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Proverbs 12:1-28
“Whoso loveth
instruction loveth knowledge: but he
that hateth reproof is brutish. 2 A
good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn. 3 A
man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved. 4 A
virtuous woman is a crown to her
husband: but she that maketh ashamed is rottenness in his bones. 5 The
thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit. 6 The words of the
wicked are to lie in wait for
blood: but the mouth of the upright
shall deliver them. 7 The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand. 8 A
man shall be commended according to his wisdom: but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised. 9 He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread. 10 A
righteous man regardeth the life of
his beast: but the tender mercies of the
wicked are cruel. 11 He
that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding. 12 The
wicked desireth the net of evil men: but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit. 13 The wicked is snared by the
transgressions of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble. 14 A
man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth. 15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. 16 A
fool’s wrath is presently known: but a
prudent man covereth shame. 17 He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit. 18 There is that speaketh like the
piercings of a sword: but the tongue of
the wise is health. 19 The
lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for
a moment. 20 Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy. 21 There
shall no evil happen to the just: but
the wicked shall be filled with mischief. 22 Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight. 23 A prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth
foolishness. 24 The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute. 25 Heaviness
in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but
a good word maketh it glad. 26 The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour: but
the way of the wicked seduceth them. 27 The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in
hunting: but the substance of a diligent
man is precious. 28 In
the way of righteousness is life: and in the pathway thereof there
is no death.”
Introduction
“Chapter
12 of Proverbs, and we are into now the part of the Book up to the 22nd chapter that are kind of again short one-verse proverbs, staccato, we pass some
of the longer ones as we go by, but you’ll notice that there are “but, but,
but” in the middle of every sentence. Occasionally there’s an “and,” which means it’s constructive, it’s
adding an idea, or “so” that’s comparative. Most of these are contrastive, contrasting.
Whose The Stupid Person?
So, “Whoso loveth instruction loveth
knowledge:” the contrast, “but he that hateth reproof is brutish.” (verse 1) So, nobody loves knowledge who
doesn’t love instruction. If you love
knowledge and you don’t love instruction, you’re fighting a losing battle. It says here “Whoso loveth instruction” ‘that’s
the person who loves knowledge.’ “but” the contrast, “he that hateth reproof” the person who doesn’t like to be instructed, doesn’t like to be corrected, he “is brutish.” That’s the King James,
in the NIV it’s wonderful here, “he’s stupid.” though that’s not a
nice word, that’s not politically correct. The Hebrew says, it’s funny because I was reading, I have a copy of the
Targums, most of the Old Testament books, and they’re translated into English
of course, so I was reading that, and it says “he is stupid.” So I feel good about that, because I love
instruction, and I’m learning, and I found several translations that say
“stupid,” so “Whoso loveth instruction
loveth knowledge: but he that hateth
reproof is stupid.” (verse 1)
A Good Man Obtains The LORD’s Favour, But
Not Necessarily That Of Others—But Nobody Gets Away With Anything
“A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked
devices will he” the
LORD “condemn.” (verse 2) So, a good man, look, he obtains favour of
the LORD,
it doesn’t say of other men [or women]. Sometimes we can get in that place where we’re doing our best, we’re
trying, we share with other people, we give to them, and they turn around and
smack us in the face in one way or another, verbally or something. And you think ‘What’s the deal here?’ Well
it doesn’t say that, it says ‘A good man obtains favour of the LORD.’ Sometimes that’s not from other people. Sometimes the Lord can grant that favour
through other people, because affirmation is always helpful for us. But “A
good man obtaineth favour of the LORD.” to be able to sit alone with
him and sense his pleasure, it’s a wonderful thing. “but” it says, “a
man of wicked devices will he” ‘the LORD’ “condemn.” So, believe me, there are times when we will
sit alone with the Lord and just have peace, and say ‘Lord, this was good today, I sense your favour, nobody else
understands this’ but this is intimacy. There’s certain
things between my wife and I we share with no one else. Certain things between the Lord and I, I would never bring to the pulpit here, that’s
intimacy. And sometimes just sitting
alone with him, and sensing his favour, there’s something personal between you and
him. But then, understand, it says ‘somebody
of wicked devices will he, the LORD, condemn,’ ah, the Targums there said, “is smashed.” I like that. Reminds
me of the comedian with the big hammer that hits the bug on the watermelons, “is
smashed.” So, you know,
it’s interesting, it says in the Book of Deuteronomy, as God gives the Law, in
Deuteronomy he is restating the Law right on the edge of the Land before they
come in, and he says there, ‘if a man does this, this is the penalty, if
he steals a sheep, he should return four-fold, if he does this you do that, if
he does that, you do this. If he’s a
young man or woman and gets drunk, and they mouth off and curse their parents,
the parents should drag them to the middle of the village, and all the villagers
get stones and stone them,’ and then all the kids behave for awhile
after that. You go through the Law, ah,
and then it says ‘but if a man or woman does something, and nobody sees it, and they’re
not brought to the priest, or they’re not brought to the Levites, God says “I
will see it,” and he says “and I will deal with them.” And you hear of the things he says, ‘Their
flocks won’t produce, reproduce, their vineyards,’ and he says, twice,
in Deuteronomy
28, ‘I will smite them with the botch.’ Like the way that sounds? ‘I
will smite them with the botch.’ I don’t know what that is, but I don’t want to be smited with it, ‘I
will smite them with the botch.’ So, nobody gets away with anything. Here he says “A good man obtaineth favour from the LORD:” if he does what’s right, he’s
a good man, “but a man of wicked devices
will he” the LORD will “condemn.” he’ll take care of that. Nobody gets away with anything. “A man
shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.” (verse 3) So Jesus said it in a different
way, he said ‘The wise man builds his house upon the Rock, and when the winds blow
and the storm comes, the house stands, because of the foundation it was built
on. The foolish man builds his house on
the sand, and when the storm comes, when the storms come, and they do, the
house falls, and great is the fall of it.’ It says here, “A man shall not be established by wickedness:” he’s building on
sand. “but the root” the foundation “of the righteous shall not be moved.” (verse 3) firm foundation there.
