is GOOD!
b. It is good all around!
c. It accomplishes its good goal… it fulfills those good intentions…
d. The wrong timing can UNDERMINE that good goal or those good intentions. But the proper timing ACCOMPLISHES that good.
e. It is GOOD for the one speaking.
• He receives JOY from his well-timed words.
• It is no cause for pride, but for joy!
• It is good when we use our tongues to help someone… encourage them… comfort them… exhort them…
• It is a blessing to the heart of the speaker to be able to be used of the Lord in ministering to another with our words… words well spoken and well timed!
f. It is also GOOD for those hearing the well-timed words.
• He receives instruction… comfort… encouragement…
• The good that was intended is accomplished!
• The one about to throw in the towel was encouraged to persevere!
• The one about to sin was challenged to consider the consequences.
g. It is good because the good word did its job!
→ Words of encouragement
→ Words of rebuke
→ Words of love
→ Words of grace
→ Words of support
→ Words of correction
→ Words of forgiveness
The words of our mouths can bring JOY and GOODNESS
→ Into our home
→ Into our office
→ Into our school
→ Into our church
→ Into our community
May the words of my mouth be acceptable in THY sight…
Proverbs 15:27
Troubling One’s Own House
Introduction:
1. There are LOTS of ways to bring trouble into our homes.
2. Solomon doesn’t deal with all of them here: just one… DISHONEST GREED.
27a He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house;
A. Greedy of Gain
1. Greedy Defined:
a. Strong’s: to cut off; break off; gain by unrighteous violence; get; finish; be covetous; be greedy.
b. Greed seems to be at the root of this… but it often leads to violence or dishonesty of one sort or another.
c. It speaks of unjust gain… dishonest gain… getting by cheating or violence.
d. In this proverb it is likened to taking bribes.
e. Used in Prov. 1:19 – a band of young, violent thieves… city gang members plotting their evil. (Cf. vs.11-16 – greed causes them to rob and shed blood!)
f. The context in Prov.1:19 speaks of a particular KIND of greed as demonstrated in street gangs.
g. But the term in 15:27 does not come in such a context. Hence, it should be understood in a broader sense: any sort of dishonest gain motivated by greed… and an overall lack of integrity.
2. We too can be greedy of gain in this way.
a. By not being completely forthcoming on our tax returns.
b. By embellishing our resume… exaggerating our skills or accomplishments at that job interview.
c. Shady business deals…
d. Taking bribes…
e. Getting involved in gambling…
f. Stealing from your company…
B. Troubling One’s Own House
1. Trouble Defined: to trouble; stir up; disturb; bring calamity; cause hardship and distress for another; anguish.
2. Prov. 15:6 – in the revenues of the wicked there is trouble.
a. There is trouble because of the WAY that treasure was accumulated!
b. Dishonest gain brings quick, easy money… but there is much trouble associated with it.
c. Drug money brings much revenue to the wicked… but linked to it is much trouble.
d. There is the trouble of:
• No rest… no peace…
• Always looking over your shoulder…
• Always worried about being caught…
• Having to live a lie…
• Even spending time in jail…
• The trouble of realizing that at any moment you could be discovered and lose it all.
• There is the trouble of knowing that the slightest misstep could cause your house of cards to come crashing down.
3. Prov. 11:29 – He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.
a. Instead of inheriting the family estate, he will inherit the wind: nothing!
b. The trouble he brought upon his family caused him to be excluded from the inheritance.
c. This man who was motivated by greed and a desire to exalt himself behaved like a fool… brought shame upon his house… and ended up becoming a servant to those who are wise!
d. In any setting, the one who brings trouble into his own household ends up with nothing!
• The man who steals and gets sent to prison ends up with nothing… and his family has to deal with the trouble he brought upon them.
• The man who commits adultery brings trouble into his household… misery upon all… that doesn’t go away easily.
• The man who cheats on his taxes brings the wrath of the IRS upon his household.
• The man whose face ends up on the 6:00 news brings shame to his household.
e. Dishonest greed brings trouble upon a household… a blot on the family name… and the one involved inherits the wind… ends up with nothing.
• Consider Lot – moved by greed and chose Sodom… and ended up with nothing… led out of the city as it went up in ashes!
• Consider Achan – moved by greed and a desire for dishonest gain… he stole gold and garments… and ended up with nothing… he troubled his house…stoned and burned!
• Consider Gehazi – he was moved by greed and took the gift from Naaman that Elisha refused. He was smitten with leprosy… and his seed forever!
• Boy did these men trouble their own houses!
• I have known believers who have done much damage to their own houses too…
• Often, greed and gain is at the root of it.
• The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
4. There are various WAYS in which a dishonest, greedy man troubles his house.
a. He may trouble his family with the hardships they experience because of him being arrested… losing his job… being imprisoned… losing their house… etc.
b. But he may also trouble his house for years to come by TEACHING HIS CHILDREN to follow his behavior.
→ Our kids pick up on our values by observation.
→ The dishonest, greedy man demonstrates his character not only when he robs a bank. His kids will pick up on as they are growing up.
→ Often those values (or lack thereof) are passed on to the next generation.
c. This may go on for many generations. (Ex. 34:7)
• Alcoholism and drug abuse is often passed on in a family. Partly perhaps to genetics… but mostly through LEARNED and observed behavior!
• You don’t have to worry about a genetic predisposition to alcoholism if you don’t take your first drink!
• If the parents are involved in lying, cheating, stealing, those poor kids don’t stand a chance of growing up honest!
• Domestic violence is also learned and passed on.
• Trouble brought into the home is often kept there… and passed on to future generations to CONTINUE to trouble that household…
d. Kids are like sponges and they are watching and observing everything their parents do.
• And more often than not, those qualities are repeated in their lives.
e. A man who is greedy for gain can trouble his own household even if he does nothing illegal!
• If a man is so driven to succeed materially that he works so many hours that he never has any TIME for his family, he too troubles his house.
• Those kids will grow up with many toys and nice clothes, but will RESENT that dad never spent any time with them.
• Kids grow up fast… and if they grow up angry, bitter, and resentful because Dad was more interested in material gain than in them… that exacerbates the trouble in the home…
27b But he that hateth gifts shall live.
A. Hating Gifts
1. The gifts here speak of bribes.
2. This is but one example of dishonest, greedy gain.
3. The one who HATES bribes is a man of integrity who HATES dishonest gain.
4. This is the man who refuses to be BOUGHT off with a gift… a bribe.
a. This is plain, old fashioned integrity.
i. Like Abraham who refused the gift offered by the king of Sodom (Gen. 14:22-23)
b. The fact that many are willing to be bought off has always been a problem… since the days of Solomon to today.
→ Politicians are sometimes bought off.
→ Judges are sometimes bought off.
→ Police are sometimes bought off.
→ CEO’s are sometimes bought off.
c. Do YOU have a selling price? What would it take to get you to lie… to cheat… to look the other way… to refuse to blow the whistle?
d. Do YOU hate gifts?
→ Not birthday presents, but bribes!
→ Believers should not only refuse bribes, but HATE them!
→ Do you HATE the fact that people are bought off by money and that justice is being perverted by money?
→ It happens every day! (Prov. 17:23 – that is the purpose of a bribe!)
→ The poor do NOT get a fair shake in this country… even though this is the fairest country in the world… still money talks… money reigns… money is power.
→ It is the ruin of any country! Prov. 29:4
B. He Shall Live
1. His life is lengthened.
a. Prov. 11:19 – those who pursue evil do so to their own death.
b. Gang members don’t live that long. Bank robbers often get shot.
c. Violent men often become victims to violence themselves and their lives are cut off abruptly.
d. In the long run, honesty is not only the best policy; it could add years to your life!
2. His life is improved.
a. Shall live: he shall REALLY live! He shall live a good life… one worth living.
b. Need not fear the police; need not fear getting caught.
c. Doesn’t have to fear being imprisoned.
d. Need not fear losing all he worked for.
e. He doesn’t have to fear losing his family.
f. Can experience peace at home rather than turmoil.
3. So is the life of his family!
a. His family need not fear dad going to jail or losing the house.
b. The family need not fear the shame and embarrassment of seeing dad’s picture on the 6:00 news.
c. Every time you see someone arrested for a crime on the local news… think of all the trouble and shame his family is going through…
4. Our actions not only affect ourselves, but they affect our families too.
a. Of course dad can be guilty of dishonest gain and bring trouble to his household…
b. But so can mom! Mothers… even grandmothers have been arrested for selling drugs. Kids can trouble their own homes too.
→ They can bring shame upon their family by criminal behavior…
→ Shoplifting: Is it really worth it to put your family through all of that trouble just to steal a new pair of sneakers?
→ Why bring poison into the house you have to live in?
Proverbs 15:28
Think Before You Speak
Introduction:
1. This proverb deals with the subject of SPEECH.
a. This is a subject that is repeated often in proverbs… from all kinds of angles.
b. It is repeated because it is such a practical aspect of life that NEEDS repetition!
c. The tongue no man can tame… but the Holy Spirit can!
d. A Spirit filled believer will demonstrate temperance… self control—even from his mouth.
e. To demonstrate how practical this is to every believer, let’s see a raise of hands of those who verbally communicated with another human being today!
f. We talk every day! We also think every day. Solomon reminds us here of the proper order in all that. Think first!
2. Solomon contrasts two kinds of men and their two kinds of speech.
a. A righteous man… THINKS before he speaks.
b. A wicked man… does NOT think before he speaks. He just pours out whatever is floating around in his head and heart.
28a The heart of the righteous studieth to answer:
1. The righteous man STUDIES to answer.
2. Study Defined:
a. Strong’s: meditate; devise; muse; imagine (moan, growl, utter).
b. Dict. of Bibl. Lang.: decide; weigh, i.e., make a judgment about something after a thought process; meditate; ponder; give serious thought and consideration to selected information.
c. Used in Josh. 1:8 – meditates in God’s Law day and night
d. Used in Ps. 1:2 – he meditates in the Word day and night
e. Ps. 2:1 – why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing?
f. Ps. 63:6 – meditating about God in the night watches… dwelling… mulling things over in one’s mind…
3. Answer Defined:
a. Strong’s: to answer; respond; testify; speak; shout out.
4. Various Translations of the Phrase:
a. Ponders how to answer.
b. Good people think before they answer.
c. The heart of the righteous weighs its answers.
d. The godly think before speaking.
e. The heart of the righteous meditateth to answer.
5. A righteous man THINKS before he speaks.
a. This is always good advice.
b. This kind of speech is characteristic of a righteous man or woman.
c. Because a righteous man is concerned about righteousness in his speech, he takes TIME to think before he blurts things out.
d. He is concerned about giving the RIGHT answer… which includes not only the right information, but the right spirit, attitude, delivery, setting, tone, and timing.
e. That often requires time to THINK about HOW to answer.
f. Obviously, this is not intended for daily chitchat such as, How are you? or What time is it?
g. But if that chit chat progresses to more important issues, that which is delicate, touchy, potentially hurtful, controversial, harmful to others, etc. Those issues require THOUGHT.
h. It never hurts to think… especially when our mouth is moving and our tongue is wagging.
i. Consider the definition: musing; meditating; imagining…
• Before we speak to a person about a delicate issue THINK… put your imagination into gear…
• How will these words be perceived by this brother?
• Could this information be used against me? Could it be used to slander someone else?
• Imagine how it might sound if repeated in another setting… for it very well may!
• Would you want your name attached to this information as its source if it gets disseminated?
• Would it be more helpful and edifying to give forth this information or to withhold it?
• Would the person who told me this information WANT me to tell others? Was it given in confidence?
• HOW should it be worded?
• How can it be seasoned with grace?
• Is this the right time and place to say this or would another setting be better?
• Does it really need to be repeated?
• Is this going to stir up controversy and divide friends and brethren? Will it be unifying among the saints? Edifying to this brother? Glorifying to God?
• Is it TRUE? Do I have my facts straight? Am I sure? Is my source reliable? Am I repeating hearsay?
• There are a LOT of things to think about before we speak.
6. He is SLOW to speak. (Jas. 1:19)
a. Slow speech here does not refer to a Southern drawl. It is not a matter of how fast we talk. (Bostonians vs. Louisville)
b. It speaks of being slow BEFORE we speak… not just blurting things out without thinking.
c. Be slow in making a decision concerning whether this should be said or not!
d. Be slow to give yourself time to think… time to think about the ramifications of what you were about to say…
e. Be slow to think about whether this is worth repeating…
f. Be slow to consider whether this is true, lovely, of good report, full of virtue… etc.
g. All that takes a bit of time…
h. The person who is constantly blabbing and constantly throwing their two cents into the conversation just to hear their voice often says things he or she later regrets.
i. But perhaps the righteous man is SLOW to speak because he is God-conscious… and aware that one day he must give an account for every idle word he speaks. That will slow us down a bit!
7. The mature believer is one who controls his tongue. (Jas. 3:2)
a. The mature believer BRIDLES his tongue. (Jas. 1:26)
b. A bridle indicates that it NEEDS to be controlled… an awareness of the danger of NOT controlling it…
c. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. This is serious language… we would do well to take heed!
d. The Spirit filled believer is characterized by temperance. (Gal. 5:22-23)
8. What comes out of our mouth is really a HEART issue.
a. Ps. 15:2 – the righteous man speaks truth in his HEART.
b. Therefore, the HEART of the righteous man meditates in his heart before it flows out of his mouth.
c. Speech begins on the inside… in the heart… in the mind.
d. The righteous man mulls things over in his mind and heart before he speaks.
e. Neh. 2:4; 5:6-7 – Nehemiah prayed to God in the midst of a conversation. He “consulted with himself” before he spoke to the nobles… because it was a touchy subject!
f. Prov. 16:23 – the heart of the wise TEACHES his mouth what to say and what not to say.
• A wise heart makes a wise mouth!
• There is a definite connection!
• A person has a wise mouth because the heart is wise
• A person has a foolish mouth because their heart is foolish.
28b But the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
1. Note the contrasts again:
a. A righteous man vs. a wicked man
b. The heart (inner man; mind; soul) vs. the mouth
c. Thinking vs. pouring out…
2. Poureth out Defined
a. Strong’s: to flow; pour out; pour; gush forth; spring; bubble up; ferment; emit; belch forth.
b. Used of a flowing brook.
c. There is nothing to hinder, restrict, or control what comes out of their mouth.
3. Their mouths pour out evil things…
a. Evil things dwell in the hearts of wicked men.
b. And those evil things will come out of the mouth eventually.
c. And they don’t just dribble out… they flow out… like a brook or river… flowing water… an unending supply of evil things…
d. In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin (Prov. 10:19)
e. Often this starts as a toddler. Kids can be naughty, disrespectful, disobedient, and defiant… and CUTE at the same time.
• If that behavior is encouraged by laughing, and saying, “isn’t that cute!”… and not rebuking… it will develop into character.
• And while it might be cute when they are young… it is anything BUT cute when they are older!
• Kids can learn this simple lesson: be careful little tongue what you say!
4. Prov. 15:2 – the mouth of fools pours out foolishness!
a. What else would you expect from a fool but folly?
b. And note that the fool has PLENTY of it! It POURS out of his mouth… a constant stream.
c. Prov. 15:14 – He has plenty of folly because he FEEDS on folly… like cattle grazing in a field…
d. They fill their gut with folly and it continually flows out of their mouths.
5. Prov. 29:11 – A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
a. The fool blurts out whatever is on his mind—without any thought for the impact it might have on others… the hurt, the offense, its truthfulness, kindness, the feelings of others, etc…
b. The wise man keeps it all in… until the right time. A word spoken in due season, how good it is!
c. Vs. 20 – a man hasty in his words… there is more hope for a fool than him!
d. Conclusion: be SLOW to speak; take time to THINK; that usually will reduce the volume of our words… volume in loudness… and amount of words spoken.
e. CAUTION is the word when it comes to the mouth! STUDY to answer. Do your homework before you open your mouth!
Proverbs 15:29
Prayer: Answered or Unanswered
29a The LORD is far from the wicked:
1. God is FAR from the wicked.
a. Defined: remote; far; distant.
b. An amount of separation between two points.
c. Obviously, this does not refer to PHYSICAL distance. God is omnipresent.
d. Acts 17:27-28 – God is in fact NEAR to every one of His creatures.
e. FAR is used in a figurative sense in Proverbs 15:29… in language finite creatures can better relate to.
2. God is far from them BECAUSE of their wickedness.
a. Isa. 59:1-2 – sin SEPARATES men from God.
• Separate = divide; separate; sever; withdraw.
• Sin always separates man from God.
• It is a permanent wall between God and the unsaved. He is NEVER near to them until they are willing to call upon Him.
• Sin is a temporary wall between God and the believer. It separates us from His fellowship but not from His presence.
• Sin does not cause us to LOSE the presence of the Holy Spirit, but it does GRIEVE Him. (Eph. 4:30)
3. Related passages.
a. 15:8 – their sacrifices are abominations to Him.
b. 15:9 – their ways are abominations to Him.
c. 15:26 – their thoughts are abominations to Him.
d. It is not that God in His essence as DEITY is physically distant from the wicked. It is that His FAVOR is distant from them.
e. God is REPULSED by their sinful behavior and attitudes and… like a man who gets a whiff of rotting flesh… he turns His face away from it… (Ps. 34:15-16)
4. In particular, this distance has to do with PRAYER.
a. Nothing in the first part of the proverb tells us that.
b. If the first half was all we had, we would have to conclude that Solomon meant this distance to be a general distance.
c. But Proverbs are to be understood in light of the counterpart… namely, the second part of the verse.
d. Consider the contrasts in this proverb:
• The wicked vs. the righteous
• Far from vs. He hears their prayers
e. The distance is thus understood in a figurative sense… of someone who is too far away to hear.
• Obviously, God HEARS what the wicked say in their prayers. God is omniscient. He knows even before they pray!
• Isa. 59:1-2 – It is not that He CANNOT hear, (a hearing problem—or too far away), but that He WILL not hear… He chooses NOT to hear. It is a matter of His WILL… not His hearing.
f. God chooses NOT to hear the prayers of the unbeliever.
• Their sin separates God from them…
• Figuratively speaking, it puts God at a distance from them so He is out of range.
• God knows what they are praying for in His omniscience… but He chooses to ignore them all.
• Someone might reply, “That’s awful! Why won’t He hear their prayers?!”
• Well, He TELLS us what it is that separates Him from our prayers: sin!
• If men choose to cling to their sins, they are choosing to distance themselves from God… regardless of how religious they are.
• The NUMBER of prayers is irrelevant. (Matt. 6:7-8)
• The sincerity and zeal with which they pray is irrelevant.
• If there is sin in the way… God is DISTANT.
g. Whether God hears a prayer or not is a matter of HIS CHOICE.
• We cannot LIMIT God.
• God does NOT hear the prayers of sinners. Sin separates us from God’s ears.
• God knows what they are saying, but He CHOOSES to ignore the prayers of the unsaved.
• However, there are exceptions to that rule.
• God has the right to hear ANY prayer He wants to. The choice is up to Him.
• When God sees that the heart of an unbeliever is WILLING to know the Lord… willing to come to Him… willing but ignorant… God makes a distinction.
• Acts 10:1-4
» Cornelius was NOT saved. (Cf. Acts 11:14)
» Yet he feared God and was devout (10:2)
» He gave alms to the people and prayed continually.
» It does not say God heard… but it says his prayers went up as a memorial before God. (10:4)
» 10:31 says that at some point God CHOSE to hear those prayers.
» God knows the hearts of the unsaved. He knows when they are ready to receive Him.
» Perhaps Cornelius was praying, “Lord God of Israel. I know you are the true and living God. I have read your Word and have been stirred by it. I want to know MORE about you.”
» God will answer prayers like that… even from an unbeliever! This is the exception.
h. God chooses not to hear the prayer of the BELIEVER if sin is in his heart.
• Psalm 66:18 – if I (as a believer) regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord WILL not hear me.
• He CAN, but He WILL not. It is His choice.
• Sin in our lives will HINDER God from answering prayer!
• I Pet. 3:7 – Not treating your wife properly will hinder prayers of the believer. That is a sin that separates us from God’s fellowship and from answered prayer.
• Prov. 21:13 – Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
• John 9:31 – We know that God heareth not sinners… The fact that God does NOT hear sinners was common knowledge.
• Wrong behavior and the wrong heart attitude of a believer can hinder God from hearing our prayers.
• Prov. 28:9 – Not only will God not hear, He is DISGUSTED by the believer’s prayers when he walks in disobedience to God’s Word.
29b But he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
1. God DOES HEAR the prayer of the righteous.
2. Prov. 15:8 – but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
3. God hears the prayers of the righteous because their prayers are pleasing to the Lord.
4. God listens not only to the words prayed, but He also observes the heart from which that prayer flows.
a. He can tell if we are praying to consume it on our own lusts… He can tell if we are praying to please God!
b. He can tell if we are praying because we desire to see OUR will done… or HIS will done.
c. He can tell if we are praying for our own glory or for the glory of God.
d. He can tell if we are praying out of a sense of duty and religious obligation… or if we are praying from the heart.
5. When a righteous man prays… praying the RIGHT way… with the RIGHT heart attitude… God is delighted… and He answers that prayer.
a. God is NOT distant but near… near enough to hear their cries.
b. When a man prays righteously, God CHOOSES to hear that prayer… and answer accordingly.
c. God is listening to the burdens on the hearts of His children with great interest.
d. Ps. 38:9 – God even hears the groanings of our hearts without words!
e. John 15:7 – the righteous man is further defined by Christ… one in whom God’s Word ABIDES.
• Hence, these are not IGNORANT prayers that will be answered… but Biblically educated prayers that God answers.
• Answered prayers occur IN LIGHT OF Bible truth… understood… loved… submitted to… obeyed.
• When the word DWELLS in our hearts… and Christ DWELLS in our hearts by faith… childish, frivolous prayers will die out… and serious, intelligent prayers will replace them.
Proverbs 15:30
The Light of the Eyes and a Good Report
Introduction:
1. This proverb speaks of the means of communication: verbal and nonverbal.
2. It also speaks of the result of communication: rejoicing their heart… or making their bones fat.
30a The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart:
1. The light of the eyes.
a. The light of the eyes speaks of a cheerful look. It speaks of a sparkle or the twinkle in the eye…
b. Prov. 16:15 – the LIGHT of the king’s countenance. This speaks of the favor expressed on his face… the pleasant acceptance expressed on his face.
c. Ps. 31:16 – it speaks of God’s face SHINING upon the king… showing Divine favor.
d. Various translations:
• Smiling faces
• A cheerful look (a couple of translations)
• Bright eyes
e. Eyes are a window into the inner person.
• Eyes can smile!
• “When Irish eyes are smiling!” Actually ANYBODY’s eyes can smile!
• Eyes communicate.
» They can scowl… they can communicate anger (Prov. 25:23)…
» They can communicate disbelief… they can communicate frustration… they can communicate rebellion… they can communicate lust…
» They can communicate depression… (have you ever seen the darkened, sunken eyes of a person who is truly depressed?)
» They can communicate pride… (Ps. 10:4 – through the pride of his countenance.)…
» They can communicate rebuke (Ps. 80:16)
• Eyes are good communicators. They communicate what is going on in the heart… in the soul.
• Of course, we can behave like a hypocrite (mask). Our face can be a mask for what is really going on inside too.
• We can PRETEND to smile… we can put on a phony face outwardly, when the opposite is occurring on the inside. That is called hypocrisy.
• However, when we are HONEST, and not putting on a hypocritical mask, our eyes are a window into our soul.
• Prov.15:13 – If the heart is cheerful, it is SEEN on your face… in your expressions… and in your eyes.
» Our inner attitude towards a person is reflected in our countenance and especially our eyes.
» Friendliness inside is communicated outwardly through facial expression.
2. The light of the eyes (cheerful countenance) = non-verbal communication.
a. You can communicate to a person with facial expression…
b. But no part of the face is as expressive as the eyes.
c. We can warmly GREET people with our eyes.
d. We can coldly IGNORE people with our eyes.
e. We can communicate ANGER through our eyes.
f. We can communicate PLEASURE through our eyes.
g. We can communicate BOREDOM through our eyes.
h. We can FLIRT with our eyes.
i. We can show RESPECT with our eyes.
j. We can show DISRESPECT with the rolling of our eyes.
k. Eyes communicate… not just the mouth.
l. There is a lot of communication that we MISS because of technology… email… phones… etc. We miss the body language… we can’t see the eyes…
m. Even without a word, we communicate much through our eyes.
n. This truth is obvious… but it is also revealed in the Bible.
• God describes Himself in human language… so that we can understand Him better… in terms we can relate to.
• The Bible speaks of His facing shining on us… or His countenance directed towards us…
3. Our eyes can have an EFFECT on others. It is non-verbal communication.
a. Ps. 21:6 – Thou has made me GLAD through thy countenance!
b. Ps. 42:5 – God’s countenance can HELP us… by encouraging us…
c. Num. 6:25 – God’s face shining on a person is a way to describe God’s FAVOR towards that person or nation.
d. Ps. 80:16 – they PERISH at the REBUKE of thy countenance
→ It is as if the expression on God’s face rebukes, encourages, helps, or shows favor to those He looks AT.
→ Obviously, we don’t actually SEE God’s eyes or His face. But the language of humanity is used to teach us about God.
e. Hence, in the Bible, it was obvious, that the face can and does communicate to others.
→ Our facial expression… our eyes can make others glad… or chase them away in fear!
→ Our eyes can express warmth and friendship or anger, rejection, and scorn.
→ Thus, what WE do with our eyes (and other facial expressions) has an EFFECT on other people.
→ Our eyes communicate WITHOUT words. That communication sends a message to others… and it has an effect on them.
f. This is form of communication parents would do well to observe in their children.
→ Children can REBEL with their eyes… without saying or doing anything. (rolling the eyes…) It needs to be dealt with.
→ Children can show DISRESPECT by refusing to look at people in the eyes.
→ Teach them to LOOK at a person in the eyes when speaking to them or listening to them.
→ Don’t take “shyness” as an excuse.
→ Their eyes send a message and it has an effect on others. Teach them to send the RIGHT message!
4. The light of the eyes sends a GOOD message. It REJOICES the heart.
a. The LIGHT of the eyes speaks of brightness… cheerfulness… warmth… friendliness… acceptance… graciousness…
b. When we express warmth, grace, and friendliness to others through our eyes, it causes THEM to rejoice!
c. It is an encouragement to them to receive such a non verbal MESSAGE of friendship… grace… warmth.
d. Consider that when folks visit the church.
• Even if you don’t get a chance to greet them VERBALLY, you can greet them with your eyes… with your facial expression.
• You can say WELCOME with your eyes and make them feel comfortable.
e. Consider this young people, when a new teen comes to the teen group for the first time. Your eyes and facial expressions can make him feel welcome… or like a fish out of water.
f. Consider this when you sing in the choir (I’m guilty of this too!)…
• We send a message through the song we sing… but also through the non-verbal communication on our faces.
• It ADDS another layer of communication to the song, There is Joy in Serving Jesus, when our faces smile as we sing.
• A choir member CAN’T smile with his mouth when singing… but he can through the LIGHT of your eyes!
30b And a good report maketh the bones fat.
1. A good report…
a. This speaks of a verbal communication.
b. This is a more common form of communication…
c. In the proverb, it stands as the counterpart to the light of the eyes.
d. The light of the eyes is a GOOD message communicated non-verbally through the eyes.
e. The GOOD report corresponds to that… only it is a VERBAL message communicated. (It is unlikely Solomon had a written report in mind here… but a verbal one.)
2. Good news makes the bones fat.
a. This is the counterpart to “rejoicing the heart.”
b. Fat bones are moist, strong, healthy, and full of healthy marrow.
→ They are the opposite of dried out bones. (Prov. 17:22 – a broken spirit drieth the bones)
→ Envy is the rottenness of the bones. (Prov.14:30)
→ A broken, defeated, discouraged spirit dries up the bones
→ But good news encourages… and makes the bones fat…
c. Good news communicated verbally encourages and makes strong and vibrant the inner man… just like the light of the eyes communicated non-verbally makes the bones fat.
d. Fat bones = rejoicing the heart… encouragement… health to the inner man… joy… warmth…
e. Sometimes that encouragement is communicated through the mouth. Sometimes it is communicated through the eyes.
f. Be aware that your communication to others can have a deep impact and effect on their heart… regardless of the METHOD of communication.
g. Prov. 25:25 – As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
→ Good news… a good report REFRESHES the hearer!
→ Have you ever received a letter from your son or daughter when they were far away… at college… in the military… on a business trip… or in their new home on the west coast?
→ Good news brings refreshment to your soul.
→ Or perhaps you are living abroad… and you hear news from your home country that things are going well… it brings refreshment… it satisfies like cool water to a thirsty man!
→ We can bring REFRESHMENT to others by our communications to them… verbally and non-verbally.
2. Of course, the BEST good news we can bring to another is the gospel of the grace of God!
a. This will cause the hearer who responds in faith to rejoice… and it will make his bones fat!
b. The message of Christ is a message of great joy (Luke 2:10-11).
c. And when presenting the gospel, remember Prov. 15:30: your FACE communicates to the sinner!
→ You can express insincerity… and apathy.
→ OR you can express CONCERN and SINCERITY in your facial expression…
Proverbs 15:31
The Hearing Ear
Introduction:
1. Vs. 30-33 all speak about wisdom and how it is obtained.
2. It comes through reproof, instruction, and the fear of the Lord.
3. We might do well as believers to think of this concept of hearing reproof as not only reproof from men… but especially reproof from God—which He gives us through His Word and His people continually.
4. We all need ears that hear.
31a The ear that heareth the reproof of life
A. Reproof of Life
1. Reproof Defined:
a. Strong’s: rebuke, correction; reproof; punishment; chastisement.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: the infliction of a just penalty, often with emotional or physical pain (Ps 149:7).
c. Complete Word Study: The primary thrust of this word is that of correcting some wrong.
2. Its Usage
a. It is employed to express the concept of rebuking.
b. For correction
→ Prov. 15:10 – reproof is used as a synonym for correction in this passage.
→ God corrects our behavior as a Father corrects His son.
→ Ps. 73:14 – chastened every morning…
» Chastened = reproof
» Why? Because his attitude was wrong.
» He needed to be rebuked not for anything that he DID, but for the way he was THINKING…
c. The argument of a claim – Job 13:6 – reasoning = reproof
B. Reproofs of Life
1. Solomon states here that reproofs are PART of life… a big part of life. The psalmist was chastened every morning!
2. Everyone is reproved… not everyone responds well to it…
3. Life involves growing up and maturing… and there will be precious little growth or maturity without reproof.
4. If our lives were perfect, we wouldn’t need reproof.
a. But because we are NOT perfect… and are NOT complete/mature/full grown… therefore we NEED to be reproved.
5. Heb. 12:5-6 – Our whole lives as Christians are characterized by reproofs and rebukes.
a. Vs. 6- it comes from a loving Father.
• He chastens and reproves EVERY son… no exceptions.
• A Father demonstrates His love by CONTINUAL reproof…
• God is never satisfied with our progress until we are perfectly like His Son. And we should never be satisfied either.
• We should DESIRE to be like Christ… and thus be THANKFUL when reproved…
• However, we are rarely thankful at the time. It hurts. But afterward, we should learn to be grateful.
b. Vs. 5 – Don’t faint or get discouraged. This is part of life.
• Rebuked = present passive—the chastening or rebuke is ONGOING… it is a continual part of life…
• Get used to it. In this life, God will NEVER stop reproving our behavior, attitudes, deeds, etc… because He will never stop loving us!
• Here we are told not to FAINT… don’t grow weary of it because it never seems to stop. That’s what life is like!
• And when a young child leaves home, he may think reproofs have ended.
» Finally! No more being rebuked and reproved by my parents! My days of reproof are over!
» Not so. He will be receiving reproofs in college, and then at his job, and even in the local church—and from the Lord through the Word of God for the rest of his days!
• The reproofs of life are the reproofs that are ongoing throughout our entire lives till glory.
• Don’t get weary of them and don’t ever quit listening!
• Why do you suppose we are told not to get weary? Because we DO get weary and tired of being told this is wrong… that is not the best way to do that… your attitude needs correction here and there…
• Kids get tired of their parents continually reproving them.
• Christians can get tired of our heavenly Father continually reproving us.
• But the wisdom from God is easily entreated.
• Wisdom and maturity accept the fact that reproof is a normal part of life.
• They learn to accept it, submit to it, deal with it, grow through it, and be thankful for it! (It was GOOD for me that I have been afflicted!)
C. Hearing
1. Hear Defined:
a. To hear; listen to; obey; hearken.
b. Listen; take heed; pay attention.
c. There are three aspects to this concept of hearing:
• Hear with the ear
• Pay attention
• And then to obey
2. It takes HUMILITY to hear reproof.
a. Pride rejects it… hates to be told what to do… thinks it knows better… and lets it go in one ear and out the other.
b. Pride likes to cover up one’s faults… pretend they aren’t there… or aren’t so bad… refuses to discuss them…
c. He puts a shield around all his faults… thus shielding his worst enemies!
d. But the humble person realizes that he has faults… he realizes that his faults need to be exposed and dealt with.
e. He realizes that he has a lot to learn… swallows his pride, and LISTENS…
3. Prov. 1:23 – When God’s wisdom speaks, He expects us to TURN at His rebuke! He expects us to repent… and change direction!
4. Prov.17:10 – The reproof ENTERS IN… is accepted, received, submitted to…
a. Reproof penetrates into the mind, heart, and life of the one who has hearing ears.
b. The message of the reproof sinks in. He applies it, and benefits from it.
c. The one who responds to reproof does not need to be whipped or punished. The reproof accomplishes the same task.
d. If we allow God’s Holy Spirit to gently reproof us, He may not have to severely chasten us!
e. LISTEN to reproof. It is good for us.
5. Prov. 27:6 – It is often an expression of friendship. Don’t misjudge the one rebuking! Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth. LISTEN to the friend who attempts to reprove your ways.
6. Prov. 15:12 – A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.
a. Don’t be like the scorner who HATES the one who rebukes.
b. He’s doing it for your own good. LISTEN!
31b Abideth among the wise.
A. Result: Lasting Wisdom
1. Prov. 19:25 – The one who submits to it LEARNS and grows in understanding and wisdom.
a. The message of rebuke is taken in intellectually, but it is WISDOM which moves this man to receive the lesson in the first place.
b. The hearing ear INCREASES his wisdom. (Cf. Prov. 1:5 – a wise man WILL hear and will increase learning.)
2. The man who receives reproof ABIDES among the wise.
a. He has a lasting place in their presence.
b. He becomes one OF them… one of the wise.
c. He is numbered among them.
d. Prov. 6:23 – reproofs are in the way of LIFE. Wisdom ABIDES in the way of life…
e. Wisdom settles down and gets comfortable in the place where he knows his faults will be exposed, critiqued, and dealt with.
f. The fool hates his faults exposed and dealt with. But the wise man APPRECIATES it.
g. Consider a disease that leaves his skin with infected, oozing sores.
• One man with this disease—like a fool—seeks to cover up his sores… sores that will eventually kill him. That is folly.
• Another man with the disease is WILLING to have the doctor expose his sores and deal with them. If dealt with soon, they can be taken care of… and health will return!
• In a sense, this is the folly and wisdom of our response to reproof.
3. Note the main emphasis here: it is the nature and character of wisdom is RECEIVING instruction and reproof.
a. Wisdom is described here as a WILLINGNESS to receive and a WILLINGNESS to learn… and a WILLINGNESS to change.
• It is a TEACHABLE spirit…
• David had this kind of wisdom! (Ps. 141:5)
b. Psa. 119:67 – It was GOOD for me that I have been afflicted!
• The psalmist was GLAD for his affliction… which he took as a reproof from the Lord to LEARN a lesson he wasn’t learning otherwise!
c. The wisdom from above is EASY to be entreated. (Jas. 3:17) That is the one with a hearing ear.
d. Prov. 25:12 – As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
• The “hearing ear” is described as an “obedient ear” here.
• The reprover is likened to a golden earring.
• An ear isn’t all that beautiful all by itself, but its beauty is greatly enhanced by a golden earring.
• Thus, the beauty of a hearing or obedient ear is greatly enhanced by LISTENING TO and OBEYING reproof!
• That’s a beautiful person! Being easily entreated… listening to, obeying, and appreciating reproof makes a person beautiful… a beautiful character quality.
• The one who KNOWS this and believes it is more likely to PRACTICE it. And when he does practice it, he is WISE. His wisdom is his beauty.
• This kind of wisdom (listening to advice and reproof) is early likened to the beauty of a necklace…
B. Fools Reject Reproof
1. Prov.1:25, 30 – Ye would none of my reproof.
2. Prov. 12:1 – Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.
3. Prov. 13:18 – Poverty and shame comes to the one who rejects reproof… and defiantly chooses to do it his way!
4. Ecc. 7:5 – fools prefer other fools to sing them happy songs and either wink at or encourage their faults, rather than to hear the reproof of the wise.
Proverbs 15:32
Refusing Instruction
Introduction:
1. Prov. 15:31 spoke of the person who HEARD reproof. This was the positive side.
2. Prov. 15:32 speaks of the negative side primarily: the one who REFUSES instruction.
3. Solomon speaks of this as self-destructive behavior.
32a He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul:
A. Refusing Instruction and Other Various Responses To Instruction (Cause)
1. Instruction:
a. This word is most often translated instruction, but sometimes as: chastisement, correction, discipline, rebuke.
b. In Proverbs it is often used of the corrective instructions of a father to his son.
VARIOUS RESPONSES TO INSTRUCTION:
2. Some refuse instruction.
a. Refusing: to let go; let loose; ignore; let alone.
b. Prov. 1:25 – they set at nought all my counsel. (ignored it!) [set at nought = refuse — same word]
c. They treated God’s wisdom as nothing… they treated it lightly… they turned it away as if it were of no value.
d. Prov. 1:30 – They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
e. They didn’t want it. (would = will — they were unwilling to receive it… unwilling to hear.)
f. You don’t refuse something that you really want. The fool does not WANT any instruction from others… or from God.
g. There is nothing wrong with being innocently ignorant. But there is something dreadfully wrong with being WILLFULLY ignorant!
h. There is something fatally wrong with being unwilling to learn… unwilling to be taught… unteachable.
i. This is what Solomon addresses in this proverb.
3. Some resist instruction or discipline.
a. Prov. 29:1 – some are chastened time after time… they harden their necks against it.
b. Hardening of the neck is a figure taken from the taming of a wild animal. When the animal does not want to be tamed, he stiffens his neck to resist the yoke.
c. It came to be an illustration of resisting authority… a lack of submission… refusal to cooperate.
d. That’s how Solomon uses it here. The one who resists chastening… correction… instruction… is likened to a wild animal resisting his master.
e. When some hear instruction (whether a father’s, teacher’s, government official’s, or even God’s) they resist… refuse to cooperate… and behave like a stubborn mule.
f. Prov. 15:10 – Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way.
• Just as it is grievous for the animal to submit his head to the yoke and do the work…
• It is grievous for us sometimes to submit to discipline and instruction — from man or God!
• But although discipline and instruction are grievous, they are GOOD for us… profitable.
g. God was working in the life of Saul of Tarsus…
• convicting him about his awful treatment of Christians.
• God said that Saul/Paul was also acting like a stubborn animal resisting and refusing to submit… “It’s hard for thee to kick against the pricks!”
h. When someone is trying to give you instruction, discipline, reproof, or correction, don’t fight against it like mule! Take it in… receive it… give it due consideration.
i. Psalm 32:8-9 – be not as the mule! Let’s face it: we all have a little mule in us.
4. Some avoid instruction.
a. Prov. 15:12 – A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise. He avoids it.
b. WHY won’t he go to the one who reproves?
• Because he KNOWS that he is going to be reproved… and have his faults pointed out. That hurts.
• He LOVETH NOT reproof or the reprover. He avoids it at all costs.
• Often folks who need counseling say, “I’m not going to pastor. I know what he’s going to say!” They know they are in the wrong… and they know that it will be pointed out… and thus they avoid it!
• Darkness hates the light and will not go to it.
• Often believers who are not walking with the Lord stay away from church because they know that they are going to hear some form of reproof from the Word… or from a brother…
• One way to RESIST instruction is to avoid the place where instruction is likely to be given!
5. Prov. 5:12 –
a. despise: to spurn; contemn; despise; abhor.
b. Hated = to be hateful; to be an enemy.
c. Cf. Prov. 1:30 – they despised my reproofs!
d. This takes resistance to a whole new level.
e. It’s one thing to “not love” reproof. It is quite another thing to hate it.
6. I Kings 18:17 – Ahab played the “blame game.”
a. Elijah came to rebuke the king and Ahab knew it.
b. Therefore, as a defense mechanism, he shifted the focus away from himself to Elijah and blamed him for the trouble in the land.
c. Perhaps we have been guilty of this. A friend comes with the best of intentions to point out an area of your life that needs some attention—and the first thing out of your mouth is, “Oh yea! Who do you think you are! I suppose you’ve never sinned?!?”
7. Mark 6:18-19 – John the Baptist exposed the sin of Herod and Herodias.
a. Herodias developed a quarrel/ grudge against John and even wanted to kill him.
b. That is certainly not a good response to reproof.
c. We may not take to the extreme of plotting a murder, but we can develop a grudge against the one who reproves us.
d. Maybe someone here tonight has some ill will in the heart against someone who gave you some unwanted, but needed instruction…
e. Acts 7:54 – when the Jews heard Stephen’s rebuke, they gnashed at him with their teeth and stoned him to death.
B. Despising His Own Soul (Effect)
1. Despiseth =
a. Strong’s: to reject, despise, refuse
b. Zodhiates: to abhor; to refuse. The primary meaning of this word is to reject or treat as loathsome.
c. This is quite similar in thought with the previous verb: refuse. That is by design.
d. His point is this: the one who is despising or refusing instruction is despising or refusing his own soul.
e. Soul here is best understood in the sense of HIMSELF… his own life.
2. Refusing instruction is self-destructive behavior.
a. Instruction is for the benefit of the one being instructed.
• Instruction is for the health, safety, protection, prosperity, and well being of the one being instructed.
• To refuse instruction is to refuse the health, safety, protection, and prosperity of your own self!
b. Prov. 8:36 – He wrongeth his own soul.
• Wrongeth = to wrong; do violence to; treat violently.
• We use another figure of speech to say the same thing today. When someone is about to make a decision or say something that you know he will pay for down the road, we say, “He’s shooting himself in the foot.”
b. Prov. 10:17 – He that refuseth reproof ERRETH.
• refuse: depart from; leave behind; leave; let alone; to leave; abandon; forsake; neglect; apostatize.
• The one who refuses to listen to reproof and instruction errs… he wanders away…
• The instruction is designed to keep us in the straight and narrow way.
• The one who refuses is like the man who refuses to follow the directions. He will wander all over the city aimlessly until he swallows his pride and asks for directions.
• This man is working against himself… despising his own soul… making his own life miserable.
c. Prov. 29:1 – He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
• Destruction comes to the unteachable one… in many forms.
• There is a price to pay for this kind of folly.
• And the damage can be irreversible!
• Think of all the people in jail right now…
→ How many words of warning, admonition, instruction, and reproof did they receive in their lives!
→ How many times did they mock at those words of instruction!
→ Now they’re in jail, and their sentence is irreversible.
→ You can resist authority and resist instruction only so long before it catches up to you.
→ And when it does finally catch up to you… there is no remedy.
d. 13:18 – Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction.
• In the work world, a man who refuses to hear instruction will fail at whatever he does.
• Poverty will be his reminder of his folly.
• In his social life, the man who refuses to hear instruction will be brought to shame.
• He will hear “I told you so” wherever he goes!
• Sooner or later he will be ashamed of the course he took.
e. It’s hard to imagine a character flaw more damaging to one’s life than an unteachable spirit.
• No matter how far astray a person may be, no matter how ignorant he may be, if he is teachable, there’s hope for a recovery.
• But if he is unteachable… there is no hope.
• Prov. 26:12 – if he thinks he knows it all and will not submit to instruction, there is no hope for him.
32b But he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.
1. This is basically the truth we saw in the previous proverb.
a. Verse 31 speaks of the one who hears reproof and gains wisdom.
b. Verse 32b speaks of the one who hears reproof and gains understanding.
c. The person who is wise enough to HEAR reproof benefits from what he hears.
Proverbs 15:33a
Fear Before Instruction
Introduction:
1. This is the third proverb in a row that deals with the subject of wisdom.
2. Each approach the subject from a slightly different angle.
a. Vs. 31 – a hearing ear = wisdom
b. Vs. 32 – refusing reproof = the opposite of wisdom
c. Vs. 33 – reverence and humility = wisdom
33a The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom
PROVERBS SAYS MUCH ABOUT THE FEAR OF THE LORD
What the book of Proverbs says about the fear of the Lord
→ It is the beginning of knowledge. (Prov.1:7)
→ Prov.9:10 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.
→ Prov. 8:13 – The fear of the LORD is to hate evil.
→ Prov. 10:27 – The fear of the LORD prolongeth days.
→ Prov. 14:26 – In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.
→ Prov. 14:27 – The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
→ Prov. 15:16 – Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.
→ Prov. 15:33 – The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom.
→ Prov. 16:16 – by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
→ Prov. 19:23 – The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.
→ Prov. 22:4 – By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.
→ Prov. 23:17 – But be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
In Proverbs 15:33, Solomon says, “IF YOU WANT WISDOM AND INSTRUCTION FROM GOD –THEN FEAR HIM!”
1. Deut. 5:27-29 – God laments when His people don’t fear Him.
a. Moses is about to receive the ten commandments.
• The people were afraid of the fire and noise… and asked Moses to speak to God for them.
• Vs. 27 – They told Moses that whatever God said to them, they would DO.
• Their intentions were good.
b. In vs. 29, God laments because He knows, in spite of their good intentions, they do not have the proper kind of fear and reverence for Him that they should.
• God knew that they would not follow through on what they intended to do.
• Their fear of God would fizzle out… and so would their determination to obey.
• And as a result, they are missing out on His blessing!
c. Vs. 29 – God knew that godly fear is GOOD for them… and for their families!
• God laments because His people are missing out on His blessings…
• But perhaps more so God laments because their fear of God would soon turn into disrespect and that would turn into disobedience..
• He is WORTHY of our respect and reverence!
d. God laments when He does not receive it… like any father would lament if their children were disrespectful towards them.
• God, like any father, is concerned about the ATTITUDE of His children towards Him.
• Fear, respect, and reverence are essential to a right relationship to God.
e. Before we can ever receive instruction from the Lord, God demands that we demonstrate reverence and respect for who He is… the fear of the Lord.
• In this section of Deut., God was about to speak to the children of Israel… He was about to give them His Word… the moral law… the Ten Commandments.
• God lamented because He knew their fear of Him was quite shallow… and that His word would not be understood OR obeyed without a fear of God.
2. Psalm 4:3-4 – The fear of God is standing in awe of who He is, leads a man to be STILL before Him… and to commune with our own heart.
a. Vs. 3 – the lord hath set apart to Himself those who are godly.
• David also notes that God HEARS those folks when they pray.
• Genuine communication exists between God and the godly.
• God listens and responds to the godly.
b. Vs. 4 – David is telling the sons of men to stand in awe of God… become a God-fearer.
• The one who begins to learn who God is, and learns of His omnipotence and omniscience, will naturally stand in AWE of Him.
• He will be humbled before Him… stand still.
• Part of learning to fear God is learning how PUNY we are in His presence!
• As we learn to fear God, self is abased… pride is put aside…
c. The one who fears God has great reverence before God will be still and LISTEN to Him through His Word.
• First we HEAR God in His Word, then that hearing is to be followed by an appropriate RESPONSE.
d. Because we are made in God’s image (intellect, emotion, and will), the appropriate response is to THINK THROUGH what God said.
• Commune with your own heart: think things through in your own mind and heart; meditate; reason things out in the presence of God…
• WHY commune with our own heart? Because it usually leads to making some ADJUSTMENTS in our hearts.
• THAT is the way of wisdom!
e. The awe of God… the fear of the Lord leads to genuine instruction in wisdom in the heart.
• This instruction is HEARD; it doesn’t go in one ear and out the other.
• It enters the mind and meditated upon. It sinks into the heart.
• Necessary adjustments are made, and it is applied to the life.
• That is the one who truly LEARNS… divine instruction of wisdom… that is experienced.
• This is not just book learning. That’s real learning.
3. Psalm 25:12 – God chooses to TEACH only those who fear Him.
a. In this psalm, David seeks to be taught… instructed by the Lord.
• Vs. 4-5 – Show me thy ways; lead me; teach me!
• Vs. 8-9 – God teaches sinners like us; He leads and teaches those who are meek…
• Meekness implies a teachable spirit…
• God teaches the teachable… God leads those willing to be led.
• Those who are proud and arrogant, God will neither lead nor teach.
b. And doesn’t that make perfect sense?
• God teaches His children only when they come before Him in godly fear, respect, and reverence.
• The opposite of that is pride—the know it all—the arrogant one who really isn’t interested in listening.
• Why should ANYONE teach such an arrogant fool?
• His refusal to bow in the presence of God in reverence indicates that he really doesn’t WANT to be instructed.
c. God teaches those who fear Him. He doesn’t teach those who do not fear Him.
• Remember that every time we come into God’s presence in a special way… in church… family devotion time… when we pray… when we open His Word.
• God seeks to lead, guide, and instruct those who approach Him in fear, respect, and reverence.
• Absent that, we will NOT be led, guided, or instructed.
• Absent that godly fear, approaching God is a mere sham… a religious front… a facade… an empty, shallow, religious form.
d. But when we DO fear God, HE INSTRUCTS! He taught the God-fearers in Israel the true meaning of His covenants!
• To all the rest who did NOT fear Him, the law was but nothing but an old book of burdensome rules.
• But to those who feared God, they DELIGHTED in the old covenant law! It was God’s Word… sweet as honey!
• A fear of God changes our whole attitude and outlook.
e. Cf. Vs. 14 – The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him.
• Secret = confident counsel.
• God gives counsel and guidance to those who fear Him.
• God will teach the God fearer and enable him to understand His covenant… His Word.
• Cf. usage in Job 29:4 – God’s secret was upon Job’s tabernacle in the days of his youth.
• Job remembered his times of intimate fellowship, communion, and counsel he received from God.
• God’s counsel is only upon the tabernacle of those who fear God.
4. Psalm 31:19 – God has rich treasures for those who fear Him.
a. Goodness = this is a general term for goodness used in various ways in the Old Testament:
• The plentiful harvest of the land (Neh. 9:36; Jer. 2:7);
• Items of superior quality and desirability (2 Kgs. 8:9);
• Inward joy (Isa. 65:14);
• The manifest goodness of the Lord.
b. Laid up = to hide, to keep secret. It is used of concealing something, often of great value.
c. God has hidden away from the sight and experience of the multitudes, GREAT GOODNESS.
• It is concealed from the pride and arrogant…
• It is concealed from those who refuse to listen…
• It is hidden away from the foolish know it alls.
• But it is hidden away FOR those who fear God!
• That’s why the psalmist—who feared God—said as he read Scripture: “Lord, open thou mine eyes that I might behold wondrous things out of thy law!”
• Wondrous things are IN Gods’ Word… but they are hidden from those who do not come to God bowed down… in respect and reverence.
• A great harvest of things of a superior quality that brings inner joy is found in the instruction of the Lord… but they are ONLY for those who fear God.
• God is able to tell who’s who when we pray, read, and hear His Word taught.
d. One of the special treasures hidden away from the world and hidden FOR the believer is instruction in wisdom.
• God DOES seek to impart wisdom to men.
• However, we KNOW that God has a prerequisite: fear or reverence.
• God’s good gifts are for God fearers and no one else. This certainly includes the impartation of the knowledge of God and an understanding of his Word.
• If we are not understanding the Scriptures when we read, perhaps we need to bow a little lower…
5. Prov. 1:7 –the fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of wisdom.
a. This is where it starts.
b. No reverence; no wisdom.
c. God won’t even BEGIN to teach us wisdom until we come into His presence bowed down in reverence.
d. He who fears God will be well taught in the ways of wisdom.
e. The more we get to know who God is, the more we will fear Him. To know Him IS to fear Him!
f. A lack of fear of God indicates that we don’t know Him very well.
• He is WORTHY of fear… respect… reverence.
• How can you not fear a God who sent fire and brimstone from heaven?
• How can you not fear and reverence a God who holds your next breath in His hand?
• How can you not fear a God who is omnipotent?
• If you don’t fear Him, you don’t know Him.
g. The more we know of Him, the more we will fear… and thus, the more He will instruct us—for fearing God is the BEGINNING of wisdom… and is the beginning of instruction!
• God only instructs those who fear Him.
h. Fearing God implies a willingness not only to HEAR, but to OBEY.
i. John 17:7 – He will KNOW the doctrine IF he is willing to DO what it says. Otherwise, that teaching remains a secret… hidden from him… he will be blinded towards that element of truth.
Proverbs 15:33b
Before Honor is Humility
Those who seek for honor shall be dishonored
A. Pride
1. The opposite of humility is PRIDE… arrogance.
a. Pride is one of the sins God especially hates. (Prov. 6:16-17)
b. Pride was that sin which first filled Lucifer…
c. Pride is at the heart of all sin… a love for self above God. A spirit of independence from God.
d. It is exalting self above God and others… exalting self will, our own thoughts, our own ways, our own ideas,
B. Shall Be Abased
1. Prov. 16:18 – pride precedes a fall…
2. Prov. 18:12 – pride brings destruction…
3. Prov. 29:23 – pride brings a man low…
4. Luke 14:8-11 – the humble are honored; the proud are abased
5. I Peter 5:5 – God resists the proud.
6. Those who proudly seek for personal honor shall be dishonored…
Those who seek for humility shall be honored
A. Humility
1. The believer is to be clothed with humility 1 Pet. 5:5.
a. Our person is to be characterized by humility.
b. As clothing COVERS the body… humility and lowliness are to cover self.
c. Be clothed! This is a command. It is our responsibility to put on this kind of clothing!
2. The believer is to walk in humility. Eph 4:1, 2
a. Our walk is to be one of lowliness, meekness, and humility.
b. This too is a command.
c. Humility and meekness are to characterize our whole lives.
d. Wherever we walk, it should be in humility.
3. Beware of false humility: Col 2:18, 23.
a. The cult in Colossae had become experts at LOOKING humble.
b. Cults today also attempt to LOOK humble… by wearing old fashioned clothing… looking to be poor…
c. Jesus rebuked the Scribes and Pharisees for trying to APPEAR to be humble and holy… but they did it to be seen of men!
d. We can do the same. It is hypocrisy when we put others first… in order to be SEEN putting others first!
e. That is PRIDE wrapping oneself in a false humility.
f. There is no honor in putting others first… or other expressions of humility… if the motive is wrong!
g. Phony humility is pride… of the worst sort!
h. We might be able to fool other men, but God can tell the difference between genuine and phony humility.
B. Shall be Honored
1. True humility is HONORED by God.
a. God delights in honoring the humble.
b. Matt. 18:4 – whosoever shall humble himself as a little child shall be called the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
2. Honor: glory; honor; reputation; abundance; wealth; reward.
a. This is the term in Gen. 45:13 when Joseph sent his brothers to tell his father of all his “glory” in Egypt. (which included position, power, and wealth).
b. Joseph was humbled by men… and rather than fighting against it, he submitted to it, recognizing that God was sovereign.
c. In time, God lifted him up and gave him honor!
3. Prov. 18:12 – before honor is humility.
4. Isa. 66:2 – God looks to the man who bows before Him in humility and fear.
a. Looks: regard; show regard to; pay attention to; consider; to gaze intensely.
b. God cannot stand to behold proud flesh, but He gazes intensely upon the humble.
c. This is just what Proverbs 15:33 says!
5. Cf. Isa. 57:15 – God DWELLS with the humble…
a. What greater honor could there be than to have the Creator of the universe pay attention to us!?
b. What greater honor than to have the One who dwells upon high dwell with us who are but dust?
6. This principle is demonstrated in the life of Christ.
a. The principle: first comes humility, then comes honor!
b. Phil. 2:5-11 – First came His period of humiliation—incarnation to the mortal state. Then came glory and honor!
• This glory and honor to come enabled Him to continue to endure suffering and humiliation on earth.
• This is our example in running the race!
c. Luke 24:26 – Christ is our example of this truth: first comes humility, then honor!
• First the cross, and then the crown.
• The same principle holds for those who follow Christ.
• A life of humility on earth followed by exaltation in glory!
d. Paul too followed the example of Christ in this.
• II Cor. 12:7-9 – God HONORED Paul greatly. He was caught up to the third heaven.
• This honor could easily have tempted him to PRIDE.
• LEST Paul should be exalted… (to keep him humble), God sent a thorn in the flesh. We all have one… or maybe several!
• He was HUMBLED by a thorn in the flesh. Some sort of trial or ailment kept Paul humble.
• Thus, God kept Paul humble that Paul might continue to be useful in God’s service.
• After a lifetime of faithful service, Paul will be exalted and receive a WELL DONE.
• But in order to receive that kind of honor at the Bema, God had to humble Paul on earth.
• God does that in our lives too. It is His mercy that does so.
7. Practical examples for life on earth.
a. Luke 18:14 – God exalted the humble publican… and abased the proud Pharisee.
b. Jas. 4:10 – humble yourself before God and He will lift you up!
c. Put this principle in the light of the context:
• Solomon has been speaking about the reproof (vs.31) and admonition (vs.32).
• The person who is HUMBLE enough to listen to reproof abides among the wise. He is honored.
• The person who is proud arrogantly refuses admonition (vs.32) will be abased.
• Humility will bring a person to honor when he humbles himself and listens to rebuke, admonition, and reproof.
• The proud fool will face a fall… destruction.
• But the humble wise man will see honor… and add to his wisdom. God will lift him up.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 16
Proverbs 16:1
Preparations of the Heart
Introduction:
1. Good men differ on the exact interpretation of this proverb, as is evidenced in the various translations and commentaries.
2. Two possibilities:
a. The preparations of the heart AND the answer of the tongue are from the Lord…
b. The preparations of the heart is of man, and the answer of the tongue is of the Lord.
3. Either way, the meaning is similar. The question is whether Solomon is saying that both are of the Lord or just one.
4. Evidently the Hebrew leaves out the verb in this proverb, and it must be added by the translator (is)
a. The preparation of the heart—in man.
b. The answer of the tongue—of God.
5. Thus, the evidence seems to lean towards “b”.
a. The preparations of the heart is of man, and the answer of the tongue is of the Lord.
1a The preparations of the heart in man
1. Preparations Defined.
a. Arrangement; plan; preparation. (Strong’s)
b. Plans; considerations, i.e., an orderly, purposed, arrangement of ideas with regard to future actions. (Dict. of Bib. Lang.)
c. It refers to the aspirations and considerations that come from the heart of man. (Zodhiates)
d. Setting in order; often used in martial contexts of “drawing up in battle order.” (Theol. Wordbook of the Old Testament)
e. The term is used only here in Prov. 16:1.
f. The root of the word appears as follows:
• Ps. 23:5 – thou preparest a table before me…
• Gen. 22:9 – Abraham laid the wood in order for the sacrifice…
• Judg. 20:22 – They put themselves in array for battle.
2. Of the heart.
a. Solomon has in mind here preparations, plans, thoughts, and machinations of the heart…
b. The particular KIND of plans Solomon had in mind must be determined by the context… and in this book that usually means the second half of the proverb.
c. The proverb is dealing with the issue of the tongue… speech… communication…
d. There is a DIRECT connection between the heart and the tongue.
• Matt. 15:18 – evil in the heart will eventually come forth from the tongue.
• Matt.12:34-35 – good things OR evil things.
• Whatever a man treasures up in his heart will manifest itself outwardly… and probably through the tongue.
e. Thus, the planning and inward thoughts seem to be related to a man’s speech.
• Thinking through WHAT to say…
• Thinking through the best WORDING to use…
• Planning the best APPROACH in speaking to another person…
• Preparing for an ARGUMENT… putting all the effective, little daggers in a row…
• Preparing to teach a Sunday school class…
• Planning HOW to patch up a mess you made…
• Thinking through the TIMING of the planned speech.
f. Other than mere chit chat and gabbing, it is a good idea to THINK before we speak.
• Cf. Prov. 15:28 – study to answer…
» The righteous man STUDIES to answer.
» Study Defined: Strong’s: meditate, devise, muse, imagine (Used in Ps.1:1 – he meditates on the Word day and night.)
» The righteous man in 15:28 is concerned about giving the RIGHT answer… which includes not only the right information, but the right spirit, attitude, delivery, setting, tone, and timing.
» That often requires time to THINK about HOW to answer… when, where, etc.
» That requires meditation in the heart… thinking it through… preparing words to say…
» The preparation of the heart in 16:1 is similar to “studying to answer” in meaning.
» It is always a good idea to study to answer… to THINK before you speak.
• We do this all the time.
» You have an interview for a new job… and you go over in your mind WHAT you might be asked and how you will answer…
» You have had an argument with your spouse, and know you want to make up… so you think through in your heart HOW to bring up the subject… what to say… what to avoid saying…
» You have a meeting with an unsaved friend and plan to give him the gospel… so you plan what verses to use… how to bring up the subject…
» You have to give a presentation of a product at work—you plan in your mind what to say…
» You are teaching a class at church and have to mull over in your heart how to illustrate the truth… how to word it for the level of your class…
» These are the preparations of the heart of which Solomon speaks.
g. Thus, all the words that come out of our mouths originate in the heart.
• For the important issues in life… they were most often mulled over in the heart first.
• In our hearts we prepare our speech… sometimes looking for just the right words… the right timing… the right setting… the right attitude…
3. In man.
a. IN MAN stands in contrast to FROM THE LORD in the second part of the proverb.
b. The preparations of the heart are IN MAN.
c. The answer of the tongue is FROM THE LORD.
d. These are two different sources.
e. Planning and preparing our speech is what WE do.
• And Solomon is not disparaging or disapproving of that…
• It is normal, natural and right.
• 15:28 says that is that the righteous man does! He studies—he plans and prepares his answers.
• 16:23 – states that WISE men do the same. Their heart TEACHES their mouth what to say.
• Planning and preparing speech is always the right thing to do. It is a demonstration of wisdom.
1b And the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
1. Answer: answer; response. – Strong’s
2. The answer of the tongue = that which comes out of our mouths.
a. The answer here is the summary of plans and preparations of the heart.
b. This answer of the tongue here is the RESULT of the meditation, the forethought, the planning and preparation that went on INSIDE before it comes outside.
3. Is from the Lord.
a. The main point here is that however well we plan our words, the final outcome is of the Lord.
b. This is the same thought as is found in Prov. 16:9 — there is a difference.
• Solomon is speaking about planning our speech in vs.1.
• In vs. 9 he is speaking about men planning their WAY… their steps… what they want to DO, not say.
• And in both cases, Solomon tells us that plan as we may, the Lord is LORD.
• He is sovereign over the final outcome of all of our plans.
• We say, “Man proposes, the Lord disposes.”
c. This is true with all of the things we plan or prepare to SAY too!
→ God is sovereign over the DELIVERY of our speech.
→ God is sovereign over the CONTENT of our speech.
→ God is sovereign over the SUCCESS of our speech.
→ God is sovereign over the USE of our speech.
4. God is sovereign over the DELIVERY of our speech.
a. I know this first hand as a pastor.
• There have been times when I felt supremely prepared to teach or preach… and at delivery time I tripped over my tongue…
• There have been other times when I felt unprepared to speak, and it came out smoothly.
b. Perhaps you have experienced the same thing.
• On one occasion, at a job interview you were prepared to the hilt, and then fumbled all over the simplest questions they asked!
• On another occasion, you suddenly had an opportunity to witness to an unsaved friend—and though you didn’t have time to THINK… God gave you the words and they just flowed off your tongue!
• When it comes to speech and communication—God is LORD over our tongues.
5. God is sovereign over the CONTENT of our speech.
a. Again, as a pastor I struggle with this every week.
• I prepare lessons—plan ahead—have my outline all written out… building the argument from the text…
• But the time runs out and I had to leave sections out
• God knew all about that. Perhaps it wasn’t God’s time for that truth to be said…
• Perhaps I was off base in my conclusions and God graciously refused to let me have time to say it…
b. The answer of the tongue is from the Lord in your life too.
• Perhaps you have planned a long, elaborate response to a friend… and when the question is finally asked, the Lord makes it clear that you should bite your tongue…
c. Regardless of our plans, God has the right to change them… especially with our speech. He is Lord of the tongue too.
d. He has the right to cut our speech off short… He has the right and the ability to give us just the right words to say…
e. Consider Balaam. He prepared in his heart to CURSE Israel… but God overruled and he ended up blessing them!
6. God is sovereign over the SUCCESS of our speech.
a. Perhaps you have planned to witness to a friend—and have spent all week working on just the right words to use in presenting the gospel.
b. The success of your gospel presentation is to be attributed to a sovereign God, not your ability as a wordsmith!
c. God can use the words of a man with a limited vocabulary, who stutters, and whose knees knock as he speaks.
d. God may choose to cause the words of an eloquent speaker to fall flat on the ears of the hearers.
e. Both men may have spent much time in planning in their hearts as they prepared to speak… but the final outcome—the success of their speech is from the Lord.
f. I have CRINGED at times when I hear what some teachers have said in church meetings… worried about the people who heard it… wishing I could erase it. But God is sovereign. No need to worry. He is Lord. He allowed it for a reason.
g. This puts us in our place…
h. It also removes excuses. It also removes excuses. Whether we lack confidence in our ability to speak like Moses, or if we speak well like Aaron… ultimately, the effectiveness of speech is in the hands of God.
7. The BOLDNESS to speak is of the Lord too.
a. There have been folks who made the greatest plans to speak up… but when the time came, they cowered away.
b. Others have made similar plans to speak up, and were given the boldness to speak forth!
c. Eph. 6:19-20 – Paul prayed for utterance… and boldness to speak…
Proverbs 16:2
Clean in His Own Eyes
Introduction:
1. In this proverb, Solomon makes a stark contrast that can be described variously:
a. between what men see and what God sees
b. between behavior and motives
c. between the outward and the inward
d. between a human perspective and a divine perspective
e. between personal justification and divine denunciation
2. In a word, this proverb is about self-deceit.
a. This is an issue that every one of us needs to consider.
b. We have all been there many times over. We may still be there today!
c. This proverb is not for us to use to judge others, but to judge our own hearts.
2a All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes;
A. The WAYS of a Man
1. Way: most often used metaphorically to refer to the pathways of one’s life, suggesting the pattern of life… lifestyle.
a. The term is quite general and broad.
b. It is broad enough to include the WAY we think, talk, walk.
c. It is broad enough to include the WAY we SEE things; the way we DO things; the way we approach things; the way we handle things…
2. Ps. 119:5 – Oh that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes.
a. Our ways are often NOT in the way of obedience.
b. Our ways are often wayward!
c. Our ways need to be directed towards obedience… because obedience does not come naturally.
3. Jer. 10:23 – the way of man is not in himself… it is not in man to direct his steps.
a. We are often misguided in our way… and in the individual steps along the way.
b. It is not IN us to know the right way… yet we often THINK we do.
c. This is a danger: we don’t know the right way, but we THINK we do!
d. It is bad enough to be blind, but it is far worse to be blind and not know it!
4. Prov. 20:24 – we very often do NOT know our own ways well.
5. Ps. 119:27-28 – the way of lying vs. the way of truth.
6. Ps. 37:5 – commit thy ways unto the Lord.
7. Ps. 119:59 – I thought on my ways and TURNED!
B. Clean In His Own Eyes
1. In spite of the fact that the Bible says that we do not know our own ways well, they are often misguided, and we are inclined to wander OUT of the right way… our proud hearts persist in putting the best possible face on our ways.
a. Prov. 21:2 – EVERY way of man is right in his own eyes.
b. Twice Solomon informs us of this aspect of human nature: we see ourselves through rose colored glasses…
2. Prov. 30:12 – pure in their own eyes… yet unclean! They are unclean and don’t realize it. This is self deception. (Cf. the Laodiceans)
3. Prov.14:12 – there is a way that SEEMS right, but the end thereof is the way of death.
a. When examining our own hearts, we tend to judge superficially.
b. If something SEEMS right on the surface, we choose to dig no deeper… lest we discover something incriminating!
c. Just because something SEEMS right, that doesn’t mean that it IS right.
d. Many things SEEM right to us… but can prove deadly.
e. I have had so-called Christian couples living together in sin, and told me that it seemed right to them because they were in love.
f. Let God be true and every man a liar—even self!
4. Examples:
a. I Sam. 15:13-14 – I have obeyed the Lord!
• Saul THOUGHT he obeyed, but he did not.
• He may have convinced himself that what he did was good enough… close enough.
• But close is not good enough for God.
• It’s not good enough for your math teacher either!
• Saul was self deluded… deceived.
• He was clean in his own eyes, but he soon discovered that his judgment would not be based upon the way HE saw the situation, but on the way GOD saw things!
b. Luke 18:9-11 – the Pharisee thanked God that he was not like other men!
• These proud Pharisees actually thought they were doing well in God’s sight.
• But all of their actions were quite superficial… and God dug deep into their hearts.
• Being clean in one’s own eyes means nothing.
5. Aren’t we all a bit partial in judging ourselves?
a. Isn’t it human nature to give ourselves every benefit of the doubt, and to be a bit harsher in critiquing others?
b. Isn’t it hard for us to see uncleanness in our own lives, yet aren’t we at the same time eagle-eyed at seeing spots in others?
c. Aren’t we quite generous in giving ourselves slack… but not so generous with others?
d. Isn’t it a fact that we are inclined to overlook faults in our own lives, and pass it off as a mild infraction, but see the same fault in others as quite a bit more serious?
6. Let’s face it! We love ourselves and it’s hard for us to admit guilt or to see the error of our ways… though we see the error of others quite easily and readily.
2b But the LORD weigheth the spirits.
1. God REALLY knows the ways of men.
a. Ps. 1:6 – He knows the way of the righteous and the ungodly.
b. Ps. 119:68 – all my ways are before Thee.
c. Prov. 5:21 – all the ways of man are before God’s eyes…
d. I Sam. 16:7 – man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord sees the heart.
e. Jer. 17:10 – I the Lord search the hearts and reins.
f. Rev. 2:18-19 – the Lord’s eyes are like flames of fire piercing into our souls. He knows our works, patience, motives…
g. Heb.4:13 – we stand naked and opened before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
h. When God scrutinizes, we will find ourselves weighed in the balance and found wanting!
2. God weighs the SPIRITS of men.
a. Spirit = breath… sometimes used of an attitude…
b. Some translate this: God weighs the motives…
c. In either case, God digs much deeper in analyzing us.
d. Even when our actions seem quite good, the motive may not be. The spirit in which it was done may be evil!
e. Even when we justify our actions as being clean… our motives and the intentions of the heart may not be clean.
f. God knows it all. God is viewing it all.
g. God is weighing it all on His perfect, infallible scales. And His scales always give us the correct weight… the proper analysis… the TRUTH… and He is no respecter of persons.
3. No person has ever or will ever get away with ANYTHING before the Lord.
a. Even if we deceive ourselves into THINKING that our ways are clean… God judges according to truth… not according to our slanted version of the truth.
b. Even if we have excuses for all of our actions and a Bible verse that seems to back us up… God judges according to truth… rightly divided!
c. Regardless of all of our excuses and self justification, what matters ultimately is not OUR perspective, but God’s!
d. He doesn’t always judge immediately, but He does judge… and His judgment is according to TRUTH… not the individual’s perception of truth.
e. Prov. 1:31 – the way of man might be clean in his own eyes, but he shall eat the fruit of his own way.
• A deceived person is WRONG even if he THINKS he is right.
• And there are consequences to being in the wrong way… even when you think you are in the right.
• A person who gets in route 128 in the wrong direction driving 65 mph will PAY for being in the wrong way… even if he THINKS he got on in the right direction.
• It doesn’t matter what we think. What matters is truth.
• God judges all circumstances according to truth.
• That man will eat of the fruit of his own way.
f. Prov.14:14 – the backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways.
• His backsliding may not be apparent and outward… it may not be seen by men.
• He may have deluded himself into thinking that all is well between him and God…
• He might be clean in his own eyes… but that is irrelevant.
• Often backsliders EXCUSE their sin… justify their actions… view themselves through rose colored glasses… and whatever sins they cannot cover, they explain away as minor… for after all—one can always find someone else who is in WORSE condition!
• Adam hid from God when he sinned… and men have been following in his steps ever since.
• Whether we hide behind a fig leaf or hide behind self delusion matters not.
• We stand naked and open before God. He sees all.
• There is no hiding from His piercing eyes…
g. Ps. 139:23-24 – Search me O Lord and know my heart…
• This should be our constant prayer.
• We are so inclined to overlook our own faults, failures, and sins.
• We need God to be our OBJECTIVE umpire… He calls the plays as they are in truth.
• And we need to be willing to submit to His calls.
4. Conclusions:
a. Let’s not be too confident of our innocence before the Lord.
• It is possible for us to be deceived into THINKING that all is well when all is NOT well.
• It is possible to have a clean conscience and be dead wrong! Our conscience might be fed the wrong information.
• God has ALL the information… and rightly divided too.
b. This truth will bring us peace in dealing with injustices done against us… and in many other interpersonal conflicts.
• Has anyone ever lied to you?
• Has anyone ever given you their side of the story and feel perfectly justified in their actions?
• Have you ever had to deal with someone who thinks they can do no wrong?
• Have you ever met a person who is a master of spin? They can take any set of circumstances, no matter how self condemning they are, and spin it in such a way that it is not their fault? It’s your fault… or someone else’s?
• Have you ever been frustrated in dealing with someone who is clean in his own eyes and there is no reasoning with him/her?
• Well, take heart. God knows the truth. God sees the heart… motives… intentions…
• Nobody EVER gets away with anything with God. Ever!
• We don’t have to worry about it. We don’t have to try to try to manipulate events in order to bring about justice. Justice WILL come—their day is coming! Trust God. Shall not the God of all the earth to do right?
Proverbs 16:3
Committing Our Works to God
3a Commit thy works unto the LORD
A. Commit
1. The term defined: to roll; to roll oneself; to roll away; to flow to.
a. It came to mean to TRUST… to commit to… entrust…
b. Used in Ps. 37:5 – commit thy WAYS unto the Lord.
c. Used in Ps. 22:8 – translated “trusted.”
d. It seems to speak of turning something over to another… rolling your burden on to someone else.
e. It is quite similar in meaning to “Cast your cares upon the Lord…” (Commit them to Him; roll them off your shoulders and on to His)
f. Thus, we are here instructed to commit our works into God’s hands… into His care…
B. Works
1. Works = deeds; actions; business, pursuit; undertaking; enterprise; labors.
a. This speaks of any sort of labor or endeavor in which we engage ourselves.
b. It would apply to our jobs… what we do for work.
c. It would apply to the forms of entertainment we engage in.
d. It would apply to our labors at home…
e. It would apply to our service for the Lord…
f. It would apply to any and every pursuit in life…
g. It would apply to WHATSOEVER ye DO in word or deed!
h. The term is broad enough to include all of the affairs of our lives.
2. We need to be careful about our works.
a. Ps. 106:35, 39 – they mingled among the heathen and LEARNED their works.
b. Prov. 31:31 – OR a godly woman’s works will praise her in the gates.
c. We can find ourselves in works and activities that HINDER our spiritual walk and growth OR we can find ourselves involved in works that INCREASE our spiritual growth.
d. Ecc. 2:4-11 – Solomon was engaged in many work projects.
• But after some time, he realized how EMPTY were the works of his hands.
• His works were not evil in themselves (building up Jerusalem; Temple; gardens; groves; government buildings; etc.)
• Ecc. 2:17 – But he soon discovered that there was no lasting value in much of his labors. All was vanity.
• If building an empire apart from God does not satisfy, certainly our little projects will not satisfy either.
• Solomon’s works were done “under the sun.”
• Ecc. 12:14 – Solomon also learned that God will one day bring every work under judgment. Whatever is done for selfish motives will not last. Whatever is done for the glory of God will.
3. Therefore, whatever works we do are to be COMMITTED to God.
a. Our works need to be examined in light of His Word.
b. Our works need to be prayed about ahead of time.
c. Our works need to be done with the right motives and intentions.
d. Our works need to be the result of the leading of the Holy Spirit.
e. Our works need to be the result of God working in us.
f. Once we ROLL the affairs of our life over to the Lord, (committed our lives over to Him), it is no longer OURS.
g. We have thus left our works… our ways… our welfare into HIS care. He is in control.
h. This means also that whatever HIS will is, we have but to say, “Thy will be done.” (whatever that might be!)
i. If we can’t say, “Not my will but thine be done”, then we have not committed our works to Him.
4. Our works are to be committed to God BEFORE we act upon them.
a. We are not to go ahead and ACT and then expect God to bless our labors.
b. We are not to ASSUME God’s will… and go ahead to DO some service or labor and expect His blessing upon it.
c. BEFORE we act… before we DO… before we become engaged in a work or activity… we are to commit it to the Lord.
d. In other words, before our works even BECOME works they are to be committed to the Lord.
e. That means that in the PLANNING stage, we are to commit all of our desires, ideas, plans, purposes, goals, and pursuits into God’s sovereign care.
f. Rom.12:1-2 – present your body a living sacrifice to GOD before your body even begins to pursue a goal or activity.
g. Our works will not be committed or dedicated to God unless WE are committed and dedicated to God.
h. We cannot say that we have committed or entrusted an endeavor into God’s care unless we have first PRAYED about it.
i. We also need to be sure that we have been LED in that direction by God and not self.
j. We cannot say that this activity is committed to the Lord unless we are sure He’s IN it… that it is pleasing to Him… and will ultimately bring GLORY to Him.
k. In other words, if our works are going to be committed to God, we need to be real sure that WE are committed to pleasing Him… to doing HIS will and not our own…
l. Jas. 4:13-16 – if the LORD WILL we shall DO this or that!
→ The Lord rebukes these business men NOT for planning ahead for their business.
→ Rather He rebukes them for leaving God out of their plans… for pursuing them without consulting Him… without prayer… without first seeking His will.
→ Don’t we often do the same? We assume and then act.
→ “This is a good plan… this is a good pursuit… this is a good activity. Let’s do it!”
b. If we seek God’s will FIRST… put Him and His will and His glory FIRST… and then act… we can expect His blessing.
→ But we often do things backwards.
→ We act… we do… we carry out OUR plan and put it into action and THEN ask God to bless.
→ Prov. 3:6 – in ALL thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy steps. Acknowledge God BEFORE you act…
3b And thy thoughts shall be established.
A. Thoughts Established
1. Established: to be firm; be stable; be established; fixed; to cause to stand.
a. Used in Prov. 16:9 – the Lord DIRECTS (makes firm; establishes) his steps.
b. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. (Prov. 4:26, same term)
c. Our steps and the pathways we choose are not firm and solid… unless the LORD directs them walk and MAKES them firm!
2. Thoughts:
a. Defined: thoughts; device; plans; and purposes.
b. The term can be used in a good sense (good goals or purposes) or in an evil sense (schemes and evil plots).
c. The thoughts or plans in this proverb have to do with the WORKS that follow.
d. When our works are REALLY committed to the Lord… put in His care and control… trusting HIM for the outcome… THEN our thoughts and purposes will be made FIRM.
3. We may choose to take steps and follow pathways and activities in life on our own… but there is no guarantee that those choices will be successful.
a. They could turn out to be colossal mistakes… missteps… the wrong pathway.
b. Our works might turn out to be giant failures.
c. So much of our labor will thus go up in smoke as wood, hay, and stubble.
d. And once we make those choices, we are forced to EAT the fruit of those poor choices.
e. That usually results in worry, despair, discouragement, fear, uneasiness, even depression.
f. When our works are NOT committed to the Lord first, our thoughts suffer afterward… sometimes for long periods of time even after we change direction!
• Did I do the right thing? Did I make the right decision?
• Did I step out of God’s will? Will the Lord bless this?
• Will the Lord deliver me out of this mess?
4. But if we have determined not to act until the Lord directs… and our works were COMMITTED to the Lord BEFORE we moved, and THEN will our THOUGHTS be established!
a. There is no worry, fear, regret, misgivings, discouragement, fear or depression when our works are FIRST committed to God.
b. Regardless of where the chips may fall, we know we are in God’s will. He led us all the way. That brings REST.
c. Phil. 4:6-7 – if we made our requests to God and he led us… then the peace of God will KEEP our minds and hearts. That removes all worry and anxiety.
d. Even if our works turn out to be UNSUCCESSFUL in the sight of men… if we were led of the Lord in following that pathway, we need have no worry or fear. We were in the center of God’s will!
e. That brings JOY and EASE to our thoughts. Peace, rest, sanity, calm, and confidence…
f. And it doesn’t matter if the business God leads us to begin fails. If our works were committed to Him, and we followed His leading, then we need not be discouraged. It was God’s teaching tool… to teach us humility… and there are good lessons in failure!
g. If we pray and commit our schooling to God, God does not guarantee that we will be tops in our class… but our thoughts will be established… firm… solid… stable… and there are good lessons to be learned in being #16 in a class of 25!
h. As we pursue goals and pathways in life. As we engage in various activities and endeavors in life… God never promises earthly success. But He does promise that our thoughts can be established… made firm… caused to stand.
i. We don’t have to fall to pieces and be torn to pieces in worry… distraught… angered… flustered… anxious… troubled.
j. If before we act, we cast our cares upon Him, we can REST in this: Jesus led me all the way! Once the cares and burdens are rolled over on to the Lord… the burden for success or failure is no longer ours…
k. And we can from that point on REST in God’s sovereign will for our lives… whether His blessing comes in the form of much or little.
5. This is a wonderful promise in every area of life.
a. As a parent…
• If we pray about decisions we make… if we seek God’s will and seek to implement His word…
• If we commit the rearing of our children into His care… then we can have REST of mind and heart… for He loves them more than we do!
• If we commit our family to the Lord and seek His guidance and will BEFORE we act… THEN our thoughts will be established.
• If we act on our own feelings… do that which seems expedient… act without regard for His Word… then we will WORRY about the outcome.
• Then we will be filled with anxiety, worry, and troubled in the inner man over the outcome.
• Because when we act alone, we bear the responsibility of the outcome alone.
• But when we don’t move until God leads, then we can rest… knowing that whatever the outcome… it was God working out His perfect will in my family.
• And even if the result is not what we had hoped… we need not be distraught… Jesus led me all the way!
• If (to the best of our understanding) the decisions we make at home are in harmony with the Word of God, then we can proceed with a pure conscience… and peace of mind… even if the way is rough.
b. As a business owner:
• If we pray before we buy or make big decisions…
• If we honestly seek God’s will…
• If we commit our business to God, we can rest.
• We can leave the outcome in His hands.
• We can thank Him for the success…
• We can thank Him for lessons learned in failure…
• If we have prayed earnestly and committed our business to the Lord, we don’t have to worry about the competition or the stock market.
• We can TRUST in God. We have committed our business to someone who knows all about us and knows exactly what we really need.
• God is wise enough to know that some men can handle earthly success… and will use it for His glory.
• He also knows that success might be the spiritual ruin of others.
• If our business is genuinely committed to the Lord, we leave the outcome in His care.
• THEN our thoughts will be established.
c. As a young person:
• If we have truly committed our whole lives over to God (as we ought) then we will trust HIM to make it good.
• We will trust Him to work out all the tangles…
• If we have determined to do His will and obey His word no matter what—then HE will establish our thoughts.
• He will give us peace and rest… confidence and assurance… no need to worry or fear if we have committed our lives to Him… and are following His leading.
• Then you will have good success.
Proverbs 16:4
All Things for Himself
Introduction:
1. Solomon states a difficult concept in one terse statement.
2. By difficult I do not mean that it is hard to understand. Rather, it is easy to understand, just hard for us self-centered creatures to accept and believe.
3. We are inclined to think that the world revolves around us and that it was created for our good pleasure.
4. Solomon lays that kind of thinking to rest.
4a The LORD hath made all things for himself:
A. FOR HIMSELF
1. (Close your ears!) God created everything for HIMSELF!
a. The earth was not created for our enjoyment.
b. All things do not exist for the good of mankind.
c. There is something higher and nobler than mankind.
d. The purpose and goal of all things ultimately is God and His glory…
2. Mankind is NOT the center of the universe—either geographically—or in God’s eternal purposes.
a. Rom. 8:28 – yes, it is true that all things work together for good of those who love God…
• BUT—they work out for the good ONLY to those who are in tune with God and love Him.
• If we really loved God, then our highest goal would be to bring glory to God. Then and only then do all things work out for our good.
• It does NOT mean that only good things will happen to those who love God.
• It does mean that even the evil things that happen to us are being used for the purpose of glorifying God.
• If we love Him, then we will be pleased with that purpose being accomplished.
• If we love ourselves, we will be frustrated and assume that Rom. 8:28 is not true.
B. ALL THINGS
1. This includes all of creation.
a. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Rev. 4:11)
b. All things were created by him, and for him: (Col.1:16)
c. Ps. 19:1 – it shows His handiwork
d. Ps.33:5 – the earth is FULL of His goodness—for those with eyes to see.
e. Rom.1:20 – Creation reveals His power and godhead (Isa.40:26,28).
2. This includes Israel
a. Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him. (Isa.43:7) (Cf. vs.21)
b. That he might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy – (Rom. 9:23).
3. This includes the church – Eph. 3:20 – God established the church that HE might be glorified in it.
a. After all, it is HIS Body!
b. HE dwells in it.
c. HE fills it with the fullness of Himself! (Eph. 1:23)
4. This includes the angels
a. Ps. 148:1-5 – Angels are revealed as just another part of God’s creation—designed to praise the Creator!
b. The heavens declare the glory of God… the heavens and everything in them… including angels.
5. God created you and me for His glory… and He saved us for His glory.
a. Salvation is designed for a much higher purpose than to rescue sinners from eternal suffering in the Lake of Fire… as noble as that is in its self.
b. But don’t forget, God CONDEMNS many more people than He saves!
c. We like to think that at least salvation has ME as its ultimate goal and purpose…
d. We like to sing, “It was FOR ME He died, FOR ME He cried, FOR ME He shed His blood on Calvary.” And that is certainly true… but ultimately, even salvation is not FOR ME, but FOR HIM.
• Eph. 1:5-6 – He chose us and saved us to demonstrate how gracious HE is to undeserving creatures like us.
• Eph. 1:12 – We exist to the praise of HIS glory.
• Eph. 2:7 – We were saved to be trophies of HIS grace!
• Eph. 2:10 – We were saved to be a manifestation of HIS workmanship.
• And this is just one small epistle.
• Sorry, but there is none of self in any of God’s plan.
6. All things includes everything we are aware of—and everything else that God has made that we might not be aware of. If it exists, God made it and for His glory!
a. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. (Rom. 11:36)
4b Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
1. “All things” includes the salvation of souls, but it also includes the judgment of the wicked.
a. Rom. 9:22 – to reveal God’s wrath and justice.
b. God is glorified when ANY aspect of His character is revealed: whether it be His love or His justice.
c. The destruction of the wicked is not a mistake on the part of God. It is not a failure in His efforts to win them.
d. Rather, it is used by God (with great grief of heart!) to demonstrate His holiness, justice, and righteousness.
2. Even the existence of wicked rebels in the world was designed by God to serve His purposes and bring glory to His name.
a. God has USED wicked men for His purposes. He used Nebuchadnezzar as an instrument of judgment against Judah. He used the wicked Haman in His plan to rescue Israel from destruction in Persia.
b. In doing so, God demonstrates that it is HE who is King of kings and Lord of lords.
c. And even today, God uses the wicked for His purposes.
• He uses wicked men to TEST believers.
• He uses wicked men to serve as a black velvet backdrop to magnify the sparkling jewel of divine grace!
d. He works all things—even the wicked—for His own ends.
3. But even ETERNAL condemnation glorifies God.
a. It is hard for us to appreciate this fact because we don’t always see things from a heavenly perspective.
b. From God’s perspective:
• Men are fallen creatures occupying and corrupting the planet God made to manifest His glories.
• Man sinned and destroyed what God made—and the Lord would have been just in condemning us ALL to hell.
• However, God extended grace to mankind and sent His Son to DIE for undeserving rebels…
• And those undeserving rebels continue to reject God’s offer of grace.
• God manifested His grace. Now He must manifest His holiness and justice…
• Thus, even in condemning rebels, God’s righteousness is made known and He is glorified… even though God is not willing that ANY should perish.
• From ETERNITY’S perspective, the whole story of the earth will MAGNIFY God’s grace and love…
c. It might be difficult for us to appreciate this from earth’s perspective, but one day we SHALL appreciate God’s work of salvation AND judgment! (Rev.19:1-4)
• Those in heaven say Alleluia for the fact of salvation and for the fact of condemnation of the wicked.
• They are both cause to fall down and worship Him… who created all things for His glory.
Proverbs 16:5
The Proud will Not Escape
5a Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD:
A. The Proud in Heart
1. Pride:
a. The term means literally: tall; exalted; high.
b. It can be used in a positive sense:
• The term was used of Saul: he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.
• II Chron. 17:6, “Jehoshaphat’s heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord.” (meaning encouraged)
c. The term can be used in a negative sense too.
• The term means high… and is used of arrogance… the attitude of lifting up ONESELF on high…
• Strong’s: a high, lofty, tall; exalted in station; haughty; proud.
• Zodhiates: An adjective denoting high, proud, lofty. The word describes an attitude of haughtiness or arrogance.
2. The proud in heart.
a. In this passage, it is obviously used in a negative sense… since God calls it an abomination. (That’s a hint!)
b. It is used this way in Prov. 18:12 – Before destruction the heart of man is haughty.
c. Ezek. 28:2 – it was used of the king of Tyrus.
• His proud heart reached incredible heights of arrogance! “I sit in the seat of God!”
• His proud, arrogant heart is seen here as a foreshadowing of the character of the devil himself.
• He was proud of his wisdom (28:3); his riches (vs. 4).
• It is no wonder God hates the proud heart.
d. A proud heart is something we too can and DO manifest.
• Pride over our accomplishments; looks; intelligence; spirituality; wisdom; possessions; talents; position; good deeds; popularity; etc…
• Pride is a nasty sin we ALL have to deal with… for it can easily be HIDDEN under a guise of humility… a false humility…
• God hates pride and sees right through our masks when we try to conceal it.
3. Are an abomination to the Lord.
a. Abomination = Detestable thing, repulsion, i.e., an object which is loathsome and abhorrent
b. Cf. Prov. 11:20 – God hates hearts that are not right with Him. Here, froward means: twisted, distorted, crooked, perverse, perverted.
c. Prov. 6:16-17 – God especially hates pride… fallen, corrupt human flesh exalting itself against the Creator!
d. I Pet. 5:5 – God RESISTS the proud!
5b Though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
A. Though hand join in hand
1. This is a figure of speech that speaks of men joining hands in a common cause… seeking to find strength in numbers.
a. Illustration: this morning I saw a news clip of a human chain joining hands to help someone escape a rip tide.
b. What one man would not be able to do alone, perhaps with many hands joined together, they could accomplish.
c. This is true in MOST situations. “Strength in numbers.” (Ecc. 4:9-12)
d. Consider what happens in a riot or a mob scene.
• After the Patriots won the AFC championship, Boston streets flooded with people…
• The people knocked over cars… threw rocks and beer cans…
• And they did all this in the plain sight of the police!
• But because there were so MANY of them doing such things, they felt safe.
• When the World Trade Organization meets, there are always radical groups that demonstrate against them.
• They throw rocks at the policemen! They hit policemen with sticks! And they get away with it—because there are so many of them.
• They would never try that if they were alone on a city street!
• There are times when there is safety in numbers.
2. But this is NOT true in EVERY situation.
a. Solomon speaks of one such exception to that rule here.
b. When it comes to PRIDE, more is not better.
c. When it comes to proud men joining forces in opposition to God, there is NO safety in numbers!
B. He shall not be unpunished
1. This expression is used in Prov. 11:21 too.
a. Here Solomon speaks of another exception to the rule.
b. WICKED men (rather than proud men in 16:5) will not escape punishment simply by virtue of their numbers.
c. Consider the original city of Babel.
• Hand joined hand to rebel against God.
• What men would have been fearful doing alone, when in a throng, they felt safe and secure.
• But there was no safety in the numbers at Babel. God sent confusion and judged them all.
d. Consider the city of Sodom.
• It is likely that this city (like San Francisco or Provincetown) became a magnet for homosexuals…
• Perhaps they experienced persecution in their home town and flocked there… for safety in numbers.
• The sheer number of them in Sodom gave them a sense of safety from judgment… at least from men.
• But they did not escape the judgment of God.
• There was no safety in numbers in Sodom.
e. Consider the wicked in the days of Noah. There was no safety in numbers.
• They heard Noah preach for 100 years and still didn’t repent.
• Only Noah’s family listened. (II Pet. 2:5-6)
• Perhaps the rest thought that his message of judgment could not possibly be true—since there were so MANY of them and so FEW who believed.
f. Today, men trust in the same principle: MOST men around the world do not believe in Jesus. SURELY God will not send them ALL to Hell! (Matt. 7:13-14)
• But wicked men will be punished regardless of how MANY there are.
• There is no safety in numbers before God.
2. There is no safety in numbers for us either!
a. Young people often tell their parents, “Well, everyone’s doing it! Or Everyone’s going… or Everyone’s wearing this. It must be ok! You’re too old fashioned! Too strict!”
b. This kind of thinking makes it difficult to stand against spiritually unhealthy trends in the local church too (pop music; social drinking; dancing; women preachers; etc.)
• When “everyone’s doing it”, the thinking is that it must be ok…
• That is a very POOR means of determining that which is acceptable. What if everyone is living together? What about gay marriage? What about drugs?
• Democracy doesn’t work when it comes to morals.
• Just because hands join in hand, that doesn’t make it right before God.
• In a democracy, it might make it LEGAL, but not necessarily right.
• The standard is NOT what men are doing or what men deem to be acceptable.
• The standard is God Himself! A holy God!
3. The proud of heart will not escape punishment either!
a. God assures us here that He will punish the proud of heart.
b. This is a promise (or threat?!) from God that WILL come to pass… and God will not back down just because there are millions of proud men.
c. God is a God of justice. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
d. It is RIGHT for God to punish pride… and He will… whether there are 6 proud men or 6 billion proud men.
e. Men do not always think like God the righteous Judge thinks.
• Men might say, “Since EVERYONE is now smoking marijuana, we might as well ignore the problem. We can’t arrest everyone!”
4. There are a couple of features that seem to give sinners confidence in their sin.
a. Ecc. 8:11 – the fact that sin is not judged immediately gives men the sense, that therefore it will NOT be judged!
• Set = full; fulfill; satisfied; accomplished; finish; complete; etc.
• Once they commit a sin, and see that the roof didn’t instantly cave in, they feel confident that they have escaped divine judgment…
• From that they deduce that they can continue to sin and the same thing will happen: nothing!
• When their sin isn’t instantly judged from heaven, their hearts are set—filled with confidence—that they may continue to sin.
• But they are dead wrong in their conclusions.
b. Another cause of sinners becoming confident in their sin is the strength they derive from sheer numbers.
• Men join hand to hand to derive extra strength and confidence from each other.
• The threefold cord IS harder to break.
• Sinners assume that a cord consisting of 6 billion people in the world is impossible to break!
• But nothing is too hard for the Lord.
• God said He would BREAK pride and He will… regardless of how MANY people join together in their proud rebellion against Him.
• Though hand joins in hand, the wicked AND the proud will not escape punishment from God.
c. If God doesn’t like something, it doesn’t matter WHO or HOW MANY are involved in it.
• To God an abomination is an abomination.
• Ps. 2:2 – “The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His anointed…”
• Rev. 16:14 – “The kings of the earth and the whole world gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
• Ultimately, the TRUTH of Solomon’s words will be demonstrated in an unmistakable manner.
• In the age of grace, it APPEARS that Solomon’s statement is not true.
1. Wicked men and proud men seem to do so WELL in the world… (Ps. 73:3-5)
2. They are proud and seem to go without judgment… (vs. 6)
3. But their day is coming! (Ps. 73:18)
5. Pride SHALL BE punished.
a. Prov. 16:18 – a fall and destruction are right around the corner…
b. Prov. 18:12 – pride before destruction. God repeats this so that it will sink in!
c. Nothing the proud do to AVOID punishment will ultimately work.
d. God hates proud hearts and is not impressed with their combined power.
e. It is as easy for God to break a cord of 6 billion as it is to break a cord of 6… or even a single cord.
Proverbs 16:6
The Purging of Iniquity
6a By mercy and truth iniquity is purged:
1. There seems to be a CONTEXT to this proverb…
a. Cf. vs.5c – sin shall NOT go unpunished. It SHALL be punished.
b. The Bible is clear on this subject. God takes sin and iniquity seriously.
c. The wages of sin is death. (Rom. 6:23)
d. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Ezek. 18:4)
e. But God found a way to PURGE all sin.
2. The PURGING of sin.
a. Purging defined: cover; purge; make atonement; make reconciliation; cover over with pitch.
b. Ex. 30:10 – Aaron shall make an atonement (same word) on the Day of Atonement for the purging of the sins of the people.
• Sins were purged ceremonially through blood sacrifices…
• The sacrifices pictured an innocent victim dying for the guilty to purge their sins.
• The animal sacrifice did nothing to actually accomplish that purging. (Heb.10:4 – it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin…)
• It was merely a PICTURE of what the Lamb of God would do one day on the cross of Calvary.
c. Ps. 78:38 – translated “forgave”
d. Ps. 79:9 – purge away our sins. Purging of sins is the work of GOD, not man.
e. In the New Testament, it is seen that CHRIST and He alone is able to purge sins… (Heb. 1:3)
• And that work is now finished.
• He HIMSELF purged our sins… once and for all.
• No human work or deed contributes one iota to God’s work of purging sin.
• What the Old Testament sacrifices foreshadowed, Christ fulfilled.
3. It is GOD’S mercy that provides for the purging of sin—not man’s!
a. Some read this proverb this way: as if a man, by showing mercy and acting according to truth, could atone for his own iniquity… (golden rule religion)
b. It is not MAN’S mercy that purges sin, but GOD’S mercy!
c. To think that we could atone for our sins by showing mercy and doing good to others. That is salvation by works… the liberal golden rule religion.
d. That is the damning error of Rome!
• They teach that there is a reservoir of “extra good deeds” (over and above what they needed to get into heaven) left behind by Mary and other of the saints…
• Those extra graces are mingled with the blood of Christ…
• Everyday Catholics are able to draw from that extra pool of grace and merit if they are a little short!
• Like the leave a penny take a penny cans in CVS.
e. No, Solomon is not speaking about MAN’S mercy that purges from iniquity… but the mercy of GOD who sent His Son to die for our sins. (Titus 3:4-5)
4. Mercy – kindness; lovingkindness; mercy; goodness; faithfulness; love; acts of kindness.
a. This word is used 26 times in Psalm 136! (His mercy endureth forever!)
b. Gen. 19:19 – God’s mercy was magnified in saving Lot from destruction in Sodom. It is because of God’s mercy that He provides deliverance from danger to His people.
c. Ex. 15:13 – It was God’s mercy that was behind Him leading the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt.
d. Jer. 31:3 – it was God’s mercy (translated lovingkindness) that draws His people to Himself.
e. Psalm 51:1 – it is God’s mercy that provides for forgiveness of sins too!
f. Psalm 86:13 – it is God’s mercy that rescues us from hell!
g. Psalm 103:8 – God is a MERCIFUL God. It is His nature to be so. It is what comes naturally to God. Judgment is His strange work.
h. God IS merciful, and from that aspect of His nature arises the purging of sins.
i. Num. 14:19 – it is according to His mercy that iniquity is purged and pardoned.
5. Truth.
a. Defined: that which is firm; that which is reliable; that which is faithful; that which is true.
b. Ex. 34:6 – Like mercy above, it is God’s nature…
• He is truth.
• Jesus said, “I am the Truth.”
• Whatever God does, it is always in harmony with truth.
c. Psalm 86:11 – Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
• Truth should be important to us too.
• We should WALK in the truth…
• Our lives should be characterized by truth… truthfulness… faithfulness to the truth… living the truth… speaking the truth… obeying the truth…
• Nothing pleases a parent—or a church leader—more, than to hear that their children or their flock is walking in the truth (III John 4).
• If we know God as a God of truth, then the truth should be important to us.
• That means we should be careful in the way we HANDLE the truth…
d. Truth is IMPORTANT to the God of Truth.
• It was because of God’s MERCY that sin can be purged.
• It is also because God is a God of truth… a God who is faithful to the truth… that our sins can be purged.
• Psalm 19:11 – God’s Word speaks of judgments and justice… and His word is TRUTH.
• Without truth—there is no purging of sins.
• The truth is:
» Men are sinners and are on their way to Hell.
» Men are unable to save themselves.
» God loved the world and is not willing that any should perish.
» God sent His Son to PURGE sins—and everyone who trusts in Christ receives that personally.
» The gospel is the word of Truth…
• Sins are purged because the God of truth sent His Son who is the Truth to die for the sins of the world and sends us into the world with a gospel message of truth.
6b And by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
1. This thought is repeated often in Proverbs. It is by design! But each repetition has a special purpose… a slight difference in shade of meaning and/or application.
2. God is merciful and gracious. He is a pardoning God who purges iniquity.
3. However, that is not to say that He treats sin lightly.
a. Those whose sins are forgiven and purged are expected to DEPART from evil…
b. God is merciful and gracious to the repentant, but He is also a Judge who executes judgment against sin.
c. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God… to hold on to sin in our lives before an infinitely holy God and to experience His chastening in our lives.
d. Therefore, one whose sins have been purged is expected to FEAR God… and depart from evil.
e. Don’t assume that God’s mercy and grace mean that He doesn’t take sin seriously. He does.
f. After speaking of God’s mercy and truth which purge from sin, Solomon immediately reminds his readers of the exceeding sinfulness of sin!
g. This is exactly the approach Paul took in Romans 5-6. (Grace… then the natural question: Shall we continue in sin?)
4. The FEAR of the Lord is a perfect counterbalance to the mercy of God.
a. Mercy and grace tend to cause the immature and carnal believers to treat sin lightly.
b. Prov. 8:13 – But the FEAR of the Lord causes the believer to HATE sin and want to DEPART from it!
c. God is BOTH merciful… and fearful at the same time.
d. To the repentant sinner who is willing and ready to come to God humbly, God is merciful.
e. To the stubborn man who in rebellion clings to his sin, God is to be feared… God is a judge… and they will not experience His mercy but His justice.
f. God is merciful when we sin, but the fear of the Lord will KEEP us from further sin. WALKING in the truth means WALKING in the fear of God… it too should characterize our lives.
g. I Peter 1:15-17 – Because every one of our works shall be judged one day, we should spend the time of our sojourning here in the fear of God.
h. The one who has experienced forgiveness and the purging of his iniquity should seek to depart from further iniquity… fearing God is the way to walk
Proverbs 16:7
Peace with Our Enemies
Introduction:
• This is one of those proverbs that needs to be understood as a proverb! What Solomon says here is not true in every case.
• There are many exceptions to this rule… especially when it comes to persecution.
• But in general, Solomon’s words present a truth worth learning.
7a When a man’s ways please the LORD
1. This proverb speaks of one particular benefit of walking with the Lord: it enables us to experience peace with our enemies.
a. By walking in such a way as to please the Lord IMPLIES that the person is walking in OBEDIENCE to God’s Word and IMPLEMENTING the principles of God’s Word to his daily life.
b. When a believer’s heart is right with God, and his behavior is in tune with God’s Word, that has a tremendous impact on outward circumstances… especially his relationship to men.
c. In fact it is hard NOT to get along with someone who is filled with the Spirit—whose life is characterized by love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, etc.
2. In a roundabout way, Solomon is teaching in this passage that much of the turmoil we have to endure in life is self-inflicted!
a. When our ways are NOT pleasing to the Lord, it is likely that we will make enemies.
b. When we are NOT filled with the Spirit… but are controlled by the flesh, we are much more likely to become embroiled in a conflict.
c. Examples of that which does NOT please the Lord:
• Lying…
→ A false witness that speaketh lies—one of the seven deadly sins.
→ Prov. 26:28 – it causes both parties to hate one another.
→ Ps. 40:4 – people lose all respect for a liar.
→ Ps. 101:7 – godly people reject the fellowship of unrepentant liars.
→ We lose friends and turn them into enemies when we lie.
• Stealing… who likes the one caught stealing from them?
• Adultery… Prov. 6:30-35 – this sin creates enemies for life!
• Gossip… Prov. 17:9 – separates chief friends.
• When our ways are not pleasing to God because of our sin, our ways are not usually pleasing to men either!
• Those whose ways do not please the Lord often CREATE enemies.
d. When our ways do NOT please the Lord, we INVITE trouble and hostility, and CREATE enemies.
3. Ways that are pleasing to the Lord.
a. Col. 1:10 – a worthy walk…
b. Col. 3:20 – children obeying their parents…
• Disobedient children grow up to be disobedient adults… rebels… and create all kinds of trouble for themselves.
c. Ps. 69:30-31 – a life of praise and thanksgiving
• The opposite: a life of bitterness and discontent results in strife… contention… making enemies.
d. Phil. 4:18 – giving is well pleasing to the Lord.
• Instead of stealing, which creates enemies, give! That creates friends.
e. Prov.11:1 – honesty—
• God is delighted in an honest businessman. So are his customers.
• The dishonest businessman makes enemies.
7b He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
1. MANY things are true of the man whose ways please the Lord. This is just one of many benefits: PEACE!
a. He has peace with God because he does that which pleases the Lord.
b. He has peace with men… because NORMALLY that kind of a lifestyle is pleasing to men too.
2. Those whose ways are pleasing to God often discover that those ways also bring us into favor with men.
a. Luke 2:52 – this was true early in the life of Christ.
b. Prov. 3:3-4 – by showing mercy and being truthful… normally enables us to find favor in the sight of God and men.
c. Romans 14:16-18 – the one who cares about his testimony (vs.16) usually finds favor with God and men.
d. Matt. 5:44 – when we obey the command of Jesus to love one’s enemies, we please the Lord… and it goes a long way to making peace with our enemies too.
e. The best way to be reconciled with our enemies is to be first to be in a right relationship to God and obedient to His Word and ways.
f. Of course, there are lots of exceptions to this rule, but it is generally the case.
At Peace
1. Rom. 12:18 – Some people are hard to get along with.
a. They might be overly picky… overly sensitive, self centered, irritable, etc.
b. The command is to put EFFORT into trying!
c. As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men… This is an ALL OUT effort to make or keep peace.
d. Normally that kind of effort results in peace.
e. God often blesses the efforts of those who OBEY GOD… those who put in the effort to try to live peaceably.
2. Even if the enemies still hate you, they may find no fault and thus no cause for war or hostility.
a. Titus 2:7-8; Phil. 2:14-15 – Don’t give the enemy any ROOM to find fault… by living a life that is pleasing to God!
b. Dan. 6:3-5 – his enemies could find no fault in him—no excuse for hostility.
c. I Pet. 3:13 – who is he that will harm you if you are followers of that which is good? They may still hate you, but God will protect you! Who are they to stand up against God?
d. Rom. 8:31 – If God be FOR us, who can be against us?
e. God is a shield and a buckler to those whose ways please Him. He protects them… He guards them against evil.
3. We would do well to realize that even our enemies are in the hands of the Lord…
a. God raises up friends in a time of need; and He is able to turn enemies into friends.
b. The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. (Prov. 21:1)
c. Whether our enemy is the king or anyone else… God is sovereign, omniscient, and omnipotent.
d. God can change their minds…
e. God can reverse circumstances…
f. He can cause enemies to exert their energies elsewhere…
g. He can force them into submission…
h. He can cause them to run away with their tails between their legs.
i. He can slay them if He so chooses…
j. God is plenty ABLE to handle all of our enemies…
k. Even the Goliaths we face which cause us to tremble, are nothing to the Lord.
l. And God delights in giving peace to those whose ways please Him.
4. God is able to change the hearts of men at will.
a. Jer. 15:11 – God caused the enemies of Jeremiah to entreat him (plead with him; come to him for help)… rather than come after him to destroy him.
b. Acts 9:1, 2, 20 – God turned Saul, the enemy of the church into Paul, the friend of the church!
c. Gen. 33:4 – God changed the heart of Esau towards Jacob.
5. Some have questioned whether the “HE” in vs. 7 is the Lord or the man whose ways please the Lord.
a. There is an element of truth in both interpretations… but obviously, Solomon had only one in mind.
b. The Jewish Rabbis believed the “he” referred to the man whose ways please the Lord.
• When his ways please the Lord, (he—the man) makes his enemies to be at peace with him through his actions.
• That is a legitimate view… for the pronoun is a bit ambiguous… and this view makes perfect sense.
• It IS certainly true that our lifestyle AFFECTS our relationship with other people.
c. It is also possible to interpret the pronoun “He” to refer to God… and the two views are not far apart.
• When our ways please God… those same ways ARE usually pleasing to men too.
• And when we walk with God, He (GOD) blesses our efforts.
• He protects us, He is sovereign over circumstances, He delights in taking care of His children who walk with Him.
• Ultimately the blessed results are to be traced back to God.
d. The blessed results of peace with enemies can be traced in the immediate to OUR efforts and ways… but ultimately, it is to be traced back to God. To God be the glory.
6. Walking in such a way so as to please God is preventative medicine; it keeps others from becoming hostile toward us.
a. Ways that please the Lord not only can change an enemy into a friend… or at least remove the hostility and bring peace.
b. But ways that please the Lord can also enable us to PREVENT enemies from being created!
c. IF we START doing the things that please the Lord, we can avoid CREATING enemies.
d. Instead of lying, telling the truth!
e. Instead of gossip, edifying the brethren!
f. Instead of stealing, giving!
g. Normally that kind of behavior is pleasing to both God AND man.
h. That kind of behavior often turns enemies into friends… or it will prevent enemies from ever being made!
Proverbs 16:8
Wealth vs. Righteousness
Introduction:
1. This is a familiar theme in Proverbs.
2. In several other passages Solomon speaks of the comparative value of earthly wealth to other things:
a. 12:9 – honor or being despised
b. 15:16 – the fear of the Lord…
c. 15:16 – trouble wealth often brings
d. 16:8 – to righteousness
e. These proverbs are similar to Prov. 16:8.
3. But there is another proverb that is virtually identical.
a. But this proverb isn’t found in the book of Proverbs. It appears in the book of Psalm 37:16
b. Yes, some of the psalms are actually proverbs!
8a Better is a little with righteousness
A. A Little
1. This speaks of a little money… little wealth… little property… as is made clear by the second half of the proverb.
2. The little is contrasted to great revenues.
3. The contrast is between having a little of this world’s goods and having a lot.
4. But the contrast focuses in on a particular
B. A Little With Righteousness
1. All things being equal, great revenues would be better than a little.
a. There is no special value in being poor.
b. It isn’t any more spiritual…
c. It isn’t an indication of one’s spiritual life or morality either.
d. II John 2 – John wishes the best for his friends (prosperity and good health).
e. All things being equal, who in their right mind would choose to be poor and sick over prosperous and healthy?
f. A believer can learn good lessons during a period of poverty or sickness… but there is no intrinsic value to being poor or sick.
g. Normally, it is better to have plenty of money to put food on the table and pay one’s bills… than not to have enough.
2. But the particular situation Solomon has in mind speaks of an occurrence where all things are NOT equal.
a. He adds another element into the mix… righteousness!
b. That changes the whole formula.
c. The contrast is not simply little revenue vs. great revenue. That would be an easy decision.
d. But the contrast is between a little revenue by doing things righteously vs. great revenues by not doing things right.
3. Solomon observed that quite often, those who do things the right way… those who put righteousness first, don’t always prosper in the world like the wicked.
a. It is a fact of life… the wicked often prosper in the world.
b. This is not a hard and fast rule, but it is often true.
c. Ps. 73:3, 12 – this fact has caused a lot of grief to men throughout the ages.
d. Ps. 73:13-14 – a believer can begin to think that perhaps he is walking in righteousness for nothing! What’s the use… when the wicked don’t pay any attention to righteousness and seem to do so well!
e. Asaph did things right… he walked with God… but did not prosper in the world like other men… like the wicked.
4. But even though unrighteousness is often accompanied by great revenues, LITTLE is better when accompanied by righteousness.
a. Better for your peace of mind. You can sleep at night…
b. Better for your freedom. No fear of the law or incarceration
c. Better for your family…
d. Better for your spiritual walk… because God is on your side
e. Better for your conscience… free from guilt
8b Than great revenues without right.
A. Unrighteousness Often Brings Success and Prosperity
1. Cheating your way through school… in order to get your degree. That may result in a better paying job.
2. Cheating on your taxes. This gives the crooked small businessman an edge over his honest competitors!
3. Embellishing your resume—gives you at an advantage over someone else with equal qualifications.
4. False advertising—is likely to win customers that honest advertisers will not get.
5. In the Lord’s work: following the neo evangelical principle of “the end justifies the means”… and using methodologies that attract many people… violating the principle of separation… which outwardly appear to bring success…
6. Taking a more lucrative job in a region where there is no good local church will enable you to make more money… increase your revenues.
7. Taking a job which forces you to be in compromising situations daily… might also increase your revenues.
8. Skimping on building materials—quick, shoddy workmanship brings in lots of revenue… results in prosperity for many. (Irish gypsies)
9. Selling drugs is very lucrative…
10. Stealing can be quite lucrative too (little overhead; low taxes!)
11. If making money is your goal and you don’t care about righteousness, honesty, or integrity, there are lots of ways to prosper in the world.
B. But There Are Consequences
1. This is true in everyday life.
a. Cheating your way through school… living with a guilty conscience… knowing you didn’t really earn you degree.
b. Cheating on your taxes… and getting caught and paying massive fines!
c. Embellishing your resume… and living with the guilt of dishonesty.
d. False advertising… the fear of lawsuits…
e. In the Lord’s work: following the neo evangelical principle of “the end justifies the means”… and using methodologies that attract many people… violating the principle of separation… which outwardly appear to bring success… but having to live with a violated conscience… at the expense of doing things right.
f. Taking a job in a region where there is no good local church (more money, but having to settle for a shallow ministry… with no standards… fleshly music… etc.)
g. Taking a job which forces you to be in compromising situations daily… (more money, but vexes your righteous soul from day to day)
h. Skimping on building materials—quick, shoddy workmanship brings in lots of revenue, but living with the fear of being caught… and the guilt! (Irish gypsies)
i. Selling drugs is very lucrative… but they eventually get sent to prison.
j. Stealing can be quite lucrative too… but thieves usually get caught too…
2. The Bible speaks often of this truth.
a. Prov. 10:16 – The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin. It often leads to other forms of sin… which also have further consequences. (stealing leads to lying to cover up… etc.)
b. Prov. 11:4 – Riches profit not in the day of wrath.
• There is a temporary earthly gain… but an eternal loss for wealth gained through unrighteousness. It isn’t worth it!
c. Prov. 13:11 – Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.
• Often such wealth does not last even in this life…
• Those who come into quick easy money usually spend it just as quickly and easily!
• The mindset that gathers wealth the wrong way tends to be lazy… which over all leads to poverty, not wealth!
d. Prov. 22:16 – He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
• Again, dishonest gain leads to wealth… but often results in WANT!
• The oppressed may revolt… and overthrow! (Solomon spoke as a king here…)
• God may judge with famine or worse…
e. Prov. 21:6-7 – The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.
• It can be dangerous…
• Dishonest men travel in very bad circles…
• Example: the mafia… their dishonest gain leads to violence… death… murder…
f. Prov. 15:27 – He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house (Cf. 15:6,16)
• Note how often TROUBLE is associated with greed and dishonest gain!
• Greed is the motive behind almost all dishonest gain.
• This man may by his greed and even through dishonesty bring great revenues into his home… but there are strings attached to that wealth.
• Often it comes with a price tag: trouble at home!
• Often it brings trouble home… divides families… an honest wife may not be able to deal with her husband’s dishonest gain… it may bring shame to the family if he is caught… which can eventually bring financial ruin…
3. Great revenues without righteousness are NOT BETTER than little!
a. The price tag is too high.
b. It comes with strings attached…
c. It brings trouble into the home… it leads to more sin… it is often diminished over time… it leads to violence and death… and ultimately brings eternal loss!
d. It might be quicker and easier in the short term, but in the long run, it is not better!
e. A little is enough for the righteous to be happy and content. Plenty is never enough for the wicked and the greedy.
4. Having a little is not bad at all!
a. Prov. 30:8-9 – having a little—enough to get by on—is GOOD for us spiritually.
b. Extremes in either direction come with great temptation.
c. Great wealth carries with it a temptation to forget the Lord.
d. Great poverty carries with it a temptation to steal.
e. Having a little to get by on isn’t so bad after all!
f. If we have food and shelter… enough to pay our bills—let us be content… and thankful.
g. Who knows how we might deal with temptation if we were in another position financially? God knows best.
Matthew Henry:
It is maintained that a small estate, honestly come by, which a man is content with, enjoys comfortably, serves God with cheerfulness, and puts to a right use, is much better and more valuable than a great estate ill-got, and then ill-kept or ill-spent. It carries with it more inward satisfaction, a better reputation with all that are wise and good; it will last longer, and will turn to a better account in the great day, when men will be judged, not according to what they had, but what they did.
Proverbs 16:9
Divine Sovereignty and Man’s Will
9a A man’s heart deviseth his way:
A. A Man’s Heart
1. Heart Defined:
a. Strong’s: inner man; mind; will; heart; understanding; inner part.
b. Dict. of Bib. Languages: heart, mind, soul, spirit, self, i.e., the source of life of the inner person in various aspects, with a focus on feelings, thoughts, volition, and other areas of the inner life.
c. Zodhiates: it usually refers to some aspect of the immaterial inner self or being since the heart is considered to be the seat of one’s inner nature.
2. The heart includes intellect, emotion, and will.
a. As a man THINKETH in his heart, so is he.
b. Willing hearts…
c. Happy or sad hearts…
d. It is used as our whole inner life… where we think, plan, prepare, feel, chose, make decisions…
B. Deviseth His Way
1. Deviseth Defined:
a. Strong’s: to think; plan; esteem; calculate; invent; make a judgment; imagine.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: thinking in a detailed, logical manner, with the focus on the formulation of an opinion.
2. Usage of the term:
a. Prov. 16:30 – violent men (vs.29) device evil things… and carries out those plans.
b. Ps. 10:2 – used of planning evil devices…
c. Ps. 119:59 – thinking and planning good things like turning back to God.
3. Way: road, distance, journey, fig: manner or way of life;
a. Prov. 4:19 – The way of the wicked
b. Prov. 5:21 – the ways of man in general: For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
c. Prov. 9:6 – the way of the righteous… the way of understanding.
4. The proverb states that in GENERAL, men plan the WAY they want to go.
a. Solomon is not disparaging this idea. He is simply stating a fact.
b. It is GOOD to make plans… if the plans are good and in line with God’s Word.
c. Paul made plans for his missionary trips. That was wise.
d. We all make plans. Young people make plans for their future. They go off to school to help get prepared for what lies ahead.
e. Making plans are necessary and wise. It would be folly NOT to make plans… To simply stumble aimlessly through life is not wise.
f. Prov. 6:6-7 – for those who think they don’t HAVE to plan, Solomon refers them to the ant—
• Ants are wise enough to plan ahead for the winter by making the preparations in the summer.
• Ants have more wisdom than people who don’t make any plans… people with no vision.
• The point: we too should make plans for the future. Wisdom demands it.
g. Prov. 4:26 – we are COMMANDED to ponder (think about… and make plans for) the steps we take in life.
• Young people plan for their careers.
• Middle-aged people plan for their retirement.
• Parents make plans for their children when young.
• Children make plans for their parents when old.
• Businessmen make plans for their businesses.
• Elders make plans for the church.
• All believers are to plan for their spiritual edification.
• It would be irresponsible NOT to make good plans.
h. Luke 14:28-32 – in all areas of life men DEVISE their way. And that is a good and healthy thing.
• God has given us brains to think and plan.
• God has given us a will to make choices…
• All throughout life, we are to engage our brains and to make wise plans and wise choices.
• The consequences of NOT making wise plans and choices are severe! (bankrupt; defeated)
9b But the LORD directeth his steps.
1. BUT!
a. This word puts the BRAKES on the thought in the first part of the proverb.
b. What has been said thus far is good BUT!
c. It’s good as far as it goes BUT it doesn’t go far enough!
d. Many statements might be TRUE as far as they go, but can be quite misleading if the other side of the coin is not mentioned.
e. All things are lawful for me… BUT all things are not expedient!
f. Without the BUT to explain, define, restrict, and limit, the first statement would be misleading… and could EASILY lead one astray…
g. The first part of his statement is TRUE… but is only HALF the truth. And a half-truth can be dangerous.
h. That is what this proverb addresses.
i. It IS good for men to make plans and to devise their ways, BUT in all your plans, don’t forget about God’s sovereignty!
2. The LORD DIRECTS our steps…
a. Directs: to be firm; be stable; be established; secures; prepares.
b. Used in Ps. 37:23 – The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD.
c. God ORDERS our steps… He establishes them and makes them firm…
d. When our plans are according to His will and in harmony with His word… God enables us to CARRY OUT those plans… by enabling us each step along the way!
e. So that at the end of a successful endeavor, we can look back and say, “Jesus led me all the way!” I made plans, but the increase is of the Lord. He directed and established each step!
3. It is good to make plans, BUT it is folly to leave God out of those plans.
a. God is the One who should be consulted FIRST.
b. Jas. 4:13-15 – James did not criticize these men for making plans, but for not thinking about the will of God!
c. They should have said, “IF the Lord will… we shall do this or that.”
d. We have such LITTLE time in this life (a vapor). What a shame to WASTE time running down rabbit trails that God never intended for us to run down!
e. Jer. 10:23 – O that we might learn that “it is not in man to direct his steps!” Realizing that will cause us to be dependent upon the Lord… as we should be for every step we take.
f. We can devise our way… make good plans to get there. BUT — we should be more concerned about DOING the will of God!
g. Leaving God out of OUR plans might make it necessary for the Lord to redirect our steps.
4. The point in Proverbs: GOD IS IN CHARGE OF OUR STEPS!
a. Because God is in charge of every step we take, He is also sovereign over where we end up!
b. It doesn’t matter how well thought out our plans are at reaching goals we have set for ourselves… God is sovereign over every step along the way!
c. What folly of man to think that achieving his goals in life were entirely in his own hands… when we cannot take one step or move one foot unless the Lord enables us.
d. We might make great plans and have it all planned out how to get there… what means… and when. But God might allow an unexpected tragedy in our lives… a disease… an accident… God controls our steps.
e. The point is that we are entirely dependent upon the Lord for every step in life… regardless of the plans and goals which we have set for ourselves.
f. If we plan a pathway God does not want us to travel, God has the power to build a WALL which makes it impossible for us to take another step down that pathway.
g. We might make great plans… but God is sovereign over each and every tiny factor needed to carry out our plans.
h. God is sovereign over the weather; our health; the stock market; war and peace; the laws of the land; — any one of which can stop our steps cold… and thus prevent our plans from coming to fruition.
5. And because God is gracious, there is another side to this coin.
a. We might make the best plans we can… but might overlook something that would have resulted in disaster.
b. We might make the best plans we can and have the best of intentions… but be following that pathway might not be good for us…
c. We might make the best plans our ability allows… and because God knows the end from the beginning… and knows that that pathway will lead us astray… God direct our steps to something much BETTER… something exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask or think!
6. It is good to make plans… BUT God has the right to CHANGE them and redirect our steps any time He sees fit! He is sovereign!
a. We can and ponder, think, and plan concerning goals and projects in life.
b. According to OUR calculations, reaching that goal means:
• It will take X number of days…
• It will cost X amount of money…
• It will require X amount of steps to get from point A to point B
• Those calculations might be the BEST humanly possible.
c. According to OUR calculations, we might determine that:
• Project X is good and worthwhile
• Project X is realistic and obtainable
• Project X is affordable
• Project X is not in violation of a Biblical principle
• Project X is beneficial
d. BUT… don’t forget the sovereignty of God.
• He is sovereign. He can direct our steps to a quick and successful completion of the project.
• He can also cause the best laid plans of mice and men to go astray.
• He can direct our steps away from that which might be physically prosperous to a direction that is spiritually prosperous.
• He can redirect our steps from an easy course to a much more difficult course… that might be better for us spiritually.
• God directs our steps for our good! Hence, we should always TRUST HIM and seek His will first and foremost.
7. The LORD is sovereign and providentially guides us where He wants us.
a. He wants us to make good plans…
b. He also wants us to TRUST Him for each step along the way.
c. He reserves the right to direct our steps in ANY direction He so chooses…
d. He opens doors and closes doors. If a door opens, our steps are free to continue. If a door closes, our steps are stopped.
e. It is the LORD who controls all that… and through an infinite variety of means.
f. It only makes sense to include God in ALL our plans… and to be dependent upon Him for each step along the way.
g. That is the way of success in God’s sight.
Proverbs 16:10
A Divine Sentence
10a A divine sentence is in the lips of the king;
1. Solomon is speaking here as the King of Israel – a theocracy.
a. We hear much about Islamic theocracies in the Middle East today.
b. Theocracies have NEVER worked… even the theocracy of Israel, which God instituted, had to be torn down as a failure.
c. They failed because of one reason: the king who reigned in the theocracy was a fallen human being with a sin nature!
d. The church is not a theocracy…
• This is one of the errors of the Roman church. They see themselves as a theocracy… a government of God… and their stated goal is to rule the world.
• And not just Rome, but Calvin’s Geneva was a sort of theocracy as well… which did not treat nonconformists very kindly.
• There was a movement a while ago in the Protestant world which attempted to make the church a theocracy by incorporating Mosaic Law… the 10 commandments as the law of the land in the USA… and they became quite vocal in US politics.
e. No theocracy will ever work on earth as long as the one in charge is a fallen human being with a sin nature.
f. Ultimately, a theocracy WILL govern on earth… but the leader will not be a FALLEN human being, but a perfectly sinless and glorified human being: the God-Man, Jesus Christ!
g. He will rule and reign in righteousness… as a king and Judge who just happens to be omnipotent, omniscient, and perfectly fair and just… not a respecter of persons…
h. But until Christ returns, theocracies will never work.
i. In fact, they always prove to be cruel, brutal, intolerant, oppressive tyrannies!
j. When a fallen human being believes he has divine authority—look out!
k. Ultimately, the anti-Christ will establish a theocracy with the whole world worshipping him and he will rule as king over the world. Only he not only claims to be God’s exclusive spokesman. He claims to be god!
l. That’s where theocracies apart from Christ are headed.
2. But in this proverb, Solomon is speaking as a human king over a true theocracy God established in Israel.
a. And even though it was not a perfect government (because of ungodly kings, wicked priests, and false prophets)… it WAS God’s means of reigning on the earth in those days.
b. God did REIGN through the nation Israel…
• God was approachable only through their priests…
• God spoke to the people through the prophets…
• God governed the land through the kings…
• God gave them the laws.
• God was King (executive branch); God was Judge (judicial branch) and God was Legislator (Lawgiver).
• It was a true (though not perfect) theocracy through the Davidic line.
3. A divine sentence is in the lips of the king.
a. Of course in this sense, Solomon meant the king in ISRAEL (Not Egypt or in Assyria).
b. The point of this proverb is that when the king of Israel speaks, he speaks with DIVINE authority.
c. Thus, the king is to be OBEYED… in the same way one would obey God… for the king was a divine spokesman.
d. What comes out of the mouth of the king is as if it came out of the mouth of God.
e. This doesn’t mean that kings were infallible, but that they were God’s spokesmen.
f. Deut. 17:18-20 – the king of Israel was EXPECTED to know God’s Word, to speak it, and obey it!
g. When that was the case (as it SHOULD have been always but rarely was)… then a divine sentence was in the lips of the king.
h. The proverb speaks of the way things SHOULD BE… but unfortunately, things were not always this way.
i. I Kings 3:28 – This was true of Solomon.
j. As king in the Davidic line, Solomon’s sons were in line to be king one day. Perhaps he wrote this proverb for them… a perpetual reminder of their position… power… and shepherd for God to use to reign on earth.
4. Solomon uses an unusual term for “divine sentence.”
a. Defined:
→ Strong’s: divination, witchcraft. 1a of the nations, Balaam. 1b of false prophets.
→ Dict. of Biblical Languages: four broad classes of divination is 1. The position of stars 2. Speaking with dead spirits 3. Examining animal parts 4. Cast lots for a yes or no answer.
→ Zodhiates: This word described the cultic practice of foreign nations that was prohibited in Israel.
b. Usages
→ Deut. 18:9-11 – in the context of the abomination of the nations. It is strictly forbidden!
→ I Sam. 15:23 – translated witchcraft.
→ Jer. 14:14 – the false prophets used false divination to deceive.
→ I Sam. 28:8 – Saul consulted the witch of Endor to “divine” for him…
→ Ezek. 21:21 – the king of Babylon used this type of divination to determine which way to go… (looking into a liver!)
→ Isa. 3:2-3 – Apart from the proverb, this is the only other passage where the term might be considered used in a good sense… because it is listed with other noble positions.
c. Various translations of it:
→ Divine sentence; divine authority; an oracle; inspired judgments; decision; divination.
→ NKJV has “divination” which is most consistent with its usage elsewhere… but it seems misleading if connected with its other usages.
→ Why Solomon chose to use a word that virtually always appears in such a bad context we don’t know…
→ But it is clear that it appears in a GOOD context in Prov. 16:10.
d. Meaning:
→ It seems best to me to understand the concept of divination as neutral… neither good nor bad.
→ False prophets and witches used to attempt to contact deities in an evil sense—forbidden by the law.
→ But evidently, the term can also be used of speaking TO God and speaking FOR God in a good sense too.
→ Some have associated this with the casting of lots or the use of Urim and Thummim in the Old Testament.
→ Just as the false prophets and witches sought to contact their deities and be spokesmen for their pagan gods, the King in Israel was to be a spokesman for the true and living God.
5. In Medieval times, this concept was twisted and stretched beyond its original meaning.
a. Read words of King James (1609) – “The Divine Right of Kings.”
b. There was an element of truth to what he said, but he went WAY beyond what God intended…
c. He USED the Bible to support his form of government: hereditary monarchy… and keep himself in power.
10b His mouth transgresseth not in judgment
1. Again, Solomon is speaking as the King of Israel… and speaking of the way things SHOULD BE in the theocracy.
a. Since the king of Israel is to be a spokesman for the true and living God, it is important that he sin not with his mouth!
b. It is vital for a king and judge NOT to transgress in his judgments…
c. They were to be fair; equitable; just; righteous; execute blind justice; for ALL the people…
d. When they did so, they WERE spokesmen for God… and a divine sentence would be decreed.
e. When a king or one in authority was acting as a JUDGE, they were not to sin or transgress. They were to execute JUSTICE. (Deut. 25:1)
2. Prov. 16:13 – he was not to sin in his judgments, but his lips were to speak forth righteousness… justice…
3. Of course, there is no theocracy today… and kings and presidents do not use divination today.
a. But we CAN make application to today.
b. I Tim. 2:1-2 – we should PRAY for those in power in this land that their sentences and decrees would be in harmony with God and His Word.
c. Rom. 13:1, 4 – we should also remember that in a sense, kings and rulers ARE ordained of God and are ministers of God used of the Lord to execute a sense of justice in the world today.
d. There is a sense in which rulers today DO speak as oracles of God… because it is the law of the land… and believers are to OBEY the law of the land.
e. This holds true for ALL kings: the president of the US; the Saudi family; the Prime Minister of Egypt and Israel; and even Saddam Hussein when he was in power!
f. This is not to equate any of this with a legitimate theocracy, but there is a sense in which ALL human governments are an extension of God’s control over the earth today.
g. Therefore, we are to show respect for all that are in authority… whether we voted for them or not! Whether we agree with their policies or not…
h. Respect and submission to those in authority are to be hallmarks of believers today.
i. When the king speaks or the legislators enact a law, we are to respect it and obey it as if it came from God Himself…
j. Acts 5:29 – of course, there is an exception! We ought to obey God rather than man… where man’s law violates God’s law.
k. But otherwise, we are to obey the laws of the land… whether we like the law or not; whether it is a wise law or a foolish law…
l. We may not respect the character of the person in the position of authority, but we should show respect for the office that he holds: a minister of God!
m. God uses even those ministers to accomplish His purposes.
4. Solomon wrote this as a reminder for generations of kings to follow in his line, on the importance of them ruling in wisdom… and righteousness… as spokesmen for God.
Proverbs 16:11
Honesty is of the Lord
11a A just weight and balance
1. Definitions:
a. Weight Defined:
• measuring device for weight
• the weight indicator on a scale or balance
b. Balance Defined:
• A scale for measuring;
• An implement for weighing, consisting of two balance pans with a standardized weight in one pan and the object to be weighed in the other.
2. A just weight and balance…
a. Solomon is not speaking about a gym with balance bars and weights.
b. In ancient times, all business and trade was done according to weight…
c. They did not use paper money; Money was to them a WEIGHT of gold or silver. Money was not counted in various denominations, but was weighed.
d. Jer. 32:10 – both terms are used and illustrated.
e. The balance was a scale… and a standard weight was placed on one side of the scale and thus, equal amounts of goods would be sold for a standard price.
f. Wheat, barley, and all goods were sold according to standard weights.
3. II Sam. 14:26 – it was the KING who was responsible for setting, making, and distributing the weight standard throughout the country.
a. Merchants could not make their own weights…
b. There had to be one standard weight, or transactions could not be conducted fairly.
c. No doubt, the kings had governmental officials whose job it was to regulate and inspect merchants to PREVENT skimming and cheating.
d. God and the king both expected the merchants to follow the royal standards… to do things RIGHT.
e. The king was to SET the standard and enforce the standard.
f. Justice in the land was up to the king.
g. In the world of politics and government, CHARACTER does matter!
h. Justice, fairness, equality, and honesty are all important parts of what a ruler does!
11b All the weights of the bag are his work.
A. All the weights of the bag
1. A merchant would keep all his weights in a bag.
2. A dishonest merchant would have several weights for each standard amount.
a. Example: a just weight – the same as the royal standard. (for his friends… good customers… and when the government inspectors came by!)
b. Micah 6:11 – deceitful weights.
c. He would have another weight perhaps for foreigners, people he didn’t like, or people he wanted to take advantage of…
d. They would shave off a bit of the weight, so that when he used that weight, the customer would PAY for a full pound, but would not get a full pound.
e. It is called skimming… shave off a little and the dishonest merchant would be getting a little more profit for each item sold…
f. In the Colonial days, when coins were pure silver, folks began shaving off the edges of coins… so that the government had to make the edges of coins serrated so that any shaving of edges could be spotted.
g. This is an ancient art… but one still used today!
h. Some companies today keep TWO sets of books… (kept in their bag).
i. Instead of stealing a thousand dollars off one person, Electronic thieves steal a penny off a hundred thousand people… and no one will find out!
B. The Lord’s Work
1. The LORD’S
a. This meant that in some way, the Lord Himself stood behind the standard weight of the country.
b. God set the standard; God was the standard;
c. Lev. 19:35-36 – The reason: I am the Lord!
• It is because of who God is… His nature… His character that the weights were to be standard and honest.
• God is a God of righteousness… He is fair and right… just and equal… impartial… no respecter of persons…
• God HIMSELF is the standard of right and wrong… moral and immoral… just or unjust. He sets the standards. We are to keep the standards.
• The JUST weights were of the Lord. The unjust weights were the result of sin… and our adversary… who is a LIAR by nature.
d. Note also that they were to use just weights BECAUSE they were delivered from Egypt.
• His point is this: while in Egypt, the Jews were taken advantage of…
• They were not treated fairly.
• If the Jews began to accumulate more wealth than the Egyptians wanted them to, they would tighten the screws… and not only force them to make bricks, but to gather their own straw for them.
• The Egyptians controlled the economy of the Jews and kept them under their thumbs.
• THEREFORE, the Jews, now in a land of their own, were NOT to use dishonest practices to control the economy of their own brothers… even on a micro level.
• The Jews wanted to be treated fairly in Egypt. Now that they were free, they were also to treat others fairly and justly…
• This meant being HONEST in their business transactions.
2. God’s Work.
a. The just weights and balances were the Lord’s Work.
• He ordered them. He set the standard.
• He commanded His people to abide by them.
• He even reasoned with them as to WHY they should be fair in their business transactions.
b. For a believer, everything we do is to be done “as unto the Lord.”
• Everything we do is a spiritual ministry…
• There is no division into secular or sacred for the believer.
• Col. 3:22-24 – our earthly work or service is not really being done for our earthly master, but ultimately, for our heavenly Master: God!
• When we work at the office or the factory, we are not serving the foreman; we are serving Christ.
• The unsaved workers at the factory are working for an earthly paycheck and are working for their earthly boss.
• But the believer today may do exactly the same work, but he is serving Christ… and is really serving for a reward in heaven… not an earthly paycheck.
• That makes everything we do in the business world a spiritual ministry… sacred, not secular.
c. This was especially so during the days of the theocratic kingdom on earth…
• In the days of the Theocracy, the Israelites KNEW that their nation was directly under the eye and authority of God.
• Their moral laws were written by the finger of God.
• But their civil laws were also written by God!
d. God even wrote the laws concerning HOW they were to conduct business… including using fair, just, standard weights. No skimming… no gouging… no cheating of any sort.
e. Rom. 13:1 – today we also have government inspectors.
• We are to obey and comply with all the laws of the land.
• Whether they are wetland laws; business laws; tax laws; stock trading laws… building inspectors; meat inspectors; health inspectors…
• These laws and standards are established by the powers that be… and they are ultimately OF THE LORD.
• That means that Christians are to SUBMIT to such inspectors and rules (whether we agree with them or not) as unto the Lord!
• Those rules ARE of the Lord.
• Imperfect as they may be, we are to obey… they are for our overall good… for the benefit of society…
• But even those laws that don’t make any sense, we are STILL to comply. The weights and balances are of the Lord…
• What is MORE important than that particular law or rule is the ORDER of society… as opposed to anarchy!
• Thank God for the law and order we enjoy in our country.
f. Deut. 4:5-8 – The eyes of the world were upon Israel.
• When Israel followed God’s laws… including business laws… their nation functioned smoothly and flourished.
• When the nation was honest, business did well… and God blessed them.
• Other nations would observe and be FORCED to acknowledge the justice of their laws… AND their Lawgiver: Jehovah!
• It is part of our Christian testimony too to be fair and just in all of our dealings with men.
• Nothing tarnishes the testimony of a believer in the eyes of the world quicker than for a believer to be found to be dishonest… deceitful or corrupt in our everyday business.
• What a great opportunity we have in the world to be a witness for Christ… even without saying a word…
• Doing the BEST JOB we can for our company… being HONEST and just in all of our dealings with men…
• By doing so, we too can FORCE observers to acknowledge the wholesome influence God and His Word have in our lives.
• Your daily job is a service and a witness for Christ.
Proverbs 16:12
Righteousness and the Throne
Introduction:
1. There are two possible ways to understand the words of Solomon in this verse.
2. The proverb states that the committing of wickedness is an abomination to kings. The wording is such that it is unclear concerning WHO is committing the wickedness: the king himself or his subjects.
a. The KJV translation implicates the king.
b. Other translations implicate the subjects as the guilty parties.
3. Of course, it is possible to understand the words in a general sense too: that regardless of WHO the guilty party is, it is an abomination to kings… to commit it or to tolerate it.
4. The two thoughts are certainly both true and both fit the context. But obviously, Solomon meant only one thing when he wrote.
12a It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness:
A. It is an abomination for kings to COMMIT wickedness (themselves)
1. Wickedness Defined:
a. Strong’s: wrong; unrighteousness; (as violence and crime against civil law).
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang. – evil, injustice, i.e., a state or condition of evil, with a focus on the violation of moral or civil law by evil deeds.
2. Usage of the Term Wickedness:
a. Psalm 10:2 – Treasures of wickedness profit nothing.
• Here it speaks of money gained through illegal activity… breaking the laws of the land.
• You might accumulate a great treasure of stolen goods, but in the long run, there is no real gain…
• There is no gain in this life, especially if you get caught!
• There is certainly no gain when you stand before God and give an account.
b. Psalm 5:4 – For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
• Here the term speaks of that which is contrary to God’s nature. God is a Lawgiver… a righteous God.
• God has no pleasure with those who commit this kind of wickedness. The Lawgiver has no pleasure with lawbreakers!
• Unrighteous behavior and criminal activity brings no pleasure to God. It is contrary to His nature… It will not dwell with Him.
c. Psalm 45:7 – God hates wickedness…
• This only follows, since it is so contrary to His nature.
• It is a good idea for US to hate wickedness… lawlessness… those who violate the civil laws of the land. They are in place for a reason!
d. Psalm 141:4 – Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.
• A king or one with such great power would have many temptations in this area.
• Here the psalmist PRAYS that his heart would NOT be inclined to or attracted to such wicked works… unrighteous and illegal behavior… and the “dainties” associated with it.
• Note that the psalmist may not have been concerned that he would actually COMMIT such wickedness. But he wanted his HEART to be pure… clean… and not even be attracted to such things.
• Those who keep their hearts with all diligence (like the psalmist) will also keep themselves from committing such wickedness.
• God hates it. The psalmist also hated it… but he did not trust his fallen heart and knew that his heart could be attracted towards such things. Hence, the prayer!
• Young drug dealers drive around in fancy cars and wear $300.00 dungarees and $200.00 sneakers… (their dainties). This can be quite appealing to young people today. It might look COOL.
• PRAY that your heart would not be inclined in that direction. Pray that you too would HATE wickedness in all of its ugly forms.
• There IS a pleasure and an attraction to sin… especially since it offers short term dividends (dainties).
• Don’t look at the dainties of sin. Keep your eyes upon the Lord who hates it… and pray for that kind of hatred.
• Wickedness is an abomination!
e. This is the kind of wickedness of which Solomon writes: evil, illegal, unrighteous, criminal behavior.
3. Abomination:
a. Defined: detestable thing; repulsion, i.e., an object which is loathsome and abhorrent.
b. Injustice and crime in the land were to be considered an abomination…
c. It was loathsome to God and should be loathsome to the people too.
d. Deut. 7:26 – abominations (context = idols) were NOT to be brought home; they were to be utterly detested by God’s people.
e. Hollywood seems to glamorize unrighteous behavior, immorality, and even crime.
f. Wickedness should be detestable to the believer.
4. Solomon states that for KINGS to COMMIT wickedness is an abomination.
a. A king is expected to behave properly… to obey the laws of the land.
b. He is to UPHOLD the law… it is especially abominable if he is secretly VIOLATING the law with criminal behavior.
c. It is an abomination for presidents to commit wickedness!
• During the 1960’s and 70’s, there was much distrust of government, especially over the war in Vietnam. When it was later discovered Richard Nixon, the president was involved in illegal activity and lying to the public… it further undermined the confidence of many people in the government. It took a long time to restore that trust. (a decade later Ronald Reagan got the country waving the flag again…)
• In the 1990’s the scandalous behavior of President Clinton was another kind of abomination to our nation… It eroded even further the moral underpinnings of our country.
d. Wickedness on the part of leaders does much more damage than wickedness committed by an average citizen.
e. The same is true in the local church.
• It’s bad enough when a church member steals money, gets drunk, or commits adultery.
• But let it be the pastor and it will be all over the newspapers…
• In addition, it undermines the faith of some…
f. Wickedness and crime are always abominations, but never more so when committed by leaders.
g. In the theocracy, character, integrity, and morality in a king were much more important than being photogenic, having a Harvard education, media savvy, or a magnetic personality.
5. This warning was especially poignant for monarchies, because they wielded so much power in one man!
a. Prov. 16:11 – Their word was a divine sentence… they spoke with the authority of God!
b. Ecc. 8:4 – Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?
c. When a man had THAT much power, look out!
d. It was doubly important that such power be accompanied by righteousness… integrity… or a monarchy turns into tyranny!
e. Solomon was passing on this important truth to his sons… in line for royal power.
f. Raw power unmitigated by righteousness and justice could ruin a nation… an abomination for kings!
B. It is an abomination for kings to TOLERATE wickedness (in their kingdom)
1. Prov. 25:5 – Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.
a. Cf. vs.26 – He will not tolerate evil in his royal court!
b. It is an abomination if he does tolerate evil!
2. Prov. 17:15 – A king who justifies wickedness is an abomination.
a. Whether he justifies wicked practices OR justifies having wicked men rule with him… God hates it.
b. Hence, the second interpretation of this Proverb has Biblical Support.
12b For the throne is established by righteousness.
1. Throne: seat; used figuratively of his right and authority to reign.
2. Established: to be firm, be stable, steadfast, fixed, supported, secure.
3. The king who operates on the principle of honesty and justice will discover that honesty and justice will ESTABLISH his throne and secure his rule.
a. Righteousness and justice are the BASIS for the FOUNDATION for any government.
b. When people feel they are being treated fairly, they normally respond well and support the government.
c. When they are not being treated fairly, the government is not supported… not established… weakened…
4. Prov. 20:26 – A wise king will not tolerate wickedness in the land, but will bring swift justice. This will establish his throne.
5. In other words, it makes good political sense for a king to be honest and just in all his dealings.
a. The people will respond well to that. (Prov. 29:14)
b. He is less likely to be overthrown… for him to be hated and assassinated… for the people to rebel against him.
c. People usually respond well when treated fairly, equally, and justly. (Prov. 24:23–26)
6. And in the theocracy, God blessed such reigns.
7. Those who surround the king (appointed to official positions) are also to be just and fair.
a. II Chron. 19:6-7 – officials were to be God-fearing men.
b. They were to be:
• God fearing men.
• Not to be men pleasers in decision-making, but to do what was RIGHT, regardless of what was popular… not moved by opinion polls but by truth.
• Honest and pure: for there is no iniquity with God.
• No respecters of persons (no cronies; no bias; no prejudice).
• No taking of bribes (no kickbacks; not influenced by personal greed).
• Prov. 29:4 – The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.
• Leaders who surround themselves with unrighteous men damage their own government.
c. To apply this to today, leaders are not to be influenced by popular opinions, by powerful people, uninfluenced by money, and were to be color blind, class blind, non partisan, and to do what is right and just… regardless of how hard it is or how popular it is.
d. Wouldn’t that be refreshing? PRAY for those in positions of power in our country!
8. Psalm 101:2-8 – David was such a king who surrounded himself with honest, just, and righteous men.
a. David determined to have only upright men serve with him in the royal court.
b. He knew that the throne was established by righteousness.
c. Therefore, he determined that he himself would be righteous; and he determined that only the righteous would he call to serve with him.
d. People have no respect for a corrupt government. They will not support it… and given the opportunity, they would overthrow it… or take power to themselves.
e. Hence, it is wise for a king to be fair, just, equitable, honest, and sincere with his people.
f. That strengthens the throne… and the nation.
g. Pray for our country!
Proverbs 16:13
The Delight of Kings
Introduction:
1. In this section Solomon speaks about kings; what a king in the theocratic kingdom OUGHT to be…
2. He ought to be an authoritative spokesman for God (vs.10)
3. He ought to hate dishonesty in business. (vs.11)
4. He ought to hate wickedness wherever it is found… whether it emanates from the throne itself or one of his subjects. (vs.12)
5. He ought to love righteousness, especially righteous lips. (vs.13)
6. This is Solomon’s ideal king. These things were also true of the Messiah THE ideal King of kings!
13a Righteous lips are the delight of kings;
1. Righteous: justice; fairly deciding what is right in a legal case, without prejudice, that which is proper according to a standard, and not deviant in any way.
2. Righteous lips:
a. The lips are used as a symbol of speech here. (mouth; tongue; etc.)
b. Solomon is speaking about speech that is true, accurate, and honest, without prejudice; words that reflect fairness, equity, and justice.
c. Deut. 16:19-20 – in the earthly kingdom, the Israelites were to put judges and officers in positions of authority who were men of justice… who strictly followed justice.
d. Deut. 1:16 – judges were to judge “righteously.”
e. Men in positions of leadership must have righteous lips…
f. Kings were to see to it that men with righteous lips were given such positions of authority…
g. Jer. 23:5-6 – the Messiah will be such a king. He will rule and reign in justice and righteousness. Righteous sentences shall flow from His lips. Righteousness is His character!
h. This was the requirement for kings in the Old Testament. They should love righteous lips.
3. Prov. 29:12 – IF a ruler does NOT hate righteous lips, he destroys his throne.
a. Here Solomon speaks of a king who hearkens to lies.
b. He listens to them… pays attention to them… he responds to them.
c. By doing so, he ENCOURAGES others to lie as well… other will see that lies are effective… lies get the job done… lies enable them to promote their own agendas…
d. In effect, by listening and paying attention to liars, the foolish king is inadvertently rewarding such behavior, and thus enabling corruption to flourish in the land.
e. The king virtually PROMOTES unrighteous speech by tolerating it. Soon ALL his servants will be wicked!
f. This will destroy his throne… cause him to lose credibility… and eventually undermine his power and position as a king
g. Dishonest, self seeking, self promoting, men ABOUND.
h. They flock to kings and to those in authority like bees to flowers… to advance themselves, their business, their programs, and their agendas.
i. Their wicked intentions are often covered in flowery words of flattery to the king…
j. A shallow, vain king will be taken in by their lies.
k. A wise, discerning king will chase them away!
l. Prov. 20:28 – A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.
• He makes it clear to ALL that he will not tolerate wickedness… lies… deception… evil intent…
• Fathers would do well to scatter evil in their own homes this way… by making it crystal clear to the kids that evil is not tolerated there!
• If you scatter it away with body language… (eyes; tone of voice; demeanor) then you don’t have to use the rod as often!
• Kings shouldn’t tolerate lies and deception; neither should fathers!
4. Prov. 25:5 – the king should love righteous lips and righteousness because it establishes His throne.
a. Prov. 16:12 – His throne is established by Righteousness. This was another reason he should hate wickedness… because it UNDERMINES his throne. Righteousness establishes it.
b. Thus, the ideal king should tolerate no dishonesty in business practices (vs.11).
c. The ideal king should not tolerate wickedness or unrighteousness in any form in the kingdom. (vs.12)
d. The ideal king should also love righteous lips… honest speech. This too establishes his throne.
e. This is the character of God Himself! (Prov. 12:22) He hates lying lips too!
f. Dishonesty and lies build a dynasty for a while… but it is established like a house of cards. It is not strong and stable…
g. And when the people discover they have been lied to… and cheated… treated unfairly… dishonestly… they will overthrow that government the first opportunity they are given.
5. But a king NEEDS his advisors to tell him the truth.
a. The truth isn’t always pleasant… and therefore, many royal advisors were inclined to tell the king what he wanted to hear rather than what he NEEDS to hear: the truth.
b. The ideal king will DELIGHT in hearing the truth… so that he can deal with it in a wise manner…
c. Prov. 28:23 – the wise king will appreciate the servant who may even have to REBUKE him… point out his error.
• Flattery feels good up front, but in the long run can be dangerous.
• But the one who dares to say something negative but necessary, may not be appreciated up front, but will be in the long run.
• A wise king should DELIGHT in the righteous lips which speak forth the truth… unpleasant as it may be. Truth is needed!
d. We too should DELIGHT in righteous lips… even when the truth spoken hurts… or is costly… or isn’t what you wanted to hear.
e. VALUE those brave and faithful enough to speak the truth…
13b And they love him that speaketh right.
1. The ideal king hated wickedness in the land and loved truth and righteous lips.
2. Therefore, he would seek men of like mind to serve with him in his royal court… and to serve as judges in the land, men who are honest, speak truth, and are fair and just.
3. David was such a king. (Psalm 101:6-8)
a. Here David tells us of the character he was looking for in candidates to serve with him in his royal court.
b. He will rid himself of evil men (vs.4)
c. He will cut off slanderers… backstabbers.
d. David knew that those who slandered others behind their backs would also be slandering him behind his back!
e. David knew human nature well enough to know that all kinds of evil plots, schemes, rebellions, coups, and conspiracies go on behind closed doors… to destroy the king.
f. David knew this first hand… his own son Absalom!
g. II Sam. 15:1-2 – behind king David’s back, Absalom prepared royal parades for himself.
h. He was tall, dark, and handsome, and he smooth talked the people…
i. II Sam. 15:3 – he was a yes man to the people, and implied that his father was not doing his job… was not treating them fairly… was not paying attention to their plight… but he would!
j. Vs. 4 – then he lamented how he wished he were put in a position of prominence so that he could bring justice to all these dear folks!
k. Vs. 5 – he ingratiated himself to them all… to the point of being sickeningly sweet…
l. Vs. 6 – He stole the hearts of the people…
m. Behind the king’s back, Solomon deceived the people into shifting their allegiance from David to him.
n. He ended up chasing his father out the throne and out of the land… humiliating his own father publicly.
o. God used that time period to chasten and teach David… and David learned his lesson… and God brought him BACK to the throne after Absalom’s death.
p. Now David writes a psalm about the KIND of men… the character of the men he wants with him in his court.
• David didn’t want wicked men in his court!
• No slanderers, backstabbers!
• Psalm 101:6 – he was looking for faithful men to serve with him… those who walk in a perfect way.
• Vs. 7 – he would not tolerate deceitful men and liars. They will not tarry in his sight.
• He will cut off wickedness in the land… by first cutting it off in the city of the Lord… the royal city… where his royal business was conducted.
4. Thus, David, and other kings… and others in positions of authority should seek men of integrity to serve… to work with them.
a. Look for men who are honest… truthful… righteous lips…
b. Those qualities are as valuable in the long run as their skill, experience, and talent.
c. If a person in authority HAS such a person serving with him, he should DELIGHT in that person… and LOVE those who are such.
5. We are not likely to be called upon to appoint folks to the royal court of a kingdom… but we can certainly applythese truths to lots of other areas of life.
a. Those responsible for hiring new employees… those responsible for accepting or rejecting applicants… those responsible for determining who gets the company award… who gets the raise… who gets the promotion…
b. Don’t just look at the bottom line; don’t just look at the achievement statistics; don’t just consider the raw number of sales, scores, test grades, etc.
c. There are some valuable intangibles mentioned in this proverb that need to be considered… something that won’t appear on any financial ledger, test score, or in other means of storing data about employees or workers: HONESTY!
d. Think of how much DAMAGE is done to a country, a company, a school, a family, a church… by lying, unrighteous, deceitful tongues!
e. This damage is all done behind closed doors… but undermines the foundation of that institution.
f. But ultimately, righteous lips—truthful lips—faithful lips—lips that build up instead of tear down—can be more immeasurably beneficial to that home, school, family, church, country, or business… priceless!
g. They should be VALUED. The ideal king values them.
h. Unrighteous lips, deceitful lies and slander corrupt, tear down and eat away as doth a canker.
i. Righteous lips establish the throne… build up… make solid and firm… they do the same for a home, a school, a company, and a church!
j. Solomon’s ideal king values righteous lips. Wise believers today should value them too! Good leaders surround themselves with good men.
k. Pray for our president… that he would get good advice from his counselors… honesty… truth… that our country might be strong… and firm.
Proverbs 16:14
The Wrath of a King
14a The wrath of a king is as messengers of death:
A. The Wrath of a King
1. It’s bad enough getting your average Joe angry at you.
a. Joe can cause you trouble if he really wanted to.
b. Joe could make life uncomfortable for you.
c. But what Joe can do to you is limited.
• If he hits you and harms you physically, he can be prosecuted.
• If he takes your goods away without permission, he can be prosecuted for stealing.
• If you keep your nose clean, there’s not a lot that Joe can really do against you.
• If you are an honest, law abiding citizen, the law is on YOUR side. (Rom. 13:3-4a)
• The law will protect you against Joe and others like him.
• If Joe DOES harm you, Joe will have to pay! He may have to pay you back financially, or he may pay by spending time in prison.
• For the most part, the threat of the government’s sword keeps all the Joes of the world in line… and protects us from them.
• So thank God for the government… because there are Joes out there who would steal your house, your property, and every last penny you own if they could!
d. If Joe gets angry at you, he is limited in what he can do against you because he doesn’t have much power or authority.
• As long as we are upright, the law is on our side.
• This is by God’s design. He is the Author of human government.
e. Rom. 12:18 – It’s better not to get Joe mad at you in the first place. Live peaceably with all the Joes of the world if you can.
2. As uncomfortable as it is to have an average Joe angry at you, it is far worse to have a KING angry at you!
a. And kings DO get angry!
• Dan. 3:13 – Nebuchadnezzar went into a rage, and Daniel’s 3 friends were cast into a fiery furnace.
• II Kings 6:31 – The king of Israel was angry at the famine (which he blamed on Elisha) and so determined to have him decapitated!
• I Sam. 20:30-33 – King Saul was angry at Jonathan… and threw a javelin at him! His own son!
• II Chron. 16:10 – King Asa was angry at Hanani the prophet, and had him cast into prison… and oppressed the people too!
• Matt. 2:16 – King Herod was angry when he realized that the wise men tricked him, and he had all the babies under 2 years old killed!
b. Prov. 19:12 – It can be like the roaring of a lion. (ready and able to devour!)
c. We have lots of examples in the Bible of angry kings.
B. The Messengers of Death
1. And WHEN kings get angry, they are UNRESTRAINED in unleashing their anger.
a. When Joe is angry at you, the law of the land RESTRAINS him in executing his wrath against you.
b. When the king is angry at you, he IS the law of the land!
c. Thus, he can do whatever he wants… and when people are in a rage, what they want to do is quite nasty and cruel!
d. Kings do some very bad things to people when they are angry… from casting them into prison to casting them alive into a fiery furnace! From decapitation to slaughtering babies! From oppressing the people to attempted murder on their own son!
e. Restrained wrath is bad enough. But unrestrained wrath—look out!
f. Unrestrained governmental power is often a messenger of DEATH… (messenger usually translated “angel”)
g. In other words, it is like sending out the Angel of Death that flew over Egypt before it was destroyed!
2. Think of some of the awful edicts from kings and dictators who hold absolute authority…
a. The leader of the Khmer Rouge guerrillas was angry at a segment of Cambodians and slaughtered between 1.5 and 2 million of them!
b. Saddam Hussein was angry at the Curds… and had thousands of them gassed.
c. This past century has had no shortage of angry dictators who have unleashed their wrath against others.
d. When kings or others holding power get angry, that wrath can be unleashed fiercely, brutally, and without the slightest bit of compassion for human suffering…
e. Fortunately, in this country, we have to explain what this proverb means.
==> But in many other lands around the world, it needs no explanation.
==> Iraqis know exactly what Solomon meant. So do those in Saudi Arabia… and Afghanistan… North Korea… Iran…
14b But a wise man will pacify it.
1. Solomon presents a fact in the first part of the proverb: an angry king means DEATH!
a. It is an undeniable fact… the Bible gives us many examples.
b. The rest of human history gives us countless other examples.
2. In the second part of the proverb Solomon states that wise men will take note of this truth and ADJUST their behavior.
a. Wise men will try to PACIFY the anger of a king.
b. Pacify defined: cover over; to atone; to make atonement for; to bring about reconciliation.
c. A wise man will do whatever he can to appease the king’s anger… to make atonement for the cause of the king’s anger… bring reconciliation…
d. A wise man will not stand up and defy the king; he is not to try to win a debate with the king; he is not to make demands of the king; he is not to poke holes in the king’s case; or discuss the flaws in his logic.
e. There may be many flaws in the king’s thinking; but when he is in a rage is not the best time to discuss them!
f. People with absolute power who are in a rage, are not thinking clearly to start off with.
• Perhaps on reason will prevail later…
• But when he is angry… the best route to take is acquiescence… compliance… submission to his authority… and seek reconciliation… recognizing his authority and yielding to it.
• A soft answer is best. A humble “Yes sir, whatever you say sir” is best.
3. Consider the example of Daniel.
a. The king was angry because the wise men would not tell him his dream.
b. He was about to kill all the wise men in Babylon. (Dan. 2:12)
c. Of course, the king’s expectations were completely unrealistic and unreasonable; his decision to kill all the wise men was extremely foolish (what a brain drain!); he was not thinking rationally.
d. How did Daniel deal with this angry king? (Dan. 2:15-16)
• Daniel told the king to just give him a little time and he would do whatever he wanted… I will show you the dream.
• Daniel did not tell the king that his expectations were unreasonable; he did not tell the king that his decision to kill the wise men was foolish.
• Though I’m sure Daniel THOUGHT those things… he was wise enough not to speak his mind. Silence is often wise.
• Dan. 2:48 – instead of experiencing the king’s wrath, Daniel was greatly rewarded and promoted.
• Daniel pacified the foolish king… and instead of being decapitated, was exalted!
4. And this is good advice not just for those who report directly to a king… but to all of us as we deal with those in authority over us… (bosses; teachers; policeman; city planning boards; dog catcher; etc…)
a. People with ANY amount of authority can make life miserable for us if they get angry.
b. When they are angry, pacify them! That is not the best time to question their authority… or question their wisdom… or question their plans…
c. Let the anger pass, if it will.
d. Don’t grab a tiger by the tail! You will only exacerbate the problem and make them MORE angry… and perhaps more unreasonable… and perhaps more brutal!
5. This is especially good advice as a CHURCH.
a. As a church, we are under the authority of the government of the USA, the state of NH, and the town of Salem.
b. I have heard of Christian groups that have stirred up trouble with the government… and they give us all a bad name.
c. Some have defied the tax laws; environmental regulations; city codes, etc… and have seen themselves ABOVE the law. (“We are under God’s law not man’s!” is their foolish cry!)
d. As believers, we are to obey ALL man-made ordinances “for the Lord’s sake!”
e. The town of Salem has been very gracious with us… and quite reasonable thus far… because we have always done what they told us to do.
f. But if we ever decide to get a little huffy over their rules and regulations, and start questioning them or their authority… they could get angry at us.
g. And if they get angry at us, they could make life miserable for us… they could force us to put up a fence; take the steeple down; make us put in a sprinkler system; widen Ermer Road, restrict what we can do here…
h. When the local authorities speak… and especially if they are angry, we should say, Yes sir, whatever you say sir.”
i. The best thing is to not GET them angry in the first place. But if for some reason they DO get angry, PACIFY it pronto!
6. Prov. 20:2 – Provoking a king to anger is a sin against oneself! Suicide!
a. Solomon speaks of the FOLLY of provoking a king to anger. It is suicide.
b. Provoking ANY authority to anger is foolish.
c. If you are a student, and you have been assigned a teacher, it is foolish to get the teacher angry at you. You have to LIVE with that teacher the rest of the year or the rest of the semester. Even if the teacher is unfair or unreasonable… pacify their anger. Don’t fight against it. It is a losing battle.
d. If you are a worker, it is foolish to get the boss angry at you. You too have to live with that boss for a long time. Reconciliation is always the best.
e. When a person in a position of authority shows a lack of wisdom… or is unreasonable… don’t provoke them to anger by POINTING OUT their folly!
f. That results in bad news for you! It may not be an angel of death, but you may be marked more severely in the class… you may not get a promotion you otherwise would…
g. Is it fair? Of course not… but there are a lot of things in life that are not fair.
h. Solomon’s advice: Get used to it… and adjust to those in authority. Don’t give them any cause to get angry at you!
i. They may not be fair; they may not be just; they may not be reasonable; they may not be honest; they may not be wise; but they DO have authority…
j. Solomon’s inspired advice is: learn to live with them. Don’t buck their authority… pacify them.
k. We have a similar American proverb: You can’t fight city hall!
l. Therefore, don’t fight; you will only get them more angry… and even more unreasonable.
• Learn to get along.
• Be tactful… be courteous… be respectful… be diplomatic… acknowledge their authority…
• A wise man will pacify the wrath of one who is in authority…
Proverbs 16:15
The King’s Favor
Introduction:
This next section is ROYAL… Solomon begins to speak about kings… their power and responsibility.
1. vs. 10 – the sentence of a king
2. vs. 12 – the wickedness or righteousness of kings
3. vs. 13 – the delight of kings
4. vs. 14 – the wrath of a king
5. vs. 15 – the favor of a king
15a In the light of the king’s countenance is life;
A. The Power of a Sovereign Monarch
1. This part of the proverb tells us of the absolute power that the monarchy had in ancient times.
a. The word of the King was law.
b. He had the power to execute anyone he wanted.
c. The king had no fear of being taken to court for breaking the law. He WAS the law.
d. He had no fear of an investigation into his actions.
e. There were no watchdog groups overseeing his power.
f. He was the law. If he said, “off with your head,” your head came off.
g. There were no checks and balances in a monarchy.
2. A monarchy is the BEST form of human government the world has ever seen… the absolute power of a monarch.
a. This is the form of government God will use to rule the world in the Messianic Kingdom… absolute monarchy.
b. The problem with a monarchy (or any form of government today) is the fact that those running the government are sinners!
• Sometimes kings were wicked and vile men—like Ahab.
• Sometimes kings were godly men—like David.
• The best of kings… the best of men are still sinners!
• Ps. 39:5 – “Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.”
• That’s why man will NEVER bring in the kingdom through our own efforts.
c. But in the kingdom, the King will be the Lord Jesus Christ!
• He will rule and reign in righteousness! The first king ever who was at the same time both human and sinless!
• Isa. 11:1-5 – Isaiah describes the perfect reign of Christ…
→ He will be an omniscient, omnipotent, infinitely holy, righteous king who knows the hearts of all men.
→ He doesn’t judge by His natural eyes or ears. He doesn’t need to see evidence or hear witnesses testify. He KNOWS all things!
→ He knows the wicked and has the power to slay or execute every criminal in the land.
→ He is righteous—just—fair to everyone… and faithful… consistent… never wavering.
→ The very BEST form of human government is a monarchy with a benevolent king like that!
→ And we are going to SHARE in Christ’s reign over the earth!
3. But we don’t live in the Messianic Kingdom with Christ reigning, and neither did Solomon.
a. Solomon and his readers lived in a cursed earth.
b. Even the very BEST of kings were still sinners by nature.
c. David, the best king Israel ever had, did not always execute justice in the land.
d. II Sam. 11:15 – He used his absolute power to have Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, murdered to cover up his sin of adultery. His men carried out his orders, no questions asked.
e. The best of earthly kings have abused their powers on occasion.
f. And as you go down the scale from benevolent to wicked (from a David to an Ahab)… the abuse of power gets worse and worse.
B. The Power of Life and Death
1. Prov.16:14 – When a king was ANGRY, it meant death!
a. We saw other examples of the power of kings to execute at will last week.
→ Dan. 3:13 – Nebuchadnezzar went into a rage, and Daniel’s 3 friends were cast into a fiery furnace.
→ II Kings 6:31 – The king of Israel was angry at the famine (which he blamed on Elisha) and so determined to have him decapitated!
→ II Chron. 16:10 – King Asa was angry at Hanani the prophet, and had him cast into prison… and oppressed the people too!
→ Matt. 2:16 – King Herod was angry when he realized that the wise men tricked him, and he had all the babies under 2 years old killed!
→ Pharaoh changed his mind and his butler’s position changed from death to life!
→ Esther 3:8-13 – The king wrote a document and mandated genocide against the Jews… They fell out of his favor, and he had an edict for them all to be slaughtered throughout the Persian Empire.
→ Esther 4:11 – The golden scepter was held out to Esther when she entered the king’s presence. Without his favor, she would have been executed.
→ Later, the Jews came into his favor, and instead of being killed, they were protected… all because a king changed his mind.
→ Esther 7:8-10 – King Ahasuerus turned against Haman and he was hung.
b. Life and death were in the hands of the king.
C. The Countenance of the King
1. If the king had a favorable countenance towards you, it meant life.
2. If a king had an unfavorable countenance towards you, it often meant death!
3. Nehemiah 2:1-3 – Nehemiah was the king’s cupbearer. He spent much time in the king’s presence.
a. When Nehemiah was sad before King Artaxerxes, and the king noticed, he was afraid.
b. A servant was never to appear sad or upset before the king.
c. Esther 4:2 – for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth.
d. In doing so, he might convey to the king that he was unhappy in his service for the king… or unhappy with reign of the king… or with the king himself!
e. This kind of action (even one’s facial expressions!) could put his position in jeopardy, or even his life! Kings were fickle… suspicious… and extremely insecure…
f. Therefore, those in royal courts did whatever they could to keep the king HAPPY. Nobody wanted to be the source of discomfort or unhappiness in the king… for that could spell disaster for them.
g. Nehemiah was afraid that his own unhappy countenance might result in an unhappy countenance on the king… and that would mean trouble for Nehemiah… perhaps even his life.
h. In the royal court, you wanted the king to have a cheerful, happy countenance at all times…
4. Prov. 20:28 – A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.
a. In other words, the countenance of a king SCARED people!
b. If evil men thought that the king was frowning at them -that would be enough for them to either change their evil ways or get out of town! They knew what a frown from the king meant!
c. All the king had to do was scowl at people… and they got the message!
d. The countenance of the king was carefully read by all.
e. They were all afraid to get on his bad side…
5. Prov. 16:13 – Here Solomon gives advice to folks as to HOW to keep the king happy… something that will cause their countenance to lighten up: righteous lips.
a. Kings delighted in those who spoke that which was right… whose word could be trusted.
b. Kings had many people out to trick them… lie to them… cheat them… deceive them… get something from them…
c. When they came upon someone they could trust, they delighted in that.
15b And his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.
1. Deut. 11:14 – the latter rain was beneficial and valuable because it meant that the crops would survive… it meant health, prosperity, a good harvest.
a. Throughout the year, rains were usually quite light.
b. But the latter rain, near the end of the harvest time, the rains were heavy.
c. Those heavy rains filled the fruits and brought them to maturity.
d. They were necessary for growth, for life, and a productive harvest… health and prosperity… growth and life.
e. Without the latter rains, the crops would wither and die. That’s how needful they were.
2. A king’s favor is like the cloud of the latter rain.
a. When you saw the rain cloud, you knew that rain was on its way! Soon your dry fields would be blessed!
b. When you saw the smile on a king’s face, you knew that he would favor your request: you were about to be blessed… as opposed to being executed—which is far better!
c. Prov.19:12 – the king’s favor is like dew upon the grass. So very beneficial and needful, especially in a dry and thirsty land. This is a similar thought. Refreshing!
3. Solomon wrote these words as a warning to his servants and to his subjects.
a. Solomon KNEW how fickle and erratic kings could be; and how unfair and unjust their actions towards subjects often were.
• Solomon observed monarchs. He was familiar with kings from around the region. He grew up in royal circles.
• Solomon was wise enough to know that since thrones were inherited; men who sat on them were not always wise… and were not always fair… or kind.
• Those who inherited the throne were often spoiled brats who were used to getting whatever they wanted… and if someone rubbed them the wrong way, they would pay for it!
b. It is likely that Solomon observed monarchs… and the way they treated people.
c. Solomon knew of the fickle ways of kings… the mood swings of kings… and this was written to give WISDOM to subjects in their dealings with such men.
d. He wanted to warn the people against incurring the wrath of a king… for the good of the people!
e. Thus, Solomon wanted his subjects and subjects of future generations to know the VALUE of staying in the good favor of the king… BECAUSE they were not always wise, kind, or fair… and often behaved poorly.
f. This would be for the personal benefit of subjects wise enough to take his advice.
4. Since kings (and others in positions of authority) have such power over us, we would do well today to do what we can to stay in their favor.
a. Thankfully we don’t live in a land with an evil monarch reigning with absolute power.
b. But we are STILL affected by the favor of those in authority, so we should PRAY.
c. Christians may not REMAIN in the favor of the government forever. Things could change rapidly.
d. We are favored presently with the freedom to meet; freedom to evangelize; freedom to print and distribute Christian literature; and we are favored with a tax free status as an organization… and no property taxes.
e. We truly ARE in the favor of our government today… but that could change.
• The king (Congress and President) have the power to change that in a hurry.
• The Supreme Court could change all that with one decision!
• Pray for the lady being nominated to be the next Justice.
f. Prov. 21:1 – “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”
• Therefore PRAY! Pray to stay in their favor.
• And if we fall OUT OF favor, God can change the mind and heart of political leaders…
• Give GOD the glory for the favor we enjoy!
5. And if Solomon was concerned for his subjects to experience the favor of the earthly king’s countenance shining brightly upon them, how much MORE care and concern should we have for the countenance of the King of kings?
a. Num. 6:22-26 – This was part of Israel’s blessing… they understood the countenance of God as an expression of His favor and blessing towards them.
b. Ps. 42:5 – I shall praise Him for the HELP of His countenance… especially when discouraged. His countenance lifts up our souls.
c. Ps. 4:6 – There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
d. Ps. 30:5 – For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
e. Ps. 89:15 – Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.
Proverbs 16:16
The Value of Wisdom
Introduction:
1. The section on royalty ended with verse 15.
2. Now Solomon speaks on another theme… a very common theme in the book of Proverbs: wisdom.
3. The book of Proverbs is all about wisdom… (Prov. 1:1-2)
4. This particular proverb emphases obtaining and choosing wisdom.
Getting and Choosing
1. GET = buy; to get; acquire; to purchase; to possess.
a. Gen. 25:10 – Here it is translated “purchased”. He possessed the land… and it became his possession.
b. Ruth 4:10 – Boaz purchased Ruth to be his wife. He saw her. His affections were attracted to her. He desired her. He chose her. He paid a price to obtain her as his wife—by becoming the kinsman redeemer. He GOT her. She was his. Boaz desired Ruth. Out of all the women he COULD have married, he CHOSE Ruth. He paid the price of redemption to obtain her.
c. II Sam. 24:24 – And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.” David paid a price. He realized how serious a matter was at hand… he didn’t want to obtain it the EASY way… free… no cost…
d. The term is translated “get” most often in Proverbs, but elsewhere it is usually translated “buy” or “purchase”.
e. It implies the following:
• It is purchased because of an inward affection for; a desire to obtain.
• A purchase that is valuable… a comparable price is paid. It is costly to obtain it.
• It is purchased as a choice… this out of many other choices.
• Once purchased, it becomes the possession of the one who paid the price.
2. The term Solomon uses means that wisdom and understanding are PURCHASED. (get)
a. Of course he does NOT mean that they are purchased with money. (Wouldn’t that be nice?)
b. If that was the case, then wealthy people would all be wise… and that is NOT the case. In fact, Solomon makes a case here for just the opposite! Those who choose wealth are not necessarily wise!
c. Wisdom and understanding are purchased… but not with money.
d. They are purchased in the sense that there is a PRICE to be paid to obtain wisdom… there is a cost… a loss…
e. In wisely choosing the straight and narrow road over the broad road that leads to destruction… we choose wisdom, but pay a price… you have restricted yourself greatly!
f. Getting or purchasing involves a CHOICE. Out of all the things in the world we COULD choose, we choose wisdom.
g. Those who obtain wisdom made a choice in life… a choice that costs us dearly… but is worth it in the end.
h. It is a choice made because of a desire; inward affection. Those who choose wisdom and understanding do so because of an inward affection for it… an affection that outweighs the love of the world… and the things of the world.
i. And those who had an inward affection for wisdom… those who made that choice because they were willing to pay the price… become the possessors of it!
j. Wisdom and understanding don’t just happen. It starts in the heart… with a burning desire for wisdom… a heart that is willing to sacrifice to obtain wisdom… and actually pays the price to purchase it. THEN it becomes ours.
k. The fact that we are to GET wisdom indicates that we don’t possess it on our own… it comes from an outside source: Christ…
3. Wisdom and understanding are CHOSEN.
a. “Rather to be CHOSEN than silver…”
b. Chosen: choose; elect; decide for; select.
c. As a noun it means “best” or “choice” as in “choice meat”… that which is viewed as the finest… (often translated that way in the Old Testament – chosen soldiers; chosen chariots.
d. Zodhiates: As a verb it means to take a keen look at, to prove, to choose. It denotes a choice, which is based on a thorough examination of the situation and not an arbitrary whim.
e. They were chosen because they were CHOICE… the best… the finest…
f. Solomon states that wisdom and understanding are CHOSEN rather than silver.
g. In other words, all the options are thoroughly examined… the man takes a keen look at what is before him… and he CHOOSES that which is choice… the finest… the best.
h. He chooses wisdom and understanding OVER silver and gold!
i. When they are observed carefully and thoughtfully, the comparative value will always weigh in favor of WISDOM!
j. It is much finer than gold… more valuable… a much better choice!
k. When you have special guests coming to your home, you go to the meat market to get the meat for the meal. At the market, there is an array of choices available… all spread out before you. If you think highly of your guests, then you will choose the CHOISEST meat. That means that you bypass some meat that is ok… and you go for that which is the finest. Then you take it to the counter… and you pay a price. There is a cost associated with purchasing choice meat.
l. Solomon says that obtaining wisdom is like that.
• There is quite an array of choices available to us in life.
• In particular, he speaks of the choice between silver and gold… and wisdom and understanding.
• He states that choosing wisdom and understanding is the BETTER choice… it is the finest… they are choice… superior to silver and gold.
• But the choice is ours.
4. Prov. 8:10-11 – Wisdom and understanding are to be bought… chosen… AND received.
a. Lady Wisdom urges the readers to RECEIVE what she offers them: instruction and knowledge.
b. Receive = to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, snatch, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife…
c. Lady Wisdom wants young men to lay hold of wisdom… seize…
d. Wisdom is crying out… now she wants men to receive what she says.
e. It is one thing to choose it… and to buy it. It is one thing to KNOW it. It is another thing to allow it to sink in… to RECEIVE it into our hearts… that’s where wisdom counts.
f. It is not received into the heart and life, it is simply data. Precious and valuable data… but useless until put in its proper place in the heart.
g. We KNOW way more truth than we receive. Wisdom cries out to be received!
5. Solomon states that the GETTING of wisdom and understanding is BETTER than getting gold or silver.
a. Wisdom is BETTER… more valuable…
b. I Kings 10:23 – Solomon should know. He had plenty of BOTH!
• He was a king… with all the gold and silver he inherited from David… who won many battles and brought home the booty.
• He was given more wisdom than any man on earth.
• He more than anyone is able to say which is better.
c. The choice is ours… and one choice is BETTER than the other. So which one will YOU or I choose?
d. The choice is costly. We may pay dearly for it.
e. The choices we make will be based on the issue of the HEART.
f. If the affection of the heart is on silver and gold, then that will be our choice.
g. If the affection of the heart is on wisdom from God to live a life more pleasing to Him, then wisdom will be our choice.
h. I John 2:15 – LOVE NOT… “the things of the world.”
• The things of the world includes many “things”… but it certainly includes silver and gold… money… money makes the world go round.
• Love is a choice. We CHOOSE that which we want our affections to be attached to.
• We can either put our affection on the things of earth… (like silver and gold) OR we can put our affections on things above. That is a choice.
• Where we place our affections is a choice.
• And once we place our affections on something, we usually go for it… seek to obtain it… and are willing to pay any price to get it.
• Prov. 2:2-6 – believers are to SEEK wisdom with the same degree of fervor, intensity, sacrifice, zeal, commitment, and passion that greedy men use in seeking gold and silver.
• Consider the dedication of the men who left the east coast in a horse and buggy to find gold in the California gold rush… or the Alaska gold rush.
• They sacrificed EVERYTHING to obtain it… because they knew the earthly value of it. There was no question but that their hearts were in it!
• We should be willing to sacrifice everything to obtain wisdom from above… because we see the heavenly and eternal value of it.
• If our heart is in obtaining God’s wisdom, the heart’s desire will drive us to great lengths to obtain it…
• We will be willing to sacrifice the gold trinkets of this world to obtain it…
• That’s the point of this proverb! How much BETTER is it to get wisdom than gold!
• What a much better choice it is to choose understanding over silver!
• Prov. 8:11 – It is better than rubies too… and ALL other things that might be desired on earth. It is far better!
• Prov. 8:19 – Her fruit is better than gold and CHOICE silver! (the best of silver)
• Which proves to be more valuable in the long run?
» Which would YOU invest in? A man with a million dollars but no wisdom… OR a man with a thousand dollars but LOTS of wisdom.
» Who would fare better in 5 years?
» There are sharks out there who feast on wealthy people with no wisdom… and there are plenty of them!
» But the man with lots of wisdom and a thousand dollars might quickly turn his 1000 into a million…
» The difference is wisdom. It is the principle thing.
» The FRUIT is far better in the long run.
6. Practically, this should affect our every day lives.
a. Where do we obtain God’s wisdom and understanding? From God’s Word…
b. Thus, wisdom is obtained by spending TIME in His Word…
c. The local church is the place where God’s Word is taught…
d. Personal devotion time in the word each day is also essential in obtaining wisdom.
e. Silver and gold can sometimes pull us AWAY from obtaining God’s wisdom…
f. Silver and gold… and the OTHER things of the world vie for our affection and our time.
g. We have to LOVE wisdom before we will seek it. It IS a matter of the heart.
h. Psalm 119:127 – “Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.”
i. Can YOU say that?
j. It is up to us which one we choose. We will choose that which seems CHOICE to us… the one our heart and affection have been drifting towards will be our choice.
k. Thus, the proverb: How much BETTER is it to get wisdom than gold… or anything else the world offers.
l. “How much better!” This speaks of Solomon’s shock at the disproportion in the comparison. Wisdom is SO much better that there is really no comparison!
m. Prov. 23:5 – Heavenly riches (like divine wisdom) are far better than earthy riches. MUCH better! They last forever… Earthly wealth flies away! The word of God abides forever.
n. Jesus said that heavenly thieves can steal our earthly wealth… but NOT our heavenly… not wisdom.
o. The wisdom in God’s word is FAR better… as far as the heaven is above the earth…
p. In Ecc. Solomon states that there is a vanity and vexation of spirit associated with the getting of earthly wealth… not so with heavenly wisdom!
q. Col. 2:3 – In Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
r. Paul saw ALL THINGS in the world (power; position; prestige) compared to the knowledge of Christ were as dung.
s. There is no vexation of soul with Christ… only satisfaction.
t. Prov. 3:15 – HAPPY is the man that finds wisdom… because he CHOSE it!
Proverbs 16:17
The Highway of the Upright
17a The highway of the upright is to depart from evil:
A. The Highway of the Upright
1. Highway defined:
a. Strong’s: raised public road.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: an open-country thoroughfare; maintained roadway.
c. Zodhiates notes that the term “is used in a figurative sense to describe the course of the stars (Judg. 5:20); the road of life lived by the righteous.”
2. Solomon is using the term in a figurative sense.
a. It is different term than the normal word for “way” or “road.”
b. This term implies a road, but also the maintenance needed to keep it functioning.
c. Our lives are like roads… and to keep our lives headed in the right direction, it requires a lot of maintenance and upkeep.
→ As frost heaves can cause a road to become bumpy;
→ Excessive rains can wash a road away completely.
→ Large rocks can fall from a nearby cliff and land on the road…
→ Ordinary use results in potholes that need to be constantly filled in.
d. Maintaining a highway is a lot of work. We see highway crews working on one road or another every day.
e. Today, if the highway is NOT maintained properly, it could result in many accidents… a loss of property and even life.
f. Maintaining a highway is a good way to illustrate the lives of believers.
3. You can’t just build a highway and forget about it. Left to itself it will deteriorate.
a. Our lives are like that too.
b. It is not enough to be saved on the right road.
c. The roads of our spiritual lives need to be maintained.
d. Our spiritual lives need to be continually maintained too… or they will deteriorate like the highway.
e. Left to ourselves, apart from continual upkeep, apathy will take over… zeal will cool down… mediocre complacency will settle in… various sin will enter our lives… and unless constantly confessed and forsaken, they will take over…
f. When that is the case, that highway becomes an accident waiting to happen.
g. It’s not that we set out to sin or wander away… or purposed in our hearts to become lazy and neglectful of the highway… but just as ordinary, everyday use of a highway over time causes deterioration, so too, everyday life wears away at us.
h. Unless we are careful to maintain the highway of our lives, ruin could be around the corner…
i. If you are buzzing along a highway—even going the speed limit—and hit a section of road that was washed out… or a sink hole… or some other problem that was neglected—it can result in serious harm.
j. The same is true in our spiritual lives. We can be buzzing along as normal… living our lives… but if we have been negligent in reading the Word, confessing sin, getting the fellowship we need, maintaining our highway (keep your heart with all diligence) etc… we might be headed for serious harm spiritually.
k. We didn’t plan it. We never intended for it to happen. But because of negligence, it DID happen.
4. Roads normally don’t deteriorate overnight.
a. They CAN with a hurricane or a flood.
b. But most road deterioration occurs gradually… imperceptibly… over time… through normal, every day use.
c. That’s what happens in a cursed earth. Things tend to go downhill… deteriorate… weaken… crumble…
d. No matter how well that highway was constructed, over time, it WILL deteriorate.
B. Departing from Evil
1. That is a danger sign in the Christian life. We might THINK that we are strong… and that deterioration will never happen in MY spiritual life.
a. I Cor. 10:12 – Let him that THINKETH he standeth take heed lest he fall.
b. PRIDE will cause us to think that “we won’t fall.” That’s what happens to the other guy… (Cf. Prov. 16:18)
c. Prov. 3:7 – Don’t think you’re so smart… don’t think that nothing will ever happen to you!
• Fear God!
• We don’t fear God in the sense that we shy away from Him… as we might fear a deadly lion.
• We fear God in the sense of reverence before Him which arises out an acute awareness of our inclination to sin and that should cause us to fear displeasing Him.
• It is an awareness of His holiness and power… and an awareness of our puniness… and sinfulness.
• A healthy, balanced fear of God is GOOD for our spiritual lives.
• A healthy and balanced fear of what might happen on the highway is good too. A healthy fear of the possibility of a serious accident keeps us alert while driving… keeps us focused on the road… and that keeps us safe.
• That healthy fear of violating the laws of physics will help to PREVENT us from real calamity and tragedy on the highway.
• A healthy fear of violating the law of God will prevent us from a spiritual calamity on the highway of life too.
• It will cause us to depart from evil… stay away from anything that could result in evil… spiritual disaster.
2. The UPRIGHT man who maintains his highway of life will depart from ANYTHING that might lead to disaster.
a. He will MAINTAIN his highway by departing from evil.
b. Evil = anything bad; distress; misery; injury; calamity.
c. DEPART = to turn away; to keep far away; to take away; to remove; to be removed; to make depart. The basic root means to “take away.”
d. The upright man will maintain his highway by removing all stumblingblocks… because he fears the evil or injury that they can cause.
e. He will fix the potholes… patch the holes…
f. He might even build guard rails… to prevent him from rolling over the edge.
g. Because he is an upright man… (straight; correct) he does things RIGHT. He wants to PREVENT a serious accident.
h. If he is aware of something dangerous in his pathway, he will depart from it—remove it! Get rid of it!
i. If the Lord brings to mind things that are dangerous in our spiritual lives, we would do well to get rid of it!
j. It may not be sinful in itself… but if it is likely to cause us to swerve off the road—get rid of it!
17b He that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
1. He that keepeth his way:
a. Guard; watch; watch over.
b. Zodhiates: The word refers to people’s maintaining things entrusted to them, especially to keeping the truths of God in both actions and mind.
c. The one who keeps his way is the upright man who maintains his highway… the highway of his life.
2. Preserveth his soul.
a. Preserveth:
• To keep; guard.
• Watch, i.e., limit access and movement of persons or objects in and out of an area, implying protection to or from the object being guarded.
• Used in Gen. 3:24 – of the cherubim “keeping” the way of the tree of life. (protecting that way… guards)
b. Soul:
• Life.
• The man himself; self; person or individual; seat of the appetites; seat of emotions and passions; activity of mind.
• It speaks of the whole inner man… the inner life… thoughts, emotions, passions… drives.
c. Thus, Solomon states here that in a sense, WE are the guardians of our own souls.
• We are to maintain the highways of our own lives.
• We are responsible to remove anything that might be dangerous… anything that could cause calamity.
• We are responsible for our own walk… responsible to maintain the highway…
• We are to GUARD that way… that highway of life.
• Keep your eyes and ears open… keep the way clear.
• Vigilance on our part may even save our lives!
• Be careful—our adversary the devil walks about, seeking whom he may devour.
• Prov.4:23 – Same word for keep – Our hearts need constant maintenance… constant upkeep… KEEP your heart with all diligence.
• Prov. 2:10-13 – One of the ways we maintain our highway is through wisdom and knowledge in God’s Word. It shall KEEP thee (same word) from calamity.
• To remove stumblingblocks and to fill pot holes one must first have KNOWLEDGE… information as to where they are… or where they are likely to appear.
• KNOWING ahead of time and ACTING on that knowledge can prevent many calamities along this highway of life.
• If we keep our way, God will keep us and hold us up along that way…
Proverbs 16:18
The Results of Pride
The Results of Pride
In this verse we find the following Masoretic note in most Hebrew Bibles that says: “the middle of the book.” This verse is the middle verse; and the first clause makes the middle of the words of the book of Proverbs.
The Results of Pride
1. Pride is an awful thing.
a. It was because of pride in Lucifer that sin entered the universe… He became proud of his wisdom and beauty.
b. Pride is at the center of virtually all sin: “I can do this myself. I don’t need God. I don’t have to do it God’s way. I am able to act independently of God. My way is as good as His way.”
c. Pride causes us to puff ourselves up above others… and look down on others.
d. Pride causes us to rely on self…
e. Pride causes us to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think.
f. Thomas Carlyle said that the “greatest fault is to be conscious of none.”
g. Pride is an insidious attitude… it leads to all kinds of evil.
h. The Greeks differed with Judaism at this point. Greeks regarded pride as a virtue and humility as despicable.
• God takes just the opposite view. God hates pride.
• It is on the TOP of the list of the seven deadly sins.
• It is the essence of worldliness: the pride of life.
• God even designed a plan of salvation that “excludes boasting.” It is of grace “lest any man should boast.”
2. Prov. 16:18 – Pride goeth before destruction.
a. Destruction defined:
• Strong’s: breaking; fracture; crushing; breach; crash; ruin; shattering.
• Bib. Lang. – The state or condition of ruining an object, with a special focus on breaking up something completely.
• Isa. 30:14 – Used of the breaking of pottery – an illustration of God’s judgment against the sin and unbelief of Israel. Broken pottery is ruined… destroyed.
b. In a similar vein, the Lord seeks to work in us. We are His workmanship. He is (like a Potter) seeking to mold us all into His image… and likeness.
c. When the Potter is molding us and He comes upon an area of pride, that pride is to the Potter like a hard lump or rock in the clay. The Potter has to break the piece of pottery and remove the hard piece before He can continue His craftsmanship.
d. God may have to knock us down and break us if there is pride in our hearts.
e. Sometimes He has to break our piggy bank… sometimes He has to break a bone… He may have to break our heart… God wants our heart…
f. How much better is it for us to soften our hearts, repent of our pride… and perhaps avoid destruction!
g. That is much more preferable… to God and to us!
3. Prov. 16:5 – Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
a. The implication in this verse is that some folks think they will escape judgment…
• Perhaps because “hand join in hand.” There are so many of them!
• Perhaps because everyone is doing it… it mustn’t be so bad.
• Or perhaps because we have gotten away with our pride for so long without being punished, some believe that punishment won’t come!
b. When it comes to pride, there is no safety in numbers. MORE proud men does not make punishment less likely. It makes it MORE likely… as in the days of Noah… Sodom… Tyre…
c. God does punish pride… wherever it is found…
d. Destruction and punishment come to the proud…
e. And if God hates pride in the unsaved nations, how much MORE despicable must it be when found in His own sons!?
f. We are saved by GRACE. We have NO merit before God on our own. We have NOTHING to boast of before the Lord or men.
g. Everything we have we have received.
h. I Cor. 1:26-29 – One thing God especially hates is for flesh to glory in His presence.
i. It will NOT go unpunished… in this life or the next.
4. Prov. 17:19 – He that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction.
a. Once again Solomon states that pride brings destruction.
b. Exalting one’s gate: speaks of a wealthy man who builds a large, elaborate gate/entrance/doorway to his home as a way of showing off his wealthy status. Evidently, this practice was common among the wealthy in Solomon’s day. It is used as a figure of PRIDE. (Self-exaltation… look at me!)
c. In this passage, Solomon states that men love the wrong things!
• A love for sin leads to strife…
• A love for self-exaltation leads to destruction…
5. Prov. 16:18 – A haughty spirit is followed by a fall.
a. Haughty: High; exalted; arrogant. It describes anything that is literally tall or high, such as a tree or vine.
• Ps. 103:11 – As the heavens are HIGH above the earth…
• Isa. 5:16 – But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment.
• But when used in the sense of arrogance, especially of men, it is translated haughty.
b. Fall: A stumbling; a fall; a calamity.
c. It is used here as EITHER:
• In a figurative sense of a moral or spiritual fall…
• Or perhaps a physical calamity, which comes as a result of the haughtiness.
d. A haughty spirit comes before destruction or a fall… calamity of some sort.
e. Prov. 29:1 – Example: the man who will not listen to counsel because of pride… his self-confidence could result in a calamity… destruction!
f. Belshazzar – Here was a man with a haughty, arrogant spirit who would not listen… and it resulted in the fall of his throne…and the loss of his life!
• Dan. 5:22-23 – Daniel reminded Belshazzar of the pride of his father Nebuchadnezzar… yet Belshazzar would not repent of his pride.
• Dan. 5:25-28 – Daniel interpreted the writing on the wall.
• Dan. 5:30 – That night he was killed and the Medes took over the kingdom!
6. Prov. 29:23 – ?A man’s pride shall bring him low.
a. Bring low: humble; to humiliate; to bring down. It indicates that something is low, sinking down.
b. Dan. 4:29-33 – Nebuchadnezzar—
• Vs. 29 – Nebuchadnezzar walked in the palace of Babylon (not far from what is now Baghdad) . He was admiring his palace, his kingdom, and perhaps the hanging gardens of Babylon…
• Vs. 30 – Note his arrogance and pride! (I built; MY power; for MY honor and majesty!)
• Vs. 31 – While the words of pride were still in his mouth, God acted! God didn’t let him finish his sentence. God spoke words of judgment against him.
• He would be brought low:
» Vs. 31c – The kingdom is departed—he would be LOWERED from his royal throne…
» vs. 32 – Lowered to his hands and knees eating grass like an animal. (That’s quite a lowering!)
» He was lowered from the condition of great intelligence to insanity…
» He was lowered in the minds of the people from one who was admired to the brunt of jokes and ridicule.
» He would not be raised up until he recognized that the LORD rules the kingdoms of men and gives God glory.
c. God knows HOW to humble the proud…
• He knows how to humble US… and bring us LOW.
• I Pet. 5:5 – God resists the proud.
• Resist: To arrange. To set an army in array against, to arrange in battle order. In the New Testament, antitássomai is used metaphorically to set oneself in opposition to or in array against, to resist.
• What folly to act so as to cause God to be set in opposition!
• We think we are quite important, don’t we? We wonder how the church would ever get along without me… how could this company ever survive without me.
• We like to think of ourselves as above others… above reproof… above correction… above the menial tasks… “Nobody’s going to tell me what to do!”
• God knows how to knock us off our high horse too.
• Don’t put Him to the test… don’t make Him have to do it!
• I Pet. 5:6 – How much better is it to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God… and HE will exalt us… in His way and in His time.
• There is a lot in the book of Proverbs about pride. There is a good reason for it: we are full of it! We NEED to be reminded of our pride. It is our nature… it is an ever-present enemy…
• Those who exalt themselves shall be abased… destroyed… punished… knocked down! We need these reminders.
7. Prov. 11:2 – When pride cometh, then cometh shame.
a. Shame: referring to shame; disgrace; dishonor. It refers to a feeling and condition of shame.
b. Example: Peter —
• Matt. 26:31-33 – Peter boasted that though the other apostles might deny the Lord, he NEVER would!
» His intentions were good. He probably believed in his heart that he would not deny the Lord.
» But he failed to see how EVIL the heart of man really is… even his own heart!
» The fact that in us dwells no good thing… is hard to grasp… hard to digest… but true.
» Pride came to Peter in the guise of dedication… resolve… loyalty…
» Oftentimes, beneath the surface of those outward displays of our loyalty lies PRIDE as the source.
• Matt. 26:73-75 – Peter DID deny the Lord, and then went out and wept bitterly.
» Luke states that at this point the Lord looked at Peter… and he went out to weep bitterly.
» Peter caught the Lord’s eye at that moment, realized what he had done… and was SHAMED!
» His pride… though it came in the outward appearance of dedication, brought him to shame!
» Peter learned the hard way about his pride…
c. We are just like Peter in this way.
• We let people know how long we pray… how much we know about the Bible… how much we give… how many ministries we have for the Lord… how many good deeds we have done… how dedicated we are…
• You don’t have to dig very deep beneath the surface to find that pride is alive and well.
• Don’t boast of your dedication. When pride cometh, then cometh shame.
• Spurgeon said: “Say much of what the Lord has done for you. Say little of what you have done for the Lord.”
• Prov. 8:13 – The fear of the Lord is to HATE pride and arrogance.
Proverbs 16:19
Poor and Humble is Better than Rich and Proud
Introduction:
→ In this verse and the last, Solomon speaks of pride.
→ In vs.18 he indicates that pride leads to a fall and destruction.
→ In vs. 19 he states that pride is so bad, it is better to be poor to avoid pride.
→ Being poor and humble is better than being rich and proud.
Dividing the Spoil With the Proud
1. Spoil =
a. Strong’s: Prey; booty; plunder (of war). gain—usually associated with dubious means.
b. Used in Prov. 31:11 – The hard work of the virtuous woman results in her husband having no need of “spoil” – Here it seems to be used as a synonym for material goods.
c. Used in Prov. 1:13 of goods obtained through robbery.
d. Used in Gen. 49:27 – Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
e. Spoil is usually associated with obtaining goods in a less than honorable way… dishonest gain… through robbery OR violence… often used of the goods obtained through war.
2. Dividing the spoil – speaks of each of the crooks getting their fair share of the stolen goods. (Prov. 29:24 – translated “partner.” – partners in crime!)
3. Implicit in this statement is the fact that powerful, wealthy, proud, arrogant men OFTEN make lots of money through less than honorable means.
a. Money is power. And the wealthy use their position of power to oppress the poor and squeeze as much out of the little guy as he can.
b. Also implicit in this proverb is the fact that PRIDE is behind much of this wheeling and dealing.
c. Those in positions of wealth and power think of themselves as being bigger and better than the little guy… the Lilliputians.
d. In pride they reason that they deserve all the wealth… and the peasants, well, they’re just peasants. They wouldn’t know how to use money if they had it.
e. Jas. 2:6 – James notes that wealthy men have often oppressed the poor… with complete disregard for God.
f. Jas. 5:4 – James also notes that these wealthy and powerful land owners oppress the poor through FRAUD… dishonest gain… at the expense of the poor… making spoil of them… exploiting them…
g. Solomon tells us that pride is at the root of much of this kind of oppression.
h. Class warfare: we’re better than those uneducated, uncivilized peasants who live like animals! We deserve the wealth, the land, the power, and all the privileges.
4. Solomon pictures in all of this the proud, wealthy, upper crust (the big money people) gathering together to divide all the spoil they have gained through oppression, fraud, and by trampling over the poor.
a. He uses the very same language of these wealthy businessmen, nobles, and land owners that he previously used of street thugs.
b. Prov. 1:10-14 – here the thugs and robbers lure young men into their gang… to gather spoil through dishonesty… and they will all have ONE purse. (They will share it equally—divide the spoil.)
c. Solomon sees a connection between the two groups. They are doing the same sort of work… (oppression; dishonest gain; taking advantage of others; fraud; robbery)…
d. They have the same proud heart… The street thugs think they are smarter than the police (pride). The upper crust thinks they are better than the peons (pride).
e. They both think that they can get away with their actions—and often do… in this life.
f. There really isn’t much difference between them except in the size or value of the spoil.
g. They may differ in degree, but not in kind.
h. Solomon links it all to PRIDE. (We deserve this!)
5. Of course, this is NOT to say that all wealthy people are proud and dishonest.
a. It is possible to be wealthy and humble… and poor and proud.
b. But, Solomon did observe that the two traits of wealth and pride OFTEN went together.
c. I Tim. 6:17 – Paul warns those who are rich about an ever present danger among the wealthy: becoming high minded! (high minded = think highly of self)
d. Wealth and pride DO often go together. They feed off each other.
e. Being wealthy can MAKE you proud. (Ezek. 28:5 – the king of Tyre)
f. Or, being proud can sometimes MAKE you wealthy—
• IF you are willing to trample over others, use fraud, and dishonest gain to get to where you want to be.
• The love of money leads men to all kids of evil!
• Some proud men aim at being rich… and let nothing get in their way… their family, their friends—they will trample over anyone and anything to obtain their dream of wealth…
• If all you care about is yourself, and you are willing to walk all over others… lie, steal, cheat, etc… you CAN become wealthy.
• I Tim. 6:9-10 – but at a great price!
• Proud, wealthy men are not always happy.
• Too often they have made a lot of enemies along the way… and have missed out on the best things in life.
g. Pride is often at the root of it all—the lust of the eyes (things!) and the pride of life!
19a Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly
1. The humble spirit with the lowly stands in contrast to the proud, wealthy men.
a. Humble is the opposite of proud.
b. Lowly is the opposite of the rich who divide the spoil.
c. Lowly is used of one who is lowly financially: poor!
d. Poverty and humility are often associated…
• But remember, this is a proverb… a generalization.
• Not all poor men are humble.
2. Divine wisdom states that it is better to be one of the little people being plundered, than to be part of the proud, wealthy, dishonest, oppressors.
3. Poor and humble is better than rich and proud.
a. If you are ever put in a position where you have to choose, choose poor and humble!
b. Solomon says that it is better. It is the wise choice.
4. It is better because the Lord will destroy the house of the proud eventually. (Prov. 15:25)
5. It is better because it can affect your behavior and the way you treat people. (Prov. 18:23)
6. We are far better off being among the oppressed rather than the oppressors… especially in the Day of Judgment.
a. The proud, wealthy, and powerful might seem to do well in this life.
b. Ps. 73:12 – Asaph lamented over the wicked who seem to prosper in the world… but their day is coming.
• Asaph linked this to pride too… (vs. 6, 8c)
• Asaph saw a difference between the wealthy and the poor… and the wealthy seemed to be wicked and ungodly!
• It didn’t seem fair to him… and it isn’t fair!
• Injustice has been prevalent in the world since Eden. It’s nothing new.
• But their day is coming! Asaph learned that… it is better to be with the poor and humble than with them! (vs.17-18)
c. All throughout history there has been a great DIVIDE between the haves and the have nots.
d. Medieval times – the wealthy land owners and the serfs.
e. Colonial times – the slave owners and the slaves.
f. Today there are many poor countries that are actually RICH in natural resources, but they remain poor because the arrogant, wealthy class has all the power and they live like royalty as the people suffer and starve.
g. One day all men will stand before God and will have to give an account of their actions.
h. In that day, (if not before) it will be manifest that it is better to have been of a humble spirit with the lowly… than to have been dividing the spoil with the proud.
i. A day of truth and reckoning WILL come. All the crooked things will be made straight in that day.
j. This is a word of encouragement to be PATIENT… for the Lord is coming! (Jas. 5:7-8)
• Hang in there with the oppressed!
• Don’t wish for a second to be part of the wealthy oppressors!
• It’s better to be poor and humble than to be rich and proud.
Proverbs 16:20
Handling a Matter Wisely
20a He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good
1. Definitions: Handling a matter – translated from one word.
a. Strong’s: speech; word; speaking; utterance; business; occupation; something; a thing… a matter…
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: speech; what was said; an account; a record of what happened; the thing that happened; something.
c. The term has a wide range of meaning… but the two major categories are (1) a word or speech and (2) the thing, event, or matter about which something is spoken.
2. Translations:
a. Darby: He that giveth heed to the word shall find good; and whoso confideth in Jehovah, happy is he.
b. English Standard Version: Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
c. New American Standard: He who gives attention to the word will find good, And blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
d. New Century Version: Whoever listens to what is taught will succeed, and whoever trusts the Lord will be happy.
e. Young’s: The wise in any matter findeth good, And whoso is trusting in Jehovah, O his happiness.
f. KJV: He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.
g. It is probably not possible to know for sure which emphasis Solomon had in mind as he wrote.
h. It is probably best to be broad enough to include BOTH ideas… which are closely related anyway: a matter about which we have heard or been instructed.
3. The point is that wisdom is needed in dealing with any matter… any event… any occurrence… or with any instruction or speech heard.
a. Handle wisely: exercise prudence; understanding; insight.
b. Solomon states here that wisdom is to be applied to any and every matter… to any event in life…
c. Wisdom is to be applied to instruction… to anything we hear…
d. When we read God’s Word or hear a message from God’s Word, wisdom is needed in applying it to our own lives personally.
e. The fact that a person has been instructed does not guarantee that he will carry out those instructions WISELY!
f. Sometimes instructions are carried out quite foolishly. Sometimes applications from the Bible are quite foolish.
• I read of a Christian oil tycoon from Texas who read about much oil in certain areas in Israel and was planning to spend millions to drill there for the oil.
• He believed the Bible when it said there was much oil in certain areas, and since no one had drilled there yet, he planned to drill and get the oil.
• However, the oil in the Bible was not petroleum… motor oil… but olive oil… made from olives…
• He did not apply wisdom to the instruction he heard from the word.
g. Some believers (with good intentions) read in the Bible how Christ healed the sick, and they refuse to go to a doctor.
h. Sometimes we might hear of a matter/problem at work, and dig in to fix it… only to discover we have made it worse! Wisdom is needed.
i. How often have we dealt with people problems… arguments, disagreements, feuds… and with the best of intentions discover that our efforts to heal sparked a worse controversy! Wisdom is needed in every matter!
j. And oh how our leaders in Washington need wisdom in the political, social, and economic matters they deal with every day. Pray for them!
k. Trying to handle a matter (effort plus good intentions) without wisdom can do more harm than good.
l. Prov.13:13 – The one who despises (scorns) the word spoken on any given matter will be destroyed!
4. But hearing instruction about a matter… plus wisdom results in good.
a. Giving heed to the instruction… applying wisdom to the matter is the way to handle any situation in life.
b. We all KNOW this intellectually… but (let’s be honest) we don’t always practice it.
c. We often charge into a matter… and take matters into our own hands without thoughtful consideration… without praying…
d. Jas. 1:5 – wisdom is ours through prayer—in trying “matters” such as James describes here.
e. Prov. 1:20 – Divine wisdom is crying out to be heard. Wisdom is available from the Lord at all times…
f. Prov. 2:3-6 – but wisdom must be diligently sought after.
g. Wisdom is ours through seeking God in prayer and through diligently seeking God in His Word.
h. This results in GOOD.
• Good defined: good; pleasant; agreeable; beneficial; prosperous; bounty… well pleasing… (broad term in meaning).
i. Handling a matter wisely… or applying wisdom to instruction is beneficial in every way.
j. It might produce bounty, prosperity, agreeable, pleasant results…
k. Prov. 19:8 – applying wisdom and understanding is good for the soul… it results in good (same word).
20b And whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.
1. This proverb is a typical synonymous parallelism.
a. The two sections are equal… mean the same thing… from a slightly different angle.
b. In other words, handling a matter wisely EQUALS trusting in the Lord.
c. The “good” and the “happy” are also parallel.
2. The man who TRUSTS in God is happy.
a. Happy = blessed;
b. Ps. 2:12 – BLESSED (same word) are all they that put their trust in Him. (also in Ps. 34:8; 40:4)
c. Those who trust God are blessed… happy…
d. Happy stands in contrast to the “good” (good; pleasant; prosperous; bountiful.)
e. The man who trusts God in matters is blessed… happy.
f. The wise man receives a bounty and prospers… but is not necessarily happy or content.
g. Faith brings God into the picture… and the result is happiness… blessedness… peace… contentment…
3. Wisdom and trust are seen in this proverb as equals… they go hand in hand… you can’t have one without the other.
a. This is an important truth. I’m not sure I’ve seen them as equals before.
b. I’ve seen them both as necessary and important… but to see them as equals is an interesting spin Solomon puts on these terms.
c. But when you stop and think about it (which is what Proverbs are designed to cause us to do!), you can see how closely they are linked together! (wisdom and trust)
d. It would be FOLLY not to trust God in any matter. (wisdom and faith are linked)
e. Trusting God is the WISE way to handle any matter.
f. We would be UNFAITHFUL if we failed to apply wisdom to any matter. (wisdom and faith are linked)
g. Wisdom and faith go together. They are BOTH needed in handling any matter properly.
4. Wisdom WITHOUT trust…
a. It is possible to apply wisdom to a given situation (just like men of the world do every day)… and FAIL to apply faith.
b. A man might apply wisdom by leaning on his own understanding and do so in pride… trusting in himself and in his own wisdom.
c. That proud wise man who leans on his own understanding often succeeds in various matters because he DOES have wisdom.
d. But without faith, it is impossible to please God. Applying wisdom alone is not pleasing to the Lord.
e. The man who is proud and worldly wise may apply wisdom and find good (prosperity; success)… but that does not guarantee that he will be HAPPY… blessed in his soul.
f. In this world, wisdom works in many matters—even without faith.
g. But before God, wisdom without faith is not blessed. There is no reward for that kind of behavior… regardless of how successful it may be on earth. There is no blessed happiness.
h. And sometimes in this world, wisdom ALONE does NOT produce the desired results when God intervenes and “blows” on it.
• Haggai 1:5-6, 9 – These men applied much wisdom in building their houses and accumulating their wealth… but wisdom alone was not enough. God blew upon their efforts… and all came to naught.
• Prov. 28:26 – He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool, but who so walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
• Once again, the two thoughts of wisdom and trust are put side by side.
• The man who trusts in HIMSELF is a fool. The man who trusts in his own wisdom is a fool.
• But the man who walks WISELY (apply God’s wisdom and faith) shall be delivered.
• Wisdom alone is not good enough. Spiritually, wisdom by itself is not wise at all—it is folly!
5. Two things are needed to find good and happiness: wisdom PLUS faith.
a. BOTH are essential. One without the other would lead astray.
b. Our happiness and success are not to be found in ourselves, but in applying God’s wisdom to every matter
c. Our happiness and success are not to be found in ourselves, but in exercising faith in every matter… not leaning on our own resources.
d. Goodness and happiness are for those who apply BOTH wisdom and faith.
e. Calamity and sorrow are for those who don’t. (vs.18 – a fall)
6. Sometimes, our own feelings and reasoning tell us that faith is the OPPOSITE of wisdom.
a. Reasoning sometimes says: either you trust God (pie in the sky) OR you apply sound wisdom and reasoning.
b. Sometimes things God tells us to do might not SEEM very wise…
c. Yet this proverb speaks of faith and wisdom as equals.
d. Imagine hearing the message from the commander in chief that his military strategy for the army is to march around a city 7 times and blow the trumpets!
• Some would say you either apply wisdom OR faith …
• Wouldn’t wisdom tell you to come up with another strategy for defeating the city of Jericho?
• So, do you apply wisdom or faith?
e. Imagine hearing Jesus tell Peter to walk on water.
• It would seem like wisdom would tell you NOT to do so… and only faith would say such a thing.
f. II Chron. 20:20c-21 – What a military strategy. They sent the army out to face the Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites… and they put the choir in the front line to sing.
g. Sometimes things God tells us to do might not SEEM very wise… yet this proverb speaks of faith and wisdom as equals.
• And it would NOT be wise for YOU to try to walk on water. Jesus SAID to Peter to come out on the water. He didn’t say that to you!
• It would not be wise for the generals in the war in Iraq to follow the instructions given to Joshua…
• It was an expression of wisdom and faith for Peter and Joshua because God SAID to do so. But God didn’t tell us to do so.
• We saw that wisdom without trust is folly. Here we see that faith without wisdom is dangerous.
h. This speaks of BOTH faith and wisdom. A powerful combination.
• Not wisdom without faith… (that can be proud and godless)
• Not faith without wisdom… (that can be foolish and dangerous)… but BOTH faith and wisdom.
Proverbs 16:21
The Sweetness of the Lips
21a The wise in heart shall be called prudent:
A. The Wise in Heart
1. Wisdom was never intended to dwell in the head only. Wisdom is to reside in the heart. That is the proper seat of wisdom.
a. Solomon had much wisdom in his head… and for a while it seemed to be in his heart too…
b. I Kings 3:11-12 – God gave to Solomon a wise heart.
c. But later on in life, though he still retained the wisdom in his heart, his heart was turned away from wisdom.
d. II Kings 11:1-4 – His many wives turned his heart away from the Lord… and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
e. Wisdom in the head is not the same as wisdom in the heart.
f. Prov.22:17 – the heart needs to be APPLIED to wisdom. (apply = to place; to set; to put something somewhere; to appoint or establish something in a position)
g. Wisdom in the head must be purposefully placed right in the midst of all of our thoughts, words, and deeds.
h. It is to be applied to everyday life… or it is but head knowledge.
2. Solomon is speaking here about wisdom in the HEART…
a. The person Solomon describes in this proverb not only has information stored in his head; he has wisdom in his heart… and it is applied to his life.
b. His wisdom is practiced… experienced… put to good use.
B. The Wise in Heart Shall Be Called Prudent
1. The wise in heart shall be called prudent by those who have been the recipients of his wisdom.
a. Prudent: discerning; perceptive;
b. Those who have heard his wisdom, and have benefited by it, will call him “prudent.”
c. Solomon is speaking about a teacher or exhorter of one sort or another… who has gained a reputation for being prudent… discerning.
d. People CALL him prudent because he has demonstrated it… and they have benefited from it.
2. Men who have wisdom ought to SHARE it with others… for their edification.
a. That’s what’s wisdom is for… not just to be hoarded!
b. It is a gift from God… given to be dispersed.
c. Wisdom often comes with age, and older folks have a responsibility to share their wisdom; light makes us accountable to use it… and share it!
d. When you do, you will gain a reputation for being prudent… wise… discerning.
e. When you have gained a reputation for being prudent, others will hear of your wisdom and come to you for advice and counsel.
f. The queen of Sheba heard of the wisdom of Solomon and came to him to hear for herself.
3. I John 3:17 – If we have this world’s goods and don’t share it, how can we say God’s love is in us?
a. How much more is this principle so when we have heavenly goods (spiritual truth; wisdom) and don’t share it! God expects us to SHARE what we have… as He leads.
b. Think of information… if you KNOW information that could prevent an accident, you have a responsibility to share that information!
c. How much more if we posses divine wisdom? And what about the gospel!?
d. Those who receive wisdom from such a man will greatly benefit from it. He will appreciate the information you give, and he will appreciate YOU. He will call you “prudent.”
21b And the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.
1. The parallel in this proverb:
a. Heart and lips: His heart is wise and his lips are sweet. That is a good combination!
b. Benefit to the hearers: In the first part of the proverb he speaks of the WISDOM of a man’s speech which benefits the hearer.
c. In this portion of the proverb Solomon speaks about the SWEETNESS of your speech… which also greatly benefits the hearer.
d. Recognition of the man: The man is not only recognized as prudent (discerning), but here he is acknowledged as a good teacher… he “increases the learning” of the hearer.
2. His speech is not just wise, it is SWEET…
a. Sweet: pleasant; sweet; enjoyable. It describes a taste of something like sugar or honey.
b. Prov. 27:9 – The only other use of this word (sweet)—used in a context of a sweet smelling ointment which is likened to the sweet counsel of a friend.
c. The context of this section has to do with SPEECH (vs.21-24 – lips; instruction; teaching; mouth; learning; lips; pleasant words; etc.)
d. The prudent man makes wisdom appealing to those who hear… sweet to the taste of the one being addressed… desirable.
e. It is possible to speak wisdom WITH sweetness or WITHOUT. One can growl out words of wisdom in a threatening way… or speak them sweetly.
f. The wise in heart package truth in a way that it is attractive…
• You catch more prey with honey than with vinegar. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down!
• Sometimes words of wisdom are hard to swallow… but necessary.
• When words of wisdom that need to be spoken are accompanied by a healthy dose of sweetness, they are usually well received.
• Paul wrote: “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt.” Solomon tells us to add a little honey too.
• The kind of speech Solomon describes here is speech (while it may be direct and firm) it is kind, gracious, thoughtful, and considerate… thus sweet to the hearer.
g. This is good advice for parents… especially us dads who might be tempted to growl on occasion!
3. Wisdom IS sweet in itself, but it is not always presented that way.
a. Some present wisdom with a sledge hammer… with such force that it is hard to receive… with such intensity that the hearer is scared away…
b. I have heard men preach God’s word that way. They growl, scowl, and scold, and make the sweet word of God a bitter pill to swallow.
c. A man may have good motives (he wants to increase the learning of his hearers)… but the way he presents truth makes a huge difference in the way it is received.
d. Of course, this does not mean that we should CANDY COAT the truth… or misrepresent the truth. That is not the point here.
• Nor is he talking about flattery (sugary words)… to flatter and deceive… or to trick someone.
• This is not a deceptive but a noble sweetness about which Solomon speaks.
e. Solomon suggests that truly wise men use sweetness in the presentation of wisdom.
4. Wisdom presented with sweetness is much more effective.
a. The book of Proverbs is FULL of words of wisdom. They are gems that can incorporate in our own lives and increase our own learning.
b. They are also to be shared with others.
c. But it matters HOW we present these gems.
• It is possible to present a gem like a wild-eyed mad man… whose body is shaking with intensity… and with an eerie shrill to the voice.
• That man will frighten his listeners and cause them to run away.
• That very same gem can be presented in sweetness, and it is much more likely to be received.
• Solomon is not talking about CHANGING the gem… candy coating truth…
• But rather he speaks of the sweetness of the lips that makes the listener WANT to hear… rather than run away.
• Even if the truth is a negative truth… a word of warning… it can be presented in such a way that the hearer knows you are trying to help him… not belittle him… or hurt him.
• Ex: telling a young child to stay off the road. You could say, “If you go in the road I’ll give you a whipping like you’ve never had before!” OR, “If you go in the road, you might get hurt… and we don’t want you to get hurt. We want you to be safe!”
d. It is possible to present wisdom and truth in such a way that it increases the appetite of the hearer for more…
• I’m sure we can all look back at our school days and remember a teacher that made learning exciting… sweet… enjoyable. Then I’m sure we can all remember a teacher that could make your favorite subject boring!
• This proverb instructs us to make learning enjoyable… pleasant… sweet…
• The result is an increase in learning. People learn more when the learning is enjoyable.
• And Solomon is not talking about turning school or Sunday school into a game time. Rather, he is speaking about the LIPS of the speaker and what flows out of them.
• People WANT to hear sweet words of discernment that come from a wise heart.
• When there is good knowledge in the head, is filtered through a wise heart, and flows off sweet lips… who wouldn’t want to hear?
• That kind of speech creates an appetite for learning… a thirst for more.
• Ps. 19:10 – God’s Word is sweet and thus TO BE DESIRED… thirsted after! More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Proverbs 16:22
Understanding and Instruction
Introduction:
1. The principle found in vs. 22 is a principle that is repeated several times in the book of Proverbs.
2. It is stated in various ways… unique and interesting ways.
3. But the truth is repeated because it is so valuable and important.
4. Basically Solomon is speaking about giving understanding or instruction to different kinds of people. Sometimes it is fruitful; in other cases it is a waste of time!
22a Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it:
1. There are three concepts in the first part of the proverb to consider.
a. Understanding
b. The man who has understanding
c. A wellspring of life
2. There are three concepts in the second part of the proverb too.
a. Instruction
b. A fool
c. Folly
3. Solomon compares/contrasts these three concepts to each other.
a. Understanding is compared to instruction.
b. The man with understanding is contrasted to the fool
c. A wellspring of life is contrasted to folly.
d. That’s the basic format of this proverb. Now let’s look at each of the three concepts in a little more detail.
4. Understanding
a. Defined: prudence; insight; understanding; discretion; discernment.
5. Him that hath it…
a. Prov. 15:32 – The wise and understanding man HAS understanding because he RECEIVED it.
• This man has understanding because he listens when he is instructed.
• He accepts reproof and rebuke and correction.
• He doesn’t resist correction, but submits to it and learns from it.
• Therefore, he HAS it! This is the man who HAS understanding.
b. Prov. 15:14 – The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge.
• The man who has understanding has it because he LISTENS and receives it when corrected and instructed.
• Once he gets more understanding, he recognizes the VALUE of it and seeks even more!
• Understanding creates an appetite for itself!
c. Ps. 111:10 – Part of this insight and understanding is to know enough to obey God’s Word.
• The man of understanding is one who listens… then seeks… and then obeys!
• DO – is followed by italicized words.
• The translators inserted “his commandments.”
• The man who OBEYS is a man who possesses this kind of understanding.
• Because of the immediate context, one might also insert the words, “fearing God”.
• Those who do fear God… those who practice fearing God.
• In other words, God-fearing people are wise and have good understanding!
d. Prov. 19:11 – this kind of understanding is displayed through self-control… not venting one’s anger.
• That is the man who has understanding.
• The fool blows his stack over any little thing.
• But a God fearing man will be afraid to continually vent his anger.
• The fear of the Lord makes him wiser than that.
• The fear of God becomes a STRONGER inner impulse than the impulse to vent off anger.
• It results in self-control.
e. I Sam. 25:3 – Abigail was a woman with good understanding.
• She could see what was about to happen.
• I suppose that she had good cause to become angry at either her husband OR David. Neither one of them were acting very wisely.
• She had the good understanding to see that these two men were acting foolishly and a calamity was about to happen… so she graciously and kindly offered another alternative!
• She recognized that her husband was a fool and because of her wisdom saved his life and prevented a needless calamity!
• She had insight; discernment; wisdom; and put it into practice.
• When it came to wisdom and good understanding—she had it!
6. This kind of understanding is a wellspring of life.
a. Wellspring defined:
• (lit.) spring, fountain; well.
• (used fig.) of source or origin; – of life, joy, refreshment; well being; purification, etc. [usually a source of something good and beneficial].
b. Usage in Prov. 16:22: understanding is a source of LIFE!
• Obviously Solomon uses the term life here of a rich, abundant, spiritual life, not just physical life.
• The fool who has no understanding at all has physical life.
• But the fool is missing out on this wellspring… an unending source of wisdom for everyday life… an unending resource to GUIDE him in living life…
• But the man who has discretion takes advantage of this source of life… a resource of how to live life… a resource of refreshment for life… strength and spiritual health for life…
• Just as a thirsty man can satisfy his physical thirst at a well… this man can satisfy the thirsting of his soul at the well of God’s Word and wisdom.
• Jer. 2:13 – used of the Lord Himself as the Source of living water… salvation… life…
• It is a source of refreshment and health.
• The well of divine wisdom keeps the godly man refreshed and healthy spiritually.
• All of that is involved in this concept of a “source of life.”
7. Giving instruction and understanding to a wise man and it is fruitful: a well of life!
a. It benefits the man or woman who drinks from it often.
b. It is usually recognized by others too!
c. Prov. 12:8 – it brings commendation from others.
d. Giving understanding to a wise man is extremely BENEFICIAL. It is a source of LIFE!
22b But the instruction of fools is folly.
1. The instruction of fools.
a. Some take this to mean the instruction FROM a fool is folly. (Which is certainly true…)
b. But it is more likely Solomon had in mind instruction FOR fools is folly… trying to teach and instruct a fool is a foolish endeavor!
2. On the other hand, giving instruction and understanding to a fool is folly: a waste of time and energy.
a. Prov. 23:9 – fools despise this wisdom (same word as understanding).
b. Prov. 15:5 – A fool despiseth his father’s instruction.
3. When one gives understanding and instruction to a wise man, it is beneficial—like a wellspring of life.
4. When one gives understanding and instruction to a fool—it is not beneficial.
a. He rejects the wisdom and instruction.
b. Because he rejects it, it does no good.
c. He might even turn on the one instructing him.
d. It is folly to continue. It is a waste of time.
e. What a pity that fools could be so foolish as to reject a SOURCE of life, refreshment, instruction, wisdom—everything needed to live a rich, abundant, spiritual life.
5. Solomon’s advice to the wise instructor: don’t waste your time on a fool!
a. Your time and efforts will be much more fruitful with a wise man.
b. These are words of wisdom for a youth group. There will be a few fools who want to disrupt and gloat in their folly. Don’t waste your time on them! Teach those who WANT to learn.
c. This is a good word of wisdom for us as a church too.
d. There are some folks who are not interested in learning.
e. They are more interested in folly…
f. Titus 3:9 – But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.
g. Foolish men want to waste time on foolish things.
h. Avoid them!
SUMMARY:
Giving instruction and understanding to a wise man and it is fruitful: a wellspring of life!
Giving instruction and understanding to a fool is folly: a waste of time and energy.
Proverbs 16:23
The Heart of the Wise
23a The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth
1. Heart: the inner man; the immaterial inner self; including the mind; will; heart; understanding; reflection.
2. Teacheth: to be prudent; be circumspect; wisely understand; prosper; insight. It is wisdom and insight which is a result of proper instruction.
a. Neh. 9:20 – God gave His Spirit to “instruct” (same term) the children of Israel in the wilderness. He taught them… often through Moses… The Lord gave them wisdom and understanding.
b. Ps. 32:8 – I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
c. Josh. 1:8 – Then thou shalt have good “success” (same term). Meditating in the Word day and night would give them good understanding… prudence… wisdom. They would be TAUGHT or instructed in the ways of wisdom.
d. It is instruction that results in success; namely, wisdom and understanding are digested and then passed on!
e. The heart teaches the mouth.
• This is an interesting way to word the concept.
• It is as if the heart of man… the inner self is the teacher who instructs the mouth what to say.
• It is an interesting way of saying that whatever comes out of the mouth really originated in the heart of man.
3. This wording implies several things:
a. In light of the fact that all kinds of evils reside in our hearts, we need to use great care as to what we allow to come OUT of our mouths.
• The heart is the source of whatever comes out of our mouths… whether it is good or evil… wise or foolish.
• But it CAN be a source of wisdom!
• The inner man needs to think through what to say before just blurting things out. Use caution.
• Whatever wisdom God has taught you over the years; put it into practice in your speech.
• Let your heart TEACH your mouth before you speak.
b. It implies that the mouth will spout out all kinds of things that may not be wise.
• Therefore, it needs to be restrained… and instructed.
• Wise instruction restrains the mouth from much.
• Don’t just say whatever’s on your mind or in your heart. It’s not all worth repeating.
• Wise words don’t just come out of thin air. The mouth needs to be taught what to say… and what things are not worth saying.
c. Since our mouth speaks as it is instructed from our inner man, we are therefore responsible for what we say.
• Whatever our mouths say originates in our hearts. Therefore, we should THINK before we speak.
• Think first and then talk… think it through… and allow your inner self to teach your mouth what to say.
• Prov. 15:28 – He studies to answer; others don’t!
» Studies: meditates as in Josh. 1:8
4. There are a lot of things to meditate on and think about before we open our mouths.
a. A wise heart teaches the mouth WHEN to speak.
• Prov. 15:23 – In due season.
• THINK before you speak. Is this really the best TIME to say this?
• Would another time or another place or in another setting be more appropriate?
• Ecc. 3:1, 7 – a time to speak and a time to be quiet.
• A wise heart teaches the mouth WHEN to speak.
b. A wise heart teaches the mouth WHAT to say
• Prov. 24:26 – He says the right thing (honest; straightforward; upright).
• It might be the right time to speak up, and you might have the best of intentions, but it matters WHAT you say!
• Wisdom in the heart will teach the mouth WHAT to say… and what not to say.
• It is so easy for our words to be misunderstood… to be taken out of context… or to say something we didn’t mean to communicate.
• We need a wise heart to teach our mouths. Pray for wisdom!
c. A wise heart teaches the mouth HOW to speak
• Prov. 15:1 – a soft answer
• Our intentions may be good, our words may be accurate, the timing may be just right, but the MANNER in which we speak may undermine everything we are trying to communicate!
• A wise heart knows when to speak and what to say, and HOW to say it! (The right approach; attitude; spirit; etc.)
d. The man whose heart has taught his mouth this kind of wisdom is a great asset in the classroom, in the courts, in the business world, in the home, and in the local church.
e. In other words, this kind of wisdom can be put to use anywhere and for all kinds of good purposes.
23b And addeth learning to his lips.
1. Learning: Learning; teaching; insight; instruction; teaching; persuasiveness.
2. Prov.7:21 – it is translated “fair speech” and has the meaning of persuasiveness…
a. The harlot persuaded the young man to follow her… and she used persuasive speech.
b. She talked him into it… into doing something his conscience told him not to do.
c. Speech can be extremely persuasive… convincing… influential…
3. Some translations have translated the word “learning” as persuasive.
a. NAS: The heart of the wise instructs his mouth and adds persuasiveness to his lips.
b. GBN: Intelligent people think before they speak; what they say is then more persuasive.
4. ADDETH:
a. Defined: to add; increase; to join to; to gain more…
b. It is used of the Lord adding sons to Jacob and Rachel, a field increasing in fruitfulness, of Solomon increasing the tax burden, of the years of one’s life being increased, — it speaks of increase in almost any realm.
c. Solomon uses it of increasing in wisdom and understanding… gaining more and more.
d. Prov. 1:5 – A wise man will hear, and will increase learning (learning = same word as learning in 16:23)
5. Adding learning:
a. The man whose heart is continually instructing his mouth in the ways of wisdom will become an INCREASINGLY persuasive speaker.
• Of course this is all figurative language. It is not really the MOUTH that learns or the LIPS that are persuasive. It is the MAN and his speech.
• Solomon’s point is that the more careful and diligent a man is at using wisdom and speaking wisely, the better he becomes at it!
• His ability to communicate, to persuade, and to convince his hearers increases over time.
• After years of being careful about what he says and how he says it, this mouth increases in his persuasiveness.
→ He has learned when to speak and when to be still.
→ He has learned what to say and what not to say.
→ He has learned the right way to word something so that it is not immediately rejected.
→ He has learned to season his speech with salt… with grace.
→ He has learned the art of good reasoning…
b. Over time, his speech becomes wiser and wiser… more and more persuasive.
c. That is why wisdom is often associated with age… because an older man or woman has had more years to ADD learning to his lips.
6. When a wise man speaks, we do well to listen.
a. Prov. 22:17 – bow down thine ear and hear the words of the wise.
b. This is good advice for all of us… to LISTEN when words of wisdom are spoken… whether from a parent, a teacher at school, a mature believer in the faith, a Sunday school teacher…
c. Prov. 22:18 – when you hear those words of wisdom from a wise man, KEEP them in your belly! And then you too will increase in learning… and you too can teach your lips! And the process goes on and on… from generation to generation.
d. The wisdom of which Solomon speaks here is not necessarily the wisdom of one well trained in schools of theology.
• Rather, he speaks of those mouths and lips that have been taught by the heart… by a heart that has been taught by God.
• A man or woman who may have received precious little schooling or formal education, but who has walked with God for many years… whose heart has been beating in tune with God… whose ear has been listening to God… whose feet have been in step with God… the heart filled with the fullness of God… a heart that has been abiding in heavenly places and communion within the veil in that heavenly sanctuary for many years… — this man or woman will have lips worth listening to!
• Perhaps we have all known older believers who (regardless of their educational background)… have had a deep and abiding relationship to the Lord… and wisdom and discernment just flow off their lips…
• It might be in broken, battered English… but it is wisdom from God nonetheless… because it came from a heart that has spent TIME with God.
• That is because their heart TAUGHT their lips… and their hearts had been for many decades abiding in Christ… and Christ in Him… unto all riches of the full understanding (Col. 2:2-3)
• It is such a great LOSS to the local church to lose older, mature believers through death.
• Their value to the local church is immeasurable.
e. Col. 3:16 – let the word richly dwell in your heart… and teach others the wisdom you are learning! LEARN from the Word, and teach your lips to teach others!
f. I Pet. 3:15 – the best way to teach our lips words of wisdom is to give the Lord first place in our heart.
• HE is our wisdom… HE is the source of any wisdom that might come out of our mouths.
• Sanctify HIM in your heart.
• Then your heart will be able to teach your lips.
• That’s the first step to wise speech.
Proverbs 16:24
Pleasant Words
Introduction:
1. Solomon continues to deal with the subject of speech.
a. Vs. 23 – the mouth and lips.
b. Vs. 21 – the sweetness of the lips.
c. Vs. 24 – pleasant words are sweet.
2. Words: utterance; speech; word; saying; promise; command.
a. It is a broader term than our English word “words.”
b. It includes various types of speech: sayings, commands, any utterance that comes out of the mouth… communication of any sort.
3. Pleasant: kindness; pleasantness; agreeable; acceptable; delightfulness; beauty; favor.
a. It is variously translated.
b. The term is often used of the “beauty of the Lord.”
4. Pleasant words.
a. Pleasant words are words that are kind, pleasant, thoughtful, delightful, and full of beauty to the hearer.
b. He continues with the same theme and emphasizes here the VALUE of pleasant words… pleasant forms of communication.
c. Sometimes kind words might even have to be a bit pointed or sharp, but they are pleasant in that the hearer is delighted to KNOW what is being said.
d. Ps. 141:5 – Words that smite… convict… rebuke… but they are done out of kindness… and it is pleasant in the long run for the hearer. David saw the kindness in such words… and likened it to an anointing oil…
e. Pleasant words can come in all different kinds of packages.
f. They could be words of advice, correction, instruction, warning, comfort, challenge, help us refocus.
g. But for the most part, the pleasant words would refer to gracious, kind, thoughtful words of encouragement.
h. Col. 4:6 – let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt…
i. No matter what the content of the words is, it is being communicated in grace and kindness.
24a As an honeycomb
1. Pleasant words are as a honeycomb.
2. They are as desirable as a honeycomb.
a. In Bible times, a honeycomb wasn’t something that you came across every day.
b. It was a special treat! It was exceptionally sweet… above all other sweets.
c. Psalm 19:10 – God’s Word is sweeter than a honeycomb! Here David speaks of the honeycomb in the sense of something that is greatly desired because it is so sweet.
d. God’s word is sweeter than honey.
e. When our words are full of God’s Word… then our words can be sweeter than honey to others!
f. Ps. 119:103 – They are sweet to the one who tastes them.
g. So taste and see that the Lord is gracious—and His Word is gracious… good… sweet… favorable… desirable!
24b Sweet to the soul
1. Prov. 15:23 – the answer of the mouth… our words…
a. They can bring joy to the soul… they are good (good for the soul).
b. That is, when they are well thought out, well timed, pleasant words.
c. Not every answer I’ve given has resulted in joy. Sometimes I have regretted the answer I gave… or the lack of pleasantness in the manner in which I gave it.
d. But Solomon speaks here of the great potential for GOOD in our words… in the answers we give.
e. As a honeycomb is sweet to our taste buds, these words are sweet to our soul… they can bring joy to a heart.
f. Words spoken in due season! How good! How sweet! They can lift up the heart… and cheer the inner man…
g. Words have the power to do that. So why don’t we USE our words for that purpose more often? We can and we should!
2. Prov. 27:9 – sweet, hearty, friendly counsel!
a. As a fragrant ointment rejoices the heart (especially if you lived in a hot climate before the days of deodorant)…
b. That sweetness is likened to the sweetness of a friend’s hearty counsel… advice that comes from the heart… heart to heart talk…
c. Such words can be sweet and valuable… desirable.
d. This is especially so if we find ourselves heading in the wrong direction and a friend helps get you back on track.
e. The words might actually HURT at first (painful to hear that we are wrong)… but sweet once digested.
3. Such words encourage and edify the soul.
a. There are a lot of words that are sweet and pleasant, but not necessarily good and profitable. (flattery; etc.)
b. But the words of which Solomon speaks are BOTH pleasant AND edifying… helpful.
c. They are good for your soul… (sweet to the soul and health to the bones).
4. Prov. 24:13-14 – God’s Words of wisdom are sweet… therefore EAT them!
a. You eat honey when you find it because it is good and sweet.
b. Therefore, when you find God’s Word, eat it because it too is good and sweet! It is good for your soul.
c. Jer. 15:16 – Thy Words were found and I did eat them… they prove to be the joy and rejoicing of my heart!
d. Honey (as sweet as it is) doesn’t bring any sweetness to your taste buds unless you eat it.
e. Such is the case with God’s Word too. It IS sweet… but we benefit not from it unless we EAT it… take it in…
24c Health to the bones.
1. Health defined: properly, curative, i.e. literally (concretely) a medicine, or (abstractly) a cure; restoration; remedy; sound; wholesome.
a. Jer. 33:6 – translated cure.
b. II Chron. 21:18 – Jehoram had a sickness for which there was no remedy, cure.
c. Pleasant, kind, gracious words can serve to cure, revive, and restore.
2. Prov. 15:4 – a wholesome tongue is a tree of life. (Wholesome = same word for health)
a. Men have wholesome, healing tongues in that they speak forth words that have that kind of an effect on the hearer who hears and responds.
b. Pleasant words are helpful, wholesome, curative words.
c. That is why WE need to learn God’s Word… not just for ourselves and our own personal benefit, but that we might minister to OTHERS!
d. The words of wisdom that you learn from the Bible can helpful, wholesome, and healing and restorative to a brother!
e. Rom.15:14 – we should be able to admonish one another.
3. Prov. 3:8 – Such words can even make a person feel better physically! (health to thy navel; marrow to thy bones)
a. When a person is in the hospital or a sick bed, sometimes a friendly visitor can do more to make him feel better than the doctor with his medicine!
b. Pointing a sick believer to the Savior takes his mind off himself and his ailing body… and enables him once again to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report.
c. Kind, gentle words can soothe the mind, and actually help make a person feel better… by lifting up his heart.
4. Prov. 4:20-22 – God’s wisdom is HEALTH to the flesh.
a. Sharing those words of wisdom with others is health… restorative… wholesome… healing…
b. When employed and practiced, they improve the quality of our lives… and enable us to enjoy the abundant lifeof which Jesus spoke.
5. Prov. 14:32 – a sound heart is the life of the flesh.
a. There is a connection between the inner man and the outer man.
b. When the heart is healthy, that has a curative effect on the rest of the person.
c. Envy in the heart eats away at the rest of the person… stomach and all! (Headaches; knots in stomach; etc.)
6. Prov. 12:18 – Words can be used for good or evil.
a. Some men may use words that need to be said, but do so in a piercing way that does more damage than good.
b. Others with wisdom know how to speak in such a way that they say the painful things in a nice way… pleasant… so that they are well received… and the person benefits from it.
c. That is a gift that not everybody has. Pray for wisdom with the use of our words.
Proverbs 1:1-4
Reasons for the Proverbs
To Know Wisdom and Instruction
1. It is quite amazing to think that the God who created the universe, would even care enough about us to stoop and cause a book to be written for us, to tell us how to live… what to pursue and what not to pursue…
2. First of all note that this book was written that we might KNOW something.
a. It was not written so that we might FEEL good… or feel warm… or feel anything.
b. It was written that we might PERCEIVE the words of understanding.
c. Solomon wrote that knowledge excelleth folly and ignorance as light excelleth darkness. Ignorance causes men to wander in darkness.
3. God wants us to KNOW wisdom
a. The term for wisdom in vs. 2 is used 37 times in this book!
b. It means skillfulness; the ability to use knowledge properly.
c. It is possible to have lots of instruction and information in our head, and yet not have the wisdom to put it into practice in our daily lives.
d. We have many brilliant men and women throughout our country who have mastered their field… specialists in computer science… specialized fields of medicine… masters of literature… and yet have not the wisdom to get along with their neighbor or maintain a healthy family life!
e. Knowledge isn’t enough. If it were, our generation would be doing just fine! Knowledge has doubled every year since 1955. We have more information and data than we know what to do with. But we do NOT have the wisdom to use it properly.
f. The world has plenty of knowledge and information—but by anyone’s standards: the world today is a mess!
g. Unfortunately, the man who wrote this book failed on this very point! Read the account of the end of Solomon’s life. What a warning to us!
4. God wants us to KNOW instruction
a. Instruction – this term is used 26 times in proverbs.
b. It is sometimes translated “chasten”. (Cf. 13:24 – chastening a son.)
c. It means to instruct by discipline.
d. Instruction or training is a form of discipline… discipline of the mind… and ultimately, when the truth sinks deeper, into the heart.
e. Like a father who loves his son, and therefore chastens him, so God wrote this book as part of our “instruction”… discipline… chastening…
5. God wants us to KNOW the words of understanding
a. This term has virtually the same meaning as our English term.
b. It might be translated “discernment.”
c. This kind of spiritual discernment is what WE need today more than anything!—the ability to approve things that are excellent—
d. God wants His people to be able to discern between right and wrong… holy and unholy… clean and unclean. The devil is doing his best to blur those lines of distinction today.
e. Let’s make this our prayer: that we would all be better able to perceive the words of understanding… grasp a discerning mind…
f. The decisions many believers make today reveals a dearth of discernment.
g. It is far better to be poor and discerning, than rich and lack discernment; It is far better to be sick and discerning, than healthy and lack discernment; It is far better to be lowly and discerning, than important and famous and lack discernment; It is far better to be a failure in the eyes of the world and discerning, than to be a worldly and lack spiritual discernment.
h. The book of Proverbs has been written to help us put things in order… to give us discernment in ordering our lives… arranging our priorities…
To Receive the Instruction of Wisdom, Justice, Judgment, and Equity
1. Receive: God wants the readers of this book to KNOW wisdom… to learn in their heads all these wise principles… but also to TAKE IT IN!
It is possible to memorize the words of wisdom—but never “receive” it inwardly.
Ex: You can give your son a lecture. Once lectured, he has your words of wisdom in his head. He heard you. But that is not a guarantee that he “received” them! He could be just politely nodding to all you say… and not taking any of it in!
2. The purpose of the book is not accomplished in our life—even if we have memorized the whole book! God’s purpose is that we would RECEIVE these truths… take them to heart… make them “yours”… make them your words to live by… not just a dry lecture from an ancient king!
3. This term for wisdom in verse 3 is a different Hebrew word than was used in verse 2.
a. Harry Ironside wrote that this term for wisdom comes from a root meaning “bereavement”…
b. He concluded that this term differed in that this term described learning from unhappy experiences… the hard way… either on your own, or through the unhappy experiences of others. (the school of hard knocks)
c. Proverbs records many unhappy experiences and the results of folly… the young man and the harlot; the drunkard; the sloth; etc…
4. How much better to learn “by means of God’s Word”!!!
a. Ps. 17:4 – “By the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.”
b. That is the best way to learn—by God’s word rather than by experiencing all that Proverbs warns about—sloth; greed; lust; etc.
c. We can gain wisdom about the dangers of drugs by trying them out and paying the price—or by listening to words of wisdom!
d. We can gain wisdom about the consequences of laziness by experience OR by taking heed to the words of wisdom in God’s Word!
e. Proverbs was written that we might RECEIVE this wisdom the easy way—by learning through God’s Word rather than having to learn the hard way all the time!
5. Unfortunately, Solomon learned many of these lessons the hard way—by experiencing the emptiness of following his own understanding…
a. He pursued many of the foolish things he warns us about in Proverbs!
b. He sought happiness through fun and parties and having a good time! (Ecc. 2:1-3)
c. He sought happiness through collecting great possessions. (Ecc.2:4,7-11) But it was all vanity!
d. Solomon pursued wisdom through experience… the hard way.
e. Proverbs is written that we might obtain wisdom the easy way—by taking heed to the inspired word of God!
f. RECEIVE this wisdom… take it in — just as if we had experienced all these things ourselves!
6. God wants the readers of Proverbs to “receive” the instruction of justice
a. Justice = righteousness; right kind of behavior; fair; just behavior
b. One learns in proverbs not to be a respecter of persons. The rich are not always right or kind. The powerful are not always wise. Treat people justly and fairly…
c. God wants us to TAKE IN these truths that deal with justice… into our heart, not just our head.
d. Make these truths that deal with justice OUR truth… words that WE live by…
e. Proverbs has a lot to say about being fair and just in our daily lives.
• Prov. 14:20 – Justice will keep us from being a respecter of persons… as such we will not treat the poor harshly…
• Prov.22.2 – the poor and rich are the same in God’s sight!
• Proverbs will keep us from all the ungodly biases and prejudices of the world. It will make us fair and just—if applied!
• 29:27 – Being “just” is a way of life = and one that will often be opposed. But that is the path God wants US to pursue!
7. Next, God wants the readers to “receive” the instruction of judgment
a. Judgment = the quality or ability to hear and decide a matter or a case fairly. This is the work of a judge. Every one of us needs to have this quality of good judgment.
b. Proverbs was written that we might learn to have good judgment. Far too many have poor judgment!
c. Proverbs has a lot to say about exercising good judgment…
• Prov. 18:17 – One with good judgment does not make up his mind on a matter after hearing “him that is first in his own cause.”
• Solomon demonstrated that when the two mothers came with their own version of who was the real mother of the child.
• Solomon showed good judgment. Proverbs can give US that kind of good judgment too… if applied.
• Jesus said, “Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
• We all make decisions every day. Decisions on all sorts of issues and matters. How we need good judgment in making all those little decisions… because when you string all those little decisions together—that IS our life… that IS the course of our life.
8. Next, God wants the readers to receive the instruction of equity
a. Equity = even; upright; level; honest.
b. The author talks about a “just weight”—honesty and equity in business dealings! (Prov.11:1)
c. Honesty with our tongues… honesty with God…
Note what the author is doing here:
He is mingling together moral qualities with intellectual ones.
• Wisdom and instruction for the head;
• But they must be accompanied by justice; judgment; and equity for the heart.
• A truly wise man is a godly man.
• Wicked men can use their intellect and craftiness for evil purposes.
• But a truly wise man uses his intellect for that which is righteous; and equitable… Proverbs was written that we might KNOW wisdom and RECEIVE it… and allow it to produce its fruit in our lives: justice; good judgment; and honesty—integrity!
• Time spent in Proverbs is time well spent!
• One man likened Proverbs to medicine or vitamins. You shouldn’t make it your complete diet—but we need a little every day!
Proverbs 16:26
Motivation to Work
26a He that laboureth laboureth for himself…
1. “He that”
a. Nephesh: translated: most often = soul; life; creature; lust; person; mind; heart.
b. Hebrew Lexicon: living being, life, self, person, desire, appetite, emotion, and passion.
c. Strong’s defines it as: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
d. Zodhiates: noun meaning breath, the inner being with its thoughts and emotions.
e. It is used 753 times in the Old Testament and has a broad range of meanings.
f. It refers to the inner creature life…
g. Ecc. 6:7 – here it is translated “appetite.”
h. Ecc. 6:9 – here it is translated “desire.”
i. This seems to be the sense in which it is used in Prov. 16:26 – a desire, an appetite, an inner craving for something…
2. Laboureth
a. Strong’s: labourer; sufferer; wretched one; toil.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang. = miserable person; oppression; workman.
c. It implies a weariness from the labor (cf. Ecc. 2:18,22)
d. This term for work emphasizes the drudgery of toil rather than the nobility of labor.
e. One dictionary described this word as the dark side of labor, the grievous and unfulfilling aspect of work.
f. Ps 90:10 – used of the labor of old age…
g. This term appears twice in this proverb in two forms: “he that laboureth” (noun form) and “laboureth” (verb form)
h. Thus, Solomon doubly emphasizes this concept of toilsome work, drudgery, the weariness of labor…
3. Solomon’s point is that in order to STICK WITH a job (or a ministry!), there must be an inner craving… an inner passion…
a. The dark side of labor discourages and would cause someone to quit.
b. But in order to keep on plowing through the drudgery of it all, there must be an inner passion… an inner craving… an inner drive and desire… fire in the belly!
4. There are MANY inner passions that motivate a man to work every day at the office or factory and to stick with it.
a. A desire to see the company succeed.
b. A desire to pay one’s bills.
c. A desire to feed one’s family.
d. A desire to put a son or daughter through school.
e. A desire to buy a nice house.
f. A strong belief in the product. (vitamins; financial planner; builder)
g. A strong belief in the cause. (Red Cross; medical researcher; teacher)
5. There are inner passions that motivate men and women to work around their own home.
a. Why go through all the tedious labor of upkeep on one’s house?
b. Why would a man go through all the trouble of scrapping the old chipped paint and paint his house? An inner desire to preserve the wood to last longer… for it to look good… to be a good testimony in the neighborhood.
c. Why would any woman wash the floor and vacuum day after day? A desire for a clean house for her family!
d. Why water, fertilize, lime, rake, aerate, and mow your lawn… when you know the grass is going to grow right back in a few days? Why repeat that process all summer long? Because of an inner desire for your house to look good… so it looks cared for… and a desire NOT to be like the man who dwells in the field of the slothful. (Prov. 24:30-32)
6. And what about the laborious job of taking care of our bodies?
a. Why would anyone go through all the hard work of lifting weights?
b. Why would anyone go through the drudgery of watching what they eat? Or go on an oppressive diet?
c. Why would anyone jog for miles every day?
d. Why would anyone go to a gym and go through all those monotonous, toilsome routines week after week?
e. Some folks begin to take care of their bodies and then quit.
f. Solomon states that it takes an inner drive of creature life… a passion… a craving to accomplish a goal.
g. There is an inner appetite that drives a man or woman to persevere and endure through the drudgery and weariness of the toils of life…
h. Without that inner appetite, we would quit… become lazy… become a recluse… give up on life… give up on our goals… give up on work!
i. Some folks don’t have that drive. They just “give up” on trying… give up on taking care of their homes, their bodies, their careers, their families…
7. Consider this principle for students…
a. There is much labor in studying…
b. Ecc. 12:12 – much study is a weariness of the flesh.
c. For a student to do well and to persevere in his studies, that inner drive… inner hunger… inner craving for the benefits of learning must be present.
d. As in many things in life, education is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.
e. Doing well in school as in any type of work requires an inner drive.
f. That could be many things for different students: a hunger for learning; a craving for books; a striving to succeed in life; a drive for the monetary rewards, motivated by a cause or lofty goal; a drive to stretch oneself and to achieve; ambition; an inner drive to make something of yourself;
g. All kinds of inner appetite drive people. Some are good and some are not.
8. He laboureth for HIMSELF.
a. Solomon does not mean this in a bad sense (selfish).
b. Rather, he means that he wisely realizes (in the midst of all that toil) that there is something that is BENEFICIAL for himself.
c. He that labors, labors for himself. He that sows shall reap the fruit of his labors for himself.
d. An inner drive keeps him going… keeps him working… enables him to endure the suffering, the weariness, the pain, the difficulties… because he sees the value of a greater, long range benefit for himself… and perhaps his family… or his company… or perhaps for society.
e. That inner drive urges him on to do that which otherwise would be avoided as undesirable.
f. An inner appetite… a craving for a benefit of one sort or another… will DRIVE a man to endure difficulties… toilsome labor… and menial tasks… for HIMSELF… for the good of himself…
9. Solomon is speaking about diligence and the motivation that drives a man to BE diligent in his work.
a. The motivated man will do well.
b. The motivated man labors for himself and receives the BENEFIT of his labors… as tedious, monotonous, tiring, mundane, and toilsome as they might be!
c. Prov.14:23 – In all labour there is profit…
d. The laborer benefits from it.
e. And it is that inner drive that keeps the laborer laboring… and enables him to receive that benefit for himself.
10. The same is true in the spiritual realm.
a. Jesus said: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
b. It is a HUNGER for righteousness that results in benefiting from righteousness.
c. It is the hungry heart that is fed.
d. An inner craving for God and spiritual things is what keeps a believer going… serving… walking… running the race with patience!
e. A genuine hunger for God keeps us from hungering after other things… a hunger for the wheat keeps us from hungering for the chaff…
f. Paul expressed his hunger for Christ when he wrote, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection!”
g. An inner hunger… craving after the Word, after a deeper relationship to Christ, after the knowledge of God, results in a great benefit for the believer!
h. It MOTIVATES us to continue running with patience… even in the face of trials and trouble… it drives us to the throne of grace for mercy in time of need…
i. This inner drive and hunger for spiritual things drives believers to be faithful to the local church… faithful in reading the Word of God… faithful in their family devotion time… it drives us to CHRIST!
j. That inner creature drive… an inner hunger is a MUST in the Christian life.
k. Without that spiritual fire in the belly, (hunger; zeal; life) we become cold hearted…
l. KEEP YOUR HEART with all diligence! Pay attention to that hunger and fire. When the embers begin to cool down, stir them up again!
26b For his mouth craveth it of him.
1. His mouths CRAVES it…
2. Craves:
a. Strong’s: press; urge.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: drive, impel, press hard, i.e., get high motivation to do something, and so desire something based on a physical need.
3. The craving of the mouth here is ONE particular type of craving among many cravings.
a. It is singled out because it is the most common inner craving… one we can all relate to.
b. Hunger is a clear example of that inner creature life.
c. We get hungry three times a day, if we are healthy.
d. One of the things that motivates a man to work is physical HUNGER… an appetite for food!
e. What drives a coal miner to work underground in dangerous conditions all day long? A desire to eat and feed his family!
f. Hunger is a powerful motivator; it motivates us to work.
• Reaping (and eating the fruit) is a great motivator to get busy and sow.
• Ecc. 6:7 – “all the labor of man is for his mouth; and yet the appetite is not filled.” (the man works for his mouth—to feed his mouth… and it goes on and on because we keep on getting hungry!)
g. The fruit of our labors motivates us to put up with, endure, and to persevere through all the unpleasantness, the rigors, the laborious, tedious tasks of everyday work.
h. II Thess. 3:10 – if a man will not work, neither should he eat!
i. Providing free food for poor people may seem generous and kind, and it IS initially.
• But when it continues (like our welfare system) it removes the motivation to work!
• If a man is hungry, that hunger will motivate him to get a job… even a hard job… even doing menial tasks.
• But if the government gives him free housing and free food, the incentive is gone!
• Parents who continue to bail their grown children out of financial holes their kids have dug for themselves do them no favor! They learn to become dependent upon your generosity… and they lose the incentive to be diligent.
4. And in the spiritual realm, the same is true.
a. Nothing motivates a believer to be diligent in his walk with God more than fruit… seeing God produce good fruit in your life as you yield to Him!
b. The fruit of getting to KNOW Christ motivates us to hunger to know Him more and more!
c. The benefit of God’s Word working in our lives motivates us to study the Word more diligently!
d. The benefit of answered prayer motivates us to pray without ceasing!
e. Christ, prayer, and the Word of God create an appetite for MORE!
f. And that inner hunger is good. It enables us to endure… and we benefit greatly from enduring!
Proverbs 16:28
Sowing Strife and Separating Friends
Introduction:
This section in Proverbs speaks about various kinds of troublemakers to watch out for.
• Vs. 27 – one who digs up evil
• Vs. 28 – one who sows strife and gossips
• Vs. 29 – a violent man
• Vs. 30 – one who facilitates evil
28a A froward man soweth strife:
A. Words Defined:
1. Froward: perverse; deviant; morally crooked.
a. It is used of a generation of Israelites who deviated from and distorted the Lord’s ways, turning from Him (Deut. 32:20).
2. Soweth:
a. To send out; to let loose; to thrust forth; to release; cast away; sow…
b. This word is translated in MANY different ways depending upon the context.
c. The idea here is not so much that he PLANTS strife… but that he spreads it… he scatters it… he lets it loose wherever he goes.
B. The Man Who Sows Strife
1. Solomon tells us that there is a certain kind of person who seems to delight in making trouble between people… stirring up controversy and strife… contention… arguments… quarrels…
a. He incites trouble… provokes debates and controversy.
b. The apostle Paul knew how to do this and he did so on one occasion… for a good purpose.
c. Acts 23:6-7 – Paul turned this crowd against each other. (They had been united against him.)
• Actually, this was quite clever of Paul.
• They were angry hypocritical men who had their arrows all pointed at Paul.
• Paul was able (with one carefully worded sentence) to turn the tables… and instead of aiming their arrows at him, they aimed their arrows at each other.
• Do you see the POWER of words?
• Do you see how EASY it is to turn people against each other?
d. Solomon tells us that there are men who use this tactic for evil purposes all the time.
e. Only instead turning enemies against enemies, they turn friend against friend.
2. The person Solomon describes is like a big speedboat zipping across a calm lake.
a. The water might be peaceful, tranquil, and calm… smooth like a mirror.
b. Until the loud speed boat buzzes through. When the big speedboat passes through those waters… even though only for a short time, it leaves a large ripples in its wake…
c. The boat is long gone, but the ripples continue… to travel and interrupt the stillness and serenity of the lake far BEYOND the immediate path of the boat.
d. It can take quite a while for the lake to calm down and become still and smooth once again after the boat is gone.
e. The person Solomon is speaking about does the same with a group of people.
f. Things may be going well in the office… in the home… in a group of friends… in a church… at a school. Peaceful and calm like the lake.
g. Then when the trouble maker comes by… he stirs up waves of controversy and agitates the atmosphere… and leaves trouble in his wake…
h. And long after he is gone, the ripple effect of the controversy he stirred up continues…
i. And the trouble he stirs up can travel far beyond the ears of those who heard him speak… things get repeated… and the ripples can go on an on…
3. He is a PERVERSE man. (That’s what forward means)
a. This is not normal behavior. It is crooked, twisted and perverse.
b. Prov. 6:14 – this perversity and forwardness is in his heart.
• He delights in such behavior. And he seeks continually to devise mischief among people and cause trouble.
• It is his nature. We have been warned.
4. He is often a man of great HATRED in his heart.
a. Prov. 10:12 – it is a heart full of hatred that stirs up trouble among friends.
b. It may be that this perversity and hatred is due to the fact that he doesn’t have any friends (I wonder why!).
c. Therefore he hates to see other people have friends… out of hatred he tries to break up those friendships.
d. And he has lots of tricks in his bag to do so.
5. He is often a LIAR… a false witness.
a. Prov. 6:19 – sometimes this perverse man sows discord and strife among friends by spreading lies… and God hates it!
b. He just passes through and happens to mention a few things about so and so…
c. What he says may be an outright lie… or an embellishment… or stretching the truth… just to make so and so look bad… or to get Tom angry at Dick…
d. But the words he says stirs up trouble… gets repeated… and embellished again… and before too long, Tom and Dick aren’t talking to each other.
6. It is an ANGRY man that stirs up such strife among friends.
a. Prov. 15:18 – the man who stirs up strife is often angry.
b. Sometimes he is angry because he doesn’t have friends… he’s not in the “in” crowd.
c. It may be that he is angry because he didn’t get his own way… and tries to make trouble for others. Misery loves company.
d. Maybe he was slighted… or left out… or insulted… and instead of letting it roll off his back, he lashes out in anger… and tries to stir up strife among friends.
e. It may be that he is angry because he is not as popular as others… and since he can’t be the head man in that gang of friends, he seeks to disrupt the group of friends… any way he can.
7. Prov. 28:25 – it is selfish PRIDE that is behind his behavior…
a. If he can’t be the top dog on campus, then he will try to destroy friendships…
b. Often this type of person really desires to be admired… desires to be mister popularity…
c. And because he can’t achieve it… because he can’t be #1, he takes it out on others… and seeks to disrupt friendships.
d. Solomon says that pride is what motivates this person.
28b And a whisperer separateth chief friends.
1. Here Solomon builds on the first part of the proverb.
a. The particular KIND of trouble maker is a whisperer who separates chief friends.
2. Whisperer: a gossiper, a slanderer.
a. It depicts a person who harms others by attacking them verbally falsely.
b. Prov. 16:27 – he digs up dirt about people… and then his lips are burning in zeal to tell others about the dirt he discovered!
3. Prov. 11:13 – A friend might know some “secrets” about you (some dirt)… but because he is a friend, he conceals them. But the talebearer… the whispering gossiper tells all. He reveals them.
a. This kind of gossip and whispering often ruins friendships.
b. This is not the kind of person you want as a friend!
c. Solomon is WARNING us. Stay away from such people. They are trouble!
4. This person whispers things that will hurt others, creating wounds that take a long time to heal. (Prov. 26:22)
a. Gossiping can really HURT the person gossiped about.
b. That is what this perverse person is TRYING to do. That’s his goal. That’s his aim.
c. He gets his jollies from hurting other people… and ruining friendships.
d. And on and on the hurting and strife go… until friendships are ruined.
5. This man keeps on whispering and keeps on stirring up strife (Prov. 26:20-21). It will continue as long as he is around! Strife ceases when the whisperer stops whispering!
a. AVOID that kind of person.
b. When you get rid of him, the trouble and strife ceases… because he was the one who stirred it all up!
c. This person is like the one who keeps adding wood to the fire. As long as he is there adding wood, the fires will continue to blaze. But once you STOP adding fuel to the fire… those fires eventually die out.
d. If we could get rid of all the speed boats, we would have nice, quiet, serene, tranquil lakes too!
e. If you want the strife to cease… avoid the trouble-maker!
f. This is true in the local church too. Some people come into a local church and do nothing but complain, stir up trouble and controversy… and when they are gone: peace rules once again!
g. It may be painful to see such a brother go… but if he refuses to repent… the Body is far better off without him!
h. And maybe even those broken friendships will begin to heal!
6. A whisperer separates chief friends.
a. I have seen this in my life. Maybe you have too.
b. It is such a common occurrence in life. Solomon chose to repeat this in Prov. 17:9.
c. The one who goes about repeating matters… and often embellishing… gossiping… spreading rumors… separates friends… turns friend against friend.
d. But Solomon also gives us a solution to this ongoing problem among friends: LOVE covers a transgression!
e. If a trouble maker tries to stir up controversy among your friends, don’t AID him by spreading the gossip further!
f. Love covers it up… love buries it…
g. And even if the gossip is about you, love STILL is able to cover it up… bury it… don’t dwell on it… ignore it.
h. Remember, the trouble makers who spread such rumors are perverse; angry; proud; hateful liars. They often embellish stories… twist statements and quote you out of context.
i. Remember that, when you HEAR gossip. Things aren’t always as they seem when you hear one side of the story… especially when it comes from this kind of person.
j. Love buries it.
Proverbs 16:29
A Violent Man
Introduction:
In vs.27-29, Solomon speaks of different kinds of evil men:
1. vs. 27 – the ungodly man
2. vs. 28 – the froward man
3. vs. 29 – the violent man
29a A violent man enticeth his neighbour
1. Violent Defined:
a. Strong’s: violence; cruelty; injustice.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: strong, fierce, destructive force resulting in acts that maim, destroy, kill, often implying a lawlessness, terror, and lack of moral restraint.
c. Zodhiates: It implies cruelty, damage, and injustice; When it describes a person, it can mean an oppressor or a violent man (Prov. 3:31).
d. Gen. 6:13 – it is the term used for the reason for the flood: the earth was full of violence.
e. It is always used of a sinful type of violence… never of the violence of a storm or natural disaster.
f. It most often is translated violence, but also: cruelty; injustice; oppression.
g. The Hebrew term is “hamas.”
2. Enticeth
a. To be open; to be open minded; to be gullible; naïve; it came to mean to deceive someone who is gullible or naïve;
b. Thus: to entice, deceive, persuade, seduce.
c. Jud. 14:15 – it was used of Sampson’s wife “enticing” him to declare the riddle.
d. II Kings 22:20 – It was used of Michaiah the prophet who spoke of the Lord using a demon to “persuade” Ahab.
e. This term means to persuade—usually with language… verbally.
f. The term means persuasive speech that is used to convince a person… the salesman’s pitch… the attractive sounds and reasoning of the wolf in sheep’s clothing… the seducer’s line…
g. It also implies a bit of simplicity or naiveté on the part of the hearer… overly open minded… gullible…
3. The violent man enticeth his neighbor.
a. Prov. 1:10 – if sinners entice thee…
• Same word for entice
• Solomon assumes here that young men (and young women!) WILL be enticed by troublemakers.
• Vs. 11 – “If he SAY”—they will have enticing speech… they use words to entice…
• Vs. 11 – notice their violence: lay wait for blood!
• Vs. 11 – come with us! Be part of our group!
→ The bad crowd here entices the young man by offering him “membership”—“with us”!
→ There is attractiveness to belonging…
→ You can belong somewhere… you can be a part of our gang… the in crowd… the cool crowd…
→ There is a clear line being drawn in the Bible on this issue.
→ The evil crowd cries to the young man: “Come with us!”
→ God’s Word says: “Come out from among them and be ye separate!” (II Cor. 6:14-18)
→ Whose fellowship and companionship do you want?
• Vs. 13 – they have persuasive arguments… which can be quite alluring to the simple… they speak only of the positive side of their sinful deeds…
• Vs. 14 – they make themselves sound like a “brotherhood”! We will all have one purse! We take good care of each other!
• Vs. 10 – consent thou not!
• Vs. 15 – stay away from them!
• Solomon knows that they are up to no good… and that their persuasive speech is not quite accurate. They leave out some key issues: like getting caught! (vs.18 – they ruin their own lives.)
29b And leadeth him into the way that is not good.
1. Prov. 1:10-14 – This man is not content just to sin. He wants to lead others along with him.
a. Lead = to walk;
b. Strong’s: lead, bring, lead away, carry, cause to walk.
c. It is the word translated “come” in Prov. 1:10;
d. It is translated “come” in 7:18 – the harlot inviting the young man to come into her house.
e. It is an invitation… walking someone down a pathway…
f. It can be used in a good sense. It is the term used for God leading the children of Israel. But here it is obviously used in an evil sense… leading in a way that is not good.
g. The GOAL or AIM of this violent man is to lead YOU down a path that is not good.
2. The tactic he uses is satanic.
a. Satan is violent… he was a murderer from the beginning.
b. Satan seeks to entice and allure us… and Satan uses people… and speech to lure us away.
c. Satan also seeks to lead us away from the straight and narrow path into a way that is not good!
d. When a sinner entices us we should hear the hissing of the devil behind those words! Stay away!
3. Prov. 3:31 – Don’t envy him and don’t chose any of his ways! (oppressor = violent man.)
a. Why would anyone ENVY such a violent man?
• Because there is something attractive about sin.
• There is a pleasure to sin.
• The drug dealer often has fancy clothes and an expensive car…
• But later on those fancy clothes are usually exchanged for an orange jump suit… and instead of sitting in the driver’s seat of his Lexus, he is sitting on a hard bench in a jail cell.
• But the simple and the gullible DO often envy this person BEFORE he gets caught.
b. Don’t CHOOSE his ways.
• Don’t choose his ways… because you may also be choosing his END…
• There is something glitzy, glamorous and attractive about his lifestyle before he gets caught.
• But there is nothing glitzy about his life after he gets caught!
• Even APART from the fact that it is sin against a holy God… even by examining the evidence according to life under the sun (earth)… the wise decision is to stay away!
4. The violent man will lead you in a way that is not good.
a. It is not honest, nor honorable, nor safe.
b. It is not proper, beneficial, right.
c. It is a direction that takes one AWAY from God and the narrow path.
d. This is true of violence (street gangs); drug abuse; drinking; stealing; sexual sins; corruption of all stripes;
e. There are all kinds of evil men… with all kinds of alluring ways… seeking to lead you down all kinds of evil pathways…
f. There is an evil pathway for every evil inclination man has ever devised.
5. This sort of person aims to ruin others. Misery loves company.
a. Often times he allures others into his corruption so he doesn’t look so bad! If he can drag you down, it makes him look better!
b. If he can drag you down, he has bragging rights.
c. If he can get an otherwise “good kid” to follow his ways, then he doesn’t feel so vile.
d. Rom. 1:32 – they not only commit such sins, but DELIGHT when others do it too!
6. II Chron. 18:1-3 –
a. Ahab killed sheep and oxen for godly King Jehoshaphat in abundance…
b. Ahab PERSUADED him to go to battle with him at Ramoth-Gilead.
• Ahab, the evil king of Israel, the Baal worshipper, somehow convinced Jehoshaphat through enticing speech to join with him.
• Ahab heaped on the accolades, gifts, banquet, compliments… and Jehoshaphat fell for it…
• It’s hard NOT to be taken in when someone is buttering you up like that!
• Jehoshaphat was persuaded and nearly to his own ruin!
7. Don’t allow yourself to be duped by such men.
a. You are warned: they are out there!
b. And they are not out for your good… but for your ruin.
c. MANY have fallen prey to their evil enticements.
d. Don’t YOU fall for their enticing speech.
e. That is the obvious purpose for Solomon writing this proverb. It comes to us as a warning.
f. Do not be partakers of other men’s sins.
g. II Pet. 3:16-18 – Peter warns believers about corrupt men who seek to allure us into false teachings and bring us to spiritual ruin!
• Since you KNOW this—you have been warned; Beware!
• If not, then we too could be deceived and FALL!
• Growing in the knowledge of God will keep us safe!
• Come out from among them and be ye separate!
Proverbs 16:30
Bringing Evil to Pass
Introduction:
1. In vs. 27-29, Solomon speaks of different kinds of evil men:
a. vs. 27 – the ungodly man
b. vs. 28 – the froward man
c. vs. 29 – the violent man
2. In verse 30, Solomon continues to speak about the evil man… with a different warning for us all.
a. In vs. 27 we are warned of the ungodly man’s propensity towards gossip and slander.
b. In vs.28 we were warned of the froward man’s desire to separate chief friends.
c. In vs. 29 we are warned of the violent man’s tendency to lure the simple astray… down his evil pathway.
3. Now, in vs. 30, we are given additional warnings about evil men… something else to be aware of… and alert to.
a. They have lots of different ways of carrying out their evil intentions and deeds.
WHAT HE DOES
A. He Shuts His Eyes
1. Shuts his eyes = winking with his eyes.
a. This word “shut” is only used once in the Bible.
b. This is not the same term as is used of winking elsewhere in the Old Testament.
c. But it seems to be a synonym in this context for “wink.”
2. He shuts his eye (winks) in order to communicate something.
a. Today, winking has several meanings: “I’m kidding”, flirting, “go along with what I’m saying even though it is a lie…”
b. Lots of messages can be communicated with our eyes: suspicion… surprise… disgust… disbelief… mocking…
c. Evidently, winking had a similar meaning in ancient times.
d. Thus, it can either be quite innocent or evil.
e. Solomon obviously had an evil wink in mind here: (context)
3. Solomon spoke earlier of winking in an evil sense.
a. Prov. 6:12-14 – the froward or evil man.
• Vs. 12 – The wicked man has a wicked mouth! He says evil things.
• Vs. 13 – But his ability to communicate his evil intentions is not limited to his wicked mouth: it extends to his eyes, feet, and fingers!
• He has lots of ways to communicate evil.
• He uses body language…
• Vs. 14 – frowardness is in his heart… and it works its way out through many different channels: mouth, eyes, feet, fingers…
• He is able to communicate evil even without opening his mouth!
• Vs. 14 – he is continually devising mischief and sowing discord. (same context as chapter 16)
• The whole BEING of the wicked man is utilized in carrying out his evil deeds: not just his words and deeds… but much more subtle means… are utilized: his eyes, feet, fingers, etc…
b. Prov. 10:10 – he causes sorrow.
• This is obviously another evil result of winking.
• This man winks… and the end result is that people are hurt… it causes sorrow to someone…
• It was designed to make fun of someone… to lie to someone… to harm them in one way or another.
• Winking involves two or more people. One person winks AT another person… or perhaps at a group of people.
• It is done behind the back of someone else… to deceive them…
• It is a way of making division… us against him or against them.
• It involves some folks who are “in” on the deception, and others who are left in the dark.
• There is the one who winks and his accomplices AND the one who is being deceived.
c. Ps. 35:19 – the psalmist also spoke of the evil intentions that are often associated with winking.
d. Shutting one’s eyes… or winking is one way to communicate intentions… good or bad.
e. Solomon is warning us that evil men have many tricks up their sleeves in order to carry out their evil plans.
f. They cause sorrow to someone…
B. He Moves His Lips
1. “Moves” defined:
a. Strong’s: to narrow; form; nip; pinch; squeeze; wink.
b. Interestingly, this word “move” is the word usually translated “wink.” (as in Prov. 6:13 and 10:10)
c. It means to pinch… squeeze…
d. It can be used of the eye or the mouth.
e. With the eye it is what we call a “wink.”
f. With the mouth it is more like “puckering” the lips… squeezing them together.
2. Today we don’t think of moving the lips as we do of winking.
a. Everyone knows what a wink is today.
b. But even though we don’t use the term, we DO use our lips to silently communicate… without saying a word.
c. Twisting our lips… or puckering up our lips can communicate that we don’t believe a person… or we doubt the truthfulness of what he is saying.
d. It can even communicate that we think what he is saying is foolish or ridiculous.
e. The expression Solomon used “moving the lips” or squeezing the lips might be open to interpretation…
f. But the context here seems to imply he is speaking about something similar in meaning to winking.
g. And it has the same evil result: bringing evil to pass.
3. The warning is clear: evil men use facial expressions to communicate.
a. Have you ever seen the wise guy in school make a facial expression to the class after the teacher tells the class to quiet down?
b. He communicates to the class: “Who does she think she is? or “Yeah, right!” or “That’s what she thinks!”
c. That school wise guy grows up to be a leader of the punks hanging around on the corner… and does the same thing when the policeman tells them to move on…
d. He later advances to become a drug dealer… and is able to communicate and give orders to his street dealers… right in plain sight… without saying a word.
e. Or maybe he gets a job and is able to demonstrate the same kind of sarcasm in the office… that he did in the classroom. Only now instead of behind the teacher’s back, it is behind the boss’ back.
f. The videos coming from Al Qaeda are studied carefully not only for the verbal messages, but also for the non-verbal messages sent out… (wink; hand gestures; etc.)
g. Of course, facial expressions can also be used for good. Solomon is not saying that all facial gestures are evil.
h. But he is warning us that evil men USE them for their evil purposes – so beware!
i. Learn to read not only the words, but the mood, the gestures, and other subtle, non verbal forms of communication.
WHY HE DOES IT
A. To Devise Froward Things
1. Devise: to think; plan; esteem; calculate; invent; make a judgment; imagine; to regard; to invent; to consider.
2. Evil men wink as they think, plan, and invent evil designs.
3. They can use winking to recruit, to identify themselves, to cover a lie, and even as a sign to send someone out on an evil deed.
4. He seeks to devise froward things. (Cf. vs. 28 – the froward man sows strife and separates chief friends…)
5. He can sow strife with a wink of the eye! He can separate friends with the wink of an eye!
B. To Bring Evil to Pass
1. Here Solomon speaks about the evil that can be brought to pass by means of winking with the mouth… or puckering or contorting the lips.
2. cf. 16:27 – the ungodly man digs up evil… and seeks to bring evil to pass.
3. Without saying a word, the evil man can bring evil to pass… and cause all kinds of heartache and grief for others… with mere facial expressions.
4. They use subtle facial expression to carry out deception, fraud, and other forms of evil.
5. They are as subtle as serpents…
6. What makes these facial gestures evil is the INTENT behind them.
7. They can be used jokingly in good fun… or innocently. But they can also be used for evil… that’s Solomon’s point here.
8. Therefore: BE DISCERNING! Observe more than just the words in a conversation. Take note of other subtle forms of communication… especially with evil men!
OTHER POSSIBLE INTERPRETATIONS:
A. He shuts his eyes in meditation and planning evil and he then moves his lips to carry out those evil plans.
1. He shuts his eyes to shut out all distractions and to concentrate on his evil designs…
2. Then he moves his mouth to order his plans into being.
B. He shuts his eyes to evil that he sees and says nothing about it to prevent it from occurring.
1. He shuts his eyes to the evil that he sees around him… and squeezes his mouth shut… he doesn’t say anything either.
2. In other words, this evil man sees no evil, hears no evil, and says nothing about it… he ALLOWS evil to thrive all around him… and is thus complicit with the evil.
Proverbs 16:31
The Hoary Head
31a The hoary head is a crown of glory…
A. The Hoary Head
1. Hoary head:
a. Strong’s: age; gray hair.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: a state or condition of having a gray or white head of hair, with the associated meanings of wisdom, weakness, or old age that is nearer to death.
c. It is translated as: gray hair; gray head; hoary head; old age.
2. Solomon uses the term (as it is often used) as a figurative way of describing: old age… not simply to the color of one’s hair.
a. Remember that these are proverbs.
b. They do not cover every possible situation… but are generalizations of truth.
c. While everyone ages over time, NOT everyone goes gray…
d. Some people go gray and even white in their 20’s.
e. Solomon is referring to the color of one’s hair as an outward, visible sign of age…– not just the color of one’s hair.
f. And gray hair, a visible sign of old age, seen on top of a person’s head is then likened to a “crown.”
B. A Crown of Glory
1. Crown of glory: the figure defined:
a. Crown: diadem or wreath; adornment worn on the head often as a symbol of power, authority, rulership or high status.
b. Prov. 12:4 – a virtuous wife is a crown to her husband. Referring to her as a crown means that she is something that he GLORIES in!
c. A crown also was used of a reward for service… something to glory in! (This usage is found more in the New Testament.)
d. In the Old Testament, the emphasis of the figurative use of a crown was primarily something prized… gloried in… and a symbol of high status and honor… like royalty!
e. Isa. 28:5 – God Himself is the CROWN for His people. A man’s association with God is a crown of glory on his head… a wreath or diadem of beauty.
• For the Christian to be associated with God as one of His people… is a great honor and a high privilege!
• It is a HIGH STATUS to belong to Him… it is a high calling… a glorious position for us!
• I John 3:1 – Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God!
• For Israel, this honor and high privilege was symbolized as a CROWN.
• It is in this sense that Solomon used the figure.
f. GLORY:
• This is not the term for glory used most often in the Old Testament. It has a slightly different emphasis.
• It means: beauty, splendor, honor, —the state or quality of giving high attribution or status to someone.
• It doubly fortifies the meaning of the phrase: BOTH crown and glory refer to high honor and status
2. The HONOR associated with a hoary head in the Bible:
a. Prov. 4:7-9 – Gray hair implies wisdom…
• Wisdom is valued! It is the principle—the first and most important thing!
• Solomon is telling his YOUNG son that this is what he should be striving for over the years…
• It comes little by little over time…
• And it is a crown of glory!
• And by the time your hair is gray and you are old, you should have accumulated MUCH of it!
• That hoary head ought to be a symbol of high honor and status… because associated with age is WISDOM!
• Job 12:12 – With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.
» Job expresses shock that his 3 aged friends did not seem to have wisdom… when it was the norm!
b. Prov. 20:29 – old age is something to GLORY in.
• As young men glory in their strength (same term for glory as in 16:31) old men ought to glory in their hoary head (same term).
• Young men like to wear those muscle T-shirts to show off their strength. They are proud of their strength. (That is often vanity… but that’s another story.)
• The point is that young men DO glory in their strength. They are not ashamed of it… but glory in it.
• They don’t try to hide it. They often like to show it off.
• Over time physical strength diminishes naturally… and is replaced with a strength that is much more valuable.
• As age progresses and physical strength diminishes, men normally become strong in maturity, wisdom, experience, discernment…
• That is what older men and women should glory in! That’s their glory!
• It should not be gloried in in a vain or showy manner.
• But it SHOULD be something that is highly esteemed… valued… prized… respected… honored…
c. Gray hair implies wisdom… maturity… experience… discernment… grace…
• These are considered worthy of glory. (Not hair color.)
• We should glory in age for these reasons.
3. God honors age… (Not surprisingly: One of His names is the Ancient of Days!)
a. Ps. 92:14 – they shall still bring forth fruit in old age.
• Valuable service to God does not end when a person retires.
• There can and should be FRUIT in that life… that continues.
b. Titus 2:2-5 – older, more mature believers are valuable! They are to teach the younger…
c. Those God chose to lead the church were to be ELDERS… not novices… mature ones…
4. Lev. 19:32 – Rise up in honor and respect before the hoary head… and it is the ANCIENT of Days who has given us this command!
a. Age should be honored… exalted… respected… by us as believers.
b. Rev. 1:14 – Interestingly, Christ, in His exalted, glorified human body appears NOT as a 25 year old—in the prime of His physical strength… but as a man with WHITE hair!
5. Our culture glories in youth.
a. When gray hairs begin to show, people panic and cover it up with dye.
b. We spend billions and billions of dollars to avoid looking old.
c. Women dye their hair, wrinkle removers, face-lifts, tummy tucks, etc…
d. Even men are starting to do some of these things… to look young.
e. It is almost as if we considered looking old to be equivalent to the plague!
f. Here is a sad commentary on our culture:
• The Bible exalts old age. It says that gray hair and other visible signs of aging are things we should glory in.
• Yet our culture says that it is something we should dread like the plague!
g. This is not the case in other cultures around the world. Most other cultures show more respect for age than we do.
• And whether those cultures are Buddhist, Islam, Hindu, or completely secular… on this point, they are right and we are wrong.
• And that IS a sad commentary, when cultures influenced more by such paganism are closer to the Biblical norm than America—supposedly influenced by Biblical Christianity!
• Times have changed in our land…
• Isa. 3:5 – it is a sign of a decadent society when age and positions of honor worthy of respect are NOT given respect!
6. We should take warning from this.
a. We are hearing a lot today about CULTURE… and it is often given as an excuse to bring about radical changes in the way we do things as Christians.
• “It’s ok for me to do this. It is a “cultural thing.”
• Well certainly there are many cultural issues that are completely without any real relevance to truth or morality.
• However, there are SOME cultural issues that are blatantly CONTRARY to Scripture.
• This is one example where our culture is WRONG.
• It may be in harmony with our culture to NOT show respect to the elderly… but scripturally it is DEAD WRONG!
• Just because a practice has been accepted by a culture, that does not make it right.
• If it is contrary to the Bible, it is NOT right.
• The Christian is to live out of harmony with his culture on that point. We walk to the beat of a different drummer.
• And to the degree that we DO that—we are a testimony before the world… a light in darkness.
• This is an area where we as parents need to TRAIN children in God’s Word.
b. Isa. 3:4 – Children in positions of leadership is a sign of divine judgment.
• Babes in positions of authority is an awful form of judgment!
• The meaning of course is that instead of older, mature, wise leadership, they would have youthful inexperience and folly at the helm!
• That is NEVER a good idea… and it is not a good idea in the churches today either!
• Where do you think this new wave music and new forms of worship came from that seem to be taking over the churches across the country?
» From the older, wise, more mature believers who have grown in grace and in the knowledge of Christ… and are thus discerning enough to tell the difference between holy and unholy…
» OR from the youth… inexperienced in life and inexperienced in the Christian life… babes… and often worldly and carnal… lacking discernment and good judgment?
• Putting the youth in charge is not a way to be “relevant.” It is pure folly… and there will be a price to pay down the road.
• Our culture glories in youth… and eventually, it will come back to bite us.
• In contrast to our culture, the Bible says that age is a CROWN of glory!
31b If it be found in the way of righteousness.
1. Unfortunately, age does not ALWAYS bring wisdom and maturity.
a. It is the NORM, but there are many sad exceptions.
b. There are lots of 60-year-old teenagers who never grew up… and are still as foolish as they were in their youth.
c. Ecc. 4:13 – Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king. Some kings were quite childish, selfish, and foolish.
2. But when found in the way of righteousness age is a crown of glory.
a. When that is not the case, that hoary head is a crown of shame.
b. May God help us to grow in wisdom and not folly… grace and not disgrace.
Proverbs 16:32
The Value of Self Control
32a He that is slow to anger–And he that ruleth his spirit
1. This is one of MANY “better than” proverbs.
a. Just in this chapter alone we have seen several: 16:8, 16, 19, 32
b. Consider the parallel in this verse:
• Slow to anger = rules his spirit
• The mighty = he that takes a city
2. Slow to Anger…
a. Slow Defined:
• Strong’s: slow; patient.
• Zodhiates: drawn out; long.
b. Used in:
• Ex. 34:6 – “longsuffering”—a characteristic of God; it is used 4X of God’s longsuffering
• Every other time it occurs it is in the expression: slow to wrath or slow to anger.
• One other occurrence: it is used to describe the long wings of an eagle.
• Nahum 1:3 – “the Lord is slow to anger.” (Same words.)
c. With respect to anger it speaks of being long-fused before one blows up…
• Patient with respect to anger…
• Not easily or quickly angered… but SLOW to anger…
• It refers to patience… but not the kind of patience needed when waiting for a bus; but the kind of patience needed when someone insults you… or cuts you off in traffic… or when someone yells at you.
• The issue really has to do with SELF CONTROL… with respect to anger.
d. James 1:19 – we are COMMANDED to be slow to anger!
• We like to excuse our anger and call it “righteous indignation.”
• There is such a thing… however, it is always CONTROLLED anger! Hence, it is patient in anger… not hasty.
• If we are NOT slow to anger, it is SIN. Blowing up is sin.
• Even if we have good cause for anger, if it is hasty and we blow up, it is disobedience.
• . Everybody gets angry. And there are two kinds of people who get angry: those who get angry slowly and those who get angry hastily.
3. The value of being SLOW to anger
a. Prov. 14:17 – he deals foolishly.
• “He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.”
• This man is the opposite of the man who is SLOW to anger. He is HASTY to anger.
• He blows up, and then he has to live with the consequences of his folly!
• This is the type of sin that has its judgment built right in!
• Being SOON angry = defined:
» Weak, few, hasty… impatient… (opposite of being SLOW to anger; this is hasty to anger).
» It means literally short of something: namely, of might, strength.
» Hence, it refers to someone who is short of internal strength when it comes to dealing with anger.
» Thus, the anger CONTROLS him… and he has no internal restraint against it.
» It just comes out!
• He is short tempered… a hot head… flies off the handle… short fused… easily irritated…
• We have ALL been there at times (too many times), but Solomon states here that some folks are more prone to this than others…
• Solomon speaks of this TYPE of man in this verse.
b. This impatient hot head deals foolishly:
• He does and says things that he regrets later…
• But it’s too late then. The damage is done.
c. The proverb progresses by adding another level to this kind of sin: the man who is soon angry is a man of wicked devices.
• AND people HATE him for it!
• You can deal with a person blowing up on occasion… from time to time…
• Love covers a multitude of sin. It is something that needs to be overlooked… grace extended.
• But when it is a HABIT… everyday… without ceasing, it is hard to deal with.
• Such people LOSE FRIENDS fast!
• When this characterizes either a husband or a wife, it is very hard to keep that marriage together.
• This kind of uncontrolled anger gets OLD in a hurry… and is very hard to live with day in and day out.
d. This poor person is to be pitied (he/she) is continually blowing up and having to live with the consequences of their folly… AND they are constantly making enemies…
e. Prov. 14:29 – The man who is SLOW to anger is of great understanding.
• In other words, this is a form of wisdom.
• It is folly to be hasty to anger… it demonstrates great understanding to be SLOW to anger.
• What does this man understand?
» Prov. 27:3 – That you can get HURT because of anger!
» By lifting up a heavy rock, you are taking on a burden. It might throw out your back and cause pain to linger for months to come!
» Anger is like that! It causes a lot of pain that lingers…
» Words of anger are like swords. You can stab someone with the sword of your words in an outburst of anger… and then apologize.
» BUT—the pain lingers. Healing takes time… wounds don’t heal instantly when the apology comes.
• The man who is slow to anger understands how DANGEROUS anger is…
» and how painful outbursts of anger can be…
» and how much damage can be done in one moment…
» and how long it takes to heal.
» Thus, before he blows up… he pauses to consider the consequences.
» Slowing it down gives us time to think it through. And thinking is always a good idea!
» The man who is slow to anger is of GREAT understanding!
f. Prov. 12:16 – fools let their wrath be known right away.
• Everybody gets angry. But different kinds of people deal with it differently.
» Wise men cover it up. The wise man recognizes that uncontrolled anger is SHAMEFUL. He learns to HATE it…
• Fools blurt it all out.. and thus make it known. He does not hate it enough to deal with it. He does not see how shameful his anger is (the things he says and does when angry!)
4. “He that ruleth his spirit”.
a. This is another way of saying “he that is slow to anger”
b. The two sides of this proverb are equal.
c. This teaches us something about anger: it is a matter of RULING one’s spirit… one’s inner man.
d. Prov. 19:19 – If one does NOT deal with anger… it gets easier and easier to blow up. A habit of life is developed. And you will need rescuing ad infinitum!
e. The New Testament tells us that this is IMPOSSIBLE in our own strength.
• We are powerless before anger.
• Our sin nature ENSLAVES us and has DOMINION over us… when we attempt to rule our own spirit.
• Paul tried ruling his own spirit and was a miserable failure.
• Rom. 7:14 – the law said, “Be slow to anger.” Paul agreed that it was the right thing to do and tried and failed! Repeatedly! He discovered that he was carnal… he had a fleshly nature too powerful for him to overcome.
• Rom. 7:15 – I DO get angry, but I don’t allow it. I know it is wrong. And what I want to do (be slow to anger) that do I not! But what I hate (getting angry), that’s what I seem to always end up doing!
• Rom. 7:16 – I agree with the law that it is wrong and sinful…
• Rom. 7:17 – It is not the new Paul in Christ… but it is my sin nature within!
• Rom. 7:22-23 – I delight in the law… BUT I am continually overpowered by sins like ANGER…
• Rom. 7:24 – Crying out to God for strength was his victory! Acknowledging his absolute impotence… and crying out to God for mercy… to rely upon Him entirely.
• This is the ONLY way of victory over anger. FAITH is the victory.
f. We need to acknowledge that we CANNOT rule our spirit. It requires the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit!
• Only when we acknowledge our weakness are we strong spiritually.
• That’s all God wants from us: acknowledgement—in other words, BELIEVING what He has already said about us… our flesh dwells no good thing… and believing involves trusting in Him… relying upon Him and His power.
• This kind of faith involves a close heart relationship to the Lord… an abiding relationship… ongoing communion with Him throughout the day… conscience of His indwelling presence at all times… trusting in His indwelling power at all times…
• There is no quick gimmick to overcoming anger. There is no gum you can chew like the gum that helps you quit smoking. Endless counseling sessions won’t cure it. Don’t bother trying a hypnotist. The answer is found in Romans 6-8!
32b Better than the mighty–Better than he that taketh city.
1. Solomon states that conquering oneself is BETTER than conquering a city!
a. The person with inner strength enough to have victory over the sin nature demonstrates a might SUPERIOR to the might of a great warrior!
b. Experiencing victory over anger… over our own selves… requires more strength, wisdom, and constant care than is required to conquer a city!
c. It is easier to subdue an enemy without than the one within!
2. Alexander the Great, who conquered the world, was a slave to intemperate anger, and in a fit of anger he slew Cleitus, the best and most intimate of all his friends, and one whom he loved beyond all others.
3. The one who victors over anger is greater than Alexander the Great! Mightier than the US army! Stronger than any military leader the world has ever seen.
4. Military might often leaves battlegrounds covered with corpses… buildings destroyed… lives ruined.
5. This kind of conquering destroys NOTHING… but base, evil passions… and replaces it with peace and kindness.
Proverbs 16:33
The Lord of the Lot
The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.
The Simple Meaning of Verse
1. A “lot” –
a. Probably stones, sticks, or broken pieces of pottery, which were thrown down, and a predetermined meaning was attached to how they landed.
b. Sometimes they were blindly picked out of a container.
c. The names might be written on the stones and the name on the stone chosen determines the winner.
2. “Lap” = bosom; breast; fold in a garment; a hollow area; floor of a chariot—several meanings.
a. It may refer to the place where the lot landed…
b. It may refer to the bottom of an urn into which stones were cast and out of which they were drawn…
3. The exact manner in which this practice was carried out may have varied… but it was a common practice in those days.
4. Similar practices exist today in various forms.
a. The lottery is a casting of lots—randomly chosen numbers to determine the winner
b. Flipping of a coin…
c. Drawing straws or sticks or cards…
5. The main point of the passage is not the exact process, but the outcome.
6. The disposing thereof is of the Lord.
a. Disposing: a decision; a judgment; a sentence; the act of deciding a case.
b. Used in Deut. 1:17 – the judgment is the Lord’s.
c. I Kings 20:40 – translated judgment (meaning decision)
d. Num. 27:21 – Urim – used for making judgments or decisions.
7. The LORD controls the outcome.
a. The final sentence… determination… judgment… or decision… is in the hands of God.
b. The point is that God is sovereign over the tiniest details in this world… from the flipping of a coin to the outcome of casting of lots…
c. When a lot is cast or a coin is flipped, we think of the outcome as mere chance.
d. Ecc. 9:11 – I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
• That is the thinking of the man “under the sun”—apart from God.
• That is the thinking of the natural man in the natural realm
e. In Prov. 16:33, Solomon says that it is not just random chance, but Jehovah God who determines the outcome… a sovereign God who providentially controls the most minute detail of life on earth: from raising up the next world emperor to the casting of a lot…
God DID Use the Casting of Lots to Reveal His Will
1. The casting of lots was used to determine which goat would be the sin offering and which goat would be the scapegoat. (Lev. 16:9-10)
2. The casting of lots was used to determine the portioning of the land of Canaan among the twelve tribes. (Num. 26:55; Josh. 18:6,11)
3. The casting of lots was used to reveal who was guilty of sin and Achan was brought to justice. (Josh. 7:16)
4. The casting of lots was used by David to determine which of the sons of Aaron would serve in what capacity in the service of the Lord. (I Chron. 24:3-5)
5. All throughout the history of Israel, God used the casting of lots to reveal His will.
6. In fact, Israel even has a religious FEAST dedicated to the “lot.”
a. The Feast of Purim: pur is the Babylonian term for “lot.”
b. The wicked Haman cast pur (lots) to determine how and when to destroy the Jews out of the land. (Esther 3:7)
• The Persians were extremely superstitious… and relied on fate… the god of chance.
• Interestingly, God’s name never appears in the book of Esther.
• Instead, God works behind the scenes… invisibly… overseeing all… turning chance on its head… and demonstrating Himself to be sovereign over chance…
• The pur was cast by Haman to determine evil against Israel.
• But what Haman did not realize was that when the lot is cast, the whole disposing thereof was of the LORD God of Israel!
c. The whole book of Esther is about incredible chances…
• by chance Esther became queen instead of Vashti…
• by chance he chose a Jewess!
• By chance the man who discovered the plot to kill the king happened to be the uncle of Esther…
• Esther took a CHANCE by walking into the royal throne uninvited…
• By chance there just happened to be some gallows made by Haman to be used to hang Haman!
d. The Book of Esther explains that the feast of Purim is a celebration of God’s miraculous deliverance of His people from Haman.
• What appeared to be an event of chance was, in reality, the sovereign intervention of God.
e. The world is not governed by time and chance, but by the Lord God who created, sustains, and governs the entire universe… including determining how a coin lands… and how the lot is cast.
7. God CONTROLLED the outcome of the casting of lots.
a. This was true in the many instances we saw in the Old Testament.
b. In fact, the Lord controlled the outcome of such lots even when cast out of superstition or in unbelief!
• The casting of lots was used by superstitious pagans to determine who was responsible for the storm at sea… and the lot fell on Jonah. (Jonah 1:7)
• The casting of lots was used by Saul to determine who was guilty of violating Saul’s order not to eat… and Jonathan (the guilty party) was revealed through the lot. (I Sam. 14)
• Lots were cast by the unbelieving soldiers for the garments of Christ… and the disposing of that was controlled by the Lord. (John 19:24)
• God is sovereign over the outcome of the casting of lots whether they are cast by the High Priest, by David, or unbelieving pagans!
8. There were some other unusual ways in which God revealed His will in the Old Testament.
a. Urim and Thummim
b. Ephod
c. Dreams; visions;
d. Fleece – a miracle was required for this one.
e. Circumstances: such as when Abraham’s servant, sent out to find a wife for Isaac, said, “which ever woman says, “Drink and I will give thy camels drink also” will be the one! And that’s how God led him to Rebekah!
Conclusion:
1. Should the believer today cast lots to determine the will of God?
a. Is that the message of this passage?
b. Should we flip a coin to determine who teaches the Sunday school class?
c. Should we roll the dice to select a new pastor?
d. Should we draw straws to determine which job to take?
e. Should we put out a fleece to see if we should opt for surgery?
f. I am convinced that MANY believers today put out fleeces of all stripes in determining God’s will.
g. I know that there is a lot of superstition used in it too.
2. Is there ever a time when we should use such a practice? I think the answer is YES.
a. Prov. 18:18 – It might be used not to determine God’s will, but perhaps to end a debate on a matter of no spiritual consequence.
b. Who goes for the donuts…
c. Or choosing a winner in a VBS contest when there was a tie…
d. It is FAIR because it takes the outcome OUT OF our control… and thus removes all bias. It ends the debate.
e. But it should NOT be used to determine God’s will in serious matters of service, morality, or other important issues.
3. Fleeces and casting of lots were used all throughout the Old Testament.
a. The casting of lots was used—even in the New Testament, to who would replace Judas among the apostles… and the lot fell on Mathias. (Acts 1:26)
b. And notice that Acts 1 is the very last occurrence of the practice in the New Testament.
c. It is as if God had them use the lot here in determining His will and recorded in the very last verse before the church age begins…
d. In the next verse (Acts 2:1…) we have the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell believers… to lead believers…
e. And there is not one more mention of lots after this.
f. I don’t think that is an accident… it was not mere CHANCE that put verse 1:26 immediately before 2:1!
g. This was God’s sovereign and providential choice.
h. Today, we have the completed canon of Scripture.
i. We are looking at “principles to guide us in the age of grace” in Sunday school.
j. And we are all indwelt by deity.
k. Today, we have something much better than casting lots, drawing straws, or rolling dice.
l. Today, sons of God are recognized by the fact that they are led by the Spirit… not by straws, dice, or lots.
m. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” (Rom. 8:14)
4. And as believers, things that others might consider mere chance, we should see as the Lord working behind the scenes… He is LORD of all… sovereign over every tiny event… and should be praised as such.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 17
Proverbs 17:1
Peace is Better than Strife
Introduction:
1. This is yet another “better than” proverb.
2. Just in chapter 16 we saw several: 16:8, 16, 19, 32.
3. Here Solomon speaks of the fact that peace is better than strife… which seems quite obvious… but sometimes obtaining peace requires a trade off.
1a Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith
1. In life there are many trade offs.
a. You may want to join a basketball team, but since they practice on Wednesday nights, so you would have to give up prayer meeting. You have to choose: which is better?
b. You want to take that job promotion with more pay, but it means working in the plant 15 miles further down the highway. You have to choose: which is better? (trade off: miles and time for money)
c. Sometimes it is a difficult choice to decide which is better.
d. Proverbs gives us quite a few trade offs and he TELLS us which one is better.
e. Solomon speaks of a trade off in this verse. The issues considered are peace vs. strife and poverty vs. prosperity—and the trade off that may be required.
2. Quietness Defined:
a. Strong’s: ease; quiet; relief; i.e., a state or condition of satisfaction in one’s circumstances in life.
b. Zodhiates: It depicts a state and attitude of peacefulness and enjoyment between friends or family; tranquility.
3. Solomon is relating this peace and tranquility to the HOME.
a. There OUGHT to be peace at home… rest for weary souls.
b. Home ought to be an oasis from all the troubles and trials of everyday life.
c. The husband should genuinely LOVE his wife… willing to sacrifice himself for her.
d. The wife should love her husband and submit—no arguments about it.
e. The children should obey their parents in all things and bring joy and delight into the home.
f. That’s the way a Christian home OUGHT to be. Unfortunately, our homes aren’t always what they ought to be… and strife and fighting often disturb the peace and joy of home life.
g. The IDEAL home is where quietness reigns… peace rules… because Christ is LORD. We should strive for that ideal.
h. Psa. 128:1-4 – a picture of a happy home… where peace rules. Idyllic!
4. There is another IDEAL situation hinted at in this proverb.
a. A home where there is a FEAST to be enjoyed every day.
b. A house full of sacrifices = the feast that accompanies many sacrifices offered to the Lord.
• Some portions of the sacrifices were taken home and the meat was eaten…
• If the home was prosperous and many sacrifices offered, then there would be FULL of sacrifices and there would be a feast.
• It speaks of a household that is well off financially.
c. That’s the ideal: A happy, peaceful home that also prospers and feasts sumptuously and prospers physically.
d. Who wouldn’t want that?
e. All things being equal, nobody in their right mind would opt for poverty over prosperity!
• Just like no one would choose to be sick over being healthy!
• Or no one would choose to be persecuted over living peacefully in the land.
• No one would choose to have an accident… or a fire… or a flood… or to be the victim of a robbery.
• No one would choose war over peace.
• God does use adverse circumstances in our lives for good. Sometimes God knows that it is just what we needed.
• But no sane person would OPT for those tragic circumstances.
• If God sends them, then praise the Lord. He means it for good.
• There is no intrinsic value to suffering just for the sake of suffering.
• Its only value lies in God’s design and purpose behind it. Otherwise, we should all cut off our limbs and try to come in contact with those nasty viruses out there.
f. The ideal is to be happy, peaceful, and prosperous.
• In fact, we are told to pray for that! (I Tim. 2:1-2)
• John’s prayer was that they would be in good health and prosper. (III John 2) Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health.
• The ideal would be that we could all be healthy, wealthy, and wise and live happily ever after.
5. But as we are all aware, we don’t live in an ideal world.
a. We live in a sin cursed world.
b. Sometimes God allows trials and tragedies to strike… and He means it for our good.
c. God uses calamities (evil things) for His good purpose.
d. We all want to be healthy, but sometimes sickness sets in.
e. We all want to have enough money to pay our bills and live comfortably, but sometimes financial problems set in.
f. We all want to experience peace in our homes, but sometimes strife sets in.
g. And sometimes those various factions interact with each other: health, finances, tragedies can put additional stress on an individual or a family…
h. And that can result in the peace being replaced by strife.
i. So sometimes we face situations where we have to make a choice between competing factors… where it becomes evident that it is an either/or situation.
j. We have to make a trade off of one thing for another.
k. This is precisely the situation Solomon describes in this proverb.
6. BETTER:
a. Better: An adjective meaning good, well-pleasing, fruitful, morally correct, proper, convenient.
b. This is a comparative term… one thing is better than another.
c. Eating a poor man’s meal (a dry morsel) with peace is BETTER than the alternate: a rich man’s feast (leftovers from the many sacrifices he could afford) with strife.
d. Note also, that this is not the BEST.
• The best here would be to have the good meal AND peace.
• The best would be to live in an ideal world.
• The best would be for the family to be spiritually-minded, healthy, prosperous, and peaceful… continually praising God. (Sort of like heaven!) That’s the ideal… the best.
• Unfortunately, the best is usually not available in this life.
e. But given only the two possibilities mentioned in this proverb, one is clearly BETTER than the other.
f. It is BETTER to have a dry morsel with quietness.
g. Prov. 15:16 – better is a little with the fear of the Lord…
h. Prov. 15:17 – better is a dinner of herbs with love…
7. The alternative: a house full of sacrifices with strife.
a. Again, the house full of sacrifices is a way of describing a well to do household financially.
b. There are a lot of wealthy households in our county… but they are not all happy homes.
c. Often WITH great wealth and prosperity comes STRIFE.
d. The wealthy fight with their relatives over inheritances…
e. They live in a high-pressure environment… many things to worry about… which often causes stress and strife.
f. II Tim. 6:9-10 – Making the pursuit of wealth your goal in life usually leads to destruction and many sorrows.
g. If pursing wealth comes with a price tag of a life of strife, it’s not worth it!
This is not a healthy and happy alternative.
h. The meal of dry morsels is better!
i. Choosing the way of the feast (prosperity) might SEEM better, BUT there are often strings attached.
• It may be the way to prosperity, but not the way to peace and rest.
• There may be financial gain, but spiritual loss.
• The alternative isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be.
• Many a wealthy man living in the lap of luxury has looked at the poor man eating his dry morsel in a happy home with ENVY… wishing he could trade places.
8. Two applications:
a. When comparing YOUR situation to others. (To royalty!)
• When we compare our situation to others (say we don’t have much wealth)—it is easy to become discontent.
• We begin to look at their large estate, their fancy cars, and all the toys they have… and we might become jealous.
• We might begin to think that if we had all that, we would be happy!
• What we are unable to see is behind the doors of those homes. They are not always happy homes. Sometimes they are full of strife.
• When we compare our dry morsels to their sumptuous feasts… we are not seeing the whole picture.
• Solomon warns here that there is often a trade off for that prosperity.
• Sometimes, the trade off is quietness… tranquility in the home… restful hearts… peace…
• If you have to make that trade off in order to achieve the life of feasting, it’s not worth it.
• This proverb can be of great comfort to that believer who begins to look longingly and with a bit of jealousy at his wealthy neighbor.
• Solomon’s words of comfort: if you’ve got peace and quietness in your house—you have that which is BETTER!
• Don’t trade places for anything!
• Hopefully this will prevent us from making a foolish move… in trying to trade places.
b. When making a decision for YOUR situation.
• There are other situations where this same principle would be valuable: when facing an either/or situation where you have to make a CHOICE.
• No family wants to go without. No family wants to be in a place where they can’t afford to buy the things they need and pay the bills. And who doesn’t want to be able to go on vacation? (rent a cottage; play golf)
• But if maintaining a standard of living results in the need for working two jobs or more hours (etc.)… and that in turn results in stress and strife at home… the dry morsel is BETTER!
9. And if you stop and THINK about it, of course this is true!
a. STRIFE ruins a meal!
• Consider the Corinthians. The strife and divisions RUINED their meal… the Lord’s Table!
• Paul rebuked them for this.
• Strife ruins a meal in the home too.
b. Naturally we want our lives to be “comfortable.”
c. Too often we associate a comfortable life with having money.
d. But are you really more comfortable living in an environment of hatred, trouble, and strife? (Even if you have a million dollar Persian rug on the floor and a Van Gogh on the wall?
e. Wealth and festive foods might SEEM to provide comfort… but the comfort is RUINED with hatred and strife.
f. If you REALLY want to have a comfortable life… then put relationships above all these other “things.”
g. Learn to get along with one another… love one another… cease from strife…
h. If maintaining your lifestyle results in stress and strife… then living in a little shack on Walden Pond would be preferable… simplify!
i. Psalm 133:1 – how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
• If raising one’s standard of living destroys that… it’s not worth it.
• If working two jobs… or having mom and dad work two jobs destroys the quietness and peace in the home… then it’s not worth it.
• We don’t live in an ideal world and don’t always have the luxury of always choosing that which is best or ideal.
• In the real world we often have to make difficult choices… and those choices often come with strings attached… and require trade offs.
• Solomon gives his inspired advice here on one particular KIND of choice.
• A dry morsel, and quietness therewith, is BETTER than an house full of sacrifices with strife.
Proverbs 17:2
A Servant and a Son
The Position of a Servant and a Son
1. Solomon seems to be speaking of a family of means here.
a. He mentions an inheritance to be left behind…
b. The man has servants…
c. At some point, all wealthy men must leave their wealth behind to somebody…
d. Normally that somebody is the son—the firstborn son usually received a double portion of the inheritance.
e. Along WITH the inheritance of property came an inheritance of position and power.
f. That too was usually given to the firstborn… that was the son in line to receive more of the property and more of the power to rule… as a patriarch… head of the tribe or clan.
2. Under normal circumstances, it is better to be the SON of a wealthy man than his servant.
a. A servant might have a pretty good job or position.
b. A wealthy man might treat his servants well and even leave them a pittance from the inheritance if the servant was well pleasing to his master.
c. But the wealthy man’s sons are in a special position.
d. The father wants to make sure that his sons receive a good education… good upbringing… proper training in the life… A father wants the best for his sons.
e. The sons receive virtually ALL of his inheritance.
f. Naturally a father is going to want to take care of his sons when he dies… and leave his wealth to them. That is pretty normal and natural behavior.
g. All things being equal, it is better to be a son than a servant… in every way!
h. We don’t get to choose in life whose son we will be… but if we COULD choose… almost everyone would rather be the SON of a wealthy man than one of his servants.
3. One might picture this proverb coming alive in a quiet room of the family mansion… filled with family members after the patriarch has died.
a. The family lawyer is there to read the will before them all…
b. The perspective beneficiaries are all hushed as the will is read… wondering how much money dear old dad actually had… how much his stocks were worth… to find out what he was leaving and to whom…
c. All the sons are sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to hear how rich they will be… what portion of the estate would be theirs… who gets the chalet in the Swiss Alps… who gets the waterfront property on Cape Cod… who gets the family mansion… who gets all the artwork…
d. And perhaps the faithful family servant is there too… filling up their glasses with ice water… and running to get fresh supplies of Kleenex…
e. In such a setting, under normal circumstances it is much better to be the son than a servant.
When the Son Causes Shame
1. But Solomon is speaking about an ABNORMAL situation here.
a. Normally a father is happy to be able to leave behind an inheritance to his son.
b. However, not all sons are the same.
c. Some sons cause shame! Some sons disgrace the family name. Some sons are a perpetual headache and heartache to their parents.
2. Shame defined:
a. Means: ashamed; disappointed; cause disgrace; humiliation; painful feeling and emotional distress (sometimes to the point of despair), by having done something wrong.
b. This speaks of a son who has evidently many times over caused his father embarrassment… shame… disgrace… hurt… humiliation…
c. Every son embarrasses his parents at one point or another along the way. But most sons eventually grow up and apologize to their parents… and make up.
d. But Solomon seems to be speaking of a repeat offender… a son whose whole life was characterized by shameful behavior…
e. Perhaps a son who never grew up… a son who took advantage of his parent’s kindness… a son who was completely selfish… did whatever he felt like doing… and could not have cared less about how it affected his parents.
f. Prov. 10:5 – a lazy son who refuses to work causes shame.
g. Prov. 19:26 – he robs from his parents… perhaps to support an immoral lifestyle… (drug addicts do that all the time!)
h. There are many other ways a son might bring shame to his family.
• A son who robs a bank, gets arrested, and has his picture splashed on the front page of the newspaper.
• A son who wastes the talents and brains God gave him… and who chooses to hang out with trouble makers instead of going to college…
• A son who chooses an immoral lifestyle…
• A son who chooses a life of crime…
• There are LOTS of sons who bring shame to their families.
• The next time you watch the six o’clock news… and see all the mug shots of criminals—remember that every one of those young men have parents… parents who are heartbroken over the way their son turned out.
3. The son that causes shame (for whatever foolish reason) might find that the family servant fares better after dear old dad is gone.
a. Some sons are foolish. Some servants are wise.
b. Even though the wording is a little different here, this is really one of those “better than” proverbs.
c. It is better to be a wise servant than a foolish son.”
d. In spite of all the advantages the son has over the servant… educational… physical… training… social… sometimes the servant does better in life.
e. Sometimes the servant… the one NOT born with the silver spoon in his mouth rises above his circumstances… and the underprivileged servant rises above the privileged son…
f. Sometimes a child born in a ghetto with seemingly everything working AGAINST him… do better in life than a son of privilege: a Kennedy… a Rockefeller…
4. The son that causes shame (because he is an alcoholic; drug addict; a gambler; lazy slug who does nothing but leech off his father)… may find himself surprised and disappointed when the family lawyer reads the will of dear old dad.
a. A father knows if his son is a fool… druggy… boozer… lazy…
b. A wise father doesn’t want to leave his hard earned money to a fool. (Ecc. 2:17-19)
c. If his son is a fool… a real loser… the father knows that within a year or so all his hard earned money will have been blown to the wind if his lazy good for nothing son gets it.
d. Some wealthy men have chosen instead to leave their fortunes to some surprising beneficiaries… the butler… the auto mechanic… even total strangers!
e. The wealthy father may take his foolish son OUT of the inheritance and divide up his wealth among his other sons… and include his wise servant in the place of his foolish son… to receive a portion of the inheritance. (“to have part of the inheritance among the sons.”)
f. That servant finds himself in the place of a son… ruling OVER the foolish son who lost out…
g. Prov. 11:29 – the foolish son troubles his own family… and inherits nothing. That foolish son will find himself SERVANT to one who has a wise heart… even if that wise man used to be his household servant!
h. God has a funny way of turning the tables in life!
5. This occurs in many walks of life.
a. Prov. 14:35 – kings do this… they show favor to a wise servant… and give nothing but anger to those who cause shame… even if they are much superior to the servant.
b. Some servants (stewards) were given important positions of responsibility.
c. Consider the position of Joseph as the steward of Potiphar’s house. (Gen. 39:1-6)
• Joseph was put in authority over ALL that Potiphar possessed… everything!
• One has to wonder what kind of authority Potiphar’s sons had… and if Joseph in fact ruled over them!
• A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame.
6. We might glean from this some principles that apply in many other areas:
a. Wisdom exalts; folly and shameful behavior degrades and brings low… regardless of one’s privileged position.
b. In the local church, one’s position or gift is no guarantee of rewards in glory. A wise and faithful floor sweeper will in many cases receive MORE rewards than a pastor or missionary… if their behavior brought shame to the name of Christ.
c. Just as that hushed room where the family lawyer reads the will of dear old dad… there could be some surprises… too at the Bema seat… there could be some surprises.
d. God exalts wisdom and faithfulness… He exalts the lowly and humbles the proud.
Proverbs 17:3
Tried Hearts
3a The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold:
A. Silver and gold
1. These were precious metals mined from the earth.
2. When found in their natural state, they were often riddled with impurities…
3. Pieces of raw earth would cling to the metal… other worthless metals and rock would be mingled into a vein of gold or silver in the earth.
4. Hence, when these precious metals were taken from the earth they were impure and needed to be cleansed and purified…
5. There were two processes for cleansing metals (and both are used as metaphors in cleansing and purifying people too)
a. Water – used to wash away sand and gravel from the chunks of metal mined from the earth.
b. Fire – used to burn and melt the metals to purify them.
6. Once refined, they were good to be made into coins or expensive jewelry.
7. When purified, the metals were much more valuable and useful. (pure gold!)
8. Gold was used often in ancient times… and was quite abundant, yet still prized and given great value.
9. One man noted that there are 13 words for gold in the Bible.
B. The Fining pot
1. A crucible, a refining pot.
2. It indicates a metal pot in which the impurities of precious metals were separated out
3. The fining pot was used for gold and silver and for the process of refining metals before they were worked into fine vessels (Prov. 25:4).
4. Mal. 3:3 – a fining pot was used to REFINE and purify silver or gold. (going from the figurative to the literal…)
5. Used only in: Prov. 17:3; 27:21.
C. The Furnace
1. Smelting furnace for metals; a kiln; an oven.
2. The furnace was a construction that was able to attain to extremely high temperatures to melt metals and remove the dross-impurities.
3. The furnace was source of the heat on which the fining pot was placed.
4. Through this process, the metal mined from the earth is melted in the fire… and the dross removed.
a. It might appear that the gold would be destroyed in the fire, but in fact, the gold is purified by the flames and only the dross is removed…
b. The ore mined from the earth is both proved and improved.
• Proven to be true gold or silver by the results… (fools gold and other shiny particles would not stand up to such a test…)
• Improved in quality—refined and purified.
c. Apart from the furnace, the dross would remain permanently in the metals.
• The purpose of the smelting is to REMOVE the pieces of raw earth that attach to the metal.
• Until the metals go through the fire, they are unfit for service… to be used various ways.
d. The refiner knows exactly how much heat to apply so as to purify and not to cause the metal to boil over and lose it.
• The refiner knows how valuable the gold is. He is extremely careful not to lose one ounce of gold in the process.
• Some sources tell us that the refiner allows the silver to be refined until he can see his image reflected in the pot. Then he knows it’s pure…
3b But the LORD trieth the hearts.
THE ANALOGY:
A. The heart of man is likened to silver and gold—precious metals.
1. The heart of a child of God is valuable to God.
a. The refiner knows the value of the precious metals once refined.
b. He goes through a lot of effort to bring about that refinement.
c. God knows the value of the child of God once refined too.
2. But it is also defiled… and earthly… and in need of purification.
a. Just as metals mined from the earth have earthly impurities attached to the metal itself, so too our hearts!
b. God seeks through trials and afflictions to separate from us those earthly attachments.
c. The Lord tries the HEART…
d. Psa. 139:23-24 – Since we KNOW this, we should pray like the psalmist… (Search me O God!)
e. Psa. 26:2 – the psalmist ASKS God to test his heart… to refine it… and purify it.
• Try: verb meaning to refine, to test. This word describes the purifying process of a refiner, who heats metal, takes away the dross, and is left with a pure substance.
• The psalmist prays that God would undertake this process in his heart… knowing the heat that it would require.
• This is the acknowledgement of a godly man that his heart IS defiled and that it NEEDS to be purified.
• If we’re honest, we’ll ALL admit this…
• If we’re courageous and really want to be used of the Lord, we will pray this prayer.
f. Like silver and gold mined from the earth… we too retain way too much earthliness… and need to have it removed… though the removal process is painful.
g. Isa. 48:10 – God uses a furnace to purify our hearts, but He doesn’t use a literal furnace. He uses the furnace of affliction. God uses affliction for our good.
3. And, once cleansed and purified, it is useful in God’s service.
a. Isa. 1:25-26 – God seeks to remove the dross from the lives of His people… and restore them to a place of useful service.
b. As defiled metal is not useful, a defiled city or a defiled human heart is not useful in the service of the Lord.
c. Such defilement requires the process of refining to BRING it to the place of usefulness.
d. Job 23:10 – when He hath tried me I shall come forth as gold (meaning purified gold).
e. Gold comes forth from the refiner’s fires shiny and fit for use… as we come forth to shine forth His glory in our lives.
f. God chastens us for our good… that we might partake of His holiness in ways we did not previously. (Heb. 12:10)
g. Chastening isn’t necessarily punishment. It is child training… a process we ALL need to undergo.
B. God is likened to the fining pot and furnace.
1. Jer. 17:10 – God is the searcher of the heart… and refiner of men.
2. Rev. 1:14 – His eyes are a flame of fire!
a. He alone is responsible for putting the heart of man in the refining pot…
b. God is the Source of the heat (furnace).
c. God is also the Refiner… the One doing the work of refining… and putting everything into place so that the process will work.
3. Psa. 66:8-12 – God brings us into the furnace, but He also brings us out… refined… purified… better than ever!
4. God is the Refiner who allows us to be melted by the heat until He sees His image reflected in us! That’s the goal of trials and afflictions—to make us like Christ.
5. God knows the hearts of men and knows exactly what we need. (I Kings 8:39)
6. Men might be able to purify metals, but only the Lord can purify the heart and remove dross from the heart. This is HIS work in us… for us… to us… and IN us.
7. And since it is GOD who works in us… we can place our confidence in His goodness and wisdom…
8. Dan. 3:19-26 – a good application for us: in the trials of affliction, He walks in the furnace WITH us.
9. He will never leave us nor forsake us… not even in the furnace of affliction.
D. The purpose: Refinement and Usefulness
1. Pieces of raw earth cling to the gold ore—and smelting removes that which defiles and depreciates the value and usefulness of the metal.
2. This is likened to the things of earth which cling to us and must be removed… till the things of earth grow strangely dim…
3. And when the metals are purified and the dross removed, that metal is then useful and can be formed into whatever purpose the refiner has for it. When we are purified we too are fit for service to God.
4. Jas. 1:2-3 – trials bring us to perfection… maturity… Christlikeness…
5. Trials and afflictions are for us what the furnace and fining pot are to precious metals: painful but necessary processes of refinement and purification.
6. I Pet. 1:6-7 – when our faith is tested and tried, it may bring heaviness in the here and now… but ultimately, it will bring praise and honor at the Bema Seat of Christ.
Proverbs 17:4
What Evil Doers and Liars Listen To
4a A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips;
1. Wicked doer:
a. Bad; evil; injurious; mischievous; harmful (translated by 13 different English words!)
b. One who is morally corrupt in his behavior.
2. False lips:
a. Trouble of iniquity, wickedness
b. Morally evil and corrupt
c. False, as an idol or false words
d. False lips: refers to speech that is evil, immoral, or untrue
3. Giveth heed:
a. To hear; be attentive; heed; hearken; pay attention; listen.
b. Accept information as true and respond to it.
c. The person who DOES evil things pays attention to the person who SAYS evil things.
d. They are on the same wavelength.
e. One whose heart is wicked will naturally be INCLINED to listen to one who speaks evil… corruption.
f. There is a natural camaraderie.
4. The wicked doer is an expression that describes the kind of corruption or immorality that a person DOES… his PRACTICE.
a. His practice is affected by what he listens to…
b. If he LISTENS to that which is morally evil and corrupt… it will affect his practice… his deeds…
c. That in time affects his lifestyle.
d. Who and what a person listens to… will show in his life over time.
e. Giving heed to evil communication affects one’s behavior.
f. The wicked person LISTENS to that which is in harmony with his character… wicked men LOVE to listen to wicked things.
g. That strengthens his wicked character…
h. He practices corruption and likes to HEAR that others do too.
5. I Cor. 15:33 – it has a corrupting effect…
a. Communication: to converse; talk. Originally the word meant being together in company, companionship.
b. Manner = (ethos) custom, morals, character. This is the word from which the English word ethics is derived.
c. The person with whom one associates… communicates with… talks with… listens to… affects one’s manners.
d. The effect of evil communication = corruption; destruction
e. Good communication does the opposite. Good communication and fellowship doesn’t destroy; it builds up.
f. That’s why Christian fellowship is so important!
6. Wicked doers (those who practice wickedness) are those who listen to corrupt and immoral and false speech.
a. They listen to corrupt speech with delight and great pleasure!
• Such speech supports them in their evil doings…
• They FEED upon such speech…
• It motivates them… encourages them…
• They get new ideas from such speech…
• They feel justified by such speech…
• Without hearing such things from other wicked men, they might be AFRAID to practice their wickedness.
• Without the support they get from such speech they might be too cowardly to act alone…
• They NEED this speech to live the way they do.
b. Wicked doers LISTEN to wicked speech.
• So if you want DON’T want to be a wicked doer, then don’t LISTEN to the false lips!
• Refuse to listen… turn your ears away from those who use corrupt and immoral speech… and promote ungodly ideas.
• It will be GOOD for your behavior.
4b And a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.
1. Liar:
a. The liar is compared to the “wicked doer”.
b. Lie; deception; falsehood; fraud; mislead.
c. Deut. 19:18 – the “false witness.”
d. Jer. 5:31 – used of “false” prophets.
e. Prov. 6:17, 19 – this is something God especially hates. A lying tongue and a false (lying) witness.
2. Giveth ear:
a. To lend an ear; to give an ear; to listen; to hear.
b. This word is almost always found in poetic texts of the Old Testament and is often found in songs.
c. The Song of Moses begins with an exhortation for the heavens to lend its ear (Deut. 32:1).
d. Jeremiah asked for the people of Israel to listen to his prophecy (Jer. 13:15).
e. God’s people often asked the Lord to listen to their prayers.
3. Naughty tongue:
a. evil desire, wicked craving,
b. evil desires that lead to destruction (a destructive tongue)
c. Ps. 52:2 – their tongue deviseth mischief (destruction)
d. Ps. 38:12 – the destruction that comes from an evil tongue… evil speech.
e. This destructive tongue destroys friendships, families, reputations, peace, and anything else in its pathway.
f. The tongue is spoken of in a poetic way of causing destruction… like a sword or a knife that pierces.
g. Such is the nature and power of the tongue…
4. The LIAR listens to destructive speech so that he might get some new information to lie about… to gossip about…
a. Prov. 16:28 – what people say and listen to can be exceedingly destructive.
b. Prov. 13:5 – righteous men ought to HATE lying. We ought to be aware of the destruction that it creates.
c. We ought to rejoice in the truth…
Both Cases Are the Same: one who does evil and speaks evil…
1. Evildoers and evil liars BOTH LISTEN to corrupt speech.
2. Sinners strengthen one another… they encourage one another…
3. They seek out those that are like themselves.
a. Birds of a feather flock together…
b. Like begets like…
c. It takes one to know one…
4. Wicked men feed off each other.
a. Evil speech encourages evil action.
b. Evil action encourages more evil speech.
c. They are not content with the evil in their own minds and hearts… they seek out others to STIMULATE these thoughts and behaviors.
d. II Sam 13 – two evil men fed off each other.
• Vs.1-2 – Amnon wanted to go in unto this woman, but was afraid to do so. He had the desire… but not the courage.
• Vs. 3 – but he had a friend… a subtle, evil friend.
• Vs. 4-5 – the evil friend communicated an evil plan…
• Amnon LISTENED to the plan and carried it out.
• He forced his sister… and now he was a rapist.
• These two men encouraged one another in evil.
• Men who want to DO wicked things LISTEN to wicked men with evil plans.
• Evil communication CORRUPTS good behavior.
• Alone, Amnon had evil thoughts, but DID nothing.
e. By LISTENING to the lies, wickedness, and gossip, we share responsibility with the one speaking the lies.
f. We may not be able to STOP other men from speaking evil… but we certainly should not give them OPPORTUNITY to speak evil by listening.
g. Don’t support evil communication by lending it an ear!
h. If nobody lends the gossiper or the liar an ear, they won’t be able to gossip or lie!
5. Communication and fellowship are extremely powerful.
a. Crooks and liars are comfortable around others who are just like them.
b. They are attracted to those who share their lack of values.
c. Consider how Ahab listened to Jezebel… and where that led.
d. II Tim. 4:3-4 – men have ears for what they WANT to hear. Men who do not want the truth turn their ears away from it… and towards fables!
e. It matters what we listen to.
f. What a great application to MUSIC… what are you listening to? It affects behavior.
g. Apply this to the Internet: what are you bending your ear towards on the internet? What about your kids? Do you know who they are “hearing”?
6. GOOD communication and fellowship are powerful too!
a. If crooks and liars seek the fellowship of one another… we as Christians should too!
b. If immoral people feed on one another… and encourage one another in their immorality, then certainly moral people ought to do the same!
c. What WE listen to will have an effect on our behavior too.
d. Jas. 1:21-22 – be hearers and doers of the Word… and fellowship with others who do the same.
Proverbs 17:5
Mocking and Gloating
5a Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker
A. Mocking the Poor
1. Mocking: to mock; deride; ridicule; scoff; speak words which disparage another.
a. This term was used of men laughing at the servants of God: Job (Job 21:3 – mock on); Jeremiah (Jer. 20:7 – everyone mocketh me); Asaph (Ps 80:6 – our enemies laugh among themselves); Nehemiah (Neh. 2:19 – they laughed us to scorn…)
2. Mocking the poor an expression of arrogance, pride, self-righteousness, and extreme cruelty.
a. It is judging a person on the basis of his wealth or lack thereof.
b. We are not to be respecter of persons. (Jas. 2:1-4)
c. But this is a step beyond that. It’s bad enough to treat them as inferiors. It is far worse to mock them—taunt them—to make fun of them… laughing at their misfortune.
d. Some people are poor because of their own folly. (lazy; drunks; covetous and buy everything they can.)
e. But MOST poor people around the world are poor because of factors beyond their control: what continent they (in God’s providence) were born on; war; famine; corrupt dictators; injuries (blind; crippled; etc.)…
f. Seeing the plight of the poor ought to evoke sympathy and compassion. When it evokes laughter or mocking… it does so because of an especially depraved, cruel, and evil heart.
3. Oppressing the poor – (Prov. 14:31)
a. Here Solomon speaks of another cruel treatment of the poor: oppression.
b. Oppression: violate; defraud; get deceitfully; extort’ exploit.
c. This term speaks of those who take advantage of the poor.
d. It was used in the sense of abuse of power… taking advantage of those who are unable to defend themselves.
e. The wealthy benefit greatly from the labor of the poor… take advantage of them… and God hates oppression.
f. The poor and the weak have always been mistreated throughout history.
g. Prov. 14:20 – the poor is hated even of his own neighbor.
→ dislike, to be hostile to, or to loathe someone or something.
h. Power goes to a person’s head and corrupts. It’s human nature.
i. Wealthy people in positions of power think of themselves as superior… that’s human nature.
j. And they use that power to oppress the poor and the weak… to their own advantage. That’s human nature too!
B. Reproaches His Maker
1. Notice in BOTH passages, Solomon says the result is the same: they are actually reproaching their Maker.
→ To mock the creature is to mock their Creator.
→ The Creator is Sovereign over all the earthly position of every one of His creatures.
2. Reproach Defined: to taunt; blaspheme; defy; rail; upbraid; treat with contempt; insult; defame; cast blame upon.
a. Prov. 14:31 – reproach is seen here as the antithesis of honor (dishonor).
b. The one who oppresses the poor INSULTS the Maker… God, our Creator…
c. God is the One who “maketh” the poor! (I Sam. 2:7-8)
d. The one who mocks the poor INSULTS the Maker. Same effect.
3. As Creator, God is SENSITIVE to how we treat other people…
a. All men are made in the IMAGE of God… rich and poor.
b. Treating those made in God’s image in a demeaning manner is in a sense treating GOD in a demeaning manner…
c. All sin is against God ultimately… and perhaps especially this sin.
d. Prov. 19:17 – Solomon also notes (on the other hand) that those who LEND to the poor do so to God in a sense too.
→ “Lends” … to mean to lend… to help someone out.
→ The point is that in the Theocracy of Israel one who helps his poor Jewish brother is lending to God… serving God.
→ In the Christian dispensation helping the poor doesn’t have the same meaning… (it becomes mere humanism)… unless there is a Christian testimony attached.
e. In Israel, God was close to His people; treating them well was a service to God. Mistreating them was an insult to God.
f. In the church, God is close to the Body too. (Acts 9:4) Persecuting the church was persecuting Christ Himself. It was His body!
g. In the tribulation period the same will be true. (Matt. 25:35-40) The way one treats the persecuted Jews in the Tribulation period is in a sense doing so to Christ. They are His servants!
4. In any age, the way one treats God’s people is an expression of one’s attitude towards the Lord Himself!
5. And even if they are NOT God’s people (not believers)… they are God’s creatures… created in His image. God is their Maker and mocking them is an insult to their Maker.
→ Every human being has been created in God’s image and is to be valued as such.
→ Anyone made in the image of God deserves respect… not oppression or mockery!
→ God observes the way we treat others.
5b He that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
A. Glad At Calamities
1. Calamity defined:
a. Distress; burden; calamity; destruction; disaster.
b. It speaks of misfortune of all types.
2. This is in a sense a parallel to the expression in the first part of the proverb: poverty… as a calamity that befalls a person.
a. Oftentimes a calamity or tragedy left a person in poverty.
b. No social security system—widows were sometimes left destitute.
c. No insurance—a storm or flood could leave a whole community in poverty.
d. Not much medical knowledge—a disease could leave a family or a community in poverty.
e. War often left the defeated nation in poverty.
f. Of course the term calamity is much broader than “poverty”. It would include all kinds of other disasters and troubles.
3. GLAD defined:
a. Joyful, merry, glad.
b. Happiness or contentment, with a possible focus of making an outward expression of that joy.
c. The term is usually used in a good context… but here it speaks of a perverted or twisted kind of joy and gladness.
d. To actually take delight in someone’s misery and misfortune is especially cruel and ungodly.
e. Unfortunately, this too is part of fallen human nature.
f. Slapstick comedy is built around this aspect of human nature. (The pie in the face; the person slipping on the banana peel and dropping all their bundles… it makes us laugh.)
g. That’s fine when it is a joke or comedy routine… or even if it did not cause real injury.
h. But in REAL life… when the misfortune causes real pain and suffering, it is NOT a laughing matter.
i. That’s what Solomon is getting at here. (Not the innocent chuckle over something minor)… but the real thing.
4. Ps. 18:18 – Men may mock us and be glad at our misfortune, but the Lord is our stay in the day of calamity.
5. Prov. 24:17 – we are told specifically NOT to be glad over the misfortunes of others.
a. To do so is more than just poor manners. It’s sin.
b. And sin does not go unnoticed by God.
c. And MAYBE that wrath will fall on you! (Hence, the next part of the proverb.)
B. Shall Not Be Unpunished
1. Unpunished: innocent; clean; free of guilt or punishment; acquit.
2. Obad. 1:12-13 – Edom gloated over Israel’s destruction.
a. This is what the book of Obadiah is about!
b. Edom rejoiced over Israel’s calamity.
c. Edom did so because of pride. They felt they were secure forever! (vs.3-4)
d. Vs. 15 – therefore Edom will receive the same!
3. INSTEAD of oppressing the poor… mocking them… and gloating over them:
a. Prov. 29:7 – the righteous consider their cause. (Their cause could be YOUR cause tomorrow!)
b. Prov. 22:9 – be bountiful to them… and God will be discovered to be bountiful to you!
c. Prov. 28:27 – give to the poor… that man shall not lack!
d. The example of David.
• Ps. 35:15-16 – his enemies lashed out at him in his day of adversity.
• Ps. 35:13-14 – David treated them as a friend and a brother. What a contrast!
• Ps. 18:18 – They prevented (confronted) me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay (support)
Proverbs 17:6
Children and Their Fathers
Introduction:
1. Here Solomon gives us another gem of wisdom.
2. This portion of the proverb basically says that old men usually glory in their grandchildren… and children usually glory in their fathers.
3. This is a simple and basic truth or fact of life.
4. Remember, these are proverbs… little nuggets. They do not cover every possible situation.
5. Here Solomon tells us how things OUGHT to be.
6. In the real world, it is not always the case, but this is to be the NORM.
6a Children’s children are the crown of old men;
A. Crown defined
1. Strong’s: a crown or wreath…
2. Dict. of Bib. Lang. = a precious metal adornment worn on the head often as a symbol of rulership or high status.
3. The term is most often used in a figurative sense, as it is here.
a. A literal crown was a symbol of honor and glory.
b. Hence, the term came to be a figure of speech describing anything a person might glory in or rejoice over… something someone is proud of… in a good sense.
c. Prov. 16:31 – the hoary head is likened to a crown of glory (something to glory in… rejoice over…)
d. Prov. 12:4 – a virtuous woman is a crown to her husband… someone he glories in and rejoices in.
4. Psalm 128:3-6 – it was considered a great honor to live long enough to see your children’s children.
a. This is especially so when your children’s children are still walking in the ways of the Lord.
b. III John 4 – no greater joy than to see one’s children walking in the truth.
c. This is doubly so when you see your children’s children STILL walking in the truth. What a delight!
5. The old men – patriarchs of their families delighted to see their grandchildren
a. They delighted to see them carry on the family name… the family reputation… to continue the tribe… the family business… to maintain the family farmland…
b. They especially rejoiced to see wisdom manifested in their children and grandchildren.
c. Ecc. 2:18-20 – Solomon thought it a cause for despair if you had no one to leave your life’s work to… and worse to leave it to a fool.
d. Thus wise children and wise grandchildren were especially delightful to old men… to grandpa! Something to glory in! A crown! It topped his long life with happiness and contentment.
e. Ps 127:3 – the fruit of the womb are a REWARD… this refers to ALL the fruit from the womb… children… grandchildren… and great-grandchildren!
f. These passages speak of one’s heritage… family… tribe… nation… etc.
6b And the glory of children are their fathers
B. GLORY defined:
a. Strong’s: beauty; splendor; glory; honour; boasting.
b. The state or quality of giving high attribution or status to someone.
c. The state or quality of being legitimately proud of a person or circumstance.
d. Prov. 20:29, “‘the glory’ of the young is their strength.”
e. It speaks of that which one honors and is proud of… glories in…
1. Children normally are proud of their fathers… they glory in their fathers.
a. They will certainly have days when they don’t get along, but over all, children normally delight in their fathers.
b. Fathers were to be honored by their children. That was one of the commandments.
c. It was expected… even commanded… but it should be natural affection.
2. Deut. 12:25, 28 – it was to the BENEFIT of a child to have a father who obeyed God’s law.
a. When dad obeyed the law, things would go well for dad, but also for his children after him!
b. Children benefit from a godly parent.
c. A child should rejoice to have such a father.
d. The godly lifestyle of the father should produce an atmosphere that puts his child in a distinct advantage over many other children… whose parents are not godly.
e. Thus, children benefit from it—for generations to come.
f. The opposite is true as well. Children bear the sins of their fathers up to the third and fourth generations. (some behaviors seem to be taught and passed down for generations—abuse; violence; alcohol; etc.)
g. Children should GLORY in having a father who loves the Lord.
3. Ex. 22:22 – It is an awful thing to grow up without a father.
a. Therefore, God took special care of the fatherless in the Old Testament.
b. In many passages we see God standing up for the fatherless in the Old Testament… and pronouncing judgment against those who hurt them or took advantage of them.
c. To be fatherless was considered an awful curse; to have a father was a delight… that was the norm.
d. Today, we have thousands of young boys and girls growing up without a father—for various reasons: parents are divorced; dad is in prison; drug or alcohol problems; death; etc.
e. Children WANT to glory in their fathers… in their parents.
f. As a church family, we should take under our wings young people who come to us who are fatherless. That is an expression of godliness. They are missing out on that which other children GLORY in: having a dad!
4. Normally, children delight in their fathers. It’s natural.
a. This should be the case not only for children to delight in their parents when they are young, but also when their parents are aging.
b. It is NOT good for a child to consider caring for an older parent to be a burden.
c. Parents should be loved and honored in their old age too.
5. In a sense, this passage speaks of a good kind of pride (glorying) that relates to our heritage.
a. The old men referred to a grandfather or other patriarch… an ancestor.
b. Children’s children often referred to descendants in general (not grandchildren in particular).
c. Hence, the passage speaks about a normal, natural sense of respect and delight one takes in his family, his tribe, his earthly heritage.
d. In our politically correct world today, we are almost afraid to mention that we have a heritage.
e. That thinking is foreign to the Bible.
f. It is something we should glory in.
g. In fact, our heritage and nationalism will be maintained during the glorious kingdom!
• All nations will be there… under Christ… regenerated… and exulting and glorying in their uniqueness…
• This is something God built into His creatures… the capacity to grow and develop a unique culture… all UNDER Christ.
h. The kingdom is not one monolithic, amalgamated culture… a one world blob of humanity.
i. In the Kingdom national identity and national cultures remain intact. Evidently the politically correct police will be put in jail…
j. In the Kingdom, instead of pretending that the nations of the world don’t have any cultural differences… instead of fighting over our differences, we will be appreciating and rejoicing in our differences and diversity… as we do today in the Body of Christ.
k. We will be glorying in our heritage… and praising God for His wisdom in making the whole world of mankind… with such great diversity.
The Unstated Assumption:
1. The assumption is that family members glory in their patriarchs and in their children when they are rightly related to God and each other.
a. When that is the case, and godliness rules, children are a crown to their fathers.
b. When that is not the case, children can be a crown of thorns to their fathers. (There are many such cases in the Bible: Rehoboam was no glory to Solomon; Manasseh was no glory to godly Hezekiah.)
2. Deut. 6:2 – God’s word is to be taught and passed down from generation to generation.
3. There is to be no generation gap between generations.
a. The various generations appreciate each other… that’s the way it OUGHT to be.
b. This is good for our country; in our homes; and in the church
c. The older generation—grandpa is to be revered and honored by the young ones. The youth can be a delight to grandpa too—relive his youth… make him feel young again…
d. We don’t follow the Biblical pattern for family very well in our country… and it is to our great loss.
Proverbs 17:7
Excellent Speech and Lying Lips
7a Excellent speech becometh not a fool
A. Excellent Speech Defined
1. Excellent:
a. This term is translated variously in the Old Testament.
• And so has this proverb.
• It has been translated “excessive speech,” “excellent speech,” “arrogant speech,” or “fine speech.”
• It makes a big difference in interpreting the proverb.
b. Basic definition: remainder; leftovers; the rest; excess; abundance; riches; overflow; exceeding.
c. In the vast majority of cases, (about 80 or so) it is translated “rest, remnant, or residue.” That is the basic meaning of the term.
d. It is translated “excellent” only once—here.
e. However, it is translated excellency twice in Gen. 49:3.
• You can see why… an overflow of dignity or power would be considered excellent. (Above and beyond the norm.)
• But the basic meaning of the term is excess; overflow; which is how it is translated in the approximately 80 other times it is used.
• But it also has the meaning of excellence. Hence, it could be translated either “excellent” or “abundance.”
• The context has to determine the usage—whether it means extra (too much) or in a good sense, abundance or excellence.
f. The make up of the Proverb decides this for us.
• In the second part of the proverb, Solomon points out how out of place lying is from a prince or ruler.
• Hence, the first part of the proverb ought to reflect that point.
• An overabundance of words (talking too much) is NOT out of place for a fool. That happens all the time with fools.
• But excellent speech IS out of place with a fool. It is something you don’t expect.
• Hence, that interpretation best fits the purpose of the proverb.
g. It is best in my opinion to stick with the good old KJV: “excellent speech”
• He is speaking about absurdities. (Cf. Prov. 26:1)
• Excellent speech coming out of the mouth of a fool.
• Lies coming out of the mouth of one put in a position of guarding and preserving the truth in the theocracy.
2. Speech:
a. Speech: lip
b. It is the very same term translated lip in the second part of the proverb.
c. It is the literal lip—but obviously used in a figurative sense as speech.
d. It stands for the conversation, the theme of conversations, the type of speech, that which is communicated verbally…
e. Excellent speech = eloquent speech; elevated conversations on noble themes; wisdom employed in speech.
B. Becometh Not a Fool
1. Becometh:
a. Defined: comely; seemly; fitting; appropriate; suitable; in its proper place.
b. Ps. 33:1 – praise is comely for the upright. (fitting)
c. Prov. 19:10 – certain things are not appropriate for a servant, like delight (luxury) or to rule over princes. That is out of place.
d. That is the sense of the term in Prov. 17:7.
e. Solomon is speaking about things that are not becoming… out of place… not appropriate… unexpected… unsuitable for the situation.
f. He is speaking about things that do NOT fit together. (round peg and a square hole)
2. Fools and excellent speech do not go together.
a. It is abnormal… an absurdity. (Proverbs 26:6) (They both limp!)
b. It is quite out of place for a fool to blurt out his folly at a business meeting when he knows nothing of the business world.
c. It is absurd for a fool to take the floor at a conference of scientists if he knows nothing of science.
d. It is absurd for a foolish person to attempt to make a speech on politics or philosophy if he knows nothing about politics or philosophy!
e. It is equally absurd for a fool to make a speech to correct the theologians if he knows nothing about theology.
f. All of this is absurd… out of place…
g. Excellent speech and fools don’t go together.
3. Fools do sometimes say things that are true or wise… but when they do, something is still not quite right.
a. They are not the right person to speak!
b. For example, David wrote that praise is comely for the upright.
c. But praise coming from those who are NOT upright… but are foolish (wicked fools)… their praise is NOT comely. It is hypocrisy.
d. God doesn’t accept excellent words of praise if it comes from a fool.
e. Solomon is sending out a warning to us here. Don’t be deceived by a fool who tries to speak with excellence. Something is not right with that picture.
f. It is far better for excellent speech—noble communication—wise words—to be communicated by a wise man… not a fool.
g. A fool—a man with no credibility—is not the best communicator for an excellent message.
• A man who is hooked on smoking is not the best spokesman for the nicotine patch. (they don’t go together)
• A man slurping down a bottle of Jack Daniels is not the best spokesman for Alcoholics Anonymous.
• These men might SAY excellent words… but the message loses a lot coming from that person…
• A business looking for a spokesman to represent their company will not choose a fool… they want someone whose life backs up the message they present.
h. Psalm 50:14-17.
• Vs. 14-15 – to the godly and the upright God encourages them to offer praise and to call upon Him and He will deliver them.
• Vs. 16-17 – but to the ungodly—the fools—God says, “What right do you have to declare my statutes (word) or to make claim on God’s covenants?”
• That is absurd… out of place… inappropriate.
i. As Christians, we too have an excellent message: the glorious gospel of the grace of God! (Phil. 1:27)
• But if our walk is more like the walk of a fool… then we are not the best spokesmen for Christ.
• What we say may be excellent speech… our words may be correct… but something is not right with that picture.
• It is an absurdity for a believer who is living in sin to speak forth the excellent message of deliverance from sin!
• That brother would do well to put his energy into dealing with sin in his own life before he makes speeches for Christ.
• Fools and excellent speech do not go together.
7b Much less do lying lips a prince.
A. Lying Lips Defined
1. Lying lips is in contrast to the excellent speech.
2. This presents another absurdity:
a. One in a lowly position (a fool) is out of place with excellent speech.
b. One in a high position (prince) is out of place lying.
c. Neither one is appropriate. Both are equally out of place.
B. Becometh Not a Prince
1. Prov. 16:12-13 – Kings are expected to be righteous and just.
2. II Sam. 23:3 – He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.”
3. Just as it is unbecoming for a fool to attempt excellent speech, it is unbecoming for a prince—one in a position of authority and power—to lie or deceive.
4. It happens all the time in modern politics… but it is inappropriate. That’s the point. It is out of place… inconsistent… not fitting…
5. Of course lying is not fitting for ANY man… but it is far more inappropriate for one who is in a position of trust for the common good.
6. The position a man holds carries with it a further obligation and responsibility.
a. When a man in a position of authority sins, it is marked as being far worse.
b. It is a shame when anyone commits adultery, but more so if it is a pastor or missionary.
c. It is a shame for anyone to deceive others, but more so if it is the president.
d. People look to the position and have expectations.
e. It is so very out of place for one in a position of authority to LIE or deceive.
f. It is FITTING or appropriate for one in a position of authority to speak the truth.
Proverbs 17:8
Bribes Work!
Introduction:
1. This proverb is helpful and instructive when properly applied.
2. However, it can also be dangerous because it can easily be abused.
3. It is wise for us to be reminded once again that we are in the book of PROVERBS… and proverbs are little nuggets of truth.
a. They are not essays.
b. They are not the final word on a subject.
c. They don’t discuss the truth from every angle.
d. Every one is different. Some are pregnant with meaning. Others make a simple statement.
e. They are all designed to make us THINK.
4. This proverb simply makes a statement: Bribes work!
8a A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it:
1. A “gift”
a. A gift; a present; a bribe.
b. Zodhiates: It refers to what is given in a situation to influence persons to act or think in a certain way they would not normally.
c. It was often given to pervert justice in the court system of Israel… and the USA… and every other nation.
d. The perversion of justice through bribes was a major downfall of Israel (1 Sam. 8:3).
e. Throughout Proverbs, the word for gift is used of a BRIBE.
f. Some might apply this passage to a husband giving flowers to his wife to win her heart… but that does not seem to be the way the term is used in Proverbs. It is a bribe… with an evil connotation. (Cf. vs.23)
g. Bribes were and are very much an accepted part of the way business is done in many parts of the world.
h. It is considered more or less like giving a tip to a waiter… only these “tips” or “gifts” are given to public servants: like tax collectors, customs officials, politicians… greasing the palms to get what you want!
2. A “precious stone”
a. Precious: favour; grace; charm; an act or object which gains a favorable response, because it is beautiful to see or hear.
b. Solomon is speaking about a precious stone (like a diamond) that “charms” all those who see it.
c. A stone like a diamond or other precious stone has the power of charm… the power to dazzle…
d. It therefore has the power to influence… and thus be used to manipulate and influence others.
3. “In the eyes of him that hath it.”
a. The first part of this proverb is looking at the issue of bribes from the perspective of the one MAKING the bribe.
b. He has MONEY… diamonds… wealth.
c. The main point of this part of the proverb is that many wealthy people see in their money, not just the power to purchase products… but the power to purchase INFLUENCE… to purchase people… and manipulate others.
d. In their eyes, their money is viewed as having the power of charm… to charm other people into thinking or acting the way they want them to.
e. A bribe could consist of a major political gift or present to another king or nation, a glorified bribe (1 Kgs. 15:19).
f. A bribe could be used on a much smaller scale too… smaller pawns in politics too… not just kings.
g. We don’t have to look very far to realize the influence of bribes… Washington DC gives us a nearly unlimited supply of examples!
h. Political decisions are influenced by the giving of such “gifts” (trips to Hawaii; fancy dinners; golfing vacations; etc.)
i. It’s called influence peddling.
8b Whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.
1. The main point of this part of the proverb is that bribes WORK! They are extremely effective in accomplishing their goals…
a. Wherever the bribe goes, it prospers… it accomplishes its goal. (Prospers = is successful)
b. “Prospereth” is used in Josh. 1:8 – for then shalt thou make thy way prosperous and then thou shalt have good success.
c. Bribes bring success to those who use them effectively.
• Rich men use bribes like a diamond to dazzle people.
• Rich men see their “diamonds” as more than a pretty ornament. They understand the POWER it can have over others.
• Money gets people to move, to vote, to act, to think, and do whatever else the giver of the bribe wants them to do.
• Wealthy people KNOW this and use it to their own selfish advantage.
• Matthew Henry noted a popular proverb of his day: the deepest bag will carry the cause.
• Today we say, Money talks.
d. Other proverbs say the same thing: they are effective! (Prov. 18:16; 19:6; 21:14) They work like a charm!
e. There are countless examples there are of men who were influenced by the lure of money to one degree or another:
• From athletes bribed into throwing a game… to rogue politicians whose votes are purchased by corporations… to Judas!
2. This does NOT mean God condones bribery.
a. In fact, the Bible very clearly CONDEMNS bribery.
b. Prov. 17:23; Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19;
c. The person who took a bribe was cursed by God (Deut. 27:25).
d. Knowing what God really thinks about bribes, a believer should never OFFER a bribe to anyone to get our way.
e. And knowing how “charming” they can be, we should never FALL for a bribe.
3. Trying to influence people is not necessarily wrong.
a. Evangelism is an attempt to influence people! Bible teaching… is designed to influence people’s thinking… and actions.
b. But there is a RIGHT way to influence people and a wrong way.
c. The RIGHT way is by example and REASON… teaching… instruction… explaining, comparing, etc.
d. The WRONG way is through bribes of any sort. (Whether you are promised a diamond, a cushy job, a lush vacation, or a cut of the pie, or some other “gift.”)
e. Bribes pervert justice… they prevent the right thing from being done.
f. When bribes are used, the best idea or right concept does not prevail.
g. Instead, the best FUNDED idea prevails…
h. And the best funded idea, concept, or project is not always the best choice.
4. Perhaps we could make another interesting observation about this proverb.
a. The truth conveyed is that bribes work.
b. From the rest of Scripture, it is exceedingly clear that although bribes work and are effective, they are NOT approved of God.
c. Principle: just because something WORKS, that does not mean that the Lord approves it!
d. Some years ago a Christian University sent me a letter asking for the names of our high school seniors and if I sent the names along, I would be included in a small pool of names to win a trip to Europe.
• I wrote back and said, “Thank you but the names of our young people are not for sale.”
• They were using a “gift” to get what they wanted from me… to influence me to send them what they wanted.
• I’m sure that technique worked—and they probably got more names than they would have without the drawing.
e. Would to God that the church growth folks would learn from this principle.
• In their obsession to see churches grow, they have resorted to methodologies that may WORK… but are not be acceptable to God.
• They ignore the doctrine of separation—and it works.
• Some promise those who come that God will make them rich and healthy! And it works.
• The promise of such a “gift” draws great crowds.
• It works… but the end does NOT justify the means.
5. Solomon was an observer of human nature.
a. As king, who did business with other kings and the nobility (men of great wealth)… this is something he observed repeatedly: men use bribes to influence others and get what they want.
b. Wealthy men realize how INFLUENTIAL their wealth is and they use that to influence to get what they want.
c. This proverb is the record of what he observed: bribes work.
d. He observed that wealthy men who offer bribes understand the POWER their diamonds can have over others.
e. Another part of human nature Solomon observed those who RECEIVE bribes:
• How often and how easily men who love money are INFLUENCED by money.
• They will think, vote, say, or do almost ANYTHING when a diamond is dangled before their eyes.
f. It is not an approval of bribes… either giving or taking them.
g. It is simply an observation of human nature and human behavior.
6. If our hearts are right with God, we will neither OFFER a bribe nor TAKE a bribe.
a. To the believer who loves the Lord, we are motivated by something higher and nobler than gold and silver…
b. We should be led of the Spirit… not by silver, gold, and precious stones!
Proverbs 17:9
How to Make or Break a Relationship
Introduction:
1. In this Proverb, Solomon gives us some words of wisdom with respect to human relationships.
2. The truth he observed is applicable in all kinds of relationships: husband/wife; parent/child; co-workers; and among the members of a church.
3. Two simple statements are found in this proverb.
a. One tells us how to promote love and thus bind parties together in a relationship.
b. The other tells us how to drive a wedge between people and thus break up a relationship.
4. Solomon warns us of the RESULTS of certain kinds of behavior.
a. The results occur so often, they become proverbial.
b. When “A” occurs, “B” can be expected to follow.
5. As a proverb, this covers just one tiny slice of human behavior…
a. Human relationships are much more complicated than this.
b. There are countless other elements involved in making or breaking a relationship.
c. But here’s one element that we should know about.
9a He that covereth a transgression seeketh love
A. Covering a Transgression
1. The first part of the proverb tells us how to MAKE a relationship
2. COVER defined:
a. Strong’s: to cover; conceal; hide.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: keep information from others, though known and understood.
3. Usage of the Term COVER
a. It is used often in a literal sense:
• Covered by clothing…
• Women covering their faces…
• Covered in darkness
• It is also used in the sense of concealing information from others…
b. Psalm 85:2 – when God forgives sin He COVERS it. It is buried from sight…
4. Solomon is not speaking about covering up our OWN sins.
a. Ps. 32:5 – Self needs to be honest and open about our own sins.
b. When we sin, we should confess it to the Lord. He knows anyways… but God wants us to acknowledge it before Him. Confess it—speak of it in the terms that God speaks of it: SIN!
c. We are never to cover up our own sins. We are to DEAL with them.
d. Don’t brush them under the rug and pretend they are not there.
5. This is speaking about covering up the sins of others.
a. We are to cover up the sins of others.
b. Don’t misunderstand. This is NOT speaking about a “cover up”… in the sense of covering up a crime and deceiving or lying in order to cover up the guilty party.
c. If you witness a murder. DON’T cover up that man’s sin. Report it to the police.
d. That’s not what Solomon has in mind here.
e. When a brother sins we may want to quietly confront him. But once confessed and resolved, that sin need not be mentioned ever again. Cover it!
6. The kind of transgression to be covered up.
a. Crime, sin, rebellion, offence, fault, i.e., what is contrary to a standard, human or divine.
b. It can refer to rebellion against God OR an offence or a fault among men.
c. People have faults. We have MANY faults.
• Perhaps a brother is struggling with a particular sin.
• Maybe it’s smoking; pornography.
• Maybe he hasn’t been reading the Word.
• Maybe you caught him in a lie.
• Maybe he was arrested for stealing.
• Maybe he and his spouse have been fighting.
• Maybe a child has been in trouble at school.
• Maybe someone has committed adultery.
• Believers can and do fall into sin… and commit transgressions.
• USUALLY when a believer falls into sin, he is embarrassed and doesn’t want anyone to know.
• Maybe he has made it right with the Lord or maybe he hasn’t.
• But either way, his sin is between him and the Lord.
• Most people like to keep it that way.
• It can be humiliating to have everyone find out.
7. The question arises, what do you do when you find out about it?
a. Solomon says, “Cover it up.”
b. Conceal that information from others. There is no need to blab it all over the place.
c. If you have such information—conceal it.
d. If Fred sinned and you find out, it isn’t going to edify either Fred or the congregation to learn that he got so mad he threw a lamp against the wall.
e. Making it known will only humiliate and probably infuriate Fred.
f. If you find out such information, then PRAY for Fred… in your private prayer closet. That doesn’t need to be brought up at a public prayer meeting.
g. And if you DO find out… don’t assume that God wants you to be his little policeman and FIX the problem.
