Straightforward

Greetings everyone. Let’s pick up the Bible Study through the book of Proverbs where we left off last time. We finished with chapter 11, verse 16. Now we’ll begin the Bible Study this time with chapter 11, verse 17. We only got halfway through this chapter. We didn’t want to rush it because there’s just so many principles that we need to take some time with, and so now we will finish up this chapter with this Bible Study. So chapter 11, verse 17:

17 The merciful man does good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubles his own flesh.

So therefore, why shoot ourselves in the foot? Why trouble our own flesh? Not only should we not trouble other people, we shouldn’t be troubling ourselves. And so therefore, the merciful man, the one that extends mercy and forgiveness and compassion—since we want mercy and forgiveness and compassion, God shows that we should give others mercy and compassion. We should extend mercy and forgiveness and compassion to others, and therefore we’ll receive mercy and forgiveness and compassion. So the merciful man does good to his own soul. The return from being merciful is wonderful for everybody but for our own selves too. But look at this:

17 —he that is cruel—

He that is mean–spirited, he that is hateful, and there are people like that. They’re just cruel for the sake of being cruel. They’re mean–spirited and hateful and wicked and evil just because they like being that way. Well, if someone is like that, he will trouble his own flesh. Not only will other people suffer, he will suffer mightily because of his cruelty, because cruelty will return to him and his own flesh will be greatly troubled for the cruelty that he exhibits.

18 The wicked works a deceitful work: but to him that sows righteousness shall be a sure reward.

Why do people just love being deceitful? Why do they love being duplicitous and they love lying, and they love mistreating others? Well, it’s human nature, and Satan is the god of this world and he plays on human nature. And so we fall into that trap, and then when a person keeps on doing that, they get into a state of wickedness and they continue on being that way. And God doesn’t want us to be that way, and if we want to be happy and have things go well, we won’t be that way and God will help us not be that way. Look at the difference:

18 —to him that sows righteousness—

to him that treats others with respect and tries to do the right thing and tries to make the right decisions, there will—

18 —be a sure reward.

The results will be wonderful.

19 As righteousness tends to life:—

It just lends itself to life. Things go well when a person tries to do the right thing. And if you’re not trying to, why not try to? And be blessed for doing so. And if you are trying to, keep on doing that and do it even better. We can make choices. We don’t have to be mean or hateful or cruel. We can be respectful and we can be gentle and we can be pleasant, and that tends to life.

19 —so he that pursues evil pursues it to his own death.

And there are people who are in hot pursuit of evil, and they may as well be in hot pursuit of death. But if we pursue excellence and we pursue righteousness, that tends to life. Those are the choices laid out in verse 19, and the results.

20 They that are of a froward heart—

A perverse heart, a twisted attitude. Someone who just likes gross perversion or someone who just likes to twist and turn things so that instead of being proper and appropriate, it becomes crude and awkward. They of a perverse heart, a froward heart, what does God think of an individual like that? They

20 —are abomination to the Eternal:—

That’s what He thinks of it. He calls it an abomination, and you know the word abomination is a very strong word, and when God says such and such, or so and so, or that individual is an abomination, that’s about as low as an individual can get and that’s about as rotten an action as they can do.

20 —but such as are upright in their way are his delight.

Wouldn’t it be great for God to say, “You know, that person is a great delight to me.” Well, He does say that to people who are trying to do the right thing, and He will say that to anyone who decides, “I want to live my life the right way. I want to change. I want to turn around. I’m sick and tired of being this way and doing these things. I want to go the right way and do the right things.”

You know when a person decides that, God will help them follow up on it, and they’ll begin to be upright and they will begin to be a delight to God.

21 Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished:

Now, hand joining in hand is just a phrase. It means they join forces. There could be a conspiracy. There could be a band of thieves, you know. You know how people think—they think there’s strength in numbers. And so if somebody is going to do something bad and he can get other people to be his comrade in arms, to be his allies, he feels like he’ll be able to accomplish what he sets out to do. All of a sudden, he’s emboldened, he’s empowered, he’s got people on his side, and now he’s ready to go accomplish the rotten deed.

But God says, though they join forces, though they join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished. It doesn’t matter how many can be gathered around a wicked individual, and it doesn’t matter how strong he feels and how secure he feels with all the numbers of people around him, and whoever they might be, the high and the mighty.

21 Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed—

the posterity

21 —of the righteous shall be delivered.

Looked after, watched over. God will intervene for them because they’re trying to do the right thing. And just like wickedness brings sure punishment, righteousness brings sure blessings.

22 As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.

Now, just picture a big old sow, just picture a big old pig with a ring of gold in its snout and right in her snout is this precious, valuable, expensive ring of gold. It just doesn’t fit. It’s out of place. It’s inappropriate. It’s a contradiction.

