Straightforward

Greetings everyone. Let’s pick up our Bible Study through the book of Proverbs with Chapter 14 and continue on with our Bible study. We’ll begin in Proverbs 14:1.

14:1 Every wise woman builds her house—

She does this by hard work, by example, by integrity, by virtue. She does this by being a good mother, a good wife, a good Christian, a good example. She’s diligent in all that she does and so she builds her house. Not actually building the house with hammer and nails, but building the family, building the home, and maybe even helping in the construction but just light work and so on. Generally speaking, her responsibility is to build the family, help build the family, help build a home, help build an extended family, help leave a legacy by her example, by her diligence, by her leadership and love and warmth, and by all that is unique to a wonderful, virtuous woman and what she can do for her husband and for her children and for the home and family, and the legacy that they hope to build.

14 — but the foolish woman plucks it down with her hands.

Or pulls it down by her lack of diligence, by her lack of responsibility, by her laziness and indolence, by her carelessness, by her wrong example, by her rebellion—a foolish woman will do that. And of course, we’ve all seen examples of what a tremendous and wonderful woman can do in terms of the lives of her husband and of her children and of her grandchildren—of the extended family. When you study history, you’ll see that quite often successful families are successful due in large part to the tremendous mother and wife and grandmother, and leadership from them in the right way, in a feminine way.

But then you see other examples of families and homes and extended families and generations that are failures and that do not achieve and do not succeed, but rather just are constantly in trouble or constantly having to struggle. And you will find quite often, not the sole reason for this, but quite often a good part of the reason for it is a foolish woman who does not carry out her responsibility, who is not diligent in all that she does, who is not a virtuous woman, who does not set a good example, who does not work hard, but rather is lazy and sets a wrong example.

So there’s the admonition there in Proverbs 14:1. It underlines the importance and the responsibility and the wonderful blessings that a woman can bring to life and to the life of other people—or the trouble that a foolish woman can bring.

2 He that walks in his uprightness fears the Lord: but he that is perverse in his ways despises him.

Someone who really stands in awe of God, someone who worships and adores God, wants to please Him. And so their actions, their choices and their attitudes and words will be right. They’ll be upright. They’ll be pleasant. They’ll be good. They’ll be something that others can learn from.

But someone who despises God, neglects God, has no interest in God, rebels against God, curses God, hates God—he ends up a perverse individual, a twisted and empty individual, one who achieves little or nothing and one who is unpleasant. And frankly in many cases, disgusting to be around. Once again, the central question and issue is, is God the center of our lives? If He is, then we will walk uprightly. If He is not, then we will get into all kinds of wrong actions and wrong things and twist what is right to that which is wrong, and even perverse situations.

3 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.

Once again, we look in Proverbs and we see God has inspired wonderful guidelines for Christian living. These are like nuggets of gold and big chunks of silver. If we will take heed to these proverbs, if we will try to understand them, if we will meditate on them, if we will dig into them and study them, if we will break them down into practical application, they are wonderful blessings and guidelines to anyone who wants to live a happy, peaceful, successful, and abundant life, and to anyone who really wants to be a true Christian, a true follower of Jesus Christ. Here’s an example, Proverbs 14:3.

3 — In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: —

Because of the pride of the foolish, their tongue—which is the rod in their mouth—their tongue hurts people. Their tongue upsets and cuts down others. Their tongue destroys others through gossip and through lies and through false witnesses. And it’s all about pride. It’s all about looking after themselves and hurting others so that they then can get the upper hand.

But notice the difference now. Remember, in this section of the book of Proverbs, we read verses that are contrast. We read verses that are antithesis to one another. We read verses that go into, if you do this, this happens, and that’s good, if you do this, this happens, and that’s bad—and shows the contrast between the right and the wrong, and the successful and the failures. Now here’s a contrast to the fool and pride, verse 3.

3 — but the lips of the wise shall preserve them.

Instead of the mouths of the foolish that hurt themselves and hurt others because of pride, the lips of the wise preserve them and help others because of wisdom. So we need to be careful about our words. We need to be careful about what we think and therefore what we say. Because we can think and say the right things and it helps us and others. We think and say the wrong things; it hurts us and hurts others. Those are the choices.