• You may have the best of intentions in wanting to HELP Fred… but be sure you have earned that right.
• Don’t just barge into the inner sanctuary of someone’s personal life…
• You may have a few very close friends into whose personal problems you can inject yourself and be welcomed… but not just anybody!
• Be careful, be discerning.
• And Solomon’s advice here is also to be quiet.
• There is no need to proclaim another person’s transgressions…
• Divine wisdom says: cover them up.
B. Seeking Love
1. Seeking Defined:
a. Seek; search for; desire; try to obtain; pursue.
2. Love defined: affections in relationships; either a romantic love; or a family love.
3. Love covers sins – I Pet 4:8
a. Prov. 10:12 – Hatred stirs up strife; but love covereth ALL sins.
• Love covers sins. Hatred does not.
• Hatred stirs up the pot. Love puts the lid on the pot.
• And notice that real love covers ALL sins… not just a few.
• There is no limit to love… it knows no boundaries.
• That’s what makes love so difficult to practice… and also so precious to receive.
b. Prov. 11:13 – A faithful spirit conceals a matter.
• Relationships NEED faithful spirits… (faithful – someone you can TRUST with your secrets)
• A faithful, loyal friend or partner will conceal a matter.
• An unfaithful, disloyal friend or partner will not. He reveals secrets… he will blab matters all over town.
• Revealing secrets is a betrayal of trust. That is not a faithful spirit.
• A faithful spirit can be trusted… entrusted with secret matters… and is faithful to KEEP secret matters secret.
• There are things that happen in a home that should be KEPT in the home.
• There are things said in confidence that should be KEPT in confidence. Faithful spirits honor that trust.
• That faithful, trusting spirit aids in BINDING relationships.
4. Like it or not, this is God’s Word on the subject: if you want to promote love and thus BIND relationships… then learn to COVER transgression.
a. Prov. 19:11 – a man (woman, or child!) of discretion will not blow up and get angry every time someone says or does something offensive to them.
b. They will instead “pass over” the transgressions of others against them.
c. It is a virtue to be so close to the Lord that we are able by His strength and grace to pass over a transgression… an insult… an offence against us.
d. To have the strength of the Lord operating in us means that we will be ABLE to turn a deaf ear to gossip against us… and a blind eye to offences against us.
5. God’s wisdom says to COVER the transgressions of others if we should become privy to them.
6. And if they transgress against us personally… cover it up by turning a deaf ear to it… ignore it… pay no attention to it…
7. Fill your mind with things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report… etc.
8. Covering transgression is HOW we seek love and thus MAKE a relationship what it ought to be.
9. It requires the power of God at times to bury transgression (especially if they sinned against us).
10. But that power is available to all who will come and drink of the fountain of life.
9b But he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.
1. The first part of the proverb tells us how to MAKE a relationship. This part tells us how to BREAK a relationship: instead of covering up the sin matter, REPEAT it!
a. It’s easy to do. All you have to do is speak!
b. And the result? Friends are separated.
c. Separated: the term used when Lot separated from Abram. (Gen.13:9)
2. If the transgression was against you, then repeat it to the offending party often… and you will BREAK the relationship.
a. When someone sins against you, they repent, and you forgive them, then BURY it. Cover it up. Don’t bring it up again—ever.
b. That’s what forgive means on our level.
c. We can’t forgive their sins judicially before God.
d. But we can forgive them in that we bury it…
e. That’s how God forgives us… and that’s how we should forgive one another.
f. When God forgives our sin, He never brings it up again. It is gone! Buried. It is covered by the blood never again to return… no condemnation.
g. But when someone sins against you… and you REPEAT it… (you buried it for a short time—but dug it up again)… then you bring about separation… breaking up the relationship.
h. Covering it promotes love and BINDS relationships.
i. Digging it up and repeating it BREAKS relationships… it is very destructive behavior spiritually.
3. If the transgression was not against you, then repeat it to the general public… and you will BREAK relationships of OTHERS.
a. Prov. 16:28 – whispering separates chief friends.
b. If you are privy to a matter (say you also heard about Fred throwing the lamp)—and repeat it publicly, you might end up turning a lot of people against Fred.
c. Or say you heard some gossip and repeat it. By doing so you can turn a husband against his wife… a child against their parent… a brother in Christ against a brother in Christ… a boss against an employee… congregation against a pastor… a class against a teacher… friend against friend.
d. You can by merely saying a sentence or two DESTROY a relationship… separate chief friends.
e. That is a very painful process…
f. The tongue is powerful… like a little flame of fire. It takes a long time to build a house. It can be burned down in no time at all!
g. It takes a long time to build relationships… but they too can be destroyed in no time… by repeating a matter.
4. Conclusion: Covering transgressions is an expression of love. Revealing transgressions and repeating them is the opposite.
a. Keep in mind: God covers our sins; and Satan is the accuser of the brethren.
b. Be godly… not satanic… in our approach.
Proverbs 17:10
Different Forms of Correction
Introduction:
1. In this proverb, Solomon speaks about two different kinds of men who have sinned: a wise man and a fool.
2. He also speaks about two different forms of correction: reproof and stripes.
3. And he speaks of two different responses to correction: a lesson learned and a lesson not learned.
10a A reproof entereth more into a wise man
1. Reproof:
a. Strong’s: rebuke; reproof.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: to speak words that show what another has done wrong; a threat or verbal warning.
c. Strong admonitions
d. A reproof is usually verbal. It’s not a beating or imprisonment… but a warning… a word of rebuke… scolding.
2. Wise men need to be reproved.
a. There is no such thing as a wise man who demonstrates wisdom 100% of the time.
b. Sometimes wise men make bad choices. Sometimes they make foolish decisions. Sometime wise men sin and do things they KNOW are wrong.
c. All men are sinners—including wise men.
d. Abraham was a wise man—but he made some poor decisions (going in unto Hagar).
e. Moses was a wise man—but he got angry and broke the tablets containing the Ten Commandments. He was doing too many chores by himself and had to be admonished to get others to help him with the load. He listened to his father in law.
f. David was a wise man and he too committed sin (counted the troops; Bathsheba).
g. Peter was a wise man—and he too needed to be reproved on occasion. (Not so Lord!—Lord, I’ll never deny you!)
h. No wise man is wise 100% of the time.
i. This proverb implies that even wise men need to be reproved from time to time.
j. And an important part of that wisdom is recognizing that need.
3. Entereth:
a. Strong’s: to go down; to go into; to pierce; to penetrate.
b. To impress; to pay close attention and respond appropriately.
c. This word is rarely used in the Old Testament, but it is used 2 times in Psalm 38:2 – “stick fast” and “presseth sore”.
• In this psalm, God was chastening David. David was being reproved or rebuked for his sin.
• God knows how to get His point across. He can cause the message He wants us to hear to ENTER IN… to penetrate our minds and hearts… so that we pay close attention to what He is trying to teach us.
• Both times they speak about the EFFECT of God in his life. The arrows God “stuck” in him worked.
• They got his attention and he PAID attention. God’s hand pressed sore upon him…
• God made his point known…
• He applied enough pressure to get David’s attention!
• God knows how to get our attention!
• God knows how to make His reproof ENTER in so that what He is trying to teach us is unmistakable.
4. Reproof ENTERS the heart of a wise man.
a. Words of rebuke pierce his heart.
b. A verbal reproof penetrates into his mind and heart and accomplishes its purpose.
c. When his sin or failure is brought to his attention, it ENTERS into his head and heart… and he RESPONDS to it in an appropriate manner.
d. It penetrates into his heart and becomes life transforming.
e. He does not dismiss it. He doesn’t ignore it.
f. He doesn’t see himself ABOVE correction.
g. This implies a certain amount of humility in a truly wise man.
→ You cannot separate wisdom from humility… they go hand in hand. So too, pride and foolishness go hand in hand as well!
→ A fool gets a little bit of knowledge, and it can produce pride.
→ A believer may begin to understand some important Bible doctrines… and begin to think he’s got it all figured out…
→ That pride keeps him from becoming wise!
→ Once you’ve got it all figured out—who needs to learn any more? Who needs to listen?
→ This kind of pride prevents a man from growing in wisdom.
5. Wise men are sensitive to their failures and shortcomings and genuinely WANT to be corrected and to learn.
a. Prov. 1:5 – a wise man will hear! That is the first step in the direction of wisdom – an ability and a desire to hear instruction and correction.
• Truly wise men are wise enough to know that they don’t know everything.
b. Hear = to hear; listen to; to hear with attention or interest; obey.
• This is a close kind of hearing… attentiveness… interest…
• This is the kind of hearing that really sinks in…
• It implies more than simply hearing a sound; it implies the proper response to what is heard. (obedience)
• It might be translated “hearken” – because that is more closely associated with obedience.
• To the Hebrew mind, to hear God was to obey Him. For a parent to give a command to a child in his hearing meant that it would be obeyed.
c. II Tim. 3:16 – a simple scripture passage is all that is needed to correct a wise man. He responds.
• The wise man is teachable. He does not insist on doing all the talking. He is willing to listen.
• Readiness to learn is characteristic of a truly wise person.
• Anyone can be a wise person—young or old—male or female! Wisdom is characterized by the capacity to listen… and really hear what is being communicated.
• This is a priceless capacity—for the husband to be able to hear his wife… for the wife to be able to hear her husband—for the children to hear their parents! For a worker to hear his boss… and the boss to be able to hear his employees… etc.
d. Ps. 19:11 – by them thy servant is warned.
e. Prov. 15:30 – wise men hear reproof… and thus gain understanding. But some men (fools!) refuse instruction and do so to the destruction of their own soul (life).
f. Prov. 28:23 – he understands the value of reproof and appreciates it… even if it hurts at the time.
g. Prov. 18:15 – he even SEEKS after knowledge… instruction.
h. Prov. 9:8 – reprove a wise man and he will LOVE you for it.
i. Prov. 15:5 – regarding reproof IS wisdom. Rejecting it is folly.
6. We too should allow reproof to ENTER in to our minds and hearts.
a. Reproof and rebuke are for our good—when administered properly.
b. Divine wisdom tells us here that we should LISTEN… learn… appreciate it… even if it hurts at first.
c. Divine wisdom tells us that it requires humility on our part to receive reproof. It requires a sensitivity to our failures and a genuine desire to change… to correct those failures.
d. They may be relatively rare traits, but that’s what true wisdom is all about.
7. The main point of the first part of the proverb is that reproof is EFFECTIVE in the life of a wise man.
a. Sometimes just one word of reproof is all that is needed to bring about correction.
b. Wise men respond well to wise words.
c. We would do well to respond to words of wisdom…
• When we hear them taught in church…
• When a spouse, parent, teacher, or boss reproves us… or even a stranger!
• When we are reading the Scriptures on our own and the Holy Spirit rebukes us by shining the light on a particular area of our life…
• Honestly examine the reproof… compare it with Scripture. If it is correct—then let it ENTER IN!
10b Than an hundred stripes into a fool.
1. A word is enough to correct a wise man.
a. Sometimes even a LOOK is sufficient. (Luke 22:61-62)—Peter…
b. But it takes 100 stripes to get the attention of a fool—and still there is no guarantee that he will respond.
c. The Law of Moses allowed no more than 40 lashes (Deut. 25:2-3).
d. Hence, this reference to 100 lashes is probably hyperbole – an exaggeration to make a point.
e. Almost nothing can change a fool bent on folly.
2. Stripes on the back of a fool don’t necessarily reach his heart.
a. If the heart is hard and stubborn and self willed—then no amount of punishment or beatings will suffice.
b. If the heart is like a stone, NOTHING can pierce it.
c. But if the heart is tender… a tiny needle can pierce tender skin…. While a sword cannot pierce a stone.
d. Solomon’s point here is that the real difference between a wise man and a fool is not so much their heads, but their hearts.
• If the heart is tender and sensitive to God, then a word will suffice—even a look.
• If the heart is hardened and stubborn—then 100 stripes won’t bring about repentance.
3. Both the wise man and the fool make mistakes; do things incorrectly from time to time. We ALL do.
a. This proverb does not deny that wise sometime take the wrong route in life.
b. But the proverb does state that there is a HUGE difference in the way the two men receive correction:
• The wise man listens, learns, and changes.
• The fool doesn’t listen—may be beaten 100 times—and will still refuse to submit and learn. Therein lies his folly.
Conclusions:
1. Notice that BOTH the wise man and the fool make mistakes and do things incorrectly from time to time.
2. This proverb does not deny the fact that wise men sometimes take the wrong route in life.
3. But the proverb does speak about the difference in the way the two men receive correction.
a. The wise man listens, learns, and changes.
b. The fool doesn’t listen—and has to be beaten 100 times… for the same infraction—and still doesn’t learn!
Proverbs 17:11
Seeking Rebellion
11a An evil man seeks rebellion…
1. An EVIL man
a. Evil: pertaining to that which is not morally pure or good according to a proper standard; bad in a moral and ethical sense.
b. Prov. 21:10 – his soul desires evil.
c. Prov. 15:26 – his thoughts are an abomination to the Lord.
d. Prov. 16:30 – they don’t just think about it, they practice it… bring it to pass too.
e. Prov. 28:5 – they are morally blinded by the evil in his soul, mind, and heart. Hence, they cannot understand judgment or justice.
f. The evil man is saturated in evil: his soul, mind, heart, what he perceives… all are twisted and warped by evil!
g. In the olden days, men like Solomon were ignorant and didn’t understand what men have discovered today: it wasn’t really their fault!
• Men that blew up and did evil things couldn’t help it. They had a disease: IED (intermittent explosive disorder)… or ODD (opposition defiance disorder).
• In the olden days ignorant men like Solomon used to call it sin and evil…
• They used to call IED anger and left men with low self esteem as a result.
• They used to call ODD disobedience…
• And because of their ignorance, they used to teach that it required the grace and power of a supernatural God.
• Now we know better. It’s a disease. A prescription of Valium, Prozac, or Ritalin will cure it!
• My how we have progressed over the ages!
h. I am being facetious of course.
• Solomon and other Bible writers are thoroughly accurate. There IS such a thing as EVIL… and evil men.
• It is not a disease like leukemia or arthritis. It is SIN!
• In this verse, Solomon is speaking about EVIL men.
2. Seeketh:
a. Evil men SEEK after rebellion.
b. Seek: to seek to find; to seek to secure; demand; require; search for; to attempt; to try to obtain.
c. This is the term used often in Psalms to describe men seeking after God and His guidance, wisdom, presence, etc. (Men CAN seek after that which is good if they choose to do so…)
d. But in proverbs, the evil man seeks other things such as rebellion, death, silver, wine, and many evil inventions.
e. Prov. 2:12, 13, 14 – evil men rejoice in evil and delight in wickedness (same word as evil).
• It is their joy and delight.
• This is what makes evil men evil: they LOVE evil.
• Men seek after that which they love and delight in.
• They seek anything except for wisdom or the Lord.
f. Prov. 6:14 – they devise mischief (evil) continually. They lay awake at night thinking about it…
g. Prov. 11:19 – some men pursue evil (to their own destruction) [pursue = chase after; persecute].
h. Prov. 12:20 – they IMAGINE evil… because of what lies in their hearts… and plot to bring it to pass.
3. Rebellion:
a. Rebellion, revolt, i.e., a state of disobedience, opposition, or resistance to one in authority.
b. This term for rebellion is used rarely in the Old Testament… only once in Proverbs… except in Ezekiel.
c. Evil men SEEK after rebellion – resistance to authority… opposition… disobedience… (they have ODD)
d. God considers this extremely serious. (I Sam. 15:23) It is as the sin of witchcraft!
e. Parents need to deal with this sin in their children… for that very reason. It is MORE serious a matter than we might think.
f. Rebellion is not always apparent.
• It is often “covered up”
» by cuteness
» under a guise of piety and feigned submission
» by shyness or cowardice
a. Sometimes that inward rebellion is too cowardly to break out… to speak up and express itself… so it simmers inwardly undetected…
• Sometimes God puts a lid on it by external restraints and circumstances He arranges to prevent it from outward expression.
• And sometimes God allows the devil to remove those restraints in order to demonstrate to us what our hearts are really like…
• Tea bag illustration… the bitterness in the tea bag may not be noticed until circumstances around it change—hot water! The hot water doesn’t MAKE the tea bag bitter. It just draws out what is there already.
g. Rebellion can be found in many different venues:
• Home… kids learn to cover it up at an early age.
• Marriage…
• School… it can simmer inside because of a fear of punishment…
• Counselors… and others who offer help…
• Local church… it can simmer just waiting for an opportunity to break out…
• Government…
• God…
h. What grief, sorrow, heartache, and knots in the stomach are produced by rebellion and the consequences of rebellion…
• A refusal to submit to authority can ruin any setting.
11b Therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.
1. The cruel messenger here refers to a message of JUSTICE and judgment to be meted out against the one who sought rebellion.
a. This is yet another form of an oft-repeated truth in this book of wisdom: you reap what you sow.
b. Sow rebellion—and you will reap a cruel messenger with some very BAD news for you!
2. An example from the Scriptures: Saul. (I Sam. 15:9, 23).
a. God’s command was clear and precise. (vs.3)
b. Saul rebelled against the commandment of the Lord. (vs.9)
c. He even denied that he rebelled. He claimed obedience. (vs.13,28)
d. A cruel messenger was sent to him from the Lord: you have lost your reign as king! (Vs. 23)
3. The cruel messenger might report to us today too:
a. You rebelled against God and refused to bring your children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. A cruel message may come to you one day: Your son ran away… Your 14 year old daughter is pregnant…
b. You sought rebellion at work and refused to do what your boss wanted you to do. A cruel message may come your way: You’re fired!
c. You rebelled against parents and teachers and refused to do your homework. A cruel messenger might report to you: you’re staying back a year at school!
d. You rebelled against the law… and the judge might deliver a cruel message to you: you’re going to jail!
e. Deut. 21:18-21 – a cruel messenger for that rebel.
4. Prov. 11:21 – the wicked (evil men) shall not be unpunished.
5. Prov.14:32 – the wicked is eventually driven away because of his wickedness (evil). [Driven away – in the sense of chased out and defeated].
6. God does not delight in sending cruel messengers. He would MUCH prefer to send messengers of GOOD!
a. Reminders from His Word… of His promises to those who walk with Him.
b. Christ is coming!
c. God promises to work in and through us as we yield to Him.
d. The Bible is FULL of good messages… for those who submit to His authority.
e. But the type of messenger sent to us will depend upon our heart attitude: is it one of humble submission or arrogant defiance and rebellion?
Proverbs 17:12
Meeting a Fool
12a Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly
1. Meeting up with a bear robbed of her whelps
a. Approach, i.e., make linear movement which then draws near and encounters another object, implying an immediate interaction.
b. It means to encounter, to come in contact with, to come face to face.
2. Solomon first speaks about the possibility of coming face to face with an angry bear robbed of her cubs.
a. Hosea 13:8 – this passage speaks of the great DANGER and damage that can be done by a bear robbed of her whelps.
b. A bear robbed of her whelps is used several times in the Old Testament to describe a potentially dangerous and explosive situation.
c. This is obviously Solomon’s point in Proverbs too: the great danger and threat that it is.
3. I have seen bears from a distance in the wild… but I have never personally encountered a bear face to face.
a. I researched several sources on bears and encounters with bears… to get a better idea of the situation Solomon described.
b. I discovered that as dangerous and threatening as a face-to-face encounter with an angry bear is… there ARE ways to diminish the danger of that situation with a bear.
4. The dangers of an encounter with angry bears.
a. Actually, the situation Solomon described is rare.
b. Bears are not usually a threat to men.
c. One hiking source said the following about the danger: “The reality is, you have a much greater chance of being flattened by a semi on the way to the trailhead than you do having a problem with a bear once you’re on the trail. But, unlike the runaway semi, the bear danger is mostly controllable with education and common sense, so you have a responsibility to take sensible precautions and know how to respond to the danger if encountered…”
d. Consider the advice given to those who encounter a bear protecting her whelps:
→ Avoid direct eye contact as bears may perceive this as a threat.
→ Don’t make any sudden movements, throw anything, or yell.
→ If necessary, back away slowly to give the bear plenty of room to escape— including the right-of-way on the trail.
→ Bluff charges: stand tall and they usually retreat!
e. If you follow those simple rules, you normally will avoid being mauled by the bear.
f. What should I do if I find myself around a mother bear with cubs? (NH Fish and Game)
• Mother bears are rarely aggressive toward humans, but they are protective of their cubs.
• A mother bear will usually give many warning signs (huffing or popping sounds, swatting the ground or even bluff charges) to let you know that you are too close.
• Move away as described above… and even a bear protecting her cubs will not do you any harm.
• Female Brown Bears though will fiercely protect the cubs even if it means her own life.
• But a bear robbed of her cubs is LOOKING for her cubs. She doesn’t want you.
• Though rare, the most common type of bear attack is generally the result of a surprise encounter and almost always with a mother and her cubs. In nearly every mauling that has occurred in the past during a surprise encounter, once the hiker quit fighting and laid quiet, the sow has grabbed her cubs and run or walked away.
g. That’s exactly what Solomon is telling us when encountering a fool! (The danger is mostly controllable with education and common sense. Solomon is giving us some common sense advice here!)
h. Then it is up to us to take sensible precautions and to know how to respond if encountered by a fool!
5. Thus, there IS a way to escape.
a. There are warning signs.
b. There are procedures to follow that usually result in your safety.
c. The danger is usually controllable with education and common sense.
d. And if you know how to respond, you’ll be fine.
e. So, while it IS a potentially dangerous situation, there are ways of dealing with that danger.
f. Bears have been studied, and there is a rationale behind their behavior.
12b A fool in his folly…
1. Fool – Strong’s = fool; stupid fellow; dullard; simpleton; arrogant one; the state of being in complete lack of understanding, implying rebellion.
2. Folly – (different term from fool – synonym) – sometimes translated “scoffer or scoffing”) – a state of being devoid of wisdom and understanding, with a focus on the evil behaviors…
3. RATHER THAN:
a. This is another one of Solomon’s “better than” proverbs.
b. A is better than B.
c. This implies that you are better off (A) being confronted by an angry bear THAN you are (B) being confronted by a fool in his folly.
d. One is better than the other. If you ever have a choice—choose the bear!
e. The fool is WORSE than a savage beast in its most aggressive moment!
4. As we saw in Hosea 13:8 – there is a great DANGER and much damage that can be done by a bear robbed of her whelps.
a. Prov. 27:3 – his wrath is weighty! Don’t stir him up.
b. As dangerous as an angry bear is, meeting up with a fool is MORE dangerous. His wrath is WORSE!
• Consider the folly of Herod killing ALL the babies 2 and under to get to Christ!
• Consider the folly of Saul killing all the innocent priests because he was angry with one.
• Saddam Hussein gassing an entire city because someone there attempted to assassinate him.
c. The fool behaves less rationally than does a bear. That’s the point of the proverb.
d. There is a rationale behind bear behavior.
e. Solomon warns us that that kind of rationale does not always exist with fools.
f. You’re better off meeting up with a wild animal than a fool in his folly!
g. You can predict how a bear will react. A fool—well, who knows what he’ll do! Stay away!
h. A fool in his folly is dangerous and unpredictable!
5. HOW can a fool be MORE dangerous?
a. Lots of ways!
• Try putting a knife in his hand.
• Put him behind the wheel of a car with a carload of foolish teens.
• Put a pair of skis under him.
• Think of this fool full of a fifth of Jack Daniels
• Think of this fool on crack cocaine
• Think of this fool with a gun in his hand.
• Even a bicycle! (Look ma, no hands!)
• That’s a fool engaged in his folly!
• This is comparable in the analogy to a bear ROBBED of her whelps.
» A bear is not normally all that dangerous.
» But while engaged in looking for her cubs, she is!
» That’s the WORST time to meet a bear.
» A fool may not normally be all that dangerous—except when engaged in his folly. (beer; car; gun)
» We can’t always AVOID being in the presence of foolish people. They are everywhere!
» However, a fool IN their folly – a fool engaged in his folly should be avoided like the plague!
b. Cars and bikes aren’t dangerous all by themselves. Neither are guns or knives.
c. But when in the hands of a fool they BECOME exceedingly dangerous.
d. Fools engaged in their folly are dangerous.
e. That’s why many of them find themselves locked up in prison—because they are a danger to society.
f. Like an angry bear, a fool is a danger to anyone who happens to be unfortunate enough to find himself in the presence of that fool.
g. Treat him like an angry bear.
• Prov. 26:4 – sometimes the best thing to do is to be quiet. Answer him not… lest he draw you into his outrageous folly.
• Get out of his way…
• Don’t yell or throw things…
• Don’t corner him… step back quietly and give him space to leave…
• You can’t argue or reason with an irrational person.
h. Prov. 22:24 – keep your distance—don’t make friends with this kind of person.
• Avoid fools in their folly whenever possible!
• Forsake the foolish, and live (Prov. 9:6) [back away quietly].
i. Prov. 13:20 – fools are destroyed by their folly and so are their companions.
• Don’t be their companion. Stay away.
• It is dangerous to remain in the presence of fools… especially as they practice their folly.
Proverbs 17:13
Rewarding Evil for Good
13a Whoso rewardeth evil for good…
1. This is a particularly treacherous kind of evil… because it is completely unexpected.
a. When one does something good for another person, it is expected that good is given in return.
b. However, Solomon warns, that that is not always the case.
c. Sometimes our good deeds are rewarded with EVIL in return.
d. It’s not the norm—even in the world.
e. It is usually shocking when it does occur—but it DOES occur!
2. What Solomon describes is the ultimate in ingratitude.
a. Isa. 1:2 – Ingratitude is what Israel displayed to the Lord.
• God brought them up and nourished them… and they spit in his face!
• What father wouldn’t be broken hearted over this kind of ingratitude?
• Let’s be honest: this is often how WE treat the Lord too!
b. Have you ever experienced this sort of thing?
• Have you bent over backwards to help someone out… only to have them reward your good by stabbing you in the back?
• Have you ever gone the extra mile to show your appreciation for someone—only to have them wrongly judge your intentions or motives?
• Have you ever put yourself out in doing favors for a so-called friend—only to have them trample over all your efforts?
3. Matthew Henry: “To render evil for evil is brutish, but to render evil for good is devilish.”
4. The world’s standard of behavior is usually tit for tat. Good for good and evil for evil.
a. Rendering evil for evil is wrong—but it is understandable.
b. Rewarding evil for good is exceptionally bad behavior. It is “over the edge” even for the lost.
c. But God’s standard goes over the edge in the other direction! (Rom. 12:17a; 21) – we are to reward evil with GOOD!)
d. I Pet. 3:9 – we are to render blessings upon those who are evil to us. And we are to leave the reward for our behavior towards them in God’s hand. We will inherit a blessing for that kind of behavior in glory.
e. Matt. 5:44-48 – this is quite a high standard. It requires the power of the Holy Spirit to produce. It is UNLIKE our nature.
f. Luke 23:24 – it is Christlike behavior. He could have called 10,000 angels to destroy them all. Instead, he prayed for their forgiveness. I wonder how many of them were forgiven? Imagine meeting one of those men in glory?
13b Evil shall not depart from his house.
1. Solomon states that such a man will experience evil and it will not depart from his house!
a. Evil (controversy; trouble; calamity; disaster) will hover over his home like a dark cloud on a very still day.
2. Some might equate this with karma…
a. Karma is part of the philosophy of Hinduism and Buddhism which states that the quality of a person’s life is determined by his actions in this life and in previous lives.
b. It is quite superstitious.
c. It might appear to be the same… but the source is very different.
d. It is not the natural vibes of the universe or a universal force that will retaliate.
e. This evil hovering over the house of the one who commits such an atrocity is the judgment of the Living God!
f. Prov. 15:3 – God watches over all the earth, beholding both the good and the evil… and He is the rewarder of good and evil. Sometimes the reward/judgment comes in this life… and sometimes not until the life to come. But it DOES come!
g. And God takes note for a reason. He judges accordingly.
3. There is a striking example of this principle in the life of David.
a. David was served WELL by Uriah. This young soldier did GOOD unto the king with service that put his life in danger. (II Sam. 11:6-11) He was a noble man of principle. He served his king well.
b. David returned his good with EVIL.
• David stole this man’s wife… and ultimately had him killed. (II Sam. 11:1-5)
c. As a result, evil (calamity) would never depart from David’s house. (II Sam. 12:9-10)
d. II Sam. 12:11 – notice that God says HE will raise up evil against David’s house.
e. This is exactly what Solomon was talking about.
f. And Solomon should know. David was his father—and this woman was his mother! (II Sam. 12:24)
g. Solomon LIVED and grew up in that house… from which the sword would never depart.
h. Evil never departed from David’s house… and Solomon and his sons paid a price for David’s sin—because David rendered EVIL to Uriah for the good service Uriah rendered unto David and his kingdom.
4. David is also a good example of the opposite. David also rewarded GOOD unto those who treated him cruelly.
a. Psa. 35:11-12 – false witnesses arose against him and did evil unto him. They lied about him and caused his soul (life) to be deprived in some way.
• The normal response is to rise up against them with evil… fight fire with fire.
b. Psa. 35:13 – But David did not behave like the world.
• He seems shocked by their treatment of him.
• He recalls when they were hurting, he mourned, prayed, and fasted for them.
• Vs.14 – he treated them like a brother.
• Thus he seems surprised by the way they are treating him.
c. Psa. 38:20 – David felt strongly that this kind of behavior was especially reprehensible.
• He felt SO strongly that he decided to count those who behaved this way as his enemies… they were enemies of good and of society.
• On the contrary, David chose to follow that which is GOOD.
• How much like us is David. He had good intentions… but he was inconsistent in carrying out those good intentions.
• Sometimes he failed miserably… and was GUILTY of the very behavior he felt was so abhorrent.
5. On one occasion, David rewarded good with evil. On another occasion he rewarded evil with good.
a. No David wasn’t fickle… but he (like you and me) had the potential for either exceptionally good behavior OR exceptionally evil behavior.
b. And, if we were honest, would have to admit that we have probably been on BOTH sides of this… as David was.
c. Those in Christ are capable of the most noble, Christlike behavior (rewarding evil with good!)
d. Unfortunately, we are also capable of the vilest behavior as well.
Proverbs 17:14
Dealing with Contention
14a The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water
A. The Beginning of Strife
1. Strife:
a. Strife; contention; arguing; disputes; discord; quarrel.
b. The root word means to drive a wedge or swing an ax.
c. That concept developed into a word that means strife between people—like driving a wedge between parties.
2. Beginning:
a. A point of time which is the beginning; (Gen. 1:1).
b. The word designates the earliest or first products or results of something.
3. Solomon speaks here of a dispute between two or more people or groups of people.
a. We are all painfully aware that arguments DO occur.
b. We have all been engaged in them… probably repeatedly.
c. Such disputes occur in politics; among friends; in the workplace; in the neighborhood; in school; in the local church; at home.
d. And again—we have probably all been engaged in strife to one degree or another in EACH of those settings!
e. Disputes and strife can occur anywhere there are sinners.
f. This means of course, that until we get to glory, we are going to be faced with strife and contentions… over and over again.
g. Solomon was a great observer of life… and this is a truth that he observed repeatedly: people fight and argue.
4. He gives us some words of wisdom along these lines… something he noticed in the contentions and disputes that arose in his kingdom.
a. He noted that wherever there is an argument… there is a beginning to it.
b. Every dispute has a “start” line. Unfortunately, they don’t all have finish lines… but they all have a start line.
c. There is a point in time wherein strife begins.
d. In the office it might begin when you were given an extra pile of work to do.
e. In school it might begin when your team lost and the other team was taunting you.
f. Among friends, it might begin when you weren’t invited to the cookout.
g. In the local church it might begin when the pastor preached a sermon on election…
h. In the home it might begin when the husband leaves his dirty socks on the floor… again.
i. In the Middle East it began when Abram cast out Hagar and her son—thousands of years ago.
j. EVERY argument or dispute can be traced back to its beginning.
B. As the Letting Out of Water
1. The letting out of water defined:
a. “letting out” = set free; remove; open; escape; burst through.
b. Breech, break open, i.e., have a wall of a container break open from relative pressure, so allowing the unchecked flow of water.
c. The term speaks of water being let to flow…
2. The Hebrew writers were divided as to which of the following Solomon had in mind:
a. The letting out of water in a dam
b. The emptying of one’s bladder
• The point driven home is the same either way…
3. Solomon makes an analogy here.
a. There is something similar between the beginning of an argument… and the beginning of letting out of water.
b. The point: once it begins to flow, it can be almost impossible to stop.
4. Think of a breech in a dam… New Orleans.
a. A breech usually starts off small… with a little crack.
b. In the beginning of that breech, a small crack is easily repaired.
c. But if you are careless about the BEGINNING of the breech, and the water starts flowing—it is almost impossible to stop.
d. It simply has to run its course—doing all kinds of damage in the process. Just look at New Orleans!
e. Our government is spending billions to rebuild the city of New Orleans. And they will be spending a lot to repair the levy… to hold the water back.
f. It would be unreasonable and irresponsible to spend billions of dollars in rebuilding the city… and to fail to deal with the potential for another breech.
g. Water is extremely powerful and destructive. It can wipe out a whole city.
h. In Noah’s day, it wiped out the entire earth.
5. There is something similar between the beginning of an argument… and the beginning of letting out of water. Solomon implies THREE analogies from this illustration:
a. Once water begins to flow—it is virtually impossible to stop it.
• So too with arguments and disputes. Once they begin… (however small) they are very difficult to end!
b. And disputes and flowing water, are both extremely destructive.
• Water can ruin a city.
• Arguments and fighting and ruin a home… a business… friendships… the local church.
c. The beginning of it all is the most important point.
14b Therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.
1. THEREFORE:
a. In light of what was said in the first part of the proverb…
b. Having stated the analogy and implied similarities between water that begins to flow and arguments that begin to rage… Solomon gives us some advice.
2. Don’t let it start!
a. Exert self control at the very beginning BEFORE the water starts to flow… because once it starts, you have no more control.
b. If you can control the first little trickle of water in a small crack in a dam… you can prevent the dam from bursting and causing a lot of death and destruction downstream.
c. If you don’t stop it right away, it gets larger and larger and more and more powerful… until finally there is no stopping it!
d. If you wait until the water is flowing rapidly out of the dam, the resistance becomes too great to be successfully opposed.
e. You KNOW the reaction between gasoline and a spark—so intervene BEFORE they come together!
3. Leave off contention…
a. Leave off = to leave; forsake; cast off or away; reject; cease; abandon; quit; cast down…
b. Cast down contention… reject it… abandon it…
c. Prov. 19:11 – the discretion of a man DEFERS his anger.
4. BEFORE it be meddled with…
a. TIMING is everything here.
b. How do you deal with a rip roaring argument? Don’t ever let it BECOME a rip roaring argument!
c. Don’t MEDDLE with it.
• Meddle: used in Prov. 20:3 – cease from strife.
• Quarreling and being obstinate by insisting on having one’s own way.
• Don’t be obstinate; don’t demand your own way; don’t let that first little trickle of a fight BEGIN.
d. BEFORE it leads to anything… CEASE.
• As Christians, we should recognize that that first irritating little trickle is DANGEROUS.
• We should be aware of the awful, destructive capabilities of our sin nature… and fear.
• We should realize the potential destruction when an argument begins… knowing from past experience where it can lead…
• Be aware that something TINY can become huge in no time.
• Solomon’s advice is sensible.
• Exert some Holy Spirit empowered SELF CONTROL before the water starts flowing… or you won’t be able to stop it.
• At that first little irritating thought or word… that first urge to let out your waters of retaliation… determine to HOLD IT IN… (A soft answer turns away wrath.)
• Prov. 15:18 – A little bit of patience and longsuffering up front can prevent a LOT of trouble and disaster from occurring.
• You FEEL LIKE blurting out an insult… you FEEL like striking back… you FEEL like letting them have it… you FEEL like giving them a piece of your mind…
• Solomon says before you let ANY of that out (before you begin meddling in an argument) exert self control…
• Once you let it out… the waters behind that dam begin to flow with more and more force and you will find yourself powerless to stop it.
• Prov. 12:16 – a fool’s wrath is PRESENTLY known… instantly known. He holds nothing back. That is folly.
• Wisdom has learned to hold back that initial urge to retaliate…
e. The BEGINNING is the most important point.
• At the beginning, before the argument takes root… when the first spark of contention flies… PRAY… ask God for wisdom… for grace… for His strength.
• Remember that you died with Christ and don’t HAVE to argue and fight any more. You are ABLE to walk in newness of life.
• The devil will try to convince you that you HAVE to act on your feelings.
• But instead—walk by FAITH. Trust God… rest in His power… believe that HE will work in you HIS good pleasure.
• Here is His good pleasure: leave off contention before it starts!
• On that first urge to strike back… fall upon the Lord in faith and trust Him.
• Whether it is water or fire or emptying one’s bladder or an argument: the initial response to that first urge is the most important.
» It’s easier to blow out a match than to put out a forest fire.
» It’s easier to fix a tiny crack in a dam than to hold back a full-fledged breech.
» It’s better to hold it in…
» And in a potential argument—when that first urge to snap back occurs—hold it in.
» A soft answer at the beginning can turn away wrath… and prevent a breech in a relationship.
» Drop the issue before the contention begins.
» And regardless of who’s to blame for sending out the first spark of contention, be quick to forgive or to say, “I’m sorry”… before irreparable harm is done.
» Prov. 25:8 – don’t be HASTY to enter into an argument. You may not know how to end it!
Proverbs 17:15
Justifying the Wicked and Condemning the Just
Introduction:
1. Solomon seems to have the judicial system of a nation in mind here.
2. Justice is important to God.
3. Justice ought to be important in human government as well… since it was the Lord who instituted human government. (Rom. 13:3)
4. Solomon, as the King in Israel, also functioned as Judge.
a. Judicial matters that were not easily adjudicated in the court system came to the King… as a sort of Supreme Court.
b. You recall the case of the two women who both claimed to be the mother of the living child… and claimed the other was the mother of the child who died.
c. That case was brought to Solomon…
5. Thus, Solomon had a concern for justice in the land.
a. And as an observer of human nature, he also noticed that justice did not always prevail.
b. He noticed that sometimes justice was twisted and perverted.
c. I Kings 8:32 – as King, this was the prayer of Solomon – that God would execute justice in the land.
d. We too are encouraged to PRAY for those in positions of authority in our country… pray for our president. Pray for the judicial system too.
e. Pray for justice—and equality for ALL in our land.
f. That’s what this proverb is all about: justice in the land, and what GOD thinks about perverted justice.
15a He that justifieth the wicked
1. The Wicked:
a. This term is not a general term for wickedness in general or evil. It has LEGAL connotations.
b. Strong’s: guilty one; one guilty of crime.
c. Zodhiates: in the wrong, guilty, criminal.
d. Guilty, i.e., pertaining to being legally not innocent of a violation of law (Ps. 109:7)
2. The wicked are to be CONDEMNED by the judge. (Deut. 25:1)
a. Justifying the wicked is a terrible abuse of a judicial system. It is twisted, perverted, crooked, unfair, unjust, and unreasonable.
b. It is also a violation of the Mosaic Law. The law required justice.
3. Justifying the wicked = acquitting guilty persons in court.
a. A two year old can understand how WRONG this is…
b. But sometimes, it happens… and Solomon observed it.
c. Sometimes it happens through no fault of the court system.
• Witnesses lie in court… (Ex. 23:1)
• Evidence is tampered with… or accidentally mislabeled…
• Eye witnesses sometimes have a faulty recollection…
• Sometimes there is a preponderance of circumstantial evidence that makes a person LOOK guilty…
• Sometimes when all the evidence is laid out, honest, well meaning jurors draw the wrong conclusions.
• Sometimes there’s just not enough evidence available to condemn a guilty criminal.
• Human error is always a possibility… and many a guilty person has been exonerated… justified… because of human error.
• We hear almost weekly about innocent men who were convicted 10, 20, even 30 years ago for crimes they did not commit—and are just now being exonerated due to DNA evidence that did not exist at the time.
• Many of those cases were honest mistakes made based on the evidence they had…
• But that does NOT seem to be the scenario Solomon describes here.
• Solomon seems to be speaking here about INTENTIONAL injustice…
d. Injustice also occurs and it IS the fault of the system.
• Deut. 25:1 – why do you suppose this law had to be instituted in Israel? Doesn’t that go without saying?
• It was instituted because sometimes judges were crooked… and God wanted a law on the books to DEAL with that situation.
• Sometimes they justify the wicked out of popular demand (Ex. 23:2)
• Sometimes those in positions of power justify the wicked upon a bribe… or because of some other means of personal gain. (Ex.23:8)
• Sometimes they justify the wicked to keep their job…
• A judge might justify the wicked because the one he knows to be the guilty party is a friend or relative…
• A judge might do so as a favor to another corrupt official.
• Sometimes they justify the wicked to promote their own political agenda.
4. Intentionally justifying the wicked is what Solomon calls an abomination to the Lord.
a. This is a travesty of justice…
b. It is inexcusable…
c. It is an abomination to God. God hates it.
15b And he that condemneth the just
1. This is another travesty of justice… and equally abominable in God’s sight.
2. Again—it appears that Solomon is not speaking about UN-intentional injustice… or honest mistakes made due to human error… but rather to INTENTIONAL injustice… condemning the just on PURPOSE.
3. This too occurs.
a. This often occurs because of prejudice… bias… and bigotry. That is an abomination to the Lord. He hates it…
• And it happens in this country! Pray for our judicial system…
• Things are improving along these lines—but there will always be racially biased men of all colors who judge according to the color of one’s skin.
b. Just men are also often condemned—yes even in our country—because of money—which he doesn’t have.
• A poor man cannot afford a fancy Philadelphia lawyer to represent him… and his wealthy opponent in court knows all the tricks of the trade to make him LOOK guilty… and thus be found guilty.
• I would not be surprised if we had thousands of innocent men in prison today because they could not afford a good lawyer.
• Ex. 23:6 – twisting judgment for the poor… to get the rich man off the hook. Because it is human nature to do so, God made a law against it.
c. When the people feel they are not getting a fair shake with the government… instability and erosion of the society occurs.
• Prov. 24:23, 24 – there is to be no respect of persons… or the people will rise up against that kind of injustice in the land.
d. Lady Justice is pictured as holding a balance/scale… and being blindfolded.
• She is blindfolded so she can’t see whether the person before the court is dressed in rags or riches…
• Or whether he is red, yellow, black, or white… so she will not judge according to appearance.
• She is to judge according to the facts of the case.
• That is the RIGHT principle… the right system…—but unfortunately, the system is full of PEOPLE and all people are sinners.
• There are corrupt policemen, corrupt lawyers, corrupt judges, corrupt witnesses… and unfortunately, the system doesn’t work perfectly.
4. What we REALLY need is a truly RIGHTEOUS judge—as the One mentioned in Isa. 11:3-5.
a. This judge is also omniscient… and omnipresent… and omnipotent…
b. He doesn’t need any DNA evidence. He doesn’t even need any fancy lawyers to present the facts of the case.
c. He can pierce into the hearts of men. He doesn’t even need the case to be presented before Him.
d. This judge does that which is RIGHT. (Gen. 18:25)
e. This judge will reign as King and Judge—and will execute judgment and justice in the land… (Jer. 23:5)
f. But until that day… when Christ returns to establish His Kingdom, we have a judicial system run by fallen, frail, sinful creatures.
g. Until He comes, we will have guilty murderers like Barabbas set free… and innocent men—like the Lord Jesus condemned o die.
h. No wonder we are commanded to PRAY for kings and for ALL that are in authority (I Tim. 2:1-2). Their decisions affect OUR lives.
15c Even they both are abomination to the LORD.
1. Injustice is an abomination because of who God is…
a. He is a righteous God… a just God.
b. He is a Judge of all the earth, who does RIGHT.
c. Justice and righteousness is part of Whom God is… it is His nature.
2. We even see this kind of behavior exhibited in arenas OUTSIDE the courtroom… in the courtroom of public opinion.
a. It has become quite popular and commonplace today to look down upon and condemn those who promote wholesome, family values… condemning the just in popular opinion.
b. It is also becoming commonplace for the wicked to be justified—whether in the area of abortion… or gay marriage… spanking children… or even evangelizing…
c. That which is just and right is condemned…
d. That which is wicked and wrong is justified…
e. Prov.18:5 – it is not right—but it is happening more and more frequently today.
f. Isa.5:20 – Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil.
3. Psalm 94:17-23 – don’t be discouraged; for in the end, God wins.
a. In the meantime, David refused fellowship with those who perverted justice. (vs. 20)
b. David saw and was troubled by the injustice in the land. (vs. 21)
c. But it did not move him. He stood firm on a solid rock! (vs. 22)
d. He trusted that in God’s good time, justice would ultimately prevail—regardless of how strong the evil appears in the present. (vs. 23)
e. Proverbs 12:2 – God is just and fair. Nobody ever escapes His justice in the end.
Proverbs 17:16
No Heart for Wisdom
16a Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom…
1. Solomon is asking a question here.
a. His question is based upon an observation.
b. This proverb pictures a man with money in hand, able to make a purchase.
c. He possesses the price necessary to obtain wisdom.
d. He is ABLE to make the purchase… but he doesn’t.
e. The question is, “Why?” (wherefore)
2. Price
a. Price, wages, cost. It refers to the value of a transaction, a market price, or the equivalent value in goods.
b. Job 28:12-15 – Of course, we know that wisdom CANNOT be purchased with money…
• It’s WORTH spending all one’s gold and rubies to buy it if you could… but one cannot BUY wisdom.
• If so—all rich people would be wise… and all poor people would be foolish.
• BUT—that is certainly not the case in reality!
c. Solomon is using the concept of making a purchase in a figurative sense to illustrate making another kind of transaction.
d. The concept of making a purchase was used in a figurative sense elsewhere in the Old Testament.
• Isa. 55:1-3 – Come and buy… only with this purchase you can buy without money! All you need is the DESIRE for it… come and receive… knock and it shall be opened unto you…
• The purchase represents another kind of transaction… coming to God for salvation.
• Anyone who comes can buy it… obtain it… even without money.
• This is a figurative way of saying that salvation is offered and available to all… equally…
• In this sense, it is like the wisdom spoken of in Proverbs 17:16.
e. Like salvation, wisdom is also offered in the Old Testament to all… freely… just come and get it! Nobody who comes will be refused.
• Prov. 8:1-5 – Lady Wisdom offers wisdom to all.
• Prov. 8:10-11 – She tries to demonstrate how valuable wisdom is… in hopes of luring “customers.”
• Prov. 8:17 – Seek and ye shall find! It’s available!
• Prov. 8:33 – Don’t refuse it!
• Just come and receive it—make the transaction.
3. The fool in this picture:
a. He HAS the price to make the purchase in his hand…
b. In other words, he has everything necessary to complete this transaction… for him to BECOME wise…
c. He COULD make the purchase if he chose to do so… the money is in his hand…
d. In other words, the fool has at his fingertips the opportunity to become wise…
e. There is no good reason why he COULDN’T gain wisdom… for he has the price in his hand to make the transaction.
4. Fools HAVE in their possession all the “coins” needed to gain wisdom:
a. A sound mind… a capacity to think rationally… reason…
b. The capacity of will – to make decisions…
c. Access to God’s Word…
d. Contact with believers…
e. The ministry of the Holy Spirit… who convicts the whole world…
f. Lady Wisdom is CRYING out to be heard…
g. Parents whose heart desire it is for their children to become wise…
h. Good role models… godly examples…
i. Teachers…
j. The local church…
k. People praying for him or her…
l. The gospel message…
m. Access to God… available to whosoever will call…
n. Time and countless opportunities…
5. The average fool has MOST of these coins in his hand… in his possession.
a. That’s the point of this proverb…
b. He has the price—all he needs to do is make the transaction.
c. Fools have every asset necessary to obtain wisdom… but one.
d. The concept of a purchase here is an illustration…
e. It illustrates this one fact: even a fool could be wise if he wanted to be.
f. Fools are not fools because they lacked the opportunity to become wise… or because they lacked advantage…
g. The fool has everything he needs to “make that purchase”… IF he wants to.
h. He has every advantage, every opportunity, every asset, but one…
16b Seeing he hath no heart to it.
1. When you have the price for an item in your hand, you can get it if you want.
2. The fool has everything he needs to (figuratively) make the purchase… the only thing he lacks is HEART.
a. He has NO HEART for wisdom… he doesn’t want it!
b. He COULD have it… just like others, but he has no heart… no interest… no inward desire for… no will.
c. He has set his heart on other things…
d. Thus, he turns away from Lady Wisdom… seeking other voices…
3. Prov. 1:22-23 – Lady Wisdom is continually crying out to these fools…
a. There is no need for them to remain as fools…
b. All they need to do is respond to the call… come… it is something every last one of them COULD do… IF he had the heart for it.
c. But fools REJECT counsel…
d. Fools won’t listen to the words of wisdom…
e. Fools turn away from the right way for the way of folly…
f. Fools DESPISE wisdom… (Prov. 1:7)
g. Fools HATE knowledge… (Prov. 1:22)
h. Fools DELIGHT in their folly…
4. Deut. 5:29 – God lamented the same “lack of heart” in the Israelites with respect to coming to Him for salvation… and for a walk of wisdom and obedience… they just didn’t have the heart for it.
a. Vs. 27 – on the surface, they SAID, “all that the Lord our God shall speak to you we will hear and do.”
b. They had good intentions… good words…
c. Vs. 29 – But God knew their heart. He knew that they had no heart for Him really. They were but words.
d. There was no good reason WHY Israel could not walk humbly with God in obedience to His Word… a walk of faith.
e. The only real reason was that they had no heart for it.
f. That was the sad truth.
5. This is true when it comes to the wisdom necessary to function in this world… AND it is also true for the kind of wisdom that relates to spiritual things.
a. A man, woman, or child needs to have a HEART for wisdom… or they will never obtain it.
b. Solomon noted, sadly, that MANY fools have had every opportunity to become wise… just like others… but just did not have the heart for it.
c. It is not that they lacked intelligence. It is not a matter of IQ. It’s not a matter of the head, but of the heart. It’s a matter of the heart… will… desire…
d. And giving these folks MORE opportunity isn’t going to resolve the problem.
e. Bailing them out of the hole they have dug for themselves won’t resolve the problem. They will dig themselves another hole.
6. Solomon’s question:
a. The question is really sad and discouraging…
b. Solomon observed this event occurring often and it saddened him…
c. But perhaps even more so, it puzzled him… especially since there was no good reason WHY the fool should remain a fool!
d. WHY? Why would this ever occur, even once, not to mention millions of times?
• Why would God GIVE such people so many advantages?
• Why should such a person be given so many “coins” if they fail to use them?
• Why is it that some persons with MANY coins fail to make the purchase, and someone with only a few coins, who DOES have a heart for wisdom, is able to make the purchase? WHY? (Heart!!!!)
• Solomon’s question is: Why does God even bother with such people?
• Why does God bother to give them so many advantages… privileges… only to see them squander them?
• Solomon is not complaining to God here… he is simply puzzled and perplexed by human nature.
• It does not make sense to him… and he laments the irrational nature of it all…
• And we too have lamented this in folks we have known
• Every one of us has met this kind of fool… with EVERY advantage… yet he/she fails to take advantage of it.
• We all know godly Christian families—with several children—each one possesses the same coins… the same advantages… and yet there may be one of four who has no heart for wisdom—and goes out and makes a big mess of his life… spiritually… or otherwise.
• WHY? Why would a person who has so many coins and advantages at his fingertips NOT make the purchase…?
• The simple, but heartbreaking answer is, he has no heart for it! He doesn’t want it. His heart is set on foolish things.
• Prov. 26:11 – As irrational as it sounds, fools delight in their folly—no matter how disgusting it may seem to those who seek to lead them to something better!
• WHY would they do such a thing? They have no heart for something better.
Proverbs 17:17
A Friend Loveth at All Times
17a A friend loveth at all times
A. WHO
1. Friend Defined:
a. Zodhiates: A masculine noun meaning another person. Most frequently, this term is used to refer to the second party in a personal interaction without indicating any particular relationship.
→ Ex. 18:16 – used of an adversary in court.
→ II Sam. 2:16 – an enemy combatant.
→ Ex. 20:16, 17 – used of one’s neighbor
→ Hos. 3:1 – used of one’s lover… (a female friend)
→ It has a wide range of meaning.
b. Strong’s: friend; companion; fellow; an associate; another person—there are lots of possibilities for a “second party” or “another person.”
c. Most often in Proverbs and the rest of the Bible, it is translated “neighbor” —
→ 31 times “friend”
→ 87 times “neighbor” in the Bible
→ Also as opponent, mate, etc.
d. In some passages in Proverbs, it is quite clear that it should be translated “friend.”
→ Prov. 22:11 – The king shall be his friend (another person of a favorable sort… a friend).
→ Prov. 27:17 – Iron sharpens iron—the result of friendship.
2. The CONTEXT that must determine which meaning best fits the passage.
a. In Prov. 17:17, the “other person” is being compared in a favorable way to a brother.
b. The fact that this other person expresses LOVE indicates it is not an enemy combatant or an opponent at court!
c. Neighbor does not fit well here. Neighbors don’t always express love towards those who live next door. They should, but they don’t.
d. Thus, friend seems like the logical and sensible translation here.
B. WHAT
1. Loveth Defined:
a. Strong’s: to love; human love for another; includes family, and sexual; the act of being a friend.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: have an affection based on a close relationship
c. Used of a love for people (also = a love for God or things)
• Gen. 22:2 – the love of Abram for his son Isaac
• Gen. 25:28 – Rebekah’s love for her son Jacob
• Gen. 29:32 – Jacob’s love for his wife Leah
• Ruth 4:15 – Ruth’s love for her mother in law
• Lev. 19:18 – Love thy neighbor as thyself
d. This term for “love” is used of Abraham.
• He was called a “friend” of God: i.e., loved Him deeply… had a great heart affection for God.
C. WHEN
1. At all times:
a. Time = time in general; at all seasons; at a crisis point.
b. Ecc. 3:1 – and a TIME to every purpose under heaven… (the term appears 19 times in Ecc. 3:1-8)
2. This passage could be understood in one of two possible ways:
a. It could mean that a friend loves at ALL times (continually without interruption).
b. OR it could mean that friends love during all seasons of life.
c. The latter seems more likely to me… more in line with reality.
d. Sometimes there can be FRICTION between friends… and that affection might grow cold for a while.
e. Prov.16:28 – A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.
f. Solomon did not mean in 17:17 that friends love continually, constantly, without ever wavering in their friendship.
g. It is more likely that Solomon meant that real friendship lasts through all kinds of seasons—through all the seasons of life… the good times and the bad times…. through thick and thin… the ups and the downs of life… in sickness and in health… happy days and days of sorrow and grief…
h. God provides FRIENDS for all the seasons of life.
3. Good friends WILL stick it out—during good times and bad.
a. Friends ideally SHOULD love at ALL times.
b. A friend that is friendly only when his own interests are served and the relationship brings him pleasure… is quite selfish… and not the best kind of friend.
c. Prov. 19:4 – Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour.
• Friend and neighbor = same word as friend in 17:17.
• Some folks might appear to be friends during periods of wealth (when you buy the tickets and pay for the food)…
• But when poverty comes… those kind of friends disappear… they separate from their so-called friend.
• He’s a great friend when he is gaining or receiving from the relationship. But he’s not such a friend if his friendship dissipates when he has to GIVE.
• If he bails out when the going gets tough, he’s not much of a friend… he’s a fair weather friend.
d. John 13:1 – Christ is our example of a Friend who loves at all times—even to the end. (Note the presence of Judas!)
e. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. (Rom. 8)
4. We NEED good friends in our journey as a pilgrim.
a. This is another reason why the local church is so important in God’s program… we need one another in a hostile world.
b. Two are better than one…
c. The Christian life was not meant to be lived alone.
17b And a brother is born for adversity.
A. WHO
1. Brother defined:
a. Brother; kinsman; relative; of the same tribe; countryman.
b. The word is used not only of those with common parents but also of those with common ancestors
B. WHEN
1. Adversity—times or seasons of adversity.
a. Adversity:
• Literally – that which is narrow and binding.
• Straits; distress; trouble; anguish; tribulation.
2. A brother is BORN for such times.
a. My first reading of this passage as a new believer gave me the wrong impression: friends are for friendship and affection… brothers are for fighting with. (With 5 brothers, we had our share of scraps together… and this made perfect sense.)
b. However, this proverb is not an antithetical parallelism (showing opposites), but a synonymous parallelism (describing things that are alike).
c. Just as there are friends for all seasons of life… there are brothers or relatives to help us through seasons of adversity.
d. Note that the translators used AND instead of BUT to connect the two parts of this proverb. They also saw this as synonymous rather than antithetical… contrasting.
e. He is not contrasting a brother vs. a friend. Instead, he speaks of how much alike they are: they are to be there when you need them… at all times, but especially in times of adversity.
f. His point is that all throughout life, there is great value in maintaining relationships with friends and family.
g. A friend and a brother are seen as equals here, however, in Prov. 18:24, there are times when a friend is BETTER than a brother.
3. Psalm 35:13, 14 – This is what friends and brothers OUGHT to be… in times of adversity.
a. Comfort; encouragement; a helping hand; right there…
C. WHAT
1. Brothers had certain responsibilities towards one another.
a. To be your brother’s keeper…
b. To raise up seed for your brother’s house if he dies…
c. He is BORN… born into one’s family…
2. Note that God says a brother is BORN into a family for a PURPOSE.
a. True of sisters too.
b. One of the reasons God puts a brother into a family is for a time of need… a calamity… a tragedy…
c. That’s when family really counts… and it is by God’s design.
d. Brothers were BORN for that purpose… and God is the BEGETTER of all… the Sovereign who places individuals in families as it pleases HIM. (We don’t choose this; He does.)
e. God makes no mistakes. He places individuals in the families of His choice… and to accomplish HIS purpose.
3. Rest assured that sooner or later adversity will strike YOUR family.
a. That’s one of the reasons God put you in that family… to minister to your family.
b. Family is an expression of God’s care for people… saved or unsaved.
c. Family was instituted before the fall… it was part of God’s original design.
d. When the earth was cursed—and adversity began to strike—God gave families a whole new purpose.
e. Family members know each other better than anyone else… and are thus equipped to minister in times of need.
f. And think of this in light of our position as a son of God!
g. We were placed in families—who may or may not be saved… they may or may not know the Lord.
h. You were born into THAT family for a purpose… and it is especially valuable as a witness for Christ to the lost.
4. Thus, Solomon lets us know that there is great value in family and friends!
a. Take care of them!
b. Be friendly to them.
c. Be a friend and a brother to them… through all the seasons of life—especially in the days of adversity.
d. That (among other things) is what you were born for!
5. Prov. 18:24a – we all WANT others to be a friend to us. Solomon also warns that WE need to be a friend to them!
a. Sometimes we whine and complain because others are not friendly to us…
b. Friendship is reciprocal.
c. Love isn’t. We can show love expecting nothing in return.
d. But that’s NOT the way it ought to be with friends and family. It OUGHT to be reciprocal.
e. And if we WANT friendship… we need to BE a friend.
Proverbs 17:18
Foolishly Helpful
Introduction:
1. There seems to be a connection in thought between vs. 17 and vs.18.
2. Vs.17 spoke of being a faithful, loyal friend…
a. Even in times of adversity… a loyal friend will stick with you.
b. A true friend loves at ALL times.
c. You can count on a true friend to come through.
d. And we should BE true friends to others.
e. Our friends should be able to count on us!
f. We should be a loyal friend to THEM at all times.
g. We should stick closer than a brother.
h. We should bear one another’s burdens.
i. We should be there in times of adversity.
3. However, Solomon presents us with a stipulation in vs.18. There are LIMITS to what a friend should do for a friend.
a. Here Solomon teaches that we should use care and caution in our financial obligations and promises to a friend.
b. Friendship and emotion can lead a person to commit himself to an obligation he might regret later.
c. This is a warning against rash, thoughtless generosity that might come back to bite us!
18b And becometh surety in the presence of his friend.
1. Surety.
a. This is a subject mentioned often in Proverbs.
b. Surety defined:
• pledge, token, bond,
• pledge, i.e., an object of value that is given as a guarantee of repayment of a loan, or fulfillment of an obligation
• Interestingly, one of the related words to this word family is “hostage.” (The relationship is that when one guarantees the repayment for another, he is a slave or a hostage to the owner of the loan until it is paid off.)
c. Gen. 43:9 – Judah agrees to be the surety for his youngest brother, Benjamin, to his father, Jacob. He states, “I will be the surety for him; of my hand you shall require him.” It was a promise to his father to be responsible and to bear the penalty if he is not returned. It was a pledge to “deliver” (pay up) or else!
2. Becometh:
a. To give a pledge, i.e., give an object or personal security in an agreement to ensure that an agreed future event in fact happens.
b. It is virtually the same word as “surety”. It reads: if you pledge a pledge… if you guarantee to be the one responsible for paying the debt…
3. In modern terms…
a. This is the equivalent of agreeing to sign for a loan… putting up bail… making a promise to pay… promising financial security for someone else’s loans or debts… putting up your house as collateral.
4. A friend.
a. This is the same word for friend as in vs.17
b. It means an associate. It does not necessarily imply a close friend. (lit. = another person)
c. But even with a close friend, it is not always the wisest thing to do.
d. Money problems can turn friends into enemies.
5. In the presence of…
a. Presence: face; superficial;
b. The meaning seems to be: in the presence of your friend.
• When your friend is standing right there… eyeball to eyeball…
• When there is the threat of losing his house, or his car if he doesn’t come up with the money or a guarantee to pay… it’s hard to say NO!
• There is undue pressure on a person to make an important decision—especially in the presence of a friend in need…
c. If you were NOT in his presence, the decision might be easier.
• You might reason, “I’d like to help Joe, but I have bills of my own. I need to put my family before my friend.”
• What happens if Joe doesn’t pay that bill? I’ll get stuck with it! I can’t really afford to take on that responsibility right now.
• Without being put “on the spot”, a much more sensible decision can be made.
• When put “on the spot”, we often agree to things on the spur of the moment that we would otherwise never agree to.
• Salesmen know this. That’s why they put great pressure on a person to make the decision NOW… because they know if they go home and THINK about it sensibly, you will probably not make the purchase at all.
• When under pressure, people agree to things they might NOT agree to if there was no pressure.
18a A man void of understanding striketh hands…
1. Striketh hands:
a. This was an Old Testament custom similar to a gentleman’s handshake – a means of closing a deal.
b. It was the final and binding part of becoming a surety or a guarantor of the other person’s debt.
c. It virtually meant, signing on the dotted line.
2. Solomon says that a man “void of understanding” is often snared by that trap.
a. It is NOT WISE to do so!
b. A man who operates on the spur of the moment without thinking about future ramifications is not wise.
c. A man who makes important decisions based on emotion is not wise. He is void of understanding.
d. Here’s another reason why it is not wise:
• When Joe takes out a loan—paying that loan back is on his mind.
• There is pressure on Joe to work hard; to be diligent; to pay his bills; to get that yoke of debt off his back.
• But once YOU step in as his guarantor, the pressure is gone!
• Joe doesn’t feel such pressure any more to work hard and pay it off.
• Now he has a cushion, and you are it!
• After all, why should Joe break his back working to pay down that debt? If the debt doesn’t get paid, they go after YOU not him!
3. If you HAVE a lot of money—beware!
a. A person looking for someone to bail them out… or to sign a loan for them… or to pledge to be their guarantor for some kind of debt is going to be looking for a person with money.
b. If you have money, you will be a target for such folks.
c. You might discover that you have more so called “friends” than ever when they discover you are wealthy. Beware!
d. Don’t let people talk you into obligating your hard earned money to bail them out of debt!
e. Solomon says this is a trap… those who fall for this trap are not wise.
4. For those who do NOT have a lot money. It is always best to keep OUT of debt ourselves.
a. Do whatever you can to AVOID personal debt.
b. Prov. 22:7 – “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
c. Hence, taking on the responsibility for someone else’s debt is not very wise.
d. You become servant to the lender—and your financial stability is now out of your control… in the hands of another.
e. You could become servant to HIS lender—and gain nothing from it.
f. It’s bad enough becoming a servant for our own bills… be very careful about the possibility of becoming a servant to someone else’s bills!
g. Prov. 22:26–27 – Here Solomon warns about the possibility of signing as a surety when you don’t have the resources to actually MAKE the payments if called upon!
h. If you are willing to sign, make sure you are ready and able to take on the debt… for you may have to!
5. A note to parents:
a. When your kids live under your roof, their financial responsibilities are really yours.
b. However, once they move out on their own—do NOT feel responsible to bail them out of debt.
c. That could be the worst thing in the world for them. You could cause them to become dependent upon you for the rest of their lives…
d. They might never learn to be responsible UNTIL they begin to feel the PAIN of being irresponsible with finances.
e. When face to face with your adult child who is agonizing over the financial hole he has dug for himself… don’t allow the emotion of the moment cause you foolishly to promise to pay what he SHOULD be paying.
f. Don’t allow him to play on your heart strings and wrap you around his or her little finger…
g. That is not love… Love wants the very BEST for the other… and what is best is for that adult child to learn to BE responsible… and to not spend more than he makes…
h. Even if you can afford to bail him out—it is not best for him.
i. That can be a painful lesson. It’s hard to see your kids suffer or go without… but sometimes that’s the only way they will learn.
6. Prov. 11:15 – for a stranger—you are really foolish! (smart – be broken)
a. If Solomon warns us about doing so with a friend—doing so with a stranger is doubly foolish!
b. That person will smart for it!
c. There are lots of folks who pose as friends… good salesmen come across as your best friend… one who is out for YOUR best interest… even though he is a total stranger and is seeking to get your money into his pockets.
d. Beware!
e. Don’t let anybody force you into signing on the dotted line when face to face. Take a day or two to think and pray about it!
7. Men VOID of understanding bind themselves in such agreements.
a. Thus, be careful about signing on the dotted line for a friend… especially under the emotion of the moment.
b. Think and pray about it.
c. You might be better off GIVING him a small amount of money than to agree to be his guarantor.
d. If anything happens YOU are responsible to pay the whole debt in full!
e. Suppose you sign a loan for his car…
• He could die… and you have to pay off his car. His widow may know nothing about it.
• He could become ill and unable to work.
• He could be dishonest… and LET you pay.
• He could have several other debts that other people have signed for and he has no possible way to pay them all off.
f. Solomon warns us here to be careful. A man VOID of understanding falls for this snare. Wise men avoid it.
Proverbs 17:19
Sin and Pride
19a He loveth transgression that loveth strife:
1. In this part of the proverb, Solomon makes a relationship… a direct link between a love for strife and a love for sin.
a. He speaks of two loves here.
b. The love for sin
c. The love for strife
2. The love of strife…
a. Love: to love; to have an appetite for; to have affection for; to have a desire for.
b. Strife:
• a verbal contention or argument; wrangling.
c. Some men have an appetite for STRIFE. They LOVE it.
d. They have a fond affection for fighting; a desire to see any controversy continue…
e. These are the ones who keep on throwing wood into the fires of controversy to keep it ablaze…
f. Prov. 26:20-21 – some men like nothing more than to keep the flames burning… keep the fires of controversy and strife fierce and hot…
g. They are controversial pyromaniacs.
h. Normally, such fires go out relatively easily and quickly, as long as no one adds fuel to the fire.
i. The fires go out. The strife ceases… and peace rules again.
j. But Solomon warns us here that some men LOVE strife.
• They don’t WANT to see the fires go out. They keep adding wood to the fire.
• They don’t want to see strife end. They LOVE the strife… the excitement of it all…
• Just like some men love to watch fires… some men love to watch strife…
• In many large cities there are groups of people who follow fire trucks around the city just to watch apartment buildings burn down. They bring lawn chairs and make a picnic out of it.
• It is a sick and twisted infatuation with the excitement of seeing destruction.
• Some folks have that same kind of sick and twisted infatuation with watching strife and controversy among people.
• Some folks not only love to WATCH it, they go a step beyond that and DO whatever it takes to keep it going… AND to prevent it from dying down.
• As soon as it begins to die out, they throw more wood on the cinders…
• As arguments begin to die down, those who love strife will say, “And another thing! He also said….!”
3. The love of transgression…
a. Transgression:
• Rebellion; revolt; defiance of authority.
• Sin, offence, crime—and it emphasizes the rebellious nature of the sin or crime.
• Though the term is sometimes of used crimes against another man or against a nation, this word primarily expresses a rebellion against God and His laws.
b. Solomon states that there are also men who LOVE transgression.
• They have an affection for defiance and rebellion.
• They have an APPETITE for rebellion… they are hungry for it… they love it.
• Sin is fun… it’s a sport to them.
4. The first part of this proverb teaches us that there is a direct LINK or connection between these two loves.
a. The man who loves controversy and strife ALSO loves rebellion and sin.
b. The person who delights in controversy and strife is a REBEL at heart.
c. He stands in DEFIANCE of authority.
d. It is a matter of AUTHORITY.
• Among nations – if a nation picks a fight or declares war, God gave nations the authority to put down that controversy… with FORCE.
• At home – if the kids are fighting, God gave parents the authority to END that controversy and strife… through discipline…
• In the local church – if the sheep are stirring up controversy, God has given the under-shepherds, the elders the authority to bring that strife to an end… through discipline if necessary.
e. Solomon observed this many times.
• As a King, he had to deal with controversy and strife all the time.
• As a King, he had individuals and groups of people stir up strife…
• He observed that there were some people who seemed to LOVE controversy… they thrived on it.
• He also noted that those same men (or women!) were also rebels against his authority… and against the authority of God.
• He noted that these two traits usually went hand in hand: the one who loved strife and controversy usually had a very rebellious spirit about him.
f. This is true in various realms.
• Those who love strife in a kingdom, usually have an ax to grind against the authority… the king.
• Kids who stir up controversy and strife at school usually do so out of rebellious spirit… rebels against authority in the school.
• People in the congregation at church who seem to love controversy and strife also do so to express rebellion against the authorities in the local church– either the pastor and elders, or the HEAD… Christ Himself.
• Anybody in a position of leadership or authority wants peace and unity. Those who seek to rebel against that authority do whatever they can to make life difficult for them… and one way is to stir up strife!
• At the bottom of a love for strife, is a rebellious heart…
• And though the rebellion might be directed at the teacher, the boss, the king, the elders, or the parents… ULTIMATELY, indirectly, it is rebellion against God… the Author and Source of authority.
5. That is quite a perceptive observation on the part of Solomon… and very helpful for us!
a. When you see someone demonstrating that he LOVES strife (by adding fuel to the fire)—stay away!
b. Remember that behind it all is deep-seated rebellion against authority.
c. Do NOT join him in his rebellion. Reprove him and separate from him. Do not partake of his evil deeds.
d. James 3:14-16 – James tells us that such strife is not only sourced in a heart of rebellion, but that it is earthly, sensual, and demonic to boot!
19b And he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction.
1. In the second part of the proverb, Solomon notes another connection or link between two things.
a. He that exalts his gate…
b. Is connected to the one who seeks destruction.
2. Exalting one’s gate…
a. This is a figurative expression.
b. Literally it speaks of expanding or making one’s gate tall, large, and wide.
c. In those days, the gate or front door to one’s home OR the gate to a wall surrounding their home, reflected a person’s social or financial status.
d. A poor man would have a small and simple doorway or gate.
e. A rich man however, would want everyone to know that he is wealthy. Therefore, he would “exalt his gate” – he would construct a large and ornate front entrance to his residence.
f. It was designed to be ostentatious, showy, and eye catching.
g. This man seeks to exalt his gate ABOVE all his neighbors. He has to show off that he has the best.
h. His gate needs to be bigger and better than the Joneses… he has to outshine all neighbors.
i. Thus, exalting one’s gate is expression of PRIDE.
3. The man who (out of pride) exalted his gate, was in reality SEEKING destruction! He was looking for trouble and calamity.
a. The basic truth in this part of the proverb is mentioned several times in the book: PRIDE leads to destruction.
b. Prov. 16:18; 18:12 –
c. One man noted a possible real life scenario that prompted such an illustration.
• Adam Clark noted that in some parts of Israel it was common to have very SMALL and LOW gates to the walls surrounding a home or city.
• Some were only 3-4 feet tall.
• The reason was SECURITY. If attacked by an enemy on horses or camels, they would not be able to enter.
• Thus, a small, lowly entrance would provide a measure of safety and security.
• But if a man out of PRIDE decided that he wanted his gate large and pronounced, he was inviting destruction! The enemy could easily enter and attack through a large gate.
• In a very real sense, his pride exposed him to destruction!
Proverbs 17:20
A Froward Heart and a Perverse Tongue
20a He that hath a froward heart findeth no good:
A. A Froward Heart
1. Froward Defined:
a. Strong’s: twisted; distorted; crooked; perverse; perverted.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: morally crooked or warped, i.e., pertaining to what is distorted or perverted from a just, right condition.
c. Zodhiates: It is used to describe a deceitful, perverse heart, the source of evil.
2. Usage of the term
a. Prov. 8:8 – True wisdom has no frowardness… no perversity… nothing crooked. That’s one way to recognize the wisdom that is from above: it is PURE.
b. Prov. 11:20 – Those who are froward in heart are an abomination to the Lord.
c. Prov. 28:6 – in spite of God’s estimate of this kind of perversity, evil men use this frowardness to their own advantage.
• Here the contrast is between the rich and the poor.
• The contrast is also between the characters of these two men: one who walks in uprightness but is poor and one who walks in perversity but is rich (same word and froward). It is BETTER to be poor and upright.
• But note that sometimes perversity seems to prosper!
• Sometimes men make great gain by lying and deceiving… through dishonest business practices…
• Through a froward heart they seem to prosper.
B. Findeth No Good
1. Findeth Defined:
a. Strong’s: find; attain; acquire; land upon; encounter; discover.
b. Used in: Gen. 26:19 – discover = Isaac’s servants dug in a valley and discovered water,
c. Used in Ruth 1:9 – experience = The Lord grant that ye may find rest.
2. No Good Defined:
a. Good = good; pleasant; agreeable; happy; beneficial; prosperous; well pleasing; fruitful.
3. Thus, Solomon warns us that those with a froward heart will find NO good… nothing good or pleasant; no happiness; nothing beneficial; no fruit; nothing prosperous.
a. However, this seems to be a contradiction to what Solomon said in Prov. 28:6… where he implies clearly that those with a froward heart DO prosper!
b. Now he says they will not prosper… no good will come their way. So, which is it?
c. There are quite a few proverbs which present to us this same kind of dilemma… an apparent contradiction to the obvious… things which seem to fly in the face of reality.
d. Solomon says that men with froward hearts will see no good… no prosperity. Yet we all know evil men who are quite well off!
e. This is like the dilemma faced by Asaph when he was puzzled by this same thing: Why do the ungodly prosper in the world?
f. Asaph had his dilemma answered by coming to realize that while they prospered in the WORLD… one day they will face judgment before God. They will NOT prosper in the world to come.
g. This and many other proverbs seem to present a similar apparent contradiction… but the APPARENT contradiction is easily cleared up when we view the principle from eternity’s perspective.
4. From eternity’s perspective, those with froward hearts will ULTIMATELY see no good… even if they see it briefly in this life.
a. II Sam. 22:27 – With the froward God will shew Himself unsavoury! (unsavoury: shrewd; cunning; to wrestle.)
b. Psalm 18:26 – with the froward God will shew Himself froward!
c. The froward may boast presently that they are “getting away with murder”… but they are on notice here: God is against you and one day—in this life or in the next—one day God WILL show Himself froward to you!
d. It may be in THIS life:
• Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them. (Prov. 22:5)
• If not, it will sure be in the life to come.
20b And he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.
A. The Perverse Tongue
1. Perverse: overthrown; turned down; turned over; upside down; (a cake not turned)…
2. A person with a froward or perverse heart will eventually manifest that perverse heart through a perverse tongue.
B. Results of a Perverse Tongue
1. That perverse tongue will result in him falling into mischief.
2. Falleth:
a. Strong’s: Fall; to be cast down; knocked over…
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: have an object go from a higher position to a lower position, often with the implication of being out of control in relation to the situation.
c. To drop; to bring down; to fail; to fall.
d. The term speaks of the fact that a perverse tongue leads a person downward… to a fall… perhaps out of control…
3. He falls into MISCHIEF.
a. Defined: evil; misery; calamity; distress, adversity, disagreeable, unwholesome, or harmful.
b. Instead of finding good (pleasant; agreeable; fruitful), he finds NO GOOD… and falls into MISCHIEF… that which is harmful and disagreeable… full of harm and adversity.
c. The man with an unbridled, perverse tongue will fall into one mischief after another… until he deals with the source of his trouble: his own tongue!
d. This proverb is a powerful warning to us all.
• What goes on in our hearts and what slips off our tongues determine to a great degree where we end up… the course of our lives… what happens to us in life… whether life turns out good or not so good… agreeable or disagreeable… happiness or distress…
• Much of that is determined by what we allow in our hearts and on our tongues.
• Froward hearts and perverse tongues will reap what they sow… trouble and hardship.
4. It implies that MUCH of what we suffer as human beings, we bring on ourselves…
a. Much of it is the result of following our froward hearts… and the result of our tongues… saying things we should not say.
b. Many of the calamities we face could be avoided…
c. If we are not finding GOOD in our lives, it could be a heart problem!
d. If we find ourselves in constant calamity—it could be the result of an undisciplined tongue.
C. What to Do
1. Solomon gives a word to the wise here… a word to be HEEDED.
2. We are given valuable information… valuable truth and wisdom and we are expected to DO something about it.
3. Prov. 4:23 – Give all diligence to our HEART.
a. We are so prone to give all diligence to the various troubles and circumstances of life… and choose to get to the heart when things settle down and we have time…
b. That is sort of like mopping up a floor when the water faucet is wide open and flowing from the sink to the floor. Rather than mopping up the mess… go to the source of it FIRST and turn off the faucet!
c. Too often as believers we spend way to much time mopping up the messes in our lives and don’t spend nearly enough time dealing with the SOURCE of the mess: our hearts!
d. Keep your heart with ALL diligence.
• ALL implies that we should put ALL of our diligence into first dealing with the heart.
• Out of the heart flow all the issues of life.
• If we concentrate on trying to fix all the “issues of life” first, we will never get around to the source of it all.
• If we keep our hearts, then our tongues will be in line too… and the source of so many of our troubles and distresses will be “shut off.”
4. A few small adjustments in the heart could change the whole course of our lives…
a. From finding “no good” to finding spiritual prosperity, joy, contentment, and satisfaction in Christ…
b. From “falling into mischief” to standing firm on solid ground.
c. A few small twists on the faucet can prevent a huge mess on the floor… and save us from a big mess to mop up.
d. A few small adjustments in the heart can prevent us from having to deal with a long list of calamities…
e. Solomon warns us where a froward heart will lead: to no good! He warns us where a perverse tongue will lead: to mischief and trouble.
f. We can spare ourselves a lot of trouble… and often by some minor fine-tuning of the heart:
• A simple “I’m sorry.”
• Confession of sin…
• A tongue yielded to the Holy Spirit
• A heart that has been saturated in God’s Word each morning…
• Little changes can produce huge results.
• Failure to deal with the heart (and thus the tongue) can result in finding no good… nothing but trouble.
Proverbs 17:21, 25
Grieving Parents
Introduction:
1. These two passages describe for us grieving parents, and they explain the REASON for their grief: a foolish child.
2. These are extremely SAD verses. There isn’t anything positive said in either proverb.
3. Four sad statements are made. Three relate to the father and one to the mother.
THE FOUR SAD STATEMENTS:
21a He that begeteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow:
1. The first word for Fool: kes·eel
a. This term is also used in verse 25… but is different from the term used in the second part of this proverb.
b. Strong’s; stupid fellow; dullard; simpleton; arrogant one.
c. dull and thickheaded
d. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: the state of being in complete lack of understanding, implying rebellion.
e. Zodhiates: usually unable to deal with life in a successful, practical way.
f. Theol. Wordbook of the Old Testament: The term refers not to mental deficiency, but to a propensity to make wrong choices.
• Fools don’t LIKE understanding. They have no interest or heart for it. (Prov. 18:2)
• His folly or mischief is a game to him. (Prov. 10:23)
• Fools do not understand issues (Ps. 92:6)
• Fools live in a fog of darkness (Ecc. 2:14)
2. The father who begets a foolish son does so to his OWN sorrow.
a. The fool lives a life of sorrow that he brings on himself.
b. Here Solomon notes that he also brings sorrow into the life of his father…
c. As the son bumbles through life, making one poor choice after another, it brings sorrow to the son… but also to the father.
d. And this sorrow doesn’t go away when they move out on their own. A father will always be a father to his son… throughout his adult life too.
e. Sorrow defined:
• grief, heaviness, sorrow, anguish
• The emotion and process of feeling a great loss and loneliness.
• a mental troubling resulting from affliction
3. MANY godly fathers have endured this kind of sorrow from their foolish sons.
a. Gen. 26:34-35 – Esau’s poor choices were a grief to his parents the rest of their lives!
b. I Sam. 2:32-35 – Eli
c. I Sam. 8:3 – Samuel
d. II Sam. 18:33 – David
4. Usage of the term “sorrow”
a. Lam 3:32–33 – it was used to describe the grief of the Jews during the destruction of Jerusalem.
• God reminds them that the ANSWER to their grief and sorrow is to found in the faithfulness and mercy of God!
• Your son may be unfaithful to you or to the truth that you taught him.
• But your heavenly Father is faithful to you.
• And God doesn’t afflict or cause grief willingly.
• Such suffering and sorrow is the result of life in a cursed earth… not God’s will… not the desire of His heart!
b. Psalm 119:28 – another usage of the term speaks of heaviness of heart that weighs us down and “melts our souls.”
• The answer to that is found in the strength God gives in the Word.
• He builds up and restores our melted soul through the ministry of the Word.
c. If you have a foolish child—one who seems to continually make poor choices, then there is an ANSWER to the sorrow that results: know who God is… knowing His faithfulness… His mercy… and allowing His WORD to restore your heavy soul and lift you up!
21b And the father of a fool hath no joy.
1. The second term for fool (nabal)
a. Fool defined
• Senseless person
• Pertaining to lacking understanding or even the capacity for understanding, implying a willful moral insolence and impudence and disobedience to the law of God.
• Insensibility to God, as well as a moral insensibility.
• This kind of fool says “there is no god.”
• This kind of fool reproaches the name of God.
• Nabal = the name of the husband of Abigail who was rightly named. He was a “nabal”—a fool. He would not listen…
• It is unclear what distinction Solomon intended by using two different terms for fool. They may have been chosen simply to avoid redundancy.
2. The father of a foolish son… a senseless, disobedient son who lacks understanding… has NO JOY.
a. This part of the proverb says virtually the same thing as the first part…
b. It is added to reinforce the statement… stating it in the negative.
c. He has sorrow and NO JOY.
3. Of course, this doesn’t mean that he has no joy in his life at all.
a. It means that he derives no joy from the condition of his son.
b. Every time he thinks of his son, there is no joy: his joy dries up… and sorrow enters his heart.
c. What other emotion COULD you have for such a child?
d. There is nothing happy or joyous about a child who ruins his life… and stumbles through life making poor choices and suffering from those poor choices.
4. That parent has sorrow and no joy.
a. It is almost like grieving for a dead person.
b. His life is gone… ruined. Hopes of a productive life are over for him.
c. That brings grief… not unlike the grief brought on by death.
d. Only this child is still alive…
5. That father will not find his source of joy in his son.
a. But he can and SHOULD find his source of joy in the LORD!
b. Hab. 3:18 – Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
c. Actually, the Lord is to be the source of our joy no matter HOW your kids turn out.
d. Our children are NOT our true source of Joy… they ought not to be our god… our center of attention…
e. When the Lord is the source of our true joy, the Source never changes… our joy will remain… and no man can take our joy from us… not even a wayward child.
25a A foolish son is a grief to his father.
1. This word “foolish” is the same root as fool in vs. 21a. (kes·eel) [dull and thickheaded; unable to deal with life successfully]
2. Here Solomon states that this kind of a son (or daughter by the way!) is a GRIEF to his father.
3. Grief:
a. Strong’s: vexation, grief, frustration, provocation… even to anger…
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: the feeling of anxiety and sadness in a distressing situation.
c. Theol. Dict. of the Old Testament: Vex, agitate, stir up, or provoke the heart to a heated condition.
4. A foolish child causes his father grief… vexation of soul… distress… and sadness.
a. This is the sort of condition that keeps a man up at night…
b. This term implies how upsetting it is to the parent… vexing… troubling… distressing…
c. Prov. 19:13 – A foolish son is the calamity of his father: (calamity = engulfing ruin, destruction.)
d. How could a wayward child cause such grief and heartache? It is because of LOVE.
25b And bitterness to her that bear him.
A foolish son is bitterness to his mother.
1. The mother is also deeply affected by a wayward son.
a. Bitterness:
• The Hebrews expressed tragic, unpleasant experiences in terms of the sense of taste, the bitter.
• Dict. of Bibl. Lang.: bitterness, grief, i.e., a mental state of personal anguish or regret, implying annoyance toward someone.
• Zodhiates: harsh; the opposite of pleasantness.
b. Such a son is a bitter pill for the mother to swallow too.
c. Prov.10:1 – it is “heaviness” for the mother.
Exhortations
1. To older parents with a wayward son:
a. Be sure you make the LORD your source of joy. He never changes… and no one can take that joy—TRUE joy from you… not even the ongoing foolish antics of a foolish son.
2. To younger parents bringing up their children:
a. BEWARE! This could happen to you!
b. Make sure that your children do not become fools because of negligence on YOUR part.
c. There’s no guarantee how they will turn out… but if they go astray, be sure that it’s not your fault!
d. Do whatever it takes to PREVENT this from happening to them!
e. Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Pray for them daily… hourly…
f. And start now learning this important lesson: no matter how they turn out, the LORD is the Source of our joy…
g. Don’t let your children become your god.
h. Christ is to have all the preeminence, not your kids.
3. To children:
a. Maybe you are presently sitting on the fence: teetering back and forth… debating about which way to go…
b. Debating between whether you should follow the advice of your parents and being a wise son… OR forsaking your training and living for yourself… and doing your own thing… and not listening to authority… and ending up as a fool.
c. Make good decisions NOW before your heart gets hardened into folly.
d. Remember, that the life of a fool is no fun. It brings great sorrow to YOU for the rest of your days. There are consequences to folly.
e. And think of others too… your folly can cause unending grief and sorrow for your parents too.
f. If you’re not saved, get saved! That’s the first step to wisdom.
g. If you are saved and not walking with the Lord, then repent… and get right.
h. Don’t ruin your life… and the lives of those around you!
Proverbs 17:22
A Merry Heart
22a A merry heart doeth good like a medicine
A. A Merry Heart
1. Heart:
a. It refers to the inner man—including the mind, will, heart,
b. It is the source of life of the inner person in various aspects, with a focus on feelings, thoughts, volition, and other areas of the inner life.
c. It speaks of the immaterial inner self… the inner man as opposed to the body, the outer man.
d. This proverb speaks of a RELATIONSHIP that exists between the inner man and the outer man.
e. We speak of man as being “tripartite” meaning he has body, soul, and spirit.
f. The condition of the soul and spirit on the inside can have an effect on the body—the outside.
g. In this passage, Solomon only speaks of two parts to a human being—the inside and the out… the heart and the body…
h. His point is that they are related and one has an effect on the other.
i. There is such a thing as a psychosomatic relationship that can be beneficial or harmful to our health.
2. Merry:
a. Joyful; glad; delight; contentment; pleasing; cheerful; happy…
b. The term is used to describe the emotions evident at the joyous Jewish festivals, the anointing of a king, the birth of a baby, the reception of blessings from the Lord…
c. It is an inward delight…
d. Who wouldn’t want a merry heart?
e. To be inwardly happy, satisfied, content, delighted, joyous… the whole world strives for that…
f. But in spite of the fact that everyone wants it, it is RARE.
B. Doeth Good
1. A merry heart does GOOD to the one who has it.
a. It is good for you!
b. If you are down physically… dealing with a chronic disease or if you are dealing with a loss or a trial… a good attitude (especially a joyous attitude) is like medicine!
c. The worst of circumstances are lightened and lessened by a merry heart.
2. Good:
a. Good, well, pleasing, beneficial…
b. Used in Deut. 5:16 – children are to obey their parents that it might go WELL with them… it is beneficial for them to do so.
c. It is good and beneficial in many ways for a person to have a merry heart.
3. A merry heart is good like medicine.
a. Medicine: cure, healing, restoration…
b. Medicine works on the body. When we are sick, medicines are supposed to take away the sickness… heal the body… restore the body to good health once again.
c. Medicines do GOOD to the body: by healing and restoring it.
d. Solomon states here that a merry heart has the same effect as a medicine!
e. A cheerful, joyous, upbeat HEART can help restore the body… or perhaps better understood as the “whole person” in a manner similar to the way medicine restores the body.
f. A person’s inward state of mind and emotions can have an effect on his or her ability to heal and to be restored from a physical ailment.
g. A merry heart is BENEFICIAL to you as a person. It can even have a beneficial effect on healing from what ails you.
h. Just as worry can adversely affect you physically; joy can be beneficial to you physically.
4. The benefits of a merry heart.
a. Prov. 15:13 –It radiates right through to the countenance.
• It can be SEEN on your face.
• The inside affects the outside.
b. Prov. 14:30 – a sound (healthy) heart is the life of the flesh…
c. Prov. 15:15 – it results in a continual feast.
d. Prov. 18:14 – a healthy spirit—a strong, content, joyous inner man—will sustain a person’s infirmity: physical or emotional.
• Teens on a long overnight hike became worn out… and were ready to quit hiking.
• But once they discovered we were LOST—they all cheered up… and were transformed from weary group on the verge of quitting—to energetic trailblazers!
5. A Christian can have a merry heart regardless of the circumstances.
a. The world desires to have a merry heart.
• Hence, they seek to arrange circumstances such that they can enjoy merriment… happiness…
• To the world, happiness comes only through happy circumstances… pleasant “happenstances.”
• If things are going well, they have a merry heart. If things are not going well, they lose their merry heart.
• They live in the natural realm and that is the only realm they know.
• When circumstances in the natural realm are pleasant, they have a merry heart.
• When circumstances in the natural realm are UN-pleasant, they are discouraged, defeated, depressed.
b. That ought NOT be the case for us as believers.
• Our inner joy is not linked to circumstances but to Christ.
• The emotional condition of our heart ought to be determined by our relationship to Christ! (Ps. 42:11– HE is the health of my countenance!)
• We are told to rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS.
• Even if there is NO fruit on the vine, yet I will rejoice in the Lord—I will joy in the God of my salvation!
• Our joy is sourced in the Lord… not in circumstances.
But a broken spirit drieth the bones
A. A Broken Spirit
1. Same expression as “wounded spirit” in Prov. 18:14 – who can bear?
2. It speaks of a crushed, broken, wounded, pulverized spirit… ground to powder… no strength… no breath… depressed… discouraged… distant… alone…
3. A broken spirit looks at the gloomy side of everything… worries over anything… it’s cup is always half empty… it is inwardly tortured by dark thoughts… thinking only and always of the worst possible things that could happen… it is introverted… thinking of self…
4. Lots of circumstances in life can break the spirit… and it can be unbearable. It can be more intense and worse than physical pain.
5. This heavy emotional burden can affect us spiritually and physically. It affects the whole person.
B. Drieth the Bones
1. A broken spirit can dry up the bones… it can have a withering effect on the body… robs the body of its vitality…
2. Things like worry, fear, anxiety, guilt, anger, hatred, bitterness can adversely affect us physically.
3. Sorrow can break the spirit. (Prov. 15:13) That can have an effect on you physically too. You can get run down…
C. Victory Over Circumstances
1. Don’t allow YOUR spirit to remain wounded or broken.
2. It is natural for a spirit to be wounded in the battles of life.
3. It is NOT natural for a spirit to REMAIN that way. It will dry the bones… it can become unbearable.
4. It can lead to depression and even suicide.
5. Hence, it is our responsibility to pay attention to our spirit. And there are things we can DO to deal with a broken spirit.
a. Prov. 4:23 – Keep (guard) your heart with all diligence applies here. Don’t ignore your heart… your spirit… your inner man. Pay attention. Guard it… protect it.
b. Keep your heart clean… sins confessed…
c. Communion with Christ… abiding in Him… staying in close fellowship with Him… Remember, He came to “bind up the broken hearted.” (Isa. 61:1) He came that we might have joy.
d. Increase your prayer life. (John 16:24 – Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.)
e. Bathe your mind in the Word… renew your mind.
f. Think on things above… on things that are lovely…
g. Get fellowship with other believers. (John wrote about our fellowship one with another “that your joy might be full.” (I John 1:3-4)
h. Get some physical exercise too. Remember, there is a relationship between the inner and outer man.
i. Keep your old man on the cross—by faith.
• That old man LOVES to wallow in self-pity.
• He loves to lick his wounds…
• He loves to carefully rehearse all of his woes… his trials and troubles… one by one…
• He doesn’t deserve to be pitied. He deserves the cross. That’s God’s sentence for him.
6. The believer’s heart is to be MERRY.
a. But not all merriment is good.
b. It is the joy of the Lord… joy from the Word… from fellowship and communion… from spiritual things that makes our heart merry.
c. Ecc. 2:1-2 – Solomon sought to make his heart merry through earthly pleasures… and discovered that it was all vanity… emptiness. Laughter and mirth were not a medicine but madness!
d. A merry heart made merry through a relationship to God does good like a medicine.
Proverbs 17:23
Perverting Justice
23 A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.
1. Many of the proverbs make a contrast or compare two things.
2. This one does not. It simply makes a statement of fact: Bribes pervert justice.
3. Solomon has spoken about injustice previously in Proverbs. Each statement adds another layer of truth on the subject.
4. Here he speaks of the PURPOSE of a bribe: to pervert justice.
5. The statement is true on an individual level; on a judicial level; and on a national level. Bribes pervert justice.
The Evil Purposes of Bribes: (Short term)
1. Prov. 17:23 – to pervert justice.
a. Here Solomon tells us WHY men use bribes: in order TO pervert justice.
b. Bribes are given with a specific design… with a specific intention… with a purpose in mind.
c. Here Solomon tells us what that the purpose is. It is a deliberate perversion of justice.
2. Pervert:
a. Defined: to stretch out, extend, spread out, pitch, turn, bend, pervert, deviate,
b. Usage:
• I Kings 11:2, 4 – used of women TURNING Solomon’s heart…
• Hearts and minds of men can be perverted by outside influences. Solomon’s heart was perverted—twisted.
• Num. 20:17 – we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left (turn – pervert – same word)
• If the heart is perverted, it results in perverted actions eventually…
c. Perversion speaks of a twisting out of the right way… bending so as to no longer be straight…
d. Justice should be straight as an arrow. But bribes can BEND that arrow… twist it… Arrows that are bent don’t end up where they should… they miss the mark.
e. Bribes are designed to pervert justice…
• Ex. 23:8 – bribes blind the wise and TWIST words… and it is all done on purpose!
» wise = open eyes;
» It speaks of those who SHOULD be able to see.
» That is the intended purpose of GIVING the gift… the bribe… to BLIND the eyes of those who should be able to see the TRUTH and judge clearly.
• The purpose is to CHANGE the words… for the purpose of securing a desired end: a perversion of justice to suit the one giving the bribe.
» Such a gift might be designed to change the words of the witnesses or the judge…
» Perhaps just a “stretching” of the truth here and there…
» It is a well thought out, planned perversion of justice for one’s own personal benefit…
• I Sam. 8:1-3 – bribes LURE judges away from justice
» Samuel’s sons were judges… but they were evil judges.
» They TURNED ASIDE after lucre. (same word as pervert in Prov. 17:23 – used two times here)
» Money moved these men… it perverted them… it caused them to deviate from the path of justice.
» The judges became perverted and thus the justice became perverted.
» Money was behind it all.
» Paul tells us that money is the root of all kinds of evil!
3. Perverting justice
a. This is quite an indictment against human nature—to think that money could be more important than justice.
b. Isa. 1:21-23 – Here Isaiah laments the awful moral decline in Israel.
• They fell from being faithful to being a harlot; from righteous to murders!
• Because of bribes, the orphans and widows were not given justice… they were ignored.
• Poor people suffer because of those in positions of authority are greedy and twist judgment for money.
• Prov. 29:4 – bribes overthrow the land
» Justice strengthens a land.
» Bribes – a form of injustice RUINS a land.
» Overthrow: pull down, to break through, to overthrow, to destroy.
c. One danger of committing an act of injustice is that it might come back to bite you one day! You reap what you sow.
• Injustice often leads to revolt and rebellion against that injustice.
• Leaders who oppress the poor and rule with injustice sometimes find themselves at the mercy of the poor if the Peasants rebel!
The One Receiving a Bribe
1. Solomon emphasizes here the one who RECEIVES the bribe.
a. Taketh: to take; get; fetch; lay hold of; seize; receive; acquire.
2. The bribe is OFFERED for the purpose of perverting justice.
a. But the offer is useless unless it is received.
b. Even if bribes are offered, justice will be still carried out if the bribes are refused by the one TO WHOM they are offered.
c. While both men are evil… both the one offering the bribe and the one receiving it, here Solomon emphasizes the evil of the one who RECEIVES it.
3. The one RECEIVING a bribe is the one in a more responsible position.
a. Judge; lawyer; witness who has sworn under an oath; a senator; legislator; governor; CEO.
b. Even if 90% of the population is corrupt and offer bribes, justice will prevail if they are refused by the FEW in responsible positions… where it matters.
4. Note also the secrecy involved here: out of the bosom.
a. Bosom: refers to a fold in the garment used as a hidden pocket…
b. When a bribe is covered up in the bosom and passed from the bosom to the one receiving it—BOTH parties realize that what they are doing is WRONG.
c. The fact that they have to conceal it means they know what they are doing.
d. When a bribe occurs BOTH parties are obviously guilty.
→ They know WHAT they are doing (purposely perverting justice).
→ And WHY they are doing it (to obtain an outcome favorable to the one offering the bribe).
→ And they know it is WRONG (for they conceal it).
e. Thus, they are guilty and accountable. No excuse.
f. Of course hiding the gift in the bosom hides it from the sight of men, but certainly not from the eyes of the Lord.
5. Solomon says that the man who RECEIVES this bribe in secret is WICKED.
a. It is HIS sin.
b. He can’t claim that he was tricked or deceived… or lured into a trap. He WALKED into the trap because of his greed and his wicked heart.
c. In our legal system, cases are thrown out of court if there is entrapment… a set up… but that is NOT the case with God’s system of justice.
d. It was up to him to say NO to the bribe… but he didn’t.
e. When someone attempts to LURE us into ANY kind of sin, it is up to us to reject it… and if we don’t, we are guilty.
f. Of course both parties are guilty, but in this proverb God lays the blame on the one who receives it.
g. As Christians, we should be aware that our adversary will attempt to “set us up” and “entrap” us in to sin… into his snares all the time. It is up to us to say NO!
The WAY of judgment (justice)
1. WAY: This term speaks of a way, a road, a pathway, a highway, figuratively as a course of life… a way of life…
a. Thus, this seems to broaden the concept of injustice here from one isolated act to a WAY of life… either for an individual or a society.
b. One act of injustice is an integral part of the WAY of injustice.
c. The pathway to injustice begins with one act… one step on the pathway… and it can lead to a whole course of life.
2. A wicked man who thinks he is just committing one isolated act of injustice is in reality part of a BIGGER problem… the WAY of injustice.
a. When one act of injustice is tolerated, it tends to corrupt the whole system of justice. It PERVERTS the whole.
b. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
c. “If he can do it, then so can I”… and it increases, until it becomes commonplace.
3. We might not find ourselves in a position to either offer or receive an actual bribe.
a. But we CAN commit a similar sin by secret acts of dishonesty for personal gain.
b. Most of us don’t hold positions of authority wherein we have to worry about being offered a bribe.
c. Secret acts of dishonesty at ANY level contribute to the corruption of the way of justice in the land… and weakens the whole fabric of society.
d. Often when leaders are corrupt, it encourages the little guys—like us—to follow suit…
e. Examples:
• Workers at toll booths who let their friends go through for free…
• Taking coffee at work, but not putting the money in the can…
f. This is the leavening process of the corruption of a society.
g. We lament when we hear of corrupt judges or politicians. We bemoan the direction our country is headed.
h. But every time WE stretch the truth, we too are weakening the fabric of our society.
i. As a Christian, we should stand against dishonesty—in every one of its forms…
j. Acts 24:26 – Felix sought for a bribe from Paul.
• Paul could have been released and never would have been sent to prison in Rome.
• He could have saved himself a lot of grief if he had just greased the palms of Felix… as was suggested.
• However, Paul did not bend. He did not offer a bribe—as was common practice.
• Paul’s integrity was not for sale.
k. Every offer of a bribe… every temptation to be dishonest is a test of our character.
• The sin is far worse for a believer because we have more light. We should know better.
• The devil seeks to cause us to sin.
• God seeks to approve us…
• Our character hangs in the balance…
The Effectiveness of Bribes: (short term)
• Prov. 17:8 – monetary bribes are effective!
• Prov. 18:16 – men often advance because of bribes
• Prov. 21:14 – money can buy off anger… appease wrath…
Warnings Against Bribes:
• Deut. 16:18 – judges and offices were required to be JUST… fair…
• Deut. 27:25 – a curse is placed on one who bribes that leads to a person’s death… a paid hit man
• Prov. 15:27 – it is good to HATE bribes
• Isa.5:23 – WOE to them who justify the wicked for money.
Proverbs 17:24
The Eyes of a Fool
24a Wisdom is before him that hath understanding
1. The man of understanding has wisdom before him.
a. This book of wisdom begins with several chapters speaking of Lady Wisdom calling out to all who would hear her voice. (Prov. 1:20-23)
b. This man listens… his eyes and ears turn to her.
c. He focuses on wisdom; He concentrates on wisdom
d. Wherever he looks, and at whatever he sees, he sees it through the eyes of wisdom.
e. Wisdom is ever before him… like frontlets before his eyes.
f. Therefore, wisdom is always AVAILABLE to him.
g. It is available because he KNOWS God… and KNOWS God’s Word. He hides God’s word in his heart.
h. Therefore, wisdom is right before his eyes everywhere he looks.
2. Wisdom is a matter of the heart, not the head.
a. Prov. 2:10 – First wisdom enters the heart… not just the head.
b. Prov. 14:33 – Then wisdom RESTS in the heart… (rest = to settle; pause; repose; to settle down; be at rest.)
c. In the heart of a man of understanding, wisdom enters and then settles down…
d. For this man, wisdom is before his eyes because it is residing and resting in his heart.
e. A man of understanding is wise because his heart LISTENS to Lady Wisdom calling. He listens and responds.
f. Fools don’t listen… but he does.
g. This is not a matter of intelligence, but a matter of the heart.
h. A man’s eyes look at (focus upon) that which his heart WANTS to look at… focus on…
i. His heart is in tune with God; therefore, he listens to Lady Wisdom.
j. He is open for God’s guidance and instruction. He is willing to let God’s Word control his choices.
k. Thus, he FOCUSES on wisdom. It is constantly before his eyes… because it is residing in his heart. It affects everything he does.
3. He sees wisdom and applies wisdom by making wise choices.
a. Of course he is AWARE that other options are available… many of which are foolish.
b. However, a man of understanding THINKS about the consequences of those options… of making foolish decisions.
c. Hence, a man of understanding keeps WISDOM before his eyes at all times.
d. That wisdom filters out foolish decisions… and predisposes him into making wise choices.
e. Whatever set of circumstances comes his way he views it all through the lens of wisdom.
f. Wisdom is constantly before his eyes.
4. The man with SPIRITUAL understanding is focused on one thing: Christ… in whom dwells all wisdom!
a. Col. 2:3 – all wisdom is in Him.
b. Col. 1:18 – He is to have all preeminence.
c. Heb. 12:2 – Looking unto Jesus…
d. II Chron. 20:12 – “O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.”
• A man of understanding doesn’t always have all the answers.
• But his eyes know where to look for guidance!
e. The man with spiritual understanding keeps his eyes on things above. His affections are on things above.
f. This man is focused… in mind and heart… not double minded… not looking in all directions…
g. His eye is single and his whole body will be full of light.
h. This man will have wisdom from God before his eyes at all times…
i. He will be ready to apply spiritual wisdom to every set of circumstances that may arise.
j. It is not the eye gate that guides us, but the heart. That’s why it’s so important that our hearts be under the control of the Holy Spirit.
24b But the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.
1. In contrast to the man of understanding stands the fool.
a. He is anything BUT focused!
b. His eyes are wandering all over the place!
c. His eyes wander from one thing to the next… and he never sees wisdom.
d. He doesn’t pay attention to anything long enough to see wisdom.
e. His eyes are in the ends of the earth because his heart is not fixed… not stable… not steadfast… but wandering.
2. Lady Wisdom is calling out to him too, but he is unwilling to pay attention, focus, listen, or to change. (Prov. 1:20-23)
a. Her message is TURN at my reproof! (vs.23)
b. Very often Lady Wisdom says, “Change! You’re going in the wrong direction! Stop and think! Repent!” And the fool doesn’t want to hear that.
c. Once it is understood that the words of Lady Wisdom might require an inward change… submission… repentance… obedience… he stops listening… he stops looking in that direction…
d. His eyes are elsewhere… ANYWHERE else… in the ends of the earth!
e. Once the message of wisdom starts digging deep into the heart… and calling for repentance… he becomes uncomfortable and doesn’t want anyone probing in his heart.
f. Darkness hates the light… and runs away from the light. When a person chooses to live in darkness, his eyes become acclimated to darkness, and light hurts his eyes. His decision to walk in darkness predisposes him to turn away from the light.
g. Prov. 14:6 – “A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.”
• The fool who scorns words of wisdom… will SEEK wisdom when he needs it… and his eyes will look unto the ends of the earth… but will not find it.
• Prov. 1:24, 25, 28 – Lady Wisdom STOPS calling after a while…
• You can only ignore the voice of Lady Wisdom for so long…
• As time goes on, and there is no response to her voice, it begins to fade away… the voice of wisdom becomes faint and distant…
• Then the fool doesn’t even know WHAT direction to look in…
• He becomes less and less sensitive to wisdom… deaf and blind… and increasingly foolish.
3. Have you ever known a person that continually flits about from one thing to the next?
a. They take up the piano for a few months and quit; then it’s scuba diving and quit; then it’s golf; then it’s art lessons for a few months.
b. In their career, they go from the medical field, to a plumber, then they are interested in law, then it’s broadcasting, then on to some other career.
c. This fool is unsettled, unfocused, distracted, without direction, aimless, undisciplined in mind and heart… he looses interest easily… he ends up wandering from one thing to the next.
d. He can’t fix his mind on anything, and therefore he is unable to pursue anything with any diligence, purpose, or steadfastness.
e. He would rather mindlessly watch the clouds and dream…
f. He never makes any headway.
4. Men do this in the spiritual realm too.
a. They flit from one doctrine to the next…
b. They go from one church to another…
c. They dabble in this theory for a while… then in another…
d. Ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth… because deep down inside they don’t really WANT the truth. It’s a matter of the heart.
e. They would rather debate foolish and unlearned questions that do gender strife…
f. Like the Greeks in Acts 17, they always want to hear some new thing… and never become resolved on anything.
g. They heap to themselves teachers… because they have itching ears… always wanting to hear something new and different.
h. Many years go by—and they are still not sure about what they believe… eternal security… whether they are dispensational or Covenant… whether the Bible has errors in history or not… whether tongues are for today or not…
i. Flitting is much easier and more fun than settling down and digging in roots… and becoming fruitful.
5. Phil. 3:13 – What a contrast to a man of wisdom—like Paul. This ONE THING I do… with his eyes focused on Christ alone… he pressed toward the mark.
a. He was determined NOT to be distracted.
b. Paul’s eyes were not wandering all over creation. He was focused on Christ.
Proverbs 17:26
Injustice is Not Good
Introduction:
1. There are several “not good” proverbs in this book.
2. They are Solomon’s observations on various aspects of life—and they are usually pretty obvious—as is this one.
3. NOT GOOD: punishing good citizens, or resisting good rulers.
4. Solomon tells us something that is not good—that anyone with common sense would recognize.
5. However, such statements ARE necessary, because it happens often in corrupt societies—that things get turned upside down… and the obvious isn’t always obvious to the average citizen. Common sense and fairness do not always prevail.
6. Isa. 5:20 – Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.
7. We live in confusing days… wherein common sense and fairness are often turned upside down.
8. This seems to be what Solomon is speaking about in this proverb.
26a Also to punish the just is not good
1. Punishing the just is NOT good. It is evil.
a. 18:5 – overthrowing the righteous in judgment… is not good.
b. 17:15 – condemning the just is an abomination. It is exceptionally evil.
c. Rom. 13:3-4 – Rulers are NOT a terror to good works.
• Solomon speaks here about the times when magistrates ARE a terror to good works!
• When just men—innocent, good men—do that which is good and just and are punished by the government… that is an abomination.
• Magistrates are to be a terror to EVIL, not to good citizens.
2. This subject was important to Solomon. He was a King who also functioned as a Judge.
a. Judges were required to do that which was RIGHT… and true.
b. Judges were to get at the truth… and treat people fairly.
c. I Kings 3:16-25 – Solomon’s first difficult case.
• Solomon had before his bench a case that had no evidence… no DNA evidence to prove who was the real mother… no eyewitnesses… nothing to go on.
• There were no legal technicalities to let the guilty person off the hook… no plea bargains offered… no loopholes…
• Solomon as a judge was simply interested in getting at the truth—and treating the innocent party fairly.
• He used a pretty unorthodox method of getting to the truth… but he DID get to the truth.
3. If justice is anything, it is doing that which is RIGHT… in accordance with the TRUTH… and treating people FAIRLY.
a. The old fashioned common sense principles of righteousness, justice, and truth are losing ground rapidly in our country.
b. Our court system seems not as interested in truth, justice, and fairness as in being politically correct… or technically correct.
c. As a result, justice is not executed.
4. Examples:
a. In Florida, a forty-eight-year-old man sentenced to life in prison for raping a thirteen-year-old girl with muscular dystrophy was released when the Second District Court of Appeals ruled that the rapist had been convicted with the wrong charge. The charge, “sexual battery of a helpless person,” was deemed unfair in the court’s opinion since the girl had screamed for help and tried to push the man away. Instead of the maximum thirty-year sentence, the rapist served only a few months for battery.
b. In New Jersey, the Supreme Court decided that a robber convicted of purse snatching had been wrongly sentenced since he slipped the purse off the victim’s arm quietly and did not actually “snatch” it.
c. Electronics retailer Radio Shack recently settled a claim by a man who said post-traumatic stress, caused by his previous robbery of a Radio Shack store, was to blame for his robbery of the store a second time. Many such cases are being settled rather than submitted to the antics of lawyer theatrics and sympathetic juries.
d. The just… the innocent victims are punished and the criminal gets away with his crime.
e. Evidently Solomon saw similar shenanigans in the judicial system of his day… and said, “It is not good!”
f. It is not good for citizens to be treated unfairly.
g. Today hundreds of men who were wrongly convicted of crimes are being exonerated by DNA evidence that was unavailable to them when their case was heard.
h. But that tells us that many JUST men are being punished…
• Often the injustice is due to race or social class.
• Bigotry blinds jurors to the truth or fairness.
• Social class results in miscarriages of justice—just because a person is not able to afford a good lawyer.
• Solomon says that this is NOT good for a country.
5. As Christians, we may one day be punished for being JUST.
a. We may be punished for spanking our children… (which is the RIGHT thing to do… just!)
b. We may be punished for evangelizing…
c. We may be punished for preaching against sin… and against sinful lifestyles.
d. We may be punished for not allowing women preachers…
e. In some small ways, it is happening already in America. It could begin to happen on a much bigger scale.
f. Sometimes people are punished for doing the RIGHT thing… for being just… and that is NOT good.
g. This was certainly the case in the crucifixion of Christ. He was a Just man… sinless… and was punished for speaking the truth.
h. Those who follow Christ can expect nothing better—the servant is not better than his master.
i. But God has given us a remedy for this kind of injustice: the Throne of grace!
j. We are therefore to PRAY for those in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. (I Tim. 2:1-2)
26b Nor to strike princes for equity
1. But as a king, he also saw the other side of the coin.
a. The citizenry did not always treat their nobles, princes, and officials fairly or justly either.
b. It was also NOT GOOD for the people to STRIKE princes for their uprightness.
c. It is not good to strike them physically or verbally.
d. Princes and those in positions of authority are representatives of God… in His authority…
2. Sometimes governmental officials made pronouncements that were just and fair—and it caused upheaval among the citizens.
a. People in positions of power and authority have ALWAYS made enemies—even in carrying out their responsibilities in justice and equity.
b. There will always be those who seek to undermine their authority… and to rebel… resist and strike at the ruler any way they can.
c. There have often been rebels and criminals who have a lot of popular grass roots support—like a Robin Hood.
d. Those in charge are responsible to punish such men—regardless of their popularity—for their criminal behavior…
e. When that happens, the people often take it out on those in positions of authority, like the judge or the prince…
f. They will STRIKE the prince—flog him—maybe even hang him… and for what? For equity: for doing that which is right!
g. Solomon says that that is not good either. That too is not fair.
h. People in positions of power and authority often find themselves in awkward positions… especially on divisive issues.
• If a judge rules one way, half the people involved will be angry at him… and vice versa.
• We had a case not too long ago where a man shot a judge because of his ruling in divorce court…
• Judges make enemies in carrying out justice.
3. All of this teaches us an important lesson about God… a truth repeated countless times in the Word: God is a God of Justice!
a. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do RIGHT?
b. God is no respecter of persons.
c. When this world whose god is the devil is destroyed and the Kingdom of the Messiah takes over the rule of the earth, JUSTICE will reign! (Jer. 23:5)
d. II Sam. 8:15 – David ruled in justice over the land.
e. Ecc. 5:8 – God NOTICES every act of injustice—and one day He will set the record straight.
4. This principle is not just for kings and judges!
a. As believers we should LOVE righteousness (justice) and hate iniquity.
b. Phil. 4:8 – We are to fill our minds with thoughts of justice.
c. Prov. 1:3 – if we haven’t been fair or just, we should respond to correction in that area.
d. If you are an employer or a boss at work and have people under you—it is NOT good to punish the just. Be fair!
e. And if you are an employee—it is not good to resist a boss who is just trying to do his job in an equitable way. Don’t rebel against him just because he is following company policy! That’s not fair.
Proverbs 17:27-28
Sparing Words
Introduction:
1. These two proverbs deal with ONE subject: The wisdom of sparing words.
2. Verse 27 deals with the reality.
3. Verse 28 deals with the perception.
4. Both passages teach that it is WISE to spare words.
27a He that hath knowledge spareth his words:
1. He that hath knowledge.
a. Lit. = He that knows knowledge… (Two words for knowledge).
b. He that understands discernment… a man who is skillful with knowledge and understanding… he who knows knowledge experientially…
2. The man who has a hands-on, experiential grasp of understanding and knowledge… SPARES his words.
a. Spares:
• Strong’s: withhold; restrain; hold back; keep in check; refrain.
• Dict. of Bib. Lang.: restrain; halt; i.e., stop an action from occurring.
3. A man who is SKILLFUL in wisdom, knowledge, and discernment has learned experientially to spare his words.
a. That is a great lesson.
b. It is one thing to HEAR a message like this.
• Not all who hear actually learn.
• It is possible to hear… to acknowledge that there is truth in what is being said… but not to practice it!
• It is possible to hear in one ear—and let it all go out the other.
• It is possible to hear and even to memorize the verse… but not practice the truth found therein.
• It is also possible to hear this truth, believe it, and to do our best to practice it. That is FAR better.
• It is possible to learn from the book (book-learning).
c. It is quite another thing to learn this truth experientially.
• Book learning is great—and even ideal… if we can learn the truth and then practice it.
• BUT the tongue is so HARD to tame.
• Unfortunately, it is usually the school of hard knocks that seems to drill in truth the deepest…
• There is nothing like actually getting burned to teach us to stay away from a hot stove…
• Even though the manual might warn against leaning against a hot stove. Over time, we can forget what the manual said.
• A very painful BURN seems to be the best teacher… it is the kind of lesson that seems to stick with us.
d. Experience is an excellent teacher… which is what Solomon speaks of here.
• A person who has learned BY EXPERIENCE to spare his words really understands knowledge…
• One of the best ways to learn to close one’s mouth is to stick your foot in your mouth—say too much and get BURNED as a result.
• Our mouths can offend others, hurt feelings, alienate, create division, cause friction, anger, even hatred. Our words can be like swords that wound the soul. Words can cause us to lose friends… and can separate chief friends.
• If YOU by YOUR words have caused any of that… and it has come back to BITE you—often the BITE is the best way to learn experientially keep your mouth shut!
• Wise men have learned this lesson.
• A few VERY wise men learn the lesson by hearing and practicing what they heard from the Bible.
• It seems the rest of us have to learn the hard way—by experience… and usually the experience is unpleasant—like getting bit or burned.
4. Sparing our words.
a. This doesn’t mean that such a man doesn’t talk at all, but he SPARES his words. He uses words sparingly.
b. There are a few little “RULES” of speech which if followed, will cut down dramatically on the raw number of words that flow off our tongues.
• THINK before you talk. When we do that, it usually will cut our words in half or more! (Prov.15:28) He studies to answer.
• Eph. 4:29 – no corrupt speech—and it must be edifying.
• The golden rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. (Don’t speak or joke about others unless you would like something similar said about you). Sometimes people who DISH OUT a lot of jabs and jokes towards others, but can’t take them themselves.
• Fearing God will cut down on our words too. We should be afraid of displeasing God with our mouths… and aware of how easy it is to do! (Psa. 19:14 – let the words of my mouth—be acceptable).
• Remember that we will have to give an account for every idle word we speak. That will limit our words too!
c. There are some good questions to ask before speaking:
• Is it TRUE? Do I have my facts straight? Am I sure? Is my source reliable? Am I repeating hearsay?
• How will these words be perceived by this brother?
• Could this information be used against me? Could it be used to slander someone else?
• Imagine how it might sound if repeated in another setting… for it very well may!
• Would you want your name attached to this information as its source if it gets disseminated?
• Would it be more helpful and edifying to give forth this information or to withhold it?
• Would the person who told me this information WANT me to tell others? Was it given in confidence?
• HOW should it be worded?
• How can it be seasoned with grace? Is it kind?
• Is this the right time and place to say this or would another setting be better?
• Does it really need to be repeated?
• Is this going to stir up controversy and divide friends and brethren? Will it be unifying among the saints? Edifying to this brother? Glorifying to God?
• Taking the time to ask a few questions will also cause us to spare our words.
27b And a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.
1. This expression speaks of the same issue. He continues to speak of the same man of understanding… the man who “knows knowledge.”
2. This man is of an excellent spirit.
a. Lit = a cold or cool spirit… it is a figure of speech.
• It has virtually the same meaning today in our expression, “he was cool headed.” (level headed; cool, calm, and collected)
• It is far better to have a cool head and a warm heart than to have a hot head and cold heart!
b. The man of understanding has learned to “cool it” when it comes to the use of his tongue.
• He has a cool spirit—cool, calm, and collected.
c. That cool, calm, and collected spirit is one of SELF CONTROL.
• He doesn’t fly off the handle in a rage of passion and spout off all kinds of words that he will regret later.
• He learned to spare his words by controlling his spirit – his inner man. That’s where the words come from.
d. Being cool headed cuts down on words immensely—especially the harsh, hostile, angry, unkind, corrupt words… the kind that especially needs to be restrained.
3. Psa. 19:14 – Let the words of my mouth—be acceptable…
a. This ought to be the goal of the use of our tongues—to please God.
b. Prov. 10:19 – Constant babble and gabbing invariably leads to sin.
c. Prov.15:2 – The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.”
• Fools pour out foolishness; (no restraint)
• Wise men spare their words.
28 Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise; and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
1. Verse 27 spoke about the reality. Truly wise men control their spirit and thus spare their words.
2. Verse 28 speaks about a perception. Even fools can APPEAR to be wise if they keep their mouths shut!
3. Onlookers will consider that man to be wise.
4. Prov.10:14—Normally, fools are FULL of words.
a. However, if they restrain their speech, they can give the IMPRESSION that they are wise.
b. In fact, it might be the beginning of wisdom for them… to stop talking and start listening.
c. When a fool holds his tongue—others will think him to be wise.
5. Prov. 29:11 – Usually, a fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
a. But when a foolish man chooses to NOT blurt out whatever is on his mind, he appears to be wise…
b. His behavior is much like that of a wise man.
6. Example: Try to envision a convention of the world’s ten leading microbiologists.
a. They have assembled together in one of the large, walnut paneled conference rooms in the inner sanctuary of MIT.
b. The men have never met before, but have convened to discuss potential benefits to mankind of a recent breakthrough in their field.
c. And one of the seats is occupied by a man who never finished third grade… and who knows nothing about microbiology.
d. He was told to sit quietly and stroke his beard throughout the discussion.
e. You could not distinguish between those men UNTIL the uneducated man opened his mouth.
7. There are lots of good applications from this truth.
a. If you don’t know what you’re talking about—then don’t say anything! There’s nothing wrong with being ignorant. But there is something wrong with being FOOLISH—and saying foolish things. You’re better off being quiet and letting others speak.
b. It is great wisdom to know when and where to speak… and when and where to be silent.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 18
Proverbs 18:1
The Recluse
Introduction:
1. The sources I have checked indicate that this passage is translated variously—because the underlying Hebrew is a bit ambiguous and hard to translate.
2. Thus, it has been given various interpretations. It is one of those difficult passages.
3. It can be taken in either a positive or negative sense.
a. Positively it is interpreted as describing a man who seeks wisdom with great desire and diligence.
b. Negatively, it warns against a self-centered kind of person who continually defies conventional wisdom.
4. These are two completely different meanings… only one can be correct.
5. I am going to go along with the majority opinion here—the negative sense.
a. My reason is not because the majority is always right, but because it makes the most sense.
b. The positive side is forced to either ignore completely or twist the meaning of the term “intermeddleth” in order to arrive at their conclusion.
1a Through desire
1. Desire:
a. Delight; bounty; craving greed.
b. It indicates something that is attractive and delightful to the eyes, desirable.
c. It means the desire, the longings, or the cravings of the human heart…
d. It is the term used in Gen. 3:6 – when Eve saw the forbidden tree—a tree desired to make one wise.
e. It is used in Ps. 10:3 – For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
f. Like the word for lust = the context must determine whether it is a good or an evil desire.
g. But the basic meaning of this term is the inner cravings of the heart.
h. The inner cravings of a fallen heart are usually evil.
2. Note the word SEEKETH in this passage.
a. This verb is to be connected with the idea of DESIRE.
b. The man Solomon describes seeks his own desire.
c. Darby translated it, “he seeks his pleasure”
d. It is translated various as:
• Seeks his own desire…
• Pursues selfish desires…
• Pursues selfish ends…
e. It would be understood like this: Through his own desires and inner cravings a man seeks…
f. In other words, he is seeking his own pleasure or cravings.
1b A man, having separated himself…
1. This expression tells us something else about this person.
2. This term means just as it appears: to separate…
3. It is used of persons parting, going separate ways (Gen. 13:9; Ruth 1:17).
4. It has the sense of being separate from, not a part of, not mixing with (Esth. 3:8).
a. Here it is used of the Jews who were separated… and scattered among all nations.
b. Yet they were diverse from all people. They did not mingle or mix with others.
c. They kept to themselves. They did not assimilate.
5. This seems to be the meaning in Proverbs.
a. Solomon is speaking about a man who CRAVES to be separate from all others… who does not mingle in society…
b. The Bible versions translated this term variously as:
• “recluse”
• Another as a “loner,”
• A couple as “one who isolates himself.”
• A couple also translated this term as “an unfriendly man.”
c. Solomon speaks of a man who has isolated himself from society… one who does not interact with other people… a loner… a recluse… one who stays to himself and avoids social contact.
6. He not only behaves in this antisocial manner, but his heart CRAVES it.
a. He has no interest in other people…
b. He loves the hermit type life…
c. He enjoys being a loner…
d. He doesn’t want to hear what others have to say or what others are doing.
7. However, his thinking and his behavior are not right.
a. Gen. 2:18 – God made man as a SOCIAL creature—one who needs fellowship and social contact with others.
b. It is not good for a man to be alone.
c. Of course there are some who choose to remain single. That too is a gift from God.
d. But even those who are single are not to live their lives ALONE.
e. There must be social contact… interaction with other people… contact… communication… relationships…
f. Henry David Thoreau may have thought it idyllic to live alone in a cabin on Walden Pond, but God made man to have fellowship with others—not to become a recluse.
8. When a person separates himself from interaction with others, he can become quite set in his ways…
1c Seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.
He intermeddles with all wisdom
1. Intermeddle Defined:
a. To burst forth, to be obstinate.
b. To be inclined to be hostile and opposing toward another; to be in open, active, resistance.
c. It expresses quarreling and being obstinate by insisting on having one’s own way.
2. This expression is translated variously too:
a. Darby: he is vehement against all sound wisdom.
b. NKJV: He rages against all wise judgment.
c. He rebels against all sound judgment.
d. He rejects all sound judgment.
e. He quarrels against all sound wisdom
f. He defies all sound judgment.
g. Snarling at every sound principle of conduct.
h. Showing contempt for all who have sound judgment.
i. You get the idea…
3. Solomon reveals that this is the problem with the recluse. (among other things)
a. You can’t tell him anything! He’s set in his own ways.
b. He obstinately opposes counsel, advice, guidance, help, or warnings from others.
c. His thinking at times defies logic… he opposes words of wisdom… he snubs his nose at conventional wisdom…
d. His self centered desires, which turned him into a hermit, make him a virtual enemy of wisdom.
e. This is the kind of person we might consider “weird”, eccentric, an oddball.
f. As Americans we value the independent spirit. But Solomon is not speaking about that. He is talking about a man who is independent from society in a BAD sense…
g. He describes a man who lives by himself and begins to develop bizarre and unusual thought patterns.
4. Prov. 15:22 – a multitude of counselors is GOOD… and at times necessary.
a. The recluse avoids contact with such counselors…
b. Thus, he fails to gain the benefit he COULD receive from them… and from the wisdom they offer.
c. His plans never go right… because he opposes all offers of help and advice.
d. He has his own way of thinking… and won’t listen.
5. Example: Little Teddy Kaczynski—
a. He grew up in a loving home outside Chicago.
b. He was a brilliant young boy—and after high school he went on to graduate from Harvard.
c. From there he went to the University of Michigan and got a PhD in mathematics.
d. He became a professor of mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley.
e. BUT—he was aloof… and did not mingle with others.
f. Despite pleas from the department staff, Kaczynski resigned without explanation in 1969.
g. He moved away to live completely alone in a remote shack in Montana…
h. He began writing letters to universities warning them of the danger of technology…
i. He became obsessed with this thought… and living alone in this shack for decades, he rejected all conventional wisdom.
j. He wouldn’t listen to his family… or anyone.
k. Living alone and isolated from contact with all others, his thoughts became more and more bizarre.
l. To get the world’s attention to his bizarre beliefs, he began making bombs and sending them in the mail to universities and to airlines. This went on from the late 1970-1990’s.
m. He became known as the Unabomber.
n. Theodore Kaczynski is an example of the kind of social misfit Solomon describes—an extreme example…
o. He separated himself from all others, began seeking his own twisted desires, and opposed all counsel or wisdom offered from his loving family.
6. The Proverb states that the fault lies with the individual who SEPARATED himself from others… REJECTED wisdom and SOUGHT after his own desire…
a. This is the way of the fool…
b. There are several proverbs that speak of the folly of rejecting counsel.
c. But this one takes it a step further in stating the DANGER of isolating yourself from others… and from interaction with them.
d. A social misfit begins to THINK in unhealthy patterns of thought… and ultimately stands opposed to common sense and good judgment!
e. And, he has no one to blame but himself.
f. The social misfit CHOSE to seek after his own strange desires… to isolate himself from others… and he learns to oppose wisdom…
g. It started off seeking his own selfish, even twisted desires… and it leads down to a very dangerous slope…
7. That’s an extreme example… but we should take warning in our own lives.
a. Prov. 27:17 – iron sharpeneth iron.
• We NEED social interaction with others…
• And as believers we NEED spiritual fellowship.
• Without it we become dull… foolish… and develop some strange concepts of life…
b. Heb. 10:24-25 – don’t forsake the assembling of yourselves together. We NEED fellowship.
• Believers who forsake fellowship can develop some bizarre views of Christianity!
Proverbs 18:2
A Fool’s Heart
Introduction:
1. This proverb speaks of a particular KIND of folly.
2. Solomon speaks of the kind of person who is not really interested in learning. He is only interested in spouting off his own opinion.
3. We’ve all met folks like this. Perhaps on occasion we have even BEHAVED like this.
4. Solomon warns us that it is folly. If it IS part of our personal character, it something that should be put away. It’s folly.
2a A fool hath no delight in understanding
A. Fool Defined
1. This is the common word for fool in Proverbs.
2. This term is used 61 times in the Old Testament. 49 times in Proverbs.
3. Defined:
a. Fool; stupid fellow; dullard; simpleton; arrogant one.
b. One completely lacking understanding, implying to be a rebel against standard or person.
c. persons are usually unable to deal with life in a successful, practical way
B. Hath No Delight in Understanding
1. Delight defined:
a. Strong’s: delight in, take pleasure in, desire, be pleased with.
b. Delight, take pleasure in, be eager, i.e., have a fondness or affection for an object or experience; desire for.
2. Understanding Defined:
a. Strong’s: intelligence; insight.
b. Wisdom, i.e., capacity for discerning a right course of action; logic; reasoning; knowledge.
3. Solomon states that this kind of fool takes no pleasure in understanding.
a. He is not fond of learning.
b. He is not eager to obtain true knowledge.
c. Wisdom is not the object of his inward affection.
d. He is not pleased with understanding.
e. In this kind of fool, there is no inner hunger for learning; no drive for wisdom; no taste for reason.
f. What a man has no hunger for—he will not strive for.
g. And because he does not strive for it—he will never obtain it.
h. Prov. 17:16 – he has no heart for it.
4. Prov. 8:5 – they need an understanding heart…
a. Here Lady Wisdom is pleading with such fools, “BE” of an understanding heart!
b. She notices that they do NOT have an understanding heart and she wishes that they did. She WANTS them to have an understanding heart… and she offers them all the understanding they need to OBTAIN one.
c. But, sadly, she realizes that they do not have understanding.
d. The REASON here is that these kind of fools do not respond to her offers of wisdom.
5. Prov.18:2 gives us additional information as to WHY the fool does not have an understanding heart: he has no DELIGHT in it.
a. He doesn’t respond to the offers because he doesn’t LIKE it… he has no hunger or taste for it.
b. It is somewhat like a man who visits the doctor and is told that he is in danger of developing stomach cancer unless he eats lots of broccoli.
• The broccoli is readily available. It is offered to him—his wife cooks it and puts it on his plate.
• He desperately needs it. But he won’t eat it because he doesn’t like the taste of it.
• That is folly. He will suffer greatly from that folly too, yet his broccoli remains on his plate.
c. That is the kind of folly Solomon describes here.
• This fool desperately NEEDS an understanding heart.
• It is available. It is constantly put before him.
• People plead with him to take it in…
• But he has no delight in understanding… and leaves it on his plate.
• As a result, he will suffer greatly throughout life because of this folly.
d. If he would just take in a little, he might be able to develop a taste for it… he might even discover that it’s not so bad after all. But he refuses.
2b But that his heart may discover itself.
1. The heart
a. inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding
b. soul, spirit, self, i.e., the source of life of the inner person
c. inner self or being; personality
2. This term here speaks of the inner thoughts, desire, and emotions; what is going on INSIDE a man…
a. What goes on inside a man is not seen or heard by others unless it is communicated.
b. When people stand around in a group conversing and one person remains silent, you don’t really know what he’s thinking… what he’s feeling… what his view is.
c. Prov. 17:28 – if that person is a fool and keeps quiet, you might even assume that he is wise.
• He might be esteemed to be a man of understanding—even though he isn’t.
• But all that is contingent upon one thing: keeping his mouth shut!
• If he holds his peace, he is counted wise.
• That is so because others cannot READ his mind; you cannot tell what he is thinking or feeling simply by observing.
• What transpires on the inside is hidden from outside observers… UNTIL he opens his mouth.
• Solomon’s point in this proverb is that if this fool would just keep his mouth shut, he would be far better off!
• As soon as he opens his mouth, the cat is out of the bag—everyone knows he is a fool.
3. Discover itself.
a. Strong’s: uncover oneself; to discover or show oneself; to reveal himself.
b. To open up; reveal; make known.
c. To expose; to lay bare.
d. Lev. 20:18 – Used often in the Old Testament of “not discovering the nakedness of a person.”
e. But here is not used of discovering or exposing a person’s body or outward man… but rather, a discovering or exposing of his INNER man.
4. BUT — Solomon’s point: this kind of fool has no DELIGHT in learning.
a. BUT here’s what he DOES delight in: exposing his OWN inner thoughts and opinions.
b. He delights in discovering—exposing—laying bare—revealing—making known his own personal thoughts and ideas…
c. He delights in telling others his own views and opinions, but he does not delight in learning FROM others.
d. Prov. 29:11 – A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
• He loves to speak his mind… and tell others what his thoughts or views are (no matter how bizarre)…
• Now keep in mind, this fool does not POSSESS understanding… so when he spouts off his own opinion—it is usually a FOOLISH opinion.
e. But he has no taste for learning from others who POSSESS knowledge.
f. James 1:19 – He behaves the opposite of what James recommends: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak…”
• This man is slow to hear and swift to speak… He is a fool.
• Slow to hear—he won’t listen to others and learn. He has no appetite for it.
• But, he delights in exposing all the foolish thoughts that rattle around in his head… whatever he feels about a subject… whatever he thinks—regardless of how foolish his view might be.
g. One commentator summarized the folly of this fool this way: He has a “closed mind” and “open mouth.”
h. Now if he would just keep his mouth shut, we might think him to be wise and discerning.
i. But he CAN’T keep his mouth shut. He DELIGHTS in discovering to others—in exposing his inner thoughts…
j. And as soon as he speaks, all such thoughts of him being wise dissipate.
5. “Discovering” is an interesting term.
a. It may have been used in order to have a double meaning… an implied innuendo… a term pregnant in meaning… purposely ambiguous.
b. On the one hand, he “reveals” the thoughts of his inner man to others by telling them what’s on his mind.
c. On the other hand, he “exposes the folly in his heart.”
d. When something is DISCOVERED and opened up to public sight—it either reveals something wonderful OR it exposes something awful!
e. In other words, he thinks that by revealing his thoughts he is revealing to others how WISE he is… thinking that others will be dazzled by his brilliance.
f. When in reality, he is actually exposing to others how FOOLISH he really is.
g. When he speaks, instead of displaying his wisdom, he exposes his folly and emptiness.
h. Solomon sadly points out that those who have the least amount of wisdom and understanding are often the ones who delight in voicing their views.
6. There is an element of PRIDE in all this.
a. The fool is not only foolish, but proud.
b. This makes his folly even more dangerous…because he THINKS his foolish thoughts are wise… worth sharing.
c. In fact, he thinks his opinions and views are superior to others… that’s WHY he reveals them—as if they were precious gems.
d. But in revealing them, he exposes how foolish he is.
e. Pride is at the heart of this problem.
f. His own thoughts and views are all important to this fool.
g. Pride prevents him from learning when Lady Wisdom cries out. (I don’t need that! What can she teach me that I don’t already know?!)
h. Pride causes his to spout off his own opinions… thinking he is dazzling the crowd with his wisdom.
i. The kind of wisdom and folly about which Solomon writes is not so much a matter of one’s IQ—although the intellect is involved. It is really a matter of the heart.
Proverbs 18:3
Contempt and Ignominy
3a When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt…
1. The wicked:
a. One guilty of crime or sin.
b. The guilt of violating a standard or a law.
c. Guilt engendered by sinning against others, including God.
2. Contempt:
a. Disrespect, with a possibly implication of a verbal mocking.
• Prov. 30:17 – Despising to obey one’s parents.
b. To be regarded by others as unimportant or insignificant
• Ps. 31:18 – The wicked speak contemptuously (same term) against the righteous.
• Ps. 123:3-4 – The wicked speak with scorn and contempt against the godly.
• The wicked speak contemptuously against God and the righteous.
c. Contempt = disrespect; viewed as insignificant or unimportant; of no value.
3. The concept of contempt here has to do with reputation… in the eyes of others… of onlookers.
a. Solomon’s point is that when the wicked come on the scene, then comes a loss of reputation… shame… lack of respect…
• Shame and scorn follow the wicked wherever they go.
• Shame and scorn follow wicked behavior wherever it is found.
b. When a man or woman commits a crime against his fellow man, and is caught (which is also a sin against God)—there naturally follows a loss of respect… shame… loss of reputation.
c. When a CEO is caught embezzling money from his company, he is publicly shamed… he loses his reputation… and it is extremely difficult to recover from such a crime. Even after he gets out of jail, who wants to hire a dishonest CEO?
d. When a politician is caught in immorality, he is publicly shamed… disgraced… embarrassed… and ridiculed in the press. His reputation is destroyed.
e. When a Christian commits a sin that is discovered… (and be sure your sin will find you out!)… he or she also loses respect… their testimony is ruined… their reputation is damaged… they are shamed…
f. This principle is especially true of a person who professes faith in Christ.
• When he sins—everyone in the office hears about it! (Whether it is drinking, lying, adultery, stealing, etc.)
• His reputation goes right down the tubes…
• He is considered a hypocrite…
• He loses all respect.
g. Solomon’s point in this proverb is that there are consequences to our behavior.
h. Wickedness has a built in consequence: a loss of respect and reputation.
i. We can confess our sin and get right with God right away and we should.
j. However, it not so easy with our fellow man… and sadly, sometimes with believers!
k. There is a lingering sense of shame… a lingering loss of respect and reputation…
l. Prov. 12:8 – a perverse heart shall be despised (same word as contempt). That’s what people think of such behavior. It is looked upon with contempt… as having no respect. IT is hard for people to SHAKE those ideas… even after there has been repentance.
m. One’s reputation CAN be restored, but that takes time.
4. That which is true on an individual level is true in other realms too.
a. When wickedness enters into a church, the result can be a lingering sense of shame… great damage to the testimony of Christ. That may take time to restore.
b. When wickedness enters into a political party (both sides of the aisle!) it too can have lingering effects. It can result in shame. There is no lack of illustrations on that point!
c. When wickedness enters into a marriage—and sin is involved, it too brings shame and contempt. That can be confessed before God and restoration occurs immediately… but it is not always the case in earthly relationships. It takes time for the guilt and shame to diminish and be forgotten.
d. When wickedness enters into a business, it has the same effect. It brings shame and guilt. Just ask the men who used to run Enron!
e. There are consequences to wickedness… consequences that relate to the attitudes of others towards the wicked one.
f. Prov. 10:7 – the name of the wicked shall ROT!
• Rot = decay, to fall apart from decomposition, infection… used of rotting plants…
• This is quite a warning… wicked behavior deteriorates our name… our reputation…
• It causes it to decay… to become lower and lower…
5. Thus, the obvious implication of this is: avoid the wickedness and thus avoid the shame!
a. A loss of reputation can be a difficult thing to overcome.
b. If a pastor is involved in immorality—it has terrible consequences on the reputation of the church.
c. If a CEO is involved with illegal activity, it can ruin the company when exposed. The company loses its reputation.
d. OUR wickedness is responsible for what others think of us… contempt or praise.
e. If we are dishonest, sleazy, involved in immorality, a gossip, a cheat, etc… — don’t be surprised if that behavior is followed by CONTEMPT in the minds and mouths of others.
f. It follows! That’s the point here. If you bring rotten garbage into your house—it will stink!
g. If you bring rotten behavior in your life… your reputation will stink!
h. It is a built in consequence to our sin.
3b And with ignominy reproach.
1. Ignominy
a. Shame, disgrace, dishonour
b. Infamy; low status and public disgrace
c. Being put on display in mockery. It refers to losing a high social position and being ruined.
d. Hos. 4:7 – As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. (What a fall—from glory to shame or ignominy.)
2. Reproach
a. Taunt, scorn; condition of shame, disgrace
b. Insult; a taunt hurled at an enemy, casting blame
3. Some have suggested that these terms describe a progression of intensity.
a. Wickedness results in contempt… which results in ignominy… which results in full blown reproach.
• Contempt (inward feelings of others)
• Ignominy (the state of being—shameful)
• Reproach (overt, public manifestation of those feelings)
b. In other words, there is a snowball effect resulting from wicked behavior…
c. Wicked behavior INVITES this sort of downhill spiral…
4. Wicked behavior brings contempt upon the individual… but the ripple effects go on and on.
a. Their behavior also brings shame to others…
b. It brings shame to their families… to their church… to their country… to their company… to their organization… their friends… to their coworkers…
c. When you see the mug shots of people on the six o’clock news who have been arrested for drugs, robbery, murder, sexual abuse, rape, or treason, etc… those individuals have been publicly shamed.
• But the shame doesn’t stop there.
• With every one of those mug shots, there are also a lot of embarrassed and ashamed mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, and spouses too!
d. Their behavior taints all associated with them…
• None of the politicians running for office right now are eager to bring Mark Foley to one of their campaigns stops to speak on their behalf!
• Shameful behavior brings reproach… and it brings shame to all associated with them.
e. But for the believer it is far worse.
• Our wicked behavior brings shame and reproach on the name of Christ!
• Titus 2:10 – Good behavior ADORNS the doctrine of Christ and brings honor to the Lord.
• Wicked behavior brings DISGRACE to the name and reputation of the Lord.
f. Hence, good people keep their distance from the wicked… so as to avoid any association of evil… and thus bring contempt or shame upon themselves.
5. This downward spiral is also seen (in this book) as a contrast to the effects of godly wisdom.
a. Prov. 4:7-9 – An upward progression!
b. The way to turn around from the downward spiral is to begin applying godly wisdom… and you will be headed in an upward progression… which ultimately leads to restoring your name and reputation.
6. The MAIN application from this proverb is that if you want to hold on to your honor and respect, you must maintain your virtue and integrity.
a. They go hand in hand…
b. If we lose our integrity—we lose our respect and honor.
c. It can be restored… but it takes a long time.
d. It is far better not to lose it in the first place!
Proverbs 18:4
Deep Waters and a Flowing Brook
Introduction:
1. This could be an antithetical parallelism. (contrasting two items)
→ A contrast between man’s mouth and God’s wisdom
→ A contrast between the words of a fool (hidden) and the words of a wise man
»» While possible, I take Solomon’s words differently here.
2. It is better to understand this to be a synthetic parallelism. (building blocks – a statement is made and then added to…)
→ The wisdom of man’s mouth described and then amplified
4a The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters
1. The WORDS of a man’s mouth.
a. The theme of “words” is repeated in this chapter.
b. Vs. 6-8 – He talks about the mouth of a fool and a talebearer
c. Vs. 20 – he mentions good fruit from good words
d. Vs. 21 – the power of the tongue…
2. Deep waters described
a. DEEP
• Strong’s: deep; mysterious; unsearchable.
• Profound; that which is below the surface…
• Ecc. 7:24 – that which is far off and exceedingly deep; who can find out?
• The words of a wise man are deep… difficult… mysterious… beneath the surface, and hence requires some effort and meditating to understand.
b. This is meant here in a GOOD sense.
• It is not bad to be deep. It can be very good.
• I Cor. 2:10 – Paul speaks of the deep things of God that can only be understood by means of the Holy Spirit.
• Some truths lie on the surface and are easy to grasp.
• Other truths require digging beneath the surface. They are deep… but worth finding! Worth the effort!
• A wise man has a DEEP treasure chest full of rich gems of truth…
• Prov. 10:14 – He lays it up like treasure in his heart.
• Prov. 10:31 – His mouth is a source of wisdom.
c. Prov. 20:5 – counsel is like deep waters… that need to be drawn out.
• A wise counselor will be able to draw out of a man his true motives… issues… problems…and will help him see them in a true light.
• The point of the “deep waters” is to describe a sense of difficulty in drawing out.
• A well or a cistern has deep waters… and that water takes some effort to obtain.
• The point in 18:4 is that the words of a wise man are often very DEEP, but they CAN be drawn out.
• Wisdom is available… but it takes some listening… discerning… intelligence… diligence.
• Take the words of Solomon for example. His words are wise and deep… but it takes some DIGGING to understand his meaning…
• II Pet. 3:16-16 – Some portions of Scripture are hard to be understood.
• The meaning does not necessarily lie on the surface. You have to THINK.
d. But words that are deep and profound are worth the effort.
• Prov. 2:1-6 – Solomon’s wise words are DEEP beneath the surface.
• However, diligent searching will be rewarded by FINDING the wisdom of his words.
• So keep on digging! Don’t give up.
4b And the wellspring of wisdom as a FLOWING brook.
1. Here Solomon BUILDS on what he had previously said about words of wisdom.
a. Sometimes a wise man speaks and his words are deep.
b. It may require some effort to draw them out of the well… but they are worth the effort.
c. Sometimes words of wisdom are difficult to understand, but with study and meditation and diligence, that wisdom CAN be drawn out and put to good use.
d. Now Solomon adds a couple of additional truths.
2. A wise man not only speaks deep words… but a truly wise man is an endless stream of profound words!
a. Wellspring: a spring as a continual source of flowing water.
b. They just keep on flowing and flowing…
c. Even a fool can say something wise once in a while. But a truly wise man is consistent with his wisdom.
d. The words of wisdom should not be thought of as a stagnant pool, but a flowing stream… cool, refreshing, and continuous… a continuous source of wisdom.
e. The heart of a wise man is an ongoing source of wisdom.
3. CONTRAST: Jer. 2:13 – “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”
a. Here is a contrast between a non flowing cistern and a flowing spring.
b. God likens Himself to a “fountain” of living waters.
c. This word fountain is our word “wellspring.”
d. It speaks of an endless source and supply of living waters… the waters of life… water needed to satisfy the thirst… and keep life going.
e. In contrast, the false teachers were like cisterns – a stagnant, limited supply of water…
f. And to boot—BROKEN cisterns. Even if you pour good water in, it will leak out. They could NEVER satisfy thirst… they cannot sustain life.
g. God Himself is the wellspring of life to the godly believer.
• A wise man will have a heart after God…
• A wise man will thirst after wisdom and will FIND it in the Lord and His Word.
• He will be continually drinking in those waters.
• Solomon’s point is that this wise man will ALSO be a source of great words of wisdom to those around him.
• He found an endless supply of living waters in God Himself. He will have wisdom to share… wisdom overflowing… an endless source of wisdom…
4. Prov. 16:22 – “Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it.”
a. Understanding the deep things of God… understanding the deep words of wisdom is an endless source of LIFE (refreshment; nourishment; satisfaction; vitality; etc.).
5. Solomon states this truth several times in Proverbs.
a. Prov. 13:14 – The law of the wise is a fountain of life.
• The term “fountain” is the same term as “well” in 10:11.
• The term means a “spring or flow” (of water).
• It speaks of a flow of liquid or the source of the flow (a spring; a brook).
• It is translated “wellspring” in Prov. 18:4.
• Again—a fountain of water that provides continual flow of cool refreshing water… a wise man’s mouth provides a continual flow of refreshing wisdom.
b. Prov. 10:11 – The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life.
• The term “well” is the same term as “wellspring”. It speaks of a spring or flowing fountain… not a stagnant pool or a cistern.
• As a spring of water, it is an ongoing source of refreshment and satisfaction.
c. John 7:38-39 – A truly wise man is yielded to the Holy Spirit… and in him will be an endless flow of wisdom and blessings of all kinds… sourced in God Himself.
3. Sometimes the words of a wise man do NOT require a lot of digging. They are right there on the surface… easily obtained… like water out of a flowing stream or brook.
4. Application:
a. Make friends with wise men—they will be a source of great spiritual understanding.
b. Make friends with men who have a deep relationship with God Himself—the wellspring of living waters. That person will have wisdom overflowing—and enough to share with you.
c. Even better, BE such a wise person!
Proverbs 18:5
The Wrong Side of Justice
5a It is not good to accept the person of the wicked
A. Not Good
1. Good: Good; well-pleasing; fruitful; morally correct; proper; favorable; that which is appealing and pleasant to the senses; good in a moral sense as opposed to evil.
2. In this proverb, Solomon describes a situation which is morally INCORRECT… WRONG…
a. It is not pleasing or appealing to the senses… we sense something out of line here…
b. It is not proper… not correct… not right.
c. He describes a situation that ought to upset our sense of right and wrong… it should cause moral people a certain level of discomfort… even outrage.
3. Solomon was KING and JUDGE in Israel.
a. The situation he describes is one he may have observed in many different settings… but especially so in the governing of the Kingdom.
b. He would have seen many examples of this in all the politicking that went on in Israel… as well as in the judicial system.
c. No doubt as the King this disturbed him.
d. He was aware of how destabilizing this could be for the country… how quickly it could degenerate into anarchy…
e. He knew from observation that this was an issue that needed to be addressed.
f. I Tim. 2:1-2 – We are told to PRAY for those that are in authority in our land.
• Here is something specific to pray FOR: pray that our leaders would not be on the wrong side of justice.
• This is HOW we can lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
B. The Wicked
1. Wicked: criminal; guilty one, unrighteous; violator of the law; one who is in the wrong; enemies of God and of righteousness; a transgressor.
2. This term describes a person who is WRONG or in the wrong… on the wrong side… the wrong side of justice.
C. Accepting the Person of the Wicked
1. Accept: “To lift up and carry” hence, to support; endure; bear with; aid; assist; respect; lift up honor; raise up; exalt…
2. Accepting the person (lit = face) means to support or assist the wicked in some way.
a. It could be active assistance… helping out… providing aid and assistance… voting for… honoring… approving…
b. It could be passive assistance in the sense of tolerating… enduring… bearing with… even though you may disagree… passively putting up with the wicked… without voicing concern or displeasure…
c. For us as Americans we might be guilty of this by NOT voting against him… and giving the wicked a free ride… unopposed.
d. We SHOULD oppose the wicked…
3. Solomon states that it is not good—improper—to accept (either actively or passively) the person who wrong… guilty… a transgressor… is on the wrong side… a violator of the law.
D. WHY Would Anyone Do Such a Thing?
1. Financial gain personally
a. You stand to make a financial killing by supporting him.
b. You will get a raise if he gets in power—even if it is to the damage of the company… or the country…
2. Emotion; feelings
a. This is especially if it is YOUR son or daughter!
b. It is so very easy to overlook wickedness on the part of one we love… and support them IN their wrong choices…
c. Many a time I have seen families from fundamental churches who took a strong stand… suddenly change their views against New Evangelicalism when their child begins attending a Neo church.
d. It is relatively easy to take a “theoretical” stand for that which is right. But once family gets involved, and emotions cloud one’s vision, it is surprising how often folks will “accept the person of the wicked.”
3. Position and power
a. Others will accept the person of the wicked if it means they will advance. (Happens daily in American politics.)
b. “I’ll support the crook because it will be helpful for me to get a promotion… or for me to advance in politics…”
c. It is easy to put self advancement over principle… the principle of justice.
4. The end justifies the means
a. Again, folks are willing to support a crook if he will bring the bacon home to their district.
b. They may not like him, but they will hold their nose and support him because of the favorable END
5. Respect of persons
a. Folks will also support someone who is wicked because “he’s one of us; we share a common heritage; he’s a friend; he’s in my political party.”
b. Out of respect of persons, some will support a crook…
E. It is NOT Good
1. Whatever reasons we may devise for supporting the wicked, they are not good in God’s sight.
5b To overthrow the righteous in judgment.
A. Overthrow Defined
1. Lit = to stretch; to extend.
2. It has 16 different usages or various meanings.
3. This verb is translated 35 different ways in the KJV alone!
4. As an idiom, (as seems to be the case here) it means to stretch out one’s hand against someone; to act in a hostile manner toward that person.
B. Overthrowing the Righteous
1. Righteous: lawful; righteous; just; innocent; correct; right.
2. This speaks of OPPOSING the righteous… opposing or standing in the way of those who are correct… acting in a hostile manner towards those who are innocent and just.
C. In Judgment
1. Judgment = Justice; ordinance; in the execution of justice; litigation.
a. Used of a court of law – Deut. 25:1.
b. Used of an official legal verdict (I Kings 20:40).
c. Wherever judgments or decisions are made to settle disputes between people… do NOT oppose the innocent or the righteous.
d. Be on their side! Defend them! Support that which is right and just and fair.
e. Don’t ever oppose justice… in any setting!
2. But especially in the judicial system of a land.
a. However wrong it is, it happens all too often.
b. Sometimes it happens because of bigotry and racism.
c. Sometimes it happens because of bribes or the power of filthy lucre… money easily perverts justice.
d. Ex. 23:6 – God made a law against it: “Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.”
• Evidently some men used the legal system to trample over the poor… to take their lands and goods…
• The poor are not always treated fairly in our country either… and it is not good.
• When the verdict depends upon one’s ability to hire an expensive lawyer, something is wrong with the system. It is not good!
D. This too is Not Good
1. It is not good for the judicial system. It won’t be respected. It could result in riots or anarchy.
2. It is not good for the country as a whole either. It will serve to undermine the country… to cause it to unravel…
3. It is not good for relationships among the various groups of people in a land. It can polarize and turn one group against another.
4. It is not good in God’s sight either. It is an offense to Him.
5. Ps. 82:1-4 –
a. God stands among the “gods” – authorities in Israel… namely, the rulers and judges.
b. God specifically commanded them to care for the poor and needy in the land… in the judicial system…
c. This was because He knew the tendency in man to trample over them.
6. There is NOTHING good about standing in opposition to justice being carried out.
7. Solomon mentioned this truth often in Proverbs.
a. Evidently he observed it often as he ruled the Kingdom.
b. He saw what damage it did… lives ruined by it…
c. He learned to HATE injustice. So should we.
d. Prov. 17:26 – punishing the just is not good… ever!
e. Prov. 17:15 – not only is it not good, it is an abomination!
f. Prov. 17:23 – using bribes to pervert justice.
g. This point is made often from a slightly different angle: respect of persons in judgment. This too is not good.
h. Lev. 19:15 – There should be no respect given to the poor or to the wealthy.
• Justice should be absolutely blind… so as not too see the wealth of a person, or his color, or his position…
• Justice should be completely impartial… not political, not partisan, siding ONLY with the truth.
• Judgment in a case should be made solely on the MERIT of the case… not the wealth or influence of the person.
• It is so easy to be biased for one side or another.
• Prov. 18:17 – That’s why Solomon speaks repeatedly about the importance of hearing BOTH sides before rushing into a decision or making a judgment on the case. That is a respect of persons…
i. Anything less than blind impartiality is a travesty of justice… an abomination.
j. II Sam. 23:3 – “He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.”
• This is God’s standard for rulers and judges.
• We should pray for this in America.
• We should BE this kind of citizen… one who stands and supports that which is RIGHT, TRUE and FAIR… and not that which will benefit me.
Proverbs 18:6
A Fool’s Lips
BEHAVIOR:
6a A fool’s lips enter into contention
A. A Fool’s Lips
1. This refers to the SPEECH of a fool… foolish talk… unwise words
a. Solomon mentions “lips” 43 times in Proverbs as a reference to speech.
b. Solomon uses the word “tongue” 19 times.
c. Solomon mentions the “mouth” 52 times in Proverbs.
d. Solomon mentions “words” 46 times.
e. If they were all spread out evenly, that would be over 5 times in every chapter.
f. SPEECH is a huge subject in the book of Proverbs.
g. Evidently God knows that this is a subject we need to hear and hear and hear over again.
h. We open our mouths every few minutes… some folks more than others… and often we open it without thinking first.
i. We would do well to consider what Solomon has to say about our lips and mouths, and the words that pour out of them.
2. Solomon had much to say about the WORDS of a fool.
a. Ecc. 10:14 – he is FULL of words.
• He is like a large tank… full to overflowing.
• The fool is like a large reservoir of words…
• Some might think of this as a reservoir—others might refer to it as a cesspool…
• James says the tongue is a world of iniquity!
• But it is FULL—that’s the point here.
b. Prov.15:2 – folly pours out of his mouth.
• This folly gushes out… a continual flow…
• The fool is FULL of words… and he doesn’t hold any of them back. They gush out.
• Hence, there is lots of opportunity for contention.
c. Prov. 29:11 – he utters all his mind.
• In other words, he doesn’t stop to THINK about what he’s saying. He just blurts it all out.
• His words are constantly pouring out… and they are not well thought out.
• Speaking without thinking is what is described here.
• That is a recipe for disaster—which is the point of this proverb.
B. Enters Into Contention
1. Contention: strife; controversy; dispute; quarrel; hostility; fighting; arguing.
a. In other words, his big mouth and his ever flapping tongue get him in trouble.
b. This is the main point of this proverb.
c. A fool has moral folly in his heart. He pours it out… and the result is strife.
d. Thus, wherever the fool goes, he leaves strife and contention in his wake.
2. Enters: to go in; to make linear movement towards something.
a. When he opens his mouth, what he says LEADS to controversy, trouble, strife, and contention.
b. The fool because of his big mouth ENTERS into arguments all the time…
c. The things that come out of his mouth constantly DIRECT him toward controversy and strife.
d. As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife. (Prov.26:21)
e. He LOVES contention, so he keeps on spouting out words to keep the flames of contention going.
f. This implies that he STIRS up contention by his words.
3. He may or may not be SEEKING to enter into contention, but nevertheless, that is the RESULT of his speech.
a. His words PROVOKE contention and fighting.
b. On occasion, the fool didn’t MEAN to start contention, but he did because he didn’t THINK about what he was saying… how it would be interpreted… how offensive it was… how insulting and cruel it was… how untimely it was… or how unnecessary it was…
c. Fools utter all their mind… they blurt out whatever thoughts come to mind…
d. That is exceptionally dangerous because what comes out of a fool’s mouth came from his evil heart.
e. Very often unkind or evil thoughts enter our minds. Those thoughts should never be blurted out… they should be confessed!
f. The fool blurts them out and without thinking about the consequences, finds himself in contention… in the midst of turmoil…
4. There are various WAYS in which his lips get him in trouble.
a. Prov. 10:18 – The fool hides hatred; he is a slanderer.
• This is guaranteed to create contention.
• He hides hatred in his heart from the one he hates.
• BUT—he goes about slandering… putting him down before others.
• This will certainly cause him to ENTER into contention.
• Sooner or later the person he slanders will find out what he has been saying… and war will break out.
• He may THINK he is hiding his hatred, but it will soon be discovered.
• His big mouth creates controversy and contention.
b. Prov. 12:18 – He uses his tongue like a sword to fight – to hurt.
• Fools use their tongues to hurt people… to lash out… to strike…
• It is as or more painful as the piercing of a physical sword.
• When a fool behaves this way—lashing out cruelly at others, he can expect others to lash back at him.
• Hence, when he opens his mouth—he CREATES contention.
• You can’t stab someone with a sword, you should expect them to fight back… it’s human nature.
• When you stab someone with a sword—or with the sword of your tongue you are PICKING a fight!
• You are ENTERING into contention… and no one is going to feel sorry for you if you get clobbered and torn to shreds.
• Once you stab someone with a sword, you have created a DEEP wound… that takes a long time to heal.
• And when we speak rashly, without thinking, and stab someone with our tongue, you can’t UNDO a stab wound. It takes time to heal.
• Fools speak without thinking… speak harsh, painful words… and don’t realize how much damage they are doing… but lash out anyway.
• As a result of their RASH words… they are constantly ENTERING into contention.
c. Prov. 14:3 – Pride comes out of his mouth.
• Pride comes out of his mouth because it was in his heart.
• Fools are characterized by pride… self will… me first… I demand my own way.
• That too is a recipe for disaster.
• ONLY by pride cometh contention! (Prov. 13:10)
• When the fool blurts out words of self centered pride… the result is always contention.
• Where there’s smoke there’s fire; where there’s pride, there’s contention.
d. Prov. 20:3 – he is a meddler.
• Fools meddle. It is their nature.
• Meddle: inclined to be hostile and opposing toward another; open, active, resistance toward someone.
• It is not just sticking your nose into someone’s business… but doing so to OPPOSE… and be hostile.
• The fool meddles by gossiping, slandering, spreading rumors… and this is done with an evil intention.
• The fool who uses his lips to meddle and be hostile towards others will naturally find himself ENTERING into contention—stirs up the pot—everywhere he goes.
5. A fool’s lips enter into contention.
CONSEQUENCES:
6b And his mouth calleth for strokes.
1. His behavior, namely what he says, CALLS for strokes.
a. Simply put: He opens his mouth, he causes arguments, and he therefore deserves a whipping!
b. This thought needs to be understood in light of the first part of the proverb.
c. The strokes are in retribution for the contention he stirred up with his mouth.
2. In other words, there are CONSEQUENCES for this kind of behavior.
a. If you are such a fool who stirs up contention with your big mouth—expect some backlash.
b. A fool might get away this kind of folly for a while, but eventually, someone will take him to task for his behavior… someone will hold him accountable for the trouble he created.
c. Prov. 19:29 – Judgment and stripes are what he deserves. Scornful, hateful, slanderous words will catch up to you sooner or later.
d. If you use your tongue like a sword and go around lashing out at people, eventually, you’re going to have to pay a price.
e. Depending on the circles you are traveling in, that “whipping” could mean losing your job; it could mean losing your front teeth; a law suit; a gangster style assassination; loss of friends; getting beat up out of revenge… or publicly castigated on the six o’clock news.
f. If you use your tongue to stir up the pot, eventually, you are going to get a whipping.
g. Prov.17:20 – a perverse tongue falls into mischief… of one form or another.
h. Prov.13:3 – the fool who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.
3. If we like a fool, open our mouths and create contention, we will PAY for it… one way or another.
a. He not only stirs up trouble and contention for others—those around him… he creates trouble for himself.
b. This is a good warning for us all—because we all have lips, tongues, and mouths… and the potential for trouble is always present.
(Prov. 10:14 – a fall!
Prov.12:13 – snared
Ecc. 10:12 – will swallow him up)
Proverbs 18:7
A Destructive Mouth
Introduction:
1. This is another proverb about speech in this chapter.
2. The previous proverb spoke of the consequences of a foolish mouth… but in terms of contention and arguing.
3. This proverb also speaks about the consequences of a foolish mouth, but this time in terms of the TROUBLE it brings to the fool himself.
7a A fool’s mouth is his DESTRUCTION
1. Destruction Defined:
a. This word comes from the noun, mekh-it-taw’ meaning a ruin; a terror. It is used most often in a figurative sense in Proverbs to describe the ruin of the foolish.
b. Strong’s: destruction; ruin; terror; a breaking; terror; dismay.
c. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: Undoing; a ruining of a person’s state from health and peace to a life of disrepair and disrepute, and hardship.
2. The term Solomon used here speaks of the RUIN a person brings into his own life because of his big, foolish mouth. And Solomon mentions this truth often in Proverbs.
a. Prov. 10:14 – The mouth of the fool is near destruction.
b. Prov. 13:3 – The one who opens wide his lips has destruction.
c. Prov. 17:20 – The one with a perverse tongue falls into mischief (different term = bad, evil, calamity).
d. Thus, it is the mouth of a fool that brings calamity into his life; a WIDE open mouth; a perverse tongue.
e. There are certainly OTHER ways to bring destruction into our lives, but Solomon has our big mouth in mind here.
3. Jas. 3:5-6 – A few words can set the world on fire…
a. A fire brings destruction to everything in its pathway.
b. Fires come in all sizes—from the small backyard fire that little boys are tempted to light… to the raging wildfires that destroy thousands upon thousands of acres out West each year.
c. A fire starts off very small—as a tiny spark. But it spreads rapidly and easily rages out of control… the result of which is destruction…
d. James tells us how destructive the tongue can be in general.
e. Solomon tells us how destructive a fool’s mouth can be to himself!
4. II Kings 5:20 – Gehazi, Elisha’s servant lied and said that Elisha sent him to Naaman to receive a gift.
a. This was a boldfaced lie—in order to get silver for himself.
b. II Kings 5:21-27 – Gehazi was snared by the transgression of his lips.
c. He lied and at first was successful—for he did get the silver.
d. BUT—he was smitten with leprosy! He was snared… by the pit he dug for himself.
e. His foolish mouth was his own destruction.
7b And his lips are the SNARE of his soul.
1. Snare defined:
a. Strong’s: A trap used to catch animals; bait, lure, snare.
b. Used figuratively of entrapment, i.e., what captures and controls another. It comes to mean a moral pitfall.
2. Solomon uses the snare in a figurative sense, obviously.
a. His lips… his speech become a snare… a trap.
b. Ecc. 10:12 – his own words swallow him up.
3. This snare is figurative, for it ensnares the SOUL of a man.
a. Soul here has the meaning of the whole person or his life.
b. A man’s LIFE can become lured away, ensnared and trapped…
c. And often this is to be traced to his lips… his foolish, thoughtless, arrogant, insensitive, careless, mean-spirited speech.
d. His own words will come back to bite him.
e. It becomes a snare for his SOUL… his whole LIFE is affected by the consequences of his big mouth.
f. Eventually, it brings destruction to his person… ruin to his life… and it will catch up to him sooner or later like a trap.
4. All sin results in a snare of one sort or another. (Prov. 29:6)
a. The righteous are delivered from that snare. Avoiding transgression enables them to avoid the consequences of transgressions. Hence, they can go on singing.
b. But fools are not delivered. They are taken in the snare.
c. This is true of sin in general.
d. All sin comes with built in consequences. This is especially true of sinning with the mouth!
5. Prov.12:13 – The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips.
a. There are countless ways to transgress with one’s lips.
→ Men lie with their lips… and are caught in their web of lies.
→ Men deceive with their lips…
→ Men brag and boast with their lips.
→ Men curse with their lips.
→ Men threaten with their lips.
→ Men blaspheme with their lips.
→ Men gossip with their lips.
b. Sins like these eventually bring a snare.
c. Men and women who lie, gossip, and deceive others eventually get caught.
d. Once caught, they are trapped… no way out… caught red handed…
e. And depending upon the severity of the verbal sin, the trap can be anything from caught in embarrassment, to being trapped in prison!
6. Ecc. 7:9 = fools are easily angered, and in anger say things that will become a snare for them… destruction.
a. How many times have we trapped ourselves because in anger we said things we regretted later!
b. Solomon says that it is a fool who acts hastily and rashly… and is easily angered.
c. That man will inevitably say things that will BIND him in a trap. (I’m not doing this ever… You’ll never get me to change my opinion… Over my dead body I’ll do such and such…)
d. The foolish language we use in anger tends to paint us in a corner… with no way out. That’s a snare.
e. Of course, the way out is to eat humble pie, apologize, say “I was wrong.” And change direction.
f. But apart from a change of heart and repentance, our angry ranting and raving leave us trapped.
g. I know people who have gotten divorces—when they really didn’t WANT to… because they trapped themselves with words and arguments and were too proud to admit it.
h. The rest of their lives were snared…
7. Prov.21:6 – fools use their mouths to lie and gain treasure, but it becomes a snare. (Cf. I Tim. 6:10 – money pierces)
a. The one who loves money and LIES with his tongue to obtain it, will discover sooner or later, that his tongue did not bring him blessing but cursing.
b. It is like seeking death… not treasures.
c. I Tim. 6:9-10 – some men gain wealth through lying with their tongues. The love of money that motivates that kind of behavior has some painful consequences: it comes back to bite you—it pierces you through with many sorrows.
d. It is a trap… there is some attractive bait dangled before the eyes… but in the end, it is not a blessing but a cursing.
e. Lying lips ensnared his soul… affected his whole life.
8. Prov. 6:1-2 – snared with the words of your mouth… by making promises you are unable to keep.
a. Surety for thy friend…
• Surety = to pledge, exchange, mortgage, undertake for, take on pledge, give in pledge.
• This speaks of a man who has either promised to pay a debt or obligation for a friend, or has pledged his own money or property as security for a friend.
• It is like co-signing on a loan for someone—or putting your property up as security on a loan.
• There are consequences if that friend doesn’t pay!
b. Stricken thy hand with a stranger…
• Clapping one’s hands was similar to a handshake today. It sealed a deal or a business transaction.
• Again, he is speaking about a binding financial obligation to a stranger… a bank… a loan shark… a business partner…
• Co-signing a note for a friend might appear to be quite generous and kind.
• There may be times when it IS the RIGHT thing to do. (Your son’s first car… student loans…)
• But there are other times when it is a FOOLISH thing to do.
• A casual friend at work who fell upon hard times…
• A relative you know is irresponsible…
• A teenager who needs a brand new car…
• A risky or questionable business deal…
c. In such cases Solomon says that you are SNARED with the words of your own mouth…
d. Fool hardy promises that proceeded from his lips resulted in snaring his life… he’s trapped!
9. Thus, Solomon speaks of several WAYS in which our foolish words ENSNARE our souls.
a. Transgressing with our lips…
b. Words of anger and the trap that brings…
c. Lying words bring a snare…
d. Foolish promises from our lips can also bring a snare.
e. There are probably 1001 other ways we can use our tongues to ensnare our souls.
f. A young man can RUIN his life because of his big mouth.
• Because of his big mouth he might get kicked out of school… and never graduate…
• Then he needs to take on a low level job that he doesn’t like… and because of his big mouth, he loses that job too…
• Because people don’t want to put up with his mouth – he goes from one job to another… until finally his resume of short-lived jobs keeps him from working at all…
• Because of his big mouth he has few friends…
• Because of his big mouth he could find himself in trouble with the law too.
• Until he deals with the SOURCE of his calamities (his big mouth) he will continue to stumble through life… from one disaster to the next.
• He becomes exhibit A to demonstrate the reality of Proverbs 18:7 – “A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.”
g. Using caution with our speech can keep us out of a LOT of trouble… it will keep us free from many traps others fall into.
10. Matt.12:37 – ultimately, our words could condemn us! We will have to give an account for every one of them before the Lord.
Proverbs 18:8
The Words of a Talebearer
Introduction:
1. This verse, which appears again in Proverbs 26:22, is problematic in the translation of one key word in the verse: wounds. (Hebrew: laham)
a. Two out of 21 translations I consulted translated it “wound” (KJV & Young’s) and the rest translate according to its other definition – something like a “dainty or tasty morsel”…
b. Of the six different Hebrew dictionaries I consulted, all of them defined the Hebrew term as “to gulp… to greedily swallow.” None defined it as “wound.”
c. It does not appear to be a textual issue. The disagreement is not over a different Hebrew word underlying the English.
2. It appears to be a disagreement on the definition of a Hebrew term (laham) that appears only twice in the Bible.
a. And the other occurrence of the term sheds no light on the definition because the other verse is exactly the same as this one…
b. Obviously Solomon only meant ONE thing by the term he chose.
c. Unfortunately, some ancient words go out of use… some change meaning… and it is hard to know for SURE which definition is the correct one here.
d. All things being equal, I normally give more weight to the KJV—because it has stood the test of time.
e. But here I have NO dictionary that supports defining the term as “wound.”
f. After comparing 21 translations, 6 Hebrew dictionaries, and about 20 commentaries, none gave any conclusive answers.
g. With a little more light on the subject, I might change my mind, but right now, I have to go on what I have… and all the Hebrew dictionaries defined the word as “dainty or delicate morsels.”
3. Whichever meaning you give this term, truth is presented… that is elsewhere validated by other Scripture.
a. Hence, which definition we use will NOT affect truth or doctrine one bit.
b. So, in the spirit of honesty, I have to admit, I just don’t know for sure which dictionary definition best suits Solomon’s meaning.
c. BUT—since this verse appears again in chapter 26… that gives me about 5 more years to get to the bottom of this!
8a The words of a talebearer are as wounds
A. The Words of a Talebearer
1. Talebearer defined: a whispering gossip!
a. Strong’s: Murmur; whisper; murmurers; backbite; slander.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: express discontent in low tones—whispering under your breath about someone…
c. Zodhiates: It indicates a person who whispers things that will harm others.
d. It is crystal clear what this term means.
e. Solomon is speaking about a blabber mouth… a gossip… one who runs from person to person spreading dirt about someone else.
2. Wounds Defined:
a. Strong’s: to gulp, swallow greedily.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: Tidbit of food that is easy to consume
c. Zodhiates: something gulped.
d. Hebrew Aramaic Dict.: dainty morsels swallowed greedily
e. Theol. Wordbook of the Old Testament: bits greedily swallowed
3. The meaning: gossip is like a delicious delicacy…
a. Gossip is the sort of thing that is extremely tempting… appealing… delicious!
b. It is the sort of thing that people LOVE to gobble up…
c. Within each of us is an insatiable appetite to consume gossip. It’s our nature.
d. Juicy news about someone is almost too good to pass up.
e. Who doesn’t like to hear the latest dirt?
f. Why do think the gossip tabloids are so popular? Because it is human nature to love to hear gossip… every society loves to consume this sort of thing…
g. And to look at the titles of some of the tabloids in line at grocery store, people like to hear about it, even if they KNOW it isn’t true. (Martian discovered in mountains of Montana…)
h. People love to hear the gossip about celebrities… who’s getting divorced… and who’s on drugs… how much money they make…
i. The words of a gossiper are as juicy tidbits that people love to gobble up.
4. But if we take the reading in the KJV, that too makes perfect sense here AND it is backed up by Scripture elsewhere.
a. If we understand laham to mean “wound” as in the KJV—or “self inflicted wound” as in the Young’s Literal Translation, then Solomon’s point is different.
b. Thus, he would be speaking about the pain and suffering that follow gossip.
c. Gossip is like a wound…
d. Ps. 52:2-4 – here again words are spoken of as a razor… that can cut, maim, and harm.
• His words are sharp like a razor… painful and damaging…
• Obviously, this is figurative language, but we all know that words CAN cause wounds.
• This man uses his tongue for mischief: calamity, evil, or destruction.
• He is deceitful… he loves evil and lying… he LOVES this kind of hurtful talk… as long as he is not the one being hurt.
• He loves devouring words… words that devour others… do them harm…
• It is human nature to LOVE this sort of thing…
• And it is harmful and hurtful.
8b And they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
A. Laham as Dainty Morsels
1. People have an overly hearty appetite for the dainty morsels of gossip. (First part of the verse). They are appetizing.
2. The second part of the verse states that they are not only appetizing, they are gobbled up!
3. Gossip IS swallowed by most people.
4. People consider gossip to be a delicacy for the ears.
a. Delicacy is rare… something not everyone gets every day… something special… just for the “in” crowd, and therefore craved.
b. They love it… and therefore they eat it up.
5. Therefore, they take it in… they swallow it and it goes down into their bellies.
a. This could be a figurative way of saying that people often BELIEVE it…
• They take it in and absorb it.
• They swallow the gossip—hook, line, and sinker.
• As food is assimilated into the body, gossip is assimilated into their thinking—as truth.
b. This could also be a way of saying that they remember it.
• They swallow it up… and retain it…
• Why is it that it is so much easier to remember the juicy gossip you heard last year, than the information you studied for the test last week!
• There is a warning here. Before you start spreading dirt about someone—remember, that once you give it out… it is retained for a LONG time. People will remember what you said about so and so.
B. Laham As a Wound
1. If that is the meaning, the second part of the proverb speaks about the DEPTH of the wound.
a. Some wounds are superficial and easily healed. Some wounds are deep and are not easily healed.
b. The wounds that go down into the innermost part of the belly are obviously very deep wounds.
c. Gossip then results in wounds that go deep… long lasting hurt… damaging… painful…
d. This truth is also validated elsewhere in Scripture.
e. Prov. 12:18 – Words can be like the piercing of a sword
• Here the meaning is that words can PIERCE like a sword.
• Being stabbed by a sword leaves deep wounds… so too being stabbed by gossip. It can equally painful.
• And deep wounds don’t heal as easily or as quickly as superficial ones.
2. Thus, BOTH definitions for laham make perfect sense in both parts of this proverb.
a. Solomon is either describing human nature with respect to gossip—how tantalizing and appealing it is to hear; how much people love to gobble it up. There is in each of us an appetite for it.
b. OR Solomon is warning us about the pain that results from gossip.
c. BOTH of those statements are true. Our fallen nature craves gossip… AND it is extremely hurtful.
3. So in light of that, we are warned NOT to tolerate gossip.
a. When we hear gossip, we should consider that in a sense, we ARE our brother’s keeper.
• If someone is gossiping about a brother and slandering his name… we have a responsibility to NOT participate by listening.
• We are to “look not every one on his own, but every man also in the things of others.”
• We should be concerned about the reputation of the one being slandered.
b. I Sam. 24:9 – We should not listen to it.
c. Prov. 25:23 – Sometimes all it takes is an angry look… to drive away the gossiper.
• Express your disapproval facially… and many gossipers will get the message and stop.
• They will sense whether you have an appetite for their juicy story or not.
• If not, they will offer their dainty morsels to another customer…
• It’s not hard to find ears eager to hear gossip…
Proverbs 18:9
A Great Waster
9a He also that is slothful in his work
1. Slothful Defined:
a. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: Be lazy; formally, limp, i.e., habitually refuse to put in effort or work, as the opposite of diligent, focused labor.
b. Strong’s: Relax; let go; refrain; let alone; let drop; be idle; to show oneself slack… lazy.
c. Usage
• Used in Ex. 5:8 – they be idle (lazy)
• Used in Josh. 18:3 – slack to go in the land (not diligent)
2. WORK defined
a. Occupation, work, duties, business, workmanship, property.
b. Usage:
• Ex. 20:9 – work – the labor of our hands.
• Ex. 22:8 – thy neighbor’s goods (property)
3. Slothfulness in our occupation
a. We all have chores at work that are less than desirable, yet necessary.
b. But when we don’t pay attention to the details, it will eventually catch up to us.
• The carpenter who is too lazy to check the level…
• The auto mechanic who doesn’t tighten the bolts…
• The school teacher who doesn’t read her material…
c. It will affect our overall work output… the quality of our work… the amount of our work…
d. And that will certainly be noticed in the upper office.
e. Slothfulness will prevent us from advancing at work.
f. The slothful man will always be poor… he will never obtain wealth.
4. Slothful with our schoolwork
a. Neglecting to finish homework
b. To lazy to study for a test
c. That student will end up with poor grades.
d. He COULD have been an A student, but instead was a D student.
e. He COULD have gotten into the college of his choice, but was not accepted.
f. Now he’s 32 and still flips hamburgers.
5. Slothful with our bodies
a. Not eating properly…
b. Not exercising…
c. Not cleaning…
d. Not getting our yearly check up…
e. Not doing what the doctor says…
f. We might live to regret it…
g. Our health will suffer because of our slothfulness.
h. This man may have a great potential to be healthy, but through sloth is not.
6. Slothful with our property
a. Ecc. 10:18 – House—letting things go.
b. Painting things so they don’t rust.
c. Food – let it rot in the fridge.
d. Car – not checking the oil.
e. Lawn mower – oil; neglecting to put in stabilizer.
f. When you add it all up, slothfulness diminishes the quality of our lives… and decreases the value of our property.
7. Prov. 10:4 – The slothful man ends up with NOTHING… poor.
a. Slothfulness leads to poverty. (Prov. 24:30-34)
b. And HE is to be blamed.
c. He ends up with nothing because of laziness; slothfulness.
d. He COULD have ended up with much, but because he was slothful, he ended up with nothing—or not much.
e. This man has a great POTENTIAL to prosper, but because of slothfulness does not. He ends up with nothing.
f. This man, through slothfulness, WASTES his potential… and ends up with nothing.
8. Slothful in spiritual things
a. Not reading the Word
b. Not spending time in prayer
c. Not spending time in fellowship around spiritual things
d. Not witnessing
e. Not going to church, prayer meeting, Sunday school, etc.
f. The bottom line of that kind of slothfulness is a lack of progress in our spiritual growth…
g. Heb. 5:12-14 – We can remain as babes when we SHOULD have grown to maturity!
h. By not exercising ourselves spiritually, we lose ground… we regress spiritually… and easily become carnal babes again.
i. This man had great potential to advance, but through laziness he did NOT advance.
9. In the second part of the proverb, Solomon tells us that this man has a brother… a kindred spirit.
9b Is brother to him that is a great waster.
1. Waster defined
a. Strong’s: To destroy; corrupt; go to ruin; decay; to be marred; be spoiled.
b. It appears 147 times, but it is translated “waste or wasted” only twice.
c. Most often it has the meaning of ruined, decayed, spoiled.
d. Good fruit left on the counter idle will become ruined, and thus wasted…
e. The waster is one who starts off with something good… but through neglect, wastes it… and it becomes ruined.
2. Usage
a. Jer. 13:7 – the girdle was “marred”
b. Something of value was left to rot… and it did rot. It became worthless.
c. That seems to be the sense here.
3. The idea in the first part of the proverb was that one who is slothful wastes potential wealth through slothfulness. He could have gained a lot, but he was lazy and didn’t.
4. The man in the second part of the proverb already has property, and allows his property to rot and rust… and that is a great WASTE.
a. Good fruit left on the counter and is not eaten, rots, is ruined, destroyed, and is thus wasted.
b. A metal shed that is neglected and left unpainted will rust, and be destroyed, and thus wasted. With simple upkeep—a coat of paint once in a while, it could have lasted 20 years. Instead, in three years it is a rusted piece of junk.
c. The same is true of a multi-million dollar mansion or a yacht.
d. This kind of waste may be through neglect or LAVISH living.
e. Prov. 20:21 – Often young men receive LARGE inheritances, and through wasteful, lavish living, in no time, it is gone… and they are poor once again.
5. These two brothers are DIFFERENT:
a. The first brother may not be rich. He starts off with nothing, but has great potential to be rich and prosperous.
• However, he is lazy, and wastes his potential.
• He ends up with nothing.
b. The second brother possesses a lot, but wastes what he has.
• This person may well be wealthy… but lets his wealth slip through his fingers… so it is ruined… destroyed.
• His father worked 50 long, hard years to build up the business, but in two short years, he drove it into the ground… by spending more than he made… buying more than he needed.
• He may be like the prodigal son—who took a large amount of money, lived lavishly and foolishly, and ended up with nothing.
6. But in another sense, these two men are ALIKE: both end up with nothing!
a. One man ended up with nothing through slothfulness.
b. The other man ended up with nothing through wasting what he had.
c. Both men are to be equally pitied. Both are fools.
d. In this sense, they are BROTHERS… poor, foolish, wasteful brothers.
e. They were BOTH wasters.
• One wasted his wealth.
• The other wasted his potential.
• One wasted wealth he already had.
• The other wasted wealth he could have had.
f. The lazy man is a brother to one who wastes.
• The man with a potential to earn a million dollars (but who through laziness doesn’t) is a brother to the millionaire who wastes what he has.
• It is a pitiful waste no matter HOW it is wasted.
7. What a pity when this is true in the spiritual realm.
a. When we are lazy spiritually, we are wasting opportunities God gives us to bear fruit… and we waste the opportunity to be storing rewards in heaven.
b. Opportunity wasted is truly destroyed…. Ruined… lost forever. It can never be regained.
c. God gives us all talents and gifts to be used for His glory.
• This proverb teaches about the danger of waste.
• Some men may have only one gift, but waste it through sloth—too lazy to develop their spiritual gift and use it for the Lord. They waste the opportunity to use it.
• Other men have many gifts but carelessly throw them away…
d. What a pity when a believer wastes God’s time, and through slothfulness, he never develops his spiritual gifts…
e. What an equal pity when another believer does develop his spiritual gifts… he goes to Bible college, he learns theology, takes courses in homiletics, hermeneutics, masters the piano and violin, and he then lets his talents ROT by not using them in the local church for God’s glory.
f. Both are pitiful wastes… they are brothers.
g. Col. 4:5 – redeem the time—buy it up and use it for God’s glory!
Proverbs 18:10
A Strong Tower
Introduction:
1. Vs.10-12 deal with the subject of safety and security.
a. The name of the Lord is safety to the righteous.
b. A rich man’s wealth is his safety.
c. The proud man has no safety!
10a The name of the LORD is a strong tower:
A. The Name of the Lord
1. Lord = Jehovah – the special name of God – the self-existent One.
2. Usages
a. Gen. 16:13 – Hagar “called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me.” To her, the name Jehovah meant, “God, you are looking out for even me!” The name of the Lord was an explanation of WHO He is.
b. Gen.33:19 – to Moses God said, “And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.” Proclaiming the NAME of the Lord was equal to proclaiming WHO He is!
c. Josh. 9:9 – the name of the Lord speaks of His FAME and reputation.
• And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt.
• The queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD
d. I Sam. 17:45 – to David the name of the Lord meant His POWER and ability to defeat all His foes.
• The Philistines trusted in their swords and spears and the size of their soldiers.
• David’s confidence was in the name of the Lord…
• David trusted Jehovah and His power to deliver.
e. Ps. 20:7-9 – Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. 8They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright. 9Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call.
• Here the name of the Lord speaks of the One we TRUST… we rely upon… our trust is not in men or anything earthly, but in the NAME of the Lord.
• It speaks of God’s power to save and deliver in times of trouble.
• It is a name to REMEMBER in times of trouble.
f. Isa. 50:10 – Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.
g. Psalm 124:8 – Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”
• Here the psalmist speaks of the NAME of the Lord as our Source of help… the One who is on our side (vs.1)
h. Joel 2:32 – And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered.”
• It is the name we CALL upon when in trouble… and He delivers…
i. Col. 3:17 – And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.
• Whatever we DO as believers, we are to DO in the name of the Lord.
• His NAME (who He is) is to guide everything we do.
• His name, His character will keep us from doing some things… and will move us to do other things.
• KNOWING who He is should guide our decisions.
3. The NAME of the Lord ought to be significant to us.
a. It speaks of His character, His attributes, His fame and reputation, His holy Person, who He is.
b. This expression ought to conjure up in our minds One who is gracious, kind, holy, pure, omnipotent, omniscient… the One in whom we trust.
B. A Strong Tower
1. TOWER:
a. A watchtower, i.e., a tall narrow defensive building
b. Sometimes translated “castle”… a tower on a castle wall.
c. It was used as a watchtower
d. It was also used as a place of refuge and safety when the city was attacked.
e. This is also the term used of the tower of Babel that “reached unto heaven.”
• The pagans built towers in hopes of reaching heaven.
2. Judges 9:51 – But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut it to them, and gat them up to the top of the tower.
a. This tower was the place the city dwellers fled when the city was being attacked.
b. It was viewed as a place of safety and security.
c. It was a TALL tower, and thus elevated them above the enemy… and gave them a higher perspective of the battle.
d. This is the same term Solomon used to describe the NAME of the Lord.
3. Judges 9:49 – unfortunately, the towers built by men did not always provide safety…
a. Note how MANY people fled to these large towers!
b. They died.
4. But the NAME of the Lord is OUR strong tower.
a. Solomon saw a connection between the way men used strong towers in his day and the NAME of the Lord.
b. In the second part of the proverb he tells us what that connection is.
10b The righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
1. To the righteous (those justified by faith like Abraham), the name of the Lord is a strong tower.
2. The believer can RUN (dart quickly) to it… for safety.
a. This implies rushing quickly… hastily… as when one is being attacked.
b. In one sense, the believer is to DWELL in Christ day by day.
c. But this illustration speaks of another aspect of our walk with God. It speaks of what to do in time of danger.
• The citizens of a city under attack would RUSH for the safety of a tower (it was the bomb shelter in the 50’s).
• Or perhaps like rushing quickly to the city of refuge when pursued by the avenger of blood…
• There are times in our lives when we are under attack too… when we are oppressed by the enemy.
• During these periods of crises we are to RUN with great haste to the NAME of the Lord…
• That is OUR place of refuge and safety in time of trouble.
• When the Jews were under attack, they literally RAN to a literal tower for safety.
3. For the believer, this is FIGURATIVE language.
a. We don’t actually RUN anywhere. It is by FAITH that His name is our safety.
b. Ps. 61:2-4 – From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. 4I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings.”
c. This teaches us that we should make HASTE in a time of crisis… by faith…
• Make HASTE to remember the name of the Lord
• Make haste to call on the name of the Lord
• Make haste to rely on the name of the Lord
• Make haste to remember what He has done in the past… how safely He has kept us… and upheld us
4. Our true safety is found in His NAME.
a. In other words, our safety is found in God’s character!
b. He is merciful; gracious; loving; just; fair.
c. His way is perfect; He makes no mistakes.
d. He honors those who honor Him.
e. He is a Good Shepherd and restores our souls.
f. He is omniscient – He is aware of those who seek to harm us.
g. He is omnipotent – He is ABLE to deliver us.
h. He is faithful – He keeps His promises to us.
i. He is a rock; a mighty fortress; a light to our path.
j. In other words – His name-character means SAFETY to us when our hearts are right with Him.
k. God wants us to BELIEVE and TRUST in His name.
l. We can either run to the strong tower and shudder in fear (through unbelief) OR we can run to the tower and rest… and enjoy the safety provided!
m. When we RELY upon His character… trusting in that character… (mercy; power) His name IS a strong tower.
5. Thus, when the believer is attacked… we can be SAFE if:
a. We make haste to fill our minds with who God is.
b. We make haste to see to it that our confidence is in Him… and His word… His character…
c. We make haste to see that our hearts are resting in Him.
d. We make haste to see to it that our actions and responses to the emergency are in harmony with the name of the Lord…
e. When our minds, hearts, and deeds are RESTING in God and His character… we are safe. We have a rock solid foundation underneath us.
f. Nothing can harm us.
g. Deut. 33:27 – “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”
h. When we come to Him we are indeed safe!
i. Isa. 41:10 – Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
6. This language also implies some inherent DANGER involved when first attacked.
a. There is a tendency in our fallen nature to rely on SELF when an emergency strikes… when calamity comes our way.
b. There is a tendency to rely on men… on chariots… on the ways of the world…
c. There is a tendency to run AWAY from God and His word in times of great need.
• When a marriage is on the brinks, some run to the psychologist… the “experts” and seek ungodly counsel.
• When the doctor gives us some awful news, some put their confidence in men… in doctors… in unsaved family members… and run anywhere BUT the Lord!
• Others turn to pills and alcohol when trials and trouble strike.
• Some men run to their wealth for safety… in hopes of buying their way out of trouble. (vs.11)
• The strong towers men build sometimes offer a sense of safety and security…
• But sometimes, they prove to be no protection at all.
d. But for the RIGHTEOUS… those who do things RIGHT before God… they run to the name of the Lord.
• That is their strong tower.
• This tower always provides safety and security.
• Nothing can harm us when we cast ourselves upon the Lord…
• Nothing can harm us when we are dwelling with Christ and our lives are hidden away with Him in heaven…
• Nothing can get to us unless it is God’s will for our good and our spiritual growth.
7. When tragedy strikes in YOUR life… or in YOUR family… run to the name of the Lord—FIRST!
a. Or when you are weary and worn… run to the strong tower!
b. When the enemy surrounds you like a flood… run!
c. When trials overwhelm you like waves of the sea… run!
d. What peace that passes understanding when we rely upon Him!
e. What security and protection is ours in the castle of the Lord.
f. We have a SAFE place to run and hide and seek shelter throughout all the storms of life!
g. What REST we can experience in our hearts—regardless of the hostility occurring outside that strong tower.
h. And as those strong towers were built HIGH above the city, and gave those in the tower a bird’s eye view, so too we can run to the strong tower of the Lord and are thus able to see our trials and tragedies from HEAVEN’S vantage point… a heavenly perspective of earthly troubles brings REST to the soul.
i. We can dwell ABOVE the earthly battles and struggles by faith… perfectly safe… like dwelling under the shadow of His wings… upheld by the right hand of His righteousness…
j. If God be for us, who can be against us?
Proverbs 18:11
The Rich Man’s Security
Context:
1. This section of the chapter deals with the subject of security.
a. For the righteous, the Lord is our security. (vs.10)
b. For the wealthy, his money is his security. (vs.11)
c. For the proud, he has no security! (vs.12)
11a The rich man’s wealth is his strong city
1. This verse makes several comparisons to the previous verse.
Verse 10
Verse 11
• The righteous man
• The name of the Lord
• Trust in the Lord
• The strong tower
• True safety of the righteous
• the rich man
• wealth
• trust in his money
• the strong city
• empty “conceit” of the rich man
2. The rich man
a. The rich man speaks of a man who is affluent; rich in earthly goods; well to do; prosperous.
b. Of course, we should once again be reminded that we are reading PROVERBS.
c. What is said of rich men here is not true of EVERY rich man.
d. But Solomon observed that what he is about to say about rich men is very often true… most rich men Solomon observed seemed to fit into this category described here.
e. Jesus also noted that it is hard for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom.
f. Of course rich men CAN be saved. Rich men CAN be godly and righteous. But in general, most rich men are not. (Most poor men are not too!)
g. So in GENERAL, what Solomon says about rich men is true.
3. His wealth is his strong city.
a. Strong city speaks of his place of safety and security.
b. It is parallel to the strong tower in vs.10.
• Sometimes translated “castle”… a tower on a castle wall and was used as a watchtower.
• It was also used as a place of refuge and safety when the city was attacked.
• The righteous would FLEE to their strong tower when they were in danger.
• They sought safety and refuge behind its walls.
• To the righteous, the Lord was their strong tower.
• When trials strike, the righteous run to the Lord and are safe…
• The name of the Lord—who God is—His Person—is their strong tower… a Mighty Fortress… a solid foundation…
• Safety and security is found in the Lord.
c. Solomon states in vs.11, that what GOD is to the righteous, WEALTH is to the rich man.
• To the rich man, his wealth is a “strong city”—a place of safety… strong walls to protect him… a place where he can be safe and secure.
• Don’t misunderstand Solomon’s point here!
• He is NOT saying that wealth provides safety and security.
• He is saying that in the mind of the rich man it does.
• Solomon isn’t saying that his wealth actually PROVIDES him with safety. He is simply saying that to the rich man’s way of thinking, wealth equals security.
• That is the way men think today too… and by the way, poor men think that way too.
» The wealthy man gloats: “I have great wealth! I am secure.”
» The poor man laments: “If only I had more money, I’d be secure!”
• The rich man TRUSTS in his wealth as the righteous trust in God.
• The rich man RUNS to his money to protect him when trial or tragedy strikes.
• The rich man gets a sense of comfort and security by reading his bank statements.
• The rich man believes he can BUY his way out of trouble…
• His mind and heart is attached to his wealth and he trusts in it to deliver him from calamity.
• Just as a man in the countryside would flee to a strong walled city for safety when the enemy strikes, the rich man flees to his wealth for safety and security.
4. Clearly this is the thinking of rich men—and most of the rest of the world too.
a. Ecc. 7:12 – money is a defense…
b. Ecc. 10:19 – money answers all things… money IS the answer to all problems… just throw money at it… money protects us and is a defense against all kinds of things.
c. Prov. 10:15 – a proverb that says the same thing!
• This is the way the world thinks…
• Solomon is not endorsing this kind of thinking. He is simply stating it as a fact: to the wealthy, money equals security; poverty equals destruction!
• Wealth is security to the rich…
• Poverty is destruction to the poor…
• Wealth makes a man secure and poverty makes him insecure… in a dangerous place.
• This is not God’s view—this is not the way we should think.
• Rather, this is a proverb—a statement of the way things ARE… not the way they should be.
• It is earthly, worldly, fallen human nature that thinks this way—and basically the whole world DOES think this way.
• The world thinks that the greatest thing that could happen to a person is to win the lottery… and the worst thing is to be poor.
• From heaven’s perspective, they are dead wrong!
11b And as an high wall in his own conceit.
1. Prov. 10:15 starts off exactly the same as 18:11, but they have different endings.
a. 10:15 ends by adding the poor man’s view.
b. 18:11 ends by adding God’s view.
c. 18:11 ends on a note of spiritual reality.
2. The second proverb basically says, “The rich man’s wealth is his strong city and high wall of protection…
a. A strong city in those days meant a WALLED city.
b. A city was harder to attack if it was walled—thus safer.
c. Often the walls would have towers (strong towers).
d. It provided a layer of protection against invasion from the enemy.
e. The higher the wall, the safer the city.
f. Hence, to the rich man, his wealth was like a fortified city with high walls—safe and secure!
g. As the rich man sees things—his money provides security for him… like the high walls provide security to the city.
h. But—the rich man’s wealth provides this level of security only in his own conceited mind!”
i. God’s mind is quite different than his on this matter. God adds a healthy dose of spiritual reality to the thinking of the rich man…
j. I Tim. 6:17 – God sees riches as uncertain. They do not provide safety or security.
k. Prov. 23:4 – “For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.”
l. Men see earthly riches as lasting… a solid foundation… something we can count on… something that provides security… but GOD has a very different perspective.
m. Consider what God said about the church at Laodicea.
• THEY thought that because they were rich, they were in need of nothing.
• God looked at their condition quite differently.
• He saw them as poor, blind, naked, and wretched!
• God always seems to have a different perspective on earthly things than we do!
n. Job 31:24-25, 28 – JOB was a wealthy man, but he did NOT make his wealth his strong city.
• But Job did not put his “hope” in money nor make his wealth his “confidence.” (vs.24)
• He saw that as iniquity worthy of judgment.
• He also saw that as a denial of God!
• You can only put your confidence in one master. Job knew that.
3. Conceit Defined:
a. Strong’s: imagination; image; idol; conceit.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: what is imagined or conceived in one’s mind as a belief or opinion; ideas fashioned in the mind.
c. The term can refer to idols… man made images.
d. But here it is used of images of the heart… something imagined in the proud, conceited heart.
e. Solomon states in vs.11, that what GOD is to the righteous, WEALTH is to the rich man. It is his god, his idol… his mighty fortress… his strong tower… his high wall…
f. In other words, money is his Master… his god.
4. Luke 12:16-19 – this wealthy man felt secure because he had a lot of money… many material possessions.
a. This is just what Solomon was getting at in Proverbs 10:15 – a rich man’s wealth is his strong city… his fortress… his safety and security!
b. When a man has “much goods” he feels secure. (take thine ease…)
c. “It’s all MINE! It’s all for me, myself, and I!”
d. But that is a false sense of security… for true security can only come from the Lord.
e. He felt safe, but actually was in imminent danger.
f. In one moment he can be taken away from his wealth and made to stand before his Maker… and he discovers that his wealth provides NO security in that day…
g. And that’s when security really matters!
h. Prov. 11:28 – “He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.”
• The righteous trust in God. He is their strong city. (Prov. 18:10)
Proverbs 18:12
The Results of Pride and Humility
Introduction:
1. This passage seems to be part of the context (which is rare in Proverbs!) of the preceding two verses.
2. vs.10 – to the righteous man, the name of the Lord is his safety.
3. vs.11 – to the rich man, his wealth is his so called safety.
4. vs.12 – to the proud man, there is no safety… apart from repentance and becoming humble.
12a Before destruction the heart of man is haughty
1. Heart (Dict. Of Bib. Lang. gives 23 definitions for this term!)
a. Inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.
b. Inclination, resolution, determination (of will).
c. The source of life of the inner person in various aspects, with a focus on feelings, thoughts, volition, and other areas of the inner life.
d. The immaterial inner self or being.
2. Man: often refers to a male, but on other occasions it refers to mankind—male and female—anyone.
a. So ladies, this is for you too!
b. Pride is a male problem… but also a female problem.
c. It is sometimes translated “whosoever” (Lev. 15:5)
d. Thus, pride is a human problem… and one Solomon, as the observer of human behavior, wrote about often.
3. Haughty:
a. to be high, be exalted, arrogant
b. exaltation of self
c. It literally speaks of anything TALL: in either a positive or negative sense.
d. Used in a positive sense:
• Used of tall trees, walls, gates,
• Used of dignitaries—in a tall or high position
• Used of men lifted up and exalted by the Lord
• Used of Jehoshaphat whose heart was “lifted up in the ways of the Lord”
e. Used in a negative sense
• But more often it is used of men lifting themselves up on high… arrogance…
• Used of pride—tall thinking about oneself… (exaggerated, puffed up thinking… thinking of self more highly than we ought)
f. Clearly, Solomon is using the term in a negative sense here: pride, arrogance, self righteousness, vanity, conceit, self exaltation, etc.
4. The picture Solomon conveys in this passage:
a. A man whose inner thought life is full of self exaltation…
b. He describes a man full of himself…
c. A man, woman, or child who is full of pride…
d. Solomon observed that this kind of pride always seemed to precede a great fall or some sort of destruction.
5. Destruction:
a. Breaking; fracture; crushing; crash; ruin; shattering.
b. A downfall, a state or condition of moving from a high status to a low status.
c. Isa 30:13-14 – used to describe a high stone wall that comes crashing down to a pile of rubble; used of a potter breaking his clay pot and leaving it in many broken pieces… useless…
6. When Solomon observed people whose lives came crashing down around them, he noted that it was usually preceded by PRIDE of one sort or another.
a. Solomon saw people’s lives smashed like broken pottery…
b. He observed families crumble… like a high stone wall and left as a pile of rubble…
c. He saw lives fractured, crushed, broken, and ruined…
d. He observed as many shattered lives as we observe today…
e. So he studied those lives… he thought about what LED up to the destruction and ruin.
f. And time and time again, his observations led him to conclude that pride was at the root of very many of those ruined lives.
g. Prov. 6:16, 17 – Perhaps this is why he included pride as one of the seven deadly sins. In fact, it is on TOP of the list!
h. Prov. 16:18 – Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.
• The fall could be a physical fall—chastening.
• The fall could be a moral fall—into sin.
• I Cor. 10:12 – “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall!”
• We are warned repeatedly, especially in gray areas, about pride.
• Pride says, “I can handle this. It won’t bother me.”
• I can skate on thin ice. I won’t fall in!
• I don’t need God. I can do this myself.
• I can handle reading all these romance novels; I can handle watching all these movies; I can handle a little flirting; I can handle a beer once in a while; I can get by just going to morning service; it won’t affect me! I can handle reading the Word once in a while… I’m strong!”
• I can handle going out with this unsaved girl or guy. I’ll win them to Christ. I can handle this situation.”
• Paul WARNS us about that kind of pride that pushes liberty to the edge…
• Solomon isn’t directly warning us. Rather, he is giving us his own observations in life: People who THINK they can stand (because of pride) often fall… and they fall hard.
i. Prov. 11:2 – Pride usually results in shame…
• The man who THOUGHT he could stand soon discovers that he was not able to do so…
• His fall brings him shame… embarrassment… even disgrace.
• He THOUGHT he could flirt and get away with it… but it led to something far more serious—and he fell morally.
• He brought shame into his life.
• The man who THOUGHT he could handle working three jobs to buy all the best things… ends up loosing his kids to drugs… and instead of bringing joy, they bring him shame…
• The proud teenager who BOASTS that he can jump off cliffs with his motorcycle—or some other silly stunt, ends up in a wheelchair… and is ashamed of how stupid he was.
j. Prov. 17:19 – He that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction.
• Here Solomon adds another note: the person who exalts himself is actually SEEKING for destruction!
• Obviously, the proud person would disagree.
• When calamity strikes, he usually bemoans himself: poor me! How did this ever happen?
• But Solomon has already given him the warning. He KNOWS the outcome of pride—it is followed by destruction.
• Hence, the one who KNOWS that… and continues in his vain, proud ways, is in reality SEEKING for destruction.
• In other words, he’s LOOKING for trouble… and he will eventually find it.
12b And before honour is humility.
1. Solomon also noted something else about the results of a humble life. It was usually followed by some sort of HONOR. Prov. 15:33
2. HUMILITY
a. Humbleness, unpretentiousness, i.e., a state or quality of being straightforward and sincere, suggesting a lack of arrogance and pride.
b. Solomon probably did not come in contact with too many of these folks—especially in the royal and noble circles in which he traveled.
c. But he did observe humble people…
d. And as he observed, he noted the similarity in each of their lives…
3. HONOR
a. Glory, honour, glorious, abundance, dignity, reputation, reward.
b. Solomon observed that those whose lives were unpretentious, humble, meek… selfless had a special HONOR about them…
c. Their lives were characterized by a dignity that was missing in the lives of the proud.
d. It wasn’t just the difference that one was proud and one was humble… he observed some CONSEQUENCES that seemed to follow the various heart attitudes.
e. There was a sense of shame to the lives of the proud… and a sense of honor in the lives of the humble.
f. The lives of the proud were shattered… but there was a sense of quiet dignity in the lives of the humble…
g. The proud nobles often had an abundance of material things… but they lacked an abundance of real friends… they did not have an abundant life… but the humble did!
h. The humble were characterized by a dignified honor.
4. Prov. 29:23 – That honor UPHOLDS the humble spirit
a. Uphold – to hold fast; make secure; i.e., give aid and help so as to keep it from falling…
b. It is used figuratively of supporting someone inwardly, morally, spiritually.
c. Thus, the humble spirit is accompanied by a sense of honor and dignity… and that honor UPHOLDS him and keeps him from falling.
5. Prov. 22:4 – Humility results in true riches, honor, and life!
a. It can save your life…
b. Pride results in a fall… calamity… a shattering…
c. Humility keeps us from that fall… and it may even save your life!
6. Jas. 4:6 – “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”
a. This tells us that when pride is in our hearts—GOD Himself stands AGAINST us. (What a formidable opponent!)
b. When humility reigns, God lifts us up. (What a Person to have on our side!)
c. God’s response to us is always the same: He resists pride and gives grace to the humble.
d. I Pet. 5:6 – Peter wrote: Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”
e. James, Peter, Paul, and Solomon are all in agreement on this issue.
f. We are warned, admonished, commanded, and given consequences for both pride and humility. The choice is ours.
Proverbs 18:13
Jumping the Gun
Introduction:
1. There seems to be a theme or a running context in the previous verses.
a. vs. 10 – The righteous man trusts in the name of the Lord for his safety.
b. vs. 11 – The rich man trusts in his wealth for his so called safety.
c. vs. 12 – The proud man trusts in himself; and there is no safety…
2. It is possible that vs.13 continues that theme: another form of pride and trusting in one’s own wisdom.
a. Here Solomon presents the case of a man who thinks he’s so smart, so discerning, that he thinks he can make his conclusions without having heard the whole story!
b. Whether Solomon intended a connection to be made in these verses or not is a matter of conjecture, I guess.
c. Whether we connect this verse to the context or not, either way, it stands as a profound observation of human behavior… an oft repeated failure of fallen flesh…
d. And we have ALL been guilty of this at one time or another.
e. It is one of those temptations that is common to man.
13a He that answereth a matter before he heareth it
1. Answering a matter
a. Answering = to return
b. A matter = speech; a word; an account; a statement; a case; an event; etc.
c. Answering a matter means to reply to a story or a situation… giving a response, an answer.
2. Before he heareth it…
a. Hear = to hear with attention or interest; listen to; to hear and thus understand.
b. Thus, Solomon is speaking about answering a matter before we have heard it. (Various ways to fail here.)
→ We have heard about the subject, but have not HEARD the case (Tom struck Fred with a bat!)
→ Or we do not UNDERSTAND (Global warming).
→ Or we haven’t heard the OTHER SIDE (Alice and Jane are fighting—and you have heard Jane’s side of the story).
→ Giving a definitive answer before you have heard the case… or heard all of the case… or understood the case… is foolish.
3. Everybody wants to be FIRST in giving their opinion.
a. When a few details are revealed, it is human nature to want to be first to give our opinion… our view… our judgment.
b. Consider the TV game shows… they hear part of a question and are quick to push the button. They ASSUME that they knew what the rest of the question would be… but often their assumption was wrong. They give the right answer but to the wrong question… and they lose.
c. This is the phenomenon Solomon observed and wrote about in vs.13.
d. It is human nature to jump the gun, speak before you have all the facts, and to make assumptions based on a few pieces of information, and thus make up our minds on the matter… before we hear the whole question… or the whole story… or all the details.
e. We hear ONE side of the story… and assume we know enough to judge. We don’t “need” to know any more.
f. This is human nature: we are quick to draw conclusions; we tend to make snap judgments; quick to take sides; quick to condemn…
4. There is a perfect illustration of this aspect of human nature to be found in the book of Joshua.
a. Josh. 22:4-6 – Reubenites, Gadites, and ½ the tribe of Manasseh were being sent back to their homes after the conquest of the land.
• Their portion of the land fell on the other side of the Jordan River…
• Jerusalem, the Temple, and the sacrificial system were on one side of the Jordan. They were on the other side, cut off from the rest of the tribes.
• As they left, they were warned to take diligent heed to the law.
b. Josh. 22:10 – When they arrived at home, they built a great altar.
c. Josh. 22:11 – Naturally, word of the construction of this altar soon found its way to the rest of the tribes of Israel.
d. Josh. 22:12 – Thus, the children of Israel gathered together, ready to fight against Rueben, Gad, & ½ the tribe of Manasseh.
• And didn’t they have every right to be upset?
• The Jews were NOT to build altars or places of sacrifice outside of Jerusalem! The Temple of God was God’s place for sacrifices!
• Building a rival altar was what Jeroboam did… the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin!
• God was outraged for centuries over the sin of Jeroboam—in building an altar… a rival system of worship… built in opposition to the altar in Jerusalem!
• Building an altar for sacrifice was completely contrary to the Law of Moses.
• It’s not hard to see why the tribes of Israel were so upset at the news that an altar was being built on the other side of Jordan.
• Righteous indignation would cause people to become angry and ready to fight against their brethren if they saw a rival altar being built.
viii. God is pleased when righteous indignation is demonstrated by His people…
e. Josh. 22:15-20 – The children of Israel pleaded with them NOT to build the altar.
• Vs.15-16 – What trespass is this against the God of Israel?
• Vs.17 – They compare their altar to the sin of Peor.
• Vs.18 – They ask why they have turned away from the Lord… and rebelling against the Lord. They also warn that God’s wrath will be leveled against the whole nation for their rebellion.
• Vs.19 – Note also that they are sensible and will to accommodate them.
1. If they needed more land or better land, that could be arranged. The other tribes would give up part of their land.
2. They offer them a way around their rebellion.
3. Vs. 20 – Then they warn about the sin of Achan whose actions brought wrath upon all the congregation.
f. Josh. 22:21-29 – The response of the 2 ½ tribes
• Vs.2 2 – God knows that their actions were not done out of rebellion… even though the Jews did not know.
• Vs. 24-25 – Their REAL reason for building the altar was for their children…
• They were afraid that since they were geographically cut off from Jerusalem, that their children might not feel CONNECTED to the worship in Jerusalem.
• Vs. 25 – They were afraid that in the future, the other Jews might think of them as having no part in Jerusalem’s system of worship.
• They were NOT trying to rebel against the Lord. They were trying to PREVENT their children from ceasing to fear God.
• That which they were being accused of was the very thing they were trying to PREVENT!
• Vs. 27-28 – They wanted this altar to be a WITNESS for generations to come… that they too were worshippers of Jehovah God… just like their brethren on the other side of the river.
• Vs. 10 – This altar was not built to be a functioning altar—it was only an altar to “SEE”… to look at… as a witness…
ix. Vs. 29 – they were horrified at the thought of building an altar in rebelling against God… a rival system of worship! That was repulsive to these God fearing men who loved the Lord.
g. Josh. 22:30 – When the Jews heard this, they were satisfied.
• The war was averted. Peace reigned again.
• What was the difference?
• One piece of information that they did not possess before!
• They had gathered together for WAR because they heard only one side of the story…
• Thankfully they did not break out into war.
• They decided to TALK first.
• And in talking they discovered a missing piece of information that changed the whole dynamic of the situation.
• It would have been a FOLLY and a SHAME to them had they fought without talking.
5. The children of Israel initially jumped to conclusions…
a. They heard ONE simple fact—and were ready to start a war over it. (And came very close!)
b. They wrongly assumed:
• That the altar was being built to offer sacrifices.
• That it was built in defiance against God.
• That the people building it were rebels.
• That they were building a rival system of worship.
• That their sin was like that of Peor or Achan.
• That judgment from heaven would fall upon them all.
c. And the odd part of all this is that the conclusions they drew were so very sensible… logical… Why else would they build an altar!?! It’s hard to imagine any other purpose for building an altar.
d. Their conclusions seemed reasonable, but they were dead wrong.
13b It is folly and shame unto him.
1. The Bible says it is foolish and shameful… yet we do the very same thing!
2. We’ve all done it. We’ve all heard pieces of a story, and immediately made up our minds… formulated our opinions…
3. There are times when that might not make much difference, but there are other times when it can mean disaster! (war among nations… between friends… in a local church!)
4. I’ve observed in the local church setting what Solomon observed in Israel.
a. In the local church, when contentions among believers arise, people begin to polarize…
b. You’re either on one side or the other in the conflict…
c. People on the various sides chat together… and spread information… their side of the story.
d. Folks on each side think they are right… and begin to get angry at folks on the other side…
e. And very often, many folks only hear ONE side of the story. (Fred’s story or Jane’s story)
f. It is ALWAYS foolish and shameful to hear one side of the story and make up your mind based on an incomplete set of facts.
g. Just because everything you heard was accurate… it could give you a wrong impression… and lead to wrong conclusions if it is incomplete.
h. Maybe every event you were told about was accurate… but the chronology was not accurate. That can change the meaning of everything!
i. Maybe a little context to the statement would change your view… if you heard it.
j. Maybe Fred’s statement would be understood differently if you were given another piece of information: he said it in jest…
k. My, oh my how one little piece of information can change our analysis of events.
5. Answering a matter before we hear it truly is foolish and shameful!
a. So before you judge a brother and write him off… or write off your relative… or your boss… or your employee… it’s a good idea to spend some time gathering facts.
b. Making up our minds without knowing all the facts… judging a brother without knowing all the facts… is part of our human nature… but it is a foolish and shameful part!
c. Solomon warns us: don’t do it!
d. Wars have started; marriages have ended; families destroyed; churches split; friendships broken; lives ruined; reputations damaged… all because of men have answered a matter before they heard it.
Proverbs 18:14
A Wounded Spirit
14a The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity
A. The Spirit of a Man Defined
1. The Scriptures indicate that man is tripartite: 3 parts: body, soul, and spirit.
a. The body is that part of man that relates to the physical world… world-consciousness.
b. The soul is that part of man that relates the man to himself… (emotions; self consciousness; etc.)
c. The spirit is that part of man that relates to God—his God-consciousness.
2. Some take the word “spirit” here to refer to the human spirit, the God–conscious part of man.
a. The human spirit is that part of man that is alive unto God.
b. The Holy Spirit works through our human spirit that we might have fellowship with God.
c. Either the flesh is in control (and uses our body or our emotions for its own ends) OR the Holy Spirit is in control, and our human spirit has a relationship to Christ.
d. It is easy to see how our bodies could be wounded. It is equally easy to understand how our emotions could be wounded.
e. We’ve all experienced both.
f. However, it is hard for me to imagine what a wounded spirit could mean… if Solomon meant that inward, regenerated, God-conscious part of man.
3. The word “spirit” (literally = breath; wind) is used in various senses very commonly in the Bible.
a. It is used of the wind blowing…
b. It is used of the Holy Spirit…
c. It is used of a person’s breath (he stopped breathing and died – Ps. 104:29).
d. It is used of long-winded speech…
e. One dictionary listed 29 variations on the usage of this term.
f. It is also commonly used to describe emotional attitude
• Ex. 6:9 – mental fatigue; discouragement.
• Josh. 2:11 – translated courage.
• Judges 8:3 – their anger was abated (anger).
• Pr 25:28 – Controlling one’s spirit could not mean our God-conscious part of man. But it makes perfect sense as our inward emotional attitude. That DOES need to be controlled.
• It literally means “breath or wind” in the sense of attitude, and the context has to determine the rest… what SORT of attitude.
• For that reason, it seems best to understand Solomon to mean “emotional attitude” in Prov. 18:14.
4. Thus, the spirit of a man in Proverbs 18:14 speaks of a man’s inward, emotional attitude…
a. We use the term spirit in the same sense today. (Team spirit; a spirited response to the challenge; she has a sweet spirit about her; you lifted my spirits).
b. We don’t mean their intangible, God-conscious part of their inner man…
c. Rather, we mean their attitude… disposition… outlook… temperament.
B. Will Sustain His Infirmity
1. Infirmity:
a. Sickness; illness; disease; i.e., state of lacking of good physical health, implying a time of suffering.
b. It can also refer to a physical weakness… a lack of strength… because of sickness.
2. Solomon states here that when a man or woman is sick or diseased, his spirit can sustain him.
a. Even though his body may be weakened or diseased, if his emotional attitude is strong and healthy, that attitude will sustain him throughout his physical sickness.
b. If the outer man is sickly, but the inner man is healthy, that will sustain you!
3. Sustain:
a. Maintain; support; bear up; enable to endure; nourish; etc.
b. Used in:
• Gen. 45:11 – Joseph promised to “nourish” his family during the years of famine in Egypt.
• I Kings 17:4 – the ravens “fed” Elijah by the brook.
c. A healthy inner attitude can enable a person to ENDURE physical suffering.
d. A healthy spirit—a right attitude can support the weakened body and enable it to endure… to keep on keeping on…
e. I think of Pastor Rathbun. He has a healthy spirit and that has sustained him through decades of blindness.
f. There are other blind men who sit in the darkness and sulk… lose interest in life…
g. I’m sure we’ve all seen different people battle some awful physical diseases. Not everyone handles them the same.
h. I have seen folks with such diseases with a sweet inner spirit that buoys them up and keeps them going.
i. Others sink into depression… and that only adds to their physical problems.
j. This is Solomon’s point: a good inner spirit—a healthy emotional attitude will sustain a man during his infirmity.
k. That’s why singing and praising the Lord is GOOD for us. We should do it because God said so, not because of any benefit we receive—but it IS good for us! It can lift our spirits…
l. Neh. 8:10 – “The JOY of the Lord is your strength.” Joy is strength!
4. There is without question a direct connection and relationship between the inner man and the outer man.
a. We are ONE being… a whole…
b. A good attitude will help sustain our physical infirmity.
c. Job 1:20-21 – Consider Job’s suffering and also his “spirit” or attitude towards his suffering! It sustained him.
d. Prov. 17:22 – A merry heart doeth good like medicine! I’m of the opinion that this verse means exactly what it says!
e. A good heart attitude can be effective as medicine in dealing with sickness.
f. This does not mean we don’t need doctors or medicine.
g. It does not mean that a good attitude will CURE disease. It will not.
h. If a person is suffering from cancer or blindness, a good attitude will not make the cancer go away… nor will it cause your eyesight to return.
i. It will not cure the disease, but it can sustain the person during the period of illness.
j. Think of men climbing a VERY difficult mountain.
• Two men of equal strength, health, and ability…
• Two men with very different attitudes…
• One will make it to the top, the other will quit.
• They BOTH had the physical strength to make it to the top, but it takes inner drive to tap into that inner strength.
k. Jas. 1:2-4 – During trials (physical suffering for example) we are challenged to be careful about our ATTITUDE.
• We are to rejoice…
• The rejoicing is NOT because we are going through trials. Avoid trials and suffering if you can.
• But we are to rejoice KNOWING the end of that suffering.
• If we keep our minds and hearts focused on the END… then we will have a good inner attitude about the trial… even joy in the midst of suffering!
• And that joy—that good inner attitude will also help sustain you through the trial.
14b But a wounded spirit who can bear?
1. Now Solomon speaks about a WOUNDED spirit.
2. Wounded:
a. Afflicted; smitten; and so in a state of grief or hopelessness.
b. Broken, beaten, crushed.
c. This speaks of an inner attitude that is broken and crushed—by the experiences of life… by trials that seem to have no end…
3. The person with a wounded or broken spirit is one who has given up on life… thrown in the towel… defeated… the wind has been knocked out of them emotionally…
a. The wounded spirit is way beyond just feeling down in the dumps.
b. The inner drive is gone…
c. The fire in the belly has gone out…
d. The desire to live may no longer be there…
e. It speaks of an inner sense of hopelessness… deep depression… loss of interest in life…
4. Who can bear?
a. Bear: to lift up; to carry; to bear up; to carry along.
b. The expected answer: no one!
c. This is a burden too heavy for anyone to bear…
d. If a person is experiencing physical disease and suffering, AND has a wounded spirit… this becomes unbearable.
e. Sometimes when a couple has been married for 50 or 60 years, and one spouse dies, the other dies shortly thereafter… it was such a wound to their spirit!
5. It is easier to handle physical suffering than it is to handle inward, emotional pain and suffering.
a. It’s easier to deal with a diseased body than a broken heart. The broken, crushed heart can be more painful.
b. It’s easier to deal with a broken leg than a broken spirit.
c. The broken leg is bearable. A good spirit will sustain a man with a broken leg.
d. But a broken spirit is unbearable. Nothing will sustain that man
e. A man’s spirit will prop him up during trials. But if the spirit is broken, he sinks.
6. Prov. 15:13 – By sorrow of the heart, the spirit is broken.
a. Sorrow can LEAD to a broken spirit. Sorrow is the MEANS of breaking the spirit.
b. Sorrow and grief are normal and natural in a time of tragedy.
c. However, if the person allows himself to DWELL on his grief… and wallows in his sorrow—that can eventually break his spirit.
d. There is a time to let go of grief and get on with life.
e. And it is DANGEROUS to hang on to that sorrow. It will ruin you… crush your spirit… and make life unbearable.
f. Whether it is sorrow after the death of a loved one… or sorrow from an illness that seems to have no end… or sorrow from some failure in life… whatever the source of the sorrow, it is NOT to be life dominating. It will ruin you.
g. Prov. 17:22 – A broken spirit drieth the bones. It goes exceptionally DEEP… into the very bones!
7. Solomon is speaking in human terms here.
a. What he says is just as applicable to an unsaved man as a believer.
b. Even an unsaved human being with a good attitude, a good spirit CAN sustain himself through sickness and trials.
c. Natural courage; a cheerful disposition can sustain a man.
d. A good attitude is far better than a bad attitude.
e. However, a good attitude cannot go on forever… it will only take a person so far.
f. What he doesn’t mention here is the fact that GOD is able to lift up any soul that looks to Him!
• I Pet. 5:7 – casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you. God can lift us up and KEEP us lifted up.
• God can sustain us through ANY tragedy or trial.
• Isa. 48:10 – Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Proverbs 18:15
Seeking Knowledge
15a The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge
1. Heart: inner man; mind; will; heart; understanding; inclination.
2. Prudent: Discernment; the ability to comprehend information and to make proper decisions based on the information; process information and so respond in an appropriate manner.
3. Here Solomon tells us that discerning men obtain knowledge in their hearts.
a. In other words, men who have the ability to process information properly and use it to respond in an appropriate manner VALUE knowledge!
b. It has benefited them greatly.
c. They want as much knowledge as they can get.
d. Prov. 15:2 – Some men know how to USE knowledge aright. That is a most valuable asset!
• Wise men not only possess knowledge, but they know what to DO with it… they use it well.
• It would not be very wise if a man had all kinds of knowledge, and let it go to waste… if he DIDN’T use it well.
4. The implication here is that men who do NOT have discernment (men who do NOT know how to process information and use it properly) do NOT obtain much knowledge.
a. They do not see the value in knowledge as a discerning man does.
b. Because they are not able to USE it properly and are thus not BENEFITED by it… they do not see its practical value.
c. Because they don’t value it, they don’t seek to obtain it.
d. And—therefore, they don’t have much of it.
5. A prudent man GETS knowledge.
a. Get: to get; acquire; create; buy; possess.
b. The term get is quite broad. It may imply that there are lots of ways to obtain knowledge.
c. The prudent man will get it, buy it, acquire it, any upright way that he can!
d. Prov. 14:18 – the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
• Knowledge is like a crown he wears…
• A crown identifies a man as royalty.
• Knowledge marks a man as royalty in a sense… a king of knowledge; a position of honor..
6. And the obtaining comes from the HEART.
a. He has a heart that is hungry for knowledge.
b. He desires knowledge deep within his heart… his inner man.
c. Prov. 15:14 – “The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge.” The desire originates in his heart.
• It is not just his HEAD that obtains knowledge, but his heart.
• The knowledge is obviously processed through his head, but the hunger to obtain it stems from the heart.
• He seeks knowledge from his heart – wholeheartedly.
• This is not superficial or phony. It is the desire of his heart.
• A wise man is never satisfied with the wisdom he has. He always SEEKS more.
• A truly wise man is aware of how much he does NOT know… and hence, seeks to learn.
• A wise man’s education does not end when he graduates from school. That’s when it begins!
d. His heart is hungry for it and therefore his heart GETS it.
e. It is not mere intellectual stimulation (head) he is after. His HEART wants this knowledge… because deep down inside he knows how valuable it is… how beneficial it is… how helpful it is…
f. Prov. 24:4-6 – And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
• By wisdom and knowledge, houses are built, established and filled with goods.
• This is true of a literal house, a home, and also of any endeavor… any business… any project.
• He knows what good practical use it may be to him—if not today, tomorrow.
g. These proverbs serve to exhort young people to obtain a good education!
15b And the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.
1. Wise: a wise man; a learned sage; a skilled, shrewd, experienced man.
a. This term stands almost as a synonym for prudent.
2. There are a couple of contrasts here:
a. Prudent men obtain knowledge; wise men seek knowledge.
b. The heart of a prudent man… the ear of a wise man.
3. The EAR of a wise man seeks knowledge.
a. The wise man not only DESIRES it is his heart, but he DOES something to obtain it.
b. He LISTENS when other wise men speak.
c. The fool is often described in proverbs as one who does not listen. The wise man does listen.
d. Prov. 1:22 – Fools hate knowledge! They think they know it all already. Why listen?
e. Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge. (Prov. 12:1)
f. Prov. 5:12 – They hate instruction… or correction.
g. What folly—for correction and instruction is HELPFUL! It is necessary… it is knowledge…
h. If a person is doing something the wrong way, why would he NOT want to be corrected… to be given the correct information? The answer is his foolish pride!
i. The fool does not have an ear for knowledge… because of his pride. He THINKS he doesn’t need it… but he does.
j. Prov. 1:5 – “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.”
k. Just desiring knowledge will not result in attaining it. You have to listen. You have to go get it!
4. Seeking knowledge.
a. Seek: Search; inquire; investigate, implying a diligence in the procurement of the information.
b. Wise men SEEK knowledge… they inquire where it may be found; they get off their rocking chair and search for it; they investigate diligently until they find it!
c. Wise men are humble enough to realize that they do not presently KNOW enough. They may know a lot, but not enough. How much is enough?
d. They realize that there is always more to learn. The wiser the man is, the more inquisitive he will be about knowledge… and the more he will desire to hear.
e. Humility is required.
f. Prov. 1:7 – The first step towards knowledge is the “fear of the Lord.” This involves humility… before God… bowing before Him in reverence… acknowledging the VALUE of every word of God.
g. Prov. 19:2 – “Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good.” It is NOT good to be without knowledge. It is good to have it. It is valuable… it is worth seeking.
h. Prov.20:15 – There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
i. Prov. 23:12 – Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
5. The book of Proverbs is a great place to HEAR knowledge.
a. Prov. 1:4 – it was written so that young men might obtain knowledge.
b. Give your “ear” to what Solomon said many centuries ago!
c. Prov. 2:1-5 – Seeking with diligence results in FINDING knowledge.
d. Prov.10:14 – Wise men lay up knowledge. (In Proverbs we have lots of wisdom already laid up for us!)
6. Prudent, wise men will also be wise enough to seek for GOOD knowledge.
a. We live in an age of knowledge and information overload.
b. It takes discernment to know WHERE to look for valuable information… and which information is useless trivia…
c. He can tell the difference between information that is like a gem and that which is more like useless chaff.
d. The internet is a wonderful tool. It can enable us to search for valuable information… or it can be a colossal waste of time spent on useless trivia.
7. What better place to spend time gleaning knowledge than in the Word of God?
a. Ps. 19:7 – The law of the Lord makes wise the simple.
b. II Pet. 3:18 – We are commanded to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
c. If knowledge is helpful and valuable in the natural realm, how much MORE in the spiritual realm?
d. How could we ever be satisfied with the depth of the knowledge of God we presently possess? For all eternity we will be growing in the knowledge of God.
e. Paul’s goal in life was to “KNOW HIM” more and more. That should be our goal in life too.
f. Our heart should hunger for the knowledge of Christ… and our ears should seek more and more…
g. And if we truly hunger and seek—we will FIND it.
Proverbs 18:16
The Power of Gifts
Introduction:
1. A proverb like this (and there are several in the book) needs a proper introduction.
a. This proverb is helpful and instructive when properly applied.
b. However, it can also be dangerous because it can easily be abused.
2. It is wise for us to be reminded once again that we are in the book of PROVERBS… and proverbs are little nuggets of truth.
a. They don’t discuss the truth from every possible angle.
b. Every one is different. Some are pregnant with meaning. Others make a simple statement.
c. They are all designed to make us THINK.
d. Prov. 18:16 does not tell us what SHOULD BE. Rather, it simply tells us what IS.
e. It is true—but not necessarily good.
3. This proverb makes one simple statement: gifts open doors!
a. It is a simple statement of a fact of life.
b. This is not an endorsement of the idea.
c. He does not favor this method.
d. He does not encourage us to use this method.
e. He is simply stating a fact. Bribes work!
f. People use bribes to advance themselves.
g. Solomon is not saying that we should USE gifts to advance ourselves.
h. Nor is he saying that gift giving is wrong or evil.
i. He simply makes a statement… one little nugget of truth.
j. We need to use caution as to how we APPLY that nugget of truth.
16a A man’s gift maketh room for him…
1. “A man’s”
a. The word for “man” here is Adam.
b. It can refer to a male… or the human race.
c. Here it refers to mankind—including women.
d. He is speaking about gifts used by human beings.
e. Solomon is letting us know something about human nature.
f. This is true of both men and women.
2. “A man’s gift”
a. Gift = a gift; a present; an offering.
b. In some social or religious contexts a “gift” may have varying degrees of obligation attached to it… or at least expectation of getting something in return.
c. It is a gift… with strings attached.
d. In certain contexts, it comes very near the concept of a bribe… when it is used to procure favor.
e. That is the sense in which it is used here.
f. Solomon is speaking about a “gift” that one human being uses to procure favor from someone else.
3. It “makes room for him”
a. Defined: to open; widen; enlarge; broaden.
b. It is used figuratively of “creating an opportunity” or “opening a door”… by enlarging the way… making travel or movement easy…
c. Thus, this expression speaks of the motive behind the gift given.
d. A gift “makes room” for a person… it opens a door… it creates an opportunity for him.
4. Whether we like it or not, this is true. It is a fact.
a. Gifts open doors for people.
b. People use gifts to open doors for themselves.
c. People use gifts to advance their own agendas.
d. Prov. 17:8 – Bribes work. People use them all the time.
e. This was a fact of life in Solomon’s world… and in ours.
5. Gifts often DO open doors
a. Prov. 17:23 –Evil men use “gifts” to open doors so that they can get themselves off the hook!
• It perverts justice.
• A gift buys favor with the judge in court; buys false witnesses to lie in court—(as Jezebel did).
• It opens the door to get what you want in court. People buy their way out of jail.
b. I Kings 15:18 – King Asa sent a “gift” to Benhadad, king of Syria to buy favor with him. This was common practice in ancient societies… and not so ancient societies!
6. Obviously, this proverb was not written to encourage the practice of bribes or giving gifts with strings attached.
a. It was written as a WARNING to us.
b. Be aware of this common method people use!
c. If you are a boss… be a little suspicious about those who come bearing gifts.
d. Be a bit suspicious if people are overly nice… dripping with sugary words…
e. Be aware that gifts often come with strings attached…
f. People give gifts expecting something in return. Be aware.
g. And if you give a gift to someone—don’t be surprised if they are a bit suspicious too.
h. The so-called gift of a Trojan horse given by the Greeks to the city of Troy was pure deception to capture and conquer the city.
7. This proverb warns us about gifts… it warns us that often times people GIVE in order to GET…
a. People often give gifts to make room for themselves… to advance themselves… or their agendas… their cause.
b. In Washington, lobbyists use gifts… expensive dinners and lavish vacations to influence and procure the favor of, and votes of congressmen.
c. Ironically, even charitable giving – philanthropic giving opens doors for the giver…
• It brings them before great men—the national or international media… the spotlight.
• Bill Gates giving millions to his causes…
• They may be very good causes—
d. But even philanthropic giving is designed to advance self (self image)… usually to make a big name for themselves… and the cameras are usually rolling.
e. Matt. 6:1-4 – Giving for the believer…
• The RIGHT way to give is to not let our right hand know what our left hand is doing.
• Keep it secret and your Father in heaven will reward you.
• Otherwise, the (glory) recognition of men is all the reward you get.
• If we give a gift, no one should know but God. It should be given for the glory of God, not self-advancement.
• The gift Solomon had in mind had ulterior motives.
16b And bringeth him before great men.
1. “Bringeth” = to lead; to guide; (used often of God leading people).
2. “Before great men”
a. Lit = in the face of great men… before their face.
b. Great men = lit = great ones… great men…
3. The gift often is used to bring people before men of great position, power, or authority.
a. Gifts open doors of all sorts.
b. Here, it opens the door to the king… or the governor… or the judge… or other men in positions of power.
c. If you want to be heard—you have to grease palms.
d. Men in positions of power who don’t have time to see you or hear your case will often make time when a gift is offered. He will “make room” for your case if the price is right.
e. People buy positions by bribes. Others sell positions through bribery.
f. Bribes occur sometimes in our country… but when caught, the person is humiliated and perhaps imprisoned.
g. But in some parts of the world—their economy RUNS on bribes… gifts… greasing palms… It is not an aberration, it is the norm.
h. It is a terrible practice, because it is unfair to the poor.
• The wealthy can buy “justice” while the poor can’t afford justice… and thus do not receive it!
• That’s the sad truth.
• People born into wealth and privilege can BUY their way into high positions and high places…
• People of means can afford to have their case heard before great men… poor people cannot afford to be heard before the king… or the judge… or the senator…
i. Prov. 19:6 – Many will entreat the favor of a prince—a great man. They often do so with gifts.
j. I Sam. 25:27 – Abigail brought a gift to pacify David’s anger. But she did so with good motives. It worked.
k. Gen. 32:20 – Jacob used gifts to appease the anger of Esau who wanted to kill him! Esau was a powerful man.
l. This proverb does not tell us what SHOULD BE. Rather, it simply tells us what IS.
THANKFULLY we have complete access to God and no gifts are required! The price has already been paid.
• Through the cross, Christ has made room for us… and has brought us into the presence of—much better than great men… into the very presence of the King of kings!
Proverbs 18:17
First in His Own Cause
17a He that is first in his own cause seemeth just
A. First in His Own Cause
1. His own cause defined:
a. Dispute; strife; controversy; quarrel; case at law.
b. Gen. 13:7 – Strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle.
c. Deut. 21:5 – Priests appointed to judge legal matters and disputes between people.
2. The meaning here: he that is first to present his side of the story in a dispute.
a. The one who shares his side of the story FIRST
b. Thus, it is his OWN cause that he presents…
3. In EVERY dispute, there is always one person who is FIRST to present his own cause… his own side of the story.
a. As King, Solomon often had to settle difficult disputes.
b. The King sometimes had to perform the duties of a judge when the lower courts were unable to settle the matter.
c. The king was like their Supreme Court.
d. Remember the case of two women who came to Solomon each claiming to be the mother of a baby… and each claiming the other woman was the mother of the dead child?
e. Solomon had to hear that case—and no doubt many other difficult cases.
f. He was very familiar with disputes and strife between people…
g. He heard many cases in court… and in doing so, he noted that each one had something in common.
h. He noted, that in every case, somebody was always FIRST to present his or her side of the story.
B. Seemeth Just
1. There was something else that Solomon noticed… in EVERY case.
2. The first one to present his own side of the story—his own cause—always seemed just… lawful… right…
a. Nobody ever came before the king with their legal case and “esteemed others better than themselves.”
b. Nobody ever came before the bar of justice and tried to put the opposition in a good light.
c. Invariably, they put themselves in a good light…
3. JUST: has both a legal and ethical sense to it.
a. The first one to present his side of the story seemed ethically superior… righteous.
b. He seemed legally correct and right…
c. In other words, if you heard ONLY this side of the story—the FIRST person to present his case would always win the court case!
d. The first person’s case was presented as so legally correct… and so ethically and morally correct—why bother hearing the other side?
e. If you believed the FIRST person’s story, you wouldn’t NEED a legal system.
f. The first one was always right… or so it seemed.
g. Solomon probably NEVER saw an exception to that rule…
4. People always try to make themselves “look good” when presenting their case.
a. Those who present their cause first are always careful in HOW they word their case.
b. They go to great lengths in thinking through HOW it will sound…
c. They may not lie… but they have discovered lots of other ways, short of lying, that will make them look good and the other guy look bad.
d. Very rarely is their wording as careless as the little boy who came running in to his mother crying, “Johnny hit me back!”
e. Little children haven’t learned the fine art of subtlety… and deception… but adults have… and use it to their advantage.
f. An adult would simply say, “Johnny hit me.”
• His side would be true and accurate…
• However, it would also be incomplete…
• But it would also be misleading and deceptive.
g. Solomon learned through observation (as a king and judge) that ANY case can be worded in such a way as to make it SEEM right and just.
5. Thus, the first part of the proverb is a WARNING.
a. Beware—things aren’t always as they SEEM.
b. ANYONE can make themselves look good…
c. Evil, deceptive people can make themselves SEEM righteous… by the way they WORD their case…
d. By leaving out key details… by re-arranging the chronology of events… by using carefully chosen terms… the FIRST one to give his cause can SEEM like an angel… and make the other guy look like a demon!
e. This is a warning to us all—when someone presents their side of the story—listen with a grain of salt… a bit of healthy skepticism…
17b But his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.
A. But His Neighbor Cometh
1. Now Solomon gives us another warning: After the first man in the dispute speaks, there will always be his NEIGHBOR’S side to the dispute!
2. The warning is: Be aware that there is always ANOTHER side to that same story… and his neighbor’s side may be very DIFFERENT from what you first heard.
3. The term “neighbor” is a broad term translated in lots of different ways: friend, lover, companion, neighbor, fellow citizen, associate, and (as best fits here) “another person or second party.”
a. The first person presents his own cause and he seems RIGHT.
b. But then ANOTHER person comes along—the other person in the conflict—and he has a very different spin on events.
c. The second party will eventually COME (meaning to enter the scene; to arrive).
d. Hence, it is a good idea to WAIT until the neighbor… the second party arrives on the scene… and you have heard HIS side of the story, before you make up your mind.
e. Saul gave his story and it seemed believable—UNTIL Samuel came and cross examined him… and exposed his rebellion! (I Sam.15:17-23)
4. Don’t be hoodwinked by hearing only ONE side.
a. Even though a person may be exceptionally convincing!
b. Ex: when a person portrays himself as the perfect angel and the other guy as a demon—it is not so believable.
• People know that that is not very believable…
• Hence, to be convincing they usually resort to a tactic that is more believable… more convincing.
• “I wasn’t perfect either… I did such and such. But you wouldn’t believe what she did… or he did!”
• It is a convincing tactic to take 2% of the blame to make yourself believable… but that leaves 98% of the blame on the other side!
c. When a person is really GOOD at this kind of deception, he is able to present the facts in such a way that one might conclude, “Why bother hearing the other side!” If she did that… or if he said that… then let’s hang him! I don’t need to hear any more.”
d. Solomon warns, “Yes you DO need to hear more in order to make a wise decision!”
e. Hearing one side of the story is exceptionally foolish.
B. The Neighbor Comes and SEARCHES Him
1. Searches: search out facts; examine; investigate; explore, probe; inquire, dig a little deeper…
a. The OTHER party in the controversy will surely not accept the spin… the perspective… the manner in which the first person presented the facts of the case.
• “I was driving down the highway minding my own business when this lady crashed into my car. She was flying at 65 miles an hour!”
b. The second person will dig a little deeper…
c. The neighbor comes along and confronts the first person and cross-examines them… calls into question what he said and how he said it…
• But sometimes cross-examination brings out some important details…
• “He was going 80 miles an hour, reading a newspaper, with a coffee in one hand and an electric razor in the other hand—steering with his elbows!”
d. The neighbor comes along and adds important details that the first person carefully left out…
e. In another controversy, the neighbor might describe the demeanor, behavior, attitudes, tone of voice… from a very different perspective.
f. He may put the chronology in a different order which can change everything… (I wasn’t there until the day AFTER it happened…)
g. Tone of voice can change the meaning of words. For example, the words, “I’m really sorry” can mean the total opposite depending upon tone of voice.
h. The second party is able to fill in some seemingly minor details that can change the meaning of everything.
2. NOT listening to the second party… hearing only ONE side of the story is foolish and shameful! (Prov. 18:13)
a. To those who make up their minds after having heard only one side of the story, Solomon says, Shame on you! You are a fool!
b. Unfortunately, it happens—all too often.
c. Making up our minds without knowing all the facts… judging a brother without knowing all the facts… is part of our human nature… but it is a foolish and shameful part!
d. Solomon warns us: don’t do it!
e. I have had to deal with it as a pastor in dealing with disputes among believers… in marital counseling… and with all the THIRD parties who tend to polarize around one side or the other in such controversies.
f. Controversies are greatly complicated when third parties enter into the fray… for invariably they are hearing only one side of the story.
g. When folks do that, they often manifest (in their minds) righteous indignation against the “other side.”
h. They often look down at the other side as ungodly… foolish… an unintelligent dupe… hoodwinked… uncaring… unloving… and even (as foolish as it may sound) one-sided!
i. To hear one side and make up your mind is foolish and shameful!
3. This warning has almost limitless application… for controversies are with us for good… till glory.
a. People DO fight…
b. Parents would be wise to consider this warning in dealing with disputes among children…
c. Elders would be wise to consider this warning in dealing with disputes among the saints at church.
d. Teachers would be wise to consider this with disputes in school…
e. Employers with disputes among the employees…
f. Landlords dealing with disputes with their tenants…
g. This can even be applied to political candidates… so dig a little deeper…
h. Buying a product by listening to their ads… (After hearing a Chevy ad, why buy anything else?)
i. In hearing a diagnosis and treatment from the doctor…
j. So beware… we have been warned. It would be foolish and shameful to ignore Solomon’s wise warning here.
k. One man noted that God gave us TWO ears so that we could hear both sides of the story!
Proverbs 18:18
The Lot is Cast
Introduction:
1. This is a simple proverb. Its meaning is crystal clear—unlike many other proverbs that are a bit ambiguous.
2. This is simple and right to the point: lots can end arguments.
3. It is an extremely valuable tool that can be used today in all kinds of settings and circumstances.
4. It is valuable, though not ideal. Its value lies in how practical it is, not how perfect it is.
What a Lot Is
1. Lot: defined
a. Strong’s: Portion; pebbles used for systematically making decisions.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: Pebbles, sticks, or pottery shard thrown or blindly pulled out of a container, for decision making based on what seems like chance, but was a communication of the Lord.
c. Zodhiates: A lot was cast, probably a stone or stones, to decide questions or appoint persons for various reasons
2. Lot described:
a. We are not told exactly what KIND of lots were used.
b. History tells us that lots originated in Asia… from anklebones of animals.
c. Many cults used variations of this in determining the will of their gods.
d. Sometimes pieces of bone were scattered randomly and the way they fell was interpreted by a sort of witch doctor or sorcerer (quite subjective!)
e. Sometimes they were more like dice—with numbers or symbols with meaning on each side. They were thrown and gave a reading much like dice today.
f. Sometimes they were black or white stones randomly picked from a container.
g. There were many different forms of lots throughout history.
h. We don’t know exactly what the Jews used… but we DO know that it was a way of randomly and by chance (from our perspective) determining an outcome—usually with a yes or no answer.
3. God did command the use of lots in the Old Testament.
a. In dividing the land (Num. 33:54)
b. In choosing the goats on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:8)
c. In selecting men for various position (I Chron. 24:5, 31; 25:8)
• In these cases, it seems (assuming there were many qualified men for the positions), it really didn’t matter much one way or the other…
d. It was used in divine revelation—in showing Joshua who was guilty of stealing from Jericho—and the lot fell on Achan.
• In these and other Old Testament examples, it DID matter.
• In these cases, the lot cast was actually an act of supernatural revelation from God—like the Urim and the Thummim.
e. In selecting an apostle to replace Judas (Acts 1:26) (Old Testament economy).
4. Another important feature of the LOT in the Old Testament was its relationship to Divine Sovereignty.
a. Prov. 16:33 – the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.
b. That which SEEMS like mere chance to us, is actually under the control of God.
c. Think of the flipping of a coin. God is sovereign over the wind… over the rotation of the earth… over man who does the flipping… over density and humidity in the air… and over every imaginable physical detail involved.
d. Thus, that which seems like chance to us is not from the standpoint of Divine Sovereignty and Providence.
e. In fact, the Lord controlled the outcome of such lots even when cast out of superstition or in unbelief!
• The casting of lots was used by superstitious pagans to determine who was responsible for the storm at sea… and the lot fell on Jonah. (Jonah 1:7)
• The casting of lots was used by Saul to determine who was guilty of violating Saul’s order not to eat… and Jonathan (the guilty party) was revealed through the lot. (I Sam. 14)
5. Sometimes this was commanded by God—and on other occasions we are simply told that it is what men practiced.
a. Clearly we see BOTH in the Bible: commands and practice.
b. Thus, since God on occasion commanded it, it is certainly not wrong or immoral.
c. However, the LAST time we see it practiced in the Bible is in Acts 1:26, BEFORE the Day of Pentecost.
d. Once the church began and the Holy Spirit was given, we read of it no more.
• It is a good ASSUMPTION that the coming of the Spirit is the reason—though that is not stated in Scripture.
• It is an assumption.
e. Be careful here: there is NO command either way.
• The church is never commanded to practice the lot.
• The church is not forbidden from using a lot.
• And historically (in the New Testament) we never see it practiced during the church age.
• It is simply ABSENT… it is not mentioned one way or another.
18a The lot causeth contentions to cease
1. In this verse, Solomon presents a purely PRACTICAL use of lots.
2. He does NOT SAY the lot here:
a. That the lot determines God’s will.
b. That the lot determines the morally right choice.
c. That the lot will produce the correct or accurate answer.
d. That the lot will reveal the best choice.
e. That the lot will determine absolute truth.
f. NONE of that is mentioned in this verse… so let’s not read something into this verse that is not here.
3. Nor is Solomon saying that this is the BEST WAY to make a choice. It is “a” way… and a way that works.
4. What Solomon DOES tell us here is one generic practical value of the lot: lots can cause contentions to cease.
a. If both parties in the controversy are willing to USE the lot, it can be extremely helpful.
b. Contentions: strife, dissension, i.e., a verbal quarrel.
c. When the lot is cast, it gives a yes or no answer…
d. It is not open for interpretation… or debate as to what is meant. It is crystal clear.
e. It gives an answer that ENDS the debate and the contention.
f. Once the lot is cast, the argument is over. Someone wins and someone loses. Period. End of story.
5. This has practical value in ALL KINDS of settings.
a. With issues of no real consequence:
• If the Sunday school teacher isn’t quite sure which student gave the answer first in the contest, the debate could be ended with the flipping of a coin!
• In a Vacation Bible School program if it wasn’t really clear to the judges who won the race—picking straws could end the debate as to who gets the piece of candy.
• At home, when nobody can remember which boys turn it is to take out the garbage, flip a coin and end the argument!
b. With issues slightly more important.
• Planning a weeklong family ski vacation. Will it be Killington or Sunday River?
• If the family is perfectly divided on the issue, ONE way to resolve it is by a lot.
c. The value of a decision by a lot.
• It will not be a divine revelation of the will of God. But God’s will has much more to do with the hearts of those family members and their relationship to each other, than on which mountain they ski!
• Without the lot, one half of the family [kids?] might feel cheated.
• By casting a lot, it makes it (from the human perspective) purely random…
• Therefore, there is no one is to blame… no one gets the credit.
• It serves a purpose in taking the human element OUT of the equation.
• It serves a purpose in removing the possibility of someone crying, “That’s not fair.”
• It serves the purpose in people from complaining that their side wasn’t being heard… or my side didn’t have a chance… or they always get their way.
• It is (from a human perspective) perfectly fair and unbiased.
18b And parteth between the mighty.
1. Solomon mentions its value in ending contentions.
2. Then he takes it a step further: it can even end contentions among the MIGHTY!
a. It’s one thing to use a lot to determine who wins the candy or which mountain you ski on. The outcome isn’t very consequential.
b. But Solomon suggests here that it can even be used among the might men in things that ARE of great consequence!
3. This could settle cases in court and save the government millions by doing away with a lot of useless litigation.
4. It could be used to settle the border dispute between Israel and the Palestinians…
5. We are told in the book of Joshua that the land of Canaan was divided by lot.
a. We are not told WHY.
b. It is entirely possible that it was to settle contentions among the tribes. (I want that piece! I want more coastline!)
6. Neh. 11:1 – lots were used to determine who among those returning from exile would dwell in Jerusalem and who would live in the countryside.
a. Most people did NOT want to live in Jerusalem.
b. It was still mainly rubble… and dangerous, since the enemies wanted to KEEP it rubble.
c. So rather than argue and fight over who should live in Jerusalem, a lot was cast.
d. 1 out of 10 was chosen by Lot to live in Jerusalem.
e. That settled the contention.
7. Some of the older commentators hold a very different view of lots than I do.
a. Ex: Adam Clark wrote:
• “The lot should never be resorted to in indifferent matters; they should be those of the greatest importance.”
• His view was that lots are OK for today in determining God’s will when you cannot discern it otherwise.
• He thought in that it should be done in prayer to seek God’s will, and thus only on the real BIG issues of life.
• Thus he said, “In such cases the lot is an appeal to God, and he disposes of it according to his goodness, mercy, and truth. The result, therefore, cannot be fortuitous.”
• In other words, he believed that it was a valid tool to determine God’s mind on a matter… and thus to be OBEYED as if from the Lord.
b. I would recommend just the opposite.
• Casting lots or putting out a fleece was used by God to reveal His divine will in the Old Testament. However, when that was the case, God SAID to do it!
• God has not told us to discover His will by flipping a coin or casting a lot… or using a fleece.
• I would recommend that you pray, seek counsel, read the Word, and plead with the Lord for guidance and direction and don’t budge until the way is clear!
• But on the matters that are truly inconsequential, a lot is fine! It might settle the debate as to which kid gets to sit in the front seat on the way to the beach!
8. Lots cast can part between the MIGHTY.
a. When mighty men are in a controversy, it can easily get out of hand… and escalate into violence…
b. Hence, the casting of a lot to settle the dispute is not a bad idea.
c. If you are in an argument over an issue, and tempers are beginning to flare… and the conversation is getting out of control—stop and agree to flip a coin.
d. It just might END what otherwise could turn into a mighty bloody battle between mighty proud men…
e. It is a legitimate way to end disputes… and to end them QUICKLY… immediately… fairly… without bias…
9. Casting of lots will NOT
a. determine God’s will.
b. determine the morally right choice.
c. produce the correct or accurate answer.
d. reveal the best choice.
e. determine absolute truth.
f. But it CAN end a dispute in a hurry. And there are times when ending a dispute right away is a good idea!
10. But as a Christian, there is a BETTER way to end disputes. The better way is described variously in the New Testament:
a. It’s called “grace,” a gift given to another without regard to merit or lack thereof.
b. It’s called “esteeming others better than oneself.”
c. It’s called love – sacrificing self for the good of others… love seeketh not her own…
d. Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth/good.
e. It’s called submitting one to another… being clothed in humility.
f. In other words, it’s called Christlikeness.
g. Unfortunately, not every believer manifests Christ at all times. There are times when it might be wise and beneficial to cast a lot… NOT to determine God’s will—NOT to discover the right answer—but to END a dispute!
Proverbs 18:19
A Brother Offended
19a A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city:
1. BROTHER:
a. Strong’s: brother; relative; kinsman.
b. DBL – relative; friend; associate; countryman.
c. Zodhiates – a brother, one with same parents, or a close friend…
2. Thus, the point Solomon makes is broader than a literal brother.
a. It certainly applies to a brother… or a relative.
b. But the term is broad enough in its usage to cover all kinds of friends and associates.
3. OFFENDED:
a. Zodhiates: rebel against; to sin against; transgress against.
b. Theological Workbook of the Old Testament – A breach of relationship between two parties; a casting off of allegiance.
4. A brother offended
a. Solomon is speaking to us about a brother or any kind of friend or close associate with whom we have a relationship.
b. In fact, this principle could be applied to ANY human relationship… husband/wife; parent/child; teacher/student; employer/employee; between brothers in a local church…
c. In particular, he is speaking about a friend who has been sinned against… and a breach in the relationship is the result…
d. Breaches in relationships occur all the time… in all kinds of relationships…
5. We have all been there… many times over.
a. We have all been on BOTH sides of this equation too!
b. We have all BEEN offended by a close friend or brother…
c. We have all OFFENDED a close friend or brother…
d. So what Solomon says here is applicable to every single one of us…
e. This is exceedingly practical to every day life…
6. It is EASY to offend a brother or a friend…
a. It can occur through carelessness with our words…
b. It can occur through maliciousness with our words…
c. It can occur as a misunderstanding…
d. It can occur by means of a third party sticking their nose in someone else’s business—sowing discord among brethren.
e. It can occur because we only heard one side of the story (vs.17).
f. It can occur when the one offended is overly sensitive… thin skinned…
g. It can occur when the one who offends is callous… insensitive…
h. It can occur because of something said in jest; it was a joke, but they took it seriously…
i. It can occur when you are obeying God and rebuking sin…
j. It can occur when we say things in anger that we would never say otherwise… yet you cannot un-ring the bell…
k. It occurs when for one reason or another, the allegiance is no longer there… or the allegiance is given to someone or something else…
7. Notice the italicized words: is harder to be won…
a. These words were added by the translators (and they TOLD us!)
b. Something HAS to be added here to complete the thought. There is no verb.
c. It simply reads “a brother offended… a strong city.”
d. Solomon is obviously making some sort of a connection in thought between these two things… an offended friend and a strong city.
8. A strong city:
a. Cf. Prov. 18:11 – a rich man’s wealth is his strong city… his high wall. This speaks of a fortified city… a place where something is walled in… where others are not able to break in…
b. A strong city was a place of refuge to which people would FLEE when attacked…
c. An offended brother builds walls around himself to keep the offender OUT… when he feels attacked by the offender.
d. The high walls keep the enemy out… and keep the ones inside nice and safe… out of the range of the arrows of the enemy…
e. Those walls are a kind of defense mechanism because the offended party doesn’t want to be hurt again.
f. The offended party hides behind the high walls of the strong city… to protect himself… a wall of separation…
g. Once those walls are built, they are extremely hard to penetrate.
h. That seems to be Solomon’s point here.
9. Making a connection between the terms…
a. There is something about a strong city that is like a brother who has been offended.
b. Is harder to be won… (KJV)
• Is harder to win back
• Is harder to reach… (same meaning)
• Is more unyielding…
19b And their contentions are like the bars of a castle.
1. Contentions: Strife; contention; quarrel; dispute.
2. This speaks about the strife that the offence created from the perspective of the offended friend or brother.
a. The offensive words or actions resulted in a debate… a quarrel… strife.
b. The strife is likened to the bars of a castle (citadel; fortress; a fort… a military stronghold).
c. And again, the meaning here is the fact that they are impenetrable… thick… strong… unmovable…
3. Once the offense is made… the offended party goes on the defensive mode… and when people have been hurt, it’s very hard to get them OUT of that defensive mode.
a. Solomon’s point here is that once the offense is made, it is VERY difficult to get through to the offended party… to remove those bars… and to restore the relationship.
b. And once that person goes into defense mode… and is secluded behind those walls… and there is no communication… one’s imagination can easily run wild!
c. The offense can be embellished in your mind… and become bigger than life… the offending party is demonized…
d. Restoration becomes HARDER as time goes by.
e. Relationships are easily ruined… not so easily restored.
f. It’s easy to burn a house down. It takes no time at all to light a match. It’s much more difficult to build a house.
4. Remember that this is a PROVERB.
a. Solomon is simply stating a fact.
b. Solomon observed this sort of thing over and over again and wrote a proverb summarizing his observations.
c. He is not telling us that this is GOOD behavior… or acceptable behavior… or God honoring behavior.
d. He is simply stating that this is what often happens: an offense is made; a breach in the relationship occurs, and it is VERY hard to repair or restore.
e. Often times the offended party retreats to an imaginary “fortress” of his own making… shielding himself from hurt… keeping a distance from the offending party to protect him/her self.
f. We see this all the time in families: people get offended and don’t talk to their own family members for years!
g. Think of the feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys. The folklore has it that this feud started over a fight about a hog. An offense was made and for generations, the bars between those two families were impenetrable.
h. It sounds silly to us today—but it wasn’t to them at the time.
i. People get offended today over issues that COULD be cleared up easily the right way…
j. But instead, one party retreats to his self imposed exile… builds walls to keep the other party out… and the contention never gets resolved!
k. Families live like that… sometimes parents go for years without talking to their children… and vice versa.
l. Husbands and wives live like that. It is basically a divorce while still living together… separated by an invisible wall.
m. It’s a terrible way to live. Solomon is NOT endorsing the idea. He is simply noting that it is something he observed enough that it becomes PROVERBIAL!
5. There are some OBVIOUS APPLICATIONS from this proverb.
a. If you are the OFFENDING party:
• If you have offended a brother, apologize! Confess your sin to God and make it right with your brother!
• Jas. 5:16 – confess your faults one to another. Sometimes that’s all it takes. The person sitting in his or her fortress might be waiting for you to do so!
• Matt. 5:22-24 – Jesus gave His disciples a warning about this sort of thing.
1. One Jewish brother offended his brother and called him an offensive name: fool!
2. Jesus says that it is hypocritical to continue worshipping God as if nothing happened with your brother…
3. He says to make things right with your brother… then come and offer your sacrifice.
4. It is not always possible to make things right with man… but as much as lieth in you! Do YOUR part… to the best of your ability.
5. We might make the application: make things right with your brother before you come to God in prayer… and worship…
6. God cares about our heart relationship to other people… it affects our ability to worship Him!
b. If you are the OFFENDED party:
• Matt. 18:15 – Jesus also gave His Jewish disciples some principles concerning what to do if YOU have been sinned against or offended by a brother.
1. He says to GO to that brother with the offense.
2. Let him know that you are offended… hurt… feel violated…
3. If he hears you—you have restored the relationship.
4. Notice what this pattern implies: if YOU have retreated to your fortress to protect yourself from being offended again, Jesus says, BREAK down those walls and face the one who sinned against you!
5. If you stay in your self-imposed exile… imprisoned by the offense… you will NEVER restore the relationship.
6. Remember what the proverb states: those bars you have built are virtually impenetrable by the other party! He CAN’T get through!
7. But you can…
8. Lick your wounds… humble yourself… stop doting over protecting SELF… and behave as if the relationship to a brother is more important than your feelings.
c. Whichever side of those iron bars you find yourself… RESTORING the relationship ought to be paramount.
• A little bit of grace and humility goes a long way!
• Solomon says that winning back that person is difficult.
• But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Nothing is too hard for the Lord.
d. Another important application: since we know how difficult it is to win an offended brother BACK… it makes good sense to avoid offense in the first place… as much as lieth in you.
Proverbs 18:20
Benefits from Good Speech
20a A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth
A. A Man’s Belly
1. In the Bible times, different parts of the body were often used in a figurative sense, just as we do today.
a. The right hand = a person’s strength.
b. The heart = the inner man, not the physical organ.
c. The term “belly” is also used in a figurative sense to refer to the inner man… perhaps the conscience.
d. Cf. Prov. 20:27 – the Lord searches the inward parts of the belly—not to see what we ate, but to see what we are thinking… meditating on… what’s going on in the inner man.
e. Prov. 13:25 – it is used as a synonym for the soul.
f. Prov. 18:8 – words go down to the “belly” = emotions.
2. It is best to understand belly here in the figurative sense.
a. The literal sense does not make sense.
b. Words don’t fill up our stomach when we are hungry.
c. But Solomon’s point is that words CAN satisfy our inner man.
d. The assumption here is Solomon is speaking about GOOD words that bring satisfaction to the soul.
e. We are certainly capable of speaking words that are not so good. That does not bring satisfaction… but good words DO.
f. There are LOTS of warnings in the Bible about the evil use of our tongues and mouths. Here is a description of the GOOD that can come from our mouths.
3. What a man SAYS can satisfy him in the inner man…
a. Satisfy: to satiate; to be full and have much; to be content;
• Used in Deut. 6:11 = translated “full”.
• Just as food satisfies the stomach… makes us full and content, so too the words that we speak can satisfy OUR inner man.
b. And note that Solomon is speaking about the effect of our words on us… not on others.
c. The point is not that our good words can satisfy someone else, but that our words can bring satisfaction to our OWN souls.
20b And with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.
1. Filled: this is the same word as “satisfied” in the first part of the Proverb.
a. And both sections of the verse speak of the satisfaction of the speaker when good words come out of his mouth.
2. Increase:
a. Produce; product; revenue; yield; gain as in harvest.
b. This is virtually a synonym for “fruit” in the first part of the proverb.
3. Without question, this proverb is a synonymous parallelism.
a. In fact, there is virtually no difference in meaning… just another way of saying the same thing.
b. Both parts of the proverb use figurative language to describe the effect of our speech.
• Solomon speaks of the words that come out of our mouths as if they were seeds…
• And the seed (words) sown (spoken) result in fruit… a harvest… an increase of the field…
• And that harvest satisfies the farmer (the one speaking)
c. Hence, it is best to consider both parts as the same.
The MEANING of the Proverb
1. Prov. 12:14 – “A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth.”
a. The “fruit of his mouth” refers to the words that come out of his mouth.
b. The assumption here is that GOOD words come forth.
c. That man shall be satisfied…
• The man who speaks well of others often has people speak well of him.
• The man who uses his mouth to encourage others will find that others will encourage him too!
• This concept is a different twist on the “you reap what you sow” principle—applied to our speech.
2. Prov. 15:1 – For example, Solomon says that a “soft answer turneth away wrath.”
a. The man who, in the midst of an argument chooses to obey this verse will discover its truth.
b. Instead of yelling back… or hurling slurs and accusations… he softly replies in words of grace and kindness.
c. He experiences the GOOD FRUIT of his mouth: the argument subsides… relations are restored.
d. He avoids the huge explosion that was about to happen.
e. That brings great satisfaction to his soul.
3. Another example: Prov.15:23 – a man has JOY by the answer of his mouth. Joy satisfies the soul!
4. Prov. 10:21 – The lips of the righteous feed many.
a. Feed = pasture; pasturage; pasturing; bring to pasture – the work of a shepherd.
b. Good words can feed others and be like medicine in their souls.
c. But the one who GIVES the good word… the one who feeds others with truth and good words is also satisfied!
d. Think of the satisfaction that comes to a Sunday school teacher who leads a little child to the Lord!
e. Think of the satisfaction of the brother who speaks words of encouragement to another brother who is ready to throw in the towel… and he repents and gets right with God!
f. Think of the satisfaction of the one who shares the gospel with a friend at work—and he gets saved!
5. Eph. 4:29 – we are to speak words that build up our brothers. What great satisfaction comes to the believer who OBEYS God’s Word!
6. II Cor. 1: 3-4 – What a sense of satisfaction is ours when God uses us to comfort the afflicted—even one or two words, fitly spoken can be used greatly!
a. Do you know someone who needs comforting? Use your mouth for good!
b. Solomon says that not only will the other person benefit—but so will you!
7. Prov. 13:2 – “A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.”
a. This good man EATS of that good fruit.
1. Eating the fruit of something speaks of “enjoying the benefits” of it.
2. This figure of speech is taken from every day life in an agricultural society.
3. The farmer who produces good fruit gets to eat it!
4. This well known principle is applied to our speech.
b. But notice that the opposite is true as well.
1. The man who is a transgressor—and sins with his mouth shall also have something to EAT…
2. He eats violence… the evil fruit from a bad mouth.
3. The soft answer turns away wrath.
4. The loud, angry answer stirs UP wrath—and often incites violence!
5. Someone cuts you off on the highway and you yell at him out your window: “You jerk!” That uncontrolled tongue may cause you to EAT violence—road rage!
8. We personally are greatly affected—for good or bad—by our speech.
a. When the fruit of our mouths is good fruit as Solomon suggests in this Proverb, we reap a wonderful harvest of rest, peace, contentment, and satisfaction.
b. But if the fruit is evil… there are serious consequences.
• Instead of our inner man being satisfied, he might be feeling ashamed, embarrassed—NOT content!
• If the fruit is evil, we will carry along a guilty conscience… which is miserable.
c. If the fruit is good, we can enjoy a clean conscience… and joy!
d. There are wonderful PERSONAL benefits from kind and gracious GOOD fruit coming out of our mouths.
e. But, we should be careful about motive.
• Solomon doesn’t mention motive here… this is just a proverb.
• We should speak good words for the purpose of edifying and helping OTHERS.
• Solomon simply states here that there is a wonderful FRINGE BENEFIT for us: we ourselves are satisfied… deep down in our belly.
Proverbs 18:21
The Power of the Tongue
Introduction:
1. This section in Prov. 18 deals primarily with the subject of speech and communication. (How practical!)
a. Vs. 17 – the folly of a person who hears one side of the story and makes up his mind…
b. Vs. 18 – contention between parties—verbal arguments
c. Vs. 19 – offending a brother—usually through speech
d. Vs. 20 – the satisfaction of good fruit coming out of one’s mouth.
e. Vs. 21 – the power of the tongue
2. Vs. 20 spoke of the pleasant reward from good speech.
a. Vs. 21 takes this same thought a level higher.
b. Not only can it produce good fruit worth eating, but it can promote LIFE itself.
c. And he takes it a level higher in the negative sense. The tongue also has the power of death.
21a Death and life are in the power of the tongue:
A. The Tongue Has the Power of Death
1. Power Defined:
a. Strength; hand; the force and ability sufficient to accomplish a task… as an extension of the hand.
b. Solomon is speaking about the strength or the ability of the tongue to accomplish a task—either good or evil.
c. His point is that the tongue is a powerful little instrument.
d. This is the same concept that James elaborates upon in James 3:3-5 – it is a little member, but boasts of great and powerful things!
• Like a horse’s bit; a ship’s rudder; or a little spark that ignites a huge fire…)
• Though small, the tongue is powerful because of what it can DO… what it can accomplish…
e. Words are exceedingly powerful.
• There is potential in the tongue for good or evil.
• The pen (which records words) is more powerful than the sword.
2. Death is in the power of the tongue.
a. A eyewitness in court can testify against a man and his speech can result in putting that man on death row… condemning him to death!
b. A military officer can give his soldiers an order that can result in the deaths of hundreds of people—even thousands!
c. A king can say, “Off with his head” and that man is as good as dead.
d. Also consider the big mouth—who is always shooting his mouth off. If he gets the wrong people mad at him, his big mouth could result in his own death!
3. Solomon mentions here extreme example of the evil caused by the tongue: death!
a. Of course our use of our tongues will not likely result in the literal death of another person.
b. BUT—even though our evil use of our tongue may not rise to that level, the point he makes has good application to us all.
c. The result of our speech may not lead to the death of another person, but it can lead to the harm another person.
d. The tongue can be powerful in an evil way…
e. The results could result in anything from an insult to death… and everything in between!
4. It is unlikely that the careless use of our tongues will result in someone’s death (or our own), but there are lots of other consequences short of death that we should be aware of!
a. Jas. 3:8 – the tongue is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
• Sometimes the poison kills.
• On other occasions, it just makes you sick.
• But always, poison is harmful.
b. Prov. 12:18 – Our speech can be as sharp and painful as sword. It may not kill them, but it can inflict pain.
• This is figurative language, which speaks of the result of thoughtless speech: it hurts like being stabbed with a sword.
• The figure is one of a man taking a sword and stabbing someone…
• Paul used another figure of speech, which means something quite similar: “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.” (Gal. 5:15)
• There is something about thoughtless language that is like being stabbed with a sword:
» It is painful…
→ Words can hurt more than a sword…
→ Words can paralyze another human being…
» It is a deep wound, not a superficial scratch…
→ Physical wounds heal over time. Usually there are stitches, some medication, pain relievers, or ointments that help the heal the wound.
→ But there are no pain relievers for the pain of thoughtless words.
» It takes a long time to heal… unlike the scratch…
» Once inflicted, it cannot be reversed…
c. Prov. 18:19 – Offending a brother.
• It may not kill the person, but it can kill a relationship…
• Our speech may not actually result in the death of another person… but we sure can inflict a lot of pain and suffering!
• Our tongues can be cruel, cutting, and hurtful.
B. The Tongue Has the Power of Life
1. Rom. 10:14, 15 – There is the power of eternal life in the tongue of the one who shares the gospel! Words result in life!
2. Prov. 20:21 – A good tongue can FEED many.
3. Since there is such potential for GOOD with the use of our tongues, we should be careful not only in WHAT we say, but we should be careful in the very words we choose… and how we speak.
a. This includes our tone of voice… body language while speaking… even the choice of words and expressions we use.
b. Different phrases and expressions may be used to describe the very same thing… but they can connote or imply something very different.
• I’m pro-life, but those on the other side of the issue refer to it as anti-choice. (same position—different overtones)!
• I’m also a dispensationalist. I like to think of dispensationalism as “rightly dividing the Word of God.” Our foes speak of it as “cutting up the Bible into little fragments pitting the Old Testament against the New Testament.”
c. Example: Suppose one of your employees made a big mistake and the department held a meeting to discuss the issue. You could open the meeting by saying, “We need to discuss the impact of Joe’s problem for the department,” or you could say, “Our department has a unique challenge that I’m sure we’ll be able to meet!”
d. The way we WORD things can make a huge difference…
• If we are careless we can hurt others… unintentionally.
• But if we are considerate, we can often accomplish the same thing, but do so graciously… and without offence… and we end up with loyal friends instead of enemies.
e. Our tongues can produce fruit—like a tree of life… health… vitality… strength… supporting and promoting life… good relationships…
f. Prov. 12:18 – The tongue of the wise is health. Seek to promote HEALTH through the use of your tongue.
21b And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
A. They That Love It
1. The “it” refers back to the tongue—those who love the tongue… they love to USE it. And use it they do!
a. This is a way of referring to talkative people… people who love to talk… perhaps a little too much!
b. They love to talk… and their tongue never stops wagging.
c. Prov. 10:19 – This man loves to talk.
d. Ecc. 10:14 – A fool also is full of words. That’s a sign of folly.
e. Those who LOVE to use their tongues should beware… and take heed to Solomon’s warnings.
2. It is possible for evil men to speak right words with evil intent. The Lord knows our hearts.
3. It is also possible for good men to speak wrong words inadvertently.
a. The Lord knows their heart too.
b. We’ve all done it. Perhaps we have repeated something we thought was true, but come to find out, it never happened!
c. We pass on information that we received from somewhere else, assuming it was true, but it was not.
4. The man who LOVES good words with good intentions is rewarded.
a. This is what we saw last week in vs.20.
b. That man shall be filled and satisfied by means of the use of his tongue.
5. The man who LOVES evil words with evil intentions shall eat the evil fruit.
a. Psalm 52:4 – He loves devouring words.
b. Men end up eating that which they love.
B. They Shall Eat the Fruit Thereof
1. Prov. 18:6-7 – The fool eats the evil results of his unbridled tongue.
a. He is snared by his tongue, and it may result in strokes—a whipping!
2. Matt. 12:35-37 – Whatever we SAY we will have to give an account for one day… by our words we are either justified or condemned. That should give us cause to pause before we blab.
3. There are always consequences every time we open our mouths. Those consequences may be negligible, they may be extremely important… even to the point of life or death.
4. Jas. 1:19 – The fact that we will have to EAT the fruit of our lips… the consequences of our words… should motivate us to put James 1:19 into practice in our daily lives: slow to speak!
5. Don’t go overboard and say NOTHING ever for fear of sinning with your tongue!
a. Pray that the Lord would restrain us from every evil use of the tongue.
b. Pray that the Lord would sanctify our tongues for His service—for good… to praise Him and edify the brethren… and share the gospel.
c. Solomon’s point is that the tongue is powerful… for evil AND for good.
d. Let’s use it for good… for health… for life… eternal life!
Proverbs 18:22
Finding a Wife
22a Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing
A. Finding a Wife
1. Find Defined:
a. To find; secure; attain; to encounter; to meet up with; to happen upon; discover; to have in one’s possession.
b. It is used in Proverbs in relationship to wisdom. “They that seek Lady Wisdom shall find her.”
c. This is a very common word in the Old Testament—used almost 500 times.
2. The term implies several things:
a. Not every man has found a wife…
• Some may be looking but have not yet found one.
• Other men may not even be looking.
b. It implies that to find one it is necessary to look… to seek…
• Finding usually comes through seeking.
• Prov. 8:17 – If you want wisdom, it requires seeking. If you want a wife, it requires the same!
c. Also implied is this: if you want to FIND something, you have to know what you are looking for.
• Female would be a good starting point… but not just ANY female.
• The Bible gives some qualifications for finding a wife.
• In the natural realm you are looking for a female; attractive.
• But in the spiritual realm, you want to look for a woman who is saved; walking with the Lord; of like precious faith; in agreement; (Can two walk together except they be agreed?)
B. A Good Thing
1. Good Defined:
a. This is a very broad term with lots of shades of meaning.
b. Theological Words of the Old Testament:
• Practical, economic, or material good.
• Abstract goodness such as desirability, pleasantness, and beauty.
• Moral goodness.
c. Variously translated as: good, pleasant, agreeable, prosperous, abundant, beneficial, happy, useful, fruitful, benevolent.
d. It is probably best to understand Solomon to be using the term here in the broadest sense… “all of the above”
2. “A good thing” = “good” or “goodness”
a. It indicates more than that the one who finds a wife finds a good entity in the woman herself.
b. Her price is far above rubies!
c. It implies that he has found a FOUNTAIN out of which all kinds of goodness flows.
d. It is more than just that she herself is good… but that the man has found goodness itself!
3. He has found goodness personified—in the person of his wife.
a. Earlier Solomon spoke of wisdom personified as a Lady.
• He spoke of wisdom in human terms… in feminine terms… wisdom personified as a lady.
• This lady is to be sought after. Those who seek shall find.
• The man who finds this lady finds wisdom!
b. Here Solomon seems to be doing something similar: goodness is personified as a lady… as a wife.
c. The man who finds a wife finds goodness!
d. Of course, we are reminded that this is a PROVERB.
• It does not cover each and every case, but is a generalization.
• In most cases, the man who finds a wife finds goodness.
• That is not always the case however.
• Ahaz’ wife Jezebel was anything but goodness personified. She was evil personified!
• Herod’s wife wasn’t all that good either…
• Some women are like “rottenness in the bones” to their husbands. (Prov. 12:4)
• Not every wife is a fountain of goodness… but most are.
C. The Goodness of a Wife (Various shades of meaning for goodness)
1. Practical, economic, or material good.
a. Gen. 2:20 – In a very practical sense, she is a helper… suitable to the man. She helps in ways that he is not skilled in…
b. Prov. 31:10 – She is worth more than rubies… no monetary value can be placed on her. She is priceless; of great value.
c. Prov. 31:12 – She does him good all the days of his life.
• This expression is broad enough to include virtually any form of goodness towards her husband.
• The rest of the chapter explains the good she does.
d. Prov. 31:13-19 – she is a hard worker and brings much physical benefit to her husband and family.
e. Ecc. 4:9 – Two are better than one… for if one falls…
• How practical for everyday life…
• When one is sick… when one needs to be in two places at once… when you need to be at work and someone needs to be at home with the kids…
• Even in everyday chores—two are better than one.
2. Abstract goodness such as desirability, pleasantness, and beauty.
a. Prov. 31:10 – She is worth more than rubies… there seems to be a moral quality to this too…
b. Prov. 12:4 – a virtuous good wife is a CROWN to her husband.
• A crown of honor… distinction…
• A crown makes a king stand out in a crowd… as a virtuous wife makes her husband stand out…
• A virtuous wife can make an average man feel like a king! She is a crown…
c. Gen. 2:18 – it is NOT good for a man to be alone.
• It IS good for him to have a wife.
• It is desirable, pleasant… a beautiful relationship.
d. Gen. 2:20 – she is a helpmeet SUITABLE to the man.
• She completes him… adds another dimension to his life… a fullness… a richness… completion…
e. Moral and spiritual goodness.
f. Prov. 31:11 – The husband can safely trust her… because she is good… honest… pure… trustworthy… morally good… pure… reliable…
g. Ecc. 4:9-10 – This is true in the spiritual and moral realm too! Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. 10For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
h. Husbands and wives are expected to pray together… worship together… edify one another… admonish one another… iron sharpens iron in the home too!
22b And obtaineth favour of the LORD.
1. Favor Defined: pleasure; delight; favour; goodwill; acceptance; approval.
a. God Himself FAVORS this relationship. He approves of it.
b. It was He who instituted marriage and brought Eve to Adam…
c. It was He who said it was not good for man to be alone.
d. It was He who said “Marriage is honorable in all and the bed undefiled.” (Heb. 13:4)
2. Thus, in instituting marriage, God Himself demonstrates that He looks favorably on the marriage relationship.
a. It is His plan… His will… His design…
b. It is acceptable before Him…
c. It is well pleasing to Him.
3. This favor is FROM the Lord… He is the Source.
a. Thus, when a man finds a wife… that woman is an expression of God’s favor towards man.
b. A wife is a gift from above… from the Father of lights… for EVERY good gift is from above!
c. One has to wonder WHEN Solomon wrote these words.
• Did he write this verse early in his life… when he was still “rejoicing with the wife of his youth?” (Prov. 5:18)
• OR did he write it later on in life… looking back over his list with regret… after he had married MANY women—who turned his heart away from the Lord? (I Kings 11:4-8)
d. Prov. 19:14 – A prudent wife is FROM the Lord.
e. The fact that you have a good wife is not to be traced to your skill in choosing… a good eye… It is to be traced to God’s favor and grace!
f. A wife is an expression of God’s favor, grace, kindness, blessing, and goodness towards man…
g. A good wife is God’s answer for that which is NOT good: that man should be alone.
h. So every time you are blessed by your wife…
• Every time she does something that benefits you…
• Every time she does good for you…
• Every time her actions benefit you or your family…
• Every time she cooks a meal… cleans a room… washes clothes… takes care of the kids… etc…
• Every time she tells you that you can’t wear that tie with that shirt…
• Every time she reminds you of a temper out of control…
• Every time she rebukes, corrects, OR edifies and encourages…
• Every time goodness in one form or another flows from her—
• THANK her for it…
• And thank God too… for HE is the ultimate source of that goodness.
• A good wife is a good gift FROM GOD.
• The goodness she does is an expression of HER love and care for you.
• It is also an expression of God’s love and care as well.
Proverbs 18:23
The Rich and the Poor
Introduction:
1. There is need once again to remind ourselves that this is a proverb.
2. Solomon is NOT telling the rich and poor HOW to speak.
3. He is not saying that poor people need to use humble entreaties in speaking to others but rich people can afford to be rude!
4. Rather, he is simply making an observation; stating a fact;
5. Like it or not, this is the way it IS. It’s not the way it should be.
23a The poor useth intreaties
1. Poor defined:
a. To be in want; impoverished; not having enough income or means of livelihood for normal essential needs.
b. Zodhiates: It indicates a person who has few resources and little standing or influence in a society.
2. Usage:
a. II Sam. 12:1-4 – Here the term is used to describe a man of poverty…
• He was impoverished financially.
• He was a man of little means.
b. I Sam. 18:23 – Here the term is used to describe a lowly position in society.
• David used it of himself to indicate that he was not worthy to marry Michal, the king’s daughter, because of his low standing in society.
• It didn’t seem right to him that a mere shepherd boy should marry the king’s daughter!
• However, at that time, he was probably pretty well off financially.
• Thus, it is used sometimes of a person from a lower class.
c. Thus, the term is used of lowliness in BOTH finances and position in society. Most often those two concepts were combined.
3. This proverb speaks of the fact that men in lowly positions (either financially or a low status in society) were very often careful about the WAY they spoke to men of means… to men in high positions. (How much care should we employ as we speak to God in prayer!!!)
4. They used entreaties.
a. Useth: to speak; verbal communication.
• It is used of speaking to men or God in prayer.
b. Entreaties: supplication for a favor; a plea for mercy; a petition making a request for kindness.
• This term is most often used of men approaching God in prayer… making requests for mercy and kindness. (Ex: Ps. 28:2, 6)
5. Thus, Solomon uses a term to describe a poor man pleading for mercy from the rich and powerful… that is usually used of men approaching God!
a. The term shows the wide GAP between the one making the supplication and the one to whom the supplication is made.
b. When we approach God in prayer seeking His mercy, we come in humility… lowly… not demanding… but humbly asking… We come to God acknowledging His greatness… how infinitely superior He is to us… using terms of great respect for God… honoring Him…
c. Consider some of the entreaties spoken by men when addressing one of high estate:
• Acts 24:1-4 – Tertulus speaking before Felix the governor.
• That was common language for addressing kings… who obviously were wealthy AND had high status in society!
• Read the way that King James was addressed in the preface to the KJV Bibles.
• When speaking to men in high positions, especially kings, great care was given to approach them humbly—and showing respect and honor.
6. Solomon noticed this about human nature.
a. Remember, he was a king!
b. People came to him all the time making requests for kindness.
c. Solomon noticed that when men came to him to make a supplication that they were always respectful, humble, and bowed before him.
d. In a sense, they HAD to!
• These people came to the king to request things that only he could do for them.
• He was their last and only hope. They had no plan B.
• Thus, they wanted to be as humble and respectful as they could before him… to make a good impression.
e. Naturally, in some people, it was genuine.
f. But in others, it was feigned… because they wanted to GET something from the king… or other persons of means.
g. Lowly poor people used “entreaties” – humble supplications when addressing those of higher status… the upper class.
23b But the rich answereth roughly.
1. On the other hand, Solomon noticed a distinct difference in the way the upper class spoke to those beneath them.
2. The rich answer roughly…
a. Answer: answer; respond; reply; testify; shout.
b. Roughly: strongly; mightily; fiercely; with great force; intensely; harshly.
c. Used in Deut. 28:50 – A nation of fierce countenance.
3. Examples:
a. I Sam. 25:10-11 – Nabal was a rich man who answered David harshly. (vs. 17 – you couldn’t speak to him!)
b. Gen. 42:7 – When Joseph stood before his brothers as the prime minister of Egypt and wanted to SOUND like the prime minister (and not their brother) he spoke ROUGHLY to them!
4. The rich and the upper class aren’t so kind and humble when they answer men—especially when they speak to the lower class.
a. The rich don’t call the poor “your highness” or “your majesty.”
b. The rich neither bow in humility before the poor, nor show respect to them.
c. In fact, Solomon noticed just the opposite. He noticed that they answered ROUGHLY.
d. Instead of being kind they were often mean.
e. Instead of being tenderhearted, they were fierce!
f. Instead of speaking softly, they often shout.
g. Instead of showing respect, they are often rude, foul, and even vulgar!
h. Instead of showing humility, they were often arrogant.
i. Instead of being considerate, they are overbearing.
j. Obviously there are exceptions to this proverb. It is after all, a proverb.
k. But this is what Solomon observed most often… often enough to be proverbial.
l. While the rough answers of the rich are not excusable, it is understandable.
• The rich are often inundated with people trying to take advantage of them.
• People come to them with their entreaties… bowing before them in humility… many of whom are phony…
• They all came to him to GET something from him… with their hands stretched out… “gimme gimme.”
• After being besieged with such a constant flow of requests, it is understandable why the wealthy might be rude and abrupt to those who come for a hand out.
• However, that certainly does not justify their behavior.
5. When it comes to manners, the rich are often poor and the poor are often rich.
a. Don’t judge a book by its cover.
b. Just because someone is dressed in expensive clothing as a sign of their wealth, it doesn’t mean that they are kind.
c. They might look great, but it is often just a thin cover for an arrogant, cruel heart.
d. They may be rich in money and position, but they are poor in manners…
e. Jas. 2:3 – James warns us NEVER to display that attitude in the local assembly… or anywhere else.
6. Thus, this comes with a built in warning: if you don’t want to be treated this way—then try to AVOID being impoverished… and thus at the mercy of merciless, wealthy men!
a. Don’t be lazy for laziness results in poverty… and poverty results in being treated cruelly!
b. Don’t be a know-it-all, for they end being poor… and thus at the mercy of unkind men and treated harshly.
c. Don’t be a drunkard, because that leads to poverty… and that leads to people treating you cruelly.
7. And perhaps another truth is seen in this proverb too: poverty may not be good for your body, but it’s often good for the soul.
a. It keeps men humble… less likely to be harsh and arrogant.
b. Now not always. There are lots of poor mean people. But over all, poverty does tend to help mortify pride.
c. To the degree that poverty makes us humble, it is valuable and good for us!
8. Aren’t you glad that God, who hears a constant chorus of requests from His children never treats us cruelly… nor answers harshly!
a. He never grows tired of us coming to Him with our supplications.
b. God also hears all the rude and rough comments heaped upon the poor by those in positions of prominence and wealth.
c. When we come before God’s throne to present our supplications, we must come in lowliness and with a contrite spirit! (Isa. 66:2)
d. When we come before the throne of grace, we are all poor in spirit… regardless of our earthly circumstances.
Proverbs 18:24
Friends and Friendliness
24a A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly:
1. The Hebrew term:
a. Strong’s: to be bad; be evil; displeasing; break; broken; broken in pieces.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: Evil-doer; i.e., one who acts morally corrupt
c. Zodhiates: A verb meaning to be bad, to do wrong. The root of the word indicates breaking.
d. Used in Prov.4:16 = mischief
e. Theological Workbook of the Old Testament – Bad; evil; distress; misery.
2. Examples of the wide variation in translation:
a. Darby: A man of many friends will come to ruin.
b. Holman Christian Standard: A man with many friends may be harmed.
c. Young’s: A man with friends is to show himself friendly.
3. You can see why it is problematic to discern WHY it is translated “shew himself friendly” in the KJV.
a. It may well be that there is an ancient play on words that the KJV translators understood.
b. Proverbs is full of this sort of thing. Solomon often uses this technique… it is the nature of a proverb to have a play on words.
c. The problem is that when the play on words is several thousand years old—then we may not grasp what was meant.
4. I do not know HOW to harmonize these two translations.
a. Neither one will lead a person astray. Both are true.
b. But I need a little more light on this expression.
5. Two terms for FRIEND
a. FIRST: ray·ah- Friend; companion; fellow; citizen; another person; neighbor; i.e., one who lives in close geographical proximity; associate; the second party in a personal interaction without indicating any particular relationship.
• This term is even used of an adversary in court—an opponent at law (in the sense of another person).
• While it is perfectly legitimate to use this term of a friend… it does not necessarily connote a very close relationship.
b. SECOND: ?aha?: – To love; human love for another; includes family; lovers; God’s love for people or people’s love for God; lovely; lovable; have an affection based on a close relationship, sometimes in comparison to other persons with a lesser relationship.
• Used in Gen. 22:2 – of Abraham’s son whom he “loved”’
• Used in Gen. 27:4 – of the savor meat that Isaac “loved”.
c. CLEARLY these two terms speak of different levels of friendship.
• Friends come in all kinds of varieties.
• There are some friends we have had for many decades and that friendship has built up and strengthened over the years.
• There is a friendship that we have that may be described as a casual but cordial acquaintance…
• And there is are many shades in between
• Obviously we are not going to have the exact same relationship with every person.
• We don’t have the same depth of relationship to everyone we know.
• That is not practical or possible.
• There clearly are different LEVELS of friendship.
• And perhaps the MAIN point of this proverb is to highlight that fact.
• Example:
1. When a saved person begins to attend Salem Bible Church, we should ALL be friendly to that person and warmly welcome him into the fellowship.
2. They should be embraced and invited to become an integral part of the fellowship and ministry here.
3. But that relationship—though friendly—cannot compare to the friendship that that person might have if he had been attending another church for 20 years.
4. His ties will be stronger with the friends he has had for 20 years than his ties here for one year.
5. It takes TIME and effort to develop friendships…
6. The KJV translators highlighted an important truth: to make friends, it is necessary to BE friendly!
7. And the rest of the proverb implies that we are to CONTINUE to be friendly… and develop and nurture friendships… over time.
24b And there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
1. There are some friends whose bond is stronger and thicker than blood… stronger and more faithful than family ties!
2. In the first part of the proverb Solomon spoke of a “man of friends.”
a. This man evidently had many friends. (some even translated it that way…)
b. However, his friends were ray·ah – companions; cordial acquaintances.
c. It is possible to have hundreds of social contacts… cordial acquaintances. Many people do.
d. If you are a friendly person, you will have LOTS of cordial acquaintances.
e. Everybody enjoys being around a friendly person.
f. We all have LOTS of social contacts… people at work you see on occasion… the mail man… the soccer coach… the guy at home depot… the guy at the paint store… the janitor at work… the lady at the dry cleaners…
g. Hopefully we are friendly towards them all.
3. However, there is a danger in having lots of casual, cordial acquaintances.
a. The danger is that those relationships are not very deep.
b. They know you… they know your name… they smile and say hi… and they would only have good things to say about you.
c. However, in difficult days, casual acquaintances aren’t going to go to great lengths to help you.
d. They may hear of your calamity and say, “That’s too bad. Isn’t that awful. Poor Joe! I feel really sorry for him.”
e. That is the nature of a casual acquaintance.
f. Even if you have hundreds or thousands of them… none of them are very deep.
g. It doesn’t matter all that much whether you have just one casual acquaintance or 5,000… that kind of a relationship is not going to come to your rescue in times of trouble.
h. Don’t count on them for help. You’ll be sadly disappointed.
4. BUT—in contrast to the MANY casual acquaintances, there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.
a. aha?: This is the term for friend that is much DEEPER than ray·ah which often speaks of casual acquaintances.
b. Sticketh – clinging; adhering to; holding fast; i.e., pertaining to being faithful, steadfast.
• Used of cleaving to the Lord. (Deut. 4:4)
• This friendship has some DEPTH to it…
• This is the kind of friendship that has been built up over time… and through many experiences together.
• This relationship has STUCK together… it holds fast…
• It has weathered many storms together…
• This friend is reliable… the kind of a friend you KNOW you can always count on…
• It has expressed itself in hundreds of ways over time
• It has been PROVEN… tested… tried and true!
• It has been proven to be faithful… loyal… through thick and thin…
• That doesn’t happen over night. It takes time… perhaps decades…
• It doesn’t take much to separate casual acquaintances.
• It takes a LOT to separate loyal friends…
• Casual acquaintances split and that’s the end of the relationship. Loyal friends also have rifts here and there… but always make amends… and restore the relationship.
• They stick closer than a brother. They STICK…
• Prov. 17:17 – A friend loveth at all times…
1. That’s loyalty… a reliable friend…
2. His friendship doesn’t end over every little bump in the road…
3. A friend that is friendly only when his own interests are served and the relationship brings him pleasure… is quite selfish… and not the best kind of friend. (superficial)
5. While there are some things we don’t know about this proverb, we DO know at least this much. Solomon highlights the difference between social contacts and deep, abiding friendship.
a. You may have 5,000 acquaintances, but it is far better to have one REAL close friend who will stick with you through thick or thin!
b. Friendships come in all different depths… from superficial to super!
c. For most of us, this would be our spouse.
d. If you have a friend like this in addition to your spouse, then you are VERY, very fortunate.
e. Not everybody has a friend like this.
6. And there is great application here to the Lord Jesus Christ.
a. He is a friend like no other.
b. His love and concern for us is infinitely higher and deeper and more unshakable than any earthly relationship.
c. And if anyone wants an example of what a true friend ought to BE… read about the Lord Jesus.
• He continually manifested love and kindness and grace… even in a hostile world where He was hated.
• He was FULL of grace and truth.
• He didn’t feel slighted… hold grudges… refuse to forgive and forget…
d. John 13:1 – Christ is our example of a Friend who loves at all times—even to the end. (Note the presence of Judas!)
e. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. (Rom. 8)
• There is a DEPTH to that love…
• And like all friendships—they grow through time and experience… through walking together… talking together… fellowshipping together…
• There ought to be a continual INCREASE to the DEPTH of our relationship to Christ over time…
• “That I may KNOW Him… in a deeper and more experiential way” should be the goal of every one of us.
• That is a relationship that we can’t afford to neglect… it must not be superficial and casual… but deep, abiding, and growing!
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 19
Proverbs 19:1
A Poor Man of Integrity
Introduction:
1. This is yet another one of Solomon’s “better than” proverbs.
2. Here Solomon states that a poor man of integrity is better than a perverse fool.
3. At first glance it seems almost like it goes without saying.
4. However, there are some subtleties in this passage to consider.
1b He that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool
1. Perverse: twisted; distorted; morally crooked.
2. Prov. 11:20 – God HATES the twisting and perverting of moral standards. But He LOVES the upright.
3. This man is perverse in his LIPS…
4. This man is a fool – stupid fellow, dullard, simpleton, arrogant one, a rebel.
5. I think it is also IMPLIED in this passage that this foolish man who is perverse in his lips is also RICH.
a. Otherwise, the comparison would hardly need stating.
b. Why would he have to tell us that a poor man of integrity is better than a perverse fool?
c. Well, of course! Why would anyone ever think otherwise?
d. If these two men were in the same social or financial condition (say both were poor)—no one would ever think a perverse fool was better than a man of integrity.
e. The only way anyone might to be tempted to think that the perverse man was better than the poor man of integrity was IF the perverse man was also filthy rich!
f. The man’s financial and/or social standing is only mentioned in the first part… but because it is being contrasted, it is best to understand this contrast to include their finances too.
g. Prov. 28:6 – is nearly identical to this. That proverb DOES mention that the perverse man is rich.
6. Thus, the contrast here is between a poor man of integrity… and a rich man WITHOUT integrity. He is a perverse fool.
a. That is not always the case with ALL wealthy people. Some wealthy men are fine, moral citizens… and today some are even fine, godly Christians.
b. However, Solomon saw MANY wealthy men in his day.
c. He noticed that wealth was not always accompanied by good manners… by a good, wholesome, moral lifestyle.
d. Solomon noted that many wealthy men are perverse fools.
e. Solomon saw a side of the wealthy that man OTHER people never saw.
f. The poor people only saw their earthly glory and splendor.
• Poor men were often jealous of the rich… jealous of their lifestyle…
• The poor often LONGED to trade places with the rich.
• Perhaps some of US have those same feelings. It is part of our nature.
g. As a king, having to deal with Kings, nobility, and wealthy landowners on a daily basis, Solomon also knew all about the ugly side of wealth.
h. Thus, Solomon writes this proverb to let the poor men in his kingdom know that things aren’t always as they seem.
i. Poor men had one snapshot of the wealthy… and it seemed SO appealing and attractive.
j. Solomon wanted to broaden their perspective of wealth and the wealthy… so he gives them another view…
k. He gives them another view of the wealthy nobles AND another view of their own humble circumstances.
• Solomon wants his readers to know that the wealthy might SEEM to be in an enviable position… looks are deceiving!
• Solomon also wants his readers to know that the poor aren’t in such a bad position after all…
• Not once they broaden their perspective and look at the WHOLE LIFE of the man.
1a Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity
1. Poor man
a. To be poor financially
• To be in want, lacking, impoverished, destitute.
• To be in a state of not having enough income or means of livelihood for normal essential needs.
b. To be in a poor or lowly position
• Used of a man’s lowly position in society.
• It could be used of a common laborer in contrast to the nobles.
• The difference being his status and not his finances are considered.
2. Usage
a. Sometimes in Proverbs Solomon uses this term poor implying some fault on the part of the poor.
b. Ex: Prov.10:4 – because of laziness.
c. However, that is not the case here.
d. This poor man is not poor because of laziness or folly.
e. This poor man is a man of integrity. And in spite of living his life honestly and diligently, he is still poor.
f. He has fallen into hard times through no fault of his own.
3. The poor man’s WALK
a. Behave, conduct, live, formally, to go about doing certain actions in a regular, more or less consistent manner, so possibly constituting a life or lifestyle.
b. Thus, Solomon is considering the whole manner of life of this poor man.
c. If you narrowly focused on his position in society one might conclude that it is better to be a nobleman.
d. If you narrowly focused on his finances, one would conclude that it is better to be a rich man than a poor man.
e. But Solomon is not focusing narrowly. He is looking at the man’s WALK… his life as a whole… all things considered.
f. He is comparing this man’s whole life to the whole life of the man in the second part of the proverb.
4. This poor man’s LIFE is one of INTEGRITY.
a. Integrity:
• Innocence, simplicity, uprightness,
• A state or condition of moral goodness in a life.
• Clear conscience, i.e., a state of integrity and moral purity and so not guilty of wrong-doing or sin.
• Ps. 25:21 – integrity preserves us—keeps us pure.
• Ps. 26:1 – it keeps us from sliding—spiraling downward.
• Ps. 26:11 – enables us to experience God’s mercy.
• Ps. 41:12 – God upholds those who live in integrity.
• Prov.2:7 – God is a buckler (protection) to those who walk in integrity (same term).
b. A WALK of integrity:
• This speaks of a lifetime of living… a whole life full of integrity.
• This man LIVED uprightly… he did things the right way.
• He lived in a pure conscience… refused to violate his conscience.
• He was concerned about morals and purity…
• I Kings 9:4 – This is how David walked. He was a man after God’s own heart.
• Now naturally, that kind of life is harder to live than simply going with the flow… walking the broad way.
• A life of integrity is a pretty good indication that this man is on the narrow road… that leads to life.
• His whole life is characterized by uprightness.
• He’s not perfect.
» Here and there you could take a few snapshots of this man and catch him in behavior he would be ashamed of.
» Prov. 24:16 – Good men fall from time to time… but they get back up.
• However, when you widen the lens to see the WHOLE life… it can only be characterized as one of integrity.
The Poor Man is BETTER OFF
1. When the lens is narrowly focused on his position or his finances, one concludes that it is better to be rich and famous.
a. However, when the lens widens to include the man’s whole life… the picture is very different.
b. AND the conclusion changes as well.
c. Now the poor man of integrity is seen to be BETTER OFF.
d. We might liken this difference to the difference between a heavenly and an earthly perspective.
e. From earth’s perspective,
• We see narrowly.
• We see only the here and now…
• We see a narrow snapshot. A snapshot captures only the moment.
• Take a picture of a poor man’s house and a rich man’s house.
• Take a snapshot of their weekly income.
• Take a snapshot of the food they eat
f. From heaven’s perspective
• We see a very different angle.
• From far above, we can see the man’s whole life.
• From heaven we can see his life not in the moment but from eternity’s perspective.
• From heaven we can see things that really count… things that last forever…
• Take a picture of the rich man’s earthly house—and compare that to our dwelling place in glory.
• Take a picture of the fancy clothes of the rich man—and compare that to our robes of glorious white in heaven!
• Take a picture of his earthly riches… and from heaven—over time—we see them all rusted… or stolen… or moth eaten…
• From heaven the camera’s lens widens out far enough to see the WHOLE life…
• It widens far enough to see the whole parade…
• It widens far enough to see time and eternity…
• That angle forces one to a completely different conclusion: the honest poor man is BETTER OFF!
• Rev. 2:8-9 – Jesus said of the poor, suffering believers in Smyrna, “I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich).”
• Prov. 15:16-17 – if you have righteousness, integrity, and the fear of the Lord you are much better off than the rich.
• Wealth is often accompanied by things you would never really want in your life.
• We look at the glorious side of wealth and envy it.
• We ought to look at the ugly side too—hatred, bitterness, envy, trouble, pressure, etc.
• When we widen our angle to see the whole picture—we’re not so bad off after all!
• We may not have the big fancy house… the gold and rubies… or the jet set lifestyle…
• But Solomon wants us to know that our little can actually be BETTER than their much…
• A man of integrity has a clean conscience. He can sleep at night… and have peace of mind… and experience rest.
• His friends like him because of his character—not for his money. That is priceless.
• The true measure of a man is his character—not his outward circumstances.
» One man noted that Job on a dunghill was really better off than Ahab on his throne…
» Lazarus in his rags was better off than the rich man who fared sumptuously every day.
• The believer whose life is one of integrity—though he may be poor on earth—will be RICHLY rewarded at the Bema.
Proverbs 19:2
Two Ways to Sin
Sin
1. Sin defined:
a. To miss the way; to miss the intended mark; to go wrong, to err; to fail.
b. The term is the one most often used of sin against God.
c. However, the purest meaning of the term simply means to miss a mark.
d. Judges 20:16 – Here is an example of the purest meaning of the term.
e. The context has to determine what that missed MARK is.
2. Various translations:
a. Darby: maketh false steps
b. misses his way
c. makes poor choices
d. errs
e. to sin
3. In this context, as a proverb, it seems best to take this term in its most basic meaning: missing the mark.
a. Often times missing the mark is ALSO sin against a holy God, but not always.
b. Sometimes it may speak of an earthly failure of one sort or another.
c. The two are not mutually exclusive.
• Because this is a proverb, and it was intended to have MANY practical applications, it is best to understand it in the broad sense… applicable in EVERY realm or situation.
• Solomon is speaking about failure… error…
• From an earthly practical sense, they are seen as failures.
• Those same earthly failures from God’s perspective are often the result of sin… failure to follow the principles found in God’s Word… namely, the principle in this very verse!
• The two shades of meaning are not unrelated.
d. The proverb ought to be related to both realms: good practical principles for life on earth AND principles dealing with our relationship to God.
THE FIRST WAY TO SIN:
2a Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good
A. A Soul Without Knowledge
1. Soul: nephesh (lit = breath) – the breath of life
a. This term has a broad range of meaning.
b. Self, life, living being, person.
c. It can also refer to appetites, mind, desire, emotion, passion…. inner drive…
d. It speaks of his liveliness, vigor, vitality, how spirited he is.
e. In several translations, the term speaks of soul in the sense of the emotions or passions of the soul.
• Desire without knowledge is not good.
• Enthusiasm without knowledge is not good.
• Even zeal is not good without knowledge.
f. Some of the commentators have understood “soul” in the sense of zeal or enthusiasm because of the second part of the proverb… where he speaks about haste… rushing into things.
g. It is probably best to understand the term soul in the broadest sense—the whole inner life of the PERSON: his thoughts and emotions; his inner drive…
h. In every possible way—ignorance is dangerous!
2. Without knowledge.
a. Here Solomon speaks about ignorance.
b. KNOWLEDGE: information, skill, understanding, wisdom.
c. He speaks about a man who may have a lot of inner passion… a lot of enthusiasm and zeal—but not much knowledge… not much understanding…
d. That can be dangerous.
e. When a person operates on pure soulishness… emotion… zeal… and he is IGNORANT… look out.
f. He is an accident waiting to happen! He is on a collision course with disaster.
g. And when he willfully remains on that course… it is SIN.
h. In other words, the first sure way to miss the mark and fail is IGNORANCE.
3. This leads to failure (and sin!) in MANY different areas.
a. Consider Israel’s failure (Rom.10:1-4)
• They had lots of zeal for God, but not knowledge.
• Hence, they went about trying to please God by diligent keeping of the law…
• Their ignorance of God’s ways led the nation to failure—sin against God.
• Zeal and good intentions are not enough.
b. In your career
• Young men have lots of enthusiasm, zeal, ambition, etc.
• However, they don’t have the wisdom that comes with hands on experience, practice, and even failure.
• When you put a young enthusiastic man in a position of authority… his inner zeal and drive to DO THINGS often results in failure…
c. In one’s walk with God.
• A new believer often thinks that if he is going to get busy and DO something for God… and often before he really has the understanding to know what it is that pleases God!
• The believer who has no knowledge of HOW to have victory over sin… will end up in failure… and sin!
• Rom. 7:18 – Paul was a failure early on in his Christian life because of IGNORANCE of how to have victory. He was zealous for the law… (vs.22-23) but ignorant of God’s grace.
4. Acting without knowledge leads to failure.
a. This verse tells us that careful, diligent planning is necessary for success.
b. A failure to plan and think things through leads to failure.
c. And willful ignorance is SIN against God.
d. To rush into a decision… to rush into a course of action… to rush into anything without thinking it through leads to failure.
e. Zeal and good intentions will not compensate for poor choices… foolish behavior.
f. If we rush into action because we REFUSE to listen to advice… refuse to seek counsel… refuse to think about the consequences… or to refuse to take the necessary precautions…. is SIN.
g. For a doctor to behave this way is negligence. It is considered a crime!
h. If an architect or engineer makes haste to finish the project in order to make more money… and does a sloppy job… without doing his homework… that leads to failure.
• Before the law it is a crime and he could be held liable before the courts.
• Before God it is sin.
i. It’s one thing to act in ignorance if you are genuinely ignorant… if no information was available… or the information you did have was faulty.
j. It is far worse to act in ignorance because you were too lazy to think about the consequences… or didn’t care about the consequences… or you didn’t really WANT to hear about the consequences…
k. That is sin. This is serious consideration.
5. By stating that ignorance leads to failure and sin, Solomon speaks of the importance of knowledge!
a. Knowledge is so vital in EVERY area of life.
b. Ignorance is dangerous… and deadly.
c. How much MORE important then is the knowledge of God!
d. For that reason, we should FEAR ignorance of God, His will and His Word… it leads to failure and sin!
e. Hos. 4:1 – God had a controversy with Israel: there was no knowledge of God in the land. They were ignorant of God and His ways… It didn’t matter how much energy they put into religion and service… they lacked the MOST important thing.
f. Hos. 4:6 – The SIN of a lack of knowledge of God resulted in their failure… and judgment.
THE SECOND WAY TO SIN:
2b And he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.
1. Haste leads to failure too.
a. We have another proverb that speaks to one error that haste leads to: haste makes waste.
b. Here Solomon says that haste leads to failure.
2. Haste Defined:
a. press, be pressed, make haste, urge
b. be eager, energetic… perhaps overly eager
c. It speaks of being in a HURRY to see things done.
3. Haste here speaks of the urgency and PRESSURE put on people to DO something… to perform… to accomplish… to produce…
a. There are times when it is urgent to act right away.
• This term was used in Gen. 19:15 of the urgency the angels placed on Lot to get himself and his family out of the city of Sodom.
• Sometimes pressure and urgency is good…
• But usually it is NOT good.
b. Ex. 5:13 – Pressure was put on the Jews to do more and more…
• Pressure was put on them to produce… to make more bricks with less…
• This is the kind of pressure many companies put on their employees… be more productive… do more with less…
4. Solomon says that HURRYING things along leads to missing the mark… failure… sin…
a. It is our nature to be in a hurry… but God isn’t. He has all the time in eternity!
b. It is part of our American culture to want everything done yesterday…
c. But regardless of what our culture tells us—or what our nature tells us… God’s Word tells us that haste is dangerous…
d. Prov. 21:5 – haste without the necessary diligence and planning leads not to success but to poverty… want.
e. Haste is NOT the best way to accomplish a goal.
f. I think of Joshua who was in a hurry and failed to take the matter of the Gibeonites to the Lord in prayer.
5. Applications:
a. Cooking food – food cooked hastily is not usually the best food.
b. Training a man for the ministry – school can crank out graduates year after year… like a sausage factory. A diploma does not necessarily mean a young man is trained and ready for the ministry.
c. Choosing a mate – I suppose you could fill out an electronic form on the internet and have a computer select a mate for you in twelve seconds. But haste could lead to disaster.
d. Church growth – Young ambitious men in the ministry want the church to grow fast… and if it doesn’t grow fast enough—they resort to fleshly schemes to hasten the pace. That often leads to failure in God’s sight… even if it looks successful from man’s perspective.
e. In making a product – haste often decreases the quality… more imperfections… more defects… more failures…
f. Young couples – think they need an instant house with all the amenities… it often leads to financial failure!
g. Abraham and Sarah – God made a promise of a son, but they were in a hurry and God wasn’t. To hasten things along, Sarah encouraged Abraham to go in unto Hagar. While it seemed to work… it was sin… and ultimately a disaster.
h. Relocating – A job offer comes along that you can’t resist… and in haste you agree to move. If you waited, did some research, you might not have made that choice. Is there a good church there?
i. Rushing into serving God – without waiting to know His will is sin! Acting out of pure emotion… soulishly instead of spiritually… many young people have sought to become missionaries or pastors when God never called them. It can lead to disaster.
6. The Bible emphasizes WAITING on the Lord.
a. This is the opposite of our human nature.
b. A refusal to WAIT often leads to failure… even sin.
c. Isa. 28:16 = “He that believeth shall not make haste.” Haste is often the opposite of faith… waiting and resting in the Lord.
7. Being in a hurry to get things done leads to failure… being in a hurry to see fruit… being in a hurry to produce leads to failure, and often into sin!
a. Mindless activity is not what God is looking for.
b. Constant, hurried business without having thought about a specific goal is a waste of energy… misses the mark.
c. This proverb teaches us the importance of walking in the Light… seeking wisdom, guidance, and counsel before acting… thinking things through before choosing… think about the consequences of your action before you act…
d. There are countless other applications of this gem of divine wisdom!
e. Jumping off a cliff is usually the quickest way down… but not the most thoughtful.
f. We have ALL made decisions that turned out disastrous… because of these two reasons: either we acted ignorantly (without doing our homework) or we acted hastily (without thinking things through).
g. And we have all paid a price for it.
h. This proverb reminds us to be CAREFUL… look before you leap… think before you act. Failure to do so can be catastrophic… and sinful.
Proverbs 19:3
Blaming God
Introduction:
1. This is one of those proverbs that simply tells it like it is.
a. Solomon is not saying this is the way it SHOULD be.
b. What he speaks of in this proverb is most definitely is NOT the way things should be.
c. But unfortunately, this is often the way things ARE.
2. The gist of the proverb: People ruin their own lives through foolish behavior, and then blame God for their woes.
a. Solomon saw this happen many times, and recorded his findings in this proverb for our learning and our admonition.
b. This is written so that WE will learn from their woes and not follow their poor example.
3a The foolishness of man perverteth his way:
A. Foolishness
1. Defined:
a. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: foolishness; folly; i.e., a state of being devoid of wisdom and understanding, with a focus on the evil behaviors which occur in this state.
b. Theological Workbook of the Old Testament: one who is morally deficient; moral perversion or insolence, to what is sinful rather than a lack of intelligence. The fool is often described as rejecting counsel and refuses to accept instruction.
c. The fool is mentioned many times in Proverbs.
d. This kind of folly is not a lack of intelligence. It is not normal, childish silliness.
e. Throughout the book of Proverbs, this term is a moral problem… a sin problem.
2. Foolishness in the heart translates into foolish, sinful behavior.
a. It speaks of the foolish things that people DO.
b. Prov. 14:8 – deceitfulness in their dealings with men is one form of this term for folly.
c. Prov. 14:17 – uncontrolled anger is another form of this kind of folly.
d. Prov. 14:29 – a hasty spirit is another form of this term. (Easily agitated…)
e. Prov. 15:2 – a big mouth is another form of this kind of folly.
f. Prov.1 8:13 – making up your mind without hearing both sides of the story—the term is used here too!
g. Prov. 22:15 – it is the kind of folly that is bound in the heart of a child—and needs to be driven out.
h. Prov. 24:9 – this kind of folly is also described as sinful thoughts… which generally come out in one form or another—verbally or in sinful, dishonest, or cruel behavior.
B. Perverting His Way
1. Pervert defined:
a. Strong’s: to twist, pervert, turn upside down, ruin.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: overthrow, ruin, destroy, a state of destruction and ruin brought to a life, implying unfavorable circumstance to that person.
c. The term is used in Job 12:19 of a defeated army, being led away and spoiled of all their valuables.
2. Solomon’s point is that foolish, sinful behavior will PERVERT or ruin a person’s life!
a. Way = road, pathway, journey,—figuratively.
b. It can turn your whole life upside down… and bring it to ruin.
c. It can destroy a person’s journey through life… bring in destructive influences… and most unfavorable circumstances.
d. In other words, we can RUIN our own lives by our own behavior.
e. The course of behavior we choose… the kind of person we choose to be… the way we choose to speak and act… all have built in consequences.
f. There are consequences to folly…
g. We get to choose which course we will follow in life, but we do NOT get to choose the consequences of those choices. The consequences are BUILT IN.
h. If you sow folly you will reap the fruit of folly.
i. If we sow poison, bitter, destructive seeds, we will reap poison, bitter, destructive plants!
j. We bring much trouble and grief into our own lives because of our foolish behavior… by the things we do and say… the way we live… the way we work… the way we treat others… the way we deal with the laws of the land… the way we treat our own bodies…
k. All of these choices have built in consequences.
l. Foolish behavior—wrong, immoral, sinful behavior PERVERTS our lives… brings it to ruin.
3. These things can RUIN your life:
a. Drugs and alcohol – There are long term consequences to drug and alcohol abuse. You can choose whether you are going to use them or not. But you can’t choose the consequences.
b. Divorce – This is not God’s plan for the home… yet ½ the marriages in our country end in divorce. If you choose that route, there are long term consequences that can RUIN your life.
c. Stealing – If you choose to get in trouble with the law by stealing—that too can ruin your life… especially if you have to spend time in jail.
d. Lying and Gossip – If you use your mouth in a foolish, immoral way… that too can bring ruin to your life. The one who lies, slanders, and gossips can’t avoid the destruction of friendships that accompany that kind of behavior.
e. Spending more than you make – Choosing to purchase things we cannot afford leads to financial disaster… and all kinds of woes.
f. Laziness – Unreliable – If that is the way you have chosen to live, don’t be surprised if you lose job after job… and never get anywhere in life. Who wants a lazy, unreliable employee? It will ruin your career.
g. Greed – Proverbs warns about greed and get rich quick schemes. There are consequences to that which are unavoidable. You end up using people for your own advantage… and often it leads to dishonest means of gaining profit.
h. Pride – Pride too can ruin your life. Nobody wants to be around a know-it-all… or someone who thinks they are the greatest. When pride cometh, then cometh a fall.
i. SIN in all of its ugly forms comes with built in consequences that can RUIN your life.
j. If you want to avoid the ruin and destruction, then avoid the sin!
k. Repent… change your mind, heart, and behavior… and gradually the destructive influences of bad behavior will begin to decrease… and you can get your life back to what it SHOULD be!
3b And his heart fretteth against the LORD.
1. Here Solomon states what he often noticed with those who ruined their own lives with foolish behavior.
a. And Solomon states this almost like an exclamation point!
b. It is as if he is saying, “You wouldn’t believe what I saw!”
c. What Solomon says in the second part of the proverb is NOT the way it should be… but the way it often is… unfortunately.
2. Heart Defined:
a. The inner man; mind; emotions; soul…
3. Fret defined: (appears only 4 times in Bible)
a. Strong’s: to be out of humour; to be enraged, be angry.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: feelings of displeasure from mild to rage; from inward, simmering bitterness to overt outrage.
c. The word is from a root that means “storm” in the sense that a storm rages against the seacoast…
d. Used 2 times in II Chron. 26:19 – Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD.
e. It speaks of a man with a STORM in his heart…
4. In Proverbs 19:3, Solomon states that something that he observed throughout the years.
a. He noticed that many men, who brought ruin into their lives through their own bad behavior, end up being angry, resentful, or bitter against God because of it!
b. The man chose the foolish, sinful behavior… which has built in consequences… and then he has the audacity to blame God for the consequences!
c. It’s one thing to blame other people for the problems we bring into our lives. That’s bad enough.
d. But to blame the LORD—is truly reprehensible!
e. If our behavior is foolish and sinful, there is but ONE person responsible: self! The blame belongs to me, myself, and I… certainly NOT the Lord!
f. This is the “victim mentality” that Solomon describes here: “Poor me. God doesn’t love me. He allowed these awful things to enter my life. It’s not my fault that my life is ruined. God could change if He wanted to… but He won’t… so I’m angry at Him!”
g. And we allow bitterness against God to reside in our hearts. That is gross SIN…
h. We all know professing believers who are bitter against God.
i. The real problem doesn’t lie up in heaven with God, but within our own sinful hearts.
j. The first step to turning things around is to ADMIT it… accept the consequences… and thank God for those consequences… and learn to be grateful… and take personal responsibility for our choices.
5. Don’t blame God or anyone else for your own poor choices in life.
a. Drugs and alcohol—Divorce—Stealing—Lying—Gossiping—Laziness—greed—pride—all these sins come with built in consequences. They can RUIN a life.
b. And if they DO ruin your life, it isn’t God’s fault!
• It isn’t God’s fault if you abuse your body with drugs and alcohol and suffer long term consequences! God warns us AGAINST that kind of behavior!
• It isn’t God’s fault if you behave in a proud manner and suddenly fall flat on your face. God TOLD you that would happen. Pride cometh before a fall!
• It isn’t God’s fault if you have a big mouth—slander people—and then lose your friends. God WARNED you not to use your tongue that way.
• It isn’t God’s fault is you are lazy at work and get fired. Proverbs is full of warnings AGAINST laziness.
c. There is a pleasure to sin in the beginning, but eventually, it comes back to bite you with its unpleasant consequences.
d. We’re all guilty of this. We all sinned and have had to deal with the consequences. I sure have—and maybe you have too.
e. But when we begin to experience the painful side effects of our own sinful behavior—don’t blame God!
f. This is CHILDISH behavior.
• Because of his own bad behavior, a child evokes the chastening hand of his father.
• Then when the chastening comes (a spanking; being grounded; etc.) and the chastening begins to “hurt”—then the child gets angry at his father for punishing him.
• He frets… he is bitter because of the chastening—which is nothing more than the consequences or fruit of his actions.
• Just as children who are not humbled and repentant can become bitter against the father who disciplines them, so we as Christians do the same to our Heavenly Father.
• God has warned countless times that we reap what we sow… yet we still get angry or bitter when we reap!
g. Instead, we should submit to His chastening and say, “Thank you, Lord” and from there learn some good lessons and change your behavior.
h. When that is the case, we will discover that many of those unpleasant consequences of our sinful behavior will begin to disappear!
Proverbs 19:4
Wealth Makes Many Friends
Introduction:
1. Verses 4-6 of this chapter deal with the subject of friendships…
2. And in particular, Solomon speaks in these verses of the difference between TRUE and FALSE friendships.
3. Verse 4 speaks of the relationship between wealth and friends.
4. This is one of those proverbs which when you first read it, it seems to say one thing. But when you think about it, it actually says the opposite!
4a Wealth maketh many friends
1. Wealth Defined:
a. Strong’s: wealth; riches; substance; that which is of high value.
b. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: possessions desirable in a society.
c. The term is used primarily of riches, wealth, possessions… but also can speak of anything highly prized or of great value.
2. Wealthy men MAKE many friends.
a. Make: add; increase; join; gain…
b. The term doesn’t mean that friends are actually MADE by the wealthy.
c. Rather, it means that friends INCREASE all around wealthy people.
d. When a person has lots of money—friends will increase… they will come out of the woodwork to be around you.
3. Wealthy men make MANY friends.
a. Many: much, many, a great number…
b. Not only will such friends increase… but they will GREATLY increase.
4. At first glance, this sounds like a great blessing for wealthy men. They will have lots of friends!
a. At first it might make a person a bit jealous of the wealthy.
b. At first we might wish that we were in their shoes. They not only have money, but they have LOTS of friends too!
c. We might even begin to sulk—poor me! I only have a couple of real friends—but the wealthy have MANY friends.
5. But when you stop to think about this statement a little more, it is NOT really a great blessing, but is more like a curse!
a. Note that it is not the MAN who makes all those friends, but his WEALTH makes friends!
b. Wealth makes the friends… not the man. The friends are attracted to the wealth.
c. That makes you wonder what KIND of friends they really are!
• If they are your friend because you are rich, that is a pretty shallow friendship.
• Chances are, their friendship is not just shallow, but entirely phony.
• These “so called” friends are only your friends for what they can GET out of the relationship.
• When a wealthy man thinks about this, he may begin to realize that these so called friends are more like leaches.
• And to attract MANY leeches is not such a blessing after all. It is a curse.
• Solomon no doubt wrote this proverb from his own sad experiences as a King…
• So don’t be jealous when you see lots of people following wealthy people around.
• Their so-called friends may not be what you think!
d. What a sad condition that really is.
• The spoiled little rich kid whom no one really likes, has to use his money to BUY friends!
• He has to buy the food… pay for the tickets… or he doesn’t get invited to go…
• As long as he keeps pulling out the wads of money, his so-called friends will cheer him on.
• But as soon as the money stops flowing… his friends disappear.
• Having to BUY friends is a miserable way to live.
• They flatter him and seek to be with him… but really only love what he has… not who he is.
• Don’t ever envy that!
6. And consider that the word wealthy can also refer to ANYTHING prized or valued by men.
a. It’s not just wealth that attracts men… but other things can attract so-called friends too.
b. It might be your POSITION.
• Being in a high position is something valued—highly prized by most men.
• And people in high positions often have many of these kinds of so-called friends.
• Everybody wants to be on the good side of the boss or the CEO.
• Everybody treats him with smiles and butters him up… but that kind of friendship often it’s not real.
• They might slander him behind closed doors—but to his face they are sweet as honey…
• And their so called friendship exists because they want to GET something out of that relationship… a raise… a promotion…
• Having MANY friends like that around you all day is not as desirable as it might at first appear.
c. It might be GOOD LOOKS and POPULARITY… celebrity status.
• People are attracted to wealthy men… but people are also attracted to those who are good looking and popular.
• Celebrities deal with this all day long.
• People want to be SEEN with a celebrity… but not because of genuine friendship. Often it is for selfish reasons.
• People want to hang out with those who are popular. But not always because of a genuine friendship. Often it is for selfish reasons: so that they might be part of the IN crowd…
• They USE popular people to advance their own status… so others will consider them to be part of the in crowd… one of the so called beautiful people.
• It’s all very shallow and phony—and celebrities know it.
• Their so-called friends that flock to be with them are often seen as leeches.
• Having MANY leeches is not such a blessing after all.
d. Solomon knew this all too well. He had it all: wealth, power, good looks, popularity, prestige. People must have FLOCKED to be around him.
7. Wealth makes many friends.
a. It sounds great at first.
b. But Solomon worded it such that you have to THINK about it.
c. Upon thinking about it… you come to another conclusion.
d. The lifestyle of the rich and famous—with all their so-called friends isn’t so great after all.
e. The rich and famous know it… painfully!
f. That’s why they live in their gated communities—to keep all of their so-called friends—who want to selfishly USE them… OUT!
4b But the poor is separated from his neighbour.
1. In contrast to the wealthy, Solomon now speaks of the poor man.
a. This statement, like the first part of the proverb, seems to say one thing.
b. But when you think about it, it actually says the opposite!
2. The POOR man…
a. Poor here means lowly, weak, helpless.
b. It is often used of a man who is poor financially… in a lowly condition in society.
c. But like the word for wealth, it has broader application.
d. A man might be considered POOR financially when compared to a rich man. He is lowly.
e. A man might be considered lowly next to a man with an important SOCIAL status.
f. A man would be considered lowly next to a CELEBRITY or a popular person.
3. The poor man does NOT have many friends like the rich man.
a. The word translated “neighbor” is the SAME word as is translated “friends” in the first part of the proverb.
b. He is SEPARATED from his friends or neighbors.
c. Separated: divided; isolated; apart.
d. It is used of a river “splitting” into two…
e. Solomon states here that the poor man is DIVIDED from his neighbors… isolated from them… set apart from them.
f. Sadly, this is a fact of human nature.
4. Many people are embarrassed to be seen with a lowly person.
a. James had to rebuke believers for catering to the rich and famous and ignoring the poor. (James 2:1-4).
b. It is an age-old sin of partiality.
c. But like it or not, it is a reality… a sinful reality.
d. Everybody wants to flock towards the rich and famous. People always try to get their picture taken with a celebrity or politician—someone famous.
e. How many people flock to have their picture taken with a homeless man?
f. Prov. 19:7 – People seem to AVOID contact with the lowly… with the poor.
g. Prov. 14:20 – This is human nature.
5. Jesus said of Himself, “I am meek and lowly in heart.”
a. Jesus experienced a period of popularity when the multitudes FLOCKED to be near Him.
b. But when they came—they usually came with selfish reasons: to be healed… to receive a free lunch.
c. But later, when He began teaching what it REALLY meant to follow Him… the crowds disappeared.
d. Only a few continued to follow Him.
6. People don’t flock to be with lowly people.
a. And this “lowliness” has application beyond just money and finances.
b. It could be applied to other forms of lowliness: a low status in society… someone who is not famous… someone who is not good looking and part of the IN crowd…
c. People don’t flock to those society considers lowly.
d. And that would be most of US. We don’t have any celebrities here…
e. Salem NH is not a popular meeting place for the rich and famous.
f. At first reading of this, it sounds pretty discouraging.
g. A lowly person—like us—will not attract the great crowds of friends that the rich and famous have.
h. And we could sulk over that: poor me!
7. But when we think about this proverb a little more—it’s not such a bad thing after all.
a. The kind of people who are seeking to USE YOU for their own selfish advantage will not flock to the lowly.
b. They only flock to the rich and famous… the high and lofty ones.
c. People who are attracted to the rich and famous for their riches and fame are usually NOT real friends. They are more like leeches.
d. Those kinds of people… phony friends… NEVER flock to be with the lowly.
e. Thus, a poor man may have only one or two friends as compared to the thousands others have.
f. However, the one or two friends that the poor man has are usually GENUINE… the real thing!
g. They are not attracted to you for your wealth, position, or fame. They are attracted to you for YOU.
h. That is true friendship.
i. One real friend is way better than 10,000 leeches.
j. And when our friends are few and far between, we can always rely on the Lord.
k. Ps. 40:17 – But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me.
l. Rom. 8:38-39 – Poverty may separate us from our so called friends… but NOTHING can separate us from the love of Christ!
Proverbs 19:5
Liars
The Sin
5a A false witness:
1. False: lie; deception; falsehood; deception; misleading; falseness; that which causes a mistaken belief.
a. Prov. 17:4 – false lips – a liar – deceitful words
b. Prov. 11:18 – used of deceitful work
c. There are various ways to be deceitful… our words, our actions, even the rolling of the eyes, or the look on one’s face, body language, and even silence… can promote a lie or deception.
2. Witness: i.e., a person who gives testimony and provides information about a situation; refers to the testimony given, written or oral.
a. A witness is that which testifies to something… it communicates a message as testimony or evidence of a fact.
b. A witness can be either a truthful witness or a false witness…
c. A witness can accurately testify to the truth or a witness can deceitfully testify to something he knows to be inaccurate.
d. Gen. 31:50 – God Himself is the ultimate witness to all we do, say, and think. He knows all the facts and is a truthful witness.
e. Christ is referred to in Revelation as the faithful and true witness. (Rev.3:14)
f. Our witness or testimony ought to be like that of God—faithful and true… honest… genuine… without guile or deception.
3. A false witness: one who deceives by giving misleading, false evidence, whether written or oral testimony.
a. Deut. 19:18 – a false witness in court
b. Ex. 23:1 – those who bear false witness are putting their hands with the wicked – siding with the wicked.
c. In court this can determine the outcome of the case.
d. Men have been convicted and sent to prison—even to the death chamber because of false witnesses who lied.
5c He that speaketh lies
1. Lies: falsehood; deception; any form of untruth…
a. Num. 23:19 – God cannot lie. (God is not man that He should lie…)
b. Heb.6:18 and Titus 1:2 – “God which cannot lie…”
• It is contrary to His nature. God is Light. God is Truth. Jesus said, “I am the Truth.”
• Lying is being UNLIKE God… as contrary to His nature as it comes!
• It is the opposite of being godly; it is ungodly.
• Thus all sin is against God—it is an affront to TRUTH and God is the Truth.
c. John 8:44 – Satan is a liar and is the father of all lies.
• Lying is unlike God.
• But it is LIKE the devil. Lying is satanic.
d. Lying is both ungodly and satanic. It is a very serious issue.
2. Speaketh: to cause to exhale or breathe out.
a. It is a poetic or figurative way of expressing speech – breathing out words.
b. The Bible is God-breathed. The product of God’s breath is TRUTH… His infallible Word.
c. The product of the breath of a liar is not truth but deception… dishonesty… lies…
3. He that speaketh lies:
a. This expression describes a person for whom lying is as natural, easy, and as commonplace as breathing…
b. A truthful person breathes truth. A liar breathes lies.
c. He opens his mouth and lies come forth! He is a liar. It’s as easy as breathing to him.
4. God HATES this sin.
a. Prov. 6:16-19 – These are six sins God especially hates… and two of the six relate to lying!
b. Prov. 12:22 – lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.
5. Lying destroys the spiritual life.
a. Isa. 59:2, 3 – you can’t pray with the sin of lying in your heart.
• God chooses not to hear your prayers.
• They are a sham.
• There is a wall between you and God until that sin is confessed and forsaken.
• There is no fellowship with God as long as the sin of lying is tolerated in the heart.
• The psalmist said, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” (Ps. 66:18)
• As long as we allow a lie to be lodged in our heart—we have no relationship to God… to prayer life… and no fellowship.
• We can pretend—but that’s all it is: phony pretense.
b. Psalm 101:7 – David knew it would adversely affect him and his kingdom. He refused to hire known, habitual liars to work with him in his kingdom. Godly people should avoid habitual liars.
The Parallel in the two parts of the Proverb
1. False and lies are virtually synonymous
2. But there is a slight contrast between witness and speaketh.
a. A witness is more generic and communicates in various ways.
b. Speaking is more concrete… breathing out lies.
c. The contrast also may imply different venues of lying: a false witness in court—and one who lies in common, everyday conversation.
d. Of course the courtroom setting causes the lie to be also the crime of perjury… and it is injurious to person lied about… and detrimental to justice!
THE CONSEQUENCES
5b Shall not be unpunished
1. Unpunished: to be free; innocent; cleared; pure; pardoned; exempt from obligation or punishment.
2. Jer. 30:11 – God will not allow Israel to go unpunished for their sin.
a. He will correct her “in measure” – in proportion to the crime.
b. In other words, God will not go overboard on His punishment, nor will He ignore their sin and let them go unpunished.
3. Justice demands that sin be punished.
a. Prov. 11:21 and 16:5 – regardless of the numbers involved, sin will not go unpunished.
b. No one can use the excuse, “Well everybody’s doing it!”
c. God is not impressed with numbers.
d. If everybody joins hands to oppose God and live in wickedness, then God will punish EVERYBODY.
e. Consider the flood.
4. Deut. 19:16-21 – When false witnesses ARE punished, it causes others to fear… lest they also be punished.
a. The penalty attached has a deterring factor.
b. And note how FAR the Law was willing to take this principle!
c. God takes this matter seriously.
5. The one who LIES shall not go unpunished. There are consequences for lying.
5d Shall not escape.
1. Escape: to slip forth, slip out, slip away, escape.
a. Here it is used of slipping away from judgment or punishment.
2. The one who breathes out lies shall not slip away and escape punishment…
a. Is that really true? Is it true in all cases?
b. Surely we know people who have lied and deceived others and have never been caught. Nobody ever found out. They seemed to get away with it.
c. BUT the eyes of the Lord are everywhere… and so are His ears.
d. The liar may escape punishment on earth… but never before God.
e. And even if God doesn’t punish him on earth—the day of reckoning will come… and we shall give account for every idle word… and every lie or deception.
f. Lies may escape the notice of man, but nothing ever escapes the notice of the Lord.
g. Num. 32:32 – “Behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.”
3. The repetition here (shall not be unpunished; shall not escape) IMPLIES that liars continue to lie because they THINK they can get away with it…
a. They THINK that they shall escape…
b. Ecc. 8:11 – because judgment doesn’t immediately fall, sinners think they can sin with impunity. “I haven’t been caught yet. Therefore I won’t get caught!”
c. But in direct contrast to what sinners think, God SAYS, “he shall not escape!”
4. Lying and deception are sins of which we are ALL guilty.
a. Ps. 119:29 – the psalmist asked for help concerning lying.
b. Pr. 30:8 – Solomon also asked for deliverance from this sin
c. The Bible is full of the accounts of the lies of men… from Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, David, Peter, etc…
d. Lying is our nature. It is the fruit of the flesh.
e. God can give victory—He delights in giving victory.
f. Eph. 4:25 – And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour.
• Lying belongs to the old man… the old way of life.
• Lying is described as the garments of the old man and the old life that is to be “put off.”
• Lying is to be replaced with truth telling… always.
• A liar can become a truth teller… by putting off and putting on…
• And over time, character is being built… as either a liar or a truthful person.
• And it really is an issue of character: if a person lies and shows disregard to truth… he will likely cheat… and perhaps steal… dishonesty breeds dishonesty.
• But by walking DAILY in the Spirit, with our hearts right with God, we WILL be practicing truthfulness… and will earn the reputation of a truthful, honest person.
Proverbs 19:6-7
Sad Observation about Friends
Introduction:
1. This proverb is quite similar to verse 4, where Solomon also speaks about the relationship between wealth and friends.
2. The main thrust of vs. 6-7 is the same as verse 4, but with a slightly different approach to the subject.
SOME “FRIENDS” ARE FRIENDS BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY CAN GET OUT OF THE FRIENDSHIP.
6a Many will intreat the favour of the prince
a. Intreat:
• to be weak or sick; to show oneself to be weak or sick; even to feign oneself to be sick or weak…
• It is sometimes used of entreating… beseeching… seeking favor (as here).
• The ideas may be connected in the sense of a weak man coming to another to seek for mercy… by laying his griefs, weakness, or sickness open—and saying, “help!”
b. Prince:
• Strong’s: inclined; willing; noble; generous.
• Dict. of Bib. Lang.: leader, ruler, official, prince, i.e., one who is of great or noble status.
• Zodhiates: willing, generous, noble; as a noun, those of noble birth. The word often denotes an attitude of heart which consents or agrees (often readily and cheerfully) to a course of action.
• Generally speaking, the term describes a man in a high position, noble status, who is also noble and generous…
• He may be a prince or a noble in rank, but the emphasis seems to be on princely or noble behavior… especially as being generous to others.
c. Favour: face; in the presence of…
• Solomon states that many people like to come to such a wealthy, generous person… to stand in his presence… before his face…
• But they do so to curry his favor…
• The implication is that it is done to flatter… without any sincerity at all.
• His case is laid out in the presence of or in the face of… before another…
• He lays out his plea before the prince… perhaps with great embellishment…
• BECAUSE he wants to GET something from this generous man of high rank or social status.
d. Many: This is a very frequent occurrence.
• Many people do it… all the time.
• As a generous King, Solomon knew this all too well.
• He had discernment. He seemed to be able to see right through people.
• He recognized that MANY of the sad cases that came before his face for help… MANY of those who laid out their weakness and need before him were insincere phonies…
• They were out to take advantage of his generosity.
• MANY people did this… and he knew it.
e. Of course, there is great advantage in being a friend to the king… or a generous noble man.
• He has power and clout.
• He can do many things for you.
• He can cut some good business deals for you.
• He can give you an advantage over the competition.
• He can bring you up to the front of the line.
• He can grant you waivers… privileges…
• He can also take out vengeance on your enemies…
• Solomon was well aware of the fact that MANY people who came seeking his favor doing so with selfish intentions… sometimes even evil intentions…
• MANY were out to take advantage of his generosity.
• They would present themselves as weak, downtrodden, underprivileged, mistreated, unfairly punished, etc… in hopes that Solomon would be so moved by their story that he would bestow some great act of kindness on them—cash preferably!
f. MANY intreat the favor of a prince.
6b And every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.
a. Giveth gifts:
• Strong’s: gifts; offerings; presents.
• Dictionary of Biblical Languages: an object given freely to another as a token of relationship and good will.
• This speaks of a man who is inclined to give things away… inclined to give gifts to others…
• Some men are naturally generous… and you don’t have to be rich or of noble birth to be generous.
• Many average Joes are generous and often give away things to others in need.
b. There is great advantage in being a friend of any generous person who is free with his money.
• There would be a great advantage to being a friend to the local butcher or baker… or to the man who ran the corner store… or the local farmer (around harvest time…)
• You could bring your sob stories to them… let them know how poor your family is… how hungry your kids are… and how nice it would be if someone would help!
• Evidently Solomon observed this as well.
• He knew that many people came to the wealthy nobles to take advantage of them.
• But he also observed that those kinds of people took advantage of ANYONE who was generous with what they had—whether they had much or little.
• Hard luck stories were not presented only to princes and kings.
c. Solomon has really exposed an ugly side of human nature… that human beings take advantage of one another.
• This proverb does not say anything about the generous man being naïve or foolish with his goods.
• Rather, the emphasis is on the insincerity and self greed of those who seek to take advantage of the kindness of others.
• I have even seen this in Christian circles.
» Believers trying to get goods or services from another brother in Christ… just because he is a brother…
» Sometimes believers seek after other believers who make their living fixing cars, remodeling houses, repairing computers, or some other craft… to get them to do work for them for free… or for next to nothing… just because they are brethren.
• And many believers are generous and help that brother… only to discover that others come to him trying to take advantage of his generosity…
This is a completely self centered kind of friendship.
a. Being a friend for what you can GET from the relationship is no friendship at all.
b. This is the opposite of the Biblical concept of love.
c. It is a sad and ugly side of human nature.
d. The saddest thing is that MANY do it! It is very common.
e. As believers, we should not take advantage of others… especially of the brethren.
f. Being a friend of generous people for selfish advantage is not friendship at all.
g. Of course we don’t want to discourage generosity. That is a good thing.
h. But it is not something that we should SEEK after… or even expect… and it certainly ought not to be the basis for a friendship!
SOME “FRIENDS” ARE FRIENDS NO MORE WHEN IT IS NO LONGER ADVANTAGEOUS TO BE YOUR FRIEND
Here Solomon speaks of the flip side of that same selfish attitude.
7a All the brethren of the poor do hate him:
a. Brethren: relatives…
b. MANY people—and often total strangers—love to be around a generous person, but even the RELATIVES of a poor man want nothing to do with him.
c. This is pretty sad indictment of human nature… even blood relatives often “hate” a poor man.
d. HATE might be a bit too strong a term here.
• It sometimes speaks of loving to a lesser degree
» Jacob loved Rachel and hated Leah…
» In other words, he loved Leah to a lesser degree…
» By comparison, it was like hatred… but did not imply a genuine HATRED for her.
• The word can also mean shunned; unloved; disliked;
• It may simply imply that poor relatives are shunned… avoided… not invited to all the family gatherings… they dislike being in his presence…
• They consider him to be a nuisance… or an embarrassment because he is not successful like they are. They consider him to be a blemish on their family name.
e. It is the same sort of selfishness that is at the root of this evil attitude too.
7b How much more do his friends go far from him?
a. If his blood relatives shun him, how much more will his friends and acquaintances shun him!?
b. Prov. 14:20 – the poor is hated of his own neighbor.
c. The prodigal son had all kinds of friends as long as he was blowing his inheritance on fast living.
• But when his inheritance was gone—so were his friends.
• He ended up eating with the pigs… and his “so called friends” were then mysteriously absent.
7c He pursues them with words, yet they are wanting to him.
a. The poor man pursues them… he seeks to be their friend… but they still go far from him.
b. And, there is nothing the poor man can do to WIN them as his friends.
c. People who USE other people for their own advantage cannot be won with words.
d. They are not looking for friendship.
e. They demand money or favors… something more tangible than words.
f. Here we have yet another good reason to make God our FRIEND… and to seek His favor… and not to put confidence in man.
Proverbs 19:8
The Value of Wisdom and Understanding
8a He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul
A. The Man Who Gets Wisdom
1. GET: Defined
a. To buy, purchase, to get, acquire, obtain.
b. It is often used of obtaining wisdom. (Prov. 1:5; 4:5, 7)
2. WISDOM: Defined
a. Heart, mind, soul, spirit, self, i.e., the source of life of the inner person in various aspects, with a focus on feelings, thoughts, volition, and other areas of the inner life.
b. Thought functions may be attributed to the heart. In such cases it is likely to be translated as “mind” or “understanding.” To “set the heart to.”
c. I Kings 3:12 – This term is used of a “wise heart.”
d. II Chron. 9:23 – And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart.
e. Prov. 16:23 – it is translated the “heart” of the wise (a wise heart).
f. Thus, this term for “wisdom” is not the normal term for wisdom.
• It is broader and speaks of the whole inner life of a person.
• Here is emphasizes the inner thought life and is thus translated “wisdom.”
• It implies a WISE inner thought life… and WISE inner attitudes… a wise heart.
3. Solomon here speaks of the VALUE of obtaining a wise heart.
a. It isn’t something that comes naturally. It has to be OBTAINED.
b. All by itself, our inner heart life is desperately wicked!
c. Jer. 17:9 – The “heart” (inner thought life of a man—including the will and emotions) is desperately wicked.
d. First of all, we need a NEW heart, which only comes by means of regeneration… the new birth.
e. And even then, our old heart can manifest itself because we still have the old nature.
f. Our inner thought life can be just as vile as before. It does not improve—ever. It is incorrigible.
g. That’s why we need to leave our old man on the Cross by faith… including the old heart… the old way of thinking.
h. Thus, to men whose hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (incurably sick)…OBTAINING a new heart… a wise heart is extremely valuable!
4. OBTAINING a wise and understanding heart (Acts 15:8-9)
a. First, one must be born again – receive a new heart by faith. (The Holy Spirit regenerates the heart.)
b. The Holy Spirit dwells within to continue to sanctify and purify the heart.
c. This is ALL by faith—both justification and sanctification.
d. For the believer today to obtain a wise heart, we must reckon self to be dead…
• Keep the old man and his heart on the cross—crucified by faith.
• Then, we can experience the power of the resurrection in the NEW man… and in our new heart.
• The new heart, controlled by the Holy Spirit, will focus on things above…
• It will be looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
• It will seek communion with Him through the Word…
• The Word will richly dwell in our hearts…
• And as we walk like that day by day, we will experience a wise and understanding heart.
e. And you don’t have to be smart. You can be an average Joe like me… and obtain a wise heart.
• That’s because a wise heart (though related to the intellect) has its real source in the heart relationship to Christ.
• In Christ is hidden all the treasures of wisdom.
• Average believers like us can have a wise heart… if we are yielded to God.
• We can obtain all the wisdom we need for life… because it is found in Christ.
• The closer we get to Him… the wiser we will be.
• That is something we can ALL obtain… but only if we CHOOSE to do so.
• It is ours… but only as we are surrendered to Christ as Lord… yielded fully to Him.
• Why should He give wisdom when we are resisting Him?
B. Obtaining Wisdom is Like “Loving One’s Own Soul”
1. This is NOT to be understood in a negative sense (Narcissism or vanity—“I love me…”)
2. Rather, this is a very positive statement.
a. It is a way of saying, “This is good for you… it is beneficial for you… it is in your best interest.”
b. Paul said in Eph. 5 that “no man ever hated his own flesh but nourisheth and cherisheth it.”
• It is natural to take care of oneself.
• It is good and right to want to avoid that which is harmful.
• That’s Solomon’s point here. In that sense, we ought to “love our own soul.”
• We do that by avoiding things that are harmful and seeking after things that are good…
c. Prov. 8:35-36 – loving wisdom is like loving a good life… and it is beneficial. The man who rejects wisdom does WRONG to his own soul (life). It is spiritually damaging.
3. Since obtaining wisdom is GOOD for you… then it is worth SEEKING after with the whole heart.
a. There is much in Proverbs about this…
b. Prov. 2:1-4 – seek for wisdom as you would seek for gold and buried treasure.
c. Anything worth having is worth paying the price to obtain.
8b He that keepeth understanding shall find good.
A. The Man Who Keeps Understanding
1. Understanding defined:
a. This term stands in contrast to wisdom (a wise heart) in the first part of the proverb.)
b. Understanding means: understanding, intelligence, knowledge, skill, logic, reasoning, instruction.
c. This term is almost always translated “understanding.”
d. It is used here as a virtual synonym for wisdom.
e. Though a different term than “wisdom” in the first part of the proverb, the contrast is not so much between two kinds of wisdom/understanding… but rather the contrast is between OBTAINING and KEEPING wisdom.
2. Keep defined:
a. Zodhiates: to watch, to keep, to preserve, to guard, to be careful, to watch over, to watch carefully over, to be on one’s guard.
b. To keep; to cause a state or condition to remain.
c. Can also mean to observe or obey.
d. The concept of preserving or maintaining seems to fit best here.
e. The term is also used of caring for sheep (I Sam. 17:20).
• Sheep were handed over to a shepherd for safekeeping.
• It was the shepherd’s job to protect and maintain the flock that had been committed to his trust.
• If the shepherd was not careful and diligent, the flock could be diminished… by wolves… some get lost, etc.
• A shepherd had to MAINTAIN that which was given to him.
f. In a similar sense, the one who has obtained wisdom… is to MAINTAIN it… to protect it… lest it be diminished.
3. Thus, the contrast between the first and second parts of the proverb is a contrast between obtaining and keeping wisdom.
a. It is one thing to OBTAIN a wise heart.
b. It is another thing to MAINTAIN it over time.
c. The danger is always present that once a certain amount of wisdom is obtained, the believer decides that “he’s wise enough and doesn’t need any more.”
d. And if a wise heart is not maintained, it is lost.
e. Prov. 4:24 – KEEP your heart with ALL diligence!
• Here Solomon uses a different word for “keep” but it is a synonym. The meaning is the same.
• Keep: (Zodhiates) A verb meaning to guard, to keep, to observe, to preserve, to hide. The word refers to people’s maintaining things entrusted to them, especially to keeping the truths of God in both actions and mind.
• Whatever the present condition of the heart, it needs to be continually guarded… preserved… maintained… or it will revert BACK to manifesting the OLD heart… which is deceitful above all things…
• This term for KEEP is used of the maintenance of a tree (Prov. 27:18)
» Fruit trees, bushes, and other valuable plants need to be maintained.
» Fruit trees and vines need to be pruned in order to continue to be fruitful.
» They require constant maintenance.
» So does our HEART… maintenance with all diligence!
» If it is not maintained, it will become UN-fruitful… it will lose its wisdom.
f. So when God grants wisdom… treasure it… take care of it… value it… use it… practice it… don’t waste it!
g. A wise heart is maintained through exercise… by putting that wisdom into practice.
B. Shall Find Good
1. Find: to find, attain, obtain, secure, acquire
2. Finding GOOD: pleasant, proper, agreeable, beautiful, beneficial, prosperous, fruitful, etc.
3. This expression “shall; find good” is similar in meaning to “loveth his own soul.”
a. Solomon’s point again is that this is good for you… beneficial… valuable…
4. His point in this proverb seems to be that it is just as valuable and necessary to MAINTAIN a wise heart as it is to OBTAIN it.
5. Prov. 3:17-18 – Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. 18She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
6. Prov. 4:20-22 – words of wisdom are valuable. Find them… then KEEP them in your heart. Don’t let them depart.
a. Wisdom is GOOD for us… she is a tree of life. It is good to obtain… AND to RETAIN…
b. Obtaining and maintaining are both valuable… something worth seeking and maintaining…
c. It is beneficial to your life… it is good for you… you will find good and good things will come from it…
d. So rather than seeking beneficial things… rather than seeking for good things… put your energy and effort into this: obtaining and maintaining a wise and understanding heart!
e. If you have found wisdom… learned some good and helpful spiritual lessons, then be careful that those lessons don’t fade away from your memory. MAINTAIN them… keep them fresh or you will lose them… and may have to learn them all over again—perhaps the hard way!
f. The one who learns good lessons and maintains them… finds GOOD for his life. It is beneficial.
Proverbs 19:10
Something’s Wrong with This Picture
Introduction:
1. This proverb does not make a contrast or a comparison as many other proverbs do.
2. It is not really a contrast between wisdom and folly or between diligence and laziness. Nor is it a warning against bad behavior.
3. Here Solomon simply mentions an occurrence that he has evidently seen often enough for him to include it as a proverb: something that doesn’t seem quite right.
4. We have a saying that pretty well sums up the approach Solomon takes in this proverb: “something is wrong with this picture.”
5. Well Solomon also saw similar “pictures” in his day… and something was wrong with that picture.
10a Delight is not seemly for a fool
1. Delight defined
a. Strong’s: daintiness; luxury; exquisite delight; comfort, pleasantness.
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Living in luxury, i.e., a state of relative comfort and enjoyment.
c. Zodhiates: Delight, a pleasure. It refers to pleasure surrounding a carefree life of luxury.
d. Putting all the various connotations together, it speaks of a delightful life of luxury and pleasure.
2. Fool defined:
a. Strong’s: Fool, stupid fellow, dullard, simpleton.
b. Theological Workbook of the Old Testament: The dull or obstinate one, referring not to mental deficiency, but to a propensity to make wrong choices.
c. This is the opposite of a wise man.
3. Solomon observed men and women who were FOOLS delighting themselves in the lap of luxury.
a. Solomon observed stupid men with great wealth living in luxurious homes… living the good life.
b. He observed simpletons who had a propensity to make poor choices in life… yet they had more money than they knew what to do with.
c. Remember that Solomon was a king. He traveled in royal circles and rubbed elbows with the nobles of the land.
d. For the most part, kings do not become kings because of their brains… or because of their great achievements in life… nor because of demonstrated wisdom.
• They become kings because their daddy was the king.
• They became king because they were firstborn son. However, being firstborn does not guarantee wisdom… or even common sense.
• Very often princes—the sons of kings—were spoiled brats who never had to lift a finger their whole lives.
• Not always, but often, they were foolish young men.
• They had the greatest advantages on earth to grow, mature, and learn.
• But some of them figured, “Why should I study history, economics, or business. I’m going to be king! Why should I bother?”
e. This was not true of kings only. It was also often true of the sons born into noble families.
• The wealth, power, and prominence of noble families is passed on to their children…
• It is not passed on to the wisest, best educated, or most talented people in the land.
• It was passed on to whoever happens to be born in that noble family.
• And those sons were not always wise people. Some of them were foolish… arrogant… proud… self centered… lazy…
f. Too often for his liking, Solomon observed FOOLS living in wealth and in the lap of luxury.
• Obviously, they did not obtain the wealth or power through their own achievements, hard work, or wisdom.
• They usually obtained it all through inheritance.
• They just happened to be born into a prominent family… the nobility or royals.
4. That was unseemly to Solomon.
a. Seemly defined:
• Fitting, suited, i.e., pertaining to what is proper and appropriate to a situation.
b. Solomon’s point here is that it is not fitting that such a man should be in possession of such wealth… especially if he doesn’t have the wisdom to use it wisely.
c. Prov. 20:21 – An inheritance is obtained all at once… suddenly…
• The wealth of an inheritance was not earned by the one inheriting it.
• No blood, sweat, and tears went into accumulating it.
• In fact, no wisdom was involved either.
• Very often, because it was obtained so easily, its value is not appreciated.
• Therefore, inheritances are often wasted in riotous or foolish living.
• Solomon observed foolish sons wasting the inheritance of their fathers.
• He saw fools living it up in the lap of luxury… and blowing away that accumulated wealth foolishly.
• That is what Solomon here refers to as “unseemly.”
d. It seems that it would be so much more appropriate for a wise man to inherit that wealth and prominence. He would use it so much better.
e. It seems appropriate for a wise man to have wealth… a man who wisely earned it… and wisely uses it.
f. It is inappropriate for a fool… but it happens all the time.
g. Prov. 1:26 – “The prosperity of fools shall destroy them!”
• Prosperity is not even good for a fool.
• It will be his ruin… because he does not know how to handle it.
• Wealth can be deadly and dangerous for those not accustomed to handling it.
• Consider the lives of 18-year-old athletes from the ghetto who become millionaire superstars overnight!
• Consider the miserable lives of lottery winners!
5. There are thousands of extravagantly wealthy families in America.
a. That money is passed on from generation to generation.
b. And those who inherit it are often quite foolish.
c. Solomon saw the way they lived, and noted that “there is something wrong with this picture.”
d. Wealth has never been distributed in a fair, sensible, or wise manner.
e. It is distributed randomly and inappropriately in many cases.
f. That was true in Solomon’s day and in ours.
6. Many Hollywood celebrities qualify for Solomon’s definition of a fool.
a. Folly in Proverbs speaks of a lack of fear of the Lord… a lack of spiritual understanding… a lack of good morals.
b. Hollywood and the rest of the entertainment world are full of foolish people living in the lap of luxury…
c. Sometimes they are there only because of good looks… not because of wisdom… or education… or hard labor.
d. It seems so inappropriate that they possess such power, prominence, and wealth… yet they do.
e. People look up to them as heroes.
f. Prov. 26:1 – “Honor is not seemly for a fool.” It is inappropriate. It shouldn’t be that way… but it happens all too often.
g. It seems even more inappropriate to me when foolish, immoral people begin pontificating to the rest of the country on how we should live… who we should vote for… or what constitutes a moral lifestyle… or what a family is… foreign policy…
h. Look at all the wealth, power, prominence, and prestige athletes, rock stars, and movie stars have in America.
i. And they have such great influence in the media… and in the minds of many people…
j. There’s something wrong with this picture.
10b Much less for a servant to have rule over princes.
1. There is something else that Solomon noted that fits into the same category of “unseemly”—when servants rule over princes.
a. In this proverb, it is likely that Solomon meant a foolish servant.
b. Ecc. 10:7 – Solomon observed this. This is based on reality… on real life situations Solomon saw first hand. It happens!
c. Prov. 30:31-32 – it is unsettling because it is so inappropriate.
2. It is unseemly for servants to be in positions of leadership.
a. This implies a servant with a servant’s training.
b. Solomon is not addressing this situation from a class warfare angle. (Trying to keep the lowly servants in their lowly place.)
c. Rather, he is speaking about a servant with a servant’s background… with no training or experience in leadership.
d. It is inappropriate to take a servant… (who was usually uneducated, untrained, unskilled, lacking knowledge of history, politics, economics)… and to put him in charge of a country.
e. Foolish servants put in position of power become tyrants.
3. You want someone in charge who has some training and experience… someone who KNOWS what he’s doing.
a. This situation is unseemly in all kinds of situations…
b. In a country, a business, a church, a mission board, a school, any organization…
c. Solomon recognizes that that is not always how it is. Something’s wrong with this picture.
Proverbs 19:11
Turning a Blind Eye to Transgressions
11a The discretion of a man deferreth his anger
A. Deferring Anger
1. Defer Defined:
a. To be long, prolong.
b. OR it can mean to postpone; delay, i.e., have a long time pass; to be patient, i.e., be in a state of calm in the midst of a trying, upsetting experience.
