A Study in Contrasts

1  The proverbs of Solomon.

A wise son makes a glad father,
    but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
2 Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
    but righteousness delivers from death.
3 The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,
    but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
4 A slack hand causes poverty,
    but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
5 He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,
    but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.
6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing,
    but the name of the wicked will rot.
8 The wise of heart will receive commandments,
    but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,
    but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.
10 Whoever winks the eye causes trouble,
    and a babbling fool will come to ruin.
11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
    but love covers all offenses.
13 On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found,
    but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.
14 The wise lay up knowledge,
    but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.
15 A rich man's wealth is his strong city;
    the poverty of the poor is their ruin.
16 The wage of the righteous leads to life,
    the gain of the wicked to sin.
17 Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life,
    but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.
18 The one who conceals hatred has lying lips,
    and whoever utters slander is a fool.
19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
    but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
    the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
21 The lips of the righteous feed many,
    but fools die for lack of sense.
22 The blessing of the Lord makes rich,
    and he adds no sorrow with it.
23 Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool,
    but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.
24 What the wicked dreads will come upon him,
    but the desire of the righteous will be granted.
25 When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more,
    but the righteous is established forever.
26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
    so is the sluggard to those who send him.
27 The fear of the Lord prolongs life,
    but the years of the wicked will be short.
28 The hope of the righteous brings joy,
    but the expectation of the wicked will perish.
29 The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless,
    but destruction to evildoers.
30 The righteous will never be removed,
    but the wicked will not dwell in the land.
31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
    but the perverse tongue will be cut off.
32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,
    but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse. – Proverbs 10:1-32 ESV

In this chapter, Solomon introduces the writing style that we most commonly associate with the book of Proverbs. In it, he utilizes a series of contrasting couplets that juxtapose the righteous and the wicked. For nine chapters, Solomon has emphasized the need for wisdom and the preferred lifestyle that the way of wisdom provides to all who avail themselves of it.

Now, he begins to differentiate between God’s way and that of the world. He refers to the righteous 13 times and he mentions the wicked 11 times, and he goes out of his way to differentiate between the two. To Solomon, wisdom was far more than an intellectual commodity that one acquired over time. It was a way of life. And it stood in stark contrast to the more prevalent and popular way of the godless and worldly.

“Most of the proverbs in this section are one verse long and contain two lines each; they are couplets. The second line contrasts, compares, or completes the idea expressed in the first line. This is Hebrew parallelism.” – Thomas L. Constable, Notes on Proverbs

Solomon starts off this Proverb by declaring his desire for his son to choose the way of wisdom. That would be the preference of any loving father. No parent wants to raise a fool. No father or mother finds joy in discovering that their son or daughter has chosen the path of wickedness and unrighteousness. But unless those parents make the determination to promote and model a lifestyle of wisdom, they may very well end up experiencing the sorrow of raising a wayward and foolish adult child.

A wise child brings joy to a father;
    a foolish child brings grief to a mother. – Proverbs 10:1 NLT

Parenting is hard work. It is not for the faint of heart or the weak-willed. It requires incredible energy and fortitude, limitless endurance, boundless courage, and a certain degree of blind faith. Raising children is a huge responsibility that can intimidate the bravest of souls. It can make the strong weak in the knees and turn the most confident of men into sniveling, teary-eyed basketcases.

But all the same, there is nothing more gratifying than to watch your children grow and mature, making the most of the gifts and abilities God has given them. It is a blessing to pour into their lives and see God use you in His grand scheme to mold them into the likeness of His Son. It does not always go well or even quite like you had imagined or expected. There are setbacks and heartaches along the way. Children have a mind and a will of their own, and their not afraid to use either one. They can be loving and frustrating. They can warm our hearts and try our patience. They can bring a smile to our faces and a tear to our eye – all within just a few minutes' time span.

It seems that Solomon knew well the joys and sorrows of parenting. He talked about it a lot. And he dealt regularly with the topic of the foolish child. Here in verse one of Proverbs 10, he describes two different children. One is wise and the other is foolish. He says the wise child brings joy to his father. He makes him proud. But a foolish child makes his mother sad. He brings her to her knees in prayer and despair. The specific Hebrew word Solomon uses for fool is kecîyl and it means “fool, stupid fellow or dullard.”

