December Devotions

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<div> <A HREF="id10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="contact"><B>Pastor Cain</B></A></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="41"><div> <A HREF="id12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="map"><B><IMG SRC="03c0e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="map"><B>Map</B></A></div> <bR> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="699" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="_"><B>Back to calendar</B></A><A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="_"><B> </B></A><A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="_"><IMG SRC="0400e0e0.jpg" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A>   </div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <B>For PREVIOUS PROVERBS : Scroll up, </B><I><B>OR</B></I><B>  Return to Devotional Calendar</B></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=355 BGCOLOR="#FFFBF0" TEXT="#080000"> <div>  <A NAME="december_1st"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  <A NAME="dec_1"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="484" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFCCCC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 92 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 11:19</B></div> <div> <B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#003333" FACE="Calisto MT" >As righteousness leads to life,</FONT></div> <div> So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#003333" FACE="Century" >. </FONT></div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Righteousness</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Evil</div> <bR> <div> Their Outcomes<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Life</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Death</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:  </FONT></div> <bR> <div>    It is just as sure that the man living righteously (having Christ's imputed righteousness as his foundation) attains life as it is that the man pursuing evil attains death.  That is Solomon's point.  He is assuming that some of his lessons on righteousness have sunk in.  If you know <I>these things</I> are true about righteousness, Solomon says, you can be just as sure that <I>this </I>is conversely true of sin. </div> <div>    Why is this important to know?  Because the mercies of God are so abundant among men, we are prone to get the idea that righteousness pays good dividends, but unrighteousness only <I>withholds </I>dividends, or just pays inferior dividends.  Wicked men usually don't get what they deserve immediately; God is patient with them.  Does this mean He won't have the heart to follow through on His severe warnings?  Solomon is telling us that the character of God is such that He could no more withhold the wicked man's due punishment than He could the righteous man's reward.</div> <div>    Once someone gets 'in the know' with God, the question is actually reversed.  How can <I>any </I>man be considered righteous with God?  How can God avoid punishing us <I>all </I>and still be just?  This is Paul's enigma in the book of Romans whereby the Gospel becomes a vindication of God's righteousness.</div> <div>    But most men, even men who have learned that God is just, find the eternal punishment of the wicked a hard pill to swallow.  </div> <div>    We know Solomon is not talking about physical death in this verse.  Not all evil men die as a direct result of their evil pursuits.  But all unbelieving men <I>do </I>die eternally because of their sin:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Rev 21:8</B></I></FONT><B>  </B><B>But for the cowardly and unbelieving, and those having become foul, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all the lying ones, </B><B><U>their part</U></B><B> will be </B><B><U>in</U></B><B> the Lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is </B><B><U>the second death</U></B><B>. </B></div> <bR> <div>    What is death?  Essentially, separation.  The death the wicked dies is eternal separation from God.  This is the first argument against Annihilationism- the teaching that unbelievers aren't punished eternally, they are simply taken out of existence, annihilated.  Annihilation is not separation, therefore it is not death, nor the second death.  </div> <div>    The Annihilation Theory is the end result of the unpleasantness men find in the idea of eternal punishment.  They somehow think God just couldn't do that.  Solomon has news for them.  If there is a conscious consequence for righteousness, there is also a conscious consequence for unrighteousness.</div> <div>    What?  You think God couldn't stand to see men suffer?  He not only can tolerate it, He is a <I>necessary eternal witness</I> to His own just sentence:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Rev 14:10, 11</B></I></FONT><B> </B><B> he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger. He will be </B><B><U>tormented</U></B><B> with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels, and </B><B><U>in the presence of the Lamb</U></B><B>.  The smoke of their torment goes up </B><B><U>forever</U></B><B> and ever. They have </B><B><U>no rest</U></B><B> day and night</B></div> <bR> <div>    This would be pretty deceitful language if it really meant God was just going to extinguish unbelievers out of existence.  </div> <div>    Furthermore, there is no basis for our <I>own </I>relationship with God if we are not to fear Him for real punishment.  Annihilation is not punishment; it is the forgoing of reward, perhaps, but it is not punishment.  Jesus tells us to base our relationship with God partly on the knowledge that He punishes, and punishes like no other can:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>Luke 12:4</B></FONT><B>   </B><B>And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will warn you of whom you shall fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into </B><B>hell</B><B>. Yea, I say to you, </B><B><U>fear Him</U></B><B>. </B></div> <bR> <div>    This warning would make no sense if God could do no more harm after He cast someone into hell.  But that is what Annihilationism teaches.  Rather, the 'casting in' is just when the harm begins.</div> <div>    Notice that Jesus not only teaches a real fear of God, He teaches it to His friends.  He is telling us that <I>our </I>knowledge of and relationship to God is deficient apart from the acknowledgment of Hell.  Solomon is teaching us this same proper fear.  </div> <div>    No one would fear a Hell or a God that would merely puff them out of existence.  An <I>earthly </I>prison would be more fearful than that if it merely put a mind-numbing device on a prisoner.  The prisoner would fear being alive while separated from his own existence.  This, at least, would be a <I>type </I>of death.  Annihilation is <I>no </I>type of death.  It mocks all these Scriptures, including our proverb today.</div> <div>    The Church is ripe in our day for another revival of Annihilationism, as when the Jehovah's Witness movement was born over 100 years ago.  Christians are embarrassed of Hell.  We've been given a lopsided gospel, heavy on love and mercy, short on justice and punishment; we <I>already </I>avoid the doctrine of Hell at every turn.</div> <div>    Solomon is reasoning with us today that when we rob God of real consequences for sin, we essentially rob Him of rewarding righteousness with Life as well.  The one God authors both consequences.  </div> <div>    He who denies it denies the glory of God in residing <I>all </I>His attributes.  He who receives it can walk in the fear of God.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ********************************************************************</div> <div>  <A NAME="dec_2"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="568" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#EEEEEE > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 92 ><NOBR><div> Proverbs 11:20<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" >They who are of a crooked heart </FONT><I>are</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" >hateful to Jehovah, </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" >but the mature in the way </FONT><I>are</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" >His delight</FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century" >. </FONT></div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>    <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century Gothic" >The Hebrew word for "crooked" means distorted.</FONT></div> <div>    The word for "hateful" is also translated abomination, as in 11:1.</div> <div>    The word for "mature" is literally "complete".</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The devious-hearted</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Those whose way reflects spiritual adulthood</div> <bR> <div> Their Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Hateful to Jehovah</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Delights Jehovah</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>    Interestingly, God's two reactions to these categories of <I>men </I>are the same two He has towards deceitful vs. accurate <I>weights </I>in 11:1.  There we emphasized God's passion for righteousness even in buying and selling.  The fact that His reactions are the same towards men underscores this.</div> <div>    Now we query, are we reading this correctly?  Is the devious-hearted <I>himself </I>hateful to Jehovah?  Is it not his devious<I><B>ness</B></I> that God hates?  Here we are dealing with one of those Christian maxims which we probably considered an accurate summary of Scriptural truth:  "God loves the sinner but hates the sin."  The question in the light of our present proverb is whether or not this is actually a Scriptural axiom.  Rather than lay too much importance on our proverb immediately, let us consider another passage or two:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Psa 5:5, 6</B></I></FONT><B>  </B><B>The arrogant shall not stand in your sight. You </B><B><U>hate</U></B><B> all </B><B><U>workers</U></B><B> of iniquity.  You will destroy those who speak lies. Yahweh </B><B><U>abhors</U></B><B> the blood-thirsty and deceitful </B><B><U>man</U></B><B>. </B></div> <bR> <div>    These verses seem rather clear and emphatic.  God apparently hates not only sin but the one producing it as well.  The Psalmist later goes even further:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Psa 11:5</B></I></FONT><B>   </B><B>Jehovah tries the righteous; but </B><B><U>His soul hates</U></B><B> the wicked and the one who loves violence</B></div> <bR> <div>    God not only hates, His very <I>soul </I>hates the wicked!  This hate is apparently intrinsic to His nature.  Really, this should not be too surprising to us.  If we had ever considered God's attitude towards Satan, we might have realized the illogic of thinking He could hate no one.  For most people, God hating Satan does not seem unreasonable.  Well, they need only extend the logic of <I>why </I>God hates Satan to why He could also hate a wicked person, for they would be one and the same reason.</div> <div>    We should briefly note that Solomon has already spoken of God's hatred of the wicked in Proverbs:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Pro 6:16</B></I></FONT><B>  </B><B>These six Jehovah hates; yea, seven </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#808080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>are</B></I></FONT><B> hateful to his soul: ...</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B>     [then the sixth and seventh items on the list:]</B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Pro 6:19</B></I></FONT><B>  ... </B><B>a false witness </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#808080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>who</B></I></FONT><B> speaks lies, and he who causes fighting among brothers. </B></div> <bR> <div>    The last two things God hates in this list are certain kinds of people.  We must seek to avoid their characteristics, as we must avoid being devious-hearted, the hateful quality in our verse today. </div> <bR> <div> Theological Point:  Not to overly belabor this, but some will now be left thinking they must choose between these verses and the ones that say that God loves everybody.  The question is, where are those verses?  The Bible teaches that God is <I>kind </I>to all men, even His enemies, but that does not mean He loves them.  There is no verse that says that God loves every man or all men.  The one verse <I>appearing </I>to say this is John 3:16, which is, of course, why it has become the theme verse for our generation.  What John 3:16 actually says is that God loves the "world," Greek word <I>kosmos</I>- meaning 'system, arrangement', not exactly like our word 'world'.  To love the 'system' of mankind only means that He loves men from among all <I>categories </I>of men, which, if you go back and read Jesus' discussion with Nicodemus in this passage, is exactly what He is teaching him- God loves Gentiles, not just Jews.<I> </I></div> <bR> <div>    On the other side of Solomon's spectrum is the man in whom God delights, the man who is 'complete' in the way / path of life.  God, then, is <I>not pleased</I> with Christians who fail to take the Scriptures and <I>grow up</I> spiritually by them, for that is, indeed, the only path to growing spiritually:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Heb 5:12 - 14</B></I></FONT><B>   </B><B> </B><B>For when by reason of the time you ought to be teachers, you again need to have someone teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God. You have come to need milk, and not solid food.   For everyone who lives on milk is </B><B><U>not experienced in the Word of righteousness</U></B><B>, for he is a </B><B><U>baby</U></B><B>.  But solid food is for those who are </B><B><U>full grown</U></B><B>, who by reason of </B><B><U>use</U></B><B> have their senses exercised to discern good and evil. </B></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <div>  <A NAME="dec_3"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="569" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FF99CC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 92 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 11:21</B></div> <div> <I>Though</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" >hand </FONT><I>join</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" >to hand, the evil shall not be innocent, </FONT></div> <div> but the righteous seed escapes. </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>   </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century Gothic" >"Hand to hand" is the literal Hebrew phrase opening the verse.  Most translators and commentators take this as meaning the joining of hands in a show of solidarity.  Hence, the meaning would be, "Even though men plot together and stick together, their evil plans will still be punished."</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><U>:</U></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A bad man</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Descendants of the righteous</div> <bR> <div> Their Outcomes<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Shall not be innocent</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Escape (trouble / accusations)</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>      In this verse we have a clear indication of God's providence.  Only if He is in ultimate and final control of all things can He insure that the unruly are not counted innocent.  Only if His sovereignty is complete can He promise that not only the righteous but their descendants will escape in a time of trouble or false accusations.  And both of these futures He lays down as sure in this proverb.</div> <div>    Does this mean that the unrighteous will never even be <I>temporarily </I>counted as innocent among men?  No,  it means that God will eventually <I>overrule </I>such an injustice.  Further, does this verse mean that the righteous or their descendants will never be given into the hands of their enemies?  No, it simply means that when God chooses to test His servants with such trials, He will be bringing them out the other side unharmed.  This He does even for His martyrs who die for Him.  Once they are in His heavenly realm, they are safe indeed; they have escaped.  Never once have God's enemies had the last say.</div> <div>    Another teaching of this verse:  God promises His mercies not only to His servants, but also to their <I>children</I>, even to their grandchildren:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Psa 103:17</B></I></FONT><B>  </B><B>But the lovingkindness of Jehovah is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, And his righteousness </B><B><U>unto children's children</U></B></div> <bR> <div>    Of course, these children can call many curses into their lives by disobedience, even to the virtual overriding of trans-generational blessings; but the blessings are there, faithfully supplied by God.  This explains many of the good things that happen to bad people.  It was not for their sakes but for the sakes of their parents or grandparents (or even further back, continuing the word "generation" by ellipsis from Exod. 20:7 to 20:8, "thousands <I>of generations</I> of those who love Me ...").</div> <bR> <div>    This proverb puts an exclamation point on the degree of favor God has for His own.  It also comforts them that the usurpers will not be in the ascendancy for long, though they seem, from human perspective, to be protected from justice.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> **************************************************************************</div> <div>  <A NAME="dec_4"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="435" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#99CC99 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 97 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 11:22</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#006633" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> <B>A golden ring in a pig's snout-</B></div> <div> <B>A woman, beautiful but lacking deference</B>.</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT> Most translations add "Like" at the beginning and "so is" before the second phrase to clarify the comparison.  "<I>Like </I>a gold ring in the nose of a hog, <I>so is</I> a woman who is lovely but departed from sensitivity."</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A ring made of gold</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A woman's beauty</div> <bR> <div> Also Being Compared:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A pig</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The woman's inner void of discretion / spiritual refinement</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     If you saw a pig with a gold ring in its snout, what would you say you had seen, a pig or an ornament?  The only attention paid to the ring would be, "Why wasted on a creature that wallows in mud?"  Solomon is seeking to adjust our vision to see the same thing with outward beauty.  The outward beauty is only a small thing compared to the inner person, which is the true reality; and outward beauty is wasted on an inwardly ugly person.</div> <div>     We all naturally regard outward beauty with admiration.  Solomon is not trying to give us contempt for beauty God made; he is trying to bring us <I>beyond </I>the outward beauty alone to the true self.  Unfortunately, outward beauty tends to be the sole reputation of its possessors.  Even more unfortunate is the tendency of those endowed with beauty to <I>accept </I>this admiration as a true evaluation of themselves.  We all cooperate in this masquerade together.  Solomon is trying to bring us to the ball's end.  Time for the unmasking.</div> <div>    Outward beauty can work harmoniously with inward beauty, but that happens only when the inward beauty is regarded as the true value, and the outward beauty is treated with its true <I>temporary</I>, non-permanent value.  