Proverbial Wisdom: Quest for Understanding

 Read Proverbs 28

Verse 1:  The wicked person must live in fear because there will be many risks to him on account of the wrongs he has done to many people.  Even when no one is actually threatening him, he will always have to wonder and look over his shoulder.  The righteous do not have to live in fear.   God upholds them with His righteous right hand, and they need not fear on account of His provision, His strength, His grace, and His help.  The righteous can still expect trouble in this life, but they can face anything with confidence and boldness in Christ.  

 

Verse 3:  A strong wind and rain that destroys crops is devastating and likely to cause a food shortage.  This is a metaphor for a person who keeps back from those who need food or other provisions.  A poor person keeping back good from other needy people is downright shameful.  It is never God-honoring to oppress others for one’s personal gain, but the command of Christ is to think of the interests of others above one’s own (Philippians 2:3-4). 

Verse 6:  It is better to be poor but to know Christ and have eternal life than to have all the world’s goods and be corrupted and destined for hell.  The joy of Christ and the wisdom He gives are more valuable than anything money can buy.

Verse 10:  It makes God very angry to see people trying to lead His children astray (Matthew 9:42).  The reality is that deceivers cannot keep the true believer from inheriting eternity, nor can he stop God from being good and merciful to His own.  The deceiver will come to his eternal doom, and he who tries to create trouble for others will find it returned to him.  Injustice on earth will be settled once for all in eternity.

Verse 11:  Rich people really have trouble entering the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:23), and they tend to boast in their wealth as if they are so wonderful, powerful, and deserving.  But a poor man who has wisdom and understanding is able to see the foolishness that is really there because he knows the truth of Scripture.  He knows that being poor doesn’t make somebody stupid and that being rich doesn’t mean that one is wise.  He understands that true wisdom is more valuable than all the world has to offer, and he rejoices in that fact. 

Verse 13:  Those who sin and hide their sin will find misery in their souls (James 5:16) and pain even in their bodies (Psalm 32:3-4).  They need to confess their sin to God Who is faithful and just to forgive (1 John 1:9), and they need to confess their sin to those whom they have wronged.  Christians must always be willing to forgive others who in repentance seek forgiveness for their wrongs.  Christ showed us compassion by loving us before we loved Him, and we need to be ready and willing to forgive and be compassionate also.  However, it is not enough just to say one is sorry, but confession must be met with the forsaking of the sin.  True repentance is proven by real and actual life change (2 Corinthians 7:10-11).  Once the sin is confessed and forsaken, healing and restoration can begin.  We are naive as Adam to think that we can hide from God. 

Verse 18:  The blameless will be honored in due time by the Lord.  Perhaps they will receive some honor and vindication in this life, but perhaps not.  Perhaps they will be thought of as scum as Paul and the early Christians were (1 Corinthians 4:13), but what is sure is that in eternity God will honor and reward those who have lived to honor Him (2 Corinthians 5:10).  Part of faith is believing in a God Who is a rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).  The evil and corrupt will likely create trouble for themselves on earth, but some may seem to prosper.  Regardless, their eternity will be misery forever in hell, and the sentence will come quickly, sternly, justly, and all at once.

Verse 19:  Those who waste their time and do not work hard will not have money or resources to take care of themselves or even feed themselves.  Those who do not work the land cannot expect crops to magically appear.  Harvest time is a good time for those who have sown, watered, and cared for their crops.  Those who sow seeds of life will have a glorious harvest with abundant spiritual fruit leading to abundant spiritual rewards (Galatians 6:6-10). 

Verse 20:  Those who try to take shortcuts to get rich often get themselves into trouble, and it often requires them to steal, lie, and cheat.  The wrath of God is not worth any amount of riches, but a faithful man will have an abundance of blessings.  He may not be rich in terms of money or possessions, but he is privy to every spiritual blessing in Christ and all the eternal riches that belong to Him.

Verse 21:  Partiality leads to anger, bitterness, jealousy, and envy, even if the matter of favoritism is over something as small as a piece of bread.  Our God is not partial, and Christians must not show personal favoritism. 

Verse 22:  Those who have evil intentions in their hearts and who have lust in their eyes for money will do anything and everything even if corrupt and immoral and at the expense of others in order to get rich.  They will face God’s judgment for their evil deeds, and they may find that even in this life their wickedness catches up to him (Proverbs 13:21). 

Verse 23:  Flattery is a flat out lie.  It might be a nice saying to make somebody feel good, but it is untrue.  Therefore, it has no value, meaning, or actual ability to help.  A person needs the truth to help him change, grow, and learn (John 17:17), and those who experience the fruit of righteousness after having responded to correction will be grateful to those who pointed out the error of their ways (Hebrews 12:11).  These types of folks are my best friends.  When a friend is honest with you and loves you enough to warn you of mistakes that you are making in a loving spirit, is a valuable friend.

Verse 26:  Every person is born with a wicked and deceitful heart (Jeremiah 17:9), and only in Christ can they be remade from the inside out (2 Corinthians 5:17).  The heart in its natural state cannot be trusted until it is transformed by Christ and made new and able to be clean, pure, and in alignment with the desires of God (Psalm 24:3-4, 37:4).  Those who walk wisely will trust God to change them and keep changing them from the inside out, and they will be delivered from sin and its consequences.

Verse 27:  Those who remember the poor and give to them as they are able demonstrate that they have the love of Christ in their hearts.  God promises to meet the needs of His people (Philippians 4:19), and He asks them only to seek first the kingdom of God and to trust Him to meet their needs (Matthew 6:33).  Even if one is suffering persecution and dying of starvation or disease in a prison cell, the needs of the soul have been met in Christ and blessed forevermore.  The soul will have been satisfied by the Bread of Life and the Living Water of Christ.  Those who hate Jesus and do not show love to Him by loving those in need will end up cursed in hell.  Their hoarding mentality will not make them happy but miserable, and those who hold too tightly to money will find it has a way of eluding their grasp (Proverbs 27:24).  The best investment to make is to give to the Lord and store up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20).