Sunday
Morning Bible Study
December
10, 2017
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved? Regular: 2900 words Communion:
2500 words Video=75wpm
The book of Proverbs is all about wisdom.
Wisdom is not about knowing facts.
Wisdom is about knowing what to do with what you know.
Wisdom is knowing when to do it.
Wisdom is knowing how to do it.
We are now in a new section of the
book of Proverbs.
We’ve finished the “mini-lectures”
that Solomon gave to his son in the first nine chapters.
The rest of the book are what we
typically call the “proverbs”.
Proverbs are sayings, typically short, that give wisdom and insight into
everyday things.
They are intended to help you lead a better life.
They are not absolute promises, as in “if you do x,y, then z will always happen
and your life will be perfect”.
They are general principles – that if you do them your life will be
generally better than if you didn’t do them.
I want to encourage you to have a
pencil or pen ready as we work through each chapter.
Though we will read the entire
chapter, I won’t be taking time to unpack every single proverb.
God may want to use one of the
proverbs that we simply pass over to speak to you, so be ready to mark up your
Bible or write down a verse.
It’s going to be a little like
drinking from a fire hydrant.
The Proverbs are Hebrew poetry…
Hebrew poetry is about ideas, not
sounds.
Most of these proverbs are in two
lines.
Sometimes the second line is a
parallel of the first. It expresses the same idea with different words.
Sometimes the second line is an
opposite idea, still clarifying the first, but by way of contrast.
Be careful that you don’t look at
one phrase without looking at the other.
Proverbs 16
:1 The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of
the tongue is from the Lord.
preparations – ma’arak
– arrangement, plan, preparation
answer – ma’aneh
– answer, response
(Proverbs 16:1 NLT) We can
make our own plans, but the Lord
gives the right answer.
(Proverbs 16:1 The
Message) Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last
word.
:2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the spirits.
(Proverbs 16:2 The Message) Humans are
satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good.
(Proverbs 16:2 NLT)
People
may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord
examines their motives.
Sometimes we can talk ourselves into thinking that even our motives are
pure, but God really knows what’s going on in our hearts.
David wrote,
(Psalm 139:23–24 NLT) —23 Search me,
O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the
path of everlasting life.
:3 Commit your works to the Lord,
And your thoughts will be established.
:3 Commit your works to the Lord
commit – galal
– to roll, roll down, roll together
When Jacob first met Rachel at the
well, he “rolled” the stone away from the well so she could water her flocks.
(Gen. 29:10).
(Genesis 29:10 NKJV) And it
came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother,
and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near and rolled
the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s
brother.
I think it’s the idea of taking
this big rock that symbolizes the things you’re working on, and rolling them into
God’s hands.
works – ma’aseh
– deed, work
thoughts – machashabah
– thought; plan, purpose
(Proverbs 16:3 The Message) Put God in charge of your work, then what you’ve planned will take place.
(Proverbs 16:3 NLT) Commit
your actions to the Lord, and
your plans will succeed.
will be established – kuwn
– to be firm, be stable, be established
In this verse, Solomon isn’t
telling us to commit our “plans” to the Lord, but the things we’re actually
doing.
I think that when we open ourselves
to allowing God to inspect the things we are involved in, He has a better
chance to mold and shape our plans.
:4 The Lord has made all for
Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.
:4 even the wicked for the day of doom
(Proverbs 16:4 The
Message) God made everything with a place and
purpose; even the
wicked are included—but for judgment.
Let me be clear –God does not predestine people for hell.
God isn’t happy when wicked people die and are condemned.
(Ezekiel 33:11 NLT)
As
surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord,
I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from
their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people
of Israel! Why should you die?
God wants people to be saved.
(1 Timothy 2:4–6
NKJV) —4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the
truth. 5 For there
is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ
Jesus, 6 who gave
Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
God wants all to be saved and to find the “truth”.
The truth is that God has provided only one way to be
saved – Jesus. Jesus is the only one who
died to save us from our sins.
