Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear Is a wicked ruler over a poor people. Proverbs 28:15
Oppression of the poor by a wicked ruler - that sounds like a modern day headline in one of our newpapers - or in a report that we would read online. Unfortunately oppression has been going on every since the fall of man - and the beginning of politics. When the sinfulness of man combined with the treachery of politics - it was not going to be long before men learned how to oppress the poor and helpless for their own benefit. We read in today's proverb that a wicked ruler over a poor people is like a roaring lion or a rushing bear. A roaring lion scares the other animals in the forest. The lion roars to establish his territory and his authority. Thus when a wicked ruler acts like a roaring lion - he is establishing that he has the power and authority over the poor ones he is oppressing. We've seen it again and again in history. The powerful oppress and dominate the poor - even resorting to attacking them with the army to establish their power. They will use the secret police to kidnap them and torture them to silence anyone's opposition and threat to their power. It is a sad thing to see - but unfortunately it will continue until the day that Jesus Christ comes to establish a kingdom based upon justice and righteousness. Those who dare to stand against such a wicked ruler will find themselves quickly attacked and often silenced for good. They may be thrown into prison - or summarily executed for their boldness to oppose the ruler - or threaten their absolute stranglehold on power. However it is done, the poor quickly learn to hide any desire for freedom and justice, because these things can cost them their lives. This is why it is so vital for those who have the freedom to choose their leaders, to choose wise and godly ones. To do otherwise will cost us far more than just a wrongly cast vote - it could cost us our freedoms - and in some severe cases - even our lives.
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Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net In the sight of any bird; But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives. So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors. Proverbs 1:17-19
Why is it unwise to use violence to get what you want in life? It is because although you may gain in the short term, you will lose bit time in the end. Too many people live for the short term good - even if it results in harm over time. This is why the godly father takes time to warn his son against using violence to get what he wants in life. This dad uses a great picture to explain to his son why violence is not a good alternative to get ahead in life. He speaks of how it is useless to set a net with bait right in front of the bird that you are wanting to catch. The bird sees not just the bait, but more importantly the net. As a result he will have nothing to do with the set up because he knows it is a trap. This is a lesson from hunting 101 - and one that even those who know nothing about hunting can understand. But then the father uses this very simple illustration to prove a very important point to his boys. When someone uses violence to get what he wants, he is not lying in wait for the other person as much as he is lying in wait for his own life. Sure in the short term he may attack a few people, spill some blood getting what he wants, and get a little gain. But in the long term he is only setting a trap for himself. Worse that this he is setting his own trap right in front of his own face - and not realizing it. He is setting a trap for his own demise and destruction. It sounds pretty silly that someone can set a trap for themselves and ambush their own lives - but that is exactly what this young man is doing. The father then ties this lesson up for his son by telling him that this is what is happening when someone wants to gain by violence. It may get him something immediately, but it will take away his life when it is all over. This father is teaching his son something that is absolutely essential to living a life of wisdom. It is the lesson that the quick way to something is most often the unwise way to it. This is especially true when this quick way causes us to disregard Scripture - and walk in a way that is contrary to godliness. Men of bloodshed hate the blameless, But the upright are concerned for his life. Proverbs 29:10
In a sinful and fallen world there is something that provokes the wicked when they see a man of true integrity. Today's proverb tells us about "men of bloodshed," and how they hate men of integrity. Men of bloodshed are those who have shed the blood of humans - they are either very violent men - or most often men who have murdered. When we think of murderers though, we need to see them in two ways. There are those who have crossed the line of literally taking someone's life by murdering them. But there is a second type of which the Scriptures speak that encompasses far more people than one would think. In Matthew 5 Jesus said these words, "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER ' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. (Matthew 5:21-22) This statement of Jesus shows us that pretty much everyone in the world is guilty of murder. If we've been angry with a brother or sister - called someone a derogatory name - we are guilty of murder before God. We are guilty enough to go into the fiery hell itself. This is where murder begins, in the mind. It is what God told Cain before he murdered Abel. God said to him, "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." (Genesis 4:7) Cain's murder of his brother Abel began as a thought - an angry, evil thought - which soon hatched into a heinous, murderous action. Sin always begins in the mind - and if we do not master it there - it will yield its wicked fruit in our actions. Murderous men hate men of character and godliness. The word hate here is the Hebrew word "sane" which means to hate, to consider another an enemy - to dislike, be hostile to, or to loathe another. It is the direct antonym of the Hebrew word "anab" which means to love. John wrote of this very incident