1 A wise son heareth his father's
instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke. 2 A man shall eat good by
the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence. 3 He
that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips
shall have destruction. 4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath
nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. 5 A righteous man
hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame. 6 Righteousness
keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner.
7 There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that
maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches. 8 The ransom of a man's life
are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke. 9 The light of the
righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out. (Prov
13:1-9)
NOTE:
Before beginning to study this devotion today, have you remembered to pray for
God’s Light and Understanding? – just asking. If you desire the lovely bud of truth to open into the
brilliant beauty of the rose, our studies must be watered by the morning dews
of prayer. The language of God is cloaked in the majesty and beauty of His
exalted vocabulary. Though some modern Bibles would attempt to bring His words
down to the street level of the vulgar, absolute truth is preserved in
reverence and a meticulous regard for the beauty of His Words and Expressions
without human amendation. If we were to change the words of Shakespeare to the
vulgar language of the street, how many lovers of literature would condemn us
out of hand? “To be, or not to be – that is the question” could
be rendered as “The issue is whether we should exist, or go into oblivion”.
Which has more meaning, clarity and beauty?
The 13th chapter of Proverbs may be broken down
into three primary divisions: 1) Correction or Rebellion vs. 13:1; 2)
Godly Control or careless living, vs. 13:2-4; and 3) Consequences of a
righteous lifestyle are rewards, but that of a slovenly sinner is extinction,
vs. 13:5-25. We shall address the first two categories in Part I, and the
remaining in Part II.
According to Newton’s First Law of Motion, a body at rest tends to remain at
rest, and a body in motion tends to remain in motion, unless acted upon by an
outside force. There is an amazing parallel between the natural law that
God has instilled in all of the physical Creation and the spiritual Laws with which
He has imbued the souls of men. Every righteous act invokes a
corresponding blessing, and every wicked act provokes a corresponding curse.
Even sins forgiven leave scars that would not otherwise exist. It is for this
reason that we are admonished to seek the Lord early – long before the
gravitational pull of sin gains the ascendency each day.
There are two responses to Godly correction, and two contrasting results. 1 A
wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.
To hear the voice on one's father implies an obedience to that voice. Hearing
the Voice of our Heavenly Father brings us into obedience to the full
implications of the 5th Commandment to "honour thy Father and thy
Mother." Our foremost Father is not our natural and worldly
fathers, but our Father in Heaven. Hearing and obeying His Voice is
expected of a son or daughter, but the voice of instruction to the wise child
is the same as a rebuke to the one who scorns that Voice.
Since it is the treasures of the heart that emerge from one's mouth, the
righteous person creates goodness by the very words he speaks out of that
treasure of goodness. 2 A man shall eat good by the fruit of his
mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.
Because the treasures of the heart of the transgressor is wickedness, he only
has wickedness upon which to draw his check. A
good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and
an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
(Matt 12:35) Every day we make deposits to our hearts. What deposits have you
made today - good or bad?
3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth
wide his lips shall have destruction. In a sense, our tongue is our
judge because it represents what is in our hearts - and what is NOT
in our hearts. The tongue turns out to be the most powerful organ at our
command. Please note the beautiful imagery provided by St. James: 2 For
in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a
perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Behold, we put bits
in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole
body. 4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are
driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm,
whithersoever the governor listeth. 5 Even so the tongue is a little
member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire
kindleth! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the
tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire
the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. (James 3:2-6) So
we might say that we are "condemned by the words of our own mouth.
4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the
soul of the diligent shall be made fat. Desires of every type,
except righteous ones, rule in the heart of the sluggard. He labors for
nothing, but pines for the increase of the labors of others who are diligent.
He owns nothing outright. That which he has is gotten by other means. The
diligent only has possessions that truly belong to him for he has labored by
the sweat of his brow to acquire them. The word 'fat' is not physically
attributed, but figurative of the wealth of possessions that the diligent shall
acquire - not just in worldly possessions, but heavenly, too.
5 A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome,
and cometh to shame. A virtuous woman, and a righteous man, may let
a small lie slip from his lips out of an old habit derived from the former man;
but the man or woman will feel remorse when they realize that they have told a
lie. Hating the lie, they are saddened at the awareness that they have been the
progenitors of the lie. They will repent and seek forgiveness for their
unintentional indiscretion. The wicked man, au contraire, feels no remorse
whatsoever at his lying tongue. It is his way of life. His sins are habitual
and enormous, born out of intent and not out of indiscretion. There is no gold
or silver to back his currency in words. His word is as worthless as a wooden
nickel. When proof is demanded of his lies, he is put to shame time after time.
There is complete order throughout the Universe. The stars of heaven adhere
strictly to the orbits into which the finger of God has flung them. The stars
and other heavenly bodies have a predetermined path in which to travel. There
are some exceptions to this fact such as meteors and comets. These are
wandering stars with no fixed orbit. They are destined, at some given point
unknown to nature's law, to collide with an immense star and be burned to
cinders, or to be swallowed up in the humongous gravitational field of a black
hole and be crushed to a tiny grain of sand. Many professing Christians appear
as a bright star but are, in fact, only wandering stars with no predetermined
path to follow. The orbit of God's law does not appeal to them though they
prefer to be called a star. 6 Righteousness keepeth him that is
upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner. It is
not God that condemns to Hell, but our own sins. The Way of God is a way that
is lawful before God. The wicked, in truth, have no way, for their path is
unrestricted by any righteous intent. Like the meteor (wandering star), they
will be consumed in a fiery ball as they approach the atmosphere of Heaven.
Do you ever wonder why good and Godly churches seem to be poorer, materially,
than the rich mainstream churches? There may be several answers to that
question, but one prominent one may be that the poorer churches do not exist to
hoard wealth - they share all that they have with the poor and underprivileged.
The large and wealthy churches take great care to pay a handsome salary to
their staff before handing crumbs left over to the destitute and poor beneath
the Master's Table. Jesus Christ, through St John the Revelator, gives us a
hint of the truth: And unto the angel of
the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which
was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but
thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and
are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. (Rev 2:8-9) That which
the world regards as wealth may not be so, and that which the world regards as
poverty may indeed be great riches with God. 7 There is that
maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet
hath great riches. This verse in Proverbs makes much more sense now
that we have compared it with the Mind of Christ, does it not?
Riches save some from punishment, while others suffer because they will not
heed the rebuke of the slothful, which makes and keeps them poor. Do we not see
the reality of this in our own modern America. Politics is money, and not
honor, today. 8 The ransom of a man's life are his riches:
but the poor heareth not rebuke. To many wealthy people, the only
worth they can claim is worldly and transient. But the poor need not fear
rebuke for ill-gotten gain. "Many a gem of purest ray serene, the dark
unfathomed depths of ocean bear; Many a flower is born to blush unseen, and
waste its sweetness on the desert air." Ellegy, by Thomas Gray.
What light has the righteous? Well, they only have the light given them by
Christ - the Light of the World. The light which we show to others is merely
that reflected light of our glorious Sun - our Lord. Forgive me, but I LOVE
the symbolism God gives us of Christ as the Light. But unto you that fear
my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye
shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. (Mal 4:2) We
have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed,
as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day
star arise in your hearts. (2 Peter 1:19) We also have the Light of
Christ to guide us during the hours of darkness of the night: " . . . I am the root and the offspring of David, and the
bright and morning star. (Rev 22:16) So we may now better
understand the Author of Proverbs when he says: 9 The light of
the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
The Light of the righteous is inextinguishable, because the Light of the
Righteous is Christ! A lamp with no light is as useful as a ship with no sea.
Though the lamps of the wicked are dark, even what little light they may have
shall be put out when they go to their "long home." "....because
man goeth to his long home (Eccl 12:5)
Perhaps we should regularly examine our souls to see if we are stars of heaven,
or wandering stars destined for destruction: if we have the true Light of
Christ (fueled by the Holy Ghost), or do we possess only darkened lamps without
the oil of the Holy Ghost to produce Light?