2. Anger Defined:
a. Literally: nose
b. Num. 22:27 – It literally says that his nose was kindled—a graphic illustration of anger… flared nostrils… perhaps with steam coming out!
c. Jer. 15:14 – A fire is kindled in mine anger (nose).
d. It comes to be used as a picture of anger, wrath, resentment,
e. To have a strong feeling of displeasure over a person or a situation
f. This term emphasizes the emotional aspect of anger and wrath – an outburst of anger rather than a quiet simmering of anger
3. The first part of the proverb does not say WHAT evoked this anger.
a. However, as with so many of the Proverbs, the second half supplies the answer.
b. The two parts of the proverb are to be considered together… they each shed light on the situation at hand.
c. Here the situation at hand… or the CAUSE of the anger is explained to us as another man’s transgression.
d. This proverb gives us some inspired advice as to how to handle the transgressions of another person.
4. But before we consider Solomon’s inspired advice, we should once again remind ourselves that this is a PROVERB.
a. Proverbs were not intended to cover EVERY possible situation.
b. Proverbs were not intended to tell us all we need to know about a particular subject.
c. Proverbs are generalizations… truth in nugget form…
d. There is an element of truth in what the proverb says… and wisdom is needed in APPLYING that truth.
e. Actually, there are times when the Bible tells us NOT to follow Solomon’s advice given here.
• There are times when it is NOT right to defer our anger against transgression.
• There are times when it is NOT right to pass over a transgression.
• But this proverb indicates that there ARE occasions when it is proper to do so.
f. Wisdom is needed to discern the difference.
5. Prov. 16:32 – It takes inner strength to be able to defer anger… to control one’s spirit—especially in a situation where someone has purposely irritated you… or sinned against you.
a. To be able to control one’s spirit speaks of inner strength—along the lines of a mighty general who conquers a city!
b. To defer one’s anger… and put it aside is a great quality.
c. Any fool can blow up and strike back.
d. It takes the strength of the Lord working in the inner man to have what it takes to defer anger… to be PATIENT with those who wrong you… to turn the other cheek when insulted… to be reviled and revile not again…
6. This is the DISCREET thing to do (wise; prudent).
a. The wise man knows that an angry reaction to bad situations only make matters worse.
b. Wisdom is patient… cool headed… and able to defer anger.
c. The way we react when attacked is a good indication of the level of our wisdom and discretion.
d. Such attacks are really tests to prove us… to show us whether we are wise or a slave of our emotions.
11b And it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
A. Passing Over a Transgression
1. Transgression:
a. Sin, rebellion, crime, offence, fault, breach of trust.
b. It is kind of a broad term… with many possible variations.
c. But the fundamental idea of the root is a breach of relationships, civil or religious, between two parties.
d. This is KEY in interpreting this proverb.
e. Gen. 31:36 – here Jacob was angry with Laban and asked “What is my transgression?”
• In other words, “how have I offended you?”
• “What did I do against you… how have I wronged you?”
• It speaks about a possible offence or conflict between these two men.
f. The term emphasizes a breach of relationships… (often between man and God… or man and man)
2. Solomon seems to be using this term (transgression) as a breach of relationship between men…
a. As fallen human beings we DO sin against each other… we offend one another… we wrong one another.
b. You don’t have to look very hard in the Bible to find examples of men sinning against men… offending men… breaking their trust… men lying to men… men hurting the feelings of other men… men pulling a fast one on men… cheating… stealing… misleading… double crossing… not keeping a promise…
c. I’m sure we have ALL had someone—even a brother in Christ—offend us… treat us cruelly… gossip… slander… double cross us…
d. And if we were honest, we would probably all have to admit that we have not only been the victims of such transgressions… but we have also been the perpetrators at times!
3. The story of Joseph is a perfect example of a young man who was sinned against… by his own brothers.
a. They had a moral responsibility to take care of their young brother… instead, they plotted to kill him…
b. They settled for selling him into slavery in Egypt.
c. Talk about being offended… double-crossed… a breach of trust—here is an extreme illustration of that sort of “transgression.”
d. They sinned against their brother.
4. Passing over a transgression
a. Defined: the term literally speaks of linear motion… to pass over from one place to another; to take away…
b. It has lots of variations in the figurative sense…
c. II Sam. 12:13 – used in the sense of forgive. David sinned and God “put away”… passed over his sin.
d. Passing over a transgression speaks of putting it away… turning a blind eye to it… forgiving the offender…
e. Psalm 38:12-15 – David himself demonstrated this quality.
5. What should we DO when someone transgresses against us?
a. Matt. 18:15-17 – Jesus said that when someone transgresses against us we should do the opposite!
• He said that we should confront that brother with his sin.
• We should expect an apology and repentance…
• If he refuses to repent (assuming he is guilty)… then discipline is in order.
• This is very different than what Solomon says to do.
b. Solomon advises us to “pass over” his transgression. Brush it aside… sweep it away… let it roll over your back like water off a duck’s back…
c. Obviously Solomon and Jesus are not contradicting one another. Remember, this is a proverb.
d. There are times when following the pattern of Matthew 18 might be called for.
• If this is a gross sin which if left unchecked will harm the testimony of the Lord…
• If you are so offended that it is eating away at you on the insides… or you can’t sleep at night… or it is ruining relationships… or it is hindering your walk with God—then by all means confront that brother and make things right.
6. There are times when following the advice of Solomon might be in order when someone has transgressed against you:
a. If it is a minor infraction…
b. If it is offensive, but something you can handle… and you can let it go in one ear and out the other… let it!
c. If it is simply an area where that brother needs to learn and grow… ignore it…
d. If it was a moment of weakness on the other brother’s part… and he blurted out something unkind…
e. There are many occasions when this proverb ought to come to mind.
f. If we apply Matthew 18 to every little infraction against us… we will be labeled a kook… a troublemaker… and will have very few friends.
B. It is His Glory
1. Glory defined:
a. beauty, splendour, glory, honor
b. The state or quality of having an attractive appearance as the feature of an object. (a crown of glory or a crown of honor)
2. Solomon’s point is that the man who has the inner strength, the capacity, and the grace to turn a blind eye away from those who transgress against him is likened to a man of great honor.
a. This capacity is like a crown of honor upon his head.
b. It is an honorable thing…
c. Some men turn away from transgressions against them because they are too weak and cowardly to DO anything about it.
d. Other men turn away from transgressions against them out of inner strength and grace… and it is to their honor that they do so.
3. One of the most glorious qualities in Joseph is seen in his treatment of his brothers.
a. The men who sold him into slavery—years later stood before him.
b. Only this time the tables were turned… and Joseph was in the position of strength and power.
c. He COULD have had them tortured and executed.
d. Instead, he put aside his anger… he passed over their transgression… and showed them grace.
e. That took real inner strength… to forgive… to pass over their transgression.
f. As far as Joseph was concerned, (to use Solomon’s words), “it was his glory”… an honorable thing to do.
g. It is honorable… and discreet (wise)
h. May we have that inner strength from the Lord to do the honorable thing… when the circumstances call for it… and may we have the discretion to discern HOW to respond to offences.
i. As Christians, we should take this a step higher. Not only should we “pass over” such transgressions… but we should even BLESS those who curse, revile, or insult us…
Proverbs 19:12
The King’s Wrath or Favor
Kings are In Authority
1. This is by God’s design. They were to represent God’s authority on earth… and establish a sense of righteousness in the land… to punish evildoers and praise those who do well.
2. BUT kings are also human beings… fallen human beings.
3. Ecc. 8:4 – Ancients had absolute, unrestrained authority. Virtually nothing was beyond their power.
4. Prov. 16:14a – His wrath meant death.
a. The king of Babylon became angry and sent out a decree to kill all the wise men in the land.
b. He was angry again and threw Daniel’s friends in the furnace.
c. Dan. 6:24 – Then again, the king took all the presidents who opposed Daniel, and cast them and their families in the den of lions. He consulted no one.
d. King Herod was angry that the wise men tricked him so he had all the children under two killed!
5. Prov. 16:15a – His favor meant life. Life and death were in his hands.
6. Kings could give a verbal command and had the authority to begin a war… execute a man… pardon a man… (asPharaoh did with the butler and baker). A king could make a decree—without consulting anyone.
7. To use American terms, the king was the executive, legislative, and judicial branch of government all rolled up in one person.
8. We do not live in a monarchy, but that doesn’t mean this proverb has no application for us in America today.
a. We don’t have a king, but we DO have men in authority over us—by God’s design.
b. Thankfully, they do not have absolute power… but they DO have lots of power.
c. What they say and legislate can affect us as citizens and as Christians for years to come.
d. Solomon gives a word to the wise here… concerning what our attitude should be towards those in positions of power.
Kings are not always fair and just… (or even good!)
1. There are a lot of examples of kings in the Bible.
a. Some godly; (David) some ungodly (Saul).
b. Some kind and benevolent; (Hezekiah) some cruel tyrants. (Ahaz).
c. Some were considerate of the people; some considerate only of themselves.
2. Sometimes kings were good and sometimes not so good.
a. Sometimes government officials are wise; sometimes foolish.
b. Sometimes they make laws that are helpful and wise; sometimes they pass laws that are detrimental.
c. But as citizens, we are to submit to authorities… realizing that they have real power… power from God.
d. Whether they are wise or foolish… good or evil, Solomon warns us here not to get them riled up and angry at you. It’s not worth it.
But Kings Can Be Fickle
1. Sometimes they are as angry as a roaring lion.
a. Angry, roaring lions are dangerous. Don’t mess with them. Stay out of their way. They could tear you to pieces.
b. That’s the point here. An angry king is like that roaring lion. He too could tear you to pieces.
c. Prov. 20:2 – Because he is like a roaring lion, it is exceptionally foolish to provoke him to wrath.
d. Prov. 28:15 – This was a common picture of cruel kings: they roar. And notice that they are especially cruel to the poor and needy in the land. They are easily trampled over.
e. We have a modern proverb that says something similar: Don’t grab a tiger by the tail.
• Don’t do anything foolish that would stir up someone in a position of power and strength to wrath.
• They will turn on you… and you are no match for them!
• When you come across a tiger—be very careful not to get him riled up.
• Be careful around wicked men in positions of power. They too can cause you much harm.
2. Sometimes they are like the dew on the grass:
a. Dew on the grass is a picture of refreshment… joy… nourishment…
b. The vegetation in that land was dependent upon the dew of the grass each morning.
c. A king can be like dew in that he has the power to bestow favor on a man, a city, or a nation…
d. Prov. 16:15 – When the king’s countenance shines upon you—it can mean life… blessing… abundance… like the refreshment that comes from the latter rains… or from the morning dew.
e. Like it or not, people were dependent upon the king’s favor. Hence what folly to irritate the king or to provoke him to anger. What a delight to stand in his favor.
3. Hence, there is a good warning in this.
a. The same fickle king whose countenance is shining on you on Monday might be a devouring lion on Wednesday!
b. Realize that kings and those in positions of power can be fickle… they can change…
Application: It Makes Sense to Be on Their Good Side
1. Kings are not like your average person.
a. Frowns are always uncomfortable… If the average citizen gets angry at you, it is uncomfortable, but he is limited in what he can do to you.
• But the frown of a king can be much worse than uncomfortable. It can be deadly.
b. Smiles are always pleasant and welcome. It’s nice to have others who smile at us… and to be in good favor with our friends.
• But the smile of a king is far more valuable. It can mean life… prosperity… blessing…
2. We have another American proverb that comes close to the meaning of this proverb: You can’t fight city hall.
a. The government is bigger and more powerful than the average Joe.
b. Getting government officials angry at you won’t help either. It can only hurt.
c. The last thing you want is to have the government against you… angry at you.
d. As a church, we should take a lesson from this proverb. We want to do whatever those in positions of authority tell us to do…
• We don’t want to anger them by questioning their authority…
• We don’t want to anger them by violating their laws or town ordinances…
• I Peter 2:13-14 – The church is not above the law… we are to SUBMIT to the laws of the land… and not to get them angry at us.
• Why? For the Lord’s sake…
• And also for some very practical reasons… they can make life miserable for us.
e. The point of the proverb: since those in authority have such power—don’t do anything to provoke them. Stay on their good side. Even if their decrees are not always brilliant… you might just as well submit to them and do what they say to keep them happy.
3. Prov. 16:14c – a wise man will PACIFY the wrath of a king.
a. Solomon’s advice: Don’t give them any cause to get angry at you!
b. They may not be fair; they may not be just; they may not be reasonable; they may not be honest; they may not be wise; but they DO have authority…
c. Solomon’s inspired advice is: learn to live with them. Don’t buck their authority… pacify them.
4. This is good advice not just for subjects under their king
a. But also for workers under their boss…
b. Students and their teachers…
c. Drivers and the policeman…
d. It is always a good idea to try to pacify the wrath of those in power. Sometimes their power goes to their head…
5. If it makes such good sense to stay on the good side of an earthly king because of the power he wields, how much MORE should we stay on the good side of the King of Kings and submit to Him… and not to get Him angry!
a. We KNOW what makes Him angry. (Sin; self; pride; etc.) Therefore, avoid that which angers the King of Kings and seek His favor. It only makes sense.
b. We should actively seek His favor… seek to have His countenance shine upon us…
Proverbs 19:13
A Foolish Son and a Nagging Wife
Introduction:
1. This proverb speaks about every man’s nightmare scenario.
2. Solomon knew the pain of this more than anyone. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. No doubt some of them were nags.
3. And with 700 wives and concubines, it goes without saying that he had many children… not all of whom were wise. Many of Solomon’s sons were foolish.
4. Solomon knew experientially what he describes in this proverb. He knew this calamity well.
The Foolish Son
1. Foolish:
a. fool, stupid fellow, dullard, simpleton, arrogant one
b. The term implies foolish rebellion.
c. This term for fool appears about 50 times in Proverbs. He is a common theme of the book.
d. The foolish son expresses his folly in any number of ways:
• He may be a rebel against authority—and in trouble with the law.
• He may refuse to listen to counsel—and end up eating the sour fruit of his own foolish ways.
• He may spend money foolishly—and always in debt… and thus in trouble…
• He may be lazy—unwilling to study at school; unwilling to work.
• He may be undisciplined—living a carefree life and not taking care of business, only to suffer for it later.
• He may be immoral—living a life of sin… which eventually will catch up to him.
2. A foolish son:
a. It’s bad enough that there are so many fools out there in the world. But it is far worse when one of them is your own son… your own flesh and blood!
b. That makes his folly all the more painful.
c. Nobody WANTS to have a foolish son.
d. However, it is such a common experience that Solomon writes about it over and over again in this book.
3. Eli had foolish and wicked sons.
a. I Sam. 3:13 – The REASON they were foolish was because Eli did not restrain them.
b. The foolish sons were obviously to blame for their vile behavior.
c. However, their father Eli was blameworthy as well.
d. Through a lack of discipline and training children can become what Solomon calls “foolish.” (Vile, sinful, immoral, ungodly).
e. The behavior of his foolish sons became a heavy burden on Eli the rest of his days.
4. However, other men have had foolish sons who DID discipline them.
a. Solomon speaks repeatedly in the book of Proverbs about sons who are well taught and disciplined, yet who do not RESPOND to their training… and they chafe under the discipline.
b. Prov. 1:24-25 – Wisdom was offered, but not received.
c. Prov. 10:17 – Some sons reject reproof and as a result, it causes them to err… to wander from the straight and narrow way.
d. Those sons have to learn the hard way. That process of learning the hard way is a CALAMITY to his father: painful.
e. It happens so very often, that in ONE family, some of the sons (or daughters!) submit to the training and do well. Others reject their training and become fools.
f. A foolish son is not necessarily a reflection on the parent—although parents almost always feel guilty about this… as though it was their fault.
g. The way to deal with that guilt is faith… BELIEVE what the Bible says about such fools.
h. Some become fools because of a LACK of training. Others who are well trained become fools because they REJECTED good training.
5. The TRAGEDY of it all.
a. Sometimes a foolish son is the parent’s fault (like Eli).
b. Sometimes it’s not the parent’s fault. But either way, the pain of a foolish son is the same.
c. It is a CALAMITY for the father.
d. Calamity defined:
• Strong’s: engulfing ruin, destruction
• Theological Workbook of the Old Testament: falling; a downfall, disaster
e. Regardless of HOW it came about, the bottom line is that it is painful for the father to see a son ruin his life.
• The father almost SHARES in his ruin… because in a sense, it has a ruining effect on the father’s life.
• He loves his son and wants the best for him… and what pain to see him suffer—especially when the suffering is due to his own folly… (alcohol, drugs, laziness, rebellion, criminal activity, etc.)
• Prov. 17:21, 25 – Consider the terms Solomon uses to describe the EFFECT of a wayward son on his parents: sorrow; no joy; grief; bitterness.
• Prov. 10:1 – Of course it is painful for the mother too… and Solomon mentions that elsewhere.
• It is a calamity; it is painful; it is heaviness; it is sorrow and grief; it is bitterness…
• Having a wayward son is like an open wound…
• We would do well to avoid PRYING and DIGGING into the open wounds of others.
• Even if our intentions are good, (prayer) our actions may be extremely painful to others.
• Nobody wants to have to keep on repeating the agonizing details of the awful condition of his wayward son!
• A foolish son is painful to his father.
The Contentious Wife
1. Contentious defined:
a. Strong’s: “brawling” twice, strife, contention.
b. Dissension, quarreling, disputing.
c. This term is used 9 times in the Bible, and ONLY in Proverbs.
d. 5 out of 9 times this term appears in the Bible it is used of a contentious, argumentative woman. (I’m not drawing conclusions; I’m just stating the facts:>)
e. Of course men can be contentious too.
2. Consider who wrote these Proverbs. Of all the Bible writers, only Solomon used this term… and most often he used it of a contentious woman.
a. Keep in mind this man had 700 wives and 300 concubines!
b. He had MORE than his share of nagging women.
c. The circumstances of Solomon’s life should mitigate a bit the fact that it was used so often about women.
d. Nagging wives was a subject Solomon knew all too well.
3. Polygamy was not God’s idea… and it was never a good idea.
a. Because it is not God’s plan, it is fraught with difficulties… and brings nothing but trouble to the home.
b. Imagine the in-house fighting that occurred with 700 wives! The jealousy, envy, selfishness, mischievousness, the backstabbing, the lying, gossip, slander, and bitterness that occurred in that home must have been unbearable!
c. No wonder Solomon felt like running away into the wilderness at times!
d. Prov. 21:19 – It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.
4. The contentious woman is the wife who is constantly AT her husband for everything.
a. She does not allow him to have any peace.
b. She is constantly correcting him… pointing out his faults… reminding him of his failures… shortcomings… sins…
c. She remembers every tiny detail of every argument they have ever had… and she never fails to bring them all up… over and over again…
d. She has a “to do” list a mile long and badgers him over the things that he hasn’t yet done…
e. She nit picks every little thing he does or says…
5. This Solomon likens to a constant DRIPPING of water…
a. This likely had reference to a leaky roof. (Many of the roofs of common folks were made of sod—and would leak and drip when saturated from a heavy rainstorm.)
b. In fact, the sod roofs often leaked long after the storm was over!
c. The nagging wife is like the constant dripping of water…
d. We might liken it today to a leaky faucet—that endlessly drips is irritating and drives you crazy. That’s the point.
e. A nagging wife drives her husband crazy,
f. A nagging wife can wear her husband out with her nagging, as dripping water over time can wear out rocks!
g. If dripping water can wear out rocks, the nagging of a wife can certainly wear out the patience of her husband.
h. If the roof is continually leaking—it will eventually cause the house to ROT.
i. The continual dripping of a wife has been the ruin of many marriages. Some men get to the point where they can’t stand it any more and take off for the wilderness!
j. Knowing how damaging nagging can be to a relationship… how unbearable it can become for the husband… ladies would do well to take heed to Solomon’s warning here…
k. This proverb is more than simply stating facts. The facts are given as a warning… and appropriate action is expected to be taken where needed.
l. When someone tells you that faulty wiring can burn your house down, it is more than a fact. It is a warning—to take care of any faulty wiring you might have.
6. Solomon paints a sad picture here: a nightmare scenario for any man.
a. His son is behaving like a fool, which is like an open wound that continually causes pain….
b. And his wife is a nag… like continual dripping water…
c. This poor guy needs a break! He’s getting it from all sides.
d. If you know someone in this situation—PRAY for him. He needs it!
e. We don’t need to know all the gory details, but we can all pray for grace and strength. The Lord knows the situation.
f. If you are IN a situation like that, the Lord is sufficient. Come to the throne of grace daily—moment by moment…
g. And if you are CONTRIBUTING to this kind of a situation (a wayward child or a nagging wife), then take this proverb as a warning…
h. Your actions have a deep and lasting effect on others.
i. Your actions COULD become the downfall of a family.
j. Take heed all around!
Proverbs 19:14
A Prudent Wife
14a House and riches are the inheritance of fathers:
1. Children receive an inheritance from their parents.
a. A son might receive a portion—or even all of his father’s estate when dad dies.
b. This has always been the custom.
2. Of course a father could CHOSE to leave his estate to whomsoever he desired.
a. But that was normally his son.
3. This sometimes created a sense of uneasiness in aging parents.
a. Even Solomon worried about whom he would be leaving all his wealth to.
b. Ecc. 2:18-19 – Who could tell if one’s son would be a fool or not? Solomon hated to think of a foolish son wasting and destroying everything he worked so hard for.
c. In that case, he might want to put that bumper sticker on the back of his chariot: “I’m spending my kids inheritance.”
• This is actually the same sentiment as Solomon states… only in the form of humor…
• Solomon didn’t see any humor in it.
• He lamented over it—all is vanity… emptiness.
d. Prov.17:2 – Sometimes fathers KNEW their sons were foolish and chose to leave the wealth to someone else… even a wise servant.
4. But the NORM was that fathers left their house and riches to their sons.
a. The SOURCE of this blessing was their earthly father.
b. The father provided the son with this blessing… the blessing of the inheritance.
14b And a prudent wife is from the LORD.
A. A Prudent Wife
1. Prudent defined:
a. Wise, understanding, with insight, skilled.
2. Usage: The WAY that the term PRUDENT is used in various passages provides much good application to the wife.
a. Proverbs 1:3 – the purpose of proverbs is to instill wisdom (prudence) into young people.
• A prudent wife will want to meditate upon the practical truths revealed in proverbs!
• There are countless applications to the home, to child rearing, and to the marriage to be gleaned from this book.
b. Prov. 10:19 – In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise(prudence).
• Here prudence is described as refraining the lips…
• Proverbs speaks a LOT about the wisdom of controlling one’s tongue… limiting speech…
• A prudent wife will exercise self control with her use of the tongue.
c. Psalm 119:99 – I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.
• Here the psalmist states that prudence comes by means of meditating upon the Word of God.
• Psalm 119 is a great place to start…
• A prudent wife is one whose mind and heart are saturated with the Scriptures… and she lives it out in the home.
d. Psalm 101:2 – I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
• A prudent or wise wife demonstrates her prudence by walking in her house with a perfect—mature heart.
• Vs.3 – she sets no wicked thing before her eyes. She does not sit on the couch and watch soap operas.
• She meditates on the Word instead.
e. Joshua 1:7-8 – The word for “prosper” (vs.7) and “success” (vs.8) are the same word as translated “prudent” in Prov.19:14.
• Vs. 7 – by not turning to the right or the left one “prospers”… or prudent behavior is achieved.
• This means no extremes… but walking in the middle of the road… not turning off the straight and narrow way. That is the way of spiritual prosperity. That is prudence.
• Vs. 8 – Again, by meditating on the WORD, and observing to DO it… one achieves good “success”—a prudent life.
• Success in life is spiritual wisdom. Obtaining spiritual wisdom is success.
• These are needed in the home!
f. Isa. 41:20 – That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.
• Here the word for prudence is translated understand.
• Here understanding is associated with recognizing the hand of the Lord in circumstances.
• Cf. Jer. 9:24 – understand here is the same word.
• Knowing God in a deep, personal way is prudence.
• This is what we should glory in throughout life.
• A wife that really knows God… is a prudent wife.
g. This idea of PRUDENT is so very important in the home… for the wife.
• It is God’s wisdom.
• It results in refraining one’s lips.
• It comes from meditating on the Word.
• It results in walking in one’s house with a perfect heart.
• It is associated with knowing God.
• It results in spiritual prosperity and success in the things of the Lord.
3. A prudent wife is quite a treasure!
a. In the proverb, it stands parallel to the house and riches in the first part of the proverb.
b. An inheritance is a great blessing… something highly valued and appreciated.
c. But a prudent wife is even better!
d. A prudent wife is to be even MORE highly valued… and more appreciated.
e. Prov. 12:4 – A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband.
f. Prov. 31:10 – her price is far above rubies.
g. She is far more valuable than the house and riches received through inheritance.
h. What a contrast to the nagging wife of Prov. 19:13!
• The nagging wife might think herself to be wise and insightful in her ability to point out all the errors of her husband… but it is really a display of her folly.
• Wisdom would cause her to demonstrate not loud, boisterous nagging, but a meek and quiet spirit…
B. Of the LORD
1. In that culture, it was often the earthly father who PRE-ARRANGED the marriage.
a. This was almost like a business deal between the parents of the prospective bride and groom—sometimes when they were only children.
b. The father would arrange for a wife for his son.
c. Here Solomon makes it clear that while the father might pass on an inheritance… and a father might even pre-arrange a marriage. However, if a man ends up with a prudent wife, it is really a gift from GOD… not dear old dad.
2. Proverbs 18:22 – favor from the Lord.
a. Favor: When attributed to God, the term expresses the divine goodwill which He extends to humanity as He sees fit. It is similar in meaning to the New Testament word for GRACE.
b. If you get a prudent wife thank God for her… and acknowledge that she is a grace GIFT… not something we deserved. So thank God for her.
3. God is actually the Author of ALL blessings… of every good gift. (Jas. 1:17)
a. If you have a prudent wife, thank God for her.
b. Don’t praise yourself for a wise choice. Solomon tells us that it was divine providence… not human insight.
c. This thought was especially important to make in the culture of Solomon’s day when the fathers often arranged for a wife for his son in a pre-arranged marriage.
4. This proverb may well imply that often the leading factor in making the choice between families was “houses and riches.”
a. But arranging a marriage on those grounds was fraught with trouble.
b. Godliness and prudence are much better traits to be looking for than houses and riches.
c. Look to GOD for a prudent wife.
5. There is always an element of surprise.
a. You never FULLY know what you’re getting.
b. So if you get a prudent wife, thank God for her!
c. Not all wives are prudent.
d. Many men have been deceived by women pretending to be godly and wise during the courtship.
e. If God is first in YOUR life… you will likely get connected with a woman with the same goals.
f. God providentially provides a prudent wife. Consider how God brought Ruth to Boaz. God arranged the steps all the way along… and at the core of it was the fact of two hearts that wanted to honor God.
g. When that is the desire of one’s heart, the Lord brings those two lives together.
h. If you are looking for a mate… look to God—not the internet. A wise mate is a gift from God…
i. Prov. 3:6 – In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 19:15
Slothfulness and Hunger
15a Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep
A. Slothfulness Defined:
1. Sluggishness, laziness.
2. Dict. of Bib. Lang.: a state of extreme inactivity or idleness, showing a lack of discipline and initiative, as a moral failure.
a. Note the distinction—as a MORAL failure.
b. Obviously, this does not refer to the slowness or inactivity that is the result of old age or infirmity.
3. Prov. 6:6, 9 – It is a moral failure—less wise than an ant!
B. A Deep Sleep
1. Casts: to fall prostrate; prostrate oneself before; bow down; settle down.
2. Deep Sleep: deep sleep; trance; lethargy; listlessness; apathy.
3. Usage:
a. Gen. 2:21- God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and He took of his rib and made the woman.
b. Gen. 15:12 – God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Abraham when God came down and passed through the midst of the animals cut in half—when God emphasized to Abraham the fact that the Abrahamic covenant was unilateral.
c. I Sam. 26:12 – A deep sleep God put over Saul’s soldiers when David went into their camp and took the cruse of water and a spear.
d. Isa. 29:10 – God poured out a deep sleep on the false prophets.
e. It is used almost exclusively (except for a passage in Job) of a deep sleep that the LORD imposed upon men… not your ordinary sleep.
4. Solomon chose an especially STRONG term to describe the deep sleep of the slothful man.
a. Whether he intended to imply that this sleep was a judicial judgment of God against their activity or not is not clear.
b. It doesn’t SAY that… but the unusual term he chose to describe their “sleep” may suggest it.
c. In other words, it may be a judicial judgment pronounced by God against such laziness… OR it may be the natural consequences of such laziness.
d. There may be a little overlapping of the two—in light of God’s providential dealings in the ordinary lives of men.
e. Either way, Solomon states that a very deep and serious form of lethargy and apathy are the result of slothfulness…
f. It is almost as if the person were in a trance—a trance that he CHOSE to enter into.
g. One man spoke of it as an “unconscious oblivion.”
5. The effect is something similar to a downward spiral.
a. The man is lazy and slothful and doesn’t DO what he’s supposed to do…
b. As a result, he becomes accustomed to not doing much…
c. And in that condition, he grows tired and sluggish easily…
d. He looses his initiative… apathy sets in…
e. And he arrives in a state (almost a trance) where it becomes extremely hard to get through to him… of the seriousness of his condition!
f. One thing leads to another… and it becomes very difficult for him to change his ways… they are so deeply entrenched.
g. Prov. 5:22 – His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
h. He can become TRAPPED in this lazy lifestyle.
i. Parents do their kids no favor by doing everything FOR them.
j. Kids can learn responsibility and develop a work ethic at a young age.
k. OR they can develop the bad habit of laziness… procrastination… slothfulness… and become couch potatoes at a young age too.
6. The sluggard is inventive with his excuses for his laziness.
a. Prov. 22:13 – he comes up with all kinds of excuses—a lion might eat me!
b. Prov. 20:4 – he always has a reason why he “can’t” work now.
• His work is thus never done on time.
• He procrastinates. Puts things off.
• Work piles up—and he feels inundated and overwhelmed.
• The work piles up like a mountain before him, and he thinks it impossible to move a mountain… so he doesn’t try.
• And the mountain continues to grow… and he sinks in deeper… and he feels justified in not attempting. Why bother? I’ll never move that mountain.
• And it’s all his own fault. He LET things pile up… he LET things go to seed… and rot. He ends up with nothing…
15b And an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
A. The Lazy Person
1. Idle defined:
a. Laxness, slackness, slackening, deceit, treachery.
b. A condition of slowness and sluggishness to do an activity.
c. This is used as a virtual synonym for slothfulness in the first part of the proverb.
2. Soul here is used in the sense of a person… hence, an idle, lazy person.
B. The Consequences
1. In the first part of the proverb Solomon describes the trance or the stupor—the state of the lazy person.
2. Now he suggests that there are serious built-in, personal consequences to his laziness, namely, HUNGER.
3. Note that God gives a clear warning here: laziness results in hunger.
a. Hunger is a good thing.
b. Hunger hurts. It captures your attention. When you are really hungry, it’s hard to think of anything else.
c. Hunger can eventually kill a person. We need food. Food is not an option. It is a must.
d. God in His wisdom caused the human body to feel hungry… and He caused that feeling to become overwhelming when the need is not met.
4. Hunger is good on a couple of levels.
a. First, if we didn’t feel hunger, we would forget to eat…
• We need our three meals a day… and if we miss one, we feel it. That is good for us.
• Our body is talking to us… making sure we meet that need.
b. Secondly, hunger is good because it is a great incentive to WORK!
• Laziness… a refusal to work leads to hunger… which hurts.
• Hunger is designed to work something like physical pain.
» If you step on a piece of glass and cut your foot, it hurts—right away! You feel the pain.
» That pain serves a most valuable purpose… it instantly gets your attention SO THAT you do something about the problem at hand—glass shards stuck in your foot!
» If you didn’t feel the pain, you might not realize the problem, and it would not be taken care of right away.
» A much worse condition could set in.
• The PAIN of hunger OUGHT to instantly get the attention of the lazy person.
» It should cause the person to see the folly of his laziness…
» It should cause him to get up and DO something about it… take care of the problem.
• II Thess. 3:10 – “If any would not work, neither should he eat.”
» Here too hunger is described as a built in incentive to work.
» And if a man WILL not work—neither SHOULD he eat.
» Note the word “will” – it speaks of a man’s willingness.
→ This is not describing the man who wants to work but cannot find a job.
→ This does not describe a man who wants to work, but he is sick and unable to.
→ This is a man who is able to work but unwilling.
» Note also the word “should” – which often carries with it a moral obligation.
→ He SHOULD not eat.
→ It is not right for him to eat.
→ It is not right for him to receive free food… which someone else labored for.
→ It is good for him to suffer hunger.
→ The pain of hunger… going without his needs should trigger an incentive in him to DO something about his situation—to get up and get a job, or do whatever it takes.
5. Welfare is one of the WORST things we can inflict on someone.
a. The motives are good. It stems from pity and compassion which are good in their place.
b. Helping someone in need IS good.
c. But helping someone who is in need because they WILL not work is not love. It is NOT what is best for that person.
d. Free food or free money sounds great, but it is a miserable trap.
e. I would like to see us double or quadruple the amount of money we give to people on welfare… IF we could weed out those who are lazy and unwilling to work… and those who lie and cheat and take advantage of the system.
5. Other consequences to idleness and slothfulness too.
a. Ecc. 10:18 – It also destroys your property.
b. Prov. 21:25 – Constantly coveting… and it KILLS him!
• It eats away at him. There is no joy.
• He lives in that trance… a kind of dream world, with lots of dreams and wishes, but no action.
• He may well regret his laziness, but doesn’t DO anything about it…
c. Prov. 13:4 – A miserable life—constantly wishing you had what others had… constant envy… discontentedness… and to make it even worse, the added burden of GUILT… knowing it was your own fault!
d. Prov. 26:14 – He can’t sleep at night—because of a guilty conscience.
e. Prov. 20:13 – Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread. (also – Prov.6:9-11; 10:4)
• I have met lazy, slothful believers—nice people—but lazy.
• I would never hire them if I owned a business… for that very reason—lazy!
f. Prov. 12:24 – He shall be under tribute… forced labor… like slavery… working for peanuts… taken advantage of by wealthy landowners… because the lazy man has no job… no rainy day fund… he has no recourse.
g. Prov. 26:13–16 – He THINKS himself to be wise… usually smarter than everyone else who works hard.
6. It is a pity to see a man suffer the consequences of slothfulness in his earthly life.
a. It is far worse to see a man suffer the consequences of slothfulness in his spiritual life!
b. There are a LOT of lazy Christians.
c. There are believers too lazy to open the Bible each day…
d. There are believers who don’t come to prayer meeting because they are lazy. They’re always too tired. So am I—and you are too… but you came. I think there might be a lot of stuttering and stammering at the Bema seat when the question is asked, “Why didn’t you go to prayer meeting?”
e. There are believers too lazy to minister in the Body… too lazy to minister to one another… but they sure expect to BE ministered to when they need it!
f. They are too lazy to work out their own salvation in fear and trembling.
g. They too will HUNGER… and not be able to eat the Bread of life their souls need. They will thirst… and find no water of life to satisfy.
h. They are wasting their spiritual lives.
i. The funny thing about spiritual laziness is—that some folks who are spiritually lazy are often VERY diligent in the things of this life… they take good care of their things… their business… but never seem to have time or energy left over for the things of the Lord.
j. Physical poverty is bad enough. Spiritual poverty is an eternal waste.
Proverbs 19:16
Life or Death
Introduction:
1. This proverb like the last speaks of the consequences of our actions.
a. Vs. 15 – The consequence of slothfulness is hunger.
b. Vs. 16 – The consequence of disobedience is death.
2. Consider the parallelisms used here:
a. Keepeth (commandments) and keepeth (his soul)
b. Keeping the commandments and despising the commandments (His ways)
c. Preserving his soul (life) or losing his soul (dying)
16a He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul
1. Keepeth: to keep; observe; to observe to do something; give heed; care for; guard; watch carefully over; protect…
2. Keeping the commandments
a. The commandments refer to the commands of God found in His Word… including the 10 commandments.
b. The term “commandment” to the Old Testament Jew was often used as a synonym for the Word of God… not exclusively referring to the list of 605 commands… but ALL of God’s Word.
c. Psalm 119 speaks about the Word—and uses the term “commandment” to refer to Scripture in general… more than just the 10 commandments.
d. Thus, keeping the commandment here speaks of OBEDIENCE to God’s Word.
3. Keeping his own soul.
a. His own soul = one’s own life… the person.
• The man himself, self, person or individual; seat of the appetites; seat of emotions and passions; activity of mind.
• It speaks of the whole inner man… the inner life… thoughts, emotions, passions… drives.
b. Keep = same word as above… but remember that the term has various shades of meaning.
• Keep in the sense of observe to do: (commandments)
• Keep in the sense of guarding or protecting (soul)
c. Keeping one’s own soul means protecting or taking care of one’s own life.
d. In other words, Solomon tells us HOW to take good care of our own life: obey God! Keep His Word! Don’t step outside the circle of obedience…
e. Our soul is in dangerous territory outside that circle.
f. Our soul is SAFE within the circle of obedience.
g. That’s the point of the first part of this proverb.
h. Prov. 16:17 – He preserves his soul from danger and destruction.
i. Luke 11:28 – “Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” There is a blessedness involved in a life of obedience.
4. The best thing one can do for oneself is to OBEY GOD.
a. Ecc. 12:13 – Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
b. Prov. 2:10-13 – One of the ways we protect ourselves is through wisdom and knowledge in God’s Word.
• It shall KEEP thee (same word) from calamity.
• Departing from evil has a preserving effect…
• This is advice very much like the advice the doctor gives. “Wash your hands often in order to get rid of the dirt and germs. It will help prevent you from getting sick.”
• Departing from evil and evil men will prevent you from the bad consequences of evil. It only makes sense.
• Prov. 21:23 – “Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.” By guarding our mouths from saying things we shouldn’t, we preserve our souls from all kinds of trouble.
• And the mouth is just ONE member.
• If we guard ALL our members, we will be safe indeed.
• Prov. 4:23 – Guard your heart. This is the MAIN member to guard. If the heart is right with God, we will be preserved… kept safe… our adversary cannot harm us.
c. By DOING what God said, we protect ourselves from a life of misery and unhappiness.
• God SAYS to guard our mouths, our hearts, and to keep His Word.
• This is God’s means of keeping us safe in a dangerous world.
• It is a simple proposition: do what God says and you’ll be protected!
• If we keep the Word, the word will keep us—safe and secure.
16b But he that despiseth his ways shall die.
1. On the one hand, we have the man who KEEPS God’s Word.
2. Now Solomon speaks about the person who DESPISES God’s ways.
a. His ways refers to GOD’S ways… not the man.
b. Ways = a road; a pathway; a course; and hence, a course of conduct; a way of life; behavior.
c. God has revealed to us the way of life in His word… the way OUR lives should be lived.
d. God has established a pathway for us… a straight and narrow way and He expects us to WALK in that pathway.
3. The contrast is:
a. Keeping the commandments vs. despising the commandments (His ways).
b. God’s commandments and God’s ways are used as virtual synonyms.
c. God’s ways are recorded in God’s Word… and a man will either choose to WALK in that pathway or NOT walk in that pathway. It is a choice.
4. Despise defined:
a. To despise, regard with contempt; consider worthless; think lightly of; hold with disdain; to disrespect.
b. A man honors God and His Word through submission and obedience.
c. Obedience to God’s Word and ways is a way of expressing our RESPECT for God and His ways.
d. Disobeying God’s word… and choosing NOT to walk in His ways is a way of expressing our disdain for God and His Word… it is an expression of disrespect… even contempt… considered worthless… treated lightly.
e. Disobedience is a choice… a choice that reflects a heart attitude: contempt for God. There’s no way to candy coat it. It is what it is.
5. Solomon’s point is that despising God’s ways (disobedience) is self-destructive.
a. Prov. 6:32 – But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
b. Prov. 10:29 – Destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
c. Prov. 13:13 – The one who despises the Word shall be destroyed.
6. The consequence of despising God’s ways: DEATH.
a. Prov. 1:10-18 – The allurement of sin tells us just the opposite.
• Temptation from the enemy tells us just the opposite… things will go WELL for us!
• Cast your lot with us as we disobey God. Things will be much better for you!
• We’ll be rich and happy!
• We’ll have one purse—we will BE one… there will be a great camaraderie with our band.
• Vs. 18 – but they lurk secretly for their own blood. It ends in death or destruction.
d. There is a pleasure to sin. God says the end of that road is death… but sin tries to convince us otherwise.
• Sin promises pleasure and good things, but it is a deceptive lie.
• In the Garden of Eden—
» God said: “In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.”
» Satan said: Ye shall NOT surely die!
» This fruit is desired to make one wise! You can be like God…
» But it ended in death. Horrible consequences to their sin—consequences that we are all dealing with every day of our lives!
» We live in a sin cursed earth… because Adam and Eve despised God’s ways, disobeyed His word, sinned, and brought DEATH into the world
• James 1:14-15 – We are drawn away by our own lust. Lust (desires) brings forth sin (fruit – deeds). And sin brings forth death. The wages of sin is death. The flesh brings forth fruit unto death.
• These are the cold, hard facts.
• Obeying God’s Word in EVERY detail makes such good sense!
Proverbs 19:17
Pity Upon the Poor
17a He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD
A. He That Hath Pity Upon the Poor
1. Poor: Low, poor, weak, having little wealth and so of a humble condition and low status and vulnerable to oppression.
a. This term is used often as a noun to designate poor and oppressed persons for whom the Lord has a special concern.
b. Prov. 19:4 – Solomon earlier spoke of the poor as those who have few friends.
c. I Sam. 2:7-8 – The Lord is sovereign over a man’s status. He delights in raising up the poor.
d. But God does NOT raise up all of the poor. He ALLOWS many men to remain in poor, weak, lowly positions.
e. God has a reason for that. It serves His purpose for there to be people who are weak and lowly and in positions where they suffer great need.
2. Pity: To be gracious, show favor; show an act of kindness or compassion to another.
3. The man who has pity is not a man who FEELS something. He is a man who DOES something.
a. His pity is more than simply feeling sorry for the weak and sad plight of others.
b. His pity is not just an inward emotion.
c. Rather, it is an inward emotion that MOVES him to action.
d. He DOES something about the situation that causes him to feel sorry.
e. The man who HAS pity on the poor SHOWS pity towards the poor.
4. True pity is expressed in DEEDS.
a. It is expressed by meeting the needs of the one who is weak and poor.
b. He doesn’t say, “Be warmed and filled.” He helps provide them with food and clothing.
c. This principle was an important part of Old Testament Law.
d. Deut. 15:7-11 – Open your hand wide to your poor Jewish brother.
B. Lending to the Lord
1. Lending:
a. This term literally means to be “joined together” with someone; to be associated or bound to someone in a relationship.
b. It is used in being joined together monetarily.
c. Hence, it can mean EITHER to lend or to borrow. The context has to determine which.
• Cf. Prov. 22:7 – where the word appears twice and is translated in both ways: borrower and lender.
• Cf. Deut. 28:12 – where it is again translated both lender and borrower.
2. The one who has pity on the poor by meeting their needs is in a sense, LENDING unto the Lord.
a. This implies that it COSTS us something to meet the needs of the poor, the weak, and the lowly.
b. Solomon’s point here is that whatever we SPEND on the poor is like money (or effort; work; etc.) that we are LOANING to God.
c. We are not only showing mercy and love to the poor man, but we are demonstrating love to the Lord!
d. This transforms our ministry to men into a service for God.
e. Proverbs 14:31 – One’s treatment of the poor and weak, the feeble is an expression of one’s attitude towards God.
• If you want to honor God—show mercy to His people in need!
3. This also ought to transform our MOTIVES in such service.
a. It’s for the Lord, not man.
b. That means that we can minister to men we may not actually LIKE.
c. We can minister to the UNLOVELY… when we realize that it is actually the LORD we are serving.
d. Even if we later discover that the people we ministered to were just taking advantage of us, it does not detract from our ministry to the Lord.
e. Paul took up this principle in Colossians in giving instructions to servants with respect to their masters—even cruel masters.
4. This elevates our service concerning temporal and earthly things to that which is eternal and heavenly in nature.
5. There is a great sense of satisfaction that comes from obeying God in this area.
a. Prov.14:21 – “Happy” is the man who shows mercy on the poor.
b. Prov. 22:9 – He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
c. There are two levels of the kind of happiness of which Solomon describes.
• There is a happiness on an earthly level.
→ This is often the driving force behind philanthropy.
→ It feels good to help others.
→ Many unsaved men regularly give to the poor.
→ Religious men from all faiths give to the poor.
→ And it brings a sense of happiness to the giver.
→ It is better to give than to receive.
→ Philanthropy is good and moral on an earthly plane. It is about as good as the unsaved man can do.
→ It is about one of the best things that fallen flesh can do, but it has no merit before God.
• On a spiritual plane, the happiness that comes from giving for the Lord is deeper than a feeling.
→ It is the sense of satisfaction that comes from being yielded to God and allowing Christ to be manifested through us.
→ It becomes a love offering to the Lord Himself.
→ This is the joy of the Lord! It is infinitely superior to philanthropy (the love of man).
17b And that which he hath given will he pay him again.
A. That which he hath given
1. Given: What is done; performed. It indicates the actions or good deeds done to benefit others.
2. Note that Solomon equates HAVING pity on the poor with GIVING to them.
a. The man who has pity GIVES. The man who has pity HELPS. The man who has pity DOES something to alleviate the suffering of the one he pities.
b. Pity is the kind of thing that needs to find an outlet… an expression.
B. He will pay him again.
1. The first “he” here refers to the Lord, not the poor man.
a. By giving to the poor, you are lending to the Lord and HE (the Lord) will pay back.
b. In other words, GOD will pay back the man who expresses his pity by giving to the poor.
2. Pay: Recompense, restore, pay back, restitution.
a. I Sam. 24:20 – And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand.
• Saul recognizes here that he is a usurper who stole the kingdom from David.
• He also recognizes that God will RESTORE the kingdom to David one day.
b. Solomon uses a term of restitution to describe what GOD does to the man who spends himself for others.
3. God will pay back… restore whatever is spend.
a. This does not necessarily mean He will pay us back in THIS life. But He will in the life to come.
b. That’s where faith comes in.
• A person really has to BELIEVE this truth before he will be willing to practice.
• Naturally, we think like Esau. He was willing to sacrifice eternal things for the present.
• God wants us to be willing to sacrifice the temporal earthly here and now things for the eternal.
c. Consider what Jesus said to Peter. (Matt. 19:27-29)
d. Giving up anything in this life for others is no loss in light of eternity.
e. Paul was willing to spend and be spent for God’s people.
f. But he also knew that it was not foolishly spending his time, energy, and resources.
g. He realized he was laying up treasure in heaven. (Matt. 6:19-20)
h. Showing mercy and pity and helping the poor and weak is actually an investment in eternal things.
i. Psalm 37:26 – “He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.”
• It is good to give to others KNOWING that God will reward in glory. (Even a cup of cold water given in His name is rewarded.)
• But the very BEST reason to help the poor is not that God will pay us back.
• The best reason is that such action testifies concerning WHO GOD IS.
• HE is merciful and lends to the poor! It is an expression of godliness… for the Christian it is a manifestation of the indwelling life of Christ.
4. As we mentioned in the introduction, God has a PURPOSE in allowing poor and weak men to cross our pathway.
a. It becomes an opportunity for us to demonstrate the love of God to others.
b. It becomes a TEST of the sincerity of our faith…
c. It is an occasion for the indwelling Christ to manifest HIMSELF through us.
d. And what a privilege: when we allow God to use us as HIS instrument in that way, HE is glorified… and we are rewarded!
5. Two Common Abuses of this Concept:
a. People who purposely take advantage of the pity and compassion that people FEEL.
• Many have made a killing by showing pitiful pictures of poor starving children… hoping that people will respond on an emotional basis… and send in money.
• But remember, Solomon’s point is that the kind of giving he speaks of is spiritual in nature—not just emotional.
• The world gives to the poor out of earthly, temporal, and emotional motives.
• That is not bad or evil, but it is not spiritual. It is not elevated to giving to the Lord.
• That makes it merely a humanitarian effort. Even atheists give on that basis.
• It is quite secular and has no eternal value.
• I Tim. 4:8 – Here Paul distinguishes between the earthly and heavenly… the temporal and eternal.
1. Taking care of the human body (exercise; eating well; health care; etc.) does have a little profit. It profits during THIS LIFE ONLY. That is a little compared to eternity.
2. But godliness—doing things for God and with eternal values in mind—profits not only in this life, but also in the life which is to come.
3. Thus, if you are going to help someone physically (food; money; clothing; etc.) make sure that there is a Christian testimony attached to it—or it has no eternal value.
4. And be careful about groups who show pitiful pictures of starving children who claim to be Christian. Make sure you know what KIND of Christian testimony they hold to.
b. Another abuse of the concept in this passage comes from the charismatic movement.
• They teach that if you give to their ministry, then God will pay you back!
• And what they mean is in THIS life!
• They even say that God will pay you back 10 fold.
• In other words, if you give $100.00 to our ministry, God will give you $1000.00 in return somehow.
• And they put people on their platform who testify of such a “payback”—in this life.
• Thus, the motivation behind that kind of “pity” and “giving” is often selfishness and greed!
• Our adversary is clever isn’t he? He can twist a passage designed to teach God’s people to express selfless generosity for God’s glory into an expression of greed and selfishness!
Proverbs 19:18
Chasten Thy Son
18a Chasten thy son while there is hope
1. Chasten defined:
a. Discipline; instruct; admonish.
b. Teach; correct; punish to improve behavior.
c. instruct, i.e., give formal and informal instruction, often with a focus on warning of consequences for bad behavior.
2. Note that this proverb comes in the form of a COMMAND.
a. That is not the usual way for proverbs.
b. Normally the proverbs are simple statements of facts.
c. But here Solomon gives a command to parents to chasten.
3. God chastened His people Israel. And if they did not hearken, He chastened them seven times harder. (Lev. 26:18, 23)
a. Everyone has their breaking point.
b. Some children require MORE chastening and punishment than others…
c. Some children instantly melt with just a look. They are all different.
d. Some children are more stubborn than others and may not respond to the initial chastening.
e. But no matter HOW stubborn a child may be, increasing the punishing will eventually bring them to their “breaking point.”
4. Prov. 3:11-12 – Don’t despise chastening; don’t grow weary of it.
a. This is the advice Solomon gives to his son AS God chastens him.
b. He reminds him that chastening is an expression of God’s love.
c. It OUGHT to be an expression of parental love too.
d. But kids need to be challenged:
• Don’t despise it. It is easy for a child to learn to HATE chastening or discipline of any sort.
• If it is administered out of anger and the child sees no PURPOSE in it, he would naturally hate it.
• But if he genuinely perceives that his father is chastening him out of love… out of a desire to see his son improve his behavior for his own good and the glory of God—THEN he is less likely to hate it.
• Prov. 1:7 – FOOLS despise instruction… they despise being chastened… being told what to do… that FOLLY needs to be driven out of them while they are young.
e. Prov. 15:32 – The one who despises instruction (same word = chastening) despises his own soul. A parent ought to communicate to the child that discipline is GOOD for the child.
5. Prov. 22:15 – Discipline and chastening are to be administered by means of the ROD.
a. This is a taboo subject in our generation—but certainly NOT in the Bible.
b. We see odd extremes in our generation.
• On the one hand, we see our society looking DOWN upon spanking children—for the first time in the history of Western Civilization.
• And on the other hand, we see an increase in the cases of real child abuse… horrible abuse.
c. The society that deems spanking to be immoral ends up with MORE cases of child abuse.
• Could it be that a lack of godly discipline is behind it all?
• Could it be that the cases of REAL child abuse are aggravated by the fact that parents have NOT disciplined their children properly, and as a result, they end up with “out of control” kids who push them to their breaking point and they end up beating and harming their own children out of frustration?
• Of course, this isn’t the ONLY cause of child abuse, but it sure seems to be one of factors involved in the increase.
• And each case of child abuse seems to fuel the flames of those who seek to eliminate TRUE Bible based discipline.
• When that is eliminated altogether, God help us!
6. Prov. 13:24 – Don’t spare… and do it “betimes” (early or often)
a. Betimes: to seek early… (early in life).
• Deal with the problem early—RIGHT AWAY.
• Especially with small children… they forget. Spanking them on Tuesday for what they did on Monday is not a good idea. The sooner the better.
• And deal with those issues right away lest they become ROOTED… and become hardened into a habit.
b. Spare: to hold back; to refrain; withhold; to keep from doing something.
• It is used in Proverbs of “refraining” our tongues.
• Here Solomon commands parents NOT to spare using the rod.
c. Hate: to despise; to dislike; to loathe;
• This is a strong term.
• The parent who refrains from disciplining their son THINKS that he is loving his son. (Emotional kind of love)
• But that love is called “hate” by God—because it refuses to do that which is BEST for the child.
• But this sets up for us a major problem with discipline: the son hates to receive it… and the parent hates to administer it.
• But it HAS to be done. Avoiding it is not the answer.
• Replacing it with “time outs” is not the answer. A time out is good on occasion and in certain situations.
• But there are situations where the ROD is needed. Nothing less will suffice.
• It is quite selfish and self centered for a parent to withhold the rod from a son because it hurts the parent.
• By doing so, the parent is in fact saying, “Son, I know you need to be disciplined. I know it is best for you. I know that God wants me to. I know it will be used of the Lord to help you develop into the kind of person God can use. However, because I don’t want to inflict emotional pain on myself, I am going to forgo this spanking. I don’t want to hurt myself.”
• Now no parent would ever say that, but perhaps parents ought to THINK about what their actions really are saying.
7. Prov. 22:15 – Foolishness is BOUND in the heart of a child, but the rod of reproof will DRIVE it from them.
a. The Bible SAYS that if we use the rod at appropriate times and in appropriate situations, it WORKS.
b. This is God’s method for driving folly from the heart of a child.
c. Here God has told us what the problem is (folly bound in the heart); what the method of dealing with it is (rod); and the results will be (it drives it from him).
d. Hate spares the rod; love uses it. Choose love!
8. Prov. 23:13-14 – another command to parents-
a. Don’t withhold the rod.
b. Don’t be afraid to beat him with a rod.
• Be careful about this expression.
• It is not a good idea to use this kind of language today.
• It connoted something very different when the KJV was written than it connotes today.
c. Beat: physically strike (Cf. II Kings 11:12 – clapping hands)
• It simply means to strike.
• And he is to be struck with a rod—a switch from a tree, etc. NOT a baseball bat or anything that would harm him physically.
• The idea is to make the spanking STING—not injure or damage the child.
• And Solomon notes that he will live through it.
• His crying is designed by him to cause you to stop… to spare him. “I promise I’ll never do it again!” (Don’t spare; he’s trying to manipulate you.)
• He will SAY that you are killing him… but you know you’re not.
• Don’t let your EMOTIONS or the arguments of a four year old convince you to stop doing what God tells you TO do.
• Matthew Henry wrote: “It is better that he should cry under thy rod than under the sword of the magistrate, or, which is more fearful, that of divine vengeance.”
d. Hell: Sheol; the place of the dead.
• It does not imply that he will be saved from eternal condemnation.
• It means that he may well be spared from a premature death. (Keep him away from drugs; alcohol; racing in his car; etc.)
• Prov. 10:27 – Wicked behavior, unchecked has a built in consequence of early death. That is often prevented by disciplining a child early.
• Solomon also may have had the death penalty of the Mosaic Law in mind here.
• Either way—good child training often prevents that from occurring… not always, but more often than not.
9. While there is hope…
a. Hope: expectation; a ground for hope; a confidence in regard to a good and beneficial future.
b. Prov. 11:23 – Hope and desire are used as synonyms.
c. There is hope while the child is YOUNG. That’s the time to point him in the right direction, spiritually.
d. Even apart from the spiritual realm, this principle is true. Unsaved parents who get a hold of a child’s heart when he is young can expect him to turn out much better than the parent who does NOT discipline his son.
e. It is much easier to bend an oak tree and directs its growth when it is a little sapling, than to wait until it is grown and its trunk is firmly set.
f. The idea behind this exhortation to parents is, “Don’t quit disciplining. Don’t ever lose hope. Keep it up. Don’t ever cave in and say, ‘It’s no use. It’s hopeless.’” Don’t ever say, “There’s nothing more I can do.” If he’s still breathing, there’s hope!
10. Deut. 8:5 – as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord chastens us.
a. Here Moses writes of the experience of the children of Israel in the wilderness.
b. The nation was young.
c. God wanted them to remember that HE would chasten them just like a father disciplines his son—for their own good!
d. Thus, we too should take heed to Solomon’s warning in the spiritual realm. God disciplines us too… age (maturity) appropriate discipline too.
e. God knows where we ought to be spiritually, and like a Father, He disciplines us to keep us in line… and growing… for our own good.
f. Don’t despise God’s chastening. He is our Father who is training us. He is instructing us.
g. In fact, chastening is not always because we did something bad. It may be like preventative maintenance.
h. God chastened Paul with a thorn in his flesh, NOT because Paul had sinned, but to PREVENT Paul from sinning… to prevent him from falling into pride. It was GOOD for Paul.
i. Chastening is good for us too… even though as we endure it, it can be quite painful.
18b And let not thy soul spare for his crying.
11.The second part of this proverb is translated in ALL kinds of various ways.
a. It is evidently an old Hebrew idiom… the meaning of which is not clear.
b. I see no good reason to depart from the KJV translation.
12. Spare defined:
a. To lift up; to be carried away with.
b. This meaning is used in both a literal and a figurative sense. It is obviously a figurative sense here.
c. It can also have the meaning of a BURDEN. (Something heavy that is lifted up.)
d. This term is used over 600 times in the Old Testament and it has LOTS of variations in its meaning.
e. Here it could mean either:
• Don’t let their crying carry you away…
• Don’t allow your heart to be overly burdened by their cries.
13.Either way, Solomon’s point is “don’t stop” disciplining them because of their cries… or their arguments… or their reasonings…
14.This passage encourages firm, consistent, early, and loving chastening of children.
a. It certainly should NOT be used as an excuse for abuse of any sort.
b. In part, that is what Paul meant when he wrote, “Father, provoke not your children to wrath.”
c. Abusive type of chastening certainly WOULD provoke a child to wrath and even rebellion.
d. Unreasonable expectations and commands and overly extreme forms of punishment are never acceptable.
Proverbs 19:19
A Man of Great Wrath
The Man and His Sin
1. His sin: wrath.
a. Heat, rage, hot displeasure, indignation, anger, wrath, burning anger.
b. Very strong feeling of displeasure, hostility, and antagonism, usually in relation to a wrong.
c. Intense anger; hot displeasure.
d. This particular term for anger is used 129 times. And there are several other terms used even more often.
e. That is because anger is a very real problem with us all. This problem has been around for a LONG time. It is part of our nature.
f. Thus, it is mentioned often in the Scriptures, because we need to hear about it often.
2. Prov. 27:4 – Wrath is cruel and outrageous.
a. People do and say some very cruel things when they are angry.
b. We’ve all done it… we’ve all said cruel things in anger… even to the people we love the most.
c. Of course, anger doesn’t EXCUSE our behavior.
d. But knowing what anger leads to should cause us to seek to control anger all the more!
3. Consider what the king of Babylon did when he was angry.
a. Dan. 3:13, 19 – Nebuchadnezzar was in a fury because Daniel’s three friends did not bow to his image.
b. We read a lot about kings getting angry.
• There is probably a good reason for that.
• Kings were brought up in the lap of luxury, and were used to getting whatever they wanted when they wanted it.
• When they DIDN’T get what they wanted, they often went into a rage… because they were not used to that… and didn’t know how to handle the word “no.”
c. In Daniel 3, the king’s inordinate pride was hurt by hearing these three men say “no”… and he became angry.
d. He had them thrown alive into a fiery furnace… and he heated it up 7 times its normal heat… because he was angry.
e. That’s a pretty outrageous thing to do, but wrath is outrageous. Solomon warns us about how cruel and outrageous anger can be.
f. We are told this for a purpose—that we might DEAL with our own anger as soon as it begins to stir. Don’t wait until it boils out of control. Take it to the Lord in prayer.
4. Prov. 25:28 – He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
a. Uncontrolled anger is the result of a lack of self control.
b. This is a pitiful man. He has no self discipline. He has no self control.
c. He is like a city without walls: meaning, he is wide open for the enemy to attack. He is weak and vulnerable… defenseless.
5. Prov. 6:34 – For jealousy is the rage of a man.
a. Jealousy is the source of much rage and anger.
b. A man is jealous because he doesn’t have what others have—and he gets angry… very angry!
c. There may be a multitude of reasons WHY he doesn’t have what others have.
d. He may not have many friends because his anger chases them away… and he becomes jealous of others who DO have friends.
e. He may not have a good job because he doesn’t control his anger, and keeps on getting fired.
f. He may be lazy, and does not have what others who work hard have… so jealousy flares up and causes him to be angry. (That’s not fair! I should have gotten that promotion!)
g. There are lots of reasons behind a person’s anger.
h. But the PRIMARY reason is SELF.
• I don’t have what I think I should have! I’m mad!
• I deserve this and that and I didn’t get it… so I’m mad.
• I was insulted by what he said. Nobody treats me that way. Doesn’t he know who I am? I’m mad!
• When you look at life through that vain little prism of SELF, it is easy to even justify such anger.
• “I have a right to be angry. Don’t they know that I deserve to be number one! If they drop me down to number two, I will be really angry!”
• It is simply a manifestation of one’s vain, old, SELF…
• When self is slighted, self gets mad!
6. When our proud, arrogant old SELF is reigning, and he doesn’t get his way—look out! That’s trouble.
a. Prov. 29:22 – Angry men stir up strife wherever they go. They go from one controversy to another.
b. And they abound in sin. (It gets them in a lot of trouble).
7. Modern psychology has created its own way of dealing with anger.
a. They often say, “Express it… release it…”
b. They say to vent it out in a harmless way. (Punch a pillow; they hold yell and scream sessions to vent it…)
c. They view anger almost as if it were steam boiling up in a pressure cooker that has to be released or it will blow up.
8. The Bible has a very different way of dealing with anger.
a. Psalm 37:8 – “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.”
b. God doesn’t say VENT it out. He says “cease.”
c. God expects us to obey. Anger CAN be controlled.
d. The fruit of the Spirit is self control. This requires divine power to have victory over anger.
e. Cease: to relax, withdraw, idle, to let drop, abandon, relax, refrain, forsake, to let go, to go limp; to be quiet.
f. This is quite the opposite of what psychology says to do with anger.
g. It is not an energy that needs to be released.
h. Rather, repentance is what is needed—a change of mind.
i. Choose to say NO to anger. Choose to abandon in the strength of the Lord what God says to abandon.
j. It is NOT our nature to do so, but by God’s grace and in God’s strength, the fruit of the Spirit can be manifested through us.
k. God says cease from anger and He means it. And He never commands us to do anything that we are unable to do in His strength.
9. There is HOPE of course… and that hope is found in Jesus Christ.
a. When one comes to Christ, he is indwelt by the Holy Spirit… and the fruit of the Spirit is self control.
b. This doesn’t mean that believers don’t get angry. (We certainly do!) But it DOES mean that believers have access to the power of the Spirit to have victory over anger… temperance: self control!
c. By yielding to the Lord, victory over anger is possible for all those in Christ. Faith is the victory.
d. Men of great wrath as described here CAN be transformed into the image of Christ!
The Consequences of His Sin
1. There are consequences to uncontrolled anger.
a. There are always consequences to sin…
b. There is a price to be paid for violating any of God’s principles.
c. Here Solomon says that he shall be PUNISHED.
d. Punish: fine, penalty, tribute.
e. The term is only used twice. In the other passage it speaks of a monetary fine that had to be paid—tribute.
f. Here it speaks of a penalty in a more general sense: there is a PRICE to pay for one’s anger.
g. That price can be minor or very serious depending upon the circumstances.
h. Demonstrating anger in public can cause you embarrassment.
i. It can be more serious if results in arguments and loss of friends.
j. It can have a more serious penalty if it causes you to lose your job.
k. It can be even worse if you end up killing someone out of anger and are sent to death row.
l. The penalties for anger vary greatly depending upon the circumstances.
m. Solomon warns us here that there IS a price to pay for uncontrolled anger.
2. Prov. 22:24-25 – “Make no friendship with an angry man.”
a. Here’s another consequence of uncontrolled anger: they lose friends in a hurry!
b. This is a warning to us too. Don’t chose this kind of person as your friend. Avoid getting close to that kind of a man because this kind of bad behavior is easily spread.
c. Evil communications (fellowships) corrupt good manners.
d. Here is some good advice to young ladies seeking a mate!
e. This kind of person gets in all kinds of trouble… and does things that are cruel and outrageous. Seek your friends elsewhere.
f. Elders are not to be strikers or brawlers. They are not to be hot heads.
g. This is a very poor quality—and one God warns us about in various contexts in the Bible.
h. Take heed! We’ve been warned.
The Futility of Delivering Him
1. Deliver: to defend; to rescue; to save; to cause to escape;
a. In this context, the man of wrath faces “punishment” (a fine).
b. By paying the fine and bailing him out of trouble, you are delivering him.
c. He is delivered when the punishment is paid for him by someone else.
d. Those who would deliver such a man do so with the best of intentions. They don’t want to see him suffer… and seek to rescue him from suffering.
2. But here Solomon states how futile it is to try to bail out an angry man from the messes he makes for himself.
3. If you deliver him (bail him out of the mess he made), you will just have to do it again… and again… and again… and again…
4. In other words, Solomon says, let him suffer the divinely appointed punishment that anger deserves.
5. If you keep on bailing him out, he never pays the price… and thus never learns the lesson.
6. That is hard to do if it is a loved one. However, sometimes love has to be tough.
a. But remember what he said in vs. 18: “Let not your soul spare for his crying.”
b. That same principle parents need to employ in dealing with LITTLE children have to employ in dealing with GROWN children too.
c. Hearing the little child cry breaks the heart of the parent spanking the child.
d. Solomon says: Don’t stop spanking. They NEED to learn the lesson. Don’t allow emotion to cause you to ROB that child of the discipline he needs to learn from the lesson.
e. The same truth is found in the next passage. This is really the same kind of situation—only an advanced case.
f. Don’t allow your emotions to cause you to bail him or her out of trouble. They need to learn the lesson the hard way… by paying the price.
7. If you don’t take heed… and you keep bailing him out, you will find yourself stuck in a revolving door… an endless cycle of bailing him out… and because he didn’t pay the price, he didn’t learn the lesson, and doesn’t control his anger, and thus it will explode again… only to start the cycle all over again…
8. At some point you have say, “Enough is enough. It’s time to pay the price.”
Proverbs 19:20
Hear Counsel
20a Hear counsel, and receive instruction
A. Hear Counsel
1. Hear—
a. To hear with the ear.
b. To listen to, to hear with attention or interest.
c. To perceive by ear; to understand.
d. To obey; to give heed; submit to an authority and so do what is asked or required.
e. Thus, the term means to literally hear with the ear, but at various levels: (1) hear sound; (2) listen to what is heard and pay attention; (3) to understand what is heard; (4) to obey what is heard.
2. In Proverbs 19:20, Solomon obviously means more than to just hear the sound…
a. When counsel and instruction is given, he means that it should be heard in the sense of listening carefully. (The counsel may be a means God uses to lead or guide you.)
b. He seems to imply here more than hearing and even more than understanding, but obeying. (Responding to the counsel IF it is godly counsel and IF the Spirit leads.)
3. Counsel:
a. Counsel; advice; plans; purpose; to think about a course of action, often including consultation with a counselor or advisor.
4. Solomon’s point here is that counsel is to be heard.
a. It is to be sought out.
• Sometimes counsel comes to us. But sometimes, we have to seek it out.
• People who might be able to give you wise counsel may have wisdom to share, but they cannot read your mind.
• They don’t know the issues in your life about which you need counsel unless you tell them and ASK for counsel.
• Seek, older, spiritually mature believers for advice.
b. It is to be listened to carefully.
• And when they give you advice, listen carefully.
• Even if you don’t like what they say, LISTEN.
• Hear them out.
• It may not be a direction you are comfortable with; it may not be a direction you even considered; but hear them out.
c. It is to be examined in light of God’s Word.
• Be a Berean when it comes to counsel. Hear, but verify… with the Word of God. (Acts 17:11)
• Make sure the counsel lines up with Scripture.
• Remember—not all counsel is good counsel!
• People giving you counsel may not know all the circumstances… and they may give good counsel based on the information they have… but they may not have all the facts.
• Even godly counsel… based on God’s Word is not necessarily what God wants for YOU.
• Counsel is different from Scripture. Counsel is just advice. It is not authoritative. It is not a “thus saith the Lord.”
• Therefore it needs to examined and judged in light of the circumstances and in light of Scripture…
d. It is to be prayed about. (Jas. 4:2) (have not = ask not)
• Godly believers might give you godly counsel (meaning it is not contrary to scripture) but it may not be God’s leading in your life.
• What is MOST important is the leading of the Lord.
• People can offer help, encouragement, words of warning, personal testimonials in similar situations, and statistics, all of which may be helpful.
• But ultimately, sons of God are those who are LED by the Spirit of God.
e. It is to be obeyed if it passes the test.
• If after seeking counsel, listening carefully to it, and putting it to the test of Scripture, and praying about it… if after all that you are convinced that this is the leading of the Lord, then God expects OBEDIENCE.
• What’s the point of going through all that if you are not going to obey anyway?
• If at the end, you are unwilling to obey, then all your seeking counsel was a sham… it was phony… hypocrisy.
• You were PRETENDING to want wisdom and to know God’s will, but when it IS make known and you reject it… then you are discovered to be a hypocrite.
• The whole purpose of counsel is to know and to DO God’s will for your life.
5. Prov. 12:15 – The one who hearkens is wise. What will HINDER a person from taking heed to counsel? PRIDE! So humble yourself and listen! That’s the message here.
B. Receive Instruction
1. Receive:
a. To take, choose, to accept; to agree to.
b. Job 2:10 – Job’s wife just told him to curse God and die and Job responded, “What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?”
c. It is used of accepting what God has for us.
2. Instruction:
a. Discipline; chastening; correction.
b. Instruction in the sense of the teaching of principles for living.
c. Sometimes it has the meaning of a warning.
d. While this term is different from counsel, it stands in parallel to it.
e. Counsel often comes in the form of correction or a warning.
f. Used in Prov. 1:8 – “My son, hear the instruction of thy father.”
g. Thus, right from childhood, we are to be receiving instruction:
• Warnings: Don’t play in the street; don’t run in the house; don’t fool around with those knives; don’t touch the stove.
• Correction: “That’s not how you clean your room!” “You’re not wearing that to school!”
• Discipline: “Make sure you get up on time!” “Brush your teeth every day!”
h. Even as Christian adults, we too need to receive instruction: warnings; correction; discipline.
i. It might be from church; through preaching; reading the Word; your boss; the government; etc.
j. II Tim. 3:17 – The BIBLE is God’s book of instructions!
3. Solomon’s instruction in this verse is, that when instruction is given (warnings; correction; etc.) we are to RECEIVE it!
a. Don’t reject it. You are rejecting that which is beneficial… needful… helpful… it might prevent you from falling… from going backwards… from making a big mistake.
b. It might even keep us from sinning against God.
20b That thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
1. “In thy latter end.”
a. It is not entirely clear what Solomon meant by this expression.
b. It COULD mean in the end of your life.
• In other words, after hearing counsel all your life, you will become WISE in later years.
• This is certain true and this thought is amplified in other passages. (wisdom associated with age)
c. Or it may mean in the latter end of the instruction.
• In other words, if you sit through all the instruction, listen to it and obey, you will be wiser for doing so!
• There is a certain amount of wisdom that is available right away—just for taking heed to wise counsel.
d. Whether Solomon meant that this wisdom comes right away for listening to instruction or whether he meant in the long run (wisdom that accumulates to the end of your life)… the overall meaning is quite similar.
2. Hearing counsel and receiving instruction RESULTS in wisdom.
a. Becoming wise is not based on intelligence here.
b. It is based on submissive spirit. The one who is willing to humble himself and LISTEN… and submit to the counsel given… will BECOME wise.
c. A basic characteristic of a wise man is that he is wise enough to know that he doesn’t know everything. He RECEIVES instruction.
3. There are a LOT of benefits from hearing counsel and receiving instruction.
a. Prov. 1:5 – “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.”
b. Prov. 9:9 – “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.”
c. Prov. 11:14 – “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.”
• Multitude of counselors: parents; school teachers; church; friends; older mature believers; elders; pastor; Sunday school teachers.
d. Prov. 15:22 – “Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counselors they are established.”
• Good counsel can keep us away from dead end streets… from wasting God’s time…
e. Prov. 27:9 – “Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.”
• Psa. 55:14 – We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
• Make sure you seek counsel from a good, solid Christian friend.
f. Consider what taking heed to counsel accomplishes:
§ Increases learning; causes you to attain wise counsel.
§ Makes you wiser in the latter end; establishes your purposes.
§ Provides safety; rejoices the heart.
g. These are good reasons to receive counsel and instruction.
Proverbs 19:21
Many Devices
This proverb is full of contrasts:
God – Man
Divine Counsel – Human Devices
One Counsel – Many Devices
God’s Heart (mind – implied) – Man’s Heart (mind)
Stands Firm – Does Not Stand Firm (implied)
21a There are many devices in a man’s heart
A. Man’s Heart
1. Man
a. This term usually refers to a male.
b. However, it sometimes refers to mankind in contrast to other created beings, such as angels.
c. In that sense, it simply means any human being – an individual… male or female.
d. That seems to be the way it is used here.
2. Heart
a. This term is translated variously as heart, mind.
b. Strong’s: Inner man; mind; will; heart; understanding; thinking; reflection.
c. The source of life of the inner person in various aspects, with a focus on feelings, thoughts, the will, and other areas of the inner life.
d. Solomon is using the term here to refer to the whole inner self life… a man’s thoughts; imagination; reflection; emotions; passion; wishes; dreams; and desires.
B. Many Devices
1. Devices
a. Plans; thoughts; purposes; inventions; schemes.
b. It is used in both a positive and a negative sense.
• Positive: God gave men wisdom to “devise cunning works” in the building of the tabernacle and furniture… and also used of the skilful men who invented weapons which shot arrows and stones from the towers.
• Negative: Used of evil plots, schemes, and plans of men for wicked purposes. (Esther 8:3 – the evil device or plan which Haman plotted against the Jews)
2. Solomon doesn’t mention whether these are good or evil plans and devices.
a. It is stated generically enough to include BOTH.
b. What he says is true of both good and evil plans and purposes of men.
3. Solomon states here that there are MANY devices in a man’s heart.
a. He is speaking of an individual here.
• His point is not that there are many devices in the world because there are many people… say, with one device each.
• Rather, he is saying that in each and every individual human being, there are MANY devices… many plans.
b. This is true of EVERY single human being.
• We all think. We all have imaginations. We all have desires and wishes. We all have purposes we would like to see fulfilled.
• We all make plans and attempt to implement those plans… that they might be fulfilled.
c. Every one of us has devised plans that are evil!
• If you have ever stolen, you plotted out how to carry out that evil device.
• If you have ever smeared someone, you planned how to cast them in a bad light.
• Young people sometimes plan how to deceive their teacher… or fool their parents…
• Older folks may do the same to their boss…
• Think of all the planning and plotting that is taking place in our political scene right now: how to make the other candidates look bad; sound bad; how to cast them in a bad light; how to expose every failure from the 5th grade on…
• It is our NATURE to make plans.
d. Every one of us has devised plans that are good too.
• We make plans as to how we are going to serve the Lord in the local church.
• We make plans to help a neighbor (set aside time to help him fix his fence…)
• We make good plans for our children’s education.
• We plan for our retirement.
• We plan for our health; our finances; to take care of our house; our vehicles; etc.
4. In the first part of this proverb, Solomon is simply stating a fact: men make many plans throughout life.
a. He is NOT disparaging the making of plans.
b. He is certainly not saying that we shouldn’t make plans.
c. Life is FULL of the plans we make.
d. He simply states a fact. We all make plans. Sometimes they are good ones; sometimes not so good. Sometimes, they are outright evil.
e. We think of things. We imagine and dream things. We make plans. We seek to carry out those plans and purposes.
f. As long as we are walking with God and our hearts are right with God and one another, plans are a good and normal part of life.
21b Nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
A. The Counsel of the Lord
1. Counsel
a. Purpose; counsel; advice.
B. Shall Stand
a. Stand: to stand; to stand up; to endure; to be fixed; to be valid; to be proven; to be fulfilled.
C. God’s Counsel Stands
1. Men can make all kinds of plans… but God is sovereign. He is in control of the outcome.
2. God sits on His throne ruling over all… and overruling over some of the plans of men.
a. HIS will will come to pass… no matter how hard men may try to thwart it.
b. Isa. 40:8 – His word stands forever.
c. In the long run, no human device or plan can prevent God’s will from coming to pass.
3. Before the fall, God’s purposes and man’s plans were one and the same… united.
a. Adam’s will was submitted to the will of God.
b. Adam was given a mind and a will and he was given liberty to think, to plan, and carry out his plans.
c. However, when sin entered the world, there was a huge gap between God’s purposes and plans, and those of men.
d. Man’s plans were often contrary to the will and plan of God.
e. Today there are 6 billion people in the world. Each one has MANY plans and devices in his heart and mind. Most of those plans have never even considered the plan and purpose of God.
f. Hence, those plans and purposes often conflict with the plans of other men AND with God.
g. It is all a recipe for disaster in the world. All you have to do to see the effect of this is to watch the 6:00 news.
h. At any given moment there are billions of plans being devised around the world… some good; some evil.
i. Unless those plans are governed somehow, the result is anarchy and violence.
j. One of God’s purposes was to govern those clashing wills and plans via human government.
k. One of the WORST things God could do would be to leave us to our own devices! (Prov. 1:31)
l. On our own, we would live in a world of 6 billion people… each one having MANY clashing and conflicting wills, plans, purposes, and desires brewing in his heart.
D. What a Contrast: God’s Counsel and Man’s Devices
1. Man has MANY purposes…
a. Our purposes and devices often conflict with those of other people. Hence, conflict—at the office; in church; at school; and among the nations!
b. God has ONE overarching purpose: to bring glory to Himself. God’s counsel shall stand.
2. Man’s devices and plans are vain.
a. Many of our plans never get off the ground. They are just passing thoughts, wishes… and never come to anything because we never DO anything about them. They are just dreams. (Ps. 94:11)
b. We may pour our heart and soul into other plans… and they too often come to nothing… or not much.
c. Ps. 32:10-11 – But God’s purposes never fail. They never fall to the ground. His counsel stands forever!
3. Men are often UNABLE to perform their plans and purposes.
a. Ps. 21:11 – The enemy here plans and imagines wicked devices… but it unable to perform it! (Either because of his inability or because God providentially intervenes.)
b. On the other hand, God’s counsel shall stand. He knows no limits in power or ability. God is omniscient and omnipotent.
4. Man’s plans are often full of anxiety and uncertainty.
a. However the counsel of the Lord shall stand.
b. Heb.6:17 – His counsel is immutable.
5. Man’s wisdom and ways are both weak and foolish.
a. We saw that in our study of I Corinthians.
b. God’s counsel is strong and wise.
c. God’s counsel and wisdom is able to bring to nothing the best laid plans of the wisest of men.
6. Man’s plans are usually short sighted and selfish.
a. We make plans that we think will be good for me, myself, and I.
b. Often those plans are designed to make us comfortable, happy, and prosperous in the here and now… like Esau.
c. Often our plans do not consider what is best spiritually… and from eternity’s perspective…
d. Often our plans do not consider God’s glory… but we like to put self interest before all.
e. We should be making plans with the Bema seat in mind.
f. Instead, we often plan as if this world was all there is.
g. But God’s counsel is not short sighted. It was planned before the world began… from heaven and eternity’s perspective…
7. Prov. 21:30 – Ultimately, there is no wisdom or counsel AGAINST the Lord that will ever stand.
E. God Uses Man’s Plans (Good and Evil) For His Own Purpose
1. Evil:
a. Consider the evil devices of Joseph’s brothers. God used it for good.
b. Consider the evil plot of Haman. God used it for good to protect His people that His counsel would stand. God made promises to that people!
2. Good:
a. God uses our plans.
b. He gave us minds and expects us to use our minds and think… plan… and carry out those plans…
c. God uses our plans… our prayers… our efforts… in carrying out HIS eternal plan.
3. This proverb is a two edged sword.
a. To evil men:
• You can plan and plot all you want.
• You can use the best minds on earth to carry out your evil designs.
• But God is sovereign. His counsel WILL stand in the final analysis… your plans will fail.
• What arrogance and folly for man who is but a worm to think that his puny plans could outwit or overturn God’s counsels!
• God can even bring good out of the evil plans of wicked men.
• Consider the cross – Acts 2:23; 4:26-28
• Consider Haman; Joseph
b. To good men:
• If our desire is to honor God, God will USE our plans and devices to carry out His purposes on earth.
• And even if we make a mistake… or make an unwise choice or decision… even if we unintentionally step out of His will… God can OVER RULE our errors.
• We cannot undermine God’s purposes by accident.
• God even incorporated our mistakes and failures in His eternal plan.
• He is able to work all things together for good… including our plans and devices… the good, the bad, and the just plain stupid!
• Thus we can REST in the One who is Sovereign and omniscient and omnipotent… whose eternal plan is all wise… and whose counsel shall STAND.
4. Wisdom demands that we respond in faith and obedience to God’s will and counsel when it is made known. (Prov. 19:20)
a. Job 23:11 – God’s plan for Job included much suffering.
b. Job’s wisdom lay in the fact that he learned to submit to it and learn from it.
c. No human device of Job could have reversed God’s plan for his life.
Proverbs 19:22
The Desire of a Man
22a The desire of a man is his kindness:
1. Desire:
a. This term can mean desires, longings of the heart; cravings; etc.
b. Here the term is used of the thing desired, the object of desire
• That which makes a man desirable is his kindness.
• A man’s personal kindness is that trait which makes him desirable to others… pleasing… attractive…
c. Usage:
• This term indicates something that is attractive and delightful to the eyes, desirable. (Gen. 3:6)
• Eve saw the fruit and she was attracted to it.
• There was something pleasing and appealing about the fruit. She desired it.
• The desire of that fruit (the desirable quality of that fruit) was the fact that it would make one wise.
• The desirable quality about this man is his kindness.
2. It is in this sense that Solomon uses this term to describe a man… or woman… any human being.
a. Solomon is describing a trait or a characteristic which makes a man appealing… attractive… pleasing… sought after…
b. We often think of good looks as that which makes a man or woman attractive.
c. Sometimes we might think that it is great wealth.
d. It might be their social status…
e. People are attracted to celebrities and royalty.
f. There are lots of things that might cause you to be attracted to a certain individual.
g. But here, Solomon zeroes in on one particular trait that is appealing or attractive.
h. That desirable quality is kindness.
3. Kindness defined:
a. Strong’s: Goodness; kindness; faithfulness.
b. Dict. Of Bib; Lang.: Loyal love, unfailing kindness, devotion, i.e., a love or affection that is steadfast based on a prior relationship.
c. It is used of being loyal to a covenant… faithful… reliable.
d. It is the type of kindness that demonstrates faithfulness and loyalty.
e. This term is translated “mercy” in Psalm 136, where it is used twenty-six times to proclaim that God’s kindness and love are eternal. God is faithful to His people. His kindness proves it.
f. Hos. 6:6 – God desired “mercy” and not sacrifice. God desires to see mercy in us (kindness; loyal devotion to Him)… and not just the performance of outward duties. That trait makes us attractive to God.
g. Job 6:14 – To him that is afflicted “pity” should be shown by a friend. That’s what friends are for. That is a desirable quality—a man or woman who shows pity to someone in a time of affliction. This quality makes us attractive to other people.
h. Ps. 141:5 – Let the righteous smite me. It shall be a “kindness.”
• Even in rebuke, a man’s kindness is displayed to a friend.
• He is showing loyalty to his friend by “smiting” him when he needs it. This is a desirable trait… even though it hurts.
i. Solomon’s point here is that it is this quality that makes a person attractive and appealing to others.
• People LIKE to see that quality demonstrated… if it is genuine… heartfelt.
• People are attracted to people who show love, kindness, mercy, and devotion to others.
j. Even in the world, men find this quality appealing.
• This truth helps to explain the immense popularity of Mother Theresa. She gave herself to helping and showing pity to afflicted people. She didn’t do it for the glory of God, but she did show mercy to afflicted people. On a human level, that is attractive.
• The world doesn’t find anything attractive about Christians evangelizing others. They have no use for spiritual things.
• But they DO find it attractive when someone opens a soup kitchen, or an orphanage, or a medical clinic for the poor. There is something appealing about showing mercy and kindness on a human level.
• A ministry like Dr. Mitchell’s goes a long way in helping to win the hearts of people… so that the people might be attracted to the Christian missionaries in his village.
• This proverb simply makes a statement about human nature: people are attracted towards those who show kindness and mercy.
• The desire of a man (that which makes him desirable) is his kindness.
k. Knowing this should help us to win the hearts of people around us too.
• By showing mercy and kindness to our unsaved friends and family members, we can be better equipped to win them to the Lord.
• Nobody will be attracted to us or to our message if we are mean and grumpy old men and women.
l. And this is a great way to make friends too. People are attracted to this quality: kindness!
• If you are constantly helping others, there is something appealing about that.
• If you are self centered and thus constantly complaining that others are not continually showing kindness to you, then that is not very appealing.
• The desirable trait here is not receiving kindness, but SHOWING it.
22b And a poor man is better than a liar.
1. In the second part of this proverb, Solomon contrasts the man who shows kindness… loving loyalty… to a liar.
a. Liar: a deceiver; one who promotes falsehood.
b. Liar here is seen as being OPPOSITE of one who demonstrates loving loyalty… kindness…
c. A liar is disloyal and unkind to those to whom he lies.
d. His point is that NOBODY likes a liar. Nobody likes to be deceived, or tricked.
e. That is not a very attractive quality.
f. The liar stands in stark contrast to the man who is KIND.
• The first man demonstrates his loyalty through deeds of kindness and mercy.
• The liar perhaps PROMISES to help… he promises to demonstrate kindness… but he was lying. He had no intention of helping.
• Or perhaps he denies that he is ABLE to help, when he is in fact very able… but unwilling.
2. It is a great way to lose friends.
a. Psalm 119:163 – I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.
b. Prov. 13:5 – A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame. (Who wants to be with liars? They are not desirable; they are loathsome.)
c. Ps. 40:4 – Godly people lose all respect for a liar.
d. Ps. 101:7 – David didn’t want any liars working with him in his court. It is a most UNdesirable quality.
e. People are charmed by those who are thoughtful of others… by those who are loyal… considerate… reliable… kind.
f. But there is nothing charming about someone who is a liar who is disloyal and unkind.
g. The liar might PROMISE to help… he might SAY he will be there for you… but he’s not. He’s a liar. It’s all puffery.
h. A liar is unreliable… not trustworthy…
i. That is especially disappointing when you are counting on him to come through for you—and he doesn’t.
3. It is a great way to ruin your testimony for the Lord.
a. Not only do the godly hate liars, even men in the world hate liars.
b. If a candidate is caught in a boldfaced lie, it causes them to go down in the polls.
c. If a company is caught lying about its product, its sales go down.
d. And if a Christian is caught in a boldfaced lie in the office—rest assured that he will be the brunt of the jokes for the next three weeks. (And he calls himself a Christian!! Ha ha!)
4. In the second part of this proverb Solomon tells us just HOW undesirable a liar is.
a. A POOR man is better than him!
b. Poverty is one of things that most people would never want to be. Who wants to be poor… hungry… homeless… unable to feed your kids? No one!
c. It is one of the LAST things anyone would ever want to be.
d. So Solomon says that, as bad as being poor is, being a poor man is still better than being a liar.
5. Thus, a true contrast is made… in a simple, concise, and poignant manner.
a. Being loyal and kind is most desirable.
b. Being a disloyal liar is most despicable.
Proverbs 19:23
Satisfied in the Fear of the LORD
23a The fear of the LORD tendeth to life:
1. Solomon states that the fear of the Lord ___ to life.
a. There is no verb, it must be added.
b. Some translations have added “tended towards” life
c. Others added “leads to” life.
d. Yet others have “is” unto life.
e. You might also add “results in” life…
f. The meaning is virtually the same either way.
2. The meaning is similar to Proverbs 11:19a: “As righteousness tendeth to life…”
a. Chapter 11 speaks of the results of a righteous life.
b. Chapter 19 speaks of the results of a God-fearing life.
3. LIFE may imply two things here.
a. There is a sense in which righteousness and the fear of the Lord tendeth to (results in) preserving one’s physical earthly life.
• Prov. 10:27 – The fear of the Lord prolongs days.
• Prov. 14:26,27 – The fear of the Lord is a fountain (source) of life… and it keeps men from falling into the snares of death.
• Psa. 33:18, 19 – God takes care of those who fear Him… He delivers them from physical death… especially during difficult days.
» Believers have a special place in God’s heart.
» He KNOWS those who truly fear and honor Him.
» Those who have genuine honor and respect for the Lord—as demonstrated in their lives and attitudes—can expect that God will provide refuge and deliverance in time of trouble… even preserving their physical lives.
» Those who do not fear God have no such promise.
• Psa. 34:9-11 – God provides for one’s physical life in a special way when we fear Him.
• Psa. 145:18-20 – God fulfills all their desire and preserves those who love Him and fear Him.
• Mal. 3:16-17 – God will spare those who love and fear Him. God will spare him from evil and from misery.
• This is a common theme in the Bible concerning God-fearers: God prolongs their days; God preserves them; God protects them; God delivers them; God provides for them; spares them… from danger, death, and misery.
• The fear of the Lord LEADS TO (results in) LIFE (preserving, protecting, and prolonging) life…
• The FLIP SIDE of that is true also.
» Prov. 11:19b – So he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.
» The one who chooses evil over righteousness sometimes pays with his life for that foolish decision.
» Prov. 8:36 – Those who choose to reject God’s wisdom behave as if they loved death… It is the path of death and destruction.
» Fearing God results in preserving and protecting physical life; a LACK of the fear of God often results in the loss of life.
b. Fearing God also TENDS TO LIFE in another sense: it preserves the GOOD life… paves the way for an ABUNDANT life… the quality of life.
• That is highlighted in the rest of the proverb.
23b And he that hath it shall abide satisfied
1. He that hath it: he that hath a God-fearing attitude which results in life.
2. The God fearing man has life and as a result, he shall abide satisfied.
3. Satisfied:
a. Full; abounding; content.
b. Deut. 33:23 – Used of God’s blessing upon Naphtali.
4. Abide:
a. Lodge; dwell; continue; endure; rest.
5. The one who fears God—no matter what happens throughout life—can ABIDE satisfied.
a. His life will be characterized by blessing; contentment.
b. His life will be FULL… abounding.
c. And he will ABIDE in that fullness. It is not just a passing fullness, like this world offers.
d. The things of this earth come and go… they provide momentary satisfaction… but nothing lasting.
e. But the one who fears God… will be full… satisfied… and it is abiding and lasting. God never changes.
6. Psalm 25:12-13 – God fearers shall “dwell at ease.”
7. Psalm 34:9-10 – God fearers shall “lack nothing.” They will have all they need… and will be content. After all, they have GOD on their side. What more could we need?
23c He shall not be visited with evil.
1. Evil:
a. Hurt; ill; injury; harm; misery; trouble; distress; calamity.
2. Visited: (translated a variety of ways in different contexts)
a. To visit; search out; charge, count up; take inventory; examined; summoned; punish.
b. Visits can be either good or bad. It depends on who’s visiting and why! If the police visit with a warrant for your arrest, that’s not a good visit. But if your boss pays you a visit at your office with a big promotion, that’s a good visit.
c. When God visits a person, it can either be to bless or to judge.
d. This term is often used of Divine chastening (God visits the wicked with evil.)
e. Jer. 23:2 – God will visit them with the evil of their doings.
f. That’s the way Solomon uses it here… visiting with evil.
3. Solomon states in this proverb that those who fear Him will NOT be visited with evil.
a. In other words, they will NOT be chastened or punished.
b. They shall be preserved from the kind of evil and calamity that is visited upon those who do NOT fear God.
c. This is a good reason all by itself to fear the Lord. He means business.
4. This does not mean that bad things never happen to God fearing people. They DO.
a. But if a God fearing person IS afflicted with evil and calamity in life, he can know that it was not a visitation of Divine chastening or judgment.
b. Rather, it was a test allowed by God, not for his ruin, but for his good… and like Job he shall come forth as gold.
c. Bad things may happen to God fearing people, but it does mean that they will not harm him.
• Isa. 43:2 – “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”
• The same event that otherwise would be a calamity is not so calamitous or catastrophic to the one who fears the Lord.
• We have been looking at the book of Daniel on Monday nights. Daniel’s three friends feared God and were cast into the fiery furnace… but they came out without one hair being singed… not even the smell of smoke on their clothes. The Lord was with them in the furnace. Calamity struck – but they were not harmed.
• Calamity happens to God fearers, but it is not the ruin of them.
• They cannot inflict lasting damage and misery.
d. Job 1:1 – Job feared God… and calamity struck.
• However, it did not ruin him.
• Job 23:10 – He came forth as gold.
• Job 42:12 – So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning.
e. Solomon tells us that the one who fears God will NOT abide in that. He will abide satisfied!
f. When calamity strikes a man who does NOT fear the Lord, that calamity may well abide. It may be his ruin. It may be lasting.
g. But not so with the God-fearing man or woman.
h. The one who fears God is not visited with evil, because whatever kind of evil or calamity he may face, God is able to turn it to good… as He did with Daniel’s friends… and with Job.
i. All things work together for good to those who love God… and fear Him.
j. Solomon puts a clear contrast before us: abiding satisfied, or abiding in ruin, calamity, and misery. (evil)
Proverbs 19:24
Slothfulness
24a A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom
1. Slothful Defined:
a. Sluggish, lazy.
b. Pertaining to be slow to take any action, suggesting a lack of discipline or initiative, as a moral failure.
c. The term is used only in Proverbs: (15 times) – 6:6, 9; 10:26; 13:4; 15:19; 19:24; 20:4; 21:25; 22:13; 24:30; 26:13-16.
2. Hiding his hand in his bosom.
a. Hiding: conceal, bury.
b. Bosom: this term has two possible meanings (like many English words)
• dish, bowl
• Bosom; chest area
c. The KJV translators chose to use the second definition.
d. Most other translations chose to use the first definition: dish or bowl.
e. While both are legitimate translations, the context (second part of the proverb) seems to favor translating it dish, since he is speaking of putting something in his mouth, eating.
f. If we understand the term to mean “bosom” it is hard to see what the relationship is between putting one’s hand in his bosom and then bringing it back to his mouth.
3. I understand it here that Solomon is describing a slothful, lazy, sluggish man who sticks his hand in his dish…
a. The second part of the proverb demonstrates just HOW lazy he is!
24b And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
1. “Bring it again” = reverse direction; bring back; restore; put back; cause to return.
a. In other words, here is a man who buries his hand in the dish, presumably to draw out some food to eat.
b. However, he is SO incredibly lazy, that he won’t even bring the food up to his mouth to eat it!
c. Obviously, this is hyperbole… an exaggeration to make a point.
d. His point is that this man is REALLY lazy!
2. The POINT Solomon makes is that this man is SO lazy that he lacks what it takes to follow through with what he started.
a. He started to get something to eat… but he didn’t follow through.
b. He stuck his hand in the bowl to draw out some food, but he never finished the job… he didn’t follow through… and thus he never brought his hand back to his mouth to actually eat it!
c. He is so lazy he would rather starve than work.
d. That is exactly what the New Testament says he deserves! If a man will not work, neither should he eat. (II Thess. 3:10)
3. A man sticks his hand in the dish because he is hungry.
a. He knows WHAT his need is: food. He sees his need.
b. He knows WHERE the food is and he knows HOW to get it.
c. He started to get the job done… he stuck his hand in the bowl.
d. But he didn’t follow through. He didn’t FINISH the job.
e. Thus, he remained hungry. The need was never met.
4. This is a proverb that demonstrates through hyperbole the need to follow through on a project that you start… and the consequences of not following through.
a. Solomon traces the ROOT of this problem back to slothfulness.
b. Prov. 26:15 – the very same proverb.
• However, here is added the REASON he does not bring his hand back: “grieved.”
• Grieved = emotional weariness; worn out emotionally; wearied.
• Dict. of Bib. Lang.: Defines “grieved” emotionally tired, i.e., be in a state which will manifest negative emotions or attitudes such as impatience or discouragement.
• Ezek. 24:12 – She hath wearied herself with lies.
• Isa. 1:14 – Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
• He’s too tired!
c. The real pitiful thing to note is that what he needs is right there before him! It is within reach… but he refuses to reach!
• He COULD have the food in the bowl… but he’s too lazy.
• This is the way of most lazy people.
• What they need is right there before them… within their reach… and with just a little effort it could be theirs!
• That’s the point here. Just a little more effort… a little more follow through… and it would all be theirs.
• But they won’t take that last step… it’s too hard. They come up with all kinds of excuses.
• The picture here Solomon paints is a man who is so lazy he expects the food is just going to fall into his mouth! It doesn’t work that way.
5. Prov. 15:19 – The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns.
a. Here Solomon states that the way of a lazy man is all hedged in.
b. He is surrounded by a hedge of thorns: obstacles everywhere!
c. That’s all he sees… a hedge on every side… like a huge maze…
d. He may FEEL trapped… he sees no open doors… everywhere he looks he is hedged in.
e. He may feel that life is just too hard…
f. This is the thinking of the lazy man… the quitter…
g. But Solomon implies here that he is hedged in BECAUSE of his own slothfulness.
h. Consider the example of the two students: one lazy and one diligent.
• They both leave school and walk down the same pathway in life.
• As they walk down that pathway, the lazy classmate will find many closed doors—hedged in; while his hard working classmate finds many open doors.
• The lazy man finds many obstacles to his progress… hedges of thorns… but they are often obstacles of his own making!
• This is the WAY of the slothful man.
i. This “way of life” very quickly turns into a “poor me” attitude.
• Nothing ever goes right for me… woe is me…
• Everybody else always seems to get all the breaks, but not me! I never have any luck.
j. Then the “victim” mentality sets in.
• It’s the government’s fault. They should have a program for me.
• I DESERVE something better than this…
• Everybody is against me… the cards are all stacked against me.
• If the kids in the third grade didn’t pick on me so much, I never would have had such a hard time in life…
6. But Proverbs 19:24 calls that man’s bluff.
a. This proverb says that the REAL reason that he goes without is because he lacks what it takes to follow through with whatever he starts.
b. He did well in high school, but quit. Too much homework.
c. He went from job to job…
d. Then he got a pretty decent job, making a good salary, but didn’t stick it out.
• They wanted him to learn to use a computer, and he didn’t want to take the course.
• It was on a Friday night, and he liked to have fun on Friday nights. Work was crimping his lifestyle.
• Because he didn’t learn the needed skill, they had to let him go.
e. He tried to get another good job, but the personnel department didn’t like what they saw on his resume: “worked for six months here, a year there, four months at his next job, a year and two months there…”
f. And the personnel department wasn’t interested in listening to his endless list of excuses. They weren’t like dad and mom. They saw his record and said quite snappily, “No thank you.”
g. So he strikes out again… and becomes more and more emotionally worn out… drained… weary, discouraged… and quits again and again.
h. What he OUGHT to do is humble himself, take an entry-level job, and stick with it… and PROVE himself finally… and work his way up—like everybody else.
i. In other words, FOLLOW THROUGH on whatever you start!
7. The man in Solomon’s proverb was SO lazy, that he didn’t even follow through on something that was really quite EASY: eating!
a. And when you don’t follow through, your needs are not met.
b. You can stick your hand in a bowl full of food, but if you don’t follow through and bring it to your mouth, you will still be hungry.
c. This is a SERIOUS issue Solomon raises here—in a comical way: people who make a halfhearted effort.
d. This man did half the work. He did bury his hand in the bowl of goodies. But it didn’t do him any good. It didn’t satisfy his hunger at all.
e. Going half way doesn’t work.
• You don’t win a marathon by being first to cross the half way point. You have to FINISH.
• If a company requires a four year degree for the job you want, going to college for two years and quitting won’t get you in the door that you wanted to enter.
• If the doctor says you have to take your medicine every day… and you take it every other day, or whenever you feel like it, you won’t get the right result.
8. The same principle is true in the spiritual life as well.
a. This might just be the number ONE reason why Christians fail and falter in their walk… why they don’t experience victory: because they don’t follow through on what they started.
b. In a problem with a brother in the Lord. The Bible says, “Turn the other cheek.” He tried it, but it didn’t work. The brother is still mean to him… so he quit trying.
c. Or the husband who is having a spat with his wife. The pastor exhorts him to “Love your wife as Christ loved the church.” Too often the response is, “I tried it, but it didn’t work!”
d. Or a believer is trying to deal with a boss who constantly yells. The Bible says, “A soft answer turns away wrath.”
e. All too often believers get good advice from a brother in the Lord—right from the Scripture. And with the best of intentions, they start off well… but they don’t follow through! They quit mid stream.
f. The Bible doesn’t say turn the other cheek, and if that doesn’t work, try something else. Nor does it say use a soft answer two or three times, and if that does work, then look for another solution.
g. When the principles in God’s Word don’t seem to work for you, it’s not because they are ineffective. It’s because you quit too soon.
h. We tend to put in a half hearted effort. We really try at first (like putting your hand in the bowl of food), but then we don’t follow through… we don’t finish the job.
i. Thus, we don’t experience the victory or satisfaction… like the man with his hand in the bowl is still hungry.
j. The word of God is like that bowl. It is set right before us all… within reach. All we have to do is take of it and eat. Yet, as absurd as this proverb, we are often too lazy to eat… and we suffer spiritual hunger as a result.
k. This proverb is an extremely absurd one. When we read it, we immediately think, NOBODY could be that lazy… that stupid. But lo and behold. We do the same thing in the spiritual realm.
Proverbs 19:25
The Value of Discipline
25a Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware:
A. Smite the Scorner
1. Scorner:
a. To scorn; talk arrogantly; mockingly.
b. Talk big, i.e., speak words which show no respect for the object, and make fun of the object.
c. To use colloquial expression, he is a big mouth, who is also arrogant and rude, and makes fun of others in a mocking way.
d. This is not poking fun in a good natured way. This isn’t fun for the other party. This is a hurtful kind of mocking.
2. Scorners come in all sizes, shapes, and colors.
a. A little toddler might scorn or mock his younger brother.
b. A high school student might mock some of his fellow students… perhaps those who are a little different.
c. Teenagers mock one another if they don’t like their clothes…
d. An employee might mock the boss… or other workers…
e. A politician might even mock his opponent.
f. People mock their politicians…
g. Different nationalities and races mock each other…
3. The unsaved mock Christian beliefs…
a. We have heard people mock the idea of Jonah being swallowed by a fish…
b. People mock the Biblical concept of a family…
c. Sinners mock sin. (Prov. 14:9 – Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour)
d. Sin is a laughing matter to them. It is a game or sport to them to cause mischief. (Prov. 10:23)
e. If you watch movies or sitcoms on TV you will see men mock at sin… and over time you will become de-sensitized to sin. It is not spiritually healthy for a Christian to watch such things.
f. Humor is a powerful medium.
g. And the folks in Hollywood have an agenda: to make fun of Christianity and Christian values… to get people to LAUGH at them, so others will be intimidated to practice them… for fear of being laughed at.
4. Even as believers, we are not above mocking or scorning one another.
a. I know that pastors get mocked and scorned by those who didn’t like what he preached on—especially if it hit a little too close to home… It’s easy to attack the messenger in a mocking way.
b. We can also mock one another—perhaps for different convictions that are held… or because of some other difference…
c. Believers sometimes mock the church… or the decisions leaders make… or the Sunday school teacher… or the message…
d. Christians are not above mocking.
e. Unfortunately, mocking and scorning are very common experiences of life.
5. Smite:
a. Smite, strike, beat, afflict, scourge, chasten, punish, used of a military victory.
6. Smiting a scorner speaks of DISCIPLINING a scorner…
a. Solomon is speaking here of some sort of authority DEALING with the scorning through discipline or punishment.
b. It could be a physical smiting for scorning. (A child may be spanked; you might get a punch in the nose for your big, rude, arrogant mouth.)
c. But perhaps more often it is a verbal smiting.
• The scorner is “smitten” by a verbal rebuke.
d. It could take on many other forms too.
• A scorner could be “smitten” by his boss by getting fired.
• A scorner could be “smitten” by losing his friends. (Prov. 24:9 – a scorner is an abomination to all men. Nobody likes a mocker.)
• A scorner could be “smitten” by going down in the polls (politician).
e. For the believer, it could take the form of Divine chastening.
• Prov. 3:34 – Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
• The scorner reaps what he has sown.
B. The Simple Will Beware
1. Simple: Inexperienced; naive; pertaining to persons that are easily deceived or persuaded, showing lack of wisdom and understanding, yet having some capacity to change this condition.
a. Prov. 1:4 – The book of Proverbs was written to give subtly to the simple.
b. Prov. 14:15 – They are often easily led and naive. But on the other hand, they are easily taught too
2. Beware:
a. To be crafty, be or become shrewd, cunning or wise.
b. This verb has a neutral tone but can assume either a negative tone: crafty and tricky (1 Sam. 23:22; Ps. 83:3[4]); or a positive tone: prudent and wise.
c. Here is it used in a positive sense: the simple is made wise. He learns from what he sees.
3. Prov. 21:11 – when the scorner is punished, the simple observe, learn, and are made wise.
4. Prov. 9:7, 8 – The simple might beware, but the scorner will not learn. He will hate you for it!
a. Prov. 13:1 – Scorners usually don’t listen.
5. But the simple onlookers DO pay attention to what they hear and see. The simple learn…
6. This principle has great application in MANY settings.
a. In the home:
• For example, a parent may spank a child for his big mouth… mocking and scorning and making fun of others.
• His younger and less experienced brothers will be sure to observe the spanking. They will hear their big brother cry.
• The younger simple brothers will become wiser and shrewder as a result… even if his big mouth brother DIDN’T learn his lesson from it.
• Dealing with a proud, scornful son can have a good effect on others who are observing in the background.
b. In the local church:
• God may “scorn the scorner.” God may allow the scorner to reap what he has sown.
• And even if he doesn’t learn from this form of chastening, other believers may learn.
• The believers who observe his actions and the results of his actions may be simple (inexperienced in the kind of scorning for which the scorner is being chastened) but by observing he can learn… He can beware… and become wiser as a result.
c. The point of the first part of the proverb is this: even if the scorner who is smitten for his scorning doesn’t learn his lessons… the smiting is worthwhile.
• OTHERS may learn from it… and often do.
• The smiting has a deterring effect—if not on the part of the scorner… surely on the part of those who observe.
• It may not cure the scorner, but it will prevent others from scorning.
• Matthew Henry put it this way: “If it cures not the infected, it may prevent the spreading of the infection.”
• Deut. 19:20 – that others may hear and fear.
• I Tim. 5:20 – “Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.”
• Sometimes it is necessary to make a public example of a sinner or criminal so that OTHERS will learn from their bad example.
• Teachers need to do that on occasion in the classroom.
• Judges need to do that on occasion in the courtroom.
• God told Moses to do it in Israel.
• In fact, church discipline is designed for the very same purpose. (Acts 5:5,11)
25b And reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.
1. Reproving a man of understanding is parallel with smiting a scorner.
a. Reproving and smiting are similar concepts. They both speak of confronting a man for the wrong he has done.
b. But the scorner and the man of understanding stand in contrast to each other. They are in some ways, opposites.
c. The proud, arrogant scorner doesn’t have understanding, and therefore, doesn’t learn.
d. But a man who may scorn… who may transgress in other ways, when he is reproved, he LISTENS and LEARNS.
e. And as a result, he understands even MORE knowledge. He learns through his failure.
f. Whereas smiting (physical punishment) is needed for mockers, a verbal rebuke is often sufficient for a man of understanding.
g. Prov. 17:10 – “A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.”
• The scorner who will not listen to reproof, continues to be a scorner… in the end he is a fool!
• But the simple man (inexperienced) who does pay attention to the consequences of being a scorner, DOES learn… and in the end he becomes a wise man.
Proverbs 19:26
A Son that Causeth Shame
A Son’s Cruel Treatment of His Parents
26a He that wasteth his father
1. Wasteth:
a. The primary meaning of the verb is to devastate or to destroy.
b. It was the term Jeremiah used to describe the utter devastation of the Temple.
c. To deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin, destroy, spoil.
d. This term is broad enough to include the ideas of robbing, mistreating, or assaulting, etc.
2. Wasting one’s own father.
a. This speaks of the utter depravity of man.
b. This is probably a grown son—certainly not a toddler or a fourth grader.
c. Solomon describes an extreme example of a son who is so depraved, that he tramples over the most intimate relationship he has ever known—his own parents… the ones who brought him into the world… and showered him with love and care.
d. From time to time we hear of “elderly abuse” in nursing homes. Workers mistreat the elderly—hitting them and stealing from them.
e. As despicable as that is, what Solomon describes is much worse. It’s one thing to do so to a total stranger, but to one’s own parents?
f. Any kind of crime or sin committed against a loved one is far worse than the same crime or sin committed against a stranger.
g. It is certainly far more painful to the victim of the crime if you were assaulted by your own son!
h. If someone broke into your house and robbed you, you would naturally be angry and upset.
i. But if you discovered that it was your son—or daughter—you would be more than upset. In addition to being upset and angry over the robbery, you would be CRUSHED by the fact that it was your son that did it.
j. How could he!? After all you’ve done for him. That’s not the way you brought him up.
k. How will you face family, friends, and neighbors when they find out it was your own son?
l. How humiliating and embarrassing if his picture appears in the paper…
m. Yes, it’s far worse if it is your own son.
3. We might think that Solomon is using hyperbole here… this sort of thing could never happen!
a. But it DOES happen.
b. Sons can become drunks or drug addicts… and end up stealing to support their habit. And what easier target than dad’s house? You know where everything is there… even the dog won’t bark at you there.
c. Some elder fathers, beginning to experience dementia, have had their bank accounts dry up because of a heartless son who took advantage of them.
d. Some aging, wealthy men have even been killed by a greedy ingrate of a son so that he might get his inheritance sooner…
e. As despicable as these things are, they DO happen.
f. Prov. 28:24 – In fact, they have been happening for many centuries. Solomon spoke of it a few thousand years ago… repeatedly!
26b And chaseth away his mother
1. Chaseth: Chase; drive away; put to flight.
2. The term is often used of chasing away enemies. But here is it used of a son chasing away his own mother!
3. It is not clear HOW she is driven away.
a. Perhaps it was left ambiguous to make it applicable in all kinds of situations.
b. Perhaps the evil behavior of a son drives his mother away from him… because she can’t bear to be in his presence… it is too painful for her.
c. It could refer to a rebellious son refusing to see his mother because she is always correcting him… and he doesn’t want to hear it any more.
d. Perhaps an evil son literally drives his mother off her own property… through treachery or deceit he takes over the estate…
e. One might envision a cruel son sending his mother away empty when she comes to him for help.
f. Mark 7:10-11 -Jesus spoke of this too!
g. Yes, children can be cruel to their own parents… and this is nothing new.
h. Don’t think that “some strange thing” has happened to you. It has been happening since Solomon’s day and before.
i. We hear a lot about child abuse nowadays. But parent abuse and elderly abuse are issues that we should not ignore either. The Bible says a lot about this.
Respect for Parents Is a Serious Issue in the Bible
1. It’s hard to imagine something crueler (in the words of Jacob) than for a child to “bring down their gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.” (Gen.42:38)
2. Prov. 20:20 – Solomon even had to speak about children cursing their parents.
3. Ex. 20:12 – This was a violation of the fifth commandment.
4. Ex. 21:17 – It was punished by the death penalty. That should tell us how seriously God takes this matter.
5. II Tim. 3:2 – The last days:
a. Paul warns us that in the last days, disobedience to parents will be even more prevalent.
b. Without natural affection… chasing his own mother away…
c. Unthankful – the son Solomon describes is the ultimate in a self centered ingrate!
d. Of course these traits have existed for many centuries… since the fall of man. However, Paul says that there will be an INCREASE of this kind of behavior in the last days.
6. Children should TAKE CARE of their aging parents.
a. II Cor. 12:14 – For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children…
• Parents take care of the children when they are young.
• Parents lay up for them… they provide food, clothing, shelter, etc. They salt away some money for school for them.
• They do so out of love and natural affection.
• Kids are unable to take care of themselves. God designed the home… and parents.
b. I Tim. 5:4 – Requite their parents = Take care of them by paying them back for the many years of sacrifice the parents endured in bringing them up.
c. There is a natural cycle here:
• Parents lay up for their children.
• Children take care of aging parents.
• Parents die and leave their estate to their children.
• Those children thus have some resources to bring up the next generation.
• It is a natural cycle of natural affection… family members taking care of one another at various stages of life… when help is needed.
d. Our proverb tonight takes note of the fact that that cycle of natural affection is sometimes broken by cruel and heartless children.
e. There is nothing new under the sun.
f. I Tim. 5:8 – If anyone allows his “own” (flesh and blood) to go without the basic provisions of life, he is worse than an infidel.
• One who breaks this natural cycle by refusing to help his own flesh and blood is worse than an unbeliever.
• It is not a good testimony.
• Unfortunately, it happens all too often.
• Some sons waste their fathers and chase away their mothers. That is NOT the way it ought to be.
THE RESULT
26c Is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.
1. Shame – Ashamed; be disconcerted; be disappointed; have a painful feeling and emotional distress (sometimes to the point of despair); humiliation.
2. Reproach – Ashamed, be confounded, be in a state of low status and dishonor; disgraced.
3. These two terms are virtual synonyms.
a. The behavior of the son Solomon describes produces great shame and disgrace.
b. What is interesting is that which Solomon doesn’t SAY. He doesn’t say WHO is shamed or reproached.
4. It could be the parent’s fault, but not necessarily.
a. It may NOT be his parent’s fault at all.
• He might have other siblings that treat their parents well… who are also grieved over his behavior.
• The parents may have trained him well, but he chose to go down another path… a path of ruin and destruction.
• That’s not his parent’s fault.
• Of course if his parents neglected him and abused him, then they share in the blame too.
• But Solomon gives no hint whatsoever that this is the parent’s fault here. Solomon blames the son.
• Many godly fathers have had sons whose behavior was a grief to them. (Eli; David; Samuel)
vii. Unfortunately, this is a common experience of life. It has been a common theme in Proverbs.
b. The son has really brought shame and disgrace upon himself.
• He has violated the natural laws of family behavior… He has violated the moral laws of God… He has violated the normal obligations of a child to his parents…
• It is gross ingratitude… inhuman behavior…
• It is selfish to the nth degree.
c. He has also brought disgrace to his society…
• Society should not tolerate such behavior. It is degrading… and abases the whole land.
• That’s why the Law of Moses required children to HONOR their mother and their father.
• If the family isn’t strong, then the nation isn’t strong.
d. He has brought shame and disgrace to his parents…
• Even if it is NOT the parent’s fault, they feel it most.
• When parents are mistreated by their own flesh and blood, it is painful.
• Prov. 17:21 – “He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.”
• A foolish child (son or daughter) robs parents of their joy.
• Many an aging parent has gone to the grave in sorrow because of the shameful way their own children treated them…
5. The child who wastes his father or chases away his mother brings shame and reproach.
a. This is a good warning to the young children to APPRECIATE what your parents do for you.
b. This is a good reminder to older, adult children to take care of your aging parents.
c. Natural affection will keep this natural cycle going as God intended.
Proverbs 19:27
Instruction that Causeth Thee to Err
Introduction:
1. This proverb is translated in one of two ways, that at first seem to be saying the opposite, but they are not.
a. KJV and others
• KJV: Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.
• Darby: Cease, my son, to hear the instruction which causeth to stray from the words of knowledge.
• This is a command: stop listening!
b. Others:
• Holman Christian Standard Bible: If you stop listening to instruction, my son, you will stray from the words of knowledge.
• NASB: Cease listening, my son, to discipline, And you will stray from the words of knowledge.
• This is a conditional clause: if you stop listening… you will err.
2. One is a command to STOP listening (because it will cause you to err), and the other is a condition: IF you stop listening, you will err.
a. One says, “stop listening or else!” The other one says, “don’t stop listening or else!”
b. What is implied in each is this:
• KJV: stop listening to bad instruction…
• Others: don’t stop listening to good instruction
3. One might think at first glance that these two are opposites and hopelessly contradictory… but that is not the case.
a. Actually, in the end, they are both saying pretty much the same thing… one from a positive and one from a negative perspective.
4. All hinges on the italicized words: that causeth
a. These words were added by the translators.
b. This completely changes the way we approach this proverb.
c. SOMETHING needed to be added to this sentence for it to make sense. This is common in any language. We do it in English.
d. What I like about the KJV is that they TELL you they have added words.
• Thus, with the KJV, you have the option of interpreting it for yourself.
• The other translations do not tell you that. They lead you to believe that there are no options.
• Young’s Translation: Cease, my son, to hear instruction—To err from sayings of knowledge. (nothing is added but a dash)
e. LIT: Cease to hear instruction… err from sayings of knowledge.
• You can add: If… then (if you cease to hear, then you will err)
• You can add: Cease to hear and it will cause you to err)
• SOMETHING has to be added.
• Both make perfect sense; both are true; both concepts are supported by other proverbs; both are equally legitimate ways to reconcile the two parts of the proverb.
f. Since something needs to be added… and the only two things that make sense to add are equally viable and legitimate, I am going to look at BOTH possibilities.
• We will see from the Scriptures how perfectly legitimate both views are.
• Usually the author has ONE thing in mind when he writes. We don’t give two meanings to one passage.
• However proverbs are a little different.
• One has to wonder if Solomon left this ambiguous on purpose that it might be taken either way.
• I don’t feel qualified to say dogmatically one way or the other, so we are going to look at both possibilities.
KJV
27 Cease, my son, to hear instruction that CAUSETH TO ERR from the words of knowledge.
A. Cease to Hear!
1. This would be a COMMAND to stop listening to WRONG instruction.
2. Prov. 14:7 – GO from the presence of a foolish man. Get away from him.
a. If you stay with him and you will eventually listen to him.
b. The command here is, “Don’t listen to him,” for you will become LIKE him if you do.
c. Therefore, GO from his presence.
3. Matt.16:6, 12 – Don’t listen to the “leaven” (false teachings) of the Pharisees.
a. Leaven is a corrupting influence that starts off small, and then spreads throughout the whole.
b. Don’t listen to false teachings because it will have a corrupting influence on YOU.
4. Mark 4:24 – “take heed what ye hear.”
5. I Tim. 4:7 – Refuse old wives fables.
a. It isn’t necessary to be familiar with every strange view that comes along.
b. It isn’t necessary to have an answer for every strange view.
c. We are told to REFUSE them!
d. This is the same word as “reject” in Tit. 3:10 – reject a heretic!
e. Don’t give them the light of day. They are a waste of time and energy.
6. I Tim. 6:3-5 – Withdraw yourselves from those who do not teach wholesome words.
7. II Tim. 2:16-18 – but SHUN profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker. (They err and overthrow the faith of some.)
8. II John 10 – When someone comes to your house with false doctrine, don’t receive him into your house. Don’t even listen to him!
9. This is a common and oft repeated theme in the Scriptures.
B. Causing You to Err
1. There are words which (if listened to) will cause you to err from the words of knowledge and truth.
a. This was the problem of Eve in the Garden. She first LISTENED to the serpent.
b. The words of the serpent led her and Adam astray.
c. Being led astray begins with words… listening to words… appealing words (ye shall be as gods)… great swelling words of enticement…
2. Words can be helpful or harmful…
a. Not everyone who offers you advice is offering that which is good for you.
b. There is such a thing as BAD advice… and bad advice can lead you astray.
c. This kind of warning is necessary because Satan has his emissaries out in the world seeking to lead us astray. They fill pulpits. They write books. They have talk shows. They are on TV and radio. They are out for your ear and your heart.
d. This is one of the reasons the doctrine of separation is so important. God wants us to AVOID those whose doctrinal positions can lead us astray. Stay away… don’t listen to… avoid!
e. Gal. 5:7-8 – Paul warned the Galatian believers about listening to the Judaizers.
• They were having a corrupting effect on the church.
• These false teachers were causing believers to be led astray into error.
• He writes to tell them to CEASE from hearing them!
f. Rom. 16:17 – Avoid them altogether.
g. The world teaches us to be broadminded… to listen to all religious voices. God says just the opposite. DON’T listen!
h. Deut. 13:1-4 – Do not hearken to him. He is to be put to death! God meant business concerning those who lead His people astray.
3. Why do you think the Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to knock on doors?
a. Because some people let them in and listen to them.
b. Even some believers let them in and listen to them (in spite of what John said!)
c. And they are well versed in their twisted concept of sonship… and most believers are not able to answer their questions… and are easily deceived by them.
4. This is good advice when it comes to many of the popular speakers on TV and radio too.
a. Don’t buy their books. Don’t listen to their tapes and CD’s.
b. Don’t listen to what they have to say.
c. The danger is that they mingle truth with error, and many new or untaught believers don’t have the discernment to be able to separate the truth from the error.
d. That’s why Solomon said CEASE TO HEAR…
5. And what good advice this proverb is to our young people away at secular colleges and universities!
a. Don’t listen to words that will cause you to err from your faith in Christ and in the Word of God!
b. Don’t give credence to them. Sift everything through the Word of God. Put everything you hear to the test of God’s Word.
c. They will try to convince our young people about variations to morality… the origins of the earth… new forms of family… spanking… roles of husbands and wives…
d. They have an agenda to replace every last ounce of Christian influence in this country with their own program. Don’t hear them!
e. Solomon urged his son to RESIST every assault against the words of knowledge he received from his father and from the Lord.
NKJV
27 Cease listening to instruction, my son, AND YOU WILL stray from the words of knowledge.
1. The NEW KJV interprets the proverb as a conditional clause. “If you cease to listen to instruction, you will stray…”
a. Unfortunately, they did not italicize the words they added.
b. This conditional clause (in meaning if not grammatically) is akin to what Solomon wrote in verse 20: “Hear counsel… and you will be wise…”
c. The difference is that verse 27 approaches the subject from the negative: “If you stop hearing counsel… you will stray…”
d. If you STOP listening to good instruction, you will err… wander… go astray…
e. Therefore don’t stop listening to GOOD advice and instruction.
f. The point is this: don’t ever stop learning! Don’t ever stop receiving instruction.
g. Don’t ever think you have arrived at a place of wisdom where you no longer have to listen to advice and counsel. That is PRIDE.
h. Young people like to think that they can open themselves up to all kinds of theories and philosophies and not be influenced by them. It is a lie.
i. We like to think of ourselves as being broadminded and intellectual because we are open to all kinds of views. In fact, we end up with a kind of eclecticism that is spiritually deadly.
j. That person will surely FALL… wander… be led away into error.
2. This thought is also well attested to in the book of Proverbs and throughout the Scriptures.
a. Many of the earlier proverbs were instructions from a father to a son. (Like this one… the expression “my son” has not been seen since chapter 7)
b. Solomon wrote to his son and gave him much fatherly instruction.
• Here Solomon states to his son, “My son, if you stop listening to the instruction I’ve given you over the years, you will end up in trouble. You will STRAY far away.”
c. Prov. 19:20 – Hear counsel
• Solomon’s point here is that counsel is to be heard.
• It is to be sought out.
» Sometimes counsel comes to us. But sometimes, we have to seek it out.
» Seek older, spiritually mature believers for advice.
• It is to be listened to carefully.
» And when they give you advice, listen carefully.
» Even if you don’t like what they say, LISTEN.
» Hear them out. They are trying to help.
» If you CEASE TO HEAR, you will not gain the help you need. You will err from the right pathway.
d. Prov. 12:15 – The fool is the opposite of the one who HEARS instruction. The fool doesn’t listen because of his pride. He thinks he knows it all. If he CEASES TO HEAR… he will wander in folly!
e. Prov. 11:14 – Where no counsel is, the people fall. (They wander about in the dark, and eventually fall!)
3. Thus, understanding Prov. 19:27 to be a conditional clause in meaning, (“If you cease to hear instruction… then you shall go astray,”) there is equally well supported in Proverbs and in the rest of the Scriptures.
Proverbs 19:28-29
Scorners and Justice
28a An ungodly witness scorneth judgment:
1. Ungodly:
a. Worthless; good for nothing; unprofitable; base fellow.
b. One who is a lawbreaker and unruly, and rebellious.
c. The Hebrew word is “belial” which means a worthless person.
d. This term appears in Greek form in the New Testament as a name or title for the devil… the worthless one. (II Cor. 6:15 – what concord hath Christ with Belial?)
2. Witness:
a. This term means exactly the same as in modern English: a witness; a testimony.
b. It refers to a person which gives verbal testimony and provides information about a situation… sometimes used in a courtroom situation.
3. Ungodly Witness
a. A witness is to testify to what he knows… to provide verbal information…
b. In a courtroom situation, someone’s life could hang in the balance!
c. A good, honest witness could cause you to be justified.
d. A worthless witness, an ungodly witness who lies… could result in your incarceration or death.
e. Ex 23:1 – an honest, accurate witness was required under the Law… but it didn’t always happen… just like today.
f. Many men go to jail, and sometimes for long periods of time, for crimes they did not commit—because of a worthless witness… an ungodly witness who was covering for a friend.
4. Scorns judgment
a. Judgment:
• Justice; deciding a legal dispute or case.
• II Sam. 15:4 -Legal action taken in court.
b. Scorns:
• Mock; make a mockery of; show no respect; make fun of.
c. Solomon’s point is that an ungodly witness (one who lies; one who is not in truth; willing to perjure himself) makes a mockery of justice.
• This is the kind of person who would mock when he hears that God is holy and will judge the hearts of men one day. He laughs that thought to scorn! He mocks divine justice.
• But it is likely that Solomon had earthly justice in mind here.
• This man would mock the judicial system in the land.
d. I Kings 3:16-27 – Remember that Solomon was a king, who also functioned as a JUDGE on occasion.
• Recall the account of the two women who came to him, both claiming to be the mother of the living child—one was a boldfaced liar! A false witness.
• Solomon knew firsthand about witnesses before the judicial system who were liars.
• One of the mothers lied to his face as she stood before his throne.
• I’m sure he caught many other false witnesses too… ungodly witnesses.
e. Solomon’s assessment was that they made a mockery of justice.
• To them justice was a joke.
• To them truth didn’t matter.
• To them the judicial system of the land meant little.
• But Solomon knew that the stability of a nation depends upon everyone having a sense that they will get a fair shake in a court of law.
• Without justice—there will be rebellion and insurrection.
• As a king and a judge, Solomon saw making a mockery of justice as extremely detrimental to nation of Israel.
• Their lies undermined the stability of their national institutions (like the judicial system; the monarchy). That caught the attention of one who was both king and judge.
28b And the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity.
1. The mouth of the wicked
a. Wicked: guilty one; criminal.
b. Deut. 25:1 – Judges were to condemn the wicked (same term = guilty criminals).
c. Prov. 18:3 – When the wicked (same term) come, then comes contempt. (Contempt = attitude of disrespect and scorn toward persons.)
d. Solomon is describing the person who has no respect for authority, for the law, for the judicial system…
e. We shouldn’t expect good things to come out the mouth of this person.
2. But Solomon isn’t speaking here about what comes OUT of his mouth.
a. He is speaking about what he puts IN his mouth.
b. Devoureth: To gulp down; to swallow; consume.
c. Solomon states that these contemptuous wicked men (or women) DEVOUR iniquity… sinful things.
d. Devour is obviously used in a figurative sense.
• They don’t literally EAT iniquity.
• But they do “take it in” and make it theirs.
• You are what you eat. You devour it and it becomes part of you.
• Figuratively, it means to “embrace” or to “partake of.”
• This implies that he likes it… he delights in it. We eat food because we ENJOY it. He partakes of sin because he enjoys it. There is a pleasure to sin.
• Prov. 1:22 – Scorners delight in their scorning. It makes them feel good… superior… smarter than everyone else
• It also implies that he has an appetite for iniquity… an insatiable appetite for it.
• Job 15:16 – this man drinks iniquity like water!
3. Iniquity: Wickedness; unrighteousness; morally evil and corrupt.
a. Sin, and moral corruption, have a corrupting effect on a nation.
b. Prov. 14:34 – Sin is a reproach to any people.
4. Solomon writes about the DANGER of such a person.
a. Out of the mouth of this man comes a mockery of justice which undermines a land.
b. Into his mouth he puts iniquity, which is a reproach to the land.
c. As a king and a judge, Solomon was determined to deal with this kind of individual.
d. The next proverb speaks of that.
29 Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools.
Vs. 29 – Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools
1. Here Solomon speaks about what he has in store for such scorners and fools.
2. Judgments are prepared for the scorners.
a. Judgments = a different word for judgment than appears in the previous verse.
b. This word means “punishments” – “inflicting pain or suffering on a guilty party, either to improve behavior, or for strict justice.”
c. Stripes – Whipping done on the back. It too inflicts pain.
d. This man devours iniquity, but he doesn’t realize that he has swallowed a hook along with the bait… punishment accompanies the iniquity he devoured.
3. In other words, Solomon was determined to PUNISH those who scorn the legal system by lying as an ungodly witness… or attempting to obstruct justice.
4. Solomon’s answer: they will be punished and beaten!
a. Those who scorn judgment will not escape judgment!
b. And even if they don’t learn the lesson from their punishment, they would STILL be punished for the sake of strict justice… because it is the right thing to do.
c. Prov. 19:25 – As previously mentioned, even if the scorner doesn’t learn, the punishment is right because OTHERS might learn from it… and beware…
5. Such punishments have been PREPARED (ordained; appointed; set in place).
a. Prov. 13:1 – Scorners don’t learn from a rebuke. It takes something much more severe and serious to get their attention.
b. Rom. 13:4 – God designed human government such that they are equipped to execute justice.
c. They have judgments PREPARED for scorners…
d. They do not bear the sword in vain.
6. There ought to be a healthy sense of fear both in a home and in a nation—a fear of the sword for evil behavior. That kind of fear is GOOD. It prevents evil behavior from becoming commonplace.
7. And this sends a good warning to young people too.
a. If you have friends who scorn justice and righteousness, find some new friends!
b. Those friends who scorn God’s justice and sacred things will not escape the punishment.
c. And those who STAND with them are in danger too.
d. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” (Ps. 1:1)
• Don’t walk with them; don’t stand with them,
• Because eventually you will be sitting with the scornful and become one OF them!
• And you will find punishment prepared for you too!
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 20
Proverbs 20:1
Wine is a Mocker
1a Wine is a mocker
1. Wine: Yayin:
a. 140 occurrences in the Old Testament
b. Translated as “wine” 138 times, [“banqueting” once, and “winebibbers” once.]
c. This is by far the most common term for wine in the Old Testament. It is most often used of fermented grape juice, and intoxicating beverage (Gen. 9:21).
d. However, it is on occasion, used of unfermented grape juice (Isa.16:10).
e. Of course, the term is also used of a fermented juice that CAN cause intoxication. (Hos.4:11).
2. It is necessary to know HOW wine was drunk in Bible times.
a. Often the term referred simply to grape juice… the fruit of the vine.
b. Sometimes the term referred to fermented juice—just like our wine today.
c. But they didn’t drink wine as we do today.
• They mixed wine with between 3–10 parts water, which would make it extremely difficult to become intoxicated by it.
• They mixed their water with wine in order to purify and perhaps sweeten their drinking water… lest they end up with stomach problems.
• They considered drinking STRAIGHT wine to be barbaric.
d. Straight wine—unmixed—was what they called “strong drink.”
• The distilling process to make what WE call strong drink today (whiskey, etc.) had not yet been invented.
e. Wine was also used as a medicine and as an ancient form of anesthesia to numb the pain. (when amputating a limb; or some other injury; etc.)
3. Thus, it was necessary for the ancients to USE wine.
a. There was almost no way to avoid its use.
b. It was a water purifier and a medicine.
c. The good Samaritan poured wine on the wounds of the man he found on the roadway.
d. Paul told Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach’s sake.
e. This might seem foreign to us, but it was common knowledge to the ancients.
f. And because wine had to be USED so often in Bible times, and had so many various legitimate uses, there was also the possibility of ABUSE.
g. It is this issue of abuse that Solomon brings before his people:
• Use it when necessary; wine can be very helpful;
• But be careful, because wine can also be very hurtful.
• Wine is also a mocker!
4. Mocker
a. To mock; deride; scorn; ridicule; make fun of.
b. This term is used 12 times in Proverbs.
c. It is used three times in immediate context where it is translated scorner:
• 19:25 – Scorners are to be smitten; yet they don’t learn.
• 19:28 – The ungodly scorn justice… God’s sense of right and wrong.
• 19:29 – Punishment is prepared for scorners.
d. Then in the very next breath he writes, wine is a scorner!
• I wish here this word was translated as it was in the three passages above…
• That would give us a sense of continuation of the same theme of mockers and scorners.
e. Wine is a mocker because those who come under its influence are often mocked… ridiculed… laughed to scorn.
• People who become intoxicated do some pretty foolish things.
1. They make a public fool of themselves.
2. They dance on the coffee table with a lampshade on their head.
3. If you dare them to jump off the roof they will.
4. They can’t walk a straight line.
5. They can’t make a complete sentence.
6. They drool… they slur… they fall on their face… they vomit…
• When Solomon says “wine is a mocker,” this is a poetic way of speaking about wine as if it were a person…
1. Solomon pictures wine as a person who laughs at you and your calamity…
2. Wine is seen as a person who mocks you for all the stupid things you do and say.
3. Solomon speaks of wine as the agent that makes you act in a stupid manner… then wine laughs at you to scorn your foolish behavior!
4. Solomon says: this is what wine will do to you!
5. Wine is a scorner. It will scorn you.
f. Prov. 22:1 – Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
• Scorners of all stripes cause contention and strife.
• Whatever it is that is causing the scorning and the mockery is the cause of the contention too.
• Get rid of the scorner and the contention ceases!
• This is certainly true in the life of one who abuses alcohol. He can expect much strife and contention.
• But if he gets rid of the scorner (drinks) the contention often ceases.
• This is the clear implication of Solomon’s words concerning wine.
5. Clearly this is a warning from God.
a. Beware of wine. Wine is a mocker.
b. It will end up mocking you… rendering you fit for scorn.
c. Consider the last few proverbs: Scorners are to be smitten. Scorners are to be punished. And wine is a scorner!
1b Strong drink is raging:
1. Strong drink:
a. This term refers to fermented grape juice (wine) that is not mixed with water.
b. It was an intoxicating beverage. The godly Jews always mixed their wine with many parts of water… and its alcoholic content became negligible.
2. Consider some similar warnings about “strong drink” in the Old Testament:
→ Isaiah 5:22 – Woe unto them that are mighty for drinking wine, and men valiant to mix strong drink.
GOD PRONOUNCES A WOE AGAINST THOSE WHO DRINK STRONG DRINK… TO THOSE WHO ARE MIGHTY IN DRINK!
→ Isaiah 24:9 – They do not drink wine with a song; strong drink is bitter to them that drink it.
Here, strong drink results in bitterness.
→ Isaiah 28:7 – But these also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are they gone astray. The priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink; they are overpowered by wine, they are gone astray through strong drink; they have erred in vision, they have stumbled in judgment.
Here, strong drink causes men to err and go astray. This is hardly an endorsement.
3. Raging:
a. To be in a stir, be in a commotion; boisterous, turbulent.
b. Be disturbed, i.e., be in a state of anxiety and distress.
c. Boisterous, brawler.
4. Here too the warning is clear. Strong drink is raging.
a. Strong drink stirs things up… it causes turbulence… a commotion… it causes trouble.
b. Strong drink also leads to brawling… fighting…
c. This hardly needs to be expanded upon. Just visit any barroom across the country or the world on a Friday night around midnight. You will see plenty of turbulence and brawling.
d. Other passages warn that it causes you to err in judgment and to go astray.
5. Wine is a mocker. Strong drink is raging. That’s a pretty good warning. It is reason enough for a thoughtful Christian to want to stay away.
1c And whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
1. Here we are told that wine also deceives.
a. Means: to lead astray, to be mislead (it has moral overtones)
b. Wine deceives because it delivers the opposite of what it promises.
c. People drink to drown their sorrows and to try to be happy.
d. Alcohol is advertised with pictures of people having a great time at a party…
e. But alcohol often delivers something very different.
f. Prov. 23:29, 34 – Alcohol leads to sickness, sorrow, and wounds.
g. Alcohol deceives people into thinking “I can handle this” when it is known to be an addictive substance. Many people CANNOT handle it.
h. Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
i. Alcohol has deceived many people and has captured them… it has promised friends and happiness, but instead, it ruined their lives.
j. And don’t think it can’t happen to a believer. Consider Lot and Noah! They were deceived, mocked, and adversely affected by alcohol.
2. I realize that today, in American Christendom, MOST Christians believe that is ok to drink as long as you don’t get drunk.
a. More and more our view of total abstinence is seen as archaic.
b. They laugh at us and call us legalists.
c. They (in pure ignorance) like to bolster their argument by saying that Jesus drank wine.
d. They like to call us legalists because there is no verse that says “Thou shalt not touch alcohol.” (There are some good reasons for that.)
3. Let’s play a little game with this verse.
a. Solomon is talking about alcohol in this verse.
b. But let’s pretend that he’s NOT talking about alcohol, but about some unknown product. We will call it “X”.
c. Consider what God has just said about “x” in this context:
• Scorners are to be smitten. Punishment is reserved for scorners.
• And in the next breath He said: “X” is a scorner.
• And “X” will deceive you—and you won’t be wise any more. You will be a fool.
• “X” will then laugh you to scorn… mock you… ridicule your folly…
• And “X” will be raging… it will cause turmoil in your life… distress… and perhaps brawling and violence.
• Be honest: does it sound like God is trying to convince you to take “X” or to avoid “X”?
d. If you don’t like the “X” illustration, let’s try a personal approach.
• Just suppose that God came down and warned you face to face that Tom Smith had a plan to deceive you and trick you.
• First he planned to get you to do some foolish things.
• Then he was going to publicly mock and ridicule you for doing them!
• And this would cause great turmoil and distress in your life.
• Once God warned you face to face, don’t you think you would be well advised to stay away from Tom Smith as much as possible?
• You certainly wouldn’t want to hang around with Tom. You wouldn’t want to have him over your house… not if THAT was his plan!
• Well, God HAS warned us about wine and strong drink.
e. Some folks come to a passage like this with their own preconceived ideas about alcohol. They love to drink and therefore try to put a good spin on the bad things the Bible says about alcohol.
f. Others come to a passage like this sincerely wanting to know God’s will. If the heart is honest and open—God’s Word IS clear.
Proverbs 20:2
The Fear of a King
2a The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion:
1. The fear a person has (or ought to have!) when he stands before a king is in some ways like the fear a person has when he stands before a roaring lion.
2. In other words, kings and lions both evoke fear in the hearts of men, because in some ways they are alike.
a. They are both powerful. (Ecc. 8:4)
• Because of his power, nobody can tell a king what to do.
• It is not a good idea to try to tell him what to do either!
• A king had absolute power in those days. He had the power of life and death… no trial necessary.
• Kings with unlimited power were like lions. If they felt like “eating” you they could… and nobody could question them.
b. They are both stronger than you.
• It doesn’t make a lot of sense to try to fight with a king. He will always win—like a lion.
• If it’s a straight battle between you and a lion, the lion is going to win.
• This proverb is a call to acknowledge such power.
• This proverb is similar to our proverb: You can’t fight city hall! City hall always wins. They are bigger and stronger than you!
• They can both do serious harm to you. In fact, they can both kill you.
• If you DO chose to engage a lion, expect serious bodily harm… and quite likely death.
c. They are unpredictable.
• There is no such thing as a tame lion.
• Lion trainers might put their hand in a lion’s mouth one day… and the next day the lion might bite it off.
• A lion trainer in Las Vegas had been working with his lion for years… making the lion jump through hoops… putting his head in his mouth… and all sorts of tricks. But he made one false move and the lion attacked him.
• Working with lions is risky and a dangerous business.
• Lions are wild animals… and thus unpredictable.
• Kings are like lions, Solomon says. They too can be wild and unpredictable: one false move and YOU could be dead!
3. Some men might think that they can stand up to an evil king and set him straight.
a. Solomon’s advice: don’t try it!
b. He uses the illustration of a lion to drive the point home.
c. Could you stand up to a lion? Probably not.
d. Yes, David stood up to a lion and won, but that was a most unusual case. (Probably because God had a plan for the seed of David and providentially intervened in his life to keep him alive so he would HAVE a seed!)
e. Normally, if it’s just you against the lion, the lion wins.
4. What makes this interesting is the fact that this proverb was written BY a king… King Solomon.
a. If your average Joe on the street warns you, “Watch out for the king,” it might be a helpful warning.
b. But you might wonder why he is warning you. Did he have a run in with the king? Does he have an ax to grind against the king? Is he stretching the truth? What is his motivation in making such a warning?
c. You might also wonder, “Does this guy really know what he’s talking about? Is he a trouble maker?”
d. But when the king himself warns you about kings, you take notice. He DOES know what kings are like.
e. Perhaps Solomon remembers times when he unfairly roared at one of his subjects. Kings can have bad days too.
f. Perhaps Solomon remembers a time when a small farmer irritated him, and the king made him pay for it!
g. Or perhaps Solomon had heard stories of OTHER kings—and how harshly they treated their subjects… especially when the subject got the king angry.
2b Whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.
A. Provoking Him to Anger
1. The second part of the proverb tells us a particular WAY in which the king and the lion are alike:
a. Prov. 19:12 – The king’s wrath is like that of a lion.
b. Getting a king angry is like getting a lion angry.
c. This is very much like an American proverb: Don’t grab a tiger by the tail.
d. It is extremely foolish and dangerous to provoke a lion to anger (or a tiger as the young men in San Francisco recently discovered).
e. In the same way it is folly to provoke a king to anger.
2. As you read through the Bible, there are plenty of examples of kings taking out their wrath upon a subject who irritated them.
a. Read through I & II Kings… examples abound.
3. Don’t mess with a lion… or a king.
a. Avoid confrontation at all cost.
b. If you find yourself face to face with a lion—walk gingerly. Don’t irritate him. Don’t poke him with a stick or throw a rock. And hope that he just had lunch!
c. In the same way, don’t mess with a king—or anyone in authority.
d. If a police officer pulls you over, don’t argue with him. Even if you think you are right, don’t be confrontational… don’t pick a fight with him. You might just lose!
4. Do not irritate a lion… or a king.
a. Ecc. 10:20 – Curse not a king… don’t spread gossip or rumors about him. That will irritate him if he finds out.
b. Solomon states (as a king who should know) that often a little bird tells the king. Kings have ways of finding out… so don’t do it.
c. This is good advice in lots of circumstances.
d. Students in a classroom shouldn’t be murmuring about their teacher—for the teacher might find out—and the teacher could make life miserable for the student!
e. Employees should not bad mouth the boss. Bosses also have ways of finding these things out—little birds. Your boss may not have power over life and death—but he does have power over the pink slip… and perhaps over pay raises. Don’t irritate a lion.
5. Stay on the good side of a lion… or a king. Stay in his favor if possible.
a. Prov. 14:35 – The king’s favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.”
• You stay in his good favor by demonstrating wisdom… being a good servant or subject… (or employee or student).
• But his wrath is against those who cause him shame.
• Don’t make the king look bad… because that will really get him angry…
• Kings don’t like to look bad… and he will take it out on whomever it is that makes him look bad!
• Bosses don’t like those who work for them make them look bad either. Nobody does.
• If you know what’s good for you—avoid making others look bad… especially those in a position to get even!
b. II Sam. 10:1-7 – Hanun shamed David and his men.
• He got the king angry at him.
• David gathered the whole host of his army, and defeated Hanun and his men.
• David’s response did not seem to fit the crime. Hanun embarrassed his men. David slaughtered hundreds of men in response.
• Those who cause shame to a king will experience the wrath of that king… and a king’s wrath is not always reasonable.
• That’s the point of the proverb. Irritate a lion a little, and his response might be overwhelming. He could maul you to death… and eat your carcass.
6. Appease a lion or a king…
a. Even if they are mean, cranky, selfish, unfair, and contrary. (Perhaps especially if they are so!)
b. Prov. 16:14 – “The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it.”
c. The purpose of these proverbs is that subjects might be wise in their dealings with fickle, unpredictable, powerful men—like kings.
d. Solomon wrote these words for the GOOD of his subjects. He didn’t want them to have to face the wrath of a king.
e. Don’t provoke him to anger. Do whatever you can to pacify him… even if he is unreasonable… unrighteous… and wrong!
f. He is like a wild animal. Do whatever you can to calm him down and not get him upset. It will be best for YOU.
7. Rom. 12:18 – Live peaceably with ALL men…
a. But especially with those who can make life miserable for you!
b. We can make application of Solomon’s proverb to all kinds of situations in life…
c. In many situations, (even if you’re right and they’re wrong) it’s not worth stirring up a hornets’ nest… it’s not worth grabbing a tiger by the tail… it’s not worth it to provoke a lion to anger (or your boss; your teacher; your mother in law; father in law; or the policeman; or the building inspector.)
8. Fear of what might happen is a GOOD thing.
a. It is healthy and wise.
b. It causes you to think twice before acting or speaking. It causes you to be careful.
c. It causes you to think through the whole situation. Consider the possible reaction and outcome.
d. And if fear results in that kind of caution, it is very helpful.
9. Of course, it’s a good idea not to anger ANYONE… lest they seek revenge and make life miserable for you. This proverb has broader application than to kings only!
a. Solomon later makes the same warning and applies it especially to MEAN kings… (Prov. 28:15)
b. That would be true for ALL mean people. They will turn on you. They can do you much harm.
B. Sinning Against His Own Soul
1. Sinning against his own soul
a. Soul is used here in the sense of one’s life.
b. In other words, the one who angers a King is sinning at the peril of his own life… he is putting his life in danger.
c. If you provoke a king to anger—he could take your life… just like irritating a lion. Do so at your own peril.
2. I Kings 2:23 – Then king Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life.
a. Adonijah attempted to steal the kingdom from his brother Solomon by marrying the young virgin that lay with David. That would have made Adonijah in line for the throne.
b. Obviously, this trickery angered King Solomon.
c. Adonijah did not fear the king. He was poking a stick in the king’s face… in the face of a lion…
d. Solomon roared back—like an angry lion—that Adonijah did so against his own life. (vs.24-25)
3. Romans 13:2 – Men who resist authorities today (regardless of whether it is a monarchy, democracy, or dictatorship) do harm to themselves . Governmental officials have the power of the sword… and they use it!
4. Of course, we do not live in a monarchy or a dictatorship.
a. This proverb is especially written for such situations and does not speak about a democracy.
b. We do not have rulers who have absolute power over life and death—thankfully!
c. We DO have the right and the privilege of opposing leaders here with our vote or by getting involved in politics.
d. But the principle Solomon describes in this proverb IS applicable to us in many various situations where people have authority over us… and wherein getting them angry could make life miserable for us.
Proverbs 20:10, 23
Divers Weights and Measures
10a Divers weights and divers measures
1. Weights and measures were instruments used to conduct business in ancient times before paper money.
2. Weights: Stones that came in various sizes and thus various weights.
a. They were used in weighing merchandise for sale.
b. It was a stone used as the counter-balance on a scale, as a unit of weight which is the standard.
3. Measures: Ephah; a dry measure of quantity; ALSO – the receptacle for measuring or holding that amount.
4. Balance: Set of scales; i.e., an implement for weighing, consisting of two balance pans with a standardized weight in one pan and the object to be weighed in the other.
a. Prov. 20:23 – a false balance
b. Prov. 11:1 – A false balance is an abomination.
• If the balance arms were of unequal length, the scale would appear to say that they were equal, but they would not be equal.
• It works like a seesaw. The short end requires more weight to balance the bar.
• Thus, dishonest merchants could use a “false balance”—with arms of unequal length.
c. There were LOTS of ways to cheat and steal.
d. There is a lot in the Bible about this practice—because cheating has always been a major problem with commerce.
5. Dishonesty
a. Lev. 19:36 – They were to have “just” (fair) weights in their bags so that they gave a “fair” portion of goods to those who bought from them…
b. The Law demanded this kind of honesty… fair business practices.
c. II Sam. 14:26 – “The king’s weight.”
• This was a standard weight which was to be used throughout the kingdom, so that everyone would be using the same measure.
• Merchants could not make their own weights…
• There had to be one standard weight, or transactions could not be conducted fairly.
• Governmental officials would be assigned the task of inspecting the merchants to PREVENT skimming and cheating.
• God and the king both expected the merchants to follow the royal standards.
d. Prov. 16:11 – A just weight is of the Lord.
e. Ex. – Canada’s Imperial quarts and gallons are not the same as ours.
f. Ex. – In recent years some companies have chosen a sneaky way of getting more money from us.
• Instead of raising the price, they made the product smaller… but just a little smaller so you might not notice. (Ice cream; coffee cans; bread.)
• The size of the product is reduced, but the price is not reduced—so you are really paying MORE per ounce for the product, even though the can has the same price.
• It is not stealing, because the new cans are labeled in small print.
g. Micah 6:11 – This sort of dishonesty was common in Israel…
• Israel is no different than any other nation.
• This kind of dishonesty also exists in Russia, Cuba, Ethiopia, Brazil, China, Denmark, and the good old USA!
• It is because we are ALL sinners. Human nature is fallen and it is the same all across the world.
• Here’s a unifying factor across the globe… something we all share in common. We are all deceitful, lying, dishonest, corrupt, and crooked by nature.
• For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God. This is human nature.
WHAT IS BEHIND THIS KIND OF DISHONESTY
1. This dishonesty is all rooted in a “love of money.”
a. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
b. Here’s another kind of evil that grows out of that root: deceptive business practices.
2. Dishonesty also involves taking advantage of people.
a. Those ancient thieves would lie right to the face of their customer!
b. They knew that the average customer would not be able to tell the difference between a 5 pounds and 4.8 pounds.
c. Thus, this kind of stealing was a form of taking advantage of one’s neighbor, when the Law commanded them to love their neighbor.
3. Prov. 11:20 – A froward heart is behind this practice.
a. Froward = perverse, morally crooked or warped.
b. Such a heart is an abomination to God… and so is the practice or the fruit that comes out of that heart.
4. We don’t use stones and scales to buy and purchase today, but the principle applies just as well in the modern world.
a. Some companies keep two books instead of two stones. They keep one book for the IRS and the auditor, and another book for their own records. (That’s like having two different weights.)
b. Gas stations have been caught in skimming scams. They tweak their pumps so that you are not getting a full gallon, even though the pump SAYS you are… and even though you are PAYING for a full gallon. That IS stealing and is against the law. Thus, they have two measures—one measure the customer actually receives (9/10 gal.) and the other is what he pays for (a full gallon).
c. Today thieves steal identity. They have their own IDs and credit cards for everyday use. Then they have YOUR credit cards and IDs for when they go on a shopping spree.
10b Both of them are alike abomination to the LORD.
1. Both of them alike – (both = #2) & (alike = also; again; alike)
a. The two terms really repeat (for emphasis) the same truth.
b. The two (weights and measures) are BOTH the same…
c. It really doesn’t matter HOW you cheat with these instruments.
d. Whether you put an unequal weight in the scale for items sold by weight, OR if you use the wrong size measuring basket for items sold by volume, the bottom line is the same.
e. You’re cheating! You’re stealing! It is a dishonest scam. You’re a crook!
f. And today, it doesn’t matter by what MEANS we cheat or steal from others… every method is alike an abomination.
2. Abomination: A disgusting thing, a despicable, repulsive, an object or practice which is loathsome and abhorrent, often in an ethical or moral sense; something that is especially offensive.
a. Only a select group of sins were called abominations in the Old Testament.
b. This kind of dishonesty puts you into the same category with murderers, homosexuals, and idolaters.
c. Rev. 21:8 – But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.
3. To the Lord:
a. God observes all such practices.
b. He hates the deceptive practice.
c. He also hates the greed—the love of money—that undergirds it.
d. He hates to see people take advantage of others.
e. The Lord is a God of JUSTICE.
• Hence He loves just balances…
• And He hates unjust balances.
f. The Lord is a God of TRUTH
• Hence, He hates all kinds of fraud and lies.
• God is opposed to those who oppose truth and justice.
4. Deut. 25:13-16 – this kind of dishonesty was an abomination to the Lord. (That thy days may be lengthened on the earth.)
a. They were forbidden from even possessing a small and a great weight. (Why else would you own such weights?)
b. The small weight they used when they sold a product.
c. The big weight they used when they bought a product.
d. It was a sin-win situation for this dishonest merchant.
e. They were not to have such weights in their place of business OR in their homes (many women worked from their homes).
f. Instead of the small and a great weight, they were to have a perfect (accurate) and just (fair) measure.
g. When you treat your customers fairly, your days will be lengthened.
h. When you are a cheater—you are an abomination to God.
5. Lev. 19:35-37 – Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.
a. They were to be honest because of WHO GOD IS.
• He is the LORD… Almighty… omniscient One
• He is the Lord of justice
b. They were to be honest because of WHAT GOD DID for them.
• In Egypt, they were taken advantage of, as slaves.
• Therefore, now redeemed from Egypt, they should treat others as they would like to be treated themselves! If you remember what it was like to BE mistreated, you will not want to mistreat others.
6. Prov. 15:3 – the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding both the evil and the good.
a. God expects us to be honest in ALL of our doings.
b. He is observing everything we do.
c. But we should be honest NOT just because God knows anyway and we can’t get away with it.
d. We should be honest because we are yielded to God and the LIFE of Christ is manifested through us… in word and deed.
e. Honesty ought to characterize our lives… even down to the tiny details of life.
f. Honesty should be our testimony before the world. That’s how we should be known.
g. If we do something DISHONEST, we have disgraced the Lord… and ruined our testimony.
7. Prov. 28:6 – You are better off to be poor than to gain riches by being crooked!
Proverbs 20:4
The Sluggard
4a The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold
1. Sluggard defined:
a. A person who is slow to take any action, suggesting a lack of discipline or initiative; it suggests a moral failure.
b. A person who is habitually lazy and inactive, because of a lack of initiative.
c. This is one of the personalities we have seen several times in Proverbs so far.
d. We have seen him in chapters, 6, 10, 13, 15, and 19.
e. He will be seen several more times after this chapter too.
f. The sluggard is mentioned often in proverbs because it is a common problem among men… women… and children.
2. Solomon highlights one more characteristic of the sluggard here: he refuses to plow when it’s time to plow.
a. The cold, rainy season in this part of the world is the time when the fields need to be plowed.
b. The cold rainy season isn’t ideal, but it IS the time to plow. That is the only opportunity he has.
c. If you wait until the cold, rainy season is over, it might be more comfortable outside to plow, but it’s too late.
d. By then, the window of opportunity is over. You won’t have time for your crops to grow.
e. Some jobs have to be done when they have to be done.
3. This sluggard makes excuses for his laziness: it’s too cold outside to plow today!
a. Sluggards come up with all kinds of excuses.
b. When the heart is not in the work, the slightest problem will be seen as a hindrance to DO the work.
c. The same is true in the work of the Lord too. If your heart is not in it, almost anything becomes an excuse not to do it…
d. A minor headache will keep you away from the chore… two snowflakes will keep you away… the slightest difficulty is enough to convince a person who doesn’t WANT to work that he should stay home.
e. Prov. 22:13 – There is a lion without! I can’t work today. It’s too dangerous.
f. A lazy man doesn’t really need a GOOD excuse. Any old excuse will do.
g. The sluggard in chapter 20:4 uses the weather as an excuse… but it really isn’t an excuse.
h. Actually, when the cold season comes there, it was actually God’s reminder to them that it is TIME to get out and plow!
i. When the cold, rainy season begins, that was nature’s alarm clock that it was now time to get out and plow…
j. Everyone else got out and plowed. All the other farmers knew what the cold, rainy season meant.
k. And all the other farmers took advantage of this season.
4. This is a major thrust in this proverb: Wisdom demands that we take advantage of opportunities while the window is open… for it may soon be shut.
a. Col. 4:5 – They redeemed the time… walk in wisdom—redeem the time.
b. There is a connection between wisdom and taking advantage of opportunities. That’s what wisdom does!
c. Prov. 6:6 – Laziness is a lack of wisdom… (Not even as wise as an ant!) A refusal to employ wisdom.
d. There is a direct connection between wisdom and diligence.
e. It is wise to be diligent and redeem the time.
f. It is foolish to be lazy and let opportunities slip away.
g. And yes, the farmers in Prov. 20:4 got wet out there in the fields. And they got cold too.
h. But they didn’t complain… and they didn’t use that as an excuse NOT to get to work.
i. They chose instead to bite the bullet, go out in the cold rain, and DO what had to be done. That’s wisdom.
j. What the lazy sluggard did was a foolish waste of time and opportunity.
k. Prov. 26:16 – Fools THINK they are wise.
• When all the other farmers were out getting cold and wet plowing their fields, the sluggard was sitting at home before a warm fire.
• There in the comfort of his home he thought to himself: “Those men are fools! I’m the wise one. I’ll wait until the cold, rainy season is over before I plow.”
• Lazy fools always think they are smarter than everyone else.
l. BUT—In postponing the plowing season would prove to be too late to reap a bountiful harvest.
5. Conditions in the cold rain were not ideal.
a. But the diligent workers didn’t live in an idyllic, dream world. They lived in the REAL world.
b. And conditions are not always ideal in the real world. In fact, conditions are hardly ever ideal in the real world.
c. So although the wise, diligent farmers would have much preferred warmer, drier weather, they knew that the cold, rainy season was the time to plow… so they plowed.
d. The lazy sluggard wasn’t living in the real world. He was living in an imaginary world of his own making… a dream world… which was really a slothful, lazy, and morally reprehensible world!
e. And when harvest time came, he would only be able to DREAM about a bountiful crop!
f. His lazy dreams would not feed his family.
6. And once the diligent farmers got their work done, they felt good about it.
a. They slept well that night. They knew that the prep work was done for a bountiful crop when the warmer weather came.
• There is a sense of satisfaction that comes from a job well done.
• Don’t you feel good when you finally decide to tackle a job you have been putting off… and once the job is finally done, you feel good about it.
• It is a burden off your mind. There is a sense of relief… and a sense of accomplishment…
• It feels good to check things off the TO DO list… especially the things you’re not too crazy about doing.
• The diligent farmers felt good about having their fields all plowed and ready for sowing.
b. Prov. 26:14 – But the sluggard could NOT sleep well.
• He tossed and turned all night like a door on its hinges…
• He knew deep down inside, that he lost his opportunity for a good crop… and he felt bad about it.
• Perhaps he was now thinking, “I wish I had plowed today. I should have…”
• He was probably worried about going hungry next season…
• His conscience bothered him and kept him awake at night because he KNEW that he should have been out there plowing like his neighbors were doing.
• So while his diligent neighbors were laboring hard all during the day—he was lounging comfortably at home in his favorite, well worn chair.
• But that night, while the diligent workers were sleeping like babies… he was tossing and turning…
• He tossed and turned like a door because his guilty conscience bothered him… he was full of fear and anxiety for the future… he worried about what he would feed his family…
c. On the other hand, the diligent workers knew they could look forward to reaping the fruit of their labors in a few months.
• They knew that you reap what you sow… AND that you can only sow the fields that have been plowed.
• They put two and two together… and the answer was clear: it’s time to plow. If I don’t plow, I won’t be able to sow… and if I don’t sow, I won’t reap.
• The diligent farmers probably didn’t like the cold rain any more than the sluggard.
• But the diligent farmers never even entertained the thought of not plowing. They knew that the job had to be done—so they did it.
• In the cold, rainy season, there was a big difference between the diligent farmers and the sluggard.
» The sluggard invented excuses not to plow: it’s too cold out!
» The diligent workers didn’t invent excuses like the sluggard. They got up and out and did the work.
4b Therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
1. Here is another difference between the two…
a. This difference isn’t seen until harvest time.
b. In the time of harvest, the diligent farmer has plenty of fruit.
c. The sluggard is reduced to begging. He has nothing.
d. He DID nothing… so he HAS nothing.
e. He didn’t plow, so he couldn’t sow, and therefore he didn’t reap.
f. There was no surprise here.
g. This was something that he SHOULD have been foreseen. This event was entirely predictable.
h. Prov. 19:15 – Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
i. And therefore, it was very FOOLISH.
2. There is also an element of morality involved here.
a. In time of harvest he was begging food from others.
b. In other words, he expected those who worked hard to feed him… and perhaps his family.
c. It is WRONG for a man who is able to work and chooses NOT to work, to expect others to provide food for him.
d. II Thess. 3:10 – if a man WILL not work, neither should he eat.
• The emphasis here is on WILL not.
• Men who are willing to work but for some reason beyond their control they are unable to do so should not go hungry.
• That’s where Christian charity comes in.
• If we can we should FEED that man. Don’t send that man away hungry.
e. But it is not right to feed the sluggard. That will only encourage his laziness. It is rewarding bad behavior.
f. That only exacerbates the problem and it sets a terrible example. Other sluggards will observe and discover that if they are lazy, they too will be rewarded with handouts. Why plow?
g. It IS right to let them go hungry. That is God’s method of curing the sluggard: hunger! Pain… maybe homelessness… cold…
h. Those who give to the sluggards of the world THINK that they are showing compassion to them.
i. In fact, they are part of the problem. Those handouts are BREEDING more sluggards and perpetuating the problem.
j. As cold as it might seem at first, it is best to let them go without… let them go hungry.
3. Prov. 13:4 – He will desire to have, but will have nothing.
a. And once again, he has made a miserable life for himself.
b. He now sits around and observes others enjoying their plenty… and he sits in need… wishing… dreaming… and empty.
c. And once again, when his neighbors are sleeping like babies… he is tossing and turning on his bed… only now on top of his guilt and anxiety is hunger.
d. The sluggard has a miserable life.
e. Solomon has warned us well here.
Proverbs 20:5
Counsel in the Heart of Man
Introduction:
1. This proverb is sufficiently vague so as to create a bit of difficulty in interpretation.
a. Is Solomon speaking about a wise man or a foolish man?
b. Is Solomon speaking about one man who has counsel in his heart and knows when to bring it out?
c. Is Solomon speaking about two men, one with good counsel and the other who needs it… and comes to the wise man to draw out that wisdom?
d. In another portion of Scripture we would be inclined to say that Solomon meant either one or the other.
e. However, in THIS form of literature (proverbs), we have short concise sayings that were designed to make you think.
f. It is possible that Solomon meant either one thing OR the other.
g. But it is also possible that the vagueness was purposeful… that it might be applied to various situations.
5a Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water…
1. Here Solomon describes a man of great wisdom. He has GOOD counsel in his heart.
a. Counsel: Counsel; advice; purpose; the ability to tell someone what they should do based on a plan, purpose, or vision; the ability to make good judgments, good decisions.
b. Ps. 33:11 – This is used of the “counsel of the Lord.” His counsel stands forever. It is true and right.
c. The counsel of a wise man will be in harmony with the counsel of the Lord. His counsel would never willingly violate the counsel of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
d. The heart speaks of the whole inner man… his inner thoughts… feelings… emotions… attitudes…
e. The counsels of the heart = deep down inside a wise man there are counsels, purposes, goals, values, motives, a world view, a sense of good judgment… opinions… etc.
2. This man is to be contrasted to the fool.
a. Prov. 18:7 – The fool’s mouth is his destruction. He blurts out whatever pops into his head… and that is often not worth repeating!
b. The fool also has counsel… but it is foolish counsel. It is not deep, but shallow and foolish.
c. Unfortunately, the fool THINKS he knows it all, so he constantly blurts out his folly… even when no one wants to hear it.
d. The fool is always ready to give his foolish counsel, even when no one is seeking for his advice.
3. The wise man with good counsel in his heart is different from a fool.
a. His counsel is deep… wise… not superficial.
b. Nor is his counsel something that he feels he ought to blurt out.
c. He does not constantly pour out his own views and ideas.
d. He keeps his wisdom in his own heart.
e. He is UNLIKE the fool, because he knows when to draw it out.
f. He may not say much, but when he speaks, he has something worthwhile to say. When he does speak, it is worth hearing… worth paying attention to.
g. I’m sure we all know older, wise men that fit this category. He is a man of few words, but those few words are usually gems.
h. Prov. 10:14 – He lays it up like treasure in his heart.
i. The fool constantly blathers out superficial things… folly.
j. But the wise man has wisdom like a deep reservoir of water.
• It is not constantly flowing… like the folly of a fool.
• The wise man knows enough to draw it out only at the proper time.
4. The counsel in his heart is like deep water.
a. The deep water here is well water.
b. And in a hot, dry land, the deeper the well water, the better.
c. The water on the surface might be lukewarm… tepid, and not very refreshing.
d. In a dug well or cistern, this water might not be all that clean either.
e. The deeper the water, the colder it would be… the more refreshing.
f. Water from a deep well is the best water. It is cool, refreshing, clean, pure, and satisfying.
g. Counsel in the heart of a wise man is like that.
BUT WORDS THAT ARE DEEP AND PROFOUND ARE WORTH THE EFFORT.
• Prov. 2:1-6 – Solomon’s wise words are DEEP beneath the surface.
• However, diligent searching will be rewarded by FINDING the wisdom of his words.
• So keep on digging! Don’t give up.
• That’s the point of the expression “deep waters” too. It requires some EFFORT to draw it out… but it is worth the effort.
5b But a man of understanding will draw it out.
1. Here Solomon pictures another man coming TO the wise man with good counsel in his heart.
a. The wise man’s counsel is like cool, refreshing water.
b. A man of understanding will SEEK OUT that cool, refreshing water.
2. A man of understanding is the kind of man who will SEEK after advice and counsel.
a. He is not a fool. He is not a know it all.
b. Fools don’t seek advice. Why should they? They know it all already! (Prov. 12:15 – He is right in his own eyes.)
c. But the man of understanding realizes that in many situations, he NEEDS counsel… he needs advice.
d. The Bible SAYS that we ought to seek counsel.
• Prov. 1:5 – The man of understanding ATTAINS wise counsel. Why? Because he SEEKS it out until he finds it.
• Prov. 9:9 – Give instruction to a wise man and he will become even wiser.
• Several passages speak about this fact: men of understanding seek out advice and counsel.
3. Prov. 20:5 adds an additional thought: They know where to look!
a. They know enough to go to the wise man that possesses a deep reservoir of good, hearty counsel.
b. In other words, if you want to be wise, seek out wisdom from those who have it… from those who have a deep reservoir of experience and wisdom…
c. Go to such a man or woman and pick their brains… seek advice… counsel… guidance…
d. A wise man HAS that wisdom. A man of understanding and insight demonstrates his discernment and understanding by “drawing it out.”
4. The passage implies that there are many older, mature, experienced men and women who may be quiet about the wisdom they have gained over the years.
a. They are a reservoir of riches… or ideas… of advice… and good counsel.
b. However, they don’t go around telling people what to do.
c. But if you go to them and ask… seek… you will discover that you will be able to draw it out of them.
d. There is plenty of good counsel IN his heart. It is our task to draw it out!
e. Sometimes we lose out on the cool, refreshing water we COULD have enjoyed because we did not draw it out.
f. Sometimes we lose out on the good advice and wisdom because we did not ask… we were not inquisitive enough…
g. His point: engage in conversations with wise, experienced saints!
h. They have a lot of wisdom to offer.
i. To draw it out, you have to talk to them… ask questions… seek their opinions and views and ask why… bounce some of your ideas off them to see what they think…
j. Very often wisdom comes with age. And older, wise people have learned from experience not to stick their noses into other people’s business. They have learned not to tell others what to do. Also with wisdom comes modesty.
k. Thus, we have many older, wise saints, with a vast reservoir of experience and wisdom available… but their wisdom is not like a flowing brook… always pouring out of their lips. Often their wisdom is like deep water in a well.
l. It has to be drawn out… and when it is drawn out, it is like cool, refreshing water… valuable… restorative… nourishing… just what you needed!
m. Prov. 13:20 – “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise.”
5. And if wise men are like reservoirs of fresh, cool water of great benefit to those who are inquisitive and seek it… how much MORE can we apply this to the Word of God!
a. What a treasure chest of wisdom we have in God’s Word.
b. Yet, it too must be drawn out.
c. II Tim. 2:15 – Study (be diligent) to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Proverbs 20:6
A Faithful Man
6a Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness:
1. Goodness: This is a very broad and generic term that has lots of various shades of meaning (like good in English).
a. Strong’s: Goodness; kindness; faithfulness.
b. Dictionary of Bible Languages: Loyal love; unfailing kindness; devotion; favor.
c. Zodhiates: Kindness, lovingkindness, mercy, goodness, faithfulness, love, acts of kindness.
d. Theological Workbook of the Old Testament: Steadfast love; loyalty.
e. It is used of God often (as in Psalm 136:1) = “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
2. This quality is to be desired.
a. Proverb 19:22 – “The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar.” (Kindness = same term as goodness.)
b. This quality (when it is genuine) is what makes a person desirable.
c. Everybody likes a man who is kind, faithful, and good!
3. Solomon states that most men will PROCLAIM their own goodness.
a. Proclaim: To call out; announce; i.e., make a public calling out of information or an event; mention publicly.
b. Here Solomon tells us something that we all know already: most men like to let others know of their good qualities.
c. We all know that everybody LIKES a man who is kind and good. Thus, people have a tendency to proclaim their kindness and goodness to others.
d. This is human nature. If you want people to think well of you, then proclaim your goodness to them… for the desire of a man is his goodness.
e. Because we all know this, we like to proclaim it.
f. They like to proclaim their good deeds.
g. They like to proclaim how “good” they are in various skills: sports; music; career; speech; making friends; various talents; etc.
h. They like to proclaim their acts of kindness and mercy.
i. They like to proclaim their loyalty as a friend.
j. They like to proclaim their faithfulness to the Lord… how spiritual they are.
k. They like to proclaim their overall “goodness” in every area of life.
4. Solomon lets us know that it is human nature to proclaim our own goodness.
a. MOST men do it. (Most = a great abundance; multitudes.)
b. There are very few exceptions.
c. We have ALL done it. Perhaps some have done it more than others, but we’ve ALL done it… repeatedly.
d. Prov. 16:2 – All the ways of man are right in his own eyes… BUT the Lord often has a different view of the situation.
e. The second part of Prov. 10:6 states something similar, and then also adds the conjunction “but”.
6b But a faithful man who can find?
1. Solomon does not dispute their claims to having done good things.
2. But he does dispute their overall “goodness.”
a. Even evil dictators would be able to accurately proclaim some good things they did.
b. After all, they built bridges; hospitals; helped their friends become rich; provided mansions for their friends and family; etc.
3. Anybody can put himself in a favorable light.
a. It’s not only the politician who is a master of spin. We ALL have developed that fine art. We learn to spin almost anything to make self look good.
b. Matt. 7:22-23 – These men put themselves in a favorable light before the Lord. But Christ was able to see through that favorable lighting… He saw the truth of the matter.
4. Solomon acknowledges in this proverb that ALL men are good at “spinning.”
a. But he wipes that all aside and gets to the truth: few men are truly faithful.
b. Solomon makes it clear that spin doesn’t matter. Truth does.
c. It doesn’t matter how rosy a picture a man paints of himself. The truth is usually a very different picture.
d. As a pastor who spends time counseling with folks, this proverb has been proven in practice repeatedly. (Try counseling two people who are fighting… one at a time!)
e. I never cease to be amazed at the inventiveness and skillful wordsmithing that some folks have developed in describing a situation (without actually lying) which paints them in the rosiest of colors! Then the other person in describing the very same scenario manages to make himself look good… kind… loyal… faithful.
f. This seems to be the thought Solomon is describing in this proverb.
5. Solomon suggests by his language here that men who proclaim their own goodness are not faithful to the truth!
a. We have a tendency to exaggerate our goodness…
b. We have a tendency to minimize our failures and faults.
c. As we proclaim our goodness, we have a tendency to leave out details that put us in a less than favorable light.
d. We may tell the truth, but not always the WHOLE truth.
e. We have a tendency to see ourselves through rose tinted glasses.
f. That slant is not being faithful to the truth… to reality.
g. We have serious blind spots when it comes to how we see self.
h. We easily see our good points and delight to point them… along with a little embellishment…
6. For this reason it is necessary to hear BOTH sides of a story before drawing any conclusions.
a. Prov. 18:17 – He that is first in his own cause SEEMETH just.
• When you hear one side of the story, that person always portrays himself as the good guy… and the other side as the bad guy.
• The first side of the story you hear usually sounds very convincing. He usually conveys an airtight argument.
• It sounds good UNTIL the other guy comes along and tells the other side of the story… details the first guy somehow overlooked… a slightly different chronology of events…
• And they use very different terms (he said vs. he yelled; he came vs. he snuck in; he came home at 9:00 vs. he came home in the darkness of night; I patted my son on the head vs. he hit his own son right on the head!)
b. Solomon reminds us that it is human nature to word things in such a way that makes self look good and the other guy look bad.
c. Solomon also laments, that very, very rarely is a person FAITHFUL with the facts… with the story… with the events…
d. Goodness, loyalty, and faithfulness are great qualities. But not everybody who claims to have them actually DOES have them.
e. This is especially true of those who brag and boast about their good qualities.
• Boasters do a lot of loud proclaiming, but there is usually very little substance behind the boasting.
• People who boast about their charity, kindness, piety and faithfulness rarely possess those qualities.
• Prov. 25:14 – We are usually very disappointed with the boasting of men. When they proclaim but don’t deliver, it is disappointing.
• The proof is in the pudding… the proof is in deeds, not words.
7. Those who are ACTUALLY good, kind, and faithful do NOT normally proclaim it. They do not boast about it.
a. That is because those good qualities are usually accompanied by another good quality: humility.
b. Matt. 6:1 – It is good to be good and to do good deeds. But it is not good to proclaim it. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for that.
c. Ps.1 2:1 – Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.”
d. Men who SAY they are good and faithful are a dime a dozen.
e. But men who are TRULY good and faithful are hard to come by. It is a rare breed.
f. Reality lies not in the proclaiming (in saying) but in DOING.
8. This little nugget of truth has good application for us all.
a. Where do WE stand?
b. How do others see us?
c. Is there a disconnect between our words and our actions?
d. Do we talk a good talk but fail to walk the walk?
e. Are we loyal and faithful in our responsibilities: in our marriage, as parents, at work, in the local church?
f. It is one thing to be good, loyal, and faithful in WORD. It is quite another thing to be good, loyal, and faithful in DEED.
g. Reality is what counts.
Proverbs 20:7
Men of Integrity and Their Children
7a The just man walketh in his integrity:
A. The Just Man
1. Just:
a. Just, righteous.
• legally or spiritually – just before the law or just before God
b. spiritually = justified by faith
• Gen. 6:9 – Noah was a just man.
• Gen 15:6 – Abraham was accounted “righteous.”
c. Solomon MAY be using this in a very generic sense… righteous in ANY way (before the civil law; before God; before his boss at work; etc.)
2. Walk:
a. Can mean walk (literally).
b. But this term is used in LOTS of different ways (Dict. Of Bib. Lang. gave it 35 different definitions—all very similar.)
c. This term can also mean: Behave; conduct; live; conduct the course of one’s life…
d. That seems to be how Solomon uses the term here—much as the word “walk” is used in the New Testament.
3. Integrity:
a. Integrity; simplicity; fullness; blameless; with a clean conscience; moral goodness.
b. When Absalom invited two hundred men from Jerusalem to his party, the word denoted that the men did not have any idea of what was about to happen (2 Sam. 15:11). (simplicity; innocent) They came in their integrity… not realizing what he was up to… his conspiracy to overthrow his father.
c. In Genesis, Abimelech acted with a clear conscience after taking Sarah, for Abraham stated that Sarah was his sister (Gen. 20:5, 6).
d. Ps. 15:1-2 – This is the kind of man who can abide in the Tabernacle of God… and have fellowship with God.
e. Ps. 140:13 – The upright shall dwell in thy presence.
B. Walking in Integrity
1. He leads his whole life in integrity.
a. It is the JUST or righteous man who walks in integrity.
• This does not refer to a carnal believer who plays church on Sunday and lives the rest of his life for himself.
• This refers to a just man—justified—one who also walks the walk.
• He walks humbly with God. He is sensitive to God and to spiritual things.
b. This is not the man who leads a double life… who shows up in his Christian suit on Sunday and lives for the devil the rest of the week.
c. This is a man whose whole life is characterized by integrity—moral goodness. He is a man of honor.
d. He walks with a pure conscience. When he sins, he confesses his sins and keeps his conscience pure.
e. He’s not perfect, but he does have integrity. When he fails he admits it and makes it right.
2. The man who walks in integrity is blessed.
a. Ps. 25:21 – Integrity will PRESERVE him from trouble that others have to deal with.
b. Prov. 13:6 – Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way.
c. Ps. 18:25 – God will be upright with him! (same word) If we are honest and open with God, He will be honest and open with us!
d. Ps. 26:1 – He can expect God’s mercy to be shown him. He has a pure conscience. He can cry out to God for mercy, AND receive it!
e. Ps. 26:1 – He walks in integrity; therefore he will not slide—fall. It is a spiritually SAFE manner of life.
3. HE doesn’t have to worry about the things deceitful men have to worry about.
a. Liars have to worry about what they said and to whom.
b. Men who cheat and steal have to worry about getting caught…
c. Men who lead double lives have to worry that people from one of his worlds will discover someone from his other world.
d. The governor of NY gained a reputation for being a man of integrity and going after the white collar criminals and corruption in his state… only to discover that he had been leading a double life… he was not what he claimed to be.
4. Ps. 37:37 – He is a man who enjoys PEACE of mind.
a. This doesn’t mean that bad things don’t happen to men of integrity.
b. But it does mean that he can sleep at night.
c. He has peace of mind—knowing that he is right with God and his fellow man.
d. He has a clear conscience. That is part of the blessing of which Solomon writes.
5. Yes, there are great advantages to leading a life of integrity.
a. There are many personal benefits.
b. Of course the MOST important is that it is pleasing to the Lord.
c. However, there is also another important earthly blessing relating to leading a life of integrity: your children!
7b His children are blessed after him.
A. They Are Blessed Having Such a Father
1. Blessed: Happiness, blessedness; a state of joyful mind.
a. It is a blessed and happy life for children to grow up in a home in which the father is a man of integrity.
b. Some children have miserable childhoods because of a father who is not such a man.
c. Think of how many children grow up with their fathers in prison.
• In 1999, there were 1,284,894 prisoners in the custody of state and federal prisons.
• Of these, approximately 56% (or 721,500) were the parents to minor children.
d. Think of how many children grow up only to see their father drunk or drugged up half the time.
e. By way of contrast, Solomon states that the children of men of integrity are BLESSED.
f. It is a blessing to HAVE such a father… whether the kids realize it or not.
g. Remember that this book was written primarily to YOUNG men.
• That they might appreciate and learn wisdom from their parents.
• That they might learn about and appreciate the heritage their parents leave behind.
• Here Solomon reminds young people to appreciate the blessed life that is theirs because of the life of integrity lived by their father.
• And the hope is that this kind of lifestyle will be passed down to future generations as well.
2. This blessing is really from the Lord.
a. It was HE who established the family.
b. It was HE who gave instructions concerning how to live a life of integrity.
c. It is the Lord who saves men… and transforms their lives.
d. It is the Lord who enables a man to have victory over the vices that ruin others.
e. Every good gift comes down from above—from the father of Lights… including one’s earthly father.
f. If a man walks in integrity, it’s because the Lord made it possible.
3. Prov. 13:22 – A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children.
a. A man of integrity may not leave an inheritance of gold and silver; but he leaves behind something far more valuable: integrity and the blessed life that results from it.
b. This is from the Lord ultimately.
4. Parents who walk in integrity pass on to their children a blessing that lasts a lifetime.
a. It is their WALK that instructs more than their TALK.
b. Kids pick up on the value system of their parents by watching them in action… day after day for years.
c. Kids can see when parents are hypocrites. They notice!
d. They also see when parents are honest, upright, and full of integrity. They can’t help but notice that too.
e. This is the blessing that men of integrity pass on to their children.
f. However, what they DO with that blessing is up to the children.
• They can either follow it and pass it on to THEIR children.
• Or they can throw it out the window.
B. They Are Blessed in Following Their Father
1. AFTER:
a. Can mean: after, later, behind, etc.
b. Can mean: Follow, formally, be after, i.e., go after another person or group in a linear motion. (1 Sam. 12:14) Follow is the same word as “after.” It implies to follow after.
2. Children who grow up in a house led by a man of integrity are blessed and usually follow in that way. (Remember—this is a proverb.)
a. They saw the blessedness of their father’s life of integrity and usually they want the same for themselves and their family.
3. Ps. 112:1-2 – Here is a blessed man; he walks with God and his seed is strong and is blessed too.
a. A man of integrity is blessed and happy. And his children are happy after him. They BENEFIT from his integrity.
b. His children fare better in life because of his lifestyle.
c. In this way, God bestows mercy on his seed…
d. Prov. 14:11 – but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
4. Solomon wrote this proverb from personal experience.
a. I Chronicles 29:17 – David knew that God was pleased with a heart full of integrity.
b. Ps. 78:72 – David shepherded with a “heart of integrity.” That’s why he was a man after God’s own heart. That’s what made David special in God’s sight. He was wholesome, honest, pure, and clean in whatever he did. It was his lifestyle.
c. I Kings 9:4-5 – God promised to Solomon that if he walked in integrity like his father David, that God would bless him too.
d. Could this have been what prompted Solomon to write our proverb?
e. God reminded Solomon that his father David walked in integrity…
f. And God challenged Solomon to follow his father’s walk.
g. These are good reminders and challenges for fathers today to pass on to their children. A life of integrity is blessed… and can be for many generations…
C. Conclusions
1. Parents therefore can either WORRY or WALK.
a. Parents naturally worry about their kids.
b. Concern is natural. But anxious worry and fretting is not right.
c. The right thing to do is to WALK.
d. It is the man of integrity’s WALK that blazes the trail for blessing for his children.
e. We would do our children more good if we channeled all that energy we spend in worrying into our walk… our kids would be blessed.
Proverbs 20:8
The King Scatters Evil
8a A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment
1. Here Solomon pictures the king’s role as Judge.
a. Solomon himself was familiar with this role.
b. There were judges in the land, but when a case was too difficult, they would bring it to the King.
c. Standing before the king for judgment was like standing before the Supreme Court.
d. The king was the last resort for a matter to be resolved; his word was final.
e. It was therefore, a fearful thing to stand before the King.
2. The king is seen on his throne.
a. As such, he is seen as an august, royal, authority and with unlimited power.
b. In this proverb, the king is seen sitting upon his royal throne; and he sits on his throne in his royal robes.
c. As such, it is a fearful thing to stand before the king’s throne of judgment.
d. On his throne he is high and lifted up… and looms large to those standing below.
e. It was a fearful thing to stand before him… especially in that setting.
f. This is especially so since he has the power of life and death.
3. A king sitting upon his throne of judgment was intended to be extremely intimidating to anyone standing before him.
a. I Kings 3:28 – And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.
b. After Solomon’s first recorded judgment on his throne, it was said that all Israel FEARED him.
c. After that, people would think twice about trying to fool the king.
8b The King scattereth away all evil with his eyes.
1. The key to understanding this proverb is to know what is meant by the verb “scattereth.”
a. The term can mean scatter, cast away, disperse, spread.
b. The term can also mean to winnow.
c. Winnow, i.e., to use a process to remove husk and chaff from the fruit of cereal grain,
d. Figuratively, used of harming an object as related to the violent action on the husks and grain.
2. The meaning of this proverb hinges on the meaning of the word “scatter”… and each meaning would lead you to a different interpretation.
3. If scatter means to scatter or DISPERSE… cast away, then it seems that Solomon is saying that a king has the power to scare away evil men with one look of his eyes.
a. The king is able to LOOK at criminals and send them running.
• Perhaps you might liken this to a man shining a light into a room full of cockroaches. The light causes them to scatter.
• So a king’s countenance… one piercing look from his eyes can cause evil to scatter.
• Prov. 16:14-15 – The way a king looked at you (his countenance) could mean life or death. (Prov. 19:12)
• This fear in the hearts of men (the fear of facing the king) would often be enough to prevent them from doing evil.
• The awe of his majesty would restrain evil.
b. We might liken this to a parent with several children—each one with a different temperament.
• One child (the bold and fearless one) needs to be spanked five times before it sinks in and he finally repents.
• Another child, (the shy and fearful one) all it takes is one long, piercing, penetrating, severe look, and she melts, cries, and repents. No spanking is needed there.
c. A severe look from an authoritarian figure can be intimidating. It can even scatter evil.
• This can be a helpful technique for parents, teachers, instructors, and government officials.
• It only works when the one standing before the authority figure genuinely FEARS punishment.
• If a parent constantly threatens but never follows through, this technique will not work.
• If a teacher has no control over her class, this will not work. But if she DOES keep her class under control, and the kids know that she means business, and they know that they could be in big trouble, THEN just a severe look will often bring about the desired action: scattering bad behavior… getting rid of it.
d. The king in the proverb was seen in his throne of authority—an intimidating picture.
• There is a clear line of distinction between the king and the subject before his throne of judgment.
• They are not equals. One is the figure of authority, the other is subject UNDER that authority—and they both know it.
• This distinction is necessary in other settings for this principle to work too (parents; teachers; etc.)
• A teacher in a classroom has to FIRST establish his authority before he is able to keep control. If he presents himself on day one as one of the kids—they will walk all over him!
• In that case, an authoritative look will not cause the kids to behave either.
• But where and when that authority IS established, it can often REDUCE the amount of discipline he must actually apply in the classroom.
• The kids will respond to a LOOK and change.
• Often that look can replace a rod.
e. This may be the phenomenon that Solomon is describing in Proverbs 20:8… only not with a parent, but before the King.
4. If scatter means to “WINNOW”, (as I’m inclined to believe) then the proverb takes on a slightly different emphasis.
a. Prov. 20:26 causes me to lean towards that interpretation.
• This proverb is very similar.
• It uses the same word for scatter.
• It also speaks of bringing a “wheel” over them.
• This refers to a threshing wheel… which was used to crush grains in order to separate the husk from the grain.
• Then the grains were winnowed—beaten again with a fan, and thrown into the air, so that the wind would blow away the chaff, and leave only the fruit of the grain on the ground.
b. In light of Prov. 20:26, it seems best to understand the “scattering” of verse 8 to refer to winnowing too.
5. Thus, the meaning would be that the king is not scattering the wicked away, but rather, with his eyes is separating chaff from the wheat.
a. As the psalmist wrote, “the ungodly are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.” (Psalm 1:4)
b. Often a king can tell who is telling the truth and who is lying by their demeanor.
c. In other words, the wise king sizes up a situation with his eyes.
d. Of course, it’s not an infallible method, but it is one that judges have used since Biblical times, and still use in court today.
e. Isa. 11:3 – When Messiah comes, He will judge, but NOT like earthly judges. He states that earthly judges judge with their ears (what they hear) and their eyes (what they see).
f. They not only listen to what a suspect says, but they observe his demeanor. Is he believable? Is he acting? Are those tears real? Does he grimace as he sees the picture of the victim? Was that a smirk on his face?
g. A good judge can tell a lot by observing demeanor and body language with his eyes.
h. He can DISCERN not only from what the man says, but by HOW he says it.
i. The judge “winnows” with his eyes… separates the chaff from the wheat… he separates the liar from the one telling the truth.
6. One day we will all stand before the King of Kings.
a. He doesn’t need to judge us by His eyes. He knows our hearts. He knows all things.
b. His eyes are too pure to look upon iniquity.
c. In the last image of the risen Christ in the Bible He is seen with eyes as a flame of fire… (Rev. 1:13-14)
d. He knows all about us… our thoughts, words, deeds, motives, intentions of the heart… and He judges us on that basis.
e. With His eyes He winnows us too…
f. He will separate the chaff from the wheat in or lives too. He will separate all those works were done for self… works done in the flesh… works done for vainglory… works done to be seen of men…
g. He will separate all our works, and burn up the chaff… and we will receive a WELL DONE for those done in the power of Spirit for the glory of God.
Proverbs 20:9
A Clean Heart
Introduction:
1. This is a simple proverb. It is but a question.
2. However, it is a question designed to drive home a point. It is designed to make us think (which is always a healthy exercise).
3. Here Solomon makes his point by raising a question.
a. The obvious answer is no one.
b. Solomon answers his own question in Ecc. 7:20.
4. This proverb is short, concise way of describing the doctrine of the depravity of man.
a. Actually, it is fair to think of this question as coming directly from the heart of God to the heart of every man. Who can say that? No one!
b. It is sort of like God’s question to Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?”
c. It is the kind of question that causes our mouths to shut… that causes us to be humbled. It puts us in our place.
9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?
1. The HEART: Mind; emotions; conscience; the inner man. Our hearts have been entirely affected by sin… impure… unclean…
a. All has been defiled by sin.
b. Sin and impurity have affected the way we think; the way we feel; our conscience; it has brought guilt and shame.
c. The point Solomon is driving home is how deeply engrained is our sin… and how impotent we are to remove it.
d. Sin is our nature… it is human nature—fallen human nature.
2. This is not just a New Testament truth. It was clearly taught in the Old Testament as well.
a. I Kings 8:46 – Solomon acknowledged in his prayer at the dedication of the Temple that “there is no man that sinneth not.”
b. Ps. 14:1–3 – Here is David’s description of depravity. Paul quotes him in Romans 3.
c. Job 15:14 – Eliphaz speaks forth the wisdom of the ages and asks a similar question.
d. Job 25:4 – Another of Job’s friends, Bildad says the same.
e. Both testaments proclaim that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
3. This passage is a recognition of this sad reality of life in a cursed earth… and a lamentation over the fact.
a. Of the over 6 billion people in the world today, not one can make this claim.
b. Not one has a clean or pure heart. There is none that doeth good no not one.
c. Of course Jesus Christ was the one exception to this rule… but among mere mortals there is not one.
4. Knowing this truth and keeping it in mind can have some practical benefits.
a. It serves as a reminder that in all conflicts, nobody has a completely pure heart.
b. There is always plenty of blame to go around.
c. If you are running a business, it is imperative to take this fact into account.
• Your competition will try to steal your company secrets…
• Employees will try to cheat on their hours… stop working when not being watched…
• Someone will attempt to break into your buildings…
• Business leaders would be fools if they didn’t take this into account in making their plans.
d. If you are running a school you have to take into account the fact that kids will try to make trouble.
• Schools need rules.
• Leaders need to take into account that some kids will stretch the rules to their limits… will try to avoid the spirit of the law by some technicality…
e. In EVERY area of life, fallen human nature needs to be taken into account.
f. That was one of the reasons Communism didn’t succeed.
• On paper and in theory, it didn’t sound so bad.
• They failed to take into account human nature—
• If everybody works for the state… if the property is owned by the state… and everybody gets the same, then the workers will not work as hard… they won’t take care of the property…
• Even comrades are sinners!
g. Solomon as a king was well aware of human nature. He wants all of his readers to know what the human heart is like too.
5. Theologically, this is an important statement. It destroys the notion of sinless perfection. But it is also an exceedingly practical truth!
a. Parents should be aware of this too. Our sweet little kids are sinners!
• Buying one toy for two kids and expecting them to share doesn’t always work.
• Vague rules don’t work either. Your kids will find a way to get around the obvious intent of the rule unless you are crystal clear!
b. In every sphere of life, we need to incorporate this principle into all of our plans and procedures. The people we are working with are sinners! And so are we!
9a Who can say?
1. Solomon raises the question because he has a doubly good sense of this truth.
a. Solomon knew that it is human nature to be a sinner… unclean… impure.
b. Solomon also knew that it is human nature to try to DENY it!
c. There are some who have the audacity to claim that they are pure… or at least they THINK they are.
2. Prov. 30:12 – There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
a. Yes it is human nature to attempt to deny the obvious… that we are all unclean.
b. As arrogant as it might sound, there ARE those who SAY “I have made my heart clean.”
c. We have blind spots concerning our own hearts. Our vision is quite good when it comes to noticing spots on others… but it is human nature to be blind towards our own failures… impurities.
d. Such boasts do not prove a man’s goodness, only his blindness.
e. It is spiritually healthy to be aware of this.
f. Ps. 139:24 – David prayed that God would show him any wicked ways… impurities in his own heart… motives, etc.
• David acknowledged that he was often blind to them.
• He needed God to point them out to him.
• That is an honest and healthy attitude.
g. Thus, Solomon raises the question in such a way as almost to DARE anyone to make that claim.
h. The proverb challenges the readers to think twice before saying such a thing.
i. If you think about it honestly, you would never say it.
j. In fact, as we meditate upon the condition of our own hearts we are more inclined to say, “In me, that is in my flesh dwells no good thing!”
3. I John 1:8-10 – John takes up this issue too.
a. People can SAY their hearts are pure, but their walk proves it a lie.
b. Those who make such claims are deceived and are liars.
c. Don’t ever be so foolish as to make this claim.
9b I have made MY heart clean
1. Nobody can say, “I have cleansed my heart.”
a. Put the emphasis on the word “I”… as if “I” had such power!
b. No we cannot say “I” have cleansed my heart.
c. But we CAN say that the precious blood of Christ has cleansed us from all sin and provided us with a new heart!
2. We cannot say that WE have made our hearts pure.
a. Those who are born again DO possess a pure heart, but it was the work of the Holy Spirit…
b. Unfortunately, we ALSO still possess our fallen, impure heart.
3. I don’t think that Solomon had in mind the distinction between legal vs. practical righteousness or purity… but it might be helpful for us to think about it.
a. Believers today are pure of heart in a legal sense:
• We stand blameless and without fault in the sight of God.
• Our iniquities have been forgiven
• We are clothed with fine linen, clean and white, the righteousness of the saints:
• There is no condemnation.
• Acts 15:9 – purifying their hearts by faith.
• Positionally, our hearts are pure.
• This is by faith… through grace, not works.
• No one can say “I” have made my heart clean…
• Positionally, we ARE pure, cleansed, washed.
b. But none of us are pure from indwelling sin…
• We still have the sin nature… and it is just as ugly as ever.
• None of us are clean and pure from the commission of sin.
• To deny that would make us a liar.
• That is what Solomon was getting at… in a practical sense.
The Real Cure
1. Get a fresh look at the holiness of God.
2. No one ever got a glimpse of the holiness of God and made such a foolish boast: I am clean! My heart is pure!
3. Just the opposite.
a. Isaiah saw the Lord and exclaimed: Woe is me! I am undone. I am an unclean man!
b. Job 40:4 – “I am vile! What shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.”
c. Job also said, “Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (42:6)
d. Paul also saw the Lord, and he said of himself, “I am the chief of sinners.”
4. If we start getting too full of ourselves, if we begin to think we are something when we are nothing, if we begin to esteem ourselves more highly than we ought… it’s time for a fresh glimpse at the holiness of God in His Word.
Proverbs 20:10, 23
Divers Weights and Measures
10a Divers weights and divers measures
1. Weights and measures were instruments used to conduct business in ancient times before paper money.
2. Weights: Stones that came in various sizes and thus various weights.
a. They were used in weighing merchandise for sale.
b. It was a stone used as the counter-balance on a scale, as a unit of weight which is the standard.
3. Measures: Ephah; a dry measure of quantity; ALSO – the receptacle for measuring or holding that amount.
4. Balance: Set of scales; i.e., an implement for weighing, consisting of two balance pans with a standardized weight in one pan and the object to be weighed in the other.
a. Prov. 20:23 – a false balance
b. Prov. 11:1 – A false balance is an abomination.
• If the balance arms were of unequal length, the scale would appear to say that they were equal, but they would not be equal.
• It works like a seesaw. The short end requires more weight to balance the bar.
• Thus, dishonest merchants could use a “false balance”—with arms of unequal length.
c. There were LOTS of ways to cheat and steal.
d. There is a lot in the Bible about this practice—because cheating has always been a major problem with commerce.
5. Dishonesty
a. Lev. 19:36 – They were to have “just” (fair) weights in their bags so that they gave a “fair” portion of goods to those who bought from them…
b. The Law demanded this kind of honesty… fair business practices.
c. II Sam. 14:26 – “The king’s weight.”
• This was a standard weight which was to be used throughout the kingdom, so that everyone would be using the same measure.
• Merchants could not make their own weights…
• There had to be one standard weight, or transactions could not be conducted fairly.
• Governmental officials would be assigned the task of inspecting the merchants to PREVENT skimming and cheating.
• God and the king both expected the merchants to follow the royal standards.
d. Prov. 16:11 – A just weight is of the Lord.
e. Ex. – Canada’s Imperial quarts and gallons are not the same as ours.
f. Ex. – In recent years some companies have chosen a sneaky way of getting more money from us.
• Instead of raising the price, they made the product smaller… but just a little smaller so you might not notice. (Ice cream; coffee cans; bread.)
• The size of the product is reduced, but the price is not reduced—so you are really paying MORE per ounce for the product, even though the can has the same price.
• It is not stealing, because the new cans are labeled in small print.
g. Micah 6:11 – This sort of dishonesty was common in Israel…
• Israel is no different than any other nation.
• This kind of dishonesty also exists in Russia, Cuba, Ethiopia, Brazil, China, Denmark, and the good old USA!
• It is because we are ALL sinners. Human nature is fallen and it is the same all across the world.
• Here’s a unifying factor across the globe… something we all share in common. We are all deceitful, lying, dishonest, corrupt, and crooked by nature.
• For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God. This is human nature.
WHAT IS BEHIND THIS KIND OF DISHONESTY
1. This dishonesty is all rooted in a “love of money.”
a. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
b. Here’s another kind of evil that grows out of that root: deceptive business practices.
2. Dishonesty also involves taking advantage of people.
a. Those ancient thieves would lie right to the face of their customer!
b. They knew that the average customer would not be able to tell the difference between a 5 pounds and 4.8 pounds.
c. Thus, this kind of stealing was a form of taking advantage of one’s neighbor, when the Law commanded them to love their neighbor.
3. Prov. 11:20 – A froward heart is behind this practice.
a. Froward = perverse, morally crooked or warped.
b. Such a heart is an abomination to God… and so is the practice or the fruit that comes out of that heart.
4. We don’t use stones and scales to buy and purchase today, but the principle applies just as well in the modern world.
a. Some companies keep two books instead of two stones. They keep one book for the IRS and the auditor, and another book for their own records. (That’s like having two different weights.)
b. Gas stations have been caught in skimming scams. They tweak their pumps so that you are not getting a full gallon, even though the pump SAYS you are… and even though you are PAYING for a full gallon. That IS stealing and is against the law. Thus, they have two measures—one measure the customer actually receives (9/10 gal.) and the other is what he pays for (a full gallon).
c. Today thieves steal identity. They have their own IDs and credit cards for everyday use. Then they have YOUR credit cards and IDs for when they go on a shopping spree.
10b Both of them are alike abomination to the LORD.
1. Both of them alike – (both = #2) & (alike = also; again; alike)
a. The two terms really repeat (for emphasis) the same truth.
b. The two (weights and measures) are BOTH the same…
c. It really doesn’t matter HOW you cheat with these instruments.
d. Whether you put an unequal weight in the scale for items sold by weight, OR if you use the wrong size measuring basket for items sold by volume, the bottom line is the same.
e. You’re cheating! You’re stealing! It is a dishonest scam. You’re a crook!
f. And today, it doesn’t matter by what MEANS we cheat or steal from others… every method is alike an abomination.
2. Abomination: A disgusting thing, a despicable, repulsive, an object or practice which is loathsome and abhorrent, often in an ethical or moral sense; something that is especially offensive.
a. Only a select group of sins were called abominations in the Old Testament.
b. This kind of dishonesty puts you into the same category with murderers, homosexuals, and idolaters.
c. Rev. 21:8 – But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.
3. To the Lord:
a. God observes all such practices.
b. He hates the deceptive practice.
c. He also hates the greed—the love of money—that undergirds it.
d. He hates to see people take advantage of others.
e. The Lord is a God of JUSTICE.
• Hence He loves just balances…
• And He hates unjust balances.
f. The Lord is a God of TRUTH
• Hence, He hates all kinds of fraud and lies.
• God is opposed to those who oppose truth and justice.
4. Deut. 25:13-16 – this kind of dishonesty was an abomination to the Lord. (That thy days may be lengthened on the earth.)
a. They were forbidden from even possessing a small and a great weight. (Why else would you own such weights?)
b. The small weight they used when they sold a product.
c. The big weight they used when they bought a product.
d. It was a sin-win situation for this dishonest merchant.
e. They were not to have such weights in their place of business OR in their homes (many women worked from their homes).
f. Instead of the small and a great weight, they were to have a perfect (accurate) and just (fair) measure.
g. When you treat your customers fairly, your days will be lengthened.
h. When you are a cheater—you are an abomination to God.
5. Lev. 19:35-37 – Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.
a. They were to be honest because of WHO GOD IS.
• He is the LORD… Almighty… omniscient One
• He is the Lord of justice
b. They were to be honest because of WHAT GOD DID for them.
• In Egypt, they were taken advantage of, as slaves.
• Therefore, now redeemed from Egypt, they should treat others as they would like to be treated themselves! If you remember what it was like to BE mistreated, you will not want to mistreat others.
6. Prov. 15:3 – the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding both the evil and the good.
a. God expects us to be honest in ALL of our doings.
b. He is observing everything we do.
c. But we should be honest NOT just because God knows anyway and we can’t get away with it.
d. We should be honest because we are yielded to God and the LIFE of Christ is manifested through us… in word and deed.
e. Honesty ought to characterize our lives… even down to the tiny details of life.
f. Honesty should be our testimony before the world. That’s how we should be known.
g. If we do something DISHONEST, we have disgraced the Lord… and ruined our testimony.
7. Prov. 28:6 – You are better off to be poor than to gain riches by being crooked!
Proverbs 20:13
The Fruit of Laziness
Introduction:
1. This is the sixth time this particular subject has come up in the book of Proverbs. It is the old Protestant work ethic.
2. The repetition of this theme is not because Solomon was too lazy to proofread his text before sending it to the printer either.
3. This is not an accident or an oversight. It was by design.
4. This is a COMMON temptation of man. It affects every one of us to one degree or another… at one time or another…
5. For some folks, it becomes a life dominating sin and it ruins their lives.
6. Solomon felt that we needed to be reminded of and warned against this sin repeatedly.
7. It’s good to have a lazy day every once in a while, on your day off and to catch up on your needed rest.
8. Rest is good and necessary.
a. Rest, like food, is good and necessary. They invigorate and restore the body.
b. They are blessings that can become curses… when over indulged.
c. There is a fine line between eating enough to keep the body healthy and eating too much.
d. There is also a fine line between getting enough rest and being downright lazy.
9. Being downright lazy is sin… so we should be careful about crossing that line.
13a Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty
A. The Command: Love Not Sleep
1. Do not love to sleep. This is a command, and one God expects us to obey.
a. And it is an interesting command.
b. How to stop loving something? Can a person just WILL to stop loving something?
c. The answer has to be YES. God said to do it, so it must be possible to obey.
d. God never accepts as an excuse, “I can’t”, when in fact, He says that we CAN.
e. When we say, “I can’t”, what we really mean is “I won’t.”
2. Love is a CHOICE.
a. This is not a command to cease from sleeping altogether… nor is it a command to cease from enjoying sleep.
• Solomon’s command is not that we should not love to sleep when it’s time to sleep. Everybody loves that.
• His command is not to love sleep when it’s time to get up and go to work!
b. It is not a command to change our FEELINGS. It is a command to change our ACTION.
c. The Lord Jesus commanded us to love our enemies.
• That does not mean that we are to have warm feelings towards them. Those feelings may never come.
• It does mean that we are to choose to think good thoughts of them and choose NOT to think evil of them.
• But it does mean that we are to seek their best… seek to DO deeds of love towards them.
• We can love an enemy by feeding him when hungry… by offering help when he is in need…
• The decision to exercise love is a deliberate choice.
• It can be done regardless of how we FEEL.
d. That’s important because we are here commanded NOT to be lazy. Love not sleep.
• So when the alarm goes off in the morning, and it is time to get up and go to work, it IS possible to obey this command… and to “love not sleep.”
• It doesn’t mean that we won’t FEEL tired… that we won’t FEEL like turning off the alarm… we may FEEL like calling in sick… we may FEEL like pulling the covers over our head…
• But regardless of how we FEEL, we can still DO what God said.
• We obey the command to “love not sleep” by DOING something… by taking ACTION… by getting up out of bed.
e. By choosing to get out of bed, we have made a CHOICE.
• We chose to love God more than sleep.
• We chose to love others more than self (others at work who are counting on us; others in the home who are counting on us to bring home a paycheck; others in the car pool; customers; etc.)
3. Loving sleep can become a habit of life… a very bad habit.
a. It can become life dominating… life controlling.
b. The more you put off getting up and doing the job you are supposed to do, the easier it becomes to put it off the next time.
c. The only way to deal with this habit is the cold turkey approach… just STOP. Get up out of bed…
4. Loving sleep may only be the outward symptom of the problem of laziness.
a. It is a mindset… a way of thinking… an inner attitude.
b. The “mindset” of loving sleep could manifest itself by taking longer breaks than your company allows… by coming to work late… showing up for meetings late because you were lounging… missing meetings… by disappearing when the work is being distributed… by doodling… wasting time… looking out the window…
c. There are lots of other ways to be lazy…
d. This mindset can also manifest itself in procrastination… putting off jobs until “mañana.”
B. The Result: Poverty
1. Poverty: “To be dispossessed; be impoverished; come to poverty.”
2. Those who have the heart attitude of “loving sleep” are often half asleep even when they are awake!
a. They have a listless, careless attitude and are still half asleep mentally… throughout their work day… and are not very productive.
b. They don’t get much work done… and their bosses notice.
c. It is not surprising that they often get fired or laid off… and have a hard time finding another job.
d. This leads to poverty.
3. There really are serious consequences to laziness.
a. Prov. 6:9-11 – The result is poverty. (Prov.10:4)
b. Prov. 19:15 – It results in hunger.
c. Prov. 23:31 – Drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
13b Open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
A. The Challenge: Open Your Eyes
1. “Opening one’s eyes” stands in contrast to “love not sleep” in the first part of the Proverb. It too has consequences.
2. Opening one’s eyes is not really difficult to do.
a. Anyone can do it… IF they choose to do so… just open your eyes, shake off the sleep, and get out of bed!
b. What Solomon commands here is not beyond the reach of anyone.
c. He is not saying that in order to be satisfied with bread you need a Harvard education; or you need to be born into a rich family; or that you need to be exceptionally strong; nor do you need to be all that skilled.
d. All you really need to do is to get out of bed, open your eyes, and get to work!
e. That’s implied after opening the eyes. (He certainly doesn’t mean open your eyes, look around the room for a few seconds, and then go back to sleep!)
3. Once you overcome your love for sleep by opening your eyes and getting up… THEN you can begin to have a productive day.
4. Just as “love not sleep” speaks of an inner attitude, so does “open your eyes.”
a. This speaks of one who wants to SHAKE OFF their sleep and get busy!
b. This is the person who does not allow opportunities to slip by; he applies his mind and heart to the business at hand… and he digs in and gets the job done.
5. But if you stay in bed… and keep your eyes closed, you’re not going to get much done…
a. Then the work will begin to pile up all around you… little by little until it is a mountain of work!
b. Then the mountain of work seems overwhelming… and seems to JUSTIFY your feelings of not wanting to get up.
c. Then you just want to pull the covers over your head and go back to bed and try to forget about it… hoping it will all go away.
d. But it doesn’t go away… it just gets bigger and bigger.
e. And thus, it becomes harder and harder to get up and face it.
f. This is the beginning of a downward spiral… depression…
g. A lot of depression has as its root laziness!
h. You feel bad when you don’t do what you’re supposed to do. Those bad feelings spiral downward along with a person’s refusal to get up and DO what they are supposed to do.
i. But those bad feelings… even depression can be reversed by getting up and facing the mountain ahead of you… and start digging away at it—one shovelful at a time…
j. And it feels really GOOD to see progress… that you are making headway… that there is light at the end of the tunnel…
B. The Result: You Will Be Satisfied With Bread
1. Prov. 10:4 – You might even become rich!
2. Prov.10:5 – Note that working is seen here as the opposite of sleeping. The son who “gathers” in his crops will have crops to eat! He will be satisfied… while the lazy man has nothing.
3. Solomon implies here that ANYONE who has the good sense to get up and get busy can survive in this world.
4. Anyone who is not lazy should be able to provide for their needs. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
5. Diligence always pays off.
Spiritual Application
1. Rom. 13:11 – Spiritually, this is the time for us to WAKE UP… shake off our spiritual sleep and laziness, and get to work, serving the Lord.
2. Just as there are workers in the office who are lazy, there are workers in the local church who are lazy too.
a. They are more than happy to let others do all the work.
b. They have the uncanny ability to disappear when it is time to do some good old fashioned work.
3. We can be LAZY with respect to reading the Word… praying… attending church… Sunday school… Prayer Meeting…
a. And let’s face it—often the reason is nothing other than laziness.
b. It’s not really a “time” issue.
c. We can become lazy and apathetic when it comes to sharing the gospel with the lost…
d. We can become lazy and apathetic when it comes to ministering to people in need…
4. Perhaps it’s time to WAKE UP…
a. When we wake up spiritually, and begin to take care of our walk with God… are reading faithfully… praying… spending time with the Lord…
b. Then we will begin to experience a satisfaction in our soul… a satisfaction that comes only through being diligent in our relationship to Christ.
c. We will be satisfied with the Bread of Life.
d. And from that place of inner spiritual nourishment, we will be led to service that counts: to more evangelizing; ministering to others.
Proverbs 20:14
Haggling Over Prices
Introduction:
1. We have a saying in this country: buyer beware. It is a warning to consumers not to be duped by all the grandiose claims and deceptive practices of merchants.
2. Here Solomon records a similar proverb—only in the reverse.
3. This is a warning to the merchants concerning some of the deceptive practices of the consumer.
14a It is naught! It is naught, saith the buyer
1. This proverb needs to be understood in light of the customs of the day.
2. The topic is a man making a purchase; only he is not buying a product on a modern market. Don’t think of someone making a purchase at the Rockingham Mall.
3. This man is in a setting more like a flea market or a yard sale. Their markets were open air markets… where merchants would bring their goods to sell to whoever might pass by.
4. In this setting, it was understood by all that there was no “set price” for any article.
a. The merchant and the consumer would haggle over the price.
b. The merchant would begin by asking a price way over its real value.
• The merchant was out to make as much money as he could.
• He was out to make a “killing.”
c. The consumer would reply with an offer that was way below its real value.
• The consumer was out to get the best deal that he could.
• He was looking for a real “steal.”
d. They each had their own agenda.
e. Hence, then the fight was on. They began to haggle… quibble… and argue back and forth until someone won.
5. Things haven’t changed all that much today.
a. Although for retail, we don’t do much haggling for prices. Our prices are pretty much set.
b. But the same dynamic is in view today.
c. Merchants will charge as much as they possibly can for their product—as much as the market will bear… or as much as government regulations will allow.
d. The consumer loves to see price wars. The consumer also delights in a “going out of business” sale. He is not concerned about the man who just lost his business. He is only concerned about getting a bargain-basement price.
e. Buying and selling has always been a cut throat business. It was in Solomon’s day. It is today too.
f. The reason: men are selfish and greedy. It is our nature to look out for #1.
g. Both the merchant and the consumer exaggerate for their own benefit. They both make claims that are not entirely true.
h. Thus, the whole business of business is ruthless and rough.
6. It is nothing!
a. This is the cry the deceptive consumer makes to the merchant concerning the product he wants to buy.
b. The consumer says to the merchant: “Your product is naught!”
c. Naught: Bad; displeasing; no good; harmful; of little value; poor quality; (used in Gen. 42 of Pharaoh’s dream to describe the ill-favored cows and the ill-favored corn crops).
14b But when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
A. The Gloating of the Buyer
1. After convincing the merchant that his product is virtually worthless, the buyer walks away and boasts about what a “steal” he got at the market that day!
2. He’s quite proud of himself for having talked the merchant down so much… proud of his haggling skills.
3. It is a real skill—one I do not possess. I hate haggling at a used car lot.
4. Some people are extremely talented at this. The buyer is as much a salesman as the merchant.
5. James 4:16 – “But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.”
a. James warns business men operating outside of the will of God that all their boasting was evil.
b. The business world is FULL of opportunities to step outside the will of God and to take advantage of people. Hence, we have warnings to beware.
6. In Proverbs 20:10, Solomon warned about merchants using diverse or dishonest weights to deceive his customers and take advantage of them. Now he warns about dishonest consumers using dishonest language in order to take advantage of the merchant.
7. This man is boasting about his dishonesty!
a. He told the merchant a lie about his product, and thus got it at a bargain-basement price.
b. Then he walks away and tells all his friends how clever and shrewd he is for being able to deceive the merchant and get what he wanted so cheaply.
c. This is not just boasting over a good deal. It is boasting over cheating and lying to obtain that good deal.
d. He told the merchant how BAD the product was, then he turned around and boasted how GOOD it was and what a good price he got it for to his friends.
e. He is boasting over his clever trick when he should be ashamed of his fraud.
8. Sometimes ladies come back from the mall with great “deals.”
a. They might call it a “steal” because it was so cheap.
b. That’s not what Solomon is talking about here.
c. That bargain was not obtained illegally or dishonestly.
d. That bargain price was set by the store. (50% off plus another 20% off with coupons = a good deal.)
e. If the merchant sets a low price and you take advantage of it—that is not dishonesty.
f. Solomon is speaking about dishonesty here… deception and outright lying in haggling over a price.
B. Application:
1. This proverb does not contain a command. It does not contain an exhortation. It simply makes a statement.
2. However, there are a couple of obvious implications in this statement.
3. The first obvious implication is that this practice is dishonest.
a. There is good application for us too.
b. There is nothing wrong with bargaining, bartering, or haggling over prices as long as it is legal.
c. But God does expect us to be honest.
d. Thou shalt not bear false witness has no exception clause for making purchases.
e. God expects honesty in ALL of our business dealings.
f. Don’t tell the merchant you can get the same item at another store for X amount of dollars if you cannot. That’s lying.
g. Don’t tell the merchant that his product is broken or defective if it is not. That’s lying too.
h. It’s ok to haggle over price. It’s not ok to lie.
i. While lying goes on all the time in the marketplace, it is not acceptable for a believer.
j. The fact that deception is the way everybody haggles is no excuse for a Christian to seek bargains that way.
As believers we should let our “Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”
k. This proverb only looks at one side of the coin. It is also possible for merchants to be just as deceptive and dishonest.
l. This proverb speaks of being honest in ALL business transactions, whether merchant or consumer.
m. A good application of this might be found in yard sale shopping where people are likely to haggle over prices.
n. Or suppose you found a little old lady, in a poor, dilapidated house, selling a few old items in a yard sale. There you found a genuine Rembrandt painting on her counter for $12.00. What would you do?
o. Honesty is always the best policy. Do all for the glory of God.
4. The second implication is a warning to merchants, not to be duped by the words of a consumer.
a. The American proverb that is a counterpart to this one states, “Buyer beware.”
b. We seem to like to stick up for the little guy, and assume that the big businesses are corrupt—so beware of them! “Buyer beware.”
c. Solomon extends a similar warning to the merchant.
d. “Merchant beware” of customers who are deceptive and are trying to rob you of your profit.
e. ALL human beings are selfish and greedy and are out for their own personal best interest.
f. So beware when you are selling products. People will try to cheat you.
g. This was especially true when poor farmers wanted to sell their vegetables.
• A rich buyer sees your product is fresh and good and seeks to buy it.
• He then begins to deceive you—the little guy—the poor farmer.
• He tells you that he can get the same vegetables in another province for half the price—but he’s lying!
• The poor farmer knows that he can sell large amounts of his crop to this man… and he is afraid of losing such a rich customer who wants to buy so much… so he cuts the price in half.
• To that farmer Solomon sends out a warning: Don’t believe everything you hear from these men. Seller beware! They might be lying.
• Always be aware that there are people out there who will try to take advantage of you.
• Be aware of fallen human nature in all of our earthly transactions in this life.
Proverbs 20:15
The Lips of Knowledge
15a There is gold, and a multitude of rubies:
1. Gold and rubies are rare.
2. Gold and rubies are also valuable.
3. But rarity and value of precious metals and precious stones are relative terms.
a. Though all precious metals and stones are rare, some are rarer than others.
b. Though all precious metals and stones are valuable, some are more valuable than others.
4. Yes, gold and rubies are rare; however, Solomon is contrasting something that is somewhat rare and somewhat valuable, to that which is EXTREMELY rare and valuable.
a. Notice he uses the term “multitude” to describe rubies.
b. They are precious, rare stones, but there are whole mines FULL of them.
c. They can be found in jewelry stores in virtually every city in the world today.
d. I Kings 10:21 – In Solomon’s day there was plenty of gold.
e. Gold is relatively rare today too. However, today almost every person in this country wears gold every day.
f. Gold can also be found in any jewelry store in any city worldwide… even in Walmart!
g. So, yes, there is a relative nature to the rarity of precious metals and stones.
h. That’s Solomon’s point in the first part of this proverb.
5. Gold and rubies are relatively rare, and relatively valuable.
15b But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
A. The Lips of Knowledge
1. Now comes the real contrast: between that which is relatively rare and relatively valuable (gold and rubies) and that which is EXTREMELY rare and valuable: lips of knowledge.
a. Note the contrast in descriptions:
• There are a “multitude” of rubies.
• The lips of knowledge are a “precious” jewel.
» Precious: Splendor; honor; value; a treasure,
» Of course, they are valuable because they are rare.
» You can buy gold and rubies anywhere. Just save up your pennies.
» The lips of knowledge are not so easily obtained.
» They cannot be purchased. You will never find lips of knowledge at Walmart.
» Job knew that. (Cf. Job 28:12-18)
2. There is a certain value to gold and rubies. But the REAL precious jewels are the lips of knowledge!
a. Consider how much more valuable wisdom and knowledge are over wealth.
• In our illustration we have two men going to the fish market to buy fish for their restaurants.
• One man inherited a whole chain of fish restaurants, and went to the fish market with a million dollars in his pocket. He is filthy rich. He has much wealth… but not much wisdom.
• Suppose another man was at the market, who did not have nearly as much money in his pocket as you did, but he had wisdom and understanding.
• The rich man is not able to distinguish between that which is cheap and worthless. He gets hoodwinked into buying old smelly fish for twice what it is worth. He’s going to run his restaurant chain into the ground!
• However, the man who had much less money, but wisdom and understanding knows which fish to buy. He buys good, fresh fish for a reasonable price. His customers are happy and keep on coming back.
• Which business would you want to invest in?
b. How much better is it to seek after wisdom and knowledge than to seek after gold and silver!
c. Prov. 3:13-16 – Wisdom and understanding are far more valuable than gold, silver, and precious stones.
d. Prov. 8:11 – For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
e. This is an oft repeated theme in Proverbs.
f. In a sense, it comes as a WARNING.
g. Those who seek after wealth rather than seeking after wisdom and understanding do so at their own peril! It has been the ruin of many a man (I Tim. 6:9-10).
3. Solomon was qualified to give us this warning.
a. He had BOTH riches and wisdom.
b. He had wealth immeasurable.
c. He was given more wisdom than any man on earth.
d. He knew the value of both—and he more than anyone is qualified to tell us which is MORE valuable.
e. And he DOES tell us! In fact, he tells us MANY times in various ways in this book!
4. Perhaps another more subtle contrast is intended here as well.
a. Gold and jewels are things that people tend to hoard up for themselves. (It’s all mine!)
b. But “lips” implies speech. By speaking words of wisdom a man is not hoarding it up for himself, but rather, sharing it with others.
c. Gold is usually hoarded. Wisdom is to be shared.
d. You don’t expect a rich man to pass out gold freely.
e. But you DO expect a wise man to share his wisdom.
f. There is quite a contrast between a rich miser and a wise sage sharing wisdom with his students. That seems to be implied here. (hoarding vs. sharing)
g. Prov. 10:20-21 – The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth. The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
• Here Solomon states that the lips of the righteous FEED many… they share their knowledge and wisdom.
• Lips are for feeding (figuratively). They feed WISDOM.
• Fools refuse to eat and thus “die” for a lack of wisdom/food.
» Fools know where the wisdom/food is.
» It is available to them. It is within their reach.
» However, they refuse to eat it… and thus die.
• The point that relates to the proverb in chapter 20 is that lips feed.
» When wise men use their lips and speak, they dispense wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.
» Prov. 15:7 – The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: (disperse = scatter, spread, sprinkle, etc.) Fools may WANT to… and TRY to… but they don’t HAVE any wisdom to spread. They usually spread nothing but folly.
• And note also the VALUE. The tongue (same figurative meaning as lips) is as choice silver. It too is like precious metal… valuable.
• Prov. 16:16 – How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!
» Those who DO eat of it discover that wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are far better than silver or gold.
• Prov. 16:21 – “The sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.”
» From the lips of a wise man, you and I can INCREASE learning.
» There is a great advantage to listening to words of wisdom.
» Those words are sweet. They are valuable.
» They cause US to increase in our learning.
» Lips were MADE for dispensing wisdom… for sharing learning…
» Therefore, we ought to use our lips for the good of others.
» We also ought to SEEK OUT wise men, wise teachers, wise friends, wise authors… and increase our learning from their lips of knowledge.
» When you find the lips of knowledge—take advantage of them! Increase in learning!
5. Of course, the MOST valuable lips of knowledge dispense God’s Words.
a. Hosea 4:6 – “My people perish for lack of knowledge.” This is a lack of the knowledge of God.
b. Psalm 119:72 – “The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.”
• Human wisdom is good in the natural realm. You need earthly wisdom to do your job every day… to take care of your household… to balance the checkbook… for the everyday things of earthly life.
• However, the wisdom found in God’s word is far more valuable.
• God’s wisdom shared through Christian fellowship is better than thousands of silver and gold.
• God’s wisdom is dispensed through the lips of a devoted mother and father, teaching their children the things of the Lord.
• God’s wisdom is dispensed through the lips of a Sunday school teacher.
• Eph. 4:29 – “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”
6. The lips of knowledge are valuable… and they come with a PRICE.
a. Prov. 2:1-6 – We can ALL obtain this wisdom, IF we seek it with our whole heart.
b. Phil. 3:7-8 – Obtaining the knowledge of Christ is worth forsaking all the gold and rubies in the world.
• This is the experiential knowledge of Christ that is costly.
• An intellectual knowledge of Christ is relatively cheap. You can buy a few good books and learn the information.
• But that does NOT mean that you have experienced the knowledge of Christ in your soul.
• Getting to know the knowledge of God THAT way requires a lifetime of abandoning oneself to do His will… abiding in Christ… and that can be costly.
7. The lips of knowledge Solomon describes is not the property of a few, select sages.
a. Rather, it is the kind of knowledge the book of Proverbs urges us ALL to obtain!
b. And when we obtain it, there are many ways that WE can dispense God’s wisdom with our lips:
• How precious are the lips of one who brings the gospel message of Christ to the lost… the glad tidings of great joy to the heart of the weary sinner!
Proverbs 20:16
Surety for a Stranger
Introduction:
1. Surety defined:
a. Surety is an arrangement in which one person becomes responsible for another.
b. Surety applies to a covenant.
• Christ is the surety of the better covenant (Heb. 7:22).
• Christ is the One who guarantees that all the provisions of the covenant promise will be met. He makes it “sure.”
c. Surety applies to any kind of promise.
• Gen. 43:9 – When the children of Israel were in Egypt, seeking food from Joseph (before he was made known to them), Joseph demanded that they bring his younger brother, Benjamin.
» When they came back to the land, their father did not want his son Benjamin to go. He was afraid for his life.
» Judah became a personal surety for Benjamin’s safety by promising to “take the blame” and thus pay the price for the loss if it occurred.
» He became personally responsible for the loss if anything happened to Benjamin.
d. Surety most often applied to a loan.
• One who guarantees that a loan will be paid back is “surety” for that loan. In other words, it is the one who co-signs for a loan for someone else.
• If you co-sign for a loan for someone else, if they default, YOU are responsible to guarantee that the provisions of that loan are carried out.
• That loan could be made sure by you promising to PAY the rest of loan if the one borrowing the money does not pay.
• That loan could be made sure by you putting up collateral for the loan. In that case, if the one borrowing the money does not pay, you lose your property.
• In those ancient arrangements, the money or property (or even persons) was surrendered up front… and held in surety until the loan was paid in full.
Interestingly, one of the related words to this word family is “hostage.” (The relationship is that when one guarantees the repayment for another, he is a slave or a hostage to the owner of the loan until it is paid off.)
16a Take his garment that is surety for a stranger:
1. Here Solomon gives instructions concerning taking surety.
a. Stranger:
• One not in the main cultural group in an area, and so be estranged from society.
• It can mean to go astray, to be wayward (example – the strange woman was a wayward woman—a prostitute.)
• There are a couple of other Hebrew terms often translated “stranger” in our English Bibles that mean a “foreigner or an alien.”
• That is NOT the term Solomon uses here.
• The term in 20:16 may be used of a foreigner, but that is not its primary meaning.
• This term means a wayward person… someone estranged from society… not necessarily because of nationality—usually it was because of wayward behavior.
• The term found in Prov. 20:16 is the same term used to describe the “strange woman” in Proverbs MANY times. What made her a “stranger” from society was not that she was born in Egypt or Assyria. It was her wayward lifestyle.
• This term for stranger is used of the fire offered by Nadab and Abihu—strange fire. It was not “foreign” fire (from Babylon, etc.). Rather it was fire that was not the proper kind. It was a wayward offering.
b. Solomon is WARNING his readers about loaning money or becoming responsible for a “stranger”—an irresponsible, wayward person.
• The warning is this: if you are so foolish as to loan money to a wayward, irresponsible person, be sure to get some collateral from that person!
c. He states that if a man is going to be the surety for a stranger, be sure to take his garment for collateral.
• Exod. 22:25-27 – normally this was forbidden.
» Vs. 25 – Here Moses says that if a Jew lends money to his Jewish brother, then he was not to lay usury on him. (Don’t be a loan shark!)
» Vs. 26 – if you do take his raiment for a pledge (surety) then be sure to give it back to him at night.
» Vs. 27a – the reason for giving him his cloak back at night: The poor used their outer garment as their sleeping bag at night. If you took his cloak, he would freeze all night long.
» Vs. 27b – God was gracious to the poor and took care of their needs.
» The assumption here is that the poor man is an honest, hard working poor man… not a lazy, wayward, outcast from society.
• Hence, the difference. With the lazy, wayward man, be SURE to take his garment! Keep it until the debt is paid back in full…
• But with the hard working poor man, give it back each night so that he can sleep at night.
2. In essence, this serves as a WARNING against loaning money to a wayward person.
a. If the person is unknown to you… or if his character and financial situation is unknown to you, it is quite foolish to loan him money.
b. If you are so foolish as to do so, make SURE that you get a pledge or collateral to cover your loss… because the chances are REAL that you will suffer loss.
3. Prov. 6:1-5 – An extended warning against becoming surety for a loan.
a. Vs.1-2 – Once you shake hands (or sign on the dotted line) you are snared… trapped… locked in to that arrangement with no way out… like a bird in a snare.
b. Vs. 3-5 – Here’s what to do if you are ever so foolish as to be found in such a snare:
• When you are “under the hand of a friend” = (under his control – a slave to the financial arrangements you made with him.)
• Deliver yourself! Do whatever it takes to extricate yourself from that snare… from that obligation you foolishly agreed to.
• Humble yourself! (Maybe you signed for the loan so everyone would think you were great… generous… wealthy… important. Go back and humble yourself. Tell the loaner the truth: you can’t afford it!
• Make sure thy friend!
» The word “sure” here has nothing to do with suretiship.
» This word means: press one’s plea, i.e., be in a state of contention with an opponent or class or persons, with a focus on a verbal or legal strife.
» Basically he is saying, “plea for mercy to get out of the contract.”
» For this reason, some large purchases or loans often have a three day waiting period – to give time to the one obligating himself to THINK about it and change his mind if he comes to his sense!
» They didn’t have such a thing in Solomon’s day. But they could plead for mercy.
» That is Solomon advises here.
4. Prov. 17:17-18 – Warning against loaning even to a friend!
a. Vs. 17 – Speaks about the advantages of a loyal friend.
• He loves at all times—good and bad times… ups and downs.
• He is there for you in times of adversity.
b. Vs.18 – (There seems to be a connection in thought here.)
• However, Solomon presents us with a stipulation in vs.18.
• There are LIMITS to what a friend should do for a friend.
• Here Solomon teaches that we should use care and caution in our financial obligations and promises to a friend.
• Friendship and emotion can lead a person to commit himself to an obligation he might regret later.
• This is a warning against rash, thoughtless generosity that might come back to bite us!
1. Striking hands was like a “hand shake” – a sign of agreement for a business deal.
• Solomon states that it is a man VOID of understanding who does such a thing!
• That is quite a warning. It warns against loaning money to a friend in the PRESENCE of the friend. (It’s hard to say no when you are looking at him eyeball to eyeball!)
• So Solomon gives us some good advice: learn to say NO!
• Loaning money is an easy way to turn a friend into an enemy!
c. The man who loans money to his friend “in his presence” (when pressured by the moment) is not wise. It is foolish to be moved by EMOTION into doing something that you might regret later on.
• You could put your own finances at risk.
• You could lose your house.
• You could put your family’s resources at risk.
• You could put your LIFE at risk (unsavory characters are sometimes hired to deal with those who refuse to pay…)
• You could put the lives of your children at risk (sold into slavery to pay for your folly).
• What folly to risk all that for a stranger… someone you hardly know!
• P T Barnum is accredited with saying, “There’s a sucker born every minute!”
• Solomon warns, “Don’t you be one of them!”
Prov. 22:7 – “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
• Hence, taking on the responsibility for someone else’s debt is not very wise.
16b And take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
1. Strange woman: Harlot.
2. Here the situation seems to be a man wants to either borrow money from you so that he can visit a harlot OR he wants you to sign a loan so that he can visit a prostitute.
3. Here again the very same idea is stated: if you are so foolish as to promise surety for a loan for such a person, then make SURE you take a pledge! (Pledge = security money.)
4. If a man has so little control over his own body that he is going into prostitutes… and that he has so little control over his finances that he has borrow money to do so—what folly to loan money to THAT kind of a man!
5. This proverb is worded in the language of irony or sarcasm.
a. Solomon is certainly not endorsing this kind of behavior.
b. You might liken it to a similar comment today: “If you’re going to take up lion training, then make sure you have some good insurance—because you’re going to need it!”
c. The sarcastic manner in which it is worded actually comes across as a warning AGAINST it!
6. Both parts of this proverb serve as warnings against taking bad financial risks with irresponsible people who are likely unable to pay you back.
a. Solomon is not forbidding a person to sign a loan ever. (Son’s first car loan.)
b. But he is warning against rashly taking foolish financial risks by loaning to those who themselves may be irresponsible.
c. Don’t let the emotion of the moment cause you to do something you will regret for years to come.
Proverbs 20:17
Bread of Deceit
17a Bread of deceit is sweet to a man…
A. Bread of Deceit
1. Deceit:
a. Deceit, lies, falsehood, misleading, or fraud.
b. This is the same word Moses uses in the commandment, “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” (False witness = a deceptive or misleading witness.)
2. “Bread of deceit” refers to bread (food) that was either sold or obtained through deceit, lies, falsehood, misleading, or fraud.
a. It could refer to bread that was stolen…
b. It could refer to bread that was sold… with deceit (either as to its weight; its content; etc.) False advertising… deceptive business practices.
c. Merchants have always come with clever ways to deceive their customers so as to increase their own bottom line.
d. This was an ancient art—but that art is alive and well today too.
e. As long as there are greedy liars and dishonest merchants on the earth, the issue Solomon discusses here will always be relevant.
f. It doesn’t really matter whether he had in mind one who stole bread or one who sold it through deceit.
g. And of course this has application to all kinds of other issues beyond just bread.
3. Solomon previously warned us about dishonest business practices.
a. Prov. 20:10 – Deceptive sellers using diverse weights.
• The dishonest merchant would have a bag full of weights used on his scale to measure goods that he was buying, selling, or trading.
• He would have two “five pound” weights. One weighed 5.2 pounds, and one weighed 4.8 pounds.
• When he bought from you, he would weigh your goods with his 5.2 weight. When he sold to you, he used the 4.8 weight.
• He skimmed a little each time to his own favor.
• He would call that a sweet deal.
b. Prov. 20:14 – This is a deceptive consumer haggling for a cheap price.
• After convincing the merchant that his product is virtually worthless, the buyer walks away and boasts about what a “steal” he got at the market that day!
• He’s quite proud of himself for having talked the merchant down so much… proud of his haggling skills. Sweet!
c. In those passages he warns us to be honest whether we are buying or selling.
d. Buyer beware… and seller beware! There are crooks on both sides!
B. Is Sweet to a Man
1. Sweet:
a. Pleasant, i.e., pertaining to an enjoyable pleasant event or sensation.
b. Sweet to the taste: i.e.,—pleasant—not sour, bitter.
2. Solomon’s point is that there is something instantly gratifying about getting something the quick and easy way… without working… by fraud… cheating… misrepresenting…
a. There is something that SEEMS pretty satisfying initially when a merchant cuts corners by substituting expensive wheat for some other cheaper filler grain, and by selling the same loaf of bread he can make more money…
b. Prov. 9:17 – “Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
c. It’s a “sweet deal!” Can’t you just picture a dishonest merchant saying those very words when he hoodwinks a customer into buying his product: “Sweet!”
d. Instead of serving his customers, he is actually preying on the ignorance of his customers.
e. The customer may think he is buying the more expensive whole grain wheat bread when he is actually getting a little bit of wheat mixed in with white flour and food coloring.
f. On a wholesale level, the merchant that sells his bread of deceit might make a fortune. It is sweet to him.
3. Very often the dishonest merchant will justify his actions.
a. He might say, “It was really a win-win situation. We all went away happy! He thought he got a good deal.”
b. The merchant might think to himself, “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him… so what’s the harm?”
c. Or he might be so cold hearted as to gloat, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
d. Thieves and crooks rejoice when their plans seem to work, and their dishonesty seems to pay.
e. Initially, when you don’t get caught, crime does pay.
17b But afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
A. Afterwards
1. Afterwards speaks of the long term effects.
a. There are immediate consequences: it is sweet! It is pleasant… something to be desired.
b. But sooner or later that sweetness wears off and is replaced by something markedly different: gravel in the mouth.
c. Transient actions carry with them permanent consequences. That’s the warning here.
d. If a man steals a loaf of bread, it tastes sweet to him at first.
• His hunger doesn’t care how the bread was obtained.
• When the hunger is satisfied, it is “sweet.”
• However, after the body experiences the pleasure, the inner man may experience guilt and shame…
• The hunger of the body is instantly gratified—but the shame and guilt of the inner man is long lasting.
2. The point that Solomon makes about “bread of deceit” is true of ALL kinds of sin.
a. Sin is always SWEET up front… initially.
b. But over time, the sweetness wears off… the initial excitement evaporates… and the thrill is gone…
c. But afterwards, we are left with the unpleasant side of sin.
d. Heb. 11:25 – Moses chose “to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.”
• Note that sin IS pleasurable. It is sweet.
• Thieves are initially jubilant when they get away with stealing $50,000. They usually celebrate with a big night out on the town.
• Adultery is pleasurable for the moment.
• It is really fun to get high on drugs. There is an initial rush that people live for. It is exhilarating… exciting…
• Note also in this verse that the pleasure of sin is “for a season.”
• Season – does not mean time chronologically that often expresses enduring through time. This word means: transient, temporary, enduring just for a while… an opportunity that comes and then goes…
• In other words, sin is pleasurable, but its pleasure is transient… brief… fleeting… momentary… like a vapor.
B. A mouth full of gravel
1. This was chosen as an illustration of something that would be the exact opposite of something sweet.
a. Have you ever had a mouth full of gravel?
b. It is not a pleasant experience. It doesn’t taste good. It doesn’t feel good. It isn’t good for you. There really isn’t anything good about a mouth full of gravel.
c. While bread obtained deceitfully might be sweet at first, before too long, the sweetness is gone and it is replaced by something most unpleasant.
2. Here Solomon uses the illustration of gravel in the mouth to warn us about the unforeseen consequences of using dishonest business practices…
a. The warning is: don’t be fooled by instant gratification.
b. Because it is sweet up front, the dishonest merchant assumes that the sweetness will last forever.
c. He is rudely awakened when he discovers just how short lived that sweetness really is…
d. Prov. 9:17-18 – However, unpleasant consequences will eventually arise.
3. The illustration of “bread of deceit” is typical of any kind of sin.
a. Initially, there is a pleasure to sin. It seems sweet.
b. But eventually, it comes back to BITE you.
c. Gen. 3:6 – Consider the original temptation to sin in Garden.
• Initially, the fruit was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desired to make one wise.
• It was beautiful, pleasant, and desirable—sweet!
• But we know the rest of the story. It resulted in untold tragedy, pain, suffering, sickness, and eventually death.
• If Eve had thought about the REAL consequences of sin, perhaps she would not have taken that fruit.
• But the devil didn’t highlight the unpleasant consequences. He highlights the immediate pleasure.
• Our adversary wants us to think about the immediate gratification of sin… not the long lasting consequences.
d. The devil and his world system use the same tactics today.
• Every advertisement for alcohol shows young, beautiful people enjoying themselves while drinking. They highlight the immediate pleasure.
• Never will you see a beer company use as their backdrop Skid Row—with alcoholics sleeping in the gutter in their own vomit… with his face in the dirt… with gravel in his mouth.
• They show young people at parties having a great time… not middle aged couples fighting and getting a divorce because one is addicted to alcohol and the other spouse just can’t take it anymore.
e. Sin makes all kinds of promises. It promises pleasure, excitement, thrills, power, popularity, friends, liberty, and peace.
• However, it provides none of that permanently.
• What it offers and what it delivers are two different things.
• It delivers loss, shame, guilt, slavery, and destruction.
f. In Solomon’s illustration of the dishonest merchant whose shady business practices result in an immediate profit, sees it as sweet.
• But in the end, the sweet morsels are replaced by a mouth full of gravel.
• Solomon warns this merchant:
» In time your conscience may kick in and the sweetness is replaced with guilt and shame…
» Your dishonest practices could be exposed…
» Lose your reputation… your customers…
» Business goes downhill…
» You get arrested for fraud… end up in jail…
» There are LOTS of possible unpleasant consequences of such practices.
4. The opposite of this principle is equally true.
a. Here Solomon reminds us that when we do WRONG there is an immediate but short lived gratification, (sweetness) followed by long lasting bitterness (gravel).
b. But on the other hand, when we do RIGHT (good deeds which manifest the indwelling life of Christ) there is an immediate but short lived pain involved in the sacrifice, followed by long lasting joy and sweetness.
c. The world’s bread is sweet at first but bitter at last. God’s bread is bitter and painful at first, but sweet at last. (Well done, thou good and faithful servant!)
d. Thus, our overall world view will affect the way we live.
e. Do we want immediate gratification like Esau? (Sweet now, bitter later)… or do we want to follow the example of Christ (suffering now, and glory later)?
Proverbs 20:18
Established by Counsel
Introduction:
1. In this proverb, Solomon speaks about the importance of getting good counsel and advice.
2. He speaks of both the value and need of good advice.
18a Every purpose is established by counsel:
1. Purpose: Thought; idea; plan; intentions; purpose—implying a desire to carry it out.
a. We all have ideas and plans.
b. Some are good; some not so good.
c. Ideas pop into our heads all the time…
d. Sometimes those ideas seem to stick. We think about it… we dream a bit…
e. Then that idea becomes a purpose. It becomes our intention to carry it out.
f. Maybe it’s a plan to build an addition on the house.
g. Maybe the idea is to go back to school.
h. Maybe the idea is to change careers.
i. Maybe the idea is to move to Florida or British Columbia.
j. The term “purpose” here speaks of an idea that is beginning to gel.
k. It is an idea that has become an intention… a goal… it is your purpose to carry it out and make it a reality.
2. Solomon’s advice: Get some good counsel and advice before you do anything!
a. This proverb says nothing about whether you should or shouldn’t do it.
b. It simply states that before you do ANYTHING… get counsel!
c. And that is always good advice.
d. Counsel:
• Advice; consultation; discussion.
• Telling someone what they should do based on a plan or scheme.
e. Of course when you get counsel from another human being, remember that their counsel is NOT inspired Scripture.
• Be aware that sometimes friends with the best of intentions give BAD advice… and terrible counsel.
• Therefore, compare every word of advice you receive from men with the Word of God.
• Prove all things. Hold fast that which is good and abstain from every appearance of evil.
3. Purposes ESTABLISHED.
a. Established: To be firm; stable; established; secure; fixed; prepared; made ready; formed; made to stand.
b. If you want your purpose to stand and be successful, then get good advice before you begin.
c. Wise counsel from people who have expertise in that area might mean the difference between success or failure. (established)
d. It may be a good idea that you have:
• But you may be using a wrong method to accomplish it.
• It may be a good idea, but the wrong time… wrong place…
• It may be a good idea, but needs a few minor adjustments.
• It may be a good idea but you’re not the person to do it.
• A counselor may have a much easier, more efficient, more cost effective way of accomplishing your goal.
• A counselor may have some other idea to enhance your good idea and make it even better.
• It may be a good idea, but you need to be warned about some potential pitfalls.
e. It may be a terrible idea.
• It may be obvious to others that it won’t work.
• Sometimes people get crazy ideas in their heads… and they just have to be told!
• Perhaps others have tried it before you and consistently failed miserably.
• A good, honest counselor who is out for your best interest will tell you so—and in doing so, save you a lot of time, grief, and money!
4. Prov. 15:22 – WITHOUT counsel, purposes are disappointed.
a. Disappointed: broken, thwarted; nullified.
b. Many men have had ideas and have brazenly and sometimes at great cost, have given their all to bring those ideas to pass… only to discover that their plans were broken… their hopes dashed… their purpose thwarted.
c. WHY? Solomon says that often the reason is because no counsel was sought.
d. Perhaps it was a good idea, and with only a little tweaking here or there it WOULD have worked. But this man did not get the advice he should have gotten… and his plan failed.
e. Maybe it was a ridiculous idea in the first place… and it was obvious that it was a stupid idea… but he didn’t ask for counsel, and thus never received any.
f. Prov. 11:14 – The people fall because of a lack of counsel.
• People fall… marriages are ruined… businesses fail… Christians fall away… churches split…
• Falls and failures are often the result of NOT getting the counsel that COULD have enabled them to stand instead of fall… to be established instead of disintegrating.
5. When good counsel is received, FOLLOW it!
a. Prov. 19:20 – “Hear counsel.” This implies more than just listening. It means to listen and to obey… to respond to it… to act upon it.
b. That’s the only way the purpose is established.
c. I Kings 12:8-16 – Solomon’s own son, Rehoboam sought counsel from the older, wiser men but evidently didn’t like what he heard.
d. He continued to seek counsel from others (younger, less experienced men) who told him what he wanted to hear.
e. We will ALWAYS be able to find a counselor who will tell us what we want to hear… especially marriage counselors.
f. But we are warned against that here. Hear good counsel, and then FOLLOW it!
g. What good is counsel if we listen to and then discard it?
h. Ex. 18:19 – Jethro offered counsel to Moses. He gave him advice concerning a better way to conduct the business of judging the people.
• Moses had a purpose to judge the people.
• Jethro gave him counsel, and Moses followed it!
• His purpose was established: made firm; strengthened; made to stand; fixed in place.
6. Jesus Christ is the “Wonderful Counselor.” (Isa. 9:6)
a. Solomon seemed to be speaking on a human level, as he so often does in the book of Proverbs.
b. But there is obviously good spiritual application here…
c. If it is a good idea to seek counsel from men with our plans, how much better to seek the will and mind of GOD on the matter?
d. Whatever ideas or plans may pop up in our minds, the very FIRST thing we should do is to “take it to the Lord in prayer.”
e. We do not take our plans to God to ask Him to put His stamp of approval on what we have already decided to do.
f. We come to Him for guidance… direction… to seek His will and His mind on the matter.
g. Prov. 19:21 – Men have lots of plans and devices in their hearts. But the counsel of the Lord shall STAND. It is a good idea to make sure that OUR ideas are submitted to His will and His Word.
h. So we bring our plans to the Lord to first seek from Him IF we should proceed with those plans.
i. And if the Lord DOES lead us to continue down that path, we seek counsel from Him on HOW to proceed… WHEN to proceed… with WHOM to proceed… WHERE to proceed…
j. ONE of the means that God uses is the counsel and advice of godly, Spirit filled believers!
k. God’s Word TELLS us to seek such counsel.
18b And with good advice make war.
1. Solomon is not promoting war here. He is promoting advice!
a. He is not writing them commanding his sons to make war.
b. But he does say that IF you decide to go to war, be sure to get the best advice you can get… the best intelligence you can get.
c. When advice and intelligence comes from human beings, even the best intelligence can be flawed—as we have seen in our country.
d. But even though advice from human beings is imperfect, Solomon encourages us to SEEK it before going to war.
2. WAR: He uses this as one example of a BIG decision.
a. The average person reading the book of Proverbs probably isn’t going to be involved in any plans to make war.
b. The average Joe (like you and me) doesn’t live on that plane.
c. But the application is that when it comes to BIG decisions in our lives, be sure to get counsel!
d. If you are seeking a career; marriage; a move; buying a home or a car; insurance; thinking about surgery—get good advice—seek a second opinion.
3. Note that he says to get “good advice.”
a. Prov. 24:6 – There is safety in a multitude of counselors.
• If you are considering war, safety ought to be paramount in your thinking.
• Getting a multitude of counselors is what we would call getting a second opinion… and a third!
• You are unlikely to be called upon to make plans for a war, but we may have to make war plans in dealing with our health.
• If one doctor gives you a diagnosis and suggests a serious operation, get another doctor’s advice before you subject yourself to the knife!
• What you want is not just advice, but GOOD advice.
• Luke 14:31 – This king needs to sit down and CONSULT with wise men… with his army leaders… to see if it is advisable to go to war…
» Do I have enough troops to win?
» Do we have enough weapons?
» Do we have a winning strategy?
» Will the people be behind us?
» Is this the right time?
» There are lots of things to consider before going to war.
» And you NEED to consult with experts before engaging in such a BIG decision.
» When it comes to making big decisions, don’t act rashly!
• Don’t operate merely by impulse… or go by gut feelings.
• When making big decisions, it’s much wiser to use your ears and your head rather than relying on your gut.
• Don’t make ignorant assumptions. Get good advice.
• Look before you leap… get good advice before you leap.
• Count the cost.
4. You want to be sure that every decision you make is a wise one.
a. But there are some BIG issues that are more important than others!
b. In these issues you REALLY need good advice.
Proverbs 20:19
Advice Concerning Gossips
19a He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets:
A. He That Goeth About as a Talebearer
1. Solomon introduces this proverb by letting us know (as if we didn’t already know!) that there are some people who have loose lips.
2. Some people “go about” as talebearers.
3. Talebearer:
a. Slanderer; informer.
b. Harmful information about another person, spoken in an open, public setting.
c. One who spreads rumors about another person in a negative sense.
4. Walketh about:
a. Speaks of motion or movement.
b. It is used primarily of walking.
c. Also used of wind blowing… of snakes slithering… of rivers flowing or meandering…
d. Here it seems to be used in the sense of “walking” (as we know the term in the New Testament).
e. It is a figure of speech to describe a person’s whole manner of life.
f. Talebearing is what they DO… wherever they are… wherever they go… it is their habit of life… their daily practice…
g. It is not only what they do, it is what they ARE.
h. He is describing a particular type of person to be aware of: the talebearer.
i. The talebearer’s motto is: “If you can’t say anything good about a person, let’s hear it.”
B. Revealeth Secrets
1. Reveal : To uncover; disclose; lay bare; make known.
2. Secrets: Intimate conversations; counsel; plans; confidential info.
3. Here Solomon tells us WHY we should beware of the talebearer: because he reveals secrets.
a. They make known private conversations you had with them.
b. When you open up your heart to them, they lay bare that information in public.
c. When you tell them something in private, they don’t keep it private.
d. They have big mouths and have no control over their tongues.
e. When you give private counsel to them, they let everyone know what you said.
f. The one who flatters you to your face often tells another story behind your back.
4. Prov. 11:13 – The talebearer is an UNFAITHFUL friend.
a. A faithful friend would conceal the matter.
b. One who is a talebearer is not faithful. You cannot count on him to keep private that which was said in private.
c. Not all conversations were meant for everyone to hear.
d. You should be able to trust a friend to keep their lips closed if you told confidential information.
5. Talebearers who reveal “secrets” don’t always repeat the information accurately.
a. Sometimes they leave out key details which could put a very bad spin on what you said to them.
b. Sometimes they only repeat half of what was said—and half-truths can be damaging… and misleading…
19b Therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
A. Him That Flattereth with his Lips
1. Flatter:
a. This word appears 28 times in the Old Testament.
b. It is only translated “flatter” twice.
c. Most often it is translated as “deceive, allure, or entice.”
• Prov. 1:10 – “if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.”
• Prov. 24:28 – “Be not a witness against thy neighbor without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.”
d. The term (like many words) has several meanings. The context has to determine which meaning.
e. I think it best to understand the Hebrew term to mean (according to its general meaning) something like “to deceive” in this passage.
f. However, flattery is often very deceptive. People are often deceived by means of flattery.
g. The word “flattery” here, it should be understood as a particular kind of flattery: the kind that is designed to deceive!
2. Thus, Solomon warns about the kind of person who uses deceptive means to draw information out of you.
a. This person might begin with flattery… buttering you up… so that you will feel confident about their friendship and will be willing to open up and share some personal information.
b. Perhaps they might deceive you with their lips by giving you some misinformation. (Tom asked me to ask you about a particular situation… when Tom never said such a thing!)
B. Meddle Not
1. Meddle: The term has a broad range of meaning in various contexts.
a. We usually use this English word to mean “interfere”… or to stick your nose in someone else’s business. That is not exactly the meaning here.
b. The term means, “a pledge or exchange; to make a bargain with; to make a deal with; to share; to pledge the heart with; fellowship.”
c. It seems to be used here in the sense of a pledge of the heart—becoming engaged in a deep, intimate fellowship, on an emotion level with another person… to exchange personal information that is close to the heart.
2. Solomon’s advice here is that you NOT share the deep things of your heart with a talebearer.
a. Don’t disclose deep, personal information with such a person.
b. You cannot trust that person to handle that personal information with care.
c. In other words, when you lay bare your heart to a talebearer… he is likely to lay it bare before the general public!
d. Solomon is trying to spare his readers from heart ache.
e. This was probably a lesson Solomon learned the hard way.
• As a king he certainly would have had many private meetings with other kings, with wealthy land owners, with businessmen, and the nobility in the land.
• It is likely that some of the things he discussed at such meetings, he expected to go no further than those meetings… and discovered to his dismay, that a talebearer made the content of that meeting public.
• The fact that he wanted the information kept private does not mean that there was anything illegal, immoral, or nefarious about it.
• But some information is easily misunderstood… easily misinterpreted… misconstrued.
• It can be misleading and paint an innocent party in a very bad light…
• So if you don’t want to be painted in a bad light (or worse, paint someone else in a bad light)… Solomon’s advice is “Don’t meddle” with a talebearer.
• Don’t exchange that kind of information with a person who has a reputation for loose lips… someone who is unfaithful… unreliable…
• Don’t disclose the secrets of your heart to a man who will REVEAL those secrets to others.
• Solomon was probably burned on this issue several times, and wrote this proverb as a help to others to learn from his mistakes.
• We’ve probably ALL experienced this to one degree or another… on one occasion or another… where someone we trusted betrayed our confidence.
3. The warning in this proverb is about a certain kind of person: the talebearer or slanderer.
a. This person loves to reveal secrets.
b. He may come to you and reveals secrets of others…
c. He may do so with much flattery: “Since you are SUCH a good friend of mine, I feel I can share this juicy tidbit with you.”
d. And with further flattery, convinces you to loosen up your lip so that you tell him your secrets.
e. From there, he goes on to the next victim… and reveals your secrets to him.
f. This is a way of life for some people.
g. They can be extremely damaging in a local church…
h. They can turn friend against friend… brother against brother…
i. Therefore, meddle not with him. Do not give him any fuel for his passion of gossip.
j. Don’t associate with him… and certainly don’t open up your heart to him.
k. Prov. 23:25 – Not only should we not meddle (associate) with him. We should DRIVE him away like the north wind… an angry countenance will send him all the message he needs: his slander is not welcome here!
4. Solomon warns us because this kind of personal betrayal can be extremely hurtful.
a. Prov. 26:20, 22 – They are like wounds that are deep in the belly.
• The way to remove the hurt and dangerous flames is to remove the talebearer…
• Or as he said in 20:19, “don’t meddle with such a person!” Stay away for your own good.
b. Prov. 29:5 – Flattery can be a trap in many different ways.
• In Prov. 20:19, the trap seems to be that the talebearer butters you up, to loosen up your lip… so that they hear personal information from you.
• The trap is that they repeat it in public!
• That can make YOU look like a fool… or like a big mouth—since others will be able trace the SOURCE of that information right back to you!
• If someone comes to you with juicy stories about an acquaintance… and with flattering words, buttering you up, and seems to have an insatiable appetite to know all the details and stories about everything that is going on in your life… BEWARE!
c. We would do well to take heed to Solomon’s advice.
• Especially when it comes to email!
• If you share something private with an unreliable person via email, the whole world could know!
Proverbs 20:20
Whoso Curses His Father or Mother
Introduction:
1. This is a very simple proverb.
2. It addresses rebellious children and basically makes one point: your lamp will be snuffed out!
3. It doesn’t take a lot of hermeneutical skills to get the point. In fact, one could hardly miss the point here.
4. This proverb almost doesn’t need to be taught. It simply needs to be read. It speaks for itself.
20a Whoso curseth his father or mother
1. Exodus 20:12 – Here Solomon speaks about a son who clearly violates the fifth commandment.
a. This commandment came with a promise: that thy days may be long upon the land… and “that it may go well with thee.” (Eph. 6:1-2)
b. Children who honor their parents have learned to submit to authority.
c. Children who honor their parents are much more likely to fear GOD because they have learned to fear and respect their parents.
d. Children who obey their parents are much more likely to obey the laws of the land.
e. Children who honor their parents by doing what their parents expect of them are much more likely to do what their bosses expect of them… and thus succeed in life.
f. Children who honor their parents by submitting to their discipline and have learned to do their chores… will most likely be disciplined throughout their lives… at school… at work… wherever they are… and thus things will go well for them.
g. A child who learns to honor their parents, submit to them, and obey them… will discover that those are traits that will easily be transferred to other areas of life.
h. God’s Word sets forth a PROMISE for those children: things will go well for them all throughout their lives.
2. Solomon’s proverb is the flip side of that same coin.
a. Cursing one’s parents is the OPPOSITE of honoring. It is the polar opposite.
b. Cursing defined:
• Strong’s: Be trifling; be of little account; lightly esteem; to seem insignificant.
• Dict. Of Bib. Lang.: Disdain; despise; be vile; i.e., be in a state of contempt for an object, showing little regard or value to the object.
• A different form of this Hebrew word is used in Deut. 27:16.
» Translated: “Setteth light.”
» The meaning is the virtually the same.
• I Sam. 17:42-44 – Goliath spoke of David as if he were an insignificant nothing…
» Goliath cursed David—to him, David was nobody of any importance. (vs. 43)
» He thought he would just trample over David and think nothing of it.
» When it says that Goliath cursed David, it did not mean that he swore at him and used profanity.
» It means that he belittled David. He had no respect for this little squirt whatsoever.
» When Goliath looked at puny David, he thought to himself, “Who does he think he is? How dare he confront me? Doesn’t he know how big and important I am?”
• This is the term Solomon used of a child “cursing” his parents.
» He is not speaking of a child who uses profanity against his parents.
» He is speaking a child who shows utter disregard for them… belittling… insulting them… showing no respect for… considering them to be insignificant… someone to be trampled over…
3. When a child curses his parents, he demonstrates the attitude of Goliath toward David: “Who do they think they are? How dare they confront me? Don’t they know how big and important I am?”
4. It is this attitude of contempt… disrespect… not valuing their parents that Solomon describes here.
5. It is the exact opposite of the attitude of honor that God’s Word commands… in BOTH testaments.
3. Just as children who HONOR their parents can expect that things will go well for them as a result… (good consequences) children who CURSE their parents can expect BAD consequences of their attitudes and actions.
a. Children who curse their parents… will probably have no regard for other authority figures in life… and will curse them too.
b. Children who curse their parents are likely to curse their teachers in school… and pay a price for their big mouth.
c. Children who have no regard for their parents and curse them… will probably have no regard for their boss later in life… and curse him. That one may bounce from job to job his whole life.
d. They are also likely to curse the police… and the judge…
e. This rebellious, self-willed young person cannot expect much good in life.
f. His life will ramble on from bad to worse…
g. Things will NOT go well for him. His life will be miserable.
h. He should not expect much comfort, rest, or success in life.
i. The days of his life are likely to be short but not sweet.
20b His lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
1. Solomon speaks about what children can expect when they do NOT honor their parents… when they curse them… treat them lightly…
2. Solomon uses a figure of speech to describe the CONSEQUENCES of their ungodly attitude towards their parents: your lights will be put out!
a. Lev. 20:9 – The death penalty was to be applied in such cases of rebellion against one’s parents. (Moses uses the same word for curse.)
b. Matt. 15:4 – Jesus quoted Moses, repeating the death penalty as the Law’s punishment for this sin.
c. The death penalty was the consequence of such rebellion.
3. Solomon uses figurative language to speak of applying the death penalty: snuffing out one’s candle.
a. This is euphemism for death… or the END of something: snuffing out the candle.
• A life that continues was thought of as a shining light…
• At death, that light is snuffed out… extinguished.
b. This was a common figure of the speech in the Bible.
• It was used several times in the book of Job.
• Solomon used it several times too.
• Prov. 24:20 – There is no reward for the wicked. When it comes time for rewards to be distributed, his candle shall be put out. (Candle here = same word as lamp; not a wax candle, but an oil lamp,)
• Prov.13:9
• Rev. 2:5 – Jesus used this illustration of the church in Ephesus: if they did not repent, He would remove (snuff out) their candlestick. In other words, that church would go out of existence. They would no longer BE a light and a witness for Christ… the end of the church.
c. “Obscure darkness”
• Obscure is the term “pupil of the eye” – the black center of the surface of the eye ball.
• The expression is a figure of speech literally translated: “black pupil darkness.”
• That was a figure that came to men TOTAL, utter, and complete darkness.
• When a person dies… he is in utter darkness… the darkest kind of darkness.
• His candle is snuffed out (his life comes to an end) and he is thus in total, utter darkness.
• The Lake of Fire is spoken of as “outer darkness” where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
4. Thus, Solomon uses the strongest language… a graphic figure of speech to demonstrate the awful consequences of a child who is an utter rebel against his parents… and shows no regard for them.
5. Prov. 30:17 – Here is an even MORE graphic picture… but the point is the same.
a. Obviously, the point of the proverb is not just to pass along information about what happens to such a person.
b. The point of the proverb is to be a WARNING to young people NOT to follow that route!
c. The message to young people is: HONOR your mother and father! Things will go well with you.
d. If you DISHONOR them… expect to have your lights put out… one way or another… sooner or later…
e. This proverb also serves as a good warning to parents to do your best to make sure that your children learn when they are very young to honor their parents.
Proverbs 20:21
Things Hastily Gained
21a An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning
A. An inheritance
1. Prov. 13:22 – A good man leaves an inheritance to his children.
2. Prov. 19:14 – Parents often leave their house and whatever money they have left to their children.
3. This is the norm. When a parent dies, it is quite natural for him or her to leave whatever wealth they have to their children.
4. Sometimes family squabbles and other issues interfere with that… but it is still the norm.
5. It is a good idea for parents to have a will drawn up so that your wishes are carried out when you leave this world. Don’t leave it up to the state to decide!
B. Gotten Hastily
1. Hastily: To make haste; to be in a hurry; immediately or suddenly; to be overly eager; to be in a rush.
a. This term in this context is a bit ambiguous.
b. As is the case in several of Solomon’s proverbs, it may have been intentionally ambiguous…
c. Solomon may have wanted his readers to think about BOTH possibilities with the use of this term.
2. It could refer to the fact that an inheritance is gained suddenly when the last parent dies.
a. The second that parent dies, the heir immediately becomes the owner of the property and wealth.
b. In the case of a very wealthy family, the son could instantly become a millionaire… or a billionaire!
c. Suddenly he has the legal right to the family estate.
3. The term could also refer to an inheritance gained suddenly in another way.
a. Prov. 28:22 – Here Solomon uses the same term (haste). Only here he uses the term with evil connotations: “hasting to be rich.”
b. This implies dishonest means of obtaining wealth.
c. Dear old dad is on his death bed, and his son is in a hurry to get his inheritance… so he finds a way to accelerate his dad’s decline… with a teaspoon of antifreeze in his coffee every morning.
d. Don’t think this sort of thing doesn’t happen. It does! In the last days men shall be without natural affection.
e. It doesn’t have to include murder. Sons of wealthy parents have been quite ingenious in their plans to hasten their inheritance.
• Some have had their aging parents declared incompetent to handle their own finances… and take over.
• Some have tricked their parents into signing over their wealth to them…
f. Prov. 21:6 – Sometimes the son may LIE to his father and conjure up a real good story as to WHY he needs his inheritance NOW. (I’m in trouble with the mafia; I have a gambling debt and they will kill me; etc.)
g. Luke 15:11-12 – Then there is the story of the prodigal son.
• “A certain man had two sons: 12And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.”
• This son got his inheritance hastily. He couldn’t wait. He wanted it now.
• This must have broken the father’s heart. Surely he could see what was coming for this son.
• The father knew that this overly eager son would not have the wisdom to handle the money properly. He must have known that it would be wasted.
• But the son insisted, and the father relented.
• This son got his inheritance hastily at the beginning.
21b But the end thereof shall not be blessed.
1. Here Solomon speaks of the RESULT of such instant wealth.
2. Luke 15:13-16 – Consider the END of the road for the prodigal son.
a. He wasted his money. “Easy come; easy go.” That is the real lesson of this proverb.
b. His father worked a lifetime to save that money. The son blew it in no time at all.
c. Because the father worked so hard to accumulate that wealth, he understood the value of it.
d. But the son did NOT work for it. Because it was handed to him on a silver platter, he did not understand the true value of it.
e. To the father, that money represented a lifetime of labor. To the son it was instant cash. It was like winning the lottery!
f. In no time at all, this son returns to his father’s house… poor… empty handed… having wasted his inheritance.
g. Had he waited until he was older (or until his father died) he would have been older AND wiser.
h. Young people do not have the wisdom to handle large sums of money… regardless of how loudly they insist that they do.
i. Just look at the lives of the 20 year old athletes who become instant millionaires because they can throw a football or a basketball.
j. Just look at the lives of the 20 year olds who become instant millionaires as a movie star or rock star. There are way too many sad stories like Brittany Spears… and others like her.
k. Money hastily received in ANY manner often results in a sad, tragic end like this. It is all too common.
l. Solomon saw and heard about so many prodigal sons and Brittany Spears stories in his lifetime that he decided to write a proverb about it.
m. An inheritance is just ONE example of a large sum of money received suddenly… instantly, without the wisdom needed to use it properly… without the maturity to understand its value.
n. “Easy come; easy go” is an American proverb that captures the same thought.
3. Prov. 28:22 – And what about the one who hastens to be rich with evil intentions?
a. Poverty comes to him in the latter end.
b. His get rich quick schemes may work every once in a while.
c. Because they work once in a while, he assumes that he can make a living that way.
d. He envisions his cheap little scam will last forever… and that he is on easy street.
e. Hence, he never seeks a REAL job. He never gains any skills that are truly marketable.
f. He wastes his life on his silly dreams about being rich with some new scheme.
g. What he doesn’t realize is that most often they do NOT work.
h. In the end he finds himself in poverty…
i. In the end, he is not blessed. A “get rich quick” mentality is really a curse… not a blessing.
4. Then we have the many cases of the son who instantly inherits his father’s business when his father dies.
a. The father worked many decades to get that business on its feet.
b. He put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into building up that business.
c. He knew what it meant to work well into the night to balance the books…
d. The father knew what it to took to keep the business afloat during an economic recession…
e. The father learned about the importance of having good employees and he learned to treat them fairly.
f. The father knew about all the extras that it took to keep the business going… advertising… upkeep of the property…
g. The father spent years putting out the very best product that he could.
h. The father spent 50 years building up that business.
i. The son inherits and drives it into the ground in a year and a half.
j. Becoming the head of a big business like that came to him so easily; he thought that running it would be easy too. He was dead wrong.
k. Instead of investing some of the profits in upkeep and taking care of his employees, he blew the cash on a big new house, a boat, and a ski chalet at Vail!
l. And before you know it—his father’s business was worthless.
m. What seemed to be a great blessing when he inherited it, was not a blessing in the end.
n. Solomon saw that sort of thing happen way too often.
5. And what about the son who is so eager for his father to die that he hastens his death in order to speed up the day he gets his inheritance?
a. He may find himself in jail for the rest of his life… or face the death penalty.
b. Instead of living the good life… he may END his life… or live the rest of it behind bars.
6. Prov. 10:22 – the blessing of the Lord usually comes the old fashioned way: through hard work, diligence, industry, sacrifice, and saving.
a. This blessing comes with no sorrow… no guilt… no shame… no guilty conscience like wealth that comes hastily through deception or conniving.
b. Quick, easy money doesn’t last very long.
c. It often destroys a person’s industry… it ruins their initiative and drive to achieve… It stunts a person’s growth.
d. Prov. 21:5 – Diligence leads to plenty; HASTY to be rich leads to want… a lack…
Proverbs 20:22
Wait on the LORD
Introduction:
1. Here Solomon discusses the subject of vengeance… and he tells us what to do when we feel overcome with a desire to “strike back.”
22a Say not thou, I will recompense evil…
1. Recompense:
a. The term means to pay back.
b. It can be used in either a good or an evil sense.
• Good: Prov. 13:13 – Rewarded.
• Bad: to pay back out of vengeance. This is the sense it is used in Prov. 20:22.
2. Evil:
a. This term for evil is a very broad term (like our term evil).
b. It includes the thought of that which is immoral, but that does not seem to be the emphasis here.
c. Here the emphasis is on that which is evil in the sense of bad, injurious, hurtful, calamity, tragedy, troublesome, etc.
3. Recompensing evil: This expression speaks about a person who has been wronged.
a. Someone has done something hurtful or injurious to them, and they are seeking to “get even.”
b. It speaks of a person taking matters into their own hands and paying back the person who injured you. (tit for tat)
c. Rom. 12:19 – As Christians, we have specifically been told NOT to recompense evil.
• Avenge: Execute justice; defend one’s cause.
4. This proverb speaks of a situation where one person has been injured by another.
a. The type of injury is left unmentioned… so that the proverb is generic enough to cover a multitude of possible situations.
b. Have you ever been injured by someone else?
• Has someone been spreading rumors about you?
• Has someone been stabbing you in the back at work?
• Has someone double-crossed you at church?
• It could even be a family member—a spouse, child, or parent… has a family member been abusive to you verbally… or physically?
• Do you feel the IRS has cheated you? Or a government agency has caused you untold trouble?
• Have you been singled out and treated unfairly?
• Has someone wrongly accused you of evil?
c. In a world with 7.5 billion sinners, these sorts of things happen all the time. You’re not alone.
• Oftentimes people do “evil” to us.
• Life is not always “fair.”
• There are troublemakers out there who seem to get their kicks from making life miserable for others.
5. In such a scenario, Solomon tells us what NOT to say: “I will recompense evil.”
a. Why do you suppose he tells us what NOT to say?
b. Because he knows human nature. He knows that when we feel that we have been wronged or abused, this is the first thought that pops into our minds!
c. Proverbs 24:29 – “Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.”
d. “I’ll get even with him! I’ll teach him not to mess with me.”
e. It’s almost like a built in defense mechanism.
• If someone hits you, you hit them back.
• If someone insults you, you insult them right back.
• To the flesh, this is as natural as breathing.
f. It is human nature to want to strike back… yet we are repeatedly told NOT to say that… not to think that.
6. If we say anything, it should be along the lines of Matt. 5:44 –
a. BLESS them that curse you, bless and curse not.
b. PRAY for them that despitefully misuse you.
c. Rom. 12:14, 21
• If we SAY anything it should be to bless and not curse.
• If we DO anything, it should be to do GOOD unto them… in return for their evil.
d. Acts 7:59-60 – Consider the example of Stephen. (“Lord, lay not this sin to their charge!”) He meant it.
7. Whatever you do or say…
a. DON’T: Take vengeance into your own hands…
b. DON’T: Curse your enemy…
c. If you can’t say or do anything good, then don’t do or say anything!
22b But wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.
A. Wait on the Lord
1. Wait means more than waiting as we might think of waiting in line.
2. Wait = To hope; to trust; to depend upon someone.
a. Dictionary of Bible Languages: “To look forward with confidence to that which is good and beneficial, often with a focus of anticipation in a future event.”
3. In this context, the idea of this term is the opposite of taking matters into your own hands.
a. Wait… depend upon God to handle the matter… trust in Him to take care of the wrongs done…
b. Look forward with confidence that the Judge of all the earth will do right…
c. Have no confidence in OUR ability to bring about justice… and have complete confidence in God’s ability to bring about justice… even if it takes a long time… even if we don’t see it in our lifetime!
d. That’s waiting… and depending on God. That’s an expression of FAITH and confidence in Him.
4. I Peter 2:23 – Follow the example of Christ; don’t strike back; commit your situation to the Lord.
a. Deut. 32:35 – God is a God of justice and vengeance. Leave it all in His hands.
5. I Cor. 13:4-7 – LOVE: the fruit of the Spirit in us will:
a. Suffer and still be kind! Is not easily provoked.
b. Bears all things… endures all things. (It is able to wait…)
c. God’s plan is to overcome evil with good.
» This is MORE than just NOT taking vengeance. (negative side)
» This is actively doing GOOD to our enemies.
» It is possible to obey God outwardly by NOT seeking vengeance.
» But even the one who does not take out vengeance may secretly brood on the inside and allow bitterness and resentment to fester
» That’s not victory. That’s covering up and suppressing the inward spirit of vengeance.
» True victory is overcoming evil with good… positive words and deeds done in a true spirit of humility.
6. There are some good reasons to wait on the Lord too.
a. Wait: because vengeance belongs to the Lord. It is not our place.
b. Wait: because in God’s time and in God’s way, justice always prevails… if not in this life, in the life to come.
c. Wait: because sometimes when we think we have been “wronged,” it may, in fact, have been justice.
d. Wait: because vigilante justice is against the law.
e. Wait: because operating on the basis of emotion often leads to even more wrongs committed… and more sin.
f. Wait: because this tit for tat mentality can easily blow up and get out of control. It can escalate into something far beyond the original insult.
g. Wait: because striking back drags you down to their level.
h. Wait: because our position is in heaven—where such petty, earthly insults and wrongs all seem quite small from heaven’s vantage point.
B. And He will save thee…
1. Solomon does NOT say that if we leave it in God’s hands, God will smite that miserable creature hip and thigh!
2. Rather, he says that God will deliver YOU… the injured party.
3. What will He save us from?
a. Perhaps further trouble… from injury…
b. Perhaps he will deliver us from our enemies…
c. Perhaps He will deliver us from ourselves… from taking vengeance into our own hands… and then having to suffer the consequences of that action… because that usually makes matters worse.
4. While we are WAITING on the Lord, learn to see God’s purpose in the wrongs… in the grief caused by others… in the injustice…
a. Remember Joseph?
• He was double-crossed by his own brothers. They sold him into Egypt. He was double crossed several times in Egypt too.
• Then in God’s providence, Joseph was exalted to be Prime Minister in Egypt… and during the famine, his brothers came to him begging for food.
• He had the perfect opportunity to retaliate… to execute justice against them… to level vengeance against them… to get even.
• But he had learned long before that to wait on the Lord.
b. Men may mean it for evil, but God means it for good!
• God DELIVERED Joseph from slavery to being Prime Minister.
• God also delivered Joseph from taking matters into his own hands and seeking vengeance. Instead, Joseph waited upon the Lord… and the Lord saved him.
• And look how God turned the tables on them all!
• When people do evil to us, it hurts initially.
• However, we should look at it from eternity’s vantage point. It is an opportunity to manifest Christ-like character by obeying God and BLESSING those who curse us… by overcoming evil with good.
• What a testimony to the Lord that is… and just remember: people are watching how we live and how we respond to the events of life.
Proverbs 19:24
Slothfulness
24a A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom
1. Slothful Defined:
a. Sluggish, lazy.
b. Pertaining to be slow to take any action, suggesting a lack of discipline or initiative, as a moral failure.
c. The term is used only in Proverbs: (15 times) – 6:6, 9; 10:26; 13:4; 15:19; 19:24; 20:4; 21:25; 22:13; 24:30; 26:13-16.
2. Hiding his hand in his bosom.
a. Hiding: conceal, bury.
b. Bosom: this term has two possible meanings (like many English words)
• dish, bowl
• Bosom; chest area
c. The KJV translators chose to use the second definition.
d. Most other translations chose to use the first definition: dish or bowl.
e. While both are legitimate translations, the context (second part of the proverb) seems to favor translating it dish, since he is speaking of putting something in his mouth, eating.
f. If we understand the term to mean “bosom” it is hard to see what the relationship is between putting one’s hand in his bosom and then bringing it back to his mouth.
3. I understand it here that Solomon is describing a slothful, lazy, sluggish man who sticks his hand in his dish…
a. The second part of the proverb demonstrates just HOW lazy he is!
24b And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
1. “Bring it again” = reverse direction; bring back; restore; put back; cause to return.
a. In other words, here is a man who buries his hand in the dish, presumably to draw out some food to eat.
b. However, he is SO incredibly lazy, that he won’t even bring the food up to his mouth to eat it!
c. Obviously, this is hyperbole… an exaggeration to make a point.
d. His point is that this man is REALLY lazy!
2. The POINT Solomon makes is that this man is SO lazy that he lacks what it takes to follow through with what he started.
a. He started to get something to eat… but he didn’t follow through.
b. He stuck his hand in the bowl to draw out some food, but he never finished the job… he didn’t follow through… and thus he never brought his hand back to his mouth to actually eat it!
c. He is so lazy he would rather starve than work.
d. That is exactly what the New Testament says he deserves! If a man will not work, neither should he eat. (II Thess. 3:10)
3. A man sticks his hand in the dish because he is hungry.
a. He knows WHAT his need is: food. He sees his need.
b. He knows WHERE the food is and he knows HOW to get it.
c. He started to get the job done… he stuck his hand in the bowl.
d. But he didn’t follow through. He didn’t FINISH the job.
e. Thus, he remained hungry. The need was never met.
4. This is a proverb that demonstrates through hyperbole the need to follow through on a project that you start… and the consequences of not following through.
a. Solomon traces the ROOT of this problem back to slothfulness.
b. Prov. 26:15 – the very same proverb.
• However, here is added the REASON he does not bring his hand back: “grieved.”
• Grieved = emotional weariness; worn out emotionally; wearied.
• Dict. of Bib. Lang.: Defines “grieved” emotionally tired, i.e., be in a state which will manifest negative emotions or attitudes such as impatience or discouragement.
• Ezek. 24:12 – She hath wearied herself with lies.
• Isa. 1:14 – Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
• He’s too tired!
c. The real pitiful thing to note is that what he needs is right there before him! It is within reach… but he refuses to reach!
• He COULD have the food in the bowl… but he’s too lazy.
• This is the way of most lazy people.
• What they need is right there before them… within their reach… and with just a little effort it could be theirs!
• That’s the point here. Just a little more effort… a little more follow through… and it would all be theirs.
• But they won’t take that last step… it’s too hard. They come up with all kinds of excuses.
• The picture here Solomon paints is a man who is so lazy he expects the food is just going to fall into his mouth! It doesn’t work that way.
5. Prov. 15:19 – The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns.
a. Here Solomon states that the way of a lazy man is all hedged in.
b. He is surrounded by a hedge of thorns: obstacles everywhere!
c. That’s all he sees… a hedge on every side… like a huge maze…
d. He may FEEL trapped… he sees no open doors… everywhere he looks he is hedged in.
e. He may feel that life is just too hard…
f. This is the thinking of the lazy man… the quitter…
g. But Solomon implies here that he is hedged in BECAUSE of his own slothfulness.
h. Consider the example of the two students: one lazy and one diligent.
• They both leave school and walk down the same pathway in life.
• As they walk down that pathway, the lazy classmate will find many closed doors—hedged in; while his hard working classmate finds many open doors.
• The lazy man finds many obstacles to his progress… hedges of thorns… but they are often obstacles of his own making!
• This is the WAY of the slothful man.
i. This “way of life” very quickly turns into a “poor me” attitude.
• Nothing ever goes right for me… woe is me…
• Everybody else always seems to get all the breaks, but not me! I never have any luck.
j. Then the “victim” mentality sets in.
• It’s the government’s fault. They should have a program for me.
• I DESERVE something better than this…
• Everybody is against me… the cards are all stacked against me.
• If the kids in the third grade didn’t pick on me so much, I never would have had such a hard time in life…
6. But Proverbs 19:24 calls that man’s bluff.
a. This proverb says that the REAL reason that he goes without is because he lacks what it takes to follow through with whatever he starts.
b. He did well in high school, but quit. Too much homework.
c. He went from job to job…
d. Then he got a pretty decent job, making a good salary, but didn’t stick it out.
• They wanted him to learn to use a computer, and he didn’t want to take the course.
• It was on a Friday night, and he liked to have fun on Friday nights. Work was crimping his lifestyle.
• Because he didn’t learn the needed skill, they had to let him go.
e. He tried to get another good job, but the personnel department didn’t like what they saw on his resume: “worked for six months here, a year there, four months at his next job, a year and two months there…”
f. And the personnel department wasn’t interested in listening to his endless list of excuses. They weren’t like dad and mom. They saw his record and said quite snappily, “No thank you.”
g. So he strikes out again… and becomes more and more emotionally worn out… drained… weary, discouraged… and quits again and again.
h. What he OUGHT to do is humble himself, take an entry-level job, and stick with it… and PROVE himself finally… and work his way up—like everybody else.
i. In other words, FOLLOW THROUGH on whatever you start!
7. The man in Solomon’s proverb was SO lazy, that he didn’t even follow through on something that was really quite EASY: eating!
a. And when you don’t follow through, your needs are not met.
b. You can stick your hand in a bowl full of food, but if you don’t follow through and bring it to your mouth, you will still be hungry.
c. This is a SERIOUS issue Solomon raises here—in a comical way: people who make a halfhearted effort.
d. This man did half the work. He did bury his hand in the bowl of goodies. But it didn’t do him any good. It didn’t satisfy his hunger at all.
e. Going half way doesn’t work.
• You don’t win a marathon by being first to cross the half way point. You have to FINISH.
• If a company requires a four year degree for the job you want, going to college for two years and quitting won’t get you in the door that you wanted to enter.
• If the doctor says you have to take your medicine every day… and you take it every other day, or whenever you feel like it, you won’t get the right result.
8. The same principle is true in the spiritual life as well.
a. This might just be the number ONE reason why Christians fail and falter in their walk… why they don’t experience victory: because they don’t follow through on what they started.
b. In a problem with a brother in the Lord. The Bible says, “Turn the other cheek.” He tried it, but it didn’t work. The brother is still mean to him… so he quit trying.
c. Or the husband who is having a spat with his wife. The pastor exhorts him to “Love your wife as Christ loved the church.” Too often the response is, “I tried it, but it didn’t work!”
d. Or a believer is trying to deal with a boss who constantly yells. The Bible says, “A soft answer turns away wrath.”
e. All too often believers get good advice from a brother in the Lord—right from the Scripture. And with the best of intentions, they start off well… but they don’t follow through! They quit mid stream.
f. The Bible doesn’t say turn the other cheek, and if that doesn’t work, try something else. Nor does it say use a soft answer two or three times, and if that does work, then look for another solution.
g. When the principles in God’s Word don’t seem to work for you, it’s not because they are ineffective. It’s because you quit too soon.
h. We tend to put in a half hearted effort. We really try at first (like putting your hand in the bowl of food), but then we don’t follow through… we don’t finish the job.
i. Thus, we don’t experience the victory or satisfaction… like the man with his hand in the bowl is still hungry.
j. The word of God is like that bowl. It is set right before us all… within reach. All we have to do is take of it and eat. Yet, as absurd as this proverb, we are often too lazy to eat… and we suffer spiritual hunger as a result.
k. This proverb is an extremely absurd one. When we read it, we immediately think, NOBODY could be that lazy… that stupid. But lo and behold. We do the same thing in the spiritual realm.
Proverbs 20:25
The Danger of Acting Before Thinking
25a It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy…
1. Devoureth:
a. Strong’s: (two meanings listed)
• Talk impetuously; make a wild utterance; i.e., speak in a rash or foolish manner; implying no thought to the words spoken.
• Sip; take a relatively small drink of liquid; slurp; i.e., drink liquid noisily.
b. Theological Workbook of the Old Testament:
• Swallow down.
• Talk wildly.
c. Most Hebrew dictionaries define this term as Strong’s does: either to speak in a rash manner or to sip or slurp.
• In fact, it is possible that the two thoughts are related… and are a Hebraism – a picturesque way of saying something…
• Namely, that speaking out rashly is like slurping a drink—it happens in a hurry… without even thinking… you make a lot of sound… and then it’s gone.
• It is possible that in the Hebrew mind they made a mental connection between gulping down a drink and speaking rashly… or blurting out something without thinking.
2. Thus, the man who DEVOURS (sips up) that which is holy does so by making a rash vow.
a. A man may speak rashly and dedicate something to the Lord as being “holy” – set apart for God.
b. A man may “vow” to give something to the Lord… to dedicate something to the Lord’s Temple or service.
c. Once this vow is made… once this item is dedicated to God, it is “holy” and cannot be taken back.
d. Once dedicated to God, it was considered “holy” and it could not be used again for ordinary purposes.
e. This is the same concept that Jesus spoke of in Mark 7:10-11.
• Corban = It is dedicated to God. Men would make a vow to God to dedicate their gold to the Temple… or their fruits as a sacrifice…
• Some selfish, ungrateful children used this as an excuse NOT to care for their aging parents.
• They said, “Dad, I’d love to help you out, but all my goods are “corban” – dedicated to God. Therefore, I can’t help you.
• It was pure hypocrisy.
3. It was easy to SAY, “corban”… however, there were some long term consequences of making that vow.
a. The idea of devouring a holy thing means to dedicate it to God by making a vow.
b. Once the vow is made, that item is “devoured” in the sense, that it is as good as gone.
c. It is devoured by making a rash vow…
d. In other words, a rash vow DEVOURS items… and renders them “holy” or dedicated to God.
e. Vows can be made quite easily. Vows can be made in one moment of time. Vows can be made in a flurry of emotion. They can be made in anger… they can be made in joy… Vows are often made without thinking.
4. This seems to be what Solomon meant by “devouring” that which is holy or dedicated.
a. A rash vow was made and the item is gone… or as good as gone.
b. It now belongs to the Lord.
c. And there is no reversing it, once dedicated.
d. Some understand the “devour” to mean that the man made the vow rashly, discovered he could not keep the vow, and thus consumed the sacrifice that he had dedicated to God.
e. Each of the various interpretations for this phrase are really quite similar… and the overall meaning is the same.
25b And after vows to make enquiry.
1. Now Solomon describes the fact that the man who just made the rash vow to dedicate something to the Lord decides to THINK about what he just did.
2. Note that this is done AFTER.
3. After he devours that which is holy (dedicates something to God) he then vows to make enquiry.
a. Make enquiry: To seek; enquire; consider; reflect; give thought.
b. Solomon’s point here is that AFTER the man devours that which is holy by making a rash vow to dedicate it to God… only then does he begin to THINK about what he did…
c. This is another example of the proverbial, act now, think later.
d. The man makes a vow, and then sometime later, he begins to reflect upon the consequences of that vow.
e. He speaks without thinking… and later it begins to dawn on him what he did… as he has time to stop and consider his actions.
4. And haven’t we all done this — perhaps way too many times!
a. Of course, the concept of “corban” is not something practiced often today.
b. But something similar COULD be done…
• Suppose a missionary comes, gives a thrilling message… sings some wonderful hymns… shows slides of the children in the jungle that really grips your heart…
• Then, overwhelmed by the emotion of it all, you pledge to give that missionary $200.00 per month… only to discover a couple of months later that you can’t afford it!
• Or perhaps, after hearing his thrilling presentation of his mission, you promise God that YOU will go to the mission field… but you do so without thinking… without praying… without being led… it is pure emotion…
c. It is EASY to speak rashly and make promises to God…
• But it is not wise to make promises to God on the basis of emotion and to think and pray about it AFTER.
• That’s backwards.
d. There is a much BROADER principle that Solomon hints at here.
• Solomon spoke about making a rash vow to dedicate something to God without thinking about it.
• This could be applied to ANY kind of action we take… any kind of obligation we take on… any kind of commitment we make… any kind of debt we incur…
• It’s easy to obligate ourselves to something… (in the emotion of the hour). It is foolish to do so without thinking it through…
• People do this all the time in the financial realm. They buy too much house… too much car… time share property… because of the slick way it was presented by the salesman… and often we do so without making enquiry… without doing our homework.
• Some believers do this in the local church too. They sign up to serve in ministries eight nights a week… and only AFTER… upon reflection do they discover that their family is suffering…
• Parents do this with their kids. They overextend themselves by signing up for soccer, basketball, baseball, hockey, piano lessons, singing lessons, extra science class, bird watching, and basket weaving… and only AFTER do they discover that they don’t have the time or energy for it all.
It is a snare
1. Snare: A trap; the lure or bait placed in a hunter’s trap.
2. Solomon now speaks about the CONSEQUENCE of a rash vow… of making an obligation without thinking it through… without prayer.
3. It is like a trap with some enticing bait inside… that lures you in… and then the door closes behind you… and you are trapped.
4. The lure is obvious:
a. The lure of having a big, beautiful house lures us into signing on to a mortgage that we cannot afford.
b. The lure of being seen in a fancy new car lures us into signing on the dotted line at the car dealer’s… only to discover later, that you can’t afford that car.
c. The lure of having your kids well rounded… and talented… you want your kids to have an edge… and that lures parents into signing them up for soccer camp… piano lessons… and on and on it goes until there is no time or energy left for anything!
5. This is a snare that has been the downfall of many men, women, and young people. It has ruined families… marriages… relationships…
6. It is so much better to think BEFORE you act… to consider BEFORE you sign on the dotted line… to think about the long term consequences BEFORE you obligate yourself to anything!
7. Both the Old and New Testaments forbid us from breaking a vow. That’s why it is wise to think BEFORE you make a vow… or not make one at all!
a. Ecc. 5:4-7 – Making rash promises is a snare because once the promise is made, God expects you to keep it. It is better NOT to promise.
b. Matt. 5:33 – Jesus said the same thing. “Thou shalt not forswear thyself.” (break an oath)
c. Vows were common, but God expected those who made them to keep them.
d. In the Old Testament, men made vows to God to become a Nazarite…
e. Hannah made a vow to God that if He gave her a son, she would return her son to the Lord.
8. Judges 11:30-31 – There is a perfect example of a rash vow made in a moment of enthusiasm by Jephthah that he later regretted.
a. This was an especially foolish vow because Jephthah did not know what or who would walk through the door of his tent.
b. He was making a promise to offer up an unknown.
c. He made a vow without knowing the PRICE.
d. Vs. 34-40 – It is not certain exactly WHAT Jephthah did to his daughter. It appears that instead of slaying her (as Abraham was about to do Isaac) that instead she remained a virgin and unmarried…
e. This must have been very painful to Jephthah… his ONLY daughter… yet, he was required to keep the vow before the Lord.
f. This is a good illustration of what Solomon warned about: rashly making a vow… and not thinking about the consequences of it until later.
g. It is VERY foolish thing to do.
h. There are countless ways we can apply this proverb to our lives: “look before you leap”… “think before you speak”… “think first, act later.”
Proverbs 20:26
A Wise King Scatters the Wicked
26 A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.
1. A wise king
a. Wise: Shrewd; crafty; cunning; prudent; learned; discerning; experienced; skilled; perceptive…
b. Solomon was the king of Israel and was writing to his sons—who were part of the royal family… and some of his sons could expect to reign as king one day.
c. Thus, Solomon is preparing his sons for such a day.
d. And, as we’ll see, the wisdom Solomon attempted to pass on to his royal sons is applicable to those of us who may not be of royal blood.
e. You don’t have to be a prince to appreciate the wisdom of Solomon.
2. A wise king acknowledges the threat wicked men pose…
a. Wicked:
• A criminal; guilty one; one guilty of crime; one who violates a standard or a law.
• Kings had to deal with criminals and lawbreakers all the time.
• In Solomon’s day, sometimes kings had to function as judges too. They heard cases and had to sentence the criminal. (As Solomon judged the two women who each claimed the living baby belonged to them…)
b. A king should realize the DANGER of allowing wicked men in his kingdom… in one of his cities… in one of the households of the kingdom.
• Prov. 11:11 – By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
» The wicked, if allowed to remain, results in the overthrowing of a house, a city, and even a kingdom!
• Prov. 17:15 – He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.
» Solomon knew that he could not justify the wicked in his kingdom.
» He could not make excuses for wicked behavior on those in his kingdom. It had to be condemned.
» Otherwise, tolerating such behavior would be an abomination to the Lord.
• Prov. 18:3 – When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach.
» Here Solomon recognizes that along with putting up with wicked men and wickedness in his domain, comes contempt.
» Contempt: Disrespect, with a possibly implication of a verbal mocking.
→ Prov. 30:17 – (same term) despising to obey one’s parents.
→ To be regarded by others as unimportant or insignificant… of no value.
→ Ps. 123:3-4 – the wicked speak with scorn and contempt against the godly.
3. A wise king knew that by putting up with the wicked, he was inviting contempt… and along with that ignominy and reproach… (shame, disgrace, and dishonor)
• Prov. 24:15 – Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place.
» The wise king realizes that the presence of the wicked in the house of the righteous can SPOIL that resting place.
» Spoil: Devastate; ruin; ravage.
» Resting place: Home; dwelling place.
» The wise king realizes that the presence of the wicked is just as devastating to a home as it is to the kingdom.
• Wise kings were very much aware that wicked men existed… and the danger that a wicked man was to his kingdom… what a threat the presence of wicked men were to the welfare of a home, a city, and even the kingdom.
• Foolish kings may look the other way and tolerate it… or perhaps they might pretend that they don’t even SEE the wicked or the devastation they are wreaking… but not so with wise kings.
3. Think of Solomon’s upbringing in the home of David.
a. Solomon got to see firsthand instances of his father’s wisdom in not tolerating wickedness in his kingdom.
b. Read Psalm 101. David determined NOT to tolerate wickedness in his house… (or his kingdom; his royal court)
c. But Solomon also got to see firsthand some mistakes his father made on those occasions where David DID tolerate bad behavior from some of his sons—especially from Absalom, and all the grief that brought into his household.
Scatters the wicked and bringeth the wheel over them.
1. Scatters:
a. Scatter: Cast away; disperse; spread out…
b. This term is used of the winnowing process: a process which removes the husk and chaff from the fruit of grain,
c. Thus, it came to mean the harming an object as related to the vigorous, even violent action on the husks and grain.
d. This is how Solomon uses the term in Proverbs 20:26.
2. A wise king not only disagrees with wicked men; he not only laments their presence in his kingdom; he DOES something about it.
a. He scatters them.
b. He winnows them… beats them down to powder…
c. He separates the wheat from the chaff…
3. He brings the wheel over them…
a. Threshing: In this process, farmers would run a wheel over the grain to initially crush the husks and eventually separate the husks (chaff) from the wheat grain.
b. Once the wheel runs over it, it is ready for winnowing. (Tossing it in the air to let the wind separate the chaff from the grain.)
c. Winnowing and threshing were part of the same process—only one was much gentler than the other.
d. Solomon uses this to illustrate the responsibility of a king to exercise judgment and justice upon the wicked in the land. (Some forms would be more severe than others.)
e. Thus, wise kings did not tolerate wickedness or wicked men. They executed justice and dealt with them harshly… for the good of the nation.
f. The winnowing and threshing processes separate the wheat from the chaff… it protects and preserves the precious wheat… and it crushes and separates the worthless chaff.
g. Solomon uses this as an illustration of what a wise king does for his domain: In order to protect and preserve those who are righteous, he must crush and remove that which is worthless… the chaff… the wicked.
4. Prov. 25:4-5 – Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.
a. Take away: remove; expel; drive out.
b. The wicked can cause much ruin if they are tolerated.
c. But when they are driven out, the king’s throne is established.
d. Establish: Made firm; set in place; made steadfast; solid.
e. Removing the wicked is exactly what this nation needs. It would result in strengthening the moral foundation of society.
f. But no, we tolerate way too many forms of wickedness in this land under the pretence of liberty, freedom, and pluralism.
g. We have liberty gone wild in America… and it’s ruining the nation.
h. Wise kings scatter wickedness… they don’t tolerate it.
i. Prov. 29:16a – When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth.
j. Wise kings don’t allow it to multiply. They deal with it… before that evil spreads and causes havoc… they scatter it… bring the wheel over him… just like you would reject a disease from your body. If it’s harming your body, get rid of it. If it’s harming a nation—get rid of it.
5. Of course there is good application from this in realms other than royal families!
a. Dealing with wickedness is necessary in EVERY realm!
b. It is necessary in a school. (That’s the major problem in public schools today—no discipline…)
c. It is necessary in a home. Parents cannot tolerate disobedience and disrespect in their homes.
d. It is necessary in the local church too. God has designed church discipline to deal with this very issue. He does NOT want us to tolerate evil in the body of Christ. It is to be threshed out… the chaff driven away… so that the wholesome grain might be beneficial.
e. The main point Solomon makes is that such behavior must first be CRUSHED… obliterated… threshed… chased out…
f. THEN comes the establishment of the nation… or of a city, home, church, etc…
g. Severity is often necessary for the stability and strength of any organization, institution, home, church, or society.
h. Only after the wicked have been dealt a severe blow (crushed and scattered) can a government, church, home, or city function properly.
i. Thus, before the Lord establishes His government on earth in the Kingdom, He is first going to thresh out the wicked… and only the righteous shall enter in.
j. Matthew 3:12 – And there will be a final separation… a scattering of the wicked from among the righteous… a final purging or threshing of the floor.
Proverbs 20:27
The Candle of the Lord
27a The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD
1. The spirit of man.
a. nesh·aw·maw – This term is usually translated “breath.”
b. It is used in Genesis 2:7 – God breathed into Adam the “breath” of life… and thus speaks of life itself.
c. But the term is also used in another sense: the inner-most part of a person that can respond to God… the God-conscious part of man.
d. Solomon does NOT seem to be using the term here as a synonym for “life” or “breath.”
e. It is clearly speaking of the INNERMOST part of man, i.e., the human spirit.
• The body makes us conscious of the physical world.
• The soul makes us conscious of the inner self life.
• The spirit makes us conscious of God (when regenerated).
f. Man was created in the “image of God.”
• Man was created with intellect, emotions, and a will so that he might commune with God… and with other human beings.
• The human spirit is related to the “image of God.”
• Man’s intellect, emotions, and will (when regenerated), are alive unto God… conscious of God.
• Even though the image of God was marred by sin (our intellect, emotions, and will are all affected by the sin nature)… yet the image of God remains in us all.
• When a person is regenerated, he is able to THINK on things above because he has a new mind; he is able to LOVE God with a new heart; and he is able to CHOOSE to obey God because he has a new will.
• Through the human soul man is able to relate to other human beings and to earthly things… the natural realm.
• Through the human spirit, (when regenerated) man is able to relate to God and spiritual things.
2. The candle of the Lord.
a. Candle = candle; lamp; (most often translated “lamp”).
b. It is used of the lamp in the Tabernacle and in the Temple.
c. Note here that it is the candle or lamp and NOT the light itself.
d. A lamp is a light receptor. It serves to hold or contain the light, but does not produce the light. It is a vehicle for light.
e. Man’s spirit is a “light receiver” or a “light container,” or vehicle for light.
f. Man’s inner spirit is that vehicle through which God’s light shines.
3. Man’s spirit is a lamp (light receiver; container) of the LORD (Jehovah).
a. This lamp is lit by God. It is HIS light…
b. In other words, it is through the human spirit that the Spirit of God illuminates… shines… enlightens… and thus, leads… guides… teaches.
4. A lamp is used for illumination and (fig.) for guidance.
a. God uses the light of His Word to enlighten the spirit of man.
• Prov. 6:23 – For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light.
• Ps. 119:105 – the Word of God is a LAMP… to guide our feet.
b. God Himself IS the light.
• Ps. 27:1 – The Lord IS my light.
• God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
• Ps. 18:28 – For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
» God Himself “lights” man’s candle… to enlighten the darkness around him… and provide illumination for guidance.
» A candle or lamp emits no light whatsoever UNLESS it is lit.
» Here the psalmist says that it is GOD who lights that inner candle.
» II Sam. 22:29 – For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.
c. II Cor. 4:6 – God shines in the hearts of men to illuminate the gospel message to their understanding… that they might be saved.
• It is likened to the miracle of creation: God spoke in the midst of darkness and said, “Let there be light.” And there was light.
• God shines in the hearts of unbelievers that they might be saved.
• God lights the lamp of the believer that He might direct His steps.
5. The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.
a. Man’s innermost being—the human spirit—is the receptacle for the LIGHT that God gives… to enlighten… expose… make clear…
27b Searching all the inward parts of the belly.
1. Psalm 7:9 – The righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
a. Trieth: To test by means of examination.
b. Reins: The kidney – the innermost part of man.
c. God examines our innermost being.
d. He does so via the spirit… that is His “candle to our soul.”
2. Ps. 77:6 – Sometimes the Bible speaks of GOD searching our hearts. Sometimes it speaks of the human spirit searching our hearts.
a. The two thoughts are not contradictory; they are complementary.
b. The Spirit of God searches our hearts via the human spirit.
c. God illuminates our human spirit so that we might KNOW the condition of our hearts.
d. Apart from that divine light, we would never know our hearts. (It is desperately wicked; who can know it?)
e. Apart from divine light illuminating our inner spirit, we would constantly imagine self to be in much better condition than he really is.
f. Apart from God’s light, darkness prevails.
3. God uses the human spirit to SEARCH inwardly.
a. I Cor. 2:11 – Only God’s Spirit knows all about God. And only man’s spirit knows all about the inner man.
• God uses the human spirit as a lamp to search out all that is hidden.
• My human spirit knows ME… I know me better than any other human being knows me.
• But God knows me better than I know me. (And of course, the same is true of you too.)
• But even I don’t know myself perfectly. My thoughts of self are affected by my sin nature: pride; rebellious; and tends to cover up failures.
• But God searches my innermost being… and He shines a light in my spirit that I might become aware of what is REALLY going on inside me.
4. God, through the human spirit shines deep into inward parts of the belly.
a. That is a way of saying deep into the nooks and crannies of our very being…
b. This speaks of the inner motives, intentions of the heart, the “hidden things of darkness.”
c. God already KNOWS what is there.
d. But He shines or illuminates those things to our spirit – the God-conscious part of our inner man.
e. God seeks to make US aware of various areas of sin deep within.
f. God, like a candle shining in the darkest recesses of our heart, brings SIN to our attention… into view.
g. Heb. 4:12 – Light from God’s word digs deeply into the most hidden parts, feelings, and thoughts.
• The light of His Word is able to separate (distinguish) that which is spiritual from that which is carnal.
• These are distinctions that we are unable to make apart from the light of His Word.
• As the knife of the Levitical priest (separating the parts of a sacrifice to offer unto God) had to cut deeply into the animal to divide parts… making fine distinctions between the joints and marrow, etc.
• So too the word of God divides the parts of man’s immaterial being, soul and spirit, and penetrates into man’s innermost being… to make distinctions that we would otherwise not be able to make.
• The light of God’s Word shines into our hearts to reveal what is really there… from God’s perspective.
• We are often fooled by our emotions, feelings, circumstances, etc. As a result, we fool ourselves into thinking that things are much better than they really are.
• We often mistake the soulish (natural) for that which is spiritual. And thus, we often offer to God the wrong part of the sacrifice… and it is unacceptable to Him.
• Therefore, God shines LIGHT into our innermost being.
• The God-conscious part of man (the human spirit) is that vehicle through which God illuminates our minds to areas of our lives that need correction… alteration… improvement… etc.
• He searches the inward parts of the belly… so that our human spirit becomes CONSCIOUS of changes God seeks to make in us… exposing areas of darkness…
5. There are a couple of variations of the interpretation of this passage that are quite similar but differ on the meaning of “spirit” and “candle.”
a. Many believe that this refers to the conscience.
• They say that the (spirit) conscience is the candle of the Lord which man is given by God. (of the Lord)
• The conscience directs us in the process of self–examination.
• The conscience functions as an internal control over wrong thoughts, words, and deeds… just as God uses chastening as external controls (Prov. 20:30).
b. The rabbis understood this expression to mean that the image of God implanted in every human being shines through our human spirit.
• It is that which sets man apart from the animals.
• It’s this ability to inwardly reflect on God, moral issues, or spiritual things which separates us from beasts.
c. This interpretation makes this proverb applicable to ALL human beings—saved or not… because the conscience is operative in all men, whereas the human spirit must be regenerated to be operative in spiritual things.
d. These two interpretations are not contradictory. In fact, they are quite similar.
• They both speak of the inner part of man becoming aware of sin or immorality… the difference between right and wrong.
• They both speak of light being shined in the heart of man from God—either directly or indirectly.
• Both are true as well.
• It is possible that Solomon intended for the term “spirit” to include but not limited to what we today would call “conscience.”
e. The question for the interpreter is: “Did Solomon use these expressions in a broad sense (human spirit and conscience) to include all humanity or in a narrower sense (just human spirit) to include only those whose spirits had been made alive unto God?”
f. Either way, it is true that God has provided ALL of humanity with an inner capacity to discern good and evil… and man is accountable to God for that knowledge… for that light.
6. The question we should take from this is: how do I RESPOND to the light of God’s candle shinning deep within my inner man?
a. Do we ignore the light and what it exposes?
b. Do we value what God is doing in bringing things to light?
c. Are we willing to let God shine in every corner of our heart?
d. Do we run away from the light… and like the man who sees his face in the mirror, walks away and forgets?
e. Or do we respond in faith and obedience and DO something about it?
f. Is our prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”?
Proverbs 20:28
Mercy & Truth
28a Mercy and truth preserve the king
A. Mercy Defined
1. The Authorized versions translates this term as “mercy” 149 times, “kindness” 40 times, “lovingkindness” 30 times, “goodness” 12 times, “kindly” five times, “merciful” four times, “favour” three times, “good” once, “goodliness” once, “pity” once. (various translations)
2. Strong’s defines it as : Goodness, kindness, faithfulness.
3. Dictionary of Bible Languages defines it as: Loyal love, devotion.
a. Ex. 34:6 – This term is used as part of God’s character. It is translated here as “goodness.”
b. Ex. 34:7 – The same Hebrew term is translated “mercy” in the very next verse.
c. It speaks of the fact that God is LOYAL to His people. He is FAITHFUL to His promises to them.
d. His loyal love may be expressed in deeds of mercy and goodness… but the term itself highlights His faithfulness to them… His loyal love… His dedication to His people.
e. Ps. 89:28 – Here the same term is used and it speaks of God’s loyal love (faithfulness to His covenant) with David. God’s promise to David will stand because God is LOYAL.
f. This word is in Psalm 136 where it is used twenty-six times (mercy) to proclaim that God’s kindness and love are eternal.
• In that psalm, everything God does is an expression of his loyal love… His mercy is “forever.”
• It is undying… faithful… loyal.
• In this Psalm, His “mercy” is the basis for:
» His great and wondrous acts in creation (Ps. 136:4–9).
» Redeeming His people from Pharaoh and the Red Sea (Ps. 136:10–15).
» The reason for His guidance in the desert (Ps. 136:16).
» It is the reason he gave the land to Israel and defeated their enemies (Ps. 136:17–22).
» It is the reason He continues to deliver His people. (Ps. 136:23–25);
» It is the reason we should give THANKS to the One who rules in heaven (Ps. 136:26).
• The reason God delivered Israel was because He is faithful and has loyal love towards them.
• The reason God guides them and provides for them and gave them the land is because of His loyal love to His people.
• This is what is meant by the word translated “mercy” in Proverbs 20:28.
B. Truth Defined
1. The Hebrew term translated truth is variously defined as well:
a. Strong’s: Firmness; faithfulness; sureness; reliability; stability; continuance; faithfulness; truth.
b. Dictionary of Bible Languages: Faithfulness; reliability; trustworthiness; i.e., a state or condition of being dependable and loyal to a person or standard… and also as true, certain, sure.
2. There is some “overlap” in meaning in these two terms.
3. Both terms speak of loyalty and faithfulness.
a. The first term emphasizes being loyal and firm in LOVE.
b. The second term implies being loyal and firm to TRUTH.
4. Psalm 12:1 – A variation of this term is found in this passage in which the psalmist laments that “faithful” men are failing. (disappear) He laments that men are not as faithful to the truth as in years gone by.
C. Preserve the King
1. Preserve: To watch; guard; keep; protect; guard from dangers.
2. This “preservation” could come from four different directions:
a. The mercy and truth of God towards the king preserves the king.
• This is especially true of the theocratic king of Israel.
• Ps. 89:28 –
» Mercy = the same term as in Proverbs 20:28.
» A variation of this term is translated “stand fast.”
» Vs. 33 – God will not take away His lovingkindness from David (same word as mercy in Prov. 20:28).
» Vs. 34-35 – God is loyal and faithful to David because of the PROMISE that God made to David – the Davidic covenant.
» It will “stand fast.” This term is a variation of the word “truth.” (firm; steadfast)
» The REASON David is preserved as a king is because of God’s mercy (lovingkindness; loyal love) to him.
• Solomon wrote “Mercy and truth shall preserve the king.” God’s mercy and truth shall preserve the king.
• Psalm 40:11 – David prays for God’s tender mercies. Then he states (using the same two words in Prov. 20:28) that it will be God’s lovingkindness and thy truth that will continually preserve him.
• The mercy and truth of God will preserve the king.
b. The mercy and truth of the subjects toward the king preserves the king.
• However, when considering the proverb at hand, (since Solomon left it ambiguous WHOSE mercy and truth he is talking about) it is also possible that the mercy and truth of the royal subjects will preserve the king.
• When the people are happy, well cared for, they will demonstrate loyal love and faithfulness to the leadership of their king.
• The king and his position as king are safe when the people are loyal and faithful to the throne.
• However, if the people are NOT loyal and true to their king, then the king is not in a safe position. He will not be preserved.
• I Kings 11:43 – Consider the case of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam.
» I Kings 12:4 – Jeroboam and the people came to him with a reasonable request.
» I Kings 12:13-14 – Rehoboam rejected the reasonable request of the people, and as a result the people were not loyal and faithful to him. They started a civil war!
» The king and his kingdom COULD have been preserved by the “mercy and truth” of the people… if they had demonstrated loyal love and were true to their king… but they were not.
» For a king or any leader to be preserved, he needs the loyalty and faithfulness of the people.
» Perhaps Rehoboam should have spent more time meditating on the proverbs that his father wrote—for his SONS to have wisdom and discretion.
» Wisdom and discretion were provided for Rehoboam in the Scriptures, but he did not avail himself of it.
» It did him no good and he paid for it dearly.
» It does us no good either if we don’t avail ourselves of it.
c. The mercy and truth of the king towards his subjects preserves the king.
• The story of Rehoboam also highlights the need for the King (and all that are in authority) to demonstrate mercy and truth to the PEOPLE they rule.
• If a king shows his devotion and faithfulness to his people (instead of his own self-interest), that too will PRESERVE the king… in that the people will not revolt and cast him off the throne… or out of office.
• When the king demonstrates acts of compassion he GAINS the affections of his people.
» This is what Absalom did.
» He showed compassion on the people (although it was phony)… and he stole the hearts of the people.
• Prov. 3:3-4 – Showing mercy and truth (same terms) puts a person in FAVOR with God and man.
» When a king shows mercy and truth to his people, he will be in their favor—and that means “safety” for the king and his throne.
» This is true for the result of us who are not part of a royal family. Demonstrate loyal love and faithfulness to your friends and you will be in their favor too.
d. The mercy and truth of the king towards God preserves the king.
• And of course, if the theocratic king in Israel was loyal and faithful to God, then that too would preserve him from evil and calamity.
• Deut. 28:15 – The king and his kingdom would be subject to the CURSE of God against them if they (especially the king) were not faithful and loyal to God.
• II Kings 25:7 – Consider King Zedekiah: “And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.”
» Because he was not loyal or faithful to God, he was not preserved.
» Had he and the other kings of Israel repented, they WOULD have been preserved.
• Mercy and truth of the king towards God preserves the king. A lack thereof results in calamity!
3. Like so many of the proverbs, the statement is ambiguous enough that it forces you to THINK about these various ways—probably intentionally.
28b And his throne is upholden by mercy.
1. Uphold: Support; sustain; make safe.
a. Used in Ps. 119:17 – “Hold thou me up, (same word as uphold) and I shall be safe.”
b. This is the meaning in our proverb too. The king’s throne is supported and sustained and made safe by mercy.
2. Thus, the second part of the proverb says virtually the same thing as the first part with a couple of distinctions.
a. Here Solomon speaks about the king’s “throne” rather than the king himself. (the difference between the person and his government)
b. And he states that the throne is “upheld” wherein in the first part of the proverb he uses the word “preserve.” (similar thoughts)
3. In this short proverb Solomon causes his readers to think about the importance of mercy and truth (loyal love and faithful steadfastness).
a. They preserve the king and his government.
b. God’s loyal love and faithfulness protected the kings of Israel.
c. The theocratic king’s loyal love and faithfulness towards God kept him and his throne safe too.
d. The theocratic king’s loyal love and faithfulness towards his people kept him and his throne safe from upheaval and rebellion.
e. The people’s loyal love and faithfulness towards their king also kept him and their government safe.
f. No matter how you slice it, these qualities are exceedingly valuable to any leader… to any people…
g. Loyalty and faithfulness are needed for a business to function efficiently and effectively.
h. Loyal love and faithfulness keep a local church strong and united.
i. Loyal love and faithfulness keep families together and protects the sanctity of the home.
Proverbs 20:29
Old Men and Young
29a The glory of young men is their strength:
1. In any occupation, it is normally the young men who do the “grunt” work.
a. Military
b. Construction
c. City Workers
d. Police
2. The strength of young men is a valuable asset.
a. It can be used to the glory of God.
b. It can be used for the benefit of the local community.
c. It can be used in the service of one’s country.
d. I John 2:14 – Young men can be strong in the Lord and strong in His Word.
• There are various levels of maturity among believers. (fathers, young men, children)
• Young believers are to be strong in the spiritual realm… experiencing victory over the devil through the Word of God.
• That kind of spiritual strength and vitality is exceptionally valuable!
3. Of course a young man’s strength is only a valuable asset when it is used for good. It can also be used for evil.
a. Jer. 9:23 – some young men GLORY in their strength.
• They become vain.
• They are overly concerned about their appearance—wearing the muscle shirts, etc.
• This is sinful pride. There is nothing good about pride.
• Youth delights in its prowess.
• One who glories in physical strength demonstrates a wrong emphasis… and does not value true, spiritual strength.
• If anything, we should glory in our physical weakness, that God’s power might be manifested in us.
• Glorying in physical strength causes a man to feel self sufficient… and to lean on his own might to solve problems.
• Brute strength isn’t always the best way to resolve problems.
b. A young man’s strength can also be used for evil when you listen to what some of the strong young men in our state prisons have done. (Some used their strength in muggings, in robberies; in murders, etc.)
c. Strength is good—but only IF it is used in a right way.
d. When used in a right way, strength is the glory of young men.
e. There is great value to it.
f. Solomon also lets us know that there is great value in the gray head of older men too!
29b And the beauty of old men is the gray head.
1. Gray head
a. Solomon is not saying that the glory of old men is their hair color.
b. I take this to be figurative language here. (Remember, this is a poetic book.)
c. Solomon is using hair color (gray—or white—or bald) as a symbol of old age… and in particular the WISDOM that normally accompanies old age.
d. Gray hair, a visible sign of old age, seen on top of a person’s head is likened to a “crown” in chapter 16. (This too is a figure of speech.)
e. His point is not that “gray hair is beautiful!”
• It would be pretty shallow and vain, if that’s all he had in mind. (He is not making a fashion statement: That men look good in gray hair.)
f. His point is that WISDOM is beautiful… or perhaps EXPERIENCE is beautiful.
2. Wisdom is normally expected of old men.
a.Prov. 4:7-9 – Gray hair implies wisdom…
• Wisdom is valued! It is the principle—the first and most important thing!
• Solomon is telling his YOUNG son that this is what he should be striving for over the years…
• It comes little by little over time…
• And it is a crown of glory!
• And by the time your hair is gray and you are old, you should have accumulated MUCH wisdom… just like you accumulate grays hairs—a little bit at a time.
• That hoary head ought to be a symbol of high honor and status… because associated with age is WISDOM!
• Job 12:12 – With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.
» Job expresses shock that his 3 aged friends did not seem to have wisdom… when it was the norm!
» The NORM is that wisdom and age should go together.
3. Old men with gray hair are not ALWAYS wise.
a. Prov. 16:31 – Gray hair is a crown of glory.
• A crown also was used as a figure of a reward for service… something to glory in!
» This usage is found more in the New Testament for Christian service.
» Gray hair is a crown upon a man’s head in that it represents years of learning and experience.
» It represents the fact that this man has been graduated from the school of hard knocks.
» This man has earned a degree based on his life experience from one of the most difficult schools of higher learning: life itself!
» The crown is his reward… his degree…
• In the Old Testament, the figure of a crown was also used to represent something prized…
» It represented that which was gloried in… as a symbol of high status and honor.
» A king gloried in his crown as a symbol of high status and royalty.
» Old men value their experience and wisdom.
b. Here Solomon “limits” that symbol to only when the gray hair is found in the way of righteousness.
• Obviously, there are plenty of older men who are NOT wise. Some are fools.
• But in general, gray hair is a crown.
• Wisdom doesn’t always come with old age. Fools are not limited to the young.
• Too often young foolish boys grow up to become old, foolish men with gray hair.
• A plant that is bent when it is young is likely to grow up with that bend still visible. (Climb a mountain and look at some of the older bent trees. They grew up crooked and never changed.)
c. But again, these are proverbs: generally speaking, older men with gray hair are wiser and more experienced than strong young men… but there is no guarantee.
d.Ecc. 4:13 – Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king. Some kings were quite childish, selfish, and foolish.
Each Stage of Life Has Its Advantages
1. Solomon simply states some facts.
a. His statement really isn’t comparative. This proverb doesn’t even say that one is better than the other.
b. The point of this proverb is just to note that BOTH stages of life have their distinct advantages.
c. Ecc. 3:1-2a – To every thing there is a season.
d. Solomon recognizes here the seasons of life.
e. There is a season to be young, strong, healthy, and vibrant.
f. There is a season to be old, mature, experienced, and wise.
2. Young men are strong…
a. Prov. 1:1-4 – The book is written to give wisdom to young men.
b. Although Solomon does not make a value judgment in 20:29, he does imply throughout the book the relative value of wisdom OVER youth and strength.
c. Prov. 2:1-4 – Here Solomon tells young men that they should USE their youth and strength to pursue WISDOM.
• A strong, young life dedicated to pursuing wisdom surely will FIND it.
• That is the young person who will surely become a wise old man with gray hair.
• When the strength of one’s youth is dedicated to the things of the Lord, one’s gray hair will surely be accompanied by wisdom.
d. Prov. 23:19-22 – Too often young men WASTE their youth and strength! Unfortunately, they too often turn an asset into a liability.
e. I Tim. 4:12 – Young men are exhorted to use their youth and strength to be an EXAMPLE. That young person is on his way to gaining rich experience… and wisdom too.
3. But old men are wise.
a. Old men with gray hair are to be honored and valued.
b. Lev. 19:32 – Honoring the aged is a way of honoring the Lord.
• Our culture glories in youth and strength, but does not seem to value age and the wisdom that comes with age and experience.
• The Bible seems to lay the emphasis on the value of age, experience, and wisdom OVER youth and inexperience.
• And this is not intended to be a political statement…
c. Ps. 92:12-14 – Wise aged men
and women still bring forth fruit in old age.
• Over time physical strength diminishes naturally… and is replaced with a strength that is much more valuable.
• As age progresses and physical strength diminishes, men normally become strong in maturity, wisdom, experienced, discernment…
• That is what older men and women should glory in! That’s their glory!
• It should not be gloried in a vain or showy manner.
• But it SHOULD be something that is highly esteemed… valued… prized… respected… honored…
4. Actually BOTH are essential – The strength of youth and the wisdom of old age.
a. The country needs the strength young men
• They fight our wars
• They build our cities
• They work our factories
b. The country also needs the wisdom of old men
• They plan for war
• They are the architects and designers of our cities
• They are the owners and managers of our factories
c. The local church needs the strength of the young men and young women
• They work with the kids programs…
• They add energy and vitality…
d. The local church needs the maturity and wisdom of the elder men and women.
• To serve as officers…
• To set the course of the assembly…
• To teach the Word in depth…
Proverbs 20:30
The Value of Chastening
Introduction:
1. This proverb speaks of method and value of parental chastening.
2. As we have seen in the last 9 years of studying this book, that the proverbs are FULL of good principles and practices for child rearing.
3. It is a bit frustrating for me to be preaching lessons like this to those who (for the most part) have already brought up their families… and the young parents to whom this proverb is really addressed are not benefiting from it.
4. I think we should all pray that more parents of young children would come out to prayer meetings and would take advantage of the wisdom God has for them in this book.
30a The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil:
A. The Method of Chastening: Black and Blue Marks!
1. The blueness of a wound is what we would call a “black and blue” mark. But that was not an expression used in ancient days.
2. Thus, Solomon did not use that expression (black and blue). There is no word for “blue” in the original.
3. Literally the expression reads, “stripes or blows that wound.”
4. A black and blue mark is implied though not stated here.
5. He speaks of punishing blows that leave wound marks.
6. The context indicates that the blows and wounds were not from an accident or a fist fight.
7. They were given intentionally and with a purpose: for the purpose of correction.
8. And note that as God instructs as to HOW chastening should be administered, God was not opposed to leaving a black and blue mark.
a. This is considered brutality and abusive by our culture… but our culture isn’t always right.
b. In fact, all throughout history UNTIL recent generations, spankings have very often included leaving marks… lingering reminders to the offenders.
c. Public floggings were not uncommon for criminals. And that certainly left marks.
d. Some countries whipped criminals. Some countries caned criminals. (As in Korea even today!)
e. Of course, folks in soft and cushy America or Western Europe CRINGE at such methods today. They are considered barbaric, Medieval, and cruel and unusual punishment.
f. Maybe God reasoned it would actually be LESS cruel for the authorities to inflict measured, controlled pain and suffering that does no long-term damage on a few criminals as opposed to allowing criminals run wild and inflict uncontrolled suffering and even death on large numbers of the innocent populace!
g. There is some logic in that method that seems to have escaped our “civilized” society today.
h. In other words, the METHOD of chastening Solomon describes here is MORE than just a slap on the wrist.
i. It should be PAINFUL. That’s the point.
j. And if the criminals are left with a little black and blue mark… it will heal. They will survive. They might even learn their lesson.
k. Of course, Solomon is not endorsing torture or real brutality. There is a line that ought not to be crossed.
l. But chastening OUGHT to include pain.
9. This passage might be applied to a couple of possible settings:
a. A judicial setting – wherein a criminal is sentence to a beating for his crimes.
b. A home setting – wherein a child is punished by a spanking.
10. A word of caution is appropriate right here… especially in the HOME setting, for that is the only place where individuals could apply this passage.
a. We are not to take the law into our own hands, so we should never use vigilante justice to inflict punishment on criminals.
b. But we ARE to use corporal punishment (AKA – spanking) in the home.
c. Not too long ago in our country, fathers might have taken their sons out to the wood shed and whipped them with a belt that may have left marks.
d. And society would have praised that father for demonstrating tough love to his son… because the father wanted the son to turn out well.
e. I don’t think Solomon or any godly man in Bible times… or even the forefathers of our country would have had a problem with that method of administering chastening.
f. But today, we need to be more careful. That which used to be considered good parenting would land you in jail today.
g. Times have changed… but the Bible has not changed.
h. We live in dangerous times. Leaving a black and blue mark on a child could cause you to LOSE your child to the state.
i. Therefore, we need to be absolutely positive about what the Scriptures actually SAY and what they do not say in this area of child discipline.
j. For example, some believers read Prov. 23:14 and conclude that beating with a rod means brutalizing a child with a rod similar to a pipe or baseball bat.
• That parent OUGHT to be locked up in jail.
• That is a misreading of the passage.
• Rods come in all different types and sizes.
• A metal pipe is a rod, but so is the flexible plastic wand that comes with the mini-blinds.
• That little flexible wand REALLY hurts. It drives home the point.
• AND—it does no permanent damage to the child. It will not leave a black and blue mark.
k. Some overly zealous Christian parents might read Prov. 20:30 and assume that Solomon is COMMANDING us to leave black and blue marks. That is not the case.
• The emphasis in this verse is on the BLOW, not the mark it leaves.
• Besides, the words, “blueness of a wound” is a paraphrase of the terms Solomon used. Solomon did not use the word “blue.”
• The expression Solomon used simply means “a wound by striking.”
• And that can be accomplished with the flexible plastic wand from a package of mini blinds.
l. So before you go getting yourself arrested for obeying the Bible, make sure that you are obeying the Bible RIGHTLY DIVIDED!
m. There may come a time when we will have to go to jail for any kind of corporal punishment… but we are not there yet, thank the Lord!
n. Overly zealous parents who brutalize their children, end up in jail, and use the Bible as their justification, do a disservice to themselves, their children, and especially to the testimony of Christ.
11. Sane, sensible, thoughtful, spanking, OUGHT to hurt. It ought to be painful… or it is worthless.
a. But it is to be administered in love… and with the child’s best interest in mind.
b. Love will cause a parent to firmly discipline his child.
c. Love will also cause a parent to administer discipline in a sensible, reasonable manner… and not brutalize the child.
d. It should NEVER be administered in anger—when anger has the upper hand. Wait until your anger subsides before applying discipline.
e. And it is possible to spank in a manner that really hurts and stings WITHOUT doing any damage to the child… and without stirring up the Social Service Department.
B. The Value of Chastening: Cleansing from Evil
1. Cleansing: A purifying process.
a. Defined:
• A cleansing or scouring agent which cleanses or removes something.
• Scraping away that which is impure or harmful.
b. This term is not used often in the Bible. (only 4 times)
c. Esther 2:12 – It is used 3 out of those four times in Esther and is translated “purify.” This was some kind of beauty treatment.
d. Of course Solomon is not talking about a beauty treatment.
e. But he is talking about the purifying or cleansing effect of chastening.
2. Evil:
a. Defined: Bad in a moral or ethical sense; wicked; evil.
b. Often the term is used of evil behavior—which I think is the case here.
3. Thus, Solomon’s point here is that the wise administering of chastening cleanses from evil BEHAVIOR.
a. In other words, bad or wrong behavior can be CORRECTED through firm discipline.
b. Even very little toddlers can LEARN not to play in the road through a spanking.
c. Once they have been spanked for it, they are less likely to do it again. And that is GOOD for them… whether they fully realize it or not.
d. The Bible teaches that corporal punishment is effective in changing bad, outward behavior.
e. Some parents (even some Christian parents!) challenge this concept. They refuse to apply corporal punishment to their children… and usually it shows in their kid’s behavior. It is very likely that they will regret it later in life too.
f. This is a perfect example of “worldliness” – being conformed to the ways of the world.
• The world system—the spirit of the age—teaches us that children are not to be hit at all.
• The spirit of the age has been affected by men such as Dr. Spock who taught a whole generation of parents that corporal punishment is evil and even damaging to children.
• Our society has been permeated by this thinking… and it does affect believers.
• But we are NOT to be conformed to the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds… and our minds are renewed by means of God’s Word.
• God’s Word STATES that firm discipline CLEANSES evil behavior.
• It really becomes a matter of faith: who do you believe? Oprah and Dr. Phil or the Bible?
30b So do stripes the inward parts of the belly.
A. The Method: Stripes!
1. Stripes: here Solomon speaks about the very same theme: corporal punishment.
a. Stripes speak of a whipping… which leave red stripes on the back.
b. But again, the term Solomon used meant “a blow; a wound; a strike by hitting.”
c. He is not commanding that we inflict red stripes and long scaring marks on the backs of our children.
d. Rather, the term just means “to strike” – to hit or spank.
e. It is possible that the translators chose the terms they did because it may have been common place in their day for punishment to go “over the line” and leave many marks.
f. But Solomon simply says a “strike, a blow, or what we might call a spanking.”
B. The Value: Cleansing of the Inward Parts
1. In the second part of the proverb, the VERB is omitted and is to be implied from the first part of the proverb.
a. The blueness of a wound cleanses evil – OUTWARD behavior; the stripe CLEANSES inner man.
b. In other words, chastening has a DOUBLY good effect.
• It changes behavior… and it changes the PERSON!
• It corrects bad and immoral outward acts.
• But it also has a cleansing effect on the inward parts of the belly (the inner man).
c. Prov. 22:15 – “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.”
d. That is extremely valuable… to remove the poison of folly from the heart of a child… from deep down, in the inward parts.
e. Removing the folly cleanses his thinking; his heart attitudes towards other people; towards their property; towards their worth as a human being.
f. Firm discipline can improve a person’s character!
g. It can instill a sense of right and wrong.
h. It can instill in a young person a desire to respect others.
i. It can instill in a young person the limits of liberty.
j. It can make them more discerning.
k. Heb. 12:10-11 – Chastening is painful, but GOOD for us!
l. This is of course, true when God chastens US as His sons!
m. Ps. 119:67 – “Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept thy word.” That kind of chastening in the form of “affliction” is GOOD for us in the end.
n. Blessed are the wounds that break our proud spirit, and bring us into submission before God!
o. Chastening has a cleansing effect… whether administered by an earthly father or the Heavenly Father!
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 21
Proverbs 21:1
The King’s Heart
The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
Introduction:
1. This proverb makes one main point: God is absolutely sovereign.
2. God is ultimately in control of everything: even the king’s heart!
The king’s heart
1. The expression, “the king’s heart” includes both his mind and heart. It includes his thoughts and his emotions.
2. But it is even deeper than that.
a. It refers to all the inner thoughts, imaginations, inclinations, intentions, plans, desires, and goals of the king.
b. And everything a king DOES stems from the thoughts and intentions of his heart.
c. Out of his heart flows everything that he does… all the wars he engages in… all the laws he writes… all the bridges he builds… all of the countries he invades… all the taxes he levies… all the schools he establishes… all the people and programs he promotes…
d. Matt. 15:19 – out of the heart also flow all kinds of EVIL. This is true of all men, including kings.
e. Actually, all the good AND all the evil that a king does flows from his heart… his inner man.
3. All of that comes from the heart of the king.
a. In fact, the whole country is moved and directed from the heart of the king.
b. A king has power to control the direction of the entire country.
c. All that guidance and direction flows from his heart.
d. A king could have it in his heart to turn his nation back to God. Several kings of Judah did just that… and brought about great revivals.
e. A king could also have it in his heart to lead his country into idolatry. We have too many examples of that in Israel’s history.
f. An idea can arise in the heart of a king or ruler, and it could change the course of world history!
• An idea popped into the heart of the Japanese emperor and his military rulers to invade Pearl Harbor… and that a brought us into war.
• A judge made a decision in the Brown v. Board of Education and segregation in public education was outlawed.
• Charles Martel made a decision to fight against the Muslims at the battle of Tours in 732 and halted the Islamic expansion of Europe.
» Otherwise, Europe would have been a Muslim region rather than having been influenced by Christianity all these centuries. What a different world we would have!
• George Bush decided to invade Iraq and that changed the course of our nation dramatically.
4. Kings have incredible power.
a. A king or ruler could devise a plan in his mind, pass the legislation, and it could change the way we live!
b. It could affect our freedom… our finances… our culture…
c. They can make one decision which could change the direction of their country…
d. An idea could pop into their minds and it could change the direction of world history.
e. Much power resides in the heart of the king.
f. As a king himself, Solomon knew that first hand.
• His decision to tax the people heavily in order to carry out his ambitious building projects affected the way the Jews lived for decades.
• Many other things arose in his heart that affected the nation for years too (like his desire for 700 wives)!
• Solomon realized that nothing more than a thought that arose in a king’s heart and mind could affects thousands upon thousands of people for generations to come.
1a The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD
1. Now Solomon states that while there is much potential for good or evil in the heart of a king… and while it is true that a king is sovereign over his land and people… there is someone much higher than he: Jehovah God!
2. The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD.
a. The king (in a sense) is sovereign over the people.
b. But God is sovereign over the king… even over his thoughts and the intentions of his heart!
c. To be “in the hand of” speaks of being under the control of.
d. God not only has the king under His eye; God has his heart in His hand!
3. This is quite a thought to contemplate: the king’s HEART is under God’s complete, sovereign control.
a. God controls the thoughts of kings.
b. God controls the intentions of their hearts… their motives.
c. God controls the plans, purposes, programs, and goals of a king.
d. Of course, this thought does not violate man’s free will.
• The king has the freedom to think what he wants… and he does.
• The king has the freedom to come up with his own plans and purposes… and he does.
• Our puny minds are not able to fathom the depths of this apparent dilemma: God’s sovereignty and man’s will.
• But the fact that we cannot reconcile the two does not mean they are irreconcilable. It is no problem for God. After all, His understanding is infinite!
e. God allows kings the freedom of will.
• BUT God controls the entire universe.
• He controls all the circumstances surrounding that king.
• He controls all the events in life that serve as a backdrop to the king’s thoughts… that shape and mold the king’s thoughts.
• Prov. 16:33 – “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.” When a coin is flipped, the outcome is really in the hands of the Lord—the One who causes the earth to rotate… the One who controls the wind and air currents… the One who is sovereign over the tiniest details in this universe… all of which affect the outcome of the coin flip… OR of the casting of a lot… OR of a thought that pops into the mind of a king!
• He’s got the whole world in His hands!
4. Ecc. 9:1 – God controls the WORKS of men as well.
a. He controls not just their inner intentions, but their outward works too.
b. He controls not just thoughts but deeds.
c. God providentially orchestrates events and circumstances such that the thoughts, desires, intentions, and plans in a man’s heart are ABLE to come to fruition… able to materialize into actual deeds.
d. This is certainly true of kings too.
1b As the rivers of water, he turneth it whithersoever he will.
1. Solomon takes that thought of God’s sovereignty a step further.
a. The king’s heart is in God’s hand: God possesses sovereign control.
b. Here Solomon states that God actually uses that sovereign control over the hearts of earthly kings in order to accomplish His will and His purpose.
2. As the rivers of water
a. Solomon uses the illustration of water to illustrate the EASE with which water can be made to change directions.
• Some readers might think that it is quite difficult to turn the heart of a king.
• Solomon says, “Not so.” God can turn his heart as easy as turning the direction of water!
• Water is chosen to illustrate the EASE with which God is able to turn the heart of the king.
b. Water changes direction very easily. It doesn’t take much to channel water in a different direction.
• Men do it all the time.
• Men redirect rivers, streams, and canals.
• You can change the direction of a stream of water with a pile of rocks.
• In fact, even a little beaver can change the flow of water, and they often do!
c. God is able to turn a king’s heart with the greatest of ease. It is not a problem at all for an omniscient, omnipotent, and sovereign God.
3. He turneth it withersoever He will.
a. Men often change the direction of the flow of water for their own purposes.
• They might build a dam to create a lake.
• They might build a dam for hydroelectric power.
• They might reroute a section of a river to avoid having to build a bridge… or create a lake…
• When men channel a river in a different direction, it is to accomplish their own purpose.
b. Solomon states that God turns a king’s heart to accomplish His own purpose too.
c. Thus, without violating their own free will, God works sovereignly and providentially in the background in such a way that guarantees that as the king chooses of his own free will, the choice he makes is the exact choice necessary for God’s own plan and purposes to come to pass.
d. Proverbs 16:9 – A man—even a king—may make plans, but God ultimately directs his steps…
4. There is a perfect example of this in Isaiah 10.
a. In this chapter we see the sovereignty of God TURNING the heart of the King of Assyria to carry out God’s purpose.
b. Vs. 6 – God’s plan and purpose was to use the Assyrian king and his armies in order to inflict judgment upon His own sinful people, Israel.
c. Vs. 5 – God refers to the Assyrian as the “rod of MY anger.” God was going to USE the King of Assyria and his armies as God’s ROD to punish Israel.
d. Vs. 15 – God speaks of Assyria as:
• An axe in God’s hand! God is USING Assyria to accomplish His purpose.
• A saw in God’s hand who is shaking it…
• A rod and God is the one lifting it up… to use it to strike
e. Vs. 7 – Howbeit, the Assyrian king didn’t see it that way.
• It was certainly not the Assyrian’s king’s intention to be used as TOOL in the hand of the God of Israel! Israel was an enemy of Assyria.
• The Assyrian king certainly had no intentions of being used to accomplish God’s purpose!
• He never would have believed you if you told him this either.
• Vs. 7b – It was in his mind to destroy Israel (and others).
• Vs. 13-14 – It was in his mind to ROB and get rich.
• Thus, the king operated in his own free will. He chose to attack Israel for his own purpose: treasures!
• But God USED that king… and God USED even his depraved intentions to accomplish God’s purpose for Israel.
• God was the One who providentially and sovereignly arranged political circumstances behind the scene, which opened up the doors of opportunity for this attack to occur… knowing that the king would choose to attack under the right circumstances.
5. God had the Assyrian king’s heart right in the palm of His hand… and God turned that pagan king’s heart as easy as water to accomplish His divine will.
6. And it wasn’t just that one king.
a. Pharaoh (Ex. 10:1-2) – God hardened his heart to bring judgment upon Egypt and redemption for Israel.
b. Cyrus (Isa. 45:1-4)
c. Artaxerxes (Neh. 2:1-8) – To allow Nehemiah to return to rebuild Jerusalem.
• Ezra 7:27 – “Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.”
7. God providentially and sovereignly controls the movements of American presidents too.
a. He turns their hearts and allows them to make “choices” which God incorporates into His eternal plan for the ages.
b. Yes, God is still on the throne.
c. What a mighty God we serve!
d. We don’t have to worry that world events are swirling out of control. They are in perfect control… all being orchestrated to fulfill God’s will…
e. That’s the kind of God we can trust.
f. The king has the power to think thoughts, make plans, and execute those plans at will… and change the lives of thousands… and change the direction of his country. He can even change the direction of world history!
g. Kings can be quite powerful and frightening!
h. But God holds that king’s heart in His hand… and can turn it at will. God can turn the thoughts… the intentions of his heart… and change his plans… and thus his actions in order to bring GOD’S will to pass.
i. Fear God; not man!
Proverbs 21:2
Every Way of Man
Introduction:
1. In verse one of this chapter, Solomon spoke of God’s sovereignty in the life of the king. God holds the king’s heart in His hand and turns it whithersoever He will.
2. Now Solomon extends God’s involvement in the lives of men to include, not just the heart of the king, but the hearts of ALL men.
3. This includes you and me too!
2a Every way of a man is right in his own eyes:
1. The way of man.
a. Way = literally: Road; pathway.
b. The term is most often used in a figurative sense as a metaphor for the pathway of one’s life; course of life; manner of life; habit.
c. Proverbs speaks of various WAYS.
• The way of wisdom.
• The way of darkness.
• The way of the Lord.
d. The term is similar to the New Testament metaphor describing a man’s life as his “walk.”
• But there is a difference.
• Walk implies step by step process. It looks at one’s life as a series of steps, choices, or decisions.
• Add up all those steps and you have the WAY of a man.
• This term takes a step back and looks at the broader picture: the whole course of one’s life… the road he is headed down… the whole direction of his life, rather than the process of step by step.
• The figure of a road implies also the destination. A road leads to a predetermined destination.
• If you are headed down a road, you are going to end up where that road takes you.
• Roads lead to a particular place.
2. Men choose their own WAYS in life.
a. God gives us all the will to choose which pathway we want to travel in life.
• Whatever roadway you and I are traveling down, it is a road of our own choosing.
• Some might argue this point because they feel trapped on the pathway they are headed down now. They want to reverse direction, but find it virtually impossible.
• But even in that situation, we find ourselves there because we made decisions which brought us to a place of few options.
• Most often however, there are ways to reverse direction, IF we are willing to bite the bullet and pay the price.
• Reversing direction after walking down a roadway for many years, may take a long time to make up for lost time going down the wrong street… but it CAN be done!
• Whatever road we are on—the course of our lives—has been a course that we carved for ourselves.
b. There are countless pathways available too.
• There are various career pathways:
» There are lots of different trades that will set you down a certain job pathway… the kind of school you attend… the kind of training you receive.
» There are various pathways in the medical field; computer related businesses; finances; manufacturing; etc.
» Some will give their lives to full time Christian service—in the ministry or mission field.
» Choices that we make (usually early on in life) will set us down a pathway for many years to come.
» And of course, those pathways CAN be reversed, but it could be costly and might interrupt your life.
» It might involve re-training in another field—but it can be done.
• There are various moral and spiritual pathways available too.
» Whether we receive Christ and are saved or remain lost!
» Some believers choose to live a carnal Christian life… (They are saved, but they live for self and the world.)
» Some choose to live a mediocre Christian life… (They read their Bible and go to church… but that’s about it.)
» Some choose to put their all on the altar… and be sold out for Christ. (These folks are true servants who will receive a well done though good and faithful servant.)
» Mark 4:20 – “And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.”
» Jesus spoke of a few different spiritual pathways that believers choose: different levels of dedication to Christ and thus varying degrees of reward.
c. All of us have chosen a pathway in life.
• And each pathway is headed in a predetermined direction with a predictable outcome.
• That is the nature of ways or ROADS. A road take you in the direction that road was built.
• We are all on “a road” and it is the road of our own choosing.
• We will all end up wherever that road leads.
d. Unfortunately, when we decide to travel down a particular road, we don’t always THINK ahead, about exactly WHERE that road will take us!
• We SHOULD think ahead, but we don’t.
• Prov. 4:26 – PONDER the path of thy feet!
• Sometimes we only consider how easy the road is; how smooth; how many hills or obstacles there might be; how comfortable the ride; who else is traveling that road.
• Sometimes we as believers hop on a road in life without consciously thinking about where it will actually take us.
• Sometimes we are afraid to take a stand for the Lord and to be different.
• Usually we make those kinds of decisions because we think like Esau—the here and now is our only concern. Esau was not concerned about the ultimate consequences of his choices in life. He was concerned about having warm porridge NOW… and not to worry about a future birthright.
• We are often earthly minded rather than heavenly minded.
• And thus, with earthly, temporal values, we make choices that head us down a particular pathway in life… without considering WHERE that road will take us.
3. “Right in his own eyes.”
a. Solomon’s MAIN point in the first part of the proverb is to highlight the ARROGANCE that often accompanies those choices… which road we decide to head down.
b. We (like Esau) come up with excuses for choosing a pathway that may not be the best spiritually.
c. We convince ourselves that we are RIGHT and deceive ourselves.
d. We can be ingenious in putting a good face on our bad behavior.
e. We judge ourselves with a different standard than we use on others. Let’s face it—none of us are exactly “impartial” judges of our own actions.
f. Luke 18 – the Pharisee and the publican: “O Lord, I thank thee that I am not like other men…” He put the best construction on his own actions… but God had a very different estimation.
g. Once we convince ourselves that our pathway is the RIGHT one, and after we have been walking down it for some time, and we have sort of “committed” ourselves to that route, and we realize that turning around now would be difficult and humbling… there is a selfish incentive to continue to FEED that arrogance… and try to justify our choices.
h. Of course some pathways ARE the right ones, and we shouldn’t change direction.
i. But Solomon seems to imply here that NOT ALL are.
j. Even though it may be the WRONG pathway, we convince ourselves that we are right…
k. And we are right “in our own eyes.”
• Everyone else may easily see how WRONG we are…
• But we can be blind and not see what is so obvious to others.
• We like to PROVE ourselves to be right… even in the face of wise counsel to the contrary… even in the face of some obvious application of Scripture.
• The book of Judges ends with the words, “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
• It was not a way of saying “they lived happily ever after.” It was a picture of anarchy and chaos. And there was a price to pay.
• Prov. 14:12 – There is a way that seems right to man, but ends in death.
• What folly—to convince ourselves that we are right… even if the direction we are headed in leads to death.
• That is the utter blindness of pride. It would rather die than admit it is wrong… and have to repent and change direction.
l. As Solomon observed human behavior, he noticed this sort of thing time and time again: proud men convince themselves that they are headed down the RIGHT road, even though it is obvious to others that they are not!
m. I’m sure we all know folks in this condition.
n. The sad part is that this kind of pride REFUSES to listen to counsel.
o. Prov. 12:15 – “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.”
p. Isa. 55:7 – God challenges men to forsake their wicked ways (lest God be forced to intervene).
2b But the LORD pondereth the hearts.
1. We as men may not always ponder the path of our feet, but the Lord does.
2. And the Lord is pondering us even BEFORE we take a step. He ponders the thoughts, intents, and desires of our heart even BEFORE we make a choice or take a step.
3. Ponder = Measure, estimate, ponder, balance, weigh out.
a. The Lord is measuring and weighing out all the thoughts in our heart…
b. He not only knows what steps we will take… but WHY we take them. He knows all the thought that went into our choices in life.
c. God is observing… measuring… and will judge us on that basis.
d. Psalm 1:6 – the Lord KNOWETH the way of the righteous (and the way of the ungodly shall perish).
4. Prov. 16:2 – All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
a. This proverb is nearly identical to 21:2.
b. Man’s ways are CLEAN in his own eyes.
c. But God looks deeper than his outward ways.
d. God looks at the heart… the spirit… the inner man.
e. This ought to cause us all to stop and think.
• It is possible to be walking down the right road.
• We may be outwardly doing that which is good.
• Our lives may appear to be heading in the right direction.
• But God always looks deeper than outward appearances.
• God weighs our heart. He considers motives… intentions…
• We could be doing the right thing the wrong way.
• We could be going in the right direction, but with the wrong motives.
• Remember the Pharisee and the publican. The Pharisee was doing many things right outwardly. He tithed, he prayed, he gave to the poor. BUT it was for selfish reasons: to be seen of men… out of self righteous pride!
• The Lord sees the heart motives before they are ever put into action.
5. This thought OUGHT to have an effect on us as believers.
a. It should cause us to make sure that our thoughts are in line with His Word… and our steps as well.
b. We should learn to immediately cast down any thoughts that are not in harmony with His word BEFORE we ever take a step in the wrong direction.
c. Don’t be satisfied that our ways are right in our own eyes. We should be concerned to discover if they are right in the eyes of the Lord. That’s what counts.
Proverbs 21:3
Better than Sacrifice
3a To do justice and judgment…
1. It is God’s will for His people to do justice and judgment.
a. These two terms appear together 23 times in the Old Testament.
b. The two terms are very similar in meaning.
c. One of the reasons why David was considered to be a man after God’s own heart was because in II Sam. 8:15 it says that “David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people.”
d. If people feel they are not getting a fair shake, they will revolt. Thus, judgment and justice are essential for any people.
e. In Israel’s theocracy, these were pillars of the national government.
f. They were necessary to hold the nation together. They are essential for our government too.
2. Justice:
a. The term appears 157 times in the Old Testament.
b. Definition: Justice; righteousness; that which is right either before the law or before God.
c. This term speaks of the CONCEPT of justice.
3. Judgment:
a. This term appears 421 times in the Old Testament! It is an exceedingly important concept in God’s mind.
b. The term is closely related to the term “justice.”
c. It speaks of judgment in the sense of a law or ordinance; also of the act of deciding a case; or of the sentence or execution of the law (penalty).
d. Thus, while the term justice spoke of the CONCEPT of justice, this term speaks of the APPLICATION of justice.
4. Consider some of the passages where the two concepts appear together:
a. The character of God:
• Isa. 30:18 – God is a God of judgment. It is used to describe the very character of God.
• Ps. 89:14 – Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne:
b. The character of the Messianic Kingdom of God
• Isa. 9:7 – Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.
• Jer. 23:5 – Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
c. The desired character of young men in the nation of Israel
• Prov. 1:3 – One of the reasons Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs was so that young men would learn justice and judgment. He wanted these concepts drilled into their hearts.
• Solomon wanted his sons and the young men in his country to do that which was RIGHT, fair, and just.
• And obviously he was not interested merely in them being “instructed” in justice and judgment.
• He was more interested in the actual “practice” of those principles.
• As Solomon wrote in this proverb: to DO justice and judgment.
• It is the practice of the principle that matters. It is OBEDIENCE to the laws of God which are based upon justice and judgment.
d. Violation of the principle
• Ecc. 5:8 – “If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.”
» God takes note when a nation ignores these principles.
» Judgment and justice are not being executed when the poor are oppressed.
» Judgment and justice are not being executed when violence reigns in a nation and there is no justice.
» Those who pervert justice to their own benefit DO often seem to get away with it… but not in the long run. God sees all.
» Ultimately, justice and judgment WILL reign supreme… if not in this life, at least before the judgment seat of God.
3b Is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
1. In this section of the proverb, God places side by side two significant principles of Jewish life and worship: justice/judgment vs. sacrifice.
a. Both are given significant places in the Old Testament economy.
b. Both were clearly God’s will for the Jew.
c. Both are integral parts of the Old Testament revelation.
d. Both were required by God.
e. But one was MORE important than the other.
2. DOING justice and judgment is more important and more acceptable to God than sacrifice.
a. This fact is mentioned several times in the Old Testament.
b. I Sam. 15:22 – And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”
c. Isa. 1:11-17 – “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.”
d. Hos. 6:6 – “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
e. Micah 6:7-8 – Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
f. Mark 12:33 – “And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Jesus told this man that he was “not far from the kingdom of God.”
g. Matt. 23:23 – “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” Both are important. Both needed to be attended to. But one was “weightier” than the other.
3. The REASON doing justice is more acceptable than offering sacrifices.
a. It is possible to offer all the right sacrifices and keep all the right feast days… and at the same time be trampling over the poor… and “buying” off the judges… and ignoring justice and judgment.
b. It is possible to offer sacrifices from a wicked mind and heart.
c. Prov. 21:27 – The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?
d. Religious activity in Israel was of little value unless it was accompanied by OBEDIENCE to the law.
e. Ungodly kings in Judah often offered the proper sacrifices, while at the same time they perverted justice in the land.
f. Ungodly merchant men often offered the proper sacrifices, while at the same time cheating their customers. That was not just.
g. Ungodly poor men often offered the proper sacrifices while at the same time they cheated other poor men.
h. Ungodly wealthy land owners could offer the proper sacrifices, while at the same time they unjustly kept back the wages of their workers. (James 5!)
i. Religious activity is not a good gauge of anything.
j. Religious activity tells us very little about a man’s character.
k. That was true in Old Testament times, and in the church age too.
l. Religious activity in the Roman Church during Medieval times flourished—while corruption and injustice flourished as well. The priests and monks all went to mass, genuflected at just the right time, took communion… while at the same time they were persecuting believers who refused to bow to Mary. There was plenty of religious activity—but not much justice.
m. Think of the religious activity that took place in the bigoted Southern churches during slavery. They all dressed up and went to church. They sang their hymns. They put money in the plate. They taught Sunday school classes. Then they went home and mistreated their slaves. There was plenty of religious activity, but not much justice.
n. And in our day, the same kinds of things occur. We have religious men all over the country going to church, reading their Bible, even coming to prayer meetings… yet they cheat on their taxes… they make thousands on unjust business practices…
o. Religious activity has never been a reliable gauge of a man’s character… in any age.
p. That’s the main point of this proverb.
q. The REASON doing justice and judgment is more acceptable than religious sacrifice is that religious sacrifice is often abused and used as a CLOAK to cover bad character… bad behavior… and make self LOOK good.
r. God is very much aware of that ancient ploy.
4. Notice that DOING justice and DOING sacrifices are external works.
a. One work is better than the other… but both of them can be done perfunctorily and without any heart involvement.
b. We have seen how easy it is for men to be engaged in religious activity without any heart involvement.
c. But men can also DO DEEDS of justice—with the wrong motives.
d. A man could treat others justly and fairly—in order to be seen as a fair and just person—selfish motives.
e. A judge might work in the courthouse and make wise and just decisions based on the law—but only be doing it for the money… or to advance his career.
5. The New Testament highlights a more important principle than DOING: the heart!
a. For the believer today, just and righteous DEEDS are the natural result of an abiding relationship to Christ.
b. DOING deeds of righteousness is better than empty sacrifice.
c. But even doing deeds of righteousness can be done with the wrong motive.
d. The Lord rebuked the Pharisees for praying, fasting, and for their righteous and good DEEDS—because the motive was all wrong. They DID deeds of righteousness and justice, but they did them in order “to be seen of men.”
e. Doing deeds of justice is better than sacrifice; but doing deeds of justice with the right motive and empowered by the Holy Spirit is better than them all!
f. Psalm 51:17 – “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
g. Sacrifices are good; deeds of justice are good; but the REAL sacrifice and the REAL deeds of righteousness are the ones that are sourced in a broken spirit… and from a contrite heart.
h. This truth ought to cause us to be continually examining our hearts. Our deeds may be in line with the Scriptures. We may be active in our religious duties. But how is our heart?
6. This proverb teaches that the inward heart of obedience is far more important than the outward ceremonial.
a. On certain occasions the Lord has bypassed the outer ceremonial as long as the inner obedient heart was right.
b. David ate the showbread that outwardly and ceremonially was reserved for the priests.
c. God has accepted the inward obedient heart without the ceremonial. But He has never accepted the outward ceremonial without the inward heart.
Proverbs 21:4
Pride
4 An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.
4b A Proud Heart
1. Heart – The inner life; mind; heart; soul; inner self life.
2. Proud: Big; broad; wide; spacious; enlarged.
a. The term is sometimes used in a good sense.
• The word of God is exceedingly broad. (Psalm 119:96)
• Today we use the term “He has a big heart” in a positive sense – he is kind… generous… compassionate.
b. The term is not used in a positive sense in this passage.
• That’s not what the term implies here.
• Solomon is using it in an evil sense: this man has an enlarged heart because he is full of himself…
• His heart is FULL—but it is full of evil things…
• His heart is enlarged because it is swelled up in pride… puffed up in pride…
c. Matt. 15:18-19 – Jesus described what the heart is FULL of.
• The fact that something is FULL or large, does not necessarily imply good.
• A cesspool can be large and full.
• Our hearts can be full of sinful desires and intentions…
d. Prov. 21:24 – Proud men are often scorners and angry men.
e. Prov. 28:25 – The proud of heart often stirs up trouble.
4a An high look
1. When the inwardly heart is full of pride, it will eventually manifest itself outwardly…
a. This is what Solomon describes in this expression.
b. A heart that is enlarged – full of self and pride can be SEEN in a person’s countenance
c. The heart of pride will manifest itself as a “high look.”
2. High = Height; elevation; above; used of pride: Unwarranted assignment of high status to self.
3. Look = Eye; face; visible surface of the earth; (Used here of a man’s face or countenance.)
4. The man with a “high look” is an arrogant man whose pride is visible on his face… on the surface.
a. You don’t have to dig down very deep to discover pride in this man: it’s written all over his face… in his body language. He is dripping with pride.
b. Prov. 10:4 – “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God.” His inner pride shines right through his countenance.
c. This is the man who thinks himself to be above others… and he looks DOWN his nose at others with disdain.
d. This is a self righteous man whose heart is full: full of himself.
e. Consider the proud Pharisee and the publican…
f. A “high look” is an outward sign of the inward pride of the heart.
g. You can see pride in his face… you can hear it in his words.
h. The man himself might not see it. He probably thinks that he’s humble. But everyone else can see it.
5. Prov. 30:12-13 – “O how lofty are their eyes!”
a. Prov. 6:16-17 – God HATES this haughty, arrogant attitude.
b. Psalm 101:5 – David would not tolerate those kinds of associates. Godly people ought to hate that attitude as well.
c. Isa. 2:11 – The Lord will one day tear down those lofty looks at His coming in judgment.
d. The only way to get rid of a high look (an arrogant countenance) is to deal with the proud heart out of which it arose.
4c And the plowing of the wicked…
1. This expression is translated two different ways.
a. Some translations translate the word “plowing” as “light.”
• It is not a textual issue, but a translation issue.
b. The KJV translates it as plowing—which makes perfect sense in this passage.
2. Plowing.
a. Plowing = a field or ground that needs to be plowed or tilled; hard soil that needs to be broken up.
b. It does not refer to the act of plowing, (verb) but to the ground that needs plowing (noun). (A plowing or a tillage; fallow ground.)
c. Prov. 13:23 – The same term indicates the literal farming land, property owned that lies unplowed.
• Fallow ground has much potential for fruit.
• BUT—it has to be plowed… broken up… and sown with good seed.
• Here the term “plowing” is used of a literal field… with hard, untilled soil.
d. Hos. 10:12 – The same term is used figuratively of the hardened, untilled attitudes of the people of Judah and Israel that required repentance.
• The people were challenged to break up the hard soil of their hearts through repentance… AND to bring forth the fruits of repentance by sowing seeds of righteousness and mercy.
• If they did, God would respond with showers of blessing to cause those seeds to grow and be fruitful!
• But apart from repentance, their hearts would remain hard—like fallow ground… and in need of plowing.
3. Solomon uses the literal concept of fallow, hardened ground in a figurative sense to describe the wicked.
a. The wicked have hard hearts—like hardened claylike soil.
b. Like hardened soil, seeds do not penetrate and are not able to germinate and produce good fruit.
c. This is similar to the parable spoken by the Lord of the four kinds of soils. One type of soil was the pathway… it was hard as a rock from the constant traffic. NO seed could penetrate… and the birds ate up all the seeds that landed there.
d. Hard soil speaks figuratively of a heart condition that needs repentance… but is unwilling to repent.
e. Pharaoh hardened his heart… and so do countless other wicked people.
f. Solomon states that this condition is their fault. It’s not “just the way they are.” It is the result of a choice… like Pharaoh.
g. The wicked are blind to spiritual truth because they chose to close their eyes.
h. The wicked are hardened to spiritual things because they chose to harden their hearts. (Eph. 4:17-18)
4d Is SIN.
a. Solomon mentions three aspects of the wicked—and he states that they are ALL sin (sinful).