But notice here how that is related or how that is compared. Notice the analogy. Notice what the main point is in verse 22:

22 —so is a fair woman—

A beautiful woman who lacks good taste, who has no class, who doesn’t get the point, who does not live up to good high values and standards, a beautiful woman who is not modest and lady–like and gracious—so is a beautiful woman which is without discretion. It doesn’t fit. Here’s a woman who should be feminine, a woman who should have good taste, a woman who should be virtuous, a woman who should have a sense of propriety, but she doesn’t have that. She doesn’t have discretion, she doesn’t have awareness, and therefore even though she might be beautiful and she might have a lot of talent, she’s just as out of place being beautiful and not having discretion or not wanting to do the right thing. She’s just as out of place being beautiful without proper taste as a big, old, fat pig. Not that she is that, but she’s just as out of place, and there’s just as big a contradiction as a swine or a pig that has this gold ring in its snout.

It’s really talking about a situation that is completely out of kilter, doesn’t fit. It’s a contradiction; it’s not proper or appropriate. So I hope we can learn that lesson. It’s just something that we don’t want to conduct ourselves in that way. Something we don’t want to be a part of anymore than we’d want to waste a gold ring in a swine’s snout. A wonderful, beautiful woman doesn’t want to waste her womanhood by having poor taste.

23 The desire of the righteous is only good:—

That’s what they want. Their motive is right. They have no ulterior motives. They simply want to do the right thing. They know that they’re human and they fall and they make mistakes and have to repent and change, but their modus operandi and their motive is to do good.

23 —but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

And people who are trying to do the right thing can expect good things. That’s also the lesson here. They know that as they keep on trying to do the right thing, good things are coming. But you know what? After a while the wicked begin to realize bad times are coming and they may as well recognize that fact and realize it because the expectation or what’s ahead are just as sure as the sun is going to rise tomorrow. The expectation of the wicked is going to be wrath. It’s going to be trouble. It’s going to be sorrow and pain.

24 There is that scatters, and yet increases; and there is that withholds more than is meet, but it tends to poverty.

In other words, it’s saying here that we have to use wisdom in handling our possessions and in handling our money and in handling what God has blessed us with. There’s the old saying, “You can be penny wise and pound foolish.” But when God blesses you, He doesn’t expect you just to sit on it. He doesn’t expect you just to hoard it and look at it and not use it. He blesses us so that we then can enjoy those blessings.

Now having a reserve, that’s using wisdom. But sharing the blessings, that’s also being wise. So there is that scatters, there is that invests, there is that thinks outwardly and launches innovative programs and projects, and yet increases because they do it wisely. And there is that withhold it, there is the individual or the people that hold back more than is right, more than is appropriate, more than is smart, and it tends to poverty. So they think, “Well, I tell you what, we’ll just take all these and sit on it. We won’t spend any of it,” and yet they still end up descending into poverty because they looked to the wrong thing. Instead of looking to God and using what He gives them in a wise way and helping others with it, they just hoard it to themselves and still doesn’t produce happiness and joy and security. It actually can end up just producing poverty. And yet there are those who are blessed and they put those blessings into practice and into use and help others with them, and more blessings come. Now, I mean, I could draw many examples of how this works.

For instance, you can just hoard money, hoard money, hoard money, and have $100,000, $200,000 in the bank, and end up getting involved in some kind of accident or end up getting involved in a lawsuit and have it all wiped out overnight, and end up being in poverty and having to declare bankruptcy.

You see, God blesses those that obey Him, and those who turn their back on Him and just hoard what they have and don’t use it rightly and properly, but look to what they have can end up losing it all and going into poverty.

So we have to weigh out verse 24. Get good counsel. Be careful and use wisdom in how we make those decisions. But also understand that it’s talking about being generous. It’s talking about moving forward. It’s talking about putting into use the talents and the ability and the possessions that we have in a right way before God, and He will guide us in that and bless it. Rather than just hoarding it and not using it, but rather stockpiling it and doing it way more than we need to. I’m not talking about just budgeting in a reserve, but way more than we need to. We start looking to that then it gets wiped out overnight, and we end up in poverty.

25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that waters shall be watered also himself.

Now verse 25, when it is says liberal, it’s not talking about a political party. It’s talking about an attitude of being generous. The generous soul shall prosper. Someone who just has this attitude of giving and serving and helping—not wasting, not being taken advantage of, but an attitude of give and serve—God blesses that, and they’re going to prosper. It’s not an attitude of get and hoard and being selfish. They’re generous in their time, generous in their warmth, generous in their encouragement, and even generous in their possessions if it’s going to be used properly. They prime the pump and help other people when they can.

25 —and he that waters shall be watered also himself.

If you’re warm and friendly, that’ll come back and others will be warm and friendly to you, except those that, you know, don’t have any class, and those are fools that you don’t want to be around. If you are willing to help other people when they need it, then you’ll be helped when you need it. That’s the principle. That’s what Solomon, under inspiration of God, is telling us.

Once again, whatever you sow, you reap. You sow a little bit of corn, you get a little bit of corn. You sow a lot of corn, you get a lot of corn. You sow a little bit of love, a little bit of love returns. You sow a lot of love and respect, a lot of love and respect return.

25 —he that waters shall be watered also himself.

