Proverbs Chapters 18-19 John Karmelich

1. The main topic of proverbs is still "Wisdom". My subtopic for this lesson is about understanding the way life works. Many of the proverbs teach us things about how life works and even how nonbelievers act. The reason those proverbs are given is to say in effect, "This is the way the world acts, but if you compare this to other proverbs, it is not the way God wants us to act!"

a) For example, we have proverbs about how foolish people act, but we are not be fools.

b) Verse 1 is about how an unfriendly man pursues selfish acts. That may be a truth about life, but it is not how Christians are supposed to act. God calls us to work as a team in ways that ultimately benefit God.

c) There is a proverb coming up about gossip and how the words of gossip are "tasty" to the hearer. Again, it doesn't make it right, the proverb is just describing what is the most common reaction for people to listen to gossip!

d) Just so you know, this lesson is not all negative proverbs. The proverbs appear to be going back and forth between how we should act and how the "world" acts.

e) We're going to have proverbs about how rich and poor people act in life. The proverbs have nothing to do with whether or not saved people can have material possessions.

i) What is important for the believer is the attitude we have toward the material benefits we have in life and how we use those resources.

f) I can go on from there with both good and bad examples in these two chapters. With that introductory comment stated, let's get started.

2. Verse 1: An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends; he defies all sound judgment.

a) Verse 1 is describing a person who only cares about him or herself. They have no interest in the affairs of others unless the others are helping them.

b) The second part says this type of person "defies all sound judgment". The point is this type of person has no interest in helping or caring for others. All this person cares about is him or herself and that's it. This is the first of many "negative examples" in this lesson.

3. Verse 2: A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.

a) Foolish people are not silent. They like to air out their opinions. However, they have no interest in learning from others, especially those who care about God.

b) A biblical definition of a fool is one who has no interest in God and what God cares about it. A foolish person may have great understanding of their job or things of this world. The proverb is not saying a foolish person is stupid, just purposely naive toward God.

c) May God help us to control our tongues and not speak every thought that pops in our head!

4. Verse 3: When wickedness comes, so does contempt, and with shame comes disgrace.

a) People who don't care about God will usually, sooner or later, get involved with some sort of wickedness. God does not allow "neutrality" toward Him. People either draw closer to Him or further from Him in their lives. When one spends a lifetime turning from God, it eventually leads to wicked actions.

i) With such wickedness comes contempt for God and His laws. That's one of the points of this proverb.

b) The idea of "shame" is again, speaking of a person who has no interest in God. They will be disgraced, at the least on judgment day, and often "shamed" in this lifetime.

5. Verse 4: The words of a man's mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

a) The point of this proverb is that almost all people like to air their opinions. True "wisdom" spoken is not nearly as loud (i.e., as prevalent) as "people just speaking". The point is that one can find wisdom in people's speech, but it is not nearly as often as "people just speaking what they think".

b) To find wisdom in words, one has to listen carefully to what people say and compare those words against God's.

6. Verse 5: It is not good to be partial to the wicked or to deprive the innocent of justice.

a) This is similar to some of the proverbs from the last lesson. The point is in judgment situations, we are to do our best to not condemn the innocent of justice and not be partial to the wicked. The point is about judging all people fairly.

b) So why is this proverb here? It is surrounded by a bunch of proverbs that mostly deal with bad behavior of others. One of the signs of "bad behavior" is how people get treated in courtroom and judgment situations. I believe that is why this proverb is here.

7. Verse 6: A fool's lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating. ⁷ A fool's mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul.

a) A "sign" of a fool is based on how people react to what that fool says. If the words of a fool cause many people to want to hit him or her, it is a sign that person is a fool.

b) Another point is the words of a fool are often their "undoing". Their plans against God and against other people are often "undone" by what they say. Their words are a snare to their own soul when it comes to salvation.

c) If a fool is sharing their plans with another fool, odds are neither one's plans come to pass as both want to do it their way and not share their glory with another person.