This verse is reminding us that the wicked do not somehow escape the notice
or the purposes of God.
If a person chooses to persist in their wickedness, they will face a part
of God’s purposes apart from salvation – they will face judgment.
If you’ve never opened your life to Jesus, today you will be faced with a
choice.
Will you choose to follow Jesus, God’s only way to be saved, or will you
choose to face God’s judgment?
:5 Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Though they join forces,
none will go unpunished.
(Proverbs 16:5 The Message) God can’t stomach arrogance or pretense; believe me, he’ll put those upstarts in their place.
We’ll talk about pride a little
later…
:6 In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear
of the Lord one departs
from evil.
Some translations make it sound as
if mercy and truth are the things that will atone or make up for sin:
(Proverbs 16:6 HCSB) Wickedness
is atoned for by loyalty and faithfulness, and one turns from evil by the fear
of the Lord.
Yet atonement requires more than
mercy and truth.
Mercy and truth are the qualities
of God by which He makes atonement possible.
Atonement is made to God through
sacrifice.
It’s in God’s mercy that He allows
this.
:7 When a man’s ways please the Lord,
He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
:7 He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him
Here’s another example of a general principle and not an absolute promise.
When your ways are pleasing to the Lord, your life will be characterized by
things like…
(Galatians 5:22–23
NKJV) —22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control…
As a general principle, people like to hang out with folks who act like
this.
Yet even these kinds of folks will find trouble from time to time.
(2
Timothy 3:12 NKJV) Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer
persecution.
:8 Better is a little with righteousness, Than vast revenues without
justice.
:9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord
directs his steps.
:10 Divination is on the lips of the king; His mouth must not
transgress in judgment.
(Proverbs 16:10
NLT) The king speaks with divine wisdom; he must never judge unfairly.
I think this is a case of what should
be.
A leader needs to recognize the importance of making wise and fair
decisions. People are hoping that the leader will make God’s decisions.
:11 Honest weights and scales are the Lord’s; All the weights in the bag are His work.
:11 Honest weights and scales are
the Lord’s
We’ve talked about this before.
Buying and selling was done with
the help of balance scales and weights.
If you go to the market and you
want to buy one pound of cinnamon, then the merchant puts a one pound weight on
one side, and then weighs out the cinnamon until the scales are balanced.
Some merchants would use different
weights as a way to cheat people.
God wants us to deal honestly with
each other.
:12 It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, For a
throne is established by righteousness.
(Proverbs 16:12
HCSB) Wicked behavior is detestable to kings, since a throne is
established through righteousness.
Something for our politicians to think about.
:13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings, And they love him who
speaks what is right.
(Proverbs 16:13
HCSB) Righteous lips are a king’s delight, and he loves one who speaks
honestly.
In one sense, we may not have any kings sitting in church, but a “king” is
the one who makes decisions, who makes the tough calls.
There are times when each of us is faced with making a difficult decision.
When you have to make a tough call, don’t you want to be making it based on
truth, and not some sort of deception?
This is another reason why it’s so important that we work
at speaking truth to one another.
:14 As messengers of death is the king’s wrath, But a wise man will
appease it.
Be careful about making a king mad.
:15 In the light of the king’s face is life, And his favor is
like a cloud of the latter rain.
:16 How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to
be chosen rather than silver.
:17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who keeps
his way preserves his soul.
:18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a
fall.
And a parallel thought…
:19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide
the spoil with the proud.
(Proverbs 16:19 The Message) It’s
better to live humbly among the poor than to
live it up among the rich and famous.
:18 Pride goes before destruction
(1 Corinthians 10:12 NKJV) Therefore
let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
Lesson
Dangerous Pride
Pride – ga’own
– pride, arrogance (bad sense)
haughty – gobahh
– height, exaltation; haughtiness
I think some kinds of pride are not a problem – pride in a job well done,
pride in your family, etc.
It’s the arrogant, false sense of superiority, look-down-your-nose kind of
attitude that is so offensive to God.
Jesus said,
(Matthew 23:12 NKJV) And
whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be
exalted.
