Proverbs 19

1 Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.

The word “integrity” here has an interesting meaning when coupled with “poor.” Being poor seems to be something mankind has deemed as horrible. However, there is a simplicity to it that many of us will never see. Integrity over little then is better than being a fool. Recon this then, all poor men are not perverse and all that are perverse are not rich. Be sure though that all that are perverse are fools.

To have nothing is likened here to having it all. Well, in so much as what really means anything. Having perverseness as one of your character qualities is not good. Perverse means twisted, distorted, crooked and even perverted. We have to be careful not to just pass by this warning. Is there anything that we might distort or what about twisting a story some just to make it more interesting? Is there anything? This instruction indicates one is better if he is poor and has integrity than if he distorts things or twist things or is crooked in his dealings, or perverts that which he has.

2 Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth.

You have heard the old saying, “Running around like a chicken with its head cut off?” Well, this verse is saying that same thing only with more savvy. Basically, this verse is saying that a person without Wisdom will have a tendency to run around and quickly make mistakes. However, the wise one considers the options and by Wisdom puts his or her desires into actions.

3 The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD.

I can recall several times throughout my life where I have done something and looked back and said to myself, “boy, that was stupid.” Being foolish is not good. The Hebrew word for “perverteth” is used only four times in Proverbs and means to twist, pervert, distort or overturn.

The word “fretteth” is translated as wroth in 2Ch 26:19 – “Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar.”

This is a serious perplexity one finds in their soul upon discovery of their foolish ways. I would hope we would find distress of this magnitude when we are allowed to see our foolishness. Just be clear that a fool would not concern himself with the things of the Lord to this intense degree. The intensity of distress by the use of “Fretting” here should comfort us to know it will hurt when we fail. There truly is nothing more comforting than a clear signal, even if it hurts.

4 Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour.

Many of us may not have had the luxury of experiencing this principle here on earth. Maybe that is a good thing. Now remember there are poor people who are poor by their heritage and there are those that are poor because of their simple lack of Wisdom. It is not wrong to be poor and it is not as empty as you might think, as long as you walk in integrity.

This verse is talking about one that is without Wisdom. The word “poor” is from the Hebrew root used in Pr 26:7 – “The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools.” This person does not have Wisdom in them. That is why they are separated from their neighbors. The contrast here is this, no matter what your circumstances, with or without Wisdom, you will have many friends when you are wealthy. The definition of friends here in this verse is best defined by Pr 10:21 – “The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.” It really is not the Pr 18:24 “…friend that sticketh closer than a brother” type of friend. It is one that comes over and eats or watches the game on your TV and eats your snacks because they have none of their own.

5 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.

This is talking about one that brings a charge against someone falsely. Hang on just a second here. Don’t rush on down the page so fast. You see that word “false” at the beginning of this verse? Go back and look at it. It is not so black and white. What if I phrased this verse like this: “One who stretches the truth a bit and exaggerates so they have the coolest story and him that distorts the facts when known or unknown to bring attention unto themselves and they that unknowingly lie shall not be unpunished” it’s a bit more concerning now. Now you should be focused on the phrase “not be unpunished” or should be.

6 Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.

The word “intreat” means to become sick or weak in the sense of being diseased. This takes on the sense that one could become consumed with finding ways to get a prominent person to show favor.

Sometimes when I see someone important or wealthy I catch myself looking and sometimes even gazing at them. Some folks do this to movie stars or musicians that are at the top of their profession and then there are the athletes who many youngsters and men alike admire. It is not wrong to have a high regard for someone, just try to keep it in balance.

But closer to home is the one that entices by giving gifts. We could find ourselves, if we are not careful, in this very dangerous condition. We do not want to be a friend JUST because they give gifts or have friends just because we give them things.

7 All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.

I know of a man who was well liked amoung all who knew him. He made some foolish choices and lost the right to drive an automobile for a period of time. At first it was not a challenge to get around because his friends were there to give him a lift. However, after a while it got old having to make arrangements and it began to become more of an inconvienience. I wouldn’t go so far as to say they hated him but I am sure they hated to have to go out of their way all the time on his behalf. One day this man realized his friends were keeping their distance in order to avoid having to give him a ride somewhere.

The same is true of the poor, especially when they never seem to be able to provide for themselves. They make the same mistakes and remain needy. The use of the phrase, “he pursueth them with words” means he says the same thing every time. It is like a speech or as we would say ranting.

8 He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.

Can you loose understanding? Then why does it say, “keepeth?” This must be a continuing work. Monitoring and checking, taking note, getting counsel, all are signs without of what is within. All I am saying is this, keeping is important and if you have a complete understanding of what Wisdom is, it will be easier to cleave to its sanctity.

Ask a fool sometime how he feels about his soul. You might be surprised to find some very deep considerations there. There is a likelihood that if the fool, when ask, has even some spectacle of hope; the consideration of his soul is not a high priority. You see the more success a fool enjoys the more entwined he becomes in the cycle of spiritual death.

