1 The
king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
I have always let this verse bring
peace to me in that the heart of them that rule over me on earth, well, their
feelings toward me are in the hands of the LORD. God controls their thoughts and how they deal
with us. This is even if they are not
saved. Try telling some grumpy old boss
that God is using them to make sure you are growing in Righteousness. That would probably not be so wise unless you
are ready to loose your head and your job.
Trust in the fact that God cares enough
for you and I to make sure those around us are fashioning
the lessons and blessings for us. Above
that, be sure to understand that we are growing He is using us to grow others.
2 Every way of a man is right in
his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.
Boy I have been here several
times. I am fairly
intelligent and so I tend to think I’m right most of the time. When I am wrong, I am shocked. Much like you I’m sure. We have to be
careful that the things we ponder are contemplated from the right perspective
and motivation. As you can see, “…the
LORD pondereth the hearts.” He sees our motives and desires. That should shake the self-centeredness right
out of us. If you are like me, sometimes
the desires and motives are not the most noble and may place me squarely among
the wicked. Each morning always be sure
to ask for Wisdom and in that Wisdom the ability to be motivated with the right
objectives and the right heart.
3 To do justice and judgment is
more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
This is in the sense where one would be
so self deceived to think his sacrifice would satisfy a righteous God. Would you even consider for a moment that
your own judgment in a matter would be acceptable to an ALL
KNOWING GOD? It is indeed true,
for it says so right here in this verse.
Compared to a sacrifice given with the wrong motives, our shallow
justice and judgment is more acceptable, in other words. God detest a sacrifice given with the
expectation of cleansing if in fact it is given ceremonially for an outward
show. This has nothing to do with our
justice or our judgments as much as it does our love.
Consider this for a moment. We may often feel we place a high priority on
the things of God. When in fact we
should take some time and inventory our motives.
4 An high
look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.
This “high look” is one we all have
seen. The word for “high” in the original
Hebrew means haughty, be lofty, be rotten or wormy. Sort of like self-inflicted
sophistication. You know, where they
peer through their eyes in a condescending way?
That person is in trouble.
Pride is tantamount when it comes to
keeping our keenness honed to the right things.
Pride is sneaky and lives next door to motivation, when those two get
together its hard to tell where they might be taking us.
That word “plowing” has the meaning of
fallowed ground, tilled but nothing done with it yet. This is figurative in that the wicked tend to
plow around with their schemes. Trying
to find some poor unsuspecting victim of their wicked gaines. Their sole purpose is to hunt and capture
while they can. It could be money they
are hunting or it could be some other gain through
treachery.
Take one last look here: the three
things mentioned are compared as equal.
q A
high look,
q A
proud heart, and
q The
plowing of the wicked.
If these things are equal
then we need to consider ourselves completely vulnerable at all times lest we
deceive ourselves into oblivion.
5 The
thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is
hasty only to want.
Boy oh boy, now I have
to write to myself in here for sure.
Hasty is most of the time, bad. Haste
makes waste! Plain and simple, bad. Especially when it has to do with something
you are waiting on from the Lord. Why
not now? What have I yet to learn? I personally have a complete list of ridiculous
pleadings. Then when I realize there is
something that needs to be learned, I change my focus back to the tasks at hand
and get busy doing what I should.
6 The getting of treasures by a
lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.
Have you ever wondered about those
hidden cost? Here is one that can be
avoided with ease. The advice here is
don’t try to get anything by lying. And
just so you don’t misunderstand the verse, who’s death do
you think they may be speaking of here?
Look at it this way, if you lie and acquire something then the person
you lied to finds out, he is going to be after you. Depending on what you acquired, they may
consider your death!
7 The robbery of the wicked shall
destroy them; because they refuse to do judgment.
The safest robbery to commit is to
steal something from someone that stole the thing in the first place. After all, who are they going to tell? Yet if you think about it, if they could
pluck themselves out of that environment, (by having things they worked for)
don’t you think they would plead for judgment if someone stole from them?
This verse is a reminder of the
churning of the wicked. But if you
consider further, refusing to do judgment could be something we all do now and
then. Depending on how wicked or
deceitful the deed was, do we allow judgment from Him? Don’t be foolish enough to think this
principle only applies to hell bound sinners.
8 The way of man is froward and
strange: but as for the pure, his work is right.
“The way” of a man is his journey or
path through life and the word “froward” means crooked or perverted. The word “strange” is only used in this one
place in the entire Bible. It means to
be riddled by guilt or burdened with guilt.
