Proverbs 29: 1-27

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Proverbs 29:1-27

“He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. 2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. 3 Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance. 4 The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it. 5 A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet. 6 In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice. 7 The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it. 8 Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath. 9 If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest. 10 The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul. 11 A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards. 12 If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked. 13 The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the LORD lighteneth both their eyes. 14 The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever. 15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. 16 When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall. 17 Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul. 18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. 19 A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer. 20 Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him. 21 He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length. 22 An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression. 23 A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. 24 Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not. 25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. 26 Many seek the ruler’s favour; but every man’s judgment cometh from the LORD. 27 An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.”

Introduction

He Or She Whose Often Reproved Without Change—Watch Out!

“Chapter 29, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” (verse 1) and you could put “she” there, we don’t want to leave the girls out, “she that being often reproved, and hardeneth her neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” So, the person whose, look, here it’s the LORD whose both the reprover and the destroyer. And the idea is, the LORD is saying, the person that’s often reproved, God speaks. Because it says what they’re doing is they harden themselves, which means they hear, but they rebel. So God says there comes a point, we look at that in Genesis chapter 6, before the Flood came, he said ‘My Spirit shall not always strive with man,’ there’s a point where he stops. And it says ‘He that being often reproved,’ and God will do that, he’s gracious. Look, again, we’ve talked about this many times, in Genesis, it says when Jacob was left alone a man wrestled with him. I’m thankful that God has no desire to humiliate me, and that he will wait till I’m alone and wrestle with me. Because he could, if he wanted to, right when I’m sitting up here giving you a Bible study, and I tell you to do something and I’m not really doing it, he could just grab me and go, thump, thump, thump, you know the scene in the movie where the hog takes the guy and…but I’m thankful he waits till we’re alone, and he wrestles with me. I’m so thankful that he’s that way, I’m so thankful. ‘He that often being reproved, and then hardening his neck, stubbornness is like idolatry, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy, God brings it down.’

‘When The Righteous Rule People Rejoice’

“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” (verse 2) so, what it’s telling us here, it is proper both to run for office and to vote, it is proper to be involved in the political process. God has not called us to magisterial reform, he’s called us to preach the Gospel, which should never be attached to that to the neglect of the calling of the Church. But it is proper to be involved, and it is proper for us to vote, and it is proper for us to vote Biblically. You forget about Democrat, Republican, you forget about all of that. 57 million abortions, you have to vote against that. Those 57 million babies would have produced between 35 and 70 trillion dollars in our economy. Medicare would be solvent, Social Security would be solvent, and there would be no national debt. Marriage, Jesus Christ is a Groom coming for his Bride. We should vote morally, not along Party lines. Because when the righteous are in authority, people rejoice. When the wicked bear rule, they’ll mourn.

Prodigals Bring Sorrow

“Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.” (verse 3) The father, we think of the Prodigal son going out, the father, brokenhearted, looking for him every day, chapter 2, verses 12 and 16, tell us about what wisdom is and how it should be applied. So, somebody’s whose running around with harlots, somebody whose immoral, somebody whose using up the family’s resources in this kind of lifestyle, it says, is heartache.

‘Justice Establishes A Land, Bribery Overthrows It’

“The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.” (verse 4) never heard anything like that in politics, have you? “The king by judgment” by justice, is the idea, establishes the land. “but he that receiveth gifts” bribes, payoffs, money in their funds, never happened in my life, “but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.”

Look Out For Smooth Talkers

“A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.” (verse 5) the Hebrew root has the idea “of being smooth,” ‘he that’s a smooth talker, look out for them smooth talkers.’ Girls, sisters, you unmarried sisters, look out for them smooth talkers, look out for ‘em. You’re smarter than they are anyhow. Look out for them. “A man that flattereth his neighbour” it says, “spreadeth a net for his feet.” he’s talking smooth, and putting a noose around you.