Emotional Stress Causes Bad Health
Verse 4, “A
virtuous woman is a crown to her
husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.” I have this one memorized, I don’t know why,
it sticks with me…”A virtuous woman” or
a noble woman, you know, a woman of a good spirit, “is a crown to her husband.” The idea is, a crown is worn openly, it’s
seen openly, it’s within sight, and that type of a wife, it says, it’s seen,
it’s something that’s worn, and worn wonderfully, it’s visible. “but she that maketh her husband ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.” Nobody sees that, the rottenness in his bones. You know, Cath and I, I think from the time
we got married, had kind of an arrangement. Ok, ‘Don’t argue with me in front
of people, don’t embarrass me in front of other human
beings. That’s the deal. If we need to argue, we’ll get home, we’ll
argue, we’ll work it out. But don’t
argue with me in front of people. And then the deal is, when I come home, you
snap your fingers, I’ll jump, I’ll do whatever you
want to do.’ ‘You know, you come to church, try to look interested, even if you’re
not, just, you know, there’s this building up of one another, and I will do
whatever I can do to be an encouragement to you.’ ‘but a wife that makes her husband ashamed, now of course we
know this, it happens to be true now, is like rottenness in his bones.’ We know now, that emotional stress causes bad
health. You know, through all the years,
come on, you guys were Hippies with me and went through all this for awhile
there, we all ate healthy foods, we all worried about cholesterol and we all
had fiber, we had fibered ourselves to death, and all this. And now they’re saying, what causes arterial
sclerosis is stress, that the soulish emotional and mental capacity of a human
being under stress produces chemicals that actually harden the arteries. It says here, that’s bad. And it goes both ways, I guess a husband who
drives his wife out of her mind is like rottenness, boiling bone marrow for
her, there’s another proverb somewhere. But you get the idea here. ‘A
virtuous, noble, good woman, good spouse, is a crown to her husband, but she
that makes here husband ashamed is like rottenness in his bones.’
The Thoughts Of The
Righteous Verses The Wicked And Where They End Up
“The thoughts of
the righteous are right:” I could have told you that
without the Book of Proverbs, “but the
counsels of the wicked are deceit.” (verse 5) they’re deceitful, they never tell you the
truth when they’re giving you advice. “The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.” (verse 6) they’re always getting it over on
somebody, getting the better of them, there’s always a victim involved, “but the mouth of the upright shall deliver
them.” (verse 6b) the people they talk to, they try to encourage them, try to aim them in
the right direction. “The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.” (verse 7) I have this underlined “and are not:” That sounds pretty serious,
doesn’t it? “The wicked are overthrown, and are not:” that’s pretty serious, coming from the Word of God. “but the house of the righteous shall stand.” (verse 7b) Look, these are good things to remember when
you watch the news. Because
if you lose perspective, the news will drive you outa your mind. Remember, again, Paul, when he was in Athens,
his goal there, and Athens was on the decline, Athens was 80, 100 years after its
glory, and Paul wasn’t there to kind of take Athens and restore it to its
former glory, Paul was there to save Athenians. And some of us get so hung up, you know, we look at this nation, I love
this nation, my dad was 30 years in the Naval department, I love this country. But I’m having to keep perspective as I see it dwindling, and
failing. [Comment: Our nation, due to those in control of our
government, not necessarily the elected officials alone, or even our past
Presidents, has been guilty of great evils. I am an extreme history nut, and after studying much ordinary history
which I now classify as surface history, I’m finally going down the Rabbit
Hole, and studying our secret history, the history of those who’ve driven the
history we see on the surface, those who’ve driven us into great evil, and not
merely what’s written in the ordinary history books. See http://www.unityinchrist.com/topical_studies/America-ModernRomans1.htm and read through that entire 84-page history. Also purchase and read L. Fletcher Prouty’s “JFK,
The CIA, Vietnam, and the Plot to Assassinate John F. Kennedy”and read
William Blum’s “KILLING HOPE” at: http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/KillingHope_page.html.
As a nation, we’ve been guilty of great evil, and I am no longer a flag-waving Christian, and neither should any of us be
that kind of Christian. Our nation is
going down. We are probably in the short
period of time just before the Great Tribulation, WWIII, and our job right now
is to seek the revival of the greater Body of Christ, and the active
promulgation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world as a final witness
and warning as to what is to come (see http://www.unityinchrist.com/prophets/Zephaniah/REVIVAL.html). Like Pastor Joe says, our job is not to save
or attempt to save this nation. That’s
Jesus’ job, when he returns, to save this world from extinction.] I have to remember that the last great hope
of the world can’t be America, it has to be Jesus
Christ. And our calling is not to
restore America to her future glory, but to save Americans [or the citizens of
whatever nation you live in, whatever your nationality is, for our true
citizenship is in heaven, not of this world]. And if we don’t do that, we have failed. And by the way, if enough Americans get saved, the other thing will
happen by itself. One of our great
modern-day prophets, Phil Robertson, said about dynasty, he said “Christians need to stop griping.” He
said “the problem with the country is
their fault.” He said, “We have an ungodly government because we
have the majority of our people in the country are ungodly.” He said “If
we were doing our job and the majority of the people in our country were saved,
we’d have a more righteous government.” So he said “Stop worrying about
what they’re doing wrong, and just start worrying about what we’re doing wrong,
and let’s get out and share Jesus Christ with everybody.” Ah, I appreciate Phil.