Otherwise, outward beauty is only a mockery.</div> <div>    Beautiful women know they have power by their beauty.  Women in general know they have an allure to men.  This attraction is a good, God-given gift, but it is meant to be nurtured and prepared for one life partner, and then only as a complement to a woman's <I>inner </I>appeal.  When women make their goal to 'sell' their outward appearance, their God-given femininity <I>can </I>easily be diverted to this purpose.  Women very naturally develop a stance (pose), walk, tones with which to speak, words to convey vulnerability (of special appeal to male vanity), a way to look at men, all for appeal.  </div> <div>     Furthermore, there is a great deal of competition in the female world.  Women easily figure out what kind of  women the men are paying attention to.  Women fear that if they don't compete, the man they want will be taken by another.</div> <div>    Unfortunately, a man usually wants a woman for her beauty.  When he marries a gal who had majored on looks, he'll only have to wait a year or two for an amazing transformation.  He will no longer see the golden ring he married, he will only see the huge swine attached to it (Where'd that thing come from?!), lumbering around his house, uprooting and destroying anything of value, wallowing in conceit and self-indulgence.</div> <div>    As an item of farm analogy, rings <I>are </I>actually used in pig's noses to discourage them from rooting up the ground.  The Jews would have known this from neighboring countries, since they presumably would have owned no domesticated pigs.*  The pigs' nose rings wouldn't have been golden, of course.  Solomon makes it a golden ring in his analogy to illustrate the natural beauty God designed in femininity.  He's saying that the gold ring of woman's femininity is there to keep her from 'rooting around' for <I>earthly </I>satisfaction when her goals should be <I>heaven</I>ward.  How tragic when a woman turns the reminder, her beauty, to its reverse use, conceit!     </div> <bR> <div>    Peter summarizes this teaching in his admonition to women:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>1 Pet 3:3, 4</B></I></FONT><B>   </B><B>Let your beauty be not just the outward adorning of braiding the hair, and of wearing jewels of gold, or of putting on fine clothing; but in the </B><B><U>hidden person of the heart</U></B><B>, in the incorruptible adornment of a </B><B><U>gentle and quiet spirit</U></B><B>, which is in the </B><B><U>sight of God</U></B><B> very precious. </B></div> <bR> <div>    God made women to be beautiful, but primarily inwardly.  This inward beauty must be nurtured so the woman can be pleasing to <I>God </I>who made her.  If she is pleasing to God, she will also be pleasing to her husband, who will find her a treasured ornament he will cherish, no 'Pork Surprise' thrown into the bargain.</div> <bR> <div> *  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >There would be nothing wrong with an Israelite owning a pig, for instance, as a kind of ancient trash compactor.  He simply couldn't eat the pork.</FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> **************************************************************************   </div> <div>  <A NAME="dec_5"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="434" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#CCFFCC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> Proverbs 11:23<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> The longing of the righteous <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#555555" FACE="Century Schoolbook" ><I>is</I></FONT> only good;</div> <div>  the hope of the wicked <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#555555" FACE="Century Schoolbook" ><I>is</I></FONT>  arrogance. </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The longing of the righteous</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The expectation of the wicked</div> <bR> <div> Their Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Only good</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Arrogance / presumption  OR  wrath / anger (two translations of the Hebrew word)</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     Two similar but not identical capacities of men are being compared.  <I>Longing </I>is being compared with <I>expectation</I>.  In some ways a longing <I>is </I>an expectation, since it regards the future.  But an expectation is not always a longing, since the future may hold something undesirable.  So in our verse.  The wicked's expectation for the future is <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Gideon-Medium" >hrb[</FONT>, from a root word that just means 'across', or 'opposite of'.  It is usually translated 'wrath', but in Prov. 21:24, for instance, most translations render it 'pride' or 'arrogance'.</div> <div>     By one translation, the ungodly man's expectation is <I>wrath</I>, not in the sense that he looks forward to it, but simply in the very strict sense that wrath <I><B>is </B></I>his future- God's wrath, that is.  By the other translation, the ungodly's expectation is <I>arrogance</I>, meaning that what he hopes for <I>itself </I>is unfounded, sense he <I>presumes </I>upon the God who alone controls the future.</div> <div>     This hope or expectation is being compared to the godly man's <I>longing </I>or desire.  Solomon says that the affections stirred within the heart of a righteous man are always good ones.  Of course, Solomon would not deny the inner part of the Christian which <I>contests </I>his righteous desires; he is simply saying that there is a real inner longing in every born-again creature which is solely produced by his righteous born-again nature, that part of him which produces only good.</div> <div>     The righteous man's desires are the <I>foundational </I>concept for Solomon's teaching here.  They are being used to convey the contrasting notion of the unrighteous man's hopes.  The righteous man is the new standard of the universe.  It looked like unrighteousness was going to win the day, but Christ came and is creating a great populace of men freed from pride's dominion:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Jam 1:18</B></I></FONT><I><B> </B></I><B>  </B><B>Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. </B></div> <bR> <div>     By the new will within these, His servants, we can see the wickedness of our old wills, the will still in the sons of pride.  It had seemed normal to be self-centered and self-seeking; now we know it is not.  The new standard shows every future wish of the godless to be an act of arrogance.  It shows that the only real hope they have is a final reckoning by God with their distorted inclinations.  The only just end He can bring about for them is a perpetual interface with His wrath.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Application</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>     Are there good desires flowing from your soul?  This is an accurate indicator of whether or not you've been born again.  What <I>are </I>the longings specifically?  What defines them as good?  Let us test ourselves and see whether righteous longings are flowing or whether they have been stopped up in our spirits.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <div>  <A NAME="dec_6"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="594" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#99CCCC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 97 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 11:24</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#006633" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> There is one who disperses and yet increases;</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Footlight MT Light" > but one who withholds just due </FONT><I>comes</I> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Footlight MT Light" >only to poverty. </FONT></div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div>     </div> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Someone who disperses</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Someone who withholds what is rightly due</div> <bR> <div> Their Two Outcomes<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Increases</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Comes to a state of lack</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     Both halves of this comparison are given as paradoxes.  First, someone who is busy <I>dispersing </I>his possessions would seem to be subtracting from his total; somehow, he ends with <B>more </B>than he had.  Then, someone who <I>withholds </I>his possessions (for whatever reason) would seem <I>not </I>to be subtracting, yet he ends with <B>less</B>.</div> <div>     What is Solomon telling us here?  This is a lesson in the 'magic' of both generosity and stinginess.  There is a math in the universe that is not only unseen but seems to work <B>contrary </B>to what is apparent to us.  Yet Solomon says do your physics and you'll find it to be so.  </div> <div>     If you could hold it in your hand, like two seeds, you could see it.  Plant one seed in the ground, and continue holding the other one.  The planted seed appears gone.  The ground seems a destructive place.  In fact, the seed in the ground is 'destroyed'.  The moisture it takes in causes it to swell and burst; but what comes forth from the broken husk grows into something much <I>larger </I>than the seed was.  So the generous man's possessions.  The seed remaining in the hand will eventually shrivel up and be <I>less </I>than it was to begin with.  So with the miser's goods.</div> <div>     The real mystery of the physics of generosity is in the destruction.  Parting with my goods is a kind of destruction of them, from my point of view; yet this parting is what allows the goods to burst into increase.  Someone who goes around thus, 'planting' here and there, is bound to be a beneficiary of the trees that grow up and begin to bear their own fruit.</div> <div>     Ah!  If only the <I>unseen </I>botany were so apparent!  Unfortunately, unless we are touched by generosity ourselves, we usually trust our intelligence and instincts and hold on to what we should be letting go of.</div> <div>     Our verse speaks of withholding what is due.  Well, what <I>is </I>due?  Jesus, while rebuking the ostentatious 'generosity' of the Pharisees, nevertheless confirms the basic duty of Christians to help the poor:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Mat 6:2</B></I></FONT><B>  </B><B>Therefore, when you do merciful deeds,</B><B> ...</B></div> <bR> <div>     That's all the instruction we need:  WHEN we do merciful deeds; gifts for those who cannot do for themselves.  This is the main part of the answer to what is due.  Scriptures expand from there (to be continued).  The general idea is:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#009999" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Matt. 10:8 </B></I></FONT><B> ... </B><B>freely it has been given to you, freely give.</B><B> </B></div> <bR> <div>     As is true in <I>general</I>, you can tell if someone has tasted of the <I>generosity </I>of God by whether or not he himself has become generous.  Any mercy with which God has benefited us will evidence itself in one way or another.  Our generous spirit should be fairly obvious as a copy of His.  The man lacking generosity evidences God's generosity absent from his soul.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <div>  <A NAME="dec_7"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A> </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="634" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFFFCC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 92 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 11:25</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" > </FONT></div> <div> The soul of blessing will be made fat; </div> <div> and he who slakes thirst will himself also be showered upon.<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century" > </FONT></div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>    <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century Gothic" >The "soul of blessing" is the soul that blesses others.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Illustrated<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A generous man </div> <bR> <div> His Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">One who blesses others</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">One who slakes others' thirst</div> <bR> <div> The Outcomes<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Will be fattened</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Will receive flow of water</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     This is the second proverb in a brief series on generosity.  There is no contrast this time; both halves of the parallel describe the same person, the generous man.  The imagery is very rich:  the "soul of blessing" begins the picture of a person who is a kind of center of good from whom those around him are enhanced.  As we learned in the previous proverb, also on generosity, this soul blesses because it has <I>been </I>blessed; he can be a blessing center because he has received from God's central fountain of enrichment.  </div> <div>     The description of his return blessing is that he will be "made fat".  This sounds a little odd to us anti-fat Americans, but the picture is very simple and direct: a healthy person does not have ribs showing through his skin.  He receives enough nutrition to be 'fleshed out'.  God is saying that someone who is a channel of meeting <I>others</I>' needs will certainly be provided what <I>he </I>needs (<I>not </I>that he will be overweight or obese.  There are, by the way, three other proverbs that also use "fat" as a figure of blessing, 13:4, 15:30, 28:25).</div> <div>     The second half of the illustration is similar to the first in that the <I>dispenser </I>of good <I>receives </I>good.  This time it uses the figure of water.  "He who slakes [others'] thirst" not only meets needs, as in the first half of the verse, but sees and meets <I>specific </I>needs.  Someone is thirsty; he provides drink.  And what is his return from the God who sends rain, who makes all lakes and rivers and their sources?  He is "flowed upon" by Divine providences.  (The Hebrew word, usually translated "watered" in this verse, is translated thus so seldom that the Strong's Concordance <I>missed </I>listing it as an English rendering!  All of the other 83 times it is used are divided between the meanings 'point / throw' and 'teach'- the basic concept being direction)</div> <div>     The Hebrew is emphatic: "he <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" ><B>himself </B></FONT>shall also be showered."  That is, make no mistake about it!  If it seems that he only gives and does not receive, it will not be so for long.  Waters will soon return in his direction.</div> <bR> <div>     Now let us ask:  Are you a dispenser of blessing?  Most people <I>cannot </I>be, because they have never recognized their basic inclination to selfishness.  Any kindnesses bestowed by the selfish are not because kindness is right or because God has been kind to them, but because 'kindnesses' are the only way to be thought well of.  Oh, how the approval of others motivates us; and it is not that we think so highly of <I>them</I>, it is that we think so highly of <I>ourselves</I>!</div> <div>     The basic transition in salvation is <I>from </I>selfishness.  Selfishness was the nature of the first sin and remains the nature of all subsequent sin:  "I will bless <I>myself</I>."  This is automatically a denial of <I>God's</I> blessing.</div> <div>     So our proverb is a good gospel verse.  It asks in a very simple way if we have been healingly touched by God's grace .  It asks if we have returned to God's image as a <I>giver</I>, renouncing our former miserly self-interest.  How can a gospel of <I>grace </I>fail to touch a man this way if he is truly saved?</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> **************************************************************************</div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_8"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="537" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFFF99 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> Proverbs 11:26<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> He who withholds grain, the community shall curse him; </div> <div> but blessing <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#555555" FACE="Georgia" >is</FONT> on the head of him who sells. </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>     <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century Gothic" >One Hebrew word is used for "grain" in the first half of the verse; another Hebrew word for "grain" is the root word for "sells" in the second half of the verse.  Since grain is the main commodity in an agrarian economy, it was used as a synonym for selling.      </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The one withholding grain</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The one who sells</div> <bR> <div> The Outcomes of Each<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The community's curse</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Blessings on the head</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     Get ready to be offended, free-market American.  Here is a verse telling <I>you </I>what to do with <I>your own property</I><I>!  </I>Notice that it does not deny private ownership as a blessing from God.  What it says is that if you use your property unrighteously, you will be the curse of the community.  God isn't saying, "It <I>isn't</I> yours, so use it for community good."  He's saying, "It <I><B>is </B></I>yours, so use it for community good."</div> <div>     Notice also that you don't have to <I>give </I>it away to be generous.  <I>Selling </I>can still be a positive act of generosity; specifically in situations of community need.</div> <div>     There are many ramifications of this.  One is that a businessman is a part of his community.  He is not simply an individual out to make a buck.  We have largely lost sight of this, too, in America.  That's what happens when dollars take priority over people.  We continually insist that we have a right to make a profit, but we have forgotten that a profit is <I>not </I>really the bottom line.  There is <I>another </I>bottom line <I>under </I>the dollar amount- a fine print question asking, "Did I hurt anyone in making this money?"  </div> <div>     Remember, we're applying God's word to Christians here as servants who are under the command of their King.  It is true that <I>anyone </I>who refuses to sell in a time of need will be counted a curse, but a <I>Christian </I>is actually being directed by precept- God's expectations of his use of property.  </div> <div>     "Blessing is on the head":  blessing on the <I>head </I>comes from the top down.  The community is not over me, so the blessing spoken of must be from God.  God tests our heavenly-mindedness by our use of earthly goods.  Are we so fearful of lack that we will not part with goods, even if others <I>need </I>our surplus (since a surplus supply is assumed here)?  In that case, we are not rightly relating to God as our Provider and cannot expect His blessing on our heads:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Mat 6:30</B></I></FONT><B>   </B><B>Therefore if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#555555" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>will He</B></I></FONT><B> not much rather </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>clothe</B></I></FONT><B> you, little-faiths? </B><B>    </B></div> <bR> <div>      Perhaps it goes without saying, but if we are expected to provide sustenance for our community in time of need, are we not much more expected to supply them with spiritual bread, particularly the Scriptures and the Lord Jesus, in this age of spiritual destitution?