between Cain and Abel. He said, "For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother's were righteous." (1 John 3:11-12) This passage in 1 John tells us exactly what our proverb today is trying to tell us. The murderer hates the godly man. It should be noted that the word "blameless" does not mean without sin. It speaks of a person of integrity who desires to live a godly, moral life according to God's Word and God's precepts. This world does not love such a man - and the more ungodly they are - the more they hate him. We see this growing every day in our society. Just look at how Christians are portrayed in our world today - especially in the media. The hatred of the media elite and the ungodly in positions of power there drips off our television and movie screens. It is difficult, unless you are watching a movie produced by a Christian, to find positive Christian characters. This is because when a man's deeds are evil - he hates the people who pursue righteousness. Just an aside . . . we see this proverb lived out daily in the moral and cultural battle that is raging in our own nation today. This is especially true when we see the actions and words of the radical homosexual movement. The more the homosexual movement gains ascendency in our laws and in the movie and television industry - the more you will see this hatred grow. The radical homosexual movement absolutely despises biblical Christianity because the Bible is clear that homosexuality is sin. That will pit them against us - if we choose to remain true to the Word of God and preach the true gospel. But, our place is not to hate the homosexual - or for that matter anyone who hates us because we hold to biblical truth and morality. Our place is to love them even if they hate us and do violence to us in their cause to legitimatize what God calls sin. Remember what this world system did to our Lord - the ultimate blameless man of absolute integrity. He Himself told us if they hated Him, they would hate us as well. But we are NEVER to turn to violence to defend ourselves from such attacks. We must remain true to the gospel and win them by the love of God - and by the grace of His eternal gospel. The remainder of our proverb today states that the upright are concerned for the lives of the moral and those who walk in integrity. The literal translation of this would say, "But the upright seek his soul." We stand with the godly man of integrity - because we see that life is more than just the 70 or so years we spend on this planet. There is an eternal soul in each man - and that is what we should be most concerned with in life. There will come a day when the wicked will be loosed in a way that we have not seen before in our nation. Regardless of our most recent elections, there is not a moral, godly ascendency going on in our nation. If there was, such moral issues such as abortion, homosexual and heterosexual immorality, decency, and the moral debauchery of our nation would be put on the front burner as the real problems we face as a nation. As it is - we continue to worship the dollar - and when it finally crashes to the ground, which it will, we will face a country that will rip itself apart because we lack basic morality. In that day it will be difficult to stand with the "blameless man" in our nation. In some ways it already is. Franklin Graham has taken several biblical stands for righteousness and he is more and more being ripped apart in the public square. We should stand with him and with other men who stand for biblical righteousness. Even if it becomes increasingly difficult to do so - we need to be concerned with the souls and lives of such men. For according to this proverb . . . that is wisdom. Grievous punishment is for him who forsakes the way; He who hates reproof will die. Proverbs 15:10
What happens when we depart from God's ways? According to this passage in Proverbs there is a very serious consequence for us when we do this. Even worse is what awaits us if we go even further than this and reject God's reproof after we've left his ways. What is at stake here? Well, what drives this particular proverb is the idea of "forsaking the way." "The way," refers to God's way - the way of his commandments. Several times the phrase, "the way of the Lord" is used to refer to this. If you want to understand it better you can turn to the 119th Psalm which calls it by various names like, "the way of righteousness," "the way of Your testimonies," "the way of Your precepts," "the way of Your statutes," as well as what we've already said as the way of God's commandments. This way is the commands and the things God calls us to be and to do in His Word. When we "forsake" this way, we are doing the following. We no longer listen carefully to God's Word - we don't pay heed to it or obey it. But the core idea here is no longer listening or paying attention to someone. That Someone here is God. In case you do not know what this means - it means as you listen - you do so in order to respond and obey God. What happens when we forsake God's way? The Word here says that we face "grevious punishment." The word translated for this is the Hebrew word "ra" - and it simply means, bad things! When you no longer walk with God, listen to Him, or obey Him - bad things are going to eventually happen in your life. This is the case no matter whether you are His or not. If you take a close look at the progress (or regress) of the world around you, you can see that ignoring and forsaking God's ways has never led to a world of peace and blessing. By its very nature this world works best when God's ways and paths are followed. When they are ignored - or worse - shunned, things go bad. This is a fait accompli - an established fact! Now a second warning is also issued at this point - and I think it is a reminder that God's rebuke and reproof are proofs of His love - not hate. When we forsake God's way, we will face bad things, but when we go further and ignore His loving reproof of those ways and continue in rebellion - we are headed toward death. It is God's great mercy and love that arrests us in our rebellion with disciplinary action. He allows difficulties and problems to