A fool rejects his father's discipline, But he who regards reproof is sensible. Proverbs 15:5
Why is it so important for a child to learn to submit himself and learn from his parents - especially a son from his father? First, we need to learn from this relationship because we will be dealing with authority all the days of our lives. I love the story of the son who, rebelling against his father's authority says, "I don't have to live under this kind of dictatorial authority, I'm joining the Marines!" Believe me when I say that when we don't learn under the authority that God has in our lives - the Lord is very willing to up the ante on our next authority figure. The second reason we need to learn to live under authority - especially with our fathers is because that relationship more than any other is suppose to parallel that between a man and his God. Only a fool rejects his father's discipline. He looks at his father's rules and boundaries for his life with contempt. He spurns them and rejects them outright. He comes to despise the role his father is supposed to play in his life. Interesting to note here is the fact that this same word is used for blasphemy elsewhere in the Old Testament. Fancy that now - the same term that is used to describe the rebellion of a son to his father - is the same one used to describe the rebellion of a creation to his Creator. The reason we need so desperately to learn how to deal with discpline and correction is because this is the way of life. Proverbs tells us elsewhere that reproofs for discpiline are the way of life. We are rebels by nature - and by choice when that nature kicks into full gear. The better we learn how to deal with disicpline and reproof - the better suited we are when the Holy Spirit comes to bring conviction of our sin so that we can respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The one who "regards" reproof is called sensible. The word for "regard" here is our old friend "shamar" which means to watch out for something - to attend to it, to be careful to keep something and watch over it. This word has the idea of diligence and watchfulness over what is said in reproof to us. We listen and regard rather than reject what is said. Oh the lessons that we could learn - and the pain and suffering that we could avoid in life if we would just listen to those who offer us reproof. It is the sensible thing to do. It is wise and prudent to listen to those who can offer us reproof and instruction on how to do things better. It is wise to listen to those who see our mistakes and who desire for us to take a fork in the road so that we don't go the wrong way. It is prudent to listen to those who've been where we have not - who've experienced shame and disgrace because of choices we are about to make. That is why we need desperately to learn how to handle loving reproof - and even outright rebuke. God knows that this is truly the way of life - and the way to avoid great sin and sorrow. Listen to your fathers - and learn from them. This will be a lesson that will be repeated often as others who will serve as father-figures offer additional advice and counsel that can bless your life. If you learn to listen now - while a child - oh, what blessings are in store for you from that one lesson later in life.
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A trustworthy witness will not lie, But a false witness utters lies. Proverbs 14:5
The trustworthy man is the witness who does not lie or bend the truth. He is dependable and reliable. What he says he will do. There is also the reliability of what he says - when he says it - it is the truth. In Jesus' day some religious hypocrites would say that it was fine to bend or misrepresent the truth - unless you were swearing to tell the truth - or basing your statement on some oath you made to speak the truth. To Jesus this was totally unacceptable. He said, "Let your yes be yes and your no, no." Your word is your bond. This is the attitude of the trusthworthy witness. Jesus said that anything beyond your word being your bond is of the evil one. This may sound a little harsh - but to couch anything in lies - and to make your word something other than the truth is satanic. The trusthworthy man WILL NOT LIE! It seems simple - but the false witness utters lies. We are not used to such blunt talk in our day of bending and stretching the truth. We are used to things like spin and qualified statements. Such is the world we live in where truth lies fallen in the streets - especially in the streets of Washington D. C. There is much that the Bible says about a culture that has tossed truth to the side. It will be a difficult world to live in - one fraught with troubles. That is why speaking the truth is important. That is why God put this one in the 10 Commandments - "Thou shall not bear false witness." This becomes even more important when sharing the way of salvation. When we become witnesses to the gospel - we need to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Too often in our day we have genius' who have decided that we can package the gospel in a way that is less offensive and that will garner greater receptivity. There is a word for those who practice this kind of foolishness - false witnesses. We need to share the gospel just as it is - as good news! But we cannot hide the sinfulness of man - or the work of the law in condemning sinners before a holy God and still