Transcript: Verse by Verse Study – Proverbs Chapter 22:12 to Chapter 23:35 – Zac Poonen

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It’s an exaggeration. Of course, nobody actually says it like that, but it’s to highlight the fact that people often make so many silly excuses for their own lack of diligence in any area, even if it is a matter of diligence in the study of the scriptures or any other thing.

The Word of God, particularly in the Book of Proverbs, shows us again and again that the sluggard, the lazy man, is put in the same category as a fool.

Proverbs 22:14 – The Trap of Adultery

Verse 14: “Here is the reason why people fall into adultery.” And it’s a very serious verse. When a person falls into adultery, this is the reason: “The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit, and it is he who is cursed by the Lord who falls into it.” Think of that. That means that a person has so rejected God’s word. Like it says in the Good News Bible, “Adultery is a trap, but it only catches those with whom the Lord is angry.”

And you hear of preachers falling into adultery. Can you take it lightly? No. You have to say the Lord must have been angry with that man. The Lord must have hated that man. That’s why He allowed that fellow to go into that trap. If the person were humble, God would have protected him. But because he was not humble, God allowed him to fall into that.

And once a person falls into this, it’s almost impossible to recover one’s testimony completely. You can recover it to some extent, but never completely. Not even David could do it, much less anyone in the New Covenant. This is something we have to fear tremendously. When we hear it happen to someone who calls himself a Christian, remember this verse: “He who is cursed of the Lord falls into that open mouth of the adulterous woman.” Otherwise, God would have protected him if the man were humble and God-fearing.

Proverbs 22:15 – Foolishness in the Heart of a Child

Verse 15: “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will remove it far from him.” It’s amazing. This is the wisdom of God, that it’s only by inflicting pain, physical pain on a child, that you can remove the foolishness which is inside his heart. It says foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. And there is no child in the world that is excluded here. Every child in the world has got foolishness in its heart.

It’s good for every father and mother to realize that, particularly fathers and mothers who think, “My child can never do anything wrong.” Well, then your child must be an exception to what is mentioned in Proverbs 22:15. But all other human beings, this is true: foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child.

It’s very dangerous to defend our children because that’s the way we can ruin them. We have to face up to the fact that our children, however good lovely darlings we think they are, have got foolishness bound up in their heart. Because God’s word says so. Never mind what I think; put aside my own reason; God’s word says that. And God has called me, as a parent, to drive it out of his heart.

God says, “I appoint you, father and mother, to drive out that folly from the heart of your children.” And it says the only way is by using the rod of discipline, not the rod of anger. The rod of anger won’t drive it out. Fathers and mothers can use the rod of anger. Here it is the rod of discipline. The father and mother must also be disciplined themselves. Use the rod in a disciplined way, for the purpose of discipline.

The rod of discipline will remove it far from him. Let me read that in the Good News Bible. It says, “Children just naturally do silly, careless things. But a good spanking will teach them how to behave.”

Now, when a father and mother do not give that spanking to the children when they are small, the result is the children grow up, and even when they are adults, they still do silly, careless things. What a sad thing that such parents have allowed their children to grow up to do silly, careless things when they are grown up.

It says in the Living Bible, “A youngster’s heart is filled with rebellion.” And that’s also true. There’s a spirit of rebellion because he’s unconverted in his heart. But punishment will drive it out of him. We ought to see even those small manifestations of disobedience as basically a part of the spirit of rebellion. The spirit of rebellion.

That’s why we ought to take it seriously and not allow even a small disobedience to be taken lightly. Because we want to help our children to be free from that spirit of Lucifer which is manifested in rebellion.

Proverbs 22:16 – Oppressing the Poor and Giving to the Rich

Verse 16: “He who oppresses the poor to make much for himself or who gives to the rich will only come to poverty.” In James chapter 5:4, it speaks about those who don’t pay their servants properly. And that’s a serious thing. When servants work, we don’t pay them properly. That is to oppress the poor so that I can have a little more of a bank balance.

There it speaks about the judgment, James 5, that will come upon people who do that to increase their bank balance at the cost of not paying properly those who have worked for them. There’ll be quite a huge number of people who will be judged just on that one verse. They will come to poverty, to spiritual poverty, and ultimately, even financially, God will make sure that they suffer.

Or those who give to the rich. That giving to the rich can sometimes be with an end in view. You know, Jesus spoke about inviting a person for a meal, and you know that you’ll be invited back again. We can give a gift to a person because we know that when our turn comes, he’ll come back with a gift to us.

That is giving a gift to the rich. It’s a form of bribing. We can be so afraid of bribing, but here in the Living Bible it says, “He who gains by bribing the rich shall end in poverty.” God watches these things, and it’s always in the realm of the motive that God sees. What is the motive?

It’s not a question of the action of giving, to find out whether it’s giving to a rich or a poor person. But what is the motive behind it? Here is an opportunity for us to cleanse our motives, even in our giving gifts and even in our paying those who work for us, that we are righteous.

Proverbs 22:17-21 – Trust in the Lord

Now, from verse 17 onwards, there is a small section here that concludes in chapter 24:22. It begins with similar words to the words we read in Proverbs chapter 2. I want to read it to you in the Living Bible. Verses 17-19 say, “Listen to this wise advice. Follow it closely, for it will do you good, and you can pass it on to others.”

Here is the advice: “Trust in the Lord.” That’s the advice he gives. He says, “Listen to this wise advice; you follow it closely, it will do you good, and you can pass it on to others. Trust in the Lord at all times, in all circumstances, under all situations, whatever may happen, trust in the Lord.”

Just think of having those four words as a motto for one’s life. That’s basically what he’s trying to say. Just take a little motto like this with you all through life. Whatever may happen in the world around you, trust in the Lord. He’ll bring you through. He’ll lift you up. He’ll make you stand. Trust in the Lord.

When things are difficult, when things look impossible, trust in the Lord. It’s a fantastic thing to live by. And he’s sort of summing up basically what he’s trying to say. He says further in verse 20 and 21, “In the past, haven’t I been right? Then believe what I’m telling you now and share it with others.”

We have confidence in a person when we find that what he has told us in the past has proved to be right. There is wisdom there. That’s what the writer says: “In the past, haven’t I been right? Then believe what I’m telling you now and share it with others.” Trust in the Lord because God wants the younger generation also to be wise so that they can share this truth with others.

In the NASB, it reads like this, verse 21: “To make you know the certainty of the words of truth.” That word “certainty of the words of truth” means to be convinced of the truth of God’s word because we have experienced its reality and its power in our life. We are convinced and are certain of the truth of God’s word.

I want to read it also in the Good News Bible. Here he says, verse 20 and 21, reading from verse 19: “I want you to put your trust in the Lord. That’s why I’m going to tell them to you now.” He says, “I have written down 30 sayings for you. They contain knowledge and good advice and will teach you what the truth really is.”

Then, when you are sent to find it out, you can bring back the right answer. So, it’s like a mini book of Proverbs in the middle of the book of Proverbs that he’s written down in the remaining verses up to chapter 24:22, 30 different statements on 30 subjects. He says, “Take heed to this.”

He sums it up with a heading: “What I’m basically telling you is trust in the Lord.” But in practical terms, this is what you should do. I have 30 bits of advice for you. So, we can look at those 30 bits of advice.

Proverbs 22:22-23 – The First Saying: Be Merciful

First of all, verse 22 and 23. I just want you to see here that when he gives these 30 bits of advice in the remaining two chapters, notice where he begins. The very first thing he wants to say. What he’s saying in verse 22 and 23 is, “Don’t take advantage of a poor person just because you can. Don’t take advantage of those who stand helpless in court. The Lord will argue their case for them and threaten the life of anyone who threatens theirs.”

What is the first of all these 30 sayings? We can sum it up in two words: “Be merciful.” Be merciful towards another person who at this particular time happens to be under your power or under your authority. Don’t try to lord it over him. Don’t take advantage of that fact that that person is under you in any way. Be merciful.

That is the very first thing. In the flesh, there is a tremendous lust to take advantage of those who are under us in any way. We have to fear it. That’s why it says, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Be merciful because you will find that the Lord is fighting their case for them. It’s dangerous to have the Lord fighting someone’s case against me. It’s good to be merciful.

That’s interesting that the very first thing he says is that.

Proverbs 22:24-25 – The Second Saying: Avoid Anger

The second statement, the second instruction, the second teaching he gives is in verse 24 and 25. We can sum up these words again in two words: “Avoid anger.” It’s very practical. He says, “Trust in the Lord basically,” but he says this trusting in the Lord works down to very practical applications in daily life.