Warped Minds And Tender
Mercies Of The Wicked
It
says, verse 8, “A man shall be commended
according to his wisdom: but he that is
of a perverse heart shall be despised.” Ah, the NIV says here “He that has a warped mind shall be
despised.” That’s true, by the
way, if you read even in the news. “A man shall be commended according to his
wisdom:” ‘but the person that has a warped mind, and there’s a few out there
now, isn’t there? shall be despised.’ [Adolf Hitler had a warped mind. Rasputin had a warped mind. Joe Stalin had a warped mind. Sexual predators have warped minds.] “He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoureth
himself, and lacketh bread.” (verse 9) So the person with a warped mind is going to
be despised, but then he adds, ‘But he that is despised and has a servant
is better than he that honors himself and doesn’t have anything to eat.’ [Different levels of those classified as
being despised, obviously.] So, even
someone that’s despised and has a servant, is actually better off than someone
who honors himself and is standing around hungry, without anything to eat. “A
righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” (verse 10) So, the righteous man here, regardeth the life
of his beast, that’s because in Israel he probably kept flocks. If he didn’t keep his own he kept someone
else’s. He took care of his ox, because
it was his John Deere. His ox was his tractor. That’s the way he plowed his fields, so the
righteous man cared for the life of the beast. He was thankful, he saw it was part of God’s being benevolent in his
life that those things were there. It’s
not talking about Fido [unless Fido was his sheepdog], it’s not talking about
cats, it’s not saying he didn’t have a barbeque once
in awhile, Rack of Lamb or something. It
just says he had regard for the life of his beast, it doesn’t say once in
awhile he didn’t have a barbeque, it’s not talking
about dogs and cats, that’s a different story. “A righteous man regardeth the
life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” (verse 10)
‘Hard Work Pays Off, Fantasy Followers Lack
Brains, The Wicked Desire The Snare They’ve Got To Take From Others’
“He that tilleth
his land shall be satisfied with bread: but” contrast he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.” (verse 11) your NIV says “he that followeth fantasies is
void of understanding.” The idea
here is always, hard work pays off, it’s the way it is, it’s the way it’s
always been, ah “He that tilleth his
land” and by the way we all have differing fields that we labour in. In Genesis God creates Adam, it says he set
him there in Eden, chapter 2:15, and told him to keep the Garden, to care for
it, to dress it. Then in chapter 3,
around verses 17 to 18, when Adam falls, he says ‘Alright, now you’re going to
work, this is gonna change, the ground is going to bring forth thorns and
thistles. You’re going to have to
labour, and by the sweat of your brow you’re going to bring forth from the
ground.’ So we kind of each have
our field, we’re all not farmers today, but we each have our field, we each
have our place of labour, we all have our place where we are to be stewards,
and we’re to work hard, to produce, we’re to do what we do with all of our
might unto the Lord. And it says that
the person who tills his land, whose faithful as a good steward, he’s going to
be satisfied with bread, he’s going to enjoy the fruit of his labour. “but he that followeth fantasies is a person whose void of
understanding.” (verse 11b) lights are on,
nobody’s home. That’s a different
proverb, but it fits there. “The wicked desireth the net of evil men: but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit.” (verse 12) So the wicked desireth, there’s a gloss in
the column, and the King James says “the
fortress of evil men,” I’m not sure what your translation says. The idea is, the wicked desire the snare, the
ability to take hold of someone else, to get hold of something, they desire to
use the methods of evil men. In contrast
to that, the root, we heard about that over here in verse 3, “the root” he says
“of the righteous” it produces by itself. The wicked, they have to throw a net, they have to set a trap, they
don’t produce anything by themselves, they got to take it from someone else,
where it says here the righteous, it was just talking about sowing the field
and so forth, “the root of the righteous
yieldeth fruit” there’s a
contrast there, there’s something that grows and brings forth on it’s own,
because stewardship, there’s care.
The Wicked Get Caught In Their Own Lies
“The wicked is
snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of
trouble.” (verse 13) We’re
going to hear about “lips” here. The
wicked is snared by the transgression of his [her] lips,” you know this. Have you seen this? You see it with your kids, they’re kids I
know, but they have wicked hearts, little kids. ‘They’re born in sin, conceived in iniquity’ and if they weren’t so
cute, imagine if they were six feet tall and ugly and acted the way they do. They get away with it because they’re little
and so cute, ‘Maa! No!’ they’ve got
their stuff going on there, and it’s cookin’. And then as they grow up, ‘Did you
do that?’ ‘No,’ and they put their
hands over their rear. I remember one
time my son was emptying out the refrigerator, there were eggs all over the
floor, broken, grapes, food, he was standing in a pile of this mess, because my
wife was on the phone, then she realized ‘It’s
really quiet, he’s doing something bad,’ and she’d go find him, and he’s
standing there in the middle of this soup, like four foot in diameter, broken
eggs and jelly, and she said ‘Did you do
that?’ and he put his hands over his rear, in those little fuzzy pajamas
with feet in them, ‘No!’ and he goes
Boom! and fell right in the middle of it. And as we get older, sometimes some of us
don’t get healed, you know, and here’s what happens. If you lie, get yourself in a mess, and you
lie, then someone comes and says ‘Didn’t
you say this?’ and you tell the next lie, and then you hear “Well I heard somebody else say you said
this,’ and you say ‘I didn’t say
that,’ what happens is, you have to remember every lie you’ve told, or you
start to get caught in it. It says that
here. The wicked is snared, he [she] ends up in a trap, the transgression of his own lips. Because once you start lying, you’ve gotta
cover every lie with a lie, and you gotta remember every lie you told, because
if you don’t your whole story falls apart [layer upon layer of “cover stories”
as the CIA is most adept at]. Me, if
you’re not lying, you can be fat dumb and happy, just ‘I got nothing to hide,’ so whatever I say is the truth, it may not
be intelligent, but it’s true…’What did I say, I
can’t remember, I said this,’ it’ll give you ulcers following that
route. “The wicked is snared by the transgression of his [her] lips: but the just
shall come out of trouble.” (verse 13) “A man shall be satisfied with good by the
fruit of his mouth: and the recompense of a man’s hands shall be
rendered unto him.” (verse 14) making friends, the
right thing at work, the right thing at school, there’s sowing and reaping in
that process, “and the recompense of a
man’s hands” now this isn’t “but,” this
is constructive “and” added
to that, “the recompense of a man’s
hands shall be rendered unto him.” So
it’s just good things coming out of being wise, using your mouth wisely,
avoiding lies and lying.