be a truthful witness. We cannot take the Lordship of Jesus Christ and repentance and lay them aside because they lower our success rates - and still call ourselves God's witnesses. These things are nothing more than lies. One thing we should remember when sharing the gospel - and honestly - when sharing anything. Truth may hurt - it may offend - but it is the only thing that will set men free. To share anything else is simply putting ourselves in the camp of those who are false witnesses. Some may say that if we do this - we won't see as many people saved. My answer to them is that it is the ONLY way to see people saved. Salvation is God's work - not ours. If we do not speak His truth - and trust Him to open a man's heart, granting repentance and faith in Jesus Christ - no one will be saved. Be a truthful witness. Refuse to lie - no matter the issue. In time men will come to know you as one who speaks the truth . . . and they will trust you. The other option here is out of the question. A righteous man hates falsehood, But a wicked man acts disgustingly and shamefully. Proverbs 13:5
Here is a great commentary on how a righteous man will live his life. It is also a good reminder for us who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus as to what we should hate and what we should avoid in life. The righteous man hates falsehood. There it is as simply as we can possibly understand it. Want to live a righteous life? Then learn to hate what is false! But the natural question arises, "But what is false?" This is where things get interesting for us in our post-modern society. Our world tells us that truth is in the eye of the beholder. A little more simply put - truth is whatever is true to you. You can follow this particular definition of truth right into the swamps of moral decay and confusion. This ultimately leads you to believe that truth is whatever YOU want it to be - until you are arrested or shot! For this proverb to have any meaning at all, there has to be truth - ultimate truth. Once again, fortunately for those who turn to the revelation of God - there is absolute truth. The Word of God is truth. We can turn to it to get out of our moral morrass of our culture and onto solid ground once again. This may not be easy because moral truth requires moral choices - and the ability to designate things as moral or immoral. (I can hear the cries of judgmentlism and unfairness even as I write this.) God determines truth in His Word and calls us to a moral standard equal to that which He reveals. If we have problems with this - take it up with Him - or rebel against Him (which is usually the action of choice in our world today) Try a moral overthrow, but it will only lead to your life being crushed upon the rocks of God's moral laws. This means that the righteous man lives according to God's standards of right and wrong. Contrary to popular opinion (popular among fallen men - God hasn't changed His mind on these issues - and never will) - God's moral views are not hard to grasp. He gave us 10 commandments and a large amount of other material that will help us form a moral worldview that is fairly easy to grasp. The righteous man therefore considers this to be truth - and lives by it. The problem for the righteous man is that in this fallen world people will militate against God's moral law. We have a world that embraces sexual immorality - both heterosexual and homosexual - that embraces abortion and moral ineptitude. We have a world that considers ethics to be completely situational in orientation. We have a world that says we must morph to our times and to the moral climate in which we live. God says differently. The righteous man hates the lies that distort God's clear moral teachings and ethical standards. He will hate them and stand with the truth of God no matter the cost. The wicked man, though, stinks - and stinks in a shameful manner. That is what the Hebrew says very descriptively here. The shameful man acts disgustingly. The phrase here literally means that he creates a bad, stinky odor! We use the phrase, "That really stinks!" to refer to something we don't like. But for the wicked man - his lifestyle stinks to God - and frankly - to anyone who desires to please God. His lifestyle reeks of selfishness and godlessness. It reeks of self-interest and self-centeredness. The words used here spoke of roten food and the horrific odor that they gave off to others. An ungodly lifestyle stinks with this odor - but it is spiritual in nature. The wicked man embraces death in his actions. Man is dead spiritually until he comes to Christ. The wicked revel in that death - and smell like it as well. The wicked man also acts shamefully. The word use here is "chapher" which means to be ashamed and disgraced. It speaks of one who is humiliated and embarassed. The key to graspoing this word is that it refers to how a person reacts in the presence of God. In the end - we won't be judged by a jury of our peers - for they might approve of how we've lived our lives. We will face judgment at the thron of God. He is the One who will determine our future. If you can imagine the sense of infinite shame that the wicked will know at the throne of God - then you are beginning to get the picture of what we speak of here. The wicked man gives no thought whatsoever to the fact that all of his actions will be judged by a holy God. He just plows on in his wicked course until he is