Upon consideration, one realizing the nature of Wisdom and the power She wields, the fullness of God’s design begins its quest. That is why one having Wisdom is able to love his own soul. Early on, due to the teachings of my young Christian life, I came to consider my soul filthy and wretched at times. Thus needing the cleansing blood of Christ’ promise, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(1John 1:9 KJV) I would claim that and claim also the freedom from guilt. One with Wisdom is equipped with the tools to eliminate similar failures in the future. Not to mention the earnest quest to find favor in God’s sight.

9 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.

A “false witness” is one of the most wretched sorts. You never really know when they are telling the facts. Often while they are telling facts they have a way of stringing them together to make them sound different than the way things really were. We have to be careful not to do the same when we give out information. I suppose leaving out a fact might be FALSE as well. The word “unpunished” means to be clear, pure or free. It is interesting when you look at all that could be engaged here concerning the condition of the witness. Normally a witness is not involved in any act other than to have seen it take place. However, when the witness falsifies the act they become part of another act, which is distortion. At the point where they distort the truth they forsake their condition of being “clear, pure or free.” If there is a crime involved some laws state that this person becomes an accessory and is subject to the same punishment as the perpetrator.

10 Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.

The word “delight” here means luxury and comfort. It would not be seemly to see the owner of a fine mansion standing by the gates of his estate and holding a sign, “Will work for Food!”

Many times as a servant I have wanted to take charge of something to make sure it got done right. Many times as well I have found myself in the situation where I had to follow the “prince’s” wishes or become homeless. The point to this verse is this: while you become wise don’t expect immediate luxury and while you are a servant don’t expect to rule over the dominions you are not given rule over.

11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

Deferred anger is anger put aside due to better judgment. When one having Wisdom is wrought with anger over a situation, they are quickly observant to understand the remedy is not being angry. Many times the best thing to do is move on. There have been situations that angered me in the past and upon closer examination, even though I maintained the fact that I was wronged in some way, the anger in me was not going to change the situation.

12 The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass.

While the king is the king, he has the power to evoke actions according to his will. If the king is angry, watch out. His servants will carry out his judgments swiftly in order to keep the king’s wrath from falling on them. In contrast however, if his favor falls upon us then we receive the royal treatment with the same focus. Think about this as well, if someone wrongs us while we are in the king’s favor, it is as though they wrong the king himself.

13 A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.

If you have children, you understand the first part of this verse very well. You have been in public at some time and had one of your children do something that was embarrassing. This is speaking to a different sort of thing though where the child is continually doing things that are wrong and even seems to lack character. The contrast of course is Pr 29:17 “Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.” The reason the foolish son is a calamity here is that the father searches himself for what went wrong. It is perplexing and the calamity is in the thoughts as he searches not only what he could have done but what he must do now to correct the situation.

“Contentions” are constant disagreements and even has the connotation of brawling and discord. “Continual dropping” is the result of those contentions, which literally means, tears. Pr 27:15 “A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.”

14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.

A man ought to sing praises to the LORD and count himself blessed for having been showered in the favor of God when he has a prudent wife. It should be in him to treat her like a precious treasure. The idea in this verse is that by inheritance or law houses and riches can be claimed but a prudent wife is a gift from the LORD.

15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.

If you are tired all the time you might try becoming more active. Being slothful means being lazy and lethargic which is guaranteed to slow your metabolism. If your metabolism is slow, your brain is slow, your weight becomes a problem and its always tough to get motivated to do anything. Stay busy, exercise or take a walk, if there is something lying around reach down pick it up and go put it away. Keep moving! Some of us have jobs where we sit all day and cant just hop up and do stuff, when you can during the times you do get to take a break get outside and get some fresh air. This verse is actually telling us the less you do the more sleep you need. That seems odd but think about it, if the body gets used to something it adapts. You have had times when either you didn’t sleep well or got to bed late. During the first several minutes when you wake you are in a trance. During the day your eyes lock on some target and your brain is whisked away on some adventure while your body sits there nearly motionless except to breath. Then every nerve ending in your entire body sends an amplified voltage back to the brain when someone sees you in the trance and yells, hey!

16 He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.

Keeping the commandments brings the sanctity of current peace along with the harmony of ones soul and eventually the result of a future in the arms of God. Honoring God will always be one of Wisdom’s perfections. The idea here in this verse is doing something now to avoid looking back in dread. Once our ways have been done they are done. With Wisdom our ways should be wise and honoring not despised as the latter part of this verse points out. Many of us may have spent years of our life aimlessly rolling with the gravitation of the world. Many still are. When the end is near they will look back and despise their ways.

17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

The word “pity” here is an interesting word in the Hebrew. It means to be gracious and show favor and is derived from the root word meaning to decline or bend down and encamp. This is not a trivial passing by with a smile when we see someone poor and in need. This is making and effort and taking the time to make a real difference. Remember, we reap what we sew. Here the LORD promises it will return.

18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.

This is fair warning that when chastening takes place it is going to hurt. I attended a seminar once where the speaker said; “You have to make the pain greater than the gain for wrong behavior.” In many cases even as we go through our adult lives this principle holds true.