• Their arrogant look;
• Their proud heart.
• Their hardened condition.
b. Everything about the wicked is sinful!
• Prov. 21:4 – The plowing of the wicked is sin.
• Prov. 21:27 – “The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination.”
• Prov. 2 8:9 – “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.”
• Prov. 15:9 – “The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord.”
• Prov. 15:26 – The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination unto the Lord.”
c. Nothing wicked man can DO is pleasing in the sight of the Lord.
• Nothing good can come from an unclean fountain.
• All that comes forth is polluted in God’s sight. They are full of sin themselves, and what they do is sinful.
• They are so full of sin themselves, all that they do is sinful… self centered… either ignoring or outwardly in rebellion against Gods’ authority…
5. Prov. 16:18 – Pride and arrogance leads to a spiritual fall.
a. Dan. 4:30-33 – Consider the arrogance of Nebuchadnezzar and how God dealt with him!
b. Prov. 8:13 – Therefore, God fearing people should HATE pride and arrogance… and every manifestation of it.
c. I Pet. 5:5-6 – “Be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”
• God knows how to chop us down to size.
• Don’t put Him to the test… don’t make Him have to do it!
• How much better is it to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God… and HE will exalt us… in His way and in His time.
• There is a lot in the book of Proverbs about pride. There is a good reason for it: we are full of it! We NEED to be reminded of our pride. It is our nature… it is an ever present enemy…
• Those who exalt themselves shall be abased… destroyed… punished… knocked down! We need these reminders.
• Pride is such an insidious sin. It creeps in even when we are doing our best to serve the Lord.
• Spurgeon said: “Say much of what the Lord has done for you. Say little of what you have done for the Lord.”
Proverbs 21:5
Diligence vs. Haste
Introduction:
1. In this proverb, Solomon speaks about a subject often mentioned in this book: the value of diligence and hard work.
2. King Solomon contrasts two different kinds of people: the diligent and those who make haste.
3. He also contrasts the results: riches or poverty.
5a The thoughts of the diligent
1. The diligent.
a. Diligent defined: The word means industrious, diligent, referring to diligent or industrious persons.
b. Solomon has much to say about the diligent in this book.
c. Prov. 6:6-8 – Solomon uses the ant as an example of diligence.
d. Ecc. 9:10 – we are challenged to be diligent in all that we put our hand to do.
2. The thoughts of the diligent.
a. Thoughts defined: Thought; device; plan; purpose.
• Ex. 31:4 – Translated “cunning” (well thought out.)
• Ps. 33:10 – The “counsel” of the wicked. (purposes; plans)
• Esther 8:3 – Haman’s “device” (plan; plot) that he had devised against the Jews.
b. Solomon uses the term in Prov. 21:5 of the plans and purposes of the diligent.
c. Diligent people make plans to accomplish their goals.
d. They prepare to get their responsibilities done.
e. They think about how to perform all their duties.
f. Diligent people are like the ant… who prepares his food for the winter ahead of time.
g. He is diligent, not slothful.
h. He thinks; he plans; he prepares; he rolls up his sleeves and dives into the work to get it done; he doesn’t procrastinate.
3. The results of his diligent planning: “Tend only to plenteousness.”
a. Plenteousness: Pre-eminence; abundance; profit; superiority; advantage; profit; i.e., an abundant accumulation of hard work, so as to have sufficient amount.
b. Diligent planning results in profit… abundance… that which is superior.
c. A diligent person who is diligent in his planning will also be diligent in his DEEDS.
• Prov. 14:23 – In all labour there is profit.” (same word = plenteousness)
• Prov. 10:4 – The hand of the diligent maketh rich. (diligent in deeds)
d. The thoughts of the diligent are as important as the hand of the diligent… but BOTH are necessary.
• Doing without thinking leads nowhere.
• Thinking without doing leads nowhere.
• Both are part of being a diligent person.
4. This principle is especially true in the spiritual realm.
a. Like anything, the Christian life requires diligence in our part.
• We are to LABOR to enter into His REST!
b. Diligence in our walk with God leads to plenteousness.
• It leads to an ABUNDANT life… plenteous in fruit…
• It leads to an eternity plenteous in rewards.
c. The thoughts of the diligent are as important as the hand of the diligent in the spiritual realm too… but BOTH are necessary.
• Doing without thinking leads nowhere. The flesh loves to DO, but acting in the flesh results in spiritual loss ultimately.
• Thinking without doing leads nowhere. Faith without works is dead.
• Both are part of being a diligent person.
• We are to be HEARERS of the Word… and THINKERS of the Word… but we must not forget to be DOERS of the Word too!
5b But of every one that is hasty only to want.
The Thoughts of Those who Make Haste
1. “Every one that is hasty.”
a. Hasty: To press; hasten; hurrying or running without purpose.
b. It was used of the taskmasters in Egypt who expressed urgency upon the Jews to make haste in making their bricks (Ex. 5:13)
c. Solomon uses the term in this proverb to speak of someone who is always in a rush… in a hurry to get things done.
d. But note that HASTE is used as the OPPOSITE of diligence.
e. Normally we think of slothfulness as the opposite of diligence, but here Solomon speaks of being “hasty” as the opposite of diligence.
f. The hasty man hurries to get things done, because he is not diligent enough to do it the right way.
• He cuts corners in his haste.
• He takes the cheap and easy way.
• He is in a hurry, and therefore does not want to bother taking the time to do it right.
• He doesn’t have time to think it through so that he might do the best job he can. He’s in too much of a hurry.
g. He puts everything off until the last minute, and then doesn’t have time to figure out how to do it the right way.
• Therefore, he rushes the through the job, just to get it done… and not to do it well.
h. The hasty man often hastens to be rich… but he likes easy riches… quick money. And that often involves something dishonest or shady.
• His quick road to riches usually leads to poverty instead…
i. Some men are hasty and impetuous.
• They jump right into things without thinking.
• They hastily make commitments they cannot keep.
• They hastily fall for the line of a salesman and buy things they cannot afford.
• They hastily make a decision assuming the grass will be greener on the other side, without even taking the time to look over the fence.
• They hastily make a credit card purchase without thinking about how they will pay for it.
• They are hasty to abandon relationships whenever the relationship is strained, whether with a spouse, a church, a job, a friend… they are hasty to quit…
j. The diligent man does not behave this way.
• The diligent man is slow and steady.
• He does jobs when they need doing.
• The hasty man is like the hare that runs as fast as he can for a little while, and then stops. He quits.
• But the diligent man is slow like the turtle, because he takes the time to do things right along the way.
• It takes longer, but he makes REAL progress.
• The diligent man is a man of industry who perseveres through difficulties and diligently finishes what he sets out to do.
2. Though not stated, it is implied that Solomon is speaking about the THOUGHTS of the hasty here.
a. It is his thoughts (plans and purposes) that are described as hasty.
b. The contrast is between the thoughts of the diligent and the thoughts of the hasty man.
c. But because this man is hasty, he doesn’t put much thought into his doings!
• The hasty man doesn’t bother taking the time to think ahead and plan.
• He doesn’t bother taking the time to read the directions.
• He is in too much of a rush to get it done… so he can head off to hang around on the corner… or go to some fun event…
d. He makes hasty decisions. He jumps hastily into action… without thinking it through. And there is a price to pay.
3. The result: WANT!
a. Want: need; poverty; lack; a scarcity of something vital.
b. The man who is hasty will find himself in great NEED… lacking essential things.
c. It’s much quicker to build a house without bothering to take the time to make a firm foundation… but when a storm comes, you might be lacking shelter!
d. It’s much quicker to do a book report by reading only the cover flap… but you find yourself lacking a good grade.
e. It’s much quicker to just paint over the rotten wood… but you might find yourself in need of replacing the whole wall.
f. The hasty way of the hasty man leads to trouble down the road. Instead of leading to plenteousness, it leads to WANT… lack… that which is insufficient…
g. Prov. 6:11 – To the lazy man he says, “so shall thy poverty come.”
h. Prov. 14:23 – But the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury. (same word) Instead of making plans and getting things done diligently, this man sits around wasting time chatting.
i. Prov.13:4 – The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.
• The lazy man WANTS… he desires… but he has nothing.
• He has nothing but unmet needs.
• Solomon says here that it is nobody’s fault but their own.
j. Haste results in a great LACK. Remember the Lord taught that the seed that grew up in haste soon withered up. Some things you cannot rush. It takes time. The hasty man doesn’t want to wait… and that often leads to ruin.
4. And of course, the same is true in the spiritual realm. Haste leads to great spiritual lack… in our walk with Christ.
a. Haste in our time in God’s Word… leads to a superficial knowledge of Christ: His word and His will. That can bring ruin to a life.
b. Haste in our attendance at church (I’m too busy this week).
c. Haste in our attention to details at home. We don’t bother taking the time to deal with problems as they arise. It’s easier and quicker to brush them under the rug.
d. Haste in attention to our kids… our spouse… so that we can have more time for self. That can lead to spiritual ruin.
e. Heb. 12:1-2 – When it comes to running the Christian life, we are not to run with haste, but we are to run with patience… patient endurance…
Proverbs 21:6
Dishonest Treasures
6a The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
A. The Getting of Treasures
1. Treasures:
a. The term is used in two different ways:
• A treasure-house, treasury, storehouses, a place where valuables are stored.
1. Neh. 13:12, 13 – Here it refers to the storehouses where the treasures are kept.
• OR riches, wealth
» Solomon is speaking of the actual wealth itself—that which would be placed in a storehouse.
» He is speaking of treasures in general… wealth and valuables of every sort.
2. The Getting of Treasures
a. Getting: work; deed; doing; acquisition; accumulation; i.e., the obtaining of something, implying an effort.
b. Thus, Solomon is speaking about obtaining wealth… acquiring riches.
c. And he makes a moral judgment on the subject.
d. However, the proverb is not making a moral judgment with respect to obtaining or storing riches.
e. Rather, this proverb makes a moral judgment with respect to the MANNER in which they are obtained.
f. This proverb does not teach that obtaining treasures is a vanity tossed to and fro of them who seek death.
g. That would be out of harmony with the rest of Scripture on the subject.
h. Wealth is a morally neutral matter.
• It doesn’t make a bit of difference morally or spiritually whether a person is rich or poor.
• It doesn’t matter to God whether a person obtains treasures and wealth or not.
• Rich people and poor people can live for God and glorify Him. That has always been the case.
i. The “getting of treasures” was normally considered a “good thing” in Israel.
• Deut. 28:1-4 – For the Jew, wealth often indicated God’s blessing.
• As a nation, their blessings were earthly riches for obedience.
• Prov. 10:4 – The hand of the diligent maketh rich. The Jews were encouraged to be hard working, industrious, and diligent. They were taught that “riches” were a reward for that diligence.
• David and Solomon amassed HUGE treasures in the House of the Lord… and they did so for the glory of God.
• Thus, the getting of treasures in Israel was not normally to be understood in a negative light. Normally, it was a good thing.
B. By a Lying Tongue
1. The point Solomon seeks to make in this proverb is not about acquiring wealth, but is about the MEANS of acquiring wealth.
2. Obtaining wealth itself is not a moral issue… but obtaining it through a lying tongue is. It is sinful!
3. Lying = deception or falsehood.
4. It is possible to accumulate wealth by dishonest means… through deception or falsehood.
a. This is what Solomon exposes in this proverb.
b. Men routinely LIE in order to deceive others for their own personal profit.
5. There are many examples of men in the Bible who obtained wealth through lying and deception.
a. II Kings 5:20 – Gehazi
• Elisha’s servant was upset that his master healed Naaman the Syrian and did not take any payment for it.
• Gehazi went back to Naaman and lied, saying that Elisha sent him to receive the gifts.
• The servant DID receive the treasures by wickedness.
• Ultimately, they did not profit him, for he was smitten with leprosy! (v.27)
b. I Kings 21:4 – Ahab & Jezebel – obtained wealth through lying.
• Through murder and robbery, he stole the vineyard of Naboth.
• His wife Jezebel wrote a letter and sent it to the elders of the city. They were instructed to lie about Naboth, and falsely charge him with blasphemy, and stone him… which they did.
• Ahab then obtained the vineyard he desired.
• But along with the vineyard came a message from God: (v.17-19)
• I Kings 22:28-29 – Ahab did a lot of building of palaces and accumulating of wealth through wickedness… but with no profit.
6. Getting treasures through lying is practiced in the modern world… and brought to new levels.
a. Imagine how many lies will be told… how much the truth will be stretched for men to obtain a piece of the bailout pie?
b. People LIE on their taxes in order to wrongfully obtain money that belongs to the government.
c. People LIE about their products they sell. Have you ever bought a product that did not do what they claimed it would do?
d. People LIE on their resumes in order to obtain a high paying job.
e. Even politicians LIE (stretch the truth) in order to bring home the pork.
f. You can often make a lot of money by lying and deceiving others.
g. This is an ancient art.
6b Is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.
1. Vanity defined:
a. Strong’s: Vapor; breath; vanity.
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Meaninglessness emptiness; futility; uselessness.
c. Futile; lacking in content; empty.
d. Used 5 times in Ecc. 1:2 – “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”
2. Tossed to and fro:
a. Strong’s: “Driven to and fro” once, and “tossed to and fro.”
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Blow away; scatter; i.e., an action of the wind, with a focus on the fleetingness of the action. (used of wind blowing away the chaff)
3. Vanity tossed to and fro can be interpreted in two different ways.
a. If the word “vanity” is understood as breath or wind, then Solomon is saying that obtaining wealth is as fleeting as a passing wind… or a breath… a puff of air. Now you see it, now you don’t.
• The emphasis is on how short-lived it is.
• The earthly treasures obtained through deceit might appear to be heavy, valuable, and weighty, but in reality, they are but a puff of air… short lived… not very lasting.
• Prov. 10:2 – “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing.”
• Prov. 13:11 – “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished.”
b. If the word “vanity” is understood as emptiness or futility, then Solomon’s point is that seeking to obtain wealth through deception is an empty pursuit that has been kicked around for ages.
• Prov. 20:17 – Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.
• It is not ultimately satisfying.
• There IS something satisfying in hard work… diligent labor… and the enjoying the FRUIT of one’s labors.
• But when bread is obtained deceitfully, there is no satisfaction. It tastes sweet initially, but eventually is like a mouth full of gravel.
4. “Them that seek death.”
a. Seeking to obtain riches through dishonesty or deception is equal to seeking death.
• Those who seek to obtain wealth dishonestly (bank robbers) often end up dead.
• This expression is something akin to saying that drug addicts are really seeking death. It is a death wish.
• It is a pathway that ultimately leads to death… sometimes physical death… always spiritual death.
• Prov. 8:36 – “But he that sinneth against me (Lady Wisdom) wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.”
• This is destructive behavior.
• Jer. 22:13 – He may bring upon himself the wrath of God!
• It results in bringing upon their own heads the ill will of the men they deceive… and of the Lord Himself.
b. Prov. 9:17 – “Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
• Compare verse 18 – Her guests are in the depths of hell!
c. Quick money and instant gratification isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
• That which initially seems so sweet often has various long lasting consequences: guilt, shame, a jail sentence, a mouth full of gravel, and emptiness… no satisfaction… nothing but remorse… and eventually death.
d. It is not a good course to pursue. Crime doesn’t pay.
Proverbs 21:7
The Robbery Of The Wicked
Introduction:
1. Several themes in the book of Proverbs have been repeated with slight variations.
2. This passage includes one of those repeated themes: you reap what you sow.
3. Solomon has applied this principle in many different settings. In this passage the theme is applied to violent thieves.
4. They too will reap what they have sown.
7a The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them;
1. Robbery:
a. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: a state of physical force exerted against another; loot, plunder, i.e., goods that are taken by force, implying violence in the taking of them.
b. Zodhiates: The primary meaning of this word is violence or destruction.
c. The term often implies robbery, but the emphasis is on the force and violence of the act.
d. The expression is broad enough to include the following:
• looting in a time of riot
• soldiers looting the dead after a battle
• armed robbery; bank robbery
• gang violence
• thugs mugging someone on a dark city street
• This could include everything from the petty robberies and muggings to the more extreme gang violence and mafia brutality.
• The term Solomon used here could be applied to many of the stories we hear every night on the six o’clock news.
2. The wicked
a. Here is an old familiar term from Proverbs. The term appears nearly 90 times in this book.
b. Wicked Defined: Criminal; guilty one; one guilty of crime.
3. The robbery of the wicked
a. In this expression the wicked are the ones who COMMIT the violent acts of robbery… not the ones being robbed. It is the robbery BY the wicked.
b. This expression speaks of the violent looting, mugging, or plundering of innocent victims by evil, guilty, criminals.
c. Yet every time I see them on the six o’clock news, we hear from their mother that “my son would never do this” or from a friend, “He was a nice guy; a good neighbor. They must have the wrong person.”
d. It is part of human nature to want to turn a blind eye towards those who are wicked and violent.
• We blame society or the system.
• We blame his violent crime on poverty, a lack of education, or on his sixth grade teacher, or some form of abuse in his past.
• We don’t like to think of someone we know as being “wicked.”
• It is certainly not a politically correct term… because it focuses on the individual responsibility rather than society.
• We like to think that “it takes a village” to bring up our youth, and if the youth fail, the fault lies with the village—the society.
• However, the terminology the Bible uses implies personal responsibility.
• Men are wicked sinners… and their violent looting is one example of it.
• God refers to them as guilty wicked men… not victims of a failing society.
e. God proves this point from time to time by raising up some real gems from the very worst of environments.
f. And He also raises up some ungodly rebels from the most affluent, privileged segments of society.
g. Violence, looting, muggings, robberies, and such crimes occur because men are WICKED… not because of their social environment.
• Environment can have an influence… but it is not the cause.
• The sinful, wicked, fallen heart of man is the cause.
h. God clearly blames the individual for his sin. Men who do such things are referred to as wicked, guilty criminals… sinners.
i. We do no one any favors by trying to spread the blame around… and treat the perpetrator of a violent crime as if he were a victim of society.
j. As believers, we need to emphasize personal responsibility.
4. The consequences of their actions.
a. “Shall destroy them.”
b. Destroy: an interesting term.
• to drag, drag away
• linear motion of an object by grasping and pulling or pushing along
c. Hab. 1:15 – The term is translated “catch” like a fish caught in a net… a drag net…
• Solomon’s point in the proverb is that sooner or later, the violent criminals will be dragged in… caught… trapped.
• That kind of crime and violence inevitably leads to being captured… dragged in to justice… and punished!
• Once a fish is caught in a drag net, life is not so good for that fish any more.
» His days of swimming about in the sea doing his own thing are OVER.
» That fish is going to get chopped up and fried! He won’t be such a big fish any more.
• The same is implied here concerning the violent criminal. Once he is dragged in to justice, his life is destroyed.
» He may spend the rest of it behind bars.
» There are long lasting consequences to wicked behavior.
d. In other words, you reap what you sow!
• They sowed violence; they reap destruction.
• Crime doesn’t pay. It may seem to in the short run, but not in the long run.
• Eventually violent criminals are dragged into justice.
• Prov. 26:27 – “Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.”
• Those who plunder and loot others will find that the same kind of actions will be returned to their own head.
• Sin has a tendency to boomerang…
7b Because they refuse to do judgment.
1. In the second half of the proverb Solomon gives the reason WHY criminals are eventually dragged into justice and their lives destroyed: because they refuse to do judgment.
2. Judgment:
a. Definition: Justice; righteousness; that which is lawful;
b. In other words, they refuse to do what is RIGHT.
c. They refuse to live according to the law; according to righteousness.
d. The wicked don’t think that the law applies to them.
3. They refuse to do judgment.
a. Refuse: Resist; i.e., be in a state of rebellion and defiance against authority.
b. This is clearly not a matter of ignorance.
• They KNOW what the right thing to do is.
• They KNOW what justice involves.
• They KNOW the right way to treat people.
• They KNOW what the law says and how to obey.
c. But they REFUSE to do it. Their criminal acts of violence are willful.
d. When you refuse to do what is RIGHT, you end up doing that which is WRONG… like robbery… violence… etc.
4. This is WHY they are dragged into the net, captured, and “destroyed.”
a. They refuse to play by the rules. It will eventually catch up to them.
b. Isa. 1:20 – “But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” (Refuse = same word as in Prov. 21:7.)
c. Refusing to submit to authority eventually leads to being devoured… especially when GOD is the Authority!
d. Violent criminals continue to dig holes for others to fall into—they will sooner or later fall into that pit themselves.
e. You can only play fast and loose with the rules for so long before you are caught and brought to justice.
5. This reason implies that IF they DID judgment (if they followed the rules and lived by the law) they would NOT be destroyed.
a. Thus, if they suffer destruction, it is because they brought it upon themselves.
b. They have no one to blame but themselves.
c. Their behavior is destructive, and that is why destruction is returned to their heads.
d. Vs. 6 – Those who get money through lying and cheating are similar to those who get money through robbery and violence are BOTH engaged in destructive behavior. Both seek death. They shall be destroyed.
e. Vs. 5 – How much better to accumulate wealth and “plenty” through diligence and hard work! This behavior is blessed.
Proverbs 21:8
As for the Pure…
Introduction:
1. This proverb is an antithetical parallelism: the two parts of the proverb speak of opposites: sinful man and a pure man… and their opposite ways/works.
2. This proverb simply makes an observation about human behavior… and it leaves us to draw our own conclusions.
8a The way of man is froward and strange:
A. The Way of Man
1. MAN
a. Here Solomon is speaking about mankind in general.
b. He is referring to men as fallen sinners before a holy God.
c. It speaks of a frail man as opposed to a holy and omnipotent God.
2. The WAY of man…
a. Here Solomon (as he so often does) gives us an inspired appraisal of human nature.
b. Defined: Way; path; journey; direction; manner; habits; a course of life; moral character.
c. Solomon is speaking in broad terms here of the whole manner of life of mankind… the lifestyle… the direction of one’s life…
d. Throughout the whole course of human history, the way of man has been pretty uniform.
e. The way of man speaks of the ways of man apart from God.
f. Perhaps we could think of this as the broad way… the broad road that leads to destruction. (Matt. 7:13-14)
• Unsaved men like to think of the ways of man as being wide… numerous… with many roads…
• We like to think of the world as being diverse with many various ways… many lifestyles… many religions… many philosophies…
• In fact, there are not many ways of man. There are only two roads: the broad way and the narrow way.
• The wide diversity of thought, the philosophic pluralism, and the many roads in life that men THINK they see, are really but ONE.
• While the road may be BROAD… and there may appear to be great diversity on that road, from God’s perspective, they are really all on the SAME road, headed in the same direction… with the same destiny.
g. The many ways of man around this globe are here called in the singular: the way of man.
• And even though different nations and cultures seem to be headed in different directions, they are really treading down the same broad road to destruction.
• From man’s tunnel vision approach to life, we see just how truly BROAD the road is. It seems to include many different ways… but that is due to our earthly tunnel vision.
• From heaven’s vantage point, God can see the whole picture. He can see clearly that all of mankind (except for a remnant of His own) is really on one very WIDE road.
• Eph. 2:2-3 – That is because Satan is the god of this world… and he is leading the whole world away from God.
• He doesn’t care how many various philosophies they adhere to, or how many various religions they cling to.
• All of those philosophies, world views, and religious views are really ONE: anti-God… anti-truth.
3. Solomon uses two terms to describe the WAY of man.
B. The Way of Man Described
1. Froward
a. Defined:
• Strong’s: crooked, perverted;
• Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Pertaining to actions in life that are not right or straightforward, with a possible implication of deception.
• Zodhiates: Denoting something crooked, perverted, devious. It describes the winding, crooked, serpentine path of a guilty person.
2. Strange
a. Defined:
• Strange does not mean odd or unusual as it does in English.
• Strange does not mean “foreign” as it often does in the Bible.
• The term used here literally means to be burdened with “something.”
• Strong’s: Guilty, burdened with guilt.
• Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Pertaining to a person that has violated a standard, implying a moral corruption.
3. Solomon here describes the way of mankind in general.
a. That is because mankind in general is guilty… they carry around a heavy burden of the guilt of sin.
b. This is the way of the world… how they live day in and day out.
c. It is the way of the ungodly… those who do not know the Lord in a saving way.
d. It is the way of life for all those on the broad road that leads to destruction.
e. How does God describe that “way” of life?
• For them, life is a winding, crooked, serpentine path, burdened with the weight of guilt because of inward, moral corruption.
• That’s the way the whole world LIVES. That’s what the man of the world IS.
• That’s the way immoral, violent criminals live. If they have not yet seared their conscience, and thus they are burdened with the guilt of their deeds.
• That’s the way moral men live. They too struggle with guilt… the guilt of unforgiven sins.
• That’s the way the religious world lives.
» Religious men also carry around a load of guilt.
» Deep down inside, they know that their works cannot really take away their sins.
» They can never experience rest or peace with God.
• That’s the way we ALL lived before we came to know Christ.
• It is a pretty fitting description of life in the world apart from the Savior.
f. What a contrast to the believer in Christ who is trusting in the Lord.
• This believer is not carrying around a heavy burden of sin.
• He has taken his sin to the cross.
• There he has experienced forgiveness of sin… and the weight and burden of past sins are GONE.
• The believer’s conscience is not weighing him down. Rather, he is singing the gospel song: Burdens are lifted at Calvary!
• His conscience has been purged… cleansed… and he is experiencing the JOY of the Lord… not the guilt of sin.
g. But Solomon’s description of the way of mankind in general is not a very encouraging or flattering description.
• It is quite pessimistic, but it is a picture of spiritual reality.
• Psalm 14:2, 3 – Here again we have a broad picture of humanity from God’s heavenly perspective.
• Ecc. 9:3 – There is one event for all: all men live evil lives. (In varying degrees of evil, but all are evil… in the sense of rejecting God.)
• Ecc. 7:29 – But this is NOT the way God made them. The way of mankind today is the result of rejection of God and rebellion against His ways.
h. Solomon teaches that the way of the guilty mankind is crooked. His statement could hardly be argued… and really needs no comment.
8b But as for the pure, his work is right.
1. The man who is pure PROVES himself to be such by his works… his fruit. By their fruit ye shall know them.
2. Prov. 15:26 – The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.
3. Pure: Pure, clean, righteous, pertaining to an upright and innocent state, free of guilt.
a. The term is used substantively of a person who is clean and pure.
b. Purity is the result of regeneration… a life justified by faith.
c. Acts 15:8-9 – “And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.”
d. This is the supernatural work of the Spirit of God in cleansing and transforming a dirty heart into a pure heart.
4. Work:
a. Works, deeds, labor or the product of labor.
b. This term “works” stands in contrast to the “ways” of man.
c. A man’s “ways” consist of his works…
d. Works done day in and day out BECOME our way of life.
e. Our daily deeds, over time, demonstrate our character… our lifestyle… our WAY of life.
5. Right:
a. Straight, upright, correct, right, level… what is morally innocent and proper according to a standard.
b. This man’s works are RIGHT.
• They are not crooked—they are straight.
• They are not off kilter—they are on the level.
• They are not twisted—they are straight as an arrow.
c. A man’s works are a pretty good gauge of his life.
• They are not a perfect gauge. Religious men can put up a mighty good front… they can clean the outside of the cup.
• But in general, by their fruits (works) ye shall know them.
• If a man’s works are right… it often indicates that HE himself is right… righteous.
d. Of course, God examines more than just our outward works. He also examines the inward motive and intentions behind our works… things that are hidden to us as mere human onlookers.
e. If a man is PURE on the inside, his works will be RIGHT
f. Hos. 14:9 – “Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.”
g. Consider Daniel: His way was pure… open… honest…
• His enemies “could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.” (Dan. 6:4)
• His life was pure… his ways were pure.
• This too was because of regeneration.
• Solomon makes a clear contrast between man by nature (crooked; guilt ridden) and man by grace (pure and his works are right)
6. As Christians, our WORKS are important to God.
a. They add nothing to salvation, but they are important.
b. We are to be ZEALOUS of good works… of works that are right in God’s sight… works that are the result of the Spirit of God working in us… the fruit of the Spirit, not of the flesh (righteous outwardly and inwardly)
Proverbs 21:9
A Brawling Woman
9b A brawling woman in a wide house
A. What is a Brawling Woman?
1. Brawling defined: Strife; dissention; quarrelsome; the source or object of contention.
2. The brawling woman is not a woman who gets in barroom brawls. She is not a lady wrestler. (She may be that too, but that’s not what the term implies.)
3. The brawling woman is a wife who is constantly arguing or quarreling over everything.
a. She argues over money.
b. She argues over the kids.
c. She argues over fixing the house. (He doesn’t do it)
d. She argues over her to do list that never gets done.
e. She argues over how loud her husband is.
f. She argues over the fact that he buys stupid things and wastes money.
g. She argues over him leaving dirty socks on the floor.
h. She argues over how he squeezes the toothpaste.
i. She argues over how he never says “I’m sorry.”
j. She argues over how he never buys her presents.
k. She argues over how lazy he is.
l. She argues over how he doesn’t spend enough time with the kids.
m. She argues because he doesn’t read his Bible enough.
n. She argues over how he lets the bills pile up.
o. She argues over the mistakes he makes in the checkbook.
p. She argues over all the broken things around the house he never fixes.
q. She argues that he spends too much time outside the home… with his golf club and baseball league… and hunting buddies. (He may not even like golfing or hunting!)
r. She is constantly correcting him… pointing out his faults… reminding him of his failures… shortcomings… sins…
s. She argues over her husband’s personality, his attitude, his sloppiness, his language, his lousy driving… and the list goes on endlessly.
4. This is the brawling woman.
a. She is a fighter. She complains bickers, argues, and is full of contention.
b. Anything and everything that is not up to her standards is a cause for another fight… more nagging… more complaining, until she gets her own way.
c. Brawling is her nature. She is contentious by nature.
d. Some people actually ENJOY fighting… they enjoy making life miserable for others. It is a sadistic kind of joy.
e. The brawling woman is not a happy person, so the only outlet she knows is to make those around her unhappy too. Misery loves company.
f. If her husband isn’t presently doing anything she can complain about, she will dig up OLD sins out of the closet, and beat up on him for that.
g. She LOOKS for things to fight over… silly, unimportant things that a sensible woman would ignore. She makes mountains out of molehills.
h. Solomon was a keen observer of human nature.
• Evidently he saw many examples of brawling women, and decided to write a proverb about it.
• And when you consider Solomon’s home life, he may well be the world’s premier expert on the subject: he had 700 wives and 300 concubines!
» Without question, some of those wives were contentious.
» In fact, that polygamous household BREEDS contention. It was never God’s original plan.
» Thus, Solomon lived in an incubator of contentious women.
» That polygamous environment BRED contention. Read in the Old Testament about all the family squabbles and contentions among wives in those situations. (Sarah & Hagar; Hannah and Peninnah; etc.)
» Imagine trying to keep 900 women happy? Well, it is probably impossible… and that is because it was never God’s plan.
» Solomon wrote about something with which he was personally familiar.
• In fact he wrote at least five proverbs about contentious wives!
• This issue is nothing new. It existed in Solomon’s day, and it exists in our day too.
• It has existed ever since SIN entered into the Garden of Eden and ruined the perfection of the original world and the original husband-wife relationship created by God.
• Sin ruins everything… including marriages and home life.
• Sin will ruin your marriage and mine too if we let it.
5. Two other proverbs speak of the CONTINUAL nature of the contentions of a brawling woman.
a. Prov. 27:15 – A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.
• When it rained, the rain would saturate the flat, sod roof.
• Thus, during heavy rain, the roof would leak. Drip, drip, drip!
• And because the roofs were often sod, long after the storm was over, and the clouds were gone, the saturated roof would CONTINUE to leak… drip, drip, drip!
• A contentious wife was like that roof. She nags and nags. And even after the fight is over… she keeps on bringing it up again… drip, drip, drip!
b. Prov. 19:13 – the contentions of a wife are a continual dripping.
c. The point of these proverbs is the relentless nature of her nagging and contentions. They are endless.
d. They drive her husband away. They live in a beautiful, comfortable, wide house with lots of space and amenities, but he wants OUT.
e. But she follows him all around the wide house—arguing and nit picking and complaining and everything under the sun.
f. The wide house doesn’t provide him with what he really needs: a place to get away from her!
6. In this proverb, Solomon lets us know that there IS such a thing as a contentious, brawling woman.
a. The proverb serves as a warning to women: don’t BE one!
b. The proverb serves as a warning to men: don’t MARRY one!
9a It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop
1. The scene Solomon paints is one of a contentious woman, through continually nagging and fighting, drives her husband away.
a. Solomon is not endorsing divorce or separation in this passage.
b. He is simply stating it as it is, not the way it SHOULD be… not the way God WANTS it to be… not the way it OUGHT to be, but the way it is.
c. Nagging wives drive their husbands away.
d. They can’t take it anymore, and end up seeking some other place to live.
2. In this case, the husband moves up on the roof!
a. This might sound odd, except for the fact that the roves of those homes were usually flat.
b. On the flat roof there was often an extra room and/or a patio, where you could sit on a warm night to feel the breeze.
c. The contrast in the proverb is between the WIDE house, and the small space up on the roof.
• The term “wide” is variously translated as “wide” or “shared” or “association.”
• It may simply refer to a house that is “shared”… implying more space perhaps.
d. The husband of the nagging wife would rather live up there on the roof, than have to contend with his wife in his wide, comfortable, shared living spacious home below.
e. Having a nice, comfortable home is not very comfortable if you are arguing and fighting all the time.
f. This man decided to build himself a room on the roof rather than stay in the house and argue all the time.
3. To the man who is sick and tired of fighting, this is BETTER.
a. It is preferable than the alternative.
b. At least up there on the roof he can have a little peace of mind… a respite… a retreat away from the constant bickering.
c. Rather, he is warning wives what NOT to do… by showing them the results of such behavior.
d. If you want to keep your husband and not drive him away, then don’t BE a contentious wife… don’t be a brawling woman.
e. NOT fighting is better than fighting.
4. Prov. 21:19 – It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.
a. This seems more serious.
b. In vs. 9, the husband of a contentious wife moves up on the roof.
c. In vs. 19, the husband doesn’t even want to be anywhere NEAR her. He flees for the wilderness.
d. He prefers to live with the wild beasts than a contentious wife.
e. It is the same situation that drove this man away. It simply drove him FURTHER away.
f. Perhaps this man isn’t coming back.
g. One proverb may be speaking about a miserable marriage that is just barely endured… they remain married, but separate.
h. The other proverb speaks of a miserable marriage that ends… perhaps in divorce… or desertion.
5. Solomon also wrote a couple of other proverbs that consider the question of HOW to deal with contention.
a. Prov. 26:20 – Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. (same word as brawling)
• When there is constant fighting, one sure way to END the fighting is put an end to the FUEL.
• If you stop throwing wood into the fire, the fire will die out… eventually.
• If you refuse to add FUEL to an argument, it too will eventually die out.
• Even a contentious wife will grow tired of fighting with a husband who refuses to fight back.
b. Prov. 18:18 – The LOT causes the contention (same word) to cease.
• Another suggestion that Solomon offers to constant fighting (especially over silly things) is to cast a lot… or flip a coin.
• It is not the BEST way to settle arguments, but it is better than an unending fight where neither side gives in.
• When both sides are unbendable, inflexible, stubborn, and unwilling to make any compromises, then flipping a coin isn’t such a bad idea.
• If you want to buy a Ford and your wife insists on a Chevy, then flip a coin. End of argument!
• You’d be surprised how well that can work… and how quickly the argument can end.
c. Of course under GRACE, we have a much better method of dealing with contention in the home. (Phil. 2:1-5)
• We are to esteem others BETTER than ourselves.
• We are to demonstrate the LOVE of Christ.
• We are to manifest the MIND of Christ… who was willing to sacrifice SELF for the good of others.
• We are to manifest the LIFE of Christ in our homes.
• When that is the case, it’s mighty hard to keep a fight going.
d. Life can be MISERABLE with a brawling wife.
• Men, be thankful for the wife God gave you!
• Be appreciative of a godly Christian wife who makes home a place you WANT to be…
Proverbs 21:10
The Soul of the Wicked
Introduction:
1. This proverb makes a statement about wicked men. (Women and children too.)
2. Solomon tells us about the SOUL of such a person… what they are like on the INSIDE.
3. Thus, while there is no command or exhortation made, clearly the proverb sends up a red flag—a warning to us all:
a. Watch out for such people!
b. Be aware that they exist.
c. Be wise in dealing with them. They may be your neighbor!
10a The soul of the wicked desireth evil:
1. The first part of the proverb speaks of the SOUL of the wicked.
a. Consider how Strong’s defines soul: soul; self; life; creature; person; appetite; mind; living being; desire; emotion; passion; the man himself; self; person or individual; seat of the appetites; seat of emotions and passions; activity of mind.
b. In other words, it is a very broad term… that speaks of the inner life of a man… and sometimes is used of the person himself.
c. Dictionary of Biblical Languages lists 21 definitions for the term.
2. Here Solomon seems to be using the term to describe the whole inner life of this person.
a. It refers to the person himself.
b. This includes his emotions, the way he thinks, his desires, his will, etc.
3. The soul of the WICKED refers to the inner life of a wicked man.
a. This is a very common term in Proverbs. We have seen it often. (vs.7)
b. Defined: guilty; criminal; evil; unrighteous; guilty of violating a standard; transgressor.
4. The soul of the wicked refers to the inner machinations of a guilty, evil, criminal.
a. This refers to the inner life… the inner thoughts… of a criminal.
b. Many plays and novels have been written on this theme—on the criminal mind. Shakespeare wrote about it.
c. Investigators enlist the help of forensic psychologists in order to understand the criminal mind.
d. You can earn a degree in criminal profiling.
e. There is a whole field called criminal psychology… the study of the criminal mind.
• This field seeks to discover what makes serial killers tick? Is it genetic, hormonal, biological, or cultural conditioning? Do killers have control over their horrific behavior?
f. For years, psychologists have been trying to discover what makes the criminal mind tick.
g. They seek to discover the root cause in hopes of “curing” the disease of criminal behavior.
h. It is blamed on many factors: environment; poverty; unstable family life; drugs and alcohol; child abuse, etc.
5. Serial killers have devised a number of excuses for their behavior.
a. Jeffrey Dahmer said that he was born with a “part” of him missing. (birth defect)
b. Ted Bundy claimed pornography made him do it.
c. Herbert Mullin, Santa Cruz killer of thirteen, blamed the voices in his head.
d. John Wayne Gacy turned the blame around and boasted that the victims deserved to die.
e. We tend to think that such people must be insane — what normal person could slaughter another human, for the sheer pleasure of it?
• Yet some psychologists have reported that most chilling fact about serial killers is that they are rational and calculating.
• As the “British Jeffrey Dahmer” Dennis Nilsen put it, “a mind can be evil without being abnormal.”
f. I don’t find myself agreeing with serial killers, but this serial killer hit the nail on the head: a mind can be evil without being considered insane.
g. Many violent criminals know exactly what they are doing. They DELIGHT in evil.
h. Obviously, some of them are insane, but not all.
i. Others are simply evil… evil through and through.
j. Some psychologists have a hard time with this concept. They believe that men are born good or at least neutral, and that something must have “happened” to cause this evil behavior.
6. Let’s consider what Solomon has to say on this subject… under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
a. Solomon tells us that the soul of some wicked men desire evil.
b. Desire: long for; lust after; to covet; to crave.
c. This term is used in either a good or evil sense.
• Isa. 26:9 – It is used of longing after God…
• Ex. 20:17 – It is used of a sinful lusting after thy neighbor’s wife or property.
d. Prov. 21:25-26 – Lazy people DESIRE all day long because they desire things that hard working people possess.
• This is an evil desire—the result of their sin: laziness.
e. Prov. 4:14-16 – Wicked men CRAVE to commit wickedness. They can’t sleep unless they have caused some sort of mischief.
f. Ecc. 8:11 – And because they have not yet been caught, their hearts are fully set in them to do evil!
• (fully set = full; complete; wholeheartedly set).
• They are DETERMINED to do evil.
• They are not just “wishing” they could. They are determined to commit evil acts.
g. Note also that Solomon puts the blame on the man himself.
• It was the SOUL of the wicked that desires evil.
• This evil desire arises out of the man’s soul.
• It is not to be blamed on society, environment, abuse, or other factors, although they may be influencing factors.
• The evil desire arose from an evil soul… and evil mind… and evil heart.
• This harmonizes perfectly with what Jesus said in Matthew 15:19 – “For from the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnesses, blasphemies, etc.
• This is a lust (craving; desire) which conceives and brings forth fruit unto sin.
7. Perhaps Solomon wrote these words for our generation.
a. In his own day, it was common knowledge that wicked men desire evil… that men are evil… that it is human nature to be evil.
b. But that is not common knowledge today. It is disputed on many levels.
10b His neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.
1. The second part of the proverb simply reinforces the point.
a. The criminal desires evil… and even his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes. They are equal opportunity haters!
b. Because it is his nature to be evil, even his next door neighbor does not escape his evil design.
c. In other words, evil men are evil everywhere… even in their own neighborhood.
d. His own neighbor is not able to extract a little kindness from this guy.
e. He is not even able to PRETEND to be a nice guy.
f. The average sinner may commit evil from time to time. Even we do as believers.
• When a believer commits evil, he says, “What I hate, I do.”
• But the wicked DESIRES evil. He delights in it.
g. However, the average sinner does a pretty good job of covering it up. They can put on a good front before their neighbor.
h. Solomon says that some men are so wicked—rotten to the core—that they can’t even cover it up—or don’t want to cover it up, at home and in the neighborhood.
2. Thus, Solomon WARNS us about the existence of such cold hearted criminals.
a. Beware! They’re out there!
b. They may live next door to you… or down the street… or anywhere.
c. There are sex offenders out there—perhaps in your neighborhood.
• If you have young children, you should look at the sex offender register to see if any live next door to you.
d. There are violent criminals out there too… and thieves.
e. They stay up at night planning and plotting who, where, and when to strike next.
f. Thus, we should be vigilant… and even though we don’t live in the inner city, and wicked men may be less of a problem, we should not be so foolish as to think that there are none nearby.
g. This proverb is not designed to cause us to live in fear or to panic, but it is designed to warn us that we might be careful.
h. Teenagers tend to think that they are invincible and that nothing will happen to them.
• Solomon warns you otherwise. If they don’t spare their own neighbor, don’t think that they will spare you either.
Proverbs 21:11-12
Wisdom through Observation
Introduction:
1. Proverbs 21:11-12 deals with one main issue: the fact that wise men become even wiser by observing the ungodly.
2. For that reason, we are going to look at both verses here.
Wisdom Obtained by Observing the Scorner (vs.11)
11 When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.
A. When the Scorner is Punished
1. Scorner defined:
a. Strong’s: To be inflated; to scoff; to mock; arrogant boaster.
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Speak words which show no respect for the object, and make fun of the object
c. Zodhiates: To express utter contempt.
2. Solomon is describing the loud mouth… the clown… the arrogant boaster… the immature wise guy who makes fun of everything and everyone (usually behind their backs).
3. The scorner is also spoken of in Proverbs as the one who refuses to listen to counsel and advice.
a. He scorns it—ridicules it because he arrogantly thinks himself above such counsel. (Who are you to tell me what I ought to do?!)
b. Prov.13:1 – a scorner heareth not rebuke.
• The scorner may be headed in the wrong direction, and it is obvious to his acquaintances and to onlookers.
• They may offer helpful assistance and advice… even rebuke, but the scorner mocks their advice.
• He refuses counsel. He doesn’t respond well to rebuke.
c. Prov. 14:6 – Having refused counsel and rebuke for heading down the wrong pathway, but he continues to seek for wisdom… and never finds it.
• This is not a contradiction to what Solomon wrote in chapter two (those who seek wisdom shall find it.)
• It is not a contradiction because Solomon qualified his previous statement: those who seek wisdom “with their whole heart” as a man seeks after gold will find wisdom.
• However, while the scorner seeks after wisdom, he doesn’t find it, because he refuses to LISTEN to wisdom when he is confronted with it.
• Thus, he arrogantly seeks his own brand of wisdom—which is in reality folly!
• Oftentimes we seek after wisdom, but we seek after counsel that is what we want to hear, rather than what we NEED to hear.
• The scorner MOCKS Lady Wisdom when she says what he needs to hear… and he continues seeking after wisdom… and never finds it.
d. Prov.1:20-25 – Lady Wisdom cries out to this man, but he is a mocker and a scorner.
• Thus, he never listens to real wisdom.
• He is a scorner. Instead of taking the wise counsel, he makes fun of the one giving it; he ridicules the advice; he shows no respect for the one trying to help him.
• He is a scorner and a fool.
• If he later decides he needs wisdom and seeks after it, Lady Wisdom has nothing more to say to him (vs. 28-29).
4. Punished: (Prov.21:11)
a. Defined: Punish; fined; penalized.
b. There is a penalty for scorning wisdom; there is a price to pay for being a scorner.
c. Scorners are punished for their folly.
d. Prov.1:25-27 – Fear, destruction, desolation, distress and calamity are right around the corner.
e. This is the punishment for the scorner.
f. Sometimes the punishment is the result of being caught in his sin or crime and suffering under the law. (fines; jail; etc.)
g. More often his calamity is simply the result of reaping what he has sown. He is condemned to live with the mess that he has made of his life.
h. Perhaps you told him to be careful with the use of his credit cards, but he mocked you as being old fashioned and old school… and now his punishment is that he is in a huge financial pit that he dug for himself.
i. Perhaps you warned him to be careful about his big mouth in the office, and after mocking and scorning your advice, now his punishment is that he is losing his job.
j. Scorners refuse to listen and end up paying a price. They are punished.
B. The Simple is Made Wise
1. The simple: Inexperienced; (often a youth); naïve.
a. Being “simple” is not sinful. Young people are born simple… but over time learn through observation and are able to become wise.
b. The simple in Proverbs are inexperienced, but often they are spoken of as being open minded… teachable. Such is the case here.
2. Solomon’s point here is that when the arrogant scorner is punished, younger, inexperienced people OBSERVE his behavior.
a. Perhaps they observe their older brother (who is a wise guy with a big mouth) get punished for scorning his parent’s advice.
• They also observe the punishment that he gets and they learn from that.
• Thus, by observing the scorner, the simple is made wise.
• When he gets advice he TAKES it… because he is now aware of the consequences of scorning that advice.
b. A little later in life, that simple youth gets his first job, and discovers that there is a scorner at his new job too.
• The wise guy at work is constantly ridiculing his boss and scorning his instructions.
• The wise guy thinks all the rules at work are stupid and useless and that he doesn’t have to follow all those instructions.
• There are too many safety rules, too much paperwork, too many time restrictions, etc. So he mocks and scorns it all.
• The simple youth observes his scorning… and observes his punishment: the scorner eventually got fired.
• The simple youth learned from this punishment too.
• He learned by observation NOT to scorn… not to complain and mock or ridicule all the requirements at his new job.
• As a result, he got promoted… while the scorner was fired.
c. Vs.11b – “When the wise is instructed, he RECEIVETH knowledge.”
• The simple, inexperienced youth learned wisdom through observing the scorners and the consequences of their scorning, and also by receiving knowledge.
• The scorner wouldn’t receive the knowledge, instruction, or advice. He thought he was above it. He thought all those instructions were silly.
• But the REAL sign of wisdom is when a person is willing to RECEIVE knowledge… without scorning… without ridiculing… without mocking.
3. Prov. 19:25 – Smite a scorner and the simple will BEWARE.
a. Simple men with open minds observe human behavior and the various consequences of human behavior.
b. And they LEARN from it. They are aware of consequences… and take heed personally so as not to be “smitten” like the scorner.
c. There are different ways to learn.
• The way of wisdom is to learn by teaching.
• The way of the simple is to observe and learn through fear.
» It is not shame to learn from fear. Fear is a legitimate emotion… for our good.
» Psa. 119:119-120 – The psalmist observed God’s judgment on the wicked and learned fear. That fear was good for him.
• The way of the foolish scorner is arrogantly scorn and do it YOUR way… and end up getting punished… learning the hard way—if at all!
d. The simple learn by observing the anguish of punishment, but the wise learn by teaching.
• They both learn… but learning by taking heed to teaching is preferable.
• And they are both preferable to learning by experiencing the anguish of punishment!
Wisdom Obtained by Observing the Wicked (vs.12)
12 The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness>
1. This proverb teaches a similar lesson.
a. Vs. 11 spoke of the simple man observing the scorner and learning from his punishment.
b. Vs. 12 speaks of the righteous man observing the wicked and learning from the consequences of his wickedness.
• Righteous: some translators and commentators understand this “righteous” one (man is italicized) to refer to God; others to a righteous man.
• It makes sense either way, but seems best to stick with the KJV and consider this a reference to a righteous man.
• This fits perfectly with the thought in vs.11…
• The verb “overthroweth” has no subject.
» The KJV inserts “but God” as the subject of the verb “overthroweth”. (note italics)
» That is possible.
» Others have understood it to refer to the righteous to refer to God OR to a righteous man who observes his house (such as a judge; magistrate; policeman).
» Because the original requires something to be inserted after righteous and before the verb, filling in those blanks becomes a matter of interpretation.
» The terms inserted by the KJV make perfect sense here… and fit well with the subject of vs.11.
c. The righteous man observes the house of the wicked in the same way that the simple but wise man in vs.10 observes the scorner and learns from what he sees.
2. The righteous man “wisely considers the house” of the wicked.
a. Consider: To be prudent and to act with insight; to ponder and then to act prudently; to pay attention to something and respond properly.
b. Solomon was a righteous man who wisely considered the house of the wicked.
c. He is challenging us to do the same… so that we might LEARN by observing the consequences of their wickedness… AND to respond properly.
3. What will he SEE when he observes the house of the wicked?
a. The prosperity of the wicked (Ps. 73:3)
• A righteous man will observe the house of the wicked and will not envy—even when he sees their prosperity.
• A righteous man will WISELY consider what he sees.
• His wisdom will look beyond the luxury of the here and now and will see the future of such a man. (Ps. 73:18-19)
• The righteous man will see that one day his house will be overthrown by the Lord… though he seems to do so well today.
• The righteous man will wisely consider the house of the wicked and see the shallowness of the outward pomp.
• He will look at his house and his lifestyle from eternity’s perspective. That sheds a whole new light on the subject.
• From heaven’s vantage point, the righteous man will not see the wealth and earthly prosperity, but he will see the eternal value of what he has: that which will one day be overthrown by God.
• The wicked often seem to live the good life in the here and now, but eventually, they will be overthrown. (Ps. 73:4-5)
• Ps. 37:35–38 – Sometimes it takes years of observation before the lesson is truly driven home.
b. A house full of calamity.
• Sometimes the wicked seem to be living the good life in this world… but that is not always the case.
• More often than not the wicked lead miserable lives in the here and now.
• Because of their wicked ways, they make many enemies… who cause much trouble for them.
• Because of their wicked ways, they often do much damage to their own bodies… and have to live with the consequences.
• Because of their wicked ways, they are often brought to justice in this life and end up in prison.
• Or because of their wicked ways, they leave a trail of misery, trouble, and destruction behind them wherever they go… and there are countless consequences of their wickedness in THIS life.
4. The righteous man will WISELY consider the ways of the wicked… and LEARN from his evil ways… and learn from the awful results of such a lifestyle.
a. Prov. 4:14-15 – The righteous observer will learn to AVOID those wicked ways.
Proverbs 21:13
The Cry of the Poor
13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
Introduction:
1. The book of proverbs is designed to give wisdom and discretion to young men (and young women).
2. One of the major ways in which Solomon teaches wisdom is by pointing out the consequences of our actions, as he does here.
3. It is the old “you reap what you sow” theme that has appeared in many different settings in this book.
4. Here Solomon speaks about the consequences of being a heartless, stingy scrooge… a selfish miser who ignores the plight of others.
5. This proverb doesn’t tell us to DO anything… it simply sets forth the consequences of actions.
6. The application is not stated because it is obvious: don’t do it! Don’t be like the man in this proverb!
13a Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor…
A. The Cry of the Poor
1. Cry:
a. Outcry; cry of distress; crying out for aid or help; a cry of distress because of war; destruction; pestilence; or poverty.
b. Theological Workbook of the Old Testament: A cry from a disturbed heart, in need of some kind of help.
c. It is a cry for help, but it is also an expression of need.
2. Poor: Lowly; poor; weak; needy; oppressed.
a. Solomon is speaking of a poor man who is suffering great need.
b. This poor man not only has a need, but he is crying out loud for help.
c. Perhaps he is hungry and cold. Perhaps he has no food for his children…
d. Perhaps he has been injured and is unable to work—in the days before workman’s comp. and unemployment checks.
e. Note carefully that Solomon’s description of this man is that he is poor.
• He is not described as being lazy. I think it is assumed that poverty is his real problem—not laziness.
• He is not described as being an alcoholic. There is no hint here that the reason for his poverty is a drug or alcohol addiction.
• II Thess. 3:10 – That is a whole different picture. For those folks Paul gives us some good advice: “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.”
• Prov. 21:25 – The desire of the slothful kills them. There are consequences for such behavior.
• Prov. 23:21 – The drunkard and the glutton SHALL come to poverty. That is God’s plan for such behavior.
• Prov. 21:12 – Consider what we just saw in the previous verse in Proverbs: There are serious built in consequences to wicked (lazy) behavior, and the righteous would do well to observe and take note!
f. As Christians, we should be discerning in giving to those in need.
• Not all those who are suffering from poverty SHOULD be helped.
• Some will only learn by experiencing the painful consequences to their behavior.
• However, we can’t always KNOW the real reason for a man’s poverty… although sometimes it’s obvious.
g. The kind of person Solomon is describing in verse 13 appears to be a man who is simply “poor.”
• No reason for his poverty is given.
• However, in light of what Solomon says elsewhere in the book about laziness and reaping what we sow, it can be assumed that this man is poor… and it is not his fault.
• Honest, hard working, diligent men CAN become poor!
3. We should not automatically assume that a man is poor because of his sin.
a. It is true that the book of Proverbs lists a whole host of SINS that result in poverty. We are warned against becoming poor by engaging in those sins.
b. But that does not mean that ALL poor people are therefore engaged in those sins.
c. We should be careful about that kind of attitude, because in this economy, any one of us could end up poor!
d. Prov. 19:1 – The poor can be godly and upright: Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
e. Prov. 28:11 – The poor can be wise: The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.
f. Jas. 2:5 – The poor can be rich in faith: Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love Him?
g. Mark 12:42 – The poor can be generous in giving: The widow who gave her last mite.
4. Thus, some poor men may CRY OUT in their poverty, crying out for help… for compassion…
a. This seems to be what Solomon had in mind in this proverb.
b. Solomon pictures a man in genuine need. He is poor, and perhaps hungry and cold.
c. He is crying out for help.
B. Whoso Stoppeth His Ears At the Cry of the Poor
1. Stopping one’s ears.
a. To not listen and respond to a visual or audible situation; to refuse to listen to…
b. It is used figuratively to mean “to ignore”…
c. Acts 7:57 – Here men stopped their ears.
• But notice that these men KNEW what Steven was saying.
• They blocked their ears because they did not want to hear any more.
• This implies that they blocked their ears out of conviction.
• Steven spoke truth and they didn’t want to hear it… so they ran to SILENCE the truth by killing him.
d. Solomon is speaking of a man who HEARS the cries of the poor, but (figuratively speaking) puts his fingers in his ears to prevent him from hearing any more.
• They are crying out for help… perhaps requesting food or money… and he resolves NOT to give them a hearing… he turns them away.
e. Thus, this proverb speaks about being directly confronted by poverty… face to face… and hearing the cry… the appeal to help them in their need.
• He is not talking about poverty in general—the problem of world poverty.
• He is speaking about a man who comes across the path of a poor man as he goes about his daily business.
• This is a situation similar to the men whose pathways intersected with a man who was beaten and robbed, in the story of the Good Samaritan.
b. Luke 10:30-34 – The Good Samaritan helped this man.
• The man was beaten and robbed. He is poor now!
• A priest saw him and stopped his eyes.
• A Levite saw him—maybe he even heard him groaning—and stopped his ears from the cry of this poor man.
• But the Samaritan looked, listened, and HELPED!
• He DID something for this poor man.
• And notice that he did not set out to cure world poverty.
• In God’s Providence, the Lord arranged circumstances such that their paths crossed that day.
• These three men heard the cries of this poor, suffering man.
• He was weak, suffering, beaten, and had no money.
• The Good Samaritan did what he could to help.
• The other two men IGNORED his plight.
f. What kind of man would stop his ears at the cry of the poor?
a. The kind of man James describes!
b. Jas. 2:15-16 – Be warmed and filled!
• Here is a man who is directly confronted with a poor man in his need.
• He has the ability to help… he hears the cry for help…
• But he does nothing other than to say, “Be ye warmed and filled.”
• This man ignored the poor man’s plight.
13b He also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
1. In the second part of this proverb, Solomon speaks about the consequences of “stopping one’s ears.”
a. There are consequences for NOT doing something in this case.
b. Here God states that there are consequences for the selfish miser who ignores the plight of others.
2. The consequence of demonstrating a lack of compassion:
a. He shall cry one day and not be heard.
b. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the man will become poor and cry out for food or clothing.
c. But it does state that he will have a NEED some day… a deep need, and will cry out for relief… but relief shall not be found.
d. In other words, you reap what you sow.
e. Matt. 7:2 – we are judged according to the standards with which we judge others.
• Those who cold heartedly judged that those in need are “on their own” will be judged by that same standard.
• He will discover the hard way that that is not the best standard for dealing with those in need!
3. Deut. 15:7-11 – the Law of Moses required Jews to help a poor brother, just as the New Testament requires us to help a poor brother. (I John 3:17-18)
a. The Jew in Solomon’s example will be judged for not helping the poor man whose cries he ignored.
b. This was done in defiance of the revealed will of God… it was contrary to the Law of Moses.
c. This was no sin of ignorance… but was calculated and deliberate. (You don’t stop your ears by accident!)
4. Of course the opposite is true too. Those who ignore the poor shall be judged; and those who DO give to the poor shall be rewarded.
a. Prov. 28:27 – He that giveth to the poor shall not lack.
b. God rewards gracious generosity with gracious generosity.
5. It is not our responsibility to resolve world hunger.
a. Both Testaments state that the poor we will always have.
b. Poverty will never be cured until the Kingdom.
c. But it IS our responsibility to help those in need whom God sovereignly brings our way… and intersects their need with our ability to help… especially the brethren.
d. Col. 3:12 – Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness…”
e. This is the robe of the new creature in Christ.
Proverbs 21:14
Gifts and Rewards Work
14a A gift in secret pacifieth anger:
A. The Terms
1. A gift:
a. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Present; i.e., an object given freely to another as a token of relationship and good will.
b. Its basic meaning is something given.
c. Various forms of this verb appear in the Old Testament some 2,000 times (give; something given).
d. Therefore, it has quite a variety of meanings depending upon the context.
e. Sometimes the term clearly means a bribe. (Ex: Prov. 15:27)
f. In Num.18:11 it is used of a gift given to God as an offering.
2. Secret:
a. Strong’s: Hidden; covered; secret place.
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: covering; veil; i.e., that which covers something to make it secret from another; concealed; not publicly known.
3. Pacify anger:
a. Pacify: Sooth; subdue; pacify; calm; appease.
b. Anger: Literally the term means “nose”; but it came to be used of anger, wrath, resentment, hot-tempered.
• It was a graphic “picture” of anger as seen in one’s flared nostrils…
• The term was used figuratively simply of anger and wrath.
14b And a reward in the bosom strong wrath.
1. Reward:
a. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: (3 usages)
• Gift; present; i.e., something given without an explicit quid pro quo, but implies a relationship of favor.
• Tribute; i.e., a gift given as a political instrument between governments (1Kings 15:19)
• Bribe; i.e., a gift given to influence an outcome or hire services, usually with a specific quid pro quo (Ex. 23:8).
b. Each definition of this term implies (to varying degrees) a gift given… that is not purely gracious.
c. The term is used most often of outright bribes.
2. A reward in the bosom
a. This is a gift placed in someone’s bosom… in the place on the body where a person would be embraced.
b. It implies a gift that someone would hold affectionately near their heart.
3. Strong wrath.
a. Strong: Of great force fortified; intense; fierce; harsh.
b. Wrath: Hot displeasure; indignation; burning anger, rage.
• This is a more intense term than anger in the first part of the proverb.
4. Notice that there is no verb in the second half of the proverb. The verb from the first half of the proverb is implied here.
a. In other words, “A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom PACIFIES strong wrath.”
b. This is a Synthetic parallelism – a poetic form in which each part of the proverb BUILDS upon or expands the thought in the previous section.
The Problem of Application
1. This proverb is a bit problematic, because the terminology Solomon uses sounds like he is talking about bribes.
a. He states that they work… they pacify anger and strong wrath.
b. If Solomon IS talking about bribes in this proverb, note that he is not endorsing them.
c. All he does is make a statement about them: They work! They pacify anger.
2. However, in light of what he wrote elsewhere, it is not possible that he is encouraging his readers to use bribes!
a. Prov. 15:27 – He that hateth gifts shall live.
b. Prov. 17:23 – A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.
c. Prov. 29:4 – The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.
d. Ecc. 7:7 – Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart.
e. Solomon had a lot to say about bribes. The use of money and gifts to purchase political favor did not begin with Chicago politics… and it won’t end there either. It has been around for many centuries.
f. Because of the many warnings AGAINST the use of bribes, it seems unlikely that Solomon would encourage their use in Chapter 21.
4. The situation Solomon has in mind here is one in which someone is facing the ANGER from another person.
a. In case you haven’t noticed, this happens a LOT—in all kinds of settings.
b. When someone is really angry at you, Solomon states that gifts work! They can appease the wrath. They can disarm the anger… and defuse a potentially nasty situation.
c. Of course, this is not the ideal way to deal with wrath.
• A gift never gets to the heart of the problem that caused the wrath in the first place.
• But for the immediate—a gift often works to sooth the wrath… to pacify the angry person.
• Perhaps after the soothing has taken place, then some profitable conversation can be had that really does get to the root of the problem.
d. That’s another issue. All Solomon says here is that gifts work. It’s hard to remain angry at someone who brought you a nice gift.
5. Solomon’s point here is that a gift given privately, pacifies anger… it sooths an angry person; it appeases their wrath.
a. Gifts were very much a part of Oriental culture.
b. Gifts came in all different sizes; they were given with various motives; they sometimes came with strings attached; some were purely gracious in nature; others were outright bribes; some meant “I’m sorry.” Others meant “I owe you for what you did for me.” Some were tit for tat. Some gifts were nothing more than a payment of a debt.
c. The reasons gifts were given varied widely: from the purely gracious to the downright crooked bribes… like Chicago politics.
d. I Chron. 18:2 – And he (David) smote Moab; and the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts. (Defeated nations don’t bring birthday gifts to the one who conquered them. These gifts were required taxes.)
3. The difference here is the PURPOSE of the gift.
a. The same terms are used to describe outright bribes (which Solomon clearly condemns) and innocent gifts given with a right spirit.
b. The terms used might be the same; the gift itself might be the same, but the purpose behind the gift could vary greatly.
c. But regardless of the purpose, gifts are effective ways of influencing people.
• Prov. 17:8 – Gifts DO influence people. They “prosper.”
• Prov. 18:16 – They can influence a person to “promote” one to a higher position. (brownie points)
• Prov. 19:6 – Everyone is a friend to one who gives gifts. (Not genuine friendship—but a gift is an effective tool nonetheless)
4. Some gifts were given out of common courtesy in Bible times.
a. I Sam. 9:7 – Considered essential on all visits of business.
b. Some gifts were given on special occasions. We give gifts on birthdays and on Christmas. The Jews gave gifts on a special day they called Purim—in the book of Esther.
c. Some gifts were given as a way to say “thank you.” (As today, we sometimes give small gifts as a thank you for hospitality extended or for some other act of kindness.)
5. But what Solomon describes in this proverb is a gift that is given to PACIFY anger.
a. Here the motive is not purely gracious.
b. This gift is given with a specific purpose in mind.
c. We have some examples of this type of gift in the Bible too.
d. Gen. 32:20 – “And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.”
• Here we have the example of Jacob pacifying the wrath of Esau.
• Esau was angry at Jacob for (in his mind) robbing him of his birthright when he was starving.
• He had a point! Jacob was kind of slippery and dishonest towards his brother.
• Now the two are about to meet after Jacob having been away for decades.
• To “appease” his wrath, Jacob sends a large and valuable gift from his herds.
• Clearly this was done to pacify Esau and soften him up a bit.
• This was not a birthday present; it wasn’t given out of pure grace.
• It was a way for Jacob to say, “I’m sorry. Please don’t hold that against me. Let’s make up and be friends.”
e. I Sam. 25:27,28, 35 – The example of Abigail pacifying the wrath of David against her husband, Nabal.
• In this account, Nabal had refused to provide any food for David and his men after they had been treated so well by them. (Flocks protected.)
• David was so angry, he determined to fight against Nabal and kill him and his men.
• Abigail hearing of this, decided to PACIFY David’s anger by bringing him a gift—a large and generous supply of food for him and his hungry men.
• It worked. In fact, it worked so well, David ended up taking her as his wife—after Nabal died.
6. This is the sort of gift that Solomon describes in Prov. 21:14.
a. It is a gift that is given with the intention of INFLUENCING a person. Though it is not a gift given out of pure grace, it is also not a bribe.
b. You are not trying to influence them to do something illegal or immoral.
c. Rather, it is a gift designed to persuade or influence them (in a good sense) to be calm… and to put away their anger… to make up and be friends again.
d. Solomon’s point is that they WORK. They DO pacify anger and strong wrath.
e. They worked for Jacob and Abigail. They have worked in countless other situations too.
f. They might work in your house too.
• Sometimes a bouquet of roses or a box of chocolates can be used to appease the anger of a wife upset with her husband… for something dumb, mean, or thoughtless that he did or said.
• Diamonds work even better, but they are very expensive!
• Sometimes a gift is a great way to say, “I’m sorry. I should not have said what I said… or did what I did. Will you forgive me?”
g. Even between friends, there might be a time when a small gift will go a long way in letting someone know that you want peace… sort of like a peace offering…
7. Of course the gift is just an immediate stop gap… a temporary solution.
a. Once the anger has been appeased… and emotions have settled down, then we should take advantage of the temporary cease fire to discuss the issue that cause the anger in the first place!
b. Getting to the heart of the problem is the real goal.
Proverbs 21:15
The Joy of Justice
15a It is joy to the just to do judgment:
1. Judgment:
a. Judgment; justice; law legal verdict; sentence in a court of law.
b. In this context, the term could have a wide range of meaning.
• Doing what is right in daily life… (treating people fairly)
• Receiving justice in a court of law…
• Justice legislated nationally… (just and fair laws)
• Equitable treatment in the workplace…
• Doing justice before God… (Walking in obedience to His righteous character.)
c. Judgment and justice are qualities that can and should be demonstrated and lived out in all settings.
2. The Just:
a. Just: A righteous man; a justified man.
b. This is an expression that speaks of those who are born again; those who have been justified by faith, like their father Abraham.
c. People were saved in the Old Testament. They were called the “just.” They were saved exactly as we are today: by grace through faith.
d. The term could also refer to a person’s character in a secular sense: a righteous, law abiding citizen who is just before the Law.
e. Thus, the term doesn’t necessarily imply salvation, but it CAN.
3. People who are just and righteous LIVE that way.
a. They DO judgment. They practice judgment.
• In their daily lives they DO what is right.
• They obey the laws of the land.
• They delight in seeing the laws of the land upheld and obeyed.
• They are dismayed to see people trampling over the rule of law in the land… and openly disobeying the laws of the land. That is disturbing to the just…
b. Those who are just also DO what is just and right according to the legal system of the land.
• They do not put themselves above the law, but abide BY the law. They DO judgment.
c. Those who are just also DO judgment in the workplace.
• They treat everyone fairly and justly.
• There are no backroom shenanigans wherein those who are on the “inside” get treated one way, and those who are on the “outside” of their little club are treated differently.
• Everyone gets a fair shake. There is no respect of persons.
d. In the spiritual realm, they obey the Law of the Lord.
• They delight in the righteousness and justice found in God’s Word.
e. Those who are just DO (practice) judgment and justice.
4. The MAIN point of this first part of the proverb is that the just LOVE doing justice!
a. It is a JOY to them.
b. Joy: A cause of happiness; delight; gladness; cheerfulness; pleasure.
c. Nobody has to FORCE them to do what is right.
d. They don’t need their arms twisted to do the right thing.
e. They practice justice because they LOVE justice.
f. Doing what is right brings joy to their hearts.
g. Psa. 112:1 – Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.” (which are righteous)
h. Rom. 7:22 – “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man.” The true believer has JOY and delight in the righteousness found in God’s Word.
i. Jesus said, “I delight to do thy will O God!”
5. Note the connection between the act and the character of the man.
a. A righteous man will practice righteousness.
b. A just man will practice justice.
c. They do so because they love it… it is a joy to them.
d. They do so because it is part of their character.
e. Justice, truth, and righteousness can all be practiced in the daytime… in the light… for all to see. There is nothing to hide.
f. But injustice and unrighteousness are very different. Unjust men have to HIDE their unjust deeds so no one will see… and so they won’t get caught.
g. Unjust men practice injustice because it is their character to do so. Just men practice righteousness… justice.
h. You can tell a lot about the character of a person by observing what they practice… how they live… what they DO.
6. Birds of a feather flock together.
a. A just man is very comfortable in the realm of justice.
• He sees injustice and wants to change it.
• Where he sees injustice that won’t change, he avoids it.
b. An unjust man is uncomfortable in the realm of justice.
• He doesn’t want to fix or change injustice; he thrives on it!
• He seeks to take advantage of it.
c. We see examples of this in the local church setting too.
• Most often unsaved people feel uncomfortable in a Bible preaching church.
• John 3:19-20 – Darkness shies away from the light.
• Teaching from a just and righteous book makes unjust and unrighteous men uncomfortable. It is painful.
• Even believers who are not walking with the Lord feel uncomfortable in a local church where righteousness is preached… and even more so if it is LIVED out.
• Those who are not practicing judgment (righteousness; justice) will receive no JOY from righteous living.
• It will be convicting to them. Something to be avoided at all costs.
d. But those who DO practice judgment will want to flock together.
• They receive joy from it.
• It is not a burden for them, but a delight.
• They are not uncomfortable around others who practice judgment. They enjoy their company.
• It is a JOY to the just to do judgment.
15b But destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
1. In the second part of this antithetical proverb, Solomon speaks about those who are NOT just and who do NOT do righteousness.
a. Those who WORK (practice) iniquity are contrasted to those who DO judgment (justice; righteousness).
b. Thus, Solomon divides men up into two distinct groups: those who practice justice and those who practice iniquity.
2. Iniquity: Trouble; sorrow; evil; mischief; calamity.
a. This term is quite broad in its meaning.
• Evil comes in innumerable sizes, shapes, and forms.
b. Of course ALL men are sinners. All men commit iniquity.
c. But once again, Solomon is speaking “character” here.
• Some men’s lives are characterized by working iniquity.
• The lives of all unsaved men are characterized by iniquity.
• But those who are born again CANNOT (habitually practice) commit sin. (I John 3:9)
3. Those who work iniquity are contrasted with those who do judgment in another sense too: in the consequences of their character.
a. Those who practice justice have JOY.
b. Those who practice iniquity have DESTRUCTION.
c. The contrast between their characters couldn’t be clearer. (righteous; iniquitous)
d. The contrast between the consequences of their lifestyles couldn’t be clearer as well. (joy or destruction)
4. Destruction defined and described.
a. Defined: To be broken; destruction; undoing; hardship; ruin; terror.
b. Prov. 21:12 – God overthrows the wicked.
c. Thus, wicked men do NOT like to see justice and judgment in the land… for it means their soon destruction.
d. Justice is their undoing.
e. Prov. 21:10 – The workers of iniquity get no joy from justice. They get their joy from evil things. (They desire it; it is the desire of their heart.)
f. Prov. 15:21 – “Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.”
g. But the pleasures of sin don’t last very long. They get old in a hurry. (There is pleasure in sin “for a season.”)
h. There is JOY in doing what is right. There is nothing but MISERY and destruction in doing that which is unrighteous.
• The workers of iniquity discover that while sin promises pleasure, its pleasures are very short lived.
• Eve was tempted with the pleasurable aspects of the forbidden fruit. But in the end it meant destruction… and misery… and sorrow… grief beyond measure.
• Titus 3:3 – those who live for the pleasures of this world discover that it is deceptive… and it results in being a servant (slave) to lusts… a miserable lifestyle.
• It promises pleasure, but results in slavery… and destruction.
i. The workers of iniquity also discover that instead of experiencing joy from doing what is right, they have to deal with guilt, shame, discouragement, defeat, and much regret.
j. A life of iniquity means destruction of one’s life… slavery…
5. Matt. 7:23 – And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
a. Ultimately, the workers of iniquity will face eternal destruction in the Lake of Fire.
b. That’s probably not what Solomon had in mind in his proverb.
c. The proverbs seem to look at life in THIS world primarily… and the wisdom needed for living on earth.
d. But some of the principles are certainly applicable in the eternal realm as well.
6. Thankfully, VICTORY is provided through faith in Christ Jesus.
a. Rom. 5:1 – Being JUSTIFIED (made righteous) by faith, we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
b. By simple faith, God regenerates a man and changes him from a slave to sin and lust to freedom in Christ.
c. By simple faith, the worker of iniquity is transformed into a righteous man… a just man…
d. And as such, he is then equipped to live a righteous life… DOING what is right before God… walking in the straight and narrow way.
e. He will then discover that it is joy to the just to do judgment.
Proverbs 21:16
Wandering Out of the Way
16a The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding
Wandering out of the way of understanding…
1. The way of understanding
a. This expression is translated variously:
• The way of wisdom
• The way of good sense
• The path of understanding
b. Understanding: To have insight; wisdom; gain understanding; be prudent; be skilled; i.e., have a capacity for understanding; the ability to discern.
c. Way: This term speaks figuratively of a way of life… a pathway in life… a manner or habit of life…
d. The way of understanding is a pathway of life, or a manner of life that is characterized by wisdom and discernment.
e. Prov. 1:3 –Instruction of wisdom (Same word as understanding.)
• The proverbs were written so young men might receive the instruction of wisdom (understanding)
• In a sense, the purpose of the book of Proverbs is that young men might learn walk in the way of understanding… that the young and inexperienced might make the way of wisdom a habit of life.
• It is also valuable for those of us who are NOT young to be reminded about the importance of walking on the pathway of wisdom, discernment, and prudence.
• That’s good for everybody!
2. Wander:
a. To err; wander aimlessly; go astray; stagger.
b. To be deceived.
c. The term is used of a literally wandering…
• Job 12:25 – To stagger like a drunken man.
• Ex. 23:4 – Wandering like an ox or a donkey.
d. Most often it is used in a figurative sense of wandering off morally or spiritually.
• Prov. 7:25 – Wandering in the way of the strange woman. (This would be a wandering in the moral sense.)
• Isa. 28:7 – Strong drink causes men to wander out of the way (morally).
• Ps. 95:10 – Israel erred (wandered) in heart. This would be a combination of moral and spiritual wandering.
• Ps. 119:110 – Erring from God’s precepts.
» When one begins to wander in heart away from the Lord, there is a corresponding wandering away from His Word.
» One wanders away from reading it… then it degenerates into wandering away from where it is taught or preached…
» Ultimately, a wanderer in heart will attempt to block it out of his mind.
» And it is possible to do all this inward wandering, and still appear to be a faithful servant of the Lord in the local church.
» As believers, we know how to cover it up… how to hide the fact that we are wandering on the inside.
• When we have erred from God’s precepts, and have erred in our hearts, we leave ourselves wide open for MORE wandering… deception… seduction… led astray.
» Prov. 12:26 – Wicked men attempt to seduce others (cause them to wander; deceive).
» II Kings 21:9 – Manasseh caused Israel to wander
» Jer. 50:6 – Their shepherds led them astray (deceived them).
• Ps. 119:176 – To wander like a lost sheep.
» When we have wandered in heart and have wandered away from the Word… it will eventually manifest itself in our outward behavior.
» Isa. 53:6 – All we like sheep have gone astray.
» This is our nature. We have ALL wandered away.
• Ezek. 14:11 – Going astray from God.
» This is the real danger. Any deviation out of the straight and narrow path takes us AWAY from God.
» When we wander away from God, we are always headed in the wrong direction. (Idols here – perhaps the world in our lives… or materialism… or some other idol…)
» That’s why we need a Savior…
→ To initially save the unbeliever from the condemnation of sin.
→ Then as believers, we need the Savior to continue to save us from the power of sin in our daily lives.
→ He is our Good Shepherd… and the Good Shepherd seeks to keep us from wandering outside the fold…
3. Here Solomon acknowledges that it is possible for a young person who was at one time IN the way of understanding (for various reasons) to wander OUT of the way.
a. It is possible for those who seem to be heading in the right direction to be led astray.
b. They can be given false information and be led into error.
c. They can be tempted and seduced and thus, led off course.
d. Or, through neglect, they can just begin to wander aimlessly… and head out of the way of understanding.
e. Wandering is part of our nature.
f. If we are not diligently running the race, keeping our eyes on the Lord Jesus… and our heart filled with His Word… then wandering will occur.
g. The purpose of this proverb is to WARN us about wandering… and its dangers.
4. The danger nature of wandering is that it happens so gradually.
a. It starts off with a few wandering steps… that don’t take you too far away… but headed in the wrong direction.
b. And as time goes by, you find yourself drifting farther and farther away.
c. Before you know it, you are gone… way off track.
d. And the way back may not be so easy… or even visible!
16b Shall remain in the congregation of the dead.
1. Those who wander OUT of the way of wisdom, discernment, understanding, and discretion are turning their back on wisdom.
2. This is similar to the picture Solomon painted in Prov. 1 wherein Lady Wisdom was calling out to young men, and they were headed in the opposite direction. They WOULD not listen.
a. Vs. 20 – Lady Wisdom calls out to them… to walk in HER way. (The way of wisdom and understanding.)
b. Vs. 24 – She called but they refused.
c. Vs. 29 – The reason? They hated knowledge and discretion.
d. Vs. 31 – Therefore, they shall eat the fruit of their OWN WAY. (They left the way of wisdom… and there are consequences.)
e. Vs. 32 – They TURNED AWAY from the way of wisdom. And in that turning is their DEATH. It shall slay them.
f. This is basically what Solomon means in Prov. 21:16 when he states that those who wander from the way of understanding end up in the congregation of the dead.
g. The end of that road is death. Sin leads to death ultimately. Death is the END of that road.
3. The congregation of the dead may well refer to the assembly of spirits in sheol (hades) who died without being saved and went to hell… awaiting the resurrection of their bodies, at which time they will be cast into the Lake of Fire forever… the second death.
a. Solomon may have included in this congregation those who are still alive physically, but are spiritually dead… and are walking on the broad road that leads to eternal destruction.
b. The fool who wanders OUT OF the way of life and righteousness and wisdom… has only one other road to follow: he ends up with this crowd…
c. And the broad road is crowded with those who are spiritually dead… and being deceived and led down the wrong pathway in life… the end of which is spiritual condemnation.
4. However, the proverb serves as a warning about the CONSEQUENCES of wandering out of the straight and narrow way… the way of understanding.
a. There are earthly consequences too.
b. When you depart from the way of life, you leave the company of those who are alive (unto God) and end up in the company of and fellowship with the dead (those who are dead to God and spiritual things).
c. That fellowship can have a numbing effect spiritually.
5. Of course the good news is that there is always a way back for those who wander.
a. Gen. – Abraham wandered down into Egypt for a while.
b. What seemed to be a gain was actually a loss spiritually. (Cattle caused division with Lot; Hagar; etc.)
c. But there was a way back for this wanderer… and that way back began by coming back to the altar… at the very place he left… to start over again…
Proverbs 21:17
The Road to Poverty
Introduction:
1. This proverb is a synonymous parallelism. Both sections of the proverb say basically the same thing. It is reworded to drive home the point.
2. This proverb warns that the love of pleasure and luxuries is a sure road to the poor house.
Things That Result in Poverty
1. Prov. 6:9-11 – laziness.
a. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? 10Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: 11So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth
2. Prov. 11:24 – stinginess; hoarding
a. There is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
3. Prov. 14:23 – Talking, when you should be working.
a. In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.
4. Prov. 21:5 – Being “hasty” to get things done; cutting corners; doing things the quick, cheap, and easy way.
a. The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want
5. Prov. 23:21 – being a drunkard or a glutton
a. For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty.
6. Prov. 28:19 – following vain persons
a. He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.
7. Prov. 21:17 – Two more reasons for poverty are given:
a. A love for pleasure and a love for luxuries.
b. Hedonism and Epicureanism.
17a He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: (The Hedonist)
1. Pleasure: Joy, mirth, gladness; a state of happiness, with a focus on sensory input to the body which gives entertainment to the senses.
a. The term is quite the same as our English word for pleasure.
b. In some contexts it can have a positive connotation, (mothers get great pleasure from their kids) and in other contexts a negative connotation (My boss seems to get pleasure out of seeing people suffer.)
2. The positive side of pleasure.
a. God does not expect us to live the life without any pleasure. That is wrong concept of holiness.
b. Godliness is not the same as being a Stoic.
• The term Stoic originally referred to a member of an ancient Greek school of philosophy that asserted that happiness can only be achieved by accepting life’s ups and downs as the products of unalterable destiny. The school was founded around 308 B.C. by Zeno.
• A Stoic came to mean somebody who is unemotional, especially somebody who shows patience and endurance during adversity.
• This is not part of the Christian world view.
c. God is not opposed to pleasure.
• II Tim. 6:17 – God has richly given us all things to enjoy.
• Ps. 104:27 – These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. 28That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.”
• Ecc. 5:18-19 – God gives us the fruit of our labors to enjoy.
• There is a need for pleasure, and there is a place in life for pleasure.
• We need a day off during the week. We need to get away on a vacation every once in a while.
• God made parts of ordinary life pleasurable: food; relaxation; the physical relationship; hobbies; sports; entertainment.
• There is a need for pleasure in all of our lives.
• It is good for body, soul, and spirit.
• Pleasure is good in its place.
3. The negative side of pleasure.
a. But in this proverb, Solomon isn’t speaking about the positive, healthy side of pleasure.
b. Solomon is writing about the spiritually unhealthy side of pleasure.
c. Like so many things in life, a good thing can be taken too far.
d. Solomon is not speaking about a man who experiences pleasure from time to time, when appropriate.
e. Solomon is speaking about a hedonist: one who lives for pleasure. One who loves pleasure.
f. Pleasure is his goal in life… “Life’s a beach” is his motto.
4. Loving pleasure.
a. Pleasure is not a bad thing.
b. However, the LOVE of pleasure is.
c. Money is not a bad thing either, but the LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
5. Love: To have affection for; to be attracted to; to have a desire for; to have a preference for one thing over another…
a. Pleasure is fine in its place. But it ought NOT to have the place of preeminence in our lives.
b. Pleasure is fine in its place, but we should not LOVE it… in the sense of being dedicated to seeking it.
c. Col. 3:1-3 – Our affections are to be set on things above, not on the things of earth.
d. The things of earth may be USED by God’s people, but they ought not to be ABUSED.
e. I John 2:15 – We are not to LOVE the world or the things of the world. We are to love God with ALL of our heart.
f. II Tim.3:4 – Love can mean to have a preference for one thing over another. Paul writes of those who are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.
g. Pleasure is fine in its place, but it CAN (if we allow it) take the place of a god in our lives. It can have the preeminence, which belongs to Christ alone.
h. That’s where pleasure becomes sinful. It’s not a line we can accurately draw for others, but it is a line we can accurately draw for ourselves… because of the indwelling Holy Spirit. He lets us know when enough is enough.
6. Solomon himself knew something about the dark side of seeking for pleasure.
a. Solomon dedicated a portion of his life to seeking pleasure.
b. He did so as a philosophical experiment, to see if pleasure was really worth it… if it was all it was cracked up to be… what it produced… if it was in fact worth pursuing.
c. And as an extremely wealthy king, he was ABLE to carry this experiment out to the fullest.
d. Ecc. 2:1-2 – Solomon put “living for pleasure” to the test and concluded that a life dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure is vanity and madness!
• Vanity: Meaninglessness emptiness; futility; uselessness.
• Mad: Insanity
• It is an empty, worthless pursuit.
• It doesn’t satisfy the soul.
• It doesn’t accomplish anything of lasting value. (What doeth it?)
• It can be a colossal waste of time and money.
e. It seems that half the world is engaged in that same experiment… seeking to satisfy the soul with pleasure, only to discover as Solomon did, that all is vanity!
f. There really is no need to keep on repeating that test. The test has already been made, and the conclusion has already been arrived at.
g. We would do well to BELIEVE God’s Word on this point, rather than waste a portion of our lives on the same empty pursuit.
7. In Prov.21:17, Solomon concludes that the man who pursues pleasure will end up POOR.
a. The end of that road is poverty… the poor house.
b. The lusts of sensuality are extremely expensive… for they are never satisfied, but constantly require more and more… bigger and better…
c. One commentator named Wilmington reworded the thrust of this proverb in a cute little rhyme: “Love pleasure, lose your treasure.”
d. The prodigal son learned this lesson the hard way. He didn’t want to work on his father’s farm. He wanted his inheritance NOW so that he could seek out pleasure. He wasted his substance with riotous living and ended up poor: eating with the swine!
17b He that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich. (The Epicurean)
1. Here Solomon speaks about the man who loves wine and oil.
a. These represent luxury items.
b. They were good in their place, but they were not to be LOVED.
c. Pursuing a life of luxury often leads to the opposite: poverty!
2. Solomon is describing an epicurean in this part of the proverb.
a. An epicurean one who is devoted to sensual pleasures and luxury, especially good food.
b. He wants the best food always… and it is but one outward trait of an inner desire for pleasure… to experience the best.
3. The man or woman who always has to have the best often ends up POOR… because he or she cannot always AFFORD the best.
a. He wants to go to the best restaurants (even if he cannot afford it).
b. He has to drive a big, expensive car… and live in an oversized house… and wear the most expensive clothes.
c. This is a person with very expensive taste.
d. That kind of person often ends up poor.
e. He is constantly splurging on himself… spending more than he makes… and before you know it, he’s in debt up to his ears.
f. Expensive, luxury items are ok if you can afford them.
g. But Solomon observed people buying BEYOND their means and noted that their love for luxury was leading them to the poor house!
h. This was a needful warning in his day; but it is a pretty good warning for Americans in the 21st century too.
i. Credit cards make living beyond our means so easy… but it is deadly. It will put you in the poor house.
j. And how timely a reminder… especially as our country and world experience a terrible economic downturn.
4. Hedonism (love of pleasure) and Epicureanism (love of luxuries) ought to be replaced with a love for the Lord and learning to be CONTENT in whatever state we find ourselves. (Phil.4:11)
a. Those who indulge in carnal pleasures will not become rich in this life; but also they are usually not too rich in spiritual things either.
Proverbs 21:18
Ransom for the Righteous
18 The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.
The Meaning of the Proverb
1. This proverb is not saying that wicked men shall REDEEM the righteous.
a. This concept of the ransom in this passage is not soteriological: it has nothing to do with atonement for sin or salvation.
• This proverb has it backwards with respect to a ransom for sin.
• A ransom for sin involved an innocent victim offered instead of the guilty party.
• Christ, the sinless Lamb of God was a ransom for our sins… we who are guilty sinners.
b. According to man’s justice the guilty are punished and pay a price for the sake of the righteous… that the righteous may be delivered.
• When a lawless criminal breaks into the home of an innocent family and does much damage to the home, if he is caught, the “wicked pays a ransom” for the righteous.
• He may go to jail. He may have to pay restitution.
• In a court of human justice, the wicked and the transgressors are the ones who are to pay the price.
• The guilty criminal is punished, and the innocent is cleared… delivered… “ransomed” by the guilty.
c. Divine love is the opposite. The just pays the price for the unjust!
• I Pet. 3:18 – “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.”
2. But in our proverb, Solomon is not talking about love which results in a ransom price for sin, but he’s talking about justice.
a. And Solomon noted that sometimes in God’s providence, wicked men who seek to harm the righteous become themselves the victims of a strange sort of providential justice.
• Here Solomon speaks of the wicked as a ransom for righteous. (Sometimes the unjust pays a price for the just—backwards.)
• This is not a ransom for sin or salvation.
• We know it is not because God does accept the sacrifice of the wicked as a payment for sin.
• Prov. 21:27 – The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to God.
• A proper interpretation of this verse must define “ransom” as something other than a “ransom for sin.”
b. Solomon seems to be using the term “ransom” in a generic sense. Sometimes the term simply means “a price paid.”
• Sometimes the term was used for shekels paid by each male to prevent divine judgment.
• It was also used of money used to buy off enemies (to prevent them from invading).
3. The proverb states that (sometimes but not always—remember, this is a proverb) the wicked pay a price on behalf of the righteous.
a. Sometimes, transgressors end up paying a price on behalf of the upright.
b. There are times when the wicked (who often persecute the righteous) end up paying a price which “sets free” the very righteous people they have persecuted.
c. In ordinary, everyday life, the wicked often cause the righteous to suffer. That’s the way things normally happen in our sin cursed earth.
d. But here Solomon notes an exception to that rule. There are times when the wicked end up paying a price that benefits the godly and the upright.
4. Prov. 11:8 – Here Solomon speaks of times when the wicked plan evil devices to trap the righteous… but the evil are taken in their own traps.
a. Thus, the wicked became their ransom, in the sense that they have become the ransom or substitute for the righteous.
b. The trap was planned by the wicked to cause havoc for the righteous.
c. Maybe you have experienced this.
• Perhaps some hateful person you know planned an elaborate (or maybe a simple) scheme in hopes of doing you harm.
• It could be a verbal trap;.
• It could be that they led you down a pathway they knew would do you harm.
• Or perhaps at work they plotted to make you look like a fool before the boss, and to make themselves look like a geniuses.
d. Sometimes when they plan a trap for the righteous, “The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.”
e. Sometimes the evil plans of wicked men against the righteous backfire on them.
f. The wicked end up paying a “ransom” which brings deliverance for the righteous.
5. In the end, one way or another, the wicked will pay; if not in this life, in the life to come.
a. It seems like the wicked get away with murder in this life.
b. The wicked prosper in the world and the righteous often suffer.
c. But in the end, the wicked will pay because the wages of sin is death.
d. Sooner or later this truth will catch up with the wicked, and in God’s time, the righteous will be delivered. (ransom)
e. It may be in this life, but not necessarily. It may be in the life to come… but eventually, justice will prevail.
f. However, in this proverb, Solomon seems to hint that often even in THIS LIFE, there are times when God turns the tables on wicked men… and they become a ransom for the righteous…
The Illustration of the Proverb
1. Haman was hung for (in the place of) the righteous Mordecai.
a. The book of Esther is full of intrigue.
b. In God’s providence, a Jewish woman, Esther became queen in Persia; yet her identity as a Jew was not known.
c. During those days another man rose to prominence: the wicked Haman. He hated the Jews.
d. What really caused him such hatred was the fact that Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, would not honor him and bow before him.
e. To take out his vengeance against Mordecai and his people, the Jews, Haman devised a plot to have all the Jews slaughtered throughout the entire Persian Empire.
f. To make his plot complete, Haman had gallows built on which he planned to have Mordecai hanged.
g. But his evil plot backfired. The king turned against Haman and favored Mordecai.
h. Esther 7:9-10 – In God’s providence, Haman was hung on the very gallows he had built to hang Mordecai.
i. Mordecai and the Jewish people were delivered, and the wicked Haman was hung. This was more than just poetic justice in a story line. This was real justice!
j. Prov. 11:8 – The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.
k. Or, in the words of our proverb tonight: The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.
l. The wicked transgressor Haman ended up as the ransom that delivered Mordecai, Esther, and the Jewish people.
2. Achan was stoned as a ransom for the camp of righteous Israel.
a. Here we have another historical illustration of this principle.
b. As the Jews invaded Jericho, they were specifically commanded NOT to take any booty.
c. Josh. 7:21 – But Achan violated his orders. He stole some expensive Babylonian clothing and some gold bars and hid them.
d. As a result of Achan’s sin, after defeating the larger city of Jericho, the Jews were defeated by the small city of Ai.
e. Achan’s sinful actions put the whole nation of Israel at risk of Divine wrath and judgment.
f. Josh. 7:1 – Notice that it says that “the children of Israel committed a trespass” in the accursed thing FOR Achan took of the accursed thing.
g. The sin of Achan was imputed to the whole nation. The whole nation was held accountable for his sin.
h. And if they did nothing about it, the whole nation would have been judged for his sin.
i. Sin was found in the camp… and the camp would have to pay a price.
j. Joshua 7:24-26 – Achan was judged for his sin. The wicked sinner was executed… and he became (in a sense) a ransom for the rest of the camp.
k. “The Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger.”
l. “The wicked (Achan) shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.
3. Sheba was beheaded as a ransom to deliver an innocent city.
a. In II Sam. 20, we have the account of Joab’s army chasing a man named Sheba. He was a rebel against David.
b. Now he is being hunted by David’s military leader, Joab.
c. Sheba entered the city called Abel. The city was laid siege, and all the people stood the risk of being starved to death or being killed.
d. II Sam. 20:16-22 – An old wise woman of the city called over the city wall for Joab.
• Joab explained to her that the wicked Sheba was hiding in the city… using them as human shields… hiding behind them.
• The wise old woman realized how serious Joab was. Her beloved city might be destroyed!
• Thus, she promised Joab that she would have Sheba’s head thrown over the wall… which is exactly what she did.
• As a result, Sheba paid a price (his own head) which delivered an innocent city.
e. “The wicked (Sheba) shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.”
f. His head became the ransom price for the righteous.
4. Sometimes the wicked suffer in the place of the righteous. In that sense, they are “like” a ransom for them.
Proverbs 21:20
Saving vs. Spending
20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.
Introduction:
1. This is a simple proverb, comparing the actions of the wise and the foolish.
2. In particular this proverb speaks of finances: handled wisely or foolishly.
3. It is an antithetical parallelism – contrasting two opposite views in the scope of one short proverb: saving vs. spending
4. Perhaps we should send a copy of this proverb to the chairman of the Federal Reserve, and our treasury secretary… and to congress and to the White House.
Treasure Saved
1. “Treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise.”
a. Treasure:
• Defined: Storehouses of supplies; treasure (gold, silver, etc). or supplies of food or drink.
• Solomon is obviously speaking about earthly treasures here: Supplies; money; food supplies; etc.
• And the term is used in a positive sense. Having a treasure here is spoken of as good.
• The proverbs are intended to be very practical for everyday life.
b. Oil:
• Oil here spoke of olive oil. It was a basic commodity.
• It was relatively expensive, but it was needed for cooking, anointing, cleansing, medicinal, and other uses.
• It was often used figuratively to represent expensive luxury items… riches and plenty. That seems to be case in this proverb.
c. Desired: These items were desirable.
• Desired: to desire; covet; take pleasure in; delight in.
• Solomon seems to be using this term in a positive sense too.
• He is not speaking about sinfully coveting or lusting after luxury items.
• Rather, he is speaking about the desirability of having a storehouse of goods, supplies, and money for the future.
• The point is not about hoarding selfishly, but rather planning wisely for the future.
2. The first part of the proverb speaks of the WISE man and his concept of prosperity.
a. It is the WISE man who has a storehouse of goods accumulated and saved for a rainy day in his dwelling.
b. Prov. 6:6-8 – Solomon earlier used the ant as an illustration of this same thought.
• The ant gathers food in the summer.
• Summer represents a “good economic time” when goods are easily available. It is a time of plenty.
• But summer is also a time when some like to relax and take it easy. It is so nice out… why work? Let’s go to the beach!
• But not the ant. The ant is busy when others are relaxing, gathering in her goods for the long, hard winter, when supplies are not so readily available.
• Winter represents an “economic downturn”—something that hardly needs explanation nowadays!
• The winter is harsh and cold. When that time comes, the ants need to be sure that they have enough in store to last through the winter.
• The ant here speaks of being diligent, hard working, frugal, planning ahead for the future, and one who SAVES during good times to have enough for the bad times.
• The ant is our friend… and a great example for us all.
c. The wise man’s view of prosperity is through saving.
• The wise man has a storehouse of treasure in his dwelling because he (like the ant) saved it up.
• He put some aside for a rainy day… for hard economic times.
• When Joseph was made prime minister of Egypt, this was exactly the economic advice that he gave to the Pharaoh.
» He warned the Pharaoh that there would be 7 years of prosperity followed by 7 years of famine.
» His advice was that they should store up during the good economic years in preparation for the bad times.
» That was wisdom in operation, and it saved the Egyptian Empire, perhaps from total collapse.
• The Lord Jesus also taught His disciples to be frugal.
» The Lord fed the multitudes fish and bread.
» That was surely a “good day.”
» But He told the disciples to gather up the left overs that they did not waste any.
d. The wise man’s view of prosperity is through the making of long range goals… planning ahead for the future.
• The wise man did not live lavishly for the moment.
• He had long range goals in his planning.
• Because he salted some away during good times, his dwelling place continually had a stockpile of the goods and funds he needed.
e. His view of prosperity is to portion out today’s income in order to salt some away for tomorrow.
• He was frugal today so that he will have enough for tomorrow.
• He pinched his pennies in order to make them last.
• He didn’t spend more than he made.
• He didn’t borrow more than he could pay back.
• He didn’t live above his means.
• To use today’s vernacular: he didn’t buy more house than he could afford!
• Nobody had to bail him out.
3. The end result of the WISE man’s view of prosperity: he has enough treasure and oil to get by for now and he has enough for the future.
a. The desirable items are found in his house because he was WISE.
b. There is s direct connection often in the Proverbs between wisdom and having our needs met.
c. Of course, these are proverbs and do not cover every possible scenario.
d. Remember that Solomon also wrote that time and chance happen to all men.
e. Sometimes wise planning and frugal living leave men in poverty—especially if the entire economy fails… or a new, unforeseen invention makes his business obsolete.
f. There are lots of exceptions to the truth in this proverb, but the general truth still stands: all things being equal, wise planning and frugal living results in a house full of desirable treasures.
g. Also note here the term “dwelling.”
• This term simply means abode; a personal dwelling place; a home; also used of a pasture for sheep.
• The point to note is that Solomon is not speaking about a palace where one finds great treasures.
• He seems to be speaking about the average home… (some translated it cottage).
• The kind of wise, frugal, living and planning Solomon describes here works for paupers as well as kings.
• Those who are relatively poor can be wise and plan ahead. They will normally have enough for today and tomorrow.
Treasure Spent
1. Next Solomon describes the other side of the coin: “But a foolish man spendeth it up.”
2. Note the two main contrasts here:
a. Wise man and a fool
b. Saving (treasuring up) and spending.
3. Spend: To swallow down, swallow up, eat up, devour, consume, (Jonah was swallowed up by the great fish—same word.)
a. The wise man is a saver (treasures up); the foolish man is a consumer (spender).
b. The foolish man spends money as soon as he gets it.
c. Money seems to fall through holes in his pockets.
d. When good times come economically, instead of saving for bad times which will eventually come… he decides to blow his money on having a good time.
4. But the expression “spending it up” is much deeper than a financial matter.
a. It’s not JUST that he’s not good with money.
b. The deeper issue is one of the heart.
c. It demonstrates a heart attitude of “living for today”… a “here and now” mentality.
d. It is similar to the thinking of Esau. He was hungry and wanted his porridge NOW… and didn’t care if it meant a loss in the future (he lost his birthright).
e. The fool cares only about feeding his desires NOW; he cares only about experiencing pleasure NOW.
f. Prov. 20:17 – The fool loves to SPEND.
g. It is shortsighted thinking that Solomon describes in this portion of the proverb… and it is foolish.
h. Another example is the prodigal son.
• He took his inheritance early. He wanted his goods NOW.
• And he did not use it wisely. He spent it up quickly and foolishly on riotous living.
• And then we are told that a famine struck the land (bad economic times).
• During the economic downturn, the prodigal son had nothing. His house was not full of treasures and oil. His cupboards were bare.
• He ended up eating chaff and husks with the swine… not a very flattering ending to his spending spree.
5. The obvious point of the second part of this proverb (though not stated) is that the fool loves to “spend it up” and as a result there is nothing left!
a. He ends up poor. He doesn’t have a storehouse of goods and supplies. He has nothing.
b. He loves to spend his money on pleasure. He loves to consume all his wine and oil. He’s a big spender.
c. Prov. 21:17 – “He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
d. Prov. 23:20-21 – “Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: 21For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty.”
Proverbs 21:21
Following Righteousness
21 He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.
Introduction:
1. This proverb makes some basic assumptions about the human psyche:
a. Everyone desires a good life.
b. Everyone also wants justice – to be treated fairly.
c. Everyone also seeks honor and respect from others.
2. These are some core goals that all men everywhere desire. They are universal aspirations of mankind.
a. They transcend political, financial, social, racial, and even religious boundaries.
b. Everybody aspires to living a good life, to have others treat them fairly, and to be respected.
c. From an earthly perspective, a good life might be defined as being able to raise a family, have friends, and have basic physical needs met.
d. It is possible to live a good life like that in virtually ANY political environment… any set of social conditions… and regardless of how well the stock market is doing.
e. These basic human aspirations have nothing to do with politics or finances.
3. We are not talking about a spiritual life here, but rather, Solomon is speaking about normal earthly life for the citizens of his country.
a. It is possible for these goals to be achieved in ANY country—regardless of the circumstances.
b. A country or a people would be in mighty good shape (humanly speaking) if its population believed that they had a good life (basic needs being met), if they believed that they were being treated fairly – with justice, and if they were respected (and not being trampled over).
c. Even if the economy completed tanked, and the people felt that their leaders were treating them fairly (the leaders were not living in opulence while the general population was starving), IF the people felt they were treated fairly and those in power respected them and were not taking advantage of them—that nation would handle their economic woes WELL.
d. If that was NOT the case—and the people felt they were being abused or not treated fairly, there would quite likely be an uprising… riots… mob violence.
4. As a king, and as a keen observer of human nature, Solomon KNEW the importance of these universal aspirations to the general populace.
a. If those goals are obtained, it makes for content citizens and for a peaceful country.
b. Life, righteousness, and honor for Solomon’s kingdom might be compared to seeking after “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” in America.
c. They are almost like basic human rights for every citizen.
5. In this proverb, Solomon tells us the somewhat surprising MEANS by which those goals are achieved.
Life, righteousness, and honour.
Once again we note that EVERYBODY wants these things: life, righteousness, and honor. But NOT everybody has them.
LIFE
1. Solomon is not speaking about life in the literal sense of biological life.
a. Rather, he is using the term as he often does to speak of “a life worth living”—a good life… an abundant, full life.
b. Prov. 3:18 – Solomon spoke of wisdom as a “tree of life” for those who practice wisdom. (A fruitful life.)
c. Prov. 4:13 – Instruction is spoken of as “life.”
d. Prov. 4:20-22 – Keeping and attending to the words of wisdom in the book of Proverbs would be “life” and “health” for those who find them… and keep them.
e. Prov. 8:32-35 – One who finds wisdom finds “life.”
2. The term “life.”
a. In each of the examples above, Solomon uses the word “life” to refer to a good, wholesome, healthy, fruitful, upright life worth living. (And who doesn’t want a life worth living?)
b. It means more than simply possessing biological life; it is used also of the experiencing of living life… a good, healthy, prosperous life lived to the fullest.
c. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament defined life this way: “Life is the ability to exercise all one’s vital power to the fullest.”
3. All men hope to find “life.”
a. Men who already possess biological life seek to have a fruitful, happy, prosperous, abundant, meaningful life.
b. By the good life he is not necessarily speaking of becoming rich, powerful, and famous—just having basic needs met… having friends and family…
c. This kind of life is what all men everywhere aspire to.
d. This proverb states that such a life IS obtainable!
RIGHTEOUSNESS
1. Defined: This term means righteousness, truthfulness, justice, innocent, free of charge—free of guilt.
2. People want to be TREATED righteously, fairly, justly.
a. Deut. 24:12-13 – A poor man may be forced to give his outer garment as a “pledge” or security to buy food for his family. It was an act of “righteousness” for the lender to give him his pledge back at night—for that is what kept him warm. It was his sleeping bag.
b. It would be considered cruel and unfair if the wealthy took advantage of the poor to such a degree that they took the very coat off their back and held it as collateral for a loan… and forced them to sleep out in the cold.
c. All people want justice – fairness in the way others treat them.
3. Kids want to be treated fairly by their parents. (No favorites; they want their parents to keep their word; etc.)
4. Spouses want to be treated righteously… fairly… justly. Nobody wants to be mistreated.
5. Workers also desire to be treated fairly. Who likes to see preferential treatment for unqualified workers who are related to the boss… or string pulling… or outright discrimination?
6. Nobody’s happy when the CEO’s of AIG are getting multimillion dollar bonuses for bankrupting the company and losing billions of their customers’ dollars. That’s not fair.
7. Citizens of a country want to be treated fairly too. When a citizen obeys the rules, follows the law, and sees others who do NOT getting preferential treatment, it destroys the unity and cohesiveness of that nation.
8. Everybody wants righteousness… justice… to be treated fairly.
9. Unfortunately, around the globe, not everyone IS treated fairly.
HONOR
1. Defined:
a. It sometimes means glory and splendor (used of a king or God). That does NOT seem to be the way Solomon uses it here.
b. The term also is used in the sense of honor, dignity, respect.
2. The average citizen in a country or kingdom has no delusions of grandeur… of ever becoming crowned with royal glory and splendor.
3. But the average citizen DOES expect to be treated with dignity and respect.
a. The average citizen expects to be treated as a human being, and not just a number… or a customer… or a statistic… and not just as one of the meaningless “little people” to be used and discarded at will by the aristocracy.
4. People ARE made in the image of God. There ought to be respect shown because of that—if for no other reason.
5. There is something in the human breast that longs for—almost NEEDS to be treated with honor, dignity, and respect.
6. Everybody wants it—but not everybody gets it.
7. Everybody wants a good life worth living; everybody wants to be treated fairly; everybody wants to be treated with dignity and respect.
a. This is a universal aspiration that Solomon hones in on in this passage.
b. But not everyone OBTAINS that which his heart desires.
c. There are a lot of unhappy, unfulfilled people in the world.
He that followeth after righteousness and mercy
1. Solomon not only puts his finger on the pulse of the core needs of the human psyche, but he also tells us HOW those things are obtained.
2. In the Bible, things are often NOT what they might at first appear.
a. For example: The way up is down! The way to be exalted is to abase oneself.
b. He that is first shall be last.
c. There is that scattereth yet increases.
d. It is more blessed to give than to receive.
e. God’s ways are not our ways… and this proverb is yet another example of that principle.
3. We might ASSUME that if we want life, righteousness, and honor, then we ought to seek it, demand it, fight for it, be assertive, pushy, aggressive, etc.
a. After all, that’s the American way! If you want something bad enough, do whatever you have to do to get it!
4. But Solomon says that the man who obtains life, righteousness, and honor, actually seeks something ELSE in order to obtain them.
5. Follow after righteousness.
a. This term appears twice in this proverb. It is the very same word each time.
b. Solomon now commands his readers to FOLLOW after righteousness.
c. Follow: Follow after; pursue; persecute; run after; strive after; chase after.
i. This is much more than a casual interest in something.
ii. This is an all out pursuit… an ongoing quest…
d. What does it MEAN follow after righteousness?
i. It means to seek to DO that which is righteous.
ii. It means to TREAT others fairly and justly.
iii. Micah 6:8 – O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
iv. This is one of the basics of a God honoring life.
e. In other words, if you want to be TREATED fairly, justly, and righteously by others, then make following righteousness an ongoing pursuit in your life!
f. This is basically the same principle Jesus mentioned: Do unto others (following a life of treating THEM righteously) as you would have others do unto you (treating you fairly).
g. And as a general rule (that’s what a proverb is), if you treat people fairly, they will reciprocate and treat you fairly.
h. Of course there are exceptions to this rule. There are ingrates, and evil men, and self centered men who will not respond properly.
i. But over all, if you have a reputation for treating others fairly, they will respond in treating you fairly.
j. This works at home too! It works with your spouse, your kids, and even your mother in law!
k. It works in the office too. If you follow righteousness and it characterizes your life… and if you have earned a reputation for being fair and just… for the most part, people will respond by treating you fairly.
l. So if you want people to treat you fairly and justly, don’t seek to FORCE them to do so. Don’t DEMAND it of them.
m. The right way to FIND it is to LIVE it.
n. He that follows after righteousness FINDS righteousness.
6. Follow after MERCY.
a. Following after mercy is the means by which a man will FIND life, righteousness, and honor.
b. If you want to live a good, fruitful, abundant life worth living, then don’t follow after THINGS that you might think will cause you to have a rich life.
c. Follow after MERCY.
d. MERCY: Goodness; kindness; faithfulness; loyal love; devotion.
e. To follow mercy implies a life of showing mercy to others… a lifelong pursuit of showing kindness to others… and of demonstrating loyal devotion.
f. Micah 6:8 – “What doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
g. If you walk with God (by doing justly to others and loving to show mercy to others, you WILL have a rich, meaningful, honorable life!
7. The one who diligently follows after righteousness and mercy will FIND life, righteousness, and honor.
a. He will find that which the heart of man longs after…
b. He will find that which all men aspire to find—although most men look in the wrong places… and seek after it the wrong way.
c. FIND: Discover; uncover; find; find out.
d. The proverb almost implies a sort of surprise in finding life, righteousness, and honor…
e. It sounds a bit as if the man was seeking to BE righteous and merciful to others, and lo and behold, to his amazement, he made a discovery!
f. In his pursuit of following one thing (being fair and kind to others), he actually discovered something else: a worthwhile life… the meaning of life… a rich life… and he discovered that he himself was treated fairly… and that others honored and respected him!
8. A rich, meaningful life, being treated fairly, and being honored, and respected are the things that all men WANT… but they cannot really be pursued directly.
a. You can’t FORCE people to respect you. You can’t demand it from others.
b. And a rich, meaning, fruitful life is not obtained by force either. You can’t buy it. And you can spend all your days selfishly trying to OBTAIN such a life too, but it will be elusive.
c. It is only obtained, by means of selflessly SHOWING mercy to others… and by BEING fair and just with others… and by dedicating your life to being KIND to others.
d. Then, at the end of that road, the man who followed after righteousness and mercy will look back and discover that his life really was fruitful… meaningful… and honored and respected.
e. Matt. 16:25 – Jesus applied this principle to the spiritual life: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”
Proverbs 21.22
Wisdom is Greater than Strength
22 A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.
The City of the Mighty
A. What it represents
1. The city of the mighty speaks of a strong, fortified city.
2. It would be a walled city with high walls that protect the city against invaders.
3. The walls would have high towers on them too—for watchmen to stand watch and warn the city of anything threatening that was approaching.
4. The walls might also be equipped with powerful catapults to fire rocks and other artillery against the enemy.
5. Babylon actually had a two walled system. Invaders who made it over the first wall would then be sitting ducks for those posted on the first wall. It was considered to be doubly safe.
6. The city of the mighty would also have strong fortresses (forts) built at strategic locations around the city.
7. In addition, such cities (city/states) would also have a mighty army, complete with powerful weapons, armor, chariots, spears, shields, and thousands of young, trained soldiers.
8. Thus, those who dwelt in that city (especially within the walls) felt safe and secure.
B. Its strength
1. Mighty: Strong; powerful; pertaining to physical strength.
a. Prov. 30:30 – The lion is said to be the “strongest” (mightiest).
b. Gen. 10:8, 9 – It was used of Nimrod. He was a “mighty” hunter. He was a physically powerful leader and hunter (of men?).
c. It was often used of soldiers (mighty men of war).
d. However, the term ascribes strength and might; it does not imply anything other than physical strength.
e. Nimrod was mighty, but not spiritual.
f. Lions may be the strongest, but not necessarily the wisest beast.
g. The average soldier may have been strong in battle, but not necessarily skilled in military strategy.
2. This term speaks of raw physical might, power, and strength.
a. The mighty city had stone walls; brass shields; stockpiles of ammunition; a trained army; stone fortresses; towers; etc.
b. And certainly from a human perspective, (all other things being equal), a mighty city is far better than a weak city.
c. A strong army is better than a weak army.
d. A walled city is better than an unwalled city.
e. A city protected by a fort is safer than a city without a fort.
C. Its confidence
1. Confidence: A state of trust; reliance or confidence; object of trust, what one believes in or has confidence in.
a. Ezek. 29:14-16 – Egypt had become the “confidence” of Israel. They trusted in Egypt to protect them against invaders instead of the Lord. They put their faith and trust in Egypt. It became their confidence.
b. Thus, the term is used of anything or anyone which serves as the object of trust… faith… confidence. It speaks of what man is relying upon.
2. In this proverb, Solomon speaks of the MIGHT of a city as their “confidence.”
a. In other words, the inhabitants of the city had placed their confidence and trust in their military might, the city walls, fortresses, and catapults to keep them safe.
b. Their physical might IS their confidence… the source of their security.
c. This thought is captured well in the NASV: “A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.”
d. Because of the high walls and towers, they believe that their city is impregnable.
3. Strong, fortified cities put their confidence (faith) in their strength (walls, fortresses) for their protection and safety. They TRUST in their walls and forts to keep them safe and secure.
a. And humanly speaking, this is quite sensible and logical.
The Wise Man
A. The wise man scales the city
1. Wisdom is not afraid of strength. The wise man goes for the jugular!
2. The wise man SCALES the city of the mighty.
a. He uses a clever tactic to overcome his lack of physical strength.
b. Scaling the city speaks of finding a way in. Perhaps he actually climbed the city walls at night and opened the gate, undetected.
c. Perhaps he snuck in some other way.
d. The exact tactic is not the point.
e. The point is that by employing wisdom, he overpowered the powerful!
B. The wise man casts down its strength
1. Mental strength is stronger than physical strength.
2. The weaker man who sharpens his ax can cut wood faster than a stronger man who has a dull ax… even though the force of the strong man’s blow is much greater.
3. Thus, Solomon states here that although a city might be strong and powerful, yet it CAN be cast down through something even MORE powerful: wisdom.
4. There are examples in the Bible of wisdom defeating strength.
a. David defeating Goliath.
b. Petra felt impregnable, but it is uninhabited today.
C. The wise man casts down its confidence
1. When a wise man casts down the strength of a city (knocks down its walls; invades the city; destroys its fortresses; captures its army) he has cast down its CONFIDENCE, i.e., that in which the inhabitants of the city trusted and placed their confidence in.
Wisdom is Superior to Physical Strength
A. True Wisdom
1. True wisdom is the fear of the Lord.
2. True wisdom is God-fearing, godly character.
3. True wisdom is trust and confidence in the Lord.
4. When this kind of wisdom is employed, it is greater than mere brute force. Wisdom is superior.
B. Similar Proverbs in English
1. We have a similar proverb: “The pen is mightier than the sword.”
a. A truly wise man can win the hearts and minds of the people without a sword. He can conquer them (so to speak) by strength of reason and the logic of his arguments.
b. Good diplomacy (wise words spoken) to a mighty city (a powerful enemy) can sometimes deter a war… and prove more powerful than the military.
2. Here is another similar proverb: “Right is better than might.”
a. A right argument (a wise argument that is upright and true) can be more powerful way of winning the hearts of men than a mighty, invading army.)
3. There is yet another proverb with similar meaning: “Brains are better than brawns.”
a. This is a point not missed through the ages.
b. There have been countless examples of it in both Biblical and secular history.
C. The Superiority of Wisdom
1. “Wisdom is better than strength.”
a. Ecc. 7:19 – Solomon’s point here is that wisdom “strengthens” a man in one sense. Not physically, but it enables him to overcome physical strength. In fact, it is 10 times better!
b. Ecc. 9:13-18 – Evidently Solomon KNEW of a particular example of this truth.
• Vs. 13 – Solomon marveled at the value of wisdom here.
• Vs. 14 – The situation: a little (weak) city besieged by a GREAT (mighty; powerful) king who built bulwarks around it. This little city didn’t stand a chance—humanly speaking.
• Vs. 15 – But this little city had something within its walls that was MORE powerful than the great king with his mighty army.
• This little city had an old, poor, wise man. This poor, wise man with his wisdom delivered the little city.
• His wisdom proved mightier than the strength of the great king and his army.
2. Prov. 24:5 – Wisdom has a strength all of its own.
a. A wise man IS strong. Maybe not physically, but what he has is more powerful than physical brute force.
b. Brains are better than brawn.
c. Brains are better than brawn, but WISDOM is better than them both.
d. It is possible to have brains, (great intellect; high IQ) but not possess true wisdom.
e. Having brains does not necessarily mean that he has the wisdom to implement his intellect in the proper manner… to use that information in a right way.
f. Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord.
g. Note that Solomon says the WISE man is strong—not necessarily the smart man.
h. Smart men CAN be foolish.
i. Smart men can be as foolish with their intellect as a mighty man is with his might.
j. “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: 24But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me…” – Jer. 9:23–24
k. As paradoxical as it may sound, the real strength of wisdom is acknowledging how WEAK we are—both physically, intellectually, and spiritually. In that is our true spiritual strength. That is TRUE wisdom. (As Paul said, “For when I am weak, then am I strong.)
3. Prov. 22:19 – God wants our trust (same word as confidence in Prov. 21:22) to be in HIM. (Not in OUR might or even OUR wisdom or intellect.)
4. In fighting spiritual battles, we should be aware that our enemy is much more powerful than we are.
a. However, we have the wisdom of God on our side.
b. We have the WORD of God on our side… but to implement the Word and experience the benefit of it, we must KNOW the word.
c. We have the Spirit of God on our side.
d. We have the armor of God on our side.
e. Wisdom teaches us to TRUST in what God has provided for us.
f. It is our wisdom NOT to rely on human strength or might, but to rely upon the Lord and HIS wisdom and strength.
g. By God’s wisdom we can experience victory over our enemies who are much more intelligent, more numerous, and more powerful than we are.
h. II Cor. 10:4 – Our weapons are not carnal, but are mighty THROUGH GOD.
i. As we walk with God, trusting in Him along the way, we can “scale the city of the mighty” and experience victory over our enemies day by day.
Proverbs 21:23
How to Stay Out of Trouble
Introduction:
1. This is a very simple proverb.
2. There is nothing ambiguous about it—as is the case in many of the other proverbs.
3. Basically it means, keep your mouth shut and you will stay out of trouble!
4. The problem is that while everybody knows that it is true, keeping our mouth shut is easier said than done.
23a Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue
Keeping one’s Mouth and Tongue
1. In this passage, the term mouth and tongue are used as synonyms and they both refer to SPEECH. That is the topic of this proverb.
2. Keep: To keep; preserve; protect; guard; watch; be careful; be secure.
a. Gen. 2:15 – This is the term used to describe the fact that Adam and Eve were to “keep” the garden. (Take care of it; protect it; care for it; watch over it.)
b. I Sam. 26:15 – The term was used of a body guard. David gave orders for soldiers to “keep” Absalom (keep him safe and secure).
c. Psa. 121:7 – The Lord preserves us from evil.
d. I Sam. 17:20 – The term is used of “keep” sheep (guarding them; protecting them.)
e. II Sam. 22:24 – David kept himself from sin and iniquity.
3. Keeping one’s mouth and tongue means to GUARD and WATCH over what a person says.
a. To be careful about what comes OUT of the mouth.
b. To watch the words that roll off our tongues.
4. As Adam and Eve kept the garden, we are to keep our mouths.
a. They lived in a perfect environment, but the plants in the garden still needed attending to.
b. Their job was to trim and prune and arrange plants to make the garden even more beautiful than it already was.
c. They were to exercise their God given talents and creativity to continually improve the conditions in the garden—for the glory of God.
d. By way of application, we are to attend to our mouths and tongues.
• We need to trim and prune our words to improve our speech. This is an ongoing project. It never ends because no one can tame the tongue.
• The Garden of Eden was created beautiful by God… but God expected Adam and Eve to be creative and improve conditions there. We may not curse or swear… but we can always make our speech more gracious. That’s a command in Eph. 4:29. (We are only to speak that which is good to the use of edifying and that ministers grace to the hearers.)
• And as a gardener has to trim and prune useless growth, our speech probably has some words, phrases, and expressions that would be better if trimmed and pruned off.
5. The term “keep” was also used of the work of a body guard – in protecting the person guarded.
a. Rom. 6:13 – Our tongues and mouths are instruments of righteousness unto God.
b. We are to “keep” them in a way similar to the way a body guard “keeps” the person he is responsible to protect.
c. We are to protect these instruments from danger… to watch over our mouths from anything harmful.
d. We are to protect our mouths from the enemy who would harm us.
e. What is harmful to our tongues and mouths? SIN!
f. Sin has a corrupting and defiling effect.
g. It ruins the instrument of righteousness and turns it into an “instrument of unrighteousness unto sin.”
h. When that is the case, our old enemy SIN has taken captive (for the moment) an instrument of God… when WE were supposed to be on duty GUARDING against that from happening.
i. You might think of guarding our mouths like a guard at the entrance to the White House. His job is to carefully watch and monitor who comes and who goes. No one goes through that gate without proper identification as one who has been approved for entrance. He is to be on constant alert that some who seeks to enter that gate have evil intentions.
j. So too with our words. We are to keep or guard our mouths for every word we say. No word is to travel through the mouth gate unless it has been approved… and its intentions are good.
6. We are to KEEP our mouths and tongues because it is commanded of us MANY times in the Scriptures.
a. Matt. 12:36 – As guardians of our mouths and speech, we will one day give an account for every idle word that proceeds out of our mouths.
b. This thought should cause us to think twice before we speak… or at least THINK before we speak!
c. Somehow, every word we speak is recorded (or remembered) by the Lord. And one day each word and its motive will be examined, evaluated, and either burnt up as worthless or rewarded.
7. The Bible tells us that the tongue no man can tame.
a. However, the way we can control the tongue is to keep our hearts with all diligence…
b. Matt. 15:18 – The things that proceed from the tongue come forth from the heart and defile a man.
c. Therefore, our responsibility is to keep (guard) our heart.
d. If the heart is kept clean and sin confessed, the mouth will take care of itself. If the fountain is clean the streams that flow from it will be clean also.
23b Keepeth his soul from troubles.
Keeping one’s Soul from Trouble
1. The soul.
a. Defined: Soul; self; life; creature; person; appetite; mind; living being; desire; emotion; passion; heart; the inner self.
b. This is a difficult term to define in both Old and New Testaments.
c. The Dictionary of Biblical Languages gives it 20 definitions… all similar, but with varying shades of difference.
d. It speaks of life… of the person himself… and often of his emotions and passions…
e. Man is tripartite and some have distinguished the three parts this way:
» Body – the world conscious part of man.
» Spirit – the God conscious part of man.
» Soul – the self conscious part of man.
f. There is overlapping however, and it is not easy to distinguish between the soul and spirit. (The Word of God is able to pierce and divide asunder the soul and spirit. That tells us how difficult it is!)
g. The soul here seems to be referring to the self conscious part of man… his inner thought life and feelings.
2. Keeping the soul.
a. Keeping here is the same term as used of keeping the mouth.
b. Thus, the one who watches over, attends to, and protects his speech is also watching over, attending to, and protecting his soul.
3. Trouble.
a. Defined
• Strong’s: Straits; distress; trouble.
• Dictionary Of Biblical Languages: Calamity; anguish; i.e., a state of very unfavorable circumstance, with a focus on the emotional pain and distress of the situation.
• Zodhiates: Time of extreme discomfort; an affliction.
b. Deut. 31:17 – The term is used of the troubles that befell Israel for their sin in the form of chastening.
4. Keeping the soul from trouble.
a. The one who guards his mouth will protect his soul from all kinds of distress… calamity… unfavorable circumstances… and from emotional pain, distress.
b. The one who guards his mouth will protect his soul from enemies of the soul… from worry, fear, anxiety, guilt, shame, bitterness, and all kinds of other internal emotional forms of distress and painful memories.
5. Troubles we can avoid.
a. Prov. 10:19 – In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin.
• Jas. 3:5 – And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.
• We can sin with our mouths. (Lie; gossip; slander; mislead; brag; boast; curse; deceive; etc.)
• Solomon notes in this verse that the more we talk (multitude of words) the better our chances of sinning.
• Solomon also tells us that it is wise to refrain our lips, tongues, and mouths (if we talk less, we will sin less.)
• By speaking too much we can turn people off and lose friends.
• By multiplying our words, we multiply our chances of offending someone… hurting someone’s feelings… misleading… or gossiping. (Sin!)
• This often backfires on us and leads to all kinds of self inflicted trouble.
b. Prov. 12:13 – “The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.”
• Transgressing lips are a snare… something that traps you…
• Solomon is saying that when we sin with our lips, we get CAUGHT in a trap of our own making!
• If we sin with our lips, sooner or later, those words will come back to haunt us…
• If we are careless with our tongues, and speak without thinking… we are setting TRAPS that will BITE us… and cause trouble for us—eventually.
• Those who lie discover that their words will come back to bite them.
• Those who gossip and slander discover the same thing.
• Eventually our sin will find us out… and it will cause much trouble (embarrassment; to loss of friends; loss of a job; or worse!)
c. Prov. 13:3 – “He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.”
• II Kings 5:20 – Gehazi, Elisha’s servant said that Elisha sent him to Naaman to receive a gift.
• This was a boldfaced lie—in order to get silver for himself.
• Gehazi was snared by the transgression of his lips.
• He lied and at first was successful—for he did get the silver.
• BUT—he was smitten with leprosy! He was snared… he faced destruction.
• He could have AVOIDED this trouble by keeping his mouth.
d. Prov. 18:21 – “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
e. Prov. 15:1 – grievous words stir up anger.
• The one who does not guard his lips will be continually offending, insulting, hurting feelings, and getting people mad at him.
• Words really do stir up anger.
• The man who refuses to guard his mouth will stir up anger wherever he goes…
• As a built in punishment—he will have to live his life in the midst of contention, arguments, and unhappy circumstances. (A trap he set for himself.)
f. Prov. 18:6-7 – Contention, strokes, destruction, and a snare for his soul.
• A fool’s lips enter into contention.
• In other words, whenever he opens his mouth, he starts an argument or contention. His words PROVOKE arguments and fighting.
• His big mouth is constantly getting him into trouble.
• Note also that STROKES await him. He deserves a whipping.
• In other words, there are consequences for this kind of behavior.
• If you are such a fool who stirs up contention with your big mouth—expect some backlash.
• Our proverb tells us that we can AVOID all this trouble by keeping our tongue and mouth. Be careful about what we say.
6. All of these troubles will have a debilitating effect on the believer.
a. It will not leave us in any frame of mind to serve the Lord.
b. It will leave us frazzled and torn.
c. It leaves a storm of controversy and contention wherever we go.
d. It is sin and ruins our relationship with both God and man.
e. It leaves us with an uneasy, troubled, distressed heart… full of guilt and shame… embarrassment… a loss of friends… and a miserable life.
f. In other words—a life of TROUBLE.
7. All of this trouble can be AVOIDED by simply watching our mouth… keeping our big mouth shut!
a. I know it’s easier said than done, but we SHOULD make it a matter of prayer… and we should keep our heart with all diligence.
Proverbs 21:24
Proud Wrath
24 Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.
The Man who Deals in Proud Wrath
A. The Terms Used
1. Proud
a. Strong’s: pride, insolence, presumptuousness, arrogance.
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: the concept of an inflated view of oneself, self-willed and not humble, as a moral failure; scorn, lack of respect,
c. Zodhiates: Presumptuous pride.
d. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament: A sense of self-importance, which often is exaggerated to include defiance and even rebelliousness.
e. This term for pride is often associated with presumption.
• The two concepts are related.
• Because of a man’s pride, he presumes too much in his own favor.
f. Usages:
• Obadiah 1:3 – The pride of the Edomites who wrongly presumed that they had a safe place in the cliffs. This was due to an inflated view of themselves and the security they provided for themselves.
• Deut 18:20; cf. v. 22 – A false prophet is one who speaks presumptuously because of PRIDE.
• Deut 1:43 – This proud presumption is also associated with rebellion.
• Ps. 119:78,122 – The proud are also seen opposing God and God’s people.
2. Wrath
a. Strong’s: excess, fury, wrath, arrogance, outburst of rage
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages – A state of intense displeasure, implying outbursts as actions of anger.
3. Solomon is describing a man, a proud man who, because of his pride, is given to outbursts of rage and anger.
a. This man would be a good candidate for a series of classes in anger management.
b. We all know people like this. They blow up easily. At the slightest insult or rebuke and they let off steam. They are volcanoes just waiting to explode at the slightest tremor.
4. The man Solomon describes DEALS with this behavior.
a. Deal:
• Strong’s: fashions; makes; prepares; maintains
• Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Do; cause; make; bring about a state or event; to behave or to conduct oneself in a particular way.
• It speaks of a lifestyle; one’s daily practice; a way of life.
b. The point is that this is more than just an occasional failure.
• We ALL lose our tempers on occasion.
• We have all blown up at one time or another. Perhaps many times over a period of years.
• But Solomon is not talking about someone who has a normal struggle with anger.
• The man he describes here has a REAL problem with anger… with proud wrath.
• He DEALS with proud anger. He conducts his life this way. It is part of his lifestyle. It is how he deals with anyone or anything that crosses him.
• If you do something he doesn’t like, you will experience his proud wrath.
c. Prov. 13:10 – This kind of proud wrath continually leads to contention. This man LIVES in the midst of contention because he brings it with him everywhere he goes.
• We all know this man—we’ve all met this type.
• Sometimes we get angry back at them. In reality, we should rather PITY them. They are pitiful, wretched, unhappy creatures.
• They are constantly losing their friends and their jobs. Because they have no control over their anger, they blow up at everyone. Theirs is an equal opportunity wrath. They blow up at enemies and friends. They blow at the policeman who dares to stop them for speeding. They blow up at the teacher who has the audacity to call them on their behavior. They blow up at their boss… and the president of the company.
• It’s not a happy life they live.
• At the root of it all is PRIDE.
d. Prov. 25:28 – I’m sure the psychologists have a fancy name for this syndrome or disorder.
• The Bible simply says that this man has no control over his spirit.
• This man is a slave to his proud wrath. This is an ongoing issue with him.
• It is really kind of a pitiful condition to be in. It makes for a very miserable life.
HIS THREE NAMES
Introduction:
1. After describing this “syndrome,” Solomon gives it three “names.”
2. Psychologists may refer to this as disorder, making it a medical issue that often requires medication.
3. The Bible describes it differently—with three terms describing three different SINS.
A. Proud
1. This term is in the same family of words as the word “proud” in the second part of the proverb.
2. It means: Arrogant; proud; insolent; presumptuous.
3. Perhaps it is repeated to emphasize the point: Behind these outbursts of wrath and anger is deep-seated, entrenched PRIDE.
4. Prov. 11:2 – When this kind of pride comes, it is inevitably followed by shame.
a. The man with no control of his spirit blows up easily.
b. Initially, it feels good to blow up and let others have it… to get it off your chest.
c. It only takes a few seconds to blow up.
d. However, the ripples of that outburst go on and on and on.
e. And living with the ripples brings shame.
f. He may be ashamed of his uncontrolled spirit.
g. He may be ashamed of treating others so cruelly.
h. He may be ashamed of making such a fool of himself.
i. He may be ashamed of burning all his bridges behind him.
j. He may be ashamed of losing so many friends.
k. He may be ashamed of causing so much contention.
l. He may be ashamed of all the messes he’s left behind.
5. Yes, we can call this man PROUD.
B. Haughty
1. Defined:
a. Strong’s: Proud; arrogant; haughty.
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Pertaining to being proud and high-minded, as a moral failure.
c. Zodhiates: It is used to define a person who is insolent, prideful, and narcissistically self-centered.
d. A haughty person believes he is the greatest and that the world revolves around him… or at least that it should, if it were functioning properly.
e. For this man, life is able about me, myself, and I. Those are his three best friends. (Usually his only friends!)
2. I John 2:16 – Haughty is what John describes as the “pride of life.” It does not originate from the Father, but rather finds its source in the fallen, sinful, proud heart of man.
C. Scorner
1. Defined:
a. Strong’s: To scorn; make mouths at; talk arrogantly; mock.
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Talk big; i.e., speak words which show no respect for the object or person.
c. To express contempt for…
d. Mocking is also related to pride and arrogance. It indicates that the person mocking feels superior to those he mocks.
e. Prov.16:5 – Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD.
f. This is not an innocent disorder that the man caught… as one might catch a cold. This is SIN which God hates.
2. Usage:
a. Prov. 3:34 – God Himself scorns the scorners. God will mock them! God will show disrespect to them. Sooner or later, they will get a taste of their own medicine…
b. Prov. 9:8 – It is pointless to reprove a scorner and try to talk sense to him. He will simply hate you. He can’t handle anything negative directed towards himself—even though he has no problem blowing up towards others and mocking them.
c. Prov. 9:12 – If you scorn, you will BEAR it. You will have to bear the consequences of your ungodly behavior. You can’t just talk arrogantly against others and expect no repercussions!
d. Prov. 19:29 – Judgments are prepared for scorners.
e. Prov. 22:10 – What’s the best way to deal with an irascible, unrepentant scorner?
• Cast him out! Tough love is required with this “syndrome.”
• Why so harsh? Because he won’t listen.
• The only thing this person will listen to is having to deal with the pain and suffering that he brings on himself.
• Don’t coddle him. Don’t bail him out. Cast him out.
• That’s God’s cure for this disorder.
3. Solomon’s MAIN point in this proverb is this: beware of this kind of mocking, scorning, arrogant, haughty pride.
a. It leads to explosive behavior… proud wrath… a lack of control over one’s spirit… and this “syndrome” and its ripples, you may have to DEAL WITH the rest of your life!
b. Men who deal with proud wrath get a very bad name… a bad reputation as a proud and haughty scorner, and that follows him everywhere. The name is well deserved.
4. The way of victory is not Prozac or valium… or a 12 step program.
5. The way of victory is the filling of the Holy Spirit which results in the FRUIT of the Spirit, namely, temperance: self control.
Proverbs 21:25-26
The Desire of the Slothful
25 The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour. 26 He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not.
Introduction:
1. We are going to look at both verses 25 and 26 together here, because they really go together.
2. In this passage, the verse numbering breaks it up into two separate proverbs, which is unfortunate, because it is really one.
3. It is one antithetical proverb in which two things are contrasted: The slothful man who covets and the righteous who gives.
4. Dividing the proverb up into two separate proverbs obscures the contrast Solomon intended here.
The Slothful Man
A. The Slothful Man
1. Slothful defined:
a. Slothful, sluggard, lazy,
b. Slow to take any action, suggesting a lack of discipline or initiative, as a moral failure.
2. Solomon has mentioned the slothful man several times in this book.
a. Solomon is describing a person whose life is characterized by laziness.
b. However, this stands as a good warning to ALL of us, because we can ALL be lazy at one time or another…
c. And while we may be diligent in most things, there may be one area of our life where diligence is lacking.
• We may be diligent in the upkeep of our home, but we don’t take care of the car.
• Or we may be diligent in keeping the inside of the house clean, but let the outside go to weeds… or vice versa.
• We may be diligent about paying our bills on time, but not so diligent about setting money aside for taxes.
• We may be diligent about reading the Word, but are slothful when it comes to prayer… or witnessing… or vice versa.
d. Hence, this proverb (and others like it) can be like a GOAD to stir us up into diligence in a particular area concerning which the Holy Spirit may be convicting us.
B. He Refuses to Labour
1. The particular area that Solomon seems to focus on here is being lazy concerning that four letter word that Maynard G. Krebs could only spell: w-o-r-k.
2. Note that Solomon is not describing a man who IS not working, but the man who REFUSES to work.
a. Often men are unemployed because they cannot find a job… or they were laid off.
b. Others are unemployed because of an injury.
c. They would love to work, but due to circumstances beyond their control, they are not presently working.
d. That is NOT the situation described here.
e. Solomon speaks of a man who is ABLE to work, but he refuses.
3. REFUSE: Resist; i.e., be in a state of defiance or rebellion; the rejection of an offer; to utterly refuse. It is a strong term.
a. This is not the person who is lacking energy one day and is having a hard time kicking into gear.
b. II Thess. 3:10 – Here Paul states that if “a man WOULD not work, neither should he eat.” (He was able, but unwilling).
c. This is a committed, dedicated, defiant sluggard.
4. LABOR: This is kind of a broad term which means to do, to make, to accomplish, to complete.
a. It speaks of the man who refuses to DO virtually anything. He doesn’t like action. It’s too tiring. He prefers to sleep.
b. It speaks of a man who refuses to MAKE. This is the guy at the widget factory who refuses to make widgets. This is the carpenter who refuses to make the tables he’s supposed to make.
c. The term speaks of the man who refuses to ACCOMPLISH anything.
d. He refuses to COMPLETE anything. He may start a few projects, but never brings them to completion.
e. He refuses to labor, to work, to do or finish almost anything.
5. While the author probably had in mind laboring with his hands at the farm or at the factory, application can easily be made to other areas life as and to our spiritual lives as well.
6. Slothfulness isn’t restricted to our 9-5 jobs. Laziness is a blight that can settle in on ANY area of life… especially our spiritual life.
C. His Desires Kill Him
1. Desire:
e. Strong’s: Desire – either in a good or evil sense; a good desire: Wish, longings of one’s heart—or an evil desire in the sense of lust; appetite; covetousness (bad sense).
f. The term is a bit ambiguous, since it can be used of both good and evil desires.
g. Solomon may well have intended for its use to be a bit ambiguous here… to cause us to stop and think.
h. The slothful man would have a natural desire for good things like food; shelter; clothing; good health. He may have a desire for a nice family with well trained, well groomed, well educated children. He may have a good desire for friends and a social life.
D. He Covets Greedily all the Day Long (vs.26)
1. In verse 26 Solomon implies that the lazy man also has a desire for that which is not good and wholesome, but is pure covetousness.
2. He COVETS
a. This is not the same term as is translated “desire” in verse 25.
b. This term means: Desire; covet; wait longingly; wish; sigh; want; be greedy; to crave; to long for; lust after (of bodily appetites).
c. This is the term used in the 10th commandment “Thou shalt not covet.” (Exodus 20:17)
d. Clearly this term is used in an evil sense in verse 26.
e. The slothful man covets what other hard working people have.
f. He sees the nice family they have; the well trained and well groomed kids. He sees their well maintained homes and yards. He sees their large herd of camels, and their bounteous harvests.
g. He sees it all, and covets it. He wishes that HE had all that for which they labored.
h. His hands refuse to labor, but his heart continues to desire the fruit of such labor.
3. GREEDILY: This is a form of the same term in verse 25 translated “desire.”
a. In other words, he covets their goods and things with a great longing desire of his heart.
b. It is a bit redundant, but is added for emphasis.
c. He longs for what they have. He wishes he had it too.
d. He lusts after it. He sighs because he does not have it.
4. All the day long…
a. Here Solomon notes that the slothful man does not have just a passing thought every once in a while that it would be nice to have what his neighbor has.
b. We have all seen beautiful, stately homes… or fun mountain chalets and thought that it must be nice to own such things.
c. We have all had such passing thoughts… but then the Lord convicts us and we return to being content with such things as we have.
d. Not so with the slothful man. These are not just rare, occasional, passing thoughts. This is the covetous desire of his heart ALL DAY LONG! Day after day!
e. He is never content. He is never happy. What a miserable life. All day long he greedily covets and is never satisfied.
f. I can’t help but thinking that Hell must be like that… burning in desire for that which others have… for that which could have been obtained… but is now beyond reach. That is a life of torment!
5. It kills him… (vs.25)
a. This is the normal term for kill, murder, cause to die.
b. Again, this term is also a bit ambiguous.
• It could refer to a literal death. The lazy man may starve to death.
• It may also refer to a figurative death – in a sense similar to our expression today, “The price of gas is killing me,” or “It’s killing me to see what’s happening to my country.”
• We don’t mean that in the literal sense, but in a figurative sense.
• What we mean is that “it is torture… it is agonizing… it is painful…”
c. The laziness of the sluggard could literally kill him. He could starve to death… or freeze to death.
d. The laziness of the sluggard could also (in a figurative sense) condemn him to a life of inward agony and emotional torture as he watches what others have and he cannot have them.
e. Greedily coveting after those THINGS all day long results in one miserable life.
f. Prov.13:4a: “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing.”
• He COULD have something if he went to work!
• He could improve his lot in life if he wasn’t so lazy.
6. And it is all because he refuses to work.
a. FOR his hands refuse to labour. (vs.25)
b. His life of misery and torture could be avoided… but he still refuses to do anything about it.
c. He would be so much happier if he simply got up and went to work!
d. Yes, going to work does involve a certain amount of pain and suffering.
e. But Solomon’s point in this proverb is that the pain and suffering involved in going to work is FAR LESS than the amount of pain and suffering involved in not going to work and greedily coveting what others have!
7. Apply this to our spiritual lives.
a. There are men who LONG to have self control.
• They see others who manifest temperance and covet it… long for it for themselves.
• Their lives are miserable because they DON’T have it.
• Prov. 25:28 – His life is miserable because he does not have it.
• BUT—he’s too lazy to read the Scriptures… to come to Sunday school… to study the Bible on his own… too lazy to become a DOER of the Word and not a hearer only.
b. Those are believers who LONG for a happy home life…
• But are too lazy to DO what the Bible says is necessary to obtain it: love your wife as Christ loved the church — obey and reverence your husband in everything…
c. There are many believers who want to win a crown…
• But they are too lazy to give their all in running the race.
• They want a crown, but are not willing to give up anything in this life in order to obtain it.
The Righteous Man
A. The Righteous Man
1. A righteous man is one who does that which is RIGHT.
a. Here we have an interesting contrast.
b. Normally the righteous man is contrasted to the wicked man.
c. And we would normally expect that Solomon would contrast the slothful man with the diligent man.
d. However, here the contrast is between the slothful man with the righteous man.
e. The implication is clear: the slothful man is the doing the opposite of that which is RIGHT.
f. Laziness is not only the opposite of diligent; it is also the opposite of righteous.
g. It is WRONG and unrighteous to be slothful.
h. This is not just an innocent difference in personalities. This is a MORAL failure.
i. The lazy man is morally wrong.
2. Of course, this also implies that a righteous man will NOT be lazy, but will be DILIGENT.
a. Because the Bible commands us to be diligent and hard working, being lazy is a moral issue.
b. It is outright disobedience… defiance against God and His Word… rebellion.
3. Interestingly, Solomon doesn’t even mention the fact that the righteous man is hard working.
a. It is however IMPLIED in the passage.
b. The righteous man does that which is RIGHT.
c. He OBEYS God’s command to be diligent and hard working.
B. He Gives and He Spares Not
1. Here is the FRUIT of his labor.
2. He is righteous not only because he works and earns money and provides well for himself and his family.
3. He is righteous also because of what he DOES with his goods.
4. He is GENEROUS. He gives and spares not.
5. This stands in stark contrast to the lazy man.
a. The lazy man covets and wants things for himself.
b. The righteous man works and gives things to others.
6. And keep in mind what the Lord Jesus said: “It is more BLESSED to give than to receive.”
a. Of course Solomon did not have that revelation, but he did know the truth of it.
b. He was aware of the contrast:
• The lazy man who greedily covets things for himself all day long is miserable and unhappy!
• Solomon also knew that true satisfaction, happiness, and blessedness come from working hard, and sharing with others.
c. The lazy, greedy man is miserable.
d. The diligent generous man is blessed and happy.
Proverbs 21:27
The Sacrifice of the Wicked
27a The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination:
The Sacrifice of the Wicked
1. Sacrifice: Sacrifice, an offering killed and presented as an act of worship or propitiation to a deity.
2. The wicked: Wicked; criminal; guilty person; transgressor; evil; ungodly.
3. The sacrifice of the wicked is a religious offering presented by an ungodly person to the Lord.
a. This expression is an oxymoron – these are terms one would not expect to find together. The terms “sacrifice” and “wicked” seem contradictory.
b. We don’t normally expect wicked men to offer sacrifices to God.
c. And if it is a true sacrifice, it is unusual that a wicked person is offering it.
d. Something is wrong with this picture. That is the purpose of this expression. It is designed to arrest our attention.
4. However, this occurs all the time.
a. The religious world is full of wicked men and women who feign religious piety.
b. Psalm 50:7-14 – God didn’t need their sacrifices (as if He were hungry). What He wanted was their hearts – offerings of praise and thanksgiving coming from repentant and grateful hearts.
c. The Lord Jesus had most of His harshest words and battles, not with the outwardly wicked, but with the religious leaders in Israel… men who prided themselves in offering sacrifices to God.
d. Wicked men offer sacrifices to God in hopes of BUYING Him off… and securing salvation.
e. This is done of course in defiance of the written Word of God.
f. Wicked men offer sacrifices to God in order to be accepted in society… or to “appear” to be righteous.
5. God calls it an abomination.
a. Abomination: a disgusting thing; a detestable or repulsive thing; that which is loathsome and abhorrent; it speaks of something especially offensive.
b. Not many things are called “abominations” in the Bible. The list includes: Idolatry; child sacrifices; unclean foods; homosexuality; and here, religious sacrifices offered by wicked men.
c. These things are especially offensive to God.
d. Prov. 28:9 – Even this man’s prayers are an abomination to God.
e. If his heart is wicked, it doesn’t matter how much he prays or how much he offers unto God.
f. Prov. 15:8 – Solomon mentioned this in a previous proverb. There he contrasted this hypocrisy with the prayer of the upright. God DELIGHTS in that.
g. Thus, we can either delight the Lord OR we can be repulsive to the Lord in the way we worship, sacrifice, and serve Him.
h. Which will it be?
i. Isa. 1:11-15 – Here the prophet speaks of God’s HATRED for the sacrifices and offerings of the children of Israel. They made Him sick, not because God opposed the concept of sacrifices (He required them!), but because of the heart attitude of the offerer.
6. The sacrifice of the wicked is the ultimate form of hypocrisy.
a. His mind and heart belie their actions.
b. His actions demonstrate piety, worship, reverence, and holiness.
c. But his heart is full of wickedness. That’s the kind of person he is in reality—not the religious, pious man he feigns himself to be.
d. This is what is so abominable to the Lord.
e. It’s bad enough that he is a wicked man; but pretending to be something else makes it much worse!
f. Matt. 23:25-28 – the Lord strongly rebuked the Pharisees for this very thing: Pretending to be holy and pious, but inwardly, they were vile and unrepentant.
g. The Lord offered mercy to those who were inwardly full of uncleanness and iniquity and admitted it.
h. But He rebuked severely those who were inwardly full of uncleanness and iniquity and pretended that it wasn’t so… those who tried to cover it up with religious pretence… sacrifices, offerings, etc.
i. Hypocrisy may fool men, but it never fools the Lord. (And it doesn’t always even fool men. Oftentimes it is easy to spot.)
27b How much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?
Brought With a Wicked Mind
1. Wicked Mind:
a. This expression (wicked mind) is just one Hebrew word.
• It means: a plan, device, an evil or wicked plan, mischievous purpose; evil intentions.
• A general wickedness with a focus on the thought processes that occur in plotting wickedness.
• It is translated “mischief” a few times in Proverbs.
• It speaks of wicked intentions… evil design.
b. Prov. 15:26 – Here Solomon uses a synonym for the term “wicked mind” (Thoughts: Intentions; devices; active thinking, planning, devising.)
• We learn here that even the INTENTIONS are abominable in God’s sight—regardless of whether they are carried out or not.
c. Prov. 24:9 – The THOUGHT of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.
d. Heb. 4:12 – God CARES about that which is on our minds and hearts, not just our actions.
• The Word of God is able to dig deep to discern the thoughts and intents of our heart and we are judged accordingly.
• The intentions of our hearts may be good or evil… God knows.
• Evil intentions in our heart can turn an otherwise good sacrifice into an abomination.
2. The wicked man BRINGS the sacrifice with a wicked mind – mischievous purposes… with evil intentions.
a. Brings – to bring in; carry in; to bear.
b. The point is that the wicked man brings a sacrifice to be offered—or engages in worship with EVIL intentions.
c. He has a plan that he is attempting to pull off, and he is using God and sacrifices as a means of accomplishing his evil desire.
d. As Matthew Henry put it, “Holiness is pretended, but wickedness intended.”
e. That is the hypocrisy that God hates.
3. “How much more”
a. The first act (namely hypocrisy) was repulsive—and abomination.
• Some wicked men might offer sacrifices to God out of ignorance… or because they are deceived… or because that’s the way they were brought up.
• That is all bad.
b. But this is even worse!
c. The man or woman who brings a sacrifice to God or worships God with mischievous intentions is far worse.
• It’s one thing to cover up one’s own sin and shortcomings.
• It’s far worse to come to God with sinister intentions up your sleeve.
4. Examples of sacrifices brought with evil intentions.
a. I Kings 21:9-12 – Jezebel proclaimed a fast – a time to be pious and think about the Lord. But she did so with evil intentions. Her real goal was to put Naboth to death so that she could steal his land and give it to Ahab! This was all done “in the name of God” under the false pretence that she was offended that this man Naboth blasphemed God!
b. II Sam. 15:7-9 – Absalom said he wanted to go to pay his vows to God… when he was merely using that as an excuse to steal the kingdom from his father, David. His sacrifice to God (paying vows) was brought with evil intentions.
c. Matt. 6:1-4 – Consider the Scribes and Pharisees. Their real purpose in praying and doing good works was to be “seen of men.” God hated that!
d. Matt. 23:14 – The Pharisees made long prayers in order to devour widows houses. They feigned holiness in order to take advantage of vulnerable widows in their time of grief. God was not impressed with their long and flowery prayers. He was disgusted with their wicked mind… their evil intentions.
5. This is certainly applicable to us today.
a. God is not delighted just because we go to church, read the Bible, pray, put money in the offering plate, and pass out tracts… not if our PURPOSE in doing so is wrong.
b. This makes me wonder what the Lord must think about the gospel of success groups today—like Joel Osteen.
c. Clearly most of those folks are coming to God in hope that God will make them rich and successful in their business. I would call those sinister intentions… a mischievous purpose… “to get” rather than to give… Clearly the purpose is to use God for their own self interest… reducing God to a genie in a bottle.
d. Politicians of all stripes offer worship and sacrifices to God in order to get votes from the religious crowd.
e. Salesmen often attend a church and offer sacrifices of praise to God verbally in order to expand their customer base.
f. Not everyone who offers the sacrifice of praise to God today does so with good intentions.
g. Solomon warns here that some do so with EVIL intentions – with a wicked mind.
6. John 4:24 – For worship to be acceptable to the Lord, it must be in spirit and in truth.
a. The sacrifices and worship described here are offered with the wrong spirit.
b. And certainly there is no truth in it. It is a lie… hypocrisy… deception—as if they could deceive God!
c. Matt. 15:7-9 – Drawing nigh to God with flowery words or with offerings does not constitute acceptable worship if the heart is far from God!
7. Heb. 11:6 – In order to please God, FAITH must be involved. There is no faith in hypocritical sacrifices.
Proverbs 21:28
A False Witness Shall Perish
Introduction:
1. This proverb makes a couple of contrasts:
a. The false witness vs. the man that heareth.
b. Perishing vs. speaking constantly.
2. The problem in interpreting this proverb is that the contrast is not apparent. At first glance it is hard to determine exactly what is being contrasted.
a. Contrasting the false witness with a man who speaks truth is obvious, but contrasting the false witness with the man who hears is not so obvious.
b. Contrasting perishing with living or flourishing is obvious; but contrasting perishing with speaking constantly is not so obvious.
c. The contrast was probably MORE obvious in the days in which it was written.
d. But we are separated from Solomon by language: ancient Hebrew vs. modern English—and by a culture and ancient society that is quite foreign to us.
3. Another problem interpreting this proverb concerns the meaning of a couple of the terms in the second part of the proverb.
a. I am going to give three slightly different views of this proverb tonight, because they all make sense in the context, and I am not able to determine with any certainty which meaning Solomon had in mind.
28a A false witness shall perish:
1. This part of the proverb is short, clear, and easy to understand.
a. The meaning of the terms is not disputed.
b. Nothing is ambiguous.
c. And in fact, it is a subject that Solomon deals with extensively in this book.
2. False witness:
a. Witness: A testimony; i.e., a person which gives verbal testimony and provides information about a situation; the giving of evidence in a formal legal setting.
b. False: a lie, untruth, falsehood, deceptive thing.
c. What Solomon describes here is a LIAR… a perjurer.
d. It may be a liar who falsely accuses a person of a crime OR a person who perjurers himself in a courtroom situation before the judge.
3. Solomon states that such liars (false witnesses in any situation) shall perish.
a. Perish: Destroyed; ruined; annihilated; exterminated; wiped out; die; to reduced to some degree of disorder.
b. In one form or another, the perjurer shall experience destruction.
c. He may suffer loss; his life may be ruined; he may be reduced in one way or another; he may be executed.
d. The term is broad enough to include all kinds of destructive forces that the liar may have to face.
e. But however you slice it, the liar does not face a good future. Bad things lie ahead for him.
4. The false witness is the subject of many proverbs because lying is such a part of fallen human nature.
a. Prov. 6:19 – A false witness was one of the six deadly sins that God especially hates.
b. Prov. 12:17 – A false witness shows deceit.
c. Prov. 14:5 – A false witness utters lies.
d. Prov. 19:5, 9 – “A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.”
• Repeatedly Solomon speaks of the consequences of being a false witness.
• That seems to be the main point of the first part of Proverb 21:28.
• The false witness will perish; he will not be unpunished; he shall not escape punishment.
• That part is very clear.
28b But the man that heareth speaketh constantly.
This part of the proverb is NOT so clear. There are a couple of possibilities in interpretation.
The First Possible Interpretation
1. The “man who hears”
a. Hears:
• This term is sometimes used in the sense of hearing a legal case; i.e., give a legal hearing (Deut. 1:16).
• It is possible that the “man who hears” this perjurer refers to the judge who “hears” his testimony (false witness) in a court of law.
b. In this interpretation, the contrast is between the perjurer and the judge who hears his perjury in court.
2. The judge who hears the case of the false witness “speaketh constantly.”
a. Constantly = endurance in time; perpetual; continual; unto the end; everlasting; an unlimited duration of time, implying permanency.
b. Thus, the contrast would be the following:
• The perjurer who speaks forth a false witness perishes, and his lies perish with him. His words cease.
• On the other hand, the Judge who hears the case, and judges righteously, CONTINUES to speak forth. His words do not cease.
c. The point of the proverb (according to this interpretation) is that truth triumphs over lies.
• Sooner or later, justice catches up to the liar.
• Sooner or later, his perjurer is discovered for what it is.
• The false witness and his false words perish.
• But the one who speaks truth (the judge in this case) continues. He speaks constantly.
• Justice marches on. Truth triumphs.
• And the message to the perjurer is “be sure your sin will find you out!” (Num. 32:23)
• Long after the false witness has been silenced, the Judge who heard the case continues speaking… and ferreting out more perjurers.
• The perjurer may be silenced through execution. (One who was found guilty of falsely accusing someone in court was to experience the same penalty that would have been inflicted on the innocent party. Sometimes that penalty was death.)
• He may be silenced through imprisonment.
• Hopefully his lies will be silenced because he learned his lesson and decided to tell the truth from now on!
The Second Possible Interpretation
1. Another way to read this proverb is to understand the contrast differently.
a. Instead of seeing this as a contrast between the perjurer and the judge who hears the case, one might see the contrast between two different witnesses in a court of law.
b. One witness is a false witness… the other one is not.
2. The false witness shall perish. (This part of the proverb is clear)
a. False witnesses in court shall not ultimately succeed.
b. They shall perish… and be destroyed.
c. Their false testimony will cease—thrown out of court.
3. But at this point the interpretation varies.
4. In this second view, the “one who hears” is not the judge, but is another witness.
a. However, this is not a false witness.
b. This witness “hears.”
• This witness is not a false witness.
• A false witness isn’t interested in hearing the facts of the case.
• A false witness has an agenda to push… namely, his lies.
• He is not interested in “hearing” truth. He wants only to speak forth his lies and perjury.
• But on the other hand, the true witness WILL hear. He keeps his ears open. He observes.
• When the true witness speaks, he is speaking out of knowledge because he LISTENED to the facts.
• Thus, his testimony lines up with the facts.
5. The true witness “speaketh constantly.”
a. Here too a slightly different meaning is given to the word “constantly.”
b. It can mean “continually.”
c. It also can mean “consistently.” If we understand the term to mean consistently, then the man who hears (all the facts of the case) speaks consistently with the facts, namely, TRUTHFULLY.
d. He speaks the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That is being consistent… constant… nothing but the truth.
e. The WORDS and testimony of the one who “hears” are consistent… reliable… faithful…
f. They are not like the false witness.
• His words are not consistent. They are inconsistent.
• There is something crooked about his words.
• They are not consistent with the facts of the case.
• They don’t line up with reality… with truth.
The Third Possible Interpretation
1. The third possible interpretation exists because the word translated “speaketh” has two distinct meanings in Hebrew (just as do many English words).
a. So far, we have been considering the meaning as translated in the KJV: The Hebrew word da·bar means to speak.
b. But it also has another meaning: to kill or destroy!
c. For example, the term is translated destroy in II Chron. 22:10, where Athaliah “arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah.” (She killed them all!)
2. If we accept this meaning, then we arrive at yet a third legitimate and possible interpretation:
a. Then it would mean that the false witness shall perish, and all those who “hear” him (accept his word) will be destroyed too.
b. Both the false witness and the crooked judge who accepts his false testimony (and any others who go along with the perjury) will also perish.
3. In one sense, all three interpretations are similar in this one point: true testimony does not perish. It continues to speak.
a. Ultimately, the truth prevails.
b. Thus, (whichever view we take) we are encouraged to be like Christ. Consider how He is described in the book of the Revelation:
→ Rev. 3:14 – The “faithful and true witness.” (Rev.3:14)
→ Rev. 19:11 – And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True.
Proverbs 21:29
Stubbornness vs. Thoughtful Consideration
Introduction: Here Solomon contrasts the wicked man with the upright man from yet another angle.
29a A wicked man hardeneth his face:
1. Wicked:
a. Defined: Evil; a criminal; guilty one; one guilty of crime; hostile to God.
b. Solomon mentions the wicked man 89 times in the book of Proverbs.
c. This is a major theme in Proverbs: describing the wicked man and contrasting him with the righteous or the upright.
2. Hardens his face
a. Harden:
i. Show yourself strong; make firm; make bold; being fixed; determined in a course of action; belligerent.
ii. Prov. 7:13 – It is used of a harlot’s face in her arrogance; a shameless countenance. She is boldly and shamelessly determined in her course of action.
b. Face:
i. It is sometimes used in the literal meaning of face.
ii. Most of the time this word is used in a figurative sense or as an idiom.
iii. Face can be a substitute for the entire person; or it can be a reflection of the person’s mood or attitude; (joyous, or defiant, proud, etc. depending upon the context and the adjectives used with it.)
iv. It seems to be used of the person’s mood or attitude here.
c. A hardened face
i. This describes the person whose attitude is belligerent; fixed and determined in a course of action;
ii. He is defiantly and arrogantly determined to do what he wants to do.
iii. His bullheaded determination even shows on his face!
iv. This person is not interested in hearing anyone’s opinion or advice.
v. He will not listen to reason.
vi. Do not confuse this with the tenacity, determination, and endurance of a godly man pursuing a good course of action. Solomon is describing the WICKED man here.
vii. There is something admirable and noble about resolve and fortitude in good things. That is not what is being described.
viii. Solomon is describing bullheadedness; an unreasonable inflexibility; ungodly stubbornness.
ix. This bullheaded determination might come from pride and arrogance: “I’m right—don’t confuse me with the facts.”
x. This bullheaded determination might come from a sense of vengeance. He may be so angry that he has determined to make others suffer. Vengeance drives him to pursue a course of action that might be disastrous, but he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about the consequences of his action. He is determined and no one is going to change his mind.
xi. This bullheaded determination might stem from frustration. He has tried to accomplish something that is beyond his ability to achieve, yet he is determined to do it… even though deep down inside he knows that it is futile. He will not listen to advice of friends… so he plows ahead. He is determined to do it and to prove them wrong.
xii. This bullheaded determination might stem from many different sources… in various situations… and express itself in many different ways.
d. Prov. 29:1 – Here we also see the stubborn man again.
i. The figure of speech is a bit different (hardening one’s neck as opposed to hardening one’s face), but the meaning is quite the same.
ii. They both speak of obstinate stubbornness.
iii. Being hard necked is an illustration that comes from dealing with oxen or mules. They sometimes stubbornly stiffen their neck so as to make it difficult to put the yoke on them… because they refuse to work…
iv. It is used of men who refuse to submit to God. They stubbornly refuse to submit to His yoke.
v. They stubbornly refuse to listen to advice.
vi. And as a result, there are consequences to bear. They shall be destroyed (broken; maimed; hurt).
e. This is a good warning for us all: If our faces, our necks, or our hearts are hardened, then God is not able to direct our paths. We are too stubborn and fixed in our OWN ways and will to consider God’s will and His ways. That is a dangerous road to travel.
3. The WICKED man behaves this way.
a. He arrogantly and defiantly hardens his face.
b. He boldly and shamelessly pursues his wickedness.
c. He is determined to accomplish his wickedness and is not interested in listening to reason.
d. He may attempt to COVER up his wicked intent by leading others to believe that his “hardened face” (bullheaded determination) is really “godly resolve or faithful steadfastness.”
29b But as for the upright, he directeth his way.
The Upright Man Directs His Way
1. Upright:
a. Defined: Straight, not crooked; upright; correct; just; morally right; according to the standard.
b. This term is used in Prov. 3:6 – “In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.” (He shall make your path upright; straight; according to His standard…)
2. Directeth:
a. This term is variously translated because of a textual issue.
b. Defined: To discern; understand; to perceive; to observe; to pay attention to; to consider diligently.
3. His way:
a. The term is most often used figuratively of one’s journey in life; one’s course of life; the road of life one is pursuing; a manner of life.
4. The upright man pays close attention to his course of life.
a. He diligently considers the direction or course of action he is pursuing.
b. This man doesn’t FORCE his will and his way. He directs his way according to understanding and wisdom.
c. He thinks before he acts.
d. He directs his thoughts, his emotions, his mind, and his will… and thus, he directs his way carefully and cautiously.
e. Prov. 11:5 – “The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way.”
i. Here Solomon speaks of another man who directs his ways.
ii. Only this time he exchanges the word “upright” for “perfect” (mature). A spiritually mature man will be upright in his practice.
iii. His righteousness (a character of life that is consistent with God and the Scriptures) causes his ways to be directed.
iv. He thinks through his actions. He considers his way. He ponders the path of his feet. He moves cautiously.
v. By way of contrast, the wicked do NOT behave that way, and as a result they FALL because of their wickedness.
vi. But the righteous man, the upright man, directs his ways. He thinks and plans ahead.
vii. He takes into consideration that following a certain course of action might lead to a FALL… and he decides not to travel down that road.
f. Psalm 119:59 – The upright man is like the psalmist: “I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.
The Contrast:
1. The wicked man is obstinate and bullheaded; he just plows through life determined to do whatever he wants regardless of the consequences.
a. He won’t listen to reason. He doesn’t consider others. He is determined to do what he’s going to do even if the results are disastrous.
b. The wicked man who hardens his face is so determined to do what he wants to do that he throws caution to the wind.
c. He brazenly strikes out on his own to do his own will no matter what.
d. He’s like the stubborn man who is determined to cut down the huge oak that is right next to his house and is leaning towards the house. All his friends advised him to hire professionals, but he was determined to cut it down himself. You can picture the outcome of that scenario!
2. On the other hand, the upright man carefully considers his way.
a. This upright man may also have a huge oak tree leaning over his house. He also may want to cut it down. But he listens to advice. He carefully considers the real possibility of it falling on his house and chooses not to demonstrate bullheaded determination. He thinks it through and decides to call the professional tree removers.
b. He is open to suggestions and to advice.
c. He is an upright man and he wants to do things right.
d. He is open to advice. He thinks things through.
e. He carefully considers the possible outcomes and makes wise choices.
f. He gives much thought to his course of action. He doesn’t brazenly rush into things.
g. He takes his time and is methodical.
h. Prov. 4:26 – He ponders the path of his feet.
i. He wants to follow the straight and narrow road and not swerve off course.
j. Ps. 119:133 – He seeks God to order his steps in His Word.
k. Ps. 37:23 – The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.” God is delighted in his way because he considered his way and thought it through.
Proverbs 21:30
There is No Wisdom Against the Lord
Introduction:
1. This simple proverb makes one statement.
2. There are no contrasts; there are no comparisons; there are no parallel thoughts; there is no first and second part of the proverb.
3. Proverbs 21:30 makes one simple point… and it is without dispute.
4. The proverb is NOT saying that no wisdom, understanding, or counsel against the Lord EXISTS.
a. That would not be true.
b. There are whole realms in the universe that stand opposed to God and to His will.
c. There are myriads of fallen angels who oppose God.
d. Satan opposes God.
e. And whether conscious of it or not, the world of unsaved, fallen men also oppose God day in and day out.
f. The proverb is not saying that no wisdom opposes God.
5. Rather, it is saying that no wisdom can successfully stand against God.
a. It’s not that it does not exist; it’s just that it will not prevail.
b. The Bible abounds with examples of so-called wisdom that DARED to oppose God… but none successfully.
c. Such an attempt is the height of folly and pride!
d. Sinful men and fallen angels are unable to prevail against Divine wisdom and knowledge.
e. No creature can ever successfully oppose God.
f. Nobody can devise a plan to defeat God.
g. The wisdom, understanding, and counsel of men can never avail against Almighty God.
The Three Terms
These terms are similar in that they all deal with the mind; they all deal with a believer’s capacity to think, to know, to understand, and to reason. But they each have a slightly different shade of meaning.
1. Wisdom: Wisdom; prudence; shrewdness; skill; experience.
2. Understanding: Understanding; intelligence; insight; knowledge; reasoning; logic; debate; discernment.
3. Counsel: Counsel; advice; purpose; plan; plot; scheme.
30a,c There is no wisdom against the LORD
1. Jer. 9:23 – Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom…
a. Man should never GLORY in his own puny wisdom.
b. Human wisdom is nothing to brag about.
c. What we SHOULD glory in is the fact that we know the Lord!
d. As Christians, we know Christ – “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Col.2:3)
2. To think that our wisdom is superior to that of the Lord is preposterous!
a. It is unimaginable that anyone could think such a thing… yet our hearts are SO deceitful that it does occur.
b. Many of the great philosophers of the world have opposed the wisdom of God and referred to it as “foolish,” “archaic,” etc.
3. God’s wisdom is the TRUTH. Nothing can stand against the truth.
a. II Corinthians 13:8 “For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.”
b. Men might attempt to fight and kick against the truth, but they will always be on the losing end.
4. In the early chapters of Proverbs, Lady Wisdom is seen crying out to the young, the simple, and the inexperienced. (Prov. 1:20-21)
a. Yet the simple rejected God’s wisdom.
b. They felt they had a superior wisdom… or that they did not need God’s wisdom.
c. Prov. 1:31-33 – There are dire consequences of making such arrogant defiance against the Lord.
d. You will be defeated by God. Your wisdom does not stand a chance.
5. Jonah 1:13 – Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not.
30b,c There is no understanding against the LORD
1. The second term used is “understanding.” This is the term that means intelligence; insight; knowledge; reasoning; etc.
2. Could you imagine anyone so foolish as to think that they could match wits with God?
a. Ps. 147:5 – Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite.
b. Our understanding is no match for God.
c. In fact, compared to God, there really isn’t much of a difference between the guy who dropped out of the sixth grade and the guy who finished top of his class at Harvard.
d. The gap between ANY man’s understanding and God’s is infinity.
3. Here is where a great divide is drawn between those who believe and trust in the facts recorded in God’s Word and those who trust the intellectual writings of men.
a. Scientists: Evolution vs. creation.
b. Psychologists: Man is born a sinner vs. man is born as a blank slate.
c. Liberal Theologians: Belief in the miracles of the Bible vs. belief only in observable scientific fact.
d. Higher Critics: Inspiration and infallibility of the Scriptures vs. the Bible as a book on par with any other book written by man.
e. Unsaved men may lean on their own understanding and defy God’s understanding in this life… but eventually their opposition shall not stand.
f. They may win debates because of a superior intellect and greater debating skills, or because of a golden tongue… but their understanding will one day be exposed as a lie… a deception that they were silly enough to fall for… because they had no wisdom from above.
4. Rom. 9:20 – Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
a. Men reply against God all the time.
b. Men oppose God’s written words; they oppose His will, His plans, and His intellect.
c. Paul speaks of the arrogance and audacity of such rebellion.
d. Imagine clay questioning the reasoning or the understanding of the potter?
e. This is used to demonstrate the folly of a man (who is but clay; dirt) daring to question or reply against God!
f. It sounds like the height of folly, but we all do it!
g. We think God should act in one way, and He acts in another. Sometimes that makes us discouraged, puzzled, resentful, and even angry.
h. We would do well to humble ourselves, and remind ourselves of this proverb: our understanding of matters cannot successfully stand against God.
5. Job 38:4 – Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
a. Job had many questions. He was perplexed by what God allowed in his life. He began to question God.
b. He began to think that perhaps God was misguided… or made a mistake… or didn’t understand what was actually taking place in Job’s life.
c. God put Job (and us) in his place by rehearsing how God with His great wisdom and understanding created the universe… held stars in their place… created earth… the waters… the heavens… and that He holds it all together.
d. Then, in a bit of pointed sarcasm, God says, “Where were you when I created all this?”
e. That was the end of the argument for Job. It was the end of questioning God.
f. The cure is to consider once again that God’s understanding is infinite. There is no fact that He ignores or is unaware of.
6. Isa. 55:8-9 – God’s thoughts are infinitely above our thoughts. What folly to challenge Him to a debate… or question Him…
a. We would do well to let this truth really sink into our heads… and change our attitudes and hearts.
b. Let God be true and every man a liar.
c. If there is any discrepancy between what we think and what God’s Word says – God’s Word ends the debate.
d. If there is any discrepancy between the truth of God’s Word and what the scientists, psychologists, or philosophers tell us… let God be true and every man a liar.
e. If we truly BELIEVE in His omniscience… this will settle MANY questions for us.
f. We can then REST in truth, rather than be torn between two opposing world views.
30c There is no counsel against the LORD
1. Prov. 19:21 – There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
a. Devices: Plans; thoughts; purposes; inventions; schemes; counsel.
b. Every one of us has devices or plans and purposes in our hearts.
c. Sometimes they are good; sometimes they are evil.
d. But regardless of what kind of plans that are lurking in our hearts, God’s counsel shall stand!
e. Stand: To stand; to stand up; to endure; to be fixed; to be valid; to be proven; to be fulfilled.
f. Man can plot and scheme all he wants in hopes of undermining or overthrowing God’s counsel, but it will never happen.
2. The book of Isaiah gives us many examples of this type of human arrogance: attempting to oppose the counsel of the Lord.
a. Isa. 7:5-7 – Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying…
• In this section, Isaiah predicted that the Messiah—Immanuel—to be born would bring deliverance to Israel.
• Therefore, God told the Jews that they need not fear the evil counsel of their enemies.
• Their counsel shall NOT STAND against the Lord!
• Believing this brings peace and rest even in times of turmoil.
b. Isa. 8:9-10 – Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought.
• Though Judah would almost be defeated by the Assyrian invasion, they need not fear because GOD is with Judah!
• In this passage God mocks the plans and the counsel of the invaders.
• They can make their best plans, but they will come to nothing.
• Nobody can successfully oppose God.
• Regardless of how well organized, armed, and trained the opposition might be, their counsel shall come to nought.
• Thus Judah was SAFE as can be!
c. Isa. 14:27 – For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
• Again, we see how SURE God’s counsel, purposes, and plans are.
• He defies anyone to attempt to disannul His plans.
• Who shall turn it back? Nobody! Ever!
d. Isa. 46:10 – Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.
3. Rev. 17:14 – These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings.”
a. And yet, men DO defy the Lord… and oppose His plans and purposes for the ages.
b. Imagine thinking that their plans were superior to God’s?
c. It seems so foolish to us as believers to think that anyone would ever dare to oppose God, yet one day the nations will.
d. Yet in spite of their self confidence, the Lamb shall OVERCOME them.
e. God wins because of who He is: King of kings.
4. Psalm 2:1-3 – God sits in heaven and laughs at such foolish scoffing and opposition. (Like an ant attempting to fight with an elephant.)
5. Psalm 33:10-11 – The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect…
a. Balak desired to curse Israel, but God overruled!
b. Pharaoh sought to harm Israel, but God overruled!
c. The wise plan of the Roman soldiers to guard the tomb of the Lord Jesus was brought to nothing.
d. The plots to trap Jesus in His words were foiled time and time again.
e. Even the crucifixion of Christ was planned by Satan and wicked men; but that wicked plan was not successful in defeating God. In fact, the cross GLORIFIED the Lord like nothing else could!
6. This truth is HELPFUL to us all.
a. In practical terms, it means that since God is for us, no man can successfully be against us; no plan of man will ever succeed against us unless the Lord allows it for His sovereign purpose.
b. No man can ever defeat God; and we are resting safely under His wings.
7. Our proverb tonight reminds us all of who God is… His omniscience… His infinite understanding… His wisdom… His counsel. They are all perfect.
a. Trying to outsmart God? Don’t bother!
b. Do you think that you are not in need of counsel from His Word? Think again.
c. Do you think you already understand spiritual things… the deep things of God? There’s much more. Our understanding is puny.
d. Do you dare to defy God? Do you think you could prove Him wrong?
e. There is no contest here. It is dust against omnipotence.
f. His understanding is infinite.
g. We are but dust; grass that is soon mown down; a vapor;
h. The sooner we learn this lesson the better!
Proverbs 21:31
Safety is Of The Lord
Introduction: This is a simple proverb and its meaning is obvious: regardless of our preparations and effort, ultimately, safety is from the Lord. He is the Sovereign Lord.
31a The horse is prepared against the day of battle:
1. Solomon uses the example of preparing for battle.
a. Prepared defined: To be firm; be stable; be established; be secure; be enduring; be prepared; be arranged; be settled; made ready; built up.
b. The horse was the tank of its day. It was a major military vehicle… it was a valuable piece of military equipment.
c. It provided much safety and security for the ancient armies.
d. It enabled them to rush into a village and gave them the added element of a surprise attack.
e. If the battle was not going so well, it enabled them rush back home too!
f. A soldier with a horse stood a much better chance of survival than a foot soldier.
g. And a cavalry is by far superior to an army of foot soldiers. (Remember the old cowboy movies when the Indians were about to destroy the wagon train, and then at the last minute, the cavalry appeared on the horizon to save the day!)
h. Thus, a soldier who wanted to survive would prepare his horse for the day of battle.
2. We should prepare for battles: Whatever kind of battle we might face.
a. Soldiers should prepare for war. They should seek out the very best battle plans. They should seek out the best equipment.
b. Businessmen should prepare for the battle of the business world. Make the best plans you can. Use the best and most efficient machines to punch out your widgets. Prepare your advertisements and your promotion to the best of your ability.
c. The farmer should prepare his fields. He has to plow them, and break up the fallow ground. He has to make sure the soil is well drained, weeded, watered, fertilized, etc…
d. If you are sick, make the best preparation you can to deal with your illness. Seek good medical help. Follow the doctor’s instructions. Take the prescribed medications. Do the proper exercises.
e. Students should prepare for the battle in school too! Read the homework assignments. Do all the exercises. Study for the exams. Follow your teacher’s advice and counsel.
f. There are countless other kinds of struggles, trials, and battles that we face as believers in which preparations are required.
g. We are to put our best effort into preparing to face the battle… and to come out victoriously.
h. Like the athlete in I Cor. 9:24-27, we are to put in our best effort… lay aside anything that would hinder us from winning… keep our body under subjection… keep our eyes on the crown… and keep on running… keep on striving.
i. This proverb is NOT teaching us that we should not strive for victory. It is NOT teaching that effort on our part is unnecessary.
j. There is a common expression often used that is most misleading: Let go and let God. It is only half right. Of course, we should let God have His way, but we should NEVER let go!”
k. When we let go there is no safety and no victory.
l. Don’t ever let go of your thought life. We are (by God’s grace) to control our thought life.
m. Don’t ever let go of your emotions. Our emotions are to be under control of the Holy Spirit.
n. Don’t ever let go of the steering wheel of your life and hope that God will steer FOR you. He will not. You will wander aimlessly and may drift very far away.
o. God doesn’t work INSTEAD of us. He works IN and THROUGH us.
3. The horse SHOULD BE prepared for battle.
a. Preparations for any kind of battle are good and necessary.
b. It would be foolish indeed to face the battle WITHOUT proper preparations.
c. That is not faith, it is presumption.
d. Prov. 20:18 – “Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.”
• Be prepared for war… plan ahead… think things through… make all the necessary arrangements…
• Get counsel; get advice; and act accordingly.
• Be ready, equipped, and have a battle plan.
e. FAITH prepares for battle. When God sent the Joshua and the Israelites into Canaan-land, he told them to gird up their swords and be ready for battle. Repeatedly we read that the Lord delivered the enemy into their hands, but the Jews had to slay them with their swords.
f. Faith prepares but it also TRUSTS in God for safety and victory.
g. Ps. 127:1 – “Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it.”
• Faith labors to build the house, but acknowledges that the labor is vain apart from the Lord.
h. Jas. 4:13-15 – “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”
• FAITH makes good business plans, but does not ignore the will of the Lord.
i. Whether we are facing a literal battle, a business battle, or any other kind of struggle, human effort, labor, and striving are necessary, but they must be accompanied by TRUST… because our efforts alone are vain… fruitless… futile.
4. Ecc. 9:11 – I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
a. God is sovereign over time and chance.
b. Plans, equipment, counsel, preparation are all good and necessary, but they do NOT guarantee victory or success.
c. Providence can overrule any time God sees fit… no matter how strong the army, how well trained the runner, how wise the business plan, etc.
d. Preparation is good, but it is only one side of the coin.
31b But safety is of the LORD.
1. Safety:
a. Safety = salvation; deliverance; victory.
b. Men can make the very best of plans and preparations, but ultimately deliverance, salvation, safety, and victory comes from the Lord.
c. This proverb deals with two sides of one coin: man’s responsibility and God’s sovereignty.
d. Both are in the Bible and both are true.
e. Safety is of the Lord.
f. Zech. 4:6 – Not by (human) might, nor by (human) power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
2. Deut. 17:16 – For this reason, God commanded Jewish kings NOT to multiply horses.
a. God did not want Jewish kings to trust in their military might, but to trust in HIM.
b. If they trusted in the Lord, a very small army would be able to defeat a much larger army.
c. Israel’s history is replete such examples.
→ I Sam. 17:45-46 – David fought against Goliath and won. Goliath trusted in his size, strength, and equipment. David trusted in the Lord.
→ I Sam. 14:6 – Jonathan and his armourbearer fought victoriously against a larger garrison of Philistines. Jonathan was trusting that there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.
o Jonathan didn’t see the battle as one between himself and a much larger garrison of soldiers.
o He saw the conflict as being between the infinitely powerful Jehovah God and the weak, mortal dust of the Philistines.
3. It is foolish to trust in our own preparations and ignore the Lord.
a. Ps. 20:7 – Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
b. Ps. 33:17-21 – An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
c. Superior equipment does not guarantee victory.
• Consider the horses and chariots of the Egyptian army in the Exodus.
• Consider the six day war in Israel.
» The Six-Day War in 1967 was a war between Israel and the armies of Egypt, Jordan and Syria.
» The Arab states of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria also contributed troops and arms to the Arab forces.
» Egypt amassed 1,000 tanks and nearly 100,000 soldiers on the Israeli border
» Tiny Israel was completely surrounded by hostile nations, and it seemed that she was about to be wiped off the map.
» On June 5, 1967, Israel launched a Pre-emptive attack against Egypt’s air force.
» Divine Providence gave Israel an incredible victory… in just six short days.
• Matthew Henry wrote: God can save without armies; but armies cannot save without God.
d. Prov. 21:30 – Human wisdom is also useless against the Lord. Human effort and human wisdom are extremely limited, but God is not. How much better to trust in HIS wisdom and strength?!
4. God DELIGHTS in those who trust in HIM.
a. Ps. 147:10-11 – Trust in the Lord… not in horses.
• What an insult—for men to trust in a dumb horse over God!
• It is equally insulting to God for us to trust in modern technology. (Trusting in man’s devices to save us on the battle field or on the operating table is wrong!)
• Vs. 5-6 – God has infinite power and wisdom. He chooses to lift up the MEEK and those who fear Him… not those who appear to be strong and trust in their own arsenal.
b. Isa. 31:1 – Trusting in horses (or men with horses… with powerful equipment and human help) is the opposite of trusting in God.
• It is one or the other, not both.
• God can tell the difference.
c. Read Psalm 3:1-8 – Whole psalm about God’s safety.
• Whatever kind of struggle, trial, battle, or foe YOU have to face, remember this proverb: safety is of the Lord!
d. Jer. 9:23-24 – Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: 24But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD.
• God wants ALL of the glory in any victory, however small or great. The glory should never go to our own strength, wisdom, equipment, or plans.
• Salvation is of the Lord.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 22
Proverbs 22:1
A Good Name
Introduction:
1. This proverb falls into the category of a synthetic parallelism.
2. The author makes a point, and then repeats virtually the same concept using different terms.
3. It is a good teaching method. If the first expression of the concept didn’t make it clear to the reader, the second one will help drive the truth home.
1a A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches
1. Name:
a. Strong’s: Name; reputation; fame; glory; memorial.
b. Zodhiates: It is what specifically identifies a person or anything: God’s name, “I am who I am.” (Ex. 3:15)
c. To make a name for oneself means to attain a renowned reputation
• Gen. 11:4 – The builders of the tower of Babel said, “let us make us a name…”
• II Sam. 8:13 – “And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting the Syrians.”
• Often the term “name” in the Bible speaks of one’s reputation… Either good or bad.
d. The word “good” in Prov. 22:1 is italicized. It does not appear in the original.
• However, Solomon is obviously speaking of a good reputation, not a bad one.
• The point of the proverb is the VALUE of a good reputation, or a good name.
e. Solomon is speaking here of one’s reputation BEFORE MEN.
• In other words, he speaks of the importance of what men think about you.
• A reputation is EARNED by our words and deeds.
• A man who lies earns the reputation of being a liar.
• A man who steals earns the reputation of being a thief.
» On the Boston news today they noted that the third speaker of the house in a row was indicted for criminal activity.
• A man who cheats on his wife earns the reputation of a philanderer.
• The man who keeps on quitting his jobs earns the reputation of being unstable or lazy.
• But one can also earn a GOOD name.
• A man who helps his neighbor will earn the reputation of being kind.
• The man who is squeaky clean with his finances earns the reputation of being honest.
• The man who is a hard worker earns the reputation of being diligent.
2. It takes a long time to BUILD UP a good reputation. But it takes no time at all to destroy it.
a. Ecc. 10:1 – Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.
b. A little folly can cause our testimony to STINK—just as a small dead fly can cause a sweet perfume to stink.
c. Be CAREFUL about your testimony!
3. The VALUE of a good testimony: It is better than great riches.
a. There is not as much importance given to a good name (on a personal level) in our culture today as there used to be… and as there still is in other cultures.
• There is no stigma to having a baby out of wedlock any more.
• There is not much shame in being convicted for crimes. Sometimes criminals go on to have their own TV shows, or a talk radio show.
• There was a time when your name was disgraced, that a family might have to move across the country to start over… but that doesn’t happen anymore.
• Parents used to be concerned about their child’s behavior because bad behavior was a disgrace to the family name.
• That sense of the value of one’s “name” has been greatly diminished in our generation.
• But regardless of what our present culture says, God’s Word says that a good name is EXTREMELY valuable!
b. Ecc. 7:1 – better than sweet ointment.
• Ointment (perfume; cologne) is good.
• It has a pleasant aroma.
• The one wearing it emits a pleasant odor wherever he or she goes. (Just like one’s reputation that follows him wherever he goes.)
• One’s reputation or good name is like an odor.
• A good reputation emits a fragrant odor. A bad reputation is like a horrible odor.
• In other words, a good name is attractive and pleasant. It causes people to be favorably inclined towards.
• But a bad reputation is unattractive and unpleasant. Like a terrible body odor, it is repulsive and turns people away.
c. In our proverb, Solomon states that a good name is better than riches.
• It is good to have riches, but it is BETTER to have a good name.
• Some wealthy people have earned horrible reputations. Nobody likes them.
• They have earned a reputation for being mean, cruel, inconsiderate, selfish, hard hearted, etc.
• Such a person would be better off in many ways if he was poor and had a GOOD reputation.
• The poor man with a good reputation has friends. He can sleep at night because he was kind to people throughout the day.
d. A man’s reputation is more valuable than material things.
• In the business world, name and reputation are priceless.
• Companies spend millions of dollars to “buy” a good name… or if their name is tarnished to “restore” a good name. (Tylenol after the Tylenol scare in the 1990s.)
• Franchise owners spend millions of dollars just for the privilege of using a well known product name… like McDonalds or Ben & Jerry’s.
• The business world knows the value of a good name. Would to God that we as believers would realize that too!
4. We might think of this term “good name” in the sense of a “good testimony” as a believer.
a. This is an exceedingly important concept in the Bible to which I wish more of God’s people would be sensitive.
b. This also is earned.
c. In this sense, our testimony is even MORE valuable than earthly riches.
d. A good reputation among men is important because our “name” is connected with God’s “name” and reputation.
e. We represent the Lord among men.
f. We are living epistles, known and read of all men.
g. We are ambassadors for Christ, representing our “heavenly country” on earth.
h. Sometimes men will attempt to damage our testimony and speak evil of us. That is NOT earned.
i. Knowing this, it is our responsibility to be especially careful NOT to give them any fodder for their arguments.
j. Knowing that unsaved men are just looking for opportunities to impugn us and our testimony, we need to be the most careful people on earth to avoid giving them that opportunity.
k. I Pet. 4:14-15 – The world will speak evil of us for the NAME of Christ. We should rejoice in that. But don’t ever let them speak evil of us as an evildoer!
l. I Pet. 3:16-17 – Maintain a good conscience by living a godly life. If men speak evil of us for that, they may end up being ashamed for wrongly accusing us. There is even a good name or a good testimony to be earned in being willing to suffer for righteousness’ sake. That is far better than suffering for doing evil.
m. Psalm 106:8 – God saves for His name’s sake, that His power might be known.
n. I John 2:12 – He forgives our sins for His name’s sake.
o. Rev. 2:3 – Whatever WE do as believers is to be done for the Lord’s NAME’s sake. Our service is for His name’s sake (for His reputation).
p. Acts 9:16 – If we are called to suffer, it is for His name’s sake.
q. Luke 21:17 – Believers are often hated for His name’s sake.
r. Matt. 19:29 –We are called to sacrifice for His name’s sake.
s. Psalm 23:3 – Good Shepherd leads His flock for His name’s sake.
t. God is far more concerned about His reputation and His testimony than we might think.
u. And since HIS name and reputation are connected to our name and reputation, that makes our personal testimony on earth important.
v. That’s why we should exert great CARE about our behavior, our deportment, our attitude, our speech, our deeds, even our appearance before men.
w. Even picky little things that may not be big issues themselves, will be noticed by the unsaved who SEEK to find fault with us… to damage our good name.
x. A good name… a good testimony is not only valuable in an earthly sense (than great riches), it has ETERNAL value to it also.
y. Acts 9:15 – “But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.” In a sense, we ALL bear God’s name before the world. We are “Christ-ones.”
z. Heb. 11:39 – “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith.”
1b And loving favour rather than silver and gold.
Loving Favor
1. Loving favor defined:
a. Loving:
• This term has a wide range of meaning. It is similar to the English word “good.”
• The shades of meaning include: Pleasant; agreeable; good; excellent; valuable; bounteous; fruitful; correct; proper.
b. Favor:
• Favour; grace; charm; acceptance.
• It speaks of being found in someone’s favor… being kindly disposed towards a person or thing…
• Joseph found favor in the eyes of Potiphar and was made the chief steward.
2. Luke 2:52 – “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and man.”
a. Acts 2:47 – The early church found favor with all the people.
b. That is the normal reaction to a truly godly life.
c. II Cor. 8:21 – “Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.”
3. Prov. 3:4 – “So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.”
a. This favor is the result of employing godly wisdom in one’s life.
b. A life characterized by wisdom will bring a person into favor with others… with God and man.
c. This is more valuable than silver and gold… just like wisdom is more valuable than silver and gold.
4. A good name and favor is not something after which that we should CONSCIOUSLY seek.
a. We shouldn’t seek a good reputation in order to exalt self.
b. Rather, it should be a consequence of a godly life.
c. And if we DO earn a good reputation, the godly man will be humbled by it, and will acknowledge before the Lord that it was not truly deserved.
d. We should not seek the praise of men… or to become a celebrity.
e. The godly men and women in the Hebrews 11 hall of fame did not consciously SEEK to become a famous, world, renowned hero. They sought rather to honor God in their lives.
f. We should NOT seek the praise of men, but should seek the praise of God at the Bema Seat.
g. But a life dedicated to pleasing God will usually earn the respect and favor of men too.
Proverbs 22:2
The Rich and the Poor
Introduction:
1. This chapter mentions the poor several times: verses 2, 7, 9, 16, 22.
2. I Kings 10:23 – King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.
3. Solomon was the richest king on earth in his day. He knew about the rich.
4. Although the richest man on earth, he was compassionate towards the poor and expressed that compassion in several ways in Proverbs.
5. Also, because he observed human behavior so closely, he also knew something about the poor. He notes a similarity between the rich and poor in this verse.
2a The rich and the poor meet together:
A. The Two Groups
1. The rich: It refers to wealthy individuals with considerable power and influence, economically, socially, and politically. They have clout in the world.
2. The poor: a state of not having enough income or means of livelihood for normal essential needs; he has few resources and little standing or influence in a society.
3. There are two groups in every society: the rich and the poor.
4. Mark 14:7 – Until the coming of the Kingdom when poverty is virtually wiped out, the poor will always be with us.
a. We live in a cursed earth… in which the god of this world fosters the selfishness, greed, laziness, and slothfulness that already resides in the fallen hearts of sinful men.
b. According to Jesus, we will always LOSE in the war on poverty.
c. You will never cure poverty without curing those “heart” issues.
d. That doesn’t mean that we should not try to help alleviate the problem of poverty, but we shouldn’t have any dreamy-eyed expectations of eradicating it.
e. The poor will always be with us… and so will the rich.
B. The Two Groups Meet Together
1. Meet together: Two possible meanings:
a. To join together; to come in contact with.
b. To have in common.
2. FIRST MEANING: It IS true that these two groups DO come in contact with each on occasion.
a. The rich live in gated communities—to keep the undesirable riffraff out… but they cannot avoid contact with the poor altogether.
b. Although the rich usually like to keep to themselves, there is some mingling.
c. When the rich travel to their luxury hotels in Mexico or the islands, they come in contact with the poor.
d. Sometimes wealthy landowners and government officials in Africa have to travel to the oppressed regions of their country and do come in contact with those who are starving.
e. As they are being chauffeured to their million dollar suite, they sometimes see the homeless living in cardboard huts along the side of the road.
f. Contact between the rich and poor can make for some very uncomfortable and awkward moments.
g. Though Solomon was an extremely wealthy man, he frequently came in contact with the poor; especially as he functioned as a judge.
3. SECOND MEANING: While there may be many things that are vastly different about these two segments of society, there are some things that both groups have in common: the Lord made them all!
a. That seems to be the way the term “meet together” is used in this passage – to have in common.
b. We all have the same Maker—rich or poor.
c. There is one God over all.
d. The first part of the proverb states that the rich and the poor share something in common.
2b The LORD is maker of them all.
1. The Lord is the MAKER
a. Maker: This term is from a verb meaning to do, to make, to accomplish, to complete. God as the Maker is a synonym for God as Creator.
b. The fact of the existence of these two groups is to be traced back to God: to His providence and to His sovereignty.
c. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. That is His right as Sovereign and Creator.
d. Ecc. 5:19 – Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.
• Some might dispute that fact and claim that their wealth was not GIVEN to them by God. They had to EARN it!
• Deut. 8:18 – For it is HE that giveth thee power to get wealth.
e. I Sam. 2:7-8 – The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich.
• God is sovereign over life and death… who dies and who lives. He appoints the time of death.
• God is also sovereign over who advances and who does not… in every realm: finances; political power; businesses; whether barren of many children; even the size of churches.
• This is a great truth for both rich and poor to consider:
» The rich: Don’t look down on the poor; God could easily knock you down off your frail, temporal, economic pedestal! (Nebuchadnezzar)
» The poor: Don’t despise the rich. God set them in their place for His purpose.
» And hope for the poor too: God could easily lift up the beggar out of his dunghill… and set him on a throne.
» The Bible is full of examples of men whom God raised up out of obscurity to become powerful leaders: Joseph; Moses; David; Daniel. They each have stories to tell of God’s sovereignty in their lives… and changing the whole course of their lives.
2. The Lord made them ALL.
a. He made both groups. In this sense, they are all the same.
b. This is what they have in common.
c. They are all His creatures. (Fallen, sinful creatures in need of a Savior!)
d. Their differing social and economic statuses separate them from man’s perspective, but not from God’s perspective.
e. We look out on the sea of humanity and see the rich and the poor; we see humanity divided up according to groups that we have invented.
f. This goes beyond just rich and poor—also race, ethnicity; educated and uneducated; right down to what country and even city you were born in… etc.
g. When God looks out over the sea of humanity, He doesn’t see our social status; He sees nothing but His creatures made in His image.
h. Acts 17:26 – “He hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth.” God sees humanity as all the same… one blood… one race… one kind of creature… all in the same boat from God’s vantage point.
• Every creature is accountable to their Maker too.
• It matters not whether you are rich or poor, one day everyone will have to answer to their Maker… whether prince or pauper.
• Rev. 20:12 – “And I saw the dead small and great stand before God…”
• One day they will all meet together to be judged by God, either at the Bema or the Great White Throne.
i. That’s the point of this proverb.
• Of course God does divide mankind up into saved and unsaved, but that is not the point of this proverb.
• Solomon is speaking about how God as MAKER views the sea of humanity.
• As Maker, He sees creatures.
• As Maker, He doesn’t acknowledge social status or other man made divisions.
• God is no respecter of persons.
• He sees what they all have in common.
j. Gal. 3:28 – Today, (not as Maker but as Redeemer) when God sees us in Christ, He does not acknowledge the various groupings. He sees us all as ONE… one Body of believers. Here God sees us not only as creatures made in His image, but as new creatures in Christ, redeemed and being conformed to the image of Christ!
2. Implied is the fact that the Lord, the Maker is concerned about all the individuals in BOTH groups: rich and poor.
a. As a Creator He is concerned for all of His creatures.
3. Also implied is the fact that God has a PURPOSE in making some rich and others poor.
a. Poverty can be a blessing.
• It can teach creatures to be dependent upon the Lord; to be content with His provisions;
• Jas. 2:5 – The poor can learn to be rich in faith in ways the wealthy are unable.
• Poverty can also teach us how to be generous—like the poor widow who gave her last mite.
• Ps. 10:14 – The poor have an easier time committing their lives into the hands of the Lord.
• God has His purposes for allowing some to be poor.
• Poverty can be a blessing for those who are spiritually minded.
b. Riches can also be a blessing.
• It can teach creatures be thankful for God’s goodness and grace. It can teach creatures to be kind and generous with what they have been blessed with.
• Thus, there is a place for both rich and poor coming together… and rubbing elbows in society.
• Deut. 15:11 – The poor will never cease out of the land; hence, the opportunity to give and be generous will never cease.
• God providentially brings a Good Samaritan across the path of a poor, beaten, man who needs help and resources.
• God providentially crosses the paths of rich and poor… that the poor might be provided for… and that the rich might have opportunity to display generosity.
• James 2:14-16 – The poor also provide an ongoing opportunity for believers to express their faith.
• I John 3:16-19 – The poor provide an ongoing opportunity to manifest the love of God.
• Prov. 14:21 – Showing mercy to the poor is one of God’s means of providing true happiness and contentment to the rich.
• God’s purpose for having both the rich and poor in the world is for GOOD.
c. However, Satan may use this situation (trial) for evil.
• Poverty can become an excuse to steal and curse and envy.
• Riches can become an excuse to hoard and be selfish and to harden one’s heart.
d. Prov. 14:31 – One’s treatment of the poor is an expression of his attitude towards their Maker: for they are made in His image.
• Oppressing the poor is reproaching the Maker
• Showing mercy to the poor is honoring their Maker
Proverbs 22:3
Foreseeing Evil
3a A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself:
1. A prudent man:
a. Prudent: Subtle; shrewd; crafty; sly; sensible; discerning.
b. A prudent man has the wisdom and shrewdness to manage his affairs sensibly.
c. It is not a matter of education, knowledge, or raw intellect.
d. Rather, prudence is a matter of having the wisdom to use what knowledge he has in a sensible manner.
e. The prudent man thinks about his ways… about the direction his life is headed. (Prov. 14:8)
f. The prudent man is not gullible, but thinks things through before he decides to take action. (Prov. 14:15)
2. Foreseeth the evil.
a. Evil: (It has a wide range of meaning)
• Misery; distress; injury; fierce; wild; harmful i.e., pertaining to that which can harm or injure an object.
• Bad; affliction; trouble; danger.
• Ps. 23:4 – The psalmist feared no evil. He did not fear calamity because the Lord was with him.
b. Foreseeth:
• To see; look at; gaze at; to inspect; perceive; consider.
• Use the perception of sight to view objects and make judgments based on the perceptions.
c. The one who foresees evil is one who has enough perception to not only see, but to anticipate trouble or danger ahead of time.
• This term does not denote prophecy, but rather insight… foresight the ability to see potential pitfalls that lie ahead.
• Solomon is speaking about the kind of wisdom that is able to step back and see the big picture… and anticipate potential danger or trouble ahead.
• This is a most valuable skill in every area of life: from the business world, to our health, in raising children, to our walk with God.
3. He hides himself.
a. The wise man sees trouble coming and runs in the other direction. He HIDES himself from it.
b. He PROTECTS himself from the trouble by not exposing himself to it.
c. This man runs away from temptation… not INTO it.
d. This man puts on his armor to hide himself and protect himself from temptation.
e. He is humble and is very much aware of how easily he could fall. Thus, he avoids temptation.
f. He abstains from every form of evil.
g. Prov. 14:16 – The wise man departs from evil when he sees it coming.
• He FEARS the danger that lies ahead… and turns in the other direction.
• He will fear racing in a car…and weaving in and out of traffic… though others may think it’s cool.
• He will be afraid of copying the stupid stunts he has heard that others are doing…
• He will be afraid of taking foolish risks… and putting his life or the lives of others in harm’s way… just for the thrill of it.
• But most importantly, he fears displeasing God.
h. He runs AWAY from the evil and TO the Lord – his strong tower and place of safety and refuge in the time of trouble. (Psalm 18:1-2)
i. This implies that the wise man foresees trouble coming and DOES something about it!
• Consider Joseph. He knew that a famine was coming, so he DID something about it. He prepared for it by storing up grains for the lean years.
• Consider those who experienced the plague of hail in Egypt. Ex.9:18-20 – those who feared God took heed to the warning and sought shelter… and were safe. They could foresee what was coming.
j. Many of the troubles or dangers that we see coming, we are unable to stop. However, we CAN step out of their way and avoid being run over!
• The wise and prudent person is aware of danger… and takes warnings of danger or trouble seriously.
• He sees that a certain person is a trouble maker and avoids that person because he doesn’t want to get in trouble.
• He sees the danger of alcohol and stays away.
• He sees the potential trouble of marrying an unsaved person… or even a believer from a different doctrinal belief and stays away.
• He sees the potential danger of filling his mind and heart with novels and videos written by unsaved men who subtly seek to present a non Christian philosophy… and avoids them.
• He sees the spiritual danger of NOT reading his Bible and avoids that.
• He foresees the danger of putting a TV in his kid’s bedroom and turns the other way.
3b But the simple pass on, and are punished.
1. The simple is a naïve person. He is inexperienced.
a. Prov. 14:15 – The simple believeth every word: (gullible)
• Often this young person listens to his young friends (who do not have much wisdom) and believes every word.
• Thus, he remains simple… naïve… inexperienced in life…
• This term speaks of one who is careless.
• Sometimes it is because of ignorance and he just needs to be taught.
• Much worse is the case where his simplicity is NOT due to ignorance, but is due to the fact that he REFUSES to listen to counsel… because of pride.
b. A simple man CAN learn and become wise.
• Psalm 19:7 – “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”
• Psalm 119:130 – “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”
• BUT—the simple has to take in the Word to become wise.
2. “Pass on”
a. This term means to “travel through” or to “head down a pathway.”
b. Solomon’s point in this proverb is that the simple man “passes on” in the sense that he is carelessly heading down a pathway… unaware of the danger that lies ahead…
c. He is headed down a pathway in life, but he is not watching where he’s going; he is walking like a blind man; he is not paying attention to the warning signs along the way.
d. He is just strolling down the road, in a happy go lucky manner, but is oblivious to trouble and danger that lies ahead.
e. This is the way the unsaved live everyday with respect to the spiritual realities. They are headed down life’s pathway, oblivious to the fact that they are on their way to Hell unless they receive Christ.
f. But even believers can be simple and naïve. We should know better, but often we don’t. We don’t pay attention to the warnings in God’s Word… and just drift through life without paying attention to our spiritual life… unaware of the fact that our adversary walks about seeking to devour us… unaware of the fact that nothing in the world is of the Father… oblivious to temptations all around us… and not thinking about the spiritual disaster that could lie ahead if we are not careful!
g. Solomon speaks of this simple man in generic terms. It could apply to all kinds of situations.
3. The simple do NOT see the danger. They really don’t!
a. Because they don’t SEE it, they pass right on INTO it.
b. They might be warned, but don’t see the harm in it.
c. They might be warned repeatedly, and get angry at the one who warns. They see the one warning as making a big deal out of nothing. “This won’t bother me! You worry too much.”
d. In spite of the warnings that the ice is not thick enough, every year somebody drives his pickup truck on to the lake and loses his truck.
e. In spite of the hurricane warnings down south that are sounded for days in advance, there are always people walking along the beach to see it up close… and those who stay in their homes and are killed.
f. In spite of the doctor’s warnings, some people will not take their medicine, or follow the doctor’s orders… and suffer as a result.
g. In some cases, they could not foresee what was inevitable. But in many other cases, they heard the warning but refused to DO anything about it. Either way, the result is the same.
4. “And are punished.”
a. Punished:
• A verb meaning to fine, to penalize with a fine. The primary meaning is the monetary assessment for a crime.
• It can also be used in a more general sense of any kind of punishment… as is the case here.
• In other words, there is a PRICE to pay for not foreseeing evil… and from not hiding yourself from it.
• There is a penalty attached to this kind of behavior.
• Mistakes made by the inexperienced can be very costly.
• That’s why counsel from those who are experienced is so valuable!
• That’s why spending time in the Word is so necessary!
• It can enable you to avoid VERY costly mistakes.
b. II Cor. 6:14 – “Be ye not unequally yoked…” You ought to be able to foresee the problems that lie ahead when a believer marries an unbeliever! There is usually a PRICE to pay for disobeying this passage.
c. Prov. 7:7-8, 22-23 – The simple head straight into trouble and suffer for it.
d. Prov. 29:1 – He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
• This proverb implies that when a simple, inexperienced youth continually rejects wisdom, he will suffer for it… and there may be no remedy…
• It may be irreversible… It’s too late… especially if he dies.
5. And the SIMPLE here are not just the youth. There are many human beings in adult bodies, who never grew up and are still in the “simple” category.
a. Some of the things people do indicate that they either cannot foresee impending danger or refuse to hide from it.
b. Consider how commonplace this is:
• Houses built on cliffs in CA—the land of mud slides and earthquakes.
• Houses built in woody areas in fire zones in CA without removing the dead debris around their property.
• Houses built on sand on Cape Cod.
• Houses built on the sand in FL in hurricane zones.
• Houses built on the edge of the Mississippi in a flood zone.
• A city built below sea level—New Orleans.
c. It is unlikely that these folks did not SEE the potential danger; it is much more likely that they saw the danger but chose not to hide from it. (“Oh, nothing will happen to me!”)
d. It’s easy to see the folly of this in the natural realm. But what about in the SPIRITUAL realm?
6. What do YOU do with information about a potential danger or trouble ahead?
a. Do we take heed? Do we ignore it?
b. Do we assume that it could never happen to me?
c. Do we postpone doing what we ought to do until it is too late?
d. Do we pass on through it blissfully as if we are not afraid of the possible disaster that lies ahead?
Proverbs 22:4
Humility and the Fear of the Lord
Introduction:
1. This proverb (like a few others) teaches us the MEANS by which we obtain “riches, honor, and life.”
2. Everybody wants what Solomon describes in this passage.
3. Nobody wants poverty, dishonor, or death.
4. He presents this trilogy of blessings in a good light.
5. “Riches, honor, and life” are presented in a good light here almost like “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” are listed as the “inalienable rights” in the Declaration of Independence.
The Trilogy of Blessings
A. Riches
1. Defined:
a. Wealth, prosperity.
b. All kinds of wealth in land, possessions, cattle, and descendants.
2. The Bible in general and the Old Testament in particular are a bit ambivalent in their description of and attitude towards wealth and riches.
3. Sometimes it speaks of wealth and prosperity in a good light as great BLESSINGS from the Lord.
a. Psalm 112:1-3 – It is the blessing of the righteous.
b. Prov. 10:22 – God’s blessing makes rich.
c. Prov. 14:24 – Riches are the crown of wisdom.
d. I Kings 10:23 – Solomon (the author!) exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches.
4. But on the other hand, sometimes riches are spoken of in a bad light as DANGEROUS… something to be warned about.
a. Prov. 23:4 – Labor not to be rich.
b. Jer. 9:23-24 – Let not the rich man glory in his riches.
c. Deut. 8:11-14 – Beware that riches do not result in pride and self confidence.
5. In this proverb, Solomon speaks of riches in a GOOD light, as something worthy of a healthy, proper pursuit.
a. This proverb teaches the RIGHT way to obtain riches in life.
b. The proper way to pursue riches according to Solomon has nothing to do with business techniques, but rather in personal attitude.
c. Of course, riches themselves are perfectly neutral – neither good nor bad.
d. But one’s attitude towards them and one’s attitude in the pursuit of them is what makes all the difference.
6. Thus, we see a kind of TENSION in the Scriptures concerning wealth. It is used in both a good sense and a bad sense.
a. Prov. 30:8-9 – The author wants NEITHER! He sees the danger in both categories.
b. Somewhere in the middle is preferable.
c. Having enough but not too much carries fewer temptations.
7. The first in this trilogy is earthly wealth: riches and prosperity.
B. Honor
1. Defined: Dignity; reputation; glory.
2. Gen. 45:13 – Joseph tells his brothers to go home and tell their father about all his “glory” in Egypt. (status; achievements; etc.)
3. Isa. 5:13 – Translated “honorable” men, which refers to men of high status in society.
4. It is certainly not wrong to attain high status in the land.
a. Many heroes of the faith were men of high status.
b. Job, Moses, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Saul of Tarsus.
c. All of these were men of “honor,” of “high status,” aristocrats living in high society.
d. They were wealthy, well to do, honorable men of dignity and reputation among the people.
5. The Bible does not speak disparagingly about men of honor and prestige.
6. That position (like riches) is quite neutral.
7. God is not so concerned about what status a man has in society (for He is sovereign over it all), but God IS concerned about what KIND of person he is.
8. Most of us, if given the choice, would prefer to be a king over a garbage collector.
9. The second of this trilogy is earthly status: Honor; dignity; reputation; and glory.
C. Life
1. Defined:
a. This term can simply refer to physical life as opposed to death. This does not seem to be the connotation in this proverb.
b. The term can also speak of a fulfilled, prosperous, full, and bountiful life.
c. It speaks of blessed favorable circumstance in life, contrasted with a cursed, unfavorable life.
d. Life speaks of the ability to exercise all one’s vital power to the fullest.
e. In light of the first two parts of the trilogy, this meaning better fits the context.
f. Ps. 119:50 – For thy word hath quickened me. (Quickened is related to the term “life” in Proverb 22:4.)
g. Deut. 8:3 – Man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
h. Clearly some of the usages of the word “life” refer to more than just physical life.
i. It can mean something similar to what Jesus meant when He spoke of an “abundant” life.
j. Thus, it can refer to the quality of life rather than just the existence of it.
k. Often in the Jewish mind the length of life was also highly prized.
l. There are commands in the Old Testament that are accompanied by promises of long life for obedience.
m. This seems to be the way Solomon uses it in Proverbs 22:4: a long quality of life, a life worth living.
n. Prov. 3:16 – Lady Wisdom offers length of days and also riches and honor… (Same three qualities as in Prov. 22:4.)
How They Are Achieved
A. The main thrust of this proverb is to teach HOW this trilogy of blessings is achieved. (by what means)
1. The world has its way of achieving the “good life.”
a. The world seeks to be rich, famous, and to live the good life.
b. But their attitude is vastly different from what Solomon describes.
c. Their REASON for wanting to achieve this is entirely selfish.
d. Their MEANS of obtaining is also contrary to Scripture.
e. They say that if you want to be rich, famous, and live the “good life,” then you have to climb over people. You have to do whatever it takes to advance SELF.
f. It might require an occasional lie, cheating, back stabbing, etc… but (say they) that’s what you have to do!
g. Sometimes, you have to be aggressive, pushy, and assertive and not take no for an answer.
h. On other occasions, you have to butter people up, say what people want to hear, and even be deceitful.
i. On occasion you have to be ruthless, a cut throat; cold hearted; and not considerate of others if you want to advance self.
j. If you want to succeed, it is the survival of the fittest.
2. Solomon describes a very DIFFERENT means of obtaining riches, honor, and the “good life.”
B. The First Means is Humility.
1. This seems exactly the opposite of what the world says.
2. Humility defined:
a. Gentleness; meekness; mildness; tenderness; and lowliness.
b. It is the opposite of arrogance and pride
c. For the believer today, humility is much more than a natural temperament. (Some very ungodly souls have had a naturally quiet, shy, meek, human temperament.) For the Christian humility is not natural, but supernatural: it is the fruit of the Spirit.
d. Prov. 18:12 – “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.”
• Note that humility precedes honor in God’s sight.
• The kind of honor Solomon describes in this proverb is not the same kind of honor the world seeks after.
• There is a kind of honor that STEMS from humility.
• Humility is being like Christ… and that itself is honorable—whether you become part of the aristocracy or not.
e. James 4:10 – “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”
• James 4:6b – “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”
• It should NOT be our goal in life to be lifted up on high… to a high position.
• It should be our goal to be Christlike and humble.
• When that is the case, God lifts us up… to the earthly status of HIS choice.
• Nothing could be more contrary to the true spirit of these passages than the heretical use of them by the gospel of success folks—who twist Scripture and use it to advance their own greed and personal wealth.
• The obvious point here is not that we should make it our life’s goal to be lifted up… into high society and to become rich, but that our goal should be to walk in humility before God and leave our status in life in HIS hands.
3. Proverbs 22:4 states that “riches, honor, and life” are obtained by means of “humility.”
a. “BY” = by means of; as a consequence of; as a reward for.
b. Riches, honor, and life are a reward for… or are the consequence of a life of humility.
c. David was a humble shepherd boy, and God lifted him up and gave him riches, honor, and an abundant life.
d. David did not humble himself SO THAT he would become rich and famous.
e. There was no selfish or greedy motive behind his humility. It was PURE humility… true humility.
f. Rather, when God sought for a man to serve Him as king, God looked for a humble man and found David, and raised him up.
4. Pride and arrogance will PREVENT us from being lifted up by the Lord.
a. Pride and arrogance often result in advancing SELF in the world… but that is a far cry from being lifted up by the Lord.
b. Prov. 16:18 – The Bible warns that before destruction comes pride! Pride does not bring success in the long run.
c. Prov. 11:2 – Pride does not bring honor. It brings shame.
5. God says that TRUE riches, honor, and life come from humility.
C. The Second Means is the Fear of the Lord
1. The fear of the Lord speaks of a genuine holy reverence for God.
a. It speaks of being afraid of offending God or disobeying Him.
b. It goes hand in hand with humility before God.
c. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride, and arrogance (Prov. 8:13).
d. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (9:10)
• And wisdom protects us… keeps us from danger and harmful things the fool engages in.
• Riches and honor are given to us from Lady Wisdom. (Prov. 8:18)
e. The fear of the Lord prolongs days. (10:27)
f. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life. (Prov.14:27)
g. Living in the fear of God is a way of life.
2. Riches, honor, and an abundant life are the result a God-fearing life.
3. Prov. 21:21 – Life, righteousness, and honour are obtained by following after righteousness and mercy.
4. Ps. 34:9 – “O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.” (God provides for those who fear Him.)
5. Psalm 112:1-3 –Riches and honor and power to those who fear God.
6. Associated with the fear of the Lord are riches, honor, and life.
Proverbs 22:5
Keeping One’s Soul
Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward:
A. The Froward
1. Froward defined:
a. Strong’s: Twisted, (its root used of braided hair); distorted; crooked; perverse; perverted.
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Morally crooked or warped; i.e., pertaining to what is distorted or perverted from a just, right condition.
c. It is translated variously in this verse: froward, perverse, crooked, corrupt.
2. Froward described:
a. Prov. 2:15 – “whose ways are crooked” (same word).
• The meaning is further amplified by a related term translated “froward” (a different Hebrew term) which means to “depart; to deviate; to be lost; to be led away from correct behavior; on the wrong path.”
• It describes a person whose ways are crooked… because he has deviated from the straight and narrow path… he is headed in the wrong direction.
• We all know folks on the wrong path… lost and headed in the wrong direction.
• We may know some believers whose lives are crooked… bent out of shape… deviated from the right pathway.
b. Psalm 101:4 – David did not want anyone with a crooked or perverse heart to be working with him in his royal court.
c. Prov. 11:20 – Those of a froward heart are an abomination to the Lord. Why? Because He has spoken. He has offered us His wisdom. He is pleading with us to follow His wisdom which will keep us on the right pathway. But if we CHOOSE to be froward and deviate from the straight and narrow—we have chosen to reject God, His Word, His wisdom, and His fellowship.
d. Prov. 17:20 – The man with a froward heart will not find good. He may search high and low, but will never be able to attain it. That is quite a statement!
e. Prov. 28:6 – The froward man may find great wealth and success in the world, but he will not find good. In reality, he is worse off than the poor man who maintains his integrity and does NOT deviate from the right pathway in life.
f. Prov. 19:1 – It is possible to be froward (twisted; crooked) in our speech. This froward man may be able to put up the appearance of walking the straight and narrow road… until he opens his mouth… and perversity flows out… crookedness flows out.
g. We can be froward in our ways, in our heart, and in our speech.
h. Prov. 8:8 – But there is no NEED to be crooked.
• Wisdom cries out and states that there is nothing “perverse” (same word as froward in 22:5) in her words.
• When we follow the wisdom of God’s Word we will NEVER be led astray.
• It always leads us in the right direction… when accurately interpreted and applied.
5a Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward:
B. Thorns and Snares in the Way
1. Thorns
a. Prov. 15:19 – “The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns.”
• Thorns were considered an obstacle.
• They would often grow in deep, thick hedges and would impede your progress as you were walking through the woods.
b. Num. 33:55 – If the children of Israel did not drive out all of the Canaanites, they would become THORNS in their side.
• In other words, they would become a constant irritant to them… unending aggravation.
• The presence of the Canaanites in the land would also be an obstacle to Israel and would hinder their ability to settle down in the land and to rest under their fig trees.
c. The froward man who has chosen to walk in a crooked pathway… or speak with a crooked tongue… will find his life full of THORNS.
• He will find himself facing all kinds of difficult obstacles.
• The crooked pathway he has chosen will not be an easy route as he had hoped. It will become to him a constant irritant to them… unending aggravation… like a thorn in his side that doesn’t go away.
• He will be pestered, annoyed, hassled, and frustrated by the obstacles all along his crooked pathway.
• Prov. 13:15 – The way of the transgressor is HARD! Very often froward folks learn this lesson the hard way… and often after it is too late to do anything about it.
2. Snares
a. Snares are traps.
b. Prov. 7:23 – The term “snare” is often used of a bird trap. Here the point is that the dumb bird runs straight for the trap, not realizing that it is for his life… it will be his END.
c. The froward think that they are cutting corners and taking a crooked path in order to make life easier, but they are dead wrong.
d. Ecc. 9:12 – Here the point is that snares or traps ensnare their victims suddenly and without warning. They had no idea what they were getting themselves into.
e. How many believers have deviated from the straight and narrow way by getting involved with drinking or drugs, having no idea that they were running straight into a trap… that has ensnared millions. And just because a doctor prescribes a drug does not mean that we SHOULD take it. Many people become snared by LEGAL drugs with legal prescriptions—like Michael Jackson… and Rush Limbaugh… and multiple thousands of others.
f. For others their trap may be pornography; for others it is just the pursuit of pleasure which can also be a trap.
g. I Tim. 6:9 – It could be the pursuit of money…
h. Traps come in all sizes, shapes, and styles and dangle various kinds of bait to lure us in.
i. Our old nature continually devises a barrel full of reasons and justifications for deviating from the straight and narrow. Solomon warns us here of the DANGER involved.
j. That so called “short cut” or “easy route” leads to disaster. It may become a thorn in your side that you might have to live with for the rest of your life. It may be a sudden trap that ensnares you… and from which you are unable to escape.
3. There are thorns and snares in the way of the froward man.
5b He that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
A. He That Keeps his Soul
1. Keep Defined: Keep: guard; pay attention to; watch; observe; be careful; preserve; care for.
2. Usage:
a. It is used of “keeping the garden.” (Gen. 2:15)
b. It is used of “keeping a house.” (II Sam. 15:16)
c. It is used of “keeping a flock.” (Gen. 30:31)
d. The basic idea of the root is “to exercise great care over.”
3. Thus, Solomon is speaking here about the man who “exercises great care over” his own soul.
a. The soul can refer simply to creature life… animated life.
b. It can also refer to the heart, the inner self, i.e., the essence of life, including thoughts, feelings, desire… the inner man… intellect, emotion, and will.
c. Prov. 4:23 – Keep your heart will all diligence. (Though the terms are different, this is quite similar in meaning to “keeping your soul.”
4. The man who keeps his heart with all diligence… and keeps his soul… and refuses to deviate onto a crooked pathway will be FAR FROM the thorns and snares encountered by the froward man.
a. The man who is diligent about his pathway in life finds that all the diligence and hard work pays off in the end.
b. It might SEEM like the narrow road that he took was the HARD road… the more difficult route.
c. However, Solomon states that although the narrow road requires diligence… in the long run, it is actually EASIER!
d. It is free from many of the thorny hedges that impede the progress of the pathway the froward man took.
e. He does not have to deal with the constant irritations, aggravation, and hassles that the froward man has dogging him the rest of his life. The way of the transgressor is hard.
f. But the road that initially SEEMS most difficult is actually the easier route to take.
g. It is FAR from the thorns and snares on the crooked road.
5. The contrast in this proverb is between the froward man (who deviates from the straight and narrow way) and the man who exercises great care over his life.
a. The froward man is NOT careful. He does not guard his soul… or pay close attention to his life.
b. He is careless, inattentive, and reckless. As a result, he ends up dealing the consequences of thorns and snares.
c. But the man who pays close attention to the route he takes, carefully maps out each step, and is observant, and keeps his inner life right before God will discover that the road he chose was free from the strife and troubles that many others have to deal with.
d. It is a much preferred route.
e. Prov. 22:3 – “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.”
f. Prov. 16:17 – “He that keepeth his way preserveth his soul” from many dangers, toils, and snares that hound those who do NOT keep their heart… and their way.
Proverbs 22:6
Train Up a Child
Train up a child in the way he should go:
and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Introduction:
1. This is one of the best known proverbs.
2. The general gist of it seems simple enough to understand: a simple “if…then” statement. (If you train him right, then he will not depart.)
3. However, it raises several significant questions.
a. Is this a promise? Does it promise every parent that if he does his job right, then the child will turn out right?
b. If it is a promise, then is it true? There seems to be so many exceptions!
c. What does “train” mean in this verse?
d. What is “the way he should go”?
4. Thus, a proverb that at first glance seems quite simple to understand, is not so simple.
6a Train up a child…
1. Train defined: (?anukkâ)
a. The term is used of a Jewish holiday today: Hanukkah.
b. Strong’s: To train; dedicate; inaugurate.
c. Dictionary of Bible Languages: Dedicate, consecrate, i.e., a ritual and commitment to devote a structure to deity or special purpose
d. Theological Workbook of the Old Testament: Begin; initiate; inaugurate.
2. Its usage:
a. Its derivatives are used in connection with the dedication of structures:
• A Temple (I Kings 8:63)
• A house (Deut. 20:5)
• Wall (Neh. 12:27)
• An altar (Num. 7:10)
• An image (Dan. 3:2)
b. The main emphasis of the Hebrew word translated “train” does not seem to be on training in the sense of teaching and instructing.
c. The emphasis is on dedication… or initiation… a consecration or a setting apart something for a sacred use, in honor of God.
3. This may be why some churches have baby dedication ceremonies.
a. It is seen as an act of dedicating the child to the Lord.
b. I am not convinced that a “baby dedication ceremony” is the kind of dedication that Solomon had in mind.
c. You can have a ceremony to dedicate a building, and consider that building dedicated to God’s service.
d. But children are not like buildings. Holding a dedication service for a baby does NOT mean that the child is therefore dedicated to the Lord.
e. I don’t dedicate babies because I don’t want to give any false impressions. If anything, it’s the PARENTS who need to be dedicated to the Lord at the baby’s birth!
f. Besides the only baby who was dedicated to the Lord like that was Hannah’s baby Samuel. And she left him at the Temple. We don’t encourage that here?
4. In what sense are parents to dedicate/consecrate their children?
a. There are quite a number of passages in Proverbs that speak directly to child rearing. All of them speak of the training as either correction or chastening. (for example: Prov. 22:15)
b. This term is different. This term is much more positive.
c. When a priest is consecrated to the priesthood, it means that his course of life has been restricted to the priesthood. Other career opportunities are out.
d. When a Temple is dedicated to the Lord, it means that it this building is greatly restricted in its use. It is not to be used for other activities. It was not to become a place of retail sales or entertainment. It was dedicated to God’s service… and nothing else.
e. Thus, this term for dedication or consecration speaks of narrowing his way… setting him apart from other “ways” and setting him UNTO the way he should go.
f. Some have illustrated this process by noting that if you bend a young, tender sapling, you can affect the course of its growth.
g. That young sapling has been dedicated to a particular course right from the BEGINNING… right from the start of life.
h. But it is not a ceremony that dedicates that child to a particular course of life. It is the parents training and example.
i. The items dedicated (house; temple; idol; wall; altar) were dedicated right at the very beginning… BEFORE the temple or the altar were up and running as “adult” structures. That’s the time for a dedication.
j. The parents have to be dedicated to dedicating the child to the right way… the way that he should go.
6b In the way he should go:
1. The way (Derek) – this term we have seen dozens of times in Proverbs.
a. Literally, it speaks of a road, a journey, or a way.
b. Figuratively, it means “a way of life,” a course of life, a manner of life… conduct of life. (it almost always is used figuratively.)
c. Solomon is speaking of the course of life for this child.
2. He should go
a. This term is also difficult to translate.
b. Literally, its main definition is that of a mouth or opening.
c. It is used of the mouth of a person or animal.
d. It is also used of the opening of a well (Gen.29:2), a hole or opening in a garment (Ps.133:2),
e. The “way he should go” is literally translated “upon the mouth of his way.”
f. Children are to be trained “according to” the way he should go… according to the opening of his way.
g. A question arises at this point: does “the way he should go” mean:
• The way he OUGHT to go? (The right way; the way of wisdom; the straight and narrow way.)
• Or according to the way HE (as an individual; with certain personality traits; with particular skills and interests) should go?
» In other words, if Tommy shows skill and aptitude in carpentry, or music, or athletics, then he should be channeled in that direction.
» There is certainly truth in that.
» And the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
» For Tommy, that IS the way that he should go. That is what he will excel in.
» It may not be the way his parents had expected… but it may be the way he should go.
» His father may have wanted him to be lawyer or a missionary… but he may be cut out to be a carpenter.
» Training should be in accordance with the way that particular child should go.
h. In light of the way the Hebrew word “derek” (way) is used throughout Proverbs, it is best to understand the term to mean “the right way of conduct”… the way of righteousness and godliness.
• This is the most natural and obvious way to read the text.
i. The exhortation to “train up a child” here is quite similar in meaning to what Paul wrote in Eph. 6:4: “Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
j. That is the way they should go. Separate them from all other ways… and point them… direct them… set them apart to the “mouth of that way.”
k. Get them started down the right pathway. Initiate them in that way.
3. Thus, Solomon is stating that children (from the very beginning) are to be dedicated to a certain course of behavior… a particular way of living… godliness… the way of wisdom.
a. They are to be consecrated towards the MOUTH of that way.
b. They start off at the opening of that way… the beginning of the long road ahead…
c. And don’t expect them to immediately demonstrate the maturity expected at the END of that road… when they are just beginning at the mouth of that road.
4. The way the child SHOULD go is not always the same as the way as the child WOULD (wants to) go.
a. Because each child is born as a little heathen… with a sin nature that is bent in the wrong direction, it takes effort to bend him in the right direction.
b. They don’t WANT to do what is right… they do not naturally desire the straight and narrow road.
c. But it is the way that they SHOULD go.
d. It is the responsibility of the parent to bend that little plant away from the wrong direction it WANTS to go in… and direct it towards the way it SHOULD go.
e. My wife bought some stakes for her flowers.
• They are metal stakes with a circle attached. When the flower is small and before it matures and blossoms, she gently bends the young, tender stem away from the way it would grow on its own, and she inserts the stem through the circle.
• Once it goes through the mouth of that circle, it will continue to grow up through the circle… and the circle supports it and holds it up when it is full grown and a bit top heavy from the bloom.
• On its own, it would grow up and flop over… and its blossom would not be seen. It would fall into the dirt.
• But if it is directed early on through the mouth of that support… the way it should go… it will be supported for the entire season.
• Once the stem is put through the mouth of that ring, it is then dedicated to growing upright.
• But of course, you have to be very gentle in bending those tender plants. If treated too roughly, it could break… and have permanent damage.
f. The fact that there is such a huge difference between the way he WOULD go and the way he SHOULD explains why virtually all of the other passages in Proverbs dealing with child rearing deal with correcting or chastening.
6c And when he is old, he will not depart from it.
1. This part of the proverb is clear and easy to understand. None of the terms is ambiguous or confusing.
2. This raises a question in the minds of many: Is this proverb true?
a. If Solomon is saying that if you train your children in the way that they should go, and when they are old they will not depart from it… what about the millions of exceptions? What about the millions of young people who DID go astray in later years? There are many examples in the Bible of this… not to mention life today.
b. How do we harmonize the statement with the reality we see around us every day?
3. The answer (as we have seen many times in this book) is in the definition and purpose of a PROVERB.
a. Proverbs are little nuggets of truth… truth crystallized into a catchy little phrase.
b. Proverbs were designed to arrest the attention and make a point… usually just one main point.
c. But they do NOT hold true in each and every case… or were they intended to be absolute promises.
d. There are many exceptions to the proverbs.
• Not everybody who digs a hole falls into it. (Prov. 26:27)
• Not every young person who curses his parents has his eyeballs clawed out and eaten by birds.
• Not every hard worker stands before kings. (Prov. 22:29)
• The proverbs are catchy phrases that summarize truth… but were not designed to cover all the bases. Of course there are many exceptions to the proverbs.
e. So, is this proverb true?
• Of course it is true… but not in every case. It is true that this is the GENERAL rule… a general principle.
• Don’t forget, Solomon himself (the one who wrote this proverb) also departed from the straight and narrow way when he was older.
4. There is a good word of encouragement in this proverb to every parent of a prodigal child.
a. Good training in his early years always gives the hope that one day… perhaps when down and out… he will recall that training, and it will kick in… and he will repent and return to the way that he should go.
b. It might even be after the parents are gone to glory.
c. Good training early on at the very least provides them with a MEANS to return.
• They may not presently LIKE the way they should go, but at least they know where it is… how to find it.
• Many young people are wandering about without a clue as to where the way they should go is to be found! Even if they wanted to get on the right path, they wouldn’t know where to find it.
• But the one who received good training early on, WILL know where to find it.
d. There is no need for shame in the heart of the parent who trained them in the way they ought to go.
e. But there IS shame to be had when the training was NOT provided! (Prov. 29:15 – A child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.”
f. But the parents of children who have wandered away always have the God-given hope from this passage that their good training in those early years will pay off one day. The prodigal will return.
Proverbs 22:7
Servant to the Lender
Introduction:
1. We have a proverb that follows the basic theme of this proverb: The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
2. However, this proverb states more than the mere fact of it; it also adds one major reason WHY this occurs.
7a The rich ruleth over the poor
1. This part of the proverb states a sad fact of life: the rich DO rule over the poor.
a. Solomon is not saying that this is the way it SHOULD be. Rather, he is saying that this is the way it IS.
b. It is not right. It is not moral. It is not fair. It does not reflect the character of God or godliness. It is not the way God designed things to be.
c. However, it is the way things are in a sin cursed earth filled with six billion self-centered, selfish, power hungry sinners, all competing for supremacy.
d. This is the way things have been all throughout human history—apart from a very brief period in the Garden of Eden before the fall.
e. But ever since then, the rich (and therefore powerful) have ruled over the poor.
f. This has been the world’s pecking order ever since.
2. The rich RULE over the poor.
a. Rule: To rule; have dominion; reign; govern; control; be in charge; i.e., have a person or entity exercise authority over persons or governments.
b. Judg. 14:4 – In those days the Philistines had dominion (same word) over Israel.
c. II Sam. 23:3 – God has made it clear that HE expects those who rule over others to do so with JUSTICE: righteousness, fairness.
3. The RICH:
a. There is a clear advantage to having wealth… on so many levels.
b. Wealth places a person in a position of dominance and power.
c. Money buys influence… in high places.
d. Money buys political clout.
• Companies with lots of money can afford lobbyists to do their bidding in Washington.
• The days of a poor man running for president are over in this country.
• It is necessary to spend millions upon millions of dollars to run for high office.
• Prov. 17:8 – Money also “buys” favors from those in power… Such “gifts” (bribes) can be very influential.
e. Money buys (so called) “justice” in the court system.
• Prov. 17:23 – wicked men use “gifts” to pervert justice.
• Michael Jackson spent $20 million to hush the families accusing him of child abuse. Innocent people don’t do that. Poor people CANNOT do that… but the rich can.
• The wealthy can afford the very best lawyers. Poor people have to rely on the lawyers provided by the state—who very often cannot match the skill of an expensive attorney.
f. Money buys superior military might.
• Very often this translates into raw power… even world dominance.
• A poor country with an ill equipped military is easily overtaken by a rich country that is able to afford the latest technology.
4. The POOR:
a. This term is used to denote a person who has few resources and little standing or influence in a society.
b. I Sam. 18:23 – David spoke of himself (prior to being king) as a “poor man and of little esteem.”
c. Being poor implied not only poor financially, but most often it also spoke of being in a lower class with little to no voice in society… no political clout… no political power…
d. Thus, being poor meant being weak.
• A poor city could easily be overtaken by a wealthy city because it would not be able to afford the military equipment needed for battle: horses; chariots; etc.
• Poverty places a person at a disadvantage… they are in a position of weakness.
e. Prov. 29:7 – Evil men who are rich and powerful care nothing for the condition of the poor.
f. Hab. 3:14 – Even worse, they often DEVOUR the poor. They take advantage of them.
g. Jas. 5:4 – the wealthy often DEFRAUD the poor.
h. Prov. 22:16 – The wealthy often OPPRESS the poor to increase their own riches.
i. This is the sad plight of the poor and has been throughout world history.
j. This includes our own country too.
k. When it comes to wealth, advantage, and power, all men are NOT created equal.
l. Some are born into abject poverty. Others are born with a silver spoon in their mouths.
m. Some are born to heroin addicts. Others are born into blue blood families with gobs of old money… and go to all the best schools.
n. Before God, they are all equal, but in the world, that is not the case.
o. The rich RULE over the poor… and often take advantage of them.
p. This is a sad fact of life in a cursed earth.
7b And the borrower is servant to the lender.
1. One main REASON WHY the rich often are able to rule over the poor is because they have money to LOAN to the poor.
2. The rich do not normally loan money to the poor unless it is to their own personal advantage.
3. They loan money to the poor to MAKE money off the poor by charging interest…
4. II Kings 4:1-2 – Here is the story of the widow of a poor prophet.
a. After her husband died, she was left in poverty.
b. Evidently she had to borrow money from the creditor, and was unable to pay her debt.
c. It appears that she gave him everything in her house, for it was empty.
d. Now that she had nothing left, she feared that he would come and take her two sons! Creditors can be quite cruel.
e. Thus, she and her sons were in danger of becoming SERVANTS to the lender… literal slaves!
5. The point of this part of the proverb is that borrowing money is a sure way to become a slave of sorts… a slave to the lender.
6. As individuals, we can become slaves to a house loan.
a. This is a huge problem in our country.
b. The financial mess we are in is largely due to the fact that people bought more house than they could afford!
c. And the system in place facilitated that kind of foolish lending and borrowing.
7. We can also become slaves to a credit card company.
a. We have people buying more material goods than they can afford by simply putting it on a credit card… which charges exorbitant interest rates.
b. That can become like slavery of our own doing.
c. And for many, it is very hard (if not impossible) to be set free.
8. As a nation we can also become slaves to the lender.
a. It seems that we are borrowing more money than we are able to pay back.
b. We are borrowing money from countries that do not have our best interest in mind—like China.
c. National debt has become a big problem.
d. It seems like a mild case of insanity to think that we can SPEND our way out of debt.
e. Those in charge of the economy are much smarter than I on those matters, but I wonder what school of economics taught them that!
f. If I owe too much money, spending more doesn’t make the problem go away. It only exacerbates the problem. I’m no economist, but I do know that it doesn’t work in my household!
g. Perhaps we should obey the Bible and PRAY for all those in authority! The decisions they make can affect our lives and the lives of our children in many ways… including financially.
h. Deut. 28:12 – One of the blessings God promised Israel in the future was that they would no longer be the borrower but the lender… they would be the head and not the tail.
9. This proverb really stands as a WARNING: beware of borrowing!
a. Borrowing should be done on rare occasions.
b. Debts should be paid off as quickly as possible.
c. Financial debt can be a burden around the neck.
d. It can become a form of financial slavery.
e. In a sense, when in debt, we walk around with a ball and chain attached.
f. And it limits our lives as well. You cannot go off to be a missionary if you are head over heels in debt.
g. Matthew Henry wrote: “Some sell their liberty to gratify their luxury.”
h. It might seem great for the moment, but eventually living beyond our means catches up to us.
i. The end of that road is financial slavery.
10. Some believers have assumed that this proverb condemns borrowing money.
a. Some believers actually think it is a SIN to take out a loan or borrow money.
• They usually base this belief on this passage and on Rom. 13:8 – where Paul says, “Owe no man anything.”
• The Bible Knowledge Commentary suggests the following translation: “Let no debt remain outstanding.” (lit., “Do not keep on owing anyone anything”) except the continuing debt to love one another (lit., “except loving one another”).
• We ought not to get BEHIND on any of our payments, but the Bible does not forbid loans altogether.
• If the payment is due on the first of the month and you do not have the money, then you OWE.
• Rom.13:8 could NOT mean that we are never to be in debt because the previous verses (Rom.13:7) just said that we are to render all their “dues.” (Pay what is owed to those who deserve it.) It means we are to pay what we owe.
• If this verse is teaching that we should NEVER borrow anything, then ALL borrowing would therefore be sin.
» Borrowing a book from a library; a cup of sugar from a neighbor…
» That would also mean that loaning was sin – because it encourages others to borrow (sin).
» However, the Scriptures do NOT condemn the concept of borrowing and lending.
» For example:
→ Ps. 112:5 – “A good man showeth favor and lendeth…”
→ II Kings 6:5 – A prophet borrowed an ax
→ Ex. 22:24 – Borrowing and loaning money was regulated but it was not forbidden.
→ Ex. 11:2 – God actually commanded the Jews to borrow from the Egyptians during the days of the Exodus.
→ Matt. 5:42 – Jesus told His disciples not to turn away someone who wanted to borrow money from them.
→ Deut. 15:8 – Lending is encouraged.
b. Prov. 22:7 neither condemns nor condones borrowing. It is simply a WARNING about the danger of borrowing money: you could become a slave!
c. The thought of becoming a slave ought to make us think twice before we sign on the dotted line for a loan.
• Can we meet the payments?
• How tight will my finances be if I borrow more?
• What are the penalties for paying off early, or for making a payment late?
• Have I read the fine print?
• Do I really NEED to borrow this money?
• Could I wait until I have enough cash to buy it?
Proverbs 22:8
Sowing Iniquity
Introduction:
1. This is yet another proverb that deals with a recurring theme in the book: you reap what you sow. (I counted 27 such proverbs so far!)
2. Each one comes to the subject from a slightly different perspective.
3. In this proverb the emphasis is on the fact that the one who sows evil shall not do so forever.
8a He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity:
A. He that soweth iniquity
1. Sowing
a. The term for sowing is an agricultural term.
b. It means to plant seeds in the soil with the expectation of receiving a harvest.
c. To “sow” seed is to scatter it… to plant it…
d. It was usually done by broadcasting the seed, which means to spread it out over a large area.
2. Sowing iniquity
a. Iniquity: Unrighteousness; injustice; wrong; dishonesty; anything that deviates from the right way of doing things.
b. The concept of “sowing” iniquity speaks of a person who scatters injustice and unrighteousness wherever he goes… in whatever he does… and whatever he says.
c. Ungodly sowers are often quite diligent in their work too. They sow a LOT of seeds throughout the years.
B. Shall Reap Vanity
1. Vanity
a. Strong’s: Trouble; sorrow;
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Calamity; deceit; (used of idols).
c. Zodhiates: Nothingness; trouble; sorrow; evil; or mischief.
d. The term seems to have two separate streams of meaning:
• Trouble; calamity; mischief; misfortune.
• Nothingness; emptiness; idolatry.
e. The basic meaning of the term in our proverb is “trouble.”
• Gen. 35:18 – Just before Rachel died, she named her newborn son, Ben-oni, (son of sorrow). (The second part of the name is the term translated “vanity” in our proverb.)
• Ps. 90:10 – In speaking of the quality of life after 80, the psalmist said, “yet is their strength labour and sorrow.” The term “sorrow” is the word for vanity in our proverb. It is the sorrow that comes from times of trouble and difficulty.
2. The one who sows iniquity will reap TROUBLE at some point.
a. He will reap calamity; sorrow; mischief.
b. His works will produce trouble for him—sooner or later.
c. Those who broadcast the seeds of injustice and oppression can expect to reap trouble as a direct result of their sowing.
d. Job 4:8 – as Eliphaz rightly told Job, those who sow iniquity will reap the SAME.
e. They will eventually reap a harvest of their greed, injustice, oppression, arrogance, and selfishness.
f. They may seem to prosper for a time, but not forever. Eventually it will catch up to them.
g. Evil actions are like seeds. Once sown, they produce a harvest—like it or not. There are always consequences to our actions.
h. This passage teaches that the ONE WHO SOWS shall reap trouble.
i. Others may also experience trouble from his actions. But our proverb tells us that the man who SOWS will especially feel it—sooner or later. He himself will reap what he has sown.
3. The one who does NOT sow iniquity will not find such trouble.
a. Prov. 12:21 – “There shall no evil (same term – no trouble) happen to the just.”
b. If they would simply change their ways, their lives would improve.
c. Even if unbelievers lived according to the proverbs, their lives would improve immensely.
d. But as long as they continue to sow seeds of iniquity, they can expect to reap their awful harvest. This is one of the facts of life.
8b And the rod of his anger shall fail.
1. The rod
a. Rod: Staff; club; javelin.
b. Rod: A scepter or staff, used by a person or ruler as a figurative ornamental symbol of his rulership.
2. The rod of his anger
a. Anger: Outpouring; overflow; arrogance; excess; fury; wrath; rage.
b. The rod of his anger seems to refer to a weapon (figuratively speaking) used by a ruler or person of power to angrily oppress his victims… or his subjects… or employees…
c. The rod of his anger (rage; fury; arrogance; etc) could either be:
• A symbol of his position over people
• A symbol of his wrath inflicted against them
d. Either way, the man in question here IS in a position to inflict wrath against others and evidently he does just that.
e. Perhaps Solomon is implying that he uses his position of authority as a weapon to inflict wrath and rage against others.
f. This seems to speak of a ruler who rules by unbridled passion rather than by prudence and wisdom.
3. But the point of this proverb is that he will not be able to do so forever.
a. The rod of his anger shall FAIL.
b. Fail: To accomplish; cease; consume; determine; end; fail; finish; to be completed; to be spent; to wear out.
c. Perhaps his position will come to an end.
d. Perhaps his power will come to an end… will wear out.
e. Perhaps his life will come to an end in judgment.
f. One way or another, his ability to wield that rod of anger shall fail… shall come to an end.
g. Prov. 11:18 – The wicked receive for what they have sown; but if they would just sow righteousness, they would have a GOOD reward for their labors.
4. The cruel wrath of oppressive, powerful men will FAIL sooner or later.
a. Cruel kings like the Pharaoh in the days of the Exodus will discover that their power over others comes to an end sooner or later.
b. You can’t go on oppressing men forever. Eventually there will be a rebellion or a revolution.
c. There might be an assassination… or a military coup.
d. Perhaps God Himself will intervene and smite the oppressors, bringing to an end the “rod of their anger.”
5. Consider Sennacherib: Isa.10:5 –
a. Vs. 5-6 – First note that God refers to Assyria (and her king) as a “rod” in God’s hand. (rod = same term for rod in Prov.22:8)
b. God was using Assyria as a “rod” or a weapon against His own people, Israel. Israel was ripe for judgment, and God chose to use Assyria to inflict judgment upon them.
c. Vs. 7-11 – God used Assyria, but Assyria did not believe that she was but a rod in God’s hand.
• She thought that she was doing it all in her own might and for her own evil purposes.
• vs. 7 – Her purpose was to destroy nations; to sow iniquity.
d. Vs. 12 – Here God threatens to punish the stout heart of the king of Assyria.
• This evil king would be stopped in his tracks by God Himself.
• As a result, the rod of his anger (his power to inflict wrath against the Jews and others) would FAIL. It would come to a halt.
• And boy did her rod FAIL!
• Isa. 37:36-37 – In 701 B.C., 185,000 Assyrian soldiers just outside of Jerusalem were smitten by the Angel of the Lord.
• In 609 B.C., the Assyrian Empire was defeated by Babylon.
e. Thus, Assyria – an evil empire that sowed iniquity wherever she went, smote Israel with the rod of her anger… but not forever. Her rod of anger FAILED.
f. God accomplished His purpose with the rod of Assyria.
g. When God’s purpose was accomplished, Assyria’s rod of anger failed… it ceased… its mission was fulfilled.
6. Consider the King of Babylon (Isa.14:4-6)
a. The oppressor ceased! (vs.4)
b. The Lord broke his staff and scepter. (rod) (vs.5)
c. He used to smite the people in wrath with that scepter (with his rod of anger).
d. But alas, he has ceased. This kind of oppression will not go on forever.
e. That is the main gist of our proverb.
f. He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.
g. These are words of encouragement for the oppressed everywhere. The rod of these two major world empires came to a halt—and suddenly!
Proverbs 22:9
A Bountiful Eye
9a He that hath a bountiful eye
A. A Bountiful Eye
1. Bountiful Defined:
a. Strong’s: Good; rich; valuable; prosperous; bountiful; good; kind; agreeable.
b. Zodhiates: Good; well-pleasing; fruitful; morally correct; proper; convenient; profitable; kind; benevolent.
c. Its basic meaning is “good”—but has lots of various shades of meaning.
d. In this passage, bountiful or generous seems to be the author’s intention.
2. The term speaks of being well provided for… fruitful.
a. Gen. 50:20 – God meant it for “good” (for the well being of the nation).
b. Gen. 41:5 – Seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and “good”. (fat and fruitful)
c. I Kings 10:7 – “Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and “prosperity” exceedeth the fame which I heard.
3. A bountiful eye is a figure of speech that speaks of a person who is always watching out for the well being of others.
a. He keeps his eyes open for the needs of others and supplies those needs as he is able.
b. Prov. 28:22 – The evil eye in this context is the opposite of the “bountiful eye” (or “good eye”).
• It speaks of someone who is selfish and stingy.
• He is NOT looking out for the welfare of others: only himself!
• The stingy man should not expect God’s blessing. He should expect to see poverty.
• He was mean and selfish to people in need throughout his whole life. When he falls onto hard times, people will remember that about him. He will have few friends who want to take care of his needs.
B. For he giveth of his bread to the poor
1. This expression further defines the “bountiful eye.”
2. He shares his bread (food; and other necessities of life) with the poor.
3. The poor: Low; poor; weak; needy; helpless; insignificant.
4. The Hebrew word for GIVETH is “Nathan.”
a. It means to give or to place something somewhere.
b. He gives of what he has to the poor.
c. It is translated “bringeth forth” in Ps. 1:3: “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.”
d. The tree gives forth its fruit in the proper season.
e. In a similar fashion, the man with a bountiful eye, “brings forth fruit” to the needy in his season of need.
f. Ex. 30:14 – It is also used of “giving” an offering unto the Lord.
5. The man with a bountiful eye demonstrates the fact that he has a bountiful eye not just by LOOKING, but by GIVING.
a. He does not just look to see who has a need.
b. James 2:16 – James asks, “If you see the need and send them away empty, what profit is there in that kind of faith?”
c. He does something about it. He provides what he can to meet that need.
d. I John 3:17 – John asks a similar question. If we see the need and don’t meet it, how can we say that the love of God is in us?
e. The love of God does not just LOOK at needs; it meets them.
f. The bountiful eye Solomon describes is the person who keeps his eyes OPEN for those in need… and tries to help.
6. Deut. 15:7-11 (vs.10) – In fact, under the Law, the Jews were commanded to GIVE to the poor.
a. “Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him.”
b. Note: They were not only to give to the poor, but they were forbidden to do so grudgingly. They were not to give with a grieved heart… but a happy, joyous heart.
7. Prov. 14:31 – the one who shows mercy to the poor is also honoring God.
9b Shall be blessed
1. Blessed: bara?
a. Defined: Praise; bless; kneel before; salute.
b. Certainly the poor who have received of his bounty will bless him… and speak well of him. (bend the knee before him).
c. But so does God bless such a person. This proverb is the proof of it!
2. Many Bible passages speak of blessing upon those who help their poor brethren.
a. Prov. 28:27 – Shall not lack.
b. Prov.14:21 – He will be “happy” or blessed.
c. Prov.11:25 – He shall be made fat and well watered.
d. Ps. 41:1-3 – The blessings of the Lord upon those who consider the poor.
e. Acts 20:35 – The Lord Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
f. II Cor. 9:6-7 – “He that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”
3. This passage is similar to the previous proverb.
a. vs. 8 – If you sow iniquity, you will reap vanity.
b. vs. 9 – If you sow benevolence, you will reap blessing.
c. They are both different takes… or different applications of the oft repeated principle: you reap what you sow.
4. Two Forms of Abuse Concerning the Concept of “Blessing”
a. The first is assuming that “blessing” always means physical blessings in this life.
• Luke 14:12-14 – Recompense does not always come in this life. It may not come until the resurrection.
• It requires FAITH to lay up treasures in heaven… giving up in this life to gain in the life to come.
• Those who have the mentality of Esau (I want my porridge now) will have no interest in heavenly treasures.
• Those with a carnal, earthly, Esau-like concept of the Christian life will have no interest giving NOW to gain LATER.
b. The second is an abuse of motive: Giving in order to GET.
• This is twisting scripture to one’s own advantage.
• It is pure selfishness and greed.
• It is diabolical in my opinion.
• This use of Scripture has become quote common in our day and age: USING the Bible for personal advantage.
» Some use principles in the Bible for the purpose of causing their business to prosper
» Others use Biblical principles to help them lose weight… or make friends… or to be happy.
» Others use the Bible in order to make themselves rich.
• That is not at all the proper motive in GIVING.
• This is clearly NOT the intention of the passages… but if one is predisposed to greed and self will, such passages are easily twisted… to one’s own destruction.
• It undermines the real purpose in giving: manifesting the LIFE and love of Christ through our mortal bodies.
• Instead of being a demonstration of the self sacrificing love of Christ, it is a demonstration of selfish greed of the old man.
5. Examples of abuse by using Bible principles to GET physical blessings in this life:
a. K.H. Caldwell: The Gospel of Good Success: A Six-Step Program to Spiritual, Emotional and Financial Success
b. Kenneth Hagin: In the opening chapter, titled “Jesus Appears to Me,” Hagin claims that while he was “in the Spirit,” Jesus told him to get a pencil and a piece of paper. He then instructed him to “write down: 1, 2, 3, 4.” Jesus then allegedly told Hagin that “if anybody, anywhere, will take these four steps or put these four principles into operation, he will always receive whatever he wants from Me or from God the Father.” That includes whatever you want financially. The formula is simply: “Say it, Do it, Receive it, and Tell it.”
• Step number one is “Say it.” “Positive or negative, it is up to the individual. According to what the individual says, that shall he receive.”
• Step number two is “Do it.” “Your action defeats you or puts you over. According to your action, you receive or you are kept from receiving.”
• Step number three is “Receive it.” We are to plug into the “powerhouse of heaven.” “Faith is the plug, praise God! Just plug in.”
• Step number four is, “Tell it” so others may believe. This final step might be considered the Faith movement’s outreach program.
c. Kenneth Copeland states the faith formula this way: “All it takes is 1) seeing or visualizing whatever you need, whether physical or financial; 2) staking your claim on Scripture; and 3) speaking it into existence.”
d. Joel Osteen: Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, which in 2008 boasted average weekend attendance of 43,500
• Book: Your Best Life Now
• “You were born to win; you were born for greatness, you were created to be a champion in life” (p. 35), and abundance, “He wants you to live in abundance.
• “God wants to increase you financially, by giving you promotions, fresh ideas and creativity” (p. 5).
e. It never ceases to amaze me how a teaching so diametrically opposed to the truth of God’s Word can be swallowed by so MANY gullible people… all claiming to be born again!
4. We are to consider the poor and share our bread with them… NOT so that God will make us rich and successful in this life… but rather so that we might manifest the life and love of Christ unto the glory of God. Those are two very different motivations.
Proverbs 22:10
Cast Out the Scorner
Solomon has had much to say about the scorner in this book.
THE COMMAND:
10a Cast out the scorner
A. The Scorner
1. Scorner Defined:
a. Strong’s: To scorn; make mouths at; talk arrogantly; to mock.
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Speak words which show no respect for the object, and make fun of the object.
c. Zodhiates: Deride or to boast so as to express utter contempt.
2. Scorner Described:
a. Prov. 9:8 – Reprove a scorner and he will hate you. The scorner has no interest in truth or correction action. He is simply interested in doing his own thing and getting his own way.
b. Prov. 13:1 – He will not hear rebuke.
c. Prov. 14:6 – He seeks, but cannot find wisdom. It continually eludes him because he refuses to “hear it” when he does find it.
d. Prov. 15:12 – He refuses to seek counsel… because he’s afraid that he might have to make changes that he doesn’t want to make.
e. Prov. 19:29 – Judgment is being prepared for him. He may try to avoid it, but sooner or later, it will catch up to him. If not in this life, in the life to come.
f. Prov. 21:24 – They are usually angry people… given to outbursts of wrath.
g. Prov. 24:9 – They are an abomination to men. They usually do not have too many friends. Who wants to be a friend of a person who is constantly ridiculing you… making fun of you… mocking you…
h. In short, the scorner is a FOOL.
i. Prov. 1:22 – Yet the scorner delights in his scorning!
3. What the Scorner Scorns:
a. II Pet. 3:3-4 – They scorn the doctrine of the Second Coming. (Because if it is true, then they are in trouble!)
b. Acts 17:32 – They mocked the doctrine of the resurrection. (Because if it is true, then they have lived a lie… and will have to give account in the life to come.)
c. Acts 2:13 – When the early Christians spoke in language they had never learned, the onlookers mocked in ignorance. (Scorners mock the work of God in any setting.)
d. II Chron. 36:16 – Scorners mocked the messengers of God because of the message they brought.
e. Psalms 123:4 – Scorners scorn the people of God.
f. Heb 11:36 – They mock the faith of the people of God.
g. Luke 18:32 – They even mock God Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ.
4. This is problematic to have scorners in the local church.
a. We have had scorners mocking the doctrine of Dispensationalism.
b. We have had scorners mocking the doctrine of separation.
c. We have had scorners mocking the decisions made by the board of elders.
d. We have had scorners mocking decisions made by the board of deacons.
e. We have had scorners mocking the old fashioned music here.
f. We have had scorners mocking and ridiculing people in the assembly they didn’t like.
g. We have had scorners mocking and causing contention in the assembly.
h. This kind of scorning and mocking can be divisive, contentious, and hurtful to many.
i. It is offensive, unkind, cutting, and can cause deep wounds.
j. This kind of scorning can RUIN the fellowship among the saints and cover the whole assembly with a dark cloud.
k. And to make matters worse, it is often based on half truths, outright lies and deliberate misrepresentations.
l. II Pet. 3:3 – Peter warned of scoffers who come walking after their own lusts.
m. This kind of scorning can also spread like a disease throughout the body until many are affected by it.
n. Nothing good comes from a scoffer.
5. We are to avoid the scorner when possible.
a. Ps. 1:1 – Blessed is the man that… sitteth not in the seat of the scornful.
b. Prov. 29:8 – They can bring a whole city into a snare. They can also bring a whole church into a snare. Therefore, these troublemakers should be avoided.
B. Casting Out the Scorner
1. Casting out
a. Defined: Thrust out; toss out; drive out; expel; banish; divorce.
b. The term was used most often of driving out the Canaanites from the land.
c. It is not a gentle term, but is rather harsh. It involved a FIGHT with the Canaanites.
d. Judges 2:3 – If the Canaanites were NOT driven out of the land, they would become thorns in your sides.
e. Like a thorn, they had to be removed.
f. If the Canaanites were not removed, it would have meant perpetual trouble and snares for Israel.
g. There would have been mingling, marriages with Gentiles, mixture of religious beliefs, and idolatry.
h. They HAD to be cast out.
2. Here Solomon tells us that the scorner also has to be removed… thrust out… cast out.
a. This too is not a gentle, happy term.
b. It often involves a fight. It is never a pleasant experience, but it is a needful experience.
c. The only way to deal with a thorn in your side is to remove it.
d. The only way to deal with a scorner is to cast him, her, or them all out.
e. Why such harsh treatment? Why not persuade them to stay and change? Why not try to accommodate them? Why not reason together and work out the differences?
• There is no reasoning with a painful thorn lodged in your flesh and refuses to budge.
• Don’t forget what Solomon says about the scorner:
» They won’t hear rebuke.
» They will hate you if you do rebuke them.
» They refuse to seek counsel.
» They are often full of hate.
» They cannot find wisdom even if it is placed right before their face.
» Scorners are determined to mock. They LOVE their scorning.
» There is no reasoning with unreasonable scorners.
f. Note also that Solomon’s advice is to take the “tough love” approach… and not the tender, gentle approach: confront them… and cast them out!
g. It might sound a bit harsh, but it is best all around.
h. Prov. 3:33-34a – In doing so, you are actually carrying out God’s judgment against them. It is what they deserve.
THE RESULT: Contention, Strife, and Reproach Shall Cease
10b And contention shall go out
1. Contention: Arguing; fighting; bickering; quarreling; backbiting; gossip; etc.
2. It shall “go out.” (Go out; lead out; taken out into captivity.)
3. It’s a simple principle: if you remove the thorn, the cause of your pain is gone! Things will begin to heal and feel better right away.
4. This tells us that when there is contention, there has to be a SOURCE of the contention.
a. When there is contention in the local church, often the source can be traced to one trouble maker… or a small group of vocal trouble makers.
b. The few might stir up contention among MANY… but while the MANY might get drawn into the brawl, the source of the trouble is usually an individual or a small group.
c. One or two gossipers can spread rumors and get a whole crowd all riled up.
• The crowd was living in harmony before the troublemaker stirred things up.
• Solomon tells us here that the crowd will return to harmony once he is removed too.
d. Often the trouble maker will start the rumors, cause people to become angry and polarized, and then he can just step back and watch the fire blaze out of control.
e. Prov. 26:21 – “As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.”
f. He then observes the blaze, and when things begin to die down, he simply tosses in another log… so the blaze… the contention continues.
g. But if you cast OUT the scorner… the fire will begin to die out on its own.
h. Contention shall “go out,” like a fire that has lost its source and fuel.
10c Yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
1. Strife:
a. A legal case in court; a judgment against another; a quarrel or debate between parties.
• Sometimes the contention among believers can rise to the point of legal action! (Corinth is an example.)
b. Verbal wrangling between individuals, implying strife and opposition, but not necessarily in a legal setting.
• Sometimes the strife does not find its way to the judicial system, but it can be extremely hurtful and contentious.
2. Reproach: Shame; disgrace; dishonor; insult; slander.
a. When such contention among believers is expressed in the local church, it IS a shame and a disgrace.
b. It is damaging to the testimony of Christ.
c. It provides fodder for the unbeliever to speak evil of us… only this time with good reason!
d. Sometimes the reproach is aimed at one person: the object of the scorner’s hated… a so called friend… a Sunday school teacher… a deacon… the pastor… one of the elders… etc.
e. Slander and insults can be hurled back and forth… to the detriment of the name of Christ in that community.
3. Shall Cease:
a. Cease: Put to an end; exterminate; stop; put away; leave behind.
b. In the midst of a painful conflict, that is really what everyone in the crowd WANTS.
c. Nobody but the scorner really “loves” scorning or fighting.
d. Solomon tells us HOW we can bring about peace. And it doesn’t require a series of expensive trips to the therapist or to the psychologist.
e. Just cast out the scorner and the scorning will stop… and so will the strife and reproach.
f. So remember this truth if contention arises here. The way to end it is to remove the scorner.
• This is going to be painful… just as it was when the Jews had to cast out the Canaanites.
• It took courage. It involved a fight.
• It might be extra painful if the scorner is your cousin… or your son… or your long time friend.
• But Solomon doesn’t care WHO this scorner is or who he knows. Solomon’s advice is: get rid of him… or her… or them.
• Once you do—peace returns. The blaze goes out.
• It’s simple to know WHAT to do. It takes courage and faith to actually DO it…
Proverbs 22:11
Pureness of Heart
11a He that loveth pureness of heart…
1. Pure:
a. In a physical sense: Pure, i.e., pertaining to the feature of an object virtually not having foreign particles or impurities.
b. In a ceremonial sense: Clean, pure, i.e., pertaining to being ceremonially or ritually clean (Lev. 11:36).
c. In a moral or spiritual sense: Without impurity or defect of any kind and so free from moral impurity (Ps. 12:7).
d. Solomon is using the term in a moral and spiritual sense in this passage. Of course for a Jew living under the Law, it was necessary to be BOTH ceremonially and spiritually pure.
2. Pureness of heart:
a. Heart: This is a term describing the inner man. It includes the following:
• Inner man; mind; will; heart; understanding.
• Mind; knowledge; thinking; reflection; moral character.
• Emotions and passions
• The source of life of the inner person in various aspects, with a focus on feelings, thoughts, volition, and other areas of the inner life.
b. A pure heart is a general term extending to purity in the innermost part of our being:
• A pure mind; heart; will; pure thoughts
• Pure emotions and passions
• Pure motives and intentions
• In other words, an inner purity that saturates our whole inner life… into every area of our intellect, emotions, and volition.
3. He that loveth pureness of heart
a. Loveth: To love; to have affection for; to have an attraction to—often based on desirability.
b. This term is used of our love for God and sometimes of God’s love for His people.
c. Solomon is describing a type of person: one who loves purity of heart… inward purity…
d. What a wonderful quality is this: A love and affection for inward purity… an inner desire for the mind, heart, will, choices, emotions, passions, motives, intentions of the heart, and choices to be clean and pure through and through.
e. When considering church leaders – we should look for one who loves purity in the heart. In a sense, it is this quality that the New Testament uses as the qualifications for leaders in the church. Virtually all of the qualifications are linked in one way or another to inward purity (inward, spiritual qualities).
f. When considering a spouse – you should seek someone who loves inward purity.
g. When choosing friends – seek those who love purity of heart.
h. When hiring employees – they may not be saved, but seek those who are men and women with a purity and an integrity of heart.
i. When training children – teach them about purity of heart – keeping the mind, the imagination, the thought life, motives, and the inner emotions PURE… clean before God, for after all, He knows. He is watching… and listening. He knows even our innermost thoughts and the secrets of the heart.
11b For the grace of his lips…
1. Grace: Favour; grace; charm; kindness.
2. Lips: This term literally speaks of the lips of our mouths, but it is used in a figurative sense of speech – that which flows out of our lips.
3. The grace of his lips speaks of lips characterized by grace… kindness… charm… pleasantness, etc.
4. Note that the word “for” is italicized.
a. It was added by the translators, but is not found in the original language.
b. SOMETHING does need to be added.
c. In some way, Solomon meant to transition from the thought of loving a pure heart to gracious lips.
d. There is clearly a connection between a pure heart and gracious lips.
e. The Lord Jesus said that “those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart.” (Matt. 15:18)
• It is true of EVIL (evil thoughts, false witnesses, and blasphemies.)
• It is also true of GOOD. What flows from our mouths was germinated in our inner man: our heart, mind, thoughts, feelings, imagination, etc.
• Matt.12:34 – “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things.”
• The heart (the inner man) is the SOURCE of the words that flow off our lips.
• The CONDITION of the heart has a direct effect on the KIND of words that flow off our lips.
• If we have hatred in our hearts, then words of hatred will flow off our lips.
• If we have murmuring and complaining in our hearts, then it will flow off our lips.
• If we have grace in our heart… and purity… then that too will flow from our lips.
• If purity is in the heart, then grace will flow off our lips.
f. That seems to be the connection between these two expressions in the proverb.
• The one who loves pureness of heart will demonstrate that by means of the grace of his lips.
• That which is on the inside eventually manifests itself on the outside.
• We all slip up now and then, but generally—overall—the one who loves pureness of heart can be discerned by his lips.
• Eph. 4:29 – “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”
» If the heart is right, the lips will minister grace to the hearers.
» Eph. 4:22-24 – Paul states that the believer today is to use his lips to minister grace BECAUSE he has been taught that he has already put off the old man and has put on the new man… who is created in righteousness and true holiness.
» Because we have a NEW inner source (a new, regenerated heart) therefore we are expected to speak gracious words.
• Col. 4:6 – “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
» This too is the result of a heart full of grace and purity.
» It is here commanded of the believer.
11c The king shall be his friend.
1. Now Solomon makes a final statement concerning the man who loves inward purity and who speaks gracious words.
a. The King shall be is friend.
b. It was quite a wonderful thing to be a friend of the king in the days of the monarchy.
c. Kings had almost unlimited power. What they said was the law of the land.
d. If you displeased the king, he could have you executed.
e. If you had the king’s favor, there was an unlimited source of blessing attached: financial, power, justice, etc.
f. It was far more valuable to have the king’s favor in days of a monarchy than it is to have the president’s favor today, because the president is limited in his power. His word is not law. (thankfully)
g. But having the king’s favor—that could instantly exalt you to high places!
h. Thus, it was to a man’s great advantage to love inward purity and to speak gracious words… because it brought him into friendship with the king.
2. Kings really DID seek to have friends who were pure and who spoke gracious words.
a. Solomon was a king. He knew firsthand how valuable it was for a king to surround himself with honest men… with pure hearts… no ulterior motives lurking behind every move…
b. When a person has great wealth, he will discover that people will want to be around him… for the wrong reasons… to GET… to take advantage of his wealth… and perhaps make it theirs.
c. And when a man has great power there will also be men of questionable character surrounding him… like flies hovering over meat.
d. A king was BOTH: A man of great wealth AND a man of great power. He would find himself continually surrounded by men who sought to take advantage of him.
e. A king also was surrounded by plots for his life (thus the food and drink tasters like Nehemiah).
f. Others would seek to overthrow his power with a military uprising.
g. Thus, kings often became paranoid… and discovered the hard way that they could trust hardly anyone.
3. Thus, for a king to find a person who was genuine… honest… pure and clean in his motives… and gracious and truthful in his words… was to find a precious GEM!
a. Proverbs 16:13 – This is true of kings in general. They loved a man they could trust – a man who spoke truthfully and righteously. Such a man would be a true friend for the king.
b. Ps. 101:6 – David the King (Solomon’s father) wanted men of pure hearts serving with him in his royal court. It is likely that David mentioned this to his son Solomon often. He also wrote: “I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.”
c. Matt. 5:8 – In the Kingdom, Christ the King will be the friend of those with a pure heart.
d. Gen. 41:39-42 – Pharaoh found such a man in Joseph. Joseph proved himself to be a man of integrity… of a pure heart… and gracious words. He became the king’s friend and later found himself promoted to Prime Minister of Egypt!
e. Esther 10:3 – Mordecai proved himself to be such a man to king Ahasuerus.
f. Dan. 2:46-49 – Daniel proved himself to be such a man to King Nebuchadnezzar.
4. Wouldn’t it be great if in this country our president was surrounded by men who had pure, clean, honest, sincere hearts and who spoke nothing but that which was true and gracious?
a. Usually the case is that each man on the cabinet has his own personal self interest at heart… ambition…
b. They don’t always speak the truth… they are not always men of conviction… they don’t always have pure motives in their hearts… and often they are all jockeying for position to be the next president.
c. It’s a wonder anything gets done.
d. But how precious and valuable it is for a president or a king to have an advisor who is clean and pure… and will speak the truth!
e. We may not be kings, but we should be able to appreciate friends who are pure of heart… and whose lips are gracious but truthful. We should treasure such people.
5. But the main thrust of the proverb is this: WE should love purity of heart and gracious speech. When that characterizes OUR lives, it will be to our great advantage! We may become the friend of the king… or some other important person.
a. The point is that purity of heart and lip will bring us into favor with God AND with men… it is to our advantage!
b. Of course, self interest is the wrong motive in loving purity. In fact, that is “impurity!”
c. But there is an advantage to having a pure heart and lips. This advantage should not be our motive, but it is a fringe benefit. There is an earthly benefit to having a pure heart and gracious words.
d. I Tim.4:8 – “Exercise thyself rather unto godliness. 8For bodily exercise profiteth little; but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”
Proverbs 22:12
The Eyes of the Lord Preserve Knowledge
12a The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge…
A. Usage of the Expression “Eyes of the Lord”
1. The eyes of the LORD speak of God’s knowledge – His omniscience.
a. Prov.15:3 – his eyes are everywhere and behold everything—and thus know everything.
b. Prov.5:21 – all our ways are before His eyes. He knoweth the WAY that I take.
2. On other occasions, the “eyes of the Lord” refers to right or wrong… good or evil as GOD sees things. (It may differ from man’s standards… from the way man sees things.)
a. I Kings 15:5 – David did right “in the eyes of the Lord.”
b. I Kings 16:25 – Omni did evil “in the sight of the Lord.”
3. Sometimes the “eyes of the Lord” speaks of things done in God’s presence… things, words, events, that did not escape God’s notice… and thus His protection.
a. Deut. 11; 12 – His eyes are upon the land… observing and protecting.
b. I Sam. 26:24 – David prayed that his life would be lived before the “eyes of the Lord” that God might protect him.
4. Sometimes the “eyes of the Lord” indicate not just His protection from evil, but an actually SEEKING to bless those who fear Him.
a. II Chron. 16:9 – to “show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are perfect before Him.
b. Ps.33:18 – His eye is upon them for good.
c. Ps. 34:15 – His eye is upon them who pray, and His ear is open to answer prayer. (I Pet.3:12)
5. The eyes of the Lord speak of His watchful providence over His people… to meet their needs… to protect… to guide…
a. Ps. 32:7 – “I will guide thee with mine eye.”
B. His Eyes Shall Preserve Knowledge
1. Preserve: To watch; guard; keep; guard from dangers; to maintain; to watch over; the word refers to people’s maintaining things entrusted to them.
2. God’s eyes are watching over knowledge.
a. He watches it… He observes how it is treated… He notes how individuals use knowledge… (or abuse it)
b. He watches it to guard and protect it…
c. He watches it to maintain it… that it might continue…
d. He watches to punish those who abuse and mistreat knowledge and truth.
e. He also watches to bless and reward those who fear Him and thus love knowledge and truth.
f. He watches over knowledge to make sure that the truth is preserved.
g. His eyes speak of His omniscience. He Himself is omnipotent. He is surely ABLE to watch over knowledge and truth and successfully preserve it.
3. The eyes of the LORD do all that. However, from our perspective, with the eyes of man, it does not always APPEAR to be the case.
a. It often appears that knowledge and truth are being trampled over.
b. It appears that those who have the knowledge of God and truth about God and His Word are a tiny minority.
c. And this might cause us to become discouraged…
d. What we see with the “eyes of man” is not the same as what God sees with the “eyes of the Lord.”
e. God sees things as they truly are—from eternity’s perspective.
f. We see things from a VERY limited perspective—the earthly and natural.
g. We see just a snapshot. He sees the whole parade.
4. What we need are the eyes of FAITH.
a. We need God to open our eyes so that we can see the invisible… things that God sees from His heavenly, eternal perspective.
b. God has recorded knowledge and truth in His Word. And with the eyes of faith, we CAN see what He sees.
c. Heb. 11:1 – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
d. Heb. 11:3 – Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
e. The eyes of the Lord SEE knowledge and truth. He preserves knowledge and truth.
f. Though with our natural “eyes” we are unable to see or understand this knowledge; yet with the eyes of faith we CAN see the invisible things of God… we can understand knowledge the world does not know or believe…
g. So while we may THINK that God is not preserving knowledge and truth… and that it is dwindling away, by FAITH, we can see as God sees.
h. Knowledge and truth are just as safe as could be. The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
i. Thus, as Christianity and the Bible dwindle in importance and influence in the eyes of men, (not to fear!), God is still on His throne. The eyes of the Lord are still preserving the knowledge of the truth. His truth and His Word are eternal in the heavens… unchangeable.
• The Bible stands like a mountain towering, far above the works of man; its truth by none ever was refuted, and destroy it they never can!
j. As the Christian world view is being replaced before our very eyes by a Christ rejecting world, (not to fear!), truth is being preserved.
k. From our perspective, looking at the world from the eyes of a man, it sure appears that the knowledge of God is NOT being preserved, but is being discarded.
l. Ps. 119:89 – “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.”
m. Faith believes what God says. By faith we can see and understand how God IS observing the way knowledge and truth are handled.
n. By faith we KNOW that there a day of reckoning is at hand!
5. On a macro scale, God is observing knowledge and truth in His universe. But on a micro scale, He is also observing and protecting knowledge and truth in our individual lives.
a. When a co-worker lies about you in the office… God’s eyes are observing the knowledge of what REALLY happened.
b. When your words are misrepresented and used against you… the eyes of the Lord are observing… taking notes. And every idle word of those who misrepresented you will be brought into judgment.
c. When gossip and rumors are spread about you—God’s eyes are observing who said what and why… and they will be held accountable.
d. But let’s not forget that the Word is a two edged sword.
• The eyes of the Lord behold the evil done against us.
• But the eyes of the Lord also behold the evil that WE do!
• And we too will be held accountable for how WE handle knowledge and truth…
12b And he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.
A. The Words of the Transgressor
1. Transgressor: (not the usual word for sinner) – An unfaithful man; a treacherous man; a betrayer, one who is not trustworthy or reliable.
2. The transgressor (unreliable; unfaithful person) is not careful and faithful with his use of knowledge and truth.
a. His words are unreliable.
b. His words may be words of betrayal and treachery.
c. His words may not be truthful.
d. His words may be as daggers designed to inflict pain on others leaving deep wounds.
3. Too often THIS is what we see with the eyes of a man: the words of transgressors… words that are unreliable… outright lies… deception… misinformation (sometimes intentional; sometimes not)… philosophies and world views that pass like any other new fad…
a. And it seems like God is not paying attention.
b. It appears to us from our earthly perspective that the eyes of the Lord seem to MISS a lot…
4. But Solomon reminds us that the Lord will OVERTHROW the words of the transgressor—the man who plays fast and loose with knowledge and truth.
a. Overthrow: Twist; pervert; distort; overturn; ruin.
b. Basically, Solomon is saying that the Lord will destroy the words of the transgressors.
c. However, Solomon chose an interesting expression:
• The transgressor (unfaithful; unreliable) man TWISTS and distorts knowledge and truth.
» Like politicians who put a SPIN on every piece of information to make it appear favorable to their side. (Both sides do it!)
» The transgressor may present accurate knowledge as far as he goes, but he leaves out key pieces of information that really distorts the meaning.
• But God knows how to twist the information too. God will twist the knowledge BACK to the way it SHOULD BE.
• God is observing knowledge and taking notes. Nothing escapes His watchful eyes.
• When the transgressor leaves key pieces of information out, the Lord will bring it to light one day.
• When the transgressor puts a spin on the truth, the eyes of the Lord are observing that too. He will put an end to the spinning.
5. Knowing who God is and what He is like, we don’t have to worry about knowledge and truth.
a. If the scientists are promoting theories that are not true… God’s eyes see all that. By FAITH, our eyes can SEE how the worlds came into being. Their theories will be exposed one day.
b. If the politicians put their spin on the economy, or healthcare, or national security, the knowledge of the truth will ultimately triumph and their lies will be exposed.
c. If your neighbor is gossiping about you and many people believe his lies, there is no need to worry about that either. The eyes of the Lord are watching over the truth with great care. Ultimately, the Lord will overthrow the words of the transgressor.
d. God watches over and preserves knowledge (and those who handle it properly) and He overthrows the words of those who transgress against knowledge.
e. He beholds both the good and the evil—and rewards each according to his works.
f. As Peter put it (I Pet.3:12) – “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”
g. Though error seems to have the upper hand in this life, and the truth is maligned, ridiculed, and for the most part rejected, the truth ultimately triumphs over error.
Proverbs 22:13
There is a Lion Without!
13a The slothful man…
1. We have seen this character before in Proverbs.
2. Slothful means lazy, sluggard; slow to take any action, suggesting a lack of discipline or initiative, as a moral failure.
3. This is more than a personality trait, a cultural issue, or a natural disposition.
4. It is a moral failure. That is how it is viewed in Proverbs.
5. The slothful man is not to be coddled or pitied as if he caught a disease through no fault of his own.
6. He is to be blamed for his laziness and he will bear the consequences of his laziness. This is how Solomon describes the problem in the book of Proverbs.
7. Consider what Solomon has said about the slothful man in this book:
a. Prov. 18:9 – He is a great waster of that which God has given him. (time; talents; intellect; etc.)
• Waste = destroy; corrupt; go to ruin; decay; to be marred; be spoiled.
• He allows what God has granted to him to ROT… to be ruined… spoiled… wasted.
• A waster is one who starts off with something valuable, but through neglect, it is brought to ruin… wasted.
• It is a waste of potential… in his family life… in his career… and especially in his spiritual life.
• Spiritually we are blessed with ALL spiritual blessings in Christ and are complete in Him.
• But not every believer is diligent about USING what God has given us. Some are wasters.
b. Prov. 26:16 – They often think themselves to be smarter than everyone else.
• They are so smart that they can get by without working!
• They are so smart they don’t need to study at school.
c. Prov. 10:26 – He is an irritant to those who expect him to work.
• Nobody wants a worker like this man.
• He probably cannot keep a job very long even when he does go to work.
• He is sent to do a job, and people are counting on him… and are disappointed because the job doesn’t get done.
• Maybe he works at your office!
• They irritate people—like smoke in the eyes.
• And they are found everywhere—in the workplace, in the home, in government, and in the local church.
d. Prov. 10:4 – He will become poor.
• All things being equal, hard work usually pays off and results in a measure of prosperity.
• But laziness results in poverty. That man will never advance anywhere.
e. Prov. 21:25 – he refuses to labor!
• Refuse: Resist; i.e., be in a state of defiance or rebellion; the rejection of an offer. It is a strong term.
• II Thess. 3:10 – Here Paul states that if “a man WOULD not work, neither should he eat.” (He was able bodied, but unwilling.)
• This is a committed, dedicated, defiant sluggard.
• Even before sin entered the world, God intended Adam to be a diligent worker in the garden. He was not to sit around and admire the garden and its flowers. He was to TEND to the garden. Tending to was work; it meant he had take care of it daily.
f. Prov. 20:13 – He may not have enough food to provide for himself or his family.
• Prov. 19:15 – He will suffer hunger.
• Prov. 20:4 – He may end up begging.
g. Prov. 12:24 – He will find himself living under bondage—to all of his debt.
• The slothful man will find himself with no money… borrowing money… spending more than he makes… and thus becoming a “slave” to his credit card company… or the bank… etc.
• He will never be a ruler, but will always be ruled over. And Solomon puts the blame on his own shoulders: laziness.
h. Prov. 15:19 – His life is like a hedge of thorns.
• He will be confronted with difficult obstacles continually throughout his life… obstacles of his own making.
• They will hinder his progress in life.
• He was too lazy to go to school and do his homework—will result in hindering the progress of his career path.
• He will face closed doors where others who were hard working will find open doors.
• Life for him will be like walking through a maze made of a hedge of thorns. No matter what direction he looks, he sees an insurmountable barrier… and yet another reason to quit trying.
i. Prov. 21:25-26 – It is a miserable life of desiring to have what others have, but NOT having…
• And living with the guilt of knowing WHY… because he is lazy!
• He covets all day long… and never has.
• And it kills him. It eats away at him inwardly. There is jealousy and envy.
• It is torture to watch others enjoy the fruit of their labors and he is not able to do so… because he didn’t labor.
j. Prov. 26:14 – And he has no peace of mind.
• He lays awake at night – restless. Again, due to guilt… due to the fact that he may have been lounging around all day long not working… dozing off and taking naps.
• And thus when night time comes, he cannot sleep.
• He rolls over all night long… thinking… desiring but not having… perhaps hungry… living with guilt and regret.
8. Solomon does not coddle or indulge the slothful man in his sluggishness.
a. He rebukes him! He warns him. He tries to throw a proverbial glass of cold water in his face to wake him up.
b. Solomon doesn’t feel sorry for him like a man who happened to come down with an eye disease and goes blind.
c. When you come down with a disease, usually it is not your fault.
d. But laziness is not a disease. It is a SIN. It is a moral failure and Solomon treats it as such.
e. He is even a bit harsh in his treatment, but it is for the GOOD of the lazy man. Love has to be tough at times.
f. Love does not pamper moral failure.
13b There is a lion without! I shall be slain in the streets!
1. Each of the various proverbs dealing with this perennial human problem approaches the subject from a slightly different angle.
a. Some proverbs highlighted the fact that laziness is often associated with pride (I’m smarter than the foolish people who do all that hard work!)
b. Some proverbs associate laziness with waste.
c. Most of them serve as warnings, reminding the readers of the consequences of laziness.
2. But this proverb addresses one other issue that is common to lazy people: excuses!
a. This excuse is almost comical. He is afraid to go to work (so he says) because there are lions outside. He could be killed!
b. He was a lazy man and inactive—but his imagination was not inactive.
c. It may have been true that there were lions in the area, but they didn’t normally venture into the city. What are your chances of being eaten by a lion?
d. But, everyone else went to work and they weren’t killed by a lion.
e. There are bears in New Hampshire, but your chances of being killed by a bear are pretty slim.
f. You might be killed driving down route 93 too, but people still go to work.
g. There is no such thing as a risk free environment.
h. Deep down inside, the sluggard really must have known that the chances of being killed by a lion were miniscule.
i. Perhaps he was running out of excuses.
j. But that didn’t matter. The lazy man is diligent in daydreaming and he could easily conjure up a whole zoo full of creatures and other excuses why he should not go out to work.
k. He could imagine endless excuses and obstacles to him getting to work.
l. He was really just trying to JUSTIFY his laziness and make himself appear to be respectable.
m. However, his lame excuse was pretty easy to see through.
n. These are the silly excuses of a man who is guilt ridden because of his laziness, and is trying to appease his conscience because deep down inside he KNOWS that his problem is laziness, though he would never admit it.
o. His excuses are lame pretenses and everybody knows it. He isn’t fooling anybody but himself—certainly not God!
p. His real problem is not the imaginary lion in the street. The real problem is his laziness. Remove the laziness, and the lion in the street will suddenly disappear.
q. Matthew Henry had this to say about his excuse of the lion: “He considers not his real danger from the devil, that roaring lion, which is in bed with him, and from his own slothfulness, which kills him.”
3. This quality affects the whole man’s life.
a. If you are lazy by nature, it will adversely affect everything you do.
b. If you work, it will mean poor work. It will affect your co-workers, for they will have to do the work you don’t. It will affect your employer. He is paying for work twice.
c. It will affect your career. You will not progress very far if you are lazy. You will discover a hedge of thorns has blocked your progress.
d. It will affect your marriage. Your spouse will be constantly irritated by your laziness and sloth around the house. If it is the wife, the household chores will be neglected. If it is the husband, then the house will fall into disrepair.
e. Because of your laziness, your family could suffer hunger… and lack things that they need and SHOULD have… if only you were more diligent in your work.
f. Slothfulness affects more than your own life; it affects everything and everyone around you.
g. We devise such clever excuses: “You don’t know the trouble I’ve seen. You don’t know my circumstances… what I’m up against. If you only knew, then you would understand!”
h. But we don’t have to hide behind excuses which are nothing but smoke screens for our laziness.
4. George Washington Carver said, “Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.”
a. Carver was no stranger to adversity and could have easily made excuses for not succeeding. But that wasn’t his way.
b. Despite being born into slavery, he rose above his circumstances. He earned a B.S. and then an M.S. in agriculture from Iowa State College, and he dedicated himself to teaching poor African-American farmers.
c. He developed an extension program at Alabama’s Tuskegee Institute to take the classroom to the people in the South, teaching agriculture methods and home economics.
d. And his research resulted in the development of hundreds of products made from crops such as peanuts and sweet potatoes. He did all that despite working with limited resources and opportunities because of segregation. Where others might have offered excuses, Carver achieved excellence.
5. Excuses in the spiritual life:
a. We make excuses for our carnality. “I’ve had a rough life. I didn’t grow up in a Christian home.”
b. We make excuses for not reading the Word. “I work too many hours. I’m too tired. I’m not a good reader. I would rather have pastor explain the Bible to me.”
c. It is human nature to make excuses.
• Adam excused his sin by blaming his wife.
• Aaron excused his sin of making the golden calf while Moses was on the mount. He said, “I had the people throw their gold jewelry into a molten pot, and out came this golden calf!”
• The lazy man might excuse himself from going to work because of lions. But lions didn’t stop David or Daniel. They trusted God and faced the lions.
d. If we really want to read the Word, we can. If we really want to make it to church we can. If we really want to walk with God we can… even though our adversary walks about as a roaring lion!
Proverbs 22:14
The Mouth of a Strange Woman
Introduction:
1. The meaning of this proverb is simple and right on the surface.
2. It is a warning against adultery—a warning that Solomon has repeated over and over again in this book.
3. That is probably so because it is the kind of sin that is repeated over and over again in society—in all societies of sinners.
4. But it is not just a problem in society at large. It is also a problem among believers and has been ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden.
5. It is a warning that merits repetition. It is a warning that men young and old need to hear again and again.
6. And even though this warning has been made many times in this book, each proverb dealing with the subject approaches it from a slightly different angle.
14a The mouth of a strange woman is a deep pit:
A. The Strange Woman
1. This strange woman is mentioned eight times in Proverbs by this title.
a. The word “strange” does not mean a “foreigner” here as it often does.
b. The most basic meaning of the term is to “turn aside.”
c. The strange woman has turned aside from God, from good morals, and perhaps she has turned away from her husband.
d. It also means one who is “estranged” from society because of her behavior and lack of morals.
e. It speaks of a woman who is an outcast.
f. The term was defined by Zodhiates as “to go astray, i.e., be in a state of apostasy and rebellion.”
2. Consider what Solomon has to say about this kind of woman:
a. Prov. 2:17-19
• She forsakes the guide of her youth (husband).
• She forgets her covenant with God (marriage).
• Her house is inclined towards death.
• None who go unto her return the same as before they went.
b. Prov. 5:4 – Her end is as bitter as wormwood—like a sword that pierces.
c. Prov. 5:9 – Those who go to her give their honor away. They lose their honor.
d. Prov. 5:10 – Those who go unto her end up giving away their wealth to others. (Divorce courts; alimony payments; etc.)
e. Prov. 5:11 – The initial fun is turned to mourning in guilt and shame… and your body may be consumed (with sexually transmitted diseases).
f. Prov. 5:12 – It brings regret in the end.
g. Prov. 5:22 – The man who goes unto her discovers that he became ensnared in sexual sin and cannot escape. He is holden with the cords of his sin.
h. Prov. 6:26 – The man is reduced to a piece of bread. He could lose his family, his house, his job, his possessions.
i. Prov. 29:3 – He spends his money and it is gone in a hurry.
j. Prov. 6:27 – The man who goes unto her will get burnt. It could scar you for life.
k. Prov. 23:27-28 – She is just waiting to take down her next victim—like a lioness ready to leap upon her prey to devour.
l. Prov. 5:20-21 – Young men are being warned about being ravished (mislead; led astray).
• That is the kind of woman she IS.
• She leads down the road to immorality… and misleads you into believing that you will never get caught.
• BUT all the ways of man are done before the EYES of the Lord. Nothing escapes His notice.
B. The Mouth of a Strange Woman
1. While other proverbs may speak of her immoral character and of the consequences of being with her, this proverb speaks about her “mouth;” namely, her words.
2. This proverb is a warning to young men concerning the alluring and enticing words of the adulterous woman.
3. Many of the sections dealing with the strange woman warn about her enticing words.
a. Prov. 2:16 – She flatters with her words.
• Flatter: To be smooth; to be deceitful; i.e., to give a misleading opinion or thought about what is true, often encouraging wrong behavior.
b. Prov. 5:3 – Her lips are sweet and smooth—like honey and oil. In other words, they are very enticing. But in the end they are bitter and more like a sword. (vs.4)
c. Prov. 7:13-18 – With her words, she made adultery sound so enjoyable and appealing.
d. Prov. 7:19-20 – With her words she convinced him that they would never get caught. “My husband is away on a long business trip! Nobody will ever know!”
e. Prov. 7:21- Her speech caused him to yield. (She had some compelling arguments to make.) With her flattery (lying deceit) she forced him (force – to successfully lure away).
• Once this woman had this young may toying with the idea of coming home with her, she won.
• She got him thinking about the sin… then she gave arguments why he wouldn’t get caught… and all the while juices are flowing… and that becomes irreversible… overwhelming…
C. A Deep Pit
1. Our proverb tells us that the MOUTH of the strange woman is a deep pit.
2. Obviously, this is a metaphor meaning that by her alluring words, she leads a man into a deep pit—out of which he may never be recovered!
a. Deep pit: Often pits were dug to capture animals. They were large holes in the ground dug by men and covered over so it would not APPEAR to be a trap… but it was a trap.
b. The words of the strange woman are a trap… a pit… a deep hole in the ground.
c. They cover up the real danger that lies ahead… seeking its prey.
3. This is part of the warning too: like a pit covered over with brush, the words of the strange woman appear normal, pleasant, and desirable, but it is just a cover masking a dangerous pit.
14b He that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.
A. He That Is Abhorred of the Lord
1. Abhorred: A state of wrath or anger; under a curse; to be indignant or enraged.
a. The term is variously translated, but the ideas are quite similar.
2. Solomon’s point here is that one who follows the pathway of the strange woman as a lifestyle enrages God’s sense of holiness.
a. God is angry with this kind of behavior. He hates it.
b. This man is under God’s wrath as long as he chooses to walk down that road.
B. Shall Fall Therein
1. Note the certainty here: this man SHALL fall therein!
a. Prov. 23:27 – Here Solomon states the same thing: he shall fall into a deep ditch and a narrow pit. You will fall in—but you will have a hard time getting out!
b. Only a fool could read the warnings in Proverbs and think that “it won’t happen to me!”
c. But that is exactly the mindset of the fool. He believes the strange woman when she implies that they will never get caught. He believes that he is smarter than other people.
d. He fails to realize that EVERY SINFUL ACT is done before the eyes of the Lord.
e. Sooner or later, your sin will find you out. Sooner or later you SHALL fall into that pit.
f. In other words, there are consequences for your behavior.
2. If you want to avoid sin, you must avoid the temptation to sin.
a. Flee youthful lusts! Flee temptations!
b. That means RUN AWAY like Joseph did.
c. Sexual sin is like embracing coals of fire. You cannot reason with fire. It burns all who touch it.
d. Even talk about sexual sin is a deep pit. It is a trap. Once you start talking about it… and thinking about it… and the juices start flowing, it’s too late.
e. There is only one way to deal with a trap—AVOID it! You don’t tip toe all around it, trying to get as close as you can without falling in.
f. This proverb states that when you let your guard down, and you enter into an immoral conversation, and begin TALKING about sexual sin… you WILL fall into the trap.
g. Rom. 13:14 – Make NO provisions for the flesh.
• And in our day and age, there are all kinds of “provisions” for the flesh available to us.
• There are sex hot lines on the phone you can pay for…
• There are video games that are sexual in nature…
• There are pornographic websites on the internet…
• There seducers in the workplace… in the schools…
• We are surrounded by provisions or “opportunities” for the flesh.
• The only way to deal with them is to avoid even the first contact. Stay away entirely. Make NO provision.
• Like drugs and alcohol, if you avoid the first drink or drug you will never become addicted.
• Solomon says that sexual sin is like winding cords around you… and the more you play with it, the stronger the cords become.
• Like a trap – you may not be able to extricate yourself from the trap either.
3. Thankfully there is victory in Christ and in His Word over ANY sin.
a. This sin becomes a lifestyle—like being bound with cords.
b. But the cross of Calvary can set the sinner free from slavery to sin.
Proverbs 22:15
The Rod of Correction
Introduction:
1. This proverb makes two statements, both of which are considered anathema by our generation.
a. Little children are sinful… bad.
b. Corporal punishment is good.
2. The world says just the opposite.
a. Children are good.
b. Corporal punishment is bad.
3. This Bible passage stands directly opposed to the spirit of the age.
a. There is no middle ground.
b. The believer is forced to take a stand—either with God or the world.
c. To be the friend of the world is enmity with God.
d. But if we choose to be the friend of God, we can expect enmity from the world.
e. Sooner or later this is going to become a matter of LAW. It is not hard to envision a day in which corporal punishment will be banned altogether… as the law of the land.
4. Corporal punishment in the home is still legal in America in all 50 states.
a. However, it is illegal in 24 countries around the world.
b. Sweden was the first to completely ban it in all forms in 1979.
c. But there are campaigns underway as we speak, in America and around the world, seeking to end all forms of corporal punishment.
• Internationally: UNICEF and Amnesty International seeks to end it.
• Nationally: Groups such as: “The Hitting Stops Here” and EPOCH: “End Physical Punishment of Children.”
• In 1993, a group of 103 organizations sent a petition to then President Clinton seeking to abolish all forms of corporal punishment for children.
d. One group worded it this way: “It is well past time for schools to eliminate the barbaric practice of paddling (children). A vast amount of evidence shows an urgent need to replace corporal punishment with enlightened and humane methods of discipline.”
e. Spanking in any form is considered barbaric, inhumane, and unenlightened. (Sounds a bit like the elite left, doesn’t it?)
f. So far in America, common sense has prevailed, but that could change… and probably will in our lifetime.
g. There are forces at work in our country, seeking to make obeying Prov. 22:15 a crime.
15a Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child…
A. Folly in the Bible
1. Folly defined:
a. Devoid of wisdom and understanding, with a focus on the evil behaviors.
b. One who is morally deficient
c. So don’t think of the folly Solomon is describing as silliness.
d. Kids are childish and silly by nature, and there’s nothing wrong with a child being childish… and even silly at times.
e. But there IS something terribly wrong with folly, which is a moral failure.
2. Consider how the book of Proverbs describes folly:
a. Make a mock at sin. Prov. 14:9.
b. Sport themselves in mischief. Prov. 10:23
c. Despise instruction. Prov. 1:7; 15:5.
d. Hate to depart from evil. Prov.13:19
e. Is right in his own eyes. Prov.12:15
f. Is deceived (Prov.14:8) He really believes he’s right.
g. If not corrected, he will continually return to his folly. Prov. 26:11
h. This is not silly behavior; this is sinful behavior.
B. Folly Bound in the Heart of a Child
1. This kind of behavior is BOUND in a child.
a. Mocking sin; getting into mischief; despising instruction; pride; conceit; always thinking he’s right; hating to be corrected; etc.
b. Bound: Tied to as with a rope; united to; joined to; fastened to.
c. This term is used in I Sam. 18:1: “The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David.”
d. The deviant behavior is bound, tied to, knit and interwoven into the very heart of a child.
e. Note that this immoral folly is not only FOUND in the heart of a child, it is BOUND in the heart of a child…
f. This implies two things:
• The insidious nature of the folly: It has the child all bound up… all tied up and it has control over him.
• The difficulty in getting rid of it. It doesn’t come out easily.
2. Children are BORN this way.
a. It isn’t entirely learned behavior; it isn’t environment induced.
b. It is the very NATURE of a child from birth.
c. It is part of the old Adamic nature. They are born BENT towards evil behavior.
d. Ps. 58:3 – “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.”
e. They don’t really need to LEARN bad behavior. It is IN them right from the womb.
f. Children by nature think it is fun to do what they know they are not supposed to do.
g. Children by nature mock at sin… ridicule rules… reject instruction
h. Children by nature don’t like to be told what to do.
i. They hate to hear the word NO said to them… but when given instructions, they love to SAY no to you!
3. Children are born with SIN firmly fixed in their hearts… that old sin nature inherited from their parents… and all the way back to Adam.
a. Christianity and psychology differ strongly on this point.
b. Christianity and the whole world system differ on this point.
c. What one believes about the NATURE of a child (a human being) will (to a large degree) determine HOW that child is reared.
d. For example, if your thinking has been conformed to the world, and you believe that a child is born as a blank slate (neither good nor evil) and his inward inclinations are all LEARNED behavior, then it is reasonable to assume that spanking is not a good idea.
• It will TEACH the child to hit.
• It will enforce violent behavior.
• It will produce a cycle of violence.
• And these are the arguments used against corporal punishment of a child in the home.
e. But, if your thinking has been shaped by God’s Word, and you believe that a child is born with a fallen nature (a heart which is bound up in immoral folly), then it is reasonable to assume that God the Creator has a BETTER way of dealing with His fallen creatures.
• Then spanking will not be seen as promoting violence, but a hindrance to violence.
• Spanking will not teach the child to hit others, but will cause him to think twice before hitting someone else… because there are painful consequences associated with bad behavior!
• THAT is the learned behavior here: There are painful consequences associated with bad behavior.
• Kids don’t have to learn how to be bad or how to misbehave.
• But they DO have to learn about the consequences of their bad choices in behavior. That is a GOOD lesson to learn.
15b But the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
1. The first part of the proverb teaches us the sad reality of life: kids are born with sinful, immoral, folly bound up in their little hearts.
2. The second part of the proverb teaches us what to DO about it.
3. The “rod of correction”
a. Correction defined:
• Strong’s: Discipline; chastening; correction.
• Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Correction that is a minor punishment for teaching which may include a rebuke or instruction.
• This term is often translated “instruction” and most often (20 times) speaks of verbal instruction or verbal discipline.
b. Rod of correction:
• The addition of the word “rod” makes it clear that Solomon had corporal, physical discipline in mind, not just verbal.
• Rod = a stick or rod; it was used of a shepherd’s staff or a king’s scepter.
• Thus, the rod (instrument of corporal punishment) is designed to CORRECT bad behavior.
• When used properly, it is a form of “instruction” that really drives home the point!
• It is the board of education, applied to the seat of knowledge!
4. Shall Drive It Far From Him…
a. Drive:
• Distance; remove; put far away; send far away.
• Ps. 103:12 – This is the term used of God “removing” our transgressions from us.
b. Solomon’s point is that the rod is effective.
c. And while this probably drives UNICEF and Amnesty International crazy, corporal punishment works.
d. It is to be used because God said so AND because it works!
• Not everything that works is right… but this does work AND it is also right.
e. Thus, we can employ corporal punishment on our kids AND do so with a pure conscience.
• The unsaved in our country often do spank their children, but they often do so with a guilty conscience because their minds have been conformed by the world… and they are never fully sure whether they did the right thing or not. We are sure.
• We don’t have to worry about whether we are stifling their creativity, or damaging their self esteem, or instilling deep rooted psychological harm to their inner child.
• We can spank our kids and KNOW that it is the right way to deal with folly and that (in the long run) it works… and is GOOD for them.
f. The passage implies that if it is not driven out… it will remain BOUND in his heart, and it gives it a sense of urgency.
5. Prov. 27:22 – “Even if a fool were pounded with a pestle in a mortar along with the grain, he would not be corrected.”
a. This passage says that physical punishment will NOT correct the fool; while 22:15 says that the rod WILL correct the fool and drive his folly away.
b. Clearly two different outcomes are listed in these two proverbs. One says it works; the other says it does not work.
c. That’s why some see this as a contradiction to 22:15.
d. However, this passage actually emphasizes the importance of the rod of correction.
e. By comparing these two proverbs, we learn that if the folly is not removed when he is a child, when he is older, and has become more set in his ways, then it may NEVER be driven out!
f. Therefore, it is all the more essential that the rod be applied to children… while there is time… while there is hope… while they are still teachable.
g. Kids are like wet cement. Wet cement is easily formed and shaped. But once it hardens, it is much more difficult to shape.
6. Solomon bolsters this point in other passages.
a. Prov. 19:18 – Chasten him while there is still hope… when he is young and teachable… before the cement hardens. If you wait, even a crushing blow (like what the pestle does to grain) will not drive away the folly.
b. Prov. 13:24 – And don’t worry about teaching violence. Spanking a child is an act of LOVE… and one day he will appreciate what you taught him by the way you brought him up (probably when he has kids of own).
• And of course, discipline must be administered in love—not out of frustration or anger.
• And it needs to be accompanied by verbal instruction… teaching him right from wrong. (The rod AND correction – instruction.)
c. Prov. 23:13-14 – You may think that you are killing him, but in reality you are delivering him from heading down the wrong pathway in life.
d. Prov. 29:15 – The rod gives wisdom. That is the goal. Folly is driven out, and it is replaced with wisdom from God… which leads to godliness.
• The world says that the rod leads to a life of violence, a damaged psyche, and deep inner scars.
• The Bible says that it leads to wisdom. Side with God on this matter!
• The world system has a large network of organizations all working towards making the rod that produces godly wisdom ILLEGAL.
• Pray for those who are in positions of authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
• For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalit8ies and powers… spiritual wickedness in high places.
Proverbs 22:16
Wrong Ways to Increase
16a He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches…
1. Oppress: To press upon; to crush; to wrong; exploit; to defraud; to mistreat.
2. Oppression of the poor is as old as the hills.
a. This is the way of the natural man and of societies of the world. It is the way of the jungle.
b. The powerful oppress the weak.
c. That normally translates into the rich trample over the poor.
d. The rich have many tricks up their sleeves to oppress the poor: keeping back their hire, not paying them what they are worth; by usury (exorbitant interest rates) and outright extortion.
e. This is human nature. We are by nature selfish and greedy.
f. The tendency of the rich to oppress the poor that Solomon saw in his day continues in our day as well.
g. Keep in mind that Solomon is writing as a King (a rich and powerful man) for his sons (who will also be rich and powerful men).
3. The PURPOSE of oppression
a. “To increase his riches.”
b. Increase: To multiply; to make big; to become larger; to become abundant.
c. The rich take advantage of the poor.
d. The rich use the poor to cause the rich to grow richer.
e. This is the meaning of the first part of this proverb.
f. It should be noted that the words “his riches” do not appear in the original. The text simply says, “to increase.”
g. Thus, it is much broader than just silver and gold.
h. It could be to increase his power, his social standing, his political position, his military might, his borders, his name and prestige, etc.
i. It could be a combination of all the above.
16b And he that giveth to the rich…
1. Give: According to the Word Study of the Old Testament, this term is used about 2000 times in the Old Testament. Thus, it has a very broad meaning: to give… to hand over to… etc.
2. Rich: The wealthy, well-to-do persons with significant power and influence socially and politically.
3. Why would someone give to the wealthy man who is in a position of influence and political power?
a. Just watch the six o’clock news! It happens all the time. The city of Chicago is known for its corruption. We have recently had a case there of just this sort of crime: buying political appointments… giving money to the rich.
b. The author is speaking here of bribes to BUY influence and position.
c. Prov. 18:16 – A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.
• A bribe will often attract the attention of great and important men. Bribes “open doors” that would otherwise be closed.
• For a mere $700.00 a plate you can go to a dinner with the Clintons (or other political figures) and be introduced to the movers and shakers in your area!
• In that company you might be able to broker a deal (I’ll give you a gift and you look the other way as I continue to oppress the poor!)
• Hush money keeps a lot of people quiet… and looking the other way as oppression and corruption continue.
d. Prov. 17:8 – Bribes work! It’s a fact of life.
e. Prov.17:23 – People give money to the rich in order to buy justice or to buy their way out of a conviction.
• If a shady businessman has been dishonestly overcharging the poor or overworking the poor, a bribe to the right judge or political figure might just take the heat off him and enable him to continue to oppress the poor.
• Perversion of justice is nothing new either. People with money seem to get off the hook for crimes that the average person would be jailed for.
f. Deut. 16:19 – God did not want the Jews to use bribes as a means of buying influence and avoiding justice. It was part of the Law.
g. Isa. 1:23 – Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards. (It was common in Israel and around the world)
16c Shall surely come to want.
1. The previous two phrases in this proverb speak of the two WRONG ways to increase wealth and power.
2. However, they are two very COMMON ways to increase wealth and power.
a. Taking from the poor
b. Giving bribes to the rich.
3. It seems quite contrary to common sense.
a. The rich don’t need “presents,” for they are rich! Yet it is common practice for men seeking to “increase” themselves, do just that—give gifts (bribes) to the wealthy.
b. The poor who DO need gifts are instead oppressed. The wealthy take from them what little they have.
c. The proverb highlights how backwards this is… how contrary to common sense.
d. Common sense would tell us (if we were honest and our hearts were right) that if we were going to give gifts to anyone, it should be the poor who have genuine needs, not the wealthy!
e. The proverb also underscores how dishonest and cruel it is—to make the rich richer by making the poor poorer.
f. And yet as we all know, it happens all the time.
4. If common sense tells us that if we give gifts, it ought to be given to the poor, WHY is it that so often “gifts” are given to the rich?
a. Because of pure greed.
b. If you give a gift to the poor, there’s nothing in it for me, myself, and I!
c. But if you give a “gift” to the rich and powerful, there IS something in it for me. Gifts bring you into important circles and buys favors.
d. Gifts OUGHT to be given in grace—out of selfless love.
e. Solomon knew that, but noted that in the circles he travelled in, it was often the opposite. As Solomon observed human behavior among the upper crust of society, he noted that gifts were given out of self interest, self promotion, selfishness, and greed!
5. The MAIN point of the proverb is this: these two common, greedy, selfish practices may seem to result in an increase (wealth; position; power) in the immediate, but in the long run, it results in poverty (want).
a. This proverb describes two possible approaches to “increase” (wealth).
• Those who use these approaches THINK that it is the way to wealth and increase.
• One man assumes that he will increase by oppressing the poor.
• The other man assumes that he will increase by giving (bribing) the wealthy.
• But in the end, both men come to poverty!
b. This is the essence of the proverb:
• Two actions seem opposite (taking from the poor; giving to the rich).
• They are opposite actions, yet, their purpose is really the same: to increase and get rich.
• They are opposite actions, yet their END is also the same: they both lead to poverty.
c. And as opposite as these actions are, there are some obvious similarities too:
• Both demonstrate no fear of God.
• Both demonstrate no love for one’s brother (neighbor).
• Both are the result of the same motive: self seeking.
• Both are motivated by greed.
• Both meet the same end: poverty.
6. There are several reasons for this conclusion.
a. Prov. 14:31 – Oppressing the poor is reproaching the Maker. One can only reproach God so long before he must deal with the consequences of reproaching God.
b. Ps. 72:4 – God shall break in pieces the oppressor!
• Those who violate Gods’ Law and seek to cover it up by buying influence from wealthy, powerful people will one day discover that it is really a poor trade off.
• If God is against you, buying influence from wealthy men who are but dust isn’t the best plan in the long run.
• Bribes given in secret do not escape the notice of an omniscient God.
• And God is concerned about the poor. He watches over them.
• God is opposed to BOTH of these wrong methods of “increasing.”
• One day—either in this life or the life to come—the wealthy ones who oppress the poor will have to give an account of their actions.
• Ps. 12:5 – For the oppression of the poor… “I will arise!”
c. Jas. 5:1-5 – The wealthy land owners who oppressed their poor workers will one day make some painful discoveries:
• That their gold is cankered and rusted;
• And that the Lord heard of their oppression;
• And that they were really just fattening themselves up for the slaughter! (vs.5)
7. How much better is it to follow the common sense route!
a. If you want to give a gift, give it out of love and grace, selflessly, for the good of those in need—not with strings attached for selfish gain.
b. Many men have learned to regret foolish generosity, (bribes given to the rich).
c. But no one has ever regretted the wise and prayerfully giving to the poor. In the long run, that is far more sensible. And it doesn’t lead to poverty. It results in treasures in heaven.
Proverbs 22:17
The Proper Response to Wisdom and Knowledge
Introduction:
1. The various sections of the book of Proverbs:
a. The first section of the book of Proverbs begins with the words, “The proverbs of Solomon.”
• This section speaks of the value of wisdom.
• It includes chapters 1:-9:18.
• These are the lessons for “my son.”
• This section included the lengthy sections on Lady Wisdom crying out in the streets.
• It also included several sections on the strange woman to avoid.
b. The second section also begins with the words, “The Proverbs of Solomon.”
• This section includes chapters 10:1-22:16
• These are mostly short, concise, one verse statements… little nuggets of truth.
c. The third section begins with the words, “the words of the wise.”
• These “words of the wise” comprise a new section in the book of Proverbs. (22:17-24:34)
• The third section that we will begin looking at tonight will immediately be identified as different in that the proverbs are connected.
• There is often a context here.
• In the previous section, each proverb stood alone as a single nugget of truth, but in this section, we often have several verses strung together as a unit.
d. The fourth section (Chapter 25-29) begins a new section of proverbs which the men of Hezekiah copied out.
e. The fifth section: The Words of Agur (Chap. 30)
f. The sixth section: The Words of Lemuel (31:1-9)
g. The seventh section: The Noble Wife (31:10-31)
17a Bow down thine ear…
1. Bow down: This term is used in lots of different ways.
a. Strong’s: Incline; bend; bow; stretch out; extend.
b. Zodhiates: A verb meaning to stretch out; to extend; to pay attention.
c. Judges 9:3 – “Their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech…”
d. Psa. 119:112 – “I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end.”
e. I Kings 11:2, 4 – It was used of Solomon turning his heart away from the Lord and towards the gods of his wives. (“For surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.”)
f. Thus, the term in our proverb speaks of an inward inclination.
• It speaks of an intentional BENDING of the ear in the direction of the words of the wise…
• It is a command to TURN in the direction of the words of the wise…
• It speaks of an inward heart INCLINATION to listen…
• This is how it is translated in 4:20: “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.”
• Prov. 5:1 – “My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding.”
2. Turning one’s ear is literal but it implies more than the literal.
a. It is literal in that it speaks of literally turning your ear towards the sound of the words of wisdom.
b. But more than turning the literal ear towards the sound waves is implied.
• It implies turning the ear so that you can hear… listen.
• It means to pay attention to what is heard.
3. Application: It is good for us to be INCLINED to hear the Word of God… whether in this section of Proverbs or in any other portion of Scripture.
17b And hear the words of the wise
1. The words of the wise
a. This expression refers primarily to the proverbs in this section of the book (22:17-24:34).
b. Cf. 24:23 – a continuation of this section. Some see this as the second subdivision of this whole section.
c. There are 30 separate sayings in this section. (30 wise sayings)
d. The term “words” = speech; word; utterance; statement (common word).
e. The term “wise” = shrewd; crafty; cunning; skilled; prudent; wise (common word).
2. Here Solomon (or whoever the human authors of these proverbs were) tells his readers to HEAR these words.
a. The term is used of literal hearing. (Ps. 44:2)
b. But like the previous expression, in this proverb, it IMPLIES more.
• The author’s concern here was not how well his son’s ears worked.
• Hear:
» Strong’s: To hear with attention or interest; listen to; to understand.
» Dictionary of Biblical Languages: To listen; take heed; pay attention; hear; i.e., believe information and respond on the basis of having heard.
» Ex. 4:1 – Moses was concerned that his people would not hear (hearken) to his voice. (listen… pay attention… respond to)
» Ecc. 9:16-17 (2 times) Pay attention to; to take heed to.
• The author wanted his readers to “hear” his words.
» Prov. 1:8 – This is the thought with which the book began.
» Obviously, you don’t literally “hear” the author’s words of wisdom when reading a book.
» But those words can and should be HEEDED in the heart.
» In that sense, to “hear” is a virtual synonym for “obey.”
→ I Sam.12:14 – “If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD…”
» The readers should pay attention to the words they read… as if the author spoke face to face. In other words, obey!
» Think of that when reading the Bible!
17c And apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
1. Apply:
a. Strong’s: to set, station, appoint, fix, set the mind to.
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: To set; apply; place; i.e., have a feeling or attitude of devotion, with corresponding action
c. Zodhiates: To set one’s heart on something means to pay attention to it.
d. Meditate and ponder.
e. Prov. 24:32 – “Considered” is the same word as applied.
• He set his mind to think about it.
• He saw the field of the slothful, and applied it to his own heart.
• He contemplated the implications of the field of the slothful.
• He thought long and hard about it, and paid attention to its meaning.
2. Note that the first two exhortations were addressed to the ear. This is addressed to the heart.
a. Heart: The whole inner man; mind; emotion; conscience; etc.
b. Once the ear hears, and the words of wisdom are understood and absorbed, THEN the believer is to APPLY that truth to his heart.
c. He is to set his heart to contemplate the truth… he is to pay attention to what he heard and now understands.
d. And finally, there is to be a corresponding ACTION.
e. Truth demands something of us. It demands absolute obedience.
f. Truth, knowledge, and wisdom applied to the heart will have a life transforming effect. It changes us.
3. Prov. 5:1 – “My son ATTEND to my wisdom…”
a. Attend: Listen; pay attention; give heed; i.e., accept information as true and respond to it.
4. In Prov. 22:17, Solomon encourages his readers to apply their hearts to KNOWLEDGE.
a. The wise man speaks words of wisdom and knowledge.
b. This book (and the rest of the Bible) was given that we might have the knowledge of God, His will and His ways.
c. Knowledge: Knowledge; understanding; information; doctrine.
d. Thus, the author wants his reader to pay attention to the information and the words of wisdom revealed.
e. We need both: The information (doctrine), and the skill (discernment) to put it into practice and make good use of it.
f. In particular, we need the knowledge of God and the wisdom to live out that truth in our daily lives.
5. Note the progression in the three exhortations:
a. Bow down thine ear (bend the ear; incline the ear; turn it towards the sound).
b. Hear the words (heart with great interest; paying attention to so as to understand).
c. Apply thine heart (set the mind and heart to an attitude of devotion, with corresponding action).
d. Perhaps we could paraphrase:
• Listen to the words of the wise.
• Pay attention so that you understand what you hear.
• Then respond in obedience: DO it… turn it into action.
• Cf. Ps. 90:12 – “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” First comes teaching (words of wisdom) then comes understanding, and ultimately, application of that truth to the heart.
6. While the exhortation here is primarily an exhortation for the reader (his sons?) to pay attention to the 30 wise sayings (paragraphs) in this section of Proverbs, there is good application for ALL words of wisdom and for the entire Word of God.
Proverbs 22:18-19
Memorizing Scripture
Introduction:
1. This passage speaks to us concerning the value and joy of memorizing Scripture.
2. Keep in mind that we have entered into a portion of Proverbs that has a context.
3. This section of Proverbs contains “thirty wise sayings” (the words of the wise). (22:17-24:34)
4. They are no longer found in single, isolated verses, but are found in clusters (2-3) verses for each saying.
5. The first cluster is found in vs. 17-19.
6. Verse 19 introduces this saying by challenging the readers to bow down our ears (listen – pay attention) and apply the knowledge found therein to our own hearts and lives.
7. Note the progression in the three exhortations:
a. Bow down thine ear (bend the ear; incline the ear; turn it towards the sound).
b. Hear the words (hear with great interest; paying attention to so as to understand).
c. Apply thine heart (set the mind and heart to an attitude of devotion, with corresponding action).
Memorizing Scripture is Pleasant
18a For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee…
1. “Keep them within thee”
a. THEM:
• In context, “them” refers to the “words of the wise” in vs.17.
• The readers are to pay attention to them and to apply them to their heart.
• Now Solomon says that the readers are to MEMORIZE them.
b. KEEP:
• This word keep has many shades of meaning and is translated variously in different contexts.
• It means: Keep; i.e., cause a state or condition to remain; to watch; to keep; to preserve; to guard.
• In this context it means to keep in the sense of to keep, to retain, to treasure up (in memory)
c. WITHIN THEE:
• Literally this means “in your belly”
• Since we don’t think of the belly or stomach as a place for words of wisdom, we might say instead, “keep them within your heart.”
• A couple of translations translated this keep them in your: heart or mind.
d. In other words, we are to retain these words of wisdom on the inside: deep down within our INNER man.
• We retain them by memorizing them.
• We retain them by listening carefully to them, applying them to our heart in obedience, and then memorizing them.
• Rote memorization is probably the best way to BEGIN to retain them.
• But Solomon had in mind a deep inner understanding of the principles involved… so that these truths become OURS.
• They become ours first by memorizing them, but more importantly by obeying them… practicing them… living them out in our daily lives.
• But you have to KNOW what the wise principle IS before you can live it and practice it. That’s where memorization comes in.
• Ps. 119:11 – “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
e. Note the “IF”
• There is great value to memorizing Scripture.
• But Solomon is aware of the fact that not everyone WILL memorize Scripture.
• But IF you do, there is great value to it.
• We might liken this to a New Testament passage: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.” (Col. 3:16)
2. Memorizing Scripture is PLEASANT
a. Pleasant:
• Pleasant; delightful; sweet; lovely; agreeable; beautiful; attractive.
• It is used of persons who are pleasing, a joy to be around.
• David eulogized Saul and Jonathan in their death by saying, “Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives.”
• He was saying that they were a joy to be around. (Though it is hard to see how he could say this of Saul! Eulogies do tend to go a bit overboard at times.)
• Ps. 135:3 – the Lord’s name is “pleasant” (translated good).
b. “For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee.”
• The point Solomon makes here is that when believers bow before the Word, let it sink in, obey it, live it, and RETAIN it in their hearts by memorizing it, it is a pleasant thing.
• It is a joy to memorize Scripture. It is a delight to the one who memorizes Scripture. It is sweet and pleasant. It is a beautiful thing… and of great value.
• Prov. 2:10 – “When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul.”
• Jer. 15:16 – “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.”
• When the Word of Christ is dwelling in our hearts richly, it results in singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord. That is pleasant. Singing springs from joy.
3. The progression continues:
a. Bow down thine ear (bend the ear; incline the ear; turn it towards the sound).
b. Hear the words (hear with great interest; paying attention to so as to understand).
c. Apply thine heart (set the mind and heart to an attitude of devotion, with corresponding action).
d. Memorize them by retaining them in your heart.
4. Solomon states that while this requires effort and diligence, and may require a change of lifestyle, it is in the end “pleasant.”
a. Next Solomon explains WHY memorizing Scripture is pleasant.
Memorizing Scripture is Appropriate for Daily Conversation:
18b They shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
1. Fitted:
a. To be firm, be stable, be established; fixed; ready; enduring; firmly established; ready.
b. In this context, “fitted” means to be established on the lips; fixed on your lips; an established fixture of your conversation… and ready for use.
2. Once Scripture is memorized, they are established on thy lips; always ready on your lips.
a. They are retained deep down in the heart and mind.
b. Thus, whatever is in the heart flows forth from the lips.
c. Jesus said that those things which proceed from the mouth come forth from the heart (Matt. 15:18).
• Unfortunately, EVIL things lurk in our evil hearts.
• But the new, regenerated, Spirit filled heart brings forth good things.
• And if we are memorizing Scripture, then good things from God’s Word will flow from our lips.
3. This is pleasant!
a. When believers gather together for fellowship, and they have bowed before the Word, humbled themselves before it, and hid it in their hearts… then it is going to flow off their lips easily.
b. And as believers gather to fellowship together, and God’s Word is flowing off their lips… words of wisdom are shared, then it is pleasant.
• Here’s an odd thing: The world thinks that the Bible will RUIN all their pleasure. Yet in reality, it is the SOURCE of our true pleasure.
• To the believer the Word of God is sweeter than a honeycomb…
c. Then the fellowship is sweet and beautiful.
d. The person who has God’s Word hidden in his or her heart is a JOY and a delight to be around.
• For one thing, if God’s word is REALLY in their heart, then they will be robed in humility.
• Ps. 131:1 – “LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.”
• The humble believer will not constantly quote Scripture to boast about how much Scripture he has memorized.
• He will be more concerned about sharing TRUTH from Scripture than quoting paragraphs.
• Sometimes just sharing one pertinent phrase from a passage will be just as edifying as quoting the whole chapter.
• Prov. 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”
• This is pleasant. It is helpful, encouraging, and edifying.
• Prov.15:23 – “A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!”
• The believer who hides God’s Word in his heart and knows which truth to share… and is discerning enough to know when to share it, is a DELIGHT to be around.
• This makes for pleasant, joyous, encouraging conversation and fellowship.
e. However, conversation that centers on the Word of God is not pleasant for everyone.
• If your heart is not right with God, such conversation might make you uncomfortable.
• If you have been saved many years and yet have not grown, and you know that you SHOULD know the Scriptures, then you too might be uncomfortable when the Word is discussed… You might feel “left out” of the conversation.
• The answer is found in these words of wisdom: bow down your ear, HEAR the words of the wise, and apply your heart to it! Then memorize the Word yourself, and you will find such conversation pleasant to your soul too!
Memorizing Scripture Encourages Faith:
19 That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.
1. THAT: Here Solomon states one of the purposes of fellowshipping around God’s Word: “that your trust may be in the Lord.”
a. When believers memorize Scripture, and truth from God’s Word is firmly fixed in their lips such that it is a part of their everyday conversation—that is pleasant.
b. It also aids in bolstering the faith of others!
c. When God’s Word is in our hearts and flows from our lips as we fellowship together, it is pleasant because it enables us to continue trusting in the Lord.
2. This is why Solomon revealed these words of wisdom concerning memorizing Scripture.
a. Why? So that we might be instruments God uses to encourage others to trust in the Lord.
b. As we fellowship together and discuss our lives, our struggles, and our difficulties, the Holy Spirit is able to use the words of Scripture that you have memorized to minister to His people.
c. God’s wisdom (and for us, the word of Christ) is retained (dwelling) in our hearts, then we will be teaching and admonishing one another. That’s the PURPOSE of the word in our hearts.
d. The better we know the Word, the better equipped we are to encourage a believer to TRUST in the Lord… to continue walking by faith… to encourage him NOT to throw in the towel and quit…
e. If we will keep these words of wisdom in our belly and fix them on our lips, then God can use US to encourage others to continue trusting in the Lord.
3. Solomon concludes this section by emphasizing the fact that he himself made this known to his readers. He wants us ALL to know this.
Proverbs 22:20-21
The Purpose of Written Proverbs
20 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge
1. The excellent things that have been written refer to the “words of the wise” mentioned in vs.17.
a. As we noted before, Prov. 22:17 introduces the third section of Proverbs.
b. It begins with the words, “the words of the wise.”
c. These are the excellent things described in vs.20.
d. These “words of the wise” comprise a new section in the book of Proverbs from chapter 22:17-24:34.
e. No longer is each verse a unit unto itself. This section has a context to it.
f. There are 30 separate “words of the wise” (wise sayings) in this section of Proverbs. (22:17-24:34)
g. In vs.17-19, Solomon told his readers to incline your ears towards them, hear them, apply them to your heart, and to keep them within thee.
h. Now in vs. 20-21, Solomon states the purpose for these wise sayings.
2. Excellent things
a. This is an unusual term. It is a noun carrying many different meanings associated with the number three. (30 wise sayings)
b. It is used of a measure related to the number three. (3 ephahs)
c. Ps. 80:5 – “Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure.”
d. It is used of a musical instrument (with perhaps 3 sections).
e. The military used the word for a high ranking officer (perhaps like a 3 star general) and also for the third man in the chariot.
f. Though it’s hard to know for sure, in this passage, the term may have the meaning of a threefold blessing… a full and rich blessing… or a large measure of wisdom associated with the number 3, namely the 30 wise sayings.
g. Whatever is the exact meaning and usage of this Hebrew expression, it is a superlative of sorts – and thus translated “excellent things”… a great measure of wisdom.
3. The excellent things (this great measure of wisdom) were written down.
a. They were written down, probably by Solomon.
b. We might add that they were written down by Solomon under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
c. They were written and included in the canon of Scripture—for our learning and admonition.
d. They were written down so that we could “hear” them by reading, and apply them to our hearts, and perhaps commit them to memory – or “keep” them within.
e. This is a treasure chest of wisdom… and so that they could be passed on to future generations accurately, they were written down.
f. And we all have Bibles. We can read this treasure chest of wisdom whenever we want. That is a privilege that not every saint has had.
4. These excellent things consist of words of “counsel” from wise men.
a. Counsel: Scheme; plan; advice which gives wisdom and knowledge.
b. The first use of the term is found in Ex. 18:19 – in which Jethro gives counsel to Moses. Jethro’s “counsel” was to give to Moses a plan which enabled him to get organized in carrying out his administrative responsibilities for ruling and judging his people.
c. This is the term used of Rehoboam rejecting the counsel of the old men. (I Kings 12:8,13)
d. Ps. 33:10-11 – Counsel can be good or bad. It is used of worldly counsel and also of the counsel of the Lord.
e. Clearly, the “excellent things” recorded here are examples of good and beneficial counsel.
f. Once Solomon recorded these words of wisdom in Scripture (which consisted of helpful counsel and advice), they became the “counsels of the Lord.”
5. These excellent things also consist of words of “knowledge.”
a. Knowledge: Discernment; insight; understanding; a knowledge with focus on moral qualities and its application.
b. Prov. 2:5 – It is used of the knowledge of God.
c. The word is also used in the sense of knowing by experience, relationship.
d. Hos. 4:1 – “Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.”
• God was upset because the children of Israel lacked in their knowledge of God.
• They had knowledge of religion, but not a knowledge of God.
• They did not have discernment… a true understanding of spiritual things.
e. The excellent things revealed in this section of Proverbs enables the readers to have a deeper understanding of morality and its personal application.
f. The excellent things revealed in this section of Proverbs enables the readers to have a deeper experiential knowledge of God: of who God is and what He is like.
g. Job 15:2 – “Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?” Not all knowledge is good and profitable.
h. But the knowledge revealed in this great measure of wisdom in this section of Proverbs IS extremely valuable and profitable.
6. Solomon recorded 30 excellent sayings – a collection of godly counsel and knowledge. In the next verse he tells us two reasons WHY they are so valuable.
21a That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth
1. The first reason of WHY they are so valuable is that when it comes to the topics covered, we might know for sure.
a. Solomon knew these excellent things. God made him the wisest man in the world. He had insight and knowledge that no one else had.
b. And he wanted to make these excellent things known to us! Aren’t you glad he did? How much poorer we would be if Solomon decided to keep all this God-given wisdom to himself and not share it with us via the book of Proverbs!
c. Solomon had extremely valuable information from God and he wanted others to know. (By the way, we too have valuable information from God in the gospel. We too should want to make it known! It is not to be kept and hoarded to ourselves!)
d. Certainty: Just words; truth; reality.
e. Solomon wanted his readers to know the certainty of the words that he recorded here… he wanted us to know the truth recorded here is real, genuine…
2. The words of truth…
a. Words of truth = words that are faithful; reliable; stable; firm; sure; honest; trustworthy.
b. Solomon wanted his readers to know with all certainty that the words he recorded here are reliable and trustworthy.
c. We don’t have to worry about whether they will still be true for our kids in the next generation. They are STABLE… Truth doesn’t change from one generation to the next.
d. We don’t have to worry about whether the wisdom and knowledge we read here is reliable. We can count on it. We can build our lives on it.
e. We don’t have to worry about whether it is true for one person, but not true for another.
f. We don’t have to worry about whether the knowledge we glean from this book is faulty… or if there are any mistakes or inaccuracies in it.
g. Thus truth doesn’t have to be updated every few years to keep in tune with the times.
h. How incredibly VALUABLE the certainty of reliable words.
• Don’t you wish you had CERTAIN and infallible knowledge about whether global warming is a natural cycle of the earth or is caused by man? Don’t you wish you knew with absolute certainty that the changes that are being proposed would actually make a difference, or if they are going to destroy the economy for nothing?
• Don’t you wish you knew for SURE how all the different health care plans being proposed would work in the long run?
• Don’t you wish you had certainty and knew for sure which doctor’s counsel you should follow in dealing with your disease… when several doctors are all giving different opinions? Wouldn’t you like to have the CERTAINTY of reliable words?
• Don’t you wish you had the certainty of knowing for sure which vitamins really work… or which financial planner was best for your situation… or which school would be best for your child?
i. In the natural realm, in our earthly lives, there is so much uncertainty.
• We seek after the best advice we can find… but it’s never perfect.
• As long as man is involved in giving counsel, there is no certainty. There is always the potential for error.
• Sometimes the error is because of purposeful deception.
• Even with the best of intentions, man’s counsel and knowledge are often faulty, off base, and contain mistakes.
• In the earthly realm, the words of counsel we receive are not always reliable.
• And sometimes, it can result in a loss of health, a loss of a job, a loss of finances, or lost time in fixing the mistakes.
• All too often in this life, men follow the advice and counsel of other men (often with the best of intentions), but end up disappointed, let down, disillusioned, cynical, and frustrated, because the counsel proved to be bogus.
j. But in the realm that really matters (in spiritual things), we have words of DIVINE wisdom recorded in Scripture for us.
• What a blessing to have the CERTAINTY of knowing that these words are true, reliable, firm, stable, trustworthy.
• Putting God’s counsel into practice in our lives will never leave us disappointed, disillusioned, or frustrated.
21b That thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?
1. The second reason as to WHY these words of counsel and knowledge are so valuable is given here: so that the reader will be well equipped to ANSWER those who send to him for counsel and advice.
2. Solomon assumes that there will be times in the lives of his readers (including you and me) that others will send unto us a question.
a. He assumed that people will come to us with questions, seeking from us advice, counsel, and guidance.
b. As a king, many people sent unto Solomon for advice and counsel… especially when his wisdom became famous worldwide.
c. I Kings 10:1-3 – The Queen of Sheba sent unto him a whole list of questions and Solomon answered them all.
d. Solomon recorded much of that wisdom in the book of Proverbs for us.
3. Answer:
a. This term means “to return” or to “send back.”
b. The point is that when someone sends to us for counsel and knowledge, we will be able to “return” them with the proper answer.
c. This is the second purpose of the recording of the these 30 wise sayings: so that we can give answers to those who come to us seeking wisdom, guidance, and counsel.
d. The better we know the Word, the better equipped we are to be used of the Lord in helping others.
e. I Pet. 3:15 – We too should sanctify the Lord in our hearts (and His Word too—let the Word of Christ dwell richly in our hearts) so that we might be able to give answer to those who ask us the reason of the hope that lieth in us.
4. “The words of truth”
a. This is the exact same expression as is used earlier in this verse.
b. Solomon wanted his readers to be able to give answers that were more than just human opinions.
c. He wanted his readers to be able to answer with words that were reliable, faithful, firm, stable, and trustworthy.
d. Solomon wanted his readers to be able to pass on wisdom, counsel, and knowledge that could be counted upon… so that those who hear would have reliable words that would give them assurance and certainty.
e. This is goal of discipleship: The student may be like the master –teacher, and able to give the same wise answers that the teacher gave him.
f. Thus, they could act on that counsel with assurance that it is the RIGHT thing to do…
g. How valuable are such words!
5. These are excellent truths to be passed on to others. They are reliable words that will be exceedingly valuable to others. But don’t forget the FIRST thought: “I have written to thee…” and they are “made known unto THEE!”
a. First of all, they are for me… for you…
b. Before we can answer others, we must first know the CERTAINTY and reliability of the words of truth ourselves.
c. Vs.18 – And it is a pleasant thing if we first keep them within ourselves!
d. It brings rest and peace to the soul when we KNOW that the counsel we are following and giving is inspired, infallible, reliable, trustworthy, and never changes. That is a solid foundation.
Proverbs 22:22-23
The First Saying:
Treatment of the Poor and Afflicted
Introduction:
1. A new section of the book of Proverbs began at Prov.22:17.
2. This section contains 30 wise sayings.
3. Verses 17-21 served as an introduction to the 30 wise sayings.
4. Tonight we are going to look at the first of these 30 sayings, which has to do with the treatment of the poor and afflicted.
22a Rob not the poor
1. This is a clear command against the rich and powerful taking advantage of the poor and the weak.
2. Poor: Low, poor, weak, helpless.
a. This speaks of the underclass… the underprivileged.
b. The term poor also speaks of those who are weak and helpless because poverty and political weakness so often go hand in hand.
c. In most societies, money is power.
d. Money buys so called justice.
e. Money buys all kinds of advantages.
f. Those with money have the power to hold on to their money.
g. Thus, there will always be class warfare in one degree or another. There has been since the beginning of time—apart from the very short age of innocence in the Garden of Eden.
h. Matt. 26:11 – Jesus said, “For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.”
i. It is just a fact of life. The war on poverty will never be won until the Kingdom comes.
j. This is true because of human nature:
• There will always be lazy people who will perpetuate poverty through their indolence.
• There will always be selfish, greedy people who keep hard working poor people poor.
• There will always be those who abuse alcohol and drugs.
• There will also continue to be various forms of bigotry.
• There will always be the abuses of raw greed.
• We can pass all the laws we want—but we will never change human nature.
• You can penalize poor behavior and reward good behavior, but unless society suddenly becomes overrun with regenerated Spirit filled hearts, there will always be poverty in one degree or another.
3. Rob: Tear away; seize; plunder; take away by force.
a. The command is not to defeat poverty.
b. Rather, the command is that we not rob the poor—that we be not part of the problem.
c. Believers living by the words of wisdom may not be able to once and for all resolve the problem, but we should at least not be part of the problem!
d. This implies that some men DO rob and plunder the poor, and take by force what little they have.
e. The poor are often an easy target too.
• They don’t have money, and thus are unable to protect and defend themselves.
• They might not be able to afford to live in a safe, protected, gated neighborhood.
• In court, they might not be able to afford a good lawyer.
• They might not be able to afford a good education, and are thus easy prey for unscrupulous businessmen who rob them of their little.
f. Ezek. 22:29 – This was a perennial problem in Israel (and worldwide).
4. Stealing is always wrong, but especially so when it is from the poor.
a. II Sam.12:1-6 – Nathan’s illustration of robbing the poor.
• The contrast is between a rich man who had many flocks, and a poor man who had but one little lamb.
• The rich man took the one little lamb from the poor man to feed his guest.
• When David heard this, he was outraged. He said the rich man deserved to die.
• The reason: not just because he stole, but because he was so heartless in robbing form the poor! He had no pity or mercy.
• The law required the Jews to show mercy to the poor and to relieve their affliction—not to CAUSE it!
5. Prov. 6:30 – “Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry.”
a. Solomon is not justifying theft. Nor is the author here promoting situational ethics.
b. Rather, he simply makes a point – that when a poor man steals because he is hungry, even though it is wrong and sinful, it is (at least from a human standpoint) understandable.
c. While our moral sense of right and wrong must condemn the action of stealing, our hearts go out to the man’s situation.
d. There is at least some sympathy for his pitiful state, for there for the grace of God go I. We wonder what we would have done in the same set of circumstances.
e. However, when a rich man robs a poor man, it is especially despicable and shameful.
f. There is no sympathy whatsoever for that rich man.
g. Even when a rich man takes advantage of other rich men, there is little sympathy. Consider Bernie Madoff. He robbed rich people and turned them into poor people! There is little-to-no sympathy for him.
h. Men DO despise a wealthy thief.
6. Solomon commands his readers NOT to rob the poor because he is poor.
a. This could be taken in two ways. It is a bit ambiguous—and perhaps on purpose.
b. It could be taken to mean that they were not to rob the poor because of the lowly condition of the poor. In other words, don’t rob the poor BECAUSE he’s already poor: if you must rob, don’t take from him!
c. It could also be understood this way: Don’t rob the poor because he is poor, and therefore an easy target… and because he is poor he is not able to defend himself. Thus, it is cowardly to rob the poor… because he is poor and unable to protect himself. Don’t take advantage of the helpless.
22b Neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
1. Afflicted: Weak; wretched; humble; lowly.
a. This term refers to those who are suffering, in a state of poverty, oppression, misery from various causes: often because they are poor and needy.
b. Thus, this term is used almost as a synonym for “poor.” In fact, it is often translated poor.
c. The slight difference is that this term seems to emphasize the suffering associated with the status of being poor.
2. The afflicted are not to be oppressed.
a. Oppress: Crush; break; apply pressure to an object, which if alive, will hurt, bruise, or kill; to beat down; to bruise.
b. This is quite a harsh term used to describe the way some (mostly the rich and powerful) treat the poor and afflicted.
c. The rich and powerful landowners and business owners make rules, administer their affairs, set the work conditions in place, they pass laws, all designed to increase their wealth… and seem like perfectly sensible, sane, and legitimate practices.
d. However, from the perspective of those who must live and work under those conditions, what seemed sensible to the wealthy owners may be crushing, hurtful, and oppressive to the poor.
e. There will always be this sort of tussle between employee and employer… between business and labor.
f. Very often, the poor, weak, and afflicted are oppressed as a result.
g. Solomon commands the wealthy NOT to oppress the afflicted.
3. In the gate…
a. The gate was the center of civil life in ancient times.
b. The gate is where the city leaders met and where court cases were heard.
c. Often the wealthy and powerful sat in the gate, hearing the various cases before them.
d. The proverb states: don’t oppress the poor in the judicial system.
e. The gate was where they should receive justice—not robbery, oppression, and fraud.
f. Yet as we know, the very place where justice OUGHT to be upheld it is sometimes twisted and corrupted.
23a For the LORD will plead their cause
1. Here, the author gives the REASON the rich and powerful were not to rob or oppress the poor and the afflicted: because God is on their side and will plead their case.
2. They often have no voice that can be heard.
3. However, in the theocracy, God will be their voice.
4. Plead their cause: To strive; contend; dispute; conduct a lawsuit.
a. They may not be able to afford expensive Philadelphia lawyers, but they don’t need one. God will fight for them.
b. And if God be for them, who could be against them?
c. If the wealthy work against the poor; God will work FOR them.
d. If the poor receive no justice at the city gate, they will receive justice before God’s throne.
e. Ps.140:12 – God WILL maintain the cause of the afflicted. The psalmist KNEW that for sure… because He knew God.
23b And spoil the soul of those who spoiled them.
a. This speaks of divine justice and vengeance against those who rob the poor and oppress the afflicted.
b. It is a very familiar theme in Proverbs: you reap what you sow.
c. The spoiler will be spoiled: this is perfect poetic justice!
d. The wealthy spoiled the poor. They robbed them and took what little goods they had.
e. God will rob the rich and take the spoils (property) from them.
f. Psalm 12:5 – “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.”
• Those who oppress the poor may think the Lord is sleeping and not noticing.
• However, their actions will cause Him to arise…
1. Arise to defend the poor… and set him in safety.
2. Arise to judge the oppressors…
3. God spoils the spoiler.
4. The picture is of the poor and needy “sighing” – groaning because of the suffering inflicted on them by the oppressors. God hears their groans and sighings.
5. And He DOES something about it. He arises.
g. Prov. 22:16 – The oppressors will “come to want.”
h. Note that it says that God will spoil their “souls”. (Prov. 22:23)
• Some understand this to mean that God might take their physical lives. (soul is often used as a synonym for life)
• Even if the Lord does not spoil their wealth in this life, they may continue to possess wealth, but may not be able to enjoy it.
• And if the judgment does not come in this life, their souls will eventually be spoiled in the life to come.
• Of course ungodly thieves who rob the poor often mock God and make light of such threats now.
• But eventually, the spoiler will be spoiled… at the Great White Throne where God judges all men according to their works.
Proverbs 22:24-25
Beware of Angry Men
Introduction:
1. This is the second of the thirty sayings in this section of Proverbs.
2. This proverbial saying consists of two verses and is a word of warning to beware of angry men.
24a Make no friendship with an angry man…
1. The angry man: Anger defined:
a. The word for anger is a picture word. It is the word for nostril.
b. Sometimes it speaks of the breath that comes out of the nostril.
c. Sometimes it speaks anger or wrath that can be seen in the nostril – either the nose gets red when angry… or the nostrils flare.
d. Thus, the term came to be used as a common word for anger… wrath…
e. Gen. 27:45 – “Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him.” (It was assumed that you could SEE anger go away from his face by observing the nose.)
f. In the context of our proverb, the term is a graphic way of describing anger that could be seen on one’s face.
g. He is easily provoked, touchy, and irritable.
2. The angry man described in Proverbs:
a. Prov.14:17 – An angry man often does foolish things… because he is controlled by anger rather than by reason or common sense.
b. Prov. 15:18 – A wrathful man stirs up strife.
c. Prov. 27:4 – Wrath is cruel—and does cruel things… and says cruel things that he usually regrets once his anger subsides.
3. Make no friendship with…
a. The verb “make friendship” is an interesting word too.
b. The first listed definition is: To pasture; tend; graze; feed.
• One can picture cows or sheep grazing together in a field.
• They are all in one big herd or flock… all hanging out in the same field… and are all eating the same grass.
• Obviously, this is not the meaning of the verb in the context of Prov. 22:24.
c. The secondary meaning is: To associate with, be a friend of, to be companions.
• Listing the first meaning helps us to get a “picture” of the secondary meaning.
• To the Hebrew mind, making a friend of someone was likened to becoming part of a flock or herd… hanging out together like sheep in a field… and involved in the same activities as… like grazing together on the grass.
• This is the meaning of the term in Prov. 22:24: to associate with; to be a friend or companion of.
d. The command here was NOT to be the friend of such a man.
• This is a clear command… not just a helpful suggestion.
• The command is not to hang out together… (like sheep in a pasture) and not to be involved in the same activities as he is (like sheep grazing the same grass)… and not to be associated with his circle of friends if possible (graze somewhere else).
• Stay away—whenever possible.
• Of course, this is not always possible. He may be your classmate in school. He may work in the cubicle next to you at work. He may be your older brother.
• You may not be able to avoid him altogether, but the command still stands: to the best of your ability—graze elsewhere. Seek someone else to hang out with… to associate with.
• For a businessman, don’t go into business with an angry man, no matter HOW good he is at sales or how talented he is crunching numbers or how talented he is at making widgets. Find somebody else!
• For a young lady looking for a husband – consider yourself warned. Don’t fall in love with an angry man—no matter how good looking he is or how adamantly he insists he won’t get angry AGAIN. If he is an angry man, it is his character to be angry. Once you get married, and the honeymoon is over, you will have to deal with his anger the rest of your life. And for some women, that anger turns into violence. Make no friends with an angry man.
• For students at school—don’t try to be a friend of the angry man. He may be in the in crowd. Everyone might think he’s cool because of his big mouth and his rebellion. He might be the tough guy that everyone looks up to—but the Bible says, stay away. Sooner or later his lack of self control and anger will get YOU in trouble.
• This can and should be applied to any number of circumstances and situations in life. It is good, old fashioned, hearty counsel… good advice. Take it!
24b And with a furious man thou shalt not go:
1. This is just another way of saying virtually the same thing as was mentioned in the first part of the proverb.
a. Furious: Heat; rage; hot displeasure; indignation; anger; wrath.
b. This term is a bit more intense – a man who is prone to fly into a rage over nothing… a hothead.
c. This is just a further description of the angry man.
d. He’s a hothead who cannot control his spirit.
e. According to the Dictionary of Biblical Languages, the term speaks of one who is “emotionally worked up and in strife and turmoil.”
f. This man has no self control.
g. Prov. 25:28 – He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
• Uncontrolled anger is the result of a lack of self control.
• He has no self discipline. He has no self control.
• He is like a city without walls: Meaning, he is wide open for the enemy to attack. He is weak and vulnerable… defenseless.
• He might appear to be strong – self confident, self assertive, bold and brash.
• But in fact, he is weak internally. He cannot control his own spirit. He flies off the handle at the littlest agitation or irritation.
2. “Thou shalt not go”
a. This verb means either to come or to go. It can refer to one’s comings and goings in general.
b. It also can mean “to associate with or to have intercourse with.”
c. Young people today might say, “to hang out with.”
d. You may have to GO to school with him, or GO to work with him.
e. But you don’t have to hang out with him. That’s the command here.
f. Watch your associations. Stay away from this guy.
g. Be kind and cordial, but stay away. He’s nothing but trouble.
25a Lest thou learn his ways
1. There are some serious consequences for NOT taking Solomon’s advice (or not obeying his command).
2. Ways = road; pathway; course of life; manner of life.
a. This speaks of the lifestyle of the angry, furious man.
b. It speaks of the pathway of life he is on… the direction his life is taking.
3. You could learn the WAYS of this angry, rash, hot-headed, undisciplined man.
a. One Old Testament dictionary said of the word learn: “The meaning apparently derives from a noun meaning association, familiarity, which leads to learning.”
b. Prov. 27:17 – “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”
• Friends influence one another. For good or evil, friends are very influential.
c. I Cor. 15:33 – “Be not deceived: evil communications (company; associations) corrupt good manners.
d. Sin is contagious. The flames of passion from the angry man easily spread. One fire lights another—and sin spreads like wildfire.
e. By walking with him, and observing him, and listening to him, you will become NUMB to his ways.
f. What at first seemed ungodly, unseemly, off base, and just plain WRONG, over time, begins to seem normal, expected, and ordinary. (When in fact, it is NOT normal or ordinary.)
g. Once you have grown accustomed to it, and it seems normal, you might find that his behavior is manifesting itself in YOUR life. You too will get angry and fly off the handle over little things. You too will not bother to be disciplined or self controlled…
4. Now perhaps someone here IS that angry man! What to do?
a. The Bible has a simple way of dealing with anger.
b. Psalm 37:8 – “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.”
c. God doesn’t say VENT it out. He says “cease.”
d. Cease: To relax; withdraw; idle; to let drop; abandon; relax; refrain; forsake; to let go; to go limp; to be quiet.
e. God expects us to obey. Anger CAN be controlled… but not by taking the world’s anger management course… or through pure human grit.
f. There is only one right way to experience victory over anger: by dealing with the SOURCE – our fallen human nature. (Procedure is found in Romans six).
g. But it requires the power of the Holy Spirit. The arm of flesh will fail you.
h. The fruit of the Spirit is self control. This requires divine power to have victory over anger.
25b And get a snare to thy soul.
1. Associating with an angry man leads to learning his ways. Learning his ways brings a SNARE to your soul.
2. An uncontrolled, undisciplined spirit has built in consequences.
a. Prov. 19:19 – He will suffer punishment for his wrath and the foolish things his wrath leads him to do and say.
b. And being a “man of great wrath” indicates that this is not an occasional slip, but it is ingrained into his character.
c. This man’s character has become a snare or trap. He is imprisoned by his anger.
d. And there’s no point in delivering him from the all the messes he gets himself into because of his anger, because like a dog returning to his vomit, he will just turn around and make another mess. It is his nature… his character.
e. Until he deals with the SOURCE of his sin, he is a slave to his passion and wrath.
f. There is no point in trying to bail him out of his trouble. You are only dealing with the symptoms and ignoring the source: a fallen, rebellious, self centered heart that may need to be regenerated and then brought under the control of the Holy Spirit.
g. Refusing to bail him out is tough love—but necessary. If you start bailing him out, you will find it to be an endless revolving door…
3. The snares the angry man has to deal with become YOUR snares as well.
a. Prov.14:17 – Remember that an angry man often does foolish things… because he is controlled by anger rather than by reason or common sense.
• And he may do something foolish and harmful to YOU.
• He may drag YOU into his folly… and get you in trouble because of his lack of self control.
• Learning his ways means you too will do foolish things and pay a price for it.
b. Prov.15:18 – A wrathful man stirs up strife.
• He may stir up strife with you…
• Or, because of his anger, he may cause a brawl and cause people to be angry at YOU because you are with him.
• Wherever an angry man goes, he stirs up strife. If follows him like a gray cloud. If you associate yourself with him, that cloud may overshadow you too. You will be dragged into his strife.
• Or, learning his angry ways will cause YOU to stir up strife.
c. Prov. 27:4 – Wrath is cruel—and does cruel things… and says cruel things that he usually regrets once his anger subsides.
• Learning the ways of the angry man means that you will learn to be cruel too… mean spirited… saying hurtful things in your wrath that you will regret one day.
5. Prov.13:20 – “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
a. Walking with fools (and angry men are fools) results in falling into a trap… and destruction.
b. Solomon gives ample warning. Wise men will take heed.
Proverbs 22:26-27
Sureties for a Debt
Introduction:
1. This is the third of thirty wise sayings in this new section of Proverbs that began in verse 17.
2. In this proverb, Solomon is speaking about the danger and consequences of debt.
3. As a wealthy king who observed the aristocracy and the wealthy land owners, he must have had ample illustrations in real life which goaded him to write this proverb.
4. And unfortunately, we also have way too many illustrations of this principle in our day and age.
26a Be not thou one of them that strike hands…
1. Striking the hands
a. Defined:
• Strong’s: To blow; clap; strike; to strike or pledge oneself.
• Dictionary of Biblical Languages: The striking of hands in a pledge; i.e., a non-verbal signal which communicates that a promise will be kept.
• Theological Workbook of the Old Testament: Striking hands with someone else (serving a function similar to our handshake) signified pledging oneself as a collateral in a business arrangement.
• Most translations include the idea of striking hands, but some “interpret” that expression.
• It is similar to what we would call a gentleman’s agreement in a business deal which was sealed with a handshake. (striking of hands)
• Exactly how they “struck” hands we don’t know… but that’s not the point.
• The point is that it was a means in the days of Solomon of entering into a covenant or deal of some sort.
b. Various translations:
• Be not one of those who give pledges.
• Don’t be one of those who enter agreements.
• Don’t promise to pay what someone else owes.
• Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge.
• Don’t agree to guarantee another person’s debt.
• The translators are obviously divided on the exact meaning.
» One group related it to a man who was taking out a personal loan and the borrower put up his own collateral to cover for it.
» The other group related it to a man who was guaranteeing another person’s loan. (Like co-signing for a loan for a minor or someone without good credit.)
» One translation that interpreted the expression was neutral on this point and just said, “Don’t be one of those who enter agreements.”
» However, it is probably best to do what the KJV translators did and just recorded exactly what the author wrote without trying to interpret it for us. (strike hands)
c. I am inclined to interpret this expression (strike hands) as synonymous for the “sureties for debts” in the next phrase.
• The word “or” makes it sound like Solomon is warning against two different things: (1) striking hands OR (2) being a surety against a debt.
• However, the word “or” does not appear in the original.
• Thus, it seems better to understand the second phrase (surety for debt) to stand in apposition to the first expression.
• This is just a grammatical way of saying they both refer to the same thing.
• Being a surety for a debt amplifies and further defines what he meant by striking hands.
• One translation recorded it this way: “Don’t agree to guarantee another person’s debt.”
• I think that is the correct interpretation—however, I much prefer the KJV translation because it does NOT interpret it for us. It leaves the interpretation to the reader—not the translator.
d. Solomon warns us NOT to do this!
• Don’t be quick to strike hands.
• Don’t be quick to enter into an agreement.
• And certainly don’t be quick to co-sign for a loan for a friend or relative. Don’t guarantee the loan of another person.
• This person might be a sweet talker. He may have an incredible sob story designed to pull at your heart strings. He may be able to make it sound like you’re not really taking a risk.
• He may have been buttering you up for months before approaching you about the loan.
• He might be your nephew… or
• Solomon says, “Don’t do it.”
• Prov. 17:18 – Solomon tells us that the man who is quick to strike hands is “void of understanding.”
» Void = lacking; without; empty;
» It is not a wise move. It is not recommended.
» Don’t do it. It is foolish.
26b Or of them that are sureties for debts.
1. Surety for a debt defined
a. Surety is an arrangement in which one person becomes responsible for another.
b. A surety can apply to a promise or a covenant, but usually it applies to a financial loan.
c. The one who guarantees that a loan will be paid back is “surety” for that loan. He guarantees that if the borrower defaults on his payment, the one who is surety for the debt is responsible to pay.
d. It was like co-signing for a loan or putting up collateral for a loan.
e. In those ancient arrangements, the money or property (or even persons) was surrendered up front… and held in surety until the loan was paid in full.
2. This expression stands in apposition to “striking hands.”
a. This is a further explanation of what KIND of deal into which you were entering.
b. Solomon tells his readers not to be quick to “strike hands” (sign on the dotted line) in order to co-sign for a loan for someone else.
3. Don’t be one of them who DO this sort of thing. It’s dangerous.
27 If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
1. If you DO become surety for the loan of another person, and they default on the loan, then you will be responsible to pay his loan in full.
a. What if you are unable to keep up with all your own bills PLUS pay his debt?
b. If he defaults and you are unable to pay his debt, then you may not have a place to sleep at night.
c. You could lose your bed… or perhaps the house your bed is in!
2. Prov. 11:15 – “He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it: and he that hateth suretiship is sure.” (there are painful consequences)
3. If a friend is in financial trouble and pleads with you to sign a loan, he usually tries to pluck your heartstrings with his sob story. Far better is it to show some grace and compassion by giving him a onetime gift than to BIND yourself to his loans.
a. Compassion is good, but it needs to be balanced with some good old fashioned common sense. You cannot bail everybody out of their debt.
b. You may feel sorry for his condition and for the fact that his wife and children are hungry, but don’t put your OWN family and finances at risk to cover for him. Then you end up with TWO families in financial disaster instead of one.
4. Why should you lose your home and bed and have your family homeless and broke because of a neighbor or friend who got himself in a financial bind?
a. When a man finds himself in such debt that he has to plead with others to sign a loan for him or to put up collateral for him, it is often (not always but often) the result of mismanagement of his finances, living above his means… foolishly buying more than he can pay for.
5. Continually bailing out a person like that is not the best thing for him.
a. You could be encouraging irresponsibility on his part…
b. He may have to learn the hard way that there are consequences of living above one’s means.
c. Sometimes parents find themselves continually bailing out their adult children out of the financial messes they created.
d. If you continually bail them out they will not learn the value of money.
e. They may never learn to manage their finances. They may always assume that when they are in a deep hole they dug for themselves, that someone will bail them out.
6. Prov. 22:7 – “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
a. Hence, taking on the responsibility for someone else’s debt is not very wise.
b. You could end up poor and have someone RULING over you for a loan that isn’t even yours!
7. Prov. 6:1-5 –
a. Solomon presents a hypothetical situation before his son and tells him what to do in such a situation.
b. The hypothetical situation is this:
• “IF” he ever becomes a surety for a friend…
• And he finds himself snared because of a big mouth…
c. Solomon is obviously NOT encouraging his son to BECOME a surety for a friend. Rather, he is warning his son about the DANGERS of such action.
d. He is saying, “If you ever find yourself in such a bind… then follow my instructions.”
e. Solomon gives his son three steps to take in order to DELIVER himself from that financial trap:
• Humble yourself before your friend…
» Maybe he felt like a rich big shot by promising to pay for his friend’s debts if he couldn’t pay… (pride)
• Make sure your friend
» This expression means to “plead with.”
» Make your case before this person… admit that you spoke rashly… tell him you really aren’t able to follow through… you don’t have the resources to be surety for another man…
» In short—plead for mercy! (Cf. Matt. 18:25)
» In Old Testament times, this sometimes worked. It probably won’t work with a large financial institution like a bank today.
• Deliver yourself!
» Here Solomon tells his son that this situation is much like a bird caught by a fowler. (Have you ever seen a man try to hold a wild bird?)
» In other words, do whatever you can to get OUT of that situation.
» Don’t sleep until you are free!
» Solomon knows the severe consequences of being caught in a financial trap like that.
» You could lose your shirt… your bed… your house…
8. Knowing the severity of the consequences will often cause us to think twice about entering into such an agreement in the first place.
a. We have been WARNED by Solomon… many centuries ago.
b. Perhaps we should send a copy of the book of Proverbs to our congressmen and senators…
c. These principles work for an individual, for a family, and for a country!
Proverbs 22:28
Remove Not the Ancient Landmark
Introduction:
1. This is the fourth of the thirty wise sayings in this section.
2. The topic of the proverb is mentioned six other times in the Old Testament, and twice in the book of Proverbs – here and 23:10.
3. This is a very simple proverb in the form of a command: don’t remove the ancient landmark.
28b The ancient landmark
1. Landmark:
a. Defined: Border barrier; a wall or a stone that marked off a geographical region and served as a boundary line.
b. Josh. 18:20 – The term is used in this passage and speaks of the Jordan River as the border or boundary line.
c. Ex. 19:12, 23 – The term is used twice here, speaking of boundary lines that were SET by men. They were to mark off an area beyond which the people were not to go.
d. Within the tribes, the land was further divided among the families and stone walls and sometimes single stones were used to mark the boundary lines on their land.
e. These stones separated one man’s property from his neighbors.
2. Ancient:
a. The fact that these landmarks were old (ancient) means that they had been set in place many years ago.
b. They had been honored and respected for many generations.
c. They had for many generations served their purpose of separating one man’s property from his neighbor’s property.
3. Which thy fathers have set in place.
a. This expression indicates that the ancient landmarks were the work of their forefathers… since the first generation entered the Promised Land and began the process of dividing the land.
b. Deut. 19:14 – Moses speaks of boundary lines that were to be set on the land when the Jews went into the Promised Land and divided it among the tribes. The boundary lines were drawn up and stones were set in place to mark those borders.
c. These had been the agreed upon boundary lines set by Joshua and others.
d. You recall the story of Ahab depressed because he wanted to buy his neighbor Naboth’s land and Naboth would not sell. Naboth understood that the land was part of his inheritance and was not to change hands or leave the family.
e. These boundary lines were considered sacred because they were connected to the Palestinian Covenant and the Abrahamic Covenant which promised the land to Israel.
f. In Israel, the boundary set up by their fathers were not disputed borders, like the boundary lines in Israel today… or the disputed regions of Afghanistan.
g. This was not a question of where the boundary line ought to be.
h. These lines were not drawn up by foreign invaders their land and divided it up some war room in a distant city.
i. No, these boundary lines were indisputable borders, drawn up and set in place by their own forefathers, and accepted as legitimate for many, many generations.
j. These were the ancient landmarks in Israel.
k. They were in some cases walls and in other cases large stones set in place to mark the boundary line between brother Saul’s orchard and the pastures of brother Joash.
l. They were respected by all honest men.
i. Without this respect shown to the landmarks, there might be chaos and even war in the land.
ii. In a sense, the stability of the society depended upon people respecting the ancient landmarks.
28a Remove not
1. Remove: To remove; carry away; to be driven back; be moved back.
a. The command is simple to understand: don’t move those landmarks!
b. They are in place for a purpose… they were clean, crisp, objective markers and dividing lines between pieces of property.
c. The landmarks were all they had to distinguish which land belonged to whom.
d. If it was moved, you wouldn’t know whose territory you were standing on. You wouldn’t know where you stood.
e. Thus, they were NOT to be removed… or pushed back.
2. And there is only ONE reason for moving them – to lie, steal, and cheat.
a. A dishonest man in those days who moved the landmarks would accomplish two things:
i. He would diminish the size of his neighbor’s property
ii. He would increase the size of his own property
3. A dishonest man could not move a landmark a long distance all at once.
a. That would be instantly noticed and he would be caught.
b. However, you could move a landmark gradually… inch by inch… little by little. That way it would go unnoticed.
c. If the landmark stone was way out in the woods, far away from the owner’s home, a dishonest man could move it a little bit every time he rode by that way.
d. By moving the stone a little every day or even every month, you could over time move it quite a distance.
e. And even if you move it only 20 feet, that is 20 feet TIMES the entire length of the border.
4. This was a real problem in ancient days.
a. Job 24:2 – This practice of moving landmarks existed even prior to the days of Joshua in the land. Job was one of the earliest books of the Bible. (near the time of Abraham)
b. It was a common way for dishonest men to add to their own wealth by stealing from a neighbor… and often without getting caught.
c. It was so common that it is mentioned quite often in the Old Testament.
d. Deut. 27:17 – A curse was placed on the one who removed his brother’s landmark in Israel. (You don’t have three prohibitions and a curse pronounced on an issue that never occurred.)
A Common Application of the Principle
1. The expression “remove not the ancient landmark” evidently became a proverbial saying that was applied in lots of different situations.
2. Hosea 5:10 – God likened a departure from established standards of truth and righteousness set in the Scriptures to the removing of ancient landmarks.
a. A rash disregard and lack of respect for the laws of morality or the laws of the land was like removing ancient landmarks.
b. God’s law was like a boundary line that was not to be moved, changed, or ignored. It separated right from wrong.
c. When a time honored standard has been moved, it throws everything else off.
d. For example, King Ahaz (“the princes of Judah”), set aside the ancient ordinances of God by removing the borders of the bases and the laver and the sea and introduced an idolatrous altar from Damascus.
e. That threw the worship system into chaos.
3. We live in a generation that seems bent on removing the ancient landmarks.
a. God’s Word is a revelation of the TRUTH.
b. For 2000 years it has stood as the standard of right and wrong for most of Western civilization… at least nominally.
c. The Bible was (figuratively speaking) the ancient landmark that defined for us what marriage was; what the roles of husband and wife are.
d. The Bible revealed that certain lifestyles were right and others were wrong.
e. The Bible drew a clear line between good and evil, righteousness and unrighteousness… between truth and error.
f. But now the Bible (that ancient landmark that divided two territories – light and darkness) is being removed from our society.
i. All references to Biblical themes have become taboo in our land today.
ii. Even the Ten Commandments (an ancient landmark of moral behavior) is being rejected from our courtrooms as “unconstitutional.”
iii. Even our history and heritage as a nation founded on Christian principles is being re-written to expunge from the record, all links to God, prayer, and the Bible.
iv. Now we have a post modern world where the younger generation no longer thinks in terms of right and wrong… truth and error. Everything is relative.
v. The landmark has been removed and that has affected absolutely everything.
vi. Once the landmark is removed, the dividing line between one field and the next… or between right and wrong is blurred.
vii. And now we are even afraid to say in public that something is right or wrong—or (God forbid!) sinful or evil.
viii. Try calling homosexuality wickedness around the bubbler at work tomorrow. See what kind of reaction you get.
ix. Dare to mention that wives are to submit to their husbands to the ladies in the office.
x. At the next totally generic “Holiday” party, try to mention to your pluralistic friends that Jesus Christ is the ONLY truth and the ONLY way to the Father. (John 14:6)
xi. You could lose your job for voicing such beliefs today. You could certainly lose your friends at work.
xii. You would be considered a Neanderthal.
xiii. However, that’s exactly what the Bible (our landmark) says – and it is what it has said for the last 2000 years.
xiv. It has been the time tested, accepted truth for the last 2000 years in most of the Western world too, but not today.
g. But once the landmark is removed, society has lost its way.
i. Sometimes landmarks (at the corner of a property) also served as turning points in the road.
ii. The road would follow the boundary line of Joel’s farm property and turn to the left at the end of his property.
iii. If the landmark was moved, travelers could lose their way.
iv. Our country has lost its way, morally and spiritually.
v. And when the landmarks are removed, its’ every man for himself.
vi. Humanist psychologists tell us that there is no sin and that men are basically good.
vii. Sociologists tell us that new forms of family might better suit the modern world.
viii. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
ix. God help us—but we are coming to that.
h. Young people (even from Christian homes) are looking for a “new” kind of church and a new kind of worship… something not bound by the ancient, outdated landmarks.
4. But the most remarkable characteristic of an ancient landmark, that which gave it its intrinsic VALUE was the fact that it DIDN’T change. It didn’t move.
a. It just stood there… in the same spot year after year, marking the line between one territory and another.
b. Time and history rushed on by it, but the landmark just stood its ground, serving its purpose.
c. Fad and fancies came in with a splash and then disappeared from the landscape, but the landmark remained.
d. Generation after generation, the ancient landmark accomplished its purpose by REFUSING to move.
e. They never needed to be updated.
f. While the world of business, science, medicine, and technology thrives on discovering, designing, or inventing NEW things. Their battle is to stay on top of the latest new discovery.
g. But the battle of the church is STAND STILL while the world is changing all around us. Our struggle is remain faithful to the ancient Book… and to remain on the OLD path… while the world seems to be pulling us in the opposite direction.
Proverbs 22:29
Diligent in Business
Introduction:
1. This proverb is the fifth of thirty wise sayings in this section of the book.
2. This (unlike many in this section) is a “stand alone” proverb. Its message is found in just one verse.
3. In this proverb, the author asks his readers to “see” or to consider a man who is diligent in his business.
4. As we consider this man, certain conclusions will become obvious and undeniable.
29a A man diligent in his business
1. The MAIN point of this proverb is the results of “diligence.” Thus, the meaning of this term is crucial to understand the proverb.
2. Diligence:
a. Four occurrences; Authorized Version translates as “ready” twice, “diligent” once, and “hasting” once.
b. Strong’s gives this term two meanings:
• Quick, prompt,
• Skilled,
c. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Also gives it two meanings:
• Skilled, well-versed; experienced; i.e., having the knowledge and skill in a subject.
» Ezra 7:6 – Ezra was a “ready” scribe (same word = skilled).
• Expeditious; i.e., pertaining to executing an action in a prompt and prudent manner, implying rapidity and diligence to the task.
d. These two definitions are not unrelated. One who is skilled in an area usually is able to work more rapidly and get more done than someone who is just learning a trade.
e. The emphasis of the term translated “diligence” is not so much on how HARD the person works, but rather on his skill and ease, and quickness in accomplishing a task.
f. For example, a young, inexperienced man may work twice as hard at chopping wood as his father. He may sweat more, burn more calories, and put more effort into the work. But his more experienced father knows enough to stop and sharpen his ax, so that each swing is more efficient. The father may have more skill in swinging the ax and knowing where and how to strike the wood. He knows the best way to work through a piece of oak as opposed to a piece of elm. Thus, even though the son may be as diligent and HARD working as his father, the experienced father gets more work done and easier—because of his skill and wisdom.
g. This is the distinction in the term translated “diligence” here.
• Both meanings refer to the same thing: (1) Skill and (2) Pertaining to executing an action in a prompt and prudent manner, implying rapidity and diligence to the task.
• Skill and rapidity are not actually two DIFFERENT concepts here, but the two concepts are woven into one word.
• In some contexts the emphasis may be on the speed of the word done, and in other contexts the emphasis may be on the skill employed.
• In our proverb, since there is no context, the author may have intended us to understand the term in the BROAD sense, including both skill and speed in accomplishing a task.
3. In his business:
a. Strong’s: Occupation; work; business.
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: (1) Work; i.e., that which is done, workmanship; i.e., the result of one’s work… craftsmanship. (Ex.35:31)
c. This term is used of God’s creative “work,” of craftsmanship in building the furniture for the tabernacle, in agriculture, and for one’s personal property.
d. It is broad enough to include every kind of work.
4. Thus, a man who is “diligent in his business” is a man who is experienced in his field; he does not procrastinate, is quick to get the job done, and is therefore able to accomplish much and to do so at a high level of craftsmanship—regardless of the type of business.
a. You don’t get to that stage of workmanship by being lazy.
b. It does require diligence to attain that level of proficiency and expertise.
c. When someone is really good at something, they make it look easy. If you have ever seen a skilled singer, violinist, or skier, or golfer, or a gymnast—they always make it look easy, almost effortless.
d. What you didn’t see was of a life of diligence, training, practice, failures, tenacity, and all the blood, sweat, and tears involved in achieving their expertise.
e. Because he was diligent in his business, he is able to accomplish a lot with relative ease.
f. The lazy man would love to be able to accomplish as much with that kind of ease—but the lazy man is not willing to accept the fact that the “ease” is preceded by years of practice and training.
g. The lazy man wants the ease without the diligence… and it doesn’t happen.
5. SEE this man.
a. Solomon tells us to SEE (look; behold; observe) this man.
b. Pay attention to him…
c. Prov. 24:22 – Here the author tells us to “see” (observe with careful attention to detail) the lazy man’s overgrown farm.
d. There are things to be learned by observing different kinds of men… both the diligent and lazy. Good lessons can be seen in both of them.
e. First the author commands his readers to SEE the man who is diligent in his business.
• Think about HOW he got there.
• Think about what was involved in achieving such skill and proficiency.
• Think about all the labor and practice required to reach that level.
f. Some men might observe that skilled man and conclude, “It’s not worth it. It COST him too much to get there. I don’t want to have to do all that work. I don’t want to have to go through all that training. I want to take the easy way NOW and avoid the hard work of school, training, and practice.”
g. The purpose of this proverb is to convince the lazy man that all the hard work and practice IS worth it in the long run.
29b He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.
1. The man who is experienced, skilled, proficient, and diligent DID have to suffer and sacrifice to achieve his skill and proficiency.
2. BUT (contrary to the thinking of the lazy man) it really is worth it in the end.
3. He will not stand before mean men.
a. Mean = obscure; unimportant; men on the low side of the social scale; insignificant men.
b. In other words, he will not remain at the bottom of the barrel. He will not remain at that entry level position.
c. He will not be doing lowly tasks and answer to insignificant men.
d. Instead, he shall stand before Kings – those in the highest positions of authority and power.
4. He shall stand before Kings and not before mean men.
a. STAND means to be stationed, to be set in place, to appear before formally; to stand out; to be presented before for service;
b. He might become an advisor to the king in his area of expertise. He might become part of the king’s court.
c. We might think of Joseph or Daniel. They were faithful and skilled men… and their skills and wisdom were noticed. As a result, they were promoted and stood before kings.
d. In other words, his skill and proficiency will result in promotions and rising to the top in his field.
e. And along with the promotion also comes greater compensation and opportunity.
f. The point of the proverb is that it is very BENEFICIAL to be diligent, skilled, efficient, and capable.
g. You will stand out in the crowd and your boss will notice and you will be promoted.
h. You will be presented before the leaders in your field for positions of higher service.
i. Prov. 10:4 – “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.”
• Diligence, practice, and hard work pay off!
• Those who pursue excellence in their work are successful.
• Some men seek to advance themselves by boasting, cheating, name dropping, or even bribes.
• Solomon says that the best way to advance is simply to do a good job!
• Demonstrate your skill, quality work, effectiveness, good craftsmanship, and proficiency and you will be rewarded. You may stand before kings!
5. Do not assume that this proverb is promoting raw ambition at the expense of one’s spiritual life or one’s family life.
a. That is not the intention. His point is simply that experience, skill, and proficiency have their benefits.
b. Don’t take this to the extreme to excuse poor choices in life of putting earthly achievements above one’s spiritual walk.
6. Also, there is great application here to one’s spiritual life.
a. Rom. 12:11 – As Christians, we are not to be slothful in business, but are to be fervent… diligent.
b. Diligence in the things of the Lord, exercise in godliness, being schooled and educated in the Scriptures, and learning to walk with God with ease have great advantages in the spiritual realm too.
c. There will be rewards for those who “go on to perfection” (maturity).
d. Heb. 6:11-12 – There is great benefit for those who show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end… and are not slothful but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
e. And those who demonstrate faithfulness, wisdom, skill, and proficiency in their daily walk will be presented before the Lord one day to receive a “well done thou good and faithful servant.”
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 23
Proverbs 23:1-3
Feasting with a Ruler
Introduction:
1. This proverb is the sixth of thirty wise sayings.
2. This section of Proverbs is different in that the sayings are longer and usually consist of more than one verse. Thus, there is a bit of a context to be found.
3. Verses 1-3 is really one proverbial thought.
4. In the previous proverb (22:29) he stated that a diligent man might find himself before kings and rulers.
5. The man who is “diligent in his business” is a man who is experienced in his field; he does not procrastinate, is quick to get the job done, and is therefore able to accomplish much and to do so at a high level of craftsmanship.
6. He will be promoted for his diligence. And he may find himself at a royal feast, seated with the aristocracy and even kings!
7. Proverbs 23 gives advice to such a man as to how to conduct himself in such situations.
8. The theme of this proverb is often considered to be gluttony. That certainly is alluded to, but the main point seems to be HOW to conduct oneself at a state dinner or at a feast with rulers.
9. We will probably never find ourselves invited to a royal feast or a state dinner at the White House (but from what I hear, you don’t need an invitation!), but certainly the principles described here could be applied to various other settings.
10. If Solomon wrote this, these words are words of advice from a King to perhaps ordinary citizens, who because of their diligence, competence, and skill, find themselves in a setting with the upper class.
11. The point is that “commoners” don’t always know how to behave themselves before the upper crust of society and sometimes make a fool of themselves.
12. Here’s some advice on how to avoid making a fool of yourself.
1 When thou sitteth to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee:
1. The setting:
a. An ordinary person is sitting to eat with a ruler.
b. Ruler: Rule; govern; control; be in charge; i.e., have a person or entity exercise authority over persons or governments.
c. The ruler could be anyone in a superior position of authority or leadership.
d. It could be your boss at work; it could be the CEO of a global mega-company.
e. It could be a state senator or governor. It could be the royal monarch of Yap.
f. It could be special even at the home of a billionaire who is interested in your company… or perhaps your skills have come to his attention.
g. The term used (ruler) is broad enough to include any sort of setting where you find yourself “out of your class.”
2. The exhortation:
a. Consider what is before you.
b. “What is before you” is one word.
• The word literally means “face.”
• The term is used in Psalm 13:1 – “How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?”
• The term is used in Psalm 42:2 – “When shall I come and appear before God?” (Appearing in the FACE of God or before His face.)
• It means: In front of; before; to the front of; in the presence of; in the face of; at the face or front of; from the presence of; from before; from before the face of.
• Perhaps a better way of saying this is “consider WHO is facing you” or in whose presence you are.
c. The exhortation to the man who finds himself before the upper class is this: consider WHO is before you…
• Consider: look closely; perceive; understand; consider with attention; be discerning.
• The exhortation is for the commoner who finds himself at a feast with the upper class should pay attention to the setting.
• He should carefully consider WHO this ruler is.
• It is not that God is respecter of persons. He is not.
• However, in different settings, different behavior may be expected.
• Rulers and the aristocracy have a different protocol and different rules of etiquette that the commoner would be wise to consider.
• Consider where you are… in whose company you are… what the occasion and the setting are… be aware of your surroundings.
• Consider WHO you are with, and don’t pay so much attention to the gourmet food, the elegant table, and luxurious surroundings. Pay attention to the ruler.
• You’re not at McDonald’s with your friends.
d. The host will have a careful eye for his guests and will notice.
2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
1. The first part of the exhortation was to “consider whose presence you are in.”
2. The second part of the exhortation is to curb your appetite.
3. You may really LOVE to eat. The food and the presentation may be fabulous…like you’ve never seen or tasted before.
4. But before you ask for your third plateful, you might want to consider this proverb.
5. “Put a knife to your throat” before you go for thirds.
a. Obviously, this is a figure of speech – an idiom.
b. The author is not suggesting you commit suicide. This is hyperbole.
c. But in a very graphic way, he gets his point across.
d. Matt.18:8 – “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off.” The Lord also used hyperbole to make His point. The point is not “cut your hand off,” but get to the root of the problem and deal with the problem.
e. In the setting of Proverbs 23—before the ruler—you want to demonstrate restraint, self control, moderation, and self discipline.
f. This goes for eating, but could also be applied to the conversation. Don’t eat too much. Don’t talk too much. Know your place. Keep things under check… under control. Restrain yourself.
6. Back in the 1960’s, Hollywood TV writers came up with a comedy about this sort of setting called the Beverly Hillbillies.
a. Some low-class, uncultured Hillbillies suddenly became the nouveau riche and were thrust into the upper crust of society in Beverly Hills.
b. Jethro always made a fool of himself when they sat down to eat with the wealthy upper class of Beverly Hills.
c. It was funny in the TV show, but it is not funny in real life.
d. Thus, Solomon warns commoners here to allow the situation and the setting to affect your behavior. Make adjustments when necessary.
7. Keep in mind, that this man from the lower class, who finds himself in the presence of a king or rulers, has been promoted there for a reason.
a. This could be a golden opportunity for his career.
b. This could be an opportunity for him to be promoted by the king or ruler.
c. It may be a test to see if the invited guest could “fit in” to the company.
d. I’m told that Henry Ford took out potential employees for a meal before hiring them to an important position. He watched how they ate. If they salted their food before eating it, he would not hire them. He didn’t want people who acted on assumptions.
e. A man’s behavior at the feast could mean the difference between his family business getting the break of a lifetime before the aristocracy OR turning the rulers off and losing the potential for prosperity and promotion.
f. With all that hanging in the balance, making a fool of himself through gluttony and a lack of self-control at the feast would be sort of like taking a knife to his throat. It would be like suicide to his career and business.
3 Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.
1. The third exhortation is “be not desirous of his dainties.”
a. Don’t be desirous: don’t covet or crave after… don’t have a strong yearning for…
b. A relative poor man in that setting might think to himself, “I’ll never see food this good again. I’m going to eat as much as I can.”
c. Dainties: Tasty or savory food; delectable food; gourmet food; delicacies.
d. If you find yourself seated at a royal banquet, a feast fit for a King, surrounded by important, wealthy, powerful, leaders and rulers—AVOID indulging all your cravings.
e. Consider where you are. Consider in whose presence you are seated. Consider the protocol and the rule of etiquette in that setting.
f. And after considering, restrain your appetite… no matter how tempting the food may be.
g. “Be not desirous of dainties.’’
• There is good application to many areas of life here.
• A love for money, a love for the delicacies that money can buy, and a love to please the flesh has been the downfall of many a man.
• The warning here is BEWARE! Be on guard not to allow fleshly appetites of any sort cause us to make a fool of ourselves… or damage our walk with God.
• Take a knife to your throat. For the Christian, reckon yourself to be dead indeed to sin and crucified to the world and by faith experience victory.
2. The reason for the third exhortation: “they are deceitful meat.”
a. The word “meat” here is the word for grain or bread. (We saw this term with the meat offerings in Leviticus which were grain offerings.)
b. The term was used commonly for food in general.
c. The point here is that the food (though so appealing to the senses) is deceptive.
d. There is something false and phony about the setting.
e. This is the WARNING the author gives to guests at such a meal.
• Beware of what the host is up to.
• You MAY be befriended by the host who has ulterior motives.
• Solomon knew enough about the rulers and aristocracy to know that they very rarely hold a feast for a person (especially a lower class person) without ulterior motives.
• They are often attempting to butter up a person in order to get something… or perhaps to get the person to do some dirty work for them.
• This is a warning to the average citizen to have a little bit of sanctified suspicion in such a setting.
• Rulers don’t normally call nobodies to a feast unless they have something up their sleeve… unless they want something in return.
• So don’t be fooled by all the gourmet foods being offered to you. There is often a string attached.
• Don’t let the situation go to your head or to your stomach. Maintain self control AND a healthy dose of skepticism.
• Verses 6-7 deal with this aspect of the warning in more detail. (He offers you great dainties, but his heart is not with thee.)
f. The invitation to the feast might at first seem like a wonderful opportunity for advancement and promotion (and it may be)… but don’t be so sure.
• The ruler may have something sinister in mind.
• The royal feast that Haman was invited to didn’t turn out so well for him.
Proverbs 23:4-5
Labor Not to be Rich
Introduction:
1. Verses 4-5 constitute the seventh of thirty wise sayings in this section.
2. The theme of this proverb is money, and in particular, a warning against a desire to “make it rich in the world.”
3. It is a warning against making materialism our driving force in life.
4. This is a problem not only for the rich, but for poor and rich alike.
5. This is a problem not only for Americans and Saudi Arabians, but for Americans, Saudis as well as people in Somalia and Mongolia.
6. It is a universal message.
4a Labor not to be rich…
1. Labor: The term means: To toil; labor; grow weary; be weary; worn out.
a. The author commands his readers NOT to wear themselves out trying to become rich.
b. The proverb speaks of the man who is so determined to become rich, that he wears himself out in the process. This man is a workaholic.
c. He is focused only on obtaining wealth, and therefore, he works himself to the bone. It is his priority in life. Everything is put on hold… on the back burner.
d. Very often, this kind of greedy ambition leads to a ruined home life; a failed marriage or two, and health issues.
2. This command is not a contradiction to other proverbs that deal with the importance and the good consequences of diligence:
a. Prov. 10:4 – “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.”
b. Prov. 13:4 – “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.”
c. These passages indicate that diligence and hard work lead to prosperity.
d. Prosperity and obtaining riches are seen in a GOOD light in these passages.
3. However, in our present proverb, it appears that laboring to be rich is something to avoid. It appears in a BAD light.
a. This is not a contradiction to the proverbs just mentioned.
b. The difference is one of MOTIVE.
c. In the above passages, the emphasis is on DILIGENCE.
• Diligence is a good quality. It is a quality God would have for each one of His children.
• Diligence is a matter of good stewardship with our time, talents, energy, and priorities.
• In the above proverbs, the emphasis is on being diligent, not on being rich.
• Obtaining wealth and riches is a byproduct of diligence, but it is not the goal.
• It is the natural consequence of obeying God and using our time and talents wisely, but it is not our motivation.
• Our motivation for being diligent in our work ought to be that we please, honor, and glorify God, by being a good steward of His gifts.
4. The point of Proverbs 23:4 is NOT that laboring is bad; or that obtaining riches is bad. They are not. But laboring in order to BECOME rich and hoard stockpiles of goods for “me, myself, and I” is wrong.
a. I Tim. 6:9-10 – Paul speaks of the same motive: “they that WILL be rich.”
• The WILL to become rich is the wrong desire that Paul exposes here.
• It is not money, but the love of money; the insane desire to pursue money at the sacrifice of all else; to put obtaining money above all else.
b. Motive and intention of heart are the subject matters here.
c. Good old fashioned hard work and diligence are commendable; but greedy ambition is not.
d. The two should not be confused.
e. And of course, when we are dealing with motives, we are not to judge others. This is recorded for each of us as individuals to look at our OWN lives.
f. We should not automatically assume that because a brother works hard and is rich that he is laboring TO BE rich and is in violation of this proverb.
g. How do you know what his motives and intentions are?
h. Today, there is a whole sector of Christendom that abuses certain portions of Scripture and teaches that God WANTS us all to be rich.
• They abuse the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament about “blessings for obedience” which to Israel were primarily earthly, physical blessings—including riches. (A good course on dispensational theology would cure that!)
• They also abuse the proverbs that speak of riches as the reward for hard labor… and wrongly assume that we should work hard IN ORDER TO BECOME rich.
• They err on the issue of motive.
5. Prov. 23:4 warns us against the wrong motive in our labors.
a. The term “labor” used here means not just to work, but to toil and thus wear oneself out.
b. It speaks of work that is all consuming.
c. It speaks of a greedy ambition to be rich… even if it “wears out” and causes harm to the individual… and his family.
d. Becoming rich ought not to be our motive in work.
e. Good motives in our labors include:
• First and foremost, glorifying God.
• That is accomplished by being a good steward.
• Being a good testimony by paying our bills on time and paying our taxes.
• Also, providing for our family needs.
• And having enough to give to others and support the Lord’s work.
f. Becoming rich for the sake of becoming rich is not on the list of good motives in our labors.
4b Cease from thine own wisdom.
1. Cease is defined as: To stop; cease; desist; forego; refrain; refuse; give up.
2. Thine own wisdom:
a. This is a very common term for wisdom in the book of Proverbs.
b. Normally, the book of Proverbs challenges its readers to seek wisdom, employ wisdom in everyday life, and to obtain wisdom with all your heart.
c. However, here, the author calls upon his readers to CEASE wisdom.
d. The key to understanding this command are the words, “thine own.”
e. He is obviously not calling for his readers to abandon wisdom in general. He is calling for his readers to put aside their OWN wisdom.
3. This command is virtually the same as is found in Proverbs 3:5-6:
a. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
b. It is not a call to abandon wisdom in general.
c. Nor is it a call to abandon our own earthly wisdom.
d. But it IS a call to cease from TRUSTING in our own wisdom or from LEANING ON our own wisdom.
4. Our OWN understanding sees nothing but good in riches.
a. Our own understanding sees seeking earthly riches to be a good means of providing security for the future.
b. Our own understanding thinks it’s worth it to wear ourselves out as a workaholic in order to obtain riches.
c. Our own understanding assumes that having the big house on the hill would make us happy; or having a summer home and a winter chalet would make us happy; that having just a little more would make us happy.
d. But our OWN understanding easily forgets about the dangers of being rich.
• Forgetting the Lord; pride; (Deut. 8:10-14)
• Seeing no need for God – (Proverbs 30:8-9)
5. Ceasing from our own understanding is quite the challenge and is often a big TEST of our faith.
a. It is a reminder that SOMETIMES that which seems best for us financially, as citizens of the earth, is not always the best thing for us spiritually, as citizens of heaven.
b. It has almost become the NORM for believers to move around the country on the basis of where they can get the best job, the best pay, and experience the greatest standard of living rather than on what is best for them spiritually.
c. It is a matter of priorities.
d. If spiritual and heavenly things are really our priority, then we will be willing to make choices that seem to run contrary to our OWN understanding… but are truly wise in God’s sight.
• We may be led to pass up a well paying job offer because there is no good church that area.
• Abraham, who was the elder and had the right to choose the land first, chose to allow Lot choose the lush valley around Sodom and Abraham took what was left.
• That decision may have run contrary to his own earthly wisdom (me first). But it proved to be a truly wise move in the end.
e. Too often today, believers choose house, job, and income over the local church.
f. Earthly wisdom might tell them to relocate and revolve their new life around that house, job, and income… rather than making the local church the focal point and seeking a way to earn a living secondarily.
g. These kinds of decisions may seem wise, but are upside down. The earthly and the physical is on top and the spiritual and heavenly is on the bottom.
h. Earthly wisdom says that that is the right priority, but spiritual and godly wisdom says the opposite.
i. Solomon warns: Labor not to be rich (don’t make that your priority); and CEASE from leaning on your own wisdom… which is very often out of sync with the wisdom that is from above.
j. This can prove to be a real TEST of our faith.
k. Faith and motives are invisible, but sometimes they can be “seen” by the choices we make in life.
l. John 6:27 – The Lord Jesus taught the same principle when He said, “labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life.”
6. Another form this TEST takes also has to do with our motives.
a. It is easy to convince ourselves that we are laboring to be rich for a good END.
• We want to provide well for our family.
• We want our kids to go to the best schools.
• I want my wife and kids to have good things in life and not to have to go without like I did growing up.
• I want to have security in retirement.
• We want to be able to support the local church and missions.
• There is nothing wrong with these goals.
b. But there IS something wrong with becoming a workaholic in order to obtain them!
• That’s the warning here. Don’t wear yourself out trying to become rich.
• When a man (or a woman) wears themselves out in the pursuit of wealth, they are not much good in the service of Jesus Christ.
• They are not much good to their family. They will be too tired to spend time with their family.
• There is no such thing as being “so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good.” If you are truly heavenly minded, then you will be walking with God and serving Him in practical ways on earth.
• However, there is such a thing as being so “earthly minded that you are no heavenly good!”
• A life dedicated to the pursuit of wealth and material things is a wasted life. It is a life spent storing up treasures on earth… and storing precious little in heaven.
• Our proverb is warning about misguided priorities.
• We can easily convince ourselves (by leaning on our OWN understanding) that our motives are good… when in reality, they are not.
7. Ceasing from our own wisdom is incredibly difficult.
a. The world tells us that we are fools for forsaking earthly things for a “pie in the sky by and by.”
b. Friends and family—and sometimes even worldly believers—tell us that we are crazy for making such decisions.
c. But God says CEASE from your own wisdom… and from the wisdom of the world.
d. Make wise decisions and TRUST in the Lord to work out all the details… He is the One who leads and provides.
e. God can provide food for Elijah at a brook that was drying up.
f. God led the Jews into a wilderness. They wondered if He could furnish a table in the wilderness.
g. Faith follows the leading of the Lord and trusts God every step along the way.
h. It doesn’t always make sense to our own wisdom to remain by a brook that is drying up or to march into a dry, wilderness area.
i. It may seem safer and wiser to march into a lush, green valley as Lot did in Sodom.
j. God says the wisdom from above is always superior.
4b Cease from thine own wisdom.
Proverbs 23:5
Temporal Riches
Introduction:
1. Verses 4-5 constitute the seventh of thirty wise sayings in this section.
2. Last week we considered the first half of this proverbial thought in verse 4 where the author commanded his readers not to labor for the purpose of becoming rich.
a. His point was not that laboring is bad, or that riches are bad. The proverb spoke of MOTIVES. “Don’t wear yourself trying to become rich.” This occurs only when greedy ambition and covetousness reigns in the heart.
b. Solomon was dealing with the workaholic in this passage.
c. He then commanded the workaholic to cease from his own wisdom. Man’s natural, earthly wisdom tells him to forsake all else (even one’s spiritual life) in pursuit of earthly riches. The wisdom that is from above teaches us that pursuing riches in heaven is far more valuable.
3. In verse five, Solomon states one reason why we should not labor to be rich: because of the transitory nature of riches.
5a Wilt thou set thine eyes on that which is not?
1. The author presents a rhetorical question to drive home a point.
2. “Set your eyes”
a. This expression is literally to cause to fly; to cause to dart about by flying.
b. In our proverb it means “to cause your eyes to fly upon…”
c. It may imply the quick motion of the eyes; for example, eyes that fly from one thing to the next, like birds that fly and flutter from one branch to the next.
d. It speaks of eyes that quickly dart from one thing to the next.
3. Why would a person set his eyes upon something? Because his HEART is set on that object!
a. Eyes rotate and focus only on that which they are directed to focus.
b. The eye doesn’t choose the object on which to focus—the heart does… the person does.
c. This the expression speaks of a person whose heart quickly darts from one thing to the next—whatever catches the eye.
d. In verse 4, Solomon spoke of “working oneself to the bone” in order to obtain riches. He was speaking of priorities and motives. He spoke of a man who was greedy for earthly gain.
e. Thus, in this context, “setting one’s eyes” upon riches speaks of a covetous, materialistic heart, manifested by wandering eyes that set themselves on one earthly treasure after another.
f. He speaks of a man (or woman or child) who sets his eyes on one toy after another… “I want one of these… I want one of those…”
g. His eyes are constantly looking at all the THINGS of the world and his heart is constantly desiring them.
h. His eyes LOOK at these things because his heart directed them to; his heart directed them to because his heart secretly covets them.
i. Setting one’s eyes on something can be very dangerous. Remember that first Eve LOOKED at the fruit and saw that it was good and pleasant; it was very appealing. The next step was eating the forbidden fruit… and we all know how that turned out!
4. “That which is not”
a. In light of the second part of this proverb, it is clear that Solomon meant the transitory nature of earthly riches.
b. Earthly riches “are not.”
• This doesn’t mean that they do not exist in the natural realm.
• This is not a denial of reality.
• They do have a real existence and in fact are often gifts of Divine Providence.
• But in the spiritual realm, they “are not.” They are nothing; they have no value from eternity’s perspective.
• What we DO with earthly riches and how we USE earthly riches does have eternal, spiritual value, but that’s not the point here.
• All by themselves, earthly riches are (in a sense) nothing… they are an illusion…
• They are not what we expect them to be; they don’t bring the happiness we hoped they would bring; when it comes to satisfying the soul, they are nothing.
c. Prov. 27:24 – The author of these proverbs understood well the transitory and temporal nature of earthly riches—and he had a lot of earthly riches!
d. I Tim. 6:17 – They are called “uncertain” riches because one never knows if they will be around tomorrow or not. (Uncertain = untrustworthy, unreliable.)
e. Matt. 13:22 – The Lord called riches “deceitful” because they deceive people into believing that with riches they have all they need. They deceive people into thinking that riches will last forever, when they do not. They deceive people into believing that they will make them happy—and they do not.
f. Psalm 49:10 – And even if they last your entire earthly life, you can’t take them with you. You have to leave them behind to others…
g. Ecc. 1:2 – Solomon learned the hard way that earthly riches are “vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” (emptiness; nothing)
5. The point of the rhetorical question is this: “How foolish for a believer to constantly cause his eyes to focus on and fly towards one air bubble after another!
a. Will you do something so foolish?
b. Will you cast your eyes upon air bubbles that disappear as soon as you touch them?
c. The folly is not so much LOOKING at the things of the world. The real point is the covetous heart that causes the eyes to focus on those things.
d. The folly lies in setting ones HEART on something that isn’t going last…
e. Will you be so foolish as to admire the passing fashions of the world as if they were better than true treasures which endure forever?
f. Or as Matthew Henry wrote, “Wilt thou dote upon shadows?”
g. The folly lies in LABORING (working oneself to exhaustion) to obtain something which when grasped, disappears like an air bubble.
h. Will you set your eyes on such lowly, earthly things?
i. Or, as the hymn writer wrote, “Things that higher, things that are nobler, these have allured my eyes!”
j. For the apostle Paul, getting a glimpse of the glory of the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus was all he needed to have his eyes refocused: from the things of the earth, to the glory of the Lord! Once focused on Christ. All the other “things” that had previously allured his eyes were now like dung.
5b For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
1. Not only are earthly riches “nothing,” but now we are told that riches make themselves wings and fly away like an eagle soaring into the skies.
2. It is likely that the author intended a play on words that is missed in the translation.
a. The first part of the proverb questions, “will your eyes FLY to things that are nothing?”
b. Now he states that the “nothings” themselves FLY away.
c. The figurative meaning is roughly that of a man whose eyes fly from one thing to the next. Why? Because as soon as his eyes fly towards one treasure, it flies away. Then his eyes fly towards another treasure, and it too flies away.
d. The idea is that riches are elusive… they are uncertain… they are unreliable… they are unstable.
e. “The more we cause our eyes to fly upon them the more likely they are to fly away from us.” (Matthew Henry)
3. Note that the riches “make themselves wings.”
a. Riches of this world have in themselves the seed of corruption.
b. They all begin to corrupt, fade, to lose value, to be eaten by moths, to rust, to corrode, to decay, or to crumble as soon as they are purchased or obtained.
c. They don’t last forever. And even those that last for centuries, will ultimately be melted with a fervent heat before the New Heavens and the New Earth.
d. Riches often fly away without notice… suddenly and unexpectedly… like an eagle that just takes off and soars into heaven—completely out of reach.
e. When riches fly away, they often leave those they left behind grieved, disillusioned, distraught, and even depressed.
f. Some have been driven to suicide after losing their wealth, for they felt they have nothing left to live for.
g. Rev. 18:17 – “In one hour so great riches are come to naught!” They set their hearts on these riches and in one hour they are all gone. No wonder they are weeping.
h. Our proverb also implies the weeping and grieving that belongs to those who set their eyes (heart) on riches only to see them fly away.
• When your life revolves around accumulating wealth, and it disappears, your life is diminished.
• When you set your affections on things of the earth, it is a sad life… because the things of earth are continually corrupting, rusting, fading away, and losing value… or perhaps thieves break through and steal them… or moths eat them.
• If our affection is on things that are transitory, then our joy and happiness will also be transitory… uncertain… unstable.
4. The believer is warned here not to labor to be rich; not to set one eyes (and thus one’s heart) upon riches.
a. I John 2:15 – This is tantamount to what John wrote in his first epistle: “LOVE not the world, neither the things in the world.”
b. I John 2:17 – The world (and thus all of its “things”) is passing away. It isn’t going to last forever.
c. If we LOVE the things of the world and set our eyes (and thus affections) upon them, God may have to deal with us.
d. He may have to take them away from us… or take us away from them.
e. God KNOWS our heart attitudes. He knows where our true affections lie.
5. Col. 3:1-2 – We are to set our affections on things above, not on the things of the earth. We can do that because we are DEAD.
a. The only successful way to separate the believer from the THINGS of the world is death.
b. We must “reckon ourselves to be dead” with Christ.
c. We have been crucified to the world and the world to us. That includes the things in the world.
d. Death is the only thing that will separate us.
e. One way or the other, God will use death to separate us from the earthly riches. He wants us to LIVE a separated life now.
Proverbs 23:6-8
As He Thinketh… So Is He
Introduction:
1. This is the 8th of 30 wise sayings in this section.
2. Verses 1 and 2 in this chapter have been about eating, at least indirectly.
a. Vs. 1 – When you eat with a ruler of the people, consider who is before you. Don’t make a fool of yourself gorging yourself with the dainties.
b. Vs. 2 – Exhibit self restraint. And beware of the motives of the host. He may be just buttering you up to GET something from you. Beware.
3. Verses 6-8 also give a warning concerning eating—only in a different setting.
6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
The Command: Do not eat! (vs.6)
1. The command is twofold:
a. Don’t eat his dainties!
b. Don’t desire his dainties!
2. Dainties
a. Tasty or savory food; delectable food; gourmet food; expensive food; a delicacy.
b. Food that is very pleasant to the taste.
c. Gen. 27:4 – Isaac used this word when he asked Esau to go make him some food. (“And make me savoury meat, such as I love…”)
3. The setting
a. In verses 1-2, the author warned about gorging oneself with food in the presence of a ruler of the people.
b. Here the setting is different. It may be a ruler, but in particular, he mentioned a man with an “evil eye.”
c. The question is, what does “evil eye” mean in this context?
4. Evil eye…
a. This term for evil eye occurs only twice in the Old Testament: here and in Prov. 22:9.
b. Prov. 28:22 – Here the evil speaks of a greedy man… a man who covets material things.
• He is in a hurry to get rich and to accumulate “things.”
• When you are in a haste to accumulate wealth, you often cut corners and do whatever it takes to get rich.
• This kind of man is often dishonest.
c. The evil eye is contrasted in Proverbs with its opposite: the good eye.
• Prov. 22:9 – the “good eye.”
» Bountiful is a very general term for GOOD.
→ It has MANY shades of meaning which are to be determined by the context.
» In that sense it is very much like our word “good.”
→ A good pie could mean tasty or healthy.
→ A good man could mean kind or honest.
→ A good grade could mean superior grade—A+
→ A good job could mean a well paying job; a job well done; a desirable job; etc.
→ A good day could mean your candidate won the election; no rain; pleasant day; things are going well.
→ The context really has to determine the exact meaning.
» In Prov. 22:9, good clearly means “generous” or “bountiful” because the next phrase explains what he means: he gives of his bread to the poor.
» The man with a “good eye” is the man who is generous, considerate of others, and DELIGHTS in sharing what he has.
• The opposite of a good eye is an “evil eye.”
» This man is not generous and considerate of others.
» This man loves his material goods. He doesn’t like to share with others. He would rather hoard it all and keep it for himself.
d. For this reason, many translations have translated “evil eye” as stingy.
• ESV: Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy
• Holman: Don’t eat a stingy person’s bread
• NET: Do not eat the food of a stingy person
• NASB: Do not eat the bread of a selfish man
• NIV: Do not eat the food of a stingy man
• NKJV: Do not eat the bread of a miser
• In each case, the translators did seem to capture the meaning of the author. However, their translation went beyond translation and interpreted it for you.
• Out of 18 translations I consulted, the only texts that translated rather than interpreted were the KJV, Young’s, and Darby’s.
• The text SAYS, “evil eye.” I prefer to interpret the text myself.
• Handling the text this way might not seem so bad if you agree with their interpretation, but what if you don’t? You would have no way of knowing from the translation whether you agreed or not. It was predetermined by the translators.
7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
The Reason: His heart is not with you! (vs. 7)
1. What he SAYS:
a. “Eat and drink!” “Take as much as you like!”
b. He puts on a front as if he was a generous man and as if he truly delighted in sharing his dainties with others.
2. What he IS:
a. He is a man with an evil eye.
b. That means (in this setting) that he is covetous. He loves his material goods. He is selfish and stingy.
c. He doesn’t really like to share… he would much prefer to keep all his dainty foods (delicacies) to himself.
d. But he is not only selfish and stingy, he is also DISHONEST.
e. He is dishonest because what he says on the outside and what he thinks on the inside are two different things. That is hypocrisy.
f. Of course a man with an evil eye doesn’t want anyone to KNOW that he has an evil eye. He doesn’t want anyone to KNOW that he is stingy and cheap.
g. Thus, he puts on a big front – pretending to be generous and have a good or a bountiful eye, when in reality he does not.
h. This man is a stingy, self centered, dishonest hypocrite.
3. “His heart is not with you.”
a. He SAYS, “eat up… enjoy yourself. Take as much as you like.”
b. But he doesn’t mean it. His heart is not in what he says.
c. His mouth tells you to eat up and enjoy yourself at his expense.
d. But inwardly, his heart is saying something very different.
• His heart is saying something like, “Look at how much he took! Doesn’t he know how much that costs? There will be nothing left when these people are done. Why did I put out such good food for these animals… these ingrates?”
e. He says pleasant things to his guests, but inwardly he begrudges their being there… and eating up his expensive food.
f. Perhaps there were some folks who came to his feast that he hoped would not come… but they did.
g. He may not mind spending lavishly on his close friends (his inner clique) but didn’t expect others outside that inner circle to come.
h. He is forced to be nice… but he doesn’t mean it.
4. “As he thinketh in his heart… so IS he.”
a. “Thinketh” = to calculate; to estimate; reasons; thinks.
b. In other words, this man is NOT as he says. What he says is good and generous… but that is not an accurate assessment of what kind of a person he is.
c. A more accurate assessment of the kind of person we are dealing with here comes from what is NOT said… what he is thinking in his heart or soul… on the inside.
d. We as mere mortals, are unable to know what goes on in a man’s heart—so God tells us here.
e. God through Solomon warns us that this kind of person EXISTS, so be warned: some people are not as they appear… or as they sound…
f. And this is the GREATER principle to be gleaned from this passage.
• This principle applies to much more than stingy men at feasts.
• In all walks of life there are men (women and children too) who say one thing, but inwardly THINK something very different.
• People (all of us) have the tendency to put on a good front because we don’t want to “look bad” before others.
• Nobody WANTS others to think that we have an “evil eye” – that we are selfish and stingy.
• As Christians, nobody wants others to think that we are carnal and worldly. We like to put up a good front in hopes that others will think that we are spiritual.
• Maintaining that good “front” (good eye) often requires dishonesty… saying things we don’t mean… or pretending to BE something that we aren’t…
• That good front is usually a phony façade.
• That is pure hypocrisy—and it afflicts us all—if we’re honest.
g. Men judge by what a person does and what he says.
• But that is often just a front to LOOK good.
• God judges us by a deeper measuring stick… by what we THINK.
• God knows our hearts. He knows WHY we do what we do and WHY we say the things that we say.
• We may fool men, but never the Lord!
8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
The Reaction: Vomit it up! (vs. 8)
1. Once the guest realizes what the host is thinking, it makes him sick.
2. He feels like vomiting.
a. He is insulted… humiliated.
b. To think that he has been watching how much I eat. How repulsive!
c. To realize that he didn’t really want you there… that you were not part of his inner circle—even though he pretends that you are.
d. To realize that he thinks that you are a sponge… or a parasite, it is hurtful.
e. The utter hypocrisy of it all makes you sick. The wonderful words “eat as much as you like” were phony… and he was thinking evil of you.
f. This is nauseating to the guest once he discovers what the host was thinking.
3. You lose the sweet words…
a. The conversation and fellowship is over.
b. The joy of the feast is over. The whole atmosphere changed—for the worse.
c. The sweet morsels are no longer sweet. They make you sick.
d. The conversation is no longer sweet either. It too makes you sick.
4. This proverb serves as a warning:
a. Be aware of the fact that people are not always as they appear.
b. It is part of human nature to project a phony image – what we WANT others to think of us… even though it may not be true.
c. Some men say nice things… and invite you to enjoy a feast with them—but it does not necessarily mean that their heart is with you.
d. In some cases, they are as phony as a three dollar bill.
e. So be careful… be discerning… These are words of wisdom.
f. Certainly, God does not want US to be like the man described here!
Proverbs 23:9
The Fool Will Not Listen
Introduction:
1. This is the 9th of 30 wise sayings in this section of Proverbs.
2. Unlike most of the rest of this section, this proverb stands alone. The other wise sayings appear in clusters of two or three verses.
3. The theme of this proverb is simple: fools don’t listen.
4. There is nothing ambiguous, nuanced, or mysterious about this proverb.
5. It is straight forward and simple: fools don’t listen to advice! Even a fool could understand this proverb if he wanted to.
6. This theme has been mentioned several times before in this book. Evidently God felt it was a truth worth repeating – something we need to be reminded of.
7. The proverb consists of two parts: (1) the command and (2) the reason.
9a Speak not in the ears of a fool:
1. The command is addressed to the reader in the form of a warning.
a. Assuming Solomon wrote this section of the book, this proverb comes from the wisest man who ever lived.
b. No doubt he encountered many fools in his day.
c. People from the kingdom would come before the king with their requests and suggestions… many of which were probably quite foolish.
d. As King and judge he would also have had opportunity to discuss issues with many people.
e. Solomon learned from experience, that there are some people who just don’t listen. It is a waste of time to give words of wisdom to a fool.
f. 22:17 – Solomon was giving words of wisdom to his son. He encouraged his son to (1) bow down his ear, (2) hear the words, (3) and apply it to his heart.
g. 23:9 – Now he states that there are some people who will NOT (1) bow down their ears, (2) hear the words, (3) and apply words of wisdom to their hearts.
h. This is given as a “heads up” or a warning to young men who are learning to become wise.
i. The warning is this: “Don’t assume that everyone you talk to will have the same desire for wisdom as you do!”
j. In fact, the warning here is “Don’t waste your time even talking to such people!”
k. Don’t bother speaking in the ear of a fool. It is a waste of time and energy.
l. Nothing good will come of it.
2. FOOL:
a. Strong’s: Stupid fellow; dullard; simpleton; arrogant one.
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: The state of being in complete lack of understanding, implying rebellion.
c. This Hebrew term appears 71 times in the Old Testament; 3 times in the Psalms and the rest are found in the writings of Solomon – Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. (mostly in Proverbs)
d. Solomon wants his readers to be wise. One of the ways of obtaining wisdom is to be able recognize and deal with fools and folly in a right and sensible way.
3. Speak not in the ears of a fool.
a. The wording implies more than just talking TO a fool in ordinary conversation.
b. The second part of the proverb tells us that the words spoken in the ear were words of wisdom… words which a foolish person OUGHT to want to hear!
c. Yet, this proverb says, “Don’t bother speaking words of wisdom in the ear of a fool.”
d. Perhaps you work with a fool in the office. Perhaps you work FOR a fool!
e. It is not always possible to avoid talking TO a fool.
f. The wording implies offering him personal advice and counsel… quietly whispering it in his ears.
9b For he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
1. The point of the command is not that it is sinful to speak words of wisdom to a fool. It’s just that it is a waste of time.
a. There is a time to speak and a time to keep silent.
b. Commands in the Bible addressed to us are to be obeyed—always. Normally, to disobey a command is sin.
c. Remember, this is a Proverb. It is a short, concise nugget of truth. Proverbs do not cover every possible situation. They are generalities of truth. There are exceptions to some of the proverbs.
d. This is not a command to NEVER speak words of wisdom to a fool. On some rare occasions, the fool may be in the process of reconsidering his folly. He may be willing to listen.
e. Prov. 28:23 – We say that it is not always wrong to speak words of wisdom to a fool, because in Proverbs 28:23, Solomon speaks highly of reproving a man who needs reproof. This man may not like it at first, but afterwards will appreciate it.
f. But with determined fools, that is very rare. Normally, fools will NOT listen—hence, the command: Don’t waste your time giving him advice. He won’t follow it.
g. Plato believed that if a person only knew the good, he would invariably choose it. He believed in an innate goodness in man.
h. The Bible says just the opposite – there are fools who might HEAR with their ears words of wisdom, but choose NOT to follow it. The Bible speaks of the innate sinfulness of man.
i. The heart that is hardened against God will also be hardened against God’s wisdom.
2. The fool will DESPISE your words of wisdom.
a. Despise: To despise; hold in contempt; hold as insignificant; scorn; deride; ridicule; mock.
b. Generally speaking fools despise words of wisdom… because wisdom exposes their folly, as light exposes the darkness.
c. John’s gospel tells us that darkness hates the light.
d. Prov. 1:7 – fools despise wisdom and instruction.
e. Because he does not fear God, he does not listen to godly counsel or to the Word of God. Hence, he reaps the awful fruit of such rejection of truth. (Prov.1:30-31)
f. If you think there is some glimmer of hope that he might listen, then give him advice, as led of the Lord. No one wants to see a fool end up being filled with his own devices!
3. Prov.13:1 – A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.
a. That scorner is doomed to a life of failure and faults that NEVER get corrected… because he won’t listen to correction.
b. If the person refuses correction and instruction, then he will never correct those faults… they are his for life.
c. That means serious lifelong consequences for not hearing rebuke and not listening to the words of wisdom.
d. Prov. 13:18 – Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction…
e. Very often those bad behaviors that lead to poverty and shame could have been easily corrected, if nipped at the bud. Instead, they develop into life dominating habits.
f. Refusing to hear instruction is a serious issue.
g. Young people sometimes HATE being rebuked by their parents.
h. Older folks sometimes despise the chastening of the Lord.
i. This is the same heart problem… despising authority… self rule… stubbornness… pride… a terrible heart attitude towards God Himself.
j. But no matter how uncomfortable it FEELS… no matter how embarrassing… humbling… the right response is to listen to the rebuke and to submit! Make corrections where necessary.
k. It is our nature to despise correction. But as Christians, we are not to live according to our old nature. The new man in Christ delights in the law of God after the inward man; he delights in light, truth, and wisdom from God and His Word… even when it convicts, reproves, and corrects.
4. Prov. 18:2 – A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.
a. The fool does not delight in understanding. He takes no pleasure in it… even in the words of wisdom.
b. Don’t assume that everyone you seek to give good advice to will enjoy truth and wisdom as much as you do. Don’t assume that once he hears the truth that he will delight in it. You will be very disappointed with the fool.
c. This fool has no delight in understanding.
• He is not fond of learning;
• He is not eager to obtain true knowledge;
• Wisdom is not the object of his inward affection;
• He has no inner hunger for learning; no drive for wisdom; no taste for good reason or even common sense.
d. Prov. 17:16 – He has no heart for wisdom.
e. Prov. 18:2b – “That his heart may discover itself.”
• BUT — Solomon’s point: this kind of fool has no DELIGHT in learning.
• BUT he DOES delight in discovering (lit = exposing; revealing; making known) his OWN inner thoughts and opinions.
• He delights in telling others his own views and opinions, but he does not delight in learning FROM others.
• Prov. 29:11 – The fool “uttereth all his mind.”
• He’s not interested in listening and learning. He thinks he’s too smart to listen. He knows everything already.
• One commentator summarized the folly of this fool this way: He has a “closed mind” and “open mouth.”
5. Prov. 9:7-8 – Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee
a. Vs. 7 – Solomon warns here that when you TRY to reprove a scorning fool, you might end up shaming (disgracing) yourself—or getting a blot.
b. By constantly trying to reprove fools and speak words of wisdom to them, we very well may be provoking an argument… stirring up trouble unnecessarily…
c. Vs. 8 – The fool will hate you for it.
d. Others will begin to think of us as a troublemaker, agitator, or argumentative.
e. It is an art knowing when to speak and when not to speak.
f. There are times when rebuke will be helpful and necessary.
g. There will be times when rebuke does more harm than good.
h. His point: avoid irritations. Wait for a favorable circumstances to reprove. Be discerning—not everyone can handle reproof. Some men are hardened fools! Don’t speak in his ears.
6. Prov. 16:22 – the instruction of fools is folly.
a. Some take this to mean the instruction FROM a fool is folly. (Which is certainly true…)
b. But it is more likely Solomon had in mind instruction FOR fools is folly… trying to teach and instruct a fool is a foolish endeavor!
c. You may have words of wisdom to share; but in some cases, it is not wise to share words of wisdom.
d. Jesus explained WHY it is foolish to do so in some situations.
7. Matt. 7: 6 – Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine.
a. Pearls of sacred wisdom are not appreciated by dogs or pigs.
b. They care not for those pearls.
c. They might bite into it and then spit it out—and come after you—bite you out of anger for not giving them what they want… namely, pig slop!
9 Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.
1. Learn to discern when to speak and when not to speak.
2. Oftentimes, the fool will despise what you have to say—and he may hate you and get angry at you.
3. When you sense a man has no heart to listen or learn, don’t waste your time—or your reputation. It could backfire on you.
Proverbs 23:10-11
A Good Reason to be Honest
Introduction:
1. The first part of this proverb is very similar to Prov. 22:28.
a. In 22:28 Solomon spoke of the ancient landmark. The command was the same: don’t remove them.
2. This proverb builds on that theme and then gives a good reason NOT to do it: because God will stand against you!
3. This proverb gives two commands and two reasons to obey.
THE TWO COMMANDS
10a Remove not the old landmark
1. This part of the command is identical to the wording in Proverbs 22:28.
a. Prov. 22:28 says “ancient” landmark and 23:10 says “ancient landmark,” but the Hebrew words are identical.
b. A landmark was defined as a border barrier; a wall or a stone that marked off a geographical region and served as a boundary line.
c. The fact that these landmarks were old (ancient) means that they had been set in place many years ago.
d. They had been honored and respected for many generations.
e. They had for many generations served their purpose of separating one man’s property from his neighbor’s property.
f. The landmarks were all they had to distinguish which land belonged to whom.
g. If it was moved, you wouldn’t know whose territory you were standing on. You wouldn’t know where you stood.
2. Thus, they were NOT to be removed… or pushed back.
a. And there is only ONE reason for moving them—to lie, steal, and cheat.
b. A dishonest man in those days who moved the landmarks would accomplish two things:
• He would diminish the size of his neighbor’s property
• He would increase the size of his own property
c. A dishonest man could not move a landmark a long distance all at once.
d. That would be instantly noticed and he would be caught.
e. However, you could move a landmark gradually… inch by inch… little by little. That way it would go unnoticed.
3. This was a real problem in ancient times.
a. It was a way of stealing from your neighbor… little by little without being noticed.
b. In principle, it was sort of like the dishonest gas dealer who tweaks his gas pumps so that his customers pay for a gallon, but get a tiny fraction under a gallon. It is so slight, no one notices. But over time, it is very profitable to the dishonest gas dealer.
c. Other businesses use this dishonest method of “skimming” their customers.
d. Rather than robbing a bank and stealing a lot of money from one place in a short amount of time, skimming steals a tiny amount of money, from many people, and over a long period of time. In the end he ends up with a lot of money—just like the bank robber… but his theft often goes unnoticed.
4. However, removing the ancient landmarks in Israel included an addition insult to the injury that does not happen so much in modern “skimming” practices: it was theft from your actual neighbor!
a. Removing the landmark (pushing it back little by little) was an act of theft against your abutters.
b. This was stealing from a Jewish brother.
c. It meant a life of phoniness too. For you were often likely to see that brother when working your fields or at the local market in town.
d. You would have to talk to him and appear to be friendly, all the while you were stealing from him—little by little.
e. You would worship together with this Jewish brother at the sanctuary. You would attend the Jewish feasts and festivals together… all the while you were stealing from him.
f. It meant a life of total hypocrisy.
g. And to make matters worse, you were stealing land from him that the Jewish forefathers of the faith had established in Israel in the days of Joshua!
h. Deut. 19:14 – Moses speaks of boundary lines that were to be set on the land when the Jews went into the Promised Land and divided it among the tribes.
• The boundary lines were drawn up and stones were set in place to mark those borders.
• These had been the agreed upon boundary lines set by Joshua and others.
• Keeping the land of one’s inheritance in the ownership of the tribes and families to whom it was given originally was important to Israel.
• The Mosaic Law went to great lengths to preserve these divisions in the land.
• Removing the ancient landmark was sin against God and a serious crime against the nation.
• Thus, it was FORBIDDEN.
10b And enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
1. This command was not found in Prov. 22:28.
2. The first command forbade them from stealing land from their neighbor.
3. Now he commands them not to steal from the fields of the fatherless!
a. Obviously he means entering their land with evil intent.
b. This might be to steal crops… to rob… or in some other way to enter on to their property in order to take advantage of them.
c. Perhaps more likely those who enter their fields could refer to those who deal in real estate and see an opportunity to make a fast shekel… by offering to buy her deceased husband’s inheritance land from the poor widow and her son for a tiny fraction of what the land is actually worth.
d. If she had no kinsman redeemer to preserve the land for her, a small amount of money is very tempting when you’re hungry and you have hungry kids to feed and no income.
4. The fatherless could either be an outright orphan (no living parents) or the child of a widow.
a. Either way, it refers to someone in a very difficult situation.
b. Remember that in ancient times before Social Security, there was what was called “widows indeed.”
• That referred to a woman whose husband died who had no living family to help provide for her needs.
• This was a woman who was destitute… penniless…
• They were reduced to abject poverty.
c. Thus, stealing from the fatherless would leave both the child and his widowed mother in dire straits.
5. Widows and fatherless (young children) are helpless to defend against such invasions into their fields.
a. They have no one on earth to stand up for them.
b. The woman and her children are not physically able to defend themselves against such invaders.
c. An invader might choose this field to invade because he considers it “easy pickins.”
d. This is pretty cowardly action—grown men stealing from helpless women and children.
THE TWO REASONS
11a For their redeemer is mighty
1. Their Redeemer: Goel
a. Goël, means to redeem or to act as “kinsman redeemer.”
b. This term was used to describe God’s act of redeeming Israel from bondage in Egypt.
c. It is also used of a kinsman redeemer preserving the family land for a relative by paying the redemption price.
d. Lev. 25:25-28 – If a man had to sell his land to pay off debts, a wealthy relative could redeem it for him. (Kinsman redeemer). (redeem vs.26 = same word)
e. Boaz referred to this law when he offered the relatives of Naomi’s husband to buy back his land.
2. Their Redeemer is Mighty
a. Mighty: Strong; stout; mighty; severe; firm.
b. The implication in this proverb is clear:
• The widow and her children are weak and helpless.
• They are no match for the invaders on their property seeking to take advantage of them.
• And evidently, they have no earthly relatives able to help them financially.
• They have no kinsman redeemer (like a rich Uncle Boaz) to step forward to defend them and preserve their family farm.
• But although they have no EARTHLY kinsman redeemer, they DO have a Mighty Redeemer in God.
• God is their true Kinsman Redeemer.
• God is their next of kin who will step forward to defend them against the invaders.
• And note how easily the tables are turned.
» Before, the widow and her son were no match for the invaders.
» Now the invaders are no match for the MIGHTY Redeemer, the Lord!
11b He shall plead their cause with thee.
1. HE refers to God – the Mighty Redeemer of the widow and her fatherless children.
2. Prov. 22:22, 23 – Don’t rob or take advantage of the poor or the afflicted, those who are unable to defend themselves.
a. Why? Because God will plead their cause. He will be their defense attorney.
b. And He will SPOIL those who sought to spoil the helpless.
c. It is God’s nature to act this way.
3. It is God’s nature to side with the widows and fatherless too.
a. Deut. 10:18 – He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
b. Ps. 10:14 – “Thou art the helper of the fatherless.”
c. Ps. 68:5 – “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.”
d. Ps. 82:3 – the prayer of David: “Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.”
e. Ps. 146:9 – “The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.”
f. He is their father, their helper, their defender, He relieves them, and He pleads their cause.
4. The Lord will defend their rights and avenge those who harm them.
5. And recall that He is MIGHTY.
a. He is in fact ALL-mighty – omnipotent.
b. Omnipotence is on the side of the fatherless and widows.
c. That’s a good reason not to pick a fight with the fatherless.
d. He may not have an earthly father but he has a heavenly Father.
e. The point is that when you seek to take advantage of the helpless, the fatherless and widows, you do so at your own peril. You are no match for God. He is Mighty.
6. If conscience, a sense of right and wrong does not cause the man to rethink taking advantage of the fatherless, perhaps a sense of honor should. But if that doesn’t work—a healthy fear of God ought to restrain this despicable type of behavior.
7. While the exact situations described here may not be something we are confronted with on a daily basis, the principle is certainly applicable in all ages: don’t take advantage of the weak and helpless… and those who cannot defend themselves.
8. God’s care for the fatherless—
a. We have lots of them today! Many children grow up with no father in the home.
b. There should be a special place in our hearts for them… to help…
c. The local church ought to be willing to help such children…
9. The widow and the fatherless children were to commit their situation into the hands of the Lord and trust the One who is MIGHTY on their behalf.
a. If we are being taken advantage of, we should remember this aspect of God’s character. He pleads the cause of those who are being taken advantage of… of the weak and the helpless.
b. I Pet. 4:19 – “Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.”
c. Ps. 35:1-2 – Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me. 2Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.”
d. Ps. 35:10 – “All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?”
Proverbs 23:12
Apply Your Heart
12a Apply thine heart unto instruction
1. Apply:
a. The most basic meaning of the term: Come/go, enter; i.e., make linear movement of a general kind.
b. It has a wide range of meaning depending upon the context.
c. In this passage, the term means learn information and correlate to other ideas or facts.
2. Heart:
a. This term CAN refer to the literal blood pumping organ.
b. But here it speaks of the mind, emotions, and will; the immaterial inner self, the inner man.
c. Solomon is speaking of making application to one’s own personal heart… to our inner life.
3. Instruction:
a. Strong’s: Discipline; chastening; correction.
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: Correction that is a minor punishment for teaching which may include a rebuke.
c. Punishment; i.e., an infliction of a judicial penalty based on a standard.
d. The “instruction” mentioned here can either be oral or it can come with a rod.
e. It is broad enough to include teaching, instruction, warning, rebuke, or punishment.
f. The context has to determine the precise nuance.
• Prov. 1:8 – it stands parallel to the mother’s “law.” (teaching)
• Prov. 13:1 – it stands parallel to a “rebuke.”
• Prov. 13:24 – it stands parallel to “the rod.”
g. However, in our proverb, the context does not settle the precise meaning for us.
• If we understand this to be a synonymous parallelism, then the instruction is parallel to knowledge, namely, teaching information.
• If it is an antithetical parallelism, then it stands in contrast to “words of knowledge” and may well be chastening or a rod.
• This proverb was very likely worded in such a way purposely to be applicable for ALL kinds of instruction – verbal, teaching, warning, rebuke, or a rod.
4. Applying the instruction to the heart:
a. Remember, the basic meaning of this Hebrew word is to “make a linear movement towards something.”
b. In other words, the instruction should ENTER IN to our hearts… sink in… there should be a coming together of the instruction and the inner life of the person.
c. ALLOW the lesson to sink in. Allow the Spirit of God to make application in your own life…
d. Apply the lesson to your thought life… to the way you express your emotions… to your will—to the whole inner man.
5. If the lesson is oral and comes in the form of teaching:
a. Don’t just store the information in your head. Let it sink down deep into your heart and do its work of changing and transforming.
b. Allow the instruction to RENEW your mind. (Rom. 12:2) Let it transform your thinking so that your thought life is not being conformed to the attitude of the world, but rather conformed to Christ.
c. Allow the lesson to change your BEHAVIOR. (Jas. 1:22-25)
• vs. 22 – BE ye (????µa?) = Become… doers.
» Hearing is good and necessary, but not sufficient.
» Hearing MUST be accompanied by DOING.
» When there is no action taken, the end result is deception.
» We deceive ourselves by THINKING that all is well, when all is not well.
» If we think that listening to the Word is all that is required, we are deceived.
» If we think that simply reading the Bible, or listening to sermons is all that God expects, we are deceived.
» We then must BECOME doers… or deception is our lot in life.
• Vs. 23-24 – The illustration of a man looking at his face in the mirror.
» The man who SEES the dirt on his face is like the man who HEARS what the Word of God has to say. The Word points out areas in our lives that need changing. So far so good.
» The man who sees the dirt and then goes his way is like the man who hears the Word but does not instantly respond in obedience. He hears but does not DO anything about it.
» He instantly FORGETS about the dirt on his face. This is what happens when we read the Word or hear a sermon, or sit through a Sunday school class, and have sin or error pointed out in our lives, but we don’t DO anything about it right away. We forget!
» This man thus walks around with egg on his face… or drool… or who knows what!
» James’ point here is that hearing DEMANDS an instant response or else we will forget.
» The man who looked in the mirror and saw the dirt and then walked away without doing anything made a willful decision to walk away… and that’s why he forgot about it.
» “I forgot” is no excuse in God’s books.
» That man forgot and became ignorant of the dirt; but he is willfully ignorant of the dirt because he chose to walk away… he choose to put it off till later… he chose to ignore it.
• If the truth or light we receive from the Word is not applied to the heart and acted upon right away, they are soon forgotten… and we are held accountable for that light—even though we forgot.
• Vs. 25 – There is a great blessing in DEALING with sin in our lives right away… behavior, attitudes, speech, desires, motives, etc.
6. If the lesson comes in the form of a rod:
a. God expects us to let the real lesson sink in and soften our heart… and ultimately, change our attitude and behavior…
b. If we consistently respond to God’s instruction and allow it to change our attitude, eventually, it will change our character.
c. Heb. 12:5-7 – chastening
• God chastens His sons as a Father… for our good… in love.
• He wants us to endure chastening.
» Endure = to abide under (?p?µ???); persevere; be patient.
→ Don’t try to escape; don’t fight it; don’t kick and scream.
→ Abide in the place of “child-training” your Father has designed for you.
» This is related to APPLYING that kind of instruction (with a rod) to one’s heart.
→ Seek to learn the lessons that God wants you to learn during that trial…
→ Allow God to work in your heart… soften your heart to the hands of the Master Potter…
→ Don’t rebel and quit before the lessons are truly learned.
7. Apply your heart to instruction: Oral instruction (whether through a teacher, a parent, a brother, a pastor) and also instruction that comes in the form of a rod (from your heavenly Father).
12b And thine ears to the words of knowledge.
Apply Your Ears to Words of Knowledge
1. Solomon now states that we are to also apply our ears to words of wisdom.
a. Though the verb “apply” is not mentioned in the second part of the proverb, it does need to be inserted.
b. This means that we are to LISTEN to words of wisdom.
c. It implies that those words should “enter in.”
d. We should allow the words of wisdom to continue making that linear motion right into our ears… and to settle down in our heart.
e. The point is that words of knowledge communicated to us should be RECEIVED with all readiness of mind (Acts 17:11).
f. It doesn’t really matter whether these words are spoken and we hear them, or whether they are written and we read them—we are to pay attention to what was communicated.
2. Word of knowledge:
a. “Words” refers to words spoken or written.
b. “Words of knowledge” refers to understanding; information; learning; insight; discernment; sometimes it speaks of experiential knowledge.
c. God seeks to communicate this to us – through His Word, or through a Bible teacher, or through one on one counseling from a spiritually mature believer.
d. Our responsibility is to LISTEN.
• We should be eager to hear… anxious to know more about God and His Word… hungry for more truth and light…
• All of that is implied when Solomon speaks of “applying our ears to words of knowledge.”
• This implies ATTITUDE in listening.
• Prov. 2:1-6 – Applying the ear to words of wisdom is to be associated with SEEKING that wisdom with your whole heart… as you would for hidden treasure…
» Only THEN will you truly understand what God is trying to communicate to you.
» God knows when we are listening half heartedly.
» Obtaining wisdom and knowledge from the Lord is not so much about the head as it is the heart.
» Average or below average intelligence is rewarded with spiritual wisdom and knowledge if it is accompanied by a spiritually hungry and diligent heart.
» Above average intelligence will never discover spiritual wisdom and knowledge through the head only—UNLESS it is accompanied by a spiritually hungry and diligent heart.
• For example, it is possible to literally hear the words with your ears while maintaining a grumbling attitude—but the heart is not really listening. Truth, light, and wisdom are not sinking in.
• Obviously, the point is for the hearing to go BEYOND the ear drums.
• In fact, in both Testaments, the word “hear” in many contexts is virtually synonymous with “obey.”
e. You cannot APPLY truth to your heart if you don’t LISTEN with your ears.
f. Prov. 22:17 –
• Bow down thine ear (bow = incline in the direction of).
» It speaks of an inward heart INCLINATION to listen…
» We should ALL be inclined to listen to God’s Word.
• Hear the words
» To hear = to obey.
» The readers should pay attention to the words they read… and then, obey!
• Apply thine heart –
» Just as the present proverb, one part is addressed to the “ear” and the other to the “heart.”
• Note the progression in the three exhortations in 22:17:
» Bow down thine ear (bend the ear; incline the ear; turn it towards the sound).
» Hear the words (heart with great interest; paying attention to so as to understand).
» Apply thine heart (set the mind and heart to an attitude of devotion, with corresponding action).
» Perhaps we could paraphrase:
→ Listen to the words of the wise.
→ Pay attention so that you understand what you hear.
→ Then respond in obedience: DO it… turn it into action.
Proverbs 23:13-14
Withhold Not Correction
Introduction:
1. Here Solomon gives some advice to his sons as they begin to raise their families.
2. This proverb is directed to those parents who might be a bit timid about spanking their child… or perhaps intimidated by today’s culture which looks upon with great suspicion and even contempt, those parents who do spank children.
3. In light of the increasingly strong pressure that our secular culture puts on parents today, this reminder is needed more than ever.
4. Unfortunately, most of the young families with kids aren’t here tonight—nor have they been for the last nine years going through the book of Proverbs as we have studied principles so necessary for raising families.
5. For the most part it has been you grandparents who are hearing these things taught… and you already know this. You’ve already raised your families.
6. This should be a matter of prayer for us all.
7. Twenty years ago in this church young parents with their kids had time to come out to evening service and prayer meeting each week—but not today.
a. And it’s not because parents had MORE time twenty years ago, it’s because they MADE time to come out and pray.
b. It is not a “time” issue, and never has been; it is a “priority” issue.
c. If young parents today think that their families and their kids don’t need as much prayer as families did 20 years ago, they are sadly mistaken.
d. I hate to break the news to you, but the environment for families has NOT been improving in the last few decades. Our culture is in decline—and that has been taking its toll on the churches too… including this one.
e. We thank God for the few young people that see this as a priority and DO come out to prayer meeting faithfully.
f. There is always that glimmer of hope that maybe prayer meeting will not die of attrition… and might even last yet another generation. Let’s pray for that.
13a Withhold not correction…
A. Correction
1. The term used here means discipline, punishment, rebuke, warning, instruction, etc.
a. It appears 51 times in the Old Testament, but most of them occur in the book of Proverbs.
b. It appears four times in the first 8 verses of the book.
c. This term for correction includes both verbal correction and corporal punishment.
d. By far, it is most often translated “instruction,” but in this passage, it is clear that the author had corporal punishment in mind because he mentions the rod.
e. Correction in this passage comes in the form of words of rebuke and then the rod.
2. The Bible is pretty clear on this issue: the rod is a good teacher and it corrects behavior. In other words, corporal punishment works.
3. The book of Proverbs deals with this subject from two angles: from the perspective of the one receiving the “correction” and the one giving it.
a. Those giving correction desire a proper response to it:
• My son, hear the instruction of thy father (1:8)
• My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction (3:11)
• Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father (4:1)
• Take fast hold of instruction; (4:13)
• Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. (8:33)
• A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke. (13:1)
• Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. (19:20)
b. Those receiving correction usually don’t like it.
• How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof (5:12)
• A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: (15:5)
• Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die. (15:10)
• He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul. (15:33)
• Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction.
c. In the book of Proverbs, there is an ongoing tension between the one giving the correction (instruction) and the one receiving the instruction.
d. The father giving the correction desperately wants his son to respond in obedience and submission. The father knows the long lasting consequences of NOT following such correction.
e. The son hearing the correction often rebels, grumbles, and resists correction. (What does he know anyway? He’s old! Life is different in our generation! All my friends do it so it must be ok!)
f. The reason is obvious: because it reflects reality.
g. It is the nature of children to NOT want to listen when they are being rebuked or corrected.
h. It is also human nature for those who have learned the lessons the hard way to want to impart those instructions to their children.
i. So the tension continues from Solomon’s days to ours. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
B. Withhold Not
1. Withhold: Defined: hold back; keep back; refrain; restrain.
2. Solomon’s command to parents is that they NOT hold back the correction—especially the kind that comes in the form of a rod—corporal punishment.
3. There are several reasons for this command:
4. First of all, there is human nature.
a. It is human nature for a parent to want to hold back on spanking their kids. They hate to see their child suffer or be in pain.
b. This is universal and it has not changed over the centuries.
c. It is human nature for parents to try to shelter their children from anything that is hurtful to them.
d. It hurts parent to see their child cry. It is painful for parents to have to use the rod.
e. It is much easier to hold back.
f. But Solomon warns such parents NOT to hold back because of their crying… and the emotional effect their crying has on you.
• “Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.” (Prov.19:18)
• Parents are reluctant to spank their children. They need to be told—and reminded of how needful it is.
• Too often parents let sentiment rule over reason in this matter.
g. To correct the issue of parental sentiment causing discipline to be withheld, Solomon reminds his readers about the nature of true, Biblical LOVE:
• He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. (Prov. 13:24)
• Thus, don’t use sentimental “love” as an excuse NOT to spank your child.
• True, Biblical love ought to be the motivation FOR spanking your child!
• True love for a child will look beyond the immediate and see the long range good that results from discipline.
• Withholding the rod is not love. It is called “hatred” in this passage.
• Some parents withhold spanking because they think it is cruel. God charges the one who does NOT spank with cruelty. It is hatred NOT to spank.
• Think about that, parents.
• If a parent withholds spanking because it hurts the parents too much to hear his son cry, that is not love—it’s cruelty.
• That is the ultimate in selfishness. You are only thinking of yourself: it hurts ME to spank him… it’s too hard for ME to spank him… it breaks MY heart to hear him cry. That is the opposite of Biblical love. (It is called hatred here.)
• If you really love your child, you will chasten him “betimes” (early—right when he needs it.)
h. It is also human nature to excuse their child’s behavior.
• For example, a cute little child demonstrates rebellion and talks back to his parents. What kind of a response does he get? His parents laugh or try to hide their smiles… and say, “Isn’t he cute?” The child learns that rebellion is cute and he can get away with it.
• Other forms of rebellion are excused by saying, “It’s not that bad. All kids do that.”
• Other parents might excuse it by saying, “Just leave him alone and he’ll grow out of that phase.”
i. Solomon reminds parents to spank their children when needed because it is human nature to allow sentiment to rule out spanking when spanking is needed.
5. Secondly, there is culture.
a. Corporal punishment used to be part of the culture in this country.
b. There was a time when the Bible was studied—even in public schools.
c. Nobody questioned the validity and need for parents to spank their children.
d. It was an integral part of our culture and fully supported by society at large. Society encouraged parents to spank their children in order to improve their behavior.
e. But today, it is increasingly being considered to be barbaric and medieval by our secular society. It is a throwback to the dark ages in their minds.
f. The world sees spanking as cruel. Their studies say that spanking is harmful to children. It will damage them for life and make them violent. (Actually the opposite is true.)
g. This works AGAINST young parents today.
h. That is why young parents need to get their teaching on such matters not from the most recent study from Harvard, but rather from the good old-fashioned Bible.
i. If you are feeding your minds with the information from the latest study on human behavior from Harvard or Yale, or from the latest book on humanistic psychology, then your minds are being conformed to the world… and the world is enmity with God.
j. Another problem related to this is that young families don’t have to hear this kind of anti-spanking sentiment from humanistic psychology. It has been popular in the last few decades to merge together humanistic psychology with the Bible. Be careful what you read. Christian psychology isn’t always purely Christian.
k. It seems that the whole world system is working against this important Biblical principle on child rearing.
l. And this too works against young parents today.
m. To correct the issue of parents withholding correction because their minds have been conformed to the thinking of the world, Solomon reminds his readers of the VALUE of such correction:
• Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. (Prov. 22:15)
» No, spanking will not harm your son. It is GOOD for him.
» It will correct bad behavior. It will drive folly from him.
» Thus, the issue for parents today is this: who do you believe? The latest study from Yale or the Word of God?
» Who are you going to believe, Solomon or Dr. Phil?
» What a parent believes will affect how he behaves and how he brings up his children.
• “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” (Prov.29:15)
» Spanking is not bad for your children. It is good for them. It brings wisdom.
» Also, perhaps mothers who are too tender to spank their child and allow their sentiments to cause them to withhold correction should consider what emotions they might be feeling down the road a piece when their child is a teenager: SHAME!
» In that day, the undisciplined child may have to be corrected by a correctional institution—the county jail. That brings shame to the mother.
» Solomon brings it up here not to shame the mother, but to warn her lest be BECOME ashamed later on.
» This is designed to be preventative medicine for parents.
• “Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.” (Prov. 29:17)
» The emotion driven mother who is too tender to spank little Jr. for bad behavior, might withhold the rod because of her emotions can’t bear it.
» You have a choice: spare your emotions in the immediate, withhold correction and experience SHAME later on.
» Or, you pray for temperance (fruit of the Spirit) get your emotions under control, and spank your child today, knowing that later on in life—you can experience rest and a delight to your soul the rest of your life.
» That is a choice parents need to make.
• Sadly, I have heard even Christian parents speak against spanking as if it were bad for their children. Some Christian parents don’t spank.
• They bought the lie presented to them by the world. Their minds were conformed to the world.
• That parent cannot possibly say that he or she is bringing up their child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord if they refuse to follow the admonition of the Lord.
• The Bible clearly FORBIDS parents from withholding the rod.
• Just because some people go overboard in one direction and engage in child brutality is no excuse for going overboard in the other direction and withholding the rod.
• Don’t worry that spanking is harming them or making them violent. Spanking is good for them and will teach them self discipline so that later on in life they DON’T become violent.
6. Thus, the temptation to withhold correction comes from within (human nature) and without (the world system).
a. Parents have always been tempted to let sentiment rule… and avoid spanking.
b. But years ago, even though parents were tempted from within to withhold spanking, there was at least the outward support and approval for it from society.
c. Parents today need to hear this warning more than ever.
d. And they need to be reminded that it is a “thus saith the Lord” and I hope that carries more weight with the Christian parent than a “thus saith Oprah or Dr. Phil.”
7. Next, Solomon gives two reasons not to withhold correction—both a negative and a positive reason.
13b For if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
Proverbs 23:13b-14
The Benefits of Corporal Punishment
Introduction:
1. Last week we looked at the first part of this proverb, which contains the main COMMAND in the proverb: Do not withhold correction from the child.
2. We know that the kind of correction Solomon had in mind here is corporal punishment because he speaks of the rod… an instrument for spanking.
3. Tonight we want to look at two REASONS to obey this command:
a. He won’t die.
b. You might just deliver his soul from hell.
13b For if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
He Shall Not Die
A. Beat Him With a Rod
1. The terminology used here is often misunderstood and misapplied.
a. Both the verb (beat) and the instrument described (rod) are subject to wide variation in meaning.
b. It is important to define more clearly what those terms mean in this context… what the author meant.
2. Beat:
a. Defined: Make physical contact with a blow; to strike; smite; hit; to cause one to become ill or sick; slay; kill; defeat; conquer; i.e., have a military victory over an opponent or enemy.
b. That is quite a variation in the shades of meaning!
c. Ex. 5:16 – The term is used for the BEATING of the slaves in Egypt. No doubt that was a pretty severe beating or whipping… not recommended for spanking children.
d. Josh. 10:10 – and he SLEW them (same word) with a great slaughter.
e. II Sam. 11:15 – Uriah was put in the front of the battle that he might be SMITTEN (same word) and die.
f. Obvious, this is not recommended with our children.
g. Isa. 58:4 – Here is it used of punching someone with the fist. Certainly this is NOT what Solomon had in mind. (We know that because Solomon spoke of smiting with a rod, not a fist.)
h. Ex. 9:31 – the flax and barley were SMITTEN. (This might be a little closer to how it is used by Solomon… though not for the purpose of crushing, but the idea of striking with a stick or fan.)
i. II Kings 11:12 – “And he brought forth the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they CLAPPED (same word) their hands, and said, God save the king.”
• This usage of the term is perhaps the closest in meaning to the way Solomon used it in Proverbs 23:13.
• The only difference is the object that is being “clapped”—not the hand, but the rear end of the child.
j. Because of the wild variations in the usage and connotation of this term, it is not surprising that there is not unanimity concerning just how aggressive a parent should BE with spanking.
k. A couple of things ARE clear:
• Solomon is speaking about corporal punishment (striking or hitting) and not a “time out” or “going to bed early” or “no dessert tonight.”
• That corporal punishment (smiting) is supposed to hurt.
• That corporal punishment can be misapplied:
» Either so lightly that it does not hurt and thus is ineffective.
» So hard and brutal that it physically damages the child and is thus ineffective—because you have “provoked your child to anger.”
» It can also be misapplied when not used consistently—so that the child never knows what the limits really are.
» It can be misapplied when the parent is angry and out of control. (wrong spirit)
» It can be misapplied when the child is never told what it is for… or when the child is never told what the rules are.
» It can be misapplied when a child is spanked for an unintentional accident.
» It is also misapplied when the rod is continually threatened, but not used.
l. The spanking (“beating”) must be done correctly to be effective and God honoring.
3. Rod: This term is also open to wild variations.
a. Defined: Rod; staff; branch; offshoot; club; scepter; staff; stick; i.e., a wooden stick of various lengths and thicknesses
b. II Sam. 18:14 – Three DARTS (same word) were thrust through the heart of Absalom as he was hanging in the oak tree.
c. Again, note the wide range of meaning.
d. The Hebrew term for rod used here could refer to anything from a thin switch off a willow tree to a massive club used to crush someone’s skull… to a dart or javelin used to kill someone.
e. Obviously, a little common sense needs to be applied in choosing the kind of “rod” to use in spanking your child.
f. I recommend the small flexible “rod” that comes with the mini blinds. It won’t do any damage, (as a wooden spoon could do if it hit a bone accidently) but it sure does sting. It communicates the message that needs to be communicated.
4. I would prefer to translate “beat him with the rod” as “strike him with a thin, flexible switch.”
a. Or as others have said, “Apply the board of knowledge to the seat of understanding.”
b. It is not a beating in the sense that we use the term today.
c. It is a striking of the rear end (where you are unlikely to do any real harm).
d. It is a striking that inflicts enough pain to get the point across.
e. Common sense needs to be applied on the part of the parent—and the parent needs to be under the control of the Holy Spirit.
f. And as a side note, corporal punishment should not be applied for each and every tiny infraction. Other forms of punishment might well be applied in those situations.
g. Corporal punishment ought to be applied in cases of direct rebellion and disobedience… when that disobedience is done with full knowledge that they were breaking the rules.
h. One man wrote, “It is medicine, not food.” (For an occasional sickness that needs fixing; not for daily ingestion.)
i. It should also be balanced with encouragement, praise, and even rewards for good behavior.
j. Parents are to be to their children as God is to us: gracious, longsuffering, and loving, but firm and just. Parents are to be more like a loving father than a drill sergeant.
B. He Shall Not Die
1. The proper use of the rod will not KILL the child.
a. Solomon is not talking about child abuse or brutality.
b. He is talking about sane and sensible corporal punishment that is age appropriate.
c. When punishment is applied properly, the child will not die.
d. Nor should they end up with cuts, wounds, or bruises.
e. It will sting, but it shouldn’t do any lasting damage to his body.
2. Why do you suppose Solomon had to tell parents that their children will not die if they experience the “rod”?
a. Perhaps (today at least) because our culture tells us that spanking IS damaging to a child.
b. Or perhaps because the child’s pitiful cries and pleas might cause a parent to THINK that he is seriously harming the child.
c. Bob Schaffer – One time Bob shared how when spanking his cute little red headed daughter that in the middle of the spanking the girl shrieked out in a pitiful cry, “Daddy, you’re killing me!”
d. She was mistaken. Dad—don’t let a three year old convince you that she knows more than Solomon.
e. The three year old might THINK she is dying, but Solomon said, “She shall not die!”
f. Therefore, continue to use corporal punishment… and don’t let your emotions or the cries of the child cause you to change your methodology from that which is recorded in the Word of God.
14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
You Might Save His Life
1. Verse 13 states that won’t KILL him.
2. Verse 14 states that corporal punishment might even save his life.
3. “Delivering his soul from hell.”
a. This expression sounds very much like Solomon had salvation from condemnation in the Lake of Fire in mind.
b. To understand what Solomon meant, it is necessary to consider the terms that he used.
c. Deliver: Rescue; saved; plucked out of; spared; safe from danger.
• The term itself has no theological connection (like being saved from sin.)
• The context has to determine the nature of the deliverance.
d. Soul: Soul; self; life; creature; person; that which breathes and is alive.
• I Sam. 19:11 – The term is often used of one’s physical life. Here saving David’s life clearly meant his physical life. He was in danger of being murdered.
e. Hell: Sheol; underworld; grave; hell; pit; the underworld; Sheol—the Old Testament designation for the abode of the dead.
• I Sam. 2:6 – “The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the GRAVE, (same word) and bringeth up.”
f. I understand Solomon to be saying here that by applying the rod, the parent might save his child from a premature, untimely death.
• In vs. 13 the author says, “He won’t die.”
• In the next verse he says, “You might deliver his life from the grave” or “You might save his life.”
• Understanding this expression to mean “save his life” completes the contrast between life and death.
• Understanding it to mean salvation from sin confuses the contrast in my opinion.
4. The point is that (in spite of what the child might think or say) the spanking won’t kill him. BUT it might just teach him to control his temper, turn from his rebellion, and change his behavior… which down the road, if left unchecked could result in a premature death.
a. Spanking him won’t kill him, but allowing that rebellious wayward spirit to grow might just kill him down the road!
b. There are a number of other proverbs that speak to this very issue. Correction drives folly OUT OF a child… the kind of folly that can lead to his destruction and even death.
c. Prov. 6:32 – Adultery could destroy your soul—ruin your life. It could even lead to disease that cuts short your life.
d. Prov. 16:17 – The one who departs from evil and stays on the right highway (straight and narrow way) guards or preserves his own soul – protects his life from being cut short.
e. Prov. 15:32 – Refusing instruction destroys one’s soul – Refusing instruction is self destructive behavior. It could lead to death.
f. Prov. 29:1 – He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
• Destruction comes to the one who is unteachable… in many forms… even death.
g. Corporal punishment (as hard as it is for a parent to deal with on their cute little toddlers) is actually much EASIER to deal with than not applying corporal punishment and down the road having to deal with a drug overdose… or getting the call at 2:00 in the morning that your son and his five buddies were all drunk and died in a head on collision on route 93…
h. Spanking won’t kill them. But not correcting their behavior via corporal punishment when they are young could set them off on a life of rebellion, sin, and violence that ends in a tragic death.
i. That’s Solomon’s point in this proverb. Beware!
5. Of course, making an application from this passage to salvation is perfectly legitimate.
a. Teaching a child to respect authority… teaching a child personal responsibility… teaching a child to follow the example of his Christian parents… may very well lead a young child to put his faith in Christ too.
b. A parent who neglects his responsibility to discipline his son can expect an undisciplined son… one who does as he pleases… one who has no respect for any authority… and one whose rebellion has never been kept in check.
c. Don’t be surprised if this child lives in rebellion against God too and ends up in the Lake of Fire.
Proverbs 23:15-16
A Father’s Joy
Introduction:
1. Here we have the 12th of 30 wise sayings in this section of Proverbs.
2. Solomon appeals to his son several times in this chapter.
a. vs. 15 – My son…
b. vs. 19 – Hear thou, my son…
c. vs. 26 – My son, give me thine heart…
3. This is a pretty common desire – fathers desire to see their sons do well… to be wise… to make good decisions… to walk with God.
4. The previous verses (13-14) the author addressed the parents and spoke of the value of disciplining a son.
a. It won’t kill him. (vs.13a)
b. It might even save his life. (vs.13b-14)
5. This duo of proverbs (vs.15-16) speaks to the fact that a father’s joy (in an earthly sense) is tied to his son’s lifestyle.
6. Verses 15 and 16 are tied together as a unit… as a parallelism… a synthetic parallelism – one that builds upon the previous.
15 My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.
1. In the first part of the parallelism, the father makes a simple statement to his son: if your heart is wise, then my heart will rejoice.
2. In other words, in an earthly sense, the joy of a father is linked to his son. This is a positive theme Solomon mentions two more times in Proverbs.
a. Prov. 27:11 – “My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.”
b. Prov. 23:24-25 – “The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him. 25Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.”
c. These proverbs are entirely positive – speaking of the fact that a wise son brings JOY to his father and mother.
3. Of course, this implies that the reverse is true also: son, if you have a foolish heart, my heart will be grieved.
a. There other proverbs which speak of the joy a wise son brings to his father, but also includes the other side of the coin – the grief that a foolish son brings to his parents.
b. Prov. 10:1 – “A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.”
c. Prov. 15:20 – “A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.”
d. Prov. 29:3 – “Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.”
4. Solomon seems to emphasize the positive side—since it is mentioned in all six of these passages, while the negative side is mentioned only three times.
5. Note that these are issues of the HEART.
a. Heart refers to our innermost being.
b. It involves our mind, emotions, and will.
c. It is the whole inner man… the whole inner person.
d. It is the inner LIFE of a person.
6. Thus, Solomon is saying that a wise son brings JOY to the whole inner life of a father.
a. It is a joy of mind.
• Thoughts of his son bring joy.
• It affects his attitude.
• Naturally parent’s minds constantly go to their children.
• And when your mind is continually drawn to a wise child, your mind is continually drawn to a source of joy to one’s inner thought life.
b. It is a joy of heart – it affects the inner emotions.
• Though we are not to live BY our feelings, yet feelings are a part of life… the way God made us.
• We are made in HIS image—and God feels.
• There are many influences that affect our feelings and emotions, but one very strong influence is our children.
• Solomon’s point here is that
c. It affects the father’s will too.
• If your son is wise and makes good decisions, that will affect in a good way the choices you make concerning him.
• If your son is wise, then you will give him more liberties that he might grow and mature.
• If your son is wise you can trust him in carrying out chores and responsibilities.
• That too brings joy to a father.
7. III John 3-4 – Of course there is great application here to the spiritual life.
a. “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
b. This is certainly true of those you have led to the Lord… or those you have taught in the Lord… or your own flesh and blood sons and daughters!
c. It is a real joy to see children demonstrating wisdom by walking in the truth. In fact, there is no greater joy.
d. I’m not sure if John meant that literally or if it is hyperbole or if it was intended to be limited to the human and earthly realm.
• I tend to think it was meant as hyperbole.
• Consider verse two. “I wish above all things that you mayest prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers.”
• We often make greetings like that even today.
• I think it is fair to say that John was not MORE concerned for his physical health and well being than he was for his spiritual health and well being.
• However, that is a common way to greet folks… and the precise meaning should not be pressed too much.
• The literal method of interpretation allows for such expressions.
e. One might well argue that the joy of the Lord is an even greater joy than the joy of seeing our son walk in the truth.
• In fact the joy of the Lord trumps all earthly joys… and it even trumps and supersedes all earthly circumstances… good and bad!
• But either way, his point is well taken: there is nothing like this kind of joy!
» It brings much greater joy than to see your son be at the top of his class at Harvard.
» It brings much great joy than to see your son become a millionaire or a billionaire.
» It brings greater joy than to see your son become president of the United States.
• The joy of the Lord is a much deeper joy, unlike any other.
• It is deeper and richer than any joy we receive from earthly circumstances.
• Of course when our son walks in the truth—that earthly joy can actually BE an expression of the joy of the Lord.
f. However we understand John’s words here, one thing is clear: the father’s joy is connected to the son’s walk.
• That is true of a father with his son in the flesh.
• It is also true of a son in the faith.
16 Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
1. The second part of this proverb is found in the next verse.
a. This part of the proverb BUILDS on the first section.
b. Vs. 15 said that a father’s joy is linked to his son’s wisdom.
c. Vs. 16 says that a father’s joy is linked to his son’s speech… or the wisdom expressed verbally.
d. Thus, this parallelism is building on the thought of the previous thought. This is called a synthetic parallelism.
2. The father rejoices.
a. Reins defined: kidney
• This organ was poetically used to represent the inner man much in the same way we use the heart (another organ) to represent the inner life of a person.
• Reins is used as a virtual synonym for “heart” in verse 15.
• So far, the proverbs are parallel.
b. Rejoice: Solomon uses a different word for “rejoice” in this verse than in the previous passage, but probably just for variety. The terms are synonyms.
c. Thus, the RESULT is the same in both verses – the father rejoices… the father has joy.
3. The CAUSE of the joy is where the author builds upon verse 15.
a. A wise heart causes the father to rejoice.
b. Right speech also causes the father to rejoice.
c. “Right things” defined: (One word) = evenness, uprightness, straightness, fair, level.
d. It is sometimes translated “equity” in Proverbs.
e. A son who speaks honestly causes his father to rejoice.
f. A son who speaks with fairness and level and even in his speech causes a father to rejoice.
g. Solomon seemed to be speaking about good, old fashioned honesty in speech. You can trust what his son says—and that delights the father.
4. Matt. 15:18 – Of course, what comes out of a person’s MOUTH is connected to what is in his heart.
a. Thus, putting the two points of this proverbial thought together, the father rejoices when he sees inward integrity of heart manifesting itself as outward integrity of life.
b. That causes the father to rejoice.
5. Of course there is great application to our relationship to God our heavenly Father in all of this.
a. How much must GOD rejoice when our heart is full of His wisdom?
b. How much JOY do we bring to our Father in heaven when we study proverbs and apply them to our lives?
c. How much rejoicing does God do when sees spiritual wisdom and discernment practiced in the lives of His children?
d. How much joy do we bring to God when we SPEAK right things? When our mouths are filled with His Word? When our mouths are used in sharing the gospel? When our mouths are used in teaching His Word or encouraging others in the faith?
e. Yes, we can bring joy to God in some very simple ways: storing wisdom in our hearts and speaking wisdom with our mouths.
6. There is also great application to those we lead to the Lord… our “sons in the faith.”
a. I Thess. 3:8 – “For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.”
• Paul’s LIFE was linked to the spiritual well being of the Thessalonians.
• His life was complete… full of joy IF they stood fast in the Lord.
b. I Thess. 2:19 – “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy.”
• The believers in Thessalonica were a source of JOY to Paul.
• When they walked with God—Paul had joy.
c. This is just a fact of life – in both the natural and the spiritual realm. In some ways, the life and joy of a parent is linked to the well being of their children.
Proverbs 23:17-18
Let Not Thine Heart Envy Sinners
Introduction:
1. This is the 13th of 30 wise sayings in this section of Proverbs.
2. The proverbial thought consists of verses 17-18, as with most of the proverbial thoughts in this section.
3. Solomon tells us what not to do; what to do; and why.
WHAT NOT TO DO:
17a Let not thine heart envy sinners:
1. This is the main command of the proverb.
2. Envy defined:
a. To envy; be jealous; to be zealous for.
b. A feeling of ill will ranging even to anger, based on a perceived advantage.
3. Solomon’s command is that his readers NOT be envious for what others have.
a. When a person is envious for what others have, it indicates that he is not content with what he has.
b. It also indicates that his focus is not on the Lord, but is on “things of the world”… and in particular, things that others possess that he does not possess.
4. Envy is a common trait of fallen man. We have all been envious. Perhaps we still are!
a. It is SIN to be envious. The Bible clearly commands us NOT to:
• Rom. 13:13 – “Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.”
b. It is a proof of carnality to be envious:
• Gal. 5:19, 21 – “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these… envying…”
• I Cor. 3:3 – For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”
c. Before we were saved we LIVED in envy:
• Titus 3:3 – “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.”
• Rom. 1:29 – “Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers.”
d. As a believer, if we don’t “lay aside” envy, we will not grow spiritually. It hinders spiritual growth.
• I Pet. 2:1-2 – “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”
e. It leads to many other forms of sin.
• Jas. 3:16 – “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”
5. This proverb (23:27) speaks of a particular KIND of envy: being envious of sinners.
a. This implies that it is also possible to be envious of saints!
• We can envy one another.
• That was a problem in Corinth. They were envious of those with the flashy gifts and they all coveted after those gifts.
• We can be envious of the earthly blessings of other saints too… envious of their wealth, their popularity, their material goods, their family, their looks, their job, their ministries, etc.
• Envy knows no bounds.
b. But here Solomon is speaking about being envious of sinners… of wicked men who know not God and are under His wrath.
• However, those very people often seem to prosper in the world… which creates great angst for many believers.
• This is a common theme, especially in the Old Testament.
6. Commands NOT to be envious of sinners:
a. Psalm 73:2-3 – Asaph was envious of the wicked when he saw them prosper in the world.
• Vs 3-4 – They appeared to be firm and strong and not have the troubles that others have… others who played by the rules and thus did not prosper as the wicked did by cheating.
• Vs. 7 – They seemed to have all their hearts could desire.
• Vs. 12 – They continued to increase in wealth.
• Vs. 8 – Yet they were evil men… ungodly.
• Vs. 13 – At times it made godly Asaph feel like he was living a godly life for nothing. He did NOT prosper. God didn’t seem to bless him. He wondered if perhaps he should go the route of the ungodly and cheat to get ahead.
• Watching the ungodly prosper in the world seems to bring out the worst in all of us as believers.
• It is an age old problem for God’s people.
b. Ps. 37:1, 35 – David warns of the same internal struggle.
• Fret: To be angry; to be zealous; to burn in zeal (being zealous and jealous are very closely related. Sometimes it is the same underlying word.)
• Neither be envious of the workers of iniquity: (same word as in Prov. 23:17)
• This is a common problem that ALL believers struggle with at some point.
• Vs. 35 – David gives his own personal testimony.
» He saw wicked men in positions of great power who spread themselves out like a bay tree (fat and flourishing).
» Evidently, this really stuck out in his mind. It evidently bothered him.
» It doesn’t seem fair… it doesn’t seem right or just.
» It evokes some wrong thoughts in us: “Why does God allow this? It isn’t fair!”
» It is not wrong to notice this phenomenon. But it certainly IS wrong to blame God and question God’s justice—as if our sense of justice was superior to His!
c. The first part of this proverbial thought simply makes one simple command: don’t envy sinners—even though such thoughts might pop into our minds and hearts.
• To do so is sin.
WHAT TO DO:
17b But be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
1. Instead of envying sinners, we are commanded to be in the fear of God all day long!
a. This is an interesting counterpart to the command.
b. One would think that the opposite of “envying a sinner” would be to have a better attitude towards the sinner.
c. To the author, the opposite of “envying the sinner” was “fearing God.”
d. It might not seem like a direct opposite, but it actually is.
e. To the author, the opposite of “focusing attention on the sinner” was focusing attention on the Lord… which means in practical terms, FEARING HIM.
f. In other words, the REASON we envy sinners who prosper in the world, is because we are focusing our attention on them… and what they have… and how well off they are.
g. What we OUGHT to focus on is the Lord. Keep Him in the forefront of our thinking… and that means walking in godly fear of who He is.
h. When our eyes are upon the Lord, we will not be so concerned about the wicked and how they live. We will be much more concerned about the Lord the Lord and how He would have US to live!
WHY:
18a For surely there is an end
1. This expression is variously translated.
a. ASV: For surely there is a reward (but this interprets it as a good end—which connotation is not found in the word).
b. NIV: There is surely a future hope for you (same).
c. NKJV: For surely there is a hereafter (this leaves it generic enough to be interpreted as a good or evil future).
2. The problem lies with the meaning of the word “end.”
a. Defined: End; issue; event; latter time (prophetic for future time); the last point of a period of time; point in time future; an event in the future.
b. The term simply speaks of a future day… a future event… the last time… the end time…
3. The author’s point seems to be that the antidote for envying the wicked is to keep in mind that there is a future to be considered.
a. There is coming a “last day”… a future event that which (if understood) will mitigate AGAINST envy today.
b. Solomon doesn’t say WHAT that future day is, but seems to leave it to the imagination of the readers.
c. It was probably pretty obvious to his readers too—as it should be to us.
4. Other passages dealing with this same issue (envying the wicked) point to a future event that should serve as an antidote for envying.
a. Psalm 73:16-17 –
• The thought of the wicked prospering caused him much inner turmoil and pain.
• That pain continued UNTIL he went into the sanctuary of God.
• Note the change here: He was pained when his eyes were upon the wicked living in their luxury.
• But the pain LEFT when he went to the sanctuary and focused his attention on the Lord!
• It’s amazing how quickly our heart attitude can change when we change our focus!
• It changed when he considered their END (same word as in Prov. 23:18).
• The Lord brought to Asaph’s mind the fact that in the future, all the crooked things will be made straight.
• In that future day, all the wrongs will be made right.
• That future day here (end) referred to the day of Judgment. In a future day, the wicked will be judged… and so will the godly.
• In that future time, the wicked will be punished… and that will last for all eternity.
• Hence, there is no cause for envying that person—even though he may be living a life of luxury today.
• When our minds are on eternity, and view life from eternity’s values, all that angst, trouble, confusion, and envy will have no place.
b. Psalm 37:1 – Don’t fret yourself because of evildoers and the workers of iniquity.
• Vs. 2 – Here’s why: Because they will one day be cut down—in the “end.”
• vs. 3 – Trust in the Lord instead. Fear God instead… and you will be blessed. Your needs will be met.
• vs. 35 – David saw the wicked prosper and sit in position of power and privilege.
• vs. 36 – Yet David realized that their position of earthly power was temporal.
» There is coming a day in the future when God will judge.
» But sometimes it doesn’t even last very long in earthly terms.
» All too often they are sitting on a house of cards about to collapse.
» They may even experience some judgment in THIS life.
» They could be caught for their wickedness and cheating and jailed.
» They could make enemies who seek to kill them.
» The life of the wicked is NOT to be envied.
WHY:
18b And thine expectation shall not be cut off.
1. “Thine expectation”
a. Defined: Hope; expectation; things hoped for; ground of hope; a confidence in regard to a good and beneficial future; anticipation of good in the future.
b. Solomon warns that the wicked have their day coming… but the godly also have a future day coming.
c. The godly can anticipate that future day with great anticipation and joy!
d. Jer. 29:11 – For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. (end = same word as “end” in Prov. 23:18)
2. “Thine expectation shall not be cut off.”
a. The wicked lived in luxury in this life and perhaps expected that it would continue forever.
b. However, the “end” for the wicked will be a horrible experience. Their prosperity and luxury will all be “cut off”—it will come to an end and will be exchanged for eternal judgment.
c. Prov. 24:20 – “For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.”
d. But the godly have a glorious expectation in the future and that will NOT be cut off!
e. This thought is an antidote for envying the wicked who prosper in the here and now… those who like Esau enjoy their porridge in this life and yet have made no plans for the hereafter.
f. Don’t ever wish you were in their shoes.
g. They are not to be envied but pitied.
h. Considering their end and our end (if we are faithful) will help us to maintain a right focus… and will help us deal with things such as envy today.
i. Viewing life from eternity’s vantage point will enable us to handle all the troubles and inequities of the here and now.
Proverbs 23:19-21
A Father Warning His Son
Introduction:
1. This trilogy of verses is the 14th of 30 wise sayings in this section of Proverbs.
2. It is an exhortation from a father to his son.
19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
1. First Solomon encourages his son to LISTEN to what he has to say, be WISE, and then to GUIDE his heart.
2. Hear defined:
a. To hear; listen to; obey; to hear with attention and interest; to receive information; to hear and to heed what is heard.
b. Solomon speaks to his son and advises him to hear, to listen to, and to take heed to the advice of a godly father.
c. He says the same thing in vs. 22. The one who begot him certainly has no ill will against him. He wants only the best for his son. A son should consider that as the advice is given.
d. This has been an oft repeated theme in the book of Proverbs.
3. Be wise defined:
a. BE wise; become wise; show oneself to be wise; demonstrate wisdom; to make wise decisions.
b. Prov. 6:6 – It speaks of observing life, learning lessons, and putting them into practice.
c. It is the wisdom that is gained from hearing and observing. Pay attention, and put it into practice.
d. Consider God’s heart towards His wayward son, Israel: “O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!” (Deut. 32:29)
e. Here we learn that wisdom (like faith) cometh by hearing. The one who has ears to hear will learn and become wise.
f. This is another common theme in Proverbs: be wise! The book is all about becoming wise.
4. Guide defined:
a. Now he gets a little more specific:
b. Guide means: To go straight; make progress; to step forward; to advance.
c. Solomon urges his son to guide his HEART… to make progress on the inside—in his heart.
• That includes his thoughts, emotions—the whole inner man.
• This is good advice for ALL of us. We all have a lot of progress to make in the development of our inner man – our inner character.
• This is what Solomon urged his son to do: to walk the straight and narrow path, to step forward, to make progress—to advance in the development of his heart – his inner man.
• This would involve his thoughts – his mind. Progress is to be made intellectually and spiritually.
» This would include education.
» It would include reading the Scriptures and thinking on things that are true, lovely, full of virtue, and of good report…
» Prov. 24:9 – “The thought of foolishness is sin.”
• This would also include one’s emotions—getting a handle on them… controlling them.
» Prov. 25:28 – “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.”
» Emotions are good, but they are to be under the control of the Holy Spirit or they will lead us astray.
d. Solomon encouraged his son to guide his heart… to grow as a man… to mature… to develop… to make progress in every way: mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
e. Prov. 4:10-13 – When a son listens to the counsel of his father, his steps WILL make progress.
• This is a command not to stagnate… not to just slide by, but rather to take steps forward and to progress in these areas.
f. Prov. 4:23-27 – If we guide our heart, our steps will be headed in a good direction. The feet will take us where the heart orders.
• If the heart is right, the life will be right… and progress will be made. Thus, keep your heart with all diligence… and keep on advancing.
g. Peter warns us all to “Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (II Pet. 3:18)
h. Peter also challenges us: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” (I Pet. 2:2)
i. Paul also commands us to grow up: “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” (Eph. 4:15)
20 Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:
1. First Solomon encouraged his son to listen, be wise, and to guide his heart… make progress intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.
2. Secondly, Solomon delivers the CONTENT of his warning: watch your company! He gives some particular examples of “guiding one’s heart.”
3. Be not among winebibbers: (one word)
a. Prov. 20:1 – He has already warned about the dangers of alcohol.
b. Prov. 23:29-35 – He has MUCH more to say about alcohol, later in this chapter.
c. This is still a major parental fear in today’s world—that one’s child would become involved in drugs or alcohol… they are so available and so addictive and destructive.
d. Here the advice is to avoid company with those who indulge in alcohol. Their attitude towards alcohol might rub off on you.
e. Everybody who starts drinking THINKS he can handle it.
f. One in ten drinkers becomes a problem drinker. It’s dangerous. It’s sort of like playing Russian roulette.
4. Riotous eaters of flesh (one word)
a. The term here means: Vile; frivolous; gluttonous; worthless. The term means to over-eat… but implies the lifestyle that goes along with it.
b. Prov. 23:2 – He has also already warned about gluttony in this chapter.
c. Associating with those who over-eat and over-drink WILL affect you—even if you think you are strong enough to resist.
• Paul warns, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” (I Cor. 10:12)
• I Cor. 15:33 – “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” (communications = communion or companionship)
• Prov. 13:20 – “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
• Birds of a feather flock together. Those you associate with WILL have an effect on you whether we want to admit it or not.
• Hence, Solomon warns his sons about certain groups NOT to associate with: those who are given to lustful living.
d. The believer today is to be filled with the Spirit and thus, he will exhibit self control – temperance – the fruit of the Spirit.
e. Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh – indulging in eating and drinking.
5. Deut. 21:20-21 – The rebellious son who was a glutton and drunkard could be stoned to death by the elders of the city. They did not tolerate this kind of behavior in those days. They wanted all the other young people to “hear and fear.”
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
REVIEW:
This is the final verse of a trilogy of verses (19-21) which constitutes the 14th wise saying of this section of Proverbs.
– Solomon gives advice to his son: (1) hear (2) be wise (3) guide – make progress in your heart.
– The content of the advice is found in vs. 20 – be not among winebibbers or riotous eaters of flesh. He advises his son to avoid their company.
– In verse 21, Solomon concludes this trilogy of advice.
Now Solomon gives some practical REASONS WHY his son should take heed to his advice to avoid the company of winebibbers and riotous eaters of flesh: you will end up poor, lazy, and dressed in rags.
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty
1. The drunkard and glutton
a. The drunkard and glutton speak of the kind of men who have no control over their appetites.
b. They are controlled by lust… and lust when it hath conceived bringeth forth sin.
c. They think only of themselves, satisfying every lust and desire.
d. Such a man lives to eat and drink… gorging himself.
e. This is the classic hedonist – one who lives only for pleasure.
f. II Tim. 3:4 – This attitude is destructive of one’s spiritual life.
• Love can mean to have a preference for one thing over another.
• Paul writes of men who are lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.
• Often there is a choice between ENJOYING something appealing OR putting God first.
• By repeatedly choosing to do things that WE ENJOY before serving God or worshipping God, we are developing hedonist habits… becoming lovers of pleasure MORE THAN lovers of God.
• Love is a choice we make. We can choose to love God or we can choose to love pleasure…
• John put it this way: We can choose to love God or we can choose to love the things of this world. (I John 2:15)
• The Lord Jesus put it this way: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matt. 6:24)
g. We can either LOVE God, or LUST after earthly things.
• Solomon mentioned two types of earthly lusts (eating and drinking) because they are so common to man.
• But there are MANY other things that we can lust after: material goods; the big house on the hill; boats; money; prestige; fame; fancy cars; fancy clothes; sex; drugs; pleasure; etc.
• Just as food and drink are CONSUMED by the drunkard and the glutton, so all kinds of earthly things can be consumed by us with just as much lust and excesses.
• This proverb is just as applicable to those who lust after “other things” as it is to those who lust after food and wine.
2. They shall come to poverty:
a. Shall come: to take possession of; to inherit.
b. Solomon warns his son that the drunkard and the glutton shall inherit poverty… they shall come in to the possession of poverty.
c. The end of that road is poverty.
d. Prov. 21:17 – “He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.”
e. Choosing to please self and live for pleasure eventually leads to poverty.
• Living for selfish pleasure leads to poverty because lust is expensive.
• Drugs and alcohol are expensive.
• Going out to eat all the time in fancy restaurants is expensive.
• Developing expensive tastes can bring a man to poverty. The one who loves oil and wine will not be rich.
• Prov. 21:20 – There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.”
• Of course there is application to things other than food and drink. This applies just as well to clothing, shopping, buying cars, houses, and 1001 other things.
• In so many ways, we CONSUME more than we should… more than we can afford…
• One of the problems with our economy right now is the millions of people who bought homes they could not afford—and the banks helped them do it!
• Lusting for the nicer things in life… lusting for a life of luxury and pleasure is very expensive and often results in poverty.
• Luke 15:13-16 – Like the prodigal son who wasted his substance in riotous living… feasting and drinking… (A glutton and drunkard).
» As a result, he came to poverty. He ended up eating with the swine.
» He went from eating the finest cuisine to eating pig slop.
» What happened to that young man in an accelerated pace happens to most gluttons and drunkards over a longer period of time… but it’s the same END.
» If this young man was more sensible as a youth, he could have inherited his father’s wealth at the proper time. Instead, he inherited poverty.
3. Gluttony and drunkenness leads to drowsiness:
a. Drowsiness:
• This term is used only in Prov. 23:21.
• It means: Laziness; indolence; formally; drowsiness; i.e., the willful refusal of making effort or work as a life-style, as a moral failure.
• One dictionary defined drowsiness here as a figurative extension of slumber as a state of inactivity.
b. Everyone knows what it feels like to be tired and drowsy – sleepy.
c. Of course over eating and drinking can make you physically tired and drowsy.
d. This can become a lifestyle…
• “I’d love to go to work, but I’m just too tired.” That too can lead to poverty.
• And in the spiritual realm, “I’d love to read the Bible and go to church, but I’m just too tired.” That can lead to spiritual poverty.
e. One can develop a mental lethargy… drowsiness that can ruin a life. It can become a deep-seated laziness that leads to destruction.
f. Prov. 6:9-11 – The lustful man or woman who lives to eat and drink and live it up usually becomes lazy.
• You can’t go to work with a hangover… you need to stay in bed.
• You can’t stay late at work when the boss needs you… you have to go to that party tonight.
• You don’t feel like mowing the lawn—you just ate a big meal and need a nap… nor can you paint the house, fix the fence, work in the garden or do anything. You’re just too tired.
• All you need after all that eating and drinking (or after all that shopping… or whatever else it is that you were so busy consuming that you are now exhausted to work) all you need now is just a little slumber… a little folding of the hands, and you’ll be fine.
• vs. 11 – And so shall your poverty come! That’s a sure road to poverty.
» Here Solomon warns that laziness is usually followed by poverty.
» This does not mean that ALL poor people are poor because they are lazy. That is not the case.
» But it does mean that lazy people usually become poor… or poorer.
» His “want” (desire to have goods) shall come like an armed man—like a bandit… like a thief in the night. It will come upon him very swiftly…
g. Prov. 19:15 – “Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.”
• The one who loves to eat and drink becomes drowsy and lazy… and he ends up hungry because he is too poor to afford food any more.
• If you are too lazy to go to work… then you won’t have any money. If you don’t have money, you can’t buy food.
• It’s as simple as that.
4. It will clothe a man with rags.
a. This is picturesque way of saying that it leads to poverty.
b. This was quite a warning in light of the fact that Solomon was addressing his sons, who were princes – part of the royal family!
c. The young man being addressed was the son of the wealthiest man in the world – Solomon; yet he was warned that he might end up in poverty and dressed in rags!
d. That would be quite a culture shock for a son brought up in the lap of luxury in the royal palace, and dressed in royal velvet and gold all his life.
e. It would be quite humbling for him to end up wearing rags.
5. The underlying problem Solomon highlights in this passage is much deeper and broader than food and drink. It is a lack of self control.
a. If a person lacks self control in eating and drinking—it is likely that this character flaw will manifest itself in other areas too.
b. It is the fruit of the flesh. The flesh loves to indulge itself in all kinds of things—both good and bad.
c. We all used to live in the lusts of our flesh – fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. (Eph. 2:3)
d. Walking in the flesh will manifest itself in many different forms of the same sin of intemperance.
e. The answer to a lack of self control is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit who produces in us the fruit of temperance… self control.
f. A lack of self control can lead to drunkenness, gluttony, and then to laziness… and from there to poverty.
6. Rom. 13:13-14 – “Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”
a. Not only should we avoid association with those who engage in such things, we should make no provision even for the temptation!
b. Don’t put yourself in a place where you will be tempted.
c. This passage says not just don’t be one OF them, but don’t even be AMONGST them.
d. This is the same advice Solomon gave in Prov. 23:20 – Be not AMONG winebibbers and riotous eaters of flesh.
7. Eph.5:14 – Awake thou that sleepest and Christ will give thee light!
a. If you find yourself lazy because of over eating and drinking… or lusting for the things of this world…
b. If you find yourself poor because of drowsiness…
c. The answer is to wake up. Be aware of your condition and DO something about it.
d. Read the Bible.
• The Word teaches us how to control our appetites.
• It teaches us about the power of the Spirit to produce the fruit of temperance or self control in us.
• It teaches us not to love the things of this world.
• It teaches us be diligent, hard workers… and to ponder the path of our feet.
• As we follow the Scriptures, we can return to the place of self control and get our life back on track.
Proverbs 23:22-23
Buy the Truth
Introduction:
1. Verses 22-23 constitute the 15th of 30 wise sayings. (Although I might have joined vs. 24-25 together with this saying—since all speak about parental advice.)
22a Hearken unto thy father that begat thee…
1. Hearken:
a. This term is used 1,159 times in the Old Testament and at least 30 times in Proverbs.
b. It means to hear… but also implies to listen and obey.
c. It means to hear with attention or interest, listen to for the purpose of obeying.
2. The son is commanded to hearken to his father.
a. Here the term father is amplified by the expression, “who begat thee.” (your biological father)
b. The expression was added not so much to distinguish “which” father, but to emphasize an important fact: the father who begat you… your biological father more than anyone else wants the BEST for you.
c. Your father wants his son to turn out well… to become a man or a woman that he could be proud of…
d. Thus, your father wants you to hearken to his words of wisdom so that the son doesn’t have to make the same mistakes in life that he made.
e. Generally speaking, nobody wants for a son to succeed in life more than his dad.
3. We have heard this before in this book:
a. Prov. 1:8 – My son, hear the instruction of thy father.
b. Prov. 6:8 – My son, keep thy father’s commandment.
c. Solomon wanted his son to hear his instructions and to KEEP them.
d. He then wrote this book so that his sons would be able to pass this on to the next generation AND so that all other families in his kingdom would benefit from this truth.
e. In a sense, this is the theme of the book of Proverbs: hearken to the words of wisdom and obey!
22b And despise not thy mother when she is old.
1. Despise not:
a. To despise; hold in contempt; hold as insignificant; scorn; deride; i.e., have contempt for; to belittle; to show disrespect.
2. Solomon does not seem to be using the term here in the sense of “hating” one’s mother, but rather showing disrespect for her and her counsel and words of wisdom.
3. Note also that he speaks of a mother who is OLD.
a. This means that the child is either an older child or perhaps more likely, a young adult.
b. In other places in Proverbs the emphasis was on young children listening to their parents.
c. Here the children are older. But regardless of their age, the woman is still their mother.
d. We should never think of ourselves (regardless of how old we are) as beyond learning… beyond the need for advice and counsel.
e. No matter how old you are, your mother and father will always be older than you, except in my case…. my mother got stuck on 39 for decades.
f. Ex. 20:12 – And the command to HONOR thy mother and father still stands.
4. It seems likely that Solomon observed this in real life… as perhaps we all have.
a. Sometimes the elderly are treated quite poorly.
b. Sometimes they are treated poorly even by their own children! This should never be.
c. Some adult children show disrespect for their parents.
d. I had a friend one time who always used to say jokingly, “Everybody says their parents are crazy, but I can prove it!” (He was kidding.)
e. Solomon wasn’t talking about someone joking—he was talking about the real thing… adults who had no respect for their parents.
f. They belittled them and talk scornfully about them. They made jest of the advice from aged parents. (What do they know?)
g. Perhaps they mistreated them.
h. Some even refused to help provide for the needs of their elderly parents by claiming that all their material goods were “corban” (dedicated in a vow to God).
i. Deut. 27:16 – “Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother.” The Law put a curse on such behavior.
j. Prov. 1:7 – Fools despise wisdom and knowledge… even when their own parents are seeking to help them.
23 Buy the truth and sell it not; also wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
1. If we understand this passage to be connected in context to the previous one (as is the case in virtually all the passages in this section of Proverbs), then the TRUTH is to be connected to the advice of one’s aging parents.
a. Listen to your father… and do not belittle the counsel of your mother when she is old.
b. And when they speak, BUY the truth and sell it not!
c. Solomon links wisdom, instruction, and understanding to truth.
2. Buy and sell not.
a. Solomon’s point is that when truth (along with wisdom, instruction, and understanding) are being offered, BUY it!
• Though Solomon had a slightly different setting in mind, there is good application here to getting a good education.
• Education may be costly, but in most cases, it is worth buying.
• It’s worth sacrificing for.
• This is true of gaining truth, wisdom, instruction, and understanding in so MANY realms or fields: in gaining an education for your career… and in gaining an education for your spiritual growth.
• It’s worth the price… it’s worth the sacrifice involved.
• And it does require sacrifice to be educated in the things of the Lord: it takes time, energy, sacrifice, effort… but it is worth it. It pays a great dividend from eternity’s perspective.
• Prov. 4:5-8 – Get wisdom and understanding. Of all the things you seek to GET in life, make sure you get this prize! It will do you well for the rest of your days.
b. Solomon’s point in context is that TRUTH (wisdom, instruction, etc.) should be received… take it in… HEARKEN to the words of wisdom and truth.
c. Buying also implies paying a price.
• Even if it is COSTLY to take in the truth… it is well worth it in the end.
• Prov. 2:2-4 – Here Solomon speaks about paying a price to pursue wisdom, knowledge, and truth: the kind of price paid by those seeking gold.
• In the gold rush here in the US, obtaining that gold required leaving all behind in order to obtain it… it involved great sacrifice… paying a price to “buy” it.
• Prov. 16:16 – “How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!”
• Sometimes when truth, wisdom, and understanding are presented to us, it requires paying a price – making some costly CHANGES in our lives.
• Then BUY the truth—and make the changes!
• Pay the price whatever it costs to get the truth.
• Jesus warned that the price for following the truth might include friends, reputation, possessions, a job, and even one’s life!
• Phil. 3:7-8 – Paul had truth presented to him and he discovered that the excellency of the knowledge of Christ was worth far more than earthly things: prestige, power, riches, etc.
• But it is still MORE valuable than all that. Buy it regardless of the price.
d. And once you get it, don’t ever SELL it.
• Don’t throw it away…
• Don’t sell it out… don’t turn your back on it.
• Don’t sell it for fear of losing friends or fortune or any earthly thing.
• Don’t let it slip through your fingers through neglect either.
• Don’t let it be snatched away through careless living.
• Keep it… guard it… just like you protect your property—items that you paid a hefty price to buy, you will take care of… protect…
• Items that you buy and realize the VALUE of, the need for, the usefulness of… you won’t sell. You will want to keep them.
• The same is true with truth, wisdom, and understanding.
• When Paul discovered the truth of Christ and the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, he wasn’t about to sell it. He continued to pay a price throughout his ministry.
• Good parents—even aging godly parents—want nothing more than for their children (even grown children) to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. They will continue to desire their kids to “buy the truth.”
3. The point here is that aging parents still have valuable advice and counsel to give.
a. And when they give that advice and counsel, BUY it—and don’t sell it.
b. Young adults should not consider the old age of their parents as a reason NOT to listen to their advice—but just the opposite.
c. Aging parents may not wear the latest styles. They may not be up on all the latest fads or technology.
d. But in the areas of life that really matter—they have valuable advice to give.
e. HEARKEN unto thy father… and don’t despise your mother when she is old.
Proverbs 23:24-28
A Whore is a Deep Ditch
Introduction:
1. We are going to look at TWO of the 30 wise sayings here (vs.24-25 = # 16th wise saying; vs. 26-28 = 17th wise saying)
2. We are going to combine them:
a. Because they all belong to the same context.
b. Because the theme in vs. 24-25 we have seen many times already in the book of Proverbs.
3. In this section of chapter 23, we have a father giving advice to his son—and pleading with his son to listen to what he says.
a. The advice includes warnings against over-eating, greed, associating with winebibbers, being lazy, child-rearing, and now avoiding contact with prostitutes… avoiding sexual immorality…
b. He ends the chapter with a lengthy section on the dangers of alcohol (vs.29-35).
24 The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begeteth a wise child shall have joy of him. 25 Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
Wise Children Make Joyful Parents
1. This is a theme we have seen repeated often in the book of Proverbs.
2. In verse 24, Solomon speaks of two things that cause a father to rejoice:
a. If his children are righteous
b. If his children are wise
3. This results in a father:
a. “Greatly rejoicing” –
b. “Having joy”
c. These two thoughts are synonyms… added for emphasis.
d. The character and lifestyle of the children affects the joy of the father.
4. The character of the child (righteous and wise) could have two different applications – earthly and spiritual.
a. In the earthly realm
• Parents can instill in their children many of the qualities emphasized in the Bible and in Proverbs in particular.
• This would include a strong work ethic, being diligent, doing one’s best, saving and not wasting money, good use of one’s time, the importance of learning, the importance of obeying the law of the land, careful use of one’s tongue, being a good citizen, being a good neighbor, honesty, integrity, etc.
• Even an unsaved son can be wise—at least in the ways of the world. And in that realm too, wisdom exceeds folly.
» Ecc. 2:13-14a – “Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. 14The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness.”
• An unsaved son can also be “righteous” before the law – blameless before the Law, as Saul was before his conversion.
» An unsaved son can make RIGHT decisions.
» He can do that which is right before the law = a law abiding citizen.
» He can be right in that he is moral and of high integrity.
» There are lots of unsaved people who are moral and do that which is right—at least before the eyes and law of man.
• A father who has instilled these good virtues into his children can have JOY as a result—if the son demonstrates these qualities in his life.
• Solomon mentioned this earlier in this chapter: vs. 15-16.
• On an earthly level, a father can have a certain amount of joy in his children, even if they don’t get saved.
• At least they learned something… at least they learned to be wise in an earthly sense.
b. In the spiritual realm
• The principles we have seen in Proverbs 23:24 (though most were given to be applied in the earthly sense), also have great spiritual application.
• If the child applies these principles of wisdom and righteousness to entering into a relationship with God by faith, then he has elevated these principles to a whole new level.
• And he has elevated the JOY of a godly father to a whole new level.
• A father whose son listens and obeys and demonstrates wisdom in earthly things AND applies it to his relationship to God will have even GREATER joy!
• II John 4 – “I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth.”
• III John 4 – “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
5. In verse 25, Solomon adds the mother and her feelings.
a. Only the father is mentioned in the previous verse.
b. Now Solomon states that the father AND the mother shall be glad and rejoice in a wise and righteous son.
c. Everything said in the previous passage is now applied to the mother too.
d. Prov. 10:1 – “A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.”
e. BOTH parents feel it when their child becomes wise OR if he or she becomes a fool.
f. It is a shared joy or grief between the two parents.
26 My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
1. Now Solomon speaks to his son again and tells his son “GIVE me your heart in the following matter.”
2. This exhortation may imply that the son had NOT YET GIVEN his father his heart on this matter of sexual immorality—mentioned in the next verse.
3. Hence, the father is pleading with his son to change his heart… to give his heart to his father in this matter… to be in agreement with his father.
4. OR, it may simply be a plea for a POTENTIAL sin – a hypothetical.
5. The father wants his son’s heart—or his daughter’s heart.
6. The father wants his son to observe his ways (the ways of the father).
a. The meaning of the word translated “observe” here is disputed.
• Some have defined it as “to watch carefully.”
• Others have defined it as “to be well pleasing; to be favorable, to delight in.”
• Whichever meaning is given to this term, the meaning of the proverb as a whole is clear: the father wants his son to be on the same page as the father on this issue—to observe his ways… and/or to be favorable towards his ways.
b. Either way, the father wants his son to follow his example in this matter.
c. Again, this could imply that the son was NOT following the example of his father in this area, but had strayed away.
7. If this is an exhortation to a wayward son, then consider the connection with the previous verses:
a. Son, your immoral behavior is killing your mother and me. It is causing us great grief.
b. If you change, and demonstrate wisdom and righteousness we will greatly rejoice!
c. Please give me your heart! Change your ways!
8. The good news in this proverb is the fact that a son who is presently involved in immorality and who is presently causing his parents great grief CAN repent.
a. He CAN change his behavior.
b. And repentance followed by a change of behavior can turn a parent’s grief into JOY!
9. Of course this exhortation illustrates for us the desire of the heart of our heavenly Father—that we would give Him our hearts!
a. God seeks continually for us to surrender our heart, mind, and will to Him…
b. God seeks that we walk with Him in wholehearted allegiance and love… such that His will is our will… (Rom. 12:1-2 – living sacrifice)
27 For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. 28 She also lieth in wait as for a prey and increaseth the transgressors among men.
Warnings Against Sexual Immorality
1. FOR – This word indicates that this warning is part of the previous context.
a. The son is to give his father his heart FOR (because) a whore is a deep ditch!
b. Take heed to my warning because failure to listen is dangerous. You could get seriously hurt.
c. Sexual immorality is something you can fall into but not easily get yourself out of.
d. It’s easy to start and hard to stop.
e. That’s why the son should give his father his heart.
f. It’s best NOT to fall in to that ditch in the first place.
g. But if you have already fallen in, GET OUT right away.
h. It is really an issue of the heart.
i. Of course, in the spiritual realm, in order to be preserved from such immorality requires that we give our hearts to the Lord first and foremost.
2. Verse 27 is a synonymous parallelism.
a. Both parts of the verse say the same thing using different words.
• The whore and the strange woman are both prostitutes
• The deep ditch and the narrow pit refer to the same kind of trap a person can fall into.
b. The warning is clear: this is dangerous! Stay away! It’s a trap.
c. We continually hear of politicians, sports stars, movie stars, and other celebrities in the lime light falling into this trap.
d. And countless other men and women—who are just average Joes—have fallen into the same trap… and have ruined their families, their reputation, their careers, and even their lives.
3. Verse 28 – The whore is dangerous on another level too.
a. She lies in wait as for a prey…
• The Hebrew word for prey here means BANDIT.
• Note that the word “for” is italicized. It should be rejected.
• Thus, this whore is lying in wait as a bandit hides in the bushes before robbing someone.
• The picture is not of a wild animal waiting for prey (tiger waiting for an antelope) but a bandit waiting to rob someone.
• She robs men in various ways: she robs men of their decency, of their integrity, of their purity, of their family life.
• Prostitutes who get men “hooked” also rob men of their finances. It can be an expensive hobby.
• Proverbs 6:26-28 – “For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. 27Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? 28Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?”
• Visiting prostitutes brings a man to ruin financially and every other way.
• How many millions in endorsements did Tiger Woods lose for his well publicized immorality?
b. She increases the transgressors.
• Transgressors:
» Be unfaithful; be faithless; break faith; i.e., not trustworthy or reliable to a person or standard.
» To betray; to act treacherously; deceitfully.
» Jer. 3:20 – “Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.” (In this passage, the term is used to describe the concept of being unfaithful—to a husband or God.)
• Solomon’s point is that one whore, one harlot, one prostitute results in increasing the number of men who become unfaithful.
» They become unfaithful to the teachings of their godly parents.
» They become unfaithful to their wife.
» They become unfaithful to God!
• She increases the number of unfaithful men.
• Thus, she ruins many homes, many families, many relationships…
• And she even helps ruin a nation by attacking its most basic building block – the home.
Proverbs 23:29-30
Who Hath Woe?
Introduction:
1. The final verses of Proverbs 23 deal with the dangers of alcohol.
2. This was a problem in Solomon’s day and has been ever since.
3. Actually, the Bible mentions the abuse of wine ever since the days of Noah and probably much before.
4. Verses 29-35 are counted as the 18th wise saying in this section.
5. This section is WISDOM warning his readers against using alcohol.
The Rhetorical Questions (vs.29)
Six rhetorical questions are asked and they all have the same answer. In every case, the answer is they that tarry long at the wine. (vs.30)
29a Who hath woe?
a. Woe: This is a passionate cry of grief or despair; it speaks of intense hardship and distress;
b. What kind of a person will end up crying out in grief and despair? The one who uses alcohol.
c. What kind of person will end up living a life of intense hardship and despair? The one who uses alcohol.
d. With these three words (who hath woe) we have been given sufficient warning to stay away from alcohol.
e. This warning is coming from God’s book of wisdom.
f. The warning is clear and unambiguous.
g. The response is up to us. We can take heed to God’s words of wisdom OR we can ignore it or reject it and decide to experiment with alcohol.
h. Why would a believer try to do that? To prove God wrong? To prove how strong you are? To prove that while others may fall victim to alcohol, it will never happen to me?
i. When the Bible warns us that the use of a product results in grief, despair, hardship, and distress, clearly that is a warning to stay away and NOT to experiment with it.
29b Who hath sorrow?
a. Sorrow: Like the word “woe,” this is also an exclamation: it is an exclamation of pain or anxiety; sadness; remorse;
b. It is not a common word for sorrow. The term is used only here in the Bible.
c. So the question is asked: who will experience pain, anxiety, sadness and remorse?
d. You guessed it—the one who is tricked by alcohol.
e. Prov. 20:1 – Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
f. Wine truly is a mocker. It promises happiness, (just watch how happy the people are on the Budweiser commercials) but in the end it produces sorrow and woe. (You never see that on the commercials.)
g. Note that the first two questions (woe and sorrow) deal with emotional problems related to alcohol.
29c Who hath contentions?
a. Contentions: Strife; arguing; quarreling; disputes; fights;
b. Who ends up leading a life of strife, arguing, and fighting? The one who tarries at the wine.
c. God’s wisdom warns us that drinking leads to arguments and fights.
d. This is a multiple choice question: Where do you think you are more likely to hear of a brawl occurring? (a) the supermarket; (b) the local barroom; (c) the library?
e. Children who grew up in a home where their parents abused alcohol know all about arguing and fighting. They had to endure 18 years or so of arguing and fighting. It is the environment in which they lived. They probably grow up thinking it is normal.
f. How many marriages have been destroyed because of alcohol? How many families broken up? How many kids have had their youth ruined because of alcoholic parents?
g. How many MORE will there be?
h. Why would a Christian drink something that he KNOWS leads to arguing and fighting?
i. We’ve been warned.
29d Who hath babbling?
a. Babbling: Complaint; lament; foolish talk; empty-talk; i.e., speech which makes no sense.
b. It is not certain which meaning is intended here. Both fit the context.
c. It may mean complaining or lamenting. Those who are full of alcohol do a fair amount of complaining. That is what often leads to the arguments and the fights.
d. It may mean foolish talk, empty talk, or speech that makes no sense. Certainly this is true.
e. People who are under the influence of alcohol say very foolish things. They ramble on and often make no sense.
f. They can be quite obnoxious.
g. As believers, we are to be extra careful about our speech. Every idle word we speak will be judged one day.
h. Why would a Christian drink something that he KNOWS will cause him to say foolish things… senseless things?
i. Very often the foolish things that a drunkard says are vulgar, immoral, and indecent.
j. Such talk has resulted in fights too—in which a drunk doesn’t fare very well.
k. The first two questions dealt with emotional problems created by alcohol.
l. The next two questions (contentions and babbling) have to do with social problems… interpersonal relationships that are ruined as a result of drinking.
29e Who hath wounds without cause?
a. This too speaks of the danger of alcohol… only this speaks of physical problems that result from wine and strong drink.
b. Wounds without a cause: this is a bodily wound or bruise that is in vain… without a purpose… pointless.
c. In other words, the drunkard also ends up getting hurt physically… for no good reason.
d. There are lots of ways a drunk gets hurt:
• He can’t walk right and often falls.
• They fall down stairs… and off cliffs.
• They are impaired and cannot drive—though they think they can. They often get in auto accidents which result in physically to themselves and others.
• They have a big mouth and get in fights—and rarely win the fight. They end up severely bruised.
• Drunks think they can do things that they are unable to do. Alcohol gives a false sense of bravery—which results in pointless injury: they think the thin ice will hold them up; they think that they can fight a guy much bigger than they are; they think that they operate machinery.
e. Because they were drunk, they don’t feel the pain until they wake up the next day.
f. Because they were drunk they often don’t even remember how they got hurt.
g. This is a terrible way to live. We have been warned.
29f Who hath redness of eyes?
a. This speaks of the typical bloodshot eyes of a drunk.
b. He cannot see well and he cannot walk well.
c. He is an accident waiting to happen.
d. These last two questions dealt with the issue of physical suffering related to the use of alcohol.
e. Alcohol results in emotional problems (woe and sorrow); interpersonal relationship problems (contention and babbling); and physical problems (wounds and bloodshot eyes).
One Answer: (vs.30)
Solomon lists six rhetorical questions and there is but one answer to them all: the drunkard—that’s who! The drunkard is described in two ways here.
30a They that tarry long at the wine
a. Tarry long: (one word in Hebrew) To delay; remain; slow down; linger.
b. This speaks of a person who lingers at the spot where the alcohol is served.
c. Prov. 23:20 – Earlier in this chapter Solomon warned his readers (his son) not even to associate with winebibbers. Don’t hang around with them… don’t linger with them.
30b They that go to seek mixed wine.
a. Seek: Seek for; search out; explore in order to discover or find something.
b. The English words “mixed wine” are a translation of one Hebrew word. That word means wine that is mixed with something else… usually water. (Although sometimes they also added spices to give it more flavor.)
c. Here Solomon speaks of the person who actively seeks out mixed wine… alcohol.
d. Perhaps Solomon used this term for wine to highlight the fact that in ancient times, the Jews did not drink wine straight. That was forbidden.
e. The Jews mixed between 3-10 parts water to one part wine. Thus, the wine they drank had a negligible amount of alcohol in it.
f. Thus, the wine in the Bible was NOT the same as wine that is drunk today. Today people drink it unmixed. That is what the Bible writers called “strong drink.”
g. This is another term easily misunderstood by the modern reader today. In the Bible, “strong drink” does not refer to what WE call strong drink: whiskey or bourbon. Distilled alcohol had not yet been invented!
h. Strong drink in the Bible was unmixed wine and was forbidden.
i. The only way to get drunk drinking wine mixed with 3-10 parts of water would be to “tarry long” at the wine… to linger where it was served.
j. Thus, the person who tarried long at the wine WANTED to become intoxicated.
k. The Bible did not forbid drinking alcohol altogether, because in those days the water was stagnant and needed to be purified.
l. Adding acidic wine to their alkaline water neutralized the water and prevented them from getting sick – with stomach problems.
m. Thus, they HAD to use wine in those days to purify their water.
n. Hence, all the WARNINGS in the Bible associated with wine.
o. They had to USE wine to purify their water, but they were warned not to LINGER at it. Be careful.
p. It results in emotional problems (distress, grief and sorrow), interpersonal relationship problems (arguments; fights; divorce; ruined homes) and physical problems (wounds; red eye… not to mention cirrhosis of the liver, auto accidents; etc.)
q. The rest of this chapter gives us more reason to beware of the danger of alcohol.
Proverbs 23:31-35
Look Not Upon the Wine
Introduction:
1. This chapter has much to say about the use of alcohol.
2. In verse 20, Solomon warns against keeping company with those who are winebibbers and gluttons. (Why? It results in laziness and poverty.)
3. In verses 29-30, Solomon continued his warnings against alcohol with six questions and one answer.
4. Now we want to look at one command concerning alcohol, and five reasons.
31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
ONE COMMAND: LOOK NOT
1. LOOK defined:
a. To look at; to observe; to pay attention to; to gaze at.
b. To look at with pleasure; to find delight in.
c. To experience something (Cf. Jer. 20:18 – “Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?” (The meaning here is to experience labor and sorrow. It is used several times in Jeremiah with that meaning.)
2. The command is pretty simple: Don’t look at wine; don’t gaze at it longingly wishing you could have some; don’t look at it with pleasure; don’t experience it.
3. The particular situation: When the wine is red and gives its color in the cup; when it moveth itself aright.
a. This speaks of the alluring temptation of wine.
b. The author is speaking about the attractive color of wine; its bouquet or appealing smell; the way it swirls in the glass.
c. Have you ever seen a connoisseur of fine wine smell the wine and swirl it in the cup? They are judging the quality of the wine… its appeal… the way it looks, tastes, smells, and moves in the cup.
d. In other words, Solomon is telling his sons (and his readers) that they should not experience this temptation. Don’t put yourself through this, for you might fall victim. It is VERY appealing.
e. Don’t gaze at the wine longingly, wishing you had some.
f. Don’t be drawn to its alluring color, smell, and the appealing way it moves in the cup.
g. Remember, Eve’s sin in the Garden began by LOOKING at the forbidden fruit.
h. Gen. 3:6 – “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat.”
i. This is what Solomon is forbidding here: Don’t LOOK at the wine because you will discover its appeal. It will seem like a GOOD drink. It will be PLEASANT—an alluring smell. It will then be DESIRED. And the final step is, you will TAKE some.
j. The way to avoid TAKING wine is to avoid LOOKING at it. Don’t gaze upon it longingly. Don’t allow yourself to be brought under its alluring power.
k. Look not upon the wine = don’t be ruled by your senses and feelings (taste, appearance, smell, etc.)
l. We are to not to walk by sight, or smell, or taste. We walk by faith – a faith that rests upon the Word of God.
4. Of course, there will be always those who seek to justify drinking alcohol.
a. They will argue here, “But Solomon doesn’t say don’t drink it. He just says don’t look at it! Don’t be tempted by it.”
b. To those folks I would say, “Go ahead and drink it. You aren’t really interested in truth or God’s mind on this matter.”
c. Example: Sign at the Kennedy compound: “Don’t even think of parking here.”
• It didn’t actually say don’t park here. It just said don’t think about it. So I can park there as long as I don’t think about it right?
• What silly reasoning. It is obvious and apparent what the will of the owner was.
• You really have to parse to the point of twisting meanings to think he really wanted you to park there.
d. You have to parse to the point of twisting Scripture to miss the point in this passage too. God says, “Don’t even LOOK at wine in the cup!”
e. You don’t have to be a brilliant theologian to understand the meaning here. All you have to be is honest.
f. The command is clear: don’t look at it. This is followed by five reasons WHY you should not LOOK at it.
• Interestingly, the reasons given for not LOOKING imply that if you DO look, that you will take.
• If you look, you will see that it seems good, pleasant, desirable, appealing, and you will succumb to the temptation and take it.
• Thus, the reasons for not LOOKING have to do with what happens when you TAKE it… for if you look, you are likely to take.
• That’s the assumption here.
FIVE REASONS
32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
1. This speaks of the consequences of not taking heed to Solomon’s command.
2. What a contrast:
a. The wine is so appealing, so alluring, it seems so good and pleasant and desirable.
b. The ends up biting like a poisonous snake and stinging like a serpent.
c. In other words, what seems to be so appealing up front is anything BUT appealing and pleasant in the end.
3. “At the last”
a. This is an important expression with respect to the subject of temptation and sin.
b. It is important because many different kinds of sins are different in the END than they seem in the beginning.
c. Prov. 5:3-4 – The immoral woman seems so sweet and appealing during the temptation, but is entirely different in the end… after the sin has been committed.
d. Prov. 25:8 – In the beginning of an argument or fight, it feels really good to push, shove, and shoot off your mouth. But the end does not feel so good.
e. The book of Hebrews tells us that there is an initial pleasure to sin. But it never ENDS in pleasure.
f. The initial pleasure is short lived, but the consequences can seem to last forever.
g. The point is, consider the END before you even begin to head down that road! Considering the END will cause a wise man to choose to stay away in the first place.
h. Prov. 16:28 – “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (It seems right; it feels right—but that doesn’t make it right.)
33a Thine eyes shall behold strange women
1. The expression “strange woman” is translated from ONE Hebrew word.
a. It simply means “strange.” Obviously, something needs to be filled in here for it to make sense in English.
b. Most translations fill in the word “things” instead of women.
• Of course it would not be wrong to use the word “things” here—for that is generic enough to cover anything!
• The meaning then would be that alcohol causes you to see strange things—like hallucinations—pink elephants, etc.
• That is a possible meaning.
c. But the KJV translators chose to translate it “strange women.”
• This is a more specific translation—some might even say an interpretation.
• But I think they had good reason behind their translation.
• In Prov. 22:14, Solomon just used this same word to describe the harlot, the immoral woman. There it is translated “strange woman” and it is obvious that that is the true meaning.
• Prov. 23:27 – Also, IMMEDIATELY before the discussion on alcohol, Solomon mentioned the strange or immoral woman.
• Also, in 23:33, it is clear that Solomon is warning about SIN (perverse or immoral things in the heart that are uttered).
• I think the KJV has it just right here.
2. Thus, the warning here is that alcohol causes a person’s fleshly nature to be uninhibited – which means that it can stir up sinful behavior and sexual promiscuity: wine, women, and song!
a. For centuries men have used wine and alcohol to cause a young woman to lose her inhibitions and impair her judgment so that she will agree to immorality… to cause her to agree to do something that normally she would NOT do.
b. Noah stood strong and opposed the whole world! But later he got drunk and lewd behavior followed. This was quite unexpected of Noah, one of the heroes of the faith!
c. Lot’s daughters knew that their father would never agree to their immoral plan to preserve their seed and sleep with them, so they got him drunk—and Lot did what he never would have done otherwise.
d. Gen. 19:35 – “And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.”
• He didn’t know what he was doing. He was not in his right mind.
• Once he had the alcohol in him, he had no control over what he was doing.
• But he DID have control over whether to drink it in the first place.
e. Alcohol has been the date rape drug of choice for centuries. It is used by men to lure women into sexual sin without their knowledge.
f. “Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.”
g. Alcohol causes us to lose control right away. The fruit of the Spirit is self control (temperance). Alcohol produces the opposite. A word to the wise should be enough.
33b And thine heart shall utter perverse things.
1. Note the effect that alcohol has on the heart… the inner man.
2. It causes the heart to utter perverse things.
a. Perverse things refers to that which is twisted, immoral. The term is often translated “froward.”
b. Prov. 16:28 – “A froward man soweth strife.”
c. Prov. 8:13 – The fear of the LORD is to hate evil… and the froward mouth, do I hate.
d. Froward here is the same term translated “perverse.”
e. God hates every manifestation of it—whether it resides in the heart or comes out of the mouth.
3. Note that God hates this “perversity” and alcohol produces it!
a. That should tell us something—for those who have ears to hear.
b. If you don’t really want to hear, then no argument from the Scriptures will be convincing… not if your mind is already made up.
4. The word “utter” has two meanings.
a. It usually means to speak.
b. It also is used in an almost figurative way, of internal speaking.
c. Ecc. 2:15 – “Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.”
d. This is how Solomon uses the term in Proverbs 23:33.
5. Alcohol produces a perverse, immoral imagination and evil thoughts. Jesus said, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts.”
a. Alcohol releases a person from his normal, healthy inhibitions and impairs his ability to think clearly.
b. II Cor. 10:5 – “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
c. Since we are commanded to submit EVERY thought to the obedience of Christ, why would a Christian ever drink something that causes him to do the very opposite?
d. If I gave you a pill and told you that it causes you to think evil thoughts, would you take it? Well, you have been warned. That is what alcohol does. God says so.
e. Alcohol releases us from healthy inhibitions, and causes us to think and do things we would never otherwise do.
f. Unfortunately, alcohol does NOT release a person from the consequences of poor reasoning and bad choices.
g. That’s why drunks so often get in fights—because they think, say, and do things that get other people angry.
34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. 35a-c They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake?
It Will Make You Sick
34d I will seek it yet again.
It Will Become Addictive
F. Conclusions
1. Solomon did not beat around the bush in describing alcohol. No one should ever read this chapter and wonder what he thought about it!
a. Vs. 20 – Don’t associate with winebibbers.
b. Vs. 29 – It produces woe, contentions, babblings, wounds, bloodshot eyes.
c. Vs. 31 – Don’t even look at it!
d. Vs. 32 – It is appealing, but in the end, it bites like a poisonous snake.
e. Vs. 33 – It causes you to lust after immoral women and causes you to utter perverse things.
f. Next week we will look at two more results: it makes you sick and it is addicting.
2. It never ceases to amaze me how many believers CLAIM that the Bible does not forbid alcohol, and that it is a matter of liberty and choice.
3. However, it really doesn’t matter what people believe, even what many Christians believe. The only thing that ultimately matters is what the Bible SAYS. Everything else is irrelevant… a smokescreen… an excuse… or a cloak for maliciousness.
Proverbs 23:34-35
Look Not Upon the Wine (Part II)
Introduction:
1. This chapter deals with the use of alcohol.
2. In verse 20, Solomon warns against keeping company with those who are winebibbers and gluttons. (Why? It results in laziness and poverty.)
3. In verses 29-30, Solomon continued his warnings against alcohol.
4. In this final section of the chapter, Solomon makes one bold command: “look not on the wine.”
a. He commands his readers not even to LOOK at wine because it is tempting and alluring.
b. It has a beautiful amber in the glass, it has a wonderful aroma, and is so smooth going down.
5. Solomon also gives reasons WHY his sons (readers) should not look at wine—why we should refuse to allow ourselves to be tempted by it:
a. Vs. 32 – It is extremely appealing at first, but in the end, it bites and stings (there are painful, long term consequences)
b. Vs. 33 – Thine eyes shall behold strange women. (Alcohol causes a person’s fleshly nature to be uninhibited – which means that it can stir up sinful behavior and sexual promiscuity)
c. Vs. 33 – Thine heart shall utter perverse things. (Because alcohol causes our fleshly nature to be uninhibited, it produces a perverse, immoral imagination, evil thoughts and words.)
6. There are two more reasons why we should not even LOOK at wine in this section: (1) it will make you sick and (2) it is addictive.
It Will Make You Sick (vs.34-35a)
1. The author likens the effects of alcohol to the effects of lying down in the midst of the sea, or lying down on the top of a mast (crow’s nest).
2. What happens when you lie down on a boat in the midst of the sea, especially if it is choppy?
a. You get seasick… nauseated… queasy… sick to your stomach.
b. It is a horrible feeling.
c. Alcohol can do that to you. It makes you sick.
d. And by the way, this description is not hyperbole. Solomon is not exaggerating for effect. This is the truth!
3. Then he uses another illustration that emphasizes (perhaps more effectively) the same truth: alcohol makes you sick.
a. It is like being in the top of a mast of a boat out to sea.
b. The reference is to the lookout platform on the top of a mast.
c. From that place, every little motion on the sea is exaggerated. The top of the mast sways much more than does the deck of the ship.
d. Try lying down in a crow’s nest when out at sea. That will surely make you sick.
e. When you are standing, your sea legs can serve as shock absorbers to a degree. But when lying down, your whole body feels the motion.
f. This will REALLY make you sick!
4. The author could have used a dozen other illustrations, but this one drives the truth home in an unmistakable manner: alcohol makes you sick… almost like a severe case of being seasick.
a. It is a bit like motion sickness.
b. People who are seasick often vomit. So do people who are full of alcohol. (Your body is telling you something!)
c. To people who are seasick or who have motion sickness, it appears that the room is spinning… the ground is uneven… and it is hard to walk a straight line.
d. This is a good description of the hangover the next morning too.
e. Those who overdo it with alcohol always experience this kind of sickness.
f. Thankfully, once the alcohol wears off, so do these symptoms.
5. However, for those who abuse alcohol over a long period of time, their “sickness” does not go away.
a. They may experience drunken tremors and see pink elephants.
b. They may experience cirrhosis of the liver—which can kill you.
c. And what’s worse, they might get in a car, drive down route 93 and kill an innocent family of four on their way home from a Red Sox game.
6. Alcohol also leads to wounds on the body. (vs.35a)
a. “They have stricken me… they have beaten me…”
• Stricken: To strike a vicious blow; to afflict; to defeat.
• Beaten: To pound; to hammer; to smash; to trample.
• You get the idea—this speaks of some serious physical injuries and wounds to the body.
• The pronoun “they” may refer to repeated drunken experiences… not necessarily to a particular person.
• In other words, the drunken condition does damage to the body that is likened to being beaten, pounded, smashed, and hammered upon. It doesn’t sound good.
• These wounds could be inflicted by repeatedly falling on one’s face, falling down stairs, or other accidents that drunks frequently experience… operating a vehicle or machinery while drunk.
• The physical injuries of alcohol are also internal. It ruins the liver and that has a bad affect on the overall health of the body.
• What a stark contrast between the sensually pleasing appearance and aroma of the wine in the glass (the original temptation) and the final result on the body!
• This is clearly given as a warning: consider the end result before you take your first drink! Thinking people will stay away.
• Do we really have liberty to partake of that which will do such serious damage to our body, the Temple of the Holy Ghost… especially since God Himself has warned us?
b. “And I was not sick… I felt it not…”
• Now Solomon states another dangerous aspect of the effects of alcohol: the drunkard is insensitive to the injury.
• At first blush, one might think this to be a good thing. He doesn’t feel the pain!
• But is that really an advantage? Pain is good. It is like a warning light to let us know that something is wrong.
» If you put your hand on a hot stove, the pain causes you to remove it pronto! If you have no pain, then you hand will be severely burned!
» If you step on a piece of glass that goes into your foot, the pain will let you know what happened, and you will stop walking on it and remove the glass and let the foot heal. If you feel NO pain, then you will continue walking on it and do much more damage in the long run.
» It is NOT an advantage to feel no pain. Pain is (in a sense) a gift from God… a warning… like the oil light in your car.
• Solomon warns us that alcohol results in the body being “pounded”, but you don’t feel it.
» This is not a good thing, but is dangerous.
» If a drunk gets injured and doesn’t “feel” it until the next day, much more damage can be done than otherwise.
» Also, there is a lot of internal damage being done to the organs of the alcoholic which he doesn’t “feel”—but the damage is real nonetheless.
» The kind of damage alcohol does CAN kill you. That is a serious consequence.
• Again, this is another warning from God Himself about the danger of alcohol. We have been warned. What we do with the warning is up to the individual.
7. Remember one of the oft repeated descriptions of the FOOL in this book: he doesn’t take heed to warnings!
a. Prov. 14:9 – Fools make a mock at sin.
b. Prov. 1:7 – Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
c. Prov. 10:23 – It is as sport to a fool to do mischief:
d. Prov. 14:8 – The folly of fools is deceit.
It Will Become Addictive (vs.35b)
1. “When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.”
a. Even after all the sickness, the striking, and the beatings, the drunkard returns to his alcohol.
b. This is unreasonable and irrational. Why would anyone return to take another beating? But it happens every day in the lives of drunkards.
c. His thinking is irrational because alcohol affects the mind, the body and the will.
d. The alcoholic is a SLAVE to his alcohol… and alcohol is a vicious and cruel slave-master.
e. This is the same with drugs. They are cruel slave-masters… driving men and women to a lifestyle that would make them shudder if they were in their right minds.
f. They continue to return to that which (deep down inside) they know is killing them… ruining their lives… destroying their body, their marriage, their careers… yet they cannot stop.
g. Prov. 26:11 – As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
h. Of course we should show compassion to those who are slaves to alcohol, but the Bible WARNS us all to stay away.
i. It is addicting, and you could easily become addicted without realizing it. No drunk ever imagined he would end up as a drunkard living in an alley when he took his first drink.
j. They all assume, “I can handle this. I won’t affect me. I’m strong.”
k. We have been WARNED against assuming that we can handle things: “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
l. Nobody is stronger than alcohol—or drugs. Nobody.
m. Vs. 32 – In the end it bites like a serpent—a subtle, deceptive, and destructive serpent.
n. It begins with great appeal… (color, aroma, taste)
o. It begins with great promises—you can be uninhibited… more social… makes you forget all your problems… takes away the pain… you can be the life of the party… more popular…
p. But it ends in sickness, suffering, ruined lives, ruined families, ruined careers, ruined relationships, ruined health…
q. And the final bite is the fact, than when all of this suffering sets in… you are no longer able to control your habit. It is addictive.
2. Go ahead and claim, “I have liberty to drink wine. Jesus drank wine.”
a. Actually, in a sense, you’re right. This is one of those issues that falls under the umbrella of “Christian liberty.”
b. However, if you’re honest, it is pretty clear that the principles of Christian liberty lead one AWAY from alcohol, and not towards it—that is if you are honest in your assessment.
c. I Cor. 6:12 – “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”
• This is one of the principles of Christian liberty. We are forbidden to be brought under the POWER of anything.
• Anything that is addicting (especially if damaging—and bring you under its power) is to be rejected by the honest believer.
• Clearly alcohol brings you under its power. Therefore, it is not lawful for the honest believer.
• • We are to be walking under the influence of the Spirit of God, not under the influence of alcohol.
3. Consider Solomon’s statements about alcohol in this chapter:
a. Solomon did not beat around the bush in describing alcohol. No one should ever read this chapter and wonder what he thought about it!
a. Vs. 20 – Don’t associate with winebibbers.
b. Vs. 29 – It produces woe, contentions, babblings, wounds, bloodshot eyes.
c. Vs. 31 – Don’t even look at it!
d. Vs. 32 – It is appealing, but in the end, it bites like a poisonous snake.
e. Vs. 33 – It causes you to lust after immoral women and causes you to utter perverse things.
f. Vs. 34 – It makes you sick (and can kill you). Your body is the Temple of God.
g. Vs. 35 – It is addictive
h. NO believer would ever say that we have the liberty to fight, lust after immoral women, utter perverse things, or damage the body.
i. How can anyone therefore claim that they have liberty to partake of something that God says causes us to do such things?
2. It never ceases to amaze me how many believers CLAIM that the Bible does not forbid alcohol, and that it is a matter of liberty and choice.
a. The best we can say about those who make such claims is that they are ignorant of what the Scriptures actually SAY about alcohol.
b. Perhaps some are “willfully ignorant” which is far more serious.
c. I am convinced that in many cases, such claims are nothing more than a cloak for maliciousness. (Using liberty as an outward justification to hide evil intent within.) This is the most serious of all.
d. Wine is a MOCKER. I don’t know what more God could say to warn us. This chapter alone should be enough.
3. I Cor. 6:10-11 – The GOOD news is that there is victory over alcohol and alcoholism in Christ.
a. Getting saved makes a man a new creature. ALL things are become new.
b. Getting saved means that he is no longer a slave to sin.
c. His BODY may still be ravaged by alcohol abuse. His will may still FEEL like he is a slave. And the effects of years of abuse on his body do not change because he has received Christ as Savior. His liver is still diseased.
d. Rom. 6:7 – However, something HAS changed: His chains have been torn asunder. He has been FREED from bondage to his sin nature. He no longer HAS to sin…
e. I Cor. 10:13 – God has promised that in every temptation, He will provide the way of escape so that ye may be ABLE to bear it.
f. It might take him some time to learn about his freedom in Christ, and to learn how to experience victory, but the moment he is saved, he has been set free.
g. Such WERE some of you. Now (in Christ) they are positionally sanctified… cleansed.
h. The moment he believes in Christ, he becomes (positionally) an overcomer. (Every believer is an overcomer).
i. Over time, he can grow and begin to experience this victory more and more.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 24
Proverbs 24:1-2
Don’t Envy Evil Men
Introduction:
1. We just finished verses Proverbs 23:29-35 which dealt with the subject of alcohol.
a. That was a lengthy section containing 7 verses.
b. This section constitutes the 18th of 30 wise sayings.
c. The author made his mind known clearly in that section for all who have ears to hear.
2. Chapter 24:1-2 is the 19th of 30 wise sayings in this section of the book.
a. This section is not as long as the last (only 2 verses), but is more consistent with the rest of the section – which contains mostly two verse sections.
b. 24:1-2 introduces a new theme: envy.
c. Actually, it is not entirely new. This subject has been visited several times in Proverbs… and appears again after this section.
d. It is a sin that is common to man—and one that we would all be wise to consider.
Two Commands
1a Be not thou envious against evil men
A. Don’t Envy Evil Men
1. Envy: To envy, to be jealous of, to have a feeling of ill will ranging even to anger, based on a perceived advantage.
a. Envy (in general) is sin and is an expression of the flesh.
b. Gal. 5:19, 21 – “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these… envying…”
c. I Cor. 3:3 – For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”
2. Evil: (used over 600 times; many shades of meaning) bad, evil, wicked, malignant, injurious, immoral; etc.
a. This makes the envy even worse.
b. Envying what good, honest men have is wrong and sinful.
c. But envying EVIL men is worse. Why would a believer ever want to trade places with an evil man?
d. Don’t ever wish you were in their shoes.
3. Examples of envying evil men:
a. Proverbs 3:31-35 – Don’t envy the oppressor
• FOR: Reasons NOT to envy them
» They are an abomination to the Lord
» A curse in is in their house
» God scorns them
» And shame shall be the promotion of such fools
• Reasons to be content
» God’s secret is with the righteous
» He blesses their habitation
» He gives them grace
» And they shall inherit glory
b. Ps. 73:3 – Envying the wicked who prosper in the world.
4. The cure for envy:
a. Ps. 73:3, 17 – In some situations, getting an eternal perspective will turn jealousy of them into pity for them.
b. Ps. 37:1-3 – We should not fret or be jealous, but rather, we should TRUST.
• Trusting in, delighting in, and resting in the Lord are God’s antidote to envying evildoers.
• Instead of wishing you had all the things that the Joneses have, TRUST that God will supply all your needs.
• Instead of being jealous and feeling bad because you don’t have all the toys your neighbors have, delight and rejoice in the Lord!
• Instead of being anxious because you don’t have what others have… REST in the Lord and experience all the blessings that we have in Him by faith!
c. Prov. 23:17 – the cure for envying sinners is walking in the FEAR of God.
• If we focus on the sinner (what he has and who he is), that will lead to envy of him—his position, his prestige, his possessions, etc.
• If we focus on the Lord, that will lead to godly fear.
d. Proverbs 23:17-18 – The author’s point seems to be that the antidote for envying the wicked is to keep in mind that there is a future to be considered.
• There is coming a “last day”… a future event that which (if contemplated) will mitigate AGAINST envy today.
• The “end” evidently refers to the Day of Judgment—either if they get “caught” in this life—and surely in the life to come.
1b Neither desire to be with them.
B. Don’t Desire to Be With Them
1. Desire:
a. Desire; long for; lust after; wish for; wait longingly for; covet to be greedy for; to have a strong yearning for; to crave after.
b. Deut. 5:21 – This term is used in the 10th commandment: “Neither shalt thou … covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s…”
2. This command is different than the first in this verse.
a. The first command was: don’t be envious OF the man.
b. The second command was: don’t desire to be WITH him.
3. The danger of associating WITH evil men
a. Prov. 1:15 – “My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.”
b. Prov. 13:20 – “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
c. I Cor. 15:33 – Be not deceived: evil communications (associations) corrupt good manners.
4. God’s cure for a desire to be WITH evil men
a. Prov. 2:10-15 – Wisdom and knowledge
b. Prov. 2:20 – Walk with GOOD men (Solomon states that wisdom will keep you away from evil men and it will lead you TO walk with good men.)
Two Reasons
2a For their heart studieth destruction
A. Their Heart Studies Destruction
1. The terms:
a. Heart: Inner man; mind; will; seat of understanding and passions; appetites; etc.
b. Studies: Muse; mutter; meditate; devise; plot; ponder; give serious thought and consideration to (sometimes means to mutter under one’s breath… quietly to oneself.)
c. Destruction: Havoc; violence; destruction; devastation; ruin; trouble.
d. Ps. 64:17: Here the psalmist describes what goes on in the heart of an evil man:
• Vs. 3 – Their words were like swords (aimed to hurt).
• Vs. 4 – They “shoot at” the perfect or the innocent.
• Vs. 5 – They encourage themselves in evil matters… thinking they can plan the perfect crime without being caught.
• Vs. 6 – They diligently search out new ways to do iniquity and carry out their evil plans.
• Vs. 6b – The heart is DEEP. (Meaning either the depth of their depravity or it can mean “cunning”—which fits well with the context.)
• Vs. 7 – While they shoot at the perfect, God will shoot back at them!
2. This is a description of the evil man mentioned in verse one.
a. Nothing is said of his outward appearance.
b. Often, evil men look like nice guys on the outside. You cannot judge a book by its cover.
c. That’s why we are commanded NOT to judge on the basis of outward appearance. We cannot see the heart.
d. But here, God gives us a glimpse into the heart of an evil man. What goes on in his heart?
• He is constantly plotting mischief.
• He is secretly planning destructive things… how to harm and ruin…
• Perhaps he is inwardly seeking a way to ruin someone else’s life… or reputation…
• Perhaps he is inwardly seeking a way to do physical harm to someone…
• This man, though he may have a pleasant smile on the outside, is inwardly up to no good.
e. Hence, this is a good reason NOT to envy him OR to desire to be with him. Stay away! He’s up to no good!
2b And their lips talk of mischief.
B. Their Lips Talk of Mischief
1. INSIDE – their heart is muttering and musing on ways to inflict harm and ruin on others.
2. OUTSIDE – what is in the heart eventually comes out. What comes out of his mouth or lips? Mischief!
a. Mischief: Trouble; that which is difficult or hard; anguish; unpleasant; distressing…
b. There’s nothing good on the inside—so nothing good comes out of that heart.
3. This is the kind of person a believer should AVOID.
a. These are good reasons not to be jealous of the person… not to be envious of what he has… and not to desire to be WITH him (choose NOT to associate with him.)
b. Note the words of wisdom here:
• We CANNOT know what is in a man’s heart and therefore, we should not judge a man for what goes on in his heart.
• But we CAN know what comes out of his mouth. And we SHOULD judge him on that basis.
• If he talks mischief and trouble, then this is the kind of person we should NOT desire to be around.
• Seek friendship and fellowship elsewhere. You have been warned!
4. The reasons given for NOT envying evil men:
a. In other passages was more “long term” (because in the END, things do not go well for them).
b. In this passage, the reasons are more for the “here and now.” (Because they are up to no good—nothing but trouble NOW.)
c. We should not envy them, but DREAD their pitiful character and lifestyle. They are in reality miserable people.
5. Col. 3:1-4 – The BEST way not to envy evil men or to be jealous of what they possess is to set your affections on things above. We are dead to this world.
Proverbs 24:3-4
The Value of Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge
Introduction:
1. This is the 20th of 30 wise sayings in this section of Proverbs.
2. This wise saying deals with the value of wisdom—and understanding and knowledge.
3. It also deals with the subject of accumulating wealth—and puts it in a very positive light, which hasn’t always been the case in Proverbs.
3a Through wisdom is an house builded
How a House is Built: Through Wisdom
A. The BUILDING of a house
1. The words speak of a literal house – a dwelling place for a family or an individual.
a. But as we look at this theme, it seems that Solomon may have had MORE in mind than simply building a house.
b. What he says here also applies to building a family (also called a house)—or building a business, a church, a country, or even a life.
2. Build: To build; to make; to set up; to erect; to construct; OR it can mean to rebuild or repair.
a. Gen. 8:20 – Noah “built” an altar unto the Lord.
b. Num. 13:22 – used of the building of the city of Hebron.
c. Gen.33:17 – Jacob built a house.
3. In Proverbs 24:3
a. It can mean to build a new house from scratch.
b. But keep in mind, it may also refer to repairing or restoring an old house and improving it. (This old house… with major improvements made.)
c. Thus, it is not known for sure whether Solomon had in mind the original construction OR the ongoing upkeep.
d. Perhaps he used an ambiguous term on purpose to cover both bases… so that the proverb could be applied to both situations.
e. What he says is certainly TRUE of both situations.
4. Solomon is telling his sons HOW this takes place.
a. Some of his sons might be off on their own and building a new house to start their family; other sons might buy an older home and fix it up.
b. Remember that one son might expect to take over the palace. And as splendid as that palace was, in time, like all structures, it would need repair.
5. Living in a cursed earth as we do, homes and dwellings need constant attention. There is no end to the repairs and upkeep that they require.
B. The building of a house BY WISDOM
1. Solomon states that WISDOM is required in building a house and/or keeping it in good shape… keeping up with the repairs…
2. You need wisdom to BUILD a house.
a. Solomon knew that first hand.
• I Chron. 28:11-12 – God Himself gave the construction plans for the Temple to Solomon’s father, David.
• The workers to were instructed to follow God’s blueprint precisely—without cutting corners.
• And this Temple was exceedingly expensive and difficult to build.
• God in His wisdom had a purpose for every detail.
• Solomon was involved in many construction projects (probably too many). Construction was important to him.
• Hence, he gives his sons a warning to use wisdom in building a house.
b. Wisdom is needed in construction. That’s one of the reasons why we have so many building codes: because not everyone uses wisdom in building structures.
• Some men might take the easiest and the cheapest method—which often results in an unsafe structure.
• Some men might build a house, not knowing HOW to build, and make some serious errors which could cause the thing to collapse.
• In Solomon’s day, most houses were built WITHOUT any regulations or inspections.
• It was up to the builder to build properly. In many cases, that meant the owner.
c. Solomon’s warning is clear: use wisdom!
• Don’t use cheap materials that won’t last.
• Don’t cut corners to save a dime—especially if it affects the main structure itself.
3. You need wisdom in the UPKEEP of a house too.
a. Failing to maintain a house can lead to a disaster.
b. Only a fool would fail to maintain a house—especially the house that he and his family live in!
c. Prov. 14:1 – Here we see the same word for “build” used.
• The contrast is obvious: a house is either in the process of being built up OR it is being torn down and falling into disrepair.
• In this Proverb, the author seems to be using a literal house (dwelling) to represent the family – those who dwell in the house. (House is sometimes used for both.)
• Thus, what is said here applies to both – the house in the sense of the structure, and the house – the family.
• The contrast is also between wisdom and folly.
• The wise woman is constantly building up the house… the structure (This seems to speak of upkeep and repairs.)
• The foolish woman is tearing it down.
» Tear down: to pull down, to break through, to overthrow, to destroy.
» I think it unlikely that he meant a woman was taking a hammer to her house and ruining it.
» Rather, she ruins it through the folly of neglect… not taking care of it… letting it fall into disrepair.
» As a result, it loses its beauty, its strength, and its value.
d. Wisdom maintains a house; folly lets it fall into disrepair.
• Wisdom says spend the money to get rid of the termites; folly says, “don’t worry about it.”
• Wisdom says, take the time to keep the house painted so that the wood doesn’t rot. Folly says, “I’ll worry about rotten wood when it rots.”
• Wisdom says, “Maintain your property for the sake of your testimony.” Folly says, “Who cares what the neighbors think.”
• Prov. 24:30-31 – Later Solomon speaks again of the fool who does not maintain his property.
3b And by understanding it is established:
How a House is Established: Through Understanding
1. Established: To be firm; be stable; be established; made secure; .made ready; cause to stand in an upright position,
a. This term is quite similar in meaning to building or repair.
b. The difference is that this term speaks of the result.
• Building and repairs are the actual construction and maintenance WORK to be done on the structure.
• Established seems to hint more of the finished product: a house that is safe, secure, and upright—still standing!
c. A man may build a house through dishonesty but he cannot establish it that way—for its foundation is rotten. (M. Henry)
2. The house is established through UNDERSTANDING: intelligence, insight, skill, reasoning, discernment.
a. The fact that the house is safe, secure, and still standing didn’t happen by accident or luck.
b. It was through understanding… skill… and insight.
c. It takes planning, effort, thought, skill, and understanding to maintain a house.
d. It requires non-stop maintenance… planning and work.
e. You can’t just build a house (or bring kids into the world; or start a business, a school, or a church) and expect that it will run itself… maintain itself and stay in good shape.
f. TO be established, it requires ongoing effort, skill, wisdom, and discernment.
4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
How a House is Filled with Valuable Items: By Knowledge
1. Once the house is built and while it is being maintained, it also needs to be furnished.
2. Solomon states that by KNOWLEDGE all the rooms of this house will be filled with beautiful and valuable possessions.
3. Often, the Bible warns against accumulating wealth.
a. Those warnings are not so much against possessing wealth, but the warnings are against wealth possessing YOU (or me).
b. Material possessions are never spoken of as evil in the Scriptures. God made everything.
c. The warning is against LOVING them… hoarding them… being selfish with them… making idols out of them.
d. Material possessions are themselves neutral. The problem is our heart attitude towards them.
e. Because of the many warnings, I think some believers look suspiciously at a brother who may be wealthy—and that is wrong!
4. Here Solomon states that a house is filled with valuable treasures not by greed, dishonesty, and avarice, but rather by wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.
a. These possessions are seen in a good light because they were obtained through honest work, labor, accompanied by wisdom and knowledge.
b. Proverbs 12:27 says that the substance of a diligent man is precious. (same term as in 24:4)
c. Prov. 21:20 – “There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.”
d. Because he is wise, he takes care of his house, and he doesn’t waste his money as the fool does. He is diligent and thrifty. That is wisdom.
e. Having a nicely built, well maintained house full of fine things CAN be the result of wisdom and discernment.
f. The man whose property is dilapidated and falling apart is mentioned later on in this chapter by way of contrast. That was the result of laziness and folly.
g. Here the well maintained property full of “all precious and pleasant riches” is the result of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. The contrast is obvious.
h. When you see someone with a beautiful, well constructed, well furnished house, don’t assume that they have it because they are dishonest and greedy. That MIGHT be the case. But it also might be that they are hard workers, and have wisdom, understanding, and knowledge—all of which are good.
i. Instead of envying them, we should emulate their wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.
5. APPLICATIONS:
a. What Solomon says here is to be interpreted the way to build, maintain, and furnish a physical house.
b. But what he says about a house has many more applications.
c. In fact, it is also true of our LIVES!
• Jesus used the metaphor of building a house on either sand or a rock to describe one’s life.
• Paul also likened a Christian’s service to building a structure on a foundation—and wisdom needed to use good building materials.
• As believers today, our lives will also be built up (edified spiritually) by applying godly wisdom from appropriate portions of God’s Word.
• Our lives will be established (strengthened; made firm) through understanding. Paul prayed for spiritual understanding for the saints. We need it!
• Our lives can also be furnished unto every good work through knowledge. Therefore we should be growing in grace and in the KNOWLEDGE of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our goal ought to be that we might KNOW Him and the power of His resurrection.
• This will fill our lives with the beauty of the Lord—and the pleasant and precious riches that are ours in Christ will be manifested in our daily walk.
• Growing in the knowledge of Christ, we become spiritually prosperous.
Proverbs 24:5
A Wise Man is Strong
Introduction:
1. This proverb is usually linked together with verse six forming a unit of thought concerning the power of wisdom. (the 21st wise saying)
2. However, each part of this couplet stands alone and makes an independent statement about wisdom.
3. Verses 3-4 taught us that wisdom results in security and prosperity.
4. Verse five teaches us that wisdom results in strength.
5. This thought is so obvious and so important, that it is found in various other sayings and proverbs outside of the Bible too:
a. knowledge is power
b. brains are better than brawn
5a A wise man is strong
1. Wisdom results in strength. A wise man is strong.
a. Strong defined:
• It can mean might, power, strength, force…
• It is also used of a stronghold, fortification; a place or structure which is a safe place to reside against attacks.
b. The strength of which Solomon writes is not physical strength.
• A wise man does not necessarily have a physically strong body.
• He may be quite weak and puny physically. He may not be able to press 50 pounds… but with wisdom he is strong.
• Solomon is speaking about strength in another sense:
» It could refer to inner strength… or spiritual strength.
» It could also refer to being in a position of strength and power.
» Solomon seems to use the term here in a very generic sense: Strength in general: Material, physical, personal, social, political, or spiritual.
• Wisdom results in strength in lots of different settings.
c. This also implies the opposite: That a lack of wisdom (folly; ignorance) results in weakness.
• Prov. 19:2 – Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good.
» Young men have lots of enthusiasm, zeal, ambition…
» However, they don’t have the wisdom that comes with hands on experience, practice, and even failure.
» Enthusiasm without knowledge or wisdom can result in disaster. That’s why God has ordained “elders” to rule in the church… not the youth.
• Desire and zeal without knowledge are not good for the Christian life either.
» A new believer often thinks that if he is going to get busy and DO something great for God… and often before he really has the understanding and knowledge to know what it is that actually pleases the Lord!
» The believer who has no knowledge of HOW to have victory over sin… will end up in failure… and sin! Read Romans 7.
» Prov. 10:21 – “The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.”
» There are serious consequences for a lack of wisdom.
» Rushing into a decision or rushing into anything without knowledge… without thinking it through, leads to failure.
» Zeal and good intentions will not compensate for poor choices or foolish behavior based on a lack of knowledge.
• Prov. 1:29-31 – “For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.”
» This leaves a person in a very weakened condition.
» Nothing good comes from ignorance and a lack of knowledge.
» A wise man is strong… and an ignorant man is weak.
2. This principle is universal in its scope.
a. It is applicable in virtually every facet of life.
b. It applies equally well to young and old, male and female, and to the rich and the poor.
c. Wisdom is strength in every setting… on every continent… and to every group.
d. Prov. 4:7 – It’s not surprising therefore that Solomon states: “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom.”
• Principle: First; the best; the foremost; the choicest.
3. Consider some of the WAYS in which wisdom results in strength
a. Prov. 4:6 – Wisdom preserves and protects. That’s strength.
b. Prov. 21:22 – A wise man knows HOW to handle a situation properly.
• As a result, that puts him in a position of strength and power.
• Wisdom provides the “know-how” to get things done which in turn results in a position of strength.
• Wisdom also provides the discernment to know which plan to use… which method to employ…
c. Prov. 8:14 – Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. (vs.12 – Wisdom is speaking and says, “I have strength.”)
• A strong man might carry stone all day long from point A to point B. He may glory in his strength and glory in the size of the rocks he can carry.
• But a much smaller and weaker man who invented a wheelbarrow may be able to carry many MORE rocks than the stronger man.
• Wisdom says, “I have strength” and means it.
• Wisdom often makes difficult jobs much easier.
• Wisdom makes strong men out of weak men.
• Wisdom can put a weak man in a position of strength.
4. A wise man can accomplish through wisdom that which a strong man could not accomplish through his superior physical strength or might.
a. II Sam. 20:15-22 – One wise woman prevented her whole city from being destroyed and hundreds of people from being needlessly slaughtered.
b. Ecc. 9:13-15 – Solomon tells a story of a small city surrounded by a powerful king and his army. But the city was delivered from destruction by means of one wise old man.
c. From that Solomon concluded the following:
• Ecc. 9:16 – Wisdom is better than strength.
» The wise man sharpens his ax and can cut more wood faster than a man who may be physically stronger than he is… who has not employed wisdom and is using a dull ax.
• Ecc. 9:18 – Wisdom is better than the weapons of war.
» Psalm 144:1 – True wisdom teaches the soldier to rely upon the Lord. Wisdom is being taught by God to use what you have in the most effective way.
d. Ecc. 7:19 – “Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.” In other words, one wise man is stronger than 10 mighty men in the safety and security of the city!
5b Yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
1. Wisdom and knowledge are power and strength.
a. Thus, increasing in knowledge increases strength.
b. Don’t ever stop learning.
c. Information and knowledge is always valuable… and it continues to increase one’s position of strength.
2. For example, consider espionage.
a. The more knowledge and information we have about our enemy, the stronger position we are in to deal with threats from them… and in negotiation with them.
b. When it comes to espionage, knowledge is strength. Increasing in knowledge increases our strength.
3. This is true in the business world too: Knowledge is power.
a. The business man who has knowledge usually does well.
b. If he knows his customers and what they want; if he knows his product; if he knows the marketplace; if he knows how to improve his product… he will do well.
c. And the man who increases knowledge increases his business!
• If he keeps up with the latest trends…
• If he stays informed as to all the new technology available…
• If he stays knowledgeable about political issues, new laws and government rules, etc.
• As he increases in knowledge, he will increase in strength.
4. II Pet. 3:18 – In the spiritual realm, as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are growing in strength, spiritually.
a. Ignorance of the Bible is our downfall.
b. But those who increase in spiritual wisdom are also strengthened with all might (Col. 1:9, 11).
c. There is clearly a connection between spiritual knowledge and spiritual strength.
d. The believer who increases in spiritual wisdom and knowledge is strong—but not strong in himself. He is strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
e. The spiritually wise man recognizes his own weakness and therein lies his true spiritual strength.
f. He finds Christ to be his stronghold… his strong tower, into which he finds refuge; he is surrounded with the power of God on all sides, by which he is kept by the power. Wisdom tells him to ABIDE in that place… and therein lies his strength.
g. Christ is his wisdom. In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And the indwelling LIFE of Christ is his strength.
5. Prov. 18:15 – The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.
a. Seek after wisdom. Get all the wisdom you can get. Seek it until you GET it!
b. It puts you in a stronger position, and in a safer and more secure place.
c. It enables you to accomplish so much more… and avoid so many mistakes.
d. A wise man is strong… and the wiser he gets, the stronger he grows.
Proverbs 24:6
The Need for Wise Counsel
6a For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war:
1. The proverb encourages that its readers get wise COUNSEL.
a. Counsel defined: Advice; guidance.
2. The proverb encourages wise counsel before declaring WAR.
a. War is something you don’t want to jump into quickly without thinking it through.
b. War involves the lives of many people.
c. War has exceedingly serious consequences.
d. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered BEFORE you decide to go to war.
• What exactly is our reason for going to war?
• Is it the right thing to do? Is the cause just?
• Do we have enough troops? Equipment? Finances? Other resources?
• Can this war be won?
• How will the enemy strike back?
• What tactics will they use? Are we prepared to meet them?
• What is the battle plan? Will our strategy be successful?
• Is this the right time?
• How will this affect our relationship to the surrounding nations?
• What kind of an outcome do we expect?
• What will be the long term consequences?
• Is what we gain in victory worth the effort… the loss of life… the cost?
• Are the people behind us in the effort?
• Do they know the cost and are they willing to pay the price?
• Do they have the stomach for a protracted war?
3. No one man has all the answers to all the questions.
a. That’s why counsel is so important and necessary.
b. Wisdom demands that counsel be sought from experts in various fields before engaging in such an endeavor.
c. Keep in mind that Solomon just equated wisdom and knowledge with STRENGTH. (vs. 5)
• If there is one thing you need in wartime, it is strength.
• And the more you know, the stronger position you are in.
• Ignorance is weakness; knowledge is strength.
• Hence, a wise general will seek out all the pertinent information he can get.
• He needs to have his questions answered and answered correctly.
• Thus, he is not simply to seek for counsel. He is to seek for WISE counsel.
• Not all counsel is wise.
• A foolish general might seek counsel from men who will tell him what he wants to hear. That is foolish counsel—and dangerous.
d. Realizing all this, a general is to seek counsel from WISE men who are knowledgeable, and may give him information that he doesn’t want to hear—but NEEDS to hear.
e. Getting good, wise counsel could mean the difference between victory and defeat—and could prevent a heavy loss of life and treasure.
f. Prov. 20:18 – “Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.”
4. Of course, getting wise counsel involves HUMILITY.
a. It requires the general to admit that he doesn’t have all the answers.
b. It means that the Commander in Chief needs to seek advice from those under him.
c. PRIDE would say, “I’m in charge. What I say goes. I make all the decisions around here. I don’t need the advice of those in much lower positions.”
• Prov. 12:15 – “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.”
• Fools don’t want advice. They don’t want to listen. They think they know it all already.
d. HUMILITY says, “I don’t know everything. I don’t have all the answers. I need help. I need advice… and I’m willing to go looking for it… to those who are better informed and more experienced in these areas than I am.”
• Prov.1:5 – “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.”
• Prov. 11:2 – “When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.”
5. What Solomon says about making war should be applied to making any BIG decision in life that has serious and long lasting consequences.
a. It could be applied to seeking to get married, seeking a school, changing a career, going into the ministry, moving to Wyoming, or any big decision. They all require wisdom… and wise counsel.
b. Just as a general who is considering going to war asks a long series of questions, so should WE when we contemplate a big decision.
• Why do I want to do this? What is my real motivation?
• Do I have what it takes to finish?
• Have I counted the cost? Is it worth the cost?
• What will be the long term consequences?
• What if I change my mind?
• Will this be good for my spiritual life? Is this good for my family’s spiritual well being?
• What about the testimony of the Lord?
• Is this the right time?
• Is this really the will of the God for my life?
• Can I do this in good conscience?
• How will this affect others?
• Are the immediate benefits worth the long term cost?
c. Proud folly says: I can answer all those questions myself. Why should I ask for counsel? They will just tell me all the things I don’t want to hear!
d. Humble wisdom says: I don’t have all the answers. I need some wise counsel from older, more experienced believers who have been down this pathway before. I don’t want to be sorry later.
e. Remember: Prov. 11:2 – “When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.”
6b And in multitude of counselors there is safety.
1. Solomon takes this a step further – building on his previous point.
a. In making a big decision (like war) you need wise counsel.
b. Now he adds, in a MULTITUDE of counselors there is safety.
c. Don’t just get counsel, get a LOT of it!
d. One expert (through experience) might be aware of dangers or pitfalls that others are unaware of.
e. Another expert might see a benefit which others may not see.
f. Ask a variety of experts.
g. Not every godly counselor is going to give the same answer. Remember, counsel is ADVICE from men.
h. Advice from men is not a “Thus saith the Lord.”
i. Sometimes men with the best of intentions, give poor advice.
j. It needs to be weighed and examined in light of God’s Word… and the circumstances on the ground.
k. It is helpful to get different perspectives… looking at the same situation from different angles.
l. Hence, in a multitude of counselors is safety. And pray for wisdom from above to sort it all out.
2. Prov. 11:14 – Solomon said the same thing in this chapter—but adds one other detail: Without that counsel, the people FALL.
a. Thus, he puts forth two possible approaches and two consequences.
• A multitude of counselors leads to safety.
• A lack of counsel leads to a fall.
• Interestingly, pride leads to a fall too.
• Prov. 16:18 – “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
3. Prov. 15:22 – Note the same pattern here—with an added detail.
a. “Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.”
b. Again, a lack of counselors leads to a fall, called a DISAPPOINTMENT = broken; thwarted; nullified.
c. But with a multitude of counselors, your plans are ESTABLISHED. (will stand; be firm; endure; fulfilled)
d. In other words, safety and success are the result of many counselors.
e. A fall, disappointment, and defeat are the result of a lack of godly counsel.
f. Choose your pathway wisely.
• One path is the way of wise humility which leads to safety and success.
• The other path is the way of foolish pride which leads to a fall… failure… disappointment.
• Which course will you pick?
g. It should be again pointed out that these are proverbs – little nuggets of truth. However, they are not promises in each and every case. They do not cover all the possible situations, but are generalities. Sometimes foolish generals win the war. Sometimes the best advice does not prove successful.
h. Ecc. 9:11 – “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”
i. But in the vast majority of cases, a multitude of counselors leads to safety.
4. In summary, the warning/exhortation here is to get counsel before you make a big decision or choose a course of action.
a. Get the facts FIRST.
b. We have some similar proverbs in our culture too:
• Look before you leap!
• Don’t bite off more than you can chew!
• Don’t start something you can’t finish!
c. Knowledge is strength. Get all the knowledge you can through wise, godly counsel.
Proverbs 24:7
Wisdom is Too High for a Fool
Introduction:
1. Solomon has made a number of important statements concerning knowledge and wisdom in this section.
a. Vs. 3 – Through wisdom and understanding, a house is built and established. (wisdom builds up a house and makes it firm)
b. Vs.4 – By knowledge a house is filled with riches. (wisdom prospers)
c. Vs.5 – A wise man is strong. (wisdom is strength)
d. Vs.6 – Wisdom is needed before engaging in major projects and making important decisions, like waging a war.
e. Vs.6 – There is safety in obtaining lots of wise counsel.
2. Solomon makes another statement about wisdom in verse 7: it is too high for a fool.
7a Wisdom is too high for a fool:
1. The English word wisdom appears 54 times in the book of Proverbs.
a. However, this particular form of the word for wisdom appears only 4 times in Proverbs (and once in the Psalms).
b. It is defined as follows:
• Wisdom: i.e., the content of a specialized understanding. Wisdom; prudence; insight; the capacity to use knowledge properly.
• There is no real distinction in meaning – just different forms of the same root.
• In other words, it is a very COMMON word in this book of wisdom.
• Proverbs is a whole book about wisdom… looking at wisdom from every angle… how it behaves in various situations… how it is contrasted from folly… and its practical results.
2. This particular proverb makes one simple statement about wisdom: it is too high for a fool.
a. “Too high” defined:
• Exalted; lifted up; high; tall; lofty.
• It can be used in a bad sense: Haughty; arrogant; —but that is not the case here.
• Here it speaks of that which is lofty and exalted… high… and even out of reach.
3. Wisdom is too high for a fool in that it is out of his reach.
a. Wisdom is like the jar of cookies that are on a shelf that is too high for the little boy to reach.
b. As long as the fool REMAINS a fool, wisdom will be out of his reach.
c. Prov. 17:24 – The eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.
• In other words, he is looking in all the wrong directions—on purpose.
• The fool doesn’t really WANT to find it… for he knows deep down inside that true wisdom condemns him and his lifestyle.
• When Lady Wisdom cries out to him, he plugs his ears and looks in the other direction.
• Wisdom will remain out of his reach.
d. Prov. 14:6 – “A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not.”
• As long as he scorns wisdom, he will never find it—even if he seems to be seeking it.
4. Obtaining wisdom for the fool begins with REPENTANCE – a change of mind and heart.
a. First, the fool needs to change his mind with respect to who he is. He needs to see himself as a scorner and a fool.
• Prov. 1:22 – Fools hate instruction. That needs to change before the fool can reach and obtain wisdom.
» Fools are characterized by pride. “I don’t need any advice. I know it all.”
» The fool needs to humble himself and recognize his NEED for help… his need for counsel and advice.
» He needs to change his mind from “I don’t need any advice” to “I really need advice!”
» Thus, a fool first needs to see that he IS in fact, a fool.
» He needs to recognize his folly and to recognize the foolish things that he has said and done.
» Wisdom will always be out of his reach until he learns to humble himself.
• Prov. 12:15 – The way of a fool is right in his own eyes.
» Until the fool sees that his foolish ways are NOT right, wisdom will remain out of reach.
» Until he changes his mind about himself and his ways, the fool will remain in his folly, and wisdom will remain out of his reach… beyond him.
» He needs to change his mind as to who he is.
b. Secondly, he needs to change his mind concerning who GOD is.
• Prov. 1:7 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.
» After acknowledging his sinful and foolish condition, the fool needs to acknowledge who God is—a God of all wisdom.
» A reverential FEAR of God is the beginning or initial step along the way to obtaining wisdom.
» True wisdom and knowledge are found in the Lord.
• Prov. 1:1-2 – The inspired words of this book are God’s words of wisdom designed to PROVIDE wisdom for the fool and the inexperienced.
» The fool needs to see that God’s WORD is a treasure chest of wisdom.
» This is quite a change of mind—a change of attitude.
» Before the fool assumed that he needed no wisdom, no counsel, and no advice.
» He needs to humble himself, see his need for wisdom and see GOD as the Source of all true wisdom.
» He needs to change his mind about who God is.
c. Thirdly, the fool needs to learn to LISTEN to the words of wisdom.
• Prov. 1:5 – A wise man will HEAR.
» This is a big step for the young fool.
» It is humbling for a “know it all,” to stop and listen to the words of advice from God’s Word or from a wise man.
» Prov. 18:2 – A fool has no delight in wisdom.
» Prov. 17:16 – Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it?
• He will never listen to advice until he sees the value of it.
» The fool needs to first learn that wisdom is valuable and good… and that folly is, well… foolish!
» That requires a radical change of mind. Usually that comes with growing up… but not always.
» Some people never seem to grow up. Wisdom will always be too high for them.
• Prov. 10:23 – It is as sport to a fool to do mischief.
» As long as he is having so-called “fun” in his sinful folly, he will never hunger after wisdom.
» He will never seek after wisdom.
» Usually, his “fun” has to come to a halt before the fool turns around.
» Often times the Lord will allow his “fun” to become old… just not fun anymore.
» Sometimes his “fun” will have painful consequences that are anything but fun. This will often result in a change of mind and heart for the fool.
» But unfortunately, not for all fools. Even suffering the ugly consequences of their folly will not turn around the most stubborn of fools.
» And until there is that change of mind, they are in no place to LISTEN to the words of wisdom.
d. Fourthly, the fool needs to humble himself and TAKE the advice.
• He needs to actually DO what he is counseled to do by a wise counselor.
• Usually, when the book of Proverbs speaks about “hearing” words of wisdom, it implies more than just the vibrating of the eardrums. It usually speaks of DOING and OBEYING.
7b He openeth not his mouth in the gate.
1. Here Solomon states that the fool does not open his mouth in the gate.
a. The gate was the place in the ancient city where the legal and judicial matters were considered.
b. It was the place where the elders and the leaders of the city gathered.
c. It was the place where many important business deals were conducted by the wealthy men of the city.
d. It was the place where the wise men gathered for intelligent conversation to discuss the issues of the day.
e. The gate was the place where intelligent, wise, important, successful, and wealthy men gathered.
f. And the FOOL would not even open his mouth there! He is not part of that crowd and never will be.
2. In other words, the fool would never become a leader in the community.
a. The fool would never become a judge or a lawyer.
b. The fool would never become a city leader or tribal elder.
c. The fool would never become a successful business man.
d. The fool will have nothing to add to intelligent conversation.
• When the fool comes to the gate of the city, where the wise men of the city gather for intelligent discussion, he will have nothing intelligent to say.
• He won’t be able to open his mouth and join in on that conversation.
• The discussion will be “too high” for him.
e. As long as the fool clings to his folly, he will never be wise, wealthy, or successful.
f. He will never be a respected member of the community.
3. Others see in this statement a picture of the fool standing at the gate of the city to be JUDGED for some crime he has committed because of his folly.
a. When he stands before the Judge, he will have nothing to say in his defense.
b. His folly condemns him. His mouth is shut.
4. Either way, this serves as a serious warning to the youth: DO NOT remain a fool.
a. If you are still clinging to your folly, then NOW is the time to repent: Change your mind, your attitude, and then demonstrate the fruits of repentance by changing your behavior.
b. Then you will be well along on your way to wisdom.
c. Until then, wisdom will remain “too high” for you.
d. The cookie jar will always be out of your reach.
5. Prov. 1:1-5 – However, the purpose of this book is so that young, inexperienced people can BECOME wise.
a. Nobody should ever read this proverb and say, “Poor me. Wisdom is out of reach for me. It’s too high for me. I’m a fool and I’ll never be anything else.”
b. God doesn’t want wisdom to remain out of your reach.
c. It is very much IN your reach.
d. But it requires a heart that is willing to listen and follow.
e. If the heart is right, ANYONE can obtain wisdom.
f. The cookie jar is low enough for a little child with a right heart attitude of humility.
g. But it is high enough to be just out of reach for the arrogant fool.
Proverbs 24:8
Mischievous Scheming
8a He that deviseth to do evil
1. Solomon is describing a certain kind of person in this passage.
a. This proverb serves as a warning to us all: this kind of person exists—so watch out! Beware!
b. He is describing a “proverbial” kind of person whose traits are almost universal. (By universal, we don’t mean that everyone possesses these traits, but rather that every society has such people in their midst.)
2. The particular kind of person being described is the one who plans to do EVIL.
a. Evil: Wicked; evil; injurious to others; that which breaks, shatters or hurts; to cause distress to others; that which results in injurious effects on man, either as physical or emotional harm to the person or a painfully unpleasant experience.
b. There are a few different terms translated “evil,” but this one seems to emphasize inflicting harm or injury on others.
3. Note that this person is one who DEVISES to do evil.
a. He is constantly plotting to cause injury to others… he devises ways to cause distress to others, to be injurious either physically or emotionally.
b. Devise: To think; calculate; invent; imagine; to plan to plot; to purpose.
c. His intentions are malicious.
d. This term was used in Gen. 50:20 when Joseph’s brothers plotted evil against him – “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good.” They planned and plotted a way to get rid of their brother. It was an evil and sinister plan.
e. Solomon mentioned this kind of person previously in verse two:
• Their hearts are continually studying ways to be destructive. (Study: muse; mutter; meditate; devise; plot –that’s what goes on in their heart.)
• Their lips are constantly talking about mischief. (On the inside, they are continually musing on ways to be destructive; on the outside, it eventually comes out of the mouth.)
• It is the KIND OF PERSON they are. It is on their minds and hearts constantly and it overflows out their lips.
• Eventually, it becomes action—when they bring their evil devices to pass.
4. Prov. 6:16, 18 – A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations is one of the six things that the Lord especially hates.
a. God hates the heart that devises such wicked plans and he hates the feet that carry the person to carry out his wicked plans.
b. Obviously, this is figurative language. God doesn’t hate his feet and toes. God hates the execution of his evil plots.
c. Beautiful are the feet of those who bring good tidings… but cursed are the feet that bring trouble everywhere they go.
8c A mischievous person
1. The one who devises to do evil is a mischievous person.
a. Mischievous: One who plans and plots, usually with evil intent: a schemer.
b. Psalm 10:2 – The psalmist prayed that the wicked would be snared in their own schemes. (“Let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.”)
c. The Hebrew term translated “person” here is baal.
• Thus, the rendering of the phrase translated “mischievous person” is literally, “lord of mischief” or “master of schemes.”
• It is not a compliment. It means that he is a master at what he does: stirring up trouble and devising evil schemes.
2. The warning in our proverb is the fact that such people do exist.
a. They sit around plotting and planning injury to others.
b. Only the Lord knows what drives such people.
c. What we DO know is that it originates in a sinful fallen heart.
d. Perhaps they feel cheated in life… perhaps others injured them… perhaps they are jealous… perhaps they are holding a grudge… or perhaps it has become a sport to them to do mischief.
e. Prov. 10:23 – “It is as sport to a fool to do mischief.”
f. Some people simply enjoy causing trouble… they enjoy causing distress to others.
g. This is simply a warning that such people exist. Do what you will with the warning!
h. It’s pretty clear however, that Solomon is warning us so that we will stay away from such people—and especially that we would not be drawn in to their evil schemes.
3. You may know this person already. You may know several of them.
a. Perhaps you have one in your family… and he or she is always stirring up trouble.
b. Perhaps you work with one… or for one.
c. Perhaps there are some at school.
d. Perhaps he lives a couple of doors down from you and causes distress to the whole neighborhood.
4. Nobody likes this kind of person.
a. To him making mischief is a game—a sport.
b. Prov. 14:17 – A man of wicked devices is hated. The schemer might think it’s great fun, but nobody else does. He is hated.
c. This is good warning to young people.
• There will be kids at school who like to think up ways to cause trouble for others… for other students or for the teachers.
• Other young people might seem to laugh with him and to go along with his schemes—but don’t be fooled by what they do and say outwardly.
• On the inside, nobody likes a troublemaker.
• They know that if this guy causes trouble for others on his list, you might be the next one on his list!
• Other trouble makers might think it’s a sport, but for the most part, a man of wicked devises is hated.
• Stay away—even if he seems to cause the crowd to laugh and even if he appears to be having fun.
d. Prov. 12:2 – Not only do sensible men hate the evil plans of this schemer, but God also hates it!
i. What a contrast in this passage: Good men obtain God’s favor. Those who devise evil obtain God’s condemnation.
e. Prov. 6:12-15 – This kind of person is incorrigible.
• He is continually devising evil and it has become a lifestyle.
• He seems to get away with it for a while.
• However, the day is coming when he will be taken in the snare of his own making.
• His calamity will come suddenly, and without remedy. There will be no one to bail him out this time.
• You just can’t go around causing trouble for others indefinitely before you are exposed and dealt with—one way or another.
• If not in this life, surely, in the life to come.
8b He shall be CALLED…
1. This man shall be CALLED a mischievous person.
a. He is called “a mischievous person” by others.
b. Even though he may seek to keep his scheming secret, it shall be discovered. You can only hide that kind of thing for so long.
c. He earned his reputation of being the “lord of mischief” or “master of schemes.”
d. In other words, it doesn’t take long to figure this guy out… to figure out where he is coming from and what he’s up to.
e. He has earned a reputation as a mischievous person: a schemer.
f. Even though when this person is boasting of his plots people may laugh and appear to go along with him, people take notice of what KIND of person he or she is.
g. When he is out of sight, word gets around quickly: this person is a troublemaker!
h. He is CALLED a mischievous person. That becomes his name… his reputation. His reputation precedes him. It becomes common knowledge—and it doesn’t take long to earn such a reputation.
i. But once you have earned a reputation, it is difficult to shake.
j. People will always be wondering what you’re up to now… what kind of plans and plots are being devised.
k. It’s best not to earn that reputation in the first place.
2. This man earned a reputation by his DEEDS.
a. In fact, our deeds become our reputation… our testimony.
b. We can either build up a testimony as a troublemaker, or we can establish a testimony as one who loves the Lord and serves Him… as demonstrated by our lifestyle.
c. Deeds do matter. Over time, they demonstrate character and ultimately earn a reputation—either good or bad.
d. The person Solomon describes in this proverb earned his reputation. Therefore, he shall be called (by all who know him) a mischievous person.
3. The obvious application here is to AVOID such persons!
a. Cf. Prov. 24:1-2 – Don’t envy their superficial popularity and don’t desire to be with them. Avoid them! They are nothing but trouble… and so are their friends. Birds of a feather flock together.
b. Remember, evil communications (evil company) corrupts good manners.
4. Psalm 37:7-9 – Here is a word of exhortation to those who find themselves in the middle of trouble that had been stirred up by a “master of mischief.”
a. Take it to the Lord in prayer and REST in Him. Don’t fret or worry over it, but rather, leave it in God’s hands.
b. In the meantime, don’t get drawn in. Cease from anger. Don’t allow yourself to become embroiled in the midst of the trouble.
c. And remember, that the masters of schemes will eventually be dealt with by the Lord Himself.
Proverbs 24:9
The Thought of Foolishness is Sin
Introduction:
1. This proverb is connected to verse eight. It is the second part of the 23rd wise saying in this section of Proverbs.
2. Verse eight described a “mischievous person” as one who devises or plans to do evil.
a. He is constantly plotting to cause injury to others… he devises ways to cause distress to others, to be injurious either physically or emotionally.
b. Thus, the rendering of the phrase translated “mischievous person” is literally, “lord of mischief” or “master of schemes.”
c. This is what he shall be called because he EARNED this reputation by the evil, injurious things he plans and carries out against others.
3. Now Solomon takes this same thought a little further.
a. This is a synthetic parallelism. In this kind of parallelism, the second line or verse adds to the previous thought.
b. To interpret verse nine, it must be kept in mind that it is connected to verse 8 (which is not always the case in the book of Proverbs).
c. In verse nine, Solomon adds some meat to the skeleton. He adds more details to his description of the “lord of mischief.”
9a The thought of foolishness is sin:
1. Foolishness here as elsewhere in the book of Proverbs speaks of immoral folly.
2. Thought defined:
a. Strong’s: Plan; purpose; device; usually an evil plan; mischievous purpose.
b. Dictionary of Bible Languages: What is thought and intended by a thinking person; a general wickedness with a focus on the thought processes that occur in plotting wickedness.
c. Zodhiates: The plans and purposes of the mind which give rise to one’s actions.
d. This term speaks of in inner thought life of a person.
• It includes his thoughts AND his intentions – what he would LIKE to do.
• These are the thoughts that give rise to evil actions – but the thoughts PRECEDE the actions.
3. Thus, this term adds a new point to what was said in verse eight.
a. Verse 8 spoke of the man who was “devising evil.”
• This man was planning and plotting evil with the intentions of carrying out those plans.
• We noted last time that this term was used in Gen. 50:20 when Joseph’s brothers plotted evil against him. They devised to DO evil and actually carried out their plan.
b. Verse 9 is very similar in meaning, but note that it does NOT include the words “to do.”
• The distinction is not so much grammatical as it is conceptual.
• In verse 8, the “lord of mischief” is planning an evil scheme so that he might carry it out.
• In verse 9, there is no mention of carrying it out. It is the thought stage ONLY.
• Solomon’s point seems to be that even the thought stage is SIN.
• Take radical Islam for example. From among that ideology, some become suicide bombers.
» But there are many others who may cheer them and agree with them, but who do not actually blow up themselves and others.
» Perhaps some would like to, but do not carry out their plans for other reasons: family, fear, cowardice, would do so if their family could be left enough money but cannot find a sponsor.
» This proverb states that even THINKING such thoughts is sin regardless of whether they are carried out or not.
• Consider another example of the man who really wants to steal his co-workers new iPhone.
» He has been watching where he leaves it at lunch every day.
» He has thought through an elaborate scheme on exactly how to do it.
» However, he doesn’t do it—because he is afraid if he gets caught, he loses his job… or loses his reputation…
» Solomon’s point is that even the planning stage is sinful.
» To God, sin is sin.
» We know of no mortal or venial sins as Christians. All sin separates us from fellowship with a holy God.
» Thus, to the Lord, the thought stage is sin just like the actual carrying out of the evil thoughts.
4. It is human nature to assume that sin must involve action.
a. Jesus dealt with this misconception in the gospels.
b. Matt. 5:27-28 – The Scribes and Pharisees assumed that as long as they didn’t actually commit the sin of adultery, that they had fulfilled the Law.
• Jesus pointed out that even the thought stage… the internal lustful thoughts were equal to the sin of adultery.
• It is possible to THINK evil, lustful thoughts, and to WISH that you could carry them out… but for various reasons, never carry it out.
• Perhaps the opportunity never arose. Perhaps you are afraid of getting caught… of being discovered.
• But just because the thoughts were never carried out, that does not mean that no sin occurred.
• The THOUGHT of foolishness is sin.
• And keep in mind that foolishness is not childishness or silliness. It is immoral folly.
• Sin is sin in God’s mind… when in the thought stage or the action stage.
• Jesus’ point here is that it is the SAME sin.
» The thought is the embryo of the action.
» Unabated anger leads to murder.
» Unabated covetousness leads to stealing.
c. There is a connection between the thought stage and the action stage.
• Prov. 23:7 – Solomon wrote earlier: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
» This is a far more accurate description of what a man is really like—what he THINKS.
» Some men are masters at disguising what they really think. (hypocrites)
» God knows what’s really going on on the inside: in their mind and heart.
» The man who on the inside is plotting and planning evil schemes IS evil… whether he carries out the schemes or not.
» The THOUGHT of foolishness is sin.
• BOTH the evil thoughts and the evil actions are sinful in God’s mind.
d. In fact most sins we commit are premeditated—at least for a little while.
• We usually think before we act.
• Even in those circumstances where the action is impulsive and spur of the moment, thoughts DO occur in the mind before we strike.
• It may be momentary, but our hands and mouths need to get instruction from the brain before they act.
• Our proverb seems to be speaking of sins of premeditation more than impulse, but either way, the THOUGHT of immoral folly is SIN.
5. Plotting evil is sinful – even in the thought stage. This is applicable to many settings.
a. In the workplace: Businessmen often sit around thinking up ways to increase business. That’s what they do.
• But sometimes the conversation can go sour.
• Thoughts of cheating, misrepresenting, scamming, and other shady practices may become the topic of conversation.
• The believer is to have no part in that. Even if he would never DO such a thing, even the thought stage is sin.
• It’s time to stand up and say in love, “This is wrong.”
b. In the schoolyard: Kids may stand around in a gang and start plotting some mischievous scheme. If you are in that circle and listening to their evil plan, even if you don’t plan on joining in on the actual commission of the trouble, the thought stage is sin!
• It’s time to pick some new friends—or rebuke these plotters.
• Psalm 1:1 – “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”
• You might think that the thought stage was just talk… and nothing would come of it. You might dismiss it as just foolishness or jest.
• But such foolish talk is much worse than you might have assumed.
• Solomon says that the THOUGHT of foolishness is sin.
c. It is easy to get caught up in the thought stage… and before you know it, it develops into the action stage.
d. Maybe you never planned on getting involved in the action, but it is easy to get swept away before you know it.
e. Phil.4:8 – The Lord has commanded us what kind of things we are to THINK on—and this list does not include “devising to do evil.”
9b And the scorner is an abomination to men.
1. In this part of the proverb, the lord of mischief who devises evil plans is also a scorner.
a. The two concepts are linked together in this proverb: troublemakers are also scorners.
2. Scorner: To mock; deride; to scoff; to speak in derision; to boast arrogantly against; to show no respect for (especially for those in positions of authority).
a. The scorner makes the internal thoughts external verbally.
b. And his verbiage is harsh and odious.
c. He outwardly mocks others.
d. Job 16:20 – Job lamented: “My friends scorn me.” They mocked him and ridiculed him.
e. Ps. 119:51 – “The proud have had me greatly in derision.” The psalmist also experienced the pain of being ridiculed and scorned.
f. Nobody appreciates a scorner. He is an abomination to men.
3. The scorner is an abomination to men.
a. Prov. 29:27 – He is especially an abomination to just men who walk uprightly.
b. Generally speaking, men do not LIKE troublemakers. Men do not appreciate those who plot evil. (Other troublemakers excluded.)
c. But the divide is even deeper between the troublemakers and those who do things right… who walk uprightly… and expect that others do the same.
d. Prov. 14:17 – A man of wicked devices is hated. The schemer might think it’s great fun, but nobody else does. He is hated.
• We looked at this verse last time.
• Nobody likes a man of wicked devices.
• Nobody likes a scorner.
• He is an abomination to men.
Proverbs 24:10
Fainting in the Day of Adversity
Introduction:
1. In this proverb, Solomon states the obvious: if you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.
2. Those of us who have fainted in the day of adversity know this all too well.
3. Solomon doesn’t command anything here. He doesn’t even give us a warning. He simply makes a statement.
4. But don’t forget the purpose of a proverb: they are concise, abrupt statements designed to make us stop and THINK.
5. If we take the time to stop and think about it, then the proverb has served its purpose.
10a If thou faint in the day of adversity
TERMS:
1. FAINT:
a. Strong’s: To sink down; to be disheartened.
b. Dictionary of Bible Languages: Hang limp; be feeble; i.e., be in a state of lacking power or force; lose courage; be discouraged; give up; to have a feeling or attitude of hopelessness and lacking courage to resist an opponent.
2. ADVERSITY:
a. Strong’s: Distress; anguish; trouble; tribulation.
b. Dictionary of Bible Languages: A state of very unfavorable circumstance, with a focus on the emotional pain and distress of the situation.
3. This expression “faint in the day of adversity” has been variously translated:
a. If you lose courage in the day of trouble… (Darby)
b. If you are weak in a crisis… (GNT)
c. If you are slack in the day of distress… (NASB)
d. If you give up when trouble comes… (NCV)
e. If you falter in times of trouble… (NIV)
f. If you fail under pressure… (NLT)
4. Unfortunately, discouragement is a part of everyday life.
a. We all get discouraged.
b. We hear bad news virtually every day.
c. We get discouraged when we hear what is going on in the world… and in our country.
• Moral standards are falling worldwide.
• The economy has taken a nosedive and doesn’t seem to be making a comeback any time soon.
• The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan seem endless.
• People are losing jobs and are struggling.
• Things often look hopeless.
• Morally and spiritually, things are not going in a good direction.
d. We get discouraged when we hear bad news about friends and family.
• Accidents, illnesses, divorces, drug abuse, victims of crimes, etc.
• The old saying has some truth to it: no news is good news – because usually news is bad…
e. We get discouraged when we hear bad news about our brothers and sisters in Christ.
• Almost daily we hear of a brother in Christ who has fallen away or got involved in sin.
• We hear of pastors getting discouraged and quitting…
• Believers getting discouraged and don’t come to church anymore…
• We are continually hearing about churches who have let down their guard… and have let down their standards… or have been drawn away into some “ism” or has split.
• We seem to be on an irreversible spiritual decline. That’s discouraging.
f. We live in a cursed earth with 7 billion sinners.
• Therefore, bad news is relentless.
• It comes in wave after wave…
• We don’t seem to have time to emotionally recuperate from one wave before we are knocked over by the next.
• You can take it for a while, but sooner or later, eventually, it catches up to us and becomes overwhelming.
• We FEEL like can’t take it anymore. It wears us out… it drags us down… it zaps us of our strength… and we become weary and worn.
• Our heart sinks down… we are dismayed… and a feeling of depression may take over.
g. This is what Solomon means when he says, “fainting in the day of adversity.”
• The precise KIND of adversity varies from one person to another… and from one period in our lives to another.
• But the response of “fainting” is universal among men and women.
• It is what Paul describes as a “temptation or testing that is common to man.”
5. Matthew Henry made a wise observation: “And often those that are most cheerful when they are well, droop most when anything ails them.”
a. In other words, those who are given to emotional highs are also given to emotional lows.
b. I have seen this often over the years. Those who appear to be inordinately upbeat and become “over the top” excited about good news are just as prone to become inordinately downbeat – discouraged about bad news.
c. Some people are just more emotional than others.
d. Those folks especially need to be careful about discouragement.
6. If you have or ARE experiencing discouragement – you are in good company. This subject is dealt with in the Bible from cover to cover.
a. Prov. 13:12 – Hope deferred maketh the heart sick:
• We have all had our heart set on something that we imagined or hoped would come to pass… but time goes on and it seems like it’s NOT going to come to pass.
• When our wishes, hopes, and dreams do not come to fruition, it can cause discouragement.
• Sometimes because our will is not always the same as God’s will.
• Sometimes we pray for years—decades—and see no answer. It can be discouraging.
• This too is part of life. Our hopes don’t always come to pass. This is one of the facts of life.
• It can cause great discouragement if we allow it to.
• I Cor. 10:13 – Remember that God will NEVER take us beyond what we are able to bear. That is a promise—regardless of how discouraging things may appear to the natural eye.
• God tests our willingness to wait… to trust… to rely on Him… He tests our faith and our faithfulness.
• Don’t get discouraged and quit—especially in light of God’s promise. Strength and grace are available for what He sends our way.
7. In times of adversity, often times our hands hang down and our knees grow feeble and we are good for nothing.
a. We become easy prey for our adversary.
b. We are not fit for service for Christ.
c. And spiritually this can result in a spiral downward.
• We are cast down in our souls and discouraged.
• We feel lousy and don’t want to be around people.
• We stop going to church… because people will notice.
• We stop reading the Word and praying.
• Discouragement BEGETS spiritual weakness.
• If we KNOW this, it is not wise to allow it to occur.
• Wisdom will NIP this process in the bud and not allow self to DWELL on the source of discouragement.
• Wisdom will force our nose back into the Book.
• Wisdom will demand that we get out of bed and go to Sunday school and church… and prayer meeting too.
10b Thy strength is small.
1. We have all fainted in times of adversity. We have all fallen in a time of crisis. We have all given up in a time of trouble. We have all failed under pressure.
a. When else would we faint?
b. No one faints in the good times of peace, joy, prosperity, happiness, health, and blessing. What’s to faint about then?
c. Inner strength isn’t put to the test in good times.
2. The point of the proverb seems to be that strength that fails in a time of adversity isn’t much good!
a. What good is a brake on a car that works wonderfully, except when you really need it?
b. What good is a brick oven that cracks and falls apart when the fire is lit?
c. What good is a pressure valve that functions fine except when pressure is applied?
d. What good is inner strength that fails under the pressures of life?
e. A man is strong only if he is strong under pressure… strong when tested… strong in the time of crisis.
f. If we fail under pressure, our strength is SMALL (narrow; restricted; limited)
3. We have a tendency to THINK we can handle anything.
a. Those thoughts will one day be put to the test.
b. It is amazing how tests can reveal what we are really made of.
c. A test that causes one person to fall apart is sometimes taken in stride by another person.
d. And don’t go by outward appearances.
• It’s not how big and burly they look.
• It’s not how macho and bravado are their words.
• Sometimes the sweet, frail, little old lady can handle crises better than the truck driver.
• Solomon is speaking about INNER strength.
4. Eph. 3:16 – The point Solomon drives home is this: the trials, tribulations, pressures, and difficulties of life are the real proofs of whether or not we are “strengthened with might in the inner man”.
a. The weakest creampuff can SEEM strong and pretend to be strong when all is going his way.
b. The real question is, how will that inner strength hold up when it is really needed?
c. To Solomon, failing in time of adversity is a real character flaw.
• It is a sign of inner weakness…
• It indicates no resolve; no tenacity; no firmness of mind or heart; no stomach for the battle.
d. This character flaw comes to the surface in the lives of believers—especially if we have been taught a shallow, effeminate, crossless form of Christianity: Jesus loves you… you’re special… peace and happiness… etc.
e. That believer is often shocked and unprepared for the reality that Christianity is a BATTLE… warfare… full of conflict.
f. Note that Paul’s prayer is for INNER strength for the INNER man.
g. It’s good to be strong physically, but our warfare isn’t against flesh and blood.
h. Our warfare is against spiritual wickedness in high places that seeks to turn us away from God and spiritual things… seeks to cause us to trust in our own strength… and to walk in the flesh… and to be conformed to the world.
5. Verse 5 – Solomon may also be hinting here that there is a connection between strength and wisdom.
a. A wise man is strong and increases in strength.
b. Wisdom applied will result in a person becoming stronger and stronger spiritually… not weaker and weaker.
c. True spiritual wisdom will drive a man straight to the Lord.
6. I Sam. 30:6 – “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.”
a. This was a demonstration of great spiritual wisdom and strength. (Wisdom and strength go together.)
b. David went straight to the Lord. He knew that if he thought about the situation too long, he would be discouraged and quit.
c. Wisdom drove him to the Lord… where he found encouragement and strength to continue.
d. And we know the rest of the story – from there he went on to victory! They regained all that they had lost.
7. For the believer today, spiritual wisdom demands that we KNOW what it takes and what is provided for, to BE strong in the inner man.
a. In his day of adversity, David went straight to the Lord to encourage himself.
b. We are challenged (commanded) to do the same—sort of.
c. Heb. 4:16 – We are commanded to go to the throne of grace in our day of adversity… in our “time of need.”
• However, this passage adds a new dimension.
• This present tense of this verb (come) commands us to be CONTINUALLY coming to the throne of grace… THAT we may obtain mercy and find grace and strength in time of need.
• The idea is not that we wait until the day of adversity or the time of need. That might be too late. Or it might catch us unawares.
• We are to make it our lifestyle to be coming to the throne of grace.
• Our inner man is to be renewed day by day.
• Prayer is usually the first thing to go when we begin to slip away… when we begin to slide backwards… when our spiritual life is waning.
• Thus, when the real crunch time comes, prayer (coming to the throne of grace) may already have gone by the wayside.
• Hence, to REMAIN strong in the inner man requires REMAINING strong, faithful, and consistent in our daily prayer life.
• The one who continually comes to the throne of grace WILL HAVE the grace and strength needed for that day of adversity – for that time of need.
d. Just GOING to God in our time of need is an expression of no confidence in self… and it is an expression of faith – confidence in God.
e. Acknowledging our own weakness is the first step to realizing experientially His strength in our inner man.
f. II Cor. 12:9 – “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
g. For when I am weak, then am I strong.
h. Real spiritual strength in the inner man is God’s strength in us. As Paul wrote in Eph. 6:10: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”
8. Isa. 40:28-31 – What a great passage to mull over when discouragement strikes and we feel like quitting!
a. “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.”
Proverbs 24:11-12
Forbearing to Deliver
11 If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; 12 If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?
Introduction:
1. This proverb speaks about personal responsibility.
2. The proverb is vague enough to cover different types of violent injustice that might be encountered.
3. This is a proverb which speaks of culpability.
The Situation: Those that are drawn to death…
1. The situation here is that of people about to be put to death – slain.
2. Clearly Solomon had in mind those who were being drawn to death and ready to be slain unnecessarily or unjustly.
a. We know that that is the case because we are NOT to deliver those who are being drawn to death as a penalty for their crime (capital punishment cases).
b. Carrying out capital punishment was just and fair according to Jewish law… and in some countries today too.
c. God would not institute the death penalty and then encourage people (with proverbs like this) to RESCUE people delivered to be executed for their crime.
d. Therefore, it is obvious that being “drawn to death” here means unjustly… unfairly.
3. Solomon is speaking about a situation in which people KNOW that someone is about to be killed unfairly or unjustly.
a. Perhaps they overheard some criminals planning a murder.
b. Perhaps they have information about a murder trial in which an innocent person is being charged… and the information they have could clear this innocent person.
c. Perhaps they are aware of a danger at work in which someone will be killed if they use a piece of defective machinery.
d. Perhaps they have become privy to the intentions of a supremacy group (white, black, red, or yellow) which is planning to execute a community leader.
e. Perhaps you know a young girl who is thinking about aborting her baby.
f. Perhaps you hear that someone placed a pipe bomb in the mall.
g. If you see a man wounded and beaten on the side of the road… like the Levite, the priest, and the Good Samaritan did.
h. Perhaps you notice that there is a huge sinkhole in the middle of a highway that would swallow up several cars and lead to some horrific accidents resulting in death…
i. There are lots of possibilities for a passage like this: situations which would lead to someone’s death.
j. This is not information we come upon every day, but somebody somewhere in the world comes upon such information virtually every day.
k. But it COULD happen to you or me—that we come across information that could save the life of an innocent person.
l. And of course, while the passage is speaking about someone who is facing DEATH, it could certainly be applied to other situations in which a person might be injured or hurt in some way. This opens up the floodgates for application.
m. What is our responsibility?
The Crime: Forbearing to deliver…
1. If we KNOW it and forbear to deliver…
2. Forbear: To withhold; keep back; restrain; to keep from doing something.
3. The situation being described is one in which someone might be KILLED and we KNOW about it.
a. The point is that we know that an innocent person is about to be killed unjustly or unnecessarily and we restrain ourselves from doing something to prevent it.
b. It speaks of a situation that we have the power to prevent, but we restrain ourselves and do nothing to stop it.
c. This is clearly a sin of OMISSION.
4. Sometimes you don’t have to DO anything to sin. Sometimes NOT doing something is a sin.
a. That is the case Solomon describes here.
b. James 4:17 – “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
c. John 15:22 – “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin…”
d. Luke 12:47 – “And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.”
e. We are accountable for the light that we have.
f. Thus, the man who has information that could save someone’s life or limb and forbears to help is accountable for the light that he had.
5. There are lots of reasons people might “forbear” from doing anything—especially in our modern society.
a. “I don’t want to get involved.”
b. “It’s none of my business.”
c. “I might make enemies if I say something.”
d. “It’s too much trouble.”
e. “I’m too busy to take the time.”
f. “I’ll leave that job to the police.”
g. “Someone else will take care of it.”
6. The Mosaic Law dismissed all such excuses and held the person who KNEW culpable.
a. In a sense we really ARE our brother’s keeper.
b. Ex. 21:33 – In this case, the man KNEW that the hole was there.
• He also knew that a passing animal was likely to fall in.
• Therefore, he is responsible for the damage done.
• It is negligence on his part—and he was to pay for knowing and not doing anything to prevent the accident.
The Excuse: We knew it not…
1. This proverb doesn’t speak about the various reasons why some people would not respond.
2. Instead it focuses on one false EXCUSE: “I didn’t know.”
a. The man in question here DID know, but he lied and said he did not know.
b. If he knew he would be culpable, but it’s hard to convict this person for negligence for what he did not know. How do you prove what he knew?
c. This sort of problem remains an issue today too. We always hear reporters calling out to one suspected of being culpable for some sort of crime or cover up: “What did you know and when did you know it?”
d. If he knew, and knew it in time to prevent a tragedy, he is culpable… morally if not legally.
3. If a person DID know but chose not to do anything to deliver the innocent, then he shares in the guilt of the crime—even if he was not personally involved in the crime itself.
a. He shares in the guilt because he could have saved someone’s life… but chose not to.
b. Thus, this person who knew and did nothing has a vested personal interest in NOT letting others know that he knew. If it is discovered that he knew and did nothing, he shares the guilt of the crime.
c. Hence, the tendency to lie: “I knew it not.”
The Consequences: God knows the truth and judges according to works…
1. The man who falsely claimed that he didn’t know is reminded about God.
a. God is described as the One who ponders the hearts of men.
b. God knows everything that is going on in our hearts and minds.
c. Thus, God knows that the person DID know.
d. This person might lie to the police or the judge when he claimed “I knew it not,” and they might have no way to verify whether he is telling the truth or not.
e. But there is no fooling God. He knows the heart.
2. And God judges the heart.
a. Jer. 17:10 – “I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”
3. God will render to every man according to his WORKS.
a. In other words, we will be judged for what we DID with the light, knowledge, and information that we had.
b. God knows our heart (He knows what we know).
c. And He knows what we DID with that knowledge.
d. Judgment is based on what we did or did not do – our works.
Our Responsibility:
1. This proverb speaks of our personal responsibility to speak up for the defense of the oppressed who are defenseless and are facing death.
a. If we can disprove false charges leveled against an innocent person, we are responsible to do so.
b. If we have information that might save the life of an innocent person, God expects us to do so.
2. Our responsibility in such cases does not come from a particular passage or command, but rather from a general love for justice and truth.
a. We should always be on the side of justice and truth.
b. If we have the information or power to rescue the innocent, we SHOULD speak up and DO something. It is a moral obligation.
Examples of Those Who Did the Right Thing
1. Consider the Hebrew midwives.
a. They were commanded to KILL innocent Jewish babies.
b. They knew that the innocent were slated for death. They risked their lives to protect the innocent.
c. Sometimes following the principle in this proverb involves disobeying an unjust order.
d. Soldiers in the army of a vicious dictator may have to disobey an order that is clearly unjust. (Not just a policy with which he disagrees.)
e. It could be a government requires you to abort a second or third child. It is better to obey God than man.
2. Consider the example of Esther.
a. She knew the evil decree against her people, AND she had the unique opportunity to speak up for her people.
b. She did so at the risk of her own life.
c. Sometimes obeying the principle in this proverb involves sticking your neck out… it puts ourselves at risk.
d. People who testify in court to protect the life of an innocent man may have to point the finger at a gang member. They do so at a risk to their own life… and may require witness protection.
e. The cause of justice may be personally costly.
3. Consider the example of the Good Samaritan.
a. He could have walked by the wounded man like the Levite and the priest.
b. But he stopped and did what he could to save a life… because he had the knowledge and the wherewithal to do so.
c. Sometimes it involves paying a monetary price.
4. Consider the example of Obadiah.
a. He hid the Lord’s prophets.
b. He had knowledge of the plot to kill them and rather than sit by and watch innocent men killed, he DID something about it.
c. It was costly to him too. He fed them and kept them alive.
d. He could have been seen as a traitor by the wicked Jezebel.
5. Consider the Apostle Paul’s nephew.
a. He had information about a murder plot that saved Paul’s life.
b. He stepped forward with the information and Paul was delivered.
6. Certainly this applies to preaching the gospel too:
a. There is a whole world out there which is facing death—even the second death, eternal condemnation.
b. We have information that could DELIVER them from death.
c. The song says, “Rescue the Perishing.”
d. Even if we didn’t have a command to preach the gospel to the lost, the principle in this proverb makes us morally responsible to rescue the perishing.
e. Eph. 6:18-19 – Paul says that we OUGHT to speak forth the gospel—moral obligation.
Proverbs 24:13-14
The Sweetness of Wisdom
Introduction:
1. Verses 13-14 constitute the 26th of 30 wise sayings in this section of Proverbs.
2. Like most of the other sayings in this section, each individual “saying” or “proverb” consists of two Bible verses—which make this a unique part of the book.
3. In these verses, the author brings us back to an old theme often mentioned in the book: wisdom!
4. Solomon makes a connection here between wisdom and honey. The connection is NOT that honey is good for the brain and makes you wise, but rather that both are (in a sense), SWEET.
13 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
Honey Is Sweet on the Tongue
1. Honey was the “candy” of Solomon’s day. It was a real sweet treat that anyone could enjoy… rich or poor, if you dared to mess with a bee hive.
a. Everyone liked honey and all the sweet things made out of honey.
b. Because it was common and popular with the people, it became a good illustration to be applied in various situations.
c. Honey is mentioned 5 times in this section of 30 wise sayings.
d. We use candy in some of our “proverbs” too.
• “It’s like taking candy away from a baby.”
• We say something is “candy-coated” meaning that it has a sweet veneer over something not so sweet.
2. The first part of the proverb is straightforward: eat honey and the honeycomb. They are good.
3. Eating:
a. Devour; consume; take it in; partake of it; taste it and swallow it.
b. Eating implies something that is good for you… something beneficial.
c. Eating food is like a machine taking in fuel – it gives energy and causes you to move and get things done.
d. If you don’t eat, you lose strength. It is unhealthy.
4. It is good:
a. Good means: pleasant; agreeable; enriching; excellent; glad; beneficial; prosperous (a broad term like the English word “good”.)
b. Eating honey is beneficial.
c. The “goodness” of the land of Canaan was seen in that it flowed with milk and honey.
d. I Sam. 14:27-30 – In this account, Jonathan, Saul’s son did not hear the foolish order his father gave for the soldiers NOT to eat any food until the evening.
• Jonathan ate some honey and his “eyes were enlightened.”
• This does not imply anything supernatural or mystic.
• It simply means that a man half starving was revived by eating a little honey. His body needed the fuel!
• Eating the honey was beneficial to him physically.
• It could have been beneficial to the whole army were it not for his father’s foolish command.
e. This is basically Solomon’s point in our proverb: eating honey and the honeycomb is GOOD… beneficial… pleasant…
f. But as good and beneficial as honey is, it does you no good unless you EAT it.
5. The honeycomb is sweet to the taste.
a. The term “honeycomb” refers to honey that is still in the comb or honey that is flowing out of the comb… liquid honey.
b. It is not only good and beneficial to the body as fuel, it tastes good too!
c. Not everything that is good for you tastes good. And many things that taste good are not good for you.
d. But honey is different. It is good for you and it tastes sweet.
6. Summary of the first part of the proverb:
a. It is a command to EAT honey and the honeycomb. (Take it in; partake of it; don’t just taste it on the tongue, but swallow it.)
b. Two reasons are given: it is good for you and it tastes good too.
14 So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
Wisdom Is Sweet to the Soul
1. The application is made in verse 14: what Solomon said about honey is true of the knowledge of wisdom also.
2. The Bible speaks often about how SWEET God’s Words of wisdom are:
a. Prov. 22:17-18a – Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. 18For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee.”
b. Ps. 19:10 – “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”
c. Ps. 119:103 – How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
3. The terms:
a. Knowledge: Understanding; information; that which is learned or experienced.
b. Wisdom: Skill; experience; shrewdness; the capacity to understand and so have skill in living.
c. The difference is between information/data and the ability to put that data to good use.
d. A man may have lots of information in his head, but may NOT have the skill to use it wisely… to put it to best use in everyday living.
4. The expression “the knowledge of wisdom” is best understood in the sense of “So shalt thou know wisdom to be unto thy soul.”
a. Knowledge is translated as a noun, but can also be an imperative here… as some translations have noted.
b. In other words, just as honey is to your pallet, so KNOW that wisdom will be to your soul.
c. The one who knows wisdom in an experiential way knows its value. It is as sweet as honey: pleasant, agreeable, and good.
5. We should EAT up wisdom whenever we find it.
a. We should RELISH every opportunity to learn wisdom and to take it in.
b. The FOOL has no interest in listening to wisdom.
• Prov. 1:7 – fools despise wisdom and instruction.
• Prov. 10:21 – fools despise wisdom and instruction.
• Prov. 17:16 – a fool hath no heart to it (wisdom).
• Prov. 23:9 – the fool will despise the wisdom of thy words.
c. But we SHOULD eat it up every time it is offered. It is like honey: good for you and sweet to the taste… for those who have an appetite for it.
d. We should feed on it… feast on it… learn to enjoy it and to see the value of it.
e. It will become pleasant to us… and we will thus develop an appetite for more… just like the child who takes a little taste of honey. He discovers that it is pleasant and sweet and he wants more!
f. Sometimes kids say “I don’t like it” before they have ever tasted something. They sometimes have an aversion to the unknown.
g. But once you taste honey, you KNOW it is good. No further tests are needed.
h. So too with God’s wisdom. Once you have tasted its goodness, you need no further proof of its value. It is SWEET to your soul!
6. There shall be a reward!
a. Reward:
• This term is variously translated either reward or “end.”
• That is because the “end” was associated with a time to receive rewards for what we have done in this life—either good or bad.
• It might be best to think of this word as a reward received in the “end.”
b. Prov. 5:3 – The words of the strange woman are sweet as honey, but in the end ye shall have bitterness.
• Solomon is saying that with respect to TRUE wisdom from the Lord, there is not bitterness in the end, but a reward!
• The servants of sin shall be rewarded for their love of sin, so too there is a reward for those who love God’s wisdom.
c. What a deal! It is sweet and pleasant now, and you are rewarded for it later on… at the Bema Seat.
d. We often think of a reward as something awarded for hard and difficult service. You don’t often receive a reward for eating something that is good and sweet!
e. This is because true wisdom does not waste away in the brain. It is put into action… put to good use… to good works.
f. And there is a great reward for those good works.
g. Ps. 19:11 – “Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.”
7. Thy expectation shall not be cut off.
a. Expectation: Hope; a confidence in regard to a good and beneficial future; a cheerful expectation of good.
b. Those who feast on God’s wisdom will be rewarded one day. And that great hope will not be cut off. They will not be disappointed.
c. Honey and other sweet foods whet the appetite, and create an appetite for more. It causes you to anticipate something GOOD when you eat those sweets. Thus, people naturally gravitate towards sweets. (Just watch at the next fellowship time.)
d. So too the promise of reward and expectation of good should create an appetite for and encourage us to SEEK wisdom with all that we have.
e. Those who seek after wisdom will never be disappointed. The happy expectation of good will continue throughout life and into the life to come.
f. Thus, we should relish wisdom just as we relish honey and sweets.
Proverbs 24:15-16
God’s Deliverance of the Righteous
15a Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous
A. THE FIRST COMMAND:
1. Verse 15 is a warning to the wicked. The warning is twofold:
a. Don’t lay wait against the homes of the righteous.
b. Don’t spoil (rob) them.
2. The contrast here is between the wicked and the righteous.
a. Wicked: Guilty; criminal; one who violates a standard; lawbreaker.
b. Righteous: Just; righteous; correct; law abiding; innocent.
c. These are exact opposites.
d. There has always been conflict between these two groups… between the godly and the ungodly.
e. This is nothing more than old enmity in the seed of the serpent against the seed of the woman.
3. The wicked lie in wait for the righteous.
a. Lie in wait: To lie in wait; ambush; lurk; to lay in wait against; hide and attack to harm others; describes the activity of the wicked man as he lurks to oppress or destroy the afflicted.
b. This speaks of wicked men lurking in the shadows in order to pounce upon the righteous in order to do them harm.
c. The term is also used of animal predators lurking in the woods to ambush an unsuspecting prey… ready to pounce and devour.
4. They are seen as lying in wait against the dwelling of the righteous.
a. Dwelling:
• Of flocks it is used of pastures or grazing meadows.
• I Chron. 17:17 – God said of David, “I took thee from the sheepcote…” (same word)
• Of humans it is used of their residence; abode, habitation; abiding place; the place a human lives, with a focus on the space as a place. (Not just the physical house, but the space where we live… our habitat.)
• Hos. 9:13 – “Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place.” (same word)
• Isa. 33:20 – “Thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down.” (same word used)
5. This seems to imply MORE than that the wicked seek to ambush our homes.
a. It is broader than that. It indicates that the wicked seek to pounce upon us in our “quiet habitation”… “invade our “space”…
b. It seems to be figurative language describing the INTENTIONS of the wicked against the righteous—to pounce upon us and to do us harm by invading our space and disrupting our quiet habitation… and perhaps even our home and family.
c. It seems to portray an attack on our way of life.
d. They can become a threat to our peace of mind.
15b Spoil not his resting place:
B. THE SECOND COMMAND:
1. Spoil:
a. Violently destroy; devastate; to utterly ruin.
b. Looting and plundering (often used of the military taking the “spoils” of the battle… looting the defeated foe).
c. Jer. 10:20 – It is used of the destruction of the Temple: “My tabernacle is spoiled.” (same word)
2. Restingplace:
a. Resting or dwelling place; place of lying down.
b. Dwelling place; home; i.e., a space in which one normally lives, with a possible focus on this place as a resting-place.
c. This is basically a synonym for “dwelling” in the first part of the proverb. (It is a different Hebrew word, but the meaning is quite similar).
3. The second part of the proverb says basically the same thing, only it pictures the danger at the next level.
a. In the first part, the wicked warned not to “lie in wait” ready to pounce… ready to ambush.
b. In the second part, the wicked are warned not to actually pounce… not to destroy or devastate the righteous.
c. The warning is against looting, plundering, or bringing to utter ruin.
16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
1. Verse 16 stands all by itself in that it makes a valid point.
a. It is a proverb in its own right.
b. It could easily have been found in a previous section of this book which contained mostly freestanding proverbs… without any context.
2. And yet while it makes a statement all by itself, it is clearly connected to verse 15, as a couplet – like the rest of the “wise sayings” in this section of Proverbs.
a. FOR: This word indicates that verse 15 is a continuation of thought from the previous passage.
b. In this verse we see the same two groups: the just or righteous and the wicked. (same Hebrew word)
3. Verse 15 gives the wicked two commands.
a. However, while it is addressed to the wicked, most wicked men don’t read the Scriptures.
b. Most men, who have the inclination to do such things, don’t really care what God’s wisdom has to say.
c. If they were wise, they would read it and obey, but the wicked are not wise.
d. Hence, the primary audience here seems to be the righteous.
e. It is given as an encouragement to the righteous who live in a wicked world… and have to deal with the wicked and their evil intentions.
4. A just man may fall seven times and rise up again.
a. This statement is proverbial all by itself.
b. Righteous people do fall. (We can all attest to that.)
c. One scholar noted that this word for fall is not used of moral failure, but rather falling into unfavorable circumstances.
d. When the righteous fall into unfavorable circumstances, they rise up again. They don’t REMAIN down.
e. But here Solomon makes this statement in light of the previous situation: Wicked men lying in wait, ready to pounce and ready to spoil… to bring utter ruin.
f. The point seems to be that even if they DO pounce upon us and do us great harm, this is not the end of the righteous man.
g. The wicked may attack in countless ways and over a long period of time.
h. They may be successful at times in bringing devastation to our lives.
i. They may invade our space and disrupt our quiet habitation.
j. They may even KNOCK us down and cause us to fall… perhaps even SEVEN times. (Number of completeness… the fullness of his falls throughout his life… he may fall a good number of times… over and over…).
k. But they cannot KEEP us down.
l. The righteous man will keep on getting up and moving on.
m. Sometimes the Lord even uses persecution like this to separate the wheat from the tares.
n. It’s easy to claim to believe on Christ. But CONTUING in the faith is what demonstrates that our faith is deeper than just an intellectual acceptance of facts.
o. Matt. 13:20-21 – The seed sown on stony ground seems to rejoice in his faith for a while… until trials and persecution comes… until he faces the foe. When he is faced with adversity, he doesn’t get back up again. He’s gone.
p. God gives special grace and strength to His own to continue on in the things of the Lord—even after they have been knocked down.
q. Ps. 37:24 – “Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.”
r. The grace of God enables the believer to rise up above his circumstances… unfavorable as they may be, they don’t have to keep us down.
s. This was certainly true in Paul’s life:
• II Cor. 4:8 – “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.”
5. This is a great encouragement to believers who face the wrath and cruelty of the wicked.
a. Do NOT assume that because they are successful on occasion that they are winning.
b. Do NOT assume that if they knock you down, you will not be able to be revived.
c. Even if we do fall, the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us…
d. His grace is sufficient for every situation.
e. His power is sufficient to enable to get back on our feet and to go forward.
6. This is also a stern warning to the wicked.
a. You too will fall.
b. Only notice that there is no mention here of the wicked getting back up again.
c. They fall… into mischief. (trouble; calamity)
d. When they fall, they do not have the Lord to pick them back up again. They are truly on their own.
e. Daniel 6 – Consider the story of the wicked men who were lying in wait and ready to pounce upon Daniel and reported him to the King for praying.
• They were ready to strike… to destroy him.
• Their plan caused the king to put Daniel in the lion’s den.
• But though Daniel found himself in most unfavorable circumstances, God delivered him.
• God stopped the mouths of the lions and Daniel rose up out of the lion’s den.
• But the wicked men who sought to pounce on Daniel and destroy him, were cast into the lion’s den… they fell, but they did not get up.
f. Thus, the point to the wicked is: it is futile for the wicked to threaten or harm the righteous. Because in the end, they will get back up again… and you will fall into calamity—and ultimately into divine judgment!
7. Summary:
a. The wicked have evil intentions against the righteous. They lurk to do damage and sometimes cause devastation… in spite of God’s warnings.
b. But the righteous should not be overly concerned. God has not forsaken them. The righteous will be revived and restored.
c. But the wicked should not be overly confident, for they will fall into mischief. Period!
Proverbs 24:17-18
When Your Enemy Falls
17a Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth…
1. Rejoice:
a. To be joyful; to rejoice in a happy way.
b. It can also mean to rejoice in an arrogant way… to gloat.
c. In this proverb it clearly means to rejoice in an arrogant way.
2. Rejoicing when an enemy falls is gloating over the misfortune or over the calamity of an enemy.
a. This is what is forbidden in this passage.
b. It is forbidden because it is cruel and unnecessary.
3. II Chron. 20:27 – It is NOT wrong to rejoice when an enemy is defeated in battle.
a. The LORD made them to rejoice over their enemies.
b. In this case, God set the ambush against the enemy and they were smitten (vs. 22).
c. The Jews were given the “spoils” of the battle taken from the slain soldiers.
d. It was God who MADE them to rejoice over this victory.
e. But be careful here:
• It was right for them to rejoice that they won the battle.
• It was right for them to rejoice that God won the battle.
• It was right for them to rejoice that God gave them the spoils of the battle… and not vice versa.
• It was right for them to rejoice that they were delivered from a close call—from a potential massacre.
• It was right for them to rejoice that God’s people won the victory that day.
• But it was NOT right to rejoice in the physical suffering, pain, and death of their enemies.
• They were not to gloat over their enemies.
• They were not to relish the blood, the gory scene on the battlefield, or the horrific loss of life.
f. God Himself does not gloat over the death of His enemies.
• Ezek. 33:11 – “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live.”
g. It might seem like a fine line, but it is an important one.
h. Clearly God did not MAKE the Jews rejoice over their enemies in a sinful way… in a way that the Word of the Lord forbids in Proverbs.
i. The Lord made them to rejoice that justice prevailed… and that they were delivered, but He did NOT make them to rejoice that the Moabites were bleeding, groaning in pain, or experiencing an early death.
4. Solomon is forbidding rejoicing over our enemies in a sinful, evil manner.
a. I can’t help but think of the dancing in the streets of certain cities in the Middle East when the World Trade Towers collapsed… or the parade in Mogadishu, Somalia, as the American soldier was dragged behind jeep before the cheering crowds.
b. That is GLOATING over the death and suffering of your enemies.
c. But let’s not forget, that the Bible is written to US.
5. We too can get caught up in the emotions of current events.
a. We can gloat over the sufferings of others… especially over our enemies.
b. It is good to cheer our soldiers on to victory in battles against the enemy… but we should not gloat and rejoice over the suffering and death of those defeated.
c. There is nothing godly about being happy and rejoicing over the calamities of others… even if the “others” happens to be radical, Muslim terrorists
d. We really ought to feel sorry for them… have pity on them.
e. Our goal as Christians ought to be to lead them to Christ… not wish they were bleeding, suffering, and dying!
f. Luke 9:54-56 – The disciples got caught up in this kind of wrong thinking and were rebuked by the Lord.
• The Samaritans would not receive them because they were headed to Jerusalem.
• Therefore, the disciples wanted to send fire down from heaven upon them.
• The Lord rebuked their wrong thinking.
• Our heart’s desire ought not to be for their destruction and death, but for their deliverance and salvation!
• Remember, as Christians, we are commanded to LOVE our enemies.
• Gloating over their suffering and loving them cannot be harmonized.
17b And let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
6. We shouldn’t be glad when they stumble either.
a. This basically says the same thing as the first part of the proverb.
b. One distinction might be that we are not to ALLOW our heart to be glad when they stumble.
c. It is our nature to think that way – to gloat over their fall… to secretly delight over their fall or tragedy.
d. It comes naturally to us… because of our sinful inclination, but it is wrong!
e. We can get really caught up in the present war with radical Islam and GLOAT over disasters that befall them… floods in Pakistan… or an earthquake in Iran…
f. Apart from the war, apart from the ideology, and apart from the terrorist attacks, when we see tragedy among our enemies, it SHOULD evoke pity and compassion on our part.
g. They too are made in the image of God—even if they hate us and want us to suffer and die.
h. We are not to fight evil with evil, but rather with good.
7. Consider the example of David (Psalm 35:11-14)
a. David was mistreated by his enemies. They lied about him and did him evil.
b. But he did not respond with evil.
c. David mourned their sickness and loss. He felt sorry for their suffering.
d. That is how WE ought to respond to human suffering—even our enemies.
18a Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him…
1. “Lest the Lord see it…”
a. Rest assured that the Lord DOES see it.
b. He sees our hearts… and the secret gloating that goes on their over the calamity of others.
2. When the Lord sees this kind of behavior, He is not happy… and God is no respecter of persons.
3. The book of Obadiah deals with this subject in detail.
a. Ob. 1:10-13 – The Edomites gloated over the destruction of Judah.
b. The Jews and the Edomites were ancient foes. This animosity went way back to the animosity between Jacob and Esau.
c. They looked on with glee when they were carried away as captives.
d. They gloated over the fact that their wealth was plundered.
e. Ob. 1:19 – And God will turn the tables on the Edomites one day. The Jews will one day possess the mount of Esau—their land!
f. God hates gloating over the destruction, the fall, the failure, or the calamity of others.
4. We may not dance in the streets at the destruction of our enemies, but we might secretly gloat in our hearts and rejoice over it.
a. There is no hiding this in our hearts either. “The Lord sees.”
b. When He sees gloating over their calamity, He is displeased—because it is SIN.
c. And if we regard iniquity in our heart – the Lord will not hear our prayers. There is no fellowship until it is confessed and forsaken.
18b And he turn away his wrath from him.
1. God may turn away His wrath from him (the enemy being gloated over).
2. This statement assumes that the enemy is also an enemy of God… an enemy of righteousness.
3. In other words, vengeance against this enemy is in God’s hands. He will punish all evil doers—in His time and in His way.
4. If the Jews gloat over the fall or the stumbling of their enemies, then the Lord may “turn away His wrath” from them.
a. God may have planned for their destruction apart from their fall or stumble.
b. God may have already planned to deal with those enemies of righteousness.
c. However, if the Jews gloat over their every calamity, God may WITHHOLD judgment from the Jews’ enemy!
d. Thus, God would turn the tables on His own people!
e. Thus, by gloating over the suffering of their enemies, the Jews may actually be LESSENING the suffering of their enemies!
f. Vengeance belongs to the Lord… not to us.
5. God is displeased with this kind of behavior: gloating.
a. It demonstrates an attitude of superiority and pride… arrogance.
b. God hates flesh glorying in itself.
c. Our attitude ought to be: “There but for the grace of God go I.”
d. Arrogance is something that God has always hated and in EVERY form it takes.
6. Prov. 17:5 – Here Solomon states that those who gloat over the calamities of others will NOT be unpunished.
a. Not only is God not pleased with those who gloat, He also will punish those who gloat!
b. And note that this proverb is not restricted to enemies.
c. God punishes gloating over the calamity of ANYONE… including our enemies.
Proverbs 24:19-20
Fret Not Over Evil Men
19 Fret not thyself because of evil men…
Concern Over Evil Men
A. Fret Not
1. Fret defined: (charah)
a. Strong’s: To be hot; furious; burn; become angry; be kindled.
b. Dictionary of Bible Languages: Be in a state of worry and concern as an extension of being internally angry.
c. It speaks of burning either in anger or burning in worry.
2. Solomon commands his readers NOT to get angry, upset, disturbed, or worry about evil men in the world.
a. Evil men have been in the world since the Garden of Eden and will be until the New Heavens and the New Earth.
b. Evil men have always been up to no good in the world.
c. There is no new thing under the sun.
3. Therefore, believers should not FRET over them.
a. We should not worry about them.
b. We should not be overly concerned about their existence. They have always been with us.
c. We should not allow them to cause us to become overly angry, upset, or disturbed.
d. Naturally, the godly will be concerned about the behavior and the lifestyles of the wicked in the world.
e. But Solomon’s command is that we not go overboard in our concern.
f. There is a difference between a healthy concern for something and outright worry.
g. There is a difference between being angry at unrighteous deeds, and allowing that anger to control us and move us to do something foolish in retaliation. (Like having a Koran burning ceremony.)
h. There is always the danger that we as believers will allow the evil men in the world to get us worked up into a frenzy and to go overboard in our reaction to them.
i. That seems to be the warning here.
j. Righteous indignation is one thing, but that can easily cross the line and become unrighteous indignation.
k. Other Bible writers dealt with this very same sentiment.
• Ps. 37:1 – Solomon’s father, David also warned his readers not to fret over evil doers.
4. Instead of fretting over evil men and their deeds in the world, we should instead view it as Divine Providence.
a. It is what God has allowed to be.
b. God is still on His throne. He has allowed evil to manifest itself.
c. In fact, the “mystery of iniquity” is at work today and will continue to grow and increase until it is fully revealed in the Great Tribulation Period.
d. Things are not out of control, but rather, are under the control of Almighty God.
e. When evil occurs in the world, it is because of the sin of man in one way or another.
f. When evil occurs in the world, it is because God has allowed it and is using it for His glory ultimately.
g. In fact, when evil men do evil things in our lives, it is also because God has allowed it and is using it for His glory ultimately.
h. If it is all part of God’s plan and program for the ages, then there is no need for fretting and worry.
i. Instead of worrying and fretting and getting angry over all those things evil men do, say, and get away with, we need to learn to SUBMIT to God’s Divine Providence in our lives… and to submit to His sovereignty over our lives.
j. We can fret and worry over it and allow it to get us angry and in a frenzy OR we can see God’s hand in it and learn to submit to His wise and sovereign plan for the world and for our lives.
k. Most of these things are out of our hands anyways. It doesn’t really do any good to walk around in worry, fear, and in anger.
19b Neither be thou envious at the wicked
B. Neither Be Envious
1. Envious defined:
a. Strong’s: To envy; be jealous.
b. Dictionary of Bible Languages: Have a feeling of ill will ranging even to anger, based on a perceived advantage.
c. Zodhiates: It can express jealousy, where persons are zealous for their own property or positions for fear they might lose them (Num. 5:14, 30; Isa. 11:13); or envy, where persons are zealous for the property or positions of others, hoping they might gain them. (Gen. 26:14; 30:1; 37:11)
d. This Hebrew term includes the meaning of both our English “envy” and “jealousy”.
2. The command is that Solomon’s readers not desire to have what the wicked have and/or that they not be fearful that the wicked might take away what they have.
3. The term for wicked is used as a synonym for evil in the first part of the proverb. (The same is true in verse 20 as well.)
4. This is the third time that this theme (envious of sinners) has appeared in the 30 wise sayings in this portion of the book. (cf. 23:17; 24:1)
a. It is a common theme in the Bible.
b. Ps. 73:3 – Asaph envied in the same way: “For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”
c. Asaph was honest enough to admit it. Perhaps we have all envied wicked men with all their wealth and property in this life.
d. It is also closely related to another common theme: why do the righteous suffer and why do the wicked prosper in the world?
e. Whatever the answer might be, we are not to worry about it… nor are we to be envious or jealous of the wicked.
20a For there shall be no reward to the evil man…
Why We Should Not Be Concerned
A. They have no reward
1. In this verse, Solomon gives us the REASONS why we should not fret or be envious of the wicked: this life is all they get!
2. They have no reward.
a. This refers to beyond this life.
b. They DO have a reward for their evil deeds: earthly, temporary, fading glory and riches.
c. But what they have in this life will not last. In the life to come, they have no reward!
d. This is similar to what the Lord Jesus said of the hypocrites in Matthew six: “don’t do what hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.” The only reward they get is the applause of men in this life.
3. Ps. 17:14-15 – David speaks to this issue too.
a. Vs.14 – They have their portion in this life.
• Their bellies are full.
• But they can’t take it with them. They have to leave it all behind to their children.
b. Vs.15 – The believer has something else to look forward to.
• Regardless of how much or how little the believer has in this life, in the life to come, the psalmist says, “I shall see thy face in righteousness and be satisfied!”
• That is a far better prospect for the future than the wicked who prosper in the world.
c. Therefore, there really is no reason to worry about WHY they prosper in the world.
d. There is no reason to envy them either—not if they are going to lose all their toys and trinkets forever.
e. We have TRUE riches that last forever. AND we have true satisfaction—something that earthly riches could never bring—even if the wicked CLAIM that they do.
f. There is no need for envy in this life. When you really think about it, envy on our part is kind of silly… foolish.
20b The candle of the wicked shall be put out.
B. Their candle will be put out
1. This is an illustration designed to make one point: their life on earth will be snuffed out soon and there will be nothing left.
a. Their candle may shine brightly in this life, but it will soon be snuffed out.
b. Things might seem so bright for them in this life, but nothing but darkness in the life to come.
c. That is not a destiny to be envied. It is to be pitied.
2. David put it this way: “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 2For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.” (Ps. 37:1-2)
a. He uses a different illustration, but the point is the same.
b. Their glory is short lived. Their end is not to be desired.
C. What Our Attitude SHOULD Be
1. David wrote a poem on this theme. (Psalms 37)
a. Vs. 1-2 – Solomon warns us not to fret, worry, or be angry over the place, power, position, prestige, or property of the wicked.
b. He gives us good reason NOT to fret or envy too: their day is coming!
c. Only David took his thoughts beyond where Solomon leaves us.
d. David adds what our attitude SHOULD be towards the wicked in the world.
2. The proper attitude: (Ps. 37)
a. Vs. 3 – Instead of worry, TRUST.
b. Vs. 4 – Instead of envying what they have DELIGHT in the Lord.
c. Vs. 5 – Instead of seeking to gain what they have, COMMIT your way unto the Lord and let Him bring it all to pass.
d. Vs. 7 – Instead of fretting REST in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.
e. Vs. 8 – Instead of getting angry, CEASE from anger.
Proverbs 24:21-22
Those Given to Change
Introduction:
1. These verses conclude the first part of the “sayings of the wise men” found in Proverbs 22:17-24:34.
a. Many believe that Solomon was not the only author of proverbs in this section.
b. Other wise men may have added to this collection.
c. Regardless of the human author, the Divine Author was the Holy Spirit.
2. This section of the book has two parts:
a. The first part (22:17-24:22) is introduced as “the sayings of the wise” (22:17).
b. The second part (24:23-34) is introduced by the statement, “These also are the sayings of the wise” (24:23).
3. We have noted before that what makes this section distinct is the fact that most of the “proverbial sayings” consist of more than one verse (usually two or sometimes three).
4. We are now going to look at the final proverbial thought in the first part of this section of “wise sayings.”
21a My son, fear thou the LORD and the king:
1. The charge in this verse is to FEAR.
a. Fear: To reverence; to be afraid; to honor; to respect.
b. In this context, it is a command to fear, honor, and respect two levels of Divine authority: The Lord and the King.
c. Lev. 19:32 – a similar exhortation- honor the aged and fear God.
d. It means to show respect; reverence; honor.
2. Fear the Lord:
a. Prov.1:7 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.
b. Fearing the Lord always comes first for He is the ultimate Authority.
c. All other authorities (elders; kings; etc.) derive their authority from God.
d. Gen. 22:12 – Abraham demonstrated that he feared God by offering his son.
• If you know who God is, then fear is the natural response: for God is awesome… fearful… omnipotent… omniscient… sovereign… He holds our next breath in His hand.
• To know Him is to fear Him.
• A casual or low concept of God results in a lack of fear and a lack of reverence for Him.
• But if a person really knows who God is, then disobedience to His word is unthinkable… regardless of the cost.
• Consider the cost to Abraham!
• But by offering up his son, Abraham demonstrated that he knew who God is… and that he feared Him.
e. The first charge is to fear the LORD (Jehovah).
3. Fear the King
a. The readers are also commanded to fear the king.
b. The king derives his authority FROM the Lord.
c. Since the days of Noah, divine authority had been given to men in positions of authority in human governments.
d. In Israel, the king served as a representative of God to the people. He was to be obeyed.
e. Rom. 13:1 – Paul later wrote that the powers that be are ordained of God.
f. The king was to be feared because in a sense, he stood in a position of authority that had been ordained by God Himself.
g. Rom. 13:3-4 – “Wilt thou not be afraid of the power?” He has the power of life and death over those who do evil.
h. I Pet. 2:17 – “Fear God. Honour the king.”
• This is the very same charge as in our proverb.
• And Peter wrote these words as Nero was in power and persecuting Christians.
• Respect and honor for the king is to be given NOT because we believe the PERSON is worthy of honor.
• Respect and honor for the king is to be given, not because we agree with his policies.
• But respect and honor is to be given because of his God-given position.
• Rom. 13:4 – “He is the minister of God to thee for good.”
i. This responsibility is trans-dispensational.
j. It is easy for believers to get all stirred up over political issues.
• What our leaders decide can affect us for years to come.
• But regardless of the political issues at hand, our attitude towards the King (or president or prime minister) is to be in harmony with the Bible: honor the king; fear the king.
• I Tim. 2:1-4 – If we don’t like his policies, then PRAY for kings and for all that are in authority that we might lead a quiet and peaceable life!
4. Thus, the first command is to fear, honor, and respect the Lord and the king. He has been put in a position of power and authority.
a. The Lord and the King each had the ability to punish evil doers. They both should be feared… honored… and obeyed.
b. Fearing and honoring the king implies submission to his authority.
c. It speaks of obeying his commands; paying his taxes; respecting his rules and regulations—whether we agree with them or not.
d. That’s the way a monarchy ruled. Thankfully we live in a democratic republic and we can vote out of office those with whom we disagree.
e. But as long as they are in office, our responsibility is to obey, submit, and honor.
21b And meddle not with them that are given to change:
1. “Those given to change.”
a. This is one Hebrew word that means “change; to make a change; and can have the meaning of rebellion.”
b. Note that he speaks not of those who make changes.
• Many changes are for the better.
• He is not disparaging change.
• Rather, he is speaking of those who are GIVEN to change. That speaks of those who seek to change just for the sake of change… to alter for the sake of altering.
• It speaks of those who are weary of the old and enamored by anything new—even though it be untried.
• This kind of spirit exists in the political realm: seeking to overthrow governments.
• It exists in the spiritual realm. Men opposed the authority of Moses and the prophets.
• It exists in the churches today too. There is a generation who seems to be enamored by anything “new” and who seek to change “church” into something else… though that new thing be untried and untested. (Let’s revisit these new wave churches in 10-15 years to see how they are doing!)
• It speaks of those who are restless rebels who simply seek to overthrow.
c. This passage is a good illustration of interpreting Scripture according to “the literal, grammatical, and historical method.”
d. The passage needs to be understood according to the historical and social setting at the time of writing.
e. This was written during a monarchy in Israel; the king was to be God-appointed.
f. Thus, trying to CHANGE the king was seen in that setting as rebellious against God’s anointed.
g. This was why David refused to cut the skirt of Saul. He would not touch God’s anointed—even if Saul was trying to kill him!
h. Opposition to the man God appointed to office was in fact, rebellion against God Himself.
i. Our system of government is not a monarchy—and certainly not a theocracy.
j. In our form of government, it is perfectly acceptable to be part of an opposition party. That’s how our government works.
k. So be careful in applying this passage.
• It does not require that all Christians join the party of the person in office at the present.
• It does not forbid us from working for “change”—or to oust him from office.
• But it DOES forbid us from rebelling against his authority or disobeying his rules.
• It does forbid us from attempting to overthrow the government… or from joining a military coup.
• As believers, we are to fear the king and submit—and not to rebel against his rule over us.
2. “Meddle not”
a. Meddle defined: Aid; support; join; make a pledge to; associate with.
b. Thus, the command here is that the readers were NOT to associate with those who were seeking to rebel against the king.
c. They were not to support them or make a pledge to them.
d. It has been translated variously:
• Do not join with the rebellious.
• Don’t join those people who refuse to obey them.
• Don’t associate with rebels.
• Have nothing to do with people who rebel against them.
e. In Solomon’s day, God’s people were not to have anything to do with those given to the overthrow of the monarchy.
f. God’s people are not to be seen as troublemakers on earth.
• Today, we as Christians are not to be seen as rebels against authority either.
• We are not to have a testimony as rabble rousers.
• I Pet. 2:14-17 – We are to obey EVERY ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake… for His name’s sake… for His testimony before men.
g. Matt. 26:51-54 – Jesus forbade Peter and company from taking up swords against the Roman soldiers (the powers that be). Even though their actions were unjust, Jesus commanded the disciples to submit and not to rebel.
h. Jesus also said, we are to “render unto Cesar the things that are Cesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.”
22 For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?
1. Verse 22 states the REASON why the readers should not join forces with the rebels against God’s authority or the King’s.
a. Because their calamity shall rise suddenly!
b. “Their” refers to both the rebels and to those who join forces with them… or make pledges to them.
c. Calamity: Distress; disaster; destruction; violence; ruin.
d. Those who join forces with the rebels and those who seek to change the government by overthrowing it will discover that they themselves shall experience calamity: disaster and destruction.
e. This destruction could come from the king… who discovers their plot… or it could come from the Lord Himself.
f. Sometimes sudden calamity against rebels comes directly from the Lord as with the case of Korah. God opened the earth and the earth swallowed up Korah and the rebels who followed him.
g. Sometimes sudden calamity against rebels comes from the king… Consider the rebellion of Absalom and his end – hanging by his head in an oak tree… with three darts stabbed into his heart.
h. Whether the outcome is from the Lord or from the king – it is not good either way.
2. “Who knoweth the ruin of them both?”
a. Ruin = a synonym for calamity.
b. Neither the rebel nor those who join with them can expect good to come from their rebellion. They can expect nothing but ruin.
c. “Who knows the ruin of them both?”
• God does! God knows the time, the means, the circumstances, and all the details of their destruction.
• He has planned it all.
• And rest assured, their ruin shall come one day… either in this life or in the life to come.
Proverbs 24:23-25
Calling the Wicked Righteous
23a These things also belong to the wise.
1. This is yet another of the “wise sayings” in this section of Proverbs.
2. What is said here is a “word to the wise”—and in our present verses, it is a word to the wise who are in positions of authority—such as judges and princes.
3. This proverbial saying consists of three verses. It is a little longer than most in this section.
4. The author speaks about a familiar theme of “showing partiality”—but in a particular kind of partiality.
23b It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
1. This is the general introduction to the proverbial thought.
a. In the broadest context, it is NOT good to have respect of persons in judgment.
b. Prov. 28:21 – Solomon warns against having respect of persons.
c. The expression translated “respect of persons” in this passage literally reads: “recognizer or examiner of faces.”
2. Lev. 19:15 – Moses warns against judging on the basis of one’s wealth. You should not be able to “buy” justice.
3. Deut. 17:21 – Moses warned against having respect of persons in judgment.
a. Vs.16 – Moses commanded them to judge righteously. (This is exactly what the Lord Jesus said in John 7:24 – “judge righteous judgment.”)
b. Vs. 17 – The small as well as the great were to be heard and judged fairly. (The small farmers and “little people” were to be heard exactly as the judge would hear the great, powerful, wealthy, and important men).
c. They were not to be afraid of the face of man.
• In other words, they were not to show favor to a man because of outward appearance—demonstrated by a person’s face—what he looks like.
» In Solomon’s day it would be easy for a judge to make a decision based on the appearance of the one standing before him.
» Does he look Jewish or does he look Egyptian? Ethiopian? He sounds like an Assyrian, or perhaps a Babylonian!
• This outward appearance is also demonstrated by expensive clothing; what family he was from; whether he was popular—a face everyone recognized; etc.)
• Today, the issue might be skin color; is he a Muslim? Is he a Jew? Is he Mexican?
• Justice was to be blind.
• This is good advice for making judgments today too: justice is to be blind.
• A man is not to be judged according to his standing in society; political power; or the color of his skin; his wealth, or social status.
4. James 2:1 – James warns Christians against having the faith of Christ with respect of persons.
a. The two don’t go together.
b. Vs. 4 – Making judgments on that basis is being a judge of “evil thoughts.”
24a He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous…
1. Here the author limits the respect of persons to a particular TYPE of partiality.
2. It is the kind of partiality that perverts justice by calling wicked men righteous.
a. Because he is speaking about “respect of persons” the implication is that the wicked person who is shown preference is shown that preference because of some other status.
b. Obviously, he is not to show preference because he is wicked.
c. Rather, he is shown preference because he is popular, or wealthy, or has political clout, or is from an important family.
d. Perhaps he is a friend or relative who is shown favor.
e. Whatever the particular status he enjoys, the author lays out a scenario in which his wicked behavior is excused, exonerated, or even praised BECAUSE of that status.
3. Most people in the country are convinced that:
a. That when Ted Kennedy drove Mary-Jo Kopechne off the bridge at Chappaquiddick, the only reason he was exonerated was because he was a Kennedy.
b. That OJ Simpson was guilty of murder, but was exonerated because he was a popular football player with lots of money.
c. That the lame excuses of Paris Hilton for her quarterly arrests keep her out of jail only because she is the daughter of an extremely wealthy family.
4. What Solomon warns against was not only applicable in his generation.
a. It has always been a problem and always will be as long as judicial systems are run by sinners.
b. Isa. 11:3-4 – The Millennial Kingdom will change all that. In that day the judicial system will be run by Christ Himself!
c. He will rule with a rod of iron. The wicked will never be called righteous. Nor will the righteous ever be convicted as guilty.
d. Justice will prevail perfectly in that day.
e. Until then, we need to do our best to keep governmental officials honest… keeping in mind that it will never be a perfect system till the Lord comes!
f. Until that day, the warning remains: “It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.”
g. Or as Isaiah put it: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isa.5:20)
5. The point of the first part of this proverbial statement is that such partiality or perverted justice is NOT GOOD.
a. It is not good because it is not fair. It is not just. It is not righteous. It is a perversion of justice.
b. Deut. 25:1 – A judge is to be just and fair. He is to uphold justice and therefore he MUST justify the righteous and condemn the wicked.
c. The status of the person involved in the accusation should never even be a consideration.
d. Any kind of partiality is “not good.”
e. Of course, while this was probably directed primarily to judges and princes, there is good application to all of us.
f. Life forces us to make judgments all the time. It is never good to be partial or show respect of persons.
g. Their income, pedigree, power, skin color, social status, or their popularity should have nothing to do with the verdict. Nothing!
24b Him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:
1. In this part of the proverbial statement the author speaks of the RESULT of that kind of partiality.
a. Prov. 17:15 – Earlier Solomon stated that this kind of behavior is an abomination to the Lord.
b. Now the author states that this kind of behavior is an abomination to people too!
2. The first result of such partiality in judgment is that the people will curse you and the nations will abhor you.
a. Presumably, people show respect of persons to the wealthy and the powerful in order to remain in good favor with the wealthy and the powerful… or to remain in the good graces of some political, ethnic, or social group.
b. Perhaps it is done expecting a little kickback or to have one’s palm greased a bit.
c. People show respect of persons with self interest in mind. (The thinking is that “if I judge in favor of this wealthy noble man, it will be better for me.”)
d. But this proverb warns that while you may be in the good graces of the person to whom you showed respect, everyone else is going to hate you!
e. When nepotism is displayed, your family loves you, but nobody else does.
f. When you choose on the basis of your ethnic group, you will be popular in that little group… but nowhere else.
g. The regular people will curse you!
h. If you are a king or a prince showing respect of persons, the other nations will abhor you.
3. In general people hate perversion of the judicial system.
a. People realize that if wicked men in powerful positions are getting special deals in court, then the system is rigged and unfair.
b. The average person realizes that if they themselves ever have to stand in that court, that they will not be able to expect justice.
c. If people feel that the judicial system is rigged against them, they will rebel… and perhaps seek to overthrow that system.
d. Even those from other countries will look on from the outside and criticize that system as unjust.
e. Civilized nations criticize other countries (Iran; North Korea; etc.) for their kangaroo courts, and rightly so.
4. The author’s point is that the respect of persons in judging is universally hated.
a. Those who engage in this twisted practice may make one friend, but they also potentially make thousands of enemies.
25 But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.
1. Now the proverb speaks of the person who does NOT show respect of persons in judgment.
2. This person does not call the wicked man righteous.
a. Instead, he rebukes him!
b. He calls his wickedness wicked!
c. He doesn’t back down because of who the wicked man is, what position he holds, what kind of power he wields, how much money he has, or how popular he is.
3. The person (whether judge or prince) who makes righteous judgments shall be the delight the people (beloved; endeared; pleasing) and shall receive a good blessing from the people.
a. The people love this man because of his COURAGE.
b. The people love this man because of his INTEGRITY.
c. The people love this man because JUSTICE was upheld.
d. The people love this man because they feel that they too will be treated fairly in his court.
4. This is true in many other settings as well.
a. If you are a manager at work and have to make judgments that affect the careers of those under you—consider these words.
b. If you are in a position where you have pick and choose among people for various jobs or promotions, etc, you will gain respect in the long run if it is clear that your decisions are just and fair and are not based on a respect of persons.
c. Prejudice can be manifested in our lives no matter what our occupation is—whether you are a cab driver or a president.
d. If you are a leader in the local church and have to make decisions—this principle is vital there too.
e. Parents too would do well to take heed to these words in the way you deal with your kids. Preferential treatment leads to bitterness and rebellion.
f. Nobody wants to support anyone or any institution that doesn’t treat people honestly and fairly.
g. Justice matters.
Proverbs 24:26
The Value of a Right Answer
Introduction:
1. This verse is probably part of the proverbial thought found in vs. 23-26.
a. That section dealt with the issue of showing partiality… respect of persons, especially in judgment.
b. Those in positions of power and authority (like a king’s son, prince, or judge) should not excuse wickedness just because it is committed by someone of note – the nobility, the wealthy, or the powerful.
c. Justice is to be blind… and thus not influenced by outward appearance.
d. The passage states that the one showing partiality calls the evil deeds of the upper class “righteous” and as a result, all the ordinary people hate him for it. (vs. 24)
e. But when a judge does NOT show partiality and rebukes the one doing evil (regardless of his wealth or social position) will be a delight to the people.
2. Verse 26 seems to be a further explanation of the thought in verse 25:
a. The people will love the ruler who judges fairly and justly.
b. And the ruler who gives a righteous answer will be “kissed.”
26b A right answer
1. Answer: Speech; utterance; words; statement; talk.
a. The term has a wide range of use.
b. In context (if we assume this to be part of the previous section), the author has been speaking about two kinds of judges with two kinds of “speech.”
c. Judges are to hear the evidence in a case, and then give an “answer” or a verdict based on the evidence.
d. The answer they give can have a profound effect on the lives of those involved.
e. If it is a national issue, the answer they give can affect the whole country.
f. The “answers” (words; speech; etc.) of a judge or those in positions of power are extremely important.
g. We should pay close attention to the words and answers that judges give… and the speeches of those in positions of power.
h. Those “answers” can affect our lives and our well being.
2. Right: Straight; right; upright; just; righteous; honest.
a. In particular, the author mentions RIGHT answers… right words… right speeches.
b. Right speaks of those verdicts and judicial “answers” that are righteous… just… fair… straightforward… and honest.
c. A just answer is one that is not based on outward appearance.
d. It is an answer or a verdict given that is free of prejudice.
e. It is an answer that doesn’t even take into consideration a man’s social position, a man’s skin color, ethnicity, a man’s wealth, or fame.
f. It is an answer that stems from the truth – one that is just and fair.
g. That is how judges are expected to behave.
3. While it appears that this verse is part of the whole proverbial thought of verses 23-26, it does stand alone as a complete thought.
a. Thus, it is applicable in lots of situations—not only in the courtroom.
b. We too should give “right answers.”
c. Our speech should never be defiled by bigotry, prejudice, respect of persons, or any kind of injustice.
d. If someone asks us a question, they should expect an honest answer.
e. If someone asks us a question, they have a right to expect the truth, and we have an obligation to give them nothing but an honest, truthful, right answer.
f. Almost nothing ruins the testimony of a believer faster than lies and dishonesty.
26a Every man shall kiss his lips
1. Of course, this expression needs to be understood as “proverbial.”
a. This expression is a figure of speech.
• It is not to be taken literally… especially today.
• I do want to give honest answers, but I don’t want every man to kiss my lips.
• This proverb does not mean that every man will literally kiss you if you give right answers.
• It is a figure of speech designed to drive home a literal point.
b. The expression is to be understood in light of its historical setting.
• In that day and in that culture, kissing (even men kissing men) was common.
• It was more like a handshake and would not have the same connotation that it might have today.
• This kind of kissing would have had a very positive tone in the day when it was written.
c. This expression also needs to be understood in light of the context.
• Kissing the lips in this expression is to be connected with what was said in the previous verses.
• If a judge is prejudiced, partial, and shows respect of persons, by calling their wicked behavior “righteous,” then the people will ABHOR him. They will hate him. (vs. 24)
• But if a judge is fair and honest, and he REBUKES the wicked (even if he is powerful, rich and famous) then the people will be delighted. They will love him.
• That person will be considered blessed.
2. A good answer (righteous, fair, just, honest judgment) will evoke a KISS from the people.
a. This kiss is a continuation of thought from the delight and blessing of verse 25.
b. It is clearly a sign of approval, joy, support, agreement, and appreciation.
c. Everyone will approve and be appreciative of the judge whose judgments are right, just, and fair.
d. The expression “kissing the lips” is hyperbole, an exaggerated expression designed to make a point.
e. They might not literally kiss the lips of the judge, but they sure will be happy that he’s on the bench… and not the kind of judge mentioned in vs. 24.
3. This truth is certainly applicable to us today.
a. One who gives honest answers will be appreciated—and that goes not only for judges but for the average person on the street.
b. People value a person who is honest and fair in their speech.
• Citizens value honest answers from their politicians.
• Students value honest answers from their teachers.
• The congregation appreciates honest answers from the pastor.
• Consumers appreciate honest answers to their questions from a salesman.
• In every earthly realm, people want the raw truth. They want others to be honest and open with them.
• They don’t want to find out AFTER the purchase that the product only lasts one year.
• They don’t want to find out when it’s too late that the politician really knew he would be raising taxes… even though he said he wouldn’t.
• Unfortunately, when it comes to the truth of God’s Word, most people do NOT want an honest answer. They seem to be content with a lie.
• But for the most part, honest answers are valued by everyone.
c. One translation (actually closer to a paraphrase) captured this idea: “An honest answer is a sign of true friendship.”
• He interpreted the “kiss” as a sign of friendship.
• A true friend will give an honest answer—even if the truth hurts.
• The one who gives reliably honest answers is respected, honored, and loved.
d. Prov. 15:23 – Good answers are appreciated! It brings joy—maybe even a kiss. Good answers are valued.
e. Prov. 27:6 – “Open rebuke is better than secret love. 6Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
• Some men show outward affection, but they are enemies. Their words are not good.
• But others may say honest words (words that we don’t really want to hear), but perhaps NEED to hear.
» Those are the words that should be valued and appreciated.
» Those words, though they may wound, are coming from a true friend… and are for our good.
» True friends speak honestly to us… they speak the truth, painful though it may be. That’s love.
• When someone gives us honest answers, they should be “kissed.”
» We should be grateful for their honesty… because it is for our good in the long run.
» We might not be grateful immediately. But if we stop and think about it, we BECOME grateful. For then we begin to realize that the words of correction are beneficial, profitable, and valuable.
• Only a friend would stick his neck out with that kind of an honest answer. Everyone else may have “known” about the issue, but didn’t bother to say anything.
» Faithful are the wounds of a friend.
» And if a friend does stick his neck out to speak honestly to you (something you might not want to hear), don’t get mad as if he were an enemy. Treat him as a friend.
» You don’t have to kiss him, but you should appreciate the kindness of the honest answer.
f. Prov. 23:15-16 – A father rejoices when his son speaks “right things.”
• “Right things” defined: (One word) = evenness; uprightness; straightness; fair; level.
• It encourages the father to hear his son speak such words because it indicates that his son is growing in wisdom and is maturing—perhaps in life and perhaps also in the faith.
• He might feel like kissing his son when he hears such good answers.
• A son who speaks honestly causes his father to rejoice.
• A son who speaks with fairness and is level headed in his speech causes a father to rejoice.
• Solomon seemed to be speaking about good, old fashioned honesty in speech. You can trust what your son says—and that delights the father.
• In every setting, people like to hear right words… good answers.
Proverbs 24:27
First Things First
Introduction:
1. This proverb speaks about priorities.
2. It makes a simple statement about putting first things first.
3. There is a clear contrast between the basics and the finer things of life.
27a Prepare thy work without and make it fit for thyself in the field…
1. Solomon (or whoever the author of this section was) first speaks of a man’s work in the field.
a. Of course, this needs to be understood in light of the culture and customs of the day.
b. Israel was primarily an agricultural society.
c. Men worked in the fields and grew their own crops. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t eat.
2. Work in the field required preparation.
a. The farmer had to prepare the field for planting.
b. That meant he had to plow the field and break up the hard soil so that the seeds would germinate and grow.
c. Preparing the field was backbreaking work. They didn’t have a rototiller with a gas engine.
d. They had to do the work with a yoke of oxen and a plow… and some probably by hand.
e. This work was done “without” and “in the field”
• The preparation work had to be done outdoors in the elements.
• It was done in the blazing hot sun of the Middle East.
• It obviously could not be done “inside” in the comforts of home.
f. “Making it fit” is another expression with basically the same meaning – preparation work… making it “ready” for planting.
3. The first part of this proverb is a command to do your necessary work in the field.
a. If you didn’t take care of this work, then you wouldn’t have any crops to eat. You and your family would go hungry.
b. Thus, preparing the field for planting was perhaps the most basic necessity of life. No crops, no food!
c. There may be a thousand other important things that needed attention… but Solomon’s command was “do this first.”
d. There is a time for everything under heaven. And when it is time to prepare your field, don’t let anything else take you away from that.
e. It is MOST essential that the field be prepared and that it be prepared at the proper time.
27b And afterwards build thine house.
1. Note the order here: First prepare the field; then build your house.
a. This is the main point of the proverb.
b. There is a proper order for taking care of business in life.
c. There ought to be a sense of priority in doing all of our work.
d. First things first: First the field, then the house.
e. The order of priority is this: First take care of the basic needs (like preparing so that you can eat!) and then attend to the “extras”… luxuries… building a house.
2. Again, a word about customs and culture is needed here. Otherwise, we might miss the point.
a. Today in America, especially here in the comfortable suburbs, we might not see the distinction as clearly as in Solomon’s day.
b. To us, food and shelter ARE the basics… the essentials.
c. But in Solomon’s day, a house was considered a luxury.
• Many people lived in tents until they could afford to build a house.
• Sometimes young couples lived in the house of their parents even after marriage until they could build their own house.
d. Solomon’s advice to the poor and perhaps to young couples just starting out in life is this: Prepare your field first!
• Make sure that you will have food enough to feed your family.
• Don’t assume that you NEED a house right away.
• If you have to pick one or the other – choose food. It is more basic and essential than a house.
• If you have to live in a tent for a few years until you get on your feet, then so be it.
• It’s better to live in a rustic tent and have food to eat, than to live in a nice house and go hungry!
3. Another possible implication in this passage would relate to the Jewish settlers in the land.
a. As the Jews conquered the land and began to spread out, caution would be needed before they started to build their house on the property.
b. As they took over a piece of property that appeared to be well suited for them, they should FIRST prepare the ground and make sure that the ground is suitable for farming.
c. Don’t just find a pleasant view, build a house, and ASSUME that the land is fertile and would be productive.
d. Do your homework first. Prepare the fields and test the soils before you start building.
e. You might discover that after you build your house, you may have to abandon it and move to more fertile soil.
4. Others see this proverb in a slightly different light.
a. The proverb is vague enough to support many applications.
b. Some understand Solomon to be speaking entirely about building a house.
c. The work does not concern providing food, but rather, in preparing a foundation in the field for building the house.
d. This would also be related to the principle of “counting the cost.”
e. Make sure you have prepared all the building materials before you begin to build.
f. Luke 14:28-30 – Count the cost first… then build.
g. I Kings 5:17-18 – The House of the Lord was built this way.
• All the building materials were prepared ahead of time.
• Then construction took place.
• 6:7 – In fact, each piece was precisely prepared to fit in place without any hammering on the work site.
h. The point: be prepared ahead of time.
5. Either way, the principle is the same: be prepared before you start building!
a. Plan ahead.
b. Put first things first. Prioritize.
c. Necessities first; then comforts and conveniences.
d. Make sure that you can put food on the table before you entangle yourself in an expensive, time consuming house building project.
e. Make sure you have enough to finish the job before you start.
Applications to today:
1. This is such good advice to young couples today—even if we don’t live in an agricultural society!
a. If the wisdom of Solomon was applied, many young couples could avoid financial disaster.
b. Young people are overly eager to have the house, without having laid the proper financial foundation.
c. Young people today assume that they NEED a big house with all amenities as soon as they get married.
d. Our present economic downturn in some measure can be traced to NOT following Solomon’s advice!
• Young (and old) couples wanted the big fancy house, without having “prepared their fields.”
• They didn’t build up a financial foundation that would safely allow them to buy the big house, but they bought it anyway.
• Even couples who could afford “a” house, chose to buy the McMansion instead.
• Before too long, they discovered (usually when the rates went up) that they could not afford their big house… and the bank foreclosed on it.
• This is happening all across the country.
• They got into a house without having done the “field work outside.” They were not financially prepared.
e. Young couples today might have to do what young couples have done for generations:
• If you cannot afford to buy a house right away, rent a cheap apartment and save money.
• You don’t need a house and a mortgage payment right away.
• You don’t need a house full of brand new furniture right away. Buy second hand… yard sales, etc.
• You don’t need a brand new car, a big screen TV, etc.
• Be financially responsible. What a novel idea!
• Do your prep work. Necessities come first; comforts and conveniences will come later.
f. The thinking behind buying beyond our means is wrong and contrary to Biblical principles.
• It is often done for outward show… to keep up with the Joneses. That is worldly and carnal.
• It is not worldly or carnal to OWN a big house and have nice things.
• But it IS worldly and carnal to “show off” a success that doesn’t really exist.
• On the outside, they look successful. They have a big house in an exclusive neighborhood and drive a Cadillac.
• But internally, their lives are a mess! They owe more than they can pay. Bills are piling up. Tensions flare. Stress rises.
• That is not a wise way to live. It is a poor testimony for a believer.
• Following Solomon’s advice IS a wise way to live.
• Prov. 17:1 – “Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.”
» Financial struggles are one of the biggest problems to married couples.
» It is better to live in a tent with food on the table, than to live beyond our means, show off before others, and come home to nothing but strife and arguing over the bills!
» How much better to be CONTENT with a tent or a cottage.
2. This principle is also applicable in building a business.
a. Don’t just walk into Boston, buy some expensive prime real estate, and build a large store expecting to make it rich.
b. Do your “field work” first.
c. If you haven’t done your preparation work, and you are expecting to sell cowboy hats, you might discover to your dismay that there isn’t’ the market for cowboys that you were anticipating!
d. Do your prep work first; then build!
3. This principle is applicable in planting churches too.
a. Some go by the theory that says, “If you build it they will come.”
b. That is not necessarily true.
c. Preparation work needs to be done.
d. A church planter needs to scout the area to see if there are already churches in that region…
e. Building on another man’s foundation is contrary to the Biblical principle. Building churches near other churches is usually harmful.
f. Planting churches in another country and another culture also requires preparation work. Expecting to build an American style church in India might not work. You need to do your field work before “building the House of the Lord.”
4. Application can also be made to getting married.
a. Some see the “building of a house” here as figurative language in which Solomon speaks of marriage… a family.
b. It is better to take his words literally here. However, it is certainly a good application.
c. Before you decide to settle down and build a family, it is essential to first be able to take care of basics.
d. If you can’t put food on the table, then you aren’t ready for marriage. Perhaps you ought to think about college or some other type of training.
e. If you build your “house” (family) first, you may struggle to put food on the table for the rest of your life.
f. Solomon’s advice here is: Get your priorities right. Take care of basics first. Getting married is a big endeavor. Be prepared!
Proverbs 24:28
A Witness Without a Cause
Introduction:
1. In this proverb, the author speaks of one’s testimony in court.
2. Two commands are given in that setting.
3. Both have to do with dishonesty and deception.
28a Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause…
1. The injunction against bearing false witness:
a. Witness: One who gives a verbal testimony; one who serves as a witness; one who gives evidence of what he knows in a formal, legal setting.
b. The readers are commanded NOT to give a verbal testimony or give any kind of evidence in a formal legal setting “without cause.”
c. Ex. 20:16 – This is basically the same command as the ninth commandment: “Thou shalt not bear false witness.”
d. In other words, all testimony in court must have a just cause. It must be accurate, truthful, and honest.
e. Bearing false witness in court could cost an innocent person his reputation, his freedom, his property, or even his life.
f. This is an exceptionally serious command because God is a God of truth and hates that which is false.
• Prov. 6:19 – It is one of the seven deadly sins that God especially hates!
• Prov. 12:22 – lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.
• Jesus said, “I am the Truth.” Of course lies and deception are hated by Him.
g. But it is also serious because of the damage and harm it can to do other men.
h. Ex. 23:1 – Moses states here that they were not to join with others in raising a false report against someone.
• Don’t be part of a conspiracy against someone.
• Don’t allow peer pressure to entice you into joining the crowd in condemning an innocent man.
• This was especially important under Mosaic Law, because one witness could not condemn a man. However, if there were two or three witnesses, then a person could be condemned.
• Hence, if a liar wanted to harm someone he hated, he would try to talk others into joining him in the false witness. The command here is: don’t be a part of that!
2. Bearing false witness against one’s “neighbor.”
a. Neighbor: This term has a broad range of meanings. It includes: Friend; companion; fellow; an associate; a fellow citizen or countryman; another person.
b. The term is obviously broader than just the person who lives in the house next to you.
c. The term the author uses here is broad enough to include ANY other person.
d. There is never an excuse for bearing false witness… even if the person is your enemy who has done you much harm.
e. Honesty in the court system in Israel was to extend to everyone… close kinsmen, associates, fellow countrymen, foreigners, and even the dreaded enemies!
3. Be sure that your testimony is not “without a cause.”
a. Without a cause: Freely; for no purpose; in vain; gratuitously; without cause; undeservedly; not having a basis or ground for an argument.
b. It is possible to give testimony about a person that really does not serve the right purpose.
• For example, if you are asked a “yes or no” question about a person, and you go way beyond the answer and testify of other things in order to tarnish the person, you are testifying without cause.
• Don’t give excessive details to put him in a bad light. Just answer honestly the question you were asked.
• A defendant standing before the court may not be a choir boy; he may be a troublemaker. But that does not mean he is guilty of the crime before the court.
• Unfortunately, we have too many examples of this in our politicians. They are asked a simple question about their opponent and answer it—and then go on a 5-minute diatribe highlighting all the faults and failures of their opponent going back to the sixth grade!
• There is really no basis or grounds for that kind of speech. They are giving information “without a cause” – not pertinent to the subject at hand.
c. Our answers and our testimony should be PURPOSEFUL and to the point… not “without a cause”, that is a just cause.
• What we say about another person ought not to be groundless… baseless… undeserved… for no good reason.
• This command forbids us from speaking up against someone out of anger, hatred, spite, or revenge.
• It is likely that verses 27 and 28 go together.
» If that is the case, then the author clearly is writing about testifying against someone who has wronged you.
» Hence, the warning is not to seek revenge in your testimony against that person.
» Don’t exaggerate. Don’t stretch the truth. Don’t try to get even… don’t bear false witness against him—even if he has wronged you.
• Even if we have suffered as a result of another person, the right way to handle injustices is to leave it in the hands of the Lord—and not to take matters into our own hands and run a smear campaign against them… or lie.
• That is unbecoming a saint.
28b And deceive not with thy lips.
1. The second injunction: Do not deceive with your lips.
a. Deceive: The term can mean to be open; gullible; simple; easily deceived OR actively, it means to deceive; persuade; or entice.
b. Prov. 12:20 – “Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil…”
c. A person with deception in his heart will eventually have deception flowing out on his lips.
2. The concept of deception is broader than an outright lie. It also includes misleading speech.
a. It is possible to speak nothing but facts, but to present them in such a way as to mislead.
b. Often important, pertinent facts are purposely left out in order to mislead… even though you spoke only the truth.
c. I hear that often in counseling. It is human nature to say things in such a way as to make self look good, and the other guy look bad.
d. It is easy to justify that kind of speech to ourselves, because perhaps we said nothing but truth.
e. But there are lots of other ways to communicate too: body language; tone of voice; expressions of disbelief; rolling the eyes; etc.
f. God is a God of truth. He knows not only the words that we speak, but also the motive behind those words.
g. He knows what we are trying to communicate by other means as well.
3. Men deceive others to hide the hatred in their hearts.
a. Men will lie and smear another man out of hatred, and attempt to do so in a deceitful manner—to make themselves look good.
b. Out of hatred for another person, we can just hurl out there little innuendos, incriminating pieces of information, half truths, etc. in order to persuade others to believe the worst about someone.
c. It is human nature to attempt to HIDE the hatred in our hearts and to use deceptive speech as a “cover up.”
4. Prov. 19:5 – Deception shall be punished.
a. False witnesses and all liars shall not escape punishment.
b. It may not reach them in this life, but it surely will in the life to come.
c. Vs. 9 takes it a step further: he shall perish! (brought to ruin)
d. Deut. 19:16-21 – When false witnesses ARE punished, it causes others to fear… lest they also be punished.
e. The penalty attached is a deterrent to sin… to lies.
5. Col. 3:9 – The Christian is not to lie, but not because he fears the penalty of the law.
a. We are not to lie because we have already put off the old man, the man whose life was characterized by lying and deception.
b. It is not fitting for a new creature in Christ to behave like the old man he used to be.
c. God hates lying. So should we!
• Ps. 119:163 – The Psalmist said: “I hate and abhor lying…”
• Prov. 13:5 – “A righteous man hateth lying.”
d. And it really is an issue of character: if a person lies and shows disregard to truth… he will likely cheat… and perhaps steal: dishonesty breeds dishonesty.
e. But by walking daily in the Spirit, with our hearts right with God, we WILL be practicing the truth… living the truth and manifesting the indwelling Christ who IS the Truth.
f. This is an important part of our testimony before the world.
Proverbs 24:29
The Golden Rule in Reverse
Introduction:
1. This proverb deals with the subject of revenge.
2. The only question concerning its meaning has to do with context.
a. Most of the proverbial thoughts in this section consist of more than one verse, usually two or three.
b. The next proverbial thought actually is found in the next five verses dealing with the sluggard.
c. This section is different than much of the earlier chapters in that there is a context… several verses strung together.
d. The debate is whether verses 28 and 29 are to be considered as individual thoughts or if they are both speaking of the same theme.
3. If they stand alone, then:
a. Verse 28 speaks about perjury = lying in court.
b. Verse 29 speaks of revenge.
4. If they are to be taken as a unit of thought then:
a. They are both speaking about lying in court.
b. Verse 28 forbids lying and deception in court
c. Verse 29 forbids lying in court to take revenge on an enemy.
5. It is probably best to understand these two proverbs as one proverbial thought… acknowledging that even as a unit, each passage can have many applications on its own—beyond the courtroom scene.
29a Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me:
1. We are going to begin looking at this proverb assuming that it is a continuation of the context established in verse 28.
a. As such, this would be seen as a synthetic parallelism: a proverbial thought that builds on what was said before.
b. It continues the same thought but adds new information.
2. Consider the progression of the proverbial thought:
a. Don’t be a false witness against your neighbor in court.
b. Don’t deceive either… by leaving out key points in your testimony that might be misleading. Don’t deceive by any means. To do so would be a violation of justice.
c. And don’t use the legal system to get even with an enemy. Don’t lie about someone in court because you don’t like the person! Don’t use the legal system as a platform to seek revenge against an enemy or to make him look bad.
3. “I will do to him as he hath done to me.”
a. These are the words of someone who has been injured by another person.
b. Someone harmed him in some way:
• Perhaps through gossip or lying.
• Perhaps this other person has caused the speaker here to experience a loss of property… a ruined field of crops… lost animals.
• The specific type of harm done is not stated. We could apply this to ANY kind of harm that another has done.
• Whatever the harm was, the speaker wants to get even.
• The speaker was hurt by that person; now the speaker wants to hurt him back.
c. This is an expression of pure revenge.
• Obviously the person speaking feels justified in what he’s doing.
• He probably sees it as a matter of an “eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth.” He hurt me; now I’m going to hurt him back.
• This is what our fallen nature is like. We like to take revenge in our own hands and strike back at those who strike at us.
• The desire to “get even” seems to be universal among men… and women and children.
• There are lots of examples of revenge sought after in the Bible.
• Absalom sought revenge against his half brother, Amnon for defiling his sister, Tamar.
• Judg. 15:9-11 – Sampson sought revenge against the Philistines… and the Philistines sought revenge against Sampson.
• It’s probably quite safe to say that every person in this room has not only thought about revenge, but has also carried it out in one form or another… in word or in deed.
4. Seeking revenge is clearly forbidden in both Old and New Testaments.
a. Psalm 94:1 – The Old Testament saints were not to take vengeance into their own hands. They were to pray for the God of Vengeance to SHOW Himself… by taking vengeance on their enemies.
b. Prov. 20:22 – Old Testament saints were not to take vengeance themselves, but they were to wait on the Lord to do so.
c. Rom. 12:19 – New Testament saints are told the same thing. Do NOT take vengeance into your own hands. Vengeance belongs to the Lord.
d. I Peter 3:9 – Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
• This runs contrary to our nature.
• Perhaps out of a sense of morality, a man might be convinced to restrain himself from striking back or rendering evil for evil.
• But it takes a special grace to enable us to respond to evil done to us with “blessing.”
• However strange and foreign it might be to our old nature, it is our CALLING in Christ. We have been called to live this way.
e. Seeking to take out revenge on someone is sinful—in any age and in any setting. There is never a justification for it.
f. Even if our cause is just, there is no justification for an individual taking justice into his own hands.
g. Vengeance belongs to the Lord ultimately. And in this life, God has ordained governments to execute justice against criminals.
h. We are NOT to take matters into our own hands. There is to be NO vigilante justice before God.
5. It is especially heinous in a courtroom situation before the Law of the land.
a. If someone lies about you in order to get even for some real or perceived injustice done to them, you might well brush it off.
b. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.
c. However, if they lie about you in court, the consequences could be much more severe than hurt feelings.
d. You could end up in jail or paying a fine. You are not simply lied about or gossiped about around the water bubbler. Now it is in a public setting… before authorities who could imprison you… fine you… take away your property.
e. This is much more serious than being lied about in other settings.
6. What a contrast to what the Lord Jesus taught.
a. The man in this proverb said, “I will do to him as he has done to me.” He treated me cruelly so I will treat him with the same cruelty… and maybe even a little worse! I’ll show him!
b. Matt. 7:12 – What is called “the Golden Rule” teaches the opposite.
• The Lord Jesus taught that we should do to others GOOD things that we would WANT them to do to us… not BAD things that they have already done to us.
• This is grace… giving others a benefit that they do not deserve.
• This is how the Lord treats us—and it is how we ought to treat others.
• It is very different from the way the world operates.
• The world also has its Golden Rule. In the world, whoever has all the gold makes all the rules.
• Jesus taught us to be gracious and selfless and to leave all judgment and revenge in the hands of the Lord.
• Matt. 5:39 – We are not to try to get even.
» In fact, if someone smites us in the face, we are not to strike back.
» Leave vengeance to the Lord or to the government which the Lord established to execute justice.
» By doing so we are expressing our submission to God.
• Matt. 5:44 – We are not to seek personal vengeance against those who mistreat us.
» We are to do GOOD to them and to PRAY for them.
» Pray for them—seeking God’s best for them.
» That’s very different from lying in court against them to get even!
29b I will render to the man according to his work.
1. This statement of revenge basically puts the speaker in the place of God Himself!
2. II Tim. 4:14 – The Lord would reward Alexander according to his works.
a. God alone is the One who judges sin. Vengeance belongs to the Lord.
b. It is God—not we—who rewards a man according to his work.
3. We are very poor judges of a man’s works because we cannot see what God sees.
a. God knows the heart… the deep things of the heart.
b. God sees the motive behind the works.
c. God sees all the circumstances surrounding a man’s work.
d. We see none of that, and are thus not qualified to judge another man’s works as God can.
e. And we are certainly not in any position to execute personal vengeance against any other person.
f. We are to submit to God and His will for our life and leave all those matters into His care.
g. He makes no mistakes. We are prone to error in judgment.
h. We don’t have the ability to render unto a man according to his works.
Proverbs 24:30-32
The Sloth
Introduction:
1. The next five verses in this section deal with one proverbial thought: laziness.
2. It is part of human nature. It is more of a problem for some than others, but everyone has some areas of life where we are lazy.
3. Thus, this proverb is valuable to us all. There is application enough for each of us.
4. In these verses, the author does the following:
a. First he observed the field of the slothful man and took some notes (vs. 30-31).
b. Then he meditated on what he observed. (vs. 32a)
c. Then he was personally instructed by what he observed. He learned a lesson from it. (vs. 32b-34)
30 I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; 31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
1. The author walked by a field and made some initial observations.
a. The field was overgrown with thorns and nettles.
b. The stone wall was broken down.
c. His property had fallen into disrepair. No upkeep had been done in quite some time.
2. Next the author concluded that the owner was slothful.
a. Slothful: Sluggard; lazy; slow to take any action, suggesting a lack of discipline or initiative, as a moral failure.
b. The slothful man described in Proverbs:
• Prov. 19:24 – They lack initiative.
• Prov. 20:4 – They find excuses not to work; they don’t do their jobs on time; they are procrastinators.
• Prov. 22:13 – They invent reasons not to work; they fear work!
• Prov. 26:16 – Yet, they consider themselves to be just a bit smarter than everyone else. (“Those other fools have to get up and go to work every day… but not me! I’m too smart for that.”)
c. Solomon paints a pitiful but accurate picture of the slothful man or woman.
3. Notice the way the author describes the “slothful” man: he calls him a “man void of understanding”.
a. The term “understanding” is a translation of a word that means “heart; inner man; the mind; the emotions; and will of the man; the inner self life.”
b. Here the author uses the term of the deep, inner thought life of a man.
c. In other words, it is what is going on deep inside a man’s mind, heart, and soul.
d. And what is going on inside the mind and heart of the sluggard?
e. Nothing! This man is void of understanding.
• Void means lacking; destitute; deficient; or empty.
f. This passage gives us an inspired, in-depth look deep into the heart and soul of a man.
g. If you want to know about human psychology, don’t study Skinner or Freud. They have no concept of what the human psyche is really like (sinful; cursed; depraved; blinded spiritually; etc.)
h. If you want to know about human psychology, study the Bible.
• What the Bible says about inner workings of the human heart is true and accurate because it is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
• We are ill equipped to understand our own hearts, much less the heart of someone else.
• Jer. 17:9 – “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart…”
• Our hearts are deceptive. We think we know what’s going on inside, but we are easily deceived. Who can know it? The answer is no one (no human being). But the LORD searches the heart… the deep recesses of the heart. He knows exactly what’s going on inside the heart and soul of a man.
i. Here God tells us something about the heart of a lazy person. What’s going on inside? Not much! He is VOID (empty) of understanding.
j. Keep in mind that this is not an intellectual problem. It is not that the lazy man lacks the mental capacity to be hard working. Rather, he lacks the MORAL capacity. This is a moral problem… a sin problem. It is a problem of the heart, not the head.
k. This man lacks the heart to work. Therefore he chooses not to think about it. He has developed a capacity to block work out of his mind. Work is a four-letter word to him… a bad, swear word.
l. This is the kind of person the author observed.
• His fields are overgrown and his stone wall is falling apart, not because the man is elderly or handicapped and unable to take care of his property.
• This property is a mess because the owner is slothful.
• It is not a physical problem or an intellectual problem. It is a moral problem. The man has chosen to be slothful.
32 Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it…
1. The next thing we are told in this proverb is that the author considered it well.
a. Consider: (two Hebrew words)
• The first word means: “To put or to place something.”
• The second word means: “Heart or mind.”
• Together the expression means “to consider; to contemplate; to put the mind to something; to pay attention to something.
b. The author went by the field of the slothful man and began to do some heavy thinking.
c. He didn’t casually observe the field. He paid close attention to it. He thought about it. He meditated on the meaning of what he saw.
2. Solomon was wise because he was a keen observer.
a. He thought about the things that he saw.
b. He saw the same things that everyone else saw. The difference was that he took the time to THINK about what he saw. He considered the significance of what he observed.
c. For example, Solomon observed:
• Ants… and learned lessons about hard work.
• Harlots in the windows, waiting to allure young men their way.
• Solomon observed trees and other plants. He observed ants and other animals.
• But he especially observed people. He was a people watcher. He carefully observed human behavior, and considered the results of that kind of behavior.
• He recorded the results in his observations about life in this book—for our learning and admonition.
d. But Solomon also left us with an example of HOW to become wise: By paying careful attention to the things that we observe in life.
• If we pay attention to the little things that we observe in life and meditate upon the significance of them, we too can learn great lessons and gain wisdom.
3. The author uses three terms to describe the process of LOOKING:
a. I saw – this term implies seeing and perceiving. (The English word “see” also is used of understanding. “Oh, I see!”)
b. I considered it well – “to put it in your heart and mind.”
c. I looked upon it – “to see, to pay attention, to experience.”
d. There seems to be a progression of thought:
• Seeing and initial perception.
• Consideration – meditation; contemplation on the meaning.
• Looking upon it – experiencing the truth – real life application.
32b And received instruction.
1. After seeing, considering, and looking upon, the author then received instruction.
a. Instruction: Discipline; chastening; correction; self-control as a feature of a wise person; as moral quality; warning.
b. What he observed served as a form of discipline.
c. It served as a correction for areas in his life that needed to put this lesson into practice.
d. It served as a warning to him about the possibility of becoming lazy in the future.
e. Thus, whenever he sensed that he himself was being lazy, this lesson would be there in the back of his mind to rebuke him for it… and to correct him.
2. There are various ways in which we can be instructed.
a. We can be instructed by God through His Word.
• Prov. 1:1-3 – The book of Proverbs was written for that very purpose… that we might be instructed by God through His Word.
b. We can be instructed by another person.
• Prov. 1:8 – We can be instructed by our earthly father, teacher, pastor, brother, etc.)
c. We can be instructed by experience (learning the lesson the hard way)
• Ps. 119:59 – “I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.”
d. We can be instructed by observation as the author was.
• God gives us vision and intellect.
• There isn’t any reason why we could not make observations in life and learn lessons from what we observe, just as Solomon did.
• Of course, our observations are not divinely inspired as were the author of this proverb. We need to be careful and test our conclusions against the Word of God.
• But good lessons CAN be learned from everyday life.
3. Any time we are instructed morally and spiritually, we should see God’s hand in it.
a. Whatever method God chooses to instruct us, we need to take heed.
b. Even if it comes from the mouth of a babe!
c. Prov. 23:12 – “Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.”
d. Whatever method God uses to instruct, we need to apply that instruction to our life. We are responsible for any light God gives.
e. So keep your eyes open and observe life.
f. As Yogi Berra once famously said, “You can see a lot just by looking.”
Proverbs 24:33-34
Laziness and Poverty
Introduction:
1. This proverb is connected in thought to the previous three verses. Verses 30-34 constitute one proverbial thought about laziness.
2. In the previous verses, the author gave the setting.
a. Vs. 30-31 – The author walked by a field and made some initial observations.
• The field was overgrown with thorns and nettles.
• The stone wall was broken down.
• His property had fallen into disrepair. No upkeep had been done in quite some time.
• His initial observation was that the owner was slothful and a man void of understanding.
b. Vs. 32 – The next thing we are told in this proverb is that the author considered it well and received instruction.
• There were some good lessons to be learned from this observation of life.
• There are always good lessons to be learned by observing people and the way they live.
• Sometimes we observe things we want to add to our life.
• Sometimes we observe things that we don’t ever want to see in our own lives.
• This is such a lesson: the author observed a lazy man’s homestead and determined that’s NOT the way he wants to live.
33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
1. Now the author shares with us the results of his observations.
2. The first result of his observation has to do with the SOURCE of the man’s troubles: he sleeps too much and doesn’t work when he should!
a. The stone wall was broken down, but it was not to be attributed to a recent tornado or hurricane.
b. The field was overgrown with thorns and weeds, but it was not to be attributed to some deviant who snuck onto his property and planted thorns and nettles.
c. Nor was his property fallen into disrepair because he had been out of the country on a long journey.
d. The author observed ONE reason: the man was a lazy slob!
3. The author makes some editorial comments about the thinking of this man.
a. When it’s time to get up in the morning, the man thinks, “Yet a little sleep… a little more slumber.”
b. When it’s time to go to work and put his hands to something productive, the man thinks to himself, “just a little more folding of the hands.”
4. These expressions are illustrative of several moral failures:
a. Laziness… first and foremost.
• They know what they have to do; they just don’t do it.
• They aren’t lacking physically or mentally; they are just lazy!
• The problem is not that there is no opportunity to work; the problem is they don’t avail themselves of the opportunities. They just don’t WANT to work.
• They are unwilling to get up, unfold their hands, and go to work.
b. A lack of self control… giving in to his bodily impulses. (I just need a little more sleep; a little more slumber…)
c. Procrastination… (Prov. 6:6-11)
• This is in many ways a parallel passage.
• However, in chapter 6, the laziness is described as procrastination.
• The lazy man here was obviously not doing the summer planting in the summer and was not doing the fall harvesting when it was time.
• He put it off… and ended up with nothing.
• Procrastination is often accompanied by good intentions… but the point is that good intentions don’t get the job done.
• Good intentions are often a cover for laziness.
d. Poor planning… Even the ants are good planners.
• They prepare their food ahead of time.
• They have planned for the jobs that need doing in the summer and then the chores that need doing in the fall.
• They know that the winter is coming and they plan ahead.
• Lazy people don’t plan ahead.
e. Wastefulness… (Prov. 18:9) “He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.”
34 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.
1. Much is said about laziness and its results in the book of Proverbs.
2. This proverb simply lists one result of laziness, namely, poverty.
a. Poverty: a lack of the necessary needs of life.
b. Laziness results in poverty.
3. We should point out here that the author is not condemning poverty.
a. He is condemning the laziness that leads to poverty.
b. There is nothing wrong with being poor or having needs.
c. Many godly people have been poor. (Christ and the apostles)
d. Many godly people have been rich. (Abraham; David; Solomon)
e. One’s financial status tells us nothing about their character or their relationship to the Lord.
f. It is not sinful nor is it a failure on the part of an individual to be poor.
g. For the most part, that is all part of God’s sovereignty in the universe He rules.
h. None of us chose to be born in America. We could have been born in poverty in Yemen or Vietnam.
4. We should also note that the author is not stating that ALL poverty is the result of laziness.
a. This proverb is citing a specific example.
b. There are millions of people in the world who live in poverty through no fault of their own.
c. They may be diligent hard working people, but because of economic, political, and social issues surrounding them, there is nothing they can do to change things.
d. Ecc. 9:11 – Remember Solomon wrote that “bread is not always to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding…”
• Time and chance affect everything in a cursed earth.
• Ordinarily running swiftly will cause you to win the race…
• Ordinarily diligence and wisdom leads to riches…
• But in a sin cursed earth, there are many OTHER issues working against you.
• Ill health, war, earthquakes, fire, ghetto condition that can trap people, economic downturn, collapse of a currency.
• Normally, proverbially, diligence leads to making a good living, but not always.
• We should never assume that someone is poor because they are lazy.
5. In Proverbs 24:34, the author is stating the NORM.
a. Prov. 10:4; 13:4 – Normally, all things being equal, diligence leads to riches and laziness leads to poverty.
b. There are exceptions to this rule, but this proverb does not discuss the exceptions.
c. It simply states the proverbial truth from an observation of a specific case… the man who owned that broken down piece of property: a wall fallen over… weeds everywhere… vineyard not pruned or cared for…
6. Not only does this proverb say that poverty will come, but that it will come quickly and suddenly.
a. “Poverty will come as one that travelleth”
• While you are sleeping, poverty won’t just creep up on you slowly and gradually.
• It will come FAST like a roving plunderer… a travelling bandit who suddenly breaks in and robs you!
b. “Thy want as an armed man”
• Here he states the same thing again, using a different expression.
• The result of your laziness will be the same as if you were robbed by an armed bandit.
• When all is said and done, you will be left in “want”—with a great lack of things that you need.
7. The author makes a valuable observation and recorded it for our learning and for our admonition.
a. Wise men will take heed.
b. One man noted, “That wise men profit more by fools than fools by wise men; for wise men will avoid the faults of fools, but fools will not imitate the virtues of wise men.”
c. We can learn from this proverb not to be lazy in everyday life. It is certainly valuable on that level.
d. But it is also applicable to our spiritual lives.
• In a sense, our lives are like a field that needs constant attention.
• Weeds and worldly things will arise and choke our spiritual life if we are lazy and do not deal with those weeds.
• Our life should be like a fruitful field—fruit that redounds to the glory of God.
• But our lives will NOT be fruitful unless we are as diligent spiritually as a farmer is in the natural realm.
• A fruitful field doesn’t just happen.
» The farmer has to get up and go to work every day to keep up with things day by day, or the fields become full of weeds—and the task becomes overwhelming
» If a farmer wants a fruitful field, it requires effort, energy, and a labor of love.
• A fruitful Christian life doesn’t just happen either.
» It too requires sacrifice—a life lived as a living sacrifice.
» It requires getting up in the morning and reading the Word.
» It requires that we UNFOLD our hands and use them as instruments of righteousness in God’s service.
» Instead of sleeping on the couch, it might require getting up to go to prayer meeting and praying for the brethren, for missionaries, and the salvation of souls.
» On Sunday morning, instead of thinking, “Just a little more sleep… a little more slumber”, we ought to get up and make it to Sunday school to learn God’s Word that we might be better equipped to serve Him.
» The cares of this world can be like weeds that can choke our spiritual life.
» Being fruitful requires removing weeds… which is a daily chore!
» We all know Christians who do not take care of their “field.” They are lazy and careless spiritually. Their spiritual lives are overgrown with weeds… the walls of their lives are broken down… their walk with the Lord has fallen into disrepair—and they continue snoozing… they continue to be apathetic to the things of Christ…
» Just as the lazy farmer will be taken by surprise to discover that he is poor, so too the lazy Christian will be taken by surprise at the Bema seat to discover that he has very few rewards… very few heavenly treasures.
» He enters glory, but not as rich and rewarded as he could have been… as he SHOULD have been.
8. Prov. 20:13 – The CURE is quite simple.
a. If you’re sleeping, just open your eyes!
b. If you open your eyes, you won’t go hungry.
c. This might be an intended play on words.
• The lazy man is to open his physical eyes and wake up.
• But Solomon probably also intended for the eyes to represent also the “eyes of understanding.”
• It would be like saying, “Open your eyes and take a good look at yourself. Look at your behavior. Look at your folly.
• Look at your laziness and SEE it for what it is: destructive folly!
• Once you open your eyes, you probably get back to work… and thus have plenty to eat.
d. Rom. 13:11-14 – As Christians, we are also told to stop sleeping, wake up, and open our eyes SPIRITUALLY too.
• When we do, we too can return to feasting on the Bread of Life.
• There is no need for a believer to go hungry spiritually.
• All we need to do is to wake up… open our eyes… and take a good look at ourselves.
• That should stir us to make things right.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 25
Proverbs 25:1-2
The Glory of God and the Honor of Kings
1 These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.
Verse One Introduction:
1. Chapter 25 begins a new section in the book of Proverbs, as its first verse states.
2. This new sections consists of the next five chapters (chapters 25-29).
3. We are told that these chapters are the writings of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah copied out.
a. Hezekiah’s men were probably his royal scribes.
b. Evidently they gathered together Solomon’s proverbs and made copies of them.
c. This collection includes 138 proverbs.
d. Hezekiah had an interest in literature. He wrote a section of the book of Isaiah (28:9-20).
e. These proverbs had evidently been collecting dust somewhere in the royal library for about 250 years – since Hezekiah lived about 250 years after Solomon.
f. During this time there were 12 other kings between Solomon and Hezekiah, and during much of that time Israel was apostate.
4. The Jewish Talmud states that Hezekiah edited the Song of Solomon, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Isaiah.
a. Proverbs 25:1 is an interesting look into HOW this portion of inspired Scripture came to be included in the canon.
b. These 138 proverbs were inspired as they came from Solomon’s pen, but were not “published” for another 250 years!
c. I Kings 4:29-34 – Solomon spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.
d. We have all of Solomon’s inspired writings, but it sure would be interesting to have a copy of the rest of his writings!
5. Verses 2-7 all relate one way or another to kings.
a. Verse two is a contrast between the eternal God of heaven and mortal kings of the earth.
2a It is the glory of God to conceal a thing…
1. Conceal defined: To hide; conceal; to keep something unknown; to keep from public notice.
2. Thing: Speech; utterance; word; business; case; matter; something.
a. The term is similar to our English word “thing,” in that it is generic and broad in application.
3. God conceals things.
a. This is meant to be understood in the broadest and most general sense.
b. God conceals things.
c. We might think that He has REVEALED much, and in a sense He has.
d. However, compared to His infinite understanding, He has really revealed very little! (“Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.” Psalm 147:5)
e. In light of that truth, it is fair to say that over all, God conceals things.
4. Deut. 29:29 – the “secret” (same word – hidden) things belong to the Lord.
a. The things that God has concealed belong to the Lord.
b. There are things about the Person of God that we will be learning throughout all eternity. He has not revealed everything about Himself, His will, His character, or His plans for the ages.
c. Some things are hidden in such a way that man will NEVER be able to come to a knowledge of it—regardless of his IQ, regardless of his technology, and regardless of the accumulation of man’s science over millions of millennia.
d. The secret things belong to the Lord and cannot be known until He chooses to reveal them.
5. But there are other things that God has “hidden” that man IS able to discover.
a. God has revealed things in His Word.
• But rest assured, there are things in God’s Word that lie beneath the surface that are there for the finding… but have yet to be discovered.
• There are many milk truths in the Scripture for us all to see, learn, apply, and experience.
• But there are also the “deep things of God” revealed in the Scripture, which in a sense are “hidden.” They have been revealed in that they are in the Word, but they are hidden in that it takes much study, illumination, and discernment to see.
• They are hidden until we have eyes to see and ears to hear.
b. God has revealed things about Himself in the creation.
• Ps. 19:1 – The heavens declare the glory of God.
• Ps. 19:2 – Day and night “showeth knowledge” about God.
• Ps. 19:3-4 – This knowledge is sent out worldwide—and it doesn’t matter what language you speak. There is knowledge of God that can be discovered in His created universe.
• Rom. 1:20 – There are invisible things about God that can be known by studying the visible creation.
• This knowledge is revealed in creation… but hidden until discovered.
• Thus, much is discoverable!
c. The point of this proverb seems to be that God has chosen to hide knowledge in His revealed Word, will, and in His creation…
• But the purpose of this kind of “hiding” is not so that we won’t ever find these truths… but that we might be busily engaged and occupied in FINDING them out!
• Genesis 1:28 – In a sense, this is implied in God’s original command to unfallen mankind: “subdue the earth.”
• Subdue: Subjugate; overcome; enslave; i.e., conquer and control an environment or people.
• God gave to Adam and Eve authority over the whole planet and told them to bring the earth into subjection… exercise lordship over the natural world… bring the environment into slavery for the benefit of mankind and the glory of God.
• (This sounds very different than the agenda of the New Ager Mother Earthers who seek to have mankind bow in submission to the creation!)
• This implies that the earth has almost unlimited potential.
• The natural resources found in God’s creation are to be discovered… used… and re-used.
• The natural laws God built into His universe are to be subdued – the power of electricity; oil; coal; solar power; thermal heat; wind; nuclear power; and on and on it goes.
• It was always God’s intention for mankind to discover the WONDERS that God has built in to His creation.
• There are potential cures out there in God’s creation for every ailment known to man.
» The cure for one disease may be found in the saliva from a frog from Brazil.
» The cure for another disease may be found in the rocks of North Dakota…
» God has in a sense “hidden” these things in His creation.
» But on the other hand, God has given us minds, eyes, ears, and hands to do research and discover their use and subdue it for man’s good and God’s glory.
6. It is to God’s glory that such wonders are to be found in His creation.
a. The heavens declare the glory of God.
b. But so do the rocks, the chemicals, the frogs and bats, living cells, the skin, the blood, etc.
c. When a scientist, a medical researcher, or an inventor discovers something useful and beneficial to mankind, it was really the LORD who created the chemicals or the scientific laws in the first place.
d. The scientist or inventor merely stumbled across one or two of the almost infinite marvels to be found in God’s creation.
e. God “hid” them… so that we might discover them and subdue them.
f. The sin of man has hindered the discovery of these treasures.
• War, sickness, man’s shortened life span, greed, selfishness, laziness, waste, etc… have all combined to be a great hindrance to where mankind COULD be today.
• We think we are so very far advanced today with our shiny new technologies.
• But we are probably more like cave men compared to where mankind’s discoveries and inventions could be or should be after about 10,000 years of human history!
• Nevertheless, God HID millions of treasures in His creation for us to discover.
• Of course, we are also to be good stewards of God’s creation.
g. Rom. 11:33 – God’s ways are past finding out.
• We will never exhaust the wealth of spiritual treasure in His Word.
• We will also never exhaust the wealth of physical treasure to be found in His creation.
• And though His ways are past finding out, on occasion, we DO learn something of His ways and will.
• When we do discover a tiny portion of His ways, it is thrilling to us. And it is a reminder of how much MORE there is to know… how much MORE is hidden from us.
• This fact glorifies God by reminding us of His INFINITE glories… ways past finding out… infinite understanding—and we are just scratching the surface.
• If nothing was hidden—in other words, if we could discover everything there is to know about God and His ways, then God would not be so great. He would not be so worthy of glory if puny man could figure Him out.
• Isa. 55:9 – But His ways and thoughts are as high above our ways and thoughts as heaven is above the earth.
• There is so much more to be discovered.
2b But the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
1. The second part of the proverb states the contrast.
a. The contrast is between God and human kings… the High King of Heaven with the lowly kings of earth.
b. God “hides” things, but human kings “search them out.”
c. It should be noted that the word “glory” is the same Hebrew word as “honour” and the same Hebrew term is translated as both “thing” and “matter.”
2. Kings “search out” matters.
a. Search out – search for; examine; investigate; probe; explore; inquire; find out.
b. In ancient times, kings were not only political rulers. They were also lords over the arts and sciences.
• Pharaoh had wise men, astronomers, and scientists as part of his royal court.
• In Babylon, Daniel and the brightest minds of Israel were taken to be part of the king’s court.
• Ancient kings wanted the best and the brightest minds on their courts, NOT to advise them politically, but to assure that their kingdom would be in the forefront of new discoveries… whether it be of gold in the hills, a new use for metals, new weaponry invented, etc.
3. This proverb was written with JEWISH kings in mind.
a. Deut. 17:18, 19 – Thus, the Jewish kings were also to know God’s Word.
b. They were to study it… know it… live it.
c. And while God’s ways are past finding out, it was the glory of the king to discover the will and mind of God as best he could… through His Word and His prophets.
4. When a king (or someone in his court) searched out a matter and discovered something valuable for mankind (whether in the field of theology, science, medicine, etc.) it was to the honor of the King!
a. As the people see the progress, the inventions, and the advances in science, agriculture, medicine, etc, they praise their king and give him honor and respect.
Proverbs 25:3
The Unsearchable Heart of Kings
Introduction:
1. As we noted last week, chapter 25 begins a new section in the book of Proverbs, as its first verse states. (chapters 25-29)
2. These chapters are the writings of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah copied out.
3. Verse three speaks of the unsearchable nature of the heart of a king. It is also to be connected in thought with verse two.
3c The heart of kings is unsearchable.
1. Heart defined:
a. This is a very common term in the Old Testament, used 508 times.
b. It is used 95 times in Proverbs.
c. It means: The inner man; mind; will; heart; understanding; the inner self-life.
2. In our present proverb, the term is used of the inner life of a king.
a. It speaks of his inner thoughts, feelings, understanding, etc.
b. It speaks of the whole inner life of a king—an inner life that is hidden from physical vision.
c. Solomon is referring here to what makes the man tick; what is going on inside his mind and heart that no one can see or know.
3. The heart of kings is unsearchable.
a. Unsearchable defined: Unable to be searched; investigated; examined; comprehended; understood.
b. The term is used of God:
• His greatness is unsearchable (Ps. 145:3)
• His understanding is unsearchable (Isa. 40:28)
• His works are past finding out (Job 9:10)
c. In our proverb, Solomon states that the inner life of an earthly king is also unsearchable.
d. Cf. I Cor. 2:11 – who knows the “things” of a man (those deep inward things) except the spirit of the man himself?
• In this context, Paul’s point is that nobody really knows what is going on inside another person.
• Therefore, how much LESS do we know about the inner thoughts of God unless He reveals them to us?
e. The inner thought life, motives, goals, purposes, and feelings of an earthly king cannot be known by anyone else.
f. Nobody knows what the king is really going through.
g. We know what the king says and what the king does, but we do NOT always know WHY.
h. We don’t know all the inner machinations that led him to make the decision that he made.
i. We don’t always know the philosophical or ideological worldview that led him to make that decision.
4. Just HOW unsearchable is the heart of a king?
a. 3a The heaven for height, and the earth for depth…
b. In other words, if you can measure the heavens, then you might be able to understand what’s going on inside the mind and heart of a king. If you cannot measure the heavens, then you are unable to know the heart of the king.
c. If you can measure the depth of the earth, you can measure a king’s heart.
d. I suppose that scientists might be able to come up with some sort of instrument to measure the depth of the earth today, but that is not Solomon’s point.
e. Solomon gave two examples of things which in his day were unable to be measured, and made a connection to the unsearchable nature of the king’s heart.
f. This was a figure of speech and was not intended to be an exact scientific equivalence.
g. Jer. 31:37 – Jeremiah used the same figure of speech to mean the same thing: something unfathomable; incomprehensible.
h. Solomon’s point in using this figure of speech is that no one on earth really knows the heart of a king.
5. This point connects verse three with verse two.
a. Verse two: God (the king of the universe) conceals things.
• God is the Sovereign Lord of the universe.
• God’s understanding is infinite. We actually know very little of what is going on inside God’s mind and heart.
• We know what He has revealed, but since His understanding is infinite, we have a tiny portion of that.
• He is working all things for good, according to His eternal purpose.
• We don’t see or understand these works of the Lord.
• They are all hidden from us.
• They are part of God’s mind and heart, but are hidden from us.
• And since we cannot know the hidden things in a man’s heart, we certainly cannot know the hidden things in the Lord’s mind and heart.
• The secret things belong to the Lord.
b. Verse three: earthly kings also conceal things.
• This has always been the case, and it is the case today too.
• Whether we like it or not, nobody is privy to the king’s heart.
• None of us really knows what goes on behind closed doors.
• There are many rumors and innuendoes of intrigue around a royal court. There is a lot of spinning and mudslinging around our presidents—from both sides of the aisle.
• But in spite of what men THINK they know, nobody knows the heart of the king.
c. This is true of our president—and of EVERY president this country has ever had.
• We don’t know what really goes on in his war room.
• We don’t know what goes on in secret meetings he has with leaders from other countries.
• We don’t know what kind of business deals he is seeking and pushing around the globe.
• We don’t know everything that is on his agenda.
• We know nothing about the secret security briefings that he receives every morning from the CIA and his generals.
d. Thus, the earthly king is similar to God in this sense.
• Much of what God knows, He keeps secret from us…. and for our good. The secret things belong to the Lord.
• Much of what our earthly king knows, he also keeps secret from us. This is also for our good.
• As certain secret things belong to the Lord, so also, certain secrets belong to the king and his court—or to the president and his cabinet.
e. This has always been the case, and it certainly is so today.
• Aren’t you glad that the whole nation is not aware of ALL of our state secrets? They would be published on a wiki sight to the ruin of the country.
• Aren’t you glad that a CNN reporter is not present every morning to hear when the president is briefed about every potential threat from ISIS, Al Qaeda, the Taliban, North Korea, Hugo Chavez, the Mexican drug cartel, and every radical Islamic cell group in America?
• If the public knew all that, there would be panic!
• If the public knew of what went on in all the global business and trading, and just how fragile the economy REALLY is, we would probably take our $35.00 in savings out of the bank and hide it under our pillow.
• It’s a GOOD thing that we don’t know the heart of the king. It’s a good thing that we are not privy to all the information he receives every day.
• Have you noticed how rapidly our presidents seem to age in four years on the job?
f. Note another connection with verse two: God the heavenly King conceals things, but earthly kings search things out.
• It is the HONOR of an earthly king to “search out” matters.
• An earthly king needs to be informed. He needs to seek out the very best information that he can.
• An earthly king needs to search out the very best intelligence he can get.
• It is the honor of a king to search out the best information he can get; it is also the king’s honor to keep some of it secret.
• Wise kings seek out matters and wise kings also keep some of what they discover secret.
• Again, the point of this proverb is to make a connection between God the heavenly King and earthly kings.
• There is something mysterious about those in such high positions—and in a sense, it is a good thing that there is such mystery.
• Men don’t know all of what’s going on inside the heart of the king and they don’t NEED to know it all.
6. Certainly we can learn from Solomon’s words to be careful about “speaking evil of dignitaries.”
a. I Pet. 2:17 – We are commanded to honor the king—or president.
b. So, before we judge kings, presidents, and governors, we should keep this proverb in mind.
c. We don’t really know the heart of the king or president.
d. We are not privy to all the information that he has.
e. We aren’t aware of all the political, financial, security, and social ramifications of the decisions he makes.
f. This proverb should cause us to be more careful in judging our political leaders.
g. It is good to be aware of what’s going on in the country; it’s good to be as informed as we can be, but before we judge, remember that we cannot know the king’s heart.
h. I Tim. 2:1-3 – Rather than constantly criticizing those in positions of authority over us, we should spend a little more time praying for them.
Proverbs 25:4-5
A Throne Established in Righteousness
Introduction:
1. Verses four and five constitute one proverbial thought.
2. Solomon takes up a theme that was important to him as a king who sat on the throne of Israel.
3. This theme of a throne being established in righteousness is also found elsewhere in his writings.
4. Solomon observed the process of refining silver and applied a lesson from it to the royal throne.
The Illustration (Vs. 4)
1. 4a Take away the dross from the silver
a. Silver was a metal mined in the earth.
b. Miners would discover a vein of precious metal as they dug in the earth.
c. However, the veins of metal were often speckled with pieces of worthless rock and dirt. The veins of silver were not perfectly pure.
d. Thus, a process of refining was required to purify the silver and remove the worthless dirt, stone, and other objects.
e. The metals were melted in a refining pot (Prov. 27:21).
f. As the metal was melted, the impurities (dross; slag) would float to the surface and would be scrapped off.
g. This would leave the refining pot full of pure silver to be used for coins, jewelry or other items.
h. Thus, the idea of taking away the dross spoke of removing impurity.
2. 4b And there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.
a. Finer: The finer was a “refiner,” or the silversmith.
• This was the man who refined the metal by melting it and removing the dross.
• This was the man responsible for making sure the metal was pure.
• The refining process also included the idea of testing or proving the metal to make sure that it was pure and up to standards.
• The refiner (finer) was also the man who would then mold that metal into a valuable object.
b. Before the impurities were removed the silver was not fit for making fine vessels.
c. But once the metal had been refined it WAS fit for use in fine vessels.
d. Pure silver would be valuable and serviceable.
e. It would be made into vessels which would be beautiful, practical, and valuable. They would be highly prized.
3. This was a common illustration in later writings of the Old Testament.
a. Mal. 3:2-3 – This term is used metaphorically of Christ at His coming.
• When He comes, He will put the men of Israel to the test to demonstrate if they are silver or dross.
• The dross will be removed leaving only the pure to enter the Kingdom.
• Christ as King of Kings will remove the impurities before establishing His throne in the Kingdom.
b. Ezek. 22:17-22 – This was a common illustration of God’s judgment against Israel. This judgment spoke of the judgment of Babylonian invasion and destruction of Jerusalem. Jerusalem would be like a furnace of fire.
The Application (vs .5)
1. 5a Take away the wicked before the king…
a. Solomon applies the lesson of the refiner’s pot to the royal throne.
b. Wicked people who surround the king and his court are like impurity or dross that defiles pure silver.
c. Thus, the wicked people are like the dross; and the king is like pure silver.
d. With silver ore, the dross needs to be removed; so too do wicked people need to be removed from the king and his court.
e. The “wicked” refers to criminals; crooks; dishonest men.
• They have a defiling effect on the king’s throne.
• This has always been the case. A king (or prime minister or president) will always have a flurry of dishonest men fluttering around them like flies.
• Evil men will seek to befriend the king for personal gain.
• Evil men will seek the king for personal favors.
• They will seek for ways to enrich themselves, often dishonestly.
• When a man has as much power as a king or president, there will always be swarms of men around him with their hands out.
• This was true in Solomon’s day and it has been true throughout the history of this country too.
• Corruption and power always seem to go together and it is hard to separate them at times.
• And this is true regardless of the political party. It is human nature.
f. The point of the illustration is that this kind of corruption needs to be REMOVED… like dross from silver.
• Solomon’s point is that a wise king will seek to remove all corruption. It must not be tolerated. It will destroy his reign and his throne—and perhaps the country!
• Consider I Kings 2.
» Here is the record of David’s last words to Solomon.
» David commanded Solomon (as he took over the throne) to PURGE OUT some evil men and criminals.
» Vs. 5-6 – David tells his son to remove Joab for his evil.
» vs. 8 – David told Solomon to deal with Shimei for the evil he did.
» Vs. 23-25 – Solomon had to put Adonijah to death too for his rebellion.
» Vs. 27 – Solomon had to thrust out the evil priest Abiathar too.
» Solomon had to purge out the evil men who had become attached to the throne.
» Vs. 12 – As a result, Solomon’s throne was ESTABLISHED greatly.
• Prov. 20:8, 26 – Solomon mentioned this fact twice already in this book.
• The government of our neighbor to the south (Mexico) is riddled with corruption, and it is destroying the country.
• It was tolerated and tolerated, and now it seems to have taken over.
• The drug cartel pays the corrupt police to do their bidding for them.
• We read similar things about the government in Afghanistan and their connection to the drug trade there.
• Power and corruption is part of life in a sin cursed earth.
• And don’t think that our government is exempt!
• But wise leaders will not tolerate it. It will be removed.
• And it can be a difficult process to remove it – melting metal in a furnace of fire.
g. But the end product is worth it! That’s his point… which leads to the next expression in the proverb.
2. 5b And his throne shall be established in righteousness.
a. Prov. 16:12 – This fact was mentioned earlier too.
b. When the dross is removed from the silver, it was fit for use in fine vessels.
c. It would be made into vessels which would be beautiful, practical, and valuable, and thus, highly prized.
d. So too when the wicked are removed from the king and his royal court, the kings THRONE shall be established in righteousness.
• It shall be beautiful, practice, useful, valuable, and highly prized!
e. An established throne.
• Established: Made firm; stable; steadfast; strong; fully formed; built up; firmly set in place; authenticated as valid.
f. Solomon’s point is that when corruption is removed, the king’s throne is established: Firmly set in place; stable; firm; unmovable!
g. What a contrast to the thinking of most politicians today.
• We seem to have the idea that if a president wants to establish his administration, he needs to build up political power by trampling over the other party, by bullying, and asserting himself
• Solomon states that an administration is made strong through moral purity.
• If evil men and their corrupt ways are removed, then the king’s throne WILL be established.
• It will have authenticated itself as valid. Thus the people will trust the king and want him to succeed. He will have the full support of his people if he has the TRUST of the people.
• When the people see corruption, they begin to distrust their leader and he loses their support.
• When a leader loses the support of his people, then his throne is not established. It is weakened!
• People will not stand behind, sacrifice for, or risk their lives to protect a throne that they do not trust.
• Nobody likes being lied to or cheated. But when the people trust their leaders, they will “establish their throne.”
h. Psalm 101:1-8 – David, Solomon’s father knew this truth.
• He wrote this psalm as the king. His “house” was the royal palace, referring to his royal court.
» vs. 2 – David determined (as king) to behave himself wisely as king and to maintain a right heart attitude. The king had to LEAD the way in maintaining a morally pure administration.
» Vs. 3, 7 – He determined to set no wicked thing (men) before him. He HATES corrupt men and corrupt ways. He would not allow them to “cleave” to him as corrupt men seek to do with powerful men.
» Vs. 4-5 – As king, he would not tolerate wicked men with froward or evil hearts. King David said such wicked men would “depart from me” and he would be “cut off.” King David would remove the dross.
» Some of this evidently rubbed off on his son Solomon.
i. A throne that has been cleansed of corruption is like a fine vessel: beautiful, practical, valuable, and highly prized! It will be strong and stable too.
j. When the leadership of a nation is free of corruption, it is established in RIGHTEOUSNESS… and the whole country benefits from it.
• Proverbs 14:34a – “Righteousness exalteth a nation.” It strengthens it too. Tolerating corruption abases a nation and makes it weak.
k. This principle applies to other areas of life as well.
• This is true of a business too. If the customer base thinks the company is cheating them or being dishonest, they will not support the company or buy their products.
• This is true of a local church too. People are very forgiving with honest mistakes, but if they detect dishonesty in the leadership, it will not be tolerated. The church will not be established and strengthened, but weakened.
• This is applicable to us as individuals too. If people discover that you are dishonest, or that you cheat, or lie, or gossip behind their backs, or if your word cannot be trusted, your relationships will not be strong, firm, and established. They will be weak, fall apart, and you will lose friends daily.
• Righteousness (honesty; purity; decency) establishes the throne—but it also has a strengthening effect in our personal lives and in our relationships with each other.
Proverbs 25:6-7
Self Promotion
Introduction:
1. This is a proverb that deals with a temptation that is “common to man”, namely, self-promoting ambition.
2. It is a common desire to want to elevate and advance ourselves.
3. In this proverb, Solomon gives some inspired advice on how to deal with that desire.
4. Solomon tells us what NOT to do and why.
6a Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king
1. “Put forth” – to honour; adorn; glorify; be high; to swell; elevate.
2. The command:
a. Solomon is commanding his readers NOT to elevate themselves in the presence of the king.
b. They were not to seek honor and glory for themselves from the king.
c. The command did not forbid them from BEING honored or elevated by the king. The command was that they should not put themselves forth for such honor.
d. The idea here is that while promotion is good; self-promotion is not.
3. In the presence of the king
a. Solomon (as a king) would have seen much too much of this kind of behavior.
b. No doubt, he was surrounded by self seeking, self promoting, ambitious, greedy men who were trying to USE the king’s presence to elevate themselves politically or financially.
c. The word “presence” means: “In front of, before, in the presence of, in the face of.”
d. In other words, Solomon is speaking of a person who seeks to push himself in the presence of the king… seeking to be seen with him… seeking to be in his presence as much as he can—but for selfish reasons.
e. No doubt we have seen this sort of thing when there is a press report at the White House or in the House. The President or the Speaker of the House (the important people) stand in front of the microphone. Behind them is a crowd of politicians all jockeying for position to have their face seen on national television alongside the President or the Speaker. Their goal of course, is to advance their own careers.
f. Just being seen with the King or with a President adds credibility and stature to the one seeking to advance his career.
4. Putting forth oneself…
a. This kind of self promotion is as old as the hills.
b. It is an integral part of human nature—fallen human nature, that is.
c. Pride is at the root of it all.
d. Pride tells us that we OUGHT to be advanced… that we DESERVE to be advanced… that we are better than others.
e. We tend to rank ourselves higher than do others.
f. Thrusting yourself forth in the presence of the King comes in various degrees too.
• It might involve pushing another politician out of the way so that your face can be in the picture with the President.
• It might involve trampling over the careers of others in order to advance yourself. (Climbing the corporate ladder on the backs of your co-workers)
• It often involves dishonesty, lying, and cheating to get yourself in the presence of the king or president—like Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the infamous party-crashers at the White House. They put themselves forth to be in the presence of the President through deception.
• Pride, greed, and raw ambition can motivate a person to commit all kinds of other sins.
6b And stand not in the place of great men:
1. Self promoting ambition does not only occur in the presence of the King in the royal court.
a. It also occurs in the presence of ALL great men.
b. “Great men” here refers to men in important positions; men of prominence, fame, wealth, and stature.
c. Great men always have others who want to be associated with them—and usually with self seeking motives.
2. It is not likely that many of Solomon’s readers (or us) would have had any opportunity to put themselves forth in the presence of the King, but they would have similar opportunities in lesser arenas.
a. Perhaps you are on a committee somewhere. Sometimes committee members can become a little pushy and self assertive in seeking to become the chairman.
b. This sort of thing takes place every day in the business world: unprincipled people using unsavory means to advance themselves—often at the expense of other more deserving people. They put themselves forth in the presence of the boss… the CEO.
c. This thing can even occur in the local church. Paul told Timothy that it was good to seek to serve the Lord in an office or some other position in the local church. The warning in our proverb is not to be self assertive and self promoting.
d. Unfortunately, this kind of self promotion occurs in the ministry too. It shouldn’t, but it does. Some men in a ministry USE a ministry as a steppingstone to advance their own “careers.” It is sad to say, but sometimes there is politicking going on in the background and jockeying for position.
3. The command: “Stand not”
a. Defined: To stand; to present something to another; to appoint; to prop up; (lots of shades of meaning).
b. This term is used in Lev 16:7 of presenting a sacrifice before the Lord.
c. Solomon is commanding his readers not to present themselves before great men—and in the context, he means for the purpose of self-advancement… self-promotion.
d. The idea is that we should not take the initiative ourselves.
• We should not be pushy, assertive, overly aggressive, or forceful in pushing ourselves on anyone.
• Prov. 27:2a – “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth.”
e. Thus, the advice that Solomon states here is going to be extremely ego-deflating to a man full of ambition whose main goal in life is to advance himself and his career or his product.
f. Nevertheless, the commands remain: Don’t elevate yourself before a king; don’t assertively push yourself on a great man—like your boss.
7a For better it is…
1. After giving the ego-deflating commands, Solomon next gives the reason WHY.
a. Solomon was not trying to discourage his ambitious readers.
b. He wasn’t trying to prevent them from getting promoted.
c. Rather, he was trying to prevent them from being humiliated.
2. “For better is it” (Vs.7a)
a. The word better has a broad range of meaning including: Good; pleasant; agreeable; glad; happy; prosperous; appropriate; becoming.
7b …That it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.
b. His readers may have been engaged in self promotion, which could lead to humiliation.
c. Solomon shows them a “more excellent way” – a way that they will find much more agreeable, appropriate, and pleasant than being humiliated.
3. As counterintuitive as it might sound to ambitious men, the better way to experience promotion is to OBEY the first two commands!
a. Don’t advance yourself. Don’t be overly assertive and push yourself on the king, or the great men, or your boss.
b. There are two possible ways to be found in the presence of the King: one right and one wrong.
c. One is honorable, the other is humiliating.
4. The WRONG way is to put yourself in his presence.
a. This is what was forbidden in the proverb.
b. For example, at a photo shoot at the White House, many ambitious congressmen would be pushing themselves forward to be as close to the President as possible.
c. Maybe the rookie no-name congressman from New Hampshire works his way right next to the President. How humiliating to be told to step back so the senior congressman from California can have the spotlight.
5. The RIGHT way is to obey the command and NOT assert yourself and push your way into the presence of the King.
a. Far better is it to be standing off in a corner somewhere, and to be ELEVATED to an important position than to be LOWERED in the presence of all the people you were trying to impress!
b. It is more agreeable, more pleasant, and more satisfying to have someone ELSE advance you than to advance ourselves.
6. Luke 14:7-10 – Jesus taught a parable based on this very truth.
a. The setting is a wedding feast held by an important man.
b. According to the customs of the day, the closer one was seated to the host, the more important the position.
c. Thus, there was sometimes a little scramble for the most honorable seats at such feasts. Everybody wanted the best seat for themselves.
d. Jesus taught this parable as a rebuke to the Pharisees.
• They assumed that because they deemed themselves to be important, they should have the highest positions in the Kingdom.
• However, if they maintained that attitude of pride and self assertion, they would be given lowly seats in the Kingdom.
• They would be humiliated when lowly people (like humble, repentant tax collectors and harlots) would be exalted and the Pharisees would be humiliated.
e. This parable rebuked the Pharisees, but even the apostles had a problem with this sin of self-promotion. (Matt. 18:1-4)
• They argued over the best seat in the Kingdom too—who would sit on the right and left hand of the Lord.
• They argued over who would be the greatest in the Kingdom.
f. Those who put themselves first will be last.
g. Before honor is humility. (Prov. 18:12)
7. The New Testament writers also apply this principle to Christian living.
a. Jas. 4:10 – “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”
• Our job is not to lift ourselves up.
• Our job is to lower self; humble self; be a servant.
• Servants don’t stand in the presence of great men. They don’t try to hobnob with important people. They know their place.
• We should learn to be content with our place of lowliness rather than greedily seeking promotion and exaltation.
• Our job is to walk in lowliness.
• The LORD is the One who lifts us up. The Lord is the One who advances us to the position He wants us in.
• Joseph became Prime Minister of Egypt not because he was assertive and self promoting. Rather, he became Prime Minister because he was a good servant and his skills were noticed, appreciated, and eventually led to the king advancing him to a place of honor.
b. I Pet. 5:6 – “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”
• Again note the order: we humble ourselves; God does the exalting.
• Note the words, “in due time.”
• This implies that it is easy to become restless, anxious, and tired of waiting.
• After waiting for advancement longer than WE think we should, there is a tendency to take matters into our own hands and become self-assertive and self-promoting.
• It is far better to wait on the Lord and let HIM do the exalting.
• One final note: “Acting humble” should not be used as a strategy for self-advancement.
» God knows the heart. There are thousands of evangelicals who USE the Bible to advance themselves and their business.
» The whole gospel of success is based on this perversion of truth.
» They used good principles from the Bible, but the real motive is self-advancement, earthly success and riches.
» Many Bible principles when practiced in the business world WORK—even if their motive is selfish and greedy.
» Unfortunately for them, God knows the heart.
» God can tell the difference between a person who walks humbly and is honest with his clients in order to (1) glorify God or (2) make a lot of money.
• God wants GENUINE modesty and humility. That is what the Lord looks for and exalts.
Proverbs 25:8
Be Not Hasty to Strive
8a Go not forth hastily
1. The subject at hand in this proverb is strife.
a. Strive: Contend; argue; debate; quarrel; bring legal charges against; raise complaints or accusation against someone.
b. The term Solomon used is broad enough to include ALL kinds of disagreements and debates.
c. Some commentators are sure that he is speaking about law suits in particular.
d. While the term used certainly could include lawsuits, it seems to have a much broader meaning.
e. It could include anything from a squabble among friends, to a lawsuit, and even a war between nations.
f. People get into all kinds of disagreements that never rise to the level of a lawsuit.
g. We have all experienced strife in one form or another—many times over! It is a problem that is common to man.
h. We have all been accused of things that we didn’t do or say.
i. We have all had people complain about us, our work, our family, our words, etc. It’s not very pleasant.
j. In a world with seven billion sinners, there will continue to be strife, debates, arguments, fights, and lawsuits… even wars.
k. This is a reality of life and we will not be able to avoid it entirely until glory.
2. The command: Go not forth
a. This verb is used often and means to go in or to go out.
b. It is used in many different contexts.
c. Here it simply means to go towards something… namely, going towards a fight or an argument or an accusation against someone.
d. Solomon is warning his readers NOT to enter into strife.
e. Of course, sometimes, there is no way to avoid strife.
f. Sometimes it is necessary to bring an accusation against another.
• We live under the constant threat of a terrorist attack.
• Our government has told us that “if you see something, say something.”
• There are times when it is perfectly appropriate and right to bring an accusation against someone, especially if they are up to no good and might harm someone.
g. This proverb does not outright forbid bringing an accusation against another person, or ever taking someone to court.
• In fact, it was God who established human government and established a judicial system for this very reason.
• Solomon lived under the Mosaic Law and the Law provided the legal procedures for taking someone to court.
• In fact, Solomon himself acted as a judge from time to time.
• He is not forbidding lawsuits or accusations against others altogether.
3. The specific nature of the command: Do not go forth hastily.
a. Hastily: Quickly, speedily; in a hurry to get something done or accomplished.
b. Solomon is not forbidding us from entering into strife or a debate or making an accusation against another person.
c. He is however, forbidding us to do so hastily!
d. The specific command is that we are not to make snap judgments and instantly accuse someone without all the facts.
e. We are not to assume things and enter into a debate on the basis of assumptions and gut feelings.
f. We are not to quickly judge a person and level a complaint against them.
g. In time, it may be necessary, but give it time!
h. Do not go forth hastily to strive with anyone.
i. James tells us: “Be slow to wrath.”
j. Solomon tells us: “Be slow to accuse; to argue; to enter into a fight with someone.”
k. Don’t act on impulse or passion.
l. Be more deliberate, thoughtful, careful, and prayerful in handling matters.
m. Passion and anger can easily draw us into some form of contention.
n. It is far better to think things through first before you open up a potential can of worms.
4. It is our nature to be hasty and to jump into the middle of an argument or a debate.
a. Solomon was a keen observer of human behavior. He certainly must have observed this trend often as a king and as a judge.
b. I have also had to deal with this many times as a pastor.
c. When debates arise in the local church (and they will arise!) too often we are quick to form opinions, pick sides, join the debate, and add fuel to the fire WITHOUT knowing all the facts.
d. Sometimes folks hear one side of the story and have already made up their minds and have condemned the other party. That is being hasty in strife. At least wait until you hear both sides.
e. Circumstantial evidence can look very damning, and it is easy to assume guilt and accuse someone on that basis—hastily. Yet that damning circumstantial evidence may have a very simple explanation that exonerates the accused.
f. Therefore, don’t be hasty to accuse. Don’t be hasty to enter into a fight or a debate.
g. Give it a little time. Wait for all the evidence to come out. Wait for all the facts to surface.
h. Prov. 24:28 – “Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause.” Without all the facts, we may not really have a just cause for the accusation or for the argument.
i. We also allow our biases to enter into this.
• We are much more likely to quickly assume the guilt of someone we don’t like or someone we are biased against.
• We are much more likely to quickly assume the guilt of a person from a particular race or culture we don’t like.
• For example, suppose that we saw a lineup of three men accused of terrorism: one red headed Irishman, one blonde Swede, and a dark haired man from Yemen.
• We might be more inclined to hastily accuse the man from Yemen—even before hearing all the facts of the case.
• Solomon’s warning here is: don’t be too hasty to accuse.
• Obviously more terrorism comes from the Middle East, but it would be foolish to hastily conclude guilt on that basis alone.
• Don’t be too hasty to condemn.
• Don’t be too hasty to bring a lawsuit against him.
• It’s far better to wait for all the facts of the case to come in.
8b Lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.
1. In the second part of this proverb Solomon gives the REASON we should not be too hasty to “go forth into strife.” The reason has two parts.
2. “Lest thou know not what to do!”
a. The reason we should not be hasty to jump into a fight, or a contention, or to make an accusation, is because once you get it started, you may not know what to do afterwards.
b. Emotion can draw us into a fight. But once you are in the midst of the battle, you have to think about your next move; and you may not know what to do next.
c. You can blurt out an accusation against someone based on a hunch or a gut feeling. But after the accusation is made, and people demand evidence, you may not know what to do.
d. Solomon’s point is that we should think about step #2 before we ever take step #1.
e. What if you make an accusation, or enter into an argument, or pick a side in a debate, and make a big deal out of it, only to discover that you were wrong. What do you do then? You may not know what to do then.
f. Along a similar vein, the Lord Jesus warned in Luke 14:31: “Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?”
• The warning is, “don’t be hasty to get engaged in a war. Sit down first and think it through.”
• Anyone can start a war. Not everyone can finish well.
• Once you attack, then what?
3. “When thy neighbor hath put thee to shame.”
a. If you enter into a brawl of one sort or another, you may not know what to do.
b. And on top of that, you may be brought to shame.
c. The king who enters a war without thinking it through might be brought to shame when his army is decimated and he is captured and chained.
d. The man who accuses someone on impulse and anger rather than on the facts may be brought to shame. He may be exposed as a troublemaker who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
e. Someone who is hasty to engage in an argument over an issue without knowing all the facts will be brought to shame too. He will have egg on his face and may have to eat his words… and be very embarrassed and ashamed of his folly.
f. It’s easy to start an argument. It’s not always easy to stop it. And it could escalate far beyond what you ever envisioned. It could bring you to shame.
g. You may lose both the argument and your honor.
h. Prov. 15:18 – God would have us to be “slow to anger.”
i. Prov. 14:17 – “He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly.” Acting on anger and impulse will cause us to jump into a fight without thinking it through. That kind of a person always ends up doing something stupid that he regrets later on. It will bring him to shame.
j. So when contention and strife is beginning to bubble up (at home; in the office; at school) before you get angry and passionate and jump into the fray, here’s what to do: stop… take a deep breath… think… make sure you know all the facts… read the Word… take it to the Lord in prayer…
k. By then the argument may even be over and settled.
Proverbs 25:9-10
Debates with Your Neighbor
9a Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself
1. Debate thy cause:
a. To strive; dispute; contend; fight (either physically or with words); to quarrel; to bring forth a lawsuit.
b. This word is translated “strive” in verse eight.
c. Solomon is speaking of all kinds of arguments, fights, quarrels, and disagreements of various levels that arise among neighbors, friends, and brothers.
2. Neighbour:
a. Friend; companion; fellow; another person.
b. The debate described here is not limited to certain circles, but is a debate that might occur with ANY other person. (Friend; foe; family; boss; co worker; teacher; classmate; etc.)
c. The exhortation is broad enough to be applied to ANY debate with ANY person.
3. Himself:
a. The main verb in this command is debate, but the point of the command is not that we should get into a debate; it’s better not to get into a fight with anyone.
b. But if we do find ourselves embroiled in a debate, we should keep it PRIVATE.
c. Debate with your neighbor himself (him alone)—not with your neighbor and drag lots of other people into the argument.
d. Verse 8: Here the advice is, “Don’t go HASTILY into a debate or strife.” Don’t be eager to argue. Don’t jump in on a whim or without knowing all the facts. Be SLOW to enter into a controversy.
e. Verse 9: Now the advice is that if you DO find yourself in a debate, as much as lieth in you, keep it private.
f. The PURPOSE of speaking to the person in private is to deal with the matter in a peaceful, amicable way.
g. Reconciliation is the goal.
h. Remember, these are proverbs. They don’t cover every possible situation. Sometimes it may not be possible to keep it private. But if you can, then do!
4. This principle of dealing privately with controversy is found elsewhere in Scripture.
a. Matt. 18:15 – Here Jesus speaks of a controversy between two Jewish brothers in a synagogue setting.
• If you have a controversy with a brother, go to him alone and try to bring about reconciliation.
• Try to resolve it privately if possible.
• If you can resolve it at that level, then you have gained a brother.
b. Prov. 11:13 – A faithful man will try to conceal a matter. Don’t bring others into the fray. Try to keep it private—just between the two parties involved.
9b And discover not a secret to another:
1. Discover:
a. Uncover; reveal; show; disclose; to make known; expose; etc.
b. The term used here does not speak of a person finding out a secret for himself, but rather, it speaks of exposing it to others… causing others to discover it.
2. Secret:
a. This term speaks of counsel; inward or intimate conversation or counsel; intimate fellowship; something shared in confidence.
b. The term is used in Ps. 55:14: “We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.”
3. From time to time someone will confide in us.
a. They will share something that is heavy on their heart—something very private.
b. Perhaps you have given some personal information to a friend that you gave in confidence… something you didn’t want anyone else to know.
c. If you give private information out you expect others to keep it private.
d. Therefore, if others give private information to you, they too expect you to keep it in confidence.
e. The second expression in our proverb forbids us from revealing the secrets of others.
4. Prov. 11:3 – It forbids us from being a “talebearer.”
a. Talebearers blab to others things that were shared in confidence.
b. When someone violates your trust and shares YOUR private matters publically, it can be humiliating, embarrassing, and extremely frustrating.
c. It can be painful:
• Proverbs 18:8 – “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.”
d. Revealing secrets does not help end the debate. It stirs up the debate and keeps the fire going.
• Prov. 26:20 – “Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.”
5. So far Solomon has given us good advice when we find ourselves embroiled in a controversy.
a. Keep it between the two parties involved.
b. Don’t drag others in.
6. The proverb does not make clear WHOSE secret is revealed.
a. It could refer to the secret of the one accused.
b. It could also refer to the secret of a third party not directly involved in the controversy.
c. What the proverb says is that in the midst of a controversy, when tempers are flaring, when the battle is raging, and the flames are hot, DON’T reveal secrets.
7. Don’t reveal secrets of the one with whom you are debating.
a. If somebody stole something from you, deal with that person alone.
b. You don’t have to tell others what he did. Keep it private.
c. If you start revealing this person’s secret (his sin) it only adds fuel to the fire and makes the controversy more difficult to resolve.
d. The person with whom you are embroiled in a debate is not only angry at you for the original cause of the debate; now he is also angry at you for blabbing what he did all over town!
e. It doesn’t matter what the sin is either.
• If someone was gossiping about you, then deal with that person in private. Nobody else needs to know.
• If someone committed some other indiscretion against you, deal with him or her privately. Don’t blab it all over town. That doesn’t help; it hurts.
