1 Every
wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
“Every wise”
in the original Hebrew is Wisdom.
“Wisdom woman” would be a title of honor and one worth having. Especially when it comes to being known as
one who builds a home. This verse would seem to be obscure in what it
conveys. We are not accustomed to
hearing of women that tear down their own house. Sure, we hear of the obscurities in our
society, where through endless neglect or addiction homes are destroyed by
foolish actions. The truth is sadly;
there are thousands of these women in our society today. I could make a categorical statement here and
say, any woman out there working outside the home is busy in a place she should
not be so busy. Look, this is what is
going on here, the foolish are so busy in other things for whatever reason,
they seldom focus on what is important.
Make sure you understand for yourself what is really important. That is why EVERY wise woman buildeth her
house FIRST.
2 He that
walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his
ways despiseth him.
“Feareth the
Lord.” For some reason in the video
archives of my brain I have pictured this cowling poor soul fearfully peering
over his shoulder to see what pain is about to befall him. This is not the fear of the Lord. The fear is in the disappointment or failure
to please God in our actions. With
Wisdom, fear is not the same. Depicted
here is the one “that walketh in his uprightness” which is not cowling in the
corner of some dark space. This fear
comes from the root of sincerity and honor, not the fear of losing your life or
losing your security.
One “that is
perverse in his ways” is one whose ways are devious and crooked in their
motives. The perverse one is not on the
path of doing right. Therefore he cannot
walk before God nor even contend with the foolishness of the Cross.
3 In the
mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve
them.
How many
times have I said things I wish I had not said.
Please don’t tell me! I would
rather think it is in the low thousands rather than millions. This “rod of pride” has the sense of
triumphant haughtiness. When I catch myself in this condition it is terrifying
to think of. I picture the stupid things
I have said and how foolish I must have seemed to those unfortunate
beneficiaries. It actually makes my
stomach flip when I find this chink in my armor.
I think it
is interesting here to notice it says “the mouth of the foolish” then it says
“the lips of the wise…” One is a “rod of pride” the other is “preservation.”
4 Where no
oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.
This is a
nice way of saying its ok to get dirty.
When there is no work going on there is no mess and the place is
spotless. This goes for spiritual work
as well. There are going to be some
messes you have to get into when it comes to doing the work of the Lord. Put on your working clothes. Grab an ox and get busy. When you are done for the day, take a
bath. It doesn’t say its ok to stink.
5 A
faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.
The value
one finds in a friendship or a covenant between themselves and others rules the
faithful. By virtue of the way we
embrace Wisdom we know then who is trustworthy.
I personally have heard many say, “You just don’t know who you can
trust.” It would seem that as we grow in
Wisdom, part of that growth is the ability and understanding of not only what
we can trust but who as well.
6 A scorner
seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that
understandeth.
The scorner
has to find wisdom on his terms.
Remember the scorner is one that constantly is running their mouths
about things they think they are an authority on. When they need wisdom from those having
Wisdom, those having Wisdom practice the Law of Wisdom and do not render it to
them. Pr 15:12 – “A scorner
loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.” So this leaves the scorner to find Wisdom
from them that do not have it.
There is an
ease to the one having understanding when it comes to finding knowledge. It is not hard. Once we understand correctly, then our
ability to commission ourselves to that conviction is sensible and easy.
7 Go from
the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of
knowledge.
If you are
able to perceive someone as foolish it is good advice to keep yourself at a
distance. You never know what kind of rubbish
you might get involved with. Remember
something, the foolish have to have other fools around in order to feel
justified in their deceits. You surely
do not want to be present when one of their twisted plans begins to
unfold. You might find yourself in the
havoc.
8 The
wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is
deceit.
“I bet we
could get them to do this or that.” This
is the kind of thinking in the mind of folly-riddled fool and their thinking is
corrupted. They must continue to
propagate their deceit and their motivation is corrupt. Whereas the prudent one is able to understand
more and be enlightened through Wisdom.
9 Fools
make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.
To mock sin
is a dangerous venture. It is as though
the regard for God and His creation is silliness to them that mock sin. This is why they are called fools. Do we mock sin? Some sins seem so innocent. So if we say sin is sin. Then there is no sin that is less or more
punishable in His eyes. There are
certainly times we sin, lets face it, 1John 1:8 says “If we say that we have no
sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” I would hope that we
would never mock at sin, but in being frivolous about it there is indeed a
sense of mocking. Mocking is more than
being frivolous though. There is a sense
of arrogance and a failure to rid ourselves once discovered. I can remember times when there was sin in my
life and through my arrogance I went about my day as though it was no big
deal. Is that mocking? In a more subtle way, yes I think it is.
