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Proverbs Part 1B
PART ONE (B)
CHAPTER TWO
1-5
These verses cover how to find the knowledge of God. The answer: search
His Word. This does not mean careless or flippant reading. It means hard work,
strenuous effort, a will to learn, "receiving" (v1),
"hiding" (v1), "inclining and crying after" etc.
6-9
Jehovah gives wisdom. Verse 7 shows how those who find God’s wisdom must
also put it into pracrise.
10-15
Here is the "evil man" to be avoided. Following this comes
"the strange woman".
The "evil man" is full of pride, and lives independently of
God – this lifestyle looks rather appealing, on the surface. It looks
like freedom. It is, in some ways, a measure of this kind of freedom which
makes people feel autonomous, and independent of God. Compare this with the
Christian call to service and self-sacrifice – this looks like hard work, and
the natural mind, that is, the fallen sinner does not find this attractive.
People are primarily self-centered, so service to others is like poison to
people who want to think only about themselves.
If I may digress for a moment, as I see it, the major cause of all human
relationship problems is self-centredness. Children are born thinking they are
the centre of the universe, and if this is not pulled out of them, they
continue through life subjectively analyzing everything in terms of how it
affects them, and them alone. Marriages break down because the man or the woman
puts their own interests before their spouse. Families suffer a lot of strife
because the kids think the parents owe them everything. Society is always under
strain because most people are in the What’s In It For Me club. But the moment
we collectively follow the example of Jesus, and become servants to others, the
whole situation is reversed.
16,17
strange woman = Heb.zur=apostate to a false religion, or which
prostitution formed a part. She is therefore a picture of moral uncleanness,
impurity and soul-destroying lusts. Christians are always being ‘got at’ by
temptations to indulge the fleshly desires. Today’s multimedia imagery and
sophisticated presentations certainly helps this along.
18,19
Many Christians blight their lives by falling into the "strange
woman’s" snares. The memory of unholy or filthy pollutions continues to be
a source of shame and guilt. She also represents the pollution of false religion,
i.e. Roman Catholic heresies, cult teachings, etc. Only the truth of the Word
of God can deliver us from the "strange woman" = apostasy, or from
the "evil man"= rationalism and other similar philosophies.
20-22
Mat. 5:5 "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the
earth." History can be represented as a linear passage of time, traveling
in one direction, with a definite beginning point, and an end point, when the
planet will be regenerated, and inhabited by a finite number of people gathered
from this present age. This future reality is the substantial hope, and goal,
for which a Christian may live.
CHAPTER THREE
3:1,2
Verse 2 means we shall increase, or grow, in wisdom. As the days and
years increase, so ought our wisdom increase. Long life is not promised here,
or elsewhere in Proverbs. The words in Hebrew mean "make increase for
you". It is quality not quantity referred to here (as far as I can
discover), otherwise anyone who studied the Bible would expect to live to at
least 90, and we know that this is not true for all Bible students. However,
when Christians follow the instructions of God, the QUALITY of life increases.
It is common to hear Christians say such things as "I am so blessed"
or "I am rich" because they have found a deeper level of living which
makes the life without Christ seem shallow by comparison.
(Ps 119:11, Ezra 7:10 and John 14:15,23 all direct us to prepare our
hearts for God’s Word. Obviously, unless we are teachable, we will hardly
benefit from what God has to teach.)
3,4
John
"mercy" = loving-kindness, or grace.
Bind – as the phylacteries of Ex.13:16.
The Word of God is supposed to beautify us, not become an intolerable
legal burden.
5,6
28:26 – trusting our own hearts is foolish. This is a rather vague
comment, and it probably needs defining. What God seems to be saying is to put
what He says first, and then bring our own heart into action, rather than the
other way round. For example, suppose a Christian is working at some menial
task. In their own heart they think "I should be doing something more
important" but God says we should simply do the best at whatever we are
doing, and if there is promotion ahead He will take care of it. Another example
might be the man or woman who wants to marry an unsaved but otherwise very nice
person, and thinks "After we’re married I’ll convert him/her". So no
matter how sincere the heart, the rule of God’s Word is more important.