Peter wrote,
(1 Peter 5:5–7
NKJV) —5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your
elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed
with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under
the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all
your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Pride affects our relationships with each other.
We ought to learn to be “submissive” to each other, taking
time to listen to each other and learn from each other.
Pride affects our relationship with God.
God doesn’t like the proud person – He resists the proud
person.
The proud person is the one who doesn’t think he needs any
help, so he tries to do everything on his own.
The humble person is the one who knows how much he needs
God, and casts his cares on God.
God can humble the proudest person, to allow them to “fall”.
We see an example of this in the life of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar.
Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful man on earth in his
day. He ruled over the known world and could put people to death simply by
commanding it.
God had a hand in
Nebuchadnezzar’s life.
(Jeremiah 27:6 NKJV) And
now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of
Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve
him.
It was God who used
Nebuchadnezzar to bring judgment on God’s own rebellious people, the nation of
Judah.
One day, God warned Nebuchadnezzar about the pride that
was filling his heart, and a year later, Neb was walking through his royal
grounds…
(Daniel
4:30 NKJV) The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have
built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”
And with those words, the great Nebuchadnezzar was struck
by God, going crazy and acting like a cow for a period of time until the day
came that he finally turned his eyes up to God and acknowledged that God was
greater than all. And at that, God allowed Neb to return to his place as king
of the world.
Neb concluded…
(Daniel
4:37 NKJV) Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of
heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those
who walk in pride He is able to put down.
What can I do to make sure this doesn’t happen to me?
We can all be tempted with pride.
Humility doesn’t come without you and I making a point of intentionally
cultivating it.
Jesus demonstrated this on the night of the Last Supper.
In those ancient days, when you gathered for supper at
someone’s house, it was customary for the host to make sure that the guest’s
feet were washed.
Feet got dirty in those days. This was simple hospitality.
Yet washing feet was something that servants did, not the
master of the house.
At the Last Supper, nobody took care of the feet washing. I
imagine none of the disciples wanted to be seen as being the “servant” of the
others.
Video: Gospel of John – Washing
Feet
(John 13:2–17 NKJV) —2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the
heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His
hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and
girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured
water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them
with the towel with which He was girded. 6 Then He
came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my
feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I
am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” 8 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with
Me.” 9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my
feet only, but also my hands and my head!” 10
Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to
wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all
of you.” 11 For He knew who would
betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.” 12
So when He had washed their feet, taken His
garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to
you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say
well, for so I am. 14 If I then,
your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one
another’s feet. 15 For I have given you
an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his
master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
What had Jesus done?
He gave us an example to follow.
He had humbled Himself and did the work of a servant.
Jesus had said,
(John 13:15–17 NKJV) —15 For I have
given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his
master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
Paul wrote,
(Philippians 2:3–5 NKJV) —3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but
in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also
for the interests of others. 5 Let this
mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
Jesus had lived
from eternity past in the glories of heaven with the Father, yet He willingly
laid it all aside to take on human flesh, become a servant, even to the point
of dying for us.
How do we “cultivate” humility?
Recognize the needs around you.
Learn to serve others.
:20 He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.
:21 The wise in heart will be called prudent, And sweetness of the lips
increases learning.
:22 Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it. But the
correction of fools is folly.
(Proverbs 16:22 NLT) Discretion
is a life-giving fountain to those who possess it, but discipline is wasted on
fools.
Are you learning wisdom? Are you
growing in wisdom? Are you learning the lessons of “discipline”?
:23 The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, And adds learning to his lips.
(Proverbs 16:23 HCSB) A wise
heart instructs its mouth and increases learning with its speech.
If you are a wise person, you are
continually growing in how you use your words.
:24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and
health to the bones.
:25 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is
the way of death.
:26 The person who labors, labors for himself, For his hungry mouth
drives him on.
(Proverbs 16:26 HCSB) A worker’s
appetite works for him because his hunger urges him on.
This verse doesn’t justify an
employer paying wages below what his employees are worth.