First of all, be merciful to the poor. Secondly, avoid anger. “Don’t make friends,” the Good News Bible says, “with people who have hot, violent tempers.” It’s dangerous to be friendly with a man who doesn’t have control of his temper because you might learn their habits, and then you may not be able to change. It’s interesting that the Word of God says that.

In other words, anger can be contagious. Are you afraid of going too close to someone who’s got leprosy? Well, be careful of being too friendly with people who have hot, violent tempers. It’s not at all a good thing. You might learn their habits, and you may not be able to change. To be merciful to others is what God requires from us.

God really desires that we fight and overcome this hot, violent temper that dwells in our flesh and bring it under the control of the Holy Spirit.

Proverbs 22:26-27 – The Third Saying: Don’t Take on Another’s Debts

Instruction number three is in verses 26 and 27. Here he says, again the Good News Bible, “Don’t promise to be responsible for someone else’s debts. If you should be unable to pay, they will take away even your bed.”

Wisdom About Guarantees and Lending

In other words, don’t stand as a guarantee for someone else. That is a dangerous thing. I believe that, as we said in an earlier study when we considered this, that it would be proper if we have come into such a relationship where the person has really become one with us in the body. Not that they sit in the same congregation listening to the same message or believing the same doctrine, but there has come a covenant relationship in one body. Then it would be right.

But otherwise, even if a person calls himself a believer or a brother, even if they are in the same meeting place, take the Word of God and don’t stand guarantee. It also, I think, implies that we should be wise in our giving money to others and in lending money to others. It also comes under this instruction.

Imagine that the writer of Proverbs, when he is thinking of thirty important things to say, speaks about mercy, speaks about anger, and all of a sudden he speaks about lending money and standing guarantee. It’s one of those things which can lead people into a lot of trouble, and he is telling people, be wise here. Be wise in lending and giving money. It requires a lot of wisdom.

Instruction 4 – Do Not Move the Ancient Boundary (Proverbs 22:28)

Then number four is in verse 28: “Never move an old boundary mark. Do not move the ancient boundary which your fathers have set.” You know how it is in empty plots of ground. We see that even today, little marking stones that mark the boundary of a plot. In the middle of the night, you can take that stone out and move it six feet to the other side. What you have done is you have gone into somebody else’s territory.

The way we can — this has a practical application, of course, that we don’t cheat one another in any way, but also it has an application in relation to the spiritual boundaries that we have considered often in the church. We respect the boundary that God has drawn around another person. To respect not only another person’s physical plot of land and property but also the boundary that God has drawn around another person.

We treat that person with respect because God has drawn a certain boundary around them. The world is full of people who are going into other people’s territories, being a busybody in other people’s matters, things which don’t concern them at all, they are always putting their nose into. That is to move the boundary mark.

God has given that person a particular boundary. For example, you see the way somebody’s children are being brought up. Is that within your boundary? It is not. It is a million miles away from you. God has put a boundary around that father and mother and given the children to them. It is foolish for me to sit in my house and talk about how he is bringing up his children and she is bringing up her children.

That is none of my business. If they come to me for advice, I can give it. But otherwise, my dear brothers and sisters, we can save ourselves a lot of trouble and a lot of foolishness and a lot of unnecessary problems if we just respect our boundaries and respect the boundaries of other people. Don’t move it. God has put it. Respect it. That’s simple wisdom.

Instruction 5 – The Reward of Hard Work (Proverbs 22:29)

Then, instruction number five, verse 29. It reads like this in the Living Bible: “Do you know a hard-working man? He shall be successful and stand before kings.” Of course, we are not interested in standing before earthly kings. That was a big thing in the Old Testament because God’s promises to Israel were earthly. The earthly king was the representative of God in Israel.

But today for us in the New Covenant, we have only one king, the King of Kings, Jesus Christ our Lord. Here it tells us how we can stand before Him. If we are wholehearted, like the hard-working farmer we considered in 2 Timothy 2, who gets the first share of the crops. The one who really works hard, we can say, within his own boundary.

The one who really works hard within his own boundary, he will stand before the king. We have considered in another study once about the sons of Zadok in Ezekiel 44, who were permitted to stand before the Lord and minister to Him. A whole lot of other priests, to whom God said, “Yeah, I’ll give you a ministry, but you can’t have that highest ministry of standing before Me. You can have a ministry of serving the people.”

There are different categories of ministries even in the New Testament, and the highest of all is to be able to stand before God’s face. Every one of us can have that if we work hard on our flesh within our own boundary.

