Read Proverbs 22:17-29
Read
Proverbs 23
The Proverbs are sayings that much like parables make
comparisons. We have seen many dichotomies.
We have seen the A-B structure.
We have seen statements that are provocations to deeper insight—they
give us pause to think.
Most, perhaps all, of what we have
read thus far were authored by Solomon.
Now we venture into what we believe were proverbs that Solomon collected
and thought worthy of sharing. Most of
your Bibles label them the sayings of the wise.
These sayings begin in the second half of chapter 22. They
begin in much the same way that the first chapter began. Pay attention not only with your senses
but with your heart. Have a teachable spirit and be ready to speak the truth.
I’m thinking that Solomon wrote this
first of these sayings as an introduction to the others. But what are these sayings? We look back to
chapter 22.
Don’t exploit the poor. You will set yourself in opposition to the
Lord.
Watch out for friendships with people
who are quick to anger. You
might just get into trouble that you would have never ventured near on your
own. Paul would later say that bad company corrupts good character. Your
parents probably said, choose your friends wisely.
We come to a place where we have been
already with Solomon. It’s this whole
business of putting up security for another, especially someone you don’t
know. We have been through the borrower is slave to the lender.
That’s good counsel for us to watch our personal debt. Why, then, would we take on the debt of
another that we don’t even know?
Don’t move ancient boundary stones is
along the lines of dishonest weights and measures. This shows up again in the next chapter.
Integrity counts with God. Don’t think
that God doesn’t see your heart when you are trying to cheat your neighbor.
Here is one set in positive
terms. You see that person who has
studied and labored to develop good skills.
They get the best jobs. Work and
study pay off.
This brings me to one of my questions
that you should take care in your answer.
Does practice make perfect?
No.
Perfect practice makes perfect.
If you practice the wrong things or the right things the wrong way, you
don’t gain knowledge, skills, and abilities.
If you don’t believe me, you should
see my golf swing. I put a lot of
practice into it once upon a time. I
practiced most of the worst swings that you can imagine and I perfected a
terrible swing.
Perfect practice makes perfect. What you study, learn, and put into practice
matters. They payoff. Not only do you not
go hungry, but you are also well paid for your knowledge, skills, and abilities.
We begin chapter 23 with a warning
against gluttony, especially public gluttony.
Delicacies are nice, but don’t crave them.
Don’t make the purpose of life to be
getting rich. Earthly riches are
fleeting. Remember to seek God, his kingdom, and his righteousness first and he will provide the things that the
godless have made into their gods. The
godless seek riches and lose them but you are to seek God and he will provide
more than you need.
Watch out for those who invite you to
share their riches but have no interest in a true friendship. They are bribing you and will ask for
something later. When that happens, the
delicacies that you enjoyed won’t taste as good as they once did.
Here is one that should sound
familiar. Don’t talk with fools. You are wasting your time. I would add that your have purposeful things
to do with your time and your life and talking with someone who has declared in
their heart that there is no God is not purposeful. There is no conversation to
be had. The seeds that you thought you
were planting fell upon terrible, rocky soil.
It’s not just enough to learn, we need
to apply what we have gained in knowledge, wisdom, and instruction.
Apply your heart to instruction
and your ears to words of knowledge.
Here’s one that will get me banned
online.
Do not withhold discipline from a
child;
if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
Punish them with the rod
and save them from death.
Do you remember bring up a child in the way he should go? I
hope so, it was in the last chapter. We need to understand that Solomon speaks
of punishment under the umbrella of discipline.
If your child goes off course, you direct them back. It’s that simple.
There is an eternal punishment that we
who follow Jesus as Lord do not fear. We
are saved from that, but we should gratefully receive discipline and we should
deliver discipline to our children for the same reason the Lord disciplines
us. We love our children.
Some of these are just too
simple. We rejoice when our kids are on
and stay on the right track. When they
are living in God’s way, we are happy.
For those who are keeping score at
home, we are up to saying 15 and it says that Billy Joel has good music, but
you can’t always trust the lyrics.
I’d rather laugh with the sinners than
cry with the saints. The sinners are
much more fun, only the good die young.
Why don’t you laugh with the
saints? Because the world has sold you a
bill of goods that says the sinners are much more fun.
There is hope in living God’s
way. God has good plans for you!
I will wrap up this message with
saying 16. It blends some counsel that
we have received thus far.
Listen, my son, and be wise,
and set your heart on the right path:
Do not join those who drink too much
wine
or gorge themselves on meat,
for drunkards and gluttons become
poor,
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.
Be wise. Live God’s way. God sees the heart and weighs the heart and
will set your heart on the right path if you will just trust him, listen to his
instruction, and follow him.
Beware of too much. Too much what? Too much of anything that comes of your
carnal desire. Sure, you need to
eat. You don’t need to eat too much.
A glass or two of wine is no problem
for most. Too much is a problem for all.
Too much television, time on the
couch, time on Facebook or Tok-Tok-Poppycock or whatever it is, or too much
binge-watching on Netflix leads to laziness and poverty. Remember, work is good and laziness is bad.
God’s way –
Everything else
Blessings –
Minefields
Wisdom –
Foolishness
Righteous –
Wicked
Industrious
– Lazy
Life – Death
God’s way –
Everything else
We could stop here with my charge to
you to think on these things, but I will prime the pump a little first. ‘Tis the season to…
Spend a little too much and perhaps
venture into debt.
Drink a little too much and put many
things at risk.
Eat a little too much and crowd out
the Holy Spirit from the temple that is our body and pay for those excesses in
the months ahead.
Work too much for earthly riches and
miss the riches of enjoying our families.
Spend too much time online talking
with those who are not inclined to learn.
Discipline our children too little
thinking this to be love.
Most people learn from their
experiences. The wisest people also learn
from the experience of others. The
sayings of the wise are shared experiences from which we may learn.
There is God’s way and there is
everything else and don’t let the world sell you on the sinners are much more
fun. Solomon continues the sayings of
the wise, but we pause here to consider the pairings we have discussed so far.
God’s way – Everything else
Blessings – Minefields
Wisdom – Foolishness
Righteous – Wicked
Industrious – Lazy
Life – Death
God’s way – Everything else
Amen.
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