1 Through desire a man, having
separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. 2 A fool
hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. 3 When
the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach. 4 The
words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a
flowing brook. 5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to
overthrow the righteous in judgment. 6 A fool's lips enter into
contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. 7 A fool's mouth is his
destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. 8 The words of a
talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the
belly. 9 He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a
great waster.
10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous
runneth into it, and is safe. 11 The rich man's wealth is his strong city,
and as an high wall in his own conceit. 12 Before destruction the heart of
man is haughty, and before honour is humility.
(Prov 18:1-12)
Desire is a longing, or craving, for something. Quite often, our desires may be
righteous but, more than not, they are sensual and carnal. Desire is a tool
found in the tool kit of the Devil.; but it can be turned against that old
serpent if the desire is Holy and righteous: Brethren, my heart's desire
and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. (Romans
10:1) But there is another desire that the Devil hopes to cultivate with this
tool called 'desire:' But now, after that ye have known God, or rather
are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements,
whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? (Gal 4:9) Among whom
also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the
children of wrath, even as others. (Eph 2:3) So we must fix our desires
upon those things imperishable and despise those things which are without
durability or worth. Worthy DESIRE could be summed up in this verse: Delight
thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
(Psalms 37:4) God can freely make this promise because the desire of any who
delight in the Lord will be Holy and sanctified.
1 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and
intermeddleth with all wisdom. The desire spoken of is an unholy
and carnal desire arising from pride. This man has separated himself in order
to gratify the desires of his flesh through false wisdom. True wisdom cannot be
falsely achieved. This man desires to choose some perceived wisdom of better
men to acquire ungodly objects. He may play the perfect gentleman to seduce an
innocent girl, or even worse.
2 A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may
discover itself. This is the man that knows no loyalties except to
his own decadent desires. He is much like the traitor to country described by
Sir Walter Scott in his famous work:"Lay of the Last Minstrel:
Despite those titles, power, and pelf,
The wretch,
concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying,
shall go down
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonor’d, and
unsung.
3 When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy
reproach. Have you ever noted the inordinate contempt of the wicked
against all who attempt to defend the institution of marriage, or the sanctity
of human life. The snarls, sneers, and profanity reaches levels that cannot be
discussed in polite company, much less in the scope of a devotion. Contempt,
again, can be righteous, but in almost all cases it is not, but arises from a
black and darkened heart. Because the wicked always come to disgrace and
exposure, they also receive, in this life, a fitting reproach. Still, being
fools, they pursue the same demented course as before.
4 The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the
wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook. My grandmother used to say
that a "deep river is silent while the white water, shallow stream is
boisterous" and "an empty wagon makes a lot of noise."
The heart of a man, whose cup runneth over, is deep in understanding and
wisdom. Whatever he says will be worthy of hearing. The mountain spring-fed
brook continues to constantly flow bringing pure and life-giving waters to the
pastureland. My father used to advise me to "always drink upstream of the
herd - to drink the pure waters where they emerge pure and unpolluted by the
hands and feet of men and animals. That is why I have CONTEMPT only for the
modern bible versions that are spotted with the unclean hands of men bent of
developing a politically correct bible.
5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow
the righteous in judgment. This is a verse directed at the heart of
today's church. How is it possible that homosexual wedlock could even be
considered a possibility, or acceptance of this filthy and abhorrent sin ever
be given the dignity of tolerance in a nation whose Founders followed the
dictates of God in her Founding? Just because we are not the direct agents of
evil does not make our hands clean of the wickedness we tolerate in our midst.
Have we voted for pro-abortion politicians, for example, simply because they
have promised a favor in some entitlement program? How long will ye judge
unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? (Psalms 82:2)
6 A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for
strokes. The fool is always quick to temper and speak out before he
has given due consideration to the matter. His answer for every occasion of
disagreement is to strike out at his perceived opponents. Either alone, or with
a great company, his mentality is that of the mob.
The fool is condemned by the words from his own mouth. 7 A fool's
mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.
Wicked conversation and words have consequences - greater to the one who utters
them than upon whose ears they fall.
8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into
the innermost parts of the belly. Distress of shame and
embarrassment at the gossips of the talebearer can cause ulcers to their
victims. His tongue is a great destroying weapon. The owner of such a tongue
shall suffer torments in judgment.
True labor is productive of results that are sought - whether for food or
products. 9 He also that is slothful in his work is brother to
him that is a great waster. The man who is slothful in labor is
wasting the benefits of his labor. If a job is worth doing, is it not worth
doing right? Actually, a shabbily done job is worse than not labor at all.
Someone will need to come behind and see that the damage is undone, and the
work finished agreeable to its purpose.
10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth
into it, and is safe. Is it a wonder that all who call upon
the Name of the Lord shall be saved? ". . . . whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Acts 2:21) A
tower is a "High Place". Claiming the Name of the Lord, we are
aspiring to a higher plane than we have thus lived. The Name of the Lord is the
dwelling place of the Lord. wherever the Lord is found, there is safety. He is
our Ark in these last days. All righteous on earth shall forego the fires of
destruction that are destined to fall soon upon an wicked and adulterous
generation.
11 The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall
in his own conceit. There is a difference in the Strong Tower of
God and the high wall of the arrogant man. A strong tower cannot be easily
destroyed without those who attempt it being crushed at its base. A wall can be
easily breached by siege engines because it is really only a facade. It
may look strong from without, but once penetrated, all inside has been lost.
The pride of arrogance, once penetrated, leaves only ashes for the former big
shot.
12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before
honour is humility. The truly great men and women of history have
not started out believing themselves better than they really are; but the proud
man conversely always starts out with a much higher opinion of himself than is
justified by his foolish heart. I know a very special Korean girl (my adopted
daughter) who is a 4.0 Dean's list scholar at university, but, before every
major exam, she laments her poor level of preparation and fears she will fail
the exam. Later I learn that she received an 'A' on the exam. In fact, I
believe that we should always recognize that we are nothing but dust before
God. It is His works that make us succeed. Marching forth in His Name, and
under His Banner, do you believe that defeat is even possible? The pursuing
victory will never be our own, but His!