All About Fools and The
Tongue
“The way of a
fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” (verse 15) You know this person, don’t you. “but he that
hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” Don’t you know that person? You can’t say anything to them, because they
are right about everything, and they have an opinion about everything. And every time you say something they say ‘But you don’t understand,
this is why. You don’t
understand…’ and you know people like that, you love them, God bless them,
but you can’t wait to go somewhere else and talk to somebody else. “The way of a fool is right in
his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth
unto counsel is wise.” The person doesn’t say ‘You know, you’re right, you’re right what
you’re saying to me, but you don’t understand, you don’t know what you’re
talking about, you don’t understand.’ “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” (verse 15) “A fool’s wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth
shame.” (verse 16) Ah, NIV does a good job here again, it says “A fool shows his annoyance at
once: but a prudent man overlooks.” (NIV
verse 16) So the idea here is, ‘a
fool’s wrath, a man who is a fool, he blows up, immediately you know that he’s
annoyed, you know what’s wrong, he fires off his mouth. But a prudent man covers shame, or he covers
insult, or he covers offense, he acts differently.’ A fool blows his stack, the wise man holds it together and gets outa there. “He that speaketh truth
sheweth forth righteousness: but a false
witness deceit.” (verse 17) If
you’re telling the truth, you’re not giving somebody an excuse to lie or do
something wrong, ‘he that speaketh truth
sheweth forth righteousness: but a false
witness” what they show forth is “deceit.” We know this one, too. “There
is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.” (verse 18) King James says “health,” the Hebrew is “healing” is the idea. The Hebrew “There is” King James says “that speaketh” the Hebrew actually
says “There
is that speaketh rashly” or “speaketh reckless words” and then
it says “they are like the piercings of a sword.” They open their mouth, slice-slice-slice, the
Z on your back, like Zoro. I’ve watched
people do that in an argument. You ever
watch that? You’re thinking ‘Stand back, don’t say anything Honey, stand
back, no, no, don’t stop them, just stand back, let’s watch, we’ll see what
happens, because you know where it’s going, where it’s gonna go.’ [you’re bad, Pastor Joe] “There is that speaketh like the
piercings of a sword”—parents, kids, there are kids that have been way more
hurt by the tongue than by the strap, and our culture is full of them. They’ve been told they’re stupid, or the
parents had said ‘I wish you were never
born.’ Those that speak in that
tongue, you know, can be like the piercings of a
sword. It can come from a spouse, can
come from a friend, and it cuts, deep. But we are blessed enough to have been embraced by the Saviour from
heaven, who binds up the broken-hearted, who sets the captives free, who undoes
every yoke, who sets the prisoners at large. We’re so thankful for that, aren’t we? I think of those wounds, how many of them we’ve had in our life, “There is that speaketh like the piercings
of a sword:” somebody’s face comes to your mind when I read that, “but the tongue of the wise is healing.” that’s a good thing,
to know in people’s lives you can do that. Here, verse 19, I like this, “The lip of truth shall be established
forever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.” everybody have one
of those? I hope you have two of
them. “The lip of truth shall be established forever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.” (verse 19) Huge,
when I watch the news, Asaph said, he watched the news in his day, and he said ‘We
know the God of Israel is good, we know that, God is good, we know that. But when I saw the prosperity of the wicked,
I saw what was going on, my feet were well nigh slipped, because I envied them,
I was standing in a slippery place, it just seemed to be wrong to me. If God is good, and we know that, how can the
wicked be prospering, all this stuff is going on in our lives…’ he
said, ‘When I tried to figure that out it was too torturous for me, I didn’t want to
say anything to the people of God because I knew I would stumble them, but it
was eating me alive,’ he said, ‘until I went into the house of the LORD,’ he said, ‘and I remembered their end, I
went into the house of God, I got life back in perspective of eternity, it’s
not about now.’ Look, life is
just beginning. Are you
80-years-old? Aren’t you glad life is
just beginning. It’s not ending, it’s just beginning. And then, the LORD sets up his Kingdom for a
thousand years, we’re going to be here in his Kingdom, Millennium, only for
1,000 years, only for 1,000 years, I mean, we’ll just start to talk with each
other find out everybody’s stories you saw in church, but it will only be for
1,000 years [see http://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/mkg1.htm]. But then, heaven [the kingdom of
heaven] is after that, forever. [Comment: The re-creation of heaven and earth, and then the New
Jerusalem comes down to the new earth, where we’ll live forever, actually living on the newly recreated earth. Read Revelation 21:1-23. The real concept of heaven is that we’ll all
be able to live as eternal beings, just like Jesus and the angels, dwelling
both inside and outside Space-Time, wherever God is. That in reality, putting a modern physics
twist on it, is the reality of “heaven.”] So we’re just getting started. I
like that. I look at my kids, my
grandkids, I think ‘Whatever comes down,
we’re just getting started.’ “The lip of truth” there ain’t much of
that in the media these days, but “The
lip of truth shall be established for ever:” people that are speaking the
truth, the time is going to bear out what they’re saying, “but a lying tongue is but
for a moment.” and it’s gone. It’s a
long moment, I know, it’s been going on for years, this moment, but I can’t
wait till it’s over.
“There Shall No Evil Happen To The Just” How Do You Explain
That One?
“Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine
evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.” (verse 20) Interesting proverb, “There shall no evil happen to the just: but” in contrast, “the wicked shall be filled with
mischief.” (verse 21) with their own doings. ‘There shall no evil happen to the just,’ that’s a tough proverb, because we have people in church that have lost
children, gone through terrible things. In the New Testament Paul tells us that all things work together for the
good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. But even in the Old Testament, look, if you
look at Job, he didn’t know what was going on behind the scenes, there was a
whole contest he wasn’t even aware of. And the devil says ‘You let me
mess with him, ya, he’s the most righteous man on the earth right now, that’s
because you baby him. You lavish all
this stuff on him. Mess with him and
he’ll curse you.’ God said ‘Alright, you can mess with him, but don’t
touch him.’ So here’s how insane
Satan is, if God told you that you can mess with somebody, what would you
do? Make some hot babe walk in front of
him? ‘Hey
Job,’ some honey-dripping woman like we’ve heard about in the Book of
Proverbs? Walk by and drop $100 bill and
see if he says ‘Excuse me, you dropped
something here.’ Would you try to
tempt him? God says to Satan ‘Alright, you can tempt him.’ He says ‘Alright,’ he destroys all of his flocks, destroys all of his herds, he brings a tornado
and knocks down all of his houses, he slaughters all of his children, and
leaves his wife, that’s a smart adversary. And she’s rottenness in his bones, she says ‘Alright Job, what’s the deal, curse God and die! Curse God and die, just do
that.’ Imagine that. “There
shall no evil happen to the just,” it says at the end of the whole thing,
Job says ‘I only heard, God forgive me, and now I’ve seen,’ and God
restores his family, his wealth, it says his wife was more beautiful at the end
of his life. Think of Joseph, he gets to
be the son of his father’s old age, Jacob was a rascal his whole life, and he
was kind of worn out at the end. He
favoured Joseph for some reason, as he had learned his family was full of
that. Joseph, good, godly young man, has
a dream, gets carried down to Egypt, auctioned off on the slave block, sold,
comes into Potipher’s house, does his best, works for
him. Potipher’s wife is hitting on him
and he’s not responding, so she then accuses him of raping her, he ends up in
prison, he’s faithful there, the jailor gives him the best job in the prison,
and the butler and the baker getting freed, you know, they’ve done their time,
they’re getting out, he’s saying to them, ‘Remember
me, I can interpret these dreams, this is what’s going to happen to you, and
this is what’s going to happen to you,’ and they get out, and the one guy
gets killed, I think it’s the baker, and the butler forgets all about Joseph of
course, except for then a few years later when Pharaoh has a dream. The butler says ‘Hey, wait a minute, I knew a Hebrew kid in prison, this Hebrew kid in
prison,’ and he said, ‘he can
interpret dreams.’ And they send for
him, bathe him, clean him up, shave him, put him in a brand new outfit, bring
him in, he interprets Pharaoh’s dream and within a day he’s the second most
powerful person in the world. And at the
end of his life his brothers come and they think he’s going to be vengeful and
he says, ‘Look’ Genesis chapter 50, he says, ‘you guys meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.’ It doesn’t mean it’s easy, you know, and
our life seems like it’s falling apart, we believe that he’s on the throne, we
believe, but sometimes we don’t understand what he’s doing. But the key for all of us when we don’t
understand what he is doing, you don’t throw in the towel, fall back on what
you do know. You don’t try to stand on
what you don’t know. Fall back on what
you do know, that he so loved us, he traded away his only begotten Son for us. Earth may stink at times [and the people in
it], but we have an eternity that’s blood-bought. “There
shall no evil happen to the just [in the final analysis]: but the wicked shall be filled with
mischief.” (verse 21)
How Can We Delight God?
“Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.” (verse 22) We have these good lips down here, look at
verse 19, you have the lip of truth. Now we have lying lips. Don’t you hate it when your lips do
that? I don’t know why they do that
sometimes. “Lying lips are abomination
to the LORD:” have your lips
ever done that? They get out of line
once in awhile. “but they that deal truly” look what it
says, “are his delight.” They that deal truly are his delight, imagine
that, Jehovah. You know, we’re going to
find, you find five times in the Book of Proverbs, chapter 8, verse 30, but it’s
wisdom speaking, ‘I was by him, as one brought up with him, I was daily his delight,’ that speaks of wisdom being a delight to the LORD. Chapter 11, verse 1, says “A
false balance is an abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.” If we do business and do it honestly, we do
it the right way, we bring delight to Jehovah-God, to
Almighty God. It says ‘They that are proud of heart are an abomination to the LORD: but such as are upright in their way are his
delight.’ I would go through the Bible and find the
place where you can bring delight to the LORD. It says here “Lying lips are abomination
to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.” (verse 22) Over in chapter 15, verse 8, I
love this, it says “The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his
delight.” Imagine that. You drag your bones outa bed in the morning, you have a moment or two to
sit there, and say ‘Father, Abba, I’m
nothing without you, I’m so thankful you washed me in the blood of your Son.’ ‘The prayer of the upright is his
delight.’ Here, ‘Those that deal truly, they’re honest people, his delight,
it brings delight to him.’ “A
prudent man concealeth knowledge: but
the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.” (verse 23) ‘the heart of fools proclaimeth everything,’ you can’t shut them up, they
spew everything.
Again, Hard Work Pays Off, The Slothful Go Nowhere
“The hand of the
diligent shall bear rule: but the
slothful shall be under tribute.” (verse 24) again, so hard work pays off,
the boss is gonna give that person a raise, wherever you’re faithful, “but the slothful shall be under tribute.” The
Hebrew says “under forced labour.” The lazy man, the slothful man doesn’t go anywhere.
You Can Encourage The Heavyhearted
“Heaviness in the
heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good
word maketh it glad.” (verse 25) You can imagine your heart stooping [I can],
it’s interesting, “heaviness” is “worry,” the Hebrew says “Worry in the heart of man maketh
it stoop:” “stoop” is “to be weighed down, to be depressed, to be
weighed down.” So worry in your heart,
inside of man, it makes your heart stoop, it weighs it down, turns your hair
grey, produces acid, it does all kinds of things, wrinkles. “Worry in the heart of man maketh his heart
to be weighed down: but a good word” you can encourage
someone, “a good word maketh it glad.”
Choose Your Friendships Cautiously, Wisely
“The righteous is more excellent than his
neighbour: but the way of the wicked
seduceth them.” (verse 26) now
it’s going to tell us ‘only by pride comes contention,’ so
it isn’t telling us to look down on our neighbour here. “The righteous is more excellent than his
neighbour: but the way of the wicked
seduceth them.” so, this is an interesting verse, you have to wrestle with
it a bit, the NIV says this “The righteous is cautious in friendships.” [I
haven’t been as cautious as I need to be.] Ah, the New American Standard says, “The righteous is a guide to his neighbour” the
sense of what goes on there, “but the
way of the wicked seduceth them.” that is, the neighbour of the
righteous. So, it says here, your
neighbour, and don’t say ‘Whose my
neighbour,’ because then I’ll tell you the parable of the Good Samaritan,
that’s what Jesus told them, when they asked him ‘Who is my neighbour?’ But your neighbour, whoever that is, the guy next door, the
person you work with, your neighbour, the person you sit with in church every
week, it says here, that your neighbour, the NIV says that you should be cautious. The New American Standard says you should be
a guide to your neighbour. Now look, all
of us, friends, the people we meet, the people in school that we’re going to be
with all the time, but you need to chose several friends that are sold out for the
Lord, not just people who say ‘Oh praise
the Lord, praise the Lord,’ that wear Christian T-shirts and have Christian
bumper-stickers, but people who are really walking with Jesus. Be cautious with your friendships, be
wise. And that way you can be a good
guide to them also, because it says ‘the wicked will seduce them.’ It they listen to the wrong thing, they’re
taken down, they go in the wrong direction. So in regards to being a neighbour, having a
neighbour, it says here that we should be wise in that, the righteous is a good
guide to his neighbour, he chooses his friends cautiously, he’s good in
relationships, “but the way of the
wicked seduceth them,” the neighbour we’re talking about.