interrupted by his death. Suddenly, all at once, he finds himself before a holy God whose law he has broken. Things that he considered just fine become the source of unb ounded shame and disgrace to him. He is overwhelmed by his guilt, humiliation and horror over what he thought was just fine. Suddenly what was acceptable to him is so no longer. He hangs his head in shame - but it is too late for that shame to do him any good whatever. The righteous man hates lies - because it is lies that deceive men into living their lives without any thought to the judgment of God. But the righteous man knows of this judgment. If he is wise the righteous man knows that his only righteousness comes through the gift of God's grace in Jesus Christ. He receives the righteousness of Christ by faith - and now lives to honor and glorify God. That is why he also turns away from what God describes to him as sintky and shameful conduct. He does not measure all things by himself and his desires - but rather by what God reveals to him to be morally true and right. An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, But she who shames him is like rottenness in his bones. Proverbs 12:4
How would you describe an excellent wife? There is a loaded question if there ever was one - especially when a man is trying to answer that question. Men would answer this question any number of ways. Some would refer to an excellent wife solely by referring to her looks. By the way, this would be a very shallow answer - but one nevertheless. To the man wanting a trophy wife this would be his only consideration. Another man might want a good cook - still another a companion. This is why it is so difficult to answer this question. That is why a proverb like this one is valuable - because it helps us understand the proper way to answer this question biblically. This removes all selfishness and self-centeredness out of the equation - and turns us to God's answer for this question. It will also keep many of us men out of serious hot water when we answer this - and do so without thinking much (which is how we men too often answer things when it comes to the issue of women). The Bible speaks of an "excellent wife" here. What does that mean? The word is actually "chayil" in the Hebrew which when referring to women speaks of a woman with virtuous character. This was the word that was used to describe Ruth in Ruth 3:11. All the people of the city considered her an excellent and virtuous woman. She obtained this testimony because of her character and godliness. The Proverbs 31 woman is also referred to as a woman of excellence as well. Her character speaks well of her - not just in how she treats her husband and children - but also in how she is a hard working, godly woman, whose heart is set on doing well for her family. Their praise of her at the latter end of her days is well-deserved. The second thing we learn of this excellent wife is that she is the crown of her husband. The idea here is that her life and strength of character makes her husband personally proud - and brings him honor as others see her in the community. She adds dignity to his life - not shame. The second half of this proverb points to a shameful wife. We are told that the wife who shames her husband is like rottenness in his bones. Shame here means to act shamefully or to put someone to shame by their behavior. This shame comes from disgraceful conduct - and often this shame is related to sexual immorality and those who act without any wisdom. This shameful woman does not honor her husband or her Lord with her moral conduct - and in addition to this acts often without any kind of wisdom at all. These kind of actions make her like a rotting in her husband's bones. There is no stability given to him from her - and that which should hold him up, gives way into a crippling break of a bone. The excellent wife is the godly wife - the woman who first and foremost seeks to please and honor the Lord. She wants to bless her husband with her heart for God - but also desires to crown him rather than supplant him. As Proverbs 31 tells us, "She does him good all his days." Thus we see all the earthly and fleshly definitions of a good and godly wife fall to the wayside - only to be replaced with the biblical way of seeing a woman. If God has given to you such a wife - realize you have a rare jewel - a diamond and ruby of great value! Cherish her and praise her often for she will not usually be praised by our society. For those who read this - and are women - strive to be the woman God desires for you to be rahter than what the women's magazines promote. Reject the worldy woman who embraces feminism rather than femininity. Enjoy being a woman and enjoy your gender. It is God's gift to you - and a blessing you should cherish. Learn to see your role as God defines it in Scripture - because in the end, you will have to answer to Him on that day - not the NOW. The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.Proverbs 11:5