come to us to turn us from the insanity of abandoning His ways. But when we are too stubborn to listen - we are moving toward death itself. What is terrifying is the warning in 1 John that there is a sin leading unto death - a point at which a disciplinary measure from God involves having a person die. Wisdom tells us to respond to His discipline and His reproof quickly - so that we will not have to go that far. One last comment on this passage. These two truths are just that - truth. But they had their most astounding fulfillment in the cross of Jesus Christ. It was there that we saw the most grievous punishment imaginable. It had nothing to do with the Roman scourage or the nails in the hands of our Savior. It had little or nothing to do with the agony of the cross physically as Jesus gapsed for air as His torn and bruised body slowly died on the cross. But it had everything to do with why Jesus sweat blood the night before in the garden. It had everything to do with the agony of the wrath and judgment of God upon sin. Calling it a grevious punishment seems too small in light of what it truly cost Christ to pay for our sin before His holy Father. That is why we should never take sin in our lives lightly. Yes, our sin was paid in full by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross - but we should always view that truth with both trembling and a sense of honor to God for what He did for us. Otherwise we will take sin too lightly - and risk thinking that forsaking His way really is not that bad - and it really won't cost us much. There is foolish talk that reaches to the heavens themselves - and the kind of talk that will give rise to actions that will in the end yield that grevious punishment and stinging rebuke. It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts, For a throne is established on righteousness. Proverbs 16:12
God's Word has a great deal to say about the role and actions of those who are kings, presidents, and prime ministers of nations. Whereas the current crowd, who don't know the constitution or the words of our founders, say that there is a wall of separation between church and state - our constitution speaks of no such wall. But even if it did - the ultimate document by which we know true wisdom is not the United States Constitution - but the Word of God, the Bible. So let us take a few moments to see what the Scriptures have to say to us about the role of kings and presidents - and whether character (both private and public) matters. We read here that it is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts. That should pretty much seal the issue for us on the character of those who lead us. The idea here is that of an individual act that is contrary to the justice and righteousness of God and His Word. Anything outside of what He says - is wrong - and wicked. That may not fit the post-modern mindset that everything is OK as long as it is OK with you - but then again the Word of God is not from the post-modern view - it is from the Ancient of Days. We are not our own moral free agents. God calls all of us to a standard in His Word - and that standard is not lowered for those in politics. If anything, it is raised because those who lead us are more in the spotlight of the nation. When they commit wickedness it not only affects them, it affects the entire nation as it weakens our moral backbone. It is a horrific thing when leaders cast aside not just biblical morals - but all moral restraint - as they live as if they are above the Laws of God. This will eventually lead them to live as if they are above the laws of the land as well. Their actions will lead to ruin for the nation. Eventually we will experience "trickle-down" morals as the example set by leaders is followed by the people they lead. We read here that a throne is established on righteousness. A throne is weakened when its moral authority is weakened. If a man cannot be trusted on lesser issues - how can he be trusted on the major ones? Thus we learn that sin and wickedness cost us not just in family matters - not just on economic ones - but they weaken the very foundation upon which our republic rests. Our forefathers told us in their very own written documents that our nation is based on the 10 commandments. Washington told us that you cannot separate good political leadership from godly, moral principles. Every nation and every people establish a basic public morality. That basic knowledge and agreement as to the public morality is one of the chief pillars upon which a stable society rests. When that morality crumbles and immorality begins to be accepted - and even trumpeted as the new morality of the day - the foundations of that nation or people will begin to crumble. It should be no shock to us that the basic structures of our society are being destroyed all around us. In recent years we've watched as moral crisis after moral crisis has shaken the pillars of our society. Immorality rocked our trust in the government as we watched the Watergate scandal erupt and a president resign. We watched as another president had an affair with an intern in his office, committing adultery against his wife. Then we watched in horror as all was swept under the rug in the guise of private license and the lie that "everyone does it." Our economic structures collapsed under the weight of companies and banks that engaged in ponsi-schemes to make themselves rich at the expense of those who trusted them with their money. Our children's financial futures are daily being mortgaged on the backs of politicians who are spending their future wealth in a bid to be re-elected again and again. The new morality is basically the same old immorality God warned against throughout both the Old and New Testaments. But - before we lay all this at the feet of politicians, we need to remember the barrage of moral failures and scandals that have rocked the church at the same time. We need to realize that the church sold her birthright for a bowl of red soup. We decided that bigger budgets, buildings, and growth figures were the new signs of godliness. Forget that the fruit of the Spirit still remains to be the 9-fold fruit we read of in Galatians 