There are a lot of people in this world, who wander around following
their own hearts. They gain a certain amount of satisfaction, but under it all
is an abyss of futility. So what if you buy a bus and tour the world – you are
still going to die. So what if your business is earning a million a year – you
still can’t find happinesss. The heart is like a little child, reaching out for
whatever glitters, but such whimsical grasping is not conducive to a stable
life.
Confidence in self, or in one’s heart desires, is a waste of time in the
end. The fundamental thing we should begin with is what is our relationship
with God, and are we walking in such a way as to please Him.
7,8
See 2Tim.2:19 Christians who go with God should be fresh and vigorous.
Naturally, if we follow His advice we will probably be healthier than those who
don’t. In very practical terms, good life habits are taught by parents to their
children, which should lead to healthy children, who stand a better chance of
living a healthy life than children who take up smoking, drinking and endless
late nights.
9,10
God must come first in everything. Lev.25:23 – Israelites were expected
to acknowledge God as their Owner.
11,12
See Heb.12:1-13. Jesus is our example of an obedient son. Being a
Christian means hard toil, (Job
13-18
Even though we, in this age, fail to fully comprehend the scope of these
practical and very real blessings, we can enter into a measure of them. We
would not be invited to this if this were not so. Another way of looking at
this is to draw two circles, which overlap. The first circle represents this
present fallen age, and the second circle represents the perfect
19,20
All material things are centered on the real, but invisible Jehovah. He
is the Creator and Sustainer of our universe. Here His works are seen to be a
reflection of His loving nature. This is why Nature has been called "the
third great revelation of God" (After Jesus, and the Bible) We see in
Nature many things which help us understand God, just as a prepared meal set on
a table represents in practical terms the love and generosity of a loving
person. What scientists call the "Laws of Nature" are in fact the
divinely appointed mechanisms which surround us and keep us alive.
21-24
Verse 21 is about meditation and contemplation of God’s Word all day and
every waking moment. Of course this is exaggeration, because it is impossible
to live with just one focus, but taken as a general principle, we are urged
here to build Scripture into everything we do. Having a ‘one track mind’ is not
necessarily a bad thing!
These verses are about personal sanity, intellectual vigour, encouraging
and positive behaviour, a beauty of character – Christians ought to be lovely
people. Verse 23 is about practical living – assurance, peace, control. Verse
24 shows that in times of darkness, or difficulty, there should be no worry, or
bother. We should maintain a quiet resignation to the care and protection of
God through whatever life throws at us.
25,26
When God judges people, there are times when Christians are
unfortunately caught up in the trouble. They should not think that they are
also being judged. (See my essay ‘The Visitor’) Our souls are always in God’s
keeping, whether we live a peaceful life, or whether we are suffering. See
Dan.3:17,18 and Philippians 1:21.
27,28
Christians must avoid covetousness (greed) (Heb.13:5,6). Notice the
words "to whom it is due". This means we are not expected to just
give without discrimination. We have to decide whether someone really needs our
help or not. There are, for example, a few people who simply prey on
Christians, because they are a ‘soft touch’ for money or whatever. In the case
of a request for money I usually offer to help the person find a job –
this sorts out the problem instantly! In other cases I ask what they want the
money for. If they say booze or cigarettes I give nothing, but an alternative
is to give a bag of good food, which they have to eat, and cannot exchange for
unedifying things.
29
"confidently" = securely, or without suspicion. Consistent
Christian living will draw people to the Lord, but hypocrisy or misconduct will
turn our ‘neighbour’ more readily to skepticism. Don’t take advantage of people
close to you, by abusing their trust or friendship – for example, borrowing
tools off them because they say they ‘don’t mind’, and then returning them
damaged. Adults often tease children by deliberately telling lies, just to see
how gullible they are. In fact I think "teasing" is one of the worst
forms of abuse to those who trust, and it could be simplified to the same level
as "lying".
30
Don’t go around picking arguments for no good reason.