There is a way of living that will "smooth" our lives and the way which we walk - but there is another way of living that will guarantee that we will trip and fall. We learn from today's proverb that the righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way. Righteousness here is "sedaqah" which means integrity or blameless conduct. It refers to someone who acts with justice - in having right attitudes and living out right actions. This right way and right thinking come from knowing and walking with God. So we have a man who desires to live right before God. He is also described as "blameless" - which means someone whose life is filled with truth, virtue, and uprightness. This is wisdom - to walk in what God says is right - so others can look at our lives and see that we are walking blamelessly when it comes to God and His view of who we are and what we are doing. This "smooth" what that is promised is actually the word "yashar" which means to be smooth, straight, or right. When we want to live in what is right in God's sight - He will grant that ethically we will walk in a way that is prepared for us - a smooth and straight way. This is the lifestyle of the godly - and whether men realize it or not - this lifestyle is one where men bless you - and want you around. The wicked however is said to fall by his own wickedness. He does not walk right - or true - or with integrity. Thus in time his sins catch up with him and he finds himself drowning in his own lifestyle. This is the way that men are brought down. They simply truth in themselves rather than trusting in the Lord. There are two paths in front of us every day - there is the path that leads us to righteousness and God's way - and then there is another path. It is a path that will lead a person to the point where they want to question God and His work in their lives. In the end - the wickedness of the human heart overwhelms us - as we walk in our flesh and seek to please ourselves. May God give us great wisdom to choose the path that embraces godliness, righteousness, and blameless living. That is truly the path that will lead upward for us until Christ comes again to take us home. He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely, But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully. Proverbs 10:5
Something that used to be said often was that the protestants in Christianity had a strong work ethic. In fact, this was known as the protestant work ethic. The place where such a strong motivation and exhortation to work was learned was from the Scriptures. Here we see one of those passages that encouraged and exhorted people to work hard. Work existed before the fall. It is a godly thing to work - and the very first work was tending a garden. Thus in Israel's agrarian world the idea of working in the fields, planting and harvesting crops was something that was valued highly. The son who gathered in summer, when the crops were ripened, was a son who acted wisely. He knew when hard work was required - and when it would yield great benefits. This is another area where work ethic is important to us. We work hard because we gain from the work that we do. The Lord encouraged a system where hard work by the individual and the family yielded gain and blessing to those individuals and families who worked hard. Only in extreme situations did the Lord have men live in a way that they worked so that they could equally share things. Too many look at the early days of the church and deduce that God wants us to live in a commune - or in some kind of socialist utopia. There is far more Scripture that tells us that we are rewarded individually for working hard. Socialism and Communism eventually break down into those who work hard - and others who benefit by taking what those who work hard produce. Thus these systems promote laziness and a lack of a work ethic. It is only when a man can personally benefit from his own hard labor that work will be encouraged throughout society. And . . . it is only when a lack of work results in shame, disgrace, and poverty that work will be respected and embraced by all in society. This is what the second half of our proverb today encourages. The son who sleeps in the harvest is one who acts shamefully. Shame will come upon him when he has nothing to show for his laziness and slothful attitude and actions. There is also a spiritual application to this passage that we should not miss - because the whole idea of gathering and harvesting are terms that God uses in reference to the work of evangelism that should be taking place in the life of a New Testament believer. The son who gathers as the Spirit of God is working is a wise son. He recognizes that the gospel must be planted and watered in the lives of those who need to know Christ. There is also a time to gather - as God brings a harvest in accordance with our diligence to share Christ with others. But the son who sleeps spiritually - who is too busy loving the world and the things of the world - is indeed a shameful son. He does not see that we only have a very limited amount of time to share the gospel in this life - and therefore wastes that time in foolish pursuits. God expects us to work - and to work hard. He wants us to work so that we can provide for ourselves and our families. He wants us to work so that the gospel can touch each and every generation. And just as important . . . He wants us to teach our sons and our daughters to also enter into work - the work of provision as well as the work of eternity. "Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!" To him who lacks understanding she says, "Come, eat of my food And drink of the wine I have mixed. Proverbs 9:4-5
