Proverbs

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Proverbs Chapter 18

 

  • Proverbs 18:1 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeks and intermeddles with all wisdom. 

Time apart. When I need to study and seek the Lord, the best thing to do is to take time apart away from the world and people around me and just concentrate upon God and His word. This is vital. It is crucial. To hear from God, we need to be alone and away from everyone. This is one reason for prayer and fasting. We add to that the study of the word and sooner or later, we will gain understanding of God and who He really is. 

  • Proverbs 18:2 A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. 

One who does not want anything to do with God will not gain understanding and give himself a chance to discover the need in this own heart to find God. He prefers to be around people unless he is planning evil and needs to be alone to think but being around noise and commotion usually is where he is comfortable. Of course there are some that just love people and like to be surrounded by them for other reasons but we all need those quiet times just with God alone.

  • Proverbs 18:3 When the wicked comes, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach. 

He is disgraceful and contemptible or disrespectable toward all that is good. The wicked like to be around those that enable his wickedness. That agree with him or her.

  • Proverbs 18:4 The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook. 

Isn't that a beautiful verse? Wisdom and knowledge of the word of God is exactly like a clean, pure flowing brook that keeps going and never stops flowing. Beautiful.

  • Proverbs 18:5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment. 

An unjust judge who takes bribes brings disgrace to law and order. To accept the person of the wicked because it may bring approval and benefit a person financially for instance, is unfair to the innocent or the righteous. God is very displeased when we make laws and decrees against the innocent. When we accept the personage of the wicked for gain or the fear caused by threats against us, it hurts those that are innocent. 

  • Proverbs 18:6 A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calls for strokes. 

He stirs up evil against the innocent, he calls for the innocent to be punished and falsely accused to avert attention to himself. He is a troublemaker. He meddles into affairs that is not his business. 

  • Proverbs 18:7 A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. 

Since we reap what we sow, whatever he does to others when he stirs up evil against them in false accusation or something similar, he will eventually bring the same things upon himself. In fact he may speak things that condemn himself even though he is trying to condemn someone else. Sooner or later he may accidently say things that contradict something he said earlier, in other words he trips himself up. 

  • Proverbs 18:8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. 

They not only sow discord and false accusation, they hurt our own souls. I can be angry at someone and speak out against them to another person and what that does is either cause the other person to turn against the one I'm angry with or they could think evil of me for speaking against the person. Whichever turns out to be the case though, it brings bitterness to my own soul and increases the contention within myself, it hurts me more than it helps. 

Tale bearing is very evil. The exception would be if we are trying to stop false doctrine or false teaching. In that case we need to major on warning against the doctrine itself more than the person. Sometimes we have name names to keep innocent people from being deceived but most tale bearing has nothing to do with false teaching, it is just one person trying to make himself feel good by tearing down someone else. 

  • Proverbs 18:9 He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster. 

They go hand in hand. The lazy and slothful is like someone who wastes things, or stays in debt because of wasteful spending. 

  • Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous run into it, and is safe. 

They made a little chorus with this verse. Usually I don't like choruses because we have to repeat them over and over. That drives me nuts, but if we want to have choruses instead of hymn singing, using bible verses is preferable. If I was to write them however, I would use more than one verse and sing them like a medley rather than repeat the same phrase over and over. I'm not saying that is wrong to sing the same one over and over, just my preference.

So to teach truth, it is nice to sing the verses that build up our faith and draw us to God. Surely the name of the Lord is a strong tower. Those that love the Lord will run to it and be safe. 

  • Proverbs 18:11 The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit. 

When a rich man dies, whatever he has is left to someone else. He that trusts in his own riches, cannot possibly trust in God. He has a high wall of conceit or thinking that he is in control and needs nothing, not knowing that he is as poor as the poorest neighbor he could have. 

  • Proverbs 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility. 