31-35
secret counsel = secret advice. Occasionally you meet someone who says
they have ‘read the Bible’ and they never mean that they have read it from
cover to cover. More frequently you meet Christians who say they do read the
Bible, but usually they admit that such reading is not daily, and they almost
never say they have read the whole Bible. However, despite this lack of
application, the Christians have tapped into a rich supply of wisdom, and they
benefit from it, whereas the worldly person has no such advantage. For some
strange reason the Bible is both attractive and repellent! Even Christians I
have spoken to have admitted that, while they acknowledge the Bible to be God’s
Word, they always feel a strong reluctance to sit down and read it! I attribute
this to the Adam within all of us, the Adam who sinned, and who hates the
light. Whenever the Bible comes close, Adam starts making up excuses for not
reading it, but if we are aware of this we can dip into the "secret
counsel" of God, and rise above the low-level of existence which all
people of the world live in.
CHAPTER FOUR
1-4
Solomon’s early training. Those whom he wants to instruct are "his
children" and what follows are his instructions. Here we see that some
responsibility is laid on the children to pay attention to their parent’s
instruction. A great blessing can come from being nurtured and brought up with
God’s Word as the basis of our education. We also see how one generation raises
the next, and how any break in that link can set a new generation heading in a
different direction – hence our need to be concerned about what the children in
our state-run schooling system are being taught.
5-7
It is not merely knowledge that we need, but the wisdom and
intelligence, or perception, to use it properly. The world is good at gaining
mere knowledge, but knowledge by itself is only a pile of facts and figures. It
was knowledge which people had as they headed into World Wars 1 and 2, but
wisdom would have averted the wars. "Wisdom is the principle thing",
not knowledge.
8,9
when = because.
A crown = a diadem. A beautiful diadem. A diadem was an ornamental
headband worn by Eastern monarchs.
Ornament = heb. Wreath, or addition. Sometimes the wicked grudgingly
acknowledge the wisdom of the Christian because their consciences tell them the
words of the Christian are right.
10-12
And the years of your life shall be many = my sayings shall grow greater
through the years of your life. This means that as we keep going back to God’s
Word, it will become increasingly more precious, and deeper in meaning. Verse
12 – when we become more proficient in God’s Word, our lives become more
organised, assured, and confident. From our first baby steps we ought to
progress to dynamic strides.
13-17
Separation from all evil-does is absolutely crucial for all Christians.
We are not supposed to even dabble in sinful ways. The wicked (i.e. the world)
often asks: "How do you know it is harmful if you haven’t tried it?"
There are ways of knowing. We can, for example, simply look at the mess
other people are in who have tried the sinful path. Christians are not supposed
to even consider trying out evil. Our Father tells us to avoid certain things
because He knows what is best for us – we are to "turn from it, and pass
away" from the danger.
18,19
People either grow progressively more wicked, or progressively grow more
like the Lord. If we are not following the Lord we will be gradually changing
into the likeness of satan. This is a scary thought! Everyone is changing in
one direction or the other – which way is it for you?
20 – 22.
See Ps 119:2. Healing = health.
Again, a Christian should be a bright, and healthy in mind, character, spirit
and personality, fresh, happy, sane, strong in will, steady under strain, etc.
While all around us the world crumbles, Christians ought to be standing like
well-trained soldiers.
23
A wise Christian will guard his heart as if it were a great citadel, or
repository of the treasures of God. The pearls of deep truth are not to be cast
about indiscriminately – Mat.7:6. Interestingly, it was the discovery by a
scientist called
24
lips and mouth are words used in place of the heart, from which flows
whatever is in it – Mat.12:34. Christians should show, by their words and
conduct, that they have hearts full of God and not sin.
25-27
Keep your whole life concentrated on being like Jesus – the
"prize" of Phil.3:14 and 1 Cor.9:24-27. He is our full reward. We
must look hard and long at things that intrude into our lives – are they right
or wrong? Will this intrusion lead to complications that may compromise my walk
with God? Is this intrusion totally right or is there an element of dishonesty?