Wisdom is calling to us every day through the work of the Spirit of God. That is the theme of what God is saying to us in Proverbs chapter 9. The actual call of wisdom begins here in verse four. It is a good thing for us to hear this call - because embedded within this call is also the qualifications we need to grasp to be one who hears and receives the wisdom that God wants to give to us. The call of wisdom is to those who are naive. These are the open-minded and naive. They are not open-minded in the way we speak of it - as someone who is open to all things - and investigating a number of different things. This naive is actually a fool. He is simple-minded and because of this - easily led astray. Wisdom is calling to this simple-minded person to turn in where wisdom is offering her counsel. "Turn in here!" is her call to the simple ones. She is wanting us to turn away from our simple-minded ways - ways dominated by worldly and fleshly thinking - and turn in to where she is offering her wisdom to us. Want wisdom? Then you need to be aware that you lack it. You need to be aware of the natural tendency of lost men and women to be led astray by the world and by their own sinful tendencies. Wisdom also calls to us as those who lack understanding. This is not something lost people enjoy admitting. Actually, it is not something anyone enjoys admitting. But for those who will agree with the Lord that we lack wisdom and understanding - that we lack the wisdom to make basic decisions in life - the Holy Spirit is longing to enroll them in the classes where He teaches wisdom. Next we see that wisdom is not preparing a "dressing down" for not being wise, but a feast for the simple-minded. Too often we think that admission of the fact that we lack wisdom will result in being rebuked and humiliated by God. Nothing is further from the truth. What we read here is that God is preparing a banquet for us - a banquet of wisdom and understanding. Food is being prepared - wine is being mixed - and a feast of all that God has for us is set awaiting our presence at God's table. Are you willing to come and eat? There are multiple invitations from the Lord for those who are thirsty as well as those who are hungry. God is awaiting in His banquet hall of wisdom to bring wonderful blessing to us. All we need do is admit our ignorance of His ways - and to sit and be fed a sumptuous fare of God's wise and wonderful counsel. Listen. Hear God's call to you each and every day. Hear God's invitation to receive wisdom for the decisions that you have to make every day. There is a feast awaiting you if you will only open your heart to receive all that you need. "For my mouth will utter truth; And wickedness is an abomination to my lips. Proverbs 8:7
Wisdom is calling to us to come and learn wisdom from her. Her call is to all places where we walk and live. Her comes everywhere - and if we will listen we will be blessed throughout every day. Wisdom wants to assure us what we will receive when we heed the Spirit's desire to teach and instruct us. Wisdom will utter truth to us. The word "mutter" here is very instructive in how wisdom works in our lives. This word means "to growl, groan, sigh, or mutter." It means figuratively to meditate or to ponder. When wisdom speaks to us - it will often be as we take the time to meditate upon and ponder what God's Word says to us. Psalm 1 and Joshua 1:8 promise blessing and prosperity to those who meditate upon the Word of God. A wise man is one who meditates upon the things of the Lord - who meditate on the Word of God. The Spirit of God will speak to us when we meditate - and He will guide us into wisdom and understanding when He does. Want wisdom? Then learn to ponder and think about the Word when making decisions about your future and decisions. Wisdom also assures us what we WON'T hear when God speaks to our hearts by His Holy Spirit. We are told that wickedness is an abomination to the lips of wisdom. When we listen to the Lord as He teaches us the Word, we can be assured that we will NOT hear anything wicked. This actually will help us to know when the Spirit of God is speaking and when He is NOT speaking. If we hear something wicked - it is NOT the Spirit of God offering His wisdom to us. Too often people make really ignorant decisions when they think they've heard God. But if they are counselled to do something ungodly - something wicked - something unscriptural - it is NOT God speaking. But if we hear truth - and realize the ramifications of what His wisdom would have us do - then we are hearing the Spirit of God. Once again the Word "mutter" is so helpful to us in understanding God's ways here. We will much more likely be receiving God's wisdom when we are taking the time to think and ponder God's Word than in doing any other activity we can do. It is the mouth of God who is speaking truth to us as we mutter to ourselves concerning what the Word of God says. God is wanting to speak truth to us - to lead us in His way. But to hear Him we need to take the time to ponder and seriously think about what the Word of God says to us. When we do - we will enter into the counsel of God as He speaks to us about what is right in God's eyes. Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol. Proverbs 5:5