Instruction 6 – Be on Guard When Dining with the Rich (Proverbs 23:1-3)

Now we go to chapter 23, verse 1, which is teaching number 6 in this section. Verses 1 to 3. Let me read that in the Living Bible: “When dining with a rich man or a ruler, be on your guard, because there can be so many temptations when you’re invited to dinner in a rich man’s house. And don’t stuff yourself, although it all tastes so good, for he is trying to bribe you, and no good is going to come of his invitation.”

There are many things we can consider there. It says about food, “Don’t be a slave to good food.” It’s very interesting to think of Daniel, how he was at the king’s table, and he would not eat that lest he compromise his position. How temptation came to Daniel initially through food.

Temptation came to Eve in the Garden of Eden through food. Temptation came to Jesus first in the wilderness through food. That’s interesting that so many of the important temptations mentioned in the scriptures have come through food. Here it says not to be a slave of food.

At the same time, it speaks about being careful when we are invited by the rich. So we can say there are two exhortations here: one, don’t be slaves of food, and the other is, don’t be slaves of the rich. Because that can be a dangerous thing.

Having been invited by the rich, we have put ourselves in a compromising position that we have to please them after that. There’s something that we have to be careful about: that we don’t place ourselves under obligation to some rich person because he’s given us a dinner or something else.

If we really want to serve the Lord, we have to be free from all men so that no human being can say that we are under any obligation to them. Not at all. We are free before the Lord to speak the truth to them and offend them. What an exhortation this is! If Christian workers and pastors and all had taken this seriously, there would have been a purer church in the world today.

No, we are never to become under obligation to people. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9, “I am free from all men.” We must always keep ourselves like that, that we don’t put ourselves under obligation to anyone, particularly to the rich, who would like to control us in some way.

Instruction 7 – Do Not Weary Yourself to Gain Riches (Proverbs 23:4-5)

Exhortation number 7, verses 4 and 5, is concerning making money. It says, “Don’t weary yourself to gain riches.” It’s not against earning a living, but it is this pursuit of wealth, of trying to get more and more money beyond what I need. It’s not speaking about earning what I need to live.

He says here, “Seize from your consideration of it,” meaning stop thinking about making more money than you need. Because when people have begun to think like that, of making more money than they need, they have finally landed into all types of troubles and difficulties.

It says that in 1 Timothy 6, that those who will be rich pierce themselves through with many sorrows. It says here, “Not only that, when you set your eyes on it, it is gone.” Don’t think that just because you make more, you’ll have more.

Usually, the people who make more end up spending more, and they still don’t have more really. “For wealth certainly makes itself wings, like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.” That’s what God’s word says about riches. It flies off like an eagle. Think of that.

It’s not slowly going away; it just suddenly goes. If my heart is set on that, I can be tremendously disappointed. So, here’s practical wisdom: don’t weary yourself. Stop thinking about that. Be content with having enough to take care of your needs, yourself, and your family.

Instruction 8 – Do Not Eat the Bread of a Selfish Man (Proverbs 23:6-8)

Verse 6 to 8 is exhortation number 8: “Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, or desire his delicacies. For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, ‘Eat and drink,’ but his heart is not with you. You will vomit.”

Think of a stingy man. In other words, don’t go where people are not eager to have you. In simple words, it means that. We should really go only where people are happy and eager to have us. It is folly to go to a person; he may have said, “Yeah brother, please come.”

But you have to sense whether he was really sincere or whether he’s eager to have you, or whether he’s just being courteous. There can be, and there has been, and there is a lot of folly among believers in this area. Not just in the matter of going for a meal.

We have to see when, for example, we can go to different places. Now, we can think of some different fellowships in different parts of this country. Of course, I can think that I am, of course, they will definitely be eager to have me because I am such a very brother who brings a blessing wherever I go.

We can have such high thoughts about ourselves. But the other person may not be having such thoughts about you. There, it is so easy for us to have such high thoughts that everybody is just eager to have me just because they sent me an invitation.

Of course, this man also sent an invitation, but he wasn’t — his heart was not really in it. We must not be so stupid or so foolish to think that everybody who invites us is necessarily so eager for our company or our fellowship. We have to sense that.

If I have high thoughts about myself, then I will think, “Yes, they are really eager.” But if I have small thoughts about myself, I will say, “Yes, that maybe just out of courtesy invited me.” I have to think.

