The heart of the wise instructs his mouth And adds persuasiveness to his lips. Proverbs 16:23

One of the maladies that I face in my life is that I engage my mouth too often without fully engaging my mind as to what I am going to say. That particular malady results in another and that is that I find my foot often lodged in my mouth shortly after the first malady manifests itself. Needless to say today's proverb was eye-opening to say the least. I learned that what truly needs to be engaged before I speak is my heart - which is to be what instructs my mouth before it engages in saying what "ought" to be said.

The heart of a wise man instructs his mouth what to say. Some might say that if this were the case all we would say is, "thump, thump" in a rythmic fashion. (Oops, there I go again!) But the Hebrew concept of the heart is a wondeful one. The heart refers to the immaterial inner self - or what the Holy Spirit would refer to as man's spirit. This is considered by the Hebrew mind to be our inner nature - the workings of our mind as it is instructed by the Holy Spirit using as His primary text, the Word of God. Thus the mouth is instructed by none other than the Holy Spirit Himself - who takes the Word and uses it to instruct us, through our spirit, so that our mind is taught. This working then brings to our mind things that should be filtered out - or in some cases filtered in.

Scripture, for example, instructs us in Colossians 4:6, "Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person." What a great instruction for our mouths. Therefore, as the Spirit does this He asks us, "Hey Bubba (sorry, I live in Arkansas and this is pretty effective here), is what you are going to say gracious? Does it have a little 'salt of the gospel' in it - so that it will make whoever is hearing you thirsty for God - and the gospel?" Something else the Spirit of God might ask is this, "Yo Bubbba, did you think about what this person truly and lovingly NEEDS - or - are you just spouting off what you want to say to them?" These are things that will truly alter how you speak - because in all honesty - not even our words belong to us. We were bought with a price - therefore we are to glorify God with our bodies - which, by the way, includes our mouths!

Here is another way our mouth can be instructed by the wisdom of the Spirit of God. He may choose to remind us of Ephesians 4:29 which says, "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear." So this time the Spirit of God may chime in with something like this. "Dude (this is when I am in California), is what you are going to say wholesome, or does it smell like rotten fruit or nasty-smelling fish! Are you going to build up your friend - or just confirm him in the same worldly ways that his other friends speak? Like, you totally need to think about what he NEEDS right now! Have you even heard what HE'S been saying at a heart level in this conversation and others? Don't be a total bogart man - give him some grace - some love brother - some real helpful, encouraging, gospel-smelling stuff!"

Now, apart from the regionalization of all this in my language - there are a few VERY important things we can learn from just these two examples.  We learn how the Scriptures would be used by the Holy Spirit to instruct our mouths. First, note that in both examples the Lord wants to instruct us to think of others as we open our mouths. Second, note as well in both examples that the Lord wants us to have our words abound with grace as we speak. Lastly, there is either stated or implied that our words are to be used to build others up - not tear them down. You can take these three things to the verbal-bank! We ought to write them on the inside of our mouths, so to speak, so that we are reminded that any word that proceeds out of them should be -  1) others-minded, 2) filled with grace and the gospel, and 3) encouraging! Can you imagine the difference that would make in a matter of days in the things we say!?

The rest of today's proverb reminds us that when we do this - our hearts will help us to have additional "persuasiveness" added to everything we say. I have known people like this in my life - and they are amazing people. They are the E.F. Hutton's of the spiritual world - and in many ways the world in general. When they speak - people listen! The amazing thing is that this is not because they have "earth-shaking" things to say every time they open their mouths. It is more because you will be blessed and uplifted whenever they speak! You want to hear what they say - because it nourishes your very soul to hear it.

Precious ones . . . let us not be people whose mouths are instructed by our culture - or by our own selfish motives - or by the evil one who would love to use our mouths for his own destructive purposes. Let us be people of the grace-filled, love-overflowing, life-encouraging, Spirit-instructed mouth! Let us embrace hearing what our hearts have to say about what words we should use. And as we listen to this soul-nourishing instruction for our mouths - may we submit our hearts to be ruled and governed by the Holy Spirit of God. May His tutelage dominate our conversations, our statements, and our answers so that others may be blessed - made thirsty for the God who speaks through us - and hungry for the same gospel grace that has changed our hearts, which is the very reason that our conversation is so different!

