Proverbs 11
The wise man is recognized as having certain virtues and values.
- Honesty
- Humility
- Integrity
- Righteousness
- Knowledgable
- Peaceful
- Teachable
- Blameless
- Generous
- Seeks good
- Bears fruit
The fool is seen with the opposite virtues and values as well as suffering from the sin of pride. They have no hope and no inheritance.
©2017 Doug Ford
Proverbs 12
(1-4); The man who is teachable loves instruction and will spend his life aquiring knowledge. The fool knows it all already and hates correction; usually preserving their pride. What is the favor of a good man? We probably will never know how the Lord favors us; how he spares us from illness and affliction. We often consider it luck and rob God of the glory he deserves for favoring his children. The wicked may prosper, but ultimately they are condemned. Even in their prosperity they are never established; they can never find what they are looking for. A man's wife can establish a man's life.
(5-7); The thoughts and words reveal the heart of a man. We should be cautious about who we seek counsel from. The righeous man offers right counsel as opposed to the wicked that can't avoid deceit. His words bring men to death by his poor counsel while the upright man's words offer deliverance. The house of the righteous will stand over time while the wicked's house might stand for a season but it will be overthrown.
(8-11); Commendation according to wisdom is not popular thought. Our culture wants commendation for intention, for effort. This 'everybody gets a trophy' mentality brings the self esteem of the commendable to ruin. Humility that is respected by others is better than pride that stands alone without bread. The righteous will have compassion while the tender mercies of the wicked are missing. The wise man works hard and puts food on the table; the fool wastes the day away and doesn't understand the value of work.
(12-14); Instead of working and earning and taking responsibility, the wicked covets what others have. He complains because he doesn't have his fair share. His mouth makes promises the rest of him can't keep, either good or bad. The righteous man yields fruit by hard work and right words.
(15-16); The fool believes in his ways and words, seeing no need for thought or counsel from others. This is driven by pride. His anger flares, driven by pride and emotion. The prudent man sorts out unrighteous anger and emotion and heeds counself of wise men.
(17-22); The righteous man speaks truth and in doing so declares righteousness. He promotes health and is established. His life is characterized by joy and avoidance of grave trouble. The wicked are deceitful, making lots of noice but bringing no truth to bear. They lie but it doesn't last; they devise evil are filled with evil and are an abomination to God.
(23-28); The wise man enjoys an abounding life with many experiences. He is prudent, knowing when to keep his mouth shut. The unrighteous is wicked in speech not knowing when to remain silent. He is characterized as lazy and failing to make wise decisions. His way is one of death.
©2017 Doug Ford
Proverbs 13
(1-4); The wise heeds his father's instruction. He guards his tongue and stays out of trouble; in fact the words of his mouth bring prosperity in his life. The lazy man stands in contrast. He doesn't receive instruction, therefore has nothing of value to add. His mouth gets him in trouble. Ultimately, he has nothing and has no desire to attain anything.
(5-8); The righteous man hates lying and guards his ways. He is humble, even with whatever wealth he might possess. He may be able to buy his way out of trouble but it doesn't matter since his life is simple and relatively trouble free. The wicked man brings shame and is overthrown by it. Yet, he declares his weath, far beyond reality, seeking to be respected and honored. While his wealth might deliver him from trouble, it won't buy him integrity.
(9-11); The righteous lives in the light while the light of the wicked will be extinquished. His pride brings strife in his life. The wealth that was come by dishonestly will be slip away from from him.
(12-14); What a great joy we experience when that for which we hoped for and longed for has finally come to be. It is a sweet time time. Our honor of the Word and keeping the commandment will be rewarded and be the fountain of life.
(15-16); Good judgment and prudent action is important. The way of the unfaithful brings destruction and they are exposed. Their life is folly.
(17); I want to be a faithful ambassador, representing my king in this foreign land. I want to offer all that my king has to offer to all. Those who are of this earth, citizens of the fallen, have no message to offer.
(18-20); We must remain teachable, able to receive a rebuke or correction. It will bring honor to your life. Imagine the desire of your heart being accomplished, what a sweet time that is. The fool can't part from evil, its an abomination to him. He has been the companion of fools instead of walking with wise men.
(21-22); Good is repaid to righteous. Evil pursues sinners. As a follower of Christ, we are sinners saved by grace, posessing a righteousness from Him. We have two natures at work in us. The inheritance of the good man goes on to successive generations. The inheritance of the wicked is given over to the righteous.
(23); Poverty is sometimes caused by injustice; it can also be caused by laziness. The lazy may claim injustice and demand their share.
(24-25); We need discipline to keep our sin nature in check. We need discipline to learn right and wrong. To disregard discipline is to disregard the health of the child. The righteous will have provisions in their life – by the hand of God. The wicked are always searching and lacking – for lack of God.
©2017 Doug Ford
Proverbs 14
(1-4); The wise woman is one who builds her home while the foolish woman pulls it down. She may not even be aware that she is 'pulling down'; but her character affects the work of her hands. Uprightness is an indication of fear and revrance toward the Almighty. The absence of such, the one perverse in his ways, is an indication of rejection of God. The wise man's speech will be restrained and careful while the fool is impusive. One preserves, the other destroys. A clean trough and stall indications no work is being done, therefore there is no increase and no food.
(5-8); The stigma of a false witness is that he can't be trusted. Who could believe anything? A faithful witness must be faithful in all things. It's a life that says, "Truth matters!" Knowledge is easy to those who willingly receive it and know they need it. They are wise and growing while the scoffer can't find wisdom because they aren't looking. The wise should remove themselves from the foolish, particularly when they see knowledge is lacking. The prudent man makes decisions understanding his ways while the fools is decieved in his folly.