“Among the
righteous there is favour.” “The
Righteous” have assembled themselves by their very nature. Righteousness sown, returns righteousness. It must be understood gloating or becoming
pious would diminish ones righteousness substantially. There is a fulfillment we seldom consider as
being significant I think. The
fulfillment of being one shown favor, especially when someone you have a high
regard for shows that favor, the fulfillment is invigorating and quenches us in
“the fear of the Lord.”
10 The
heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his
joy.
The word
“bitterness” is from the original Hebrew is only used once in the entire
Bible. It is formed from the root word,
grief, which also has a root that means: “to be bitter.” I suppose it’s meaning to us is a grievous
bitterness residing in us. This is
basically telling us that it is common to the wise that a man has in him those
things done that he or she could kick themselves for, or things that simply
torment our peace. Get over it.
Realizing
those things you control and don’t control could be the beginning of removing
the torments. If you do not have the
ability to change a situation, you cannot let it create anxiety, nor can you
put it away to consider later. If you
decide now, there is no point in getting upset about that (whatever) from this
point forward, you will begin to sort your thoughts easier. Besides, you need to get to the things that
really need your attention and actions.
I am not saying to forgo reasonable considerations where necessary, I am
saying simply, don’t get yourself all worked up over something you cannot
change.
Just as we
have those things we would rather not think about, we have those things that
make us happy. “A stranger doth not
intermeddle with his joy.”
Intermeddling is a form of pledging or engaging to create an obligation
in a sense. The word in the original
Hebrew is used for surety or co-signing.
One possessing Wisdom never allows themseves to be indebted to someone
or something for his or her joy.
11 The
house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright
shall flourish.
This should
not strike you as odd. The concern should
be to ensure your own house is not considered wicked. Wisdom would teach that due to the treachery
of the wicked, a wicked one’s friend (also being wicked) will stab him in the
back and overthrow his house. So the
cycle continues.
It is not by
coincidence here that this verse states it this way; “the house of the wicked”
and “the tabernacle of the upright” I
think this is important to notice here that the upright value and show
reverence with respect to their home.
Its just a house to the wicked. A
tabernacle is a place to where God IS.
12 There is
a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of
death.
This is a
warning to make sure you are constantly checking and growing and learning
Wisdom. It never ceases. There is a component of a man that has him
geared to be right. The man forms his
opinion or view on his perspective of the facts. Sometimes things don’t add up right. Be careful not to think you are going to eat
at the king’s table when you don’t even get asked to the ball.
13 Even in
laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.
Continuing
from the previous verse, this verse indicates that laughter is a type of
mirth. Mirth is a form of
intoxicant. The actual Hebrew word is
translated as joy but here it is figuratively used. Some of us tend to laugh when we find
ourselves in an uncomfortable situation.
This is actually a form of self-hypnosis or self-deception.
14 The
backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be
satisfied from himself.
Understand
here the “backslider in heart” is not the person that slips into a sin and
suddenly discovers his error. No, this
is a person that betrays themselves and goes against that which he knows in his
heart. This is the first point of attack
in order to begin the justification phase of sin’s cancer. By allowing ourselves to betray our own
convictions, we automatically become defensive.
The first thing we reach for is justification. It is our nature to behave that way. This is why we fill ourselves with our own
ways. You see, we are not filling
ourselves with His Ways, no, our own ways and full of justification. Substantiation among others brings the fools
to the fools court. In that court they
are all innocent in their own minds.
Who is
responsible for himself? Whether it
pertains to happiness or contentment or fulfillment, a good man is satisfied
from himself. A man of Wisdom knows well
how to bring himself to satisfaction.
15 The
simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
Being simple
is not a sin. Staying simple is. As Wisdom grows in us, it gets easier and
easier to see how principles line up with other principles. They work together. When we hear something that is contrary to
the understanding of these principles, we do not believe every word. Be careful because in the early stages of
understanding the pendulum may have a tendancy to swing too far the other way. In other words, if you hear something wrong,
do not begin to doubt everything.
16 A wise
man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.
Have you
ever had to get yourself or someone else out of trouble? It is uncomfortable and depending on the type
of trouble, very difficult. The first
step of getting out of trouble is being able to identify it. Being able to “depart from evil” begins with
being able to identify it for what it is and understanding the resulting
conditions it imparts on its victims.