Nobody Sins To Themselves, It Always Affects Others Around You

“In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice.” (verse 6) so, nobody sins to themselves, nobody sins to themselves. If you sin, you effect your parents, you effect your siblings, you effect your spouse, you effect your family, you effect your coworkers, you effect your friends, there is no such thing on this planet, particularly amongst God’s people of anyone who sins to themselves. And the problem is, in the transgression of an evil man, there’s a snare. I got a great letter from somebody today, backslidden for years, the sin of other people took his heart away, backslidden, turned away from the church, through a series of circumstances he’s back again, he’s on fire. But it took years and years of his life gone. So, in the transgression of an evil man, there’s a snare, he tempts somebody else to do it, he drags other people into it with him, he breaks their heart, there’s a snare. But the righteous, they can sing, they can rejoice, what a blessing.

The Righteous Care For The Poor, Scorners Fan Flames Of Contention Within The City

“The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.” (verse 7) the wicked, they don’t care, couldn’t give a darn. “Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath.” (verse 8) Scornful men, mockers, very interesting, the Hebrew, they argue over it, “to bring a city into a snare,” it seems to be “they kindle” or “fan a flame.” A mocker, a proud person, an arrogant person, they don’t put out any brushfires, they fan the flame, that’s all they do, the idea is. But a wise person turns away wrath, doesn’t get involved, doesn’t put the gloves on, doesn’t get in the ring, stands aside. It told us before, somebody who loves an argument is like somebody who takes a dog by the ears, you know. Scornful men, mockers, they kindle and they fan a flame, bring a city into snare, or into flames. Wise men turn away wrath, put out the flames.

Don’t Argue With Fools, You Can’t Win

“If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.” (verse 9) A lot of questions about the Proverb, does it mean, is it in a court setting? A wise man who is defending himself against a foolish man? a wise man who is contending with a foolish man, in a court situation or just in the context of life itself, when a wise person and a foolish person are at each other’s throats, contending, whether he, is it the wise man or the foolish man?, whether he, and it seems to be the foolish man, because he’s mentioned last, whether the fool rages or laughs, there’s still not going to be any rest. If you’re arguing with a fool, and the fool is somebody who can’t receive instruction, who says in his heart there is no God, that’s how the Bible defines a fool, it says whether the guy laughs, like everything’s good, or whether he rages, in the process, still there’s not going to be any rest, it doesn’t get settled, because of what he is by his nature.

The Murderous Hate The Upright, But The Just Seek The Welfare Of The Upright

“The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul.” (verse 10) “but the upright will seek, the upright’s soul” is in the Hebrew “life,” but more, it means “his welfare.” So, a bloodthirsty man, a murderous man, hates the upright, they hate an upright person. But a just person seek the welfare of the upright. Somebody whose a good person, upright, they see a another person, good person, they have no desire to injure him, they do what they can do for the wellbeing of that other person. And the bloodthirsty, they hate the upright, because the upright are proof that the life of the bloodthirsty is unjustified. If a man can be upright in this world, and enjoy his life, and live with dignity, his very existence rebukes the bloodthirsty man, it tells him the way he lives is unjustified. So there’s a hatred, there’s an animosity that goes on between the two.

With A Fool You Can’t Get A Word In Edgewise, He Never Shuts Up

“A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.” (verse 11) “a fool uttereth all his mind” that’s a delight to listen to. So, a fool, you can’t get a word in edgewise, you can’t shut him up…it never stops. It says somebody whose wise, waits till afterwards, timing, very important, wisdom, to say the right thing, ultimately in response.

Evil Birds Of A Feather Flock Together

“If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.” (verse 12) “Birds of a feather flock together” that’s what we say in our culture. If a ruler is wicked, guess what, their administration, their servants are wicked, because people reproduce after their kind, that’s just the way God made it. Anybody in an organization who leads a certain way, they reproduce after their kind. And it says here, ‘a ruler that listens to lies, all his servants are evil.’

“The Poor And The Deceitful Man Meet Together” – What Does That Mean?