</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <div>  <A NAME="dec_9"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="652" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#CCCCE4 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 108 ><NOBR><div> Proverbs 11:27<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" > </FONT></div> <div> The one making good a priority is pressing toward favor;</div> <div> and whoever becomes an enthusiast of what is evil, </div> <div> <I>evil</I> comes to him.<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century" > </FONT></div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>     <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century Gothic" >There are three Hebrew words with the idea of searching in this verse, here translated "making a priority", "pressing toward", and "becomes an enthusiast".</FONT></div> <div>     The Hebrew word translated "make a priority" is literally "to dawn", with the idea of seeking something "early" (and so throughout the day).</div> <div>    </div> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The one diligently seeking good</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The devotee of evil</div> <bR> <div> Their Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Is pressing towards (community) goodwill</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">It (evil) comes to him / finds him</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     This would seem to be, at least partially, a further comment on the three proverbs on generosity just preceding, especially the previous one on community favor.  In that case, the particular evil warned against is the hoarding of my goods in time of community need.  The wording is not restricted to this application, though, and <I>any </I>pursuit of good or evil will yield the same outcomes.</div> <div>     The other kind of goodwill a good man is striving for is, of course, God's.  And lest we think it sacrilegious to put God's and man's favors side by side for the Christian, consider Paul's words:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>2 Cor 8:21</B></I></FONT><B>   </B><B>Having regard for honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. </B></div> <bR> <div>     Obviously, God's honor comes before man's in a head to head contest, but how often <I>is </I>there really such a contest?  This is a very pertinent question in relation to our proverb today.  Christians tend to get in an 'us against everybody' mind set, and so we set our help outside the reach of the world.  "If they want to get <I>saved</I>, I'll help 'em; if not, they'll just infect me."  Such a person simply cannot make "good a priority" as our verse enjoins.  They have so narrowed the good they can do to others, they will be practically <I>no </I>good.  Again, we are specifically ordered:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Gal 6:10</B></I></FONT><B> </B><B>  </B><B>So then, as we have opportunity, let's do what is good toward </B><B><U>all men</U></B><B>, and especially toward those who are of the household of the faith. </B></div> <bR> <div>     Two categories of men are listed.  <I>Both </I>are to receive our beneficence.</div> <bR> <div>     So the truly good man cannot snub his fellow man if he is to find God's favor.  </div> <div>     Obviously, he must seek the higher good of God's presence even <I>more </I>diligently.  It is apparently a repeated theme throughout church history that God's people are <U>not</U> enthused by prayer, nor are they a people saturating themselves in Scriptures.  Only on relatively rare occasions does God mercifully charge the Church with spiritual energy to seek His face.  The rest of the time, He leaves us to our 'plain' authority as sons of God, and we simply, lazily take it for granted, leaving it unused.  We do not make it a priority to seek Him who is the very soul of good.  No wonder, then, that we are not favored by God or man.</div> <div>     The worldling puts us to shame with his enthusiasm for trivialities, pleasures, all types of idols.</div> <div>     Solomon is phrasing this proverb as an encouragement, though.  He is using the word evil in a double entendre.  "He who seeks evil, it (evil) will find him," meaning, "He who pursues what is <I>morally </I>evil will have what is <I>providentially </I>evil come to him."  The encouragement is, "Be constant, Christian, in the pursuit of good, for it pays off. <I> Don't</I> be tempted by the pursuit of evil, for it, too, <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" ><B>pays off</B></FONT>!"  To put it in terms of the verse previous to our last one quoted:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Gal 6:9</B></I></FONT><B>   </B><B>But we should not weaken in doing good, for in due time we shall reap, if </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#808080" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>we</B></FONT><B> do not faint. </B></div> <bR> <div>     And to echo the <I>dis</I>couragement <I>from </I>evil, the verse prior to it:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Gal 6:8</B></I></FONT><B>   </B><B>For the </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#808080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>one</B></I></FONT><B>  </B><B>sowing to his flesh will reap corruption of the flesh. </B></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> **************************************************************************</div> <div>  <A NAME="dec_10"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="469" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#CCCCE4 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> Proverbs 11:28 </div> <div>   He who trusts in his wealth shall fall; </div> <div> but the righteous shall blossom like a branch. </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>    </div> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The one who takes refuge in his assets</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The righteous</div> <bR> <div> Their Opposing Outcomes<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Shall fall</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Shall break forth with buds like a branch</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     It is amazing, the variety of ways comparisons can be drawn, and the multitude of important points there are to be made by them.</div> <div>     Here we have a very effective lesson just in the introduction of characters.  On the one hand we have someone who sees the power of money (remember, there <I>is </I>power in money, Prov. 10:15) and  puts his trust in it.  He is contrasted, not to the person who "puts his confidence" in something or someone else, but simply to "the righteous".  (Of course, the righteous <I>is </I>someone who puts confidence in someone else, namely, God; another nicely implied contrast)  </div> <div>     One point being rather starkly made, then, is that someone who trusts money cannot be a righteous person.  This is an undeniable, even a primary teaching of the proverb.  A righteous man is, by very basic definition, one who does <I>not </I>seek security in possessions.  If he is righteous by <I>justification</I>, he has seen that there is no payment in the world that can purchase his soul from death.  Only the righteousness of Christ on his account can do that.  Possessions can never again take on a delivering power in his eyes (or, if they do, God will shortly be correcting his vision).  And if he is righteous by justification, he is also righteous by <I>sanctification</I>.  His trust in Christ's saving righteousness will mean an active transfer of Christ's righteousness into his own life; hence, like Christ, he will learn to trust God to the exclusion of any other deliverance.</div> <div>     In view of the preceding proverb, we are certainly being shown the love of money as one of the pursuits of evil that <I>bring </I>evil things into one's life.  The evil being invited here is that of falling flat.  Again, it is not a denial that money can hold you up for a while, it is simply a promise that by it you will eventually fall.  </div> <div>     Question:  as it seems rather obvious that "In God We Trust" has been replaced by trust in the money it is printed on, how much longer can America avoid a major fall?</div> <bR> <div>     The righteous are said to flourish like a branch breaking forth into buds.  Kind of reminds you of Aaron's rod.  Before conversion, we trusted in money and possessions as much as anybody; then the greater Aaron, Jesus Christ, picked up the dead branch, and it has since been blossoming in His hand.  He attached us to Himself, and His Spirit has been working His fruit into our lives.  As branches, we are upheld by the Vine, not money.  So the buds that break forth are <I>not money-related.  </I></div> <div>     There is great confusion on this point in the modern church.  Many Christians look at money as almost a fruit of the Spirit.  Our proverb today should send us running from such a thought.  We are only mirroring America's idolatry when we treat money as a bud that breaks forth on the branch of righteousness.  Money is only a tool, and a little or a lot of it does not affect the practice of true righteousness.  Money can only <I>test </I>whether we are really practicing righteousness, and American Christians are generally found lacking by that test.  We wrongly look at money and possessions as the blessings, not as a <I>means </I>of blessing (remember the "soul of blessing" three proverbs ago?).</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <div>  <A NAME="dec_11"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="584" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#CC9999 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 92 ><NOBR><div> Proverbs 11:29<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" > </FONT></div> <div> He who troubles his own house shall inherit the wind; </div> <div> and the senseless <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Footlight MT Light" ><I>shall be</I></FONT> servant to the wise in heart. </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Equated<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The disturber of his own house</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The senseless</div> <bR> <div> Joint Outcomes<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Inherits the wind</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Servant to the wise of heart</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     As in the last verse, a definition is being given just by the characters being introduced.  The person who troubles his own household is automatically being equated with the <I>senseless </I>(one of the Hebrew synonyms for 'fool').</div> <div>     Who is the one who vexes his own house?  First of all, what is a house in this sense?  It is all that is under the man's authority: wife, children, servants if there are any.  The one troubling his house, then, is the man whose behavior and decisions bring bad things into the lives of his family.  </div> <div>     What kind of behavior can make this trouble?  All kinds.  The most basic one is the failure to provide for the family's earthly needs, food and shelter:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>1 Tim 5:8</B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>   </B><B>But if anyone does not provide for </B></FONT><I><B>his</B></I><B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>own, and especially </B></FONT><I><B>his</B></I><B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>     A man can deprive his family of necessities by laziness, impulsive spending, irresponsible financial decisions, adultery (Prov. 6:26), etc.</div> <div>     The flip-side of this is just as bad: the man who makes his career his whole life and regards the possessions he provides his family to be his whole obligation to them.</div> <div>     There are other kinds of trouble, too.  Bitterness towards his wife (Col. 3:19), pressing his children too hard or having unrealistic expectations of them (Col. 3:21).  On the other end would be the deficiency of emotional distance, not showing proper affection for his family.</div> <div>     These, then, are ways a man can trouble his house.  And what does our proverb say this man gets?  He receives an inheritance.  He has identified himself as belonging to a certain family, and he is in line for an inheritance in that family.  He inherits the <I>wind</I>.  This means he inherits nothing he can hold on to.  By failing to perceive man's basic earthly identity as part of a family unit and so undoing his own family by neglect or abuse, he makes his real family somewhere off of the earth, somewhere blowing around in the wind.  His father may be the north wind of bitterness, his mother the southern breeze of self-indulgence, but he will find it hard, as a man, to collect the wind's inheritance.  Man does not trade in wind.  Man is a creature of <I>earth</I>, and he is to settle the earth with well cared-for families.  </div> <div>     When the wind carries this senseless man away, since he didn't really appreciate what he had anyway, someone better suited to the stewardship will be left with his possessions.  </div> <div>     A <I>wise-hearted man</I> sees family life as the treasure it is (a treasure worth working and sacrificing for), and so he is a stable element in the community.  </div> <div>     The fool eventually loses either his financial independence or the loyalty of his family, or both.  If bankrupt, the fool must attach himself to those who were more responsible in their decisions (intelligent of heart).  If bereft of family, the fool can only look on as those who know how to love (understanding of heart) hopefully take in the family he forsook.  Either way, the fool becomes servant to the wise-hearted.  </div> <div>     If he <I>remains </I>a fool, he will only hate this state and chafe against it; but if he becomes wise, he will learn and correct his mistake from it.  His first loss may not be recoverable, but his new wisdom can gain him new treasures.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_12"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="430" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFCCB2 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 92 ><NOBR><div> Proverbs 11:30<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >The fruit of the righteous </FONT><I>is</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Georgia" >a tree of life;</FONT></div> <div> and he who takes <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>hold of</I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#555555" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT> souls <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Georgia" ><I>is</I> </FONT>wise.</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>     <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century Gothic" >The word usually translated "wins"  ("he who wins souls") in this verse is the ordinary Hebrew word for "take".  One translation actually takes 'wise' in the sense of  'subtle'  (used thus of Jonadab in 2 Sam. 13:3), and renders it "violent behavior takes away souls."</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Complements<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The fruit of the righteous</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">An activity of the wise</div> <bR> <div> Complementing Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A tree of life</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Taking souls</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     The second half of this verse is one of the more famous phrases from Proverbs, especially in the conversion-focused preaching of the last century and a half.  It has usually been quoted from versions saying "He who wins souls is wise," taken as meaning that whoever converts someone to Christ is wise.  This is indeed one proper application of the verse, but let us consider its exact meaning more extensively, for we shall find that its message is equally relevant to relations between Christians.  </div> <bR> <div>     The real comparison in this verse is between the two manners in which Christians <I>benefit others</I>.  This is the third verse in a row exhorting our <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" ><B>good works</B></FONT>.  These three are follow-ons from the previous three community / nation related proverbs.  This is nothing more than a reinforcement of the fact that love of neighbor is the second greatest command.</div> <div>     The two means by which the Christian benefits others are the <I>fruit </I>he bears and the <I>action </I>he takes.  The fruit he bears is longstanding <I>provision </I>for others, and the action he takes is <I>persuasion</I>.</div> <div>     The fruit a righteous man bears is called a tree of life, which first indicates that the righteous man <I>himself </I>is a tree of life, for how else could his fruit produce such a tree?  So the Christian is a tree of life which produces a tree of life / trees of life.  Extending the question backwards we might ask, "How did the Christian <I>become </I>a tree of life?"  He received life from Jesus Christ, who <I>is </I>life.  Jesus compared Himself to a vine supplying us with life:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>John 15:4</B></I></FONT><B>   </B><B>Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>can</B></I><B> </B></FONT><B>you unless you abide in Me. </B></div> <bR> <div>     In fact, Jesus also taught about the longstanding provision we should offer as His branches:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>John 15:16</B></I></FONT><I><B> </B></I><B>  </B><B>You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>that</B></I><B> </B></FONT><B>your fruit should </B><B><U>remain</U></B><B>     </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >   </FONT></div> <bR> <div>     Perhaps Jesus was thinking about our proverb when He taught this.</div> <div>     So what is the tree of life a Christian produces?  It is either his fruit <I>itself </I>which is like a tree in that it keeps on producing, or it is the <I>result </I>of his fruit- another tree of life growing and bearing fruit on its own.  The latter would indicate another <I>person </I>who has become a tree of life because of what we fed them.  This seems to be the correct meaning, because it coincides with the second half of the verse, "He who takes souls is wise,"  which also speaks of our influence on others.</div> <bR> <div>     And what is this taking of souls?  It is the same activity in the name of righteousness which Solomon already warned us about as an activity of unrighteousness:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Prov 6:25</B></I></FONT><B>  </B><B>Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, and do not let her </B><B><U>take</U></B><B> you with her eyelids. </B></div> <div>     </div> <div>     Christians are supposed to take, or capture, others by our wisdom.  We are supposed to 'take them prisoner' with our words.  We are supposed to 'lock them up' unto God with the gospel*:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>2 Cor 10:4, 5</B></I></FONT><I><B> </B></I><B>  </B><B>for the weapons of our warfare </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>are</B></I><B> </B></FONT><B>not fleshly, but powerful to God to the demolition of strongholds,  the demolishing of arguments and every high thing lifting up </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>itself</B></I><B> </B></FONT><B>against the knowledge of God, and </B><B><U>bringing into captivity every thought</U></B><B> into the obedience of Christ</B></div> <div>     </div> <div>     Notice the words "arguments", "knowledge", and "thought" in the above verse.  It is obvious that the way we are to 'take' others is by changing their <I>minds-</I> completely changing their minds.  The word for this is <I>persuasion</I>.  