This means mankind in general is a bearer of guilt when left to
himself. Without Wisdom he has no gauge
to assess our deeds.
9 It is better to dwell in a corner
of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.
This verse and verse 19 are dealing
with the kind of wife that constantly brings up problems, constantly is brawling
or fighting or griping about things and never really has anything nice to say
to her husband. Its no wonder men have
found such fondness in hobbies when talking to their wives is more like being
in the principle’s office. The first
clue to wives is to think about where your husband spends his time. Is he on the “housetop” where you can’t get
to him or as in verse 19, is he in the wilderness?
10 The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.
Take a moment here to consider
something before passing by this verse.
I would like to caution us, me included, about something. It is not that unlikely that any of us have
had wicked desires at one time or another.
I am not saying we have wicked souls but I am
saying that as long as we occupy this planet in the flesh we need to constantly
take inventory of our desires. All of
us, at one time or another, have wanted to have some evil come to that person
that cut us off in traffic or made us miss the light when we were in a hurry. That does not make our souls wicked but if it
goes unchecked, one seed sprouts a weed and the next thing we know the field of
our heart is peppered with imperfections.
The second part of this verse is
telling us that there is no hiding what is going on in the soul of the
wicked. For that matter there is no
hiding what is going on inside each and every one of
us.
11 When the scorner is punished, the
simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth
knowledge.
A “scorner” is one who talks arrogantly
and boasts often of their conquest.
Often it is done to prove themselves.
Seldom do they talk about the punishments that come their way. There are some that are shaken from the tree
of lofty self-righteousness. They hit
the ground and the plume of dust rises around them as they dust themselves off
realizing the error and set a new direction.
The wise on the other hand are open to insight and receive it knowing
full well they are better off.
12 The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.
The word “considereth”
in this verse means to be prudent, be circumspect and wisely understand. Considering all the circumstances and
potential consequences is an important conduct of one with Wisdom. It is not our job to bestow judgment and
sentencing on the wicked, that is God’s doing.
13 Whoso stoppeth
his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be
heard.
Don’t just pour your hard
earned cash upon the poor, which is not what this is saying. In some cases they
are poor for a reason. Also, there is
Wisdom in a multitude of counselors, remember that as well. Always pray about what to do for them because
it is not necessarily money they need to set them into
better circumstances. I remember a time
when I was in San Diego at a conference and one night when my associates and I
left a pizza place, outside sat a homeless man.
He begged for some change and one of the gentlemen with us offered him
some of the leftover pizza. The homeless
man rejected it and spat on it. I was
shocked, the man asked for some change so he could eat
and we offered him something to eat and he spat on it. Clearly the man was not starving from lack of
food but instead he was tormented by his addictions. That is why I say some of the poor are poor
for a reason and we need to pray about the kind of help we offer.
14 A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.
A gift or reward given to someone as an
offering of peace is not wrong. The word
“reward” in the Hebrew is a present or bribe.
Understand this is not a payment to get someone to do something wrong;
this is a payment to cover something wrong.
It is done in private, one on one.
It is done to soothe the anger and wrath.
15 It is joy to the just to do
judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
Having a part in setting things right
is always joy to the heart of them that love righteousness. The joy here is a sense of peace knowing that
sentences have been justly dealt to those found guilty or decisions concerning
the ordinances of the time where rightly made.
The word “destruction” is from the
Hebrew root meaning to take hold of, seize, take away. This principle is repeated again from Pr
10:29. It is
interesting how there is joy in the first part of this verse then the
destruction in the end.
16 The man that wandereth
out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.
A congregation is actually
an organized body of similar-thinking individuals. Remaining in this congregation should be
torture to one who has truly tasted the fruit of Wisdom.
Take note of the fact that one can
indeed wander out from under the umbrella of Wisdom’s protective understandings. Always be on guard of falling victim to the
fabrications around you. Seek truth
first in yourself with yourself, and then treat it as if it were gold.
17 He that loveth pleasure shall be
a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
This verse may seem confusing at
first. It is not saying that we cannot
have pleasure but instead we should not “loveth” it wrongly. The word “loveth” actually
means the strongest kind of love.
It is the same love we have for our family, it
is the same love we have for a husband or wife.
It is also the same love we would have for the LORD. If we love pleasure so much that it motivates
the actions we take then we are out of balance. The same is true for “wine and oil” in that
if all we do is geared toward our getting our hands on
wine or oil then obviously we are not focused on the right goals.