The Context Of Verse 7
Pre-Dates Modern Refrigeration, But The Lesson Still Applies
“The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in
hunting:” stupid,
he is slothful for doing that, “but the
substance of a diligent man is precious.” (verse 27) the slothful man roasteth
not what he took in hunting, look, they had no fridg’s back then, the food
spoiled quickly. You go to the Middle
East even today, and you’ll find it in Istanbul, wherever you go in the Middle
East, in Jerusalem, you go into the Old Arab Quarter, I’ve been there 20 times,
you go to what’s called the Shupe,
and down in the Shupe they have the
meat market. It isn’t anything like the
meat market you’ve ever seen in your life. On the counter are sheep heads laying there, there’s entrails, there’s
legs, there’s things hung up, there’s flies buzzing on everything, and
everyone’s smoking on a big bong, you smell Hash everywhere, and you think, ‘This is a WEIRD crazy place,’ there’s
body parts laying everywhere, and everybody’s stoned. But you’ve gotta move that by the end of the
day because there’s no refrigeration, you’ve gotta get that somewhere on a
fire. So it says that the lazy man, the
slothful man, he doesn’t roast, he kills an animal, he’s got it there, he
thinks ‘I don’t know, I gotta hang this
thing, I gotta skin it, I gotta put it on the fire, ahh…’ the lazy man, he
doesn’t roast what he took in hunting, and you had to do that right away. But
it says “but the substance of the
diligent is precious.” (verse 27b) the diligent person puts it up, cleans it,
cuts it up, cooks it, we have diligent people here, they always come to me and
say ‘Pastor Joe, we just got a deer, you
want some deer, want some venison?’ Backstrap, got a whole freezer of backstrap, I love backstrap. One time, years ago, I got enough time, years
ago we were traveling across the country with this evangelistic team, and it
was September, we tried to get up to Yosemite, driving across the country from
San Diego to Philadelphia, New York, but the snow had come in early, so we got
into Teton National Forest…[he’s told this story before, so I skipped over this
section, due to shortness of tape length] ‘the slothful man usually doesn’t roast what
he took in hunting, but the substance of the diligent is precious.’ “In
the way of the righteous is life: and in the pathway thereof there
is no death.” (verse 28) How wonderful. [notice this is
additive, not contrastive]
Proverbs 13:1-25
“A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke. 2 A
man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence. 3 He
that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his
lips shall have destruction. 4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made
fat. 5 A
righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame. 6 Righteousness
keepeth him that is upright in the
way: but wickedness overthroweth the
sinner. 7 There is that maketh
himself rich, yet hath nothing: there
is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches. 8 The ransom of a man’s life are his
riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke. 9 The
light of the righteous rejoiceth: but
the lamp of the wicked shall be put out. 10 Only by pride cometh
contention: but with the well advised is wisdom. 11 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be
diminished: but he that gathereth by
labour shall increase. 12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of
life. 13 Whoso
despiseth the word [the Bible] shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be
rewarded. 14 The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. 15 Good
understanding giveth favour: but the way
of transgressors is hard. 16 Every
prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly. 17 A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health. 18 Poverty
and shame shall be to him that
refuseth instruction: but he that
regardeth reproof shall be honoured. 19 The desire accomplished is
sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart
from evil. 20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a
companion of fools shall be destroyed. 21 Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed. 22 A
good man leaveth an inheritance to
his children’s children: and the wealth
of the sinner is laid up for the
just. 23 Much
food is in the tillage of the
poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment. 24 He
that spareth his rod hateth his son: but
he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. 25 The righteous eateth to the
satisfying of his soul: but the belly of
the wicked shall want.”
Hearing and Talking
“A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.” (verse 1) If you have godly parents, listen to
them. It doesn’t mean you agree with
them all the time, but listen to them. If you have godly parents who pray and love the Lord, you need to thank
God every day for your godly parent blessings, and you need to listen to
them. “A wise son heareth his
father’s instruction: but a scorner
heareth not rebuke. A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.” (verses 1-2) Again, somebody who makes peace, does good at
work, he enjoys the benefit of that, but transgressors shall eat violence. “He
that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his
lips shall have destruction.” (verse 3) The mouth can cause trouble, can’t it. James says it is set
on fire of hell, the tongue.
Sluggards
“The soul of the
sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent
shall be made fat.” (verse 4) I love that word, “sluggard.” You know how you can tell a sluggard here in
church? I can tell you if you’re
interested, because you can look around, and see people, how they’re dressed,
see their face, and think ‘Boy, I don’t
know who the sluggards are.’ They
leave a little silver trail, you look on the carpet, they leave a little silver
trail, you ever see that? The snails, sluggards in your garden, that’s
what they do. Look, if somebody’s
looking behind you for a silver trail, come and point them out for me so I know
that somebody doesn’t know whether to take this serious or not. [laughter] “The
soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the
diligent shall be made fat.” (verse 4) now that’s
a good thing, it doesn’t say his body shall be made fat, the soul of the
diligent shall be made prosperous, healthy.
Nobody Gets Away With It
“A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.” (verse 5) I hate
liars. “Righteousness keepeth him that
is upright in the way: but
wickedness overthroweth the sinner.” (verse 6) the
idea is, it catches up with you, nobody gets away with it. You know, in the Book of Numbers, Moses says ‘Be
sure your sin will find you out.’ He’s going to say in another place in Proverbs ‘He who covers his sin shall not
prosper.’ So it says here “but wickedness overthroweth the sinner.” (verse 6b)
Two Ways To Interpret
This Verse
“There is that
maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.” (verse 7) Now this is a really
interesting Proverb, you may not think, just reading it. Now there’s two ways you can interpret
that. One of them is, and it is kind of
upheld in other places in Proverbs, and that is, there is the individual that
makes himself rich, he says over in chapter 11, that is ‘there scattereth and yet increaseth,
this is that withholdeth more than is fitting, and it tends to poverty,’ so
is this saying ‘There is the person that is stingy, they make themselves rich, yet
they have nothing.’ Now I’ve
known people like that. I was just
thinking of somebody in my family there, they’ve gone on to be with the Lord,
but they were miserable. They were
wealthy, they had money, they didn’t have nothing, were never happy. I’ll never have what they had, and I’m
happier than they ever were. They had
more than they could want, and they were miserable all the time. “There
is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.” (verse 7) Is it saying people who give to the less
fortunate, to reach out to them, yet they have great riches, and there is
reward? That’s one way it can be
interpreted, and that’s true. The other
way it can be interpreted is this, ‘There is that
maketh himself out to be rich, yet hath nothing: and there is that maketh himself out to be
poor, yet hath great riches.’ The Targum’s translate it that way, at least
the Hebrew gives that indication. There’s a person that makes himself out to be rich, ‘I have this car, I have this house, I have this,’ and the truth
is, this guy can be bragging, and he has nothing. And there’s the other kind of person, he
doesn’t brag, you’d never know it, he makes himself to be poor, he’s humble,
and yet he’s wealthy. That’s also a
correct way to interpret this. I
remember one time Don’s brother-in-law, a wonderful guy, and when he was a kid
worked hard, had a plating shop, and that grew until it was worth hundreds of
millions, and ended up doing government contracts and all kinds of things, he
ended up in Newport, had a yacht down in the Carribean,
he has a little jet and a big jet, and at one point we had to go to Montreal,
Canada to teach at the Bible school there, so Don said ‘Come on,’ so it was really interesting, I’ll never be happy in a
regular jet again, landing at this private airport, and the guys are waiting
for you, they throw your bags on, they don’t have to check you or see your
license or anything, and then we get on the plane and we’re flying up to
Montana from L.A. and I’m up in the cockpit and the pilots are saying ‘Now see that, that’s the fire that’s on the
news, that smoke over there.’ And
you’re flying at 38,000 feet, 600 miles an hour, you’re kind of your own jet,
it was so nice when we landed, I didn’t even know we landed. I said to Don, ‘How much does it cost?’ he says ‘He sends it out to fly anyhow, because the engines, if you don’t burn
them, it’s unhealthy for the plane,’ so he sends his pilots out flying,
nobody on the jet, just flying around. I
said ‘He should find out other places I’m
going, if he’s keeping his jet healthy I want to be a help to him,’ wonderful guy. And when we were landing
there one of the guys was unloading our bag, and here I find out this guy is a
multi-millionaire, he’s there in genes and sneakers, funky kind of flannel
shirt, and I thought he worked there, he’s unloading my bags. And somebody said, ‘Oh no, you see that house there, goes up and up and up, that’s the
house he’s building.’ And he made
himself to be poor, but he’s rich. [There’s a very wealthy man in the area of Northeast Massachusetts,
won’t say which town or city, but he’s just like that.] There is the kind of person that makes
himself out to be rich, and really he doesn’t have anything, and there is the
kind of person that is humble, humbles himself, makes himself to be poor and yet has great riches.
