Wicked

Proverbs 10:6-9 – Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked. The name of the righteous is used in blessings, but the name of the wicked will rot. The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin. Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.

Proverbs 13:3 – Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.

Matthew 7:24 – “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Psalm 25:21 – May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you.

Application:

• ·         The ability to control the tongue is one of the clearest marks of wisdom.
• ·         The Bible often speaks metaphorically of God or Christ as a “rock”.
• ·         “Integrity and uprightness” are personified virtues.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Disgraceful Son

Proverbs 10:4-5 – Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.

Proverbs 27:24 – Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.

Proverbs 19:26 – Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother is a child who brings shame and disgrace.

Application:

• ·         Many proverbs praise diligence and the profit it brings, and they condemn laziness as a cause of hunger and poverty.
• ·         Even kings may lose their wealth and power.
• ·         Children were expected to take care of their parents when they were sick or elderly. Robbing them and attacking or calling down curses on them were serious crimes.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Not Let The Righteous Go Hungry

Proverbs 10:3 – The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

Matthew 6:27,33 – Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?... But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Proverbs 3:1-2 – My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.

Application:

• ·         The phrase (“add a single hour) could also mean “add a single step to life’s journey”.
• ·         “His righteousness” is the righteous life that God requires.
• ·         Fear of the Lord brings health to the body and “adds length to life”.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

The Dead Are There…Her Guests Are Deep In The Realm Of The Dead

Proverbs 9:17-10:1 – “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!” But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead. The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.

Proverbs 2:18 – Surely her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead.

Proverbs 27:11 – Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart; then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.

Proverbs 16:4 – The Lord works out everything to its proper end—even the wicked for a day of disaster.

Application:

• ·         The banquet prepared by Lady Folly seems poorer than the wine and meat of wisdom.
• ·         A life of immorality leads to the destruction and death of all who are involved.
• ·         Wise children serve as a powerful testimony that the parents who have shaped them have shown themselves to be people of worth.
• ·         God is sovereign in every life and in all of history. God displays His power even through the wicked, and all evil will be judged.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

The Fear Of The Lord Is The Beginning Of Wisdom

Proverbs 9:8-10 – Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you. Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 2:1-5 – My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

Leviticus 11:44 –  I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.

Application:

• ·         Fear of the Lord is a loving reverence for God that includes submission to his lordship and to the commands of His word.
• ·         “Knowledge of God” involves having a personal relationship with God and knowing what He is teaching.
• ·         Because of who God is and what He has done, His people must dedicate themselves fully to Him.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

You Will Live

Proverbs 9:6-7 – Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight.” Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.

Proverbs 3:1-2 – My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.

Proverbs 1:11-16 – If they say, “Come along with us; let’s lie in wait for innocent blood, let’s ambush some harmless soul; let’s swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder; cast lots with us; we will all share the loot”—my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; for their feet rush into evil, they are swift to shed blood.

1 Peter 4:4 – They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you.

Application:

• ·         Fear of the Lord brings health to the body and “adds length to life”. When Solomon prayed for wisdom, God promised him riches as well as long life if he obeyed God’s commands.
• ·         The goal of sinful men is personal enrichment by theft or oppression, even if they have to commit murder.
• ·         Godly living can bring persecution.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Eat...Drink

Proverbs 9:3-5 – She has sent out her servants, and she calls from the highest point of the city, “Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says, “Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed.

Psalm 63:1 – You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

Isaiah 44:3 – For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

Isaiah 55:1 – “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

Proverbs 1:11-16 – If they say, “Come along with us; let’s lie in wait for innocent blood, let’s ambush some harmless soul; let’s swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder; cast lots with us; we will all share the loot”—my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; for their feet rush into evil, they are swift to shed blood.

John 6:27,35 – Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”… Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Application:

• ·         “Dry and parched land” was a metaphor for his situation of need, in which he does not taste “the richest of foods” supplied by the “river whose streams make glad the city of God”.
• ·         “Pour out my Spirit” is associated with the Messianic age.
• ·         Christ invited people to drink the water of life.
• ·         The goal of sinful men is personal enrichment by theft or oppression, even if they have to commit murder.
• ·         “Eternal life” is not something to be achieved but to be received by faith in Christ.
• ·         “The bread of life” may mean “the bread that is living” and/or “the bread that gives life”.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV