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Scripture Reading: Proverbs 10—30
In this message we will continue to consider the admonitions and teachings found in chapters twenty through twenty-nine. Then we will see the general words of wisdom in chapter thirty.
A number of portions in Proverbs speak of the Lord's dealing with man.
A man's steps are ordered by Jehovah; how then can man understand his own way? (20:24).
The king's heart is like streams of water in the hand of Jehovah; He turns it wherever He wishes (21:1).
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but Jehovah weighs the hearts (v. 2).
Many seek the ruler's favor, but justice for man comes from Jehovah (29:26).
There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel that can avail against Jehovah. The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory belongs to Jehovah (21:30-31).
The eyes of Jehovah preserve knowledge, but He overthrows the words of the treacherous man (22:12).
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search a matter out (25:2).
Proverbs also speaks of dealing with the Lord.
The reward of humility and the fear of Jehovah are riches and honor and life (22:4). Do not let your heart envy sinners, but live in the fear of Jehovah all day long (23:17). Blessed is the man who always fears, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity (28:14).
Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek Jehovah understand all things (28:5).
Do not say, "I will recompense evil"; wait for Jehovah, and He will save you (20:22).
Proverbs 22:19 says, "So that your trust may be in Jehovah,/I have made them known to you today, even to you." A greedy person stirs up contention, but he who trusts in Jehovah will prosper (28:25). The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever puts his trust in Jehovah will be exalted (29:25).
The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, searching all the innermost parts of the inner being (20:27).
Whoever curses his father or his mother, his lamp will go out in deep darkness (20:20). In 23:22 the writer says, "Listen to your father who begot you,/And do not despise your mother when she is old." Whoever robs his father or his mother and says, "It is no transgression," is the companion of a man who destroys (28:24). Proverbs 23:25 says, "Let your father and your mother rejoice,/And let her who bore you exult."
To have respect of persons is not good, because for a piece of bread a man will transgress (28:21). The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever puts his trust in Jehovah will be exalted (29:25).
Proverbs 25:17 says, "Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house, otherwise he will become weary of you and hate you." A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his steps (29:5). Like a madman who shoots firebrands, arrows, and death, so is the man who deceives his neighbor, and says, "Was I not joking?" (26:18-19). A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow (25:18). Proverbs 25:9-10 charges us, saying, "Argue your case with your neighbor himself,/And do not reveal the secret of another;/Lest he who hears it revile you,/And the evil report of you does not go away." According to 22:28 and 23:10-11, we should not remove the ancient boundary marker, which our fathers have set up, or go into the fields of the fatherless; for their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their cause against us.
He who gives to the poor man will not lack, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses (28:27). Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor man also will cry and will not be heard (21:13). He who oppresses the poor to multiply his gain and he who gives to the rich will only come to want. Do not rob the poor, because he is poor; nor oppress the afflicted in the gate (22:16, 22).
Proverbs 24:1 tells us not to be envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them. We should not be incensed because of evildoers and not be envious of the wicked (v. 19).
Concerning dealing with enemies we should not say, "I will recompense evil"; we should wait for Jehovah, and He will save us (20:22). We should not say, "I will do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work" (24:29). We should not rejoice when our enemy falls, and we should not let our heart exult when he is overthrown; lest Jehovah see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His anger from him (vv. 17-18). If our enemy is hungry, we should give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, we should give him water to drink; for we will heap coals of fire upon his head, and Jehovah will reward us (25:21-22).
Like a city that is broken down, without walls, is a man whose spirit is without restraint (v. 28). Blessed is the man who always fears, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity (28:14).
Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint (29:18a).
In chapter thirty we have general words of wisdom.
Verses 2 through 4 say, "Surely I am more stupid than any man,/And do not have a man's understanding;/And I have not learned wisdom,/Nor do I have the knowledge of the Holy One./Who has ascended into heaven and descended?/Who has gathered the wind in his fists?/Who has wrapped up the waters in his garment?/Who has established all the ends of the earth?/What is his name, and what is his son's name, if you know?"
Every word of God is tried; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He reprove you and you be found a liar (vv. 5-6).
In verses 7 through 9 the writer asks for two things. He says, "Remove far from me falsehood and lies./Give me neither poverty nor riches;/Feed me with the food that is my portion,/Lest I become full and deny You and say, Who is Jehovah?/Or lest I become poor and steal and profane the name of my God."
Verse 10 tells us not to slander a servant to his master, lest he curse us, and we be held guilty.
Verses 11 through 14 speak of four detestable generations: "There is a generation that curse their father,/And do not bless their mother./There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes,/And yet are not washed from their filthiness. /There is a generation — oh how lofty are their eyes,/And their eyelids are raised arrogantly./There is a generation whose teeth are like swords,/And their jaw teeth like knives,/To devour the afflicted from off the earth,/And the needy from among men."
The leech has two daughters, crying, "Give, give." There are three things that are never satisfied, indeed, four that do not say, "Enough": Sheol and the barren womb, the earth that is not satisfied with water, and the fire that does not say, "Enough" (vv. 15-16).
The eye that mocks at his father, and despises to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley will pick it out, and the young eagles will eat it (v. 17).
In verses 18 through 19 the writer speaks of three things which are too wonderful for him, indeed four which he does not know: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent upon a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a maiden. This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, "I have done no wickedness" (v. 20).
Under three things the earth quakes, and under four, it cannot bear up: under a servant when he is king, and a fool when he is filled with food; under a hated woman when she gets married, and a maidservant who is heir to her mistress (vv. 21-23).
Four things are small on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise: The ants are a people without strength, yet they prepare their food in the summer; the rock badgers are a people without might, yet they make their houses in the rocks; the swarming locusts have no king, yet all of them go out in ranks; the lizard can be grasped with the hands, yet she is in kings' palaces (vv. 24-28).
There are three things which are stately in their step, indeed four which are stately in walking: the lion, which is mightiest among beasts, and does not turn back before any; the strutting cock girded in the loins, or a male goat, and a king who has a band of soldiers with him (vv. 29-31).
Verse 32 says, "If you have been foolish in exalting yourself,/Or if you have thought an evil scheme,/Put your hand upon your mouth."
The churning of milk produces butter, and the wringing of the nose brings forth blood, so the pressing of wrath brings forth strife (v. 33).