Wisdom helps you understand immediately and thus have the proper “fear”
of evil. Having the proper fear does not
mean when you spot evil you run off screaming at the top of your lungs,
although that would be best compared to not departing.
“The fool
rageth” is not anger, it is actually more in the sense of continuing his evil
foolishness and being confident even though his delusion has him on the path to
hell.
17 He that
is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.
This is a
verse that I used to quote to my sons when they were growing up. Often as youngsters have a tendency to do
when they are growing up, they would lash out in a fit of anger. Sometimes even breaking their favorite
toy. At the time, during their fit,
nothing mattered but inflicting some form of justice on their brother. Once the calamity settled and they would
discover their broken toy, another fit of sudden anger would engulf them. Before you knew it there was one foolish
thing after another occurring. It was
times like this my mind’s eye would picture an automated paddling machine. I never patented that idea however.
The point
here is to understand that anger is the cause of poor decisions. When you find that disruption of peace inside
stop and take a moment. Don’t be hasty. Anger also comes in many forms. Personally, I think the more subtle the anger
is the more dangerous because it enables its host to contemplate their foolish
attack quietly.
Oh, and just
so you know, your reaction to anger is a decision. That’s right, a decision. If you don’t believe me then think about it
this way; in the throws of a heated argument at home and suddenly the phone
rings and you pick up the phone and calmly say, “hello” in the most kind way. You made a decision to answer the phone
without sounding angry.
18 The
simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
The
condition of the “simple” here is a lack of knowledge and by virtue of that
lack they have no means of understanding.
Remember Pr 8:12 “I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge
of witty inventions.” This means the
simple person has little hope of being able to know what is really going on
until they are so deep into it that it is too late. Further, they, being simple also have little
hope until they become members of a different family. It is as they think, a curse of injustice
while they thrash around without Wisdom and a Savior. Their unwillingness to give themselves over
will keep them in their folly. There are
many crowns in the Kingdom of God and one of them is Knowledge. It appears to the lost onlooker to be
discrimination or favoritism in the most blatant sense and indeed it is. Thank God for that every day!
19 The evil
bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
Part of the
antagonism riding in the bosom of the evil is the fact they know well and good
they must give way eventually to the good or sovereign of God’s chosen. Remember Proverbs 11:10 "When it
goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish,
there is shouting." Even when
the wicked approach the gates of the righteous they must shrink their froward
desires. This might explain why they try
to approach in secret.
20 The poor
is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends.
It could be
that we would never use such a term as “hated” concerning the poor. It could also be that we would never consider
ourselves the sort to scurry up to the rich and try to make friends. This verse is a different way of saying what
Christ said in Matthew 5, 43 "You
have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.' 44"But I say to you, love your
enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for
those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45"that you
may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and
on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46"For
if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax
collectors do the same? 47"And if
you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not
even the tax collectors do so? 48"Therefore
you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
21 He that
despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is
he.
If you look
at the last verse, which says, “the poor is hated
by everyone and even his neighbor…” this verse is pointing out that
hating your neighbor is a sin. It goes
on to point out that showing mercy on the poor is a blessing. This removes every excuse for mistreating or
despising our neighbor, the poor or anyone else for that matter. The word “despiseth” used at the beginning of
this verse has the Hebrew meaning, to hold as insignificant. In a sense it is a form of thinking more
highly of oneself than others. Thinking
we are better than others is the dangerous trap of misperception. Our perceptions should be that all are God’s
and deserving of His love. He even
commanded us to do so, Matt 22:36-40 "36Master,
which is the great commandment in the law? 37Jesus
said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great
commandment. 39And the second
is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two
commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
Keep in mind this is not directed toward those whom are Christians
specifically but All of mankind. 1 Thes
3:11-13 "11Now God himself and our Father, and
our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. 12And the
Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward
all men, even as we do toward you: 13To the end he may
stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints."
There are
two kinds of poor. There are the ones
that are lazy and do nothing for themselves even though they have the
means. This is the result of the
sluggard. They look for every excuse to
get out of doing things for themselves in hopes someone will come along and
help them. The other kind of poor are
the ones whom have a handicap, which keeps them from conducting a trade to
which they can earn a living. They have
no choice in the matter. In many cases
they, even though they are handicapped work at some capacity to try not to be a
burden.
22 Do they
not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise
good.
There are
two aspects here we need to consider.
First, the question is posed in a rhetorical fashion and the answer is
indeed obvious. Secondly however, when the later part of this verse is posed,
the opposite of mercy, which is judgment, is affixed to them that devise
evil. Learning that when we devise good,
“mercy and truth shall be…” our fruit.