The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.   Proverbs 15:33

There are few people who do not want to be wise. The rub comes when they learn how to become wise. There is even a higher cost when you learn the method by which God will bring us to the point where we become wise.

The first thing we need to grasp is that wisdom comes from God. If men, in their experience of life, manifest wisdom - it is only because they have stumbled across it over the course of their lives. Even a blind squirrel will find a few nuts as he wanders underneath the trees. Wisdom is defined best as seeing things as God sees them. Therefore if we are going to become wise - we will have to respect God and what He has to say. That is the crux of what Solomon is saying here when he states that the fear of Jehovah is the instruction for wisdom. If we do not respect and reverence God - we are fools. If we do not honor Him and give Him the honor which He deserves, we will not be wise in the end.

We note here that the fear of Jehovah is the "instruction" for wisdom. The word for instruction here is the Hebrew word "musar" which means to instruct with discipline. This means far more than just learning something in our heads. This involves both mental instruction of the head - and discipline to make sure that what goes into our heads is then applied and carried out in our lives. This often involves some correction, pain, and difficulty as we have to learn to value God's perspective more than our own. This is the process of wisdom - and depending on how stubborn or prideful we are in holding to our particular perspective - how painful and hard it will be to become wise.

The last part of this proverb lets us know the one overarching principle that will apply throughout this entire process. "Before honor comes humility." Humans (at least fallen ones - and that means all of us) want the honor now. They want honor immediately. If we want the honor of other men and the world that may be possible. If we want the honor that comes from God and that is lasting - we will have to take a different path. Honor from God requires humility first. It is the humility that is willing to empty ourselves and lay our own will and ego down. This is what Christ Jesus did according to Philippians 2, and God requires nothing less of us. Oh how hard the human will goes down. But in order to be wise - and to receive honor from God - that is what we will have to do. But such wisdom and such honor is better than anyting billion things the world can offer us in the way of its trinkets and trash.

Want to be wise? Want lasting, eternal honor? Then wisdom is what you want. You will haae to first admit you don't have any - and then turn to the only One Who can give it to you. You will need to see your view of God raised infinitely higher - where you find His wisdom and guidance impeccable in every way. You will need to embrace His thoughts and working in your mind even in the most difficult times when honestly, it does not make sense. You will need to lay your own thoughts in the dust - until you learn that they are in agreement with His - then praise Him for enlighening your mind to have such thoughts. This is the way of wisdom - which is also the way of humility. But I can promise you by the Word of the Lord that this is also the way of true happiness, true contentment, and a true reward that will last infinitely beyond any trophy, any medal, any certificate, or any human reward that will fade and fade away with time.

Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in abundance of counselors there is victory. Proverbs 11:14

How do you make good decisions in life?  Even better said, "How do you make decisions that will not end in you falling on your face?  That is what is addressed in the proverb for today.  There is a way to be confident that your decisions will not come back to haunt you later.  Let's take a look at what God's wisdom has to teach us today about this.

This proverb is all about being willing to seek and take advice.  This does not mean that we cannot know what to do ourselves and do it, but it does warn against the person who thinks in all matters that what is in his own mind will suffice.  This man does not seek counsel at all.  When we read the passage it speaks of having "NO" guidance.  The problem here is that we have a decision maker with an excessive amount of pride in his own thinking.  The willingness to seek and accept advice is a plus - because godly counsel is a must if we are going to walk in God's ways.  We even need to be able to hear and consider advice that we don't want.  Some think that anyone they consider inferior to themselves is unable to offer counsel.  That is a sure way to fall.  It is when we have an abundance of godly counsellors in our life that we will have victory.  The word for victory is "tesuah" and it means to have deliverance, safety, or victory.  It speaks of a military context, of course, but goes beyond that one to also speak of deliverance from sin and from making foolish decisions that harm us later. 