We are not to make fools of ourselves and grow up with a testimony for folly in this area. But really seek God for wisdom and humility. If a person is really eager to have you, brother, he will keep on asking you. It won’t be just once. He will really want you. And that’s the best time to go.

We’ll have far more to give when people are really eager to have us somewhere than just because we got a casual invitation and we are rich, so we have got money to travel, and off we are. That is folly. We have to be careful that we don’t do such stupid things.

Be careful in accepting invitations to see that people are really eager. Let’s not trust ourselves on people who are not so eager to have us. That’s simple wisdom. He says, “Eat and drink,” of course, he has to be courteous, but his heart is not with you. That means he’s not really sincere in what he says.

Yeah, of course, it’s wrong on his part, but never mind about him. We are not to be foolish.

Instruction 9 – Do Not Speak in the Hearing of a Fool (Proverbs 23:9)

Verse 9, instruction number 9, says, “Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.” That is just like Jesus said in Matthew 7:6, “Don’t throw your pearls before swine; don’t give that which is holy to the dogs.”

We are to think when we speak, “These people who are listening to me, what sort of people are they?” I can’t just start off on the new and living way and about Christ manifest in the flesh and all types of things without a single thought about who these people are.

I mean, are these the people to whom I should be saying this? There we require wisdom. Otherwise, we are fools ourselves just because we have some knowledge and we think we are there to dish it out to anybody who comes across our way.

No, we are not to share with those who despise the wisdom of our words. For example, this need not be just about doctrine. It can be to someone in the church that you give some advice to them, some wisdom, and they despise it. They don’t care for that because in their opinion, they are wiser.

If you are wise, next time, you will not give them advice. Let them go and do what they like. Do not speak to a fool. A fool is one who despises, it says here in verse 9, who despises the wisdom of your words. You have to sense, do I feel that this person doesn’t think there’s any wisdom in my words?

Maybe he thinks I’m a fool. Okay, fine. I’m not offended by that. But I have to make sure that I don’t go and unnecessarily trouble him with more advice in the future. Just leave him because he has despised the wisdom of your words.

We have to be sensitive here and sensible and not just go around saying anything to everyone. These are really practical wisdom. If we take it seriously, we can grow up to be wise instead of fools.

Instruction 10 – Do Not Move the Boundary or Injure the Helpless (Proverbs 23:10-11)

Verse 10 and 11 is saying number 10. There is a repetition again about moving the boundary. It’s almost as though he hasn’t had enough by saying it once. Probably he knows what busybodies the children of Adam are, and so he’s got to repeat it.

Certain things are repeated in these 30 sayings: “Do not move the ancient boundary or go into the fields of the fatherless.” That is a combination of ill-treating the poor and the helpless. Beware of injuring the helpless. That’s basically what he’s saying.

Those who are weak, those who cannot fight back, those who cannot take their case to court against you, those who have nobody to fight their cause for them. That’s basically what it says about the fatherless: nobody to fight their cause. Weak.

The Powerful Guardian of the Helpless

They are under you in some way. Beware that you don’t go into their boundary. Respect the boundary that Almighty God has placed around that human being. For their Redeemer is strong, and He will plead their case against you.

We can look at it another way: if you are one of those helpless people whom somebody else is taking advantage of, think of this verse: you have a powerful guardian. That’s how it says in one translation: a powerful guardian who will fight your case for you.

Because you have no one else to fight your case, you are helpless. It’s a tremendous word of encouragement to those who find themselves in some helpless situation in life. You can feel like a fatherless person in some situation. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself and ending up defiled with the spirit of self-pity, you can say to yourself, “Well, it says here that if I’m helpless, then I’m in a very blessed position actually.”

Because I have a mighty guardian who will fight my case. What better position to be in than that? That is not any cause for self-pity. Self-pity is always because of unbelief. Always because of unbelief. Only atheists can have self-pity.

You say, “No, I’ve seen believers who have self-pity.” Yes, that’s because those believers become atheists at that moment. That means they don’t believe in a heavenly Father. They don’t believe that God is almighty. They don’t believe God is going to do anything for them.

At that moment, they have lost all faith, and that’s why they end up in self-pity. Only an atheist who does not have a heavenly Father can have self-pity. But one who has a heavenly Father, how can he ever be in self-pity when he is in the most powerful position?

Because he says, “My almighty guardian is going to take care of it all.” I’m helpless, humanly speaking. Think of a wife who is always being bashed up and troubled by her husband in 101 ways. She can wallow in self-pity, or she can rejoice that there’s a powerful guardian who will fight her cause.