Here is another reminder of the way that the immoral woman is going - and by the way - the way she will also take you if you decide to take her up on her offer of sexual pleasure to you. Why should we read these verses ourselves - and also share them with our children as they grow up in life? It is because a wise man makes his decisions based on the fact of where those decisions are taking him. Only a fool makes decisions based upon the pleasure that is offers in the here and now with no thought to long term consequences. The immoral woman has a path. Her feet go down to death. Death is the word "maveth" in the Hebrew and it means to be dead. The interesting part of this term is that it often is combined with things like sickness and plague that the Lord brings upon the disobedient. Considering the rampant sexually transmitted disease rate in our nation - this passage is prophetic of our current situation. The second statement says that her steps take hold of Sheol. Sheol is a words that is used to describe the place of the dead as well. What is interesting is that the word is used to describe the place of the dead more in spiritual than in just medical language. Thus we learn that this immoral lady is making a fast track to death. She is going there physically as well as spiritually. Now, for the education for the young man or woman who needs to be warned as a result of this passage. Do you really want to die? Do you want to die from the plague that attends sexually immoral conduct? Do you want to destroy your spiritual well being? If you answer to both of these questions is no - then you might want to steer far from the paths of those who walk in sexual immorality. It is a wise thing to do. And for the parent who desires the best for their children - it is also a wise thing of which to speak when talking to your young ones about the dangers of a sexually immoral lifestyle. Then he taught me and said to me, "Let your heart hold fast my words; Keep my commandments and live; Proverbs 4:4
Fathers, what are you wanting in a relationship with your children? Now, I'm not talking to the father whose heart is not turned to the Lord, for often what a lot of men in that condition want is to be relieved of the responsibility of their children. Selfishness and self-centeredness often leads men to care far more about themselves than their children. The godly father, though, is clearly represented in this passage. Let's take a look today and learn wisdom from him. First of all, the godly father is involved in teaching his children. It is important to see this because too often dads leave imparting spiritual wisdom to their children to their wives - and to the Sunday school teacher and youth pastor. Let me say something as strongly as I can at this point. "DAD, YOU CANNOT BE REPLACED IN THIS MATTER!" Your children absolutely need your imput into their lives. They need a godly father to impart God's wisdom to them. I know at this point a lot of fathers panic and think to themselves, "What would I even teach them?" How about Proverbs? How about the 10 commandments? How about just reading to them the sermon on the mount? Just read some and let them ask you questions. Listen to the godly father here. He says to his children, "Let your heart hold fast my words." What a great thing to say to your kiddos. Teach them the Word - read it to them - and then afterward say to them that what you want more than anything else in the world is their heart. You want them to hold fast the Words of God that you read to them. Impart to them a heart that wants to hold your words close. Impart to them a heart that wants to obey God and follow Him. These are things that only you can give your chlidren - and if you don't - not even the best children's ministry and youth ministry in the world can replace you! The godly father also tells his children that they need to keep the commandments - to guard them - to watch over them and desire to obey them. Then tell your children that if they keep God's Word - which will be the word you share with them - they will live! Let them know what REAL living is - it is living out God's Word and living to bring honor and glory to Him! Dads! hear me well - and hear God's Word. The godly father wants his children's hearts! He wants them to be drawn to the ultimate Father whose wisdom will bless them and help them to live a life like no other. Follow the example of this godly father in Scripture. Speak the things of the Lord to your children - make this a priority. You cannot be replaced in this role. Others may fulfill it in your absence - but know this - it will be most effective when it comes from you. No one else will have the impact and the power you will have when you do this. So many bemoan the problems of our world and wonder what it will take to bless a generation of children coming up. I can tell you what can turn us in one generation . . . fathers . . . godly fathers . . . godly fathers who speak the Word to their children - and do so to gain their hearts. They gain their hearts so that they can transfer them to the ultimate Father - Who can take our children and lead them all the days of their lives. |
Proverb a DayEach day, we'll take a look at a verse from the chapter of Proverbs for the day. Our hope is to gain wisdom each day - and from that wisdom - to have understanding to make godly decisions in the throes of everyday life. Thank you for visiting our website! Everything on this site is offered for free. If, however, you would like to make a donation to help pay for its continued presence on the internet, you can do that by clicking here. The only thing we ask is that you give first to the local church you attend. Thank you!
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