With Wisdom guiding us She will keep us from the effects of evil and as
we mature our devising will become less evil as well.
23 In all
labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.
“Penury”
means poverty or need. By actually doing
the work there is profit but when all we do is run our mouths there is only
poverty. The bad thing is there are many
resourceful things said and great plans that never yield the first grain of wealth
due to the lack of physical action. The
word “labour” here means toil, pain and hardship. Hard work is at the foundation of honest
profit. We see so often how a few may
have come by profits easily and somehow think that should have been us.
24 The
crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly.
First, we
need to understand folly. Folly is not
harmless fun. In the most concise form
folly is defined in Scripture as without Wisdom. Someone not having Wisdom is a fool and the
fool’s goal in life is survive by his or her foolishness or folly. That foolishness is the very thing in which
Wisdom protects us from. Again, as with
folly, foolishness is not harmless fun and in many cases involves the death of
anyone caught in the snares of the fool’s scheme.
In stark
contrast the resulting benefits of the “wise” or ones with Wisdom are their
riches. The fact that they are a “crown”
simply indicates they speak for themselves and there is no need to boast about
them.
25 A true
witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.
If you have
ever been a witness to an accident and actually called into court for your
testimony it is likely to have been in defense of the innocent. In the same sense as we go through life we
have a responsibility to defend the souls of them that are innocent. However, the fools propagate their folly in
the form of lies to bring down the innocent in order to prey on them.
26 In the
fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall
have a place of refuge.
This verse
seems at first glance to indicate we should live in fear and trepidation but
through understanding “the fear of the LORD” there is confidence. See the notes on Pr 8:13. As we have Wisdom residing in us and as we
learn to follow her guidance down the paths of Truth it is easy to understand
how one would find “strong confidence.”
If you remember as a child, playing “hide n’ go seek” you may remember
the relief of getting back to base and that safe feeling you had when you were
holding on for dear life. If you played
baseball or kickball, your goal was getting to the safety of the base. Your focus became what it took to get to the
base. That is the source of fear we have
when we have “the fear of the LORD.” It
is not a fear of death but instead a fear of Life. As we grow in Wisdom and knowledge of our
LORD and as we understand more clearly the dastardly intentions of “the
deceiver” our fear becomes one of being pushed off base. So then while our focus is tuned on the LORD
and we understand His purpose we may have “strong confidence” and an
everlasting “place of refuge.”
27 The fear
of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
The phrase
“fountain of life” here is interesting in that it means the source of life and
the word “fountain” in the Hebrew means spring.
The spring was the source of the purest water and the form of the word
usage means there is an abundance. Don’t
confuse this phrase, “fountain of life” with “fountain of youth.” Although finding Wisdom and its wellspring of
nourishment is sure to keep us young and vibrant for His purpose. A long life is only found while avoiding the
“snares of death.”
In the
Hebrew the word “snares” is translated as bait or lure. Looking more closely we need to understand
the importance of being able to identify Truth.
The bait is never complete Truth.
Truth need never hide because behind the purest Truth is life, however
behind the lure of deceit is death. Only
in the bosom of Wisdom can we ever expect to find the purest form of life. From them that lay in wait, dangling their
intoxication before their kindred fools, we have no need to fear as long as
Wisdom’s purity runs through our veins.
28 In the
multitude of people is the king's honour: but in the want of people is the
destruction of the prince.
In the
Hebrew, “multitude” means growing abundance and “want” means ceasing, end or
finality. This verse could actually
read, “In the growing abundance of the people is the king’s honor: but in the
collapse of the people is the destruction of the prince.” It is simple common sense to understand, when
the people and their way of life is getting better as time passes that the
ruler of those people will be honored.
On the other hand if the people are beginning to struggle and their way
of life more and more difficult with the passage of time, they will speak out
against the ruler.
29 He that
is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit
exalteth folly.
It is
interesting that the definition here of “wrath” has to do with face, nose and
specifically nostrils. Wrath is a
visible indication of the inner man.
When you feel your insides heat up and your teeth clenching and your
chest pounding and the blood rushing behind your eyes, stop. You simply may not understand
everything. There is no need to get all
fired up when all you have to do is ask some questions first. Understand this, there is little you can do
to hide the fact that you are angry. Your
face shows it. It changes colors and
your nostrils expand in order to allow more oxygen to enter your lungs. Being angry is very intense to the body and
takes an enormous amount of energy.