Also read the verse after the above and you will see that Paul did not consider the Corinthian Christians themselves to have been completely persuaded yet.  He was still persuading them.</div> <div>     So the taking of souls begins at conversion ("I will make you fishers of men") and extends through the Christian life, as one area after another is claimed by gospel truth.</div> <bR> <div>     Our proverb, then, sees a Christian as a 'total package' of benefit to his fellow man.  He is a source of nourishment others may <I>come to</I> in time of need, and he is a rescue party <I>coming to them</I> when they don't see their own need.  Using a desert analogy, we are to be a fruit-bearing desert <I>shrub </I>men can survive by, and for those who are so lost in the desert they cannot find their way to us, we are a <I>search party</I> that goes into the desert to rescue them.</div> <bR> <div>     Did you realize that Jesus, as vine, had equipped you as a branch to make such provision for others?  Of course, like the Corinthians, we continue to also <I>need </I>such ministry ourselves.</div> <div>     Are you thus humbly <I>receiving </I>and generously <I>giving </I>Scriptural persuasion?    </div> <bR> <bR> <div> *  "<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >Taking" someone does not mean forcing them to think a certain way- just the opposite.  It means bringing them to see for themselves what is true; it means bringing a Christian to say, "Ah, I didn't realize I owed that to God / was keeping that from God."</FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> **************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_13"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="475" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FF99CC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 92 ><NOBR><div> Proverbs 11:31<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> Behold, the righteous shall be repaid in the earth; </div> <div> How much more the wicked and the sinner! </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The righteous</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The evil-doer and the sinner</div> <bR> <div> Their Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Repaid on earth</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Repaid on earth even more</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     This is a very important verse.  For lack of understanding its teaching, many go astray.  Even upright Job was pulled off track largely through trying to defend the converse of this truth.</div> <div>     What is this verse saying that is so difficult to comprehend?  The first half is saying that there is a good reward on earth for the righteous man.  What's so hard about that?  Three things:</div> <div>    1)  We're used to defending the idea of a <I>postponed </I>reward, since we obviously don't receive a very complete reward here, at least not compared to the reward we're promised in Heaven;  </div> <div>    2)  It's also hard because we're used to explaining the idea of bad things happening to good people.  Having defended that enough, it sounds odd saying that <I>good </I>things happen to good people;  </div> <div>    3)  Finally, we tend to see God's grace as teaching that He only deals with us <I>in spite of </I>our badness rather than <I>because of </I>our goodness.   </div> <bR> <div>     These ideas together make a rather formidable obstacle to the thorough acceptance of Proverbs 11:31.  </div> <div>     And the same difficulties exist with the second half of the verse.  We aren't comfortable or fluid with the idea of bad people receiving punishment on earth.  They appear to be having a good time generally.  Once again, Job's mind dashed against these rocks, seeking to disprove God's retributive justice, thereby seeking to disprove God's punishment of <I>himself </I>in his present trials (a premise he had mistakenly accepted- God was not punishing, only refining him).</div> <div>     The Psalmist also confessed difficulty with the concept in Prov. 11:31b:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Psa 73:2 - 5</B></I></FONT><B>  </B><B>And I, my foot had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.  For I was </B><B><U>jealous of the proud</U></B><B>, </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>when</B></I><B> </B></FONT><B>I saw the peace of the wicked.  For </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>there are</B></I></FONT><B> no bands in their death; but their strength </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>is</B></I><B> </B></FONT><B>fat.  They </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>are</B></I><B> </B></FONT><B><U>not in trouble </U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B><U>like other</U></B></I></FONT><B><U> men</U></B><B>; neither are they plagued like other men. </B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Psa 73:12</B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#009999" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B> - 16</B></I></FONT><B> ... </B><B>Behold, these </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>are</B></I><B> </B></FONT><B>the ungodly, who are at ease in the world; they increase </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>in</B></I><B> </B></FONT><B>riches.   Surely I have </B><B><U>made my heart pure </U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B><U>in</U></B></I><B><U> </U></B></FONT><B><U>vain</U></B><B>, and washed my hands in innocence.   For all the day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning.   If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I would deceive a generation of Your sons.   When I thought deeply in order </B><B><U>to understand</U></B><B> this, it </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#555555" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>was</B></I><B> </B></FONT><B><U>painful for me</U></B><B> ...</B></div> <bR> <div>     Since the Psalms are given to us as a pattern for our own prayers, we can see by the above prayer that God has already acknowledged our <I>general </I>weakness in this area and made provision for it.  None of us are free from the temptation of feeling that the wicked are enjoying their evil and getting away with it.  Thus, again, the importance of Prov. 11:31.  Once we lose sight of its truth, we lose sight of God's providence in and over the world.</div> <div>     When we say that men are definitely repaid on earth for their good or evil, we are not saying that their bills are payable the next day, nor week nor month necessarily.  Nor are we saying the repayment will always be clearly perceived by us.  We are simply saying that God is just, and His justice is not put on hold while we wait for a full trial in heaven.  Full and final rewards are not passed out until after this life, but God would be inconsistent if He acted <I>contrary </I>to justice here on earth.  There are real rewards, answering to men's real actions <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" ><B>here on earth</B></FONT>.</div> <div>     The Psalmist finally saw this concerning the wicked; continuing from above:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Psa 73:17, 18</B></I></FONT><B>  </B><B>... until I </B><B><U>went into the sanctuary</U></B><B> of God; </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#555555" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>t</B></I><I><B><U>hen</U></B></I><B><U> </U></B></FONT><B><U>I understood their end</U></B><B>.   Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down into ruin. </B></div> <bR> <div>     He had forgotten God.  He had become fixated on the wicked.  Prov. 11:31 is telling us to remember God at all times.</div> <bR> <div>     Elihu finally corrected Job concerning God's justice in the earth:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Job 34:11, 12</B></I></FONT><B>   </B><B>For </B><B><U>the work of a man</U></B><B> </B><B><U>will He render to him</U></B><B>, And cause every man to find according to his ways.  Yes surely, God will not do wickedly, Neither will the Almighty pervert justice. </B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Job 34:25, 26</B></I></FONT><B>   </B><B>Therefore </B><B><U>He takes knowledge</U></B><B> of their works. He </B><B><U>overturns</U></B><B> them in the night, so that they are destroyed.  He strikes them as wicked men In the open sight of others; </B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Job 36:6</B></I></FONT><B>   </B><B>He </B><B>doesn't preserve</B><B> the life of the wicked, But gives to the afflicted their right. </B></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> **************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_14"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="506" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFFFCC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 97 ><NOBR><div> Proverbs 12:1<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> Whoever loves admonition loves knowledge, </div> <div> but he who hates correction <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#555555" FACE="Bell MT" ><I>is</I></FONT> dull-witted.<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century" > </FONT></div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>    <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century Gothic" >The Hebrew for "dull-witted" is literally "food" with an implication of 'animals' (whose lives seem basically the consumption of food).  "Fodder" might be a good rendering.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The one who loves correction / discipline</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The one who hates chastisement</div> <bR> <div> Their Opposing Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Loves knowledge</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Is like an animal</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     Here's what 'separates the men from the boys' in the area of knowledge.  Many people have a love of 'knowledge' that is really only a pride-motivated mastery of information, an acquisition of power through how much the brain can hold or how agile it is in the use of it.  That person, as intimated, is not a real lover of knowledge, but only a lover of self ("See how much <I><B>I</B></I>  know!").</div> <div>     The real love of knowledge must be a love of <I>self</I>-<I>improvement,</I> of being confronted and corrected.  This is saying nothing less than there is something wrong with man, and any acquisition of knowledge that does not address this lack makes the very entrance of knowledge crooked.  </div> <div>     This also teaches us that knowledge is more than information.  We often say that knowledge is information and wisdom if the proper use or application of that information.  According to our proverb, knowledge is not even true knowledge if all it is is information.  Far from it.  Knowledge disconnected from self-correction is a <I>mockery </I>of knowledge, an <I>anti</I>-knowledge.  'Bare' knowledge (just information mastery without self-correction) gives only the <I>appearance </I>of wisdom when pride, the killer of true wisdom, is really in control.</div> <div>     The words for knowledge and wisdom are both used in Scripture as the genuine article <I>and </I>the look-alike counterfeit:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#009999" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#009999" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Obad 8</B></I></FONT><B> </B><B> "Will I not in that day," says the LORD, "Even destroy the </B><B><U>wise</U></B><B> men from Edom</B></div> <bR> <div>     We already know that <I>true </I>wisdom starts with the fear of God (Prov. 9:10), and the Edomites were being destroyed for <I>lack </I>of that fear.  So the 'wisdom' ascribed to them was a counterfeit wisdom, just as most people's knowledge is a counterfeit one, not being motivated by the fear of God (Prov. 1:7).</div> <div>     The real picture of the person who acquires vast 'knowledge', but hates being corrected, is that of an ox stupidly chewing grass.  That's all his knowledge is to him, earthly stuff feeding an earthly need.  Look in the ox's eyes.  He doesn't know where the grass came from nor even why he wants it.  So the smart fool treats knowledge.  (The ox isn't supposed to know where the grass came from, by the way; but man <I>should </I>acknowledge where knowledge comes from)</div> <div>     Our proverb is not even directly concerned with the smart fool.  <I>Anyone </I>who hates correction is being put in the same corral.  The smart fool is simply the most ironic in the herd.</div> <bR> <div>     No man naturally loves being corrected.  It is painful, and pain hurts.  The wise man comes to love the pain of correction because it is a sign of <I>God's love</I>, a sign that He hasn't given up on us:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#009999" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>Prov 3:11-12 </B></FONT><B> </B><B>My son, do not despise the chastening of Jehovah, nor detest His correction; for whom the Jehovah loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.</B></div> <bR> <div>     The New Testament epistles are mostly books <I>correcting </I>Christians.  Christians need correcting as long as they have their sin nature, which they do until death.  This is why true preaching is supposed to always minister true knowledge:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#009999" FACE="Bookman Old Style" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#009999" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>2 Tim 4:1-2</B></FONT><B>  </B><B>Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, </B><B><U>rebuke</U></B><B>, exhort</B></div> <bR> <div>     The fool will find a church where he can hear nice things about himself.  The wise man wants to be corrected and knows that that is the God-given purpose of preaching.  Paul tells Timothy to keep on correcting in his preaching even when it is not seasonable.  People will get tired of it, because it weights them with the knowledge of their sinfulness.  But without this weight, sin is able to camouflage, lurk in the shadows, and ensnare us secretly.  True preaching and true knowledge simply keep sin out in the open and keep us accountable for it.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>      <A NAME="dec_15"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="412" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#CCCC99 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> Proverbs 12:2<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> The good brings forth favor from Jehovah, </div> <div> But the scheming man He condemns.</div> <div>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>    <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century Gothic" >The Hebrew word for "condemns" is also the word for the "wicked", the morally wrong or warped,  the most common word for the ungodly so far in Proverbs.  So, God 'finds the schemer wrong', or 'He counts the schemer guilty.'</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The good</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The man of schemes</div> <bR> <div> Their Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Issues forth Jehovah's pleasure</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Jehovah vilifies</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><U>:</U></div> <bR> <div>     This is another theological verse in the strict sense; it is about God.  It is telling us something quite personal about God.  It gets us well 'beneath the skin' of God, figuratively speaking.  This is very important information, then.  </div> <div>     Most people never relate to God as more than a concept.  Most of those who relate to Him as a being who responds, yet do so more as to a machine, since they don't understand Him or find His personality relevant.  The remaining few who relate to God in a personal way usually have only a patchy knowledge of who He is, because they haven't laid proper weight on signal verses like this one.  </div> <div>     This is a verse laying out God's basic emotions.  God is who He is.  He cannot change.  He will always love the same things and hate the same things.  This is as automatic with Him as our nature is to us, except that He is totally Self-aware, whereas, our nature is too complex for us to fathom.</div> <div>     What this verse says about God is that He is prompted at a very basic level to find pleasure in a good person.  You might say He doesn't have to think about it; a good person simply delights Him.</div> <div>     This means, going a step further, that there are people who are basically good.  God, then, isn't weighing their good versus their evil to decide how much he approves versus disapproves of them.  There are people on earth whom God finds generally acceptable.  Solomon doesn't give us details here, but much of the rest of Scriptures fills in the 'how' for a man becoming right with God and being changed from a rebel to a servant.  Suffice it here to say that it is completely a work of God, and having done this work, God takes pleasure in it.</div> <div>     This further implies that there are people who are basically bad.  From what we just said, these would be people who have not been renovated by God.  They remain as they came into the world.  These people God 'finds wrong'.  There is a sharp dividing line, and God responds one way to one type of person and a completely different way to another type of person.  Again, He doesn't have to 'think about it'.  The bad person (man in his natural state) has no basically redeeming traits in God's eyes, and His eyes are just.  Whatever 'good' this man has is mostly a matter of convenience for him, not a matter of conviction, and would eventually be sold off at some price to advance his own interests.  Whatever 'good' he would clasp is a matter of pride, not real morality. </div> <div>     Solomon lists the natural man under the broad heading of the 'man of schemes'.  Man is viewed as a creature who is trying to put a plan into effect.  The plan is self-interest.  That plan is automatically at odds with God's interests.  Once we preferred our wisdom to His, we cast ourselves adrift on a sea of 'ignorant omniscience'.  We proceed with the confidence of knowing all things when we actually know nothing in a final way.  But our bent nature is always planning the next move, trying to find a way around God's providences.  </div> <div>     God's nature is automatically opposed to this stubbornness.  He graciously works against it, teaching us the foolishness of trusting ourselves, but His basic disposition towards our sin is condemnation:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>John 3:36</B></I></FONT><B>   </B><B>One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won't see life, but the </B><B><U>wrath of God</U></B><B> </B><B><U>remains on him</U></B><B>.</B></div> <bR> <div>     Most people who profess faith in the Son have merely traded in one set of schemes for another.  True Christians, good people, have always been in the minority, not only compared to the unbelieving populace, but compared to insincere believers (check your Old Testament ratios; check 2 Cor. 2:17, "we are not as <U>the many</U>", spoken of false Christian preachers, apparently in the majority, as apparently their congregations were).</div> <div>     But minority or not, God is basically well-inclined to good people, people He has declared good (justification) and is making good (sanctification).  These have abandoned all schemes and desire only the plan of God.</div> <div>    </div> <div>     Assuming that you are a person of this abandon, do you relate to God as Someone who truly finds you acceptable, pleasing?</div> <div>     This is a very uplifting truth, but it is easy to disbelieve it through fear.  </div> <div>     It is also easy to disbelieve for failure to categorize properly.  When God created the world, He looked on His work and was pleased, pronouncing it "very good."  