Proverbs 18-19

 

Proverbs 18

There are several verses that warn about the power of the tongue, a few that uphold its power for good. James 3:1-12 repeats many of the negative themes.

18:1 Starting a quarrel against sound judgment does not profit anyone.

18:2 Talking without understanding is foolish.

18:4 Wisdom about God and Jesus and their ways is a fountain that becomes a rushing stream of life.  (Ezekiel 47:1-5)

18:6-7 Even though they experience the consequences of what they say, fools persist in foolish words, destroying their lives.

18:8 Gossip tastes good, but it wounds deeply as it makes its rounds.

18:13 Fools bring shame on themselves by answering before even hearing what another says. How do they know what the answer is supposed to answer? They don’t. That is part of being a fool.

18:17 Suing someone is not to be taken lightly. The initiator of a lawsuit may believe their case is ironclad, but there are two side to every dispute. Watch The Peoples’ Court to see how someone caught up in their own self-righteousness can be unraveled by cross-examination. 

18:20-21The power of life and death is in the tongue. This is not just the verdict in a capital offense trial. This is sharing the gospel and receiving it with a confession of faith to eternal life, or not. That is eternal life and death.

18:23 The poor in spirit have humility, the rich in the world become proud and do not recognize the foolishness of speaking out their spiritual emptiness.

Proverbs 18:9 compares slothfulness at work to destroying. What is destroyed? The opportunity to build God’s kingdom into our lives and others’.

Proverbs 18:10 identifies the name of the Lord (YHWH in the Old Testament, Jesus in the New Testament) as a fortress to which we can flee. This does not give us unlimited license to use His Name in any manner we choose (Acts 19:14-16), but has power to protect the righteous.

Proverbs 18:11 The wealthy in this world believe, mistakenly, that it it will protect them from anything. Only a faith in and walk with Jesus will do that, and Jesus warned His disciples that even they will endure suffering in this world. (John 16:33)

 

Proverbs 18:12 & 16:18 Pride and haughtiness are harbingers of a fall; are these the cause of the fall or just the fruit of an underlying deeper reality about a person’s spiritual condition? See Daniel 4:30-33 and Acts 12:22-23.

Proverbs 18:16 Whether this gift to gain admission to the presence of the great is a bribe like that condemned in 17:23 is unclear. This is not necessarily to buy a verdict, but to gain admission to speak. One must be careful about trying to buy entrance to God’s presence with gifts. He is looking for us to give Him our hearts, He doesn’t need our money. (Psalm 50:9-14) Giving as an act of worship could go two ways. We might worship to try to win God’s favor, perhaps the sense of closeness to Him. Or we could worship simply because of who He is and what He is like. Nothing wrong with wanting to be close to Him, and He often responds to heartfelt worship with His presence in a tangible sense. Our lives’ goal should be to live so close to Him and be so used to His presence that we don’t need to try to earn His presence, but simply accept it, and live with Him continually at our side.  (Psalm 84)

 

Proverbs 18:22 The very first wife was given to man in Eden. (Genesis 2:22-24) Solomon later waxes eloquent on the blessing of a good wife. (31:10-31)

Proverbs 18:24 The friend who sticks closer than a brother is later explained by Jesus. (John 15:13-17)

Proverbs 19 has many verses that Jesus elaborated on in the Sermon on the Mount and other teachings. He did not simply repeat them, but showed kingdom principles that these Proverbs embody. He showed how faith in Him, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit enable His followers to live above mere earthly wisdom.

Proverbs 19 speaks to wealth and poverty several times. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Do not put your heart on earthly treasure,  but in heaven. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 5:3, 6:19-24)

• 19:1 The blameless poor are contrasted with the fool. 
• 19:4 From the world’s perspective, wealth is attractive and poverty to be avoided. 
• 19:7 Even the family of the poor, in addition to their friends, avoid them.
• 19:14-15 Wealth inherited from parents along with a house can be viewed entirely as earthly, but spiritual wealth can also be passed from parents to children, just as the Lord can give a prudent wife.
• 19:17 Generosity to the poor will be rewarded by the Lord. But don’t boast - keep it a secret. (Matthew 6:2-4)
• 19:22 Better to be poor than a liar - spiritual consequences will ensue from the latter.
• 19:24 A sluggard is so lazy he won’t even lift his hand to move food from the plate to his mouth, and will starve to death.

Folly

• 19:1 It is better to be poor than to be a fool who speaks perverse things, presumably to start fights.
• 19:3 The natural consequences of foolishness ruin people, but they blame God for making the universe, them, and their circumstances this way.
• 19:10 A fool can acquire luxury either by some sinful method such as lying, stealing, or cheating, hence it is inappropriate (and only temporary) that he live a lavish lifestyle.
• 19:13 Having a foolish child grieves a parent, and repeated efforts to rescue them from their folly and its consequences will ruin the parent’s life. In Jesus’ parable, the father gave up half his estate to let the prodigal son have his way, which doubtless reduced his lifestyle significantly, but he turned the prodigal son over to the Lord. Sometimes the fool has to come to the end of himself the hard way to come to sanity. (Luke 15:11-32)
• 19:29 Fools may avoid being beaten, but their actions have earned it.

Proverbs 19:5 & 9 speak to punishment of a liar, someone who pours out lies, not going free but perishing instead. The pure in heart will see a lie as an offense against God, and tell the truth even to their own detriment. Jesus went further to say that a simple, truthful yes or no is better than taking an oath about something. (Matthew 5:8, 33-37)

Proverbs 19:11 It is a kingdom principle, that one is worthy of glory if they overlook an offense. Jesus said to turn the other cheek, give your coat away, and go the extra mile. This runs so counter to our natural human nature that it is very hard (impossible) to do in our own strength. Hence, the need to give it all - getting even, revenge - to Jesus and trust Him to handle it. Forgiveness is sooooo… hard.  (Matthew 5:38-42)

Proverbs 19:14 once again identifies that a prudent wife (31:10-31) is a gift from the Lord.   Jesus talked about divorce from the perspective of the heart, that a man forces his wife to commit adultery when he divorces her, and commits adultery when he marries a divorced woman. Lusting after a woman not one’s wife is committing adultery in our heart. (Matthew 5:27-32) What does this have to do with a prudent (practical) wife? Solomon did not talk about romantic love in the Proverbs, that is the theme of the Song of Songs (a separate study). However, a prudent wife would know that appropriate romantic behaviors will reduce the risk of the husband going astray leading to divorce, and she will act accordingly. This helps protect both his soul and their relationship.

Proverbs 19:20 advises us to listen to advice and accept discipline. Calling these out separately suggests that the is both a practical and a wisdom dimension to this admonition. We need advice about our life’s direction and goals, and we need discipleship to shape our day-to-day behavior.