10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well
advised is wisdom. 11 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he
that gathereth by labour shall increase. 12 Hope deferred maketh the heart
sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. 13 Whoso despiseth
the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be
rewarded. 14 The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the
snares of death. 15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of
transgressors is hard. 16 Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a
fool layeth open his folly. 17 A wicked messenger falleth into mischief:
but a faithful ambassador is health. 18 Poverty and shame shall be to him
that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured. 19 The
desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to
depart from evil. 20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a
companion of fools shall be destroyed. 21 Evil pursueth sinners: but to
the righteous good shall be repayed. 22 A good man leaveth an inheritance
to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the
just. 23 Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is
destroyed for want of judgment. 24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son:
but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. 25 The righteous eateth to
the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want. (Prov
13:10-25)
The text begins today with Pride. Pride is a sin most hated by God. Pride even
led to war in Heaven. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels
fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And
prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the
great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were
cast out with him. (Rev 12:7-9) Prideful self sufficiency cannot
exist in the presence of God. In fact, there is NO self sufficiency - all
are dependent upon the grace and mercy of God for their next breath. So pride
of self is enmity against the sovereignty of God. It is for this reason
that we give thanks to God for ALL things. As we read in Revelations, Satan
fell from Heaven due to a rebellion motivated by pride: How art thou
fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the
ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine
heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of
God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the
north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the
most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the
pit. (Isaiah 14:12-15) These six things doth the LORD
hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying
tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked
imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness
that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren (Prov
6:16-19) So our understanding of verse 10 of Proverbs 13 is enhanced by
comparing other scriptural references. Only by pride cometh
contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.
I have lived for 70 blessed years upon God's green earth and have not failed to
observe that ill-gotten wealth leads always to misery and depravity. That
wealth which has been gleaned from those who are rightful owners is vain. It
spends quickly and leaves the vain one with only an empty void in the heart
that cannot be filled by anything except temporary sensations. 11 Wealth
gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall
increase.
12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh,
it is a tree of life. Hope forlorn is a grievous condition.
There seems no silver lining to any cloud. Each hopeful development seems to
evaporate in dust. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the
stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: (Eccl
12:2) But what of hope fulfilled that is based on the sure foundation of
Heaven? The Tree of Life will be in the Paradise of God. It offers every good
fruit. This is the fruit of hope that is centered in Godly desires.
13 Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that
feareth the commandment shall be rewarded. Just as equally, we
might say whosoever hates the Son of God shall be destroyed, for Jesus Christ
is the Word that came down from God (John 1). Those who reverence the
Commandments and Word of God (they are the same) shall be rewarded with an
eternal blessing.
14 The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the
snares of death. Truly, faithfulness to God's Word gives life and
is a defeat of our common enemy - death. Jesus defeated death and Hell at
Calvary.
15 Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors
is hard. God has not laid out His Word of Commandments for our
sorrow, but for our joy. The Way, the Truth, and the Life is a Way filled with
joy. But a life of transgressions is by no means easy - it is a HARD way. I
will call to the bar other verses to clarify this verse in Proverbs. It
is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. (Acts 9:5) “But the
wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up
mire and dirt. ‘There is no peace,’ said my God, ‘to the wicked.’
(Isaiah 57:20, 21) “Come unto Me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:29-30) “And His
commandments are not grievous.” (1 John 5:3) and “Her ways
are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” (Proverbs 3:17)
The general doctrine, provided in a cross section of the Bible, is that the
ways of sin are full of trouble, but that the ways of holiness are pleasant and
peaceful. It will be my present object to illustrate this
doctrine; to show that it must of necessity be true; and
hence that whatever claims to be true religion and yet dissents from this
doctrine cannot be true.
16 Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth
open his folly. 17 A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a
faithful ambassador is health. The wares of the wise is
simply wisdom gleaned from the knowledge of God. Studying God's Word trains us
to think with His Mind. The fool is brave in his folly, but when the roll is
called, he does not make the cut. Those whose messages carry a false report
will be destroyed by their own mischief. A faithful ambassador is one who represents
his Heavenly Sovereign faithfully and according to His Will and not the
personal desire of the ambassador.
18 Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction:
but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured. When we
refuse to read the direction for projects we attempt, the result is always a
mess. We refuse to stop and ask directions when lost (especially men), and we
do not want to reveal our ignorance by reading instructions. After all else
fails, in shame we turn to authoritative instructions. But those who are
educated from the Book of Life need not wonder about the affairs of life. They
will always be honored and respected - even by enemies.
19 The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is
abomination to fools to depart from evil. It is not
coincidental that fools love evil. Any person who does not love God is a fool
in fact. To the fool, good is evil, and evil is good. 20 He
that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be
destroyed. "Birds of a feather, flock together" do
they not? The kinds of friends we associate with us will influence us to their
values. This is one of the leading problems that has ruined the morality of
young Americans. They are forced to attend public education where they are
confronted with ONLY atheistic values to the detriment of any hint of Godly
virtue. Moreover, the 'boiling pot' is comprised of every dreg of society - so
what do we expect? When fools are allowed to comingle with the righteous,
the fools will not become righteous - the righteous shall become fools. If you
desire your son or daughter to possess Godly values, do more than simply having
them attend church once per week. Teach them to observe prayer and study daily in
a family worship hour, and do not send them to associate with the wicked as did
Lot when he "pitched his tent toward Sodom." (Genesis
13:12)
21 Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be
repayed. Truly, our natures are magnetic. We attract
whatever rubbish our natures are inclined toward. There is a hidden manna of
the righteous that rewards daily in times of draught. Cast thy
bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. (Eccl
11:1) The nature of the righteous, being good, will attract a like nature.
The next verse presents a grievance to the modern American politicians, for
they desire all things to be left to the state. Their hearts are evil. 22 A
good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of
the sinner is laid up for the just. When the government is
righteous, the good man will be able to save and leave and inheritance to his
children and succeeding generations. But the wealth of the sinner goes to
others in the process of time. His wealth is a sure as the fate of Ozymandias.
When governments operate with an unequal balance, they will attempt to
reverse this Scriptural state of affairs giving the increase of the good to the
slothful and lazy.
23 Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is
destroyed for want of judgment. In some parts of the world (perhaps
in some parts of the US, too), the poor farmer eats far better food than the
wealthy. In Korea of the 1960's, the poor ate brown rice (with husk) while the
wealthy class paid much more for 'polished' rice. Since it has been discovered
that brown rice is far more healthy, the situation is reversed. The judgment of
the modern mind is that anything touched by the hand of man is improved. So we
eat poisons in the form of additives to our food that result in all manner of
health issues. In Norway, all food is natural. The government their strictly
enforces a policy that all foods be natural and contain no additives. The bread
and vegetables are DELICIOUS there. The nature of vegetables are as perfect as
God made them ere polluted by the hand of man.
How often have we heard that parents 'love their son too much to administer
corporeal punishment? This, my friends, is a lie from the lips of Satan. If we
fail to discipline a beloved son or daughter, we are creating a situation
whereby they are failures in life. In actuality, we do not love enough if we do
not discipline. 24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he
that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. God loves us and,
because of that, He chastens us. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. (Heb 12:6) If we love our
children, as God loves His children, we will chasten them in love.
25 The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly
of the wicked shall want. It is true that the belly of the
wicked is never full just as the stomach of a roaming lion. No matter the
wealth they swindle from others, they remain feverish for more and more.
The righteous are satisfied with that which God gives - and that is ALWAYS
enough! I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the
righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. (Psalms 37:25)
In view of the pros and cons of righteousness as opposed to wickedness given in
this Proverb, I will choose righteousness. What about you, Reader?