These are God’s words inspired by God. These are laws. These are principles and precepts and values and standards that if we put in practice and follow, we will get the results that the book of Proverbs tells us that we will get.

26 He that withholds corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that sells it.

In other words, you’ve seen this happen even in our modern day. I remember when a hurricane hit in Florida and people needed water and there was no water to be had. It was contaminated. And so other people haul water in and because water was in demand, instead of selling it at a fair price, they inflated the price right out of sight so they could gouge the people because the people were desperate for water. They withheld the water and they withheld the ice, and they withheld other commodities and products that people needed under the circumstances because they couldn’t get it anywhere else except from this guy selling it off the back end of his truck, or this store that had it in stock, and inflated the price, and the people out of desperation had to pay that price and it wasn’t a fair market price. But I’ll tell you, they didn’t like that store and they didn’t like that fellow, and later on, there was trouble that came as a result of that. That’s all it’s talking about.

26 He that withholds corn, the people shall curse him:—

He’s got it. He could sell it at a right price, but no, he that doesn’t sell it or inflates it to gouge the people because they’re desperate and need it, but look at this:

26 —but blessing shall be upon the head of him that sells it.

Everybody will benefit, everybody will be happy, and God will bless the individual who goes ahead and sells that water, goes ahead and sells that gasoline, goes ahead and sells that ice, goes ahead and sells that food at a fair market price when people need it, and instead of gouging them and getting every little bit of money they can get out of them because they have to pay it, they’re so desperate. There’s the principle, verse 26.

Once again, do the right thing and you’ll be blessed. If you have something that people need and you sell it at a fair market price, they’re helped and God will bless you. If you inflate it and hold it back until the price triples or quadruples, you’re going to have problems not only from the people you treat like that, but from God.

27 He that diligently seeks good procures favor: but he that seeks mischief, it shall come upon him.

So, if we are really trying to do the right thing and we’re trying to live the right way, we’re going to find favor in the eyes of God and man. But if we want trouble and if we seek trouble, we’re going to find it. Most of us grew up hearing this from our parents. You go looking for trouble, you’ll find trouble. You go looking for trouble, it’ll come to you. And that’s true. You go around looking for a fight, you go around looking for trouble, you go around looking for mischief, it’s not hard to find and it will be there before you know it. It will be there quicker than a wink.

But if you are looking for good things and good people and doing the right thing, then you’ll find favor. You look for trouble, you look for mischief, you can be sure you’re going to find it, and the results are not going to be good for you or anyone else.

28 He that trusts in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

We’ve got to put our trust in God. We’ve got to obey Him, and then we will flourish like foliage. But if we just look to ourselves and look to our own security and look to our own possessions, we’re not going to make it, we’re going to fall.

29 He that troubles his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.

And people do trouble their own houses. I mean, there are people who grow up and turn on their parents and abuse their parents and mistreat their parents and disrespect their parents. They’re going to get in big trouble for doing that, and what they’re going to inherit is nothing more than wind. You know, wind blows and you can see the result of it, but you can’t reach over and grab it and get something out of it. It might cool you off a little, but it doesn’t carry with it anything except wind. It blows through and it’s gone. That’s not much of an inheritance. And when we trouble our own house and we trouble our own families, that’s about all the inheritance we’re going to get.

29 —and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.

Those who are wise and those who obey God will end up being those who lead others who are just fools, and they won’t ever really amount to much because they’re fools and they stay fools and they don’t change. But the wise in heart, they succeed and go forward and prosper.

30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that wins souls is wise.

Those who do the right thing bear fruit that’s just wonderful, and it’s like partaking of fruit that gives life and gives nourishment when we’re around them. It’s just a wonderful, enjoyable, learning experience.

30 —and he that wins souls is wise.

It doesn’t mean we go out and try to proselyte and force our beliefs on others and browbeat others and make a nuisance out of ourselves. But the way we can win others is by example. We set the right example. We demonstrate what living God’s way is like. We show what a true Christian is like, and by doing that, people will begin to notice and they’ll begin to wonder, they’ll begin to ask questions, and some will begin to look into it more deeply, and then some will actually come to the point to where they want to live their lives that way, and if we take that approach, God says we’re wise.

Another point that verse 30 is talking about. Instead of conducting ourselves in the way we talk and think and act, instead of doing that in a way that creates enemies, if we conduct ourselves wisely, we will develop friends.

31 Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth:

Rewarded, and the blessings will be tremendous.

31 —much more the wicked and the sinner.

So what it’s saying in verse 31, if the righteous are rewarded and they are blessed, well, the wicked are going to be rewarded as well. But it won’t be blessings, it’ll be punishment. So therefore we need to make the choice. Do we want to be recompensed with blessings and good rewards? Or do we want to be recompensed with pain and suffering and punishment? I think the choice is obvious and I hope we make the right one.

Okay, we’ll stop there and we’ll begin in Proverbs 12 the next time. Hope you’ll come back and be with us as we go through this book of Proverbs in this Bible Study.

This is Charles Bryce with the Enduring Church of God.