8. Verse 8: The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts.

a) This verse is not saying gossip is a good thing. It is saying that people "relishing" listening to gossip and the words are digested by others.

b) Gossip is never considered a good thing in the bible. When we hear gossip about others, the wise thing is to ignore it. When we hear stories of others, the correct thing is to approach the source and find out if its true and not go spreading gossip to others.

9. Verse 9: One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.

a) The point is these two types of people work well together. One who slacks in his or her work, then "teams well", with the type of person who wants to destroy others.

b) The idea of a "destroyer" is a person who not only rebels against what is good, but tries to destroy what is good. These two types of bad people work hand in hand with each other.

10. Verse 10: The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

a) In this chapter, we are having verse after verse dealing with negative traits. The exception so far is Verse 10. A reason for having this verse here is, is to teach the wise person where to run when evil people are around us and doing their evil deeds.

b) In other words, when the wicked are planning schemes against God-fearing people, the God-fearing should seek God and run to Him! Does that mean running to church? Sometimes yes. Other times it could be running home. The point is not so much a physical place but a "mental place" where one can seek God's comfort and guidance when there is "wickedness" all around.

c) If there are "evil things" around you and you're not sure what to do, that's a good time for prayer to God. He will usually give some sort of answer and help in such situations.

11. Verse 11: The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall.

a) We're now back to proverbs about non-God fearing people.

b) The point of this proverb is that wealthy people have a false sense of security about their wealth. They think they can build a "safety wall" between themselves and society with their wealth. The proverb is not condemning wealth all to itself. It is condemning the idea of using wealth to separate one self from the world.

i) The false idea is "one can be untouchable" with enough wealth. In reality, that never works. Thieves can go after anyone at anytime. Further, they think their wealth isolates themselves from whatever is happening in the world around them.

12. Verse 12: Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

a) Now we're back to comparing a good verses a bad person. Whenever you watch the downfall of another, you can be sure, "a proud heart" comes prior to that downfall.

b) At the same time, "humility" is necessary prior to honor, from God's perspective.

c) The simple point of this proverb is what happens to us in life is usually based on one's attitude at the time. The world around us can be seen as good or bad at any given moment. A lot of what happens to us, both good and bad depends on our attitude at any given moment and how we perceive the world around us.

13. Verse 13: He who answers before listening-- that is his folly and his shame.

a) This is describing a person or a situation where one is not really interested in listening to the problems of another, but only in expressing one's own opinion.

b) This proverb is saying that having such an attitude is both a man's folly and his shame. The idea of "folly" and "shame" is that such selfishness is not pleasing to God.

14. Verse 14: A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?

a) The point of this proverb is that if a man has a healthy spirit, it will sustain him during times of sickness. If the spirit is "crushed", then no one can bear with that person.

b) All people get sick and even injured at times. If one has a healthy fear of God and a good outlook toward life, one's spirit will sustain them through such times. When such times come, not only do we need a good spirit, but we need to be around others that have a good spirit as well.

c) If one has a "crushed spirit", (i.e., a very strong negative outlook), then it becomes harder to bear through tough times.

15. Verse 15: The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.

a) The point is wise people try to seek out good knowledge. It can come from studying the bible directly, or by listening to good advice from others.

b) The point is those who are wise don't just "spew out whatever they think", they go out to seek and apply good advice to their lives.

16. Verse 16: A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great.

a) Sometimes, in order to get into the presence of a great person, one has to, or at the least should bring some sort of gift. In many cultures, this "gift" is the compensation for getting advice.

b) If a good "advice giver" is as good as advertised, then his or her time is limited. A person with a gift to offer may be chosen to be in their presence over someone else who doesn't have such a gift.

c) This proverb is not saying gifts are necessary to get into the presence of the great, but simply that in some cultures and situations, having a gift will help a person get to where or who they want to go to. This is another proverb on how "life works" and does not necessary have anything to do with how God calls us to behave.

17. Verse 17: The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.

a) The problem with "courtroom settings" is often, the first person on the stand appears to be right, at least until others come forward and question them.

b) The point of this proverb is that we are not to blindly trust everyone's word but we should question people and do our best to discern the truth.