When thinking about this verse two examples come to mind.  The first is that of Balaam.  He sought after and received God's counsel (even though he did it by divination).  But after receiving God's counsel - he decided after seeing the possibility of a huge payday from Balak, to ask God if He had any other ideas concerning cursing Israel.  When God allowed Balaam to go (but only speak what God says) Balaam took it as far more freedom to do what he wanted (which was to make a lot of money from Balak).  Since he would not take counsel from God - the Lord intended to kill him.  Were it not for the counsel of his donkey - he would have been killed that next day.  Balaam had what he wanted to do in his mind - and would not listen to God's counsel.  Fortunately for him the advice the donkey he had just beaten got through to him for a while.  Unfortunately for him - his donkey was not able to speak a second time to keep him from counselling Balak to send his women among the Israelites to get them to commit sexual immorality with the men - to get God to curse Israel.  In the end, Balaam's desire for money and power cost him his life - and eternity in hell. 

The second example is that of king Nebuhadnezzar from Babylon.  His pride and arrogance was leading him down a very destructive path.  He felt "he" was sovereign over his own life - and that all his power and authority had come from himself.  First God sought to counsel him by giving him a strange dream - then Daniel interpretted it.  Daniel let Nebuchadnezzar know that if he did not repent of his pride and arrogance, admitting that God alone was sovereign, he was about to experience life as a beast.  Nebby listened, but did not take the advice.  He fell from being king to being an ordinary beast of the field for 7 years.  He ended that time by lifting his eyes and finally taking counsel to admit that God alone was sovereign.  It took a while, but he learned that in the abundance of counsellors (God and Daniel) there is victory. 

Where are you?  Are you one who thinks that your own understanding is sufficient?  Do you shun the offer of advice and counsel of godly men and women?  If you are, I would encourage you to seriously consider today's proverb.  It warns of a fall that is coming your way.  It also gives you advice about having an abundance of godly counsellors to help you know wisdom - know victory - and know the favor and blessing of God.  A wise man would take this counsel.  A foolish man would seek no other guidance than that which his own mind produces - oh - and he will fall flat on his face eventually.

He is on the path of life who heeds instruction, But he who ignores reproof goes astray.   Proverbs 10:17

If we are wanting to be blessed in life - we are going to have to embrace two things.  These things are the ability to be taught or instructed, and the ability to have someone correct or reprove us. 

This proverb puts it right out there for us - the path of life is wide open for the one who heeds instruction.  This means we need to be teachable!  Note it is not just the ability to hear someone - but we learn to heed what they say.  The word instruction is important for us to grasp here.  The word means to be instructed and disciplined.  The primary instruction that it speaks of in Scripture is that of a father.  When we learn to be instructed and disciplined by our fathers - it carries over into all of life later.  There is a general ability to receive instruction in general.  The other major figure who instructs in this way is God.  Therefore - if we struggle being instructed by our fathers - it should not shock us when later in life we are unteachable - not only by others - but even by God Himself.  Remember this . . . how we deal with dear ole dad - is a precursor to how we will one day be able to deal with God or anyone else.  Rebel against dad - it is more likely that you will rebel against others and God. 

The second half of this proverb tells us that when we ignore reproof - we will go astray.  The word "ignores" is the Hebrew word "azab" which means to forsake, abandon, or leave something.  The idea is that of walking away - and not caring about someone.  The word is used of those who forsake their wives - of those who abandoned their cities in a time of battle - and of those who forsake God.  Reproof here speaks of someone giving us a rebuke, correction, or an argument that shows us where we have erred.  The erring here is when someone forsakes the warning of God and goes their own way.  They may listen - but they reject what is said - the reject the rebuke or correction.  The end though is that they reject what is said and continue in the way that they want.  We are warned that such choices will lead us away from God.  We will make mistakes when we live like this - with an unteachable and unrebukable spirit.

None of us are born as unquestionable genius' who do not need instruction or correction.  We all make mistakes and err in our thinking.  That is why it is a blessing to have those who love us enough to offer correction and godly training.  They become a source of protection and life to us.  But if we never learn to accept such teaching and correction - we will ensure that we are on a path that will fail in the end.  Therefore - listen!  But there is more to this than listening alone - there is the need to hear with understanding and with a heart that embraces change.  This, dear saints, is wisdom.

So that your trust may be in the LORD, I have taught you today, even you. Proverbs 22:19

The reason we need to heed the call to wisdom is because by living a life according to God's wisdom - we will be led to trust in the Lord in all that we do.  Seeing life from God's perspective will inevitably lead us to a point where we trust His worldview rather than any other one that is put before us.  This is what the father is seeking to teach his son.  It is what the wise man is seeking to teach those who lack wisdom.  They are trying to make it clear that God's ways are infinitely superior to those of man.  They are attempting to show the young and the old that there is a radical difference between the ways of the world and the ways of God. 