• If someone lied to you, offended you, cheated you, etc. —deal with it one on one. Don’t reveal that person’s secret sins to others. They don’t need to know anything.
• Debate the cause with your neighbor alone and don’t reveal any secrets.
8. The “revealing of secrets” described in this proverb could have another application as well.
a. It could be the secret of a third party.
b. A possible scenario:
• There is a debate (controversy; strife) between two people over stolen property.
• Tom (the man who is accused of the crime) says, “I wasn’t even in town the night they were stolen. I couldn’t have taken them.”
• But YOU (the accuser) were told by a third party (Pete) that he saw Tom there that night. You now know that Tom is lying.
• However, Pete gave that information in confidence. Pete wanted to help you, but he didn’t want to get himself involved in the controversy.
• It’s tempting to use Pete’s information in the debate. It would end the argument.
• However, Pete gave you that information in confidence and you promised Pete you wouldn’t reveal his secret.
• If you DO, it will cause a third fight between Pete and Tom. You have not resolved the debate; now you have expanded it!
9. Regardless of whose secret it is, when you are in the midst of a heated argument, it is tempting to reveal the secrets of others… to tell many people to win them over to your side of the debate.
a. Either to bolster your side of the argument.
b. Or to drag down the other side.
c. Solomon’s advice is timely in such a situation:
• Debate with you and your neighbor alone
• Don’t reveal secrets in the process.
Two Consequences of NOT keeping the matter private
10a Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame
1. The result: Shame: to bring shame, disgrace, or reproach.
2. If in the midst of controversy and strife, you begin revealing the private secrets of others… there will be consequences to that action.
a. He will shame you by making it known that you are not trustworthy; you are a talebearer; you cannot be trusted. You violated his confidence.
b. Even if you were on the right side of the original debate, by breaking the confidence of others, or by revealing secrets in any other way, you will earn the reputation of one who is a talebearer… unreliable…
c. That will bring shame upon your name.
3. Verse 8: In a slightly different scenario, the result is the same: Shame.
a. If you enter into strife hastily, it could end in shame.
b. If you make a private matter public, it could end in shame too.
c. We could save ourselves a lot of shame by taking this good advice.
10b And thine infamy turn not away.
1. Your INFAMY will not turn away.
2. You betrayed the confidence of a friend.
3. You will become the infamous violator of trust.
4. You will have gained a reputation for being two faced; double tongued; unreliable.
5. Nobody will want to entrust private information with you again.
6. Your infamy will follow your steps wherever you go.
7. The reputation you earn will not turn away. It will stick with you.
8. It’s hard to shake a reputation. The best way is to not earn it in the first place!
Proverbs 25:11
A Word Fitly Spoken
Introduction:
1. This proverb was probably intended to be linked together with verse 12 as one proverbial thought.
2. Combined, they liken words spoken and heard to something beautiful.
3. Verse 11 speaks of the beauty of the word from the speaker’s perspective.
4. Verse 12 deals with the beauty of the word from the hearer’s perspective.
11a A word fitly spoken
1. This expression describes words spoken, but not just any words randomly blurted out.
a. Words are powerful. They can be spoken in many different ways with many different results.
b. This expression describes but one very narrow and unfortunately, often very rare use of words… those that are fitly spoken.
2. First, let’s consider the terminology used:
a. Words:
• The Hebrew word used here is translated 85 different ways in the KJV!
• It has several meanings, but we will consider only those that relate to its use in this proverb.
• This term is commonly used of the word of the Lord in the Old Testament. It is translated “command.” (The ten commands are actually called the 10 words – same Hebrew word – Ex. 34:28)
• However, the term as used in our proverb refers to any kind of utterance; or speech—and the context implies that it is coming from another human being—not necessarily new revelation from the Lord.
• It is variously defined as speech, a message, a statement, communication;
• It is used here of speech in general, and not just one word.
• A speech fitly spoken… a statement fitly spoken… ordinary talk fitly spoken… a conversation fitly spoken… etc.
b. Fitly:
• This is an unusual word. It is used 36 times in the Old Testament.
• The KJV translates it “wheels” 35 times and “fitly” once.
• It is used to describe all kinds of wheels – military wheels on chariots, cart wheels, a potter’s wheel, spinning wheels, decorative wheels, and threshing wheels.
• This is the term that is also used several times in Ezekiel’s description of the “chariot wheels” that transported the throne of God in his vision in chapter one.
• Ezekiel’s use of the wheel might throw some light on the usage of the term in our proverb.
• Ezek. 1:16 – The prophet speaks of these chariot wheels as wheels within wheels… almost like a gyroscope effect.
1. A gyroscope is defined as “a device consisting of a rotating heavy metal wheel pivoted inside a circular frame whose movement does not affect the wheel’s orientation in space.”
• Ezek. 1:19-21 – The movement of this chariot-throne is described as if these creatures and the wheels were able to move in any direction in an instant… transporting the chariot throne of God at His will.
• It may well be that the concept of a wheel to the ancient mind was equated with perfect BALANCE.
• When a wheel is in balance, it produces a smooth ride.
• When a wheel is out of balance, it provides a bumpy ride.
3. Words FITLY Spoken Described:
a. Words that are in balance with the truth and with God’s Word.
b. Words that are in balance with the immediate situation.
c. Words that are in balance with proper timing.
d. Words that are in balance with the emotional climate.
e. Words that are in balance considering the person(s) to whom you are speaking.
f. Words “fitly spoken” are words that are carefully chosen; carefully placed and arranged.
g. It may also include the idea of words that are spoken with a right spirit and a right attitude.
h. And of course, truth needs to be spoken, but it needs to be spoken in love. “Speak the truth in love.”
4. Some men (and women) seem to think it a high honor to “speak their mind.”
a. They interpret it as being honest and transparent.
b. They pride themselves in speaking out whatever is on their mind.
c. That is actually pretty foolish because way too often, that which is on our minds is not worth speaking. It is not even worth thinking!
• To blurt out whatever is on our minds whenever it pops into our minds spells trouble.
• That kind of person isn’t carefully choosing his words.
• He is not thinking about the proper timing… or the right situation in which to bring up the subject.
• Prov. 29:11 – A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
5. Examples of Words FITLY spoken
a. The words of Abigail to David (I Sam. 25)
• He also took into consideration that she was a woman approaching the man anointed as king. (vs. 23-24)
• She made haste—using proper timing. (vs. 23a – she hasted before it was too late. She took advantage of the window of opportunity.)
• Abigail took into consideration the emotional distress of David and his men. (vs. 25 – you are right in being angry!)
• She encourages him to think of the consequences of acting in anger. (vs. 31)
v. To David, these words were apples of gold in pictures of silver. (vs. 32-33)
b. Paul’s words on Mar’s Hill
• Acts 17:22-28 – He launched his speech by noting the altar that they made to the unknown God. Then he made his point by quoting one of their poets.
• He could have just torn into them as being vile, vulgar, ignorant idolaters.
• Instead, he wisely chose to present the truth in a manner in which it might be received.
• He did not compromise the truth, but he carefully chose his words so as to not unnecessarily offend the Greeks.
• There is an offence to the cross, but the one presenting the message should NOT be offensive.
11b Is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
1. There have been several different interpretations for this expression.
a. Pictures of silver:
• The word “picture” is defined as a setting, or a frame.
• It could be a frame for a piece of art.
• It could be a setting of silver in an engraving.
b. It might not be possible to know for sure what Solomon had in mind and what he was alluding to.
• Some interpret this as silver and gold engravings on a fine piece of furniture in a palace… or perhaps a piece of art.
• Others see it as golden colored fruit placed in a sliver basket used as a centerpiece on a table.
• One man suggested that this might be poetic language describing oranges on a tree after a winter storm in which the oranges were covered with silver-like snow and ice.
• Each of the above descriptions is pleasing to the eye.
2. While we may not be able to know for sure exactly what the author of this text had in mind, one thing is clear: Solomon was speaking of that which was a thing of beauty.
a. That’s the point that is made in this proverb.
b. Words fitly spoken are a thing of beauty.
3. Truth is enhanced when communicated carefully and thoughtfully.
a. Prov. 15:23 – “A word spoken in due season, how good is it!
• Proper timing is an art in itself… knowing when to speak and when to be quiet.
• Ecc. 3:1 – There is “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
• Ecc. 3:7 – There is “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.”
• Truth spoken at the wrong time can be damaging and ineffective, but at the proper time, “how good is it!”
b. Ecc. 12:10 – “The preacher sought to find out acceptable words.”
• This applies not only to preachers, but to us all.
• We should SEEK OUT the right words when confronting others… or a rebuke or reproof is in order.
• Sometimes a teaspoon of sugar helps the medicine go down.
• Seek to speak the truth—but do so in a way that is most likely to be received.
• Truth is piercing enough. It is not necessary for us to couch the truth in caustic words.
• How many times have we spoken to someone, and then walked away and thought to our self, “I shouldn’t have said that. I wish I said it this way instead.” or “I should have waited to tell him. This was not the right time.”
• We have all done that—and kicked ourselves for not thinking it through before we spoke.
• We speaks words that are out of balance and not fitly spoken, and we regret it later. Sometimes those words come back to bite us.
• Like a wheel that it out of balance, words spoken “out of balance” result in a very bumpy ride.
• But how sweet it is when we THINK before we speak… and we choose our words carefully… and we pray about the timing… and we say it in just the right spirit.
c. When truth is spoken “fitly,” it truly is a thing of beauty.
• And like a wheel in balance, it results in a smooth ride.
Proverbs 25:12
A Wise Reprover
Introduction:
1. This proverb is probably to be read together with the previous verse.
11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. 12 As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.
2. Both verses speak about the beauty of wisely chosen and wisely timed words.
3. We all know that words can be extremely hurtful and ugly.
4. In verses 11-12, Solomon points out that words can also be beautiful… like gold jewelry.
12b A wise reprover
1. Reproof defined:
a. Judge; rebuke; reprove; correct.
b. Lodge a legal charge against someone.
c. To convict; to convince someone of a moral wrong.
2. Reproof and correction is valuable and profitable.
a. But not all reproof is valuable or profitable.
b. Some reproof can actually be hurtful and damaging and make matters worse.
c. It is only WISE reproof that Solomon describes as a thing of beauty in this passage.
d. The implication here is that not all reproof incorporates wisdom.
e. The intentions may be good, but if reproof is carried out without wisdom, it can be damaging.
3. The characteristics of a wise reprover.
a. A wise reproof uses Scripture. (II Tim. 3:16)
• “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
b. A wise reproof reproves with divine authority. (Titus 2:15)
• “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority.”
• His reproof is based on Scripture and he makes that known.
• When that is the case, then it is an expression of God’s authority, not man’s opinion.
c. A wise reproof reproves with all longsuffering and doctrine. (II Tim.4:2)
• “…reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
d. A wise reprover does so in love as a brother. (II Thess. 3:15)
• “Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”
e. A wise reprover reproves without hypocrisy. (Matt. 7:5)
• “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”
f. A wise reprover speaks in due season. (Prov. 15:23)
• “…a word spoken in due season, how good is it!”
g. A wise reprover speaks graciously. (Col. 4:6)
• “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
4. For the reproof to be valuable and effective, it must be delivered in the proper manner.
a. Good intentions are not good enough.
b. Many a father has reproved his son with the right intentions, but with the wrong spirit. That can do more harm than good.
c. Col. 3:21 – “Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.”
d. Reproof that is intended to correct bad behavior may actually exacerbate the problem and result in anger and discouragement.
e. The one doing the reproving needs wisdom, grace, guidance, good timing, brotherly love, and most importantly, the truth of God’s Word.
f. For reproof to be valuable, beautiful, and effective requires wisdom on the part of the one reproving.
g. But there is also a prerequisite on the part of the one hearing the reproof.
12c An obedient ear
1. An obedient ear refers to the ear of the one who is being reproved.
a. For reproof to be a thing of beauty, it requires wisdom on the part of the reprover AND obedience on the part of one hearing the reproof.
b. The point is that reproof (though necessary and valuable) is a delicate thing. It can go terribly wrong on either end… the one speaking or the one hearing.
2. An obedient ear actually implies two steps on the part of the one who is being reproved.
a. It requires first of all that he use his ear and is willing to listen. Not all persons in need of reproof will even listen. The fool thinks that he is above reproof. He’s too smart for that. He doesn’t need it.
b. Secondly an obedient ear implies that the one who listens also obeys what he hears, implements the reproof into action, and makes the necessary changes. Listening is not enough.
3. Acts 17:11 – Of course, all reproof needs to be examined in light of God’s Word.
a. Luke tells us that it is good to receive the word spoken with all readiness of mind, but also compare it to Scripture.
b. This proverb does not imply that we are required to obey ALL reproof.
c. Sometimes the one reproving is not wise. Sometimes his counsel or correction is out of line.
d. The proverb is really looking at a situation where the correction is good and necessary. That kind of reproof is to be obeyed.
4. Not all ears are obedient.
a. Prov. 1:30 – Lady Wisdom laments that the young men she cried out to rejected her reproof. “They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.”
b. Prov. 15:12 – Some will not even listen to reproof. They do not appreciate the reproof. “A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.”
c. Prov. 5:11-13 – Those who reject reproof will live to regret it. 11 And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, 12 And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; 13 And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
d. Prov. 29:1 – Wise reproof rejected leads to destruction. “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”
e. That is a disobedient ear.
f. Not all reprovers are wise and not all hearers are obedient.
g. Both wisdom and obedience are needed for reproof to accomplish God’s purpose in it.
h. Reproof needs to be well given and well taken.
5. But when wise reproof falls upon an obedient ear, it truly is a thing of beauty.
12a An earring of gold; an ornament of fine gold
1. In verse 11, words fitly spoken are like apples of gold in pictures of silver – a thing of beauty. In verse 12, wise reproof obeyed is also a thing of beauty – like fine gold jewelry.
2. “Earrings of gold and ornaments of fine gold” were intended to convey three main points:
a. Earrings and ornaments are considered to be things of beauty.
b. Gold earrings and ornaments are not only considered to be beautiful, they are also valuable.
c. Because they are beautiful and valuable, they are highly prized.
3. Solomon’s point is that a wise reproof on an obedient ear is:
a. A thing of beauty.
b. It is a most valuable thing.
c. And it ought to be highly prized and sought after.
4. The true beauty and value of wise reproof on an obedient ear:
a. The one with the obedient ear will love you! (Prov. 9:8)
• “Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.”
b. Initially it stings, and even though it may take a while, eventually, the obedient ear will learn to appreciate what you did for him or her (Prov. 28:23).
• “He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.”
c. Wise reproof, even when spoken graciously in brotherly love, is painful. But the wound will soon be seen for what they are: the faithful wounds of a friend. (Prov. 27:6)
d. The one receiving the rebuke will be honored (13:18).
• “But he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.”
• When reproof is obeyed and the correction is made, it brings the one reproved to the place of honor instead of remaining in sin and dishonor.
• It restores his testimony and his reputation.
e. The one reproved will see the true value of it and it will have a lingering effect like sweet anointing oil (Psalm 141:5).
• “Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness; and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head.”
Proverbs 25:13
A Faithful Messenger
13 As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.
13b A faithful messenger
1. Solomon is speaking here of the value of one who is sent with a message or on a mission.
2. The word “messenger” means:
a. Ambassador; envoy; delegation; a person who is sent to represent another person or a nation.
b. The term is a little broader than our English word “messenger.”
c. It may involve a simple delivery of a message, but it also may involve the carrying out of a mission.
d. Thus, Solomon is speaking about those who are sent out for various purposes to accomplish the task(s) of the one who sends.
3. Thus, this proverb has application in countless situations.
a. It could apply to a teacher – one teaching God’s Word.
b. It could apply to a friend who is sent to deliver a message for another friend.
c. It could apply to one who is given a ministry to perform in the local church.
d. It could apply in the workplace – to a workman who is given various responsibilities to carry out for his boss or for the company.
4. The proverb is really about responsibility; for Solomon speaks not just of any messenger, but a FAITHFUL messenger.
a. Not every messenger is valuable for not every messenger is faithful.
b. Faithful: Reliable; faithful; to stand firm; to trustworthy; stable.
c. Not everyone sent to perform a task or a ministry is valuable, because not all are faithful. They are not all reliable.
d. Just because someone HAS a particular task, job, position, or ministry to perform, does not mean that they do a GOOD job at it.
e. Not every worker does a good job. Not all can be counted upon to get the job done.
f. Not every pastor sent to a local church faithfully delivers the message.
g. Not every Sunday school teacher sent to minister to a particular age group is faithful in preparing, studying, and praying for his or her students. Some are faithful; some aren’t.
h. Not every servant in any other ministry in the local church reliable and steadfast in their ministry.
i. Not every office or factory worker can be relied upon by the boss to carry out the task he was assigned.
j. It has been said many times that the two most important abilities are reliability and dependability.
k. This is the point of our proverb.
13c To them that send him:
1. In this proverb Solomon is describing the value of a faithful messenger, but not from the perspective of the value of the job or task accomplished, but rather from the perspective of the one who sent the messenger to perform the task.
2. Every boss, every employer, every manager, every pastor, every leader of any sort can readily enter into what Solomon states here.
a. In the work world, it is not easy to find good, faithful, reliable workers.
b. In the local church, it is not easy to find good, faithful, reliable servants.
c. It’s usually pretty easy to find people who are qualified to DO the job… but it’s not so easy finding people who can do the job and will be faithful at it… reliable… trustworthy.
d. Work ethic, integrity, and stability are not as common in the world as they should be.
e. Everybody looks and sounds good on the job interview; but it sometimes takes a couple of years before their real work ethic, integrity, and stability are revealed.
f. They may be eminently qualified to perform the task, but are they reliable? Will they show up that day? Will they be late for the meeting? Will they procrastinate and put the work off until it’s too late? They may be able to do a great job, but is their home-life so unstable that it affects their work? Are they a scatterbrain? Are they disorganized? Do they try to pawn the work off on to someone else?
3. Solomon is looking at this issue from the perspective of the one who SENT them to do the job or to deliver the message.
A Faithful Messenger is Refreshing
13a As the cold snow in the time of harvest…
1. The “cold of snow” probably does not refer to snowfall on the crops in harvest time.
a. Snow at harvest time in Israel would not be very likely.
b. That would not be refreshing to the harvester.
c. Actually, snow falling on the crops at harvest time could be disastrous. It could ruin the crop. The farmer would not find that very refreshing!
d. But the text says, the “cold of snow,” not the falling of snow.
e. The “cold of snow” more likely refers to the snow in the mountains that is brought down from the hills to those working in the fields in the form of ice cold water… or perhaps ice to cool down their drinks.
f. Others think the “cold of snow” refers to breezes that blow off the snow capped mountain and drag down cool mountain air to refresh those working in the hot sun below in the fields during the time of harvest.
g. Regardless of the exact meaning of the “cold of snow,” the point Solomon makes is that in time of harvest, when workers are hot and sweaty, coolness in any form (a cool drink or breeze) brings welcome relief and refreshment.
2. Solomon states that the faithful messenger (the one who delivers his message or performs his ministry) is REFRESHING to those who went him.
a. When the boss, (or manager, or leader) hears that the message he sent was actually sent faithfully and reliably, then he is refreshed.
b. When a pastor hears that a ministry is being faithful carried out, he is refreshed.
c. When a president hears that his ambassador faithfully carried out his mission overseas, he too is refreshed and relieved.
d. When a boss or manager sends someone to carry out an important task, he may be sweating it out like the men working the fields in the heat of the day.
e. The knowledge that the task was carried out faithfully is like a cool breeze to him… enabling him to rest a little easier.
13d For he refresheth the soul of his masters.
1. Master: Lord; master; owner; proprietor; one who exercises authority over others.
a. The master here refers to the one who sent the ambassador or messenger.
b. He is the “boss” or the one who has authority.
c. The master is in charge, and ultimately the carrying out of the task at hand falls on his shoulders and is his responsibility even if he is not the one sent to actually perform the task.
d. If the master (boss; leader; etc.) has unfaithful servants it reflects poorly on him.
e. The master receives the blame if the job is not done. He carries the burden and the weight.
2. The SOUL of the master is refreshed when the one sent is faithful to his or her task.
a. Just as a cool breeze or a cool drink refreshes the body of one harvesting in hot weather, so too a faithful messenger refreshes the soul of the master who sends him on his mission.
b. Soul: Person; appetite; mind; living being; desire; emotion; passion; feeling; the inner life; the inner person as opposed to the outer person – the body.
c. A faithful messenger/ambassador is refreshing to the one who sends him and thus is VALUABLE for that very reason.
d. It is a refreshing relief to be able to send someone to do a task and KNOW that the job will be done… that it will be done well… and not have to worry about whether it will get done.
e. It lifts a load off the master’s shoulders to know that he doesn’t have to worry about that task. He has utmost confidence in the servant sent to carry out that duty.
3. Prov. 13:17 – Two different kinds of messengers contrasted.
a. A wicked messenger falls into mischief, and thus creates trouble for the one who was relying upon him to carry out his duty.
• If you hire a wicked or unfaithful messenger or servant, then you can expect trouble… regret… anxiety… discouragement… disappointment… etc.
• Prov. 10:26 – “As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.”
• Prov. 25:19 – Confidence in an unfaithful man is like a broken tooth or a foot out of joint.
1. Solomon makes some powerful analogies here concerning a man who is not faithful in his duties.
2. He is like smoke in the eyes—irritating!
3. A broken tooth—try biting into an apple with a broken tooth… it is painful!
4. Try taking a step on a foot that is out of joint—it hurts.
5. Those who are sent to do a task and are unfaithful are like a foot out of joint. When the person walks, he expects his foot to work, but when it doesn’t work and is out of joint, it is painful to rely upon it!
6. Don’t BE that an unfaithful messenger… don’t HIRE an unreliable person… don’t place your TRUST in someone who is untrustworthy.
b. But a faithful ambassador is HEALTH… (Prov. 13:17)
• The Hebrew word translated “ambassador” is the same word translated “messenger” in Prov. 25:13.
• Health: A masculine noun indicating healing; peace, calmness. It refers to a state of security, stability, relaxation: A heart of peace is said to be a source of life for the body.
• The one who sends a faithful messenger will experience health; peace of mind and heart instead of worry and fear.
c. Faithful servants are valuable and are worth their weight in gold.
• However, they are rare.
• Prov. 20:6 – a faithful man who can find?
• If you can find one, they are “health” to your bones. They are refreshing as a cool drink in the heat of summer.
4. Consider YOUR ministry before the Lord.
a. In a sense, we are all messengers or ambassadors of the LORD.
b. He has given each of us a spiritual gift, a place in the Body, and a capacity to serve Him.
c. He has sent us into the world to represent Him and preach His gospel.
d. I Cor. 4:2 – It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.
e. When we are faithful to the ministry to which God has called us, then we are REFRESHING to the Lord!
f. God has feelings. He can be grieved. He can be disappointed. He can be hurt. But He can also rejoice and be refreshed when you and I are FAITHFUL to the tasks He sends us to perform.
g. We can be PLEASING to the Lord our God.
Proverbs 25:14
Boasting of a False Gift
14 Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.
Introduction:
1. This proverb does not contain any commands or exhortations.
2. Rather, it makes a statement which serves as a warning.
3. The statement is that there are people in the world who are just like the one described in this proverb.
4. The implied exhortations are:
a. Beware of such people; don’t be duped.
b. Don’t be like this person.
What the Boaster Does
1. The proverb warns of a man who boasts of a false gift.
2. A false gift:
a. False: A lie; deceit; misleading; fraud.
b. The term is used in Jer. 23:32 – used of false prophets proclaiming “false” dreams… which in fact, were deceitful lies.
c. These prophets said that they received a dream from God with a special message from God, but they were lying. They were purposely trying to deceive the people into believing a lie.
d. They promised dreams of wonderful things… peace and prosperity that never materialized.
3. Thus, a false gift is the promise of a gift that is misleading, deceptive, or an outright lie.
a. A warning against “false gifts” is timeless. It is appropriate for every human being in every age bracket and in every generation.
b. Since the fall of Adam, there have always been scam artists out there… seeking to deceive others with a false gift.
c. The tactics and methods used may change, but essentially the scam is the same.
d. There have always been dishonest people who make wonderful promises and claims that they have no intention of keeping.
e. The promise of their “gift” is false, deceptive, misleading… an outright lie.
4. The BOAST (halal)
a. The word “boast” has a couple of meanings:
• Its first and most common meaning is to shine; to radiate; to praise; to extol the greatness of a person. It very often means to extol the greatness of God.
• The term can mean to extol the greatness of someone else… OR to extol the greatness of something.
• Solomon uses the term in the sense of extolling the greatness of a gift… praising it… making it sound wonderful… making it to “radiate” with glory.
b. Our proverb speaks of a dishonest man who makes a boast about a gift that he knows is deceptive.
• He loudly proclaims how wonderful it is… how valuable it is… and he extols its greatness.
• He is not quiet about it… but openly boasts.
• He attempts to make his gift radiate in the minds of his hearers so that they will become dazzled by it… and desire to have it.
5. This is a warning against the age-old snake oil salesman.
a. The snake oil salesman boasts about his product.
b. He makes wild claims that it can heal ulcers, headaches, sore backs, poison ivy, and any other ailment you might have.
c. He boasts great things about his product… he makes it shine in the minds of his hearers.
d. But his claims are false. It is a false gift.
e. The effect of his wild claims and boastings is that he gets the hopes up of all who hear… of those who may be suffering from ulcers, a sore back, etc.
f. They want so badly to believe, that they spend large amounts of money to buy his snake oil… in hopes of curing what ails them.
g. But in the end, they are always disappointed and discouraged… and maybe a little embarrassed that they were gullible enough to believe the snake oil salesman.
6. Snake oil has earned a bad reputation over the years. It has lost its luster and shine. But the snake oil salesman is still alive and well.
a. He has simply developed a new line of products for his modern customers.
b. Today he uses the internet. There you can boast of a false gift to thousands of people all at once!
c. He sends out emails to his potential customers with a claim that is sure to radiate in their gullible little minds: a wealthy widow in Qatar is dying of cancer and is hoping that you would be willing to manage her six million dollar estate.
d. A wealthy businessman temporarily living outside of Boston was looking for a nanny to take care of his daughter for the summer for $4000.00. He sent the Bank of Virginia check to our house, told Shannon to cash it, and to return $400.00 of it… since she wasn’t going to be a “live in” nanny.
e. Scam artists have multiplied and improved their trade over the years. They are more deceptive than ever.
7. But the false gift is not only boasted by salesman.
a. We have the “gospel of health and wealth” folks today making grandiose promises to gullible Christians.
• Send in $100 and God will multiply your gift 10 fold!
• Be a big time supporter of our ministry and you might get a front row seat in our healing service… and your chances of getting healed are multiplied.
• But their promises are “false gifts.”
• And people leave those places disappointed and more discouraged than ever.
• These men are like the false prophets with the false dreams of “good things” that never materialized.
• When will the Christian public learn: there are men out there who will “make merchandise of you.” We’ve been warned.
• They make wild and unrealistic promises contrary to what the Bible says, and believers still fall for it.
• Jude 12 – Jude describes false teachers of the last days using the very same image: clouds without water.
» And wasn’t this trait how sin ENTERED the world?
» Satan made a grandiose promise to Adam and Eve: eat this fruit and ye shall be as gods!
» But it was designed to be deceptive…
» Certainly we should not manifest that character flaw in our lives!
b. And then there are the Bernie Madoffs of the world—who promise a great return on your investment… except that it is the old pyramid trick.
• People were promised glowing reports of success. He boasted of great returns.
• But it was a false gift… and in the end, it caused hundreds of individuals and businesses to lose their shirt… for him to end up in jail and his son to commit suicide.
c. And certainly we have seen this countless times on both sides of the aisle in the political arena: politicians who make grandiose promises… but do not fulfill them.
• Sometimes they were deceitful, empty words designed only for the campaign to get him into office—never intended to carry through with them.
• Sometimes he makes promises naively, assuming he will be able to change Washington… and discovers that he cannot keep his promise.
What the Boaster is Like
1. The boaster is like “clouds and wind without rain.”
2. Solomon has used various illustrations to describe WORDS people speak… they can be valuable, beautiful, and refreshing.
a. Vs. 11 – Words fitly spoken are like “apples of gold in pictures of silver.”
b. Vs. 12 – A wise reprover is like an “earring of gold.”
c. Vs. 13 – A faithful messenger is like “the cold of snow in harvest.”
3. Vs. 14 – Now he speaks about a person who speaks words that are NOT valuable, beautiful, or refreshing: one who makes great promises but fails to keep his words.
a. He is like “clouds and wind without water.”
b. His words are empty and disappointing.
4. The meaning of this might not be as apparent to us living in the Northeast as it would be to farmers living in dry and dusty California… or to farmers who lived off the land in the days of Solomon.
a. Farmers in dry regions (like California or the Middle East) are dependent upon rain for their crops… or at least they used to be before they learned to irrigate by draining local rivers.
b. But to the farmer who WAS dependent upon natural rain for the survival of his crops and his farm, clouds and wind gave him great hope.
c. Clouds and wind normally meant a rain storm. That was good news. It got their hopes up… their expectations high.
d. They saw the clouds and naturally looked forward to good results: copious amounts of rain to cause their crops to grow… which resulted in prosperity.
e. But when the clouds and wind came by without rain… if they came by (promising rain) but just kept on blowing over their fields without actually dropping any rain, the result was great disappointment and discouragement. It could mean the ruin of their crops.
5. Clouds and wind bring with them a promise of wonderful things… like the man who boasts of a great gift.
a. But when the clouds roll by and don’t actually drop any rain, the clouds were like a false gift.
b. It seemed to promise rain, but didn’t deliver.
c. As a result, hopes are dashed. Great expectations followed by sinking disappointment.
6. Not only are we warned not to be duped by such people, but we are also warned not to make promises that we do not fulfill.
a. It is discouraging and disappointing to be on the recipient end of false gifts… or broken promises.
b. We should not be the one breaking promises either.
c. It is very disappointing for kids to have dad promise to take them here or there only to discover that dad didn’t keep his promise. It was a false gift…
d. Sometimes it happens and there is nothing you can do about it. But it should not become habitual… a repeated occurrence.
e. It is better not to promise a gift unless you know you can keep the promise.
Proverbs 25:15
A Soft Tongue
15 By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.
Introduction:
1. This simple but profound proverb makes but one main point.
2. Solomon made one observation from the physical realm and applied it to human relationships.
3. While the proverb speaks of dealing with a prince, the principle applies far beyond the royal court.
4. This principle is valuable in many real life situations in lives of us commoners too!
The Illustration: A soft tongue breaketh the bone…
1. The illustration is that of a soft tongue putting pressure on a bone.
a. Solomon pictures a man eating meat or poultry.
b. There is a bone in his mouth, and the man applies pressure from his tongue against the bone.
c. At first nothing happens.
d. But as that pressure patiently continues, eventually, the bone breaks.
e. He didn’t have to use a sharp instrument or even his strong, hard, sharp teeth.
f. A soft tongue, with enough constant, gentle pressure is able to break something as strong as a bone.
2. The tongue is a soft tissue.
a. One might assume that because the tongue is soft and delicate it is therefore powerless and ineffective.
b. The tongue is not hard like a hammer.
c. The tongue is not sharp like a knife.
d. One would think that it could never break a bone, but it can.
e. It doesn’t have the capacity to give one strong forceful blow like a karate chop to break a bone.
f. It doesn’t have any sawing action like a serrated knife to cut a bone in half.
g. It doesn’t have the crushing force of a hammer to smash a bone.
h. The tongue may be a soft tissue, but it has a very strong muscle.
i. The strength of the tongue lies in its ability to apply constant, unrelenting, but gentle pressure.
j. The gentle pressure of a tongue, over time (if it is patient) can bring about the same result: the breaking of a bone.
k. It can be just as effective as a harsher approach—like a saw, a knife, or a hammer.
3. There is more than one way to skin a cat; there is also more than one way to break a bone.
a. Some approaches are quick and easy, but abrasive.
b. The soft tongue approach takes more time, but it is gentle.
4. The illustration Solomon used is doubly clever.
a. The illustration speaks of the tongue physically breaking a bone.
b. It demonstrates the power of the actual tongue itself and the pressure it can apply to objects in the mouth.
c. But Solomon is really getting at the use of the tongue in speech and communication.
d. The proverb is designed to demonstrate the power of soft and gentle words as opposed to harsh and abrasive words.
The Application: By long forbearing is a prince persuaded
1. Solomon applies this principle to dealing with royalty, namely, a prince.
2. “A prince is persuaded”
a. Persuade: To be open; to entice; convince; persuade; allure.
b. In Solomon’s analogy, the persuading of the prince is likened to the breaking of the bone.
c. Trying to persuade a prince is difficult, like breaking a bone. Bones don’t snap easily. Neither is a prince persuaded easily.
d. The goal is to break the stubborn will of the prince. Princes can be stubborn and strong minded.
3. “By long forbearing”
a. Strong’s Concordance defines long as self-restraint or patience.
b. Strong’s defines forbearing as breath; nose; nostrils; anger.
c. The expression (long forbearing) is a graphic picture-word.
d. The same expression is used in Prov. 16:32 which is translated “slow to anger.”
e. Being “long in forbearing” and “slow to anger” are really two sides of the same coin.
4. A quick outburst of anger is NOT the way to deal with a stubborn prince.
a. That would be like using a hammer or a saw to break the bone.
b. Dealing with some folks (especially those in positions above us) can be difficult and frustrating at times.
c. You may FEEL like using the hammer approach but this proverb teaches that it may not be the most effective way to deal with the problem.
d. Sudden outbursts of anger, or harsh and abrasive words may be the quickest way to make your point known, but it is not necessarily the most effective way of dealing with the issue.
e. In fact, in dealing with royalty it could mean “off with your head!”
5. Solomon suggests another method: soft, gentle persuasion and long forbearance.
a. Soft, gentle persuasion:
• The constant pressure of a soft tongue against a hard bone can break the bone.
• So too, soft, gentle words can be effective in breaking the stubborn will of a prince and convincing him of your argument.
• Prov. 15:1 – “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”
• This method works outside the royal courtyard too!
• It can work in the home with your spouse or with the kids; in the office with your boss or co workers; it works in almost any interpersonal relationship.
• And it can work in the political arena too. Solomon is speaking about how to persuade a “prince.”
1. Political change is better achieved by a slow, determined, gentle, process.
2. It is time consuming but far better than the “bull in the china closet” approach.
3. This was in fact the method of Martin Luther King. He broke the bone and persuaded the prince (and the country) without guns and suicide bombers. His was a slow, gentle manner by means of powerful, persuasive, and effective words.
b. Long forbearance:
• For words to be effective, they must be spoken in “due season,” at the appropriate time.
• That may require patience and forbearance.
• Waiting for the right time to bring up an issue is essential.
• Learning to wait for emotions to settle down; waiting for the right environment; the right set of circumstances to bring it up is an art in itself.
• The goal here is to be effective, not necessarily fast.
• If the goal is to break the bone or persuade the prince (or anyone else), and if the matter is important, then it should be worth waiting for the proper time.
• A hammer is much faster, but it would crush and pulverize a bone.
• If the goal is to simply snap the bone (break the will of the person and not crush the spirit), then it is better to wait for the right time… and use the gentle approach.
c. Example: God spoke to Elijah at just the right time, and in just the right way. Elijah heard the mighty wind, then a great fire, and earthquake, but the Lord was not in any of them. Then he heard the still, small voice.
d. This proverb teaches us (contrary to our way of thinking) that gentleness is not weakness. It is strength. It is the fruit and the power of the Holy Spirit.
6. Of course, we should keep in mind that this is a proverb. It is a truth crystallized. It is a generalization that was never intended to cover every possible situation.
a. Soft, gentle persuasion is not always effective. Some people are hardened in their ways and no amount of persuasion will convince them.
b. And then there are situations with serious time constraints. You may not have time for “long forbearance” and may have to use harsher methods.
c. But generally, soft, gentle persuasion is much more powerful and effective than we might think.
d. In most situations, the gentle and patient approach is the best.
e. We have an American proverb that is similar: “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar” or “A spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a gallon of vinegar.” It is attributed to Ben Franklin.
Proverbs 25:16-17
Too Much is Too Much
16 Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it. 17 Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour’s house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.
Introduction:
1. These two verses comprise one single and simple proverbial thought: Too much is too much.
2. It is a warning against overdoing anything. Even too much of a good thing is too much.
The Illustration: Honey (vs.16)
1. Solomon uses an illustration from everyday life that everyone in his kingdom (and everyone reading this proverb) could relate to.
2. In Solomon’s day, the sweetest treat was honey, or something made from honey. And everybody loves sweets.
3. In the illustration, Solomon mentions four steps relating to honey.
a. Finding it
b. Eating it
c. Being filled with it
d. Vomiting it
4. Finding it
a. Honey was not usually purchased in a store in a jar.
b. We have a few occurrences of men “finding” honey in the woods by chance.
c. Saul’s son Jonathan found honey and ate it.
d. Sampson found honey in the carcass of a lion.
e. These men found it by chance. They happened to stumble upon it as they were traveling in the woods.
f. This was considered a fabulous find too! Honey was greatly valued and desired. This was good fortune! You didn’t find honey every day.
g. Sweets are so accessible to us, that we probably can’t relate to “finding honey” in our travels. But it was a real find in Solomon’s day.
5. Eating it
a. Obviously, the next step after finding honey is to eat it!
b. But the warning here is to eat only so much as is “sufficient.” They were warned to eat just enough and no more.
c. Honey tastes great. It is enjoyable and pleasurable.
d. There is a tendency with things that we love to go overboard.
e. When it comes to sweets, the tendency is to eat too much.
f. Thus, Solomon warns, don’t eat too much honey. Eat only that which is sufficient to satisfy and no more.
g. You may FEEL like eating more, but don’t.
6. Being filled with it
a. Filled: Can mean satisfied, and it can also mean excess, having too much, more than enough, etc.
b. It clearly means being overly full in this passage. It speaks of excess… eating too much honey.
c. Solomon is speaking of going beyond satisfaction to excess.
d. Sweets are good, but there is a reasonable and sensible limit.
7. Vomiting it
a. The fourth step Solomon describes is vomiting… which needs no further description.
b. The warning is that if we eat more honey than is sufficient, we will become excessively full, and that can make you sick.
c. Something that you love can, if overindulged in, make you very sick.
d. It can make you sick enough to vomit—and thus your body rejects the honey… the honey that you used to love.
e. If the experience is bad enough, in some cases, it causes the person to hate honey. The taste, smell, or even the thought of honey might make you sick.
f. Thus, the warning, “don’t overdo it!”
The Application: Your Neighbor (vs. 17)
1. In verse 16, Solomon gave a warning concerning honey that consisted of four steps.
a. Finding it
b. Eating it
c. Being filled with it
d. Vomiting it
2. In verse 17, he gives a similar warning concerning dropping into your neighbor’s house which consists of three steps.
a. Withdraw your foot from your neighbor’s house.
b. Lest he be weary of thee.
c. And so hate thee.
3. Finding a friend and visiting him/her.
a. This is parallel to Solomon’s illustration of finding honey and eating it.
• The Dictionary of Biblical Languages defines the “neighbor” as “friend; companion; associate; i.e., a person which one associates with and for whom there is affection and personal regard.”
b. The term can also be used of the person who lives next door or of a fellow countryman.
c. It seems likely that Solomon had something a little more specific than a stranger next door or just any other person who lives in the same country.
d. Solomon seems to be speaking about a friend or a companion.
e. Like finding honey on a lark in the woods, when you find a friend, it is a great find.
f. You don’t find honey or friends every day, so when you do come across a friend, it is valuable and the relationship is to be prized.
g. Finding a friend is like finding honey by chance. And visiting your friend and spending time together is like eating the honey.
h. Of course when you first find honey, the tendency is to gobble it all up because you love it so much. It is so pleasing to the taste.
i. The tendency with friends is the same. When you first come across a friend, the tendency is to visit and call them all the time.
j. When a person finds honeycomb in the woods, the tendency is to eat the whole thing… to gobble it all up at one.
k. When a person finds a friend whose company is enjoyed, the tendency is to monopolize his/her time. The tendency is to pop over their house without notice, call frequently, and be “clingy.”
l. The warning Solomon gave concerning honey, was intended also to be applied to one’s friends.
• Eat sufficient honey to be enjoyable, but not too much. Don’t overdo it.
• The same advice goes with your friends too. Spend sufficient time with them, but don’t overdo it. Don’t go overboard.
• “Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbor’s house.”
1. The word withdraw means “make rare” or seldom.
2. The admonition is, don’t visit too often.
• Even though you both may enjoy one another’s company, too much time together is too much.
• That person may genuinely want to be your friend, but he/she may also want to be friends with others too.
• The warning is, don’t be clingy, don’t force yourself on someone, don’t monopolize their time. Don’t expect that they should spend every spare minute they have with you!
4. Lest he be weary of thee.
a. Being weary of you is parallel to being “full” of honey.
b. It is good to have a taste of honey now and then. But you can have too much of a good thing.
c. It is possible to overdo anything, including spending time with your friend.
d. By visiting too frequently, by monopolizing their time, by calling on the phone habitually, you can make your friend WEARY of the relationship.
e. It doesn’t mean he/she doesn’t like you. It just means that enough is enough.
f. The man who got full on honey likes the honey. But he needed to exert self control and not go overboard… or he would be full… too full… honey in excess.
g. Weary: The word translated “weary” in verse 17 is the very same Hebrew word translated “full” in verse 16.
h. In other words, by overstaying your visit, by calling too frequently, by popping in your neighbor’s house too many times, your friend can become FULL of you… just like a man who eats too much honey is FULL of honey.
5. And so hate thee.
a. This is strong language. In the illustration, this is parallel with vomiting.
b. Eating too much honey makes a man sick and causes his body to reject what he has ingested.
c. Popping into your neighbor’s house or calling on the phone too often can also make your friend “sick and tired of you!”
d. Eating too much honey causes the body to reject and vomit out the honey it just ate.
e. Spending too much time with your friend can cause your friend to want to reject being with you too.
f. Too much, even of a good thing, is too much.
g. Solomon’s point has also been recorded in some non Biblical proverbs:
• “After the third day fish and company become distasteful.”
• “Familiarity breeds contempt.”
h. It’s kind of difficult to think of, but if I visit my friend too often and become a nuisance, and he gets sick of me, I am like the vomit in the illustration! That is disturbing enough to make me stop and think about my actions.
i. If the experience of vomiting up honey is bad enough, in some cases, it causes the person to hate honey. The taste, smell, or even the thought of honey might make you sick.
j. This can happen in a friendship too.
k. The one that used to be such a good friend, the one whose company and fellowship was so sweet, can develop a hatred for you!
l. Hate: Means hate; hostility; dislike; shun.
m. He/she might hate to see you walking up the driveway; they may hate to see your number pop up on the phone; they may hate to see your face!
n. Too much of a good thing is too much.
6. This is a good warning for all of us.
a. Learn the lesson of the honeycomb. Everybody loves honey; and it’s great to eat a little, but don’t overdo it.
b. You may end up hating honey. It might end up making you sick.
c. Friends, like honey, are pleasant in moderation, but quite disagreeable when overdone.
d. And learn the lesson of overworking a friendship.
• Visit your friends, but not excessively.
• Don’t force yourself on people.
• Let friendship develop naturally.
• Don’t be clingy.
• Don’t monopolize your friends’ time.
e. Forcing ourselves on someone or monopolizing a friend’s time is really quite selfish. It is all about satisfying MY desire without considering others. You might love it, but it could make them sick.
f. If you really love your friends, be considerate. It is a matter of good manners.
7. Hebrews 4:16 – Of course, there is one Friend to whom we can come daily… hourly… moment by moment and never wear out our welcome – the throne of grace! What a Friend we have in Jesus!
Proverbs 25:18
A Man that Beareth False Witness
18 A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.
Introduction:
18a A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour
Bearing False Witness
1. The first part of this proverb is taken from the 10 commandments. The exact same terms are used for “false witness… neighbor.”
2. Witness defined:
a. Witness; testimony; verbal or otherwise.
b. The giving of evidence in a legal setting (courtroom).
3. The expression “bearing false witness” is broad enough to include any kind of lying.
a. Prov. 6:19 – Bearing false witness is one of the things that the Lord especially hates… one of the seven deadly sins.
b. Lying against others is a serious sin in God’s sight. All sin is, but this seems to be described as even more serious.
c. And we have all been guilty of lying—whether we want to admit it or not.
d. We have all “born false witness” and we have also been on the other side of the lie. We have all had others lie about us.
e. Nobody likes to have others lie against us. We should HATE lying as the Lord does.
f. Perhaps this sin is listed as one of the seven deadly sins because of the awful consequences that it can have in the lives of others.
4. The fact that it is against your neighbor makes it a bit more specific.
a. Not all lies are against another person.
• Very often lies are aimed at exalting SELF.
• We might lie about our achievements to make others think highly of us. That is not against your neighbor.
• We might lie on our income tax return. That is designed to rob the government and put more money in our pockets. That is not against your neighbor.
• We might lie to appease someone’s anger. That is not necessarily AGAINST them. That is designed to make life easier for self.
• We might lie about where we went or what we did. That is designed to avoid conflict for self; but that is not necessarily against someone else.
b. But some lies are clearly against a neighbor.
• A lie is against a neighbor when it is designed to harm him in some way.
• A lie is against a neighbor when it is designed to make him look bad before others. For example, you might lie about Fred by saying that Fred cheated his way through college.
• It is a lie against a neighbor when we take an unflattering fact about someone else and embellish it to make it sound even worse than it really is. That’s a lie against your neighbor.
• It is a lie against a neighbor when you bear false witness about a co-worker and his work.
• It is a lie against a neighbor when you wrongly accuse someone of a crime before a court of law. That lie could have serious consequences.
5. Prov. 24:28-29 – Paul dealt with the issue of a slightly different expression: “witness without a cause.”
a. “Without a cause”: For no purpose; in vain; gratuitously, without cause, undeservedly; baseless; groundless.
b. This passage may well be speaking of a courtroom scene.
c. Bearing witness about another should never be done for no good purpose… undeserved. That is a false witness.
d. Note also that this false witness appears to be done out of revenge… to get back at a person for some perceived ill done.
e. Bearing false witness has been a problem ever since Eden.
f. As believers, God expects that we speak the truth… and do so in love, not out of spite or revenge… and not “without a cause.”
g. And our words should not be “deceptive” either.
• Deception might contain an element of truth—just enough truth to make the liar feel justified.
• It might be a half-truth. But in God’s mind, a half-truth is a whole lie.
Three Effects of Bearing False Witness
18b …Is a maul
A. Lying Is Like A Maul: It Crushes
1. A maul is a “hammer–like tool that delivers jolting blows.” (Zodhiates)
2. Think of taking a maul or large hammer to an automobile. It could easily destroy it.
3. Think of taking a maul to another human being. The blunt force to the head could easily kill a person.
4. Just one blow from a maul crushes and pulverizes. It can do an incredible amount of damage with just a few swings. A smaller hammer might require many swings to do the same amount of damage. But a heavier, weightier maul doesn’t require multiple swings to crush and pulverize.
5. That’s exactly why Solomon used this term to describe the effects of lying: it can crush and pulverize a person inwardly. It can do an incredible amount of damage in a short amount of time. Just one lie can do much damage.
6. One single lie about another person can do as much damage to his reputation as a maul could do to his head.
a. And once you put out a lie about another person, even if you retract your statement later on, the damage has been done.
b. You have already put that thought in people’s minds.
c. When a person is accused of sexual abuse, that thought is embedded in people’s minds. And even if the accusation is discovered to be false in a court of law, the damage has already been done. You have crushed his spirit as well as his reputation.
d. It is impossible to un-ring the bell once it has been sounded.
e. Once you put a lie out there, it has a tendency to stay out there. This is especially so on the internet. We have heard recently of young people committing suicide over information about them that was sent out to cyber space for the whole world to read. It’s bad enough if it’s true. It is far worse if it is a lie.
f. Words can hurt… as much as being hit in the head with a maul.
g. Words do have consequences.
18c …And a sword
B. Lying Is Like A Sword: It Divides
1. A false witness is also like a sword.
2. Like a maul, swords can hurt and do much damage.
3. But a sword hurts in a different way than a maul.
a. A sword is used to cut off and divide.
b. John 18:10 – “Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear.”
c. When the two women were arguing over who was the real mother of the baby, Solomon told the men to take out a sword and cut it in half.
d. That’s what swords do. They cut and they divide.
4. Just as swords cut and divide “things”, so also lies can cut and divide people.
a. Lies can cut into the heart of a man or woman.
b. Prov. 16:28 – Lies can also divide people… even chief friends can be divided by a false witness.
• This is the work of a whisperer… one who whispers rumors.
• This verse says nothing about whether the rumor whispered is true or false. It doesn’t matter.
• Rumors about others can destroy friendships.
• It’s bad enough if the rumor is true; a lie is even worse.
c. And once the sword has been swung, and the friends have been severed, it may not be so easy to get them together again.
d. And while the Lord Jesus was able to restore the ear which Peter cut off Malchus, it’s not so easy to restore relationships that have divided through lies.
e. Once a lie is spread, there will be many who will believe it. And that lie can snowball and develop into something bigger than life… and it might be impossible to stop that snowball from rolling along.
f. Suppose that Tom and Fred are friends. Once you tell Tom that Fred doesn’t really like him (he’s just using you), Tom will start to look for evidence… and if that thought is lodged in his mind, he will probably find something to confirm it—even if it isn’t so!
g. You can lie about others and divide in a moment—as long as it takes to swing a sword, or tell a lie.
h. You could spread a rumor about a person and say that he is on drugs, or that he cheats on his wife, or that he is not friendly, or that he is stingy, or self centered, or that he is seeking the boss’ job, or that he’s gay, or that he is a closet Yankee’s fan… it becomes hard for that person to prove that he is NOT any of the above. It’s hard to prove a negative.
i. The damage has been done. He may already have lost friends… or perhaps his friends will be suspicious of him in the future.
j. Like a sword, lies can cut and divide.
18d …And a sharp arrow.
C. Lying Is A Sharp Arrow: It Pierces
1. Lies can also pierce like an arrow. They can pierce the skin and become deeply embedded—even penetrating into the heart.
2. Jer. 9:8 – “Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.”
a. Deceitful tongues (words) can be like arrows…
b. They can be deceitful because he speaks peace to his neighbor… but his heart has another plan.
c. When this kind of plot is carried out, it pierces the soul of the one lied about like an arrow stuck in his heart.
3. Prov. 18:8 – “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.”
a. The talebearer is the gossiper.
b. It is left unsaid whether the content of the gossip is true or false.
c. This proverb simply states that the result of gossip is deep inner pain… like the deep wound of an arrow.
4. Of course a sword can pierce too, but there was probably a good reason for using the three different illustrations – to describe the different actions of the instruments: crushing, cutting, and piercing.
5. The “piercing” and penetrating action of an arrow speaks of how deeply a lie can wound the person lied about.
a. It can cause inner grief and pain for a long, long, time.
b. And if the arrow is taken out carefully, the wound may not appear outwardly as serious as the crushing wound of a maul or the cutting of a sword, it may be much deeper and cause inner pain longer.
c. Over time, a physical cut from an arrow will heal though it will leave a scar.
d. But the wounds of words may not heal so quickly.
e. Of course, as believers, we should learn to dismiss such false accusations and allow love to cover a multitude of sins.
f. But that is much easier said than done.
6. Another reason for distinguishing the action of an arrow from a sword is distance.
a. A sword is made for cutting someone up close. An arrow pierces someone from a distance.
b. We might throw out a lie just as we might shoot an arrow at a lark… assuming that it won’t hit or hurt anyone.
c. But just as an arrow shot at a lark CAN hit someone, lies can also harm people that we never intended on harming.
d. II Kings 22:24 – “And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness.” King Ahab was killed by a stray arrow.
e. Lies can travel a long way away and harm others we didn’t intend to harm.
7. In light of the warning about the serious and long lasting effects of lies, we need to be sure that we speak the truth—in love. (Eph. 4:15)
a. Here’s a good prayer for us all: “Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.” (Psa. 120:2)
Proverbs 25:19
Confidence in an Unfaithful Man
19 Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.
Introduction:
The Illustrations
19b A broken tooth
1. In Solomon’s day it is likely that most if not all people had experienced a broken tooth.
2. Democratic Rep. from Ohio Dennis Kucinich has filed a lawsuit over a sandwich he bought at a congressional cafeteria. He sued for $150,000.00. He said it led to “serious and permanent dental and oral injuries.” Evidently, he broke a tooth biting into an olive. It can be painful. ($150,000.00 worth of pain!)
3. But there are lots of other ways to break a tooth. (falling on a rock; getting punched in the mouth; playing hockey; hit with a baseball; etc.)
4. Regardless of the means of the broken tooth, the result is that it is painful. The nerves in your teeth can cause excruciating pain.
5. And when your tooth hurts, you know it! Almost nothing else matters when your tooth hurts. You can’t think of anything else but the broken tooth.
6. Eating becomes a big problem with a broken tooth.
a. Everybody has to eat. There is no avoiding it… even if you do have a broken tooth.
b. The problem of eating with a broken tooth is that when you bite down on an apple or some other piece of food, and it hits the broken tooth, it is followed by unbearable pain.
c. This is especially so in the situation when you forget about your broken tooth and you bite down on a sandwich, expecting your teeth to work, and the broken tooth doesn’t work. It causes you to shriek in agony.
19c And a foot out of joint.
1. The second illustration is that of a foot out of joint. We have probably all had a problem with a foot at some point or other… perhaps a broken bone or a sprained ankle.
2. Just as eating is something we all do, so too is walking.
3. When our feet are working fine, we don’t even think about them. But if we had a foot out of joint we would sure think about it.
4. A foot out of joint may not be a problem when we are sitting in a chair. It only becomes a problem when we get up and start to walk.
5. Or imagine if your foot was out of joint, and you got up out of bed, not thinking about your foot—assuming that it would work—and stepped on it! Ouch!
6. It would be like biting into a sandwich with a broken tooth. Instant pain!
19a Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble
1. The main thrust of this proverb is to teach us something about putting confidence in unfaithful men.
a. Confidence: Trust; reliance; confidence; security.
2. Perhaps up front we should note that there are many verses in the Scriptures that teach us NOT to put confidence in men.
a. Ps. 118:8-9 – 8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
b. Prov. 3:26 – “For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.”
c. This is a common theme in the Bible. We are not to put our confidence in men. Our confidence (faith) is to rest in the Lord and in Him alone.
d. Our present proverb does not deal with that issue at all. This proverb does not view confidence in a man along those lines at all.
e. Confidence in a man vs. confidence in God is not the point in Proverbs 25:19. Confidence in man is NOT a bad thing in this context.
3. The TYPE of confidence in man Solomon describes in Proverbs 25:19 is a situation wherein a person has been given a duty to perform, an errand to run, a responsibility to attend to, or a task to carry out.
4. In this sense, we put confidence in men every day.
a. When a parent gives their son a chore to do, they are putting confidence in him that the chore will get done, and done well.
b. When a boss gives one of his workers a task to carry out in the office, he puts confidence in the employee that the task will be completed… on time… and done properly.
c. In the community, town leaders put confidence in various town workers to fulfill their duties too.
• They have confidence the police will be policing the streets.
• They put confidence in the firemen that when the alarm goes off they will be ready and prepared for the fire.
• They put confidence in the city workers hired to fill the potholes that the potholes will get filled.
d. In the assembly, we put confidence in people to perform certain ministries.
• The nursery director puts confidence in the ladies who signed up to serve in the nursery to show up.
• The head usher puts confidence in his ushers to perform their duties too.
• The head of the cleanup crew puts confidence in the people who volunteer to clean the building that they too will show up and do the job.
• The Sunday School Director has confidence that his teachers will show up for class—prepared and ready to go.
5. Solomon speaks of putting confidence in a man “in time of trouble.”
a. Trouble: Distress; adversity; affliction; calamity; anguish.
b. In everyday, routine life it is necessary to put confidence in men to carry out their duties.
• In easy times, many a man will be friendly and seem helpful. They may say, “You can count on me! If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to call. I’ll be there for you.”
• But then when a time of trouble comes and they are needed, are they really what they professed to be?
• Prov. 20:6 – “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness; but a faithful man who can find?”
c. But it is in times of crises and distress that confidence in a faithful man is vital.
d. For example, during wartime, the military leaders need to be able to put their confidence in those under them to carry out their duties. The lives of hundreds of people could depend upon his faithfully carrying out his duty.
e. During the busy season at work, the boss might especially be counting on his employees to do their job well. The bottom line depends upon it. Perhaps the existence of the company depends upon it.
f. In time of distress, when you put your confidence in a person to do their job, faithfulness is paramount!
6. Confidence in an unfaithful man.
a. This is most distressing of all… especially in time of trouble.
b. Unfaithful: Treacherously with; to be traitorous; to act unfaithfully; to betray. The verb connotes unfaithfulness in relationships like marriage.
c. During wartime, giving an important responsibility to an unfaithful man could be disastrous.
d. Putting confidence in an unfaithful man means that the task you ASSUMED was going to be performed—wasn’t!
e. The results could be calamitous.
f. It is a form of treachery; betrayal. One’s confidence was betrayed.
7. It is like a broken tooth.
a. When you bite into food, you expect that your teeth will faithfully perform their duty.
b. But when you have a broken tooth and you bite into food, instead of the teeth doing what they are supposed to do, you have an excruciating pain instead!
c. Instead of enjoying a nice sandwich, you are shrieking in pain.
d. The man whom you were counting on to do his job was unfaithful and did not do what he was supposed to do. That causes the one who trusted in him some serious pain and distress.
8. It is like a foot out of joint.
a. When you attempt to walk, you expect your feet will faithfully perform their duty, namely, keep you up and walking.
b. When your foot is out of joint, instead of walking, you will probably fall over in pain.
c. The unfaithful man who fails to do the job you were counting on him to do is like that foot out of joint.
d. It let you down. You were greatly disappointed. It caused you pain. You were confident that it would enable you to walk, but instead you fell on your face… and it was all because of the broken foot.
e. The unfaithful worker is like that foot out of joint. He is a person who lets you down; disappoints you; causing you pain; and can cause you to stumble.
f. Sometimes people fail you when you need them most. This proverb warns us to expect to be discouraged in that way.
9. Of course, confidence in the Lord will never cause us to be discouraged. He never lets us down.
a. Ps. 46:1 – “God is our refuge and strength; a very present help in trouble.”
b. Rom. 10:11 – “Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” Putting our confidence in God will never result in our being ashamed of misplaced trust… or of a betrayal of confidence.
c. Men will let us down, but God is always faithful.
Proverbs 25:20
Songs to a Heavy Heart
20a As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather…
A. Taking Away a Garment in Cold Weather
1. Everybody can relate to this illustration whether you live in Jerusalem or Fairbanks… Florida or New Hampshire.
a. Cold weather is a relative term, and everyone has been cold to one degree or another.
b. The threshold might be different in various regions, but everyone has been cold… and nobody likes it.
c. Even those who like cold weather like it because they bundle up for it and wear garments that shield them from the elements.
d. But take away those garments, and anyone would be uncomfortable.
2. The point of this simile has to do with the EFFECTS of taking away the garment in cold weather.
a. If you were sitting outside on a frigid winter day, and you were shaking to the bones, and someone offered you a warm coat, you would be most grateful.
b. But if instead, they took away your thin coat and caused you to be even colder, you would be incensed… furious… irate.
c. The point is that it’s already cold out. Taking away the coat only makes a bad situation worse.
3. Consider the person who took away the garment:
a. We would have to call them cruel, malicious, hurtful.
b. They obviously could have cared less about the person whose coat they took away.
c. It is beyond inconsiderate. They would be considered totally insensitive and unfeeling.
d. Anyone reading about what they did would be aghast at their lack of compassion.
20b And as vinegar upon nitre
B. Vinegar Upon Nitre
1. This is the second simile used. At first glance it seems to be totally unrelated to the first, but actually it is not unrelated.
2. Nitre is some sort of soda or carbonate of soda.
a. Some sources suggest that it may have been a potassium or sodium soda. Sometimes it was made from ashes.
b. It may have been a strong mineral alkali used in scrubbing and cleansing.
c. Jer. 2:22 – “For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.”
d. Such carbonates were used as a detergent agent for washing, as well as embalming and also for ceramics. It adds an element of abrasiveness.
3. Vinegar upon nitre.
a. This speaks of a strong chemical reaction that occurs when these two elements are put together.
b. What kid hasn’t mixed vinegar and baking soda together!
c. Separate, they just sit there quietly in their containers.
d. But mixing the two causes a strong reaction… bubbles and gas. It is almost like a minor explosion.
e. That is the point of this illustration: Certain things apart are fine; but mixing them together creates a problem… a negative reaction… even an explosive reaction.
One Application:
20c So is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.
1. Here Solomon is speaking about a person with a heavy heart.
a. His heart is burdened, although we are not told what kind of burden. Whatever it was, it was obviously a very heavy burden.
b. This proverb is generic enough to cover any burden that anyone might have on their heart.
c. People have burdens on their hearts for all kinds of reasons:
• Unsaved loved ones…
• Marital problems…
• Wayward children…
• Bad news from the doctor…
• Financial woes… loss of a job…
• Interpersonal relationship problems…
• Going through a messy divorce…
• Going through chemo therapy…
• Grieving the loss of a loved one…
• Discouragement, depression, sadness, etc.
• Burdens come in all sizes and shapes.
2. Some well meaning people might assume that the best way to minister to someone who is sad is to try to cheer them up and make them happy.
a. One attempt at that is mentioned in the proverb: singing a happy song to the person with a burdened heart.
b. Someone else might try to cheer them up inviting them to an amusement park… or invite them to a party.
c. For others, they might try to make light of the situation, even joking about it—hoping to cause the burdened one to see his problem as “no big deal.”
d. In some situations, that might be helpful. It might offer just enough distraction from his troubles to be encouraging.
e. But that is not always the case. This proverb speaks about the fact that there are a large number of cases wherein that would NOT be helpful.
f. In fact, it could actually be very harmful. It is like taking away a person’s winter coat in a blizzard. It makes a bad situation worse.
g. It could cause a minor melt down or an explosion, like vinegar on nitre.
3. In many situations, a person who is sad, or discouraged, or cast down is not emotionally prepared or ready to hear someone start singing an upbeat chorus of “Happy Days Are Here Again!”
a. To the sad person, happy songs intended to encourage may do just the opposite. He may not be in the mood for that approach.
b. Instead of encouraging him, it may actually stir up his sadness by accentuating to him that happy days are NOT here for him.
c. It may just be another sad reminder of how far he is from enjoying life and how far into the miry clay his heart has sunk.
d. Ps. 137:1-4 – The Babylonians told the Jews to sing some Jewish songs… but the captives were not ready for that.
• They were still grieving the loss of their country.
• They could not get themselves to sing patriotic songs and songs of their faith in a strange land for foreigners.
• This was the height of insensitivity on the part of the Babylonians.
• The Jews were still grieving their great loss. That would take time to heal.
4. Very often singing a happy song or telling light hearted jokes are not the best way to encouraged one who is severely discouraged or grieved. Consider the case of Job:
a. If anyone had a burdened heart it was Job.
b. In one hour’s time he lost his children, his flocks, his herds, his property, and his health.
c. He sat in the dust grieving and sorrowing. This was perfectly normal and natural.
d. Job 2:11-13 – He was approached by three friends.
• Upon arrival at the spot where Job was, they lifted up their voices and wept.
• They tore their garments as an expression of sharing his grief.
• They sat there with him silently for seven days for they SAW that his grief was great.
• Note that they were sensitive to his feelings. They could see his grief… and they respected that grief.
• Thus, they sat silently with him for one full week.
• That was probably the best thing they could have done for Job—to simply respect his grief.
• They waited a week to allow time for his hurt to begin to heal before they ever said a word.
• Sometimes something simple like a handshake, a hug, a look, or a word of empathy can mean a lot.
• Initially, these men were great comforters. It wasn’t until they opened their big mouths that their comfort became harmful.
5. The main thrust of this proverb is that we should be sensitive to the feelings and emotional state of others.
a. Respect their grief.
b. Give them time to heal inwardly. Don’t try to force it by singing a cheerful song when they are not emotionally ready for that.
c. Prov. 15:23 – “A word spoken in due season, how good is it!” Knowing when to speak is as important as knowing what to say.
d. Ecc. 3:4 – “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”
• We should have enough wisdom to know the difference between a time to weep and a time to laugh and be jolly.
• Unfortunately, not every believer has that wisdom.
• Without wisdom, our words can fall upon a grieving person like vinegar upon soda…
e. Ecc. 3:7b – There is a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.
• There is a time and place for everything.
• But when those things occur “at the wrong time and out of place”, it can be hurtful and harmful.
f. Rom. 12:15 – Here we are told exactly what to do with those who are weeping and mourning. We are to weep with those who weep—not sing happy songs!
g. Prov. 10:11 – With prayer, wisdom, discernment, and good timing, our words can be like well of life. Even words spoken with good intentions but lacking wisdom, can be irritating… and can cause a bad reaction… like acid on soda.
Proverbs 25:21-22
If Thine Enemy be Hungry
21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
How to Treat Your Enemy (vs.21)
A. If He is Hungry or Thirsty, Feed Him and Give Him Drink
1. This is a command and it is simple to understand.
a. If our enemy is suffering, we should try to meet his need.
b. If our enemy is going without the bare minimum, we should help feed him or give him something to drink.
c. And we could probably add here that if he is injured and bleeding on a battle field, we should treat his wounds.
d. It doesn’t mean that we are required to give him arms and weapons or adopt his ideology.
e. But we are required to alleviate his suffering.
2. However, it is not so simple to obey.
a. It is not quite so hard to give food and water to an ally, a friend, or a brother.
b. But providing the essentials of life to an enemy is hard to do.
c. The word “enemy” here means one who is hated or loathed.
d. It is an exceptionally strong term.
e. Thus, by using such a strong term, Solomon makes it clear that the action is not being done out of a warm fuzzy feeling that we have for the person.
f. Instead, the kind deeds are to be done regardless of our feelings for the individual.
g. The command is to perform deeds of kindness contrary to our feelings. The reason is clear; our behavior is to be in harmony with God’s Word, not with our feelings.
h. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Going by the feelings of our heart we can deceive ourselves into thinking that our actions are proper when in fact they are not.
i. We are to be kind to our enemies because God said so.
j. The Bible doesn’t tell us what to feel, but it does tell us what to DO.
k. We are not required to feel warm and gushy towards our enemies, but we are commanded to love them by performing DEEDS of love, regardless of our feelings.
l. Matt. 5:43-48 – Jesus commanded His disciples to love their enemies, bless them, and do good unto them.
• In doing so, the disciple is LIKE his heavenly Father.
• It is an expression of God’s love to the unworthy and undeserving. It is an expression of godliness.
• God bestows good gifts on His enemies and so should we.
• If we do good only to our own brethren, we are no better than the world. The world does that!
• That is just natural affection—human compassion.
• God wants us to demonstrate agape love.
• And remember that agape love is kind. Love is not self seeking. Love is not easily provoked. Love bears all things. And love never fails.
3. Feeding a hungry enemy does not come naturally to us.
a. Revenge comes much more naturally to us.
b. There is usually a sense of sweet satisfaction that comes from seeing an enemy suffer.
c. We enjoy seeing our enemy go hungry or thirsty.
d. We enjoy seeing our enemy suffering any kind of tragedy.
e. Prov. 24:17 – We are not to rejoice at the calamity of an enemy; but rather, meet his need.
f. Phil. 4:13 – To obey this proverb requires the power of God working in us.
• The power to obey this command is foreign to us; on our own it is impossible.
• But “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
• We are to follow the One who died for His enemies. Surely we can feed them when they are hungry!
4. Our responsibility is to demonstrate deeds of love.
a. We may feel the person deserves wrath and vengeance, but that is not our job.
b. II Kings 6:22 – Elisha showed kindness to and fed the very soldiers that came to take him away!
c. Heb. 10:30 – “For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.”
d. Our job is to demonstrate love. God will judge those who need judgment in His time and in His way.
e. When we take vengeance on an enemy, we are assuming the role of God, and the Lord does not appreciate rivals from the likes of us… from other unworthy sinners who also deserved judgment but received the love and grace of God instead!
f. Ps. 35:11-15 – David treated enemies with love. So can we.
22a For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head
B. If His Coals Go Out, Give Him Hot Coals
1. What Solomon said about providing food and drink for an enemy is easy to understand. It is hard to do, but easy to understand.
2. This command is not as easy to understand.
a. It could be understood as the third expression of agape love and kindness shown to an enemy.
b. Some have also interpreted this to mean that the deed of kindness may melt his heart and win over the heart of the enemy and make him a friend!
c. It could also be understood as an expression of divine vengeance on an enemy.
3. As an expression of love and kindness.
a. In the days before electric stoves, lights, and heaters, fires were used to heat a home and cook the food.
b. Often the fires were kept going by preserving the hot coals.
c. If a fire went out, it was considered a neighborly thing to give your neighbor some of your hot embers.
d. Those hot embers would be put in a metal dish and carried on the head as most things were.
e. Many believe that “heaping coals of fire on your enemy’s head” was the third expression of kindness—like giving him food and water… and hot coals to cook the food on or heat his home.
4. Thus, if your enemy is hungry feed him; if thirsty give him drink; if out of burning embers, give him bountifully.
HOW THE LORD WILL TREAT YOU (vs.22)
22b And the LORD shall reward thee.
A. The Lord Shall Reward Thee
1. The one who obeys the commands of verse 21 can expect the blessing of verse 22: God will reward you!
a. Reward:
• Recompense; pay back; restitution.
• OR retribution… pay back for evil done.
• Either way, it speaks of being rewarded for deeds—either good deeds or evil.
2. The one who shows love and kindness to an enemy is told to expect a blessing from the Lord.
a. God rewards good deeds with blessings.
b. Especially under the law, the Jews’ blessings were often contingent upon their obedience.
c. The promise here is that if you show love to an enemy (deeds of kindness that may be costly to you—food, drink, coals), then God will “pay you back.”
B. Coals Upon the Head: As Divine Vengeance
1. While it is possible that the coals of fire heaped upon the head of an enemy COULD refer to an act of kindness (as mentioned earlier), it is also possible that it refers to an act of divine wrath and vengeance upon this enemy.
2. If this is the case, then the proverb is to be understood in this sense:
a. Our responsibility is to give food and drink to a cruel and heartless enemy as an act of love.
• We are not to take vengeance into our own hands, but to leave that to the Lord.
• Prov. 24:29 – We are not to “pay back” those who have harmed us. We are to leave it to the Lord.
b. God’s responsibility will be twofold:
• God will judge the enemy in His time and way. God will add heaps of burning coals to his head—perhaps a reference to more severe judgment in the Lake of Fire.
» Rom. 12:19-21 – Paul quotes this proverb and seems to link the heaping of coals to divine vengeance.
» By showing an enemy deeds of kindness, you are actually increasing his judgment and adding coals of judgment to his head, for he is now sinning against greater light… sinning against expressions of God’s love through you!
• And God will reward you for not taking vengeance into your own hands, but choosing to obey God and showing kindness even to an enemy!
c. God will do all the “paying back” for deeds done—both good deeds (He rewards you) and evil deeds (He judges the enemy).
• Thus, when we obey God and show kindness to our enemy, we can do so knowing that the enemy isn’t getting away with anything. Justice will prevail eventually.
• It is not our job to do the judging. Our job is to do good to all men and leave the judgment and vengeance to the Lord.
• Of course we should not do good to others HOPING that our deeds will cause them more pain and suffering in the afterlife. A vengeful spirit displeases the Lord.
• We receive no reward for deeds done with the wrong attitude or evil motive.
Proverbs 25:23
An Angry Countenance and a Backbiting Tongue
23 The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.
Consider the various translations for this verse:
1. The difference between “driveth away” and “brings forth”:
• The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue. (KJV)
• The north wind brings forth rain, And a backbiting tongue an angry countenance. (NKJV)
• The north wind bringeth forth rain: So doth a backbiting tongue an angry countenance. (ASV)
• The north wind brings forth rain, and a backbiting tongue, angry looks. (ESV)
• Gossip brings anger just as surely as the north wind brings rain. (GNT)
• The north wind brings forth rain, and a gossiping tongue brings forth an angry look. (NET)
• As a north wind brings rain, so a sly tongue brings angry looks (NIV)
• The KJV stands alone on this translation. And it is not a textual issue. It is simply a difference of opinion concerning the translation of a Hebrew word. (Does it mean drives away or brings forth? They are opposites in meaning.)
2. Note also the difference between the backbiting tongue that brings forth the angry look vs. the angry look that brings forth the backbiting tongue:
• The north wind bringeth forth rain, and the angry countenance a backbiting tongue. (Darby)
» He differs with the KJV on “drives away” but sides with it on the angry countenance that precedes the backbiting tongue.
» Virtually all other translations have the angry look preceding the backbiting tongue.
• The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue. (KJV)
This Proverb is subject to different interpretations.
23a The north wind driveth away rain:
1. Some of the proverbs are worded in an ambiguous way on purpose—to cause us to think.
2. However, in this proverb, most of the confusion is clearly attributed to the definition of the term “driveth away.”
3. The Hebrew term has MANY different meanings (just like many English words). That is the problem in this passage.
4. Consider some of the various definitions listed:
a. “To twist, whirl, dance, writhe, fear, tremble, travail, be in anguish, be pained. Bear, bring forth. To wait anxiously; to be brought forth; to be born; suffer torture (participle) to be distressed.
b. Other dictionaries have similar lists of meanings for the term.
5. The meaning that applies in Prov. 25:23 must fit the context.
a. In context, the subject of the verb is WIND.
b. Thus, the wind “whirls or twists.”
c. In some way, the wind twirls or moves the rain.
d. The question for the interpreter is, “in which direction” does the wind move the rain?
• Does the wind bring forth the rains or does it blow or whirl them away? (Both concepts can legitimately be taken from the list of various definitions.)
• The question, is, what did the author mean when he wrote it?
• Both views make sense and both views are legitimate interpretations.
• All hinges on the meaning of the Hebrew word translated “driveth away” in this context.
23b So doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue.
6. In the second part of the proverb, there is no verb.
a. This is common in Proverbs.
b. Clearly, the verb that needs to be inserted is the SAME VERB as in the first part of the proverb.
c. In other words whatever the north wind does to the rain, an angry countenance does to a backbiting tongue.
7. I checked over a dozen translations on this passage and the KJV stands alone in translating the verb as “driveth away.”
a. ALL of the other translations (even the NKJV) translate the verb as either “brings forth” or “produces.”
b. This translation (by the way) says the opposite of drives away, so it really does affect the interpretation of the proverb.
c. One produces the rain (brings it on) and the other meaning is to drive it away (gets rid of it).
d. The question is, does the wind BRING the rain or does it get RID of the rain? (Wind CAN do either one.)
e. The difference between the two is NOT a textual issue.
f. It is simply related to the definition of this ancient Hebrew term that has several different meanings.
8. I am inclined to stick with the KJV translation for the following reason.
a. It seems to fit better with the meaning of the second half of the proverb.
b. In other words, just as the north wind DRIVES AWAY rain so too an ANGRY COUNTENANCE can drive away a backbiting tongue.
c. For example, if someone is gossiping and backbiting, you can show your displeasure with the content of the conversation without saying a word – just a cold, angry stare will drive the message home to the backbiter and will often be enough to cause that person to STOP gossiping.
d. Every parent knows this. A child who is causing mischief can often be brought to repentance without a scolding or a spanking. Often an angry countenance from dad or mom says it all. Even little children can “read” their parent’s face and knows when to stop. The angry look tells the child that dad is dead serious.
e. Mark 3:5 – When the Pharisees used a man with a withered hand to accuse Jesus, the Lord Jesus “looked round about on them with anger.” Jesus used an angry countenance to demonstrate His displeasure with their hypocrisy.
9. Whatever meaning we attribute to the term in the first part of the proverb must also be inserted in the second part.
a. For example, if we say that the north wind PRODUCES (or brings forth) the rain, then we are forced to say that the angry countenance PRODUCES a backbiting tongue… which doesn’t make that much sense to me.
• The connection between an angry countenance and producing backbiting is not that apparent.
• Those who interpret the passage this way are forced to alter the meaning of “countenance.”
• They say that an angry SPIRIT produces a backbiting tongue.
• However, the definition of the term countenance is NOT ambiguous.
• It means “face” or facial expression.
• Also, in Palestine, the North wind does not normally bring rain. It would have been odd for Solomon to use the North wind as an illustration.
• Thus, I would reject the popular view in favor of the KJV translation.
b. On the other hand, the connection between an angry countenance (an outward expression of displeasure) and causing some to stop backbiting IS apparent and obvious.
• When you “give someone a dirty look” for behavior that you obviously do not approve, it DOES usually cause the backbiter to change the subject… or rethink their actions.
• The word translated “backbiting” means secret, sly, hidden, etc. It implies someone is saying something that they shouldn’t be saying and they are trying to hide it… like a gossiper or backbiter.
• If someone begins gossiping or verbally stabbing someone in the back in the midst of a conversation with you, often an angry look… a look of disapproval will cause the backbiter to change the subject.
• Parents know that; teachers know that; bosses know that.
• Why it is so commonly known and so commonly practiced that it is almost “proverbial”!
c. Application from this proverb could be applied more broadly.
• In general, we should FROWN upon bad behavior.
• It is perfectly appropriate for our face to send messages.
• Our facial expression can send a message of delight and approval OR it can send a message of anger and disapproval.
• This proverb challenges us to send the right message!
• Our facial expression can also send a message of disapproval when someone tells an off color joke… or uses foul language. Often just a look is enough to cause the person to stop.
• There may be times when it is inappropriate for us to verbally rebuke someone for their speech, but body language can send the same message, and sometimes even more effectively.
• Just a look can drive away foul jokes, foul language, backbiting, gossip, and who knows what else!
• When we countenance bad language or behavior approvingly by facial expressions, we give the person a green light to continue… and take the conversation even further.
• When we disapprove of ungodly language or behavior and it shows on our face (angry countenance), we give the person a red light… meaning that he should stop.
• People will often stop out of shame and cowardice… but they stop.
• Just one look can nip it at the bud and prevent a lot of damage.
• And the backbiter, who is thus scared or shamed away from his backbiting, will not soon bring up such a subject in the presence of the man with the angry countenance.
d. There is a time and place for everything—even angry looks.
• Some occasions call for love and understanding; some call for an angry look.
• There are times when a smile is called for; there are times when a frown is called for.
» As believers, we need to have TWO sides – the side that loves righteousness and the side that hates iniquity.
» It is a flaw to be a man that is always angry.
» It is equally a flaw to be always soft, and to smile on everything.
• And it can be a matter of compromise to smile when we should be frowning.
• We are to love righteousness and hate evil (Heb. 1:9) Therefore, we are to smile at righteousness and frown at evil.
• Reversing that is ungodly. To smile approvingly at a backbiter (or sinner of any stripe) is to be a passive partaker of his sin.
• On the other hand, when an angry countenance is directed to the backbiter, it is an expression of love, for love rejoices not in iniquity.
Proverbs 25:25
The Refreshing Nature of Good News
Introduction:
1. This is a simple proverb in every way.
a. There are no difficult or obscure words in it.
b. There are no ambiguous expressions.
c. There is no difficulty in connecting the two parts of the proverb.
d. The illustration presented is one that every living person can relate to.
2. Solomon makes one simple analogy here: hearing good news from afar is like a refreshing drink of cold water.
a. The good news is to the ear what the water is to the soul: refreshing!
25a As cold waters to a thirsty soul…
1. Everybody has experienced this scene:
a. It is a hot day and you have been working hard.
b. The sun has been beating on you, and your mouth is parched. You are dying for a cold drink… but there is no cold drink to be had. You have to wait.
c. Perhaps you are driving home from work in mid August and the AC isn’t working in your car and the traffic is clogged on route 93.
d. You are dying for a drink, but you know you won’t be able to have one for an hour or so in this traffic.
e. Your thirst makes the hour seem like five hours.
f. Your mind is on that drink and you can think of nothing else. When you are that thirsty, all you can think of is cool, refreshing, water.
g. You may have many other desires in life, but at this time you simply want a cool drink.
h. And when you finally get that drink, it is a bit like paradise. It is satisfying deep down inside. It is the best water you’ve ever tasted. You feel like you could drink a gallon.
i. That cool water brings a sense of satisfaction to your soul (soul here is used in the sense of life… yourself… to the core of your being…)
2. Judges 15:18-19 – Samson had just finished a fight with 1000 men.
a. He slew them all, and was exhausted… and thirsty.
b. God provided water that refreshed his soul and “his spirit came again and he revived.”
c. This is the kind of refreshment to which Solomon alludes.
d. It is the kind of refreshment that is like having your spirit come back to you when you were at the point of exhaustion and completely depleted of strength… after you have experienced a physical revival.
3. II Sam. 23:15 – David also experienced this kind of deep physical thirst: “And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!”
4. Deep, physical thirst is also used figuratively for other longings of the soul.
a. Psalm 42:1-2 – David LONGED and thirsted after God…. “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?”
b. Isa. 55:1 – Isaiah uses this figure to describe the soul’s longing or thirsting after salvation: “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
c. But in our proverb, Solomon uses this figure to illustrate how refreshing good news can be to the soul.
25b So is good news from a far country.
1. Good news from a far country is in some ways like finally getting that cool, refreshing drink after waiting so long for it!
a. What makes it so refreshing? It was the distance; the long wait; the times of great anxiety in not knowing; the longing for fellowship; the worries about the potential trouble;
b. All of these combine to make GOOD news from a far country especially refreshing.
2. Good news from a far country probably doesn’t have the significance today that it had in Solomon’s day.
a. In that day, when someone was in a faraway land, it could be months, even years before you heard word from them.
b. It wasn’t that long ago that when a missionary boarded a boat to go across the ocean, it would take six months for a letter to make it to them… and another six months for the response.
c. Today we have instant access and communication with those in faraway lands. We can Tweet, Skype, text, or call—all in a matter of seconds.
d. Thus, the thirst for news might not seem as intense today as in Solomon’s day.
3. But imagine you are a father or mother of a soldier who is fighting in a war in a far away, desolate area of the world.
a. You hear on TV that the area where he was serving was bombed; there are heavy casualties, and the communications are down.
b. Waiting to hear whether he survived or not could turn minutes into days; and days into years.
c. Your soul would LONG to hear good news. Nothing else would matter. All you want is to hear a good report. Nothing else on earth would satisfy your soul.
d. This is what Solomon is speaking about: the soul that LONGS for good news from a faraway land.
e. When the good news does come (your son is safe!) then it is like a cool, refreshing drink to your soul. It satisfies; revives the soul; the spirit comes again! You can breathe again!
4. Prov. 15:30 – “a good report maketh the bones fat.”
a. The “light of the eyes” speaks of the eyes as a window into the soul. The eyes can communicate.
b. They can sparkle; they can twinkle; they can beam; or they can be dull and look very sad.
c. The light of the eyes is a twinkle in the eye – an indication of a happy heart.
d. So too, a good report makes the bones fat – this too speaks of an inward twinkle… inward spiritual and psychological health.
e. Fat bones are moist, strong, healthy, and full of healthy marrow.
• They are the opposite of dried out bones. (Prov. 17:22 – a broken spirit drieth the bones)
• Envy is the rottenness of the bones. (Prov.14:30)
• But good news encourages… and makes the bones fat…
f. A good report encourages and is like bringing light back to the eyes… it is like fat, healthy bones—which speak of an inner man that is sound, spiritually healthy, encouraged, and strong… revived!
5. Proverbs 13:12 – Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life!”
a. Hope defined: Always translated “hope”… from a word that means “to wait for; hope for; expectation of a positive future prospect.”
b. When a loved one is far away, there is much hope for good; much waiting for news; much anticipation…
c. When a loved one is far away, that hope cannot be confirmed easily. It takes news… good news to confirm it.
d. You may be hoping for good news… but when it does not come… and you are forced to wait… and the news is deferred, it makes the heart sick… for you LONG to know more.
e. But when the desire of the heart comes (when what you were hoping for comes to fruition)… it is a tree of life…
f. When good news comes from a far country, the anxiety is over… the worries and fears are laid to rest. The sick heart is replaced with a spiritually healthy and joyous heart… and fat bones too!
6. Examples:
a. Consider how refreshed was Jacob when his sons brought back the news from far away Egypt – after so many long years, that Joseph was alive! (Gen. 45:25-28)
7. The sinner can be refreshed with the good news of heaven… the good news of the gospel of God’s grace!
a. “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”
b. What RELIEF we can bring to the thirsty soul who has found no satisfaction in this old world when we bring the gospel message to them.
c. In John 4, Jesus likened salvation (the effect of the good news) to a drink of “living water” that refreshed the soul of the sin weary woman.
8. The saint too can be refreshed with good news from faraway heaven too—every time we read the Bible!
a. We are citizens of heaven!
b. We CAN walk in newness of life.
c. We are overcomers in Christ.
d. Christ liveth in me!
e. We have been blessed with all spiritual blessings.
f. We can be used as instruments of the Lord to bring good news to others!
Proverbs 25:26
A Righteous Man Falls
Introduction:
1. In this proverb, Solomon speaks to a sad issue that has been with us since the Garden of Eden and will be until the Lord returns.
2. This proverb is about a testimony that is ruined and its effect on others.
3. Unfortunately, we all know exactly what he is talking about.
4. This proverb has many applications, but for one, it ought to make us scared to death of becoming yet another sad statistic of the fallen.
5. Fear can be good for us.
26a A righteous man falling
1. First of all we should note that it happens: righteous men DO fall.
a. The Bible is full of sad stories of godly men who fell into sin and ruined their testimonies.
b. And it happens in the church age just as much—and in the tail end of the church age, we should only expect it to increase.
2. Examples:
a. It all started with godly Adam falling into sin.
b. Noah—got drunk.
c. Abraham—went in unto his handmaiden; lied.
d. Moses—righteous anger got out of control and he broke the tablets containing the Ten Commandments.
e. David’s sin with Bathsheba—his counting of the army.
f. Jehoshaphat compromised with Ahab and helped the ungodly.
g. The apostles—Peter denied the Lord three times; they fought to see who would be the greatest among them; they fled like cowards when Christ was taken.
3. The Bible is painfully open and honest concerning the lives of its heroes.
a. It does not candy-coat the life story of any of them.
b. The Bible gives us the record of these men—the good and the bad… the heroic moments and their moments of cowardice… the victories and their failures.
c. Hebrews chapter eleven gives us a list of the heroes of the faith. We could also write another chapter outlining the failures of those same men.
d. The point is that righteous men DO fail. They are human; they have sin natures; and at times sin gets the best of them.
e. And we are made of the same stuff. We are no different.
f. That means that at any given moment you or I could fail and fall also.
26a,b A righteous man falling before the wicked
1. Consider the Hebrew word translated “fall”
a. Defined: To totter; shake; slip; to stagger; to waver; wobble; to be moved, be overthrown; to dislodge.
b. This term is a bit different from the term to stumble or trip. It seems to imply more of an unsteady, wobbly, staggering along.
c. I Chron. 16:30 – “…The world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.” Here the term is translated “moved” and is seen here as the opposite of being “stable.”
2. “Falling down before the wicked” – This could be understood in two ways:
a. It could refer to the TESTIMONY of a righteous man who falls into sin before the eyes of the on looking wicked men in the world.
• The word “before” might cause us to lean towards this view.
• “Before” means “face” or “in the face of” or “before the eyes of.”
• This would lead us to believe that Solomon is speaking about the testimony of the righteous man before the eyes of the world.
b. It could refer to faltering or wavering by COMPROMISING before the wicked and their ungodly ways.
• The word translated “fall” might lead us to believe that Solomon had in mind a “giving in to” or “wavering” by compromising with the wicked… since it is not the word for stumble or fall.
c. Both views make powerful statements of important truths.
• The question is, what did Solomon mean when he wrote this?
• Or, did he intentionally leave it vague enough to be understood in both ways, as is the case in many proverbs?
• We might not be able to settle this with certainty until glory. Thus, let’s consider both possibilities.
26c Is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.
1. A troubled fountain; a corrupt spring.
a. In the dry regions of the Middle East, a fountain, well, or spring was particularly prized.
b. This was so especially to travelers. Traveling under the sun in an arid desert caused a man to long for a cool drink.
c. They would often know where the next fountain, well, or spring was.
d. It was greatly anticipated and longed for.
e. However, sometimes, for various reasons, an enemy might poison a well or fountain.
f. When a traveler arrived at the well—expecting a cool, refreshing drink, it was disappointing to the extreme to discover that it had been poisoned or polluted.
g. Solomon uses this to illustrate a righteous man who falls down before the wicked.
h. Prov. 10:11 – A righteous man should be a “well of life”—refreshing to others.
i. But if the well is polluted, he is no longer refreshing, but deeply disappointing.
2. “A righteous man who falls down before the wicked” could refer to the TESTIMONY of a righteous man who falls into sin before the eyes of the on looking wicked men in the world.
a. Believers stand BEFORE (before the face of) the world’s critical eyes every day.
b. They are watching.
• In fact, both men and angels are watching us.
• There are some ungodly men who though they are really not interested in our faith, are interested in our lifestyle, our standards, our integrity, and our families.
• The ungodly watch every move we make. We are curious items to them. We are peculiar people.
c. And while the world may mock us publically, often privately, there is a good amount of respect for the God-fearing saint of God.
d. It is especially disappointing when those who have great respect for a believer’s testimony discover that his life is faltering… stumbling… not as stable as you thought.
• Some in the world observe believers and admire their stand, respect their standards; and look up to their faithful, consistent convictions.
• But when they see a believer whom they admired fall into sin, it is a big letdown… a disappointment… disillusioned.
• And it is extremely damaging today to the cause of Christ.
• That is especially so for a Christian leader—a pastor, evangelist, deacon, elder, etc. The world is watching and they hold us to a higher standard—and so they should.
• That kind of a moral fall casts a dark shadow on Christianity as a whole. It shouldn’t, but it does.
e. It is like a man who goes to a fountain or a spring, expecting a drink of cool, healthy, refreshing water, and instead finds it polluted and corrupted.
• That man used to go to that well (the word for fountain is a well).
• Previously he valued that well. He always used to get good, refreshing water there.
• But now that it has been polluted, he no longer values it. He stays away. It is no longer a special place.
• Now, every time he thinks of that well he is disappointed.
• So is the righteous man who stumbles and ruins his testimony.
• He who had been known for honor, honesty, and integrity, and who had spent a lifetime building up a godly testimony, can RUIN it all in a moment of time… one tragic fall… one moment for the flesh—and it all goes up in flames.
• His testimony is gone—and those who had been looking up to him are greatly disillusioned.
f. Such falls can have a rippling effect.
• Flavel wrote: “The scandalous falls of good men are like a bag of poison cast by Satan into the spring, from whence the whole town is supplied with water.”
3. It could refer to faltering or wavering by COMPROMISING before the wicked.
a. This is the second way to understand the expression “falling before the wicked.”
b. If the term “fall” is understood as a “wavering” in the sense of “giving in to” the wicked… or compromising with the wicked, then the application is slightly different.
c. With that understanding of the expression, Solomon is saying that the righteous man who caves in on his stand for righteousness is like a troubled fountain or a corrupt spring.
• For example, there is the righteous man who previously refused to take bribes, wavers when enticed and takes a bribe.
• There could be a man who was morally pure, who in a moment of weakness, wobbles morally, and gives in to the temptation of the seductress.
• Or the politician who has been a national figure who has given his career to the removal of corruption from the government, who is later caught in a moral scandal of his own.
d. The point the proverb emphasizes is the disappointment involved.
• It is discouraging to see a righteous man cave in to peer pressure.
• It is discouraging to see a righteous man compromise his faith… his standards… his convictions.
• But it happens every day.
e. We see this in politics all the time.
• We elect candidates who promised to stand up for certain principles that are important to us… only to discover that they cave in to the pressure and change once in office.
• We vote in a reformer who promises to change the way we do business, only to discover that once in office, it is more of the same.
f. We see this in the ministry constantly.
• Pastors are caving in to the pressure to not mention alcohol, or dancing, or other hot button issues.
• Pastors also are giving in to the immense pressure to allow contemporary Christian music in the church.
• Pastors are also caving in to the pressure today to discard dispensational theology—Reformed is the doctrine of the hour.
• It is extremely disappointing and discouraging… like going to a well expecting a drink of refreshing water and finding it polluted.
g. And this is seen not only in pastors and churches, but in individual believers too.
• We see believers who once opposed new evangelicalism who now embrace it.
• We see individual believers who once took a good stand against contemporary Christian music and now listen to it… or have gone to a rock and roll church.
• As the songwriter put it, “Change and decay in all around I see; O Lord who changest not abide in me.”
• And sadly, like a polluted well, the damage done may be permanent. Polluted or poisoned waters (or radioactive waters!) may remain polluted.
• You can pour poison in a well in a moment and ruin it. It may take years for the water to be cleansed and pure again—if ever.
• A believer’s power to do good may be lost indefinitely, like a corrupt spring.
h. What a pity for a believer to cave in to the pressure of the world or of wicked men. There is no need to cave in and compromise. We have been promised VICTORY over the world and wicked men. There is no need to capitulate to them today.
Proverbs 25:27
Glory Seeking
27 It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.
Introduction:
1. This is the second reference to honey in this chapter.
a. Honey was a good illustration to use because it was familiar to everyone in Solomon’s day.
b. It was their sweetener and their candy: and who doesn’t love sweets?
c. Honey is used in a similar way in both illustrations. It speaks to the fact that while a little might be ok, too much makes one sick!
2. In verse 16, Solomon used honey to illustrate the fact that while going over to your neighbor’s house is good (like honey is good), going over too often can actually make your neighbors sick of you—like eating too much honey.
3. The same concept is now applied to a different situation.
a. In this proverb, Solomon is speaking about men (or women) who “search their own glory.”
b. The point is the same: too much makes people sick!
27a It is not good to eat much honey…
1. Eating too much honey is “not good.”
a. The word “good” here means beneficial; appropriate; pleasant; agreeable; etc.
b. Eating too much honey is not pleasant; it is not agreeable… especially to the stomach. It can make you sick!
2. Proverbs 25:16 also spoke of this truth, but added more details.
a. This verse states that one should only eat enough honey that is sufficient.
b. Don’t eat too much. Don’t eat MORE than is sufficient.
c. Honey was not intended to be a meal.
d. Eating too much can cause a person to become sick and vomit.
e. Too much honey makes a person sick to their stomach.
f. Thus, verse 27 tells us that eating too much honey is not good. It is not fitting; it is not appropriate; it is not pleasant.
g. It might SEEM pleasant as you are eating it—and the tendency is to overdo something that is so enjoyable.
h. However, after a while, it will catch up to you and make you sick.
i. Thus, the advice here is to eat only as is sufficient.
j. Don’t go overboard—for you will regret it later. You may get sick and vomit it out!
k. Eating honey is pleasant and agreeable; getting sick and vomiting is not.
27b So for men to search their own glory
1. The terms:
a. Search: This term means to seek out; to investigate in order to find.
b. Glory: Honor; glory; wealth; that which is valued.
2. Solomon is speaking about a man (or woman!) who is self-seeking… seeking their own honor; popularity; prestige; glory.
a. Seeking one’s own glory refers to seeking to make a big splash for self.
b. It speaks of self exaltation: seeking to make a big name for oneself.
c. It speaks of seeking any kind of advance, self promotion, or advantage that would draw attention to self.
d. It speaks of the man who is full of himself and seeks to be even fuller!
e. They court the applause of men and covet praise of others.
f. They seek to be popular; admired; well liked; looked up to.
g. Solomon is speaking about the man or woman who is constantly tooting their own horn:
• They boast about how spiritual they are; how much they give; how much they serve; how many tracts they passed out; how long they pray; how many good deeds they have done; etc.
• Actually, others don’t need to know any of that!
• If you want to be rewarded for your good deeds, then don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Don’t toot your own horn.
• This is what the Pharisees did. They did good works to be SEEN of men… to receive the applause of men… to be exalted in the sight of men. It was sickening to the Lord.
3. It is part of our fallen human nature for men to seek their own glory.
a. It is the sin of PRIDE that afflicts us all. It is the pride of life.
b. In a sense, it is the sin of IDOLATRY – giving glory to self that belongs to God.
c. It is the opposite of a Christ-like, SELFLESS attitude that seeks the welfare of others.
d. John 5:44 – Jesus pointed out this flaw in human nature: “How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?”
4. This is a common theme in the Scriptures.
a. Prov. 27:2 – “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth.”
b. Prov. 18:12 – “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.” Men seek for honor and don’t attain it. Men who walk in humility DO attain it!
c. Phil. 2:3 – “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”
27c Is not glory.
1. It is not wrong to speak about oneself.
a. That is almost necessary at times. In normal, everyday conversation we discuss what we did for the day; where we went; what we were able to get done. That’s normal and natural.
b. But there is an invisible line, which when crossed takes us beyond that which is good to that which is not good… in fact, to the point of being sickening.
• When friends are gathered, often stories of events in our lives are told as part of good conversation.
• But when one person dominates the conversation talking exclusively about himself, after two or three stories, it becomes sickening to all.
2. Not glory:
a. Note the italicized words: “is not”
• Something needs to be added to make sense of the statement.
• Thus, it has been translated in a couple of different ways.
• One way is to seek glory piled upon glory.
1. Holman: or to seek glory after glory.
2. NRSV: or to seek honor on top of honor.
• The other way is to understand it as the KJV does—which is the most prevalent way.
1. Something has to be added here. The KJV added the thought “not good” from the first part of the proverb—which is perfectly sensible.
2. It means something along the lines of “seeking too much glory is not glorious!”
• The difference in overall meaning is miniscule. Solomon’s point is crystal clear: seeking to glorify and exalt oneself is not glorious at all. In fact, it is disgusting and shameful.
3. To show just HOW inglorious it is, Solomon likens seeking glory to eating too much honey.
a. Eating a little honey is good.
• A little honor/glory is good too—in this sense.
• A man should seek to lead a life that is honorable.
• We should seek to lead a life that is a good testimony for the Lord.
• When we do, we will earn a good reputation and bring honor to our name.
• It is good and wholesome and spiritually healthy for a believer to be concerned about his/her reputation—our testimony before God and men.
• We desire to have a good reputation. It is like honey—sweet and good.
• One man (Charles Bridges) worded this thought interestingly: “This carefulness is a virtue on the brink of becoming a vice; a duty on the border of imminent danger.”
• His point was that it is possible to take that which is good too far and drive it over the edge… and thus to cross the line from good to bad…
• There is often a fine line between seeking to be a good testimony BEFORE men and seeking honor and approval FROM men.
• It is good to be careful to maintain a good reputation and to LEAD an honorable life.
• However, SEEKING honor for self—and especially seeking honor upon honor—glory upon glory—is like eating too much honey. That crosses the line.
b. Prov. 25:16 – It makes you sick and causes you to vomit!
c. Prov. 27:7 – When you are full of honey, any more is loathsome!
• There is nothing particularly glorious about vomiting or watching a person vomit.
• The one who seeks to exalt himself is sickening. It results in regurgitation.
4. Far better is it to follow the Lord’s admonition in Luke 14:11:
a. “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
b. The right way to be honored is not to exalt self, but to humble self… and let God do the exalting at the Bema seat.
c. Prov. 27:2 – “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.”
d. A truly honorable man doesn’t have to SEEK honor from men. He simply needs to live an honorable life.
Proverbs 25:28
A Lack of Self Control
Introduction:
1. This proverb speaks of the danger of lacking self-control.
2. To demonstrate the pitiful condition of such a man (or woman), Solomon uses the illustration of a broken down city with no walls.
28a He that hath no rule over his own spirit…
1. Solomon is describing a certain character flaw in this proverb: a lack of self-control.
2. He describes that flaw as a man who has “no rule over his spirit.”
3. The word spirit is used in a general sense here.
a. Spirit:
• Breath; wind; animation.
• Temper; disposition; impulse; seat of emotions; courage.
• Sometimes used of the mind.
• Sometimes it is used of the physical life of a person. (Ps. 104:29)
• Often used in general of the inner life of a person; the inner man.
b. Today we use the word spirit in many similar senses.
• We say a lively person has “spirit.”
• We talk of team spirit… their energy, vitality, etc.
• We speak of a man’s spirit as his attitude.
• A person may have a jealous spirit… a violent spirit… a humble spirit… etc.
c. In our proverb, Solomon is using the term to speak of a man’s inner life… his inward disposition… his inward attitude… his thought life and inner emotions; in short, the person—the inner man.
4. Solomon is describing a man who has NO RULE over his inner thoughts and emotions.
a. Rule: Control; restraint.
b. Solomon is clearly speaking of a person who does not have self control.
c. He cannot (or will not) restrain his inner spirit… his inner thoughts and emotions.
d. The character flaw of having no control over one’s inner emotions has countless ramifications and will prove to be life dominating.
e. This man is a SLAVE to his feelings and emotions.
f. He is a slave to lust; a slave to anger; a slave to cursing; a slave to an uncontrolled tongue.
g. He has countless evil masters, and the Bible speaks of several of them.
h. Thus, to the man with no self-control (cannot rule his own spirit), a temptation is as good as a sin. He has no power or strength against it.
i. He is forced to surrender to the first impulse of passion.
5. Anger
a. Proverbs 14:17 – This is the man who is “soon angry.”
b. He flies off the handle easily and quickly. He is short tempered—short fused.
c. The tiniest things irritate him and because he has no self-control, the smallest irritation is manifested outwardly.
d. He has no control over his anger.
e. He probably yells and screams a lot too.
f. Prov. 14:29 – The one who is “soon angry” is the opposite of the man who is slow to wrath. Instead of being slow to wrath, he that is hasty in the outward display of his anger!
6. The Tongue
a. Jas. 1:26 – James speaks of a man who lacks self-control (bridle) over his tongue.
b. This man not only lacks self-control over his tongue, but also is deceived. He THINKS that all is fine spiritually—when it is not.
c. Jas. 3:2 – James implies here that if a person could control their tongue, then he/she could control their whole body, namely, any other impulse. That is because they have self-control—and that quality overflows into other areas of life as well.
d. Jas.3:8 – The problem is that no man is able to completely control the tongue. We all offend in that way.
e. It is perhaps the most common area where we need to exhibit control over our spirit… self-control.
7. Sexual desire
a. I Cor. 7:9 – “If they cannot contain” (if they lack self control sexually) then they should get married.
b. Paul speaks of those who have no control over their spirit in the sexual realm. He too is like a broken down city.
c. Having no control over one’s spirit spills into every realm of life.
d. This is an exceedingly dangerous area in which to lack self-control.
e. The desire is normal and natural; but having no control over it is sinful.
f. Hence, God’s cure for that desire is for it to be channeled honorably through marriage.
g. The marriage bed is undefiled (Heb. 13:4) but those who have no control over their spirits sexually, (whoremongerers and adulterers) “God will judge.”
8. While sex, anger, and the use of the tongue may be the most common and frequent areas in which most men lack self control, there are other areas as well. Those are perhaps the most explosive areas.
a. It could also apply to jealousy, pride, bitterness, resentment, even in over eating.
b. We need self-control (temperance) in order to keep on running the race. Thus, a lack of self-control can be manifested in a lack of diligence in reading God’s Word; praying; witnessing; slacking off in our spiritual life in general.
c. This is a serious issue that Solomon raises and one that we all struggle with to one degree or another.
d. Individuals may lack self control in different areas of life, but we all lack self-control from time to time.
e. We all deal with this issue and will until the Lord returns.
28b Is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
1. In the second part of the proverb in English Solomon illustrates this man as a broken down city without walls.
a. The illustration puts a picture in our mind’s eye to contemplate.
b. The illustration also adds another layer of meaning to the concept of self-control.
2. A man without self control is like a city without walls.
a. In Solomon’s day, city walls spoke of a city’s main layer of security.
b. Cities built walls around them to keep out invading armies.
c. This might not be as meaningful to us today as it was in ancient times.
d. Today planes can fly over cities and drop bombs. Walls are more decorative for us today.
e. But in ancient times, before planes, walls were the major obstacle to an invading army. The taller and wider they were, the better!
f. Cities like Babylon had a double wall around the city and their walls were wide enough for chariots to ride upon. That gave the Babylonians a sense of safety and security.
g. Thus, a city without walls was not safe. They were wide open to attacks from their enemies.
h. Their city walls served as a layer of protection; but without walls they were vulnerable. They were unprotected. They were in a weakened condition. They were defenseless and hopelessly exposed to invaders. The enemies could march right in with nothing to stop them. And the enemy can march right in from any direction they want. There are no walls!
i. The application to a man with no self-control is obvious:
• He is mercilessly exposed to the attacks of our enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil.
• He is unprotected and defenseless. Self-control provides a layer of protection for the believer that this man does not have.
• The man with no self-control is weak and vulnerable; he is easily defeated by his own uncontrolled desires: anger, lust, bitterness, pride, outbursts of the tongue.
• The man is defenseless against the attacks of his own impulses and lusts.
• The enemy can march right in, unhindered. And with no walls, the enemy can march in from any direction. The application is that a man who lacks self-control can be attacked not just from one front (anger for example), but from ANY front.
• If he lacks self-control over anger, he also lacks self-control over his tongue—and in many other areas as well.
• The man who lacks rule over his spirit doesn’t merely have a problem from one direction, but from EVERY direction.
• It speaks of the kind of person he is: lacking self-control he is vulnerable in every way.
• Prov. 16:32 – The person who DOES have control over his impulses and rules his spirit (including anger) has an inner strength greater than his enemies. He is better than the mighty man who conquers cities!
• It is a far greater strength to have inward power than outward power.
3. A man without self-control is like a broken down city.
a. A broken down city is a city that was invaded, defeated, and destroyed from within.
b. Again, the application is obvious.
c. The man who lacks self-control can also expect to be defeated spiritually.
• Because he has no control over passions, anger can lead to murder; lust leads to adultery.
• Because of this one character flaw, the enemy has an open door to march in any time and in any way he wants.
• And the end result will be utter ruin for that man.
d. There are too many enemies—coming from too many directions. And they come when least expected.
• Such attacks will wear any man down and leave him defeated eventually… that is UNLESS he regains self-control.
• Trying to defeat each and every enemy is a losing battle.
iii. Once they are within city limits (in our mind and heart) they are going to win. They are stronger than we are and able to wait us out.
e. The answer is not to attempt to defeat all of the invading enemies individually, but rather, to build city walls (i.e. have self-control).
• The answer is to become a person who DOES have control of his spirit.
• Solomon simply points out the problem; he does not offer a solution to the problem… because the Law (under which he lived) did not have the solution we know today.
f. Gal. 5:22-23 – The fruit of the Spirit is “temperance” – or self-control.
• A life yielded and surrendered to God will be fortified and strong… self-controlled… like a city with massive walls over which no enemy can enter.
• Instead of attempting the impossible—attempting to put out a thousand fires of anger, lust, pride, etc., God’s answer is to be FILLED (controlled by) the Spirit… and thus HE will work in us and produce the fruit of the Spirit—temperance.
• Temperance, the fruit of the Spirit serves as a city wall over which no enemy can scale.
• The person who dwells there (by walking in the Spirit day by day) is safe and secure. The one who walks in the Spirit will NOT fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
• God’s Holy Spirit enables the believer to have control over his spirit such that he is able to take offence, insult, verbal abuse, without blowing up and without striking back.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 26
Proverbs 26:1
Honor is Not Seemly for a Fool
As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool.
Introduction:
1. This proverb makes one simple point concerning the unseemliness of giving honor to a fool.
2. There are 13 similes (using like or as) in this chapter – most of them comparing fools to various things.
Unseemly Things
A. Snow in Summer
1. Snow does not normally fall in the summer time… especially in Israel. It doesn’t normally fall there in the winter!
2. It would be a highly unusual event if it snowed in the summer.
3. Such a freak storm would also probably be upsetting in many ways:
a. That’s their tourist season, and they would not be equipped to handle a snow storm.
b. It would ruin their crops. The farmers would not be happy.
c. It could be dangerous too; it could cause many accidents.
d. People would not be prepared for such an event. It would catch them by surprise and would basically be a pain in the neck.
e. It could have some very tragic results.
B. Rain in Harvest
1. Rain during the growing season is normal, expected, and desirable.
2. But rain during the time when all are in the fields bringing in the sheaves would not be normal, expected, or desirable.
3. It too would be considered a pain in the neck. It would be upsetting.
4. It might cause them to lose a day’s work and put them behind schedule.
5. Snow in summer or rain in harvest would not be appropriate.
6. It’s not the way it should be.
7. That would be the view of those living in that region of the world.
C. Summary
1. Such things would be upsetting, damaging, have tragic consequences, would be undesirable, would be inappropriate, and would not be the way things should be.
Honor for a Fool
1. Giving a fool a position of honor is snow in summer and rain in harvest.
2. It too would be upsetting, damaging, have tragic consequences, would be undesirable, would be inappropriate, and would not be the way things should be.
3. Honor:
a. In this context, the word “honor” means: respect, external recognition of worth, glory, accolades, advancement to high position.
b. Who gets all the recognition, accolades and glory in this country? It is not always those who deserve it.
4. Seemly:
a. Defined: Beautiful; becometh; comely; lovely; fitting; appropriate; proper for a situation.
b. Usage: Ps. 147:1 – “Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.”
c. Praise to God is beautiful, lovely, fitting, proper, and appropriate… because God is worthy.
d. Putting a fool in a place of honor is not beautiful, lovely, fitting, proper, and appropriate… because the fool is not worthy.
e. There is something especially unseemly and inappropriate about a fool in an honorable position. Fools and honor do not belong in the same sentence.
5. It is unseemly for a fool to be teaching in the classroom.
a. Yet we have many such fools teaching our kids in America.
b. Ward Churchill comes to mind.
i. He was the Colorado professor who said, “that the September 11, 2001 attacks were a natural and unavoidable consequence of what he views as unlawful US policy, and he referred to the “technocratic corps” working in the World Trade Center as “little Eichmanns.”
c. Recently I heard of teachers in public schools teaching from a book that rewrites history.
i. Instead of viewing Thanksgiving in its context of offering thanks to the Creator for His bounty, the book described Thanksgiving as a “time for the predominate white race to rejoice over potential genocide.”
ii. There is something very unseemly about putting radical fools in charge of teaching our children.
d. And think about the tragic consequences!
i. An unexpected snow storm can cause a lot of problems.
ii. A radical teacher in the classroom can cause many more problems. It can over time ruin a country.
iii. Talk about something that is undesirable and inappropriate—here is a perfect example.
6. There is something unseemly about fools in positions of political power.
a. Yet it happens all the time. Fools are honored by being given political positions—either through a military coup, nepotism, or being voted in.
b. Dan. 4:17 – “…the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” God allows the basest of men—even fools—to gain positions of power.
c. Just read the Bible… or world history and consider some of the kings God allowed to hold political power over nations: Ahab, Herod, Nero, Stalin, etc.
d. Some of these fools starved their own people… shot their own people… and in spite of it all, remained in their position of “honor.” There is something unseemly about that.
e. There have been many tragic consequences of bloodthirsty fools in positions of political power.
i. Consider the killing fields in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge regime. Over a million people slaughtered.
ii. Consider the 2-4 million Ukrainians starved to death during Stalin’s reign.
f. When foolish men are put in honorable positions of power, tragedy usually follows.
7. It is unseemly to have fools preaching from pulpits.
a. But this too happens all the time.
b. There are many fools preaching bizarre doctrines: Mormons and their thousands of gods; charismatics and their visions and so called miracles; Catholic superstitions—scapulars.
c. And a lot closer to home theologically, there are some men in the ministry who shouldn’t be.
d. There is something unseemly about all of this.
8. There is something unseemly about a fool being honored with a promotion at work that he did not deserve.
a. Everyone in the office knows that he didn’t deserve it; everyone knows who should have received it; yet there is nothing they can do about it.
b. This too is inappropriate—like snow in summer. It’s not supposed to turn out this way.
c. And this too can have tragic results—a lack of confidence in the management; lack of morale; loss of incentive to do your best; etc.
9. Normally (all things being equal), those who are wise prosper. And we often consider prosperity and success as something honorable. We look up to a Donald Trump or a Prince Charles.
a. But that is not always the case that those in what is considered a place of honor (the wealthy; successful; royalty) are necessarily wise.
b. Sometimes fools prosper in business just by being lucky.
c. Sometimes royal families have foolish sons who find themselves in positions of honor… that is not deserved.
d. Very often, the wealthy obtain their wealth through inheritance. (Ecc. 2:18-19) Here Solomon laments the fact that after a lifetime of hard work and labor, he will eventually leave his wealth to his son. But who knows whether his son will be wise or foolish?
e. Foolish rich people can be an embarrassment. Sometimes rich American fools give our country a bad name overseas.
10. But perhaps the most unseemly honor bestowed on fools is found in Hollywood and in the entertainment industry.
a. They gain fame and fortune by acting or by playing ball.
b. Suddenly they think that they are experts in politics and ethics and begin lecturing to the country on subjects about which they know nothing—and often say some of the most foolish things!
c. America honors its entertainers more than we honor our president, senators, or business leaders who provide jobs for the country.
d. We honor the cheap and sleazy rap artists who rant about the most vile subjects more than we do the much more skilled classical musicians who play in half empty halls.
e. We honor Hollywood celebrities who do their best on TV to destroy the American family more than we honor those who are laboring to support the family.
f. We honor a Lady Gaga by paying her millions to demonstrate her bizarreness—and yet our school teachers are underpaid.
g. We honor a man who throws a baseball by paying him 100 times more than our president makes.
h. The comedian who goes on weekly tirades against the USA is honored with a TV show and millions of dollars, while the families of our soldiers fighting for our country and risking their lives, can barely keep up with the rent.
i. There is something unseemly about all of this. It just shouldn’t be this way.
j. It is inappropriate—like snow in summertime or rain in harvest.
k. We seem to have a great knack at giving honor, accolades, notoriety, and recognition to the most undeserving people… many of whom are quite foolish. And at the same time, those who deserve honor and respect are ignored.
l. That’s not the way it should be. That is Solomon’s point in this proverb. It is unseemly.
11. In Ecclesiastes 10:6, Solomon put it this way: “Folly is set in great dignity.”
a. Solomon laments this fact: fools often obtain positions of honor and great dignity.
b. It shouldn’t be that way—but it often is.
c. Things in this world are often crooked, backwards, and upside down.
d. It is as damaging as rain in harvest time—but it happens.
12. Putting a fool in a position of honor can have tragic consequences.
a. It will confirm him in his folly. He will assume that folly pays!
b. It will encourage folly in others. It will give others the wrong impression. They too will be led to believe that folly pays.
c. And it also gives the fool the platform from which to produce even more folly… and cause more trouble.
13. The lesson is simple:
a. Don’t honor a fool.
b. Don’t put a fool in an honorable position.
c. It is inappropriate—and there could be some disastrous consequences.
Proverbs 26:2
The Causeless Curse
Introduction:
1. This proverb is designed to encourage the faint of heart.
2. It is designed to bring comfort to the hearts of those who worry needlessly about the “causeless curse.”
2a As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying…
1. Solomon uses two “bird” illustrations to make his point.
a. Sorry to all the bird lovers, but birds do not have a very good reputation in the Bible.
b. They are portrayed as dumb, evil, or both.
c. Job 39:14-15 – speaks disparagingly about the ostrich – as a dumb bird that buries her eggs and forgets where she buried them.
d. Lam. 4:3 – speaks of the ostrich as being cruel.
e. Prov. 7:23 – speaks of dumb birds hastening into the trap set for them.
f. Rev. 18:2 – Birds are spoken of as unclean and hateful: Babylon has “become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”
2. In this proverb they are pictured as wandering and flying about overhead aimlessly and harmlessly.
a. Most people don’t worry about a harmless dove or swallow flying overhead… that is unless you have a severe case of ornithophobia – an irrational fear of birds.
b. They might make a lot of noise, but they are really quite harmless.
2b So the curse causeless shall not come.
A. The Curse Causeless
1. The Curse
a. Defined: Curse; imprecation; to bring to a lower or lesser state or condition; the invoking of divine harm under certain conditions; this noun describes the general speaking of ill-will against another.
b. It is closely related to a word that means to mock, deride, ridicule, or scorn.
c. Solomon is not speaking about a divine curse invoked by the Lord as a judgment upon a person.
d. Rather, he is speaking about a curse that another person invokes against someone he seeks to demean.
e. This is not the curse of a pagan priest or witchdoctor.
f. This is more like the many imprecations found in the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms.
g. For example:
• May your children be dashed upon a stone!
• May you rot in hell!
h. In general, a curse is wishing ill for others.
i. The curse often comes in the form of a threat.
j. They are designed to hurt and cause pain.
k. They are designed to cause you to inflict fear, anxiety, worry, distress or even panic.
2. A causeless curse
a. Causeless defined: Gratuitously; for nothing; freely; undeservedly; especially of groundless hostility or attack; for no purpose; in vain; not having a basis or ground for an argument.
b. Thus, the causeless curse is an imprecation, a vicious insult, or ridicule that that has no basis in reality.
• It is a groundless accusation or threat.
• It is a form of derision that is malicious but given for nothing… it is vain… it has no real point or purpose other than for the one cursing to vent his anger in your direction.
• Solomon speaks here of someone who is being cursed or condemned for something that is not worthy of a curse or condemnation.
• They may condemn you for your politics or religion.
• They may condemn you for your skin color or ethnicity.
• They may mock you because of your looks, clothing, or just for being different from them.
c. It is the kind of threat or malicious speech that was intended to hurt your feelings, but has no basis in reality.
d. There was no good reason for them to say such a thing… it was causeless.
Ps. 109:17-18 – he loved cursing; let it come to him.
B. Shall Not Come
1. “Shall not come” defined:
a. Come/go; i.e., make linear movement of a general kind; have an event or state happen or come to pass.
2. Solomon is speaking about a “curse” (imprecation; mockery; threat) which is groundless and it will not come to pass.
a. When someone curses you without a cause (with no grounds; a baseless curse; a senseless curse or threat), then it will not come to pass.
b. Nothing will come of it… it was causeless and vain… an empty threat… idle words.
c. Num.23:8 – “How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied?” Balaam sought to curse Israel but was unable to do so. Nothing came of it.
d. Of course, this is a proverb – which is a truth stated in generalities.
e. Normally such curses and threats never come to pass. There may be a few exceptions, but the rule is that they most often come to nothing.
f. Most such curses are idle threats. They are just malicious words that never come to pass.
3. That is the point of this proverb: Solomon is making a statement about those who curse others without cause.
a. They are really weak and powerless people.
b. They scream loudly and speak maliciously, but they have no ability to bring it to pass. They are nothing but hot air.
c. Thus, those who “curse” without cause are both wicked and weak.
d. They are NOT to be feared.
4. These kinds of curses, threats, or malicious words are likened to a dumb bird wandering about aimlessly.
a. Birds fly from tree to tree and wander in the sky. They fly overhead and do a lot of chirping, but can do you no harm.
b. So too, such idle threats and malicious words are nothing to worry about… they will do no more harm than a swallow flying overhead.
c. Goliath bellowed out some frightful curses against little David, but the curses were ineffective… powerless… and did not come to pass. Eventually those words flew away like a little sparrow in the sky and were gone. They were empty words…
5. Thus, Solomon is attempting to instill courage, strength of character, and comfort into the hearts of those who are thus maligned.
a. In verse one Solomon noted that a fool should not be given a position of honor.
b. In this proverb, Solomon states that a fool with a big mouth should not be feared. He can shoot of his mouth, but is really weak and powerless.
c. There are many timid souls in the world who hear words of cursing and condemnation and take those words to heart.
• Ex: “You’re nothing but a dumb Irishman and you’ll never amount to anything!”
• A timid soul might take that to heart… and actually believe it… and it can become a self-fulfilling prophesy.
• Solomon says that since the curse is causeless and unfounded, it should not be feared.
• It will not come to pass. It is as harmless as a loud, chirping swallow flying overhead.
b. What a good message for young people in the Facebook generation to hear.
• We have heard of several stories of young people who were threatened or cursed or ridiculed on the internet, and were so devastated, they committed suicide.
• To those cursed and ridiculed, Solomon has words of encouragement: don’t fear the mocker.
• He is wicked but weak; has a big mouth but is all words; he sounds frightening but nothing shall come of his threats. He is like the little man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz… nothing to fear.
• The little swallow never lights upon us; neither will the causeless curse light upon us.
• Fear of the causeless curse leveled against us is as irrational as ornithophobia: an irrational fear of harmless birds.
• Most of the things we worry about never come to pass. A fear of the one who screams out curses is just one more example.
• Ps. 27:1 – “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Proverbs 26:3
A Rod for the Fool’s Back
Introduction:
1. This proverb has a simple message conveyed by likening a fool to dumb animals.
2. It’s not very flattering, but it is true.
3a A whip for a horse, a bridle for the ass
A. A Whip for a Horse
1. Whips have always been used in training animals.
a. A whip is used to get a lazy horse to move.
b. Jockeys use a whip to steer, control, and encourage a horse to run hard during a race.
c. And yes, there are animal rights groups seeking to stop horse racing for this reason.
d. A whip is used to control the behavior of an animal.
e. Animals do not respond to human reasoning, but they do respond to pain.
f. Hence, the minor pain inflicted by a whip is used to train horses and to control them.
g. Jockeys and horse owners would love to be able to sit down and hold a rational conversation with their horse and explain the strategy of running the race or of doing the chores at the farm, but that is obviously impossible.
• Dumb animals do not have the sense of reason.
• They lack the understanding to engage them in an intelligent conversation.
• Hence, the only way to communicate to them is through pain.
h. The whip gives them a little sting and the snapping sound frightens them… and motivates them to respond.
i. If you want a dumb animal to respond, you have to use fear and pain.
j. There were no “horse whisperers” in Solomon’s day.
B. A Bridle for the Ass
1. A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse, camel, or some other animal.
a. A metal bit goes into the mouth of the horse, which is connected to the reins which when pulled properly will direct the horse either to the right or left.
b. The bit and bridle controlled the direction in which the horse would run.
c. Isa. 37:29 – “Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.”
d. The metal in the mouth was painful when pulled on the reins, and would force the animal to turn in the direction it was being pulled.
e. Like the whip, it applied pain to the animal and caused to submit.
2. Solomon speaks of the bridle used on the ass or donkey
a. Normally we would think of the bridle for the horse and a whip for the donkey.
b. However, some sources have noted that the Syrian (Middle Eastern) donkey is a finer breed than we have in this country. And also in that region in Solomon’s day, horses were not as commonly used for transportation as today.
c. Thus, Solomon speaks of a bridle on the donkey. Regardless of the animal on which it is used, the purpose is the same: it is used to direct them and guide them.
d. Donkeys didn’t always move in the direction the owner wanted—so a bridle was used.
e. The meaning of this illustration is basically identical to the first.
f. If any difference was intended by Solomon it may well have been that one causes a dumb animal to change direction (bridle) and the other causes the dumb animal to be motivated to move (whip).
3b And a rod for the fool’s back.
1. Solomon compares the horse and the ass (stubborn mule) to a foolish person.
a. Both are unreasonable and ungovernable apart from brute force.
b. Both have to be controlled by force and fear… corporal punishment.
c. Both are in a sense, dumb animals!
d. A foolish person may be brilliant in the natural realm. He may be a professor in a prestigious university… a high ranking politician… a poet or an artist… an inventor. He may have great wisdom in the world.
e. But often men who are wise in the natural realm are foolish in the spiritual realm. They have no knowledge of or fear of God. They are often stiff-necked, stubborn, and rebellious against God.
f. This man too is like a dumb animal in the spiritual realm. God may have to use drastic measures to get his attention.
2. Prov. 10:13
a. A wise man (the opposite of a fool) has understanding.
b. You can communicate with him intelligently. You can reason with him.
c. Because he is wise, he will respond to wise counsel.
d. But that is not so with a fool. He is void of understanding. You cannot reason with him.
e. Therefore, the only way to get his attention is the use of a whip – corporal punishment.
f. Fools are characterized by the inability and/or the unwillingness to reason with a wise man.
g. Children who won’t listen to reason will have to listen to the rod.
h. It is even more pitiful when an adult never grows up and never listens to reason.
i. He too needs to be treated like a dumb animal… the only language he responds to is strength and pain.
j. This is not the way it SHOULD be… but it is the way it is.
3. Prov. 20:30 – “The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.”
a. Sometimes harsh treatment—physical punishment is the only way to get the attention of a fool.
b. Note that such chastening is effective: it has a cleansing effect in putting away evil.
c. In other words, correction drives folly and evil out of a person. That’s the purpose of it. And it has to “hurt” in order to be effective.
d. Just as a dumb animal will turn around when pulled with the bit or whipped, so a foolish person will often change his behavior when he is chastened.
e. That doesn’t always happen (see next verse!) but it is the purpose of chastening… and often does work.
f. God says that stripes (a whipping) on the back of a fool may leave bruises outwardly, but it cleanses on the inside—in the belly.
g. Ps. 119:67 – “Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept thy word.” That kind of chastening in the form of “affliction” is GOOD for us in the end.
4. Psalm 32:9 – Be not as the mule!
a. They have no understanding and thus have to be held in with a bit and bridle. Otherwise, they are dangerous!
b. Vs. 8 – God seeks to guide us and teach us. He is our Heavenly Father.
• But to be taught by God, we need to be submissive, tenderhearted, and sensitive to Him – like putty in His hands.
• He is able to teach and guide those with a tender heart… willing to hear counsel and advice… willing to respond in faith and obedience to His Word.
• But those who are foolish do not have a tender heart towards the things of God.
» They are like the stubborn mule or unbroken horse.
» They do not hear counsel and advice.
» They are not like putty in God’s hands.
• Instead, they are like hardened clay that needs to be crushed, broken, and beaten into submission.
• This is NOT God’s desire. He much prefers that we respond with a tender heart out of love for Him.
• But if we refuse to respond in love, God is plenty able and willing to use force.
» He knows just where to touch to get our attention. He knows how to get to each one of us.
» He knows how to humble us and force us into submission… to whip us into submission…
» And He will if we refuse to respond.
• But God much prefers to get our attention and submission through the gentle persuasion of the Spirit of God working in our hearts… making us soft and tender to His leading and guidance.
• He would much prefer to deal with His children through love—and by means of reason and gentle persuasion than force.
• Vs. 10-11 – The stubborn, wicked men shall have many sorrows—they will experience the whip. But those who trust in the Lord (respond in faith and submission) will experience His mercy and joy.
Proverbs 26:4-5
Answering a Fool
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.
Introduction:
1. In verses four and five, Solomon gives advice concerning how to deal with a fool. It is not always easy to know what to do or what to say.
2. The problem is that verse four tells us to do the opposite of what verse five says. Verse four commands us not to answer a fool. Verse five tells us to answer a fool.
3. Clearly these verses contradict each other – but the contradiction is obviously intentional and is designed (like all proverbs) to cause us to stop and think.
4a Answer not a fool
1. In this verse, Solomon’s advice is that we NOT answer a fool when he does or says something foolish.
2. “According to his folly”
a. This expression speaks of some expression of a fool’s folly.
b. It may be a fool is boasting; it may be that a fool speaks of how he cheats and gets away with it; it may be the fool speaks evil of God or spiritual things; it may be that the fool tears down a godly man verbally; it could be an outburst of anger or cursing; it could be the antics of a drunkard;
c. There are countless ways a fool behaves “according to his folly.”
3. It is not always easy to know how to respond.
a. Thankfully, Solomon gives his inspired advice in this passage.
b. He commands us NOT to answer the fool in his folly.
4. Answer: To pay attention to; to respond to; to speak to; to declare; to answer; to give information to.
a. Don’t answer him means don’t pay any attention to him; ignore him; don’t respond to his foolish behavior or words.
b. Just walk away.
c. Definitely, don’t get in a debate with a fool.
• It will go nowhere. It will degenerate in a hurry.
• You will not bring him up to your level; but He will drag you down to his.
• Debating with a fool is a losing proposition.
5. The reason why we should not answer a fool:
a. “Lest you be like him.”
• The temptation is to respond to folly with more folly.
• By answering a fool others will assume that you and he are on the same level…
• If you respond to his folly you dignify it… you elevate the fool.
• By answering the fool, you are in effect stooping to his level.
• One man noted: “When a wise man talks to a fool, two fools are conversing.”
• By answering a fool’s foolish question you are implying that his question is not foolish but is worthy of a response.
b. By not answering him or responding to his antics, you are actually sending out a loud message of disapproval—without a word.
• You are saying that his folly is not worthy of a response.
• By not answering him, you are refusing to allow yourself to be dragged into a quagmire by a fool.
• The fool would like nothing more than to drag you into a debate, a confrontation, or a discussion on his folly.
• II Kings 18:19-20 – Rabshakeh came to Jerusalem and began to blaspheme the Lord – saying the most foolish things (like the Lord isn’t able to deliver Jerusalem from Assyria; etc.)
• II Kings 19:36 – King Hezekiah gave them wise advice: “answer him not.” Hezekiah refused to dignify the foolish remarks of these pagan invaders.
• Hezekiah chose to obey Proverbs 26:4 in this situation.
c. Don’t become LIKE him.
• If he starts getting angry; keep your cool.
• If he starts to slander you or your side; don’t be like him—don’t respond in kind.
• You will end up being a fool too—and he will have won the battle.
d. If you just walk away, all other observers will understand why you did not respond… everyone except for the fool.
• Sometimes silence is the best answer of all.
• Silence can be (as Charles Bridges put it), a “dignified rebuke.” This was a method used by the Lord often in dealing with His foolish accusers.
• By not answering a fool, it may give the fool a cause to pause and think about his folly and be convicted.
• A small fire that is not around anything flammable will just burn itself out. It doesn’t require calling the fire department.
e. Usually the “answer” is as obvious as the nose on your face. It doesn’t really require a response.
5a Answer a fool
1. This passage tells us to answer a fool according to his folly.
2. There are times when a fool challenges you, confronts you, or seeks to promote his foolish views (especially publically), and that folly may need to be extinguished before it spreads.
3. Sometimes by not answering a fool’s challenge, the fool walks away assuming that he has won the argument—that no one has an answer to his “intelligent” question.
4. A fool may think that he has come up with a brilliant “proof” that the Bible is not true and challenges you in public.
a. That may need to be answered.
b. You don’t want him or any observers of the conversation to think that his foolish argument has any merit.
c. If you don’t answer him, his unanswered words will be considered unanswerable—at least in his mind.
d. He will become wise in his own conceits.
e. In some situations, his arrogant folly may require an answer.
5. A fool may seek to challenge a substantial truth with a silly straw man argument.
a. By not answering, he and others may think they have won the debate… and walk away smugly.
b. In that kind of a situation, you may have to answer a fool.
c. Otherwise, he will be “wise in his own conceit.”
d. He will think that he has superior wisdom, and will likely attempt to promote it elsewhere and do even more damage.
6. Pray for wisdom in knowing when to answer and when not to answer a fool.
The Reason for the Apparent Contradiction
1. Ecc. 3:7 – There is a time to speak and a time to keep silent.
a. Wisdom knows the difference.
b. In minor issues of no significance, it is often best to ignore it.
c. However, in more substantial issues (where damage could be done), it may be wise to confront and reprove the fool’s folly.
d. Different situations may require a different response.
e. Pray for wisdom in dealing with fools.
f. There may be times when it is not wise to debate with a fool; but there may be times when reproof and correction are necessary.
g. Prov. 15:23 – “a word spoken in due season, how good is it!”
h. Knowing what to say and when to say it is an art… wisdom in action.
2. Solomon obviously did not want to lay down a hard and fast rule on answering a fool because folly comes in countless forms and every situation is different.
3. Also, these two proverbs were placed together and were intended to be read together.
a. Together, they give you the whole picture.
b. Either proverb alone could be misleading because it speaks of only one type of situation and should not be applied in all situations.
c. Taken together as a unit, they are not contradictory; they actually reinforce each other.
4. Also, the juxtaposition of these two verses is designed to highlight the difficulty of dealing with a fool.
a. There really is no good way to deal with a fool.
b. There is an upside to answering a fool, but there is a downside.
c. There is an upside to not answering a fool, and there is a downside.
5. I guess you could say that Solomon wants us to know that dealing with fools is a lose-lose situation.
a. He is not going to be corrected by truth or wisdom.
b. He may be successful in dragging you down to his level.
c. The Jewish rabbis wrote another proverb (not part of Scripture – a proverb of tradition) that says, “A fool can ask more questions in an hour than a wise man could answer in a year.”
d. You may not want to spend the rest of your days answering the arrogant questions of foolish men.
e. And yet on the other hand, some of those foolish questions, under certain circumstances, may require a response.
f. Be careful in dealing with fools!
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.
Proverbs 26:6
Sending a Message by a Fool
Introduction:
1. This is a proverb about sending messages… about communication and various means of communication.
2. Solomon didn’t have a cell phone. He didn’t have a land line. He didn’t even have a Morse code… or a beeper. In his day, he couldn’t tweet, email, fax, Facebook each other, or text.
3. They had to rely on sending messages the real old fashioned way: writing it down and giving it to a messenger to deliver it for you.
4. Communication was a problem in Solomon’s day. Not all messengers were faithful or loyal.
5. Therefore, HOW you sent a message was critical, because communication is critical in all human relationships, business endeavors, and social contact.
6a He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool…
1. Sendeth:
a. In this passage, the word means to send out; to send away; to send; to let go; to send on an errand.
b. It has a few other shades of meaning that are not applicable in this verse.
c. The term is used elsewhere in the very same way – of sending someone away with a message to deliver.
d. Esther 3:13 – “And the letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces.”
2. Message:
a. Defined: A matter; a word; speech; something said; a report; a cause; advice; business; legal matter; lawsuit.
b. It is used of a royal edict in Esther 1:19.
c. It was used of the report the Queen of Sheba had heard about Solomon (I Kings 10:6).
d. Proverbs 18:13 – it is used of “answering a matter.”
e. Gen. 37:14 – Messages had to be delivered by human beings. He was sent to bring a “word” (message – report).
3. Solomon had a kingdom to run.
a. He had to have constant communication with the wealthy land owners in the country, with the large farmers, with the business owners, with the military, as well as with the kings of bordering nations.
b. Certainly some of his messages would have been personal and of relatively little significance.
c. But some of his messages could have a great impact on his whole country. It could affect the prosperity of their business. It could affect their national security. It could affect huge business contracts and deals. It could affect the capture of murderers, rapists, and thieves.
d. Sending messages has always been vital to any people in any age.
4. By the hand of a fool…
a. The expression “by the hand of” spoke of actually handing a manuscript or a message into the hand of a messenger.
• Sometimes it was used figuratively. A message may be delivered orally so that no “paper trail” was left in case the messenger was captured.
• The expression basically meant “by means of” a messenger.
b. The word “fool” is not a new word in the book of Proverbs.
• The fool is a rebellious fool; an immoral fool; a mischievous fool; an insolent fool; a stupid fool who refuses to be corrected.
• The fool is characterized by a lack of understanding, but not simply because of a lack of intellect. The fool is a fool by choice.
• His choice involves morals. He chooses the path of folly rather than the pathway of the wise… usually because he thinks he’s smarter than everyone else.
c. In this proverb, Solomon speaks about the results of sending off an important message by the hand of a fool.
• It may involve giving him a written record of an important message to deliver… and expecting the written record be delivered to the intended recipient only… and on time.
• It may involve whispering information into his ear and expecting him to deliver it verbatim… without any changes or variations.
• It may have involved sending a message in a code so that even the messenger could not know the information being delivered.
5. As a king, Solomon probably sent out many messages by posts every single day… all over the kingdom and beyond.
a. He more than anyone knew the value of a good, faithful, loyal messenger.
b. Others might look on his position as a mere messenger boy… a delivery boy.
c. Solomon realized what vital link the messenger was from the throne throughout the whole realm and beyond.
d. In the book of Proverbs Solomon wrote several times about the value of a faithful messenger.
• If you are going to send a message, you want to be sure that the one you send with that message is on your side and has your best interest in mind.
• If you are going to send a message, you want to be sure that the message you “hand off” to your messenger is going to be delivered to the intended recipient and that person only.
• If you are going to send out a message, be SURE that the message is not going to get into the wrong hands.
• A message in the wrong hands can be disastrous for a country… a business…
• If the message got into the wrong hands (say, the Philistines!) it could do irreparable harm to the nation.
e. Solomon learned (probably the hard way) of the danger and damage of a messenger who was not loyal and reliable—a fool!
f. Solomon shares what he thinks about a foolish messenger.
6b Cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage.
A. Cutting off the feet
1. Sending a message by a fool is like cutting off your own feet.
a. Much of the route of a messenger was on foot. They walked—like a mailman… only much greater distances.
b. Thus, having a faithful messenger was like having an extra set of feet – someone to do the walking and delivering for you.
c. By employing a foolish and unfaithful messenger, not only do you not have an extra set of feet, you cut off the ones you do have!
d. Try walking a great distance to deliver an important message after you have cut off both of your feet.
e. The point of this illustration is that the message will not get delivered. It is useless and pointless to send a man with no feet on a long walk to deliver a message.
B. Drinking Damage
1. Damage: To do wrong; to do violence; to be violated; injure; destruction; plunder as a thief; lawlessness; lack of moral restraint and terror. (Interestingly, the ancient Hebrew word is hamas.)
a. Prov. 8:36 – The word translated “damage” in Prov. 26:6 is translated “wrongs” in this proverb. The one who sins against Lady Wisdom “wrongs” his own soul. (Does damage to himself; self-inflicted injury and harm.)
2. Drink: The Hebrew term means to drink—either literally or figuratively.
a. It is used of a literal drinking of beverages at a feast.
b. It is used figuratively of drinking in God’s wrath from a cup of judgment. (Prov. 4:17 – they drink the wine of violence.)
c. It is used in a figurative sense of experiencing something – taking it in… drinking it up…
d. Obviously, Solomon is using it in a figurative sense here: damage is not a liquid.
3. Solomon likens trusting a fool with an important message to drinking in damage, violence, injury, terror, and plunder.
a. Who in their right mind would drink in a cup of violence, damage, injury, and harm?
b. No one would KNOWINGLY do such a thing.
c. Thus, no one should knowingly send a message by means of a messenger who is not loyal and trustworthy.
d. If there is any chance that that messenger is going to turn on you, be disloyal to you, or deliver that message to someone other than the one to whom it was being sent, then do NOT use that foolish, immoral, rebellious, and unreliable messenger!
e. That’s the meaning of this proverb.
f. It is similar in meaning to Proverbs 25:19 – Confidence in an unfaithful man is like a broken tooth or a foot out of joint.
• Trusting a message to a messenger who is a fool is also putting confidence in an unfaithful man.
• It too will end up hurting you and not helping you.
g. Far better is it to use a RELIABLE messenger (Proverbs 25:13).
• This messenger “refresheth the soul of his masters” like cool refreshing snow or cool water in time of harvest.
• A reliable messenger was priceless in Solomon’s day and in ours.
Application to today:
1. Communication is just as important today as in Solomon’s day. In fact, it is far more important.
2. Yet the problem Solomon faced in his day is no different in kind that what we face today: messengers who may not have our best interest in mind… messengers who may turn on us… messengers who may deliver our message to someone other than the one for whom it was intended.
3. And like Solomon’s day, there could be serious consequences of a messenger like that: it could be damaging and come back to BITE you.
4. Today our messengers are primarily electronic: email; texts; faxes; Facebook postings; Twitter; etc.
5. We may not be engaged in running a kingdom, but we send out a lot of messages… and most of them go out on the WORLD WIDE web.
6. That means that we need to be extra careful about what we send on those messengers.
7. Before you send a message, a document, a picture, or a text, ask yourself this question:
a. What if this message or picture got into the wrong hands inadvertently?
b. What if this message/picture which we think is so funny and cute today showed up a Google search a potential employer does on me in 10 years from now? You might think it is funny at 18 or 20, but it could come back to BITE you one day.
c. What if you sent out a message in anger and once you cooled off you wanted to retract it. Could you do that? Or isn’t it too late?
8. In some ways, the problems that Solomon faced were similar to ours. But in other ways, we live in a very different world.
a. The problem of unreliable “messengers” has always been around.
b. But today, we are almost locked in to an internet and other devices that send out millions of messages a minute worldwide.
c. One you place information, requests, orders, pictures, or letters into the hands of these messengers… it is irreversible and it could easily get into the hands of OTHER messengers.
d. Be aware that the electronic messengers that we have to use today do NOT have your best interest in mind.
e. These messengers don’t have a mind or a conscience; they are not loyal to you; they do not faithfully keep your secret documents secret.
f. Therefore, we should use great caution in using such instant messengers.
g. Careless use of these messengers could be like cutting off your feet… or drinking in damage… injury… hurt… destruction.
h. Mark 4:22 – “For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was anything kept secret, but that it should come abroad.”
• The disciples were to be lights for the Lord – shining out truth and righteousness for all to see.
• We should have nothing to hide.
• Thus, whatever we write in an email, or post on Facebook, or send in a text or as a picture, should also be LIGHT… something we would not be ashamed of if it were “made manifest” = because it might just be!
i. Don’t trust any messenger that is so foolish and unreliable as to cause you and others harm.
Proverbs 26:7
A Parable in the Mouth of Fools
Introduction:
1. Have you ever seen those tests where various pictures are given and you are told to find “what’s wrong with this picture?”
2. In this chapter, Solomon has been setting side by side, things that don’t belong side by side.
a. Vs. 1: snow in summer; honor for a fool.
b. Vs. 4: whether to answer a fool or not to answer a fool.
c. Vs. 6: sending a message but using a fool to deliver it; it’s like trying to deliver a message by cutting off your feet—a messenger without feet…
d. Vs. 7: a parable and a fool’s mouth… they don’t go together.
7a The legs of the lame are not equal:
The legs of a lame man…
1. Solomon is using a lame man as his illustration.
a. Lame: Crippled; maimed; i.e., pertaining to a person in a more or less permanent physically incapacitated state, where body parts do not function normally.
b. I Kings 18:21 – This term (lame) is translated “halt” in this verse. It speaks of being incapacitated to make a decision or hobbling between two opinions… like a man hobbling on two crutches.
c. II Sam. 4:4 – It was also used of Mephibosheth who fell and became lame in his feet.
2. “Are not equal”
a. This expression means: To hang down; to hang limp; dangle; to be weak and not able to move or function; to be feeble; dried up; made thin; poor; unequal… like a man on crutches.
b. The picture Solomon paints is one of a man who is lame in his legs; he is incapacitated; unable to function; his legs are dried up and feeble.
c. The legs of the lame were limp, almost lifeless and useless.
3. A lame man might have lots of other good qualities, but his legs were not his forte.
a. He might be a fine artist, but he would not be expected to be an athlete or run a race.
b. He might be a wonderful teacher, but he would never be a good dancer… or a mailman… or a marathon runner. That would not be consistent with the facts.
4. In our culture if a man who was lame wanted to be a dancer, an athlete, or a runner, we would probably cheer him on and shout, “Go for it! You can be whatever you want to be; you can do whatever you want to do.” (But of course, that is not true.)
5. But in Solomon’s day that kind of cheering would be considered foolish and even cruel. They were much more sensible than we are.
a. There were no Special Olympics in that day. He would have to compete against the top athletes.
b. They would look at a lame man trying to be an athlete and think of him as someone to be pitied… a poor fool.
c. Doesn’t he realize that he can’t do that? He’s never going to be able to compete. Doesn’t he accept reality? Why does he want to accentuate his deficiencies? Why would he want to publicly display his weakness? Why would he want to make a fool of himself by attempting to be something he is obviously not meant to be? Doesn’t he even realize he is in over his head?
d. He should do something else. He should accept the facts of life and seek to be a painter, a teacher, a politician, or use his hands as a craftsman.
e. They would think, “If your legs are no good, accept the facts of life and develop your strengths.”
f. In Solomon’s day, a lame man who attempted to do something for which he was ill equipped would not be considered heroic, but foolish.
g. The legs of a lame man are not equal: they are limp and useless. Therefore he would be ill-advised to set his sights on becoming a marathon runner or a dancer. A lame man and a dancer or runner doesn’t go together. There would be something wrong and incongruous with that picture.
7b So is a parable in the mouth of fools.
A parable in the mouth of fools…
1. The point: A parable and the mouth of a fool don’t fit together either!
2. When a fool opens his mouth and begins to speak parables, there is something inappropriate, incongruous and just plain wrong about that.
3. Parable: A poetic figure of speech; a proverb; words of wisdom; an allegory; a discourse of ethical and moral sayings.
a. The word “parable” here is the word translated “proverb” in Prov. 10:1.
b. But the word itself is much broader and inclusive of more types of “words of wisdom” than the short, concise, and pithy sayings in the book of Proverbs.
c. It could include poems, allegories, riddles, or the kind of parables that Jesus told.
d. The term “parable” is used next to the word “riddle” in Ezekiel 17:2 and were used interchangeably to refer to the same figure of speech.
4. The “parable” in the mouth of a fool should be understood in the broader sense of any type of literary device used to put forth words of intelligence, understanding, and wisdom.
5. The point of the proverb is simple:
a. It is just as incongruous and inappropriate for a fool to attempt to speak forth words of wisdom as it is for a lame man to attempt to dance for an audience or to run a marathon.
b. There is something wrong with this picture! These things don’t go together… they don’t fit together. It’s like trying to put a round peg in a square hole. It doesn’t fit.
c. Proverbs 17:7 – “Excellent speech becometh not a fool.” The two don’t go together. A fool shouldn’t even try.
d. Don’t attempt that for which you are ill-equipped.
e. When someone who has a lousy voice gets up to sing, it makes people cringe. People are thinking, “That poor fool. Doesn’t he realize how bad he sounds?”
f. When someone who is lame gets up to dance, people pity him and think, “Doesn’t he realize that he can’t do that? I feel sorry for him—he’s making a fool of himself.”
g. You are embarrassed for that person.
h. And now, more to our point, when someone who doesn’t know what he’s talking about gets up to explain a difficult concept, people cringe and think, “That poor fool. Why is he displaying his weakness… accentuate his deficiencies? Doesn’t he realize he’s in over his head? He would do much better to just sit down and be quiet.”
6. Prov. 24:7 – “Wisdom is too high for a fool.”
a. Wisdom is out of his league. It is over his head. It is beyond him.
b. Thus, he would do well not to attempt to speak forth words of wisdom or be a teacher of wisdom. He will surely botch his attempt. It will not come off well. He will only make more of a fool of himself… like a lame man who attempts something that his legs won’t allow him to do.
c. He would do well to acknowledge his shortcomings in this area and keep quiet.
d. We would do well to learn from this proverb: when it comes to topics that are “over our heads”, don’t pretend to be an expert on the subject and start shooting off your mouth. We would do better to realize our weakness on that subject, and keep quiet.
e. This can become a very delicate issue in the local church.
• Someone who clearly does NOT have the gift of teaching may long to teach and volunteer to teach often…
• Or a relatively new believer wants to be an elder…
• Or someone who is not proficient in a musical instrument wants to play special music…
• Or someone who does not have a solo voice wants to sing a solo.
• Often it is with the very best of intentions and from a good heart… which makes it all the more difficult to deal with.
• A man who is lame shouldn’t try to be a dancer or a runner. He should acknowledge that that is not his strength. He should learn what his strengths are and develop them.
• A believer too should learn what his gifts are and develop them… rather than to seek to serve in a way in which he is not equipped.
• If someone who cannot play the violin well attempts to play special music in church in hopes of bringing attention and glory to God… the result is that all the attention goes to the sour notes… and screeching sounds of horse hairs scraping against cat guts. It does not cause our attention to go to the Lord. That believer might do a great job on the cleanup crew or as a Sunday school teacher… but not as a violinist.
7. Prov. 17:28 – “Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.”
a. If you don’t know what you’re talking about—then don’t say anything! There’s nothing wrong with being ignorant.
b. But there is something wrong with being FOOLISH—and saying foolish things. You’re better off being quiet and letting others speak.
c. It is great wisdom to know when and where to speak… and when and where to be silent.
8. Attempting to put a parable or any literary device designed to convey wisdom in the mouth of a fool is never appropriate.
a. Just as the legs of a lame man are useless and ineffective, so are words of so called wisdom in the mouth of a fool.
b. Why accentuate one’s infirmity?
c. It’s much better for the lame man not to attempt to dance.
d. It’s much better for the man who doesn’t know what he’s talking about to keep quiet.
e. Keeping this proverb in mind might prevent us from making a fool of ourselves at some point in the future.
f. Instead of having people look at us cringing and feeling embarrassed for us, it is better to keep quiet and let them “esteem us to be a man of understanding.”
Proverbs 26:8
Giving Honor to a Fool
Introduction:
1. So far in this chapter, Solomon has been speaking much about fools.
a. Vs.1 – Honor is not seemly for a fool.
b. Vs. 3 – A rod for the back of a fool.
c. Vs. 4-5 – The dilemma about whether or not to answer a fool.
d. Vs. 6 – Sending a message by the hand of a fool.
e. Vs. 7 – A parable in the mouth of a fool.
f. Vs. 8 – Giving honor to a fool.
2. Verses 1 and 8 are very similar in that they both speak of giving honor to a fool.
a. But there is a major distinction.
b. Verse 1 speaks of the unseemliness of it.
c. Verse 8 speaks of the danger of it.
8a As he that bindeth a stone in a sling…
1. At first the connection between the illustration and the application was not apparent.
a. The immediate picture that came to mind was putting a stone in a slingshot, pulling the rubber bands, and letting it fly out. (We used inner tubes sliced just right for the sling shot.)
b. We usually think of slingshots as a V-shaped stick with rubber bands which when pulled cause the stone to fly.
c. But in the Middle East they used a very different kind of sling shot. They didn’t use inner tubes; they used leather—which has virtually no elasticity.
d. Their sling shot did not use the spring of rubber bands. They used the force of twirling the stone overhead and then releasing it at just the right moment.
e. Their type of sling shot requires a little more skill than the type we are accustomed to.
2. After examining several different interpretations for this proverb, I have chosen to focus on the word BINDETH as the key in its meaning.
a. Bindeth defined: To bind; to cramp; to narrow; restrict; to wrap; to bundle up; to confine.
b. Num. 22:26 – Here the term is translated “narrow place” which offered no way to escape… no way to turn. (stuck)
3. “Binding a stone in a sling”
a. With this definition in mind, it enables us to better understand what the expression means.
b. Solomon is not speaking about placing a stone in a V-shaped sling shot.
c. He is speaking about “binding” a stone in the type of sling used in the Middle East – the type that is twirled over your head before releasing.
d. The use of the word “bind” indicates that the stone was not placed in the sling very carefully.
e. Rather, it was placed there carelessly. It was placed in the sling in such a way that it was restricted.
f. It was cramped and wrapped up in such a way that it was twirled, and it was time to release the stone, it would become entangled, all bound up, and would not release properly.
g. Instead of hitting the intended target, it could whip back around and hit the person throwing the stone in the head!
h. In other words, misplacing the stone through carelessness didn’t help you—it HURT you!
i. It didn’t accomplished what you hoped it would; it came back to bite you—and give you a black eye!
j. You would be much better off taking a little extra time to be sure that the stone is placed in the sling properly.
8b So is he that giveth honour to a fool.
1. Solomon states in this proverb that in some way(s), carelessly binding a stone in a sling is like giving honor to a fool.
a. Solomon already told us that there is something unseemly (inappropriate and unfitting) about giving honor to a fool. It is as inappropriate as snow in summer. (vs.1) Something is wrong with that picture.
b. Now his point is that not only is it inappropriate—it is outright dangerous!
2. It is careless and reckless to give honor to a fool.
a. It is as careless and reckless as placing a stone in a sling in such a way that it becomes entangled and hits you in the head.
• Giving honor to a fool is careless because it was not well thought out.
• Are you SURE that is the person you really want to honor… the one who just did something foolish?
• If a person is placing a stone in a sling that he is going to swing over his own head, he should be very careful about the way the stone is placed in the sling. Like the person folding a parachute – you want to be very careful about HOW you fold it, especially if it is the one that you are going to use on your next jump!
• Giving honor to a fool is careless because by giving honor to a fool for his folly, you can only expect more of the same!
• Behavior that is rewarded will be repeated.
• You might want to rethink the giving of honor… and place it a little more carefully on someone else other than the fool.
b. Giving honor to a fool is harmful to the one who gives the honor. It may come back to bite you or give you a black eye!
• The manager may carelessly give honor to one of his workers by giving him a promotion.
» However, if the worker is a fool and didn’t deserve the honor, the manager may discover that his decision to honor him may come back to bite him.
» It might hit him right between the eyes… especially if the foolish worker makes a mess in his new position and the CEO or the owner discovers that you were the one who honored that fool!
• The coach that honors a player by making him captain needs to be careful in that decision.
» Honoring a player that is talented but does not give his best effort may come back to bite you.
» The slackness of the captain may spread to the rest of the team and ruin their chances for victory.
» That careless choice is like being careless about placing a stone in a sling. That rock could hit you in the head!
• I Tim.3:6 – “Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.”
» Paul warns Timothy about appointing a “novice” to the position of an elder.
» A novice is likely to do something foolish because of a lack of maturity.
» That may prove to be harmful and hurtful to the church and to the one who appointed him.
• There is a place for positive reinforcement in parenting. But there is no place for honoring foolish behavior of a child.
» If a child is behaving poorly and foolishly, don’t reward that bad behavior. Don’t honor him.
» That will only result in more of the same kind of foolish behavior.
c. Honor that is misplaced (like a stone that is not carefully placed in a sling) can hurt you.
• Of course, even with interviewing people and being as careful as you can be, sometimes, fools do get honored and promoted.
• But if you KNOW someone to be foolish… slack in his work… a goof off… unreliable… unstable… don’t honor him with a promotion!
• Don’t assume that if he is put in a high position that he will change. It may simply provide him with a broader platform to perform his folly.
• Folly in Proverbs is a moral failure.
• That’s why character matters so. Honor good character and you will get more of it; honor folly and you will get more of that too!
3. Examples of misplaced honor
a. I Sam. 8:1-3 – When Samuel was old, he appointed his sons to be judges in Israel.
• Samuel knew that his sons were foolish young men – sons of Belial.
• Samuel knew that his sons did not walk with the Lord: they took bribes and perverted judgment in the land.
• Nevertheless, Samuel honored them by promoting them to the position of judges.
• This came back to hurt Samuel: it tarnished his testimony.
• It hurt the nation too: the people (who also knew what Samuel’s sons were like) ended up pleading for a king like all the other nations. They knew these sons would run the nation into the ground.
4. Be careful in giving honor.
a. Rom. 13:7c – Give honor to whom it is due.
• But don’t give honor where it is not due.
• Our culture is changing; we seem to want to honor everyone and everything equally—which itself is folly.
» Everyone gets a reward; everyone gets a crown; everyone gets an A; everyone is promoted.
» But using that method, fools will be rewarded and honored too. The result is more folly!
• Before you bestow honor on someone, Solomon warns us to be sure it is earned… deserved… warranted.
• A hastily chosen “honor” can do more harm than good.
• When placing a stone in a sling, it is a good idea to take a little extra time to be sure the stone is properly placed so that it doesn’t hit you in the head.
• When giving out honor, rewards, or promotions, it is a good idea to take a little extra time to be sure that the honor is properly placed… so that it doesn’t end up hurting you down the road a piece.
Proverbs 26:9
A Parable in the Mouth of Fools
Introduction:
1. As we noted last week, the first part of this chapter deals with fools and their folly.
a. Vs.1 – Honor is not seemly for a fool.
b. Vs. 3 – A rod for the back of a fool.
c. Vs. 4-5 – The dilemma about whether or not to answer a fool.
d. Vs. 6 – Sending a message by the hand of a fool.
e. Vs. 7 – A parable in the mouth of a fool.
f. Vs. 8 – Giving honor to a fool.
g. Vs. 9 – AS proverb in the mouth of a fool.
2. Verses 7 and 9 are similar in that they both speak about a proverb in the mouth of a fool – but they each drive home a different point.
a. Verse 7:
i. It is just as incongruous and inappropriate for a fool to attempt to speak forth words of wisdom as it is for a lame man to attempt to dance for an audience or to run a marathon.
ii. There is something wrong with this picture! These things don’t go together… they don’t fit together. It’s like trying to put a round peg in a square hole. It doesn’t fit.
b. Verse 9:
• Solomon continues that theme.
• However, here he states that a parable in the mouth of a fool is not only inappropriate, it can be downright painful!
3. The parallel here is obvious:
a. The fool and the drunkard are being compared. It is obvious how a fool and drunkard are alike.
b. The thorn in the hand and the parable in the mouth are being compared. It takes a little thinking to discern how a thorn in the hand and a parable in the mouth of a fool are the same.
9a As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard…
A thorn in the hand of a drunkard…
1. The first thing we might note in this illustration is the fact that a thorn does not belong stuck in one’s hand. It’s not supposed to be there. That’s not the place for a thorn. Thorns belong on a thorn bush—not in your hand!
a. Thorns did serve a purpose.
b. They made good hedges. A large, thick hedge of thorns would serve as a great barrier to keep the unwanted ones out. It would serve as a wall of protection.
c. Thorns were also used in the Bible as kindling for fires. They were thin and not good for much else. But because they were thin they dried out easily and could be gathered for a fire and got the fire started quickly. In their place they were valuable. Besides, burning them removed them from the farm or the camp and prevented people from harm.
d. Thorns were good in a hedge or in a fire—but not good when wedged and twisted into your hand.
2. The second thing that comes to mind about a thorn in the hand is the pain involved. It hurts!
3. There are several reasons why a drunkard might have a thorn stuck in his hand… none of which are good reasons.
a. If he wasn’t drunk, he would be much more careful around thorns. The reason the thorn went up into his hand was because he was sloppy, unstable on his feet, careless, and unthinking.
b. If he wasn’t drunk, he would treat thorns with respect. When something is dangerous (like a chainsaw), it needs to be feared and treated with respect. He did not respect the thorn bush for what it was.
c. Sometimes drunkards think that they can do anything.
• They think that they can swim across the lake and sometimes drown.
• They think that they can drive a car and sometimes crash.
• Drunkards think that they can drink whiskey to keep themselves warm, and then go skiing—only to find that they get hurt.
• They think that they can fool around on the escalator and sometimes they drop 20 feet on to the concrete below—like the drunken teenager in the subway station in Boston this week.
d. Drunkards like to show off.
• They show off by attempting to do foolish things to draw attention to themselves.
• I saw a drunkard eat a light bulb on a dare. That can’t be good for your stomach.
• Because of foolish pride, drunkards think that they can handle things that they are unable to handle and they get hurt in the process.
e. A drunkard lacks common sense. Therefore, he plays with fire (or thorns) and gets hurt.
f. Drunkards are usually insensitive to pain—until the next day.
4. Thus, a thorn in the hand of a drunkard is a good illustration because it can be applied in lots of different real life situations.
9b So is a parable in the mouth of fools.
1. A parable (proverb) does not belong in the mouth of fools—just like a thorn does not belong in one’s hand.
a. A parable (proverb) belongs in the mouth of a wise man—but not a fool.
b. The wise man knows how to properly apply a proverb; a fool does not.
2. A parable in the mouth of fools can be painful—like a thorn that goes up into one’s hand.
a. A proverb in the mouth of a fool is not going to be applied properly. Therefore, it has the potential of doing more harm than good.
b. It can cause pain to the fool because it makes him LOOK like a fool. He will lose friends. People will not want to be around him.
c. But it can be painful to others as well—especially when the fool blurts out a proverb at an inappropriate time.
d. Proverbs, words of wisdom, and any portion of Scripture when misapplied can be painful as well.
• “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” (Prov.13:24) (This has been misapplied as an excuse for child abuse.)
• “The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold.” (Prov. 20:4) (This does not mean that he shouldn’t—but that he doesn’t.)
iii. Or perhaps by quoting only a portion of a proverb: “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man.” A fool might end the proverb there and take comfort in the fact that his choice “seems right” to him.
• “I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.”
• “I have more understanding than all my teachers.” (Psalm 119:99)
5. There are several reasons why a fool might attempt to speak forth words of wisdom and end up botching it up.
a. Because, like a drunkard, he is careless and sloppy with God’s Word. He might speak forth a proverb or another portion of Scripture without thinking it through… without meditating upon the real meaning… or without considering the context.
b. Another reason why a fool might misuse a proverb or words of wisdom from God’s Word is because he lacks respect for the Bible and doesn’t seem to mind misusing it for his own purpose. He might quote a portion of a Bible verse because the expression seems to support his argument—regardless of whether or not it actually does.
c. Like a drunkard who thinks he can do anything, the fool thinks that he can handle the Word of God—but he cannot. He does not know it; he does not understand it; he does not value it. Thus, he abuses it to his own demise and to the pain of others. It is painful hearing people abuse and misuse God’s Word. Not just anyone should be a “teacher” of God’s Word. They will receive greater judgment. There are consequences for abusing the Scriptures—but the fool doesn’t care.
d. Also, the fool lacks common sense to use a proverb wisely.
• He is foolish in handling the precious Word of God.
• The fool can make a silly application and think that he is wise.
• However, he can hurt others in doing so. For example, consider a young teenager in the hospital bed, whose body is fractured and in great pain. The teen was texting and got into a horrific car accident. That’s not the time to quote a proverbial saying like, “You reap what you sow.” The teen is learning the lesson by virtue of his or her broken body. They don’t need that truth rubbed in their face.
• A fool doesn’t have the wisdom to use a proverb properly. A word spoken in DUE SEASON, how good it is. But a word of wisdom spoken at the wrong time can be painful.
• It is painful to see such a thing. The fool will discover the hard way how foolish he really is.
• Job’s friends used proverbs—but not to edify. They used them to tear Job to pieces and to inflict pain.
e. The fool likes to “show off” how much he thinks he knows from the Bible by speaking forth proverbs and quoting Scripture.
• But his purpose is not to edify or be edified; his purpose is to show off how much he knows… to show off his “wisdom.”
• And the fool shows off by using verses that he does not really understand and misapplies them in foolish ways.
• This can be dangerous and painful—like a thorn stuck up into one’s hand.
• A proverb or wise saying from God’s word is like a sword. A sword can be used for good—or it can do a lot of damage.
6. Some have also suggested another application here:
a. Just as a drunkard is insensitive to pain, so that if he was pricked by a thorn in his hand, he would not feel it—so too a fool might speak forth words of wisdom designed to convict his conscience and heart—but the fool is insensitive to truth.
b. Thus, the pricking (the pain) which is designed to stir us to action, does the fool and the drunkard no good. They are insensitive to truth and thus the “pricking of conscience” does not lead to repentance.
Proverbs 26:10
Random Hiring
Introduction:
1. The wording in this chapter of Proverbs has been difficult; and this verse in particular.
2. Consider the radical differences in translations on verse 10:
a. KJV: The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors.
b. Darby: A master roughly worketh every one: he both hireth the fool and hireth passers-by.
c. NET: Like an archer who wounds at random, so is the one who hires a fool or hires any passer-by.
d. Young’s Literal: Great is the Former of all, And He is rewarding a fool, And is rewarding transgressors.
3. The second part of the proverb is the main point of the proverb.
a. The main point of the proverb has to do with the folly of hiring people randomly and indiscriminately.
4. However, the first part (the illustration) in which the language is not clear… at least to me and to the translators and commentators.
a. As we noted, the translations differ wildly… and so do the commentators.
5. The discrepancy in translation does not arise from a textual issue.
a. Rather, it is a matter of words that have several possible meanings… as in English.
b. I have chosen to use the most common meaning of each Hebrew word in question.
c. That does not mean that it is the meaning that Solomon intended, but where two different meanings both make sense, choosing the most common usage is probably the safest.
10a The great God that formed all things…
1. “The great God”
a. Note that the word God is italicized in our English version.
b. It was added by the translators and italicized to let us know that this word was not in the Hebrew text but was their personal interpretation.
c. Thus, for a subject, we are left with the word “great.”
• This term (rab) can mean “much; many; abundance; multitude”
1. This is awkward as a subject because it does not tell us many of what.
• One Hebrew dictionary defined it as captain or chief.
• But most Hebrew dictionaries listed archer as its first and most common definition.
» It is translated archer in Jer. 50:29; Job 16:13; etc.
» Archer seems to make most sense with the meaning of the verb.
2. “That formed all things”
a. The word “formed” also has several meanings.
b. A couple of dictionaries defined it as “rampart; trench; or wall.
c. Most Hebrew dictionaries defined this word as “bore; pierce; pierce through; wound; slay; etc.
d. It is often translated that way:
• Ps. 109:22 – “My heart is pierced within me…
• Ezek 32:26 – “slain by a sword” or “pierced by a sword”
e. Taking the common definition of “pierce” or “wound” seems to best fit with the most common definition for “great”, namely, archer. An archer pierces or wounds.
f. Thus, so far, the first part of the proverb speaks of an archer who wounds.
3. “All things”
a. The KJV has it right here – everything.
b. “All” is clearly the most common meaning for this term.
4. Thus, putting our terms together we have an “archer who pierces all” or an “archer who shoots at everything.”
a. This is why some translators chose the word “randomly” to speak of the way the archer shot.
b. He shoots at everything… meaning, randomly shooting at whatever he sees.
c. This also fits well with the second part of the proverb.
d. The first part of the proverb speaks of an archer shooting at everything he sees.
e. This is foolish behavior—and this too fits nicely in a chapter that has been all about foolish behavior so far (vs.1-9).
f. Thus, this translation fits the most common definition of terms, fits the context, and fits well with the clear meaning in the second part of the proverb.
10b Both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors.
1. In this part of the proverb Solomon speaks about one who rewards a fool and transgressor.
2. Rewardeth:
a. This term means to hire; to pay; to reward for work done; paying wages for services done.
3. The fool: This is a term we have seen many times—especially in this chapter. This chapter has been all about foolish behavior:
a. Vs. 1 – Honor is not fitting for a fool. (like snow in summer)
b. Vs. 3 – The rod is for the fool’s back.
c. Vs. 4-5 – The quandary of whether to answer a fool or not.
d. Vs. 6 – Sending a message by a fool.
e. Vs. 7 – A parable in the mouth of fools.
f. Vs. 8 – Giving honor to a fool.
g. Vs. 9 – A parable in the mouth of a fool is like a thorn in the flesh.
h. Vs. 10a – The folly of an archer shooting at everything—in light of the fact that he has a limited number of arrows.
4. Thus, in the second part of the proverb (10b) Solomon speaks about another foolish thing: the folly of HIRING just anyone… namely, a fool or a transgressor.
a. Transgressor: One who has crossed the line; transgressor of the law; one who has stepped over the line of good morals, or good judgment.
b. Hiring a fool or one who has crossed over the line (sin; morals; good judgment; etc) is like an archer who shoots his arrows randomly at everything… indiscriminately.
c. This is a foolish thing for an employer to do.
d. Don’t just hire anybody! You will regret it down the road.
5. There are MANY ways in which this could be applied in everyday life.
a. The most obvious is to the employer – one whose responsibility it is to hire workers or employees.
• An employer may have five positions to fill at his company… like an archer that has five arrows in his quiver.
• The archer should want to use those five arrows with great care. He certainly doesn’t want to shoot at anything that moves. He wants to choose his targets carefully.
• In the same way, an employer wants to choose his employees carefully. He doesn’t want to hire the first warm body that walks through the door. That could prove disastrous later on.
• You may end up hiring a fool… and that can make YOU look like a fool.
b. This principle would apply to anyone who places someone in a position.
• Perhaps someone who works in personnel department and has to place people into various positions. Don’t shoot randomly. Be careful who you place and where. Take your time and do a little research.
c. You could even apply this in choosing a mate—especially if you have been waiting for a while.
• Don’t jump and say “I will” to the first person that shows an interest in you.
• Take your time. Make sure he or she is not a “fool” or a “transgressor.”
• Choosing a mate is not exactly “hiring” someone, but the principle of using caution and care in placing someone in a position certainly applies.
• Wait for God’s choice. That’s always worth waiting for.
d. In the local church care needs to be exerted in placing people in various ministries.
• Jas. 3:1 – Be careful about putting someone in a teaching ministry.
• I Tim. 3:6 – Paul warns against placing a “novice” in the office of an elder. That could result in much trouble. He lists many qualifications to look for before “hiring” someone in that position.
• This certainly applies in appointing a pastor. Take your time. Don’t rush. Don’t shoot your arrow at just anything.
• You don’t want fools and transgressors appointed to positions of ministry in the local church.
e. We could also apply this to the political arena.
• We don’t exactly “hire” our senators, governors, and presidents, but we do vote.
• In a sense, we are doing our part in placing a person in an important position.
• Just as it is foolish for an archer to shoot randomly at anything… it is also foolish for us to vote for just anybody without doing a little research.
• We could end up with a fool or a transgressor in an office that enables the fool or transgressor to make laws that will affect our lives.
• Just as an archer should be careful with his arrows, we should be careful with our votes.
f. Hiring a fool or voting for a fool is foolish because it encourages more folly.
• Others will see what you’ve done and may try to imitate the foolish tactics that got the person the job or the election.
• They will assume that that is what you are looking for in an employee or a candidate.
6. Any time we are in a position that involves making a choice to hire, include, vote for, associate with, become a partner with, accept someone, to appoint someone, etc.—don’t be random! Don’t shoot at anything like a berserk archer!
a. The choice of personnel you make can have long lasting effects.
b. And the choice you make can reflect poorly on YOU if you choose someone who turns out to be a fool or a transgressor.
c. Be careful whom you choose. Do your homework.
d. A little research up front enables you to avoid a lot of trouble later.
e. Don’t be like the thoughtless archer who wastes his arrows by shooting at anything and everything. Be discriminating… selective… discerning…
Proverbs 26:11
A Fool and His Folly
Introduction:
1. Thankfully, this is a relatively simple proverb and the wording and the meaning is clear and obvious.
2. Solomon likens a fool to a dog who eats his own vomit.
3. It may not be pleasant to think about, but it is evident what he meant.
4. This is one of those proverbs that paints a mental picture that stays with you.
11a As a dog returneth to his vomit…
1. This is a disgusting and revolting thought, by design.
2. It is an ugly truth, but it is a truth. Dogs actually do eat their own vomit.
3. There are a few theories as to why dogs eat their own vomit:
a. In the wild wolves and other animals in the dog family hunt in packs. After feeding on their prey, they return home and vomit in order to feed their young. (So young people, don’t ever again complain about your mother’s cooking!)
b. Another reason given is that they eat their vomit in order to hide any signs of their presence from predators.
c. They obviously have less discriminating palates than do we humans.
4. But the fact remains that dogs do eat their own vomit.
a. We consider it to be a most disgusting practice; so did Solomon in his day.
b. Vomiting all by itself is pretty disgusting. But eating it is “over the edge” disgusting!
c. The thought of it almost makes you want to vomit.
d. When you see a dog eating his vomit you almost have to look the other way it is so sickening.
e. This is one of those repulsive facts of life: dogs eat their own vomit. Even YOUR dog eats his own vomit.
f. It is something that we have all seen and we have all been disgusted by it.
11b So a fool returneth to his folly.
1. Now Solomon makes the application to everyday life.
2. Solomon compares a dog eating his vomit to a fool returning to his foolish behavior.
a. The foolish person is like the disgusting dog.
b. The vomit is like the behavior (an old habit) of the fool.
c. Eating the vomit is like the fool returning practicing his foolish behavior again.
d. The fool may eat something that he shouldn’t (sinful behavior).
• After he ate it, it may upset him. (Lots of foolish and sinful behaviors have consequences that are painful.)
• Then it is so burdensome to his stomach that he vomits it up. (Sometimes sinners get sick of their sin.)
• But eventually, he returns to his foolish behavior, and eats it up again… like a dog eating his vomit.
• An impure appetite seeks impure food.
3. The point Solomon makes is simple: Fools keep on returning to their dirty old habits, no matter how disgusting they are.
a. Consider the alcoholic returning to his alcohol—even after he knows how damaging it is and has been to his health, to his career, to his social life, and especially to his family.
b. Consider the drug addict returning to his drugs—even though he ends up in a gutter somewhere vomiting… or driving down the highway out of control like a lethal weapon.
c. Consider the adulteress who wanders from house to house, ruining lives, breaking up families, causing heartaches, and even violence.
d. Consider the man who has no control over his anger. He might calm down for a while, but sooner or later he returns to his anger and gets in yet another fight.
e. Consider the thief who steals from his company—just a little every day—but it adds up over time. He doesn’t get caught, so he keeps on returning to this practice.
f. Examples of the principle about which Solomon writes abound. There is no end to the application.
4. When we look at these behaviors, our culture likes to consider the one with such deviant behavior as a victim.
a. The alcoholic can’t help it. It was his environment. His father was a problem drinker.
b. The adulteress shouldn’t be judged. She had a bad upbringing. She grew up in a ghetto.
c. The man with anger control isn’t to be blamed. He experienced abuse as a child.
d. Solomon’s estimate of this kind of behavior is not as flattering: he likens them to dogs returning to their own vomit!
e. Of course one’s background and environment has a profound influence on one’s behavior—but it is only one of many influences.
f. Influences cannot force behavioral choices.
g. Bad behavior is a choice… a sinful choice.
h. Bad behavior is not to be traced to a bad environment.
i. Bad behavior is traced to man’s sinful nature.
j. And sin is disgusting. It is revolting and nauseating… like a dog eating his own vomit.
k. This is a bit like shock therapy: Presenting the fool with a vivid and revolting picture of what his behavior is really like.
l. Could you imagine someone going for psychological therapy today and being treated like this?
• Could you image a homosexual or a man with an out of control temper going for counseling and the counselor telling him that his behavior is like a dog returning to his vomit?
• That doesn’t happen. Instead, modern psychology comes up with names of diseases and treats deviant behavior as a disease—as if they “caught” this bad germ somewhere and are not really responsible for it. Then they come up with a drug to treat the disease.
m. Solomon confronts the sinful fool with his bad behavior and does not try to pamper the foolish sinner; nor does he try to play the blame game.
• He lays the responsibility for bad behavior on the shoulders of the sinful fool and nowhere else.
• He doesn’t attempt to pass off the blame; he passes SHAME on the sinner.
• He paints a picture that leads to only one conclusion: this behavior is disgusting and shameful and is to be rejected.
• The whole point of likening this kind of behavior to a dog eating his own vomit is so that this kind of behavior would STOP!
• Think of this the next time you are tempted to return to a dirty old habit. Think of it as eating vomit.
• Making that association might help us to stay away.
n. The real answer of course is for the fool to stop being foolish.
• The answer is for the fool to become wise.
• Prov. 1:1-5 – That’s the stated purpose of the book of Proverbs!
• Ultimately, the way for a fool to become wise is to become wise unto salvation and believe on the Lord and be saved.
5. II Pet. 2:22 – Peter applies this word picture to false prophets.
a. Vs. 20 – In this context, Peter notes the fact that some false teachers do escape the pollutions of the world for a while through a superficial knowledge of Christ.
• By reading the Bible they can learn many things ABOUT God, without really knowing God in a personal or saving way.
• This is like a dog that is given good food, eats it, and seems to enjoy it and benefit from it.
• But then the false teacher is again entangled in the pollutions of the world and overcome by them. He went back to his old, vile habits and is overtaken by them.
• Hence, we have seen church leaders and evangelists who have golden tongues and talk a good talk… but eventually it is manifested that their walk does not match their talk.
• They return to their old, vile habits and end up worse than at the beginning—before their involvement with the Bible.
b. Vs. 22 – Peter quotes Solomon and states that they are like dogs returning to their vomit.
• They escaped their vile habits for a while, but eventually returned.
• The reason they returned is because they are like dogs. They were never converted. Their behavior SEEMED to change outwardly, but because it was not genuine—only superficial—eventually their old nature took over. A dog will always be a dog.
• It is possible to be convicted by sin and sick of it… without being converted. Conviction is not conversion.
• However, God’s grace can turn a dog with filthy habits into a sheep. Only God can convert the sinner—and turn a dog into a sheep.
c. Note also that Peter didn’t beat around the bush in his description of the false teachers.
• He likened them to dirty dogs and he likened their behavior to eating vomit.
• There was no candy-coating here.
• I believe he said it in love (love rejoices in the truth).
• But he used severe language to describe false teachers.
• We don’t have much of a stomach for this kind of language today.
• Peter, Paul, Jude, and John would probably be considered unloving, and even caustic slanderers for the way they spoke of false teachers in their day.
• Of course, we must speak the truth in love, but there is no nice, warm, and fuzzy way to describe ugly things—and false teachers, their teachings, and their lifestyles are ugly… like dogs returning to their vomit.
Proverbs 26:12
Wise in His Own Conceit
Introduction:
1. So far, this chapter has been all about fools.
a. Vs. 1– Honor is not seemly for a fool
b. Vs. 3 – A rod for a fool’s back.
c. Vs. 4-5 – Answering a fool.
d. Vs. 6 – Sending a message by the hand of a fool.
e. Vs. 7 – A parable in the mouth of a fool.
f. Vs. 8 – Giving honor to a fool.
g. Vs. 9 – A parable in the mouth of a fool.
h. Vs. 10 – God pays back the fool.
i. Vs. 11 – A fool returns to his folly.
j. The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about fools. The word “fool” appears 61 times and the word “folly” appears 13 times. It is a major theme of the book.
k. Yet in all of these verses, Solomon doesn’t have one good thing to say about a person who is a fool.
2. Vs. 12 – But when we come to verse 12, Solomon mentions a kind of person that is even WORSE than the fool: a man who is wise in his own conceits.
12a Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit?
A man wise in his own conceits
1. First of all, we should note that Solomon speaks of a MAN who is wise in his own conceits.
a. Interestingly, Solomon uses the term “man” that usually refers to men in particular – males.
b. He seems to focus on proud men in this verse.
c. That does not mean that women cannot make application—but the terms indicate that the interpretation refers to men.
d. Pride is not the exclusive possession of males. Women can also be proud.
2. Wise in one’s own conceit
a. Wise: This term can have either a good or bad connotation, depending upon the context.
• Bad: Cunning; subtle, crafty, shrewd.
• Good: Prudent, skilled.
b. In this passage, Solomon is obviously using it in a bad light.
c. Conceit: (The English words “in his own conceit” are one word in Hebrew.)
• The meaning of this term is not a synonym to pride.
• The expression speaks of pride, but not this term.
• Conceit = outward appearance; countenance; in one’s own eyes.
• The expression means a man who is wise in his own sight… in his own eyes.
• It refers not to a man who actually IS wise, but rather to a man who thinks he is.
d. It is bad enough to lack wisdom. It is far worse to lack wisdom and not know it—and actually believe that you are wise.
3. The Bible COMMANDS us not to be wise in our own sight.
a. Prov. 3:7 – Be not wise in thine own eyes.
b. Rom. 12:16 – Be not wise in your own conceits.
c. This is basically a command against PRIDE.
• Pride is the broader umbrella category under which are found several particular types… including thinking of self as being “wise in our own sight.”
• Pride blinds us to spiritual reality.
• Pride blinds us to the truth.
• Pride causes us to think more highly of self than we ought.
• Pride causes us to look down on others.
• Pride is a root of all kinds of evil.
d. The command to “be not wise in thine own eyes” is obeyed through repentance which means humility.
e. James 4:10 – “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”
• What a contrast to our proverb.
• It is possible for a man (or woman) to exalt self through pride and to become wise in their own sight.
• Or we can humble self in the sight of the Lord.
• The difference is a matter of whose SIGHT we are concerned about: ours or the Lord’s?
• Whose opinion of self really matters to us: ours or the Lord’s?
f. James 4:6 – The good news is that God gives special grace to the humble… but He resists the proud.
• It doesn’t make sense to maintain a proud attitude – an attitude that causes God to resist us.
• We might try to push against that resistance, but we are never going to win. God is bigger than every one of us!
• Spiritually, humility is the only sensible way to live… but then again, pride is not sensible.
• It is wise to be humble; it is foolish to be proud.
4. There are certain things that LEAD towards being wise in our own sight.
a. Prov. 28:11 – Riches.
b. Prov. 3:7 – A lack of godly fear.
c. Prov. 26:5 – Engaging a fool in his folly leads him to think he is wise and that his foolish arguments are worthy of discussion.
d. Rev. 3:17 – A lack of spiritual discernment. The Laodiceans thought that they were spiritual, mature, and pleasing in God’s sight because their pride had blinded them to reality.
e. I Cor. 3:18 – Acceptance in the world. Paul addressed the issue of those who assumed that they were wise because the world considered them wise. Paul’s point is that the wisdom of the world is really folly in God’s sight.
5. Note how the verse begins: “Seest thou a man…”
a. Solomon holds this proud man up for us to take a good look at… to think about what we see in him and in his character.
b. There are good lessons to be learned by observing BAD examples.
12b There is more hope of a fool than of him.
1. The proud man IS a fool. Pride is foolish in God’s sight.
2. Solomon states that there is more hope of a fool than the man who is wise in his own conceits.
3. Both are foolish, but the suggestion here is that it is possible for a man to be engaged in foolish behavior and be either proud or humble.
4. A humble fool may be engaged in foolish behavior, but is open to listening to wisdom.
a. A humble fool will respond to rebuke and correction.
b. Prov. 3:7 – “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.”
• This command is obviously directed to someone who IS wise in his own eyes. He is commanded to stop!
• He is to take his eyes off himself and focus on the Lord and fear God. Focusing on the Lord always results in godly fear.
• And he is to depart from evil – he is commanded to leave his folly behind.
• Thus he is commanded to repent (be not… is a change of mind) and to bring forth fruits of repentance (depart from the evil and foolish behavior)
• That is the way of wisdom. A fool can change and become wise… but it requires humility.
c. Thus, a humble fool can eventually leave his folly behind and become wise.
5. A proud fool is far worse than a humble fool.
a. A proud fool will not listen to correction.
b. A proud fool refuses to acknowledge that he might be wrong—and thus will never turn around.
c. A proud fool thinks he is too smart to listen to the words of wisdom from God’s Word. He knows it all already—or so he thinks.
d. This is far worse because his pride blinds him to the real nature of his folly… it blinds him to the danger of his folly… and most importantly, it blinds him to the truth: his need for wisdom, repentance and humility.
e. As long as he holds on to his pride, he will never change. He will live his whole life that way and go to the grave as a blind, proud, old fool.
f. Being wise in one’s own eyes is dangerous because it prevents a man from improving… from changing… or from correction.
g. Some fools are fools and they know it. There is hope for them.
h. But other fools are fools and don’t know it. They are blinded by self-conceit. There is no hope for them.
i. As Jesus pointed out in Matt. 21:32, there is more hope of a foolish publican than a proud Pharisee.
Proverbs 26:13
A Lion in the Streets!
Introduction:
1. So far, this chapter has described the “fool” in various ways.
2. Now, (from vs.13-16) Solomon describes the “sluggard” – the lazy man.
3. Verse 13 is a simple proverb, yet it has an important statement to make.
4. The point of the proverb is simple to understand: lazy people make excuses for their laziness.
13a The slothful man…
A. Description of the slothful man
1. Slothful defined:
2. He is lazy.
3. He is foolish; laziness and folly go together.
4. He hates to be pressed to be diligent (either in his work or his faith)
5. He is either a liar or is deceived
6. He refuses to work… to be engaged in business… in activity… and sometimes even in social contact.
13b There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
His excuses…
1. There is a lion in the streets!
a. He states that the “way” and the “streets” aren’t safe.
b. The “way” and the “streets” were where the markets were… where business was conducted.
c. He was excusing himself from taking care of his business… perhaps going to work at his little shop in the streets of the town.
d. Because of the possibility of meeting a lion in the street, he concludes that it is not safe for him to go there.
e. Because of his laziness and his disdain for work, even when there are no real difficulties to keep him from work, he imagines some. He makes them up—and seems to believe them!
f. He thinks that his reasoning is sensible and rational… but obviously, it is not.
g. Everyone else goes out into the streets to go to work and they are not attacked by lions.
h. Somehow, he has managed to convince himself of the danger… not because the danger is real, but because his hatred of work is real.
i. Prov. 20:4 – when it is time to plow, he comes up with an excuse: “It’s too cold out!” Lazy people have no lack of excuses for their laziness.
j. Of course, his excuses are designed to be a cover for his procrastination.
• I’d do it today, but it’s too cold out today. Mañana!
• I’d do it today, but I heard there were lions in the street today. I’ll do it tomorrow.
• And when tomorrow comes, there will be a new list of excuses.
• For him, tomorrow never comes—and the jobs never get done.
• He is the vintage procrastinator—and procrastinating is nothing other than laziness.
2. Today he would be diagnosed with some sort of phobia and would be medicated.
a. That’s what psychologists do today: they listen to the fears people have, call it a disease, and then provide medication to alleviate the symptoms of the disease.
b. They actually convince people that they have a disease and that it is not their fault. They “caught” this disease (like catching a cold) and (like a cold) provide medication as the cure.
c. Solomon suggests taking another method of dealing with this phobia.
• Instead of recommending medication, Solomon recommends a good dose of reality.
» Solomon recommends pointing out that his fear is irrational and should be dropped.
» Solomon doesn’t fall for this person’s irrational excuse.
» Solomon doesn’t coddle this man in his fears. He uses the “glass of cold water in the face” method.
• Instead of blaming his fears on the environment, Solomon points out one’s personal responsibility to be diligent and go to work!
» Prov. 6:6-9 – Go to the ant you sluggard and take a good look and learn something! Get out of bed and go to work!
3. The psychology of the slothful man:
a. Solomon states here that the sluggard associates work with his worst fears –
• He associates going out to work with being eaten alive by a lion! (cf. Prov. 22:13)
• In his own twisted mind, he has associated two things that are really not related to each other.
• He has allowed himself to exaggerate fears and build mountains out of molehills in his own head.
• Of course, it is completely irrational to objective observers, but not to him.
• And this is a CHOICE that he made. It is not a disease that he innocently “caught.”
b. Here Solomon states that the way of the sluggard is like a hedge of thorns.
• By his own irrational imagination, he has hedged himself in to a position in which he sees no way out…
• He has constructed imaginary WALLS that prevent him from going to work… from cleaning the house… from doing his chores… from keeping up with his schoolwork.
• He begins to believe that the hedge is real and that he is trapped.
• He has let things pile up at work because of his lack of self-discipline.
• Thus, when he attempted to get busy, he was facing a MOUNTAIN of work that seemed overwhelming. It seemed impossible to tackle.
• Of course, had he been diligent all along, and kept up with it, it never would have developed into a mountain.
• Because he let his work pile up, he is surrounded by mountains of work… mountains too big to move.
• He finds himself hedged in… no way out… and thus, gives up even trying.
• In reality, it is his laziness that has hedged him in and created obstacles… but you will never convince him of that!
• Somehow, he has convinced himself that giving up and not doing anything is sensible.
c. This same kind of thinking can affect us too. Perhaps not to this degree, but it is the same KIND of thinking.
• For example, the housewife who lets her housework pile up. She too may feel hedged in. It may seem insurmountable… overwhelming… like a mountain that will never be moved… so she quits trying. Things don’t improve when you quit.
• Also, consider the student who gets behind in his work. This student convinces himself that the teacher has assigned too much work. It’s not fair. It’s too hard. I’ll never finish! Students, too, can be inventive about why they don’t have their homework: the dog ate it!
• Or what about the employee who is lazy at work and allows his work to pile up. He too makes excuses: the boss gives me more work than anyone else; it’s not fair. He may feel hedged in and trapped at work. He may even begin to make up excuses to stay at home. He probably will not call in and say, “There is a lion in the street”, but he may call in sick—when he’s not.
4. Application to our spiritual lives:
a. Just as the lazy man can find excuses for not going to work or keeping up with his chores, we can do the same in our spiritual lives.
b. We know we ought to be having a devotion time each day… but we always come up with excuses as to why we couldn’t do so today. Tomorrow I’ll get to it! I woke up late today… I had too much else to do… I had Red Sox tickets… I had to watch the president’s speech on TV… and on and on our excuses go.
c. Our excuses may seem reasonable to self—but not to God. He knows our heart. He is the One who is put in second or third place—behind all our excuses.
d. Or perhaps it is witnessing—we know we should, but we invent reasons to excuse ourselves. (This isn’t the time; he will hate me if I do; I don’t know enough about the Bible; what if he asks me something I can’t answer? I’m not cut out for that…)
e. Our proverb highlights the FOLLY of excuse making… and in doing so lays the blame on the shoulders of the lazy procrastinator.
f. Let’s pray that we would not invent excuses in our walk with God.
Proverbs 26:14-15
More on the Sluggard
Introduction:
1. Verses 13-16 all deal with the sluggard.
2. Some of these proverbs were intended to be comical. They paint a funny mental picture of the sluggard.
3. This was a form of humor long before comics became popular.
4. In verse 13, the picture is that of a sluggard who invents a ridiculous excuse for why he can’t go to work: there’s a lion in the street!
5. Two more pictures of the sluggard’s laziness are seen in verses 14-15.
6. These are not jokes with a punch line that makes you laugh. They are statements which are designed to make you think… designed to cause us to make connections between the sluggard and the illustration. After a little thought, we should be able to see the humor in what is being said.
7. Of course there is really nothing funny about being slothful. But there is some humor in observing the folly of laziness. It is not unlike slapstick comedy – in which a man tries to carry nine bags of groceries and he ends up falling and the groceries spill all over the place. It was foolish to attempt it, and you knew what was going to happen—but it’s still funny when you see it.
8. In a similar vein, Solomon speaks about the folly of laziness.
14 As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed.
1. Here the slothful man is compared to a door.
2. The sluggard turns on his bed like a door swings on its hinges… it swings back and forth… back and forth… and back and forth again.
3. The sluggard is like that door on its hinges.
a. First of all, as the hinge anchors the door to the doorjamb, so too the sluggard seems anchored to his bed.
• Prov. 15:19 – The sluggard feels “all hedged in.”
• Prov. 19:15 – Slothfulness casts men into a deep sleep. It needs to be shaken off… but the sluggard refuses to do so. He is anchored to his bed.
• Prov. 20:13 – “Love not sleep.” That is his problem. The book of Proverbs gives a multitude of reasons why you should NOT love sleep.
• Remember that love is a choice. It is choosing to put sleep before other things. It is a matter of priorities.
• In verse 13 we saw that the sluggard fears work (there’s a lion!); here we see that he loves his bed.
• The sluggard loves sleep; he won’t listen to reason; and he is anchored to his bed… like a door on its hinges.
• He will go back and forth on his bed, but he won’t get up.
b. Secondly, the door swings back and forth, but it never gets anywhere. There is a lot of motion but makes no progress.
• Like a door on a hinge, the sluggard follows the same old pattern… back and forth… and never gets anywhere.
• His laziness has him in a perpetual rut…
• Lazy people do a lot of talking about things that need to get done, but they don’t actually DO the work.
• Prov. 14:23 – labor profits; talk does not.
• Nothing gets done. He has a long “to do list” but he never makes any progress on it.
c. Thirdly, the door swings on its hinges and squeaks and groans; so does the lazy man.
• He makes excuses why he can’t get up and go to work. He groans about this ache and that pain.
• He groans and grumbles about all the things that he doesn’t have—because he doesn’t work.
• Prov. 21:25-26 – He has desires like everyone else, but because he refuses to work, his desire remains unsatisfied.
• He sees what others have and he wants all the things others enjoy… but cannot obtain them.
• He is never happy. His life is a life of greedily coveting and never obtaining. He is unfulfilled and unhappy.
• Thus, he complains about his situation as if he were a poor victim of circumstances. He is a victim of his own slothfulness.
d. Fourthly, the door turns back and forth constantly. That is a picture of the lazy man on his bed.
• That does not speak of a restful sleep.
• The lazy man has a guilty conscience because he is lazy and does not go to work like everyone else. Thus, he cannot get a good night’s rest.
• He is awake, tossing and turning all night long… like a door on its hinges swinging back and forth.
• Ecc. 5:12 – The sleep of a laboring man is sweet. The lazy man does not enjoy the blessing of a restful night’s sleep. He stays awake kicking himself for all the things he knows that he should have done but didn’t.
• Ecc. 10:18 – His house is falling apart; he knows he should do something about it; but he’s too lazy. He puts it off… knowing that it is being eaten by termites… and he is tormented.
• Prov. 3:24 – The man who walks in the ways of wisdom (following the advice in the book of Proverbs) shall lie down and his sleep shall be sweet.
• Psalm 127:2 – The Lord “giveth” His beloved sleep.
15 The slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth.
1. This is another comical mental picture.
a. The scene is a man at the kitchen table and the man starves because he is too lazy to raise up his hand to bring the food up to his mouth!
b. That’s pretty lazy!
c. We have a similar form of humor.
• We often hear jokes like “it’s so cold in Minnesota that your teeth chatter—when they are still in the glass!”
• Or “it’s so hot in Texas that the birds are using potholders to pull up the worms.”
• In Oregon they used to sell a series of cards designed to keep the tourists away. “It rains so much in Oregon that people don’t tan, they rust” or “It rains so much in Oregon that last year 390 people fell off their bikes—and drowned.”
d. Solomon’s point is that some men are so lazy, they starved to death—because they wouldn’t lift their hand up to feed themselves!
2. Solomon’s sluggard holds his hand in his bosom –
a. Presumably this is done to keep it warm. (He likes his warm bed; he likes warm hands too.)
b. Perhaps he is pretending to be lame (like some of the people you see on the streets begging money pretend to be lame).
c. It is certainly not all blistered up from work!
d. Some translations read that he buries his hand in his dish – indicating that he put out his hand to get the food, but is too lazy to bring it up to his mouth. Perhaps the picture is of a man who puts his hand into the dish to get some food and falls asleep with his hand still buried in the dish.
3. It grieves him (wearies; wears out; etc.)
a. For him, raising up his hand is too much like work. It’s too hard. He’s too tired.
b. Even the simplest tasks are too much for him.
4. The point:
a. Most people make the connection between labor and the fruits of one’s labor.
b. Most people, while they would prefer to sit under a tree and sip lemonade, realize that there are many benefits to work and that the positive benefits outweigh the negative aspect to the work.
c. Most people realize that “if I work, I get to eat well; if I don’t work, then I starve.”
d. Reason wins out and they go to work.
e. The sluggard does not reason like this. He wants the fruit of labors, but he refuses to do the necessary work to accomplish it.
f. The sluggard reasons that the fruits of one’s labor are not worth it… he loves his sleep, his bed, and his ease too much.
g. In this comical picture, the lazy man loves inaction so much that he won’t even lift his arm to feed himself… and thus starves.
h. He is addicted to laziness.
i. The sluggard lacks incentive and motivation.
• One would think that hunger would motivate him to lift his hand, but in this case it doesn’t.
• Hunger OUGHT to be a motivator to cause a hungry man to work.
• Hunger hurts. The gnawing pain of hunger should be all the incentive he needs to get out of bed and go to work.
• The uncomfortable pain of hunger should outweigh the uncomfortable toil of work… but it does not for the sluggard.
• But this man has no drive, no ambition, no self-discipline.
• On the surface, it seems rather foolish and comical—but it really isn’t funny. There are many people just like the sluggard Solomon describes.
• What a foolish pity when believers are so slothful in spiritual things that they will not lift their hand to feed their own souls the bread of life!
Proverbs 26:16
The Sluggard’s Estimate of Himself
Introduction:
1. This chapter has a context to it so far.
2. Vs. 1-12 dealt with the fool.
3. Vs. 13-16 dealt with the sluggard.
4. So far we have seen that the sluggard:
a. Vs. 13 – makes excuses for his laziness
b. Vs. 14 – loves his sleep and never gets anywhere
c. Vs. 15 – is so lazy he can’t even feed himself
d. Vs. 16 – is wise in his own conceits
16a The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit…
1. “Wise in one’s own conceit” is a form of pride.
a. Wise in one’s own conceit means to be wise in our own eyes.
b. It speaks of the person who THINKS that he is wise… proud of his wisdom.
c. Such a person may be brilliant or foolish.
• Some brilliant people are humble.
• Others are proud of their intelligence.
• Some ignorant people are proud of what they conceive to be their own brilliance.
d. Being wise in one’s own conceit is pride in one’s perceived brilliance.
e. It was the reason for the fall of Lucifer.
• Ezek. 28:12 – He was created “full of wisdom.” His was genuine wisdom. He was full of wisdom. Evidently he was given more wisdom than the other angels. He exceeded them in beauty, wisdom, and position… all of which were grace gifts from God, and thus, nothing of which to boast.
• Ezek. 28:17b – He corrupted his wisdom. Somehow he became proud and conceited of his gift of wisdom. This pride became his downfall.
• Lucifer believed that he was so beautiful, wise, and exalted, that he didn’t really need God. In fact, he desired to be LIKE God… and perhaps replace God one day.
• Pride has its roots in the original sin of Lucifer.
• Think of that the next time you start feeling superior!
2. This is a problem for the sluggard. But he is not alone. Other groups suffer from the same sort of thing.
a. The rich man (Prov. 18:11, 28)
b. The fool (Prov. 26:5)
3. We are commanded NOT to be wise in our own conceits.
a. Prov. 3:7 – By Solomon: Be not wise in thine own eyes.
b. Rom. 12:16 – By Paul: Be not wise in thine own eyes.
c. Evidently this is sin is widespread and common to man.
d. It can and does affect all of us—hence the command to believers.
e. When a person comes to know Christ and God begins to teach him from the Word, it is possible for that knowledge to go to one’s head.
• After having been completely ignorant of the Bible, to learning so much in a year or so, we begin to think we know it all!
• After having been saved for a year and having read through the Bible, and heard many sermons, we now think we know God’s Word inside and out. That is spiritually dangerous.
• Paul said, a little knowledge puffeth up.
• Then after we have been saved a few more years, we discover to our chagrin, how little we really do know about God’s Word! We discover that we are just scratching the surface of the Scriptures. That is spiritually healthy.
• It is no wonder that Paul commands us: Be not wise in your own conceits!
4. Solomon’s point in this proverb is that the sluggard IS wise in his own conceits.
a. He has ignored the warnings against pride and self-exaltation.
b. He has obviously been blinded by his pride. Pride has a tendency to do that – to block our vision from reality.
c. Prov. 26:12 – There is more hope for a fool than the man who is wise in his own eyes. There is more hope for a fool than for the sluggard!
16b Than seven men that can render a reason.
The sluggard feels he is WISER than seven men
1. Not only does the sluggard believe he is wise in his own eyes. He believes that he is WISER than all others.
2. Seven may be used here to represent ALL. In other words, he feels that he is wiser than everybody else.
3. The sluggard shares this trait with the fool. He too thinks he’s smarter than everyone else.
4. “Seven men who can render a reason.”
a. The word seven ought to be understood in a generic sense – more like several. Others see it as a number that speaks of completeness. (all other men)
b. The term “reason” speaks of discretion, intelligence, good taste, good judgment.
c. Men of good taste, men of good judgment, men of discretion are repulsed by the sluggard. They find his lifestyle disgusting.
d. But the sluggard rejects their assessment. He’s too smart for them… at least in his own eyes.
5. There is an inherent danger in thinking you are smarter and wiser than everyone else: you won’t listen to their advice!
a. It’s bad enough to be ignorant. It is far worse to be ignorant and THINK you are wise.
b. Why listen to those who are not as smart as you are?
c. This is a problem for the sluggard. He thinks he’s smarter than anyone else… so why listen to advice?
• What do they know? Why should I kill myself working like the fools out there.
• For what? I can just milk the system without lifting a finger!
• I know how to get food stamps, disability checks, and I’m so smart I’ve been collecting my dead father’s social security checks for six years without getting caught!
d. And if you try to reason with him, his only reply will be, “I am wiser than seven men who can render a reason!”
• Seven men with “reason” (discretion) might try to give him advice and give him seven good reasons why he should get disciplined and go to work… but the sluggard is too smart for them.
6. The sluggard is described for us in this chapter. It is an evil that affects us all and one which we all need to consciously resist and avoid.
a. We can become sluggish physically.
• Our body is the Temple of God and we are to take care of it.
• Physical exercise benefits us a LOT. Paul says that bodily exercise profiteth little (compared to spiritual things). But on earth, exercise is of great benefit.
• Perhaps the doctor has told us we need to exercise. Sluggishness tells us that it is too hard.
• Resist that sluggishness… and get the physical exercise you need! Don’t think you know more about it than your doctor… or seven doctors!
b. We can become sluggish mentally too.
• We no longer exercise our brains. We don’t want to read… we don’t want to think things through… we would prefer to veg on the couch and mindlessly watch TV or videos.
• TV is ok in its place—but don’t ever stop thinking.
• Mental sluggishness will hinder your effectiveness at work and in every other part of your life.
c. We can also become sluggish spiritually.
• We are to exercise ourselves unto godliness. That is a spiritual exercise.
d. There are lots of ways we can exercise ourselves spiritually.
• Reading the Word is spiritual exercise.
• Praying is spiritual exercise.
• Sharing the gospel is spiritual exercise.
• Studying the Bible is spiritual exercise.
• Memorizing Scripture is a spiritual exercise.
• Meditating is a spiritual exercise.
e. Sluggishness will adversely affect our spiritual life.
• It will affect our time in God’s Word; our time in God’s House; our time with God Himself.
• It will cause us to find excuses why we can’t go to church: there’s a lion in the street!
• When it’s time for Sunday school, we will turn over in bed—like a door on its hinge.
• When it’s time to read the Word, we will be too tired to lift our hand to turn the pages.
f. Exercise in spiritual things includes practicing principles from the Scriptures… putting a passage you read recently into practice…
• If you read recently that we are to be kind one toward another—then go out of your way to exercise kindness. Practice it! Put it work!
• If you read recently that we are to forgive one another, then put that command into practice too. If we think about it and are honest, there are probably some people against whom we have been secretly holding a grudge.
• Exercise yourself unto godliness. Obeying this passage involves self-discipline—or temperance—the fruit of the Spirit.
• We are to exercise ourselves in godliness by going for a walk—walking in the Spirit… and manifesting the fruit of the Spirit… by putting them into practice – love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…
Proverbs 26:17
Meddling with Strife
Introduction:
1. In this chapter so far, Solomon has described the fool (vs. 1-12), the sluggard (vs. 13-16), and now in vs. 17-28 Solomon writes about several other subjects dealing with bad behavior: arguing, deception, gossip, and lying.
2. Verse 17 speaks about the one who sticks his nose into strife—and the consequences of it.
17a He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him…
Meddling with strife belonging not to him…
1. Strife: Contention; quarreling; dispute; open hostility; conflict.
a. The term can also be used in a legal dispute or a physical altercation.
b. In our proverb, Solomon is using in the sense of an argument or dispute among everyday people in everyday scenarios.
c. Strife is everywhere.
• There is strife in the office, in the home, in the school, in neighborhoods, in the church, in the workplace, in politics, among nations, etc. Wherever there are people, (fallen human beings) there will be strife.
• It cannot be avoided entirely; therefore, it is a good idea to learn HOW to deal with strife when confronted with it—and you will be confronted with it!
d. This proverb tells us something to avoid when you come upon strife already in progress.
2. “Strife belonging not to him…”
a. This is a particular KIND of strife.
b. Solomon speaks about a man who is “passing by.”
• He just happens to be passing by. He isn’t out looking for trouble. He is not seeking to get involved in an argument.
• He is going about his daily business when he happens to come across others who are arguing.
• This is an argument that has nothing to do with the passer-by.
c. This is strife between or among two or more people—other than the passer by.
d. A person might stumble across people arguing almost anywhere: at the supermarket; at a ball field; at the mall; in the office; at a political rally; at school; in a restaurant; yes, even in church!
e. This is the scenario Solomon envisions in this proverb.
f. No doubt YOU and I have stumbled across this very scene—perhaps multiple times.
g. What should we do?
• There is a show on TV called “What would you do?” in which they set up a fake scene on the streets where someone is being verbally abused.
• In this show, they make heroes out of the people who intervene… who stick their noses into the situation, take sides, and try to defend the one they feel is being abused verbally.
• Obviously, there may be situations that require intervention.
• But this proverb warns us against sticking our noses into other people’s arguments that have nothing to do with us.
3. “Meddling” in someone else’s business—or dispute.
a. The expression translated “He that passeth by and meddleth” is actually one Hebrew word.
b. It speaks about a man who passes by an argument and implies that he sticks his nose in the middle of it (what we call meddling).
c. The Hebrew words means to pass by or to cross over. It is often used in a literal sense of crossing over a line, but is also used figuratively of crossing over a line of propriety. That is the sense in which it is used here.
d. In this proverb, Solomon speaks of a man who not only passes by… but crosses over a line. He oversteps his rightful place.
e. He does so by “meddling” into the affairs of others.
4. Is it a good idea to meddle into the disputes of others? Solomon thinks not.
a. Prov. 20:3 – It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.
• Honorable men avoid strife; fools meddle.
• Cease: Inactivity or a refusal to become involved in something, a holding back.
• There are times when an honorable man will refuse to become involved in strife. That is wisdom.
b. Prov. 18:6 – The lips of a fool enter into contention. (Therefore, stay out of contention—especially if it has nothing to do with you!)
c. Prov. 25:8 – “Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.”
• Don’t be so quick to jump into strife.
• Why? Because once you jump into the fray, you may not be able to jump out so easily.
• You may bring shame upon yourself.
• Why? Because when you jump into someone else’s argument that has nothing to do with you, you don’t know all the facts. You might be assuming things that are not true. Thus, you might be jumping in on the wrong side and be embarrassed in the end.
• In this proverb (25:8) we are told not to go forth hastily into our own disputes. How much less should we haste to get involved in other people’s disputes!
d. II Tim. 2:24 – The servant of the Lord must not strive.
• Of course, we are in a battle for the truth. We are to strive for the truth.
• But in interpersonal problems, and in differences of opinions in earthly things, we are to avoid strife.
• In fact, we are to be peacemakers… not troublemakers.
17b Is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.
1. Consider the analogy here:
a. A man who happens to come across others arguing is like a man who comes upon a stray dog. (Dogs were not usually family pets in those days; they were more like scavenger animals.)
b. The man who sticks his nose into the disputes of others is like a man who grabs a dog by his ears.
c. If you pick up a dog by his ears you are most likely going to be bitten. Dogs don’t normally like to be picked up by their ears.
d. And once you grab an angry dog by his ears, you are in trouble.
• Holding him endangers you. He could turn his head and bite.
• Letting him go endangers you too. He is likely to bite you as soon as you let go.
• You can’t win in a situation like that.
2. The point is that people don’t like others sticking their noses into their business—even if the passer by MEANS well, it does not END well.
a. You might have both parties turn on you. If you try to break up a dog fight, BOTH dogs are likely to turn on you.
b. If two dogs are fighting with each other, and you think you will intervene (meddle) and end the fight by grabbing one of the dogs by his ears, you will be sorry.
c. The dog will not thank you for rescuing him. He will bite you for interfering in a dispute that had nothing to do with you.
d. Over the years I have received a good number of phone calls from well-meaning believers from other assemblies who have tried to draw me into a dispute among believers in their church and to take sides.
e. I stay away from such disputes that have nothing to do with me. I like to think of this proverb. It’s like grabbing a dog by the ears. No thank you!
3. I can’t read this proverb without thinking of President Lyndon Johnson, who infamously picked up his beagles by their ears to show them off. (That was in the days before PETA.)
a. Solomon uses this illustration to teach us a lesson in dealing with controversy and strife among men… human beings. (We humans behave somewhat like dogs!)
b. Sometimes the best way to deal with strife and controversy of others is to STAY OUT!
c. Don’t stick your nose into someone else’s business.
d. Even if you mean well, and intend to help, the parties involved may interpret your “help” as “meddling” and they may BITE you for interfering.
e. Jumping into the heat of someone else’s argument is not a good idea.
f. I Peter 4:16 – makes a clear distinction between “suffering as a busybody in other men’s matters” and “suffering as a Christian.”
g. If others are disputing and arguing about things that are none of our business, but we are aware of the dispute, the best thing we can do is to take it to the Lord in prayer.
h. Be ready with words of wisdom when asked.
i. A word spoken “in due season, how good it is!”
Proverbs 26:18-19
The Bad Neighbor
Introduction:
1. Our proverb tonight deals with yet another form of bad behavior: the bad neighbor.
2. This proverb speaks of a man who makes trouble—and then excuses his bad behavior by saying, he was only kidding.
18 As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death…
1. Solomon speaks of a “mad man.”
a. The root word here means “to burn; to set on fire”; it is used of a rabid animal; it is used of irrational and senseless behavior;
b. The “mad man” Solomon describes here is a person who like a rabid animal burns inwardly with irrational behavior.
2. The mad man is casting dangerous things around:
a. “Firebrands” – a flash of fire or sparks.
• Perhaps this is a reference to a mad man who goes around lighting fires.
• It could be taken literally; or perhaps more likely, figuratively. Wherever he goes he lights fires of controversy and trouble… leaving a wake of smoke and fire in his path of destruction.
b. Arrows – He shoots arrows… either literally or figuratively.
• He may have literally shot arrows at his neighbor’s goat.
• Or he may be the kind of person who shoots off arrows of contention… arrows of gossip… arrows of backbiting… etc.
• One way or another, he is the neighbor who causes harm and damage every time he comes around.
c. Death – This term speaks of death or pestilence.
• And once again, this could be understood either literally or figuratively.
• Perhaps for fun he uses his neighbor’s goats for target practice… just for fun.
• Or perhaps he casts forth words of death and pestilence… hateful words… pestilent words…
• The term can also be understood as describing the firebrands and arrows – firebrands and arrows of death.
19 So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?
A. Deceiving His Neighbor
1. The illustration above is designed to teach us about a real life situation – a man who deceives his neighbor.
2. Deceives: Delude; betrays; beguiles; mislead; to lie; to deal craftily; pulling a trick on someone.
3. Deceiving one’s neighbor:
a. The term “deceives” implies that this is more threatening and malicious than an innocent and harmless practical joke.
b. Deception is involved.
4. The man described here is a troublemaker.
a. Like a mad man randomly shooting arrows, this man causes insult, harm, or injury deceptively.
B. Saying, “Am not I in Sport?”
1. The term translated “sport” means derision; laughter; making merry; mocking; playing; a game; to have fun.
2. Judges 16:27 – The same word is used of Samson when he became the “sport” for the Philistines. He was there to be mocked and ridiculed. This was clearly malicious and carried out with cruel intent.
3. The “merry making” of the man in our proverb is not done in good humor.
a. It is done to deceive. The man is lying.
b. His purpose is to harm and cause grief—which to him is funny… but certainly not to those he harms along the way.
4. Ecc. 3:4 – Solomon taught that there is a time for “laughter” (same word).
a. Joking, laughter, and merrymaking are all good in their place.
b. There is a time and place for everything.
c. Evidently, the occasion Solomon describes in our proverb is NOT such an occasion. The bad neighbor was laughing and making sport at an inappropriate time.
5. The one “making sport” in our proverb also makes jokes that are themselves inappropriate and in bad taste.
a. It is not just the timing that is inappropriate, but the jokes themselves are not appropriate.
b. Others do not think they are funny.
c. His jokes may be funny to him, but not to others.
d. To others this man and his humor are more like a wild arsonist going about lighting fires randomly… or a mad archer shooting arrows randomly. There is nothing funny about that.
e. Like one who lights fires and shoots arrows—he causes trouble and damage everywhere he goes… death and pestilence follow in his wake.
f. Eph. 5:4 – Some jesting can be evil—and immoral.
• Don’t misread this passage. Paul is not saying that jesting is immoral or “not convenient” (inappropriate).
• He is not condemning all jesting or joking.
• Rather, he is condemning the KIND of jesting that is inappropriate… which in context implies filthy jesting about inappropriate subjects.
6. Merely SAYING that “I am in sport” does not reverse any damage done.
a. Young people engage themselves in this kind of “humor” all the time.
b. They buy cans of spray paint to draw graffiti all over town—just for fun. But the homeowners and city officials don’t think it’s so funny.
c. They light fires in abandoned homes around the city and think it is a riot—but the fire fighters who risk their lives to put it out don’t find it very humorous.
d. They throw rocks or snowballs at cars… and cause accidents.
e. They go through a parking lot and slash tires and get a real kick out of it.
f. And then when caught their lame excuse is, “I didn’t mean to do any damage. We were only playing. It was only a joke.”
g. The judge who hears their lame excuse is probably not going to be swayed by their defense.
h. They think they are just harmless jokesters; but in reality, they are more like dangerous mad men.
i. It is true that they probably had not thought through all the damage and hurt that might ensue after their little escapade, but that is not an excuse.
• That only exacerbates the problem: they are thoughtless… mindless…
• With just a little thought, they could have avoided all that harm and damage.
7. Or what of the deceiver who figuratively cast firebrands at their neighbors by gossiping about them… spreading lies about them… or cheats them in a business deal—and then attempt to excuse their behavior (when caught) by saying it was just a joke?
a. If someone tells lies about another person as a joke (saying he’s an illegal immigrant; he’s gay; or he’s on drugs; etc.) it can do much harm.
b. The damage is already done. This is just like when you light a fire, the damage is already done.
c. To say that it was done in jest does not bring the burned down barn back… nor does it restore one’s reputation.
8. Matthew Henry said that “if men would consider that a lie comes from the devil… that would surely spoil the SPORT of it.”
a. God holds the man accountable to whose form of amusement causes damage and harm to others.
b. The difference between the madman casting arrows wildly and the man who deceives his neighbor in a “joke” is that the madman is not responsible for his actions; but the deceptive jokester is.
c. Another note of contrast between the madman and the one who makes sport at other’s expense is the fact that everybody knows that a mad man with arrows is dangerous; but the jokester can also be just as dangerous and damaging. It doesn’t make that much difference to the one who is injured or harmed!
9. On a lighter note, this passage also can be applied to a more harmless scenario: practical jokes.
a. While Solomon seemed to have something more sinister in mind (cruel jesting) in our proverb, it can certainly be applied to relatively harmless practical jokes.
b. Not everyone appreciates them. Be sensitive to the situation… to the personalities involved as to whether it is appropriate or not.
c. Also be careful that it does not result in bodily harm… or damage to property… or puts others at risk.
d. To throw a gallon of paint on a person as he walks out the door might seem funny to those throwing the paint—but it could damage his eyesight… it could damage property… and it will ruin his clothes. In other words THINK before you play a practical joke.
e. And remember that there is a time and place for everything… but in the wrong place or at the wrong time a practical joke can be completely inappropriate—and not appreciated by anyone.
f. Amusement at the expense of others is not always funny.
g. There is such a thing as crossing the line between harmless humor and mischief that causes harm.
h. Prov. 10:23 – “It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.” Use wisdom. It takes wisdom and discernment to recognize the difference between harmless fun… and mischief that hurts.
Proverbs 26:20-21
Wood, Coal, and Fire
Introduction:
1. Verses 20-21 both speak about strife and use the analogy of the relationship between fuel and fire.
2. Verse 20 speaks of how to put a fire out.
3. Verse 21 speaks of how to keep a fire burning.
How to Stop a Fight (vs.20)
1. The illustration:
20a Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out:
a. Solomon makes a statement here that everyone can understand. No one would ever object to or argue with the logic of this statement.
b. I have heated my house with wood for almost 30 years (now with wood pellets). If I don’t keep my stove stocked up with food, the fire goes out. I know exactly what Solomon means.
c. Perhaps you have been to the church camping trip and have sat around the campfire. If the fire is not replenished with wood, it goes out.
d. And it doesn’t really matter what kind of fuel you use (wood; pellets; oil; etc.) – When the fuel is gone, the fire dies out.
e. And take this illustration one step further.
• When the fire dies out… the heat dies out.
• This seems to be implied in the illustration.
• Remove the fuel and the fire dies out… and so does the heat subside.
• Without continually supplying a wood stove with wood, the fire goes out… and the house gets cold. The HEAT dies down.
• There is a direct connection between adding fuel and heat.
• Without fuel there is no fire; without fire there is no heat.
• That is the main point of the illustration Solomon uses here.
2. The application:
20b So where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
a. Solomon applies the illustration to the talebearer and strife.
b. Talebearer:
• Whisperer; expressing discontent in low tones; grumbler; complainer.
• Gossiper; slanderer; one who harms others by attacking them verbally falsely.
• It indicates a person who whispers things that will harm others, things that should be kept secret.
c. Usage of the term talebearer:
• Prov. 16:28 – “A whisperer (same word) separates chief friends.”
» One who whispers things they shouldn’t can do a lot of damage to relationships between and among people.
» I have felt the effects of this before—and it can be painful.
» It needlessly destroys friendships and relationships.
» Just as fire and heat can burn down a house, a talebearer and a whisperer can ruin interpersonal relationships.
» It creates heat and friction and ruins friendships.
d. Solomon’s point in Prov. 26:20:
• Talebearers are like fuel that keeps the strife going.
• Strife: Discord; contention; brawling; dissension; dispute; argument; verbal fight; quarrel.
• Just as it takes fuel to keep a fire going, it takes a talebearer… a gossiper… a whisperer… a grumbler to keep an argument or contention going.
• If you want the fire to go out; stop adding fuel to the fire.
• If you want contention to cease, get rid of the talebearer!
• Prov. 22:10 – “Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.”
e. This principle works in any setting!
• At school:
» In any group of kids at school there is usually one troublemaker. There is one in every crowd.
» There is usually someone who is always saying things and causing strife to an otherwise peaceful group.
» This person gets his kicks out of stirring up trouble verbally and turning one student against another.
» If you are in a group like that—then follow Solomon’s advice: avoid the talebearer. Don’t invite him to activities—even if people think he’s cool.
» He is the fuel to the fire. Stop adding fuel and the fire goes out.
• Home:
» This works at home too.
» Whether it is contention between husband and wife or among the kids… if you stop adding fuel to the fire, the fire will go out—and the heat and friction will be over—relatively quickly… without having to spend $120.00 per hour at a counselor’s office.
• Office:
» There is usually one trouble maker at work that causes heat and friction in the office.
» Do you want the fire to go out? Do you want the contention to cease?
» Then identify the “talebearer—whisperer—backbiter” and then do whatever is appropriate in that setting to get rid of him or her.
• The church:
» The church is certainly not exempt from this kind of strife.
» Our adversary would LOVE to light a local assembly on fire and burn it down!
f. Consider this aspect of human nature:
• When an argument is going on, it is human nature to demand the last word… to get in the last jab or dig.
• And as long as two people have that attitude, the contention will NEVER end.
• One last jab adds just a little more fuel to the fire—and then again the other side throws in one last jab… and on and on it goes.
g. To STOP the argument – someone has to swallow their pride and allow the other person to have the last word… and leave it at that.
• That takes humility… selflessness… but it WORKS every time.
• If the other person is really stubborn, he may want the last 10 words… but eventually, if you don’t fight back, he will grow tired of arguing with himself and cease.
• Eventually—and relatively quickly—the fire will go out… the heat will die down… and the contention ceases.
h. But beware: even after a fire dies down and the flames cease, it may simmer for a while.
• The embers may remain hot for some time after the flames and the fire go out.
• Don’t assume that since you stopped retaliating and it worked—the flames and the fire died down… don’t assume that it’s safe to throw another log on the fire… to get your final jab in AFTER the strife ceased.
• Long after the flames of the fire have ceased, the embers can still be very hot under the surface of ashes… and can quickly start ANOTHER fire.
3. This principle of not adding fuel to the fire works every time.
a. Fire really does require fuel to burn.
b. Arguments really do require words… jabs… digs… gossip… etc. to continue.
c. Without the fuel, the fire dies down, and the heat dissipates—every single time.
d. It takes but a tiny spark to get a massive fire going but it takes fuel to KEEP it going.
e. A little spark will start a fire; a little wisdom will cause it to cease.
21 As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.
How to Start a Fight (vs.21)
1. Verse 21 deals with the very same subject as verse 20, but from the opposite angle. Solomon wanted to cover all bases so that no one would miss his point.
2. Verse 20 spoke of strife CEASING.
3. Verse 21 speaks of strife being KINDLED.
4. Kindle:
a. Physical burning: To glow; to melt; burn; dried up; scorched.
b. Metaphorical burning: To incite passion; to be angry; burn in anger.
c. Obviously, Solomon uses the term in a metaphorical sense.
• Since he is using the analogy of comparing strife to fire, this is the perfect word to use.
• Just as a fire is kindled and sparks into a flame, so too, arguments and contention are kindled… like a fire.
5. Here Solomon states that coal and/or wood are needed to kindle a fire and get it started.
a. So too, at takes a contentious man to kindle strife—and get it started.
b. The contentious man is likened to the spark that gets a fire going.
c. Solomon traces the STARTING of strife to its source: a contentious man (or woman).
d. Contentious:
• Brawling; given to strife and dissension.
• This is the KIND of person who is at the source of the strife—whether in the church, at home, the office, etc.
6. In verses 20-21, the contentious man is compared to the talebearer.
a. Solomon’s point is that this kind of person STARTS the fire (contention). (vs.21)
b. And if he is removed, then the fire will go out. (vs.20)
Proverbs 26:22
The Words of a Talebearer
Introduction:
1. Solomon has been speaking about a talebearer in this section.
a. Verse 20 speaks of how to put a fire out started by a talebearer: get rid of the talebearer and the strife ceases.
b. Verse 21 speaks of how to keep a fire started by a talebearer burning. (The words of a talebearer are like coals to burning embers or wood to a fire – they keep the fire burning.)
c. Verse 22 adds another dimension of meaning to tale bearing.
22a The words of a talebearer
1. The term “talebearer”
a. This is the same term used in verse 20.
b. Talebearer defined:
• Whisperer; expressing discontent in low tones; grumbler; complainer.
• Gossiper; slanderer; one who harms others by attacking them verbally falsely.
• It indicates a person who whispers things that will harm others, things that should be kept secret.
2. The term “words”
a. This term implies words, speech, and has a wide range of meanings associated with it.
b. It can refer to writings; manners; activities; a report; advice; business affairs.
c. With respect to a talebearer, the concept of words is most natural.
d. However, the term is broad enough to include other means by which a talebearer can inflict harm.
e. You can be talebearer without saying a word. You can write a letter and be a talebearer.
f. You can send an email and be a talebearer.
g. You can post a blog and be a talebearer—to an even wider audience.
h. You can put a post on Facebook and be a talebearer.
i. You can be a talebearer simply by repeating what someone else said and acting as an innocent third party. (That is pretty much the concept behind the English translation – talebearer – one who bears a tale to others.)
j. You don’t have to be the original source of the tale to be a talebearer. All you have to be is one of the little links that bears it along… carries it to along to others… who will carry it along to others.
3. Technology is great. We have many fabulous means of communication today that were not existent in Solomon’s day.
a. They can be used for good. (Arabic Bible Outreach Ministry uses the internet to reach Muslims for Christ; Salem Bible Church and many other church websites promote the gospel and sound doctrine beyond our region.)
b. But technology can also be used for evil. Using it as an electronic talebearer is evil.
c. And it is far worse than the old-fashioned methods in Solomon’s day.
d. Gossip has always spread relatively quickly.
e. But in Solomon’s day slander and gossip spread from one person to another. And it required willing links all along the way – the willing slanderer and the willing ear. If one party refused, the gossip chain was broken and discontinued until another link was found.
f. But today, gossip can be spread to thousands of people all at once—in a second’s time. And it does not always require willing links. Sometimes connections are made automatically.
g. The words of a talebearer are no different in NATURE today than they were in Solomon’s day.
h. But the means of communicating them are MUCH quicker and farther reaching; they can be spread around the world in a moment of time.
i. And there is another danger with electronic tale bearing that people in Solomon’s day didn’t have to worry about. In fact, people in your parents’ generation didn’t have to worry about.
j. In the olden days of tale bearing, there was an extra layer of prevention that doesn’t exist in today’s electronic tale bearing: face to face contact.
k. In Solomon’s day—and granddad’s day, to gossip, you had to look another person in the eye and repeat the gossip. It was done face to face.
l. That made it just a little more difficult to gossip. There was always the possibility of being called on the carpet for it.
m. But today, texts, emails, Facebook, etc. send out gossip and slander without having to look someone in the eye… and with no opportunity for a follow up question (what do you mean by that?).
n. Personal contact has been entirely removed. It can become cold and impersonal…
o. Instead of being whispered in an ear, they are broadcast worldwide on the web with the click of a button.
p. And very often, emails are sent out without as much forethought that goes into an old fashioned letter. People are not very careful about their wording in emails. That can be problematic too.
q. And once you click the button, it is irreversible.
r. And then there is the possibility of hitting “reply to all” by accident.
s. Yes, technology is great—but it comes with some real dangers.
t. Technology can greatly amplify the words of a talebearer.
22b Are as wounds…
1. The words of a talebearer are as “laham” (Hebrew word translated wounds).
a. Regardless of how those words were communicated, Solomon states that they are like laham.
2. “Wounds”
a. The KJV and Young’s Translation stand alone in translating this word as “wounds.”
b. It is not a textual issue. The Hebrew word is not disputed; but the meaning of the word is.
c. Virtually every Hebrew dictionary consulted defined the term “laham” as: something gulped; swallowed greedily; a dainty morsel eaten; tidbit of food that is easy to consume.
d. Obviously, these definitions will completely change the meaning of the proverb.
e. Hence, it is probably not possible to be dogmatic.
f. Both translations make perfect sense.
3. Laham as a “wound”
a. Then Solomon is saying that gossip and talebearing HURTS.
b. It is a deep hurt that goes into the very gut of a person and does not heal very quickly or easily.
c. This truth is certainly repeated often in the scriptures. Words are referred to as swords that pierce and wound.
d. Prov. 12:18 – “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword…”
e. Psalm 52:2 – “Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.”
22b The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
f. Unfortunately, we have all been hurt by the words of others… sometimes deeply—like a sword in the innermost part of the belly.
g. And also—we have probably all hurt others with our thoughtless and caustic words… deeply!
4. Laham as a “dainty morsel”
a. This also makes perfect sense in the proverb.
b. If the term is translated this way, the whole meaning of the proverb is changed.
c. This would mean that Solomon is saying that the words of a talebearer are like dainty morsels to the hearer.
d. In other words, just like people love to gulp down delicious foods, so too people love to gulp down gossip and slander.
e. People are more than eager to listen to slander.
5. Consider the various translations of this proverb:
a. Young’s: The words of a talebearer are as self-inflicted wounds, and they have gone down to the inner parts of the heart.
b. This follows the KJV. All others consulted do not.
c. NASB: The words of a talebearer are as dainty morsels and they go down into the innermost parts of the body.
d. Darby: The words of a talebearer are as dainty morsels, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
e. ESV: The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.
f. NET: The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels; they go down into a person’s innermost being.
g. Holman Bible: A gossip’s words are like choice food that goes down to one’s innermost being.
h. Virtually all Bible dictionaries consulted translated the term as “something gulped down”; dainty morsels; only one gave the definition of a “wound.”
6. Translating the Hebrew word (laham) as “dainty morsels” implies that people LOVE gossip. This is also certainly true.
a. People love to hear gossip. They eat it up like candy. It is a delicacy that everyone loves.
b. And people are eager to gobble it up too.
c. That seems to be the sense of the proverb when the term is translated “a dainty morsel.”
d. Gossip is appealing. We say, “We just heard a juicy story”—as if it were something juicy and delicious like a juicy steak to sink your teeth into.
e. Like delicious, mouthwatering food, it’s hard to say no to gossip.
f. Dainty morsels are gobbled up and go down into the innermost part of the belly to be digested.
g. So too, gossip is gobbled up… swallowed… and meditated upon.
7. Think of this meaning in light of today’s new ways to gossip electronically.
a. People love to gossip, but may be reluctant to do so eyeball to eyeball. The face to face personal contact involved prevented some folks from gossiping for fear of being caught.
b. But various electronic means, especially social networking sites, offer an easy way to gulp down gossip without eye to eye contact… in a third party sort of way… like you were eavesdropping and never had to worry about being discovered!
c. You can engage in gulping down gossip all day long in the privacy of your own home without any chance of being seen—that is except being seen by the eyes of the Lord.
d. Prov. 15:3 – “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”
8. The Bible is sufficient for dealing with this new version of an old problem. God’s word is all we need for life and godliness.
9. Prov. 11:13 – “A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.”
Proverbs 26:23-26
Hypocrisy
Introduction:
1. Unlike many earlier chapters, this section of Proverbs has some context to it.
2. We have clusters of proverbs on a single theme.
a. Vs. 1-12 dealt with the fool
b. Vs. 13-16 dealt with the sluggard
c. Vs. 17-22 dealt with the one who stirs up controversy
d. Vs. 23-26 deal with hypocrisy
23 Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross.
The Illustration of Hypocrisy (vs. 23)
1. Solomon begins this section by likening the lips and heart of a man (woman, or child) to a piece of glazed pottery.
a. In the illustration, the lips and heart are like a potsherd.
b. A potsherd is an old clay pot… clay pottery. It was clay (earthenware) baked in the sun.
c. They were exceedingly common, not very attractive, and not very valuable.
d. But the illustration continues: The lips and heart of this man are like a cheap potsherd that is covered in silver dross… a beautiful glaze that is put over the pottery to make it look attractive… to make it look valuable…
e. In other words, this cheap, ugly piece of earthenware is covered up by a glaze that hides what the vessel really is.
f. It looks good on the outside—but is cheap clay on the inside.
2. The illustration is nearly identical in meaning to the illustration the Lord Jesus gave of the Scribes and Pharisees.
a. Matt. 23:25-26 – They were hypocrites, like a filthy cup and platter that were washed on the outside, dirty on the inside.
b. Matt. 23:27-28 – They were hypocrites, like a whitewashed tomb – that appeared fresh and clean on the outside, but on the inside was a rotting corpse.
c. Jesus speaks of hypocrisy of religious men in terms of that which puts on a good front externally, but only to hide the filth on the inside.
d. Solomon uses yet another illustration to make the same point about hypocrisy: like a piece of clay (dirt) that is covered with a thin veneer – a shiny glaze.
3. Solomon says that this hypocrite has “burning lips”
a. Burning: Flaming; zealous; on fire; fervent. It is also used of flattering speech or smooth talk.
b. When he talks he appears to be “on fire” and zealous.
c. Some have interpreted this to mean lips that were burning with gossip or slander. (A legitimate view.)
d. However, in light of the illustration of hypocrisy, it is probably best to view this term as a reference to the man’s great zeal in talking about God and spiritual things. Or perhaps of lips burning with words of affection, love, and friendship.
e. Outwardly, he says all the right things. He sounds holy and religious.
4. However, Solomon also states that this man has a “wicked heart.”
a. The heart speaks of the INNER man.
b. On the OUTSIDE are words of reverence and holiness… he sounds religious and godly.
c. But on the inside it is a different story. On the inside is an evil heart.
d. Thus, his words are nothing more than hypocrisy.
e. He is like a cup that has been cleaned on the outside, but is filthy on the inside… or a tomb that has been whitewashed on the outside, but contains a rotting corpse on the inside…
f. Or to use the illustration in our proverb, like a cheap pot made of dirt, glazed over with a thin veneer – a thin glaze designed to cover up what’s really underneath.
24 He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him;
The Lips of a Hypocrite (vs. 24)
1. Solomon is really continuing the same proverbial thought (the same theme) in vs. 24-25.
2. The hypocrite dissembles with his lips.
a. Dissemble: To disguise; to make strange or act as a stranger or a foreigner; to pretend; (sometimes translated “feign”).
b. This is in essence the definition of a hypocrite: someone who pretends to be what he is not.
c. This man uses his lips (his speech) to pretend to be what he is not: good; kind; godly; holy; innocent; etc.
3. But he “lays up deceit within him”
a. He uses his lips to sound good and holy and pure, but it is only a deception. He is a phony.
b. On the outside are great sounding words.
c. On the inside is deceit.
d. Deceit: Deceit; dishonesty; treachery; deliberate misleading so as to give someone a false view.
e. The lips of a hypocrite are deceptive. What he says does not line up with what is on the inside… like the pretty glaze which covers up a clay pot… and all of its imperfections.
4. The deceit is that he actually HATES.
a. His heart is full of hate; but his mouth is full of deceit.
b. He pretends to be a great friend—but he really hates you.
c. He pretends to be a godly person—but he really hates God and the Bible.
d. He has purposely laid up deception in his heart in order to deceive outwardly.
• This implies an ulterior motive in his pretense.
• It may be to sell you a product; it may be woo an innocent girl into immorality; it may be to work his way up the corporate ladder;
• Perhaps he is just trying to avoid getting caught or exposed for what he really is.
25 When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart. 26 Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation.
The Heart of a Hypocrite (vs. 25)
1. Having described the deceptive lips of a hypocrite, now Solomon describes the evil heart of a hypocrite.
2. Continuing the same contrast between what he says and what is going on on the inside, Solomon now TELLS us what is really in his heart: seven abominations!
a. Seven: As in other proverbs, seven may be used in a symbolic sense here – the number of fullness or completion.
b. Abomination: Something disgusting; detestable; repulsive; abhorrent; that which is offensive.
c. The fact that he has seven abominations in his heart reveals that his heart is FULL of evil and repulsive thoughts, intentions, designs, and motives.
3. Yet, as disgusting as his heart is on the inside, he speaks fair.
a. His outward speech is “fair”: Merciful; gracious; favorable; charming.
b. The hypocrite has mastered the art of sounding like a kind, gracious, compassionate, and merciful person.
4. Solomon’s warning: Don’t believe him!
a. This man is a hypocrite; a liar; a deceiver.
b. Don’t fall for his hypocrisy.
c. The term translated believe here means: To support; to make firm; to establish; to trust; to count someone reliable; trustworthy or true.
d. Don’t consider this man to be worthy of support; don’t consider this person to be firm, solid, or well established. Don’t consider this person to be reliable or truthful.
e. He is a bold faced liar… so don’t fall for his deception.
5. Of course this proverb is valuable true and the warning is exceedingly helpful; however, it poses somewhat of a problem for us as Christians.
a. We are NOT to judge the hearts of men.
b. No one knows a man’s heart besides the Lord.
c. All we can judge is the outward appearance: his demeanor; his words; his works.
d. We cannot know the hidden things of his heart, like his motives.
e. I Sam. 16:7 – “But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
6. Solomon’s proverb is not calling us to judge a man’s heart.
a. That is beyond our ability.
b. But he is warning us that such people exist.
c. Sometimes people over time prove themselves to be hypocrites.
d. Be aware; be careful; don’t put your trust in such a person.
Proverbs 26:26
Hatred Covered by Deceit
Introduction:
1. In this proverb, Solomon continues speaking about hypocrisy.
2. In the previous verses, Solomon spoke about (1) vs. 23 – the illustration of hypocrisy [a cheap piece of pottery with a thin veneer of glaze] (2) vs. 23-24 – the lips of a hypocrite; (3) vs. 25 the heart of a hypocrite.
3. In verse 26, Solomon speaks about the ultimate exposure of the sin of the hypocrite.
26a Whose hatred is covered by deceit
Hatred Covered by Deceit
1. In this proverb, Solomon continues the same theme of hypocrisy.
a. In this verse, he describes hypocrisy as hatred covered up by deceit.
b. This is the classic example of hypocrisy: that which is really going on on the inside has no relationship to what is portrayed on the outside.
c. The hypocrite is a master of disguise. He is a master at hiding his true feelings. He is a master of putting on a good front.
2. What’s on the inside: Hatred
a. Hatred defined:
• Malice; a very strong dislike with accompanying feelings of hostility and actions of opposition.
• Theological Workbook of the Old Testament: Hatred is an “emotional attitude toward persons and things which are opposed, detested, despised and with which one wishes to have no contact or relationship. It is therefore the opposite of love. Whereas love draws and unites, hate separates and keeps distant. The hated and hating persons are considered foes or enemies and are considered odious, utterly unappealing.”
3. Usage:
a. Hatred towards God:
• Ex. 20:5 – This passage speaks of a man’s hatred towards God—expressed in bowing to an idol—in outward defiance of the Lord.
• Giving your love, affection, and devotion to another is called “hating” God.
• That is easily covered up with a religious front… a religious veneer…
b. Hatred manifested in outward violence:
• Num. 35:20 – Thrusting someone through out of hatred. (Intentional, premeditated murder out of hatred, as opposed to manslaughter by accident – no hatred.)
• Hatred can lead to murder… but doesn’t always manifest itself overtly.
• Jesus said hating your brother without a cause is the same kind of sin as murder.
• That kind of hatred can be easily covered up.
c. Hatred does not always lead to violence.
• Prov. 10:18 – hiding hatred with lying lips
• Ps. 103:9 = Words of hatred—Hatred is not always overt. It can be disguised and covered up.
d. Hatred manifested in the home:
• Prov. 13:24 – sparing the rod = hating one’s son.
» That kind of hatred is easily covered up with emotion, hugs, tears, a phony love that is unwilling to do what is best for the child.
» That is a veneer covering up what God refers to as hating one’s son.
• Prov. 15:17 – Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.
» Hatred can be manifested in the home too. This proverb implies that money and material things is at the root of the hatred.
» People fight over money—husbands and wives fight over money.
» Solomon’s point here is that it is better not to have any money and to learn to be content in poverty rather than to have abundance when it is accompanied by hatred… bickering… fighting… and no love or peace.
» A love for money and things is a very poor substitute for a love for one another.
4. Nevertheless, hatred is often covered over by deceit.
a. Cover defined:
• A cloak; a garment. The purpose of clothing was to cover up. Hence, the words for clothing and “cover up” are the same.
• Clothing was a covering because people often hid things in their clothing—like a thief who takes items off the shelf in a store and stuffs it under his coat.
• It comes to mean a cover; something concealed; to hide something.
b. I Pet. 2:16 – “not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness.” As clothing (cloak was used to cover up the body, so the hypocrite uses a twisted concept of liberty to cover up what is really going on in his heart: sinful maliciousness.
c. Deceit defined: Guile; deception; misleading; causing someone to believe something that is not true or accurate.
d. Solomon does a masterful job at defining hypocrisy as covering up that which is in our heart through intentional deceit: purposely misleading others.
e. Here the hypocrite is hiding hatred, malice, and wickedness in his heart.
f. In verse 25 we are told not to believe the hypocrite’s words because they are but a cover for the seven abominations in his heart.
5. In this part of the proverb, Solomon highlights a unique skill that we sinners have developed and mastered: the art of deception and hypocrisy.
a. The most vile heart attitudes can be covered up with a thin veneer, like a thin glaze over a cheap piece of cracked pottery.
b. Seven abominations can be completely covered from sight… and even made to look good with a smiley face.
c. Hatred can be covered up so well that it comes across as friendly, affectionate, and loving.
d. If the hypocrite is good at his trade, he can hide things so well, that no one would ever know—no one would ever suspect that he is actually covering up hatred.
e. Last time we noted that Solomon WARNS us that such people exist. We are also reminded that only the Lord can know their heart. We can judge by outward appearances only… and outward appearances are often deceptive.
26b His wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation.
1. Solomon now states that, although we are not able to know anyone’s heart, and although some men and women have become masters of hiding what’s in their heart, we are now told that eventually, the wickedness in their heart will be SHEWED.
a. Shewed: Uncovered; laid bare; revealed; disclosed; published; made known.
b. Eventually his cover will be blown. Eventually his hypocrisy will be exposed. Eventually he will slip up in an unguarded moment and his true feelings will be revealed—overtly.
c. Hatred has a way of boiling up and over. It is hard to contain forever.
2. “Before the whole congregation.”
a. This speaks of a PUBLIC exposure of the hypocrite.
b. Eventually righteousness will prevail.
c. People eventually begin to see through his lies, deception, and see this man for the hypocrite that he is.
d. In other words, a hypocrite may have mastered the art of deception, and he may be able fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time—yet he will not be able to fool all the people all the time.
e. Eventually he will be exposed… revealed. His cover will be blown.
f. When there are seven abominations in the heart… and seething hatred, it will eventually boil over.
3. Prov. 28:13 – He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
a. Covering up the sin of hatred in our heart will get you nowhere.
b. You cannot cover it up forever.
c. The right thing to do is to examine our own hearts and expose sin found there for what it is… confess it as sin… and deal with it: forsake it!
d. Be honest, and transparent with God. There is no deceiving God even for a moment.
e. Heb. 4:13 – “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”
Proverbs 26:27
Digging a Pit for Oneself
Introduction:
1. So far, this chapter has been arranged in clusters of verses which speak of a single topic or theme.
2. There has been somewhat of a context in this chapter.
3. The last cluster of verses (23-26) dealt with the subject of hypocrisy.
4. Some see the last two verses of this chapter continuing the same theme.
a. That is certainly a possibility and may have been Solomon’s intention in placing these verses here.
b. However, they also stand alone as individual proverbs which can be applied in many other settings, other than simply hypocrisy.
27a Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: 27band he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.
The Basic Meaning of the Two Illustrations
A. Digging a Pit and Falling In
1. This situation pictures a man who is digging a pit in order to catch someone or something.
2. Pits were often dug to catch a large animal – like a trap. A flimsy cover would be placed over the pit to make it look like solid ground, and the animal would fall in.
3. Of course, one could also dig a pit to trap another human being.
4. But whatever the specific purpose of digging the pit was, the ultimate purpose was that it function as a snare and a trap.
5. Falling into the pit that one dug speaks of a man who seeks to trap others and finds that he himself is the one who ends up falling in and getting trapped.
6. His plan to trap others backfired on him. It boomeranged and hit him in the head and he fell prey to this own cruel trap.
B. Rolling a Stone and Having It Return on You
1. This illustration teaches the very same lesson using a different illustration.
2. Here a man is rolling a stone in hopes of harming someone.
3. Perhaps it is being rolled to trap someone in a cave so they can’t get out and will die. Perhaps it is being rolled off a cliff to land on someone below.
4. But in this illustration, that stone that was intended to be rolled on someone else instead rolls back on the person rolling the stone.
5. Again, his plan backfired on him. He intended to crush someone else with the stone, but instead, he himself was crushed. The harm he intended to inflict on others fell upon him.
C. “You Reap What You Sow”
1. Both illustrations teach this same truth.
2. This is such a common concept it is found in literature worldwide:
a. Ancient Proverb – “Before you begin on the journey of revenge, dig two graves.”
b. Shakespeare: “The wheel is come full circle.”
c. Latin proverb – “He prepares evil for himself who plots mischief for others.”
d. Japanese proverb: “All evil done clings to the body.”
e. American proverb: “What goes around comes around.”
3. The difference between this principle in the book of Proverbs and other literature:
a. The Bible is inspired by God; the others are not.
b. The principle found in the Bible is based on the Providence and Sovereignty of God—not on fate, or the gods, mother earth, or karma.
c. Universally men have noticed that this seems to happen with great frequency. It has become proverbial in every land.
d. And also almost universally, men attribute it to the wrong source—anything but the true and living God.
e. While the principle mentioned in Proverbs 26:27 is not always true in this life, it IS always true from eternity’s perspective.
f. Not in every case does a man who sets a trap for another person fall into his own trap in this life. Sometimes wicked men seem to get away with their wickedness in this life.
g. But ultimately divine justice will catch up to that man. He will experience divine wrath for his evil work at the Great White Throne Judgment Seat.
‘You reap what you sow’ found throughout the Bible:
1. Gal. 6:7-8 – you reap what you sow.
a. This is the expression we all know.
b. It sums up the principle well using an analogy from farming that everyone can easily understand.
c. Paul applies it to living in the flesh – one reaps the fruit of the flesh.
2. Ps. 7:15-16: “He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. 16His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.”
a. In this psalm, David is writing about his enemies.
b. They seek mischief against him; but he knows that when they dig a pit, they shall fall into it.
c. In other words, he is trusting in God to providentially deal with his enemies… either in this life or the life to come. He doesn’t have to take matters into his own hands.
3. Ps. 9:15-16 – “The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken. 16The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.”
a. Once again, David is writing of his enemies.
b. He trusts that they will sink into the pits they have dug for him.
c. David trusts that the wicked will be snared in the works of his own hands – the very snare they made with their own hands will ensnare them.
4. Ps. 10:2 – “The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.”
a. In this psalm, the wicked are persecuting the poor.
b. The psalmist is praying that God would judge the enemies by causing them to be taken in their own devices.
5. Ecc. 10:8 – “He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.”
a. Here again is a proverbial statement in which Solomon says the wicked man falls into the pit he dug for others.
b. Then he uses another illustration of a man who breaks up a person’s hedge… which often served as a wall of protection for a man’s household against wild animals.
c. The enemy who seeks to break up the hedge that the man’s household might be harmed is harmed himself: a serpent bites him.
6. This concept is found often in the poetic portions of God’s Word.
7. We read examples of it in the historical narratives of the Old Testament:
a. Haman was hanged on the very gallows he had built to hang his enemy.
b. The presidents who schemed to have Daniel cast into the den of lions were themselves cast into the den of lions.
8. It is like the justice of the law: an eye for an eye – the harm you seek for others will be your own punishment.
9. There is a perfect sense of justice in this which every open and honest mind will see and agree.
“You reap what you sow” in Proverbs:
1. Prov. 1:18-19 – Thieves, criminals, and violent men who lay in wait to harm others invariably find that they are actually laying in wait for their own blood.
2. Prov. 1:30 – Those who reject Lady Wisdom’s good advice shall eat the fruit of their own way; filled with their own devices.
3. Prov. 12:13 – “The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble.”
4. Prov. 14:14 – The backslider shall be filled with his own ways.
5. Prov. 18:7 – His lips are the snare of his soul.
6. Prov. 28:10 – The one who leads others astray shall fall into his own pit.
7. Solomon has brought up this same principle over and over again in this book – in many different settings: criminals; violent men; fools who reject wisdom; backsliders; gossipers; those who plot evil against others.
8. And while the principle may be worded in many various ways, the same principle applies.
The possible connection to the previous verses in this context
1. As we noted, the last cluster of verses (23-26) dealt with the subject of hypocrisy and deception—especially with the tongue.
a. It is very possible that Solomon intended for the last two verses of this chapter to be a continuation of the same theme.
b. In other words, Solomon would be applying the principle of “you reap what you sow” to the hypocrite and the deceiver.
c. They too shall reap what they sow.
2. Vs. 26 – Deceitful hatred will ultimately be exposed (showed before the whole congregation.)
a. You can’t get away with hypocrisy and deception forever.
b. Eventually the chickens come home to roost.
c. You reap what you sow.
Proverbs 26:28
Lying Flattery
Introduction:
1. Chapter 26 ends with a relatively lengthy section on hypocrisy and deception.
2. The section began with vs. 23.
a. Vs. 23 – Hypocrisy is like a cheap piece of pottery covered with a thin glaze… a thin veneer to hide what is underneath.
b. Vs. 24 – Lying with the lips to cover up deceit within the heart.
c. Vs. 25 – The hypocrite speaks fair, but seven abominations are in his heart.
d. Vs. 26 – The hatred in his heart is covered by deceit—but eventually his hypocrisy shall be exposed.
e. Vs. 27 – Eventually, he will be ensnared by his own doing—applied to the lying hypocrite—who will one day be caught – snared.
f. Vs. 28 – Now Solomon links lying and flattery – another form of hypocrisy and deception.
3. To help us understand this proverb, it should be noted that it comes in the form of a synonymous parallelism.
a. That means that the two parts of the proverb are saying the same thing—only in different wording.
b. The same event or concept is considered from two different angles.
c. Thus, the lying and the flattery are not two different evils (antithetical parallelism) in this passage, but are one and the same.
28a A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it…
1. The first part of this proverb makes a simple statement about the EFFECT of lying.
a. It is a form of hatred
• The one lying hates the ones to whom he is lying.
• Of course, the liar would deny this vociferously, but we have inspired Scripture which says the opposite.
• He does hate those to whom he lies. It is a form of hatred.
• Whenever we lie, we are sinning.
• We are sinning against God first and foremost, but we are also sinning against the one to whom we lied… and/or to the one about whom we lied.
• It shows utter contempt and disrespect towards the one lied to… a form of hatred. It is cruel hatred.
b. Also, lying is a form of affliction
• Afflict: Crushed; oppressed; harass; distress.
• Lying to a person is a form of oppression… it is a way of domineering a person’s belief’s and emotions.
• It is an attempt to control what he thinks by injecting lies into his mind. He seeks to bring the one lied to by attempting to subjugate his mind… by feeding him lies—things to worry about.
» Employers sometimes lie to their employees and to their customers. It is oppression.
» Employees sometimes lie to their bosses about the quality of work they did—when they were letting things slip by—and the company pays for it. It causes distress to the owners.
» Dishonest politicians sometimes lie to their supporters—it is a form of oppression: maintaining power over the masses through deception.
» People seek to oppress others (maintain a position of power over them) through lies. Lying is a form of affliction – oppression.
• Lying to a person often causes distress, pain, anguish, and suffering to the one to whom we lie.
» It might cause distress if our lie generates fear.
» He fears and is distressed over something that did not happen… over a lie!
» It causes untold stress and distress—unnecessarily.
• Think of all the anguish and emotional pain that has been inflicted on others because of lies.
» It is painful to discover that the people you have trusted and befriended have been lying to you behind your back.
» It is painful to discover that your children have been lying to you… or your siblings… or your coworkers…
» You feel duped, used, disrespected, and trampled over.
c. A lying tongue IS hatred; and it DOES afflict and injure. We have all felt it. We have all been injured by lies.
• Nobody likes to be tricked, cheated, or lied to.
• Solomon, the wise observer of human nature observed many people lying over the years. He recorded his findings: lying is a form of hatred and oppression.
28b And a flattering mouth worketh ruin.
1. Solomon now elaborates further on hypocrisy and the deception of lying by connecting it together with flattery.
2. Flattery: To be smooth; slippery; slick; used of smooth words – flattery.
3. Usage of the term translated “flattery”:
a. Ps. 12:2 – “They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
b. Ps. 55:21 – “The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.”
c. Ps. 5:9 – “For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.”
d. In both passages, that which was in the heart did not match that which rolled off the tongue. That is the essence of hypocrisy.
e. Flattery often masks what the person is really thinking.
• He says you look great—when he really thinks your outfit is ugly beyond words.
• He says he thinks you are an asset to the company, when he really is scheming for ways to have you laid off.
• His words are smooth (flattering) but war is in his heart.
f. Lying lips express inner hatred. Flattery is a lie—it too expresses hatred in the heart… that is covered up with sweet sounding words. Don’t be fooled by flattery.
g. There is a slanderous lie. Everyone recognizes that as an expression of hatred.
h. But there are also flattering lies. Not everyone recognizes those as expressions of hatred.
i. They are expressions of hatred because they result in ruin.
4. The EFFECT of flattering mouth: it worketh RUIN.
a. Ruin defined: Overthrow; cast down; means or occasion of stumbling; downfall; that which causes ruin, hurt, or destruction to others.
b. This is the effect of a flattery mouth.
• On the surface, flattery sounds smooth, gentle, nice, and sweet. Everyone loves to be flattered.
• But Solomon warns that often underneath the smooth words is something far more sinister: RUIN.
• Isa. 30:10 – “Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits.”
» The false prophets spoke smooth words—words that were pleasant—what everyone wanted to hear. They tickled the ears of the hearers.
» They WANTED to be told deceit. They did not want the truth for the truth hurts.
» And those who followed the advice of the false prophets were brought to ruin—both spiritually and physically.
c. Flattery brings ruin to everyone involved: both to the flatterer and to the victims of deceitful flattery.
• It brings ruin to the flatterer –
» For eventually he falls into his own pit (vs. 27).
» And eventually hypocrisy shall be exposed (vs. 26).
• It brings ruin to the one flattered—IF he believes it!
» Flattery encourages whatever behavior is flattered.
» For example, if a man with a horrible singing voice is flattered when he sings, he may believe the flattery and do special music every week. Flattery isn’t doing him any favors.
» Or if the color blind man who wears clothes that look terrible together is flattered, he may wear it again.
» Prov. 28:23 – “He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.”
» It is more loving and considerate to be honest… and even rebuke when necessary rather than to flatter.
» A rebuke is designed to result in correction. Flattery covers up and avoids correction.
» In the long run, flattery hurts, it doesn’t help.
» Prov. 27:6 – “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
• And flattery can lead to PRIDE—which leads to a fall.
» You may think you are being kind to a person through flattery but it could cause pride and thus harm.
» Prov. 29:5 – “A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.”
» Don’t spread a net for your neighbor through flattery. Honesty is always the best policy.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 27
Proverbs 27:1
Boast Not Thyself of Tomorrow
1a Boast not thyself of tomorrow;
1. In this statement Solomon notes one aspect of human nature: we tend to boast. There are countless applications of this truth.
2. Here, he is speaking about the tendency to boast about things that have not even happened yet—as if they were a sure thing.
a. We boast about our sports teams and how well they will do in the playoffs—before they even make it to the playoffs.
b. We boast about our kids—as if each of them will become president one day.
c. We boast about our businesses and careers.
d. We boast about our country and assume that we are not vulnerable to the issues that plague other nations; militarily and economically and socially—we tend to think that nothing can harm us. Other countries might fall—but not us!
e. As Christians, we boast about our walk with God. Somehow we manage to convince ourselves that other people may fall spiritually—but not me. I go to church and read my Bible. Nothing can happen to me tomorrow. I’m safe. I won’t fall.
3. There is a tendency sometimes to have an overly optimistic and rosy view of tomorrow.
4. And then there is the other issue of procrastinating today and boasting about tomorrow as if we will be able to do tomorrow what we put off today. But work piles up because tomorrow brought new difficulties we did not anticipate.
5. And of course, there is the issue of salvation: Today is the day of salvation. Boast not thyself of tomorrow! You may not have a tomorrow.
6. BOAST: Celebrate; glory in; praise; shine; rejoice; brag.
a. It is often used in a bad light:
• I Kings 20:9 – The King of Syria warned Ahab: “And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.”
• Ps. 49:6 – “They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches.”
• Ps. 10:3 – “For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.”
• The things we boast in are not always in harmony with the mind and will of God.
b. But the term boast is also used in a good light
• I Chron. 16:25 – “For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.” (same word)
• I Chron. 16:10 – “Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.”
• Ps. 34:2-3 – “My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. 3O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.”
• We are to “boast” in the Lord in the sense of glorying in Him; rejoicing in Him; praising Him; exulting in Him.
7. But Solomon is not talking about boasting in the Lord. He is talking about boasting about tomorrow…
a. He is talking about boasting about tomorrow and all the things that we envision tomorrow to bring… even if our vision is overly optimistic… and not in tune with reality.
8. We are told NOT to boast in tomorrow.
a. Don’t automatically assume that all will go as planned tomorrow.
b. Don’t automatically assume that all will be rosy tomorrow.
c. Don’t assume that your health will always be vibrant and strong.
d. Don’t assume that your finances will always increase.
e. Don’t assume that our country will be better off tomorrow than today.
f. And don’t assume that your life will be a bowl of cherries tomorrow.
g. Don’t glory and rejoice in all the good things you anticipate for tomorrow.
9. A proper reading of the New Testament does not encourage a believer to assume that the last days of the church age will be full of sunshine, happiness, and great success for churches that seek to honor God.
a. We are not told to boast in the fact that the spiritual and moral climate around us will continue to improve and be brighter tomorrow.
b. We are told to anticipate “perilous times” morally and spiritually. And we are beginning to see it.
c. We are told that evil men will “wax worse and worse.” We see that too.
d. Our boasting is not to be on the changeable earthly conditions of tomorrow.
e. Our boasting is to be in the Lord who changes not. We can always rejoice and glory in Him.
f. When we glory in what we anticipate to be “happy days” coming for tomorrow, we may be disappointed.
g. When we glory in the Lord, we are never disappointed.
h. Solomon challenges his readers to be realistic about tomorrow and earthly conditions.
i. Don’t boast in things that are temporal and can vanish away.
j. Jer. 9:23 – “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: 24But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD.” (same word for glory = boast)
10. It’s good for the believer to have bright hope for tomorrow when we understand tomorrow in a figurative sense (eternity).
a. Christians should be hopeful people—the most hopeful people.
b. Ultimately our future IS glorious and something we should be rejoicing in.
c. If we focus on eternity, then our glorying and rejoicing and boasting is well founded.
d. When we focus on tomorrow (the next day—or even the next few years on earth), we may become disenchanted and saddened.
e. Hope is good when it is well founded. We need hope. Our hope is in the Lord.
f. But hope that is not well founded can be dashed. And when our hopes are dashed, it can result in a loss of joy, sadness, discouragement, and even depression.
g. When we boast in our Blessed Hope—the coming of the Lord Jesus to bring us to glory, then we can experience real joy… even when earthly conditions are deplorable…
h. Hab. 3:17-18 – “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: 18Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
1b For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
1. Now Solomon gives the REASON why we are not to boast in tomorrow: Because we really don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow.
a. The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.
b. Even making the very best of plans, an unexpected health issue can change everything.
c. With the best business plans, we don’t know what will happen in the world economy tomorrow.
d. We don’t know if war will break out and change our tomorrows.
e. A natural disaster could occur and take us by surprise and change all our plans.
f. The stock market could crash.
g. You might come up with a great new invention and put all your eggs in that basket assuming it will bring in millions—only to have someone else invent something that makes your technology obsolete.
h. We really don’t know what will happen tomorrow.
i. Solomon’s advice is sound.
2. We DO know that all will be well in eternity with the Lord. We can boast and glory in that… in heavenly things.
3. But we DON’T know what will happen tomorrow here on earth.
a. We don’t know what earthly conditions will be like tomorrow.
b. Therefore we should not count our chickens before they hatch. We should not boast about tomorrow as if we were sovereign over circumstances in life.
4. We should not be presumptuous about tomorrow.
a. Don’t presume to know how things will turn out because we do not know.
b. It’s good to make plans for tomorrow.
c. But it is not good to be presumptuous and to boast as if we knew that our plans will work out perfectly. We don’t know that.
5. We should not BOAST about our tomorrows, as if we were in charge of world events.
a. Jas. 4:13-16 – They planned and gloried in their plans for tomorrow.
• Wise planning for tomorrow is good if God is in the center of it all; but all such boasting is evil.
• They seemed to have overlooked the fact that God is sovereign.
b. Prov. 16:9 – “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” We can make all the plans we want; but God providentially directs our every step along the way.
6. Nor should we WORRY about our tomorrows, as if worrying would change things.
a. Matt. 6:31-34 – We have enough to be concerned about today without worrying about tomorrow.
7. Don’t boast about tomorrow and don’t worry about tomorrow. Leave tomorrow in God’s hands… where it belongs.
a. Make the best plans you can.
b. Be hopeful: Plan and pray and work today as if you were expecting many years to come.
c. But also be realistic: We don’t know if we will even be alive tomorrow.
d. FAITH is the answer. Trust God and leave all our tomorrows in His care. He knows best: He planned all our tomorrows. He knows the end from the beginning—and His ways are perfect.
e. And isn’t it a good thing we don’t know what will happen tomorrow? God keeps the future from us that we might be dependent upon Him for it. Trust God.
Proverbs 27:2
Let Another Man Praise Thee
2a Let another man praise thee
1. Solomon begins the subject of praise and says, “Let someone else do it.”
2. Praise defined:
a. To make to shine; boast; to give glory to; to celebrate; to commend.
3. It’s not wrong if others praise you… to commend you for an achievement or for work accomplished.
a. You may get an award at work for a job well done.
b. You may be praised by your boss and given a promotion.
c. You may receive recognition from your coworkers for going the extra mile.
d. A neighbor might praise you for helping him paint his fence.
e. The police might praise you for pulling someone out of a burning car on route 93.
f. The godly husband praises his wife, the virtuous woman in Proverbs chapter 31.
g. There are times when it is fitting for others to praise you.
h. This is not wrong. It’s kind of natural.
i. God wants us to be thankful people; so it’s natural for others to be thankful when someone helps them or does a good job. It’s natural to thank them and praise them for a job well done.
4. Of course, we are not to SEEK praise of men. That is wrong.
a. We are not to do good deeds to be SEEN of men or to receive praise from men.
b. Matt. 6:1-4 – The Lord addressed that issue and said that good deeds are not to be done to be seen or praised by men.
c. But sometimes, it’s impossible not to be seen. If you pull someone out of a burning car, of course they will see you and praise you for it.
d. But motive is key here. It is not to be done for the PURPOSE of being seen and praised.
e. In one sense, we are to “let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16)
f. But on the other hand, we are not to do good works so that WE would be seen and that we would get the glory.
5. But if for a good deed or for excellent work you are praised by others, Solomon says, “Let another man praise thee.”
a. God wants others to be thankful and grateful; so don’t stand in the way of that.
b. Sometimes, refusing thanks or refusing to be recognized can even be a form of false humility.
c. Again, motive is everything in situations like this.
d. Paul warned about that in Col. 2:18: voluntary humility:
• In Col. 2, the false teachers LOVED to be thought of as humble.
• The Ascetics thought themselves to be humble because they didn’t eat certain foods; they restricted themselves in many simple pleasures of life—to be seen of men.
• In fact, they were PROUD of their humility!
• Voluntary humility is a phony, outward, humility which brings great pleasure to the hypocrite behind the mask.
• It is an outward appearance of humility designed to draw attention to self… and make self appear to be humble, and thus, spiritual.
• It is voluntary in the sense that they can turn it on or off at will. It is a humility of their own choosing…
e. Solomon’s point in Proverbs is that it is not wrong for someone to thank or praise you—IF it is genuine.
f. There are occasions when it is fitting.
6. But the expression “let another man praise thee” is NOT the main point of the proverb. The main point is found in what follows.
2b Not thine own mouth…
1. The main point here is that if praise does come, make sure that it comes from someone else’s mouth and NOT from your mouth!
2. While there may be times when it is acceptable for others to praise you, there are virtually NO times when it is fitting for one to praise himself!
3. I suppose there might be a few exceptions:
a. At a job interview you have to highlight your abilities, skills and experience.
b. If you are running for office, you also have to let others know areas where you excel.
c. But even there we need to be careful not to exaggerate or embellish your résumé.
d. But that is the exception and not the rule. (Remember, these are proverbs.)
2c A stranger, and not thine own lips.
1. The second part of the proverb repeats the same theme in different words.
2. A stranger
a. Stranger defined: A foreigner; alien; someone unknown.
b. The verb does not appear here and must be supplied from the context.
c. In other words, “let a stranger praise thee” but not your own lips.
d. The point of using the term “stranger” here is that praise can come from ANYBODY but yourself!
e. It might be from a longtime friend or from a total stranger, but it should NOT come from you.
f. A stranger can boast about your accomplishments but SELF should never boast.
3. Both verses one and two speak about boasting.
a. The words “boast” in vs.1 & “praise” in vs.2 are the same Hebrew word.
b. Verse one speaks of boasting about what we will do tomorrow.
c. Verse two speaks of boasting about what we did in the past.
d. In both cases, the individual is told to NOT boast about yesterday or today.
e. And yet we do. We boast in ways we might not even think of as boasting – the little innuendos about:
• Our walk with God (how faithful we are; how much we pray; witness; give; serve; etc.); or innuendos about
• Our abilities (all our talents and skills);
• Our accomplishments (all we have done; awards received; things we done;
• Our self-importance (who we know; our position; our wealth; our possessions; where we’ve been; etc.)
f. We are commanded to NOT boast or to praise ourselves. If there is any praise to be given, let it come from someone else—even a stranger… anyone but self!
g. Prov. 25:27 – To glory in self—to boast about yourself before others—is not real glory. It is obnoxious and makes people sick—like eating too much honey.
4. If we could summarize our proverb it would be “avoid self-praise.”
a. Praising or boasting about what we will do tomorrow is presumption.
b. Praising or boasting about what we did yesterday is pride.
c. Both are sinful.
d. We should have a lowly concept of self. If others praise us, so be it… but it should not come from SELF.
e. John the Baptist said to Jesus about himself, “I am not worthy to loose your shoes.”
f. Jesus said of John the Baptist, “Among them that are born of women, there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist.”
Proverbs 27:3
The Provocation of a Fool
Introduction:
1. These two verses speak of the trouble that is created by the provocation of a fool.
2. Solomon has had much to say about fools in this book – what they are like; their folly; their mouths; their bad behavior; etc.
3. This passage speaks about the burden they are to others.
3c A fool’s wrath
1. The first thing that needs to be identified in this passage is the meaning of the word translated “wrath.”
a. It is not the same Hebrew word as is translated “wrath” in verse four.
b. However, it may well have been translated with the same English word because of the proximity of verse four. The translators may have assumed that the two passages were to be taken together as a unit.
2. “Wrath” defined:
a. The term is described variously as “anger; angry; grief; sorrow; indignation; provocation; provoking; vexation.”
b. Theological Workbook of the Old Testament: “The root meaning of “ka-as” is to vex, agitate, stir up, or provoke the heart to a heated condition which in turn leads to specific actions.”
c. It is often used of man vexing or provoking God to anger.
• I Kings 15:30 – Israel provoked God with their idols.
d. And it is also used of man vexing or provoking other men or women.
• This is the way it is used in our proverb.
• I Sam. 1:6-7 – Peninnah provoked Hannah to vexation and caused her much grief.
• Prov. 17:25 – “A foolish son is a grief (same word) to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.”
• The term translated “wrath” that Solomon used in our proverb is best understood in the sense of a provocation – a vexation of soul caused by another.
• It is upsetting, frustrating, irritating, and also can cause a person to become angry.
• Thus, provocation often results in anger, but not exclusively. It results in other emotions as well.
3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.
3. Consider some other translations of this passage:
a. Darby: “A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s vexation is heavier than them both.”
b. NET: “A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, but vexation by a fool is more burdensome than the two of them.”
c. Holman: “A stone is heavy and sand, a burden, but aggravation from a fool outweighs them both.”
d. NIV: “Stone is heavy and sand a burden, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.”
4. Solomon appears to have chosen this term in order that the application be a bit more general and broad than “wrath.”
a. A fool provokes others.
b. He provokes to anger, to fear, to frustration, to irritation, to aggravation, and perhaps he provokes in hundreds of other ways.
c. Fools provoke others in countless ways… all of which are negative.
d. Provoking CAN be good. In fact, we as believers are commanded to provoke one another to love and good works (Heb. 10:25).
e. We can provoke one another by our works and by our words to good service, to faithfulness, to be more heavenly minded, to walk the narrow pathway, to make things right with God and others, to be good fathers, good wives, good students, good workers, etc.
f. Provoking often has a good connotation, but not in this passage.
g. Fools do not provoke others to good but to evil.
3d But a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.
A Fool’s Provocation is Heavy
1. It is heavier than a large stone; it is heavier than sand.
2. Heavy/heavier – “weight; a grievous weight; mass; density; a burden.
3. The point of the proverb is twofold:
(1) That fools provoke
(2) That the provocation is a heavy burden on others
5. So HOW do fools provoke and WHY is it burdensome?
a. Fools deny God (Ps. 53:1)
• The fool says there is no god.
• That is a provocation to believers.
• It causes great angst to Christian parents when their children are being fed information by fools who say quite openly, “There is no god.”
• It causes frustration to Christians in America when we see every vestige of our Christian heritage being deliberately and systematically erased from our national conscience—and from the history books.
• It is a heavy burden to helplessly watch this take place right under our noses on a daily basis.
b. Fools mock at sin (Prov. 14:9)
• This is a provocation we all face in our declining culture.
• Fools joke about sinful things – in the workplace, on the street, on TV, in the newspapers. It’s everywhere.
• Fools in Hollywood mock at sin constantly.
• They joke about adultery, stealing, lying, homosexuality, drinking, marriage, etc…
• There isn’t anything funny about sin, but they rub it in our faces every day.
• This is grievous to a sensitive believer. It is a heavy burden… heavier than a large stone or a large bag of sand.
c. Foolish children despise correction (Prov. 15:5)
• Foolish children do foolish things.
• The goal of correction is to drive the folly from the child.
• However, some children do not respond well to correction. They despise it—even though the Bible says, “Despise not the correction of the Lord…”
• Thus, the foolish child who rejects correction continues in his folly to the great grief and sorrow of his parents.
• He provokes them to grief daily… and this grief is a burden on their heart heavier than a stone.
d. Fools make a sport of mischief (Prov. 10:23)
• Mischief: Plans; device; evil plans.
• Fools get a sinister and morbid pleasure out of carrying out their evil plans which usually involve inflicting pain and loss on others.
• Gangs of undisciplined youth; serial killers; the mafia families; the guy in the office who gets a kick out of his filthy jokes; those who hack into websites just for the fun of sending viruses to others; the sick arsonist who loves to watch the property of others burn to the ground.
• While these sick “sports” might be fun for him, they are a great grief to others.
• He provokes others to grief, anger, and frustration.
• He causes others to carry around a big burden – like a large rock on their shoulders.
e. Fools are lazy and slothful (Ecc. 4:5)
• The fool will not work. He wants everything handed to him on a silver platter.
• He hates those who work hard and are successful because they make him look bad.
• He has a million excuses why he can’t go to work: “there’s a lion in the street!”
• He becomes a burden to society and especially to his own family.
• He expects others to take care of him and meet all his needs… others who work hard just to provide for their own needs now have an extra burden around their necks.
• He provokes others to frustration and aggravation. He is a burden to them… because they have to pull his weight because he is too lazy to pull his own weight.
• The lazy fool is heavier than a stone around your neck.
f. A fool is often contentious (Prov. 18:6)
• The fool often likes to cause trouble. He sows seeds of discord everywhere he goes.
• He tries to pit people against each other so that he can enjoy the fight from the sidelines.
• He argues about everything… never content.
• Thus, this kind of fool provokes others to wrath.
• Of course, the only way to deal with the fool who causes contention is to cast him out!
• If you want to get rid of the trouble, you have to get rid of the troublemaker.
• The contentious fool provokes others; he vexes their souls; he is a burden heavier than stone.
g. A fool clings to his folly (Prov. 26:11)
• As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
• The fool provokes to frustration because no matter how much time you spend trying to help him, no matter how much you try to talk sense to him, a fool inevitably returns to his folly – like a dog returning to his vomit.
• Those around him who are trying to help are provoked to frustration because while he may seem to respond initially, it doesn’t sink in.
• Fools often cling to their folly and are a burden to those trying to help… heavier than a stone.
6. In 1001 different ways, “A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.”
a. A wise person will be aware of the fool and will not over-react to his folly. Don’t expect too much from a fool. You will be provoked to frustration.
b. Don’t give a fool room to provoke. If you give him an inch he will take a mile. Just get out of his way!
c. We have been warned that this is what fools do: they provoke others.
d. So, don’t allow yourself to BE provoked by him. Don’t allow him drag you into his twisted web.
Proverbs 27:4
The Power of Envy
Introduction:
1. This proverb seems to be linked in some ways to the previous one.
2. Verse three speaks of the provocation of a fool. Fools often provoke others to wrath (and frustration, agitation, etc.)
3. Solomon carries the thought of inward emotions a step further in verse four.
4. In verse four Solomon speaks of the relative power of envy vs. wrath. Both are powerful; but envy is more powerful.
4a Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous
1. In the first part of this proverb Solomon says virtually the same thing in different expressions.
2. “Wrath is cruel”
a. Wrath defined: Heat; burning anger; rage; fury; indignation; hot displeasure; fever; venom; poison.
b. Cruel Defined: Cruelty; especially the damage that cruelty brings; lack of compassion; merciless.
c. When a person is angry and full of wrath, he does cruel things; he shows no compassion; he is merciless; heartless.
3. “Anger is outrageous”
a. Anger defined: Anger that is seen on one’s countenance; anger that is kindled; it is virtually a synonym for “wrath.”
b. Outrageous defined: A flood; a torrent; overflow; flowing; swept away; overwhelmed; outrageous.
c. This term is used to describe intensity or overpowering force of something. A person can become overwhelmed by emotion—especially anger. It can overflow like a flood and get out of control.
d. Anger can become so intense that it overwhelms a person and overflows like a flood—destroying anything in its pathway.
e. It is an appropriate way to describe anger out of control.
4. Wrath and anger lead to cruelty and they can easily get out of control and become overwhelmingly destructive—like a flood.
a. Prov. 15:1 uses the same two Hebrew words. Here Solomon gives us a hint as to the best way to deal with a person who comes at us like an overwhelming flood of anger and wrath: a soft answer!
b. Solomon states here that there IS a defense against wrath and anger.
5. The Bible is FULL of examples of cruelty and intensity of wrath and anger.
a. Gen. 4:5 – “Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell” and he killed his brother Abel.
b. Num. 20:11 – Moses was angry and smote the rock three times.
c. II Chron. 16:10 – “Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing.” The prophet warned him of sin and experienced the wrath of the king.
d. Dan. 3:13 – “Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego” and they were cast into the fiery furnace.
e. People do not always act rationally when they are angry.
f. Wrath and anger are cruel and outrageous… intense… overwhelming. But…
4b But who is able to stand before envy?
1. In the second part of the proverb, Solomon drives home his main point: envy is even more outrageous and cruel.
2. Envy defined:
a. The Hebrew dictionaries did not seem to distinguish between jealousy and envy.
b. The Hebrew term is defined as jealousy; zeal; rivalry for love.
c. The state of ill will based on a perceived advantage or a desire for exclusivity in a relationship.
d. Zeal, ardor, passion, strong desire and deep devotion for someone or something
e. The original sense of the word is “zeal” and is used that way often. But it came to mean zeal in the sense of jealousy… especially in a love relationship.
3. Usage:
a. Gen. 30:1 – “And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister…” She wanted to bear a son for her husband, thinking he would love her more. She was envious of her sister. (Polygamy was never a good idea.)
b. Gen. 37:11 – “And his brethren envied him.” Joseph’s brothers envied him: (1) because they perceived their father loved him best; (2) because he had a possession—a colored coat—that they did not want him to have.
c. Ps. 73:3 – “For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” Asaph was envious of the wicked men who prospered in the world and they had what he wanted. They seemed to have it made while he suffered.
d. Ecc. 4:4 – “Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour.” Here Solomon speaks of the fact that a hardworking man who prospers is envied by his neighbor… who perhaps has not worked as hard or has not prospered as much.
e. There is a lot of envy and jealousy in society… among friends… and also in family dynamics… and especially in any kind of love relationship.
f. This sin is common to man—and woman.
g. In fact, God is jealous of us when we give our devotion and affection to something/someone other than Him! (Ex. 20:5)
4. Prov. 14:30 – Envy is rottenness of the bones.
a. When the heart is healthy and wholesome, it has a healthy effect on the body.
b. When the heart is sick… decayed… rotten with a sin like envy, it too has an effect on the body…
• It is not like medicine, but more like a poison… a disease.
• Envy is like a disease that eats away at your insides.
• It is a killer. It destroys relationships.
• The way to deal with poison in the system is not to tolerate it, but to get rid of it. Deal with it. See it as sin and confess it and forsake it.
5. Prov. 6:34 – “For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. 35He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.”
a. There is no way to calm down a man who is overwhelmed in a rage of jealousy.
b. Usually money and gifts can get someone’s attention and cause them to change their behavior (bribes). But even money won’t work when a man is overtaken by uncontrolled jealousy.
6. James 3:16 – “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”
a. Envy leads to EVERY kind of evil work.
b. Don’t underestimate the power of envy!
7. Solomon’s rhetorical question: “Who can stand before envy?”
a. The answer is no one!
b. It is stronger than wrath and anger.
c. It is overwhelming like a flood. Nothing can stand in its way.
d. It leads to every evil work… including murder.
e. It is the rage of a man… it controls a person to the point of causing him to behave irrationally.
f. It is rottenness to the bones… it is a deadly emotional disease that rots, corrupts, and destroys a person from within.
g. The obvious application is stay away! Don’t play with fire! If you sense jealousy or envy creeping up, deal with it. Don’t tolerate it. Don’t assume you can keep in under control.
h. Solomon’s point is that no one can stand before envy. Therefore, YOU cannot stand before envy either.
i. It can easily become overwhelming and overpowering and results in all kinds of evil works you never thought yourself capable of.
8. Prov. 23:17 – “Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.”
a. Don’t envy sinners; fear God!
b. Don’t focus on men and what they have; focus on God and who He is. That will result in fear, reverence, and respect for God.
c. When we stand in awe of who God is… the glitter and gleam of earthly trinkets will grow strangely dim…
Proverbs 27:5-6
The Wounds of a Friend
Introduction:
1. In these two verses, Solomon makes some bold statements, which at first don’t seem true.
a. Friends rebuke and wound their friends.
b. Rebuke is better than love; a wound is better than a kiss.
2. At first blush these statements sound preposterous… until you stop and think about it.
5 Open rebuke is better than secret love. 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
Friends Rebuke Openly
1. Friends REBUKE one another.
a. Rebuke: Chasten; correct; punish; inflict a just penalty; reprove.
b. Why would a friend rebuke us?
• Prov. 15:10 – “Correction is grievous.” Why would a friend cause us grief?
• Ps. 39:11-12 – “When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.” Why would a friend want to expose all that?
2. Friends rebuke OPENLY.
a. “Open” is defined as: Made known; uncovered; revealed; laid bare; exposed.
b. In other words, a friend will uncover and reveal to his friend an area that needs correction or rebuke.
c. He won’t cover it up. He won’t pretend he doesn’t see it.
d. But is that a friend? Does a friend openly expose my failures? Shouldn’t a friend look the other way… ignore my faults and like me for who I am?
e. Who wants a friend who keeps on pointing out all my failures? Who wants a friend who holds up my failures before my face?
f. What kind of a friend is that? Is that really a friend? It sounds like an enemy.
Friends Wound Deeply
1. Friends WOUND.
a. Wound: To bruise; a wound inflicted usually by a strike; a physical and sometimes emotional injury.
b. Ex. 21:25 – “Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”
• This term for wound is used two times in this passage.
• It speaks of a physical wound inflicted on an innocent man and the punishment for that crime is a physical wound inflicted on the criminal.
2. It is natural to think of one who inflicts a wound as an enemy and certainly not a friend.
a. Striking someone and inflicting a wound does not sound like a friendly gesture.
b. One might immediately think, “I get enough bruises from my enemies. I don’t expect that from my friends! I want support from my friends.”
c. But Solomon states that sometimes friends do inflict wounds.
d. It is likely that he had in mind verbal and emotional wounds.
3. As antithetical as it may sound, friends do rebuke and inflict wounds.
It’s Better than Secret Love
1. Friends rebuke for the good of his friend.
a. When a friend is engaged in sin or is going in the wrong direction, it always puts his friends in an awkward position: should I rebuke him openly or should I just keep quiet?
b. What should a true friend do? A true friend will want that which is best for his friend (love)…
c. Solomon says that it is better to openly rebuke than to demonstrate a silent, secret “love” and say nothing.
d. Ps. 141:5 – True friends rebuke and when done in love it is like an excellent oil – a sweet smelling ointment.
2. True friendship and real love will stick out its neck to help a friend.
a. Prov. 13:18 – “Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.”
• A friend rebukes because he doesn’t want his friend to experience poverty or shame.
• He wants his friend to be honored instead.
• Sometimes, a rebuke is necessary to correct a friend for his own good.
• A good friend will stick his neck out for a friend and rebuke when he deems it will be beneficial for his friend.
b. Prov. 15:5 – “A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.”
• A friend (like a father who loves his son) rebukes because he knows that it will cause the one rebuked to be the wiser for it.
• That is love; that is a true friend.
• Prov. 15:31 – “The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.”
c. Prov. 15:32 – “He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.”
• A friend wants his friend to gain understanding.
• A friend doesn’t want his friend to continue on in ignorance… and to have everyone think of him as being ignorant.
• Politicians hire people to listen to their speeches and correct their mistakes: mispronounced words; incorrect grammar; etc.
• It is an act of friendship for a carpenter to correct another carpenter’s incorrect adjustment of a tool. It is to his benefit to be corrected. It might even save him from a serious accident.
d. Correction is an act of friendship because it is a great help and benefit to the one corrected.
3. It is better than secret love.
a. “Secret love” stands in direct contrast to “open rebuke.”
b. Secret: To cover up; hide; conceal.
c. A friend exposes our shortcomings and faults.
d. Another friend might cover them up… and do so out of what he calls “love.”
• That friend might say to himself, “I don’t want to hurt his feelings; he might get angry at me if I let him know that there is egg on his face.”
• Of course, there are times when love covers a multitude of sins and will not expose them.
• But this proverb states that there are also times when it is not really the best expression of love to hide them. A true friend will rebuke them openly and expose them.
• If your friend has a problem with alcohol, it does not help him to pretend you don’t notice. Covering up the problem is not beneficial for your friend.
• It might save YOU the difficulty of bringing it up; but it won’t be good for your friend.
• Love sacrifices self for the good of others.
e. Solomon states that the friend who exposes the fault and corrects his friend is BETTER than the friend who hides his fault.
It’s Better than the Kisses of an Enemy
1. Here the contrast is between a wound and a kiss. Solomon says that the wound is better!
a. Again, it sounds like the opposite of what one might usually think.
b. When asked, “Would you rather receive a wound and a bruise or a kiss?” – Most would probably choose the kiss.
c. Note also the contrast between the friend and the enemy… and the implied contrast between the “genuine” wound and the “deceitful” kiss.
2. Friends sometimes wound their friends for their good.
a. Prov. 20:30 – “The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.”
b. A wound can have a beneficial effect—like cleansing.
c. If a friend is involved in an immoral relationship, you may need to wound him—hurt his feelings by openly rebuking him for it.
d. If it results in a cleansing effect and it saves two marriages, then it was worth sticking your neck out for.
3. The wound of a friend for your own good truly is far better than the deceitful kiss of an enemy. (deceitful = profuse; many; multiplied – obviously for the purpose of deceiving)
a. Things are not always as they appear.
b. An enemy might appear to be a friend with his “kisses” (outward or verbal show of affection) when he is not a friend but is a hidden enemy.
c. On the other hand, a friend might appear to be an enemy when he wounds you, but he is not an enemy. He is a true friend.
d. Rebukes and wounds are sometimes expressions of true love and friendship while smiles, kisses, flattery, and hugs may actually be expressions of hatred and enmity.
e. The hugs and kisses of an enemy may make us feel good but they are not good for us—an enemy does not have our best interest in mind.
f. Things are not always as they appear at first.
g. Don’t be bamboozled by the outward, warm, gushy expressions of so called love; and don’t become angry at the seemingly cold and hard wounds of a friend.
h. I would much prefer to have my enemies be honest and let me know that they hate me rather than shower on the phony expressions of love.
i. When a person is going astray to his own harm (either physically or spiritually) he doesn’t need flattery and kisses. He needs a sharp, stern rebuke. That is best for him. That is love – true friendship.
Proverbs 27:7
A Full Soul and a Hungry Soul
Introduction:
1. In this proverb Solomon makes three contrasts:
a. The contrast between the full soul and the hungry soul.
b. The contrast between something that is loathed and something considered sweet.
c. The contrast between a honeycomb and a bitter thing.
2. By means of these three contrasts, the proverb drives home a point that Solomon (as a wealthy king) probably learned the hard way… many times over.
7a The full soul loatheth an honeycomb
The first part of the proverb makes this point: people who have a lot usually don’t appreciate what they have.
1. The full soul
a. The term “soul” here is used as a synonym for a creature; a person; a life.
b. The person Solomon describes is “full.”
• He is well fed; he eats well every day; he is full and filled.
• It refers to the person who has had enough or even too much. (This describes a man right after a big Thanksgiving dinner.)
• Isa. 1:11 – This term is used in a figurative sense of God being “full” of their offerings. He has had so many He is sick of them… because they were not offered with the right heart attitude.
2. The full soul loatheth a honeycomb.
a. Normally, finding a honeycomb was a real treasure.
b. They didn’t eat as many sweets as we do today. A honeycomb was a treat. Everybody loved honey and the honeycomb.
c. That is almost everybody. The full soul does not love it. He loathes it!
d. Loath: This term has two related meanings.
• Trample down; kick about.
• To loath; to have no desire for.
• They are related in that something that is trodden down is usually something you have no desire for; something you loath. (like weeds in a garden)
• The context of this passage makes it clear that it should be translated “loath”; however, there are a few translations that translate the word as “trample down” – Darby; Holman; Young’s; etc.
e. Since Solomon is speaking about eating, “loath” is probably best.
• However, “trampling on” is not as odd a translation as one might at first imagine.
• We are accustomed to getting honey or a honeycomb in a store.
• In Solomon’s day, a honeycomb was often stumbled across in walking along a trail. The nest might get so full of honey, it would fall off the tree. A lucky traveller walking along might come upon it. It was normally considered a great find! (Jonathan found a honeycomb in the woods and ate of it.)
• Solomon’s point here is that a person who is full; a person who ate too much who happens to find a honeycomb might just step on it and keep on walking.
f. Either way (translated as loath or trample on) the point is the same: a man who is full isn’t interested in a honeycomb.
• To him it is no great find. It is not the great treat that it might be to someone else – like Jonathan who was starving after fighting a battle.
• Trampling over it or loathing it in this context is pretty much the same thing.
• Both demonstrate Solomon’s point: This man is so full that even something as delectable as a honeycomb doesn’t interest him.
• He is full; he has no room for it; it is not tempting to him. It doesn’t even look appealing.
• It might even make him feel a little sick just looking at it—like that third piece of pie on Thanksgiving Day.
3. The greater point that Solomon makes here extends far beyond just food and honey.
a. The one who is FULL – to the man who has everything and even more that he needs, the simple treats in life are not very appealing any more. They have lost their “sweetness.”
b. The man who is full will walk right by them, as if he hated them.
c. As an extremely wealthy king, Solomon probably experienced this daily.
d. He had everything his heart desired and more.
e. When you have access to everything imaginable at all times, those things lose their appeal. They are no longer special. They are no longer a treat. The thrill is gone and they become old very fast.
4. This is one of the reasons why rich people aren’t always happy.
a. The man who becomes rich suddenly is able to buy a beautiful boat. It cost him a million dollars and he was thrilled when he first got it. But after time, it isn’t as sweet as it used to be. Before too long it could even become a pain in the neck.
b. The man who buys properties at Vail, another on the French Riviera, and another home in Florida, discovers that soon that which he thought would make him happy becomes a tax burden; unending upkeep; he has to deal with vandals; rivalry and jealousy set in; and before too long he begins to loath the burden they have become.
c. He is so FULL of things that those things are no longer as pleasurable as they used to be.
d. Things that others might consider sweet (like a honeycomb) actually become a source of bitterness for the man who is full.
7b But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
The second part of the proverb makes this point: people who have very little tend to appreciate the little things.
1. In contrast to the man who is full is the hungry soul (hungry man).
a. Hungry: to be famished; suffer hunger; to have hunger pangs; a serious lack of food.
b. We’ve all been hungry; and we’ve all been full.
c. Solomon’s point in this part of the proverb is that the hungry man has a sensitivity that a full man does not have.
2. To the hungry man, “every bitter thing is sweet.”
a. Here is the paradox:
• To the full man, sweet things (like a honeycomb or multiple luxury homes) become common place and eventually even distasteful. They can become a source of bitterness. Things that are sweet to others become bitter to him.
• To the hungry man, bitter things (things that others might consider bitter) become sweet. For example, if you told your kids that they were having Fig Newtons for dessert, they might complain. To them, Fig Newtons are not a treat. To them, it is a bitter experience. But trying offering Fig Newtons to a child in Bangladesh! To him who is hungry it is sweet!
b. To most of us, if someone said that you were going to become a millionaire next month, we would probably say, “That’s sweet!”
• But if you were a billionaire, and someone said that you were going to become a millionaire next month, he would see that as a bitter experience!
• Depending upon your present circumstances, things might be either bitter or sweet.
• When it comes to food, there’s a big difference between a man who is hungry and a man who is full. Their appreciation of a cookie might vary greatly.
• When it comes to material goods, there is a big difference between a man who is full (wealthy) and a man who is hungry (poor). The rich man cannot appreciate the little things as the poor man does.
• Solomon experienced that daily—and he saw it on the faces of the poor daily. He saw poor men rejoicing over that which would seem so trivial an insignificant to him—like one small coin; or a little cottage; or one ewe lamb.
• The poor man given the little cottage to live in would rejoice beyond measure; a king given a little cottage to live in would be bitter. It would be like a prison to him.
3. Of course, the way to deal with this aspect of fallen human nature which Solomon observed is to learn to be content in whatever state we find ourselves in—whether a cottage or a palace… rich or poor… with plenty or little.
a. Appreciation for material possessions has nothing to do with how many material possessions we have; but rather on our heart attitude towards those things.
b. Possessing more things doesn’t necessarily make us happier with those things.
c. Those who possess MUCH usually don’t appreciate what they have.
d. And don’t sit around wishing you were full and rich, for the poor man with his little is often much happier than the rich man with his much.
e. Mathew Henry noted that a hungry man can thank God for bread and water whereas a full soul thinks the greatest delicacies are hardly worth thanking the Lord for.
f. What a great lesson to learn—especially at a time of year when so much emphasis is placed on buying “things.”
4. True joy and satisfaction comes through our relationship to Christ… not by possessing things or becoming rich in earthly goods. Satisfaction comes through learning to appreciate our TRUE riches in Christ.
a. To the unbeliever, the Word of God and its message is a bitter pill.
b. But to the believer, the Word of God is sweeter than a honeycomb!
Proverbs 27:8
A Wandering Bird
Introduction:
1. This proverb makes one simple comparison: a man who wanders from his place is like a bird that wanders from her nest.
2. The illustration Solomon uses is one we have all seen many times.
3. The purpose of the proverb is to cause us to think about HOW this analogy is true.
4. In what way(s) is a wandering man like a wandering bird?
8b A man that wandereth from his place
1. The term Solomon uses for “man” here can refer to a man or a male. But it can also refer to “whosoever” – “anyone.”
2. It is best understood is a general sense here: anyone who wanders.
3. The “place” from which he wanders most likely refers to his home—especially in light of the fact that it is being compared to a bird’s nest.
4. Thus, in a very general sense, Solomon speaks here of “anyone” (man, woman; husband, wife, or child) who wanders from their home.
5. In order that the proverb has maximum application, Solomon does not add the particulars.
a. We are not told why he wandered.
b. We are not told where he wandered.
c. We are not told when he wandered.
d. We are not told what he was looking for.
e. Thus, the proverb can be applied in all kinds of settings.
6. A husband or wife might wander from their nest because they are unhappy in their marriage.
a. They might be looking for someone else.
b. They might be looking for a way to escape.
c. Sometimes men don’t want to go home after work, so they head to the barroom.
d. Sometimes unhappy spouses meet other unhappy spouses in their wanderings.
e. Nothing good comes from that kind of wandering.
7. A young person might wander from their home.
a. Perhaps they are tired of the rules or they want more freedom.
b. Perhaps they think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.
8. Wander: To flee; depart; to escape; to take flight; to wander; travel in a more or less random manner.
a. Solomon pictures someone not just leaving home, but it appears to be wandering about.
b. Wandering implies a certain amount of restlessness.
c. It speaks of a lack of clear direction.
d. Wandering implies a lack of discipline.
e. It implies a lack of forethought. It was not well thought out; not well planned.
f. It could have been after a fight—without thinking it through.
g. It could have been on a whim—without thinking it through.
h. It could have been to escape unpleasant circumstances at home—without realizing that the grass is NOT always greener on the other side of the fence.
i. It is possible to wander out of the frying pan and end up in the fire.
j. Those who wander about usually don’t even know what they want. They don’t know what they are looking for.
k. All they want is a change. They are restless, impatient, and ready for a change. They have grown tired of the same old same old.
l. They may feel imprisoned and want freedom.
m. There may be an inward desire for something new… anything new…
n. This proverb speaks to that inward sense of restlessness… a desire to wander… It speaks to a lack of roots and stability.
8a As a bird that wandereth from her nest…
1. Anyone who wanders from their place (home) is like a bird who wanders from her nest.
a. The analogy is simple to understand.
b. But in what WAY is a wandering man like a wandering bird?
c. Solomon observed animals just as he observed human beings.
d. He must have seen birds wandering about often. He thought about their wanderings too.
2. Wandering birds appear to be aimless.
a. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to their actions.
b. They flit from one branch to the next. They never seem to stay in one place for any length of time.
c. The restless spirit described in this proverb results in a LIFE that is aimless… wandering about… never satisfied… always looking for something else…
d. Some believers are like wandering birds in their church membership. They wander from place to place and never settle down anywhere… they never commit themselves to one assembly… they don’t become members… they never lay any roots… they want to be free from commitment.
e. This is a very unhealthy heart attitude. That road leads nowhere—like a wandering bird.
f. The restless, aimless, wandering heart attitude is dangerous on many different levels.
3. Wandering birds are exposed to more danger.
a. A bird is much safer in his nest.
b. Jer. 48:28 states that some birds made their nests in the cleft of the rock… a place of safety.
c. But when the bird is out in the open, flying about, it is vulnerable and exposed to predators.
d. When men run away from marital problems and wander from place to place, they too are exposed to dangers.
e. There is the danger of adultery… the danger of ruining your family… the danger of damaging your children…
f. There is a danger of being devoured by our adversary the devil.
4. Wandering birds sometimes are snared by traps.
a. Prov. 7:21-23 – Here Solomon speaks of a man going after a harlot.
b. Note that he likens this man to a bird who wanders into a snare – a trap. Wandering birds stand the chance of being trapped.
c. So too wandering men stand the chance of falling into the trap of adultery… and a whole ungodly lifestyle that goes along with it.
d. Traps are real. And there are lots of different kinds of traps.
e. Our adversary is clever. Wandering is dangerous—that’s the point of this proverb.
f. Rather than wandering because of a restless heart and marital problems, DEAL with that restless heart!
g. Matt. 11:28-29 – Come to the Lord and He provides REST for your soul. He is also the Wonderful Counselor! He can restore relationships.
h. Wandering about is not the solution to the problem. It only exacerbates the problem.
5. Wandering birds are unaware of what’s going on in their nest.
a. The bird that continually wanders from place to place is neglecting the nest.
b. The young ones suffer as a result.
c. Parents that are away from the nest too often—wandering from place to place—run the danger of neglecting the little ones.
d. The nest needs to be attended to. To care for the needs of the home you have to BE there.
e. “A child left to himself bringeth his mother (or father – added) to shame.” (Prov. 29:15)
f. Parents who wander from their nest and neglect the home life do so to the detriment of their children. It will come back to bite you some day.
6. Wandering birds often forget how comfortable their nest was.
a. The one who wanders may be restless and agitated with conditions at home, but he may not realize how well off he had it there!
b. Prov. 21:16 – “The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.”
• The man who wanders out of a good place could end up in a place much worse! (The congregation of the dead!)
• There was a little boy who wandered away from his home in Hampstead a month ago—and evidently had a habit of doing so.
• His wandering turned out ok. He was found. But it could easily have had a very unhappy ending.
• Wandering doesn’t always lead to a good place.
c. Wandering from the home is an especially bad idea.
d. God instituted the home, and even with all of its difficulties, it is still far better than wandering.
e. Some men just don’t like being at home. They can’t handle the problems. Thus, they turn to the barroom. Or they become workaholics. Or they busy themselves in 1001 activities that keep them away.
f. Solomon’s point is that this is an unhealthy attitude.
7. The “nest” is a place of safety and security for all in the nest.
a. The home was designed for the good of the entire family.
b. Wandering away from God’s institution has consequences.
c. There is something to be said for the man who learns his “place.”
• God has placed us all in our “place.”
• In our home – we have a place.
• In our local church – we have a place. “God has set the members every one of them in the body as it hath pleased Him.” (I Cor. 12:18)
• In our job we have a place. In our community we have a place.
• The desires of our hearts are not satisfied by restless wandering—constantly looking for a better “place.”
• The desires of our hearts are satisfied by resting in and blooming where God has planted us.
• The plant that is constantly uprooted and transplanted does not bear much fruit. It needs to settle down and develop roots.
• A change of circumstances or a change of environment does not solve problems. But a change of heart does!
Proverbs 27:9
Hearty Counsel
Introduction:
1. This proverb makes a comparison between sweet ointment and counsel from a friend.
2. The Hebrew scholars all point out the difficulty in translating because some of the Hebrew expressions have no exact English equivalent.
a. There is no verb in the second part and it must be inserted.
b. As a result, the second part of the proverb has been translated variously.
3. However, the overall meaning of the proverb is clear: hearty counsel from a friend is sweet.
9a Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart:
1. Ointment and perfume are pleasant to the smell.
a. They have an agreeable effect on the senses and make you feel good.
b. Pleasant smells are always desirable.
c. No one would choose unpleasant smells. They drive you away. Pleasant smells are attractive and appealing. They draw you in.
2. John 12:3 – The ointment that was applied to Christ filled the room with a pleasing odor. The odor extended far beyond the immediate point of application. Ointments have a grand effect.
3. Rejoices the heart
a. Rejoice: Make merry; cheers up; makes glad.
b. Sweet odors cause a person to be glad; to experience pleasure; to have joy.
c. The opposite might be illustrated by what happens when you walk down the street and come across a dead animal. The smell of rotten flesh does not cause one to rejoice but to recoil in displeasure.
d. Ointments have even been used as therapy – aroma therapy. They can have a calming effect.
9b So doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.
Counsel of a man’s friend by heart counsel
1. Counsel: Advice; sharing wisdom; guidance; instruction; suggesting a course of action or a plan to pursue.
a. Psa. 33:10 – God nullifies the counsel of the ungodly but His counsel shall stand!
b. Not all counsel is the same.
c. The counsel of the ungodly is to be avoided. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.
2. Hearty counsel
a. “Hearty” counsel is counsel that comes from the soul.
b. It is heart-felt counsel.
c. In other words, it is not merely intellectual. It is more than the cold hard facts.
d. Heart counsel comes from the heart of a friend.
e. It may include instruction; it may include guidance; it may include reproof or rebuke… but it comes from the heart.
f. It is not cold hearted scolding from a drill sergeant.
g. It comes from the heart of a friend and is sympathetic.
h. Because it comes from the heart, it is caring. The friend offering the counsel puts himself in the shoes of the one being counseled.
i. It is possible to give good advice without any heartfelt concern for the one receiving the counsel.
j. I suppose a software program could be created such that if you plug in all the variables, it might tell you what course of action to take. It might even offer the correct course of action. But it could hardly be called “hearty counsel.”
k. The software package doesn’t know you and doesn’t really care if you follow the advice or not.
l. Sometimes human beings can give counsel that way too—cold, heartless, and uncaring.
m. Rom. 12:15 – Brethren are to counsel one another.
• But they are also to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.
• This results in heartfelt counsel!
• It involves love; concern; care for the spiritual well-being of the one counseled.
• Even if the brother needs to be reproved, it is not cold hearted scolding, but is done with sympathetic care.
n. Our proverb states only HEARTY counsel (counsel that is heartfelt) comes across as sweetness to the soul.
o. Psa. 66:16 – “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.” A brother is concerned about the SOUL of his brother—and will share helpful things he has learned from the Lord with others. That’s heartfelt counsel.
3. But this proverb says: Blessed is the man who walks in good counsel – the counsel of a friend who offers godly counsel.
a. There is a sweetness that comes with hearty counsel from a friend… it is likened to sweet ointment or perfume… sweet odors.
b. It is refreshing – like being anointed with sweet smelling ointment. (Think of being parched in the hot sun in a desert.)
c. It is satisfying.
d. It is for your good… and you know it. That makes it sweet.
e. Just as ointment refreshes the body and senses of the inner man, so counsel refreshes the soul of the inner man.
4. Sometimes counsel from a friend is like medicine.
a. It may come in the form of correction or reproof.
b. Medicine doesn’t always go down very easily. It is often foul tasting and foul smelling.
c. As a teaspoon of sugar helps the medicine go down, so too counsel and guidance and correction is often easier to swallow when it comes across as “heartfelt” counsel.
d. It adds a sweetness to the medicine (counsel) and makes it easier to swallow and digest.
e. Two men can offer the same effective medicine to a young patient that will cure their ill. If one is sweetened so that the child swallows it, then while the medicine is identical, the sweetened one is actually more effective: because the child took it and rejected the one without the sweetness.
f. This proverb states that the same is true in giving counsel or advice.
• When counsel comes from a friend (a trusted person; a person the one receiving the counsel knows is on his team) then it is easier to swallow… and more likely to be taken.
• A person is less likely to follow the advice of someone who offers good advice in a bad manner.
• Bedside manners matter with a doctor; so too manners matter in giving counsel and advice.
• Good counsel should “rejoice the heart” like ointment.
g. Psa. 133:1-2 – When brethren dwell together in peace and unity, it too is like a sweet ointment.
• In that environment, guidance and advice also takes on that sweet aroma.
• Sweet aromas tend to affect everyone and everything in that environment.
• By the way—so do foul odors. Have you ever driven in a car with smokers? You end up smelling like smoke.
• In a sweet environment – the sweetness seems to linger and affect all in its atmosphere… even those giving and receiving counsel.
5. The counsel Jethro offered to Moses was like ointment.
a. Jethro offered to Moses an organizational plan and advised him how to carry out the administrative responsibilities for ruling and judging his people.
b. Jethro gives counsel from wisdom attained by age and/or experience.
c. He saw that Moses was wearing himself out and would not be able to continue like that indefinitely. He needed help.
d. Moses may have grown accustomed to doing it all himself and this counsel might have been a bitter pill if given heartlessly.
e. However, Jethro was his father in law and offered this counsel from his heart. He genuinely wanted the best for Moses and his daughter. It came from an interested father… not a distant, uninterested, uncaring third party.
f. Jethro wasn’t talking down to Moses. He wasn’t scolding. Rather, he offered a plan—advice—counsel.
g. His counsel was heartfelt AND it was wise.
h. Moses followed his advice… it was sweet like ointment.
Proverbs 27:10
A Friend and a Brother
Introduction:
• With a quick reading, this proverb almost sounds like Solomon is demeaning family relationships by saying that a friend is better than a family member.
• Solomon does intentionally speak highly of a close friend—and that is his point.
• But this should not be interpreted as a “put down” for a brother, but rather, as elevating a close friendship.
10a Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not
1. Friend defined: Friend; companion; fellow; associates with and for whom there is affection and personal regard.
2. It is clear in this proverb that Solomon is using the term not as a mere associate but as a friend—a close friend.
3. Don’t forsake a friend.
a. Forsake: Leave behind; forsake; walk away from; abandon; depart from; desert; neglect.
b. The point is that if a person is a friend, then you don’t abandon them; you don’t walk away from them—especially in a time of need; you don’t forsake them.
4. Don’t forsake your father’s friend.
a. This speaks of a longtime family friend – that extends through generations.
b. With our growing transient society, the family friend may be a thing of the past. But it was an important part of life in Solomon’s day.
c. Sometimes families held friendships for multiple generations.
d. Of course the opposite was true as well. Sometimes families (like the Hatfields and the McCoys) held feuds between families for multiple generations.
e. Solomon’s advice to his readers is that they NOT forsake those family friends.
f. Your father’s friends should also be your friends. This does not mean that a 20 year old would “hang out” with his father’s friends, but that mutual respect should be maintained because of that friendship.
g. Sometimes if you get in trouble, your father’s friend might offer a helping hand—because you are the son of his best friend.
h. He might offer you a job because you are the son of his best friend.
i. Or perhaps in the situation of a prodigal son who left his father on really bad terms feels that he can’t go back to his father, but his father’s friend might help him get back on his feet because he is his best friend’s son. He might also help bring about reconciliation between the prodigal and his dad.
j. Thus, Solomon says, “don’t forsake your father’s friends.”
k. I Kings 5:1-10 – Solomon lived by this principle. Solomon cultivated a friendship with Hiram, King of Tyre, his father David’s friend. (read vs.1-2, 7) Solomon sought his father’s friend when seeking trees to use in the construction of the Temple. Hiram was pleased that David’s son sought him out.
l. But Solomon’s son, Rehoboam rejected the counsel of his father’s friends and lost the kingdom as a result.
m. Old family friendships have been a great blessing to many families over the years. They have helped in times of tragedy; in business dealings; in providing aid; comfort; etc.
n. Some things are better new; but other things are better when old, tried, and tested—like old friends.
5. Don’t forsake your friends; be a faithful, loyal friend.
a. We have a responsibility to our friends.
b. There ought to be a bond of loyalty that is not easily broken.
c. This sense of responsibility is a two way street – it is a give and take.
d. Don’t expect your friends to be loyal and always giving to you—unless you are loyal and giving to them. It is a two way street.
e. If your friend needs help—then help him! If your father’s friend needs help—help him too!
10b For better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.
A close friend is better than a distant relative
1. This second part of this proverb could probably have stood alone as a proverb.
a. The two parts of this proverb could have been two separate thoughts… two separate proverbs.
b. The second part also speaks about friendships, but makes a completely unrelated point: a close friend is better than a relative who lives far away.
2. The setting: in a day of calamity
a. Calamity: This speaks of a disaster; a calamity; a time of great trouble and tribulation when a person is in need of help.
b. A calamity is a time when the value of friendship is realized.
c. When a tragedy or calamity strikes, and you need help in a hurry, it is a wonderful thing to have a “neighbor that is near” (a friend or neighbor who lives right next door) to offer help.
d. It is good to have such a helpful neighbor.
e. Of course, it is also good to BE that kind of helpful neighbor.
f. And what a great testimony that can be for the Lord’s sake when a believer showers his neighbor with help in a time of need.
3. “Better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off.”
a. Sometimes families live near each other, but not always.
b. Oftentimes, family members live very far apart.
c. Normally, when a calamity strikes, it would be the responsibility of family members to help out.
d. But Solomon’s point is that that situation doesn’t always exist. Sometimes distance separates families and they are not able to help in a time of trouble.
e. A neighbor who lives next door will be of much better help in a time of immediate crisis.
f. He may not have the same love for you as a brother, but is more useful in a calamity than a brother who lives far away.
g. If your house is burning down, a next door neighbor is much better equipped to help out than a cousin in Philadelphia.
4. One wonders if Solomon also intended for the expression (“a brother a far off”) to also be applied not only to one who is far away physically, but also one who is far off in the sense of being alienated.
a. Unfortunately, this happens all too often. Family members (brothers and sisters) become alienated from each other—and some don’t even talk to each other for years!
b. When you have been alienated from your family, a close friend can become like a brother at heart.
c. Prov. 18:24 – As Solomon wrote earlier, “There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
d. There are some friends whose bond is stronger and thicker than blood… stronger and more faithful than family ties!
e. The point of this proverb is that that kind of relationship should be cultivated.
f. There is an old saying, “You can pick your friends, but not your relatives.”
g. Although family ties should be the strongest, Solomon asserts here that that is not always the case.
• It wasn’t the case with Joseph. He was certainly treated better by foreigners than he was by his brothers.
• Jonathan experienced a great friendship with David; which was far better than the way he was treated by his spear throwing father.
5. Prov. 17:17 – A friend loveth at all times…
a. Solomon meant that real friendship lasts through all kinds of seasons – through all the seasons of life… the good times and the bad times…. through thick and thin… the ups and the downs of life… in sickness and in health… happy days and days of sorrow and grief…
b. God provides FRIENDS for all the seasons of life.
c. Two are better than one…
d. The Christian life was not meant to be lived alone.
e. Just as there are friends for all seasons of life… there are brothers or relatives to help us through seasons of adversity.
f. His point is that all throughout life, there is great value in maintaining relationships with friends and family.
Proverbs 27:11
My Son, Be Wise
Introduction:
1. This is the only proverb in this section (25-29) that uses the expression, “My son.”
2. This expression was used many times in the early chapters of the book.
3. Thus, Solomon is returning now to an old theme in the book: a father giving counsel to his son.
4. That is the main purpose of the book of Proverbs: to impart wisdom and instruction, especially to the young and inexperienced… from father to son… from parent to child.
11a My son, be wise…
1. The exhortation to “be wise” is found often in Proverbs:
a. Prov. 6:6 – “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.” (diligent)
b. Prov. 8:33 – “Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.” (don’t be rebellious)
c. Prov. 13:20 – “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” (Not in the form of an exhortation – but the expression implies that we “ought” to be wise… by being careful about whom we choose as friends.)
d. Prov. 19:20 – “Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.”
e. Prov. 23:19-20 – “Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. 20Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh.” (Avoid drunkards and gluttons.)
2. This is one of those nuggets of truth Solomon felt was worth repeating.
a. Although in each passage, he adds a slightly different or extra shade of meaning.
3. What father wouldn’t want his son (or daughter) to be wise? The parent wants the child to be wise because of the VALUE of wisdom as outlined in this book and elsewhere in Scripture.
a. This book began with Lady Wisdom crying out to young people to follow her ways and not to become entangled with troublemakers.
b. Wisdom cried out against immorality and the strange woman. Wisdom will keep you away.
c. Wisdom builds her house – it teaches us how to build our homes and families.
d. Wisdom gives us knowledge that prevents us from the punishment of the rod… from God or from the judge.
e. Gaining wisdom is better than gaining gold – money.
f. A wise man accepts reproof and is improved by it.
g. Wisdom teaches us to be obedient.
h. Wisdom teaches us to be diligent in our work and not to be a lazy procrastinator.
i. Wisdom teaches us the value of money and how to use it and save it.
j. Wisdom teaches us to trust in the Lord and not to lean on our own understanding.
k. Wisdom teaches us to use our tongues for good and to think before we speak.
4. The parent wants his son to be wise so that the son can AVOID many of the avoidable calamities in life. (Poverty; alcoholism; prison; STDs, destroying the body, etc.)
11b And make my heart glad…
1. The fact that a wise son makes his father (and mother) glad is repeated often in Proverbs. This is not the first time this theme has arisen in Proverbs.
a. Prov. 10:1 – “The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.”
b. Prov. 15:20 – “A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother.”
c. Prov. 23:15 – “My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. 16Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.”
d. Prov. 23:24 – “The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.”
e. Prov. 29:3 – “Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.”
2. The son or daughter who does LOVE WISDOM and applies it to their lives will make their parents glad… will cause them to rejoice.
a. The obvious reason is that a parent loves his child and wants the best for them.
b. It is heartbreaking to watch a child (an adult child) forsake the wisdom and advice they were given, make foolish decisions, and end up suffering as a result.
c. It causes the heart of a parent to rejoice to see his children make wise decisions—to walk with the Lord—and to be discerning.
d. John said, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
11c That I may answer him that reproacheth me.
1. The command to “be wise” was expressed many times in Proverbs. And the fact that when the child does manifest wisdom it makes the parents glad was also expressed many times in Proverbs.
2. However, this last expression adds a nuance to the meaning of this familiar exhortation.
3. Not only does a wise son make the father glad, but it also enables the parents to avoid criticism and reproach.
a. Most of the reasons given for exhortation to “be wise” had to do with the benefit accrued to the son who chooses wisdom.
b. This proverb speaks of a benefit to the parents of the son who chooses wisdom.
c. Obviously, Solomon did not selfishly want his sons to be wise solely so that he, Solomon, could avoid reproach.
d. The most important reason was of course, for the benefit of the son. Solomon wrote about that benefit often in Proverbs.
e. But in this proverb, he does add this new feature: there is also a benefit to the parents as well.
f. Reproach: Expose; defame; blaspheme; taunt; ridicule; treat with contempt.
g. It saves the parents the embarrassment, shame, and reproach of having to continually excuse or answer for a delinquent son or daughter.
h. A number of years ago we had a singer come to Salem Bible Church. He brought his children up to serve the Lord. He shared the names of each one and what they were doing in life now. When he got to his son, he introduced him as #146-843 – which was his cell number. He was in prison. The son’s foolish behavior not only adversely affected his own life, but it also adversely affected his parents’ lives as well.
4. The reproach of a parent of a foolish son.
a. The parent will be reproached either directly or indirectly and accused of being a failure as a parent.
b. Sometimes that is the case, but not always.
c. Often, like the singer, several kids are brought up in the same family… same home… same training… and they all turn out well except for one. It’s not always the parents’ fault.
d. Some will reproach the parents of a wayward child by accusing them of being overly strict or overly lenient… or perhaps they will challenge your parental skills or methods… or even blame the Bible for a wayward son (“That’s no way to raise a child in the 21st century! Spanking is archaic.”)
e. This is extremely painful emotionally—especially for the mother.
f. Some parents suffer from this kind of reproach—either real or imagined reproach—for many years.
g. Like it or not, in the eyes of many, a child’s behavior is a reflection on the parent.
5. This principle is true in the spiritual realm too. The behavior of a child of God reflects upon our Heavenly Father.
a. Matt. 5:16 – “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
b. I Pet. 2:12 – “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
Proverbs 27:12
Foreseeing Evil
Introduction:
1. This proverb is nearly a word for word repetition of Proverbs 22:3.
2. Actually, the vs.13 is also a repetition of Proverbs 20:16.
3. Evidently, God felt that these truths were worth repeating.
12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.
A. The Prudent Man
1. Prudent defined: Cunning and crafty; or shrewd and sensible.
2. The term can be used in either a positive or negative sense (crafty). Here it is obviously positive – in the sense of a wise, sensible person.
3. The book of Proverbs has had many positive things to say about the prudent man.
a. He takes no offense at an insult (Prov. 12:16).
b. He does not flaunt his knowledge (Prov. 12:23).
c. He takes careful thought of his ways (Prov. 14:8).
d. He takes careful thought before action (Prov. 14:15).
e. He is crowned with knowledge (Prov. 14:18).
4. And in our present passage we learn that the prudent man sees danger and avoids it (Prov. 22:3; 27:12).
B. Foreseeing Evil
1. Evil defined:
a. That which is ethically and morally bad.
b. Adversity; affliction; calamity; grief; harm; trouble; distress; misery; injury.
c. Solomon may have been using the term in its broad meaning.
2. Foresee defined:
a. To have sight of; to have vision; to perceive; to consider; to discern.
3. Foreseeing evil is another way of stating that evil is predictable.
a. This is not always the case, but it occurs often enough to be considered proverbial.
b. Much of the trouble that comes our way is able to be seen ahead of time.
c. A prudent man will see it coming.
d. Sure, sometimes, it hits us blindside and we could not see it coming. That happens.
e. But most of the trouble in the world is very predictable.
4. The prudent man has the capacity to FORESEE the evil.
a. He can predict that trouble is coming.
b. He has the insight to see it coming.
c. He has discernment and the ability to sense when something is not right… when danger is ahead…
d. The prudent man senses the evil on the horizon.
e. Little red flags pop up in his head when something doesn’t sound right.
f. He has a healthy dose of sanctified skepticism.
5. He can foresee “the evil” on the horizon.
a. He doesn’t fall for the email that promises him that a billionaire in Pakistan chose him to be the heir of his millions of dollars… but he needs a $500.00 deposit to secure it for him. He sees the evil intentions behind it.
b. A prudent man can see right through the façade of the advertisements for alcohol which imply that if you drink Budweiser, you too will be at the fabulous parties with gorgeous women and life will be non-stop fun! He can see through that to the evil that is the REAL end result of alcohol: divorce; fatherless children; destroyed livers; Skid Row; prison. He looks beyond the immediate façade to foresee the evil.
c. A prudent young person should be able to discern when a group of kids is trouble or not. You can sense, that with a certain group of kids, you just know that trouble is right around the corner. You can tell by what they talk about; by what they say they have done in the past; by what they think is funny; their attitude towards life; towards spiritual things.
d. A prudent man ought to be able to foresee trouble ahead for those who go online to watch pornography; or to chat and flirt with women online. You know where that leads. A prudent man will foresee the calamity that lies ahead.
e. This principle is just as valid in something as commonplace as driving in the snow. A prudent man will realize that the roads are slippery and will foresee the potential for calamity.
f. There is no end to all the possible applications for this principle.
g. The prudent man will FORESEE. But he doesn’t stop there.
C. Hideth Himself
1. Hideth defined: Absent; conceal; shield; to protect.
2. There are many times when both the prudent man AND the fool will have the foresight to see evil coming.
a. They both recognize that danger lies ahead.
b. They are both aware of the potential for a calamity or trouble.
c. But it’s not just having the foresight to see the evil ahead.
d. True wisdom doesn’t just know; it acts.
e. The fool might sense that danger lies ahead. He knows that trouble is around the corner just like the prudent man.
3. The difference is that prudent man not only KNOWS that evil is approaching. The prudent man HIDES himself from it.
a. He absents himself. He gets out of the way.
b. The prudent man sees trouble coming and acts so as to avoid it.
c. The fool often sees trouble coming too; but he walks right straight into it! He doesn’t hide.
d. Remember that wisdom in the book of proverbs is not merely intellectual. It is not just of the head.
e. Wisdom in proverbs it is primarily a matter of the heart.
f. There is a moral element to it.
g. The prudent sees evil and hides himself in the presence of the Lord.
h. Psalm 18:10 – “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” He runs to the Lord and hides in the strong tower for safety.
i. A smart person will see trouble coming. A wise person will see trouble coming too… and get out of the way.
j. A person who is smart and perceptive is not necessarily wise and moral.
k. A lot of intelligent people know the dangers of alcohol & drugs, but use them anyway! They foresee the evil, but they don’t hide themselves from it.
l. A lot of intelligent people know the dangers of gambling. It has trouble written all over it! But they dive right in anyway.
m. They may be intelligent and perceptive; but not prudent, wise, and moral. If they were, they would have hidden themselves from those dangers.
Proverbs 27:14
Be Sensitive
Introduction:
1. This is a simple proverbial thought that serves as an exhortation to us all to be sensitive towards the comfort and physical well being of others.
2. While the author mentions only one particular situation, it could be applied to countless others.
3. Being sensitive to others is part of what love is all about.
14a He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice…
1. Bless defined:
a. This is a good word; a positive word.
b. It means to bless, salute, greet, commend; invoke divine favor; praise.
2. It is not certain whether Solomon was using the term in the sense of “greeting” someone with a loud voice early in the morning, or “blessing and praising” someone with a loud voice early in the morning.
3. The main point here is not so much the content of the blessing or greeting, but the fact of it… and that it is done early in the morning.
4. It is very possible that this “blessing” was done with the best of intentions.
a. If we understand the word translated “blessing” here to mean “to praise or bless,” then the speaker obviously is doing so with good intentions.
b. He intends to say good things about his friend.
c. He does so with a loud voice – he is enthusiastic and excited.
14c It shall be counted a curse to him.
1. The point of the proverb is that regardless of the good intentions of the one who “blesses his friend”, the one sleeping will consider his blessing a curse!
a. The person may come over to “bless” his friend for a job well done, or for a recent accomplishment.
b. But if he does so early in the morning, and comes with a loud voice, the one sleeping will be irritated, not blessed.
2. For example, consider the student who stayed up into the wee hours of the morning studying for finals and is sleeping a bit late in the morning.
a. His friend may come running into the dorm room with the good news that the patriots won.
b. What he thinks is a word of blessing, his sleeping friend may hear as a curse.
3. Or consider the husband who works the night shift and came home from work and sleeps until 1:00 in the afternoon.
a. The wife may be downstairs doing the dishes and cooking—thinking she is blessing her husband.
b. But the loud noise of pots and pans clanging may well be interpreted as a curse!
4. Solomon’s point about human nature is that it is very common for us to be insensitive towards others.
a. It is easy for us to come barging into a scene all full of enthusiasm and with a loud voice—without even considering how this will be perceived by others.
5. And of course, the principle here could be applied to situations other than one who is sleeping.
a. We should be sensitive to the feelings of others too.
b. Loud, cheerful, enthusiastic words of blessing may not be received well by a person who just lost a loved one.
c. Loud, zealous cheers that your candidate won may not set well with someone whose candidate just lost.
d. Someone who has the flu may not appreciate a loud visitor who came with the best of intentions. The loud voice of blessing may give that person a headache.
e. Someone who is going through a period of depression may not appreciate the one who tries to cheer him up by means of loud, bubbly, over the top cheerfulness.
f. Applications are limitless. The point is that we should be sensitive to the circumstances and feelings of others.
g. This kind of sensitivity is easily achieved by following the old familiar proverb: put yourself in the other person’s shoes… or trying walking in his moccasins.
6. In Proverbs 27:14, it does not seem like the person described in this proverb is trying to be irritating.
a. Rather, it appears to be an issue of a lack of thoughtfulness.
b. Blessing one’s neighbor is good; but not early in the morning when they are trying to sleep.
c. He may have good intentions; he may have intended to BLESS.
d. But the end result of his good intentions is that they were perceived to be a CURSE (invocation of divine harm; reproach; taunt; hissing; speaking ill-will against another).
e. Intentions of being a blessing do not always translate into actually BEING a blessing to others.
f. Be sure that the blessing is wanted.
7. The blessing being turned into a curse in this proverb was the result of poor timing.
a. The loud voice of blessing may have been appreciated a little later in the day—but not first thing in the morning!
b. They were good words; but bad timing.
c. Prov. 15:23 – “a word spoken in due season, how good is it!”
d. A blessing spoken at the right time is so good. But those very same words of blessing spoken at the wrong time come across like a curse… insensitive, loud, inconsiderate stinging speech.
e. Timing matters. It is a matter of being sensitive to circumstances and timing.
f. Ecc. 3:1,7 – There is a time for everything under heaven. There is a right time and a wrong time.
8. In addition to the poor timing, some see in this proverb an expression of insincerity.
a. The loud voice is viewed as being loud, extravagant, and overly flowery in one’s praise for someone.
b. They see insincerity in the fact that the person begins his praise first thing in the morning—and evidently, continues with his flowery over the top praise all day long.
c. That being the case, then this would also be a warning against such praise.
• Don’t offer that kind of showy, loud, extravagant praise to others.
• And don’t be deceived if you are the recipient of it.
• Their blessing is deceitful and will eventually turn into a curse.
• Exaggerated praise should be considered a curse.
• Prov. 26:24-25 – Don’t believe the phony, fair speech of those who flatter profusely. They are usually up to no good.
Proverbs 27:15-16
A Contentious Woman
Introduction:
1. The book of Proverbs is exceptionally practical. It speaks to all areas of life. It is a treasure chest for those giving advice and counsel.
2. One who gives counsel to a brother will be confronted with many of the same, chronic issues that are common to man: money problems; problems with kids; problems with spouses; problems that arise because of the tongue; a lack of diligence; a lack of sincerity; etc.
3. Solomon was a wise observer of human behavior. And he recorded his divinely inspired observations about life.
4. And in his observations, he made several comments on the theme that we see in Proverbs 27:15-16 – a contentious woman.
a. Prov. 19:13 – “A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.”
b. Prov. 21:9 – “It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.”
c. Prov. 21:19 – “It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.”
d. Prov. 25:24 – “It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.”
e. Prov. 27:15 – “A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.”
5. One could argue that this was written from a man’s perspective. It is biased. It is one sided. Men can be contentious too.
a. It certainly is written by a man from a man’s perspective.
b. But let’s not forget that they are also inspired Scripture… written by the Holy Spirit for our learning and our admonition.
c. And these verses were repeated for a purpose.
d. There are lots of passages that deal with the shortcomings of men too.
e. The terms “man or men” occur in Proverbs over 200 times. The terms “woman or women” occur only 28 times.
f. Many of those proverbs deal with problems relating to mankind in general, but some to males in particular. We men have our issues too.
g. But our present proverb points out a problem that Solomon (the Holy Spirit) observed occurring frequently among women: they can be very contentious.
h. Solomon observed this phenomenon enough that he was prompted to write 5 proverbs about this very point… for emphasis… and to drive the truth home.
i. It should be noted also that Solomon knew a little something about contentious women. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines!
j. A couple of footnotes:
• First, I am just the messenger.
• Secondly, there is almost a whole chapter coming up in Proverbs that deals with the virtuous woman. There is no male counterpart to that.
15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.
1. A contentious woman
a. Contentious defined:
• Strong’s: “Brawling” twice, strife, contention.
• Dissention, quarreling, disputing
• This term is used 9 times in the Bible, and ONLY in Proverbs.
• Five out of nine times this term appears in the Bible it is used of a contentious, argumentative woman.
• This proverb would apply to a contentious woman in the work world too—perhaps your boss!
• While this might be applied in many situations, it appears likely that the “woman” was the man’s wife in this proverb. These are domestic issues being raised here.
b. The contentious woman argues and fights with her husband over every little thing.
• She does not allow him to have any peace.
• She is constantly correcting him… pointing out his faults… reminding him of his failures… shortcomings… sins…
• She remembers every tiny detail of every argument they have ever had… and she never fails to bring them all up… over and over again…
• She has a “to do” list a mile long and badgers him over the things that he hasn’t yet done…
• She nit-picks every little thing he does or says.
• She doesn’t really need a good reason to argue. She could argue over the weather and blame her husband for it.
2. Solomon compares a contentious woman to a constant DRIPPING of water…
a. This likely had reference to a leaky roof. (Many of the roofs of common folks were made of sod – and would leak and drip when saturated from a heavy rain storm.)
b. In fact, the sod roofs often leaked long after the storm was over! There could be a severe rain storm on Monday that saturates the sod roof. And long after the rain clouds are gone, the roof still drips—for days!
c. The nagging wife is like the constant dripping of water. The argument may have ended on Monday, but she has a way of bringing it up long after the fight subsided.
d. We might liken it today to a leaky faucet – that endlessly drips, is irritating, and drives you crazy. That’s the point.
e. A nagging wife drives her husband crazy. It is a home a husband doesn’t want to come home to. Solomon noted in three other proverbs that the husband would rather live on the roof… or in the wilderness than in a wide house with a brawling woman.
f. If the roof is continually leaking – it will eventually cause the contents of the house to ROT.
g. The continual dripping of a wife has been the ruin of many homes. Some men get to the point where they can’t stand it any more and take off for the wilderness!
h. Knowing how damaging nagging can be to a relationship… how unbearable it can become for the husband… ladies would do well to take heed to Solomon’s warning here…
i. The Bible is the greatest psychology book in the world. God knows the human psyche better than anyone else. He created it! He knows how it works. Human psychology has a mixture of truth and error. The Bible has nothing but truth.
j. God knows the difference between men and women. Here God states what really drives a man crazy. Godly women who want to build up rather than tear down their homes would do well to take heed to Solomon’s divinely inspired advice.
k. This proverb is more than simply stating facts. The facts are given as a warning… and appropriate action is expected to be taken where needed.
l. When someone tells you that faulty wiring can burn your house down, it is more than a fact. It is a warning – to take care of any faulty wiring you might have.
16 Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.
1. The analogy of verse 15 had already been made in another proverb in an earlier chapter. But verse 16 adds a new comment to the theme.
2. The new truth added here is the fact that the contentious woman not only is nagging, irritating, and drives her husband crazy, but she is almost impossible to stop.
3. Restraining her contentions is like trying to restrain the wind.
a. The word translated “hide” means to hide in the sense of locking up, storing away, concealing, or putting something away… out of sight.
b. It seems to be used here in the sense of restraining, and it is translated that way in several translations.
c. In this context, restrain seems to better capture Solomon’s meaning.
d. You can do your best to restrain the wind, but it is going to keep on blowing whenever it wants to.
e. And wind can be very damaging. Consider the damage done by a hurricane. You can try your best to prepare for a hurricane, but in spite of man’s best efforts, it will blow when it wants and it will do a lot of damage.
f. You’re not going to stop it. All you can do is try to protect yourself against it.
g. The point of this proverb is that a contentious woman is like that. There is no stopping her.
h. The husband isn’t going to be able to restrain her. Any restraint has to come from the wife. Only she can put the argument to rest and stop the dripping.
i. This is a good warning to the husband too. Don’t try to FORCE her to stop. Learn to restrain yourself and learn to let it roll off your back like water off a duck’s back. Trying to restrain the dripping will be like trying to stop the wind.
4. Solomon uses another illustration to drive home the same point.
a. The second expression is not as easy to understand.
b. It has to do with oil which “bewrayeth” itself.
c. Bewrayeth = This term has a broad range of meaning: To call; to declare; to summon; to read; name; proclaim; publish.
d. Most understand this expression to mean that it is like trying pick up a handful of oil.
• NKJV: “Grasps oil with his right hand….”
• It just oozes out of your hand. You can’t really get a grasp on it. It is slippery.
e. Another interpretation sees a man who has anointed someone with a scented oil. The scent “bewrayeth itself” – announces or proclaims its presence…
• The point here is that it is virtually impossible to hide the strong fragrance of scented oil on one’s hand.
5. Each of the illustrations (regardless of which interpretation you take of the oil) drive home a similar point: there is no good way to deal with a contentious woman.
a. The argument can be over in your mind—but it keeps dripping in her mind.
b. Her contentions are going to come whenever she wants—like the wind that you also have no control over.
c. Her contentions are almost impossible to handle—like trying to pick up and hold a handful of oil.
d. Her contentions cannot be hidden—like the smell of scented oil on the hand.
6. Though no particular advice is stated in the proverb, it is obvious.
a. For the woman: Let arguments die out. Bury them. Don’t keep them going endlessly. It does not help; it only hurts.
b. For the man: As with all of these illustrations, there is virtually nothing you can do to restrain the contention. The best advice is patience: wait it out. The storm will pass.
• Eventually the saturated sod roof will dry up.
• Eventually the wind will die down.
• Eventually the scent of the oil will diminish.
• Eventually you will quit trying to pick up oil in your hand.
c. Patience is the answer. The best response is to patiently wait.
d. Prov. 15:18 – “A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.”
Proverbs 27:17
Iron Sharpens Iron
17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
Introduction:
1. This is a common expression in the English language today. It is yet another example of Bible terms and expressions finding their way into our culture and everyday speech. (Feet of clay; etc.)
2. Solomon paints a visual for us that drives home the point.
The Illustration: Iron Sharpening Iron
1. The illustration is that of iron being scraped against iron in order to sharpen it.
2. It is a picture of a knife or perhaps a sword being sharpened by being scraped against another sword.
3. When the swords are scraped in the right manner, the metal scraping against the metal sharpens both swords.
4. During a battle, if a sword struck bluntly against armor or a metal shield, it would become dull.
5. Therefore, after a skirmish in the battle, soldiers of the same army would sharpen their swords by scraping them against each other.
6. One kind of motion would cause the sword to become dull (blunt strike for the purpose of killing the enemy) and another motion (careful scraping at the right angle) would sharpen both swords.
The Applications
1. Solomon’s point is that there is also a battle of ideas… ideological battles… a battle for the minds and hearts of people… and especially, a battle for the TRUTH.
a. The illustration was designed to be a graphic portrayal of some sort of a battle for ideas.
b. When one man has an idea or a thought, it is beneficial for that idea to be tested in the “battleground” of ideas.
c. Ideas can be debated and discussed.
d. There may be a clashing of opposing ideas.
2. Solomon’s point is that in the right environment, that is a good thing.
a. It is good because it sharpens both swords.
b. It causes each one to think about the concept from someone else’s vantage point.
c. It helps each one to think outside his own narrow box.
d. It forces each one to consider objections that he may not have thought of before.
e. It identifies weaknesses in an argument that may need to be fine-tuned.
3. The Republican candidates for president are debating their ideas for the future of our country.
a. They are supposed to be on the same team.
b. The debates should result in sharpening each one and clarifying each viewpoint.
c. The debates should bring to light the weakness and strong points of each candidate.
d. One debater will bring up an issue or a perspective that the others have not considered. That sharpens iron.
e. It forces each one to word his views carefully and fine tune the way he articulates his ideas.
f. In the end, it should be GOOD for the one whose ideas prevail.
g. That’s the way it should work. Unfortunately, there are other machinations operating in the background that hinder the good work – like backstabbing, slander, taking words out of context, digging up dirt from the past to smear the other guy, etc.
h. Instead of attempting to emphasize the truth and formulate the best policies, they seem bent on destroying the others.
i. Putting all that aside, if it were a pure contrast and clashing of ideas and policies, the debates would be good for the process.
j. Our proverb is considering a different environment than that. Solomon is speaking about men who are trying to sharpen the countenance of his FRIEND.
k. The candidates don’t act like friends.
4. As believers, we can sharpen one another in the faith.
a. The key of course is that this kind of a contest is among friends – those who are on the same team.
b. It is a clashing of ideas to discover to the truth… not to put down the other side.
c. It is a clashing of ideas to advance the truth.
d. We might challenge a brother on his explanation of a doctrine.
e. Acts 17:11 – We might question how something said is true—and how it lines up with other Scripture.
• With a right attitude, this can be profitable for all involved. It can sharpen our understanding of a truth.
• With a wrong attitude it can descend into controversy and division.
• The Bereans were not trying to play the game of “gotcha” with their Bible teachers. They genuinely wanted to know the truth and how it all fit together. Their attitude in questioning was good and beneficial.
• The “back and forth” between teacher and student (master and disciples) would be good for both.
• It would sharpen the teacher’s ability to articulate truth and it would sharpen the student’s understanding of the truth.
5. Solomon is clearly speaking of iron sharpening iron among friends. It speaks of an environment wherein both are on the same team, in the same army, and on the same side.
a. They are not out to destroy one another, but to help.
b. In that controlled environment, a little friction is actually good.
c. For example, athletes on the same team practice together to sharpen one another’s skills.
d. This is true of scholars, musicians, and artists.
e. The word “sharpen” in this illustration speaks of something very positive. A knife or sword is most effective when sharpened.
f. Each one in this kind of a debate is out to help the other… and ultimately, advance the truth of whatever subject is at hand.
g. Scientists debate issues—and hopefully not to gain notoriety for themselves, but to advance their science and get to the truth.
h. Workers for a business sometimes have planning sessions in which they put forth ideas in order to determine what is best for the company or the product line. They are all on the same team.
i. This kind of debate and discussion smoothes out our rough spots; it files down sharp edges; it makes us more fit.
6. This principle was not designed for hostile environments.
a. There is an element of truth here that is applicable even in hostile environments.
b. There is a clashing of ideologies and two different world views between the Muslim world and the West. Although the clash of ideas is certainly not designed to help the other side—it may occur by contrasting and comparing ideas.
c. There was a longstanding clash of worldviews during the cold war between the communism and democracy. The leaders of each side would assail their enemies verbally and the process may well have enabled each to fine tune their views and make the contrast clearer.
7. The danger comes when this principle is applied in the wrong environment, especially in the spiritual realm.
a. There is a great benefit when believers of LIKE precious faith discuss doctrine and truths from God’s Word.
b. When Spirit filled believers are hungering to know the truth, this kind of discussion is edifying and beneficial in coming to a better understanding of the truth.
c. But when those who are NOT of like precious faith enter in, or those with a wrong attitude, or even worse, when wolves enter in to the discussion or debate, it is NOT spiritually beneficial.
d. The goal should not be help sharpen those who oppose the truth.
e. This principle is seen in: II Chron. 19:2 – Jehu asked King Jehoshaphat, “Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD?” The answer, obviously is no!
f. It is a beneficial thing for members of the same body to discuss the deity of Christ, but when a twosome comes to your house on a Saturday morning from the Jehovah Witness group, that is not the setting Solomon had in mind.
8. “Iron sharpening iron” has been used as a ruse, a deceptive trick of the devil, to attack the truth.
a. The Bible is crystal clear on the issue of separation. We are to AVOID those who cause doctrinal divisions. (Rom. 12:17)
b. We are to “come out from among them” and “touch not the unclean thing”.
c. We are to have “no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.”
d. Thus, theological liberals, and others who may be saved but are promoting false doctrines should be AVOIDED… not engaged in debates.
e. False teachers never come to the table with a hunger and thirst for the truth and for righteousness. They come to the table to promote their agenda.
f. We are told to avoid sitting at that table. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly or sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
g. Prov. 4:14-15 states that we are to “Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 15Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.” You don’t want to be under their influence.
h. This is the route the neo evangelicals took a generation ago.
• They wanted to sound “broad minded” so they engaged in dialog with the theological liberals.
• They wrongly assumed that iron would sharpen iron and that such dialog would be beneficial to both parties: the truth would prevail and that the liberals would come to see the truth and hop on board.
• The sad reality is that when you violate the principle of separation, even if your intentions are good, the result is bad.
• When those promoting truth and those promoting error sit around the same table and accept one another as equals, the result is that bridges are built.
• And unfortunately, those bridges always end up becoming one way streets from truth to error, and not the other way around.
i. Dialog and fellowship with the charismatics did not bring the charismatics to the truth. It brought the charismatic movement into the evangelical world. Now charismatic worldly music and worship is the norm.
j. Dialog with Reformed Theologians did not bring many over to the Dispensational side. Rather, we have seen a one way bridge built—and Dispensationalists being influenced and overwhelmed by Reformed thinking.
9. “So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”
a. In the proper setting, among friends, brethren of like precious faith, dialog, discussion, debate, and challenging one another is good and beneficial to all.
b. Prov. 13:20 – “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
c. Wise men have a GOOD influence on one another.
d. Therefore, walk with wise men. Talk with wise men. Listen to their wisdom. Discuss it. Question it with a good attitude. Iron will sharpen iron. Wise men will be a good influence in our lives and in our thinking.
e. Walking with fools also results in influence… but not for good.
Proverbs 27:18
A Lesson from the Fig Tree
Introduction:
1. In this proverb, Solomon compares the benefit of keeping a fig tree to the benefit of waiting on one’s master.
2. He uses an illustration from nature to teach an important and deeper truth.
18a Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof:
A. Keeping a Fig Tree
1. Keep defined: To watch; to watch over; to guard; to preserve; protect; maintain.
2. Keeping a fig tree speaks of the farmer who cares for the tree.
a. If the tree needs water, he waters it.
b. If the tree is attacked by bugs, he tries to keep the bugs away.
c. If the tree needs fertilizer, he puts fertilizer around it. The American Indians used to put the fish remains around fruit trees and used compost to fertilize their plants.
B. Shall Eat the Fruit Thereof
1. There are two implications/applications from this thought:
2. If a man takes care of the fig tree, then he has earned the right to eat of that tree. This thought is mentioned in several different contexts.
a. I Cor. 9:7 – The soldier who goes to war is worthy of his earnings; the man who plants a vineyard has every right to eat of that vineyard; the one who feeds a flock has a right to drink the milk of that flock.
b. I Cor. 9:9 – Even the ox that treads out the corn has earned the right to eat some of the corn.
c. I Cor. 9:14-15 – the Old Testament priests and those who preach the gospel have the right to live of the gospel.
d. Luke 10:7 – The laborer is worthy of his hire.
e. II Tim. 2:6 – “The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.”
f. Thus, the man who takes care of a fig tree in the woods behind his house has every right to eat the fruit of the fig tree.
g. The first implication would emphasize his right to eat the fruit.
3. The second implication/application from this proverbial thought is the fact that there is a direct connection between the kind of care he gives the tree and the quality of the fruit he gets from the tree.
a. The implication is that if he keeps it well, it will produce well for him.
b. This is seen in the meaning of the word translated “keep.” It means to maintain, care for, tend to, etc.
c. If you care for the tree, you will get fruit. If you don’t care for the tree, it may not produce any fruit—or any fruit worth eating.
d. And if you take extra good care of the tree, then it will provide a top quality fig that you can enjoy.
e. There is a connection between labor and the fruits of one’s labor. (One commentator noted that among fruit trees, fig trees are high maintenance.)
f. There is a connection between good quality labor and good quality rewards. The tree will provide bountifully for you.
g. That’s the lesson from the fig tree.
4. The application is manifold: there are lots of things in life that are like the fig tree: if you take good care of it; it will take good care of you!
a. This is true of many material things in life: car; tools; house; etc.
b. This is true about our own bodies. Normally, if we take good care of our body, it will serve us well.
c. This is also true in the spiritual realm. If we take good care of our heart, it will serve us well—all the days of our lives. If we keep it with all diligence, it will protect us—for out of it comes all the issues of life.
18b So he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.
1. Solomon takes the agricultural lesson that everyone in his day could relate to and applies it specifically to what we would call the “workforce.”
a. He likens a farmer tending to a fig tree to a servant tending to his master.
2. “Waiting on his master”
a. Waiting on: To care for; to pay attention to; to tend to; to serve.
b. Basically, this is the same concept of caring for a fig tree.
c. The servant is to wait on his master.
• Whatever the master needs, the servant is to do what he can to provide.
d. Of course, this implies waiting on one’s master and doing a good job at it. He is speaking about the servant who takes GOOD care of his master and his master’s needs.
3. “Shall be honored”
a. This servant shall be rewarded; honored; given high status.
b. The term is occasionally translated “glorified.”
c. Like a fig tree, if you take good care of it; it will take good care of you.
d. The servant who does a good job in caring for his master will be rewarded with honor – just like the farmer who takes good care of his fig tree is rewarded with good fruit.
e. Of course this is a proverb. There are exceptions to the rule. Some masters were evil and cruel and wouldn’t ever think of showing honor to a servant.
f. But all things being equal, the principle in this proverb holds true in most settings.
4. The application to us today is obvious.
a. Our social and political situation is different than a monarchy in Solomon’s day, but this principle still holds true.
b. Wherever we work, the worker who attends to his responsibilities and does what his boss wants will be honored.
c. Of course there are some evil bosses just like there were evil masters in days gone by. But in most situations, doing a good job for the boss usually is rewarded.
d. Solomon is encouraging us to be diligent and faithful in doing our jobs.
e. Solomon wrote in Ecc. 9:10, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” That kind of work is normally rewarded.
f. Sometimes it takes years for a fig tree to grow and become fruitful. But the one who tends to it faithfully and diligently will be rewarded—in time.
g. Sometimes it may seem that years go by without being noticed or appreciated at work. But normally diligence and faithfulness will eventually be noticed and rewarded. It may take time.
h. Prov. 22:29 – “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.”
• Kings, lords, masters, and bosses notice workers that are reliable, faithful, diligent, and genuine.
• They are few and far between… but when recognized as the real thing, they are rewarded.
• And even if men don’t notice, the Lord certainly does.
• Matt. 25:21 – “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
• Gen. 39:2-5 – Joseph illustrates this truth. He was a servant who took good care of his master and was rewarded by being made head steward over all of Potiphar’s goods.
• Col. 3:22-24 – In the work world, when we follow the principles in this passage, we WILL be rewarded for diligent service. If not in this life, in the life to come.
i. Faithful men are rare: Prov. 20:6 – “A faithful man, who can find?”
• But those in positions of authority LOOK for them.
• David did. He looked for faithful men to serve in his court. He was looking primarily for men of character (not brilliance or skill—although those qualities may be needed, character matters more.)
• Ps. 101:6-7 – “Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.”
5. This is certainly true in doing the work of the Lord.
a. John 12:26 – The one who faithfully follows and serves Christ will one day be honored by the Father.
Proverbs 27:19
As in Water, Face Answereth to Face
Introduction:
1. This proverb has no verbs (note that answereth is italicized indicating it was added by the translators).
2. The verse literally reads: “As in the water face to face; so the heart of man to man.”
3. A verb needs to be inserted to bring out the sense of the proverb.
4. The verb “answereth” inserted in the KJV seems to capture the meaning the best.
5. Because there is a little bit of ambiguity in the wording of this proverb, the interpretations abound. Consulting the commentaries does not seem to clarify the meaning; if anything, it muddies the waters.
6. I’m going to share with you my conclusions after studying the passage. I can only teach it as I see it.
19a As in water, face answereth to face…
1. In this proverb the author describes a man looking into the water.
a. Perhaps it would be the still water of a pool or lake.
b. Such water reflects a mirror-like image of the face that peers into the water.
c. When you look into the water, you see your face reflected. It is an accurate picture of what you look like.
d. You might use the image of a mirror to make the same point.
2. Water doesn’t lie—just like mirrors don’t lie.
a. The reflection you see is what you really look like. It is YOU that you see in that water or mirror.
b. You might think that that person you see in the water is not quite as good looking as you are, but you would be wrong.
c. You might think that the person you see reflected in the water is much older than you are—but you would be wrong.
d. The face you see in the water answers to your face. It’s the same face.
e. If you had a question in your mind concerning what you look like, peer into the water and the face you see answers that question! That’s what you look like.
f. There is no photo-shop for the image in the water to make you look better than you really do. It’s not like a photograph that enables the photographer to soften the lighting to make the wrinkles disappear.
g. What you see is what you get. Even if you see a very unflattering reflection, water doesn’t lie.
3. Human nature has a way of forgetting that which is unflattering.
a. Jas. 1:23-24 – James describes a man who sees his reflection not in a pond but in a mirror.
• He notices that it is dirty. It is not a flattering picture that he sees.
• But he walks away and forgets how unflattering it really was. Out of sight out of mind.
b. The image we see reflected in a pond also reflects an accurate though often unflattering image of our face.
• It could be dirty.
• Our hair could be unkempt.
• It may reveal rotten teeth.
• It may reveal wrinkles and gray hair.
• It is human nature for us to easily forget about that unflattering image and walk away and start IMAGINING that we look pretty good.
c. We might make excuses for the image we see:
• The lighting was poor.
• The water was a bit wavy and rippled and distorted the image.
• My eyes aren’t what they used to be.
• It is human nature for us to imagine self to be better than self really is.
• We make excuses for the blemishes and wrinkles.
d. Yet regardless of what we think of self, and regardless of the excuses we devise, face answers to face.
e. Like it or not, the face we saw in the water is an accurate reflection of the face that looked into the water.
19b So the heart of man to man.
1. Now Solomon applies that superficial illustration of a face reflected on the water to something much deeper: the heart of man.
2. The face speaks of our OUTWARD appearance.
a. It is the part that others see. Most of the rest of our body is covered in clothing, but people see our faces.
b. Our face is what we look like—but only on the outside.
c. A face is a pretty superficial outward picture of what a person is.
d. I Sam. 16:7 – Man looks on the outward appearance. It is a relatively superficial picture of what the person is really like.
e. Prov. 11:22 – Sometimes the “face” or the “outward appearance” can be deceiving.
• Here Solomon speaks of a “fair” (beautiful) woman.
• She is beautiful on the outside, but is not so beautiful on the inside. She has no discretion. (No good taste; no discernment; no wisdom.)
• Judging as man does, from the outward appearance, we would say she was beautiful! Gorgeous!
• We see the outward appearance as being all important.
• But from God’s perspective, the outward beauty is like a small gold jewel. It is beautiful, but small.
• The woman is like a pig with one small redeeming value – a gold jewel. But overall, she IS a pig.
• The jewelry, as beautiful as it is, doesn’t really make the pig any more attractive.
• In other words, from God’s perspective, the outward appearance is not all that important.
• God looks at the heart. He digs deeper to see what the person is REALLY like—for looks can be deceiving.
3. The “heart of man” speaks of the INWARD picture of a man.
a. The heart does not give us a superficial image of the person, but very deep and accurate picture of the man.
b. What you are on the inside (heart) is what you really are.
c. If you want to know what kind of face you have, look in a pool of water.
d. If you want to know what kind of a person you are, take a deep look into your heart.
4. The connection to the illustration of the reflection of the face in the water.
a. Water in a still pond or lake will give you an accurate reflection of a person’s face – what they look like on the outside.
b. But a man’s heart will give you an accurate picture of what the person looks like on the inside.
c. As we peer into the water we can see our face – our outer man… a superficial reflection of what the person is.
d. As we peer into our hearts, we can see our inner man: thoughts; motives; intents of the heart; imagination; ambitions; goals; dreams; wishes; desires; lusts; purpose in life.
e. That is a much deeper and far more accurate reflection of what kind of person we are.
f. Looks are deceiving. The heart gives us a more accurate account of who we are.
g. Prov. 23:7 – “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…”
5. Unfortunately, like the reflection in the water, the heart does not always give us a flattering view of SELF.
a. God’s Word reflects to us what our hearts are like. It points out the dirt that needs to be dealt with.
b. Jer. 17:9 – It is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked!
c. Matt. 15:19 – “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”
d. Of course, when we are filled with the Spirit of God, good fruit arises in our regenerated heart: love, joy, peace, etc.
6. Like the man who saw his face in the mirror (in James 1), and walked away and forgot what he looked like, there is a tendency for us to walk away and forget what our hearts are really like… and to walk away and do nothing about it.
a. We like to imagine that our hearts are not as bad as the reflection in the Word indicates.
b. We like to block out of our minds what we see when we peer into our hearts… when we examine our hearts.
c. It can be painful to acknowledge and accept what we see.
d. And as mirrors don’t lie, the image of self we see when we examine our hearts is true.
e. We still have a fallen heart that never gets better in this life. It is just as vile as ever.
f. But thankfully, we also have a new heart that is able to experience victory moment by moment.
7. We fallen creatures often put on fronts and attempt to project an image of someone we aren’t.
a. But what is going on in the heart is truly what we are. It is an accurate reflection of the person inside – the real you.
b. We can fool others with that front.
c. And sometimes we can even fool ourselves. (Remember, the heart is deceitful above all things!)
d. But we can never fool God.
e. God sees the heart. He knows our heart better than we do.
f. Putting on a good front and pretending is how most men deal with the ugliness inside.
g. But it doesn’t work. It is like putting a gold jewel on a pig… or lipstick on a pig. It doesn’t change the nature of the beast.
8. Prov. 4:23 – Therefore, keep your heart with all diligence!
a. Our hearts tell us what kind of a person we really are.
b. Walking away and trying to forget doesn’t help.
c. Putting up a phony front doesn’t help.
d. Putting a gold jewel on a pig doesn’t help.
e. The only right way to deal with the heart is to admit it… deal with it… confess our sins and forsake them… yield to God and allow His Spirit to work in our heart to produce good fruit.
Proverbs 27:20
Never Satisfied
Introduction:
1. This proverb consists of one simple analogy – but has countless applications.
2. Solomon likens the insatiable nature of death and destruction to the insatiable nature of the eyes of man. Both are never satisfied.
20a Hell and destruction are never full…
1. Hell and destruction speak of the abode of the dead.
a. Hell: sheol (New Testament term is hades). Defined: The underworld; sometimes translated the grave; or the place where souls go at death.
b. Destruction: Abbadon
• Defined: Ruin; perish; destruction; or the place of perishing; ruin; and destruction; the nether world of the dead.
• In Rev. 9:11, Abbadon is the name of the demonic king of the bottomless pit.
• It is translated “grave” in Ps. 88:11.
c. Both terms (hell and destruction) are used almost synonymously in this passage as death and the ruinous effect of death.
2. Hell and destruction are never satisfied.
a. The point that Solomon makes about hell and destruction is that they are never satisfied.
b. They are personified here as if they had emotions… and they are craving more bodies and souls to devour.
c. Never satisfied defined: Never full; never have enough; never satiated; never satisfied; never sufficient.
d. Hell and destruction have been devouring the bodies of billions of human beings and animals for many, many centuries.
e. And yet, there are still millions more to devour. They are never satisfied.
f. In Prov. 30:16 the grave cries, “Give, give!” meaning, more, more!
g. With all the billions of bodies that have been buried, the abode of the dead is thirsty for more.
20b So the eyes of man are never satisfied.
1. The “eyes of man” is a figure speech referring not to the eye, but what the eye sees.
a. The eye is used here as the organ which arouses lust.
b. It is so used in I John 2:16 – speaks of the “lust of the eyes.”
c. Ecc. 1:8 – the eye is never satisfied with things it has seen; the ear is never satisfied with what it hears. There is an insatiable desire to see and hear new things… go to new places… experience new things… more and more.
2. The Bible speaks of many areas where we are never satisfied.
a. Prov. 30:15-16 – speaks of four things that are never satisfied: The grave, the barren womb, the earth not filled with rain, and fire.
b. Ezekiel 16:28 – sexual desire is never satisfied. (as an illustration of spiritual lust and fornication)
c. Amos 4:8 – speaks of not being satisfied with water – the thirst was not quenched.
d. Hab. 2:5 – speaks of the cravings for alcohol that can never be satisfied. (“Who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied.”)
e. Ecc. 4:8 – The eye is never satisfied with riches
• The story is told of Mr. Rockefeller, one of the wealthiest men in the world at the time, who was asked how much money he would like to have. His answer: just a little more!
• Ecc. 5:10 – “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.”
3. The sinful nature of man is never satisfied.
a. It seeks to sin yet more and more. There is no end.
b. You can’t just commit yourself to sin and spend a year trying to get it all out of your system. Sin doesn’t work that way.
c. Sin is never satisfied. It always wants a little more.
d. Adam and Eve had all the trees in the garden, but were not satisfied. They wanted just one more—the forbidden tree.
e. Cemeteries are full of men, women, and children who were never satisfied in this life.
f. No matter how much or how little, they died thinking that they did not have enough… enjoy enough… live enough… do enough.
g. That is a sad commentary on the human race.
4. Our old sin nature is never satisfied.
a. Hence, it cannot be controlled or fixed.
b. Lusts are not going to be satisfied by feeding them.
c. Nor are they going to die because we starve them. (asceticism)
• Col. 2:21 – attempts to “starve” our sinful lusts will fail (touch not; taste not; handle not)
• Col. 2:23 – they have an outward show of wisdom (man’s wisdom). They seem sensible, but don’t work.
• Col. 2:24 – Neglecting the body and its appetites will not satisfy the flesh… because (as Solomon states) the fleshly nature of man is insatiable.
• We can’t produce holiness by whipping the body; or starving the body. The physical body isn’t the problem.
• The problem is SIN – the nature. And it is insatiable.
d. That’s why we need the ongoing power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
e. Self-discipline will never do. Death is the only solution.
f. We need to reckon ourselves to be DEAD to sin and all of its insatiable desires – and alive in new life with the power of the resurrection available.
5. But this term is also used to describe satisfaction from GOD.
a. Deut. 33:23 – satisfied with the blessings of the Lord.
b. Ps. 17:15 – satisfied with the presence of God!
c. Only when we focus our attention on the Lord will we be truly content and satisfied.
d. Our souls were created to be fulfilled and satisfied with the Creator. Nothing else will do.
e. The soul of man will have no rest until it learns to rest in the Lord.
f. When we come to Christ, we find REST for our soul.
• Rest implies not only peace but contentment.
• That anxious, unsettled state is over.
• All the things we longed for seem to fade away into insignificance in the light of the Person of Christ.
• All the things in life we hoped for… lusted after but never achieved are also seen as earthly and transitory against the backdrop of Christ… the spiritual realm and eternal things.
• The searching for some new thing to satisfy is over.
g. John 6:35 – “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
Proverbs 27:21
A Man to His Praise
Introduction:
1. The first part of this proverb uses an illustration that is identical to Proverbs 17:3.
2. However, a completely different application is made from it.
3. Proverbial illustrations can and should be applied in various situations.
4. This is an important principle in interpreting all of Scripture: one interpretation; many applications.
21a As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold…
A. Silver and gold
1. These were precious metals mined from the earth.
2. When found in their natural state, they were often riddled with impurities…
3. Pieces of raw earth would cling to the metal… other worthless metals and rock would be mingled into a vein of gold or silver in the earth.
4. Hence, when these precious metals were taken from the earth they were impure and needed to be cleansed and purified…
5. There were two processes for cleansing metals (and both are used as metaphors in cleansing and purifying people too).
a. Water – used to wash away sand and gravel from the chunks of metal mined from the earth.
b. Fire – used to burn and melt the metals to purify them.
6. Once refined, they were good to be made into coins or expensive jewelry.
7. When purified, the metals were much more valuable and useful. (Pure gold!)
8. Gold was used often in ancient times… and was quite abundant, yet still prized and given great value.
9. One man noted that there are 13 words for gold in the Bible.
B. The Fining pot
1. A crucible, a refining pot.
2. It indicates a metal pot in which the impurities of precious metals were separated out.
3. The fining pot was used for gold and silversmiths and for the process of refining metals before they were worked into fine vessels (Prov. 25:4).