18. Verse 18: Casting the lot settles disputes and keeps strong opponents apart.

a) Sometimes there are disputes where both sides are claiming to be right and there is no verbal way of telling which side is lying. The point is there are ways of settling things when the courtroom doesn't work.

b) One ancient traditional way is by casting lots. This is where all the parties involved agree to some sort of contest to see who is right or "who gets the prize". "Casting lots" is an ancient game played to settle disputes when nothing else worked.

c) There are "modern variations" of this as well. The parties can agree to some sort of contest in order to divvy up the prize or settle an argument. The key is to get the parties involved to agree to the rules of the contest. Once that is done, the rest is "downhill".

i) The goal is all about getting the case resolved. The method is secondary.

19. Verse 19: An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.

a) A "brother" can refer to a literal brother or just someone close to us. The point is the offended brother is often more unyielding than some thing like a fortified city.

b) The big question is what does one do in this situation? Sometimes we can let time heal such wounds. Other times require compromise. Because the brother is offended, we may have to compromise more than we like. Sometimes we even have to fully yield the situation over to God to heal.

20. Verse 20: From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied.

a) What this proverb is trying to get across is sometimes saying the right words in a situation are as satisfying to the brain as good food is to the stomach. This proverb is a reminder about learning to say the right thing in any given situation. It is as important to the mind as good food is to the stomach.

21. Verse 21: The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

a) Here is another verse that compares what we say in life to what we eat. The idea is what we say with our tongue can have the power of life and death (speaking both figuratively and literally). The idea is those who speak wisely with their tongue will benefit from it the same way people benefit from a good meal.

b) A great quick prayer some time is simply asking God what to say in a given situation. ☺

22. Verse 22: He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.

a) The concept of marriage goes back to the Garden of Eden and is ordained by God. The idea here is a good wife makes for a good marriage. A good wife is a benefit to a man and his life. The proverb can be expanded to be read by either sex.

b) The point is a good marriage is God ordained and generally speaking, it is good for a man to be married and benefit from that marriage.

c) So why is this proverb here? We've been talking about using one's tongue wisely and being careful about offended brothers. All of a sudden, the topic switches to marriage. I believe the "connection" is many young single men think having a wife is a burden in dealing with life and they fail to see it as a blessing.

i) Another aspect is to stop and think, "Who do we spend the most time arguing with?" The answer is usually our spouse. The underlying point of this proverb is to see our wives as a blessing, especially during the difficult moments of marriage when we are arguing.

ii) The great lesson for any marriage is to remember it is not the job of the husband to fix the wife and vice versa. That's God's problem and not ours. Our job is to love our spouses just as they are. If there is an issue, give it to God, and not the spouse.

23. Verse 23: A poor man pleads for mercy, but a rich man answers harshly.

a) The point of this proverb is sometimes one's social status becomes obvious in the tone of our voices. This proverb is describing a situation where the poor man is begging for mercy from the rich man, but the rich man is answering harshly. This proverb is not commenting on who is right or wrong, but just commenting on the way life works sometimes. This is another proverb giving an example of how life works.

24. Verse 24: A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

a) The point of this proverb is that usually it is better to have a few good friends than to have lots of companions with no one we are really close to. When life gets difficult, it is better to have a close friend who sticks by us than a bunch of "companions" who go back to their own business during such rough times.

b) The underlying point of this proverb is that it is not the number of friends we have in life that matter, but the "quality" of our friends.

c) The older I get, the more I appreciate having a handful of good friends who I can always talk to if I need to. Hopefully I'm there for them as well. I'll also argue that if one is married, it is still good to have one or a few close friends of the same sex. Yes, one's spouse can be a close friend, but it's also important to have friends of the same sex.

25. Chapter 19, Verse 1: Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse.

a) Here is another "one thing is better than the other" comparison. This verse is not saying it is a good thing to be poor. It is saying it is better to be poor and have a good reputation before God than one who has money, but is considered foolish by what he or she says.

b) The idea of "perverse lips" is one who constantly says things that are offensive to God!