This is a very specific kind of fool. He is not talking about the simple fool, that child-like fool who, because of his young age, doesn't know how to make good choices and lacks good judgment. No, Solomon is describing an individual who is stubborn, arrogant, and set in his or her ways. They reject the discipline of their parents and all authorities in their lives. They seem determined to make wrong choices. They are sensual fools, driven by their passions and obsessed with immediate gratification. They refuse to deny themselves anything and lack the common sense to know better. These kinds of children don't just happen; they get this way over time. They are that innocent, young boy who one day turns out to be that insolent, rebellious teenager whose parents barely recognize him. He is lazy, unreliable, unteachable, and will ultimately be destroyed for his lack of common sense.

The words of the godly encourage many,
    but fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense. – Proverbs 10:21 NLT

They actually enjoy doing wrong.

Doing wrong is fun for a fool,
    but living wisely brings pleasure to the sensible. – Proverbs 10:23 NLT

And they made a habit of making light of sin.

People who wink at wrong cause trouble,
    but a bold reproof promotes peace. – Proverbs 10:10 NLT

What mother wouldn't cry over a child like that?

So, how do we keep our children from becoming sensual fools? The easy answer is that we expose them to the wisdom of God. We teach them the truth of God's Word. We model what it means to fear God and honor Him with our actions. But in the end, there is no guarantee that our children will turn out either wise or godly. Proverb 22:6 says, "Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it."

But that’s not a promise. Solomon is stating a proverb or maxim that contains a time-tested truth. It’s not a guarantee from God that our children will turn out well if we do our part. There are far too many examples that prove otherwise. Too many children raised by well-meaning parents have ended up turning their backs on wisdom and taking the way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13).

Throughout this Proverb, Solomon paints a stark, black-and-white picture that clearly distinguishes the way of the wise from the far-less-flattering way of the fool. And the descriptions he uses to differentiate the fool from the wise person are intended to make that lifestyle unappealing and unacceptable.

Lazy people are soon poor… – Proverbs 10:4 NLT

…one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace. – Proverbs 10:5 NLT

…the words of the wicked conceal violent intentions. – Proverbs 10:6 NLT

…the name of a wicked person rots away. – Proverbs 10:7 NLT

…babbling fools fall flat on their faces. – Proverbs 10:8 NLT

…those who follow crooked paths will be exposed. – Proverbs 10:9 NLT

People who wink at wrong cause trouble… – Proverbs 10:10 NLT

And on and on it goes. Those who refuse the wisdom God offers and godly parents promote will likely end up with train-wrecked lives.

But God still calls on parents to do their part.  They have a God-given responsibility to teach their children well, to point them to Christ, and model Christlikeness in front of them. But when all said and done, every child has a will of their own. They each have to develop a faith of their own. They may make wrong choices. They may prefer to take a different path. They may become sensual fools and bring tears to the eyes of their mothers.

We can't make godly children. Only God can do that. So, with all our effort at parenting, we must never forget that we need God’s help and our children will need His abundant mercy and grace. He alone can make our children wise. He alone can keep them on the right path. It is their relationship with God through Jesus Christ that will make them wise, not us. We have a part to play, but it is ultimately up to Him. So, we must turn them over to Him early in their lives. We must place them in His hands for safe keeping. We can do our job. We can love them, teach them, discipline them, and entrust them to God for their future well-being. We can point them to wisdom and provide them with godly counsel.

The mouth of the godly person gives wise advice… – Proverbs 10:31 NLT

The lips of the godly speak helpful words… – Proverbs 10:32 NLT

But, ultimately, our children belong to the Lord and we must trust Him to do what needs to be done so that they might fear Him live in the wisdom that He alone provides.

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Some good advice.

Proverbs 10

"Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep you mouth shut." – Proverbs 10:19 NLT

Let's face it, our words can get us into trouble. There was a popular saying during WWII that said, "Loose lips sink ships." In other words, because of the reality of spies, it could be dangerous to speak about things concerning the war because you never knew who might be listening. A simple case of gossip could have devastating consequences for the entire nation. Our tongue can get us into trouble. James wasn't a huge fan of the tongue. "And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself" (James 3:6 NLT). But the tongue can also be used for good. Solomon says, "The words of the godly are like sterling silver" (Proverbs 10:20 NLT). They have value and worth. He also reminds us that the words of the godly can be used to encourage many. "The mouth of the godly person gives wise advice" (Proverbs 10:31 NLT) and "The lips of the godly speak helpful words" (Proverbs 10:32 NLT).

