Proverbs Study – Lesson 22 (Proverbs chapter 19:14-29)
V. 15 There are certain things that tend to induce that sleepy tired can’t keep my eyes open feeling.. like heat or warmth, food and oh yea, inactivity. Like a hot day routine slothfulness or laziness makes a person feel tired all of the time. As a matter of fact, when one has the habit of laziness he cannot get enough sleep, seeming to always be tired, frequently falling into a deep sleep. A lazy person can sleep for hours, and in a short time be sleepy tired again. However, activity tends to energize a system, waking it up, making it alive and ready to go. Inactivity is a big problem in our culture today and has many other side effects, such as obesity, heart disease and cholesterol issues. However, it also has one other side effect that is stated in the second part of this verse and that is hunger. He says that a lazy or idle person will experience hunger due to their lack of activity or labor to earn a living.
V. 16 God’s rules are not meant for punishment and ignoring, but for our benefit and the enhancement of life. They were given to make life better and to keep us safe and out of danger. When we obey them not only do those around us benefit from what we do, but we also benefit from the promises that go with them. Obeying God’s Law has its advantages, and the advantages are substantial. However, disobeying them has its consequences too, and the consequence is quite severe. A life of rebelling against God’s ways ends in death. Rebellion against God is sin and Rom. 6:23 says ‘the wages of sin is death’. We do not miss anything by being good and living by God’s rules. The only thing that we miss is the process and fulfillment of death.
V. 17 When we give to others in need we do not give to them expecting a return. If this was the end of the story we would have done a good thing, had a good feeling of satisfaction of helping someone else and end up having less substance than what we began with. This would be good enough, but there is more to the story. Pv. 19:17 says that when we give with the right heart and spirit what we give we give in actuality to God, loaning it to Him and He ends up giving it away in the direction that we intended. It goes on to say that what God borrows He pays back in full, and often times with interest, meaning that even though we gave we have lost nothing, we usually end up with more.
V. 18 Chastening and discipline has its purpose and it is not for punishment. The purpose for discipline is to direct and guide or change behavior from behavior that is inappropriate to that that is appropriate. There is a time when for the same individual discipline works and there is a time when nothing helps. People tend to get hardened over the years and the tender part of their spirit tends to get smaller and smaller and harder to find often making them un-teachable. The suggestion here is that teaching that requires discipline as part of the learning process is best done earlier in life while the spirit is still tender. Waiting till things are out of control or over the edge and then attempting discipline is the wrong approach. Usually discipline at this time is a negative and can escalate raising tensions in the situation or problem gaining nothing. In the KJV it also says that during the disciplinary process there is a line that needs to be crossed in a person’s will before a change is made and to stop before that change occurs is fruitless. He also makes the point in some translations that if no change comes eventually the end result is ‘death’. Training a child is serious business and the process should begin early while they are still tender.
V. 19 We all hate to see someone suffer. It is our nature to come along side and attempt to rescue them making them comfortable. However, it is not always best for an individual to be made comfortable when they are experiencing the consequences for their actions. Solomon has made the point over and over again that right living has beneficial consequences and inappropriate actions bring their end result or outcome. This outcome is often painful and if let alone often has the effect of making one think the next time not repeating the same behavior. If we step in and deliver them from the consequences there will be no deterrent stopping them from doing it again. It is hard, but sometimes it is better to let someone deal with the consequences of their own actions right or wrong. A man of great wrath will bear consequences and may change his behavior if we do not rescue him.
V. 20 It is the bottom line or the end result that counts. How things come out in the end often depends on your research and who your advisors are. But, there is another component that is a vital part of a proper or good outcome and that is did you hear and apply the good council and research. To have a wise outcome in life or in a particular project we need to hear and apply good council and instruction. In the KJV Solomon starts out this verse with an interesting word. He says, ‘Hear’ and he continues by saying ‘receive’ instruction. The emphasis is on hearing and receiving.
V. 21 Our heart has many ideas. As we go through our day we sift through our thoughts casting many of them aside deeming them as un-useful, impractical or not the right time to consider their application. But, the left over thoughts we begin to collect and sort through storing some, filing some, considering some and acting on others. The heart decides of the many thoughts what to save, what to contemplate and what to act on. We all have our method using ‘devises of the heart’ as the KJV puts it to change our thoughts into life or reality. The writer of the Proverbs says that it is a good idea to evaluate the method that we use to decide which thoughts get our attention eventually getting implemented.
For those who are believers, inside the chamber of our heart a communion occurs between us and God if we let it. Too often we sort through our stuff on our own making OUR decisions formulating our plan. However, all too often our plan comes crashing down and all of our energy and effort ends up for naught. We are reminded in James 4:13-7 that we need to remember the council of the Lord in our decision making process as we sort through our thoughts in a day. Many of our plans will vaporize into nothingness, but.. God’s council will take shape and stand being established. What time we save by communing with Him as we think through our day. If we develop the habit of communing with Him as we make our decisions our life will end up looking much different than if we go it alone. Ps. 127:1 says it best. It says ‘Except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that build it’.