26. Verse 2: It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.

a) Having zeal for an issue may be a good thing. The point is to acquire good knowledge about a situation before having zeal for it. Almost everybody who has zeal over an issue they think they know well. The key is to be able to understand both sides, or all sides of an issue before claiming one's view is correct.

b) A similar idea is to be "hasty" in thinking one understands what God wants of us and "miss the way" to get to heaven. Along the same line, one can be hasty in thinking, "I understand what God wants from me in this situation". The point is God is calling us to think something through before we take sides on any given issue.

27. Verse 3: A man's own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD.

a) All of us know people who appear to be heading to hell as they don't care about pleasing God with their lives. This verse is again speaking of the type of person who essentially ignores God all of their life and just focus on their own interest of the moment.

b) The harder aspect of this verse is to turn inward: Think about all the wasted times of our lives when we turned away from God. May God help us to remember such times, especially when we turn from Him so we act better when the next time roles around!

28. Verse 4: Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man's friend deserts him.

a) Here's another one of those proverbs that simply state, "this is the way life works". People are attracted to others who have money, if for no other reason than just to hear their success or in hopes of having a bit of that wealth.

b) When one has a very poor friend, that person becomes a burden to support. It is "common" for people to desert that poor person, if for no other reason, then they no longer have to financial support them.

c) This verse is not talking about the widow or say, some child. It is about someone who can work, but is either lazy or misfortunately or simply untrained for work.

d) We'll comment some more on this principal in Verse 7, coming up.

29. Verse 5: A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free.

a) The terms "false witness" and "pours out lies" are similar terms. The biblical concept of a false witness is one who lies on the witness stand.

b) The idea of one who pours out lies is mainly referring to a courtroom type of setting. The idea is a person who speaks lies a lot should be punished.

c) The underlying point of this proverb gets back to the idea that God wants "truth telling" in courtroom situations. God wants the guilty to be punished and for witnesses to tell the truth in court types of situations.

d) This may sound obvious, but anyone who has ever spent time in a courtroom learns quickly about half truths being told by witnesses. The biblical concept of truth-telling includes the idea of not saying anything misleading.

30. Verse 6: Many curry favor with a ruler, and everyone is the friend of a man who gives gifts.

a) Here's two examples of the type of person, most people want a positive relationship with.

b) If we get a chance to meet a ruler face to face, most people want to get on his or her good side regardless of our personally feelings about them. Because they are in power, we don't want to be punished by them and want their favor.

c) A related idea is wanting to be friends with someone known for bearing gifts toward others. The motivation is we covet such gifts.

d) Remember that many of the proverbs are simply about the way life works. This proverb is one of those examples. This proverb is not claiming it is more biblical to covet the favor of a ruler or one that bears gifts, it is "just the way life works".

e) OK, if this is true, what is the God fearing man or woman supposed to do with this verse?

i) For starters, when we are in the presents of rulers, remember that "everyone" is trying to get on this person's good side. While we may have to respect those in charge, we are still to judge them by God's standards, and not man's standards.

ii) The same applies to someone with the reputation for bearing gifts. It may be tempting to be their friend for the gifts, but we are to judge their behavior as best we can by God's standards of right and wrong and not the world's standards.

31. Verse 7: A poor man is shunned by all his relatives-- how much more do his friends avoid him! Though he pursues them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found.

a) This verse is similar to Verse 4 of this chapter. The idea is one who is poor is shunned by his or her relatives and their friends. Verse 4 only mentioned "friends". Verse 7 expands the concept to include relatives.

b) The assumption behind this proverb is the poor man is too lazy to get a job and work and is getting his food off of begging from others.

c) I've also seen this proverb come true for people who were making a good living and then get into financial trouble. They quickly get shunned by others around them.

d) Remember this proverb is not saying it is right to leave them alone, it is saying, "this is the way life works for such people." God still calls on us to help the poor as much as possible and be considerate to others.

32. Verse 8: He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers.

a) Here's a proverb that ties well to the early chapters. One of the basic ideas of "wisdom" is to get good godly knowledge for one's life. The idea is in order to prosper in life in a way that is pleasing to God, first we need to understand what is right and wrong.

b) The next step is once