19 A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.

The word “wrath” is a scary word indeed meaning rage and indignation. The word “punishment” is more in the sense of a fine or penalty. Wisdom is warning us when we pay the fine for someone of great wrath they are sure to fall into the same predicament and request it again. This would be similar to “tough love” I suppose in that allowing someone to learn the hard way for themselves is not always easy

20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

I suppose the first step here is to be able to accept and act on counsel. Sometimes it is difficult to listen to someone else tell us we are not doing something the way it should be done. I would recommend everyone to have a counselor and even a dozen or so if you are so lucky to know wise men and women.

21 There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.

Looking back to yesterday, if you had a chance to read chapter 18, the first and second verse dovetail with this verse: “¹Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. ²A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.” It is true, the heart or the part of us that does the desiring has often sought numerous threads of thought to devise a way to get to a certain result. No matter what it is and how simple it may seem, this verse is telling us not to depend on our own thought process. Wisdom begs us to seek the LORD.

22 The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar.

In nearly every circumstance, we desire a kind interaction with whomever we meet. I know in my own life the confrontations were difficult to deal with and very uncomfortable. My desire was that they could be more along the lines of mutual kindness.

A poor man knows he is poor but a liar often grows to believe in his own lies.

23 The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.

How can the fear of the LORD tendeth to life? Remember the list from Proverbs 2?

· if thou wilt receive my words (vs. 2:1a)

· hide my commandments with thee (vs. 2:1b)

· incline thine ear unto wisdom (vs. 2:2a)

· apply thine heart to understanding (vs. 2:2b)

· criest after knowledge (vs. 2:3a)

· liftest up thy voice for understanding (vs. 2:3b)

· seekest her as silver (vs. 2:4a)

· searchest for her as for hid treasures (vs. 2:4b)

As you can see from this list each one individually would have an affect on our lives and the paths we take. For instance, taking the first four on as a goal would drastically change our lives and develop the true fear of the LORD. If we were to receive, hide, incline and apply… then the next four would become desires and thus cause us to “tendeth” to life much differently.

24 A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

This is the epitome of laziness. The first sign of laziness is the fact that his hand is propped in his bosom. His arm is hanging from an open portion of his clothing much like a farmer in overhauls hooks his hands inside the straps when relaxing. However, the slothful man is so lazy he cannot even bring himself to the point of pulling his hand out of his bosom to feed himself. Of course this is not meant as literal but instead to epitomize the course and ending of laziness. For instance, if the slothful man does not remove his hand to feed himself he will die. Then if the slothful man does not take certain actions to maintain his life such as plant food or keep a job he will die. This verse should also remind us that we need to tend to the things that sustain us and not so much to the things that decorate us.

25 Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.

There is a subtle contrast here; the word “smite” is a very tough term and means to strike, hit, slay or kill so there is no subtlety in the actions brought on the scorner. Yet the term beware means they will not heed the logic or cause of being smitten but instead seek to become craftier in order to avoid the next judgment. So while judgment or reproof come upon them they are only seeking the best way to avoid the same results without changing their motives. The contrast is when one of understanding is corrected they are grateful and accept the ramifications so as not to repeat their mistakes. Above all, their desire is to please the LORD and not themselves.

** Warning ** because the word “beware” means shrewd or crafty. This is an indication that when a scorner, which is also referred to here as “the simple” receives judgment they become more subtle and tactful when dealing with a Wisdom bearer.

26 He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.

The word “wasteth” here means to deal violently or destroy in a physical sense and is also translated as assault. We can see why this son would be a disgrace to his parents. He is out of control and has forgotten where he came from. It is not that difficult to get out of control. Sometimes it is very subtle at first and may only cause people to walk away from us going, “what is wrong with him today?” At the root of the cause is pride of course; we are so caught up in our own concerns there is no time or effort spent on the needs of others.

27 Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.

Stop for a minute here and seriously think about what is being said here. Often we wonder what advice we are getting or ideas we are being told and how to process those into what we should think or do with them. Consider this for a moment, put away in your heart and mind what is Right and fasten it there with Truth. Then when the wrong thing comes along it will be seen for what it is, a phony. Remember, we have to study the Truth to know the Truth. Go back to verse 23 for the instructions on how to do this.

28 An ungodly witness scorneth judgment: and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity.

In this verse there is another example of arrogance. The word “ungodly” is interesting in that is may not mean what we think when we first read it. It is actually not doing things directly against God but instead is derived from the Hebrew root words meaning worthlessness or good for nothing. Already we can see how a “good for nothing” witness might scorn judgment in order to justify his worthlessness. What I mean here is that when ever a scorner gets a chance to make themselves look good, not only will they pounce on the opportunity they will milk it for everything they can.

The word “devoureth” means to swallow up. We might think this means literally but in fact might very well mean in a figurative sense. The mouths of the wicked are busy not only taking in or devouring iniquity but also spreading or propagating it as well.

29 Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools.

It stands to reason “judgments” are set up or prepared for scorners. The scorner is hounded by the existence of these judgments. They know that if they are not careful they themselves will be sentenced to suffer these judgments. The scorner and the fool become very wise in their deceptions otherwise there would be no deception at all and in the scorner’s case due to pride they would never be taken seriously.