Trusting in God means having a confidence in Him.  It means standing firm in the principles we see taught in Scripture - even when many others are turning to worldly principles.  From what we've already seen in this section of verses - this is a far better way to live - one that is pleasant and good.  But ultimately to live this way we will also have to be able to speak this way - even at times defending the way that we live to those who think it is foolish and stupid.  This is why the father has taken the time to call his son to apply his heart to wisdom and knowledge.  It is why he is trying to get his son to think and to reason according to what God says in His Word.  It is why he is so adamant in getting his son to meditate and ponder the truth of God deep in his thoughts.

The man teaching either this son, or the unlearned one in God's wisdom - is teaching in a very concrete direction.  When he tells his son that he has "taught" him each day - the word he uses means not just to impart information.  He is teaching with a purpose.  "Yada" is the Hebrew word he uses - and it means to know something.  The knowledge though is not just information to pass a written test.  It is to know so as to perceive, disciern, and eventually experience something.  Thus this teaching is meant to bring his pupil to a point of experiencing God at work in his life.  One of the things that this type of teaching moves toward is that people would consider what is said.  This means they are doing far more than hearing and doing it.  They are considering what is said - it makes them think and reason.  They begin to perceive that God is at work in the world - and that He has specific wisdom for them which will teach them how to live in this world.  They begin to discern things around them.  They see that things are different - choices lead different directions - actions and attitudes lead to a way of living - a lifestyle.  They see that God wants to meet them in their everyday experiences - that He is interested in ALL that they do. 

God wants to move us from merely practicing a religion or holding religious views - to a life that considers God when they make decisions and live their lives.  He wants us to see ALL of life in His way - which we will learn is the way of Life itself.  He desires for us to see His way in the midst of all our choices - and to see His way as the very best way.  Oh that we would teach our sons - teach those around us such wisdom.  That we would call them to so much more than just a Sunday morning religion.  We need to call them to see and experience God in all of life - all that they do - all that comes their way.  This is the call to wisdom - in effect it is a call to know, love, and experience God in every day.  May we not only heed such a call - but also learn wisdom so that we may call others as well.

He will die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he will go astray.  Proverbs 5:23

Moral and sexual sanity has as its ultimate goal that we experience the fullness of God's life - and that we stay on a path that will bless and keep us safe.  The father reminds his son of these things as he closes his teaching time with him. 

The sexually and morally insane will not listen to instruction.  They will walk into things that will eventually kill them because they will not listen to those who seek to teach them God's way in life.  I know that some roll their eyes when I reiterate this, but to be sexually promiscuous in our day is to roll the dice as to your health in the future.  Our world is unfortunately a cesspool of sexually transmitted diseases.  The one sure way to be safe in regard to these infections is to abstain from sexual activity before marriage, and then be sexually pure and faithful in marriage.  Anything other than these two choices will place us in aposition of danger when it comes to getting a sexually transmitted disease.  Not listening to this kind of advice and teaching will put us as risk of dying because we lack instruction, or rebel against it.  One of the very real problems that we have in this area is the fact that a large number of parents do not take the time to instruct their children with God's Word in these areas.  But to leave such instruction to the public - or private schools is an abdication of our biblical responsibility as fathers!  Dad, are you really willing to leave the moral instruction of your children in the hands of the world system - that is steadily opposing the morals and principles of Scripture?  It is our responsibility to teach our children the truth and the way of God - and that includes their sexuality and how they interact with the opposite sex.

The second thing the father has to say to his son is that there will also be some who will go astray from the teaching and instruction of the Lord because they are fools.  We read that some will go astray due to the "greatness" of their folly.  It is not that they are in danger of being fools - it is that they are grand fools!  In the West some speak of the Playboy lifestle drawing reference to empire of immorality that has thrived under the leadership of Hugh Hefner and his family.  This man and his daughter lead a company of fools into all kinds of immorality, disease, and destruction because of how they urge men and women to abandon moral sanity and live for their unbridled sexual desires.  The idea here is to cause someone to go astray, to err, to wander, to make a mistake - and to do so under the deception of arguments that are contrary to the Law of God.  That is what the father desires to deliver his son from with all this teaching.  He is presenting the truth to his son about his - and other's sexuality.  He wants him to know that this is a gift from God - but that this gift is to be preserved and guarded until he can give it to his wife for a lifetime.  Anything other than this is a lie - it is THE lie - and it will draw his son away - deceiving him and bringing him into an errant lifestyle, an errant sexuality, and a way of walking that will eventually bind him hand and foot and keep him from following the Lord with all his heart. 

