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Going Deeper

Going Deeper

Proverbs 19 (6-10-17)

WARNINGS! They are a good thing.  Sometimes we foolishly think to ourselves that warnings are a drag–that they dampen the party or ruin the day’s fun.  But I contend that warnings are a beautiful gift that keep us from greater or total ruin.

Think about it: when you are enjoying a gorgeous day riding/driving on a mountain road, it is a bummer to see the sign that says, “25mph curve ahead.”  But consider what that ride/drive would be like if you didn’t have that warning.  You could very easily misjudge the intensity of that curve, and your momentum could take you right off the road.  Or another example: you have planned for weeks a beach vacation.  You have driven many miles to be there and can’t wait to jump into the ocean, but as you run up to the water, you see a huge sign that says, “Sharks in the Water.”  You are very disappointed to find out that your day of swimming is ruined. You might even be mad at the presence of the sign and see it as the reason for your busted day.  But consider what your day would be like if the sign was not there and you went swimming in shark-infested waters.  Now, the sign is a great blessing and help.  Without that warning, you might not have all your limbs or even your life.  This is the way we need to read many of the Proverbs. Not as a bummer list of do’s and don’ts, but as a blessed gift of helps to navigate this treacherous and wicked world.  God is good, and His word is good and good for us.  So let us approach the warnings Solomon wisely gives us in the Proverbs with joy and a desire to heed their counsel and to honor God in our following them.

A number of the proverbs in chapter 19 are great and helpful warnings to us.  They give us a chance to pause and consider how we are doing and what we want to stay away from.  Let me point out one more thing before we look at a number of these proverbs today.  Many proverbs give us the pragmatic consequence or practical reward for doing or not doing that particular thing.  But let us consider our ultimate aim and worship.  We who are in Christ live for God above all else. Therefore, our motivation for doing what is right and not doing what is wrong must be the Lord and not just the pragmatic acquired benefit or avoided penalty.  We do what honors God because it honors God.  He is the reason; if not, then our motivation is potentially idolatrous in nature, and we miss the purpose of these things entirely.

Ok, look with me at something Solomon says twice in this proverb, which makes it especially stand out:


Proverbs 19:5 A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape.
Proverbs 19:9 A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.

A false witness will not go unpunished.  If you missed it the first time, let me say it again.

Solomon says that while the lie might gain you a moment or a season, you will not escape. Escape what?  Judgment!

The righteous Judge of all sees and will judge all.  Yes, if in Christ we have an advocate, and by His blood we are forgiven, but we will still stand in judgment and either He or we will pay for our deception.

Let us instead speak truth and receive our consequences with honor and uprightness. Instead of covering sin with more sin in lying about it, let us see our sin and confess what it is: SIN.  This is our way to honor God and repent.  If we do not repent, all we do is give birth to more sin and reap the consequences of what will come.
Proverbs 19:13 A foolish son is ruin to his father, and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.

 

In verse 13, we read another emphasis of Solomon that is a warning about how we treat our family.  A foolish son brings ruin to his father.  Our sins do affect others.  This is especially true of our immediate family.  When God entrust a child to the leadership and authority of his/her parents, that means they are highly connected to and responsible for him/her.  This means when a child is foolish and sinful, it has great effect on the parents.  This is so very true for marriage as well.  Solomon’s example is the argumentative nature of a wife toward her husband.  A wife is designed by God to joyfully submit to her husband’s headship and spiritual leadership. This means when she is argumentative instead of submissive, it is a great pain to a husband.  It breaks down the God-given design for a healthy marriage and the deep oneness a husband and wife are intended to have.  We all must realize when contemplating sin and acting selfishly that it will not just impact our own lives but the lives of many around us.

If you are feeling convicted by this proverb and are seeing the error of your normal practice, then take a moment to confess your sin and to repent from your ways by committing to a new practice and habit.
Proverbs 19:15 Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.

Our sin is so self-serving.  This means we will take the road of least resistance which can cause us to be very lazy.  Slothfulness and laziness will truly catch up to you.  Many of life’s struggles come about simply because of laziness: not having enough money to pay the bills, being overweight or experiencing health problems, wasting away your day’s responsibilities because you are only a consumer and not a producer, etc.  What is an area of your life with which  you are lazy?  Identify it, confess that you have not stewarded it unto the worthy glory of the Lord, and take an active step to begin to steward it better.  Maybe it is reading your Bible, working out, being creative and romantic with your spouse, spending quality time with your children, watching less TV or social media. Whatever it might be for you, get up and make the most of every day the Lord entrusts to you under the sun. Those who reject Jesus and live only for their own flesh lack the true inspiration and motivation to live each day to the fullest. But those who belong to Jesus and are given today to live for the eternal glory of the King have the greatest motivation ever given to anyone. Let us make the most of it for His glory, our joy and other’s eternal good!

By His grace and for His glory,

Joshua “Shepherd” Kirstine

Soldiers for Jesus MC

Categories
Scripture

Proverbs 19

Proverbs 19:23-29


23   The fear of the LORD leads to life,
    and whoever has it rests satisfied;
    he will not be visited by harm.
24   The sluggard buries his hand in the dish
    and will not even bring it back to his mouth.
25   Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;
    reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.
26   He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother
    is a son who brings shame and reproach.
27   Cease to hear instruction, my son,
    and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
28   A worthless witness mocks at justice,
    and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.
29   Condemnation is ready for scoffers,
    and beating for the backs of fools.

(ESV)

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Scripture

Proverbs 19

Proverbs 19:16-22


16   Whoever keeps the commandment keeps his life;
    he who despises his ways will die.
17   Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD,
    and he will repay him for his deed.
18   Discipline your son, for there is hope;
    do not set your heart on putting him to death.
19   A man of great wrath will pay the penalty,
    for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.
20   Listen to advice and accept instruction,
    that you may gain wisdom in the future.
21   Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
    but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.
22   What is desired in a man is steadfast love,
    and a poor man is better than a liar.

(ESV)

Categories
Scripture

Proverbs 19

Proverbs 19:9-15


  A false witness will not go unpunished,
    and he who breathes out lies will perish.
10   It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury,
    much less for a slave to rule over princes.
11   Good sense makes one slow to anger,
    and it is his glory to overlook an offense.
12   A king’s wrath is like the growling of a lion,
    but his favor is like dew on the grass.
13   A foolish son is ruin to his father,
    and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.
14   House and wealth are inherited from fathers,
    but a prudent wife is from the LORD.
15   Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep,
    and an idle person will suffer hunger.

(ESV)

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Scripture

Proverbs 19

Proverbs 19:1-8


19:1   Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity
    than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.
  Desire1 without knowledge is not good,
    and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.
  When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin,
    his heart rages against the LORD.
  Wealth brings many new friends,
    but a poor man is deserted by his friend.
  A false witness will not go unpunished,
    and he who breathes out lies will not escape.
  Many seek the favor of a generous man,2
    and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.
  All a poor man’s brothers hate him;
    how much more do his friends go far from him!
  He pursues them with words, but does not have them.3
  Whoever gets sense loves his own soul;
    he who keeps understanding will discover good.

Footnotes

[1] 19:2 Or A soul

[2] 19:6 Or of a noble

[3] 19:7 The meaning of the Hebrew sentence is uncertain

(ESV)