V. 22 When you consider the traits that make us interesting or attractive to others Solomon says that there is one that stands out to others and that is ‘kindness’. Strength and power can be an admirable trait that can be respected, but a kind man wins in the makeup and trait of a man that matters. It is kindness that makes others desire to be with us and join in with what we are doing. It is acts of kindness that make people stop and take notice. A spirit of kindness makes us pleasant to be with. It is one of the fruits of the Spirit. In the second part of v. 22 he also reminds us that no one likes a liar. Solomon talks frequently about how the poor are shunned. But, even the poor are to be desired over a liar.
V.23 God’s plan will ultimately be fulfilled. He continues to work out His plan in this fallen world with the end goal of redemption or righting the wrong. His plan is sure. It will happen. It is only a matter of time. Those who do not fear God are not working with God and His plan, and, therefore are not reaping the benefits of God’s plan for His people and His plan for this world as His plan unfolds. Those who love Him and fearfully navigate their life, proceed with concern and awareness of God and His ways, desiring to go with and be a part of His plan receiving the benefits of His redemption. God’s ways are not evil, therefore, those who travel and abide with Him will receive only good as a end result. When we see the consequences of traveling on our own we fear retribution and judgment of our selfish ways. Being a part of this world’s way of looking at and acting on things from its perspective using its selfish devises may seem to bring quick results at first, but ultimately suffers from judgment because of its self or selfish perspective. One that has experienced traveling with God and doing it His way has experienced the satisfaction of the journey and the end product, experiencing a feeling of wellbeing and wholeness. Because God’s way brings only blessing, one who has experienced the ‘fear of the Lord’ abides satisfied, knowing what’s coming their way.
V. 24 When working on a project or performing a task the benefit is in its completion. Half done or even mostly done often pays no benefit at all!! Too often we labor with the perspective that if I put in 10% I will at least get back what I put in. NOT TRUE! In most things that we do we can even put in 80 – 90% of what is needed to complete the task and if we do not finish the remaining 10% the entire project is worth nothing. In reality you may even have to pay someone to take it away and dispose of it if it is not completed. A lazy person or sluggard as stated here in Proverbs has no concept of how this works often throwing little to no effort at something, expecting to get something in return and finding that they often come up empty handed.
V. 25 Different people learn life’s lessons in different ways. Some learn out of necessity, others from desire. Both ways are valid, but one method is a lot less painful and holds more benefits. Learning life thru the University of Hard Knocks is a hard way to learn. It is effective, but it is painful. Solomon, however, makes the point that by letting a fool or wayward person get the punishment associated with their actions others, especially other foolish ones, will see and be detoured from their foolish actions. Seeing someone else’s pain can have an effect on our doing the same and receiving what we saw them get. However, he makes the point that someone who is teachable and wants to do well does not need consequences to be their teacher and motivator. All they need is reproof or instruction to make necessary changes. They know good advice when they hear it after hearing it they begin formulating a new and different plan to implement that will have a more beneficial outcome.
V. 26 There comes a time in life where a child is old enough to do what they want and the parents have no power to stop them. It is true that a child is still subject to the law of the land, but where once the parent were in the position of authority and had the ability to evoke consequences if behavior was inappropriate, now they are dependent on the child to choose to continue to honor them just because they are their parent. Some children when they are at this point choose to mistreat and abuse their parents for whatever reason. Solomon says that this kind of behavior brings shame on a family and is an embarrassment and a public disgrace to them and the family. This type of behavior even if changed is hard to forget and the disgrace on the family name can last for a long time.
V. 27 Those around us can have an influence on us and our children. Not all influence is good. Some influence causes or initiates us to begin a bad thought pattern, causing us to cast away or change our attitude toward truth and knowledge making fun of it or refusing to hear it. A good example of this is the media which sometimes causes us to be cold or indifferent to the truth, accepting or overlooking untrue principles as being ok or something we should be indifferent to. We know something is right, yet public opinion has influenced and swayed us to say otherwise. Thoughts, concepts and beliefs often take root that have no or little basis of truth to them at all causing us to ‘err from the words of knowledge’ as Solomon puts it. Solomon advises us to wake up and cut out those areas of our life that teach us to be indifferent to truth and its principles. This happens in areas of politics overlooking the standard for one that would train wreck another, or moral issues being swayed or softened on a situation or issue because you stand alone or public opinion has changed. He tells us to not listen to them and their influence anymore, consciously removing their influence from us.
V. 28 An ungodly person has no respect for justice and will tend to mock all sense of right and wrong. Their sense of how things should be is based on what they want and not justice or what is right. Right and wrong gets in their way and because of this they can often be found openly mocking or scoffing justice or fair and equitable arguments or decisions. For some reason this type of person also seems to be a crusader for their perverted form of justice or thought often donating time and effort to further iniquity, seeing nothing good come out of them.
V. 29 Judgment is not for the righteous. It holds no purpose or benefit being used on those who do right. It is used as a deterrent and judgment and reserved for those who refuse to listen to and apply the truth.
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