Being “hasty of spirit” is an excellent way to describe what happens
during an episode of wrath. One of the
things that also happens is that the mind becomes exceedingly focused on the
issue and becomes impenetrable to understanding. Before anger sets in there is a decision made
concerning a position or feeling about certain areas that are not
negotiable. So then, when different
ideas or facts come along to challenge the non-negotiable there is an immediate
response to protect them. That is why this verse says if we are “hasty of
spirit” we exalteth folly or better said, sell out to misunderstanding.
30 A sound
heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.
“Sound
heart” means literally a healthy inner man.
When the inner man is guided by the right principles the “life of the
flesh” is directed by those principles instead of the flesh guiding the
man. In this verse, envy is described as
the root cause of rotting bones. The
definition of envy is interesting if you look into the nooks and cracks of that
word’s deception.
Envy is the
desire for another's traits, status, abilities, station, or worldly goods. It
need not be associated with an object; its salient characteristic is the
unfavorable comparison of one's own status with that of another.[1] If what is in us continually eats at us in the
sense that we would be better off if we were more like someone else then it
should be no surprise after some time to find physical decay. The principle is clear in that by allowing
ourselves to dwell in the emotional torrents of envy creates real physical
damage. Consider for a moment the simple
reactions from a dream in which some harm to us may have taken place and the
fact that we wake breathing heavily and sweating. The stress is outwardly displayed. Envy happens to be more subtle and even more
dangerous. It sneaks up on you. It may start out as admiration but somewhere
along the line gets out of balance. The
opposite of envy is generosity, contentment, satisfaction, gratification and
happiness. Be sure to demonstrate them
in all we do.
31 He that
oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy
on the poor.
The word
“oppresseth” is the strongest of terms and means to violate, defraud or even do
violence to someone or something. The
word “reproacheth” used here in the original Hebrew means to tauntingly defy or
blaspheme and in this case we are talking about taunting God the Father
Almighty. It is interesting if you
notice here that treating the poor badly is compared to being out of fellowship
with the LORD.
32 The
wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his
death.
There is a
fact about sin that few of us ever consider before the act is committed. Even worse, many of us never learn the
physics of sin and its impact on our sanity.
The reason the “wicked” are driven away in their “wickedness” is due to
the haunting reality of being discovered or revealed. The word “wickedness” is the same word used
in Genesis 2:9 where it talks about the tree of good and evil. When Adam and Eve discovered sin they
discovered sin’s horrid severance from God.
Sin has in its character separation and guilt. Through this separation the isolation of sin
adds brick and mortar to the walls of selfishness and discontent. If we look back to verse 30 we can see envy
forms from the seedlings of selfishness and wickedness is the forest of
overwhelming guilt. While in this frail
condition there is no act so wicked the conscience has hope of connecting the
mind and heart. Proverbs 28:1 “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are
bold as a lion.”
Due to the
way the wicked feed on themselves there is “hope” when the righteous see them
devoured. There is a sense of justice
and comfort in seeing the principles of His kingdom take their course.
33 Wisdom
resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the
midst of fools is made known.
This may
seem to be logical in that Wisdom is in one that has understanding but there is
a tone of Peace if we look closer. It
would be different if the verse said “Wisdom rages in the heart…” but instead
it say “Wisdom resteth…” There is Peace
and sanctity in having Wisdom.
If you have
ever confided in someone something very personal and later found that they told
others, you may have made a pact with yourself to never share that kind of
information again. “In the midst of
fools” is not a place anyone wants their personal lives “made known.” One can only imagine the turmoil that might
come.
34 Righteousness
exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
In order to
understand this verse we have to understand the true meaning of “exalteth” or
exalt. In Webster’s dictionary the word
is defined;
1
: to raise in rank, power, or character
2
: to elevate by praise or in estimation : GLORIFY
3
obsolete : ELATE
4
: to raise high : ELEVATE
5
: to enhance the activity of : INTENSIFY <rousing and exalting the
imagination -- George Eliot>[2]
Notice that
the basic jest of the word is to build up or elevate in a sense. One with Righteousness will always seek to
exalt. I have said often, if you look
long and hard enough at anything on earth you can find something wrong with it;
the challenge is to make the best of everything God puts in front of you.
In contrast,
sin will destroy the strongest of mankind.
A “reproach” is literally shame or dishonor and the implication is that
others show this shame in our direction because of sin.
35 The
king's favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that
causeth shame.
The king here
could be anyone in our lives that has authority. If we are seeking the “favor” of them it
would be best to be seen as a “wise
servant.”