Why should He be any less pleased with the creation of a new child through regeneration?  (As long as the child walks according to what is good)</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> **************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_16"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="488" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FF99FF > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 12:3</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> A man shall not be established by wickedness, </div> <div> but the root of the righteous shall not be dislodged. </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >   </FONT>The Hebrew word for "established" means "to be erect", and so could be translated, "A man shall not <B>stand </B>by wickedness."</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A man in wickedness</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A righteous man's root</div> <bR> <div> Their Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Not established</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Not dislodged</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     The focus of this contrast is on two inabilities.  The wicked is unable to establish permanence; the righteous is unable to be removed.  Here is more faith training- seeing things as they really are as opposed to appearances.  We may already perceive some advantages to righteousness and acknowledge real disadvantages to wickedness, but to <I>see </I>the well-imbedded wicked as rooted out and gone!- to <I>see </I>the stream-swirled twig of the righteous rescued, planted, and immoveable!- these require faith.  That's why it's easier to disbelieve.  Unbelief is more in accordance with appearances.  So the wisdom taught in Proverbs requires a strong element of faith.  It <I>teaches </I>a strong element of faith.  </div> <div>     Wickedness <I>does </I>seem to be a means a getting ahead in the world.  As far as immediate results, a well-placed lie or two might land a man in a very comfortable position.  But our proverb assures us that, whereas there is 'give' in the moral fabric of the Universe, it cannot be torn.  </div> <div>     In a way, the morality of the Universe has been in a state of 'give' since Lucifer's original rebellion; a state that will not come completely back to 'like new' until he and all rebels are in the Lake of Fire.  This is another reason men assume that morality can be safely compromised.  Threatenings of final punishment sound like a far-off land of make-believe.  In fact, it sounds like God and Hell needed to be made up so that men wouldn't wildly abandon themselves to the evil that seems to have no real consequences.</div> <div>     Many Christians secretly accept the contradiction between a God of consequences and present freedom to sin.  They conceive the same thing that wicked men do, that God is really far off and unconcerned with sin.  Their Christianity, then, is merely cowardice.  They would abandon themselves to pleasure-seeking too, except that they are afraid to; so they use religion as their cover for holding back from fleshliness.</div> <div>     The real Christian looks at the world God describes and waits to see if it does indeed come into focus thus, since God <I>could </I>have told us if consequences for sin really were on a delayed program.  And yes, the man who waits for the picture to come into focus will see things exactly as God describes.  The man who uses deceit to entrench himself in a desirable niche does eventually pop loose.  Or worse, his entrenchment becomes a prison he wishes he could escape.  </div> <div>     Conversely, the righteous man whom his enemies thought they had gotten rid of comes back to haunt them, even if they had killed him; <I>especially </I>if they had killed him.  His words and lifestyle are ever before them, as their conscience and experience finally confirms for them that everything he ever said was true.  Meanwhile, those things he put his hand to have 'taken root' and are flourishing.  He himself is where he always said he wanted to be, in the permanent comfort of his Father's house.</div> <div>     If God chooses martyrdom for His servants, the lessons are still the same.  Usually, though, God preserves His people, even the martyrs up until their deaths, as a signal to unbelievers:  <I>These </I>are the ones who will be around when <I>unbelievers </I>are long gone.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Matt 5:5 </B></I></FONT><I><B> </B></I><B> </B><B>Blessed </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#555555" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>are</B></I><B> </B></FONT><B>the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. </B></div> <div>         </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_17"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="543" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFFFCC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 95 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 12:4</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >A woman of valor </FONT><I>is</I>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >a crown to her lord, </FONT></div> <div> but one causing shame <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Calisto MT" ><I>is</I></FONT>  like rottenness in his bones. </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>    <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century Gothic" >The Hebrew word for "valor" means "strength, ability, or wealth".  It is the common word for military men of 'valor'.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A valiant wife</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A wife who causes shame</div> <bR> <div> Their Two Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A crown to her lord</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">As cancer to his bones</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     Here is a second proverb on wives.  The stakes are now higher.  Most women, if knowing this verse, would probably never enter the game, even though they are here given the greatest true incentive to do so. </div> <bR> <div>     First, notice that a woman is a <I>warrior</I>.  She is in a battle, and she must win.  Only the strong woman will be worthy of victory.</div> <div>     Second, notice that the warrior woman relates to her husband as to a <I>lord</I>.  Neither is this primitive Old Testament stuff.  Peter repeats it in the New Testament:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>1 Pet 3:6</B></I></FONT><B>   </B><B>as Sarah obeyed Abraham, </B><B><U>calling him lord</U></B><B>, </B><B>whose children you now are</B><B>, if you do well, and are not put in fear by any terror.</B></div> <bR> <div>     Ah well, when it comes right down to it, the New Testament isn't very modern either, eh?  Good thing we've learned better since then!      <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Wingdings" >L</FONT></div> <div>     Third, notice that the wife warring for righteousness is a <I>crown </I>for her husband.  This is a wonderful figure, for it conveys two equally important things at once.  The first is that her behavior enthrones her husband as her master, and the second is that she thus becomes his very insignia of authority!  <I>She </I>is the crown that shines forth from him saying, "This is a noble man!"  <I>His </I>nobility, then, is the source of <I>hers </I>as well.  If a woman would be noble, she must ennoble her mate, her authority.</div> <bR> <div>     Fourth, we have the opposite side of the figure, just as great a power in the opposite direction!  We see a deeply imbedded truth:  a husband and wife <I>are </I>one flesh.  That's how her behavior is able to <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Candara" >kill </FONT>him.  Her arrogance is like bone cancer to him; it saps his vitality and replaces it with sickness and weakness.  This sickness is primarily in his soul and spirit ("<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" ><B>like </B></FONT>bone rottenness"), but there is nothing to keep the effects from his body as well.  </div> <bR> <div>     A woman couldn't ask for any more importance than is described here.  She can either coronate her husband or give him a coronary; set him on high or lower the boom on him.  How many women truly realize these capacities in themselves?  Not many, because if they did, they would not treat their wifely duties so diffidently.      </div> <div>     Satan wishes women to think two things: 1) Men aren't worthy of their honor; and 2) Even if they gave it, they'd get nothing in return.  And most women go no further than those very two thoughts.  That's why Prov. 31:10 asks, "Who can find a woman of valor?" using the same word for valor as in our verse.  Who can find one?  There aren't many around.  Are there <I>any</I>?</div> <div>     "I'd be one if there was a man worthy of it," comes the answer.  And so again, the woman puts the cart before the horse.  <I>She </I>is the one able to import worthiness to her husband by her wifeliness!  But who could believe such a thing?  It strains one's credulity to the breaking point.  No, certainly, we have found a verse unworthy of Divine inspiration.  Ah, well, at least our reason was able to teach us better!     <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Wingdings" >L</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><B> 1 Pet 3:6</B></FONT><B>   </B><B>as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord,</B><B> </B><B>whose children you now are</B><B>, if you do well, and are </B><B><U>not put in fear</U></B><B> by any terror</B><B>.</B></div> <bR> <div>     Actually, it is a woman's fear, not her reason, that is teaching her to mistrust these verses.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> **************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_18"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="490" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#00CCCC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 104 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 12:5</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> The plannings of the righteous: a verdict; </div> <div> the counsels of evil-doers: a trick. </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >   </FONT>Both halves of the proverb begin with a <I>plural </I>word and are both then complemented by a <I>singular </I>word.  I have sought to render this starkly, with colons instead of the "are" ordinarily supplied in the Hebrew.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The deliberations of the righteous</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The guidings of the wicked</div> <bR> <div> Their Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Judgment</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Deceit</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     The righteous are like their righteous Father.  <I>His </I>counsels issue forth in firm decrees; <I>our </I>plans are to issue forth in decisive verdicts also.  </div> <div>     We are not to be as the wicked who work and work over a plan to try and keep its deceit from coming back on them.  We are to be simple and straightforward.  </div> <div>     God's Laws give clear direction.  When using them as the basis for our decisions, we can have a satisfying finality to our plans.  When the ungodly have finished their scheming, they have to trust in their ability to lie to hold their plan in place.    </div> <bR> <div>     Consider the deliberating process in your own mind; how do you arrive at decisions?  Do your plans include working around other peoples' intentions?  If your plans were straightforward and you trusted God's directions, you wouldn't have to worry about others.  </div> <div>     Do your plans include manipulation and coercion?  That's because they are not based on God's Word.  His Word has the power to achieve its own results without our manipulations.</div> <div>     One more tell-tale sign of unrighteous counsels: they turn into teaming up with <I>others</I>, usually using innuendo, because the deceitful man intuits that his plans require reinforcements where they lack integrity.</div> <bR> <div>     The strategizing of the righteous is uncomplicated.  He knows that he is moving towards a plan that will fit very simply and harmoniously into his general obedience to God.  Anyone who doesn't like that isn't his concern.  Neither will their manipulations sway him from his course to combat their fire with similar fire.  If they are professing believers, though, part of his obedience to God may include rebuking them (be it ever so gently or caustically, whatever wisdom- it is hoped- will dictate).</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> *************************************************************************</div> <div>  <A NAME="dec_19"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="470" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#C0DCC0 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 92 ><NOBR><div> Proverbs 12:6<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> The words of the wicked lurk for blood, </div> <div> but the mouth of the upright shall rescue them. </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The words of the unrighteous</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The mouth of the upright</div> <bR> <div> Their Activities<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Lurk for blood</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Rescues them</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     The words of unbelieving men are triggers cocked to shoot others down.  Destructive words come as naturally to men as speech itself:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Rom 3:13</B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>  </B><B>"Their throat </B></FONT><I><B>is</B></I><B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>a tomb being opened;" "they used deceit with their tongues; </B></FONT><I><B>the</B></I><B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>poison of asps </B></FONT><I><B>is</B></I><B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>under their lips"</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>     Men who like to think of themselves as peaceful and calm have only to be confronted with Christ and His gospel to evoke their heart hatred.  Give them the opportunity and they would crucify Christ all over again.  This they <I>do </I>with their words.  Whether spoken in the heat of wrath, in the condescending tones of sarcasm, or in the confident cadence of an 'official' representative of God, unbelieving men make it clear that their own sovereignty is much preferred to God's rule.  Their words issue the verdict that God has overreacted- overreacted in many ways.  He overreacted in giving us a Bible inspired down to the dotting of an "i".  He overreacted in creating Hell to punish us little worms.  He overreacted in sending Christ to die for us.  Why not just look the other way?  It's not <I>that </I>big a deal!  Even Christians are so inured to the arrogance of sarcasm that men's boasts and jests hardly offend us.  Actually, we usually have no real answer for their quips, taking similar offense at God in principle.</div> <div>     Eventually, the follower of Christ himself will be in the sights of the ungodly's tongue.  Again, the 'good-natured' jibes are thrown as if harpoons were honeysuckle.  "That's what I like about you.  You don't shove your religion down other peoples' throats."  (Translation: 'You already bother me with that silly Jesus blarney, so make sure and keep it stowed!')  The more consistent we are in our Christian testimony, however, the more overt will be the attempts of the godless to wound us.</div> <bR> <div>     The tool of defense God has given us against these attacks is, interestingly, our <I>own </I>tongue.  </div> <div> ""but the mouth of the upright shall rescue them."  How so?  Rule #1:  No fighting fire with fire:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><I><B>1 Pet 2:21 - 23</B></I><B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>  </B><B>For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps, who did not sin, "neither was deceit found in His mouth."  Who, when He was reviled, didn't revile back.  When He suffered, didn't threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>     Remember that the crucial rescue is the rescue of our souls.  </div> <div>     What is the only real <I>threat </I>against our souls?  Sin.  Therefore, the essential battle is to keep from answering sinful words with more sinful words.  Having accomplished that, we are delivered.  Having accomplished that, Christ Himself was delivered.  </div> <div>     "But He was crucified."  </div> <div>     But He was <I>not </I>delivered into the power of death.  He was indeed rescued.  His resurrection proves His deliverance from all enemies, and His resurrection has become <I>our </I>deliverance as well.  The purity and peace-seeking of our lips in the face of adversity, then, is our agreement with His resurrection.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> **************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="553" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#00CCFF > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 104 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 12:7</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> Let the wicked be overthrown, and <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#555555" FACE="Bell MT" ><I>they </I></FONT>are no more; </div> <div> but the house of the righteous shall stand. </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Analysis of the Verse</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The wicked in their overthrow</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The house of the righteous</div> <bR> <div> Their Two Outcomes<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">They are not</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Stands</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century Schoolbook" ><B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B></FONT>:  </div> <bR> <div>     The essential picture here is this:  just let a major disruption take place in the life of the ungodly, and he is on the brink of extinction.  Solomon is lending our faith vision to see the <I>latter </I>end of the unrighteous who is <I>presently </I>prospering;  he will eventually meet with a trial from which he cannot recover.</div> <div>     Why do we need help in perceiving this?  So much of Solomon's teaching concerns the <I>real </I>versus the <I>apparent </I>end of the wicked (11:3 - 8, for example).  There are two reasons:  1) It really <I>does </I>look like the wicked are not only on top, but will stay that way; and 2) As humbling as it is to our weak faith, the prosperity of the wicked <I>does </I>affect us:  it demoralizes us; it makes us envious (we actually want what they've got); it makes us see our blessings from God as rather a pittance.  For these reasons, we really need to see things as they are, or rather as they <I>shall be;</I> for God has so designed the earthly rewards of men (remember 11:31) that they do not come to a fully ripe, fruit-bearing stage until, usually, many years from their first plantings.</div> <div>     When we read these repeated prophesies of men's outcomes, our true feelings are no doubt, "Alright already; I get it.  I got it seventy-five admonitions ago."  If we were really tuned in to God's voice, though, we'd be saying, "If God repeats this so many different ways, I must be very hard of hearing on the matter.  I'd better pay even <I>closer </I>attention."</div> <div>     There will be a time when all you may need is "The house of the righteous shall stand" to convince you that "Yes, Id better make the righteous choice here; unrighteousness would destabilize my family, my future, and why should I do that?  Why should I work towards my own overthrow?"  