“The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the LORD lighteneth both their eyes.” (verse 13) and it seems to be in light of verse 12, “the deceitful” you might have a gloss in your column that says “the usurer” the person that applies taxes, the person that takes advantage of the poor, is what it seems to be saying. So, it says here ‘the poor and the person that takes advantage of him, they meet together, the LORD lighteneth them, the LORD is the one who gave them both life.’ So the poor person, and those who are unjust, taking advantage of the poor, one day they both stand before God, he lighteneth both their eyes, they both have breath, they both have life because of God, and they will both give an account. All things are worked out, nobody gets away with anything. [For an interesting secondary interpretation of how that might play out, see http://www.unityinchrist.com/plaintruth/battle.htm]

Mercy Establishes A Throne

“The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.” (verse 14) Obviously, as you read through here, God has a heart for the poor, he has a heart for the less fortunate. If we’re his sons and daughters, it should be in our DNA to care about those things also.

The Rod Of Discipline And Reproof, Both Necessary

Ah, verse 15, we’ve been through a lot of verses about raising kids, so, it says here “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but” in contrast to that “a child left to himself bringeth his mother shame.” So, the idea is, the rod and reproof, discipline and correction, both of them are necessary. It’s wrong just to whack a kid their whole life, it’s not like Whacka-mole. There are people in this church who were abused when they were children and growing up. And the Bible forbids that, God takes notice of that, and whoever does that will be brought into account for doing that. You never humiliate a kid in front of other people, or punch them in the face. There’s a big piece of meat on the posterior that God put there, it’s a great place to mete this correction out. But, it isn’t enough just to correct either. Time-out! time-out! I wish I got time-outs when I was little, I got the rod when I was a kid. ‘Go to your room!’ ‘That’s where I’ve been trying to get all day, my PlayStation’s there, everything’s there, I want to go to my room,’ ‘No, no, go outside!’ ‘Ahh, what am I going to do outside, there’s bees out there.’ So the rod, and reproof, both of them necessary, they give wisdom, the combination of those two things. But in contrast, if the child is left to himself, he bringeth his mother shame. You know, I have a copy of the Tabongalos Targums at home, which translations were done several hundred years before Christ, because the language was going from Hebrew into Aramaic, in fact modern Hebrew is an Aramaic script, it’s Hebrew words, but with Aramaic script. Ancient Hebrew is vastly different. But the Targums, I love them, they say this, where it says “a rod and reproof,” the Targum says “a stick and chastisement.” It makes it abundantly clear there. That’s a rod, it’s a stick, get a switch. ‘A stick and chastisement,’ it says, ‘give wisdom.’ Then it says ‘A child left to himself,’ the Targum says “A child who does not receive this stimulation will bring shame to his mother.” They see that as stimulation, the stick and chastisement, the rod and correction, it’s stimulating. When I was little I was “stimulated” by that quite often. And it was even more stimulating when my mom said “I’m telling your father.” Normally my mom just whacked us, but when my dad had to get active, we were in trouble. So, ‘The child that does not receive this stimulation, ends up to be trouble.’

Time & Eternity Win Out In The End

“When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall.” (verse16) “are multiplied,” because they didn’t get enough rod and reproof when they were little guys, when the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth. “but the righteous shall see their fall” time and eternity, we win out. So, the wicked, they might seem like they’ve seized the day, but they haven’t.

Discipline Brings Rest

“Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.” (verse 17) “Correct thy son” with the rod and discipline, in fact the Hebrew here is “discipline thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.” And I have two living proofs of that in my life, my sons are fine young men, delight to my soul (one of them had to get beat all the time). One of them was so bad…Cathy was crying, she said ‘You believe this, Mike, I never thought he was going to live to be 5.’ [laughter]