The point is that when you have a
“hunger” for what you are doing, you will work harder.
:27 An ungodly man digs up evil, And it is on his lips like a
burning fire.
:28 A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of
friends.
:28 a whisperer separates the best of friends
This is not a “whisperer” as in a
“horse whisperer” or “dog whisperer”.
whisperer – nirgan
– to murmur, whisper; backbite, slander, talebearer, backbiter
(Proverbs 16:28
NLT) A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of
friends.
The whisperer is a person who manufactures and/or spreads gossip.
Lesson
Gossip
What is “gossip”?
Oxford Dictionaries define “gossip”
as “casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people,
typically details that are not confirmed as being true”
Miriam-Webster defines it as “rumor
or report of an intimate nature”
The problem is, we really like gossip.
(Proverbs 18:8
NKJV) The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, And they go
down into the inmost body.
There’s something enticing when you hear a bad thing about someone, whether
it’s true or not.
Is it a surprise the tabloids do so well?
There is also something enticing about being the one who knows the “latest”
about some situation.
It makes you feel important when you know before other
people do.
Be careful about the person who is
always in on the latest gossip.
Not everything you hear is true.
I have known instances where best
of friends have had a falling out because some “perverse” person has shared
stories that were later found out to be untrue.
Illustration
The Town Gossip
Gladys, the town gossip and self-appointed supervisor of the town's morals,
kept sticking her nose into other people's business. Several local residents
were unappreciative of her activities, but feared her enough to maintain their
silence. However, she made a mistake when she recently accused George, a local
man, of being an alcoholic after she saw his pickup truck parked outside the
town's only bar one afternoon. George, a dedicated Christian and man of few
words, stared at her for a moment and just walked away without saying a word. Later
that evening, he parked his pickup truck in front of her house and left it
there all night. Her gossiping ceased.
Be careful that you’re not the gossip.
(Leviticus 19:16
NKJV) You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people;
nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
:29 A violent man entices his neighbor, And leads him in a way that is
not good.
:30 He winks his eye to devise perverse things; He purses his lips and
brings about evil.
:31 The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, If it is
found in the way of righteousness.
:31 The silver-haired head is a crown of glory
I don’t want to condemn any of you who color your hair, but Solomon is
saying that gray hair can actually be good thing…when its on the head of a good
person.
Is it a good thing to have gray
hair?
We live in such a youth-oriented
society, that we find a head of gray hair to be somehow bad.
It was kind of hard finding a
commercial where they didn’t make the direct implication that your sex life
would improve if you got rid of the gray…so I had to cut this commercial short.
The New King James translation
inserts the word “If”, making the goodness of gray hair conditioned upon
whether or not a person has lived a righteous life.
Other translations omit the “If”
like this:
(Proverbs 16:31 NLT) Gray hair
is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life.
I think that the idea is that if
you are a righteous person, you will tend to live longer, and hence have gray
hair.
This is not an absolute promise,
but a general principle.
I’m not going to try and bring
condemnation on you if you are one who wants to color your hair to get rid of
the gray, but just consider what Solomon is saying – a gray head can be a crown
of glory.
:32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he
who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
:32 He who is slow to anger
Anger is not a good thing.
Illustration
You might think your anger is useful to
you, but it’s not.
You don’t look good in anger anymore than
you do in daffodils.
Paul said,
(Ephesians 4:31–32 NLT) —31 Get
rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all
types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
:33 The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the
Lord.
(Proverbs 16:33
NLT) We may throw the dice, but the Lord
determines how they fall.
I don’t think Solomon is suggesting we should make our choices by the toss
of the dice, but that there are times in our lives when things seem to happen
randomly, and perhaps they aren’t as random as we think. Perhaps God is behind it.
I want to revisit a verse we shared earlier…
Lesson
Your choice
(1 Timothy 2:4–6
NKJV) —4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the
truth. 5 For there
is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ
Jesus, 6 who gave
Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
God wants you saved from hell, but the choice is up to you.