5:22-23. The new fruit is power and the ability to name and claim whatever you want in the name of Jesus. How did we get here? It began as we decided that we no longer needed to be godly men who followed a biblical moral code and way of living. As we fell asleep and were not shocked that those who were leading us completely lacked honesty and integrity - these very sins began eating away at the very foundation pillars of our republic. The only way back is to see such things restored. We need men of God to return to the kind of leadership in our homes, in our churches, and eventually in our government. It is only then that we will once again be horrified at the abomination of leaders who commit wickedness - and return to a way of doing politics that laughs to scorn those who would dare to lead without strong moral principles upon which they walk daily and make their decisions. One may read this and think that the one writing it is living in a daydream. Maybe the days of our nation being one nation under God are over? The thought of a true, godly leader who honors God and any sort of biblical morality is a distant memory. But the truth is that we are the ones who got ourselves into this mess. We did not abandon ourselves to Christ - preach the gospel - and radically affect our nation by the salvation of those who were coming to Christ. We did not live as the salt that preserves a society and the light that illumines it to its sin and departure from God. The answer, dear saints, does not ultimately rest with what happens this November in an election - it has and always will rest with what we choose to do daily in our lives . Are we seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness - or - are we simply adjusting ourselves to the current moral and spiritual malaise that culture offers each morning as we awaken to a new day? It is one thing to know that wickedness in our leaders is an abomination - it is quite another to become content with only cursing the present darkness rather than shining a light that can transform it. Oh that we would daily respond to our true King, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who has never committed wickedness and Whose throne is established on justice and righteousness. For the Christian who daily seeks His kingdom and righteousness - the fall elections do not ultimately determine his or her king - for God has said long ago, "But I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain." (Psalm 2:6) That king is Jesus Christ - follow Him! He who walks in integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will be found out. Proverbs 10:9
Those who walk in integrity in their ways do not have to look over their sholders as they live their lives. That is becasue a walk of integrity doesn't have anything to hide. That is the lesson that we can learn from today's proverb. The one who walks in integrity is very secure. The word integrity means to walk in a completeness. It has the idea of a clear conscience - or doing what you do with no hidden motives. Abimelech stated that it was with a clear conscience that he took Sarah as a wife. The problem in that relationship arose because of Abraham's lie that she was his sister. Abraham would have argued that this was a half truth - but since it landed his wife in a foreign king's harem - it was nothing more than a cowardly lie. But Abimelech was an honest man in this situation - and God warned him so he would not sin. That is the protection offered to us by walking in integrity. It guards us and protects us from willful rebellion against God. We are told that integrity is not only a way to walk secure - but the psalmist says in Psalm 25:21 that it is a way to be protected as well. Truth is always an ally to whoever walks in it. That is the peace that integrity provides. The man who walks in perversity has no such promise. This man perverts his ways. Note the emphasis here on personal responsibility. He perverts his own ways - it is due to his own choice to do so. There is no way to blame everyone else for his own choices to pervert his ways. The word pervert means to twist or to make uneven. It refers to a moral and ethical choice to pervert and twist what is right - and once again what is right is what is laid out in Scripture. The sentence for such actions is that they will not remain secret. He will be found out. We can try to hide our sin - but the problem with this is that we will be found out in the end. For many they are found out before they die - which honestly is the more merciful choice. That is because when this is the case the man has a chance to repent and turn from his sin - finding mercy and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Some use a passage like this to make it seem that God wants to humiliate them. The fact is that God knows our sin the moment we commit it - and honestly - even before with his knowledge of all things past, present, and future. But God would prefer that we be found out by the convicting work of His Holy Spirit. When we respond to that conviction, we can come to Him and find grace and forgiveness. We choose to reveal our sin ourselves. It is only the man who consistently tries to hide his sin that faces being found out in the more embarassing ways. The Psalmist tells us that the man who hides his transgressions will not prosper - but the one who confesses and forsakes them will receive compassion. So, if you read this proverb and were convicted - but the devil and your own flesh is seeking to convince you to continue to hide your sin - don't! Turn to the Lord and confess and forsake it! That is the wise thing to do. Expose it yourself to the Lord - and if it is a persistant, besetting sin, turn to a brother or sister who can help hold you accountable as you deal with it over time. You don't have to face complete humiliation before men. Admit your sins to the Lord - and follow James' advice to confess your sins to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed! That is the way to turn from walking in perversity to a life of integrity once again. There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers. Proverbs 6:16-19