Or any other person like that who is in a difficult situation. A word of encouragement.

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Exhortation 11 – Accept Criticism and Get All the Help You Can (Verse 12)

Verse 12 is exhortation number 11. Here it says in the Living Bible, “Don’t refuse to accept criticism. Get all the help that you can.”

Don’t refuse to accept criticism. Get all the help that you can. It says here, “Apply your heart to it,” in the NASB. In other words, when you get some criticism, what should you do? Apply your heart to it.

Like I heard a brother say once that one day the phone rang, and he picked it up, and some person who was mad with him began to tell him all types of things: “You’re like this, and you’re like that, and you’re like that.” He said, “I’ve got to press the phone really close to my ears now and listen carefully to this because this is going to help me work out my salvation with fear and trembling.”

That’s a godly person. He wants to listen carefully lest he miss one word of all this criticism that’s coming over the phone. Think of that. That was a godly brother who said it. You won’t find such a person ending up as a fool.

Because when he hears something, he says, “Yes, I know there’s nothing good in my flesh, and here’s somebody who’s helping me to find something which I may not have found out yet.” I really believe, brothers, that we are not as wholehearted as we often think we are in wanting to find out what dwells in our flesh.

We say, “Yes, I’m wholehearted. I want to find out what dwells in my flesh,” and somebody else tells me what dwells in my flesh, and I get all upset. That shows I’m not really wholehearted in wanting to find out. But here was a brother who was wholehearted. He wanted to find out, and the proof of it was that when somebody criticized him, he wanted to get every word of it.

There we find out whether we are really wholehearted or whether we are deceiving ourselves. So, accept all the criticism you can. You get and apply your heart to it, and it says here, “Get this help.” This is a help if we are really interested in a godly life.

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Exhortation 12 – The Need for Discipline (Verses 13 and 14)

Then, exhortation number 12, which is in verses 13 and 14. Again here it speaks about something the book of Proverbs repeats many times: the need for discipline. “Do not, for children that is, do not hold back discipline from the child. Although you beat him with the rod, he will not die.”

He will not die. Think of that. What does that mean? That means it’s quite a painful beating. It’s not just a little tap. There’s no danger of him dying with a tap. But when he says that you beat him with a rod, he will not die, that means he’s thinking of quite a severe beating. He won’t die. Don’t worry.

God’s provided sufficient flesh at that part of the body for that purpose, and that’ll protect him from injury and death. That’s the wisdom of God, and he will not die. You will beat him with the rod, and you will deliver his soul from hell. That’s what God’s word says.

You will teach him obedience when he is small, and you will deliver his soul from hell when he grows up. But you’ll be soft with him, and you’ll grow up to see him going to hell. Or you’ll be angry with him and beat him with a rod of anger; he may still go to hell.

But if you humble yourself and use the rod of discipline and really make him feel the pain, you can save his soul from hell. What a need there is for us to be delivered from a foolish softness with our children, a foolish softness.

I think of the words of the father of Samson. I don’t know whether you’ve noticed it in Judges. I believe that’s a prayer that every father and mother should pray who’ve got small children. As we considered in another study, particularly those who are under 12, children under 12.

In Judges chapter 13, there was an angel who came to Samson’s parents and told them about the birth of this child. In Judges chapter 13:8, Manoah, he was the man there. Samson had not yet been born; it was just a promise which the angel of the Lord had given to the woman in verse 3 that you’re going to have a son.

She told her husband in verse 6, and the husband said, “Lord, please let the man of God thou has sent come to us again that he may teach us what to do for the boy who is to be born.” Or, as the Living Bible says in the same passage, it says, “How we should bring this child up,” Judges chapter 13, “that he may give us more instructions about the child you’re going to give us.”

When the man of God came, Manoah said to him in verse 12, “Can you give us any special instructions about how we should raise this baby after he is born?” What a prayer to pray to God: “Lord, can you please give me some special instruction on how to bring up this child when he is born?”

Pray that prayer, brothers and sisters who are married and who have children. “Lord, I pray the prayer of Manoah, please give me instruction, and I will follow your instruction which I read in Proverbs.”

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Exhortation 13 – The Joy of a Wise Child (Proverbs Chapter 23:15 and 16)

We come back to Proverbs chapter 23, verse 15 and 16. This is exhortation number 13 in this section. I want to read that in the Good News Bible. It says, “Son, if you become wise, I’ll be really happy.”

