Day #160

Sermon - Audio
Proverbs 16-18 - Audio
Proverbs 16-18- Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

16

Overview = In addition to noting the usual considerations of values, virtues, and vices, we can profitably analyze the data with a view toward coming up with definitions of wisdom and folly (“skill for living” is one legitimate interpretive slant on the concept of wisdom, but there are others). -ESVLB-

1 = With all the planning and scheming (the arrangements of the mind) of a man...it is God's purpose that will prevail. In the end it is His response that will come.

2 = The Lord knows your heart, your motives. - 1 Samuel 16:7

3-4 = Q. Why is it important to daily commit our day to God? How do we build dependence on God?

6 = This proverb portrays the sacrificial system, by which iniquity is atoned for, as an expression of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness (cf. Ex. 34:6; Prov. 3:3; 14:22; 20:28). The right response is the fear of the LORD, by which one turns away from doing evil (a common “wisdom” phrase: 3:7; 13:19; 14:16; 16:17; Job 1:1, 8; 2:3; 28:28; Ps. 34:14; 37:27). The Bible consistently presents moral effort as the right response to God’s grace. -ESVSB-

Notice it says response to grace.

What is our response to the grace given to us in Jesus Christ?:

Luke 6:36 - Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Colossians 4:6 - Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

2 Corinthians 8:2-3 - for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord .

*Too many more to list.

7 = This is a proverb and thus it does not constitute a comprehensive statement about human relationships. The NT teaching and life-experience make it clear that people who follow God are sometimes persecuted precisely because their ways are pleasing to the Lord. This proverb recognizes that a life lived according to Yahweh’s order will commend itself to others. It will be characterized by compassion, forgiveness, kindness, and civility. Such virtues have the power to restore broken relationships. -ASB-

10-15 = These verses discuss the king's responsibilities and his ideal power/wisdom.

16-19 = Wisdom-Over-Wealth

18 = Not only does pride come before the fall, but it is the road to destruction.

19 = The opposite of being arrogant and prideful is this idea of being "lowly in spirit," an idea of humility. What camp do we find ourselves in?

16-19 = John Calvin states this: "'And Cain was very wroth'...We know also, that to hypocrites nothing seems of greater value, nothing is more to their heart's content, then earthly blessing. Moreover, in the person of Cain is portrayed to us the likeness of a wicked man, who yet desires to be esteemed just, and even arrogates to himself the first place among saints. Such persons truly, by external works, strenuously labor to deserve well at the hands of God; but, retaining a heart inwrapped in deceit, they present to him nothing but a mask; so that, in their labourious and anxious religious worship, there is nothing sincere, nothing but mere pretense. When they afterwards see that they gain no advantage, they betray the venom of their minds; for they not only complain against God, but break forth in manifest fury, so that, if they were able, they would gladly tear him down from his heavenly throne. Such is the innate pride of all hypocrites, that, by the very appearance of obedience, they would hold God as under obligation to them; because they cannot escape from his authority, they try to sooth him with blandishments, as they would a child; in the meantime, while they count much of their fictitious trifles, they think that God does them great wrong if he does not applaud them; but when he pronounces their offerings frivolous and of no value in his sight, they first begin to murmur, and then to rage. Their impiety alone hinders God from being reconciled unto them; but they wish to bargain with God on their own terms. When this is denied, they burn with furious indignation, which, though conceived against God, they cast forth upon his children."

20 = Trusting in God, once again brings life!

21 = Gains wisdom, or “increases learning,” i.e., teaches others effectively. -JSB-

22 = This reminds me of my wife and I trying to find locations before the GPS came into our lives. Wasting numerous gallons of gas because of wrong directions was a normal occurrence...until "Good Sense" found us in the form of the GPS.

25 = There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (So much truth here)

*Those who have gone through a "dark" time and have been brought out know the above verse is true, however, I encourage each of us to stop and consider our lives for a moment. Are we living for God's mission, His desires...or are we going down our own path, satisfying our own desires? Have we stopped to consider what the Creator of the universe desires with our lives?