CHAPTER FIVE
1,2
A casual ear is not enough. Concentration and diligence are very
important. I suppose the difference is similar to someone saying "I’d like
to play the piano" and someone who says "I’ve enrolled for piano
lessons".
3-6
The immoral woman is, in Hebrew, a zur = an apostate woman gone over to
the idolatrous impurities of heathen religion. Religious idolatry always suits
the natural tastes of the sinful nature. False religions use many forms of
allurement; deception, temptation, seduction, fair and pleasant words, specious
arguments, and gradually worsening doctrine as initiates are pulled in. (For
example the Freemasons, which start with fairly harmless, even funny first
statements, but as members follow the levels in, the deeper and darker
doctrines are unveiled) False paths often begin by appearing at first to be
good and right.
"Her ways are moveable" = she is adaptable. For example the
Roman Catholic doctrines have always been shifted and altered to suit the
people of the nations they are trying to win, and truth is embellished and
‘decorated’ with non-truth to be more attractive to people’s wishes. But this
is common to all cults and not just a feature of the Catholics.
7-14
Verse 9. Once captured, members will find themselves giving their
"honour" to ‘the cause’. They will be asked to give up their money,
time, expertise or whatever they can to ‘the cause’. Most religions expect or
demand self-sacrifice, and some demand everything. Verse 10. Once well caught
and drained of everything (sucked dry), the apostate religion or cult will
finally expect of you your very life. All will go to the "house of a
stranger, or foreigner" Finally you will be reduced to rock-bottom, or
"total ruin".
Now you will see that you have become like the cult you joined – evil.
You may learn from this painful experience and start to warn others about the
danger of the cult, but what a waste and a shame, to fall so far, and to be
deceived by such foolish doctrine. This reminds me of a time when two Mormons
arrived at a friend of mine’s house. After a while he asked them "Do you
really believe God used to be a man?" At first they said yes, but when he
asked them repeatedly if they "really believed" this, eventually they
looked ashamed and admitted that they didn’t! What stupidity people are
prepared to believe. God pictures the debilitating effects of false doctrine in
terms of decaying flesh.
15-20
Verse 16 "Let NOT your fountains ….." Holiness in marriage is
expected of all Christians. Christians are said to be "married" to
the Lord – 2Cor.11:2. Sanctified, wedded love is the best kind of love.
"Thy fountain" = thy wife, or, your own wife. The Christian married
life is mirrored in the spiritual equivalent – Heb.13:4 and 1Pet.3:1-7
21
See Heb. 4:13 Christians are being watched, followed, observed, listened
to, our motives weighed, our thoughts heard . . . God is like a loving parent,
who never takes His eyes off us. When we take this into account it has a
wonderful effect. We become aware of the higher purpose for our lives. When we
know every word we speak, and every action we perform is noticed by God, we are
like movie stars on the catwalk.
22,23
The very sins in which wilfully the sinful are now indulging in are links
in the chain which will finally bind them. The end result – they will pass into
eternal darkness.
CHAPTER SIX
1-5
"if you be surety for your friend" or neighbour, is all about
making that promise we often hear: "I’m responsible for . . . It is about
the pledge, or bargain, or deposit, which binds us to a deal. The surety, or
deposit constitutes a agreement to be part of something much larger.
In this proverb the contract is with a "zur" = an apostate.
Maybe in a state of thoughtlessness, or pride, or an idealistic hope that good
instead of the more likely evil would come of it, leads a Christian to
sometimes make bold promises. In time the unequal yoking (the consequences)
become apparent. The best thing to do is get out of such relationships.
Examples:
Lesson: don’t make pledges with or for other people. We heard of a woman
who signed a pledge in which she said she would pay off her son’s car if he
became unable to. He did and she was lumbered with a bill. Lesson: don’t make
promises to ‘strangers’ which may eventually become a trap from which you
cannot escape.
Verse 3. When the "friend" or neighbour you made the first
installment with becomes your "owner", because you are unable to keep
paying what you agreed on. This proverb is very practical. It covers bank
loans, mortgages, time payments, credit card advances and so on, which can end
in financial bondage. When the agreement becomes a trap, the borrower is liable
to lose even more, including possessions. Lesson: we must think carefully
before we agree to do anything for anyone, in the sense of making a promise,
because we ought to be sure first of all that we are able to fulfill what we
commit ourselves to.