4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

What’s the principle here? You may not have an ox. You might think, ”Well that’s thousands of years ago, 3000 years ago. I have a pickup truck. I don’t have an ox. I have a tractor. I don’t have an ox.“

You know, the principle is the same. It’s talking about the principle here. It’s talking about where people have the tools and the industriousness to accomplish things. Then good results and good growth take place. But if you reduce it down to a bottom line farm analogy, if there are no oxen to plow the field and to cultivate the field and to harvest the crop, there’s not going to be corn and wheat and barley in the crib and in the bin. There’s not going to be feed in the food trough for the cattle. There’s not going to be a field cultivated and a crop harvested because there’s no oxen there. Therefore you have an empty feed box or an empty feed trough or an empty crib.

4 — but much increase is by the strength of the oxen…

If you have a good tractor or a good pickup truck or a good job or you have good tools or good skill for using those tools, and you use them diligently, there’s going to be increase. If you don’t use them diligently, there won’t be increase. Or if you don’t have tools or equipment, there won’t be increase. So it all has to do with having the right equipment and then using it diligently and then there will be increase. But if you don’t have the right animals or the right equipment, or if you don’t use them properly, there’s going to be emptiness and poverty. Whatever you sow, you reap, once again.

5 A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.

You know why a faithful witness will not lie? Because they’re faithful in all that they do. It’s not like, well, they lie, lie, lie, but once they’re chosen as a witness, they don’t lie anymore. No, that’s what a false witness does. A false witness lies as a way of life. And when they’re called on to be a witness, they’re still going to be lying.

But a faithful witness tells the truth all the time. No matter what he or she is doing and whoever they’re dealing with and whatever they’re involved in, when they speak, it’s going to be the truth. Man or woman, boy or girl, they’re going to tell the truth. And so when they’re called upon to verify something, to back up something, to be a witness in a situation, they’re not going to lie. They’re going to tell the truth. That’s a faithful witness, someone who is pleasing in God’s eyes, as opposed to a false witness who is not pleasing in His eyes because God does not like lying or liars. In fact, He hates them so much—not the person, but the lying—that if they do not repent and change, He says, they will be put in the Lake of Fire and destroyed for all eternity, in other verses in the Bible. So He feels very strong about telling the truth or telling a lie, being a faithful witness or being a false witness.

6 A scorner seeks wisdom, and finds it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understands.

Here you have a scoffer or a scorner. He wants to go his own way, do his own thing, be his own person. “Oh, by the way, sure would like to have some wisdom.”Well, he’s not going to get it because he’s not yielded to God. You can’t mix right and wrong, good and evil. There is a distinction between right and wrong, good and evil. And God blesses right and He punishes wrong. So you can’t go along as a scorner and as a scoffer and at the same time expect God to give you wisdom. You can seek it all you want to, but you don’t understand it. You don’t comprehend it. You won’t use it if it’s given to you or me or anyone.

And so we have to go one way or the other. If we’re a scorner, we can want wisdom all we want, but it’s not going to come because our attitude blocks it out. But on the other hand, if we want to please God and if we want to serve Him, if we want to please Him in our actions and words and in the kind of person we are and we want to serve others and we ask Him for knowledge to do all those things, He’s going to begin to give us that knowledge. And it’s going to get more and more in amount and in quality of understanding.

As we yield to God and as we serve God and as we have the right motives and the right intentions, and as we take the knowledge He gives us and we honor Him in the way we put it into practice and we serve others in the way we implement it, it’s going to be easier and easier to understand His knowledge.

In other words, what this is telling us in verse 6 is that, if we are scorners, we’re not going to fully understand God and His way and His word. And we’re not going to understand nor acquire wisdom. But if we yield to God and if we submit to Him, and our motive and attitude is right, we’re going to understand more and more about Him and His truth and His way of life, and more and more about what we ought to do in our lives. And it’s going to get easier and easier to understand. And with His power, it’s going to get easier and easier to apply, although we can never do it on our own. We always have to have His help.

So if a scorner seeks wisdom, they’re not going to find it. They have the wrong attitude and the wrong motive as they seek it.