And the weight of all the similar verses you don't specifically recall at the moment, but you remember <I>are </I>there, will stand behind your resolve, and you will escape temptation.</div> <bR> <div>     The lawless man's life <I>does </I>hang in a precarious balance.  Who knows when a payment for his unrighteousness will come due?  And when it does, it may well be his final billing.  This should move us past the mere quelling of our own envy to a definite compassion for the ungodly that will appeal to him for his very soul.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_21"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="501" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#C0DCC0 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 96 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 12:8</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> A man shall be praised according to his intelligence, </div> <div> but he who is of a bent heart shall be despised. </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A man of insight</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">A man with a twisted heart</div> <bR> <div> Outcomes of the Two<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Praised</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Despised</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     Following a verse focusing on <I>future </I>rewards, Solomon now returns to more <I>immediate </I>evidences of spiritual conditions.  Solomon is reminding us that neither good qualities nor bad can be altogether misinterpreted by our neighbors.  If a man has true insight, he will be able to unknot problematic situations, and for this he will be commended.  He will wisely maintain his household to his onlooknig neighbors (moving beyond picking up unsightly trash in his yard, for a simple instance).  If a man has a crook in his heart that leans him off balance, this won't be missed either.  The wording makes it a matter of degrees, too.  "According to" his savvy means however much he has will determine how much recognition he gets.  Some problems are too hard for one fellow, but someone with greater mental ability can analyze them correctly.</div> <div>     What does one need to be an intelligent person?  Five things:  1)  The right premises (Scriptural ones);  2)  A firm belief in the reliability of these first premises;  3)  A mind that connects pieces well;  4)  A correct assessment of where peoples' situations connect to the relevant axioms; and  5)  A desire to be helpful to others.  </div> <div>     You may argue that the fifth factor is not an essential one, that someone could be intelligent without being helpful, but Solomon would disagree with you.  Solomon sees our connectedness to our community as part of our overall wisdom.  A truly wise man knows that any good he does for his community he does for himself as well, <I>and </I>for the glory of God.</div> <div>     It's nice to know that good qualities lead to a good reputation.  People turn against good men only against good sense.  People turned against Jesus knowing Him to be a healer and helper of men.  His good reputation still stood Him in good stead later when the apostles were able to remind people:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Act 10:38</B></I></FONT><B>   </B><B>how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#808080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>the</B></I></FONT><B> Holy Spirit and with power, and He went about doing good, and healing all those who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with Him. </B></div> <bR> <div>     The only kind of person who would despise community opinion altogether is one who has a bend in his soul he has never been able to hide.  A spiritual hunchback is manifest when spiritual evidences are issued: such as by <I>words</I>.  The other way is by <I>deeds</I>.  Not too complicated.  And the ugliest misfits of all are those who hide behind a curtain of Christianity to cover their perversity.  "I don't like those people because they're a bunch of sinners; not righteous like me."</div> <bR> <div>     Paul conveys the ordinary transparency of men's deeds when he says:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>1 Tim 5:24</B></FONT><B>  </B><B>Some men's sins are evident, preceding them to judgment, and some also follow later.  In the same way also there are good works that are obvious, and those that are otherwise can't be hidden. </B></div> <bR> <div>      What does your reputation say about you?  Do you discount community opinion because you refuse to receive its correction?  If you are a true follower of Jesus, you will be known by the good you wisely apply to others.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_22"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="445" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#33CC99 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 92 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 12:9</B>  </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >Better </FONT><I>is</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >the lightly esteemed who has a servant, </FONT></div> <div> than the self-important who lacks bread.</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>    <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century Gothic" >The Hebrew specifically contrasts the two men as "light" and "heavy" (translated "honored" or "important"; literally "who makes himself heavy"); we might say analogically "a heavyweight", or here, "a self-proclaimed heavyweight."</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The lightly regarded <B>with </B>a servant</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The one who honors himself <B>without </B>sufficient provisions</div> <bR> <div> Their Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Better</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">(Worse off)</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     This is the first of about 17 "better than" proverbs.</div> <div>     Solomon continues the theme of community reputation.</div> <div>     Just as in Greek, Roman, and many other ancient societies, in Israel it was more common to <I>have </I>a household servant than not.  It might be compared to air conditioning in an American household.  It's somewhat expensive, you can live without it, but most people have it.  A servant, of course, is much more generally useful than an air conditioner.</div> <div>     Solomon's subject matter is how much weight one carries in the community.  The two men being compared are also being contrasted in the <I>manner </I>they are viewed.  The lightly esteemed is thus regarded by his <I>neighbors</I>.  The self-honored is thus regarded by <I>himself</I>.  True, such bluster and self-confidence tends to translate into community influence in the latter case, but Solomon says no matter.  The self-important may be more highly <I>regarded</I>, but the man who actually has the asset of a servant <I>lives </I>more highly.  If he wished to be well thought of, the servant-holder would have the means to out-boast the self-important man.  Solomon's point is that he is better <I>off </I>without being thought better <I>of</I>.  </div> <div>     So, comparing this to our previous proverb, we see that community opinion has its limits.  To put this proverb in the light of the last one we might say, don't be ruled by community opinion, especially when it's a matter of 'keeping up with the Jones'.  What you <I>really </I>are is what matters.  The self-important fellow who makes himself look good by going deep into debt will eventually be found out.  In the meantime, it might be irritating to see him honored beyond rights, even 'stealing' honor that rightly belongs to others; but the truly honorable man, who pays his debts and lives frugally, has his honor before him all the time.  It is only a matter of a slight shift in community perspective to eventually show all things in their proper colors.  God seems to save these revelations for rather dramatic occasions.  If not, coming out the other side of them is still what is remembered, what matters.</div> <bR> <div>     In the Christian community, there are people who can talk up a spiritual storm, but who have little personal holiness, little time alone with God.  They are the <I>self</I>-honored.  The <I>modest </I>Christian who actually has assets of self-discipline is, of course, better off.  So it will eventually pan out.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_23"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="515" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFCCCC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 92 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 12:10</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FF6600" FACE="Bookman Old Style" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#003333" FACE="Bookman Old Style" > </FONT></div> <div> A righteous one understands the soul of his animal; </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >but the tender mercies of the wicked </FONT><I>are</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >cruel. </FONT></div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >    </FONT>Yes, this verse says that animals have <I>souls</I>.  The same word is used for men's souls, "nephesh".  Many Scriptures refer to animals' souls, beginning in Genesis 1, but it is usually translated "life."  If we were looking for an easily explainable difference between animals and men, we might go to the word "spirit", except that word is used for animals as well (Eccl. 3:21).  </div> <div>     The real difference between men and animals, it would seem, is simply that men are made in God's image, and animals are not.  Adam and Eve weren't surprised at a serpent talking.  Balaam immediately entered into conversation with his donkey.  We treat domesticated animals as if they have souls, with thoughts and feelings.  If the 'foreign language' they speak (bow-wow-ese and meow-laysian?) were bridged, would we talk to them again in the new Heavens and new earth?</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The righteous</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The evil</div> <bR> <div> Their Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Knows his animals' souls</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Has compassion that is cruel</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     This is the third verse in a row giving <I>earthly </I>evidences of <I>spiritual </I>status.  A true Christian is known by his relation to all creatures as God's creatures.  He has learned that God created all things, and all things belong to Him.  He treats his animals as creatures whose lives and even feelings must be considered, because God made them, not as objects upon which he can vent frustrations.  Even if they are animals he will eventually eat- a purpose for which God gave them- they still need not live in misery beforehand.</div> <div>     Observe how far you can travel out into the periphery of a man's life and still find clear evidences of his spiritual state.  This is because our spiritual state affects <I>everything </I>about us.  Be observant.  </div> <div> Someone who might hoodwink you with a good spiritual act in one area cannot consistently extend his hypocrisy into every area of life.</div> <div>     The man in rebellion against God has a heart of stone:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>Ezek 36:26</B></FONT><B>  </B><B>And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. And I will take away the </B><B>stony heart</B><B> out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.</B></div> <bR> <div>     This stony heart comes with a conscience, which can become pretty stony itself, but most people do not want to be <I>known </I>as hard-hearted.  Their conscience and original molding in God's image teach them that hard-heartedness is bad.  Therefore, men seek ways to assure themselves and others that they are not hard-hearted.  They give to charities, they speak sympathetically, they vote for the fellow who says, "Let's give lots of money to the poor." (Strange how these politicians seem to end up categorizing <I>themselves </I>as poor).  </div> <div>     Nevertheless, a stony heart is always going to <I>show </I>itself to be stony one way or another.  Usually you don't have to look very far.  Most unregenerate people treat those in their <I>own households</I> quite inhumanely.  The family dog, in fact, is most often treated better.</div> <div>     Our verse literally tells us that when a godless man does a compassionate deed, he actually behaves maliciously.  He doesn't really understand compassion, so his blundering attempts end up getting  <I>in the way</I> of helping others.  His tenderness is terror.  It could also be saying that even at his <I>most </I>compassionate he is still basically cruel.  Either way, compassion is a foreign language to the unrighteous.  It is always connected to his <I>self</I>-interest, and will never be able to simply consider the good of <I>another</I>.</div> <bR> <div>     On the other hand, if the righteous man's mercies extend <I>even </I>to animals, his tenderness toward humans should be <I>most </I>evident.  </div> <div>     Is it so with you?  </div> <div>     Toward those in your own family?  Toward your spouse?</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_24"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="486" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#CCFF99 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 92 ><NOBR><div> Proverbs 12:11<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >He who tills his soil shall be satisfied </FONT><I>with</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >bread, </FONT></div> <div> but the one chasing fantasies lacks heart.<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century" > </FONT></div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Ver</U></B><B><U>se</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >    </FONT>The Hebrew for "fantasies" is a word meaning empty, worthless.  About half of the translations render it as <I>persons </I>rather than <I>things </I>or <I>ideas</I>; so "empty ones", "idle persons", "vain persons", etc.</div> <div>     The word for "till" is the root word for servant / slave.  It literally means to "serve" the land.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">He who works his soil</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">He who pursues frivolity</div> <bR> <div> Their Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Satisfied with plenty of bread / food / provision</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Void of heart</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     A fourth proverb in a row on earthly manifestations of spiritual condition.</div> <div>     Here we have someone who 'slavishly' ties himself to his work versus someone who refuses to be thus 'tied down'.  The latter sees the former as an ant, void of humanity, intent simply on work.  The worker sees the impulsive pleasure-seeker as irresponsible.</div> <div>     Whereas, there are people who approach work a little too ant-like, there is an ant-likeness to work that cannot be avoided.  When there's a long or difficult job to be done, it has to be done to its dreary end.  It can be quite wearisome and might even feel dehumanizing.  An ant, in fact, has already been used in Proverbs as an example of diligence:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>Prov 6:6 - 8</B></FONT><B>  </B><B>Go to the ant, sluggard; consider her ways and be wise; who, having no guide, overseer, or ruler,  provides her food in the summer </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>and</B><B> </B></FONT><B>gathers her food in the harvest. </B></div> <bR> <div>     The point here is not the source of the ant's initiative (instinct, we would say).  The point is that man is more intelligent and yet can miss the necessity of being a self-starter who sees necessary tasks to the end.  The good man in our verse is one who "serves the soil".  The soil is where his food is coming from; he therefore makes himself its slave so it will render plant life he and his animals can eat.</div> <div>     Whatever a man's livelihood, he must in some sense 'enslave' himself to it.  If all we did we did for fun, there would be no working.</div> <div>     Here's the point that is usually missed.  God made man to be a worker <I>before </I>sin entered the world.  Adam was put in the Garden of Eden to 'be enslaved' to it.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Gen 2:15</B></I></FONT><B>  </B><B>And Jehovah God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden, to work it and to keep it.</B><B> </B></div> <div>     </div> <div>     Work was not a punishment for sin.  Work was made <I>more difficult</I> because of sin:</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Gen 3:17 - 19 </B></I><B> </B><B>... </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>the ground </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#808080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>shall be</B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B> cursed because of you; you shall eat of it in sorrow all the days of your life.  And it shall bring forth thorns and thistles for you, and you shall eat the plant of the field.  By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until your return to the ground. </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>     But work itself was not the punishment.  Work was part of the whole created order that God proclaimed "very good".  </div> <div>     The lazy and the pleasure-seeker do not see it this way.  Their version of Eden or Heaven is to do nothing but eat and play.  Many Christians share this vision of Heaven.  Believing Heaven to be one long church service, many young people ask if we'll be allowed to _____ (fill in your favorite hobby) in Heaven.  They still don't understand that man was made for work, and work he will do, even in the eternal state:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Luke 19:17</B></I></FONT><B>   </B><B>And he said to him, Well </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#808080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>done</B></I></FONT><B>, good slave!  Because you were faithful in a least thing, have authority over ten cities. </B></div> <div> <B> </B></div> <div>     Authority over ten cities is more work than you and I have ever seen; but that's what's waiting if we are faithful and diligent here- more work!  Because work is good.  Work will return to its entirely fulfilling and 'restful' capacity in Heaven, but it will still be work.  In our verse the reward of work is not only fulfillment, but plenty of sustenance.    </div> <div>     The pleasure-seeker "lacks heart".  He doesn't even perceive his human calling.  He feels his pleasure sensors, and that's how he defines himself.  <I>He </I>is the one making himself sub-human.  The real human is the image of God, and God is a worker:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>John 5:17</B></I></FONT><B>  </B><B>But Jesus answered them, My Father works until now, and I work. </B></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> **************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_25"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="436" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#66CCCC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 92 ><NOBR><div> Proverbs 12:12<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> The wicked longs for the plunder of evil <I>men</I>, </div> <div> But the root of the righteous produces. </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>     <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" >The Hebrew for "plunder" is literally "net", connoting catch, booty, or plunder.</FONT></div> <div>     The word for "produces" is the basic word for "gives".</div> <div>      "Evil men" could also be "evil things".  