6-8
Slothfulness is not pleasing to the Lord. It is not right for a
Christian to be lazy, and then expect the Lord to provide for him. (13:6) We
are supposed to be diligent, and careful. It is not ‘living by faith’ to simply
do nothing and expect the Lord to bless us – work is noble and essential. –
unless one is specifically called into a ‘faith ministry’. But even then we
know work is expected – take Paul for example, a missionary who also mended
tents to pay his way.
9-11
Christians are not supposed to sleep in the time of labour, or harvest.
Ants set a good example to us. Poverty and destitution result from lack of
labour, in the literal and spiritual sense. We are expected to take every
opportunity to be productive, and work hard – Mat.9:37,38 and 1Cor.3"9.
"one that travels" = an highwayman.
"an armed man" = as a man with a shield, or, a robber.
12-15
"a naughty person" = a man of belial, or, a worthless person.
"froward" = perverse.
This is a picture of sinful man at his limit. From out of his heart
pours filthy language and so forth. "mouth" is put for
"heart".
"winks, speaks, teaches" = talking with signs. Feet and
fingers are still used in the East, and elsewhere as a means of communicating,
especially when in the presence of people from whom it is intended to conceal
information. Merchants have learned a code, based on subtle movements of the body.
Some cover their hands with cloth, and touch fingers when discussing secrets.
Today we call some of these movements ‘body language’, and even to a novice
many of these body positions are easy to read.
Watch how a person walks, leans, stands, gestures, smiles and so on and
their body will betray their hidden thoughts. Facial expressions can give away
our thoughts, or we can maintain a ‘poker face’. Peple can ‘teach with their
feet’, by walking about through life in areas where they should not go, and leading
others there.
Jesus taught with his hand, by gesturing with a ‘sop’ who would betray
him – John 13:26. In a related way ‘busybodies’ are people to avoid, and see
2Thess.3:6-15 about the "disorderly" which means lazy people.
16-19
Starting at the top and working down, a "proud look" = eyes
lifted up.
Pride – Psalm 131:1, Is.66:2.
Tongue – God requires truth in the inward parts, Jer.31;33, Luke
Innocent blood – there is no such thing – all have sinned. This word
here means someone who takes it upon themselves to kill another person, when,
under the Law, that person was not worthy to die. ‘Innocent’ is a legal
expression not moral, since we are all wicked.
What some people do with their mouths (Mat.5:22), other people do with their
hands (Rom.1:29).
Heart – Mat.15:19, Rom.7:18.
Feet – Psalm 119:59,101,105, Lke 1:79, Eph.6:15, Heb.12:13.
Liar – Rom.1:25, 1John
Sower of discord – James 3:1-4-
20,21
Subjection to parents is the same as subjection to God – if the parents
are godly. 2Tim.3:15. Again, just a casual effort is not enough – God wants us
to ‘hang on for dear life’ to His wisdom. Memorise the Word, read it, soak it
up.
22
Three things mentioned here: going, sleeping, waking. Christians who
grow strong and robust are always the ones who unceasingly soak up the
Scriptures. Show me a strong Christian and I will show you someone who reads the
Bible every day.
23,24
The ‘evil’ = ra-a and the strange ‘nikar’ woman. This verse is about the
woman of evil and the alien woman. (LXX has "wife of another man")
The metaphor is about the seductive power of error. Sin comes to us in the form
of flattery, fascination, pleasure (Heb.11:25), and many other attractive ways.
25,26
Her eyelids, or eyelashes. Eastern women painted their eyes to make them
far more noticeable, so too the spiritual errors around us are often dressed up
in attractive ways. Cults use the attractive decoration of friendship,
sometimes wonderful architecture, special clothing, beautiful rhythmic chants,
special music, exclusive rules . . . things which appeal to our flesh and to
our fallen nature, things which draw us away from simple truth. The end result
of spiritual adultery is ruin.
