What will the epitaph on your cemetery marker say? What will those attending your funeral think or say? How many will come? Will there be great grief, or subdued relief? Will anyone reflect on your life ten years later? Will your memory be blessed or rotten?
David wept painfully, when Jonathan died (II Sam 1:17-27), for he remembered their wonderful friendship as better than the love of a woman (I Sam 18:1-4; 23:16). Dorcas was well remembered by many widows for good works and much charity (Acts 9:36-42).
Men remember Joseph as gloriously virtuous, Potiphar’s wife as an evil adulteress. They remember Tamar as a prudent virgin, Amnon as a profane dog. Men remember Paul as the greatest apostle, Demas as a weak loser. They remember Elijah and John as zealous heroes, Pilate and Agrippa as compromisers. Men remember Abraham as faithful, Lot as worldly. They remember Daniel the eunuch as strong, and strong Samson as weak.
This was but an excerpt, to continue reading today's commentary, or to listen to the audio version of the message, please go to "Let God Be True". It was written by Jonathan Crosby who is actually a Calvinist. Now I am at odds with Johnathan's belief in Calvin's teaching of free will vs predestination, but his commentary on Proverb 10:7 is spot on. I read it through and must say he did a suburb job of explaining this verse. I didn't link any of the Scriptures he gave, because there are just too many, and I am pressed for time. The reason I am sharing someone else's commentary instead of writing my own is because I have a long day ahead of me, and I need to get going. So today offer you this message from Brother Crosby's website, letgodbetrue.com. God bless you all.
Proverb 10 (NKJV)
A Wise Son and a Foolish Son
01 The proverbs of Solomon:
00 A wise son makes a glad father,
00 But a foolish son is the grief of his mother.
02 Treasures of wickedness profit nothing
00 But righteousness delivers from death.
03 The LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish,
00 But He casts away the desire of the wicked.
04 He who has a slack hand becomes poor,
00 But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
05 He who gathers in summer is a wise son;
00 He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.
06 Blessings are on the head of the righteous
00 But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.
07 The memory of the righteous is blessed,
00 But the name of the wicked will rot.
08 The wise in heart will receive commands,
00 But a prating fool will fall.
09 He who walks with integrity walks securely,
00 But he who perverts his ways will become known.
10 He who winks with the eye causes trouble,
00 But a prating fool will fall.
11 The mouth of the righteous is a well of life,
00 But violence covers the mouth of the wicked.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
00 But love covers all sins.
13 Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding,
00 But a rod is for the back of him who is devoid of understanding.
14 Wise people store up knowledge,
00 But the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.
15 The rich man's wealth is his strong city;
00 The destruction of the poor is their poverty.
16 The labor of the righteous leads to life,
00 The wages of the wicked to sin.
17 He who keeps instruction is in the way of life,
00 But he who refuses correction goes astray.
18 Whoever hides hatred has lying lips,
00 And whoever spreads slander is a fool.
19 In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,
00 But he who restrains his lips is wise.
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
00 The heart of the wicked is worth little.
21 The lips of the righteous feed many,
00 But fools die for lack of wisdom.
22 The blessing of the LORD makes one rich,
00 And He adds no sorrow with it.
23 To do evil is like sport to a fool,
00 But a man of understanding has wisdom.
24 The fear of the wicked will come upon him,
00 And the desire of the righteous will be granted.
25 When the whirlwind passes by, the wicked is no more,
00 But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.
26 As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
00 So is the lazy man to those who send him.
27 The fear of the LORD prolongs days,
00 But the years of the wicked will be shortened.
28 The hope of the righteous will be gladness,
00 But the expectation of the wicked will perish.
29 The way of the LORD is strength for the upright,
00 But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.
30 The righteous will never be removed,
00 But the wicked will not inhabit the earth.
31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
00 But the perverse tongue will be cut out.
32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,
00 But the mouth of the wicked what is perverse.
Many actually believe they have been reading Proverbs all along from chapter 1 to 9, but in fact those 9 chapters were originally written more as an introduction to proverbs, whereas chapter 10 is where Solomon's Proverbs actually begins. From here on forth, most of the proverbs are short an pithy, with two sentences in one verse.
These verses correspond with each other by an opposition of terms and sentiments. The second verse is contrasted with the first by illustrating an opposite action or result from different behavior. Seldom is there any coherence between the verses, much less any discussion as most the vast majority of Scripture gives us. The purpose of these proverbs is to set before us good and evil, the blessing and the curse. Many of the proverbs in this particular chapter, (ch 10) is related to the good government of the tongue, without which men’s religion is vain.
The purpose of Writing the book of Proverbs was to reveal the mind of God in matters high and lofty and in common, ordinary, everyday situations. It appears that no topic escaped King Solomon's attention. Matters pertaining to personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and Godliness are among the many topics covered in this rich collection of wise sayings.
Without wisdom, knowledge is nothing more than an accumulation of raw facts, influenced by emotional feelings. Many highly educated people are in positions of power in the United States, but very few of those educated leaders have the wisdom needed to rule properly.
One can say that they have been educated well beyond their intelligence. A cursory look at the court system will prove my point that knowledge without wisdom will only lead to an immoral society that eventually crumbles from within. Judges are supposed to be above the fray, and immovable to emotions. Instead, the vast majority of judges today are Godless individuals who are vacant of wisdom. So their rulings are totally based upon emotional feelings.
We the people are to blame, because we ignored God's guidance in appointing our leaders. Instead of putting leaders full wisdom in power, we instead chose those who would scratch our itchy ears to lead us.
Of the 31 Proverbs, only the first 24 were written by Solomon. King Hezekiah wrote 5, Proverbs 25 to 29, Agur wrote Proverb 30, and Lemuel wrote Proverb 31. Now many believe Lemuel was in fact King Solomon and Lemuel was just a nick name his Mother, Bathsheba gave him. We are told that Solomon write over 3000 Proverbs and composed 1000 songs, but the only Proverbs God decided to preserve for us are Proverbs 1-24. Like the New Testament epistle by James, it is impossible to get a chronological outline for a study since they all bounce from subject to subject.
Along with my daily routine of reading the Bible, I try to read through the book of Proverbs once a Month. It's an easy task when you consider there are 31 Proverbs. So all you need to know is what day of the Month it is. In the Months that have 30 days, or in the case of February, I just double up by reading more than one two proverb so I can begin the next month with Proverb 1 on the first again.
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