6 — but knowledge is easy unto him that understands.

They are going to find knowledge and they are going to understand it more and more because their motive and attitude is right for wanting it.

7 Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you perceive not in him the lips of knowledge.

That’s some of the best advice that I can think of. When you begin to detect in an individual foolishness and rebellion and selfishness and evil and wickedness and deceit and lying and ulterior motives, and all of that kind of thing, best thing to do is not try to do them in. Best thing to do is not try to harm them. The best thing to do is just move on and go your way and let them go their way. Because if you go their way with them, you’re going to suffer what they suffer because of their foolishness. And you’re going to be pulled down with them. And why should you do that? Just because you stay around them and because you continue to be close friends with them and because you walk with them? No, God tells us that when we see foolishness and ridiculousness and rebellion and stupidity and just deceit and wrong thinking and wrong actions in the life of somebody, then we had better take note of that and we better analyze it and we better ask God to help us to understand it and we better begin realizing, “You know what, I don’t have a future walking with this person as a friend. I don’t have a future walking with this person as a fellow human being that I’m getting very close to. So therefore, I’m simply going to move in another direction.”

When I perceive not in him the lips of knowledge, but rather when I perceive in him and her the lips of foolishness and the lips of wickedness, the best thing to do is develop friendships with people who are trying to do the right thing and cut out friendships with people who are trying to do the wrong thing. Otherwise, we’ll be pulled in the wrong direction. That’s the advice in verse 7.

8 The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.

In other words, the prudent person wants to understand, “Where have I come from? Where am I now? Where do I want to go and how can I get there?” They want to understand this and they don’t lean onto their own understanding to do this. They ask God to give them that understanding.

8 —but the folly of fools is deceit.

They deceive others and they deceive themselves. And that’s sheer folly because it leads down the wrong path and ends up in misery and a pit that they cannot climb out of.

9 Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favor.

Have you noticed how often in Proverbs we read about fools? And notice here in verse 9.

9 Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favor.

You’ve heard jokes about sin. You’ve heard comments about sin. You’ve heard people swaggering and strutting and prancing and pretending—making light of sin. That’s not pleasing in God’s eyes. Sin is not something to be made light of. Sin is something to abhor. Sin is something to overcome and crush. Sin is something to move away from. It’s not something to joke about, make light of and pretend that it’s not that serious.

There’s all kinds of examples I could use that we all know about regarding how fools—empty–headed, shallow people—just make a mock at sin. “Oh, it won’t be a problem if you get drunk. Oh, it won’t be a problem if you have an illicit sexual relationship with this person—fornication or adultery. Oh, lighten up. If you feel like doing it, do it. Follow your heart. Never mind what God says. Never mind what the Bible says. Never mind what these old fashion moralists say. This is the age of enlightenment. You are a free person. Do whatever you would like to do. Never mind about worrying about tomorrow.” And it can happen in the form of drugs. It can happen in the form of filthy language. And it can happen in the form of being addicted to gambling or pornography or sexual immorality or deceit or hatred or violence. And you could just go down the line.

Well, fools can make a mock at sin all they want to, but when the penalties start descending on them and the pain and suffering and agony that surely will come as a result of their folly, they won’t be making a mock of that.

9 —but among the righteous there is favor

In other words, people who are just are steady, and everyday they’re trying to overcome and grow and become more and more like Jesus Christ, and they’re trying to develop good attitudes and good actions. And they see where they make their mistakes and they’re sorry for them. And they repent and they work on them. They’re going to gain more and more favor and happiness and peace.

10 The heart knows his own bitterness; and a stranger does not intermeddle with his joy.

Each of us can have sorrow. We can have sadness and grief. None of us should get into a bitter attitude, of course. That would be wrong, and no Christian will descend into bitterness. But whatever suffering or pain or grief or sorrow we have, others feel for us, they pray for us. But really, you know, we’re the ones who really know what it’s all about. And a stranger does not share with his joy.

When we have happiness and joy and things really go well, others can see that and they can understand it. But only we really know how much joy it is. And so we do work together as fellow human beings and especially work together in our relationship with God. But nobody can read anybody else’s mind. And we’re the ones who know how we really feel about the trouble we might encounter, and we’re the ones who know how we really feel about the joy that we’re blessed with.