27-29
Verse 27 "take" = shovel up. Still using metaphors we see here
that it is impossible to commit a sin without having a consequence. Just as a
man may, step by step, flirt with sin, and then move nearer and nearer to it.
David is a good example of this. He flirted with Bathsheba first by watching
her from a distance, and then falling into great sin with her, and he suffered
for it – 2Sam.11:2-4, 125,10. See the Law on this: Lev.20:10. A thoughtless familiarity
with sin can end with a terrible entanglement, such as drug addiction, or some
mind-controlling cult. At first the drugs or the beautiful magazines may seem
wonderful - free samples, camps, music, friendship, but eventually enslavement.
30-35
Here is a comparison of two sins. One is theft, the other is adultery.
One rendering of verse 30 says: "Men will not think it a trifle, or a
light matter, for a thief that he should steal: even to satisfy . . . so if he
be found . . ." This helps to bring out the meaning of "but" of
verse 32, which has the force of "How much more he who . . .’ At
least the thief can make amends, even if it costs him everything, but the
adulterer has gone too far, and cannot repair the damage.
In this way, God mercifully warns us to obey Him, and avoid doing
lifelong damage to ourselves. In a healthy society, the adulterer has disgraced
himself for ever – v.33 – and made an implacable enemy – his conscience. In the
Law (Lev.20:10) the conscience may be symbolized by the furious husband who
will not rest until the adulterer is punished.
Verse 34. We assume that justice is done to both guilty parties.
Christians must "flee also youthful lusts" 2Tim.2:22 and Luke
3;7 and 1Pet.2:11. Fleshly lusts or desires war against the soul. 2Cor.6:14-7:1
– we must avoid as much as possible all entanglement with unequal things, where
a relationship places upon us a commitment to practice, or learn sinful ways.
CHAPTER SEVEN
1-3
God keeps warning us about the consequences and effects of sin, because
He alone knows how depraved our sinful nature really is. This is why He spends
nearly a whole chapter on the "strange woman". Before giving us 15
verses about her. He presses home the absolute necessity of constantly dwelling
on the Word of God.
4,5
strange woman = zur = apostate.
Stranger = nikar = alien, foreigner.
We have only one Shepherd – John 10; but there are thieves, robbers,
hirelings; false religions – 2Cor.11:4, false teachers – 2Cor.11:13,14, false
brethren – 2Cor.11:26. Our readiness to respond to flattery can lead us away
very quickly, and it can come disguised as ‘promotion, privileges, special
treatment . . . as soon as we are made to feel a bit more important than
someone else we are beginning to allow pride in. Pride can effectively steer us
away from the Lord, so beware of compliments!
6-20
See Rev.17 with this portion.
Verse 10 "subtle" = hidden.
Verse 14 the reference to peace offerings is typical of the apparent
similarities with the truth in order to deceive, and also the reference to
paying vows. It has a nice ‘holy ring’ about it. Many apostate or false
religious movements incorporate or contain much of other religions and can
appear pseudo Christian to the uninitiated.
The stages, or tactics (13-21) are interesting. There is Shock
treatment, and in v14 a circumstantial story – it is a special day, and it
would be unthinkable to refuse. Verse 14 flattery – he is the very one she came
to find. Verse 16-18 sensuous appeal. Verses 19,20 reassurance. The whole trap
is covered, or smothered in words, which is another distinguishing mark of
cults or false religions. They tend to promote their large book of rules, or
have a mass of publications.
Finally, he yields, and the trap is sprung.
21-23
the kill. For more, see David in 2Sam.11, or Samson in Judges 16:4-21,
or Solomon in 1Kings 11. All these men fell into similar traps.
Verse 22 "straightway" = all at once. Indecision is over, the
choice has been made.
24-27
There are three lessons here: 1. We must guard our hearts (=minds)
because as soon as our thoughts wander, our actions may follow. 2. We must keep
away, literally as well as intellectually. 3. We must look past temptations to
the probably end result if we followed them. The end is described in terms of
horror: "the inner chambers of death."