What does God hate? This is a good question to ask - because the Lord actually lists for us 7 different things that He hates. Some think that God doesn't hate anything because He is love. But when you realize that whereas He loves righteousness and holiness - it means that by nature He must hate the opposite - and that is sin. This is a good list to remember because it reminds us of at least 7 things we absolutely need to steer clear of in life. We do this because we do not want to incur God's wrath for loving something He hates. #1 - God hates Haughty Eyes . . . The proud look is something the Lord really despises. The eyes, according to Scripture, are the windows of the soul. When the eyes are filled with a haughty look it is a sure thing that the heart is filled with that same haughtiness or pride. We remember from the book of James that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. It is no stretch then to say that in hating haughty eyes God truly despises those whose look communicates an arrogance and pride that shows that they have no respect for God and His ways - just an utter disdain of them. #2 - God hates a Lying Tongue . . . One of the 10 commandments is not to bear false witness. That means lying is out with God. He is a God of truth, and He wants us to speak the truth. When a tongue is a lying tongue, God hates the lies that come from it. Truth opposes lies at every turn - and we can be assured that God opposes the liar whose lying tongue promotes just the opposite of what God loves and is. #3 - God hates Hands that Shed Innocent Blood . . . Here is one that we need to remember. Innocent blood is murder. God hates murder. Once again we find that one of the things God hates is listed in the 10 commandments. You shall not murder is commandment number five. Jesus goes further in Matthew chapter 5 when He tells us that even the thoughts and words that are at the core of a murdering heart - God hates. There is an application of this we also need to remember. The false god Molech required that his worshippers have their children pass through the fire as a child sacrifice to him. God hated this worship - and made it clear that the innocent blood shed in this practice would pay dearly for their sin. I believe we have a similar worship today in the practice of abortion. This practice is an abomination to God. We have decided that children (usually conceived due to sexual immorality) are too much of an inconvenience. Therefore we've devised the most heinous ways of disposing of them. We burn them alive through saline abortions or puree them within their mother's womb. And if this is not enough, when we wait too long to decide to dispose of one's conceived immorally, we just birth them partially and kill them in a way that we would NEVER consider for a convicted murderer. How God hates this shedding of innocent blood. #4 - God Hates a Heart that Devises Wicked Plans . . . There are hearts that are thinking of evil - and who begin to plan to do evil. This is true even of us when we set our hearts on sin and want to do our best to keep it hidden. But there are those whose plans involve far more than just one man wanting to sin without being caught. These are those who devise a wicked plan either in business or in the government. These plans will harm thousands - and possibly millions. They do not consider that their wicked plans will do this - because they are consumed either by the acquisition of wealth or power. God hates these people because of how their thinking harms others. #5 - God Hates Feet that Run Rapidly to Evil . . . Here we have someone who is just itching to run to evil things. There is no restraint in this one - because when he or she sees evil - they want to run "rapidly" to it. When a society turns from God - there is a growing stupidity and spiritual deadness that causes them to become insensitive to the warnings of Scripture. Thus they start to run to evil - rather than stop and think about the harm it will do to them and to others. When people run rapidly to evil it is also a sign that self is so completely dominant in their thinking that they are deaf to any other voice except the one that is urging them to do what they want. God hates this because it reveals that a conscience is dead to Him and dead to the warnings of both the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. #6 - God Hates A False Witness Who Utters Lies . . . Here we have what seems to be a second time that lying is mentioned. This second time though it is mentioned in the context of someone who is a false witness on a matter. This first time is was just a lying tongue. The false witness could be someone who speaks lies in a courtroom where the role of perjury comes into play. This would mean a perversion of justice and God loves justice and righteousness. It can also mean a false prophet or someone who lies about religious matters - thus causing some to put their faith in a god who is not God at all. Either way God hates it when someone who lies as a witness on a matter. They encourage people to make decisions based upon deception and lies. No wonder He hates these things - because the very first sin was due to the work of the devil as he was a false witness to Eve about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That lie, that deceit - when believed was the impetus that led to the fall of all of humanity into sin and rebellion against God. #7 - God Hates One who Spreads Strife Among Brothers . . . The final thing in this list of seven is a person who is causing problems - actually who is spreading strife among the brethren. This person is one who either learns of strife - or is causing it. He is not content though we knowing it himself. He becomes the ultimate evangelist for strife among the brethren. He wants to see as many people upset and involved in this strife as possible. It should be no small wonder to us then that God does not say, "Blessed are the strife-makers." He says just the opposite. It is the peacemakers who will be called the sons of God. When God could have magnified the ultimate strife of the universe in sin - He did not. He chose to make peace through the blood of the cross of Jesus Christ. Therefore it really should be