4. Mal. 3:3 – a fining pot was used to REFINE and purify silver or gold. (Going from the figurative to the literal…)
5. Used only in: Prov. 17:3; 27:21.
C. The Furnace
1. Smelting furnace for metals; a kiln; an oven.
2. The furnace was a construction that was able to attain to extremely high temperatures to melt metals and remove the dross-impurities.
3. The furnace was the source of the heat on which the fining pot was placed.
4. Through this process, the metal mined from the earth is melted in the fire… and the dross removed.
a. It might appear that the gold would be destroyed in the fire, but in fact, the gold is purified by the flames and only the dross is removed…
b. The ore mined from the earth is both proved and improved.
• Proven to be true gold or silver by the results… (Fools gold and other shiny particles would not stand up to such a test…)
• Improved in quality – refined and purified.
c. Apart from the furnace, the dross would remain permanently in the metals.
• The purpose of the smelting is to REMOVE the pieces of raw earth that attach to the metal.
• Until the metals go through the fire, they are unfit for service… to be used various ways.
d. The refiner knows exactly how much heat to apply so as to purify and not to cause the metal to boil over and lose it.
• The refiner knows how valuable the gold is. He is extremely careful not to lose one ounce of gold in the process.
• Some sources tell us that the refiner allows the silver to be refined until he can see his image reflected in the pot. Then he knows it’s pure…
D. The Point in This Context
1. When a chunk of gold or silver ore is cast into the furnace, you are not really sure of how valuable the chunk of ore is until the dross is removed. Then you know how much is solid silver or gold.
2. Thus, the furnace reveals what the metals are really like… what that chunk of ore is really made of.
3. The test of fire reveals what the metal is really like.
21b So is a man to his praise.
1. Some people take this proverb to mean that the refining furnace is likened to praise given.
a. Whatever a man praises, that reveals what his heart is like.
b. Of course there is truth in this… but it is difficult to fit this interpretation with the illustration of the furnace.
2. It is better to understand this proverb as likening the refining furnace to praise received.
a. When a person is given praise, in a sense, it is a test.
b. Just as the refining pot reveals impurities in the metal, so does flattery and praise reveal impurities in man.
c. When a person is given an award, or praise, or a promotion, or applause of any sort, it is in reality a TEST.
d. This test tells you what the person is really like.
e. The way the metal ore reacts to the furnace lets you know what the metal ore is made of.
• A piece of fools gold will be revealed by the test of the furnace to be a fake.
• A piece of rock with a tiny flicker of gold in it will be proven to be not very valuable.
• A chunk of gold with a few specks of dross in it will react in the furnace in such a way (dross is removed) that proves the piece of ore to be of great value.
• The reaction to the test proves what the ore is really made of.
f. The way a man reacts to the test of praise reveals something about his character.
• Consider the example of Herod the king. (Acts 12:21-23)
» He was praised as a god and reveled in the applause and praise.
» God demonstrated what He thought of Herod’s response to praise: God smote him dead and worms ate his body!
3. Praise reveals some men to be proud.
a. Some men will expect praise.
b. Some men will prove themselves to be arrogant when praised because he really believes that he is great.
c. Some proud men will become irritated if they aren’t praised or when someone else receives it – because they felt that they themselves deserved it more… that they were better.
d. Some men receive praise and become conceited.
4. Praise reveals other men to be humble.
a. On the other hand, there are some men (and women) who receive praise in genuine modesty.
b. They are appreciative of the compliment, but don’t make a big deal out of it.
c. Humble men are humbled by praise – for they realize that they are undeserving and that whatever good was accomplished through them was really the Lord working in them… so GOD really should receive the praise.
d. They accept the compliment in humility and seek to deflect the real praise to God.
e. Matthew Henry’s helpful comments: “If, on the contrary, a man is made by his praise more thankful to God, more respectful to his friends, more watchful against every thing that may blemish his reputation, more diligent to improve himself, and do good to others, that he may answer the expectations of his friends from him, by this it will appear that he is a wise and good man.”
5. The purpose of the proverb is not that we should put others to the test to see how they react, but rather, that we should be careful about ourselves—how WE react to praise. Praise can be harmful.
a. How do we handle praise?
b. How do we handle it when others are praised and we are overlooked?
c. II Cor. 6:8 – The apostle Paul is a good example for us in “how to handle praise or criticism.” He received both.
• He did not allow the criticism to paralyze him. He used it for good – to improve his character and his ministry.
• He did not allow the praise to go to his head either.
d. One commentator noted concerning praise: “Thus vain men seek it, weak men are inflated by it, wise men disregard it.”
e. It is not good to BELIEVE flattery. Men may praise you just to be kind, and their flattery is likely exaggerated.
f. Prov. 26:28 – “a flattering mouth worketh ruin.” (especially if you start to believe it!)
g. Prov. 29:5 – “A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.”
• Believing flattery is like stepping into a trap. It can cause the head to puff up with pride.
• Even if it comes from a well-meaning friend. The result (if believed; if allowed to go to one’s head) can be ruinous… like a trap.
• It can also lead a man or woman into making a fool of themselves. If you sing a solo at church, someone is bound to praise you for it—whether your voice sounds like a nightingale or fingernails across a chalkboard. The one whose voice more closely resembles the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard would be best served by not singing again… but if they believe the flattery, they may keep on singing.
h. Be careful with flattery and praise.
Proverbs 27:22
The Fool who Will Not Learn
Introduction:
1. The book of Proverbs has had a lot to say about “fools” so far in this book.
2. Many proverbs simply describe what they are like.
3. Other proverbs rebuke them.
4. Some proverbs exhort them to change their behavior.
5. Many proverbs compare and contrast them to wise men.
6. Other proverbs state how a fool can become wise.
7. Other proverbs list their foolish behavior.
8. Many proverbs speak about the consequences of their folly.
9. But this proverb is a little different: it informs us that there are some fools who are incorrigible. They will never change. They are hardened in their folly and nothing will drive it from them.
The Illustration: Mortar and a Pestle
1. A mortar and pestle is a tool used to crush, grind, and mix various substances.
a. The pestle is a bat shaped blunt object
b. The mortar is a small bowl usually made of hard wood, ceramic, or stone.
c. A substance is placed in the mortar (bowl) and the pestle (small bat) is used to crush and grind it to powder.
2. Usage:
a. Num. 11:8 – Here we see that a mortar was used by the Israelites in preparing the manna from heaven for baking – turning the manna in flour for baking.
b. They were used in grinding plants for the spices they contain.
c. They were used in pharmacies to crush ingredients in preparing a medication. They are still used in crushing pills today. It has become an iconic symbol of a pharmacy today.
d. Regardless of the specific ingredients placed in the mortar, the purpose was always the same: to grind and crush whatever was placed in the mortar, and to reduce it to powder.
e. The specific substance in the mortar in our proverb is WHEAT. It was used to grind grains of wheat into flour for baking bread.
22 Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
The Application to the Fool
1. But there is also another substance in the mortar in our proverb: the fool!
a. Solomon pictures a mortar that has been filled with grains of wheat AND a fool.
b. They were placed in the mortar in order to be pounded and ground to powder.
c. The hard grains of wheat are ground into fine flour – something useful.
d. The mortar and pestle always work on wheat.
2. However, this proverb implies that it does NOT work on the fool!
a. Even though the pounding of the pestle crushes the hard grains of wheat, it is not able to crush and grind the hard hearted fool.
b. The fool is “brayed” in the mortar: old word that means to beat; to bruise; to pound; to strike violently; to crush; etc.
c. This fool is too hard hearted. The pounding does not grind him to powder. He is too settled in his folly to have it ground out of him.
3. Obviously, the concept of pounding a fool in a mortar and pestle like a piece of grain is a figure of speech.
a. The grinding of the fool in the mortar by the pestle is an illustration of the PAIN inflicted on the fool for the purpose of changing him for the good.
b. Hard grains of wheat are crushed to make them useful for baking bread and cakes. The process is effective and beneficial.
4. The book of Proverbs gives many examples of “beneficial pain” inflicted upon the fool which is designed for his good.
a. Prov. 22:15 – “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.”
• The purpose of chastening a child is that they might submit to the correction, be softened, and receive the correction to their own benefit.
• Folly is a part of a young child. It is bound in their heart.
• The purpose of the “rod of correction” (like a pestle and mortar) is to drive the folly OUT of the child.
• That is the norm. Normally, chastening works.
b. Prov. 19:18 – “Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.”
• The chastening needs to be conducted when the child is young—while there is still hope of driving the folly out.
• If you wait too long, the child may harden his heart in his folly… and it may never come out.
• The point: If you wait too long, the child may become so hardened that he no longer responds to correction—even if he was ground in a mortar with a pestle.
• Think of the danger for generations of Americans if spanking became illegal nationally and it was enforced!
c. Prov. 15:5 – a father gives his son instruction, which may be painful to hear, but he does so for the good of his son.
• However, the foolish son pays no attention.
• He is not beneficially affected by the wise instruction.
• Some fools become hardened in their folly and just will not hear, no matter how logical and persuasive the argument.
d. Prov. 13:19 – it is an abomination for fools to depart from evil.
• They won’t leave it no matter how painful it is to embrace it!
• Think of drug addicts and alcoholics; others who engage in harmful behavior.
• Prov. 26:11 – like a dog returning to his vomit, so fools return to their folly. No matter how painful or disgusting, they keep on going back to their folly.
• Their hearts are hardened in it.
• Prov. 19:29 – “Stripes for the backs of fools” – but sometimes even a whipping is not effective. He maintains his folly and hard heart. He wasn’t reached early enough… or consistently enough.
e. Prov. 1:30 – Some fools reject counsel and reproof.
• It is often painful to hear counsel and reproof—especially when it points out our failures and areas that need to change. Some fools reject all such reproof.
• They refused the mortar & pestle of reproof.
f. Heb. 12:5 – God chastens us and rebukes us (pain inflicted). Some believers despise the chastening and refuse to be changed by it… no matter how hard they are ground in the mortar with the pestle.
• In some cases, God has no alternative but to take their lives.
• Heb. 12:9 – Here the exhortation is not to harden one’s heart when chastened so that you refuse to be crushed; but SUBMIT to it – allow the chastening to do its good work in us: grinding us to powder… bringing us into full submission of our Father.
g. Prov. 29:1 – “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”
• Reproof—even being reproved often—doesn’t always work.
• Some fools instead of being softened by the reproof, (ground to powder) actually harden their hearts.
• The result is destruction.
5. Our proverb is a sad fact of life: “Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.”
Proverbs 27:23-27
The State of thy Flocks
Introduction:
1. The final five verses of this chapter speak about the same subject: the care and attention a farmer should give to his flocks.
2. While Solomon’s advice to shepherds may not directly speak to any of us, there is good application for all of us.
23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
The Command (vs. 23)
A. The First Command
1. “Be thou diligent to know” is one word in the Hebrew. (yada)
a. It is a very common word (947 times in Old Testament). It is the normal word for “to know” someone or something.
b. It has other shades of meaning as well: To be acquainted with; to be aware; to understand; to consider; to be familiar with; to have a relationship with; to care for; to look after.
c. In Proverbs 27:23 it speaks of the shepherd’s responsibility to his flocks and herds.
i. The command is to pay attention to them; to take care of them; to be aware of their needs; to be familiar with their needs; know how to take care of them; understand them;
d. Thus, there are various translations of this term:
i. Darby: “Be well acquainted with…”
ii. ESV: “Know well…”
iii. NET: “Pay careful attention to…”
iv. NIV: “Be sure to know…”
2. “The state of thy flocks”
a. State: Literally, the term means “face.”
i. Often the term face is used to represent the whole person.
ii. Sometimes it speaks of the presence of the person.
B. The Second Command
1. “Look well to thy herds”
a. The verb “look” speaks of placing or setting something.
b. Here the idea is that of the shepherd setting his heart upon his flock.
c. He is to know them and to set his heart upon them.
d. This doesn’t mean that they are to be considered his beloved pets and that he should love them like Americans love their dogs.
e. Rather, it means in a more general way, that he is to set his heart on the well-being of his flocks and herds. That’s his job!
f. He is to be devoted and committed to their well-being. He’s in charge. He’s the shepherd.
2. The two commands taken together indicate that this shepherd is to know his flock (well acquainted with their needs for food; protection; water; pasture; etc.) and he is to be committed to their well-being (willing to do what it takes to keep them healthy and safe).
C. The Application
1. We don’t have (m)any shepherds here who tend to flocks of sheep and goats.
a. But there is great application here to other areas of responsibility.
b. Certainly this would apply to the pastor and the elders. We are shepherds. (I Pet. 5:2 – “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind.”
c. A Sunday school teacher could apply these principles to their class.
d. The principles here would also apply to parents who are bringing up their “little flock” at home.
e. Those who have responsibilities at work too – in a sense, those who work under you are your little flock.
2. Whatever your little flock might be, be sure to know them.
a. Be acquainted with their needs. Know the details about how to care for them.
b. Like a good shepherd, be sure they are safe.
c. The better acquainted you are with the flock, the better supervisor you will be.
d. And be diligent to know them. Go the extra mile to find out what their needs are… what irritates them… what motivates them… what they need to excel.
e. And be committed to their well-being.
24 For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? 25 The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.
The Enduring Value of His Flocks (vs. 24-25)
1. The REASON a shepherd should care for his flock is that “riches are not forever… and the crown does not endure to every generation.”
a. Most people assume that wealth is measured in the amount of riches people have in banks; or perhaps people measure wealth in how many crowns or crown jewels the royal family has.
b. But Solomon’s point is that their wealth (as grand as it may seem) isn’t very secure.
c. Wealthy people lose their money all the time.
i. Prov. 23:5 – “for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.”
ii. Jas. 1:10 – “But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.”
d. “And doth the crown endure to every generation?” No! Kings come and go. The reign of some kings was very short lived.
e. In other words, the wealth of the richest nobles and even of kings is not as secure as one might think. It comes and it goes.
2. BUT—in contrast to how most people measure wealth, flocks of sheep and goats DO endure from generation to generation.
a. They have been around since Noah stepped out of the ark.
b. Kings and nobles spend their money and it’s gone.
c. In contrast, sheep and goats keep on multiplying!
d. The point is that the shepherd’s little flock is much more valuable and enduring than he might realize.
e. Could you imagine if money multiplied like rabbits or goats?
3. Therefore, Solomon’s advice is, take good care of your little flock.
a. It is far more valuable than you think!
b. If you take good care of your flock it might outlast the reign of the king and his nobles!
c. The effort and energy put into knowing and caring for your little flock pays off.
d. If you take good care of it, it could turn out to be a more valuable, practical, and enduring form of wealth than the wealthiest in the land!
4. Vs. 25 – And what a deal!
a. The kings and nobles found that running a government or a business is very expensive. They had many people to pay; many products to purchase to keep everything up and running. They had many people and departments under them that were a constant drain on their riches.
b. But the shepherd’s flock wasn’t a drain on his treasury.
c. He simply let his sheep roam on the hillside to for food and water.
d. The hay the shepherds needed to “pay their flocks” just appeared automatically out of the ground. God provided hay and herbs for the herds. It didn’t cost the shepherd a shekel.
e. BUT the shepherd must be diligent in his care for the flock.
i. The shepherd must be diligent to take advantage of the window of opportunity when the hay appears to feed his flock.
ii. The shepherd must redeem his time.
26 The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. 27 And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.
The Variety of Benefits from the Flock (vs. 26-27)
1. Consider what the lambs and goats provided for the shepherd.
a. Lambs’ (wool) is for clothing.
i. It provided enough for the shepherd and his family to be clothed.
ii. They could sell the extra for money.
b. The goats could be sold for money to buy or barter for fields… real estate.
c. The animals also provided milk and meat for the shepherd and his family. The extra could also be sold for profit.
2. If the shepherd was diligent in knowing his flock and their needs and committed to providing for the needs of his flock – his flock would provide for him—and his family—and his maidens.
a. You can’t eat or drink gold and silver. Nor can you wear it.
b. But the riches provided through the flock is much more practical.
c. It provides food, drink, clothing, and even shelter – tents made from the skins.
3. The application is obvious: Take good care of your little flock and it will take good care of you!
a. This applies to all of us in one way or another.
b. Prov. 28:19 – It applies equally well to the farmer as it does to the shepherd. “He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread.”
c. To the business owner: take good care of your employees and they will take good care of you.
d. To parents: take good care of your children, and one day they will take good care of you.
e. This applies to all kinds of things we own and are responsible for: Take good care of your house, your car, your lawnmower, etc… and normally, they will take good care of you.
f. We all have assets; if we take diligent care of them, they will take good care of us.
g. To the shepherd, his flock was his “business.” Whatever our “business” or our “affairs” in life may be, if we are diligent in caring for its needs—it will serve you well.
h. Diligent labor pays off; you reap what you sow. Diligence brings its rewards.
i. Prov. 13:4 – “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.”
4. And perhaps another interesting application can be made.
a. Kings and nobles measure wealth in gold, riches, and crowns.
b. Real wealth comes from the natural world God has created.
c. Psalm 104:14 – “He (God) causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth.”
d. God sends the sunshine and rain that provides the grasses and herbs for the sheep and goats… so that they remain healthy and reproductive… and in turn provide food, clothing, and milk for the diligent shepherd… the real necessities of life!
e. God has done His part; we are to do our part and look well to our flocks!
f. Of course life is a lot more complicated today; but the true necessities in life haven’t changed.
g. And the main principle hasn’t changed either: God has given us all assets (physical, mental, monetary, etc.) and we are responsible to take care of them. If we are diligent – those assets will continue to be an asset and of great value to us and to others.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 28
Proverbs 28:1
The Wicked Flee
Introduction:
1. Proverbs 28 and 29 contain many antithetical parallelisms.
a. This is a parallelism in which the two lines of the proverb stand in contrast to each other.
b. Some parallelisms repeat the meaning in different words; some build on what was said in the first part.
c. These parallelisms state opposites or contrasts.
2. In the first proverb in this chapter the contrast is between the wicked and the righteous – a common contrast in this book.
1a The wicked flee when no man pursueth:
1. Wicked people FLEE
a. Wicked defined: Unrighteous; guilty.
b. Flee defined: Escape; flee away; depart; run to a safe spot;
c. It is used of soldiers fleeing from the heat of the battle; people fleeing from disasters.
2. When no man pursueth
a. Here Solomon states that they run away fearing danger even when there is no danger.
b. No one is chasing them; no one is after them; there is no natural disaster taking place; there is no batter to run from.
c. Yet, they flee and seek to escape anyway.
d. They imagine someone is pursuing them.
3. The point is that wicked people have guilty consciences.
a. Gen. 3:9-10 – When Adam sinned, he ran away from God and hid. The wicked flee. His wickedness gave him a sense of uneasiness and restlessness.
b. Isa. 57:20 – “The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace saith my God, to the wicked.”
• This is the point in our proverb: Wicked people do not and cannot experience REST in their souls.
• They have no peace in their heart.
• They are troubled people… like the sea—there is always something that agitates them… and that always stirs up mire and dirt.
• It is a terrible way to live… no peace… no rest.
• Wicked and guilty men are a terror to themselves.
• Their conscience haunts and troubles them constantly.
c. Our proverb pictures the wicked as fleeing because they are guilty and because they know they have stolen, or lied, or cheated.
• They are like Adam when he sinned. He ran from God and hid. He did not want to be seen.
• The wicked Solomon described must always look over their shoulder to make sure they are not being followed… to make sure there are no policemen around.
• Think of the last days of Saddam Hussein. They said that he never slept in the same place two nights in a row. He was constantly on the move… fleeing for fear of being caught.
• Guilt brings fear; fear causes a man to want to run away and hide. It has been this way ever since the Garden of Eden.
4. Gen. 4:8 – Consider the guilt of Cain when he slew his brother.
a. Gen. 4:13-14 – Cain thought his punishment was more than he could bear.
b. He felt like he was being pursued wherever he went.
c. Every shadow he saw, every noise he heard in the night; around every corner he thought someone was coming to apprehend him and kill him.
d. He ran like a vagabond, from place to place. He had no peace.
5. Matthew Henry wrote: The wicked have “no confidence, no courage, but a fearful looking for of judgment. Sin makes men cowards.”
1b But the righteous are bold as a lion.
1. In contrast to the wicked who are fearful and constantly on the run (fleeing from perceived danger), the righteous are BOLD.
2. Bold defined:
a. Confident; sure; carefree; safe; secure; without fear.
b. The term is also translated “trust” in several passages.
c. At first glance, bold and trust may not seem related at all.
• However, there is a clear connection.
• Boldness is a confidence. In the natural realm, boldness is a sense of self-confidence.
• Trust or faith is also a confidence.
• Faith is confidence in God! It is not self-confidence, but is God-confidence.
3. Usage of the term “bold”:
a. Ps. 112:7 – “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.”
• The word translated “trusting” is the word translated “bold” in Proverbs 28:1.
• The one whose heart is fixed on God and is trusting in the Lord, “shall not be afraid of evil tidings.”
• He need not fear what man can do. God is on his side. He has confidence in God and therefore is bold.
b. Isa. 26:3 – “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
• In this passage, the word translated “trusted” is also the word translated “bold” in Proverbs 28:1.
• The one who trusts in God or has confidence in God (faith) will be kept in “perfect peace.”
• He will not walk about in worry or fear. Instead, his walk is with poise and boldness BECAUSE he rests or trusts in God.
• This confidence is a sense of safety and security which belongs to the righteous man whose heart is fixed on God.
4. Bold as a “lion”
a. The term for lion is a “young lion.” It speaks of the utter confidence of a young lion who has not suffered defeat or severe injury.
b. The youth often feel that they are invincible – hence, the righteous are bold as a young lion.
c. This expression speaks of fearlessness, courage, and bravery.
5. The righteous are bold as a lion because they do NOT have a guilty conscience.
a. They live righteous lives. They walk in accordance with God’s Word. They obey manmade ordinances for the Lord’s sake.
b. They are honest; they don’t steal; they are not criminals.
c. Therefore, they are not constantly looking over their shoulder; they are not worried about getting caught; they are not concerned about the police knocking on their door; they are not concerned about being caught in a lie; they are not worried about the IRS.
d. God gives them boldness; confidence; a sense of security. It is the reward of a clean conscience.
e. Thus, there is nothing between the righteous man and God. His righteous lifestyle and conscience void of offence keeps him in the love of God; under God’s smile. They know that God is on their side.
6. Prov. 14:26 – “In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.”
a. Those righteous men, women, and children who walk in the fear of the Lord have great confidence… God Himself is the Source of such confidence.
b. Think of Elijah confronting King Ahab.
c. Think of Moses who feared not the wrath of the king.
d. Think of Martin Luther standing before the officials at the Diet of Worms as he answered for his faith.
e. Think of Paul as he stood before Festus and Nero.
f. Think of Daniel facing the lion’s den.
g. God gives boldness to righteous men. He gives the boldness to stand when they need to stand; boldness to face danger; boldness to deal with difficult situations; boldness to deal with difficult people.
h. Rom. 8:31 – The righteous man knows that if God be for us, who can be against us? That gives boldness.
i. Pray for boldness for the pastor in Iran who is facing the death penalty for preaching Christianity.
7. It is possible for one who has a guilty conscience to BECOME bold as a lion!
a. If we confess our sins, we are cleansed. (I John 1:9)
b. If our sins are gone, then our conscience has no reason to experience guilt.
c. Heb. 9:14 – Because of the blood of Christ, our consciences can be completely purged of sin and the remembrance of sin.
d. Heb. 10:2b – “the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.”
e. Therefore, we can have boldness, even before God!
f. Heb. 4:16 – We can come to the throne of grace with boldness.
g. Heb. 10:19 – We can have boldness to enter into the heavenly Holy of Holies.
h. I John 4:17 – We can even have boldness to stand before the Lord in the Day of Judgment!
Proverbs 28:2
Leadership
2a For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof:
1. In this part of the proverb, Solomon speaks of a land (country) is full of transgression.
a. Transgression: Rebellion; contrary to a standard.
b. Certainly in Israel’s later history, there were many times of rebellion.
c. Rebellion actually characterized Israel since their days in the wilderness. They rebelled against Moses, and thus against God.
d. God gave them the Law, and immediately, they SAID, “All that the Lord hath said we will do.”
e. Shortly after that, they began rebelling against it.
2. Inner rebellion results in “many” princes.
a. This means that because of the unstable nature of the country, they can expect a large turnover in leadership.
b. Turmoil within the nation manifests itself in the leadership.
c. When you see leaders continually being replaced in a land, it usually indicates chaos within.
d. I Kings 16:8-11; 15-18; 21-22 – That was certainly true in the northern Kingdom of Israel. Israel had 20 kings in nine dynasties.
e. The leadership kept turning over because the people themselves were fickle and unstable.
f. History has given us countless examples. Military coups change leaderships rapidly. Rebellion of serfs with their pitchforks rally against the aristocracy changes leadership. Political movements and their leaders rise and fall.
g. And through all this inner turmoil the leadership continually changes.
h. Instability within the country at a grassroots level inevitably results in instability at the top.
i. That means even more instability… and eventually leads to the toppling of the government or the regime.
j. In a sense, that chaos and instability is a built-in judgment on the land for their transgression and rebellion.
3. We need to pray for our country. America is divided.
a. Transgression has brought about social and political upheaval.
b. There has always been a left and a right, which is a good thing.
c. The two party system prevents one side from going to extremes in one direction and tends to keep an even keel.
d. But today it seems that the moral issues have arisen (like abortion and gay lifestyle) which has even further polarized the land.
e. This has led to a hostile environment of demonizing the other side (and both parties are equally guilty).
f. As Christians, we need to pray. Solomon tells us that hostile division within a land leads to more instability… and chaos could ensue.
g. And certainly as Christians, we should not add to the incivility by rhetoric that inflames and vilifies those with whom we disagree.
h. It’s a free country and we can speak our minds. However, talking about politics does not mean that we have a green light to be unkind and caustic.
4. This principle is true not only in a country, but it also applies to a city, a business, and even a church.
a. Rebellion, turmoil, chaos, and disorder from within will result in a rapid turnover of leadership.
b. Who wants to lead such a group? That kind of rebellion and turmoil will wear a leader out in no time.
c. Who wants to be the CEO of a company that is riddled with problems within? He may discover after he takes on the job that things were worse than he thought… and decide to bail out.
d. Or perhaps the inner division will cause the people to want to cast leaders out because the leader does not cater to their own way of thinking.
e. It is very difficult to lead a group that is torn from within.
f. This is what Paul dealt with in Corinth. They had various groups within the church that did not get along well with each other: “I’m of Paul; of Cephas; of Apollos.”
g. The church had descended into disorder, factions, and were biting and devouring one another.
h. If there were three different groups in the church headed in three different directions, the leader isn’t going to be able to lead them all. He can only lead in one direction, which means that 2/3 of the church isn’t following.
i. It is no wonder Paul dealt so extensively with this church (two lengthy epistles) in order to help resolve the inner turmoil so that they COULD have stable leadership in the future.
2b But by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.
1. Now Solomon states the reverse truth: A good leader will prolong the state (country; city-state; etc.)
a. A divided, unstable, rebellious nation results in MANY leaders.
b. One stable leader results in a UNIFIED nation.
c. Here Solomon speaks about the value of a good leader.
2. A good leader is a “man of understanding and knowledge.”
a. The understanding and knowledge here refers primarily to wisdom in governing. (That’s the topic of the verse.)
b. Knowledge: Knowledge; information.
• A good leader should be well informed; he should have knowledge… especially, the knowledge needed to lead a country… or a business… or an organization…
c. Understanding: Skill; understanding.
• I Kings 3:9 – This is what Solomon asked God for: “an understanding heart to judge thy people that I may discern between good and evil.”
• A good leader will be skilled in what he does.
• He will be skilled in dealing with people and with problems.
d. A wise and understanding leader will deal with the “transgression” or rebellion in the country.
• He will view the transgression as gangrene in the body and will attempt to remove it and replace the rebellion with a calm spirit… unity… a sense of respecting others—even those with whom you disagree.
• This should bring about a healing – like a soothing balm over the land.
• A wise leader realizes that ORDER is vital for the wellbeing of the land and he will seek to restore law and order.
3. A good leader will prolong the state.
a. Prolong: To be long; to lengthen; staying power; patience; be in a state of calm in the midst of a trying, upsetting experience.
b. A country governed by a leader with understanding and knowledge will not be plagued with constant military coups, treason, and uprisings.
c. It will not end in tragedy, but its existence will be prolonged.
d. Why? Because the people are content with the leadership and the way they are treated. He will have a unifying influence in the land.
e. Israel had 20 kings in nine dynasties and eight assassinations. However, the southern nation of Judah enjoyed a much more stable rule of David and his descendants. It certainly wasn’t perfect, but at least there were some good rulers in the south. There were none in the North.
4. And of course, this truth can be applied to countries, to businesses, to organizations, and to churches.
a. Good leadership will be skillful, knowledgeable, and will apply wisdom. In doing so, it will deal with the rebellion, and seek to replace it with unity… law and order.
b. I Tim. 2:1-2 – Let’s pray for our country, its leaders, and for unity and stability. Don’t assume that America as we know it will be prolonged forever. The chaos we see in other countries COULD strike here. Let’s pray that it doesn’t. Let’s do our part as believers to maintain civility and stability, not rebellion and chaos.
Proverbs 28:3
A Poor Man that Oppresseth
3a A poor man that oppresseth the poor…
A. A Poor Man
1. There is a textual issue in this verse
a. The problem is the translation of the first word for “poor.”
b. In the Majority Text, the Hebrew word is “poor.”
c. But evidently, some translators believed that it could not be a poor man ruling over the poor. That did not fit their concept of rulers.
d. They made a slight change of letters to a similar Hebrew word and translated it “a wicked” ruler. However, there was no textual basis for the change.
e. We are going to stick to the Majority Text and view this ruler as a “poor” man who came to power.
2. The two Hebrew words translated “poor” are different terms, but are synonyms.
a. The first word is used a couple of times in Proverbs already:
• Prov. 10:4 – “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand.”
• Prov. 13:7 – “There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.”
b. Zodhiates defines the term as “poor”: It indicates a person who has few resources and little standing or influence in a society.
c. Strong’s defines it as “to be poor, be in want, lack.”
3. So what did Solomon mean by a poor man oppressing the poor by ruling over them in an oppressive way?
a. David was such a man before he was king (I Sam. 18:23).
b. David used the same Hebrew word for poor as Solomon did.
c. There is no need to change the meaning of the term.
d. Solomon is speaking about a poor man who suddenly finds himself in the position as a ruler.
B. Who Oppresseth the Poor
1. Oppress Defined:
a. Dictionary of Bible Languages: (1) Mistreat, i.e., treat a disadvantaged member of society unjustly with the effect of causing one to suffer ill treatment.
b. Dictionary of Bible Languages: (2) Extort, cheat, formally, oppress or mistreat, i.e., steal or rob from disadvantaged persons in a financial or business transaction which has unjust leverage in favor of rich over the poor.
c. Zodhiates: To oppress, to defraud. It refers to extorting or exploiting someone; it can mean to steal or rob.
2. The Poor Defined:
a. This is a different term for poor, but means essentially the same.
b. It speaks of a man who is poor; but it also refers to one who is needy, week, or helpless. That may be the emphasis here.
3. This is an expression of great betrayal, injustice, and cruelty.
a. One might expect that the rich would exploit the poor.
b. It is universally hated—but it happens all the time.
c. That is the feeling that fuels the debate in this country between the 1% and the 99%. It is class warfare.
d. The rich and the powerful have been oppressing the poor since the Garden of Eden.
e. Jas. 2:6 – “Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?” It was common knowledge.
f. It is wrong when the rich oppress the poor. It is wrong when anyone does.
g. But Solomon’s point here is that it is especially evil when a poor man rises to power and opposes the poor.
4. WHY is it even worse when a poor man oppresses the poor?
a. Because he should know better. He knows what it feels like.
b. The rich man may oppress the poor and be ignorant of just how difficult he is really making it for the poor.
c. Rich men travel in the circles of the rich and are usually out of touch with the poor. They don’t know what it’s like to live from one paycheck to the next. They don’t know what it’s like to live in fear that you will lose your home… or may not have enough money at the end of the month for food. That’s another world for the rich.
d. While it is evil for an out of touch rich man to oppress the poor, it is far worse for a poor man to do the very same thing.
e. The poor man has more light. He knows what it’s like to be oppressed… and for him to do so anyway is to sin against greater light of experience.
f. For a poor man to suddenly find himself in a position of power (as David came from poverty to royalty), and to forget his roots, to forget his past, to forget his friends and family who are still poor… is far worse.
g. This does happen—and more often than you might think.
h. There have been many poor rebels who have banded together a rag tag army to take on the political establishment. Sometimes those insurgents are successful and their leader (who may have been a farmer the year before) is suddenly propelled into the position of ruler… which often means dictator.
i. Before you know it, there are more poor rebels who don’t like the way he is dictating their lives, and he ends up oppressing them. It becomes a vicious cycle.
j. Central and South America has plenty of examples of this cycle.
k. We have our own proverb that speaks to this issue: “Power corrupts; and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” (Lord Acton)
l. The poor rebel gains absolute power and revels in it. He grows accustomed to having whatever he wants… and he ends up behaving like others with power – abusing it and using it to advance his own ideology or luxury, and not for the welfare of the people.
5. It is bad for anyone to oppress the poor; but especially so if the oppressor was once one of the poor!
a. Now it is worse than oppression. It is betrayal. It is turning your back on your own. It is heartless. It is hypocrisy.
b. It is worse for the poor people who are oppressed because it dashes all their hopes.
c. When a poor man makes it to the top, they were expecting him to remember them and their situation.
d. They supported him for that reason. And when he turns his back on them, they feel betrayed… disillusioned… let down… used…
e. He rose to power with such great hope… but did not improve their lot in life. It was a real let down… a great disappointment.
3b Is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.
1. Solomon now illustrates from nature what he means.
2. Such a poor man who comes to power and instead of improving the lot in life for the poor, actually makes things worse through more oppression is like the rain which leaves no food.
3. The rain comes with great hope for the farmer.
a. He anticipates that this rain will be beneficial to him, to his water supply, and especially to his crops in the garden.
b. He lives off those crops. They are his livelihood.
c. When clouds roll in, they bring great joy for the farmer assumes that they will water his crops and make his fruit nice and fat and juicy.
4. But sometimes rain comes in with such force that does not benefit the crops. It comes in such a storm of wind that it destroys the crops, breaks the limbs of the fruit trees, and knocks the vegetables off their vines. The rain comes with such force that it washes the seeds and young plants away—leaving nothing (no food) in its wake.
a. The farmer who was so hopeful when he saw the rain clouds feels betrayed… disillusioned… let down—just like the poor man who is oppressed by the poor man that comes to power.
b. He had great hopes; he anticipated it would be to his benefit—but he feels betrayed instead.
5. This proverb speaks about human nature.
a. Power corrupts.
b. And corruption of power is not confined to the rich.
c. If the poor came into power, because they have the same fallen, Adamic heart, they too would be corrupted by it.
d. The heart of man is the same regardless of his earthly possessions. There are good rich men and evil. There are good poor men and evil.
e. Matthew Henry summarized this proverb well: “Those who know by experience the miseries of poverty should be compassionate to those who suffer the like, but they are inexcusably barbarous if they be injurious to them.”
6. Unlike the greedy rich and cruel poor, the Messiah will reign over men in compassion and generosity.
a. Psa. 72:12-14 – Messiah will take care of the needs of the poor and the destitute. He sympathizes with those who suffer and He is a God of great compassion.
Proverbs 28:4
The Law and the Wicked
Introduction:
This proverb contrasts those who break the law and those who obey the law.
4a They that forsake the law praise the wicked:
A. They That Forsake the Law
1. The Law to which Solomon refers is the Law of Moses… which is also God’s Word.
a. The Mosaic Law was to Israel what the US Constitution is to the US. (And more!)
b. It was the Law of the land.
c. It included their religious life (sacrifices; feast days; etc.) but it also included their civil laws and responsibilities—to the government and to each other as citizens.
d. The Law outlined the moral code that the nation of Israel was to live by… and it included penalties for violation of those laws.
e. The Law of Moses was given for the good of the people of Israel.
• Prov. 28:3 just mentioned oppressing the poor. The Law of Moses had provisions to protect the poor.
• It had provisions to assure that justice was conducted in their courts of law; 2 or 3 witnesses; no false witnesses.
• It had provisions to protect women – laws against rape, etc.
• It had provisions to assure a stable family unit: honor your parents.
• It had provisions to protect private property; laws against stealing.
• It had provisions to protect human life – thou shalt not kill.
f. The law was made to protect good people from wicked people.
• This was true not just of Israel, but of every government in every nation.
• Rom. 13:1-4 – Citizens are to honor and obey the laws of the land because the powers that be are ordained of God.
• The God-given function of government is to protect its citizens from wicked men.
• The government is to use the sword (capital punishment—and other forms of punishment) to accomplish that task.
• The government’s job is to “execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” (vs. 4c)
g. For any government to function properly, it is necessary that it be a nation of law and order.
• The order of society is assured by its law-keeping citizens.
• Those who obeyed and upheld the law assured safety and relatively prosperous quality of life for all of its citizens.
• When the laws of any society are honored and obeyed, it is good for the nation as a whole.
• The opposite of a nation of law and order is a nation of anarchy and disorder.
• Nobody would really want to live in that kind of a society.
2. They that forsake the Law:
a. Unfortunately, not everyone does obey the law.
b. That was true in Israel and it is true in every nation under heaven—because all men are sinners.
c. Some men are rebels against any kind of governmental control.
d. Others are just criminals. They break the laws for their own profit and advantage.
e. Some men reject the laws of the land and choose to live by their own rules. Today they often end up in a cabin in the mountains of Montana with an arsenal of weapons just daring a government official to step foot on their property.
f. There were those who forsook the Law in Israel.
g. We in the USA have our fair share of those who forsake the law too.
B. Praise the Wicked
1. Solomon says that they that forsake the law “praise the wicked.”
2. At first this sounds like an unusual thing to say; but when you ponder the words for a moment, it makes perfect sense.
3. Most sensible people would think it quite abhorrent to actually PRAISE wicked men.
a. Who would praise a serial killer?
b. Who in their right mind would praise a terrorist? (Whether he is a right winger or a left winger!)
c. Who would praise a bank robber? A mugger? A street thug?
d. Who would praise a rapist? A child abuser?
e. Who would praise a leader of the drug cartel?
4. The Hebrew word for praise here is “halal.”
a. Who would hear of a murder and say, “Hallelujah”?
b. Who would read in the paper about the drug cartel kidnapping 10 people and leaving their decapitated bodies on the side of the road, and then shout out, “Hallelujah”?
c. Nobody in their right mind would.
d. Praising the wicked is an absurd concept.
5. Yet Solomon says that those who oppose law and order are doing that very thing—whether they want to acknowledge it or not.
a. They “praise the wicked” either by calling their wicked deeds good or by justifying them.
b. While the person who cheats on his taxes would never praise a bank robber, in a sense, he is siding with him.
c. They are both forsaking the law. They are both standing together against the system of law and order.
d. The wicked support one another and strengthen one another’s hands in their rebellious ways.
e. While the small time tax cheat would never verbally praise the “wicked”; his actions do praise him.
f. His actions say, “Go for it! Take what you can out of the evil system. You deserve it! I’m with you, man! Job well done.”
g. Birds of a feather flock together. Lawbreakers of all stripes are really on the same side… supporting, standing with, and praising one another.
4b But such as keep the law contend with them.
A. Those Who Keep the Law
1. As opposed to the law breaker, there are law “keepers.”
a. The term “keep” can mean observe; obey.
• In light of the contrast in the first part of the proverb (forsaking the law), Solomon obviously meant those who obey and observe the law.
• It refers to law-abiding citizens.
b. However, the term has other shades of meaning that Solomon may have been hinting at with the use of this term.
• It can also mean to revere; to care for; to preserve.
• It was used of Adam and Eve “caring” for the garden.
• It is used of a shepherd “caring for” his sheep.
• There is the implication in the use of this term that those who keep the law (by obeying it) are also preserving and protecting the concept of law and order.
• Sometimes in Proverbs, the usage of a term or expression is chosen BECAUSE it is a bit ambiguous and could be taken in a couple of different ways. Proverbs were designed to cause the reader to think and ponder what is meant.
c. Those who “keep” the law do so in two ways:
• They keep it by obeying it and doing what it says.
• They keep it by preserving it… caring for the concept of law and order as a farmer would care for a garden or a shepherd would care for his sheep.
B. Contend With Them
1. Those who keep, obey, honor, revere, and uphold the system of law and order CONTEND with those who don’t.
a. “Them” at the end of the verse refers back to “the wicked.”
2. Thus, there is a contrast in this passage:
a. Those who forsake the law PRAISE the wicked.
b. Those who keep the law CONTEND with the wicked.
3. These are two completely different attitudes towards the wicked.
a. There is no middle ground. You cannot be neutral.
b. It is an either/or situation.
c. Either you stand with wicked lawbreakers or you stand against them. Either you praise them or contend with them.
4. “Contending with the wicked” will be with us until the New Heaven and the New Earth!
a. Here Solomon informs us of something we already know – that there will always be a battle between law keepers and law breakers… between law abiding citizens and criminals.
b. Prov. 28:7 states that contrast as well – between one who keeps the law (a wise son) and one who does not – (a companion of riotous men).
5. There is good application for the local church too.
a. Those who violate the Word of God and seek to forsake the Scriptures are in fact praising the wicked.
b. And those who honor God’s Word and seek to obey it will always be engaged in a spiritual battle with those who don’t honor God’s Word.
c. Since the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 there has been an ongoing battle in churches to maintain obedience to the Word and the upholding of sound doctrine.
d. And there has always been the attacks from the Wicked One who seeks to destroy the purity of the churches by praising those who depart from the Scriptures.
e. There will always be those in the church who stand FOR the truth and also stand AGAINST all forms of error – doctrinal and moral.
f. And as much as we hate to have to fight—we have to. We are engaged in a spiritual battle.
g. We have two choices: either to honor God’s Word and uphold it OR dishonor it and disobey it.
h. If we choose to dishonor the Word, then we are actually praising wicked men.
i. But if we choose to honor and obey God’s Word, we will always be engaged in contention with wicked men and the wicked One – Satan.
j. We must not candy-coat evil; we can’t call evil good in order to avoid contention. Contention is unavoidable.
k. I wish we didn’t have to contend with evil; but I would rather contend with wickedness than praise it and stand with it.
Proverbs 28:5
Seek and Understand
5a Evil men understand not judgment:
1. In the first section of this proverb, Solomon mentions the “evil man.”
2. This character has been mentioned several times in this book.
3. Evil defined:
a. Bad morally and ethically; disagreeable; unwholesome; harmful.
b. The term is used of behavior; people; circumstances; etc.
4. Solomon states that evil men are not able to understand judgment.
a. Judgment speaks of justice; fairness; law; that which is proper; right; uprightness.
b. Thus, the expression states that men who lead immoral, unethical, or harmful lives (they don’t obey God or His laws) have a twisted sense of right and wrong… they cannot discern moral issues… they don’t understand justice.
c. Those who practice evil lifestyles either never obtained or lose their sense of morality and justice.
d. They don’t understand judgment because they do not know God – the Standard of judgment… the standard of right and wrong.
e. Isa. 5:20-21 – Isaiah speaks of those who are wise in their own eyes… but are really fools.
• They cannot distinguish between good and evil… light and darkness.
• This is becoming more and more prevalent in our country now that the Bible is all but banned.
• Christianity’s influence in America is waning—and along with it, so is our ability to distinguish good from evil.
5. This is an important principle that we have seen several times in the book of Proverbs: wisdom and understanding in moral areas is not directly linked to intellect.
a. This kind of discernment is not a matter of the head, but is a matter of the heart.
b. In other words, you don’t need a high IQ to be able to discern spiritual things… moral matters… right and wrong… justice, etc.
c. Very often an older, uneducated man, who only made it through the sixth grade, has a keener sense of wisdom and discernment in these areas than the Harvard grad who was tops in his class.
d. The Stanford professors in the department of psychology may be discussing and debating how to handle children who suffer from “sudden anger syndrome.” They discuss the best therapies and medications to use, while the little old man who never made it past sixth grade may have a much better solution: spank him and tell him to stop!
e. Men with evil natures who don’t know the Lord may do the best they can, but they have a distorted view of right and wrong – moral and immoral.
f. And Solomon tells us that their distorted view (their inability to understand judgment – uprightness) is not because of a lack of intellect.
g. It is because of their fallen, evil nature… which has never been regenerated, became their character and lifestyle. And that distorts their ability to understand issues of morality and truth.
6. Eph. 4:18 – They have the understanding darkened; they are alienated from the life of God; they are ignorant of spiritual things because of the blindness of their heart.
a. Paul states something similar to what Solomon wrote: the unsaved man who has an evil heart does not understand spiritual things.
b. He is blind and ignorant… because he is alienated from God.
c. And because he loves the blindness and the darkness, he will not come to the light – where he might see and understand.
d. And in that darkness, they are likely to believe the strong delusion that is so prevalent in the kingdom of darkness.
7. Ignorance of spiritual truth and moral issues is due to an unwillingness to know it and obey it. (John 7:17)
5b But they that seek the LORD understand all things.
1. In this proverb, the parallelism is between the evil man and the one who seeks the Lord (a righteous man). Those who seek shall find.
2. Those who seek the Lord SHALL understand all things.
a. That’s quite a statement!
b. It runs contrary to what the average person on the street thinks about born-again Christians. The world views us as flat-earthers… or Neanderthals!
c. The world considers the born-again Christian as one who is stuck in medieval times and doesn’t understand the new morality.
d. It’s not that we don’t understand the new morality or secular humanism that dominates their lives. We understand, but we disagree! We believe it is immoral and wrong.
e. But God says that the one who seeks the Lord shall understand all things—in the area of spiritual things and morality.
f. Seeking God isn’t going to help us to understand chemistry, technology, or medicine. But it does enable us to understand spiritual things… the difference between right and wrong… holy and unholy.
g. Prov.1:7; 9:10 – As Solomon wrote several times before: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom.
3. Rom. 3:11 – “There is none that understandeth; there is none that seeketh after God.”
a. There is a clear connection between those two thoughts. Understanding spiritual things is directly connected to “seeking after God.”
b. The one who refuses to seek after God will never understand spiritual things; he will never have spiritual discernment.
c. But the one who does seek after God WILL understand.
4. I Cor. 2:14-15 – Paul makes a similar statement with respect to the unbeliever (natural man) and the Spirit-filled Christian (spiritual man).
a. The natural man (who lives in the natural realm—with an evil nature that results in an evil lifestyle) does not and CANNOT understand spiritual things. He is dead to the spiritual realm.
b. But the spiritual man has the capacity to understand all things—in the spiritual and moral realm.
c. The spiritual man is indwelt by and filled with the Holy Spirit. Thus, this man has a sense of discernment that the natural man could never have.
d. It doesn’t help our IQ; the presence of the Holy Spirit does not necessarily mean our grade point average will improve (although it may result in causing us to be a more diligent student).
e. I John 2:20 – We have the anointing of the Spirit (His indwelling presence) and because of the Spirit; we can know all things—that pertain to life and godliness.
f. Heb. 5:14 – But having the Spirit is vital to understanding judgment and being able to discern good and evil.
Proverbs 28:6
Better is the Upright Poor
Introduction:
1. This verse is the last of 20 “better than” verses in Proverbs.
2. In this proverb contrasts two men: a poor upright man and a rich perverse man.
3. Solomon makes a value judgment: The poor upright man is better.
6a Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness
1. Solomon is NOT saying that it is better to be poor than to be rich.
a. There are so many warnings about wealth in the Bible, that some have concluded that it is wrong to have wealth.
b. In fact, the wording in our proverb implies the opposite. The proverb implies that it is worse to be poor than to be rich.
c. All things being equal, who would ever choose poverty over wealth? Who would ever choose to not have enough money to feed your family over having plenty of money to feed your family? Who would choose to lose their house to foreclosure over having enough money to pay cash for their home?
d. While Solomon gives many warnings about wealth in the book of Proverbs, he never states that it is wrong to be rich. He speaks of physical wealth as one way in which God blesses His people.
• Prov. 15:6 – “In the house of the righteous is much treasure.”
• Prov. 28:20 – “A faithful man shall abound with blessings.”
e. God told Moses to remember “the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth.” (Deut. 8:18)
f. “Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all.” (I Chron. 29:12) Riches are gifts from above.
g. Many godly saints have been very wealthy: Adam and Eve; Abram; Lot; the patriarchs; David; the godly kings; Job; etc.
2. The first man in this contrast is physically poor, but upright in his walk with God.
a. Upright: Integrity; pure; innocent; moral goodness; guiltless; blameless.
b. II Sam. 15:11- “And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing.” They were innocent; pure in motives; unblameable.
c. Gen. 20:5-6 – Abimelech acted in integrity after Abraham stated that Sarah was his sister. – “Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. 6And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.”
d. Uprightness (integrity) is the quality that Solomon is highlighting in this proverb.
3. The combination of poverty and uprightness.
a. His point is that even with this strong negative (poverty) uprightness is still better.
b. It would be like saying, it is better to by physically sick and walk in integrity than… (something else).
c. No one would choose to be sick or poor. But even those negative things cannot hold back the surpassing value of uprightness – integrity!
6b Than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.
1. The second man in this contrast is rich.
a. This would normally be something valued and highly prized.
b. Almost everyone would prefer to be rich over being poor—all things being equal.
c. There are many warnings in the Bible about the dangers of wealth. (That’s a good study for another day.)
d. But there are also some warnings in the Bible about the dangers of poverty.
e. Prov. 30:8 – “Give me neither poverty nor riches!”
• Riches have a tendency to cause us to forget the Lord and to feel self-sufficient.
• Poverty can lead to a bitter spirit that curses God and steals from others.
• Every situation in life has its good points and bad.
• But all things being equal—having enough money to survive is preferred over not having enough money to survive.
• III John 2 – John wished his readers would be healthy and would prosper both physically and in their souls. That is a good wish/prayer.
f. The second man in this contrast is wealthy physically. He has a lot of money and/or valuable property. He is rich in the things of the world.
2. But this man has a serious character flaw: he is “perverse in his ways.”
a. Perverse: The basic meaning of the term is “crooked”—morally and religiously. It is warped; distorted; corrupt.
b. This kind of “crookedness” is found in many areas of life.
c. Prov. 17:20 – “He that hath a froward heart findeth no good…”
d. Prov. 11:20–“They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the LORD: but such as are upright in their way are his delight.” Here we see our two words in the same proverb. God hates a forward (perverse) heart.
e. Prov. 19:1 – “Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.”
• Here is a nearly identical proverb, only the contrast is between the poor man of integrity and a man who is perverse in his lips.
• Perversity is often found in the language men use.
• Believers should be careful and go the extra mile NOT to use language that is anywhere near tainted or perverse.
• In a culture in decline that means exerting extra care.
• We want our language to be pure—not just “not as bad as the average Joe.”
f. Prov. 8:8 – “All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse (same word) in them.” Note that nothing perverse or crooked comes out of his mouth.
3. The concept of being “perverse” (crooked) is used in our proverb in a very general sense: perverse in his ways.
a. We often associate perversity with sexual perverts. Certainly that would be included in the concept.
b. But this term is much broader than that. Already we have seen proverbs that associate perversity with the heart and the tongue.
c. Solomon also describes this rich man as also being perverse in his WAYS.
• Ways: A road or a path that is travelled; his daily walk; his lifestyle; one’s general pattern of life.
• The perversity or crookedness has permeated deep into the life and lifestyle of this man.
• It has affected his mind, heart, tongue, and in general, the whole path of life he is on!
• If a person is crooked, they will be crooked in their business dealings; in their everyday conversations; in the way they treat others; in their home; in school; etc.
d. This is the opposite of an upright man – the opposite of a man of integrity.
e. Character affects all of one’s ways – every aspect of his life.
• If a person is upright, then they will be upright in their mind, heart, thoughts, speech, and actions.
• If a person is perverse or corrupt, then they will be perverse and corrupt in their mind, heart, thoughts, speech, and actions.
4. The contrast between the two men: it is better to be a poor man of integrity than to be a rich man who lacks integrity.
a. Most people want to be rich… or at least well off.
b. That’s pretty normal. It should not be our number one drive in life, but it is one of the benefits of hard work, hard study, etc.
c. Many people take great risks to become rich. Think of the California gold rush and all that people endured to become rich. They left everything behind; they traveled by covered wagons over dirt trails; over the Rocky Mountains; through deserts; etc—in order to make it to California to strike it rich.
d. People will put up with a lot of sacrifice in order to become rich.
e. People will endure years of study in school in order to have a better chance at getting a good job and being well off.
f. People will pay a lot of money for school and will completely devote years out of their lives to prepare themselves educationally for a job that pays well and has a good chance of prosperity.
g. Think of what so many immigrants do in order to make it to America—where they think the roads are paved in gold… only to discover that they are paved in potholes! Some hide in boxes and ship themselves from Laos to America. Some hop on rickety boats to escape Cuba in order to make it in America.
h. People are willing to sacrifice, suffer, leave everything behind; to cross oceans, exert themselves, study; pay high tuitions; etc.—do almost anything to have the chance to make it in this life—to strike it rich.
i. This proverb states that although a man may be willing to go without many things in order to be rich, a wise and godly man should NEVER be willing to give up his integrity in order to be rich.
j. Even though poverty can be a real trial and includes suffering and grief, it is still better to be poor and walk in integrity, than to be rich and not have integrity.
k. A man might obtain many earthly treasures that are valuable beyond description; but they are not as valuable as integrity.
l. Ideally, everyone would prefer to be both rich and honest – like Solomon.
m. But this proverb makes a bold statement in a proverbial and thought provoking way: integrity is better than riches.
Proverbs 28:7
The Company We Keep
Introduction:
1. This proverb sets before our eyes a contrast of two different kinds of men.
a. One is a wise son who obeys God’s law.
b. The other is a companion of riotous men.
2. They represent two very different lifestyles.
7a Whoso keepeth the Law is a wise son…
1. First we read of the son who keeps the Law.
a. This was the Old Testament, during the dispensation of Law.
b. Every Jewish citizen was expected (commanded) to keep the Law of Moses.
c. Their relationship to their country, countrymen, and to God depended upon it.
2. Keep: Guard; protect; observe; obey.
a. In our proverb, the term is used in the sense of obey or observe.
b. The author speaks of a son who walks in obedience to the Law of God… which was also the law of the land.
c. He wasn’t a rebel; he wasn’t a criminal; he wasn’t a traitor; he wasn’t out to overthrow the government; he wasn’t seeking to find ways around the law. He kept it. He obeyed it.
3. Law: the term means “instruction.”
a. It could be used in the sense of God’s law or the instruction from a mother or father.
b. Of course the one who keeps God’s Law will also keep the instruction of his parents – because God’s Law included that requirement: children obey your parents.
c. Obedience to God’s Law also includes obedience to the laws of the land. They were one and the same for Israel. And today, the “powers that be are ordained of God.” We are commanded to “obey all man made ordinances for the Lord’s sake.”
d. Obedience to God’s law incorporates earthly laws as well – both in the family and in the country. By way of application, we might even want to add the rules at work too – as servants were to obey their masters.
4. Ps. 119 speaks much of “keeping the Law.”
a. While the proverbs and the psalms describe life under the Old Testament Law, there is great application to the believer today. We might (by way of application) substitute “Law” with the “Word of God” for us today.
b. Ps. 119:69 – The right way to keep the Law is to do so with the whole heart – wholehearted obedience.
i. This speaks of not just doing what it said outwardly, but also doing what it said from the heart.
c. Ps. 119:2 – “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.” There is a special blessing that comes from obedience. (A clean conscience; peace; boldness.)
d. Ps. 119:22 – “Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.” There is an expectation of being free from reproach and contempt that comes from a sinful lifestyle.
e. Ps. 119:129 – “Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.” There is a sense of wonder and awe that comes from living in obedience.
f. Ps. 119:33-34 – “Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. 34Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.” There should be an inner desire to live in accordance with God and His Word… and to do so wholeheartedly.
5. The son who obeys God’s Law is a wise son.
a. Wise: understanding; insight; discreet; the ability to perceive things as they really are; discernment.
b. This son will have wisdom from above.
c. He will have guidance and instruction from above.
d. By keeping the Law of God he will avoid many pitfalls in life.
e. Note that it is the son who KEEPS the law that is wise—not the son who studies the law or knows the Law. It is possible to dedicate one’s life to studying the Law (like the Scribes and Pharisees) and not DO what it says.
f. Wisdom doesn’t come from knowing in the head; it comes from obeying from the heart.
7b But he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father.
1. Here we have the contrast: between a wise son who obeys the law and a companion of riotous men who shames his father.
2. Companion: Friend; comrade; a special friend; used of a best man in a wedding – the friend of the groom.
3. Riotous men: Glutton; vile; worthless one; light – no depth; insignificant one.
a. Several translations translate this term as “glutton,” as it is translated in Deut. 21:20.
b. Deut. 21:20 – “This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, (same word) and a drunkard.”
c. Out of 7 Hebrew dictionaries, five of them included the meaning of a glutton; but the meaning seemed to be much broader than that. A glutton would be one good example of such a light and worthless person.
d. But the term is broader: Glutton; drunkard; immoral man; lazy; sluggard; light, superficial and worthless person with no depth of character.
4. Prov. 23:19-21 – Solomon had already warned against associating with such a “light and worthless” crowd.
a. One reason given here is that their laziness results in poverty.
b. That kind of laziness and party attitude can ruin your family and your life.
c. Therefore, listen to your parents’ instruction! (vs. 22-23)
d. Sometimes young people get their advice and counsel from “light persons” and from gluttons (party goers) instead of taking heed to the instruction of their parents. That is not a good idea.
e. I Cor. 15:33 – Bad company (communications = fellowship) corrupts good manners.
• You can’t associate with light persons and not pick up some of their lightness.
• You can’t associate with gluttons and not adopt some of their lifestyle – laziness; self-indulgence; party attitude towards life; etc. It rubs off.
f. Prov. 13:20 – “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” There are consequences to such associations and companionships.
5. This unwise son shames his father.
a. The father of a light, superficial son who is a glutton and a party goer with no direction in life will be ashamed of his behavior.
b. Of course, the opposite is true as well – a son who obeys the Law and is wise brings great joy to his father.
c. But the unwise son (the friend of gluttons and wine bibbers) can change his ways. He can turn around. The first step is to STOP associating with the light and vain persons
d. Ps. 119:115 – “Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.”
• It does become a choice between the two: associating with evildoers or associating with God, His word, and those who love His word.
• A foolish son CAN repent and bring forth the fruits of repentance by leaving his old ways and his old friends behind and making better choices in life.
• The prodigal son did just that. He repented and returned to his father—and found his father ready and waiting to receive him with open arms!
e. Ps. 119:65 – And when he leaves his light and vain friends behind, he should replace them with godly friends. “I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.”
Proverbs 28:8
Unjust Gain
8a He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance…
1. In this proverb, Solomon is speaking about one who increases his substance.
a. He stands in contrast to the poor in the second part of the proverb, which would indicate that he has substantially increased his substance.
b. The contrast is between a rich man and a poor man.
c. Throughout history, there has always been tension or friction between the rich and the poor—the haves and the have-nots.
d. We see this played out in our city streets with the Occupy Wall Street movement.
e. Their complaint is that the rich oppress the poor and the playing field is not fair… it is unduly tilted towards the rich.
f. This is a modern day reenactment of the peasants and the serfs charging after the wealthy landowners and the nobility.
g. James 5:1-6 – The book of James speaks about this tension between the rich and the poor as well.
2. But in our proverb (as well as in James), the conflict is not between the rich and the poor, but between the UNJUST rich and the poor.
a. James speaks of the rich men who failed to pay the poor and kept back their money by fraud. (vs. 4)
b. The rich man in James condemned and killed the poor (vs. 6).
c. In James 2:6, James speaks about the rich man despising and oppressing the poor and taking them to court.
d. The Bible does not condemn the rich. It is not wrong to have wealth.
e. But the Bible clearly condemns fraud, oppression, and deceit.
f. And in the real world, the wealthy are usually in a better position to oppress, deceive, and defraud than the poor are.
3. Our proverb is about a man who increases his substance: he becomes very rich.
a. And the proverb condemns his actions.
b. However, it is not the FACT of increasing his substance, but the MEANS of increasing his substance that is exposed and condemned here.
c. This particular rich man became rich by (1) usury, and (2) unjust gain.
4. Two corrupt policies:
a. Usury
• Defined: Literally it means to strike or bite off (used of a snake bite); it came to mean requiring interest payments on a debt or loan; charging money for a loan—above and beyond what the amount of the loan was.
• This practice was forbidden between Jews in Israel under the Mosaic Law.
» Deut. 23:19-20 – They could loan with usury to a foreigner, but not a fellow Jew. God would withhold His blessing from those who disobeyed this law.
» Lev. 25:36-38 – Again, the law is repeated. This included more than money. It also included “victuals” or food supplies – sheep; grain; milk; etc. Note the reason given: I am the Lord… the One who GAVE YOU the land and all the material goods that is in the land.
• Deut. 15:7-8 – Not only were the Jews not to loan money with usury, they were to generously HELP the poor.
» It was acceptable to loan to the poor, but it was not acceptable to loan with usury.
» That was considered oppression and taking unfair advantage of others.
• It was forbidden for Jews to increase their substance by means of usury against their brother.
• A clarification and application to today:
» We interpret the Bible according to the grammatical and historical setting of the day in which it was written.
» When the Bible was written, they lived under a completely different economic system.
» They didn’t have to deal with inflation and other modern monetary issues.
→ If you loaned your neighbor a camel and two sheep, 15 years later, he could pay you back a camel and two sheep – and it would be exactly even.
→ But if you loaned someone $100.00 fifteen years ago, and 15 years later he pays you back $100.00, you have actually lost money. That $100.00 isn’t worth what it was back then. (What was a gallon of gas in 1997? ($1.30-$1.40)
→ Interest today is needed just to keep even.
→ In addition to that, if you had put your $100.00 in a bank or CD for that time period, you would have MADE interest. Thus, loaning without interest today puts you WAY behind.
→ Not only has his $100.00 lost value due to inflation, but it also lost the interest that it would have had in the bank or in a cd.
→ It is like comparing apples and oranges if we try to implement the principle of usury to today’s economy. It doesn’t work.
→ It is certainly not wrong to loan money to a brother today with interest.
→ The application to today would be to not be excessive in interest. Don’t try to take unfair advantage over others in your use of money.
b. Unjust gain –
• Defined: Most common meaning is “multiply,” but a variety of other translations are also given: “Ask much” (Gen/ 34:12); “gather much” (Ex/ 16:18); “yield much” (Neh. 9:37); “to heap” (Ezk. 24:10).
• It is sometimes translated as “usury,” and it has also been translated “extortion.”
• It could include over charging for products; using unjust weights; etc.
• The KJV’s “unjust gain” captures the meaning, and is broad enough to include usury and other forms of unjust means of taking advantage of the poor.
• The application from this term broadens the net to include excessive interest rates, but also any other form of financial or material oppression of the poor.
• In the modern world, there are countless examples of extortion, deceptive sales methods, and a multitude of scams that are used to take advantage of others.
• It is unfair, dishonest, and sinful behavior.
8b He shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.
1. In the second part of the proverb, Solomon explains what will happen to the man who increases his substance by unjust means: he will gather wealth for him who will pity the poor.
2. Like all proverbs, the author’s intention was to drive home one main point.
a. The statement itself is a nugget of truth. It doesn’t cover every possible situation. There will be exceptions to the principle… but even so, the principle still remains as valid.
b. The main thrust of this proverb is to state that justice eventually wins the day.
c. Eventually, justice prevails over injustice… kindness and generosity will ultimately triumph over greed and selfishness.
d. The meaning is similar to Jer. 17:11 – “As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.”
• Those who get rich by dishonest and unrighteous means shall leave their wealth to others… and will be proven to be a fool.
• He is as foolish as a partridge who sits on eggs—perhaps belonging to another bird (gains wealth) but they never hatch (never gets to enjoy the wealth).
3. Solomon doesn’t tell us in this proverb exactly HOW this will take place.
a. Is this greedy extortionist taken to court and thus loses his money to someone who is kind and shows pity on the poor?
b. Does he die and leave his wealth to someone who shows pity to the poor?
c. Is his wealth and property lost during a war and given to others?
d. Do the politicians that allowed this to happen lose their political position and clout, and a change of laws occurs which take away the loopholes for this greedy man to oppress others?
e. In one way or another, God in His Providential dealings is able to take from the wealthy oppressors and give to the poor.
f. The precise manner in which this is carried out is not the point. The fact that justice eventually prevails IS the point.
g. You reap what you sow.
Proverbs 28:9
Disobedience and Prayer
Introduction:
1. This proverb speaks about the relationship between obedience and answered prayer.
2. There is a direct connection.
3. Over all, the point of the proverb is that if we don’t listen to God, why should He listen to us?
9a He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law…
1. The first half of this proverb describes the person in view: a disobedient man (or woman or child).
2. In Solomon’s day in the age of Law, obedience was marked by whether one obeyed God’s Law or not.
3. This man turned his ear away from hearing the Law.
4. He not only did not DO what it said, he wouldn’t even listen to what it said!
5. This is not a man struggling to obey, as Paul did in Romans seven.
a. In Romans 7, Paul wanted to obey the Law but found himself unable to do so.
• Vs. 22 – Paul had a high regard for God’s law.
• Vs. 18 – He had a strong desire to obey the Law—but HOW to perform it he found not.
b. The man Solomon describes is not at all like Paul in Romans 7.
c. The man Solomon describes isn’t desiring to obey and struggling in his performance of obedience.
d. Rather, this man doesn’t even want to hear what the Law says.
e. He has no interest in the Law, in God, or spiritual things.
f. Solomon is describing a self-willed man who CHOSE to turn his ear away from hearing the Law.
g. When the priest would seek to teach the law to the people, this man would not pay attention… he would purposely ignore the words spoken.
h. This is rebellious refusal to obey.
6. Disobedience to the Law was mentioned earlier in Prov. 28:4: “They that forsake the law praise the wicked.”
a. This is not a man who in a moment of weakness slipped into sin, confessed his sin, offered a sacrifice and sought to be restored to the Lord.
b. This is a man who abandoned the Law… rebelliously rejected it.
c. This man is a criminal. Keep in mind that the Law of Moses was also the law of the land for the Jews.
7. This was an ongoing problem in Israel and in the church.
a. Zech. 7:11 – “But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear…”
b. Acts 7:57 – “Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord…”
c. The Jews stopped their ears so that they could not hear what Stephen said about Messiah. They refused to hear.
d. This has been the perpetual history of Israel—but not of Israel only. The church has fared no better!
e. II Tim. 4:3-4 – “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
f. It is human nature – the flesh does not want to hear what God has to say. It wants to have its ears scratched… it wants to hear that all is well.
g. And God’s message to the sinner is that all is NOT well! God’s message to the sinning believer is the same – for whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth and scourgeth!
h. Darkness hates the light because light exposes their evil deeds and makes them feel uncomfortable and accountable!
i. Ezek. 33:31-32 – “And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. 32And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.”
j. This was true of many in Israel; this is true of many more in the church age: nominal, cultural Christians. They know the language. They like a good sermon. They know the Bible. They say Amen. They give money. But they won’t obey. They refuse to change their ways.
k. I’m afraid that this problem is much more prevalent than we would like to imagine.
8. The obvious application to the believer today is disobeying the Word of God.
a. Solomon spoke of a Jew disobeying the Law of Moses.
b. Our disobedience is measured by our obedience to God’s Word or to the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
c. God speaks to us through His Word, and when God speaks, we are expected to LISTEN and respond in faith and obedience.
9b Even his prayer shall be abomination.
1. The second part of the proverb states that the prayer of this rebel is an abomination to God.
2. Note first of all, that Solomon implies that even rebels pray.
a. They mock those who pray. They mock those who obey.
b. But when they are in trouble, they pray.
c. When they are drowning in a lake and unable to swim—they pray.
d. When they are in a foxhole and the bullets are flying overhead—they pray.
e. When they hear that they or their son has level four cancer, they pray… or ask someone to pray for them.
f. Unbelievers are not quite as unbelieving as they lead you to believe.
3. Religion is full of rebels who have no intention of obeying, but they do want the benefits of religion.
a. They want their guilty conscience to subside so they can sleep at night—so they go to synagogue or church.
b. They want God’s blessings in their lives—so they give to charity.
c. They want good health and somehow sense that God is in control of that, so they follow some religious rules… and pray.
d. They might recite a rote prayer or say the rosaries.
e. Unbelieving rebels against God’s Law can be very religious.
f. They really couldn’t care less what the Bible actually says, they are determined to do what they want to do no matter what… but they still might shoot up a prayer once in a while—to keep on God’s good side… so they think.
g. This proverb exposes that kind of thinking… which is quite prevalent in the religious world.
4. The prayer of the rebel is an abomination to God.
a. This rebel can pray all day long if he wants to—and shed tears as well; but his prayer is an abomination.
b. God is not impressed with the religion of the rebel who refuses to obey His Word.
c. Abomination: that which is especially detestable, repulsive, an object, act or practice which is loathsome and abhorrent.
d. No doubt the religious rebel who disobeys God and yet prays THINKS that his prayer will show God how religious and pious he is. But God knows better. God knows the heart.
e. His prayer does not mitigate his rebellion and disobedience—it is actually an expression of it! It is just another form of rebellion.
f. The rebel prays, either assuming that God is ignorant of his disobedience, that God doesn’t care, or is hoping that God will forget about justice and truth and bless him in spite of his sin.
g. But his prayers do not fool the Lord. His prayer is not only not accepted; it is an abomination to a holy God.
h. Prov. 15:8 – This is true of sacrifices for God too: “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.”
i. Religious offerings of any sort (sacrifices; money; prayers; etc.) are an abomination when offered from a disobedient heart.
j. It is worse than disobedience. It would be like telling your child to pick up his room and then he can have dessert.
• The child refuses to pick up his room and comes downstairs asking for his dessert—knowing full well that he is living in disobedience.
• Does he think his parents are foolish? His parents would love to give him dessert—but not under those circumstances.
• The child has gone beyond disobedience to making a mockery of his parents—thinking they are ignorant fools!
k. Such is the prayer of the disobedient rebel. He can pray all he wants; but he isn’t getting any dessert. God is not mocked.
l. If he won’t listen to God; God won’t listen to him as he prays.
5. This truth is found elsewhere in the Scriptures too.
a. Prov. 15:29 – We saw this principle earlier in Proverbs: “The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.” (The opposite of being “far from” is hearing their prayers.)
b. Isa. 1:15 – “And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.”
c. Isa. 59:1-2 – Sin separates between us and God. God chooses not to hear the prayer of the one who is living in sin. God hasn’t changed either. That is true for today also. It is not that God cannot hear; He chooses not to.
d. Psalm 66:18 – If we regard iniquity in our heart, God will not hear our prayers.
e. John 9:31 – “Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.”
f. Jas. 4:3 – “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”
g. The Word is God speaking to us. Prayer is God listening to us.
h. But if we don’t listen when God speaks; if we turn away our ears from hearing what the Spirit says to us through the Word, then why should God listen to our prayers?
i. If God speaks to us and we don’t listen (Word), then when we speak to God, He won’t listen (prayer).
j. Matthew Henry: If His Word is not regarded, then our prayers are not accepted.
Proverbs 28:10
Causing the Righteous to Go Astray
Introduction:
1. This proverb serves as a warning against leading others astray.
2. The warning is given and also its consequences.
3. And as a further incentive not to lead others astray, Solomon mentions a reward for the upright. Upright behavior is rewarded.
10a Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way…
1. The culprit that Solomon exposes in this proverb is the person who causes righteous people to go astray.
2. Go astray defined: To wander; to err; to deceive; to wander aimlessly; to swerve off course; to meander.
a. The term is used literally of sheep wandering away. (Ezek. 34:6)
b. The term is used of “erring” through wine. (Isa. 28:7)
c. It is used of a cruel person who causes a blind man to wander off course. (Deut. 27:18) That cruel person is cursed.
d. It often refers to a moral corruption that results in erring or wandering from the straight and narrow path. (Prov. 5:23)
3. The term is used in our present proverb in the sense of causing another person to go astray morally: in an EVIL way.
a. The “evil way” here speaks of an evil lifestyle – an evil manner of life… (lit. = an evil road).
b. It speaks of a person being enticed to wander off the straight and narrow way on a road to destruction.
c. It speaks of a person who entices someone into sin.
d. In the early chapters of this book, Solomon wrote of the immoral woman who entices the simple young man into sin.
e. It would also speak of one who is a stumblingblock to others and causes them to sin against their conscience.
4. Solomon also wrote of a band of criminals who seek to entice an innocent young man into their criminal gang. (Prov. 1:10-14)
a. Vs. 11 – come with us! Be part of our group!
• The bad crowd here entices the young man by offering him “membership”—“with us”!
• There is attractiveness to belonging…
• You can belong somewhere… you can be a part of our gang… the in crowd… the cool crowd…
• There is a clear line being drawn in the Bible on this issue.
• The evil crowd cries to the young man: “Come with us!”
• God’s Word says: “Come out from among them and be ye separate!” (II Cor. 6:14-18)
• Whose fellowship and companionship do you want?
b. Vs. 13 – they have persuasive arguments… which can be quite alluring to the simple… they speak only of the positive side of their sinful deeds…
c. Vs. 14- they make themselves sound like a “brotherhood”! We will all have one purse! We take good care of each other!
d. Vs. 10 – consent thou not!
e. Vs. 15 – stay away from them!
f. Solomon knows that they are up to no good… and that their persuasive speech is not quite accurate. They leave out some key issues: like getting caught! (vs. 18 – they ruin their own lives.)
5. Prov. 16:29 – A violent man entices his neighbor and leads him astray.
a. The violent man “entices” his neighbor.
• The term means persuasive speech that is used to convince a person… the salesman’s pitch… the attractive sounds and reasoning of the wolf in sheep’s clothing… the seducer’s line…
• It also implies a bit of simplicity or naiveté on the part of the hearer… overly open minded… gullible…
6. For evil men, this becomes somewhat of a sport: dragging a good man down to their level.
a. It makes them feel good to cause a righteous man to fall and to be led astray by them.
b. The righteous man who follows their ways becomes a sort of trophy to them.
c. They take pride in becoming a snare to others. In their eyes, it makes them look good.
d. These evil seducers are the tools of the devil. Satan himself is a seducer into sin—a tempter—and he often uses people to accomplish his goals.
7. It is an especially despicable thing to corrupt one who is innocent… or blameless.
a. Think of those who seduce young people into taking drugs. The drug dealer always gives the first hit free.
b. Then there are those who introduce young people to alcohol… perhaps at college.
c. There are seducers who lead young people into a life of sexual immorality—and convince them that it is acceptable because everybody does it.
d. II Pet. 3:16-18 – There are those who lead others astray doctrinally – they give them a book to read by an author who teaches the opposite of what his church teaches… and leads others astray.
e. Think of those who introduce young people to a contemporary church with charismatic worship and rock music. It is like a drug. Once you’ve tasted it, anything else seems boring.
f. Young people are easily corrupted; hence, the warning here.
8. It’s bad enough that they have wandered away from the straight and narrow themselves; it is far worse to encourage others to do the same.
10b He shall fall himself into his own pit:
1. There are consequences to the one who causes the righteous to go astray in an evil way.
2. He shall fall into his own pit.
3. This is a principle we have many times in proverbs. It is similar to another proverbial statement: you reap what you sow!
4. This principle is also mentioned often in Proverbs:
a. Prov. 26:27 – “Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.”
5. This principle is also mentioned often in the Psalms:
a. Ps. 7:15-16 – “He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. 16His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.”
b. Ps. 9:15 – “The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.”
c. Ps. 35:8 – “Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.”
d. Ps. 57:6 – “They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.”
6. Prov. 1:15-19 – The gang members who seek to lure another young man into their criminal behavior will eventually discover that they are laying wait for their own blood.
7. The Lord Jesus made a similar warning in His day.
a. Matt. 18:6 – Here the Lord warns against leading a “little one” a child astray. The one who does lead a young person astray would be better off if he drowned himself. (strong language)
b. Of course, the Lord was speaking of a child or a young person who is innocent and then led astray.
c. Solomon speaks in general (including adults) who may be innocent of a life of sin or crime and are led astray.
d. The similarity is that those who lead innocent ones astray can expect God’s wrath.
e. Num. 31:16 – God sent a plague upon those who caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam to commit trespass against the Lord.
10c But the upright shall have good things in possession.
1. In contrast to the evildoers who lure others into their evil ways, stands the upright man.
2. Upright: Blameless; true; righteous; unblemished.
3. In this context, the “upright” man is the one who is blameless or unblemished with respect to wandering astray.
a. In other words, the upright man does NOT lead others astray.
b. He does not seek to entice others to sin or to be a stumblingblock before them.
c. He has not yet wandered away from the straight and narrow.
d. The “upright” man here refers not necessarily to one who is saved.
e. Rather it speaks of one who is innocent – one who has not yet been corrupted… but is now led astray.
4. The upright man shall have “good things in possession.”
a. He shall possess good things—or he shall possess that which is good.
• This could refer to his inheritance. The wicked fall into a pit of their own doing and die; the upright receive their parents’ inheritance as a reward for living well.
b. It is possible to understand this expression to mean not necessarily good possessions, but good in general – good character… good life… good fruit… etc.
c. Good defined: Good, well pleasing, fruitful, correct, proper, etc.
5. Quite a contrast has been drawn.
a. The evil man who entices others to go astray shall fall into a pit. The end of that man is destruction.
b. But the upright man (blameless – innocent – he has not wandered away) shall have GOOD in his future.
c. He will be blessed by God with a good life… an abundant life.
d. God is grieved when a man goes astray on his own. God is really angered when men entice others to follow their evil ways.
Proverbs 28:11
True Wisdom / True Riches
Introduction:
1. This is yet another proverb of comparisons.
2. Two comparisons are made:
a. The rich man vs. the poor man.
b. The man who is wise in his own eyes vs. the man who has understanding.
3. The proverb is designed to make you think: Which man has the real wisdom? Which man has the true riches?
11a The rich man is wise in his own conceit…
1. The rich man in this proverb is truly rich in the things of this world.
a. This is the man the world would say is rich.
b. He probably had many herds of cattle, camels, and goats.
c. He probably owned a lot of land and real estate.
d. He became exceedingly successful.
2. And very often poor men wish they could change places with him.
a. The poor look at all of his houses and riches, covet his material goods; they feel that they got a raw deal in life.
b. Luke 12:17-19 – “What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.”
• Most men observing their neighbor prospering in such a way he has no room for all his goods that he has to build bigger barns would be a bit jealous. What a problem to have! I wish I had that problem.
• They would see him starting to live a life of ease and be jealous.
• Who wouldn’t want a life of luxury?
c. Psalm 73:3-5, 7, 12 – Asaph was a poor man who envied his rich neighbors.
• He looked around and saw that many wicked men became rich.
• They lived a life of luxury and seemed to have it made!
• Nothing bad ever seemed to happen to them. He coveted their position and their possessions.
d. Asaph, the neighbor of the rich man in Luke 17, and countless others have observed the wealthy and have coveted their goods.
• Maybe we have done the same.
• It is especially difficult in a poor economy to watch your neighbor prosper while your finances dwindle away.
• In a roundabout way, Solomon deals with this issue.
3. The rich man described in this proverb is genuinely wealthy in material goods.
a. He is truly rich; but the question is, does his wealth constitute true riches?
4. This rich man is wise in his own conceits.
a. Now another question arises: he is wise in his own conceits, but does that constitute true wisdom?
b. “Wise in one’s own conceit” is a phrase that speaks of a person who THINKS he is wise.
c. This particular man is rich in earthly goods. Evidently, his riches have blinded him.
d. He assumed (wrongly) that because he is rich, therefore he is wise.
e. This premise is often true, but is certainly not always true.
f. Men with earthly wisdom (inspiration accompanied by perspiration) do often become successful in life… at least in earthly life.
g. However, many rich people become rich in other ways.
• Many inherit it. They are born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Being born into wealth does not guarantee that a person will be wise. Often they are very foolish.
• Some steal it or obtain it by dishonest means and are never caught. They are rich, but not wise.
• Some men stumble into wealth. They might discover oil on their property. It might be called “good luck” by some—but not necessarily wisdom.
• Ecc. 9:11 – “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”
• Some men become rich by “time and chance.” They just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
h. In light of this, it is presumptuous of a rich man to assume that he is wise because he is rich.
• He may have been the beneficiary of being born in the right family… or the beneficiary of “time and chance.”
• Riches don’t always land in the lap of wise men.
• Fools can be rich too.
• Asaph noted that wicked, immoral men can become rich.
• Wealth is not necessarily a sign of God’s approval, a sign of godliness, or a sign of wisdom.
5. “Wise in his own conceit.”
a. This rich man has the wrong attitude towards his riches.
b. Isa. 5:21 – God warns about this attitude: “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.”
c. He is proud. He has assumed that because he is rich, he must be wise.
d. The word “conceit” means eye. It indicates that he THINKS he is wise.
e. The subtle implication here is that no one else really believes that. Others may actually consider him to be a fool… but he is so full of himself that he thinks he is wise… and perhaps superior to the poor.
f. This kind of pride and conceit may well have been nourished and sustained by the flattery from those in their entourage who benefit from their wealth.
g. I think of Hollywood stars—and others who are “rich and famous” when I think of the rich who are “wise in their own conceits.”
• They can do one thing well (they can act), and extrapolate from that that they are wise in all areas of life.
• In reality, they are often (not always) immoral and foolish.
• They often promote bizarre philosophies… like scientology and earth worship.
• It scares me that their political views are taken seriously by so many people in our country.
• What makes a Hollywood star, who lives in a very peculiar bubble, think that they know what’s best for America? Of course they are all entitled to their own opinion, (it’s a free country), but it is frightening that so many want to know their opinions on such important issues… like what to do in the Middle East… energy… protecting our freedoms… or what we should eat or wear!
• One man quoted a telling line from “Fiddler on the Roof” that is applicable here: “It makes no difference if you’re right or wrong; when you’re rich they think you really know.”
• Rich and famous does not necessarily translate into wise and godly… but people often THINK it does.
• Of course, Solomon didn’t have Hollywood stars in mind as he wrote this proverb. But he may well have had the children of nobles and royalty in mind.
» Those are the circles Solomon traveled in.
» He observed wealth passed on from father to son.
» He also observed that the son who inherited the money without lifting a finger didn’t have half the wits and wisdom of his father who worked hard and exercised skill and wisdom in accumulating that wealth.
» Solomon wrote about what he saw in Ecc.2:17 – “Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. 19And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.”
→ Here Solomon became discouraged thinking about the fact that he demonstrated wisdom and much labor in accumulating wealth, but he has to leave it to someone else—a son—and who knows whether his son will be wise or a fool?
→ His son, upon inheriting the wealth will probably be “wise in his own conceit”… but that isn’t true wisdom.
• Solomon’s point in this proverb is that they may be rich, but that doesn’t mean that they are wise.
• They may be wise in their own eyes… but objective observers know differently.
11b But the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.
1. In contrast to the rich man who thinks himself to be wise is the poor man, who would probably be considered ignorant and uneducated.
2. However, this poor man has “understanding.”
a. This is true understanding… discernment… insight… skill…
b. He may not be well educated like the noble’s son; he may not have had the educational privilege of others, he didn’t attend the most prestigious schools; but he has wisdom and insight—which is far more valuable… as we have seen many times in Proverbs.
c. The proverb states that the rich man was wise—but only in his own eyes.
d. The same proverb then states that the poor man “hath” understanding.
• It’s not just that he thinks that he has it; he actually does have it.
• And the understanding of the poor man is genuine discernment.
3. This poor man “searches him out.”
a. The poor man uses his genuine discernment to search out the rich man.
b. “Search out” – Discover; probe; examine; test; i.e., try to find out information about an object or event.
c. Perhaps this poor man heard the rich man speak about how wise he was, so he put his alleged wisdom to the test.
d. He began investigating, probing, and examining in order to find the truth of the matter.
e. While not stated, the implication seems to be that the poor man searched him out – he weighed him in the balances and found him to be wanting.
f. The poor man discovered that the wisdom of the rich man existed only in his own eyes.
g. The poor man sees right through his pride and pretention.
4. So, upon reflection, we discover which man in this proverb is the one with true riches and true wisdom.
a. It wasn’t the man rich in earthly goods and pride.
b. It was the humble poor man who had understanding – and his understanding was priceless!
c. Though considered by most to be poor and ignorant, he was in fact, both rich and wise!
5. And in the spiritual realm:
a. Asaph went into the house of God and discovered that the wicked wealthy may SEEM to be living a life of ease, but judgment day is coming for them, and their wealth will not buy them redemption.
b. And the man in Luke who built bigger barns because he was so rich in goods died that night and stood before God naked and unprepared. That isn’t very wise.
c. In the spiritual realm, earthly riches don’t buy much. But understanding and true wisdom lead souls to God – the Source of wisdom and understanding.
d. That kind of understanding is priceless.
Proverbs 28:12
The Effect of Leadership
Introduction:
1. This proverb speaks of the effect of leadership on the people.
2. Solomon speaks of two different kinds of leadership rising to power and the effect that it has on the people.
a. The contrast is between the righteous and the wicked.
b. Using poetic language, their “rise” to power is described.
3. This is an especially appropriate proverb for today—in light of the moral and spiritual decline in our country… but especially appropriate in light of the moral and spiritual decline in the churches today!
12a When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory:
1. The righteous man rejoicing stands in contrast to the wicked man who rises to power and prominence.
a. As we have seen, very many of the proverbs come in two parts in order to make a contrast. That is the case here.
b. In many of these two part proverbs, the only way to understand the meaning of one part is to compare it to the other… which adds a little context.
c. Looking at the first part of this proverb, we might not know that Solomon is speaking about leadership, but when compared to the wicked man “rising,” it becomes obvious.
d. Thus, the proverb speaks of two different kinds of leaders rising to power – the righteous and the wicked.
e. Righteous: Upright; just; i.e., pertaining to being a person in accordance with a proper standard.
f. Rejoice: To be jubilant; i.e., be in a state of joy, which may include verbal expressions of joy and praise.
• The term “rejoice” sometimes has the meaning of “triumph” and is translated as such in at least two translations.
• That does seem to be the sense here – a righteous man triumphing… (and the context here speaks of rising to political power).
2. The righteous man is rejoicing because of his rise to power.
a. The righteous man rejoices and is jubilant because he is prospering and doing well.
b. The righteous man has risen to political power. He has been selected as the king or ruler or governor at some level. That is cause for rejoicing.
c. When a righteous man is chosen or permitted to take the reigns of power, it usually indicates that it is because the people are with him.
d. That is a good sign – when the people WANT a righteous man to be their leader.
e. People usually chose a leader who is LIKE THEM. They follow a leader who is like them. They vote for a leader who will promote their values.
f. Thus, when a righteous man is placed in the position of leadership, it usually because not only he, but the people desire that his righteous values be promoted, preserved, and proclaimed.
3. There is great glory…
a. Glory: This term has several different connotations in different contexts.
• Consider two slightly different shades of meaning the term has; they are not mutually exclusive; there seems to be a blending of these thoughts in our proverb.
» Honor, splendor.
» Pride, i.e., the state or quality of being legitimately proud of a person or circumstance
→ Prov. 17:6 – the glory of children are their fathers.
→ Prov. 20:29 – the glory of young men is their strength.
b. When Solomon says, There is great glory, he means that when a righteous man rules, there is great glory among the people.
• The people are proud to have such a leader. He represents their values. He represents them. There is a sense of national pride in such a leader.
• The people glory also in the sense of honoring that leader. They honor him by putting him into office and by following his leadership.
• The righteous leader and the righteous people are able to rejoice together.
• That is a sign of strength: righteous people AND a righteous leader.
• When righteous people have a righteous leader, they too glory in it… rejoice together.
• In a good sense, they are proud of it… national pride… patriotism.
c. Prov. 11:10a – The thought is similar in meaning: when things are going well for the righteous in the land, the city rejoices.
• They WANT righteousness in the land. That’s a good sign.
• They desire for justice, truth, high standards, things done well… and honoring to the Lord.
• For the Jews, that meant that God’s Word was honored, obeyed, and promoted.
• The people and the leaders are united around righteousness… and the result is that they GLORY in it… they rejoice and are jubilant.
d. Prov. 28:2 – “For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.”
• We also saw a similar principle in vs. 2.
• When transgression fills the land, there will be many princes… because they won’t last long.
• But when a man of understanding, wisdom, and discernment is in power, the state thereof shall be PROLONGED… it will be good for the land and the country.
• That results in stability and strength for the nation.
• That is cause for the people to rejoice. They glory in righteous leaders.
e. Prov. 29:2a – “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice…”
• Once again, we see this principle stated. When righteous men are in positions of authority, the people rejoice. It is GOOD for them and they know it.
• It is being repeated in this section of Proverbs… because it is important to realize!
12b But when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.
1. Now for the contrast: In contrast to the righteous leader who causes the people to glory and rejoice, is the wicked leader who RISES to power.
2. Dan. 4:17 – “the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.”
3. The fact that a man rises to power should not lead us to conclude that he must therefore be righteous. Sometimes the basest of men rise to power.
4. Solomon’s warning is that when that happens, instead of the people glorying and rejoicing and taking pride in their leader, they HIDE!
a. When righteous people – who truth, justice, fairness, and righteousness to rule in the land find that their leader is wicked… unfair, unjust, and unrighteous, they run for the hills!
b. This is what Elijah did when Ahab and his lovely wife Jezebel were in power—he ran for a cave!
c. Righteous men realize that the wicked leader might take their property… take their land… and make life miserable for them. He may even execute them.
5. Prov. 28:28 – “When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.”
a. The first part of this proverb makes the same statement.
b. When wicked men rise to positions of power and authority, men have to run for their lives and hide.
c. They know that the wickedness of the leader is going to have an evil effect on their lives.
d. Note that this proverb also states the opposite: “When they (the wicked leaders) perish, the righteous increase.”
e. When the wicked leader is removed from power (perishes; dies; etc.) then the righteous can increase and prosper once again.
6. Prov. 28:15-16a – “As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people. 16The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor…”
a. A wicked ruler is like a roaring lion and raging bear to the people. (He is not out for their good, but to feed on them.)
b. A prince or ruler who lacks wisdom and discernment becomes an oppressor of the people.
c. This section is FULL of such warnings about good and bad leaders.
7. There is a direct connection between the quality of the leadership and the condition of the people.
a. With a righteous leader, righteous people can increase, prosper, thrive, and rejoice and glory in it!
b. With a wicked leader, righteous people hide themselves; they know that they will be trampled over and oppressed by the wicked leader.
c. Leadership matters! It is the difference between being treated well and rejoicing AND being trampled over and running for the hills!
d. There are people (some of them our brothers in the Lord) who are running for the hills in Syria, Iran, and in Egypt today… and in various other places around the globe.
8. While this principle seems to be geared towards political leaders, there is certainly good application to the church today.
a. Leadership in the churches is still a problem.
b. Our political leaders (presidents and congress from both aisles) have pushed our country into a moral and spiritual decline.
• These rulers are spineless. They refuse to stand up to culture in decline and do what is RIGHT rather than what is popular. They go with the flow to attract votes.
• Things that would have been shocking, repulsive, and rejected by our grandparents (gay marriage; redefining family; banning the 10 commandments; etc.) have gradually become tolerated and accepted… and are standard fare today.
c. So too we see the present generation of church leaders promoting or at least tolerating a moral and spiritual decline in the churches… which is far worse!
• Things that would have been shocking, repulsive, and rejected by our grandparents, (lowering of standards in clothing; immodesty; pop culture music in churches; lack of concern about doctrine; etc.) have gradually become tolerated and accepted… and are standard fare today—yes even in churches that consider themselves fundamental and orthodox!
• We have political rulers who are spineless – they refuse to stand up to culture in decline and do what is RIGHT rather than what is popular. They go with the flow to attract votes.
• We also have Christian leaders in churches who refuse to stand up to Christian culture in decline and choose to do what is popular rather than do what is RIGHT… because it is hard to do what’s right. They go with the flow not to attract votes, but to attract the crowds..
d. And what is the effect on the righteous?
• They are abandoned and rejected… and hidden away.
• The author of Hebrews speaks of the plight of the righteous during the reigns of wicked men: “they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”
• He also describes them as they of “whom the world was not worthy.”
• So as the church continues its decline – from the pure and chaste virgin church after Pentecost until it becomes the harlot church of Revelation, the righteous will be relegated to obscurity… a tiny remnant.
• But a godly remnant! Don’t be discouraged by present conditions—the Lord is coming! Maranatha.
9. PRAY for our leaders… that they would do what is right rather than what is popular… both in the country and especially in the churches.
Proverbs 28:13
Dealing with Sins
Introduction:
1. This proverb speaks of the right way to deal with sins in our lives.
2. We are told what not to do and then what to do… and WHY.
13a He that covereth his sins shall not prosper:
A. He That Covereth His Sins
1. It is part of our fallen human nature to want to cover up our sins.
2. Nobody likes to admit sin, guilt, and shame. It is much easier to cover it up.
3. This is just what Adam did after the fall –
a. He never felt any guilt or shame about being naked before the fall. Why should he? He had no sin nature… no evil thoughts or feelings.
b. But when he fell into sin, everything changed.
c. Gen. 3:7 – But once he sinned, and his mind was corrupted by sinful thoughts and feelings, he attempted to “cover himself up” with fig leaves, hoping that somehow, his sin would not be discovered.
d. Gen. 3:8 – Then they attempted to run and hide from God.
e. They also sought to hide from their sins by blaming others. Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent.
f. That was a blatant cover-up.
4. This has been the consistent method man has used in dealing with his sin ever since: cover it up and run and hide… and pretend it never happened… or pretend that it wasn’t that bad…
a. Religion has been the tool of the devil to help man run and hide from God… and to help man cover up his sins… and sooth his guilty conscience WITHOUT confession and forsaking them!
b. Religion tells him he can do good works to counteract his sinful deeds… and if he tries real hard, he will be accepted by God. He just needs to make sure that his good works outnumber his sins.
5. Our proverb states that covering up our sins is NOT the right way to deal with them.
6. Covering:
a. Keep to oneself, not respond with knowledge, i.e., keep information from others, though known and understood by oneself; conceal; hide.
b. Gen. 18:17 – “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?”
c. Gen. 7:20 – “Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.” (out of sight)
d. Ex. 15:5 – “The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.” (The Egyptian army was covered up by the Red Sea.)
e. This is NOT the term often translated in the Old Testament as “atonement,” which speaks of a covering.
f. The term in our proverb means to hide something, conceal it.
7. By “covering one’s sins,” Solomon is NOT speaking about an Old Testament saint who seeks to have his sins atoned for (covered up) by an animal sacrifice according to the Law.
a. He is speaking about an Old Testament sinner who seeks to conceal the fact that he sinned…
b. There are plenty of examples of this in the Scriptures too. This trait of fallen Adam was passed on to every one of his sons—every one of us!
• I Sam. 15:13 – “And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.”
• Saul tried to cover up his sin by a half truth. He did obey God… but only partially.
• He was covering up the fact that they did not fully carry out God’s commands. It was a convenient lie.
• But God was not fooled… neither was God’s spokesman, Samuel.
B. Shall Not Prosper
1. Prosper:
a. This term is broader that prospering financially.
b. Literally: to come on mightily; to be forceful, i.e., have an overpowering force, with the resultant strong, successful action.
c. It speaks of succeeding at an endeavor; flourishing, thriving, being victorious;
d. It is often used of God causing a person’s WAYS to prosper.
• Gen. 24:21 – “And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.”
• Gen. 39:2 – “And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man.” This speaks of Joseph being a successful man – not just wealthy.
• I Kings 22:12 – “And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the king’s hand.” They were predicting a successful battle.
• Num. 14:41 – “And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? but it shall not prosper.” Their rebellion would not be successful or victorious. It would fail.
2. The point of the proverb is that regardless of how clever, subtle, deceptive, artful, or shrewd one is at covering up his sins, he will not be successful.
a. The sinner might be successful at covering up his sins from men, but never from God.
b. Num. 32:23 – “But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.”
c. Ps. 90:8 – All of our sins have been set before the Lord… our secret sins too! The sins no other human being knows about—God does.
d. Ps. 139:11-12 – There is nowhere to hide from the eyes of the Lord.
e. Prov. 15:3 – “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Beholding the evil and the good.”
f. Luke 12:2 – Jesus said, “For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.”
3. Psalm 32:1-4: Not only will the sinner who attempts to hide his sins not be successful, he will be miserable!
a. Here David speaks of his sin with Bathsheba—about a year or so before the writing of this psalm.
b. In verse one he speaks about the blessedness of one whose sin is covered.
• This is a different term for cover.
• This is the kind of covering that God does.
• This covering results in forgiveness. (Of course their sins were forgiven on credit in the Old Testament… awaiting THE Lamb of God.)
c. However, David did not immediately go to the Lord with his sin to confess it in true repentance. He tried to cover it up and hide… like his forefather, Adam.
d. For about a year after his sin, David “kept silence.” He did not come to God in repentance. He was out of fellowship.
e. What was life like for a godly man out of fellowship during that year?
• His bones waxed old.
• His inner man roared (groaned) all day long.
• God’s hand was heavy upon him.
• He dried up like a withered plant in a drought.
• Life was miserable.
13b But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
A. The Terms
1. Confess: To acknowledge; admission of sin or guilt; praise.
a. It is sometimes translated “praise.” The sense there is that to acknowledge God’s name is to praise His name.
b. The term speaks of acknowledging the truth of something or someone.
c. It is a common term used for acknowledging sin… admission of guilt… confessing sins.
d. Lev. 5:5 – “And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing.” This was to be accompanied by a trespass offering unto the Lord. (vs.6)
e. Psalm 32:5 – used of David acknowledging his sin before God.
f. God demands that we CONFESS our sins (I John 1:9)
• There can be no blaming others.
• Acknowledging our sin means that we acknowledge that it IS sinful. There can be no excuses… no rationalization… no attempts to justify our actions…
2. Forsaketh: To abandon; leave behind; release; depart from; reject; desert.
3. Ps. 55:1-12 – David wrote another poem about his sin and the results of acknowledging and forsaking his sin before God.
a. Vs. 1 – He prayed for God’s mercy and lovingkindness.
b. Vs. 2 – He asked God to wash away his sin.
c. Vs. 3 – FOR – on what basis was David able to ask for God’s mercies and cleansing? FOR he acknowledged his sin.
d. Vs. 4 – He acknowledged that his sin with Bathsheba was really a sin against God. All sin is against God.
e. Vs. 5- He acknowledges that sin is his nature.
f. Vs. 12 – He prayed for a restoration of the JOY of his salvation.
g. Vs. 16-17 – Though David was required to offer the proper sacrifices for his sins, (and he certainly would honor God in this too), yet he also recognized that the REAL sacrifice God was looking for was a broken and contrite heart… true repentance.
h. With that heart attitude, David was able to come to God for mercy… and receive it.
i. As David’s son later wrote in Proverbs 28:13, “Whoso confesseth and forsaketh them (sins) shall have mercy.”
B. Shall Have Mercy
1. The one who covers his sins shall not be successful. He will have misery… suffering… failure… and chastening…
2. But the one who acknowledges his sins and forsakes them, shall have mercy. Which would you rather have?
3. Mercy: Compassion; to be loved; to show strong affection for; to have deep sympathy for; to feel sorry for.
4. Psalm 103:13 – “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.”
a. This is a fatherly kind of pity towards a beloved child.
b. The father feels sorry and sympathetic when a beloved child fails or falls.
c. The relationship is restored. Fellowship resumes.
5. This is the JOY that David experienced when he acknowledged his sin before the Lord.
a. Ps. 32:1 – That’s when he wrote BLESSED IS THE MAN whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins is covered.
b. Ps. 32:7 – Then he experienced the joy of restored fellowship. Instead of hiding FROM God, he discovered he could hide himself IN God… God was once again his hiding place… his refuge…
c. Ps. 32:10-11 – David learned experientially of the sorrow of being out of fellowship… and of the mercy of restored fellowship. That brought to his heart gladness and rejoicing… shouting for joy!
Proverbs 28:14
Happy is the Man who Fears
14a Happy is the man that feareth alway:
1. This proverb presents us with a problem of translation concerning the meaning of “fear.”
2. This difficulty is seen in the various ways it is translated:
a. NKJV: “Happy is the man who is always reverent”
b. ESV: “Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always”
c. NIV: “Blessed is the one who always trembles before God”
d. NIV84: “Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord” (1984)
e. NET: “Blessed is the one who is always cautious”
3. The NIV added the words “before God” in their translation, and then in the 1984 update changed it to “the Lord.”
a. Those words do not appear in the original Hebrew text.
b. They were added as a means of interpretation, not translation.
c. The problem with adding words to the text for the sake of clarity is that while your interpretation may be correct, it may also be incorrect.
4. Note also that there are two different lines of thought in the way the verse is translated.
a. One assumes that the “fear” is fear of reverence of God.
b. The other assumes that the “fear” is a fear in the sense of being cautious.
c. The KJV did a perfect job in translating. They translated the term right out of the dictionary definition and left the interpretation to the reader.
5. FEAR defined:
a. To be startled; afraid; shake; dread; panic; terror; severe distress over danger or trouble.
b. It is sometimes used of reverence or awe, but mostly of fear and dread.
c. It is possible to define the term used in Prov. 28:14 as “awe” or “reverence,” (thus meaning a fear of the Lord) as many of the translations have done.
d. However, there is another Hebrew word for “fear” (yir’at) that probably would have been used in that case. That Hebrew term (yir’at) is used countless times in the Old Testament for the fear of the Lord or reverence for God.
e. But the term Solomon uses in Prov. 18:14 is a word that is used predominantly to refer to fear, dread, terror, distress, etc.
6. As for the interpretation, there are two good reasons to interpret the word “fear,” not as reverence but as dread or terror.
a. The first reason is the dictionary definition of the Hebrew word.
• It is by far most commonly used this way: dread or terror.
• A different Hebrew word would probably have been used if “reverence” was the idea being conveyed.
• One commentator noted that the book of Proverbs usually (generally – not always) follows that pattern of translation.
• For example:
» In Proverbs 1:33; 3:24-25, our word for “fear” is used and speaks of fear of evil or desolation. It is a dread or terror – real fear.
» In Proverbs 1:7; 3:7 (fear of the Lord) the word for “fear” is yare’, which means “to reverence.”
b. Context: The previous verse spoke about “how to deal with our sins.”
• The one who covers his sins up will not be successful at it.
• Sooner or later your sin will find you out.
• The one who confesses and forsakes his sin shall find mercy.
• In the second part of the proverb (vs.14) Solomon speaks of falling into “mischief” – meaning evil, sinful behavior.
• With that in mind, the “fear” of verse 14 seems to be a fear of sin… a holy terror of falling into sin… a spiritually healthy fear of falling to temptation and committing sin.
• Hence, the NET Bible translated it “Blessed is the one who is always cautious.”
» That translation is also an interpretation, but I happen to think it is the right one.
» The best translation doesn’t interpret the Bible for us.
7. That being the case, then our proverb is stating that the man who fears falling into sin will be a happy or blessed man.
a. Psalm 1:1 – He is blessed because he fears falling into sin and therefore refuses to go along with those who do.
b. The fear of falling into temptation is a healthy fear.
c. We SHOULD fear sin… if we understand what sin is and what it can do!
• Prov. 5:22-23 – Sin has cords that bind us up… (like tying up a prisoner) and you may not be able to escape!
» In particular, Solomon is speaking here of the snare of a harlot.
» It is true also of any sexual sin… pornography…
» This is certainly true of drugs and alcohol…
» It is true of unbridled anger, which can get out of hand.
» It is even true of seemingly innocent things – like video games, eating, etc.
• Prov. 11:5 – “The wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.” We should fear the effects of sin – the FALL… and the shame that it brings.
• Prov. 11:29 – Bringing trouble to your own house will leave you with nothing… but wind.
• Prov. 12:21 – “There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief.” The wicked who sin will have lives that are filled with mischief – trouble, calamity, affliction. We should fear falling into that trap.
• Prov. 13:5, 6, 15 – We should fear (vs.5) coming to shame; (vs.6) being overthrown; (vs.15) the way of the transgressor is hard.
• We could go on indefinitely through the Scriptures to list many more consequences of sin that we should FEAR.
8. The clear implication of our proverb is that the FEAR of falling into sin will help to PREVENT us from falling into sin.
a. This is not the New Testament method of dealing with sin.
b. However, Solomon gives us here a principle that stems from common sense… that transcends dispensational distinctions.
c. We teach our children to fear the wood stove because it is hot. The fear of getting burned keeps them away.
d. We spank our children and in doing so we are teaching them that there are painful consequences to disobedience and sin. The fear of the consequences of sin helps keep them from doing it again.
e. Thus, HAPPY or blessed is the man who fears falling into sin.
f. His life will be spared from trouble, affliction, hardship, traps, cords, and shame that others endure.
g. Blessed is the man who fears… or as the NET Bible puts it, “Blessed is the one who is always cautious.”
h. Our proverb, though worded very differently, is similar in meaning to Paul’s warning in I Thess. 5:6: “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” WATCH out for sin… for snares… for temptations. Be cautious… be careful.
i. That attitude will keep you safe from sin, its consequences, and thus “blessed and happy.”
9. Note also the word “always.”
a. Blessed is the man that fears always – it is his lifestyle.
b. He is continually aware of the danger of sin that is ever present.
c. H realizes that the world is a minefield. He is always fearful of stepping on a mine.
d. He is always conscious of his own fallen nature and how susceptible he is to falling.
e. I Cor. 10:12 – He is NOT like the man who thinks he standeth – who prides himself in his own strength and ability to stand.
• That man OUGHT to fear falling. It would be good for him.
• That is Solomon’s point in our proverb.
• When we fear falling, we are less likely to fall.
• When we are weak (and know it) then we are strong (II Cor. 12:10).
• We will be more cautious.
10. And for those who prefer the translation “Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always” (as opposed to fear sinning)… the overall meaning and message of the proverb is much the same.
a. The fear of the Lord is NOT a dread or a terror to be in His presence.
b. The believer LOVES the Lord and desires to be in His presence. We seek to draw nigh unto God… to stay close to Him… like a chick “under His wings.”
c. The fear of the Lord is not a dread of Him.
d. Rather, we fear Him because we love the Lord and fear DISPLEASING Him. We fear offending Him.
e. And what causes us to displease and offend the Lord? SIN!
f. Thus, the fear of falling into sin and the fear of the Lord are very much related… two sides of one coin… because all sin is in reality a sin against God.
14b But he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
1. In the second part of this proverb we see the opposite.
2. The opposite of a man who fears sinning and thus avoids falling into sin is the man who “hardens his heart.”
a. This is a tough guy—or so he thinks.
b. His heart is not sensitive to God, to spiritual things, and to sin.
c. His heart is hardened towards sin. He doesn’t care about God, spiritual things, or sin.
d. Perhaps he has hardened his heart towards warnings such as, “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
e. He doesn’t think that applies to him… but it does.
3. Prov. 29:1 – “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”
a. The result of a hard heart (or neck—stubbornness—he refuses to repent of his sin after many warnings and rebukes) is destruction.
4. The one who neither fears God nor fears sin shall fall into mischief!
a. He may proudly insist he won’t, but he will.
b. His life will be full of afflictions and suffering; sorrow and regret; shame and degradation.
5. The man who fears sin (and the Lord) is blessed and happy.
6. The one who does not fear sin (or the Lord) falls into mischief will experience misery.
7. Application: it is spiritually healthy for us to stop and think about the consequences of sin BEFORE we engage in it. Taking the time to reflect on this may save you from sin and its ugly consequences… and bring blessedness rather than shame and mischief. So what will you choose? Happiness or misery?
Proverbs 28:15-16
Rulers and Princes
Introduction:
1. These two proverbs deal with the subject of leadership… violent, oppressive government rulers and princes.
2. We already saw a similar theme in verse 12, which compares the effects of wicked leaders to righteous leaders.
a. The righteous leader causes the people to rejoice.
b. The wicked ruler coming into power causes men to run and hide!
3. The effect of rulers on the people is expanded in vs. 15-16.
15 As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.
1. This proverb compares wicked rulers to ferocious, wild animals.
a. A roaring lion
• One Hebrew dictionary defined “roaring” as “the deep guttural, piercing growl of a lion, especially as it grasps its prey.”
• Lions are mighty fierce animals. They sit quietly in the wings waiting for the innocent deer to come to the river. Then they pounce on their prey, easily overpower them, tear them to shreds, and then devour them.
• I’m sure we’ve all seen National Geographic videos of lions attacking their prey. It’s pretty graphic.
• Solomon’s readers never saw a video of it—but they probably all had seen the real thing. It must be frightening to witness such a thing. Lions are fierce!
b. A ranging bear
• Ranging: Thirsty, unquenched; to long for something and rush towards it; thus, ready to pounce on an unsuspecting creature.
• We sometimes think of bears as cute and cuddly, but they too are vicious animals when confronted.
• They may look slow and lazy as they lumber about; but in fact they are fast and ferocious and can be deadly.
c. By using these two illustrations, Solomon has painted a mental picture that all of his readers can relate to:
• They are animals you want to avoid.
• They are animals that can do much harm… and can be deadly.
• They are fierce and bloodthirsty creatures that can easily overpower mere humans and devour us… leave us as a pile of bones on the side of the road for the scavenger birds to pick over.
2. A wicked ruler
a. Wicked:
• This is the same term used to describe rulers in vs. 12.
• “Wicked” is defined as unrighteous; evil; not innocent; guilty.
• The term is often used of the enemies of God.
• The word indicates the guilt engendered by sinning against others.
b. Ruler: one who reigns; one who has dominion over others; one who governs and is in control; in charge.
c. All people have rulers over them. All people are under the leadership and dominion of someone. All people are under a government headed up by a ruler… one who has control over how people are governed.
d. To have a wicked person in control can be fearful and frightening. They have the power to make life miserable for all those under their rule.
e. We have seen many examples of that in world history: Germany, Russia, Middle East, etc.
3. Solomon likens wicked rulers to savage beasts: lions and bears.
a. Daniel also had a vision of four future Gentile empires and likened those empires and their rulers as vicious beasts.
b. Of the four beasts in Daniel’s dream, one was a bear and one was a lion.
c. They were good symbols of the power a ruler has over his people and the fear they instill in the hearts of people.
d. Solomon used these symbols before:
• Prov. 19:12 – “The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass.”
• Prov. 20:2 – “The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.”
• BECAUSE kings and rulers have such power and are like roaring lions, Solomon advises his readers not to get them angry. They might pounce on you!
• There is no reasoning with a lion or a bear. Don’t expect mercy or pity from them.
4. This is how the wicked ruler treats POOR people.
a. The word translated “poor” means poor, weak, and helpless – those who are on the opposite end of the social scale from the rich and powerful.
b. The point here is that wicked rulers rule over poor people as lions and bears rule over their prey: they devour them!
c. Verse 15 states that some rulers are greedy and violent and take advantage of the poor. They devour the poor because they are easy targets.
d. Ecc. 4:1 – Solomon was sensitive to the poor and the fact that they were often trampled over and had no comforter. He noted that this is what happens “under the sun”—in a world that excludes God.
16a The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor:
1. Verse 15 spoke of rulers; verse 16 speaks of a prince (which can mean a prince or any person of nobility).
2. The difference is relatively insignificant here.
3. Here the main distinction is the way the prince is described:
a. The rulers were described as vicious and devouring.
b. This prince is described as ignorant – lacking understanding.
4. The prince that “wanteth understanding.”
a. Want is an old English word that means “lack.”
b. Ex: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. (It does not mean that we don’t want the Lord—it means that if He is our shepherd, then we won’t lack anything we need.)
c. In our proverb, Solomon describes the prince who LACKS understanding.
d. “Lacking understanding” speaks of one who lacks good judgment.
• Prov. 6:32 – “But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.”
• Prov. 9:4 – “Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding.” The one who lacks understanding is likened to one who is simple.
• Prov. 10:13 – “In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.” This proverb speaks of the one who lacks understanding as a fool!
• Just because a person has risen to national prominence that does not mean that he is wise or sensible.
• God raises up the basest of men to rule and govern—and God uses them for His purposes.
• The prince that lacks understanding is a ruler who lacks good sense and good judgment. He is simple—like the town simpleton. He is in many ways like the fool of Proverbs too.
• It is a bit frightening to think that men of such low caliber and character make it to such high places in government—but it happens!
5. The prince that lacks understanding is a great oppressor!
a. Oppressor: The Dictionary of Biblical Languages defines this term as “the obtaining of goods legally but immorally from a victim, by taking extra-ordinary, unfair advantage in a dealing, and so a kind of theft.”
b. Foolish leaders oppress their people.
• This is an interesting description.
• We might normally think of an evil ruler oppressing… or a greedy and vicious ruler oppressing.
• But here Solomon describes the oppressor as a FOOL – one who lacks good sense and good judgment.
• It is foolish for a ruler to oppress the people—because people can only be pushed so far before they revolt… and the ruler is rejected… replaced… or executed.
• A wise ruler should know that. Foolish leaders don’t.
• This brings to mind Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, who refused to listen to the wise counsel of the older men and instead did what his younger contemporaries told him to do: oppress the people even MORE than they had been in the past.
• I Kings 12:10-11 – Rehoboam said, “My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. 11And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.”
• Foolish rulers oppress their people in hopes of increasing their treasury – becoming even more rich and powerful.
• Greed and covetousness motivates wicked rulers to take advantage of the poor and the weak.
• They will learn the hard way that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil and calamity.
• For Rehoboam, this led to civil war, a division of the nation, and he lost his rule over the nation except for Judah.
• As Solomon his father would have said, It is a foolish prince who oppresses his people.
16b But he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.
6. “But he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.” (Worth repeating!)
a. In contrast to the foolish ruler who oppresses others and abuses his power, the one who hates covetousness prolongs his days.
b. Prov. 10:2 – “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.” It requires good judgment to understand this principle. Good and wise rulers understand… they are not lacking understanding.
c. It leads to a long term in office and perhaps a long life. (Many evil rulers are assassinated.)
d. The implication here is clear: A ruler’s real longevity and security in his throne arises not from his own wealth and power, but rather from the welfare of the people.
e. Ex. 18:21 – “Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.”
f. The Mosaic Law made it clear what kind of men should be placed in leadership positions: men of character.
Proverbs 28:17
The Murderer’s Torment
Introduction:
1. This is a proverb about murder and murderers.
2. The proverb also teaches us what our attitude ought to be towards murder and murderers.
3. We want to be sure that our minds are not conformed to the world and its views on the subject. We want our minds to be transformed and renewed so that we have God’s mind on this matter.
17a A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person…
The Murderer and His Guilt
1. This expression describes the murderer.
2. The “blood of any person” refers to blood that was SHED by the murderer.
3. Early on in the Scriptures God mentions the sin of murder and how it was to be dealt with.
a. Gen. 9:6 – “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”
b. This passage is crystal clear. Murderers are to be put to death.
c. This command was given just after the flood to Noah as the “new world” was about to begin (start over).
d. Gen. 6:5, 11-12 – The “old world” (before the flood ended in disaster. The earth was full of violence and murder so God destroyed them all and started over.
e. As the post-flood world began, God commanded that murderers be put to death. This was the beginning of human governments – the agency God ordained to carry out the death penalty.
f. This is amplified and expounded upon in the New Testament epistles.
g. Those who oppose the death penalty today on humanitarian grounds may have good intentions, but they are misguided.
• It is misplaced mercy and pity.
• Their attempt at “mercy” actually opposes divine justice.
• Do they really think they are more merciful than God?
h. WHY did God demand the death penalty for murderers?
• Because destroying the image of God through murder is open rebellion against God Himself.
• God’s purpose was to PREVENT the world from being filled with violence again. It had to be dealt with severely.
• Murder in society was to be treated like gangrene in a body. If it isn’t cut off—it will spread and destroy the whole.
• Num. 35:33 – Another reason for the death penalty was given to Israel.
» The death penalty was necessary in Israel because murder defiles the land and is only cleansed by shedding the blood of the murderer.
» The shedding of the blood of the murderer has a cleansing effect—as well as a preventative effect.
» It was also necessary in Israel because God said that He dwelled in that land. He did not want to dwell in a land that was defiled by blood.
» One must wonder what God must think of the USA and our murder rate—and (for what in practical terms amounts to) our lack of a death penalty.
4. The expression “a man that doeth violence…”
a. While this expression clearly refers to the murderer in this proverb, the Hebrew term translated violence merits closer inspection.
• The term can mean to mistreat or cause someone to suffer… even to do violence against.
• But it can also mean (in a passive sense—and the NET Bible lists it as a passive participle) to be oppressed or to be tormented.
• That seems to be the meaning in Prov. 28:17.
• Hence, the NET Bible translated this proverb, “the one who is tormented by the murder of another…”
b. Solomon is describing a man who shed the blood of another person and is tormented with a guilty conscience.
• He is internally tormented by the innocent blood he shed.
• His conscience is performing exactly as God designed it to perform.
c. The murderer may also be tormented internally by the fear of the avenger of blood.
• Deut. 19:6, 12 – God acknowledges that the family and friends of a murdered person would seek vengeance against the murderer. Therefore, the murderer was to flee to a city of refuge where he would be sheltered and brought to trial.
• Deut. 19:11-13 – However, the cities of refuge offered no shelter to a willful murderer. They offered refuge only to one who killed without premeditation.
• Thus, a cold blooded murderer would have no shelter in a city of refuge. He would be on his own—always fearing being caught by the avenger of blood.
• This was an ongoing torment. There would be no rest or peace to the murderer.
d. The murderer might also be tormented by the nagging fear of divine retribution.
• I Kings 21:17-19; 22:38 – King Ahab was a murderer and God Himself determined to deal with that sin.
• It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God—if you are guilty.
• While a murderer might run far away into the wilderness to hide from man, there was nowhere to hide from God.
• He would live the rest of his days in fear and torment.
17b Shall flee to the pit…
The Murderer’s Attempts to Hide
1. “He shall flee to the pit”
a. The term for “pit”
• The term means a deep well or a shaft in the ground.
• It sometimes was used of a dungeon or prison – which were often pits in the ground.
• But it was also used of the grave – a pit in the ground for the dead.
• Hence, it was also sometimes used as a synonym for Sheol – the place of the souls of the dead.
b. It is not entirely clear which meaning Solomon had in mind.
• He could mean that the murderer would run and try to hide in a pit or a cave to avoid the avenger of blood.
• It could also imply that the murderer would be so burdened by his guilty conscience that he would try to commit suicide—and flee for the grave to end it all.
• Either way, the proverb speaks of a man who has no rest or peace in this life.
• Gen. 4:10-14 – Cain killed his brother and became a fugitive and a vagabond.
c. The proverb serves as a good warning against murder.
• We might think that we don’t really need to be warned against murder. That is not a sin we are likely to commit.
• Matt. 5:21-22 – However, the Lord Jesus equated the sin of anger with the sin of murder.
» This is similar to the fact that Christ equated the sin of lust with the sin of adultery.
» They are in fact the same sin – not the same in degree, but the same in kind.
» Uncontrolled lust leads to adultery. It is the seed of adultery.
» Uncontrolled anger leads to murder. It is the seed of murder.
• We might not think we are capable of murder or manslaughter—but so did a lot of men in prison for murder. Their anger got the best of them; they got in a fight that ended up in someone dying.
17c Let no man stay him.
1. This is the rare proverb that actually ends with an exhortation.
a. Most proverbs that warn against certain activities do so simply by presenting facts. The exhortation is usually obvious.
b. This proverb gives us instruction.
2. The exhortation: if someone commits murder, let no man stay him.
a. Stay: Support; make secure; uphold; assist; help; embrace.
b. Ex. 17:12 – The term was used when Moses was weary of holding up his arms, and he was “supported – assisted” by Aaron and Hur “staying up” his hands… supporting him… helping him with his burden.
c. Solomon’s exhortation to his readers is that we are not to support, help, assist, aid, or embrace a murderer.
d. Aiding a criminal IS a crime.
e. Let God’s law take its course. (C. Bridges)
f. One commentator suggested that it might also imply that if a murderer tries to commit suicide—don’t stay his hands… don’t help him… or don’t stop him.
3. Judas is a good example of Proverbs 28:17
a. He betrayed the Lord Jesus which led to His crucifixion.
b. He was tormented by his guilty conscience.
c. He knew he had no place to hide, so he committed suicide.
d. No one helped or stopped him. He fled for the grave.
4. One final note: God’s law of no mercy for the murderer is God’s law for the STATE… for the government.
a. The state is not to ignore murder. They are to deal with it harshly so that it minimizes the amount of murders.
b. But on an individual level, we as individuals (especially as Christians) should show mercy to a murderer.
c. Though the state needs to carry out its exercise of justice, on a personal level we as individuals can forgive them.
d. This is what Christ was getting at when He explained an “eye for an eye.”
• On a national level, justice is to be executed – an eye for an eye.
• But on a personal level, we are to turn the other cheek.
e. As Christians we should want the government to carry out justice.
• But we should also desire to show mercy to sinners of all stripes – including murderers.
• Murderers can be saved. It is not an unpardonable sin.
Proverbs 28:18
Upright vs. Perverse
Introduction:
1. This proverb presents a principle that we have seen many times in this book – with a slightly different wording and emphasis each time.
2. Obviously it is a truth that God wants to drive home deeply into our psyches… so that we don’t forget… and so that we don’t fall.
3. This proverb is a warning about falling and how to avoid a fall.
18a Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved:
A. Walking Uprightly
1. Walking speaks of a lifestyle.
a. It looks at life as going on a journey… going for a long walk and encountering various experiences along the way.
b. This walk will bring you by pleasant meadows and it will bring you by dangerous rocky ridges.
c. As you walk through life, you may encounter sunshine, birds singing, and beautiful foliage.
d. On other days in your journey, you will encounter sore feet, steep cliffs to climb, and storms.
e. It includes the mountain top experiences as well as the deep, dark valleys.
f. This walk consists of many forks in the road and many twists and turns.
g. In other words, it speaks of life itself… and in particular the way we choose to live.
2. Walking uprightly speaks of RIGHT behavior along the way.
a. The term translated “upright” means blameless, without defect, unblemished, righteous, true, virtuous, and genuine.
b. Ps. 19:7 – The word of the Lord is “perfect” (same word).
c. Walking uprightly speaks of walking in harmony with the standard of righteousness, God’s Word.
d. It speaks of behavior that is right before the law of the land and right before God.
B. “Shall be saved”
1. Saved:
a. Defined: Rescued; delivered; to be in a situation that is safe and free from danger.
b. Usage:
• Used of being saved from hostile enemies. (Num. 10:9)
• It can also be used of salvation. (Isa. 45:22)
• It can either be a physical or a spiritual “deliverance.”
• The context must determine the exact meaning.
• In our Proverb, the term is seen as the opposite of “falling.”
• Keep in mind that for the most part, the book of Proverbs speaks about living life on earth. They are basic, practical principles for life, not the theology behind justification or redemption.
c. Clearly Solomon is not teaching salvation by works.
• That is contrary to scores of passages found throughout the Scriptures.
• He is not saying that “walking uprightly” (living a good life) will save you from sin and eternal condemnation.
2. Thus, the question arises: walking uprightly will save us, but from what will we be saved or delivered?
a. The context tells us that we will be saved from a FALL.
b. Before we look at the fall, let’s lock in the fact that the first part of the proverb teaches us that there is SAFETY in walking uprightly.
c. Walking uprightly along life’s pathway will keep us safe from many of the pitfalls into which others fall or are tripped up.
3. Consider other proverbs that deal with the same truth:
a. Prov. 1:33 – “But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” (Listening to Lady Wisdom will keep us safe—and walking uprightly.)
b. Prov. 3:21-23 – Listing to the wisdom of your parents will keep you safe and free from stumbling in life.
c. Prov. 28:26 – Later in this chapter we read about a deliverance that comes by not trusting in our own heart, but through walking wisely.
4. A life of uprightness and integrity will preserve us from trouble and calamity.
a. Daniel is a perfect example of this truth.
• Daniel lived a godly life and walked uprightly.
• And although he lived in a perverse environment, his integrity preserved him from falling.
• He lived a long, prosperous, and fruitful life in the midst of an environment that would have caused many men to fall.
• Daniel “walked uprightly and was saved” – delivered from many pitfalls and traps.
b. Prov. 2:6-7 – “For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. 7He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.” God is a buckler (shield; protector) to those who walk uprightly.
c. Prov. 11:3 – “The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.” Those who walk uprightly in integrity of heart shall be guided by the Lord. The implication is that they will be guided safely—as opposed to the destruction that comes to perverse (crooked) men.
d. Prov. 11:6 – “The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them.” Their righteous lifestyle is their protection.
e. Prov. 14:11 – “The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.” His house shall flourish.
f. The upright man avoids sin and thus avoids the awful consequences of sin.
18b But he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.
A. He That Is Perverse
1. Perverse defined:
a. Morally crooked; twisted; distorted; a state that is not in accord with the standard.
b. We normally use the English term to describe a sexual pervert. The Hebrew term would certainly include that, but is much broader and includes all kinds of deviations from morality… not just sexually.
2. The one who is perverse in his ways stands in contrast in this proverb to the one who walks uprightly.
a. The one who walks uprightly is safe.
b. The one who is perverse in his ways shall fall.
c. We saw this contrast in Prov. 28:10 between the upright man who does good things… and the one who causes others to go astray who shall fall.
d. Good behavior leads to safety; bad behavior leads to a fall.
3. Those who are perverse in their ways exhibit this perverseness in various ways.
a. A man might be crooked in his business deals.
b. A man might be crooked in his speech – a liar.
c. A man might be crooked in his personal finances.
d. A man might be crooked in his relationship to the government.
B. “Shall fall at once”
1. “Fall”: This could refer to a physical fall; a moral fall; a financial fall; falling into trouble and calamity. There are many ways men can fall.
a. Prov. 17:20 – The man with a perverse tongue will eventually fall into mischief. Be sure your sin will find you out!
2. “At once” means at one time – emphasizing not so much the immediacy of it, but the certainty of it.
a. At one time or another, this man will fall.
b. The fall will come at once – suddenly.
c. He may get away with his crookedness for a while—and because of that assume that he will always be able to get away with it.
d. However, one day, quite suddenly, he will fall.
e. Even if he gets away with it in this life, eventually he will stand before God and if not saved, will experience the ultimate fall.
3. There is another intriguing interpretation of the second part of this proverb.
a. It is based on the meaning of the word “perverse.”
b. It views the man as being devious in his ways (plural). In other words, the man is crooked in that he seeks to walk TWO ways at once. This would speak of a deceiver who tries to live a double life.
c. The proverb states that the man who lives a double life will suddenly fall in ONE of those two ways. His deception will not go on forever.
4. But regardless of which view you take of the second part of the proverb, the meaning of the first part is unquestionable: the SAFE way to walk is uprightly… honestly… with integrity… righteously.
a. This man is safe. He will avoid many pitfalls in life.
b. But the one who deviates from an upright walk will surely fall.
c. He is not safe; he will not be delivered but will fall into trouble and calamity.
Proverbs 28:19
Plenty vs. Poverty
Introduction:
1. This proverb makes a clear statement as to what constitutes the real difference between having plenty and being impoverished: hard work!
2. This proverb is just as true and practical today as the day it was written 3000 years ago.
19a He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread:
1. “Tilling the land”
a. This is an agricultural expression referring to plowing the land for the purpose of planting crops.
b. The word “till” simply means to work, to serve, to labor.
c. It was used of Jacob’s service to Laban. (Gen. 29:15)
d. It was used of the Israelites’ “service” to Egypt. (Ex. 1:14)
e. It was often used of “serving” God. (used 4 times in Josh. 24:15 – translated “serve” – “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
f. The word simply means to serve or to labor for something or someone.
g. When combined with “the land” it speaks of “serving the land” which meant working the land… plowing and seeding and watering and weeding… taking care of the land so that it produces an abundant crop.
h. In fact, the term was used of Adam “dressing” the Garden of Eden. (Gen. 2:15)
i. Tilling the land implies taking care of the land. The last thing a farmer wants to do is harm his land. His land provides food and income for him. Thus, he wants to serve the land and take good care of it.
2. It is an interesting concept of farming: serving the land.
a. I would normally think of the land serving the farmer – but this passage speaks of the farmer serving the land.
b. Just as all service to God is rewarded; so too, all service to the land is rewarded.
c. Farmers are to “serve” their land. Solomon uses farming here as an illustration of all labor.
d. Regardless of what we do for a living, we ought to see our work, our labor as service to our company… service to our customers… a service to our employer—regardless of what the occupation is.
e. This goes way beyond farming.
f. We easily see that the ministry is a service. Those in full time ministry are serving the Lord… and serving God’s people.
g. Those who work for the government are considered public “servants.”
h. But this ought to be applied to your career as well.
i. As Adam took good care of the garden, we should take good care of the company we work for. We should serve for the good of the company.
j. The farmer serves his land and cares for his land because the land takes care of him. It’s like the mythical golden goose. If you have a goose that lays golden eggs, you take good care of that goose because it takes good care of you!
k. So too, the worker should serve and take good care of his company because his company takes good care of him.
l. It is good for the company—and it is good for you too.
m. It is a wise way to view your relationship to your job.
3. “Shall have plenty of bread.”
a. Here Paul states that the one who labors hard in serving the land will be rewarded for his service.
b. The one who takes extra good care of his land will discover that his land will take good care of him.
c. He will have PLENTY of bread.
d. The one who takes good care of his soil and keeps it enriched, weed free, and moist will have a good harvest.
e. From that good harvest he will have plenty of bread. He will have enough bread to eat and feed his family. He may have enough grains and bread to sell in the market and make some extra money.
f. PLENTY: Satisfied; filled; full; enough or too much.
• The one who works his land will be satisfied with bread.
• He won’t go hungry—he and his family will be full.
g. This passage teaches what other proverbs have stated before: hard work pays off! There is good reward in labor.
h. But this proverb adds an extra twist:
• If you work the land hard, you will be rewarded.
• But it also implies that if you take good care of the land and “serve” the land, you will be rewarded.
• It is possible to work the land and use the land solely for self-interest.
• It is possible to work the land to the point of depleting the land of all of its nutrients, leaving the land worthless in the end. That may be working the land, but it is not serving the land.
• Serving the land implies “having plenty of bread” and benefiting from the labor… but it also implies taking CARE of the land so that it continues to be productive.
i. In the early part of the 20th century in this country (called the dirty thirties), farmers in the mid-west worked the land hard and benefited from it for a while.
• But they worked it so hard they ruined it and it resulted in the dust bowl.
• They worked the land but they didn’t serve it.
• They didn’t serve the land by rotating the crops. They didn’t serve the land by protecting it with cover crops to protect it from wind erosion.
• When a drought came, the land was destroyed. It affected 100,000,000 acres of land.
• They didn’t have plenty of bread any more.
• There is a difference between working the land and serving the land.
j. Prov. 27:18 – He that KEEPETH the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof.” (Keep = guard; protect; care for)
• The fig tree provides valuable figs for food.
• But the fig tree requires some tender loving care. If you “keep” (protect; care for) your tree, it will continue to provide for you.
• If you simply pick the figs without caring for the tree, and cultivating it, it may die… and everyone loses.
• The business man who takes good care of his shop will do well. If he lets it get run down, he will lose customers.
k. There is a good application for our jobs too.
• Our relationship to our company/employer ought not to be like a parasite to his host—to suck out of it as much as you can and then move on to something else.
• Solomon’s proverb teaches us that we ought to view our relationship to our company as being mutually beneficial.
• Ask not what your company can do for you; ask what you can do for your company!
• By serving your company and doing what you can for the good of the company, you are also taking care of that which provides a bountiful harvest for yourself and your family.
l. We could apply this principle to the local church too.
• We could attend church for selfish reasons—to get out of it whatever we can for ourselves.
• But we ought to do so with a servant’s heart. We are here to serve, not just to BE served.
• We should care for the spiritual health of the Body. We should use our gifts for the good of the Body.
• In doing so, WE benefit from being attached to a healthy body.
• Don’t just milk the church for what you can get out of it; serve the Body for the common good of the Body and members in particular.
• If we serve the local body, we will have “plenty of bread.” We will be nourished… and the Body will be strong.
19b But he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.
1. Note that the word “persons” is italicized. It was added by the translators.
2. The text reads, “He that followeth after vanity.” It is not limited to vain persons… but vain pursuits… a vain lifestyle… vain philosophies… vain values… vain standards… etc.
3. In this proverb, the opposite of serving the land and taking care of the land (dressing the garden) is “following after vanity.”
a. It requires a lot of work and many hours of labor to take care of the land (tilling; planting; seeding; weeding; watering; enriching; rotating crops; planting cover crops; etc.)
b. It is much easier to follow VANITY – empty, pointless, pursuits… like chasing after bubbles or sleeping in the warm sun… or pursuing fantasies and idle dreams.
c. Proverbs 14:23 – “In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.” (penury = need; lack)
• Talk can be just an empty and worthless waste of time.
• Talking doesn’t get the job done.
• You probably know people at work who do more talking and loafing than working.
• That tends not towards plenty and abundance but to a lack… poverty.
d. Following vanity may take many different forms:
• Instead of putting in hard work and taking care of business, just seek to have fun, fun, fun.
• Pursue a life of leisure, cross your fingers, and hope that your business turns out ok.
• Take as much money out of your business as you can and spend it on yourself. That too is following vanity. Spending more than you take in is a form of vanity.
• Pursuing get rich quick schemes is another form of vanity.
4. “Shall have poverty enough.”
a. The end of that road is poverty.
b. The earth is under a curse. The land (without tilling) will bring forth “thorns and thistles.” “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee.” (Gen. 3:18)
c. Serving the land results in prosperity – plenty.
d. Serving your own vain pursuits results in penury – poverty.
e. The entrepreneur who puts all his blood, sweat, and tears into building up his company and taking care of it will prosper.
f. The one who puts all his energy in pursuing vanity will be impoverished.
g. Prov. 12:11 – “He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.”
• It is not only fruitless; it is foolish!
• This proverb is identical to 28:19 except the last phrase: “”is void of understanding.”
• 12:11 emphasizes the root: folly; 28:19 emphasizes the fruit: poverty.
h. Luke 15:17 – The prodigal son is a perfect example of this truth.
• In his father’s house there was “bread enough and to spare” because his father served the land.
• But the prodigal son pursued vanity with vain persons seeking riotous living—and ended up in poverty.
• He said, “I perish with hunger.”
5. The one who tills his land shall have plenty of bread. The one who follows vanity shall have plenty of poverty.
a. Solomon lays out the options.
b. Then he leaves it to his readers to take their pick.
Proverbs 28:20
A Faithful Man Abounds
Introduction:
1. The contrast in this proverb is between a man who is faithful in his work and a man who seeks to get rich quick.
2. The proverb reminds us of the outcome for each one – in the end.
20a A faithful man shall abound with blessings:
A. The faithful man
1. Faithful: Firm; steadfast; trustworthy, dependable, reliable, honest, a man of integrity, truthful, etc.
2. The exact KIND of faithfulness Solomon had in mind in this passage needs to be understood by observing the contrast he is making.
a. The contrast is not between a faithful man and a man who is unfaithful; but between a faithful man and one who seeks to get rich quick.
b. Thus, Solomon is comparing two different attitudes towards work and the rewards of work.
3. The faithful man is faithful with respect to his work – his means of supporting himself and his family.
a. He is faithful in doing his work. He doesn’t procrastinate; He doesn’t slack off; he gets the job done. (Prov. 6:10)
b. He is faithful in the sense of being reliable, dependable, responsible.
c. He is faithful when no one is looking at work. (Col. 3:22)
d. He is faithful at the little things as well as at the big things. (Luke 16:10)
e. He is faithful at doing his fair share of the work.
f. He is faithful at doing his best. He is concerned about the quality of his work… not just checking out at 4:00 p.m.
g. Faithful implies that he is consistent; diligent; he does all the little chores that others might skip over; he is careful, conscientious, thoughtful; slow and steady.
h. The faithful man keeps his word; he keeps his appointments.
i. The faithful man is a GOOD worker… and they are hard to find. (Prov. 20:6)
4. The faithful man is a desirable worker because of his character: he is faithful! Character makes a good worker.
B. He Shall Abound With Blessings
1. The man who is faithful with respect to his work-life will abound with blessings. There are rewards awaiting this kind of man.
a. Hard work pays off. (Prov.10:4 – the hand of the diligent maketh rich.)
b. Faithfulness and consistency pay off. (Matt. 24:45-47) A servant who is faithful is promoted; the same principle holds true for believers today too.
c. Character is prized and rewarded.
d. The faithful man is often promoted, honored, and remunerated for his faithfulness to his job and to the company.
2. Of course the proper MOTIVE of a faithful man is not the reward, but a heart desire to honor God and obey His Word.
a. The reward is a fringe benefit of faithfulness.
b. As Christians, we should be faithful not just for an earthly reward, but for our heavenly reward.
c. The goal of being faithful at our job should be to glorify God, not self-promotion.
d. Our goal is to be a good testimony for His name’s sake.
20b But he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
A. He That Maketh Haste to Be Rich
1. “He that maketh haste” speaks of a man who is eager, energetic, in a hurry.
a. Brown-Driver-Briggs: To be pressed; confined; but to make haste; (pressed for time).
b. Dictionary of Biblical Languages defines the term as “behaving or reacting to circumstance in a way that is senseless because you are hurrying or running without purpose.”
2. The faithful man is contrasted NOT to the rich man. It is possible for a man to be rich because of hard work and the blessing of God. Some men are rich and faithful.
a. The faithful man in this proverb is being compared to the man who HASTES to be rich.
b. This is a covetous man. He desires to have money and material goods and wants them right now.
3. This is the person who doesn’t want to wait for things…
a. Like the man who starts a new business and doesn’t want to put in the blood, sweat, and tears and years of sacrifice that it takes to build up a business and a good reputation. Instead, he wants it all – now!
b. Or like the young couple that get married and expect to have a nice house, two new cars, and brand new furniture instantly. They don’t want to wait until they can pay for it piece by piece. They want it now!
c. This is like the student who doesn’t want to take all the time and expense to go to school. He thinks he can go out into the world and make it on his own – without an education. He wants to start making money now!
d. This proverb could be applied to countless situations.
4. The man who makes haste to be rich sees himself as being pressed for time.
a. He wants instant gratification. He wants his porridge and he wants it NOW.
b. When one is pressed for time to gain wealth, the tendency is to use devious means to accomplish that goal. When your goal in life is to become rich, one soon discovers that that goal will eventually be at cross-purposes with God.
c. He is only interested in the end goal: to be rich. Therefore, he is not so concerned about the means to that end.
d. There will be a tendency to cut corners… to cheat…
B. This Man Shall Not Be Innocent
1. Innocent: Free of guilt and thus unpunished.
a. This speaks of a moral connotation associated with “hasting to be rich.”
b. The haste to become rich leads to less than honest behavior – which leads to some sort of punishment.
c. His wrong focus in life will lead to fraudulent schemes which will eventually lead to trouble and punishment.
d. This man will not be innocent – meaning he WILL be punished.
e. Count on it: the inner drive to get rich quick… or to obtain material goods quickly comes with a price tag… there are built in consequences to that.
2. Prov. 13:11 – Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished.
a. The man who wins a lottery and then gets hooked on gambling discovers this truth. He got rich quick… but in the end it was diminished.
b. The man who bets on horses or at the casino might win a few… and assume that he can keep it up – that he can beat the system – discovers that over time, his wealth is diminished.
c. And think of how many young kids become millionaires overnight because they know how to throw a ball. Sadly for many of them, their wealth is diminished – through loose living and bloodsuckers who take advantage of them.
d. Prov. 21:5 – “The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.”
• The one who continually “hopes and dreams” to get rich quick is ultimately disappointed.
• He keeps waiting for his ship to come in – which never seems to come.
• He keeps waiting for someone to discover oil on his property… and they never do.
• Instead of working and being faithful at his place of employment, he dreams, hopes, and waits… and his riches never arrive.
3. Prov. 28:22 – The man who hastes to become rich:
a. The one who hastens to be rich has an evil eye –
• He is envious of others. He sees their riches and wants them… now!
• He doesn’t seem to consider that the other person has accumulated his material goods through years of hard work and toil.
b. He is also unaware (considers not) that poverty shall come upon him.
• He is genuinely deceived.
• He thinks he has beat the system, but discovers when it is too late that he was a fool.
5. We could almost connect the message of this proverb with the story of the tortoise and the hare.
a. Slow and steady wins the race – as in the tortoise and the hare.
b. But the hare (who makes haste to win but isn’t consistent) loses in the end.
c. The tortoise, who may seem much slower is consistent… steady… reliable… and eventually wins the race – or to use Solomon’s image – will abound with blessings.
Proverbs 28:21
Respect of Persons
Introduction:
1. This proverb speaks of the evil of having “respect of persons” or prejudice… bias.
2. This theme is mentioned many times in Scripture. It is a lesson God doesn’t want us to forget.
3. What makes this proverb unique is the fact that it links bias together with bribery. That is a deadly combination.
21a To have respect of persons is not good:
A. Respect of Persons
1. Respect of Persons: The two terms defined:
a. To know; to acknowledge; to consider carefully +
b. Face; appearance; presence.
2. Combined they have the meaning of bias, bigotry, prejudice, partiality
a. Literally the combination of terms means “to carefully consider someone’s face… appearance… who they are…”
b. The idea is that a judgment is made based on their appearance… their face… their presence.
3. Respect of person is shown in various ways:
a. One’s financial status
b. One’s celebrity status
c. The color of one’s skin
d. One’s educational background
e. One’s nationality
f. One’s political party
g. One’s looks
h. One’s clothing—cool or uncool—rich or poor
i. One’s political position (senator, governor, etc.)
j. One’s social status
k. Would you treat them all the same? Would you treat them the same as you would a foreigner of another race, another language, a different culture, in a lower social strata?
l. Would you really? Be honest.
B. Is Not Good
1. Here Solomon states the obvious. In fact he understates it for effect.
2. Of course it is not good. It is far worse than just not good. It is unjust… ungodly… abominable! It is sin.
3. Prov. 24:23 – It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.
a. It is wrong to make judgments on persons made in the image of God solely upon their appearance… or their status.
b. It is especially not good in the legal realm (in judgment).
4. In Solomon’s day it was “not good” not only because it is immoral. It was also illegal – contrary to the Law of Moses.
a. Lev. 19:15 – Moses warns against judging on the basis of one’s wealth. You should not be able to “buy” justice.
b. Deut. 17:21 – Moses warned against having respect of persons in judgment.
• Vs.16 – Moses commanded them to judge righteously. (This is exactly what the Lord Jesus said in John 7:24 – “judge righteous judgment.”)
• Vs. 17 – The small as well as the great were to be heard and judged fairly. (The small farmers and “little people” were to be heard exactly as the judge would hear the great, powerful, wealthy, and important men).
• They were not to be afraid of the face of man… nor treat people differently because of their “face.”
21b For for a piece of bread that man will transgress.
A. A Man Will Transgress
1. A man – the term for man here is a term that means “strong man.”
a. In context, it speaks of a man who is strong because of his position over someone else.
b. Perhaps his position of strength over another is the fact that he is a politician, policeman, employer, or (what best suits the context) a judge in a legal matter.
c. Solomon’s point is that strong men (in positions of power) DO transgress. (rebel)
d. They can be bribed… this seems to be the kind of “transgression” spoken of here.
e. He abuses his power and authority in a sinful and rebellious way.
2. He transgresses by showing partiality.
a. Some men in positions of power and authority over others are willing to rebel against the law of the land because of bigotry and partiality.
B. A Piece of Bread
1. This I take as figurative language… as a small bribe.
a. It is unlikely that a judge would actually take a piece of bread as a bribe… or that a man could be persuaded to transgress for simply a piece of bread.
b. But the point of the figure of speech we take literally: that when men are biased to begin with, it doesn’t take much for them to transgress against someone they hold a bias against.
c. Erasmus thought that Solomon was describing the image of a man luring a dog by holding out a piece of bread or a piece of any type of food.
d. A dog can be lured into almost anything for food.
e. A biased man can be lured into almost anything for a piece of bread… or some other small bribe.
2. Our proverb states that the strong man who is already biased can be lured into transgression for a piece of bread.
a. He sells his soul cheaply.
b. Example: Suppose you had a Protestant judge in Belfast Northern Ireland. Before him is brought a Catholic boy accused of rioting. And suppose he was already biased AGAINST the Catholics. It would take a big bribe to get this Protestant judge to rule unjustly against a Protestant. But he may be willing to pervert justice against someone he’s already biased against for a “piece of bread.”
3. Matthew Henry made a couple of helpful observations on the type of bribe mentioned here:
a. “Those that have once broken through the bonds of equity, though, at first, it must be some great bribe, some noble present, that would bias them, yet, when they have debauched their consciences, they will, at length, be so sordid that for a piece of bread they will give judgment against their consciences…”
b. “Those that are partial will be paltry.”
4. Another commentator noted: “Greed and a lust for power will drive people to do amazing injustice.”
5. It is said that every man has his price.
a. If you offer enough money or the right price, a man can be enticed into anything: Stealing, murder, adultery, pervert justice.
b. The implication in our proverb is that this man (presumably a judge or a person of influence) is already biased or bent in one direction. Therefore, it doesn’t take much to get a biased man to transgress or pervert justice.
6. This proverb challenges us all to ask ourselves the question: do we have a price?
a. What would it take to get you to transgress?
b. Are we biased? Are we bent in a certain direction?
c. Do our internal biases cause us to be easily lured into outwardly transgressing?
d. We may not be a person of prominence (a judge; senator; president), but we DO make judgments all the time.
e. Do our inward biases cause us to be easily lured into sinning with our tongues?
f. Are we willing to compromise integrity for a piece of bread?
g. What would it take to cause our biases and prejudices to come out and harm others? Would you transgress to be in with the in crowd? To be popular? To be funny? To avoid sticking out like sore thumb?
7. The best way to avoid being reduced to a piece of bread is to DEAL with all inward biases!
a. Respecting persons is sin—and it leads to other sins.
b. It can cause us to be easily lured into acting on those biases.
c. Therefore, get to the root of the problem: prejudice—and confess it as sin and forsake it!
d. Integrity is the answer.
Proverbs 28:23
Rebuke is Better than Flattery
Introduction:
This is a simple proverb that states the value of rebuke. It may be more difficult to give and to receive up front, but in the end, it is far better than its opposite: flattery.
23a He that rebuketh a man…
A. How to Rebuke (There is a right way and a wrong way.)
1. Do not have a beam in your own eye. (Matt. 7:3-5)
2. Do so for a matter that is worthy of rebuke (Matt.23:24)—not just a personal dislike.
3. Do so with grace. (Col. 4:5-6)
4. Do so in love – (Rev. 3:19 – the Lord rebukes in love.)
a. Rebuke should be done for the spiritual best interest of the one rebuked.
b. Rebuke a brother when necessary, “Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”
5. Do so in accordance with truth – (II Tim. 3:16 – the Scriptures are for reproof – not opinions; John 12:48)
6. Do so in a timely fashion (Prov.15:23) in due season…
7. Do so privately (Matt. 18:15) – not in a crowd; not on Facebook; etc.
8. Do so as led of the Lord.
9. Do so with proper motives.
B. Reproofs and Rebukes Are Often Rejected Initially
1. The person who is rebuked has no favor towards his rebuke initially.
a. In fact, he may become angry and even hostile towards the one who rebukes.
b. Gal. 4:16 – “Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?”
c. When you rebuke a friend, there is always that chance that he will no longer be your friend. He may become so insulted, so hurt, and so angry that he doesn’t want to talk to you any more.
d. That is the risk that one giving a rebuke must be willing to take.
e. You are sticking your neck out when you rebuke a brother. He may welcome it—or he may chop your head off.
2. That makes rebuking very difficult.
a. Sometimes a needed rebuke is avoided because we fear upsetting the apple cart. We fear a hostile response.
b. We fear alienating the one who needs to be rebuked.
c. It is not easy rebuking a brother or friend who needs to be rebuked. Nobody likes doing so (almost nobody).
3. Heb. 12:5 – “Despise not thou the chastening of the Lord.”
a. God had to send out a similar warning to His sons as He rebukes and corrects as a Father.
b. Ultimately, rebukes are from the Lord, whether it comes from the indwelling Spirit who convicts our heart or from the Word of God as we read, or whether God uses a brother to deliver it.
23c He that flattereth with the tongue
1. Prov. 29:5 – A man that flatters spreads a net for his neighbor.
a. Here the picture is of an unseen danger.
b. A net is designed to capture an unwitting animal.
c. The net is hidden and unseen—but a very present danger nonetheless.
d. Flattery is not immediately seen for the danger that it poses… but it does pose a real danger.
2. Prov. 26:28 – A flattering mouth worketh ruin.
a. This is the danger of flattery: It can ruin the one being flattered.
b. The real danger of flattery is that the one being flattered might actually BELIEVE it!
c. It is often perceived as a green light to continue ahead on the same course.
d. The one who is headed in the wrong direction and is flattered when he should be rebuked, will be strengthened in his pursuit of evil or error or folly.
e. That is the road to ruin. That is the point of this proverb.
3. Psalm 12:2 – Flattery is often associated with deceitfulness – a double heart… from a two-faced so-called friend.
a. One cynic wrote: “The chances are about 10 to 1 that when a man slaps you on the back, he wants you to cough up something.”
b. There is often an ulterior motive behind flattery. The flatterer wants some sort of favor in return.
c. Thus, the flatterer tells you what you want to hear rather than what you need to hear.
d. The flatterer is often out for his own best interest—not yours!
4. Prov. 20:19 – “Meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.”
a. Stay away from the flatterer. You can thereby avoid the snare… avoid being deceived… avoid ruin… avoid being taken advantage of by deceivers.
b. Ben Franklin said, “The same man cannot be both friend and flatterer.”
23b Afterwards shall find more favor
A. Afterwards
1. Afterwards: Upon reflection; upon maturity; after dealing with the consequences of not being rebuked for folly; the one who is rebuked will reconsider the anger that he once held towards his rebuke.
2. He may also shift that anger on to the one who flattered him.
3. Rebuke is sort of like getting a flu shot. It stings initially, but in the long run, it prevents you from getting something worse.
4. Sometimes when a man is flattered for sin, when he should have been rebuked, the flattery actually encouraged him to continue on in that sin.
a. If he continues in sin, he will also be paying the consequences of that sin.
b. If he ever gets right with God, he will repent of his sin and will now be upset over the so called friend who flattered him in his sin.
c. And those who rebuked him (even if he rejected their counsel and became angry at the time), afterward, he will be favorably affected towards them.
B. Favor
1. Prov. 27:5 – Open rebuke is better than secret love.
a. Afterwards, upon more reflection, the one who is rebuked realizes that the rebuke WAS necessary, and in fact, it was exceeding helpful.
b. The patient who yells in pain at his doctor as his arm is being reset will thank him later… and show him great favor when he regains full use of his arm again. This might become his favorite doctor.
2. He may even begin to see it as a blessing to be rebuked! (Ps. 141:5)
3. Prov. 9:8 – Rebuke a wise man and he will love thee.
4. Prov. 27:6 – “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
5. Ecc. 7:5 – “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.”
6. Prov. 13:18 – “Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.”
a. It delivers from folly and shame and eventually leads to honor.
b. Upon reflection, the one rebuked realizes what is really valuable.
7. Prov. 15:32 – “He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.” It leads to understanding and wisdom and maturity… and that is appreciated.
8. The one who eventually responds properly to rebuke (even if his initial reaction is not so good) will afterwards learn to appreciate what his friend risked in giving the rebuke.
9. Charles Bridges quoted another: “Few people have the wisdom to like reproofs that would do them good, better than praises that do them hurt.”
a. His friend stuck his neck out in love… realizing and taking the risk of having his head chopped off… but he rebukes his friend anyway, out of love and for his friend’s best interest, not his own.
b. The wise man will recognize that the flatterer took the easy route and was not really operating in love. The wise man will see the vanity in flattery and the value of a needed rebuke.
Proverbs 28:24
Robbing One’s Parents
Introduction:
1. The book of Proverbs has much to say about the way parents are and are not to bring up their children.
2. It also has a few words to say about how children are and are not to treat their parents.
His ACTIONS: 24a Whoso robbeth his father or his mother…
1. Here Solomon describes a situation that might seem incredible at first. Who would ever rob from their own flesh and blood… from their own parents who brought them up and nourished them?
2. It’s bad enough to rob a stranger, but to rob one’s own parents almost sounds unthinkable.
3. This might happen more often than you think—and in some ways that we may not have thought of.
4. Rob: Seize; gain possession of an object without a proper agreement between parties; rob.
5. There are many ways that robbery can occur.
a. Robbery by actual theft (secretly).
• A son could rob his parents by stealing money out of the draw or taking his mother’s jewelry or by cashing their checks.
• Drug addicts often steal to support their habit. And their target of choice is usually their own parents. They figure, if I get caught, they won’t press charges.
• They often steal their mother’s jewelry, cash checks, etc.
b. Robbery by wasting their goods and finances.
• Spending money foolishly; and simple things like throwing away a ¼ of a toothpaste tube; eating half of an apple; wearing clothes a few times and trashing them; etc.)
c. Robbery by fraud
• A son could rob by lying about how much money they have, or need, or how much something costs; etc.
d. Robbery by running up a debt.
• They might run up a bill on a credit card in their parent’s name.
e. Robbery by playing on their heartstrings
• They might tell some sob stories to ooze some sympathy in order to get money from their parents.
f. Robbery by borrowing without any intentions of paying it back.
g. Robbery by spending their inheritance like the prodigal son.
h. Robbery through sloth.
• Prov. 18:9 – They can commit robbery by not doing the chores or by not taking care of the property, thus, letting things fall into disrepair.
• He’s too lazy to harvest the crops at harvest time, so they rot and he impoverishes his parents.
• Through sloth they can slowly rob their parents a few pennies at a time… by leaving food on the counter to rot.
• He can rob his parents by carelessly not putting oil in the lawnmower and allowing the engine to seize; by carelessly losing his clothes and other things; etc.
i. There are lots of ways to commit robbery.
6. He has virtually no concern for his parents at all.
a. It doesn’t dawn on him that all the things he wastes, his parents had to purchase. They had to work hard to earn the money to buy the goods that he wastes.
b. He has no concept of the value of money… or the value of hard work… he seems to think money grows on trees.
c. Of course if HE had to work many hours to purchase those items with his own toil and labor, he might see things differently.
d. Telling this young man to turn off the lights to save electricity goes in one ear and out the other because he doesn’t have to pay the light bill.
e. If you tell him not to leave the hot water running or the AC running all day he thinks you are weird and mean.
f. The young person Solomon describes here is immature, irresponsible, and selfish.
g. He demonstrates the height of ingratitude.
h. This is not a very nice young person Solomon is describing.
i. Prov. 19:26 – Here Solomon describes this kind of son as one who “wastes his father” (by robbing him or wasting his money or goods) and “chaseth away his mother” (perhaps by running her off her own property).
• This is a son who abuses his parents… and we hear about that today too – elderly abuse… scams committed against the elderly, etc.
• This is disgraceful and shameful behavior.
His ATTITUDE: 24b And saith, it is no transgression
1. This young person commits a crime against his parents, but he doesn’t see it that way. He says, “I did nothing wrong. It is not a sin to take things from my own parents.”
2. He is self-centered.
3. He has an entitlement mentality: “I deserve what I took. After all, I live here. This is my house too. I am entitled to have everything that I want.”
4. He is deceived and blinded by his own narcissism.
5. He may genuinely believe that whatever he takes from his parents he deserves or is entitled to… and therefore, taking it is not robbery.
6. Mark 7:10-11 – Jesus spoke of the wickedness of a son in a similar situation.
a. The son Jesus describes is not one who is robbing from his parents.
b. Rather, this is a son who SHOULD have been providing for his aging parents. The law required it. He was to “honor” his parents… which included providing for their needs.
c. However, this man did not want to provide for his aging parents.
d. Therefore, in pretense, he says that he ceremonially dedicated all his goods to God. (Corban). That meant that those goods could not be used for any purpose other than the Temple service.
e. Thus, this man went to his parents and said, “Dad and mom, I’d love to help you out, but all my goods are “corban” – dedicated to God, so I can’t help you out. Sorry.”
f. Instead of helping his parents, he made up an excuse.
g. The son in our proverb robbed his parents, and made up an excuse: “I did nothing wrong. It was no transgression.”
7. In both cases (the one mentioned by Solomon and Jesus) the son had utter disregard for his parents and was concerned only about himself.
a. It’s hard to imagine children behaving this way—but it does happen.
b. It happened in Solomon’s day, centuries later in Jesus’ day, and centuries after that in our day.
c. It is human nature to think only about ourselves.
d. In extreme cases, it causes adult children to have no concern even for their own parents… their own flesh and blood.
e. Salvation – repentance is the cure.
24c The same is the companion of a destroyer.
1. He has destroyed their peace of mind… their rest… their joy… and perhaps even their reputation.
2. His character is that of a destroyer.
a. And if he treats his own parents this way, how will he treat others? What does it say about his character? Who would want that kind of a person for a spouse?
b. He brings misery and grief to his parents.
c. He destroys family harmony and peace… no natural affection.
d. He destroys the security of the family nest egg for his parents retirement years.
e. He is no different than an outright destroyer or a robber.
3. Prov. 21:7 – The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them.
a. Ultimately, wicked men who rob will receive judgment from the Lord—even if they get away with it on earth.
b. Sooner or later, your sin will find you out. That applies to robbers too.
c. Not only will it find you out, it will destroy you (either in this life or in the life to come).
d. The law gave a special blessing to those who honor and care for their parents: “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”
e. There is also a special curse for those who mistreat them.
f. Prov. 20:20: “Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.”
Proverbs 28:25
Pride vs. Trust
Introduction:
1. There is a considerable difference among the translations of this verse.
2. The difference has to do with the meaning of the word translated in the KJV as “proud.” Other translations insert the word “greedy” in its place.
3. It is a simple disagreement: the word has a couple of meanings. It could go either way. Both make sense.
4. It is clearly a judgment call for the interpreter. I have chosen to stick with the KJV translation because it seems to fit the greater context of the book of Proverbs (and the Bible as a whole) better.
25a He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife:
1. “Proud” defined
a. Brown-Driver-Briggs: Wide, large; widened, enlarged, expanded; broaden; open place.
b. Dictionary of Bible Languages: Roomy; enlarge; broaden; find relief.
c. But the term also is used a couple of different ways – what one scholar described as “different semantic extensions”:
• greedy (enlarging one’s possessions for selfish ends);
• boast/pride; (puffed up? Enlarging one’s view of self?)
d. It clearly is not to be taken in the literal sense in our Proverb: wide, expanded, open space, roomy. That meaning does not fit at all.
e. That leaves us with a disagreement as to which of the two “different semantic extensions” is meant here: greedy or pride.
f. That is why various translations differ.
g. The dictionary definition does not help us make that choice. Thus, we rely on the context.
2. Proud heart
a. Heart refers to the soul… the self life… the essence of life… the person… a breathing soul… a living being.
b. Thus, Solomon is speaking of a proud PERSON… his inner self life is focused on self.
c. A proud person always puts himself first… above others.
d. That is the essence of pride: “Me first; I am the greatest.”
3. Stirreth up strife
a. Stirs up: Excites; stirs up; engages in.
b. Strife: Contention; discord; dissention; verbal quarrel.
c. Solomon’s point in Proverbs 28:25 is that a proud person (a proud soul) stirs up trouble, contention and strife wherever he goes.
4. There is more than one root to contention according to the following passages:
a. I Cor. 3:3 – For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
b. Prov. 10:12 – Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
c. Prov. 15:18 – A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
d. Prov. 16:28 – A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends. (an evil spirit)
e. Prov. 26:21 – As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife. (a contentious spirit)
5. Prov. 13:10 – “Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.”
a. While all of these passages are true. There may be various causes for controversy.
b. However, at the root of it all there is PRIDE.
c. Pride is so insidious. Pride is at the root of wrath and unjustified anger. It is at the root of carnality. It is at the root of hatred.
d. ONLY by pride cometh contention means that ALL contention has as its ultimate source, fallen, human pride.
e. Pride results in nothing but contention and strife.
f. The proud soul cannot tolerate any competition. He cannot stand to have someone oppose his views or contradict his statements. Therefore, he causes contention and trouble.
g. This is a good reason to translate the term “proud” rather than “greedy” in Proverbs 28:25.
h. It is a PROUD heart (person) who stirs up strife—every time.
i. Get rid of the pride, and the controversy ceases.
j. Phil. 2:3 – Christlikeness demands this: let NOTHING be done through strife or vainglory. In other words, deal with the selfish pride!
k. Prov. 13:10 ends with the thought: “with the well advised is wisdom.”
• It is wise to be humble. It is wise to confess pride and forsake it.
• It is wise because pride is at the root of our troubles and contentions.
• In the midst of controversy and strife, we would be “well advised” to HUMBLE ourselves and follow Paul’s advice: “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”
25b But he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.
1. In contrast to proud soul, we now have a trusting soul.
2. Consider the contrast between pride and trust/faith.
a. In this proverb, pride is seen as the opposite of trust or faith.
b. This demonstrates that pride is at the root of unbelief.
c. Self-centered pride is the essence of unbelief. It says the following:
• “I am not a sinner. I am pretty good.”
• “I don’t need a Savior. I can make it on my own.”
• “I don’t have to trust in God. I can lean on my own understanding.”
• “I don’t need God’s strength. I can handle life myself.”
• Pride and unbelief go hand in hand.
3. However, the person in the second half of our proverb is trusting in the Lord.
a. He is not proud. He is not trusting in himself.
b. He is not proud; he does not put self first. He puts God first.
c. This person does not have to exalt self or put his own opinion first. He commits his case to the Lord and trusts God for the outcome. He is totally dependent upon God and His grace.
d. Because he trusts in the Lord and leaves his case to God to resolve, he doesn’t have an ax to grind. He doesn’t feel it necessary to fight for his way first all the time.
e. He walks by faith and lives in peace with others.
4. He “shall be made fat.”
a. This was considered a blessing in Bible days.
b. The Hebrew word literally means anointed; but it often is used of a dry object being smeared or covered in fat. (Think of dry leather and putting some grease on it to make it supple.)
c. The term came to mean: prosperous, to have an abundance; well fed, well taken care of… and thus satisfied.
d. It indicated that life was good; things were going well.
e. Thus, instead of living life like the proud person—constantly in the midst of quarrels, controversies, and contention, this trusting soul is well taken care of. He is full and satisfied. His life is full of blessings—not trouble.
f. Prov. 13:4 – “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.” (meaning, he will prosper and do well)
5. The proud, self-centered soul will suffer contention and strife wherever he goes. The trusting soul will experience blessing wherever he goes.
Proverbs 28:26
Misplaced Trust
Introduction:
1. This proverb is connected in thought to the previous proverb.
2. Both of them speak about TRUST.
3. Both of them also speak of the results of that trust—whether in the Lord or in self.
4. There is a difference however in the contrasts in each proverb.
a. Vs. 25 – the opposite of trusting in the Lord is being proud.
b. Vs. 26 – the opposite of trusting in self is walking wisely.
26a He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool:
A. Trusting in Self
1. This stands in contrast to the one who puts his trust in the Lord in vs. 25.
2. Of course, our trust OUGHT to be in the Lord always, but that is not always the case. Sometimes we put our trust in other things.
a. Ps. 31:6 – Some trust in “lying vanities” (idols). “I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD.”
b. Ps. 118:8 – Some trust in man. “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.”
c. Prov. 3:5 – Some trust in their own understanding. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
d. II Cor. 5:6b – Some trust in what they can see. “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (Trust in sight vs. faith – trust in God.)
e. Jer. 9:23 – Some trust in their own wisdom, might, and riches when they should trust in the LORD. “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches.”
B. Trusting in Self is Folly
1. FOOL defined:
a. Dull; thickheaded.
2. This proverb teaches us the nature of a fool: he trusts in his own heart… in his self… in his wisdom… in his own merit.
a. Ps. 14:1 – The fool also says that there is no god. That’s why he trusts in his own heart. What else is there?
b. The nature of the fool to reject God and to be self-reliant—a trait that the world adores.
c. What folly it is to take no counsel (even from God’s Word) but to rely on self… our own wisdom and intelligence!
d. Many times in Proverbs the fool has been described as one who refuses to listen to counsel because he thinks he doesn’t need it. He is wise enough on his own. He trusts in his own wisdom.
3. Jer. 17:9 – “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
a. As believers, we believe God’s Word. We believe what it says about our own hearts.
b. And God’s Word says that our hearts are deceitful. The fallen heart leads us to believe things that are not true—that do not square with God’s truth.
c. And God’s Word tells us that our hearts are bent towards evil.
d. Why in the world would anyone trust in his own heart IF he believed that his heart would deceive him? What folly!
e. Would you invest your hard earned money in an investment firm that you knew lied to its clients and regularly deceived them? No one in their right mind would want to put their money in such an investment.
f. So why would anyone trust in his own heart? It IS deceptive—and evil to boot!
g. Bishop Hall called the heart “The Great Imposter” because it has been practicing a system of deceit on us since the first moment of consciousness!
h. It is not the way of wisdom to trust in that kind of a heart. That is the way of folly. And ultimately, the way of ruin.
4. Matt. 15:19 – “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”
a. What folly to trust in that kind of a heart! It is a cesspool of sin.
b. God’s estimate of our own hearts ought to cause us all to cast ourselves at His feet for mercy, guidance, and wisdom.
c. If this is what our heart is like (and it is) then self-confidence (trusting in our own heart) ought never to enter our mind.
d. We should fear committing every one of these sins that lie in our bosom and rest continually and solely on God and His wisdom, guidance, and power for victory.
5. Jer. 17:5 – “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man… Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord.”
a. Trusting in self or another man is folly because it brings a curse.
b. It brings the curse of failure… defeat… misery… slavery… and all of the other consequences of the sins into which we fall.
c. Sin has its own built in curse – its own built in set of consequences.
d. But on the contrary, there is a great blessing to the man who trusts in the Lord.
6. Deut. 8:17-20 – “And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.”
a. Vs. 19 – “I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.”
b. When the Israelites entered into the land, they were reminded NOT to trust in themselves but in God – the One who gave them the land and liberty to enter.
c. There was a clear warning: IF you begin to trust in yourselves, you will perish.
7. I Cor. 1:19 – “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
a. What folly to trust in our own WISDOM – because God’s Word has promised us that He will destroy the so called wisdom of the wise.
b. Prov. 14:12 – “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
c. It is folly to trust in our own wisdom, because our choices may SEEM right—but may in fact be the way of destruction, ruin, and even death!
d. Why not trust in God and in His Word. We know for sure that His ways are perfect… His Word… His wisdom… His counsel are all true and right—always!
26b But whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.
A. Walking Wisely
1. Walking wisely is seen in this proverb as the opposite of trusting in self.
2. He is wise because he consciously chose not to trust in himself and to place his trust in the Lord. That is wisdom.
a. The wise man knows better than to trust in himself.
b. He has failed many times by trusting in himself, and now knows from experience that his faith is to rest in the Lord and in Him alone.
c. He has learned from experience that his own personal wisdom is extremely limited and his own strength is feeble at best.
d. He realizes that he needs to look beyond SELF for the wisdom and strength for daily living. He looks to the Lord in faith.
3. The way of wisdom is the way of faith – trusting in the Lord. (Prov. 3:5-6)
4. Eph. 5:15 – “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.”
a. We need to walk “as wise” men because the pathway down here on earth is strewn with traps, snares, pitfalls, stumblingblocks, and the road is infested with enemies.
b. If we know and believe this, then it behooves us to walk circumspectly and wisely… TRUSTING in God for each and every stop along the way.
c. Self-confidence on such a pathway is folly to the nth degree.
d. We should thank God for doors that He in His providence and wisdom closes along the way… even if they are doors our hearts longed to enter. Lean not on thine own understanding.
e. Wisdom naturally distrusts our own hearts… distrusts our own feelings… and distrusts our own inclinations—and therefore puts every thought, word, deed, and feeling under the scrutiny of God’s Word before taking one step.
f. The better we understand the depth of the depravity of our own hearts, the more likely we are to refuse to trust in SELF and therefore put our trust in God.
g. Prov. 3:5 – The way of wisdom is to TRUST in the Lord: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
B. Deliverance
1. Delivered defined: Escape; slip away.
a. Two interesting usages of the term:
→ Job 19:20 – “My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.”
→ Ps. 124:7 – “Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.”
2. Prov. 29:25 – He shall be safe—rescued—delivered—saved from many calamities that are to be directly traced to the fact that he is walking wisely—by faith which rests on God.
3. The wise man who trusts in the Lord and who trusts in the strength and power of God is delivered because the arm of flesh will fail us.
a. Self and its fleshly nature are not reliable. They will not bring about deliverance from sin. (Read Romans 7!)
b. He is delivered because he does NOT trust in self.
c. He seeks wisdom and guidance from above and in God’s Word he FINDS the wisdom that he needs.
Proverbs 28:27
Giving to the Poor
Introduction:
1. In this simple proverb, Solomon speaks about the results of being either generous or stingy towards the poor.
2. This principle has great application to us today—with some minor adjustments for dispensational distinctions.
27a He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack:
A. Giving to the Poor
1. Here Solomon speaks about giving to the poor.
2. The term he used is broader than giving financially.
a. This Hebrew word is used about 2000 times according to the Complete Word Study Dictionary.
b. It involves many shades of meaning: To give; ascribe; bestow; commit; consider; present an offering; granting.
3. Thus, when used in conjunction with giving to the poor, it may imply more than just monetary donations.
a. It would certainly include giving money.
b. But it also implies “considering” them – considering their cause and being sensitive to their situation.
c. It may imply granting funds to the poor as a national endeavor. Remember, Solomon was the king of a nation.
d. It could include providing opportunities for them.
e. There are lots of ways to help the poor. People (even today) are not always in agreement as to what is the BEST way to help the poor. (Should we give them free corn or teach them how to plant corn? Should we give them fish or give them a fishing pole?)
f. As believers, we may disagree as to what is the best way to help the poor, but we should be in agreement on the fact that God has always desired His people to be considerate of the poor.
g. Solomon doesn’t recommend any particular program for the poor here. Rather, he speaks of the principle: giving to the poor is good. It is God’s will.
4. The poor defined:
a. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: “to be in a state of not having enough income or means of livelihood for normal essential needs.”
b. It can refer to a person in need.
c. It can refer to people who have “few resources and little standing or influence in a society.” (Complete Word Study – Old Testament)
d. The term also can describe a weakened condition (sometimes the result of a lack of food or water). The poor are usually the weakest group in any society and are easily trampled over.
e. Solomon is obviously speaking here of one who is poor through no fault of his own. That is not always the case.
5. Solomon sometimes spoke of the poor in a bad light.
a. Prov. 10:4 – “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.” Laziness results in poverty.
b. Prov. 20:13 – A love for sleep also leads to poverty.
c. Proverbs 28:19 – “Hanging around” with “vain persons” also leads to poverty.
d. Prov. 23:21 – An overly indulgent lifestyle leads to poverty. Solomon uses two examples: “drunkenness and gluttony” Spending too much might also be included in that overly indulgent lifestyle.
e. But that is certainly NOT always the case.
6. Often, people are living in poverty through NO FAULT of their own.
a. A person may be in poverty because he happened to be born in a poor country—ruled by a dishonest and greedy dictator who abuses his power and keeps the nation’s wealth for himself.
b. A person may be in poverty because he became sick and unable to work, or perhaps his company fell on hard times and laid him off.
c. There are lots reasons for poverty. We should not be quick to judge the poor until we have walked in their moccasins.
d. Prov. 22:2 – “The Lord is the Maker of them all,” meaning both the rich and the poor.
• God sovereignly appoints individuals to poverty for His own good reasons.
• Perhaps it is to test our faith or to cause us to depend upon Him more.
• God is the MAKER of both groups.
• We look at the rich or poor from an earthly perspective and usually think highly of the rich and not so highly of the poor.
• God does not see mankind that way as Maker. The Creator looks at them all as His creatures, made in His image.
e. The fact of the existence of these two groups is to be traced back to God: to His providence and to His sovereignty.
• The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. That is His right as Sovereign and Creator. He has allowed men to be born into and to live in either great wealth or poverty.
• Ecc. 5:19 – Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.
• I Sam. 2:7-8 – The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich.
• Deut. 8:18 – For it is HE that giveth thee power to get wealth.
f. The Bible is pretty clear that God is sovereign over the social strata into which men are born, live, and grow.
7. This proverb encourages us to be generous in our giving to the poor. This principle is seen in every age.
a. Israel under LAW:
• Lev. 25:35 – RELIEVE the poor: “And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him.”
• Ps. 82:3-4 – DEFEND the poor: “Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. 4Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.”
• Deut. 15:11 – BE GENEROUS to the poor: “For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.” (see vs. 7 – harden not your heart)
b. Church under GRACE:
• Gal. 2:10 – REMEMBER the poor: “Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.”
• Gal. 6:10 – DO GOOD: “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
• Acts 20:35 – SUPPORT the weak; “I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
• Acts 11:29-30 – SEND RELIEF: “Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: 30Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.”
• Romans 15:26 – CONTRIBUTE: “For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.”
• I John 3:17 – SHOW COMPASSION: “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”
• Clearly the church is to be generous to the poor – in particular, to the poor saints.
B. Shall Not Lack
1. Here we see a slight dispensational distinction.
2. Under the Law, those who obeyed could expect blessings for obedience in this life.
a. Deut. 15:10-11 – “Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.”
b. Prov. 3:9-10 – “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: 10So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”
c. Deut. 28:1-6 – This was part of the Mosaic Covenant. “If ye obey… then I will bless.”
d. Prov. 19:17 – “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.”
3. In the age of grace, we are also promised blessing for obedience and for giving to the poor. However, the blessing is not promised for this life but rather, heavenly rewards.
a. Luke 14:13-14 – “But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”
27b But he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.
1. The opposite of generous giving followed by blessing is mentioned.
2. The one who hides his eyes
a. This speaks of the one who SEES the poverty.
b. In the story of the Good Samaritan, there was a priest and a Levite who SAW the plight of the crime victim, beaten, and lying on the road. They turned their eyes the other way.
c. God providentially caused their pathways to cross and they refused to offer any help.
d. This is willful ignorance. This man cannot excuse himself for a lack of knowledge. He saw and chose to hide his eyes.
3. This man shall have many a curse.
a. This too has dispensational ramifications.
b. This was part of the Mosaic Law. If a Jew did NOT obey, then he could expect cursings.
c. Prov. 11:26 – “He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him…” This curse shall come from the people he treats cruelly.
d. Deut. 28:15 – These curses shall come from the Lord Himself.
e. The application for the Christian here is that if we refuse to help the poor, we will lose rewards that we could have had.
• When God confronts us with a “Good Samaritan” moment, he expects us to help the poor.
• I John 3:17 – When God confronts us with the need of a brother, he expects us to show love and compassion.
• These are opportunities for the believer to manifest Christ and when he acts in love and obedience, then he will be rewarded in heaven.
• God may bless us in this life for our generosity. But we are not to give in order to get, or to obey in order to be blessed. We are to give because we have already been blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ (Eph. 1:3).
4. Our proverb encourages generosity towards the poor… and consequences for our action or inaction.
Proverbs 28:28
When the Wicked Rise
Introduction:
1. This proverb makes a simple statement about the rise of wicked leaders and its effect on righteous people.
2. Similar statements have been made in other proverbs.
28a When the wicked rise, men hide themselves:
A. When the Wicked Rise
1. This speaks of wicked men rising to power as rulers, kings, presidents, and prime ministers.
2. The fact that a man rises to political power does not guarantee that he did so out of noble motives and with honorable character.
3. We saw in the book of Daniel that sometimes God raises up the basest of men to rule.
a. Dan. 4:17 – “the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.”
b. But note that regardless of who rises to power (righteous or wicked) it is the Lord who raised him up and for His purpose.
c. Ex. 8:16 – God raised up Pharaoh for His purpose.
• Pharaoh was an ungodly king who enslaved God’s people and refused to let them go. God raised up Pharaoh for His purposes.
• Moses records God’s reason for raising him up: “And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.”
d. Jer. 27:5-6 – God raised up Nebuchadnezzar
• Nebuchadnezzar was a pagan king – an idolater. He may have come to know the Lord later, but God raised up an idolatrous pagan king to rule.
• And the Lord did so for His own glory.
• “I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. 6And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.”
e. Isa. 10:5-7 – God raised up Assyria for His own purpose.
• The Assyrians were especially cruel and wicked towards the people they conquered.
• “O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. 6I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.”
f. This concept has been a perennial problem for the Jewish mind—WHY would God raise up wicked men to rule? Why not raise up good men and make the world a better place?
• Because that is not God’s purpose. God’s purpose is not to “fix” the world system but rather to replace it with HIS Kingdom.
• Hab. 1:6-7a – “For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not theirs. 7They are terrible and dreadful…”
• Hab. 1:13 – The prophet was puzzled as to WHY God would raise up those who were dreadful and terrible.
» It seemed out of character for a holy God to raise up wicked rulers and put them in positions of power.
» “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?”
• Hab. 2:20 – The prophet heard God speak and (like Job) was left speechless and in awe of who God is.
» “But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.”
» Who are we to question who God raises up to rule?
2. This is a helpful thought during election season in our own country.
a. Regardless of what you think of the candidates and their policies, God is still on the throne.
b. He has a purpose for whatever He allows and for whomever He raises up to a position of authority.
c. God is bringing His plan to pass.
d. As Christians, our responsibility is to “honor the king.”
e. We may disagree strongly with his religious beliefs, with his political policies, and with his handling of social issues.
f. But God didn’t command us to agree with the king—but He did command us to honor the king.
g. Whether we like it or not, we are living in the end times and God’s plan WILL come to pass. The world will be brought into a one world government. We should expect to see more and more indications of that coming to pass in the next generation or so.
h. We may find ourselves puzzled as Habakkuk was; but we should also be willing to be silent before Him and trust that His ways are perfect… even if puzzling to us.
B. Men Hide Themselves
1. Hide defined: To hide; conceal. It has the sense of preventing someone to know or see something, to keep something from public notice or from certain persons. It has the sense of to guard and protect oneself from perceived danger.
2. Solomon’s point is that the character and quality of the leadership has a direct effect on the people they rule over.
a. Solomon suggests that when wicked men rule, the righteous in the land head for the hills and hide!
b. Some may have to literally hide. This is certainly the case in many Middle Eastern countries today.
c. Sometimes righteous men are considered enemies of the state and have to hide or leave the country. Life is not good for Christians in Egypt right now.
d. Others may not have to literally hide. They simply lose their voice and sink back into the woodwork… silent… ignored… abused… without power… waiting for a change on top.
3. Prov. 29:2 – When the wicked bear rule, the people MOURN.
28b But when they perish, the righteous increase.
1. But when the wicked ruler perishes…
a. Wicked rulers often DO perish.
b. We have seen a good number of wicked rulers in the Middle East perish in recent years… with a few more ready to be assassinated or perish some other way.
2. Even the removal of kings is the Lord’s doing.
a. Dan. 2:20-21a – “Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: 21And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings:”
3. What is the result of that? The righteous INCREASE.
a. Prov. 28:28 – They had been hiding in the shadows, but now they can come out in the open.
• They are no longer hunted and persecuted and decreasing.
• Now they are increasing—in power, prosperity, and freedom.
b. Prov. 28:12 – With a righteous leader, righteous people can REJOICE! They will increase, prosper, thrive, and rejoice and glory in it!
4. There is a direct connection between the quality of the leadership and the condition of the people.
a. With a wicked leader, righteous people hide themselves; they know that they will be trampled over and oppressed by the wicked leader.
b. Bad leadership has an adverse effect on the righteous.
5. While this proverb seems to be directed towards the political leaders, this same principle is operative in the churches too.
a. Leadership matters.
b. There is also a direct connection between the spiritual quality and character of the leadership and the spiritual condition of the people.
c. When wicked men (or false teachers) rise to power in the local church, righteous men have to go into hiding.
• The righteous and the godly are silenced and have no voice.
• They are ignored and relieved of their duties.
d. When the bad leader perishes (or leaves) then the godly increase.
• They increase in influence and position and numbers.
• They can come out from the shadows and be out in the open… sharing godly views and godly influence.
• It’s a breath of fresh air.
e. Charles Bridges lists some Biblical examples of the righteous increasing and rejoicing when the wicked perish:
• There was a revival after Hezekiah opened up the Temple doors which his wicked father Ahaz had shut up.
• When the wicked Haman was hanged, the godly Jews increased and rejoiced. (Esther 8:17)
• When the wicked Herod perished, “the word of God grew and multiplied.”: (Acts 12:23-24)
f. Leadership affects the condition and well-being of the people—whether it’s in a nation, an office, or in the churches.
6. It’s no wonder we are commanded to pray for leaders: those in positions of authority in the local church and in the government:
a. I Tim. 2:1-3 – “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour.” Paul asks for prayer for our political leaders.
b. I Thess. 5:25 – “Brethren, pray for us.” As an apostle (a church leader), Paul asks for prayer.
c. God is still on His throne… both with respect to the nations and the churches. Trust in Him.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 29
Proverbs 29:1
Often Reproved
Introduction:
1. This is a simple proverb. It doesn’t require a lot of explanation.
2. It is brief and to the point: the one who refuses to listen to reproof will be destroyed—and suddenly.
1a He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck…
A. Reproof
1. Solomon is speaking about a man who has been reproved.
2. “Reproof” has been a common theme in the book of Proverbs.
3. Reproof defined: speaking words of strong disapproval designed to change behavior; the words of disapproval are often followed by threats of punishment if not followed; the correction of some wrong; rebuke; discipline.
4. Job 5:17 – God corrects His children.
a. It is to be received with thanksgiving because it is for our good.
b. HAPPY is such a man! Why? Because if something is wrong, we ought to want it to be corrected.
5. Prov. 27:6 – Believers are to reprove one another.
a. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.”
b. When a friend reproves a friend, it is done out of love and for the good of his friend. He doesn’t want to see his friend experience the awful consequences of his error.
c. Reproof from a friend is to be considered a great blessing: “Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head.” (Ps. 141:5)
d. Think of it as if, in a moment of distraction, you pulled on to the highway going the wrong way. Wouldn’t you want your passenger to reprove you… to correct you… to bring to your attention your error? The right response to reproof is “Thank you! You saved me from a tragedy!”
e. Prov. 15:5b – “He that regardeth reproof is prudent.” It is wise to regard (pay attention to and obey) reproof… especially if you were just reproved for driving onto the highway in the wrong direction! It is a sign of wisdom to respond properly to reproof.
B. Often Reproved
1. Someone who is often reproved refers to a stubborn person who has heard the reproof but did not respond properly… and therefore has to be reproved again… and again… and again.
2. The proper way to respond to reproof is to respond right away—especially if you drive on the highway in the wrong direction.
a. The one who is often reproved did not respond right away. Perhaps he thought about responding and then procrastinated.
b. Perhaps he was reproved for some error and was warned of the danger, and he avoided the danger.
3. Sometimes when we don’t see any consequences to our wrong actions right away, we assume that we will never have to pay any consequences for our wrong actions.
a. We begin to think we can sin with impunity.
b. We begin to think that we are smarter than the ones reproving us: they are just paranoid, old fuddy duds who don’t know what they’re talking about!
4. Ecc. 8:11 – “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”
a. The heart of the fool deceives him into thinking that because he got away with his crime or sin once—that he can get away with it again… and again…
b. He hardens his heart to warnings of reproof.
5. Being “often reproved” indicates that a person has been ignoring or rebelling against the reproof.
a. Solomon had much to say about this kind of person in Proverbs.
b. Prov. 15:5a – “A fool despiseth his father’s instruction.”
c. Prov. 13:1 – “A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.”
d. Prov. 13:18 – “Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.”
e. Prov. 15:12 – “A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.”
f. Prov. 12:1b – “he that hateth reproof is brutish.” (stupid)
g. Prov. 15:10 – “Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.” It is grievous to the one who is out of fellowship.
6. They heard many reproofs, but hardened their necks.
a. This speaks of stubborn rebellion and resistance… like an animal resisting the yoke by stiffening his neck and refusing to be yoked.
b. Nehemiah defines this expression: Neh. 9:16-17a – “But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, 17And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion…”
c. He links “hardening the neck” with “refusing to obey” and hearkening not to the commandments… and “rebellion.”
d. The stubborn heart refused to listen to friendly advice, counsel, and reproof from friends, family, and brethren. The hardened neck will soon develop into a chip on the shoulder that could last for years.
e. It is an evidence of an obstinate heart that needs to be broken—like a wild animal needs to be broken before it will submit to the yoke and become useful to the master.
7. When we stand aloof and look at these proverbs clinically, it is easy to see the folly of the one who is often rebuked but refuses to respond in faith and obedience.
a. But have we ever thought of applying this to the way God’s indwelling Spirit deals with us DAILY?
b. How many times has the Spirit of God convicted us of thoughts, words, deeds, or motives and we ignored His gentle rebuke?
c. How many times has He attempted to gently nudge us away from a particular activity or direction and we have resisted Him?
d. How many times has the Spirit gently nudged us towards some activity He wanted us to do or say or be involved in… and we refused… and knowingly grieved the Spirit of God?
e. The principles in these Proverbs apply to me and you when that is the case.
• We are fools. We are brutish – stupid.
• We are despising our Father’s will. We are grieving the Spirit… even scorning Him!
• Just because we escaped judgment for that kind of inward rebellion for 10 years doesn’t mean that there will be no consequences.
• That’s what the second part of this proverb is about.
1b Shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
1. Being “often rebuked” by God may mean His chastening hand – repeatedly.
a. If God’s Spirit convicts us and we don’t respond, God may reprove us with a mild form of chastening.
b. If we refuse to respond by submitting to Him, He may reprove again—perhaps with a deeper application of chastening.
c. And on and on it goes.
2. That rebel who often reproved also repeatedly refuses to respond to the many reproofs and chastening, shall suddenly be destroyed!
a. This destruction will come suddenly… quickly… out of the blue… without warning… unexpectedly.
b. It may result in a loss of life… or the loss of well being… or in 1001 other forms. God knows exactly how to get to each one of His children.
c. He knows what hurts—and reproofs by their very nature, hurt.
d. But the hurt is with a purpose: to bring repentance and submission.
3. Prov. 1:29-32 – “For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.”
a. These fools hated knowledge. They refused counsel from Lady Wisdom.
b. Therefore – the result of this action is that they will “eat the fruit of their own ways.” There are severe consequences to pay… maybe not immediately, but eventually.
c. And when the consequences come, they will come suddenly… unexpectedly.
d. The irony is that that it comes unexpectedly. It’s ironic because they SHOULD have expected it—they were warned repeatedly… but it never sunk in.
4. The destruction comes suddenly.
a. The reproofs were not sudden and instant. They occurred over a long period of time. The persons described here were no doubt reproved by their parents, their teachers, their friends, and perhaps the police department. The reproving went on for years.
b. But the destruction doesn’t take years. It can come suddenly.
c. Prov. 1:27 – It will come like a whirlwind.
d. Prov. 6:15 – “Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.”
• God is sovereign over all. It doesn’t take Him a long time to send calamity.
• The fact that it doesn’t come instantly simply means that He is gracious and longsuffering.
• But His longsuffering doesn’t last forever.
• Eventually, the shoe will drop… the chastening will come. Don’t tempt the Lord. He is omnipotent.
e. Prov. 28:18 – “Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.”
• He seems to be walking about normally without any chastening from the Lord. He seems to be walking about safely and without any repercussions to his sin.
• But out of nowhere, he falls—suddenly and without warning. It doesn’t take long to trip and fall.
5. The kind of destruction (judgment for sin) of which Solomon speaks has “no remedy.”
a. When God’s longsuffering comes to its end, there is no stopping God’s purpose. It will be accomplished in the life of the sinning son.
b. This makes the warning all the more sobering.
Proverbs 29:2
Wicked vs. Righteous Ruling
Introduction:
1. This proverb is the same as Proverbs 28:12 except for the ending.
2. Both proverbs speak about the reaction of the people to their leaders – depending upon whether those who lead are righteous or wicked.
3. The character and moral direction the leader takes the country causes the people either to rejoice or mourn.
2a When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice:
1. The point of this section of the proverb is to highlight the fact that the people REJOICE when they have good, righteous leaders.
2. What does a righteous man in a position of authority DO that causes the people to rejoice?
a. People rejoice when they have freedom: when they can speak their mind; worship and practice their faith openly; live according to their consciences; etc.
b. People rejoice when good, moral laws are established and supported.
c. People rejoice when law and order are maintained.
d. People rejoice when murderers and thieves are punished and restrained.
e. People rejoice when they enjoy a sense of safety and security.
f. People rejoice when their property rights are maintained.
g. People rejoice when the judicial system is blind and fair, and everyone is treated the same—rich, poor, red, yellow, black, and white, male, female.
h. People rejoice when the government is not cruel and oppressive—taxing them to death, taking advantage of the less powerful.
i. People rejoice when those in authority are not crooks lining their pockets and robbing from the citizens.
j. People rejoice when the government listens to the people and the people have a voice.
3. “The people rejoice”
a. The rejoicing of the people is BECAUSE righteous men are in power.
b. The rejoicing of the people is due to the fact that righteous men enact righteous laws and are honest, fair, and just.
c. People rejoice when they are treated fairly.
4. Other proverbs indicate that there are other favorable reactions when righteous men have positions of power
a. Prov. 28:12 – there is great glory!
• Note the contrast in this proverb: he is speaking about righteous vs. wicked men rising to power.
» When a righteous ruler gains power he rejoices—and there is glory among the people.
» When the wicked rise to power—the people hide.
• Consider the first part: When Solomon says, There is great glory, he means that when a righteous man rules, there is great glory among the people.
• The people are proud to have such a leader. He represents their values. He represents them. There is a sense of national pride in such a leader.
• The people glory also in the sense of honoring that leader. They honor him by putting him into office and by following his leadership.
• The righteous leader and the righteous people are able to rejoice together.
• That is a sign of strength: righteous people AND a righteous leader.
• When righteous people have a righteous leader, they too glory in it… rejoice together.
• In a good sense, they are proud of it… national pride… patriotism.
b. Prov. 11:10a – The thought is similar in meaning: when things are going well for the righteous in the land, the city rejoices.
c. Prov. 28:2 – “For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.”
• When transgression fills the land, there will be many princes… because they won’t last long.
• But when a man of understanding, wisdom, and discernment is in power, the state thereof shall be PROLONGED… it will be good for the land and the country.
• That results in stability and strength for the nation.
d. Prov. 28:28 – “When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.”
• When the wicked ruler perishes (dies; is assassinated; or is removed from power for any reason), then the righteous increase.
• They had to go into hiding during the reign of the evil monarch or ruler. But when he dies, they can come out of the woodwork again.
• They increase—they prosper—they may even begin to take positions of leadership again—their voices are heard again.
5. What occurs when the righteous are in positions of leadership?
a. The people rejoice. The city rejoices.
b. There is great glory—national pride—patriotism returns.
c. The state shall be prolonged. A sense of safety and security returns.
d. The righteous increase.
2b But when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
1. Mourn defined: To groan; to moan; it is the universal response to oppression or despair.
a. Ex. 2:23 – “And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.”
• (Mourn = same word as sighed.)
• Here people who are oppressed and are suffering injustice mourn and sigh.
• They are longing and waiting for a change.
• Here the Jews cried out to the Lord because of their bondage.
b. Ezek. 9:4 – “And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.”
• (Mourn = same word as sigh.)
• The context here is a glimpse into the spirit of the godly Jews in the days of apostasy in Israel.
• Jerusalem became filled with idols and the abominations of the pagans.
• The godly remembered better days. They groaned and sighed because they felt defeated, discouraged, in despair and disgust over the abominations in the land.
2. People who are oppressed; people who are in despair over the moral and spiritual ruin of their country “mourn” – they go about “sighing” in a sense of defeat and despair over their condition and the condition of their country.
3. Other proverbs also speak of other results of wicked men ruling.
a. Prov. 28:12 – When wicked men rise to power the righteous hide.
b. Instead of the people glorying and rejoicing and taking pride in their leader, they head for the hills and HIDE!
c. This is what Elijah did when Ahab and his lovely wife Jezebel were in power—he ran for a cave!
d. Joseph and Mary had to take Jesus to hide in Egypt until the wicked Herod was no longer in power.
e. Christians in Egypt are going into hiding because of the leadership in their country.
f. Righteous men realize that the wicked leader might take their property… take their land… and make life miserable for them. He may even execute them.
g. They mourn—and they go into hiding.
h. Prov. 28:28a says the same thing.
4. We too mourn when we see the moral direction in which our country is headed.
a. Abortion (even partial birth abortion) is promoted from the highest offices.
b. Massachusetts nearly passed a law permitting suicide in your own home.
• A few years ago we were scandalized by Doctor assisted suicide. This is a take home package. You don’t even need a doctor present for this.
• When we have lost sight of the sacredness of human life, where do these issues lead for the next generation?
• Euthanasia, mercy killings, suicide on demand, killing the aged or the handicapped?
c. Gay marriage is now being publically supported from the highest offices.
• The thinking is that “we should be able to marry whomever we love.”
• But where does that lead? Polygamy? Bestiality? Incest?
d. Two states legalized marijuana – Colorado and Washington.
• And this was not for medicinal purposes but for recreational use.
• And where does this lead in the next generation? All 50 states? And what drugs are next? Crack cocaine? Heroine?
e. We are beginning to see the US turn its back on Israel.
• Gen. 12:3 – Concerning the nation Israel, God said: “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee.”
• As a nation, we have experienced God’s blessing for our support of Israel. We may soon experience a curse.
f. Religious institutions are being forced to violate their conscience.
• If they come after the Catholics today, it will be us tomorrow.
• In recent years we’ve heard a lot about the war on poverty, and the war on drugs, and the war on women.
• But the real war we’ve been seeing (that doesn’t get nearly as much publicity) is the war on Christianity.
g. These issues represent serious moral and spiritual decline in our country.
h. Once you start down a pathway like this, it is virtually impossible to reverse direction.
• It’s like going downhill on a toboggan.
• We are on a slippery slope and scary pathway as a nation. We have good cause to mourn.
i. And it is not one person or one party. The whole nation is headed in that direction. The people we vote into office are but a reflection of where the country is… morally and spiritually.
j. Our proverb reminds us that “when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.”
k. We can and should pray for good, moral leaders in our country.
l. A good leader can help temporarily, but only temporarily.
m. Let’s not get dreamy eyed over this. We are never going to bring in the Kingdom through political means.
n. The USA is never going to return to the days of the Puritans. Those days are long gone.
o. We are seeing the moral collapse of a nation right before our eyes. And unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it will ever turn around.
p. It might slow down for a while; it may take a few baby steps in a good direction, but the overall trajectory is down.
5. But this does not mean we should despair.
a. It is all part of God’s plan… and that is irreversible.
b. Evil men will wax worse and worse in the last days.
c. And as dark as things get around us, don’t forget the words of the apostle Paul: “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”
d. It is an opportunity for us to shine as witnesses to the truth and point men to the Savior.
e. Our job is to walk with God and fish as many men out of those polluted waters as we can.
f. On the one hand, we may mourn the direction our country is headed in; but on the other hand, we can rejoice that the coming of the Lord draweth nigh! Even so come, Lord Jesus.
g. And we can pray: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (I Tim.2:1-4)
Proverbs 29:3
Loving Wisdom vs. Loving Harlots
Introduction:
1. This proverb contrasts two different sons.
2. It is a contrast between a wise son who follows the counsel of wisdom and a foolish son who follows a sinful lifestyle.
3. It is also a contrast between loving wisdom and loving harlots.
3a Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father:
1. “Whoso loveth wisdom.”
a. This refers to a wise son. (“His father…”)
b. We know that this son is wise because he loves wisdom.
2. Love in the Bible is not just an emotion, but speaks of action.
a. If there is genuine love, then there will be the fruit of that love. It will be manifested in outward actions, not just inward feelings.
b. Loving wisdom involves OBEYING the voice of wisdom.
c. John 14:15 – “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
d. Love for God is expressed in obedience—to the Word of God.
e. Love for wisdom is also expressed in obedience—to words of wisdom.
f. The book of Proverbs is a FULL of words of wisdom. It is full of words of warnings from Lady Wisdom in the early chapters.
g. It is full of words of wisdom from the father to his sons.
h. It is full of words of wisdom from Solomon and other kings to their subjects.
3. Some sons did not love the counsel of Lady Wisdom.
a. Prov. 1:20-25 – Lady Wisdom called to the youth to hear, but they laughed her to scorn. She stretched out her arm to them, but no one regarded.
b. Vs. 22 – The reason they disregarded her words of wisdom was because they HATED wisdom and knowledge.
c. Vs. 22 – Instead of loving wisdom, they loved simplicity (inexperience and a lack of wisdom).
d. Vs. 29-30 – They did not love wisdom and knowledge and counsel. They HATED it. They rejected her counsel.
e. They expressed their lack of love for wisdom by choosing folly and rejecting wisdom’s calls.
4. But some sons do love wisdom and counsel.
a. Proverbs 8:12 – Wisdom is speaking.
• Wisdom has counsel and understanding—and that results in strength. (vs.14)
• Wisdom explains that it is because of wisdom that kings reign and princes decree justice. (vs.15-16)
• And wisdom loves those that love wisdom! (vs.17)
• There are those who do love wisdom and who SEEK it early. They seek it early in life. They seek it early in situations that arise, instead of as a last resort, after our own understanding fails us.
• This term for “early” also implies with diligence.
• The ones who love wisdom seek her early… right away… and with diligence… as if they were seeking for valuable treasure.
• Vs. 18-19 – In fact, those who seek wisdom ARE seeking for a valuable treasure!
• Vs. 21 – Those who love wisdom will inherit substance and will fill their treasures.
b. This is the kind of son that Solomon is describing in the first part of Proverbs 29:3 – a son who loves wisdom. He has good reason to love wisdom!
c. Prov. 4:7 – “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”
d. If you really love wisdom, you will be diligent, you will sacrifice, you will cross mountains to obtain it—like seeking for gold!
5. This is the kind of son that rejoices his father.
a. This has been a theme in Proverbs:
• Prov.10:1 – “A wise son maketh a glad father.”
• Prov.23:15 – “My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.”
• Prov.23:24 – “The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.”
• Prov.27:11 – “My son, be wise, and make my heart glad.”
b. Note that the father rejoices not that his son has achieved wisdom and maturity, but that he LOVES wisdom.
• Even if the son is not quite there yet, the father rejoices because he knows that his son WILL be there one day. That is guaranteed.
• Prov. 8:17 – “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.”
• The wise father gives his son time to find wisdom. He knows that his son is seeking it—and in good time WILL find it.
• It is all a matter of the heart’s desire.
3b But he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.
1. In contrast to a son who is seeking after wisdom, Solomon describes another son who is seeking pleasure and self-indulgence.
a. This son is seeking and keeping company with harlots.
b. This son is seeking a lifestyle of loose living and immorality.
c. I Cor. 6:18-20 – “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
2. The sad part is that wisdom would have preserved him from seeking harlots and loose living… and dealing with the aftermath and consequences of such a lifestyle.
a. Prov. 2:11-12a – “Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: 12To deliver thee from the way of the evil man.” Wisdom would keep a young girl from an evil man.
b. Prov.2:16-17 – “To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; 17Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.” Wisdom would have kept this young man from the strange woman (harlot).
c. Prov. 5:1-5, 7-11 – Wisdom gives warning for a good reason… to prevent the youth from following evil ways and paying the consequences for the rest of their lives!
3. The good news is that, like the prodigal son, the foolish son can learn his lesson the hard way, repent and begin to love wisdom and seek it with all of his heart.
a. Unfortunately, you have to live with the consequences of sin.
b. There may be some scars from that lifestyle. There may be some children from that lifestyle. There may be a whole host of issues that he could have avoided had he listened to wisdom earlier in life.
c. But even so, he can get his life back on track and be restored spiritually and made whole again.
4. The foolish son who keeps company with harlots “spendeth his substance.”
a. One of the consequences of rejecting the way of wisdom and choosing the way of harlots and loose living is that it is expensive. You can burn through money pretty quickly living that kind of a lifestyle.
b. The prodigal son did. He spent his father’s substance.
c. Consider the words of Luke 15:13-16: “And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.”
d. Immorality is very expensive—in many ways… the drugs, the booze, the hotels, the prostitutes, the gambling, potential blackmail, divorce, etc.
e. There’s a hefty price to pay for loose living; it’s not cheap.
f. Solomon says that the foolish son “spendeth his substance.” Loose living left him broke.
g. Prov. 6:26 – “For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread.”
Proverbs 29:4
Establishing or Overthrowing the Land
Introduction:
1. This proverb speaks of the effect of leadership in a country.
2. The contrast is between a king who rules with justice vs. a king who operates on the basis of bribes.
3. There is also a contrast between the consequences for the country.
4a The king by judgment establisheth the land:
A. The King By Judgment
1. The first king rules the land by “judgment.”
2. Judgment defined:
a. The act of deciding a legal case or dispute.
b. Sometimes it is used of the punishment involved.
c. A lawsuit or legal action taken in court.
d. Justice (fair; righteous).
3. The term is used in a legal setting according to the Law of Moses.
a. Deut. 1:17 – (2 times) – “Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s.”
b. Ex. 23:6 – “Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.”
c. Ps. 72:1-2 – “Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.”
4. Note that it is the KING who is deciding the legal case.
a. In Israel there was not as clear a line between functions of government as we have in America.
b. We have a distinct executive branch, legislative branch, and judicial branch.
c. Often the king would function as all three.
• We read of Moses and Solomon functioning as judges (like the Supreme Court) and deciding cases brought before them.
• Kings could also establish laws by decree.
• In the Jewish mind, the concepts of judging and ruling were often blurred or blended together.
• A king had much more power than a president. They often had the power of life and death.
• You can see why they would want their king to execute judgment (justice) in the land.
• They wanted the king to be fair and just in all of his decisions they made, because those decisions directly affected the everyday lives of the people.
• I Tim.2:1-2 – That’s why we are commanded to pray for those in positions of leadership today. Their decisions affect us too!
B. Establishes the Land
1. Establish defined:
a. The root of the term is “to stand.”
b. It came to mean to stand; to be set up like a pillar; upright.
c. It had many shades of meaning: to stand and remain standing; endure; remain; continue; be steadfast; established; fixed; solid; immovable.
2. The king who rules and judges fairly, justly, and righteously establishes the land.
a. When justice and righteousness reign, the country is solid, stable, enduring, and steadfast.
b. Prov. 29:14 – “The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.”
c. Prov. 16:12 – “It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.”
• In these two proverbs, it is the king’s throne that is established by faithfully judging the poor in justice.
• A stable throne tends to result in a stable country.
d. Prov. 29:4 tells us that the whole land is established by such a just and righteous reign.
3. The effect of a righteous ruler on the country has been mentioned several times in this chapter and throughout the book of Proverbs.
a. Prov. 29:2 – “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice. Righteous rulers bring joy to righteous people.
b. Prov. 14:34 – “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”
• The country as a whole is exalted.
• Exalted: raised up high; picking up; growing; promoted.
c. Prov. 20:8 – “A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.” A righteous king scares away unrighteous men. They know they and their dishonest ways will not be tolerated.
d. A ruler whose reign is fair and just causes evil men to be scattered, righteous people to rejoice, and it exalts the nation.
e. There is a great benefit from having a righteous ruler.
f. The point of the proverb is that leadership matters.
• With a righteous leader, the country is growing and being raised up rather than being run down.
• With a righteous leader, the people are happy.
• With a righteous leader, the evil men have to hide.
• With a righteous leader, the country is strong, stable, and enduring.
4b But he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.
1. In the second part of the proverb Solomon compares the king who rules in justice to a king who operates on the basis of bribes and greed.
2. “Gifts” in this passage is used as a euphemism for bribes.
a. The term means an “offering” – a contribution of materials (for building the Temple) or a contribution in the form of a sacrifice.
b. In this proverb it is obviously being used of a bribe… “a dishonest offering” that greases someone’s palm… and offering to the king expecting something in return.
3. “Overthrow”
a. The king who receives bribes and operates for his own personal interest (greed) overthrows the country.
b. The term means: beat down; tear down; break down; pull down; ruin; bruise.
c. Usage:
• Psalm 11:3 – “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” This speaks of a foundation that became weak and crumbled.
• Joel 1:17 – “The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.” This pictures an old farm that has gone to seed and the barn caved in and in disrepair.
d. A greedy king ruins his country. He leaves it in shambles… like an old barn you might see in the country that has been abandoned and is falling apart. Or perhaps like a crumbling foundation.
4. Rehoboam is an example of such a king. (I Kings 12:8-11,16)
a. Rehoboam was Solomon’s son. He should have read these proverbs that his father wrote.
b. But Rehoboam operated on the basis of greed.
c. Solomon levied huge taxes and fees against the people to support his building projects—including the Temple.
d. But now the building projects were completed. There was no need for such taxes.
e. However, Rehoboam chose to listen to the young men who convinced him to continue collecting huge taxes revenues from the people in order to amass great wealth.
f. He did so, and overthrew the country. The people rebelled and there was a split between North and South and almost a civil war.
g. On the other hand, Solomon his father was wise, fair, and just. Under his reign, Israel experienced the “golden years” of peace and prosperity.
5. The contrast here is obvious:
a. The righteous king ESTABLISHES his land. (Righteousness exalts a nation.)
b. The greedy king OVERTHROWS his country. It is not growing and prospering as a result of his reign. It is brought to the brink of disaster.
c. The same is true of a city—any organization:
• Prov. 11:11 – “By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.”
6. Consider some GREEDY RULERS in more modern times:
a. Jan. 28, 2011 President Mubarak of Egypt had a stash worth 40 billion dollars as his personal worth has grown over the decades of years as a dictator, or what he stole from the Egyptian people has risen to epic proportions.
b. Mohamed Suharto of Indonesia is worth $15-30 billion. His salary is a mere $1,764 per month. But by installing his six kids as the middlemen in every conceivable state company, the family became wealthy beyond description!
c. Ferdinand Marcos, the Philippines was worth about $5-10 billion. Ferdinand Marcos and wife Imelda fled the Philippines with suitcases stuffed full of cash, jewelry and gold bricks. After more than 20 years in power, they left the Philippines one of the world’s poorest countries, yet this devious duo had Swiss bank accounts crammed with $5 billion dollars or more.
d. Then there was Jean-Claud (Baby Doc) Duvalier of Haiti. And the list goes on and on.
7. Thankfully, there is a coming King who WILL rule and reign in justice and judgment!
a. Psalm 89:14 – God’s throne IS established by justice and judgment.
b. Jer. 23:5-6 – “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
Proverbs 29:5
Flattery with Evil Intent
Introduction:
1. Flattery is a subject we have seen many times in the book of Proverbs.
2. Each passage considers the subject from a slightly different angle.
3. This proverb serves as a warning to the one being flattered.
4. It warns the one being flattered of the real intentions of the flatterer.
5a A man that flattereth his neighbor
1. Flattery defined:
a. This term has a couple of different meanings.
b. In our proverb it means: to be smooth; smoothness of tongue; slippery; flattery; seductive.
2. Flattery is different from a compliment.
a. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a compliment is “an expression of esteem; respect; affection; or admiration; especially an admiring remark.”
b. A compliment may be genuine and sincere. It may be given to encourage. It is spoken honestly and as an expression of one’s true feelings.
c. When a compliment is given with ulterior and sinister motives, it becomes flattery.
d. Flattery is given with a selfish purpose. It is not for the good of the one flattered, but for the good of the flatterer.
e. Flattery is given for the purpose of deceiving, or manipulating, or enticing into an action desirable to the flatterer.
f. It takes a certain amount of discernment to distinguish between flattery and a genuine compliment.
g. If the flatterer is really good at his trade, it may not be possible to distinguish.
3. Prov. 26:24-26 – In this passage Solomon speaks about the deceitful nature of the flatterer.
a. “He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; 25When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart. 26Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation.
b. Note that in this passage, the flatter “dissembles” with his lips. Dissemble means hypocrisy, misleads, or pretends. His words of flattery are phony. They are not what he really means.
c. Through his words of flattery he is actually “laying up deceit.” He intends to lead you astray with the flattery.
d. He speaks fair words of flattery to butter you up, but don’t believe him! His heart is full of abominations.
e. Sooner or later his wicked intentions will be exposed.
f. This passage is a pretty good overall summary of the intentions of the average flatterer.
5b Spreadeth a net for his feet.
1. Solomon has had much to say about flattery and flatterers in this book and the NET they spread.
a. One problem in interpreting this proverb is determining who the second “his” refers to.
• Does it refer to the flatterer? Is Solomon saying that the one who flatters his neighbor is spreading a snare for his own feet?
» Prov. 26:27 – It is true that Solomon does often speak of the sinner falling into his own pit.
» The net could refer to the flatterer.
• Or is he saying that the flatterer, through his flattery is setting a snare for his neighbor, the one who is being flattered?
b. The most common view (and in my opinion the correct one) is that Solomon is speaking about the danger of flattery to the one being flattered.
• The closest antecedent is the “neighbor” – and that should be preferred when ambiguous.
• The warning is “don’t pay too much attention to flattery.”
• The danger in flattery is that the one flattered might actually believe it!
• He might become puffed up and proud. That leads to ruin.
• Prov. 16:18 – “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
• This is the real danger of flattery to the one flattered.
• Our fallen hearts are only too prone to thinking highly of SELF. We don’t really need anyone to fan the flames of that pride with words of flattery.
• That seems to be the main point of this proverb: “Watch out! The flatterer is up to no good. His smooth words are actually spreading a net to trip you up! So be careful.”
2. A good example of such a “net” is the trap that the presidents set for King Darius (Dan. 6:6-9).
a. The presidents suggested that no one pray to any god except to Darius for thirty days.
b. Their ultimate goal was to trap Daniel, but their immediate goal was to lay a snare for Darius.
c. They spoke of him in terms of deity! They put him on par with the gods! Darius was so much taken in by the flattery that he went along with their plot—without thinking it through.
d. As a result, his friend Daniel had to be cast into the lion’s den.
e. Darius tried to free Daniel but was unable to do so. The laws (royal decrees) of the Medes and Persians could not be reversed.
f. Thus, Darius found himself snared… through flattery.
3. Prov. 7:5 – “That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.” (cf. 2:16 – same truth)
a. The flatterer is a strange woman, a harlot.
b. She is seeking to entice a young man into immorality.
c. Flatter softens a person up and makes him more susceptible.
d. Flattery is seductive. Everyone likes to hear good things said about them.
e. Many men have fallen into the net because of the flattery of a strange woman.
4. Prov. 7:21 – “With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.”
a. In this passage, the same harlot not only enticed with her flattery, but in this verse it says that she “forced” him with her flattery.
b. In other words, her flattery was so persuasive and enticing that he fell for it.
c. It was almost as if she forced him to do so. He became so weakened and softened and buttered up by the flattery, that he could not refuse her offer.
d. That is the power of flattery.
5. Prov. 20:19 – “He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.”
a. The flatterer is associated with the talebearer.
b. Both are up to no good; both use their tongues in an evil way.
c. The talebearer reveals secrets. He hears things and repeats them to others. And usually what is repeated are things that are NOT very flattering.
d. Thus comes the warning about the flatterer. He butters you up and softens you up so that you might become loose with your tongue and say some unsavory things that he delights in hearing.
e. The talebearer uses flattery to get people to talk… so that he can blab it all over town.
f. Therefore, Solomon’s advice is “don’t meddle with the flatterer.” He is up to no good and you may be his next victim.
6. Prov. 26:28 – “A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.”
a. Here we are told the end result of the flatterer: he works ruin!
b. He is just like the liar. The liar lies about people because he really hates them. He is trying to hurt others. The liar we know is out to no good.
c. The liar spreads unflattering things about others that are not true in order to bring ruin.
d. But the flatterer comes across as a nice guy, speaking smooth words, and his trade doesn’t seem so obviously evil.
e. That might even make him more dangerous. The flatterer also is trying to harm or hurt his victim. He is out to bring ruin.
f. II Sam. 14:25-26 – “But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.”
• Solomon was praised and flattered by many.
• But he was from the royal family. People often flatter royalty with evil intentions.
• Evidently Absalom believed the flattery and became proud and wanted the throne.
• It became his ruin. He ended up hanging from a tree by his beautiful hair and was killed.
7. Perhaps we should add another warning here: Don’t become overly suspicious and cynical about anyone who says something nice to you!
a. Don’t automatically assume that when someone says something nice about you that they are “up to something.”
b. A compliment may be genuine and designed to encourage you.
c. Be sure to make a distinction between the friend who is giving you a compliment and the enemy who is using flattery to manipulate you for his own advantage and your ruin.
Proverbs 29:6
A Broad Brush Distinction between Evil and Righteous Men
Introduction:
1. There are consequences to the lifestyle a person chooses to live.
2. Here Solomon speaks in broad terms about the distinction between the consequences of living an evil lifestyle vs. the consequences of living a righteous lifestyle.
3. This is not technically one of the many “better than” Proverbs because it doesn’t contain the words “better than.”
4. However, it is essentially the same. One of these lifestyles is better than the other.
6a In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare:
1. The first part of this proverb speaks about the transgression of an evil man.
a. The term used for evil here has at least 10 different shades of meaning, depending upon the context.
b. Evil in this passage is defined as: That which is not morally pure or good; unethical; unrighteous; immoral; morally repulsive.
c. Thus, the evil man is one whose life is characterized by immoral and/or unethical behavior; an unholy and unrighteous lifestyle.
2. The transgression of an evil man is simply one example of his evil lifestyle.
a. Transgression is defined as: Rebellion; revolt; defiance against an authority; crime; sin; contrary to the proper standard. The emphasis is on rebellion.
b. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Dictionary separated the usage of this term in the Old Testament into various sections:
• Transgression against an individual.
• Transgression against a nation.
• Transgression against God.
c. Solomon does not indicate which area of rebellion he had in mind. Evidently, it was left open ended intentionally so that the proverb might have a much broader application to include ANY form of rebellion and transgression committed by an evil man.
3. Evil men transgress against individuals.
a. In other words, sinners sin against other sinners.
b. Sinners transgress against saints.
c. And though it should never be, sometimes the saints sin against the unsaved.
d. And also unfortunately, sometimes the saints sin against other saints.
e. It’s human nature for humans to transgress against each other.
f. There are over 7 billion people in the world; and (no surprise here) they DO transgress against each other. Watch the six o’clock news. Read a history book. It happens.
g. According to the Old Testament Mosaic Law, there were special “trespass” offerings required when a Jew transgressed against his Jewish brother.
h. Trespasses against man and their offerings in Leviticus 6 –
• The word “trespass” here means “guilt.” They are sometimes referred to as “guilt offerings.”
• In the trespass offering, the idea of sin as a “debt” comes to the forefront.
• The trespass offering deals with sin also, but not simply in its general evil character, rather in its being injurious either to God or to people.
• Another aspect of the trespass offering that made it unique is the fact that it seemed to carry with it a sense of restitution for injury done. Thus, some trespass offerings included the animal sacrifice PLUS money paid to the injured party.
• 6:1-3 – The sin – In this example, Moses cites several possible cases where a man directly sins against his neighbor
» He lies to his neighbor about something he was supposed to keep or watch. (Watch my camel while I’m away on business… and something happens to the camel)
» Or in “fellowship.” (joint custody of a property; a deposit)
» Or something taken away by violence.
» Or he found something his neighbor lost and then lies about it. (vs.3)
• But notice here that while the sin is against his neighbor, it is in reality “a trespass against the LORD.” (vs.2)
» All sin is against God ultimately.
» It is a violation of God’s law.
» To violate another human being is to violate one of God’s creatures made in His image.
» That is a violation against the Creator.
» II Sam. 12:13 – when David was confronted by Nathan about his sin of adultery against Bathsheba and his sin of murder against Uriah, David confessed and said, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
» Ps. 51:4 – In this psalm David confesses that same double sin against Bathsheba and her husband Uriah, and says, “Against thee, thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight…”
• 6:4-5 – Restitution
» He is required to restore whatever he took
» On top of that he is to pay back an additional 20% (1/5).
» God made it very EXPENSIVE to sin against one’s neighbor.
» This serves as a good lesson to us: there are and ought to be consequences for bad behavior.
4. Evil men transgress against a nation.
a. The major portion of the Mosaic Law dealt with violation of civil laws – which were in effect, crimes against the nation.
b. These consequences included the death penalty.
c. There are consequences to the lifestyle of evil men.
5. Evil men transgress against God.
a. Lev. 5:15b – Here Moses describes a trespass against “the holy things of the Lord.”
b. This is a violation of the Law of Moses… and was a trespass against the Lord Himself.
c. In fact, ALL sin is ultimately against God.
d. There were consequences:
e. Lev. 5:15c – The offering
• He shall bring a ram without blemish.
f. Vs. 16 – Making amends for the harm done to the holy things.
• Amends: Restitution
• So the blood of the offering was shed PLUS a monetary restitution was required.
• He added to the value of the harm done an additional one fifth.
• The restitution required here indicates that violation of the holy things HURTS God… it is injurious to Him.
6. Solomon lived under this Law.
a. He knew all about transgressions and their penalties.
b. He knew about the various trespass offerings – trespasses against a brother; against the nation; and against the Lord and the holy things of God.
c. Evil men in Israel sometimes rebelled against these Laws… and had penalties inflicted against them.
d. As Solomon wrote, “In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare.”
e. The snare includes the penalties under the Mosaic Law—and also (more applicable for us today) the natural consequences of rebellion.
f. Prov. 13:15 – “Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.”
g. Yes, sin is appealing, but in the end it BITES! (Ex: wine: Prov. 23:31-32)
h. Prov. 5:22 – “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.”
7. “In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare.”
a. And this is the snare: His own sins “hold” him (seized; imprisoned; trapped).
b. His is a life that is hard; a life that bites; a life full of expensive penalties and difficulties.
c. It is a snare of his own making.
6b But the righteous doth sing and rejoice.
1. Here we have a stark contrast.
a. On the one hand we have the hard consequences of the transgressor… the rebel… he is pierced through with many sorrows.
b. On the other hand we have the consequences of a life lived in righteousness… in purity… obedience and submission to God and His Word.
c. And what is the natural outcome of a life lived in righteousness? Singing and rejoicing!
d. He doesn’t have to worry about the consequences of doing right.
e. Prov. 11:6 – “The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.”
2. In other words, the one who leads a righteous life can expect his life to be characterized by joy and singing…
a. This speaks of a heart that is guilt free… and a conscience that is clean and pure.
b. This speaks of a life not filled with worry and anxiety of being caught or penalized.
c. Ps. 97:11-12 – “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. 12Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.”
d. Ps. 118:15 – “The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous.”
3. So which is better?
a. A life characterized by falling into snares and traps of our own making—or a life characterized by joy and singing?
b. The choice is easy when viewed from this perspective!
Proverbs 29:7
The Cause of the Poor
Introduction:
1. This proverb speaks about the “cause” of the poor and the response from two different groups in the land of Israel: the righteous and the wicked.
2. In John 12:8, Jesus said, “For the poor always ye have with you.”
3. And even though we are a wealthy country, we have the poor in our society too.
4. Thus, the reactions that Solomon observed towards the poor in his day have great application to today.
7a The righteous considereth the cause of the poor:
1. The interpretation of this proverb revolves around the meaning of the word translated “cause.”
a. The term has various shades of meaning.
b. It can mean: “Throne of judgment,” judgment and justice; legal case; cause; argument.
2. The question in interpreting the proverb is, does the term refer to their cause as a legal case (their rights in court) or does it refer to their cause in a moral sense (the issue of poverty).
a. If we interpret the Hebrew word (din) as “a legal case” (their cause before the judge in a courtroom), then the proverb speaks about the importance of defending the legal rights of the poor.
• Some translations have taken that route:
» ESV: “A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.”
» NET: “The righteous person cares for the legal rights of the poor; the wicked does not understand such knowledge.”
b. If we interpret the Hebrew word (din) as the “cause” of the poor in a more generic sense (the issue of the poor; the moral argument of the poor or debate about the poor), then the proverb speaks about the need to be concerned about the poverty of the poor.
• Most of the older translations left the term more generic, as did the KJV – the “cause” of the poor.
3. It seems best to understand Solomon’s use of the term in a more generic sense which would make application of the proverb broader and include both situations, legal and moral.
a. The Hebrew term (din) does imply a sense of justice.
b. But the concept of justice (though it fits perfectly into the context of a legal setting), is much broader than the courtroom, and should be applied in all areas of life.
c. Understanding this term in a broad, generic sense means that this proverb can and should be applied to the “cause of the poor” in the courtroom—but also in the streets, and in the poor neighborhoods of the cities, and in the halls of Congress, and perhaps in the house right next door.
4. The next term to define is the word translated “considereth.”
a. Dictionary of Biblical Languages: To have knowledge; information that implies wisdom and skill in judgment; knowledge about a person, with a focus on relationship.
b. It can mean to know; to be acquainted with; to be aware of; to perceive; to discern; to recognize; to pay attention to. (This seems to be the meaning in our proverb.)
c. Solomon is speaking about someone recognizing the cause of the poor; being aware of their cause; acknowledging their cause; to pay attention to their cause;
5. “Considering” the legal rights of the poor in the courtroom.
a. The “poor” refers to those with few financial resources; the weak; the lowly.
b. A righteous man will pay attention to their situation in legal proceedings against them.
c. A righteous man is concerned about the fact that the weak and the poor are often abused in a legal setting.
d. The wealthy can hire the best lawyers, but the poor cannot. As a result they are often exploited.
e. The wealthy often have friends in high places that will put in a good word for them. They may even know the judge.
f. But the poor don’t have such friends in court.
g. As a result, the poor often are treated unfairly. Justice is not executed in their case… and usually nobody cares.
h. Solomon states in this proverb that a righteous man WILL care. He will consider their cause in court. He will be concerned that the weak and the poor are not abused and oppressed in the court system… and that they are not blamed for crimes they didn’t commit.
i. This has always been a problem – from Solomon’s to our day: wealthy get let off the hook for crimes they did commit and the poor go to prison for crimes they didn’t commit.
j. That is injustice in the legal setting.
k. This proverb states that a righteous man will oppose that. He will consider (pay attention to; demand justice for) the poor.
l. Their cause may fall on deaf ears in the general population—but not with righteous men.
m. The righteous man is concerned about the legal rights of the poor – that they not be oppressed by the strong and wealthy in society.
n. The righteous considereth the cause of the poor…
6. “Considering” the moral cause of the poor:
a. Considering the “cause” of the poor from a moral sense rather than legal brings up the issue of the poverty itself.
b. A righteous man will be aware of the issue of poverty.
c. A righteous man will be concerned about the plight of the poor.
d. A righteous man is sympathetic towards their needs.
e. A righteous man will not only be aware of their cause, but will seek to DO something about it.
f. I John 3:17 – “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”
g. Righteous men have hearts for the poor and needy.
• Sympathy towards the poor is an acknowledgement of the grace of God in our lives.
• It acknowledges: “there but for the grace of God go I.”
h. We know that the poor will always be here; but when God brings a situation to our doorstep—especially a brother in Christ—the love of God demands that we respond.
i. There is a special BLESSING upon those who consider the cause of the poor and help:
• Ps. 41:1 – “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.” (Read vs.2-4 – God will take care of those who consider the poor.)
7b But the wicked regardeth not to know it.
1. What a contrast between the righteous and the wicked.
a. The righteous man regards the cause of the poor… the rights of the poor legally as well as caring about their plight… poverty.
b. The wicked man chooses not to regard it. He ignores it.
c. He chooses to look the other way – like the priest and the Levite who saw the man beaten on the side of the road, and crossed to the other side so they wouldn’t have to consider his cause… while the good Samaritan stopped to help.
2. God warns the wicked of his wicked ways in Psalm 1:6 – “For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
3. Just as there is a blessing for considering the poor, there is also a curse for ignoring their plight.
a. Prov. 21:13 – “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.”
• Stopping one’s ears implies he has full knowledge, but refuses to listen… or see their plight.
• The wicked will stop his ears to their cries.
4. Prov. 14:31 – “He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.”
a. God takes that seriously.
b. When the rich and powerful trample over the poor and the weak, God notices.
• What is His estimate? It is like reproaching Him personally…
• He is the Maker of both the rich and the poor.
• Note the reverse in this proverb: He who honors God will show mercy to the poor. Showing mercy to the poor is a way to honor God.
• Compassion for others flows out of a heart that is in a right relationship to the Lord.
5. Consider the contrast between Shallum (also known as – Jehoahaz) and his father Josiah, king of Judah with respect to the treatment of the poor.
a. Jer. 22:15-17 – “Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? 16He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD. 17But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.”
b. Josiah was a godly king… he defended the rights of the poor and provided for their needs.
c. On the other hand, his son Shallum was an ungodly (wicked) king. He did not consider the cause of the poor; he oppressed them and took advantage of them.
• He ended up in captivity in Egypt.
• Vs. 18-19 – Jeremiah predicted that no one would mourn his death. There would be no lavish burial… but it would be like the burial of a donkey!
6. God is watching. God is still aware of the fact that “the righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.”
Proverbs 29:8
Turning Away Wrath
Introduction:
1. Solomon has repeatedly brought up the subject of government officials and others bringing about good or evil in the land.
a. Prov. 28:12 – The effect of wicked vs. righteous rulers
b. Prov. 28:28 – The effect of wicked rulers
c. Prov. 29:2 – The righteous in authority or the wicked bearing rule affects the wellbeing of the people.
d. Vs. 4 – The king establishing the land by justice; it’s good for the land.
e. Vs. 5 – The danger flattery brings to others – a snare.
f. Vs. 6 – When evil is tolerated, it brings a snare.
g. Vs. 7 – The righteous consider the cause of the poor in the land.
h. Vs. 8 – Scornful men bring a city into a snare.
2. Verse eight continues with the same theme.
8a Scornful men bring a city into a snare:
1. This expression is translated variously because of the term translated “snare.”
a. It is clearly not the word translated snare in vs. 6.
b. The word translated “snare” in vs. 8 means to “blow” on something… or to breath out.
• It is used of snorting at an enemy (Ps. 10:5)
• It is used of sneering or causing winds to blow.
• It came to mean to excite; to inflame, as in blowing up a flame or kindling a fire.
c. Many translations understand the term to be “to blow” as one would blow on a fire to fan the flames – hence, meaning to stir up trouble… to enflame.
d. Darby translated this “Scornful men set the city in a flame…”
e. The NET, NKJV, ESV all translated it to mean inflame.
2. Taking that meaning of the word, Solomon is speaking about fanning the flames of discord and anger in a city.
a. In any city or country, there are bound to be various groups with differing interests and different and sometimes conflicting ideologies.
b. There are often differing views taken by the wealthy as opposed to the poor (the 99% vs. the 1%).
c. There are often differing views on issues between the farmers and the merchants… the business owners and the workers.
d. In other words, in cities and countries both ancient and modern, the potential to stir up trouble and fan the flames of division and anger has always been present.
e. It is easy to turn one group against the other and to cause their differences to be enflamed—even unto wrath and outrage!
3. This proverb tells us what KIND of men stir up trouble in the city: scornful men!
a. Scornful defined: Bragging; arrogant talkers; those who speak words of derision and ridicule; mockers.
b. The book of Proverbs mentions the scorner often:
• Prov. 19:28 – “An ungodly witness scorneth judgment.” Sometimes scorners mock judgment or justice.
• Prov. 21:24 – “Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.” He is proud, thinking he knows better than the laws of the land.
• Prov. 14:6 – “A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not.” Wisdom seems to elude scorners. They are not wise.
• Prov. 22:10 – “Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.” When the scorner is gone, the contention ceases. There is no one left to fan the flames of division and controversy.
c. This is the kind of person who fans the flame of controversy and trouble in a city or in a country.
• Prov. 15:12 – “A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.”
• Since the scorner thinks himself to be smarter than everyone else, he will not be corrected; he will not listen to counsel.
• That’s why Solomon’s advice is to cast out the scorner. That’s the only way to cause the scorning to stop.
4. Our country is about to go off a fiscal cliff and we have politicians that seem to mock the system.
a. Rather than working together for the good of the city (country) they seem bent on fanning the flames of anger and wrath towards each other.
b. The end result could be disastrous for everybody.
c. There will always be opposing viewpoints in any country. There will always be different views on the best way to govern… the best way to deal with the poor… the best way to use our national resources.
d. Scornful men will seek to fan the flames of wrath and division.
e. This could lead to a civil war… to riots and violence in the streets… to bloodshed and destruction, which isn’t good for either side in the city (or country).
8b But wise men turn away wrath.
1. On the other hand, WISE men will turn away wrath (intense anger).
a. Wise men will seek peace. They will seek to calm the anger and wrath in the land.
b. Wise men will not fan the flames of violence or wrath. Wise men will seek peace and unity.
c. Wisdom seeks to have cooler heads prevail.
d. Wise men will acknowledge that both sides in the city have to live together, even if they disagree on certain issues or laws to pass.
e. Both sides in the city have to live within the same city walls.
f. They may differ on what the land should be used for; what to do with the water; what laws to pass; etc. But like it or not, they all live within the same walls and had better get used to each other.
2. Wise men in the city prevent the city from (figuratively) going up in flames by “turning away wrath.”
a. Prov.15:1 – wise men turn away wrath by means of a “soft answer.”
• They do not use caustic language that inflames or divides.
• They use a softer speech that allows for genuine conversation and exchange of ideas and views so that an agreement might be reached.
• The scorner stirs up anger; the wise men turn away anger and wrath.
• A “soft answer” says nothing about the content of the answer, but rather it speaks about the “manner” of delivery. (Not harsh; sharp; angry; biting; or scathing, but soft and gentle.)
b. True wisdom speaks truth gently.
• Jas. 3:17-18 – “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”
• This is the kind of wisdom that turns away wrath rather than stirs up wrath.
• This works for groups in a city or a country as well as for individuals at work, at home, or in the local church.
3. In Solomon’s day, kings ruled. Their word was law.
a. Thus, there would not only be differences among the various groups within the land, but there would also be different responses to the king and his authority over them.
b. Not everyone in the city (country; city-state) would agree with the king and his rules.
c. There were often opposing views on how to deal with the royal edicts. Not all royal edicts were sensible. Some kings were foolish and their expectations were often unrealistic.
d. This left the people divided on how to cope with the laws of the land.
e. One group scorned and mocked the ruler. They stirred up violence and rebellion.
f. Another group (wise men) may have disliked the royal edict as much as anyone—but their approach was very different.
g. The wise men in the land would seek to turn away wrath. They tried to convince their fellow-citizens NOT to revolt… not to rebel… not to turn to violence and uncontrolled anger.
h. They tried to convince their fellow-citizens to follow a peaceful course in dealing with the problems that arose.
4. This proverb is set in a public arena – the city – and makes a contrast between two kinds of men (leaders?) in the city – those who stir up trouble and those who stir up peace.
a. Matt. 5:9 – Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
b. Let’s be peacemakers rather than troublemakers.
Proverbs 29:9
Contending with a Fool
Introduction:
1. This proverb gives advice when contending with a fool.
2. Solomon doesn’t actually say whether to contend with the fool or not, but he does describe the outcome – “no rest.”
9a,b If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh…
1. Contending with a fool is the subject at hand.
2. First let’s look at the terms describing the two men in this “contention.”
a. Wise man: Skilled; learned; discerning; shrewd.
b. Foolish man: Without understanding; simpleton; unwise and lacking a capacity to understand because of a stubborn will.
3. Contending defined:
a. In a legal setting: To judge a case; adjudicate a matter between two parties in a court; executing law; executing judgment and justice in a legal setting.
b. In a more general setting: Deciding controversies; to judge; to argue or argue a case.
c. In Proverbs 29:9, it is probably best to understand the term in a more generic sense – any kind of argument, debate, or dispute – whether before a court of law or an argument with a fool in the street or at work or anywhere.
4. The main point is the fact that it is a wise man arguing with a fool.
a. Given the two parties in this dispute, one might think that the debate would be a slam dunk for the wise man.
b. The wise man has wisdom and knowledge. He has discernment. He probably has a good mastery of the language too.
c. Prov. 15:7 – “The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so.” The wise man has a good grasp of the knowledge needed in the debate.
d. Prov. 18:6-7 – “A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. 7A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.” The fool’s mouth utters such foolish things, most would conclude he needs a whipping! His mouth is his destruction. How could he ever hope to win an argument with a wise man?
e. Ecc. 10:12-14 – The fool is not even in the same category as the wise man. How could he ever win a debate?
f. The wise man has all the knowledge and all the answers and the fool does not.
g. However, Proverbs 29:9 seems to indicate that arguing with a fool is NOT a slam dunk for the wise man. In fact, this proverb encourages the wise man to think twice before even entering into a debate with a fool.
5. “Whether he rage or laugh…”
a. This implies that when arguing with a fool, he will either rage or laugh.
b. There are two possible approaches a fool will take:
• He might make a mockery out of the debate by laughing…
» He will mock and ridicule whatever the wise man says.
» He will not take the debate seriously.
» He will hope to get the onlookers to side with him and laugh with him… because he is jovial and laughing—and the wise man might be very serious-minded (not a “fun” person)
» He will listen to the wise man’s argument and rather than reasonably respond, he will simply laugh and mock… perhaps sprinkled with some name calling.
» Prov. 10:23 – “It is as a sport to a fool to do mischief.” Some fools love to argue and ridicule their opponents. It’s a game to them.
» Prov. 14:9 – “Fools make a mock at sin.”
• OR he will become enraged that someone has the audacity to challenge him.
» Prov. 27:2 says that a “fool’s wrath is heavier than” a large stone or much sand.
» A fool can get angry in a hurry. His wrath can be quite potent and powerful.
» Instead of a sane, logical argument where reason rules, it will degenerate into a heated quarrel that accomplishes nothing but fans the flames of fury, rage, and perhaps violence.
» Fools don’t like to be confronted or corrected!
» Prov. 23:9 – “Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.”
c. Either way, Solomon implies that the fool argues on the basis of raw emotion rather than on reason, logic, or common sense.
9c There is no rest.
1. If a wise man argues with another wise man, he at least knows that his points will be understood and debated sensibly.
a. He will know that the debate will be based on reason and logic.
b. There is hope of making your case when debating with a wise man.
c. He may disagree—but at least a sensible discussion can be had, and a reasonable and rational outcome.
2. But when debating with a fool, “there is no rest.” (quietness; peace)
a. No rest – the argument will never end.
b. It will go on until the fool wears out the wise man with his folly.
c. The fool will mock, scorn, laugh, and ridicule, and there will be no rest.
d. Or the fool will become enraged, furious, and even violent.
e. And there will be no rest—no end—to his rage.
f. Prov. 27:4 – “Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous.” An argument based on wrath and anger will go nowhere good.
g. There will be no end to rage and fury.
3. While Solomon doesn’t make any specific commands in this proverb, the point is pretty clear: don’t even ENTER into a debate with a fool!
a. It is a losing proposition.
b. You may have the right answers; the logic may clearly be on your side; you may have all the knowledge and the facts, but that doesn’t matter when debating a fool.
c. The fool will be too busy laughing and mocking, or raging in anger to even listen to reason.
d. Fools don’t enter into debates or discussions because they are seeking for the truth. They have a different agenda.
4. Prov. 26:4-5 – “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. 5Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.”
a. These two proverbs are put side by side for a reason.
b. At first glance, they seem to contradict each other. First he says not to answer a fool… then he tells you to answer a fool.
c. And Solomon gives good reasons for both!
d. These two proverbs really make one point: you can’t win in a conversation or an argument with a fool!
e. If you answer him – you have stooped to his level and you become “like” him.
f. If you don’t answer him – then the fool considers that he has won the debate. He thinks that his arguments are irrefutable.
5. Matt. 7:6 – “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”
a. There are some foolish men we should NOT engage into conversation with.
b. Here the Lord likens these foolish men to swine—not very complimentary term for a Jew to use.
c. Why not cast pearls before swine? Because pigs have no use for pearls. They don’t appreciate the beauty or value of pearls.
d. So too, a foolish man does not see the beauty in truth, nor appreciate the value of truth.
e. Instead of a sensible debate based on facts, the swine will turn on you!
f. It is futile to enter into arguments with fools, dogs, or pigs.
g. Prov.10:13 – the only “argument” a fool understands is the rod.
Proverbs 29:10
The Bloodthirsty, the Upright, and the Just
Introduction:
1. This proverb speaks of the two different ways that upright men are treated by two different kinds of men: the bloodthirsty and by the just.
10a The bloodthirsty hate the upright:
1. The bloodthirsty man
a. Bloodthirsty defined: The Hebrew expression is “man of blood.”
b. It speaks of a man given to blood; a violent man; a murderer; a man guilty of shedding blood.
c. God instituted a law to deal with men who shed blood: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” (Gen. 9:6)
d. The bloodthirsty speaks of a violent unsaved man.
e. He is not a follower of God, but of Satan, who was a murderer from the beginning.
2. The proverb speaks of a bloodthirsty man who HATES the upright.
a. Hate is defined as: To loathe; to be hostile; to have a feeling of open hostility and intense dislike.
b. This term for hatred often includes the idea of jealousy… which leads to hostile actions towards.
• Gen. 37:4 – When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father preferred him, they “hated” Joseph. This was a jealous kind of hatred.
• Gen. 37:18-20 – This hatred led them to become bloodthirsty men and they plotted to kill him.
3. Their hatred is against the UPRIGHT.
a. Upright defined: Straight; level; right; righteous.
b. It means straight in both a physical or ethical sense.
• I Sam. 6:12 – it is used of a straight road or path
• Isa. 40:3 – It is used of making a road “level.”
• Prov. 2:13 – Here a literally straight road is used in a figurative sense of an upright manner of life.
• I Kings 9:4 – Here it is used of a man’s character – upright and honest.
• Isa. 26:7 – It is even used as a name for God – the “Most Upright” One.
• Ex. 15:26 – It is used first here as that which is “right” in the eyes of God.
• I Kings 15:5 – “David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life…”
c. The upright person is who is right in God’s sight; his life is honest, righteous, on the level… not crooked or dishonest.
d. This is the kind of person that the bloodthirsty man hates.
e. The bloodthirsty man seeks the ruin of good, honest, upright men.
4. WHY would a violent, bloodthirsty man hate the upright?
a. Jealousy is probably involved.
b. The upright man makes the violent man look bad.
c. The upright man is the “goody two shoes” kind of person who others love to hate.
d. On the one hand he is jealous of this person and wishes he could be like that.
e. On the other hand he hates him… because the upright life makes his life of crime look even worse.
f. Just the presence of a good and upright man in the midst of violent and dishonest men is a silent witness against them.
g. Criminals and dishonest people hate those who are honest and upright. They love to see good men fall.
h. The media love to get a juicy story about someone who is honest and upright. They love stories about politicians and preachers who commit crimes.
i. John 3:19-21 – This is the same principle that John wrote about: darkness hates the light… because light exposes the evil deeds of darkness.
j. Upright men promote righteousness; they condemn the wickedness in the world and speak evil of its wicked ways. No wonder the one who walks in darkness hates the light.
k. Thus, violent men want to kill the upright.
l. I John 3:12 – Consider he example of Cain and Abel. Cain sought to kill Abel “because his deeds were evil and his brother’s were righteous.” There was jealousy, hatred, and violence involved.
m. Acts 7:51-52a – “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. 52Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?”
• This was the case throughout the Old Testament history.
• Stephen spoke of this to the bloodthirsty men who stoned him to death.
n. Read Hebrew chapter 11 – it is an anthology of upright and godly martyrs who were slain by bloodthirsty men who hated their testimony.
10b But the just seek his soul.
1. The second part of this proverb is a bit problematic in that it is not entirely clear who the “his” refers to.
2. There are three different (sensible) ways it could be understood:
a. The just seek the soul of the bloodthirsty man—to convert him. (Matthew Henry)
b. The just seek the soul of the upright—to protect his soul, perhaps from the attacks of a bloodthirsty enemy.
c. A third view is that the passage is saying that the bloodthirsty man seeks the soul of the just (to kill). However, this view changes the subject and requires some juggling of the sentence order which makes it less likely what Solomon intended.
3. The simplest interpretation is usually the best.
a. The simplest is to understand the second part of the proverb is to follow the pattern of the first part.
b. In the first part of the proverb, Solomon describes the attitude of the bloodthirsty man towards the upright.
c. It is best to understand the second part of the proverb as a description (a contrast) to that… by describing the attitude of a just man towards the upright. He seeks his soul to help and protect his soul, or his life.
d. This keeps the same order and forms a contrast—as we have seen in so many proverbs. (Cf. vs. 8, 11 – both contrast two men – wise and a fool)
4. Bloodthirsty men may HATE good men (the upright) and seek to do them harm; but a just man will seek to protect the soul (life) of a good man.
a. Violent men seek to do violence (murder) against good men.
b. But righteous men will not seek to take their life, but rather, preserve and protect it.
c. The righteous man is the opposite of the violent man who seeks to kill. The upright man IS his brother’s keeper. He protects life—he doesn’t destroy life.
d. This interpretation makes the best sense: violent men hate good men and seek to take life in murder; but righteous men seek to preserve and protect life… from criminals and murderers.
e. To put it another way, bloodthirsty men seek to destroy life; but just men are PRO life. (Of course Solomon did not have the abortion issue in mind—but it is a perfectly legitimate application.)
5. To illustrate this principle, consider the following:
a. Saul sought to kill David, while Jonathan sought to protect David’s life from his father.
b. Bloodthirsty Herod sought to kill Peter; while the church protected him by meeting for prayer.
c. The Jews sought to kill the apostle Paul; but Pricilla and Aquila were ready to “lay down their own necks for his life.” (Acts 23:12; cf. Rom. 16:3-4)
d. Long before the abortion issue (pro-choice vs. pro-life) was ever conceived, the Bible has always been pro-life.
e. God is the Author of life. We should value life.
Proverbs 29:11
A Fool Utters All His Mind
Introduction:
1. This proverb contrasts the fool and the wise man.
2. There have been many such contrasts in Proverbs thus far, but each one is unique.
3. This contrast highlights the differences in the way they deal with thoughts and their tongues.
11a A fool uttereth all his mind:
1. The first man in the contrast is the fool.
a. Prov. 1:7 – The fool despises wisdom and instruction.
b. Prov. 1:29 – They hate knowledge and have chosen NOT to fear the Lord. They are not God-fearing people.
c. Prov. 12:15 – “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes.”
d. The fool is a “know it all” who hates to be corrected, and does not fear God.
2. This proverb tells us that the fool also “utters all his mind.”
a. Utters: This Hebrew word is subject to various translations.
• Its basic meaning is “to go out” or “come in.”
• Various shades of meaning: To bring out; to extend to others; to cause to go forth; to vent (as in anger); to spread; to disseminate; to announce.
• Consider it’s usage in Num. 32:24: “do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.”
• This seems to be the gist of the meaning in our proverb.
• The fool “utters” whatever is in his mind. He speaks forth whatever enters his mind and heart. He disseminates information as soon as he hears it… usually without thinking.
b. Mind: Here we are told that another characteristic of the fool is that he utters all his “mind.”
• The term translated “mind” seems to be broader than mind.
• It is the word for breath or spirit and is sometimes used of one’s temperament: anger, courage, jealousy, patience or impatience.
• It is used of a person’s disposition—often uncontrollable impulse.
• It speaks of a wide range of emotions and feelings.
• It is not the common word for “mind,” but is more closely connected to feelings. And of course, our feelings affect our thoughts.
• Today people almost use the word “feel” for a synonym for “think.” For example, “I feel that this is the right thing to do,” or “I feel like we should turn around.”
c. The term “mind” implies that the fool blurts out more than just his thoughts. He also blurts out his feelings and emotions.
d. Of course the purpose of this proverb is to demonstrate how dangerous and wrong this kind of behavior really is.
3. Prov. 29:11 uses terms that are general in nature. The terms “uttereth” and “mind” have a broad range of meaning.
a. This proverb speaks of a general axiom about fools: whatever enters into their head and heart usually is displayed publically… without much thought or consideration.
b. They don’t think about how to word it; whether this is the right time to speak; or how it will affect others; or whether or not it is even true; whether it will hurt someone; whether it should be spoken privately; etc.
c. Fools don’t think. Whatever is on mind or heart… they blurt out without thinking it through… without considering its effect or consequences.
d. Fools have no control over their emotions or their tongues.
e. And yet many fools think it a badge of honor to speak whatever is on their mind. They see it as honesty… being fearless… and something to be proud of! “I speak my mind!”
f. God sees it as foolish.
4. Prov.12:16 – It is foolish to vent one’s anger.
a. The fool has no control over his anger. As soon as he “feels” angry, he vents it out… he displays it…
b. He may vent it verbally… and then perhaps physically and violently.
c. When the fool feels angry, he explodes and unleashes his anger on anyone in his path.
d. He has no control over his spirit – his temperament. The noun translated “mind” in Prov. 29:11 can also be translated “temperament or disposition.”
e. In Prov. 29:11, the verb translated “utters” can also mean “vent.”
f. Prov. 29:11 is broad enough in meaning to include the more specific illustration of it in Prov. 12:16 – venting anger.
5. Prov. 12:23 – Here is another specific illustration of the general principle we find in Prov. 29:11: “the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.”
a. Here Solomon states that the fool’s “heart” proclaims folly.
b. Heart – the seat of his inner nature. It includes his mind and his emotions.
c. Like Prov. 29:11, this proverb also states that whatever is going on in the “inner man” (heart; mind) of the fool is publically “proclaimed.”
d. The fool loudly and publically proclaims his irrational thoughts, his assumptions, his foolish ideas, and his uncontrolled emotions.
e. And what is Solomon’s description of the things that are in his heart that the fool publically proclaims? Foolishness!
6. Prov. 14:33 – “but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.”
a. In this proverb, Solomon states that “whatever” is in the midst (the heart) of a fool will come out.
b. It will be made known one way or the other.
c. He has no self control… over his emotions or his tongue.
7. Prov. 15:2 – The fool “pours out” his foolishness… uncontrollably. There is a constant stream of folly coming out of his mouth because he doesn’t THINK before he speaks.
a. Foolish and evil thoughts, ideas, and feelings are better dealt with inwardly. Don’t proclaim them for all to hear.
b. Silence them… forsake them… repent of them… don’t proclaim them!
8. Prov. 17:28 – If a fool controls his mouth and refuses to broadcast his folly, people might even think him to be wise!
a. It’s when he opens his mouth that trouble begins.
b. Unfortunately, the other proverbs we have considered tell us that the fool does NOT “hold his peace.”
c. He seems unable to hold his peace… to keep his cool… to control his tongue.
d. This is a serious character flaw.
11b But a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.
1. Here we have the wise man contrasted to the fool.
a. The fool utters his whole mind and heart. Whatever pops into his head… whatever he happens to be feeling at the moment is sure to come out of his mouth—with little to no thought.
b. But whatever is in the mind and heart of the wise man stays there.
2. He keeps it in—until afterwards.
a. In other words, he waits for the right time.
b. He waits until he has thought it through.
c. He waits until he has all the facts.
d. He waits until his emotions have cooled down.
e. He waits and thinks of the best way to word what he is trying to say.
f. He waits to say many things in private.
3. Prov. 17:27 – “He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.”
a. The term translated “spirit” is the same word translated “mind” in Prov. 29:11.
b. It speaks of the man’s “mind, emotions, disposition, temperament, etc.”
c. The man with knowledge has an excellent “disposition and temperament.” He doesn’t blurt everything out.
d. He spares his words. He thinks before he speaks.
e. Usually when we think before we speak, we use our words more sparingly. And sometimes we don’t say anything. (Answer not a fool lest ye be like him!)
f. Ps. 141:3 – The wise man prays: “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.”
4. Prov. 12:23 – “A prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.”
a. The wise and prudent man not only “keeps his mind and heart in,” sometimes he conceals it entirely from others.
b. Not every thought or feeling we have is worthy of speech or discussion.
c. Yes, even wise men have foolish thoughts. The difference is that a wise man recognizes it as such and conceals it… to his credit.
d. The fool proclaims it publically—to his shame.
5. Prov. 14:33 – “Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: But that which is in the midst of fools is made known.”
a. Wisdom rests (resides) in the heart of the wise man.
b. He doesn’t blurt it out constantly. He keeps it inside until the appropriate time.
c. Prov. 16:32 – “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”
d. Oh how necessary and valuable is self-control.
e. Being able to control our thoughts, our emotions, and our tongues is better than having a mighty army at our fingertips.
f. Prov. 25:28 – “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.”
g. He does not know how to exercise restraint. How pitiful!
6. Ecc. 3:1, 7 – Consider the words of Solomon on this matter:
a. Vs. 1 – “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
b. Vs. 7 – “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak
c. The wise man knows the difference. The fool does not.
Proverbs 29:12
If a Ruler Hearkens to Lies
Introduction:
This short proverb makes a connection between a ruler and his servants; and in particular, the influence a ruler has on his servants.
12a If a ruler hearken to lies
1. Solomon is speaking about a RULER.
a. A ruler is one who has dominion or power over others; one who exercises authority over others.
b. It is often used of kings and their dominion or rule over others.
c. But the term could also refer to a master or an employer.
d. It was also used of a husband ruling over his wife.
2. The ruler Solomon is describing is one who HEARKENS to liars.
a. In other words, he listens to dishonest people.
• The English word “lies” is a translation of two words meaning one speaking lies.
• The term for “lies” means false; tricks; cheat; deal falsely; deception; misleading.
• The proper attitude is found in Ps. 119:104 – “I hate every false way.”
• But this ruler does not hate deception.
• He is attracted to it. He listens to it and takes heed to it.
• He surrounds himself with deceivers and cheats; and they share with him all their dishonest schemes to scam and cheat the people.
b. Hearken: To hear; give heed to; to regard; to pay attention to.
c. Solomon is describing a ruler who not only listens to dishonest liars, but he pays attention to their lies. He gives heed to what they say.
d. WHY would this ruler give heed to liars and cheats? Probably because he himself is a liar and a cheat.
e. There is an old proverbial saying: Birds of a feather flock together.
f. A ruler (employer; master; politician; person of authority) surrounds himself with people like himself… people who think like he does… people who have the same ideology and values—or lack thereof.
g. Ps. 101:1-8 – In stark contrast is King David.
• He determined NOT to have any wicked people on his board of counselors.
• Vs. 3- He hates them that turn aside (from the Lord).
» This kind of person will NOT be allowed to “cleave to David”.
» He “hates” their evil works. He wants no part of them in his court!
» Psalm 97:10 – ye that love the Lord hate evil!
» As King, David wanted to be sure that he did not align himself with evil men who cared not for the things of the Lord. Separation in the monarchy was important to him!
• Vs. 4 – He rejects any cabinet members with a froward heart. They will not serve with him.
• Vs. 5 – He doesn’t even want proud people before him.
» Men will a froward or evil heart “need not apply” for positions in David’s court!
» Men who slander… proud men… David said he would not SUFFER… he would not put up with… would not tolerate in his court!
» Those are not the kind of people David wanted around him… to serve him in the kingdom… as generals, as stewards, as appointed officials… character meant something to him!
• Vs. 6 – When he looks for men to serve on the board, he looks for the faithful of the land that walk in a perfect way.
• Vs. 7 – He that works deceit shall not dwell within his house (palace – royal seat of the government).
• Vs. 8 – He will actively remove the wicked and dishonest men from the land… and from the royal city.
» Character matters much to God.
» Notice the qualifications for leaders in the local church: nearly all of them deal with the issues of character and integrity and faithfulness!
» Whether you are running a kingdom, or a church, or a business, or a school, or a lemonade stand… character counts!
» Wisdom demands that we avoid those who are unscrupulous… those who cheat… those who steal… those who are wicked…
3. But the ruler that Solomon describes is nothing like David, Solomon’s father.
a. This ruler is a dishonest liar and cheat.
12b All his servants are wicked.
1. The second part of this proverb speaks of the influence this dishonest ruler has on his servants.
a. If everybody knows that the boss cheats; if everybody knows that the ruler lies; if everybody knows that the leaders are corrupt; they too are encouraged to be corrupt… wicked.
b. If he listens to cheats and liars, then he must approve of them.
c. Therefore, the servants under him feel empowered to lie and cheat themselves.
d. Why not? The boss seems to reward that kind of behavior.
2. Note that the word “are” is italicized. It was not in the original and was added by the translator.
a. Something needs to be added there.
b. I would probably insert “will be” or “will become” rather than “are.”
c. Solomon is not simply pointing out a fact: that the servants of this dishonest ruler ARE wicked.
d. He seems to be implying that there is a connection.
e. It is BECAUSE the ruler is a dishonest cheat that his servants are wicked.
f. The bad behavior of the leader will encourage more bad behavior from his servants.
g. Corruption spreads from the top down very quickly.
h. A leader sets the moral tone for those under him—either for good or for evil.
i. This is true in a kingdom, a business, or a home.
3. Prov. 20:8 – A righteous king can discourage wickedness by not engaging in it himself and by making it clear to those around him that he disapproves. Just a simple but stern glare at the right time will let others know he disapproves of dishonest behavior.
Proverbs 29:13
The Lord Lightens their Eyes
Introduction:
1. This is an unusual proverb.
2. Here Solomon presents three different characters: the poor man, the deceitful man, and the LORD.
3. Then makes what initially seems to be an unrelated statement.
4. Obviously, like all proverbs, this statement is designed to make us think.
13a The poor and the deceitful man meet together:
Two Characters
A. The Poor Man
1. POOR defined: To be in want; to be in hunger; impoverished; not having enough income for normal essential needs; bodily weakness due to a lack of food.
2. In this proverb, the poor man is seen in contrast with his opposite: the rich, deceitful, oppressor of the poor.
3. This is a contrast between good and evil.
a. The poor man is depicted as a good poor man.
b. The rich man is depicted as an evil oppressive rich man.
c. It has often been the case throughout world history that rich, powerful men tend to oppress and take advantage of the weak and the poor.
4. Obviously, this is not always the case. These are proverbial statements.
a. There are many exceptions to the rule. We are not to make assumptions about people on the basis of their wealth.
b. There are many good rich men; and many evil poor men.
c. Prov. 28:3 – Sometimes poor men oppress other poor men.
d. Sometimes rich men are very generous with their money and give philanthropically to benefit the poor.
5. But in this proverb, Solomon is pitting the rich, oppressive usurer against the poor man.
B. The Deceitful Man
1. DECEITFUL defined:
a. Deceit; fraud; oppression; oppressive creditor; usurer; injurious, pressure, anxiety, feeling weighed down.
b. The term translated “deceitful” implies a usurer or an oppressor.
2. The reason for this translation is obvious: the oppressive usurer (creditor) often uses deception in his trade.
a. He preys on the ignorance of those who are forced to take loans from him. He demands ridiculously high interest on the loans.
b. Often the poor man is not well educated, and is ignorant of how quickly his interest payments are compounded… and what a trap he is entering.
C. Meet Together
1. MEET TOGETHER:
a. To meet; to encounter; a point at which two meet or come together; to have in common.
b. The idea of “having something in common” fits the context here the best.
c. Solomon is stating that the poor man and the oppressor have something in common.
2. However, it is also true that these two characters do meet together on occasion.
a. They meet in the business world.
b. Certainly there have been times when men like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Donald Trump, Warren Buffet and other men of great wealth have met up with some average Joes on the street.
c. Sometimes a big fish and a little fish meet together in a business transaction.
3. One might think that the two men have almost nothing in common. They seem to live in two different worlds. They would cross each other’s path very rarely.
13b The LORD lighteneth both their eyes.
The Third Character: The LORD
A. The LORD
1. LORD: Jehovah; Yahweh.
2. When the rich and poor meet together, the LORD sees it all. He observes all that transpires. He takes note of all transactions between the two. Nothing escapes His notice.
3. There are two other proverbs in which these two characters are mentioned—as well as the LORD.
a. Prov. 14:31 – “He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker.”
b. Prov. 17:5 – “Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.”
4. The book of Proverbs makes it clear that the LORD is aware, observing, and keeping track of the way the godly poor are treated by oppressive rich men.
a. This is what they both have in common: God is observing their every thought, word, deed, and motive of heart.
b. If they meet together for a business transaction: God sees.
c. Prov. 15:3 – “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”
B. Lighteneth Both Their Eyes
1. LIGHTENETH: Gives light to; illuminates; makes to shine; to light a lamp; etc.
2. But in this passage, Solomon is not talking about the sun shining and illuminating; nor is he talking about lighting a lamp.
3. He is speaking about God giving light to the physical eyes of two men: the poor and the deceitful oppressor.
a. In other words, they can SEE each other. This is the thought that Solomon wants his readers to meditate upon.
b. God enables both men to SEE. Their physical capacity to see is from the same Lord. This also is what they have in common.
c. When God gives the capacity to see, He expects that we open our eyes and see. “He that hath ears to hear… or eyes to see” should use that capacity.
4. You might say, “Well, of course they can see each other. They are not blind.”
a. But the question is, what do they SEE when they look into each other’s eyes?
b. This is the point of the proverb.
c. Solomon wants us to think about what they see.
5. What the poor man sees when he looks into the eyes of his oppressor:
a. He probably sees an arrogant man—full of pride.
b. He sees cruelty in his eyes as well.
c. He sees a man with a hollow soul… no heart… no compassion.
d. He sees a man who is also quite guilty before God.
e. He probably sees a man, who because of a guilty conscience, is not able to look him directly in the eyes… a man who pretends that he doesn’t see the poor and their poverty… their struggles and tribulations.
f. The poor man may see in the eyes of the rich oppressor, one who is spiritually blind… careless about spiritual things… with no heart for God.
g. He sees a man who is Hell bound… and cares nothing about it.
h. He sees a man who has many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition… a man who has pierced himself through with many sorrows.
i. He sees a pitiful man—a miserable man—a man to be pitied, not envied.
6. What the rich usurer sees when he looks into the eyes of the poor oppressed man:
a. The rich man sees in him just the opposite. He sees a poor man who doesn’t have much, but is content with what he has.
b. He sees a poor man whose heart isn’t pierced through with many sorrows over money.
c. He sees a man who is able to sleep at night because his conscience is clean. This man “lies down, and is not afraid: yea, he lies down, and his sleep is sweet.” (Prov. 3:24)
d. The rich man looks into the eyes of a poor man and sees a man who has had a hard life of manual labor… and perhaps the rich man sees in his eyes the result of his own oppression and usury.
e. He looks into the eye of the poor man, and sees, in spite of the difficult life he has had, he sees a man at peace with himself and his God. He sees a man who has been oppressed but is not defeated.
f. He may even see a brightness and twinkle in his eye that speaks of a happy man.
g. The rich man may even experience a passing moment of envy as he looks upon the poor man.
7. It was the LORD who enables each one to see what he sees in the eyes of the other.
a. God gave the poor man eyes to see. The poor man is not stupid. He knows that he is being oppressed. And the poor man can see the effect of that oppression in the eyes of his oppressor… a man tormented by guilt.
b. God gave the rich man eyes to see too. The rich man is able to see something in the eyes of the poor that he wishes he had – peace, rest, contentment.
8. An alternate view: Some understand in the expression, “the Lord lighteneth both their eyes” to mean that God gives His light and life to all – rich and poor; oppressed and the oppressor.
a. The point: therefore, the oppressor should show respect to the poor; and the poor should not be resentful towards the rich.
b. Before the bar of God, both men are equal.
c. Regardless of their station in life, God is the Maker of them all.
d. As such, it would be similar in meaning to Matt. 5:45 – “your Father which is in heaven: he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
e. Prov. 22:2 – “The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.”
f. The two views are actually very close in meaning: the rich and the poor meet together—and they both have the LORD in common. God is the Source of life for all. They both will stand before Him and will give an account to Him one day.
Proverbs 29:14
Faithfully Judging the Poor
Introduction:
1. In this proverb, Solomon (as a king) speaks of the quality that strengthens a king’s throne.
2. It’s not a huge military; it’s not a thriving economy; it’s not promises of free ice cream and goodies for all.
3. That which really establishes a king’s throne might be a bit surprising.
14a The king that faithfully judgeth the poor
1. That quality that establishes his throne is “faithfully judging the poor.”
2. What does it mean to “faithfully judge the poor?”
a. Solomon is not thinking of a Robin Hood mentality – robbing the rich to give to the poor.
b. He is not thinking of the distinctions between capitalism and socialism.
c. His purpose (though it may sound so) is NOT political. Nor is it an economic issue… or even a social issue.
d. It is a moral and a spiritual matter that he describes.
e. It has to do with the character of the king.
f. This proverb tells us what kind of a king (what characteristics he possesses) that results in the establishment of his throne.
3. It is the kind of a king who “faithfully judges” the poor.
a. Judging:
• To pronounce a judgment or a sentence; to give a law; to decide a controversy—civil, religious, political, or social; to govern; to rule; to execute justice.
• This term (though often translated “judge”) is more inclusive than that.
• It seems to include all functions of a modern government – executive, legislative, and judicial.
• Often a king had virtually unlimited power and functioned as head over all of these functions of government.
• By using this term, Solomon is speaking about the king’s role as head of the government.
1. It includes the judicial decisions he makes as a Judge.
2. It includes the laws he instates as the head of the legislature.
3. It also includes his role as executive of the land… and what people are hearing from the bully pulpit (throne).
b. Faithful:
• This term also has many shades of meaning.
• It can mean firm, true, trustworthy, steady, reliable, faithful.
• It can also imply honesty, integrity, righteousness, right, truth telling.
• It can be used of people who fulfill their obligation and duties. (Prov. 25:13 – a faithful messenger – one you can count on to do his job)
• It can imply a quality of being faithful to God and in carrying out God’s will (I Sam. 2:35)
c. Faithfully judging the poor
• This expression speaks of a king who is fair, honest, faithful, reliable, trustworthy, and one who does what is right in dealing with the poor.
• The poor have to rely on the king to make laws that are fair towards them—and not ones that trample over them.
• The poor have to rely upon the king to make decisions in a legal setting that are just and fair in their cases.
• The poor have to rely on the king to publically speak about them in such a way that does not turn the public against them.
• Thus, it was essential that the king have the right kind of character – an honest man of integrity; one who is fair and just; one who is not greedy and heartless with respect to the poor.
4. Prov. 29:7 – The righteous (person; king) considers the cause of the poor.
a. Solomon is speaking of a quality – a moral characteristic of men that is beneficial to the poor.
• In this proverb, it is righteousness… justice…
• If a man has this quality, then he WILL consider the cause of the poor. They won’t be ignored as being insignificant and unworthy of attention.
b. As we noted earlier in studying vs. 7:
• A righteous man will be concerned about the plight of the poor.
• A righteous man is sympathetic towards their needs.
• A righteous man will not only be aware of their cause, but will seek to DO something about it.
• I John 3:17 – “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”
• Righteous men have hearts for the poor and needy.
5. Ps. 72:1-4 – A righteous king (Messiah) will judge the poor with righteousness.
a. He will deal harshly with those who oppress them.
b. Vs. 12-14 – He will deliver, spare, save, and redeem the needy in the land.
6. Ps. 82:1-3 – God is observing.
a. Therefore, He demands that those in positions of authority DEFEND the poor. (vs. 3)
b. The rich can usually defend themselves—or purchase a good defense. The poor relied upon the character of those adjudicating their case.
c. Often the poor were looked down upon and did not always receive fair treatment (just like today).
d. Hence, God required the king (and others in positions of authority) to defend the poor… to treat them fairly and justly… and not to be prejudiced against them.
e. APPLICATION: We too should show mercy and compassion on the poor.
14b His throne shall be established for ever.
1. Prov. 29:4 – “The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.”
a. The king who rules and judges fairly, justly, and righteously establishes the land.
b. It is good for the land (country) when the king rules fairly and with equity for all—including the poor.
c. The land is “established” – strengthened, made stable and firm.
d. Prov. 14:34 – “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”
e. The opposite is when the king or ruler are dishonest and take bribes. That “overthrows” the nation.
f. When the king and rulers judge righteously, it is only GOOD for the country. Pray for those in positions of leadership in the USA!
2. Prov. 20:28 – “Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.”
a. The mercy and truth of the king towards his subjects preserves the king.
• The story of Rehoboam also highlights the need for the King (and all that are in authority) to demonstrate mercy and truth to the PEOPLE they rule.
• If a king shows his devotion and faithfulness to his people (instead of his own self-interest), that too will PRESERVE the king… in that the people will not revolt and cast him off the throne… or out of office.
b. The mercy and truth of the king towards God preserves the king.
• And of course, if the theocratic king in Israel was loyal and faithful to God, then that too would preserve him from evil and calamity.
3. Prov. 25:5 – “Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.”
a. When a righteous king removes the wicked chaff from his court, then the throne is established.
b. When a wicked king repents and removes the chaff from his own heart and decides to honor God and do things right, then his throne is established.
c. When corruption in government is removed, then it is always GOOD for the country.
d. That requires toughness and integrity on the part of the ruler to bite the bullet and deal with the corruption—especially when it is well entrenched.
e. But in the end, it establishes the throne.
4. Prov. 16:12 – “It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.”
5. The character of the king is essential to the well-being of the country in each of these cases.
a. Throughout Israel’s history, various kings sought to establish their thrones by various means.
• Rehoboam sought to establish his kingdom by greedy and worldly policies.
• Ahaz sought to establish his throne by worldly alliances.
• Other kings sought to establish their throne by relying on Egypt or Assyria in time of need.
• Naturally, every king wants to establish his throne—but not every king went about it the right way… God’s way.
• Every pastor wants to establish and build up the church he pastors… but not every pastor goes about it the right way… God’s way.
• They often rely on compromise and unholy alliances to do God’s work.
b. The proverbs we have looked at here indicate that the RIGHT way to establish the throne is through the godly and righteous character of the king and those in positions of authority.
• Character matters… whether you are running a kingdom, a business, a church, or a home.
• God honors those who honor Him.
Proverbs 29:15
The Rod and Reproof
Introduction:
1. In this proverb, Solomon makes a contrast between a child who is correctly disciplined throughout his childhood and one who is “left to himself.”
2. One is obviously better than the other. This is another “better than” proverb, even though it does not use the words “better than.”
15a The rod and reproof give wisdom:
A. The Rod
1. Rod defined:
a. Rod: A branch or stick used for various purposes.
b. The term is sometimes used of a shepherd’s staff (Lev. 27:32) or a royal scepter (Gen.49:10); a javelin (a long pointed stick used for hunting or warfare).
c. As a branch, it was also used of tribe or clan, in that a tribe or clan is a branch off the family tree.
d. In our proverb, the term rod clearly describes a stick used for the purpose of punishing or correcting.
2. Usages
a. A fool
• Prov. 10:13 – The fool has no understanding. No wisdom is found in his lips. The only way the fool learns wisdom is through pain—the rod of correction. It is the only language he understands.
• Prov. 26:3 – A rod is for the back of the fool. It is the only way to discipline such a person… because he is in some ways like an unbroken horse or a dumb donkey.
• Often it is the legal system that uses either a literal rod. (Pilgrims; Korea)
b. A son
• Prov. 13:24 – Sparing the rod spoils the child. It is not an expression of love but of hatred. It is not “wanting the best” but the worst for that child.
• Prov. 22:15 – Folly is bound in the heart of a child. Children, as cute as they are, are little sinners… and for the most part, little heathens! The rod of correction drives folly out of a young child. You can try other methods if you choose, but God says the rod is the method that works.
c. Figuratively of God using a figurative “stick” to chasten His wayward people, like a father chastening his son.
• It is used against Solomon (2 Sam. 7:14).
• God used a rod against Israel through Assyria (Isa. 10:24).
d. In each of these usages, the rod is a stick used for correction.
B. Reproof
1. Defined: An argument or reasoning used for correction; verbal correction; rebuke; speak words which show strong disapproval, with possible actions of punishment to follow.
2. There is one problem with reasoning, rebuke, or reproof: verbal reproof is not always effective.
a. Prov. 1:24-25 – “I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof.” They would (wanted) none of it!
b. Prov. 1:30-31 – “They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.”
c. Prov. 3:11 – “My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction.” Sometimes children despise the verbal correction of their parents.
d. Prov. 5:12-13 – “And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; 13And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!” They hated and despised verbal rebukes.
e. Prov. 10:17 – “He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.” Some refuse it – either refuse to listen or obey.
3. Those who reject it will pay a heavy price during life.
a. Prov. 12:1 – “he that hateth reproof is brutish.”
b. Prov. 13:18 – “Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction.”
c. Prov. 15:10 – “he that hateth reproof shall die.”
d. Prov. 29:1 – “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”
e. They may not pay the price immediately, but eventually it will catch up to them.
C. Give Wisdom
1. Solomon states that the rod and reproof give wisdom.
a. Note that Solomon did not say the “rod of reproof” or the “rod of correction,” as he does in Prov. 22:15.
• The “rod of correction” means the rod which is used for the purpose of correction.
• In 22:15 the point is that the rod corrects. It is ONE means used – the physical means of correction.
b. But in 29:15, Solomon wrote, the rod AND reproof.
c. Here the emphasis seems to be on the combination of the two.
d. We saw passages that indicate that verbal rebukes or reproofs are not always effective.
• Some children do not respond to words only.
• When they do respond in obedience to words alone, that is ideal, but it is not always the case.
• It is okay to use a verbal reproof if it results in the desired end – obedience.
• It is acceptable to reprove children without the rod. Some children respond well to a verbal reproof.
• If they respond to the verbal reproof, there is no need to use a rod. (If Johnny steps into the road and you rebuke him and tell him not to do that any more and if he responds, then the reproof is all you need.)
• But kids don’t always respond properly to a reproof.
• Some hate reproof; they despise it; they will not respond to it; they “set it at naught.” (outright rejection)
• It’s ok to reprove without the rod if the reproof works.
• But reproof is not always enough.
• Eli reproved his sons (I Sam. 2:22-25), but did not restrain them with a rod (I Sam.3:13).
• It is never ok to use the rod without the verbal reproof and reasoning… assuming the child is old enough to reason with.
e. The point of Prov. 29:15 is that when the verbal reproof is COMBINED with the physical rod (spanking) is much more effective.
2. The combination of the two gives WISDOM.
a. That’s what every parent wants for their children.
b. Parents reprove their children because they want the best for them… because they want them to ultimately become self-disciplined human beings… respectful… obedient… and wise.
c. Give defined: Delivers; distributes; grants; give; place or set an object in place; produces; (various shades of meaning).
d. The rod and reproof produce wisdom in the child… deliver to him the wisdom he needs… it sets or places wisdom in his heart.
e. Prov. 13:18 – “he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.”
f. Prov. 15:5 – “he that regardeth reproof is prudent.”
g. Prov. 15:31-32 – “The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise. He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.”
15b But a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
1. In contrast to the wisdom that is the result of the rod and reproof is the SHAME that is the result of NOT using the rod and reproof.
2. The child “left to himself” is the child who is not disciplined or trained.
a. This speaks of a permissive mother who overindulges her child.
b. He (or she) is allowed to do as he pleases. He is allowed to run wild and uncontrolled.
c. And while he is not being formally trained, he is by default being trained in another way.
d. He is being trained to be a self-willed person… to get his own way… to continue to believe that the world revolves around him.
e. Left to himself, a child’s unrestrained sin nature will bring ruin to the child.
3. The result of this lack of training brings shame to his mother.
a. Prov. 28:7 – “Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father.” Dad is blamed too—not just the mother.
b. If a child becomes self-willed and leads a sinful life BECAUSE his parents did not train or discipline him (both verbally and physically with a rod), then shame on those parents!
c. But we should note that sometimes, even with good training and good, consistent discipline, a child (who has a will of his own) will sometimes CHOOSE to reject all counsel and training.
d. In that case, shame on the child, not the parents. They did what God commanded them to do. They are to be praised.
e. A set of parents could have identical twins, give them both the exact same teaching and training, the same discipline, the same school, the same home, the same church, the same everything… and one could become a faithful missionary and the other could become a serial killer.
f. There are no guarantees with kids—not when every human being has his own free will to make choices in life.
4. The shame that Solomon describes here has nothing to do with how the child turned out.
a. The shame has to do with whether the child was left to himself or not.
b. In other words, the shame is connected to whether the parents fulfilled their role in reproving bad behavior and using the rod to correct it.
5. In light of the consequences of not disciplining a child, consider Solomon’s words:
a. “Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 14Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.” (Prov. 23:13-14)
Proverbs 29:16
When the Wicked are Multiplied
Introduction:
This proverb speaks of the results of bad leadership. The result is that sin increases.
16a When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth:
A. When the Wicked are Multiplied
1. Solomon speaks here about the wicked in general – wicked people.
a. His point may be simply that the more wicked people there are, the more wickedness there will be.
b. When wicked people are multiplied, there will be more transgression and sin… injustice… lawlessness… crime and violence.
c. This is certainly true—and the proverb may be making that general point.
d. However, it is also possible that Solomon had wicked leaders in mind here.
e. Usually leaders are a reflection of the people. People put in power someone who is like them. When the wicked multiply in the land – there will be wicked leaders in positions of power and authority.
2. Solomon has mentioned leadership (both the wicked and righteous) several times Proverbs chapters 28-29.
a. Prov. 29:2 – Here he speaks of when the righteous are in authority or when the wicked bear rule. There are consequences to leadership—and the people pay the price… either rejoicing or mourning.
b. Prov. 28:2 – “For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.”
• When transgression fills the land, there will be many princes… because they won’t last long.
• Again he speaks of the relationship between the people and their rulers.
c. Prov. 28:12 – there is great glory!
• Note the contrast in this proverb: he is speaking about righteous vs. wicked men rising to power.
• Men hide when wicked men are ruling.
d. Prov. 28:28 – “When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.”
• When the wicked ruler perishes then the righteous increase… they prosper—they thrive… they no longer fear for their lives or their wellbeing.
e. In Prov. 29:16, when Solomon mentions the wicked being multiplied and the consequences of it, it is best to understand him to mean (as he has several times in the last two chapters) to refer to wicked rulers and leaders and their effect of their wicked reign on the righteous people in the land.
• The context may hint at this.
• Also, the meaning of the word “multiplied.” The Hebrew word means to increase, to be many, to be great, to excel, and one of the meanings is “to be in authority.”
• Dan. 2:48 – “Then the king made Daniel a great (same word) man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.”
B. The History of Israel and Judah
1. Israel’s and Judah’s histories are FULL of the multiplication of wicked rulers.
a. All of the kings of Israel were wicked.
b. Most of the kings of Judah were wicked.
2. Of course, Solomon is writing this at the early stages of Israel’s history – before the division of the nation and before the influx of unrighteous kings.
a. Up to this point, David and Solomon were the only two kings in the royal line.
b. And though not perfect, they were godly men who loved the Lord.
c. Solomon was not aware of just how prophetic this proverbial statement would become over time.
d. Israel’s history demonstrated the truthfulness of this proverb.
C. Transgression Increaseth
1. When wicked rulers were multiplied in Israel and Judah, transgression certainly DID increase.
a. When wicked rulers came to power, wicked men seemed to increase and multiply. Wicked men beget wickedness.
b. Certainly the wicked leadership of Ahab and the wicked influence of his wife Jezebel resulted in untold multiplication of wickedness in Israel – idolatry, rejection of Jehovah God, immorality, lies, treachery, violence, etc.
c. Then multiply this by all the other wicked kings. No one could deny the truth that when wicked men rule, transgressions increase in the land.
d. All wicked men in positions of authority have to do is to pass a wicked law and transgressions increase.
• Consider the sins that abounded when men voted to allow slavery. (untold evil and abuse was a direct result)
• Consider the sins that abounded when men voted to allow abortions and made them legal. (millions of unborn babies have been scrambled alive in the womb)
• Consider the sins that abounded when men today have voted to legalize gay marriage (transgression does and will abound!)
• Consider the sins that abound when men vote to legalize drugs. (God help us… transgression will increase)
e. When the wicked are multiplied, sin abounds.
• When such laws are passed, people begin to think that it is NORMAL.
• During slavery, people began to think that slavery was normal.
• Today, most people look at abortion as normal – because it is legal and so many people get abortions.
• Gay marriage will soon seem normal to our kids and grandkids.
• Drug stores may soon be selling not only Tylenol, but marijuana and who knows what else… and after a while it will seem normal.
• It is NOT normal, but it will seem normal.
• The multiplication of wickedness causes transgression to increase.
• When there is a lowering of moral tone and attitude in the land (or in a business—or in a church) it is a perfect environment for sin to prevail.
• Wicked people promote wicked ideas… and they catch on… and over time seem normal. And once it seems normal, it is accepted by society and increases.
• And people become emboldened in wickedness when wickedness increases and becomes accepted in society.
• And it is not easy to reverse wickedness. It is hard to reverse when the wicked are MULTIPLIED…. And their ways become entrenched in the thinking of the majority.
2. And it might seem like the wicked will hold on to power forever.
a. They keep on multiplying and multiplying.
b. Sin abounds under their leadership.
c. It probably seems like a lost cause to the righteous in the land.
d. Vs. 2 – It causes the righteous to mourn. They feel defeated, discouraged, and perhaps a bit hopeless for the future of their nation.
e. Prov. 28:28 – When the wicked rise to power, the righteous have to hide out of fear of persecution or abuse.
• Darkness hates the light.
• Those who stand for truth and righteousness are not treated well by the wicked—especially when the wicked are in positions of power.
• The voices of the righteous are no longer heard.
16b But the righteous shall see their fall.
1. But Solomon gives some very good news in times when wickedness seems to rule and reign.
a. The good news is that the wickedness will not last forever.
b. The good news is that the righteous will one day see the FALL of those evil men and their wicked ways.
c. Somehow, someday, and in some way, the righteous will prevail.
d. The righteous will one day see the FALL of the wicked.
e. Wickedness may seem to prevail all throughout life, but our proverb states that the prosperity and the reign of the wicked will not last forever.
f. Just read the book of Revelation. Even if you don’t understand any of the symbols, you do get the picture that in the end, the wicked are judged, and God rules.
g. Solomon doesn’t tell us when, but he does state the fact: in the end, righteousness triumphs.
h. Job 20:5-8 – Zophar had it right when he said, “That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? 6Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds; 7Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he? 8He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.”
2. There are examples in the Old Testament of righteous men seeing the “fall” of the wicked.
• Noah saw the destruction of those who perished in the flood.
• Abraham saw the destruction of those in Sodom and Gomorrah.
• The Israelites saw the fall and destruction of the Egyptian army at the Red Sea.
• But ultimately, when the Kingdom is established, righteousness will finally reign on earth.
• Jer. 23:5 – “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.”
3. Psalm 37:34-38 – Eventually, the wicked will be cut off and the righteous rewarded.
Proverbs 29:17
Correct thy Son
Introduction:
1. This chapter in Proverbs has mentioned kings, rulers, wise men, and fathers several times. It has much to say about authority.
2. Verse 17 speaks about a father and son.
3. Verse 15 speaks about the mother and her child.
4. Both of these proverbs indicate the need for child training and discipline.
17a Correct thy son
1. Solomon tells fathers to correct their sons.
a. Obviously, this refers to a father and his adolescent son.
b. The father’s role is to correct his son.
c. Correct: To discipline; chasten; admonish; instruct; warn; teach; reprove; etc.
d. This is a theme mentioned several times in the book of Proverbs.
2. Correction needs to be firm but loving.
a. I Cor. 10:13 – A father should discipline his son in accordance with the way our heavenly Father treats us: “who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.”
• God never gives us more than we can handle.
• That’s a good principle for a father to following correcting his son too.
b. Heb. 12:5-6 – God chastens us out of love. A father should always chasten his son out of love too—and not out of uncontrolled anger.
• God’s chastening is firm but loving.
• If we don’t respond to God’s gentle chastening, God may have to apply more firmness—even a scourging!
• But if there is a response to the firm but gentle correction, then no more is needed. The desired end was accomplished.
3. Prov. 19:18 – Here Solomon states that the son is to be chastened “while there is hope.”
a. In other words, when the child is young and is not yet set in his ways.
b. Someone has described children like wet cement.
• Parents have the responsibility to train their kids when they are young… like wet cement, and still pliable.
• Once the cements hardens it is much harder to shape it.
• However, it is not impossible. Nothing is impossible with God.
• Hardened cement may have to be crushed back down to powder, and then reshaped. But it can be done.
• Perhaps you are thinking that crushing your son back to powder is cruel and harsh.
• Isa. 57:15 – God dwells with him “that is of a contrite and humble spirit.”
» The word “contrite” means, “crushed, pulverized dust, ground to powder.”
» God has to continually do that to us. We can become self-willed and stubborn and hard hearted; so God has to crush us, grind us down to powder, so that He can rebuild us into the image of His Son.
» Kids who didn’t respond to their father’s training and exhortations, may have to be brought under God’s chastening hand.
» God knows how to grind each one down to powder… so that they are soft and pliable in His hand. Then they are ready to be rebuilt and restored.
» First comes the humbling; then comes the molding and shaping.
c. Thus, when Solomon speaks of chastening a son “while there is hope,” he is not saying that cement that has hardened is hopeless.
• Rather, he is saying that the hope of accomplishing discipline the “easy” way is gone.
• But God has many other ways of getting our attention—and the attention of our kids.
• The son who refused to soften his heart under his earthly father’s hand of chastisement, may have to face his heavenly Father’s hand of chastisement.
• Nothing is too hard for the Lord. Nothing is hopeless with God. Let’s not misread Proverbs 19:18.
• If he is breathing, there is hope. And if he is not saved, if he is breathing, there is hope.
• God can humble and grind to powder a stubborn backslider and restore him to the joy of salvation.
• God can also humble and grind to powder a stubborn sinner and bring him to salvation.
17b,c And he shall give thee rest; Yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.
1. “And he shall give thee rest.”
a. If the son responds to his father’s chastening and reproofs when he is young, then the father has “rest.”
b. The rest in this verse seems to be connected to a proper response to the correction, and not just the fact of the correction.
c. Sometimes children do NOT respond properly to correction. That does not bring rest to the father.
d. REST: Peace of mind; a quiet spirit; a position of or sense of being settled; calm; satisfaction; etc. (various shades of meaning)
e. Rest implies that peace has been won.
• A son needs correction when he has sinned, or when he has broken the rules and disobeyed his parents.
• When that is the case, the fellowship has been disturbed.
• When the child disobeys, he has created a battle of sorts between him and his father or mother.
• Bringing up a strong willed child involves facing many such “battles.”
• There are two ways to end the battle: (1) either the father can pamper his son and change the rules or make an exception; or (2) the son can repent.
• Repentance is what God wants… a change of mind, heart, and attitude on the part of the stubborn self-willed child.
• Our proverb states that when the child changes his attitude and repents and demonstrates the reality of his repentance through obedience, then the battle is over!
• The conflict of the wills has been resolved in a right way… the war is over.
• And thus, when the war is over, there is peace… or to use Solomon’s term, “rest.”
• The deep concerns and anxieties the father had over his stubborn son are replaced with rest and peace.
f. It is the proper response to the correction—THAT brings rest to the father. (And also for the son! War isn’t pleasant for either party.)
2. “He shall give delight unto thy soul.”
a. The obedient son brings “peace of mind and rest” to the father.
b. He also brings “delight.”
c. DELIGHT:
• The term speaks of a choice dainty food; a delicacy; gourmet foods.
• It is also used of the joy and pleasure which comes from eating a delicacy.
d. The point is that every time a son obeys his parents, it brings delight to the parent, akin to eating a choice delicacy.
e. In other words, it something very special to parent to see a child obey… and to respond well to correction.
f. That is the case because it is not pleasant for a parent to have to correct a child, especially if it involves spanking. That hurts the parent too.
g. But to see your efforts pay off (the son responds in obedience and a change of attitude) brings great joy. It is like being handed a special handmade chocolate truffle made at the local candy shop for the chocolate lovers… or sushi for the raw fish fans.
h. It is something extra special—a delight—for the parents.
i. Prov. 10:1 – It is a delight because the father knows that a humble, obedient attitude is true wisdom (a fear of God) and that bodes well for the future of his son. That makes the father glad.
j. Of course, sometimes the rest doesn’t come for many years… after many years of a parent’s anxiety and worry for the son.
• Heb. 12:11 – Note the word “afterward.”
» The goal is that immediately after the chastening, there is a softening of the heart and a true repentance.
» But the “afterward” may not come right away.
• Sometimes it takes the son to grow up and get out on his own, and begin to raise his own family before he realizes that his parents weren’t as foolish and old fashioned as he thought.
• The lessons he learned as a youth finally begin to sink in and bear good fruit. God’s Word does not come back void.
• Sometimes the father is blessed with hope and blessing as he sees little glimpses of maturity and wisdom in his son.
Proverbs 29:18
Where there is No Vision
Introduction:
1. This proverb has a helpful message. However, the message Solomon intended to convey in this proverb is almost universally ignored.
2. The way Proverbs 29:18 is used (abused) is a classic example of how NOT to interpret the Bible.
3. The wording in our English Bible serves as a convenient springboard for motivational speakers to use to express what they want to say—regardless of what Solomon actually meant.
18a Where there is no vision, the people perish:
A. Where There is No Vision
1. First, let’s consider the meaning of the word “vision.”
a. The Hebrew word translated “vision” means revelation. It was a revelation that often came in the form of a vision or a dream. It was a communication (revelation) from God to a prophet which was intended to be delivered to the people.
b. Usage in the Bible:
• I Sam. 3:1 – “And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.” In the days of Samuel, God had ceased giving revelation to the prophets. There was no open “vision.”
• I Chron. 17:15 – “According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.” God revealed truth to the prophet Nathan, and he delivered it to David.
• II Chron. 32:32 – “Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.”
• Hab. 2:2-3a – “And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3For the vision is yet for an appointed time…”
• The prophets Obadiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk began their prophecies with similar wording: “The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom.” (Obadiah 1:1)
c. The Hebrew term appears many times in the Old Testament and always refers to a vision or revelation given by God to a prophet.
• It was God’s message or God’s Word to be delivered to the people. God was always the Source of this revelation.
• Jer. 14:14 – Jeremiah speaks of a “false vision.” It was a message that a false prophet proclaimed as a message from God, but God never sent that prophet or delivered that message. It was false.
d. This is not a term that has lots of different meanings or lots of different shades of meaning determined by the context. It means pretty much the same thing in every occurrence.
2. Solomon is depicting a time when there is NO vision.
a. There were often periods of time in Israel’s history when God was silent.
b. “No vision” spoke of a time when there was no revelation coming from God to the prophets.
c. During those times, the people had no word from the Lord.
d. I Sam. 3:1 – The word of God was precious (rare) in the days of Samuel. This was such a time when there was no (or virtually no) vision or revelation from God.
B. The People Perish
1. Again, it is necessary to consider the meaning of the Hebrew word underlying the English word “perish.”
2. PERISH:
a. To loosen; unbind; to let go; to expose; (used of letting down one’s hair) to go back; to set at nought; perish.
b. It also has another meaning – to be out of control; to have no restraint; to run wild; disorder.
3. Solomon’s meaning is that when there is no revelation or guidance from God, the people run wild… go into disorder… are unrestrained.
a. Why is it translated “perish”?
• Because perish also speaks of something being out of order… something that has run wild.
• A fruit that is perishing is a fruit with the corruption process running wild.
• When a piece of fruit is not being preserved by refrigeration, it will corrupt… perish… the corruption process runs wild and destroys it. The result is that the fruit goes into “disorder.”
• When there is no revelation from God, the corruption process in the nation runs wild too.
b. When God’s revelation ceased in Israel, it had a detrimental effect on the nation.
• It led the people to believe that they could live unrestrained lives.
• Ex. 32:1, 25 – For example, when Moses went up on the Mount with God, and didn’t come back for a while with a message from the Lord, the people felt that he would never come back. They went wild—and built idols and danced naked. They were unrestrained. There was disorder. They became like rotten fruit.
4. Sometimes this proverb is (wrongly) interpreted as a message about missions.
a. Tom Malone: (“The Wisdom of Soul Winning” by Sword of the Lord Publishers.)
• “I think that it speaks of another kind of vision – a work of God in the hearts of men and women.
• He viewed the proverb as a message about evangelism. If the leaders have no vision for missions, then people will perish – meaning, go to hell.
• However, that is not what the term translated “perish” means.
• That was not what Solomon meant. He was not thinking of Christian evangelism at all.
• Even applying this proverb to missions or evangelism is a stretch.
• Those who do, do so because of a misreading of the word translated “perish.”
5. But more often, the passage is interpreted as a motivation for “visionary thinking”… namely, making goals and plans for the future.
a. This interpretation is arrived at because of a misreading of the word translated “vision.” This is a very common understanding of the Proverb. The meaning is something like: “If the leadership doesn’t have a vision for where it wants to go, the people will suffer as a result”—either the people in a church or a business.
b. This passage has become a favorite of the church growth movement and of some mission agencies.
6. Consider these examples:
1. Levi Wright: It’s time for new goals and visions. We just began a new Conference Year 2007 – 2008. B. This is a time to look ahead with confidence. A time to have a vision for what God would have us do during this next year. I. Our vision should build the Church thru EVANGELISM.
a. This man misread BOTH words: vision and perish.
b. His whole sermon was based upon a faulty definition of two terms—something that could have been easily resolved simply by looking the terms up in a Bible dictionary.
c. The man who preached this sermon may be skillful in business techniques—and a great motivator and organizer, but not so much in handling the Scriptures.
2. David Legge: “But inherent within that meaning of the word ‘vision’ there is that idea of having a sight, of having a contemplation, of having a dream for the future. I want to define that word for you this morning like this, that vision is this: a picture of the future that produces a passion within you. What is vision? It is a picture that makes your heart and my heart race as we think of what God can do in future days.
a. His definition of “vision” is a dream for the future.
b. He says “I will define this word for you.” However, I would prefer to look up the term for myself. It does NOT mean a man’s dream for the future.
3. A sermon called “Components of a Focused Life” was based on Prov. 29:18 as the text.
a. He spoke of the overall Life Vision – primary purpose of life
b. Life goals – applying my vision of life to each area of my life (long term goals and short term goals)
4. Rick Warren comments in the proverb:
a. MY IMAGINATION INFLUENCES MY ASPIRATION. In other words, your dreams determine your destiny. To accomplish anything you must first have a mission, a goal, a hope, a vision. “Without a vision the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18.
• He sounds more like Oprah Winfrey or Norman Vincent Peale to me… or one of the motivational speakers on PBS who tell you that you can be whatever you want to be!
5. You get the idea. This proverb suffers abuse on every front.
a. The term is used to speak of a man’s vision in the sense of his dreams for the future, personal goals he has set, goals and plans he has made for the church, or a mission board.
b. Unfortunately, the church growth movement, and much of missions work today is based (at least in part) upon a faulty interpretation of this passage.
6. But there is a big problem with the way the proverb is so often used.
a. First of all, Christian evangelism was certainly not on the mind of Solomon, the King of Israel as he wrote.
b. Secondly, there are those who use the proverb to encourage visionary thinking… and making plans and setting goals.
• But the kind of vision Solomon had in mind was a vision (revelation) whose source was the LORD God.
• The kind of vision the “church growth” folks or the “motivational speakers” have in mind is a vision that originate in the mind and imagination of man.
• Those are two very different kinds of visions.
c. We are certainly NOT saying that it is wrong to plan or set goals. But this is not the passage to base it on.
7. The meaning of the proverb is that without revelation from God, the nation of Israel would become unrestrained—just like all the other nations.
a. There are good applications and faulty applications.
b. I think Christian evangelism is a faulty application – since it is based on a faulty understanding of the term “perish.”
c. But it might be a good application to note that when believers today are not reading God’s Word (His revelation to us), our Christian life could become unrestrained… and go into disorder.
d. We NEED God’s Word for our daily bread.
e. Amos 8:11 – Amos warns of a famine of the Word of God! That will result in chaos among God’s people. They starve spiritually.
f. Hos. 4:6 – “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge of God.”
g. How awful to see the dead liberal churches of our day. When the Word of God is no longer taught, there is disorder and a lack of restraint among the people.
18b But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
1. Conversely, he that keepeth the law is happy.
2. The one who keeps (guards; pays attention to; obeys) God’s Word will NOT have a disorderly Christian life. He will not be unrestrained. The Word has a restraining effect in our minds and hearts.
3. Instead of being unrestrained, out of control, and suffering the consequences of such behavior, the one who keeps God’s Word will be blessed.
a. The term translated “happy” is usually translated “blessed.”
b. The one who obeys God’s Word is blessed of God… and thus joyous and happy.
c. The one who obeys the Word has an orderly life—and order brings joy. Disorder brings chaos.
d. Psalm 19:11 – “Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.”
Proverbs 29:19
A Servant will Not be Corrected
Introduction:
1. This passage speaks of the correction of servants.
2. But in reality, it is really a study in human nature.
3. Solomon’s point is simple: Words don’t always work.
19a A servant will not be corrected by words:
1. “Servants” defined
a. The term used here refers either to an abject slave or a household servant.
b. It can also refer to a subject (a king’s subjects/ servants).
c. It is a term used of those who serve and worship God. (translated “servants” of the Lord).
d. In our proverb, it seems very unlikely that Solomon had servants of God in mind.
e. Rather, he is speaking of human authority – a master/slave relationship or a king/subject relationship.
f. Thankfully slavery no longer exists in the US; but some wealthy believers may still have household servants. This would apply.
g. But for the rest of us, the best application we can make is in the work world and those who work under us or provide service for us.
2. A servant “will not be corrected by words.”
a. Corrected defined: instructed; chastened; warned; disciplined.
b. Servants, employees, and subjects of a king (citizens of a country) do not always take correction well.
c. This is human nature.
d. Though correction is designed for our good, we don’t usually like being corrected.
e. Ps. 141:5 – “Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil.” Correction and reproof are extremely valuable… and should not be rejected.
f. Prov. 17:10 – “A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool.”
• Verbal correction when received will spare us from a whipping—something more severe.
g. Prov. 13:18 – “Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.”
• Reproof and correction lead to honor and spare us from shame.
h. A servant (worker; employee; student; citizen) SHOULD respond well to correction. It is good for them.
i. However, Solomon’s proverb tells us that they don’t always respond well to correction.
3. “Words” ought to be the first method of correction.
a. Prov. 15:31 – “The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.”
• The wise servant or citizen will hear the verbal correction and respond in a right way.
• That is the way of wisdom.
b. Prov. 24:25 – “But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.”
• Words of correction ought to be a delight to those who are verbally corrected. You were just spared from something much worse!
4. But unfortunately, Solomon tells us that verbal correction doesn’t always work.
a. Some servants will NOT be corrected by words.
b. And once again, remember that these are proverbs.
c. This statement was not intended to cover every possibility.
d. Solomon is simply stating that there are cases when a servant will not be corrected by words.
• He isn’t saying that servants are never corrected by words. That is not true.
• Often servants (students; citizens; employees; etc.) are corrected by words. That’s the ideal.
e. Our proverb teaches us that the ideal is not always achieved. Sometimes people do not respond well to verbal rebuke or verbal correction.
19b For though he understand he will not answer.
1. In this part of the proverb, Solomon inserts the fact that the lack of response to a verbal correction is not always due to a lack of understanding.
a. Some people may fully understand the correction and still not answer.
b. Answer – He may not answer (respond) in an appropriate way, which here might include a change of behavior, attitude, or a change in the way they are working on a project.
c. Not everyone responds to correction with the appropriate and obedient changes.
d. They heard, they understood, but they continued to do it their way… which just happens to be the wrong way.
e. You would not want this kind of guy folding parachutes in a factory.
f. You would not want this kind of guy preparing your medications.
2. Lessons from the proverb:
a. Don’t assume that because you have given the proper instructions and corrections that those instructions are being followed.
• Those in positions of leadership had better double check.
• Perhaps your employee heard and understood the correction but likes to cut corners.
• Perhaps he doesn’t like the way you want him to do it. It’s way too much work… so he continues to do it his way.
• Perhaps he heard and understood, and just forgot – and needs to be gently reminded.
• Don’t assume that because you gave some instructions or correction to your kids that they have followed through on them. Double check.
b. If words don’t work, though not stated, it is implied, that more drastic means may have to be used to make the corrections.
• In this case, the servant was not corrected by words because he is lazy or rebellious and refuses to work.
• Perhaps he is a procrastinator and keeps putting the corrections off until tomorrow.
• Perhaps force is the only language he will ever respond to.
• For the employee, words of correction may not work; not getting a raise might work better… or losing his job.
• For the student, verbal correction may not produce the desired results; an “F” on his report card may be a better motivator.
• For a child, words of reproof may not be as effective as a spanking.
• When words don’t get the job done, other means may be required. That’s Solomon’s implied point.
• Without the option of a more severe form of reproof (some sort of penalty), words will fall on deaf ears and those words will be hollow and empty.
• Could you imagine if there were no penalties for breaking the speed limit? Cars would fly down the highway. The words of the police and the speed limit signs would be but mere suggestions.
• This is human nature: words don’t always work.
c. And isn’t this the way God deals with us as His sons?
• God has given us His Word and He expects us to answer it right away—by obeying it.
• But if we who claim to be His servants hear His words with our ears, and understand it intellectually, yet do not obey, doesn’t God have many other means of getting our attention?
• Heb. 12:5-6 – God chastens… and He scourges… and He has 1001 other ways to “influence” our behavior.
• How much better to respond to His words of correction right away in faith and obedience!
d. The lesson we can all take from this proverb is to respond to correction the right way—in an appropriate way—by making the corrections and doing our job in accordance with the company policy and regulations.
Proverbs 29:20
Hasty Speech
Introduction:
1. This is a simple proverb that makes one statement: men who are hasty with their words are fools… even worse.
20a Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words?
A Man Hasty in His Words
1. SEE:
a. Here Solomon highlights a particular individual for observation.
b. The word see means “take a look at;” perceive with your eyes; observe; look and learn.
c. It is often translated “behold.”
d. Solomon is setting before our eyes (figuratively) a picture of a specific kind of person.
2. MAN: He uses the word for a man (a male), but of course, the proverb applies equally well to women.
3. HASTY: to be pressed (for time); to make haste; eager; hurrying or running without purpose.
4. WORDS: The term refers to speech, and not to individual words.
a. He is not speaking about someone who pronounces words quickly so much as a person who speaks without taking time to think.
b. Sometime Southerners think we Yankees talk fast. That’s not Solomon’s point… and people in England think all Americans talk slowly.
5. “A man hasty in his words”
a. Solomon has in mind the person who is always eager to interject something into the conversation; he is quick to give his opinion; he is quick to judge and draw conclusions; he is in a hurry to blurt something out.
b. His words are thoughtless and reckless. His words can be hurtful, destructive, and malicious.
c. This man is often inconsiderate, insulting, inaccurate, ignorant, but a know-it-all, rash, insensitive, selfish, proud, or a combination of the above.
d. We have seen this person before in the book of Proverbs.
6. God is the opposite of this man.
a. Isa. 31:2 – Isaiah says that God never has to “call back His words.”
b. God has never spoken a word that He regretted or had to change, fix, or apologize for.
c. But the man hasty of words is constantly pouring out words that prove to be foolish, inaccurate, or poorly worded or poorly timed.
d. God’s Word is perfect. Ours are not. Hence, there is the need for taking time to speak.
Examples of a Man Hasty in His Words
1. Prov. 10:19 – In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin.
a. There is no lack of sin – in other words, there is a lot of sin that flows from the mouth that never stops talking.
b. Ecc.10:13 – his words begin in folly and end in mischievous madness… but they keep on flowing…
c. In other words, the fool begins to speak folly… but it grows into more and more evil.
d. Like a fire that starts off as a little spark… and increases in heat and intensity and destruction. So too is the speech of the fool.
e. Jas. 3:2 – In many things (said) we all offend. The mouth has a tendency to say things that offend and hurt others; and it is sin to willfully do so.
2. Prov. 14:29 – A hasty spirit results in a hasty mouth; and it exalts folly.
a. The one who has a hasty spirit (easily agitated; easily angered) has a tendency to have a hasty tongue as well. It is his nature.
b. And that results in much trouble. Here Solomon notes that it results in exalting folly. It ends in foolish behavior.
c. A hasty spirit may be easily angered… and then hastily pours out angry words that result in a fight—verbal or physical.
d. Lots of fights begin in barrooms because people who have no control over their spirit or their tongues say things that get others angry at them… and a fight begins… often over something incredibly foolish—over a cigarette… over a sports team… over a comment made about a girlfriend…
3. Prov. 15:2 – His mouth “pours out foolishness.”
a. Pours: Bubbles out like water from a spring (no end!)
b. He pours out EVIL things (15:28) There is usually a connection between folly and evil.
c. He pours out foolish talking and jesting which is not convenient.
• Eph. 5:4 – “Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.”
• He eventually begins to spout out off colored jokes, or speaks about things that should not be spoken of.
• Eph. 5:12 – “For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.”
• There are some things that should never be spoken of… but when you never stop talking—those things seem to come out—without thinking.
4. Prov. 18:13 – He answers before he has all the facts.
a. Here is another way a man manifests “hasty speech.”
b. He speaks out immediately without hearing all the facts.
c. He may judge a situation with only having heard one side of the story. That’s hasty speech.
d. He may give a definitive answer before all the facts have been gathered.
e. It is human nature to jump the gun, speak before you have all the facts, and to make assumptions based on a few pieces of information, and thus make up our minds on the matter… before we hear the whole question… or the whole story… or all the details.
f. There are times when that might not make much difference, but there are other times when it can mean disaster! (war among nations… between friends… in a local church!)
g. Hasty speech can ruin friendships and fellowships.
h. Hasty speech is foolish and SHAMEFUL.
i. Shame on us when we speak without thinking… without hearing both sides… without getting all the facts.
5. Prov. 18:7 – His mouth is his destruction. (ruin)
a. A fool’s mouth is his destruction. It will not only hurt others it will be the ruin of the fool himself.
b. The fool will regret having spoken too hastily.
c. There are some good examples of this destruction—the guilt, shame, and ruin it caused to the one who spoke too hastily.
• Judges 11:30 – Jephthah made a hasty vow to God that he greatly regretted later.
• Mark 6:22 – Herod promised the daughter of Herodias anything she wanted up to half the kingdom. She asked for the head of John the Baptist. Herod greatly regretted his hasty speech.
20b There is more hope of a fool than of him.
1. In the book of Proverbs, there are only two kinds of individuals who are worse than the fool.
a. The man who is wise in his own eyes (Prov. 26:12).
b. The man who is hasty in his words (Prov. 29:20).
2. The man who is hasty in his words is unlikely to be corrected.
a. A fool has a better chance of being corrected.
b. Sometimes fools are aware of their shortcomings and can be corrected.
c. But the man who has no control over his spirit or his tongue will never be corrected.
3. THEREFORE – The Bible gives us some words of counsel:
a. Prov. 29:11 – “A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.”
b. Ecc. 5:2-3 – “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.”
c. Jas. 1:19 – “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”
Proverbs 29:21
A Servant Becomes a Son
Introduction:
1. This proverb is a bit problematic in its interpretation because of one Hebrew word, (ma·nôn) translated “son.”
2. This Hebrew word is used only once in the Bible, so there are no other passages to compare and see how it is used elsewhere.
3. And the problem concerns the meaning of the word.
4. The interpretation of the proverb hinges on the meaning of that one ancient and obscure Hebrew word, ma·nôn.
21a He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child…
1. The first part of the proverb is relatively easy to understand.
2. Solomon is speaking about bringing up a servant from a child.
a. In those days, many households had “servants.”
b. It was a form of slavery, but in Israel, more like domestic servants… and they were considered part of the household.
c. God never condoned or approved of slavery—contrary to many critics of the Bible.
d. What God did was take a social issue and regulate to avoid abuse.
e. Remember, the purpose of the Bible is spiritual. It was not written to promote one political, social structure, or economic system.
f. Hence, God regulated the prevalent practice of slavery in such a way that it was more like domestic servants in Israel… so they were treated humanely and with kindness.
g. Jas. 5:4 – “Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.”
h. Eph. 6:9 – “And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.”
i. Col. 4:1 – “Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.”
3. The “servant” in this proverb is one who was evidently the son of a domestic servant, and thus was born into servanthood.
a. Thus, the lord of the household (in a sense) brought up this servant from a child.
b. The parents brought up the child as parents; they taught the child to be a good person.
c. But the lord of the household would be responsible to train up the child to be a good servant.
d. So keep in mind that Solomon is not talking about the responsibility of the parent here, but of the responsibility of the lord of the household.
4. The proverb speaks of a household lord who brings up his servant in a particular manner: “delicately.”
a. The expression, “delicately bring up” is one word in the Hebrew.
b. This Hebrew word also occurs only once in the Old Testament, but its meaning is not in question.
c. This word means to “pamper, to indulge, to treat delicately, treat another with extreme or excessive care and attention.”
5. Thus, the first part of the proverb speaks about a lord of a household who pampers his servants.
a. He indulges them. He doesn’t train them to be good servants.
b. He doesn’t train them to be diligent workers.
c. Instead, he pampers them… indulges them… spoils them…
d. If the lord of the household wanted good servants to work on his farm, he had to train them to do so—not indulge and pamper them.
e. If the lord of the household wanted good servants to help his wife with the household chores, then the servants had to be trained to do so… not pampered.
f. Pampering is the opposite of good training.
6. Solomon has warned AGAINST a lack of training for sons often in Proverbs.
a. Prov. 29:15 – (a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.”
• There is shame to be had when good training was NOT provided. Even that doesn’t guarantee a good outcome.
• But note that good training involves BOTH a rod (spanking) and reproof (counseling).
• That is not pampering. That is just good discipline.
b. Prov. 29:17 – Correct thy son and he shall give thee rest.
• A son is not to be pampered, but corrected when he does wrong or is headed in a wrong direction.
• This principle of training the youth should have been applied to household servants as well. They were to be lovingly but firmly guided—not pampered.
c. Prov. 22:15 – Folly is bound in the heart of a child.
• The rod of correction drives folly out of a young child… whether the child is a son or a household servant.
d. This principle used to be incorporated in public schools in this country.
• Teachers and administrators used to discipline children under their care. That is no longer the case.
• Today, they are pampered—and the results are obvious.
• Today children are well versed in their rights, and in sexual issues, and are high tech savvy.
• But when it comes to being diligent and hardworking, being moral, and being self-controlled, not so much.
e. The particular example Solomon uses is that of the lord of a household.
f. The broader application of the principle found in our proverb speaks of those in charge of training children (in various settings) are not to pamper them, but are to train and discipline them for their own good. It will serve them well in life.
21b Shall have him become his son at the length.
1. The second part of the proverb is more difficult to understand because of the uncertainty of the meaning of the word translated “son.”
2. What the proverb SAYS is that “he that pampers his servant from a child shall have him become a (ma·nôn) in time.
3. There are a couple of different interpretations based upon using different definitions for the Hebrew word (ma·nôn).
a. Strong’s Concise Dictionary defines it only as “son or heir”
b. The Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon defines it as “grief; thankless,” but notes that it is translated “son” once in the KJV.
c. Dictionary of Biblical Languages defines it as “unmanageable, hard to control, deficient to proper order.”
d. The Complete Word Study Dictionary lists both definitions (1) son, heir, and (2) grief.
e. There is not perfect clarity on meaning the term. This gives rise to two different interpretations:
4. The first view interprets the proverb to mean the following:
a. The master who takes good care of his servant from a child (bringing him up in love and care) will over time discover that the servant is like a son to him. They will have almost a father/son bond in the end.
b. The example of Abraham and Eliezer is used to illustrate this interpretation.
c. The problem with that view is that the word “delicately” does not mean lovingly and with compassion. It means “pamper or indulge.” It is clearly a negative meaning.
d. It does not fit with the context of the book of Proverbs to say that pampering and indulgence would have a good result… turning a servant into a son.
e. It does not fit the immediate context of training a son in the same chapter (vs.15, 17) and elsewhere in the book where the emphasis on child training is on diligence and discipline, not on pampering and indulgence. Those are opposites.
5. The second view (one that fits the context much better in my opinion) states that the master who indulges his servant from a child (by not disciplining and training him to be a good worker) will have him become a (ma·nôn) – namely, (according to several Hebrew dictionaries) “unmanageable, a moral character that is deficient to proper order, a grief and sorrow because of the pampering.”
a. This view fits better with immediate context of the importance of discipline in training children.
b. It also fits better with the greater context in the book of Proverbs on other passages teaching the same thing.
c. This view would likely understand the term “manon” to be understood as unmanageable or a grief because of a lack of training.
d. However, this view does not require that we understand “manon” to mean unmanageable. It could also be understood as “son.”
• If that is the case, then the meaning is this: The one who pampers his servant from a child will discover him to become like a son in this sense: he will not want to be treated like a servant but a son. He will grow up having expectations of a son—and hence, demand a more pampered lifestyle later on in life.
• In other words, it is a warning to the one training a servant NOT to pamper… because the result is that your servant may grow up unwilling to serve. He will become unmanageable and thus a grief to the master… just as a child who is pampered results in the grief of the parents.
• There would be good applications here to an employer today too. If you pamper your employees, you may discover that at length (over time) you are not helping them to be better workers… but lazy rather than diligent workers.
• There would be good application to teachers too. If you pamper and indulge your students, (and treat them as your old buddies) they will expect the pampering to continue. And when you want them to get down to diligent study, you may discover that you have actually corrupted their study habits. Many young teachers make this mistake early on—trying to be a friend of their student before they establish themselves as the authority figure in the classroom.
• We have a proverb in English that is not identical, but is similar: familiarity breeds contempt.
Proverbs 29:22
An Angry Man
Introduction:
Solomon has much to say about anger and angry men. None of it is very flattering.
22a An angry man stirreth up strife
1. An angry man
a. Everybody gets angry… every day something arises that gets us angry.
b. But most believers get angry, confess it, and forsake it and get back into fellowship with God.
c. However, the angry man refers to a person who is characterized by anger. His life is controlled by anger—not the Holy Spirit.
d. He is simply an angry person. Everything seems to get him angry—from the tiny and insignificant to the real problems and everything in between.
2. Prov. 25:28 – “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.”
a. This man has no control over his spirit… he cannot rule his own spirit. His spirit rules him.
b. Spirit: Inner disposition; impulse; seat of emotions; temper.
c. He has no self-control. His inner impulses dominate in his life. He is a slave to sin… a slave to his impulses.
d. This is the kind of person Solomon is describing.
e. He is a pitiful man indeed. He is like a city whose walls are all broken down.
• Through a lack of taking care of his walls, they all fell down.
• That leaves the city open to attack from any direction.
• So too is the angry man who has no control over his spirit… the spirit of anger.
• He is really in a dangerous position – vulnerable to all kinds of attacks… and defenseless against them.
3. Stirs up strife
a. There are consequences to walking in the flesh instead of walking in the Spirit.
b. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace… and temperance or self-control.
c. The fruit of the flesh includes such things as: Hatred, variance (contention), emulations (jealous anger), wrath, and strife.
d. Our proverb tells us that the person whose life is characterized by anger will also be characterized by STRIFE.
e. Anger stirs up strife.
f. When a person is angry, he says angry things to others and that causes others to get angry in return. It stirs up strife.
g. Other proverbs teach the same truth.
• Prov. 15:18 – A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
» The wrathful man stirs up strife wherever he goes.
» Strife seems to follow him. And he probably assumes that it is everyone else’s fault… but it isn’t.
» He simply cannot escape the consequences of his anger and wrath.
» But the good news is that strife can also be appeased – diminished by being SLOW to anger.
» This is what James tells us to do—to BE.
» Jas. 1:19 – “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”
» There are evil consequences to being hasty of anger; there are good consequences to those who are slow to anger. Take your pick!
• Prov. 26:21 – As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.
» Not only does an angry man stir up strife (get it started). He also keeps it going!
» His lack of self-control and his angry spirit add fuel to the fire once the strife begins.
» As long as he remains in the mix, fuel will continually be added… more coal… more wood tossed in.
» Thus, to end the strife there are two alternatives:
a. The angry man can repent.
b. The angry man is cast out. Get rid of him! Let him know that he is no longer welcome.
22b And a furious man aboundeth in transgression.
1. The furious man (another way of describing the angry man) abounds in transgression.
a. He not only stirs up strife; he stirs up sin.
b. He creates an atmosphere for cursing and saying unkind and unthoughtful things to others.
c. He creates an atmosphere for more hostility, breaking things, fighting, divorce, division.
d. Common sense and the ability to foresee the consequences of his words and action are clouded by his anger.
2. Lev. 24:10-11 – Anger can result in speaking words of blasphemy.
a. The son of a Jewish woman who had an Egyptian father was in a heated argument with another Jew.
b. In the heat of the argument, the man blasphemed the name of the Lord.
c. Vs. 12-14 – God’s mind on the matter: he was to be stoned to death.
d. The fact that he spoke in anger and without thinking did not excuse his actions.
e. He was guilty… and it was too late to take it back.
3. Matt. 5:21-22 – Jesus taught that anger was the same sin as murder.
a. Murder arises out of anger.
b. Anger is tolerated and allowed to fester in the heart.
c. Thus, it increases with intensity and gets out of control.
d. That uncontrolled passion can lead to murder—and has countless times throughout history.
e. Matt. 15:19 – Murder arises out of the heart… a heart full of uncontrolled passion… anger… jealousy… resentment.
f. Anger can boil up inside only to a point. Then it boils over into overt action… and in this case, murder.
g. If we don’t deal with sins of the heart (like anger) at its initial stages, it may get to a place where it becomes out of control… where we no longer have the capacity to restrain it.
h. That doesn’t mean we are not responsible for our actions—we are. We should have stopped it when it first began to arise.
i. Jesus also said that lust, if allowed to fester in the heart can easily boil over into adultery.
j. Thus, we should be concerned about what we allow in our hearts.
4. Prov. 14:17 – He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated. (Cf. vs.29)
a. Here Solomon describes the man (or woman or child!) who is soon angry…
b. He is short tempered… hot headed… flies off the handle… short fused… easily irritated…
c. The man who has no control over his temper is continually doing and saying foolish things that he regrets later.
d. But later is usually too late.
• You cannot un-ring the bell. Often the immediate damage done through an outburst of anger is irreversible…
• The cruel words have already pierced someone’s heart.
• The door you punched is still broken.
• And the little eyes and ears who heard it all and observed it all may never forget.
e. Prov. 14:29 – His words and deeds “exalt folly.”
• He says and does hurtful and foolish things.
• And in doing so, he is exalting folly – behaving as if he thought it were a good thing.
• The man who is quick tempered is himself a FOOL.
5. The anger of the furious man leads to all kinds of sinful and foolish words and deeds.
a. This man ruins his relationship to his friends, his marriage, his career.
b. Uncontrolled anger affects every relationship.
c. It makes many ripples that have long lasting and far reaching effects.
6. Prov. 22:24 – “Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: 25Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.”
a. For the observers and victims of the angry man, Solomon has some advice: don’t make friends with such people!
b. Separate from them. Stay away.
c. If you become close friends with them – sooner or later you will become the object of his wrath and venom. You will become yet another victim.
Proverbs 29:23
The Proud and the Humble
Introduction:
1. This proverb covers a familiar theme in the Scriptures: pride and humility.
2. However, our proverb approaches the subject from a different direction.
3. Very often the Bible speaks of the fact that God puts down pride and God exalts humility.
4. But this proverb highlights the fact that both pride and humility have built in consequences. And the consequences are the opposite of what one might think.
23a A man’s pride shall bring him low:
1. Pride actually brings a man down.
2. The point here is that pride seems to accomplish the opposite of what it is… of what it intends.
3. Pride is self-exaltation.
a. Pride defined: Arrogance; pomp; swelling; haughtiness; conceit; highness; rising up.
b. It is used to describe the fact that God is high and lifted up. When used of God this term is sometimes translated “majesty” or “excellency.” (“Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.” Ps. 68:34)
c. It is perfectly appropriate to speak of God’s majesty and excellency, for He alone is worthy.
d. It is certainly not appropriate to view SELF in that same light. We are not worthy.
4. And whether or not we want to admit it, we are all afflicted with pride.
a. We might manifest it in different ways.
• Some folks think they are smarter than everyone else.
• Others think they are better looking than anyone else.
• Some think they are cooler and hipper than anyone else.
• Some think they are more successful than anyone else.
• Some pride themselves in the fact that they are richer than others.
• Some exalt themselves thinking they are more famous than anyone else.
• Some think they are more popular than anyone else.
• Some even foolishly pride themselves in being more humble than anyone else.
• And worst of all by far, some people think they are more spiritual than anyone else.
b. Pride comes in all sizes and shapes.
• Some folks wear expensive clothing and jewelry and drive a fancy car in order that men might LOOK at them and think highly of them… (that’s pride).
• Other folks might purposely wear old beat up clothes and drive an old beat up car in order to LOOK humble… so that people will think of them as humble… (that’s pride too).
• They are both forms of pride… one overt and one covert. They both want men to think HIGHLY of them.
• Kings who live in palaces pride themselves that their palace is bigger and better than the king next door.
• Peasants who live in grass huts pride themselves in the fact that their grass hut is bigger and better than their neighbor.
• Pride affects us all – from all walks of life – in every country – in every age. It is human nature.
c. And just because we don’t manifest every form of pride, that doesn’t mean that we are not a proud person.
d. It is a sin that has infected and affected every one of us.
e. We all look down on somebody or some group of people and consider ourselves to be better than them… a notch or two above.
5. Proud men, women, and children like to EXALT themselves in their own eyes, and in the eyes of others.
a. Pride causes us to be SHOWY about something we have that others don’t have.
b. Pride causes us to be SHOWY about something we can do that others can’t do.
c. Pride causes us to want to BOAST about self… who we are… who we know… where we’ve been… what we’ve done… how many people we have led to Christ… how much we give… how dedicated we are to serving God… how good we are at something… we can even boast about how much we love God… how spiritual we are.
d. It is an insidious sin. It seems to manifest itself in our words and actions before we even realize what we are doing!
e. It’s the kind of sin we have to keep on confessing over and over… because it keeps on popping up.
f. And it keeps on popping up because deep down inside we LOVE to exalt self. Nothing is more pleasing to the fleshly heart and ear than to hear applause and praise for SELF.
g. We LOVE to think of self as superior in something (baseball; singing; art; sales; looks; teaching; parenting; politics; etc.)… and we love even more to be recognized by others as being superior.
6. But our proverb teaches us that pride is dangerous.
a. It is dangerous because as much as we love to exalt self and boast of self, there is something about the nature of pride itself that has the tendency to do the opposite of exalting self.
b. Some passages imply that GOD puts down the proud.
• Jas. 4:6 – “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” (I Pet. 1:5-6 says the same thing.)
• Prov. 16:18 – “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” (judgment)
• Prov. 18:12 – “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty…” (judgment)
c. Our present proverb seems to imply that it is pride itself that brings a man low.
d. For example, if an employer has two equally qualified candidates in line for a big promotion to vice president, who will he pick, the proud, arrogant man or the humble one?
• People don’t like proud people.
• Even though we are all afflicted with it to one degree or another, we don’t like it when we see it in someone else.
• Pride does not help build friendships and good relationships with others. It ruins relationships.
• The business owner is aware of that and with two equally qualified candidates, one man’s pride will probably tilt the decision the other way.
• His pride brought him low.
• If you are trying to get a promotion, don’t be proud.
e. If you are trying to make friends, don’t be proud.
• Don’t be a “know it all;” don’t pretend that you are “Mr. Cool Guy”.
• Don’t sing that old song, “Anything you can do I can do better!”
• People don’t like pride in others. Pride is certainly not the way to make friends and influence people.
• It is the way to turn people off and to lose friends. Pride will bring you low!
f. Another danger of pride is the tendency to exaggerate one’s accomplishments…
• We might exaggerate in order puff self up… to exalt self… so that people will think highly of us.
• However, those exaggerations also have a tendency to be exposed. And when they are exposed as exaggerations or outright lies, it deflates us very quickly in the eyes of others – like a puffed up balloon that gets popped.
• Prov. 11:2 – Solomon put it this way: “When pride cometh, then cometh shame…”
• It is shameful to be exposed. The proud man is brought low (which can mean humbled or humiliated). This man is humiliated.
• It is difficult to rebuild trust once we have been exposed as being a “less than truthful” person.
23b But honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
1. Humility actually brings a man up to the place of honor.
2. The humble person is not SEEKING to be exalted. He is not seeking honor to himself. (That would be pride.)
3. But in God’s providence, it often turns out such that the lowly IS exalted… the humble man IS lifted up.
4. Solomon has spoken of this before:
a. Prov. 3:34 – “Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.”
b. Prov. 15:33 – “The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.”
c. Prov. 18:12 – “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.”
5. God’s order is so very different from ours.
a. Matt. 23:11-12 –
• In man’s sight, greatness is being lifted up – exalted to a high position as landowner, part of the aristocracy, and ultimately as a king.
• In God’s sight, greatness is being a lowly servant.
• And the one who has God’s mind on this matter will humble himself.
• And that is the one God will exalt.
b. Andrew Murray’s definition: “Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble.”
• That is greatness in God’s sight.
6. God is looking for men, women, and children that are lowly in mind and heart… instead of the proud, arrogant, know it all.
a. Isa. 66:2 – “For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”
b. Isa. 57:15 – “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
Proverbs 29:24
An Accomplice to a Crime
Introduction:
1. This Proverb speaks of a “partner in crime.”
2. It must be understood in light of the Law of Moses, and Lev. 5:1 in particular.
3. It serves as a warning about the dangers of being an accomplice to a thief.
24a Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul:
1. Partner
a. The term partner means: To divide; to share a portion.
b. Prov. 17:2 – it is used of sharing an inheritance.
c. I Sam. 30:24 – It is used of sharing the spoils of battle.
d. Num. 26:53 – It is used of dividing up the land of Israel among the tribes.
e. II Sam. 6:19 – It was used of dividing up the food for distribution at feasts and festivals.
2. Partner with a thief
a. One who is a partner with a thief is an accomplice to the crime.
b. He and the thief divide the goods that were stolen.
c. The partner with the thief was not the one who actually took the stolen goods, but he shared in some way in the crime.
d. When the crime was finished and successful, the thief would divide up the goods and the accomplice would get his portion.
e. Perhaps he was the one who distracted others while the pickpocket takes the wallets. They often work in pairs. One partner bumps into a person (accidently on purpose) and distracts him which provides cover for the crime.
f. Or the accomplice could be an extra set of eyes for the thief.
g. There are lots of ways a person could be a partner to a thief.
• The term used for thief simply means a thief… one who commits the acts of stealing. It was used of stealing goods or kidnapping (stealing people).
• Solomon uses the particular example of a thief, but the point he is driving at in this proverb would certainly apply to many other kinds of crimes as well.
• You could be an accomplice to a drug deal, to a murder, to extortion, or even to some sort of deception or a lie.
3. Hateth his own soul
a. The term “hateth” means to hate; detest; to be hostile towards; to be an enemy.
b. In other words, the accomplice to this crime hates his own soul.
• Soul – the inner man; the inner life.
• The term is often used of the overall life of the person.
• That seems to be the usage here: his life.
• Thus, Solomon is saying that the accomplice to a crime becomes his own enemy.
• It is true: we can be our own worst enemy. That is the case for the accomplice to the thief.
c. By aiding a thief, the accomplice is working against his own good… against his own well-being.
d. Solomon used this kind of language for several kinds of sins. Some sins we commit (while there may be an immediate gratification), in the long run work AGAINST us… they work against our own soul… our own life. WE become our worst enemy when we engage in certain activities.
• Prov.6:32 – Adultery
• Prov. 8:36 – Rejecting words of wisdom (vs. 33-36)
• Prov. 15:32 – Despising instruction
• Prov. 20:2 – Provoking a king
e. We could add many more crimes and sins that work against us… that turn us into our own enemy… working against our soul. (like lying; pornography; drugs; cheating; etc.)
f. It is also dangerous because being an accomplice to a crime is often the first step in becoming a criminal. It is a learning process and next time around the accomplice actually commits the crime.
4. The lesson here is that you don’t have to be the one who actually commits the crime. Aiding and abetting or being an accomplice in any way also brings guilt. This is elaborated on in the second part of the proverb.
24b He heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not.
1. I take this to be a synthetic parallelism, a poetic form in which the second part of the proverb adds to or builds upon the thought in the first part. (as opposed to synonymous or antithetical)
a. In the first part of the proverb Solomon spoke about an accomplice to a thief and how that works against his own soul… against his own life.
b. Now Solomon builds upon that thought and elaborates upon a concept that might not be apparent to us in the 21st century, but was probably very obvious to Solomon’s original, Jewish readers.
2. To understand the second part of this proverb it might be helpful to consider the words of Moses, which the Jews living under the Mosaic Law would be familiar.
a. Lev. 5:1 – What Moses describes here is called a “sin.”
b. The setting is a courtroom scene. A crime has been committed and the people involved are standing before the judge.
c. The judge speaks – it is the voice of “swearing.”
• This does not mean cursing or profanity.
• It is a swearing of witnesses… an oath.
• The judge orders all present to tell him what they know about the crime.
• In our courts, we say, “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”
• Something similar to that occurred in the Jewish courts as well.
d. The law of Lev. 5:1 states that if a person hears the voice of “swearing in” in the courtroom, and is a witness (he either saw the crime committed or knows something about it), if he “does not utter it” (if he refuses to speak up and tell the court what he knows), then he shall bear his iniquity.
• In other words, the one who saw or heard something about the crime and refuses to speak up, he becomes an accomplice to the crime.
• He shall be considered guilty. He bears his own iniquity for being a partner or accomplice to the crime.
e. Of course, the law in Leviticus 5:1 is much broader than only the crime of stealing. It would be applied to any crime.
f. Solomon (who himself functioned as a judge in Israel) would have been very familiar with this requirement of the law.
g. This serves as a backdrop to Proverbs 29:24.
3. “He that heareth cursing and bewrayeth it not…”
a. The cursing in our proverb refers not to profanity, but to the “swearing in” process in the Jewish court system.
b. They were put under oath to tell what they know. The law demanded that they tell what they know.
c. And “bewrayeth” it not.
• Bewray means to inform; to speak information; to speak up; to give a report; to make known.
• The one who knows anything about a crime is required to speak up… to make known what he knows so that justice might be meted out.
• There was no Miranda Law in Israel. They did not have the right to remain silent if they knew something pertinent to a crime. They HAD to speak up and report what they knew.
• Thus, the law recognized no difference between the criminal and his accomplice. Thus, all were required to say whatever they knew when placed under oath before the judge.
• This is why the Lord Jesus, who was silent before the judges, but when the High Priest “adjured” Him to speak, (put under the oath – sworn in) He did.
• And He said, “Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”
4. In our proverb, Solomon is picturing a scene where the man who knows something about a theft does not speak up.
a. He knows “who dun it” but he keeps quiet.
b. Moses said that such a person shall “bear his iniquity.” It is SIN and he will pay for his sin if he is discovered.
c. Solomon implies that such a person is actually an accomplice to the crime.
d. He is an accomplice either before the fact (he helped the thief carry out his crime) or after the fact (he helped the thief get away with his crime.
e. Either way, the Scriptures said that such a person – even if he did not carry out the crime himself, is guilty. He is a “partner” in the crime… a guilty accomplice.
f. This was a serious crime too—it could mean that the wrong person is convicted and the guilty party goes free. Justice is trampled over.
g. The one who knows the truth and doesn’t speak up is guilty of promoting injustice.
5. The application to us
a. We don’t live under Mosaic Law, but there are principles that do apply.
b. There may times when it is wrong—sinful—for us NOT to speak up.
c. This would be a sin of omission.
d. For example, right now, the FBI and local police are looking for accomplices to the Boston marathon bombing.
• There are probably people out there who aided these two terrorists. Perhaps they watched out for them. Perhaps they helped them build the bombs or get the materials for the bombs. Perhaps someone else put them up to it—encouraged it.
• There may be others who may not have actually helped them, but knew about it.
• Those accomplices (either active or passive) have a responsibility to speak up and say what they know!
e. Hopefully, none of us will ever be an active accomplice in a crime, but we could inadvertently become a passive accomplice—if we just happen to hear something or see something.
f. As a believer, we ought to LOVE justice and be on the side of justice.
• Keeping quiet hinders the execution of justice. Why would a believer ever want to hinder justice from being carried out?
• Keeping quiet could mean that someone else is blamed and convicted.
• Sometimes it is SIN for us not to speak up when we should.
• We have a God given responsibility NOT to be “partaker of other men’s sins.”
» I Tim. 5:22 – “Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.”
» II John 10-11 – “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”
g. Prov. 13:20 – “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
• Another good application for us is to avoid fellowship and friendship with criminals in the first place!
• I Cor. 15:33 – “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”
Proverbs 29:25
The Fear of Man
Introduction:
1. The theme of this proverb is the theme of many passages throughout the Scriptures.
2. It is an exceedingly important principle that transcends dispensations. It is equally applicable to believers of every age… except the very first dispensation, the age of innocence, before sin entered the world.
3. The fear of man is the root of all kinds of evil, spiritually.
25a The fear of man bringeth a snare:
A. The Fear of Man
1. FEAR:
a. Defined: tremble; shake; terror; horror; panic.
b. This is not the same term for fear that is translated “reverence” and refers to a “godly fear, as Solomon used in Prov. 1:7.
c. It does not speak of worship, piety, or a respect for God.
d. The term used in our proverb speaks of being scared to death—not a reverential fear, but a fear that causes one’s knees to knock and his hands to tremble.
2. Thus, “the fear of man” in our proverb does not speak of a respect or reverence for man; rather, it speaks of being terrorized by man.
a. The fear of man refers to a kind of terror that comes as a result of the behavior of other human beings.
b. The fear of man comes in many different ways.
• It might be the fear of reprisal from the government.
• It might be the fear of peer pressure.
• It might be the fear of religious intolerance – as is the case for many under Islamic rule. They rule with a sword and many under that rule fear the sword.
• It might be the fear of losing one’s job. A cruel and crooked boss has put many under his authority in fear all day long in the workplace.
• It might be the fear of blackmail. Some young people today have been blackmailed into submission out of fear of having certain pictures posted online for the whole world to see.
• For the believer, the fear of man speaks primarily of a fear of opposing the world for one’s faith. It might be a fear to evangelize; a fear of letting others know you are a Christian; a fear of opposing immorality; a fear of being ostracized for our faith; a fear of being labeled a bigot; etc.
c. The “fear of man” takes many forms, sizes, and shapes for the believer—and it always has.
• The world has often used persecution to strike fear in the hearts of God’s people.
• The Middle East is harassing, burning, and executing Christians.
• There has been a mass exodus of Christians (both nominal and genuine) from Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and other countries which has been virtually ignored by the press.
• For many, common sense tells them to leave.
• But for those who stay, they will experience constant pressure to conform and to compromise their faith. That is the danger of the fear of man for the true Christian… and the goal of those seeking to cause Christians to fear.
B. Bringeth a Snare
1. SNARE defined:
a. A trap that lures an animal with bait; a device to capture an animal; that which captures and controls another.
b. It is used figuratively of anything that lures one to ruin and disaster.
c. Obviously, it is being used figuratively here.
d. The fear of man is a trap that lures one to ruin and disaster, spiritually.
2. The fear of man BRINGS a snare.
a. The word translated “bringeth” is used almost 2000 times in the Old Testament. It obviously has many shades of meaning.
b. Its basic meaning is to “give, to exchange, or to place.”
c. It can also have the meaning of “to cause” – which seems to be the way Solomon uses it in Prov. 29:25.
d. The fear of man causes or results in a trap… a snare.
e. It lures men in with its bait, but the end result is a trap.
f. It paralyzes the believer and prevents him from walking as he should.
g. It captures and controls them in the end. They are imprisoned by their fear of man. That is the purpose of the trap.
h. It is a very clever tool of our adversary the Devil.
3. Many people, including godly people, have fallen for this trap.
a. Gen. 12:11-13 – Abraham feared the Egyptians and told his wife to lie and say she was his sister. He was afraid they would kill him.
b. In Gen.20:2, out of fear of Abimelech, he did the same thing.
c. In Gen. 26:6-7 – His son Isaac did the same thing—for fear of being killed by the Philistines. This was the fear of man.
d. Ex. 32:22-24 – Out of fear of the people, Aaron made golden calves to worship. It became a snare unto them for generations.
e. I Sam. 15:24 – Out of fear of the people, Saul obeyed their voice and spared the best of the sheep and cattle, contrary to God’s Word.
f. And what about those who bowed before the image of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon in the plain of Dura? Surely there were more than just three men there who did not really believe that the idol was worth worshipping. But only three did NOT allow the fear of man to control them. The others fell into the snare.
g. John 9:19 – Out of fear of the Jewish leaders, the parents of the man born blind refused to answer.
h. Gal. 2:11-13 – Peter, out of fear of “them of the circumcision” (legalists from Jerusalem) forsook eating with the Gentiles and demonstrated hypocrisy. And others followed his action. Many were snared.
4. The fear of man keeps some from trusting in Christ.
a. Fear of man and trusting in God are often seen as opposites. Only one can control us at any given moment.
b. John 12:42-43 – Some of the rulers who believed on Christ refused to confess Him publically out of a fear of man. They feared being cast out of the synagogue—and the stigma and persecution attached to that.
c. Fear is an extremely powerful tool. It can control behavior.
25b But whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
A. Whoso putteth his trust in the Lord…
1. TRUST:
a. This also is a very common term. It means to trust; to believe; to have confidence in; to rely upon; to be (feel) safe and secure.
b. It also has a related meaning –
2. The contrast in this proverb is between FEAR and TRUST.
a. This term is used in Psalm 112:7-8 – “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. 8His heart is established, he shall not be afraid…”
b. It is translated “bold” (confidence) in Proverbs 28:1 – “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.”
B. Shall be Safe
1. SAFE:
a. This word means to be high, lifted up.
b. It often has the sense of being lifted up to a position of strength and power.
c. It also has the sense of being protected; cared for; defended.
• Ps. 20:1 – “The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee…”
• Prov. 18:10 – “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” (The same term is translated “safe” here. And notice that the safety comes from running to God – the strong tower. The tower lifts them up to a place of safety and protection.)
2. The one who trusts in God (while facing the fear of man) shall be SAFE.
a. The one who stays close to God and honors Him will be safe—regardless of what man may threaten to do.
b. This is the LIE of the devil with respect to his bait and snare.
• Satan seeks to ensnare believers by causing us to fear what men will DO to us if we practice our faith.
• Satan desires the fear of retaliation, imprisonment, beheading, etc., to cause the believer to stop practicing his faith and start walking in lockstep with the world system.
• For Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, it meant “bow down to the image” or be cast into a fiery furnace.
• For the pastors today (more likely tomorrow – the next generation), it may mean “stop preaching against homosexuality” or be cast into prison. That is already the law in Canada. It will be coming here soon.
c. But Satan’s lie is this: “if you abandon your beliefs and bow down to my ways, then you will be safe.”
d. Contrary to that, God says, “whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.”
e. And it boils down to “whom do you believe?”
• Our actions demonstrate whom we believe.
• The actions of Daniel’s three friends indicated that they believed God. They refused to fall for the snare – the lure and the trap of the devil.
f. But God’s way of safety is not always the same.
• Sometimes God’s safety comes by delivering us OUT OF the persecution (avoiding the persecution)…
• Sometimes safety comes by delivering us THROUGH the persecution (being cast into the furnace but rescued)…
• And sometimes it comes by EXPERIENCING the persecution and being killed (and going to the safety and security of heaven forever).
• But regardless of the means, God’s way results in safety in the end. Satan’s way results in a snare.
3. It is an ongoing battle of the two fears for the believer.
a. Will we choose to live in the fear of man or in the fear of God?
b. Will we choose to live our lives to please men and receive earthly rewards from man… or will we lives our lives to please God and receive heavenly rewards in the life to come?
c. The fear of man is a real and legitimate fear.
• In some places men threaten to kill believers… to kill their families… to burn down their homes… to cause them to lose their jobs… to run them out of town… to be tortured or beheaded.
d. Then there is the fear of God—the fear of displeasing God.
e. If we choose to fear man, we will discover that it is an enslaving fear. MAN will control your will and your soul. It is a miserable life of a cowardly loser.
f. If we choose to fear God, there is FREEDOM of mind, heart, and conscience—even if our body is imprisoned. That is a life of peace and rest of mind and heart.
g. The Lord Jesus challenged His disciples—and us—to consider the seriousness of this choice: “But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him.” (Luke 12:5)
h. Psalm 118:6 – “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?”
i. Psalm 27:1 – “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
j. Psalm 56:4 – “In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.”
k. Psalm 56:11 – “In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.” (quoted in Hebrews 13:6)
Proverbs 29:26
The Ruler’s Favor
Introduction:
1. This is a simple proverb that contrasts confidence in the ruler as compared to confidence in God.
2. It is similar in this sense to the previous proverb, which also contrasted the fear of man vs. trust in the Lord.
26a Many seek the ruler’s favour
1. The expression literally reads, “many seek the face of a ruler.”
2. SEEK:
a. Seek defined: To search or look for; to inquire; make request; seeking someone’s presence or aid.
b. I Kings 10:24 – “And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.”
c. Amos 8:12c – “they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD…”
3. FAVOUR:
a. Defined: Literally it means face.
• However, it was most often used in a figurative, idiomatic sense.
• Face was used as a substitute for the person.
• To be “in the face” of a person meant that his face was looking towards you. You have his attention. He is considering your situation… your life.
• A related idiom was to have someone’s face shine on you. That indicated that he was looking upon you in a favorable way… happily rather than angrily.
b. Num. 6:24-26 – The meaning is well illustrated in its usage here – speaking of God’s face. It was desirable to have God’s face shine upon you.
• “The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: 25The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”
c. Thus, seeking the face of the ruler (king) did indicate seeking his favor, as the KJV translates it. It is seeking his approval. It is seeking to have the ruler consider you… consider your situation… your case… and it implies to consider it in a favorable sense.
4. Our proverb speaks of many seeking the face of an earthly ruler.
a. They were seeking the face of the ruler, just as many sought to Solomon—to hear his wisdom.
b. Seeking the face of the ruler was often done to seek his favor, his permission to do something, to seek his approval on a project or a business endeavor, etc.
c. Sometimes subjects sought to the ruler in a legal dispute – such as the two mothers, each of whom claimed the living baby was theirs.
d. Sometimes people sought the presence of the king, simply because being in the presence of the king enhanced their own esteem in their own eyes, and in the eyes of others.
• It increased their prestige.
• It was seen as a way to climb the corporate or royal ladder to be in favor with the king.
• It looked great on a résumé.
e. There were many various motives that drove men to seek the face or favor of the king—some good, some not so good.
f. Often they were selfish… like Haman seeking the favor of the king for his own personal advancement… with no thought for the good of the king or the country.
g. Sometimes, they were noble.
• Esther sought the face of the king in order to save her people from genocide. But it was risky. There was no guarantee that she would receive his favor. She could have been executed.
• Esther 4:16 – “And so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.”
• Thankfully, Esther not only sought, but received favor from the king.
• Esther 5:2 – “And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand.”
5. It is risky seeking the favor of a king.
a. Seeking their favor implies that you are relying upon the goodness of the earthly king to resolve your problem or issue.
b. You are trusting in his wisdom to bring about a good resolution to the issue.
c. It implies that your confidence is in the king.
d. Isaiah 31:1 – There is a “woe” for those who trust in Egypt (the favor of the Egyptian king) to resolve their issue.
e. “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong…”
f. It involves TRUSTING in the strength and power of the king and his “horses” (military might).
g. Our proverb tells us that MANY people do it. They seek the ruler’s face and favor to resolve their problems.
h. But even if they get it, it is unreliable – for kings are often fickle and change their minds.
i. As Christians, we can be guilty of this.
• We can rely on the government to bring about a happy resolution to issues of persecution in this country.
• The confidence past generations of Christians had may not be very reliable in years to come. Don’t put your trust in the king… or the president—regardless of his political party—to do what is right for the believer. The world system is not a friend to grace.
• We may no longer be able to have confidence that the Supreme Court will uphold righteousness… will uphold Christian values.
• The king and his court (the three branches of American government) are not reliable sources of help or favor for the Christian.
• In fact, relying upon man’s help may prove to be disastrous.
• Isa. 36:6 – “Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.”
26b But every man’s judgment cometh from the LORD.
1. The second part of the proverb tells us where TRUE justice comes from: the LORD. (Jehovah-God)
2. Judgment defined: Justice; the act of deciding a legal dispute or case; a state or condition of fairness in disputes; doing what is right.
3. The fact that Solomon uses the term for “justice” in the second part of the proverb indicates that the one seeking the ruler’s favor was seeking “justice.”
a. Perhaps it was a case of fairness in the marketplace.
b. Perhaps it was a case of respect of persons or prejudice.
c. Perhaps it was a case of corruption or theft.
d. It could have been a case of unfair business practices that were pushing a certain group into bankruptcy.
e. Perhaps the foreigners in the land (aliens; immigrants), who should have been afforded a legal protection according to the Law of Moses, were being cheated or abused.
f. Perhaps the wealthy landowners were keeping back the salaries of their workers—as James describes.
g. Or perhaps there were Jews living in pagan lands who were being persecuted and discriminated against.
h. There was a natural tendency to seek the favor of the king and trust in the king (government officials) to right every wrong.
4. For countless reasons, people often sought the face (favor) of the king.
a. They wanted the king on their side – to hear their side of the story.
b. They wanted the face of the king to shine upon them and treat them favorably.
c. Who wouldn’t? It is certainly not wrong to seek the king’s favor.
d. Human government was established by God for that very reason – to bring about some sort of a sense of justice and fairness in the land… in ANY land.
e. Rom. 13:1-4 – The powers that be are ordained of God to execute justice.
f. It is not wrong to seek the king’s favor… to utilize the legal system… to participate in government.
5. But the point of our proverb is that if you want REAL JUSTICE, then seek the LORD.
a. How much better is it to seek the favor of the Ruler of rulers.
b. Prov. 21:1 – “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”
c. God can turn the king’s heart. God reigns OVER any earthly ruler.
d. Haman had the king’s favor—but it didn’t do him much good. God overruled.
e. God is the only One who is reliably and consistently fair and just in all He does.
f. Trusting in a ruler is trusting in a sinner. He may be helpful on some occasions… or he may not.
g. It may be like leaning on a broken reed—that will pierce your hand and provide no support when you need it.
h. Psalm 146:3 – “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.”
i. Psalm 118:9 – “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.”
j. But trusting in the Lord we will never be let down.
k. The bottom line: if you’re in trouble, if you are facing injustice, if you are being treated unfairly, go to God. You will get justice from Him.
roverbs 29:27
The Just and the Unjust:
An Abomination to Each Other
Introduction:
1. Here we have a simple proverb that speaks to the degree of antagonism between the just and the unjust.
2. Solomon is contrasting two different kinds of men: just and unjust.
3. The just man is one who has been justified by faith, like father Abraham. (Gen. 15:6)
4. The unjust man is an unrighteous man who has not been justified by faith.
5. It is essentially a contrast of a believer and an unbeliever.
a. In the Old Testament, an individual was either saved or lost—just as today.
b. However, the concept of salvation was not as fully revealed in those days as it is today.
c. Often the contrast between the two was seen in their manner of life.
d. This is true today too. The book of James teaches this. If a man has genuine faith, then it will result in good deeds—a transformed lifestyle.
6. Thus, the contrast in our proverb is also between the two different kinds of lifestyles that result from being justified or not.
a. A just man leads a righteous life. His life is characterized by justice, and right behavior.
b. An unjust man leads an unrighteous life. He does not do things the right way. He is unjust and unrighteous in his walk and lifestyle.
27a An unjust man is an abomination to the just:
1. In the first part of the proverb, Solomon speaks about the attitude of the believer towards the unbeliever: he is an abomination!
a. This is exceedingly harsh language.
b. The term translated “abomination” means that which is especially repulsive, detestable, or abhorrent.
c. Certain actions were called “abominable” in the Old Testament, such as idolatry (Isa. 41:24), homosexual behavior (Lev. 18:22), child sacrifice (Deut. 12:31), and even eating unclean foods (Deut. 14:3).
d. Thus, to say that an unjust man is an “abomination” to the just is using particularly harsh language.
e. The unjust man is detestable to the just man. The godly love righteousness and hate iniquity. (Heb. 1:9a)
2. I understand Solomon to mean here that it is the unjust behavior of the unjust man that is the abomination.
a. As we mentioned earlier, the “unjust” man is a man whose life is characterized by injustice or unrighteousness.
b. In other words, it speaks of an unbeliever… and in particular, his unrighteous manner of life.
c. The unjust behavior of an unjust man might include the following:
• A life characterized by dishonesty
• A life characterized by drunkenness
• A life characterized by immorality
• A life characterized by lying
• A life characterized by theft
• A life characterized by bigotry
• A life characterized by gossip
• A life characterized by foul language
• A life characterized by sin in general
3. An unjust man (a life characterized by sin) is an abomination to the just (a man justified by faith).
a. There will always be conflicts between the two. This is a conflict as old as the hills.
b. Those who are trying to do things the right way will always detest those who are trying to cheat, cut corners, and be dishonest.
c. It is a conflict between light and darkness, right and wrong, morality and immorality, virtue and vice, the just and the unjust.
d. Those who seek to maintain law and order detest those who seek to undermine law and order.
e. Those who seek to honor God and His Word detest the actions of those who seek to reject God and His Word.
f. Those who seek to uphold standards of decency in society detest those who seek to destroy all standards of decency.
g. Believers who seek to lead “a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” will abhor the behavior of those who seek to undercut them and bring on persecution (I Tim. 2:1-2).
4. We have all been irritated by the behavior of ungodly and unjust men in the world—and in the church!
a. In the church, we are commanded to reject their fellowship if they refuse to repent.
b. But God did not give the church any authority in the world—not until the Kingdom comes.
c. Today, we have to deal with this kind of injustice and unrighteousness day by day.
d. It is part of life in a cursed earth. We expect it. We suffer through it. We are sometimes hurt by it. There may be nothing we can do about it, but just endure it. We seek to stay away from it and not become entangled in it or contaminated by it.
e. But as long as it exists, the believer still detests it.
f. This is just a fact of life that Solomon lays out for us.
27b And he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.
1. There is another fact of life in this proverb: that the believer is equally detested by the unbeliever.
2. And again, it is our behavior that they detest.
a. They don’t care if we believe—as long as we don’t LIVE what we believe.
b. The world doesn’t persecute every believer… only those who LIVE GODLY in Christ Jesus. (II Tim. 3:12)
c. If our behavior is like that of the world, then the world won’t hate us. The carnal Christian is not detestable to the world, only the spiritual believer.
d. I Cor. 2:15 – “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.” The world cannot understand the spiritual man. Therefore, the world hates us. We don’t fit in with their system. They detest the spiritually minded man who LIVES his faith.
e. John 7:7 – The world detested Jesus Christ: “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.”
f. The world doesn’t care if we believe; as long as we don’t speak up; as long as we keep silent and keep our beliefs to ourselves.
3. Jesus put it this way: “every one that doeth evil hateth the light.”
a. John 3:20 – Darkness hates the light because light exposes darkness.
b. And yet, that is exactly the reason why God put us here in the world – to shine in the midst of darkness… that others might come to the light.
c. A few will come, but for the most part, darkness hates the light; or to use Solomon’s expression, “he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.”
4. The Bible is pretty clear: the unsaved world hates the godly believer. Our lifestyle and values are an abomination to them.
a. There is a clear line of demarcation between the two.
b. James 4:4 – “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
c. Luke 6:26 – “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”
d. They won’t speak well of us. They detest godly behavior.
e. This is an ancient resentment. Light exposes darkness and the darkness hates anything that shines a light on them.
5. This is one of the reasons for the great divide in our country at this point in our history.
a. Our country, its morals, and its culture are changing.
b. Years ago, everyone was pretty much agreed that we are a nation built on Judeo-Christian values. That resulted in relative unity. There have always been disagreements on issues, but on our core values, there was much agreement. It went without saying.
c. But that is not the case anymore. The Judeo-Christian values upon which our nation was built is no longer the unwritten law of the land. It is being challenged and rejected… piecemeal.
d. Today, progressives and conservatives have very different value systems.
• While some of the differences are just economic and political, other differences are social and moral matters.
• On some of these values there really is no room for compromise:
» The role of husband and wife
» The gay lifestyle
» Spanking children
» The abortion issue
• Our country is divided on these issues—issues that cannot be compromised democratically.
• There is no half way point on the issue of abortion for those who believe it is taking an innocent life.
• There is no compromise on the gay lifestyle. The Bible calls it an abomination. The believer can never put his stamp of approval on the lifestyle and accept it as “good.”
• There is no agreement on the role of the husband and wife. The Bible is clear that the husband is the head of the household—and the world hates that view.
e. The nation has been in agreement on these vital moral issues right from its beginning. But that is now changing.
f. There is a massive movement in our land to change our morals and values.
• Why? Because “he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.”
• Because liberals are pushing so hard on these issues, it has created a huge divide that is seen in the way Congress functions.
• There is a growing movement of people who HATE what we stand for… what we believe… the way we live.
• We are the only obstacle in their way—and they hate us.
• I expect that to intensify in our day and to diminish in the next generation. Why diminish? Because by then, our views will be considered archaic and evil.
• Isa. 5:20 – “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness.”
• Those who stand for the values that built this nation are called “evil.”
• To prove it, just try this:
» In a conversation at the office, just try mentioning that you believe the husband is the head of the wife and the wife is to submit to him. You will experience Proverbs 29:27.
» Try stating your belief that an unwed couple living together are living in sin and “whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” You will experience Proverbs 29:27.
» Try stating that homosexuality is sin and a perverted lifestyle. You too will experience Proverbs 29:27.
• You will be considered “evil” to be so bigoted and judgmental. You will be detested—an abomination in their sight.
6. The principle of Proverbs 29:27 has been true since the fall.
a. But it is intensifying in our generation. Things are changing.
b. We need to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might – we need to be strengthened with might in the inner man to be able to face these changes and stand in the evil day.
c. The more Christianity is removed from our national conscience, the more abominable we will be in the eyes of the world.
d. But not to fear—what matters is what God thinks of us.
e. Mal. 3:16-17 – “Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. 17And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels.”
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 30
Proverbs 30:1-3
Introduction to the Words of Agur
1 The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal
1. In chapter 30, we enter into a new section of the book of Proverbs.
2. The author identifies himself as “Agur.”
a. Agur is unknown; there is no record in the Bible or in history.
b. And he is the son of Jakeh, about whom we also know nothing.
c. He is writing to Ithiel and Ucal: two other completely unknown men.
3. Some believed that Solomon was the author and was going by another name, Agur. (Solomon did go by the name Jedediah in the Scriptures. Having two names is not unusual.)
4. The ancient rabbis interpreted these names allegorically.
a. Hebrew names had meaning. Thus, some believed that Solomon wrote these chapters using an allegorical name for himself.
b. One commentator (John Philips) wrote that Agur meant “gatherer,” indicating that Solomon was a gatherer of proverbs.
c. He said that Jakeh meant “obedient or pious” and referred to David, his father.
d. Ithiel means “God is with me” and Ucal means “I shall be able.”
e. That view interprets as meaning that the author was a “gatherer or proverbs” who wrote proverbs because God was with him and thus he was able to do so.
f. That seems like a bit of a stretch and it requires using a different method of Bible interpretation.
5. It is far better to take the Scriptures at face value and acknowledge that this section of Proverbs was written by an unknown man.
a. We really don’t know for sure all the authors of Scripture.
b. Nor do we need to know the author. What Agur wrote (through inspiration) is far more important than who he was.
c. In fact, what Agur writes in the next few verses makes this very point: he is nothing; but God, the Revealer of truth is to be exalted.
2 Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.
1. Agur sees himself as “more brutish” than any other man.
2. Brutish:
a. Defined: Senseless; stupid; lacking understanding; stubborn; beast-like.
b. Used in Ps. 73:22 – “So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.” Asaph saw himself in the same way.
c. Ps. 92:6 – “A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.”
d. The brutish man is linked to a fool, an ignorant person, and a beast.
3. Agur is obviously using self-deprecating language concerning himself.
a. He sees himself as a man who realizes how brutish (foolish; ignorant; senseless) he really is.
b. Isaiah saw himself as being “unclean” when he stood before God and got a glimpse of God’s glory (Isa. 6:5).
c. In a sense, this is like the apostle Paul referring to himself as the “chief of sinners.” Certainly there were other men who were more sinful than the apostle, but Paul was so acutely aware of his sin, that he didn’t see it that way. To him, his sin was the worst of all—because of his sensitivity to sin.
d. Evidently, in a similar sense, Agur also saw himself as the “chief of ignorant men.” Of course, there were many other men more ignorant and brutish than he was, but that’s not how he saw himself. He was acutely aware of how far short of the glory of God he fell.
e. Some may think of these expressions as hyperbole (an exaggeration to drive home a point). In a sense, of course it was. But I think these men really believed it… because of their sensitivity to God and spiritual things.
f. The closer our communion with Christ, the more sensible we become of our failures, ignorance, and sin.
g. This is true humility.
4. Agur also stated that he had “not the understanding of a man.”
a. This is another way of saying that he was brutish – ignorant, stubborn, and foolish as a beast… an animal… less than a man.
b. He states that he is more brutish than any man; and that he has less understanding than any man.
c. He saw himself as the bottom of the barrel when it came to wisdom and understanding.
d. There may have been a twinge of irony (and sarcasm) in Agur’s words as well.
• He had probably heard many men making grandiose claims of divine wisdom and supernatural knowledge.
• False prophets claimed that all the time. So did the pagan wizards and soothsayers.
• Agur did not have the innate wisdom and knowledge that others claimed to have.
• He had less understanding than such men.
• He realized how little wisdom he really had.
e. When you stop and think of it, what Agur states here is actually a sign of wisdom and understanding.
• Fools claim to have all the answers. Ignorant men think they know it all.
• But wise men are aware of how much they DON’T know. They are sensitive to their ignorance.
• Teenagers think they know more than their parents. By the time they hit 30, they realize that there really is a lot that they don’t know… and that their parents were not so foolish as they used to think.
• I take Agur’s words as an expression of humble wisdom as opposed to arrogant folly expressed by other men.
5. It is also possible that “I have not the understanding of a man” means that he cannot know what is IN man, namely, in his heart.
a. Therefore, how much less could he know the mind and heart of God… without revelation.
b. This would be similar in meaning to the words of Paul in I Cor. 2:11 – “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” (Paul quoted Isa. 64:4)
c. In this passage, Agur clearly abases himself, and according to Prov. 11:2b: “with the lowly is wisdom.”