Where There Is No Work Of God’s Spirit, The People Perish

Verse 18 says “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Now I grew up kind of in the Pentecostal church, and we used to hear this all the time. It was like ‘You don’t have a vision for giving, you don’t have a vision faith, you don’t have a vision for being healed, you don’t have a vision…’ it was all this kind of stuff, you know, ‘If you don’t have a vision, you’re gonna perish.’ It’s not what the verse says. ok? “Where there is no vision,” the Hebrew says “where there is no prophecy, no divine revelation, no work of God’s Spirit” is the idea, because Israel was a land, in the northern part of the country, that saw wicked king after wicked king after wicked king after wicked king, and it was wonderful when Elijah stood up on Mount Carmel, it was wonderful when there was an Elisha and Isaiah [Isaiah was prophet to the southern kingdom of the House of Judah]. [Comment: for a complete study about both the kings of the northern 10 tribes, the House of Israel, and the southern kingdom, the House of Judah, from Solomon to the fall of Jerusalem in 586BC, see and read through this series at: http://www.unityinchrist.com/kings/1.html] ‘So where there is no divine revelation, where there is no authority, there’s no prophecy, there’s no work of God’s Spirit, in that situation, the people perish,’ the Hebrew says “the people get out of control,” ‘no restraint,’ is the idea. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” one of my very favorite Billy Graham crusades was in Central Park, I don’t know if any of you guys remember that. And there’s Billy Graham in Central Park, and you know, there were over 200,000 people there, everybody was there, the Goths were there and the Heavy Metal guys were there, and everybody you can imagine was there. And Billy Graham was up there saying “Do you know your city, New York, these are your statistics for murder, you have more murder than most of the cities in the United States, you have more immorality,’ and these people were like their Grandpa was yelling at them, ‘things are so bad Billy Graham had to come and yell at us,’ it was amazing, and nobody was like yelling back or throwing stuff, everybody looked like a bunch of kids, because there was such a presence of God’s Spirit, there was such conviction, there was such speaking forth of the Word of God, that people’s hearts were pricked. It says when that doesn’t happen, there’s none of that going on, people get out of control. “but he” the individual, you may live in a nation that’s out of control, “but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (verse 18b) the individual that keeps God’s Word, happy is he or happy is she.

When You Have A Stubborn Person Working For You

“A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer.” (verse 19) So if you have a stubborn person working for you, you can talk to him till your lips fall off, because of his attitude, he’s not gonna answer, you’re not going to get anywhere.

Put Your Brain In Gear Before You Put Your Mouth In Motion

“Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.” (verse 20) I grew up with my dad saying “Put your brain in gear before you put your mouth in motion.” And I heard that a lot, for some reason, I think he must have been thinking of my sister or something, but he also said it to me. “Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.” he’s just shooting off his mouth before thinking, there’s more hope for a fool.

He That Pampers His Servant From A Child, What Happens?

“He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length.” (verse 21) 21 is interesting, to me at least. And it seems to be saying, if you’re courteous, you’re good, if you have people that work for you, your servant, if you treat them that way, and then finally they’re going to be like a son. But the Hebrew doesn’t say that at all. The Hebrew says this “He that delicately bringeth up” the Hebrew says “He that pampers his servant from a child, shall have him become a spoiled son,” he’s gonna become like a spoiled kid. So it’s saying, there’s order, somebody whose supposed to be in charge of something, somebody like Joseph, who was the steward of Potiphar’s house, someone who is a foreman, whose supposed to get things done, if they’re constantly pampering an individual, ultimately that person becomes like a spoiled kid.

Someone Whose Angry, Always Seems To Have Something Going On Around Them

“An angry man [or woman] stirreth up strife, and a furious man [or woman] aboundeth in transgression.” (verse 22) this is just, by this point in Proverbs, we should have no question about what that means. An angry man stirreth up strife, [applies to women too] if you see somebody where there’s always something going on around them, it’s an angry guy [or gal—I’ve seen the truth of this one, angry drama always going on]. “a furious man aboundeth in transgression” always crossing lines he shouldn’t cross.

‘A Man’s Pride Will Bring Him Low’

“A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.” (verse 23) A man’s pride, Isaiah 14 tells us about the first sin in the universe. It tells us there that Lucifer said ‘I shall be like the Most High, I’m going to sit on the side of the north, I’m going to sit on the mount of the congregation.’ So, he says these three things he’s going to do, and it was the first time any will was lifted up against the will of God in time and eternity. Billy Graham said a man or a woman are never more like the devil when they touch the glory, so it says a man’s pride is going to bring him low. That’s what God has to do to the enemy. “but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.” (verse 23b)

Don’t Get In Business With A Thief

“Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not.” (verse 24) you get in business with a thief, you know he’s a thief, and you decide to go into business with him, it says that person hates their own soul. “he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not.” I love the way the King James makes that so clear. It says ‘Whoever becomes a partner with a thief hates his own soul, and he that heareth cursing’ the idea is ‘the sense of the court, God’s Law said specific things about a thief, and it says that person hates his own soul, he hears what the Law says, but he keeps his mouth shut, he bewrayeth it not, doesn’t say anything, doesn’t bring it out into the light.’ [i.e. he keeps quiet about his thief-partner and whatever he’s doing with him, is my guess to that part of the verse.]