no shock to us that He also hates those who go the opposite way - and spread strife rather than spread peace among the brothers. We might need to remember this the next time we have a choice to continue a situation of strife and conflict - when we have an opportunity to bring peace instead. Seven things God hates . . . it is a very sobering list. There are some things like murder and wicked plans that we would fully expect to be on this list. But other things that we tend to minimize tend to shock us here. Some call lying just telling a little fib - or a white lie. Others might not see spreading strife by gossipping to be something that is not the best - but certainly something that everyone does. The fact is that when God calls these things the seven things He hates - we need to remember them - and then learn to hate them in our own lives as well. That, my dear saints - is wisdom. A worthless person, a wicked man, Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth, 13 Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet, Who points with his fingers; 14 Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil, Who spreads strife. 15 Therefore his calamity will come suddenly; Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing. Proverbs 6:12-15
There are certain things that identify for us a wicked person. Proverbs takes four verses and describes for us in an expanded way what a wicked person looks like - and what his future entails. Let's take a look at this today in a a little longer version of our look at Proverbs. First of all a wicked person is described in two ways. First he is called a "worthless person." The word used here is very descriptive for it is the Hebrew word "beliyaal" which is one of the terms that is used to describe the devil. His minions are described in Scripture as the sons of Belial. The word means a worthlessness which has its major emphasis on the moral aspect of life. Thus the word came to mean a wicked person. The word is used to describe the hard-hearted in Deuteronomy 15:9 and 1 Samuel 30:22. These are also those who promote rebellion against the authority of God. The wicked therefore are those who hold a moral standard that is worthless for it encourages them and others to rebel against God's authority and choose to be hard-hearted toward the Lord and toward His commandments. The wicked is also described as being - well - wicked. He is referred to as a wicked man. The word for wicked (awen) means someone who is troublesome, who causes sorrow by his bent toward evil and mischief. He seeks after nothingness and loves falsehood. Strongly embedded in this word is the reality that this man or woman commits iniquity and intentionally misses God's mark of godliness. Once it has been established what kind of person is being spoken of here - Solomon begins putting forth a list of things the worthless and wicked man does. He is not called wicked due to some prejudice - but simply because of the choices that this man makes. Because of the large number of descriptions of his actions, I will number them as we define them. 1. He walks with a perverse mouth - He has a mouth that is filled with perversion and deceitfulness. He has a mouth that speaks without integrity or truth, but rather embraces immorality and deception. 2. Winks with his eyes - This refers to a winking or blinking of the eyes which was always done with a mocking, malicious, or deceitful intent. Proverbs 10:10 says that this is done to devise trouble, while Proverbs 16:30 tells us that a man does this to devise perverse things - and is usually done in combination with a mouth that is speaking of evil and seeking to bring evil to pass. These are signals to others so that they will either join in an evil plan - or that they will know that they are not to interrupt as this wicked man is using his perverse mouth to bring scorn on the godly or upon godly, holy things. 3. Signals with his feet - This literally means he scrapes with his feet. In the Middle East this was a sign that was given from one to another - and it was used among the seamy more criminal aspects of society. This is clearly a sign used by the wicked so that others will join with them in some evil plot. 4. Points with his fingers - Again a reference to a sign used for no good. These are all the kind of things that are used by someone who is planning trouble. The idea here is that this wicked, worthless man is up to something. These things are done for some wicked purpose. 5. He continually devises evil - This guy is always thinking of some scheme or some way to do his evil - or walk in some kind of evil plan of his own making. Note also that this is done with "perversity in his heart." This guy is always in to perverting situations, perverting people, or as I've seen in some - speaking of something perverse at all times. 6. Spreads strife - He is sending out strife - causing serious problems for people in how they relate to one another. Wherever he goes - there seems to be relational problems that follow after him. Paul warns us to stay away from a factious man - a man who spreads strife like this. The mark of the sons of God is that we are peacemakers - not peace-destroyers. I feel the need to offer a note at this point. Twice in this passage it is said that the wicked are perverse. There is a tendency among Christians, and it is a trap I've fallen into as well, to be tiptoeing around the edges of perversity in their speech. It is unfortunately gaining more acceptance for a believer to have a more perverse mouth. This is true even in pulpits. This is not a good thing - but something that we need to gain control of individually in our lives. Our society is getting more and more coarse in how they speak. We in the church honestly do not need to follow suit by staying a few steps behind them (so that we are not as bad as they are in how we speak). We should be those who shun perversity in our lifestyles, in our actions, and in our speaking. A wise principle to follow in this is to seek to imitate God's speech - so that holiness is our goal rather than just being better than the world around us. What happens to the worthless/wicked man? Well, it might surprise