Dear brothers and sisters, this is why we need to instruct our sons and daughters with the truth - with the Word of God.  Because to do anything less - is to leave our children completely unprotected and liable to an attack from the enemy that will devastate them, their marriages, and many generations that will unfortunately follow in their footsteps - just like ours has since the 1960's when free love was advocated.  Unfortunately for us we are learning the hard way that their "free love" was anything but free.  It has cost us for 4-5 generations - paying the same price we were warned it would make us pay by a father who tried to instruct his son thousands of years ago.  May we see these things - may we heed these things - and may God give us grace to teach our current generation the way of moral and sexual sanity.  May we return to the Word - to the Lord - and to a life lived not forour unbridled lusts - but for His glory and an honorable sexuality.

Good understanding produces favor, But the way of the treacherous is hard. Proverbs 13:15 

Intelligence with insight and discernment is worth its weight in gold and jewels.  We see the phrase "good understanding" at the beginning of this proverb today.  This phrase means to have an intelligence or good sense.  God did not intend for us to be ignorant.  The Word of God makes it clear that we are to learn, to be educated, and to gain knowledge.  Where the world has made its fatal mistake is to separate their gathering and thirst for knowledge from God and from a life given to know and please Him. 

The idea behind having good understanding is ones ability to take their intelligence and use it to also manifest good sense and discernment.  It is the ability to have more than just knowledge - it is the ability to gain insight from that knowledge.  It is taking our knowledge and seeing it as the servant of God.  Unfortunately in the past there were some in the church (not necessarily in Christ) who reacted wrongly to those who in foolish education decided that part and parcel of their education was a call to reject God.  In their misguided zeal to "protect" God - they began to reject education.  In our day there has been such a false separation between God and education that many believe you have to choose one or the other.  Such a separation is falacious entirely.  What the academic rejects is submitting his knowledge to anything or Anyone - which leads him to many foolish conclusions.  What the Christian academic does is submit his study to the Word of God - which, if he will do so consistently, will lead him to even greater discoveries (and by the way - acurate ones as well). 

Ultimately - and here is where the purely secular academic will howl with disapproval - the goal of life is to experience God's favor and grace.  This is wholly unacceptable to the academic who rejects the Bible as ultimate truth.  He sees this as a step backwards into stupidity and ignorance.  But his rejection of God's favor only produces problems for him - and for those who adopt his worldview based upon purely flesly science and research.  The Scriptures here state very clearly that the way of the treacherous is hard.  The word treacherous is telling here.  It is the Hebrew word "bagad" and it means to be traitorous, to act unfaithfully, to betray.  This has at least two applications.  First is the one I to which I am currently referring in this discussion of true scholars - who move past mere research to conclusions which ultimately seek the favor of God.  The treachery of which they are guilty is a betrayal of their very principles of research and understanding.  In cutting off any consideration of the divine - they betray their own conclusions.  They demand a world without anything except what their fallen senses can detect.  But such a world would be one without meaning or purpose.  Thus their very science which seeks to make sense out of the world and its workings - is passionately pursuing of a moot point.  There is no meaning - there are no morals - there is no purpose in a world that is based on an amoral starting point.  You cannot begin with amorality - and come to a conclusion of any moral reasoning. 