“Only By Pride Cometh Contention, Strife”
“The ransom of a man’s life are his riches: but the poor heareth not
rebuke. The light of the righteous
rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked
shall be put out.” (verses 8-9) the Hebrew says “shall be extinguished,”
I don’t like the way that sounds. You
need to stay on the right side of that proverb, “the light of the righteous,”
let’s rejoice, because the lamp of the wicked is gonna be extinguished. Verse
10, important to all of us, look “Only by pride cometh contention: but with the
well advised is wisdom.” It doesn’t say ‘Sometimes by pride,’ it doesn’t say ‘there’s a good percentage,’ it says “Only by pride cometh contention” or “cometh strife,” ‘only by pride.’ “but with the well
advised is wisdom.” So, pride,
ambition, pride looks down on other people, pride comes to any situation from
the wrong posture. And look, it enters
into human history in Isaiah 14, and there it says ‘How art thou fallen O Lucifer,
thou son of the morning.’ You
know, the first time in eternity in God’s Kingdom there was another will lifted
up against God, another will lifted up anywhere, you read Isaiah 14, he said ‘I
will be like the Most High, I’ll sit on the congregation of the sides of the
north, I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that.’ [Satan was the very first Narcissist,
making himself a god.] Pride was the
original sin that took down the devil, and it entered in, he came to Eve and
said ‘Hey, you’ll be like God,’ the
same thing he had gone for. So “Only by pride cometh contention:” when
you’re getting ready to open, all these things we’ve read about the mouth,
you’re getting ready to argue with your kids, argue with your wife, argue with
your boss, just stand back and say ‘Wait
a minute, is this pride, I’ve got both barrels loaded Lord, I’ve only got one
barrel, but I’ve got both barrels loaded, I’m ready to enter into strife
here. Is this pride? Lord, give me wisdom, you turned the other
cheek, you went the extra mile.’
Right Stewardship
“Wealth gotten by vanity shall be
diminished: but he that gathereth by
labour shall increase.” (verse 11) hard earned living produces
stewardship and thankfulness. We used to
go years ago to a 3rd world country, and they had mud floors in
their huts, and they used 55-gallon drums to cook on, they would put a hole in
the side and build a fire there, cook right on top of it, got a picture of John
Travolta on the wall which was made out of sticks and metal beaten flat. And you would give them a wheat grinder, give
them something. You’d come a month
later, it’s laying in the mud, rusting. Because they had no capacity, because the thing that needs to get fixed
in man, is he needs to be saved, and when he is regenerated, he can look to
heaven and say ‘Thank you for this wheat
grinder, you gave this to me,’ now it produces a stewardship. But because there was no stewardship, you
just see it, it’s a poverty that’s self-inflicted in some ways, and there was
there at least in that place. So ‘wealth
gotten by vanity is diminished, but he that gathers by labour, he increases,
there’s a stewardship, you work hard.’
“Hope Deferred Maketh The Heart Sick”
“Hope deferred
maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.” (verse 12) the NIV says “a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” Over in chapter 15 it says this, “A
wholesome tongue is a tree of life.” Here is says when a desire is fulfilled or a longing is fulfilled, it’s
a tree of life. Hope deferred, makes the
heart sick…single people, ‘Is this the one, I hope this is the one, I hope this is the
one, I think this is the one, nah, that ain’t the one,’ and you go through
that for awhile, hope deferred makes the heart sick. And it’s being honest about that. But you know, there’s the other side of that
of course, ‘You let me marry this person,
is this the one?’ it’s easier to be single and want to be married
than it is to be married and want to be single, so you think these things
out. [I’ve been married, and am now
single, and I’d rather be married than single. Pastor Joe brought out in other place, if that’s how you feel, then you need to be married.] But hey, that’s a proverb, isn’t it, ‘It’s easier to be single and want to be
married than to be married and want to be single,’ there’s a proverb for you. “Hope
deferred makes the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.” (verse 12)
“Whoso Despiseth The Word, The Bible, Shall Be Destroyed”
“Whoso despiseth
the word [the Bible] shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.” (verse 13) I
love this. When you get aggravated when
you watch the news, stand on this, it is rock solid. “Whoso
despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.” I got that
whole thing circled, underlined, colored, everything, in my Bible, it’s
wonderful. “The law of the wise is a
fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.” (verse 14) so it’s life-giving, its not restrictive, it’s not constricting, the
law of the wise, it’s a fountain of life, it gives life, and here’s why, “to depart from the snares of death.” (verse 14b) that’s always a good thing. “Good
understanding giveth favour: but the way
of transgressors is hard.” (verse 15) Listen,
good understanding, it gives favour. The
way of the transgressor is hard, that’s God’s grace. The way of the transgressor is hard, because
God doesn’t want to make anybody’s pathway to hell easy. The way of the transgressor is hard because
God loves the transgressor. And when
transgression comes to that transgressor, it doesn’t present itself that
way. It doesn’t say ‘Follow me and you’ll be miserable, you’ll be empty, you’ll be beaten.’ It says ‘Follow
me, I taste good, you’ll enjoy this, it’ll fulfill you.’ It always presents itself that way. But because God is gracious, and because he
loves us, even believers can get caught up in these things, it says “the way of the transgressor is hard.” God makes it that way,
because he loves the transgressor, he can’t let the transgressor enjoy his sin
and have an easy pathway to hell.