It is literally "evils" (adding "men" is not at all a forced rendering)</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The unrighteous</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The righteous</div> <bR> <div> Their Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Longs for the 'take' of evil men</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Has a root which yields</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     The contrast that we are directed to concerns the <I>yield </I>of the two basic types of people in the world.  Actually, it is the yield the ungodly <I>desires </I>versus the yield the godly actually <I>produces</I>.  Therefore, it is something of a contrast between a dream world and the real world.  </div> <div>     One of the basic facts about sin illustrated in this verse is that it has 'big eyes' in the cafeteria line, so to speak.  It wants a lot.  The big 'score' has characterized sin from the beginning: </div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Gen 3:6</B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>  </B><B>And the woman saw that the tree </B></FONT><I><B>was</B></I><B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>good for food, and that it </B></FONT><I><B>was</B></I><B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>pleasant to the eyes, and the tree </B></FONT><I><B>was</B></I><B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>desirable to make </B></FONT><I><B>one</B></I><B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>wise. </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>     The grand 'take' the serpent had alluded to looked in reach.  Sin has had the carrot-on-the-stick effect on us donkeys ever since.  Show us some pleasure, some power, some possession arrived at by trickery, and we are mesmerized.  Somebody got away with it!  Something for nothing!  We <I>knew </I>it could be done!  And so our laziness combines with our greed to convince us of something we know in our saner moments isn't true:  that the catch of evil men is desirable <I>and </I>obtainable; that we actually <I>do </I>have the power of gods.</div> <div>     This is a good follow-on verse from the previous one (making it five in a row on earthly saintliness), which likewise depicts the righteous path as boring to the unrighteous.  So here, the righteous merely 'takes care of business', sticks to what is right, and has patience.  He puts down his roots <I>in this earth</I>, because,</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Psa  24:1</B></I></FONT><B>  </B><B>The earth </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>is</B></I><B> </B></FONT><B>Jehovah's, and the fullness of it; the world, and those who live in it</B></div> <div>  </div> <div>     knowing that Christ will rule this earth, that this earth is now a 'down payment' on its replacement- the New Earth- which, in turn, is a perfected remodeling of the original pre-sin Earth.  So when a Christian puts down his roots in righteousness, though it is in an earth with cursed soil, it still yields because our Master already holds title deed to this earth*:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Mat 28:18</B></I></FONT><B>  </B><B>And coming up Jesus talked with them, saying, All authority in Heaven and on earth was given to Me. </B></div> <bR> <div>     When it is true righteousness that is sown, no kind of soil could taint it, for it is overseen and tended by the Righteous One, who owns all things.</div> <div>      But even when it produces, the fruit of the righteous is not appealing to the lawless.  Consequently, we tend to join their dream world.  We say, "Huh, I guess righteousness isn't that spectacular after all."  We end up agreeing in principle with the unrighteous that if it doesn't glitter, it isn't worth having (or, on a deeper level, if it wasn't pilfered from God, it isn't very satisfying).</div> <div>     Again, Solomon is training our faith vision, because if we take God at His word, what may not look attractive here yet goes into a 'memorial fund' that will be brought out and honored at the end:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>Matt 6:20, 21</B></FONT><B>   </B><B>But treasure up for you treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust cause to perish, and where thieves do not dig through and steal.</B><B>  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. </B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><B> 2 Tim 4:7, 8 </B></FONT><B> </B><B>I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.  Now there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that Day; and not to me only, but also to all those who love His appearing. </B></div> <bR> <div> * <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >Hence, we are simultaneously and more essentially putting our roots down in Heaven's 'soil'</FONT>.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_26"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="522" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#66CC99 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 92 ><NOBR><div> Proverbs 12:13<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >In the transgression of the lips </FONT><I>is</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >the snare of evil </FONT><I>men</I><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >, </FONT></div> <div> but the righteous will come out from distress. </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>     <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century Gothic" >As in the previous verse, "evil" could be understood of "evil men".  Then the transgression of the lips is what snares them.  If rendered "snare of evil", it is simply a description of spoken transgression.</FONT></div> <div>     The previous verse has a "net" desired; this one has a "snare" stepped into.  If the two verses are connected, "evil men" would be the preferable rendering, since it would elevate their involvement in evil from desire to speech.  </div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The unrighteous</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The righteous</div> <bR> <div> Their Two Outcomes<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Ensnared by transgression of the lips</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Exits a 'tight spot' (same Hebrew word as back in 11:8)</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     The basic contrast here is between someone who gets caught in a trap and someone who escapes.  It is also a teaching on how someone <I>becomes </I>entrapped; it therefore becomes a teaching on how one is to <I>avoid </I>thus becoming a prey.</div> <div>     As a follow-on from the previous verse, it indicates the progression a man makes from <I>dreaming </I>about the gain he can make through dishonesty to actually <I>talking about</I> a plan to enact it <I>or </I>actually <I>speaking </I>the deceit which enacts it.  This application is certainly true whether it is the primary one or not.  Solomon is warning us that once you cross the line from dream world to speech, you are committed.  You are either known as a transgressor by voicing your <I>plan</I>, or you are well into transgression by the voiced <I>deceit</I>.  How do you take it back now?  How does an animal get out of a trap?  For that is the word that is used for a snare here- a regular animal trap.</div> <div>     Notice what else is implied by the use of the snare analogy.  <I>Someone </I>has us in a snare when we lie or plan mischief.  We are the animal here.  Whether it is sin in the abstract or Satan himself who has us entrapped, the point is that <I>we are not in command</I> of the situation.  We are at the mercy of our captor.  </div> <div>     Here is an intersection where modern Christian thought should be examined.  Today we are taught a grace of God by which, if we sin, we just call on God and He'll forgive and rescue us.  Simple.  And soooooo nice!  So all the rest of Scripture is just to tell us how bad everyone had it before grace was invented.  <I>Before </I>the cross, God might let the oppressor hang you out to dry, but not anymore!  He has too much at stake!  Now He <I>has </I>to rescue us- and pronto!</div> <div>     Funny, the real grace of God sounds <I>more </I>serious with the careless than before:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>Heb 12:14, 15</B></FONT><B>  Follow peace with all, and </B><B>holiness</B><B>, </B><B>without which no one shall see the Lord</B><B>;  </B><B><U>looking diligently</U></B><B> </B><B><U>lest any fail</U></B><B> of the grace of God</B><B>, or lest any root of bitterness springing up disturb </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>you</B></FONT><B>, and by it many are defiled, </B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>Heb 12:25</B></FONT><B>  See </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#808080" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>that</B></FONT><B> you do not refuse Him who speaks. For </B><B><U>if they did not escape</U></B><B>, those who refused him that spoke on earth, </B><B><U>much more we</U></B><B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>shall not escape</B></FONT><B> if we turn away from Him who speaks from Heaven, </B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>Heb 12:29</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>  for also, "Our God </B></FONT><B>is</B><B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>a consuming fire." </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div>     Paul sees the boundary line keeping Satan out of our lives as very thin.  Satan was allowed to bring a trial into Paul's life before Paul had even sinned, just to keep him <I>from </I>sinning:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>2 Cor 12:7</B></I></FONT><B>  and by the surpassing revelations, </B><B><U>lest</U></B><B> I be made haughty, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, </B><B><U>lest</U></B><B> I be made haughty.</B></div> <div>  </div> <div>     Scary stuff?  Job's friends were scared when Satan had visited him, too.  Most of us, though, will never be good enough to join Paul and Job in the hobbled trophy room.  No, we're too busy wriggling around in traps of our <I>own </I>making!  But if <I>blameless </I>men were given into Satan's testings, how in the world can we claim that we could not be?  (Remember, Satan can only go as far as God lets him.)</div> <div>     Now here's the real scary part:  most Christians aren't aware of being in any trap... because their <I>whole life</I> is one big trap!  The whole thing is a lie from beginning to end!  It's not the true gospel, it's not the <I>Holy </I>Spirit.  That's because their lives are just 'modified worldliness'.  We have our own special brand of American Christianity which is free from trials or self-denial.</div> <bR> <div>     "The righteous will come out from distress."  He is described as the righteous because the distress was not of his own making.  We <I>will </I>have distress in this world; it will test our faith; the righteous will be gold refined.  </div> <div>     If we lie, though, whether about Biblical truths or business dealings, we will ensnare ourselves.  If we are beloved of God, however long we must be hung out to dry to learn not to err is how long we should <I>want </I>to be 'cured'.  </div> <div>     God deliver us from life-encompassing lies, which there's no way for <I>us </I>to crawl out from and recognize for what they are.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_27"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="557" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#C0DCC0 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 87 ><NOBR><div> Proverbs 12:14<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >From the fruit of the mouth one </FONT><I>is</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >satisfied </FONT><I>with</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >good, </FONT></div> <div> And the treatment from a man's hands returns to him.</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The fruit of a man's mouth</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The treatment from a man's hands</div> <bR> <div> Their Outcomes<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Satisfies him with good</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Returns to him</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     Here is a very emphatic punctuation mark on the previous few proverbs on <I>earthly effects</I> of a man's <I>spiritual state</I>.  Whatever we <I>say </I>and whatever we <I>do </I>comes back to us.</div> <div>     The first part is to insure us that the traps the wicked lay for themselves (previous proverb) with their words has its <I>converse </I>with us.  We not only avoid their bad <I>consequences</I>, we have a <I>positive return</I> for our good words.</div> <div>     Good acts start with good words:  first, good words <I>understood</I>, then good words <I>restating</I><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Centaur" > </FONT>what we've learned, then good words <I>planning </I>how we will enact what we've learned.  God gives us the good words.  We digest those, and we become thinkers and speakers of good words.  Many of the good words concern things we will <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" ><B>do</B></FONT>.  Those who speak in truth <I>do </I>according to what they say.</div> <div>     This is Solomon's version of what James later says:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Jam 1:26, 27</B></I></FONT><B>   </B><B>If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn't </B><B><U>bridle his tongue</U></B><B>, but deceives his heart, this man's religion is worthless.  Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to </B><B><U>visit the fatherless and widows</U></B><B> in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. </B></div> <bR> <div>     Insincere religion will always show up in the tongue; but part of what shows up is when a good game is <I>talked </I>but not <I>done.  </I>Any Christian with a smidgeon of knowledge can repeat God's concern for the widow and orphan, but only the sincere obey God's simple rule for us to minister His mercy to them, and to all in need.</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>2 Thess 2:16, 17</B></I></FONT><B>   Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, who has loved us and has given </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>us</B></I><B> </B></FONT><B>everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,  comfort your hearts and establish you in </B><B><U>every good</U></B><B> </B><B><U>word</U></B><B> and </B><B><U>work</U></B><B>. </B></div> <bR> <div>     Our proverb says that a man's treatment of others comes back to him.  If he is insensitive and selfish, that is what will come back to him; the world will put on a cruel mask to him.  </div> <div>     But if his words are affirmations of God's goodness and kind deeds, and he further mirrors God with like plans, and finally, if he carries out the good he intended, he will be satisfied with return in kind.</div> <div>     Any Christian who is not a minister (meaning he does <I>not </I>minister to others) can only be an unhappy malcontent, dissatisfied with God's directions for Him.  He will have to back up to the previous verse and take what comes to the unrighteous for bad words and deeds, for that is all that will come of his discontent.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_28"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="515" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#C0DCC0 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 92 ><NOBR><div> Proverbs 12:15<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >The way of a senseless one </FONT><I>is</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >upright in his own eyes, </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >but he who listens to advice </FONT><I>is</I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >wise. </FONT></div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>    </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century Gothic" >Notice the word "upright".  This is the correct translation (which most versions don't have), and very important for our proper understanding of the verse.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The senseless one</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The one who listens to advice</div> <bR> <div> Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">His way is upright in his own eyes</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Wise</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     This might seem like a quaint proverb easily understood, but it is actually a very important theological statement, rather deep in its implications.  It is an anthropological statement; that is, it is a statement about man, his nature.  It is, therefore, a comment on what happened when Adam sinned and things changed in our relationship to God.  What changed?  Our moral authority was transferred to <I>ourselves</I>.  That's what our proverb says.  Man's natural feeling about his own way, his own choices, is that they are <I>good</I>, they are justifiable.  By saying that our ways are upright <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" ><B>in our own eyes</B> </FONT>Solomon is indicating that <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" ><B>that's the way we see it</B></FONT>; it is not open to interpretation; that's how our 'spiritual optic nerves' take in the situation.  To see it differently, then, would take spiritual eye surgery.  This is why one of the many analogies Scripture uses for sin is <I>blindness</I>:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Rev 3:17</B></I></FONT><B>   Because you say, I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and </B><B><U>blind</U></B><B> and naked </B></div> <bR> <div>     That means that spiritual matters, matters of reality, those requiring spiritual sight, will be utterly <I>mis</I>understood.  We are not to picture someone who is blind but can still hear; we are to picture someone who, if he had to <B>see </B>the kingdom of God by his own abilities, could never do it:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I> </I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>John 3:3</B></I></FONT><B>  Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born again, he cannot </B><B><U>see</U></B><B> the kingdom of God. </B></div> <bR> <div>     Man cannot perceive God's kingdom, because the only Dominion he validates is <I>his own</I><I>!</I>  This is a spiritual bent that must have a spiritual fix; but by its very nature, it refuses <I>being </I>fixed.  Why would I apply for surgery if I were convinced that I had a better view of my situation than the so-called doctor?  This is man's view of God:  "If He really knew my condition, He wouldn't be so intrusive.  <I>I'm not that bad off</I><I>!</I>"  </div> <div>     And, worst of all, when, in our own infinite wisdom, we agree that there <I>is </I>a little fixing needed, we basically <I>create </I>a God who will fix us <I>just as much as we want</I> and no more!  We'll quote Scripture and pray and seek reform, but all <I>on our own terms</I>!  We'll <I>let </I>God say just what we want to hear.  </div> <div>     And this brings us to the second half of our proverb:  "but he who listens to advice <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><I>is</I> </FONT>wise."  The <I>first </I>advice we need to listen to, of course, is God's.  Immediately, we are instructed on what listening to advice <I>is not.</I>  It <I>is not</I> screening out what we don't want to hear.  Listening to advice means hearing <I>everything </I>that is being said.  </div> <div>     We all, no doubt, know someone who is a perfect example of the opposite; someone who 'listens' and acknowledges, but who obviously takes very little in; especially evidenced by the fact that they go ahead and do just what you advised them not to.  This is man's problem in the spiritual realm, only ignoring God has no light consequences.  