11 The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: —

And there’s no exception to that. It may not look like it’s going to happen, but it will happen. Wickedness will lead to failure every time—including in powerful families, well connected families, wealthy families—it doesn’t matter. The house of the wicked shall be overthrown.

11 —but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.

The life, the family, the home, the job, the plans and projects of the upright shall flourish because God will bless them and that will create a situation where things really burgeon and blossom and flourish. That’s the choice that He wants us to make. That’s the choice God wants us to make in our lives.

Verse 12—a very, very important verse in the Bible, a tremendous principle to keep in mind.

12 There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

It can seem so right, sound so right, look so right, taste so right, smell so right, feel so right—and be absolutely deadly wrong. So how do we know? Well, the way we know is to pray for God’s guidance and wisdom, to seek good counsel, to get all the facts, to weigh it out. And then to go the way that is clear that God wants us to go, whether it feels like we ought to go the other way or looks like we ought to go the other way, or seems like we ought to go the other way.

There’s this silly philosophy, this pop psychology that is pedaled throughout society today that says, “Follow your heart. Follow your heart.” Really, what God wants us to do is follow His truth and follow His way and follow what He says. And then the end results will be wonderful. It won’t be death. It will be blessings, happiness, joy, and eternal life.

So verse 12 requires some deep thought and thinking. There is a way which seems right unto the man or to the woman, but the ends thereof are the ways of death. It isn’t right even though it seems right. And when we use this Word of God to determine right and wrong, then we can avoid what seems right that ends in death and do what is right that ends in life.

13 Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.

Life has happiness, it has joy, it has laughter. There’s also sadness and there’s also trials and tests. And so no life is ever just total laughter, and no life is ever just total joy. Once the laugher and the joy is over, there’s also going to be some sorrow. There’s also going to be the other side of the coin. There’s going to be some grief. And so we have to learn to handle it both. We know over in the book of Ecclesiastes, it says there is a time and season for everything. And God will help us in all of these seasons and in all of these situations that come up. And it’s a matter of balance and keeping things in perspective.

14 The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.

The backslider in heart is going to suffer as a result of being a backslider. His ways will catch up to him. A good man shall be satisfied from above himself. Yes, a good man will be satisfied from above because God will bless him for trying to do the right thing and trying to be a good person.

15 The simple believes every word: but the prudent man looks well to his going.

Simple—a better translation is the naïve. God doesn’t want us to be naïve. He wants us to use wisdom. He wants us to prove all things. He wants us to try and test the situations, and not just to believe every word and to believe everybody. We have to check it out. We don’t want to just become a cynic. And we don’t want to become negative and just doubting everything. But we want some depth and wisdom, and let’s get the facts. Let’s check it out. Let’s just not be taken advantage of by being naïve and just believing everything everybody says. Not at all. Let’s prove all things.

15 — the prudent man looks well to his going.

He considers carefully the way he’s going and considers carefully what others say: and considers carefully what should be done and what is being given in the way of counsel. And gets the facts and then makes his decision with God’s help and God’s guidance.

16 A wise man fears, and departs from evil: but the fool rages, and is confident.

A wise man has a healthy fear: “I’m not going to go down that alley, there’s danger there. I’m not going to eat that. It’ll cause health problems. I’m not going to run with that individual. He’s going in the wrong direction.” And therefore because he stands in awe of God, he makes the right decision that takes him away from evil instead of toward evil.

16 — but the fool rages —

He struts. He is full of himself. He feels like he’s on top of everything and he’s confident. A better translation is “self–confident.&rldquo; The kind of confidence we want is what we’ve already read in the book of Proverbs. The confidence that comes from fearing God. The confidence in God is what we want. Not self–confidence or confidence in self, but rather, confidence in God.

A fool is so full of himself. He thinks he’s got it all figured out and he’s on top of everything. And all he’s doing is digging a hole for himself to fall into. And we don’t want to be that kind of individual. We want to be a wise individual who stands in awe of God and departs from evil.

We’ll stop there and pick it up later with verse 17.

This is Charles Bryce with the Enduring Church of God.