This is why the way of the treacherous is hard.  Rejecting God, rejecting truth, rejecting the biblical worldview - is hard.  In the end you are left with a machine that has no purpose nor meaning that crushes the life out of those who are desperately wanting their philosophical nothingless void to whisper that there is something to live for in life.  Though they may never admit it in their lifetime - their pursuit of a nothing that means something will laugh at them in the end - showing that their lifetime has been spent tilting at philosophical windmills.  Even worse - they will give the philosophical underpinnings that will give rise to the most monstrous of men.  Germany rejected God - and rejected truth in the early 20th century in what they thought was a freedom from the mentally constipated constructs of Christian theology which they felt constricted science and philosophical thought.  The step-child of their philosophy rose to power amidst the Third Reich - and Hitler arose as the one who would take their atheistic, evolution-driven understanding and put it to a use that would horrify the ages.  His actions that sought a super-race - free from the restraints of human kindness and consideration - gave us the genocide of the Jews in his generation.  Yet he was only following the treacherous path laid for him by those who asserted that a worldview based on the survival of the fittest.  He was only taking their philosophical treachery and drawing conclusions that make sense in that system.  In the end the way is hard for the treacherous. 

There is a second kind of treachery - one that exists in the church itself.  It is the treachery of hypocrisy within our hearts.  This is where our so-called Bible understanding short-circuits and does not lead us to valid discernment of sin and righteousness.  This is where we have a disconnect with the truth.  We choose NOT to follow the Word - nor the conclusions that should be drawn from it.  We choose NOT to walk in obedience - or to reject an action because the Scriptures clearly show it to be sin.  Thus we become treacherous in how we either know the Word or how we should apply it.  Once again the conclusion of this matter is that the way of the treacherous one is hard.  Sin, regardless of who commits it, is going to be hard.  There are going to be stumbling blocks - consequences - and difficulties that will not go away simply because we claim to be Christians.  The Word stands - we can either follow it and walk in a way that will be blessed - or go the way of the transgressor, which the Bible also tells us, is hard. 

The wise man is the one who grasps that God is truly God - and that His Word IS truth.  Knowing this he is armed with what I would call "advanced" information about this world.  It is information given to us - indeed revealed to us - from an Infinite Intelligence.  If we learn to follow it - and know that stepping outside of its philosophical and moral constructs will only bring difficulty - we will be blessed - even favored if you will accept it.  But to do so requires us to also accept the Author's worldview of man - that of a fallen one who has rebelled and turned from the right way to follow his own base nature.  It requires us to see that the purpose of all things does not find its apex in man - but in God.  Unfortunately for many academics - and religious hypocrites - that is the most odious step to take. 

When the scoffer is punished, the naive becomes wise; But when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge. The righteous one considers the house of the wicked, Turning the wicked to ruin. Proverbs 21:11-12

Ecclesiastes 8:11 says, "Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil."  Punishment is not just for the one who does the evil deed.  Society at large also receives instruction when punishment is handed out for crimes and evil deeds that are done.  Today's proverb helps us understand this.

The scoffer is the first person we see in this proverb.  We see him being punished for something he has done.  It is important to see that while others are instructed and given wisdom from this punishment, the scoffer is not one of them.  A scoffer is incorrigible in his evil.  He mocks God and does not care or concern himself with wisdom.  He himself is the beginning and end of what little wisdom he desires.  When this scoffer eventually breaks laws in his quest to poison society against God, he receives the punishment due for his crime.  It is sad to see though that by the end of this proverb - and even the following verse - the scoffer learns nothing.  He will continue in his scoffing behind bars - living to curse God and in so doing - have a curse upon his own life as he continues in his patterns of self-destruction.

But there is help for others in seeing this fool's punishment.  The naive or simpleton watches and learns wisdom.  This is not the typical word for wisdom here, but is the Hebrew "sakal," which means to be prudent, show discernment, and to be instructed in a way to go.  The naive watch the actions of the scoffer receive their due punishment and consider his end.  As a result they learn not to walk in those ways - if only to avoid the punishment.  The truly wise man though watches and receives real instruction - and as a result receives knowledge as well.  Knowledge is "daath" which means a knowing that gives him practical wisdom and knowledge as to how to walk each day. 

The righteous is the last type of person who watches the punishment of the wicked.  He looks and considers not just this one action that is receiving punishment, but he looks at the entire life of the scoffer.  He considers his entire house (family, business, children, etc.).  The Hebrew here is a little difficult to translate - and here is it rendered "turning the wicked to ruin."  That gives the idea that the righteous man is out to destroy the wicked here.  The Amplified Bible though, gives the best sense of the Hebrew here when it translates this passage, "The [uncompromisingly] righteous man considers well the house of the wicked—how the wicked are cast down to ruin." 