you to see that God does not promise that the moment he does these things he will be judged. There may be a period of time where he may even prosper. We learn from Psalm 73 that at times the godly may struggle because this is so. But just like we learned from this Psalm, we will learn here in Proverbs that trouble and calamity is coming. What happens to the wicked man is that calamity comes suddenly upon him. He may continue in his rebellion for years thinking that everything is fine. He may even come to the false conclusion that God does not see his evil - or is unable to stop him in it. Nothing is further from the truth. What is happening is that this man is storing up wrath for himself - that will be revealed one day when his calamity comes. When it does come - it will be devastating and will be in keeping with the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. We learn here that in an instant this wicked/worthless man is going to be broken. Jesus spoke of how men can either fall on the Rock and be broken before God - or - one day that Rock will fall upon them. On that fateful day they will not be just broken, they will be crushed. Here we read that this instant breaking will be one from which this worthless/wicked man cannot be healed. He will face destruction that will bring terror to him. Saints of God, know this for certain. The wicked will continue to act wickedly, the godless will continue to be godless, and the judgment of God will continue to build until its breaking point. The reason I say this is because God said this after revealing Himself in one of the most terrifying books in the Bible. Revelation 22 closes the book with a terrifying warning. After men have read about the judgment of God - after they have read of a day where earth and heaven will flee from God in all of His glory as He is revealed in His mighty, terrifying judgments, God has something important to say. After all of this - John knows by the Spirit of God most will continue in their wickedness. They will not heed the words of warning given in this Revelation of Jesus Christ. So he says these words which he hears from the angel of the Lord, "And he said to me, 'Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy. Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.'" Revelation 22:10-12, NASB The worthless/wicked man will continue in his perversity. He will continue to speak his perverse words, make his perverse plans, create strife with his perverse ways. But there will be a moment - an instant when the judgment of God and the punishment due for his words, plans, and actions will come suddenly. So let us, unlike those to whom Revelation 22:10-12 is addressed. Let us take heed - and order our ways so that the reward we receive is the one given for those who are good and faithful servants of the Lord who shun perversity, perverse words, perverse plans, and a perverse lifestyle. If they say, "Come with us, Let us lie in wait for blood, Let us ambush the innocent without cause; Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, Even whole, as those who go down to the pit; We will find all kinds of precious wealth, We will fill our houses with spoil; Throw in your lot with us, We shall all have one purse," Proverbs 1:11-14
Here is the call of the sinners who want to entice the godly son to come with them. Solomon has told his son do not consent to go with these young men. Let's take a closer look at their enticements today and hopefully learn wisdom from seeing why doing what they say is not wise. First we see that they want to lay in wait for some pour soul from whom they want to take their life and possessions. They evidently have marked someone and have plans to rob them and either kill them or harm them pretty significantly. A couple of things we should note from this. First of all that these people are not the kind of crowd you want to frequent if you are seeking to set your ways rightly in God's sight. There are some folks who spend a good portion of their lives looking for trouble. Here they want to ambush some poor schlub who has no idea what is about to happen to him. Second, they want to attack the "innocent." This is never a good idea if we read what God thinks about harming innocent people. These evil men want to swallow people up - like death itself. This is not too difficult to see since these people seem to be motivated by death and hell itself. This reveals a condition in their hearts that is truly evil. It is as if they embrace death itself. This speaks to much of our entertainment industry today. There is a whole genre of films today that glory in violence and destruction. It really should not shock us that the same kind of violence also is permeating our society as well. For years I've believed that the company we keep in the movie industry also has a great deal of influence in our thinking. Will we rise up and kill someone because we watched a movie - probably not. But the problem becomes that we are more and more desensitized to violence and evil behavior. Either way, it is not wise to keep the company of the wicked - or the films that they make. Just as a principle for future use - Jesus is preoccupied with life. If someone is preoccupied with death, destruction, the place of the dead, and the pit - probably not someone you need to hang out with in life. Here we see the true reason for their violence - greed. They covet what their victims have - and desire to use it to make themselves wealthy. Their worldly-mindedness shows itself in their desire to have money, to have wealth, to have houses filled with the spoil they gained from the destruction of anyone who had what they wanted. Their greedy appetite will be their eventual undoing. God's Word makes it clear that you shall not steal - and those who choose to do so - will not prosper but will eventually face the jugment of God against their actions. The enticement for the unwise young man is that they will all have one lot - and when the plunder is theirs - one purse. They are putting themselves together for a common cause as well as a common financial stake in all that they were going to do. What is NOT being said here is that they will also wind up sharing