“The Desire Accomplished Is Sweet To The Soul” & Four Others
“Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly.” (verse 16) I wanted to finish! I probably did something with my mouth it
said not to do somewhere earlier in the evening here. “A
wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health.”
(verse 17) If
we could find a faithful ambassador today it would be. “Poverty
and shame shall be to him that
refuseth instruction: but he that
regardeth reproof shall be honoured.” (verse 18) It’s a warning, how wonderful. “Poverty
and shame shall be to him that
refuseth instruction: but he that
regardeth reproof shall be honoured.” He
understands he can be corrected, he shall be honoured. Hebrew says here “a desire” “The desire accomplished is sweet to the
soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.” (verse 19) a
desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, pleasant to the soul, to the internal,
to the person inside, a desire accomplished, something that is fulfilled, it’s
just sweet inside, it’s a good thing inside. “but it is abomination to fools to depart
from evil.” (verse 19b) they’ll never know the
rest that the righteous have inside, the sweetness of soul, because it’s an
abomination for them to depart from evil.
Pick Your Friends Wisely
“He that walketh
with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
(verse 20) look, it’s another proverb, ‘If you let your German Shepherd run with a
pack of wolves, do the wolves become domestic or does the German Shepherd
become wild?’ That’s how you
pick your friends. Ah, he that walketh
with wise men shall be wise, a companion of fools, this is what happens, you
know, people that walk away from the Lord, they start, they have a little
backslider’s club, they have backslider’s verses, ‘Let the man without sin cast the first stone.’ They have their own little backslider’s
verses, little backslider club, ‘Those
are Bible-thumpers, they take the Bible seriously! You can’t go up there, they’re gonna tell you
‘Well what does the Bible say?’ I don’t have to listen to that…’ you know,
they’re out there, they’re carrying on, it says that “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
(verse 20) or ‘shall be broken’ is the idea. “Evil
pursueth sinners: but to the righteous
good shall be repayed.” (verse 21) it comes, David
says, “Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, I shall
dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” It’s “goodness
and mercy shall hunt me all the days of my life.” Wicked men can’t find goodness and
mercy. And it says for someone who walks
with the LORD, goodness and mercy are hunting you down, “Goodness
and mercy shall hunt me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house
of the LORD forever.” I love it.
Good Stewardship In The
Family
“A good man
leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.” (verse 22) to his grandchildren, because
when he had kids, they ate all his money, but now that they’ve moved out, he
has an inheritance for the grandchildren, no I’m just joking. “A
good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children” that is both
material and spiritual, “and the
wealth of the sinner is laid up for
the just.” So, look, grandma,
grandpa here, some of you have no idea the role you play in the hearts and
minds of your grandkids. Sadly, many are
raised by their grandma or aunt, huge influence. “A
good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children” sometimes it
falls to us, doesn’t it. If the only
thing you leave them is something the lawyers can settle, you haven’t left them anything at all. “Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed
for want of judgment.” (verse 23) So, tillage of the poor, they at least work,
but then where there’s a lack of judgment, it all can be lost.
Child-rearing
“He that spareth
his rod hateth his son: but he that
loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” (verse 24) “betimes,
diligently.” This is a great verse,
there are some others like it in chapter 19, it says this, “Chasten
thy son while there is hope, let not thy soul spare for his crying.” and
it says this, “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of
correction will drive it far from him.” “Withhold not correction from the child, for if thou beatest him with
the rod, he shall not die, thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shall deliver
his soul from hell.” [And that
hell can be the hellish conditions found in prison later on in his life.] So, look, this is not saying ‘Abuse your kids,’ it doesn’t say that,
it doesn’t say ‘punch them in the face,’ it doesn’t say ‘Leave marks on them so
you end up all over the news,’ what it’s saying is, ‘Discipline is important in the
lives of our children, discipline is important in the lives of our children
because you’re starting a process.’ It says that love is demonstrated in discipline, discipline proves love “he that spareth the rod hateth his son.” We don’t like to think that way, but that’s
what God says. “but” in contrast, “he that loveth his son chasteneth him betimes,” diligently, it comes from the root word which means “early,” it means he gets to it, he does it, he’s not slothful in regards to that. Listen, refusing to correct your child
ensures longterm damage for short-term benefits. Refusing to correct your children ensure
longterm damage for short-term benefits. You didn’t have to fight with him today, you don’t feel like listening
to them, they’re like fighting with your wife, so you don’t do anything, but
because you don’t correct him or her, it ensures longterm damage for short-term
benefits, it doesn’t pay back. Wisdom
sees life, the Proverbs tell us this, as a process of
growth and discipline that’s never outgrown. Because when you’re 20, growth and discipline is necessary. When you’re 40 growth and discipline is
necessary. If you don’t discipline your
kid, and he goes out and does something stupid, the police are going to
discipline your kid, the prison system is going to
discipline your kid. If you don’t
discipline your kid and he decides to go in the Marines and he gets to Paris
Island, somebody’s gonna discipline your kid there. Never smack your kid in the face, never punch
a kid in the face, don’t let me see you punch your kid
in the face. There’s two big pieces of
meat in the right place, that God put there, and it’s not against the law to
spank your kid [depends on which State you live in nowadays, so be aware of
what kind of messed up legal system you live under, Pastor Joe’s church resides
in Pennsylvania]. It’s against the law
to abuse them, you shouldn’t do that…
Some People Are Never Satisfied
verse 25, the last
verse of Proverbs 13 says, “The
righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.” The idea is, the righteous person is thankful, to be able to sit down, God blesses the table and
so forth. “but the belly of the wicked shall want.” (verse 25b) Some
people are just never satisfied. So
there is a vast difference between those who are thankful in this world and
those that are just never happy no matter what happens.
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