3 I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.
1. In verse three, Agur is speaking about wisdom and knowledge.
a. However, he is speaking about a particular kind of wisdom and knowledge – DIVINE wisdom and knowledge.
b. This is wisdom that comes down from above. (Jas. 3:17) This stands in contrast to wisdom from below which is earthly, sensual, and demonic. (Jas. 3:15)
c. This is a knowledge of the Holy One, namely, the knowledge of God… who He is… His Word… and His ways.
d. This kind of knowledge comes only through supernatural revelation from God Himself.
2. I take the words of verse three as a claim that Agur does not have any special knowledge or wisdom about God IN HIMSELF.
a. This is actually a claim of divine inspiration.
b. It is not that Agur has no wisdom or knowledge in the absolute sense, but rather, whatever wisdom and knowledge he has did not come through natural means.
c. He did not “learn” it in a book somewhere. No man taught him these things. He wasn’t trained in a school where he gained this knowledge of God.
d. This is Agur’s way of saying that the wisdom and knowledge he is about to share is (to use the words of James) “from above.”
e. They are “words of God” – words that came from God through divine inspiration (see verse 5).
3. Agur’s words in Prov. 30:3 are parallel in thought to what Paul wrote in I Corinthians 2:9-10a – “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.”
a. The deep things of God that Paul recorded were not truths that originated in Paul.
b. His eyes did not observe these truths through scientific observation.
c. His ears never heard these words spoken at a conference or seminar.
d. Neither did these truths originate in his own heart or mind. They didn’t just pop into his mind.
e. Rather, they were REVEALED to Paul by the Spirit of God.
4. This seems to be parallel to what Agur was saying. The wisdom he was about to record was not anything he “learned” at a seminar put on by the wise men of his day.
a. They were not truths that he instinctively knew.
b. Agur introduced this thought by means of self-abasement.
c. He was nothing special. He was a nobody. He didn’t have any special insight into life that he learned or observed.
d. In fact, he was more brutish than other men. He wasn’t claiming to be personally brilliant.
e. Though he was the human “pen” God used to record this wisdom, he was not the source of the wisdom.
5. This thought is also parallel to the words of Peter in II Pet. 1:20-21.
a. Vs. 20 – no prophecy of Scripture (Agur referred to his words as prophecy – a burden from God) is of any “private” interpretation (unloosing).
b. In other words, no portion of Scripture was recorded as a result of the prophet’s own personal or private “interpretation” of life. Prophecy did not originate with the prophet.
c. Vs. 21 – Prophecy did not come about by the will of man (the prophet), but rather by God – who gave revelation from above for the prophet to record.
d. God’s spokesmen spoke and wrote not out of their own insight and personal observation, but they wrote as they were moved and directed by the Spirit of God.
e. Prophecy (and all Scripture) did not originate with the prophet, but came down from above – from the Spirit of God.
6. Agur introduces his writings (what he calls prophetic burden) by stating in the most emphatic way by stating that he himself was no one special.
a. The wisdom and knowledge of God he records did not originate with him, but (by implication) it originated with God.
b. His wisdom and knowledge would be worthless.
c. But “every word of (from) GOD is pure…” (vs.5)
d. This humble, self-deprecating man bends over backwards to make sure no one misses this point: what he is about to say is worth listening to because it came straight from God.
e. It doesn’t matter who the human author is.
f. In the verses following this introduction (after abasing himself) Agur exalts the Lord and lifts him up. This too is the way of wisdom.
Proverbs 30:4a
Who is Like God?
Introduction:
1. Chapter 30 (or at least the beginning of it) is attributed to “Agur” – an unknown author.
2. He introduces himself by stating that he was more brutish (dull; ignorant) than any man and that he lacked understanding.
3. He was acknowledging that he knows nothing about God or spiritual things from his own understanding. He is totally dependent upon the Lord for that. He understood that true wisdom comes down from above – from God.
4. He saw himself as the bottom of the barrel. He saw himself as nothing special.
5. At the end of verse three, he states that he does not have any special wisdom in himself, nor does he have any special knowledge of “the Holy” or “the Holy One,” namely, God.
6. This acknowledgement is actually the beginning of true wisdom: humility before God… humbling of self before the Almighty.
7. These words concerning his own personal self-abasement are followed by a natural corollary: an exaltation of God.
a. He exalts the Lord in vs. 5 by means of a series of rhetorical questions.
b. The first four all have the same answer: God.
Four Questions About the Lord
1. 4a Who hath ascended up into heaven or descended?
a. The obvious answer is God.
b. Of course, Enoch and Elijah ascended into heaven. But they did not do so on their own. They did not “will” themselves into heaven. It was the Lord who was behind that.
c. Psalm 103:20 – Angels also ascended into heaven, but they too did so at God’s command.
d. The Angel of the Lord also descended to earth and then ascended into heaven. However, that Angel was the Lord – a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ the Lord.
e. To the Old Testament saints, the answer to this question might have been a mystery. Who did Agur really mean? Who is the One who descended down from heaven and ascended back up to heaven?
f. John 3:13 – The Lord Jesus answered that question with finality. It was HE who descended and then ascended!
• No man (or angel) hath done it but He alone.
• Christ did so at His own prerogative… of His own volition.
• Elijah or the angels did so at God’s command and by God’s power.
• Christ had the ability and sovereign right to do so Himself.
• Gen. 28:12 – “And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.”
» The ladder was an illustration of the “means” angels used to get from heaven to earth and back.
» In the Old Testament, angels descended to earth on a mission for God to communicate truth or minister to men. Then they ascended back up to heaven.
» The holy angels act at God’s command.
• John 1:51 – Christ told Nathaniel that he would see angels ascending and descending upon the “Son of Man.” Jacob saw the angels ascending upon a Ladder. Later they would be seen ascending upon the Son of Man, Christ. Christ was the true “ladder” or channel of communication between heaven and earth.
• Even though angels descended to earth and ascended to heaven, they did so because of Christ – the Son of Man.
• John 3:13 – “No man (nothing – no man or angel) hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man.” Only Christ can do that on His own.
g. Agur’s question was finally and definitively answered: the Lord – and in particular, the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. 4a Who hath gathered the wind in His fists?
a. The second question asks who has the power to sovereignly control the wind?
b. Again, the answer is the Lord. God, as Creator and Sovereign, controls the wind.
c. Rev. 7:1 – John speaks of four angels holding the four winds of the earth and controlling whether they blow or not.
• But as you read through the book of Revelation, it is the Lord who is in control of all events.
• He opens the seals and trumpets and pours out the bowl judgments.
• Rev. 9:13-14 – God orders these angels to act: what to do and when to do it.
• Angels act at God’s command.
d. The Lord sovereignly and providentially controls the winds.
• He controls the winds that bring a refreshing cool breeze.
• He controls the winds that result in tornados and hurricanes.
• He controls the winds that carry the rains and spread seeds and sail ships.
• The scientist will scoff at this. They see only natural causes for everything (heating and cooling of the atmosphere).
• The Christian does not deny the “natural causes” that affect the winds. However, it is the Lord who controls those “natural” causes too. He is the One who created the sun and sends out the warmth. The Creator controls and sustains every detail of His creation.
3. 4a Who hath bound the waters in a garment?
a. This question relates to the waters on the earth. It suggests that the waters are “bound.”
b. Bound: Wrapped up; tied up; fastened in place; stored up.
c. In other words, the waters (lakes, oceans, seas) have been put in place, and they have boundaries that are being “kept” or bound up… kept in their place.
d. The use of such a term (bound) indicates the author THINKS in terms of God’s providential control.
e. Agur may have had in mind a time when God had the waters above the earth “bound” up as a vapor canopy to provide mild, calm, comfortable weather worldwide.
f. Job 12:15 – “Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.” Here Job speaks of God’s sovereign control of the waters. He either sends them out or holds them back.
g. The flood in the days of Noah illustrates how God had “bound” the waters above the earth and held them there; and then He sovereignly “released” them upon the earth resulting in a worldwide flood.
h. Henry Morris noted that there is enough water on the earth today, that if the mountains were leveled and the earth’s surface was flattened, that water could cover the earth again.
i. Gen. 9:11 – Thankfully, God has promised that He will not flood the whole earth again.
j. Psalm 104:8 – “Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. 7At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. 8They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them. 9Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.”
k. Solomon also spoke of God’s wisdom as having set the boundaries for the waters. (Prov. 8:28-29) “When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: 29When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth.”
l. Agur’s question was “Who hath bound the waters?” The answer is the LORD.
4. 4a Who hath established all the ends of the earth?
a. Once again, the obvious answer is the LORD.
b. Agur’s questions implied so far that God sovereignly controls the winds and the waters. Now he implies that God controls the land masses as well.
c. Established: To make firm; to cause to stand; to lift up; to establish.
d. In other words, who put the all the land masses in their place?
e. You don’t have to read very far in the Bible to find out the answer to this question.
f. Gen. 1:1 – “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
g. Isa. 48:13 – “Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.” God answers this one Himself. “My hand did it!”
h. God set the bounds of the waters; He set the bounds of the land masses (continents) too.
5. These questions force his readers to think about the greatness, sovereignty, and omnipotence of God.
a. It forces us to think of Him as being exalted above all… Sovereign Lord of the universe and every detail in the universe.
b. In verses 2-3 Agur acknowledged his ignorance and weakness. Now he acknowledges God’s wisdom and sovereign power.
c. And what an incredible contrast between our ignorance and weakness and God’s omniscience and omnipotence!
d. For the believer, abasing self and exalting God go together—always.
e. His questions are reminiscent of the questions in Job 38-39, only in Job, it was the Lord asking the questions… forcing Job to think about how infinite in power and wisdom God really is.
f. The rhetorical questions God asked Job focused on who God is—and put Job in his place.
g. Job 38:4-6 – “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof…?”
h. Agur’s questions are also similar to those raised by the prophet in Isa. 40:12-21.
i. The point in each instance is that when we really focus on who God is, and it sinks in, then it puts us in our place. We all would have to say with Agur, “Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man.”
j. The complaints end. The questions end.
k. We can put all of our worries aside and realize that God is in control. Our troubles and tribulations don’t seem so big and insurmountable after all.
l. And therefore we don’t have to worry. We can rest in Him and trust in Him. After all, He’s God. Nothing is too hard for the Lord.
Proverbs 30:4b
What Is His Son’s Name?
Introduction:
1. This is a fascinating section in Proverbs. Agur introduces his writings by acknowledging how little he really knows about God. He recognizes apart from God’s revelation he is like a beast with no wisdom and no knowledge of the Holy One.
2. In verse four, Agur asks six questions. We looked at the first four rhetorical questions last week. They all pertained to the knowledge of who God is. They all imply God’s greatness.
3. The last two questions also deal with the knowledge of who God is. What is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?
4b What is His name?
1. Here Agur asks “What is God’s name?”
a. Ex. 3:13-15 – It’s a good question. Abraham asked the same thing.
b. By asking what God’s name is, Agur was in effect asking for information concerning God’s character.
c. In the Old Testament, one’s name spoke of one’s reputation, character, status, his nature.
d. For example, Christ has a name that is above every name.
e. Agur wanted to know more about who God is… about His nature, His Person, His attributes, and His character.
2. God’s names reveal who He is and what He is like.
a. Thou God seest me (Gen. 16:13) Hagar understood God as the One who sees her, her needs, and her situation.
b. The Eternal God (Deut. 33:27)
c. Rock (Psalm 18:2)
d. Abba Father (Rom. 8:15)
e. A Consuming Fire (Heb. 12:29)
f. El Shaddai (Gen. 17:1) He is the Almighty God
g. Jehovah (Gen. 2:4) The Self-Existent One
h. Jehovah Jireh (Gen. 22:14) The Lord provides
i. Jehovah Shalom (Judges 6:24) The Lord is Peace
j. Jehovah Tsidkenu (Jer. 23:6) The Lord our Righteousness
k. Jehovah Raah (Ps. 23) The Lord My Shepherd
l. El Elyon (Gen. 14:18) The Most High God
3. There are many other names of God in the Scriptures as well. Each one reveals a little more about His Person and about His attributes.
a. It is no wonder that the Lord Jesus taught the disciples to pray, “Hallowed be thy Name.”
b. His name(s) was how man came to know God.
c. Agur’s question, “What is His Name?” implies much more than we might think.
d. Remember that he began this chapter by acknowledging that on his own (apart from supernatural revelation) he has no “knowledge of the Holy” One, namely, God.
e. He acknowledges what we all ought to acknowledge – unless God reveals Himself to mankind, we could NEVER know Him.
f. He asked the first four rhetorical questions to cause his readers to consider the greatness of this God.
g. Now he asks, “What is His name?” meaning, what more can we know of Him? Has He given us any more names that reveal His attributes?
h. Agur seemed a little embarrassed and perhaps a bit frustrated that he knew so little about God; yet he had a healthy hunger and a thirst to know much more.
i. Obviously, Agur was a believer. He knew the Lord in a saving way. But he (like Paul) had an inner desire to know more. (That I may know Him!)
j. Agur also knew God’s name, Jehovah. That was revealed many years before him through Moses. He knew many other names of God as well.
k. But there was another name that He did not know: the Lord Jesus Christ who was given a name above all names.
l. His question implies that there is more to know about God and His name… and he was right on target. The progress of revelation was not over. God had much more to reveal about Himself and would reveal it in His time.
4b What is His Son’s name?
1. In the Old Testament, the term “son” was often used as a Hebrew idiom meaning, “having the same character or nature as.”
a. “Sons of valor” was an idiom for “valiant men.”
b. “Sons of thunder” was an idiom meaning men with a thunderous nature.
c. “Sons of the prophets” were men who were trained as prophets.
d. This usage of the term “son” was well known to every Jew reading this passage.
e. This Hebrew idiom would be the first thing to pop into their minds as they read this proverb.
f. But remember, that proverbs were designed to cause a man to stop and think.
g. Proverbs were designed to cause a man to ponder something that might seem simple and obvious at first, but upon deeper contemplation its meaning seems to become richer and more profound.
h. We know God’s name, but what is the name of His Son? Has God given any of His attributes to another?
i. The first questions implied that there is NONE like God. No one hath ascended into heaven on his own. No one would gather the winds in his fists. Only God established the ends of the earth. There is no one like Him.
j. What is His Son’s name? Does God have a son? Is there another who has the same nature and attributes as God?
k. This question raises more questions.
l. Every Jew knew that there was only one God and there was NONE like Him.
• Deut. 6:4 – “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.”
• Isa. 45:5 – “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me.”
• The concept of a Triune God was totally foreign to every Old Testament saint.
2. What is His Son’s name?
a. Nevertheless, Agur raises the question.
b. This is not to say that Agur understood the concept of the Trinity. He did not.
c. However, he had a curious mind. He sought to know all he could about God and His character.
d. Agur knew the Scriptures. And like you and me, he found some things in Scripture “hard to be understood”… as Peter found some of Paul’s writings to be difficult to understand. This is common among God’s people.
e. Psalm 2:7 – “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”
f. Evidently this passage was perplexing to Agur. What did David mean by the expression, God’s Son? How could God have a Son? And if He has a Son, what is His name?
g. Psalm 2:12 – “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” What could this possibly mean?
h. The Old Testament does have several “hints” concerning God’s Son, but there was simply not enough information given for a Jew to be able to put it all together and conclude that God exists in three Persons.
i. But the few “hints” that were given in the Old Testament were enigmatic for those godly Jews studying Scripture.
j. They raised questions that seemed impossible to answer.
3. “What is His name, and His Son’s name if thou canst tell?”
a. This question almost seems a bit taunting. It was as if he ended his questions by challenging his readers to come up with a suitable answer, though not really expecting that anyone would be able to do so.
b. Agur did not pretend to know the answer to this question.
c. It is as if he is setting forth a riddle before his readers that he had often thought about but was unable to unravel.
d. He probably wracked his brain thinking about what David meant by God’s “son” but could not come up with a suitable answer.
4. Many years later (after Agur was long gone), the Lord did begin to reveal a little more about what He meant by His “Son.”
a. Isa. 7:14 – “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
b. Here Isaiah revealed (in the form of another riddle) that there would be a “Son” born of a virgin. And what is His Son’s name? Immanuel, meaning GOD with us.
c. God’s Son would be a man (born of a virgin) but He would also be divine (Immanuel).
d. What is His name? The Son would have many other names as well: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isa. 9:6)
e. Judges 13:17-18 – “And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?”
• This is the account of a pre-incarnate appearance of the Son of God… the Second Person of the Godhead.
• When He appeared, Manoah’s natural question was, “What is thy name?”
• But the Lord (the Son) replied, why ask? My name is “Secret.”
• This word is the same Hebrew word as is translated “Wonderful” in Isaiah 9:6.
• Agur DID have the book of Judges. However, he would not have been able to see what we see in Judges 13. And he did not have Isa. 9:6 which would have identified the name “Secret” with God’s Son.
• But both he and Manoah were curious and thirsted to know more about the greatness of who God is.
• And as a side note for us all, to use the words of the songwriter, we should NEVER lose the wonder of it all!
f. Agur did not have this revelation concerning the name of God’s Son; but he longed to know these things.
g. Today, we have MANY more names for the One we now know as the “Son of God.” We have in our hands (the Bible) what Old Testament saints longed for – a fuller revelation of who God is.
h. What we don’t always have is the hunger and thirst to know Him that many Old Testament saints often had.
i. God gave to His Son a name that is above every name.
5. We could learn a lesson from Agur.
a. Agur had a humble concept of himself and his own understanding. He acknowledged that he knew very little about our magnificent God. God is immense beyond our ability to comprehend Him fully. Wisdom recognizes that.
b. We would do well to humble ourselves before Him—to be still and KNOW that He is God. That is enough.
c. Paul put it this way: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33)
d. Strive to know Him more and more—but ultimately, we all have to acknowledge that His ways are far above ours.
e. Just as we are to pray that we might “know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge” (Eph. 3:19), we should also keep on searching to know more of the unsearchable ways and attributes of God.
Proverbs 30:5a
Every Word of God is Pure
Introduction:
1. This proverb speaks of the purity of the Word of God and of the security of those who trust in God.
2. There is also a context to this proverb—something that is not true of most of the proverbs in this book. Most are independent statements of a truth—usually unrelated to what precedes or follows.
3. But this proverb is to be read in light of what precedes it.
5a Every word of God is pure:
1. Context:
a. Chapter 30 was written by a man named Agur.
b. He introduced himself by stating that when it comes to the knowledge of God and spiritual things, he is like a beast; he has less knowledge than most men (vs.2)… or what men claim.
c. He acknowledges that in his life in the world, he has not learned any wisdom from above—nor has he learned the knowledge of the Holy One, God. (vs.3)
d. Then (vs.4), he asked a series of rhetorical questions designed to demonstrate that God is infinitely above us.
• There is no one like God; His ways are above our ways. His thoughts are above our thoughts.
• And unless He reveals truth to us, we don’t even know His name—or His Son’s name.
e. Creation (natural revelation) tells us a few things about Him (i.e., His existence and His power), but it does not and cannot enable us to KNOW Him in a personal way.
• In fact, with natural revelation of the creation alone one might easily make some wrong conclusions about God.
• In the natural world we live in today (and in Agur’s day), apart from divine revelation one might conclude that God created the world as it presently is.
• And what is the world like? It is violent – animals eat other animals; people kill people. It is full of immorality in the sphere of human life. The creation seems to be working against mankind—with its thorns and thistles, storms, droughts, etc. It is full of suffering and death.
• Apart from divine revelation concerning how the world came to be as it is, fallen men could easily misread and misinterpret what they see in the world and wrongly attribute it to God.
• Some of the pagan deities were considered to be evil and cruel and could only be satisfied by human sacrifices to appease their wrath.
2. Then in verse 5, Agur states (in contrast to what he just said) “Every word of God is pure.”
a. Agur did not know much of anything about God on his own. And even when he tried to think of what God must be like, his thoughts were seen through the lens of a fallen creature and were not always accurate.
b. Note that it was not just the concepts or thoughts that were pure, but the very words. (“all Scripture [writings] are given by inspiration…”)
c. However, in contrast to that, EVERY word of God is pure!
d. He has found the answer to all his questions in God’s pure Word.
e. If EVERY word of God is pure, then don’t skip over certain portions of Scripture. Don’t read only the gospels and Psalms. If EVERY word of God is pure, then pay attention to every word and every portion of His word.
f. Yes that even means Leviticus, Ezekiel, and Revelation!
g. II Tim.3:16-17 – “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
3. God has given mankind His WORD.
a. Agur had something more than the natural revelation of creation.
b. He had the supernatural revelation of God’s Word.
c. God revealed Himself through His Word.
d. And apart from God’s revelation of Himself, we would never be able to know for sure what He is like.
e. Through His Word, He can be known.
f. His word reveals His NAME to us.
g. His word reveals His WORKS to us.
h. His word reveals His SALVATION to us.
i. His word reveals everything we need to know about God and spiritual things. It’s “all we need for life and godliness.”
4. Every word of God is PURE.
a. Pure: it means that which has been tested by fire, refined, and thus pure; proven to be pure; perfect; flawless; without blemish;
b. This concept of the Word of God as being tested by fire, refined, and purified is found elsewhere in Scripture.
• Psalm12:6 – “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”
• II Sam. 22:31a – “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried…”
c. The term PURE described:
• These passages use the same Hebrew word (translated pure or tried).
• The term for pure (metals purified by fire – the fire removes the dross and what survives the fires is completely pure – the dross is removed.)
• This does not mean that God’s Word had dross that needed to be removed. Rather, it is a term that speaks of the end product: that which is absolutely pure – free from anything that defiles or corrupts.
d. Every word of God is pure in that it is absolutely pure from any form of corruption.
• The thoughts Agur and others had about God—thoughts that arose in the heart of man are susceptible to corruption.
• Sometimes men think things about God that are partially true—but not entirely. There is still some “dross” in their concept of who God is and how He operates.
• They didn’t get that dross (impurity) from the Scriptures rightly divided. The dross comes from within our own hearts either through (1) a faulty interpretation of Scripture, (2) a faulty application of Scripture, or (3) a wrong assumption based on something read in the Scriptures.
• But none of that dross had its origin in God’s Word.
• Any impurity, anything that is not true, anything that is contradictory did not arise from God’s Word rightly divided, but it came from the distorted imagination of a fallen man.
• God’s word is pure—EVERY word of God is pure.
e. Over the years, in counseling with believers (especially new or untaught believers) I have had to deal with the “dross” in their thinking.
• Believers are often disturbed and perplexed by dross in their thinking.
• They may have an element of truth in their thoughts, but it is corrupted by dross.
• For example, it is not uncommon for folks to come to a pastor and ask, “Why is God doing this to me?”
» There is an element of truth: they understand that God is sovereign.
» But there is dross – an underlying assumption that God is not being loving; He doesn’t care; or He is punishing me for my sins.
» What that believer needs is to have the dross removed from his thinking so that his concept of God is corrected and he no longer views the sovereignty of God as being cruel, heartless, and detached… but instead as an expression of God’s love and care for you and that His overall plan for the ages is good… and that all things are working together for good. (Rom. 8:28)
» On other occasions, all the bad things the believer assumed God was “doing to him or her” were in fact just the natural consequences of their own sin or of their own poor choices in life.
f. It is liberating to learn and believe that every word of God is pure. It can deliver us from wrong thinking… wrong assumptions… and will cause us to study deeply what the Word actually says.
5. Consider the message of Agur to his students:
a. I your teacher am like a beast. I know nothing about God on my own. His ways are beyond me. I don’t even know His name unless He reveals it.
b. But His Word is pure. Go to the Scriptures yourself if you want to know God… if you want to know what He is like.
c. His Word is pure and true and it will never lead you down a wrong pathway.
d. His Word contains no errors; no mixture of truth and falsehood.
e. Therefore, don’t speculate on God and spiritual things; don’t imagine what He is like; go to the Book—His Word is pure.
f. Psalm 119:140 – “Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.”
• Once God’s Word is seen for what it really is, the believer will love it!
• You will discover it is just what your heart had been longing for… searching for [truth] in all the wrong places.
• Once you taste and see that the Lord is good, you will keep coming back to the Word.
Proverbs 30:5b
He is a Shield
5b He is a shield…
Introduction:
1. Chapter 30 was written by a man named Agur, who introduced himself by stating that when it comes to the knowledge of God and spiritual things, on his own, he does not have any wisdom or knowledge of the Holy One, God. (vs. 3)
2. Then (vs .4), he asked a series of rhetorical questions designed to demonstrate that God is infinitely above us. And unless God reveals truth to us, we cannot know Him.
3. Then in verse 5, Agur states (in contrast to what he just said) “Every word of God is pure.”
4. Next (also in vs.5) Agur states that not only is God’s Word pure (tested and reliable), but God Himself is a shield.
God is a Shield
1. Ancient soldiers used two different kinds of shields.
a. There was a large shield which looked very much like a large wooden door.
• The large shields were used almost like a moving wall.
• The soldiers in the front line would connect their “doors” together and form a long line before an advancing army.
• When clipped together, the large shields became a wall for the front line as the soldiers advanced upon their enemy.
• This “moving wall” was a shield for the whole army.
• This wall of shields would stop the arrows and fiery darts that were shot at the army—especially when advancing upon a fortress of some type.
• It was the first line of defense and protected all the soldiers in the front lines.
b. There was also a smaller shield called a buckler.
• The buckler was much smaller and was attached to the arm…usually round.
• The small buckler would be used to protect against the blow of a sword from an enemy in hand to hand combat.
• This was a personal shield for the individual soldier.
• The term translated “shield” in Proverbs 30:5 is the word for the small, personal shield—not the large door shaped shields.
2. The concept of a shield was used in both a literal and a figurative sense in the Scriptures.
a. Clearly, it is used in a figurative sense in Proverbs 30:5.
b. Note that while Agur was speaking about God’s Word, the pronoun changes to “he”, not “it.”
• He switches from talking about the Word of God to talking about the God of the Word.
• The Proverb states that HE (God) is a shield.
c. This is a metaphor. God is not literally a round piece of wood and metal to be strapped around one’s arm.
• But God does provide protection—AS a shield does.
• The main point of this figure of speech is to demonstrate the fact that God protects His people.
• In that sense, God is like a shield.
• God provides protection, safety, and a defense for His people.
• He shelters His people from spiritual danger and from our spiritual foes as a literal shield shelters from physical danger.
God is a Personal Shield
1. The term Agur uses for shield is not the large door-shaped shield that protected the front lines of the army.
a. It is the term for the small, round shield, worn on the arm that protected the individual soldier – called the buckler.
b. The small shield protected the soldier in his own personal battle – in hand to hand combat.
c. The small buckler shield protected the individual soldier from blows of a sword, a battle ax, or an arrow that was aimed at him personally. Every soldier had his own buckler.
d. Yes God protects His people in general; but He also protects each one personally.
God is a Protective Shield by Faith
1. God is a shield to His people; but not to ALL of His people.
a. He is only a Shield to those who trust in Him.
b. God’s protection is offered to all of His people; but this protection is not experienced by all of His people.
2. God is a shield—but only “unto them that put their trust in Him.”
a. God is omnipotent and omnipresent. He is able to function as a shield and a protector at all times to all of His people.
b. But He Himself has limited this offer of protection to those who are consciously trusting in Him.
c. And God knows the heart of each one of us.
d. Prov. 3:5 – “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” We are not to trust in our own wisdom.
e. Jer. 9:23-24 – “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: 24But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.”
f. The fact that someone glories in something indicates that he is trusting in it. People glory in and trust in their own wisdom, might, and riches. They trust in those things for their security and protection.
g. Isa. 31:1-3 – “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD! 2Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity. 3Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.”
h. It is folly to trust in anyone or anything other than the LORD; yet it is ingrained in our fallen nature to do so.
i. God is a shield—but only to those who trust in Him. There is no protection offered to those who trust in other things: self, our own wisdom, might, riches, other men, earthly things, etc.
3. Think of how obvious this truth ought to be.
a. God is a shield. If you believe that… if you are trusting in that fact, then you will stand and remain very close to that Shield and you won’t step out on your own. You would realize that once you step out from under the protective Shield, you are in a vulnerable and dangerous place.
b. The protection God provides for us is available to us at all times, BUT there is a personal responsibility: TRUST.
c. And if you trust in a shield, you will stand behind it. You won’t leave it at home. You won’t cast it aside. You will wear it—religiously!
d. But once we start getting puffed up and begin to think we can handle the battle on our own, we will tend to wander away from the Shield… but we do so at our own peril.
4. Our adversary is just waiting for that moment when we let down our guard and wander out from the protective shield.
a. THEN his fiery darts can harm us. Behind the shield we are safe.
b. Eph. 6:16 – “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
c. Note how Paul describes faith in God as a “shield” that protects us from the darts of the wicked one.
d. That shield of faith is able to quench ALL the fiery darts.
e. But when we are not walking by faith – but are trusting in our own resources, we are vulnerable to those darts and attacks of the Devil.
f. He seeks to devour us but cannot harm us when we walk by faith… unless the Lord gives him permission to do for the purpose of bringing us forth as gold—as with Job.
g. Who knows how many times the devil wanted to sift us as wheat… and because we were close to the Lord… trusting in Him, God did not permit that attack.
h. God’s protective shield is not always recognized by us because we fight against invisible foes… principalities and powers.
i. But it constantly DOES protect us whether we are aware of it or not. God says so.
j. Living a life of faith is like living under a protective shield.
5. Proverbs 30:5 – Note the connection between the Word of God and the God of the Word.
a. It is because God is the Author of and stands behind His Word that every word of God is pure, it can be TRUSTED.
b. There are no errors in anything the Bible says on any subject about which it speaks: promises, history, science, origins, psychology, anthropology, salvation, and prophecy—when rightly divided.
c. When God makes a promise to us we can trust HIM by believing what He says in His Word it—and acting upon it… trusting that God will always honor His Word.
d. No one who trusts in God’s pure word is ever disappointed. God never fails; He always keeps His Word. He always holds up those who take a step of faith based on His Word.
e. Trusting God and trusting His Word is essentially the same thing.
f. When we trust what God says in His Word and act upon it, GOD Himself will be our shield, protector, and shelter.
g. Ps. 91:4 – “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” He is our total defense in our spiritual battles.
5b He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.
Proverbs 30:6
Add Not Thou unto His Words
Introduction:
1. So far in this chapter, we have the words of Agur, who described himself in humble terms, as one who (on his own) had no special knowledge of God. He then listed several rhetorical questions which indicate that God is above us. He can only be known by supernatural revelation.
2. And He has revealed Himself in His Word… and His word is pure—tried, tested, and true. It can be relied upon.
3. And all those who trust in the God of the Word are safe—as one protected by a shield.
4. Agur continues the thought of God’s Word in verse six.
6a Add thou not unto his words
1. The first command Agur gives is “add not thou unto His Words.”
a. It should go without saying, but evidently God knows that it needs to be said. God knows human nature.
b. Adding unto God’s Word was part of the original temptation in the Garden of Eden. Satan added to what God said.
• God said: “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it.” (Gen.2:17)
• Satan said: “Ye shall not eat of it neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” (Gen.3:3)
• Gen. 3:5 – Clearly Satan’s purpose was to confuse Eve into adding to God’s Word and to cause her to think ill of God. (He’s too restrictive! He doesn’t want me to know good and evil; He doesn’t want me to become a god like Him.”
c. Satan’s ministers (false teachers) have been adding to and subtracting from God’s Word ever since.
d. The Jews added the Talmud – doctrines and commandments of men!
e. Then there are the pseudo-gospels added to the New Testament.
f. The Mormons added the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price.
g. The Catholics added the 15 books of the Apocrypha to the Scriptures between the Testaments.
h. The 7th Day Adventists have added the writings of Ellen White.
i. The cults love to add to God’s Word.
j. Even the charismatics today add to God’s Word by asserting that God is still revealing truth to modern-day prophets.
2. This command does not forbid any future GENUINE revelation from God.
a. At the time of the writing of Proverbs, the canon of Scripture was not yet complete.
b. There were more books to be added.
c. There were many more prophets and prophetesses who would receive additional revelation from the Lord.
d. There was a whole New Testament to be written.
e. The command is for the readers not to add to the revelation God has already given.
f. In other words, no one was to add to the writings of Moses or to David’s Psalms. They were part of the Word of God and were not to be altered.
g. But in the future, God would reveal new truth to other prophets and apostles as part of the progress of revelation.
h. But once God’s Word is recorded—it is pure – perfect—and it is not to be tampered with.
i. Man’s responsibility is not to fix God’s word or to try to improve it. Our job is to teach it as is and to obey it!
3. This command has been repeated in Old and New Testaments.
a. Deut. 4:2 – “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.”
b. Deut. 12:32 – “What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.”
c. Rev. 22:18-19 – “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
4. Agur just stated that every word of God is PURE. (vs. 5)
a. Pure means that every word of God is flawless – free from anything that defiles. His Word is perfect.
b. When you take something that is absolutely perfect and make any change whatsoever (add or subtract) you have not improved it; you have corrupted it. It would be like me taking a paint brush and trying to improve the Mona Lisa.
c. You can’t improve on perfection.
d. His point in this section is that while he himself has no knowledge of God, there IS revelation from God in His Word. That Word is pure and flawless. Therefore, don’t tinker with it!
e. It demands acceptance as/is… without any meddling or alterations.
5. Today the danger is manifold:
a. We tend to add our own opinions and speculations and treat them as gospel truth. This has always been the tendency in fallen man.
b. We tend to alter the Word to fit modern science. (Theistic evolution)
c. The Word is altered and adjusted to fit with modern culture. (Gender neutral Bible; Queen James Bible; cultural adaptations—changing Paul’s views on women; etc.)
d. Mark 7:7-13 – The Word is added to when equal authority is given to manmade traditions.
• It takes away from the absolute authority of God’s Word.
• Adding to it actually subtracts from it.
e. If we really want to know God and His ways, then we should consult His Word—not our own ideas or popular theories.
6b Lest he reprove thee
1. God reproves those who think their views are comparable to His.
a. Reprove: To argue against; lodge a legal case against; convict of a crime or offense; accuse.
2. Isa. 55:8-9 – God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. He is omniscient.
a. What total arrogance for a mere man to put his own thoughts on par with God’s Word.
b. It is a form of treason against the absolute authority of the Lord of all, the Sovereign of the universe.
c. Don’t add to the Word of the Sovereign, lest He reprove thee.
3. Ezek. 13:5-8 – God has always been AGAINST those who add to His Word. And no one should ever want God to be against them. It’s not a very even fight. Don’t expect to win.
6c And thou be found a liar.
1. Those arrogant men who dare to put their thoughts on par with God’s thoughts (by adding to His Word) are called “liars” by God Himself.
2. Those who attempt to add to God’s Word with new thoughts, new visions, new revelations, or new and fresh ideas also open the door to endless error.
3. They are guilty of forgery and counterfeiting the Word of God; they are cheaters—liars!
4. Gal. 6:7 – “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Don’t allow yourself to be deceived by liars and cheaters. God is not deceived by them; nor is He mocked. They shall one day reap what they have sown.
5. The Apocryphal books, the pseudo-gospels, and the book of Mormon, and all other such additions to God’s Word are lies written by liars. God uses strong language—but His words are pure… true.
6. Joseph Smith (Book of Mormon) and Ellen White (7th Day Adventist) are liars. And so is every charismatic today who says that God spoke to them and gave them new revelation.
Proverbs 30:7-9
Two Things have I Required of Thee
7 Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: 8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: 9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
Introduction to the Requests (vs. 7)
1. This verse begins by mentioning “two things” the author requested.
a. In fact, the rest of the chapter is divided into proverbial sayings that are arranged in numbers.
b. Vs. 7-9 – the two requests
c. Vs. 15b-16 – two daughters; three things never satisfied
d. Vs. 18-19 – three things which are too wonderful
e. Vs. 21-23 – Four things the earth cannot bear
f. Vs. 24-28 – Four things which are little but wise
g. Vs. 29-31 – Four things that are comely in going
2. In this section the author makes two requests.
a. “Required” is a verb that means to ask (this is its usual translation – 94 times): To beg; to earnestly ask; to demand.
b. It is translated “required,” which is similar to demand, but might lean a little too heavily on the “demand” side of this verb. It is basically a request. Agur is not putting any requirements on the Lord. He is not arrogantly making demands of God.
c. But the author is earnestly requesting (with great emotion and zeal) that God answer him in these two areas.
d. Jonah 4:8 – “The sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die.” The verb translated “wished” is the same verb. You can sense Jonah’s intensity in this request. It is an attitude of longing for an experience.
e. Agur was also longing for an experience – an experience of victory.
f. The requests came as prayer requests to the Lord because he was genuinely concerned about his spiritual life.
g. He made TWO requests because he had two besetting sins over which he longed for victory.
3. “Deny me not!”
a. To make his requests even more earnest, he pleas, “Deny me not!”
b. I take this request to have been made with the utmost reverence and respect for God.
c. It is also a request that comes because of his intense awareness of his own frailty and weakness.
d. These two things go hand in hand: (1) reverence for a holy, Sovereign God and (2) awareness of our own weakness and sin.
e. It is as if he refuses to take no for an answer.
f. This may well be based on his understanding of Scriptural promises concerning prayer.
• Ps. 86:7 – “In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.”
• Ps. 1-2:1-2 – “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee. 2Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.”
4. “Before I die.”
a. This seems to imply that the two requests he made reflected his two most spiritually damaging besetting sins.
b. It sounds like the plea of a man who desperately wants to experience victory over these sins before he dies.
c. He doesn’t want to go to the grave with these sins as his slave master.
d. Once this life is over, opportunity to win spiritual battles and to demonstrate victory over sin has ended.
e. Life on earth is short. Life on earth is God’s university for us. Now is the time to learn the lessons He wants us to learn. Now is the time to demonstrate faith and thus gain the victory.
f. It’s not a bad idea to think of the brevity of life – how little time we have here – and incorporate that into our prayers.
g. Pray in light of the fact that our lives are but a vapor.
h. Therefore, “Oh Lord, we need victory—now!”
Negative Request: Remove far from me vanity and lies: (vs .8)
1. This is a negative request. He is praying for God to take away something negative in his life – the sin of vanity and lying.
2. Vanity defined:
a. This Hebrew word can mean devastation or ruin.
b. It also has the meaning of “emptiness; nothing; falseness; idol.” This seems to be the way it was used in our proverb.
c. In Ex. 23:1 the term is translated “false” report.
d. The term was also used of idols in that they were empty… nothing. They were therefore false.
e. The world system is a lie. It is a falsehood. It offers false hope… false joy… false meaning to life.
f. John Bunyan spoke of the world as “Vanity Fair” – empty and void of anything spiritually substantive.
g. Agur, the author of our proverb evidently had a problem with this kind of vanity – falsehoods…
h. Anyone can get caught up in the vanities of this world.
3. Lies defined:
a. The term translated “lies” differs from vanity (falsehood) in that it speaks to falsehoods that are spoken.
b. The verb means to speak or to say that which is a lie or a falsehood or purposeful deception.
c. Prov. 14:5 – “A faithful witness will not lie…”
4. Both of the terms used imply something that is false and untrue.
a. The term vanity speaks of falsehood in general. It is possible to live a lie. It is possible to think lies, imagine lies, even love lies—all without speaking.
b. The term lies speaks of words spoken to convey a falsehood.
c. By using these two terms, Agur is describing the vanity of falsehood and the sinfulness of lies. Lies can be lived or spoken; they can even be a way of life.
d. False prophets and false teachers lived a lie AND they promoted lies through their preaching.
e. Their words were empty and void of truth. But worse than being empty, they were evil. They were lies.
5. Agur asked the Lord to REMOVE far from him, vanity and lies.
a. Remove: To become far or distant; removed far away; to send far away; to put away off into the distance.
b. This was a personal request to God from the author of this proverb. It indicates that Agur himself had a problem with falsehood and lying.
c. His request was that God would take away his tendency to lie… to stretch the truth… to be dishonest… to embellish… to exaggerate… to leave out important details in a story on purpose… to manipulate… to deceive…
d. Psalm 119:29 – “Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.”
• This is the virtually same prayer request.
• Evidently, the psalmist also had a problem with lying… dishonesty… falsehood.
• Note the way of victory over lies: “thy law” = truth. Fill your mind and heart with truth and learn to love it.
e. Psalm 119:37 – “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.”
• Evidently the psalmist also had a problem with looking unto (with delight) vanity – the empty air bubbles the world offers… which in themselves are deceptive.
• This too was a request for God to enable him to stop beholding vanity… the “things” of the world… and the philosophies of the world.
f. This might be a little discouraging to hear. Godly men who wrote the Bible (which is the Truth we have staked our lives upon) tell us that they have a problem with falsehood and vanity?
g. Can we trust them?
• Prov. 30:5 – Agur just told us that “every word of God is pure.” We can trust in God.
• But what about the people God used to write the Bible? We have two authors of Scripture that admit they had a problem with lying. Can we trust them?
• I would have a problem trusting them if they said that they NEVER had a problem with lying, or exaggerating, or embellishing the truth. These sins are common to man.
• The fact that they admit it tells me that they were honest men who acknowledged that they had a sin nature that was bent towards sinning—like every other human being ever to walk this planet apart from the Lord Jesus.
• These men were wise enough to acknowledge the depth of the depravity of their own heart—and they understood the power of the allurement of the vanities of life in this world.
h. The fact that they admit it tells me something else about these men. They were sensitive to sin: which in itself is a sign of spiritual health and maturity.
i. Hardened liars don’t care that they lie. They love it. It’s a game to them.
j. Prov. 10:23 – “It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.”
k. The fact that these men asked God to remove lying from them reveals a tender heart – sensitive to sin… and desirous to remove it from their lives.
l. This does not mean that they were false teachers; or that they had ever gone about town spreading lies about this and that. It doesn’t mean that others could not trust them or that they were known in the community as liars.
m. Rather, it means that they themselves were painfully aware of their inner struggle with dishonesty.
n. They may have been inwardly tempted to lie or deceive and it pained them.
o. They may have found themselves stretching the truth or embellishing a story—and later it grieved them so they had to run to the Lord weeping in prayer and repentance… seeking for His forgiveness and deliverance.
p. A hardened liar doesn’t do that. A hardened liar doesn’t even care. It’s a sport to him.
q. If we were all honest, we too could make Agur’s prayer request our own: “Lord, remove far from me vanity and lies!”
6. Let’s not judge Agur or the psalmist too harshly.
a. The fact that a hardened liar tells the truth on occasion does not mean he isn’t a liar. He is a liar. An occasional truth doesn’t change the fact that he is a liar.
b. And the fact that an honest man tells an occasion lie does not mean that he is not an honest man overall.
c. He is an honest person… IF he deals with his sin before God—like Agur did… and the psalmist did.
d. Agur hated the sins of vanity and lies and desperately wanted victory over those besetting sins before he died.
e. And in a respectful way (because he loved righteousness and hated iniquity) he wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Deny me not!”
f. This was a man who hated lying… and wanted no trace of it in his heart or on his tongue. That is an honest and a very godly attitude.
Positive Request: Feed me with food convenient for me:
A. Feed me with food convenient for me
B. Give me neither poverty nor riches
C. Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD?
D. Or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
Proverbs 30:8
Neither Poverty nor Riches
8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
Introduction:
1. Verses 8-9 are part of a prayer request that began in verse 7.
2. In this section the author makes two requests.
a. The first request was that God would remove vanity (falsehood) and lies from him. Evidently the author had a problem in this area.
b. The second request we are going to consider tonight: that God would keep him from temptations associated with material goods.
3. These were extremely urgent and earnest pleas.
a. His earnestness is seen in the words, “Deny me not!”
b. It is also seen in the words, “Before I die.”
c. This seems to imply that the two requests he made reflected his two most spiritually damaging besetting sins.
d. It sounds like the plea of a man who desperately wants to experience victory over these sins before he dies.
e. He doesn’t want to go to the grave with these sins as his slave master.
f. He did not want to die with lies and falsehood as his master. Nor did he want to die with material temptations as his master.
What He Didn’t Want: Poverty or Riches
A. Poverty
1. Agur pleas that God would not give him poverty.
a. Nobody wants to be poor. Nobody would choose to have no money to pay the bills or buy life’s necessities.
b. When you get behind financially, it can become an obsession. It’s all you can think about. It dominates your mind and heart—and that is not good spiritually.
c. Agur is no different than anyone else. He does not want to be poor and asks God to prevent that from happening.
2. This request is made with the assumption that Agur is doing his part.
a. He is not asking God to provide for him as he sits on the couch and eats snacks all day long.
b. He is asking God to provide for him AS he is diligent in his work.
c. Prov. 6:6-11 – His request assumes that he was not being lazy; for then he had no right to ask God for help. God already stated the outcome of laziness, “so shall thy poverty come.” He shouldn’t expect anything other than poverty.
d. Prov. 23:21 – His request also assumes that he is not wasting his money on excess: drinking and gluttony. That man should expect poverty. (eating, drinking, shopping, spending lavishly)
e. Prov. 28:19 – His request also assumes that he is not following vanity—empty, foolish people or empty, foolish pursuits instead of working every day. (playing video games; hanging out downtown or at the pool hall; etc.)
3. But even when a man IS doing his part (willing to work; diligently looking for work; willing to take whatever work he can get)… poverty can still come his way.
a. Farmers are dependent upon the weather for their crops.
b. Fishermen are dependent upon the amount of fish in the sea.
c. Businessmen are dependent upon the overall economy.
d. Kings are dependent upon the economy and world events—relationships with other nations.
e. And everyone’s welfare is affected by natural disasters.
f. Hence, praying is a very good idea—for God is sovereign over all of these things that affect every one of us.
B. Riches
1. Everyone knows that poverty is a trial and a burden.
2. Agur was wise enough to understand that riches can also be a trial and a burden—and a temptation.
3. Though he did not have a copy of I Timothy, he did seem to understand an important truth found in I Tim. 6:9-11a: “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11But thou, O man of God, flee these things…”
4. There have been many stories of individuals who have won the lottery and become instantly wealthy. They assumed that all their troubles were over… but discovered a Pandora’s Box of troubles they never imagined before!
5. Agur understood the pitfalls of poverty and prayed for God to deliver him from them. He also understood the pitfalls of riches and asked God to deliver him from that as well.
6. This is an exceptionally wise prayer request.
a. It speaks of a man who is aware of his own weakness… the frailty of the flesh to earthly temptations.
b. It speaks of a man who really knows what is best for him spiritually and seeks after it.
c. It speaks of a man who is concerned with his relationship to God and would rather have God as his treasure than any earthly treasure.
d. It speaks of a man who has probably observed the evil affect that money has had on others and doesn’t want it for himself.
7. All of us would certainly pray for God to deliver us from poverty… but would we pray for God to deliver us from riches?
a. The tendency in us all is to assume that we could handle that kind of a trial!
b. Maybe it would cause others to go astray, but not me… I can handle it. It won’t affect me.
c. Those are famous last words of many a man who has pierced himself through with many sorrows because of his desire for riches.
What He Did Want: Food Convenient for Me
1. Agur prayed for “food convenient.”
a. Convenient defined: An appointment; a measure; a share; a portion; an allotment; a quota.
b. The idea behind Agur’s request was that he wanted God to appoint him just what he needed.
c. He didn’t want poverty; nor did he want riches.
d. He wanted “just enough.”
e. This was a prayer for God’s providential allotment. God “assigns” such things as He deems best.
2. Ex. 16:15, 18, 35 – God provided an “allotment” of food for the Israelites when they left Egypt and wandered in the wilderness.
a. They got only what they needed each day.
b. And God provided it every day.
c. They couldn’t hoard it—for it would melt or be covered with maggots.
d. Each person was allotted a portion each day.
3. Matt. 6:11 – Jesus taught His Jewish disciples to pray along these lines: “Give us this day our daily bread.”
a. Daily implies an allotment… a daily allotment.
b. Nothing is hoarded or stockpiled.
c. Today’s needs are met and that should be enough.
4. In today’s world, this would be the equivalent of living “paycheck to paycheck” and being happy to do so.
a. Most of us live that way, but how many of us would pray for that to continue?
b. Isn’t it true that what we really wish is to have an abundance?
c. Having “just enough” doesn’t seem to satisfy today.
d. I Tim. 6:6-8 – “But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”
• We need to learn to be content with food—even if there is no gravy.
• We need to learn to be content with raiment—even without the ornaments and extras.
e. Phil. 4:11-13 – “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
f. This is the crying need for all of us – to LEARN to be content.
5. Prov. 15:16 – “Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.” This is a great lesson to learn: that little is better. Not too little; not too much; but a little—for today. Agur seemed to understand this.
Proverbs 30:9
The Danger of Both Wealth and Poverty
9 …Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
Introduction:
1. In this section, Agur asked the Lord for two things:
a. To remove from him vanities and lies
b. To preserve him from two extremes: great riches or great poverty.
c. Instead he asked the Lord to give him “just enough” – food convenient for him.
2. In verse nine Agur states his reasons why he wants to avoid either riches or poverty.
The Danger of Wealth
1. Agur realized the danger of riches. The danger was that once he had riches, he would no longer see his need for God.
2. “Lest I be full”
a. Agur did NOT want to have an abundance: to be full of possessions, property, food, money, etc.
b. It wasn’t because it is sinful or evil to be rich.
c. Many of God’s saints have been wealthy – Adam, Abraham, King David, King Solomon, etc.
d. Agur was not saying that wealth is evil; but he did acknowledge that it came with temptations.
e. He was also aware of his own sinful nature and how easily he could succumb to temptation.
3. “Lest I deny thee.”
a. Deny can mean to “no longer be in association with; to be unfaithful to.”
b. The fear of riches is that it causes even believers to live like unbelievers… even denying their need for God… denying their association with Him.
4. “Who is the Lord?”
a. Associated with the thought of denying God comes this kind of arrogance: “Who is the Lord?”
b. It sounds like Pharaoh saying, “Who is the Lord that I should obey Him?
c. In other words, WHY should I obey God? I don’t need Him any more. I have everything I need.
d. What a pitiful concept of God that is! God is much more than a Provider. He ought to be our all in all.
e. Riches tend to emphasize the importance of the temporal “things that are seen” and deemphasize eternal and invisible things—even God Himself.
f. It is a miserable blindness.
g. The Laodiceans were afflicted with this kind of blindness.
h. Rev. 3:17 – “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”
i. Riches cause the believer to think that he has no need for God—and therefore does nothing for God. He becomes self centered.
5. Deut. 6:10-12 – This is exactly what God warned the children of Israel about when they went into the Promised Land.
a. Vs. 10-11 – The stage is set: riches in the Promised Land!
b. Vs. 12 – The warning is that our nature is to forget the Lord who delivered us from bondage and provided us with material goods.
6. Deut. 8:10-14 – And extended warning is given—again!
a. Vs. 11 – Beware lest you forget God and disobey His Word.
b. Vs. 14 – Pride sets in.
c. Vs. 17b – “My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.”
d. Vs. 19 – The tendency is to walk after other gods. In other words, our affection is no longer given to the Lord, but to other “entities” – vanities… idols… material things… entertaining things… They become our gods.
7. History tells us that that is exactly what DID happen to Israel when they went into the land and experienced its wealth.
a. Hosea 13:6 – “According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.”
b. Deut.32:15 – “Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked.”
• Jeshurun is used here as a name for Israel. It means “the upright one.” (irony)
• They became fat (rich) and kicked (became rebellious against God.)
8. Agur’s fear of riches was not that he would have so much that he would become burdened with anxiety and fear and lose his friends.
a. His concern was not for himself and all the problems and trouble wealth might bring to him and his family.
b. His fear was that he might sin against God.
c. His fear was that riches would ruin his relationship with God.
d. These are the concerns of a very godly man.
e. This should be our fear too. We have so much in this country—compared to most people in the world.
f. It is harder to trust God for our daily bread when we have a refrigerator full of food and a paycheck coming every week.
g. It’s not impossible—but it is harder. May God teach us all to learn to be content… and to trust God for our daily needs.
h. Godly men fear God. Part of fearing God involves fearing displeasing Him through sin.
i. The believer who is sensitive to spiritual things and who is aware of his own heart will fear sinning because he knows it is a very real possibility in his own life.
The Danger of Poverty
1. The other danger Agur feared was poverty. Like riches, poverty also comes with its own unique set of temptations.
2. “Lest I be poor and steal”
a. The first temptation associated with poverty is the temptation to steal.
b. Agur is acknowledging that this is something that could become a problem for him. He was aware of the vileness of his own fallen nature.
c. Pride would lead a man to believe that stealing is “beneath” him. That is something he would never do… especially if he is saved.
d. I Cor. 10:12 – “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
e. Agur was wise enough and humble enough to know that the potential for stealing resided in his old nature. (And it resides in ours too!)
f. We noted last time that Agur had a problem with lying and admitted it. So did the psalmist.
g. He was not too proud to acknowledge that stealing could also be a real temptation under certain circumstances—like poverty!
h. Prov. 6:30 – Men do not hate a man who steals because he and his family are hungry.
• Solomon is speaking about a man who steals just enough to eat and cause the hunger pains to go away… and perhaps some for his family to eat.
• Men do not despise such a person.
» His actions are understandable…
» We can easily forgive such a man…
» A judge in court would probably be quite lenient on such a man.
» This is not the kind of crime that would cause a public outcry of rage against the man.
» People might despise a bank robber who steals their hard earned money… but most people wouldn’t despise a hungry man who stole a loaf of bread.
• However, Solomon is not condoning such behavior! (vs.31)
» It is still sin. This is not a matter of situational ethics. Stealing a loaf of bread is sin whether we are hungry or not.
» There is no such thing as a set of circumstances in which it is OK to sin… to break God’s commandment.
» Solomon states that this man is to restore sevenfold.
» Ex.22:1, 3, 4 – The law was quite strict about such crimes. If the man had nothing to restore, he could be sold into slavery.
• Prov. 6:32-33 – Solomon was not being lenient with respect to the sin of stealing a loaf of bread by stating that men will not hate such a man. His real point was to discuss the sin of adultery: men WILL hate a person who commits adultery, ruins a marriage and breaks up a family. His reproach will NOT be wiped away.
i. It is understandable how a man could be reduced to begging for bread or even stealing bread.
j. This is what Agur feared. He knew that given the right set of circumstances (hungry, crying children) he might be tempted to steal bread. He feared it.
k. Again notice the integrity of Agur. His concern was not that he would steal and get caught… and be sent to prison or sold into slavery. His fear was not for himself.
l. His fear was that he might sin against God.
m. Pray: Lead us not into temptation!
3. “Lest I take the name of my God in vain”
a. A man who was so poor he felt he had to steal in order to feed his crying, hungry children could easily grow angry and bitter against God and curse Him.
• When Job fell into hard times Satan’s temptation through his wife was to encourage him to “curse God and die!”
b. It is also possible that taking the name of the Lord in vain in this context may refer to swearing in a court of law.
• If he stole and was caught, he would have to go to a court of law.
• In other words, the sin of stealing may lead to the sin of using God’s name in court in a vain (empty) manner.
• Sin often spirals downward… one leads to another.
c. Either way, Agur was concerned about God’s name. He did not want to be poor – because he feared using God’s name in an inappropriate manner. He feared that.
d. Agur’s fear of poverty was not that he would get caught stealing. It was that he feared the temptation of poverty that might lead him to offend his Lord. That attitude is commendable.
Proverbs 30:10
Accuse Not a Servant unto His Master
Introduction:
1. Verse 10 begins a section in which Agur gives advice to Ithiel and Ucal. (vs.1)
2. The advice in verse 10 is against slandering a household servant.
3. This verse also serves as an introduction to verses 11-14.
The Exhortation:
10a Accuse not a servant unto his master
1. Accuse Defined:
a. The term “accused” here literally means “the tongue” and often is used of a misuse of the tongue.
b. Psalm 52:2, 4 – mischief, like a razor, deceit, etc.
c. Prov. 6:17 – God hates a lying tongue.
d. It sometimes means “to hurt with the tongue.”
e. To slander; to accuse; insult; evil speaking.
f. As used in Prov. 30:10, the term implies an accusation, slander, or evil speaking against the servant in one way or another.
2. The servant
a. The term can mean “slave.”
b. However, the Hebrew concept was different from what we might think of as a slave.
c. The Hebrew servant was a domestic servant or an indentured servant – almost like a hired hand.
d. Ex. 21:2 – His time of service was limited to six years.
e. Ex. 21:20 – The Law of Moses also provided protection for the Hebrew servant.
f. Some servants could rise to position of power and honor – as Joseph did in Egypt. He was a “steward” of all his master’s goods.
g. The Hebrew servant was more like a domestic servant. He was considered part of the household.
3. Accusing a servant to his master
a. The accusation against the servant in this proverb is a false accusation. We know this because the man is in danger of being found guilty.
b. Agur is not speaking about a legitimate accusation against a servant. (For example: stealing from his master or committing some other crime.)
c. The proverb exhorts readers not to falsely accuse a servant.
d. Don’t make up a story about him and report it to his master.
4. The passage is an exhortation not to stick your nose into the domestic affairs of some else’s household.
a. The servant was considered to be a part of the household.
b. Falsely accusing him before his master was like driving a wedge between them.
c. This is an act of sabotage against a family… against their household—which included their servants.
d. Because it was a false accusation, it was obviously coming from a trouble maker. He was making up stories to drive wedges and to pit one person against another in a household.
e. This accusation is coming from a meddler… an evil busybody… someone trying to stir up evil feelings.
f. The accuser here is a liar with evil motives; he or she is a home-wrecker.
5. The exhortation: don’t do this!
a. Don’t falsely accuse a servant to his master.
b. It might seem like an easy thing to do… to slander a lowly servant. A servant might seem like an easy target. He is lowly and unable to defend himself. Who’s going to believe a servant?
c. It might be fun to watch all the trouble that gets stirred up.
d. Solomon wrote that it is “as sport to a fool to do mischief.” (Prov. 10:23)
e. But Agur says, “Don’t do it!”
f. Don’t falsely accuse someone in a lower position than yourself; don’t lie about them; don’t slander; don’t speak evil of someone… just because they are in a lowly position and you think you can get away with it.
The Reason:
10b …Lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty.
1. The exhortation is followed by a warning: If you DO slander a servant, he may curse you and you might be found guilty.
2. Consider the terms used:
a. Curse: To slight; to trifle; to appear insignificant; to be lightly esteemed; to make despicable; to bring contempt; to dishonor; to curse; etc.
b. Guilty: Faulty; offend; declared guilty; exposed for wrongdoing.
3. The point here is that the slanderer may be exposed for what he really is.
a. He may find that he only stirred up trouble for himself.
b. He may discover that his little “sport” backfired on him.
4. The lowly servant who is falsely accused may come upon an opportunity to “curse” his accuser.
a. The slanderer who tried to curse (cause people to despise) the servant may himself be despised in the end.
b. The tables could be turned and the servant may end up having the upper hand.
c. In the end, the servant may prove himself to be innocent and end up causing the slanderer to be lightly esteemed in the eyes of all… to be dishonored… to be held in contempt.
d. By throwing out that false accusation, the slanderer may have hoped to hurt the servant. He may have hoped to make trouble for him… to cause his master not to trust him anymore.
e. He may have hoped to cause trouble for the whole family.
f. The slanderer may have expected that he would cause the servant to be despised and held in contempt by all.
g. But in the end, the tables might be turned. It may be that the slanderer is the one held in contempt by all… and dishonored.
5. It only takes a minute to spew out a thoughtless slander or to lie against someone.
a. But if discovered, YOU might be the one who ends up hated and scorned.
b. YOU may be the one who is held in contempt.
c. And in that setting and culture, it would be especially embarrassing, humiliating, and dishonorable to be cursed and shamed by someone from an inferior station in life.
d. And while it only takes a minute to gossip about someone and slander them, if exposed as a liar and a slanderer, it could take years to earn a good reputation again.
e. It is quick and easy to destroy a testimony. It takes a long time with much effort to rebuild it.
f. Prov. 25:8-10 – “Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame. 9Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another: 10Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn not away.”
g. It is not easy to UN-DO your reputation once you establish yourself as a slanderer, a gossip, a liar, or a trouble maker.
h. Rebuilding one’s testimony can be done—but how much better not to have to!
6. Agur speaks here about a kind of poetic justice: in the end, the guilty slanderer is exposed, and the innocent servant is exonerated.
a. This kind of justice is “proverbial.”
b. We have seen this truth repeated many times in proverbs in all kinds of settings: in the end, you reap what you sow!
c. Prov. 6:12-15: 12 “A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. 13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; 14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. 15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.”
d. Be sure your sin will find you out! (Num. 32:23)
Proverbs 30:11
A Generation of Disrespectful Rebels
11 There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. 12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. 13 There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up. 14 There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.
Introduction:
1. In verses 11-14, Agur lists four things that are deadly to any nation or society.
a. Vs. 11 – They curse their parents.
b. Vs. 12 – They are pure in their own eyes.
c. Vs. 13 – They are proud.
d. Vs. 14 – They devour the poor.
2. The author simply notes the FACT that such things exist.
a. He does say what to do about it.
b. He doesn’t offer advice or counsel.
c. He doesn’t give any commands.
d. He doesn’t even really denounce it.
e. He simply states “what is.”
f. Of course there is an implied denunciation of these things, though not stated.
3. He repeats the expression, “there is a generation.”
a. He uses this expression to denote the fact that such a class of people exist. Such a segment of society exists.
b. He doesn’t seem to be speaking about any particular generation in time (like the 1960’s generation, generation X, or the Millennials).
c. Rather he uses the expression to identify the fact that at any given period in history, there has always been such a class or category of people.
d. That is because the things he describes are part of human nature. It has been repeated generation after generation.
e. The evil traits Agur describes have existed ever since the fall. It is nothing new. He simply wants us all to know that it exists: it was true of my generation and of many generations before that. And it still exists. Even today, “there is a generation” like this.
f. Ecc. 1:9 – “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”
g. What Agur states in this proverb doesn’t apply to every young person—but there is a segment of society that fits the bill.
Vs. 11 – There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
The first negative trait that Agur describes is that which might be called “parent abuse” today.
They Curse Their Father
1. Curse:
a. There is a connection between vs. 10 and 11 by the usage of this term “curse.”
• In vs. 10 it was a servant cursing.
• Here it is an ungrateful child cursing.
b. Curse defined: Despise; bring into contempt; make light of; lightly esteem; slight; dishonor; revile.
c. I Sam. 17:43 – Used to show great contempt for and anger against someone. “And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. 43And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed (same term) David by his gods.”
2. The Scriptures are pretty clear about the respect that children should give to their parents.
a. Col. 3:20 – “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.”
b. Eph. 6:2 – “Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise.)”
c. Lev. 19:3 – “Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.”
d. Lev. 19:32 – “Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.”
e. Prov. 16:31 – “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.”
f. These passages are not ambiguous or difficult to understand.
g. God’s plan is for children to honor their parents; for the youth to respect the elderly; for old age and wisdom to be admired.
h. And it stands as a rather blatant rebuke to our culture that in this generation, purely pagan cultures (as in Japan or even in the much less sophisticated tribal cultures of jungle regions) seem to demonstrate much more respect for parents and the elderly than our own culture—which is supposedly heavily influenced by Christianity—the truth.
i. In this respect, those pagan cultures are much closer to this important Biblical concept—God’s plan for society—than our own society. Shame on us!
j. Job 32:6-7 – In ancient times it was common knowledge among the youth that they should respect their elders. Elders were not always perfect, but they did have wisdom to share.
• “And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion. 7I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.”
• “The multitude of years should teach wisdom.” Everyone knew that in those days.
k. But for some strange reason, we have reversed what the Bible says.
• Instead of honoring the “hoary head” (elderly), we honor the youth. We glorify youth.
• We gear our society around trying to “connect with the youth,” trying to “understand” the youth, trying to “appeal to the youth.”
l. This is exactly backwards.
• The youth should try to understand their elders.
• The church is to be led by “elders” not the youth. That is because those with a multitude of years should teach wisdom. The youth should try to “understand” the older, more mature, and wiser men.
• The youth should try to “connect” with their elders.
» Titus 2:4 – Young Christian women should connect with older Christian women who were to “teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
» Titus 2:6 – The older men were to exhort the young men in all the issues of life they may face.
3. The Scriptures are pretty clear about the consequences of a lack of respect that children give to their parents.
a. Prov. 30:17 – “The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.”
b. Prov. 20:20 – “Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.”
c. Lev. 20:9 – “For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.”
d. Deut. 21:20-21 – “And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 21And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.”
e. Deut. 27:16 – “Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.”
f. Note that the Law not only required severe penalties, but that the Law required the community to participate in the execution of it—and required the community to be in agreement with it, by saying, “Amen.”
g. “Cursing” or “demeaning” one’s parents is not treated mildly in the Scriptures. God observes everything.
They Do Not Bless Their Mother
1. Agur states that “There is a generation that… doth not bless their mother.”
a. They may not curse their mother (which evidently would be an even more depraved expression of rebellion), but they don’t bless her either.
b. The point is that they SHOULD bless their mother.
c. In Prov. 31:28 we read about what children should do with respect to their mothers: “Her children arise up, and call her blessed.”
d. Agur’s point is that there is a generation (a class of young people) who don’t bless their mothers.
e. They don’t thank her; they don’t praise her; they don’t appreciate her or her labors in the home; they don’t even seem to care about her.
f. The fact that they don’t curse her does not mean that they respect and honor her as the Law of Moses and the law of decency required.
2. Agur’s point in the proverb is that such things DO exist.
a. In a culture like his that emphasized showing respect and honor to the aged, it might seem incredible that such a thing could exist—but it does.
b. Charles Bridges quote: “Solon (a pagan ruler) was asked why he made no law concerning parricides (children who kill their parents) and he replied that he could never conceive of anyone ever being so impious or cruel.”
c. God knows human nature better. He knows exactly what our fallen natures are capable of: the heart is desperately wicked!
d. Agur, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote that such a generation exists. There is a segment of society so depraved that they do treat parents with contempt.
Proverbs 30:12
A Generation of Self-Righteous Hypocrites
Introduction:
1. We noted last time that vs. 11-14 are connected in thought. They each begin with the expression, ‘There is a generation…”
a. Agur uses this expression to denote the fact that such a class of people exist. Such a segment of society exists.
b. That is because the things he describes are part of human nature. It has been repeated generation after generation.
2. The particular segment of society Agur describes in vs.12 is a generation of self-righteous hypocrites.
a. They have always existed, and they always will—till glory.
b. Agur reminds us all that they are still out there. Be warned.
12a There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes
1. PURE: Clean; free from foreign particles or impurities; flawless; perfect; genuine; without defect of any kind; without error.
a. Lev. 11:36 – The term is used of that which is ceremonially pure and clean according to the Mosaic Law.
b. Ex. 25:11 – The term is used of pure gold – free from dross or impurity.
c. Ps. 12:7 – God’s Word is described as “pure” – free from any flaws or errors… true and right.
2. Agur states that “purity” is the assessment of SELF that this generation had.
a. They saw themselves as pure and clean before God’s Law.
b. They saw themselves as without fault.
c. They saw themselves as free from any impurity of any sort.
d. They saw themselves as flawless… perfect… impeccable.
e. They saw themselves as free from error – true and right.
3. We have all met folks from this category.
a. In every discussion on any subject, their opinion is always the correct one.
b. Whenever their behavior is questioned, they cannot acknowledge any fault… because they are without fault.
c. They love to let others know just how pure and righteous they are too. It is one of their favorite topics of conversation.
d. Without judging any individual’s heart (I don’t know anyone else’s heart)… I think it is safe to say that this kind of self righteous hypocrisy is also seen in one of the most influential aspects of American life: Hollywood!
• They go to acting school, get a few lucky (Providential) breaks, become a celebrity, and suddenly become experts on politics, ecology, energy, foreign policy, and virtually everything else.
• They tell us little people to ride bikes and save the environment, and then fly all over the world on their private, gas guzzling jets.
• They use their celebrity status to promote candidates who (not always but mostly) promote very liberal agendas.
• In their own eyes, their views and opinions are always correct. In fact, flawless!
• And anyone who disagrees is a knuckle dragger.
e. But this is not found exclusively in Hollywood.
f. Such people are found everywhere: in the office; in the home; in politics; in education; in business; in the marketplace.
g. Agur is giving us a heads-up: beware!
4. It is human nature to think this way.
a. Prov. 20:6 – “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?”
b. Prov. 21:2 – “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.”
c. Prov. 12:15 – “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.”
d. Prov. 16:2 – “All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.”
e. I Sam. 15:13-14 – “13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. 14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” Saul genuinely believed that he had obeyed God… because he did obey partially. That was enough to blind him to the truth.
f. Isa. 65:5 – “Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou.” This expression has become “proverbial” to describe this kind of self-righteous hypocrisy. Their attitude was repulsive and irritating to God—like getting smoke in your eyes.
g. Jeremiah 17:9 – “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Our own hearts deceive us into thinking this of self.
5. This self-righteous hypocrisy is especially repulsive in the religious realm.
a. God doesn’t expect unbelievers to live like believers. God has much higher standards and expectations for believers.
b. The believer has much more light, and is therefore judged even more harshly – according to the light that he has.
c. Luke 16:13 – The self righteous Pharisees derided Christ’s teachings. But the Lord said that they were men who “justified themselves.” God’s estimate was not the same as theirs.
d. Luke 18:11-12 – This attitude is perhaps best seen in the Pharisee in the Temple: “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.” In his own eyes, he was pure—flawless—perfect.
e. This is an attitude that can reside in any one of us as believers.
f. It is repulsive to the lost around us.
• Be careful when sharing the gospel. Don’t come across as one who is “holier than thou.” That will turn them off instantly. Nobody wants to listen to someone with that kind of pride oozing out of them.
• When witnessing verbally, we should put ourselves on the same level as the sinner… for we too are sinners. We are sinners saved by grace, but sinners nonetheless.
• And always emphasize that we are sinners saved by GRACE – God’s unmerited, undeserved goodness. We too are worthy of eternal condemnation.
g. And of course, this kind of self-righteousness is especially repulsive to God. He hates for flesh to glory in His presence. It is as irritating to God as smoke is to our eyes.
6. Thus, Agur has described a segment of society that is repulsive to both God and man.
a. Nobody likes a self-righteous hypocrite.
b. We should also beware lest this attitude be found in our own hearts. We are all capable of this kind of blindness.
c. And the danger of this kind of egotism usually results in opposition and resistance when others (even God’s Spirit) seek to rebuke and correct you of such errors.
d. We will never be corrected from errors and faults we refuse to acknowledge exist.
12b And yet is not washed from their filthiness.
1. What a contrast!
a. In their own eyes, they are pure and flawless.
b. In God’s eyes, they are not washed from their filth. They are not pure but very impure. They are in fact filthy!
c. It is amazing how people can genuinely believe things that are so opposite reality… opposite the truth.
d. The heart is deceitful above all things. How blind is the fallen heart to perceive our own spiritual condition.
e. We always seem to have an overly-rosy opinion of ourselves.
f. That’s why we need to rely on what GOD says about us. Our own estimate of SELF is virtually never correct.
2. Matt. 23:27 – The Scribes and Pharisees were blinded by self conceit. They were deceived into believing that all was well.
a. They saw themselves as “whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward.” They saw the outward fresh coat of paint. From the outside it looked beautiful.
b. God saw them differently: full of dead men’s bones! Lifeless…filthy…
3. Rev. 3:17 – The church at Laodicea had a glowing opinion of themselves.
a. In their own eyes, they were “rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.”
b. But in God’s eyes, they were “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”
c. God’s cure for such thoughts is simple: REPENT! (Rev. 3:19).
d. Their thoughts of self were wrong. They needed to change their mind and see themselves as God saw them: “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”
e. God’s estimate is always correct.
4. In light of this truth, certain exhortations are in order:
a. Prov. 3:7 – “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.”
5. We would do well to consider the words of the apostle John:
a. I John 1:8 – “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
b. Man’s estimate of self is very different from God’s estimate.
c. When that is the case, we need to change our minds. Repentance is in order.
Proverbs 30:13
There is a Generation that is Proud
13 There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.
Introduction:
1. In Proverbs 30:11-14, Agur paints a picture of one segment of society. He notes that in every generation there is a class of people who could be characterized in various ways.
a. There is a generation of disrespectful rebels. (vs. 11)
b. There is a generation of self-righteous hypocrites. (vs. 12)
c. There is a generation of proud and arrogant ones. (vs. 13)
2. Tonight we are going to consider the third aspect of human nature Agur describes – pride.
a. It is nothing new. It is not a shocking revelation to anyone. It has been around since the fall of man.
b. But Agur wants to remind us that there are segments of society in every age that are still characterized by pride and arrogance.
Pride is Seen in Their Eyes
1. Agur notes that pride (which is an inner attitude of the heart—invisible to others) CAN be seen outwardly, in a man’s eyes.
a. Their eyes are “lofty.” (Lofty: High; exalted; elevated; proud; arrogant.)
b. Their eyelids are “lifted up.” (Lifted up: Exalted; lifted up and carried away; proud; arrogant.)
c. These terms are synonyms. They both speak of that which is elevated, high, exalted, and thus in a figurative sense, both terms are used to describe pride and arrogance.
2. In our proverbs, Agur speaks of the eyes and eyelids as being high, exalted, elevated.
a. This is a description of pride that can be seen on the face—and in the eyes in particular.
b. Elevated eyes look DOWN on others because of pride.
c. Elevated eyes see self as exalted ABOVE others.
d. Agur is describing body language here. And the message this language sends out is haughtiness… superiority… self-importance… conceit.
3. There are other passages that describe the same thing: pride and arrogance that is visible on one’s face.
a. Prov. 6:16-17 – “A proud look” is an abomination to God. It represents a proud heart. In other words, the pride in the heart sometimes manifests itself outwardly – in facial expressions. It is a “proud look.” (literally – a proud eye)
b. Prov. 21:4 – “a high look” which stems from a proud heart.
c. Psalm 18:27 – God will bring DOWN the high look. God has His own ways of humbling the proud and removing their arrogant look.
d. Psalm 101:5 – In this psalm David is describing the kind of people he wants on his royal cabinet. He will not tolerate someone with an arrogant look. Humility was one of his qualifications to be a royal advisor.
e. There are times when you can tell a person is looking down upon another. Often you can actually SEE pride on their face as they respond and react to others.
f. They see themselves as superior… exalted… and others not worthy to be in their presence.
4. I suppose we could expand this expression of pride from the eyes to one’s walk.
a. Isa. 3:16-24 – Here the prophet describes the pride and arrogance of Judah as illustrated by the wealthy women of Jerusalem.
• It was seen in the way they walked… and held up their heads, etc.
• But God has a way of humbling pride and bringing low those who exalt themselves.
b. Sometimes you can actually see pride in the way a person struts around like a peacock… showing off.
• It might be a lady with all her jewels and fine clothes.
• But this kind of pride isn’t reserved for ladies only.
• It might be the guy in the gym or at the beach showing off his muscles.
• You can almost see their pride in the way they walk and strut around.
5. Pride is seen in their eyes; and God hates what He sees.
a. We saw that it is an abomination to Him. (Prov. 6:16-17)
b. Consider the words of Isaiah 2:11-17.
• In the Tribulation Period, God sends severe judgment to deal with this very thing: the haughtiness of man… the high looks of fallen flesh.
• The high looks shall be brought down very low.
• God hates fallen flesh exalting itself.
Concluding Thoughts on Pride
1. Prov. 21:4 – Pride is not simply being rude or a lack of proper manners. It is SIN.
2. Prov. 16:5 – It is sin and God will punish that sin… if not in this life, in the life to come.
3. Daniel 5:20 – Pride “hardens the mind.”
a. It is a kind of paralysis or blindness that sets in. (Harden: To prevail over; becoming overpowered by; hardened; stubborn; willfully obstinate and unyielding.
b. Obadiah 3 – “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee.”
4. Ps. 10:4 – There is a great danger in pride. It hinders us from seeking God.
a. The proud one thinks to himself, “What do I need God for? I know all I need to know; I can handle this; I don’t need any advice or counsel. I’m pretty much all set thank you!”
5. Prov. 26:12 – A man who is so hardened, blinded, and hindered from seeking God is in a very dangerous position. There is more hope for a fool than for him. His pride will keep him in that dangerous position perpetually—until he humbles himself.
6. Prov. 13:10 – Only by pride cometh contention.
a. The proud man with a haughty look can expect to live in strife and contention with others.
b. The proud man has a hard time getting along with others. He sees himself superior to them… and it shows on his face.
c. That does not lead to good interpersonal relationships.
d. Pride will destroy a marriage; a home; a church. It is a destroyer.
7. Pride can lead to: (1) shame (Prov. 11:2) and (2) destruction (Prov. 16:18)
8. Pride is an insidious thing.
a. And we are ALL infected with it. It is our nature.
b. Thus, it needs to be resisted and rejected continually—day by day.
c. Humility isn’t something we obtain and then possess for the rest of our lives. It is a moment by moment thing.
d. Pride is part of our fallen nature; it is in our sinful heart; and we need to be on guard constantly so as not to allow pride to rear its ugly head. Pride will never stop trying to manifest itself… in our speech… attitude… even in our eyes and body language.
9. One final warning about Agur’s warning.
a. Agur was 100% correct when he said that pride is sometimes seen in the eyes and body language.
b. However, our ability to interpret body language is not 100% accurate. We can misread a look… a walk… a tone of voice… a raising of the eyebrow.
c. We should be very careful about judging others on the basis of outward appearance.
d. I have known people that I assumed were arrogant in the way they looked… holding the head up high… etc., only to discover that they were not proud, but extremely insecure… and walked in a certain way to try to compensate for their insecurity.
e. So let’s be careful about judging others on the basis of body language and outward appearance, because we really DON’T know their heart. God does; we don’t.
Proverbs 30:14
There is a Generation of Cruel, Greedy Ones
Introduction: In verses 11-14, Agur describes certain segments of society.
1. There is a generation of disrespectful rebels. (vs. 11)
2. There is a generation of self-righteous hypocrites. (vs. 12)
3. There is a generation of proud and arrogant ones. (vs. 13)
4. There is a generation of cruel, greedy ones. (vs. 14)
14a There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives
1. The first part of this proverb speaks of teeth and jaws.
2. Agur likens these teeth and jaws to swords and knives.
a. Obviously, this is figurative language. The use of the word “as” indicates a simile.
b. The point is that in some way the teeth and jaws are “sword-like” and “knife-like.” They cut, pierce, and destroy like a sword or a knife.
3. The mouth is that part of the body where the teeth and jaw are located.
a. For this reason, some commentators have likened the meaning of this proverb to other passages where the mouth is likened to swords and knives.
b. When used in this figurative way, the mouth is used figuratively of SPEECH.
• Prov. 12:18 – “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword.”
• Prov. 25:18 – “A man that beareth false witness against his neighbor is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow.”
• Ps. 52:2 – “Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.”
• Ps. 57:4 – “My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.”
• Ps. 59:7 – “Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips.”
• Ps. 64:3 – “Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words.”
• It is a common figure in the poetic books to use the words “mouth, tongue, lips, etc.” to represent speech.
• Some commentators have interpreted this proverb along those lines, namely, that Agur is describing things in the area of the mouth (teeth; jaw) to represent speech.
• And thus, connecting this figure with swords and knives would refer to cruel speech (perhaps slander, gossip, lies), because this kind of speech is painful—like being pierced with a sword.
4. While that interpretation would certainly be in harmony with many other passages in the poetic books, the second part of the proverb seems to militate against that view.
5. One thing we know for sure from the first part of this proverb is that Agur is describing the teeth and jaws instruments of cruelty and destruction—weapons used against someone.
a. There is a generation that is cruel.
b. And they take out their cruelty on others—like a soldier killing his enemy with a sword or a knife.
c. The word for “knife” is defined as a butcher knife, or a large knife used in cutting up sacrifices.
d. Strong’s lists only two other usages of this term for knife:
• Abraham using a knife to kill his son Isaac.
• The man in Judges 19 who gave his concubine to the men of Belial who surrounded his house. The evil men abused her all night and she was found dead on his doorsteps. The man then got a “knife” and cut up the concubine and sent her body parts to the 12 tribes of Israel.
e. This was not a dainty little knife used for spreading jam on toast. It was a large knife used for destruction.
14b To devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.
1. The use of teeth and jaws:
a. In the first part of the proverb, though the jaw and teeth are found in the mouth, imagery does not lend itself very well to “speech.”
b. The tongue and lips are good imagery for speech, as we saw in the passages above.
c. But the teeth and the jaw (jaw teeth) DO lend themselves well towards “devouring,” as described in the second part of the proverb.
2. DEVOUR:
a. This term means to eat; feed.
b. It is used figuratively to mean “destroy; ruin; consume; spend.”
c. Agur tells us that the teeth and jaw are used to devour – to consume… to gobble up.
3. Agur’s use of jaw and teeth is not to describe speech.
a. Rather his point is that the teeth and jaw devour—like swords and large destructive knives.
b. Whatever it is that this generation devours, it does so with great destruction and violence.
c. Cruel greedy men are often spoken of as DEVOURING the poor.
d. Ps. 14:4 – “Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.”
e. Amos 8:4 – “Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail.”
4. And we are told WHO they devour: the poor and needy.
a. POOR: this term refers to those who are poor or afflicted.
• It speaks of those who are poor and suffering.
• It is often used of those who are poor because of oppression.
b. NEEDY: This term is used as a synonym for “poor.” The two terms appear together often.
• Ps. 9:18 – “For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.”
• Ps. 40:17 – “But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.”
5. The point of our proverb is that there has always been a segment of society that is cruel and greedy.
a. Usually this refers to the wealthy land owners who take advantage of the poor.
b. They seem to have an insatiable appetite to gobble up the poor and devour them.
c. They are powerful and wealthy, but that’s not enough. They feel compelled for MORE—even if they have to devour the poor to attain more wealth.
d. And note that they obtain the wealth by sword-like teeth and knife-like jaws. They chew up the poor with their teeth and devour them with their jaws.
e. There is a generation like this. It is human nature. And if the roles were reversed, the poor would oppress the wealthy.
6. What a contrast to the way God treats the poor and needy!
a. Job 5:15 – “But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.”
b. Jer. 20:13 – “Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.”
c. Ps. 12:5 – “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.”
d. It’s pretty clear in the Bible that we should have a soft spot in our hearts for the poor and afflicted who are oppressed.
7. Agur gives us a sad but accurate picture of the fallen heart of man.
a. There is a generation of disrespectful rebels. (vs. 11)
b. There is a generation of self-righteous hypocrites. (vs. 12)
c. There is a generation of proud and arrogant ones. (vs. 13)
d. There is a generation of cruel, greedy ones. (vs. 14)
e. Our generation is no different. Man’s nature has not improved.
f. Nothing but regeneration can effect a cure.
Proverbs 30:15-16
Things that are Never Satisfied
Introduction:
1. In verses 11-14, Agur describes certain segments of society.
a. There is a generation of disrespectful rebels. (vs. 11)
b. There is a generation of self-righteous hypocrites. (vs. 12)
c. There is a generation of proud and arrogant ones. (vs. 13)
d. There is a generation of cruel, greedy ones. (vs. 14)
2. In vs.15-16 Agur uses a different poetic formula, but he continues to speak about yet another aspect of fallen human nature: greed.
15a The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give.
1. The leech is defined as a worm-like parasite in water that sucks blood.
a. Freshwater leeches are parasites that feed on the blood of fish, frogs, and mammals—like us.
b. They swim well and attach on to their victims with their mouths.
c. They have sharp teeth that are able to penetrate the skin and inject an enzyme which causes the host to bleed. They then suck the blood as much as they want.
d. Freshwater leeches don’t eat often; they can go a year on one feeding.
2. The two daughters:
a. One commentator suggested that the “two daughters” refers to a leech that has a mouth on each end. (The freshwater leeches I saw online had only one mouth.)
b. Most compared the two daughters to the two points on the tongue of a leech.
c. It is also possible that Agur meant the literal daughters of a leech – meaning that they breed after their kind. Bloodsuckers breed more bloodsuckers.
d. The two daughters cry, “Give, give.” (gimme gimme).
e. This is the message of the leech to its victim: Give us blood; and when you’re done, give us more; keep on giving us blood.
3. The leech serves as a vivid and graphic picture of greed: a leech – translated, horseleech.
a. The greedy man is like a leech – a bloodsucker.
b. It picks on an innocent victim, sinks its fangs into it, and sucks out of it as much as it can get.
c. The greedy man is not the honest business man doing an honest trade or business transaction.
d. The leech illustrates a one sided transaction. The leech is a parasite on its host. The host gives and gives and gets nothing out of it.
e. The leech also illustrates one who takes without permission. The parasite robs its victim.
f. Agur may also have intended to imply the stealth of a leech. They swim up quickly and often unnoticed by the victim. They are not even always felt by the victim at first. Their blood is being sucked out unawares.
4. Agur uses the leech to illustrate greed.
a. The greedy man is like a leech.
b. He sucks out of his victims something valuable and precious to the life of his victim (blood – the life is in the blood).
c. The greedy man is like a parasite—he takes but he doesn’t give.
d. And the greedy man takes advantage of others stealthily.
• It may be robbery—a scam artist who steals your identity and sucks the money out of your bank account.
• It may be a slick salesman—who provides a service or a product that is a scam. He may sell you a cure-all elixir that takes your money but cures nothing.
• Greedy men are like blood suckers.
5. It is likely that this thought is an expansion of Prov. 30:14 – the cruel, greedy ones who have jaw teeth like knives with which they devour the poor and the needy.
a. They are greedy men who take advantage of the poor and needy.
b. They exploit the poor like a leech exploits its host.
15b There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: 16 The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.
1. Agur continues his description of greed, but he switches his poetic format.
a. He had been using a different kind of expression (“there is a generation that…”) to demonstrate a particular area of fallen human nature.
b. Now he changes the formula, and uses another familiar Old Testament poetic formula (There are three things, yea, four…) The prophets used similar language.
2. Agur plainly states that he is describing “things that are never satisfied.”
a. This is a description of insatiable desires like lust, greed, or covetousness.
b. Satisfied: Be in a state of physical contentment, due to having physical needs met in abundance or excess.
c. The greedy man, like a bloodsucker, is never satisfied. He always wants just a little more.
3. The four examples Agur gives which “never say enough.”
a. Obviously, this is figurative language. Graves, wombs, fire, and water cannot actually speak.
b. The point is that these things have one thing in common: they have insatiable desires and don’t know how to be content.
c. The greedy man is like that: he has an insatiable appetite for “more” and never seems to have enough.
4. The four insatiable things:
a. The grave
• This is a personification of a grave—as if a grave had desires.
• One would think that the grave (sheol – the place of the dead) would be satisfied.
• How many people have died and been buried? Isn’t that enough?
• The grave is never satisfied with the countless millions of occupants. It can never say “I have enough.”
• The point: a desire is never satisfied by obtaining that which it desires.
• True contentment isn’t found in getting what we desire.
b. The barren womb
• The same truth is found in this example.
• How many women were there in the Old Testament who were barren and craved a child?
• How many are there today?
• The barren womb says, “If only I could have just one child!”
• And if they finally bear a child, they cannot say, “It is enough.” Instead they say, “It would be so nice to have just one more.”
• The point is the same: a desire is never truly satisfied by obtaining that which it desires.
c. The dry earth
• Agur was not writing from Washington State’s rain forest. He was writing from a very dry and arid region.
• There the dry, parched sands craved for water. They baked in the hot sun and (figuratively speaking) lusted after rain.
• And no matter how hard it rains, the parched earth soaks up all the rain—like a bloodsucker sucking up the blood.
• And after the torrential downpour, the earth soaks up all the rain, the sun comes out, and the earth is craving for more rain.
• It can never say “enough.”
d. The fire
• The fire that rages through a dry forest does the same.
• It devours all the trees in the forest—and when it gets to the highway, the trees on one side are not enough. It sends its sparks over the road and continues to devour dry trees and brush.
• The fires out West are often the size of Rhode Island… and even then, it’s not enough. The flames seem to want to devour more and more.
5. Heaping one illustration upon another, Agur drives home his point:
a. A desire is never satisfied by obtaining that which it desires.
b. True contentment isn’t found in getting what we desire.
c. True contentment is only found in LEARNING to appreciate what we DO have and LEARNING to be content therein.
6. Phil. 4:11-13 – “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
a. This is not a natural talent or skill that we learn.
b. Rather, this kind of contentment is only obtained THROUGH Christ in you.
c. It is a moment by moment yielding of our will to Him…
d. Desires are going to be with us forever. We always see the grass as a little greener on the other side of the fence.
e. We crave after fame, fortune, the nice house on the hill, the perfect family, the corner office, the BMW, celebrity status, etc.
f. Agur’s point is that cravings and desires never stop… like a raging out-of-control fire.
g. As soon as one desire is fulfilled, six more pop up in its place.
h. The real secret is to LEARN to enjoy the blessings God has provided and THANK Him from a pure heart of appreciation daily for your situation.
i. Consider Paul’s advice: “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”
7. We too can be like the grave, the barren womb, the parched soil, or the raging fire… longing to be satisfied with one thing or another.
a. Those who live according to the flesh are never satisfied.
b. Those who live according to the flesh can never say, “It is enough.”
c. The flesh continually desires more and more. It is insatiable… unquenchable.
d. One commentator likened this insatiable desire to Pharaoh’s skinny cows: when they had eaten up all the fat cows, they were still as hungry and whining as before.”
e. Since the flesh will never be satisfied, the Biblical way to deal with the flesh is the CROSS.
f. Gal. 5:24-25 – “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
g. The one who walks in the Spirit is filled with the FRUIT of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. The Spirit filled believer will be content… satisfied. He knows how to say “Enough.”
h. He has found His all in all in Christ. He has all he needs in Christ. True contentment is found in a Person: Jesus Christ.
i. There the believer has not just enough – but exceedingly abundantly, above “enough.”
Proverbs 30:17
The Eye that Mocketh His Father
Introduction:
1. This proverb seems to point back to the thought in vs. 11: a generation of those who disrespect their parents.
2. Vs. 17 makes another statement concerning the son who curses his father, namely, the consequences of a disrespectful life and lifestyle.
3. As we consider the words of Agur, it is good for us to keep in mind that these are proverbs. They are kernels of truth – statements of generality that are not to be understood as literal truth in all situations. They are not promises or prophecies, but proverbs.
4. In essence, this is yet another “you reap what you sow” proverb with a specific application.
17a The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother
1. Vs. 11 – “There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.”
a. This sort of disrespect has been a perennial problem. It has existed since the fall of man. It is nothing new.
b. Children disrespect their parents—and cause much hurt to their parents. Then they have children who grow up and show disrespect to them. What goes around comes around.
2. Mocking one’s father
a. Mock: Scoff; ridicule; speaks words which disparage;.
b. Note that the mocking is with the eye.
c. They may mock verbally—but not all mocking is verbal.
d. It is possible to mock with one’s body language—and especially facial expressions (the rolling of the eyes; the raising of the eyebrows; etc.)
e. You can mock and ridicule someone without saying a word.
f. Perhaps they mock an elderly father’s feebleness or lack of strength or a lack of memory. They may mock their commands.
g. Mocking is also expressed as an attitude of heart—and that attitude can be expressed in lots of different non-verbal forms.
h. God knows the heart.
i. And of course this goes for demonstrating a lack of respect elsewhere also: teachers, kings, senators, presidents, bosses…
3. Despising one’s mother
a. Despise: To scorn, deride, to have contempt for another.
b. The term does not mean to “hate,” but to show contempt.
c. Prov. 23:9 – Fools despise wisdom. They have contempt for wisdom because wisdom calls their folly into question and exposes it for what it is.
4. The Scriptures mention this societal and sin problem often:
a. Prov. 20:20 – “Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.”
b. Lev. 20:9 – “For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.”
c. Deut. 21:20-21 – “And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 21And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.”
d. Deut. 27:16 – “Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.”
e. This is an ancient vicious cycle… from generation to generation.
5. In Judaism, it should not have occurred, but it did.
a. Remember that Israel was a nation.
b. You became an Israelite simply by being born – the natural birth.
c. You became a son of the covenant in Israel through natural birth.
d. Thus, very few in Israel were genuinely saved. Some were—but most were not.
e. Nevertheless, their culture was so influenced by the truth of God’s Word, that there was a stigma attached to being disrespectful to one’s parents.
f. That cut down drastically on the occurrence of this kind of disrespect… but it still occurred and was addressed several times in the Old Testament.
6. However, as Christians, this cycle should not continue. The cycle should be broken because Christ is able to change the heart.
a. It is addressed in the New Testament as well.
b. Col. 3:20 – “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.”
c. Eph. 6:2 – “Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)”
d. There should be a deep sense of respect among genuinely born again Christians.
• Children for parents (Eph. 6:2)
• Youth for their elders (Lev. 19:32)
• Wives for their husbands (Eph. 5:33c)
• Congregation for church leaders (Heb. 13:17)
• Citizens for governmental leaders (I Pet. 2:17)
e. This sense of respect and honor is to be shown because it is Biblical and right before God—not because it is a cultural issue.
• There was a day when the culture promoted this—but no longer.
• Today youth seems to be honored and glorified.
• Yet, regardless of what our culture says, the Bible is the truth and is to be believed and obeyed.
7. Yet, in spite of what the Bible says and in spite of what should be, there are still those who mock their father and despise their mother.
a. In graphic, figurative, and poetic language, Agur states the consequences of this lack of respect.
b. His language is designed to capture your attention and paint a picture in your head.
c. That ugly picture painted in your head will hopefully make you think twice before transgressing in this area.
d. Sometimes a picture (even a verbal picture) is worth a thousand words.
e. Do you remember the ad against drug use?
• The announcer showed an egg and said, “This is your brain,” and then as they fried the egg he said, “This is your brain on drugs.”)
• The picture sticks with you. So does the verbal picture of Agur.
17b The ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and young eagles shall eat it.
1. The point Agur is making in the proverb is NOT that if a child mocks or disrespects his parents that birds will immediately swoop down out of the sky and pluck his eyes out.
a. Rather, the picture that is painted here is that of a dead body lying out in the wilderness and birds of prey eating the carcass, and yes, even plucking out the eyeballs and eating them. It is a delicacy for ravens!
2. This picture should be put in its social and historical context.
a. In the Old Testament, a decent burial was extremely important.
• It was important to be buried with your fathers with the proper fragrant spices and incense and to have many come to the funeral and weep excessively.
• II Chron. 16:13-14 – the burial of King Asa.
b. To die without a decent burial was the highest form of disgrace.
• II Kings 9:10 – Jezebel died and there was none to bury her. Dogs ate her flesh.
• Jer. 16:3-4 – God’s judgment was a lack of a decent burial for them, their sons, and daughters. Without a burial, they were considered as “dung” upon the face of the earth.
• Rev. 19:13-18 – When Christ returns, the armies of the world gather to fight against Him. Those armies are destroyed, and as a final insult and disgrace, their bodies lie unburied—and the birds of prey come and eat their flesh… presumably, including their eyeballs.
• This was the highest form of disgrace.
3. Agur’s point to the youth who do not show respect for their parents and for elders in general: this is what will happen to you!
a. If you treat your parents and the elderly in a disgraceful manner, disgraceful treatment will come around to you!
b. Perhaps your children will grow up to mock and despise you—as you did to your parents.
c. This is not part of a Hindu-like karma. Rather, this is a very natural principle of life: you reap what you sow.
• Bad behavior begets more bad behavior.
• If you sow seeds of disrespect, expect to reap a crop of disrespect.
• God used similar language to describe the consequences of Judah’s rebellion: “Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee.”
• It is poetic justice—but also divine justice.
• You’ll get what’s coming to you one day.
• Rebellious children who disrespect parents and all authority usually beget children who disrespect parents.
• Note also that it was the EYE that mocked the father. The eye is a window into the soul. It reveals what is going on inside – the inner man.
• It is the eye in particular that is mentioned for the grossest insult and disgrace in death. It is a hideous picture.
• It is a hideous picture because this kind of disrespect is hideous to God.
• The respect (or lack thereof) we show to parents, leaders, elders, and rulers, and others in authority is an expression of our attitude towards God—the ultimate Authority over us.
Proverbs 30:18-19
Four Incomprehensible Things
Introduction:
1. This proverb comes to us in the way of a riddle, of sorts.
2. Agur mentions four things that are “too wonderful” to know.
3. The riddle is to figure out what these four things have in common.
4. Verse 20 is connected to this riddle – and is a specific application of the riddle; however, the riddle stands on its own.
5. Again, it is designed to make us think.
18 There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:
1. Again, Agur uses the same poetic format as in vs. 15-16 – “three things and four…” In the previous section what the four things had in common was the fact that they are never satisfied.
2. In vs. 18-19 that which they have in common is twofold:
a. They are “too wonderful.”
b. They are “incomprehensible.”
3. “Too wonderful”
a. Wonderful: Beyond one’s power; too difficult to do; wondrous because of the difficulty; surpassing; extraordinary; surprising; astounding.
b. To highlight just how wonderful—this is one of the names of God in Isaiah 9:6 – His name shall be called “Wonderful!” God is so beyond our capacity to comprehend, all we can do is stand in wonder and awe!
c. The term is used in Genesis 18:14 – “Is any thing too hard for the LORD?” In other words, is anything too extraordinary for God? Is anything too amazing for Him? No! God can do anything.
d. The term is also used in Judges 13:19-20 of the Angel of the Lord that appeared to Manoah and his wife: “So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. 20For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.”
e. They just witnessed the Angel (the Lord!) ascending up into heaven in a flame off the altar! What they saw amazed them. They stood in awe and wonder.
4. The four things Agur lists are things which cause us to stand in wonder and awe.
5. “Which I know not”
a. This term means: to be made aware; revealed; to show; to find out.
• Lev. 4:23a – “Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering…”
• The term speaks of having information revealed, shown, come to one’s knowledge, to become familiar with; etc.
b. First Agur described these four things as amazing and extraordinary. Now he describes them as beyond his ability to comprehend: “I know not.”
c. He does not understand how such things could be. It has never come to his knowledge; no one has ever explained such a thing.
d. How does it work? How does it happen? It seems to defy logic and explanation.
e. There was no textbook explaining how these things work. The science behind it seemed elusive. And to a certain degree remains elusive to this very day!
Four Amazing Things
19a The way of an eagle in the air;
1. Try to put yourself back in time before science had advanced to what it is today. There were certain everyday occurrences that seemed perplexing.
2. We like to think of ourselves as advanced scientifically and technologically.
a. But even though scientist have discovered the “mechanics” behind that which perplexed men in ages past, they have also discovered new things that cause scientists to marvel today.
b. Today we have far more things that perplex scientists and those who made scientific observations of the world around us.
c. The creation is STILL full of wonder and amazing things to behold that baffle the most brilliant scientists of our day.
3. Agur stood amazed at how an eagle could soar through the sky.
a. We continue to stand amazed at flight.
b. The creatures of earth that fly often have very different means of flight too – from the eagle, to the hummingbird, to the white and fluffy dandelion seeds, to the flying squirrel.
19b The way of a serpent upon a rock;
1. Agur was also amazed at how a snake moves across a rock.
2. The snake has no legs. He doesn’t seem to “inch” along like an inchworm either.
3. The snake moves his body one way and moves in the other direction.
19c The way of a ship in the midst of the sea;
1. The next amazing thing Agur contemplated was the ship sailing through the vast ocean.
2. It has no engine; no one is rowing; it consumes no fuel; and often the wind is blowing in contrary direction, yet the ship continues to sail where it wants to go.
3. Of course men in Agur’s day did understand much of the science behind it. Men invented the sail and knew how to use the wind for his advantage. They also understood about the water currents that help move vessels along in the ocean.
4. However, it is still a wonderful thing to watch – to see boats sailing in the sea.
19d The way of a man with a maid.
1. This seems to be the most wondrous thing of all!
2. The “way” of a man with a maid (virgin) speaks of a courtship.
3. How a young man and young woman get together and just “click” still amazes us.
4. We have yet to learn the chemistry and science behind that—and probably never will.
5. Yet (as in the other cases), in spite of the fact that we don’t understand HOW it happens, it does happen!
6. And when it happens, we stand amazed at the creation of God.
What These Amazing Things Have in Common
Agur chose four very different things of wonder.
• At first glance, there seems to be nothing in common between a bird, a snake, a boat, and a young couple.
• But upon further reflection (that is the purpose of this proverb) there are similarities that come to mind.
1. There is something mysterious about all four.
a. The eagle
• There is something mysterious and wonderful about watching birds fly.
• It is especially amazing to watch a large bird fly. It seems like they should fall out of the sky by the draw of gravity—but they don’t.
• It is part of the wondrous creation of God.
b. The serpent
• The serpent moving on a large flat rock also is mysterious.
• I’m sure that most of us have stopped to watch them move at one time or another and stood amazed.
• Again – God’s design in His creation causes onlookers to stand amazed.
c. The ship
• Watching sailboats glide over the water is another wonderful thing to watch.
• It’s a great way to spend a lazy hour or two at the beach on your day off.
• And perhaps you have seen the windsurfers or para-surfers. They too zip back and forth across the water with the greatest of ease.
d. The young couple
• And note what he includes last: the way of a man with a maid… courtship.
• This too is mysterious how John and Jane just seem to click. This isn’t something that fits into a neat formula.
• Science cannot predict which two people will come together and cause just the right kind of chemistry to occur.
• There is something supremely mysterious and wonderful about this—and yet it happens every day.
2. They leave no trace behind.
a. The eagle
• When planes fly, they leave behind a trail of smoke and burnt fuel.
• When the eagle leaves nothing in its wake.
b. The serpent
• The serpent slithers over a rock and does not leave any foot prints behind… or no slime like a worm or slug.
c. The ship
• The ship passes through the sea, and the ocean is unaffected by it.
• By observing, you could not go backwards and trace where they came from. They leave no trace behind.
d. The young couple
• When the chemistry occurs between a young man and woman, there are no residuals. It’s not like an explosion.
• They leave no residue behind for a scientist to trace out and study.
3. They need no road or pathway.
a. The eagle
• The eagle flies through the sky—but he doesn’t follow a road.
• There are no pathways for eagles to follow.
• There are no guard rails up there—there are no passing lanes—there are no superhighways.
b. The serpent – The snake slithers across the rock and gets where he wants to go without any roads either.
c. The ship – The ship sails through the sea and doesn’t follow any visible road or pathway.
d. The young couple – And so with the young couple.
• There is no pathway that we can see that led them together.
• There was no scientific way to determine with any accuracy that this man and this woman would be attracted to each other.
• For the believer, God leads along—but we see no pathway. They don’t always follow the same route.
• There is no easy formula to follow that leads a couple together…—Christianmingle.com notwithstanding!
4. They seem instinctively to know what to do.
a. The eagle – The young eagle on his very first flight instinctively knows what to do.
b. The serpent – The serpent is born with the ability to slither.
c. The ship – The ship also (when designed properly) instinctively functions as designed.
d. The young couple
• And so too with the young couple.
• There is something very instinctive about how they come together – about them being drawn together.
• It’s not really learned behavior.
5. They make something exceedingly complex look very simple.
a. The eagle
• Birds soaring through the air are an amazing complex activity scientifically.
• It took centuries for man to duplicate it… and even then, our “copy” is very clumsy, awkward, and bulky compared to a bird.
• The bird soars gracefully and with the greatest of ease.
b. The serpent – there is much complex science behind a snake’s motion. But the snake makes it look so easy! It moves so seamlessly.
c. The ship also sails with grace and ease.
d. The young couple
• The final point – that which draws a young man and woman together is infinitely complex.
• It is a physical, mental, social, spiritual kind of magnetism that defies description. It is beyond science.
• But when it happens, it seems like the most natural and simple thing in the world!
• We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
6. Agur wants his readers to stand amazed at God’s marvelous design in creation.
a. It is good to meditate on God’s creation and to ponder its marvels. It is a good spiritual exercise.
b. And in this spiritual exercise, the scientist has no advantage over a shepherd or a fisherman.
c. God made everything – and all of creation is fearfully and wonderfully made.
d. God knows how to make things work… and work well.
e. And He also knows how we humans were designed to function.
• In fact He wrote a book on the subject.
• We would do well to follow the instructions in His Word.
f. There are many marvels in the world that are mysterious to us. But that’s ok. We don’t have to know how everything works.
g. We just have to trust and obey—and function as God designed us to function…
h. And with all the other things we don’t understand, we can just stand in awe of who God is and praise Him for the great things that He has made.
i. The whole earth shows forth His handiwork.
Proverbs 30:20
The Way of an Adulterous Woman
Introduction:
1. Last week we considered vs. 18-19 in which Agur described four things that were too wonderful for him and which he could not understand. (the eagle in the air, the serpent on a rock; the ship in the sea; and a man with a maid).
2. We noted that “wonderful” did not mean something pleasing or delightful, but rather, something that caused a person to wonder. It was something that stunned and amazed him.
3. And that he “did not know” these things. He couldn’t understand how it could be.
4. Verse 20 is connected in thought to the previous verses. In vs. 20, Agur is going to connect the four things with an adulterous woman.
20a Such is the way of an adulteress woman…
1. Agur had been speaking about different “ways” of different creatures.
a. The Hebrew term “way” is the same in each case.
b. It means the road or pathway; a path travelled. It is often used in a metaphorical sense as a pattern of life or behavior, as it is here.
c. Agur is speaking about the pattern of life of an adulterous woman… the harlot or whore.
2. As Agur thought about the way of the adulterous woman (her patterns of life; her lifestyle; etc.) he records that her ways were in some sense similar to that of the eagle, the serpent, the ship, and the young couple.
a. Her ways caused Agur to “wonder.” (vs.18) In other words, her ways stunned him. He was shocked and dumbfounded. He stood amazed at her. He was full of wonder – he wondered, “HOW could such a thing be?” Yet it is.
b. Like the “ways” of the four things mentioned, Agur “did not know” (understand) how the adulterous woman could behave the way she did—but she did. Just like he was lost for an explanation as to how the eagle could fly so easily or how the snake could slither so easily over a rock, he could not understand how a whore could behave the way she did either.
3. That which the four “things” have in common with each and with the adulterous woman.
a. Their ways cause onlookers to be stunned and amazed that such a thing could be!
b. Their ways cannot really be known or comprehended.
c. They leave no trace behind them.
• The eagle, the serpent, the ship, and the young couple leave nothing behind. They all do something stunning and suddenly it is over with no trace left behind. It’s as if the eagle never flew through the sky… or the serpent never slithered over the rock. There is no trace left behind—it is as if nothing happened.
• So too with the adulterous woman. She commits a horrendous sin against a holy God, and walks away from the scene as if nothing happened.
d. They seem to instinctively know what to do.
• The eagle, the serpent, the ship, and the young couple do something amazing—and it seemed to be done out of instinct. The young couple just seems to “click” together. The eagle just stands up and flies. The way is IN them instinctively. It is part of their nature to do so. Eagles fly; snakes slither.
• So too the adulterous woman. It is her nature to behave that way. It is IN her.
• That’s because we are all born with a sin nature—bent towards sin.
• But just because something comes naturally to us, does not mean that it is right or good. SIN comes naturally to us.
• That’s why men need to be born again—and receive a NEW nature empowered by the Holy Spirit that God would give them VICTORY over sin and their sinful inclinations.
• Sinning is just as natural and instinctive to us as sinners as flying is to an eagle, or sailing is to a sailboat.
• Unless restrained, it just happens.
e. They make something exceedingly complex look very simple.
• Marvelous design went into the creation of the eagle that enables it to fly with such ease… almost effortlessly.
• Complex science is behind the movement of a serpent over a rock, but the snake makes it seem so easy.
• And what could be more graceful and seamless than a sailboat sailing over the waters.
• The young couple also makes something complex seem simple. Out of the millions of people on earth—bringing the right two together seems complicated. Yet, apart from the complexity of the chemistry going on—it is the most natural and simple thing in the world!
• In the same vein, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to lure a married man away from his family and his wife to be drawn in to the harlot.
• But it was not complicated for the harlot. She is a pro at this and makes it look easy.
• Consider her “ways” in Prov. 7:13-21.
» This harlot came up with a most intricate scheme.
» But the elaborate and detailed scheme didn’t seem like it was difficult for her. She didn’t even have to think about it… she had done it so many times before.
» She made the whole arrangement seem so simple and easy… and she made it seem fool-proof. They would never get caught. She had all the bases covered.
» Like the eagle that leaves no trail behind, the adulteress has a plan that leaves no traces for her husband to discover.
» The way of the adulterous is indeed very much like the way of the eagle, the serpent, the ship, and the young couple.
20b She eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.
1. Here Agur describes a part of the “way” of the adulterous woman.
a. After committing her sin of luring a foolish man into an adulterous relationship, breaking up a family, ruining lives, this harlot walks away, eats a meal, wipes her mouth, as if it was nothing!
b. It is just as normal and natural for her to satisfy her sinful sexual desires as it is to satisfy her normal desire for food.
c. She makes no distinction. She lives in the flesh to satisfy the flesh.
2. And to make matters worse, she walks away and says, “I have done nothing wrong.”
a. There is no guilt; no shame; no conviction;
b. There is no thought of the consequences of her action. There is no thought of how her action will affect the man and his family.
c. It is as if she had no conscience of sin.
d. Everyone has a conscience. And the first time this woman committed the sinful act, she was no doubt feeling very guilty.
e. But when a particular sin is repeated over and over and becomes a lifestyle, one loses that sense of conviction. There is no more conscience for sin. She is hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
f. She was so accustomed to her sinful lifestyle that she had “seared her conscience.”
g. When we sin and sin repeatedly, we lose the sense of guilt and shame for sin. We no longer sense a guilty conscience.
h. Because she doesn’t feel as guilty, she actually starts to believe that she ISN’T guilty. “I have done nothing wrong.”
i. But SAYING she has done nothing wrong doesn’t mean that her act wasn’t wrong.
j. I John 1:8 – “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
k. And when the adulteress begins to actually BELIEVE that lie, her conscience no longer bothers her.
l. The conscience only operates according to the knowledge and information that it has. If this woman believes that fornication is not sinful, then she will experience no guilt.
3. Agur points out the FOLLY of such thinking. This woman is CLEARLY guilty before God.
a. The Bible expressly forbids adultery. “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” (Ex. 20:14)
b. The Law made adultery a capital crime – the death penalty was established for it. (Lev. 20:10)
c. It was pretty clear what God thinks about that sin.
4. And it isn’t only adultery that is sin—sexual impurity with a married person. Any kind of fornication is sin.
a. The people involved don’t have to be married. Single people can commit sexual sin too.
b. I Cor. 5:9-10 – “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
c. Here Paul speaks not of committing one act of these sins. He is speaking of a lifestyle. Those folks demonstrate by their lifestyle that they are lost and have never been born again. They shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. God makes it clear what He thinks on the subject of sexual sins—and many other sins too.
d. I Cor. 5:11 – “But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.”
e. Gal. 5:19 – lists fornication as a work of the sinful, fallen, fleshly nature of man.
f. And think about how accepted this sinful behavior is in our culture today. Young couples “live together.”
• But let’s call it what it is: sin.
• It doesn’t matter that our society seems to accept it today; God doesn’t. God hates it, as He does all sin.
• But the fact that people do it all the time, there is no more stigma attached to it, and our culture seems to accept it as normal does not change the facts: it is sin.
• But what effect does our tolerant society have on young people today? Very often they no longer feel guilty about sexual sin. Everyone does it. It no longer causes them to feel guilty. They have seared their consciences.
• Remember Sandra Fluck? She was pushing for government paid birth control. How come no one asked her why she, an unmarried college student would need such a thing?
g. Young people and older couples too—live in sin and think nothing of it. They live in sin and then walk away and say, “I have done no wickedness.”
h. They can SAY all they want, but they HAVE done wickedness in God’s sight. And He will judge according to TRUTH one day—not according to opinion polls of men.
5. And what about homosexuality today?
a. Here is another sexual sin that seems to be more and more tolerated in our culture.
b. But it’s pretty clear what God thinks about it.
c. Lev. 20:13 – “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”
d. Rom. 1:26-27 – “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.”
e. What we see in our country (and around the world) today is the effect of decades of tolerance for a sinful lifestyle that God does not tolerate.
f. And because this lifestyle which has throughout the history of civilization been considered abnormal and sinful is suddenly being accepted by men, that does not mean God has changed His mind on the subject.
g. It is still an abomination… vile sin against a holy God.
h. Those who live that lifestyle will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
i. Yet, because it is becoming acceptable by our society, those who commit such sins can do just what the adulterous woman in Proverbs 30:20 did.
j. They commit their sin, go out and eat, wipe their face (as if it was nothing) and then proclaim—I have done nothing wrong.
k. Sinners can sin so many times, that they no longer feel guilty.
l. Sinners can also convince themselves that right is wrong and wrong is right.
m. But let’s not forget, that fallen, sinful man is not the standard. God’s Word is the standard against which all is judged.
n. Isa. 5:20 – “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
6. And keep in mind that as Christians, God wants us to hate sin—but love the sinner. Christ came to save sinners.
a. Sexual sin is becoming the norm.
b. Millions are engaged in various forms of sexual sin.
c. And we need to keep in mind that sexual sin is not an unpardonable sin.
d. Those folks engaged in sexual sins of any sort can be saved just like anyone else.
e. Don’t avoid them because of their sinful lifestyle. Every sinner has a sinful lifestyle.
f. Bring the gospel to them. We have the cure for that which is ruining their lives and sending them along a pathway to Hell.
g. They need to hear the wonderful words of life from God who is a righteous Judge of all the earth, but is also a gracious, loving and forgiving Heavenly Father – a pardoning God, who is not willing that any should perish.
h. But He doesn’t save anyone so that they can continue in their sin. He saves men FROM their sin.
i. God is able to deliver the adulteress, the fornicator, and the homosexual from sinful lifestyles too. Christ not only saves us from Hell; He saves and delivers from slavery to sinful ways… and gives NEW life in Christ.
Proverbs 30:21-22
Things that are Unbearable
Introduction:
1. Once again we see the same poetic format: “for three things and for four…”
a. We saw this in vs. 15-16; vs. 18-19; and now in vs. 21-23.
b. It continues in vs. 24-28; and vs. 29-31.
2. Throughout, Agur has been recording his observations in life.
3. Tonight we are going to consider Agur’s observations about things that are unbearable.
21 For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear.
1. As a reminder, Agur uses the figure of speech (“for three… and for four”), in which the number increases. The second number is the number he settles on. There are actually four things that disquiet the earth and are unbearable.
2. “The earth is disquieted”
a. Disquiet: To cause to shake; to be in anguish; to disturb; to agitate; to provoke to anger; to be astonished – to feel a state of unexpected wonder.
b. The meaning that best fits this context is “to agitate; to cause to shake; to disturb.
c. Agur is describing things that he finds disturbing… disruptive. Perhaps also implied is a sense of something being shaken up—but not in a good way.
d. The things that Agur mentions in the next couple of verses he sees as agitating life on earth; as being disruptive to society; things that are disturbing because they are not the way life OUGHT to be.
e. Agur is observing his society as an older, mature man. As he observes, he notices things that disturb him. He notices aspects of his country and society that he sees as harmful and disruptive to life as it ought to be.
f. He records his findings for us.
g. It is unlikely that what he observed, he only observed once. It probably would not have been so disturbing to him. It is likely that what he records for us were TRENDS that he saw happening over and over again. This he found troubling.
h. Older folks notice things that younger folks don’t notice.
• Older folks and younger folks both observe the same events… but have a different perspective.
• The younger folks see such happenings and assume that is just the way things are (and perhaps have always been).
• Older folks look at the same events and see the occurrence as something that never happened before—at least not so frequently.
• Older folks are able to observe trends that younger folks don’t have enough history to be able to see.
• The trends Agur saw troubled him.
• I have to admit that I often feel like Agur when I observe trends in our country—and especially in the churches.
• There are things happening in the churches that never happened before—at least not to the same degree and frequency.
• And there are three, yea, four of those trends I find troubling.
3. The earth “cannot bear”
a. Bear:
• Literally it means to lift something up and carry it.
• Figuratively it means to carry something on the heart that is difficult to carry; hard to bear. For example: bearing burdens on the heart; bearing guilt; bearing through a trial; etc.
• Agur is using the term in a figurative sense here.
• His point is that there are some things that occur that are “unbearable.”
b. The earth cannot bear such things.
• Again, by the “earth,” he does not mean the physical planet, but people on the earth—society—culture—the nations of the earth.
• There are certain events, occurrences, and trends on earth that are too heavy to be borne.
• They will break the back of a society or a nation if allowed to continue.
4. Agur noticed four of those things that he records for us in this passage.
a. These are things that disturbing to him. He sees them as agitating and disrupting to society.
b. And he sees them as so heavy that a nation or a people cannot long bear them. They are unbearable.
c. Like a wagon trying to carry a load of bricks that is too heavy, it will soon collapse.
d. This, the author finds disturbing.
e. I’m sure we can relate to this; especially as we observe trends in our country:
• Spending more than we have (at some point that becomes a moral issue—not a political one)
• The change from a traditional family to who knows what
• Loss of freedom and privacy
• Persecution against Christianity
f. These trends are disturbing to me; but that’s another issue.
g. Let’s look at the things that were disturbing to Agur.
22a A servant when he reigneth;
1. The first disturbing thing he mentions is a servant reigning.
a. That’s not the norm. That’s not the way things should be.
b. In fact, this sort of thing is unbearable.
2. The situation he describes here is topsy-turvy. It is abnormal.
a. Normally kings reign and servants serve.
b. But here he describes a situation where the servant is reigning as king.
c. Agur is describing a nation where a servant (who is presumably uneducated, unqualified, and unprepared for leadership) suddenly finds himself on the throne, ruling over the masses.
d. This situation envisions a series of anomalies occurring simultaneously:
• An unqualified man suddenly thrust into a position that requires much grooming and training.
• A poor man suddenly becoming exceedingly wealthy.
• A man who lived from paycheck to paycheck suddenly with access to the entire treasury of a nation.
• A man with no authority suddenly becoming the most powerful man in the country.
• A man, who has no idea as to how the economy works, suddenly is making decisions that will affect the national economy and the lives of everyone in the nation.
• A man with no understanding of the judicial system, suddenly, as king, has the power of life and death. He now has the power to say, “Off with his head” and it happens.
e. Agur probably observed this happen—perhaps in the nations around Israel.
• He realized how abnormal this was; how absurd and inappropriate it was.
• It’s not the way things should be.
• Prov. 19:10 – “Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.” It is not seemly – inappropriate.
3. Keep in mind that these are proverbs.
a. There may be times when a servant does a better job than the one who was groomed, educated, and trained for the job.
b. Exceptions do occur.
c. But the rule is, that the situation Agur describes is not the norm; and in most circumstances, is not preferable.
d. In fact, usually this is very disturbing and disruptive to a society or a nation. As Agur said, “It is disquieting.”
4. It can become unbearable!
a. It can become unbearable when an unqualified servant suddenly thrust into a position as king—with no training. He can make life unbearable for his subjects through his ignorance incompetence.
b. A poor man suddenly becoming exceedingly wealthy can easily become unbearable. Money easily goes to a person’s head for those who come into great wealth overnight.
c. A man with no authority suddenly becoming the most powerful man in the country. Imagine making Salem, NH’s “dog catcher” the president of the US? He could easily make life unbearable for all around him—and for the citizens of the country.
d. The concept about which Agur laments here is similar what Isaiah described in Isa. 3:4-5 – “And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. 5And the people shall be oppressed.”
e. It is foolish to children, or men who are not prepared to rule over a nation. It will result in oppression of one sort or another.
5. We don’t live in a monarchy; but this kind of situation does occur often in the US in other settings:
a. A poor man suddenly becomes a multimillionaire (through the lottery or by inventing a new kind of social media).
b. A nobody with no authority can win one election and become very powerful.
c. A young punk on the street corner can be swept up into a professional sports team and suddenly become rich and famous over night and have to deal with the swarms of women who follow him and the paparazzi.
d. Agur’s point in our proverb is that those situations don’t always end well. That person’s actions can become very disturbing and unsettling; and he himself can even become unbearable for all those around him.
22b A fool when he is filled with meat;
1. The second illustration is similar.
2. Here Agur speaks of a foolish man who is filled with meat.
3. The fool in Proverbs is an immoral man.
a. He is seen to be a rude, loud and boisterous man.
b. He is often violent and vicious.
c. He has no control over his tongue or his appetites.
d. He is completely selfish and is inconsiderate of others.
e. He is lazy and jealous of what others have through hard work.
f. He is unkind, unpleasant, and difficult to be around.
4. Agur pictures what this man is like when he is “filled with meat.”
a. “Filled with meat” may be a figure of speech in which the author uses one example to represent something much broader.
b. A fool filled with meat speaks of a fool who is well off and has his fill of whatever he needs.
c. He has plenty of food—and everything else, like a servant who has suddenly become rich.
d. This kind of fool is very disturbing and disruptive.
e. In fact, being around this kind of person would be unbearable!
f. Prov. 19:10 – “Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.”
• A fool who has his fill of “all he wants” would be obnoxious.
• To see him delighting in his “fill” would be unseemly.
• His actions would be completely inappropriate – unseemly.
5. Ecc. 10:5-7 – Solomon saw this kind of folly and also wrote about it: “There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: 6Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. 7I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.”
6. These things are abnormal, disquieting, upsetting, disturbing, unseemly, inappropriate, and unbearable.
Proverbs 30:23
An Odious Woman and a Handmaid
Introduction:
1. Agur is describing four things that disquiet the earth and that the earth cannot bear. (vs 21)
2. Last week we consider the first two: (1) a servant who reigns and (2) a fool who is filled with meat.
3. Tonight we want to consider the last two: (1) an odious woman when she is married; and (2) a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
23a …For an odious woman when she is married;
A. An Odious Woman
1. Odious defined:
a. Odious means “to be hated; to be detested; abhorred; intense dislike; a lack of compassion for; unloved;
b. In the broadest sense, it is used of all kinds of hatred or intense dislike.
2. Usage of the term:
a. Gen. 37:5 – “And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.” (family hatred—jealousy)
b. Lev. 19:17 – “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart.” (internal hatred)
c. Judges 11:7 – “And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father’s house?” (hatred among fellow countrymen – feared him)
d. Prov. 14:20 – “The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends.” (neighbors – social bigotry)
e. Prov. 8:36 – “But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.” (a fool who hates wisdom)
f. Deut. 33:11 – “Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again.” (those who hate the Lord)
3. There are lots of reasons why people might hate others.
a. The odious woman is one who is hated.
b. The English word “odious” seems to imply that the fault lay with the woman. The Hebrew term simply states that she was hated—and does not imply any reason for that hatred.
c. However, the word translated “odious” could be interpreted as “hateful”… thus laying the blame on the woman.
d. It seems best to me (in light of its usage elsewhere) to view this woman as one who is hated or unloved rather than hateful.
e. Either way, what is described is a marriage without love.
B. An Odious Woman When She is Married
1. Agur describes the odious woman in more detail here. He emphasizes a kind of hatred associated with her marriage.
2. Specific usage of the term “odious” relating to marriage:
a. Deut. 21:15 – used 2 times: “If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated.”
b. Gen. 29:31 – “And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.”
c. Of course, the term is used in lots of other contexts, but these two seem closest in meaning to its usage in Prov. 30:23.
d. An odious woman is one who is hated; scorned; whose love is rejected in her marriage.
3. Agur is describing a married woman who is not loved by her husband.
a. The examples in the Old Testament can be traced back to polygamy as the root cause.
b. It was so common, that a law had to be established to regulate the inheritance.
• Deut. 21:16 – “Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn.”
c. With multiple wives, some would be loved more than others.
• Gen. 29:30 – “And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.”
• It resulted in jealousy, envy, anger, and hatred.
• Of course, polygamy was not God’s design for marriage. God brought Adam one wife—not many.
• The Old Testament gives us ample proof that polygamy is not only not God’s design—it doesn’t work well. It created all kinds of problems in the home.
4. For this, the earth is disquieted. (vs.21)
a. Disquiet: To cause to tremble; to cause to shake; to disturb; to be in anguish; to disturb; to agitate; to provoke to anger.
b. A home where the woman is not loved is earth-shaking.
c. It is disruptive to God’s plan… to society… and certainly to the marriage relationship and the children.
d. A home where the wife is not loved by her husband provokes the wife to anger… it agitates the children and upsets their lives too.
e. It is not God’s design for the home.
f. God’s design is described in Eph. 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.”
g. Children are also to demonstrate their love for their mother by honoring (showing respect and appreciation to) her (Eph. 6:2).
h. Agur’s point is that when the woman in the home is not loved, the whole earth is disquieted—it is disturbing to God’s plan for life on planet earth. It is extremely disturbing to the natural order of things which God built into His creation.
i. This is NOT the way things ought to be!
5. For this, the earth cannot bear. (vs. 21)
a. Figuratively it means to carry something on the heart that is difficult to carry; hard to bear. For example: bearing burdens on the heart; bearing guilt; bearing through a trial; etc.
b. Agur is using the term in a figurative sense here.
c. His point is that there are some things that occur that are “unbearable.”
d. They will break the back of a society or a nation if allowed to continue.
e. There are lots of evils in the world, but this one is unbearable. It cannot be tolerated.
f. Our society is seeing the effects of this from coast to coast.
g. Men use women for their own pleasure; they have children; they don’t get married; they demonstrate by their actions that they do not love the woman they should have married.
h. And in many marriages there is infidelity… another demonstration of the fact that the wife is not loved and cherished. If she was, there would be no infidelity.
i. An unloved married woman is something that is unbearable to the home… to a society… and to a nation.
j. The home is the building block of society… and we see the building blocks of our society crumbling.
k. It will break the back of our nation and does not bode well for the future of any people. It is unbearable.
l. And yet all of this can be resolved as simply as men obeying God’s Word: “Husbands, love your wives.”
m. As Christians, we ought to be LIGHTS in the midst of darkness.
n. When there is little light emanating from a Christian home—that is really bad news for our nation.
o. The answer there is also simple: “Husbands, love your wives.”
p. The onus is on the husband to take the lead in that too… loving a wife—regardless of how she treats you. That’s what love is.
23b And an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.
1. This is the fourth example of an unbearable thing: a handmaid who is heir to her mistress.
2. A mistress refers to a lady of some prominence and stature.
a. It is sometimes used of a queen or a female ruler.
b. It also is often used of a woman who has servants under her.
c. This is the meaning of the term in our proverb.
3. This example is very similar to the first example: a servant who reigns.
a. The handmaid is a female servant.
b. The normal order of things was that the servants serve. That’s their job; that’s what they were hired to do.
c. But when a female servant becomes heir to the lady she works for—look out! That spells trouble ahead.
d. Just like the servant would be ill equipped, untrained, unprepared to be a ruler and reign, so too a female servant who is heir to her mistress will one day suddenly be thrust into a position of power, great wealth, and prominence for which she is woefully unprepared.
4. This situation too can become unbearable… and extremely disturbing to all involved.
a. It is not the way things ought to be.
b. Often, when someone is instantly thrust into a position of great power, it goes to their head—and they themselves become unbearable!
5. Overall, in all four of these examples of “unbearable things”, Agur describes a perversion of the natural order of things as God designed.
a. Normally, kings reign and servants serve. When that is reversed, it often leads to trouble.
b. Normally fools are lazy and have nothing; but if a fool suddenly comes into a lot of money and has all he needs and is “full”—then look out. His folly will be over the top!
c. Normally a husband is to love his wife. That’s God’s plan. But when God’s plan is rejected, and a married woman is unloved, expect trouble.
d. And normally, a female servant serves. But if that order is reversed, and the female servant takes over the position of power that her mistress once had—she probably won’t be prepared to handle that very well.
e. When young athletes or young actors suddenly become rich and famous, their lives don’t always turn out well. There are exceptions—but this is the rule.
f. When God’s order in the home is not carried out (an unloved married woman), it creates disorder, jealousy, and disrupts the home life. That’s not God’s way.
g. And just imagine what the future holds for America, when we think of how much MORE the family is being changed in this generation. We are legalizing immorality—changing God’s design for the family. Now we are tolerating two husbands or two wives. Polygamy must be right around the corner—and who knows what else. God help us!
h. To use the words of Agur: the earth will be disquieted, and our nation will not be able to bear it!
i. We need to pray for our leaders as God has commanded.
j. We need to be willing to be considered old fashioned and out of step with the modern world—because the modern world is out of step with God.
k. A society works well only when each one does his job and fulfills his role as he or she was designed to do… and to be.
l. The same is true in the local church. The local church works well only when each one does his job and fulfills his role as he or she was equipped by God to do.
m. I Cor. 12:7, 18 – “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” 18“But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.”
Proverbs 30:24-25
Little but Wise
24 There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
Introduction:
1. In vs. 24-28 we have the fourth set of “things” Agur observed.
2. They all follow the same poetic pattern of numbering the things.
a. Vs. 15-16 – Two things that are never satisfied.
b. Vs. 18-20 – Three, no four things that are too wonderful to know.
c. Vs. 21-23 – Three, no four things that are disquieting and unbearable for life on the earth.
d. Vs. 24-28 – Four things that are little, but wise.
3. This section of “things” Agur observed consists of ants, conies, locusts, and spiders.
a. They are all small and yet they all manifest wisdom—in various ways.
b. They each have something to teach us.
c. Job 12:7 – “But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee.”
d. There are lessons we can learn from animals.
e. Tonight we are going to consider the ant.
f. What a thought! The infinite, eternal, omnipresent God – the Lord and Creator of the universe, commands His children to take the time to stop and think about something as tiny as an ant.
g. And if we do take the time to stop and meditate about one of God’s tiniest creatures, there are some wonderful spiritual lessons that have the power to enable each of us to become BETTER servants of God and thus acquire more rewards that will be our blessing for all eternity!
h. Just by thinking about an ant!
i. It is actually a little humbling isn’t it? …that we have things to learn from an ant? It is humbling, but true.
j. The fool will never learn these things because it requires humility. The fool is too proud.
k. Proverbs 24:7 states that “wisdom is too high for a fool.” He will never get that high because the way up is down. If we humble ourselves, (which the fool refuses to do) God will lift us up.
l. Pride keeps us from wisdom. But if we are humble enough to consider the ant (and the conies and spiders), then God will lift us up and give us wisdom!
m. We would do well to take to heart the lessons that the ants have to teach us. They are small, but wise.
Introduction to the Series (vs. 25)
1. That which each of these critters has in common is the fact that they are all small, but wise.
2. In one way or another, they all teach us that wisdom is always preferable and superior to being big and powerful.
a. Wisdom is far more valuable than strength.
b. Wisdom is greater than stature.
c. Wisdom is even superior to knowledge. (Not all educated people are wise.)
3. In a sense, the book of Proverbs is all about wisdom: what it is, how to get it, how wisdom exceeds folly, and what to avoid.
4. We have already seen some passages in Proverbs that teach this same truth: wisdom is superior to strength.
a. Prov. 21:22 – “A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof.”
b. Prov. 24:5 – “A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.”
5. Now we are going to consider examples from God’s creation—and tiny creatures at that!
ANTS: Small, But Wise Enough to Be Diligent and Prepared
25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
A. The Ants Are a People Not Strong
1. Ants are not strong physically.
a. Actually, for their size and weight, ants are exceptionally strong.
b. But Agur is considering their strength as compared to other creatures.
c. Compared to a rhinoceros, ants are not strong. I don’t think anyone would debate that point.
d. Ants are tiny. Most creatures could simply step on them and crush them. It’s really no contest.
e. If it was a match up based on brute force, not many creatures would be afraid of the strength of an ant.
2. This is really the basis of Agur’s point.
a. Real strength isn’t always measured in brute force.
b. It’s good to be physically strong, but there are many things that are superior to brute force. The ant is one example.
c. Don’t judge a book by its cover. An ant is small, relatively weak, and not all that attractive, but they are wise… which is far more valuable.
d. Brains trump brawns.
B. Yet They Prepare Their Meat In the Summer
1. Ants are wise enough to plan ahead.
a. Ants know their needs. They know they need food.
b. They have the foresight to know that the food supply they have won’t last throughout the winter months.
c. It is almost as if they budgeted their time and resources, figured out exactly how much food they would need to carry them until the next growing season, and then made plans to store enough away.
d. They may be tiny critters, but there are much larger and much stronger animals that DON’T make it through the winter because they don’t plan ahead.
e. God gave Joseph the wisdom to stockpile the grains in Egypt during the seven years of famine.
• He had a master plan to deal with droughts that were coming.
• Joseph “prepared the meat” for the Egyptians ahead of time so as to have enough to meet their needs during a season when there would be no food.
• He showed such wisdom and foresight, that he was made the Prime Minister of the greatest empire on earth at the time.
• In other words, the Prime Minister of the greatest empire on earth had the wisdom of an ant!
• And the whole empire admired Joseph and gloried in his wisdom.
f. God made the ant… and God gave the ant the “foresight” (scientists call it instinct) to prepare ahead of time. To God be the glory. Scientists don’t like to give God the glory for the wonders and marvels He built into His creation; but we should.
2. Ants are wise enough to take personal responsibility.
a. Prov. 6:6-8 – In this passage, it is evident that Solomon (the author) also studied ants and made observations about their wisdom.
• Solomon challenges his readers to “Go to the ant… and consider her ways.”
• The ant has “ways” that we would be wise to observe and incorporate into our lives.
• In other words, if you want to gain wisdom, put aside all your high tech toys for a while, and watch ants work.
• “And be wise.” By observing, we should learn from the ant, and as a result, gain wisdom we can put into practice in our own lives!
• Observing ants is not a waste of time; it is time well spent.
• Solomon used the same word as Agur: “they PREPARE” their meat in the summer.” (translated “provide” here)
• Solomon also observed that the ants have the foresight to plan ahead for winter.
• Note also that Solomon says that ants do this with “no guide, overseer, or ruler.”
» This was not an edict which came down from a communist-type central government forcing all the workers into submission to their five year plan.
» This was not a kind of socialism where the ants were forced to behave in a particular way for the good of the society imposed upon them from above. Nobody forced them. There was no ruler.
» It was simply that each of the ants had enough foresight and wisdom to know that they needed food and they therefore planned ahead to gather it and store it up for the winter.
» Nobody had to demand it of them. They were not forced into labor like Pharaoh forcing people into building the pyramids and other national building projects.
» They each took personal responsibility. The work had to be done so they did it. No questions asked.
» They were small and relatively weak, but wise.
b. We could learn some lessons from the ants.
3. Ants are wise enough to be diligent.
a. Prov. 6:6-8 – Solomon not only spoke of their individual, personal responsibility (no ruler over them making demands), he also highlights their hard work and diligence.
b. Vs. 6 – This passage is directed towards the sluggard.
• He is addressing lazy human beings.
• Vs. 9 – The sluggard would rather sleep than work.
• Vs. 11 – the sluggard will end up in poverty. He won’t have enough of what he needs because instead of going to work to earn money to meet his needs, he was sleeping… or at the beach… or watching the clouds roll by.
• The lazy man may have a lot of intelligence. He may have been an A+ student in school; but he is not wise.
• The lazy man isn’t even as wise as an ant.
c. The ant knows enough to get up and go to work gathering food for the winter. The ant has the foresight to do it, the personal responsibility to do it, and he has the diligence required to do it.
d. The ant will have plenty to eat during the winter months.
• And that is not because they are large and strong.
• Ps. 34:10a – “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger.”
• Lions are much larger and stronger than ants, but the ants do not lack food because they are diligent and industrious workers.
e. But what about the lazy human being?
• The lazy human being is much larger than the ant. He is much stronger than an ant. And he has far more intelligence than the ant.
• But the ant is superior in wisdom.
• That is really something to think about.
• Ants know how to take care of themselves better than some human beings!
4. They are wise enough to seize a window of opportunity.
a. Proverbs 30:25 – The ant prepares his meat in the summer time.
b. The ant has the wisdom to know (1) that he needs food for the winter and (2) that food grows in the summer time, and (3) that the summer time is the only season of opportunity they have to get what they need.
c. And because they are diligent and industrious workers, they SEIZE the opportunity.
d. Other creatures may be relaxing in the summer sun. Other creatures may be splashing in the pond. Other creatures may hibernate during the winter and don’t need a stockpile of food. But the ants know that they DO need a stockpile of food for the winter.
e. They take advantage of the summer to get what they need.
f. They know that once the cold weather settles in, their window of opportunity closes on them.
g. They are wise enough NOT to let that happen.
h. The ants prepare their meat (food) in the summer.
i. We too could learn good lessons from the ant.
• God gives us seasons of opportunity too.
• We should have the wisdom to SEIZE the opportunities God gives and use them for God’s glory.
• Some opportunities come and go.
j. Today the window of opportunity is open to preach the gospel.
• We should do what we can with what we have to SEIZE this opportunity to plant churches and preach the gospel of the grace of God to all the “whosoever wills” out there.
• The window of opportunity may not be as wide open down the road.
• Col. 4:2-4 – “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; 3Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: 4That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.”
• Let’s be as wise as ants in our own little circle of influence.
Proverbs 30:26
Conies: Feeble but Wise
Introduction:
1. Verse 26 is part of the context that begins in vs. 24.
2. In this section, the author Agur is describing four things which are little, but exceedingly wise.
3. The first small but wise creature was the ant. Ants are tiny and are not strong compared to other creatures; however, they are wise enough and have the foresight to plan ahead and prepare their food in the summer.
4. The second small but wise creature is the coney. The coney is feeble, but makes his house in the rocks.
26a The conies are but a feeble folk
A. What Is a Coney?
1. It is hard to be certain exactly which animal the Bible refers to when its species is not well known. Some creatures have become extinct. Others may have different names in different lands.
2. Various descriptions are given for this creature.
3. The coney of the Bible has been variously described as:
a. Some have identified it as the Syrian rock hyrax.
b. It is similar to a rabbit in appearance – with short ears.
c. According to the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, the coney is the badger (which is similar to a woodchuck or a groundhog).
d. However, according to the Easton Bible dictionary, “It is about the size and color of a rabbit, though clumsier in structure, and without a tail. Its feet are not formed for digging, and therefore it has its home not in burrows but in the clefts of the rocks.”
e. According to Deut. 14:7 – The coney is distinguished from the hare – and thus is not the same as the hare (rabbit).
f. Yet another dictionary identified the coney as a shrew mouse… a small rodent.
g. Lev. 11:5 – The coney was considered an unclean animal to the Jews because he chews his cud but does not divide his hoof.
4. We may never know with certainty which creature to identify with the Bible “coney”—if any. It could be extinct.
a. But it is not necessary to know with certainty.
b. We do know approximately what kind of creature it is.
c. It is a small animal, similar to a rabbit, large mouse-like creature, or a groundhog… that evidently does not dig.
d. It appears to chew its cud and it does not divide its hoof.
5. Agur gives us two more features of the coney—features that are pertinent to the proverbial point he is trying to make.
a. Vs. 24 – They are small but wise.
b. Vs. 26 – They are “feeble folks”
c. FEEBLE: The expression “they are a feeble folk” is actually a positive translation of a negative expression in Hebrew. The Hebrew says, “They are not a mighty folk” – hence, a feeble folk. It means exactly the same thing.
d. FOLK: This refers to its “tribe” or “group”… we would say today, its species. This implies that there is a whole family of other similar creatures in this “kind” that are feeble and make their homes in the rocks.
6. The coney is not strong or mighty; it is feeble.
a. The implication here is that the coney is not well equipped to defend itself against predators.
b. There were lots of other creatures roaming the wilderness that would love to make a meal of the conies.
c. Wolves, jackals, wild dogs, large snakes, and perhaps even some birds of prey could easily overpower these feeble creatures.
d. With their small legs they cannot outrun a wolf.
e. They don’t have the fangs, the claws, or even the strength to do battle with a wild dog, or even wild cats.
f. They don’t have the armor of an armadillo – which have built in plates that serve as protection against their enemies.
g. They don’t have the wings of an eagle to fly away.
h. They don’t have the size to scare down a predator.
i. Compared to the creatures that would love to feast on them, the coney is vulnerable… defenseless… helpless out there in the wilderness. It has no strength.
7. Thus, the coney cannot rely on its own strength for safety against its enemies.
a. It must never trust in its brute force for protection against its adversaries. If it does, it will surely lose the battle—and perish.
b. The coney is one of the four things Agur says are small upon the earth… and not only small, but feeble – weak and helpless.
c. The coney lives in a hostile environment, surrounded by creatures much larger and stronger than itself – creatures that are seeking to hunt it down, kill it, eat its flesh, and toss its carcass in the wilderness.
d. The coney finds itself in a most precarious situation.
26b Yet make they their houses in the rocks
1. Agur also tells us something else about the coney. It may be small, but it is WISE! And how does it manifest wisdom?
2. They make their houses in the crags of the rocks that are found everywhere out in the wilderness.
3. Psa. 104:18 – This is the only other place in the Bible where the word coney is mentioned.
a. “The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.”
b. The coney finds REFUGE in the rocks.
c. Refuge: A place of safety; free from danger.
d. Interestingly in the whole context of this psalm is designed to reveal the fact that it is the LORD who provided all that His creatures need.
• Vs.10, 13 – HE sends them water and streams.
• Vs. 14 – HE causes the grass to grow for the cattle.
• Vs. 16-17 – HE planted all the trees and provided homes for the birds.
• Vs. 18 – It is implied too that it was HE who provided the rocks for the conies as a place of REFUGE from their enemies.
e. So WHY does Agur call them wise?
• Because they are wise enough to realize their weakness.
• They are wise enough to take advantage of that which God has provided for their safety and refuge.
• They are wise enough to be humble enough to realize that they are no match for their predators—therefore, they go to the place of refuge God has provided.
• If they were proud and foolish, they might try to do battle with the fox or wolf.
• But because they are humble and wise, they take advantage of the safety God provided for them – the rocks.
4. They lack strength; so they don’t rely on their own strength.
a. They hide in the little caves and crags in rocks.
b. And in that little hole, they are safe from much larger and stronger creatures.
c. The other creatures (wolves and dogs) may be stronger than the coney, but they are not stronger than the rock in which the coney finds safety… and they are too large—and thus the enemies cannot get “in” where the conies are hiding.
We could learn some good lessons from the coney
1. Don’t be proud and foolish; be humble and wise.
2. Acknowledge our own spiritual weakness. Have no confidence in our flesh.
• “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing.” (Rom. 7:18)
3. Take refuge in the ROCK that God has provided for us.
• “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psa. 46:1)
• “In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.” (Psa. 62:7-8)
4. Stay close to the Rock.
• “Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” (Ps. 91:9-10)
5. Turn your weaknesses into strength by resting in the ROCK of Ages.
• “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” (II Cor. 4:7)
6. Don’t lament your weakness. See it as an opportunity to rely upon the infinite power of God.
• “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, (weakness) for when I am weak, then am I strong.” (II Cor. 12:10)
7. There is no need to fear our enemies when we take refuge in God’s provision for safety.
• Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked [one] (Eph. 6:16).
8. We too have an enemy that is much stronger than we are. But when we rest in the safety of our Rock of Ages, we are safe and secure and nothing can harm us.
• “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (I Pet. 5:8)
• “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day.” (Psa. 91:1-5)
9. Don’t trust in self and assume that we can handle our adversary on our own.
• “In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.” (Psa. 56:11)
• “Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. 2From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. 4I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.” (Psa. 61:1-4)
10. Thank God for the “cleft of the Rock” He has provided.
• “And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul: 2And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; 3The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. 4I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised…” (II Sam. 22:1-4)
11. Today, it is also true among humans, that the unclean creature (a sinful man) who runs to Christ in faith will find safety and security in Him… our Rock of Ages.
Proverbs 30:27
Small but Wise: The Locusts
Introduction:
1. In this last section of Proverbs 30, Agur has been describing things that are “small but wise.” (vs. 24)
2. The first example was the ant. They are small, but wise enough to take advantage of the window of opportunity in the summer, diligent enough to work hard, and smart enough to plan ahead for the winter. (vs. 25)
3. The second example was the coney. They are small and defenseless creatures, but wise enough to make their homes in the rocks for shelter and safety from predators.
4. The third example we are going to look at tonight is the locust. This creature is also small, but wise enough to go forth in bands.
Locusts
1. The locust
a. The locust is a small creature… like the ant and the coney.
b. It is basically a flying grasshopper.
2. They are edible – and are considered “clean” according to the Levitical dietary laws.
a. Lev. 11:21-22 – “Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; 22Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.”
b. Matt. 3:4 – John the Baptist ate locusts and wild honey. (Though some sources state that he ate locust berries.)
3. Locust swarms devastate crops and cause major agricultural damage. (information taken from the National Geographic.)
a. This often causes human misery—famine and starvation. They occur in many parts of the world, but today locusts are most destructive in sustenance farming regions of Africa.
b. The desert locust is notorious. Found in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, they inhabit some 60 countries and can cover one-fifth of Earth’s land surface. Desert locust plagues may threaten the economic livelihood of one-tenth of the world’s humans.
c. A desert locust swarm can be 460 square miles in size and pack between 40 and 80 million locusts into less than half a square mile (one square kilometer).
d. Each locust can eat its weight in plants each day, so a swarm of such size would eat 423 million pounds of plants every day.
e. When they connect up with a wind current, they can fly over 300 miles in one night!
4. The locust in the Bible
a. Ex. 10:4 – The eighth plague in Egypt was the plague of locusts.
• The threat was that if Pharaoh did not let God’s people go, that God would destroy the land with locusts.
• National Geographic tells us that a swarm of locusts can eat 423 million pounds of plants in one day. They could easily destroy Egypt’s crops along the Nile River.
• A desert locust swarm can be 460 square miles in size and pack between 40 and 80 million locusts into less than half a square mile.
• They could easily do what Moses threatened: “cover the face of the earth so that you can’t even see the ground.”
• And in light of the fact when connected to the wind stream, that locusts can travel over 300 miles in one night—this army of locusts could easily be brought in by the Lord as He threatened.
• This threat should have scared Pharaoh to death. He should have repented—but he didn’t.
• Psalm 105:34-35 – The psalmist described the coming of this plague as the result of God “speaking.”
1. “He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillars, and that without number, 35And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.”
b. Rev. 9:3 – Locusts are mentioned in the final book of the Bible.
• Vs. 3 – They come out of the smoke and have power like a scorpion. They “sting.” These are not ordinary locusts.
• Vs. 1-2 – They are part of the fifth trumpet judgment of the Tribulation Period. These locusts come out of the bottomless pit. These are not ordinary locusts.
• Vs. 4 – They were given instructions NOT to harm the grass or vegetation. Instead, they were to “hurt” those who had not the seal of God in their foreheads.
• Vs. 5 – Their sting torments men for five months.
• Vs. 7-9 – These “locusts” are actually demons coming out of the bottomless pit – like a swarm of locusts. Their description indicates that these words are not to be taken literally.
• Like locusts, these demons are many, a swarm all at once, and inflict harm… only on men.
• Vs. 11 – And they had a KING over them – Satan.
1. These “demons” which swarm and hurt like locusts DO need a king over them.
27 The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands
1. The literal locusts which Agur is describing are small, but wise enough to be able to function WITHOUT a king or a ruler over them.
a. The bees have a queen bee; but not the locusts.
2. Some fascinating discoveries have been made about the locusts.
a. Sometimes locusts can be solitary creatures, like a grasshopper, but they also have another behavioral phase: “the gregarious phase.” This transforms an ordinary desert grasshopper into a brown flying locust.
b. An article in Scientific America stated that under certain environmental conditions, these grasshoppers emit serotonin and a metamorphosis occurs – like that of a caterpillar into a butterfly.
c. Thus, the green grasshopper is transformed into a brown locust and only in the locust stage do they swarm together. These two phases of the desert grasshopper were considered to be two different species until the 1920s because they look so different.
d. What happens is that when they come upon an area with many green plants, they stop there to eat. The locusts congregate into thick, mobile, ravenous swarms.
e. As they become denser, swarming upon a small area of vegetation, the density triggers more serotonin which causes them to fly as a unit and they stay together as they corporately seek greener pastures.
f. They are fascinating creatures.
3. Agur never read the National Geographic or American Scientific, but he did notice how these creatures fly as a unit… in bands… orderly… and with great discipline… and that they did so automatically… without a king or ruler… no one over their shoulders telling them what to do.
4. This is the point that Agur makes: they are small, but wise enough to function together as a unit without anyone telling them what to do.
5. The locusts “go forth in bands.”
a. Band: Distributed; divided into divisions; ranks; – hierarchy.
b. Thus, they function as a unit… with orderly divisions.
c. They might appear to be just a sky full of bugs, but they arrange themselves neatly and there is an order to it.
d. They function in great order.
e. They are seeking for food and go forth as an army on a mission.
f. In fact, in Joel 2:25 God refers to locusts as “my great army which I sent among you.”
g. Locusts are small and weak individually, but when they swarm almost nothing can stop them—except an ocean.
h. They are small but wise enough to realize that there is strength in unity.
i. And they do so without a king or ruler.
j. These little creatures are fearfully and wonderfully made.
k. Human beings don’t function very orderly without a ruler or leader of some sort. Every man does what is right in his own eyes—and that leads to chaos.
l. But locusts do function orderly without a ruler.
m. They are small but wise.
6. Lessons from the locust
a. Thus, they function as a unit… with orderly divisions.
• The church is to function as a unit.
• I Cor. 12:12 – The church is like a body that functions as a unit.
• This can be applied to a company or a family unit as well.
• We could learn from the locusts. They know this instinctively.
b. They function in great order.
• The local church is to be orderly in its conduct.
• I Cor. 14:40 – “Let all things be done decently and in order.”
c. When the serotonin is released, it causes the locusts to be extremely social and to stay close to each other.
• Eph. 4:25 – We are “members one of another.”
• Rom. 12:5 – “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”
d. They function as a unit for the good of the whole swarm.
• I Cor. 12:7 – Individual members of the local church are equipped to function for the good of the whole body too.
• Selfishness is not even considered among the locusts. That should be the case in the local church too.
e. They function as an army on a mission.
• The local church has been given a mission too: to make Christ known through our life as a witness in the world, and verbally by proclaiming the gospel.
• Are we as wise as a grasshopper? Are we sharing the good news of Christ to those around us?
f. They are small and weak individually, but when they swarm almost nothing can stop them.
• Our adversary can attack us, but the church is unstoppable when we stay close to Christ and walk by faith.
• Eph. 6:16 – “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
g. They realize that there is strength in unity.
• Our adversary seeks to cause division in the church.
• Doctrinally… personally… morally… any way he can.
• If Satan can get the believers in an assembly fighting amongst themselves, instead of banding together in unity, he has an inroad there.
• II Cor. 2:10-11 – If we hold grudges and manifest an unforgiving spirit, Satan can take advantage of us.
• This is not an organizational unity that makes the church strong—but an INTERNAL unity among the members of a local church.
• I Cor. 1:10 – “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
• When we are KNIT together in love, it is very unlikely that we will unravel.
h. And they do so without a king or ruler.
• Of course, the church has no king; but we do have a Head – the Lord Jesus.
• However, as we function on earth, our Head is invisible—He is at the right hand of the Father in heaven.
• So on earth, it LOOKS LIKE we function without king or ruler.
• Even though our Ruler is in Heaven, we WILL be able to function as a unit when each of us is submitted to His will and His Word… and filled with His Spirit.
• By God’s grace, let’s be as wise as a locust.
Proverbs 30:28
Small but Wise: The Spider
Introduction:
1. Here we have the third of three examples of things that are small but wise. (Cf. vs. 24)
2. This trio consists of the ant, the coney, and now the spider.
a. The ant is small, but wise enough to plan ahead for the winter.
b. The coney is small, but wise enough to make her home in the rocks.
c. The spider is small, but is found in a king’s palace.
28a The spider taketh hold with her hands…
1. This passage is short, but presents us with a couple of challenges.
a. First is the meaning of the Hebrew word translated “spider.”
b. Second is the expression “taketh hold with her hands.”
2. SPIDER: (sem·aw·meeth)
a. This Hebrew word is translated variously as either spider or lizard. It is not a textual issue. We know for sure what the Hebrew word is; but there is disagreement as to how to translate it. Some sources give the Hebrew word two meanings: spider or lizard.
b. Some believe that this name came from a root that means “poison, toxic, or stupefying”. (There are poisonous spiders and lizards.)
c. A precise identification of some of the insects and small creatures in the Bible from ancient names is an imprecise science. That is especially so of ancient Hebrew words that are used only once in the Bible – like the term for spider here.
d. But the exact species to which Agur refers is not the point.
e. We have all the information we need to accurately interpret the proverb.
3. The next challenge is the expression “taketh hold by hands.”
a. Again it is not a textual issue.
b. The problem in interpreting this is whose hands are taking hold… the spider’s or the onlooker?
c. Thus, it could mean that the spider (or spider/lizard) is so small that a person could catch one in his hand.
d. Or, it could mean that the spider/lizard uses his “hands” to take hold of walls to climb.
e. Since the point of the proverb is to demonstrate that the creature is small but wise (vs. 24) the KJV is best here because it describes a small creature AND shows its wisdom in the way it uses its “hands.”
f. Each hand (foot) has many hair-like fibers; and each of the fibers has many more fibers coming out of it. They have up to 600,000 fibers coming out of their feet, and these fibers cling to surfaces and enable them to climb even shiny surfaces.
g. The spider is small but wise in the way he is able to manufacture fine threads that he uses to transport himself wherever he wants to go… and to weave a web that catches his dinner. He weaves his web and then just waits for dinner to be delivered to him. That’s pretty wise. He doesn’t even have to go out hunting like the much larger and stronger animals.
4. Agur’s point is that this is a tiny, weak creature.
a. A person could easily kill it by stepping on it.
b. And if it was a poisonous creature, then it would certainly be hated by others. Nobody likes poison bugs or poison lizards.
c. But they are wise. The way they transport themselves is ingenious.
28b And is in kings’ palaces.
1. The second part of the proverb contains the main point. And thankfully there is no ambiguity in the wording.
2. Agur states that the spider, in spite of its relative weakness, and in spite of its relatively tiny size, can be found in the king’s palace.
3. Perhaps Agur had the opportunity to enter the king’s palace on a special occasion.
a. He, like Solomon, was a thinking man.
b. Most people who see a spider in a palace would simply view it as a pest that the servants need to attend to and clean out.
c. Who would take the time to stop and think from the spider’s perspective? Agur did.
d. Agur thought about that little spider.
• He thought: what a tiny, weak creature.
• It doesn’t have the strength to lift a hammer. It doesn’t have the size to lift up beams and large foundation stones.
• And yet, it lives in a royal palace… not a bad place to live!
• Comparing his own dwelling to the spider, Agur lived in what might be called a humble cottage; but the spider lived in a palace filled with gold, jewels, fine furniture, and all the best of everything.
• In fact, some spiders today still live in palaces and homes that are 100 times grander than your house or mine!
• We don’t live in a royal palace—but spiders do.
• In spite of all of man’s efforts to keep them out—they somehow are wise enough to get in. And they often live in homes much better than ours.
• So who’s the dummy now?
• The spider may be small and weak; but is wise.
4. APPLICATIONS
a. God takes care of His creation. The lilies… the sparrows—even the spiders. If God can provide a palace for a spider, He will take care of you too.
b. Spiders are small, weak, and often hated, but they dwell in a palace fit for a king.
• In the world’s eyes, believers are small, weak, and despised by the world too.
• Eph. 2:4-6 – But we dwell in something that surpasses a king’s earthly palace; we dwell in heavenly places in Christ.
c. Spiders and their webs are constantly meeting opposition in the form of the home owner who is forever sweeping out spider webs and trying to remove these “pests.”
• But the spiders keep on weaving more webs… in spite of the opposition. They are diligent like the ant and they never give up.
• We too should follow this example. We may face opposition from foes that are much more powerful than we are.
• They may sweep away our little “webs”—the labor of our hands; but learn from the spider and weave another! Don’t quit.
d. All four of the “small but wise” creatures have lessons to teach us.
• They all teach us that our perceived disabilities (small; weak; etc.) need not be cause for defeat. If we use the abilities God has given us wisely, we can do quite well—in spite of our infirmities.
• The ant is small but stores food for the winter; their foresight and diligence makes up for their weakness.
• The coney is small and weak but lives in rocks which provide protection against larger and stronger predators; his wise choice of the rocks makes up for what he lacks in strength.
• The spider is small and generally hated—yet they reside in palaces. The spider can’t jump like a grasshopper; he can’t fly like a bird; but he does know how to make “rope” and uses it for his advantage. He is not big and strong but he does have a fascinating and effective means of transportation. He gets around quite well considering his so called disability.
• Prov. 22:29 – The spider is diligent and ends up in king’s palaces. We could learn from her diligence.
• All of these creatures do very well.
• They do not gripe, complain, or fret over the qualities they don’t have; instead they use to the fullest the qualities they do have.
• And as a result, they have plenty to eat; they are safe from their enemies; and they live in beautiful dwellings. They have food; shelter; and safety. They have all their needs met. What more could they want?
• God takes care of them. He will take care of us.
e. We would do well to learn from these little creatures.
Proverbs 30:29-31
Four Comely Things
Introduction:
1. This is the last in a series of things Agur describes using the same poetical pattern:
a. Vs. 15-16 – Two things that are never satisfied.
b. Vs. 18-20 – Three, no four things that are too wonderful to know.
c. Vs. 21-23 – Three, no four things that are disquieting and unbearable for life on the earth.
d. Vs. 24-28 – Four things that are little, but wise.
e. Vs. 29-31 – Four comely things
2. In this series, Agur mentions a lion, a greyhound, a goat, and a king.
a. These are the four comely things.
b. And they have a valuable lesson for us.
29 There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:
1. Here we see the familiar pattern: three things, yea, four.
a. In this series, there are three things from the animal kingdom: lion, greyhound, and a he goat.
b. The fourth is from mankind – a human king.
2. In each series, each of the things mentioned have something in common.
a. In the series in vs. 18, all four things were too wonderful too know.
b. In the last series, the four things were similar in that they were all small but wise. (Vs. 24)
c. In this series, the four things mentioned also have something in common: they “go well” and are “comely in going.”
3. They all “go well.”
a. The word “go” means: “stride; walk; step.”
b. The word “well” means pleasing; good; successful; beautiful; beneficial; favorable.
c. The expression (go well) speaks of a walk that is beautiful; admirable; favorable.
4. They all “are comely in going.”
a. The term “going” is not the same as the previous word translated “go.”
b. The word translated “going” means to travel; to walk; to walk about; to march.
c. The word translated “comely” means do well; beautiful; poise; stately.
d. The two expressions are virtually synonymous.
e. Agur tells us that what these four things share in common is a poised walk, an upright gait, a dignified step.
f. There is something impressive and noble about their “strut” or the way they walk… their gait.
30 A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;
1. The first creature mentioned with a stately walk is the lion.
a. The lion is called the king of the jungle. They walk around like they really believed it too. They walk about like they owned the jungle.
b. There is a huge difference between the royal strut of a lion and the way a tiny sand piper flits across the beach and away from anything that comes near.
2. The lion is strongest among the beasts.
a. This is quite a contrast between the creatures mentioned previously. (vs. 24- little upon the earth.)
b. The ants are a people not strong. (vs. 25)
c. The conies are but a feeble folk. (vs. 26)
d. The locusts and the spider are also comparatively small and weak.
e. But that is not the case with the lion. He is strong. And he walks about as if he realized his strength.
3. The lion “turneth not away for any.”
a. In other words, the lion doesn’t back down from anyone.
b. Sometimes a tiny mouse can spook a horse or even an elephant; but a lion is not easily spooked.
c. The lion is fearless. The lion is courageous. The lion is bold.
d. He is not like the cony that runs under a rock for shelter when he sees another animal coming.
e. The lion turns away from no other creature.
31a A greyhound; an he goat also;
1. In vs. 31a, we have two more creatures mentioned that are “comely in going.”
2. Greyhound: This term is problematic in interpreting.
a. It is problematic because its name is idiomatic. It literally means “girt about at the loins.”
b. Sometimes animals are named according to what they look like.
c. That is evidently the case here.
d. The KJV translates the term the best they could from the idiom as a greyhound. The greyhound is certainly a creature that is “girt about at the loins.” (slender waist)
e. “Girt at the loins” is also a way saying “ready to run.” The long robe is pulled up around the waist and girted with a belt so the man could run.
f. A greyhound is certainly a good example of an animal that is girt about the waist and prepared for running. They are known for running and speed.
g. Again, most Bible dictionaries do not list a particular animal. They simply give the Hebrew idiom. Some have suggested that it is an extinct animal.
h. The Hebrew idiom is translated in this passage variously as a greyhound, rooster, war horse, and even a zebra.
i. If I had to pick between those four, the greyhound certainly stands out as having a slender waist and is known for running.
j. However, I am just going to refer to this as some kind of a fast creature with a slender waist.
k. Whatever creature Agur had in mind, what we DO know is that it was stately, poised, and comely (beautiful) in the way it ran.
3. The third “thing” mentioned is the he goat.
a. Goats were very common creatures in Bible times. There is no question as to what this creature is.
b. And goats also walk about somewhat like a lion.
c. There is something stately about the way a goat walks—even on rocks. They are unbelievably sure-footed. They walk with their heads up… very dignified.
d. The male goat holds his head up high and has almost an arrogant look about him—like he owned the world.
e. Some years ago we had to get rid of a pet goat named Alfalfa. We gave him to a farmer and assured the farmer that he was gentle and easy to get along with. He never once bit or butted us. But when the farmer took our goat and put him in a large pen with a huge pig, within seconds, the goat butted the pig and knocked him over. He just wanted the pig and any other creature there to know that the king of the pen had arrived. He made it clear in the first few seconds in the pen that he was in charge and tolerated no rivals.
31b And a king, against whom there is no rising up.
1. The fourth and final creature mentioned is not an animal but a human being, a royal human being, a king.
2. In a sense, Kings walk about like a lion.
3. They too walk with poise—like they owned the world. There is often an air about them. They sometimes have a look of dignity about them. They have been groomed, polished, and thus walk with poise with their heads held up high.
4. Here Agur says that against a king, there is no rising up.
a. They walk about like a lion—and lions don’t turn away from anything.
b. The king walks about (often surrounded by body guards and even his royal army) and is therefore afraid of nothing.
c. Very often, in reality, deep down inside, kings lived in fear. There was much intrigue and murder in royal courts. There was always someone who wanted to kill the king and overthrow the monarchy.
d. But Agur is talking about outward appearance—the way the king walked.
e. They walked about in dignity, in courage, and put on a show of courage and strength.
f. That was part of their job – to give the people a sense of safety and security.
g. The king walked about like a lion and no one could rise up against him.
Application: Lessons from these four things:
1. In the animal kingdom as well as in human affairs, there is order.
a. In the animal kingdom, some animals are small and feeble. However, they may be extremely wise.
b. There are creatures that are “over” the feeble animals.
c. They have much greater power and strength.
d. They are in a superior position. The lion is certainly superior to the ant and the coney.
e. This was by Divine design. God created His world this way. In the animal kingdom you might call it a pecking order.
2. The same is true in human affairs—there is order.
a. Kings and senators and governors are “over” the “little” people.
b. That doesn’t mean that the “common people” are not wise.
c. They may be exceedingly wise. But in God’s order, they are beneath others. But that does not mean inferior—just different. Different does not mean inferior. Women are different from men—but not inferior. There is a difference in God’s order for the home too… the husband is the head.
d. Kings and wealthy people are big and powerful—like lions.
e. Many of the common people are small and relatively weak—like ants.
f. And in the world, God has ordained that we (the common people) submit to those who are over us.
• Rom. 13:1 – Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers…
• Submission is required by God not because the common people are inferior. Rather, it is to maintain order. There is order in God’s universe.
• Submission to leaders does not mean that those in high positions are necessarily wise and qualified. In fact, Daniel tells us that God sometimes raised up the basest of men to be in rulership positions.
g. We all have our lot in life. God wants us to accept it… submit to it… and be content in whatever state we find ourselves.
h. That is true in the home, in the local church, in our career, and in relationship to our government. There is a built in order in every realm of life.
3. The common man (like the ant) may not have the strength of a lion, but if he uses the talents he does have, (plans ahead; works diligently) then he can live very well. He may be small but is exceedingly wise.
4. Spiders live in the king’s castle.
5. Sometimes the “little people” live as well as the king.
6. We might not have the physical strength of a lion or the political strength of a king, but if we submit to God’s will for our lives, and do our best in whatever state we find ourselves, God will see to it that we BLOOM wherever we are planted and bring forth good fruit for God’s glory.
7. You don’t have to be a lion or a king. It’s not God’s will for everyone to be a leader or a ruler. Not everyone is in a position of strength and power.
8. It’s not God’s will for everyone to be the same.
a. There are differences.
b. How boring if we were all the same.
c. Not everyone is born with the same IQ. Not everyone is born in the same social standing. Not everyone is born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Not everyone is born physically strong.
d. We shouldn’t complain about the differences and cry, “That’s not fair.”
e. In the natural world, some are lions and some are ants. Some are he goats and some are conies. They are all unique—and they don’t complain.
f. In the world of mankind, some are strong and powerful; some are weak and seemingly insignificant.
g. But there is a place for each one… and each one in its place.
h. That’s God’s order and design. And when we learn to accept our lot in life… and learn to submit to what God has ordained for us… and how God has created us… and get busy like an ant doing our best—we can all glorify God just as we are.
9. One other note: the lion, the greyhound, the he-goat, and the king all walk in a stately manner… with poise, dignity, and courage.
a. We too, as part of a royal priesthood, should walk in this world with poise, dignity, and courage.
b. Our attitude should be: I will not fear what man can do to me.
c. We can have the courage of a lion too.
d. Psalm 46:1-2 – “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.”
e. Prov. 28:1 – “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.”
f. There should be something comely and beautiful about the “walk” of a believer. Is that true of us?
Proverbs 30:32
Lay thy Hand upon thy Mouth
Introduction:
1. The words of Agur are coming to a close.
2. He ends with a few words of advice – good advice that (sooner or later) we all will need to put into practice at the appropriate time, place, and situation.
3. We will be looking at two examples of bad behavior and what to do about them.
Bad behavior # 1:
32a If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself…
1. The main point of this expression is “lifting up thyself.”
a. This is a common expression in the Bible that speaks of PRIDE.
b. The concept of “lifting up” speaks of pride. Humility is described as “bowing down.”
c. Luke 18:10-14 – The publican refused to “lift up” even his eyes to heaven. He bowed down in the Temple. God was pleased with his actions.
d. We should not equate God’s pleasure with posture. It was the attitude of mind and heart that was exhibited through the posture that either caused God to be pleased or angry.
e. Jas. 4:10 – “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” If we humble self (bow down in humility) God will lift us up. When we lift ourselves up—God will humble us—knock us back down to size.
2. There are lots of examples of men and women who lifted up their hearts in pride—and the awful consequences.
a. Prov. 30:13 – It speaks of our generation that “lifts up” their eyelids in pride. Pride is seen in their facial expression.
b. Deut. 8:14 – A heart that is lifted up (in pride and self-sufficiency) forgets God.
c. II Chron. 26:15 – Uzziah’s heart was lifted up in pride and rebellion. He went into the Temple and burnt incense to God – a ministry reserved for the priests. His heart was lifted up to his own destruction. God smote him with leprosy.
d. Ezekiel 28:1-2 – King Tyrus lifted up his heart in pride and arrogance and said, “I am a God!” He was a picture of Satan!
e. Ezekiel 28:17 – The same thing was then said of Satan. His heart was lifted up in pride because of his beauty.
f. Dan. 5:20 – Nebuchadnezzar’s heart was lifted up and his mind was hardened in pride.
3. Agur states that lifting up self is FOOLISH.
a. It is foolish because God hates it.
b. It is foolish because God judges pride.
c. It is foolish because “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” (Prov. 16:18)
d. It is foolish because in the Scriptures we have so many examples of pride and its ugly consequences.
Bad behavior # 2:
32b If thou hast thought evil…
1. Thought: “To plan; to intend; to think with the purpose of planning a course of action.”
a. The term is used in Psalm 37:12 – “The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.”
b. Prov. 31:16 – “She considereth a field, and buyeth it…”
c. The idea of this term seems to go beyond just a passing thought that is quickly and firmly dismissed.
• It is a thought that has been contemplated seriously.
• Serious consideration has been given to evil in this case.
2. Evil: There is no Hebrew word that underlies this English word.
a. When this term is used without an object, it usually has the sense of “plotting, scheming, etc.”
b. Hence, the word “evil” was added because that is the obvious meaning in this passage.
3. The second example of bad behavior is planning, plotting, or scheming to do evil.
a. Serious consideration is given to this plot to do evil or harm.
b. Ps. 36:4 – “He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.”
c. Prov. 6:18 – This is one of the “seven deadly sins”: “An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations.”
d. Prov. 6:14-15 – “Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. 15Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.” And it has consequences. He shall be broken.
What to DO:
32c Lay thine hand upon thy mouth.
1. There are two different forms of bad behavior; there is but one solution to both: put your hand over your mouth.
a. When you put your hand over your mouth, you are preventing yourself from speaking out… speaking up… adding your own two cents. Your mouth is SHUT.
b. Shutting one’s mouth with the physical motion of using your hand implies that the person is dealing with the underlying issue.
c. Of course, what comes out of the mouth originated in the heart.
d. Hence, if we are really going to get to the heart of the problem, it involves dealing with the mouth AND the heart.
2. If we discover that we are guilty of either one of these two forms of bad behavior, it is God’s Word that condemns us.
a. Rom. 3:19 – “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”
b. The moral absolutes of God STOP every mouth.
c. When the heart is convicted by the Word, the mouth is stopped.
d. Putting one’s hand over one’s mouth is like saying, “I’m guilty! I have nothing to say. My mouth is stopped.”
3. Putting one’s hand over one’s mouth is an acknowledgement of God’s presence.
a. Habakkuk 2:20 – “But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.”
b. It is to acknowledge that God knows what I’ve been up to.
c. I’ve been discovered – Be sure your sin will find you out.
d. Thus, I have no defense; there are no excuses.
e. There is nothing more to say; this is the end of debate.
f. It is an acknowledgement of the fact that God is LORD. There is no answering back; nothing to add to His Word. The only proper response is to be silent; to be in awe; and to receive whatever He says.
4. Job 40:1-5 – Job laid his hand over his mouth.
a. It was his way of recognizing that he spoke out of turn.
b. He said something he should never have said.
c. His words were contentious—and he was addressing God!
d. He realized that he was vile. He had nothing more to say.
e. He spoke once insolently; but he will not do that again.
f. By putting his hand over his mouth, Job is showing restraint.
g. He learned his lesson—and put his hand over his mouth.
h. Job was finished debating with God.
5. Agur’s point is that whether the sin is foolish pride or rebellious plotting to do evil—the correct response is to just put your hand over your mouth, show a little restraint, and be silent before God.
a. It is like putting the lid on all of your former thoughts and words.
b. It is like acknowledging your sin and that it has been done in the very presence of God who knows the very thoughts and intents of our hearts and minds. There is no point in arguing with God.
c. Prov. 24:9 – “The thought of foolishness is sin.” That being the case, put your hand over your mouth before your thoughts begin to pour out… and may even turn into action. Put a lid on that!
d. Restrain any expression of that evil thought or plan.
e. When our thoughts are evil and our heart is full of pride—speech becomes DANGEROUS… poisonous. Put the lid on it!
f. It is a physical motion designed to denote something along these lines: “That’s the end of that thought… of that pride. It’s wrong; I’m not going to tolerate it any longer; it’s over.”
g. Thank you Agur for the good advice!
Proverbs 30:33
The Forcing of Wrath
Introduction:
1. This proverb deals with an issue that is “common to man”, namely, anger and wrath.
a. Who among us does not get angry?
b. Who among us does not have to deal with angry people?
2. Nobody can avoid dealing with anger.
a. We face anger in our own hearts and have a hard time dealing with it.
b. We face anger at work, in the neighborhood, throughout the country various groups are angry at other groups, and yes, we have to deal with anger even in our homes and at church!
3. And we all know why: we are sinners. Even as believers, we still have a sin nature, and anger is very much a part of it.
a. There are some external sins that seem to depart soon after we get saved. (drinking; swearing; immorality; etc.) Those are relatively easy to deal with.
b. But there are internal sins that will be with us till glory—and anger is one of them.
4. So Agur’s advice here is always timely and relevant.
5. At first glance, it appears that Agur is teaching us HOW to produce anger… as if we needed lessons.
a. But obviously, the purpose of telling us how anger is produced is so that we might AVOID it.
b. This might be likened to Smokey the Bear doing an ad telling everyone how most forest fires are started. He is not promoting forest fires. Rather, he tells us so that we might avoid making that mistake.
c. This is the technique Agur uses in our proverb.
Two Illustrations: “A” Produces “B”
A. 33a The churning of milk brings forth butter
1. E-How online gives some simple directions for making butter.
a. Use raw milk; let the cream float to the top; scoop out the cream; and pour it into a quart jar; shake and shake until globs of butter appear; strain the butter from the buttermilk.
b. Once you get the cream in the jar, all you have to do is shake and butter globs appear. Always!
c. It’s not magic; it’s science. It’s just the way things work.
d. The churning (shaking) of the cream always produces butter.
e. If you want butter to appear – then follow those easy steps.
f. “A” always produces “B”.
2. Perhaps another warning should be given here.
a. If you DON’T want butter, then don’t shake the cream, because if you do, butter WILL be formed.
b. Like it or not, “A” always produces “B”. It’s guaranteed to happen.
c. The potential for butter is resident in the cream.
d. If you shake it, the butter appears; if not, it won’t.
B. 33b And the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood:
1. In our proverb, Agur used a play on words that is missing in our English Bible. It is probably impossible to reproduce.
a. The word translated “wringing” here is variously defined:
• Squeezing, pressing, wringing, agitate, irritate, stirring.
• This passage is the only occurrence of this word in the Bible.
b. The words translated “churning,” “wringing,” and “forcing” are all the same Hebrew word. One term described all three actions.
c. And there is also a threefold repetition of the same Hebrew term translated “bringeth forth.”
d. In each case, the same action “brings forth” (produces; results in) something.
e. “A” produces “B”.
f. We don’t have one English word that adequately describes one action for shaking, blowing one’s nose (or punching a nose), and stirring up trouble… but you get the idea.
g. The Hebrew had one word that described those three actions.
h. It’s easy to see how you could use the same term to describe stirring up cream and stirring up trouble. But we don’t think of “stirring up” one’s nose. We say “blowing” one’s nose.
i. To understand the relationship, we will have to think in Hebrew idioms rather than American English idioms.
2. Agur’s point in the second illustration is that if you keep on “agitating” a nose, (blowing or punching a nose) eventually, it will begin to bleed.
a. Butter does not instantly appear in the cream if it is shaken but once; but if you keep it up, butter will appear.
b. So too with the blowing (punching) of a nose. Blood does not occur every time you blow your nose. But if you do so continuously, it is going to happen.
c. It’s not magic; it’s science. It’s the way the nose works.
d. If you keep doing “A” long enough, “B” is what will happen. It’s guaranteed.
e. The membranes in our nose are only so strong. If they are agitated enough, blood comes forth.
f. The potential for bleeding is always present in the nose. It you keep on agitating, it will eventually bleed; If you don’t continually “agitate” the nose, it won’t bleed.
33c So the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
One Application: “A” Produces “B”
1. The application Agur makes is to the “forcing of wrath.”
a. Again, this is the same verb as is translated “churning” and “wringing.”
b. Forcing wrath here speaks of provoking others to anger.
2. The application here is obvious.
a. The potential for anger is resident in all of us – in all men. All men are sinners and have a sin nature. Anger resides in our hearts.
b. If you leave it alone, the anger will not surface.
c. But if you keep on pressing an issue, (provoking others) eventually, you will FORCE the potential for anger to become actual and it will manifest itself outwardly.
d. It’s guaranteed. It’s not magic; it’s a scientific principle. It has been observed and measured so many times consistently, that it is a scientific law of our fallen nature.
3. The membranes in the nose prevent blood from flowing out. But they do have their breaking point.
a. If they are punched or agitated, and irritated long enough, they will give way and blood will flow out.
4. Heavy cream will remain heavy cream.
a. It can handle a few shakes. But if it is shaken consistently and repeatedly, you will get butter as a result.
b. It’s science. It will happen.
5. So too with anger.
a. You can talk about irritating and upsetting issues for a while without causing people to blow up. They can handle it for a while—like a few shakes of the cream and the cream doesn’t change.
b. However, you can press an issue only so far before people reach their breaking point.
c. If you continually bring up issues that get people angry, eventually, it will “bring forth” STRIFE… a big fight.
d. This too is guaranteed.
6. We can be guilty of stirring up trouble—of irritating the passions of others—of forcing an issue to someone’s breaking point.
a. And perhaps they should not break forth into anger. If they do, they are guilty of anger. We are all responsible for our own actions.
b. But the one who forces the issue also bears responsibility.
c. Light brings accountability.
d. Here Agur gives us some light: “A” results in “B”. Therefore, we persist in “A” (forcing issues that make people mad), we bear responsibility in the predictable result: “B”—strife!
7. The POTENTIAL for wrath resides in all of us.
a. Oftentimes there are folks who may be angry over a particular issue. It may be a sore spot with them.
b. However, they may be trying to keep it in check. They may be trying not to get angry.
c. But if you or I keep on pressing the issue—we should expect that person to blow up eventually.
d. Even a man who wants peace (like cream sitting there minding its own business) can be pushed and irritated enough to break out into strife.
e. That’s Agur’s point: therefore DON’T keep on pressing an issue.
8. Constant pressure on a sensitive issue brings forth strife.
a. The answer is to “let up” – ease off… don’t keep on applying pressure… don’t keep on bringing up the issue… don’t keep on pressing people’s buttons!
b. Let it die and then bury it. Don’t bring it up again.
c. Be patient. Be selfless. Be longsuffering. Let harsh words go in one ear and out the other.
d. Let the other person have the last word. Demanding to have the final word (which is usually pretty forceful) is often the straw that breaks the camel’s back—that results in strife.
e. If you find yourself beginning to apply pressure and “forcing the issue”, then do what Agur says in in Proverbs 30:32 – “Lay your hand upon your mouth.”
f. Prov. 17:14 – “The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.”
i. Learn to let go of an issue: “leave off contention.” Avoid it.
g. Prov. 26:21 – “As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.”
• If you stop heaping coals on the fire, eventually, the fire will go out.
h. Prov. 29:22 – “An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.”
• Very often it is our OWN anger that causes us to want to press an issue. If we want to avoid strife—then deal with the anger in our own heart. Then we will be less likely to stir up anger and strife in others.
i. Prov. 10:12 – “Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.”
• Hatred causes us to keep the flames of strife going; love enables us to “cover it up” and bury it.
• Love is a fruit of the Spirit. It is not natural. Anger is.
• Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
Notes on Proverbs – Chapter 31
Proverbs 31:1-3
The Words of King Lemuel
1 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. 2 What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?
Introduction:
1. Proverbs chapter 30 was written by an unknown man named Agur.
2. Proverbs chapter 31 was written by another unknown man named Lemuel.
a. All we really know about him is that he was a king.
b. We don’t know where he reigned or for how long.
3. His words of wisdom are broken up into three sections dealing with wine, women, and justice.
4. Note that his words of wisdom came to him from his mother.
a. His mother taught him these truths—and he recorded them for us—under the direction and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
b. Notice also that Lemuel is a grown man. He is at the age where he needs to hear words of wisdom about wine and women.
c. He is a king. He also needs to hear words of wisdom about how to reign—in righteousness and justice.
d. And it is his mother who gives him this advice.
e. Mothers will always be mothers—even of grown children.
f. Mothers will always have words of wisdom to offer their children… even when they are adults and in prominent positions, like a king!
5. This is a bit out of the ordinary because one would think that this kind of wisdom would come from the father to his son.
a. Much in the early chapters of Proverbs were words of wisdom from Solomon (as a father) to his sons.
b. Prov. 1:8-9 – “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 9For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.”
c. This thought is repeated by Solomon in the early chapters.
d. But in chapter 31, Lemuel receives instruction from his mother.
• Perhaps his father was dead.
• Perhaps his father did not have any words of wisdom. He may have been a fool.
• Perhaps his father was a pagan king who married a Jewish woman.
• We just don’t have any information about Lemuel’s family.
• Lemuel wrote down what his mother told him.
6. Vs. 1 states that the words of Lemuel were part of the “prophecy” (oracle) that his mother taught him.
a. Prophecy: Oracle; burden; a weighty message; often used of prophetic portions of Scripture.
b. It is the same word used in Prov. 30:1 – The words of Agur – also translated “prophecy.”
c. This was a heavy burden on Lemuel’s mother’s heart that she felt she had to share with her son.
7. Of course, what we have in our Bibles are the very words God intended for us to have.
a. God used many human sources for truth that was recorded in His Word.
b. He used many different human authors: herdsmen and fishermen; kings and prophets.
c. These human authors quoted from some unlikely sources: A pagan poet; well-known traditional truths about the weather; and (here) a king’s mother.
d. But the words that ended up recorded in our Bibles were ultimately inspired by the Spirit of God.
e. The ultimate Author of this book is the Holy Spirit. Regardless of their human source, they are “not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth” (I Cor. 2:13).
8. Vs. 2 – Here Lemuel’s mother is addressing her son… attempting to capture his attention.
a. He is called “my son” and “the son of my womb” and “the son of my vows.”
b. Evidently she made a vow concerning her son. We are not told what it was.
• Was she the wife of a pagan king who vowed to God to bring up her son to know the true and living God and to walk in his ways?
c. This kind of vow was not unheard of in the Old Testament.
d. I Sam. 1:11 – Hannah made a vow to God concerning her son Samuel.
• “And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.”
• Lemuel’s mother may have made a similar vow concerning her son.
• She wanted Lemuel to KNOW that she had made this vow to the Lord.
• She had special plans for this son. Therefore, now that he was a young king, she wanted to warn him concerning certain pitfalls that had become the downfall of other kings.
e. She seemed to realize that when a young man is suddenly thrust into the position of great wealth and power—it can easily go to his head.
• We have countless examples of this from Hollywood. How many young actresses who became rich and famous as children turned out well? Many destroyed their lives in drugs, alcohol, and immoral living.
• This is the case with young men who become rich and famous athletes and musicians too. It often does not turn out well for them.
• Lemuel’s mother seemed to realize this and she had a heavy burden on her heart that she had to share with her son.
King Lemuel’s Mother’s First Line of Advice
3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.
A. “Give not thy strength unto women
1. Her first warning comes concerning his relationship to women.
a. Evidently he is a relatively young and inexperienced king.
b. As a young man thrust into a position of power, wealth, and fame all at once, there would be many temptations.
c. He could have any woman in the kingdom—he was the king!
d. He could live the life of a playboy… a life of pleasure… seeking to satisfy his flesh with sexual pleasure and a life dedicated to pure hedonism and debauchery.
e. Perhaps Lemuel’s mother had heard that her son was already beginning to be involved in this kind of lifestyle.
f. This may help us understand the expression: “What my son!”
• It appears to be a lament, like, “What can I say to you my son? What have I heard of you?”
• Perhaps Lemuel’s mother has a heavy burden because she has heard rumors about her son.
2. “Give not thy strength unto women.”
a. The warning was that he should not dedicate the strength of his youth towards chasing women.
b. The temptation would be there because (unlike most men in the kingdom), he had the wherewithal and opportunity as king to do so if he wanted to.
c. One wonders why his mother is giving this warning and not his father. Could it be that his father was guilty of this sin and morally disqualified from giving such a warning?
d. If that was the case, it is understandable why his mother would have such a burden on her heart to see that her son NOT follow in his father’s footsteps.
e. A man “gives his strength” unto women when he wastes his strongest years (as a youth) chasing women.
f. The songwriter urges young men to “give of your BEST to the Master; give of the strength of your youth.”
g. Our “best” and the “strength of our youth” is to be reserved for the Lord… not wasted on loose living.
h. Prov. 5:9 – “Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel.”
• Here the warning is of giving “thy years” (the best years; one’s youth and strength) unto others.
• Prov. 5:10 – You could lose your wealth and your labors end up elsewhere.
• This is terrible when it happens to an ordinary individual; it is far worse when it happens to a king.
• Later on in history, in Daniel 5, we read of the loose living of King Belshazzar: a great feast with wine and women.
• That night he lost his kingdom to the invading armies of Media and Persia.
• Wine and women (as well as defiance against God) caused this Babylonian king to lose his kingdom.
• Lemuel’s mother did not want this sort of thing to happen to the son of her vow.
• She obviously didn’t know about Belshazzar (he hadn’t been born yet), but she must have heard of similar horror stories of other kings in other lands.
3. Deut. 17:17 – The Law of Moses forbade a king from “multiplying wives to himself.”
a. The warning came from Moses and Scripture.
b. Now it is coming from Lemuel’s mother.
c. It is good for mothers to teach and warn her children from the Scriptures… that when they grow up it will not depart from them.
4. There were many similar warnings in Proverbs.
a. Prov. 22:14 – “The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.”
b. Prov. 2:16-18 – “To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; 17Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. 18For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.”
c. Much of Proverbs chapters five and seven deal with this subject.
d. Lemuel’s mother gives her son a similar warning.
B. Nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings
1. Vs. 3 is a synonymous parallelism.
a. We have seen dozens of these in the book of Proverbs. It is a common form of Hebrew poetry.
b. In a synonymous parallelism, both parts of the proverb are making the same statement, using different language. It is designed for effect – as well as to elaborate and add another shade of meaning to the principle.
c. The next two verses of this proverb are also synonymous parallelisms.
d. It is vital to know this in our interpretation of vs. 4 dealing with wine.
2. The parallel is as follows:
a. Lemuel’s “strength” is parallel to his “ways.”
b. And “women” is parallel to “that which destroyeth kings.”
3. Just as Lemuel’s mother advised him not to give his strength to women, in the second part of the proverb she urges him not to give his “ways” unto women.
a. Ways: Path; road; route; journey.
b. It is used metaphorically of one’s pathway in life… the road one takes in life – the direction of one’s life.
c. The admonition his mother gives is that Lemuel not make womanizing a “way of life.”
d. In other words, “Don’t go down that road! It leads to no good.”
4. The next part of the parallel is that the “women” being pursued find their parallel in the expression “that which destroyeth kings.”
a. Her point is that chasing women has been the downfall of many kings before.
b. We all know the sad story of Solomon.
c. I Kings 11:1-8 – “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; 2 Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. 7 Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. 8 And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.”
d. Many wives was the destruction of Solomon.
e. Adultery was the destruction of Solomon’s father, David. It was because of his sin with Bathsheba that God said, “the sword shall not depart from your house.”
f. Yes, kings can easily succumb to the temptation of women.
5. This is certainly an appropriate and needful warning to all men—whether you are a king or just an average Joe.
a. A lifestyle dedicated to lust and loose living breeds destruction.
b. It destroys one’s health and strength; it destroys families; it ruins careers; but most importantly it ruins a believer’s walk, fellowship, and usefulness in God’s service.
Proverbs 31:4-5
Lemuel’s Mother’s Advice Concerning Alcohol
Introduction:
1. This counsel comes from the mother of King Lemuel.
2. All we know about Lemuel is that he was a king. We don’t even know where he reigned.
3. But he had a wise mother who was concerned about her son in the position of a king. She realized that that position came with its own unique set of temptations.
4. Hence, she sought to give him some motherly counsel to keep him from making some serious mistakes in his reign—mistakes that could ruin his life and the kingdom!
5. Her first topic of advice had to do with women. “Don’t give the strength of your youth unto chasing loose women. That lifestyle has destroyed many a king.”
6. Her second topic of advice has to do with alcohol. An honest reading of this text makes it clear that alcohol is NOT for the believer.
7. This wise woman continued to warn her son even after he was an adult—and a king at that! She warns him about wine and women: a dangerous combination.
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
1. This proverb (like vs. 3) is a synonymous parallelism.
a. That means that both parts of the verse are saying the same thing, using different words.
b. The parallels are (1) kings and princes = royal families and (2) wine and strong drink = alcohol)
c. For the purpose of the proverb, they are virtually the same.
d. You might paraphrase the thought by saying, “Alcohol is not for royal families.”
2. Wine and strong drink are seen in this passage as the same thing.
a. We like to break up alcohol use into different categories today.
b. On the one hand we have wine and beer (lower alcoholic content) and hard liquor, i.e., distilled alcohol (whiskey; bourbon; etc.) which has a much higher alcoholic content.
c. But that is NOT the distinction made in Bible times.
d. In the Bible times, the distillation process had not yet been invented. There was no “hard liquor” in those days.
e. What the Bible called strong drink was actually undiluted wine.
• Today, we consider wine (undiluted wine) to be on the low end of the alcoholic content (9-11%). That is what the Bible calls “strong drink”… and was forbidden.
• They knew nothing of alcohol such as whiskey (with 40-50% alcohol). That was off the charts.
• Did the Jews drink wine? Did Jesus and His disciples drink wine? The answer is “yes and no.”
• NO they did not drink wine the way it is drunk today – straight.
• YES they did drink wine—but they diluted it with between 3-10 parts water.
» When diluted, it had a negligible alcohol content.
» They USED wine to purify their stagnant, water which had a high alkaline content.
» If they drank their stagnant water plain, it would cause stomach problems.
» I Tim. 5:23 – That’s why Paul told Timothy to “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.”
» He wasn’t telling Timothy to stop drinking water; but not to drink water exclusively (straight out of the cistern). It would hurt his stomach.
» USE a little wine to purify the water and soften the high alkaline content… this prevented the water from ruining one’s stomach lining.
• Adding 3-10 parts water diluted the alcohol content to such a low degree that you wouldn’t get drunk… or even a buzz.
• So, did Jesus drink wine? Yes—but NOT the way they drink it today. That was considered barbaric.
• Undiluted wine was what the Bible calls “strong drink” and that was forbidden. There is no way a person can read the passages in the Bible about strong drink and put a positive spin on it.
f. Thus, in our proverb (a synonymous parallelism), wine (when undiluted) is used as a synonym for strong drink. They are the same.
3. Lemuel’s mother’s advice: It is not for kings.
a. This should not be understood to mean that it’s not for kings, but it is fine for everyone else. That’s not the point.
b. The point is that it is especially not for kings.
c. Kings were leaders; others looked up to them; they were to be examples for the nation.
d. Kings were not always good examples—but they SHOULD have been. Sometimes their behavior was abominable.
e. Lemuel’s mother wants her royal son to be a GOOD example.
f. Therefore, (if you want to be a good example) wine and strong drink is not for you!
g. As believers, others are watching us. We want to be a good example—and we certainly don’t want to be a stumbling block.
5a Lest they drink, and forget the law…
1. Here, the king’s mother gives Lemuel some reasons why he (as king) should not drink wine or strong drink.
2. WHY should a king avoid alcohol?
a. Because it will make you forget God’s Law.
b. If a king is going to rule over others; he should be able to rule over his own self.
3. Does the Bible forbid EVERY use of alcohol?
a. NO! They needed it to purify their water.
b. There was a legitimate use for fermented wine.
4. But what does the Bible say about drinking undiluted wine called “strong drink” in this passage?
a. It causes a person to forget the law. For Lemuel, that meant the law of his land.
b. A king could not function as king and faithfully execute his duties as King.
c. In monarchies, often the king was all three branches of government: legislative, judicial, and executive branch.
d. The government was on the shoulders of a king.
e. If he drank strong drink, he would forget the law.
5b And pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.
1. Here is another warning concerning wine and strong drink: it will cause a king to pervert judgment of the afflicted (oppressed).
a. A king often functioned as a judge (like Solomon having to judge who was the real mother of the living baby).
b. If you were suffering affliction (someone murdered your son; or broke into your home; etc.) and had to appear before a judge to decide the case, would it matter to you if the judge was a little woozy from drinking? You want a judge to have CLEAR thinking… not clouded and fuzzy.
c. If you were falsely accused of murder and your life was hanging in the balance, would it matter to you if the judge understood what your defense lawyer said?
d. Keep in mind that our passage tells us that alcohol causes a man to pervert “judgment” (justice – righteousness).
e. Would it matter to you if the alcohol had twisted and perverted the judge’s ability to tell right from wrong… if it affected his ability to discern “justice”?
f. Since we are told that drinking causes a person to forget the law… and to pervert justice, anyone would be outraged if a judge came to adjudicate an important case under the influence of alcohol.
g. If your life, your freedom, your property, or your family was hanging in the balance, you would want the man deciding the case to be clear in his thinking.
h. Here we are told plainly: alcohol PERVERTS that.
i. It twists a person’s sense of justice – right and wrong.
j. Isa. 28:7 – The same warning is given to priests and prophets: “But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.”
2. What Lemuel’s mother told him about alcohol was important wherever he reigned as king. But once this proverb was recorded in Jewish Scriptures, and applied to Jewish kings, it had a whole new meaning.
a. That was because in Israel, the law of the land was also divinely inspired Scripture and a reflection of the holiness of God… and the righteousness of God.
b. In Israel, a king drinking strong drink would forget God’s Law; He would forget the truth of God’s Word.
c. And today, strong drink causes us to forget about God’s Word in general: what the Bible says about purity, holiness, and morality.
d. It loosens a person up so that he is no longer thinking about God and God’s Word and is open to other things… sinful thoughts, words, and deeds.
e. It causes us to pervert judgment or justice. It causes us to be unable to recognize clearly the difference between right and wrong.
f. It is no wonder that people who are under the influence of alcohol do things they would NEVER do in their right mind.
3. It is true that this passage does not openly forbid alcohol.
a. That’s because fermented wine had some valuable and necessary legitimate uses.
b. Therefore the Bible never says, “don’t touch it under any circumstances.”
c. But the Bible does give us enough information about it to make a wise, sensible, and discerning decision.
d. This verse doesn’t technically say, “Alcohol is always sinful.”
e. But it does say this: If you drink it, it will cause you to forget God’s Word and it will pervert your sense of right and wrong.
f. Isn’t that enough? Isn’t God really letting us know what He wants us to do?
g. If a mother says to her little boy, “Johnny, if you play in the road you will get hit by a car,” isn’t that the same thing as saying, “Don’t play in the road?” Isn’t it clear what the will of the mother is? A little child would understand.
h. But many evangelicals today don’t understand what the Bible says about alcohol for obvious reasons: they don’t want to know… because they want to drink.
4. In many things, the Bible teaches us by using principles: principles that are universal and apply in all cultures and in all ages.
a. We want to glean a principle from this passage that applies to alcohol and even BEYOND alcohol.
b. The main point of this proverb is that when something causes us to forget God’s Word and causes us to pervert justice and causes us to be unable to discern right from wrong—we should AVOID it.
c. Prov. 3:1 – “My son, forget NOT my law!”
d. I say this because marijuana is fast becoming legalized across the country… first medicinally and then totally legal.
e. I can virtually guarantee that once it’s legal, it won’t be long before evangelicals are accepting the use of marijuana.
• It won’t happen overnight. But there will be some on the fringe who will accept it… and then gradually it gets closer and closer to mainstream.
• They will argue, Jesus drank wine; this is the wine of the 21st century.
• They will argue, I’m not getting stoned, just a little buzz.
• After all, it puts me in the mood for worship.
• Once the church band gets rocking, the marijuana really makes me feel holy.
• It calms me down. It makes me feel good… warm and loving. I find that I never lose my temper on marijuana.
• It’s legal. The Bible doesn’t forbid marijuana. Why not?
• God created it; it must be good.
• And for evangelicals who now justify the use of social drinking, they will have nothing to say. You can use the very same arguments to justify marijuana use (once it’s legal) that they use for alcohol today.
• You fundamentalists are legalists and joy killers!
f. Why should we avoid marijuana… or wine for that matter?
• Here’s one reason: it will cause you to “forget the law, and pervert the judgment.”
• That should be reason enough.
Proverbs 31:6-7
Strong Drink for the Perishing
Introduction:
1. This passage is a continuation of the advice given to King Lemuel by his mother.
2. She warns him about the potential dangers of wine and women.
3. Last week we looked at vs. 4-5.
a. Lemuel’s mother told her son that wine and strong drink are not for kings.
b. They are dangerous because they cause you to forget the law (and kings were to uphold the law), and because they cause you to pervert judgment, and the king was to uphold justice in the land for the afflicted.
c. Alcohol perverts a person’s ability to discern between right and wrong; sensible and not sensible.
d. We might use the mayor of Toronto as a sad illustration of this.
4. Previously she warned her son that wine and strong drink cause a man to “give the strength of their youth” to chasing immoral women, and it has been the destruction of many a king.
5. One is hard pressed to see in this passage a ringing endorsement of wine and strong drink.
6. However, in vs. 6-7, Lemuel’s mother does state that there is a legitimate use for wine and strong drink.
6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
1. Some believers who are bent on justifying drinking, and are looking for a passage to justify it, have tried to see justification in this verse.
a. It says, “GIVE strong drink” to certain individuals.
b. Give it to those who are perishing, and to those with a heavy heart.
c. Their twisted view of this passage is that the Bible allows us to drink if we are sad or have a heavy heart… or if we are going through a period of misery and trials.
d. However, that is not what the passage teaches.
2. We have noted several times already in this short context, that the author has been using “synonymous parallelisms.”
a. In this very common Hebrew poetic form, the author describes the same thing in two different expressions.
b. They both mean the same thing (synonymous) but they express the thought differently for emphasis and to add a various shade of meaning.
c. We saw this poetic form in vs. 3 –
• Strength is parallel to ways
• Women is parallel to “that which destroys kings”
d. We saw this poetic form in vs. 4 –
• Kings is parallel to princes (royalty)
• Wine is parallel to strong drink (undiluted wine IS strong drink)
e. We see this same poetic form in vs. 6 –
• Strong drink is parallel to wine
• “Him that is ready to perish” is parallel to “those that be of heavy hearts”
3. Some connect the command to “give” strong drink to certain individuals as being connected with what is said in verse 4: “It is not for kings, O Lemuel to drink wine or strong drink… give it to those who are poor and miserable, but it is not for you.”
a. In this interpretation, the command to “give” strong drink to others is almost sarcastic.
b. And the main thrust of Lemuel’s mother’s argument is that “it is not for kings… not for you!”
c. I don’t take that view.
d. I believe that the situation described here is a legitimate usage for wine and strong drink. It is what the text says.
4. Lemuel’s mother is pointing out that there is a legitimate usage for strong drink.
a. It is for those who are ready to perish.
• The term “perish” means “destroyed.”
• It is often used of perishing in the sense of spiritual condemnation – perishing for all eternity in the Lake of Fire.
• However, the term is also used of “dying” – the destruction of the body – the end of a person’s earthly life.
• This is the sense in which it is used in our proverb.
• The proverb speaks of a person who is ready to perish is one who is on his deathbed.
• Try to put yourself in social setting of the day in which this was written.
» Doctors prescribe pain killers for people who are suffering on their death beds today.
» Imagine if you had an arrow stuck in your chest. They could pull it out, but there was not much they could do beyond that—then.
» Imagine on your deathbed with painful bone cancer… or you fell off your horse (or camel) and had multiple broken bones. What pain!
» They had no pain killers or anesthesia in those days.
» They used undiluted wine (strong drink) instead. It was all they had.
» That was a legitimate usage of alcohol in those days.
» Of course, today, we have much more effective pain killers for those recovering from surgery or who were in an awful accident. Thus, there is NO NEED to use alcohol today.
» This was a medical use of alcohol. Paul told Timothy to USE a little wine for his stomach. It was the best medicine they had then.
» In Luke 10:34 we are told that the good Samaritan came upon a man injured and beaten, lying on the side of the road—potentially to die. He poured “oil and wine” on the man’s wound. This was the best medicine they had to sanitize the wound.
» Mark 15:23 – They gave wine mingled with myrrh to Jesus on the cross—but He refused. It was commonly used to numb pain.
» We have better medicines today. We don’t NEED alcohol any more for medicinal purposes.
• If a person was beaten, badly wounded, agonizing in pain, and on his death bed—give him strong drink!
• That was the advice of Lemuel’s mother.
• Remember, she said, “It’s not for you Lemuel; but give it to someone who needs it for medicinal purposes.”
5. Vs. 6b – Give “wine to those that be of heavy hearts.”
a. What does this expression teach us?
b. Should we drink alcohol when we are down in the dumps and are sad and heavy about something going on in our lives?
c. If this expression appeared all by itself without any context, we might conclude that.
d. However, it does appear in a context. In vs. 3 and 4, the author has been using synonymous parallelisms.
e. That means that they are both describing the same thing – emphasizing a different aspect of the same thing.
f. In other words, the man with a heavy heart is the man who is ready to perish.
• He is physically suffering in pain.
• He is on his deathbed.
• He is obviously of a heavy heart.
• Give strong drink to him.
g. And again, this speaks of a legitimate medicinal use for wine.
7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
1. Here we have yet another Hebrew poetic form.
a. This is either yet another synonymous parallelism or it is a synthetic parallelism… with virtually the same meaning.
b. Synonymous:
• “Let him drink and forget his poverty” is parallel to (let him drink—implied) and “remember his misery no more.”
c. Synthetic:
• (1) let him drink; (2) forget his poverty; (3) remember his misery no more.
• Under this form, the point is to lay a foundation and build upon it.
d. Either way, forgetting poverty and remembering misery no more are connected.
2. Here Lemuel’s mother is clear: LET HIM DRINK!
a. This man is allowed to drink. But what man is she speaking of? The man she just described!
b. It is the man on his deathbed who is not in good spirits—he is in agony.
c. The alcohol is given for one reason: to forget! To cause the man to stop thinking about his pain. It is used as a painkiller… medicinally.
3. Alcohol is for those living in poverty and misery.
a. In this passage, the poverty and misery are parallel too.
b. POVERTY: A condition of lacking something; a deficiency; scarcity.
• It is often used of poverty; being poor.
• However, it does not necessarily mean finances.
• It speaks of a poor, lowly condition of life.
• The man in question here—whether he is a pauper or a prince is in a lowly condition: agonizing on his death bed!
c. MISERY: Trouble; affliction; toil; grievance; pain.
• It is possible that the misery that made wine use legitimate included extreme emotional distress—such as a mother who just lost her three sons and her newborn when her house burned down and she has gone into a physical shock…
d. However, in the context, Lemuel’s mother is still speaking about the same situation: a man agonizing on his deathbed, with a heavy heart, lacking essentials of life (like a good painkiller!), and is in misery.
e. The advice of Lemuel’s mother is “Let him drink!” Strong drink is for him!
f. And again, “It is not for you O Lemuel. You don’t want to forget the law. You need your ability to reason and distinguish right from wrong. You are not on your deathbed—you are seated on a throne. Let the man agonizing on his deathbed drink it—but not you!
4. Our passage tells us who alcohol is for and who it is not for.
a. It is for those who are in need of medicine to numb their pain. It is for those who are in misery and have heavy hearts because of their poor physical condition.
b. It is NOT for those who need their faculties. It is not for those who want to be able to discern between right and wrong – between sensible and that which is not sensible. It is not for those who want to REMEMBER God’s Law.
c. You really have to twist the meaning of this passage to make it support social drinking for the Christian in the 21st century.
Proverbs 31:8
Open thy Mouth for the Dumb
Introduction:
1. We continue to consider the advice that King Lemuel’s mother gave to him.
2. So far, all of Proverbs 31 has consisted of motherly advice to a young king.
3. So far her advice has been negative: warnings concerning the dangers of wine and immoral women.
4. Tonight she gives some positive advice. She encourages her royal son to use his mouth for good. That’s good advice whether you are a king or a poor man.
8 Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.
A. Open Thy Mouth for the Dumb
1. Opening your mouth for the dumb is a figure of speech which means to speak up for someone who may not have a voice.
a. The term “dumb” means someone who is a mute; they are literally unable to speak.
b. The obvious usage of the term here is figurative.
c. But we take the meaning of that figure of speech literally.
d. The advice is to literally speak up for those who have no voice for various reasons.
2. Those who are poor often do not have a voice or a say in the affairs of the land. They have no voice “politically.” They don’t know the royal family. They don’t have any friends in high places in the government. The plight of the poor was usually not even considered by the aristocracy or the royals when making laws. The laws were often made to benefit the rich and the powerful.
3. Those who were poor did not have a voice “socially” either. They were the low rungs on the ladder. Nobody listened to them. The rich and the powerful ruled society and formed the society in a way that was beneficial to them… without considering the poor.
B. In the Cause of All Such As Are Appointed to Destruction
1. Here Lemuel’s mother advises her royal son to open his mouth and speak up in the cause of those who are appointed to destruction.
2. The two groups here are really one.
a. Those who are dumb and had no voice socially or politically were the same folks who were appointed to destruction.
3. Appointed to destruction:
a. This too is a figure of speech – a common Hebrew idiom.
b. Literally the Hebrew reads “sons of destruction.”
c. “Sons of” is a very common Hebrew figure of speech. It means to have the same characteristics as.
• Sons of wickedness were wicked people.
• Sons of thunder were thunderous people.
• Sons of disobedience were disobedient people; those whose lives were characterized by disobedience.
d. Thus, “sons of destruction” were people whose lives were characterized by destruction.
e. Thus, “appointed to destruction” is a good translation of this Hebrew idiom.
4. Lemuel’s mother seems to be implying that the “voiceless poor” are the ones whose lives are so often “characterized by destruction.”
a. The noun “destruction” has various shades of meaning: destruction, misfortune, destitute, etc.
b. You might translate the idiom as “sons of misfortune” or “sons of destitution.”
c. The lives of the poor are often characterized by misfortune, great needs, and lack of resources, and that often leads to destruction.
d. It is not an enviable position to be in; and evidently Lemuel’s mother understood that.
e. She wanted her royal son to speak up for those people.
f. She probably saw countless examples of the poor being trampled over and taken advantage of by the rich and powerful.
g. The poor have always been the “sons of misfortune.”
5. The voiceless have always needed someone with compassion to speak up for them.
a. Sometimes God puts people in a position where they are able to speak up for the welfare of others. That was especially so for kings.
b. David in Saul’s court was like one who was “appointed to destruction.” But Jonathan spoke up for David before his father Saul many times.
c. Esther spoke up for her people and delivered them from destruction.
d. And this isn’t restricted to royal families either.
e. We may not find ourselves in positions to speak up for others that is a life or death situation. But there will be times when we can defend someone who is being abused, mistreated, or maligned.
C. Application to a King
1. In Bible times, kings had virtually unlimited power.
a. They had the power of life and death. They were all three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial.
b. An evil king could make life absolutely miserable for a great number of people.
c. A good king could greatly reduce the suffering of the poor, foreigners, widows, orphans, the handicapped, and the destitute.
2. But even a good king, who wasn’t out to take advantage of the poor, could make life miserable for the poor by default – by not actively considering their plight.
a. Lemuel’s mother seemed to know that as well. She wanted her son to actively consider the plight of the poor and to speak up for them.
b. Other greedy men would naturally take advantage of the poor – because the poor had no voice and were helpless. They were easy prey.
c. But if they had the king on their side; if the king would just consider their plight, and would speak up for them, their lives could be so much better.
3. Lemuel’s mother wanted her royal son to be a compassionate and merciful king who was concerned for all segments of society.
a. Of course kings showing mercy and compassion for the poor was not always the case… in any land.
b. Politics (then and now) was often based upon the old principle: “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” You do something for me and I’ll do something for you.
c. But the poor were not in a position to really “do” much of anything for a wealthy king. They had little to contribute.
d. They didn’t then and they don’t now, have the resources to play that game of politics. They were “without a voice” – dumb.
e. A king had to step outside the norm in order to show grace and compassion to the voiceless poor – not expecting anything in return.
f. That is exactly what the Bible challenged kings (and all those in authority) to do.
g. The king was to be the advocate of the poor and needy.
h. Prov. 20:28 – “Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.”
i. It was beneficial to the preservation of the king’s reign and his kingdom to be merciful. Otherwise, there could be a popular uprising and a coup.
j. Lemuel’s mother had good advice for her son.
• On the one hand, the negative side, avoid the vices of wine and immorality.
• On the positive side, speak up for the poor and needy; show mercy and compassion to them.
4. Psalm 41:1-2 – David was such a compassionate king.
a. Vs. 1a – He wrote, “Blessed is he that considereth the poor.” There is a divine blessing on all who do.
b. Vs. 1b-2 – That man could expect God’s deliverance when he himself was in trouble or destitute.
c. It is an old Biblical principle: God shows mercy to the merciful.
5. The Old Testament (which Kings were read daily) spoke often of speaking up for the voiceless poor.
a. Deut. 10:16-20 –
• Vs. 16 – This speaks of a regenerated heart – the new birth which brings us a new heart (not the old stubborn, hard heart)
• Vs. 17 – God does not judge according to appearance and does not regard persons.
• Vs. 18 – God cares for the fatherless and widow; for the foreigner; God provides for their needs.
• Vs. 19 – The Jews were commanded to love foreigners in their land because they should remember what it was like to be a stranger in a strange land. They were strangers in Egypt for over 400 years!
• Vs. 20 – The basis or foundation for all of that was to be the fear of God. Those who fear God will be concerned with the “sons of misfortune.”
b. Psalm 82:1-4 – A psalm of Asaph
• God stands in the congregation of the mighty ones.
• The “mighty ones” and “gods” refer to men in positions of political might and power.
• Vs. 2 – God is aware of injustice among the earthly judges.
• Vs. 3 – God’s counsel to these “mighty ones”: defend the poor and the fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy.
• God (the Judge of all the earth) is watching. Don’t you dare trample over the poor and the needy. Don’t you dare take advantage of the weak and powerless!
D. Application to Us
1. Prov. 24:11-12 – “If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; 12If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?”
2. Job 29:15-16 – “I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. 16I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.
3. I John 3:17-18 – “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
4. Prov. 14:31 – “He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.”
5. Prov. 19:17 – “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.”
6. Prov. 21:13 – “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.”
7. Prov. 22:22-23 – “Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate: 23For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.”
Proverbs 31:9
Plead the Cause of the Poor and Needy
Introduction:
1. Once again, we have before us words of wise advice that Lemuel’s mother is giving to her son, the king.
2. So far she has warned him to avoid immoral women and wine.
3. She has also encouraged him (as king) to open his mouth in defense of the voiceless poor who are appointed to destruction.
4. In verse 9, she encourages her son to “plead the cause of the poor and needy” in the land.
9a Open thy mouth, judge righteously
1. This is the second time King Lemuel’s mother encouraged her son to “open his mouth.”
a. She is encouraging him to speak up for others.
b. Vs. 8 – She told him to speak up for the “dumb,” a figure of speech to refer to those who had no voice in society.
c. Vs. 9 is a continuation of the same thought.
2. Judge Righteously
a. As a king, Lemuel also had to function as a judge for the more difficult cases in the land.
b. This kind of power (executive and judicial) in the hands of one man could easily be corrupted for personal gain.
c. The old saying is true: Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.
d. Kings had absolute power; hence, they had the ongoing temptation to corruption… using their power to benefit themselves and their cronies, regardless of the hardships it caused for others—like the poor and needy.
e. This fact has been known for many centuries. Lemuel’s mother understood this danger and therefore warned her son.
f. She reminds her son to judge RIGHTEOUSLY.
• Righteous: Justice; right; proper according to the standard; the act of fairly deciding what is right in a legal case, without prejudice.
g. Keep in mind that Lemuel was not a Jewish king.
• It is likely that his mother was a Jewess who was taken as a wife of a foreign king in a political marriage.
• This was very common in those days. It was not in line with the Mosaic Law, but it was a common practice. (consider Solomon)
• Lemuel’s father would have been a pagan, but his mother Jewish. She wanted to safeguard her son against the corruption and evil she saw in her new homeland.
• Judging righteously was not the norm in many lands.
• But Lemuel’s mother evidently knew the Scriptures and wanted her son’s reign to be as righteous as possible… according to God’s standard, not pagan law.
3. Righteous judgment was based on God’s judgments
a. Psalm 7:9 – God Himself judged fairly and justly. He is the Standard.
b. Isaiah 32:1 – “Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.” This was how Messiah will reign. He is to be the Standard for other kings.
4. Righteous judgment was required by all judges in Israel.
a. Deut. 1:16-17 – “And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. 17Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.”
b. Deut. 16:18-20 – Rules for judges and officers in the land.
c. Lev. 19:15 – “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.”
d. II Sam. 8:15 – “And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people.” King David exemplified righteous judgment.
5. We are not kings or judges. However, we too are to “judge righteous judgment.”
a. John 7:24 – “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
b. Most folks know that we are not to judge according to appearance. But most stop there and assume that we are not to judge.
c. However, the Lord COMMANDS us to judge in this passage—as long as it is righteous judgment.
d. It would be unrighteous of us to judge on the basis of appearance only, for appearances can be deceiving.
e. It would be unrighteous of us to attempt to judge a person’s motives, for we do not know a person’s heart.
f. However, we can and should judge words of works… doctrine and practice.
g. Isaiah 8:20 – “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
h. When we judge according to God’s Word, we are not the judge: God is. We are simply pointing out God’s truth.
9b And plead the cause of the poor and needy.
1. The cause of the poor and needy
a. The “cause of the poor” is one word in Hebrew.
• The term is broader than “poor,” which usually implies poverty in the sense of financial need.
• This term refers to any who are afflicted, oppressed, poor, being in a lowly condition.
b. The “needy” refers to persons who are in “want”; those of a low status and little political power; they have meager means. They are people with needs – and again, the needs could cover a broad range of needs.
c. These two terms are virtually synonyms.
2. Men often forgot the cause of the poor and needy.
a. Ex. 23:6 – “Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.” God had to remind His people NOT to abuse them.
b. Psalm 40:17 – “But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.”
c. David knew that while men might forsake him in his time of affliction and need, God would not. God is faithful. God THINKS upon the poor and needy.
d. Prov. 30:14 – “There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.”
e. The poor and needy NEEDED someone to defend them against such oppressors. It has always been a sad part of human nature for those in power to oppress the weak.
3. In the second part of our proverb, Lemuel’s mother encourages her son not only to be righteous and just, but that he should aggressively plead the cause of the poor.
a. PLEAD: Bring justice, to go to court, to pass sentence, to contend, to act as judge, to govern, to plead a cause; provide justice for.
b. He was to speak up for them because they couldn’t and no one else would. They did not have friends in high places.
4. The judges in Israel did NOT always plead the cause of the poor and needy.
a. Amos 5:12 – “For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.”
b. Jer. 5:28-29 – “They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. 29Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?”
• In Israel, God took notice; and God took vengeance out on those judges who do not plead the cause of the poor.
c. Jer. 21:12 – “O house of David, thus saith the LORD; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.”
d. Isaiah 1:17 – “Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.”
• Again we see that righteous judgment (justice) was especially to be applied to the poor and the needy, as in our proverb.
e. The kings in Israel were expected to execute justice and righteous judgments.
f. The Kingdom was BASED on truth, justice, and judgment.
g. They had the command from Scripture, the example of David and other righteous kings, as well as the prophecies of Messiah the King who rules in justice and judgment.
h. Treating people fairly and honestly is important to God and it should be important to us too.
5. We may not be kings or judges, but there will be times when we can use our position to speak up for those under us at work—or others who may have no voice.
a. Perhaps you could say a good word about the one who cleans the office at night…
b. We can take this principle into the realm of befriending the friendless… supporting the weak and the feeble-minded…
Proverbs 31:10
The Virtuous Woman
Introduction:
1. This section of Proverbs is a continuation of the words of advice written by the unnamed mother of Lemuel to her son the king.
a. First she warned her son of evil women (31:3)
b. Now she introduces him to the virtuous woman…what to look for in a woman.
2. This section is an acrostic of 22 sections, each beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
3. But this description is not of a particular woman, but is rather a portrait of what a woman should be… the perfect woman… a role model.
4. So don’t be discouraged ladies. You may not meet ALL the character traits listed here; but this is a goal… a godly goal.
5. One commentator (James E. Smith) thought that this section of Proverbs was “intended as a handbook for young people of marriageable age. For the young men it would have served as a checklist of qualities to look for in a prospective bride. For the young ladies it would serve as a kind of handbook to give them the ideal for which they should strive if they were to obtain a husband.”
10a Who can find a virtuous woman?
She is Virtuous
1. Virtuous
a. Defined:
• Brown; Driver; Briggs: The first dictionary meaning is strength; ability, vigor.
• It is the term translated “strength” in Prov. 31:3 (Don’t give your youthful vigor unto immoral women.)
• It also has a related, secondary meaning of moral strength; moral worth.
b. Usage:
• Joel 2:22 – Used of the strength of a vine.
• Ex. 18:25 – Used of “able” men.
• Josh. 1:14 – Used of men of “valor” – valiant men (also mighty men of valor).
• Judges 6:12 – Gideon was described: “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.”
• Psalm 18:32 – David acknowledged that his “strength” came from the Lord: “It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.”
• Hab. 3:19 – “The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.”
c. The Hebrew term translated “virtuous” is not a perfect parallel to our English word virtuous.
• The most immediate thought that comes to mind when we hear the English word virtuous is “full of virtue.”
• The Hebrew word may imply that, but only secondarily.
• Primarily the term speaks of strength and vitality.
• It speaks of a woman who is strong, fruitful, vibrant, active, full of life and vigor. This is seen throughout the rest of the chapter.
• But it also implies that she is strong morally and spiritually. This too is seen in the description to follow.
d. This is an interesting thought in that so often the world thinks that the Bible’s concept of a woman’s role of submission means that she is to be weak, mindless, spineless doormat, object of pity.
• The world hates the concept of women submitting to their husbands… and view it is a weakness.
• In reality, the Bible’s concept of a godly woman is just the opposite.
• The very first description of the godly woman in THE section in the Bible on that subject is that she is first and foremost STRONG… able… capable… vibrant… skillful… fruitful… accomplished… courageous… valiant…
• She is strong in character and morals and firm in her convictions.
• The picture the Bible actually paints of a godly woman is far different from what many might think.
• This is not a weak lady who sits in a corner, with no mind of her own, doesn’t dare to speak a word, as a second class citizen. That’s what the world thinks of a woman’s role.
• We are going to spend several weeks to consider what the BIBLE says about the exemplary or ideal woman.
• The very first description is that she is a STRONG lady.
• Yes, the New Testament speaks of the woman as a “weaker vessel”—and the emphasis there is physical… and that by way of contrast to a man. This is not a newsflash that women are generally physically weaker than men.
• But women are NOT weaker in other areas – spiritually, morally, mentally, etc.
2. Ruth 3:11 – Ruth is the only woman in the Bible called a “virtuous woman.”
a. Ruth certainly was a virtuous woman. She was a strong woman in every way.
b. She was strong physically. She worked in the fields gathering grain all day long.
c. She was strong spiritually—she was willing to leave her family and her country behind in order to follow Naomi to the land and the god of Israel. God came first.
d. She was strong morally—she followed the Jewish protocol of laying at the feet of her husband to be… but there was no contact.
e. She was strong minded—her sister in law turned back to Moab. That was the most natural thing to do. But Ruth determined to head in a completely different direction. She followed Naomi.
f. She was strong in her loyalty to Naomi. She wouldn’t let her return alone.
g. She was strong in her courage. She lost her husband and now was facing the unknown, traveling to a foreign country. She was no shrinking violet. She was brave. In Judah she walked right into a field full of strangers—and strange men—and went to work. That took some bravery on her part.
h. Clearly Ruth was a virtuous, strong, brave, woman of valor.
i. Ruth 4:11 – Once again the word translated “virtuous” is used as an adverb in this passage and is translated “worthily.”
• It comes as an exhortation from the elders and the people at the gate to Ruth.
• This usage of the term defines or describes HOW she was to “do” – live her life in her new homeland: worthily… strong… vibrant… strong in virtue and morals…
• This usage is similar to its usage in Prov. 31:10.
• It still means strong – and emphasizes being strong in doing WELL…
• Notice that the testimony of this woman. Her strength of character was well known throughout the city. Many were probably the recipients of her worthy life.
3. This is the kind of woman Lemuel’s mother encouraged her son to seek out and find.
a. She says, “Who can find” such a woman?
• That implied that they are not easy to find. Abraham had to send a servant to a faraway land to find a wife for his son.
• They are hard to find, but such women do exist; and they are worth waiting for—worth seeking out—worth finding.
b. She gave her son good advice. “Don’t waste your virtue and strength on wine and immoral women; instead find a virtuous woman!”
10b For her price is far above rubies.
She is Valuable
1. The expression Lemuel’s mother uses (“Who can find?”) also implies that she is hard to find.
a. Prov. 20:6 – Just so the ladies don’t feel that they are being discriminated against, the Book of Proverbs says the same about men too: “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?”
b. Such a woman is rare – hard to find.
c. Young people should be aware of this fact. A good and godly spouse is not easy to get. A virtuous woman is like a priceless ruby. If a young man is looking for such a wife—he needs to BE such a man… and vice versa!
2. The question is rhetorical. It means: this woman is rare and therefore priceless… like rubies.
a. Like Lady Wisdom, her worth is far above rubies. (far above!) (3:15)
b. Rubies are valuable because they are rare.
c. Prov. 8:11 – Lady Wisdom is better than rubies; and nothing can be compared to her value.
d. Godly, wise, virtuous women are not easily found… and for that reason, we as men should VALUE them!
3. Prov. 19:14 – houses and riches are inheritances of fathers; but a prudent wife is from the Lord.
a. Every perfect gift comes down from above. Be thankful for your wife!
b. Harry Ironsides wrote: “He finds her love and unselfish affection a treasure so vast that, let his circumstances be as they may, he can never be in poverty.”
4. Prov. 12:4 – She is a CROWN to her husband.
a. A virtuous woman as a wife makes a man feel like a king… he’s proud of her… honored to be seen with her… wants others to know that this is his wife…
b. Her husband is her head, and she is the crown upon his head.
c. A crown is a sign of power invested in the king. A virtuous woman supports her husband’s authority in the home… she is not constantly fighting against it…
d. Her submission to his headship serves as a crown—to accentuate that authority.
e. Her submission to him teaches the children to respect him as head as well…
f. As a crown draws attention to the man wearing it, so too a virtuous wife seeks to draw attention to her husband’s good qualities… and in love covers up the multitude of bad ones… which can become a full time job!
Proverbs 31:11a
The Virtuous Woman is Trustworthy
Introduction:
1. This last section of Proverbs, (vs.10-18) are a continuation of the words from King Lemuel that he learned from his mother.
a. She warned him against wine and women—immoral women. That is what he should avoid.
b. Now she speaks of a virtuous woman – the kind he should seek.
2. We noted last week that the word “virtuous” means strong, capable, vibrant, fruitful – including strength in morals, integrity, virtue, and ability.
3. In vs.11, the next thing we are told about the strong, virtuous woman is that she is trustworthy.
11a The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her
Her Husband
1. This section is actually about the wife, but her husband does receive honorable mention several times.
a. Here we are told that he trusts his virtuous wife.
b. Vs. 12 – The virtuous woman (wife) does this man good. (He is the recipient of her goodness.)
c. Vs. 23 – He is known in the gates. Evidently, he is an important leader in the city. The gates are where the city business was conducted.
d. Vs. 28 – He praises his wife.
2. His heart is mentioned. He trusts his wife in his “heart.”
a. This speaks of the depth of the trust.
b. It is a trust that has sunk deeply into his heart. It is a deep rooted trust.
c. The Hebrew word for “heart” has a broad range of meaning and implications – as does the English word “heart.”
i. In a figurative sense, we usually think of the heart as the seat of emotions – and it does include the emotions.
1. I Sam. 24:5 – “And it came to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt.” David felt sorrow and guilt in his heart.
ii. But the term also includes the mind.
1. Gen. 6:5 – “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Thinking occurs in the heart.
2. Neh.6:8 – “Then I sent unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.” Here, the heart seems to speak of the mind and imagination.
iii. The “heart” also includes the will.
1. Ex. 35:5 – “Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD.”
iv. It might be understood in the sense of the whole inner man… the inner self life… intellect, emotion, and will.
d. The heart is also the center for the concept of “trust.”
i. James 2:19 – For example, many people believe God intellectually – in their head.
1. The demons believe God at that level.
2. But trusting God intellectually only falls far short of saving faith.
3. Faith that is based on facts only can be very clinical and dead.
4. You might liken it to the kind of trust that is the result of putting hundreds of pieces of data into a computer and reading the statistics to determine whether a machine is reliable or not. That kind of trust may be relatively accurate about reliability, but it is not personal.
5. It is a superficial kind of trust. There is no depth.
ii. The concept of trust can also be attributed to emotions.
1. And while this might give a person an inward sense of security, it is not necessarily reliable.
2. Everyone who boards an airplane has a certain level of trust in that machine. Many people FEEL perfectly safe.
3. But the fact is that once in a great while, even though the people trusted in the plane—planes do malfunction and crash.
4. An emotional trust can be wrong – misguided… superficial and not based on facts and truth.
iii. Rom. 10:10 states that “with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.”
1. Faith (to be saving) includes the entire HEART of a man – intellect, emotions, and will.
2. That makes it deep and personal.
3. This includes the correct facts of the gospel; an emotional or inner assent to those facts; and the will is engaged. It is a CHOICE to receive Christ.
e. This might seem like we are getting off subject here, but we mention this to demonstrate the KIND of trust this man had in his wife.
i. His trust in his wife, his confidence in her was deep.
ii. It came from the heart – meaning the entire inner man.
iii. It included his intellect, emotions, and his will.
iv. His trust in his wife was whole… complete… mature… full grown… ripe… entire and lacking nothing.
v. His heart trusted her. He trusted her with his whole heart.
vi. His confidence in her was wholehearted trust: it was sincere… genuine.
3. Intellectually he trusted in her.
a. Intellectually, over the years, his mind had stored many FACTS about her that caused him to trust in her.
b. This kind of trust could even be likened to scientific law – the result of scientific observation. It is a bit clinical, but gives a pretty accurate reading. Drop an apple 10,000 times and if it falls DOWN every time, you have a scientific law on your hands.
c. This man probably put this young lady to the test while he courted her and she passed the test.
d. Now they are married with children and have lived together for many years – every day of life together (observing the relationship and one another) gives more objective facts: she has been trustworthy all these years!
e. He has listened to her speech over the years and has observed that she always tells the truth. She has never lied to him. She doesn’t stretch the truth. Her word is like gold.
f. Vs. 15 – He has observed her work ethic over the years. If she has a job to do, she does it. He doesn’t have to worry about whether the job gets done or not. Even if she has to get up before the sun to finish the task, she does it.
g. He trusts her fully because he has observed her trustworthiness over many years. He can trust in her as much as he can trust in gravity. They have both been intellectually PROVEN to him.
h. His intellect is full of facts that confirm her reliability.
4. He trusts in her emotionally.
a. Trust and confidence require the correct facts. Faith RESTS upon facts. His faith in his wife rests upon intellectual facts too.
b. But, for faith to be deep, it requires the assent of the emotions. (A man might intellectually believe all the facts of the gospel, and have no heart attachment to it… refuse to assent to those facts inwardly.)
c. This man’s emotions have been stirred by his wife’s trustworthiness and his heart therefore has become ATTACHED to her and her faithfulness.
d. He trusts in her with his whole heart. This is much deeper than mere clinical facts—as reliable as those facts may be.
e. This man trusts in his virtuous wife in his head AND in his heart.
5. He trusts in her volitionally.
a. Faith and trust also include the will. It is a choice.
b. So too with the gospel. The head might intellectually believe the facts of the gospel. The heart might be stirred emotionally by the message, but unless a man CHOOSES to receive Christ personally, he is completely lost.
c. This man’s trust in his wife was also ACTED upon.
d. The fact that he (as head of the household) put her in charge of important duties indicates that he acted upon his confidence in her.
e. Vs. 16 – She was trusted with the family money to buy a field.
f. Vs. 20 – She was trusted with the family money to use that money prudently in giving to the poor.
g. He didn’t say, “I trust you with the money, but I’ll do it myself or find someone else to make the big purchases.”
h. Her husband trusted her fully and that trust and confidence was translated into action.
i. He made decisions based on his absolute trust and confidence in his wife.
He safely trusted in her…
1. BECAUSE he trusted in her fully, the relationship was characterized by “safety.”
a. Safety: The feeling or experience of safety and security; a sense of well being.
b. Because of this sense of confidence and well being, he did not have to live in fear.
c. Usage of “safety.”
i. Ps. 112:7 – “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.”
1. When we trust in the Lord, there is no need to fear.
2. What can man do to us if God is on our side?
3. If God be for us, who shall be against us?
4. A husband who fully trusts his wife doesn’t have to fear. He doesn’t have to live in anxiety wondering whether she has been faithful to him. He has no fear that she will embarrass him with her speech or behavior. He doesn’t live in fear wondering whether she is up to no good… secretly spending money behind his back, etc.
5. Trust removes fear and anxiety.
6. I couldn’t imagine living in a relationship when you can’t trust your wife. Thank God for trustworthy wives!
ii. Isa. 26:3 – “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
1. The word translated “trusteth” here is the same word translated “safely trusts” in Prov. 31:11.
2. When a person trusts in God, he experiences perfect peace.
3. Perfect peace is because of this kind of confident trust…
4. Who wouldn’t want “perfect peace” in a marriage? Well the Bible tells us HOW perfect peace is achieved: through total confidence in another!
5. Therefore BE trustworthy beyond reproach—even in the little things.
iii. Isa. 32:17 – “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.”
1. The word “assurance” here is the same word as “safely trusts” in Prov. 31:11.
2. Isaiah teaches us that in the Kingdom, things will be done justly and righteously. The result of knowing that things will be done right is quietness and assurance.
3. Again, who wouldn’t want quietness and assurance in their home?
4. Then do things RIGHT consistently so that your partner can have absolute confidence in you.
d. In any husband/wife relationship, TRUST is essential!
i. It results in a sense of safety and well being.
ii. It removes fear and anxiety.
iii. It brings perfect peace to a relationship.
iv. It brings blessed quietness and assurance and safety into the home.
v. Without trust, the relationship is characterized by “rottenness of the bones.”
2. Trust is the FOUNDATION of any relationship – between God and the believer OR husband and wife.
a. When the trust is eroded, the relationship is on very shaky ground. The foundation is cracked and needs to be repaired right away before something worse happens.
b. The virtuous woman earned the confidence of her husband.
c. And over time, that confidence only grew deeper, stronger, and wider.
d. A husband/wife relationship should strengthen over time.
e. One of the quickest ways to destroy a relationship is to prove yourself to be a liar… a cheat… unreliable… sneaky… sly… undependable… erratic… unpredictable… untruthful…
f. One of the best things you can do for your relationship is to keep on building up that confidence and trust.
g. When that foundation is deep and strong—no outward circumstances or storms of life will be able to undermine it.
h. The virtuous woman never gave her husband the least occasion to suspect her of evil or to distrust her in any way.
3. The husband in Proverbs 31:11 doth “safely trust in her.” Those are extremely powerful words.
Proverbs 31:12
She will Do Him Good
Introduction:
1. This last section of Proverbs deals with the virtuous woman.
2. We noted that the word translated “virtuous” primarily means strong.
3. She is a strong woman—morally and spiritually. She is strong in her work ethic, strong in her family ties, and tonight we want to see that she is strong in her support for her husband and strong in her sense of commitment.
12a She will do him good…
1. Gen. 2:18 – This was the purpose God made the woman and brought her unto the man—that she might be a helpmeet to him.
a. A help-meet is a helper that is meet, fitting, or suitable to man.
b. God brought all the animals before Adam but there was nothing in the animal kingdom that corresponded to Adam; none corresponded to him or were suitable to him.
c. Sorry dog lovers, but there could never be any spiritual fellowship with an animal.
d. But God made woman – a creature made in the image of God as Adam was made.
e. The woman corresponded to man because they both had intellect, emotion, will, and a conscience… body, soul, and spirit.
f. They are perfectly suited for one another.
g. Woman is man’s helper. (helpmeet)
• The Hebrew word means helper, one who assists and serves; one who supplies what is needed; one who supplies needed strength and ability to accomplish a task.
• In several passages, God refers to Himself the “helper” (helpmeet) of Israel.
• This has been God’s design from the beginning – even before sin entered the world in Genesis three.
• Gen. 1:26 – They were created as co-regents to have dominion TOGETHER over the world. They were a team – like a king and queen with dominion over the whole earth.
• The concept of being a “helper” to man was NOT part of the curse.
• Women might think of it so today, but that is not the case.
• It was part of God’s original, perfect design for man and woman (husband and wife) before sin entered the world.
2. The virtuous woman “does him good.”
a. This corresponds to God’s original purpose for marriage.
b. She does him good in the sense of doing good things… helpful things… meeting needs…
c. The Hebrew term good has a very broad meaning – like the English word for “good.”
d. Incorporated in the Hebrew term is the concepts of “correct, proper, gracious, joyful, kind, pleasant, pleasure, well pleasing, precious, prosperity, sweet, welfare, profitable, well favored, etc.”
e. The virtuous woman is all of that to her husband.
f. This is what she DOES.
• The verb translated “do” in our passage is a little more restricted in meaning than our English word “do.”
• It implies “dealing out something,” or “dealing bountifully” with someone.
• I Sam. 24:17 – “And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.”
» This is the very same expression as “do good” in Proverbs.
» Note that the word “do” is translated “rewarded.”
» Notice another related principle in this passage: good is to be done to others (husbands) even if they don’t deserve it – even if they are not returning the kindness… even if they are doing evil.
» Rom. 12:17 – This is godliness: “recompense no man evil for evil.” (see also I Thess. 5:15)
» This is especially to be the case in marriage.
» I Sam. 25:18-27 – Abigail was such a virtuous woman – who bestowed good on her husband even when he did not deserve it. Her husband was a fool, and Abigail did her best to prevent disaster for him.
• Isa. 63:7 – “I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.”
» Here the term translated “do” is translated “bestow.”
» The subject here is God bestowing blessings on His people.
» In Proverbs, the virtuous woman is manifesting godliness. Her behavior is like that of God – bestowing good on others, namely, her husband.
• Psalm 13:6 – “I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.”
» Again, this is godly behavior for God Himself “does good” (dealt out) a bounty to others.
3. The virtuous woman bestows good towards her husband in many ways.
a. She is his encourager when he’s down in the dumps and discouraged.
b. She is his comforter when he’s feeling blue.
c. She is his assistant and extra pair of eyes, arms, and legs.
d. She is his supporter and cheerleader.
e. She is his keeper at home… and decorator in chief.
f. She is his mild rebuke and restrainer… like Abigail… when the husband behaves like Nabal.
g. She is his faithful companion and lover and his heart doth safely trust in her.
h. She is his counselor who sees the world through a different set of eyes (a woman’s eyes) and adds a whole new dimension to his life.
i. The list is endless. She does him good in countless ways.
j. She seeks to be pleasing to him. That’s how Paul defines a wife: “she that is married careth for the things of the world (earth), that she may please her husband.” She does him good and that is well pleasing.
12b And not evil…
1. The virtuous woman “does him good” which is a description of her godliness.
a. Some might think this is like being a doormat.
b. The Bible says it is being like God Himself – a helper… a bestower of good even to the undeserving… one who deals bountifully with His people… a rewarder with good.
c. The virtuous woman is a godly woman.
d. She bestows grace, kindness, joy, prosperity, pleasantness, pleasure, and goodness to him.
e. The rest of the chapter deals with the many good DEEDS she does as a helper to her husband and family.
f. The author gives us a long list of the good things she does for him and her family; we will consider the particulars later.
2. She does NOT do him “evil.”
a. This term for evil is much broader in meaning than our English word. It is not confined to that which is immoral or wicked.
b. It is obviously used in contrast to the “good” and thus implies all kinds of bad things.
c. The word for evil includes the concepts of calamity, disaster, distress, misery, injury, etc.
d. A strong, virtuous woman is the source of good things (grace, joy, pleasure, prosperity) and not the source of bad things – like trouble and misery.
e. The book of Proverbs speaks of some of the ways in which a woman can do “evil” (make misery) for her husband.
• Prov. 12:4 – “She that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.” A woman who is not virtuous can bring shame to her husband… which produces calamity and misery for him, here described as “rottenness in his bones.” That is deep, deep rottenness.
• Prov. 21:19 – “It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.”
» Instead of doing good and being the source of joy and pleasure, a woman can be the source of contention and anger in the home.
» That is certainly not a virtuous woman.
• Prov. 27:15 – “A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.”
» This contentious woman is like a continual dropping.
» She keeps on bringing up old issues and never lets things die. She is a nag.
» This is a miserable way to live. It utterly destroys the sweet and pleasant atmosphere a home should have.
» This woman is not the bestower of good to her husband… but evil.
3. The Bible gives us examples of wives who bestowed evil upon their husbands.
a. Eve tempted Adam.
b. Jezebel influenced Ahab into committing murder, lying, and worshipping Baal.
c. Solomon’s wives drew his heart away from God.
d. Job’s wife encouraged him to curse God and die.
e. Not all wives do their husbands good; some do them evil.
12c All the days of her life.
1. Here we see the virtuous woman’s dedication.
a. Her dedication to her husband is life-long – till death do us part.
b. Her dedication is not just to remain married to him, but she is dedicated to being a “helpmeet” for him and to do him GOOD for the rest of her life.
c. She does him good in season and out of season… in the early days of marriage and on into the “golden years.”
2. It is a lifelong commitment.
a. “All the days of her life” includes the good days and the bad days – for better or for worse… and there will be plenty of both.
b. It includes the days of sickness and health.
c. It includes the days of plenty and days of poverty – for richer or for poorer.
d. It includes the days of sunshine as well as the stormy days.
e. This woman is virtuous; and she is faithful.
f. Note that it says that she WILL do; not that she might do if she feels like it; or if he has been good; or if she gets her way.
g. This is part of the life-long commitment that a woman makes to her husband before God when she gets married.
h. If you are not ready and willing to enter into this kind of lifelong commitment, then don’t get married.
3. This woman was virtuous: a bestower of good and dedicated to fulfilling her God given purpose as a helpmeet – doing him good all the days of her life.
Proverbs 31:13
She Works Willingly with her Hands
Introduction: In our passage tonight we learn that the virtuous (strong; capable) woman is a willing worker. She works with her hands.
13a She seeketh wool, and flax
A. WOOL
1. In Bible times (and even today) there were and are many who tend sheep in the Middle East in rural regions.
2. Sheep have been a mainstay of life in Bible times both for food and clothing.
3. The Hebrew word translated “wool” refers to “the soft, curly hair of sheep or of other animals with hair of the same or similar texture. It was used in the production of clothing.”
4. The wool from the sheep was used to make various kinds of yarn and thread for making clothing.
5. Wool made a very heavy, warm type of clothing.
6. Prov. 31:21 – This woman was not afraid of the snow for her family! Her family had homemade, warm wool clothing. She was making warm, woolen shirts and coats long before the Pendleton Company in Oregon starting making them!
B. FLAX
1. Flax was a fiber also used in making clothing.
2. Flax was used especially for making fine linen.
3. While wool was used to make thicker, heavier, and warmer clothing, flax was used in making lighter, finer clothing.
4. Prov. 31:22 – Linen from flax was used in making fine tapestries for beauty, decorations, and clothing.
5. Prov. 31:24 – This strong, capable woman also not only sought out the flax, but manufactured it into linen – into fine linen.
C. She SEEKETH after wool and flax
1. SEEKETH:
a. Defined: To seek with great care; to follow; to ask for; search out; examine; care for.
b. Deut. 22:2 – It was used of seeking after a lost ox or cattle.
c. This woman sought after wool and flax.
• This could mean that she planted and took care of the crops.
» The term “seeketh” can mean to “care for.”
» Deut. 11:12 – “A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.”
» God “cared for” (same word) the land.
» Joshua 2:6 – “But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.”
→ Here we see that a woman (Rahab) who hid the two men in Jericho, was the one who had gathered in the flax and piled it up on the roof.
→ It was her responsibility to care for the flax.
» In Prov. 31:13, this term (seek with care) could be understood to mean that the virtuous woman cared for the sheep and their wool and she cared for the land and the flax growing on it and cared for bringing in and piling up the flax.
• Or (as the next verse suggests) she could have sought them out in the marketplace or in nearby cities. (vs. 14)
» Ezek. 27:18 – It was considered a very valuable commodity in Tyrus. It was shipped far and wide.
» It was sought after worldwide because of its value.
2. The virtuous woman sought far and wide for the best wool and flax she could get.
a. She wanted the best for her family.
b. In the cold, damp weather, they had the warmest wool clothing.
c. In the hot weather, they had the lightest and finest of linen.
d. Their home had beautiful linen tapestries and linen curtains. And perhaps some smaller ones were embroidered onto their clothing to make them look sharp and stylish.
e. Ex. 26:1 – “Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet.”
• Fine linen is what was used to beautify the Tabernacle.
f. The virtuous woman took good care of her family and her home. She was interested in quality, practicality, and beauty.
13b She worketh willingly with her hands.
1. The first thing we note here is that the virtuous woman worked.
2. WORK: To do; to make; to manufacture; to labor; to perform a task.
3. USAGE:
a. Used of “making” graven images (Ex. 20:4).
b. Used of “preparing” a feast (Esther 5:4).
c. Used of “working” metals into usable objects (Ex. 31:4) as used in the Tabernacle.
d. It has a wide range of usages.
4. The virtuous, strong, capable woman worked.
a. She made things that were useful for her family.
b. This chapter mentions many of the things that she “made,” like clothing, candles, crops, etc.
5. The virtuous woman worked with her hands.
a. Women in Bible times were to be busy, diligent, and hard workers.
b. Their lives were not monastic… not a religious recluse.
• They did not sit in a corner and read the Bible, go to Bible studies, go to Temple activities, and pray all day.
• We certainly don’t want to diminish the vital importance of the Word, prayer, or worship, for the believer.
• Life does consist of those things, but also those things are to be put into action.
• We are to be DOERS of the word. Love is an action verb, not a state of being verb.
6. Women in Bible times worked with their hands in various ways.
a. Gen. 16:6-8 – Sarah was ready at a minutes notice to go prepare food for the visitors—one of whom was the Lord!
b. Gen. 24:13 – Here it was the custom for “the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water.”
c. Gen. 29:9 – Rachel was a shepherdess. She kept her father’s sheep and probably turned the wool into warm clothing.
d. Ex. 2:16 – “Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.” These women drew water and carried it to the water troughs to water the flock.
e. Ruth 2:2 – “And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn.” Ruth was also the only specific woman in the Bible called “virtuous” (strong; capable). She worked hard in the fields gathering in the crops.
f. Acts 9:39 – “all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.” Dorcas manufactured clothing and gave it to those in need.
g. I Tim. 5:10 – “Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.” Only the diligent, hardworking widows were to be helped financially by the assembly.
h. Titus 2:5 – “To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
• In addition to drawing water, filling the water troughs, tending the sheep, gleaning the fields, making clothing of wool and fine linen from flax, the women in Bible times also were housekeepers!
• They kept care of their house and their household – the people in it.
• These were very hard working women.
• They worked with their hands.
• Their days and nights were filled with chores to do. They never stopped.
• It would not be fair or accurate to say that women in the Bible did not work. They DID work and they worked hard—with their hands.
7. She worketh WILLINGLY with her hands.
a. Willingly: Defined: The primary meaning of this term is “delight; pleasure; good pleasure; longing; desire; to be pleased to do.”
b. In I Kings 9:1, it is used of Solomon’s pleasure in building the Temple.
8. The virtuous woman worked hard with her hands, and DELIGHTED in what she did.
a. It gave her a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment to be able to help her husband and her family.
b. She made them warm clothing was pleased to see them warm in cold weather.
c. She made them fine linen clothes and was pleased to see how good they looked and how comfortable their clothing was. That gave her pleasure.
d. She gathered in the crops and took pleasure in her part of the whole process that put food on the table.
e. She made fine tapestries from the linen to decorate her house and was pleased to be able to turn her house into a home.
f. She worked hard to be able to give to her husband and family, and she was a cheerful giver and a cheerful worker.
g. She sacrificed a lot of time, energy, and effort tending sheep, drawing water, making clothing and tapestries, but she did so willingly and cheerfully out of LOVE.
h. Love sacrifices self for the good of others. The virtuous woman loved her family and her love was demonstrated in deeds… in hours of labor and toil.
9. In the modern world, some things have changed; but some things should remain the same.
a. Today, it is probably more expensive to make clothing than to buy it. (After you buy the pattern, material, thread, yarn, buttons, etc.)
b. Most Christian ladies don’t live in an agricultural setting… yes, even in New Hampshire.
c. But some of the qualities of this woman should be manifested today:
• She was a diligent worker. She didn’t sit around watching TV all day.
• She worked with her hands. Some of the women’s work was very difficult (working in the fields; etc.)
» It was not beneath her to get her hands dirty.
• Her motive in working was to help her husband and family.
» She wasn’t trying to get rich or accumulate wealth.
» She wanted to help her husband.
» Some women may find it necessary to work outside the home today in order to help their husbands and households financially.
• This godly woman was PLEASED to be able to help.
» She was not a grumbler and a complainer.
» She wasn’t forced to work.
» Warren Wiersbe put it this way: She worked not out of compulsion but out of compassion for her family.
» She finds genuine JOY in serving her family and making them comfortable.
• She did what she could to see to it that her family wore fine clothing (not rags) warm in the cold; cool in heat.
• She worked hard to turn her house into a comfortable and attractive home.
• She was interested in quality, practicality, and beauty for her family and home.
• She didn’t focus on accumulating wealth and living lavishly. That was not her adorning.
• I Tim. 2:9-10 – “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves… not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.”
Proverbs 31:14
The Merchants’ Ships
Introduction:
1. This proverb continues to describe the virtuous woman… the strong, capable, noble woman.
2. Here she is described as a diligent, shrewd, and capable shopper.
3. She is likened to the merchants’ ships.
The Merchant Ships in the Bible
1. II Chron. 9:10-14 – They brought in on their merchant ships gold and algum trees. These were unusual trees that made the finest musical instruments. Because of his merchant ships, Solomon had available whatever the Queen of Sheba wanted.
2. II Chron. 9:21-24 – They imported gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. These were exotic, imported items from faraway places.
3. Ezekiel 27:3-25 – Merchant ships brought all kinds of items from every place in the known world at the time. They imported the very best other nations had to offer.
4. Revelation 18:12-13 – The merchant ships made virtually all of the specialty and luxury items available to the Babylon of the last days.
5. The merchant ships sailed all around the world seeking out the best foods, the best material, the best crafted items, the best precious metals, the best clothing, the best tapestries, the best furniture, the best spices,—the best of everything!
6. They brought back to the homeland exotic items from afar that were unique and unusual. You don’t send ships half way across the world to bring back run of the mill, everyday, ordinary items.
7. They brought back food, clothing, decorations for the home, jewelry, and luxury items.
8. Merchant ships traveled the world seeking DEALS. They wanted to be able to bring home goods that would bring them a profit. The merchants sought to pay little and get a lot.
14 She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
1. The virtuous woman is LIKE the merchant ships.
a. She too sought out the best deals.
• She traveled afar to get the best price for their hard earned money.
• Like the merchant ships, she went wherever she had to go to find what her family needed at a good price.
• But she wasn’t foolish. Merchant ships did not spend more seeking and buying unique items than they could sell them for. They had to make a profit.
• To put it in modern terms, the virtuous woman didn’t spend $50.00 on gas to save $10.00 on a sale. She was like the merchants—efficient—practical—and profitable for her family.
b. Being LIKE the merchants ships may imply that the virtuous woman went about TRADING.
• She manufactured things in the home.
» She made clothing (vs. 21).
» She made tapestries (vs. 22).
» She made linen and girdles (sashes; belts) and sold them (vs.2 4).
• She may have traded them for other more exotic items from various marketplaces.
• Merchant ships often carried goods made domestically and sold them or traded them for unusual items to bring back home.
• She was like the merchants ships in that she was (in a sense) an exporter and an importer!
• She made things, sold them, and traded them for the good of her family. She was a hard worker.
• This capable woman sees opportunities to sell her goods at a profit for her family. The profit comes in fine goods, exotic goods, and better to best quality items for the family she loves and works so hard to make comfortable.
c. The ships went on long journeys to obtain unique items. The virtuous woman also went far and wide—on shopping trips to find unique items for her home and for her family.
• She may have travelled to the port cities to see what items the ships brought into port.
• She may have traveled to the villages in the hill country to get the best meat for her family meals.
• She may have traveled to another city to find the best linen for clothing.
• She may have traveled to another city to find craftsmen who made the best furnishings for her home.
• She went down to the marketplace daily because she wanted to get the freshest vegetables for her meals… and the best spices.
2. The virtuous woman took her responsibilities as “homemaker” seriously.
a. She didn’t settle for “good enough to get by.”
b. She wanted to find the very best she could afford.
c. She was diligent and hard working.
• She went far and wide to find the best—even if it took her all day to go get it. She did not have a car.
• She wasn’t lazy. She did a lot of research, leg work, and comparisons to make sure that she was getting a good deal.
• She was a wise shopper… like a shrewd merchant.
• Prov. 13:11 – “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.” She increased the family wealth through her diligence.
• Prov. 31:27 – “She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.”
• This woman must have walked many miles to and fro to the market and even to other cities to gather her goods.
d. She sought out the best for her family’s clothing.
• She didn’t want her children or husband to look sloppy and disheveled, dirty, or unkempt.
• She saw this as part of her testimony and the testimony of her family.
• Vs. 21 – They were dressed in scarlet.
• To apply this to today, the virtuous woman shops far and wide for the best price and the best quality in clothing.
e. She sought out the best for her family’s meals.
• She gathered her food from afar.
• She was continually trying to please her husband and family.
• In today’s terms, she would travel to the Jewish deli to get the best meats; and to the Italian bakery to get the best breads; and then off to the farm stand to get fresh corn and tomatoes; and then a stop at the Hipke’s for some fresh eggs!
• She wanted a good variety of foods for her family.
• She could have made one stop at the Walmart superstore, but she wanted the best for her family. Their meats and vegetables weren’t that good.
• Prov. 6:6-8 – “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.”
• Perhaps this woman studied the ants and decided to go out and gather the best foods she could!
f. She sought out the best for her home decorations.
• She may have made plans to be at the port when she knew the ships were coming in and bought directly from the merchants to get the best and most unique items she could for her home.
• She sought after just the right color tapestry for a wall hanging; just the right feathers for her featherbed; just the right incense; just the right chair for the living room.
• Prov. 21:20 – “There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.” There were treasures in this lady’s home – because she worked hard to make merchandise she could sell for a profit, and then she went out to trade her goods, and found treasures to bring home!
3. What comes across in this chapter is the motive of the virtuous woman: she desired to please her husband and make her family as comfortable, well fed, and well dressed as she could.
a. Her shopping was not done out of vanity.
b. It wasn’t done to show off.
c. It was not done out of covetousness or selfishness.
d. She was not trying to keep up with the Joneses.
e. It was done for others – for her family. That’s a pretty good description of agape love in action.
Proverbs 31:15
She Rises While It Is Yet Night
Introduction:
1. Lemuel is describing the virtuous (strong; noble; capable) woman.
2. So far we have learned several things about her.
a. Vs. 10 – She is valuable—like rubies.
b. Vs. 11 – She is trustworthy.
c. Vs. 12 – She did good deeds for her husband her whole life.
d. Vs. 13 – She was a willing worker and made clothing for her family for all seasons.
e. Vs. 14 – She was a diligent and wise shopper.
f. Vs. 15 – Tonight we are going to learn a bit more about the work ethic of the virtuous woman.
15a She riseth also while it is yet night…
1. The virtuous woman was an early riser.
a. She got up very early in the morning, when it is still dark out. She rose up before the sun and before the roosters.
b. This fact is part of what makes her a virtuous woman – a hardworking, noble, capable woman.
c. Obviously, different people have different schedules.
2. However, the Bible does speak of rising early as a virtue.
a. Psalm 119:146-148 – The psalmist “prevented” (preceded) the dawning of the morning.
• He rose up before sunlight, like the virtuous woman.
• He rose up early because he wanted to “cry unto the Lord” in prayer for all the burdens on his heart. That was the best time for him.
• He also rose up early so that he might meditate on God’s Word.
• In the morning it was quiet; the hustle and bustle of the day had not yet begun.
• In the morning he had the time and the quiet to think… to meditate… pray to God and bring his requests to the throne of grace… and to read God’s Word AND to hear from God.
• Psalm 5:3 – “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”
b. Mark 1:35 – This was the practice of the Lord Jesus as well.
• He Lord also rose before the sun. Note that He arose a “great while before” day dawned.
• Then He went to seek out a quiet, solitary place… and there He prayed.
• Vs. 33-34 – Jesus knew that all day long He would likely be surrounded by a mob of people.
• Therefore He arose early seeking for peace and quiet to get alone with the Father before another hectic day of ministry began.
• He sought a solitary place because He didn’t want to be disturbed.
• John 6:46 – “And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.”
• John 6:15 – “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.” There were burdens on His heart over the dullness of the people. He needed to get alone with His Father in prayer.
• It is good and needful to get alone with God each day.
• That’s what the Lord did; that’s what the psalmist did; and that’s what the virtuous woman did.
• Early morning may not fit into your schedule. But choose the best time and be faithful.
• Biographers tell us that Susanna Wesley (who had 17 children) used to sit in the corner in a rocking chair and put her apron over her head in order to block out all the commotion in the house so that she could have her quiet time with God each day.
c. Proverbs 20:13 – “Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.”
• Prov. 19:15 – “Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.”
• This woman did not love sleep; she got up before the sun!
• As a result, she did not come to poverty. Nor did she or her household suffer hunger.
• And she and her household (including her maidens) were “satisfied with bread.” They had plenty to eat as a direct result of her diligence.
15b And giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
A. She Gave Food to Her Household
1. Note also that this was a well-to-do woman.
a. She had maidens – female household servants.
b. She didn’t have to get up early but she did.
c. She could have stayed in bed and had her maidens take care of whatever needed attention early in the morning.
2. She got up early to prepare food for her family.
a. Meat: This is an old English word for “food.” (As in the meat offerings in the Old Testament which actually contained no meat; they were grain or food offerings.)
b. This woman arose early to prepare breakfast for her family.
c. Again, she was a wealthy woman with servants.
d. She could have told her servants to prepare breakfast. Most wealthy ladies would say, “Why should I get up? What do I have maidens for if not to do that kind of work?”
e. But getting up early to do it herself was an act of selfless, sacrificial LOVE.
• Vs. 14 – It was also an act of love to bring her food from afar—because she wanted the best for her family.
• Vs. 13 – It was an act of love for her to make wool and linen cloth for her family—so they would be prepared for both hot and cold weather.
• Vs. 13 – It was also an act of love for her to work willingly with her own hands—when she as a wealthy woman could have had her maidens do all the work for her.
f. The fact that she prepared breakfast for her family when she didn’t have to accentuates her virtue.
• A poor woman would have to get up early to feed her family breakfast.
• But a rich woman who didn’t have to but did so out of love highlights this woman as being noble, honorable, gracious, and loving.
• Of course the young children would probably never appreciate all the things that their mother did for them that she didn’t have to.
• That is they wouldn’t appreciate it until they grew up and had their own family and realized how hard she worked… how much she did… even when she didn’t have to.
3. Another point to consider is the meaning of the word “household”
a. Dictionary of Bible Languages defines this Hebrew term as: “a very small unit of a clan or tribe, consisting of parents, children, close relatives, including servants, living in relatively close proximity.”
b. If we apply the common meaning of the word “household” to our proverb, [(1) the family members, (2) extended family members, as well as (3) household servants] then we are forced to conclude that this woman also prepared breakfast for her servants… the maidens.
c. That would be highly unusual for a wealthy woman.
d. If that is the case here, we see a noble, honorable, virtuous woman going the extra mile.
e. We are told here that this wealthy woman with household servants got up early to prepare food for her household servants when they should have been up early preparing food for her!
f. This is a remarkable expression of love—sacrificing self for the good of others.
B. She Gave a “Portion” to Her Maidens
1. This expression serves as a good illustration to us all as to WHY we need to look up words in a Bible dictionary when doing Bible studies on our own.
a. Reading the text as translated here one might assume that this woman prepared food for her family and in addition, she gave a portion of that food to her maidens.
b. The first part of the proverb indicates that she gave food to her maidens—but not this expression.
c. “Portion” here does not mean a portion of the food. A quick trip to the dictionary will tell us that.
2. Portion defined:
a. Complete Word Study Dictionary: A masculine noun meaning regulation, law, ordinance, decree, custom. Primarily, this word represents an expectation or mandate prescribed by decree or custom.
b. Dictionary of Bible Languages: Regulation, decree, statute, ordinance, i.e., a clear communicated prescription of what one should do.
c. It can also mean a “quota.” This definition is what caused many translations to translate the word as “portion.”
d. But that is not the most common usage of the term.
e. The most common usage is “regulations; commands; instructions as to what to do.”
3. Using the most common meaning for the term indicates that this woman rose up early to (1) feed her family and her maidens and also to (2) give “instructions” to her maidens. (their work assignments for the day).
a. In other words, after feeding her maidens, she used their labors wisely and efficiently.
b. The virtuous woman had plans and goals to accomplish each day.
c. Evidently, she had already prepared the instructions for each maiden the night before. She had already thought out and perhaps wrote down a “to do” list to give to her maidens each morning.
d. She did this because she was a diligent leader of her maidens and wanted to use their talents in a most effective manner.
e. This woman was disciplined; organized; a good planner; a wise and efficient manager. She redeemed the time.
f. As a result of this, she got a lot of work done each day (1) from her own labors and (2) from managing her maidens well.
g. To use the words of the apostle Paul, she was “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.”
4. And it is likely that her maidens were only too happy to do the chores she had arranged for them to do that day.
a. Why? Because this woman (their “boss”) wasn’t a mean tyrant who sat around sipping lemonade and delighted in ordering others to do all the work.
b. No. She set the example.
• She too was a hard worker. Her servants would have seen her working too.
• This noble, capable, virtuous woman—a wealthy lady—did not set herself above her maidens.
• She worked with them. They would have appreciated that.
c. And they knew that she loved them. It showed.
• Vs. 26 – the law of kindness was in her mouth. She didn’t yell and scream at them. She was kind and gracious.
• Besides, she got up early to cook breakfast for them! No other wealthy lady did that.
• And even though she had high standards and expected a lot from them, they were happy to serve her – because she also served them.
5. This woman greatly added to the wealth, security, the well-being, and order to her household.
a. Between her diligence, early rising, good management skills, her wise and diligent shopping, her organizational skills, and her care for her maidens, it is no wonder that she was a wealthy woman and that her family was dressed in scarlet!
b. Her diligence, wisdom, and organizational skills added greatly to the wealth and wellbeing of her family.
c. She is a woman to be praised.
Proverbs 31:16-17
She Buys a Field and Plants a Vineyard
Review: So far we have learned several things about the virtuous woman:
→ Vs. 10 – She is valuable—like rubies.
→ Vs. 11 – She is trustworthy.
→ Vs. 12 – She did good deeds for her husband her whole life.
→ Vs. 13 – She was a willing worker and made clothing for her family.
→ Vs. 14 – She was a diligent and wise shopper.
→ Vs. 15 – She rises early to minister to her family and servants and organizes the day’s chores.
→ Vs. 16-17 – Tonight we will consider what she does with the fruit of her labors.
16a She considereth a field, and buyeth it
1. In this passage, the goal she had in mind was to plant a vineyard.
a. This was work outside of her house.
b. But the goal of planting a vineyard was clearly for the benefit of her family and her household.
c. We just saw in vs. 15 that she is the one who rises early in the morning to provide breakfast for her family.
d. Evidently she believed that her household would be benefited by having their own vineyard.
• Perhaps the cost of grapes was becoming excessive and she thought that she could grow grapes much cheaper.
• Wine was used to sweeten the water.
• Fresh grape juice was a real treat—a delight.
• We learned from vs. 14 that she traveled far and wide to provide the best products for her family.
• If she had her own vineyard, she could save money, and perhaps save the long trips to someone else’s vineyard to buy their grape juice or wine.
• She would have the freshest grape juice possible.
• It could save her time and money.
2. All of this was preceded by the fact that “she considered a field.”
a. She had her eye on a piece of property—a field.
b. Consider defined: To purpose; to devise; to plan.
c. This woman had a business plan in mind: To buy a field.
d. This was a deliberate plan; a well thought out plan.
e. Purchasing this field was not done impulsively or without much thought, prayer, and planning.
f. Though not stated, it is likely (conjecture here) that it was very close to her home—probably adjacent.
g. I Kings 21:2 – Ahab also had his eye on a field which was next to his property: “And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house.”
h. It was advantageous to purchase fields adjacent to one’s own property. Who would want a garden 20 miles away? That’s a long walk every morning to do the weeding or watering.
i. The virtuous woman had been eyeing the field which was probably right next door.
j. She “considered” it – meaning she devised a plan to obtain it.
k. Perhaps her neighbor just put it on the market—and the opportunity became available.
l. It seemed perfect to her.
• It would be able to produce much fruit.
• It was likely nearby and perhaps eliminated long trips to purchase wine and grape juice.
• It would be cheaper than in the marketplace.
• The children could be kept busy tending the vineyard.
• Though it involved a lot of work initially, she considered the long term benefit: it would save her husband money in the long run. It seemed like a great opportunity.
• So she made plans to obtain it.
3. She bought it.
a. After careful consideration, and after doing her homework, she decided to purchase it.
b. This was an investment.
c. It may not produce anything for a few years.
d. Up front, it would require investing a lot of time too—to till the ground and get the soil ready for planting.
e. Purchasing vines would also be an upfront expense.
f. She was willing to sacrifice the immediate for a long term gain.
g. This was not only a virtuous woman; this was a wise woman who planned ahead… like the ants.
16b With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
1. Here we are told that she purchased this field with the “fruit of her hands.”
a. In other words, she bought the field with the money SHE made from her other “jobs.”
b. In vs. 18 we will see that she worked into the night to manufacture “merchandise” for selling. She made money from selling her merchandise.
c. In vs. 24 we are told that she sold fine linen and girdles or sashes that she made.
d. This was an extremely industrious woman. Who knows what other products she made and sold!
e. She took her profits (the fruit of her hands) and purchased the field. She had a bit of an entrepreneurial spirit in her.
f. In vs. 31 we are told that her husband, the head of the household, “gave her” of the fruit of her own hands. What she earned, she could keep and use however she wanted.
g. Vs. 11 – “The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her.”
h. She wasn’t spending money behind his back or without his knowledge.
i. She and her husband worked together as a unit – as a team in using the household monies.
j. She proved herself to be skillful and wise and her husband trusted her. He trusted her in financial decisions and let her use her own hard earned money according to her proven wisdom.
k. Vs. 14 – Her husband knew from experience that she was a wise shopper and never used her money foolishly.
l. She had her eye on this field, and used the money she made selling her merchandise to buy the field.
m. And again, her motive was always to improve the lot in life for her family. This was not done out of greed or covetousness.
n. She loved her family and wanted them to have the freshest grape juice and the sweetest wine to sweeten their water.
17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
1. The text says that she bought the field, and that she planted the vineyard.
2. It also says that she girded her loins with strength and that she strengthened her arms.
a. Girding up one’s loins means to tie up the long, flowing garment with a sash above the knees so that your legs are freed up for movement – like running or work.
b. Strengthening one’s arms speaks of doing whatever it takes to free up one’s arms to be ready for work.
c. This speaks of getting ready and prepared for manual labor in the field… planting a vineyard.
3. What we are told here is that this virtuous woman was STRONG.
a. Actually, that is what the word translated “virtuous” means.
b. This was a strong woman—morally, spiritually, and even physically.
c. Planting a vineyard is hard work.
d. But she was ready for the hard work. She wasn’t afraid of hard work. And she wasn’t afraid to get her fingernails dirty.
e. This was a very strong and capable lady.
4. What made this especially remarkable was the fact that she was a wealthy woman who had servants.
a. She didn’t have to plant the vineyard. She could have had her servants do all the hard labor.
b. But she set the example for her servants. She wasn’t afraid to work with them.
c. She didn’t have to gird her loin and her arms with strength. That was what household servants were for.
d. But this strong lady wasn’t your average woman of means.
e. She didn’t put herself above others. She didn’t see working with her hands as being “beneath” her.
f. She rolled up her sleeves, girded up her loins, and went to work in the field which she bought with the money that she earned, and she planted a vineyard.
g. This woman took the “fruit of her hands” (the money she made from selling the merchandise she made) and she invested in a field in which she planted a vineyard so that there would be continuous fruit from her hands… for generations to come.
h. Unlike the unwise and unfaithful servant, she didn’t take her “talent” and bury in the ground. She used it in a profitable manner.
i. This was a very wise woman.
Proverbs 31:18-19
Her Candle Goeth Not Out by Night
Review: So far we have learned several things about the virtuous woman:
→ Vs. 10 – She is valuable—like rubies.
→ Vs. 11 – She is trustworthy.
→ Vs. 12 – She did good deeds for her husband her whole life.
→ Vs. 13 – She was a willing worker and made clothing for her family.
→ Vs. 14 – She was a diligent and wise shopper.
→ Vs. 15 – She rises early to minister to her family and servants and organizes the day’s chores.
→ Vs. 16-17 – With the fruit of her hands she invests in and plants a vineyard to provide fruit and wine for her family.
→ Vs. 18-19 – Tonight we are going to consider her merchandise and her work ethic.
She Makes Quality Merchandise to Sell (vs.18a)
18a She perceiveth that her merchandise is good.
1. Merchandise: A product which is sold for profit; products sold in the marketplace; trade; the act of doing business by exchange of goods and products.
a. The virtuous woman was engaged in merchandising.
b. She made products and either sold them for money or exchanged them for other products in a trade.
c. She may have sold goods from her home – as a cottage industry.
d. She may have brought her goods to the marketplace for sale.
e. This was more than a yard sale; she made these goods.
f. This was clearly a “business” that she operated for profit.
2. Good: This term (like our English word good) has a broad range of meaning.
a. Defined: Good; well-pleasing; fruitful; proper; convenient.
b. It speaks of that which is appealing to the senses.
c. It speaks of that which is useful and profitable.
d. It speaks of that which is good in quality.
e. It is the term repeated in Genesis where God said that everything He had made was “good.”
3. Perceive: Taste buds; to experience by taste; to discover by experience; to judge or discern.
a. The virtuous woman perceived from experience that her merchandise she sold for profit was good.
• She created a quality product and she knew it.
• She understood that what she made was valuable and useful, and that it was something that others would desire.
b. She perceived that her products were profitable.
• She had a good business “sense” (perception – discernment).
• She could almost taste the fact that her merchandise would be profitable and thus beneficial to her family.
• She had that sense about her—wisdom—discernment.
c. Going into business and selling merchandise was not done impulsively.
• She wasn’t taking a big risk; she wasn’t gambling with her family finances.
• It was not a crazy get-rich-quick scheme.
• Nor was she trying to sell “pet rocks” or create a new fad product.
• Her products were good, useful, and beneficial, and she knew that they were good and would sell.
4. Her merchandise was GOOD.
a. This fact speaks not only about the quality of her product, but also of the quality (or virtue) of the woman.
b. She made quality products because she did her best.
c. Ecc. 9:10a – “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might…”
• Whatever a person is able to do, he or she should do so with all they’ve got.
• We should put our all into our work and do our best at whatever we do.
• The virtuous woman did her best in manufacturing her merchandise and she knew it was a good product.
• She knew it was good because she knew the skill, the labor, the effort, and the tender loving care required in making such a quality product.
d. The merchandise she made was her best.
• She made quality merchandise:
» Vs. 24 – Fine linen—this was a quality material
» Vs. 16 – She considered the field before she bought it; she wanted to be sure it would produce quality fruit.
» Vs. 21 – Her household is dressed in scarlet – which was a valuable, quality dyed cloth.
» Vs. 22 – She made tapestry and her clothing was silk. Those are fine products that she made.
• She didn’t just slap things together, cut corners, and make a “so so” product for a quick sale and a quick buck.
» Shoddy workmanship might sell for a while—before people realize how cheaply made it was.
» But this woman made a quality product—and her customers would be repeat customers.
• This is true in what we do in our daily jobs; it is also true in our service for the Lord.
» God wants our products to be gold, silver, and precious stones—not wood, hay, and stubble.
» Eventually all of our service for Him will be evaluated by fire and its quality will be manifested.
• We should do our best at whatever we do.
• This virtuous woman did her best, which is why she is praised in this passage.
She works well into the night (vs. 18b)
18b Her candle goeth not out by night.
A. This speaks of the diligence of her work ethic.
1. Vs. 15 – We were told earlier that she gets up while it is still night time (dark).
a. She gets up early before the sun so that she can get a head start on the day’s activities.
b. She prepares food for her household.
c. She also gives a “portion” (the day’s work schedule) to her servants.
d. She is up early with a plan for her servants to use their time wisely and productively throughout the day too.
2. Vs. 18 – Now we are told that she stays up into the night working as well.
a. I take this to be hyperbole to drive home a point. (Remember that this is poetry—a proverb.)
• I don’t think that her candle is burning literally ALL night long—implying that she works all night long.
• This would be unreasonable seeing that she gets up while it is still dark.
• She is a hard worker but is not foolish. She realizes that she needs to sleep.
b. “Her candle going not out at night” is a figure of speech designed to drive home one point:
• She works hard and long.
• She takes advantage of a few more hours of energy she has left after the sun goes down to get a few more projects completed.
c. After dinner and the family has been fed, when the sun begins to go down, and perhaps after the kids have been put to bed, she lights up a candle and continues working on her merchandise.
3. Eph. 5:16 – “Redeeming the time.”
a. Paul applies a general principle to the need for believers to be on their guard spiritually—and to be aware of the spirit of the age around us—the “season” of time.
b. But the general principle that he uses can certainly be applied in many other situations.
c. The virtuous woman also redeemed her time. She made good use of her time.
d. If she felt that she had a little energy left at the end of the day she would take advantage of that and use her time in a profitable way.
e. This speaks of her virtue—her work ethic.
f. She was a good steward of her time.
g. As Solomon wrote, “The sleep of a laboring man (or woman!) is sweet.” (Ecc. 5:12)
4. Prov. 20:13 – “Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.”
a. This lady was not lazy; she did not love to sleep.
b. Therefore she did not come to poverty.
c. She opened her eyes, kept the candles burning, and made merchandise that she sold and added to the family finances.
d. Thus, she was satisfied with bread—and so was her family.
B. This Also May Speak of Her Wise Preparation.
1. The concept of a candle not going out is a relatively common figure of speech.
a. The word for “candle” means a light of some kind; it can mean either an individual candle or a lamp that burned by oil.
b. It is often translated “lamp”
• Ps. 119:105 – “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet.”
• I Sam. 3:3 – “Ere the lamp of God went out in the Temple.”
c. A lamp not going out (while a literal event) was also used as a figure of speech to describe the wisdom required in keeping oil in the lamp. It speaks of planning ahead.
d. There is a parable in Matthew 25 about virgins and their lamps.
• The folly of the foolish virgins was seen in the fact that they let their lamps go out. They didn’t plan ahead.
• The wise virgins kept plenty of oil for their lamp and were able to go with the bridegroom. They planned ahead and were prepared.
e. It is possible that the statement about the virtuous woman that “her candle goeth not out by night” (which is clearly figurative language in one of the Bible’s poetic books) was intended to:
• Speak of the literal fact that she worked at night.
• She was a wise planner and organizer and was willing to stay up at night to finish an order she had for her merchandise.
» She didn’t run out of oil and thus found herself unable to work at night… and keep up with the orders for her merchandise.
» She kept the lamps trimmed, full of oil, and burning so that she could take advantage of the time and be more productive.
19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
She Works With Her Hands (vs. 19)
1. This woman works with her own hands.
a. She was unlike the model, aristocratic women from the Elizabethan era who considered themselves above working with their hands.
b. This woman DID work with her hands and did an excellent job.
c. And again, what made this remarkable was the fact that she was a woman of means.
• She could easily have ordered her servants to do the manual labor.
• She could have functioned as the manager or CEO and ordered others to do the work.
• But she worked with her own hands.
2. We see her working with her own hands in several passages:
a. Vs. 13 – She works willingly with her hands, seeking wool and making cloth.
b. Vs. 19 – She lays her hands to the spindle (spinning wheel) to spin yarn.
c. Vs. 22 – She makes coverings of tapestry.
d. Vs. 24 – She makes fine linen and sashes.
3. Jay Adams, the man who made Christian counseling popular several decades ago made an observation about housewives.
a. As he counselled housewives who were experiencing depression, and as he probed with questions, he discovered that sometimes the root of the depression could be traced to a lack of order and structure in their lives.
b. He discovered that many of them were not diligent with their hands around the house and were not redeeming the time.
c. As a result they felt down, discouraged, useless, and even depressed.
d. And rather than prescribing valium to deal with the depressed, he prescribed “getting busy” and accomplishing things throughout the day. (Painting a room; cleaning out the fridge; deep cleaning the house; yard work; etc.)
e. Then they began feeling better about themselves—because they got things done that they had postponed for months and they felt a sense of accomplishment—and a sense of being useful and productive.
f. That was a lesson from the virtuous woman. She didn’t have time to waste on feeling sorry for herself. She was too busy getting things done for her family.
g. She slept well at night and rejoiced in all the Lord enabled her to do. It is better to GIVE than to receive. And it feels better to give than to receive too.
Proverbs 31:20
The Virtuous Woman Ministers to the Poor and Needy
Review: So far we have learned several things about the virtuous woman:
→ Vs. 10 – She is valuable—like rubies.
→ Vs. 11 – She is trustworthy.
→ Vs. 12 – She did good deeds for her husband her whole life.
→ Vs. 13 – She was a willing worker and made clothing for her family.
→ Vs. 14 – She was a diligent and wise shopper.
→ Vs. 15 – She rises early to minister to her family and servants and organizes the day’s chores.
→ Vs. 16-17 – With the fruit of her hands she invests in and plants a vineyard to provide fruit and wine for her family.
→ Vs. 18-19 – She makes and sells good merchandise to help with family finances
→ Vs. 20 – She generously gives to the poor and needy
20a She stretcheth out her hand to the poor
1. The virtuous woman is a strong and noble woman.
a. The word “virtuous” means strong.
b. She is strong physically; she is strong in her work ethic; she is strong in love for her family; she is strong in her entrepreneurial spirit; she is strong in virtue.
c. Here we see her strength in loving, selfless, generous giving.
2. The implication in this proverb is that the virtuous woman set aside some of the money and/or goods that she earned and/or made, in order to give to the poor and needy.
a. Vs. 13 – She makes woolen yarn for knitting and linen cloth from flax.
b. Vs. 16 – She planted a vineyard—and has fruit.
c. Vs. 18-19 – She makes “merchandise” from her spindle and distaff. (cloth)
d. So far, Lemuel has described a hard working woman who makes many things.
• She is wealthy and has property and many material goods. Someone might assume her to be materialistic selfish, and greedy.
• This passage demonstrates just the opposite.
• She is loving and generous with her material wealth.
e. She makes various kinds of “merchandise” with her spindle. Then, from the fruits of her labors, she stretches out her hand to give to the poor and needy.
f. Eph. 4:28 – Her generosity is consistent with what Paul encourages for the believer today.
• “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”
• The righteous one works hard so that he may have enough to give to the needy.
3. She gave cloth or clothing to the needy—like Dorcas.
a. Acts 9:36 – “Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.”
b. Acts 9:39 – “And all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.”
c. At her funeral it became apparent how deeply she was loved and why. She gave and served others.
4. Perhaps she gave fruit from her vineyard to the needy and hungry.
5. This kind of generosity was already described in Proverbs.
a. Prov. 31:9 – Lemuel’s mother encouraged Lemuel to be generous to the poor and needy.
• Now Lemuel describes this kind of generosity to the poor as characteristic of his ideal or virtuous woman.
b. Prov. 11:25 – “The liberal (generous) soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”
• You reap what you sow.
• Those who show mercy to others will receive mercy from others.
c. Prov. 21:26b – “… The righteous giveth and spareth not.”
• Generous, selfless, sacrificial giving is characteristic of the righteous.
d. Prov. 22:9 – “He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.”
• The virtuous woman gave what she had to meet the needs of those less fortunate.
• It was encouraging to see the response of folks at Salem Bible Church to the needs of the orphanage recently mentioned in Haiti.
6. What a CONTRAST to the greedy and selfish already described in the book of Proverbs.
a. Prov. 30:14 – “There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.”
b. Prov. 21:26 – “He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not.”
• Vs. 25 – Who is it that covets greedily all day long? It is the slothful man. And his sloth is “killing” him. He refuses to labor.
• What a contrast to the virtuous woman. She gets up early to start her chores (working with her servants) and stays up late. “Her candle goeth not out by night.” (vs.18b)
• A clear contrast: The slothful man is selfish and greedy; the diligent, hard working woman is selfless and generous.
20b She reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
1. This is the second part of the proverb. It is a synonymous parallelism. The second part says basically the same thing as the first part.
2. “Stretching out” her hand is comparable to “reaching forth” her hands.
a. “Stretching out” defined: To scatter; to spread out to multiple points by casting.
• This term speaks of the fact that her giving was widespread.
• She didn’t just drop a dime here and there. She scattered her merchandise to a wide swath of people.
• Since this was characteristic of her whole life, she must have been a beloved woman in her community—like Dorcas.
b. “Reaching forth” defined: Send out; dispatch; let go; release; set free.
• This speaks of the fact that her hands were wide open to the poor and needy.
• She did not hold on to her wealth and her merchandise with a tight grip. She held everything loosely.
• She “let go” of her good. This speaks of giving willingly, freely, and generously… just as Christian giving is described in the New Testament.
c. Though they have a slightly different shade of meaning, these two concepts are virtuously synonymous.
3. The “poor” and the “needy” are also seen as being virtuously synonymous.
a. “Poor” defined: Afflicted; oppressed; lowly; a low status in society; usually persons in poverty; lacking resources of their own.
b. “Needy” defined: Persons in want; lacking essentials; persons who must live sparingly.
c. Again, the two terms are nearly identical – speaking of the same group in the community.
4. The virtuous woman was ACTIVE in her generosity.
a. The fact that she stretched out her hands indicates that she actively LOOKED for opportunities to help.
b. This woman is not focused on self; nor is she focused narrowly on her own family exclusively.
c. She looks beyond her own household for opportunities to minister to others.
d. She looks beyond “me, myself, and mine” to others.
e. This kind of generosity was incorporated into the Law of Moses.
• Deut. 15:7-8 – “If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: 8But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.”
f. The virtuous woman was not passive in her giving. She knew she had an abundance; and she also knew that others did not.
g. Therefore she purposely looked for people with needs.
h. She observed when others were being oppressed.
i. If she saw children dressed in rags, she did something about it. She had cloth sitting around in her house that could be used to help meet that need.
j. If she saw a family that was hungry, she had a vineyard that she could use to help meet that need.
k. I John 3:17-18 – “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
• Love is a verb. Love doesn’t just FEEL sorry for others. It does something about it.
• The virtuous woman DID have this world’s goods. She was a woman of means.
• And she was also a woman of compassion with a tender heart.
• When she saw a neighbor in need, she did not “shut up her heart.” Instead, she opened her heart and she opened her hands.
• She didn’t love in word only; she loved in DEED.
• She was a woman who was strong in virtue.
l. We are all (men and women) challenged to follow this example: “But to do good and to communicate (share) forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (Heb. 13:16)
Proverbs 31:21
She Cares for her Family in All Seasons
Introduction:
1. The virtuous woman has been variously described throughout this section as a noble, strong, caring, loving, sacrificial, industrious, hard working woman.
2. She is seen as being devoted to her husband and her family.
3. This verse speaks of her sacrificial care and labors for her family.
21a She is not afraid of the snow for her household:
1. This woman prepares ahead of time for the cold season.
a. She knows that cold weather is coming and she prepares for it.
b. She anticipates what the needs of the next season will be and does whatever is necessary to meet those needs for her family.
c. We have seen this same quality in her earlier in this section.
• Vs. 15 – She knows her household needs to eat in the morning, so she rises early to meet that need. She also gives the daily chores to her maiden/servants.
• Vs. 18 – She anticipates orders for her merchandise, so she stays up late to meet those needs.
• Vs. 20 – She anticipates that the poor will need help, so she works industriously in order to have something to give to them.
• Vs. 21 – She anticipates the coming winter snows, so she plans for what her family will need in light of that.
• This woman looks ahead and plans ahead.
• That takes a lot of work and effort—because when you think ahead you realize how MUCH there is to do to be ready!
• She was not a procrastinator.
d. In this sense, she is like the ant:
• Prov. 30:24-25 – “There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise: 25The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer.”
• Prov. 6:6-9 – “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. 9How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?”
• Like the ant, the virtuous woman planned ahead and did her work on time to be ready for the winter.
e. The woman who does not plan ahead lives in a perpetual panic mode—every day all year long.
• She doesn’t plan ahead so needs arise suddenly and unexpectedly to her and she panics wondering how she will ever meet that need.
• Waiting until the last minute, until the need is upon her doesn’t give her time to get ready, so she panics and does a poor job at meeting the need.
• She should know that when school starts, her kids will need clothes, but she puts it off and off until a few days before school—and then realizes she doesn’t have time… so she panics!
• She should anticipate that the garden will need weeding, but procrastinate until the garden is overrun with weeds—and it seems overwhelming… so she panics.
• She lives her life putting out one fire after another instead of planning head, getting busy, and doing what needs to be done ahead of time.
f. By way of contrast, the virtuous woman knows that winter is coming and she gets ready for it.
• Winter happens every year. The virtuous woman isn’t surprised by it. She plans for it.
• She not only plans, but she follows through on her plans.
• Plans are great and necessary, but useless unless they are carried out. She makes a plan and then gets busy doing the work.
2. She is not afraid of the snow.
a. Afraid: To fear, to be intimidated, frightened, in great distress
b. This woman did not fear the coming of the snow; she was not in great distress over it.
c. The thought is not the actual snowflakes as a cause of fear, but rather the cold, winter season and the many needs of that season.
d. She did not fear or go into panic mode when the snow fell.
e. She was not greatly distressed over it because she was ready for winter because she got ready in the fall.
f. When the snow fell, instead of panicking over it, she could enjoy its beauty in peace and even thank God for it.
g. That’s a much better state of mind than to fear, to panic, and to be stressed out over it.
3. And note that her concern was for her household.
a. Her plans, preparation, and labors were not for herself, but primarily for her family.
b. She didn’t have to be fearful for them.
c. When the snow fell, she had warm clothing already made!
d. When the snow fell, that’s no time to start making the clothes. That’s when they need to be ready to put on.
e. And instead of panicking when the snow fell and being fearful for her family, she would rejoice in being able to dig out the warm coats and sweaters that she made for them.
f. When she thought of the snow, she thought of her family and what they would need to be warm and comfortable.
g. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
h. This woman would be blessed (happy; rejoicing) to have something to give to her family when the snow fell.
i. They would appreciate the warm clothing—and would appreciate all the forethought and labor that went into it too.
j. The children would appreciate their mother; the husband would appreciate his wife.
k. Vs. 19 – All the hours she spent burning the midnight oil and working on sweaters and coats would seem worth it all now!
l. A well-disciplined, industrious, sacrificial life made her happy!
m. What a contrast to the procrastinator who sits around wasting time and then panics when things aren’t done on time! That woman isn’t happy.
n. She lives a life of lazy boredom followed by periods of fear and panic. She is miserable.
o. She thinks that getting up early and being busy all day long will make her miserable; but just the opposite is true.
21b For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
1. She is not afraid of the snowy cold season because she is ready.
2. Vs. 13 – “She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.”
a. Because she sought out wool for clothing material, and because she works willingly with her hands, her household will be warm this winter.
b. With the wool she could make warm sweaters and heavy duty outer garments.
3. And notice that not only are they clothed warmly for the winter, they are clothed fashionably for the winter too—in scarlet!
4. Matthew Henry described the scarlet as “strong cloth and fit for winter, and yet rich and making a good appearance.”
5. Scarlet cloth was expensive cloth.
a. Putting rich color in clothing was an added expense.
b. II Sam. 1:24 – Saul as king clothed the daughters of Israel in scarlet and other delights.
• “Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.”
• Matt. 27:28 – Mockingly, Jesus was clothed in a scarlet robe for His trial.
• Scarlet cloth was also used for kings’ robes, priests’ robes, and in the curtains and veil in the tabernacle.
c. You wouldn’t bother putting expensive scarlet dye on cheap, flimsy material. It was used on fine, heavy, quality cloth… which tended to be the warmest.
d. Hence, the clothing she made for her household was the best.
Proverbs 31:22
She Brings Beauty into the Home
Review: So far we have learned several things about the virtuous woman:
→ Vs. 10 – She is valuable—like rubies.
→ Vs. 11 – She is trustworthy.
→ Vs. 12 – She did good deeds for her husband her whole life.
→ Vs. 13 – She was a willing worker and made clothing for her family.
→ Vs. 14 – She was a diligent and wise shopper.
→ Vs. 15 – She rises early to minister to her family and servants and organizes the day’s chores.
→ Vs. 16-17 – With the fruit of her hands she invests in and plants a vineyard to provide fruit and wine for her family.
→ Vs. 18-19 – She makes and sells good merchandise to help with family finances
→ Vs. 20 – She generously gives to the poor and needy
→ Vs. 21 – She prepares for her family’s needs ahead of time.
→ Tonight we want to see that she brings beauty into the home.
22a She maketh herself coverings of tapestry;
A. The Virtuous Woman Makes Tapestry for Her Home
1. Covering of tapestry:
a. This is one word in the Hebrew.
b. It is a noun meaning a bed spread, cushion, or blanket.
c. The term itself has been translated as a decorative blanket similar to an afghan.
d. It could refer to a decorative tapestry to be used as a wall hanging or clothing.
e. It could refer to a large piece of decorative cloth for any purpose. Such tapestries were used in the Temple for curtains of blue, purple, and scarlet. It added beauty to the Temple.
2. Usage:
a. The term is used only twice in the Bible.
b. It is used here and in Prov. 7:16.
c. As an interesting side note, the term is used only twice in the Bible: once concerning the virtuous woman (ch. 31) and once concerning the opposite kind of woman, the harlot (ch. 7).
3. Prov. 7:16 – The only other usage of the Hebrew term:
a. In this context, it is used of a beautiful bed spread.
b. The harlot covers her bed with this beautiful tapestry.
c. She perfumes her bed with sweet smelling spices.
d. Her purpose is to make her bed alluring, enticing, attractive, and appealing.
4. In Proverbs 31, the virtuous woman makes “coverings of tapestry” (same Hebrew word as in ch. 7).
a. And her purpose is really the same as that of the harlot.
b. She makes something beautiful, attractive, and appealing for her home.
c. The point is that she brings beauty into her home.
d. So far, we have seen the practical, functional, and utilitarian side of her labors: for food, clothing, organizational skills, and an ability to make money.
e. Here we see another side of her labors: her creative, imaginative, artistic side. She brings beauty into her home.
5. In Bible times, Kings lived in luxurious palaces. However, many people lived in tents. Others lived in homes made of stucco-like material with a sod roof and dirt floors.
a. The average home was not all that attractive.
b. But the virtuous woman brought the woman’s touch into her home.
c. She worked and labored in order to turn an ordinary cloth spread into a piece of art—a beautiful covering.
d. Some women are very talented at taking something drab and ordinary, and turning it into something very beautiful.
e. I guess today you might liken this to a woman who purchases things at yard sales and to junk stores, and with a large dose of imagination and creativity turns them into decorative pieces that add to the beauty of her home—works of art.
6. And again, it should be noted, that this woman was not motivated by greed. She wasn’t trying to keep up with the Joneses. She wasn’t trying to show off—or to have the best house on the block.
a. She did this for her husband and her family.
b. She wanted them to be proud of their home.
c. She wanted them to feel comfortable at home.
d. She wanted them to experience a pleasant atmosphere at home.
e. She wanted them to have a home where they would not be ashamed to have company come.
f. She wanted the inside of her home to be attractive, neat, orderly, well kept, well planned, well designed, full of beauty and pleasant things.
g. And she did so for her husband and family. It was a ministry to them.
h. And of course, it would be a testimony to visitors. It would be obvious to visitors that the lady of the house excelled in turning her house into a home… attractive, pleasing, and beautiful.
B. The Virtuous Woman was Wise
1. Prov. 8:21 – Here we see wisdom personified as a woman.
a. Those who love Lady Wisdom (by listening to her and obeying her) will discover that the wisdom she gives will result in having their home filled with “treasures.”
b. Of course, the greatest treasures would be spiritual in nature: love, joy and peace.
c. But these treasures could also include physical treasures—which are gained as a result of taking heed to Lady Wisdom’s words: hard work, diligence, planning ahead, seeking to please others.
d. Such treasures are the FRUIT of wisdom. The virtuous woman was wise. She listened to Lady Wisdom.
2. Prov. 14:1 – “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.”
a. The foolish woman plucks down and destroys her own house. What a shame.
• The plucking down on her house is because she is a fool.
• The woman’s foolish character has a detrimental effect on her household.
• In Proverbs folly is often seen as lazy, selfish, stubborn, and unwilling to listen to Lady Wisdom.
• And the fool in Proverbs suffers the consequences of his own folly. That is the case with the foolish woman here.
b. On the other hand, the wise woman builds up her house.
• The virtuous woman was a woman of character. She was no fool, but wise.
• She listens to Lady Wisdom.
• She is hard working, diligent, others oriented, plans ahead, and giving. That is wisdom in action.
• Thus, her household is well cared for—built up.
• Wisdom builds her house. Wisdom turns her house into a beautiful home.
3. Prov. 15:6 – “In the house of the righteous is much treasure.”
a. Here it is a righteous person who has “treasures” in his or her home.
b. That is because this person does things the RIGHT way… not the wrong way like the fool.
c. Thus, the righteous person gets to experience the fruits of his righteousness: beautiful, valuable treasures.
d. Again, this passage is not promoting greed or materialism. It is promoting righteousness by highlighting the practical fruit of righteousness.
4. Prov. 24:3-4 – “Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: 4And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”
a. And again, Solomon speaks of the right way to build a house.
b. By building a house he does not mean the actual construction.
c. He is primarily speaking about the “household” – the family and their dwelling place… the home.
d. Through wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, the chambers (rooms) of that home will be filled with precious and pleasant riches (items of great value).
e. The virtuous woman was a woman of wisdom, understanding (discernment) and knowledge.
f. She used her wisdom, discernment, and knowledge for the good of her family.
g. Thus, her family was able to experience the fruit of it all—precious and pleasant things in the home—like beautiful tapestry… pieces of art… creative and handsome things.
h. Her family enjoyed coming home to such a place.
i. And the virtuous woman’s husband and children appreciated all the time and thought that she put into making her home beautiful.
22b Her clothing is silk and purple.
1. We saw in the previous verse (vs. 21) that the virtuous woman clothed her family well.
a. They have warm clothing for the winter. They are ready for the snow to fall!
b. They also have well made, fashionable clothing. It was made with scarlet dye. This was used on the well made expensive cloth.
c. Her family was clothed well. We will see that again in the following verse.
2. But in verse 22, Lemuel describes how the virtuous woman clothes herself.
a. HER clothing is silk and purple.
• She made fine clothing for her family. She wanted her family to be warm, fashionable, and well dressed.
• She also made fine clothing for herself.
• She also wanted herself to be warm, fashionable, and well dressed.
b. Silk was a very fine and expensive cloth.
• The word translated “silk” is defined as linen.
• Linen is woven from the fibers of flax plants. The fibers made it very durable.
• It is one of the oldest and most expensive textiles in the world.
• In vs. 13 we are told that the virtuous woman gathered flax plants and worked it into fine linen with her own hands.
• She made very fine clothing for herself.
• This was not contradictory to what Peter wrote in I Peter 3:3-4: “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”
• Peter was not forbidding a godly woman from doing up her hair, wearing gold, or wearing fine clothing. (If this is interpreted as forbidding the items on his list then he is forbidding them from wearing clothing—apparel!)
• Peter is simply stating that the outward adorning is not really what makes a godly woman beautiful. It is her inward adorning that makes her truly a beautiful person.
3. Her silk clothing (linen) was purple.
a. Purple dye was made from a shellfish and was expensive.
b. It was very desirable and fashionable.
c. It was worn by royalty and the well to do.
d. In a time when homes and clothing were often very drab, a woman dressed in purple linen would stand out in a crowd—not in an ostentatious way… but as a woman who was well dressed.
e. This was obviously a woman of means—perhaps in part because she came from a wealthy family.
f. But the context of the proverb indicates that it was because she was a wise and diligent worker.
g. The point of our proverb is that this woman brought beauty into her home for her family.
h. She also made herself beautiful for her husband.
i. She takes care of herself. She is no slob. She does not consider it to be a badge of “spirituality” to dress in poor, drab, shabby, or old fashioned clothing.
j. The virtuous woman took the time to make herself attractive. That is a very womanly thing to do.
k. This proverb does not speak of this as vanity or worldliness, but rather as VIRTUE.
l. And of course, it has to do with motive.
• The virtuous woman was not selfish, coveting the best for herself. She gave generously to the poor. (vs. 20)
• She was not greedy, worldly, selfish, and proud. That was not why she wanted beautiful things.
• Rather, she was righteous, understanding, and sought to bring the woman’s touch into her home for her family to enjoy and she kept herself looking attractive for her husband.
• This is seen in our proverb not as a vice but a virtue.
4. The virtuous woman is a woman. She is a woman of beauty.
a. She makes her home beautiful for her family.
b. She makes herself beautiful for her husband.
c. Vs. 28 – No wonder her whole family praises her!
Proverbs 31:23
Her Husband is Known in the Gates
Introduction:
1. In verse 23 we have yet another unique description of the strong and noble woman – the virtuous woman. This passage indicates that she is partially responsible for her husband’s high position in the community.
2. This is not stated explicitly, but is stated implicitly.
3. If we ripped vs. 23 out of its context, we might be hard pressed to make that conclusion.
a. Looking at vs. 23 all by itself one might conclude that the verse is praising the husband and his standing in the community.
b. But IN its context, the author’s point is pretty clear.
c. The whole section is about the virtuous woman and all that she has achieved for herself, for the poor, and especially, for her family.
d. In context, the fact that her husband is known in the gates is to be reckoned or credited (at least in part) to his virtuous wife.
e. It is because of her that he stands out.
23a Her husband is known in the gates…
The Virtuous Woman’s Husband Has a High Position
A. His Prominent Position
1. In Bible times the “gate” of the city was the place where public business and legal transactions took place.
a. Prov. 1:20 – It was the place for public speaking. It is where Lady Wisdom spoke publically to the young men: “She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates.”
b. Gen. 23:10, 16 – It was the place where public business was transacted.
c. Deut. 16:18; 21:19 – It was the place where courts of justice were held.
d. Deut. 17:5; Jer. 20:2 – It was a place for public punishment. (stoning; stocks)
e. The gate of a city was a place for prominent leaders to gather—public speakers; lawyers; judges; prominent business men; the elders of the city; etc.
2. The fact that the husband of the virtuous woman was “known” in the gates indicates that he had a prominent position in that city.
a. He was well known by the prominent leaders—elders, judges, lawyers, business leaders, etc.
b. He was known by the elders and the leaders there because he was one of them.
3. The husband of the virtuous woman “sitteth among the elders of the land”.
a. He did not sit next to the elders or behind them.
b. He sat AMONG them… because he was one of them.
4. This man had arisen to a high position as one of the elders in the land.
a. It is not necessary to know exactly what position he held (other than elder) or what his specific responsibilities were.
b. The point is that he had arisen to prominence and was well known by the leaders.
c. He is well known, respected, and admired in the community.
d. This is really all that vs. 23 states explicitly. This man is a well-known and respected leader in the city.
e. But the context of the proverb states much more implicitly.
23b …When he sitteth among the elders of the land.
The WIFE of the Well-Known and Respected Leader
1. Vs. 11 – The heart of this husband can safely trust in his wife.
a. Other husbands in the community may worry about their wives—what they are up to.
• Is my wife being faithful?
• Is she getting the chores done at home or is the house a mess?
• Is she slandering me behind my back?
• Is she spending money lavishly – beyond our means?
• Is she taking care of the kids?
• All these worries on the hearts of other men drive them to distraction.
• Worry prevents them from concentrating on their work… and they therefore do not excel at what they do.
• Worries at home prevent them from rising up to a high position.
b. Other husbands may have to worry about their wives; but not this man. His heart safely trusts in her.
c. She has created a safe environment and a worry free zone from which her husband can flourish at work.
2. Vs. 11b – The husband of the virtuous woman has “no need of spoil.”
a. Because of his virtuous wife, he has everything he needs.
b. He’s not the guy at the office who is always borrowing money, asking for help, in need of a ride.
c. People might run in the other direction when this guy comes down the hall—he’s always asking for something.
d. But that is not the case of the husband of the virtuous woman.
e. Because of his wife’s industry and diligence, this husband has no need of goods. She takes good care of him.
3. Vs. 12 – The virtuous, noble woman does GOOD to her husband every day… consistently… throughout his whole life.
a. They say behind every successful man there is a strong, noble, virtuous woman.
b. This is the essence of verse 12. The success of the husband in verse 23 is to be traced back to vs. 12 – to his virtuous wife.
c. She stands behind him doing good things for him every single day. She supports him.
d. There are soldiers fighting on the front lines. But behind them is an army of other soldiers in a supportive role—bringing supplies, ammunition, food, watching the skies, keeping good communication, etc. Without this supportive role, the soldiers on the front line would never make it.
e. The husband in vs. 23 rose to a prominent position BECAUSE his wife (in her supportive role) has been doing him good behind the scenes every day… quietly and selflessly.
4. Vs. 14 – This husband became prosperous and rose to a prominent position (in part) because his wife was a shrewd shopper; she was not a spend-a-holic. She was wise and cautious with the family money.
a. She brought her food from afar. She traveled to get the best products and the best deals for her husband and family.
b. The virtuous woman took her responsibilities as homemaker seriously.
c. Prov. 31:27 – “She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.”
d. When guests came to their house they were impressed with her setting… with the wonderful variety of foods and furnishings.
e. This put the husband in a good light. Her wisdom was a good reflection on him.
5. Vs. 15 – The husband in vs. 23 is well known and respected (in part) because his wife does such a good job in taking care of business at home.
a. She gets up early—before sunrise—to prepare food for her family for the day.
b. They get a good breakfast. Their day starts off well.
c. She gives a portion (actually it means law or orders) for her servants so that everything is taken care of on the home front—decently and in order.
d. Thus, her husband can go about his business without distraction… without worrying about the kids… about the house… about the home front.
6. Vs. 20 – This husband is well known and respected in the community (in part) because of the kindness and charity of his wife.
a. She works diligently, spends judiciously, saves carefully, and has money enough to give generously.
b. Over the years, her charity and kindness became well known.
c. This too was a good reflection on her husband.
d. Perhaps he was known in the gates as the “husband of the kind and charitable woman.” Everybody has heard of Dorcas. Does anyone know her husband’s name?
e. The good reputation and good character of the virtuous woman enhances his reputation and character.
7. Vs. 21 – Her household (including her husband) is well clothed.
a. They have warm clothing for the cold weather.
b. They are dressed in scarlet – an expensive and fashionable cloth.
c. Vs. 24 – She makes and sells fashionable girdles – sashes.
d. Her husband would be the beneficiary of all of these labors.
e. He would stand out in a crowd as a well-dressed man.
f. Clearly, this can be traced back to his virtuous wife.
g. Because of her labors, he stands out—he is well known and respected.
h. As an elder and leader in the community, it would be quite inappropriate and unseemly for him to walk about in sloppy, tattered garments. His wife took care of that.
i. People noticed. He stood out.
8. Vs. 22 – His virtuous wife also took care of herself.
a. She didn’t come to town unkempt and dressed like a slob; or dressed immodestly. She did not embarrass him; she took good care of her appearance.
b. She made herself coverings of tapestry—for her home and perhaps also tapestry embroidered on her clothing for beauty and design.
c. Her clothing was “silk and purple”—fine clothing and colorful and fashionable.
d. She too stood out… and enhanced her husband.
e. Prov. 12:4 – “A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.”
f. She made him feel like a king… he was proud to have her by his side… honored to be seen with her.
g. He was certainly not ashamed of her.
h. She was an impressive lady and was a great asset to him; she enhanced her husband’s stature in the community.
CONCLUSION:
1. If you take verse 23 out of its context and read it apart from the context, it says nothing about the wife.
2. It simply states that this man is a prominent elder/leader in his city.
3. It seems to give all the credit to him.
4. But seen in its context, it takes on a different tone.
a. Yes he is a prominent leader in the community.
b. This is not to take away from his own personal achievements. But that is not the point of this chapter.
c. King Lemuel’s point is that a good measure of his success is to be traced back to his strong, noble, diligent, wise, creative, well organized, virtuous wife!
d. Her influence is seen far beyond the confines of the home. Her influence is seen in the “gates” – the center of community life: politics, business, justice, etc.
e. She is truly his “helpmeet”—and because of her help, her diligence, her wisdom, and her support, he became a well-known and well respected leader.
Proverbs 31:24
The Virtuous Woman Runs a Business
Introduction:
1. In verse 24 we have a passage that states plainly that the virtuous woman ran her own business.
2. This raises a thorny question among some Christian women, namely, should a mother work outside of the home?
3. While our present passage does not settle the issue with finality, it does shed some helpful light.
24a She maketh fine linen
Her Business
A. She manufactured products
1. She made her own fine linen.
a. She was not just a middle man or a merchant.
b. She was the manufacturer.
2. Fine linen was very expensive material.
a. Garments made of fine linen were luxury items.
b. They would be purchased by the wealthy at a high price.
c. Flax was used in making light, fine clothing—especially prized in hot regions.
d. The rich man in Luke 16:19 wore fine linen: “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day.”
3. In Prov. 31:13 we are told that she personally went about seeking flax and worked it with her hands—turning the flax into fine linen.
a. Fine linen was made of the fibers from the flax plant.
b. It is not clear whether “seeking” it means that she sought to find a good deal from the merchants OR if she grew it herself.
c. The word translated “sought” can mean “to care for” – as in tending a garden and caring for it.
d. Either way, she went out of her way to cut down on the cost of the raw materials for manufacturing her products—either by growing her own flax or seeking far and wide for the best deal on flax. (cf. vs.14)
e. However she obtained the flax, Prov. 31:13 indicates that she “worked” the flax fibers with her hands and turned them into fine thread for her cloth.
4. She made “girdles.”
a. Girdles in the Bible were large belts or sashes that were used to “gird up” long flowing tunic-like garments.
b. Well made sashes were highly valued.
• II Sam. 18:11 – “And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle.”
c. Virtually everyone needed sashes—so the market would be almost limitless—if her products were good.
5. Prov. 31:18 – The merchandise she made was of a good quality.
a. And she worked well into the night to assure that her work was of a good quality.
b. She may have been a little picky and persnickety… but for good reason.
c. If she failed to make a good quality product, they would not sell and her labors would be in vain.
24b …And selleth it
B. She sold products
1. We are also told that she sold her products.
2. She was not only the manufacturer, but she was also the salesman.
a. She had to make it known in the community that she had products for sale.
b. She would have found it necessary to promote her products.
c. The sales department was a whole different part of her business—and the text states that she was the one who sold the goods.
3. This would take up more of her time.
a. She would have promoted them by word of mouth.
b. She may also have promoted her products at the local marketplace—and perhaps in nearby cities.
24c …And delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
C. She delivered products to the merchants
1. Here is yet another side to her business that she did herself.
2. She delivered the products to the merchants – either the merchants at the marketplace, or the traveling merchant caravans, or the ship merchants at the seashore.
a. Ezek. 27:16 – “Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate.”
3. She ran the delivery department… to the local market and perhaps to the ships.
4. She ran the entire business: locating raw materials, manufacturing, sales, and shipping. She did it all!
5. With all these responsibilities, she was one busy woman.
D. Other Business Endeavors
1. We are also told a little about what she did with her spare time.
a. Prov. 31:16 – She also bought real estate, planted a vineyard for grapes, and by implication, made juices and wine for her family.
b. Prov. 31:21 – She made clothing for her family.
c. Prov. 31:22 – She made tapestries for herself and her home, as well as fine clothing for herself.
d. Prov. 31:23 – Her husband was evidently dressed well too with the clothing she made for him; he stood out at the gate of the city.
2. Matthew Henry had a helpful comment on this passage: “Those families are likely to thrive that sell more than they buy.”
a. The virtuous woman made many products. She provided well first and foremost for her family.
b. But she had time, energy, and materials left over to make additional products to sell.
c. She was not spending more than they took in. She worked hard so they took in more than they spent.
Lessons
1. The virtuous woman worked—and some of her work was outside of the home.
2. I realize that some Christian women have some strongly held views about the subject of women working outside the home.
3. Perhaps we could glean a few Biblical principles relating to the subject.
a. Titus 2:3-4 – This passage speaks about a young Christian woman has a husband and children. The text makes three statements:
• The godly wife is to love her husband (husband-lover)
• The godly wife is to love her children (child-lover).
• The godly wife is to take care of responsibilities at home. (a worker at home)
• The principle: her priority is her family.
b. Prov. 31 indicates that the virtuous woman did work.
• It appears that much of the work she did could have been done at home – as a cottage industry.
• However, some of her work took her outside of the home.
• The principle: The Bible does NOT forbid women with children from working.
c. These verses present Biblical principles—and these facts do not contradict one another. They complement one another.
d. We should all agree that the principles found in Titus 2 and Proverbs 31 are both Biblical and true.
4. This issue is really one of motivation and priorities.
a. The virtuous woman worked, but her motivation was not materialism or greed. It was not to keep up with the Joneses. It was not to embark on a career.
b. Her reason for working was to help meet the legitimate needs of her family.
c. And at the same time the virtuous woman fully understood that her real calling was not to the linen industry or the sash making business, but to her husband and children.
d. The virtuous woman was able to do both – run her business and run her household. This chapter does not condemn her for that—but praises her.
e. My advice to young mothers with children has always been to do everything you possibly can to stay at home with your kids while they are young and developing. That is the ideal.
f. But the ideal is not always possible for all families. Sometimes, even after cutting back to bare bones, there isn’t enough money to keep up with the bills.
g. Circumstances are different for every family and each family has to seek God’s will as to how to deal with their finances.
h. Money is a necessary part of life in this world. A family needs an income to survive.
i. But be sure to distinguish between needs and wants.
5. In the local church, we would do well to remember the virtuous woman.
a. Regardless of our personal convictions on the subject of women working outside the home, we should all agree that the Bible does not forbid it.
b. We should also all agree that a mother’s priority is to be her husband and children.
c. Women who work should not be condemned by those who are stay at home moms.
d. And stay at home moms should not be looked down upon by women who work outside the home.
e. Even when believers’ personal convictions differ, there should be unity and agreement concerning the Biblical principles.
Proverbs 31:25
She is Robed in Strength and Honor
25a Strength and Honor Are Her Clothing
A. Her Clothing
1. Previously we discovered that this noble woman made clothing for herself (vs. 22), for her family (vs. 21), and (by implication) for her husband (vs. 23). She even made the yarn and cloth for the clothing (vs.13, 19).
2. In our present passage we learn what her clothing is: strength and honor.
a. Obviously the clothing described is metaphorical.
b. But this figure of speech is designed to teach a literal truth.
c. Literally and physically, a person can be robed in dirty old rags or in beautiful, expensive, ornate clothing.
d. Metaphorically, this woman was robed in the BEST clothing: VIRTUES.
e. The particular virtues mentioned are strength and honor.
f. When a queen walks into a room, her royal clothing shouts out to all present that she is royalty – a queen.
g. When the virtuous woman walks into a room, her metaphorical clothing shouts out that she is a woman of strength and honor.
B. STRENGTH:
1. Defined: Power; might; boldness; ability; fortified; internal fortitude.
2. It is used of a strong city; fortified city; fortified tower.
3. Throughout this section, the virtuous woman is seen as a strong woman.
a. She is no shrinking violet.
b. Even the word translated “virtuous” means “strength; noble; vigor; ability.”
c. The word translated “virtuous” is translated as “strength” several times:
• Psalm 18:39 – “For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.”
• Zech. 4:6 – “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”
d. There are many evidences of strength found in this chapter:
• Vs. 13 – She seeks wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands.
• Vs. 14 – She is like the merchants ships.
• Vs. 15 – She rises up early to feed her household.
• Vs. 16 – She considers a field; buys it; and plants a vineyard.
• Vs. 17 – She girds her loins with “strength” and “strengthens” her arm. This is clearly an expression of a strong, hard working woman. (different Hebrew word—but is a synonym)
• Vs. 18 – She works into the night.
• Vs. 19 – She works the spindle to made yarn herself.
• Vs. 21-22 – She makes her own clothing for her family.
• Vs. 24 – She runs her own business.
• This is one strong lady.
• There is nothing inconsistent with being feminine and being strong.
» She wasn’t strong from weight lifting.
» She wasn’t trying to be a man or look like a man.
» But she was physically strong and wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty in working with her hands.
» She was strong and fortified on the inside—and it showed on the outside through her many labors.
C. Honor
1. Honor defined: Ornament; splendor; majesty; best quality; nobility; impressive character; dignity.
2. Usage:
a. Psalm 8:5 – “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.”
b. Isa. 53:2b – “He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” It is used of Messiah and in this verse means something desirable.
c. The term is often used of God’s glory or of royalty – something that stands out as majestic and impressive.
3. This was the metaphorical clothing of the virtuous woman.
a. Her physical clothing was beautiful. (vs. 22)
b. But in vs. 25, Lemuel’s mother is speaking about another kind of beauty.
c. There was something noble and dignified about her; something desirable, comely; attractive; honorable.
d. She was adorned with these traits.
e. Whether she was physically beautiful or not, we don’t know. That is irrelevant anyway.
f. What matters is that she was a beautiful woman in her strength of character… she was desirable and comely because of her virtue.
g. She was robed in strength and honor.
h. This is what made her beautiful—regardless of what she actually looked like.
i. This is what made her strong—her strength is not just physical; it is primarily moral.
j. The true force of her strength was her dignity, virtue, and godly character. This is what made her a powerful woman.
25b And she shall rejoice in time to come.
1. REJOICE: To laugh; to rejoice; celebrate; to laugh at – mock; to smile at.
a. The virtuous woman laughs at the future – in the sense that she is not afraid of whatever it might bring. She is ready for it.
b. She isn’t sitting around biting her nails and fretting over the future. She laughs at it! She celebrates it!
2. The virtuous woman rejoices as she faces the future because she is prepared.
a. Vs. 21 – She is not afraid of the winter because she is prepared for it.
• She made warm clothing for them ahead of time.
• She looks ahead to the next season not in fear and trembling, but rather rejoicing. She is ready for it.
• This also seems to be another description of her strength.
• She laughs at the future out of boldness and confidence.
• Her confidence is not based on pride or a sense of superiority; rather her confidence is based upon the fact that she worked hard and is prepared for the future… not weak and fearful.
• Her hard work prepared her and armed her against any future potential sorrow and anxiety.
• She laughs at that which causes others (unprepared people) to worry.
b. Prov. 30:25 – “The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer.”
• The virtuous woman is prepared—like the ants—an illustration of wisdom, hard work, and planning ahead.
• The ants can also rejoice for the season to come.
• They too are ready for it.
3. Do not misread this passage. This lady does not laugh at the future because she is TRUSTING in herself, in her wisdom, in her wealth, in her business, or in her investments.
a. She laughs at the future because she lived a life that was in accordance with God’s Word (seeking wisdom; diligence; family oriented; did her best, etc.)
b. Therefore she is ready for the future.
c. She laughs, not out of pride or self-confidence, but out of the confidence that a godly life brings naturally.
d. This lady put her all in everything she did. She stuck with the projects she took on. She was no quitter. She worked hard and did her very best.
e. She faced all of the problems of the present and worked through them. She didn’t quit or run away. As a believer, she would have learned to trust God and that nothing is too hard for the Lord.
f. That gave her confidence for the future… because God never changes.
g. She had full confidence that she did her part to the best of her ability. She could leave the outcome—the future—in God’s hands.
h. There is a confidence that comes from doing what it right—and this woman had it.
i. Therefore, she could rejoice in the future!
j. The one who goes through life in disarray, disorganized, cutting corners, taking the lazy way out, running away from problems, not doing our best, just doing enough to squeak by, will have plenty to worry about concerning the future.
k. But the woman described in Proverbs 31 is not that person.
l. She is just the opposite. Therefore, her future is not one that she fears.
m. This lady had confidence in God and in God’s ways.
n. Every believer can and should have this kind of confidence with respect to the future. We are not to be worry warts.
o. Confidence in God equals confidence in the future, for God is Sovereign and holds the future.
p. The God who brought us through all the troubles and trials of the past is more than capable of taking us through all the troubles and trials the future may bring—victoriously. We can rejoice in that.
q. The confidence in God this lady possessed instilled in her a confidence about the future that enabled her to rejoice in time to come.
Proverbs 31:26
Wisdom and the Law of Kindness
Introduction:
1. So far in the description of the virtuous woman, we have seen an exceptionally talented and able woman.
a. She is a diligent worker, engaged in many projects.
b. She is described as a maker of yarn, a seamstress, a real estate agent, a vinedresser, a gardener, an organizer, a cook, an energetic and thrifty shopper, and a business woman.
c. She gets up before the sun and she burns the candle into the wee hours of the night.
2. After considering all that she does, one might think that this lady is burning the candle on both ends and is going to have a nervous breakdown any day now.
a. With so many projects going on, one would think that she is going to experience burn out.
b. One might think that as a result of all that she does, her family would suffer in the long run.
c. However, the text does not indicate that she was doing too much.
d. The text does not present all this information in a bad light.
e. All that is recorded of her is to describe the fact that she is a virtuous woman—not a workaholic who ignores her family.
3. Verse 26 gives two reasons that explain HOW this woman is able to do so much without a meltdown.
26a She openeth her mouth with wisdom;
Wisdom
1. The first explanation is her wisdom. This strong, able, virtuous woman was also WISE.
2. WISDOM defined: Wisdom; skill; experience; shrewdness, the capacity to understand and to have the skills needed for living; technical skills needed to do a craft.
3. USAGE:
a. Ex. 28:3 – Used of the wisdom needed for crafts: “And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments.”
b. Isa. 10:13 – Used of the wisdom needed to conduct war: “For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man.”
c. Psalm 104:24 – The wisdom of God as the Master Craftsman in creating the world: “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.”
d. I Kings 3:28 – Used of Solomon’s wisdom in governing: “And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.”
e. Psalm 90:12 – The wisdom needed in using time wisely: “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
4. The virtuous woman who was engaged in so many projects, who worked such long hours, and did so much, did not burn out because she had WISDOM.
a. She had the wisdom needed for her various crafts. (see definition “a.” above)
• Because she was a skilled seamstress, (perhaps learned it from her mother as a child), she was able to make clothing for her family much quicker than a novice.
• People who are skilled in any craft make their craft look easy.
• Skilled craftsmen don’t have to do the same procedure five times over like an unskilled worker does.
• Her husband probably made sure that she had all the right tools for the job too—which is wise. Having the right tools makes any job easier and quicker.
• She didn’t burn out because she wisely used her skills to do a good job in a shorter amount of time.
b. She had the wisdom needed to govern and organize all of the projects she was engaged in. (see definition b, c, d above)
• This lady could walk and chew gum at the same time.
• She was a skilled multi-tasker. Some people just don’t have that ability. This lady did.
• For example, consider what we noted about her organizational skills described in verse 15.
» Using the most common meaning for the term indicates that this woman rose up early to (1) feed her family and her maidens and also to (2) give “instructions” to her maidens. (their work assignments for the day)
» In other words, after feeding her maidens, she used their labors wisely and efficiently.
» The virtuous woman had plans and goals to accomplish each day.
» Evidently, she had already prepared the instructions for each maiden the night before. She had already thought out and perhaps wrote down a “to do” list to give to her maidens each morning.
» She did this because she was a diligent leader of her maidens and wanted to use their talents in a most effective manner.
» This woman was disciplined; organized; a good planner; a wise and efficient manager.
• She didn’t burn out because she had the wisdom to put her organizational skills to work for her.
c. She had the wisdom needed to use her time wisely. (see definition “e” above)
• This lady did not waste time. She didn’t sit around and watch the grass grow.
• She numbered her days and hours and applied her heart unto wisdom.
• She redeemed her time.
• We noted in vs. 15 that she was up before the sun.
• We noted in vs. 18 that her candle didn’t go out at night. (hyperbole)
• She didn’t fold her hands for just a little more sleep.
• God gives us all the same amount of hours in a day and the same number of days in a week.
• What we DO with that time is up to us.
• The example God gives to ladies is a woman who uses her time wisely and diligently.
• This lady was anything but lazy. She was a go getter.
• And because she had wisdom, she knew enough not to be constantly moving and running around without making progress.
• There are some folks who seem to be constantly busy—always doing something—but never getting anything finished.
» They start multiple projects with high hopes of checking everything off their “to do” list, but never seem to finish any of them.
» They live their whole lives surrounded by loose ends that never get done.
» They have good intentions; but they lack the wisdom needed to bring about a satisfactory result.
• The virtuous woman had the wisdom needed to NOT start projects that she could not complete.
» We only read of her finished products in this chapter.
» She didn’t start a sash business and then quit because it was too much for her.
» She had the wisdom to know how much she could get done; how much time she had to put into it; how much energy she had to put into it; how many products she could make.
» In other words, she knew her limits. She set reasonable limits and accomplished her goals.
• The virtuous woman did not burn out because she had the wisdom to organize her time, to redeem her time, and to finish the goals that she set for herself in time.
5. While this lady had many talents, her greatest asset was her wisdom.
a. Prov. 4:7-9 – “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. 8Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. 9She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.”
b. All the activities she was involved in could have and would have destroyed her without the wisdom to allocate her time and energy properly.
c. Prov. 4:11-12 – “I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. 12When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.”
d. Prov. 9:1 – “Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars.” Without wisdom, all of her activities could have torn down her house… and household. Wisdom is what made all the difference.
e. Prov. 9:10 – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”
• Her wisdom was characterized by a godly fear. That kept her away from unprofitable projects and pathways.
• Wisdom caused her to seek God in everything.
• God is able to lead and guide: in which projects to take on… and in which activities to bypass… how to use one’s time, etc.
26b And in her tongue is the law of kindness.
The Law of Kindness
1. This expression is variously translated for a couple of reasons:
a. The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “kindness” has several meanings.
b. The emphasis of the translator either on the word “law” or “kindness.”
2. Consider some of the ways it was handled by various translators:
a. ESV: the teaching of kindness
b. NET: loving instruction
c. NIV: faithful instruction
d. Kiel & Delitzsch – amiable instruction
3. The word translated “law” is the Hebrew word “torah.”
a. It is used of the Old Testament Mosaic Law.
b. The term itself means to teach or instruct… hence, the translation “instruction.”
c. It is translated “law” in Proverbs 1:8 – “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.”
d. Here is it used as a synonym for instruction. Either translation is perfectly accurate.
4. The Hebrew word (hesed) translated “kindness” has a wide range of meaning.
a. It is variously defined as kindness, lovingkindness, mercy, faithfulness, devotion, love, etc.
b. It speaks of affection that is steadfast in a relationship.
c. With God it speaks of His faithfulness to His people because of their covenant relationship to Him—all based on His mercy and kindness.
d. This term is often used to describe the character of God.
e. This Hebrew word is used 26 times in Psalm 136 where it is consistently translated as “mercy” (His mercy endureth forever).
f. Mercy and kindness are certainly related terms.
g. This term is used in Prov. 19:22 – “The desire of a man is his kindness.” In other words, that which makes a man desirable is his kindness.
5. Just as God was faithful in His mercy and kindness towards those with whom He had a relationship, so too the virtuous woman was faithful in her mercy and kindness towards those with whom she had a relationship, namely, her husband and family… and perhaps all those she came in contact with (neighbors; business clients, etc.)
6. The law of kindness was “in her tongue.”
a. This expression indicates that this lady TAUGHT her family about kindness verbally.
b. She was able to teach about kindness because she was a kind person herself. Jesus taught us that whatever comes out of the tongue was originally in the heart. (Matt. 15:18a – “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart.”)
c. Vs. 20 – She was kind to the poor and needy. She used her finances to help them too. She didn’t just “feel” for them. She did something about it.
d. She taught her children all about kindness… perhaps from the Torah – the books of Moses.
• Deut. 15:11 – “For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.”
• Deut. 24:17 – “Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger…” (foreigners)
• Deut. 16:14 – “And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.”
• Ex. 22:26 – “If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down.” The outer garment was sometimes used as a pledge for a loan or for work to be performed. It was not to be kept overnight by the one loaning the money. It was the poor man’s “bedding.”
• We often think of the Torah with all of its laws, regulations, and penalties. However, the Torah also had much to say about kindness to one’s neighbor.
e. The virtuous woman had the “torah” of kindness on her tongue. She instructed her family in this kind of mercy, love, and kindness.
• Even when she gave orders to her children or servants, she did so, not in the tone of a domineering tyrant, but with kindness. The way you say something is often as full of meaning as what you say.
• Prov. 18:7 – “A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.”
• Some wives might be loose with their tongues = to their own destruction and the detriment of her family. That was not true of this lady.
• She didn’t go about as a talebearer and revealer of secrets. (Prov. 20:19)
• Prov. 27:15 – “A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.” It wasn’t constant nagging that was on her tongue—it was kindness.
• She had a wholesome tongue—which is a tree of life (Prov. 15:4).
7. This tells us something else about the character and heart of this strong, capable woman.
a. She had so many skills, she had so many projects going on, and she was so well organized, that one might begin to think of her as a well-greased machine.
b. But she did not operate like a cold, heartless machine—a taskmaster… or a business woman who trampled on the backs of others to get things done.
c. No, she was not a machine. She was not a robot. She was kind… merciful… and consistently so.
d. Her character was like that of the Lord; she was a godly woman.
e. Sometimes when I have so many things going on, I can get a little snappy.
f. This woman had the wisdom to know her limits. She refused to do so many things that she was no longer kind to others.
g. When Martha was preparing the food for Jesus, she was doing a lot of things. She was very busy, but she wasn’t kind. She began to complain about her sister and even about the Lord.
h. The virtuous woman was kind. She had a heart.
i. She worked hard and diligently. She worked many hours.
j. But she did not allow herself to get so exhausted and frazzled that she took out her frustration on others.
k. She was kind. No wonder her husband and children rose up and praised her.
Proverbs 31:27
The Virtuous Woman and her Household
Introduction:
1. Last week we noted that the virtuous woman (strong, capable woman) was involved in MANY projects.
a. She was described as a maker of yarn, a seamstress, a real estate agent, a vinedresser, a gardener, an organizer, a cook, an energetic and thrifty shopper, and a business woman.
b. She got up before the sun and she burned the candle into the wee hours of the night.
2. One might read this chapter and conclude that this woman was too busy and that her family was being ignored while she was busy with all of her projects.
a. It appears at first glance that she must not be taking care of business in her own household—that her house must be filthy and neglected.
b. With all the projects she had going on, there must be fuzzballs under her bed and green fur in her refrigerator.
c. And yet, when we come to verse 27, we discover that that was not the case.
27a She looketh well to the ways of her household…
1. The ways of her household.
a. WAYS: It speaks of the movement of people; a procession; marching activity of soldiers; used of traveling merchants or caravans; it came to mean the affairs or matters, or activities of a person or household.
b. Psalm 68:24 – It is used twice in this verse and speaks of the “goings” of God Himself… His activities.
2. The ways of her household…
a. The ways of her household speaks of all the activities (the comings and goings—the busy-ness—the movements and happenings) in this lady’s home.
b. In every household there is always a time of life when there is lot of activity going on.
c. There are people coming and going—and everyone has their own schedule—everyone has their own activities.
d. There is the husband, the wife, and the kids—and all of their activities seem to intersect in the home.
e. When the kids are young and active, there can be a lot of commotion taking place in the home.
f. There can be a lot of drama at times.
g. There may even be some friction.
h. The expression “the ways of her household” involves all of this combined activity.
3. The virtuous woman looked well to the ways of her household.
a. “Looketh well” means to keep watch; to be a lookout; to intently watch a situation; to guard.
b. Usage:
• Prov. 15:3 – “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”
• Habakkuk 2:1a – “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me…”
c. The virtuous woman watched the ways of her household like a hawk… like a watchman guarding a city.
• She watched for bad attitudes in her children, bad language, or bad behavior.
• She kept an eye out for any danger that might enter the home and turned it away.
• She was careful to be engaged in what her children were reading… who their friends were… what they did with their time… their walk with God.
• She may have been a bit nosey at times—but that’s her job! Her job is to watch and to keep on top of things in her household.
d. In other words, even though she had many projects going on, she did NOT ignore her family.
• Her priorities were not out of balance.
• She did not neglect her household duties as a wife, mother, and housekeeper.
• She wasn’t so busy making sashes to sell and spinning yarn that she didn’t have time to attend to the daily needs of her household… her children and her husband.
e. Without verse 27, her priorities might be questioned; but in light of verse 27, it is clear that she balanced her time, energy, and attention carefully, thoughtfully, and wisely.
4. Verse 26 mentioned her wisdom. Verse 27 is an expression of her wisdom.
a. It takes wisdom to be able to balance all of the activities in one’s life… and to know what needs attention, how much, and when.
b. It is easy to be out of balance—which is a foolish way to run a household.
c. Some people don’t have the wisdom to balance life’s activities.
• As a result, they spend all of their time and energy running around like a chicken with its head cut off… lots of activity, but not much accomplished.
• Some spend their time running about putting out one fire after the next… instead of facing and dealing with the source of the fires.
• As a result, they are not led by the Spirit, but are led by circumstances.
d. This lady had the wisdom to look WELL to the ways of her household.
e. She served her family well.
• And keep in mind what Jesus said about serving others in Matt. 20:27 – “whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.”
• Serving others in the home may be ridiculed by our culture, but it is greatness in God’s sight.
f. Titus 2:5 – “To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
• This woman was an excellent “keeper at home.”
• That didn’t mean that she never left home; this chapter reveals otherwise.
• But she never neglected home. She “kept” it—guarded it—and preserved it.
• This was a good testimony—“that the word of God be not blasphemed.”
5. The virtuous woman also is described in this chapter as a good organizer and manager.
a. In verse 15 she rises early each morning and gives out the instructions to the servants for the day.
b. In verse 18, she stayed up late getting out orders for her sash business. She managed her time such that she was not overloaded with work and assured her customers that they would have their products on time.
c. In verse 20, she was able to save enough to be able to give to the poor.
d. In verse 21, she planned ahead for the coming cold season and made sure she and her household were ready for it with warm clothing.
e. She organized well and planned ahead.
f. She was a good manager of her time and her household, and she is being praised in verse 27 for that quality.
6. Of course this lady had some advantages that not all ladies have.
a. Vs. 15 – She was a woman of means.
• She had multiple servants working for her.
• Not many women today have servants.
• But it is a good idea to have children engaged in doing age appropriate chores around the house.
b. Vs. 28 – She had a loving family that supported her in all that she did. Not every woman has that.
• Some women have to deal with an unreasonable husband or rebellious children who make it virtually impossible to manage a household efficiently and smoothly.
• Not every woman’s circumstances in life are the same… so these verses are not designed to be used to judge one another.
c. The family seemed to function well together.
• This was no dysfunctional family.
• They worked together—not against each other. Hence, a lot was accomplished by all for the betterment of the whole family.
7. And while the harmony of this household depends upon each member’s willingness to submit, serve, and work together, our proverb seems to give much of the credit to the virtuous woman.
a. She looked well to the ways of her household.
b. She watched over her family like a hawk and did whatever she could to make sure it functioned smoothly and efficiently.
c. She was busy adding to the prosperity of the family, as well as keeping an eye on all the affairs and activities of the household.
27b …And eateth not the bread of idleness.
1. This was a woman of means. However, she did not use her wealth as an excuse to sit around and waste time or eat the bread of idleness.
a. Vs. 13 – She sought out wool and flax for making cloth.
b. Vs. 14 – She traveled all over town to find the best deals.
c. Vs. 16 – She bought, planted, and tended a vineyard.
d. Vs. 18 – She made and sold merchandise for a profit.
e. Vs. 19 – She worked on a spindle making yarn.
f. Vs. 21-23 – She made clothing for herself and her family.
g. Vs. 24 – She made and sold fine linen and girdles (sashes).
h. She was anything but idle.
2. She rolled up her sleeves and worked WITH her servants.
a. This is humility—and diligence—and wisdom.
b. Vs. 15 – She rose early and prepared food for her “household” – which term includes her immediate family and her household servants.
c. The servants would certainly appreciate this about her.
d. They would also appreciate the fact that she didn’t lounge around eating candy and snapping orders all day.
e. She gave them orders in the morning, and then she (the lady of the house) got busy herself. They all worked together.
f. It is rare for women of means to be such hard workers, when they don’t really have to.
g. Her diligence added to the smooth functioning of the household.
h. No one could ever read this chapter and conclude that this wealthy woman was a lady of leisure. Just the opposite was true.
3. She certainly did NOT eat the bread of idleness.
4. And yet in all of her activities, she never neglected her family. She had her priorities right.
Proverbs 31:28
She is Blessed and Praised
Introduction:
1. We have been considering the many talents, skills, and labors of the virtuous, noble, strong woman in Proverbs 31.
2. In tonight’s verse the author mentions her family’s appreciation for who she is and all that she does.
28a Her children arise up, and call her blessed;
1. The virtuous woman is being praised first of all by her children.
2. She is praised by her children for all that she DOES for them.
a. It is not surprising that her children praise her, considering all the things we have learned about her in this section.
b. Vs. 13 – She is out in the fields getting flax and wool to make clothing for them.
c. Vs. 14 – She travels all over town and perhaps the region looking for the best products—that her children enjoy.
d. Vs. 15 – She is up early in the morning, before the sun rises, to prepare food for her children for the day.
e. Vs. 16 – She planted and tended to a vineyard, the fruits of which her children enjoyed.
f. Vs. 19 – She makes yarn and cloth—which her children wear.
g. Vs. 21 – She sees to it that her household is dressed in warm and fashionable scarlet clothing.
h. Vs. 22 – She makes and decorates her home with beautiful tapestries, which her children enjoy.
3. She is praised by her children for the kind of PERSON that she is to them.
a. Vs. 11-12 – The children saw how well she treated their father.
b. Vs. 15 – They saw how well she treated the servants.
c. They saw her getting up early in the morning and staying up late at night to help provide for the family’s needs.
d. Vs. 20 – They saw her stretching out her hand to the poor.
e. Vs. 22 – They saw her artistic side too in making the home beautiful with her tapestries for wall hangings and bed covers.
f. Vs. 23 – The children knew that to a large extent, their father’s reputation, accomplishments, and status in the city was due to his noble wife standing behind him.
g. Vs. 26 – The children saw her wisdom and experienced her kindness daily.
h. Vs. 27 – The children observed how their mother looked well to the ways of the household, day in and day out.
i. The children of this noble woman learned about self-discipline, orderliness, diligence, endurance, sacrifice, giving to others, generosity, priorities, wisdom, kindness, honor, keeping the household in order, and many other valuable lessons of life by observing their mother over the years.
4. They arise up and call her BLESSED.
a. It’s no surprise that they arise up and call her blessed.
b. It would be remarkable if they didn’t!
c. They are simply acknowledging the facts: this woman IS blessed – blessed by God.
d. She is blessed with wisdom, kindness, diligence, grace, generosity, selflessness, etc.
e. These wonderful traits are not natural. That is not the way the old nature works.
f. These qualities are blessings from above that she manifests on earth.
g. James 1:17 – “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
5. Arising up:
a. This Hebrew word means to “stand” but has lots of different connotations.
b. Here the connotation implied is standing out of respect and honor.
c. Kiel and Delitzch attribute to this term the “idea of reverential honour.”
d. We see this meaning often in the Scriptures.
• Ex. 33:10 – “And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door.”
• Lev. 19:32 – “Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.”
• I Kings 2:19 – “Bathsheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her…”
• Rising up was a means of showing respect and honor.
e. The children of this noble woman “rose up” to honor their mother for all she does and for who she is.
6. There is a second possibility for the meaning of the word translated “arise up,” (by Matthew Henry, Harry Irsonside, and others) namely, to arise up one day in the future and take her place—when the children have households of their own.
a. Later in life they will call her blessed.
b. Later in life, when they have their own children, they will realize with much more DEPTH, all that their virtuous mother did for them… all she sacrificed for them… all that she exemplified for them…
c. They may not have appreciated it that much while growing up; but when they “arise up” to adulthood and have their own families, they will realize the debt they owe her.
d. And they will HONOR their mother for years to come.
e. That’s the way it is supposed to work. That’s the norm.
f. This is all certainly true—but I’m not sure this meaning is what the author intended.
• The reason I believe the praise is from her children while they are still children is because of the next phrase in which the husband does the same.
• There is nothing in the context that would lead a reader to believe that her husband waits until the children “arise up” as adults to bless his wife.
28b Her husband also, and he praiseth her
1. “Her husband also” – means that her husband also calls her blessed.
2. Her husband praises her for who she is and for all she does.
a. “Praise” means to praise, commend, to boast about; to shine.
• Her husband speaks highly of her; he praises her publically.
• He does not talk about her in a demeaning way, but builds her up with the way he talks about her.
• He boasts of her character and her achievements.
b. Vs. 10 – He realizes that his wife is more valuable than rubies.
c. Vs. 11 – He appreciates that he can trust her with anything. She is on his side and by his side. She is his helpmeet.
d. Vs. 12 – She does him good all the days of her life. How could he not appreciate her? How could he not praise her?
e. And all those other things she did, the fruits of which her children enjoyed, he enjoyed too: fruits from her vineyard, clothing, tapestries for the home, special products she gathered from afar, the extra income she supplied for the family’s needs, the diligence and hard work, her kindness and wisdom.
3. This woman devoted her life to her family; and they appreciate her for all she does and all she is.
a. It is amazing how far a little “appreciation” can go… how encouraging it can be… how reassuring it can be.
b. Some wives sacrifice themselves daily in the home, and never even receive something as simple as a “thank you,” or “nice job.”
c. Appreciation should not be reserved only for her birthday and Mother’s Day.
d. In fact, NOT being consistently thankful for one’s wife is sin: it is a sin of omission. Here’s why:
• Prov. 19:14 – “A prudent wife is from the Lord.” She is a gift from God to her husband.
• James 1:17 – “Every perfect gift cometh down from above and cometh down from the Father…”
• Not being thankful for one’s wife is not being thankful to the Giver… the Lord Himself.
• The Bible has a lot to say about being thankful and EXPRESSING it.
• NOT being thankful and not expressing our thanksgiving is a violation of scores of Bible verses.
• Disobeying Bible verses is called SIN.
e. Thanksgiving and praise for one’s wife is good if it is done out of obedience to God’s Word. It is possible to “say” words of praise because God demands it and you have to.
f. It is better when it also comes naturally from the heart – a heart that has experienced her blessings in many ways… a husband’s heart that is full of genuine love for his wife…
4. This noble woman devoted her life to serving her family, and they recognized it; they appreciated it; they praised her for it.
a. Nothing is more satisfying to a wife and mother to hear such words of appreciation.
b. Appreciation doesn’t necessarily mean a $5000.00 trip to Hawaii.
c. Appreciation can be expressed in simple things… like words from the heart… and countless other expressions that don’t cost a penny.
d. Prov. 12:25 – “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.”
e. Prov. 15:23b – “a word spoken in due season, how good is it!”
f. Prov. 16:24 – “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.”
g. Prov. 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”
h. Showing appreciation requires thought, heart, love, and encouraging words; but not money or things.
Proverbs 31:29
Thou Excellest them All
Introduction:
1. In the previous verse, Lemuel wrote of the fact that the children and the husband of the virtuous woman both praise her for who she is and for all that she does.
2. The praise continues in vs. 29. In vs. 29, her virtue is compared to others.
3. This verse is unique in that all the other verses speak about this virtuous woman in the third person (she).
a. But vs.29 speaks of her in the second person (you – thou).
b. For that reason, it is probably best to understand vs. 29 as the words of the husband (and children?) addressed to his virtuous wife.
29a Many daughters have done virtuously…
1. The first part of this proverb states the fact that there have been MANY virtuous women.
2. At first, this might sound like a contradiction to the way Lemuel began the description of the virtuous woman.
a. Vs. 10 – “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.”
• This passage seems to imply that it is hard to find a virtuous woman.
• Such a woman is rare—like a rare gem—a ruby.
• That is what vs. 10 states, and it is entirely true.
• When you cast a broad net out over ALL the women in the entire world, a virtuous woman, like the one described in Proverbs 31, IS rare.
• Vs. 10 states emphatically that they are hard to find. Who can find such a woman?
• But if you have found one, you have found a gem!
b. Vs. 29 states that there are MANY such women.
• This is not a contradiction.
• Compared to all the women in the world, there are not many. They are RELATIVELY rare in that comparison.
• But if you pooled all the virtuous women in the world together, there would be MANY.
• The terms are used in a relative sense.
• For example, the Bible says that there are FEW that enter through the narrow gate compared to the MANY on the broad road. Compared to all the people in the world, very few are true believers.
• However, if we had a conference with all the believers in one place, we might say that MANY attended.
• Numbers by their nature are relative.
3. With that understood, Lemuel states that MANY women have done virtuously.
a. The wife of this husband certainly was not the only virtuous woman in the world.
b. But to him, she was the BEST.
c. Adam Clark wrote: “Thou hast ascended above the whole of them—thou hast carried every duty, every virtue, and every qualification and excellency, to a higher perfection, than any of whom we have ever read or heard.”
d. The expression “done virtuously” is also used in Ruth 4:11.
• “And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem.”
• This was the prayer of the people for Ruth when taken in by Boaz.
• They prayed for her to be a virtuous (worthy; noble; strong; valiant) woman.
• Ruth BECAME that kind of woman.
• She showed signs of it in her single state – before being wed to Boaz.
• But she went on to prove it later throughout her marriage.
e. And Ruth was not the only virtuous woman.
• MANY have done virtuously!
• You don’t have to be perfect to be a virtuous woman.
f. MANY believing women are like rare, precious jewels.
• And among the precious gems, there is a great variety: there are rubies, emeralds, onyx, amethyst, and diamonds.
• They are not all the same; but they are all precious gems.
• They may not all be good at planting a vineyard, or spinning yarn, or as a seamstress, or at cooking.
g. But each one has their own, unique set of skills and abilities that they can use in a virtuous, sacrificial, generous manner.
h. There have been MANY godly wives and mothers over the ages.
29b But thou excellest them all.
1. MANY have done well at virtue; but ONE excels them all.
a. There is no woman on earth like her. Who can find her equal?
• 31:10 – Previously he said, “Who can find one?”
• 31:29 – He says essentially: “There are many out there; you can find one if you look hard enough. But who can find one as good as this one? This one has no equal.”
b. This virtuous woman described in Proverbs 31 is set before the MANY other virtuous women as the ideal woman, the ideal wife and mother as their goal.
• Other virtuous women should strive to be more like her.
• Others should seek to be even more virtuous and to excel at virtue.
2. The usage of the term “daughters” could be taken in two ways:
a. FIRST: The term “daughters” is sometimes used in the Old Testament as a way of referring to women/females in general. (the daughters of Israel)
• If this is the meaning here, then Lemuel is stating that the daughter (actually wife and mother) being described in chapter 31 excels all the other women in the world.
• The woman described here is model and example for all other women in the world.
• This whole section then becomes a description of the perfect woman… the ideal woman. It is a poetic way of describing what other women should strive for.
• This seems to be the most obvious and simplest way to understand this section.
b. SECONDLY: It may imply a contrast between the mother and wife in the family in contrast to her younger daughter.
• If this is the case, then Lemuel is making a contrast in virtue between mothers and their single daughters.
• A young, single daughter in the family may be virtuous.
» She may be kind, diligent, generous, giving, sacrificial, talented, creative, and godly, etc.
» In her single state, she may manifest much virtue.
» But in their single state, they do not have the opportunity to manifest as much virtue as a wife and mother does… who cares for both her husband and her children.
» The young daughters are not mothers yet and have no children to care for in a motherly way.
» They may be virtuous and sacrificial—but they know nothing of the kind of sacrifice of a mother.
» The young daughters may be virtuous, but because they have no husband, they know nothing of the kind of selflessness and service of a wife.
» This is not said to disparage them; they simply don’t have the life experience.
» But the virtuous woman described in this section—who is both a wife and a mother—this woman excels them all!
» Her virtue excels the virtue even of her virtuous daughters.
» For example, if the mother died, and the daughters were charged with caring for their father and the household, a man could not have his household cared for by good daughters as he could by a good wife (a thought from Matthew Henry).
» The daughters may have virtue, but it has never been exercised and proven (tried and true) to the degree of the wife and mother mentioned here.
» They will have their chance later in life to prove their virtue.
3. But for now, the virtue of the wife and mother excelleth them all!
Proverbs 31:30
A Woman that Fears the Lord
Introduction:
1. In this passage we discover the secret to the success, the wisdom, the works, and accomplishments of this woman: she fears the Lord.
2. For this she is praised.
30a Favor is deceitful
1. FAVOR:
a. Defined: Grace; charm; elegance; favor; popularity (to find favor in the eyes of men).
b. Usage:
• Gen. 39:21 – “But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour (same word) in the sight of the keeper of the prison.”
• Esther 2:15b – “And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her.”
c. In the context of Proverbs 31:30, the term speaks of a gracious woman, an elegant and charming woman.
d. It may also speak of her as being well liked and favored—because of her charm—popular.
e. And of course, these are good qualities.
f. The virtuous woman probably possessed these qualities too.
2. DECEITFUL:
a. Defined:
• Injurious falsehood; untrue; unreal; a lie; misleading; fraud; a mistaken belief; a deception that disappoints.
b. Usage:
• Psalm 119:128 – “Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.”
• Ex. 23:7a – “Keep thee far from a false matter…”
• Proverbs 10:18 – “He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.”
» Notice that lying lips cover up what is really taking place on the inside.
» The lips lead you to believe one thing—but it is a lie.
» The reality is that you were deceived… and that leads to disappointment.
c. The term is used most often of deception with the tongue—a lie—words that are misleading and unreal.
3. The point of the proverb is that a charming personality can be deceptive.
a. I don’t understand the words of Prov. 31:30 to be absolute in every case.
b. Note that the word “is” is italicized. It was added by the translators. Something NEEDS to be added.
c. I would have chosen to add “can be” rather than “is.”
d. The word “is” sounds absolute; but it even with that translation, it needs to be understood that this is a proverb. It doesn’t cover every case.
e. Certainly the author is not saying that ALL gracious, elegant, charming women are deceivers!
f. Rather, this proverb is sounding a warning that a gracious, elegant, charming woman CAN BE deceptive.
g. Charm, poise and elegance are good in their place.
• This woman may have gone to finishing school.
• She may have learned just how to behave in public.
• She may wave like Queen Elizabeth.
• She may know just how to hold her silverware, how to stand, how to do all the things that is considered elegant, sophisticated, charming, and proper.
• This woman may be polished – like royalty.
h. However, if that is all a woman has, her charm COULD BE deceitful.
• Charm and polish are good.
• It’s better than being rough, coarse, and rude.
• But charm and polish are merely external.
• They say nothing about her heart… her attitudes… the kind of person she is… what kind of wife or mother she would be.
• In fact, charm CAN BE nothing more than outward show.
• That’s the warning.
i. It might be easy to see a charming, cultured, sophisticated, polished woman and ASSUME that her outward grace and charm are a reflection of her inward beauty.
• That is NOT always the case.
• The outward packaging may be deceptive.
• You can package snake oil elixir in beautiful wrapping—but that doesn’t mean that it IS what you were expecting.
• You might be deceived—and thus very disappointed.
• Many a young man has been deceived by the outward charm of a woman—only to discover after marriage that she was not the kind of person he thought she was!
• It is a deception that disappoints.
30b And beauty is vain:
1. The parallel:
a. The second part of the proverb is saying virtually the same thing as the first part.
• It may be a synonymous parallelism.
• Favor and beauty
• Deceitful and vain
b. However, “favor” and “beauty” are not exactly the same. It is possible that it was intended to be a synthetic parallelism – one that builds upon the first section.
2. BEAUTY:
a. Defined: The term is like our English word beauty.
• It speaks of physical beauty – and is often used of the beauty of a woman, as is the case in Proverbs 31:30.
• Like charm, elegance, and favor, beauty is good. There is some value to beauty.
• The Bible does not belittle or demean beauty; but it does send out some warnings… especially to young men.
b. Usage:
• Esther 1:11 – “To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on.”
• Proverbs 6:25 – “Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.”
• Physical beauty is eye catching, attractive, and very appealing. It can even be seductive—so be careful with beauty.
c. There is a place for beauty.
• The virtuous woman was very likely a beautiful and attractive woman.
• She attracted the eye of a king (King Lemuel)—who could have virtually any woman in the kingdom he wanted.
• The virtuous woman obviously took good care of herself. She didn’t just “let herself go.”
• Proverbs 31:22 – She was very well dressed. She was fashionable. She paid attention to detail.
• Again, notice that the word “is” is italicized. It would prefer adding “can be”, as in the first section.
• It is not that beauty IS vain in every case. But beauty CAN BE vain.
d. The thought is similar to Proverbs 11:22: “As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.”
• In this proverb, Solomon describes a woman without discretion.
• Her outward beauty and grace are compared to a jewel of gold. They are visible and attractive.
• But that is not what the woman IS. The woman IS a pig who happens to have a nice piece of jewelry in her snout.
• The nice jewelry does not change the nature of the pig.
• Charming women can be the exact opposite of charming on the inside.
• This woman was fair (the fairest of them all?) on the outside. But she lacked discretion on the inside.
• Peter tells us that you can wash a pig on the outside spick and span, but pigs will be pigs. They will eventually return to rolling in the mud.
• Jesus said that cleaning the outside of the cup is good; but the inside of the cup is what really matters.
3. Beauty is VAIN.
a. Vain defined: Empty; a vapor; passing; meaningless.
b. Beauty is good, but only skin deep.
c. If that’s all a woman has, she is shallow and empty.
d. Beauty is like a vapor in that it doesn’t last.
• The stunning beauty that you marry at 20 may not be so stunning later on in life.
• In time, she will become old, gray, and wrinkly. It’s just a fact of life.
• And eventually that beautiful body becomes dust.
• Earthly beauty in a mortal body is vain… like a vapor. It doesn’t last.
• It is foolish to commit the rest of your life to a woman on the basis of physical beauty alone. That is truly vain.
• It’s not just the body that you marry; but the PERSON who lives in that body.
30c But a woman that feareth the LORD…
1. Here Lemuel encourages his readers to look a little deeper than the skin. Beauty is only skin deep… and it doesn’t last. It’s the mind and heart UNDER the skin that counts.
2. II Cor. 4:16 – “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”
a. The physical body is in the process of “perishing.”
b. But for a godly person—one who fears the Lord—what really counts is that the PERSON inside that body is being renewed daily—into the image of Christ.
c. What really makes a woman beautiful is on the inside.
d. External beauty does not guarantee internal character.
e. A very ugly woman may be dwelling in a gorgeous body.
3. I Peter 3:3-4 – “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”
a. Peter is not saying that outward beauty is evil or that women should not take care of the outside of the cup.
b. But rather, Peter is saying that while outward beauty has its place—that is not what makes a woman truly beautiful.
c. True beauty is on the inside… it is “hidden” in the heart. It is a meek and quiet spirit.
4. The most important question is, “Does she fear God?”
a. If she truly fears God, then:
• She will be faithful to her husband.
• She will walk in humility before God.
• She will obey God’s Word—and thus be a good wife and mother.
• She will be wise – for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
• She will honor her husband, who has been appointed by God as her head.
• She will do her best to BE the kind of woman described in Proverbs 31:10-31. She will be a virtuous woman.
• Fearing God is at the root of all the virtue in this woman.
b. Interestingly, this is the first mention of God in this section on the virtuous woman. This is the climax of the poem.
• So far it has been all earthly qualities—but qualities that obviously were present in this lady BECAUSE she feared God.
• Fearing God changes everything. That’s what to look for!
30d She shall be praised.
1. We see the virtuous woman being praised by her husband and children (vs. 28-29).
2. We will see more of her being praised in the community (vs.31).
Proverbs 31:31
Give Her the Fruit of Her Hands
Introduction:
1. This is the final passage dealing with the virtuous woman.
2. The section ends with more words of praise for her.
3. Vs. 28 – Her children and her husband praise her.
4. Vs. 29 – She is praised for excelling all others in virtue.
5. Vs. 30 – She is praised, not for her charm or beauty, but for the fact that she fears the Lord.
6. Vs. 31 speaks of rewards for her virtue.
31a Give her the fruit of her hands;
A. The Fruit of Her Hands
1. What are the FRUIT of her hands?
a. They are the fruit of her labors.
b. The whole section has been describing her labors.
c. The fruit of her hands is a figure of speech which means the REWARD of her hard work.
2. Consider the work of her hands in this chapter.
a. Vs. 12 – She DID her husband good all of the days of her life. This speaks of the good DEEDS she did daily.
b. Vs. 13 – She sought out wool, flax, and worked with her hands. She worked with the sheep and in the fields collecting flax. She worked these two materials with her hands to produce yarn and linen for making clothing for both cold and warm days.
c. Vs. 14 – She traveled far and wide seeking the best products and the best deals for her family.
d. Vs. 15 – She got up before sunrise every day and prepared meals for her family and for the household servants.
e. Vs. 16 – She bought a field and planted a vineyard—and evidently took care of the vineyard so that her family would have fresh fruit and would have something to drink… wine to sweeten the water.
f. Vs. 18 – She made merchandise—working into the wee hours of the night.
g. Vs. 19 – She laid her hands to the spindle – making yarn and cloth for clothing.
h. Vs. 20 – She was involved in helping the poor. Some of the fruit of her labors she gave to helping others in need.
i. Vs. 21 – She made warm clothing for her household in winter; she made scarlet (fashionable) clothing for her family.
j. Vs. 22 – She made artistic tapestries to beautify her home (for wall hangings; bed covers; and clothing). She also made clothing of silk and purple—more beauty and fashion.
k. Vs. 24 – She made sashes to sell in the marketplace. This was evidently a lucrative business that she managed.
l. Vs. 27 – She labored diligently and was not idle.
m. And of course there would be thousands of other labors of love involved in caring for and training the children.
3. All of this had a monetary value.
a. How much would it cost to hire someone to come into the household and do all this work?
b. How much would it cost to hire someone to take a wild field and plant a vineyard and maintain the vineyard?
c. How much does it cost to clothe a family for a year?
d. How much would it cost to hire a cook to come into your home and prepare three meals a day?
e. How much would it cost to hire a home decorator—and not just a decorator, but to manufacture or pay for all the decorations?
f. How much would it cost to have someone clean your home every week? How about every day?
g. Each of the verses considered speaks of many hours of labor—hard labor. And it continued all the days of her life.
h. How much would all that cost?
i. It’s no wonder that the section begins by saying, “her price is far above rubies.” (vs. 10)
• The price of rubies was between: $1,200 to $25,000 per carat. (according to awesomegems.com)
• The virtuous woman is far more valuable that rubies.
4. As Americans, we may not be able to appreciate this portion of Scripture as people in other cultures and in other centuries may have appreciated it.
a. Compared to women worldwide, women are treated well in the USA. There are laws protecting them from mistreatment. They get equal pay for equal work. They have freedom to marry whoever they want. They can go to school and get a good education. They can choose to be a stay at home mom or they can seek a career. They can vote. They can drive and travel wherever they want.
b. That has not always been the case throughout world history.
c. Women have been treated as second class citizens.
d. Men have taken advantage of them.
e. Just consider the lives of many women in the Middle East and elsewhere—even today in the 21st century.
• It was against the law for girls in Afghanistan to go to school.
• Women are raped and it is virtually impossible for them to win in court.
• Women must wear a burka.
• In some countries women are not allowed to drive a car.
f. But regardless of how poorly women were treated in various cultures throughout the centuries, in the BIBLE, they were honored.
g. The Bible speaks of their VALUE.
h. The BIBLE praises them.
i. Of course there are those today who believe the Bible degrades women because they are to submit to their husbands. That is based on a misunderstanding of what headship and submission involves. The world has seen too many example of headship taken to the extreme. Women are most content and fulfilled when they fulfill their God given role God’s way.
j. But apart from the Bible misinterpreted and misapplied, what the Bible actually SAYS (rightly divided) exalts women… honors women… and values women.
k. Proverbs 31:10-31 is a perfect example of this.
B. Give Her the Fruit…
1. This command goes beyond verbally praising a virtuous woman for her labors of love. This command speaks of actually GIVING her the rewards of her labors.
2. The command seems to be addressed to her household – her husband, children, and household servants.
3. She is to be VALUED for all that she does.
4. This also speaks of giving her GIFTS or money or something substantial for all that she does… as a means of appreciation and just because it is right. The workman is worthy of his (or her) reward.
5. The point is that she should EAT of these fruits too. She should be able to enjoy the benefits of her labors.
6. And later on in life her children are to “give her the fruit of her labors” according to I Tim. 5:4: “But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents (pay back): for that is good and acceptable before God.”
7. It might seem so obvious to us today in America that such a hard working woman should receive the fruit of her labors. But that has not always been the case historically.
a. Cruel, ungodly husbands have abused the concept of headship and have NOT rewarded their wives. Their wives get precious little for their labors. They are not valued.
b. A godly husband will obey the command in this passage.
31b And let her own works praise her in the gates.
1. The two commands:
a. The first command is direct: “give her.”
b. The second command is indirect: “let her.”
2. This command is that the labors of this virtuous woman were to be seen “in the gates” – the center of community life.
a. Most of her works revolved around the home.
b. But her praise is not confined to the home.
c. The community (in the gates) will honor such a woman.
d. Her best praise is ascribing to her all her own works.
e. The demonstration of her works praises her. They carry their own commendation.
f. Dorcas was praised publically for all the clothing she made for others in the community. Her own works proclaimed her goodness and perhaps the best means of praising her. The garments she made for others spoke loudly.
g. Ruth’s love and care for her mother in law and her labors in the fields of Boaz earned her high PRAISE in the community.
3. Her husband and children should praise her.
a. But ultimately, it is the life, character, and works of this virtuous woman that give her the greatest praise.
b. It was her life – a life of “doing good and not evil all the days of her life” that bring the greatest praise to her.
c. Even if she has an ungodly, selfish, and cruel husband who never praises her; even if she has ungrateful children who never praise her—her faithful LIFE and her WORKS shall praise her.
d. Her ungrateful family may not praise her in this life. She may feel that there is no point in trying to be a virtuous woman any longer. But that is no excuse for a virtuous woman to “give up.”
e. Ultimately, a godly, virtuous woman is not serving her family exclusively; she is actually serving the Lord.
f. I Cor. 15:58 – “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
g. And as a faithful, virtuous Christian lady stands before the Lord at the Bema seat, she shall receive the greatest praise of all, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
h. When all is said and done, that is the praise that really matters.