(9-12); The upright have control over their lives and the presence of sin while fools mock at it, as it if didn't exist; as if it weren't a factor. The bitterness in a man will show itself in all aspects of life. From the heart will come, that which was put there. Wisdom & righteousness establish the life and home. The tent of the upright will flourish while the wicked will not do well. All the ways of the fool seem right to him. He is sincere and believes in his ways with all that he is. He's just wrong in his sincereity. All the faith and belief in the world is useless if it is placed in the wrong thing.
(13-14); We live in a sinfallen world. Even the wise will experience days of grief and nights of sorrow. The inclination of the heart will determine it; satisfaction to the heart inclined to the Lord.
(15-19); The prudent is a good steward of his steps and his path; he is guarding and watching. The simple in naïve, the fool rages with emotion and pride. The lives of these men is folly, hatred and evil. They will serve God's purpose as he crowns the prudent with knowledge.
(20-21); The poor man is hated because he is poor and the rich man is loved because he has money. The wise don't make decisions regarding the wealth of an individual. The worth of a man doesn't come from cash. Our worth is established by the Lord who told us to love our neighbor and have mercy on the poor.
(22-24); The plots and plans of our life reveal an outcome; mercy and truth to the one while wandering astray goes to the other. There is profit in all labor, even work we don't get paid for builds character, gives us a seense of accomplishment or contentment, helps us define our plans (22) and keeps us out of trouble. The wise work hard and receive the gift of riches that come in many ways. These three verses show the wise make good plans, work hard to accomplish them and receive the appropriate reward for their efforts.
(25-27); A 'true witness' is one who speaks the truth in legal proceedings. People's lives are at stake. Wouldn't it make court proceedings easier if everyone spoke the truth? The 'strong confidence' could be likened to a 'strong tower' or fortress. Our reverence and respect of God is a place of comfort and trust; we can refuge in Him. He is The Way, The Truth and The Life. The 'fountain of life' brings to mind the 'living water' of John 7:37. All other ways lead to death.
(28-35); The wise servant of 33 might be the balance to verse 28. The king needs wise servants and his favor is then shown toward those wise servants by fiavor. In between we see a wise man displaying patient actions, patient character (heart), mercy to the poor, preference to the righteous, understanding and moral integrity. These seem to be the characteristics of the healthy nation.
©2017 Doug Ford
Proverbs 15
(1-4); We have amazing control over a situation by the tone of our voice and the attitude with which an answer is delivered. Often, the fool responds with emotion and anger and inspires wrath and anger in another. The wise man is a peacemaker, diffusing the situation. Words spoken are powerful and can build up or destroy and they can't be taken back effectively. The fool has diarea of the mouth, prooving himself foolish. It might be we could fool some of the people with our words and actions but we will never fool God. His eyes see into every place. The wholesome tongue reflects a pure heart; this is a tree of life. This tree reflects healthy life, renewed life, a fruit bearing life.
(5-9); The fool and the prudent are identified by the way they treat instruction and correction. The righteous & wicked are revealed by the presence of trouble and treasure as well as their handling of knowledge. The wicked can't hide behind a sacrifice, God doesn't desire sacrifice (Psalm 51; Hosea 5:5), but mercy. He honors the upright and the righteous.
(10-15); Harsh discipline is the use of pain to redirect, guide or correct. Failure to correct is living in the place of continual discipline. The scope of God's watchcare extends to hell, the abode of the dead. How much more does he see into the hearts of men. Man can't hide from Him or ignore Him. The scoffer is characterized by his attitude; he clearly rejects correction or counsel of the wise. In great contrast is the one of a merry heart with he who has a sorrow of the heart. One is full of spirit and the other has a broken spirit. The healthy heart is further identified as seeking knowledge and having a continuel feast in spite of the afflicted and evil in the world.
(16-17); Godliness and contentment are held in a higher regard than material wealth. There are things far more important than great treasure and eating well.
(18-21); The wise man is slow to anger, diffusing a situation while the wrathful man causes a problem. In a similar way, the upright man has access to a highway; while the lazy is traveling through the briars of life. The respect shown for parents shows the difference between the wise and the foolish. Walking upright is not natural; our sinful nature lacks discernment and finds joy in folly. We must endeavor to walk upright, seeking the Lord.
(22-26); Counsel holds us accountable. Seeking God's counsel as well as godly counsel brings discernment and keeps our plans from folly. This counsel can be a 'word spoken in due season' to the one seeking it. The wise man is ever growing, winding upward, never stagnant. The least, the widow, will be upheld while the proud will be brought low. The words of the pure come from a heart inclined to the Lord and He is pleased. While the thoughts of the wicked reveal their rebelious heart.
(27-30); The greedy bring trouble on themselves. The 'pouring forth' of the wicked man is in contrast to the righteous who studies on how to answer correctly. Does God hear our prayers; if we are righteous, we know He does. Our countenance reflects our heart and attitude. If we have a dark heart and are far from the Lord, our countenance will be dark and dreary.
(31-33); The ear that hears is teachable; listening and learning and adjusting his course of life accordingly. The lines up with humility, understanding how much we need God. When we come to him knowing how weak and small we are and how amazing and Almighty He is, He honors us with His widsom. This in turn humbles us even more, because we know its from Him, its an undeserved gift from an loving Father.
©2017 Doug Ford
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