The righteous man can and should work to make sure that the laws of the land reflect the laws of God.  In that way he does work to see the house of the wicked turned to ruin.  That is what is ultimately best for a society.  But what is being communicated here is that what the righteous man does is note that the entire household of the wicked comes to ruin because of his ungodly behavior and his attitude of scoffing at God. 

When we watch the demise of the wicked on television and in the news we need to receive instruction from it.  Our hearts should not be drawn to such stories for the juicy gossip content.  That is the attitude of the world, who learns very little from such things.  We should watch and grieve the destruction from the standpoint of seeing that a lifestyle of arrogant scoffing and derision of God leads to destruction.  We should also receive the instruction that God means for us to receive.  Honoring and glorifying God is the wise man's lifestyle.  As the house of the wicked crashes to the ground we should remember that Jesus Himself taught us that the foundation of a man's house - whether it is founded on obedience to God's Word or not - will be the deciding factor on whether it stands or falls.

Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life. Proverbs 4:13

If we want the life of God, we will have to embrace the ways in which God grants us life.  The way He does this initially is by grace through the gospel of Jesus Christ.  After God grants us His life this way - there are ways that we can experience and enjoy the life He provides in Jesus.

One of the ways that God continues to bless us with life is by us embracing His instruction in our lives.  The word for instruction here is the Hebrew word "musar" which means instruction and discipline.  Throughout proverbs this instruction and discipline comes primarily through the father and the mother in the family.  They come as a teacher to their children offering them this instruction via teaching and at times the rod.  Some might squirm a little when we speak of discipline, but the Scriptures are clear that God disciplines us because He loves us.  Hebrews 12:5-11 is an excellent passage that might help us here in seeing how we receive life through God's instrutive discipline.
 
Hebrews 12:5-11 says, "You have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."  It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?  But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.  Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?  For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.  All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. "

God's instructive discipline does many things.  First it reminds us that God loves us as His sons.  Second, we know that God disciplines us for our good - not because He is angry and disgusted with us.  Third we learn that God's discipline is done for good, that we mighy share His holiness.  Without discipline we would rebel against Him - but the discipline reminds us that we are being conformed to His image - and that involves being conformed to His holiness.  Lastly, His instructive discipline will yield peace in our lives.  As we are conformed to His image - as we are made righteous as He is righteous - there will be great blessing - as well as great peace added to our lives. 

God's instruction is not solely disciplinary - much of it is instructive as God is showing us the way to God - the things to say - the people to whom we need to minister.  But for us to get the full blessings of it we will have to follow what Solomon is telling us to do here.  We need to "take hold" of this instruction and "guard" it.  Taking hold of instruction means that with great strength we grab it.  The idea behind this word is to grab something with a powerful grip and not let go.  Elsewhere in Proverbs we are told to listen intently with a view toward obedience.  This is what we are being told in another way here.  We have such a tendency to partially hear someting - or to hear it with no intent to obey or make what we hear an integral part of our lives.  We need to latch on to whatever we are taught by the Holy Spirit - and to put a death griip on it - so it does not slip away from us. 

The proverb tells us to "guard" the instruction - the teaching - the discipline that we receive from God.  This is the word "natsar" that we have encountered so often in this book.  It means to watch, the guard, and to keep something.  It has the idea of setting a guard - a watchman - a sentry over our instruction from God.  We cannot come away from this admonition without seeing clearly God is warning us NOT to forget something - NOT to let it go - NOT to let it slip away from us as we think of other things later.  Our Lord knows how prone we are to be distracted and forget things.  If we want life, we will have to counteract this by forcefully taking hold of the things God teaches us.  Wisdom is taking what God teaches us very seriously - and taking His discipline the same way.  If we do this we will be fully embracing the life that He desires to pour into our lives. 

My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother; Proverbs 6:20

How does a father and a mother work together to rear their children for the Lord?  That is a good question to ask, and one that is often overlooked as we kind of stumble along in the paths of parenthood.  But believe it or not, the book of Proverbs has a proverb that instructs us on this matter - and does so very well.  We would be wise to listen to this counsel - and begin to pattern our parenting upon its precepts. 