But the truth is, we all struggle with knowing what to say and when to say it. We speak too quickly and we can too often say the wrong thing and the wrong time. We mean well, but we can still speak words that harm rather than help. We are too often too quick with an answer. We fail to think about what we are going to say and we we tend to think what we have to say is always right. And then we wonder why our words blow up in our face and end up doing damage to the ones we love. Maybe we need to heed Solomon's advice. "Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut" (Proverbs 10:19 NLT). This verse reminds me of one of the Old Testament prophets. His name was Ezekiel and he was given the unenviable task of speaking the convicting word of God to the people of Israel. They were a rebellious and stubborn group of people who refused to listen, and Ezekiel, being human, found himself getting frustrated with their lack of obedience and response. God had appointed Ezekiel a watchman over Israel. He was told that every time he received a message from God, he was to tell it to the people. God was going to hold him personally responsible for the deaths of anyone whom he failed to warn. If he warned them and they failed to listen, then their death was own their own hands. So it was vital that Ezekiel say ONLY what God had told him to say. It would have been dangerous for Ezekiel to ad-lib and come up with his own version of the truth. So God did him a favor. "Then the Spirit came into me and set me on my feet. He spoke to me and said, “Go to your house and shut yourself in. There, son of man, you will be tied with ropes so you cannot go out among the people. And I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be speechless and unable to rebuke them, for they are rebels. But when I give you a message, I will loosen your tongue and let you speak. Then you will say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’." (Ezekiel 3:24-27 NLT). God struck Ezekiel dumb. He could only speak when he spoke what God had given him to say. His own words got stuck in his throat. If he was angry and wanted to read the Israelites the riot act, he was unable to do so. If he got frustrated and wanted to give them a peace of his mind, he couldn't. If he felt like he had some good advice they needed to hear, he had to keep it to himself. He could only speak when he spoke what God had give him to say. Think about it. Wouldn't that be a great restriction for all of us to be under? Wouldn't it be better for all parties involved if the only things we could say were what God had given us to say? Our tongues get us into trouble when we speak on our own behalf and according to our own "wisdom." We say what is on our mind. We respond in anger of frustration. We give what we think is good advice, but it ends up being ungodly. It's not biblically based or Spirit motivated. James tells us, "Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry" (James 1:19 NLT). We need to learn to shut up and listen. We need to hear what's being said by others before we determine what it is we are going to say in response. And we need to learn to listen to God, so that when we do speak, we say what He would have us say. There are times when silence is truly golden.

Father, keep me from speaking my own words. I do it far too often. Help me learn to listen to You and to keep my advice to myself. Let me learn to hear from You so that I might speak for You. Forgive me for the damage I have done with my tongue. Give me an ever-growing sensitivity to Your counsel and an increasing desire to say only what You would have me say. Amen

The Pleasure and Pain of Parenting.

Proverbs 10

"A wise child brings joy to a father; a foolish child brings grief to a mother." – Proverbs 10:1 NLT

Parenting is hard work. It is not for the feint of heart or the weak of back. It requires incredible energy and fortitude, limitless endurance, boundless courage, and a certain degree of blind faith. Raising children is a huge responsibility that can intimidate the bravest of souls. It can make the strong weak in the knees and turn the most confident of men into sniveling, teary-eyed basket cases. But all the same, there is nothing more gratifying than to watch your children grow and mature, making the most of the gifts and abilities God has given them. It is a blessing to pour into their lives and see God use you in His grand scheme to mold them into the likeness of His Son. It does not always go well or even quite like you had imagined or dreamed. There are setbacks and heartaches along the way. Children have a mind and a will of their own, and their not afraid to use either one. They can be loving and frustrating. They can warm our hearts and try our patience. They can bring a smile to our faces and a tear to our eye – all within just a few minutes time span.

It seems that Solomon knew well the joys and sorrows of parenting. He talked about it a lot. And he dealt regularly with the topic of the foolish child. Here in verse one of Proverbs 10 he describes two different children. One is wise and the other is foolish. He says the wise child brings joy to his father. He makes him proud. But a foolish child makes his mother sad. He brings her to her knees in prayer and despair. The specific Hebrew word Solomon uses for fool is kecîyl and it means fool, stupid fellow or dullard. This is a very specific kind of fool. He is not talking about the simple fool, that child-like fool who, because of his young age, doesn't know how to make good choices and lacks good judgment. No, Solomon is describing that individual who is stubborn, arrogant, and set in his or her ways. They reject the discipline of their parents and all authorities in their lives. They seem determined to make wrong choices. They are sensual fools, driven by their passions and obsessed with immediate gratification. They can't deny themselves anything and lack the common sense to know better. These kind of children don't just happen, they get this way over time. They are that innocent, young boy who one day turns out to be that insolent, rebellious teenager whose parents barely recognize him. He is lazy, unreliable, unteachable, and will ultimately be destroyed for his lack of common sense (Proverbs 10:21). They actually enjoy doing wrong (Proverbs 10:23), and make light of sin (Proverbs 10:10). What mother wouldn't cry over a child like that?