I won’t be so happy if you just get a good job or get a good house or get a good wife or a good husband. These are not the main things, but that if you become wise, then I’ll be really happy. There’s nothing that will delight my heart as much as you’re becoming wise, even if you don’t come first in the class.

If you become wise, spiritually wise in your life, you can see that there are very few fathers who are really eager for that. But we pray that in the church, we will have a generation of fathers and mothers who, even if they don’t say it, the longing of their heart is, “Son, daughter, we’ll really be happy if you become wise.”

I’ll be proud of you when I hear you speaking words of wisdom. When I see you, my son, growing up and speaking with wisdom, not a whole lot of stupid things that unbelievers and carnal believers talk about, but when I see you speaking with wisdom, when I see you that you don’t gossip when other people around you do that, when I see that you speak words of goodness and gentleness and kindness, I’ll be proud of you, my son, whatever other defects there may be in you, as far as the world is concerned.

That is the goal that we should have for our children.

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Exhortation 14 – Fear the Lord, Not the Prosperity of Evil Men (Verses 17 and 18)

The next exhortation, number 14, is in verses 17 and 18. I want to read this here in the Living Bible: “Don’t envy evil men, but continue to fear the Lord all the time.”

See, when we fear the Lord, there are many things on earth that we lose. But we see that evil men who don’t fear the Lord get those things by cheating, telling lies, and then sometimes even unconsciously a little envy can come in us, that if I did it like that, I could also have those benefits.

Here the Word of God comes to my mind: “Don’t envy that evil man, that unrighteous man, but reverence the Lord all the time.” Be in the fear of the Lord always. Live in the fear of the Lord always. What an exhortation to believe that Jesus obeyed that exhortation, to live in the fear of the Lord all the time.

It’s one of the things the Bible says we must do all the time: live in the fear of the Lord all the time. When you get up in the morning, say, “Here’s another day; I have to live in the fear of the Lord right through this day.”

In what I say, in what I do, I have to live in the fear of the Lord. I have to live as one who recognizes that I have to give an account of what I do in my body one day to God. I want to live in the fear of the Lord the whole day. Blessed are those who live like that.

It goes on to say there, “If you live like that, surely you have a wonderful future ahead of you.” That’s absolutely true. As far as God’s concerned, there’s a wonderful future ahead of those who live in the fear of the Lord always.

There’s a wonderful little sentence at the end of this in the Living Bible, the last part of verse 18: “There is hope for you yet.” That’s a word of encouragement for those who have failed and stumbled and done many foolish things in the past.

The word of encouragement comes: “There is still hope for you.” If even now we begin to live in the fear of the Lord, always, there is still hope for you.

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Exhortation 15 – Avoid Drunkenness, Gluttony, and the Love of Sleep (Verses 19 to 21)

Now we go to verses 19 to 21, which is exhortation number 15. That reads like this in the Living Bible: “Oh my son, be wise and stay in God’s paths. Don’t carouse with drunkards and gluttons, for they are on their way to poverty. And remember that too much sleep will clothe a man with rags.”

It’s really telling us there to overcome the love of food again and overcome the love of sleep. We need food; we need to sleep. There’s nothing wrong with that. God gives us food to eat; God gives us sleep so that we can be refreshed.

But he’s speaking about those who love it so much that they do not fulfill their responsibilities on earth or to God.

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Exhortation 16 – Honor Your Parents and Buy the Truth (Verses 22 to 25)

Verses 22 to 25 is exhortation number 16. These are very good words. This speaks about a man’s relationship to his parents, and that’s another area where the book of Proverbs has much to say.

“Honor your father and mother,” the first commandment with promise. “Listen to your father, without him you would not even be existing today. And when your mother is old, show her your appreciation.” Good exhortations for all of us to follow.

“Truth, wisdom, learning, and good sense. These are all worth paying for, but too valuable for you to sell.” Because in the context, it means that you receive these things from God-fearing parents. A righteous man’s father has good reason to be happy, and you can take pride in a wise son.

Make your father and mother proud of you. Give your mother that happiness. These are words that we really need to take seriously because the book of Proverbs repeats them again and again and again.

Particularly, we find that sometimes parents don’t have the same light that we have in the church on various truths. Then we may have to disagree with them on certain things. All the more reason why we have to be careful to honor them in other areas, even where we have to take a stand for the truth in many areas that may cause offense.