If God didn't allow us to stumble when we get exalted in ourselves, we would eventually destroy ourselves. It is better to be humble and realize how much we need to depend on and trust in God. 

  • Proverbs 18:13 He that answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame unto him. 

I hate talking to a person and having that person answer a question before I finish asking. Many times they get it wrong and it’s hard to convince them that they misunderstood once their mindset is on the wrong thing. These type of people are very poor listeners. 

This caused a great misunderstanding once. Someone asked me a question and I started to answer but didn't even get to the end of my sentence before someone answered it for me and got it 100% wrong. Another one listening to the conversation made the assumption that I said something I didn't. I couldn't get a word in edgewise so I gave up but it caused a great misunderstanding later when one of the group repeated what I didn't say to someone else. I didn't find out until years later that what I didn't say caused a lost of trouble.

Someone had asked me what I thought of a person that wasn't present with us at the time. I tried to answer that I didn't know enough about the person to say anything and someone else assumed that I didn't want to say anything because I didn't like the person discussed.

Repeating stuff, getting the repeats wrong, tale bearing, getting the facts wrong, making assumptions, speaking things we ought not and many such things by people that do not mean to do wrong is bad enough without having to put up with actual troublemakers who do desire to cause trouble between two parties. We can even in innocence cause trouble if we don't guard our tongues. 

People who are quiet and do not speak a lot are considered unfriendly and unsociable. Little do we realize that the opposite is true. In the multitude of words there does not lack sin. The bible says to speak with grace seasoned with salt. It’s okay to be quiet and think first before speaking. 

Reading and living by just this one chapter in Proverbs would have avoided a lot of bad feelings. 

  • Proverbs 18:14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear? 

It’s easier to bear sickness and injury than have a troubled soul. If our mind is troubled, it is much harder to deal with. Only trust in God can heal it. 

  • Proverbs 18:15 The heart of the prudent gets knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. 

One who is wise and diligent will seek the right kind of knowledge that will profit him spiritually. 

  • Proverbs 18:16 A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men. 

It use to be the custom to bring a gift to someone of importance to gain his favor and audience. Without that gift, no one would get a foot in the door. It is sad but true. 

  • Proverbs 18:17 He that is first in his own cause seems just; but his neighbor comes and searches him. 

Its easy to believe a tale until we search it out, check out the facts and find out things we didn't know before.

  • Proverbs 18:18 The lot causes contentions to cease, and parts between the mighty. 

That’s probably why casting lots started, to keep people from fighting over things. In our day its like drawing straws or drawing names, picking a number between one to ten, or using a coin saying, "heads or tails". 

  • Proverbs 18:19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. 

The closer a person is to us, the harder it is to forgive them if we suffer wrong. 

  • Proverbs 18:20 A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. 

Our words can make or break us. The power of the tongue cannot be underestimated.

  • Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. 

They can profit us or destroy us. This goes along with verse 20. Our words can kill, destroy or cause good. Its our choice. 

  • Proverbs 18:22 Whoso finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor of the LORD. 

We can assume this means in a lawful manner and one who fears the Lord. Some have found spouses they wished they hadn't found or entered into relationships that are unlawful and considered to be adultery. However, marriage is of the Lord. He made it because we are not meant to be alone. 

  • Proverbs 18:23 The poor uses entreaties; but the rich answers roughly.

Goes along with humility versus pride. The poor in spirit will be meek in his answers but the rich and proud will answer roughly with no respect. We know now in today's world that there are exceptions to this. Occasionally we will meet a rich person that is kind and gentle. Perhaps they know the Lord.Perhaps they have Jesus in their lives and are filled with the Holy Spirit. As a rule though it would seem the rich and powerful are full of pride.

  • Proverbs 18:24 A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. 

When we take this verse to heart we must consider the words of the whole chapter. To be friendly is not just to be a nonstop talker like we usually assume. To be a good friend also means to be a good listener and stick to them closer than a brother would if they are in need of a friend. -Dorna

 

 
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