a common end. Since they have embraced violence and death - destruction and the pit - it is only fitting that they will also embrace those things as their common end as well. This is not an exciting lifesyle (although it may seem that way here on this earth). It is a destructive one that will end in the destruction of the one who is walking in it. Here we have seen the way of sinners. We have seen the way of those who live for their wealth and schemes to take from others so that they can be rich. We have seen those preoccupied with death and destruction. And hopefully - as we continue in another day to see what Solomon has to say about how unwise it is to live this way - we will see how as they open their heart to pour out death and wickedness, they will find that wickedness is poured to overflowing into their hearts as well. Here is the height of foolishness - may God give us grace that we will not fall into the company or the ways of such fools. May instead He give us a heart of wisdom. Scorners set a city aflame, But wise men turn away anger. Proverbs 29:8
As I sit here are write this day's "Little Bit of Wisdom," I am in a local bookstore in front of the political section. No place is really a better example of our proverb today that this section. Scorners in America are setting our nation aflame. Hopefully before our nation bursts into a conflagration of mutually hated political groups - racial groups - and economic groups, we will have wise men rise up who will turn away our anger and propose solutions for our nation - without all the incindiary rhetoric. The scorner is the one who is causing so much harm in this proverb. The Hebrew word used here is "lason" and it means a scoffer, a mocker and refers to someone who is foolish, arrogant, and who believes their own bragging talk. Elsewhere in the Scriptures this one is referred to as a babbler. Their lack of wisdom from God makes them think that they themselves are god. Thus they begin to consider themselves infallible on certain matters. Their lack of any Biblical wisdom also means that they have a worldview that is based out of a fallen, selfish, God-despising heart. They laugh and scoff at the 10 commandments - and think that life is far better without the Word of God clouding their minds and thinking. These men come up with philosophies that reject God, exalt man - and that in the end encourage sin and wickedness. Their scorning talk about God and how life should be - sets the city on fire. What is meant here is that they inflame the minds of the people against God and His ways. As history progresses we watch God rejected - and the world set on fire again and again with philosophies that bring destruction to mankind. Darwin's theory of orgins that rejects God seems innocent enough - but the philosophies that degenerated out of it have caused great destruction. Adolph Hitler took Darwin's theory seriously and came to believe that the Germanic people were the super-race. The logical conclusion of Darwinian origins was that survival of the fittest required the destruction of the weaker and less desirable elements of the world so that the next step of evolution could come unhindered. That kind of "inflamed thinking" led him and the leadership in Germany to systematically murder over 6 million people. In the African continent we've watched in horror as philosophies and the inflamed rhetoric of national and racist pride have led one tribe and ethnic group to practice an ethnic cleansing of another group which they hate. The ensuing slaughter that took place in the name of ethnic pride was nothing short of a nightmare. When men reject God and His Word - bad things happen. When the hiss of their viper-like philosophies begins to catch the world around them on fire - the end game makes for destruction on a scale that is hard to comprehend. Wise men know that such passions are rottenness in men's bones. Their desire is to be the sons of God who are peacemakers. They seek to turn away wrath - knowing that these passions when loosed are like pandora's box. They are difficult, if not impossible to recapture. All of Europe was set on fire by the twin philosophies of Nazism and Facism. The world has yet to see the full damage that has resulted from the godless political philosophy of Communism. Wise men will do all that they can to expose these false philosophies for what they are - the dangerous fires of scoffers who desire to set an entire city - if not an entire country aflame. There is an ultimate end to the scorner's tale. Their will be an eternal fire that will burn the adversaries of God. The ultimate scorner, Satan himself, has be behind the carnage that is produced by rejecting God and His Word. He started it all with the question, "Has God said?" in the garden - and has been asking that question to the sons of Adam ever since. All their wicked philosophies are simply the lie he uttered to Eve when he said, "You will not die!" He has sought to inflame minds to think that God is withholding something from them when He forbids sin. Countless billions have listened to his lies - and unfortunately they will be ultimately set afire for eternity in the lake of fire for their rebellion. But . . . a wise man will turn away wrath. Mankind deserves the wrath of God that will come for their rebellion. But the Lord God has provided a way of salvation in Jesus Christ. He has poured out wrath on His only begotten Son - having Him bear the wrath and punishment on the cross. He died, was buried, and resurrected on the third day - all according to God's wise plan to turn away wrath. Now, truly wise man take the good news of that truth - of that infinite mercy - and proclaim a provision of grace to rebels. These wise men - as they watch the Spirit of God convict men of their sin - show them Jesus Christ - and grant them repentance and faith - turn away wrath one person at a time. May God increase their number among mankind - and may the flames of the scorners be put out in the minds of those who are granted that His glorious grace that comes through Jesus Christ His Son. |
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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