So how do we keep our children from becoming sensual fools? The easy answer is that we expose them to the wisdom of God. We teach them the truth of God's Word. We model what it means to fear God and honor Him with our actions. But in the end, their is no guarantee that our children will turn out perfectly. Proverb 22:6 says, "Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it." But that is not a promise. It is a proverb or wise saying. It is not a guarantee from God that our children will turn out well if we do out part. There are too many examples of train-wrecked lives to prove that not true. It is a calling to do our part as parents. We have a God-given responsibility to teach our children well, to point them to Christ and to model Christlikeness in front of them. But when it is all said and done, they each have a will of their own. They will each have to develop a faith of their own. They may make wrong choices. They may choose a different path. They may become a sensual fool and bring tears to the eyes of their mother. We can't make godly children. Only God can do that. So with all our effort at parenting, we must never forget that we need God's help. He alone can make our children wise. He alone can keep them on the right path. It is their relationship with God through Jesus Christ that will make them wise, not us. We have a part to play, but it is ultimately up to God. Turn them over to Him early in their lives. Place them in His hands for safe keeping. Do your job. Love on them. Teach them. Discipline them. But entrust them to God for their future well-being.

Father, thank You that I am not alone in this parenting thing. You have always been there for me. Any good in my children is totally due to You. I praise You for Your faithfulness to my family. You have each of my kids in Your hands. You will see them through. You have a plan for each of them and that plan will be perfectly fulfilled. Help me to trust You as I play my role as a father in their lives. Amen

The Source of True Pleasure.

 Proverbs 10

"Doing wrong is fun for a fool, but living wisely brings pleasure to the sensible." – Proverbs 10:23 NLT

Pleasure is the treasure all men seek. Every man and woman, old or young, is on a perpetual journey seeking to find a reliable source of pleasure or enjoyment. And the world is constantly offering up a wide range of alternatives from which to choose. Some are innocent enough, like food or relationships. But others can be destructive to ourselves as well as those around us. Pleasure is a God-given reaction that is inherently good, but it can be perverted by sin and man's inherent selfishness. In this verse we are gold that "doing wrong is fun for a fool." The word translated "fun" literally means "sport" in the Hebrew language. It is exhilarating and pleasurable. It paints the picture of a child at play, smiling with pleasure and enjoyment as a result of whatever activity he is doing. You've seen it before in children who are laughing uncontrollably as they swing higher and higher on a swing set in the park. It is a child who smiles broadly at the sight of an ice cream cone or the news of a day at the zoo. But in this verse, the fool is smiling at the thought of doing what is wrong. He finds pleasure and enjoyment in doing what is ungodly and unrighteous. It brings him pleasure. It makes him smile. What a disturbing picture of the perversity of sin. It warps our minds and distorts our perspective. What is good becomes bad. What is bad becomes good. It is not how God intended it to be, but it is where we end up when we decide to live apart from His plan for our lives.

But the person of understanding, who has received wisdom from God, finds his pleasure from living wisely. He finds enjoyment from doing what is right, not wrong. Wickedness is repulsive to him. Living righteousness and obediently before God puts a smile on his face. Putting others ahead of himself is something he enjoys, not dreads. Serving selflessly makes him happy. Saying no to temptation brings him far more pleasure than giving in. Doing what is right isn't a burden, but a blessing. But it all begins with wisdom, with a healthy fear of God and an understanding that God's way is always the best way. He has learned to put his hope in God and His promises, not the deceptive offers of this world. "The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing" (Proverbs 10:28 NLT). Hoping in God results in true happiness. Resting in His promises produce real pleasure. Living life according to God's terms puts a smile on the face and joy in the heart.

Father, pleasure comes from You, not this world. Don't let me get sucked into believing the lies of the enemy and giving in to the temptations he offers up. They will never result in true pleasure or real joy. Only You can provide those things in my life. Amen