In the Living Bible, it says, “Listen to your father’s advice and don’t despise an old mother’s experience.” I just want to say a word about verse 23 because there’s something special here that applies not only to truth that we receive from God-fearing parents but truth that we get in the New Covenant from the Holy Spirit.

It says here, “Buy the truth and do not sell it.” In other words, there are two things there: one, in order to get truth, I have to pay a price. That price may be I may lose my reputation; I may even lose my job; I may lose friends; I may lose many things.

I say, “Lord, I’m willing to pay that price in order to get the truth and to hold on to it.” Once you get the truth, don’t sell it. Don’t be a compromiser at any cost. It’s a fantastic verse. Don’t ever give up that truth just because you’re going to get a little profit here or a little gain there if you compromise on the truth there.

“Buy the truth. Pay any price to get the whole truth of God. Once you get it, don’t ever part with it no matter what you’re going to gain.” There can be so many things we can gain. It may not be money; it may be that I’ll get somebody’s good pleasure if I keep quiet on something, and I end up as a compromiser.

I’ve sold the truth for the sake of friendship with someone. No, stand for it at any cost. We can also look at it another way, another aspect of it when it says, “Don’t sell the truth.” We can say that also means we must give it freely, not put a fee on it and charge people.

That’s why we believe in preaching the gospel freely and never taking a collection in our meetings. One reason is this: because we don’t believe that anyone has to pay a charge, even 10 paise in the collection bag, in order to listen to the truth. He can come and sit comfortably knowing that there’s no collection bag going to be passed around at any time during the meeting.

No, it’s free. All are welcome to receive it free. No collection will be taken. That’s how it must be: always offered freely, never a charge for the truth. We don’t sell it; we give it free, the truth itself.

The Heart and the Eyes — Proverbs 23:26-28

So, verses 26 to 28, here it speaks about our heart and our eyes. We saw in chapter 22, verse 11 about our heart and our mouth, our speech; here it speaks about our heart and our eyes. The Lord says, “Give me your heart, my son, and let your eyes delight in my ways.”

If you give me your heart and you let your eyes delight in my ways, then you’ll be protected from that seductive woman. For the harlot is a deep pit. You know the problem with a deep pit? You can’t climb out. A small pit you could climb out of, but a harlot is a deep pit.

A seductive woman is a deep pit. Be careful; there are many deep pits around you. In school, in college, in your place of work, there are deep pits. Women who don’t dress properly, women who are flirting types, think of them always as deep pits.

You have to walk in the office or in the place of work so carefully. Think how you would walk in a place where there are so many deep pits all around you. You’d be an idiot if you just walked carelessly there. I’ve got to be careful here.

An adulterous woman is a narrow well. There’s not much hope of anybody climbing in to pull you out either — a narrow well. She lurks as a robber, one who wants to rob your physical health, one who wants to rob you spiritually, and increases the number of unfaithful people among men.

The number of unfaithful people among men, unfaithful to their wives, are increased by these deep pits and these narrow wells. Be careful in your neighborhood, in your office, among your relatives, on the streets everywhere. Be careful of these deep pits and these narrow wells, and don’t make a fool of yourself.

How shall we protect ourselves? The Lord says, “Give me your heart,” that you don’t allow your heart to think about these things, and “give me your eyes,” that your eyes will be under my control. That’s it. Your heart and your eyes, give them to God, and you need not fear these deep wells and narrow wells and these deep pits anymore.

Very practical instruction, and it applies also to spiritual harlotry. Those who fall into Babylon the harlot, that is also a narrow well and a deep pit. It’s not easy to come out when we are in a harlot system. If God has delivered us, be careful that we don’t fall into that by the way we live all over again.

The Evils of Drink — Proverbs 23:29-35

Verses 29 to 35 speak about the evils of drink. Most of us probably don’t have any problem here, so I’ll just read through it, but it is a problem for many people, and the Word of God speaks much about this evil of drinking.

“Whose heart is filled with anguish,” the Living Bible, “and sorrow? Who is always fighting and quarreling? Who is the man with bloodshot eyes and many wounds? It’s the man who spends long hours in the wine taverns trying out new mixtures.”

It says in verse 31, “Don’t look on the wine when it is red, when it is fermented, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly down your gullet. At the last, it bites like a poisonous serpent and stings like an adder. You will end up seeing hallucinations. You will say foolish silly things that would embarrass you.”

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