Here in Proverbs 6:20, we have an interesting statement made that gives a role to both the father and the mother in giving wisdom to their children.  The first thing we read here is that a son should observe the commandment of his father.  Observe here is the Hebrew word "natsar" which means to watch, to guard, or to keep.  The word had several uses, but came to us from the military world where the idea of watching was prominent.  When a soldier was put on watch - it was his duty to scan the horizon and be ready at an instant to warn the troops of a sneak attack - or a full scale assault.  Were he to fall asleep at his post - the entire regiment would be at risk of being overrun and destroyed.  The word was then carried over into the idea of ehtics and watchfulness over God's or other's commands.  Here is spoke of a watchfulness for the purpose of being faithful to the command - as well as an ethical watch over one's own behavior so that the command was carried out with careful obedience.  The son is called to have this kind of watching when it came to his father's commandments.  As you can imagine, the word "commandments" is the normal word "mitsvah" which is the most common word for a commandment or a statute given to someone.  It is the word used of the 10 commandments - and the same word used most often to speak of God's law.  It is also part of the word for "barmitzvah" that speaks of the ceremony at age 13 when a Jewish boy was considered a man.  He was considered such because he was taking on the full responsibility of the Law of God.  Barmitzvah literally means, "son of the law" or "son of the commandments." 

The father calls his son to obey the commandments that he gives him.  If a man is wise - he will make his commandments very similar to those God gives us.  Flood a boy with too many commandments and he will lose heart trying to remember and keep all of them.  But when we give a child limitations and wise standards by which to live - he will be far more secure.  Just a warning though to the father who thinks that he can "christianize" his kids by the way he rears them.  The Law was meant to show us that we are sinners.  No matter how wonderfully you rear your children, they will still have to come to Christ to be saved and redeemed from their sinful, rebellious ways.  Yet, a wise man will knows the value of setting godly standards for his children.  A son would also be wise - very wise if he takes his father's commandments and seeks to govern his behavior by them.  Most young people (and by the way I definitely include myself in my younger years) have a basic disdain for their parents commandments.  That is a perfect way of seeing how sin and how the fall have affected our lives.  Wisdom tells us that those older than us are also usually wiser than us.  The only time a child can say that he is as wise as his elders is when he loves God's Word and seeks to know it with great passion.  Then Psalm 119 makes a promise that God's Word makes him wiser even than his elders.  (Just a brief word of wisdom though - if you do know the Word very well - you will also approach your elders with it with humility and grace - not with arrogance and a sense of superiority - that kind of attitude pretty much shows that you've descended back into foolishness again.) 

The mother's role is given next.  This verse says to us that the son also should not forsake the teaching of his mother.  The word forsake means just that - to forsake or to reject something.  Here it refers to the "teaching" of his mother.  The word "teaching" here is the Hebrew word, "torah."  It meant something that was taught - but more along the lines of giving specific instruction or direction to someone.  So we see an interesting thing here.  The father gives the basic commands to his son, but the mother then works with him to see how they are applied to everyday situations and in everyday life.  She takes the basic law given by the dad - and adds additional instruction and help in seeing how to walk in those commands each day.  Since the father usually has to go to work and be gone throughout much of the day, the mother then takes over the work of instructing and helping the sons and daughters grasp and understand how it is the father desires for them to live.  She makes his commandments into practical choices and works hard to teach those choices to the children. 

What is fascinating to me as I look at this verse is that this is how Jewish religion is set up.  They have the Law (mitzvah) which is given by God the Father.  They also have the instruction (the torah) which is given by the rabbis who teach the Law to the people.  They took this very concept and used it to set up their entire teaching system that they use with their people.  This works wonderfully - until the rabbis begin to have their teaching pervert the actual Law upon which it was based.  This is true also in families where mother and father are not on the same page in rearing their children.  Either the dad or mom is too strict - or too lenient, and the other decides to modify what they view as an unrealistic view by changing things themselves.  This leads to chaos in the child's mind - and the unique ability to play one parent against the other.  Regardless - the result is usually bad.

The wise son is the one who listens well to his parents - and who takes both the command of the dad - and the teaching of the mom - and uses it to make wise decisions in life.  May we be so blessed as to have fathers that will lead wisely and godly - moms that will teach according to his commandments - and children who in turn will know the right way to walk because they have heard it from their parents.