18 The wicked shall be a ransom for
the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.
We could look at this verse in two
senses; ultimately, in the end the wicked will be thrown into the lake of
fire. However, they are not thrown there
for the sake of paying a ransom held against the righteous or believers. The wicked will get what they deserve
ultimately so there should be no concern of their impending judgment. How then is ransom created? The word ransom is used in Pr 13:8 “The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the
poor heareth not rebuke.” As
I commented in that section, the things we have may bring a certain peace and
comfort. The wicked of course try to
make off with them in an array of dishonest methods. When they do manage to get their hands on
them and depending on the value we place on them our
spirit becomes incarcerated. The only
remedy is the return of the property.
This verse is saying the wicked themselves shall be dealt with and the
satisfaction of their punishment is enough.
The same is especially true of the transgressor because in many cases
the transgressor may not take any physical item. Instead they may have committed an act of
violence, which is not physically correctable.
The point is that we cannot become so enamored with the things we have
and the riches we have been blessed with that there is no satisfaction without
them. There are a certain number of
sunrises left until the LORD comes and sulking until he does is not counted as
wise.
19 It is better to dwell in the
wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.
Contentious is defined in Webster’s
like this: “exhibiting an often perverse and wearisome tendency to quarrels and
disputes.” Contentious is a form of the
word contention or contending, which means rivalry or competition. A couple falling into a rivalry or competition
in their marriage is shaky ground especially when they should be team. Interestingly enough
however, the wilderness, which is a desolate place of unknown means of
survival, is better? It strikes me that
the wilderness is a quiet place because there are not even that many animals
that can survive there. This is some
advice for the women; slipping into a state of dissatisfaction with your spouse
and making sure he knows it may bring havoc to an already difficult
situation. I am not saying he is right and you are wrong or you are right and he is
wrong. I am saying that the solution to
making a marriage work is not reminding him of his deficiencies
constantly. Watch closely, if you notice
a weakness or fault in your mate, by the LORD’s design you have a strength in
that area. It may not be to take care of
the weakness or correct the fault but instead come alongside and agree there is
an issue and agree to a course of action.
It takes a woman of Wisdom to do that.
Remember, any ole hag can nag.
Now for the men, I picked on the women and now it’s the men’s turn. Here is how it works in the mind of a woman;
you say, “Tomorrow I am going to cut the grass.” In her mind the only thing that can stop you
from cutting the grass is a hurricane, tsunami or nuclear fall-out and they
would have to happen in your yard. You
are not exempt if they occur in the neighbor’s yard. Along comes a distraction! Instantly, the logical-excuse mechanism is
engaged and what roles out of your mouth?
“But honey, these fish are not going to just sit there forever, this is
a once in a lifetime opportunity for me.”
Here is what happens, the next time you say you are going to do
something, it does not mean to her you are really going to do it. Here is another aspect we as men need to
understand, she thinks we were cutting the grass for her when all along it was
simply the fact that the grass needed cutting.
The fact that we may have brought home the finest fish and had a meal
fit for kings simply means to her when we are done eating and putting our
dishes in the sink, its time to cut the grass.
20 There is treasure
to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.
I have often found it interesting how
some can have a storehouse of treasure and others seem to loose
it faster than they can find it. Another
interesting aspect is that those who have a storehouse also seem to share it
with others.
The phrase “spendeth
it up” is also translated as swallow up or devour. This implies that the foolish tend to consume
their treasure. The foolish often take
their treasure and spend it to upgrade their treasure only to find the upgrade
needs upgraded again. The vicious cycle
will repeat itself until there is no more treasure and they have
to start all over again.
21 He that followeth
after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness,
and honour.
Memorize this verse. Say it to yourself hourly and out loud.
This is a great example of “sowing and
reaping.” If you deal with people from
the perspective of what is right and have a heart full of goodness, kindness
and faithfulness, you will find life and righteousness and honor. Dealing in righteousness is not as easy as it
sounds. Here is a list of specific
things the word “righteousness” includes as it was translated from the Hebrew;
That is a pretty long list of
right. The word “mercy” has a shorter
list but may be even more difficult to maintain; goodness, kindness,
faithfulness. Keeping these two components
of character at the center of our dealings will yield fruits such as a long
full life, others that deal with you righteously and above all, honor.
22 A wise man scaleth
the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength
of the confidence thereof.
The word “scaleth”
here gives the impression that there is a battle or some difficulty in getting
into the city and that is not the case.