God isn't our 'buddy' who'll just shrug and say, "Oh well, maybe he'll listen next time."  To continue from the Revelation verse quoted above:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Rev 3:18</B></I></FONT><B>   I counsel you to buy from Me gold purified by fire, so that you may be rich; and white clothing, so that you may be clothed, and </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>so that</B></I></FONT><B> the shame of your nakedness does not appear. And anoint your eyes with eye salve, so that you may </B><B><U>see</U></B><B>. </B></div> <bR> <div>     Manisfestly, the big problem is that someone thus described (who says that they have "need of nothing") will never see the need take the Doctor's advice.  He is radically messed up and will therefore submit to no radical surgery.  </div> <div>     There is only one hope for him:  for God to <I>bypass </I>his wishes and <I>give </I>him new eyes that will <I>see </I>the problem.  </div> <div>     Hence, once again, Solomon is dividing  mankind into its two, and only two, spiritual categories.  Evidence for a man made right with God?  He listens to God's advice, <I>and </I>he listens to <I>anyone </I>who might help him deal with his own stubborn nature better.   "The worse critique you have of me," we might say, "the more I probably need it."  But who on earth thinks like that?  Ah, then we <I>do </I>perhaps<I> </I>have a correctly drawn dividing line between life and death, for "few there are who find it."</div> <bR> <div>  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>Prov 20:12</B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>  The hearing ear and the seeing eye, Jehovah has even made both of them. </B></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_29"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="542" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#C0C0C0 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 97 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 12:16</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> The senseless- in a day is his annoyance is known, </div> <div> But the savvy one covers shame.</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>    </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century Gothic" >We are being introduced to a new character in this proverb.  In Proverbs "the savvy" (used ten times if you count the root word which is used twice), is always a good guy; outside of Proverbs, he is always a bad guy!  The word itself means shrewd, crafty, cunning.  We have donned him the savvy one, the sharp fellow.  Of course, he's not really a new character; he's just another description for the wise man and the righteous man.</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The senseless</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The shrewd</div> <bR> <div> Their Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">His vexation is revealed forthwith</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Covers shame</div> <bR> <div> <B>Teaching of the Verse</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     Here is a second proverb in a row on the senseless, the first time he had popped up in chapter 12 (once in 11; four times in 10; twice before that).  His character is further developed by its contrast to the "sensible", we might say- perhaps his most perfect opposite; the one who 'has a lick of sense' versus one who hasn't.</div> <div>     The central concept in this proverb is restraint.  The sharp man has it; the senseless doesn't.  Notice that a key to defining things is to take them to their extremes.  In chemistry, and as an analogy in other areas, this is called the acid test.  Under non-pressure situations, you may never know who is savvy and who isn't; but once you inject an insult, say- now you will find out what people are made of.</div> <div>     The fool's irritation is known rather immediately; perhaps the same moment.  In any event, he cannot hold in his anger long.  If we were going to be observant unto minutia, we might even see whether his eyes narrowed.  But mostly, the senseless man is going to leave us no doubt that he is annoyed.  He will insult in kind, raise his voice, become hurtfully sarcastic, or the like.  Of course, he could also take the tack of acting hurt, of spouting self-pity, of seeking to induce guilt on whoever had vexed him.  Either way, his irritation is displayed.</div> <div>     The savvy fellow knows better than to tip his hand.  He knows that one's emotions are one's own, to be displayed, not on demand, but only at self-command.  </div> <div>     Of course, there is a degree of self-restraint that transcends humanity.  A pure stoic seeks to show or be influenced by no emotion at all (some would call him a Vulcan).  Stoicism is not Biblical.  It is just that our display of emotion should first pass the guard of mental alertness.  Once that guard has been legitimately relaxed, proper emotions can and should flow in all their fitting expressions and bounds.</div> <div>     The sharp-minded will be especially restrained when he is annoyed.  He will control his facial expressions as much as possible, but even if everyone present knows what he is feeling, he need not speak his thoughts in a vulnerable moment.  If pressed, he might excuse himself to gather his wits: "Give me a few moments to think about that, please."</div> <div>     The attribute of God we are mirroring in this restraint is longsuffering.  But remember that God comes to an end of His longsuffering when it is appropriate.  There is a time to take action.  For the Christian, these times will be quite select, and his range of reactions fairly limited; God is supposed to take our vengeance for us.  But where it is appropriate to respond, the truly sensible man will be able to fit his response to the situation.  We shouldn't just have two responses:  say nothing or blast away.  Sometimes a very subtle hint is all that is needed and anything more would be giving in to anger.  </div> <div>     And this is the point.  Anger beckons us like a pleasure.  We feel a <I>need </I>to give in to it.  Now anger <I>can </I>be an appropriate vehicle for relaying some communications (see Jesus' response in Mark 3:5, for instance), but <I>we </I>are to tame, saddle, and ride <I>it</I>; not it ride <I>us</I>.  You are probably well aware that your own experience with anger has been that, when expressed, it has usually (or always) ridden <I>you</I>.  </div> <div>     If we learn Biblical wisdom, we will first restrain <I>entirely</I>, then express <I>subtly</I>, emotions that before had exploded from us like volcanoes, dismantling <I>ourselves </I>and hurling destructive debris at <I>those around us</I>.  Maybe in some future day, we will be able to express anger reverently, as the Son of God did, but the starting point is to be able to turn off the spigot completely.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> **************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_30"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="544" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFFFCC > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 92 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 12:17</B>  </div> <div> He who breathes trustworthiness manifests righteousness, </div> <div> but a false witness <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#555555" FACE="Bell MT" ><I>manifests </I></FONT>deceit. </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The one who speaks truthfully</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The false witness</div> <bR> <div> Their Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Manifests righteousness</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Manifests deceit</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     This is a commentary on the ninth commandment.  Solomon uses "false witness" seven times in Proverbs.  This time and all but one of the other times, he uses the exact wording from the ninth commandment (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5).  Solomon is trying to give us a lot of information to identify false witness, both so we can deal with our own deceitful tendencies, and so we can mark a deceitful person and avoid the harm he could do to us.</div> <div>      Solomon's use of the proverb form to contrast the righteous and the wicked gives us confirmation that the Ten Commandments are not just negative teachings.  By condemning a certain negative, God is commending the opposite positive.  All of Solomon's snapshots of false witness in Proverbs give us a variety of opposites, so we can better know what God is positively enjoining in the ninth commandment.</div> <div>     The positive enjoined here is, literally, "breathing" faithfulness, firmness, or truth.  This word has already been used in Prov. 6:19 of a false witness "breathing" lies.  The four other times it is used in Proverbs, it is the same thing, breathing lies or deceit.  So our verse today is the one verse in Proverbs in which the <I>truth</I><I> </I>is what is breathed.  </div> <div>     Solomon, then, is making a very deliberate contrast.  He is thus underscoring in a most striking way the <I>naturalness </I>with which both types of men on earth operate.  The righteous breathes out truth like he exhales air; the unbeliever 'sighs' lies as naturally as he yawns.  And Solomon <I>is </I>hereby notifying us of the <I>comfort </I>with which a servant of God should speak truth.  We shouldn't find that our normal mode is talking ourselves into being truthful.  Lies should be abhorrent to a child of God.  The new birth is a reality with real consequences; a new nature has new ways.  The ability to <I>manifest </I>righteousness means righteousness has been <I>rooted </I>in us.</div> <div>     When what comes out of a man's mouth is trustworthiness, righteousness is going to be the result.  This should be deeply gratifying to the Christian.  No amount of deceit from others can erase his truthfulness and its effect.</div> <div>     On the other hand, one way we recognize false witness in action is that misdirection results.  Deceit is the handling of information so as to give a different impression than the right one.*  Deceit can be accomplished by the slant put on information, by what is left out of communication, by what is added in, by how it is spoken ...  Deceivers have as many ploys as there are nuances of communication; and, again, it all comes naturally (though some really good ones plan and practice).</div> <bR> <div>     Perhaps we have a mighty long way to go to be relaxed 'breathers' of truth.  To do so, we would have to speak truth <I>doctrinally </I>and <I>personally</I>.  We would have to be those who actually <I>fear </I>saying something that might not be so, and who would <I>hesitate </I>to speak of a person, lest what was spoken did harm.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >* </FONT>Biblically, deceit is not the mere misdirection of facts; otherwise, God's armies would not have been able to hide in fields and draw an enemy out of their city to ambush them, for this would have been misleading.  No, deceit is misinformation with the <I>intent </I>or <I>outcome </I>of <I>unrighteousness</I>.  There <I>is </I>misinformation that is absolutely <I>required </I>in some instances, the Hebrew midwives, for instance, Exodus 1; or people who hid Jews during the Holocaust.  On a practical level, you or I may <I>never </I>have to give misinformation to save lives; let us at least hope not.  There are persecuted brothers in other places, though, for whom this is an unwelcome daily necessity.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ***************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dec_31"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="592" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFCCB2 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 92 ><NOBR><div> <B>Proverbs 12:18</B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >  </FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >There are those who blurt </FONT><I>words</I><I> </I> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bell MT" >like the piercings of a sword, </FONT></div> <div> but the tongue of the wise heals. </div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Words of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" ><B>:</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>    </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Century Gothic" >The Hebrew for the 'word-blurter' is used only here in Proverbs.  A 'babbler' or 'chatterer' would perhaps describe him well.  </FONT></div> <div>     The word for "piercings" is used only here in the whole Bible.  Its root is used several times, though, and has much the same meaning.</div> <div>     The word for "healing" can also mean "to calm", with a root meaning of loosing.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Analysis of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> Being Compared<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The impulsive talker</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">The wise </div> <bR> <div> Their Descriptions<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Calisto MT" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">His words are like sword cuts</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b7011800000000.png" HEIGHT="19" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">His tongue heals</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Teaching of the Verse</U></B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bookman Old Style" >:</FONT></div> <bR> <div>     A second verse in succession on the tongue; here its power to <I>wound </I>or <I>make well</I> are contrasted.  The wise in a very <I>broad </I>way is being compared to a very <I>specific </I>kind of fool- the man who speaks rashly, unadvisedly.  The teaching of the proverb is that whenever someone speaks hastily, without proper forethought, <I>harm </I>ensues.  Or, his speech is as if he were whirling a sword around wildly; someone's <I>going </I>to get cut sooner or later.  There are many possible <I>objects </I>of his damage, too; one is the rash speaker himself.  There are also many <I>kinds </I>of rash speech; Solomon describes rash <I>religious </I>speech in Ecclesiastes:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>Eccl 5:2</B></FONT><B>   Do not be </B><B><U>hasty</U></B><B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>with</B></I><I><B> </B></I></FONT><B>your mouth, and do not let your heart hurry to bring forth a word before </B><B>God</B><B>. For God </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>is</B></I><I><B> </B></I></FONT><B>in Heaven, and you </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>are</B></I><I><B> </B></I></FONT><B>on earth; on account of this, let your words be few. </B></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>Eccl 5:6</B></FONT><B>   Do not allow your mouth to cause your flesh to sin; do not say before the angel that it </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>was</B></I><I><B> </B></I></FONT><B>an error. Why should </B><B><U>God be angry</U></B><B> over your voice, and </B><B>destroy</B><B> the work of your hands? </B></div> <bR> <div>     In this case the rash speaker hurts <I>himself </I>by unadvised religious speech.  In most other cases he harms <I>others</I>.  These are the cases Solomon primarily has in mind in our verse.  </div> <div>     An impulsive speaker gives way to his <I>anger </I>immediately (see two verses previous, 12:16), and he speaks hurtful words.  He is irritated, and someone is going to pay.  He may not even care so much to hurt someone, but he wishes to express his anger; harm just naturally follows.  And it is harm for which he is responsible.  </div> <div>     We may later say, "I didn't mean it" if we speak rashly, but Solomon is trying to teach us that this is like someone saying "I didn't mean to slice you with my sword" to someone whose arm we just amputated.  The harm can be <I>irreversible </I>whether we meant it or not.  Solomon's implicit advice about keeping company with such a person is undeniably implicit:  Avoid them!  Would I stay around someone who habitually begins swinging a sword without warning?   </div> <div>     Now what is the contrast we are supposed to emulate?  Simply this: pray for and seek to manifest a <I>healing </I>tongue.  Ask God for insight into others' <I>hurts</I>.  Are we going to add to them, or address them?  Think about the kind of words that generally minister inner health to people; not flattery or phony feel-good tripe, but real encouragement ("en<FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" ><B>courage</B></FONT>ment" = "put <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Book Antiqua" ><B>courage </B></FONT>in", literally).  People need courage for the daily battle with sin.  Probably the best ministering is whatever words convey a sincere sense of our empathy, that <I>we're</I> going through the same battle; that we are not judges, but <I>helpers </I>on the same road with them.  People sense when they are not being patronized.</div> <div>     One thing that nearly goes without saying here is that a wise tongue is NOT an impulsive tongue.  A wise tongue, by definition, is a <I>thoughtful </I>tongue.  A foolish tongue is connected straight to a man's gut; he feels it- he speaks it.  A Christian tongue is always filtered thought the mind, testing whether its words are acceptable before being spoken.  There is almost no hope for someone who speaks <I>without </I>thought:</div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Bookman Old Style" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><B>Prov 29:20</B></FONT><B>   Do you see a man hasty in his words? </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>There is</B></I></FONT><B> </B><B><U>more hope for a fool</U></B><B> than for him. </B></div> <bR> <div>     The old saying, Count to ten before you speak is actually quite on target Scripturally.</div> <bR> <div>     Finally, note what a <I>complete contrast</I> this verse presents!  Tongues ministering <I>healing </I>or <I>hurting</I>.  Proverbs is actually one of the most discriminating books in the Bible.  New Testament authors are quite stark,  </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#008080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>1 Cor 6:9, 10</B></I></FONT><B>  Do you not know that </B><B><U>unrighteous</U></B><B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>persons</B></I><B> </B></FONT><B><U>shall not inherit</U></B><B> </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>the</B></I><B> </B></FONT><B>kingdom of God? Do not err: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who make women of themselves, nor who abuse themselves with </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>other </B></I></FONT><B>men,  nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor </B><B><U>abusive</U></B><B> persons, nor seizers </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#808080" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>of </B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>possessions</B></I></FONT><B>, shall inherit </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#444444" FACE="Californian FB" ><I><B>the</B></I><B> </B></FONT><B>kingdom of God,</B></div> <div>  but Solomon is not far behind, if at all.  If we are listening, he is categorizing us, and it is not while we are 'posing' for the Divine camera that we are being categorized.  It is in our <I>ordinary</I>, household speech that we betray our spiritual nature.</div> <bR> <div>     How do you talk around the <I>house</I>?  Are you going around spitting invectives because of your displeasure?  Take heed.  No amount of religious talk, belief, or practice can offset this clear sign.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> **************************************************************************</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>