25-32 = People often have the wrong idea about what is good and what is bad. Hunger seems a bad thing, but it forces people to work and keeps them from idleness (v. 26). Verses 27–30 likewise describe types of evil that seem clever to those who practice them but which are actually vile and destructive. This includes general troublemaking (v. 27), spreading discord (v. 28), drawing others to join in crime (v. 29), and conspiring with others to commit crime (v. 30). Gray hair seems to be a mark of infirmity but actually is a crown of glory (31; cf. 20:29). Finally, a mighty warrior seems to be the strongest man of all, but in reality a man who can control himself is stronger than a conqueror (16:32). -ESVSB-

32 = "Therefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God." -James 1:19-

33 = “Casting lots” involves the random selection or distribution of objects in order to make a choice uncontrolled and unbiased by the participants. In Israel it was typically performed “before the Lord” (see Josh. 18:8) in order to receive his direction. from the LORD. Not only the careful plans of the heart (Prov. 16:1, 9) but also the apparently random practice of casting lots falls under God’s providential governance. On the question of whether Christians should make decisions in this way, see note on Acts 1:26. -ESVSB-

17

1 = This continues some of the thoughts from the end of Chapter 16. It is better to have a house that is in unity that is small and poor, than to have a rich and full house that is in conflict.

*The things that are important to God are many times not the same things that are important to man.

3 = A furnace tests or assays and purifies ore by heating it until the pure silver or gold melts and rises, where it can be separated from the heavier dross. The analogy, then, implies more than God’s just looking into the heart. It implies a painful test to prove the purity of the sufferer’s faithfulness. Prov. 3:12 expresses a similar idea. -JSB-

Reminds me of 1 peter 1:6-9 = "In this (new birth, future glory) you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

5 = In what ways do we mock the poor? Such mocking can involve saying that those who suffer deserve it (e.g., the attitude of Job’s friends) or simply being callous or indifferent to their plight.

8 = More than likely this verse describes a course of behavior that seems valuable but is really destructive (see 14:12, and 16:2)

9-13 = Offenders and the Offended

13 = There is a play on the word “evil”. Evil, in one form or another, never leaves, even

though it be inflicted on another. -WBC-

14 = Q. What's your experience with quarrels? I think this verse is right on.

16 = This proverb either (1) expresses the irony of thinking that wisdom is a commodity that can be bought with money, or (2) suggests that a fool, because he has no sense, would refuse to buy wisdom even if he could. -ESVSB-

19 = Transgression and strife go hand-in-hand (cf. v. 14). Transgression is in the heart of the person who loves strife, i.e., who is unwilling to “quit before the quarrel breaks out” (cf. v. 14). Such a person is characterized by pride and arrogance (makes his door high; see note on vv. 14–19); though he seeks the ruin of others, in reality he is seeking his own destruction, which God will bring about in due course (cf. Ps. 55:23; 2 Pet. 3:7).

Q. How is this idea different than that way you handle arguments, disagreements, etc?

Q. What things can we put in place to make sure we handle our disagreements appropriately (God-honoring way)?

27 & 28 = My grandfather was a man of God who rarely said anything. However, when he did everyone listened. He was considered wise by all of us....hmmmm, wish I chose to shut my mouth more.

18

2 - This brings back the idea of civility. It's important for Christians to not just throw around their opinions and suggestions. We must seek to know what God desires and work through those things in community. It is only then that we understand and seek the good of the entire world. By doing this we set the example, and therefore proclaim, that God's created order is a better way to live and function.

4 = Human speech has the potential to be a deep fount of wisdom.

9 = God calls us to do everything with excellence. Our God is not lazy, and we shouldn't be either. Someone who is lazy is depriving the entire community.

9-12 = describe two types of security (the LORD and riches), while 9 and 12 describe two things that bring about one’s destruction (laziness and pride). Taken together, these proverbs imply that riches can give a false sense of security that leads to laziness, pride, and a downfall, but that humility and the fear of God exalt people. -ESVSB-

13 = Guilty of this....hmmmm

15 = Q. Do you long to acquire knowledge and understanding? How are you going about this?

21 = See Matthew 12:36

22 = While the proverb does not say, “He who finds a good wife,” that is clearly presupposed, since Pr contains many proverbs that illustrate the benefits of having a good wife and the consequences of having a foolish or bad one. The good wife is wise and she fears the Lord. Thus she is able to function as the appropriate or complementary helper that Gn 2:18 says man needs. A wise husband and a wise wife can function together in the way this “one flesh” relationship was designed to work. -ASB-