‘The Fear Of Man (or Woman) Brings A Snare, Mentally, Wrecks Your Mind: But The Person Who Trusts God Is Lifted Above All The Nonsense’

We’re familiar with verse 25? “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” (verse 25) the fear of man brings a snare, over in chapter 28, in verse 21 we saw “to have respect of persons is not good” and it says here, “the fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” So, fear of man, what does it do to us? We’re afraid of what they’re gonna think, so we, I saw this commercial on TV, with this, this mom with this little rich kid in the back seat, he’s all dressed up with a tie, and all the other kids are kind of a little funky, and he says ‘Look at them,’ and she says ‘Where do children get those kinds of clothing,’ and he says ‘Old Navy.’ And she said ‘Oh, they’re in the Navy,’ he said, ‘Nah, it’s Old Navy,’ he says ‘Look how cool they look,’ and the whole thing, so the mother says ‘You’re going to be late for school today, we’re going to Old Navy,’ and she zooms away in the Bentley, you know. And the whole thing is, you can’t go to school, if you don’t look cool, ‘the heck with school, what matters is cool, not school, cool. Algebra’s not cool, science is not cool, English is not cool, cool is cool.’ People do that, they dress a certain way, they look a certain way, they hang with certain people, all of that, that’s what the fear of man does, and now because of facebook, ‘what are others going to think, what are they going to say?’ And listen, now of course we live in this world, ‘They don’t like me, they cut me off their friend list, they don’t like me, I got “likes,” I got “dislikes”’ and people are going crazy, they need to see shrinks because they’re living in non-reality. With little kids already, there’s a certain name for it, they have this syndrome, because they get under the covers at night with their iPhones and Tablets, and you take away their mobile device, and they get depressed, they need professional help. So this has all taken on layers that Solomon never dreamed of. The fear of man, it makes us do all this strange stuff, ‘What are they gonna think!? What are they gonna think!? we do it every Christmas, when we’re gifting, “ah, they were giving us something, see we gotta get them,’ so we got this thing, we don’t eat there anyway, so we just give this gift card to them, because then they’re gonna think, ‘What are they gonna think if they give us something,’ you get tortured. [I give to some of my adoptive family and don’t have to worry about it, because they never give me back anything anyway. I’m just showing my continued love for them, regardless of what they think of me. But ya, the fear of man or fear of woman is debilitating, or can be if you let it.] I’ve just given you permission not to regift. This Christmas should be less stressful than ever. [Christmas is supposed to be a religious holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, who was born nowhere near December 25^th, and it is one of the most stressful periods of time of the year. I’d say by the fruits of it, it’s not a really godly holiday at all. Just my personal take on it. It should be about family and the love of God through his Son, not who gave me this or that.] “The fear of man brings a snare:” but look what it says, “but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” (verse 25) the King James says “shall be safe,” you may have a gloss that says “set on high,” the Hebrew says “shall be inaccessible.” The idea is, ‘the person that puts their trust in the LORD is lifted up above all of this nonsense.’ The fear of man, it brings a snare, it snags us, it gets us in all kinds of messes with our motives, ‘What are people gonna think?’ but it says ‘the person that’s trusting the LORD, it says they’re made inaccessible, in the sense that they’re lifted up above all of that nonsense.’ That’s a wonderful thing, that is a wonderful thing. And you know, the coolest people anyway, are the uncool people, because they don’t care about being cool. So when you see somebody that just isn’t cool, that’s a really cool person, they’re above it all.

Again, ‘Birds Of A Feather Flock Together’

“Many seek the ruler’s favour: but every man’s judgment cometh from the LORD. An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.” (verses 26-27) it goes both ways [and this is another Proverb that says “birds of a feather flock together”]. There should be no mystery about that to us. [transcript of an expository sermon on Proverbs 29:1-27, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116]