The word simply means to go up or ascend. This makes sense because most of the big
cities were built atop the highest part of the land in order to make protection
against attack easier.
We have to be
careful here and very strong in our Wisdom.
Basically this verse is telling us as we live
and grow in Wisdom we will be able to go up to the mighty and cast them down
because they put their strength and confidence in the wrong place. We may even confound them with our ability to
see through schemes and treachery.
Obviously, when we do that we must be ready for
an outburst or at least some form of thrashing to bring reasoning to their
past. Be sure, the lamp of ignorance
will not go out easily.
23 Whoso keepeth
his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from
troubles.
Oftentimes what is not said is wiser
than anything that could be said. Wasted
words on someone who is not willing or able to hear them is pointless. This is not to say we should never say
anything at all but just that choosing where and when to say carefully thought
out words is a true sign of Wisdom. I
can look back and honestly say that there have been enumerable times where I have
said things and they were not my words but His.
A good example is this writing.
Much of this comes to me as I venture to explain the treasures of Wisdom
and much of it is new each time I spend with the LORD. The point here is this, as much as the old adage says, “watch what you say” we need to watch when
we say as well.
24 Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth
in proud wrath.
Dealing in wrath is bad enough but
“proud wrath” is form of arrogance and presumptuousness of indestructibility. Notice also that pride is mentioned twice in
this verse. This is the only place in
the Old Testament this happens and as I have said, when the LORD puts it in
here like that it is time to slow down and take a closer look.
The “scorner” is an arrogant, mouthy
fool who is full of wickedness. They are
constantly boasting and mocking. They
are seldom quiet. The phrase “is his
name” means that is how they are known and is their reputation.
25 The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.
We could certainly derive from this
that if we do not labor then we will die.
In some cases the work we do is not physically
demanding but it is still labor. I know
for myself, the mental fatigue is far worse than the
physical. The problem here for the
“slothful” is they don’t want to think either.
They just want to lay around and do nothing. Doing nothing will kill you! It says so right here. We don’t have to go look at some research
done at some esteemed university to know this.
We all have a tendency to be bit slothful in
various areas of our lives. Whether it
is in our spiritual labors or our professional endeavors, when it is time to
labor lets do it to the fullest.
26 He coveteth
greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and
spareth not.
This verse is follow-on from the
previous and is referring to the slothful.
They want so badly and the bad thing is they
really do have needs because they wont get them on their own. Be careful in supporting their
condition. The sloth can look pretty bad when they have nothing. They make sure everyone knows they have
nothing. They work very hard at trying
to avoid work and make sure everyone knows each circumstance that keeps them
from having the things they need to live.
27 The sacrifice of the wicked is
abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?
There is not much that needs to be said
and yet there is so much that could be said.
Just know that the wicked in all they do acquire all they have through
wickedness and for them then to take that and offer it as a sacrifice to the
LORD is foolishness.
28 A false witness shall perish: but
the man that heareth speaketh constantly.
The “false witness” is a bad credential
to have. Exodus 20:16 "Thou
shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." This is one of the Ten Commandments. Remember chapter six in Proverbs? A false witness is one of the seven things
that are an abomination to the LORD. A
false witness that speaketh lies: in a way this
refers to number two in this list but not in the same way. The contrast of this is found in Pr 14:25 “A true witness delivereth souls:
but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.” Another definitive verse is Pr 12:17 “He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.” A false witness speaks and fashions
deceitfulness and plays their deceitfulness to their advantage. Taking with them the prisoners of their
wicked perspective. Speak only the truth
in any matter. If you are not clear on
the truth then keep quiet!
29 A wicked man hardeneth
his face: but as for the upright, he directeth his
way.
The term “hardeneth”
here means to give the appearance of prevailing. It is a look that is never mistaken. It is put there by the turmoil of their
folly. I remember a time when during the
Christmas season there was a certain toy that every parent and grandparent had
to buy for their children or grandchildren.
As the supplies of the toys diminished the look of frustration swelled
on the faces of them that sought the toys.
I am not saying they were wicked people for wanting the toys but it is an example of how the face is hardened by
determination.
30 There is no wisdom nor
understanding nor counsel against the LORD.
No Wisdom, no understanding no counsel
against the Lord? That means the insight
we get will not contend with the Will of God.
If it does, it is not from Him.
31 The horse is prepared against the
day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.
This is to ensure we put our hope and
consideration of the future in the Lord.
There is nothing that will stand unless the Lord has said it will
stand. The security of our lives is in
the Lord for He is the only thing that will be forever.